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Friday, May 10, 2013
Ellen Sheftel
The Facebook EdgeRank has been the topic of most discussions in the social media world lately. An important algorithm, EdgeRank can affect the way your prospects and followers interact with you and your company. In order to understand how EdgeRank affects B2B marketing, we must first define it.
According to PostRocket , EdgeRank is “an algorithm used by Facebook to determine where... Read More
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Monday, May 6, 2013
Ellen Sheftel
The term “engagement” is often thrown around in conversations regarding marketing and social media. Increasing engagement is almost always addressed when discussing content, campaigns and new projects. However, a recent article by Mashable pointed out that the word engagement can hold different meanings for different types of companies and brands. When it comes to B2B marketing, what exactly... Read More
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Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013
Inbound Marketing
These days, digital strategists know how to incorporate SEO & SEM techniques, build creative & dynamic websites and incorporate social forums such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other mediums to create a digital footprint for their clients.
Once you have the infrastructure and strategy in place, not surprisingly, strategists must focus their attention to content. Not just any... Read More
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Thursday, Apr 11, 2013
Vann Morris
Creating buyer personas are integral to any B2B marketing plan, and the Up Close & Persona® app is essential to anyone who builds them. I use the app every time I develop B2B buyer personas for our clients, so I know it works.
And when I heard that a fellow marketer thought it was so effective that she wanted to interview me about it, I definitely jumped at the opportunity... Read More
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Thursday, Apr 4, 2013
Ellen Sheftel
If you are a B2B marketer, you probably have a good understanding of just how important Twitter is to your business. With 200 million active users, Twitter has become the premier social network for discovering and engaging in conversation that relates to your business and industry. However, in order to make the most of your Twitter presence, it is important to ensure you are making the right... Read More
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Tuesday, Mar 26, 2013
Vann Morris
A/B testing is a great, economical way to learn more about what motivates your target audience’s buying behavior. Hopefully everyone is already utilizing a/b testing as a part of their b2b marketing strategy, but if not then this blog is intended to demonstrate how easy it can be.
What It Is:
An A/B test is when you compare two (or more) things based upon one key... Read More
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Thursday, Mar 21, 2013
Ellen Sheftel
When it comes to things I love, few top NCAA basketball. I can’t get enough of the excitement and anxiety that is March Madness. The strategy and research that I put into filling out a bracket is quite similar to the way in which I approach B2B marketing. Before I fill out a bracket or begin work on a B2B marketing campaign, there are certain steps I take to ensure the best possible outcome:
... Read More
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Wednesday, Mar 13, 2013
Ellen Sheftel
On Thursday, March 7 th 2013, Facebook announced plans for a News Feed overhaul that will be implemented over the coming weeks. The redesign aims to make the News Feed a more seamless and dynamic function that will focus on highlighting the content. As a B2B marketer, it is important to take note of these changes in order to alter your strategy accordingly.
Some of the News Feed changes... Read More
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Friday, Mar 8, 2013
Ellen Sheftel
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a six-second video must be worth a million, right? The introduction of Twitter’s new video app , Vine, has opened up numerous doors for marketers, including those in the B2B field.
This new video app allows Twitter users to record brief, six-second videos to share with followers. While six-seconds may seem far too short, the upside is that ... Read More
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Friday, Feb 22, 2013
Vann Morris
Different generational groups may communicate differently based upon the cultural shared practices that are most salient during their birth cohort. In order to better equip you with these differences when developing your B2B marketing tactics, I have compiled this document of how Baby Boomers (1946-1960), Generation Xers (1960-1980) and Millennials (1980-1994) differ in their... Read More
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Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013
Ellen Sheftel
While using stock images can appear easy and cost-effective, it can come off as unauthentic and cause damage to your brand and marketing programs.
There is great power in custom created still images and video footage that reinforces your authenticity when used in a B2B campaign or website. Brands spend large budgets and many hours of effort in an attempt to position... Read More
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Wednesday, Feb 13, 2013
Billy Mitchell
Does your marketing plan include a strategy for word of mouth marketing (WOMM)? If not, and your traditional marketing is the least bit effective, then you are probably benefiting in some way from WOMM without any focused effort. Your customers, prospects, and influencer advocates are talking about your products and services and those of your competitors. Are you listening and... Read More
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Monday, Feb 4, 2013
Ellen Sheftel
It works more now more than ever because there are now more online and offline conversations among your customers.
