"Football on Your Phone," the hilarious hip-hop spoof featuring the Manning brothers rapping for DirecTV, is a viral sensation. It’s also very smart marketing. Here’s why “Football on Your Phone” broke through in a crowded media marketplace and what makes this ad a smart marketing strategy....
View MoreHave you or your business won an award? Congratulations! Once you’ve toasted to your success, it’s time to capitalize on your honor to promote your business. Here are 13 ideas for showcasing business awards in a smart marketing strategy. Why Awards are Great for Marketing Awards offer your business powerful marketing advantages. Winning an award enables you to: Stand apart from your competitors; Position your company as tops in your field; Instill pride in your staff; Spotlight your staff’s capabilities and achievements; Remind clients and prospects of your commitment to excellence; Generate positive...
View Moref you’re a business-to-business marketer who still doesn’t have a business page on Facebook, relax: You probably don’t need to be on Facebook after all. As social media has matured, each social media channel’s role and value has become clearer. Though Facebook is by far the dominant social network, B2B marketers increasingly are questioning its value for connecting with business decision-makers. I’m no longer advising most of my B2B marketing clients to focus on Facebook. Here’s why – and what it might mean for your smart marketing strategy....
View MoreSocial media is the noisiest place on the planet. Every day, there are over 1 billion Facebook posts and 400 million Tweets. If you’re straining to be heard amid the social media din, try using one of your most powerful marketing assets: The voice of your brand. Here’s why brand voice is important in a smart marketing strategy, especially for social media marketing....
View Moreour company’s brand represents the value customers receive when they interact with your business. It's a promise: When you choose to purchase from us, this is what we will deliver to you. When you break that promise – through defective products, shoddy workmanship, or poor service – you might lose the customer. But in this age of social media, you might also lose your reputation. Remember the musician who made a YouTube video about United Airlines breaking his guitar? It got more than 12 million views and spawned a whole culture of...
View MoreWhether you’re marketing to businesses or consumers, social media marketing should play a prominent role in your marketing plan. Here are seven ways to make social media marketing a top priority in your smart marketing strategy. ...
View MoreTop 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...
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How many times have people at your company told you that they just don’t “get” social media – or understand why your company needs to join Justin Beiber and Lady Gaga on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter? These aren’t just idle comments. Misconceptions about social media can hurt your brand and hamper your ability to compete in your marketplace by limiting your company’s participation in the social media dialogue. And if the people who hold those misconceptions also control the marketing budget, alarm bells should be ringing in the marketing...
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Permission-based marketing is now at the heart of relationships between companies and their customers and prospects. People opt-in to receive your emails, like your company on Facebook, subscribe to an RSS feed from your website or your channel on YouTube, or follow you on Twitter or LinkedIn. But having permission to market to someone isn’t a license to bombard them with marketing messages. In fact, not knowing when to shut up is a classic marketing mistake. Here’s how over-marketing can kill a customer or prospect relationship and 7 ways to avoid this...
View MoreAre you getting the results you want from your website? Whether you’re a business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) marketer, a great website is essential for a smart marketing strategy. Here are 10 ideas to boost the marketing value of your website through higher traffic, better search engine rankings, and more effective engagement with your customers and prospects. ...
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