http://www.marketingsmartt.com Just another WordPress weblog Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:53:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Statistics are everywhere, whether we're talking about crime rates going down or high school graduation rates going up. It's no different when it comes to websites, where we track metrics like page views, conversions, and bounce rates. Although we'd like to believe that we're savvy about the numbers, we may ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/thinking-about-statistics/ It’s the start of a new year, so we’re looking down the digital marketing road to see what lies ahead for 2012. Last year we saw marketing departments begin to integrate online campaigns into marketing operations. This year, we expect to see a shift in marketing budgets, with significant investments ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/12_digital_marketing_trends_2012/ Literary agents have a name for the thousands of manuscripts that come through their door each day from hopeful authors. It’s called the “slush pile”. The agent's job is to read through that slush pile and pick out the few that are worth taking to market. Thus, when we read ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/content_marketing/ Have you ever heard the saying "not seeing the forest for the trees"? It means that someone doesn't see the forest (the big picture) because they're too busy looking at the trees (the details). We experienced this problem while performing A/B testing and want to share our lessons learned. In ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/ab-testing-seeing-the-forest/ When every major brand has a Facebook page and a community manager who monitors tweets, it’s time to recognize that social media has become mainstream.  Marketing departments who want to attract and retain followers must dial up the volume to get noticed by social media users. Remember the days when ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/social-media-dial-it-up-in-2012/ With the rise of social media such as blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, there are countless opportunities for companies to build up their brand awareness. Even if your company does not use social media, your employees probably do and they can play a valuable role. However, they could also unintentionally damage ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/social-media-policy-essentials/ What’s On the Horizon Last month this blog gave an overview of near field communication (NFC) and how it can drive highly personalized marketing.  This month we take a closer look at the benefits of NFC and how visionaries see it being deployed for marketing and advertising. Earlier this year, Google quietly ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/future-nfc-advertising/ We always recommend blogging to our clients because it delivers proven results. A good blog increases credibility with your target audience by positioning you as an expert in the field. In addition, blogging helps your SEO results, social media visibility, and increases website visits. It’s an essential component of digital ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/blog-your-way-to-success/ When a company wants an effective sales tool, there are few types of collateral that deliver as much impact as a well-written case study. A case study offers these benefits: It’s a customer testimonial. It helps prospects relate your product or service to a real-life situation. It can be used as content for ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/customer-sells-case-studies/ So you know what you want to talk about, but how will you write it? One of the first things they teach you in technical writing is know your audience, and this applies to blogging or any other type of writing. Before you compose your content, think about who will be ... http://www.marketingsmartt.com/writing-for-your-audience/