TopRank Internet Marketing News

This week’s news picks include business predictions, social media, and search engine technology.

Top 10 Business Predictions for 2011

While many of us are getting ready to receive a deluge of family and friends for Thanksgiving, Michael Friedenberg has been busy compiling a list of his top ten business predictions for 2011.

This is not your basic list though. Michael clearly states just how his predictions are going to have an impact, and why businesses ought to consider implementing them.

Included in the list are social media, the cloud, real-time analytics, security breaches, and many more.

Acknowledging that the rules of Public Relations (PR) have changed is something entirely different than entering the field of play. Put another way, when social media makes it possible for anyone to create and publicize their own news, how can today’s PR professionals ensure these actions help – rather than hinder – the PR goals of their clients and organizations?

On Thursday, December 2^nd, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Minnesota will help today’s professionals master the new rules of PR as it hosts the 2010 Professional Practices Conference, Engagement:  There’s A Map For That!

In the world of online marketing, search and social media are evolving at an incredible pace.

Consider:

• Twitter queries approaching 20 billion each month
• Google queries approaching nearly 90 billion each month
• Facebook topped over 200 million users this year and beats Google in weekly web traffic*
  *Hitwise

With online marketing evolving by the minute, it stands to reason that the most valuable insight will be that which can be shared in under one minute.

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.

Online Marketing Blog recently conducted a poll asking its readers to identify the top three digital marketing tactics they planned to emphasize in 2011.

Tactics finishing within the top 5 include:

• Search engine optimization
• Social network participation
• Blogging
• Email marketing
• Content marketing

The mix of tactics sitting atop this list signal a new year where online marketing programs are defined by content and engagement, likely to a greater degree than ever before.  To further raise the visibility of how its solutions for email marketing and social media help companies succeed in this landscape, StrongMail has engaged with TopRank® Online Marketing.

Fortunately for public relations professionals, fundamental storytelling and networking skills are just as vital as they have ever been. But while audience hunger for compelling tales and human connection is the same, the channels where these wants are being met have never been more subject to change.

An outcome of this change is the morphing of traditional public relations and online public relations into one all-encompassing PR landscape.  Quickly learning to navigate this PR landscape is the new, essential skill set that will ensure communications professionals meet the objectives of their clients and organizations.

Audience engagement, interaction, and participation are keys to building a brand on the social web.  Social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook offer unparalleled options for  audience engagement, but where should a marketer start with so many choices?

Fortunately, Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing and Chelsea Bucoy, Sr. Product Marketing Manager for Zoomerang are here to help. Their on-demand webinar: Engage Your Audience with Social Media and Surveys recorded in July is available to watch at any time.

The webinar discusses important items such as:

• Why you should consider social media as a part of your marketing strategy

Do you wonder about the business value of social media marketing? Will you also happen to be in Hong Kong next week?  If so – you are in luck.

Search Engine Strategies, the leading search and social marketing event, will be traveling across the globe to host SES Hong Kong on September 13^th and 14^th.  Joining the event will be TopRank® Online Marketing CEO and SES Advisory Board Member Lee Odden as he contributes to the panel The Business Value of Social Media.

Odden Contributes To Panel At SES SF

In an introduction to a post at Online Marketing Blog, TopRank® Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden writes: “…one-size Search Engine Optimization (SEO) does not fit all programs.”

The post was titled 5 Must-Read Tips for B2B Search Marketing and stressed the importance of content and developing websites that support longer sales cycles – a touchstone of B2B client programs at TopRank Marketing.

More essential B2B search marketing insight will be shared in detail by Odden this month during the latest entry in the Markeo Revenue Masters Webinar Series.

Nearly every day:

• 14,000,000 gather on Twitter
• 60,000,000 connect via LinkedIn
• 346,000,000 engage through blogs
• 400,000,000 network via Facebook

The sheer numbers point towards an unparalleled opportunity to connect with your prospects and customers in social channels online, many of whom are eager to engage.

So what is the one social activity that your customers and prospects are eagerly awaiting for you to launch?  Why not ask them?

This July 29^th, Lee Odden, TopRank® Online Marketing CEO, and Chelsea Bucoy, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Zoomerang by MarketTools, Inc., present Engage Your Audience With Social Media & Surveys.