B2C Marketers Have 100 More Friends Than B2B Marketers

Say it ain't so!
So, why do B2C marketers have 100 more friends than B2B marketers? It's just not fair.


Everyone knows it is lots of fun to work for those consumer brands with big marketing budgets.  After all, a well-known consumer company has both cache and well-understood traction with friends and family.  But, what about the savvy marketer that has other businesses to sell to? Yes, B2B can be less than thrilling when selling rubidium oscillators to telecommunications companies, or network time servers to IT managers of Fortune 2000 enterprises, or IEEE 1588 PTP Test Tools to industrial manufacturers.  Trust me, I know. 
It's a little disconcerting that in our analysis of 310 HubSpot customers, B2C marketers have 100 more Facebook friends - on average - than B2B marketers.  After all, at HubSpot, we're all B2B marketers and we like to think we're a very friendly bunch. 
What do you think about this data? Are you a B2B with lots of Facebook friends who wants to share the secrets to your success?

How Businesses Are Using Facebook - With New Data & Case Studies (30 minutes)

To review the findings of the Facebook for Business Report, download our free 30-minute webinar. Presented by HubSpot's Rick Burnes and Jeanne Hopkins, the webinar will offer deeper insights into report's findings and cover several case studies of businesses using Facebook successfully.

Five Video Projects You Can Do in 25 Minutes or Less

Many folks shy away from creating video because they think it takes too darn long. Here's a secret: Online video content should be short. Your recording and production time can be a sprint, not a marathon.
Here's five quick video projects you can do no sweat:
1) Record a quick interview. Think up 3 questions for your CEO, an executive, a customer, or any rockstar employee from your company. Get their answers free-form on camera. Throw it into an easy video editing programs like iMovie (Mac) or Pinnacle (PC) and upload to Youtube. You're done!

Example: Interview with Mark Roberge, HubSpot Sales Manager

2) Record a "live" music video. A current, popular internet meme are "lip syncing" videos, where folks will mouth along the words to a popular song. This content may be less business related, but it could something to showcase your coworkers' personality and have a little fun! Don't want to lip sync? Just dance.
Tip: Overlay the song track in post production for higher quality audio; however, YouTube may request to make a pop up ad in your video to sell the song--to avoid copyright issues.
Example: Digg Dubb: Groove Is In The Heart

3) Give a video tour of your office. Lots of cool cameras like the Flip Cam and Kodak Zi8 are hand-held and record high quality video at the same time. Have an enthusiastic employee show the outside world where you work. People love getting an inside view!
Example: Bernie Borges Gets Tour of HubSpot by Rebecca Corliss

4) Record your favorite speaker at a conference. Don't forget your camera the next time you go to a conference or networking event! Getting a few short clips of various talks is a great way to share what you're learning with others. Note: Make sure recording of speakers is allowed before recording and publishing.
Example: Chris Penn on Inbound Marketing and Passion


5) Make a how-to screencast. Tools like Camtasia let you record your screen and voice at the same time. Use it to make a visual step-by-step. Perhaps you can record how you use Gmail or Twitter. Maybe visually show a new user how to make a Facebook Group. 

How the 200-Year-Old U.S. Census Bureau is Using Modern Marketing

While the U.S. Census Bureau still only accepts mailed-in forms, this year it's taking a lot of its efforts online to encourage citizens to fill out the 2010 form and be counted. 
The Bureau's new digital initiative, which uses social media to create social awareness and motivation for people to take action, is much like we saw in Obama's presidential campaign -- using online tools to affect offline change.

And the Census Bureau is fully taking advantage of the trend. This week it launched Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages in an effort to make more people aware of the census, especially college students, twenty-somethings and some ethic groups who are commonly known to ignore it.  Its Facebook page in particular features links to Census videos, press releases, a demo showing how to complete this year's form, a PDF guide in English and Spanish and Census news stories.
So, as marketers, what can we appreciate about the Census' new campaign?

Key Elements:

Social Media for Social Awareness: The Bureau has definitely been paying attention to recent online trends and the successes others are experiencing with using social media for social change.  President Obama and many fundraising organizations and non-profits are starting to understand the powerful impact of social media to organize groups of people to take action, and the U.S. Census is following suit.
Facebook Marketing Strategy: It looks like the Census has also been doing its research on the right ways to use Facebook for marketing.  A recent MarketingProfs survey of B2B and B2C marketers revealed that creating Facebook applications and surveys were among the most effective Facebook marketing tactics.  The Census' new Facebook page includes an application/survey-like feature to help visitors understand the ease and quickness of filling out the 2010 census form.

