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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

Social: Lindsay Owen on branding boutiques

Lindsay Owen (of @marialuisanyack, @theeditorshops & @luluinlohud) discusses content strategy and what makes a good Instagram post.

Lindsay Owen just has a knack for Instagram. She currently directs social strategy for both of the small Hudson Rivertown shops she works at - Maria Luisa in Nyack (@marialuisanyack), and The Editor in Piermont (@theeditorshops) - as well as maintaining her own Instagram account, Lulu in Lohud. One might think that two small, local boutiques in neighboring towns might have pretty similar social media presences, but Lindsay talks about how she's been clear to differentiate the two with her content strategy. We also discussed what makes a good Instagram post, including visual composition (don't be too perfect!) and strategic hashtagging.

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

#INBOUND17: Michelle Obama keynote

Former first lady Michelle Obama gave a candid talk on self-identity in a much-anticipated keynote address at #INBOUND17.

I almost felt bad for all the other speakers at #INBOUND17; everyone was so psyched for Wednesday morning's Michelle Obama keynote!

As we've already established, I'm a pretty prolific tweeter at these events. But two of my tweets in particular were going crazy viral (and not even two of my best):

It took me a while to figure out that it was because they'd been included in the official Twitter Moment of the talk!

The reach and engagement were totally worth the abuse of the trolls who hopped on to state how sexist they felt the quote was (and they've all gone away now anyway). ;)

So. What does Michelle Obama have to do with inbound marketing? Her talk actually did speak to a major theme of this year's conference: identity. Knowing yourself, being strong in your self, and letting that guide everything you do. I also really liked that, after 8 years of having to respond to all sorts of ridiculousness in a subdued manner, she was finally free to comment with - not pettiness - candor. She maintained her grace while also sneaking some serious side-eye towards the abuse her husband suffered and the current political situation (some of which got her into hot water in the media). I loved every moment and am grateful to have smart, strong voices like hers in our current discourse.

Oh, and Roxane Gay did ask the Beyonce question. Scroll down for Michelle's response...

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

#INBOUND17: Roxane Gay at The INBOUND Studio

Author Roxane Gay in an intimate The INBOUND Studio livestreamed interview talks about her writing process, fiction vs. nonfiction, and what she plans to discuss with Michelle Obama the next morning on the #INBOUND17 stage.

Huuuuuuuge Roxane Gay fangirl over here. As stated in my Jen Rubio post, my conference badge did not get me into The INBOUND Studio sessions. I got access to Jen's by being an early retweeter; I got access to Roxane's by waiting outside the door and begging. It worked, and for fifteen glorious minutes, I was fifteen feet away from greatness. 

I was glad they discussed her actual work, and not just her upcoming interview with Michelle Obama, which was slated for the very next morning. That being said, those of us who watched this interview spent the entire morning waiting with bated breath to discover MO's favorite song from "Lemonade" (if you missed my tweets, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow's blog post!).

Aaaaand now I have an autographed copy of "Hunger." And a pic with her. I can die happy.

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midweekminute Christine Gritmon Inc. midweekminute Christine Gritmon Inc.

#MidweekMinute 10/4/17

#MidweekMinute (and a half; whoops!): Facebook facial recognition, Russian ads, and a "lite" version of Messenger; Snapchat artist collab; swipe right on Bizz; LinkedIn geofilters

Facebook gets creepy with facial recognition - especially worrisome given the whole Russian ads debacle, which just brought them in front of Congress. They're also expanding their data-saving Messenger Lite to the US. Snapchat will now enable you to place a Jeff Koons sculpture wherever you go. Dating app Bumble introduces Bumble Bizz, where you can swipe right on prospective professional contacts. LinkedIn announces geofilters for conferences and events, which I cannot freaking wait to try.

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

#INBOUND17: Dharmesh Shah

HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah brings us back to the customer-focused principles of inbound marketing, then announces how HubSpot's products are moving forward with that knowledge.

HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah used his half of the founders keynote to delve into his take on some of the same topics as Brian Halligan, especially that of culture, as it was a running theme throughout this year's conference. He also got us back to the customer-centric mindset we need to embrace when creating inbound marketing, the urgency of creating value in all things (never creating just to put something out there), and demonstrated some of HubSpot's plans to deliver on these values, including a stepped-up CRM for sales professionals and HubSpot's recent acquisition of an AI company (per Dharmesh himself, he likes chat bots and he cannot lie).

