Social Media Marketing

My colleages and I have dispensed a lot of deliverability tips on this blog throughout the years. But wouldn't it be nice to have the most useful nuggets of delivery-related wisdom compiled for easy reference? Well, your wish is our command.

Over the next few posts, we will, ahem, "deliver" the top ten tips to get your email campaigns to subscribers' inboxes in today's email ecosystem Let's start it off with the first two tips ...

Tip #1 - Subscriber Engagement Is Critical to Email Success
In years past, permission was seen as the key to having mail accepted. But we know things are changing. As...

As the sun rises across each time zone, where do consumers start their online day? Your customers' activities first thing in the morning can reveal their priorities and motivations (whether those are business-, social-, or news-oriented), and also provide an indication of how and when to engage with them.

In our 2013 Global Executive Summary, we compare and contrast the findings of our award-winning SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, & FOLLOWERS research series to bring you insight into what consumers worldwide are doing in the morning, as well as how they spend their time on multiple digital marketing...

I had the pleasure of listening to Rachel Botsman, author of What's Mine Is Yours? The Rise of Collaborative Consumption at our ExactTarget Connect Conference in Sydney, Australia. Her presentation was absolutely brilliant and full of ideas about using technology to "empower people to make meaningful connections. Connections that are enabling use to rediscover a humanness that we lost somewhere along the way." 

During her presentation she made a comment that hit pretty hard. 

(I'm paraphrasing here...) We should have never called it social media. It has always been social design. Social design...

Consumers who mention your brand on Twitter expect a quick response, especially if they have a complaint or question. A recent study by Socialbakers suggests brands are improving, although many industries have work to do in becoming more responsive. 

As we know at ExactTarget, the airline industry stands out for succeeding in intense customer response on Twitter: the real-time nature of flight cancellations and other problems airlines face in helping travelers means that airlines must respond quickly to consumers to be relevant. We were pleased to see ExactTarget clients WestJet and JetBlue call...

Let's face it--we all need a little inspiration sometimes! With so many approaches to execute a solid B2B strategy--from demand generation and social media to mobile marketing, lead nurturing, and lead scoring--it's easy to get overwhelmed. What better way to be inspired than to network, brainstorm, and collaborate with your B2B marketing peers and industry experts on all things B2B?

At the B2B Inspiration Tour, you'll hear from leading experts in the space, like Lori Wizdo, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research. In her inspirational talk at the San Francisco tour stop, Lori will explore the...

One of the more eye-opening and surreal experiences of my life came in 2007 when I sat in a pit road tower during a NASCAR event. The thunder of the stock cars as they rambled down the front stretch to start the race is a sound and a physical rattling you'll never forget.

Seeing the crews operate behind the scenes was also something to behold. Like the car they each worked on, the crew focused on optimal performance based on speed and precision. Each pit stop had to be prepared for: tires stacked and ready, the drill gun oiled with no kinks in the compression hose (or battery full with cordless...

Welcome to another edition of the Baer Facts. This is our second in-person interview from Myrtle Beach, SC for New South Digital Conference! Please pardon the sound quality. We had Allie Wallis of the Brandon Agency record the discussion with Jay's iPhone. 

Today we talk about the massive changes that have been happening in the digital and social media space from the Google+ layout changes to Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr. What does it mean for content development? What does it mean for social media? What does it mean for the digital marketer? Jay and I break it down in this 24th edition of the...

In today’s digital era, brands are trying everything to stand out from the crowd. With more channels, more users and more campaigns than ever before, breaking through the white noise is becoming even more difficult. There is no special formula, process or social media "expert" that can guarantee success when it comes to these efforts. For Dick’s Sporting Goods, they have found a way.

@DICKS simply asked, “What do you #RunFor?” It seems like a simple enough question. And then you think about it. Running is hard work. It can be painful. There’s rarely a tangible reward at the end of a run. So,...

Social media has impacted everything from daily friendships to business practices. But one of the most dynamic effects of social media is how it has blurred the lines between customer service and marketing.

As a CMO, you know that your brand needs to go beyond listening and start doing. When it comes to social media, a further examination between customer experience and marketing has led us to three essential truths that CMOs should know about the social space. (Read the full list of truths and background information in our free-to-download whitepaper.)

