For my first post I decided to focus on a more general topic based on a panel discussion with CMO's that I attended recently.

While there was a large variance in the discussion topics from eliminating "paid search" from marketing budgets to CMOs and CIOs being BFFs, three main recommendations for marketers came through:

1. Measure all the way through the marketing - sales cycle
2. Match the content to the product, channel and the customer
3. Mobile should be a part of everyday marketing, not a separate "mobile strategy"

The following is a summary of the panelists' discussion on these topics along with my own thoughts and research notes.

1. Marketing - Sales Cycle
   Marketers should try always to capture sales information at every touch point during the sales process so that they can measure and forecast success. If a marketer measures all of the data and stores it, then they can use it to forecast the results at every stage of the cycle for future campaigns. Often marketers only know the basics such as click-through on an email and what was eventually purchased, but what about all the other steps in the sales cycle? If analysts are not tracking the customer at each stage they don't know that, for example, after the click-through they navigated to different parts of the website before buying, or that they left the site and then came back later to make a purchase, possibly through a different channel. Being able to use this information to forecast results for future campaigns helps to set expectations and allocate resources.
   .
2. Match the content to the customer
   Mail is dead, and email is over-used, right? Well, that would depend on what a marketer is selling, the audience they are targeting and the channel they are going through. One example the panel presented related to the use of direct mail for highly targeted B2B campaigns. So much marketing communication has gone to email that a really good direct mail piece will have almost no competition when it appears on a target's physical desk. Because the message is so targeted, a marketer can spend more to make the mail piece highly impactful. This is also relevant in digital, where it is even easier to vary a message. Marketing analysts should use the data captured to create communications that fit the audience based on their segment and the offer. Campaigns that make use of Social Media apply as well. Multi-channel campaigns do not mean that the same message has to go out to all channels. The message and offers should be tailored for the customer in the channel that has the highest likelihood of success.
   .
3. Mobile Strategy:
   CMO's and marketing directors are often asked "what is your mobile strategy".  We are now at a point where mobile should just be seen as another channel where content, messaging, segmentation, and format should match it.  Customers check email via a mobile device more than any other method and if it contains a link that drives to a website it should display a mobile friendly version.  The content should also be optimized for the mobile device, not just a shrunken version of the web site.  This also affects more than just promotional material.  Customers are opening order confirmations, weekly newsletters and legal notifications via the mobile device that typically have links to the corporate website.As you can see we covered a wide varety of topics but this last one is likely the wake up call to many marketers.  The chart below from Litmus shows how fast mobile has become the prominent means of opening email, from only a 10% share in Q1 2011 to 43% at the same time in 2013.
   .
   ..
   Based on what that chart shows, it seems that prioritizing how you create content for mobile devices should be a high priority for marketers looking to succeed in today's market.

These ideas were inspired by the discussion at a recent local American Marketing Association meeting. It was an annual CMO panel luncheon and this year the panelists were from Brooks Bell, The Redwoods Group, Café Press, Quintiles and Bronto Software.

Let me know your thoughts on these topics and if you were at the luncheon, feel free to introduce more. Thank you for following, and stay tuned for more of my thoughts on other aspects of marketing.

In his first post for that blog, he explores the idea that everyone in marketing should strive to become what he's called a "marketer scientist," which is a hybrid mélange of scientist and artist.

There's a nice symmetry to the way he's laid out four characteristics each for the scientist part and the artist part of this renaissance persona, and the idea is not to strive to be an expert in all eight of these ways, but to strive to have a little piece of all eight of these in their thinking.

I encourage you to read this thought-provoking post and give some thought as to how these qualities might apply to you - a marketer equally comfortable applying analytics as you are working with Pantone colors. Imagine yourself as this marketer scientist, successfully achieving these art & science mashups:

• Evolve your Charles Darwin to surreal heights with some Dalí.
• Integrate your Einstein relatively with your Rodgers & Hammerstein.
• Impress your inner Nate Silver with an accurate Monet.
• Have your Dr. Sheldon Cooper born that way with a Lady Gaga alter-ego.
• Or fill in your own favorite scientist and artist - you get the picture.

