JUMP START Blog and Online Community

These days, if you aren’t marketing your brand, you’re going nowhere, fast.

There’s a saying: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, and we think nowhere is this more applicable than in marketing.

So what’s the latest in the world of digital marketing? Don’t worry if you haven’t had time to keep up on your marketing news this week (we get it, holiday week and all…).

We’ve got you covered with our weekly roundup of the top news in digital marketing. 

Can your brand benefit from influencer marketing? (Forbes)

Wondering if all the influencer-hype is worth your time? All signs point to yes, according to this Forbes recap. Check out what SocialPublic CEO and co-founder Ismael El-Qudsi thinks about this latest trend in marketing your brand. (Hint: he’s into it).

A lot has happened in the last week in the world of inbound...check out the top five stories we think were the best of the best. 

1. The customer is always last: Looking at marketing from a different perspective (Forbes)
   An interesting take on not only inbound, but marketing as a whole. Learn how important data is, how to implement inbound strategy that will reach your consumer and how to let go of the "all" and hone in on the "best."
2. Five ways to create great B2B content (MarTech Series)
   You could post a blog an hour and never really see any results. Why is that? MarTech Series looks at what content works and how to do it. 
3. Why digital marketing campaigns fail & what you need to do to see real results (Business 2 Community) 
   If you've ever even THOUGHT about launching a digital campaign, this. is. a. must. read. Hint: purpose and strategy are key. 

In the words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." Same could be said about inbound marketing. But you don't have to worry if you had a busy week and couldn't keep up – we rounded up our fave news articles for you. Check out this week's top five inbound marketing news clips. 

1. The future of B2B marketing: A much-needed human touch (Forbes)
   Inbound marketing, by definition, has the human factor embedded into its very philosophy. Everything (read: EVERYTHING) is about making that connection. See how this relates even to the world of B2B, because even in biz, it's still about the people.