Instincts are a funny thing. They're not tangible, they're not measurable, and sometimes they're not even believable. And because of that, many people don't trust them. They don't follow them. They ignore them. They rely on their "intellect" and ignore the little voice in their head telling them what's right or what situation or person to avoid.

Every time I call my best friend to get her opinion on something that just isn't sitting right, her response is always the same, "Trust your instincts. They serve you well and they're never wrong." Every time she says it, it still surprises me as if I just heard it for the first time. Some days it feels easier to put my head in the sand and simply forge ahead.

But if I look back over my life, each time I ignored the little voice telling me the right way to go or the person to stay away from, it always came back to haunt me. Didn't matter if it was work or personal situations, if I had trusted my instincts I would have saved myself a lot of heartache and even money in some cases (divorces are expensive!).

But now, as a business owner, I make decisions every day about what partners to work with and what clients to sign. Sometimes it's hard to walk away from a client or prospect even when you know you should. The lure of the account or the pay check is a tough one to ignore. But sometimes, it's just the right thing to do. Getting to choose who to work with is a major benefit of running your own business, and one that many entrepreneurs overlook. Sometimes it's better to keep looking for the right business than to "settle" for the wrong one. Things may be tough out there right now, but it shouldn't change you or how you do business for the worse.

When one door closes, another always opens...

I've been very blessed with wonderful partners and great clients. After six years in business, dealing with corporate buyouts and a recession filled with shrinking marketing budgets, I can still say that. So, to all my partners and clients, thank you. Thank you for following your instincts and choosing to work with Active Integrated Marketing.

i had a really really gr8 day today and i hope i have another one tomorrow and im going to go feed my cats now so i can go 2 bed early.


A few blog posts ago I wrote about the importance of having a Web site that represents your company in the best light. This time around let's address the importance of your personal electronic image.

What was your first impression when you read the lead on this blog? If it was negative, give some thought to what other people's impression of you is when you "write" like that on your Facebook page or in an email. (Hint - no one really cares that you are going to bed early, but I bet they're all talking about the fact you can't write.)

Maybe it was the writing skills impressed upon me in my 12 years of Catholic school, or the fact I was a journalism major, but I believe the art of writing has been lost when we turned electronic. In all our rushing we have forgotten the importance of grammar and spelling. Heck, we've forgotten it's important to capitalize a sentence and to include correct punctuation.

I would love to blame this on Millenials and Gen Yers , since they grew up in the age of texting where everything is abbreviated, but I've watched people of all ages do this. I wish I had a dollar for every "quiz" on Facebook has incorrect spelling or missing words. What happened to editing before publishing?

We've all had days when we need to get an email out quickly and didn't read what we wrote before hitting send. Always assume that email will get forwarded to someone. Always assume it. That rule should give you pause before you hit the send button. Do you want your boss's boss to know you can't spell - or worse yet, can't write?

When you ignore basic writing skills, you're giving people a negative impression of you. You're allowing people to think you aren't very intelligent at worse or you're lazy at best. I realize you may be in a hurry when you post a status update on Facebook or when you compose an email. But take the time to use correct grammar and spelling. It's a reflection on you people will remember and one that lives on forever in cyber space. And you never know who is watching...

Relevancy: n. Relating to the matter under consideration; pertinent.

- Webster's New World Dictionary

If you watch American Idol you know that Simon Cowell thinks it's very important for the contestants to be "relevant" as an Idol. The same thing goes for your marketing prowess. For purposes of this Blog, let's group everyone into two categories - Millennials/Gen Y and Gen X/Baby Boomers.

Social networking and the use of it for marketing is a part of our every day lives now. Facebook, Twitter, online forums, blogs, the list goes on and on. The latest debacle reported on by MediaPost about Skittles and Agency.com proves that consumers have a big say in pushing messages though and what can happen when they're not managed properly. (of course whether the agency and company "planned" this is a debate for another blog - remember, no media is bad media)

So, just how "relevant" are you when it comes to social networking? Let's take a little quiz, shall we? How many of these questions can you say "yes" to?

1. I tweet all the time. It's a clever way to get my brand message across to my target market.
2. I have more friends than you do on Facebook AND I have a page set up for my company, product and/or specific promotion.
3. I update my blog regularly and promote it to everyone I know.
4. I participate in at least one online forum to promote to people I know are interested in my products/services.
5. I post videos on YouTube to drive traffic to my Web site.
6. I have a profile on LinkedIn and I update it regularly.

I bet if you're in the Millennial/Gen Y categories you can answer yes to all five of these questions. If you're a Gen X, maybe, and a Baby Boomer, you're might be saying, "What the heck is a Tweet?"

Here's my advice for each group:

Millennials/Gen Yers -

• Keep it clean. Your current bosses, future bosses and grad schools are looking at your online profiles. Companies and schools have their pick of the litter right now, and if you do anything, and I mean anything, they might view as negative, you're not going to get the job and it might even cost you your current one. And don't tell me they can't access your Facebook page if they're not a "friend." There's always a way.
  
• Make recommendations to your bosses on how to utilize social networking tactics for your company and your clients. Our generation knows you know this stuff and if we're smart, we're going to rely on your expertise - so use it to get ahead. One note of caution - be sensitive to the fact your boss might not know that much about it and be careful you don't make them look like an idiot. It won't get you any points doing that.

Gen Xers/Baby Boomers -

• You need to learn this stuff and understand it and how it can help your business and you personally. You may not feel like you want to Twitter, but you better understand how it's being used and how it can affect your company's/client's business.


• Don't make yourself look out-dated by not knowing about social networking. So many of my friends that are older than me are worried about getting a new job if they get laid off because of their age. Well, you're not doing yourself any favors if you can't compete with the Millenials and Gen Yers (or Xers for that matter). Yes, you have wonderful experience to sell, but it's not enough any more. You have to stay RELEVANT!

I live in the B2B and pharmaceutical marketing worlds and social networking just hasn't caught on quite as much there yet. But if implemented well, these tactics just give you more in your arsenal to promote your company/brand.

Now that you're relevant, off you go...Tweet away... (you can follow me on Twitter at angelamorsa)