Neal Schaffer

Neal Schaffer

Neal Schaffer is a globally recognized digital marketing expert, keynote speaker, and Fractional CMO who empowers businesses large and small to strategically leverage digital, content, influencer, and social media marketing to drive meaningful growth. As President of PDCA Social, Neal delivers practical, results-driven guidance to organizations navigating the digital-first economy. He teaches digital marketing to executives at leading institutions including Rutgers Business School and UCLA Extension. A multilingual professional fluent in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, Neal has inspired audiences on four continents and authored six acclaimed books, including Maximizing LinkedIn for Business Growth, The Age of Influence (HarperCollins Leadership), Maximize Your Social (Wiley), and his latest Digital Threads, the definitive digital marketing playbook for small business and entrepreneurs. Neal is based in Irvine, California.
Blogging Laws: What Every Blogger Needs to Know

Blogging Laws: What Every Blogger Needs to Know

I have been running a blog since 2008, so I have plenty of firsthand experience in blogging and recognize how excellent a platform it is for sharing ideas, promoting your business, and engaging with a wider audience. To make sure…

Top 7 Ways How to Make Money Blogging in 2025

Top 7 Ways How to Make Money Blogging in 2025

Blogging was once little more than a personal hobby. Over the years, however, it has evolved from that small hobby to a thriving industry, with countless opportunities to generate income. In 2025, the possibilities for making money by blogging are…

The 15 Best WordPress Page Builders for 2025

The 15 Best WordPress Page Builders for 2025

If your website is running on WordPress, you know how hard it can be to customize landing pages and the layouts of other important elements of your website. While many still do hire web developers to customize their WordPress installations,…

19 Email Marketing Examples to Inspire Better Results

19 Email Marketing Examples to Inspire Better Results

Crafting a successful email marketing campaign can be a challenge. Studying real-world examples can help inspire your own breakthroughs in email marketing by helping you gain insight into how leading brands captivate their audiences, drive engagement, and ultimately achieve results.…

Benefits of AI in Marketing: 12 Ways to Boost ROI in 2025

Benefits of AI in Marketing: 18 Ways to Boost ROI in 2025

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing marketing effectiveness, with over 90% of businesses expected to integrate AI into their marketing strategies by 2025. The rapid advancement of AI marketing tools presents unprecedented opportunities for businesses to enhance their ROI through automation, personalization,…

What is the InMail on LinkedIn?

What is the InMail on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn InMail is a powerful messaging feature that allows users to communicate with professionals outside their direct network. It is a valuable tool for recruiters, salespeople, and job seekers. Unlike standard LinkedIn messages, which are restricted to your 1st-degree connections,…

Essential Email Marketing KPIs: 15 Metrics for Success

Essential Email Marketing KPIs: 15 Metrics for Success

Key Performance Indicators are the guideposts by which you design and alter your email marketing efforts, and putting an email marketing campaign into practice without developing KPIs significantly decreases your ability to achieve email marketing success. From development to evaluation…

TikTok Stories Explained: A Complete Guide

TikTok Stories Explained: A Complete Guide

TikTok Stories have quickly gained popularity on the platform. This feature lets users share temporary content that vanishes after 24 hours, similar to what’s available on Instagram and Snapchat. Like those platforms, TikTok’s Stories feature provides a dynamic way to…

13 Recommended Social Media Search Engines

13 Recommended Social Media Search Engines

Given the importance of social media, companies have developed search engines that would allow you to browse through these platforms more efficiently than you could do directly in social media. With these unique search engines tapping deep into the APIs…

15 Killer Amazon Seller Tools

15 Killer Amazon Seller Tools

Amazon seller tools are perfect solutions for any business selling on Amazon. They streamline tasks that you would otherwise need hours to complete and provide high-quality insights for your operations. With these software tools, the sky is the limit for…

How to Sell on Instagram in 7 Easy Steps

How to Sell on Instagram in 7 Easy Steps

Although much of the advice involving Instagram accounts focuses on follower counts and growing popularity, an Instagram shop is increasingly popular and important to use the platform to make sales. Instagram shopping is no longer reliant on links embedded in…

15 Accurate LinkedIn Email Finders for Lead Gen

15 Accurate LinkedIn Email Finders for Lead Gen

Looking to do cold outreach? You can buy a random list and hope for the best, or you can pinpoint your target audience on LinkedIn and try to prospect from there as a starting point. Thankfully, a LinkedIn email finder…

What are LinkedIn Impressions, and Why are They Important?

What are LinkedIn Impressions, and Why are They Important?

