Business websites are complex, unwieldy, and sometimes finicky beasts. What works today can break tomorrow. Add the near-constant evolution of web tech, SEO best practices, and AI-powered search, and it’s easy to feel like you’re always playing catch-up.
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If your search traffic graph has started to look… off, you’re not imagining it.
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If you’ve logged into HubSpot lately, you’ve probably noticed something new: HubSpot Credits. They’re the platform’s way of turning certain tools and features into pay-as-you-go options, giving teams more flexibility in how they work.
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Some B2B teams treat AI in sales like a magic button. They plug in a tool, wait for the pipeline to fix itself, and wonder why nothing changes. It’s a common misstep, and it says more about the pressure on reps than the tech itself.
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There’s no “I” in team, as they say. That mindset shows up fast when you look at how sales and marketing shape the flow of a business.
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If your forecasting is always off, lead follow-ups slip through the cracks, or your sales reports feel like they’re written in Portuguese, the problem might not be your sales team. It might be how you’re handling leads and deals in HubSpot.
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If you’ve ever tried B2B marketing in the industrial world and felt like you were throwing money into a furnace, you’re not alone. Manufacturers and OEMs often jump into digital marketing expecting quick wins — and when the leads don’t flood in, they assume “ content marketing doesn’t work in our industry.”
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Data silos are one of the most common barriers to growth in B2B organizations. When marketing, sales, and service teams store information in separate systems, no one has the full picture. Each team is doing its part, but their combined effort doesn’t produce the clarity needed to move revenue forward.
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One of the top concerns we hear from new clients is finding ways to increase brand awareness. They have so much to offer, but too few people know their business exists. Does that sound like you?
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If you’re a B2B company, you know how tough it can be to create exciting content around “boring” niche subjects and still reach a wide audience. Maybe you’ve tried before but struggled to come up with ideas, or maybe organizing those ideas into a consistent strategy felt impossible. Whatever the challenge, you’re far from alone.
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When it comes to marketing your website, think of it like a sports game where the goal is to catch and keep attention. Your best defense is good SEO, which helps you stay ahead of the competition.
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Marketing healthcare technology, whether it’s to big hospital systems or small dental offices, has its own set of tricky challenges.
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Wouldn't it be glorious to live in a work world where everything is exactly where you need it, when you need it? No matter what internal team you're on, where you're located, or how big and sprawling your team is?
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Marketing influencers love a new buzzword. Every few months, a new term pops up on LinkedIn or in conference slides that promises to “change the way we think about marketing.” Lately, that shiny new phrase is loop marketing (coined at HubSpot’s Keynote Spotlight at INBOUND 2025) and if you’ve found yourself wondering whether you missed a new movement, you’re not alone. Here’s the spoiler:
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Choosing the right Google Ads agency can make or break your PPC results — especially for manufacturers and industrial companies where long sales cycles, niche audiences, and tight margins are the norm. But here’s the catch: not all agencies know how to handle those challenges.
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In B2B and manufacturing, customer needs are always evolving. Why shouldn’t your website along with them?
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You don’t have to be a tech wizard or a billion-dollar brand to rule the virtual roads we call the internet. The great equalizer? Great SEO.
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Quoting a client shouldn’t feel like juggling sticky notes, PDFs, and three different payment systems. Yet for many B2B companies, that’s daily life. Deals stall, payments get lost in the shuffle, and sales teams spend more time patching processes than closing business.
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Search is shifting again, and this time, AI is stirring the pot. GEO, AEO, and SEO all play into how answers are delivered, but they aren’t interchangeable. The rise of AI search optimization has businesses asking the right question: Will my company still show up when buyers go looking?
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At the September 2025 INBOUND Spotlight, HubSpot dropped a bomb – actually, a few hundred bombs. In mere hours, the software platform giant announced 200+ product updates and features, a Loop Marketing AI playbook for customers, and an AI Ready Partner Playbook for agencies. What does this all mean for your day-to-day? Or your marketing agency’s? To give you answers for 1, 3, and 5 years from now, I sat down with Justin Graci, manager of Partner GTM and enablement at HubSpot.
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HubSpot Spotlight is a twice-a-year event where the sales and marketing software giant unveils major features across its many hub platforms. We attended the summer/fall spotlight, held during HubSpot’s annual INBOUND marketing conference Sept. 2-5, 2025, in San Francisco – and, boy, do we have news to share with you.
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“Inbound marketing is the bee's knees! Unlike many other marketing strategies, inbound focuses on everything from getting noticed through delighting current customers. As you could guess, there are many moving parts to any successful inbound marketing strategy...some easy, minimal tasks, some time consuming, difficult tasks."
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Marketing requires a significant amount of time and effort. While there are tools available to help maximize your effort, you might still hesitate to use them - how much does inbound marketing actually cost?
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If you're a marketer, you know how important your work is to generating sales, leads, and sign-ups. Proving to the “powers that be” that your content or campaign sparked that eventual revenue opportunity? Not as easy. And if you're using multiple software platforms to gain traction with customers, it can become even more confusing to track where all these conversions originated. That's where an attribution tool comes in and can be a critical component when analyzing user behavior from start to finish.
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Modern marketers know that calls-to-action (CTAs) are powerful tools for guiding users toward conversion. CTAs support goals like increasing traffic, generating leads, and encouraging certain behaviors at key decision points.
