Weekly Reads for July 16, 2012
20 July 2012 by Ashley Biondich
The top 10 PR and marketing stories this week:
Quality Content Isn’t Everything
from Savvy B2B Marketing
If you’re frustrated because you write awesome content that nobody seems to appreciate, this post should be helpful. Brilliant content poorly marketed is like the proverbial tree that falls in the empty forest. If nobody hears your content, in one sense it doesn’t even exist – in which case it won’t help you generate leads or establish credibility or accomplish any of the other business goals of your content marketing strategy.
7 Tips for Using ProfNet to Score Big With the Media
from PR News’ Small Biz PR Report
Here are seven tips for PR pros who are using ProfNet to connect expert sources at small businesses with journalists.
Integrating email analytics with other channel metrics allows greater flexibility, quicker response and closer collaboration
from BtoB Magazine
There are multiple touch points in any marketing campaign. A customer may have seen a few display ads, clicked on a social link, searched a website and read several email marketing messages before making a purchase.
Tech PR: Why Inbound Marketing May Be the Next Wave of PR
from Crawford by James Crawford
Whether they’re in the market for a car, a bicycle or a laptop, customers do all their research on the product and competing offers well before they reach out and buy. They’ve done their homework via the Internet and have already reached a decision — without you.
8 B2B Tips for Using Social Forums
from Social Media Examiner by Kane Russell
How should business-to-business (B2B) marketers best use question-based social forums? For business-to-business companies in particular, LinkedIn Groups, Quora and HighTable are just three examples of forums where marketers can demonstrate their knowledge. In this article I’ll cover how B2B marketers can best approach these sites and provide eight recommendations for generating qualified leads and driving sales.
6 surefire ways to become an expert in any industry
from Ragan.com
As a marketer, my task is to promote products and services I know nothing about. That’s how I developed this list of six quick and easy ways to expedite the learning process and follow trends in an industry I’m just learning about.
Is it Time to Kill Lead Nurturing as We Know It?
from HubSpot’s Inbound Internet Marketing Blog
Psst. Wanna know a secret? I’m no longer sure that lead stages exist. If buyers don’t move through a fixed set of stages, then it doesn’t make sense to structure lead nurturing programs to move them from one stage to the next. Nor should we use lead scoring to determine which stage a buyer is at. Yet that’s exactly how today’s most sophisticated marketing campaigns are built.
How non-visual brands should use Pinterest
from Ragan.com
Can brands use Pinterest without visually-appealing products? Of course, says the team ePrize. Make lawnmowers? Post photos of gorgeous lawns. Ask yourself: What inspires your products? Your designers? Pin those images.
Lead Generation: 5 steps for managing cost and quality of leads
from Marketingsherpa Blog
Marketers often balance cost and quality when it comes to lead generation. Learn five steps you can use for managing the cost and quality of leads.
Why press release follow-up calls irk journalists
from The Publicity Hound’s Blog by Joan
If you’ve emailed or snail-mailed a release, assume it reached its destination. Don’t make an annoying follow-up call. Twenty years ago, we wrote releases only for the media. Today, we write them primarily to post online so they pull traffic to our websites. Besides, if you want major coverage of a story, sending a press release is the lazy way to get the media’s attention. You need to deliver a customized pitch.
