Whether you or I like it or not, advertising is everywhere. All you have to do is turn on the TV and you're being sold a 3-piece blender, open a magazine or take a drive through the city for 101 reasons on why to order that Big Mac we both know you want. The biggest, "Pick me!" Era is upon us as more businesses are trying their hardest to get in front of your eyes ..read more

You’ve probably heard it already — but landing pages can make or break an online business. Thankfully, creating a good one isn't quantum physics, but it does take a bit of work. You might be surprised, but making high-converting eCommerce landing pages means doing more than making them look good ..read more

What good is a business if no one knows it exists? All those amazing products, unbeatable services, super-duper branding, and snazzy websites go to waste if no one looks at them.   And since they can’t afford to put ads on TV, what’s a small business to do to make it big?   While there’s no denying the fact that businesses need a viable social media presence in today's market, it can be challenging for in-house teams to create a strategic plan for social media management. In other words, they can’t have their cake and eat it too ..read more

As anyone who runs a website knows, it's pretty ruthless out there with the competition. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing and other blackhat trickery (the black magic of digital marketing). To rank in a search engine organic results page (SERP) these days, you need to outwork your rivals. And that means optimising your website for a whole bunch of different search engine optimisation (SEO) factors.   ..read more

Take a seat! Let me ask you this: is your business using predictive lead scoring to identify sales leads while finding ways to convert prospects? If not, then I'm sorry to say that you may be missing out on some of your best prospects in helping you boost sales.   Every one of us gets a sales call (or email, or text) from time to time. The chances are, you’ll get less annoyed at a midday sales call that actually blabbers on a product or service that you might actually use. This is also why lead generation is one of the most crucial parts of a business. You want to find a particular set o ..read more

If you’ve ever spent time in the presence of professional marketers (a lovely bunch, we must say), you’ve probably heard the terms ‘inbound marketing’ and ‘content marketing’ being thrown around. While this may sound a bit like a foreign language to the uninitiated, both are vital marketing strategies that help businesses thrive.    ..read more

This is going to be the biggest, "back in my day!" moment, but email has and continues to stand above the rest. We're not telling fibs when we say email marketing is one of the most effective marketing methods out there. It’s a star player when it comes to generating return on investment (ROI) and offers businesses a fantastic way to build up contact lists (mmm... leads). Email might not be the new kid on the block when it comes to digital marketing but, time and time again, the medium has proven itself to be a marketing staple.   ..read more

Today we’re talking all things inbound lead generation for B2B businesses. Why? Well, here at the 'Hood, we know that 53% of marketers spend half (or more) of their budget on lead generation initiatives … so quite frankly, it'd be rude not to offer some advice.   ..read more

YouTube is a great network for businesses and we’re definitely an advocate for it. It helps us market directly to our customers, or potential customers, and reach a large number of people quickly. I mean, it’s the second-largest social network in the world for a damn good reason. In fact, I defy you to find a single soul who hasn’t found themselves in a deep, deep YouTube hole at least once in their life ..read more

Ooft, we know the feeling – social media can be super daunting. There are so many platforms, demographics, marketing trends, and pitfalls out there. We’re afraid to report that sticking your fingers in your ears and singing ‘lalala’ isn’t an option – social is crucial. Don’t believe us? Just consider the fact that user numbers are likely to approach 4.4 billion globally by 2025 – that’s a juicy pile of potential leads!    ..read more