Aaron Strout says, “At least once a year, I like to step back from the mobile industry to provide some context as to what is happening and, more importantly, why it’s happening. It’s also important to know what these statistics mean to marketers. As a marketer myself, I find that having additional context about the landscape can be helpful. To that end, let’s look at the bigger picture, starting with our global population. There are currently 7.3 billion people on the planet Earth. Of those, over 40 percent, or just over 3.4 billion, are online. What’s astounding is that fact that... [...]

Nikki Gillialand says, “US fashion retailer Everlane has over 250,000 followers on its main Instagram account. It’s second, @EverlaneStudio, has just short of 6,000. While you might assume the latter is merely a social media fail, in actual fact, this limited number of followers is part of a deliberate strategy. How does it work? Everlane Studio is a private account that accepts just 100 followers each day. It offers exclusive online content and early access to new releases, allowing customers to get their hands on items before anyone else. Alongside this, the brand uses the platform to... [...]

Tamar Weinberg says, “As the volume of content on the internet continues to expand at jaw-dropping rates, it’s getting harder and harder to attract an audience. And yet, publishers and brands are investing heavily on churning out new pages. The Washington Post publishes 1,200 new content assets every day, 500 of which are articles prepared by their in-house editorial team. Across the entire web, according to estimates from Internet Live Stats, over 4.3 million blog posts go up each day. Keeping up with that kind of competition volume is a bit of a non-starter. What’s more, traffic referred... [...]

Lisa Pierson says, “You know this isn’t working. Something just isn’t right. You’ve spent weeks refining your Web copy. You think it looks damn near perfect. But it’s not bringing the results you need. Traffic. Leads. Profit. Is that too much to ask? You give, and you give: You list your achievements, you detail your experience, you explain your worldview. But you’re not getting much action on your site. No new subscribers. Your sales have fallen. And those word-of-mouth referrals you started your business with have vanished. Your competitors are busy playing... [...]

Brian Hopkins says, “Is your business digital? Like Domino’s Pizza, do you realize that you are not a product or service business, rather you are a software and data business that provides products or services? Do you exploit all of your customer’s data to know them inside-out? Are customers flocking to you because you are driving every engagement with insight about them”? If the answer to any of these questions is not a resounding, “Yes!”, then you are losing revenue and shareholder value. In Forrester’s new report, The Insight Driven Business, my colleagues Ted Schadler, James... [...]

Barry Levine says, “Earlier this month, I posted a story that pointed out there’s a key missing stat in all the data about ad blocking: Where is the data showing that, if ads were more relevant or less annoying or less privacy-invading or loaded quicker, most if not all users of ad blockers would stop using them, or would delete the one they have, or would not download one? I haven’t seen that stat. Neither has mobile marketer Tune’s mobile economist, John Koetsier, who has studied whether there are enough users to support mobile content through payments instead of ads. (Spoiler alert:... [...]

Samantha Shannon says, “Over the years Google AdWords has evolved into a marketing tool that helps businesses drive leads and outrank their competitors. But what if I told you that the majority of business owners, marketers, and strategists weren’t taking full advantage of all AdWords has to offer? Queue the motivation for this article. Check out these 7n AdWords features you didn’t know existed to help elevate your campaigns to the next level. 1) Call-only campaigns Google has cited that 70% of mobile searchers call a business directly from search results. Because of this proven consumer... [...]

Zak Stambor says, “Google’s Product Listing Ads accounted for 46% of retailers’ Google paid search clicks in the quarter, a three percentage point increase from the first quarter. The image-focused ads are set to account for more than half of retailers’ paid search clicks by the end of the year, according to a new report by performance marketing agency Merkle Group Inc. The report finds that Google’s push to eliminate ads from the right side of search results has helped boost PLA click volume 73% year over year in the second quarter, outpacing the 43% growth in PLA spending. The cost... [...]

Kelsey Libert says, “Content marketers, does the following scenario sound familiar? You’re tasked with creating content that attracts publicity, links, and social shares. You come up with great ideas for content that you’re confident could accomplish these goals. However, any ideas that push the envelope or might offend anyone in the slightest get shot down by your boss or client. Even if a provocative idea gets approved, after feedback from higher-ups and several rounds of editing, you end up with a boring, watered-down version of what you originally envisioned. Given the above, you’re... [...]

Shaun Haase says, “CRMs are meant to be much more than a glorified contact management system, and if used correctly, can greatly increase business productivity and effectiveness. CRM software often have a multitude of features, many of which are rarely used by sales teams. Here, we’ll take a look at three ways you can start getting the most out of your CRM, from automating actions to utilizing sales pipeline functionality for managing customer support. While some features are overly complex or not fit for every business, there are key components that can deliver tremendous value if you... [...]