Whether you’re trying to attract job applicants, increase brand awareness, or boost sales, LinkedIn is an important place to start. After all, it’s the most professionally-focused social media platform, and nearly everyone is looking for information relevant to their industry.…

Brand Storytelling: The Definitive Guide

Brand Storytelling: The Definitive Guide

Brand storytelling is often seen gracing the headlines of business articles, urging businesses to develop their own unique version of brand storytelling. A quick glance at a headline, however, is not usually enough to detail exactly what brand storytelling is,…

8 Best Ways How to Detect AI Generated Content

8 Best Ways How to Detect AI Generated Content

Until ChatGPT went mainstream, AI-generated content was mostly a novelty. While marketers and other niche users could leverage relatively crude algorithms for simple texts that defied the ordinary, the crafting of blogs and other long-form content was impractical. However, the…

13 Customer Testimonial Examples to Emulate

13 Customer Testimonial Examples to Emulate

Happy customers are some of the best marketing experts out there. When a potential customer sees countless reviews and positive feedback, they are far more likely to give your brand or product a second look. How can you effectively leverage…

Why and How to Use LinkedIn Private Mode

Why and How to Use LinkedIn Private Mode

One of the challenges of social media is that the information we share frequently spreads beyond where we originally posted it. While this phenomenon is beneficial if you want something to go viral, sometimes there are situations when your social…

15 Powerful WordPress Ecommerce Plugins

15 Powerful WordPress Ecommerce Plugins

While there are many ecommerce platforms such as Shopify that exist, but what do you do if you want to maintain your WordPress site and simply add or augment its ecommerce functionality? The beauty of WordPress’s extensible architecture is that…

How to Use TikTok for Beginners: Get Started Today!

How to Use TikTok for Beginners: Get Started Today!

TikTok is a short-form video-sharing app that took over social media platforms in what has felt like a storm, going from a relatively unknown app, to one that dominates numerous industries. Unlike many other platforms that allow you to share…

How to Make Your First TikTok Video: For Newbies Only!

How to Make Your First TikTok Video: For Newbies Only!

TikTok is just about everywhere, from your 10-year-old niece to your 80-year-old grandmother. The social media platform has truly taken the world by storm, and there is no shortage of video ideas to draw in even the least experienced social…

How Does the TikTok Algorithm Work: The Definitive Explanation

How Does the TikTok Algorithm Work: The Definitive Explanation

Algorithms are often top of mind for marketers intent on reaching their target audience. Although learning Google search practices is often a simple matter of engaging standard SEO practices, other platforms are not quite as straightforward–including TikTok. Although there are…

The Top 21 LinkedIn Statistics for Business in 2020

The Top 31 LinkedIn Statistics for Business in 2025

A lot of ink has been spilled over the value of advertising on social media platforms like Facebook & Twitter, Instagram, and, even the newest of shiny objects, TikTok. After all, these are among the largest online forums for social…

15 Best Blogging Platforms to Consider in 2024

15 Best Blogging Platforms to Consider in 2025

Blogging platforms are a must-have in this day and age, given that companies need to share their message online to connect with their audiences. Blogging might also provide SEO perks, allowing you to increase web exposure and boost your lead-generation…

20 Easiest Ways How to Go Viral on TikTok

20 Easiest Ways How to Go Viral on TikTok

You probably know this by now, but TikTok continues to be the hottest place to see and be seen among Generation Z. In fact, this platform has one of the youngest user bases among social media sites. One reason for…

15 Killer Visual Marketing Strategies for 2024

15 Killer Visual Marketing Strategies for 2025

Marketing as a discipline has evolved extensively over the last 30 years. Before the Internet became universally accessible, most advertising opportunities involved traditional media like print publications, radio, and television. These options were relatively expensive, as advertisers had to buy…

80 Awesome TikTok Username Ideas to Go Viral

80 Awesome TikTok Username Ideas to Go Viral

Although a few social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn assume that you’ll use your actual name, many of the others encourage you to create an alias for yourself. For instance, YouTube and Instagram expect that you’ll use something Creative as…

12 Best WordPress Maintenance Services for 2024

12 Best WordPress Maintenance Services for 2025

If you’ve never thought about subscribing to WordPress maintenance services, imagine this true story of what recently happened to me. I was updating one of my blog posts when all of a sudden, I realized that it was saving the…

What is LinkedIn and Why Should You Join?

What is LinkedIn and Why Should You Join?

As my children are now of the high school age, and they themselves are starting to create their own LinkedIn profiles, I continue to be surprised by the very few number of people that are on the platform. While I…

The Easiest Way How to Add Your Portfolio to LinkedIn

The Easiest Way How to Add Your Portfolio to LinkedIn

These days, the job market is becoming more competitive. While employers still post a lot of jobs, an increasing number of them are for low-wage jobs. Additionally, certain opportunities like work-from-home jobs are more difficult to get. Even for people…

When is the Best Time to Post on LinkedIn in 2023?

When is the Best Time to Post on LinkedIn in 2025?

