Many traditional, "old media" marketing strategies are still in use: Print advertising, telemarketing, direct mail, tradeshows. How do you integrate old media with new media for best lead generation results?

Many B2B websites are just a “blow-horn” for their products and services with no meaningful calls to action, or limited opportunity to engage (if any). The reality is most B2B prospects want to get to know a business before they call them or fill out a form. They want to check you out first. And, the way to allow them to check you out is through great content! In this podcast interview with Kim Albee, she discusses how she took risk to launch her business through great content.

This is the year of engagement. When I blogged my predictions for the new decade, one of the points I made is that marketers will seek to engage their target customers more interactively. While I still believe that in this decade the phrase social media will fade away, at this time it’s still here and it’s hotter than it’s ever been.

Looking to build better relationships within your industry or with those you admire? Learn how to and share your experiences.

In business, it's not just about profit. Take Ross Perot, former CEO of NDS who staged a commando operation to rescue his kidnapped employees during the Islamic Revolution of 1979. And Aaron Feuerstein, CEO of Malden Mills, who used $25 Million of his own money to pay employees while their factory, destroyed by fire, was being rebuilt. This article is about the best the business-world has to offer.

Liveblogging is a very interesting phenomenon. Essentially it is just writing down information at the conference or meeting you are in attendance. Almost similar to taking a notebook and a pen, but with the added bonus that if you are a well respected person, potentially millions of people are going to be able to see and comment on the information you are receiving/inputting.

Duct Tape Marketing is both a lesson in branding and a fine example of how small businesses can build very successful marketing plans with offline and online components using a proven approach that has become an overnight success in 25 years. Bernie Borges podcast with John Jansch...founder of Duct Tape Marketing offers a lesson in branding...

I’m presenting to the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) conference today. What they’ll want to know is how all these social media tools can improve attendance, drive collaboration, extend the value of events, without taking away any potential revenue. They’ll want a very safe path, tried and true, with a step by step understanding of what will add to the bottom line and how to avoid things that will detract.

I've been a big fan of Chris Dixon's excellent blog for a while now, so you can imagine that I was really excited to see him writing about SEO in a post last week. Chris kindly called out SEOmoz, which humbled me, but he also espoused some thinking in the comments that made me a bit concerned and was the catalyst for this post. Here's how it went:

This post is the first in what could be a series (if you like it) about the art of professional persuasion. Whether it's your boss, client, prospect, co-worker, or website visitor, your success often hinges on the ability to communicate persuasively.