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Ever stared at an intricate piece of machinery and wondered how all the parts sync together to create an impactful whole?
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You can have the best content in the world, but it won’t mean anything if people can’t find it! Ranking well on Google search results pages is the best way to ensure visibility for your website. Sometimes it's necessary to go back to the basics of SEO (search engine optimization), because ultimately the groundwork needs to be laid for success to follow.
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Today, even B2B buyers expect e-commerce functionality from their vendors. You’re likely no exception. Historically, many B2Bs avoided e-commerce altogether or cobbled together solutions with WordPress plugins like WooCommerce. Others leaned on HubSpot’s limited payment features to get by.
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Using AI (artificial intelligence) for content creation is becoming more common every day. And honestly, it can really take the pressure off your team – if you use it the right way.
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Ever feel like the only way to survive your workload is to clone yourself? You’ve got content to write, data to wrangle, strategy to plan – and your brain’s already halfway into next week. Everyone’s swamped, and your “quick favor” list keeps growing. That’s where generative artificial intelligence (AI) starts to earn its spot. The best generative AI use cases show how these tools can actually help – drafting content, summarizing research, suggesting structure – all without handing over the creative reins.
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You want more leads. You want to save time. You want scalable marketing that works while you sleep. Enter AI. But wait — before you plug random tools into your workflow and expect miracles, let’s be real: AI is not a substitute for strategy.
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Have a website. Publish some news articles. See immediate success and hundreds of leads.
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Ever bought one of those giant bags of chips that looks like it's about to explode with greasy, salty goodness? Alas, when you tear open the bag, you find out 65% of it is ... air. Nothingness. A ruse. You're irritated, but you eat the chips anyway because you already spent the money. You move on with your life, and vow to never again be a sucker for the illusion of value. You may have heard similar sob stories (metaphorically speaking) about SEO for B2B companies. The good news is, if you educate yourself on what SEO work should look like and then partner with the right agency, there'll be nothing to get salty about. SEO, or search engine optimization, is a method of organically attracting more attention from potential buyers and Google search rankings. It's an awesome way to lower your B2B customer acquisition cost vs. pay-per-click advertising (PPC). Assuming you're going to outsource SEO services instead of attempting the work in-house, let's set some proper expectations for the ...
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In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, it’s easy for a website to start feeling outdated soon after launch, especially for the team that built it.
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“Why would you want to connect your email account to HubSpot?” is the wrong question to ask. The real question is, why wouldn’t you want to connect your email account to HubSpot?
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Inbound marketing is the secret behind modern customer acquisition. Finding the right partner to lead the charge can be a game-changer for small businesses and marketing managers in the industrial or manufacturing world.
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I recently had a new client (and HubSpot devotee) describe HubSpot's Sales Hub better than I had in my 6 years of digital marketing. This B2B company's employees almost universally avoided using HubSpot until management forced the issue in 2023. The client's CEO explained:
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Imagine running a business with no returning customers. Now think of operating with no leads, and only returning customers. In both cases, your business model wouldn’t be sustainable or grow. With HubSpot Marketing Hub features and software, these cases are easily avoidable.
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As a marketer, you understand the significance of having an efficient and scalable digital platform for your online presence. You've likely heard of WordPress and Drupal, but today, I want to introduce you to our favorite: HubSpot CMS.
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It's hard to keep track of all your customer interactions, especially as your business grows. It’s even more difficult to manage that customer support manually.
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For the past 17 years, HubSpot software has lived to make marketing and selling easier, more efficient, and more transparent.
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You’re on a website, trying to quickly find answers or do some research, only to feel frustrated by a clunky menu system, poor mobile experience, or outdated layout.
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In the fast-evolving world of SEO (search engine optimization) B2B marketing, having the right keyword strategy can be a game-changer.
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The internet has come a long way from the 1990s and static HTML pages. Let’s talk about today’s online experience and the average cost of a website redesign.
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Ten seconds. When visitors arrive on your site, you have just 10 seconds to capture their attention and communicate your company’s value before they leave.
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Developing a new website for your B2B company is an exciting, but complex, undertaking. From determining your budget and project scope, to working through the design and development process, to ensuring buy-in from all stakeholders – there are many variables to juggle. Above all else, you're probably wondering: "What's this going to cost?" B2B website development isn't cheap, but it can be cheaper if you know where to trim the fat and waste.
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Search engine optimization (SEO) gets the right traffic to your website in the right place at the right time. If your site is SEO-friendly, you’re instantly putting yourself on strategic higher ground in the battle for visibility in Google search results. Who doesn’t want that?
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As a marketer, you always seek tools to propel your business forward effectively and efficiently. You may already be familiar with names like Salesforce or Marketo, but there is another more prominent tool to consider, particularly in evaluating its return on investment: HubSpot.
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Whether you're held responsible your company’s marketing, sales, operations, or customer service outcomes -- or all four -- HubSpot's got a solution. HubSpot's features list stretches to the moon and is the top reason 150,000+ companies use the platform (us included). Sounds lovely (and it is), but the massive list of software Hubs, features, and pricing tiers can overwhelm newcomers with lack of clarity.
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Sure, hashtags might seem like a fun, trendy way to tag that perfect dessert photo, but they actually do a lot more than you think. They’re a powerful tool for boosting your content’s reach and getting it in front of the right audience.
