The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “Take Advantage of the Biggest Mobile Trends in 2014 to Engage Your Audience”. Martin Rugfelt says, “It is no secret that in 2014 consumers will be more dependent on smart applications than ever, and that the success of brands will depend on their ability to advertise effectively on mobile devices. Users are currently ahead of marketers in their omni-channel behavior: mobile usage has skyrocketed, but mobile advertising spend has not kept up with usage rates. For brands there is a tremendous opportunity to engage with their targeted audience... [...]

The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “Paid Search Trends: CPCs Rise, Bing’s Market Share Falls in Q4”. Ayaz Nanji says, “The average cost per click (CPC) for paid search ads rose across all search engines in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to a recent report from The Search Agency. The analysis, based on data from US advertisers who ran paid search campaigns in 4Q13, found overall CPC increased 27.6% year over year (from $1.04 to $1.33) and 5.8% quarter over quarter (from $1.25 to $1.33). Overall paid search spend also increased year over year (YOY), by 37.4%,... [...]

The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “Destroy Your Website in 13 Easy Steps”. Andy Crestodina says, “”I know enough to be dangerous.” Ever heard that one? Ever said that one? It’s a common thing to say, but sometimes we should take it literally. There are thousands of possible mistakes, but most of them are small and they do no long-term damage. But then there are the big screw-ups, the real disasters. Here are 13 easy steps that are sure to destroy your website—choke off traffic, kill leads, and push your stats into the basement. They’re listed... [...]

The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “Three Ways to Kick-Start Your Small-Business Marketing in 2014”. Hunter Boyle says, “Care to guess how many small business owners and marketers consider themselves “pros” at digital marketing? Only 12% of them, according to a new survey by email provider AWeber. Whoa. Plus, 29% said they were overwhelmed by online marketing, which makes sense when you consider the almost constant influx of new and evolving marketing tools. So are you still trying to focus on email marketing, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube,... [...]

The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “How Effective Are Marketing Agency Blogs?”. Ayaz Nanji says, “Most marketing agencies are now blogging with some measure of frequency, according to recent data from RSW/US. Just over three-quarters of agencies (76%) have an external-facing company blog, and 58% expect their blogging activity to increase in 2014, the survey of 150 senior level marketers and 170 marketing agency executives found. Of those agencies that blog, 41% post on average once a month, 37% once per week, and 18% more than once per week“. How Effective Are... [...]

The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “Six Tips for Creating an Effective Online Customer Survey”. Sameer Bhatia says, “Because of the wide availability of opportunities to create surveys using free online survey software, you can quickly and easily gauge customer satisfaction or interest in new product offerings via customer surveys. When using a free or subscription-based online tool to create a survey, however, you must be certain that the survey is carefully designed to yield the most valuable data. 1. Preliminary Research Online survey software makes it easy to create... [...]

The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “How B2B IT Buyers Use Social Networks”. Ayaz Nanji says, “The majority (57%) of B2B information technology buyers are using social networks as part their purchase decision process, according to a recent report from IDG Connect. Moreover, B2B buyers say content discovered on social networks will likely have more influence on their purchasing decisions than directly accessed editorial or vendor content in the future. Today, editorial content has the biggest influence in making IT investment decisions (35% of buyers give it the most weight),... [...]

The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “Today’s Marketing Technology Landscape”. Verónica Maria Jarski says, “Want to know more about the vast arrays of software available to marketers as of January 2014? The following infographic by Scott Brinker at the Chief Marketing Technology blog offers a sprawling view of the marketing technology landscape. The infographic features 947 companies placed into 43 categories across the following six classes of marketing technology: 1. The Internet 2. Infrastructure 3. Marketing backbone platforms“. Today’s Marketing... [...]

The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “Eight Steps for Making 2014 Your Video Marketing Year”. Michael Litt says, “I can pretty much guarantee that you or people on your team have said or heard the words, “We’re definitely going to use more video in the new year”—and you’re not alone. According to the third annual Reel SEO Video Marketing Survey, 93% of marketing professionals used video as part of their strategy in 2013, and 71% increased their video spend from 2012 levels. But, as budgets increase, marketers are going to need to set some realistic... [...]

The latest article on ‘MarketingProfs’ is titled “Four Marketing Data Predictions for 2014”. Dan Darnell says, “Big Data reveled in the spotlight in 2013. From crime prevention to healthcare, seemingly every vexing large-scale problem could be solved with the flick of a switch and a prayer to the Big Data gods. Alas, 2014 will be the year when the idealism and hype of Big Data and analytics will die down as retailers start to focus in on how and where to take action. The promised land of Big Data certainly exists, but getting there isn’t as simple as pressing a button. Industries... [...]