Interactivity: Not only is it utilizing social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to get the word out and evoke conversation and communication, but the Census also features various interactive elements on its website such as a Road Tour Blog and a Director's Blog as well as videos, etc.

Targeting: Among the Census' toughest demographics to locate is young people.  And just who makes up the largest represented group of users on Facebook?  You guessed it!  Facebook is a great marketing tool to target college students and young people, which makes it the perfect marketing tool for the U.S. Census.
Measurement: We often forget that an important part of any campaign is marketing analytics, but the Census is definitely not one of them.  According to Joanne Dickinson, chief of customer research and marketing for the U.S. Census Bureau, the Census is planning to pay close attention to the metrics of its social media pages in order to better tailor its efforts to different segments of the population.

HubSpot TV - Hockey, HP and the Holidays With Guest Host @TomCattaneo

Special Guest Tom Cattaneo, HubSpot Support

• What did you do before HubSpot?  Did that have anything to do with marketing?
• What are some of the more frustrating calls or support topics that you deal with? (design issues vs.lead generation)
• Boston Bruins - Won a marketing award from the NHL

Headlines

Email and Twitter Drive Results in Social Content Sharing

• The Value of Sharing: Social Engagement
• E-mail 46%, Facebook 33%, Twitter 6%
• Twitter has higher click-throughs and more subsequent sharing because of retweeting - Twitter accounts for 40% of all click-throughs, e-mail 35%, Facebook 25%
• Marketing Takeaway: Make sure it is easy for people to share your content.

Facebook Reveals Top Topics

• Facebook Applications, FML, Swine Flu, Celebrity Deaths, Family, Movies, Sports, Health Care, Facebook, Twitter
• Facebook Unveils Most-Mentioned Topics of 2009
• Marketing Takeaway: facebook is big enough that someone is talking about your industry, even if it is not in the top10.  So get on Facebook!

HP Addresses Potential Firestorm on YouTube

• New HP webcam with facial recognition has trouble following a black man's face, but works fine on a white woman... and of course they used the webcam to make a video about it "HP Computers are Racist" [video]
  
• Do HP webcams not recognize black faces?
  
• HP responds quickly:Customer Feedback is Important to Us
  
• Should HP have done more?  Should they have made a funny response?  Or gotten the camera to do the opposite?
• Marketing Takeaway: Respond quickly to limit problems and keep things from getting out of control.

CMOs Get Serious with Social Media in 2010

• Poll: CMOs plan to boost social media spend for 2010
• Survey by Bazaarvoice and the CMO Club
• 66% say they will increase their spending on social media marketing
• 75% say they will attach sales goals to their social media efforts
• Marketing Takeaway: Track the ROI of social media just like the rest of marketing.

Forum Fodder

• Hotel Blog - What should it blog about?
• George Fassas, from a 5 star resort in Greece
• "! I used to work in hotels and am now an inbound marketer at HubSpot ... the additions to the above might include: -before embarking on 3 different blogs, consider one blog with three posts a week, each on a theme: Local Color: feature something about Greece, Dream Vacation: Feature a customer story, View from Inside: people find hotels fascinating & glamorous, sharing some of the fun/planning/relationships could be really interesting -consider guest bloggers ... or a guest interview once a week ... the concierge blogging what is going on for the coming weekend, etc -now here is the important bit: measure the blog. which posts drive the qualified traffic you are seeking? which posts impact guest satisfaction? which posts should you do more of and less of and tailor it over time to the audience you are most interested in converting. Good luck!"

4 Steps to Put You on the Path to Closed-Loop Marketing Bliss

The following is a guest post from Jeff Scholes, founder of Scholes Marketing, who is a certified HubSpot partner. For five years, he has provided marketing help and support to small and mid-sized B2B companies by helping them in generate leads, measure marketing performance, and reinforce those efforts through compelling marketing communications, including blogs and social media.

Many businesses I come across truly intend to do the right thing as far as optimizing their websites for lead-generation. However, even though they do their best to drive more traffic and execute Internet marketing campaigns that will capture and convert more leads, many of them end up in one of two buckets:

Bucket 1: “We have no idea where to start given the crushing amount of available tools, opinions and advice.�

Bucket 2: “We have all the bells and whistles (we think, anyway) but we can’t seem to tie them all together so they work for us.�

Both scenarios are very different, but there’s one common, critical component that is almost always missing from both buckets: the up-front planning and thinking needed to create an ideal marketing engine.
When funding or budget approvals are coupled with time and resource pressures, the businesses in Bucket 1 jump right in and start frenetically implementing whatever tools they can get their hands on. These tools are often a blend of CRM apps, email campaign tools, website CMS packages, analytics packages, lead intelligence apps, etc.
Meanwhile, businesses in Bucket 2 are busy buying up all the latest fancy tools as they come along because they can afford to at the time. The tools become immediately disparate because folks using them can’t get what they need out of them and frustration ensues between marketing, sales and management.

