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- 11 Mar
Local Email Marketing: A Crash Course
- Mar 11, 2020
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Localization
You’ve probably seen the stats before. Email marketing is an undeniably powerful marketing strategy. In fact, on average, email generates $38 for every dollar spent, which is a 3,800% return on investment.
Crazy, right?
Add to that the fact that there are almost four billion email users worldwide. That is huge. That is crazy, right?
Email marketing works for companies with customers all over the globe. But what do you do when you’re working for a local company? One that runs on a much smaller scale? Customers are right in your area, and to make sales, you have to focus on locality.
Enter your solution: local email marketing. All in all, there’s not that much of a difference. This approach takes all of the elements of email marketing and puts a local business spin on it. And to see how you can make it work for you, read the full article on the HubSpot Blog.
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- 10 Mar
4 Things You Need To Do To Create More Research-Based Content
- Mar 10, 2020
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Digital Media Trends
by James Riddle
A research study conducted by Demand Metric recently revealed that 90% of all companies employ content in their marketing efforts. Today, the majority of business owners believe that content should be central to marketing work.
It May Not Be as Simple as You Thought
However, content marketing, and content marketing that really succeeds, is more than crafting 600-800 words. No, it is far more than that now. Now research-based content is gaining favor. Especially so with those who consume that content.
Research-based content marketing is a sustainable way of bringing in more loyal customers. Even though both large and small-sized businesses can benefit from employing the best practices of content marketing, most of us struggle to pull off a successful content marketing strategy.
For some help with those struggles, James Riddle brings us some great advice on some research-based content actions you can take to improve your content marketing game. Read the full article on Jeff Bullas’ Blog
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- 09 Mar
How to Consistently Create Engaging Social Media Videos
- Mar 09, 2020
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Social Media, Video Marketing
We’ve all heard it, time and time again: video is the new king. And we know that it’s the best performing form of online content.
Is This Just Another Digital Marketing Fad?
Video has proven that it is no fad. Video is here to stay. New and evolving technology may change how we watch videos, but, video will still be a thing. And of them all, social media video is outperforming all other forms of social media content. Some studies say that video generates 1200% more shares than both text and image updates combined.
So how do you leverage more video on your social media? Well, to start, you can read this article on Jeffbullas’s Blog to find out exactly how you can create engaging social media videos consistently.
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- 02 Mar
A Guide to Using Video in Your Sales Prospecting
- Mar 02, 2020
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Video Marketing
Marketers have been facing a drastic decrease in email open and response rates over the past decade. This, according to MailerMailer and SilverPop. In today’s information glut, as consumers become better at filtering marketing messages. And now, email just can’t get the same results it once did.
Breaking Through All the Noise
So how can you make your messages stand out? We know that sales emails are often easily overlooked. But adding video to your emails can give your company the competitive edge.
In this article from MarketingProfs, Mikita Cherkasau explains how video can help with your sales prospecting. And, he also gives us an overview of the software options available on the market and tips on how you can craft your videos. So, read on at MarketingProfs,com
NOTE: A Free Registration pop-up will open on this site and registration may be required to read the full article.
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- 22 Jan
The 11 Landing Page Best Practices to Swear By
- Jan 22, 2020
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Conversion Strategies, Digital Marketing, Website Conversion Strategies
by Mary Lister
If you’re in marketing, you’re no stranger to landing pages. We’ve all clicked through an interesting ad looking for more information. And then only to abandon the landing page because it was too confusing or didn’t hold enough information. And if we’re paying attention, we usually take note of what not to do with our own landing pages.
Just Because You Build it, They Won’t Necessarily Stay . . .
But what about what we need to do to keep those visitors? You may think that it is simply a matter of using a plug-and-play solution like Marketo or HubSpot or Unbounce to make your landing pages. Or you’re having a specialist team or even in-house dev team build your landing pages. By now, you realize that it is hard work and can be extremely confusing.
But, there are answers. And to help you our, here are 11 landing page best practices for better pages and, of course, more conversions. Read the full article at WordStream.com
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- 15 Jan
Five Ways to Boost Your Email Campaigns’ Inbox Placement in 2020
- Jan 15, 2020
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Conversion Strategies, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing
Even today, email marketing remains as one of the most dependable tactics in the marketer’s playbook. Flashy, new marketing channels come and go every year, many of them promising to yield impressive ROI. But few of them can actually compete with the tried-and-true approach of email.
