Brand & Product Pages Make Up 39% of Facebook Pages

December 28, 2009 – 1:12 pm
Think Facebook is just a tool for your kids in college to organize parties?Think again.HubSpot's new State of Facebook for Business report, released today, shows that brand- and product-focused pages represent 39% of all pages. The brand/product category is the largest single category of Facebook pages. Pages for local organizations and public figures each represent about 30% of the total Facebook pages. The State of the Facebook for Business report was compiled from data collected by Facebook Grader, a free tool from HubSpot that helps businesses assess the marketing effectiveness of their Facebook pages.Other key findings of the report include: About half of all Facebook pages have less than 500 fans.Only 0.3% of Facebook pages have more than one million fans.In aggregate, musicians and local businesses have the most fans.Although they have fewer overall pages, Italy and the U.K. have more fans on a per-page basis than U.S. pages.The report data encompasses 120,000 Facebook pages and ...

Best Way to Kill Creative B2B Marketing? Focus Only on B2B Marketing.

December 28, 2009 – 1:12 pm
Quick! What are the four most frequently used words by B2B marketers? Give up? Here's the answer: "But I'm a B2B Marketer."How many times have you heard that refrain? Inspired by a great marketing campaign, you come up with a way to adapt it to your B2B marketing mix -- except when you pitch the idea to your boss, a horse with blinders on, she objects: "But we're a B2B company -- that won't work for us!"How lame.Marketing today requires creativity, and creativity requires creative stimuli. If you're trying to come up with new ways to do B2B marketing, but only follow B2B marketing examples, you'll find yourself stuck in the same old B2B rut. In order to do remarkable work, you need to draw on a range of different media and marketing campaigns. This is particularly true of social media applications like Facebook. For example, here are five Facebook pages ...

Happy National Candy Cane Day, Marketers!

December 28, 2009 – 1:12 pm
Two billion candy canes, about 4 million worth, were purchased this holiday season by consumers with a sweet tooth.  Here are some fun facts to help you celebrate the sugary day of December 26. 1. The original candy cane did not have stripes.  Before the red stripe was introduced, a candy cane was simply a white, mint-flavored stick.2.  Decorating the tree with candy canes became fashionable during the 1850s when a resident of Ohio,  August Imgard, hung them on a Christmas tree to augment his homemade decorations.3. Some Christians believe the candy cane has a symbolic meaning with the "J" shape representing Jesus's initial, and the red/white stripes representing Christ's purity and blood.  Others view the candy as the shape of a shepherd's hook. 4. The modern candy cane was invented by Bob McCormack of Atlanta.  He started the curved candy trend sometime in the early 1920's with handmade versions.  As the ...

HubSpot’s Top 10 Inbound Marketing Blog Articles of 2009

December 28, 2009 – 1:12 pm
401. That’s the number of blog articles that we’ve shared with you this year on Inbound Marketing blog. We’ve covered a lot of topics and created a ton of original content. It's been a whole lot of fun, but now it’s time to highlight the best of the best.If you took a peek at our Top Inbound Marketing Webinars of 2009, you might notice this topic just keeps popping up.Yep, that’s right. Five out of our top ten blog posts this year were on the topic of social media. Three of those 5 contained hard-to-find Twitter data that many businesses use to make informed decisions, while the remaining 2 featured tactical information how businesses can use and monitor their social media presence. As we enter 2010, one can look at this data and certainly understand why so many companies are planning to incorporate social media into their marketing mix next year.Top 10 Inbound ...

Are Your Landing Page Forms Naughty or Nice? [Cartoon]

December 28, 2009 – 1:12 pm
Webinar: Always Be Testing: 10 Tips For Increasing Your Lead Conversion Rate Learn how to convert website visitors into leads with calls to action and landing pagesDownload the free webinar to for tips on testing, measuring, and analyzing your marketing programs to improve your lead conversion rate. Become a Fan on FacebookGet inside info and advance notice of HubSpot's free marketing webinars, ebooks and more. Click here -->  

Randomer

December 28, 2009 – 1:07 pm
What’s your passion? Your hobby? Last week, I was invited to a Christmas party thrown by a bike group, and I was introduced to a whole new world. I have always loved to ride bicycles, but never as a serious hobby. The people in this group, on the other hand, were crazy about biking. Their lives revolved around their hobby! I was reminded of the people when I went through the blog Randomer. The blog is all about mountain biking, and it has tons of pictures – eye candy all of them! I know I will probably never get to experience what the blogger has, but vicarious experience is enough for me. Bikers will certainly appreciate what this blog has to offer. See for yourself. Go to Source

The Plus Size Advocate

December 28, 2009 – 1:07 pm
Sometimes I wish that we were back in the times when being skinny as a pole was not the “in” thing. While there have been (good) changes in the way society perceives weight issues, we have to admit that skinny is still what’s considered appealing for many. What about “big boned” people like me??? Likeminded people, check out The Plus Size Advocate, and learn to accept yourself for who you are. It is not some sort of propaganda or something that makes excuses for being unfit and unhealthy. It is about facing reality and making the best out of what has been given to you. It is about fashion and the politics surrounding the plus size issue. It is something that you might have been looking for. Go to Source

Obscurity And Beyond

December 28, 2009 – 1:07 pm
Movie or film buffs have been raving about Avatar these past few days. It seems to me that everywhere I go, Avatar will be brought up no matter what. Even those who are not really into movies seem to have jumped into the Avatar bandwagon. It’s one of those movies that have been promoted so much – the exact opposite of obscurity. But there are people who are really into movies, even the lesser known ones. Take the blogger behind Obscurity and Beyond. His blog is all about movies that you and I have never heard of. There are only a handful of entries in the blog, but I can see its potential. For those who love movies for art’s sake and not because of publicity, this blog might be to your liking. You might even want to help out the blogger and ...

Stitchin’ Heaven Howdy

December 28, 2009 – 1:07 pm
Arts and crafts is not for everyone – just like most any other hobby. Each person has his own set of interests and talents but I have to say that I wish I had a knack for sewing and stitching. I remember having to go through excruciating moments in high school when I couldn’t – for the life of me – complete projects in Home Ec. Maybe if I had something like Stitchin’ Heaven Howdy to read, I would have been a little more enticed to work harder. For those who are into these things, then this is one blog that you absolutely must subscribe to. From quilting to making homemade concoctions, this blog has something to offer. Oh, and they seem to like giving freebies a LOT! Go to Source

Greece Blogger

December 28, 2009 – 1:07 pm
One of my dream destinations is Greece. Excellent beaches, hunky guys, great food…oh wait, I shouldn’t be talking about this European country! Why? Because the blog I am featuring, while it has the same name, is actually about Greece, NY. If you’re not from their neck of the woods (which obviously I am not), you might be misled at first. REBECCA JAFFARIAN: “THE REAL GREECE BLOGGER” is the full name of this blog, and you should be prepared to experience a no holds barred approach when you visit it. Learn all about Greece and everything that is happening there – politics to social activities, you got it. Anyone from Greece or the surrounding areas will find this blog a very useful way to keep a finger on the happenings in the town. Go to Source