Email marketing is a simple, cost-effective tool which helps build ongoing, interactive dialogues with your customers. Social media marketing is quickly becoming the easiest way to reach a large audience including your customers. What happens if the two are combined? Microsoft, Google and even possibly Facebook have plans to integrate email and social media. If they are successful, the consumer’s view of email and social media will become vastly integrated. As email marketers, it is important to prepare for this shift by developing an integrated strategy for both channels now. In his article, Integrating E-mail and Social Marketing: Do’s and Don’ts, Simms Jenkins, highlights four points to consider when merging these email and social media:

• Don’t Be the Cut-and-Paste Social Marketer
• Do Share Content and Value
• Do Open a New Door if Another One Closes
• Do Build Lists Strategically

Get ready for your viral marketing programs to become significantly more influential.

Just getting started with LinkedIn? Download Hubspot’s free ebook How to Use Linked In for Business. This guide has everything you need to know, from building and optimizing your personal profile, to starting and managing a LinkedIn group to using LinkedIn for lead generation. And don’t forget to connect your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. It is easy to do and will ensure your content gets viewed.  And don’t forget to connect ; your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. It is easy to do and will ensure your content gets viewed.

A landing page is any page on a website where traffic is sent specifically to respond to a call to action or prompt a result. When you send your audience to a landing page, you get direct response, you’re in control, and you get information. The landing page is one of the least understood practices of internet marketing. Many businesses do not realize the power that lies behind a thoughtfully crafted landing page.  Inside the Mind of a Landing Page gives you some useful insight into the value of creating a well-designed landing page.

It’s no secret…We depend on voices of authority for guidance before buying practically anything, and today’s consumers have a wealth of information and choices available at their fingertips. To help buyers make the leap from curious browsers to loyal customers, here’s what they want to know:

• You represent a trusted brand
• You are a knowledgeable advisor and a go-to source of information
• You have your customers best interests at heart

Case Study:

Bell Rock Growers is the pet industry’s pioneer grower and supplier of green nutrition products. The company was the first to distribute live wheat grass to pet stores nationally. Along the way, they realized there was a serious information gap with pet owners.  Many considered wheat grass to be a fun novelty item, but didn’t fully understand the health benefits of including it in their pets’ diets.

To help educate retailers and customers and support sales, Bell Rock Growers worked with Parallel Interactive to develop and market an eBook on the benefits of wheat grass for pets. Key messages from the eBook on the power of green nutrition are also included in their website, ads, press releases, media interviews, trade show booth, store displays, product catalogs, and packaging.   To date, the eBook has received over eleven thousand downloads from Bell Rock Growers’ website, coverage in national trade and consumer magazines and is used as a selling tool with online dealers.

Bell Rock Growers’ marquee product, Live Pet Grass®, has become a leading cat SKU (stock-keeping unit) with major retailers.  They’ve since extended the Pet Greens® products to include a popular line of dog and cat treats and an earth-friendly therapeutic grooming line, all made with nutrient-rich wheat grass.

Want to learn more about the value of thought leadership? Check out the following articles: Why Thought Leadership is Your Most Valuable Asset and Do’s and Don’ts of Thought Leadership Building

Are you ready for the Mobile Marketing avalanche? You may think you have plenty of time but mobile marketing has already arrived… and is accelerating at a faster and faster rate. The time to initiate the ground work for a successful mobile marketing strategy is now.  

Allen Moon, with  Internet Marketing Center, suggests 6 Mobile Musts for Your Online Business. This article is a great starting point to help you get prepared for the coming mobile media storm.