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Thank you so much for visiting my WordPress site.  I have moved all of my information to hijinxmarketing.com.  Please hop on over and check out the new content, new branding and focus!

Big changes are coming….

This Week in Marketing is taking a week off!  Why?  Well, we are working on some big changes.  Make sure to come back soon to check them out!

 

This Week in Marketing – June 8, 2012

Short post this week.  I am getting my kids ready for a 5-week vacation, so much to do!

• This article from the Social Media Examiner gives you a TON of ways to integrate your social media into your overall marketing!
• Do you use direct mail marketing?  Find out what’s up with this marketing channel from the editor of Target Marketing.
• If you don’t already subscribe to the Harvard Business School’s enewsletter, I suggest you start.  You could great articles like this one on how to make your company more innovative delivered to your inbox.
• Lastly, in case you missed my tweet yesterday, check out these 10 big Facebook marketing mistakes.  I bet most people make at least one of these.  Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (click on the Twitter follow button to the right) to get my nuggets throughout the week.

Have a great weekend!

This Week in Marketing – June 1, 2012

Good stuff this week…check it out! 

• Get a free copy of Hubspot’s latest ebook, 45 Amazing Social Media Charts & Graphs.  They always have great information in their ebooks.
• Most people know by now that content marketing is the way to get great results.  Here is a list of some useful tools for your content marketing efforts, from the Content Marketing Institute.
• Inkling Media  gives us a comprehensive list of current social media platforms that your small business should consider.
• Do you use photos in your online marketing but don’t have the money for expensive photo-editing software.  Here are 5 FREE websites you should consider to make your photos stand out.
• Weekly infographics – 20 Reasons to Switch to Google+,Toolbox of the Small Business Marketing Cycle, and Does Social Media Marketing Really Work?

Do you want the weekly roundup in your inbox each week?  Be sure to subscribe using the ‘Follow’ button to the right.  And when you are ready to embark on the marketing journey for your small business, email us to find out how we can help!

This Week in Marketing – May 25, 2012

So, what did everyone think about that Facebook IPO fiasco?  Now Mark Zuckerberg and several banks are getting sued by investors for hiding potentially damaging information about future growth forecasts.  Yikes!

If you are tired of hearing about it, here are some other stories this week in marketing that you may have missed.

• If your website uses a virtual shopping cart system, you may want to check out this post from Graham Cooke of QuBit.  He surmises that the current virtual checkout systems that most companies have in place is antiquated and could be costing them sales.  He also posits some  ways that you can avoid these problems.
• This has been National Small Business Week.  To celebrate the occasion, here is a list of some great small business resources.
• When one local restaurant received a bad review on Yelp, they rose to the complaint and turned it into a positive.  Find out why this tactic can work.
• What is your business the ‘est’ at?  A recent post on the American Express OPEN Forum talks about the power of using superlatives to describe your business.

Big changes coming!  There are some big changes coming to HiJinx Marketing.  We are excited to be introducing some new features and options in the next few months. Subscribe to the blog to see the changes before anyone else!

Thanks!

This Week in Marketing – May 18, 2012

There were a couple of big news stories this week in marketing.  And, no, I am not talking about the gazillion dollar Facebook IPO!  While that is interesting to us business and social media geeks, it does not mean much to the average small business.  Although there were two big reports dealing with Facebook advertising that could signal a trend for marketers.

The first of these reports deals with a huge American company – General Motors.  They decided this week to drop all paid Facebook advertising.  Citing the lack of return on their ads, their $10 million in paid advertising may seem like a drop in the bucket when you consider Facebook’s overall revenue, but it may be the start of a trend.  The other report, from xx, stated that research has shown that Facebook advertising is rarely effective.  Think about it – how often do you click on those ads on the side of your Facebook profile?

In other news:

• This article from 1stwebdesigner.com takes a nice look at how colors effect our reactions and how these lessons should be applied to your website design.
• Integrated marketing was one of my favorite subjects in grad school.  I love marketing campaigns that are seamless across many platforms.  Business Week posted an article on just this subject this week.  Titled ‘If You Knew It, You’d Do It,’ the author explains why integrating your marketing is essential.
• In another Facebook-related area, Sotrender monitored 130 of the UK’s biggest brand’s Facebook pages before and after the introduction of the timeline layout.  It concluded that this change actually increased fan engagement.

Lastly, if you have followed my posts and tweets for a while, you know that I love infographics.  They are a great way to take content-heavy information and make it easily digestible for the masses.   There were several interesting infographics released into the World Wide Web this week.  These  include:

• the complication of social media marketing
• the increase of social discovery and its influence on marketing
• the most engaging brands on Facebook

This Week in Marketing – May 11, 2012

There were some interesting articles this week:

• Do you use public relations to help you market your small business? This post highlights why you should and provides tips on how to be effective at it.
• A Brazilian women’s fashion retailer is really thinking outside the box with their marketing.  The took ‘liking’ a product to a new level by embedding numeric counters on the hangers of their clothing that show how many people like that particular item.
• Are you using SlideShare as a marketing tool?  Here are 8 ways to use this site to increase traffic to your site, grab leads and showcase your brand.
• Do you follow everyone who follows you on Twitter?  This article lays out the pros and cons of Twitter followers.

What marketing nuggets did you come across this week?