When There’s No Seat at the Grown-up Table
Many marketers spend years in the asteroid belt around their Corporate mother-ships, never getting to play with the master brand. Yet they’re routinely charged with figuring out value propositions for cans of compressed air, software that helps other software manage software or industrial thickeners. If this is you and you are lost, here is a wonderful blog post from Marketing Experiments that’s full of helpful downloadable worksheets to get you going and make you look like the genius you really aren’t.
Got a Social Disease?
Not the kind caused by lemon gin and questionable standards; we’re talking about that new-fangled social media. Some of us in B2B climbed reluctantly on the social bandwagon last year and many of us promptly screwed it up. This post from Avenue L Marketing looks at the five things you’re probably doing wrong and offers some advice on how to fix them before anyone finds out. 
Want to Get a Social Disease?
Just don’t yell at me until you’ve read this. It’s about social. It’s mostly about B2C. But it’s from Hubspot and we like them, remember? You will find at least a few things you can steal from their newest e-book: 55 Brands That Are Rocking Social with Visual Content. I’m pretty sure that’s the true spirit of social.
Good Data are Pretty Data. Or is it the Other Way Around?
According to this post from our friends at Eloqua, 90% of the world’s data was created in the last two years. Which explains a lot about my recycling bin. But that’s not the point. This post is about infographics for marketers and it has a link to both a site and an e-book just chock full of the little beggars. I’m willing to bet that just one or two of these babies stuffed into that strategic plan you’re building will blow some minds. At the very least they will amuse the heck out of you while you procrastinate on that plan. Note: As I was writing this, Oracle announced it had bought Eloqua. I think I may have caused that. I apologize.
They Still Don’t Know What You Do
It doesn’t really matter that your mother doesn’t understand your job (mine thinks I work in make-your-own-wine shop). It’s almost okay that your Corporate Overlords don’t understand what you do. But according to Michael Brenner, there’s a fairly good chance that in our content-is-kicking-your-display-ad’s-ass world, even you may no longer have a decent grip on what you should be doing. I don’t entirely agree with this post but I like Michael and his ideas are always worth considering.
Whatever it is You Think you Do, it’s Probably Not This
Mitch Joel is always worth reading, even when he’s irritating. But this recent post at HBR is one of those stunning smacks across the back of the head that all of us need. Sure it’s about B2C, but the lessons are transferable and attention must be paid.
Don’t You Just Hate Top 10 Lists?
Like this one from the folks at Ragan Communications with the 10 best and 10 worst communicators of the year? Face it, you’re going to look. We all look. Unsurprisingly, most of the entries on this list got there via the U.S. election, but it’s a fun list.
Sally’s Still Missing from Email
About a year ago we discussed how to become the Sally Field of Email Marketing. Some of you are obviously not listening because poor Laura Hale Brockway (who writes a terrific blog at ImpertinentRemarks ) had to take time out of her busy day to show us the crap that’s been washing up in her Inbox. People, this really isn’t difficult.
Common Sense is Still Missing from Landing Pages
I don’t know why, almost 20 years into this, we can’t make landing pages that actually work. It isn’t hard. In fact, the less work you put into it, the more effective it’s likely to be. And this nifty visual from Formstack makes it simple enough even an exhausted marketer three non-alcoholic drinks into the office party can work it out.
And We Still Hate Our Customers
We’ve talked a lot about the sorry state of our Customer Abuse systems, and marketing’s terrible culpability in the whole thing. So in the grandest tradition of extended family holiday dinners everywhere, let’s use humour so we don’t have to deal with the depressing truth. Here is a great blog post from Corporate Executive Board with links to classic Customer Abuse pranks and humour.
Whatever you may be celebrating just now, I hope it’s fun. This little marketer is curling up with a stack of food porn and a giant bottle of Jameson’s. See you all in January.
Related Posts:
Eight Rules for E-Cards
Ten Things to Make You Less Sad About Q4
BizMarketer is Elizabeth Williams
You can reach me at escwilliams@gmail.com
or follow me on Twitter @bizmkter
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