Eric Devaney says, “284 million. That’s how many monthly active users Twitter has. Believe it or not, Instagram has actually surpassed Twitter with 300 million monthly active users. (For comparison, the fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia, has a population of 255 million.) And then there’s Facebook, with 1.35 billion monthly active users. That’s billion … with a “b.” In other words, Facebook’s user base is just a hair smaller than the population of China, the most populous country in the world (with about 1.37 billion people). Stats... [...]

Siobhán McGinty says, “According to retargeting platform AdRoll, only 2% of shoppers typically convert on their first visit to an online store. That’s a lot of people slipping through the cracks. What’s a marketer to do? Enter retargeting. Retargeting allows you to zero in on those 98% of visitors, giving them a second (and in some cases third, fourth, and fifth) chance to convert. Here’s how retargeting works: It allows you to show targeted ads to potential customers via search, social media, and other websites. They see them, click back to your website, and then... [...]

Mike Kunke says, “Sales process and sales methodology are written about frequently. When I talk to leaders, both inside and outside the sales function, I still hear a lot of confusion on these topics. Why the confusion about sales methodology, you ask? I think there are two primary reasons. One reason is the confusion caused by some overlapping terms. Processes, when documented to a deeper level, involve “process steps” which are often not sales related or tied to the buyer interaction. Methodology includes frameworks and models, which have “skill steps” and involve the interactions... [...]

Eric Murphy says, “According to the Content Marketing Institute’s 2015 B2B and B2C benchmark reports, less than a quarter of marketers are able to prove content marketing ROI. Measurement is a key area of difficulty: 49% of B2B and 51% of B2C marketers were challenged with measuring content effectiveness in 2014. While definitions of effectiveness may vary by team, it should at least be simple to figure out if you’re successful once you define what “success” means. Here are two simple steps to establish a baseline for content effectiveness and prove if it’s failing (or not). Step... [...]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “Creative trends can be fickle. Remember those super glossy CTAs that used to be on every website? Now, flat, minimalistic design is in. Whether you’re a seasoned or amateur designer, no marketer should be in the dark about the latest design trends. So what’s in store for 2015 in the creative world? Using their impressive collection of video clips, music tracks, and over 47 million images, Shutterstock created an infographic that predicts this year’s up-and-coming design trends. Check it out below to learn what trends are on the up-and-up around... [...]

Kim Speier says, “There have been a lot of questions about Facebook lately: Are people still using it? Is it on the decline? Can businesses still find it valuable? With over 1 billion active users, it’s safe to say that Facebook is alive and well. There are tons of other rising social networks out there, but let’s be honest, Facebook really was the game-changer (sorry Myspace!). While it’s hard to predict the future of Facebook and social media, it remains a major player in social media marketing today. Facebook appeals to its users because it provides real-time information but with... [...]

Ginny Soskey says, “When you first start out on Pinterest, many of us imagine it’ll be the best way to organize all the things that inspire you. Instead of haphazardly storing bookmarks in your browser or keeping a long Evernote file of things to remember, you set up a few tailored boards, and start pinning away. But pretty soon after you start, you’ll realize that it can actually be hard to stay organized on Pinterest. For example, you probably come across content every day that doesn’t quite fit the board descriptions you’ve already made, but wouldn’t warrant... [...]

Doug Davidoff says, “Inbound marketing is a powerful strategy. When we implement it for a company here at Imagine Business Development, we will typically see a 2 to 7 times increase in lead generation in the first year and a 5 to 10 times increase in future years. A 2013 study identified generating high quality leads as the number one challenge for B2B marketers. It’s no surprise that Inbound Marketing, with it’s proven track record, is exploding in use. While Inbound Marketing will certainly increase the generation of quality leads, it will also generate more low-quality leads. In... [...]

Kipp Bodnar says, “With more than 1.23 billion users, Facebook is a major player in the world of social networking. Businesses looking to market using Facebook have one major tool at their disposal: the Facebook Page. Facebook Pages were specifically engineered for businesses. They provide a public home on Facebook for a business, and they allow businesses to publish content and receive comments and feedback from fans and customers. Facebook Pages are a simple tool, but they allow for many interesting business opportunities. So we combed through the web to find 15 Facebook Pages that you... [...]

Rachel Sprung says, “Truthfully, there are tons of metrics that you can report on. You’ve got reports on the number of Twitter followers, the number of Facebook Likes, the number of visits to your website, the number of conversions, the number of leads from different campaigns or channels — just to name a few. The world is your oyster. But that’s exactly what makes it so hard to get started — there are so many reports you can run that it’s not easy to identify the ones that are actually helpful, run them, and then act on them. To help you wade through the... [...]