Digital media is transforming how marketers engage with customers and prospects. Whether you’re marketing to business executives or consumers, it’s critical to monitor the fast-changing digital media space.

So what’s on the horizon for digital media in 2012 and what does it mean to marketers?

Three marketing experts shared their forecasts last week at a program sponsored by the American Advertising Federation-Cleveland. Here’s what these digital media pros see in their crystal balls and some insights for using digital media in your smart marketing strategy.

The quality of your sales proposal can make or break your ability to close the deal. So why do so many business-to-business (B2B) marketers produce such poor sales proposals? Here are five common mistakes in sales proposals that can cost you the business and some lessons for your smart marketing strategy.

Top 10 lists are everywhere this time of year. One of the most interesting lists for marketers is the Top 10 Most Viewed Ads on YouTube, as reported on Mashable.com. These are TV spots people chose to watch online, by the millions. That’s an advertiser’s dream. But what makes these ads so popular? It’s not crazy gimmicks or over-the-top production techniques, though some of the ads have spectacular visual effects. I think it’s about storytelling. The most watched ads of 2011 engage viewers in a compelling story. Here’s why storytelling is such an effective advertising technique and how to tell stories in your smart marketing strategy.

The announcement last week that the U.S. Postal Service plans to eliminate next-day delivery of first-class mail was hard news for direct marketers like me to hear.

Not because the direct mail campaigns our marketing agency creates require next day delivery. In most cases, we mail standard class to get lower rates and we factor in the necessary delivery time when crafting a marketing plan.

But I got a sinking feeling when I heard this latest news. I fear that as service delivery levels continue to fall and the cost of using direct mail climbs, we may be nearing a tipping point when mail will lose its viability as a marketing channel.

Here’s what I think this news means for smart marketers whose strategies include direct mail marketing.

There’s nothing more powerful in marketing than a testimonial from your customers about the value of your products or services.

That’s why so many smart marketers, especially companies that sell business-to-business (B2B) professional services, use client testimonials in their advertising, sales presentations, brochures, and websites.

So how do you get a client to give you a great testimonial for your marketing campaigns? Follow these 10 tips.

Most marketing agencies keep an idea file of creative, interesting promotions by other marketers that serve as inspiration for new marketing campaigns.

Since we’re moving soon to new offices (a new suite in the same building in Cleveland, Ohio), I decided to take the opportunity to weed out our idea file, especially our massive collection of direct mail.

I tossed a lot of old stuff, but I was surprised at how many direct marketing campaigns created five, ten, or even 20 years ago still pack a powerful marketing punch.

I wondered: Why do some direct marketing campaigns stand the test of time? What do these campaigns have in common that makes them so effective?

Here are four things our old idea file taught me about great direct mail that you can apply to your smart marketing strategy.

Promoting a professional services firm is one of the most difficult challenges in marketing.

Whether you’re selling legal services, marketing services, accounting, IT, insurance, benefits, payroll, or consulting, it can be tough to create a marketing strategy that differentiates your company from everyone else who does what you do.

Here’s the usual approach: “We have great capabilities and we deliver great service.” No offense, but you must, or you wouldn’t still be in business. Plus, all your competitors say the same thing.

Is that really what makes you stand out? Is that the reason clients choose you?

The real value professional services firms sell is their expertise and their ability to use that expertise to solve clients’ problems. Here’s how to create a smart marketing strategy for a business-to-business professional services company by selling your smarts.

The most successful social media marketers create and publish a high volume of original content through blogs, videos, white papers, and other vehicles.

But they also share quality content produced by others. Gathering, sorting, and republishing content from other authors that you believe your followers will value is called curation. By being a great content curator, you help customers, prospects, and colleagues find the “good stuff” online and know what to read. This not only makes you an informative and influential social media contributor, but it also helps attract new followers. Here’s how to find, filter, and share the best content with your social media followers in a smart marketing strategy.

Every smart marketer knows the importance of an effective website. But there’s a big difference between a good site and a great one.

A great website is the foundation of a smart marketing strategy. It supports your brand promise and differentiates you from competitors. It delivers high-value information that demonstrates your capabilities and makes people want to do business with you. And if you’re a business-to-business (B2B) marketer, it’s probably also your best tool for lead generation, according to new research.

So how do you create a great website? It’s all in the planning.

Here’s the planning guide we use when creating new websites for clients of our Cleveland marketing agency.

Did you see the recent article in Adweek about efforts by major consumer marketers like Disney to establish brand preferences in children ages 0-3? The Next Great American Consumer by Brian Braiker provides a fascinating look at this development. Braiker says branding at birth is “a trend—fueled in part by the growth of digital devices—toward aggressively targeting a demographic that didn’t exist, in marketers’ eyes, until recently: infants to 3-year-olds. By getting their logos and iconic characters in front of babies—even those with still-blurry eyesight—they hope to establish brand-name preference before she or he has uttered a word.”

Is this a smart marketing strategy? Or is this the scariest thing you’ve seen all week? The answer to both questions is yes. Here’s why.