Lynette Young says, “Not many conferences can brag about bringing together an outstanding lineup of talented speakers (and maybe part-time comics?), enthusiastic attendees, and a fun astronaut. But it happened, and there’s a lot we want to talk about! The energy was tangible even before the inaugural ASCEND Digital Marketing Summit(hosted by AWeber) kicked off Thursday morning October 23, 2014 at The Westin Philadelphia — and it only carried on throughout the remainder of the conference. With topics ranging from content marketing to optimization strategies and affiliate marketing, each session... [...]

Ben Davis says, “It occurred to me that amongst the Econsultancy blog team we certainly have our favourite companies as far as digital ambition and execution are concerned. So I’m simply going to round up some companies that have done good things on this front and see if our readers get annoyed by any omissions or, indeed, inclusions. So, here are 18 digital trailblazers. A lot of them are involved solely in ecommerce but not all of them”. 18 companies with brilliant digital strategies ‘Econsultancy’ Blog  [...]

Amber Cebull says, “As the year comes closer to an end and we reassess our business budgets, we are, with any luck, tailoring our approach to what is most effective for our brand. If it didn’t yielded sales, it’s likely time to say goodbye to some of the less successful campaigns and strategies. If you haven’t taken the time to explore which marketing tactics aren’t working for you or (gasp!) still don’t have a marketing budget or strategy, fear not. I’ve compiled this list of 5 tired marketing trends to lay to rest in 2014”. 5 Tired Marketing Trends to Lay to Rest in 2014 HubSpot... [...]

Pamela Robertson says, “Crowdsourcing, Programmatic Buying, The Internet of Things … these are all concepts that today’s savvy marketer needs to be thinking about. We can’t emphasize it enough: the marketing landscape changes almost daily, sometimes without us even realizing it. The three concepts I just mentioned weren’t even part of our lexicon a few short years (or even months) ago, but are now important trends marketers need to know and consider when building out marketing plans. Take crowdsourcing, for example. Experian Marketing Services research showed that the number of ratings... [...]

Sarika Periwal says, “Marketing in a digital world has evolved. There was a time when ads in leading newspapers, commercials during popular TV shows, and strategically placed billboards did the job. Now, with every passing day, getting noticed by your audience is becoming more and more difficult. Facebook pages and Twitter feeds are overcrowded. Odds are fair that your post will get lost in the constant, unabated, overwhelming storm of information. So how can you gird yourself for the digital battle? Being in the right place, at the right time, in front of the right people is about implementing... [...]

Minter Dial says, “Both the sales and marketing functions have been significantly impacted by the arrival of the connected customer plus a new set of digital tools, devices and platforms. Brand marketers and sales teams need to adopt to the new world order or risk serious business consequences. At its core, the change required is one of mindset. There is no prescribed path, so brands need to experiment and teams need to be in a constant learning mode. Whenever one tries something new, failure is a very real risk. Yet, it’s not because we might fail that we should not act”. Why digital marketing... [...]

Minter Dial says, “Both the sales and marketing functions have been significantly impacted by the arrival of the connected customer plus a new set of digital tools, devices and platforms. Brand marketers and sales teams need to adopt to the new world order or risk serious business consequences. At its core, the change required is one of mindset. There is no prescribed path, so brands need to experiment and teams need to be in a constant learning mode. Whenever one tries something new, failure is a very real risk. Yet, it’s not because we might fail that we should not act”. Why digital marketing... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Social media was the most effective online paid channel for driving impressions, clicks, and conversions at a low cost in the second quarter of 2014, according to a recent report from Neustar. Social demonstrated the best cost efficiency of the four paid online channels examined (social, portals, networks, and exchanges), indexing 70% cheaper than the average cost for digital spend and showing a 32% decrease in cost quarter over quarter. The reduced pricing of social inventory in 2Q14 came thanks largely to the increased use of demand-side platforms (DSPs), which allow... [...]

Jo Hill says, “Earlier this year I wrote about how to start formulating a digital marketing strategy. Getting the strategy right is of course paramount. But even when the strategy is right, if it’s not understood, supported, and turned into action then it’s barely more than an academic exercise. Ella Fitzgerald was on the money when she sang “tain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it… that’s what gets results”. Here are some actions to take when creating your digital marketing strategy that will also help to build the foundation for its success”. How... [...]

Pete Prestipino says, “New data from GigaOm Research aims to help digital marketers understand the tactics in use across the marketing funnel, spanning awareness, customer acquisition, conversion and retention. The survey of 300 U.S. digital marketers revealed that social media, a highly utilized awareness-building tool, is also useful for customer retention. The GigaOm research also indicated that content marketing is especially useful for awareness and retention, but email is the channel used most consistently across the marketing funnel by survey participants“. Marketing Tactics... [...]