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Marketing is a line item on the budget that’s often in the company crosshairs, yet its ROI can be challenging to measure precisely. When discussing marketing efforts, outsourcing to a third party frequently emerges as an option. The primary question: What's the cost of outsourcing digital marketing?
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As a company in today's warp-speed digital landscape, being present and active is a must, even in niche industries. However, staying ahead of creating content, tracking performance, and maintaining the site is hard – especially if your team’s poorly equipped for it all.
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You’ve probably heard of SEO (search engine optimization) and know it’s important, but you might not be sure what it really involves or if it’s something you can tackle on your own.
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Inbound marketing works. It just does. Check it out:
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You’ve worked with the folks at Customer Y and Customer X for 25 years each, and they still provide a nice chunk of revenue. Your business has been in the B2B/industrial game for 50-100 years, and the brand is already “well known” (somewhere, at least). Trade shows and sales visits to the prospect’s facility are what your sales team knows and is good at. (Though that pesky pandemic sure made it hard.) So, why invest in digital marketing?
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They say you’ve got to spend money to make money. But even “they” can’t possibly approve of flushing money down the drain all in the name of a few quick sales.
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In business, we frequently ask what the ROI is of an investment of time/money. We want to know that if we spend $100, we're getting at least $101.00 back from it. That is a really conservative return, but you get the point. We don't want to spend money without making it back, plus some.
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“We’re spending good money on B2B inbound marketing. What’s the return on our investment?” Your boss wants to see figures. Simply saying, “Umm … website traffic is up?” won’t cut it.
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The manufacturing industry is slowly coming to terms with the influence of the Internet. However, online marketing is throwing many small manufacturers for a loop. Some companies are purposefully resisting this status quo upheaval. Others simply don't know where to start. Is your company still lagging behind the trend? Do you desperately need help to succeed online? Here are some stats that might convince your boss to seriously consider revamping your marketing strategy.
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There's a common misconception that hiring a marketing agency is much more expensive than handling the efforts internally. The tricky part about digital marketing is that it's not one single job that you're paying someone to do.
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It is undeniable that AI is the hot topic of conversation in 2025. Software providers across the board are unveiling innovative ways to incorporate AI, and professionals in the business world are eagerly exploring tricks to enhance their daily efficiencies. And as marketers, especially content-focused marketers, we all heard the early cries that our jobs would be replaced by generative AI.
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HubSpot is the biggest and best in a sea of CRM (customer relationship management) tools. As B2B companies and customers evolve, so does HubSpot's software, and keeping pace with the improvements is both exciting and challenging.
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What's that? You want to ditch annoying direct mail and cold calls?! You want to focus on driving quality traffic to your website to increase RFQs!?!? Kudos! You're making a smart adjustment to your marketing strategy that aligns with how B2B buyers buy today.
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protocol 80 Inc., a leader in digital marketing and sales solutions for B2B businesses, is thrilled to announce the launch of a groundbreaking new tool designed to transform how businesses understand and plan their marketing investments.
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Before getting into the meat of this post ... if you're looking for a quick answer, check out our inbound marketing pricing page. If you’re considering hiring an inbound marketing agency to boost your bottom line and find new customers, you probably have a lot of questions. Chances are, you’re wondering:
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Those familiar with HubSpot understand quite well at this point that they don't tend to shy away from releasing product updates regularly, and sometimes quite aggressively. This year, HubSpot may have outdone themselves, though, as they aim to release not just a significant amount of updates, but perhaps some of the most influential, impactful, and consequential updates in recent years. To understand the scope of these recent updates, it’s important to understand what HubSpot’s aiming for with them. In spring of 2024, HubSpot released a number of updates relating to AI usage in their platform, with the goal of helping businesses “reinvent their process for the AI era at every stage of their go-to-market strategy.” What we see in this recent round of updates both continues and builds on this, aiming now to help businesses “reinvent growth with solutions that are easy to use, fast to adopt, and unified with data.” Put simply, their aim is to build on and (quite significantly) enhance ...
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Email, around since 1971, remains a key element in marketing strategies. Despite the rise of social media, email continues to be a reliable tool for reaching customers in B2B marketing. Its ability to deliver personalized, targeted messages directly to inboxes creates a direct connection with your audience, making it invaluable for generating leads and building brand excitement.
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Blogging. Writing social media posts. Promoting your company’s products on its homepage. How hard can it be, right? It happens all the time, across all industries: Execs and department heads hear about a digital marketing success story and suddenly want to invest in content writing to take their company to new heights. So they assemble a content writing team by … tapping random employees on the shoulder.
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The rise of the informed consumer, who researches, compares, and often knows precisely what they want, has necessitated a shift in how businesses approach sales. Enter: inbound sales. For marketers, this isn't just another buzz term to add to the ever-growing list. It's a fundamental shift in strategy that directly impacts how we attract, engage, and delight our audience.
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The internet is full of business websites, all with their unique strengths and weaknesses. Some have pages that promise new content but haven’t been updated in *cough* years, some are VERY slow to load, and most sadly aren’t optimized for mobile devices. If your website is one of these – or if you’ve identified other issues that require a total site overhaul, it’s time to learn how to make a B2B website from start to finish.
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Choosing the right content management system (CMS) for a B2B company directly impacts the company's ability to attract and nurture leads online. The right CMS can:
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“Our company has a website.” Is that all you can muster when someone asks about your online marketing strategy? You may have a problem.
