Online Marketing Blog

Today’s post is like a virtual reunion with two people I have known in the search marketing industry for a long time that are also authors: Vanessa Fox formerly of Google wrote Marketing in the Age of Google, and Mel Carson formerly of Microsoft has co-authored a new book, Pioneers of Digital.

When writing this book about success stories from leaders in advertising, marketing, search and social media, Mel asked me for a quote about Vanessa’s contributions to the search marketing world. I easily obliged. I’ve had a chance to read through a preview copy of Pioneers of Digital and there are an impressive mix of lessons to be learned within. Rather than doing a regular book review, Mel agreed to share an excerpt from the book so I can share it with you.

If you’ve ever seen Scott Stratten (@unmarketing) speak you know that he offers a great mix of information, anecdotes, and comedy.  When I picked up his new book “The Book of Business Awesome & UnAwesome” I was pleased to see that these traits carried over into his writing as well.

Scott’s new book is very cleverly compiled.  If you flip the book one way, you’ll find a collection of stories and experiences of businesses that are taking an “Awesome” approach to engaging customers in a meaningful way.  On the flipside, you will find companies taking an “UnAwesome” approach that leaves customers wanting more.  If you’re in the market for a new business boo, pick up “The Book of Business Awesome & UnAwesome”.  It’s easy to read and contains many great nuggets of useful information.

I was very excited to read Mari Smith’s (@marismith) new book The New Relationship Marketing, and once I cracked the cover, I was not disappointed.  Mari was also kind enough to answer a few questions about her new book as an added bonus for TopRankBlog readers.

To sum up Mari’s book in a few words: practical yet genius.  I would recommend this book to any marketer who would like to create meaningful interactions and relationships with their customers. Lets dive in and see what we can gleam from Mari’s experience!

Our Online Marketing Agency has long been an advocate of taking a customer-centric approach to creating and optimizing content for customers.  It is only natural that companies should be taking that same approach with their employees.

I had the pleasure of attending a session at BlogWorld New York which featured authors Jamie Notter (@jamienotter) and Maddie Grant (@maddiegrant).  The subject of their session as well as their new book ”humanize: how people-centric organizations succeed in a social world” intrigued me.

After attending their presentation I was quick to place my order for their book so that I could follow up on some of the key points that I found to be most interesting.  I also had an opportunity to speak with Jamie & Maddie to gain some additional insight into their background, and take on why human-centric businesses succeed.

Click the image above to download your copy of the report.

While the speculation, pontification and monetization of social media is reaching momentum of tsunami proportions, many businesses looking for practical advice are asking, “Exactly how are marketers using social media to grow their businesses?”

Michael Stelzner from Social Media Examiner has posed that same question and others like it to a sample of marketers on the front lines of the social web to help bring some clarity to what works, what doesn’t and where to focus.

When asked about the bearing of the report on the intersection of search and social, Mike said, “With Google integrating results from its Google+ network into search, we’ll begin to see an Amazon type social proofing of search results based on the activity of friends.  This will make search even more important.” We agree!

The New Year will soon be here and we are looking forward to continuing to learn from some of the top marketing minds on the web about the strategies and tactics that will shape  online marketing efforts in 2012 and beyond. To help you get a jump start, I have compiled a list of books coming out in 2012 that cover a range of online marketing topics including:  mobile, social media, content and search engine marketing. Enjoy.

[Note from Lee: We didn't include second editions, re-releases in paperback or books that didn't have cover images uploaded yet.]

Mobile, Local, Location Based Marketing

Mobilized Marketing: Drive Sales, Engagement, and Loyalty Through Mobile Marketing (Wiley) by Jeff Hasen

In my search for a new book to read on keywords I went straight to the source, Lee Odden’s office library.  Right away I noticed Ron Jones’ new book “Keyword Intelligence” while standing in front of a bookcase full of titles to choose from.

What I appreciate about Jones’ book is that whether you are a search marketing guru or you work in another marketing/communications field, it paints things in a light that you may not have thought about before.  Besides a deep dive into keyword research and it’s overall impact on SEO, social media and content marketing, there is a little something in this book for everyone ranging from simple explanations of social networking sites to more detailed information on site migration and architecture.  Curious to know what useful tips I found in Ron Jones new book?

Note from Lee: When I heard from Aaron Strout that he and Mike Schneider were writing a book, Location-Based Marketing for Dummies, I knew it would be a great resource. We often do book reviews here on Online Marketing Blog but Aaron and I decided on this format instead, focusing on specific tips and tactics you can use today.

Writing a book takes a lot of work, but with the work is done, it’s satisfying to look back and read all the content that got created. One downside to writing a physical book, however, is trapping all that content between two covers, especially for anyone that decides not to read the book. Rather than let that happen, we are unlocking 17 of the best tips from Location-Based Marketing from Dummies.

One of the most compelling challenges for companies entering the world of social business is measurement. The ability to attribute cause and effect directly can be elusive when it comes to measuring business outcomes like increased sales, improved customer retention and lowered support costs. But that’s only because this is new territory.  Business participation with social media on the web at large and internally has absolutely made measurable progress for numerous companies and organizations. The trick is to learn how, create a model that works for you and to sell it internally for testing, implementation and adoption.

One way to facilitate learning about Social Media ROI, Measurement and Analytics is through books from subject matter experts. Here are 5 that I’ve found useful and hopefully, you will too.

If I were to write a tactical “how to” book on Content Marketing, I’d like to think it would be a lot like “Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars and More that Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business”.

After knowing Ann Handley online for several years, I finally met her in person at a B2B MarketingProfs event in Boston last year. I met C.C. during a GM sponsored blogger dinner during SXSW. Both are “walk the talk” people when it comes to content marketing, so it’s more than fitting that they should join forces to write a “put it all into action” book.

MarketingSherpa has done it again with their SEM report for 2011. With the help of Lead Author, Research Analyst Jen Doyle, they’ve put together an excellent resource for marketers looking for strategic guidance as well as real data about search engine marketing.

This particular report focuses on Search Engine Optimization with an emphasis on the interplay of search and social media, two topics that are very near and dear to the consulting practice at TopRank Online Marketing.

According to the MarketingSherpa report, 64% of marketers surveyed are integrating social media into their search marketing plans which syncs well with the soon to be released SEOmoz SEO Industry Report, which cites 71% of the 10k plus search marketers that responded as leveraging social tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

A few months ago, the PR folks working with IBM Press sent me a copy of “Audience, Relevance and Search: Targeting Web Audiences with Relevant Content” by a trio of authors: James Mathewson, Frank Donatone and Cynthia Fishel. I have somewhat of a connection with IBM Press because of editing the Social Media Marketing chapter of Mike Moran and Bill Hunt’s Search Engine Marketing Inc., 2nd Edition. (Interview)

Funny Story: Fast forward to Oct 13th and I’m on my way through the MSP airport to catch a plane to Las Vegas where I’m speaking at Blog World New Media Expo. I complain on Twitter about $36/day parking (highway robbery in my book) and James Mathewson chimed in with advice on parking at Terminal 2. Ironically, the book I picked out to read on the plan was Mathewson’s “Audience Relevance and Search”. On top of that, James is a fellow Minnesotan and we’ve never met or had any kind of correspondence before. Writing this review was simply meant to be