(And yes, I recycled the picture from Brian's keynote; I didn't get any good shots in the back half!)

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

#INBOUND17: Brian Halligan

HubSpot co-founder Brian Halligan talks about the key differences between startup and scale-up mode and the importance of culture in his keynote at #INBOUND17.

Of course I was excited to see HubSpot founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah speak at #INBOUND17. Last year's talk was inspiring and informative. This year, they decided to split their keynote, each focusing on their strengths (but with enough thematic overlaps and joint references that they still felt like related talks). I was also glad to see the return of the Brian & Dharmesh puppets on-screen. :)

As I said in a previous blog post: I hadn't originally planned to grow my company, but now that is absolutely part of my plan. I don't ever plan to become big like HubSpot, but I was still thrilled to hear lessons on startup mentality vs. scale-up mentality, and the important things to absorb or remove from each. His journey from starting HubSpot, through its exponential growth, and general commentaries on companies and marketing in general was engaging and on-point.

My favorite quote wasn't able to fit fully into a tweet, but I've found it:

"Netflix didn't disrupt Blockbuster; their late fees did that. Apple didn't disrupt the music industry; buying the whole album did. Then Uber, they didn't disrupt the taxi industry; waiting outside in the rain did."

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

#INBOUND17: Adam Grant

Adam Grant of the Wharton School of Business discusses creating space for new ideas at #INBOUND17.

Organizational psychologist and Wharton professor Adam Grant knows a thing or two about the many roadblocks to original, creative thoughts that tend to lurk within established organizations. He's aiming to change that culture, helping mavericks and organizations work together to create and innovate without falling back on the tried-and-true.

How can original thinkers present their new ideas in a way that resonates with decision-makers and convinces them to cast their doubts aside? How can managers encourage their teams to think creatively, without squashing ideas that are untested? Adam's literally an expert on all of this; he broke things down to their most basic levels, and demystified the ways in which we can all - bold thinkers and brand stalwarts alike - move forward with excitement.

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

#INBOUND17: Jen Rubio

Away founder Jen Rubio talks about creating a culture, not just a product, at #INBOUND17.

The INBOUND Studio is an intimate setting for live-streamed interviews with speakers at #INBOUND17. My ticket level didn't allow access to those sessions, but I had the good fortune of attending a few anyway, due to a combination of tenacity and tweeting.

I admit that I didn't know much about Warby Parker alum Jen Rubio and her startup, Away - I'm not a huge traveler, though I had seen her awesome suitcases (with embedded chargers!) advertised on social media. I loved hearing what she had to say about creating Away as an overall travel brand, beyond just selling suitcases. She and her team truly love travel, and want to contribute in a meaningful way to that culture and dialogue. 

Best quote:
"If you're not emotionally connecting, you're not building a brand, you're just selling a product"

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

#INBOUND17: Piera Gelardi

Refinery29 founder Piera Gelardi talks about creating the conditions for creativity at #INBOUND17.

I love Refinery29. So I was super excited when their founder, Piera Gelardi - who is my age! - opened up the first full day of INBOUND17. The fierce red suit & matching lipstick only added to my feelings of connection with this brunette badass.

I never planned to grow my company. Silly, right? But I didn't. And now I do. So any lessons on leadership and growth at this conference were lapped up eagerly. Piera's office sounds unbelievably fun: she encourages them to think more creatively, gives them the pressure-free space to do so, and even fuels brainstorming sessions with candy and rose. But she's also running a company, so maintaining the feeling of that creative space has had to become a deliberate priority in the hustle and bustle of everyday business. Hearing her ideas - and the recurring theme of the conference talks, which all dealt with identity and connection - was refreshing and inspiring.

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

#INBOUND17: Brene Brown

Author Brene Brown talks about belonging & connection at #INBOUND17.

I live-tweet things at conferences; it's what I do. It's how I take notes. It's how I share the experience with those unable to attend. It's how I get noticed by fellow conference-goers (and, ideally, the organizers; bring me in as a speaker for #INBOUND18, HubSpot!). And it's how I'm able to digest the experience after the fact, when I'm able to focus again on the words and main points.

