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
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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.
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Yes. Especially if your marketing currently sounds like ChatGPT wrote it.
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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.
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People in marketing, hospitality, branding, retail, wine, or anyone who secretly judges restaurants by their menu design before reading the food list.
Build Confidence With Creating Social Media Videos
Creating videos for social media marketing can be a daunting task, especially if you lack confidence in getting in front of the camera and coming up with ideas to create videos on a regular basis. This blog post will provide tips on how to increase your confidence with creating social media videos.
Reflecting on Two Years Since My Anal Cancer Diagnosis: Pivoting my Business
I found out I had anal cancer two years ago this week, and my life and business have pivoted to focus on more of the values I hold true.
6 Tips on How to Enjoy Life Even When You Feel Overworked
We've all had those weeks where we're just counting down the days until Friday. And even when we do have a few moments to ourselves, we're often thinking about all the things we need to get done. Here are 6 tips for how to enjoy life when you are overwhelmed and overworked.
Goal planning when you are burnt out (or close to)
When you are feeling burnout it’s hard to plan ahead and create goals so that you can cross off your tasks off a to-do list, but sometimes it’s the most important for you and your mental health to spend some time goal planning so you can get things done.
Self-Care for Moms is an Act of Protest: 3 Reasons Why Moms Matter
Self Care is an act of protest for moms - When moms prioritize their own mental health they are sending a powerful message to the world that they matter. That moms & women matter... And that makes others believe it as well. And that’s when change can happen.
4 Steps to Create Social Media Captions that Capture Attention & Build Trust
When creating social media captions, it's important to keep four things in mind: a hook (get to the point), a description or story, a sentence on why it matters, and end your post with a call to action.
On Social Media: Don't share content that isn't yours (without getting permission)
When it comes to social media, one of the cardinal rules is not to share content that isn't yours. This includes things like photos, videos, and quotes. Not only is it plagiarism, but it can also be a violation of copyright law. If you're sharing someone else's content without asking them first, you can get into a lot of trouble and have to pay fines or even have your account taken away for violating social media community guidelines.
5 Tips on How to Write Engaging FAQ Answers Your Target Audience Will Love
Listen to your customers and create a FAQ document you can refer back to when planning ahead to create content for your website or social media. This way you can establish yourself as an authority figure in your industry or niche, and have a list of copy & paste content ready to go.
7 Social Media Scheduling Tools to Post Content
By using a social media scheduling tool, you can take the headache out of having to remember to post on social media every day. With most scheduling tools, all you need to do is create your content in advance and set a schedule for when you want it to go live.
Top California Vineyards on Instagram, by Hashtags
For wine lovers, Instagram hashtags are the perfect place to discover new wineries, taste new wines and learn about the latest trends in the wine industry. More than just pretty pictures, the social network has become the go-to place to follow your favorite wineries and vineyards on Instagram.
Spring Clean Your Marketing Posts of the Week
It’s time to spring clean your marketing, social media, and your mindset. Here are some articles and tips
Social Media Marketing World Trends - My 2022 Experience
Social Media Marketing World 2022 had so many great insights, but I did notice a few social media trends that I will be putting into practice even more with my own social platforms and with clients.
Finding Trending Audio on Instagram Reels
Being able to find and use trending audio on Instagram Reels has become a big part of both Instagram Reels and TikTok. Trending audio (both trending songs & original audio that creators make) can help even small accounts grow their Instagram accounts. Here are tips on how to find trending audio on Instagram Reels to use for your social media marketing efforts.
How to Create Instagram Reel Transitions to Create More Entertaining Videos
Instagram Reels Transitions make your short-form videos for Instagram & TikTok more engaging & fun for your target audience.
Changes to Instagram’s Feed is Coming - What Does This Mean for Social Media Marketers?
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram announced that the social media platform will be updating the Instagram feed and this means social media marketers need to pay attention to how Instagram users interact with the feed - in three different ways. Engaging, fun and educational social media content (*cough* videos) will still be key to connecting and growing on social media.
Tips to Help You Get More Fit After Anal Cancer
Here are simple tips to help you start getting fit after anal cancer treatments. Even if most days feel like no progress has been made, slow & steady exercise can help both your physical and mental self. Moderate exercise can go a long way in helping you to improve your quality of life post anal cancer.
New Book Out: Randall the Blue Spider Plays Pretend
Randall the Blue Spider and his friend Joey the Grasshopper want to try out for their school play. But Joey is worried that bullies will make fun of his stutter. Learn about this Children's Book on Bullying where Randall & friends discover how to overcome insecurities and handle adversity with kindness, love, and respect for themselves & others.
Written by mother and son duo, Ryeson & Shana Bull, Randall the Blue Spider Plays Pretend is a cute easy-to-read children's book that teaches young readers important social-emotional skills like coping with nervousness, overcoming bullying, and being good friends to others.
Facebook and Instagram Are Down - Here is What To Do
Tips for what to do when Facebook and Instagram are Down.
One year Since my Last Day of Anal Cancer Treatments
One year ago I rang the bell at the Kaiser cancer treatment center. One year ago I finished my anal cancer treatments - radiation & oral chemotherapy. And now, one-year post anal cancer treatments —Moving forward, one of my goals in life is to encourage everyone to listen to their body, and go see a doctor, community health center, etc when they feel like something is off.