Paul Cheney says, “Twitter is a tough place to be for anyone; large brands are no exception. But in addition to the cynicism, they have to balance pleasing their customers and their shareholders – a fine line to walk when you’re trying to grow an account. But what if you were a large brand that sold toilet paper? What if all you had to tweet about was little pieces of paper that people use to wipe their asses with? For Marie Bonaccorse Hackman and her small editorial team at Charmin, it was a playground of nutrient-rich material for tweeting. “I was there from March of 2011 until... [...]

Andrea Fryrear says, “Email and content are long-time buds. Subscribers are central to building a successful business. There’s no better content distribution channel than email. What would email marketers have to do if content wasn’t there to give them something to say? In fact, 93% of B2B marketers reported using email to distribute their content in CMI/ MarketingProf’s B2B Content Marketing: 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends—North America research. But, more importantly, 93% of those who use email consider it to be an important channel for their content marketing success. It’s... [...]

Rieva Lesonsky says, “You’re getting your store ready for the holidays by putting out festive décor, developing an email marketing campaign, boosting your local search optimization and planning your social media attack. But one holiday marketing tactic that might not be on your radar could actually be highly effective: direct mail. Direct mail influences holiday purchases for 77 percent of shoppers, a study by Epsilon reports. By comparison, just 41 percent of respondents say online banner ads influence their decisions. Why the love for direct mail? Respondents say direct mail usually... [...]

Diana Huff says, “The small manufacturers who are thriving in the face of global competition and other challenges have spent the last five to seven years improving productivity and process efficiencies. This focus has often meant that marketing activity was next to nonexistent — with much new business coming from word-of-mouth. Once a small manufacturer has their process down, however, they’re ready to begin a marketing program that includes SEO. The problem is, where to start? With so much information and so many moving parts, a small business owner can be easily overwhelmed. It’s... [...]

Sarah Quinn says, “Leads are the lifeblood of any business. After all, without leads, there can be no sales. Lead generation is the act of establishing interest in your products or services among a target market. Lead gen is a tricky business because leads can be at different stages in the buyer journey and therefore require different levels of nurturing. Here are 5 lead gen mistakes that you have to stop making if you want to increase sales. 1. You’re too general We’ve all heard the saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none,” this is not how you want customers... [...]

Matt McGee says, “A recent study from ad tech company Fluent shows that about 40 percent of US consumers plan to make at least one purchase this holiday season on a mobile device. And age is one of the key factors in whether the consumer plans to do any mobile shopping. The company surveyed nearly 2,000 US consumers in late September to ask about their holiday shopping plans and found that 39 percent said they plan to make at least one purchase on a mobile device this year. Younger shoppers are more likely to go mobile: Almost half of those aged 18–44 say they’ll use a mobile device,... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “There’s nothing quite like a bit of holiday research to get you through a rainy day. Now, according to new stats from Signal, more of us than ever are using our smartphones to do it. With 46% of millennials planning a trip using their mobile in the past year, it is the younger generation that is driving the digital shift. So, how exactly are travel brands catering to mobile users, and more specifically, millennial mobile users? Here’s a closer look. Piquing initial interest Google uses the term ‘micro-moments‘ to describe the times when we reach for... [...]

Brian Clark says, “This week’s guest on The Digital Entrepreneur remains wholeheartedly enthusiastic about captaining her own ship … even if, in her words, it’s a “rowboat” compared to the larger vessel for which she is an Executive VP. She’s spent the better part of this decade teaching savvy business owners how to boost their marketing skills, and in this episode she discusses some lessons she has learned along the way. She is Pamela Wilson, and she is a digital entrepreneur. In this 40-minute episode, Pamela and I discuss: The motivation behind her new book, Master Content... [...]

Aja Frost says, “Want to become a prospecting superstar? LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a fantastic resource. It simplifies the process of finding, contacting, and staying up-to-date with prospects, referrals, and customers. Rather than spending hours manually tracking prospect activity on the platform, you can get instant insights. That means more time for high-value activities like calling people or giving demos. Whether you’re new to Sales Navigator or a veteran of the tool, these 12 tips will help you take your social selling game to the next level. Basic 1) Message Prospects Without... [...]

Marc Wayshak says, “Many social media gurus would have you believe that the era of phone prospecting is dead and gone — but they couldn’t be more wrong. With your competitors making fewer phone calls than ever before, the phone is now a jackpot of untapped sales potential. But phone calls need to be done well, or else — quite frankly — they’re totally useless. Unfortunately, most salespeople make some pretty obvious mistakes when it comes to phone prospecting. These mistakes kill their sales pipelines and waste huge opportunities for closing more deals. If you master... [...]