Everyone I know has been reading Brene Brown's latest book, Braving the Wilderness (as my cover image shows, I will soon be joining them, with my very own signed copy!). I had seen them posting quotes and snapshots of pages that held special resonance from them. And, early on in Brene's presentation, some of her words sounded awfully familiar. Were we just hearing a re-hash of her book? And what does any of this have to do with marketing? The answers became clear: no, she wasn't just re-hashing her book, or if she was, she was doing it in a sufficiently engaging manner to make me feel like she was truly WITH us (and made me want to read the book, of course). As for what it has to do with marketing: the theme that seemed to emerge throughout EVERY talk at this year's conference was that of connection. And Brene's book is about belonging. Makes perfect sense. And yes, her words will be affecting the way I approach my work, as well as the way I move through the world.

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social Christine Gritmon Inc. social Christine Gritmon Inc.

Social: who are you?

Jessie-Lee Nichols of Impact and I discussed our favorite speakers from #INBOUND17 (a list which includes Michelle Obama, Rand Fishkin, Piera Gelardi, & Brene Brown) and how their recurring messages of culture and identity spoke to each of us.

Those of you who follow me on social media know I spent this past week at #INBOUND17, soaking up insights from HubSpot's assembled team of experts from both within & outside of the marketing realm.

You likely also know that I tend to live-tweet the hell out of these things - which is how I met Jessie-Lee Nichols of Impact, whose thumb is apparently even more limber than my own. We discussed our favorite speakers (a list which includes Michelle Obama, Rand Fishkin, Piera Gelardi, & Brene Brown) and how their recurring messages of culture and identity spoke to each of us.

I'll be putting my own tweets from the conference into Storify threads, which will, in turn, be presented in a series of blog posts next week - keep your eye out for them!

I'd also be remiss if I didn't remind you all to register for Strike Up The BRAND - my eCourse on finding your personal brand, then rocking it out - ASAP! Course begins October 2. #tootyourhorn

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midweekminute Christine Gritmon Inc. midweekminute Christine Gritmon Inc.

MidweekMinute: now expanding to 2:80 (just kidding)

Twitter doubles character limit from 140 to 280; Target teams up with Pinterest for visual search; Instagram enhances its privacy settings to limit who can comment on your posts; Microsoft Office 365 incorporates LinkedIn profiles into its products.

After a bit of a break, I'm back to a weekly #MidweekMinute! Did you miss me? This week's is coming at you LIVE from the #INBOUND17 conference in Boston! (To catch up with my conference learnings, check out my Twitter feed or stay tuned next week for blog posts of my Storify threads).

This week's top stories that fit into a minute:

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social Christine Gritmon Inc. social Christine Gritmon Inc.

Social: smartify your hustle

The magnetic Ramon Ray of Smart Hustle Magazine and I talked about how an entrepreneur can build their small business. My 3 biggest takeaways: 1. Know what game you're playing; 2. Hustle, grind, passion, persistence; 3. Always be open to learning.

When Ramon Ray steps into a room, you know it.

The multi-entrepreneur and founder of Smart Hustle Magazine has a palpable energy, one which has propelled him to start - and grow - several businesses, write books, and become an in-demand speaker - he's even spoken at the White House!

Ramon and I talked a lot about how an entrepreneur can build their small business, but three key pieces of advice really stood out:

1. Know what game you're playing;

2. Hustle, grind, passion, persistence;

3. Always be open to learning.

Check out the rest below. And if you go to his Smart Hustle Small Business Conference, let me know so we can meet up!

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social Christine Gritmon Inc. social Christine Gritmon Inc.

Social: getting creepy with Audience Targeting

Audience targeting ninja Will Tygart of Tygart Media tells us how and why.

Is it a coincidence that "Tygart" sounds like "target"? I'd rather call it fate.

I first discovered Will Tygart of Tygart Media when I fell into one of his successful ad targeting audiences on Facebook; he had targeted attendees of a conference I was at. In the time since, I've admired his constant explorations of audience targeting and Facebook advertising, and am grateful that he took some time today to tell us how it's done.

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

Getting More Bang for your Buck with Facebook Ads

Video of my presentation at the Nonprofit Learning Lab's Philadelphia Institute, "Getting More Bang for your Buck with Facebook Advertising."

I presented at the Nonprofit Learning Lab's Philadelphia Institute this past week, where I also attended some fantastic sessions (I'll do some blog posts of my live-tweets from those next week, and will update this post with the links!). I really got a lot out of the experience and look forward to attending future NLL events!

Below is the video (simulcast on Facebook Live) of my presentation, "Getting More Bang for your Buck with Facebook Advertising."

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

Social: Go update your LinkedIn!