If you happen to fall into one of these buckets, here’s a 4-step planning approach that will put you back on the path to closed-loop marketing bliss and yield the long-term payback your business needs.

Step 1: “WHO’S IN?â€� -  Pick a Team and Assign Roles

•    Get a representative from each functional area to participate (sales, marketing, web support, IT, executive sponsor). Involving whoever you can in the decision-making process tends to make them care a lot more about the outcome.
•    Define what success means:  establish clear goals, metrics and responsibilities around web stats, campaigns, lead generation & nurturing, sales cycles and pipelines, what to track and report on, etc.

Step 2: “AS IS� - Assess What's Happening Right Now

Internal issues typically include:
•    Lack of Automation. This mostly stems from disparate systems (such as your website, campaigns, conversion forms, CRM system, lead nurturing practices and analytics) not working in harmony.
•    Mis-Aligned business processes. Is sales and marketing working in unison?
•    Un-Standardized processes: Are you agreed on lead workflows, opportunity pipelines, lead follow up procedures?
•    Dis-Integrated systems: do you have island solutions that don’t talk to each other?
•    Data, not Information: can you gather data intelligence (not just data) so you know what programs to do more or less of?
•    Un-Informed business decisions:  are you able to measure, track and report on the data that’s important to all parties in your organization?

Step 3: “TO BE� - Determine What’s Possible

•    Build out your requirements for each stakeholder or business area in the organization (sales, marketing, management, etc.).
•    Map out all of your current processes so you can start to uncover where some of the breakdowns occur.
•    Investigate and decide on which tools you want to implement based on need-to-haves vs. have-to-haves, making sure that whatever you do pick is scalable to the needs of your organization.

Step 4: “GO�- Put the Plan in Motion

•    Map out an implementation and roll-out timeline keeping things to short and focused projects with clear milestones so things don’t drag on and get off course.
•    Training: whatever you do, make sure that whoever is responsible for using a particular tool (CRM, Internet marketing, etc.) gets the appropriate training to maximize its usefulness. Otherwise, things can quickly get stale and people unmotivated.
•    Test, test, test. It’s a lot easier to fix things at the front end versus when things get seemingly too broken to bother fixing.
•    Finally, stick to your plan!  With the right amount of planning, the right tools in place, and the right data intelligence to pull from, you will be positioned to quickly make informed decisions and confidently know when your marketing efforts need to be fine-tuned, repeated or ended. Truly some closed-loop marketing euphoria.

Top 5 Inbound Marketing Stories of the Week: Get More Facebook Fans

Who doesn't love fans, whether they be for your sports team, a capella group or, aah yes, your Facebook fan page?
Our top inbound marketing article this week tackles the topic of Facebook for business -- specifically, how can you attract more fans and ultimately expand your reach?

1. How to Promote Your Facebook Fan Page & Get Lots of Fans

Author: Ann Smarty of Search Engine Journal
Whether you're creating a brand new Facebook fan page or trying to enliven a stale one, Ann's article offers five rounds of advice with specific recommendations on how to create a Facebook page that will attract fans.
Ann offers a guide that elaborates on the following steps:

1. Create fresh content for people to want to join.
2. Invite your friends to join.
3. Try social ads.
4. Promote on Twitter.
5. Leverage your email contacts.
   

Lesson: Attract fans to your Facebook fan page by making it interactive and updated with new content.

2. Does Your Writing Suffer from Purple Overload?

Author: Sherice Jacob of Copyblogger
We often emphasize the power of business blogging, but still, the concept of good writing often gets brushed under the table. You may have great ideas, but they're really no good if you can't communicate them clearly and concisely.
Sherice's article focuses on writing in a way that avoids boring and confusing your readers with "purple prose," or needlessly flowery sections of writing. She strongly advises writers to crunch up their sentences and steer clear of rambling. In short, get to the point. Your readers will appreciate the instant gratification.
Lesson: Don't beat around the bush. Keep your writing tight and clear, and communicate in a way that your readers can understand.

3. A Six-Step Content Marketing Check-Up For B2B Marketers

Author: Galen DeYoung of Search Engine Land
When was the last time you took your content marketing strategy in for a check-up?  Before you move ahead with your future plans, Galen urges you to first take some time to evaluate your strategy to date in order to make performance improvements to your existing assets.
Galen discusses some content marketing must-haves that include mapping site content to the buying cycle, reducing friction on gated content, reviewing your content analytics, capturing the value of content, including sharing options with your content and optimizing your content for search.
Lesson: Before you jump into achieving your 2010 goals, evaluate your existing programs for improvements.

