Christie Solomon 7/21/24 Christie Solomon 7/21/24

Improve Local Search Visibility with a Google Business Profile

Establishing a Google Business Profile is critical to your company website’s local search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. An up-to-date Business Profile with a steady stream of highly rated reviews delivers a boost to your website’s ranking in local search results.

Christie Solomon 10/31/23 Christie Solomon 10/31/23

The Art of Win-Win Negotiation

Negotiation is an activity that everyone performs, sometimes daily. Two or more parties negotiate because there is a conflict of interest (or interdependent goals) - and the parties believe they can get a better deal negotiating than by simply taking what the other side will give them. We provide five strategies to achieve a win-win outcome in any negotiation.

Christie Solomon 9/17/23 Christie Solomon 9/17/23

When Humor is an Effective Tool in Crisis Communications

Humor can be useful in crisis communications - but only in certain situations. In the Journal of Interactive Marketing, researchers defined two types of negative events: defensible and indefensible. The researchers found that humor is only an effective tool in the context of defensible crises.

Christie Solomon 6/6/23 Christie Solomon 6/6/23

Why Outsourcing Your Marketing Makes Sense

Many agencies provide several types of marketing services, which could be as broad in scope as redefining a company’s overall marketing strategy or as narrowly focused as the review of a set of marketing analytics. Learn why outsourced marketing is a strategic advantage and how to structure an ideal partnership with a marketing agency.

Christie Solomon 1/17/23 Christie Solomon 1/17/23

Leverage User-Generated Content to Improve Brand Engagement

Incorporating user-generated content (UGC) in social media campaigns can effectively help brands build trust, increase engagement, and create a more authentic connection with their customers.

Christie Solomon 12/12/22 Christie Solomon 12/12/22

Now is the Time to Reframe Your Competitive Strategy

Direct competition is no longer the main factor a business should consider critical to remaining relevant. A brand’s business strategy must continuously evolve to compete across industries on the basis of customer experience.

Joseph Schneider 12/7/22 Joseph Schneider 12/7/22

Employ These 10 SEO Tactics to Improve Brand Reputation

Traditional reputation management, which usually involves most organizational functions within a company, has evolved into a continual process of online reputation management (ORM) for the marketing function. Learn 10 SEO techniques you can employ to assist in proactively building and maintaining a positive brand reputation.

Christie Solomon 11/17/22 Christie Solomon 11/17/22

Personal Branding is a Self-Investment

Personal branding is an investment in yourself. The time, energy, and currency you put into developing your brand results in opportunities for growth - both personally and professionally. Learn four reasons why it’s worth the investment to develop a successful personal brand.

Christie Solomon 2/17/22 Christie Solomon 2/17/22

Proactive Crisis Management in 10 Steps

Although predicting a true crisis is nearly impossible, you can mitigate the consequences of one with a proactive, forward-looking crisis management plan. Consider these 10 steps as a checklist in your crisis management plan, which includes planning for: crisis communications, business continuity, and disaster recovery for IT systems.

Christie Solomon 1/20/22 Christie Solomon 1/20/22

Connect Your Brand to a Cause & Your Target Market

Once you identify your target audience, you must create content that resonates with them at the right time in the right social channel. (Yes, a marketer's job is tough!) Small businesses can employ low-cost, cause marketing strategies to differentiate themselves from the competition and successfully achieve a high return on investment from their marketing efforts.

Christie Solomon 11/13/21 Christie Solomon 11/13/21

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Enhance Organizational Resilience

Companies that intentionally pursue a more diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) culture are more prone to be resilient in times of crisis. In fact, these companies tend to be more proactive in responding to change, often minimizing or avoiding a crisis altogether.

Christie Solomon 9/28/21 Christie Solomon 9/28/21

The Origins of ELEVATE NEXT

Recently, I came across a business card I saved from my very first, real career job out of college at the International Institute of St. Louis. The colleagues, volunteers, refugees, and immigrants with whom I worked at the International Institute more than a decade ago are the ones that inspired me to take a plunge and start ELEVATE NEXT.