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 because of the benefits that product provides when it is in your hands? Sometimes, the most important questions from prospective customers are best answered by other customers, and the longest-lasting relationships are seeded by personal experience. User-generated content is one of the most effective ways to tap into that consumer-to-consumer mindset, and earn some social proof in the process.

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 to say the least). Sorrell’s comments over the past couple years, and in the Cheddar interview here, highlight the challenges facing the ad industry and its clients as media consumption increasingly migrates to digital channels and on-demand consumption and the “me” media evolution. Sir Martin also points to the fact that Google, and now Facebook, have become the largest investment pools WPP is deploying for their clients. Maybe the problem lies in the fact that Facebook and Google are tactical vs. strategic decisions but are being treated as overarching, and all encompassing, approaches. Many media decisions currently being made in digital seem to be retreads of traditional media tactics where bigger is better… and interruption is still rules the day (a strategy fast facing extinction).

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.

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 customers despite the poor work environment, it’s hard to perform at your best with so much negativity in the air. As a business owner, apathetic, disengaged employees can spell real disaster for the quality of your customer service, and the data consistently show how disengagement correlates with poor customer service. This is an age-old problem that has always been a hurdle for business.

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… so for me the most important influencer marketing tool is building relationships.

Relationships are like muscle tissue… the more they’re engaged, the stronger and more valuable they become.

I have come to form an incredible distaste for the arrogance and hubris of so many executives. The courtesy of a reply to an outreach, from someone you know, is just not that difficult. Just a simple acknowledgement is not that hard and really should not be too much of a demand on your “incredibly valuable” time.

Business AI isn’t just coming, it’s here. Einstein AI is now integrated into Salesforce’s cloud-based CRM, IBM’s Watson has gone commercial, and we’re only scratching the surface of how artificial intelligence will impact the business world. Like any other advance, it will be a mixed bag. Our current generation of AI is already helping businesses solve problems, but like any new solution, AI generates as many questions as it does answers.

Chelsea Handler and Mary McCormack are angry about the state of the country, and they’re not alone. If you’re familiar with Ms. Handler’s work, you may be expecting a very boisterous, well-informed, and humorous monolog on the subject. You would be wrong in that assumption, but only about the boisterous part.