Online Marketing Blog

Top 250 Internet Retailers

Social networking for retailers makes sense right? Make your brand visible where your consumers are spending the most time. This infographic from Campalyst shares information on one of the things that helps makes retailers successful online, a social presence. Key findings include:

• Number of followers by social platform
• How success on social networks is distributed
• The most followed industries on specific social channels

Featured Team Member Story

Mike Yanke – Who Will Win the War of the Sidebars?

Release Your Internal Marketing Warrior

In March of this year I made a decision: I wanted to get healthier.  The problem I have always faced is that I didn’t see the point of exercise, just for the sake of exercise.  Treadmills and stationary bicycles never did much for me, but I was looking for a way to regain some focus and start down a healthier path.

About a month ago I spoke with my good friend Ali who had recently started a training program to become a yoga instructor.  She convinced me to attend a class with her and I even though I’ve done yoga before, this was an entirely new experience.  After 75 minutes in a sweltering room (enduring one of the toughest workouts I’ve had in a while) the strangest thing happened. I felt stronger, lighter, and more focused.

Actionable Social Analytics

This recent infographic by awareness takes a dive into social analytics.  In an era where virtually every brand is online, it is essential that action is being taken off of the data we are collecting from social networks.  This infographic provides not only some of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that your company should be tracking, but how to calculate these numbers as well.  Examples of the KPI’s your company should be tracking:

• Brand Awareness & Reputation
• Marketing Program Effectiveness
• Lead Generation Effectiveness

Use LinkedIn to Get Juicy Industry Scoop
LinkedIn has proven to be a great recruiting mechanism and means of connecting business professionals.  Many organizations are now using the social networking platform to gain insight into potential clients.  Sounds a little bit like stalking to me, what do you think?  Via Inc.

Marketing Deja Vu Getting You Down?

At some time or another we have all experienced that eerie sense of familiarity where we’ve “been there” or “done that” before.  Whether it is an actual memory or simply a “brain fart”, deja vu is an interesting experience.

Let’s assume for a second that deja vu is real.  If you found yourself in a situation you knew for certain you had experienced before that had ended badly would you have the tools necessary to change your course of action?  Many organizations have faced and continue to deal with “marketing deja vu” or ending up in the same situations over and over again.  What can you do to avoid making the same marketing mistakes more than once?

Content Marketing World, We Found A Home

This recent video from Content Marketing Institute Founder Joe Pulizzi, provides some background into how Content Marketing World came to be.  If you are big or small brand, B2B, B2C, or virtually any organization that creates content this conference is for you.  Scheduled this year for Sept 4-6 in Columbus, Content Marketing World is now the largest content marketing conference in the world. TopRank is proud to be one of 4 exclusive media sponsors along with Copyblogger Media, Social Media Examiner and SmartBusiness Content Marketing.

Forget Big Brother – What About Giant Google?
Last week Google released its full FCC report which contained information about data collection from unsecured Wi-Fi connections.  It appears that Google’s Street View cars were not only taking photos of streets, but were also intercepting email and SMS traffic.  Read more to see what else Google has up their sleeve.  Via Forbes.

Email continues to be one of the most effective online marketing tactics but many companies struggle to establish benchmarks or successfully improve performance. How many people are receiving, reading and acting on email messages? Those are all key questions to improve email marketing performance.

Email open rates can vary depending on the target industry and even the job function of the prospects.  Testing to improve email marketing performance is essential, but determining which variables have the largest impact on the overall effectiveness of an email campaign can seem overwhelming.

However, a process driven approach to identifying success factors that lead to increased conversions will set your company up for success both short term, and long term.

Mighty Trends in Mobile Marketing

Every day we see mobile being used more and more for online shopping, local searches, email, social networking. And that is just scratching the surface.  This infographic from CultureLabel.com provides insight into the astounding use of mobile for Internet searches, as well as why mobile friendly marketing should be an essential part of your online marketing strategy.  Highlights include:

• 87% of the world’s population have mobile phones
• 300,000+ apps have been developed in only 3 years
• 74% of people use mobile at work

How Can You Become A Better Influencer? Tip: You'll attract more bees with honey than you will with vinegar!

Last week Lee Odden shared a post  on attracting the attention of influencers online.  Whether we’re talking about influencers with mass appeal, or those that have a closer and more personal relationship with their followers, each person presents an opportunity to learn and grow.

That got me thinking, when it comes to the inner workings of an organization: what makes a good influencer, and would I consider myself an influencer at TopRank Online Marketing?  In my opinion, there are some key factors that make a good influencer.

• Building a strong relationship and trust with your peers is essential in influencing their decisions.

That’s Old News! [Infographic]

This new infographic from Schools.com dives into social media and how it is quickly replacing traditional journalism as a widely used news source.  Highlights:

• Facebook makes up 59.5% of news consumed online
• Since 2009, traffic to news sites from social media has increased by 57%

“5 Ways Businesses Are Using Facebook Timelines” New Facebook changes are opening the doors to even greater creativity for brands.  Additional storytelling and education of customers can now take place via the social networking giant.  Be sure to see this post for 5 awesome tips that you can apply to your organization’s Facebook page.  Via Social Media Examiner.

With thousands of social media platforms and applications available on the market today, it can be easy to lose sight of why you started using them in the first place.  On a personal level that can be inconvenient, but on a professional level it can mean hundreds or thousands of dollars wasted with little to no ROI.

Although Abraham Lincoln was not an online marketer his advice is still sound for us today: “Whatever you are, be a good one.”   Meaning, if you’re going to do something give it your best shot!  Many times we can get easily caught up in the newest social or content platforms that are sure to “increase revenue”, “win new fans and followers”, and just about any other empty promise that you can think of.

Instagram The Timeline

This infographic detailing the evolution of Instagram by Visually is powerful for a couple reasons, including the fact that the entire timeline is visualized through the use of Instagram photos.  From launching in 2010, to their first million users, and finally to the recent purchase of Instagram by Facebook this is a must read for any fans of the popular social app.

“LinkedIn Introduces Targeted Updates and Follower Statistics”  With over 150 million professional users worldwide, LinkedIn is a powerful marketing asset.   Recent upgrades revealed this week that marketers can now effectively target prospective clients with advertising campaigns and deliver unique content to those users Via SocialTimes.

How to Twitter? A common question many businesses ask.

Whether you work for a large or small business, in BtoB or BtoC, or are just interested in growing your marketing and sales network, you may have been faced with a common issue:  You’re fully on board with social media, but your employees may not be.

Many organizations have done their due diligence to put together a policy which includes all the ways that employees may not use social media in connection with their brand.  However, what are some simple steps you can take that will not only take the fear out of social media, but will encourage participation?