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James Rowe

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Chief Executive Officer, Rowe and Company

70 points

Writer, journalist, blogger, media technologist, consultant, project manager, business developer. I'm always working for excellence. I have skills and experiences acquired over decades as a journalist, instructor, sales consultant and executive. I'm a responsible citizen. So, how can I help you?

WEB: RoweAndCompany Blog

James Rowe and 7 other people answered this question

June 23, 2011

How far in advance do you begin to plan for exhibiting at a trade show?

Planning resources are always the issue. However the best planners begin to plan for the next exhibit as soon as they have completed the current trade show. Small businesses are usually resource challenged so I would suggest start planning no later than six months prior ... more

Event Marketing

James Rowe and 3 other people answered this question

Nov. 30, 2010

How to drive attendance to your webinar?

One method is to develop an attractive handout of useful information made only available to webinar attendees.
A small business administration consultant told me he gets 50 per cent or less of invitees to attend live seminars. I use his advice as a measure for ... more

James Rowe and 2 other people answered this question

Oct. 29, 2010

What is the first thing that every SMB decision maker do with social media?

At least do an informal survey of customers to determine what social networks they use. It's about improving current relations first. A short questionnaire with some kind of coupon or give away to encourage participation makes the request for information easier. Then use the networks ... more

Focus Interactive Summit

James Rowe and 2 other people answered this question

Oct. 27, 2010

Starbucks Digital Network: what are the reasons Starbucks is moving into the content business?

In my opinion, Starbucks has made an excellent move to subsidize wi fi offered free to customers. Traditional media uses the model of advertiser support for presentation of content. WSJ is behind a pay wall and as such becomes a value add if it comes ... more

General Management

James Rowe and 1 other person answered this question

Oct. 27, 2010

Any thoughts on how to handle very brief time management skills to folks in the newspaper industry?

I can't say what they should focus on without inside information I would not expect to get here. In my experience though each shop is different in style and expectations. Yes, you should include a manager/supervisor. Buy in from stakeholders lets your audience know the ... more

General Management

James Rowe and 2 other people answered this question

Oct. 15, 2010

Is it bad to not ask questions in an interview?

I have had a lot of career and employment consultants work with me and all recommend asking questions. I believe asking questions in a job interview is good and expected. To determine if it's bad to not ask questions really depends on the interview situation. ... more

Human Resources

Career Advancement

Career Development

James Rowe and 5 other people answered this question

Oct. 13, 2010

What should go in your email signature?

I maintain what I refer to as a living signature. I have a file and database of my many social media profiles. My standard signature has links to one profile attached to my name. I include my website link and a link to my latest ... more

Email Etiquette

Email Signature

James Rowe answered this question

Oct. 12, 2010

What can I do about a competitor's deceptive ad?

The best way to respond to what my colleagues in sales used to refer to as FUD (fear, uncertainty and deception) perpetrated by competitors is to accentuate the positives of your service or product. Stooping to deception will reveal you as untrustworthy and ultimately cause ... more

James Rowe and 6 other people answered this question

Oct. 3, 2010

How can I be sure that I am reaching the right communities on social media sites?

Asha,
I would suggest you consider what activities your customers are involved in and where your services or products are used. Then I would determine if there are groups customers join. I would or monitor those groups, such as on LinkedIn and Facebook, to determine how ... more

Social Media Optimization Tips & Strategies

Social Media Sites

James Rowe and 12 other people answered this question

Sept. 21, 2010

Do you prefer TweetDeck or Seesmic to manage your social media interactions?

I use TweetDeck and Seesmic. TweetDeck for its features crossing social networks and Seesmic, recently, because of the series of videos Loic Le Meur on social media. Le Meur is most knowing and the short videos indicate Seesmic's understanding of the importance of content to ... more

Social Networks

Twitter Desktop Applicaitons

James Rowe and 5 other people answered this question

Sept. 21, 2010

What are the best practices for getting content, headlines, or tweets retweeted?

Content that appeals to your audience. If your brand attracts followers they chose you for a reason. More than likely the reason is the type of information you provide. So solid content true to the interests of your audience is the best way to build ... more

James Rowe and 5 other people answered this question

Sept. 21, 2010

How much of social media marketing is TIMING?

As far as Twitter is concerned there is a follow Friday trend that would indicate timing is good for marketing. If you want to collect followers on Twitter Mashable argues Friday is the best day to tweet. http://mashable.com/2009/03/06/twitter-followfriday/ more

Marketing Strategy

James Rowe and 6 other people answered this question

Sept. 15, 2010

What is the value in integrating social media with your CRM system?

I would think the investment in an upgrade of customer relations software depends on benefits the upgrade brings. Often software upgrades don't add features you really need. So, if your company is actively engaging customers on social networks then an upgrade to include social media ... more

James Rowe and 10 other people answered this question

Sept. 15, 2010

What tips do you have for building up your communities on social media sites?

I use the same strategy employed here on Focus. I constantly ask questions.
My focus is on content so my updates are loaded with content I believe will be useful to my audience or community.
I keep in mind the basic real world networking question ... more

James Rowe and 1 other person answered this question

June 15, 2010

How do you measure return on investment in social media?

Courtney here are a couple of Internet addresses to get you started on determining return on investment when using social media.
Mashable is a site tracking social media
http://mashable.com/2009/10/27/social-media-roi/
slideshare is a treasure trove of information on social media
http://www.slideshare.net/yongfook/social-media-roi
I hope these get you started on the right path. more

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