Marketing automation platforms provide powerful suites of tools that aid marketers and sales teams in creating more effective campaigns, but how useful are they really? A newly released report from Digital Marketing Depot titled B2B Marketing Automation Platforms 2015: A Marketer’s Guide took a look at the state of this technology. It provides some guidelines […]
What’s trending this week in the B2B Twittersphere? As we do every week, the Hashtag Team column analzyes Twitter to list what B2B insiders are discussing in marketing, advertising, Big Data, leadership and more! This week we feature posts on how to boost content reach using social media, five problems every B2B salesperson faces, and the gender gap […]
Few jobs today typify the “knowledge economy” as does the role of a data analytics professional. At a minimum, she’s got strong math skills, is familiar with a programming language or two and is able to divine the business or marketing value of disparate collections of raw data (with the help, of course, of some […]
Incorporating digital programs into existing frameworks is a dilemma facing many organizations today. In an effort to help businesses with this problem, software solutions provider EPAM hosted a webinar with Rex Lee and Warren Cable, VPs of digital operations at Canadian Tire. Both Lee and Cable explained how they used omni-channel and digital programs in their retail […]
A famous 20th century marketing pioneer, John Wanamaker, once said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” No business maxim uttered before or since has better captured the value proposition of marketing and its counterintuitive conclusion. At first glance, things have not changed much since […]
Deciding whether one of your employees is ready for a promotion can be as difficult as making that initial hire. We’ve asked four senior-level professionals what they think are the most important traits and attributes of a successful employee. They also divulge what to consider when a promotion goes wrong. When it comes to having “the […]
Looking for inspiration this year? Want to network like a boss? You won’t want to miss these tech conferences bound to feed you insight you likely can’t get anywhere else. We previously previewed some of the top tech conferences to attend in Canada in 2015, so now it’s time to turn our attention to the U.S. […]
Mobile is quickly moving from being the “second screen” to the “first screen” for many consumers. Altimeter reports that in November 2014 mobile devices accounted for one in four of all online purchases. A 2014 study from Acquity Group, touching on the growing importance of mobile devices in purchase planning, showed that 44 percent of B2B […]
What kind of traction is your current marketing content getting? Tons of shares, visits, and comments? Great! Very little of anything? You’re not alone. B2B marketers often spend a lot of time creating great content that provides hefty value to readers. Yet it’s easy to forget that you’ve got to deliver that valuable content to an audience […]
The world of digital marketing is facing a skills shortage when it comes to content generators. You might not think that’s the case, what with the incredible amount of content available online, but according to recent survey results from by SkilledUp.com, a website focusing on online educational resources, there is a critical need for skilled […]
One of the reasons we love social media is that it’s free. We can share and connect with others without a paywall. Marketers love social media because it’s a free way to find out exactly what our audiences are thinking and talking about. We use it to fuel our content production and overall strategy planning sessions. […]
“Is the Internet the answer?” is a big question to ask, but its ambiguity left little room for middle ground in a spirited debate as FFWD Advertising and Marketing Week 2015 began this week in Toronto. Moderated by GigaOM’s Mathew Ingram, the talk pitted Andrew Keen, author of The Internet is Not the Answer, against Mitch […]
We’ve all been there: A meeting trudges along so painfully, your mind wanders to what you need to cook for dinner. Boring meetings and brainstorming sessions can bruise a staffer’s workplace experience and mire office culture in a haze of fatigue. If you’re hosting staff meetings regularly, you need to add sizzle and focus to […]
Do you know that NASA has about 500 social media accounts across multiple networks? Such an effort means a massive social media team and a lot of work…and lessons for any business hoping to make a splash in social media. The space giant’s strategy isn’t just spray-and-pray. Rather, their posts offer a sneak peek into the […]
It’s been nearly sixty days, 192 pieces of content, thirty contributors, six columnists, 150 email subscribers, 30,000 page views and 2000 Twitter interactions since we launched at the beginning of November. All of that happened, we are excited to say, without a single dollar of paid promotion. You can see part one and […]
It’s been a wild and fun year for our B2B News Network. In the two months since our soft launch (Nov 1, 2014), we have attracted attention from B2B executives and startups from across the world. We’ll have an update on our data on the first of the year, but it’s clear our reports and […]
When you work at a start-up or SMB, it’s easy to dive headfirst into your career and think of little else. You might have family obligations and social events to attend, but as an entrepreneur you could envelope yourself in work without a second’s hesitation. After all, this company is your baby and your dedication […]
You can tell the first time you talk to Doug Shirra that one of his strengths as an executive is an ability to get something done efficiently in the nicest way possible. And he advocates that management style. Despite an increasingly B2B chaotic marketing technology environment, in the many trends and forecasts for marketers in […]
At this time of year, many of you are looking at strategic plans, forecasts, and budgets for 2015. Have you given much thought to the conference line item in next year’s budget? Aside from all the socializing and swag-gathering that goes on at conferences, they are the perfect way to boost your creativity with workshops […]
The early success of Wattpad is something Allen Lau has attributed to a strong focus on community. So it was not surprising that the announcement of Allen’s new seed fund included not only his desire to contribute to the community that supported him, but an orientation toward companies with a strong network effect. He and […]
