Abusing the Facebook Attention Chain for Negligible Brand Gain
It’s now accepted wisdom that successfully getting fans to engage with your brand’s missives on the Facebook platform has a linear impact on impressions due to the EdgeRank algorithm. When you accumulate disproportionately numerous likes, comments and shares on a post, Facebook shows that post to a larger percentage of your fans. Further, because the […]
How Mobile, Content, Influence and Culture are Changing Marketing Forever {free ebook}
Has there ever been a more visceral, complex time to be a marketer? The rules (such as they are) are changing constantly, and new technology and rapid shifts in consumer behavior are giving best practices the shelf life of a ripe banana. It’s an era of exploration and experimentation that favors the nimble marketer. To […]
Targeted Content: The Holy Grail of Content Marketing
For any piece of content to be successful, it has to be personalized and speak to a specific person (a potential buyer), with a specific need, at a specific point in his or her buyer journey. Put another way, you have to have targeted content that reflects a deep understanding of who your audience and […]
Are You a Marketing Cheater? The Continued Gamification of Attention
We are addicted to shortcuts. Regardless of the structure and rules of the contest at hand, some among us will stretch the boundaries seeking an edge over our opponent. Perhaps this is just human nature, or maybe it’s more prevalent in America where we cherish our opportunity to have a strong role in our personal […]
4 Social Media Controversies Solved
One of my favorite new projects is The Baer Facts, a short weekly video I’m producing with my friends at ExactTarget(a long-time client and provider of amazing interactive marketing software). My pal Kyle Lacy heads up content marketing for the company, and he and I are doing a short video rant that each week targets […]
Are You Getting Better or Just Getting Busier?
In a remarkable interview in the recent Esquire magazine, Teller (of the famous magic duo, Penn & Teller) reveals his practice routine to master a new trick he has developed called the Red Ball (whereby a ball appears to roll all over the stage, moved by the mind). Writes journalist Chris Jones, “He practiced at […]
Why You Need to Market Your Marketing
You know what happens when the vast majority of mobile applications or any sort of useful content gets launched by a company? Nothing happens. Nothing. This is because companies treat the fact that they finished the content execution as the end game. We finished our mobile application and it showed up in the iTunes App […]
New Research: Social Media ROI is Still a Challenge for 57%
Social marketing software company Awareness released the second part of its bi-annual State of Social Media Marketing report for 2012, and there are a few surprising key points that brands and marketers should be aware of. The study surveyed 469 marketers from a variety of industries, expertise and verticals, the report looks at how businesses […]
Has Social Media Made Your Sales Team Obsolete?
Maybe it’s true that “video killed the radio star”, but has social media snuck up and killed the salesman behind our backs? Jim Farley, VP of Global Marketing & Sales for Ford Motors seems to think that on some level, social media has killed the sales person as we know him (or her). Here’s what he […]
Study: Online Lead Generation and the Growth of Your Service Firm
Many of you don’t need convincing that online marketing works. SEO, content marketing, and social media are proven techniques for generating leads online. But for professional services firms already generating leads via traditional marketing tactics, is an online focus really necessary? If you are an architect, accountant, lawyer, or other professional service provider, you’ve got […]
Social Media Stunts Do More Harm Than Good
We don’t love companies, we tolerate them. Only 48% of Americans trust business, according to the most recent Edelman Trust Barometer. Especially in this social media age, where corporations’ missives are displayed cheek to jowl with those of our family and friends, it’s easy to think of business involvement in social as a necessary evil […]
23 Social and Digital Services Agencies Should be Selling
I love this quote from Paul Roetzer, author of The Marketing Agency Blueprint (which I highly recommend): Hybrid agencies will come to rule the marketing world. These emerging leaders are tech savvy, offer integrated services, hire and retain versatile talent, and profit from diversified revenue streams. They thrive on change, and continually apply shifts and […]
Moving From Back Pats to Business, Social CRM Is For Real
As marketers try to determine appropriate resourcing, one of the big measurement and accountability challenges faced by social media is the anonymity inherent in most social data. Indeed, smart companies track social media’s impact on desirable behaviors such as lead generation, repeat website visits, and even corollation-derived ROI. But in almost every case, the evidence […]
5 Reasons Linkedin is Boring in a Good Way
Anthony Juliano is the Vice President of Marketing and Social Media Strategy at Asher Agency, a Midwest-based digital marketing strategy firm. Anthony speaks and writes about a variety of social media and marketing topics, with a specific focus on LinkedIn. Connect with him at AnthonyJuliano.com. LinkedIn has a reputation for being… well, a little dorky. […]
Klout and the Reality of Return on Influence
Video production by my friends at Candidio. Fast, inexpensive, great service. (Abbreviated transcript below. Please watch video for entire interview.) Jay: Welcome, everybody. It’s Jay Baer at Convince & Convert, joined today by a very special guest, my good friend Mark W. Schaefer. Mr. Schaefer, how are you, good sir? Mark: I could not be […]
The Hybrids are Coming: Evolution of the Prototype Marketer
Paul Roetzer (@paulroetzer) is founder and CEO of PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency, and author of The Marketing Agency Blueprint (Wiley). Digital marketing has revolutionized the industry, and the job market. Corporate marketing departments and marketing agencies struggle to recruit and retain qualified professionals for career paths that did not exist three years ago, while academic […]