Best Media Marketing

So you're stuck? Staring at your bracket, you've scribbled, scratched, erased and re-filled your bracket multiple times. Not sure what to do? Let us help. 

They say teams are only as good on the court as they are off the court. Typically, this saying refers to the classroom. In today's digital era, though, perhaps that should apply to the internet. More specifically, maybe the saying should go, "A team is only as good as its social media marketing."  

Either way, we wanted to know how the teams stacked up on Klout. Yesterday we simply gave you the handles and hashtags for each team. Now let's...

March 27 is observed as the festival of colour, Holi, by a large number of Indians across the world. This holiday is a particuarly interesting social experiment, and one I've grown up observing since early childhood.

It’s a day celebrated not just with friends and family, but with pretty much anyone you can get your hands on--neighbour, neighbour's dog, et al. The key is dousing your victim in either coloured water or colourful powder dyes. In fact, it's not unusual for prim and proper suited office workers refusing to get into the spirit of things to be hit with water balloons thrown by school...

If you're looking for a new job and you happen to be in Austin for the weekend, Pizza Hut just might have an opportunity for you.

On Sunday, March 10, the pizza chain will be at SXSW searching for a new social media manager--or, as they call it, "Manager of Digital Greatness." Of course, there's an interesting twist: each interview will last just 140 seconds. Yep, that's less than 3 minutes to convince an interviewer you're the best candidate for the job--because if you can sell yourself in 140 seconds, you can probably sell the company in 140 characters on Twitter.

When I first heard about this...

Golf is a game of tradition: green jackets, big trophies, and proper etiquette are an essential part of the game. While the rules and traditions have remained the same, the technology on the course has changed rapidly. And now, the technology off the course is catching up.

Traditionally, the PGA Tour has outsourced its digital technology and marketing. In 2013, that is changing and the toughest test may be just around the Amen Corner.  

In the old days (you know, like eight years ago), sports leagues were able to sell their broadcast rights for an extraordinary amount of money, and that was...

Permission-based email has become the foundation of successful one-to-one marketing, and a company's database of email subscribers is one of its most valuable assets.

And with good reason! As our 2012 Channel Preference Survey revealed, 66% of US online consumers report making at least one purchase that was triggered by an offer received via email. And for BtoB marketing, nothing tops email for aiding the customer’s buying decision. In a 2012 article, BtoB Magazine reported that 59% of BtoB marketers say email is their most effective channel for generating revenue.

At the recent 2013 MarketingShe...

Cross-channel marketing is a key focus for many brands right now. But when it comes down to it, how do you put together a really successful cross-channel campaign?

Our advice? Build one campaign across email, mobile, and social media!

ExactTarget client eBags recently executed a highly successful cross-channel campaign called "Bag an iPad." In this series of blog posts, I'll share the three easy steps they followed:

1. Create a Sweepstakes
2. Get a Committment and Follow Through
3. Measure, Refine, and Repeat!

Ready to get started?

Step 1: Create a Sweepstakes

Your current email subscribers are some of your...

I am proud to announce the next version of Conversations with ExactTarget. Today's interview is with Mark Schaefer, one of the most acclaimed and accomplished marketing consultants in America with a special emphasis in social media marketing. A few of his recent accomplishments include:

• Forbes magazine “Power 50″ social media influencers of the world
• AdAge magazine “Power 150″ marketing blogger
• TweetSmarter 2011 Twitter User of the year
• Peer-elected 2011 B2B Twitter User of the Year
• B2B Magazine (UK) social media book of the year: Tao of Twitter
• Author of two best-selling marketing books
• Seven...

As a member of ExactTarget's Global Support leadership team, I see a lot of examples of how not to do things. Most of the time, my team can help you reverse-engineer the issue and align your work to industry and ExactTarget best practices. There are some mistakes, though, that even we can't help you come back from--and that can be disastrous to your marketing program.

Here are the top five that I've seen from my time at the support desk, and how you can avoid being a victim:

1. Location location location: Know your source of truth for subscriber information. Is it your internal CRM database? Is...

When it comes to the job search, social media has almost become self-destructive. With younger and younger generations adapting to technology and social media faster and faster, digital footprints are being created at younger and younger ages.

