Go With Your Gut: When You Can Ignore the Algorithms

A Harvard Business Review case study recently posed a provocative question: when should humans listen to algorithms vs. when should they trust their own experience and intuition? For this case study, the issue related to which of two employees to choose for a promotion. But, given the widespread applications for the use of big data and the power of predictive analytics, the question could be applied to any field or area of business practice—including content marketing.

When should content marketers listen to the algorithms instead of relying on their own instincts, which have been finely honed over time? Continue reading “Go With Your Gut: When You Can Ignore the Algorithms”

What Your Marketing Metrics May, or May Not, be Telling You

Marketing has long been faced with a perception that its results are difficult to accurately measure. Consequently, many business leaders are skeptical of investing money into marketing efforts, because they aren’t convinced they can tie the dollars they put into marketing to their bottom line. When it comes to online marketing, in particular, a lot of metrics have been developed to help evaluate the effectiveness of marketing efforts in the absence of the ability to measure a concrete ROI.

But, not all metrics are created equal, and not all make sense. Continue reading “What Your Marketing Metrics May, or May Not, be Telling You”

In-depth SEO Analysis Supports Taking the Time to Do it Right

Recently Entrepreneur writer Nina Zipkin covered a fascinating infographic put together by The Website Group, a U.K. – based digital marketing agency, Ahrefs, an SEO tool platform. The infographic looks at data collected and analyzed by Ahrefs based on two million random keywords. By looking at the top ten ranking pages for each of those keywords, they pulled together some great insights on how long it takes to get to that coveted top-ten spot. Continue reading “In-depth SEO Analysis Supports Taking the Time to Do it Right”

Navigating the Complexity of SEO: Some Simple Tips

Search Engine Optimization, or “SEO,” is a frequently used and important tool in online marketing. Yet to many it’s an unfamiliar and intimidating concept that they may naturally shy away from. Fear of the unknown is understandable, but SEO is something that can’t be ignored if you want your online efforts to pay off. And, it’s really not as complex as the terminology might suggest. Continue reading “Navigating the Complexity of SEO: Some Simple Tips”

The Proof is in the Metrics: If You’re Using the Right Ones!

marketing analyticsToday, virtually every business has a webpage, sometimes multiple pages. Not to mention social media accounts. But, while getting your name and your brand online is a crucial first step for raising awareness and preference for what you have to offer, it’s just one piece of the marketing puzzle. To be truly effective, you need to develop a process and method of tracking how effective your online marketing actually is. Continue reading “The Proof is in the Metrics: If You’re Using the Right Ones!”

Social Media Metrics: Are You Focused on the Right Data?

pen, magnifying glass and the working paper with a diagram

The modern marketing strategy just isn’t complete if it doesn’t include a social media element. As we’ve discussed in a previous blog post, tools like Google Analytics are great for tracking your social media activity and its impacts on your business. While we encourage social media marketers to read that blog and the background information linked within, it’s also important to discuss some of the misconceptions many businesses have about all the social media data they are collecting. Some might focus on information that isn’t particularly helpful, while others might be disregarding, or missing entirely, key metrics. Continue reading “Social Media Metrics: Are You Focused on the Right Data?”

Mastering Data Analytics in a Data-Rich Marketing World

Big data is the concept of tapping into the massive amounts of data collected every day on millions and millions of people conducting countless transactions around the world. The idea is that there is so much data available, you can not only draw conclusions about the characteristics of a market, but also draw correlation between those characteristics and purchasing behavior, and also determine causation, and also predict what they will do next. Powerful stuff. Continue reading “Mastering Data Analytics in a Data-Rich Marketing World”

Are You Creating, or Removing, Barriers for People to Buy Your Product/Service?

Sometimes I think the most simple thing that we can do as businesspeople and marketers is to “put ourselves in the shoes” – literally – of our prospects and customers. Are we making it easy to buy? Or are we setting up unintentional barriers, however “slight,” that may interfere with – or obliterate – the purchasing process? Continue reading “Are You Creating, or Removing, Barriers for People to Buy Your Product/Service?”

Methods of Measurement: Don’t Cop Out When It Comes to Measuring Communication Impact

It’s hard to imagine which position would be worse: the small business owner agonizing about the wisdom of spending money on a new marketing campaign with seemingly vague and uncertain results, or the marketing manager struggling to find a way to demonstrate the financial value of her efforts to her boss. Marketing has traditionally been notorious as an expense for which the ROI is hard to measure. And according to a McKinsey & Company study on marketing measurement, Continue reading “Methods of Measurement: Don’t Cop Out When It Comes to Measuring Communication Impact”

Misconceptions about Social Media Data

The modern marketing strategy just isn’t complete if it doesn’t include a social media element. As we’ve discussed in a previous blog post, tools like Google Analytics are great for tracking your social media activity and its impacts on your business. While we encourage social media marketers to read that blog and the background information linked within, it’s also important to discuss some of the misconceptions many businesses have about all the social media data they are collecting. Some might focus on information that isn’t particularly helpful, while others might be disregarding or missing entirely key metrics. Continue reading “Misconceptions about Social Media Data”