Freelance Folder have just posted a fantastic list of more than 35 of the best social media tools that are sure to help make your life easier. From juggling multiple social networking profiles to digging up your old high school friends, this list has ‘em all.
View the full post at: http://freelancefolder.com/35-social-media-tools-make-life-easier/ or keep reading for the quick n’ dirty version.
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Although as a whole online marketing is one of the most cost-effective marketing channels out there, some online marketing methods can still eat into a yearly budget faster than you can say ‘Google’.
Take PPC (pay-per-click) for example. According to MarketingSherpa, US SEM spend is expected to hit $16.5 billion by the end of 2008, with Google accounting for 71% of all US search traffic (74% for the UK). Add to this the news of Google’s recent deal with Yahoo, and the search engine marketing landscape (with paid ads in particular) is shrinking. With less competition, we’re witnessing the formation of a quasi-monopoly that can only drive keywords costs up. As a cost-aware marketer, you’ll still have to rely on the long-tail keywords to maximize conversions, but you won’t be able to avoid some competition over pricey keywords and your online budget will take a hit.
However, the true beauty of online marketing is the multitude of choices available that are either cheap or free. In this time of impending economic doom and gloom, below is a list of various marketing tactics you can do that won’t break the bank… and if anything they’ll only add to it.
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Using email marketing as more than a 1-way announcement can do wonders for your bottom line. By enhancing the communication channel with your website visitors and subscribers with better targeted & more relevant emails, you stand to gain a lot more than your basics like how many opens, clicks, and unsubscribes.
Here’s a list of the top 10 ways you as a company (no matter how big or small) can use email to interact, engage, and show your customers or website visitors that you’re human and that you care. Utilize all, some, or just one of these, but however many you choose to use can make a huge difference to your customer satisfaction, which goes hand-in-hand with your company’s overall success. Remember: the extra effort you take in crafting the right email can positively affect the way a recipient sees and interacts with your brand, product or company.
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A quick post to point out some very revealing and interesting data from ‘Think Eyetracking‘. After fitting 30 participants with what I assume to be the crazy Clockwork Orange-style headkit, the searchers viewed a Google SERP for the term ‘Oasis’.
Anyone who works in SEO or SEM… Your job just got harder.
This is the third and final article in a series of three articles on Twitter.
So you’ve read about Twitter & Tipping points, what it’s for and who uses it… so now’s the time to start using Twitter to effectively market and promote your offering. The sky’s the limit for how you can integrate Twitter into your marketing, but here are few ideas of how to use Twitter and in what capacity:
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It’s safe to say that Wordpress is now officially more than your basic blogging platform. Often touted as a basic CMS (content management system), Wordpress offers SMB’s a great opportunity to get a professional-looking website up in minutes – allowing for easy creation, updating and editing of content with little to no technical knowledge.
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I’m not saying it’s bad, but if you (or the marketing department you work in) insist on calling your email marketing campaigns something like ‘e-shots’, ‘mail shots’, ‘mail blasts’ or anything else similar to being expelled by force from a cannon or gun, chances are you’re viewing email marketing the wrong way.
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Janine Popnick, CEO of Vertical Response, has just created a great list on where you should always place your opt-in form to ensure quality newsletter subscriptions. Read the full post at the VR Marketing Blog, or scroll down this post the list itself.
Lately I’ve noticed a rise in creative ways to use PPC for personal or corporate gain. Whereas I use PPC daily to market B2B or B2C products the ‘old-fashioned way’ - selecting and bidding on a keyword, using appropriate ad copy, and directing B2C traffic to a tracked landing page - savvy marketers seem to be going one better. Here are some top examples:
I think these guys are new kids on the block - and are more than welcome!
SpamMeltdown.com offer sources of inspiration to designers of HTML email. Instead of just talking about email design, they’re going one better and showing real-life examples of emails from monster retailers and brands. What’s more, they’re then analyzing and dissecting those campaigns and providing very insightful feedback. Check them out at www.spammeltdown.com, or check out their highly useful post on Welcome Messages at http://spammeltdown.com/post/Welcome-Messages.aspx
