How to Select the Right Marketing Agency for Your Business
Finally. The economy is improving. Businesses are beginning to invest in marketing again. And, while many of us were hunkering down and doing the best we could during the recession, the whole marketing world has turned upside down in the past seven years. Consider the following: Marketing has become a technology-based practice. In fact, there […]
The 7 Deadly Sins of Data
Sales and marketing data holds so much power … but only if you use it correctly. The following is a critique of the seven mistakes most frequently encountered in the world of marketing operations today, and how you can avoid them. Introducing … the Seven Deadly Sins of Data 1. Adding the Wrong Data Adding […]
How to Perform a Social Media Audit: Measure What Matters
Social media is long past the novelty stage. It’s a critical part of your content strategy, and like the other tactics you use, it needs to be monitored and measured so you can spend your time and money wisely, while getting the best return you can. Before we dive into how to do that, let’s […]
The Act-On Email Deliverability Glossary, Part 2
This glossary defines the most common terms that the email marketer should be familiar with, in order to manage the many components of deliverability. We ran Part 1 of the Deliverability Glossary last week; you can catch up with it here. Term Definition Permission-Based In a “permission-based” email marketing, emails are sent only to recipients […]
Do You Market to Countries in the EU? The Safe Harbor Agreement has Been Struck Down; This May Affect You
Editor’s Note: The rules and regulations in the United States about how companies manage and protect people’s private data are different from the rules and regulations in other countries. Between the US and the European Union, there has been a framework of rules to bridge this gap, colloquially called the “Safe Harbor” agreement. The week […]
The Act-On Email Deliverability Glossary, Part 1
“Deliverability” is the term used to describe the success rate for delivering email into subscribers’ inboxes. The business processes and reputation of an email service provider affect deliverability, but the email marketing team has control over the most critical deliverability factors, regardless of which email marketing solution is used. This glossary defines the most common terms […]
Gap Analysis: Fill the Holes in Your Clients’ Marketing Programs
When clients call your agency, chances are, they’re hurting: Maybe they’ve been running things themselves, but have realized that running marketing campaigns today, including the use of automated platforms and sophisticated multi-channel strategies, is just plain out of their league and they’ve turned to you for help Or maybe they lack the resources to implement […]
Search Ranking Factors: 2015 and Beyond
How do search engines rank web pages? It’s that all-important question on the minds of business owners around the globe. Many think there’s an elusive (or illusive) secret formula for ranking pages; pure speculation abounds. And more confusing yet is that search engines like Google tell us there are over 200 ranking factors (each factor […]
Advocates and Influencers: Differences, Uses, and Red Flags
“Advocates” are customers who are strongly motivated to say positive things about your brand, as well as your products or services. They are critical in your branding efforts, as word-of-mouth is still the most powerful force for influencing potential customers. This isn’t a passing trend; people have always trusted their peers more than they ever […]
5 Ways Mobile Marketing is Affecting Social Media
How often do you check social media on your phone? In fact, when was the last time you even got through an entire day without your i-enabled device or Android-powered gadget? If you’re like most people, it’s quite hard – if not impossible – to recall such a scenario. Living without mobile technology is unthinkable this day […]
How Do I Prepare for Marketing Automation?
We’re in the early days of marketing automation. In fact, I believe that marketing automation (MA) adoption is today where social media adoption was in 2004. VentureBeat reported just last year that only about 3% of non-tech companies have adopted marketing automation. And just as social was confusing to marketing and business leaders ten years ago, […]
11 Website Design Trends You Need to Know About
Your company website is home base for everything you do online. All your social media work, your email marketing, your guest posting – it should all come back to your site. Because your website is so critical to your marketing success, it makes sense to keep up with the trends that affect it. We talk […]
What’s Marketing Operations? Just the Fastest-Growing Role in Business
According to certain sources, the term Marketing Operations (MO) was formally coined by analyst firm IDC in early 2005. However, it wasn’t until about the end of 2011 that the term gained mainstream acceptance. Because the sets of associated systems that a marketing operations professional (MOP) are expected to use are still evolving, the MO […]
Three Content Strategies for Responsive Web Design: Plan, Prioritize, Distill
For most marketers, the term “responsive web design” most likely conjures up images of web developers and wire frames. But it should bring to mind strings of sentences and chunks of text. Content is the engine that attracts leads to begin with, then drives them through the sales cycle. And responsive web design’s chief job […]
How to Generate Leads Using Quizzes
Social media has taken to quizzes with gusto since the first one popped up on Facebook or Twitter. It didn’t take long before marketers noticed, and began to experiment with quizzes as a way to generate leads. As it turned out, quizzes have the ability to efficiently draw in a large audience, and have a […]
12 Experts Explain the Significance of the New Front Office
When I first got into business, the term “front office” meant the executive or administrative office of a company. I was a sales rep, and I wanted to get past that front-office receptionist so I could talk to that front-office executive. But language evolves, just like everything else in business. In most market sectors “front […]
Be the End of Quarter Secret Weapon
The clock is running down. Sales is pushing hard to meet their quarterly targets, and they are looking for marketing to step up and help them finish strong. You (and several Starbucks Grandes) are their secret weapon when it comes time to crush their goals. It’s do or die, and the fate of the quarter […]
Marketing Jobs: The Outlook is Bright
We’re celebrating Labor Day by turning the lens on our own industry. Whether you’re a grizzled old veteran or a fresh-faced college student, we hope you enjoy this look in the mirror. Most of us have read or heard that “Five Years From Now, CMOs Will Spend More on IT Than CIOs Do.” That’s impressive; […]
How to Perform an Onsite SEO Audit Part 5: Rinse & Repeat
T he final step to a successful onsite SEO audit is to develop the process to repeat what you’ve done. In our prior posts we’ve shared how to conduct research, do the analysis, take action, and improve. Today we’ll finish up our series talking about how to keep the momentum going. The most important purpose […]