Social Online Marketing

A few weeks ago, my friend Eric Smith from online retailer One Click Ventures asked me who “owns” conversion. At the time, I thought he wanted to know who I believed was responsible for establishing conversion rate objectives and measuring against them, so I replied, “Marketing.” Upon further thought, I think he was ultimately getting at who – in any given company – is “accountable” for conversion. And to that I have a very different answer.

I began my career in 1994 buying media for a large fast-food retailer we’ll call “Softee’s.” Mine was a five-state territory with a multimillion dollar...

Using video is nothing new. YouTube reports that they have 72 hours of content uploaded every minute, demonstrating just how crowded and noisy the video content area is. 

When you start creating videos, you’ve got to understand that once your video is out there, you don’t have full control over it any more. Sometimes a spoof of a video can take off and can really positively aid brand awareness. Then there are the other occasions where it can do enormous damage – is all publicity really good publicity? (Let’s leave that for another day!)

If your content is good, then it’s more than likely someone...

This week, ExactTarget launched the 21st research report in our SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, & FOLLOWERS series: The Digital North. This cross-channel report covers the online habits and preferences of online Canadian consumers, through detailed analyses of the channels they check daily and the communication methods they respond to best.

If Canadian consumers are part of the target audience for your digital marketing campaigns, you'll want to download this free report to power those campaigns with critical statistics and numbers. But even if Canadians aren't a primary audience for your brand, the...

Last week I sat down with Amy Bartner, engagement and utilty manager at The Indianapolis Star and indystar.com, to talk about social media and the day-to-day tactics that make it successful.

As we all know, the changing ways that people receive and consume news have necessitated a shift in how news media reach their audiences. The traditional method of assembling a team of reporters and photographers to publish a newspaper once, perhaps twice, daily became unsustainable, as the Internet and social media began to offer real-time updates from an infinite number of (sometimes dubious, but always...

It’s a common misconception that SEO, social media, email, and other content distribution channels should reside in silos. There are numerous synergies to be had by launching campaigns that affect multiple channels of distribution. Strategic earned media is just one way to influence these channels simultaneously. When executed properly the social sphere lights up with buzz, landing page conversions increase and search engines take notice.

What a Strategic Earned Media Campaign Looks Like
Earning media has been a public relations (PR) goal for many decades – targeting newspapers, magazines and...

The future of digital marketing is bright. The global retail brand's consumer has evolved with the advent of new technology and channels, and these channels demand a new type of marketer. With more marketing metrics and tactics than ever before, modern marketers must look at the current trends to prepare their strategies for the future. 

1. Purchase Journeys Evolution: In the future, the retail customer's purchase journey will likely put more stock in online reviews and social recommendations. Just take a look at the current state of a customer lifecycle to get an idea of how the purchase process...

There is no doubt that the CMO and CIO roles will merge in the near future. Gartner predicts that the CMO will control the majority of the IT budget by 2017. This means that the Chief Digital Officer will play a large part in the future of any organization.

With that in mind, here are some thoughts about the future of the Chief Marketing Officer. 

1. Social media and the customer experience. As the lines between customer service and marketing blur, it’s becoming more important than ever to develop a social strategy that serves both of these critical business functions. Why is responsive customer...

Marketers have no shortage of inspiration. We are lucky enough to be surrounded by (and the target of) the work of our peers every day, and we appreciate a great campaign when we see one.

It can also be extremely helpful to take a look back at a successful campaign and identify areas of improvement--or new strategies for our own campaigns. That is exactly what most marketers should be doing with the recently completed Arrested Development campaign from Netflix.

Packed full of the snark and quirkiness Arrested Development fans have come to adore, Netflix’s cross-channel campaign leading up to...

Has customer service fallen by the wayside at your brand headquarters? Consider this: “A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people. Happy customers who get their issue resolved tell about 4–6 people about their experience.” (Numbers via the White House Office of Consumer Affairs.)