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I’ve always been fascinated by robots. My favorites – undoubtedly – are R2-D2, and yes, even C-3P0. Cortana from the "Halo" video game series is pretty cool, too – we’ve waged war against the Covenant many times together. Cylons (from "Battlestar Galactica") and the robot from "Rocky IV" are also in my top 10. (Shame on the 2021 director's cut for removing Paulie's beloved birthday present.) While those droids and artificial intelligence (AI) are firmly rooted in the world of science fiction and a few clever builds at fan conventions, we're getting closer each day to robot counterparts becoming the norm.
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Have you ever feared that AI could replace your job as a marketer? There’s no doubt that AI has become ever-present in the marketing space, but AI is not replacing you. In fact, AI and humans hold more power as a unit – the dynamic duo, as one might say. When used synchronously with humans, AI can be a resourceful and powerful tool incorporated into your B2B marketing strategy.
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Have you ever had an idea but can’t get it to roll off your tongue? If the answer is yes, artificial intelligence may become your best friend.
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New technology can be intimidating for everyone, and with the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across the board in today’s economy, marketing is experiencing the same uncertainties that other industries face. So, how to use AI in B2B marketing effectively? The answer is: practice.
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We all have that tech-wiz colleague – whom we can all be jealous of. What if there was an easy way you could become this person?
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From the first computer to today’s smartphones, Internet access has made leaps and bounds in terms of both efficiency and reach. Likewise, the question of how AI will change marketing is central to the evolving landscape of how we interact with buyers.
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Balancing the different aspects of a business is much like carrying the groceries into the house without bags: lots of different shapes and sizes (when it comes to projects), and something is bound to get dropped.
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You'd think the determining factor of "good design" would be, y'know, the quality of the design. Right? Right?
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If you're getting ready to flip the switch on your website creation strategy for lead generation, you'll need to decide what platform to use to power the strategy. Two of the most common options for inbound marketing software are HubSpot, and what we call "FrankenSpot" -- WordPress with a bunch of plugins and third-party tools integrated.
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You’re at a crossroads. Your company’s website hasn’t been generating nearly enough traffic -- and the resulting void in sales leads has left you scratching your head. So, you’ve found a friend in HubSpot's CMS (content management system). The benefits are palpable. But what would packing up and moving mean for your current website?
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Sometimes a website needs a new home. Perhaps the company’s web development or SEO expert is recommending a change to improve user experience or technical performance. Or maybe an exec wants to boost or lower the company's investment in digital marketing. Either way, the ripple effect this has on a website's success can be massive -- for good or bad.
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SEO and user experience go hand-in-hand. By providing both new and recurring visitors with a seamless and pleasurable website experience, you can naturally improve your SEO, which will increase your visibility on SERPs (search engine results pages).
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With people constantly glued to the internet, digital marketing has become one of the most effective ways to reach buyers – even in B2B and niche industries. Users are not only accessing email on the go, but also relying on search engines and AI-powered assistants to help them find how-tos, products, and services.
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If your content is the foundation of your business website, the CMS is its backbone.
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“You fight great, but I’m a great fighter” – Apollo Creed, 1982
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In digital inbound/content marketing, we say, “Work SMARTer, not harder.” Why all the caps? Because any data-backed, results-oriented marketing strategy has its roots in SMART goals. We define SMART goals as digital marketing KPIs (key performance indicators) and benchmarks that are:
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Josh Curcio, CRO and partner at protocol 80, was invited to speak at the upcoming Future of AI Conference hosted by BWG Strategy on March 14.
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Those pondering how to improve their leaky sales pipeline usually audit one of the following: The fit of the leads reaching the pipeline The process that turns those leads to sales (or causes them to circle the drain) An account-based marketing strategy -- and the templates below -- can address both.
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From a graphic designer and writer's perspective, we offer a unique viewpoint on the positive effects of content maps in the world of social media and blogging.
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In the ever-evolving world of content creation and marketing, mastering the art of writing is more important than ever. With a sea of resources available, how do you discern which ones are truly impactful? In this article, we've distilled a list of eight essential writing tools and references, handpicked by the seasoned writers at protocol 80, to guide you toward creating compelling and high-quality content.
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With content writing for inbound marketing, it’s common to find yourself challenged by writing technical content without having prior experience in the field. It can be daunting to tackle complex topics and present them in a coherent and engaging manner. However, through our careful work and collaboration with other writers and resources, we’ve developed a protocol to overcome this. You don’t need to embark on this content creation journey alone or start from scratch. Following these methods will guide you to writing technical content that resonates with readers: Leverage Other Writers and Resources Learn from Blogs and Various Sources Utilize AI-Powered Writing Tools
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Are you a non-designer in need of creating professional-looking designs? In today's digital age, there are numerous programs and resources available that can help you achieve your design goals without the need for a graphic designer. Whether you are taking on design work for your business or personal projects, here are some tips and tricks to make your designs stand out, even without professional expertise. Why Less Is More in Design Fonts Matter The Art of Visual Hierarchy The Essential Role of Whitespace Prepping the Final Product Free Design Resources at Your Fingertips
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The Importance of Tracking Website Traffic-Related KPIs in Digital Marketing Building an effective inbound marketing strategy is no walk in the park. From laying the foundation to crafting tactics for brand awareness, you’re constantly learning and adapting. As the cycle of “Strategize → Execute → Analyze → Repeat” becomes familiar, the focus shifts toward one crucial element: traffic.
