Do People Think You’re a Marketing Robot?

As you navigate the path of inbound marketing, many phrases will be tossed your way. How many times have you heard “blogging for business,” “top of the funnel,” “social media strategy,” or “business branding”? Understanding what these terms mean and how they apply to you isn’t too hard, but figuring out how to put this knowledge into action isn’t always as easy.

Being Your Own Mad Man 

The word advertising still brings to mind smoke-filled rooms, half-full highball glasses, secretaries in tight skirts, and lots of glory. The show Mad Men hasn’t done much to dispel this image, and that’s why so many startup companies think they have to pay thousands of dollars to get the attention they need for their company. In reality, we have the tools we need to build our own brands and, except for time—which is expensive, we know—your marketing efforts could cost little to nothing.

Color and Brand Personality

A product’s color influences 60- 80% of a purchasing decision.

Apply Desk Directly To The Forehead! 

Do you watch TV? If you’re reading this post, chances are you do. In fact, we’re 99% sure you do. A recent study released by California State University, Northridge states that 99% of U.S. households possess at least one television. Another study by Statistic Brain says that the average person will watch 9 years of television over the course of their life. That’s a lot of time in front of the telly.

Truly Terrible Imagery

2012 has been a good year for technology, health, and the economy. We were blessed with the best of the best in the iPhone 5, the healthcare industry took a major leap forward with their advancements in robotic surgery, and the U.S. economy took a small but positive turn in the right direction.

For stock photos, however, 2012 has been a year full of setbacks. Please consider this your fair warning: using these stock photos on your website will hurt, not help, your business. In fact, cut out stock photos all together. Actual photos of your employees are 95% more effective at converting prospects into leads than stock photography, and there’s no excuse not to break out the old digital camera and snap a few quick photos.

Just for a few giggles, take a look at our list of the 15 worst stock photos of 2012. Laugh with us, won’t you?

#15 - Clock on Computer?

Photo Credit: 123rft.com

Will it Blend?

It's no secret that YouTube, the world's second-largest search engine, has changed the way many brands connect with fans. Expensive television advertising spots have been replaced by a much more permission-based form of content marketing: release a video, and if it's good enough, people will share. Major marketing publication Adage released a list of the top 10 viral video marketing efforts of all time, and we were a little surprised at the results. Utah-based Blendtec came out on top, beating even Old Spice:

Put a Face on Your Brand

Social media and blogs account for 23% of all time spent online, and reach over 80% of Americans with an internet connection. Your consumers want to digitally connect with your brand, but that doesn't mean they want to buy from a faceless, electronic corporation. Building brand personality and showcasing the people who make your company tick is essential, and it can be accomplished online. We've compiled 7 of the sharpest, new ways to build brand personality as part of your company's inbound marketing strategy:

Business Branding and the Perfect Dog

Nike is "just do it." HubSpot is a whole lot of orange, unicorns and memes. Inbound Marketing Agents is all about helping small businesses crush their competitors and an unhealthy obsession with the perfect hot dog. Any company has a series of goals and objectives that have become an integral part of their corporate culture. You can often see these goals in mission statements. As an agency in the field of inbound marketing, we're in the business of keeping an eye on the latest digital trends. We see some really innovative things and some other campaigns that should have been left on the cutting room floor.  

Why Marketing Needs to Reflect Company Culture

Marketing is your company's first step to bringing new business in the doors. Your product or service needs to reflect your marketing messages, and your company culture needs to back up both. How many times have we all heard that a company is based on delivering quality, but their products turn out to be less than stellar? The credibility of their management team and brand go right out the window. Your company culture needs to influence your employees and marketing. If you're all about free shipping, drive it home. If your message is innovation, make sure your marketing messages reflect this. 

Great Moments in Marketing 

SuperBowl advertisements have been compared to fast food. In the words of Marketing Strategist Steve McKee, "they taste great going down, but they don't offer much long term satisfaction." A notable exception is Apple's 1984 commercial, which was recently voted the best SuperBowl ad of all time. Many of us marketers, even those of us who use PCs, consider it one of the best ads of all time:

Learn from These Marketing Mistakes

Coke. Ford. NetFlix. All of these major brands have been propelled to success through a great product and fabulous marketing, but they've also made some major missteps along the way. From losing money to really ticking people off, their marketing fails cost them big. Even if your company is nowhere near as big as McDonalds, you can still learn from their mistakes: