5 Weird Ways to Boost Your Social Media Presence

Keeping up with the Joneses is never easy — especially if the Joneses can outwork you, outspend you, and shout louder than you can.  And if you’re vying for attention in a crowded online market, things aren’t getting any easier. Craig Newmark (who’s best known as the founder of Craigslist) and his CraigConnects staff recently completed a survey of the social media habits of nonprofits.  They compiled their findings into a comprehensive (and colorful)... Read More

Is Your Advertising Driving Away Potential Customers?

One of the dangers of inbound marketing is that it can drive people away from your brand just as easily as it can attract them to you. How?  Easy. Read More  Read More

9 Steps to an Awesome Website

We’re very excited to let you know of the publication of our first eBook, entitled, “Failing to Plan Is Planning to Fail: 9 Ways to Save Money, Launch Sooner, and Dramatically Boost the Effectiveness of Your Website.” It focuses on nonprofits, but its lessons apply more broadly. Even if this isn’t of interest to you currently, perhaps you have friends that can benefit. It would be great if you’d send them a link. We wrote the eBook in response to a clear... Read More

8 Ways To Convince Your Boss To Invest In Content Marketing

This post, slightly adapted, was first published on the blog of the American Marketing Association of Baltimore. Many of our readers are marketing professionals. As a professional, you’re likely at the forefront of marketing. Sure, you and I understand how effective marketing looks quite different in 2011 than it did in 2001 – a topic we cover at length on this blog. But what do you do if your pointy-hair boss just doesn’t get it? First, some basic facts Read More  Read More

King Kong vs. Content Marketing

Some rights reserved by Peter Kaminski (http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterkaminski/) Let’s say you’re driving to the mall and, while you’re stopped at a red light, something bright and colorful catches your eye. You look across the street and see a giant inflated gorilla balloon, surrounded by multicolored streamers, all billowing from the roof of a mattress outlet store. And, of course, you immediately think to yourself, “I need a mattress, now.” Right? Well…... Read More

Your Mother Was Right About Facebook

No, not that time she insisted you should be paranoid about tagging photos of yourself at “all the wrong parties,” or how you should never let strangers know that you aren’t home.  (Although, hey, be smart.) She was right about asking other people for help. See, when you were a kid and you couldn’t accomplish something at school, your mother didn’t tell you to give up, did she? No, she told you to ask for help.  Maybe from a teacher, maybe from... Read More

Why Isn’t Your Website Generating Leads?

Your business lives and dies by the number of qualified leads (or potential customers) you can find. Is your business already generating enough leads? If you’re anything like most of the business owners and executives I speak with, the answer is no. What would it do for your business growth if your website was providing you with a consistently increasing flow of qualified leads? Or with lead intelligence that can help you decide where to best spend your sales efforts? Read... Read More

3 Little Things to Get Right in Social Marketing

Some rights reserved by Orin Zebest At Abstract Edge, we study all kinds of social marketing campaigns — from companies, non-profits, artists and more.  While we’ve seen campaigns big and small, cast wide and extremely focused, there are some universal tips that apply to any strategy you’re planning for your new customer outreach. Often, it all boils down to getting the little things right. Here are three examples of common sense outreach tips that your brand... Read More

3 Reasons Inbound Marketing is Critical for Nonprofits

Some rights reserved by CCAC North Library (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccacnorthlib/) Last night I attended an event with 40 or so other marketers put on by the American Marketing Association of Baltimore. Matt Doud, founder of Baltimore-based ad agency Planit Advertising, led a discussion about lessons learned in the ad agency world over the past decade. Three key points stuck with me: Advertising (or marketing) is storytelling. Specifically, it’s about telling the... Read More

Starting Somewhere: 10 Baby Steps to Launching Your Social Media Presence

Some rights reserved by pudgeefeet Maybe you can list a dozen reasons why your company should do more inbound marketing.  But even though you know you should take action, you may still be paralyzed by one big question: “Where do we start?” If your brand doesn’t already have a social media presence, you might wonder where to start. Facebook? YouTube? Somewhere else? If you do have a digital presence, you might not be sure how best to grow it. And even if... Read More