Fergal Glynn says, “Today’s enterprises tap into data to drive decision-making for practically every strategic move, but are they using data to power their content marketing efforts? While some marketers use data to identify trending topics, monitor engagement, and track performance, data should play a role in every facet of content creation... [Read more]

Zubin Mowlavi says, “Despite your best efforts to keep customers up-to-date with the latest brand news and offers, you’re seeing flat lined open or click-through rates, an unsubscribe mass exodus, and — worst of all — emails tagged to funnel directly to your customers’ spam folders (yikes). These are all sure signs that your email... [Read more]

Thomas Husson says, “My colleague Jenny Wise and I just updated the business case report of Forrester’s mobile marketing playbook with new data, examples and primary research. B2C Marketers know mobile is a strategic imperative but the vast majority don’t strategically integrate it in their marketing-mix with only 13% saying they do so systematically.... [Read more]

This is a consultant’s dream. If you work with local businesses to help them get online, you need to see this. Drew Laughlin has created what he calls Marketing Consultant’s PLR. This is a set of lead generation websites for 50 kinds of local businesses, everything from specialized attorneys to veterinarians, and he is offering to let you... [Read more]

Mike Renahan says, “For the majority of reps, phone and email are the most important tools they have at their disposal. These two communication channels represent the difference between missing quota and exceeding it. But determining the right outreach strategy with these tools can be challenging. For instance, many reps struggle with two fundamental... [Read more]

Adobe team says, “Marketing is constantly evolving. Granted, evolution is a natural part of any thriving industry, but in the digital era, few can rival the speed at which marketing has continued to change — adding new capabilities, platforms and best practices. Are you optimized on all possible channels? Are you using programmatic media buying?... [Read more]

Sonia Simone says, “The key to online success is authority. The key to authority is knowing what the heck you’re talking about and being able to express it well. So, what’s the key to knowing what the heck you’re talking about? One of the things that holds people back from creating content-driven websites is the insecurity that they’ll... [Read more]

Sadly, things can go wrong with the best website plans: A server can crash, taking down your site and data; Hackers can penetrate your best defenses and take over your site and hold it for ransom or use it to promote their ideology; Your hosting company can go out of business and leave you with nothing. (It's happened to us twice.)... [Read more]

Ronell Smith says, “A couple of years back, I received a call from the CMO of a small but popular and growing startup about taking on the brand as a content strategist. While I was initially lukewarm to the idea, they were adamant about working together, feeling that I “could help them reach their goals.” Before hanging up the phone, I asked... [Read more]

David Bernstein says, “It makes sense to implement a rigid return policy, doesn’t it? By requiring that products be returned for refund or exchange before a certain number of days pass, customers are likely to let the deadline pass without realizing. At least, that’s the basic idea (and hope) for strict policies. What if the opposite were... [Read more]

Patricio Robles says, “It’s social media best practice: be authentic and honest. But when it comes to telling your followers what they probably don’t want to hear, is there such a thing as too much candor? Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART, is a public rail service that serves the San Francisco Bay Area. More than 400,000 use it every... [Read more]

If you are like IM NewsWatch, you use Paypal to process all your receipts. That's normal since there are many advantages for you and for your customers when you use Paypal. That works pretty well for a consumer who makes a few purchases each year. But as a marketer, you need to have all your Paypal data at hand, quickly and easily... [Read more]

Ben Davis says, “Ad fraud is a topic that cannot be ignored. At Econsultancy conferences, any discussion of programmatic media comes with the obligatory debate about building transparency into an ecosystem where the advertiser so often lacks control. I thought I’d write a short post simply stating the scale of the problem with three facts. 1.... [Read more]

Mike Wood says, “Online promotions, the Holy Grail for retailers. A great tool to attract customers and earn their business. If you sell a product or service online, then you need to make sure you understand online promotions and how they can impact your business. What I’m talking about here are online promotions, not promoting yourself online. This... [Read more]

Tom Brant says, “A feature that will automatically alert you if someone is impersonating your Facebook profile is the latest security enhancement for users of the world’s largest social network. Approximately 75 percent of Facebook profiles are now automatically alerted when imposters use their profile photo and user name to create a fake... [Read more]

Simon Lim has released a brand new set of marketing tools and resources for consultants who help local businesses start marketing online. Local businesses often are fearful of starting out online.  They worry about whether they will be pouring money down the drain... [Read more]

Anjali Lai says, “Next time you find yourself wading through data points, sifting out patterns from the noise, hoping to catch the rare pearl of insight to affix to your business plan, know that you are not alone. Employees worldwide incessantly engage with data, and the companies they work for urgently execute on data-driven strategies in a race... [Read more]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “For most businesses, generating leads is the ultimate benefit of creating and maintaining a social media presence. But first things first: In order to make social media an effective lead generation machine, you first need to generate a following. This means fans and followers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and... [Read more]

Mudit Vyas says, “Digital marketers keep on looking out for new trends emerging every year to tap into the vast unexplored market. If we look at a potential customer, he/she is networking into an array of social channels, through multiple devices and platforms in one or the other way. Businesses try hard to engage and grow consumers through these... [Read more]

We don't know why, but for the last 6 weeks or so, hackers have been trying to get inside IM NewsWatch. So far, none has succeeded. We have worked hard to protect the site, so we are hoping that they never will... [Read more]

Verónica Jarski says, “Smart marketers know that marketplace insight is one of the most valuable benefits of social media. But knowing about social media research and actually conducting it are two different things. Here’s what you need to know to get started in social media research, according to the following Insights in Marketing infographic. “Don’t... [Read more]

Austin McCraw says, “I recently overheard an interesting conversation at a Westin hotel check-in counter. It went something like this: “… and we’re energy efficient!” said the Westin receptionist. “That’s great …” the customer’s hesitating response was only met with her static smile. “So … What does that have to do with... [Read more]