Apple Store starts selling Nest learning thermostat $249.95

"Previous rumors that Apple will start selling Nest Learning Thermostats were proven true when the official Apple Store product page popped up. So next time you're shopping for a new iPhone or a new iPad, you can also get a Nest thermostat for $249.95, exactly 95 cents more than the price on its own website.

The round, stylish Nest has Android, iPhone, and iPad apps you can use to remotely control your home's temperature. It's called a "learning" thermostat, because it learns your habits after one week of using it and even creates an energy-saving program for you. It might sound odd for Apple to start selling a thermostat — especially one not made by the company — but we bet one of the reasons is because Nest creator Tony Fadell used to be an Apple executive, and was involved in the development of the iPod and the first iPhone.

Just in case you prefer shopping in brick-and-mortar establishments, you can also get the thermostat from physical Apple Stores in the U.S."

Article Written By: Mariella Moon on May 30, 2012 at Tecca

27 Ways to Slice & Dice Your Email List for Better Segmentation

Why segment your email distribution list?  Because it provides results.  This article provides a number of ways to further segment your email list so you can provide more meaningful and targeted information.

Article Written By: Corey Eridon on May 31, 2012 at Hub Spot

"We've already made the case for list segmentation in email marketing, and we sure hope you've bought in. Still in need of a little refresher on the merits of email list segmentation? How about the fact that, according to eMarketer, 39% of email marketers that practice list segmentation see better open rates; 28% see lower opt-out and unsubscribe rates; and 24% see better email deliverability, increased sales leads, and greater revenue. You know your ol' pal revenue -- he's the whole reason you're doing email marketing in the first place, right?

Alright, now that you're undoubtedly on board with list segmentation, you're probably asking yourself how you should slice and dice your own list. Well, the bad news is that it totally depends on the nature of your business and the goals associated with your email marketing and lead nurturing -- so I can't give you a one-size-fits-all answer. The good news, however, is that there are tons of creative ways you can segment your email list that empower you to run innovative and effective campaigns! All you need to do is collect the right information. So to get your creative juices flowing, take a look at this ultimate list of ways you could segment your email lists!"

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20 Revealing Stats, Charts, and Graphs Every Marketer Should Know

20 interesting charts and graphs relating to Internet and Social Network marketing.  The full report from HubSpot contains over 120 charts and graphs.

Article Written By: Magdalena Georgieva on May 24, 2012 at HubSpot

" As you know, we at HubSpot are crazy about data-driven marketing. So our new edition of 120 Awesome Marketing Stats, Charts & Graphs was in a way a demonstration of our passion, and an opportunity to share some insightful stats with fellow marketers.

In addition to information on inbound marketing, SEO, blogging, and social media, the 2012 edition of this presentation also includes data on email, Pinterest, Google+ and mobile marketing. I know, a lot has changed in a short time, eh? But instead of throwing all 120 amazing data points at you, in this blog post we wanted to highlight what we felt were some of the most interesting data points from the presentation. Take a look, and let us know what you find most fascinating!"

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Nearly 3 in 4 U.S. Android Smartphone Users Access Facebook Website or App via Their Phones

According to The NPD Group, almost 75 percent of Android smartphone users in the U.S. accessed Facebook’s app and website via their phones in March. In March, nearly three-quarters of U.S. Android smartphone users accessed the social network’s app.

Article Written By: DM Confidential on May 23, 2012

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3 Deadly Sins of Social Media Marketing: Facebook, Groupon, and Pinterest

Social media is about attracting actions and conversations, not shouting at people.

Article Written By: Augustine Fou on May 24, 2012 at ClickZ

"Social media marketing is what most CMOs have at the top of their list for spending increases this year and next. Indeed, social media holds the promise of wild viral effects, socially infused search results, and virtually infinite possibilities for targeting. But as many marketers dive into using social media, some are learning lessons the hard way; some lessons are costly and others may cause irreversible and permanent damage"

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Google Powered Nearly 7 out of 10 Organic Searches in April

"According to comScore’s latest qSearch analysis of the U.S. search engine market, Google powered nearly 70 percent of all organic searches in April, leaving Bing with about 26 percent of organic searches.

Google Sites claimed 66.5 percent of explicit core searches in April, up 0.1 percentage points from its 66.4 percent share in March. By comScore’s definition, “explicit core search” doesn’t include contextually driven searches that don’t reflect specific user intent to interact with the search results."

Article Written By: Jason Hahn on May 16, 2012 at DM Confidential

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Simple Step-by-Step Instructions for Setting Up a Facebook Ad Campaign

12 simple steps to setup a Facebook ad.

Article Written By: Dan Slagen on May 23, 2012 at Hubspot

"This post is not to debate the efficiency of Facebook ads (I did that last week), but rather to show new users how to set up Facebook ads, and current users how to improve their existing ad campaigns by highlighting some of the nuances in the setup process. Let's get started."

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This INSANE Graphic Shows How Ludicrously Complicated Social Media Marketing Is Now

If you feel that understanding social media marketing is complicated, don't worry you are not alone.

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Why Purchasing Email Lists Is Always a Bad Idea

Five simple reminders on why purchasing an email list is not a good decision.

Article Written By: Corey Eridon on May 22, 2012 at HubSpot

"You need people to email, and you need them quickly. Oh, and if you could make them pretty cheap, that'd be great, too.

That's the mindset many marketers find themselves in when they're on the phone with a list-purchasing company. Acting on that moment of desperation, however, will cause them more long-term (and short-term) harm than good.

Google Chrome Just Passed Internet Explorer To Become The World's Most Popular Web Browser

Article Written By: Seth Fiegerman on May 21, 2012 at BusinessInsider.com

"After months of chipping away at its lead, GoogleChrome has finally overtaken Internet Explorer to become most popular web browser worldwide.