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In today's rapidly evolving marketing landscape, adaptability and forward-thinking are crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in your business. Unfortunately, many businesses overlook the importance of establishing a solid marketing foundation, similar to accumulating "technical debt" in the tech world over time.
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If you’re here, there’s something not going quite right with your marketing. Likely, you’re under the gun to prove ROI for the efforts you’ve been accomplishing and realize the current path just isn’t going to cut it.
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CHICAGO, Il. – Fall brings more than just picturesque foliage and cozy evenings – for protocol 80 (p80), a leading inbound marketing agency based in Bradford, Pa., fall also marks the time for the annual FABTECH conference. This year was especially exciting for p80, as three members of their team presented to the assembly of manufacturers in Chicago on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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p80 is now one of a handful of inbound marketing agencies holding more than one HubSpot Partner accreditation BRADFORD, Pa. – protocol 80, Inc., (p80) a leading inbound marketing agency based in Bradford, Pa., has achieved a third accreditation from HubSpot, a top-ranking customer relationship management (CRM) platform company.
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It’s one of our favorite times of the year – Fall is approaching, the weather is perfect, and the countdown to FABTECH 2023 is on.
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Have you been considering using HubSpot to boost your business, but aren’t sure if it’ll fit into your already stretched marketing budget?
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In today’s rapidly transforming digital world, standing out in the crowded B2B landscape means going beyond the ordinary. It’s about embracing tools that don’t just scratch the surface but dig deep, unlocking streamlined processes and fueling productivity gains like never before.
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Imagine having to cold-call random phone numbers every time you want to make a sale.
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HubSpot has become a go-to platform for businesses seeking to streamline their marketing, sales, and customer service efforts. One of the powerful features of HubSpot is its ability to segment contacts for more targeted campaigns and interactions.
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When you think of CRM software, the first name that comes to mind is Salesforce. They are the 800-pound gorilla in the CRM market. When you think of marketing automation software, the first name that comes to mind is HubSpot. This company is the pioneer of inbound marketing. However, they are slowly gaining a following for their CRM product as well. Choosing the best CRM for your sales and marketing is essential to achieve long-term business success. While there are plenty of options to choose from, in this blog, we’ll compare two of the most well-known platforms – HubSpot CRM vs. Salesforce.
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Even on a quiet day at your company, HubSpot can do a lot to keep your business moving toward its goals.
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You attend trade shows to obtain valuable leads for your company. But do you have a plan in place for what to do once you’re back in the office from the trade show so you can move those leads closer to a purchase?
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It's quite an ordeal to send your team to a trade show. Trade shows can give a huge boost to your business and marketing campaign IF you approach them correctly. You should be generating buzz that is going to drive people to your booth long before you arrive to make your time and money count.
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When you’ve finally found that great lead -- or leads -- through your inbound marketing efforts, the relationship with that potential customer is just beginning. In fact, interactions between your company and that fresh lead should span every step of the buyer’s journey and their trip down the sales funnel. It'll require regular engagement and providing appropriate information at the right time, along with awesome sales follow-up emails and other outreach.
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Buyer personas are an essential component of any inbound marketing campaign. Without them, all of your efforts could fall on deaf ears. Businesses that have adopted persona strategies are seeing significant boosts in ROI, and developing a better understanding of their customers. Personas represent “semi-fictional” profiles of your ideal customers. This means something different to everyone, based on their business goals:
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Change happens daily for marketing and sales teams, and it can be difficult to keep track of every single contact and their information. And once you combine the number of contacts you have with the different stages of the sales cycle, you can quickly become overwhelmed. This is where B2B marketing automation tools come in.
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A B2B medical marketing prospect’s email address is a precious commodity. Most people don’t freely give out their email address unless they’re getting something valuable in return. No one wants to inadvertently sign up for spam or an unwanted free trial. So, how do you nurture a B2B buyer persona with something more tasty -- something valuable, educational, and relevant to their pain points?
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Last week I needed to buy flea and tick shampoo for my puppy, Quinn. It was a busy week, and I didn’t take the time to research shampoo brands before I ran to Tractor Supply Co.
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The farmboy and the princess. The swordsman and the giant. The grandfather and his grandson.
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Juggling data for multiple brands can be a challenge. Finding the right combination of segmentation and availability will enhance your productivity and cut down on unnecessary steps in the reporting process. 3 Setup Options for HubSpot When Managing Multiple Accounts From data management to brand identity, there are a lot of balls to juggle when managing multiple brands under one parent organization. HubSpot provides different solutions for this, tailored to your company’s needs. Various approaches can be configured to maximize their ease of use and accessibility while also limiting access based on team needs.
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Last week, the p80 crew took a trip down to Atlanta for FABTECH 2022. While walking the floor, we talked to people from a myriad of different companies to get a pulse on the new and exciting technology being introduced to the industrial sector in 2023.
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Content marketing strategy is a key component of business success. When it comes to content strategy, both inbound marketing and account-based marketing (ABM) come into play.
