Top 5 Marketing Blog Posts. By Mary Swick

It's all starting to set in: The autumn rush is here. The coronavirus crisis isn't backing down. Your business strategy for the last few months of the year is waiting.

The truth is, with so much going on, it can be hard to find a moment to review the latest industry trends. I know how you feel! But in my day-to-day, I always try to reserve a few minutes to read even just 1 blog post or LinkedIn article that catches my eye. 

To get you started, I've compiled this month's top 5 Marketing blog posts from across the web.

1. Webinars

Top 5 Problems in Taking Events Virtual

So, you've rightfully jumped on the webinar bandwagon as a way to pivot from in-person events. Well done! I can personally attest that webinars are a wonderful - and cost-effective - way to develop deep relationships with leads, personalize and direct the conversation, and rapidly advance your sales funnel. 

But in reality, implementing virtual webinars into your strategy isn't always as easy as it sounds. We all know that everybody else is also hosting webinars, and you need to find a way to reach the right people and make your event stand out. In my first recommended blog post, discover 5 problems with going virtual and how to resolve them:

1. Plain and simple, we can't really go anywhere and we need to adapt to this requirement.
2. Your webinar isn't getting any attention and you need to bulk up attendees. 
3. More!

Read the full post from Trust Insights. 

2. Content Marketing

These Content Marketing Rules Are Made to Be Broken

In my role as Copywriter and Content Marketer for the past 10 years, I've learned some go-to industry tricks and strategies that I tend to rely on across clients and accounts. While that is great and provides a stable foundation, many of us content professionals fixate on the "must-dos" of the sector. However, at the very core of content is imagination, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking! 

In line with this, a new group of experts has come forward to share their thoughts on ways to break the mold, bend the rules, and get the most creativity out of your content strategy. They suggest things like:

• Explore new technologies and audiences instead of sticking with what has traditionally always worked. 
• Stop copying your competition or following the same template as others in your industry. Be bold and shake things up, and you just might reap the rewards. 
• Don't try to be absolutely everywhere your customers are online. It's a waste of time and you must be more strategic in your targeting. 

The idea is to get Businesspeople and Marketers alike to challenge the same old ideas and really get us thinking about creative ways to experiment with our content. I know I benefited greatly from their advice as a Copywriter and Content Manager. 

Read the full post by Content Marketing Institute

3. Email Marketing

15 effective re-engagement email examples you’ll want to steal in 2021

I know that during the long summer break, and now the business of autumn, I lost track of a lot of services I had intended to purchase. There are millions of users just like me, who are still interested in your offers and simply need to be re-engaged with your autumn campaigns. 

And what's better for doing this than email? If you've got leads that have inevitably gotten distracted or busy these past few months, but you're eager not to lose out on potentially valuable leads, discover 15 email strategies and examples from IMPACT, including:

• Your fall campaigns are bound to be visually captivating. Play up all things visual in your email header and use minimal copy. 
• Remind the user of specific perks and features of your products/services.
• Use time as a motivational factor to create a sense of urgency. 
• Include a discount or incentive to check out your new fall promotions, with an easy button to redeem the offer. 

Read the full post from IMPACT. 

4. Paid Media

How To Leverage LinkedIn Name Pronunciation for Sales Prospecting

If you're a business professional or run a B2B business, you're probably already using LinkedIn. I mean, 89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for lead generation and 94% use LinkedIn for content marketing. With those numbers, something good must be happening! I loved LinkedIn for its sector-specific material, high-brow content, and easy networking among peers. 

And now, LinkedIn has come up with a great new idea using their name pronunciation feature for your Marketing and Sales strategy. Basically, you can record a 10-second Marketing or Sales message to target the people who visit your company profile. It's a creative way to send a short, personalized pitch to profile viewers and is certainly unique! View 3 use cases of how businesses have successfully employed this new LinkedIn feature. 

Read the full post by Vengreso.

5. Lead Generation

10 Insights to Improve Conversion and Lead Generation for B2B Landing Pages

Are you one of the 44% of B2B businesses that directs users to their homepage instead of a landing page? Don't worry, we can fix this! If you're not already using landing pages (LPs, as I call them), you need to start today. If you're using landing pages, but you structure them all the same way regardless of Buyer Persona, campaign, etc., this next blog recommendation is for you! 

You'll learn the differences between B2C and B2B landing pages, universal best practices for all of your LPs, and the top 10 insights for increasing conversion and lead generation on your landings. mbudo's suggestions really make you think:

• Could a video work better than text + images for this campaign? 
• Should I have more than one CTA to target people who aren't ready to convert right now?
• Am I actually providing the benefits of my solution, or am I only listing off boring features?

Read the full post from mbudo.

Extra: Strategy

What is Customer Experience (And Why You Need to Prioritize It)

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Customer experience and perception is everything! Like me, most people remember more clearly the bad experiences they've had with businesses and brands than the good experiences...

The experiences your customers have when they interact with your business will 100% impact your business in some way - whether through your reputation, engagement, sales numbers, etc. Customer experience is crucial to your success, and you need to make it a part of your company's foundation and strategy. Although Customer Experience is hard to define, this post by Digital Marketer show us:

• Customer experience examples and elements
• How it can affect your business and competition 
• It's effect on the SEO of your content
• How it can impact your company's bottom line

Read the full post by Digital Marketer. 

Now is the time when you can really put the pedal to the metal in terms of your business strategy. I hope these blog posts keep you tuned into the latest trends, so you can reorient your strategy for the remainder of 2020. For any Marketing consultation you may have, get in touch with me at mbudo.