This post is part of a series of lectures, which you can view here, that cover various inbound marketing topics. The content is from Inbound Marketing University, a training program which I have completed and passed to become an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, and an Inbound Marketing Educator.

Today’s topic is “Twitter for Business”.

What you will learn: This class is a drill-down of best practices and quick tips to use Twitter for marketing your business. There is lots of information in this video, so feel free to take notes.

Homework Assignment: Write a blog article that lists three qualities of a successful Twitter business account. What things should you be sure to avoid?

If you would like to become an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, you can do so by clicking here.

Also, make sure to tune in to Hubspot TV LIVE today at 4:00PM EST.

Enjoy the class:

Share with the world

Jet Lag

I came across this great video today by Daniel Pink, and  I had to share it with you. No, I am not planning any traveling soon, but if I did plan such a thing, this video will be my first source of information.

This what you need to remember when traveling through different time zones:

1. time
2. food
3. light

Now watch the video below to learn how to put it all together:

Share with the world

This post is part of a series of lectures, which you can view here, that cover various inbound marketing topics. The content is from Inbound Marketing University, a training program which I have completed and passed to become an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, and an Inbound Marketing Educator.

Today’s topic is “PR for Inbound Marketing“.

What you will learn: In this class you will learn how to run a successful inbound public relations campaign for both your clients and your own company. There is lots of information in this video, so feel free to take notes.

Homework Assignment: Consult a hypothetical client on how to create an effective inbound PR campaign. What content would you create?
What channels would you use? Why?

If you would like to become an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, you can do so by clicking here.

Also, make sure to tune in to Hubspot TV LIVE today at 4:00PM EST.

Enjoy the class:

Share with the world

There is a revolution taking place in NYC, and for once it does not involve fashion nor celebrities.

What is common to Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, Bistro Truck, and Holton Farms? They are all using trucks to sell food in the streets of  NYC, and they all do it by using Social Media!

Equipped with a laptop, wifi, and a twitter/Facebook accounts, these revolutionaries are changing the way NYC famous food carts are doing business.

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, for instance, is using Twitter to promote specials and tweet its location at any given moment so people will know where to go when in search for an Ice Cream.

Bistro Truck is taking online orders via email, and uses Twitter to tweet its location, and new dishes, adding pictures such as “soup of the day”, to instill hunger in people’s mind (quite smart if you ask me). In addition, they use Facebook as a publishing platform for articles and some PR. The owner of Bistro Truck , Yassir Raoull, claims that 10-15% of their sales come from using Social Media. Not bad.

Holton Farms uses Twitter and facebook in the same way, and have people waiting in line minutes after they tweet to get some of their delicious sandwiches.

What I liked the most about their interaction on Twitter is that they really get personal with their clients. Inbound Marketing is about building relationships with your clients and engaging them to build trust (which at the end create leads), and these guys are mastering it like true marketers.

I find the fact that these vendors are using social media in such a brilliant way exciting. By using social media, these revolutionaries managed to reach out to a new market, and create a niche in their industry.

So next time you are in NYC, make sure to check their Twitter account and get to learn about the Ice Cream of the day :)

What do you think? Are you familiar with these vendors?

Share with the world

Flipboard

If you have a iPad, you might want to take a look at this FREE innovative new app (iTune link). In brief, Flipboard turns your Facebook and Twitter account into something that looks like a magazine. Instead of scrolling down your Facebook newsfeed, you now can read it as if you were reading Times magazine. You should watch the video below, and see for yourself. It is quite brilliant, and add a different dimension to reading Twitter and Facebook feeds.

What is your thought? Do you find it useful?

Share with the world

Queen Rania Al Abdullah

I love the way Rania Al Abdullah, Queen of Jordan, is promoting her country. Her latest video offers a swapping contest that is absolutely  genius. The concept is quite simple: “2 people from Jordan will swap locations with 2 tourists for 1 week. How? Well, if you’ve never been to Jordan, we’ll pay for you and a friend to come and visit the country. If you live in Jordan, we’ll swap you and a friend (temporarily!) with the other winners and take you on a tour of their country. It’s cross-cultural dialogue with air miles!”