Do read his post to get the picture in technicolor and surround-sound. And keep checking for more great perspectives from Scott on Left of the Dateline. He's also on Twitter as @Chiefmartec.

Lauren and Lilly Balla, circa 1999.

Today is the day we celebrate Mother’s Day in the United States. So, in honor of Mother’s Day, I decided to crowdsource as much motherly advice as possible to provide useful inspiration for marketers. The inspiration hit me late on Friday afternoon and I'm so pleased to have a big response!

My work colleagues and others I’ve had the good fortune of working with sent me the following pearls of wisdom from their mothers or grandmothers.

The bottom line is that we all have a debt of gratitude to our mothers for getting us off on the right foot and giving us the courage to get where we are today. I hope you find this as inspiring and entertaining as I do.

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If you don’t have a hunting dog, hunt with your cat.

I’ll start it off with one of my favorites from my mom, Margarida Balla. This is a classic Brazilian saying that she would often say in Portuguese when I found myself facing a situation and not feeling like I had everything I needed. That advice tells me that marketers should make the best use of resources we have, and don’t focus on what we don’t have. Play to your strengths and always be resourceful.

If you start something, finish it
If you’re going to do it, do it the right way or don’t do it at all.

These two were offered by Kristine Vick as variations on the same theme, and it certainly applies to marketers. As a marketer, this means to apply yourself, to see it through to the end and always to do your best. Nothing in marketing is a flash in the pan because it’s always connected to some other element in your campaign. In terms of the customer experience, remember that each interaction with your organization is one of a long chain. And you don’t want your effort to be the weak link in that chain.

If you want to receive a letter from someone, you need to write them a letter first.

Marketing Strategist and author David Meerman Scott offered this advice from his grandmother, Dorothy Jones, given to him when he was 12. For marketers, this is all about the importance of initiative. If you want something to happen, take the first step.

Remember who you are.

Cheryl Aber and Scott Batchelor’s moms both gave them this advice. Scott’s mom used to tell it to him before he left home for a date.  Cheryl’s mom, Ellen Kennedy, used to tell her that every time she left the house, meaning whatever we do away from home will get back to your parents and reflect on them, so behave. Scott’s take for marketers is that they should not veer too far from their brand and persona. It’s OK to think outside the box, but customers selected you for a reason. Stay true to that and you’ll win.

Whatever goes around comes around.
Don’t squint or you’ll get wrinkles.

Diana DiMaiuta shared these two favorites from her mom, Marion DeAngelis. The meaning, of course, is not to do anything wrong because if you do, it will come back to haunt you. Both of these nuggets from Mrs. DeAngelis certainly apply to marketers. If you don’t want to grow your opt-outs, then don’t “spam” your customers. If you want to attract customers looking for answers, offer them valuable content and engage with them over time so you understand more clearly the kinds of questions they are asking.

Be nice to each other.

The DMA’s Stephanie Miller offered this advice from her mom, clarifying, “she meant all five of us [siblings] getting along. Her take is that could translate to marketers in many ways – getting along with Legal and Sales teams, or even for the creative and the data wonks; but also in terms of respecting your customers. 

Never settle.

Courtney Peters shared this advice from her mom, Sharon Walters.  Simple and clear as a bell, this advice rings true for all marketers because all great marketing is the result of teamwork – it’s all about collaboration and interactions, which also means choices and negotiations. Understand what you need and keep up the effort until you get it – which applies to both your work output and what you need from others. 

One day at a time.

Bess Creech’s mom would tell her this, and it shows the wisdom of a mom who has experienced all that life throws at her. Marketers’ work rarely comes in discrete packages with a clear beginning and an ending all in the same day. Focus on what you can get done and take it one day at a time. By the end of the week, you’ll find you have accomplished much.

