I recently started using Google Data Studio to create data-driven inbound marketing reports for select partners. It is similar to other reporting tools I have used in the past with a few benefits if you are already using Google products like Analytics, Adwords, & Search Console to analyze data.

A couple of years ago I dreamed of a reporting tool that would let me do what Data-Studio is now letting me do. I was creating reports for partners and started to design HTML reports with any embedded code I could I use to structure data. The data always needed to be manually updated which made the reports lengthy and therefore not cost effective to create. Data Studio now connects a few of the dots so the data is continuously updated. It also lets you choose specific dates or data sets to view. They have come along way yet still have a ways to go.

The following article written by Genia Stevens originally posted in Business.com gives us an interesting look at five different examples of successful small business marketing campaigns. Part of successful marketing campaign for small businesses is to think outside of the box. Hopefully some of these examples can get us all to think a little more outside of the box.

BY Genia Stevens March 30, 2016 IN Business.com

Anyone familiar with the story of David and Goliath knows David didn’t need to be big to win the battle; the creative thought he put into the battle is what did it for him. Well, that and luck. Small business owners who lack deep pockets are forced to rely mostly on the strength of their marketing strategy and creativity.  Excellent execution of a well-planned, strategic and creative marketing campaign can yield great results.

Here are five creative and successful marketing campaigns employed by small business owners.

1. York City Pretzel Company

Meagan Feeser, Director of Marketing at Downtown Inc., shares the guerilla marketing strategy employed by York City Pretzel Company in York, PA. York City Pretzel Company added pretzel sandwiches to their menu in their downtown café location and they wanted a creative way to announce the new menu item.nowing the company’s main weekday target audience would be downtown employees, York City Pretzel placed tiny sandwich boards around town announcing the new menu item. The signs encouraged people to share pictures of the signs on social media for a discount on their sandwich.

Streamed live on Mar 11, 2016
Source: CAPITAL FACTORY

There’s a lot of terrible information in the social media/online marketing/growth marketing space.
This talk intends to deliver, in real-time, real value to attendants; including how to quickly grow a community online, forming a substantial pre-launch strategy, how to ensure your emails and tweets get seen/answered, creating easy workflows, content marketing and user acquisition.
Attendants will leave with many practical methods that will be useful in executing a growth strategy (free) applicable to many industries, actionable immediately. This session will uncover the tips and tricks the big startups have used, as well as secret hacks Vincent has used with clients he has worked with at his agency, Magnific.

by WOMEN in First Round Review

“Imagine you’re sitting across from a reporter at lunch. You’re telling them what you do, your story, why they should care about your product. You have to convince this reporter to not only write about you, but that what you’re doing matters. That you’re going to be successful.”

This is Caryn Marooney, Head of Technology Communications for Facebook. But before that, she co-founded OutCast, the elite PR agency that worked with one-time startups Amazon, Salesforce, Netflix and VMware. She’s seen firsthand how hard it is for young companies to capture press attention when they have zero brand recognition and limited resources.

Most founders set out to create something iconic but don’t know where to start. At First Round’s recent CEO Summit, Marooney boiled down this massive challenge into an execution plan and guidelines for startups to craft an image that will resonate with the public and the press, launch on a strong note, and build momentum as they grow — regardless of size and resources.

by Lauren Holliday Sep 24, ’15 in ahrefs blog

Ever wonder how startups with no marketing budgets pop up overnight?

Old people would tell you it’s through sales and marketing. Shane Snow would call it smartcutting, and Sean Ellis would say they growth hacked.

All of the above are correct, but growth hacking has become the popular term; therefore, we’ll stick with growth hacking.

Growth hacking is how startups like Tinder grew from 5,000 users to nearly 15,000 users virtually overnight. It’s how Product Hunt became, well, Product Hunt and how Airbnb became Airbnb.

The list of well-known startups that utilized hacks to rapidly grow their user base is endless.