It's a familiar scene: you're browsing vids on YouTube when all of a sudden, you chance upon a video that looks something like this:

The European Union’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is all about how companies use the personal data of those they interact with. Everywhere we go on the internet, we leave a digital footprint. That footprint consists of our demographics, our behavior, our purchases and interactions, and it has become something of great value. (As the Economist says, “personal data is the world’s greatest resource.”) As is the case with anything of great value, it creates the need to protect that data from abuse—from benign misuse to serious breaches and malicious intent.

You invested in a new website—how long should that website's design last?

The answer varies. It depends on the structure of your website. It depends on your ability to freshen up imagery and update the technology. And it depends on whether it's built on a platform that allows flexibility in the layout and functionality. 

You’ve heard it a million times, in a million different ways: “You should be blogging.”

Well, should you?

Almost every company can benefit from maintaining a blog—it makes your site more visible on search engine results pages. It helps you connect with customers. And it creates reusable content that you can promote across a variety of channels.

But blogging takes time. And there’s more to it than just writing—you also need compelling imagery to help your content stand out. You need a place to house it on your website. And you need a promotion strategy to make sure it gets read.

So before you jump into the water without measuring how deep it goes, ask yourself, “What can I reasonably expect from a blog?”

On January 11, 2018, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced in a Facebook post that the company would make sweeping changes to its news feed.

The goal of consumer research is to mine as much data as possible so you can use it to psychologically manipulate your customers into buying more of your products or services. Right?

Start your marketing and communications plan for the year with goals designed for results. 

I’m the queen of list making.

Every day I make a list of the things I need to accomplish, then rank them from highest priority to lowest. As I accomplish things throughout the day, I cross them off my list, and if priorities change, I reorganize.

Part of this list making comes from habit, and part of it comes from my unending need for organization. But no matter the reason, my list gives me focus. It helps me to prioritize the things that are most important and critical for a successful day, and it helps me avoid wasting time and energy on unimportant tasks. In its most basic form, my daily list is my strategy.

Your customers know almost everything about what you offer before they "walk in" the door. Whether you sell items off shelves, provide a service, are a museum or tourism attraction, a library or even an entire community, hardly anyone walks in without background information. They've stalked your company—and your competitors—online well before they make contact. 

Here's how to treat the informed consumer:

Content—every company wants to put out more of it. But if you’re like most businesses, you’re confined by a limited amount of resources: your staff doesn’t have experience writing blogs or preparing case studies; no one has the time to monitor your results; and even if they did, the budget for these activities doesn’t exist.

In a perfect world, your company would have a robust content marketing plan with the ability to deploy, track and analyze all of your content from a single platform. But the reality is not every business has the budget for an in-depth content management system (CMS) like Hubspot, let alone the resources needed to manage it. But that doesn’t mean you’re up the creek without a paddle.

If you’re struggling to get your content marketing strategy off the ground, writing a case study every month or putting out a new video every quarter probably isn’t feasible—but sending out a regular (or at least occasional) email to your customers is. And a free or low-cost email platform with even the most basic functions can still be an effective way to start connecting—and stay connected—to your customers.

So, what do you need to get started?