Easy to Use. Tough to Master.
Email is relatively simple to use, and it delivers great ROI. But, even though it is easy to use, email is difficult to master if you don’t act on insights that can help deliver impact. And, often, the result of that neglect is beautiful emails, with tempting calls to action, but they get marked as spam and don’t make it to the recipient’s inbox.
As we enter a new year and a new chapter in digital marketing, it’s imperative that your email campaigns reach their intended destination. So here are five best-practices to boost and maintain email deliverability in 2020 at MarketingProfs.com
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- 12 Dec
4 Ways to Target B2B Audiences on Social Media
- Dec 12, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing, Social Media
by Ellie Buckle
For B2C brands, social media is a great place to engage with your existing audience. And, for most, its also a great place to target new potential customers to grow your business.
But, Can Social Media Work for B2B?
For some B2B businesses, on the other hand, social media audience targeting can be a challenge. It can be tricky to know how or where to find your audience on social media. Now, it may seem logical to start with customer personas. But, that’s just the beginning. How do you actually target your key customer segments? How do those personas change on social media platforms? How do you know you’re targeting the right potential customers?
Well, fear not. here is a list of four quick ways to target your B2B audiences on social media today. To learn them all, read the full article at WordStream.com
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- 10 Oct
Visual Language Can Spell Success for Your Next Marketing Campaign
- Oct 10, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Digital Media Trends
by Erin McCoy
By now there should be no argument. Visual content is now an absolute necessity for marketing success. In fact, 94% of first impressions of your brand are based on visual design.
And, so your marketing content must delight and your visuals need to engage your audience at very first glance. But, if not, they’re likely to move on to the next thing. And will do so in a matter of seconds.
You Still Might not be Reaching Your Full Marketing Potential
While your brand guidelines are critical for providing general direction, each campaign is different. So each campaign needs its own visual language. And to help you take your visual marketing content to the next level, in this article from the HubSpot blog, Erin McCoy explores what a visual language is, and how you can develop one for your next campaign. Read the full article now . . .
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- 01 Oct
Traditional Marketing vs. Digital Marketing: Why Not Both?
- Oct 01, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Marketing Strategies
We all know that the rise in the importance of digital in our world has changed marketing. And that has resulted in an argument between traditional and digital marketing has evolved. But is it really an “either – or” decision?
First let’s take a look at what differentiates the two
Traditional marketing refers to any type of marketing that isn’t online. This means print, broadcast, direct mail, phone, and outdoor advertising like billboards. From newspapers to radio, this method of marketing helps reach targeted audiences. It is a form of “broadcast marketing” targeting a broad audience.
Inversely, digital marketing is … well … digital. Digital marketing is any marketing a company conducts online. This can be anything, such as paid social media ads, email marketing, and PPC advertising. And digital marketing has become wildly popular due to the cultural, technological, and societal shifts around us. And as the world becomes more digital, the way we market has evolved.
So, when trying to choose between traditional and digital marketing, why not look at both? The question shouldn’t be “To traditional market or to digital market?” Instead, try “How do we use both tactics to market effectively?” To learn how, read the full article at HubSpot.com
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- 11 Sep
10 How-To Videos That Really Work And Why They Do
- Sep 11, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Video Marketing
On the internet today, video is everywhere. And for marketing, it is at every stage of the buyer funnel.
Hearing is One Thing. Seeing is A Whole Different Level
As an example, have you ever learned how to do something with the help of an internet search? The answer is most likely a resounding “yes.” In fact, videos are an especially compelling way to learn how to do something online. That’s because, well, the video shows you exactly how to do it. I’m not alone here, either — most customers would prefer to watch a marketing video rather than seeing an ad.
So if you’re among the 45% of marketers who are adding video content to your strategy this year, there could be a lot of value in making videos specifically for those in your audience who are trying to learn how to do something, too. And in this post, you will see exactly how popular these searches are on YouTube and other platforms, and what you can learn from eight how-to videos about how to make great teaching videos of your own, all at HubSpot.com
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- 10 Sep
Understanding Modern Marketing: Marketing’s Evolution and Digital’s Impact
- Sep 10, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategies, Website Conversion Strategies
by Elliott King
We know that “digital” has changed much of our business world. But, exactly how has digital changed the marketing and sales funnel? Are the 4Ps still important for successful marketing? Are they even relevant in today’s digital world? Or, has the emergence of customer-centricity supplanted them? And what’s the new relationship between Marketing and Sales?
