If you’ve been on the web in the last few weeks, you are well aware of the buzz surrounding Google’s new social network: Google Plus. Forward-thinking efforts of companies like Ford and Mashable jumped into early company adoption and use of the network. Though Google has announced brand pages...

How do you break through the deluge of constant texting, e-mailing, Tweeting, ”Facebooking,” and online gaming to reach your audience in a meaningful way? One answer: It’s not only what you deliver (content) but also  how you deliver it (creative). Even when you have solid product messaging and a good...

Looking for help with content marketing? Our CMI contributors are here to help! Over the last three weeks, they have answered these questions: Which parts of the content marketing process are best to outsource (e.g. strategy, process, content production, distribution, and measurement, etc?) When would...

Has your business been sluggish for some time? Are you worried that you’re not experiencing the growth you expected? Well, there is no shortage of business advice, of marketing gurus and self-help literature out there. In fact, the number of self-acclaimed ‘social media experts’ continues to grow at...

I went to a real swim meet yesterday for the first time. There were hundreds of adults and children there.  Almost all were swimmers…some were expert swimmers while others were just swimming. Even with all the swimmers there, the lifeguard watched over the entire event. My brother-in-law was with...

If you’ve never worked with a graphic designer before, you might wonder where to start. Let’s say you’re repurposing your existing articles into an e-book. And let’s also say you’re thinking of having a custom graphic design. Some obvious questions pop up: Will a graphic designer guide you through the...

Tools are funny things. If you’re familiar with the problem you need to fix, and you understand how, when, and why to use each tool, they’re incredibly helpful. They save you time and money and help you do a truly professional-quality job. But if you just want to fill a big toolbox full of shiny new...

The biggest challenge B2B marketers face is producing engaging content (36%), a Content Marketing Institute survey of 1,100 marketers revealed.  One way to address this challenge is to plan obsolescence in your content marketing strategy, a tactic recently explained by Joe Chernov from Eloqua. Today,...

SOCIAL INFLUENCERS SHARE THE TOOLS THAT HELP THEM KEEP THEIR EDGE Faster, Leaner Productivity. SCHEDULING Rachel Foster Fresh Perspective Copywriting @CopywriterTO I use TimeTrade to schedule appointments. The software lets you place a link on your website or in an email to direct people to your calendar...

A social media policy is now a requirement of the Federal Trade Commission, flowing from its Guidlines on Endorsements and Testimonials. We asked the Word of Mouth Marketing Association to share the essentials. WOMMA: Essential Elements of a Social Media Policy A social media policy defines important...

Joe Pulizzi talks to Gary Spangler, emarketing manager at DuPont, about how big brands go social while minding critical ethical and legal obligations. Joe Pulizzi: Tell me about your role at DuPont. Gary Spangler: I work to steer DuPont’s efforts around social media marketing, and do it in a way that’s...

Marketing technology can’t live in IT anymore. It’s time to own up to our brave new digital world. What words do you associate with marketing? Branding. Positioning. Advertising. No doubt, these are classic foundations of our field. But increasingly, marketing has some new–and very different–word associations....