Last weekend, ExactTarget had the opportunity to sponsor and attend the 2013 Doster Leadership Conference, a student-run event which connects 100 top student leaders from the Krannert School of Management (Purdue University) with corporate representatives for a weekend-long leadership conference in Indianapolis.

The event's hosts had the foresight to...

The ExactTarget team invites you to participate in this week's #ETCafe Twitter chat, where some of the world's best marketers come together to discuss emerging topics and trends from across the interactive marketing world. This virtual coffee chat takes place directly on Twitter every Thursday from 11am-12pm ET, hosted by @ExactTarget.

Last week, we focused on a Valentine's Day edition of #ETcafe chat, "Loving your Subscribers" with Relish Tray Media, Inc. For our next #ETCafe chat we wanted to spend some time discussing how Valentine's Day email and marketing campaigns performed for marketers....

50 years ago we only had a few media outlets: print, television, radio, and maybe one or two others. Now it seems we have a new media outlet everyday. Case in point: just the other day Twitter released Vine.

Vine, for those of you late to the party, is a 6 second video loop. Imagine Instagram for video, meets Twitter. Twitter calls it, “The best way to see and share life in motion." The 6 second lenth is the key here. Sally Hogshead states that with the increased volume of content these days, we only have 9 seconds to reach someone with our message. Putting constraints on the length of video...

STRATEGY OVERVIEW
Social and mobile go hand-in-hand—literally. According to our Mobile Dependence Day report, nearly 60% of smartphone owners in the United States use their phones to visit social networking sites daily—and, in some cases, “constantly throughout the day.”

Make sure you’re taking advantage of all that mobile activity on Facebook, Twitter, and other popular social media sites.

HOW TO PUT IT IN ACTION
This strategy really starts with social—so that’s where we’ll start, too:

1. First, gain a thorough understanding of best practices for marketing on Facebook and Twitter. For tips, check...

In the fast-moving world of cross-channel marketing, it’s almost impossible to keep up with the news as it happens. Luckily, the Content Marketing team here at ExactTarget is here to help! We’re always on the lookout for fresh, interesting content, to help you stay up-to-date with the latest news and trends.

Here are a few of the top stories, posts, and other content that caught our eye this week:

World Internet Stats: Websites, Email, Social Media, and More (Marketing Profs)

Case Study: Where's the Best Place to Put Your CTA? (Unbounce)

10 Tools for Creating Infographics and Visualizations (SEOmoz)

9...

During a game of trivia the other night, I decided to cheat! I pulled out my phone, and was able to find out “Silent Bob’s” real name in less than 10 seconds.

This availability of information has programmed our society to have very high expectations when it comes to the question-and-answer process. If we have a hard time finding the answer to a question, we often get frustrated and build a negative connotation with brands that make it difficult to find information we seek.  This is not a new concept, so when I went to check out some of the most prolific B2B brands, I was surprised to see how...

Earlier this week the National Sports Forum hosted over 850 sports business professionals in Orlando for their annual conference. Representatives from sales and marketing for teams, leagues, properties, agencies, sponsors, and vendors were all on hand to network and share best practices in disciplines such as social media, marketing, senior management, sponsorship sales, business development, and ticket sales.

As sports business continues to evolve and teams look to market their products in a more relevant manner, it was no surprise then to hear phrases like “leveraging big data,” “driving...

Twitter has already created a way for consumers to communicate their thoughts to followers within seconds. Now they have progressed to allow users to share visual information and sound to their followers at the same speed. Last Thursday, Twitter launched a short video creation and sharing app called Vine.

The Vine iPhone app allows users to share 6-second video clips, and many brands have already begun to take notice. Six seconds at a time, users can get a glimpse of what’s happening in the world, including what their favorite brands are up to. So how can your business benefit from Twitter’s...

2013 is The Year of Leadership at ExactTarget. It’s one thing to say, but it’s a completely different challenge to act on.

The definitions of “leadership” are endless. Pat McAfee, punter for the Indianapolis Colts, defines it simply and eloquently: "Leadership is all about making people around you better.” McAfee is a leader on and off the field for the Colts, dedicated to making his peers better. On the gridiron, McAfee is one of the best punters in the league. Inside the Colts locker room, McAfee leads his peers as the special teams captain. Off the field, he has organized the Pat McAfee...