The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

This one is one of my wife’s favorites, from her mom, Nancy Brockman. This is related to Bess’ mom’s advice and it rings so true. Marketers all face big elephants on our plates (usually more than one). If it has to be eaten, do it one bite at a time. If you need to, give some to the dog under the table and invite your friends to join in the feast.

One foot in front of the other.

Marketing strategist and Un-marketer Scott Stratten offered this as his favorite of his mom’s advice. When things get tough, take it one step at a time and keep moving forward. “Have used it many, many times,” says Scott. For marketers, this means to stay focused on your goal or your plan, even when it’s all going in a hand basket, so to speak.

A hard head makes a soft behind.

Ericka Wilcher's mom was partial to this advice, which is to say that there is usually a price to pay for excessive stubbornness. Ericka added that it’s perhaps a cautionary tale for marketers who insist on doing things the way they have always been done. Be flexible, and ask, what does the data indicate?

Don’t claim that.

Bree Baich offered this wisdom from her Grandma Lilly – it was her way of reminding us that it’s about how you think about life as to what life sends you – so stop “audibly claiming” the negative stuff. With all that marketers deal with, this is a great reminder to focus on positive planning for positive outcomes.

Always look good and have something to say. 

Deb Orton shared this gem from her mom. This advice would apply particularly in those situations where you’re in a visible position, or if your company is an industry leader and you’re not likely to be overlooked. How you present yourself and how you engage with your audience matters, so always look good and have something (nice) to say.

Every situation is what you make it.
Don’t yuck other people’s food

Alison Bolen shared those two pieces of advice from her mom, Nancy Shaw. For marketers, that advice has as much to do about owning the quality of your work, as it does about the attitude you choose every day you show up. With all the variables we deal with day and day out, the one 100% controllable variable is your attitude. Own it. Every day.

You can always get smarter

Liz Miller of the CMO Council describes her mom as the “classic Korean tiger mom,” and even if Liz always received this advice with an eye-roll, she describes it as part of her own marketing view. For marketers, it’s all about striving to be your best. Even if you’ve hit a home run, take the time to think about what you might do better the next time. Each improvement takes you to a new triumph.

Be respectful of others and in return they’ll be respectful of you.
Treat others as you would want to be treated!!
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 

Amy Seagroves, Barb Anthony and Natalie Hoyle, respectively, offered these variations of the classic Golden Rule. For Amy and her mom, it's a matter of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, the marketing translation is to be respectful of your audience use their time wisely with information they need and in return they may respect you when it comes time to purchase your wares. Natalie further added that as marketers, it's all about treating our customers with respect.  No one likes to receive Spam or dishonest communications.   The right message, at the right time, to the right audience goes a long way and builds trust and respect.

If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
It's just as easy to marry a rich man as it is a poor one.

Cherry Street Consulting’s Elizabeth Vanneste offered those two nuggets from her mom, Mary Ellen Sheridan. She added that marketers should never diss the competition because it just makes you look bad (and then there's karma…). For the second piece of advice, she jokingly added “Clearly I wasn’t paying attention!” For marketers, however, she offered that it’s just as easy to sell a profitable customer as it is an unprofitable one. How true!

You need to sleep sometimes!

Jim Hiepler-Hartwig’s mom would tell that to him when he did something wrong as a youngster. He was too quick to catch to be punished, so his mom would not try to chase him. When he heard those words, he’d stop running and face the music. Jim’s take for marketers is to fess up when we make a mistake and take the consequences. We need not to try to run away from what we did or cast blame on others.

Hold the moment

Hillary Ashton shared this advice from her mom, Jo-Del Gaeth. This advice speaks to the need for marketers to make the most of every opportunity and preserve them. For marketers, I think that means capturing content at events that sessions you're presenting or sponsoring yourself and then offering it up as a podcast or video, and then creating a written rendering.

Finally, I offer a capstone from my wife’s grandmother, Kitty Edwards, who I had the privilege of knowing for many years before she passed away last year at the age of 102. This is a favorite of both my wife and mine:

There’s plenty of bad in the best of us, and
Plenty of good in the worst of us,
So it really behooves all of us
To be kind to the rest of us.

