Social media is important in today’s world and is also playing an important role in pre-launch publicity. If any organization can create a presence of their app before it is launched, then they can increase interest and initial users will be generated. The most important thing to be considered before your app launches, is to get your audience to sign up to be notified when your app launches, and for this you must create a social media account at first. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/7-ways-to-launch-your-app-on-social-media-with-a-bang-01328719

Mobile apps are becoming very crucial for any business. Big brands are making a huge investment in mobile apps as a part of business strategy. Once you have launched your mobile app, you should track ad acquisition channels, you should know how users are behaving in-app and what features they’re interacting with, engage and re-engage customers at every step of the user lifecycle, and grow app user loyalty. But, the starting point of making any app should go back to RFP i.e. request for proposal. The RFP is important in choosing a mobile analytics and marketing solution.  Bryn Adler (Content Marketing Manager) in her article writes about the key points which should be included in RFP. Your RFP should include: Acquisition tracking, Analytics & reporting capabilities, marketing & messaging features, Data organization, and Predictive Analysis. To know more, follow: http://www.business2community.com/marketing/5-key-components-of-a-solid-mobile-marketing-rfp-01328182

Email was invented four decades ago and it is still the most popular communication technologies. A Reuter’s poll conducted in 2012 showed that nearly 85% of people around the world use email to stay connected as compared to 62% that connect on social media. Nowadays, more than 71% of marketers use email as a medium to connect with customers and email marketing tools make it easy to set up a newsletter campaign. Marketers must understand why spam filters behave the way they do & is crucial in strategizing email marketing techniques. To know more about email marketing techniques, follow:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/it-small-business/understanding-the-technology-behind-email-marketing-69797

Marketers nowadays want more audience segmentation and have more data at their end. But, they are forgetting to connect with real people. This can be done by delivering the message to the particular person in a timely manner. So, marketers need to use technology in the right manner. Columnist James Green in his article link, explains why marketers need technology which can help them to connect with more individuals at a personal level. Read more at:  http://marketingland.com/human-side-data-opportunities-marketers-141168

Marketers must focus on demand generation to increase revenue. This will in turn lead to more sales. Demand generation can re position your product or service. Shannon Prager (a valued contributor to Business 2 Community) writes in her article about some points that will help in demand generation. They are: Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Retargeting, Marketing Automation and Personalizing Message. To know more, follow:  http://www.business2community.com/strategy/5-components-of-a-successful-demand-generation-strategy-01318399

Content marketing is in in the marketing world, but, custom content is making headlines nowadays. According to a recent research, it was found that 78% of chief marketing officers see custom content as the future of marketing. Custom content will give local businesses the kind of reach and engagement they need. On the other hand, native advertising is making headlines nowadays. Native advertising is the pay-to-play way to get custom content to your target audience. Columnist Will Scott writes in his article about three reasons why native advertising can put custom content to good use. To know more, follow: http://marketingland.com/powerful-new-tool-local-business-toolbox-content-marketing-going-native-advertising-140694

Retailers must capitalize on how their customers discover them. According to a research, it was found that digital interactions are expected to influence 64 cents of every dollar spent in retail stores by the end of 2015. Online-to-offline commerce, or O2O, refers to a business model that utilizes online marketing efforts that affect a shopper’s interaction with a physical store. Retailers must incorporate an O2O strategy to measure their effectiveness. There are different O2O models according to columnist Adam Weiss. They are: Printable & Mobile Coupons, Local Offers, Card-Linked Offers, Location-Based Rewards and CRM matching. Read more at: http://marketingland.com/capitalizing-digital-trail-offline-purchase-2-141008

According to a research, it was found that, personalized marketing has an influence over 59 % of shoppers, with one-third of consumers indicating a preference for customization in the content offered to them. CRM solution contains significant data for creating a targeted experience for customers. They are: Audience Segmentation, Email Personalization, Post-Sales Customized Messaging, One-on-One Communication, and Relevant Up-sells and Cross-Sales. Read more at:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-ways-to-use-crm-applications-to-spice-up-your-sales-69746

Columnist Rebecca Lieb, writes in her article about some content marketing trends. The first trend is about content strategy and user experience. Second trend is all about machine generated content. The third trend is about contextual content. The fourth one is about paid search, native advertising, recommendation engines, asking users to share, paid promotion on social networks and last but not the least is the ad Spend vs. content investment. Read more at: http://marketingland.com/5-content-trends-watch-140102

85% of millennials have been disappointed by a company’s service and support in the past year, and nearly 50% of those respondents have had a disappointing experience in the past 30 days, according to a new survey of over 1,000 millennials. So, it’s time for companies to look beyond stereotypes, and start to learn more about how millennials prefer to communicate with brands. Jason Wesbecher (CMO of Mattersight), writes in his article about what millennials expect from customer service. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/lost-connection-millennials-left-wanting-customer-service-01315504

