Corey Smith's Random Thoughts

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I try to write about three times per week. Most of it is pretty good and will probably help you grow your business. If it doesn't, then I probably can't help you.

You can use a traditional RSS Feedreader with this fancy-dancy link. I think this approach is harder but if you want to do it the hard way, who am I to say otherwise?

You can use a traditional RSS Feedreader with this fancy-dancy link. I think this approach is harder but if you want to do it the hard way, who am I to say otherwise?

You remember the kid in school who didn't smell so good and was never clued in. Perhaps you remember the kid who was a little too loud and didn't seem to care that everyone thought he was a little obnoxious. Perhaps you were that kid.

You also remember the kids in school that seemed to know how to act to stay popular. In fact, they seemed to understand the game so well that they couldn't do anything that would make them diminish in the eyes of everyone else.

There is something about being self-aware... knowing your limits and knowing when to push them.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, August 12, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Social Media, Business, Monday Marketing
Monday Marketing - Social Self-Awareness

You remember the kid in school who didn't smell so good and was never clued in. Perhaps you remember the kid who was a little too loud and didn't seem to care that everyone thought he was a little obnoxious. Perhaps you were that kid.

You also remember the kids in school that seemed to know how to act to stay popular. In fact, they seemed to understand the game so well that they couldn't do anything that would make them diminish in the eyes of everyone else.

There is something about being self-aware... knowing your limits and knowing when to push them.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, August 12, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Social Media, Business, Monday Marketing

What's the difference between a $10 haircut and a $100 haircut? For $10, you get to tell the barber what you want. For $100, the barber tells you what you want.

The same is true in any profession that relies heavily on an artistic eye. Whenever there is a subjective component to the fulfillment of a product a decision has to be made as to who gets to make the choices for what is right.

Often times, the challenge is knowing when your clients are telling you exactly what they want or when they are telling you what they think they want. Your biggest challenge then becomes to interpret it accordingly.

Posted in my business blog on Friday, August 9, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Customer Experience
Your Customer Isn't Always Right

What's the difference between a $10 haircut and a $100 haircut? For $10, you get to tell the barber what you want. For $100, the barber tells you what you want.

The same is true in any profession that relies heavily on an artistic eye. Whenever there is a subjective component to the fulfillment of a product a decision has to be made as to who gets to make the choices for what is right.

Often times, the challenge is knowing when your clients are telling you exactly what they want or when they are telling you what they think they want. Your biggest challenge then becomes to interpret it accordingly.

Posted in my business blog on Friday, August 9, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Customer Experience

I was very excited to receive a message from my website contact form today that told me I was doing everything wrong. You can imagine how worried I've been and how nice it was to get a random email from someone I've never met before telling me that I could be doing so much better.

I was told three distinct things. The first was that I am not getting the traffic I should because I'm not found in the search engines for the terms I should be. The second is that my company is not doing well in most social media websites. And, third, my website is not user friendly on mobile devices.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Wednesday, August 7, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Scam, Web Marketing
Don't Get Scammed On Your Own Website

I was very excited to receive a message from my website contact form today that told me I was doing everything wrong. You can imagine how worried I've been and how nice it was to get a random email from someone I've never met before telling me that I could be doing so much better.

I was told three distinct things. The first was that I am not getting the traffic I should because I'm not found in the search engines for the terms I should be. The second is that my company is not doing well in most social media websites. And, third, my website is not user friendly on mobile devices.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Wednesday, August 7, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Scam, Web Marketing

In 2003, Delicious (then called del.icio.us) was founded and coined the term social bookmarking. Even though the concept had been around for some time, Delicious pioneered the concept of tagging the links allowing for easy categorization of your bookmarks.

If you aren't familiar with the idea of social bookmarking you might be familiar with some of the websites that provide this service.

Today, arguably the most popular social bookmarking site is Pinterest. But, historically, depending on the audience, others that have been (and continue to be) popular include StumbleUpon, Digg and Reddit.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, August 5, 2013 at about 8am.

