The latest article on HubSpot blog is titled “The Power of Marketing Personalization in President Obama’s Re-Election”.Steve Hall says, “Content is king, right? Everybody says that, so it must be true … right? Well, to a certain degree, it is. But content on its own is worthless unless it’s high quality, relevant, personalized, and delivered in context.During the 2008 presidential election, content played an important role in electing Barack Obama. Four years later, content played an even more important role: With inbound marketing strategies applied, that... [...]

The latest post on ‘ReadWrite’ is titled “Google Gets Set To Babble — Maybe — In A Bid To Eclipse iMessage”.Nick Statt says, “Google reportedly plans to roll up all of its texting/calling/video services — that would include Talk, Chat, Voice, and Hangout — into one platform called Babble, multiple unnamed sources are telling Geek.com.The same sources also claim Google will unveil the service at Google I/O this May, but didn’t provide a concrete launch date. When I asked Google to babble about Babble, a PR representative primly responded that the company doesn’t... [...]

The latest post on ‘Mashable’ is titled “Facebook’s Lookalike Audiences Lets Advertisers Expand Targeting”.Todd Wasserman says, “Facebook on Tuesday offered advertisers another tool to target consumers on the platform with Lookalike Audiences, a feature that lets them reach users similar to those in their Custom Audience databases.Launched in late 2012, Custom Audiences lets marketers use existing data like email addresses, phone numbers and user IDs to inform their Facebook strategy. As the name implies, Lookalike Audiences is a tool that alerts advertisers to similar... [...]

ExactTarget has released a free guide titled “A Marketer’s Guide to Cross-Channel RFP Success”.The ExactTarget team says, “Selecting a partner for your cross-channel marketing needs can be a daunting task. As the industry moves at warp-speed and technology platforms all begin to look alike, it is more important than ever to cut through the clutter and identify what truly differentiates one vendor from another in their ability to deliver long-term cross-channel success.In this guide you’ll find:A step-by-step guide to the RFP processKey scenarios to consider during your... [...]

HubSpot has released the ‘Blog Editorial Calendar’ template.The HubSpot team says, “Blogging is critical for attracting visitors and leads to your website.When you’re generating topic ideas, targeting your content, and optimizing for search, your blogging should never be slowed down due to a lack of organization or preparation.That’s where this free Excel template can assist.This blog editorial template is designed to keep you on track as you develop awesome content that your prospects, customers and readers will love.Use this template to:Keep your content... [...]

The latest post on ‘Mashable’ is titled “Google Adds Search Filter for GIFs, Transparent Images”.Neha Prakash says, “It’s become common practice for the Internet to express its feelings through animated GIFs, however it’s not always easy to locate the perfect situation-worthy GIF.Google is easing the woes of GIF addicts with a filters that will make it easier to narrow down searches specifically for animated images and transparent images”. Google Adds Search Filter for GIFs, Transparent Images Mashable.com [...]

The latest article on Business Insider is titled “Here’s What Furious Sellers Are Saying About Amazon’s New Fees”.Dominic Green says, “Amazon, the most publicly respected corporation in the U.S., is generating some hate mail.The e-commerce giant has been hiking fees for its third-party sellers over the past year-and-a-half, according to a Reuters report. Amazon takes a cut of every sale made on its site; these fees are used to cover “handling logistics.”Now, with third-party sales comprising almost 40 percent of total Amazon unit sales (and nine... [...]

The latest article on ‘Business 2 Community’ is titled “5 Elements of a Smokin’ Hot Pinterest Marketing Strategy”.Genia Stevens says, “Pinterest has quickly become one of the best ways to market your products and services through referrals from individuals who have a genuine interest in what you have to offer. Marketers understand that buyers are more likely to purchase products or services that their peers are using.  If you’re not “pinning” your products or services – or allowing your customers the ability to quickly and easily pin them – then you are missing... [...]

The latest post on ‘ReadWrite’ is titled “8 Hard-Earned Innovation Tips For Startups”.Scott Gerber says, “Tech startups need to innovate in order to survive, much less grow and thrive. But when there’s so much else to do, from fixing bugs to business development to sales and customer support, how do you fit innovation in?Just as important, how do you figure out which innovations are actually worth pursuing?We asked eight successful entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) how they incorporate innovation, formally or informally, into their startups, and... [...]

The latest article on HubSpot blog is titled “20 Critical Do’s and Don’ts for Clickable Calls-to-Action [SlideShare]”.Jessica Meher says, “Calls-to-action (CTAs) are one of the most critical inbound marketing tools. Whether they take the form of anchor text links, images, or buttons, CTAs are what motivate and direct your visitors to take a desired action, usually on a landing page. This could mean anything from registering for an event, downloading content and converting into leads, or encouraging prospects to move further down your marketing funnel toward sales-readiness”.... [...]