Chrome's share of the market rose to 32.8% in the week ending May 20, while Internet Explorer's share of the market dropped to 31.9%, according to new data from StatCounter, via TheNextWeb. This marks the first full week that Chrome has beaten Explorer."

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Android: 48.5% of the U.S. Smartphone Market

According to Nielsen, Android OS had nearly half of the U.S. smartphone OS market in the first quarter of 2012. Google Android OS claimed 48.5 percent of smartphone owners in the first quarter, followed by Apple iOS with 32.0 percent and RIM BlackBerry with 11.6...

Article Written By: Jason Hahn on May 9, 2012 at DM Confidential

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Integrating Public Relations Into Your Small Business Marketing Plan

Launching a public relations effort with an online marketing effort is no longer out of reach for small businesses.

Article Written By: Liana Evans on May 10, 2012 at ClickZ

"Small businesses have to watch every dime and resource when it comes to their marketing dollars. That's why a lot of times public relations is the furthest thing from their mind. In the past, small businesses have been mistakenly led to believe that any sort of public relations effort would require big agencies and big fees and was usually something they couldn't afford."

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Nearly 26% of Shoppers Will Buy Mother’s Day Gifts Online

Another set of statistics showing the continued growth in online commerce.

Article Written By: Jason Hahn on May 2, 2012 at DMConfidential

"According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and BIGinsight, the average U.S. consumer celebrating Mother’s Day is expected to spend $152.52 on gifts, up 8.4 percent from $140.73 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $18.6 billion. "

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5 Proven Ways to Improve Email Marketing With Social Media

Social media can offer the antidote to waning consumer engagement with email.

Article Written By: Sundeep Kapur on May 3, 2012 at ClickZ

"Email marketing managers are looking for ways to increase their reach and enhance their engagement. If done correctly, social media offers an antidote to fix waning engagement. Here are five specific things you should be doing with social media to improve your email marketing."

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Tweets Affect Google Rankings?

Although Tweets do not directly improve SEO, it interesting that generally speaking those with strong Google rankings also tweet often.

Article Written By: Jason Hahn on May 2, 2012 at DMConfidential

"Branded3 recently conducted “the biggest study of its kind” to find that there is, indeed, a strong correlation between the amount of tweets about a URL and its Google ranking. Among the major findings is that the average ranking for URLs with more than 7,500 tweets is just under No. 5 overall.

According to the study, the average ranking across all URLs is 54.17. The average ranking for URLs with more than 500 tweets is 45.81, while the average ranking for URLs with more than 1,000 tweets is 40.76 and the average ranking for URLs with more than 5,000 tweets is 30.51."

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Do Your Site Visitors Push Your Buttons?

Are your buttons so clear that it leaves no doubt in the visitor's mind as to what will happen when it's clicked?

Article Written By: Tim Ash on May 1, 2012 at ClickZ

"Many a parent has angrily warned their children "Don't push my buttons!" and of course what they are implying is that the children know exactly what to do to create a certain response, or reaction, from Mom or Dad. When you think about it, isn't it funny that an expression that has been around for generations is so applicable to web design and conversion optimization today? Most landing pages include a button as part of the main call to action. So the question is: do your visitors know exactly what to do? Are your buttons so clear that it leaves no doubt in the visitor's mind as to what will happen when it's clicked?

Here are some guidelines you can keep in mind when creating buttons that beg to be pushed."

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4 Ways Authorship Markup Enhances SEO

A tool that makes search more social.  Read how.

Article Written By: Crispin Sheridan on May 2, 2012 at ClickZ

"When it comes to hunting for reliable sources, credibility is vital to how useful (or useless) a source may be. The same goes for sources on the Internet. But, as most of us know, identifying credibility on the web can be tough. Google wants to make it easier with authorship markup.

The relatively new project, which officially started being supported by Google in June 2011 and is still in its beta stage, sounds familiar. It allows websites to publicly connect individual authors to their respective content across the web by adding the rel=author tag to content."

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5 Trends Shaping the Mobile Market

5 Trends Shaping the Mobile Market

Article Written By: Jeremy Lockhorn on February 7, 2012 at ClickZ

"The explosive growth of smartphones and the resulting tectonic shifts in consumer behavior continue to demonstrate the need for big marketers to pay attention and find ways to connect with their audiences on mobile devices (as if you haven't heard that before).

Here's a look at five important trends that will continue to shape this space - and the corresponding opportunities for marketers - in 2012."

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Converged TV: 8 Predictions

As CES 2012 kicks off, digital marketers highlight key trends and shifts in consumer behavior.

Article Written By: Jeremy Lockhorn on January 9, 2012 on ClickZ

"The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) launches its overwhelming crush of techno-gadget goodness this week, and for the sixth consecutive year, I'll have the privilege of attending. Over these last few years, the show has become an important event for agencies and marketers, recognizing the ever-increasing importance of technology in the new marketing landscape. This year, agencies under the VivaKi umbrella have collaborated to build a curated experience for our clients, including customized tours, special events, and a guidebook highlighting some of the most important trends and shifts in consumer behavior."

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The 9 Must-Have Components of Compelling Email Copy

Nine helpful tips on creating better email communications.

Article Written By: Corey Eridon on May 1, 2012 at Hubspot

"Email marketing has come a long way in just the past few years, but with all the fancy new functionality brands are utilizing, you know what’s kind of funny? A well-written plain text email can perform just as well, if not better, than a highly designed email with tons of bells and whistles. In fact, no matter how fancy your marketing emails look, if they’re devoid of well-written content, your subscribers will stop opening and start deleting your messages, and your list will quickly dwindle in value."

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