Word & Mouth Blog

Where food, hospitality, branding, and human behavior all crash into each other. I write about restaurants, wine, placemaking, customer experience, and the small details that make people talk about a business long after they leave.

For even more snarky takes on marketing, pop culture, branding, and the internet, visit my Substack, Burnt Popcorn & Branding: Substack

A mix of hospitality, branding, customer psychology, hospitality culture, and internet behavior from someone who’s worked behind the scenes in marketing long enough to know what feels authentic and what feels painfully forced.
Yes. Especially if your marketing currently sounds like ChatGPT wrote it.
No LinkedIn thought leadership energy here. Just strategy, storytelling, and occasional side-eye toward trends, Chat-GPT written branding advice, and “disruptive” ideas that all look the same.
People in marketing, hospitality, branding, retail, wine, or anyone who secretly judges restaurants by their menu design before reading the food list.

Shana Bull 4/2/24 Shana Bull 4/2/24

Embracing Your Worth: Transforming Personal Challenges into Professional Confidence

Discover how overcoming personal challenges, such as a health battle, can transform your professional outlook. Learn actionable steps for marketers to build resilience, set boundaries, and foster supportive work environments that value and respect individual worth. Gain insights into creating a positive, empathetic workplace culture and embracing your professional capabilities.

Shana Bull 4/29/21 Shana Bull 4/29/21

Live Your Values as a Marketer

Great modern marketers are defined, perhaps more than anything, by their resiliency and agility.

They stay on their toes, ready to pivot and adjust amid constantly changing conditions. They have the ambition and openness to try new things, never boxing themselves in. They stay motivated and optimistic even in the face of enormous challenges and setbacks.

Shana Bull embodies so many of these qualities.

Shana Bull 7/24/19 Shana Bull 7/24/19

My Weight Loss Journey to Losing 45 Pounds

Moving forward, I am learning to listen to my body. When I start shaking if I eat more than a few bites of dessert, when my head throbs after having more than two glasses of beer or wine in a day, and when I feel the urge to get up and move when binge watching Schitts Creek – I LISTEN!

Shana Bull 1/1/19 Shana Bull 1/1/19

Quick Update on Goals for 2019

2018 has truly been a pivotal year in my decade-long entrepreneurial career. I went from managing social media accounts for several brands to focusing on my own brand, writing for several publications, and working with a few marketing and PR agencies on projects. Now I look to Goals for 2019…

Shana Bull 12/17/18 Shana Bull 12/17/18

Roundup of My Favorite Sonoma County Articles of 2018

A roundup of my personal favorite articles I have written this past year about wine, food, social media, music and mom life in Sonoma County.

Shana Bull 8/29/18 Shana Bull 8/29/18

Tips for Social Media Marketing When You Are Not Inspired

These are just some of my tips for what you can do when you’re not feeling inspired to share on social media. Obviously some of them help with other areas of your business as well, like planning in general, being more aware of your energy, and having a backup plan. Sometimes things don’t always work how you want them to, but acknowledging that it’s just part of life makes it a little easier to deal with.

Shana Bull 7/27/18 Shana Bull 7/27/18

I Wasn’t Bullied As A Child, But I Got Made Fun Of A Lot

I have been reflecting on my friendships over the years and how it has affected me throughout adulthood. While I was not bullied as a child, I did get picked on for being short.

Shana Bull 3/28/18 Shana Bull 3/28/18

How I Spent my Vacation: Goal Planning

Goal Planning is an important part of any marketing strategy - figuring out WHY you want to accomplish your goals and breaking them down into tasks makes them more manageable. Here are a few tips I have learned over the years on how to create goals for marketers.