All Blog Posts - Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}

A simple strategy to increase your influence on Twitter

“How do I increase my influence on Twitter?” A business colleague asked me this question and I figured if it was on his mind, it might be on yours too. […]

A voice from the Nashville flood: Social media as a lifeline

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Laura Click in downtown Nashville. She had an incredible story about how people used the social web to pull together amidst the […]

Transitioning online contacts into offline friendships

I’ve made many wonderful connections through the social web, but the magic really happens when I’ve strengthened those bonds by turning those online friends into offline relationships. I had some cool […]

PR versus marketing: The final battle over social media

Last week Vocus, a provider of on-demand PR management software, announced the results of a survey which found that the turf battle between PR and marketing rages on, especially over […]

In praise of poopy blogs

I was rolling around on the floor with some of my young nieces and nephews and somehow the word “poop” entered the conversation. Every time I said it, the kiddos […]

What lessons from your first boss do you still use today?

This has been a week of reminiscing for me. I had a business opportunity come up that gave me a good excuse to talk to many industry old-timers, including several […]

My Twitter Ah-Ha Moment

What did it take for you to “get” Twitter? I was certainly in that vast number of people who resisted it. The first tweet I ever received was “It’s 4 […]

My own 11 little secrets

Two weeks ago, Chris Penn blogged his 11 Little Secrets to staying happy, healthy, productive and sane. Quite a few other bloggers followed suit, so I thought I would give […]

Forget your website, create a social footprint

On a webinar last week, I briefly covered an idea I call the information eco-system (or social footprint) and received a lot of questions about it. This is a critical […]

Twitter ads and the end of mankind

The web comments about the announcement that Twitter will have ads on their searches (as a start) were about evenly split between “ho hum” and “disgust.” This comment is pretty […]

How do you push yourself out of your social media cage?

Where I live in East Tennessee black bears are a real fact of life. Actually, that’s one of the reasons I’ve remained here. In 45 minutes, I can be hiking […]

Research shows young procurement professionals embracing social web

Planning on using the social web to market to B2B decision-makers? According to just-released research from London’s Base One Group, you might consider the age of your target audience. In […]

Is technological complexity just covering up your other business problems?

Complexity has been a theme through many posts on {grow}, most typically connected with the word “STRESS!” I had a fascinating discussion with one of my ex-professors about technological complexity […]

Why politics may drive the social web

While President Obama’s use of the social web to connect with voters and raise funds has been well-documented, it may be Scott Brown’s impossible 2010 senatorial win that cements the social web’s role […]

Why comment on a blog? Do it for the money.

Well, I’ve written two recent posts on why people DON’T comment on blogs — one about re-defining engagement, and one with feedback on why people just don’t like to participate. […]