Helpful Tips to Prepare You for SXSW 2012

Going to SXSW 2012? Before you embark on your technology seminary journey, there’s a lot of vital information that you’d be better of knowing. Now, this information isn’t going to help your business take off, per se. But it might just indirectly help. The advice offered herein is intended to pragmatically improve the SXSW experience, one tip at a time. Here’s what you need to know: Make sure you wear comfortable shoes. You won’t have the luxury of taking too many breaks or stops, so being prepared for the long haul will serve you best. Keep your head on a…

How the Subconscious Influences Customers’ Cognitive Decisions

Not all customer decisions are based on hard facts. People aren’t unbiased creatures. There is usually an angle or  a preference influencing every decision. When it comes to companies with high-profile brands, there are a lot of subconscious factors influencing the customer. Using Coca-Cola as an example, it was discovered that there is a strong connection between the customer and the soft drink. After some research, executives at the company realized that their product also creates personal time for people as individuals. It’s sort of a vacation in a can. And at Coca-Cola, the company strategy and marketing strategy was changed to be…

How to Hire an Influencer Relations Specialist

This is a part of a series that was created to help you define build the practice of influencer marketing into your company. This series will walk through the process, necessary roles, in addition to guides for each role to get started with influencer marketing quickly. Over the next several posts, I will break apart the key steps the sponsor is responsible for when launching an Influencer Marketing program. Do you need a full-time influencer relations specialist? For many companies, the answer is probably no, but it depends on your goals. For example, if you want to target 5 to…

What System Should You Use to Manage the Influence Program?

What will you use to manage your database of influencers? How will you manage activities? What tools will you use to track open opportunities? This is a part of a series that was created to help you define build the practice of influence marketing into your company. This series will walk through the process, necessary roles, in addition to guides for each role to get started with influence marketing quickly. Over the next several posts, I will break apart the key steps the sponsor is responsible for when launching an Influence Marketing program. Editor’s note: This post is a part of…

Make ‘Em Click: How the Always-Evolving Facebook Can Work for You

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With updates coming fast and furious to the world’s largest social media site, it’s difficult to keep track of how to use all of Facebook’s advancements for your company’s marketing strategy. Thankfully, Kristi Hines has 7 Tips and Marketing Strategies for the New Facebook Fan Pages, including: Using Facebook as a Fan Page After you’ve transformed your personal profile into a fan page, seek out other similar fan pages and start networking! “Instead of being linked to your personal profile, your activity will be linked to your fan page. This means if…

The Best B2B Viral Video Ever Comes from … A Glass Company?

Do you think your product or service is boring? Could it possibly be more boring than glass? Maybe, maybe not—but Corning Glass’ YouTube video is a stellar example of how B2B marketing is done. The video doesn’t show what glass does—everybody knows what glass does! What it does show is what glass can do. When it comes to marketing, don’t think purely of your product. Think about your customers, how your product is changing their lives, and the best methodology of connecting with them on a deep personal (and entertaining) level.

How to Make Your Facebook Page the Best of the Best

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Facebook is huge and getting huger. So are you doing everything you can with Facebook to improve B2B or B2C relations? Is Facebook working as an effective online marketing platform? Take a deep breath—and make your company’s Facebook page even better. Inc. has a guide on How to Create an Effective Company Facebook Page, including these 3 strategies: Design Strategy Your page design needs to reflect your company’s primary objectives. So … Drive traffic by highlighting your company’s blog Create a smart, customizable welcome tab or landing page Promotion Strategy Mari Smith,…

6 Ways to Make Your Small Business’ Website Pop

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You don’t need a billion dollars to build a great website—effective online marketing is so easily done, you can do it in 6 steps! Carolyn Higgins, the President and founder of Fortune Marketing Company, has a list of 6 Secrets to Creating an Amazing Small Business Website, including: #1 – The Website is Not About You Give your ego a rest and let your product do the talking. “Use words and phrases they would use to describe their pain and then outline the solution you have to solve it.” #3 -…

The Startup Approach to Advertising

Life can be tough for startups.

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You have to overcome numerous obstacles just to be crowned as one of the few that made it through the gauntlet. From startup recruitment to scaling a business, there are plenty of hurdles to get in the way of the lowly startup. But there are some advantages, too. Advertising, when approach correctly, can be one such advantage. Having a marketing strategy that considers the size of your business is going to be the best way for you to get a high bang-for-the-buck return on your…