2. The obvious riddle today’s marketers are trying to solve is –
how to keep up with marketing trends?
From the unstoppable revolution of content marketing, which
is set to generate $300 billion by 2019, to the rapid emergence
of digital video.
What steps can you take to make sure you are getting the
most out of your inbound marketing campaigns?
3. The following blogs should be on every marketing professional’s
reading list:
Search Engine Land – Covers news with a focus on the latest
updates in SEO, SEM and mobile search.
Marketing Nation – An inbound marketing blog for business
owners, entrepreneurs and marketers who want to learn, grow
and crush it.
1. Read the Professional Blogs that Have Their Finger on
the Pulse
4. Search Engine Journal – An SEO news blog that includes great
tutorials and tips on social media marketing and paid search.
Marketing Land – A comprehensive digital marketing blog with
everything from SEO and SEM to analytics and strategy tips
for CMOs.
Backlinko – One of the best blogs out there for in-depth
overviews and actionable tips on the latest SEO techniques.
5. 2. Leverage Facebook Industry Resources
With 1.86 billion monthly active users, Facebook continues to
be the juggernaut of social media marketing. Which means it
pays as a marketer to stay on top of the latest insights for
developers.
Register as a Facebook developer and subscribe to Facebook’s
Ads News blog.
6. This is where you’ll find out what updates and features are in the
works as well as what has just been released. If you want to be
in-the-know, definitely pay attention to this site.
Want to dig even deeper with Facebook?
Join a Facebook Group where you
can connect with other like-minded
marketers, as well as marketing
savvy business owners and see what
other professionals are saying about
current trends. Take a peek at
what’s being talked about on the
Social Media Today Group.
7. 3. Listen to Top Marketing Podcasts
The GarVee Audio Experience, is a rich
source of insights you won’t find anywhere
else, including interviews and fireside chats
where you’ll hear some great pearls of
wisdom in marketing.
Today, there are some exceptional marketing blogs out there
that you should be taking advantage of to help stay on top of
the marketing trends – and ahead of your competition.
8. Another top choice for getting
in-depth information is Marketing
Over Coffee.For instance, where else
can you learn about AI for academic
search, eBooks, and Google Data Studio
all in one, engaging podcast!
9. 4. Research on Twitter
Twitter is excellent for engaging with your customers but you
can also create a Twitter stream to help learn about what’s
trending in digital marketing.
Want to know what’s being
discussed in social media
marketing right now?
Search for keywords like
#socialmedia and see what you
find.
10. Twitter is also an influencer gold mine. You can easily find out
who the major voices are in digital marketing, as well as the
influencers for the niche-industries of the brands you are
marketing for. Add them to your Twitter feed to help you
keep your eye on what’s going on now.
11. 5. Connect with Marketing Leaders with LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups is a hot spot for professionals of any industry who
like to stay in the know – and stay connected with one another. It
has become a hub for marketers who want to discuss what’s going
on in marketing.
Holger Schulze’s B2B Technology Marketing Community is the group
to join. It’s loaded with group discussions so you’ll be able to see
what other marketers are talking about and have your own questions
answered by B2B specialists.
12. 6. Engage in Industry Forums
A great place to dig for your treasure is on online marketing
forums like Warrior Forum, a beginner to mid-level internet
marketing forum, and SEO Chat Forum, which covers the world
of search engine optimisation from end to end.
Pick one or two that you feel are
the most relevant to your
marketing efforts, become a
member, and post your questions.
You’ll be amazed at all the great
free advice that you will get.
13. 7. Track Trends in Your Own Business
Use what you learn to help fine-tune your own marketing. You
can infuse recent business news within next month’s social media
campaign or partner with influencers you discover to one-up
your competitors' marketing.
14. Want to learn more about what’s going on:
Read trade journals – you’ll uncover invaluable information
about evolving trends, who matters, and concerns within your
brand’s business.
Subscribe to consumer magazines – this will help to give you a
better view of your audience’s perspective.
Read the newspaper – The best marketers know what is going
on in marketing, their brand’s industry, and related industries.
15. 8. Organise All Your Subscriptions
The best way to keep up with marketing trends is to manage
your subscriptions so you can ingest all this great info
seamlessly.
Don’t waste time digging for that article you meant to
bookmark – organise with a tool like Use Panda. You can
access the information you want, streamline your workflow,
and keep tabs on the sites you want to read, when you want
to visit them.
16. Opt for Pocket Casts to help keep your podcasts in order and to
find the shows you want with a simple swipe of your
smartphone or tablet.
Bloglovin’ is useful if you want a separate app just to manage
your marketing blogs.
It will let you follow your
favourite blogs, save posts, and
organise by subject.
17. 9. Put Your Research into Action
Use the information and insights, tips and tutorials that you
get from all of these marketing resources and implement
them into your own strategies.
What you should do is keep track of the trends that you
believe are useful and apply them, one or two at a time.
Next, look at your data and determine if what you have learned
is working for your brand or not. Then, master and refine
what works, discard what doesn’t.
18. Over time, as you develop your rhythm and identify your most
useful resources, you’ll notice a huge difference in your
marketing – and you’ll never feel like you’re trying to catch
up with the trends again!
19. Want to learn more about how to improve your marketing?
Download our free guide, “Building Brand Awareness: The
Ultimate Guide for 2017.”