4. 5 Reasons Why RSS Readers Still Rock

Author: Richard MacManus of ReadWriteWeb 
My RSS reader is a part of my daily life, yet with the emergence of more real-time sources of information like Twitter, it makes sense that RSS usage has been in decline. But as I'm still a huge proponent of the tool, I was happy to come across this article by Richard MacManus, which explains some really great uses of RSS readers that can't be achieved through other services.
So why are people still sticking to their readers?  Richard highlights 5 main reasons:

1. Control over Information Flow
2. Evolving User Interfaces
   
3. Tracking Twitter
4. Mobile News
5. Categorized News
   

Lesson: Set yourself up an RSS reader already!  It's a great tool for organizing information in a cluttered Web world. Internet Marketing Blog

5. How to Reach Out to Bloggers

Author: Chris Brogan of chrisbrogan.com
Do you function as the PR professional for your business? Are you still trying to grapple with how to effectively communicate with bloggers to get your message out?
Lucky you, Chris Brogan has put together a handy little how-to guide that covers some of the basic concepts and PR resources you should be aware of when reaching out to bloggers. Specifically, he advises you to do your homework, be there before the sale, make it easy, ask the right questions, and most importantly, don't push.
Lesson: Blogger relations is a science, but do your homework before you pitch.

How to become a niche affiliate marketer...

Over the past years, web hosting has grown bigger than it used to be. With more companies getting into this business and finding the many benefits it can give them, the demand for web hosting has never been higher. These seem to be the trend of today.

38 million people have put up their very first websites online this year 2005 alone. It is estimated that by 2008, the internet sales industry will top then dollar bank. And to think, majority of those sites will be offering different affiliate programs for people to choose and participate into.

This only means one thing. It is easier now to find the right web host for your application. The possibility of quality web hosting companies separating themselves from the rest of the industry is anticipated. If this is done, the unprofessional and incompetent ones will suffer.

Support will be the number one consideration for people when choosing a web host. It will be obvious that traditional advertising will become less and less effective. Most people would rather opt for the web host based on things that they see and hear. Also based on the recommendations by those who have tried them and have proved to be a successful.

This is a great opportunity for web hosting affiliates and resellers alike. There would hundreds of web hosting and programs to choose from that the difficulty in finding the right one for them is not a problem anymore.

How does one become a successful affiliate in the niche markets using web hosting?

If you think about it, everyone who needs a website needs a web hosting company to host it for them. As of now, there is really no leading hosting industry so most people choose hosts based from recommendations. Usually, they get it from the ones that have already availed of a web hosting services.

With the many hosts offering affiliate programs, there is the tendency to find the one which you think will work best for you. Think of the product you will be promoting. Pattern them to the site and see if they are catering to the same things as you are.

When you have been with one host for quite some time and seem not to be making much despite all your effort, leave that one and look for another. There is no use in trying to stick to one when you would be before off in another one. Things will only have to get better from there because you already have been in worst situations.

Try this out. If you are quite happy and satisfied with your web host, try to see if they are offering an affiliate program you can participate on. Instead of you paying them, why not make it the other way around; them paying you. The process can be as easy as putting a small "powered by" or "hosted by" link at the bottom of your page and you are already in an affiliate business.

Why choose paying for your for your web hosting when you do not have to? Try to get paid by letting people know you like your web host.

Always remember that when choosing a web host, choose the one that is known for its fantastic customer support. There are also many hosting affiliate programs. Residual affiliate program is also being hosted. This is the program wherein you get paid a percentage every month for a client that you refer. This can allow you to have a steady source of income. With perseverance, you can even be quite successful in this field.

There are a lot of niche markets out there just waiting for the right affiliate to penetrate to them and make that dollars dream come true. Knowing which one to get into is being confident enough of your potentials and the good results you will be getting.

Web hosting is just one affiliate market you could try out and make some good and continuous income. Just remember that to be successful on your endeavor also means that time, effort and patience is needed.

Nobody has invented the perfect affiliate market yet. But some people do know how to make it big in this kind of market. It is just knowing your kind of market and making the earnings there.

New Tennessee Forum heating up Tennessee!

There's a new Tennessee forum that's growing Fast daily. As a matter of fact it is the 1st and Only Tennessee forum. If you have been living under a rock, and haven't heard, it's Tennessee Forum , and it's HOTT!

