MarketingProfs How-To Articles

Want to Better Manage Web Content? Five Questions for Your IT Staff

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:05 GMT

Well-run marketing campaigns must be supported by well-run websites to deliver rapid return on investment. By posing these five simple questions to IT staff, marketers can take on a more active role in ensuring a positive Web experience for visitors�delivering campaign results and, ultimately, corporate success.

Why 70% of Facebook 'Fans' Don't Want Marketing, and What You Can Do About It

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:04 GMT

Most consumers who use Facebook and are a "fan" of a company or brand don't believe they have given those companies permission to market to them; many don't believe marketers are welcome in social networks at all. But here's how companies can connect with fans without turning them off.

Eight Ways Marketers Can Benefit From Using Alltop

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:03 GMT

In aggregating and organizing content from top sites around the Internet, Alltop goes a long way toward solving the filtering problem that many of us have. Alltop can be an invaluable tool for marketers. This article shares eight ways that we can benefit from using Alltop.

Is Anybody Following Your Thought Leadership? Five Best-Practices

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:02 GMT

A big part of making market leadership pay off is an ability to convey and promote thought leadership. Thought leadership is the outward expression of market leadership. It conveys your views on where your market-space is heading (or should be heading), and by communicating in that way, you show confidence ...

22 Cheap or Free Web Usability Tools, Part 2

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:01 GMT

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the value of usability testing and talked about some testing tools. Here are more reviews of low-cost or no-cost usability tools.

Four Case Studies: How These (Very Different) B2B Organizations Are Succeeding With Social Media

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 16:00:05 GMT

Even though B2C companies get the lion's share of coverage about the benefits of social media, B2B organizations of vastly different sizes and industries are making striking gains in employing these technologies to increase their market share and solve revenue challenges.

The Three Most Popular Social Networks for Business (and Why You Should Use Them)

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 16:00:04 GMT

An ancient proverb states that a "cord of three strands is not easily broken." By way of analogy, I hypothesize that the more individual connections to a particular person you have, the stronger your overall relationship with that person will be. In constructing my social graph (i.e., my network of connections), ...

Marketing: Beware of 'Outkicking the Coverage'

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 16:00:03 GMT

Although football metaphors abound in business, this article explores the idea of "outkicking your coverage," which is when an overly strong player can actually be harmful to a team's performance. "Outkicking" refers to when an exceptional punter kicks the ball so far down the field that the runner for the receiving ...

Making Your Email 'Social-able'

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 16:00:02 GMT

Take a minute and think about the folks with whom you socialize. You may have a professional network (LinkedIn) and a personal network (Facebook). You may tweet for fun or business, or for both�or maybe you just follow some sports figures on Twitter to keep up to date on the ...

Proving ROI for Search-Engine Optimization

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 16:00:01 GMT

Search-engine optimization (SEO) provides several return on investment (ROI) measures that can have a positive impact on a company's bottom line far more visibly than most marketing tactics. Yet despite all the potential, and the many SEO success stories, it can still be surprisingly difficult to make a case for investment ...

Blogging From Scratch: Four Elements Your New Business Blog Must Have

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:00:05 GMT

You've decided to launch a blog for your business and you're busy laying the groundwork. You've selected a name for it, and you know what you want to blog about and who your bloggers will be. But do you have the right elements and information on your blog? What information should ...

Marketing to the New Gen X

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:00:04 GMT

Most businesses are well aware of how to market to Generation Xers (those born 1961-1981) mainly because so many people in business today are part of Generation X. But as Gen Xers move into midlife (the oldest are 48, and youngest are 28), we are seeing a dramatic shift in ...

Transforming Customers Into a Community

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:00:03 GMT

When your customers feel that they are part of a community, they visit your website more often, provide feedback, and recommend your products and services to people they know. They do so because they now have a significant relationship with your company that surpasses brand awareness; they are now your ...

Email Marketing Tips for the 2009 Holiday Season

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:00:02 GMT

The holiday season is the most important time of year for retailers, when aggressive goals are set for increased traffic and sales, both in-store and online. Email marketing is a powerful tool that retailers can use to build their brands and increase sales during that crucial period.

Do Your Customer Surveys Measure Up?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:00:01 GMT

Most companies use a crude approach to gathering vital customer data: Periodic, often annual, surveys that are disconnected in time from the events they are purporting to measure are the norm. We call them the Annual ''Do You Love Us?'' Survey, and it has many pitfalls. One of the biggest mistakes is ...

Measuring What's Meaningful in Social Media

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:05 GMT

How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media efforts? Many companies are not properly tracking the right metrics. Or they are tracking the right metrics but aren't applying those metrics to their full effect. Here's a look at four metrics that companies use to assess their social-media efforts ...

22 Cheap or Free Web Usability Tools, Part 1: An Introduction

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:04 GMT

Usability testing can increase your website's conversion rates and improve sales. Here are some cool tools to help you do just that.

Three Strategies for Inspired Holiday Email in Tough Times

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:03 GMT

The pumpkins come out, the days grow shorter, the weather cools, and there's no mistaking that the holiday season is upon us, even though we're barely past the back-to-school rush. Already, it's holiday marketing time. Yet, in recessionary periods, what is normally a festive season is not all sweetness and light�for consumers ...

Advertising Is the Price You Pay for Not Being Creative

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:02 GMT

We are at a unique place and time. The crossroads of environmental and economic crises provide agile companies with the ability to capture market share in a down market by cutting their media buys and engaging their fan base in new ways.

11 Tips for Challenging Government-Marketing Myths and Reaching Buyers

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:01 GMT

Just as selling to government is different from selling to any other industry, marketing to government requires a distinct approach. Although there is no shortage of ways to reach government buyers, some ways are better than others. To help shatter myths and guide you to a sound strategy, compiled below ...

Are Your Marketing Dollars Buying Customers�or Just Renting Them?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:00:05 GMT

How many marketing dollars did you waste last year contacting customers who didn't buy from you? It's easy to look back to see where your investment was ineffective... if you know precisely where to look.

Ten Steps for Creating a FANtastic Facebook Fan Page

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:00:04 GMT

Facebook offers many features for strategic networking and generating visibility for your company. Among them, Facebook fan pages are (currently) the only feature fully indexed by Google. By inserting keyword-rich text throughout your fan page and updating regularly, you can create tremendous search engine optimization. The following 10 elements of dynamic Facebook ...

Marketers: Don't Just Buy Media�Earn It!

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:00:03 GMT

Want to get started with an effective earned-media marketing program? Here are three tips for launching, measuring, and monetizing a low-cost earned-media program that will drive a surge in online word-of-mouth traffic about your brand.

Top 5 Elements of an Annual Business Plan

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:00:02 GMT

It's that time again: the end of another fiscal year. Time to assess this year's successes and start planning for next year. What does that mean? It means it's time to write your business plan. A business plan can be hundreds of pages or just a few. Whatever the volume, however, ...

Your Website's Missing Ingredient

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:00:01 GMT

When websites fail, most often it's because they do not function effectively as your primary communication tool. The Web is overcrowded with options, and unless you're prepared to deliver a compelling, differentiating presentation you will be quickly dismissed as irrelevant. Let's face it: Business is tough, probably tougher than it's ...