We’re going to need a bigger door: If you’re a fintech or financial services company, you may find the big boys on Wall Street are going to come knocking as fintech/finserv acquisitions heat up. It turns out that if someone is going to eat Wall Street’s lunch, Wall Street at least wants to be the ones paying for it.

It’s not who you know, but who knows you: To attract investors and potential suitors, it helps if you have a few customers (and employees and relatives don’t count). The rest of this week’s “Best of” show that just because your marketing is working at attracting and converting customers in one area doesn’t mean that you can let off the gas elsewhere.

A new study finds a compounded increase in paid advertising click-throughs for companies already leading the organic search field. Two other pieces offer tips on maximizing the impact of email and mobile marketing strategies through effective analytics and apps,

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This week’s “Best Of” emphasizes the importance of studying user experience at the marketing side, and the growing expansion of mobile wallet services across borders. We also look at successful methods of marketing experiments to boost one’s understanding of the market, plus strong words from an experienced marketer who debunks growth hacking as a revolutionary practice. Finally, a new study finds that Mark Zuckerberg’s ongoing project still leads the way as the go-to social-media channel for brands worldwide.

Why Every Marketer Needs UX Experience

A user experience (UX) knowledge base and mindset are essential ingredients in any successful marketer’s tool chest. Optimizing your service for successful conversion as well as maximizing your brand experience and perception in the public psyche are among the reasons for the importance of utilizing UX in your overall marketing strategy. Read More

How To Run Better Marketing Experiments: A Growth Strategy

This comprehensive step-by-step process will assist individuals and teams in learning what works and what doesn’t in an overall marketing strategy.

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This week’s “Best of” includes data on optimum Facebook post frequency, and insight into the weaknesses of archaic marketing department structure. With mobile searches finally surpassing desktop searches, Google is rolling a variety of new ad formats meant to target the growing mobile user base. And finally, to settle the inevitable agitation of constant change, we found a great article on creating a mindset for growth. It grounds us in what truly matters for growth, no matter what tactics and technologies go extinct.

REPORT: How Many Posts per Week Should Facebook Pages Average?

In response to the penalizing algorithm updates, Facebook marketers are getting maximum organic post reach by maintaining optimum post frequency. There is solid data to support this one, and the results are clear. Less is more. Read More

Is Your Marketing Department Structured for the Last Century?

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Best of the Week: Issue 7

Data released this week indicates rapid adoption of mobile technology for financial transactions, along with a strong desire for streamlined mobile payments among millennials. This week’s “Best of” also includes a meaty article with three specific reports that unearth additional Adwords ROI, and a list of 10 web design trends we’re happy to see go.

Survey: Millennials Want In-Store Mobile Payments, Not Human Cashiers

“20% of Millennials would prefer not to interact with cashiers at all in retail environments,” but it will take retailers years to catch. The survey results from local shopping data aggregator Retale show a growing desire for streamlined check-out technology.
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Bank of America’s Mobile Deposit Volume Booms

Despite some weaknesses in Bank of America’s mobile tech offering (i.e. a monthly cap on mobile deposits),

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Best of the Week: Issue 6

The rapidly changing landscape of marketing and PR is reflected in this edition of our “Best of the Week” series. It includes an article that attempts to define omni-channel marketing — and how it’s changing the way we look at marketing communications — as well an article that shares ways marketing and PR can better coordinate their efforts. It also includes branding advice for authenticity, content design tips, and our most popular tweets from the week.

4 Rules For Making Authentic Brand Claims

In the wake of the Rob Lowe/DirecTV advertising debacle, brand claims need to be more accurate and authentic than ever. Trying to decide what qualifies as “accurate” can leave some marketers in an unnavigable gray area. Branding Strategy shares four rules to live by.
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Quick Tips Video: Using Design to Enhance Your Content

Meaty content with useful knowledge and information always trumps design.

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