If you want to know local news, local rumors, talk with other local business owners, discuss medical conditions, find a date for the weekend, or anything else having to do with Tennessee, and particularly East Tennessee and Morristown, then head on over to Tenn Forum and join now!

A look at the Affiliate Marketer

Being in the affiliate marketing business is not that hard now with the internet at your disposable. It is much easier now compared to the days when people have to make use of the telephones and other mediums of information just to get the latest updates on the way their program is coming along.

So with technology at hand, and assuming that the affiliate is working from home, a day in his or her life would sound something like this…

Upon waking up and after having breakfast, the computer is turned on to check out new developments in the network. As far as the marketer is concerned there might be new things to update and statistics to keep track on.

The site design has to be revised. The marketer knows that a well-designed site can increase sign ups from visitors. It can also help in the affiliate’s conversion rates.

That done, it is time to submit the affiliate program to directories that lists affiliate programs. These directories are means to attract people in joining your affiliate program. A sure way of promoting the affiliate program.

Time to track down the sales you are getting from your affiliates fairly and accurately. There are phone orders and mails to track down. See if they are new clients checking the products out. Noting down the contact information that might be a viable source in the future.

There are lots of resources to sort out. Ads, banners, button ads and sample recommendations to give out because the marketer knows that this is one way of ensuring more sales. Best to stay visible and accessible too.

The affiliate marketer remembered that there are questions to answer from the visitors. This has to be done quickly. Nothing can turn off a customer than an unanswered email.

To prove that the affiliate is working effectively and efficiently, inquiries would have to be paid more attention on. Nobody wants to be ignored and customers are not always the most patient of all people. Quick answer that should appear professional yet friendly too.

In the process of doing all the necessities, the marketer is logged on to a chat room where he or she interacts with other affiliates and those under that same program. This is where they can discuss things on how to best promote their products.

There are things to be learned and it is a continuous process. Sharing tips and advices is a good way of showing support. There may be others out there wanting to join and may be enticed by the discussion that is going on. There is no harm in assuming what opportunities ahead.

The newsletters and ezines were updated days ago, so it is time for the affiliate marketer to see if there are some new things happening in the market. This will be written about in the marketer’s publication to be distributed to the old and new customers.

These same publications are also an important tool in keeping up to date with the newly introduced products. The marketer has put up a sale and promotion that customers may want to know about. Besides, they have to keep up with the deadline of these sales written in the publications.

It is that time to show some appreciation to those who have helped the marketer in the promotions and sale increase. Nothing like mentioning the persons, their sites and the process they have done that made everything worked.

Of course, this will be published in the newsletters. Among the more important information that have been written already.

The marketer still has time to write out recommendations to those who want credible sources for the products being promoted. There is also time to post some comments on how to be a successful affiliate marketer on a site where there are lots of wannabees.

Two objectives done at the same time. The marketer gets to promote the product as well as the program they are in. Who knows, someone may be inclined to join.

Time flies. Missed lunch but is quite contented with the tasks done. Bed time….

Ok, so this may not be all done in a day. But then, this gives you an idea of how an affiliate marketer, a dedicated one that is, spends the marketing day.

Is that success looming in the distance or what?

Ways to increase your Affiliate Marketing profits!

The ideal world of affiliate marketing does not require having your won website, dealing with customers, refunds, product development and maintenance. This is one of the easiest ways of launching into an online business and earning more profits.

Assuming you are already into an affiliate program, what would be the next thing you would want to do? Double, or even triple, your commissions, right? How do you do that?

Here are some powerful tips on how to boost your affiliate program commissions overnight.

1. Know the best program and products to promote. Obviously, you would want to promote a program that will enable you to achieve the greatest profits in the shortest possible time.

There are several factors to consider in selecting such a program. Choose the ones that have a generous commission structure. Have products that fit in with your target audience. And that has a solid track record of paying their affiliate easily and on time. If you cannot seem to increase your investments, dump that program and keep looking for better ones.

There are thousands of affiliate programs online which gives you the reason to be picky. You may want to select the best to avoid losing your advertising dollars.

Write free reports or short ebooks to distribute from your site. There is a great possibility that you are competing with other affiliates that are promoting the same program. If you start writing short report related to the product you are promoting, you will be able to distinguish yourself from the other affiliates.

In the reports, provide some valuable information for free. If possible, add some recommendations about the products. With ebooks, you get credibility. Customers will see that in you and they will be enticed to try out what you are offering.

2. Collect and save the email addresses of those who download your free ebooks. It is a known fact that people do not make a purchase on the first solicitation. You may want to send out your message more than six times to make a sale.

