Straight Talk Blog
Ted Rubin
Social Listening is Finally Getting Some Play
You know that I'm big on social listening, and have been from the start. We have this incredible, unprecedented resource for learning more about our clients, customers, and connections, but we have to listen to make it work. So I've been very pleased to see that...
Retail Relevancy: Small Business Retail Boom (Part 2)
I’ve said that small businesses have a big future to look forward to in today’s market, but it's not just because large, traditional businesses are struggling to adapt to the needs of the modern shopper. Online mega-retailers like Amazon, which are currently putting...
SXSW 2018 starts Friday… So Much to Do There, and So Little Time
You have been hearing about it for so long and finally the time has come… off to Austin for the “event” of events, SXSW. What will it be like, where do I go, what can’t I miss? It can be overwhelming. For me, and for many others, the most successful approach is to...
Retail Relevancy: The Coming Small Business Retail Boom (Part 1)
There are two competing trends in the retail world that I believe are going to shape the future for both small businesses and big-name traditional retailers. The first is that it has become much easier to purchase your basic necessities from home. Large, traditional...
Award Winning Ads Often Miss the Mark
Ever watch one of those serious films that make you decode symbolism from one scene to the next in order to understand the deeper meaning of the story? The sort of film that gets better the more times you watch it, and better still if you read your favorite critic to...
How Simple Self-Awareness Affects Relationships
One of the secrets about just being nice is that it can be pretty easy when you make it a focus at the start of each day. There will always be people who test your limits, but you'll also get a ton of positive feedback from people who appreciate common courtesy. But...
How Small Business Retailers Can Thrive in the New #RetailRelevancy World
It's no secret that online retailers have had a major impact on the brick-and-mortar retail world, and this has mostly been bad news for the big, traditional retailers that do most of their business in-store. From a consumer standpoint, why go to the mall, a big-box...
Traditional Retail Isn’t Really Dead… It’s Evolving
Remember the first time that traditional retail stores were supposed to disappear due to competition from online outlets? Amazon introduced the Kindle, a bunch of bookstores eventually closed, and plenty of pundits envisioned the same thing happening in a host of...
Too Busy to Reply? Good Luck Maintaining Relationships!
How long does it take to acknowledge the existence of someone you know who has reached out to you directly with a question or comment? I get that people are busy, and that we all get plenty of spam online. I also get that high-level executives feel like their very...
Social and Communications Platforms are What You Make of Them
You will find no shortage of opinions when you visit your favorite social media platform, and you'll also find no shortage of opinions about social and communications platforms in general. There is no arguing with the fact that at the most basic level, social and...
No One is Perfect: Why Successful Relationships Depend on Being Human
Maintaining relationships can be hard work, and we all have our little pet excuses that pop up when we may not be in the mood to put in the effort on a given day. The easiest excuse? I need to do this just right to accomplish my goal, otherwise it won't be worth the...
Employee Empowerment 2018
It’s plain and simple—employee censorship on social channels is a disaster for brands. We can no longer control the message folks. The social framework is “bigger and stronger” than our puny frameworks. Instead of fighting it every step of the way, USE it to your...
Just Be You: Why Authentic Beats Artificial, Every Time
It’s that time of year for plenty of posts on how to “transform” yourself for the new year, and setting goals to better yourself is certainly a worthy pursuit no matter when you do it. But I can't help thinking that sometimes, we get so caught up in trying to live up...
Authenticity Matters: Why Real Honesty and Genuine Opinions Make for Better Content
You want a recipe for boring, cookie-cutter content? Probably not, but I'm going to give you one anyway. Start out by considering your own opinion, and then forget all about it. Instead, work on producing what you think other people want to see, and saying what they...
Money and Children
What is the most important money habit you learned as a child? The most important money lesson I learned as a child was to save. I can remembering opening my first bank account with four quarters, an my Mom and Dad being sure to encourage me to add to it every week....
Photofy: Unlocking Brand Content at Scale with UGC… Content IS the Ad
Social is moving to a prove it or lose it stage… so start thinking how "Content is the Ad." The importance of content in your SEO and middle funnel strategy will be critical. Social media platforms are essentially huge AI systems designed to keep users “tuned in” by...