Thank you to everyone who shared their favorite motherly advice here. Note that I've tagged this with the only appropriate tag I could think of - best practices. Remember to wipe your feet before you come back in and wash your hands when you're finished.

Oh, and have a very happy Mother’s Day!

Shawn Skillman and Lori Jordan

A little over 2 years ago, I wrote a post about our vision for turning big data into a strategic asset.  The outcome of this vision was the development of a Global Marketing System that provides marketers with complete views of customer behavior and advanced marketing analytics so we can respond with relevancy in our campaigns.

At this year's SAS Global Forum, over 50 people filled a room to hear Shawn Skillman and Lori Jordan, two Senior Database Marketing Analysts on my team, talk about how that vision is now a reality.  Their paper and presentation specifically outlines how SAS uses SAS to analyze, segment, and target customers to invite to SAS Global Forum. Just one example of how all campaigns are now run in our marketing organization because of SAS Technology.

The post below was written by Lane Whatley, one of my counterparts in communications.  She attended their session and did a great job summarizing their presentation.

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On the last day of SAS^® Global Forum I had the pleasure of attending a paper presentation about how SAS Uses SAS^® to invite and manage SAS Global Forum attendees. The fact that there were more than 4,200 conference goers this year is evidence enough that they have a winning strategy.

Having some familiarity with email marketing campaigns from a former job, I know a great deal of time and effort is spent scheduling campaigns and selecting criteria to make the perfect offer, but I had no idea the extent to which SAS uses SAS to help.

SAS uses SAS^® Marketing Automation to define list criteria and create campaigns for SAS Global Forum. With more than three million users in their data mart, teams rely on the software to help narrow the invitee list and identify customers most likely to attend. For this year’s Global Forum, teams used criteria like:

• Past SAS Global Forum and user group attendees.
• Past Customer Connections, Analytics Conferences, and SAS Talks attendees.
• Subscribers to select SAS technical reports.
• SAS software users identified through calls to Technical Support.
• Contacts identified by SAS^® Customer Experience Analytics as having searched select support.sas.com and http://www.sas.com/ websites.

After a campaign has been sent, teams also use SAS^® Enterprise Business Intelligence to run analytics on the resulting data: who opened the campaign, who clicked the campaign, who registered, who opted out, etc. They also use SAS^® Visual Analytics to run reports like the one below that shows Global Forum registrants by geography.

SAS also uses SAS^® DataFlux^® Data Management Platform to integrate, standardize and match data. This platform provides the foundational layer for data quality and analytics, because campaigns are only as successful as the data behind them.

Another SAS Global Forum has come and gone, but for the database marketing team, only part of their Forum work is complete. They’ll run data quality checks and reports on attendees, and then use this information to inform next year’s Global Forum campaigns.

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As marketing organizations evolve, so will technology.  We will continue to have more tools at our fingertips to answer increasingly sophisticated questions about our customers and prospects, but at the end of the day, its talented people who make the difference when using the tools.  Shawn and Lori are no exception - a winning combination for sure! Let us know what you think in a comment below and thank you for following.

Because of the capabilities of the technologies behind it, today's mobile communications go beyond satisfying the basic need for people to engage simply with one another, such as greeting or calling for help. Examples of simple long-distance communications are as "old as the hills," as evidenced by yodeling, smoke signals and "hollering." While those activities continue to this day in some parts of the world, more often we think of cell phones or smartphones when we consider mobile communications. And far beyond yodeling or smoke signals, today's mobile devices enable us to share ideas, capture images and recordings, transact business, gather information, and gain insights as we've never done before.

In the retail industry, we've seen phenomena driven by mobile phones such as "showrooming," where customers might go into the physical store location to see and perhaps try the item, and then end up making the purchase on line - possibly with a competitor, or even while they are still in the physical store. The biggest impact, however, is actually happening in the minds of our customers, where they've become so accustomed to having near real-time access to answers, ideas and other people to connect with. We've now seen that some people seem unable to have a momentous experience without including their smartphone in some way. And that is precisely the trend that marketers should be paying attention to.