This is the simple reason why you should collect the contact information of those who downloaded your reports and ebooks. You can make follow-ups on these contacts to remind them to make a purchase from you.

Get the contact information of a prospect before sending them to the vendor’s website. Keep in mind that you are providing free advertisement for the product owners. You get paid only when you make a sale. If you send prospects directly to the vendors, chances are they would be lost to you forever.

But when you get their names, you can always send other marketing messages to them to be able to earn an ongoing commission instead of a one-time sale only.

Publish an online newsletter or Ezine. It is always best to recommend a product to someone you know than to sell to a stranger. This is the purpose behind publishing your own newsletter. This also allows you to develop a relationship based on trust with your subscribers.

This strategy is a delicate balance between providing useful information with a sales pitch. If you continue to write informative editorials you will be able to build a sense of reciprocity in your readers that may lead them to support you by buying your products.

3. Ask for higher than normal commission from merchants. If you are already successful with a particular promotion, you should try and approach the merchant and negotiate a percentage commission for your sales.

If the merchant is smart, he or she will likely grant your request rather than lose a valuable asset in you. Keep in mind that you are a zero-risk investment to your merchant; so do not be shy about requesting for addition in your commissions. Just try to be reasonable about it.

Write strong pay Per Click ads. PPC search engine is the most effective means of advertising online. As an affiliate, you can make a small income just by managing PPC campaigns such as Google AdWords and Overture. Then you should try and monitor them to see which ads are more effective and which ones to dispose of.

Try out these strategies and see the difference it can make to your commission checks in the shortest of time.

Meet the Expert: Advice from Small Business Marketing Coach John Jantsch

John Jantsch is a marketing and digital technology coach, award winning social media publisher and author and the mastermind behind the concept of duct tape marketing, or creating ideas that stick.  You can read more about him and his winning strategies on his website.  In the following interview, the small business expert offers advice and tips to stay on top of the world of inbound marketing.
1. You're a very well-respected thought leader in the world of small business marketing - a blogger, a podcaster, an author, a speaker and a coach. Where does your passion for marketing come from, and how have you developed such a strong presence and recognizable brand?
I guess the passion comes from the fact that I love owning my own business and working with other small business owners to show them how mastering marketing is the easiest way to build a business that serves what you want to get out of life. As far as the brand goes, it took a secret recipe: Luck, perseverance and incredible attention to detail.

2. Your blog, Duct Tape Marketing, is ranked high on practically every top marketing blog list. What is your secret sauce that makes it such a success, how do you consistently think of new blog ideas and what can marketers learn from your blogging strategy in application to their own business blogs?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, a lot of it's about showing up and feeling committed to putting something valuable out there week in and week out. It's a lot of work, but building a valuable asset should be a lot of work. I constantly scan my universe for good stuff to cover, but I always ask myself, "Would a small business find this thing I'm writing about today useful?" I think that filter has helped me stay true to my readers when it might be tempting to run after the next new thing.

3. You have a column in Entrepreneur magazine and a podcast on Entrepreneur.com. For entrepreneurs and small businesses that are just starting to experiment with inbound marketing, what should be their first move?

It's not too sexy, but I guess I would say create your 7 step manifesto or point of view -- something that clearly defines how your company, product or service is different and then build lots of content around that. Turn it into a white paper, case studies, interviews, charts, graphs, presentations, workshops, even a book. That's how you create an inbound content empire. Don't write a single word unless you can think of five ways you can repurpose it.

4. What in your opinion is the single most important element in any social media marketing strategy?

Something that helps you meet your overall business and marketing objectives. I know that's a bit obtuse, but strategy is inherently unique so there is no one element, but . . . the best way to develop a strategy is to listen to your brand, product, industry and competitive chatter for a long time before you ever decide to tweet.

5. What kinds of unique opportunities do inbound marketing techniques like social media and blogging offer small businesses that aren't available with traditional types of marketing like print advertising and direct mail? Why is it so important for small businesses to take advantage of these modern channels?

Over time the single greatest opportunity is to rule the local search landscape. 20-30-year-olds go straight to their mobile browser or Google Maps to find everything - shoes, food, insurance, a dentist, you name it. If they don't find you by doing that, then you don't exist.

6. To play devil's advocate, what do you think are the biggest challenges associated with implementing these inbound marketing methods, and how would you suggest marketers overcome them?

Time, fear, big scary blank white monitor screens. You can't really practice inbound marketing tactics without committing to producing content, lots of it, over long periods of time. This is not something you can hire a consultant for, get an intern to do one week, go to a workshop, or buy a great book - you've got to make it part of the fabric of your daily life. Sorry, no magic dust.

