Merry Marketing! 3 Easy Competitive Analysis Tools

Here are three great gifts to add to marketers' end-of-year shopping. Recommended in a Business2Community post from digital marketing author and consultant Warren Knight, these simple tools analyze competitors' digital doings to help marketers get ahead of the pack--or at least stay in the online race. For example, SpyFu allows for easy research of competitors' most profitable keywords. On the SpyFu homepage, you can simply type in a competitor's url and then select "paid keywords" or "organic search" to find out competitor keyword strategy--and even export that research as a CSV or PDF file. With the average B2B marketer earning 67% more leads by blogging than do non-bloggers, digital content is another key element of competitive intelligence. To evaluate content effectiveness, including blog efforts, try QuickSprout, which also checks on traffic scores, SEO scores and social media performance. Finally, Alexa is a must for the competitive-intelligence toolbox. Alexa provides comparative insight on websites in terms of user profile, monthly page views, unique visits, time on site, bounce rate, and site behavior/conversions, as well as search rankings, keywords and links. Knight touts Alexa as a boon for any digital marketer, business owner or content manager. For more info, go to
http://www.business2community.com/marketing/tech-tuesday-3-simple-tools-analyze-competitors

13 Ways to Use Direct Mail in 2016 Marketing

Here's a New Year's marketing resolution that we would suggest: Make 2016 a year of direct mail successes. Unsure of how to get the most ROI from "snail mail" today? A recent Target Marketing magazine article by Summer Gould conveniently lists the most effective uses of direct mail--13 ways to leverage this powerful tool for effective acquisition, retention and brand promotion. Here are just the top five: 1) generate traffic to a retail location, website or event; 2) gather sales leads by targeting your most qualified, active audience with a high response tool; 3) counter competitive offers by reaching out to competitor's prospects without broadcasting your strategy; 4) boost customer loyalty with exclusive offers and rewards; and 5) turn customers into sales generators by garnering and rewarding customer referrals. The list includes ways to fit direct mail into partner marketing and multichannel marketing efforts, with e-mail, social media, mobile and more, and ends up at No. 13: build brand awareness with what research shows is the most trusted form of marketing. For all the ways to best use direct mail in your marketing plan, read the complete article at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/post/13-ways-direct-mail-works-best/