Why (marketing and communications) leaders just shouldn’t interrupt people
Formal marketing and communications leaders often are leaders because they: Know their industry and know what works Are often right Know what they want or at least think they know what they want Aren’t afraid to share their opinion Of course the last item can sometimes lead to the interrupting of people- maybe intentionally and […]
Read MoreWhat titles should I use on my content marketing team?
Content marketing titles are all over the place! Dare I say they are out of control? Maybe that’s too strong but the lack of uniformity is there. Even for a guy who makes a living in making lack of uniformity work for organizations. Being unique has a certain level of not being uniform! Nonetheless content […]
Read MoreThe No. 1 career killer for content marketers (and inbound marketers) is …
This phenomenon is probably not news to anyone in marketing: People stay with organizations for decades and they remember the print-only days at the organization. Or people stick around for months! “Hey, new kid! How come that 20-month project isn’t showing results in month 2? Buh bye!!!” I’m currently working in my second longest stint […]
Read More[TRAVEL] How I’ll deal with the on and off #electronicsban on an upcoming Europe trip
After not traveling anywhere and with two cancelled trips – including one to India -during May my June and July are looking tremendously busy with travel within the USA and also to Europe. Here’s a look on a map: For the last few weeks there’s been an ongoing discussion over a so called electronics been […]
Read More[TRAVEL] Two ways travel technology has recently helped me
Technology can make our lives easier and of course harder. There are still plenty of times when technological solutions don’t work or aren’t keeping my specific customer journey in mind. But then there are the times when I’m delightfully surprised and when technology makes a transaction simple or helps me accomplish a goal on a […]
Read MoreBefore you send that Fathers’ Day email marketing campaign consider this ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Fathers’ Day is this weekend and of course many brands are using days on the calendar like this one and other newer “holidays” as reasons to write a blog post, do social media posts and also send email marketing campaigns. I’ve shared my opinion before on what brands should be doing on social media on […]
Read MoreWhy people need to stop hating on reply all emails
I was dictating the above headline to my phone in the car with my wife driving who without hesitation groaned and said “oh I hate reply all emails.” And I do agree with her to an extent. I’ve been part of many crappy and annoying reply all emails. People instead of having a conversation or […]
Read MoreShould I accept a “temporary” assignment?
Temporary assignments are interesting. No. 1, just about anything is temporary anymore. No. 2, I’ve seen plenty of so called temporary assignments turn in to the more permanent assignment version. Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about here: somebody leaves the company and in the interim (a.k.a. temporarily) whoever is in […]
Read MoreFACEBOOK: How to create those images-with-text posts on Facebook
You may have seen those posts on Facebook that look like images with a colorful background and then text on top of that background. Here’s an example: I saw these popping up more and more and started wondering how people do them. Do they use some kind of image generator and then add the text […]
Read MoreShould conferences allow or encourage attendees to live tweet sessions?
In 2017 the American Diabetes Association held its conference and posted tweets asking attendees to delete tweets that contained photographs from sessions: Eric Topol, the healthcare thought leader, responded with this below, saying it’s 2017: From what I saw on Twitter many attendees did delete the tweet that they were asked to delete. But a […]
Read MoreSTARTUPS ➡️ Clients are lining up – how to get paid? Check or digitally?
I think of myself as more of a storytelling and growth innovator kind of person as opposed to a numbers person. Though numbers can certainly help us tell better stories and help us tell better stories continuously if we can get paid for it. As a businessman I’m certainly a numbers person when it comes […]
Read MoreOne more reason why reviews matter ➡️ Facebook notifications ⬅️
Reviews online matter. People read them and people make decisions on them. That’s one reason why I am always so excited when I see ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews of any of my books on Amazon. From a professional and consumer perspective, I even subscribe to email notifications for reviews given to organizations I work with or that […]
Read MoreHow I had to move my binge watching from Netflix to Amazon Prime 📺 📱
I was coming off a binge watching experience on Netflix and finished six seasons of the Showime show “Shameless.” That’s roughly 3,744 minutes of TV watching – though I watch some of it on my phone, sometimes on the couch and sometimes at the gym. And I like how Netflix actually coordinates my app watching […]
Read MoreDoes a blog post’s word count influence performance?
This article looks at how the number of words in a blog post influences performance.
Read MoreHow long before people will miss our content – if ever?
I love ❤️ Dilbert! You know the daily cartoon that so honestly and often (unfortunately) accurately makes fun of American corporate culture. I used to read it in the printed newspaper and then stopped getting printed newspapers. I started reading it online from time to time. And of course, sometimes presenters at conferences or events […]
Read More[TRAVEL POST] Why I always check first-class air travel cost before booking economy ✈️🛫
It’s been a busy year traveling and booking travel can be a bit of a game. Booked and flown trips: One of my favorite “hacks” so far has been to book one roundtrip to Europe and then other trips within that roundtrip while traveling within Europe. So much cheaper than doing a multi-city ticket. On […]
Read MoreHow to add links to your Instagram Stories 👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In late 2016 Instagram was testing links directly within stories for verified users. Of course been verified on Instagram was really reserved for just top celebrities. Unlike Twitter people can’t currently apply for it. But as of late May 2017, it appears that more and more unverified users are receiving the option to add links […]
Read More[CUSTOMER RELATIONS] What should we ask customers when they are about to leave us?