In 2003, Delicious (then called del.icio.us) was founded and coined the term social bookmarking. Even though the concept had been around for some time, Delicious pioneered the concept of tagging the links allowing for easy categorization of your bookmarks.

If you aren't familiar with the idea of social bookmarking you might be familiar with some of the websites that provide this service.

Today, arguably the most popular social bookmarking site is Pinterest. But, historically, depending on the audience, others that have been (and continue to be) popular include StumbleUpon, Digg and Reddit.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, August 5, 2013 at about 8am.

Years ago, I travelled quite a bit for work. I would find myself in cities large and small and, because it was someone else's money, I would stay at nicer hotels than I do now that I have to pay for it myself.

Another indulgence when travelling was that I would get an ice cream sundae every night. Sure, it wasn't good for my figure, but I sure like ice cream.

One time I was at a show at the Moscone Center and staying at the San Francisco Hilton. On my way back to the hotel, I figured I'd stop at the diner in the hotel and take a sundae back to my room.

Posted in my business blog on Friday, August 2, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Job, Work
do it.

Years ago, I travelled quite a bit for work. I would find myself in cities large and small and, because it was someone else's money, I would stay at nicer hotels than I do now that I have to pay for it myself.

Another indulgence when travelling was that I would get an ice cream sundae every night. Sure, it wasn't good for my figure, but I sure like ice cream.

One time I was at a show at the Moscone Center and staying at the San Francisco Hilton. On my way back to the hotel, I figured I'd stop at the diner in the hotel and take a sundae back to my room.

Posted in my business blog on Friday, August 2, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Job, Work

Years ago, I worked for Canon USA. Their slogan at the time was Know How. My Dad joked that I should get a shirt that said Canon, Know It All and see if anyone noticed.

About this same time, I was speaking with a business owner who claimed he knew everything about human resource compliance and risk management as a result of working for a certain big box retailer for five years.

Of course, when I hear someone that says they know everything they need to know, I immediately start asking questions. I am amazed that someone could know everything about a subject with no need to learn more. I figure, if they know everything there is to know then I better take heed.

Posted in my business blog on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Know-It-All
You aren't as smart as you think

Years ago, I worked for Canon USA. Their slogan at the time was Know How. My Dad joked that I should get a shirt that said Canon, Know It All and see if anyone noticed.

About this same time, I was speaking with a business owner who claimed he knew everything about human resource compliance and risk management as a result of working for a certain big box retailer for five years.

Of course, when I hear someone that says they know everything they need to know, I immediately start asking questions. I am amazed that someone could know everything about a subject with no need to learn more. I figure, if they know everything there is to know then I better take heed.

Posted in my business blog on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Know-It-All

Since nearly the start of the internet, search engines have allowed searchers the ability to find cool (and not-so cool) stuff on the internet. Yahoo! was the first search engine and the search index for Yahoo! was manually created. Google provided the first automatic way to create their search index using every student dreads - math.

Because of the automated approach to creating the search index, the world of search engine optimization was born. The search engines have engineered the search results to yield the most relevant results that best benefit the user.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 29, 2013 at about 8am.
Monday Marketing - Page Titles

Since nearly the start of the internet, search engines have allowed searchers the ability to find cool (and not-so cool) stuff on the internet. Yahoo! was the first search engine and the search index for Yahoo! was manually created. Google provided the first automatic way to create their search index using every student dreads - math.

Because of the automated approach to creating the search index, the world of search engine optimization was born. The search engines have engineered the search results to yield the most relevant results that best benefit the user.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 29, 2013 at about 8am.

I can always tell when a company decides to start a new email marketing campaign. They've heard the ads for Constant Contact or iContact that tout the benefits of email marketing and figure they want to try it out. They just know that if they can start email marketing, they can make so much money they'll be able to swim in their piles.

