Content is one of the most used marketing strategies, but how can organizations use it to drive more targeted traffic? 12 of the world's leading content marketing authorities discuss how they can, and what they're often missing when it comes to driving traffic with content. Digital marketing is one year older. Some former best practices have died-out, new complexities and challenges have arisen. As the expectations of the connected consumer continue to shift, so too must our processes and understandings of how to reach them. So where should you be looking in 2015? Here's three things that will be big in digital marketing in the new year. I recently did an inventory of all the internet marketing tools I’ve used over years for my recent Kindle resource, 99 SEO Tools for 99 Cents. While it’s great to know that there are multiple tools available on the market to solve any SEO need, I wanted to bring the list down to the 10 essential social media tools for social media marketers with limited time and resources. Instagram recently hit 300 monthly active users - there is officially no more denying the power of the network. Despite this, many businesses are hesitant to invest time and money into building a following. In this article I will lay out the 5 best ways to grow your business' Instagram following. Digital marketing continues to be a top priority for both B2B and B2C companies as we get closer to the New Year. With 2014 coming to an end, let’s take a look at some of the top digital marketing trends experts predict will dominate in 2015. When most email marketers create their unsubscribe page, it’s usually treated as an afterthought. This is understandable since the unsubscribe page is often the final step of an unsuccessful campaign, as opposed to the landing page, which is often the final step of a successful campaign. However, marketers should think of the unsubscribe page as their last chance to bring wayward sheep back to the fold. 2015 promises to be a mobile-first, social media driven year for brands and the people who work behind the scenes for them. Keep in mind that social media is no longer considered “new” – it plays a major role in the lives of billions of people globally, who they trust, how they communicate and make buying decisions. According to MarketingProfs, 50 percent of adult smartphone owners between the ages of 18 and 24 in the U.S. have installed the app. Furthermore, that represents a significant jump in year-over-year usage, when only 30 percent of the same demographic used Snapchat. Older Millennials, between the ages of 25 and 34 are also using the mobile messaging app, with 20 percent using Snapchat, an 8 percent increase from last year. The Internet has had a profound impact on the Global Networked Economy during the last year, with more changes still to come -- as applications expand and evolve. International Data Corporation (IDC) has shared its worldwide Internet of Things (IoT) predictions for 2015. Inspiring your employees or team members is a plight that a lot of business owners and managers have to struggle with daily. It’s the key to keeping the momentum going in the company, so that projects are not only completed, but in a way that is satisfactory. The key to motivating those under you is to set an example for them. Connect with your customers through one of the most powerful social media platform. Learn how to increase traffic through Facebook ads, at lower costs, by using creativity and sense of humor. As we move forward into 2015, we see the trend of the blending of social media and customer service departments. Since so many consumers turn to online review sites and social channels to talk about their experiences, the social media and marketing departments need to integrate with customer service team members to provide the best response and resolutions. The challenge we face keeping most New Year’s resolutions is that we have to go it alone. That can be tough. There is nothing like a support network to help achieve our goals. That is why I recommend you make a more achievable resolution this year: be more social. As new technologies and platforms join the marketing mix over time, it can be tempting to put your tactics into separate silos. While many marketers keep their promotional channels running on parallel tracks, the truly powerful messages are actually those that intersect. Connecting with others over social media is loads of fun so imagine if you got to make a career out of it!. An increasing number of brands and marketing teams are hiring social media managers to take their social efforts to the next level. If you’ve always wanted to get paid to do what you love, read on for five tips to help you land your dream job in social media. Whether you own a bricks-and-mortar store, online business or a Fortune 500 company, whether you offer products, services or experiences, you know that customers are the ones that determine whether a business thrives or fails. If you are reading then, chances are the article you are trying to save from speedy deletion has already been deleted from existence on Wikipedia. Without knowing the speedy deletion defenses for Wikipedia, many articles recommended for speedy deletion are done so quickly. Most of which without the creator leaving a response, or a response that contains any persuasion as to why the page should not be deleted. Many of us, in and out of sales, operate under the illusion that we are in control, but we aren’t. Many might respond, well the customer is in control, so we have to work with them. As Matt points out, this may not be true, the customer may not truly be in control of their buying/decision making process—which is a possible reason so many deals end in no decision made. The number of European households within a reach of high-speed broadband of at least 30 Mbps download speeds reached 62 percent of EU homes at the end of 2013, according to a new market study by IHS. If you’re looking for a new job, particularly in the digital sector, in a few weeks you’re probably going to be spoilt for choice as new recruitment budgets start to get allocated and job adverts start appearing here, there and everywhere, so right now you’ve got a bit of time to figure out exactly what it is you want from your next position. Holidays is the time of the year when we get an opportunity to show our love for our families, express our gratitude to our employees, and show our appreciation to our business partners. Most of the time we do so through gift-giving. And who doesn’t love gifts, right? 2014 was a year of the Winter Olympics, World Cup, Ebola, Conchita, Rosetta, the Ice Bucket Challenge, Robin Williams, Flappy Birds, the Selfie, the iPhone 6 and the Scottish Independence Referendum – or at least that is according to the Google Trends Guide of 2014. Are you wondering how to target the right audience on social media, every time? And how to create interesting content for them and to engage with them? Then wonder no more!
Often one of the biggest impressions I come away with when I talk with a struggling business owner is how much of their business plan and processes are in their head. The problem when so much of the business is in your head is that it doesn’t provide a lot of clarity or direction for the business.