YOUTILITY

Why Smart Marketing Is About Help, Not Hype

The difference between helping and selling is just two letters. But those two letters are critically important to your company’s success.

You’re not competing for attention only against other, similar products. You’re competing for attention against everything. To win in this hyper-competitive environment, you must ask “How can we help?”

If you sell something, you make a customer today, but if you genuinely help someone, you create a customer for life. This is Youtility.

Includes interviews with dozens of companies practicing Youtility, and provides 6 blueprints for building Youtility in your company.

Available for pre-order soon (get up to 7 exclusive bonuses) at http://YoutilityBook.com
Digital Media 44  |  Add Yours

dot coma – Are Domain Names Even Relevant Now?

I have been in digital marketing a long time. How long? When I started, domain names were free, because why would anyone pay money for something of no consequence? My first online voyage was in 1994, working with my college pals at Internet Direct, Arizona’s first Internet company (and also the inventor of virtual Web [...]

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Blogging and Content Creation 33  |  Add Yours

Why Blogs Will Kill Dissent

While newspapers and magazines make increasingly Draconian decisions to try to escape their inexorable spiral of decline, the very future of publishing comes into question. Will life as we know it stop once the Grey Lady and her sisters cease to exist in their historical form? No. Even without papers and mags, Britney will still [...]

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Digital Media 11  |  Add Yours

We’re Not All Social Media Spielbergs

Are we expecting too much of people in social media, even the raving fans? Jim Beam has a history of great social media programs, and their most recent is “The Remake” video contest. The premise is that you create your own video that spoofs Beam’s hilarious “Girlfriend” TV commercials. First prize is $25,000 and a [...]

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Digital Media 7  |  Add Yours

The Death of Newspapers: Poisoned or Suicide?

The evidence of newspapers’ decline as a primary source of information in America is everywhere. My local paper narrowed to a tabloid size yesterday, following USA Today, Arizona Republic, and many, many other papers.  Essentially all newspapers have laid off significant portions of their staff. Some (like East Valley Tribune in suburban Phoenix) are printing [...]

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Digital Media 10  |  Add Yours

Brands Must be Social Media Selfish

Are you protecting your social media brand? I was followed on Twitter last night by @trynetflixfree As a long-time Netflix member, I clicked the link to determine whether I should follow back. Much to my surprise, @trynetflixfree is a Netflix affiliate, trying to drive new subscribers via banal appeals on Twitter. I don’t begrudge the [...]

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Digital Media 12  |  Add Yours

The Incredible Efficiency of Social Media

(originally written for TalentZoo) The explosion in marketing and message conveyance opportunities is simply breathtaking. We’ve gone from 3 TV stations to 500+. Satellite radio. Hundreds of new magazines. Out-of-home advertising on every available surface. And a little something called online advertising that’s now larger than radio in ad dollars spent. As a result, audiences [...]

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Digital Media 18  |  Add Yours

Build Your Brand by Marketing Sideways

Marketers have been told for years to focus on benefits, not features. In this new era of marketing, you can toss both out the window. I wrote a post recently on Marketing Profs Daily Fix about finding your one thing in social media, and building your outreach efforts around it. The one thing isn’t something [...]

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Digital Media 9  |  Add Yours

How Huffington Post and Obama Killed the New York Times Online

AdAge revealed recently that the New York Times reported a steep 17.9% decline in ad revenues for July. Not unexpected, as many print behemoths are getting pummeled in this economy. (See related post “Is Digital Marketing Killing Magazine Ads”) However, NYTimes.com and the company’s other online efforts grew only .9% in July, compared to double [...]

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Digital Media 23  |  Add Yours

Why PPC is about to skyrocket – and then CRASH

Times are tough. But one area that is ready to soar is pay-per-click search marketing (PPC). That most measurable and controllable of digital marketing opportunities, PPC looks like a no-brainer in this economy. Have you called a newspaper lately and asked them if they’ll charge you per phone call generated? Even with ad sales down [...]

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Digital Media 10  |  Add Yours

NHL Misses Net in New Campaign – Where’s Social Media?

The National Hockey League has rolled out a series of compelling TV spots featuring some of the game’s biggest stars. And while the new commercials – with a theme of “Is This The Year?” will run nationally on Canadian broadcast and U.S. cable television, like so many campaigns, it’s being forced to go it alone. How [...]

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