Best Blogs

Over the course of the eight weeks in which we were encouraged to blog about E-marketing, I have come across a wide range of blogs from others in the industry. Topics include everything from social media do's and don'ts to SEO and millions of things in between. Understanding how to target customers, get them to take action, and create, launch and run a successful e-marketing campaign takes a lot of thought, collaboration, and resources. Each week I have been keeping track of some blogs I have come across and found to be useful both now and in the future and thought I would take the time to share my top five blogs relating to E-marketing.

My Top 5 E-Marketing Blogs

1. Econsultancy Digital Marketing Blog

2. Marketo

3. Social Triggers

4. Blind Five Year Old

5. The Buffer Blog

As we all know, the blogs are endless and there are many out there with helpful information. As someone who likes quick reads with some humor, I find the above blogs to incorporate one or both of these qualities. In a field where technology and customer's habits are always changing it is important to be able to keep up with these changes or be aware of trends.

Here is a link I have found to a website that lists the top 75 E-marketing blogs and breaks it out based on the specific topic the blog tends to focus on. These blogs are all updated frequently and are loaded with informative content.

Unbounce

As you have researched topics and created your weekly blog post, what resources or other blogs have you found informative or helpful? Is there a specific topic within E-marketing that has peaked your interest? Sound off and let me know some of your favorites or what you think of my top five.

Adwords Advancements

For individuals in the marketing field, Google AdWords may be a familiar tool used on a daily basis. For those who have not used or heard of Google AdWords, it is Google's advertising system that allows advertisers to bid on certain keywords which gets a company's clickable ad to appear on Google's search results page.

As the World's most popular search engine, it is a popular place for advertising. Company's realize that the traffic is consistent and potential or existing customers are using the search engine, so why not target them when they are looking for you or at least the product or service you offer? For example, if a user is searching for a hotel, and you are a hotel why would you not want to increase your display ranking in the results page or have a prominent ad displaying? This is where Google AdWords can work for you and match you up with customers looking for you.

Recently, Google AdWords revealed new innovations that will be rolling out in the next few months to help Google AdWords work harder for users. Some of those innovations include promoting of app installations for businesses,  re-engaging app users, and increased conversion measurement. To read all about the new features you can view Google's AdWord blog at:

http://adwords.blogspot.com/
The blog was posted Tuesday, April 22, 2014 and is titled Sharing the latest AdWords Innovations.

The power behind this search engine is appealing to marketers looking to target keywords and users looking for the keywords associated with their business.

What are your thoughts? Have you heard of or used Google AdWords before? Which browser is your browser of choice? Do you think Google AdWords is a smart use of advertising dollars for companies?

Monkey Business

Interacting with customers has become easier than ever through various channels such as social media, text messaging, and e-mails. Customers are willing to share information with businesses in order to learn of upcoming promotions. When an email list is created, it is important to have a well-polished and informative email. Customers often have their email inbox's filled with tons of businesses trying to get their attention and inform them of upcoming promotions or changes. Smaller business often struggle with smaller budgets to create captivating emails.

There are a variety of email services that can assist businesses in creating professional looking emails often for a fee. For smaller businesses, a great option is Mail Chimp. Mail Chimp is a free service that users can subscribe to and create great looking emails using a variety of templates they have available. As a user of Mail Chimp, I have found it very user friendly and helps users easily organize your mailing list so emails can be sent out to personalized groups of customers.

Mail Chimp allows businesses to make a positive impact when connecting with customers and makes it easy to grab a customer’s attention. Outside of standard text, links to social media sites can be included to help customers easily find the business in other places and stay connected in a variety of places.

Take a look at Mail Chimp here:

www.mailchimp.com

Are there services you recommend or find useful in helping businesses stay connected with their customers?

2014 Digital Marketing Trends Report

One of the best ways to stay up to date on what is going on in any industry is to read white papers and research reports distributed by major companies in the space. For example, in the digital marketing world, Experian is one of those companies that works with both small and large advertisers to implement digital marketing campaign and strategies.

They recently released their "2014 Digital Marketer" report which is packed with information (138 pages to be exact!). (Click here to view it.) Out of this large report, one particular section I really found interesting is regarding the topic of 'Big Data'. This is a buzzword in the industry, but it doesn't have much meaning unless there is more definition and context around it. In this section, Experian explains how 'Big Data', or all of the data exhaust that exists because of consumers utilizing multiple channels and devices on a daily basis, needs to be made actionable. If it is not, then companies are losing out big on additional revenue, and I mean big revenue.

They estimate that retailers in the US alone lose nearly $100 billion each year because they haven't harnessed their data to execute intelligent cross-channel (online & offline) campaigns. I'm sure everyone can think back to a time where a brand has sent you an irrelevant message because they didn't leverage the information they had already collected about you. I don't want my insurance company showing me online ads and sending me prospecting emails that say 'Switch and Save with us!'. That's what I (and other consumers think), "Hello! Don't you know I'm already a customer?" It would be much more effective for that company to show me marketing messages that tell me how I can bundle other products with my current auto policy.