In any online marketing, detailed reporting is vital. It tells us about the work being done. A simple reporting should take no more than 25% of your hours. Columnist Matt Umbro, in his article link, discusses about some ways to minimize time spent on reporting and making it efficient. He tells us about some techniques for better reporting efficiency. They are: Determine what’s necessary; Automate what you can; and have an honest conversation with your client. Read more at: http://marketingland.com/25-rule-reporting-matters-139230

Nowadays, businesses take advantage of the various avenues of digital social networking promotions, but the challenge is to find a mobile marketing strategy. A research from Forrester found that 84% of consumers use their smartphones while in a store to go online — more than in any other location, and therefore retail and mall developer marketers have an opportunity to influence in-mall purchases through targeted mobile engagement. Integration is the key. Columnist Allan Haims, tells us in his article about how to centralize the efforts. Read more at: http://marketingland.com/retail-marketing-strategies-connecting-dots-139673

Nowadays, marketers have mobile strategy for ad landing page and there are three accepted methods to make web pages work on mobile devices.  They are: responsive design, dynamic serving and maintaining separate mobile URLs. Of these three, in responsive design, mobile and desktop visitors view the exact same URL. Columnist Abraham Nord, writes in his article about the advantages & disadvantages of responsive design. The advantages are: 1. Multi-Device User Experience; 2. sharing & saving; 3. Page Management; and 4. Conversion Rate Optimization. Read more at: http://searchengineland.com/pros-cons-responsive-landing-pages-sem-228991

Account based marketing or ABM is the solution to the marketing challenges faced by B2B companies. ABM can target 500 or 5000 accounts at a time. One of the advantages of ABM is that it helps marketing and sales teams are on the same page, thereby, sales and marketing teams share the same goals and the same metrics for measuring progress. Author, Peter Isaacson, in his article link tells us about some key components which are important while implementing ABM. Read more at: http://marketingland.com/account-based-marketing-back-basics-137446

Retailers started using analytics to manage their stores and warehouses. They then started using analytics for planning local events and competitor's promotions and campaigns. Through point of sale, they understood individual customers. The only problem they faced was this data was known and analyzed post-sales. Now with mobile commerce, retailers collect and analyze data embedded in mobile devices. So, the challenge shifted from how to collect data, to how to get the user's permission and approval to collect and use the data.  Read more at:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/mobile-applications-businesses/mobile-commerce-strategies-contextually-relevant-opportunities-moments-and-environments-69652

Visual marketing has become important in today’s business world. It is found that the average consumer prefers visual content compared to word-based interactions. Forbes Insight reports that nearly 60% of senior executives prefer to watch video instead of reading text, if both are available on the same page. But, visual marketing is more than giving consumers what they want and can be a huge asset for marketers who want a sharing response from consumers. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/the-power-of-imagery-in-content-marketing-01310162

Predictive Intelligence is becoming a trend in today’s world. But, we need to know what predictive intelligence is all about. It is a method of delivering experiences unique to each individual. It also enables marketers to observe customer behavior, and build customer preferences. This information is then used across any web-based channel like the web, email, mobile or even a call center. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/salesforce/what-is-predictive-intelligence-and-why-should-every-marketer-care-01312444

Marketers are facing challenges in leveraging data to deliver relevant and personalized ads, messages and customer experiences. Most digital marketers relied on third-party data to reach prospective customers. Third-party data have been an easy way to reach a large section of consumers. But in today’s environment, it’s no longer enough. Instead, first-party data has become important for a majority of marketers. Columnist Mike Sands in his article writes that there are three main categories of data currently available to marketers: First-Party Data (any data created by a brand’s direct interactions with customers). Second-Party Data, and Third-Party Data.  But, what makes first-party data important, why are marketers prioritizing it over third-party data, and how can it help them achieve more effective people-based marketing? Read on: http://marketingland.com/can-marketers-find-best-customer-data-noses-139308

Landing pages help any business in taking inbound marketing steps which in turn helps in increased conversions. It is better when paired with good campaigns via paid search and social advertising. Rose de Fremery (founder of lowercase d consulting) writes in her blog about some ways to create a convincing landing page. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/thinking-of-setting-up-landing-pages-here-are-5-things-you-should-know-first-69632

There is a myth that online selling means competing on price. But, this is not true. The truth is that every purchase decision comes down to a perceived risk. The online retailers focus only on justifying consumer doubts while tempting shoppers with additional discounts. Sometimes that means low prices and discounts. Columnist David Rekuc writes in his article about some ways one can lower your customers’ perceived risk. They are: Reduce Risk; Offer a free trial; Establish credibility with third-party endorsements; and seek out in-depth, transparent product reviews. Read more at: http://marketingland.com/biggest-myth-online-retail-137618