7. What are a few of your favorite Duct Tape Marketing blog posts you'd like to point The Kid's Blog Spectacular's readers to?

• 5 Ways to Get More From Facebook
• What Is Integrated Marketing Anyway
• Is Social Media Killing Your Business

8. Marketing-related or not, what inspires you?

OK not - music and nature. If I could sit on a river bank deep in the woods and listen to Yo-Yo Ma play the Cello, I would be pretty darn inspired.

Why Marketers Should Be Dubious of Google AdWords New Lead Capturing Tool

Do you get the feeling that Google has marketers on the mind lately? I certainly do. Not even a month after launching their Google Annotations feature for Google Analytics, Google is beta testing a new lead capturing tool for Google Adwords.

Amber from the blog PPC Hero, who recieved a invitation to Beta test the new lead capturing feature (ehem, Google calls it a “contact extension formâ€�), says that it is currently limited to businesses appearing in position #1 of PPC results.  If you received an invite to beta test and have ads running in position #1, your prospects have the option to click a link under the PPC ad (this can be a customizable call to action) which opens a contact form. The prospect can then use this form to submit their contact information to you without ever leaving Google search results.

Though I usually welcome any new feature that may help me generate leads, I worry that this new feature is not aligned with best lead generation practices and here’s why:

It's limited to phone leads only.

Though Amber from PPC Hero notes that Google will eventually allow you to take leads through live chat & email, right now Google’s contact extension form only accept phone leads. 

The form does not demonstrate value to potential leads.

The current drop down contact form does not demonstrate the value that they'll receive or encourage them to develop a relationship with your company. If you can not demonstrate value to potential leads, you will lose out on conversions. Then there's the quality of the conversions you might actually recieve. As it stands right now the form simply screams to your prospect, “Give me your info so I can call you!� Qualified prospects are far more likely to drop their contact info after you’ve created a relationship with them, so more the quality of the conversions you'd get from a limited form with only a few questions will most likely be very low.

It's an extra click for your prospect that doesn't lead them to your site.

If you’re already paying the enormous PPC costs associated with appearing at position #1, wouldn’t you rather have your prospect come to your site and engage with your business on your own landing page? If it's just an extra click for them anyway, you want to make the most of it and have them convert on your own terms in an environment you control. 

You have to call the lead within 24 hours. 

After you generate a lead, you have to call Google within 24 hours. Depending on how agile you are in qualifying your leads, this could be really taxing on a sales or marketing team, especially on the weekend. Amber from PPC hero didn't mention if there was a penalty if you didn't call your lead back, but I imagine that if there is a penalty, it would be really frustrating to have to call back a junk lead just to avoid a Google slap on the wrist.

Google owns your lead’s information.

Even after you call your prospect back within Google's 24 hour window, you don’t even get their phone number. Instead Google gives you a special number and a lead ID which redirects you to that customer.

You have to manage your leads with Google. 

Since you have no access to the information your prospect gives you, all you are doing is creating another location where you have to manage your leads.  You can't integrate with Salesforce or other lead management tools. Plus, you have to deal with each lead one-at-a-time because you have to reach them within the 24 hour window.

The feature is restricted to position #1 search results only.

You pay per lead, which is nice, but you also pay a lot for that top position. One of the issues with position #1 in Google Adwords is that it tends to generate traffic that’s unqualified because many searchers click the link without reading. One of the good things about this feature is that at least you’d be getting a real lead for your money; the bad thing is you’re still probably going to get expensive, unqualified traffic flooding in from your top-position ad.

This will only get you end-sales-cycle-leads. 

It’s possible that this strategy will only connect you with people who are ready to talk. Perhaps that’s all you’re looking for with your PPC campaign, but it's not the best overall lead generation strategy. Since most people don't hand over their number until they've built a relationship with you first, you probably won't be generating a lot of new leads for your sales team. You may just end up paying a whole lot of money for that top PPC position to access people who probably were on their way to your website already.

No immediate benefit to your prospect after they request a phone call. 

The biggest issue here for me is that there is no end benefit for the prospect once they complete the form. A promise to contact your prospect within 24 hours is not a very compelling offer. If you want to generate new leads for your business, you should entice your prospect with content (whitepapers, webinars, free trials, etc) that satisfies an immediate need.  By using this feature, you may actually lose conversions because you give the prospect no immediate benefit to "requesting a phone call".