Influencer Marketing 2018: The Rise of the Personal Influencer
Guest post by John Andrews My business partner Ted Rubin deftly points out in his book The Age of Influence that “everyone influences someone”. I’ve heard him say this at countless speeches and presentations around the world to leaders of marketing and retail and I...
Get to Know Your Prospective Partners, Colleagues, and Customers
Use the tools available to get to know your prospective partners, colleagues, and customers. Let me tell you a story. I’m an older guy... 59 years old (turning 60 this month... OMG). I graduated college in 1980, and I was taught by my parents to look people in the eye...
Employee "Impact and Effectiveness"
The most important thing a manager can do to grow her team's "impact and effectiveness" is to strongly encourage them to be change agents. To step up, be the one who's brain actually storms in a Brainstorming Session, and be Fearless (FEAR LESS). Empower your...
User-Generated Content: Building Connection, Context and Relationships with Customers Who Share
When you're trying to learn the real story about a product or service as a consumer, do you turn to the people who market that product or the people who actually use it? Do you build a connection with a brand because of the way that a product is pitched to you, or...
Remote Employees Need Opportunities for Mentorship and Collaboration
For many younger employees who have entered the job market in the last decade, working remotely is simply a way of life. The technology is there to make it happen relatively seamlessly. The flexibility of working remotely is great, and it removes some of the common...
How Ted Rubin is "Managing Happiness" ~via @DavidHenzel
Ted Rubin is a successful marketer, entrepreneur and a master of making personal connections. He is the co-author of Return on Relationship and How to Look People in the Eye Digitally. Ted is a co-founder of Prevailing Path and a MC/Host of Brand Innovators Summit. He...
Can’t Fit in Fitness When You’re 40+? 50+? Ted Rubin Calls BS ~via @FitFluential
Ted Rubin is a popular social marketing strategist, keynote speaker, and the starter of the term Return On Relationship, a concept that he strongly believes serves as the cornerstone for creating an engaged member database and community comprised of millions of...
Amazon Goes Brick and Mortar to Connect…
by Ted RubinRubin and John Andrews Andrews Amazon goes Brick and Mortar to connect... it’s own bookstores, Kohl’s integration, Whole Foods, Pickup centers - they are creating a high consumer touch. AND realize a vast majority of retail sales (especially holiday...
Make this Thanksgiving the Start of… "OK, I will do it"
The time is now. Not next year, or six months from now, or at the conclusion of a five-year plan. Success won’t come with the next marketing conference, the new social channel around the corner, the next piece of “game-changing” tech that’s just waiting to be...
Facebook Is Not A Digital Strategy… and Snapchat Better Grow up Fast
by John Andrews and Ted Rubin Ad giant WPP recently reduced its full-year earnings for the second time this year with CEO Sir Martin Sorrell citing a myriad of challenges... from consumer goods company spending cutbacks, to Trumponomics (disappointed by this reference...
Small Business… Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn
As small business owners, we sometimes tread a very thin line between what we consider success and failure. Margins are small, money is tight, risk is high, and some days it seems that everything we try is a bust. If that sounds like you, I’m here to tell you, “Don’t...
Why Employee Disengagement Correlates with Poor Customer Experience
Have you ever had a job that you simply couldn't stand, due to a poor relationship between the decision-makers and the employees responsible for carrying out those decisions? It feels like no matter how strong an effort you make or how much you like serving the...
The Biggest Mistake Brands Make When Trying to Engage Influencers
The biggest mistake brands make when trying to engage influencers is not first trying to understand who they are and what they stand for. They think it is all about the money, and simply the number and reach. I write a lot about Looking People in the Eye Digitally......
Relationships Are Like Muscle Tissue…
Relationships are like muscle tissue… the more they’re engaged, the stronger and more valuable they become. In today’s digital world it’s all too easy for us as brands and individuals to let our relationship-building muscles atrophy. We get caught up in a multitasking...