So, they get all the email addresses from their email program, from their Facebook profile page (that was likely set up wrong) and their LinkedIn account. They'll name the list, "LinkedIn List" or something else that demonstrates they are learning.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Friday, July 26, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Email Marketing, Email, Spam

I can always tell when a company decides to start a new email marketing campaign. They've heard the ads for Constant Contact or iContact that tout the benefits of email marketing and figure they want to try it out. They just know that if they can start email marketing, they can make so much money they'll be able to swim in their piles.

So, they get all the email addresses from their email program, from their Facebook profile page (that was likely set up wrong) and their LinkedIn account. They'll name the list, "LinkedIn List" or something else that demonstrates they are learning.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Friday, July 26, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Email Marketing, Email, Spam

I've been building websites professionally for about six years. Before that, I spent plenty of time in design, marketing and business.

Over my career in the last 18 years, I've been very careful to make sure that I focus on being the best I can. I've always wanted to understand the nuance of everything. When I was a color systems specialist, I learned everything I could about color. When I studied a foreign language, I memorized grammar books and now that my company builds websites, I focus on understanding what it takes to build great websites.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Web Design, website
Your Web Guy Might Suck...

I've been building websites professionally for about six years. Before that, I spent plenty of time in design, marketing and business.

Over my career in the last 18 years, I've been very careful to make sure that I focus on being the best I can. I've always wanted to understand the nuance of everything. When I was a color systems specialist, I learned everything I could about color. When I studied a foreign language, I memorized grammar books and now that my company builds websites, I focus on understanding what it takes to build great websites.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Web Design, website

When was the last time you posted on your social media channels? I'm not talking about when you posted a picture on your personal Facebook page. I'm talking about on your company's social locations.

Too often, a business leader gets the idea that it will be important to start doing social media. They'll get the secretary to create the pages for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and perhaps a few others (Pinterest, YouTUBE, etc). They'll get the web guy to put the links on the website. They'll even take some time to post for the first week or two.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 22, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Social Media, Twitter, Facebook, Monday Marketing
Jim Carey

When was the last time you posted on your social media channels? I'm not talking about when you posted a picture on your personal Facebook page. I'm talking about on your company's social locations.

Too often, a business leader gets the idea that it will be important to start doing social media. They'll get the secretary to create the pages for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and perhaps a few others (Pinterest, YouTUBE, etc). They'll get the web guy to put the links on the website. They'll even take some time to post for the first week or two.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 22, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Social Media, Twitter, Facebook, Monday Marketing

When I was a sales manager, I would often have sales reps that lost a deal comment that the reason they lost was because we were just too expensive. It took me some time to help them learn that I would never accept that as an answer.

It's a lazy salesperson that says his or her client made a decision based solely on price.

The fact is nobody buys on price alone. Nobody. Period.

I know, you might ask, "What about the people who buy from Costco?" Or, you may ask, "What about all the people buying double-wide?" or "What about those that choose to buy a Scion instead of a Honda?"

Posted in my business blog on Friday, July 19, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Price, Sales
Give Me All Your Hunnerds

When I was a sales manager, I would often have sales reps that lost a deal comment that the reason they lost was because we were just too expensive. It took me some time to help them learn that I would never accept that as an answer.

It's a lazy salesperson that says his or her client made a decision based solely on price.

The fact is nobody buys on price alone. Nobody. Period.

I know, you might ask, "What about the people who buy from Costco?" Or, you may ask, "What about all the people buying double-wide?" or "What about those that choose to buy a Scion instead of a Honda?"

Posted in my business blog on Friday, July 19, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Price, Sales

Minimum wage laws have been around for a very long time to help the disadvantaged make a better living for themselves. Or, so we are told. The first Federal Minimum Wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act was a whopping $.25 and enacted on October 24, 1938. (source)

Before I started working at age 15, I thought that the idea of a minimum wage was a great thing. It meant, to my way of thinking at the time, that my minimum worth was set for me and I didn't have to worry about it.

