This infographic, by Adobe and Econsultancy, breaks down some of the key digital trends  for 2013. It states that 2013 is “The Year of Content” and then shows you the top priorities for marketers  in companies and in agencies. This data came from the Digital Intelligence Briefing, which is available for download.

The main takeaway from this infrographic is that great content marketing is not easy, but it is a “must” for all businesses.  I think all businesses need to start understanding the importance of content marketing strategies and how critical it can be for branding, target marketing and conversion. However, to meet your goals with content marketing it is critical that businesses find the right agency or consultant to help them create strategies that will work.  We have some links to some great guides on how to get started with content marketing.

If you work as a blogger you may not be aware of all the tax deductions you should be adding up each year. TheySmell.com has come up with an infographic with a quick list of tax deductions bloggers should be keeping track of. Also, check out all the info on 10 Categories of Tax Deductions Bloggers Shouldn’t Forget.

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This infographic by KISSmetrics breaks down 8 areas of a website that often have issues that can cause visitors to leave a website. Each area also includes “what not do” and “how to fix” common problems. Three areas mentioned that I really agree with are:

• #3 Bad Content Structure – I will not hunt for info, I will just leave.
• #4 Obtrusive Use of Audio and Video – please people turn these off!
• $5 The Registration Requirement – If I am required to register I just leave.

I think this infographic can be very educational for business owners and web development agencies trying to educate business owners.

Blog posts can be valuable and they can also be used in many beneficial ways. Now there is an infographic that breaks down 37 different ways you can repurpose your blog post. This information comes from ContentEqualsMoney.com. I feel it is critical for businesses to find a way to use blog posts in multiple ways so they can justify the investment of time and money. The following infographic breaks down really smart ways your business can use blog posts. So take some time to read through the ideas and share them with your marketing team.

What I really love about this IG is that the suggestions are broken down in different categories of use, including social, design, email, tech and more! The ideas offered can be spread around to multiple business departments and good marketing strategies can be planned ahead of time. We hope you enjoy the info as much as we did.

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In terms of boosting sales, generating leads, increasing website traffic and building brand loyalty, savvy marketers get that email marketing is one of the best ways to reach customers. Compared to marketing that utilizes only social media platforms, email marketing actually converts more people to paying customers. In terms of ROI, email marketing crushes social media.

Creating a successful email campaign requires creativity and strategic planning. Simply Business produced a small business guide to email marketing that covers every aspect of producing an effective email campaign from the legalities (Can-Spam Act of 2003) to tools that analyze your campaign’s success, such as bounce rates and subscriber retention.

Getting Started

Creating a successful email marketing campaign is not as simple as writing an enthusiastic message in Gmail and hitting send. In order to prevent spam, an ordinary ESP (email service provider) – like Gmail – permits users to send a limited number of free emails per day, generally 500.

Email marketing services like MailChimp and Vertical Response offer a variety of different email campaign formats so you can send out almost any type of correspondence. Here are a few:

• Sale announcements
• Newsletters (you can insert hyperlinks to your blog and industry news)
• Traditional email formats (for introducing a new product or explain changes in service)

Staying Relevant

In order to stay relevant to your audience, you need to define your strengths and capitalize on your competitors’ weaknesses. By consistently evaluating your marketing efforts, you can hone in on problems with your campaign.
An email marketing campaign that’s crushing it could include these characteristics:

• Hyperlinks with high CTRs (click through rates)
• Personalized subject line
• Successful CTA (call to action)
• Delivery at a specific time and day when users tend to read unsolicited emails

A well thought out email marketing campaign is an amazing tool for connecting with your customers. Combining a few key elements — a strong message with visually pleasing design and sufficient implementation of social media — can ensure lead generation, increased web traffic and higher sales.

Social media can be very confusing for businesses. They know what the options are, but they don’t know how to utilize the options effectively. Vertical Measures created this infographic that breaks down what you need to about YouTube, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. There are also some fantastic suggestions for LinkedIn group directories.

If you need to begin to understand the benefits social media offers, or you know someone that needs an education on social media, this is the infographic you need see.