Tag Archives: Marketing
Content Strategy Blog Posts Ian Lurie // 18 Aug, 2016
Principles of Content Promotion
Content-as-marketing isn’t new. The promotional tools, though… Those are new. We’ve never had as cool a toolset as we have now. It’s easy to get drunk on the possibilities. Sober up: Promote Lightly-Branded Content at Top of Funnel Lightly and non-branded content is a top-of-funnel vehicle. Don’t promote it to a high-intent, bottom-of-funnel audience. You’ll… Read More
SEO Blog Posts Zac Heinrichs // 3 Dec, 2015
The Rank Awakens: Living the Brand with Universal Life Church
Or, “How I Became a Certified Jedi Knight” Yay! Star Wars! I can’t wait for The Force Awakens! It comes out in a couple weeks and I have totally bought into the hype. I know I’m not alone, even after a certain late-nineties, floppy-eared, backward knee-walking, CGI disappointment, who shall remain nameless. Now here’s the… Read More
Project Management Blog Posts Kyle Eliason // 16 Jul, 2015
10 Tips for a Successful Post-Mortem
I love meetings. Actually, let me clarify. I like creative, strategy-focused meetings like a brainstorm or its emo cousin, the Post-Mortem. What is a post-mortem? To some, it’s an examination of a corpse in order to determine the correct cause of death. To other more well-adjusted individuals (no offense Dana Scully), it’s a discussion (usually… Read More
Internet Marketing Blog Posts Kyle Eliason // 23 Dec, 2014
It’s Raining Marketing: The Importance of Integrated Marketing Communications
Halfway during one of my marketing classes in college, I noticed a small quote on the bottom right-hand side of the whiteboard. It said, “Which raindrop caused the flood?” My teacher never referenced it once during the duration of the course. However, ten weeks later, it all made sense. What is this IMC you speak… Read More
PPC Blog Posts Mike Fitterer // 24 Sep, 2014
Pay Per Click Advertising Explained by a Non-PPC Person
Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) should be an integral part of every company’s online marketing strategy. Seriously, it’s legit. After all, what marketer wouldn’t like having totally transparent marketing spend and return data available just a few clicks away? Oh, every marketer likes that sort of data? That’s what I thought. Here’s the problem. Most… Read More
Featured Blog Posts Portent Team // 16 May, 2013
Manage Stuff, Lead People: How to Turn Workers into Leaders
We’ve all seen it happen. An employee is doing killer work, initiating great ideas, and displaying a willingness to take on larger projects. The employee is quickly promoted to a manager position. But while this top employee has excelled at the tactical parts of the job, he or she has never managed a team before.… Read More
Internet Marketing Blog Posts Portent Staff // 3 May, 2013
3 Common Leadership Pitfalls to Avoid at All Costs
Conventional wisdom dictates that working in teams is often the best way to accomplish a task. Many hands make light work, a bundle of sticks cannot be broken, etc. Particularly with large, complex projects, there is just no way one person can accomplish everything on their own. We can’t possibly know everything, or be experts… Read More
Portent Team // 11 Apr, 2013
Why You Should Market Like You (Want to) Cook
Great marketing should be mouthwatering, scrumptious, and satisfying. Don’t you want customers pining for your next email, devouring every bit of information, and anxiously awaiting more? We don’t always think about marketing in terms of a delicious meal, but restaurants and marketers ultimately have the same goals. Give customers a taste of something yummy, satisfy… Read More
SEO Blog Posts Portent Staff // 19 Dec, 2012
What the Duck? DuckDuckGo Takes on the Big G
It’s hard to pinpoint when some of us fell out of love with Google. Maybe it was when they went from geeky Stanford students out to “not be evil” to the kinda creepy boyfriend who orders for us at restaurants because “that’s what we always have.” Like it or not, we were trapped. Over the… Read More
SEO Blog Posts Portent Team // 13 Dec, 2012
Portent Staff Survey: “What’s your biggest question(s) about SEO?”
Recently I did a survey of our staff here at Portent to see if anyone had any questions about SEO they wanted answered. I made the survey anonymous using Survey Monkey, because sometimes people feel more comfortable asking a question without their identity being revealed. In the spirit of sharing and transparency, we decided to… Read More
Portent Team // 5 Dec, 2012
Google Tricks For SEOs to Avoid at All Costs
I’m going to play mind-reader for a moment. Here’s what you think about SEO: You think search engine optimization is a closely-guarded secret bag of tricks You think SEO means beating Google at their own game You equate SEO with “buckets of cash” which would be pouring into your bank account if only you knew… Read More
SEO Blog Posts Portent Staff // 8 Nov, 2012
7 Cringe-Worthy SEO Phrases You Never Want to Hear in a Marketing Meeting
We’ve all been there. You’re in the marketing meeting and someone brings up SEO. I don’t know how they’re bringing it up, but they’ve done it one way or another. Maybe they used some of the phrases below. If they did, you need to know why you wish you hadn’t heard what they’ve just said.… Read More
SEO Blog Posts Portent Staff // 1 Nov, 2012
Balancing SEO and Branding to Avoid Being Covered in Mud
Adding copy to your website can become a tug-o-war between the Branding and SEO teams. One side is representing the voice and tone of the brand. At the other end of the rope, the SEO team is focused on increasing keyword rankings. This can lead to everyone walking away covered in mud. Avoid that unclean… Read More
Ian Lurie // 6 Sep, 2012
The marketer’s code of ethics
Marketing can save the world. Or it can sit there like a turd you throw on businesses, hoping it’s fertilizer. I think it’s up to us which way our industry goes. So, I started work on this code of ethics: The code of ethics What I do affects businesses. It affects the jobs, lives and… Read More
Ian Lurie // 18 Jul, 2012
On cycling, near-death experiences and content
I biked to work today. Which has nothing to do with this post, except that I biked back, too. My ride home includes a 500-foot climb that pitches up to a 10%+ grade in a few places. No big deal when I was 30 (or even 40). But now, at 44, with about 10 extra… Read More