Monday, August 25, 2014

Featured Report: 3 Tips to Improve Your Marketing from Doctor Who

Marketing Sherpa Blog

3 Tips to Improve Your Marketing from Doctor Who

Aug,22,2014

by: Jessica Lorenz

There are a lot of nerds in our office, and if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, this is probably not news to you. Recently, we’ve realized something nerds everywhere have known for a long time – we are not alone.

In our case studies, blogs and events, we’ve seen how other marketers utilize pop culture to help convey complex ideas – for instance, emergency alert systems provider One Call Now used “Star Trek” characters to represent its customer personas.

Since we have seen the success others have had, we wanted to try this idea out for ourselves using an office favorite: BBC’s science fiction cult classic “Doctor Who,” which is having its latest series premiere on August 23. Read More

Inc.com

7 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make on LinkedIn

Aug,22,2014

by: ADAM FRIDMAN

LinkedIn calls itself the "World's Largest Professional Network" and it has established itself as one of the three biggest must-play properties on social media. If you're looking to expand your influence and network--especially important goals for entrepreneurs and startups--LinkedIn is one of the key place to see and be seen.

"It not only provides the latest information relevant to your industry news and its players, but allows members to showcase accomplishments and thought-leadership which may otherwise be left in the confines of an office wall or personal blog," Maya Mikhailov, LinkedIn pro and executive vice president of GPShopper, told me. As important as LinkedIn is, most entrepreneurs and startups are making mistakes in their approach to it. Read More

Re/Code

Twitter Is Working With Payments Startup Stripe on Its Commerce Initiative

Aug,22,2014

by: Jason Del Rey

Twitter’s long-awaited plan to let its users make purchases right from a tweet is nearing, and payments startup Stripe will have a role in the business, multiple industry sources tell Re/code.

Later this year, Twitter is expected to unveil buttons within tweets that say “Buy” or some variation of the word; after clicking on the button, shoppers are expected to be able to enter in payment and possibly shipping information without leaving Twitter’s service. Sources say that businesses that want to sell products or services within tweets are being instructed to sign up with Stripe to process payments on their behalf. While Stripe is believed to be Twitter’s only payments partner now working on the e-commerce business, it’s not clear whether that will remain the case over the long haul. Read More

WIX Blog

How to Find a Great Product to Sell Online

Aug,24,2014
by: Staff

Online business opportunities are constantly expanding. With commerce making big moves online, many people are finding mounts of untapped potential to sell & market goods in the cyber sphere. Depending on the available time and resources that you have, selling and distributing online can become a nice source for extra cash or even a lucrative venture.

Simply put, the eCommerce field can be divided into two categories: people who sell goods that they themselves produce and manufacture, and people who purchase goods from manufacturers and sell them to the end-consumer. This latter category of online retailers has the difficult task of finding the next big thing that’ll sell like hot cakes! Read More

KaratBars International

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Friday, August 22, 2014

Featured Report: How Consumers Engage With Small Businesses on Facebook

Marketing Proofs

How Consumers Engage With Small Businesses on Facebook

Aug,21,2014
by: Ayaz Nanji
Most consumers say Facebook is the most useful social network for researching products and services before visiting a small business, according to a recent report from G/O Digital.

The report was based on data from survey of 1,000 adults in the United States age 18-29 who are interested in buying products and services from local/small businesses and who own at least a desktop/laptop computer and a smartphone or tablet.

Some 62% of respondents say Facebook is the most useful social network for researching small businesses before purchasing, compared with just 12% for Pinterest, 11% for Twitter, and 9% for Instagram: Read More

Small Business Trends

5 Key Principles to Design Effective Online Advertisements

Aug,19,2014
by: Marc Weisinger

Online marketing has never been more important. Today, people turn to the Web for even the most minor tasks. If something can be done online, that’s where people will accomplish it. And your business needs to be where the people are. But online marketing isn’t about creating a single standard campaign, getting ads on a few websites, and calling it a day. The process and strategies for successful online efforts have become incredibly sophisticated, especially with the growing demand for mobile options. Read More

Social Media Examiner

12 Twitter Marketing Tips From the Pros

Aug,19,2014
by: Cindy King
Are you using the latest Twitter marketing tactics?

