ReleaseWire Connect

Amid the chaos of running bustling holiday marketing campaigns, U.S. companies are also trying to establish their agendas and budgets for the rapidly-approaching 2016. Now is a great time to read up on the industry's best practices for digital marketing, search engine optimization and social media engagement. Mandy McEwen, founder of digital marketing firm Mod Girl Marketing, has released a new eBook packed with actionable tips to bring more positive results in search engine prominence and lead generation.

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Mod Girl Marketing puts the spotlight onto three of their clients who work tirelessly to support the cause -- not just for this month – but every day of their lives.

While some digital marketing practices -- like creating relevant content, personalized email marketing and pay per click advertising -- will always provide gains for advertisers, Search Engine Optimization guidelines are ever-changing. Mod Girl Marketing Consultant Mandy McEwen says most copywriting teams are stuck in the Stone Age and are operating based on outdated beliefs.

Technology solves many of the biggest challenges of marketing in the 21st Century – notably: How can one secure more leads using less capital? Software systems take in a tremendous amount of information about prospective customers, chart their course along the sales pipeline, and suggest appropriate actions to keep potential buyers engaged. In fact, the marketing automation industry grew 50% in 2014 and is forecasted to reach $1.8 billion by the end of 2015.

Razorfish CEO Michael Karg recently told the UK Guardian that "Intelligence, rather than image" will shape the future of marketing. "For the first time, a marketer's core competency needs to be around data and technology, not messaging and imagery," he said.

People claiming to deliver "top SEO results" are everywhere, but the decision to outsource SEO is daunting for business owners who are reluctant to give up internal control. How will they know whether their money is well-spent and working toward the achievement of their business goals when they understand little about the inner workings of SEO themselves?

Hiring internal marketers is an alluring idea at first, as it gives business owners the most oversight and direct control over all marketing decisions. Conducting in-office meetings on-site is the default for most companies, but an increasing percentage of digital marketing activities are being outsourced these days. According to a 2013 study by Gartner, up to 50% of digital marketing activities (including search, social media, content creation, mobile marketing, ecommerce, website maintenance, and analytics) are outsourced due to "the pace of change and needs for specific skills." A new infographic designed by Mod Girl Marketing outlines some of the advantages of outsourcing marketing work to an agency.

Twitter and Facebook are often heralded as the best ways for brands to reach consumers. Yet, what about businesses looking to market to other businesses? Do the same marketing channels apply? A survey of nearly 2,000 B2B marketers conducted by The Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs found that LinkedIn is actually the most effective channel for businesses to connect with one another. Reportedly, 94% of B2B content marketers said LinkedIn was a valuable channel for their marketing efforts.

In the past, marketers believed that direct mail and buying email subscriber lists were the most direct path to drumming up more traffic and converting greater sales. Modern marketing used in the last 10 years has shifted to focus on activities like creating user profiles, providing personalized content, automating marketing processes, using tools to track consumer behavior, and optimizing web design for usability. This strategy is referred to as "inbound marketing," and is essential to a smart, effective online marketing plan, says Mandy McEwen, founder of Mod Girl Marketing. This month, Mod Girl Marketing is offering a free 15-minute inbound marketing consultation to businesses who are looking to maximize their marketing budgets and improve their efficiency.

At the end of February, Google executives made a big announcement about the next algorithm change that will affect search engine rankings starting on April 21st. "We will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal," Google announced, adding: "This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results." In other words, a business that does not have a dedicated mobile site, mobile app, or mobile-responsive web design will lose its current ranking, potentially falling to virtual obscurity.