We recently decided to discontinue a service with a company we’ve been with for over 20 years. I won’t share who it is and what the exact service is but it was a service that required us to actually go to the physical location and stop the relationship. I’m always interested in seeing how conversations […]
Read MoreWhat’s the easiest way to check which blog posts perform best in search and social referrals?
I wouldn’t call myself a data analyst by any means of the imagination. But here’s the thing: Writers, content creators, content marketing strategists or whatever else you might call them should indeed look at the metrics of how their content is performing. Not everyone needs to be able to dig deep into the numbers, but […]
Read MoreLaunching a website is just the starting point in digital marketing
Launching a website can be an organization’s web team’s big project for a good amount of time. Project plans are put into place. Decisions are made on what content management system to use. Rolls are defined. Milestones are laid out. People start implementing. Launching a website does feel like a project because there is a […]
Read MoreNew Twitter policy opinion: How personalized content can actually hurt publishers
June 19, 2017 update This seems to have gotten fixed. Yay! May 2017 post In May 2017, Twitter updated its policies – including the serving of content to better personalize things. A good idea in theory. I’m all for being served more relevant things! Here’s a quick overview of the email that Twitter sent me […]
Read MoreInstagram Stories rolls out hashtags but do they help me be found?
Hashtags when used properly are great. You can follow discussions and photos around a topic without having to follow everyone participating. Using relevant hashtags consistently can also establish you as an expert or “authority” in a topical area. Many of those people putting together Top Influencer lists review the use and participation in relevant hashtags. […]
Read MoreHow do we know whether or not a new technology will actually improve our healthcare experience?
The Healthcare Leadership Chat on Tuesdays on Twitter is one of my favorite Twitter chats. On May 23, 2017, the topic covers technology in healthcare. That’s like three important and favorite topics of mine in one: Twitter (social media), technology and also customer/patient experience. I’ll try to participate live – as always – but also wanted […]
Read MoreWhy am I seeing so few posts from friends on Facebook?
Facebook is still a highly personal network in the minds of many. I see it when I speak at conferences about how to connect with different people on different networks. Should I connect with a business connection on LinkedIn? Oh yes probably. Should I connect with them on Twitter? For sure. Twitter is wide open. […]
Read MoreHow to overcome writer’s block
You might wonder: What would a guy (me! 😱🙄🤔) who blogs 15,000 words per month have to say about writer’s block? It’s true that I hardly ever sit in front of my computer and don’t know what to blog about. Ever really. I usually have to prioritize what I want to blog about. Too. Many. […]
Read More[SOCIAL MEDIA] How to turn off Facebook event notifications
This article shares how to turn off Facebook event notifications. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as it should be, but here's the way to do it!
Read MoreHow to check for broken links on your WordPress website
Having non-working links on your website can negatively impact user experience and even conversions! Nobody wants to end up on pages that don’t exist. In WordPress, checking for broken links is a super easy process that can be automated. But we have to set it up first. For the most part, I deprioritized it and […]
Read More[SURVEY] What’s the state of content marketing in India?
The Content Marketing Summit Asia in 2017 released another study on content marketing in India. I care about this topic specifically for two reasons: I gave a keynote and a three-hour workshop in Mumbai in 2015 and the engagement of the 600 content creators I interacted with was just fantastic. About five percent of my […]
Read More#AdobeChat: How to improve your content marketing (Christoph Trappe recap)
On May 17, 2017, I was a guest on #AdobeChat on Twitter to discuss how to improve your content marketing. There were eight questions through the 60-minute chat. If you missed it, here are some of my highlights on how I answered the questions: Q1: What role does content play in creating a better […]
Read MoreWhy it’s time for a minimal viable workflow in content marketing
The best workflow has necessary steps that can be run through quickly and then actually improves content, ensures it's unique and enables distribution. Let's take a look at how that might work.
Read More[ADVERTISING TEST] What’s better? Facebook advertising or Google AdWords?
This article reviews whether Google AdWords or Facebook ads drive better results.
Read MoreJune 26 – Free upcoming webinar
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My Authentic Storytelling Book
"Get Real: Telling Authentic Stories for Long-term Success" discusses why you, your organization and anyone really should consider sharing authentic stories with each other ... READ MORE
My customer service book
Confirmed talks
Berlin, Germany
June 29, 2017
Raleigh, NC
Aug. 22, 2017
Annual conference
Reno, NV
Oct. 8-9. 2017
Austin, Texas
Oct. 23-25, 2017
Speaking feedback
Top 10 Content Marketer
on Klout 2016
Quotes
Christoph
June 23, 2017
Change Leadership