Back in the early days of journalism, there was a clear distinction between the "news" and paid advertisements. It was considered of the highest ethical imperative that journalists could not be "bought" or even influenced, by an advertiser looking to make a large ad purchase, or a threat to pull [More]
Are you unrealistically optimistic? Most marketers are, and it is not particularly healthy. Think about it: a marketer's job is usually focused on generating leads. About great design. Attracting attention. Building. It's other people who have to worry about delivering the product or service, headcount, logistics, and the vagaries of [More]
Have you ever felt that each year, there is yet another set of marketing buzzwords that you need to learn? Service marketing, value marketing, values-based marketing, content marketing, Social Media marketing, and the list goes on. What these terms all have in common is the connection between your organization and [More]
In the olden days, domain names were easy. Take your brand, add dot com (as in www.RandallCraig.com) and you're done. Those of us who didn't want to fight the squatters also registered the dot net and dot org versions: www.RandallCraig.net, www.RandallCraig.org. And of course, you might want to register your [More]
What is the difference between a successful marketing campaign and an unsuccessful one? Yes, ROI is certainly the standard answer, but it is also completely insufficient. A single marketing campaign is not very different than a car going uphill, battling gravity, with a driver giving a single pump of the [More]
What have been the most transformational marketing innovations in society? TV and Direct mail/database marketing rank up there. Email, the web, and social media also do. And so does mobile - but why? It is too easy to think of mobile as nothing more than a small screen. Web designers [More]
Where do you spend your organization's budget? Should it be on communications, or on training? Should it be on infrastructure, or on people? Inside the organization, or to partners? While these may all be good questions, there is merit on reframing it - especially when it comes to questions around [More]
You may have considered how content can be used to attract new members, new clients, or new partners. But for all of the talk about Inbound Marketing, you have reservations due to two simple questions: If the content is so valuable, why should we give it away for free? And [More]
In 1903, Elias St. Elmo Lewis coined one of the most important marketing frameworks: AIDA. It has stood the test of time, and has helped many marketers more strategically plan their campaigns. AIDA is an acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. But is AIDA intrinsically flawed, or at least [More]
Do you have a creeping feeling that you will never get an adequate return on your Social Media investment? If so, you're probably right. To improve digital ROI requires three key ingredients: the first reduces costs, and the second and third improve return. Improve program efficiency: Swap out experimentation and [More]
Each week, get Randall’s 60-second nugget on translating digital knowledge to action. Curious? Read 600+ past articles.
Δ