Brad Shorr
Chicago, IL USA
- 88 comments
- 70 likes given
- 34 likes received
Director of Content & Social Media for Straight North. Writer, blogger, content strategist, student of the game.
@PointA_PointB @SteveWoodruff Thanks, Catherine. So many firms claim their industry is commoditized ... if that's the overriding mentality in the industry, what an opportunity that presents to an imaginative and bold marketer!
@SteveWoodruff Glad to hear you agree, Steve. "Afraid to differentiate" is an intriguing way to look at this problem. Very true!
@PointA_PointB Hi Catherine, I could be wrong, but my sense is that smaller businesses have actually regressed on the SM training front since the mid-00s. When SM was new, untested and untried, business owners were very cautious and wanted to be coached on the right and wrong ways to use it. Now, owners have formed their own opinions about what SM is (and these opinions are often caricatures of the reality), and are apt to dive right in.
Great post, Shanna. These problems can be extremely damaging to a firm, without doubt. Too many firms see social media as some sort of toy, when in fact it is a very powerful tool that must be respected. You could argue that companies should train employees in social media engagement just as rigorously as they would train them in safety.
These are all excellent points, Rebekah. Automated messages are my SM pet peeve -- they are completely contradictory to the spirit of social media communication, in addition to being incredibly annoying. One of my problems is spreading myself too thin. Recently I deleted my Facebook account and that has helped a great deal.
@Yvonne Root Good one. We don't have that problem in Chicago because none of our expressways is more than 2 two lanes wide. :)
@heidithorne Good ones, Heidi. I enjoyed your little RAMPage.
@SteelToad Good one! We have tons of them in our area. The older I get, the more fearful I become of turning into one ...
@SteelToad Nothing like a surprise on the highway ...
@PaulBiedermann Paul, sorry for stealing your thunder, but i bet you could come up with 12 more ... at least. A couple of bad left turn people got in front of me just the other day and forced me to go through three light cycles that should have been one. GRR.
@stevehaase Please don't take up the tuba!
@sharongreenthal Frightening. Thank you for sharing this story. We can't hammer home the danger of distracted driving. Some of the material in my post is lighthearted, but this is an issue that has no humorous side at all.
@jenjarratt Worthy additions. Narrow lane driving lessons should be mandatory.
Hi Catherine, I really like this post. The point about giving up control really hits home with me. It is so hard to let go -- especially if you run a small business. But your ebb and flow analogy is so perfect: it's so much easier to ride the wave of a trend you don't control. You can move faster, straighter, and with less effort!
@Judi Holler Hi Judi, Thanks for the feedback. I know these traps are easy to fall into because I've fallen into them myself.
@BizBuzz Marketing I can relate to that frustration. People are very quick to take advantage of generous entrepreneurs.
Hi Catherine, Excellent post, and I agree with you 100%, if not more. Believe it or not, there are still a lot of business professionals who understand and value proper grammar. Business writers have nothing to gain and everything to lose by ignoring or flouting the rules. Whether or not a particular blog can "get away with" sloppy grammar is beside the point: good writers need to develop good habits. When we hire new writers, I'm amazed by how many applicants send cover letters and resumes that are full of errors. What kind of impression do you think that makes? And in many of these cases, the writers' primary writing experience is blogging. Food for thought. And by the way, Catherine, you are one of the best editors I've ever worked with. Your feedback and edits always make my work better.