Maggie Bossingham's Marketing Blog

News Releases and Newsrooms  According to The New Rules of Marketing & PR , the web has fundamentally changed marketing. Before the internet, news releases were targeted specifically to a handful of journalists. But today with the internet at millions of people's disposal, news releases are being accessed by a mass variety of people. That means that companies need to use these news releases to reach their buyers directly. And it's a pretty rare opportunity because the media has no influence nor ability to filter the information. Not only does the web affect news releases, but also newsrooms. Newsrooms are part of a company's website where they put information for the media. But again, thanks to the internet...all kinds of people visit a company's newsroom, not just journalists. To reiterate it is vital to use this space as a way to connect and reach your buyers. Use words, links, and information that targets BUYERS not just the media.

An Image is Worth a Thousand Words Although this saying is by no mean new, using images in today's marketing is new and truthfully worth a thousand words. The New Rules of Marketing & PR chapter 16 is titled 'an image is worth a thousand words'. The chapter addresses that real pictures of your company's products, services, or employees are more effective than fake photos. It also states to not be afraid to use this theory in social networking like on Instagram, Pinterest, SlideShare, etc. Throughout the book, the idea of understanding your consumers is reiterated over and over. And of course, there is no difference here. In order for an image to be worth anything, you must know and understand who is looking at it. If a consumer is considering doing business with you, the image they see should have some value to them. Videos Made Easy Chapter 17 of the New Rules book discusses videos. Obviously, videos are more involved than photographs but still simil...

AI wizards in China The Chinese government has a massively ambitious plan to lead in the field of artificial intelligence in 2030, according to an article from MIT Technology Review.  At the annual EmTech Digital conference in San Francisco, several Chinese executives spoke about the advances their companies were making in AI. The progress these companies have been making is impressive with a variety of AI-powered technologies, from computer vision to speech recognition and natural-language processing. And one reason such impressive advances have been made in China is the amount of research and capable minds focused on AI in the country. It appears China is already on the road to being a leader in AI.

Marketing Channels and AI According to an article on Business News Daily many retail companies are deciding to use artificial intelligence to help expand their marketing. Many retailers seem to be turning toward artificial intelligence in order to better understand their customers and be able to provide a better personalized experience for their customers. Sales Force states that "trying to optimize communications with an ever-growing customer base, across rapidly proliferating channels and touch points, you need all the help you can get. And increasingly for marketers, that help isn’t human. When it comes to delivering the right message, on the right channel, at the right time, 61% of marketing leaders expect AI will substantially impact their business over the next five years." Artificial Intelligence is continuing to grow towards becoming a necessary asset for companies. Not only with the automation capabilities, but the capacity to personalize a customer's...

Multichannel Marketing Multichannel marketing is all about choice and giving your customers a choice, yet making it clear that your brand is the right choice. SAS Institute is a software company that develops and markets business analytics software and services. I learned the following from a YouTube video that SAS made, which is very informative but also is helping SAS market itself. DOs and DON'Ts of Multichannel Marketing DON'T have irrelevant content that does not target your customers  DO have a single view of your customer, their values, and how they interact with your brand DON'T have disjointed campaigns that differ from one channel to the next DO have a single campaign that is replicated across various channels DON'T waste time time on channels that are not delivering results DO have consistent customer experience across all channels

Product Development Stages and Marketing According to the YouTube video Product Development Stages  there are eight stages in product development. Idea generation, idea screening, concept development, market strategy, feasibility analysis/study, product design, test marketing and market entry.  The main area for marketing is during that market strategy phase where you must determine the target market, or who specifically you are trying to sell to.  Also during the test marketing phase, part of that target market is usually used to test acceptance of the product and if it should go out to the rest of the market. Ultimately when developing a product, marketing is trying to gauge the target audience and market to them effectively so that when the product enters its life cycle in phase eight, it will continue to have a long and profitable life.