Business tactics change. Great marketing doesn't.

Wow, you’ve got a lot to work to do!

Awareness and promotion. Lead generation. Content creation. Prospect and customer relationship tracking. Team and partner communications. Sales management. Testing and optimization. And, the list goes on and on.

So much to do, so little time in your day. It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is — trying to manage your marketing and sales effectively is enough to drive you bonkers. And if you’re not careful, get you sidetracked from your mission.

Most businesses, maybe yours too, have gone into deep thought on all of this, probably while sequestered the company’s secret bunker. Searching every corner of the Internet to seek out new tactics. Every time a viable app or online service is found another one pops up taking you in an entirely different direction.

It’s finally happened — marketing is now powered by technology. Well, that’s not really new news.

But here’s what’s new; technology is taking over more and more of marketing. Many companies have gone from feeling out of control because they are juggling too much to letting technology do their thinking. And they still feel out of control.

There has to be a better way!

Take a deep breath now. The good news is you’re still in control. You just have to take the strategic view and find the right tools to effortlessly execute your vision. Remember, tactics may change — great marketing doesn’t.

Here’s the key. Have strategic initiatives that’s right for your and your market. Plus, whatever you do, all the pieces have to fit together. That’s because every tactical element (application or service) that you regard as essential to your marketing efforts impacts all of the other components around it.

Silos are for storing grain and keeping it safe. In marketing, everything is connected and isn’t very useful if it’s isolated within a silo. Connect the marketing technology dots and everything will be fine.

Create a purposeful marketing tool stack. Let’s get this straight up front — when it comes to making your marketing easier, there’s isn’t a single online platform or piece of technology that can do everything. Your company has unique goals and needs. It’s up to you to decide what’s most important to accomplish and then search for the pieces of the puzzle. With over 1,000 marketing technology vendors claiming to be in an ever-increasing number of marketing categories you can get overwhelmed fast. A marketing tool stack, also known as a marketing technology stack, is a grouping of digital applications that businesses use to manage and improve their marketing activities, making time-consuming processes easier and much more effective.

Know which technology tools are foundational and essential. There’s so much to consider and it’s easy to quickly become paralyzed by the choices. To keep that from happening, start with breaking down your key strategic marketing initiatives. The “must do, must happen” of your business. This will keep you focused and prevent your search from becoming a never-ending scavenger hunt, taking you off course. Sure, there’s a lot to consider, but only define up to five areas that are critical and fundamental to your strategy and needs. Also, outline your workflow — how every chunk of the eventual stack impacts components above it and below it. In other words, every piece is essential to a strong marketing action plan and must work together to get you to where you want to go.

A brief guide to zeroing in on marketing technology stack elements. Strategic marketing initiatives are action oriented. For instance, turn, “We need to increase awareness and customer acquisition” into, “Let’s focus on increasing inbound/outbound content optimization and market interaction.” How? Videos, webinars, case studies, educational article, blogger outreach? Plus, how do you track and analyze to know what’s working and what’s not? Decide what make’s the most sense for your target audience in terms of how they find and consume information. Go find contenders — the apps that will facilitate the functionality you’re seeking. Quickly ascertain the cost per user and if the application will actually will do something useful without getting your bogged down. If it isn’t easy to learn and intuitive to use, toss it fast. Now, make sure whatever you consider as viable at this point will play nice and integrate with the other pieces of your marketing technology stack. Such as, make sure the pop-up call-to-action on your website asking visitors to sign up for your next educational webinar will automatically populate contact information in your chosen email marketing service.

Low-cost marketing stack tools. About now you’re thinking, “Time to get practical, point us in a direction with some examples.” This is risky since your business isn’t like the next. Yet, I do have some favorites I use or my clients have had great success with. The following tools will work as part of a core marketing stack focused on raising awareness, boosting interaction, and driving initial revenue — and not spend a lot of time and money. Customer relationship management: KarmaCRM or Capsule. Video marketing platform: Wistia. Email service provider: MailChimp. Social media dashboard: Buffer or HootSuite. Analytics: Google Anaylytics  or for a more robust tool that will collect customer data wherever it’s generated such as from your website or mobile app and then integrate with a ton third-party tools, Segment. Lastly, for a more complete, inexpensive marketing automation platform that allows you to use still use other core tools of your stack that may be in place, check out ActiveCampaign. There are many, many more I like but you’ve got to cut it off somewhere.

Creating a core marketing technology stack, and using the tools it contains, will improve productivity and the speed of reaching your revenue goals.

