Email might not be as shiny as social media and other emerging marketing channels, but it's still arguably the most powerful marketing tool around. So how do you maximize this old workhorse for new gains? In part by avoiding these common mistakes. more

So you've set your company's sights on selling to smaller businesses. Sure, they aren't the heavy-hitters, the star accounts, but their loyalty could provide a nice budgetary cushion for your bigger sales efforts. And they'll surely be thrilled to tap into your products or services, right? Well, hold on a minute. According ... more

If you're still wondering about the value of segmentation, consider these numbers from eMarketer, as reported by HubSpot: "39% of email marketers that practice list segmentation see better open rates; 28% see lower opt-out and unsubscribe rates; and 24% see better email deliverability, increased sales leads, and greater revenue." HubSpot's Corey ... more

It's easy to send "just one email with the same content to everyone in your database," writes Matthew Johnson at the Vision6 blog. "But how do you send that same email and make it relevant to everyone in your database?" The short answer is: You can't. And that's why you need conditional ... more

Social media is now a global phenomenon, with most online adults in North America, Europe, metro Asia, and Latin America regular users, according to a new update of Forrester's Global Social Media Adoption In 2011, originally published in January 2012. more

Generation Y is estimated to be the largest consumer group in US history, and marketers simply cannot afford to ignore the student segment. Learn why you should be marketing to college students—and how to do so effectively. more

The consumers of Generation-Y are the next great decision-makers in the consumer world. Fortunately, marketing to Gen-Y is actually not as difficult as you might think. Here are five ways to appeal to Gen-Y. more

What do women want? The age-old question has baffled men and marketers for centuries. NetBase, a social media intelligence company, set out to find the answer by listening to and understanding what women—and men—say in social media, and then asking them for more information via a Harris Interactive survey. more

Many interactive marketers rely on email subscriber valuation (ESV) to justify budgets and plan messaging strategies, according to a new report by Forrester Research, which presents a three-step formula for calculating ESV. more

When handled adeptly, customer data can be a marketer's most reliable weapon for reaching customers' buying intentions—and closing sales. Learn five ways to build a data-driven marketing culture that'll help you get results. more

"Today I was sad," writes Tara Jacobsen at the Marketing Artfully blog. "I got a message from someone who I like a lot and have been 'friends' with on the Internet for a while." The problem? Unlike the steady stream of relevant content the business friend used to distribute, this ... more

The words "engagement" and "hypertargeting" are practically everywhere, but what happens when you combine the two? Learn how one company ran a diverse campaign that captured the interest of core, active, and casual fans. more

Link building is probably the most difficult aspect of SEO. Quality links that bring results are hard to get... unless you have a link-building strategy that targets specific, meaningful market segments. more

In a post at her eponymous blog, Elaine Fogel asks how frequently you receive email with content that has no relevance. "I'll bet it's a lot," she says with certainty. "Let's just look at the ones you receive from companies and organizations that have your permission to send communications. Count ... more

Do you want to improve the performance of your Google AdWords campaigns? Here are five quick checks that'll help you gain valuable insights into your campaigns—and save you money. more

As 2011 winds down, it's time to consider the trends that will dominate marketing in 2012. Here are the Top 5 trends on the horizon and tips on how to take advantage of them in your marketing plan. more

Marketing automation offers five main opportunities to improve ROI and drive revenue. Are you taking advantage of them? Learn how marketing automation can help you segment leads, improve conversions, and reduce lead leakage. more

It's the time of the year when businesses need to say "Thank you!" to their customers during the holiday season. And what better way than event-driven email campaigns that show gratitude to customers? more

"Are your campaigns reaching the intended audiences?" asks Darren Megarry at MarketingProfs. "That's a key question facing marketing professionals, as the combined wave of technology, communication access, and spending power continues to extend across the globe." But you don't need a global business to understand the importance of multicultural marketing. ... more

Are your campaigns reaching the intended audiences? Learn how to create an effective multicultural marketing campaign—and avoid the common pitfalls many endure when marketing to growing ethnic groups. more

"[H]ow many of us do one-to-one marketing?" asks Elaine Fogel at MarketingProfs. "I don't mean sending out personalized mass communication. I mean marketing to one person at a time." It takes a lot of time, but it can be remarkably effective—especially when your marketing budget is, essentially, zero. Fogel discovered ... more

Brands that conduct Facebook marketing can gain huge benefits by targeting the friends of their Facebook fans, according to a new report by comScore and Facebook, which also found that Facebook users spend 27% of their time browsing homepage newsfeeds. more

Marketing budgets are on the rise again: 57% of senior-level marketers say they are increasing their overall marketing spend in 2011; among them, most (26%) plan to increase budgets between 1% and 5%, according to the CMO Council's State of Marketing Report. more

"Fifty years ago, the concept of John Doe, an average American in a relatively even society where vast numbers of people had similar consumer needs, was real," writes Karen Talavera at MarketingProfs. But results from the 2010 census—due to be released this summer—will show just how much that picture has ... more

This is the decade for geotargeted local advertising and bringing the global presence to the local user. Though it may seem daunting, getting local can be a simple and rewarding process if you follow these seven steps. more