January 22, 2017

Fun is a cinch with a chinch

Hamsters, mice and guinea pigs may rule the small animal roost in American homes. But the chinchilla is another soft and cuddly critter that should be considered. They enjoy a longer lifespan (up to 15 years) than many other pet rodent breeds, their fur is among the softest and most pettable and their bushy tails and jumbo ears give them a distinctive adorability. They’re also fairly low maintenance compared to a lot of other pets.

Read more about chinchillas, and how pet stores should feature them, by reading my latest small animal column for Pet Age, available here.

January 8, 2017

Farewell, free social marketing

The free lunch is over, social media marketers: prepare to pony up and devote even more of your budget to paid promotion on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and their ilk. That’s the conclusion reached after digesting the findings of a recent report by Gartner, entitled “Digital Channel Survey 2016: Social Marketers Expand Tactics for Results.” According to the report, four out of five industry professionals who spearhead social media marketing programs indicated they would place paid advertising programs via social media over the next 12 months—with 42 percent this group embarking on paid social marketing endeavors for the first time and 38 percent already having paid programs intact.

Learn more about why and how social media marketers need to switch gears and shift into paid social strategies by reading my latest article for EContent Magazine, found here.