Online Marketing Blog

Digital Marketing News: LinkedIn’s Live Video, CMI’s New Content Marketing Agency Report, Google on SEO, & Reddit’s $3B Valuation

Lane Ellis on Feb 15th, 2019 Online Marketing News

2019 February 15 CMI Report Chart

Do Agencies Practice the Content Marketing They Preach? [New Research]
Agency content marketing statistics and budgeting trends for 2019 are examined in a new report from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, with the release of the new “Agency Content Marketing 2019: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends” survey. Content Marketing Institute

LinkedIn debuts LinkedIn Live, a new live video broadcast service
LinkedIn (client) has began launching a live video feature, LinkedIn Live, to build on the success of its standard video offerings which are already the fastest-growing format on the platform, the firm has announced. TechCrunch

In-app ad spend grows but KPIs slow to catch up, study finds
Advertisers are spending 45 percent of their budgets on mobile formats, and 92 percent of firms expect to see those budgets expand during the next year, two of the take-aways from a new joint survey from Forrester and PubMatic. The Drum

Digital Marketing News: LinkedIn’s Live Video, CMI’s New Content Marketing Agency Report, Google on SEO, & Reddit’s $3B Valuation

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Lovestruck: Why We’ve Fallen in Love with B2B Content Marketing

Anne Leuman on Feb 14th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Once upon a time, in a land of rainbows, butterflies, and evil content overload, a gripping love story is unfolding.

But this love affair isn’t what you’d expect — it’s no “Romeo and Juliet” or “Sleepless in Seattle.”

Rather, it’s an unlikely courtship with a bond sealed by three little words: Business-to-Business.

That’s right. We’ve said. The secret’s out. For the last decade, we’ve been head-over-heels in love with B2B content marketing.

We know what you’re thinking. B2B can’t hold a candle to B2C. B2B is boring. B2B lacks sex appeal. But you don’t know B2B like we do—she’s a knockout and a showstopper.

via GIPHY

What’s so darn attractive about B2B content marketing? Let us remind you of all there is to fall in love with.

Lovestruck: Why We’ve Fallen in Love with B2B Content Marketing

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10 Memorable Marketer Moods, Memed

Joshua Nite on Feb 13th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

As a content marketer, I’m always looking for more effective and efficient ways to communicate. I love the way communication is evolving online (with the exception of, say, YouTube comments).

Think about it: A hundred years ago, it was much harder to convey a mood in text.

You could trail off (…)
You could ask questions (?)
You could shout (!!)

And that’s about it.

Emoticons opened up the possibilities a bit, with “slight smile :),” “big smile :D,” and “guy wearing sunglasses sticking his tongue out 8P.” Emojis added even more nuance.

Now, though, we have the ability to embed images and GIFs in our blog posts, emails, and messages. We can convey extremely specific moods, thoughts, and insights with a single image. Like, for example, the feeling when you’re wearing socks and step in something wet:

10 Memorable Marketer Moods, Memed

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Tip of the Iceberg: A Story of Trust in Marketing as Told by Statistics

Nick Nelson on Feb 12th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

“Step up on the railing. Hold on, hold on. Keep your eyes closed.”

Jack is holding Rose around her waist, cautiously lifting her up to the Titanic’s bow.

“Do you trust me?”

He was a stranger up until days earlier, but still, her response is almost instantaneous.

“I trust you.”

Moments later, Rose opens her eyes and she’s flying, arms outstretched as the mighty liner propels her forward. She and Jack hold hands; they kiss. Celine Dion’s music wafts in the background. Teenage boys in the theater start gagging, while romantic types swoon.

There’s a good chance you lived through this very experience. James Cameron’s 1997 cinematic landmark Titanic was an unprecedented hit, holding the title as highest-grossing film of all time for 14 years. The scene described above is perhaps its most famous — the linchpin in a love story sparked by deep, genuine trust that materialized almost out nowhere.

Tip of the Iceberg: A Story of Trust in Marketing as Told by Statistics

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10 Free Online Courses to Optimize Your Marketing Skills

Lane Ellis on Feb 11th, 2019 Online Marketing

Silhouettes of men and women on colorful background.

No matter how much you already know, in today’s fast-paced marketing world there’s always plenty more to learn.

Today more than ever options for learning new marketing skills abound, and the sheer number of choices can sometimes be overwhelming.

Online courses can be an excellent way to advance your career through learning, and offer a go-at-your-own-pace cadence along with the ability to fit in as much or as little instruction as you wish, whenever and wherever you want.

With more than 70% of companies seeing online learning as essential to long-term strategy (Digital Marketing Institute), it’s no wonder that online courses are flourishing.

We’ve picked out 10 organizations offering online courses for optimizing your marketing skills, and best of all, each one is either completely free or offers free trials that allow you to try out content before you make a commitment.