Posted in my business blog on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Minimum Wage, Work
Great Depression Apple Cart Worker

Minimum wage laws have been around for a very long time to help the disadvantaged make a better living for themselves. Or, so we are told. The first Federal Minimum Wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act was a whopping $.25 and enacted on October 24, 1938. (source)

Before I started working at age 15, I thought that the idea of a minimum wage was a great thing. It meant, to my way of thinking at the time, that my minimum worth was set for me and I didn't have to worry about it.

Posted in my business blog on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Minimum Wage, Work

Perhaps you are new to Twitter or you've started seeing these strange #tags on your Facebook profile since Facebook finally started using them. Maybe you've never heard of hashtags or perhaps you are just confused about how to use them correctly.

Here is a quick background on hashtags and their purpose.

The # (pound) symbol, called a hashtag in social media, is traditionally used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet. Twitter users created it as a way to call special attention to certain keywords in their tweets.

Now, Facebook is also using the hashtag.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 15, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Hashtag, Twitter, Facebook, Monday Marketing
Jerry Seinfeld Hashtags

Perhaps you are new to Twitter or you've started seeing these strange #tags on your Facebook profile since Facebook finally started using them. Maybe you've never heard of hashtags or perhaps you are just confused about how to use them correctly.

Here is a quick background on hashtags and their purpose.

The # (pound) symbol, called a hashtag in social media, is traditionally used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet. Twitter users created it as a way to call special attention to certain keywords in their tweets.

Now, Facebook is also using the hashtag.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 15, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Hashtag, Twitter, Facebook, Monday Marketing

A few months ago, I wrote a post titled, "You Can't Automate Social." Even though people do it all the time, they shouldn't. But, I know why people try.

Social media is hard.

Don't get me wrong, posting to one platform like your own Facebook account is easy. You simply say the first thing that comes to your mind (which you hopefully won't regret later).

Social media for business is very different than social media for personal. You have to step outside of your personal way of thinking and now think about your business and communicate that to very different audiences.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Friday, July 12, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media
Know Your Audiences

A few months ago, I wrote a post titled, "You Can't Automate Social." Even though people do it all the time, they shouldn't. But, I know why people try.

Social media is hard.

Don't get me wrong, posting to one platform like your own Facebook account is easy. You simply say the first thing that comes to your mind (which you hopefully won't regret later).

Social media for business is very different than social media for personal. You have to step outside of your personal way of thinking and now think about your business and communicate that to very different audiences.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Friday, July 12, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media

I don't think a day goes by that I'm not asked to figure out how to accomplish something that I've never had experience in before. It could be something that others have done and I just have to learn. Sometimes it's even something that I don't think anyone has ever done before.

I love these challenges. I love the opportunity to stretch my brain. I love finding creative ways to solve problems. I especially love it when those problems are likely never going to be solved if I don't figure it out.

Posted in my business blog on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Impossible

I don't think a day goes by that I'm not asked to figure out how to accomplish something that I've never had experience in before. It could be something that others have done and I just have to learn. Sometimes it's even something that I don't think anyone has ever done before.

I love these challenges. I love the opportunity to stretch my brain. I love finding creative ways to solve problems. I especially love it when those problems are likely never going to be solved if I don't figure it out.

Posted in my business blog on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Impossible

Last year, I wrote "Tweet It Right: A CEO's Guide to Twitter" because I've had so many conversations with leaders in organizations that simply don't get the 'why' of Twitter.

Getting started on Twitter can feel like a daunting challenge. It can especially be a struggle if you haven't taken the time to become familiar with twitter.com. If you intend your brand to have a presence on Twitter, then you must take the necessary steps to complete your profile.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 8, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Monday Marketing, Twitter
Twitter Marketing

Last year, I wrote "Tweet It Right: A CEO's Guide to Twitter" because I've had so many conversations with leaders in organizations that simply don't get the 'why' of Twitter.

