So, here's what we're thinking...

Recently, I Googled, “What is a brand.” I do this periodically to see the opinions on branding that are floating around the Internet at any given time. This answer popped up: “A brand is an intangible marketing or business concept that helps people identify a company, product, or individual. People often confuse brands with things like logos, slogans, or other recognizable marks, which are marketing tools that help promote goods and services.” We can thank the smart folks at Investopedia for that pithy definition.  

These days, most markets are absolutely saturated with options. This makes it difficult for brands to stand out from their competitors, and for consumers to make the right decision about which products and services are best suited for their needs. One action you can take to solidify your company’s place in the minds of your target audience is to create a brand positioning statement that describes exactly what it is that makes you different. 

You might have heard marketing professionals talk about brand persona and how important it is to successful marketing – about aligning your persona with your mission and leveraging your brand differentiation. While you may be familiar with brand personas if you’re steeped in the inbound marketing process, those who aren’t may not be. Let’s take a minute to break this jargon down so we’re all on the same page.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about product branding, and how brand loyalties once formed can evolve, or worse, disappear over time. While my professional expertise is in the area of “branding,” this topic is not merely academic for me. I truly love brands and buy the brands I love.

It’s been a long time since we’ve discussed Twitter marketing, and boy, has a lot happened to the platform since then. Truthfully, we’ve noticed engagement falling off within various industries for a while. It takes the right content and some hard work to get users to see your tweets, much less interact with them, nowadays. On top of that, the platform makes headlines almost daily. What’s inciting all of this “newsworthy” drama?

As modern marketers, we love to hype up digital advertising. Running ads on some of the world’s biggest platforms, such as Google, is a no-brainer because the prices are reasonable, and the reach is awesome. You may have already read about Search Ads in our other blogs, but that is just one campaign style of many found within Google. 

If you’re ready to enter the world of digital advertising, Google is a great place to start. After all, it is the most popular search engine on the planet. Advertising on this platform gives you access to the millions of people around the world that make up Google’s audience. If that sounds good to you, the first step is to choose between a Google Display Ad or a Google Search Ad. This blog will give you some insight on Google Search Ads specifically, and why they might be a good choice for you.

In many ways, your email list is your greatest asset. Email is consistently ranked number one among marketing activities with a whopping 2,900% ROI. Whether you're a B2C business sending transactional emails or a B2B business guiding leads and prospects through the buyer's journey with nurturing campaigns, email is where the rubber meets the road. But running a successful email marketing campaign takes planning and knowledge of how to maximize your engagement.

There’s a reason why talk about marketing and sales team alignment is all the rage right now. It’s the basis of so many important and emergent marketing and sales trends – the move from lead gen to demand gen, the shift to RevOps from siloed ops, selling to a committee vs. an individual with account-based marketing (ABM), and making a move towards asynchronous selling.

While there are many upsides to this alignment, there are just as many obstacles facing teams as they try to get on the same page. Read on to break down the top five challenges facing marketing and sales teams as they try to align, as well as a few solutions for making team alignment a reality.

You don’t need to be told this, especially because you are currently reading a blog on an electronic device, but we are living in a digital world! When it comes to marketing and advertising, your messages are best received when you meet people where they’re at. These days, they are undoubtedly online. We’re not saying burn all print publications, turn off your radios, and get rid of your TV. However, when it comes to advertising, if you want to get the most bang for your buck, the digital space is the place to go. If you haven’t thought beyond traditional media yet, now is the time to add some new types of ads to your repertoire.