Josh Bernoff, of Forrester Research, shared his findings in this area at the recent Forrester's Marketing Leadership Forum, where he provided all attendees with a copy of his research report, "The Mobile Mind Shift Index," in which he outlined his three major take-aways as:

1. The true impact of mobile is the change in attitudes it creates.
   This is happening at the individual level and can be seen by observing the behaviors of almost anyone that uses a smartphone.
2. The mobile mind shift index (MMSI) measures how many of your customers have shifted.
   In this case, the Forrester team identified three drivers of engagement with mobile applications: device ownership, frequency of access and diversity of locations. Based on those factors, they numerically calculated the relationships among these factors and then laid out six categories to capture the degree of mind shift.
• The "disconnecteds, dabblers and roamers" are the least engaged and comprise 78% of the U.S. population today.
• The three most engaged segments are the "adapters, immersers and perpetuals," and while they make up just 22% of the total population, these are the most affluent and influential of all customer segments. These are the individuals that have "shifted."
3. Your customers' MMSI determines how quickly you must act to offer mobile experiences.
   The key is to figure out where and how the 22% most-engaged people are engaged with your organization. If you focus on the "shifted" people and understand their engagement with your brand, that tells you how quickly you should shift your marketing to accommodate them. Ultimately, they key is to shorten the distance between what people want and getting it to them. 

Attendees of that conference also were treated to the companion report by Melissa Parrish, aptly named "Marketing Strategy for the Mobile Mind Shift, offering more details on the "MMSI" and what you can do about it. Stay tuned for more details coming up on mobile customers and mobile marketing. In the meantime, let me know what you think - how have your customers shifted and how have you shifted your marketing to meet them?  As always, thank you for following!

SGF Executive Conference Panel on How Digital Marketing Drives the Omnichannel Experience

What does the future hold for digital marketing? If you looked into your crystal ball, what would it reveal to you? Where will you spend scarce marketing dollars for maximum impact? Will you allocate the bulk of your marketing budget to traditional campaigns, or to digital channels? We gained an interesting view into the future from a panel discussion with national clothing retail executive and two digital marketing experts at SAS Global Forum Executive Conference.  

The best way to summarize this fascinating discussion is that the future holds three important ways marketers will focus their efforts to maximize the potential benefit of digital marketing:

1. Personalize
   We will increasingly make the effort to personalize offers. Just as marketers keep getting more data about their customers’ preferences, the customers are aware that marketing is getting all the data. In most cases, this is driving a realistic expectation that we do something useful with that data.  And “useful” to the customer is something that benefits them – it’s meaningful to them, and it’s personalized.
   .
2. Reciprocate
   Just as customer data is useful to marketers, it’s equally useful to the customers themselves. We will serve up customer data right back to them in the most effective channel/device. While we’re at it, we will show customers that we’re using their data to better serve them. We will increasingly face a need to foster trust on the part of the customer that we’re safeguarding their data but also putting it to good use. One good example of this idea in the works today was cited by the panel: the loyalty program app at Starbucks.
   .
3. Collaborate
   Marketers will need to foster collaboration across all channels for maximum effectiveness. The best way to show the customer that we care about them will be to engage with them according to one cohesive profile, regardless of channel. As customer awareness of the power of their data becomes more prevalent, more and more frustration will result when they deal with your organization on different channels and it’s not a coordinated experience. Frustrating your customers is not a good business practice today, and it certainly won’t be tomorrow.

I welcome your reactions to these three predictions by commenting below, and as always, thank you for following!

The swift adoption of mobile devices and the proliferation of digital channels have created opportunities for highly interactive, rich communications between consumers and brands. But those very same circumstances can be a double-edged sword as more consumers demonstrate little tolerance for irrelevant, ill-timed, and “creepy” communications.