Don’t dwell on each element and agonize over your “perfect” marketing technology stack. A stack is not a standalone application, but a set of tools to manage the marketing and selling side of your business. That makes it easy to be an agile marketing organization, replacing the individual tools with new ones that make more sense.

Have you cracked the marketing technology code? Let me know if you try some of the applications recommend above, or share what you’re using now that helps your company to work faster, turn data into actionable insights, and makes it easier for your customers to get what they want and need.

Ron Stein is President of FastPath Marketing (www.marketing-strategies-guide.com) and the author of the Rapid Impact Marketing & Selling Playbook. As a speaker, coach, and consultant he works with small business owners helping them to accelerate the path between their vision and the actions needed to reach, win, and keep customers. Ron is the creator of the FastPath to More Customers Now! 7-step marketing system based on more than twenty years as a successful business owner, corporate CEO, business development executive, and salesman. He is also a mentor at two nationally recognized business accelerators. Ron offers one-on-one and small group mentoring, conducts seminars, and consults. He can be reached at 727-398-1855 or Ron@FastPathMarketing.com.

Business tactics change. Great marketing doesn"t.

5 Last-Minute Marketing Tactics To Drive Holiday Sales With Millennial Moms

My Thanksgiving grocery shopping is finished; my Black Friday list is ready (yes, I confess I am one of the 5 a.m. deal seekers, but I knock out most of my holiday shopping by the time my family has breakfast). And as I made my Black Friday list, I thought about the light-speed approach of the holidays and the last-minute strategies I would offer CMOs for maximizing holiday sales. After all, these next few weeks of holiday shopping comprise about 20% in annual sales, according to the National Retail Federation. 

1. Perk Up Pinterest. 

According to our research, Millennial Moms find products on Facebook but purchase from Pinterest. Make sure you have multiple boards where busy moms can find gift ideas, quick dinner recipes, crafts for the kids, how-to boards or time-saving products. Check for working links to product pages.

2. Review Your Reviews. 

I knew the number was high, but research for my latest book shows that almost 90% of Millennial Moms make a purchase only after reading a product review. I am often surprised by how many brands don’t pay attention to their reviews. My guess is that you’ve spent some of your marketing budget acquiring blogger reviews, but what about on sale sites, Facebook and Instagram? Respond to current reviews if necessary and encourage new ones anywhere your product is sold. On a related note, we don’t recommend paying for reviews. In fact, we strongly advise against it. However, there are plenty of ways to gain authentic reviews. The next time a happy customer contacts you, why not ask them to express their appreciation for your product by leaving a positive review? Sometimes your biggest fans just need to be encouraged to help your marketing cause and all you have to do is ask.

3. Ignite Instagram. 

Millennial Moms are visual shoppers. Engage your customers to post product images. Give them a reason to take photos in your retail locations or with your product in their home. Millennials (and the younger Post generation) love Instagram and an image of a friend using or wearing your product can be seen as an implied review. 

4. Venture Into Video.

Fifteen seconds is all you need and all the time you have with Millennial shoppers. Recognize the power of videos and the ease of posting them on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook videos can run a bit longer, but not by much. Concentrate on consumer-generated how-to and product videos that show the product being used. On the flip side, a majority of moms in our survey told us they also check a company website and will consider corporate product videos as a reliable source.

5. Don’t Exterminate Email.

With the evolution of social media, many marketers have abandoned email campaigns. But our research tells us that emails (mobile-friendly is a must) are still relevant for busy moms. Warning: email is relevant if your content is, too. Moms love an email with a special offer, deals and coupons. Related content like recipes and crafts for family and kids will get more opens. 

It’s not too late to make the most of the spending juggernaut that is Holiday 2015. Happy Thanksgiving!

5 Last-Minute Marketing Tactics To Drive Holiday Sales With Millennial Moms

The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success

The go-to guide to social media skills, now in an updated and revised Third Edition

The Social Media Bible is comprehensive 700-plus page social media resource that will teach corporate, small business, and non-profit marketers strategies for using social media to reach their desired audiences with power messages and efficiency. This newly revised 3rd edition addresses technology updates to the iPad, apps, Foursquare, and other geotargeted networks. New case studies and company profiles provide practical examples of how businesses have successfully implemented these strategies, using the newest social media marketing tools.

• Updates and changes to Google’s search engine algorithms


• More information on plug-ins, widgets, apps, and integration


• Updates on Twitter and Yammer and new information on Google+


• The latest in mobile marketing

Master the latest social media tools and deliver powerful messaging in the most effective way possible with The Social Media Bible.

check out For More Information

The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success

The Best Tactics for Improving Email CTRs

Marketers say creating meaningful call-to-action offers is the best way to increasing email click-through rates (CTRs), according to a recent report from Ascend2.