All Good Questions. But What About Some Good Answers?
There is ample evidence that the customer has taken control of their buying process. Their entire methodology for how they research their purchase has fundamentally changed. And, this shift is continuing to change at a rapid pace.
This all means that it has become increasingly important that sellers and brands understand how to respond. In this article Elliott King explores the rise of “digital” in marketing, its origins and its impacts on traditional sales and marketing strategy. So to learn more, read the full article at MarketingProfs
NOTE: A Free Registration pop-up may open on this site. A Free ChiefMarketer Registration may be required to read the full article.
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- 31 Aug
The State of the Marketing Industry in 2019: 7 Trends to Watch Out For
- Aug 31, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategies
by Clifford Chi
If you work in marketing, you know of content marketing. And if you work with content marketing, you probably know that it is a booming growth and ever-evolving ecosystem. And you know that it constantly forces us to be on the lookout for the next big thing.
The Never Ending Cycle
One day we’re creating pillar pages and topic clusters to please the Google gods. And then the next, we’re overhauling our entire social strategy because another Facebook algorithm update will flatten our organic reach even more than before.
That said, trends come and go every year. But we believe that there are seven core trends that seem to be here to stay. Read the full article to learn about the marketing trends that could move from hype to reality in 2019 at HubSpot.com
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- 13 Aug
What You Need to Know About Email Deliverability
- Aug 13, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Conversion Strategies, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing
You click send. And your marketing email is off on its journey into subscribers’ inboxes. But when you go back to view performance, 10% of the mailing list didn’t even receive it. What gives? The emails you spend so much time strategizing about, crafting, and scheduling aren’t worth much if they don’t actually reach your target audience.
You Cant Manage What Y0u Don’t Measure, Accurately
One truly essential marketing measure that many marketers either ignore or don’t understand is email deliverability. But what is it? Simply stated, deliverability is the email’s ability to reach recipients’ inboxes rather than a “junk” or “promotions” folder. And if you aren’t measuring this, then you can’t manage your email program.
Remember that simply because an email is sent, doesn’t mean it is delivered to a person’s inbox. To learn why and how to remedy this, read the full article at MarketingProfs.com
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- 07 Aug
A Handy Guide to Press Release Distribution Success
- Aug 07, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Marketing for Small Business, PR. Public Relations
by Sam Allcock
To thrive as a small business, you need people to know that you exist and that you can help them. One way to do that is to get press coverage. But, unfortunately, coverage doesn’t just come naturally. It is something that you need to work to get.
Enter: The press release.
Press releases are important for increasing your brand awareness and helping your public relations (PR). But if nobody sees your release, you won’t get very far. You need to distribute it effectively to get your story picked up by national newspapers, magazines, or blogs.
But you may not know exactly how to do that. So, to help, Sam Allcock from HubSpot has put together a Handy Guide to help you learn how to properly create, pitch, and distribute a press release for optimal brand awareness. To see the full guide, read the full article at HubSpot.com.
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- 31 Jul
Research and Case Studies: B2B Audiences’ Most Valued and Trusted Content
- Jul 31, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing
from Marketing Charts
For content marketing to work, it must posses authority. That is the key to achieving the primary goals for content marketing of improving brand awareness, increasing customer conversions and increasing sales revenue. This is per a new report [download page] from Ascend2.
A Preponderance of Evidence Does Support This Notion
While this report may be a bit skewed due to the survey sample (which consists in part of research subscribers), there’s previous research to support the idea that data builds authority and trust.
For example:
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- A survey from Clutch recently found that research and original data is considered the most effective form of content.
- And a Demand Gen Report found that over two-thirds of B2B buyers strongly agree. The use of more data and research would improve the quality of the content created and provided by vendors.
- Then add to that research from the Economist Group. They noted credible data and the quality of research analysis are extremely valuable. In fact, they are the factors most necessary to build executives’ trust in content.
To see more of the data and insights, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com.
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- 27 Jul
10 Effective Tactics for Promoting Your Content
- Jul 27, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Promotional Strategies
by Mario Medina
You want to make your content marketing program work. And to do that, you need to devote a huge amount of energy, time and resources. An add to that the fact that the creative process is not easy either. It simply takes a lot to create great content.
