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"User-generated content" is much more than today's most tossed-around-the-tongue buzzword. It's the difference between having a flood of site traffic or just a trickle. Empower your users to create information that their peers want to see, and your site becomes a living, breathing place to be. Profiles, photos, and blogs still have currency in this post-and-share world—but video blogging is the hot now thing that's taking off fast.

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A reference management system is an important part of customer relationship management. But if you're waiting for this functionality to get added to your CRM system, don't hold your breath. This is the first part of a two-part article that examines the importance of an RMS and the choices available for incorporating this functionality into your technology infrastructure.

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Much as you might dread it, planning and budgeting are not going away. So you may as well make the effort to get more value out of the process. It's actually an ideal time for putting basic ROI analysis to use. Here are four ways to use financial insight to create more profitable strategies and tactical plans while building greater credibility with your executive team.

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The elevator speech is that tightly scripted, 30-second introduction that should pack as much information about a person as possible in an engaging, persuasive, and interesting way, right? Unfortunately, even the "best" elevator speech can be an express trip to oblivion instead of a shining personal marketing moment.

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Many of the new technologies that get hype today won't matter down the road. But there are always a few in the mix that need to be considered deeply. Granted, figuring out the difference is hard, especially with the high volume of noise that can exist in coverage of the Next Big Thing the business press.

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Blog advertising expenditures have exploded in the past year. Companies can make a really big brand splash for relatively little money, meaning that blogs provide advertisers an excellent opportunity to reach a devoted audience niche. But blog numbers, until recently, have been little more than curiosities to big brands.

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Your initial contact with a prospective customer leaves little margin for error. The first conversation is the most critical and least forgiving point of the entire sales process. Within the first 20 seconds you must simultaneously establish relevance and credibility—or you will be dismissed as just more marketing noise in the relentless barrage of sellers looking for attention.

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With all the emphasis these days on getting your message out using online media, we simply forget to focus on how to develop the right message. Many a company goes to market without having fully defined its customer value proposition. Don't make that mistake.

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Do your customers look at your products with the same eager anticipation as they once did? Have your customers stayed "married" to you? Would you consider them still in love—or waiting it out until someone better comes along?

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Today's multichannel catalog/online environment is a lot like the summer county fair. In fact, there are some surprisingly apt comparisons.

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Emerging economies are home to 84% of the global population and account for almost half the world's production. What's more, these regions are home to relatively inexperienced (and apparently, therefore, impressionable) populations and potentially high purchasing power. Clearly, this represents a real opportunity if there ever was one. Or does it?

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Is your commitment to customers real? Or are you merely jockeying for position on the latest customer scoreboard?

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Last year, MP3 player sales totaled $4.23 billion. Half of all US teens now own a player (with video capabilities increasingly becoming the norm). And of the two billion cell phones in use worldwide, 236 million now contain 3G technology enabling video playback. Can you say mini media market? Well, it may not be so mini.... As Mark Twain observed, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. But timing is everything.

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Computers are the campfires of today, around which we are all gathered. If you have a good story to tell there, people will listen. Here is a practical guide to creating brand-driven Web entertainment that marketers can use in their content-development efforts. The key is to have fun, experiment, and create some memorable stories.

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There's more than one way to skin a cat—and for achieving natural search engine results.

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Thanks to technology, you've got a big file of data available for your review and analysis. But what to do with all those numbers? How do you change them into English? How do you help them tell you a story about an advertising campaign?