Ending the Year Right With Guest Host @Pamelump

Bloggers Beat Out Magazines in the Fashion World

• http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/fashion/27BLOGGERS.htm
• "At the shows this year, there were more seats reserved for editors from Fashionista, Fashionologie, Fashiontoast, Fashionair and others, and fewer for reporters from regional newspapers that can no longer afford the expense of covering the runways independently."
• "But it is somewhat surprising that designers are adjusting to the new breed of online reporter more readily than magazines, which have been slow to adapt to the demand for instant content about all things fashion. Blogs are posting images and reviews of collections before the last model exits the runway, while magazine editors are still jockeying to feature those clothes in issues that will be published months later."
• Marketing Takeaway - As the world of marketing changes you have to be flexible and adaptable.

The Pizza Turnaround

• How Dominos is Using Customer Feedback and Social Media Outreach to Reinvent Its Brand
  
• "Despite Dominos' negative experience with social media earlier this year, which involved the explosion of a YouTube video showing two employees doing repulsive things with Dominos ingredients, the brand is now embracing the channel to promote its brand with its new Pizza Turnaround campaign."
• "To launch its "turnaround," Dominos has created a new website, www.pizzaturnaround.com, which features a new video documentary on YouTube (see above) that uses real Dominos employees to tell the story of how Dominos listened to its critics and is changing its pizza recipe for the better."
• "Dominos is encouraging consumers to try the new pizza and offer feedback via social media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube."
• Things they're doing right: transparency, listening to customers, using various social media tools
• Marketing Takeaway: Social media is a great channel for customer feedback to help improve your brand.

Yahoo's Holiday Marketing Stunt & Disney's "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." Campaign

• Yahoo's Brilliant Holiday Marketing Stunt
• "On Dec. 23, Yahoo sent employees to the San Francisco and San Jose airports to pay for airline customers' baggage fees"
• A Yahoo rep called the stunt "one small act of kindness," saying they "hope[d] to inspire the Yahoo community to create a wave of goodwill." 
• "Putting the idea in consumers' heads that Yahoo is a company that will make navigating the world simpler and cheaper" is "brilliant."
• "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." Promotion Kicks Off 2010 
• "Starting January 1, 2010 when you sign up on Disney's website to volunteer a day of service with one of the many organizations listed, Disney will give you a voucher for a free 1-day, 1-park ticket to either Disneyland or Walt Disney World as a way of thanking you for your volunteerism."
• "The goal is to get one million people to participate."
• "Disney has really hit a home run with this amazing opportunity by encouraging volunteerism, especially among families, and the benefits you receive will extend beyond the 1-day, 1-park ticket. You'll make some heart-felt memories while at the same time helping those who really need your help."
• Marketing Takeaway: We're starting to see a recurring trend in using volunteerism and "giving back" as a marketing tactic.
• Marketing Takeaway 2: Use any opportunity to create great content. Volunteer to give back as a company and create blog posts, post photos, interview people, and put everything online!

University of San Diego Study

• How the Web is Saving the Written Word From the Brink of Death
• "A new study conducted by the University of San Diegodispels recent rumor that the written word has died due to the rise of the more visually stimulating media like video and images." 
• "In fact, the study finds that the influx of new technologies is causing us to read even more than we used to, revealing that reading has actually tripled between 1980 and 2008."
• "Although the written word may be knocking at death's door in the world of print publishing, it's certainly alive and thriving on the World Wide Web."
• Marketing Takeaway: Focus on business blogging to take advantage of this increased reliability on the online written word by consumers.

Google Caffeine Launch

• Google Is About To Get Caffeinated With A Faster Search Index
• "Caffeine is an under-the-hood upgrade to Google's search index algorithms." "Most people won't even notice the change."
• "It will significantly speed up how fast Google can present results, especially across different media types such as photos and videos. Overall, search will be more realtime."
• "An independent study conducted in September by SEO firm Summit Media suggests that for generic search terms, Caffeine gives more weight to news and social media results, while more specific keywords are more likely to turn up websites about that topic."
• Study findings: "Rankings are unlikely to fluctuate. Websites that do lose rankings are likely to be relying on older, archived content that's not been updated in years. Keeping your site fresh to be crawled by Caffeine will be important_."_
• Study findings: "Generic terms against long tail terms in Caffeine show a greater priority for News, Information and Social Media - which fits with generic terms being less clear in terms of the searcher's intent."
• Marketing Takeaway: Avoid losing search rankings by regularly updating your site's content. Keep it fresh.

Forum Fodder
Marketing Tip of the Week: As the new year rolls in pay attention to what other companies are doing right and wrong, be adventurous and take risks in your marketing.

Affiliate Marketing must have info to succeed online!

Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.
There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing online.

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.

2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.

The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.

Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.
Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…