If a Whitepaper Falls in the Forest, . . .
But, even when you create great content, it might never be seen. That is, if it’s not promoted and shared. Content promotion is critical to the success of every piece of content. And that means that promotion is crucial to the success of your content strategy in general.
After all, the more views your content has, the more likely you are to engage a customer and ultimately make a sale. So, to make sure content gets seen and has a chance at generating leads, take a look at these 10 unpaid, organic content promotion tactics that Mario Medina brings us on MarketingProfs.
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- 26 Jul
Captioned Video Ads Show A Lift in Brand Linkage
- Jul 26, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Video Marketing
from Marketing Charts
We know that advertisers are increasing their video budgets this year. But are they missing out on one key element that could make a difference to audience engagement? A new survey from Verizon Media has found that and astounding 7 in 10 US consumers watch videos without sound in public spaces. This makes captioning not only important but expected by viewers and crucial for your business.
The vast majority of people who use captions are not hearing impaired. Half of the more than 5,600 US consumers surveyed report that captions are important because they usually watch videos with the sound off. Perhaps, more importantly, the majority of respondents said they are more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available.
What Does This Mean to Advertisers? Read the full article at Marketing Charts to learn more.
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- 17 Jul
New Report: Timing Matters for Email Marketing Success
- Jul 17, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing
by Dan L. Hoff
Email marketing is an ever-shifting landscape. What workd last year may not work now. And for that matter, what we used last month may no longer be generating the results we want and need from our campaigns.
Change is the Only Constant Here
It is a space that takes a constant flow of insights. And what better way to gain those insights than to simply look at how things are performing? And that is exactly what Campaign Monitor did.
They reviewed the performance of over 30 billion – yes, that is billion with a B – emails across 4.2 million campaigns sent last year. And the report [view original report] revealed some interesting new trends. Some of which seem to conflict with what we may have been using as current best practices.
So, What’s in it for Me?
The report looked at the full range of standard email marketing metrics, including best day to send, click-though performance and open rates. Then used those stats to actually establish a set of industry benchmarks. From there, they went on to actually explain exactly how we can use those benchmarks to improve our marketing programs.
They did observe some of the more obvious points. For example, they noted that emails need to have a clear call to action and that they be easy to read. After all, people are busy and may very likely be reading your message in a non-business setting. And we need to avoid big blocks of text that make it difficult to read. Plus, it is still important to keep the focus on the customer, not your product, to keep them engaged.
To see all of the data and to gain insights into applying the research to your individual email programs, read the Ultimate Email Marketing Benchmarks for 2019 report at CampaingMonitor.com
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- 16 Jul
SEO is More Than Just Keywords and Links
- Jul 16, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, SEO
The traditional ways of using keywords and links to build SEO rank is changing. As search has moved towards artificial intelligence, and now seeks to determine intent, the dynamics of what was good SEO have evolved. Now, instead of relying specifically on keywords we need to focus on new factors.
Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes . . .
Admittedly, the traditional SEO practices are not dead. But they are becoming more and more outdated. Today, there are a range of other factors that can affect your ranking results. Chief among them are your critical digital assests, your content and web pages.
And if you see that SEO and the performance of your digital assets is is important, then you need ot understand that SEO can be a full time job. And keeping up with the latest trends is difficult as the space becomes more complex. So to help, here are some general SEO tips to think about when writing content and building out your pages on the Heinz Marketing Blog.
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- 13 Jul
29 Email Deliverability Tips You Must Know
- Jul 13, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Lead Generation
Your probably spend a lot of time drafting poignant email copy. After all, you design wonderfully branded email templates and craft succinct and enticing email subject lines. All desiged to get open rates and click-through rates skyrocketing.
If An Email Falls in the Forest . . . ?
But before hitting send, have you considered whether your subscribers will even get the opportunity to read your email? There are a host of things that can prevent your email from ever reaching someone’s inbox. Today, there are even more stringent laws and increasingly sophisticated spam filters. And that means that it’s to your benefit to know everything that can affect your email’s deliverability.
If steering clear of legal trouble isn’t enough to convince you, squeezing more ROI out of your email marketing efforts certainly should. Learn the things you should absolutely never do in your email marketing if you want your messages to be successfully delivered, at HubSpot.com