I've been in marketing for decades and word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) was something I considered valuable but somewhat beyond the control of marketing. Customer referrals and endorsements had to be earned and efforts by marketing to influence advocacy could spoil what... Read More
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Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013
Martine Hunter
If you’re a B2B marketer and want to improve your website traffic, inbound marketing should be a required component of your marketing plan and budget in the upcoming year. As the costs of paid search continue to rise, now is the time to strategically improve your organic search results with search engine optimization (SEO). Avoid these common mistakes that could cripple your SEO initiative from... Read More
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Thursday, Dec 27, 2012
Vann Morris
In developing b2b buyer personas you have to remember their connection to the buying cycle, as different stages in the buying cycle lead to different content. Demographic information is helpful in better tailoring your message (e.g. a millennial will want information delivered to him/her differently than a baby boomer), but a buyer persona doesn’t do its job if it isn’t related to buying.
... Read More
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Friday, Nov 30, 2012
Vann Morris
For anyone who was unable to attend MLT Creative’s Revolutionary and Remarkable event recently, Ideas on Influence, I wanted to write a quick blog post to let you know what you missed. The event mixed business with pleasure to educate B2B marketers in a relaxed environment filled with food (from Atlanta’s Good Food Truck !), spirits, and presentations by Mark Schaefer and Ted Wright . As the... Read More
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Thursday, Nov 8, 2012
Vann Morris
Even though gamification is much more than badges, many people continue to think of it as just that. So in order to challenge you to think outside the box about gamification, I am going to look at it through a scientific lens to show how the concept is rooted in a distinct human trait: the desire for recognition of our achievements.
Recognition: Though there are altruistic acts that... Read More
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Wednesday, Oct 3, 2012
Vann Morris
In order to motivate buyer behavior, you have to understand your buyer. And in addition to studying buyer behavior offline, you can examine your prospect’s online behavior in order to create a more complete persona of whom you are targeting.
Offline Research Field research is an integral method for understanding your prospect and his/her buyer behavior, and I have written numerous blogs... Read More
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Friday, Sep 28, 2012
Vann Morris
As Director of Buyer Behavior Studies here at MLT Creative , I am always researching how we can better understand our buyers and thus motivate their buying behavior. Based upon my research, I argue that buyer personas are a fundamental part of understanding your buyer (and thus his/her buyer behavior) due to many psychological and sociological reasons; however, sometimes that may not be enough... Read More
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Tuesday, Sep 4, 2012
Vann Morris
Whenever you tweet a story or update your status, chances are you are ‘picturing’ a person on the other end that will care what you have to say. Sometimes it may be an actual person, other times it may just be a type of person or a mixture of several people; but either way, you have some sort of recipient that you think will care.
The same is true with buyer personas; they are a picture... Read More
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Wednesday, Aug 29, 2012
Vann Morris
As b2b marketing strategist Ardath Albee states, “a persona takes a segment of your company’s aggregate customer profile and fleshes it out with detailed information that represents real prospects in specific circumstances”. However, once you sit down to develop your b2b buyer persona, it can be difficult converting the concept into something tangible to work from.
The Up... Read More
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Thursday, Aug 23, 2012
Vann Morris
Researching your target audience is an integral part of any B2B marketing plan, and online surveys can be an efficient way of gathering data. However, a recent blog post from Tom Webster (@BrandSavant) brought up some great points regarding the possible biases in online surveys.
For starters, there may be a certain type of person who would answer an online survey, regardless of who’s... Read More
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Tuesday, Aug 7, 2012
Vann Morris
T he 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report asked 3,800 B2B marketers how they utilize social media to grow their businesses. Below is an excerpt from their findings as they relate to getting results through social media , as well as an explanation of how the se findings make sense when examine d through ... Read More
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Monday, Aug 6, 2012
Martine Hunter
For B2B lead generation with stamina and substance, this triple threat of social marketing is a winning combination. For integrated, multitasking business-to-business social marketing efforts that endure, nothing beats the big three: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. This social tro can assist your B2B organization’s goal of attracting visitors to your website, where you can engage... Read More
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Monday, Jul 30, 2012
Vann Morris
Social media has truly changed how most of us live our lives. Today, more than two-thirds of us are on the internet 15-18 minutes a day, tweeting pictures of our lunches and professing how much we love our significant others. This is because social media allows for immersion, achievement and social motivation — and so does gamification.
Achievement: Gamification appeals here most. The... Read More
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