The first truth for CMOs to grasp is that r...

At ExactTarget, we’re passionate about our clients—they’re some of the best brands we know, and we’re often inspired by their dedication to the work they do. And Von Maur is an excellent example! From the company’s start in the late 1800s until now, Von Maur has always put their customers first.

If you’ve visited one of the retail chain’s stores, you know what I mean—impeccable service, inviting décor, musical ambiance, and top-notch products. And while the company’s perfected their signature “above and beyond” service in stores, Von Maur wants customers to experience the same great service...

Regardless of how long you’ve been using (or not using) a marketing automation tool, you should always be on the lookout for ways to improve your marketing efforts—whether it’s by implementing drip campaigns, exploring the wonders of dynamic content, or creating highly targeted email blasts for specific audiences. The point is, there are always new and exciting things to try, especially with all of the extra time that you free up by implementing an automation system in the first place.

But how do you know what the next step is?

The best way to make sure that you’re always progressing with your...

Unless you've been living under a social media-free rock, you've probably heard that there's a new Star Trek movie coming out today. The verdict is out on how favorable the fans' reviews will be, but it's a good excuse to revisit the nostalgia of one of the most popular science fiction franchises ever.

But even if you don't head to the theater, you can still witness a science fiction-esque transformation of technology within the very marketing technology that powers our digital communications. From email, social, and mobile to the new frontiers of marketing automation, the galaxies of marketing...

Facebook poses unique opportunities—and challenges—for marketers. It’s an inherently social channel where consumers are open to interacting with brands. But because consumers typically think of Facebook as their “personal” space, marketers have to tread lightly with hard-sell messages.

To complicate this balancing act further, consumers have a variety of reasons for “liking” a brand. Overall, however, consumers’ top reasons for becoming Facebook fans are similar to their reasons for subscribing to email. These statistics from ExactTarget's 2013 Global Executive Summary tell the story:

• For...

Are you a digital marketer? Do you work for a travel brand? If you answered yes, then this blog post is for you!

ExactTarget recently released Reaching Today’s Digital Traveler, a compilation of tips and tactics that are critical for digital marketers in the travel and hospitality industry. Here’s the list of tactics, plus the questions you should ask yourself to keep your digital communication strategy on track.

1. Grow Your Subscriber list

To determine why your brand might be missing out on conversations with interested and ready-to-purchase travelers, ask yourself these questions:

• Do you...

When it comes to the marketing industry, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. Not long ago, digital marketing was only a whisper within corporate marketing teams – now it’s here, it’s as competitive as ever and it’s completely changing the way we do business. Here are my predictions for what’s to come over the next year.

Smart, personalised content
It’s time to stop being oh-so-frightened of data capture and start taking advantage of the fact that personalised content makes browsing the web an absolute pleasure! Take Linkedin, for example – simply log in and you’re presented with the...

When the quirky and soulful independent hit Garden State was released in 2004, it captured the hearts of audiences around the world and helped creator and star Zach Braff gather a social following any marketer would salivate over. 

However, it is the way that Braff is utilizing this audience for his follow-up project "Wish I Was Here" that is really capturing the attention of marketers.

Braff took the unusual step of funding his new project through crowd-funding platform Kickstarter two weeks ago. The project has over 37,000 backers at the time of writing and over $2.5 million pledged already...

It's almost summer and, aside from school vacations and a turn in the weather, the prime indicator of this change in seasons can be found in the barrage of blockbuster films hitting the theaters. It's standard industry practice for major studios to save the most anticipated titles for the summer lineup, in the hopes that they'll break the bank with audiences eager to spend their well earned time and money in the cool, dark movie houses. But with the birth of social marketing came new tactics to build communities of eager fans long before a film releases. Success typically does hinge on opening...

Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing guest articles from experts in the realm of content marketing. This week, Josh Miles writes.

Josh Miles is principal and founder of Miles Design, a branding firm specializing in branding and website design for professional services and software firms. Josh is the author of the new Content Marketing Institute book Bold Brand: The New Rules for Differentiating, Branding, and Marketing Your Professional Services Firm.

“It will look like you guys are on everywhere, even if you’re not.”

Our media buyer always had a way of helping our clients make the...