You need to understand: Drake Morton

Managing Data For Sales Conversion

by Tim Altier, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011
There’s no shortage of data — it’s proven data conversion that is in short supply.

As a data analytics professional, every day I’m faced with finding the ways to make customer data pay dividends with increased sales and improved customer engagement. And I know lots of people who are interested in the same thing but don’t know where to start.

Maybe it’s counterintuitive, but the better the data management, the better the emotional connection with the customer.  A data dive into a customer’s history, purchase habits and channel preferences is like a treasure-trove that can be utilized to enhance the connection with the customer.  And the beauty of that enhancement is that you’re building a foundation for future purchases and even brand advocacy.
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Need to Read: Drake Morton

Attention, Not Permission, Makes Email Strategic

Communications Asset

by Mike May, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011

We refer to email as a permission-based channel, but permission is not really the objective of an email program. It’s the cost of doing business, to be sure. Before anything else, you need to have earned the right to reach out to a customer or prospect through email.
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Good Read: Drake Morton

Google Gets Touchier

by Derek Gordon , Monday, Dec. 12, 2011

Google’s found new ways to bring advertising to your fingertips.  And it’s being pretty clever about it.

First, the clever part: Google formally unveiled its new Flipboard competitor called Currents last week.  The sparkly new news aggregation tool doesn’t quite look as good as Flipboard, nor is it as good at leveraging a reader’s social graph, but it does one thing most of the other “magazines” of this kind don’t: it offers an impressive array of full-text stories, thanks to an agreement with more than 150 publications.

You can choose content you want to subscribe to after downloading the app to your iPhone, iPad or Android device; you can also get content via RSS, Google+ feeds, Google Reader feeds, and video and photo feeds. One very cool thing it does: automatically sync all your subscribed content, so you can read it when you’re offline.
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You should read: Drake Morton

by Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter

Social Media Marketing: Cleveland Indian Cater to

Influencers to Increase Sales 174%

SUMMARY: Finding your online influencers and nurturing them into brand ambassadors is more than a “wouldn’t that be nice” kind of theory. This marketing team stepped up to the plate and worked with influencers to increase its social media audience and revenue more than 170%.

See how the Cleveland Indians knocked it out of the park by catering to bloggers, Tweeters, and other influential fans. This case study describes how the team created and monetized the program, and it’s a great example of how to cater to heavy users of social media.

CHALLENGE

In Fall 2009, the Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball team was finishing the second of two consecutive losing seasons, and the economy was in a slump, as well. The Indians’ marketing team needed to rally fans and thought social media marketing could help.
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Very Good Read: Drake Morton

Seven Lessons From Steve Jobs

For Search Marketers

by Aaron Goldman , Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011

I just finished Walter Isaacson’s epic Steve Jobs biography. Beyond being a captivating (and surprisingly quick, considering its 571 pages) read about the life and times of one of the most influential and controversial people in technology, the book imparts some important lessons for search marketers.

1. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. This was the tagline that adorned the first Apple II brochure in 1977 and became a mantra that stuck. “The main thing is that we have to make things intuitively obvious,” Jobs said in discussing his design philosophy. Much of this approach was rooted in his Zen Buddhist training and Bauhaus influence. I see the results firsthand each time my three-year-old daughter swipes to open our iPad, pulls up the Netflix app and finds a Curious George video to watch instantly.

For search marketers, it’s easy to get lost in the complexity of data analysis and campaign management — but sometimes, you have to step back and focus on the basics like creating a compelling call-to-action in your ad copy. Tell people what you want them to do. And clearly state why they should do it.
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