Marketers may be on a positive trajectory as CMO tenure suggests, but the path is still fraught with uncertainly. CMOs are confronted daily with the challenges and opportunities of maximizing digital marketing, enabling dynamic multichannel interactions, enriching customer experience, utilizing marketing analytics, and—of course—harnessing Big Data.

These hot marketing topics are inextricably linked to each other, and also to the CMO’s ultimate goal of delivering sustainable business growth. To this end, CMOs must not lose sight of two imperatives for their marketing technologies:

1.      Ready accessibility to analytics

Marketers must be able to unleash the power of analytics throughout the marketing department and in all marketing processes (activities related to strategy and planning, campaign and interaction management, and customer experience management). Analytics, when highly accessible in a marketing system, allow marketers to create value for their customers, while giving businesses an instant edge for improving marketing performance and reducing costs.

For instance, marketing automation uses sophisticated analytics to automatically improve relevancy and responsiveness to individual prospects regardless of media or channel. Real-time analytics allow marketers to discover and react in real time to how consumers are interacting with your brand.

The upshot: greater agility; better targeting; personalized offers; coordinated campaigns; connected experiences.

2.     Alignment and accountability for growth

The analytics must provide ever clearer “line of sight” to revenue growth and profitability, especially as digital spend in marketing budgets continue to rise. CMOs must also insist that their enterprise-marketing platform enable a single point of marketing collaboration: one that aligns objectives, planning, and execution across various marketing roles in the organization for greater accountability.

A recent Econsultancy report indicated that 71 percent of businesses plan to increase digital marketing budgets. The average expected increase (of those increasing digital spend) is a significant 28 percent. The result: a higher degree of scrutiny by the C-suite for digital. Analytically powered marketing platforms provide more transparency to marketing personnel and helps the entire organization align resources to objectives, streamline production processes, track budgets and expenses, and improve overall collaboration.

The upshot: better collaboration; greater control of marketing spend; stronger marketing investment decisions - especially in digital; more CMO credibility among C-suite peers.

In the final view, marketers need demonstrable business results in their quest to maximize digital marketing impact and deliver sustainable growth. Are you evaluating your marketing technologies through the twin lenses of analytics accessibility and marketing accountability?

To learn more, please start by visiting the Digital Marketing Resource Center and discover why digital marketing requires the agility and collaboration enabled by analytics. Please share your thoughts, and as always, thank you for visiting!

Your point of view shows through on our new web pages in three important ways:

1. You can choose your perspective.
   Our web data has told us there are 3 likely perspectives to our CI page visitors:
     -   Marketing Executives / CMOs,
     -   Marketing Practitioners / Analytsts & Managers, and
     -   IT Executives / CIOs.
   Choose the one that fits you best to start exploring.
   .
2. You can start with your "hot topic."
   Our researach has shown five major trending areas with the biggest impact on marketing:
     -  Digital Marketing,
     -  Multichannel Marketing,
     -  Customer Experience Management,
     -  Marketing Analytics, and
     -  Big Data.
   Start with the one that resonates most with your business.
   .
3. You can zero in on your own industry.
   Some industries have unique dynamics that influence how they engage with customers. Just consider how many different versions for "customer" there are, so the same person at any given time can be a:
     -  Shopper in a retail store, 
     -  Borrower or depositor at a bank, 
     -  Subscriber of telco and cable TV services, 
     -  Guest at a hotel or spa,
     -  Patron at a casino,
     -  Rate payer of a utility company
   You get the picture - and so do we!

The old website versus the new one

The old CI web page - marketing like it's 1999!

Our old CI web pages were very detailed and informative, with lots and lots of information.

The user experience on our old site, however, was not the best. To me the old site seemed to be geared toward providing tons and tons of detail based on the products, and it seemed as if how or why CI products are used was incidental. It was all about getting the details out there.

.Now that's changed - our redesigned pages take the visitor as the starting point and the thought is to be mindful of the visitor's journey each step of the way.

Our new web pages reflect our acknowledgement of a viewpoint articulated by one of our most engaged customers:

The field of marketing has been undergoing a critical transformation.
Given the ever changing expectations of customers,
marketers care most about overall customer experience,
which means they need to be informed, insightful, and empowered.

