Tom Anthony says, “Intelligent Personal Assistants (IPAs) are capable of radically disrupting the way we search for and consume information on the Internet. The convergence of several trends and technologies has resulted in a new interface through which people will be able to interact with your business. This will have a dramatic impact — if your long-term marketing/business plan doesn’t account for IPAs, you may be in the same boat as those people who said they didn’t need a website in the early 2000s. Your website is an API to your business If we look to pre/early Internet,... [...]

Steven Wright says, “Open The Door To Sales Enablement Success After seven months as a Forrester research analyst, with scores of vendor briefings and customer inquiries under my belt, I’ve seen certain patterns to unlocking sales enablement success emerge. Five Keys To Sales Enablement Automation Success brings together lessons learned from vendors and practitioners to show where B2B marketers should focus their attention. Some considerations to keep in mind – especially when it comes to content: Design content for conversation. B2B marketers naturally focus on outwardly focused... [...]

ML team says, “Regardless of channel, consumers and prospects have more refined appetites for marketing and higher expectations. They expect and desire more than a generic product experience — they want to feel an affinity for their investment and attraction to a brand. There’s an opportunity for marketers to build better, lasting relationships with consumers and prospects by consistently delivering content that inspires engagement rather than just begging for conversion. This guide from Oracle outlines how to start creating the most cohesive, valuable and frictionless customer experience... [...]

Rustam Singh says, “Three, a major player in UK’s telecommunications and internet service providers, is about to be the first in the country to test out network backed ad-blocking on its mobile internet services. Starting 13th June and till 20th June, volunteering half a million users of the service will be trying out what could (hopefully) mark a trend of internet services across mobile networks. The company said it wants to give the customers “control, choice and greater transparency” over the content they consumed on the internet. This sparks yet another debate on the way we consider... [...]

Caroline Early says, “We have a special treat for you on Rainmaker FM this week … Music legend and entrepreneur Henry Rollins joins Brian Clark on Unemployable to discuss how his career (including his role as frontman of Black Flag) has thrived due to a DIY-producer ethic, why he formed his own publishing company, and how he became a self-made media personality. There’s a lot of other great content on the network these days, so be sure to check out the rest of the shows highlighted in this week’s edition of Rainmaker Rewind”. Rainmaker Rewind: Henry Rollins on Entrepreneurial... [...]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression — that’s why your homepage is undoubtedly one of the most important web pages on your website. For any given company, the homepage is its virtual front door. If a new visitor doesn’t like what they see, their knee-jerk reaction is to hit the “back” button. That’s right — unfortunately, a lot of people still judge a book by its cover. What makes a website’s homepage design brilliant instead of blah? Well, it takes more than looks alone — it also has to work well.... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Long-form news articles get roughly the same number of mobile visitors as short-form articles, but they garner twice as much engaged time, according to recent data from the Pew Research Center. The report was based on Parse.ly audience behavior data for 74,840 articles from 30 US news sites that were accessed by 71 million visitors using their smartphones. Some 24% of the pieces examined were considered long-form (1,000 words or more). Although shorter news content is far more prevalent than long-form, and therefore draws more total traffic, individual lengthy articles are... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “Two years ago, Facebook launched the Facebook Audience Network as part of an effort to expand the reach of Facebook ads outside of the boundaries of Facebook itself. Facebook users could then be targeted on third-party mobile apps and, as of earlier this year, mobile websites in the network. Audience Network targeting was limited to Facebook users, however. While that’s a massive audience, it’s still not everyone. Today, the company is announcing that it has expanded targeting available on the Audience Network to all users, whether or not they’re on Facebook. All... [...]

Today only, there’s fire sale plus a $10 off coupon of a resource package for marketing consultants to local businesses. Drew Laughlin has created what he calls Marketing Consultant’s PLR. If your business helps local merchants get online to find new customers, this fire sale package from Laughlin can simplify your job. Laughlin has created lead generation websites for 50 kinds of local businesses. You are getting sites for everything from specialized attorneys to veterinarians. He is generous with his terms. You are permitted to use them for as many local businesses as you like, in... [...]

Kristen Matthews says, “Why do some brands seem too intimidated to own influencer marketing in-house? Perhaps because the term has gotten too sexy and, therefore, too intimidating to add to their already hectic marketing strategy. Influencer marketing works best when a brand owns their relationships and brings the strategy in-house. This overwhelms a lot of marketers in theory, and they resist adopting this type of marketing when, really, every brand is capable of building a network of influencers right now. To get you started, this guide outlines the most crucial steps for brands who want to... [...]