6 Tips for Effective Email Marketing

Today’s consumers are being hit with sales messages from all directions; while watching TV, reading magazines (paper or tablet version), browsing the web, checking out what their friends are up to on Facebook, checking their email, and more. However, even with all the different ways consumers are being targeted they still have the power to ignore, or in the case of email marketing delete, sales messages targeted at them.

When it comes to email marketing, there is a very short time frame in which to draw the recipient in and convert them into a customer. Pardot, a leader in marketing automation, created a great infographic to help companies understand the six essential components of effective email marketing. The infographic below does a stellar job breaking down the six components into easy to understand and apply tools. Also, check out a quick recap below for tips and takeaways.

The 6 Essentials of an Effective Email [Snapshot] - Pardot Infographic

Embedded from the Pardot Blog

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The Brand Spiral of Death

The term branding is thrown around a lot in relation to every facet of marketing and advertising, and as such its’ true meaning has become lost in the shuffle. A company brand is not its’ logo, slogan, or website, these are a product of a brand just like the services or products that a company sells. A brand is the external, and internal, perception of a company and/or products/services it sells. In comparison, branding is a process of defining how a company wants to be perceived by their customers and internal team, as well as how they will go about achieving this goal.

I recently read a very interesting article by Jesse McGowan at Atomicdust titled The Brand Spiral of Death (and other thoughts on branding). Continue reading

What’s Their Worth? Facebook Vs. Pinterest Visitors

Pinterest has become a great sales tool for companies already using, and those beginning to use, social media to connect with their customers. It has also grown into one of the most popular social media platforms.

But, can it really compete with the “Big Kahuna” of social media, Facebook?

Does Pinterest drive valuable site traffic?

Do Pinterest users have a greater connection with the brands they follow?

Luckily, Boticca created a great infographic to answer some of these questions regarding “who does it better”, Facebook or Pinterest. For the infographic data, Boticca analyzed 50,000 Pinterest users and 50,000 Facebook users. They share their five most interesting findings in this fun infographic below. Continue reading

How Social Media Has Changed the Sports Industry

Sports industry social mediaAre you a social media and sports addict? Or just interested in the ways different industries use social media? Well, check out this great article on the role of social media in the sports industry. Using real-life examples, the article breaks down how social media techniques have been used to build player notoriety, create a culture around sporting events, increase ticket sales, and managing crisis situations.

http://mashable.com/2012/06/04/social-media-sports-tickets-infographic/#bbrOEKlj2mqP

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Jenna Langer: 5 Ways to Humanize Your Brand

I recently read a great article by Jenna Langer, on how brands can better connect with their customers by creating a brand that is “human”. As we all know, humanizing a brand is not a small request; Humanizing Brand ImageasĀ  medias (i.e. social media) and customer expectations continue to change, this challenge becomes more difficult.

In the article, Jenna breaks down 5 humanizing tips, why they are important, and ways in which companies can implement them. These tips can help companies not only connect with their customers, but also turn them into brand advocates. Continue reading

social media editorial calendar

How to Bring Life to a Social Media Strategy

With many factors influencing the success of the real-time online conversations surrounding your company, social media can seem overwhelming at the beginning. These influencing factors include

  • Learning multiple platforms (ie. Facebook, Twitter, Blogs)
  • Maintaining a constant conversation with followers
  • Writing & posting on a schedule

By having a strategy in place and investing time each week to maintain and grow each profile, you will be better prepared to create a successful and fun social media marketing experience. Continue reading

The Mobile Purchase Path

Mobile usage by consumers has been on the rise, and it isn’t slowing down. Because of this trend, it is becoming more important than ever for companies to understand how consumers are using mobile devices to learn about products and complete purchases.

Moosylvania, an independent advertising agency in St. Louis, conducted a study to analyze how mobile usage has altered the consumer path to purchase. The study focused specifically on smart phone and tablet usage, and how purchase behavior differed by device, including: Continue reading