There are several days a year I stay off of social media, and one of these days is Father’s Day.

People say holidays are some of the toughest times to be without loved ones, and they’re right. Since losing my father in March of 2012 and my grandmother in February of 2013, holidays are simply not the same.

There’s this indescribable feeling inside, much like emptiness, and sometimes social media further perpetuates this unwanted feeling. It’s hard enough knowing you cannot make ‘new memories’ with the loved ones who have passed and reminders are simply undesirable.

However, this is not to say I don’t find a way to remember the both of them.

On days that serve as a constant reminder my father is no longer with us, I honor him by cracking jokes that would earn a ‘high-five’ from him, let alone the tears running down his face from laughing so hard. I honor him by wearing a black shirt, not because you adorn black clothing for mourning, but because he often wore black as it looked more slimming.

I call these my coping mechanisms during the holidays. I don’t expect anyone else to understand why they work for me – they just do.

In my office next to my desk, I have a leaning shelf bookcase, and on one of the shelves is an award he posthumously received from the National Association of the Deaf, as well as several of my favorite pictures of the two of us. I often look over to this shelf, especially when I need a boost of confidence or motivation.

I also find comfort and inspiration in presenting to people. Not just getting up in front of people, but sharing stories that “hit home.” My father was quite selfless, often putting people before himself, even while fighting cancer. The stories I share are a testament to his character, especially as I share our family’s experiences in him fighting cancer. He was quite private about his arduous battle with cancer, but I know he would want me to share the stories to better other people’s lives.

The two of us were so close, and many thought we were brothers. To this day, I often hear, “you are your father’s son.”

Yet, the two of us have our differences, not necessarily bad ones. While the two of us thrive in working with other people, he wasn’t much for being in the limelight and having all eyes on him. At the last Hanukkah party my father hosted, he asked me to go up on the stage to start off the festivities. I remember questioning him in the moment, and he gave me this look, one telling me not to question him any further.

When looking back, I wonder if that was his way of ‘passing the torch’ over to me, for lack of better words.

It is moments like this that leave me wondering, but never do I forget his perseverance and commitment to his family.

I miss you every single day, Dad.

Love,
Your Son

The post A Son’s Tribute to His Father first appeared on Corey Axelrod.

I had the privilege of being interviewed by Deaf Social Media about my experiences with Synergetic Business Solutions. Below is the transcript of the interview (can also be found here):

DSM: Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Synergetic Business Solutions.

Corey: I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. After graduating from John Hersey High School, I attended the Rochester Institute of Technology and earned my bachelor’s degree in business management and master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with a concentration in marketing and sales management. After working for several years out of Rochester, NY, I decided to return to my roots in Chicago and focus full-time on Synergetic Business Solutions.

As the owner of Synergetic Business Solutions, I work with my team to tailor marketing strategies to help businesses connect with their customers. The focus is on integrating different components of businesses to increase profitability and efficiency. These include, but are not limited to the following: social media and search engine marketing, online advertising and branding.

DSM: How did you get started running your own digital marketing agency?

Corey: The decision to start my own digital marketing agency was quite simple – I saw a need and decided to tackle this by offering services I had a passion for. This need was explicit within the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, and I was strongly encouraged to initially offer my services on a consultative basis. Since starting the business, we’ve created more than 15 multi-channel integrated marketing campaigns for a portfolio of business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients. I’m truly excited to see where the company will go in the future!

DSM: What are some areas in social media that you noticed most companies have been struggling with these days?

Corey: Engagement is critical. A number of companies struggle with this concept. It’s not about putting out information that is interesting to the person posting on social media, but rather posting content that is relevant and interesting to the target audience. Essentially, your customers are your brand. If you fail to deliver content they want along with the product or services they want, they may quickly go elsewhere.

DSM: What will it take to become a “Best in Class” digital marketer?

Corey: This is a great question! I think that in order to become a ‘Best in Class’ marketer, one needs to be able to be a Jack of all trades. While digital marketing is constantly changing, one should understand the intangibles associated with marketing and evolve with the emerging trends. All components of digital marketing work together and if one does not understand how one component affects the other, they can severely hinder their organization’s success.

DSM: NFL’s regular season’s starting tomorrow, how do you think your Bears would do this year?

Corey: I should have known you would ask me this question! I really think that if Brian Urlacher is healthy, the Bears have a chance to go deep into the playoffs. You heard it here first – Super Bowl Champions!

Thank you Deaf Social Media for this opportunity!

The post Exclusive Interview with Deaf Social Media first appeared on Corey Axelrod.

During Carol McManus‘ LinkedIn Lady show last Friday, I asked Carol and Ken Herron their thoughts about Social Media Examiner’s research showing roughly twenty percent of small business use photo sharing sites. Ken immediately tweeted:

“I interpret that as #SMBs NOT yet taking full advantage of “visual marketing” (see: @teresafritschi http://pinterest.com/teresafritschi/all-that-i-need-passion/).”

and

“It’s all about where YOUR customers hang out, AND there can be some very positive #SEO benefits to photo-sharing sites.

Ken simply has two points here: 1) maximize visual marketing opportunities and 2) take advantage of SEO benefits.

A multitude of marketers jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon only to have fallen off as Pinterest links are now Nofollow, meaning search engines are being told not to follow links from Pinterest. However, there is some direct SEO power behind Pinterest: a profile link to your website, traffic referrals, dofollow links to your root domain within the pin’s description, etc. This only serves as a bonus for marketers who cultivate a visual representation of their brand on photo sharing sites.

Accomplishing a visual representation of a brand on photo sharing sites takes time and energy, but visual marketing simply harnesses the power of images and visuals to make your marketing more powerful and more memorable. As the saying goes, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ Even though its a cliche, it’s a cliche because there is truth at its core.

Simply respect Pinterest for what it is: a social sharing site. Aim on targeting the right eyes for your brand as it will do your brand much better in the long run.

The post Pinterest is not your SEO Social Silver Bullet first appeared on Corey Axelrod.