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Marketing Articles: Strategy

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Six Questions to Answer Before You Launch a Mobile SMS Campaignby Robert Sanchez
Organizations need to understand the logical progression of leveraging mobile short-message service (SMS) technology in enterprise environments. Here are some common questions and concerns companies have when considering SMS--and some answers to help them jump over the hurdles. more
Seven Key Metrics for Rebalancing Your Social Strategyby Liza Hausman
The key questions businesses should ask are, What am I doing to optimize my own site to drive social participation and socially referred traffic? and, How do I measure success? more
How to Create a Content Strategy for B2B Nurturing Campaignsby Paul McKeon
If you are like many B2B marketers, you have great content-delivery tools--in the form of marketing-automation or campaign-management software--but a short supply of effective content to push to the market. Here's how to create content for the four stages of the buying cycle. more
Four Ways Email Can Strengthen Relationships in Other Channels (and Why You Should Care)by Karen Talavera
most marketers realize how important good email integration with other marketing (especially digital) channels and sales systems is to success. But once you've created a regular email-communications program, are you remembering to strategically use email to strengthen and encourage relationships with your list members in other channels? more
Search Engine Optimization or Paid Search: What Should Your Philosophy Be?by Scott Buresh
Is there a basic philosophy regarding organic search engine optimization (SEO) and paid-search advertising? Is one tactic more favorable than another? How do you know which channel to pursue? Should you do both--and in what proportions? more
What Is Marketing Automation, and Why Does It Matter to You?by Jep Castelein
A new type of online marketing system, marketing automation has recently become popular. What is it, how does it work, and--most important--should you adopt it? Not all companies should. But if yours is among those that could benefit from marketing automation, you'll definitely gain a competitive advantage. more
Start Smart: A 10-Step Mobile Media Guide for B2B Marketersby Christina "CK" Kerley
When it comes to mobile, B2B marketers find themselves more confused than confident. This companion piece to our 10-Step Guide on social media focuses on integrating mobile into the B2B marketing mix. Follow these 10 steps to ensure you start smart, launch strong, and produce mobile programs that deliver high ... more
Three Key Tactics to Ensure ROI for Your Websiteby Michael Westafer
Successful business owners understand the value of location, and they will go to great lengths to find the right storefront. Unfortunately, many business owners do not have the same discipline in building a website. Instead, many companies slap a few Web pages together and expect business to start flowing. But ... more
Six Ways B2Bs Can Increase Their Marketing Impact With Mobileby Christina "CK" Kerley
When considering mobile marketing for B2B companies, today's marketers are wrestling with some big questions: How can we use mobile to engage our target audience of business professionals? Where do we even begin to integrate mobile media into our B2B marketing plans? more
Better, Faster, Easier: Mobile's Marching Orders for B2B Marketersby Christina "CK" Kerley
How can we make the work activities of our business audience better, faster, and easier through mobile? With more than half the planet currently owning mobile devices, and businesses well on board the anytime/anywhere mobile communications medium, this question serves as a guide for B2B marketers working to develop their ... more
A Three-Step Plan for Continual Email-List Growth and Engagement (Part 1 of 3)by Karen Talavera
In online marketing, when it comes to lists, the email-marketing list reigns supreme. But for most email marketers, continual email-list growth is the Achilles' heel of email marketing. more
The Top Five Things Marketers Must Do in 2010by Joel Book
This year will be another year of key strategic and tactical decisions for marketers. With flat or reduced budgets, marketers will once again have to determine where to invest for the best return. So if you want to get the most juice for the squeeze for your marketing dollar in ... more
The Secret to Success in a Down Economy: Market Intelligenceby Barbara Bix
Especially in a down economy, it's important to understand where the opportunities are--and how to capitalize on them. Luckily, today's companies have many avenues for gathering such information. more
Plan B: Seven Back-to-Basics Questions to Ask About Your Buyers to Drive Growthby Kevin Clancy, Peter Krieg
Plan A, which calls for pouring dollars into advertising, rarely increases profitability. Sometimes it doesn't even boost sales, and it certainly doesn't guarantee improvements in marketing effectiveness or ROI. Enter Plan B: taking a closer look at the basic marketing strategy fundamentals that drive tactical decisions. more
Ten Steps to Clear a Passage Through Today's 'Frozen' Economyby Michael Dotson
We are facing economic challenges the likes of which many of us have not experienced before. As professionals, how do we break away from this stagnation and take advantage of opportunities to grow your business? more
True Stories: A Cautionary Tale of Rebranding Gone Astrayby Liz Conlin
Most of the branding articles that you read are happy, glowing tales of how an agency rebranded a client and turned that client into a superstar brand with double-digit growth. Well, this is not one of those stories. We often learn more from our mistakes than from our successes. more
The State of Social Media Marketing, by the Numbers: A Sneak Peekby Tim McAtee
Before writing The State of Social Media Marketing--an in-depth, thorough study of social media use among marketers--we looked around at the existing research to see what other organizations were asking in their surveys. Much of it seemed interesting, but lacking in nuance. Here are a few rich examples of the ... more
Selling B2B Social Media Internally: Ten Arguments to Win Over the Boardroom, Part 2by Christina "CK" Kerley
It's year's end, and you need to rally internal support for integrating social media into your marketing mix… or have it play a much larger role. Here's how to win over the Executive Committee members, who are sure to have questions, critiques, and objections aplenty. more
Selling B2B Social Media Internally: Ten Arguments to Win Over the Boardroom, Part 1by Christina "CK" Kerley
It's that time to rally internal support for the "newest" programs in your marketing plans. If yours is a B2B company, 2010 is the year you'll want to start integrating social media into your marketing mix… or have it play a much larger role. But you must first win over ... more
Start Smart: A 10-Step Social Media Guide for B2B Marketersby Christina "CK" Kerley
There's no escaping it, marketers: Amid a flurry of headlines, bestsellers, and reports documenting social media's meteoric rise... the future has arrived. But for a B2B executive tasked with making sense of it all, wouldn't it be nice if the future came with a road map? Follow this 10-step guide. more
Five Social Media Tools You Can't Afford to Ignoreby Mack Collier
Sure, social media is big. But even if your company doesn't have the resources for a dedicated social media strategy, here are five social media sites and tools you can't afford to ignore. more
How To Generate Blogger Buzz: Eight Proven Tipsby Kimberly Smith
For those accustomed to traditional PR, the blogosphere seems an entirely different beast--but one that has the potential to turn your message into a viral sensation. The following eight tips will help you capture the right kind of attention from bloggers. more
A Corporate Field Guide to Social-Media Policy Developmentby Kimberly Smith
Your employees are already on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the like... so isn't it high time for companies to acknowledge that activity and implement a protective framework that will assist them in mitigating the risks related to employee productivity, confidentiality, brand representation, and company reputation? more
Put Crowdsourcing to Work for You: Five Tips for Getting Startedby Kimberly Smith
Some companies are finding that their customers have a truer understanding of their own motivators and needs than even the most-qualified Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), and (what's more) that an outsider perspective may be just what their organizations need. It's called crowdsourcing, and within are some real-world examples and tips for ... more
Social Media: Three Essentials Your Business Needs Before You Engageby Elaine Fogel
It's true that social media has become the most popular marketing channel since the advent of the Internet, but marketers need to develop a solid strategy first before testing the new waters. Whether yours is a small or midsize company, nonprofit, or public institution, if it's not yet in the social-media ... more