By now the champagne hangover has finally faded, our in-laws have made their way home, and we’re settling into the new year. 2016 was a grueling year, for many reasons that we don’t need to mention (Carrie Fischer, and her mom … REALLY 2016?). While some people can’t wait to put the year behind them, we want to take a minute to revel in some of the best of 2016.
Here are the 10 best marketing action blogs from 2016, appearing in no particular order except that they’re all #1 in our hearts. These posts were chosen because they received the most reads, garnered the highest social shares, or contain valuable nuggets of information as Act-On favorites. From SEO, to customer lifetime value, to account-based marketing, here’s a list of the blogs that we think you should read in order to properly wrap up 2016 and get 2017 off to a rockin’ start.
1. How (And Why) Your Team Should Personalize the Customer Experience
Many B2B companies tell their prospects and customers that they understand their unique needs, but then turn round and blast everyone with the same message. Not only is that out of touch, but it’s also just bad marketing. In order to enhance your customer experience, and move your prospects quickly down the funnel, consider adding personalization to your marketing efforts. Check out this blog to learn how personalization is worth the investment, and how to go about getting started.
2. 10 Things You Should Know About Account-Based Marketing
Account-based marketing (ABM) isn’t new. In fact, it’s a tried and true strategy that marketers have been using for decades. And although there’s been a huge resurgence of marketers talking about the strategy, there seems to be an overabundance of information floating around about ABM. This post helps cut through the noise, and find out the most important things to know including the benefits, the resources needed, and some common misconceptions.
3. 7 Content Marketing Mistakes Costing You Time and Money
We all know that content marketing reigns supreme. And rightfully so, it’s a great way to get your message across to your audience. But what if that content isn’t being seen by anyone? There’s a crazy amount of content available right now, and more is being published daily. Read this list of things to do, and not do, in order to make sure you’re spending your time and money most effectively in regards to content marketing.
4. 10 People You Should Follow on Twitter if You’re in Marketing
Twitter is an incredible way to stay in the loop, but with 320 million active users it can sometimes be a bit… overwhelming. This blog includes a list of 10 authors, marketers, influencers, and visionaries who are totally killing it on Twitter. Follow these people to stay up to date on all things marketing.
5. Demand Generation 101: 7 Tactics for Generating High Quality Leads
With 2017 in full swing, you’re probably trying to figure out which programs and campaigns are going to help you get to your lead goal. But demand gen isn’t just about leads. It’s about creating high quality leads that will eventually convert to marketing attributed revenue. This blog will help you outline the three main parts to successful demand generation programs: the players, the methods, and the goals – and give you proven tactics for generating high quality leads.
6. 15 Best Practices for Email Unsubscribes – With Examples
If you’re running an email marketing program, you know that half the battle is just trying to get your readers to avoid hitting the dreaded unsubscribe button. And that’s no easy task. Growing your email subscriber list takes a lot of work, and often marketers find themselves walking a fine line between being honest and being shady. Follow these best practices to help grow your email list by reducing the amount of people who choose to unsubscribe.
7. How to Tie Your Content Marketing into Your Account-Based Marketing
Again with the ABM! In all serious, ABM is a hot topic for good reason. It’s a strategy for marketing across the entire buyer’s journey – from branding, to demand generation, to customer expansion and retention. In short, it’s the real deal. This blog made the list because it helps ties together two proven marketing strategies – content marketing and account-based marketing. Read this blog to learn how to develop an account-based marketing strategy that’s content focused, and speaks directly and intelligently to your target audience.
8. Why Data-Driven Storytelling is the Next Big Thing in Content Marketing
Whether you know it or not, we’re all swimming in an abundance of data. Companies estimate that they’re analyzing only 12 percent of the data they have available. The result? Eighty-eight percent of it is left on the cutting-room floor. And that data is valuable. In fact, it can help us tell stories more effectively. Harvard Business Review predicts that data-driven storytelling will be the next big thing in content marketing – and we want to be on the forefront of that. This blog helps you understand data-driven storytelling, and gives you the resources you need to get started.
9. Everything You Need to Know About User-Generated Content
We’re sensing a theme here with content marketing… and we love it. Content marketing is one of the best ways to tell your audience a story about your brand, to build trust, and to help educate your buyers. It’s even better when you can get your users to create that content themselves. As it ends up, user-generated content is perceived as being more trustworthy than other types of media … and that makes it more valuable. This blog gives insight into what user-generated content is, and how you can leverage your audience to start creating killer content for you.
10. How, and Why, You Should Calculate Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
This blog, a subject near and dear to our hearts, is one of our favorites simply because of topic. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is making waves in the business world, establishing itself as a go-to metric for determining the health of your company. CLV gives you real insight into what you’re actually gaining for your customers. This blog walks you through the benefits of calculating CLV, how you can calculate it from the data you already have, and how this information can help you determine your marketing budget and strategy.
Did we miss anything our list of the best marketing action blogs of 2016? Do you have a favorite that we forgot to mention? Tell us in the comments section!