Do you want to raise the bar on your Twitter marketing? We asked top Twitter pros to share the tips and tricks they’re using to make a difference in their own Twitter marketing. In this article you’ll discover 12 Twitter marketing tips to help you get the most out of Twitter today. Read More

Hubspot

Think You Know LinkedIn? 7 Common Myths Debunked

Aug,21,2014

by: Lana Khavinson

Ever wonder what happens when you hit the magical "500+ connections" level on LinkedIn? Or how people connect with those outside of their immediate network? Or how to keep your entire network from seeing a tiny profile update? Though LinkedIn is a powerful tool for business professionals across all industries,there are still a lot of misconceptions about how it works. Read More

KaratBars International

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Featured Report: Don't Think Your Business App is too Small

SmallBizClub

Don't Think Your Business App is too Small

Aug,20,2014

by: Staff

Small business owners toying with the idea of developing a mobile app to promote their companies might find themselves heartened by the immensity of the market but at the same time frightened away by the magnitude of the competition. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to recognize how dependent most Americans have become on their smartphones. Just look around you in a crowded restaurant or airport departure lounge, and you'll see that a large percentage of your fellow diners or airline passengers have their attention focused on the smartphones tightly clutched in their hands. Read More

Convince and Convert

Can’t Buy Me Love: How to Avoid Social Media Fraud

Aug,20,2014

by: Sue Spolan

It’s so easy to fake it online. You want a hundred thousand Twitter followers? You can buy them. You want to look like a Facebook star? Countless purveyors will fill your company’s fan page with adoring (albeit fake) acolytes. But puffed up social campaigns come at a pretty high price, especially when it comes to advertising and lead generation.

You may appear to have a brand army of a few hundred thousand, but you’ve painted yourself into an advertising corner, paying for all those fake impressions in your social ad campaign. You’re shooting yourself in the digital foot. Read More

WIX Blog

7 Brilliant Social Media Campaigns to Learn From

Aug,20,2014
by: Staff

By now, most business owners know that it’ll do their business good to not only maintain a certain level of social presence, but actively seek out quality engagement from their followers.

A great way to go about this is to create a social media campaign. Don’t let the term scare you – there are many different ways to go about creating a successful one. It’s always best to first start with a bit of research, so we’ve done some of the work for you and compiled seven of the more successful campaigns that were recently launched. So whether you and your business are new on the social media scene, or are seasoned veterans, there’s no denying these 7 brilliant campaigns can teach us all a thing or two. Read More

Marketing Sherpa Blog

Content Marketing: How a farm justifies premium pricing

Aug,19,2014

by: Daniel Burstein

“We often feel like we have a sales force of thousands of loyal customers looking out for our best interest.”

We’ll get to how content marketing enabled the example in that quote in just a minute, but first, let’s start with the incredible, edible egg market.

The egg market is a perfect example of how value, and marketing’s role in the communication of that value, can be added to what was previously a commodity in order to produce higher margins. Read More

KaratBars International

Monday, August 18, 2014

Featured Report: Sales Still Matters More than Social Media

Mobile Marketing Daily

Worldwide Mobile Advertising Hit $19.3 Billion In 2013
Aug,13,2014
by: Mark Walsh,
Global mobile advertising nearly doubled last year -- jumping from $10 billion to $19.3 billion, according to a new estimate by the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Mobile Center of Excellence in partnership with IAB Europe and IHS Technology.

North America accounted for the largest share of mobile advertising at 41.9%, just ahead of Asia-Pacific (38.9%), with Europe at 17.3%, the Middle East and Africa (1.2), and Latin America (0.7%). Read More

Ad Week

Advertisers Say Gaming App's 'Winning' Approach Is Creating More Sales Than Display Ads

Aug,12,2014

by: Melissa Hoffmann

Anyone can serve an ad to a consumer, but how to get that consumer to click through—or even better, to actively engage with the brand—is one of the central struggles of digital advertising. But a California startup founded by a former Red Bull marketer and a friend from college thinks it has hit on a surefire way to lure its gamer audience to engage with its ads—by rewarding them for that engagement with the potential to win free, carefully targeted products. Read More

Social Media Examiner

4 Ways to Improve Your Pinterest Marketing With Analytics

Aug,18,2014

by: Daniel Maloney

Do you use Pinterest to market your business? Do you use Pinterest analytics to help you market better? Most brands on Pinterest aren’t tracking their metrics. The companies that do are finding optimized engagement In this article I’ll share four ways to improve your Pinterest marketing efforts. Read More

Harvard Business Review

Sales Still Matters More than Social Media

Aug,15,2014

by: Frank V. Cespedes

It’s become commonplace for observers to tout the transformative potential of digital technologies and bemoan the allegedly slow pace at which companies support these initiatives. Two recent blogs published by HBR.org are representative and, I believe, wrong.

Walter Frick, an HBR editor, contrasts the enthusiasm of executives for spending money on digital initiatives versus their relatively unsupportive boards. “Digital growth is appropriately a priority for a diverse swath of organizations, and boards need to get with the program,” he writes. Didier Bonnet of Capgemini agrees, and is refreshingly direct in suggesting the cause: the average age of independent directors in S&P 500 companies is almost 63, they did not grow up with online technology, and many should be replaced for their lack of “digital awareness.” Read More

KaratBars International

Friday, August 15, 2014

Featured Report: Government Grants May Help Ease Business Challenges

Spin Sucks

21 Must Haves in Your Social Media Policy

Aug,14,2014

by: Gini Dietrich

A couple of weeks ago, smartieKerry Gorgone wrote a blog post about whether you should friend your employees on the social networks.