Getting started on Twitter can feel like a daunting challenge. It can especially be a struggle if you haven't taken the time to become familiar with twitter.com. If you intend your brand to have a presence on Twitter, then you must take the necessary steps to complete your profile.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 8, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Monday Marketing, Twitter

When I started Tribute Media nearly six years ago, I had to learn how to provide high quality websites to a variety of companies. I had taught graphic design for the web. I had plenty of print experience and had built a few websites for myself but I never had worked in or run a web development shop.

My first websites were mediocre at best. There are a few still in operation today so I guess they all weren't that bad. However, based on the standards I hold my employees to today, they are - how do you say it?

Not Good!

Posted in my web strategy blog on Friday, July 5, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Web Browser, Web Design
Web Browsers Are Not Created Equal

When I started Tribute Media nearly six years ago, I had to learn how to provide high quality websites to a variety of companies. I had taught graphic design for the web. I had plenty of print experience and had built a few websites for myself but I never had worked in or run a web development shop.

My first websites were mediocre at best. There are a few still in operation today so I guess they all weren't that bad. However, based on the standards I hold my employees to today, they are - how do you say it?

Not Good!

Posted in my web strategy blog on Friday, July 5, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Web Browser, Web Design

I've been very blessed in my life. I've never had to go to war. I've never had to fight for my food. In fact, I've never spent a day hungry unless it was because I chose not to eat.

I've never been without a roof over my head. I've never had to worry about bullies that I could't simply walk away from.

Often, I forget how blessed I am to live in such a wonderful land as the United States of America.

It seems, as I watch the news and hear accounts of so many that many others also seem to forget how blessed they are.

Posted in my personal blog on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: America, Freedom
America The Beautiful

I've been very blessed in my life. I've never had to go to war. I've never had to fight for my food. In fact, I've never spent a day hungry unless it was because I chose not to eat.

I've never been without a roof over my head. I've never had to worry about bullies that I could't simply walk away from.

Often, I forget how blessed I am to live in such a wonderful land as the United States of America.

It seems, as I watch the news and hear accounts of so many that many others also seem to forget how blessed they are.

Posted in my personal blog on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: America, Freedom

Cover photos are a relatively new addition to Facebook. Whether you are talking about your personal profile or your business page, your cover photo is an important indicator to your audience about who you are.

What does your cover photo tell about your company? Sometimes you might want to simply show off your location so people know what you look like when they come to your office. Sometimes you want to show off a bit of your personality. Hopefully you don't want to show off how much you want to sell by displaying product information or messages about how great you are.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 1, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Facebook, Monday Marketing
I love facebook

Cover photos are a relatively new addition to Facebook. Whether you are talking about your personal profile or your business page, your cover photo is an important indicator to your audience about who you are.

What does your cover photo tell about your company? Sometimes you might want to simply show off your location so people know what you look like when they come to your office. Sometimes you want to show off a bit of your personality. Hopefully you don't want to show off how much you want to sell by displaying product information or messages about how great you are.

Posted in my web strategy blog on Monday, July 1, 2013 at about 8am.
This posted is tagged: Facebook, Monday Marketing

Over the last six years, I've been building websites. Primarily, I've been building websites for other people.

In reality, I should be clear. Most of the websites Tribute Media has built have not been built by me. They have been built by my very talented staff.

When I set out to redesign this website with it's new design, I felt it was important that I build it myself. I had some very specific reasons why I needed to be the one to actually do the work.

Posted in my business blog on Friday, June 28, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Work, Leadership
work

Over the last six years, I've been building websites. Primarily, I've been building websites for other people.

In reality, I should be clear. Most of the websites Tribute Media has built have not been built by me. They have been built by my very talented staff.

When I set out to redesign this website with it's new design, I felt it was important that I build it myself. I had some very specific reasons why I needed to be the one to actually do the work.

Posted in my business blog on Friday, June 28, 2013 at about 7am.
This posted is tagged: Work, Leadership

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