Smart Marketing Blog

Recent Posts

Build a Strong B2B Social Media Strategy in 6 Steps

Social media has an interesting place in the world of B2B marketing, with some companies ignoring social or relegating posting to the summer intern; some companies posting regularly but not actively fine-tuning their content strategy or approach; and still others devoting entire employees or teams to social strategy, content creation, audience engagement and reporting. There is no blanket answer to “how much time should my company devote to social media” or “how often should we post”, or even “what should we post and to which channels”. That’s where developing your individual strategy, based on your company’s goals and audiences, comes into play.

8 Tips and Tricks to B2B Webinar Success

Updated 06.16.2020 with current research Webinars tend to be seen as difficult, time-consuming, and requiring specific expertise to pull off. The barriers to entry seem daunting, and it can be difficult to convince management and your company’s technical experts to participate. However, not only are webinars easier to organize and host than they appear, but they also can result in huge marketing and sales successes by generating new, engaged leads and opportunities.

Let’s Chat: An Intro to Online Chat and Chatbots

Online chat is one of the fastest growing areas of web right now, with Business Insider experts predicting that in 2020, 80 percent of enterprises will use chatbots. TREW’s own research with IEEE GlobalSpec showed 17% of respondents considered chat one of the three most important features of a website, ahead of video content and regularly added new content.

3 Reasons Why A SMB Doesn't Need a Custom Website

As the inbound marketing account manager at TREW Marketing, I work with a lot of engineering companies to strategize, build and grow their new websites. Any time a company comes to TREW for a website redesign, we start with strategy to thoroughly outline who the site is targeted to, the content that will best suit those audiences, and the general hierarchy and design of a site. We also talk through the web platform a site will be built on and whether the site will be templated or custom. Clients don’t always have a content management system preference, but the custom vs. templated question usually elicits a couple common responses. Below, I’ll cover the top reasons why clients think they need custom sites- and why they probably don’t.

B2B Email Marketing Best Practices for the New Decade

Last week, we kicked off our blog series covering email for B2B technical companies with an overview of email marketing and why it is still a viable and valuable marketing tactic. Today, we’re looking at the best practices of B2B email marketing. (Miss post one of the series? Read it here: Is B2B Email Dead?)

Is B2B Email Dead?

Of the many avenues to reach B2B customers these days, many wonder, is email a dead end? Our research on engineers and technical buyers says no and shows that engineers are still looking to their inboxes for information.

Case Study vs. White Paper: What’s the Difference?

Creating high quality, helpful content at a regular cadence is key to generating inbound leads for your technical business. Case studies and white papers are two of the most powerful and sought-after types of content by engineers, and both can help you generate technical leads for your business. But how do you decide on a white paper versus a case study, and what’s the difference?

Staying Organized in Your Marketing Platform

I realize that this isn’t the most exciting topic out there. Actually, it’s probably one of the least exciting things you can discuss (unless you’re one of those people who likes this kind of thing). But keeping house in your marketing platform is a necessary evil. Without an effective way of organizing your content and data, you risk not being able to find what you need when you need it. 

Don’t Break the (Internet Privacy) Law

If you’ve worked in marketing for any time, you’re aware that there are laws in your state/country regulating the use of citizens’ data and protecting citizens’ privacy. What you might not be aware of though is the specifics of these laws, or that some laws transcend state and country boundaries.

Microsites: Effective Marketing or Bad Idea?

This blog was updated and re-published July 2019. As Google’s search algorithm has evolved to emphasize trusted, well-established domains and unique content, the debate is heating up on the marketing value of microsites. Some experts believe that creating a microsite is never a good idea, diluting the brand and hurting coveted search results, while others think they still have a place in a targeted, strategic marketing campaign.