The report was based on data from a survey of 303 marketing, sales, and business professionals from around the world (68% B2B-focused, 32% B2C).

Some 65% of respondents say crafting a meaningful call-to-action offer is one of the most effective methods they use for increasing CTRs; other popular tactics include list segmentation (47% say it is one of the most effective) and message personalization (42%).

Below, additional key findings from the report.

Most Difficult Tactics

• 41% of respondents say list segmentation is one of the most difficult tactics for improving email CTRs.


• 35% say crafting a meaningful call to action is one of the most difficult tactics.

CTR Trends

• 34% of respondents say their email CTRs are not changing significantly.


• 33% say CTRs are increasing modestly and 22% say they are decreasing modestly.

About the research: The report was based on data from a survey of 303 marketing, sales, and business professionals from around the world (68% B2B-focused, 32% B2C).

Ayaz Nanji is an independent digital strategist and the co-founder of research writer for MarketingProfs. His past experience includes working for Google/YouTube, the Travel Channel, AOL, and the New York Times.

LinkedIn: Ayaz Nanji

Twitter: @ayaznanji

The Best Tactics for Improving Email CTRs

5 SEO Tactics To Kick-Start The New Year

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably already checked out for the year. Clients are out of the office, you’re on vacation, and 2015 contracts have already been signed. There’s nothing left to do but close that computer, put on your slippers, throw a log on the fire, and hibernate until January 2nd.

Or…keep that laptop open, give your site a good scrub, and get a jump-start on your competition going into next year!

After all, they key to a solid SEO strategy is continuous improvement. As a recent article, “you don’t always get your SEO perfect the first time out.” We have to use our learnings and data to adjust our strategies and make the site better.

So, as we head into the New Year and everyone else is busy resting, give your business a leg up by revisiting, revising, and readying your site for 2015.

1. Give The Site A Technical Once Over

When you started your SEO program, you probably got a killer technical audit. You knew the details of every page. You knew where all the errors and redirects were coming from, where all the broken images were, where your site was lagging, and much, much more. And you fixed it.

But what has been done to the site since?

Pages have likely been added or removed, tags modified, images removed. Perhaps URLs changed, the site was redesigned, new sections were added, etc. Do you know where the site stands at this exact moment?

Make sure the site is technically sound going into the New Year by taking these steps:

Use Screaming Frog

Run a Screaming Frog report to identify any existing errors, redirects, duplicate URLs, and/or canonical errors.

You can also make sure you have the correct Google Analytics code on every page. How? Check out this great post from SEER Interactive.

Once you have all your information gathered, you can begin fixing any and all issues.

Check Webmaster Tools

Webmaster Tools is another good place to identify any errors occurring on the site. Aside from the standard 404 errors you might see, you can also check for robots issues, server issues, and sitemap errors.

If you’ve implemented Schema markup or Hreflang tags, Webmaster Tools will also provide information on both of those, showcasing any errors that may be occurring within those tags.

Update Google Analytics Goals

While it (thankfully) doesn’t happen too often, I’ve certainly seen cases in which goal URLs are changed or new forms are added and the proper tracking is not put into place.

One of the nice things Google Analytics (GA) now does is provide information on goal tracking. It will alert you if there are any drastic changes to your goal numbers or if it sees any irregularities within your account.

Make sure to take a look at your GA goals to ensure the URLs are correct, are tracking properly, and you aren’t missing any important information.

As I noted above, use Screaming Frog to ensure GA tracking code is on all pages.

2. Identify A Few Quick Wins

As the year progresses and we focus on our campaigns, it’s easy to get caught up in the big picture and overlook some of the small stuff.

Revisit The Basics

The basics — like title tags, meta descriptions, and ALT text — may not be high up on your list of strategies, but you shouldn’t forget them.

Using your Screaming Frog report, Export the HTML list and take a fresh look at your tagging. Make sure there are no missing titles or descriptions and no duplicate tags, and ensure that your brand is contained in all titles.

You can also export the list of missing ALT tags to identify opportunities for image tagging.

While these things may seem insignificant in themselves, they can go a long way in helping with that big picture we discussed above.

Repurpose Content

One of my favorite things to do at the end of each year is to sit down and evaluate the content from the past 12 months. How did it perform? Which content did the best? How can we use this information going forward?

Another avenue to this is, “What can we repurpose?”

