It is the best example I’ve seen so far of a)someone owning to his mistakes , and b)a marketing idea backfiring really bad. Viral Marketing, or the spread of ideas (also called Word of Mouth Marketing) is usually thought of as a good thing. You create a video or a campaign and everyone starts talking about it. You go home happy and maybe even get a promotion. But sometimes the “viral” element more closely resembles the bad kind, the on that kicks you in the teeth and puts you out in bed for a week. Scott Stratton , author of “ UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.” Here’s why. MORE >>

The best way is to give them something they don’t expect and that they will have use for. Although much deserved attention is given to Blogs, eBooks, Webinars, Data Sheets, Press Releases, Videos, and other typical channels when talking about content creation, you shouldn’t forget to include the following touchpoints in your content marketing plan. On-Hold Messages: Ditch the on-hold music and the typical sales pitch for something your customers, prospects, and partners will actually enjoy listening to. Customize the message for each department. The Forgotten Content Channels. MORE >>

Class: Advanced SEO Tactics: On Beyond Keyword Research (GF401) Professor: Rand Fishkin, SEOmoz SEOmoz is one of the best places for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) information, and the presentation was full of nice tidbits about SEO. Class: Calls to Action and Landing Page Best Practices (CV101) Professor: Jeanne Hopkins, MECLABS, Marketing Experiments If you are not familiar with MarketingExperiments, than you should immediately bookmark their website: www.marketingexperiments.com. The best take away from the presentation is their conversion formula: C = 4m+3v+2(i-f)-2a. MORE >>

Tony says that SiriusDecisions is in the process of revising their demand generation waterfall framework ( Inquiries > Marketing Qualified Leads > Sales Accepted Leads > Sales Qualified Leads > Deal Closed ), but shared some interesting facts about typical conversion rates and contrasted those with what they consider “best-in-class” companies: Typical Rates for the Average B2B Company: Inquiries to MQL: 4.4%. Best Practice B2B Company Rates: Inquiries to MQL: 9.3%. How do you get to be a “best practice” company and increase your efficiency? MORE >>

Before you jump into it head first and spend countless hours setting up all the landing pages, workflows, and start messing with scoring models it’s best to take a step back and make sure you and all your team are in sync. If you did your marketing automation purchase following best practices, the sales team (or at least sales management) was involved to help make the selection. Content drives marketing automation, so the best starting point is to understand what you already have. Now what? Getting Started with Marketing Automation. Step 2: Buyer Personas. Rinse and repeat. MORE >>