This is where the genius (for a marketing geek such as myself) part lies: it is all pure social media approach!

These are the rules: upload a video to TwitVid saying why you’d like to visit Jordan, and post it with @queenrania #TwisitJordan. If you live in Jordan, tell Queen Rania why you love your country, again with @queenrania #TwisitJordan.

Once the contest is over, four videos will be chosen, and two people from abroad will be swapped with two people from Jordan with full expenses paid by the Kingdom (talk about an incentive! full expenses paid!).

What I like the most about this initiative (beside the fully paid trip of course) is the way Queen Rania is using Social Medial to promote the contest. She is using Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flicker, her website, and Twitvid to reach every corner of the social media sphere. Now that is a smart marketing approach! Kudos!

What do you think? Do you see yourself posting a video to win a free trip to Jordan?

You can watch her video below

Share with the world

This post is part of a series of lectures, which you can view here, that cover various inbound marketing topics. The content is from Inbound Marketing University, a training program which I have completed and passed to become an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, and an Inbound Marketing Educator.

Today’s topic is “Successful Email Marketing“.

What you will learn: In this class you will learn the proper inbound marketing email techniques to increase lead conversion. There is lots of information in this video, so feel free to take notes.

Homework Assignment: Explain why email marketing is considered inbound marketing. Also, give an example when email marketing could also be an outbound marketing technique when done ineffectively.

If you would like to become an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, you can do so by clicking here.

Also, make sure to tune in to Hubspot TV LIVE today at 4:00PM EST.

Enjoy the class:

Share with the world

Social Media ROI

These are some of the Social Media numbers Moore mentioned:

Below is an excerpt of his statment:

Share with the world

Generation Millennial

In a survey conducted by Pew Internet and American Project Life about the future impact of the internet, a solid majority of experts said  that “the Millennial generation will lead society into a new world of personal disclosure and information-sharing using new media”.

From a marketing perspective, the data presented is good news to any Inbound marketer. At the rate of which generation Y is using social media, it is easy to see how it will be more reseptive to online interaction than traditional marketing (TV ads, radio commercial, billboards, etc).

The marketing take:

Companies who use traditional marketing to deliver (read: push) their messages will need to reassess their marketing approach, and learn how to effectively communicate online. It is no wonder we see more and more companies embracing social media and inbound marketing tactics to better engage their audience.

Where do you stand on the subject?

Pew-Internet And American Project Survey

Share with the world

Social Media Business Cards

Business cards are cards bearing information about a company or an individual, and they are usually printed on some form of card stock. They are not interactive, they cost money, and they waste a lot of paper.  A lot of companies seem to agree on this, and built products that function somewhat as virtual business cards.

A few examples of the first buds of virtual business cards:

• SMS: Contxts; TextID; DUB
• Mobile Web: MyNameIsE
• Email: Dropcard; WeaveMet
• iPhone: beamMe (app)
• Social Networks: LinkedIn; Xing; Facebook
• Google Profile
• Twitter

With so many options to choose from, how do you combine all this information together, use vanity URL, and describe yourself with more than 140 characters?

This is where Card.ly comes into play. The company’s goal is not just to get you a phone and an email address, but to create a beautiful, shareable social media business card.
There are a few (very easy) steps to follow before you can create your (Free) embed-able, shareable social media business card. The end results is a simple, clean and useful webpage that you can use as a virtual business card.

My Card.ly Social Media Business Card

Itai Boublil Social Media Business Card

You can also embed it on your Website

Embed on Your Site

A few tips about choosing your username:

It is important that you choose your username based on your first and last name (if possible). This makes it easier to remember, and also it will show up in seach engines. Mine, for example, is card.ly/itai. Simple enough to remember, and share.

What do you think? Are you already using Card.ly as your Social Media business card?

Share with the world