Companies spend thousands and thousands of dollars creating content, only for it be posted and never thought of again. It’s really quite sad.

How To Repurpose Content Without Looking Like A Total Jerk,” that showed how to repurpose both blog content and social updates. I also wrote a post on how to turn old content into new links, which breaks down both the content audit portion and the link building portion.

If you’re interested in repurposing some of that wonderful content you created this year, give them both a read. It’ll give you some easy and valuable content ideas heading into next year.

3. Scope Out Editorial Opportunities

As publications get ready to kick off the year, their editorial calendars are updated and they are already starting to generate their stories. Get a jump on the year by identifying any opportunities for your business or clients.

As I outlined in a past article, editorial calendars are pretty common and can be found through simple site searches, Google searches, or by using a tool like EdCals.

If you’ve found an editorial calendar that isn’t updated or is only partially updated, start tracking it with TrackedContent or ChangeDetection.

Both of these tools will alert you when the content on a selected page is changed, giving you the jump on fresh press opportunities.

 4. Clean Up Your Business Listings 

Did your office move this year? Did you lose or gain any team members? Were there any significant changes that happened within the business? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” it’s important that your online presence reflects those changes.

The first place to start is your contact info. I can’t tell you how many people call the KoMarketing office thinking we are at our address from 9 years ago. Where are they getting that information?!?

As it turns out, tools like Moz Local will actually give me that answer:

See where incomplete, inconsistent, and duplicate listings reside. It even includes your social networks like G+, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Bonus: If you need to update your site, Moz Local will adjust the listings for you, ensuring a consistent presence across the web.

Don’t forget about places like Wikipedia or Crunchbase, where consistently changing information like revenue, employees, and stock prices resides.

We can’t control everything on the web that’s said about us, but we can at least try to control our business information.

5. Perform A Quick Competitive Analysis 

Last but not least, we can’t get a leg up on our competitors without actually looking at them!

While you probably don’t need to go “full-fledged stalker” in your competitive analysis, giving your existing analysis a quick refresh could certainly be beneficial.

Revisit Links 

Using Majestic, Open Site Explorer, Ahrefs, or your other favorite link-checking tool, scan competitor sites to see what new links they’ve acquired recently.

Look at what press mentions they’ve received over the past few months, and identify any potential blogs that also fit your business. Also, take a look to see what their top linked content is.

If you’ve performed a competitive analysis in the past, you likely already have a pretty good idea of what their link building strategy (if any) is, but you may find a few new media targets or influencers to add to your list.

Validate Content Ideas

I’m not a huge fan of looking at a competitor’s site and just stealing their content ideas. I am, however, a huge fan of looking at a competitor’s site, evaluating how their content is performing, and using that data to inform my own content strategy.

With budgets being one of the biggest hurdles to content marketing, understanding where to put those dollars is invaluable.

Use the link data mentioned above to find the top linked pages, or plug your competitor’s site into BuzzSumo to see what their most shared content is. Both of these can provide you with insights into what your audience likes and wants, helping you figure out where you may want to spend your dollars next year.

Identify Strategic Changes 

One of the biggest benefits to a competitive analysis refresh is you get a look inside their strategy going into the next year and a better understanding of where they see the future of the business.

Do they have any “coming soon” or new product pages? Did they rename a product or any part of their company?

These types of things can indicate a fundamental shift in how a competitor views the industry, the market, and their product/service. While this is not something you are necessarily going to use in your own strategy, it can help show you some new places to look.

For example, if a competitor is suddenly calling out HR professionals, that may be an audience you want to look at if you haven’t already. If they are using new terminology to describe the industry or their products, you may want to take a look to see if this impacts you. Check Google Trends and search volume data for any additional information.

Knowing what your competitors are doing can help you better understand the landscape, the target market, and inform your own online marketing strategy.

So before you leave the office or throw on those PJs, think about doing these five small things to help give your business a leg up in 2015. Happy holidays!

Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

Learn to Effectively Integrate Marketing Technology At MarTech: The Marketing Tech Conference, we’ll connect the dots between technical possibilities and strategic opportunities reshaping of modern marketing. Making those connections will be a roster of innovative thinkers and doers ­- industry-defining executives and analysts who will help you understand marketing technology and its impact on your organization. See the agenda!

About The Author

Casie Gillette is the Director of Online Marketing at KoMarketing Associates, a B2B Internet marketing firm based in Boston, MA. She has been in the search industry for eight years and loves all things Internet-related.

(Some images used under license from Shutterstock.com.)

5 SEO Tactics To Kick-Start The New Year