In case those numbers weren't enough to reiterate the importance of excellent customer service, check out some reinforcing statistics:

• 92% of people say they trust recommendations from friends and family.
• 70% of people report...

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...

That is a familiar image, isn't it? The well-traveled, world-weary suitcase, littered with stickers from places visited from Alaska to Zimbabwe. The trusty suitcase that is lugged from state to state and country to country: it may be battered and bruised, but it serves its owner well as they globe-trot across the world.

I used to be envious of the owners of those suitcases. That image motivated me to have my own beat-up, decorated travel companion to visit far off places with.

I have been living outside of America for almost nine years now. I lived in Sydney, Australia for just under five years...

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...

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...

It should come as no surprise that traditional advertising is no longer as trusted by consumers as it was in the Mad Men era. Today’s consumers are more skeptical than ever. Less than 50% of consumers worldwide trust TV advertising. So what do people trust? 92% of consumers around the world say they trust word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family over all other forms of advertising.

Brands are embracing new strategies and technologies, which allow them to connect and engage with customers in social channels. The most innovative brands are shifting their strategies from traditional...

Mastered the basics of marketing automation? If the answer is yes, I'm guessing you've already begun reaping the rewards of your initial automation efforts. I'm also surmising that your CRM system is busy collecting plenty of customer and prospect data, and you're actively engaged on multiple social channels. At this point, you might even have a little extra time in your schedule to dive into your RSS feed, or take a longer smoothie break.

You're off to a good start.

That being said, there's always more to learn about the complex clockwork of marketing automation. Take your knowledge to the...

Marketing automation is the intersection of many useful features and functions. It's a proven fact that marketing automation software gives marketers full visibility into aspects of the sales cycle that were previously a mystery. But the sheer number of buttons and tools can seem daunting if they're not old-hat to you just yet.

As you begin to build an effective marketing automation program, you can begin to gain a holistic view of your marketing activities. From there, you can streamline traditionally manual processes (like customer segmentation, email marketing, and campaign management).

Start ...

Join us in San Francisco on May 9^th and Seattle on May 10^th for the launch of the Digital Mornings Breakfast Seminar Series. In this monthly six-part series we’ll gather together to discuss some of the latest research, updates and trends in cross-channel marketing over coffee and breakfast.

In the first session we’ll dig into an overview of the Cross-Channel Marketing Challenge, taking a look at how effective cross-channel campaigns can support the customer lifecycle: acquire, on-board, engage and retain. We will share best practices and case studies on cross-channel programs that incorporate...

The first thing most aspiring marketers learn is the importance of identifying and subsequently engaging those beautiful people called “the audience” no matter where they live online. This lesson gains wholehearted acceptance from everyone in the marketing world. However, the execution becomes complicated, and soon we all learn that feeding something like a blog everyday just simply isn’t enough.

We must put ourselves on the customer's online path.

Think goals first, campaigns second and tactics third.

What’s the goal? Always start there. That’s what the university lecturer taught you a long time...

Email list growth is a concern for many organizations--so you're definitely not alone if it's one of your concerns! In order to succeed in your email marketing efforts, you want your subscriber base to grow, not stay static. Fortunately there are numerous ways to build your email list.   

Depending on your industry, a web form may be the most effective way to capture more subscribers. Other options include social media tactics, mobile strategies, or even an offline approach. The possibilities are limitless.

Since this is such a popular topic and concern for marketers, there is plenty of informati...

Twelve organizations - Best Buy, Ford, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, JetBlue, Intuit, Meetup.com, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Robert Verdi, Inc., Rotary International, Sprint and Waterford Wedgwood USA - have joined an innovative program we’re calling the CoTweet Cohort.

During a six-month period, the companies will use the CoTweet platform as a primary tool for communicating through Twitter and will participate in an ongoing discussion regarding opportunities and best practices for leveraging social media to further business objectives.

The CoTweet Cohort allows participants to share...