Khaled Saleh says, “For marketers, there are few skills more important than a deep understanding of Google Analytics and its conversion measurement capabilities. After all, this is the tool that tells you whether your efforts are actually translating into results. Unfortunately, mastering Google Analytics can be challenging, even for experienced... [Read more]

JP Gownder says, “Moonlighting as a contributor to our CMO role’s research, I’ve just published a major new report about how virtual reality will affect marketers, collaborating with Forrester’s lead on digital disruption, James McQuivey, PhD. CMOs and other marketers have four choices when it comes to virtual reality (VR). Most of you... [Read more]

Lisa Toner says, “As a salesperson chasing quotas month after month, you’ll inevitably spend a lot of your time writing and sending emails. The scary reality, however, is that a shocking 76% of sales emails are never even opened. How are you supposed to sell if you can’t get your prospect’s attention in the first place? Calling leads... [Read more]

Many beginning marketers have asked themselves that question. And that’s good because it’s a crucial question. Get the answer wrong, and you can waste a lot of money on useless fluff. Even worse, get it wrong, and you very likely will not succeed. Lee Murray, a veteran online marketer of many years standing, has been pondering the question... [Read more]

Nikki Gilliland says, “For the average shopper, supermarket loyalty is a thing of the past. With price and proximity being two of the most important factors in where people shop, it’s usually a case of whatever makes life easier. Waitrose, a supermarket well known for its middle class ‘essentials’, is attempting to change this attitude... [Read more]

Lauren Teague says, “As mid-year approaches, you may be looking back at your social media plans and goals for the year and realizing they need attention. What was set in motion less than six months ago now causes us to pause. In this ever-evolving industry, key social media networks consistently pivot, refresh, or introduce new features that require... [Read more]

Tarah Speck says, “More than ever, B2B marketers are held accountable to driving revenue—and proving that they are. We’re investing in the right technologies and programs, and fueling channels and tools with high-quality, buyer-centric content. But what’s actually working and what’s falling flat? Fully 50% of B2B enterprise... [Read more]

Webinars are a route many successful marketers use to bring in income. In that way, webinars are like TV infomercials, only a lot cheaper. Webinar systems are widely available.  Unfortunately, although they are cheaper than infomercials, many webinar platforms are themselves pricey for small marketers... [Read more]

Michele Linn says, “A few months ago, I was cleaning the basement with my kids. The goal was to put the toys away so it could be vacuumed, dusted, etc. I looked over, and my 8-year-old was erasing the whiteboard and chalkboard. When I asked her to help clean up, she explained that she was cleaning. The whiteboard obviously needed to be erased. I... [Read more]

Pamela Wilson says, “I have a love/hate relationship with a soap company. About five years ago, I stumbled across their products online. They boasted rare and unique scents and naturally-sourced ingredients. They were irresistible (to me, anyway). And their prices seemed reasonable. So, I placed an order. And that’s when my troubles began. I... [Read more]

Nikki Gilliland says, “Newsletter subscribers are an incredibly valuable asset for retailers. By signing up, customers are actively showing appreciation for a brand, as well as an interest to hear more in future. As a result – and as our Email Marketing Census highlights – almost three-quarters of companies now rate email marketing... [Read more]

Your inbox, our inbox, and, for that matter, everybody's inbox is getting flooded with mail. You can't keep up. So email marketing isn't as effective as it once was.  People just don't notice your mail when it comes in... [Read more]

Greg Sterling says, “In August last year, Adobe and PageFair reported that the global number of ad-blocking users had grown from 21 million in 2009 to just under 200 million in mid-2015. Earlier today, PageFair (and Priori Data) released a new mobile ad-blocking report that asserts there are now roughly 419 million mobile ad blockers around the... [Read more]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “It’s all too common for marketers to equate scaling content with simply producing more content, regardless of quality. But that approach is flawed, as it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve more visibility when your content isn’t all that great. How can you scale your content marketing while keeping up... [Read more]

Tim Peterson says, “No one really knows how many people actually had a chance to see one of their Instagram posts. They know the potential audience based on how many people follow their Instagram account, but they have no idea how many people are checking their feeds soon after that photo or video is posted or how many other people might come... [Read more]

James Knight knows a thing or two about affiliate marketing, and he knows a lot about Facebook marketing. He combined his two areas of expertrise in his new training, FB Cash King... [Read more]

Steve Olenski says, “This particular post is a bit of an anomaly. See, I am writing this with just two percent of CMOs/marketers in mind. That may sound odd—why would I write something aimed at only two percent of anything? I get that. I understand why you would question that logic. I questioned it myself before deciding to take this approach for... [Read more]

Dr. Peter J. Meyers says, “For the past couple of weeks, Google has been testing a major change to the width of the left-hand column, expanding containers from 512 pixels to 600 (a 17% increase). Along with this change, Google has increased the available length of result titles: This naturally begs the question — how many characters can we fit... [Read more]

Rusty Warner says, “I am pleased to announce TWO new Forrester Wave™ reports for B2C marketers. Today we published the Forrester Wave™: Cross-Channel Campaign Management, Q2 2016 and the Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Marketing Software Suites, Q2 2016. The former will help you compare the 15 leading campaign management vendors, while the latter... [Read more]

Page Load Speed is a key ingredient in the search engine algorithms for ranking, along with mobile-responsiveness, backlinks, and more. Not only that, speed can make a difference in whether a visitor stays around to look at your site or bounces off to some other site... [Read more]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “You all know the Old Spice guy, right? The years-old “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign was memorable for many reasons, but one of them was that it gave Old Spice a voice — voice that came through in every video, commercial, tagline, Facebook update, tweet … you name it. And do you know... [Read more]

Brian Kolb says, “Earned media is that one component of content marketing that is MIA for too many marketers. If you are just hoping that people will publish or share your great content, well, that’s like stepping up to the plate without a bat. Generating earned media today must be the clean-up hitter in your content marketing strategy lineup. Earned,... [Read more]

Nikki Gilliland says, “How would you feel if your favourite brand called you bae? Personally, I cringe whenever someone I know dares utter the term – even if they’re doing it ironically. For companies, words are a really useful weapon, and many have cottoned on to the fact that talking like a real person is far more engaging than using... [Read more]

Dan Steiner says, “Brands have discovered the value of using video to engage customers and stand out in social media feeds. However, when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), videos can be lacking. You can include important information in your description, but that won’t cover everything described in your video. Investing in a transcription... [Read more]