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Partnering with an agency to accomplish your marketing goals can be an amazing, successful investment in business growth for your company. However, not every partnership is a match made in heaven. We’ve found when talking to clients, prospects, and others in the digital marketing realm one theme comes up a lot when discussing agency underperformance: “I just thought this was normal.” It can be hard to decipher what’s the industry standard when it comes to agencies, and if you’re getting the most out of your investment. This guide aims to help you assess if the friction points you’re experiencing are expected or if it might be time to seriously consider an agency switch.
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Understanding how to create a B2B content strategy can prove tricky. However, using some tools and tricks, you can quickly generate blog topic ideas (and other forms of content) that’ll be relevant and beneficial to your boss or client.
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Businesses are created, thrive, and fold with the fluctuation of the economy. Almost as common as a business closing is the announcement of a merger between two brands or of the acquisition of one company by another.
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From the countless hours spent creating blueprints, mockups, and implementing design changes, bringing a new product to market is a major investment for any business. But the hard work doesn’t stop once the product is created. To ensure a successful product launch, it’s crucial to develop a strategic marketing plan that efficiently gets your product out in front of different audiences.
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From the desk of p80’s Senior Inbound Marketing Specialist Remember that one home maintenance project you took on a few years back?
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The view to the water from our pavilion at Willow Bay.
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A new quarter. A fresh start. Time to try new things and attract new business. How will you do that?
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Oftentimes when I’m asked about inbound strategy, it’s tempting to give a wishy-washy answer like, “It depends on the situation” “It depends on the company” “It depends on the goal.” This kind of deflection helps no one improve, create, and measure their strategies.
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You’re already behind if you’re not paying attention to your competitors’ marketing.
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Research shows that today’s internet users prefer videos over text and pictures. (
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You have your goals. You know your opportunities. You’re ready to leverage your brand’s strengths.
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There are numerous digital marketing techniques spanning just as many platforms -- email, social media, blogging, website optimization, video, and so on. And when you’re thinking about marketing for your business, it can be tempting to want to include as many of those techniques as possible.
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Starting a basic Google Ads account is not difficult in the least bit. With a bit of research and a credit card, you can get account going pretty quickly. However, maintaining an effective Google Ads account can be time consuming. Many small and mid-size businesses lack the resources and skills, so it's often better handled by a PPC (pay-per-click) ad agency.
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Because we have been doing training seminars on Google Ads recently, we get to talk to many businesses about their experiences. We completely understand that most business people won't have an in depth knowledge of Google Ads (formerly AdWords), and we wouldn't expect them to. What I have found in talking to them is the lack of knowledge of what type of service, value, etc. they are getting from their current Google Ads agencies. In fact, some of these businesses are getting straight up taken advantage of.
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Many sellers and marketers aren’t quite sure how to re-engage cold leads, especially when it’s been 6 to 12+ months since they were warm. Do you pick up the phone? Give up and move on? Poke them with a sharp stick to see if they move?
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Google Analytics (GA) is one of the best free digital marketing reporting tools any business can have, hands down. What is Google Analytics used for? Tracking nearly every action on your website, including the B2B lead generation metrics most important to CEOs and sales/marketing heads: How much traffic do we get? How are they finding our website? What actions are they taking once they arrive? Google Analytics will tell you all of that and more. Despite the importance of Google Analytics, many business owners and website managers don't even know whether their site uses it.
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If you're here, you already know landing pages are a core component of capturing leads from your website. You know how to increase conversion rates on your website by offering valuable content (e-book, free consultation, etc.) in exchange for the visitor's contact into. Now that you've captured your lead's information, what's next?
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What’s the most common cause of failure for a B2B digital marketing campaign? Most often, it’s either poor understanding of how inbound marketing works, or lack of commitment to a plan.
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Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a great, and often very impactful, way to quickly generate website traffic. However, the PPC model may not be a good fit for every situation.
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You have leads coming to your website. Some won’t ever buy. Some are browsing. Some are considering. How do you know which leads to nurture and how to nurture them in customers?
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Are there any professions that have been changed by COVID-19 more than selling and marketing? We’ve picked up some new habits -- some are good and some are … well, not so good.
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Crafting digital marketing and sales strategies is like building or renovating a house -- the house being your website. It’s not something you throw together in a day and hope it works. It takes time, thought, and input from a variety of stakeholders.
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In-person trade shows have been a valuable source for generating leads since … well … forever. Think of the caveman rolling his stone wheel or dragging his sabretooth tiger hide to the market for trade. (We weren’t really there, but trust us, it happened.) But it seems like many businesses are in a trade show rut where they bring the same, tired strategies that everyone else has been doing for ages.
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“Did you hear that the longer your content is, the better it performs in SEO?” “Rack up as many backlinks as possible, no matter where they come from.” “You don’t need a CRM. Your business is too small.” “SEO is dead.” Have you heard these words before? You probably have if you’ve been around online marketing long enough.
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Doing sales and marketing without effective reporting techniques is like taking a ship to sea without any navigation tools. You may know where you want to go, but without analysis of where you are and where you’re going, the odds are slim that you’ll end up at your desired destination. Failure to chart your course means you can easily get off track, but not know until it’s too late. You won’t know where you drifted from your path and how to right the ship.
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The clutter is piling up. It’s hindering your ability to find what you’re looking for. You know you need to clean it, but it’s such a big job. However, the longer you procrastinate, the bigger the clutter gets and the less efficient you become.