I have a hard time with this one for two reasons: 1) I met every one of our employees through the social networks first, which means we were friends there before they started working here; and 2) Social media is part of what we do so there is a big blurry line between personal and professional in this case.

Right now, it’s probably okay (I say probably because they may tell you differently), but as we continue to grow, this may be something I need to keep in mind. It might not be okay to be friends with all of our employees on the social networks. Read More

Marketing Magazine

Why brands are un-friending Facebook to follow Twitter

Aug,14,2014

by: Matthew Burns,

Red Bull, Heineken, Coca-Cola were among the first brands to realise the power of the Facebook Like. But these giants are now turning away from Facebook. What is happening? Matthew Burns, co-founder of eBench, may have the answer. Red Bull's main Facebook page has 44m fans. Maybe a lot, but by generating just 330,000 interactions last month, the brand managed less than 1 monthly interaction for every 100 fans. Read More

New York Times Small Business

Government Grants May Help Ease Business Challenges
Aug,13,2014
by: AMY CORTESE

For more than two decades, from a Willy Wonka-like studio in New York’s garment district, Michelle Feinberg’s company, the New York Embroidery Studio, has helped amateurs and brand-name designers embellish garments with decorative stitching, rhinestones, sequins and other items. So, when a longtime client, Ralph Lauren, approached her in 2010 and asked her to help create uniforms for Team USA at the Sochi Olympics, Ms. Feinberg jumped at the chance. The only problem was that to meet Ralph Lauren’s needs in time the uniforms were all domestically produced for the first time — she would have to upgrade her equipment, an assortment of modern and antique specialty stitching and cutting machines. Read More

HubSpot

The 12 Types of People You’ll Meet at a Conference

Aug,15,2014

by: Brittany Leaning

To all the conference-goers out there, I’d like to challenge you to think long and hard about one simple question: What’s your goal? There are so many different benefits and things you could focus on during a conference, it gets really difficult to choose which one you should go for. Should you be networking to make connections with smart people? Should you stick to learning and diligently take notes during the breakout sessions? Maybe your goal is simply to follow the keynote speakers around until they notice you. Read More

KaratBars International

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Featured Report: 5 Unexplored Ways Your Small Business Loses Money

Huffington Post Blog

5 Unexplored Ways Your Small Business Loses Money

Aug ,12,2014

by: Jackie Nagel

Cash flow is an important aspect of any business. And, it's particularly critical for a small business growing on a shoestring and a prayer. In the hectic day-to-day operation of a business, it's common to overlook the many holes in your small business through which your cash is leaking.

Most small business entrepreneurs are familiar with money lost from ineffective pricing strategies, including underpricing. But, did you know you could be forfeiting more money in seemingly insignificant ways? Read More

Social Media Examiner

New Research Shows Social Media Word-of-Mouth Rising

Aug,13,2014

by: Kiera Stein

Do you want people to tell their friends about your business? Are you getting positive word of mouth?New research shows that word-of-mouth marketing has grown exponentially on social media.In this article you’ll discover three ways you can encourage customers to tell their friends about you. Read More

Strategy and Business

Competitive Narcissism: A Marketing Lesson

Aug,12,2014

by: Catherine Palmieri

Recently, I read (again) that marketers are abandoning their efforts on social media. Despite desperately trying to be “liked,” businesses have seen little financial gain from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and similar social media platforms. This is nothing new; five years ago, businesses complained that people rarely clicked the ads they posted on Facebook.

The challenge of advertising on social media now reminds me of the Greek myth of Echo and Narcissus. Echo was a nymph who had been cursed with an affliction: She couldn’t speak except to repeat what others said to her. One day, she fell in love with Narcissus and hid in the woods waiting for him to notice her. When he called out to some friends, she called back, and he asked her to show herself. Unfortunately for Echo, he rejected her immediately upon seeing her (at which point she ran off, gradually wasting away until only her voice remained—the mountain’s echo). Narcissus continued to attract other wood nymphs, all of whom he briefly entertained before scorning and rejecting them too. Nobody matched his beauty, and so he though no one was worthy of his affection. Eventually, though, Narcissus did fall in love—with his own reflection in a pool of water. Read More

HBR Blog Network

When (and Why) to Pay for Tweets

Aug,11,2014

by: Ryan Holmes

If you’re on social media, you’ve seen them: ads dressed up to look (almost) exactly like normal tweets, Facebook posts, and LinkedIn updates from your friends and followers. They’re called native social ads, and while user opinions vary from indifference to annoyance, the results would seem to speak for themselves.

Facebook native ads that appear in users’ news feeds are clicked on 49 times more often than traditional banner ads in the right sidebar, according to AdRoll. Meanwhile, Promoted Tweets have shown engagement rates of 1% to 3%. Normal banner ads are clicked on just 0.2% of the time. Read More

KaratBars International