Caitlin Burgess says, “In today’s digital world, social media is a staple tactic within most marketing strategies, with 92% of companies considering social media important for their business. But as a widely adopted tactic, many brands and marketers are finding it more challenging than ever to stand out in news feeds, grow their follower base, and maintain or increase engagement. Of course, recent platform tweaks aimed at improving user experience have thrown a wrench into the mix, too. If you’re nodding your head in agreement, it may be time to get more creative and deliberate with your... [...]

James Anderson says, “For many B2B marketers video content is the biggest step in a content marketing plan, the one thing that is tackled last because it takes more resources to produce. That mode of thinking is changing, however, as more marketers lean on video content as an effective way to cut through the crowded content marketing landscape. In a recent CMI / Marketing Profs study, 76% of B2B marketers said that they plan to use video as a content marketing tactic in 2015. Creating video and hosting it on your company site or sending it out on social media is a way to show that your brand... [...]

Evan Prokop says, “This week’s forecast calls for heavy rain. Not from the sky, but from the stage at Authority Rainmaker 2015, hosted by CopyBlogger. The conference got off to a bang with an electrifying keynote from Daniel Pink, speaker and author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. According to Daniel, the buying experience has changed more in the last ten years than in the previous 100, due in large part to the unprecedented access to information that the average consumer has today. However, many companies’ sales processes have yet to catch up to the meteoric... [...]

Lee Odden says, “Recording last night’s BeanCast, Altruism or Consumerism, hosted by the talented Bob Knorpp brought up the topic of Content Marketing and whether paid placement of content is just advertising – among many other topics from Dove to Amazon Dash. This content vs. ad question was inspired by commentary from Mitch Joel in his post, Your Content Is Kidding No One where he states, “if you have to pay to have it placed, it’s not content. It’s an ad.” While I agree with what Mitch says in the post in terms of brands failing to create engaging, share-worthy and conversation-starting... [...]

James Anderson says, “For many B2B marketers video content is the biggest step in a content marketing plan, the one thing that is tackled last because it takes more resources to produce. That mode of thinking is changing, however, as more marketers lean on video content as an effective way to cut through the crowded content marketing landscape. In a recent CMI / Marketing Profs study, 76% of B2B marketers said that they plan to use video as a content marketing tactic in 2015. Creating video and hosting it on your company site or sending it out on social media is a way to show that your brand... [...]

Lee Oden says, “Do you attend industry conferences? Would you like to create a greater diversity of content on a regular basis without a big jump in budget? Imagine these two scenarios: Dan looks forward to industry conferences because they provide time away from the office and give him a chance to be inspired by industry thought leaders. He also gets to network amongst peers in the industry and depending on the event city and venue, maybe he has a little fun too. Sandy plans her conference attendance according to topics and speakers. She identifies specific speaker presentations to attend... [...]

Lee Oden says, “Much of today’s digital marketing consulting is about data: goals, KPIs and performance metrics. Processes and technology also play a big part, serving as a point of differentiation for many digital marketing agencies and consultants. The consulting business can be a tricky one because not all business marketing problems are clearly defined and even fewer require simple cause and effect or linear solutions. There are almost always contextual differences between various stakeholders and multiple dependencies, outside forces and differing agendas to deal with as well. Sounds... [...]

Ben Brausen says, “10 Marketing Predictions for 2015 [INFOGRAPHIC] – There have been many changes in the digital marketing space over 2014, and that has marketers preparing to revise their strategies as we approach 2015. So what is the future of SEO, social media, content marketing, and mobile marketing?  Find out. Social Media Today Survey: The 10 Biggest Challenges Facing Social Media Marketers – Assessing the effectiveness of their social media activities is the number one challenge facing social media professionals worldwide, reveals a new study. AllTwitter Google: Stop Using... [...]

Jim Davidson says, “Marketers seems to begin their holiday promotions earlier and earlier each year. Here’s a look at what brands are doing to prepare for Black Friday, and how early they are starting their promotions. The trumpets blared. The bells rang. The proclamation that Black Friday had started resounded throughout the land as soon as the kids were done trick-or-treating. For better or worse, this “early start” to Black Friday and the holiday shopping season really fired up the annual debate over whether the holidays start too early. With Thanksgiving Day falling later... [...]

Lee Odden says, “Make no mistake, discovery of content through search engines is more important than ever. But the practice of optimizing content for search visibilty has changed substantially. As search engines look for signals of credibility amongst content and links, humans do the same thing. In the way that links alone used to drive the search visibility of a web page up, endorsements and mentions from industry influencers can still boost the visibility of a brand. As a result, the trend towards influencer and advocate marketing is on the rise. While SEO and influencer content might seem... [...]