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Inbound marketing and sales are not in conflict. In fact, your marketing and sales teams are more powerful together than they are apart. They complement each other like the bait and a hook at the end of a fishing line. The bait attracts a prospect with enticing content, and the hook connects with the prospect to snag a sale.
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We’re constantly surrounded by noise. Whether online or offline, there’s always a buzzing of people who want a bit of our time. How does a B2B company cut through the noise and reach a lead?
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What is your business striving to achieve? How do you plan for continued growth and success? It all begins with goals.
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It’s every marketer’s nightmare: an algorithm or software change that upheaves what we thought we knew about a system, how it works, and how we strategize our marketing efforts to use it. If iOS15 and the changes Apple brought upon us in late 2021 triggered these marketing night terrors for you, you’ve come to the right place. Every marketer I know loves a good puzzle to solve and a challenge to overcome. This latest development in privacy rules is no different. Now that we’re a little bit distanced from the release, it’s time to analyze the changes, impact, and opportunity this presents. After all, Steve Jobs once said. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”
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Whether they’re just starting out with HubSpot tools or dipping their toes in B2B content marketing strategy, many folks use the HubSpot Community forum for advice.
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"What are landing pages, and why are they important to us?" You may have heard of them, but do you know what B2B lead generation landing pages are? If you're shaking your head, you're far from alone. The lowdown is this: You need landing pages if you want to drive revenue through your website via content/inbound marketing.
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COVID-19. There -- we got that out of the way. In all seriousness, it’s impossible to talk about the future of B2B sales without touching on the coronavirus -- as sick as we all are of discussing it.
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Talk with any successful digital marketer, and the #1 thing they’ll tell you is the foundation of any lead-generating, sales-converting, customer-delighting strategy is content.
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How often do you default to saying “Google” when you’re talking about search engines in general? (For example: “When’s that new horror flick coming out? Let me Google it.”)
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Since you’re reading a “101” article, we’d guess you’re terrified of writing the metas, H1s, and other SEO website mumbo-jumbo you wish someone else would handle.
Read moreToday's challenges in industrial marketing are a bit baffling to outsiders. Why? There's really no reason they should still be a thing in 2022. Especially during COVID, most industries became aware of not just the necessity, but also the power of owning a strong brand presence online.
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When you search for your primary services, where does your website show up? Most likely, it's showing up below your competitors in Google search results. You may not be on the first page at all - which is a huge problem if you're trying to get leads and customers online. There's a reason why your rankings are low. Even better, there's a solution! Here's everything you need to know.
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What happens when you collect a shiny, new lead? Sadly, many B2B marketers and sellers either neglect it (by forgetting to feed or nurture it) or kill it (by overfeeding it with junk).
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OK, you’re all set up with your paid ad. You’re showing up in Google search results or LinkedIn timelines. Time to let the leads roll in.
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Everyone wants the spotlight on their business. Online, the easiest way to earn one is by becoming “findable” in Google Search and “clickable” in email and on social media.
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Unfocused marketing is like throwing darts while wearing a blindfold. You may hit the dartboard. You may hit the wall. You may even hit the bullseye, although that’s highly unlikely. But you want to hit the bullseye every time. You waste money and time on marketing efforts that don’t connect with potential buyers. Take off the blindfold so you can see your target. Inbound marketing for healthcare involves knowing who you’re marketing to so that you can confidently hit the mark.
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You may have heard of inbound marketing, or maybe you haven’t. Maybe you've wondered how the heck it could apply to a B2B company like yours. Either way, you're probably asking yourself, “What is B2B inbound marketing!?”
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Marketing isn’t easy. Running a marketing campaign without understanding the time, effort, and audience involved sets you up for disaster. Two things that businesses don’t want to do: Waste money on marketing strategies that don’t work Leave money (and customers) on the table for their competitors to grab A poorly managed PPC campaign does both.
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Frank Sinatra once sang, “Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage … You can’t have one without the other.”
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Throughout the past year and a half, the marketing world (like many other industries) has been turned upside down by a plethora of COVID-related restrictions -- less in-person networking and more virtual trade shows and connections. However, with those same restrictions loosening, FABTECH 2021 marked the return of in-person trade shows.
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North America's largest metal fabricating and finishing event is back in-person! While the incoming new technology and networking is exciting, the biggest goal for manufacturers in 2022 will be recalibrating their marketing and sales practices post-COVID*.
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It’s a bummer, but also fitting, that for the second straight year, HubSpot’s INBOUND will go all-virtual due to COVID-19.
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In case you’ve been zoning out for the past couple of decades, let’s catch you up on social media use across the world.
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When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), the name of the game is to rank as high as possible on popular search engines such as Google and Bing. And in today’s world of digital-first marketing, there are several ways you can approach this task.
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Most every businessperson wishes they could predict the future and know whether it’s safe to jump on board a trend. Not surprisingly, many B2B markets (looking at you, manufacturing/industrial folks) are notoriously slow to move on from decades-old marketing tactics because they’re safe and require limited tech-savviness.
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For many businesses, getting noticed on social media and in Google search results can be a challenge. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn all have at least one thing in common -- they help extend your company’s reach (regardless of your industry). It helps to have a large following, but if you don’t there’s a great way to reach a large group of people. Understanding how to properly use paid advertising, in combination with effective social media practices, will put your business on track to being noticed.
