Baer says, “Did you know Convince & Convert‘s content plan includes publishing 8 to 10 blog postsevery single week?I’ll speak for the rest of us: holy moly!For a team of only 3 people involved in the content planning process at Convince & Convert, that’s a massive amount of content that they:ReviewOptimize for keywordsCreate graphics forEditShare with social media and email”.How to Rock an Awesome Content PlanJay Baer’s ‘Convince & Convert’ Blog [...]

Baer says, “How do you know if your campaign is really working? It’s the age-old question of advertising, and it was the question that digital was supposed to solve. Determining whether your ad drove conversions was supposed to be as simple as checking the number of clicks on your ad. Alas, while click-based metrics have made for a big step forward from offline marketing, for many campaigns, tracking clicks isn’t enough.Rather than thinking of click-throughs as the beginning and end of ROI measurements,marketers could benefit from thinking of campaign metrics like a target—a series... [...]

Baer says, “You’ve got a great design, and your site exudes professionalism. That’s a great start. But trust me—it’s not enough.Many websites are making a great presentation, but they’re missing out on a critical factor to convert more visitors into customers: engagement.Engagement is getting your visitors to actually do something while on your site. Engagement helps your visitors commit to moving forward—with a sale.An Engaging RedesignI’ve been thinking a lot about engagement recently, particularly after having a discussion with the Chief Conversion Officer at Super Fast... [...]

Baer says, “Marketing has been the custodian of digital communities since the arrival of social media over ten years ago. But is marketing really the right place for it? It turns out that just about anyone else in your organization might do a better job at convincing consumer to become customers via social media (highlight to tweet).Seem too unbelievable to be true? Consider how these other departments and functions might add more value before you decide.Insider InformationWhat I call today’s “social consumers“ are doing more than just purchasing from a company; they are building... [...]

Baer says, “You’ve been working for a year or more, and the big day is here at last. Your product is finally ready to launch. Now’s the time to kick off your online marketing campaign and watch the customers roll in. You set up your hashtags, update your Facebook page, and get the message out to anyone who’ll listen. And then—nothing.What did you do wrong?The problem is that you started to market too late. You need to build online buzz well in advance of your actual product launch (highlight to tweet). Create up-front excitement, and you’ll have customers queuing up. Wait until... [...]

Baer says, “Joel Comm is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and consultant. He and Dave Taylor just co-wrote “twitter power 3.0,” the latest edition of his book first written in 2009. Joel has always been fascinated by computers and the internet, starting with his first TRS-80 Model 1 in 1980. In 1995, he started one of the first 18,000 websites in the world.As such an early adopter, Joel learned very early on that social interaction online is fun, and you can meet some very smart, cool people. But he also found that yes, trolls existed online even 35 years ago, and it was never a... [...]

Barry Feldman says, “Give me a C. Give me an R. Give me an O.What’s that spell? CRO. Let’s go!Yes indeed, savvy marketers are rallying around conversion rate optimization, the process of improving conversion. CRO is the big game.The winners in online marketing know this. They focus on developing CRO skills. They practice the discipline daily. And like any team intent on building and protecting their lead, they look to top professionals for ideas they can use to perpetually improve.The upcoming Conversion Road Trip, hosted by Unbounce, will bring many big league CRO experts together... [...]

Baer says, “It’s been nicknamed “Mobile-geddon.” The misinterpretations surrounding Google’s April 21 algorithm updates resulted in panic in the tech and business communities last week.There are two major changes at play in Google’s recent move to favor mobile:First, Google will adjust its search results order to favor mobile-friendly sites. Second, apps will be discoverable in mobile search results with deep links driving new app downloads.For us at Bluebridge, these changes do not come as a surprise—and we are not panicking. With about 60% of online traffic coming from mobile,... [...]

Baer says, “Another month, another incredible round of guests on the Social Pros Podcast. In April, we chatted with the manager of a huge social media team at KLM, an author on thought leadership, Pet360’s PR and social media expert, and the two-man social media team of Canadian yo-yo company CLYW.This month’s Social Pros come from three countries: Canada, the Netherlands, and the U.S. Among them, they’ve studied law, theology, film & TV, mechanical engineering, and performing arts. Their responsibilities span from leading a social media team of over 150 to designing... [...]

Baer says, ““The emails of the future will be much more like sending subscribers a microsite than a static message,” I say at the end of my book, Email Marketing Rules. Watching videos, browsing product assortments, and even making product purchases will also be possiblewithout leaving the inbox.When the book was published last fall, there were some definite signs of email heading in this direction. But in recent months, developments have accelerated. These changes will have a serious impact on how emails are designed and how em1ail success is measured. Here are some examples of new... [...]