10 Free Online Courses to Optimize Your Marketing Skills

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Digital Marketing News: LinkedIn Hits 610M Users, Inc 500 Social Usage, Facebook’s Income Targeting, & YouTube’s New Explore Tab

Lane Ellis on Feb 8th, 2019 Online Marketing News

2019 February 8 Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Chart

New Inc. 500 and Social Media Use Study from UMass Dartmouth
A new look into how Inc. 500 firms use both paid and organic social media advertising comes from the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and offers a slew of useful information for digital marketers. UMass Dartmouth

LinkedIn Reaches 610 Million Members, Publishes New eBook on Social Media Management Tips
LinkedIn (client) has topped the 610 million user mark, with 40 percent using the site daily — two of the statistics from a guide the firm recently published, also offering best practices and social media management tips. Social Media Today

YouTube expands test of its Instagram-like Explore tab to more devices
YouTube has recently expanded its Explore tab test to surface more video content that would not show up using traditional recommendation algorithms, now available on more devices. TechCrunch

Digital Marketing News: LinkedIn Hits 610M Users, Inc 500 Social Usage, Facebook’s Income Targeting, & YouTube’s New Explore Tab

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5 Time-Saving Tips to Overclock Your B2B Marketing Efficiency

Lane Ellis on Feb 7th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Gigahertz Overclocking Gauge Image

Is saving time important for a B2B marketer?

Your answer is likely an unequivocal yes. But saving time by upping efficiency isn’t just a one-and-done step. It should be an ongoing, living and breathing process that changes and improves over your marketing career. And that means you should be taking time to review and audit your processes to uncover opportunities for improvement.

In my 35-plus years working in online communications, I’ve come to learn several efficiency-boosting methods. So, here are five of my personal time-saving tips to overclock, fine-tune, and crank up your B2B marketing efficiency.

Why B2B Marketing Efficiency Matters

Saving a few minutes here and there throughout the day may not seem all that important — or worth devoting much effort to achieve. But keep in mind that saving two minutes each day equates to eight and a half hours over a standard business year. That’s valuable time that can be used for countless other activities.

5 Time-Saving Tips to Overclock Your B2B Marketing Efficiency

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For Our Marketing Team, These 7 Super Awesome Commercials Are Big Winners

Caitlin Burgess on Feb 5th, 2019 Content Marketing, Digital Marketing

It’s an absolute phenomenon.

According to the sacred laws of modern television, digital, and on-demand viewing, consumers spend a whopping 364 days a year actively avoiding advertising and marketing messages.

From strategic bathroom breaks and the embracing of alternative, bingeable entertainment channels to the installation of ad-blockers, consumers want to avoid unsanctioned commercial interruptions—whenever and wherever they’re enjoying content.

But when Super Bowl Sunday rolls around, it’s Opposite Day—and for a few glorious hours, we’re on the edge of our seats with excited anticipation of the next ad to dance across the screen. It’s the Super Ad Bowl.

For the average consumer, this phenomenon is simply an entertainment tradition. For marketers, it’s a series of case studies in marketing storytelling, creativity, and boldness in action.

For Our Marketing Team, These 7 Super Awesome Commercials Are Big Winners

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Embracing Interactive Content: 19 Statistics Every B2B Marketer Needs to Know

Anne Leuman on Feb 4th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing

Modern B2B content marketing evolved out of the opportunity to provide buyers with the information they seek at every stage of their customer journey. But in an increasingly crowded content landscape and as consumer preferences and technology evolve, it’s no longer enough to just inform buyers.

Today and beyond, to connect on an intellectual and emotional level with their audience, B2B marketers need to provide engaging content experiences. And that’s precisely were interactive content can play a massive, highly-effective role.

Not sold on the potential of interactive content for B2B? Let’s look at some of the research and commentary from several sources, including:

Embracing Interactive Content: 19 Statistics Every B2B Marketer Needs to Know

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Digital Marketing News: Ad Buyers Shift Budgets to LinkedIn, Snapchat’s Permanent Snaps, Gen Alpha & Neuromarketing

Lane Ellis on Feb 1st, 2019 Online Marketing News

2019 February 1 Renderforest Chart

40+ Video Marketing Statistics for 2019 [Infographic]
Video’s prominence in the social media marketing landscape has continued to expand, with some five billion videos viewed daily on YouTube alone, and a new report and infographic from Renderforest dig into some of the numbers behind the growth. Social Media Today

Exclusive: Snapchat weighs what was once unthinkable – permanent snaps
Snapchat has considered making public posts made by its users permanent, sources have told Reuters, in an effort to make it easier for news discovery platforms to share snaps. A possible new option to disclose user identities for public snaps was also reportedly in the works. Reuters

Digital Marketing News: Ad Buyers Shift Budgets to LinkedIn, Snapchat’s Permanent Snaps, Gen Alpha & Neuromarketing

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Measure for Success: 7 Secrets of Actionable Content Marketing Dashboards

Tiffani Allen on Jan 31st, 2019 Content Marketing, Web Analytics

Hey, content marketers. Imagine this: You’re sitting in a marketing meeting and you hear the following:

Our conversions are up 50% year-over-year!
Our blog traffic is down.
We saw a big spike in traffic this month to our primary service page!
Our bounce rate is all over the place.
This blog post about “X” had 2,000 page views last month!

What are the first thoughts that come to mind? For many, the first thought would likely be: Why? Followed by a: Is that good or bad? And then finally: What do we need to do next?

If you’ve ever experienced a similar scenario, you’ve come face-to-face with insight famine. The statements above simply relay data points and lack the insight needed to take any sort of action. And this is why an actionable content marketing dashboard is so incredibly important.

Measure for Success: 7 Secrets of Actionable Content Marketing Dashboards

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