If you are rockin' the social sphere, at some point you may have to present your work to some higher-ups. No pressure. Just remember this: Your presentation could mean the difference between enterprise adoption of a great new social media strategy—or the relegation of social to the broom closet. (Just ... more

In an article at MarketingProfs, Dan Skeen writes that search-engine optimization provides several return-on-investment measures with a greater potential impact on a company's bottom line than many traditional tactics. However, he notes, because SEO is less tangible than some other areas of marketing investment, it's often harder to clearly show ... more

"I had a customer who made my blood pressure spike as soon as I heard she was on the phone," writes Scott McKain in a Pro article at the MarketingProfs site. "We would jump through hoops to try to keep her happy, and she stressed all of us beyond description." There ... more

When you hire an email-marketing agency, how do you decide which candidate makes the cut? Size, location, reputation? And has that process always worked for you? Or have you, like many others, hired a "dream team" only to be a bit, well, disappointed down the road? If you've ever been frustrated ... more

Few companies have been spared the ravages of the recession, but some strategies seem to be working to help small businesses stay afloat. In a recent article at Inc., Elizabeth Wasserman suggests tactics that small retailers might employ to add some ho-ho-ho to the late-holiday sales season—and boost results in the ... more

In a recent post at the Online Marketing Blog, Adam Singer summarizes Charlene Li's keynote at Search Engine Strategies San Jose last summer. Co-author of the business bestseller Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, and a MarketingProfs presenter, Li examines the intersection of search and social media. According ... more

Though the recession may be drawing to a close, we are still dealing with the stark reality of very high unemployment rates. Many people have been without work for far longer than they ever thought possible; many others, meanwhile, still have their jobs but live in a state of anxiety ... more

Warren Katz uses a post at the Elephant Bites blog to discuss the recession-driven microtrend of "glamping"—a freshly coined portmanteau for glamorous camping. In essence, its proponents want the low-budget benefit of a holiday in the great outdoors, but don't care to leave all the luxuries of home behind. "So, who ... more

While some believe that the rise of Twitter and Facebook has sounded email's death knell, Jordan Cohen, writing at the Pivotal Veracity blog, disagrees. He takes issue with statements like this one from the Wall Street Journal: "Email has had a good run as [the] king of communications. But its ... more

"The holiday season is the most important time of year for retailers, when aggressive goals are set for increased traffic and sales, both in-store and online," says eROI's Alex Williams in a MarketingProfs article on key takeaways from his podcast with Chad White of Smith-Harmon. As you experience this holiday season's campaigns ... more

Want to boost search results? Try benchmarking based on the latest trends, says Performics' Michael Kahn in a Chief Marketer article. An analysis by Performics of data from more than 200 paid-search programs uncovered some important shifts this past spring within many actively managed search campaigns; they could signal the ... more

"It's high time email marketers assess campaign performance in terms of the business and marketing goals, objectives, and contribution expectations that matter," says Karen Talavera in an article at MarketingProfs. She recommends placing data into two broad categories to drill down to what really counts: Process Metrics—which are diagnostic in ... more

Mark Brownlow of Email Marketing Reports says he learned a thing or two while working in a cardboard-box factory as a teenager. "The first was the importance of proofreading," he says. "There are not a lot of alternative uses for 200,000 boxes advertising ‘Premium banannas.’ " Another lesson was the ... more

"Predictive analysis has a long and profitable history with direct mail," says Arthur Middleton Hughes in a Pro article at MarketingProfs. "Millions of dollars have been saved by focusing on those customers most likely to buy—and not mailing to those who are unlikely to be interested." Only recently, though, have ... more

When spending must be cut, and it's just a matter of determining where, you face a process fraught with potential pitfalls. Here's some help. In a post at Harvard Business Online, Rita McGrath highlights key takeaways from a workshop on avoiding the traps that companies often encounter when trying to ... more

"The economic downturn spells bad news to most marketers," says Jack Trout in a post at the Branding blog, "but a slump also presents an opportunity to build brands." He takes a back-to-basics approach to his brand-building, and recommends a few down-home strategies that might help turn your lemons into ... more

When hunkering down to face a challenging economic climate, you might become so focused on survival that you don't notice when the storm begins to weaken. In an article at BusinessWeek, Gene Marks explains how to spot true signs of a recovery: Pay attention to the Consumer Confidence Measure, released by ... more

When the latest marketing answers fail to produce the results you expect, maybe it's time to start asking different questions. You don't need me to tell you that we're in a crisis of confidence: Consumers don't believe or act on the information we give them in the ways we'd hope, so ... more

We can't escape bad news—story after story about layoffs, closures and falling profits. It's only natural that employees are worried about the safety of their jobs. "Am I next?" they undoubtedly wonder, and they deserve an accurate picture of your company's health. In a post at Harvard Business Online, John Baldoni ... more

Here's a scenario many of us have experienced: The CEO sets the revenue goals in the annual business plan; the plan is handed down; and the business units scramble to make the numbers. Only one thing is wrong: We don't know how the decision was made about what matters. Deciding what ... more

You closely monitor the results of your paid-search efforts. Shouldn't you do the same for your natural-search program? In a recent MarketingProfs article, Netconcepts' John Thielmann says measuring your natural search performance is not only a good idea, it's imperative if you're reporting progress to higher-ups. So, where to begin? By establishing ... more

Fairytale Brownies cooked up a win-win strategy to satisfy both its bottom line and its costumers' preferences. It created magic with a brownie blog optimized for search and attuned to customers' deepest dessert desires. The result? Some very happy endings. more

GM's CEO, Rick Wagoner, has opined that the automaker's biggest blunder was to walk away from the electric car. But GM's biggest strategic blunder might have been its failure to view Saturn strategically—and as a consequence not allowing it to fulfill its destiny as a domestic competitor to Toyota, Nissan, and ... more

CEOs and CMOs are interested in seeing marketing organizations improve their performance in two key areas: effectiveness (the ability to produce the desired result) and efficiency (reducing waste). The economic environment makes these efforts even more top-of-mind. Often the question that remains is how much do we need to improve? Benchmarking ... more

"The news regarding investment in marketing is not good, with many firms cutting their marketing budgets left and right," reports Neil Anuskiewicz in an article at MarketingProfs. Before taking such drastic steps, you might want to consider his better option: "Instead of taking an axe to your marketing budget … ... more