LinkedIn used to be a static place to park your online resume. In recent years, however, LinkedIn has really upped its game, becoming an active and vibrant place to nuture community, establish thought leadership, and to find and be found. Established LinkedIn expert Karen Yankovich offers best practices for harnessing the power of this professional tool.

For years, LinkedIn was basically a static place to park your online resume and stay in tentative touch with former colleagues and others in your "network"; updates only really happened when you were applying for jobs or got a new one.

In recent years, however, LinkedIn has really upped its game, becoming an active and vibrant place to nuture community, establish thought leadership, and to find and be found. Social media strategist Karen Yankovich recognized the power of this revamped platform early on, and has emerged as an established LinkedIn expert. (Clients: if I've helped you strengthen your LinkedIn, it's because Karen taught me how!) 

In this week's Social, Karen discusses, among other things:

- If you should bother having a Company Page (yes!) and why;

- What parts of your profile matter most;

- What you should and shouldn't do in order to be sure your profile stands out

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social Christine Gritmon Inc. social Christine Gritmon Inc.

Social: a live video about live video!

I actually met Robert C. Stern (aka The Social Leader) on a livestream - his, where we (along with mutual friend Karen Yankovich) were promoting MRCC Social Media Day, at which we were all going to be presenting. His presentation at the actual event was about 22 ideas for how to use video, a presentation spun off from a popular blog post of his. So who better to come on and talk live video ideas?

I actually met Robert C. Stern (aka The Social Leader) on a livestream - his, where we (along with mutual friend Karen Yankovich) were promoting MRCC Social Media Day, at which we were all going to be presenting. His presentation at the actual event was about 22 ideas for how to use video, a presentation spun off from a popular blog post of his. So who better to come on and talk live video ideas?

Top tips from our chat today:
- Don't be afraid! The camera is not your enemy.
- Be yourself! Connect with people the same way you would in real life.
- What to talk about? Anything! Business. Your life. Your community. Your charity work. Whatever you know how to talk about.

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Christine Gritmon Inc. Christine Gritmon Inc.

Social: special Berkshires edition

Talking small, local business with a small, local business here in the Berkshires - SoCo Creamery!

My annual Berkshires family vacation cannot stop #cgsocial!

I took a break from my self-imposed social media embargo for a special on-location livestream from SoCo Creamery in Great Barrington, MA. I've loved SoCo since they were serving up scoops in Lenox, MA (home of Tanglewood), though they've since moved their headquarters to nearby Great Barrington. Chief Digital Officer Amanda Canale discussed how she keeps SoCo's social media feeds fun, local, and serendipitous. (And I enjoyed a cup of this summer's special Blueberry Honey Lavender flavor!)

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social Christine Gritmon Inc. social Christine Gritmon Inc.

Social: iSocialFanz on getting the most out of conferences & events

Brian "iSocialFanz" Fanzo discusses how to get the most out of conferences and appearances.

Professional conferences can be a great opportunity to meet people in your industry who you admire - especially if, like me, your profession is also something you personally geek out over. One of the many fantastic social media leaders I met at Social Media Marketing World is Brian "iSocialFanz" Fanzo. Brian's expertise ranges from tech to livestreaming to public speaking and all sorts of topics in between, but today we spoke about something highly relevant as we head into fall conference season: how to get the most out of those experiences.

Some of Brian's best tips include:

  • Start following (and participating in) the conference hashtag long before the conference; become an integral part of that conversation before the event even starts
  • When interacting with the bigwigs you're excited to see (either before or after), don't just put out a generic, "Excited to hear your talk!" - share their work, offer value to them, and have something to actually say to them with some meaning and context
  • One great way to get on conference organizers' radars (and good sides!) is to give their sponsors some love!

These, and way more fantastic tips, are all in our conversation below. Thanks again, Brian - see you at #SMMW18!

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midweekminute Christine Gritmon Inc. midweekminute Christine Gritmon Inc.

#MidweekMinute: New YouTube & LinkedIn developments; new follows on FB & Insta

New YouTube & LinkedIn developments; new follows on FB & Insta

YouTube introduces video sharing & messaging for app, and new ad formats for TV. LinkedIn continues to aggressively develop its capacity as a business tool, providing services beyond interpersonal connections. Facebook hasn't let you go live via Camera for some reason, but it will now... oh, and Donald Trump is also releasing his "Real News" show on that platform, too (I've got your FB news right here...). Finally, Apple is finally using Instagram to showcase photos taken on iPhones (which sounds an awful lot like my account, but I digress).

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