April Mullen

Read more about the marketing use cases for research, brainstorming, audience targeting, and content reuse that I’ve seen success with in using AI tools.

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I was thrilled to attend the MnSearch - Digital Marketing Networking Summit last week. For those of you who don’t know, MnSearch is Minnesota’s premier search and digital marketing network. We attended talks about AI, ABM, and CRO — oh my. Here are some of our top takeaways. ➡️ John Kocon learned a lot from Aleyda Solís in her talk, “The Impact of AI in SEO: How is it Going and What to Expect Next.” As you may have seen, Google unveiled — then walked back — its new AI overview in SERPs. This glimpse will allow us to better prepare and position ourselves for success in the future ➡️ Steve Sworsky learned that “content is for community, not a commodity” from Wil Reynolds’ talk, “How to Maintain Your Job Relevance in an AI World.” People are seeking out human interaction, like on LinkedIn and Reddit, more and more than ever before, which can — and should — guide our content. ➡️ Finally, I was reminded of a couple important lessons from Abby Gleason in her talk “CRO for SEOs: Optimizing for Conversions in an Era of Declining Traffic.” Always conduct testing before and after any sort of change to your site, and be confident in the story and narrative of what you see, not just the data. Did you attend MnSearch? What was your favorite session? Share takeaways below! #MnSearch #MnSearchSummit #ContinuousImprovement

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Give me ideas. Not email commercials. I don't want a datasheet. (Watch me hit the UNSUBSCRIBE button.) Michael Vickers has said it for years: "To become Preferred, you must build trust." David Jani of GetApp nets it out in this article: "Consumers are making it clear that they won't hesitate to disengage when bombarded with irrelevant or excessive marketing." So . . . stop doing it. Think outside the product sales push. *Be* the prospect. Deliver usable insight. "Become the emotional favorite in the markets you serve. Create authentic differentiation in a crowded marketplace," says Vickers. Here's the WHY from Destination CRM: https://lnkd.in/gaAuSsGj ##emailmarketing #salesdifferentiation #marketingtrustbuilding

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Having been at this #martech thing for a minute, Scott's framing and reframing of marketing and martech both surprised / didn't surprise me one tiny bit. Since day one we've been asking "Is martech a thing?" We asked it so often that it became a joke of sorts. After all, if martech wasn't a thing, why on Earth were we building a brand around it? The CMO survey cited in Scott Brinker's post highlights for me, the core of what's going on in marketing today which is that you cannot do modern marketing without technology. It's like air at this point. No technology, no marketing. I'd bet that the 24.7% of CMOs reporting that their companies are not using marketing technology isn't a reflection of their competency or knowledge of their organization's stack but something much, much simpler. It's that MARTECH IS MARKETING - and for at least some of those CMOs, they don't care to make the distinction. And that's why we run the MarTech Conference and write on MarTech.org - because it's impossible today to "do marketing" without "marketing technology." Mike Pastore Chris Elwell Constantine von Hoffman Chris Wood Kim Davis https://lnkd.in/e9RFhYRs

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My latest article on CMSWire asks CMOs, CEOs, and hiring agencies if industry experience is necessary or overrated. The deeper question I'm getting at here is: are too many great CMO candidates not even getting interviewed because they lack prior industry knowledge? Share your thoughts! Thanks to Sue Keith, Club CMO, Eric Pairitz, James (JD) Dillon, Doug Zarkin and Gaurav Bhatia for being a source! #cmo #marketing #humanresources

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Understanding and integrating the user's intent is how you create more profound, lasting relationships with your users. It’s one of the critical pillars of our Intelligent Experiences. Get a deeper dive from the legend Chidi Achara #IX #Huge

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Come work with me!!!! I'm hiring a Sr. Content Marketing Manager. Here is why you should (and should not) want this job: Potential Positives: 1. This is a truly remote role - no bait and switch. 2. Tons of ownership of our brand voice and content strategy. We need someone who can create a compelling narrative and craft a plan for content that is meaningful to our audiences. 3. Scrappy and capable team. If you know me, you know I don't take these words lightly: this team is Good. Like, really good. 4. Sales leadership who believes in the power and partnership of marketing. 5. An executive team that is leaned in. They know marketing is a lever and are willing to lend their voices to help amplify our narrative. Potential Negatives: 1. You can't hide behind anyone. You own the content strategy. And you will be expected to own the content strategy. 2. You report to me. And my jokes are awful. And when I get stressed, I will sing in 1:1s. And sometimes I send too many gifs, and it elicits many groans. 3. Scrappy team. Pro and Con. We move fast. We test fast. We fail fast. Some people love it, but others hate it. Be honest with yourself on this one. 4. Individual contributor role. So if you're lookin to lead a massive content team, tis not this role. Know anyone? Are you that someone? Talk to me, goose.

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From Minneapolis Airport Uber woes to AI innovation highs! 3 tips for navigating both with finesse. I recently ran a great roundtable dinner in the Twin Cities. The only painful thing was getting there. I will say... it made me think. Struggling to catch an Uber at the Minneapolis Airport is like waiting for a breakthrough in tech without AI - painfully slow and filled with unexpected twists! But fear not, C-suite friends, I've got three random tips to navigate both the airport queue and the fast-paced world of AI innovation (yes, Uber was delayed that long, that I thought of this): • 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞: Just like those peak times when every traveler is scrambling for a ride, the tech world experiences surges of innovation. Don't panic! Embrace the chaos and ride the wave of AI advancement to propel your company forward. • 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 (𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬) 𝐚 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐞: While waiting for your Uber, patience might be key, but in the tech world, it's all about speed! AI is constantly evolving, so don't get left behind while staring at the airport exit sign. Stay agile, adapt, and seize those AI opportunities before they vanish! Plus... expand your knowledge on it every...single...day. • 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐨: Just as you strategize your airport exit plan, craft a solid AI strategy for your business. Plot your route, anticipate challenges, and leverage AI tools to navigate the ever-changing landscape. Who needs a GPS when you've got AI-powered insights? So, next time you're stuck in that Minneapolis Airport Uber line, remember these tips. And C-suite pals, let's turbocharge our AI game and leave the slow lane behind! #AIInnovation #technologyleaders #techleaders #UberWoes #MillersMinute CDM Media