If you’re a professional or represent a B2B brand, chances are LinkedIn is important to your job effectiveness. After all, LinkedIn is the place to see and be seen by businesspeople. Recruiters, job seekers, sales professionals, and marketers all need…

The Top 31 Business Blogging Statistics for 2023

The Top 31 Business Blogging Statistics for 2025

If you’re looking for the blogging statistics to help you improve your content marketing, you’ve come to the right place! Blogs are increasing in popularity with businesses because blogging is increasingly critical to marketing success and it gives your brand…

19 Famous TikTokers to Follow and Learn From

19 Famous TikTokers to Follow and Learn From

Whether you’re a TikTok newcomer or can’t live without the platform, you probably want to know who’s “TikTok famous.” After all, social media is a great place to share your talents without the challenges of traditional publishing or hiring. But…

The 16 TikTok Stats Your Business Needs to Know in 2023

The 16 TikTok Stats Your Business Needs to Know in 2025

There’s no question that TikTok is a major trend, especially with young people. In fact, more than with many other networks, TikTok is making big tech CEOs in Silicon Valley lose sleep. This relatively young and fast-growing social networking platform…

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15 Definitive Facebook Marketing Tips for 2025

Facebook advertising is very competitive, especially in the era of people staying home most of the day. Now, even with stores reopened and most pandemic-era restrictions being lifted, relationships and virtual advertising remain important. In particular, Facebook is a major…

Guest Blogging: Trick or Treat? Here's What You Need to Know

Guest Blogging: Trick or Treat? Here’s What You Need to Know

Guest blogging has been an important part of the blogosphere almost from the beginning of the genre. As soon as bloggers started forming communities, hosting other bloggers for debates, discussion, and fellowship became increasingly common. While guest blogging was originally…

The 15 Best WordPress Blog Hosting Sites for 2024

The 15 Best Blog Hosting Sites for 2025

Although blogging is no longer the shiniest object in marketing, there’s little question that it’s still useful. In fact, as I’ve said in a prior article, blogging is far from dead. This is true even though “free” blog platforms like…

Why and How to Change Your LinkedIn URL

Why and How to Change Your LinkedIn URL

Unless you run a website, the chances are that you’re used to a URL, or Web address, being something you simply get by default. After all, in most situations only the website administrator can set them. All you can do…

How to Measure Your Own Email Marketing ROI

How to Measure Your Own Email Marketing ROI

Regardless of many predictions that email would disappear someday, it is alive and well. With the average consumer checking either work or personal email several times a day, it is one of the more reliable forms of communication. Unlike the…

How to Hire Influencers for Your Business

How to Hire Influencers for Your Business

Unless you’re seasoned in influencer marketing, you may not know how to hire influencers. Given that there are so many influencers out there, and with so little standardization, it is hard to know where to start. Previously, I have published…

What is a LinkedIn LION?

What is a LinkedIn LION?

LION, in the LinkedIn world, stands for LinkedIn Open Networker. LIONs are basically open to networking with people that they have never met before, and they can help you be successful on the site because they bridge networks of closed…

15 Best Blog Writing Services to Consider

15 Best Blog Writing Services to Consider

Some of you might have looked at this title and thought, “Why would a blogger even be considering blog writing services?” If you’re a business you’re probably already outsourcing some or all of your content writing, and if you treat…

How to Do A Giveaway On Instagram in 12 Easy Steps

How to Do A Giveaway On Instagram in 12 Easy Steps

Every brand is striving for the attention of consumers on Instagram. Small businesses, influencers, restaurants, stores, bloggers, beauty brands, clothing lines, etc. often struggle and feel stuck due to a lack of followers and low engagement. Hosting a productive sweepstakes…

My LinkedIn Profile: Does My Employer Own It?

My LinkedIn Profile: Does My Employer Own It?

The following story of LinkedIn account ownership is a true one, and as with my other blog posts, I am hoping to get your feedback as to what the “right” answer to this question should be. Are You Using a…

How Do I Send a Complaint to LinkedIn?

How Do I Send a Complaint to LinkedIn?

Social media changes a lot. Some functionality is here today gone tomorrow. Your LinkedIn account might face restrictions today but I might never. Below is an incident detailing one of those incidents that happened to me several years ago but…

HOW TO: Connect with Barack Obama on LinkedIn

HOW TO: Connect with Barack Obama on LinkedIn

I recently got asked this question about how to connect with Barack Obama on LinkedIn, and because I had a little trouble doing so myself, I thought I would let anyone know who wants to get connected with him on…

What is a LinkedIn IDK? And Why Should I Care?

What is a LinkedIn IDK? And Why Should I Care?

Have you had the experience recently where you were asked to enter your email address in order to send a LinkedIn invite to someone? You might have received too many LinkedIn IDKs. So, what is an IDK exactly? What is…

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