By combining the 'Big Data' that is collected across a company, whether it's from a website form, an online sale, an SMS subscriber or in-store purchases, to create a single view of the customer, advertisers can recognize significant growth in revenue from delivering personalized one-to-one content to customers and prospects.

If you take a few minutes to review the Digital Marketer report, I would love to hear what facts and trends you found valuable.

Pinning = Winning

There are all sorts of social media sites available for people all over the world to interact and share interests, but Pinterest is taking the social media world by storm and ultimately changing marketing. 

Pinterest grew from 2.5% of referral traffic in December to 3.6% of the referrals in January. Pinterest is showing other social media sites such as Google + and YouTube a run for its money and even causing them to lose referral traffic.

Source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/
pinterestingly-enough-interesting-pinterest-stats/45328/

Pinterest allows for users to follow profiles, boards and even comment on pins to stay connected. The benefit to gaining followers as a company via boards or pins is the link building that is created which increases search engine optimization and increases keyword ranking.

Pinterest users who shop online follow 9.3 retailers, while Facebook users follow 6.9 retailers and Twitter users follow 8.5 retailers. Of the users on Pinterest, 80% are women, 50% have kids, and are more likely to live in the Midwest. During the average 1 hour and 17 minutes spent on there leads to 80% of pins being shared or "repinned".

Pinterest is great for companies who utilize boards and pins properly. In order to do so, there are some recommendations to take into consideration when creating a Pinterest marketing strategy which include the following:

• Profiles
• Pins
• Boards
• Research
• Images
• Collaboration
• Contests
• Copyright

Companies who understand the Pinterest user and their targeted customer can develop a marketing strategy that increases traffic and customer and brand awareness. Pinterest is a prime example of how social media is changing the way companies market to customers and the power of customer interaction.

Now Trending: Infographics

Created by Customer Magnetism.

For years E-marketers have researched and collected data via internal, primary, and secondary data in order to create marketing strategies and be more knowledgeable about their industry or competition. Once the research is completed and all the data has been collected and analyzed, how is the important information conveyed to the rest of the company or marketing team quickly? One word - Infographics.

An infographic is short for information graphic which is a visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data. According to the social network Digg, since 2007 infographics have

increased by 250 times. The popularity of infographics seems to be growing as it is a way to visually relay a lot of information that is consumed quickly by an audience. 90% of the information that comes to the brain is received and processed visually, which proves the effectiveness of infographics and why companies are turning to graphics to market and share information.

People are 44% more likely to interact with a brand who posts images on social media . Infographics allow companies to share information in ways that are:

• Easy to understand
• Grab your attention
• Easy to share
• Shows an expert understanding of a subject
• Increases traffic

It is important to make sure that when creating an infographic however, that design is key. Keeping in mind visual appeal and consistency can make an infographic more effective. As a creator of an infographic you want do keep in mind colors, fonts, and images. An infographic that is cluttered and hard to follow is ineffective and will confuse the audience.

New Apps Changing the future of E-Marketing Stategies

Adobe unveiled a new set of Apps this week that is sure to change the e-marketing world. The new apps will allow companies to create, manage and deliver highly personalized mobile app experiences to their customers and prospects in real-time.
According to Brad Rencher, senior vice president and general manager, Digital Marketing Business, Adobe, "Developers can now create and deliver mobile apps while marketers manage, measure, and monetize the content, all from within Adobe Marketing Cloud."

Adobe Marketing Cloud will give more power to Marketers and allow for active mobile users to be targeted based on activity and location in real-time. New mobile capabilities include:

• App development made easy with PhoneGap Enterprise
  
• Content management for Digital Publishing Suite (DPS)
  
• Measurement of mobile marketing campaigns
  
• Support for Apple iBeacons
  
• Re-engagement of customers across mobile apps

Adobe Marketing Cloud includes a set of analytics, social, advertising, targeting, Web and app experience management and cross-channel campaign management solutions as well as core services and mobile capabilities that bring together everything marketers need to know about their campaigns.

Between Adobe Marketing Cloud and the other newly launched Adobe Target Premium, which offers A/B testing capabilities of in-app content and targeted experiences based on the users' location and life-cycle data the apps promise to change the e-marketing world for the better. With the unveiling of these new apps, Adobe has secured its top spot mobile app marketing world for the time being.

With this news, other e-marketing companies are left scrambling to create similar apps and technology in order to stay competitive and remain in business.  A launch of this kind with its robust technology threatens the amount of business other marketing firms will get or retain. The power within this app is bound to change the way businesses operate.

Do you think these apps will deliver and impact the e-marketing world based on its potential?

Here are some other links to learn more about Adobe's new apps:
PhoneGap Enterprise

Adobe Marketing Cloud

Adobe Drives Consistency Across Rich-Content Mobile Apps and Websites

Adobe Announces PhoneGap Enterprise for Mobile Development

Adobe Unveils Robust Set of Mobile App Development Solutions for Marketers

Adobe boosts its mobile marketing services with iBeacon support and easier management of apps