TopRank Internet Marketing News

At its core, the answer to this content marketing question lies within social etiquette.

For instance, the key to ensuring a group of people listen to what you have to say at a party – or to later share what you’ve said with their other groups of friends – is to say something that they will find engaging and valuable.  And the key to determining what  others will find engaging and valuable is to listen to what they are saying – in regards to both topic and tone.

As brands adopt publishing as part of their online marketing mix, content marketing is receiving increased budgets – 51% plan on increasing in the next 12 months according to the CMI B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report.

Our B2B Marketing SEO client Marketo believes this may be at the cost of traditional advertising. With eyeballs moving from the traditional media to digital and online ($55 billion by 2014 according to Forrester) it’s a worthwhile argument.

For even more stats, check out this handy infographic from Marketo based on content marketing research conducted by MarketingProfs and Junta42:

Google offers more guidance on building high-quality sites. Feeling the effects of Panda? It might not be Panda that’s causing problems for your website’s visibility on Google. They’ve rolled out numerous updates recently and the big focus on quality is something website owners should pay attention to. Via Google Webmaster Central Blog.

How to Establish a B2B Social Media Benchmarking Plan. Via Search Engine Watch.

The 2nd Wave of Location-Based Services. Via ClickZ.

How Female Influencers Communicate Online. Via eMarketer.

Excellent content checklist incorporating SEO and Social Media promotion from Content Marketing Institute. (pdf)

Facebook to Buy Skype? Now that would be BIG. Two reliable sources say Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is talking to Skype about either buying the company or forming a joint venture, according to Reuters. Via Mashable. According to Reuters, Google is talking to Skype too.

Why online retailers will miss out on $18 billion this year. 71% of online shoppers abandon their carts, which translates to about $18 billion in lost revenue. The solution? Remarketing. For specifics, follow the 5 tips from Ross Kramer in the article. Via iMedia Connection.

From “Who’s Really Scanning All Those QR Codes?” Infographic Via Mashable.

Marketers optimistic about QR codes. 65% of US smartphone users have seen a QR code and marketers get the most value out of QR codes when placed on a product, in magazines, on a coupon or newspaper ad. Via eMarketer.

Measuring influence in the digital age: Impressions, likes and followers. Public Relations and Social Media measurement guru Katie Paine offers 4 tips on measuring what matters in social media. Via PRSA Public Relations Tactics.

Marketo Social Media & SEO for B2B marketing webinar with Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing and Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz.

Mobile Marketing Spend to reach $56.5 billion by 2015. That’s 6 times the spend in 2010. Mobile is obviously hitting its stride this year with the proliferation of smartphones. The ATT & Verizon plus iPhone and Droid competitive spirit hasn’t hurt growth either. Via MarketingCharts.

The 7 Stages of News in a Twitter and Facebook Era. Insightful observations about social group behavior when it comes to news. Social sites like Twitter have eclipsed mainstream media when it comes to breaking news. Via GigaOM.

Content Marketing Optimization — Digital assets, rich media, web pages, consumer opportunities. Interview with TopRank CEO Lee Odden at SES London.

Best Practices for Engaging With Consumers Through Social Media. Via WSJ.

Timeline of major Google algorithm updates 2003 – 2011. Via Level 343.

Three Steps to Generating Higher ROI From Content Marketing. Via MarketingProfs.

If you use Majestic SEO for link tracking and research, then get ready to get more out of Majestic with this Advanced Reports Tutorial. Via Majestic SEO.

Social networking continued to gain momentum throughout 2010, with 9 out of every 10 U.S. Internet users now visiting a social network in a month, and the average Internet user spending more than four hours on these sites each month. And a staggering one out of every eight minutes online is spent on Facebook.*

Learn how to take advantage of social media as part of an online marketing strategy from TopRank CEO Lee Odden. Get valuable insight on three of the common problems that trip up successful social media execution for brands online.

You’ll get practical tips on:

Part adage, part cliché – ‘if a tree falls in the forest with no one there to hear it, will it make a sound?’ The answer is – ‘of course.’  But because no one is there to hear the sound, the sound doesn’t matter.

In much the same way, if content is published to your website with no one able to find it, your online content doesn’t matter.  This applies to everything from an exhaustively researched white paper to an opinion heavy blog post.

Social media and content marketing have moved beyond buzz-worthy concepts to become fundamental cornerstones of leading online marketing programs.  A recent poll by Online Marketing Blog, in fact, lists ‘social network participation’ and ‘content marketing’ as two of the top five digital marketing tactics firms will focus on most heavily in 2011.

As social and content initiatives continue to permeate and define online marketing programs, from Minneapolis to Manila, TopRank® Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden will be leading the way. Next month, Odden will be instrumental in expanding social and content marketing best practices globally as he offers the opening keynote and a full day workshop at Social Media Junction 2 in Auckland, New Zealand.