@maurilio:

How Marketing Is Going to Change in 2021

The ways in which we communicate are changing very, very fast. The pandemic has accelerated changes that would have taken years to take full effect and are now happening in a matter of months.

Much like you, I want the work I do to mean something. I want my efforts to produce fruit, and I want the people and organizations I help to thrive, not just survive.

I have a few predictions of what’s in store for those of us who want to reach people using marketing strategies and tactics. These have been trends I’ve seen growing in 2020 and some that have appeared in the past few days even, but can fundamentally change how we reach people.

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Welcome Pete Wilson to The A Group

Some of the most significant events in life happen outside any clever planning on our parts. This is ever so true in this new chapter of The A Group. Today, Pete Wilson, author, speaker and former pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN is joining our team as our new President. Here’s how it happened.

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Content Marketing Rules: How to Add VALUE to Your Posts

Content is still king in 2015, but how do you generate meaningful social media that provides VALUE? By focusing on creating content that will be: Visual Amuse             and by making sure you Listen Unify Engage with your audience.   VISUAL A picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes a thousand clicks. When you scroll through your news feed on your smart phone, what catches your eye? Photo posts account for 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook. Photos on Facebook generate 53% more likes than the average text only post (Hubspot 2012). Use pictures and video to your advantage by creating compelling images that share the story of your brand and its impact, your brand’s history, and celebrate your customers. AMUSE Even the most conservative brands and organizations can have fun. Show your wittier side and your fans will love you. Think about the unpredictable humor behind…

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Your First Impression Matters

“You never get a second chance at a first impression,” sounds like a tired cliche  your mother used to get you to comb your hair as a teenager. But I must say that, too often, professionals lose big when they discount the value of a strong first impression. We all have heard someone say: “he was not what I expected,” or “I imagined her being different.” Often these comments translate into “he did not look like he had his act together,” or “I expected her to be more professional.” Before you call me shallow and too focused on the veneer of human existence, hear me on this one. I agree we are so much more than the sum total of how we look and dress like. I get that. But no matter how hard we try to get people we meet to see the real us, we will be categorized…

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Social Media Content Strategy That Works

Content is still king in 2014, but how do you generate meaningful social media that provides VALUE? By focusing on creating content that will be: Visual Amusing       and by making sure you Listen Unify Engage with your audience. VISUAL A picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes a thousand clicks. When you scroll through your news feed on your smart phone, what catches your eye? Photo posts account for 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook. Photos on Facebook generate 53% more likes than the average text only post (Hubspot 2012). Use pictures and video to your advantage by creating compelling images that share the story of your brand and its impact, your brand’s history, and celebrate your customers. AMUSE Even the most conservative brands and organizations can have fun. Show your wittier side and your fans will love you. Think about the unpredictable humor behind such…

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If You Tweet It, They Will Come OR Branding, Buzz, And Getting People In

Social media works. Period. Savvy churches are now using social media to fund raise, organize events, and bring people to Christ. The old adage that dictated that the pastor of a church had to use the stage for all formal announcements is over. Churches and their communities are plugged in. Communication 101: reach people where they are. And for a large demographic in today’s world that most likely means via social media. Cross Point Church here in Nashville held an overwhelmingly successful night of praise this week that was completely announced via social media and an impressive 1,500 people showed up to the event. No emails, no church bulletins, no announcements were made. This was pure buzz generated solely via social media. Using powerful imagery and graphics and promoting the event with the hashtags #WorshipNight #OneNightOneVoice, Cross Point built up excitement. By posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, they spread…

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Marketing and Technology Come Together: MarTech Conference

When I started The A Group more than 12 years ago, I had no idea I was giving life to a new type of business: martech.  We developed in-house technology to make sure our marketing efforts worked and were simple to use. We knew marketing could not live without technology. It was true a decade ago, and even more so now. Not only digital natives demand it, we all do. We browse online, on our mobile devices but often purchase at a physical store. We want the same information on our desktop computer, tablet and phone whenever, wherever. We measure our tolerance to wait for information in mere seconds. Today’s consumer has an attention span of less than 6 seconds. Last week I attended the first Martech Conference in Boston. The Martech Conference was an integrated conversation of marketing, technology, trends and best practices led by experts, often titled Chief…

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How I Became a Safe Person

I don’t know when it started, but one day I became a safe person to those around me. Perhaps it’s been part of my own internal make up or perhaps I developed the skills and the temperament it takes to be the kind of a person people around me find “safe.” It’s not unusual for someone I barely know to share something deeply personal and important with me. While I’m honored and humbled, I remember the days where the opposite was true. People would tell me I came across unapproachable and intimidating. So what changed? Obviously I did, and while I might not have enough self awareness to understand the complete metamorphosis process, here’s part of my personal journey that changed me. I embraced grace for myself and for those around me. In my early twenties my life was a series of black and white pictures. Grace helped me soften…

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Your Brand Promise and the Importance of the Front Line

Every person in your organization is telling your story. Paid, volunteer, happy or disgruntled, everyone matters when it comes to your brand’s perception. People talk about brand management like it’s something a highly paid executive carefully orchestrates from the company’s headquarters. But more often than not, managing a brand’s perception is left to those at the front lines of contact, such as hourly sales workers or volunteers. Millions of dollars in advertisement cannot overcome a poorly trained or unhappy minimum-wage employee.A while back, I went to the Guess store looking for a shirt. The store was somewhat busy, but soon a helpful sales lady opened a dressing room for me and brought me several shirts she she wanted me to try on.  Through the course of the conversation, she asked about my jeans preference and brought me 4 or 5 pairs to try. Beth was great at her job. When…

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50 Must-Know Mobile Commerce Stats

Mobile is changing the way we buy, sign up and do most everything online. It’s the fastest growing game-changer/disruptor technology since the internet itself. Here’s a great slidershare on the 50 things you should know about mobile commerce. How have you seen your own purchasing habits change after you adopted a smart phone?

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