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Adrianne Pasquarelli of AdAge just published this piece with advice from veteran CMOs to rookies https://lnkd.in/e7-X_hAS This is exactly why Marisa Mulvihill and I created this quick guide for new CMOs, including What to Ask, What do Do, and Where to Look (might be time to update resources!): https://lnkd.in/er-dEYh9

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Look who is on deck for tomorrow's FixedOps UX minicast. None other than Brandon Nixon, Chief Revenue Officer of UpdatePromise. This bonus content is a prequel to our chat about where great retention begins - in the service lane. We'll be tapping into his deep understanding of what consumers expect from servicing at the dealership and how we can overcome the perception that we're "selling" rather than "advising" consumers. #recallmasters #fixedopsux #fixedops #dealership #dealerships #customerexperience #coaching #customerinsights #customerloyalty #customerreview #userexperience #employeeengagement #technicians #mechanics #autodealers #autoindustry #culture #organizationalculture #teambuilding #efficiency #innovation  

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I really enjoyed Collette Masso del Llano's talk at #BrightonSEO recently. Collette spoke about: "Addressing the Gaps Between SEO and CX." What I liked about this session was that Collette (who says she's not an out-and-out SEO specialist) spoke about how it’s easy to sometimes fixate too much on the wrong SEO targets. This can cause marketers to lose sight of their broader marketing goals. Some key takeaways from the talk: It seems there’s quite a big gap between customer experience and SEO in a lot of businesses. It’s important for marketers to remember to focus more across the whole of the customer journey. Lots of marketers are missing huge opportunities by just looking at that top-of-funnel search intent, where you find high volumes of visitors who are only in the early "awareness" stage of their customer journey with your brand. Colette advised you to try to put more effort into engaging your audience across all stages of their customer journey, guiding them further along that journey. A key quote I wanted to share was: “Vanity metrics are driving SEO strategy.” Collette suggested thinking beyond the constraints of a traditional marketing funnel, and seeing it as more of a cycle. I really like that idea. Your audience is always going round in cycles, of course, so you need to be continually engaging with them. A few more highlights: “Retention strategy needs to be built into an SEO strategy. Only 44% calculate their customer retention rate, according to Semrush.” Collette also mentioned that the death of cookies is going to make the CRM the all-powerful beating heart of an organisation’s marketing. This sounded fascinating. Do you agree with that? It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next few years! I’d love to hear your thoughts on these points. Let me know in the comments.

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Wondering what #digitalstrategy opportunities arise from analyzing search behavior? Plenty. Read my newest post on #search intent to find out. #blog #communications #digitalmarketing

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With third party cookie deprecation coming soon, I've been working with several of my fractional CMO clients to get the teams, systems and data ready for the change. I've outlined some of the things we've been working on in the article below. If you've already addressed these, great! If not, you should definitely take a look. These are things you should be considering. https://lnkd.in/g-HuERfM

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Client Thought Leadership Update: Jenna Mytton shared this in our industry news channel on slack today - a guide on how to grow with Reels directly IN the Instagram platform. Interesting to note: - Hashtags are included even though Adam recently said they don't help anything 🤔 - our take, keep using them, social search has always been important. - High res uploads - don't mistake this for professional studio content, iphone is as good as you need - 3 second hook (DM if you'd like to learn more about The Evoke Agency hook library) - Longer form - we knew this was coming, the longer you watch a video on either Tiktok or IG the better algorithm will perform for you. BUT rewatches help you grow, so that's a balance we can help you reach. I've got some thoughts here - let me know if you want to grab a coffee and chat 😉

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👨‍⚕️ Science > Assumptions Gut instincts are important — but not enough — to drive business impact with internal comms. The amazing Joanna Parsons says that borrowing from the scientific method, it’s time to test, measure, and prove what really resonates. As the founder of The Curious Route says, relying on assumptions makes us twitch. Let’s ditch the “I feel” mindset and adopt a data-driven approach to internal comms that delivers undeniable results. 🔥 🎙 Listen to the whole episode at: https://lnkd.in/ee5u_Kak #CommsScience #InternalComms #DataDrivenResults #WordBirds #SpicyTruth

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I was recently asked by the Forbes Communications Council  what piece of advice I would give to a marketer starting out in their career. My answer was easy: know your audience. Sure, it is good to know their demographics and behaviors, but what are their pain points? What is causing them frustration, and how can you solve that issue to provide them with a solution? When you can master the problems of your audience, you create meaningful relationships directly with your customers, leading to impactful results. Read about all 17 tips shared in the article linked below. https://lnkd.in/efM98eri  #LifeatNCRVoyix #Forbes #CommunicationCouncil

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The first call we had with Matt S. and the awesome folks over at Act-On Software where we were brainstorming myths about email personalization and why they're not true was so much fun. Seriously. 🤓 I'm amazed we were able to narrow down the list to just 10 email personalization myths! And here they are. Everything from personalization being creepy (it's not, but it is when it's done wrong) to personalization being hard (again, it's not, you just need to considering different types of personalization). Read part 1 here: https://lnkd.in/e7wDBSne Then, dive into part 2: https://lnkd.in/e-BR5Xt6

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