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With loosening COVID restrictions, trade shows are forecast to be a popular destination in the second half of 2021, and certainly all of 2022. After months of being stuck in virtual conferences, most of us are ready to get out, stretch our legs, and work for quality leads in-person. As COVID-19 changed the way we work, trade shows also began changing. Popular events and keynotes went fully remote. Now it’s time to use a hybrid of in-person and digital techniques to improve your trade show lead generation -- that’s one part of COVID adaptation that should stay. Here are five slick lead generation ideas for your trade shows digital marketing strategy in 2021 and 2022:
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This is a 300-level blog post. If you need a rundown of Inbound Marketing 101, click here for a quick overview. "Digital marketing ... is it worth it?" CEOs can be like old grizzly bears fresh out of hibernation: big, scary, out of touch, and difficult to convince not to eat you. But now you’re convincing them of something new and exciting. You want them to adopt inbound marketing as the company’s primary B2B marketing strategy.
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If you put up a digital marketing campaign and nobody sees it, does it really exist? With internet research and social interactions becoming an integral part of our daily work routine, marketing agencies have realized a shift from traditional, in-your-face advertising to more “hands-off,” content-based marketing. This is called inbound marketing. This style of marketing aims to make it easier for your ideal buyers to find you organically, and eventually convert into qualified leads.
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Marketing automation is fantastic (if done right). It helps turn your leads into revenue and helps time-strapped small businesses use their marketing more effectively. Are you still teetering on whether or not you are going to use marketing automation? Here are some interesting things (you may not already know):
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In today’s digital-first world, your website is more than just a business card – it’s your most powerful tool for attracting and engaging potential customers. For B2B manufacturers, this is especially true. As buyers continue to rely on online searches to inform their purchasing decisions, having a strong online presence is no longer optional; it’s essential.
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Video marketing in the healthcare industry is a trend that has been gaining momentum over the years. The massive switch to the virtual world that occurred in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic added fuel to this trend’s fire, and made it a great way to personalize your marketing efforts from afar.
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We’ve all seen them: those awkward television commercials for breathing apparatuses that always come on when your kids walk in the room. And while those may work for some medical devices, it’s safe to say not all medical devices can be marketed using traditional methods.
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If you’re looking for free SEO tips for beginners, then you’ve come to the right place. SEO is vital for reaching the right audience, improving web traffic, and ultimately driving more sales. An SEO crash course is a great way to get started, but it’ll be difficult to learn if you don’t understand the jargon to begin with.
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At protocol 80, collaborating with other digital marketing creators and chatting about topics relevant to the digital marketing space is one of the things we love to do.
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With the number of people using the internet to find their desired products and services at an all-time high, it’s important to be cognizant of your digital marketing tactics.
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When was the last time you Googled something?
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In 2020, the practice of hosting a webinar became more popular and, in the right hands, effective. B2B companies have learned that webinars are great for generating new leads for every stage of the sales funnel.
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Let’s get one thing clear right off the bat: We all wish we had an unlimited budget for everything. And in today’s world, anything that has to do with marketing has the potential to become expensive. In fact, it’s reported that a full site audit can cost anywhere between $5,000 and $25,000.
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(Editor’s note: This is Part 2 in a two-part series about how a relationship with an inbound marketing consulting firm can fail. In Part 1 we covered five ways the client can be at fault in a failed partnership.)
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(Editor’s note: This is Part 1 in a two-part series about how a relationship with an inbound marketing consulting firm can fail. Don’t worry -- in Part 2 of this series we’ll lay out all the reasons your agency could be at fault.) Dear Inbound Marketing Clients ...
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Sales emails are a staple of any digital marketing campaign. They’re essential for maintaining connections with current customers while helping potential new ones progress down the sales funnel. And if you’ve ever had difficulty increasing your email open rate, then maybe you’ve even tried to personalize your email to help them stand out.
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You plop down at your computer on a Monday morning for a quick look at your website’s traffic. Let’s say you’re using HubSpot’s analytics. You click the “sources” report for your business website and BAM!
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There’s nothing worse than putting effort into creating a website full of useful content, only to have it buried deep in the search engine results pages.
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A B2B buyer persona is an extremely valuable resource for digital marketers in industries with long sales cycles. And once you have one fully developed, it can really begin to improve your content marketing, especially for niche industries such as healthcare technology.
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You're kinda small, and your competition is very, very large. What's a small business to do? Although it might seem like a losing battle, small business SEO services can provide some aces for your sleeves.
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There's a B2B marketing challenger rising through the ranks of jargon and experimental techniques. It's been around for years but has only recently taken off (as many things are wont to do).
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If you're about to hop on an inbound sales call, you must be prepared. You need to handle these calls much differently than an old-school sales call. In fact, maybe we shouldn't call these sales calls at all ... maybe we should call them support calls!
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It takes a lot of time, effort, and brainpower to create an effective marketing strategy. And depending on your healthcare buyer persona, a lot of details can vary from product to product.
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How well do you know the prospect you’re hoping to make your next satisfied customer? Do you know much about their day to day at work? What are the pain points of working in their industry? Or what about the resources they turn to?
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If you are executing digital marketing, congratulations! You are most likely already one step ahead of your competition, and making strides to meaningfully connect with prospects online. But, how do you know if you’re seeing continual success year over year, and improving your metrics?
Without the tools in place to analyze and benchmark your efforts, it is impossible to scale your online marketing and ensure continuous success.
