What 6 Months Has Taught Us About Google+
In June, 2011, the search giant Google launched Google+. At the time, many people thought it was a challenge to Facebook’s domination of the social media space, and treated it as little more than one more social media channel among many. Just over six months later, Google+ marketing best practices are starting to emerge. It’s already clear that two things make Google+ quite different than other social media platforms. One of them is the “Hangouts” feature that allows companies to engage with fans, prospects, and customers through video conference calls. Of all the Google+ basics for corporate marketers, this feature Read More
Redefining SPAM: New Survey Results
In 2009, the Email Institute, Epsilon’s highly-regarded research and industry best practices organization, conducted a global study of the evolution of email marketing that included in-depth looks at how multi-channel marketing, social media, instant messaging, and mobile devices were affecting email marketers. The study also looked at how consumers define spam email, and what steps email marketing professionals should take in light of the r evised spam definition. One of the most important email marketing questions asked in that 2009 study was how consumers define spam email. The Distributed Marketing Blog decided to crowd-source an updated spam definition, so we Read More
How Is Distributed Marketing Success Measured?
One of the most common questions I am asked in my role as the head of the professional services team at a company that sells multi-channel distributed marketing automation solutions is how our clients measure distributed marketing success. I don’t want to sound like a dissembling politician trying to cover up a scandal, but it depends on the definition of “marketing success”. Last year, we embarked on a review of our clients to see how they were using our products, and what kind of results they achieved. We came up with a summary of “typical” results that looked like this: Read More
A New Way to Find Our Blog!
The Distributed Marketing Blog is a best-practices and distributed marketing industry news blog for corporate marketers, sponsored by Distribion, Inc., a leading provider of multi-channel distributed marketing automation solutions for marketers in regulated industries. With the launch of the new Distribion, Inc. corporate website today, you can now find The Distributed Marketing Blog at www.distribion.com — as well as our current URL, www.distributedmarketing.org. The content won’t change, nor will the editorial focus. The only switch will be a second way to find us, which will make it easier for blog visitors to access the resources (white papers, case studies, videos, PDF documents, Read More
Thought Leadership Marketing: The Basics
A couple of years ago (early in 2010), research giant Gartner, Inc. published a report from Rolf Jester, one of the company’s vice president’s and distinguished analysts, that noted that thought leadership marketing (TLM) was a powerful tool for multi-channel marketing communications success. Jester said that while it was once the province solely of consulting firms and service businesses, where it typically accounted for as much as 20 percent of marketing expenditures, it was emerging as an important tool for other businesses, too. In just two years, what was once an emerging discipline has become a major part of nearly Read More
Do You See What I See? On Google, Probably Not
If you and I use Google to search for the same keyword, do you see what I see? Probably not. I’m in Dallas, Texas, so the first thing that Google does is to look at my IP address, which tells it where I am. If you’re anywhere else – even in a Dallas suburb – Google will automatically adjust the search results according to location. Users get no say as to whether or not we want “local” results (and ads). Search history factors in, too. Google results are based on assumptions that are supposed to help make the results more relevant Read More
Efficient Email: 5 Time-Saving Steps
When European tech giant Atos banned email between its employees last year in favor of instant messages and a collaborative portal, the company said that workers were losing up to 28 per cent of each day due to interruptions, with email a major culprit. Besides, the company said that only about 10 out of every 200 emails that employees received every day were actually useful to their core job responsibilities. Many American workers have taken to reading email and social media, as well as skill-building tasks such as keeping up with industry news, or listening to recorded training sessions and Read More
Timing Social Media & Email for Best Results
To every purpose, there is a season…to every tweet, there is an optimum time. (Rephrasing Ecclesiastes…and the Byrds..with no intent to offend fans of either one.) It is true: there is a best time to send email, and timing social media for best results will deliver more leads and more sales than social media that isn’t properly timed. To be successful in email, content and social media marketing, you have to have three things: Interesting content that gives people value for their time. The ability to deliver your message at a time when your prospective customer is receptive to hearing Read More
Going Mobile in 2012: How and Why It Matters
Mobile web traffic has quickly become one of the fastest growing segments for businesses. More & more people rely on mobile devices to conduct transactions using their smart-phones, tablets, iPads and even an ebooks. As Marketers, we have to be ready to reach consumers all day, every day. Many companies are already catering to mobile consumers by offering direct updates via text, mobile apps and/or mobile optimized websites, while others haven’t developed a mobile strategy yet. Does my business really need a mobile site? If your business is having trouble deciding whether to develop a mobile optimized version of your Read More
Getting To Know You: Ongoing Sales Intelligence
For over 100 years, it’s been a truism in sales and marketing that you can’t know too much about your customers and prospects. That’s never been truer than it is today, when empowered customers often make the majority of the decisions about products and services before they’re ready to engage with sales. So how do you get to know your prospects and customers? Where can you find the information you need? Customers know that they have the power in the sales and marketing process – and they’re not about to give it back. They can compare prices and terms from Read More