What's not changed are the underlying fundamentals of SAS^® Customer Intelligence that have earned us legions of loyal customers and broad-based analyst validation. SAS CI is business strategy in an integrated, vendor-neutral hardware framework.

In other words, the legions of software developers, testers, solutions architects and other experts (the "geeks") are all still here. They remain focused on constantly improving CI - a full suite of marketing solutions fueled by the world's best analytics.

And like our CI solutions, the new CI web pages are all about you!

As a young child, I was already hearing marketing messages that became part of my everyday experience.  This baseball vendor memory came to light while reading an Argyle Conversation with Ira Gleser at Coca-Cola.  Ira works at Coke as a Vice President of Industry Comnmunications for Coca-Cola Refreshments.  In his conversation,  Ira details how he orchestrates business to business communications about Coke through industry/association events, trade publications, websites and social media.  Ira's job is to reach their customers in person, in print and online, with messaging that ties back to what they are trying to achieve as a company and reinforce a positive perception of the company in the industries that they serve.

So what is Coke doing to stand it apart in the highly competive beverage industry? Two things jumped out at me:

1. Implementing impact programs.  Coke has launched a program which engages key audiences with thought leadership and industry knowlege from research studies.  Coke is getting trememdous interest in the latest research coming out of the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council focused on social networking.  Everyone is thinking about social media and how to utilize this medium to build their business and grow brand loyalty.

2.  Leveraging publications.  Coke is also driving thought leadership and industry knowlege in publications by being proactive, responsive and building stronger relationships with key editors at the publications the customers are reading.

I have just touched a few areas Coca-Cola is doing to stay a world leader in the beverage industry.  If you are interested in reading the entire converstion with Coke, click here for the Argyle Conversation. 

I welcome your thoughts and ideas by commenting below and thank you for following!

Page views can be a good measure if you want to compare the relative popularity of your blog, but they're not always the best measure of success. If your goal is to become known on a particular topic, use keyword and search measurements instead. If your goal is to increase traffic to your product site, measure how many visitors are taking that next step. If your goal is lead generation, measure the performance of your calls to action. You get the picture.  Always find a measurement that meets your business goals.

With that said, if your first goal is just to get more visitors to your posts, here are my top ten suggestions on how to do that:

1. Optimize your content for search. Find out what your audience is searching for and what kinds of questions they're asking. Narrow in on a single topic and write about it from every possible angle.
2. Write a compelling headline. If search feeds the posts to readers but your headline is boring, they still won't click through. Make the head catchy and informative.
3. Tweet it. And then schedule it to tweet again. And again.
4. Share it in relevant LinkedIn communities. Don't just share it on your LinkedIn page. Find groups there that would be interested in the topic, and share it with them. Answer a few questions in the group while you're there so they know you have good insights to offer.
5. Share it on Facebook. Are you getting the picture? Promote it everywhere you can, on all of your social networks.
6. Post it to your intranet, and encourage colleagues to share it outside of the company. Don't forget people inside your company. They'll want to share it with their contacts too.
7. Comment on other relevant blogs & leave a link back to your post. This part is essential, and I've continued to maintain it's the only way to build up solid, consistent, repeat traffic. If you want loyal readers on your blog, you have to be a loyal reader and commenter on other blogs.
8. Email it to industry contacts and ask them to leave a comment. Pick and choose which posts to do this with. You'll burn people out if you do it all the time, but you'll miss a huge opportunity if you don't ever ask your closest colleagues to read and comment.
9. Email it to your sales contacts and ask them to send it to their customers if it’s relevant. If customers should be reading the post, your sales executives are often the best people to send it their way.
10. Write about a topic that is useful & interesting for your audience. Content is still king. If you write posts that readers find useful, funny or interesting, they'll keep coming back. If you don't, they won't.

To summarize: Share, participate and be useful. Then share again. I guarantee your page views will go up, and most likely, some of those other measurements we talked about will too.