Chief Marketing Officer

Running your business in 2022 requires a bit of understanding of technology. Even the least technical jobs, such as lawn care professionals, are sporting smart phones to check email, talk to their staff and connect to their clients.

The challenge is that technology can be a bit unnerving for some business owners. It’s not unnerving because it’s technology, per se. It’s unnerving because of the need to understand, yet again, something new.

Social media, blogs, iPhones and Android, search engine optimization, flux capacitors… how do we keep it all straight?

Let me suggest that technology is only a tool. It’s no different than a hammer or drill except it’s a tool that solves a different problem. Until we understand that the technology we use is meant to solve a specific problem, we’ll continue to focus on how hard it is to integrate technology into our business and marketing efforts.

Less than 30 years ago, the web was new. There were really no standards to speak of. The innovators of the world were quick to try their hand at HTML code.

In 1995, I coded my first website. To say the least, it wasn’t anything to get excited about. I was really excited when I figured out how to have a hover effect for a button. I realize now that, even by the standards of the day, it wasn’t even good enough to be called mediocre.

In 2007, when I started Tribute Media, I am not sure I progressed as far as I thought I had. Even after teaching web design at the University of Utah, I was a rank amateur at best.

Over the years, I have honed my craft to be a highly qualified web strategist. I learned the hard way… I failed many times. I'd love to say that all my failures were early in my career. But, I am smart enough to know that it's important to fail to improve. I have been fortunate to have many great people on my team that have picked up my slack. I see companies (agencies, corporate America, and nonprofits alike) hiring for strategists. The problem is that most who call themselves strategists are content to simply work on a few tactics. I am confident...

Since consumers have been using search engines to find what they need online, marketers have tried to find ways to improve their clients’ position in those search engines. These search engine optimizers come with a wide variety of tactics.

The first thing to understand about search engine optimization (SEO) is that it’s not a silver bullet. You can never look at SEO with the idea that if you are at the top of the search engines, your phone will start to ring.

I am amazed how often people will think that if you increase rankings in the search engines, you will magically start getting new business. This attitude would be like saying, “I put a sign outside my store, so why am I not selling more stuff?”

Over the years, I’ve learned two very important lessons about change. First, change can’t be avoided. Second, most people don’t like change.

Change is to be expected… and is necessary. 

Do a Google search and you’ll find quotes upon quotes about change. Quotes on how to think about change or quotes on how to process change. You’ll find quotes on making it easier or reasons why it’s so hard. One such example here.

In about 2005, my career shifted to understanding problems in organizations and recommending changes to fix those problems. I learned first hand those two truths mentioned above. As a result, I thought of a concept that I call, the change rejection curve.

The 5 Stages of Grief