9 Outstanding Marketing Posts to Warm Up Your Weekend: E-commerce Link Digest

It’s getting really cold out there, Big Thinkers. To me, this seems like the perfect time to curl up in front of a roaring fire with a warming glass of Malbec and an outstanding list of marketing and e-commerce thought leaders to fight off these polar temperatures and warm up your weekend. Here’s my list. And now it’s yours too. Enjoy:

1. When done well, content marketing really works. The Future of Commerce analyzes 5 ways e-commerce companies create content that sells so you can do it well, too.
2. Mobile Marketer advises CPG brand to avoid blanket approach to mobile. Excellent information.
3. Linda Bustos over at GetElastic outlines 7 critical success factors for e-commerce this holiday while I considered the question, “Is Your Industry Immune to E-commerce Disruption?” You really want to take a look at what the answer means for your business.
4. While we’re on the topic, Business Insider looks at the biggest trends in e-commerce.
5. Continuing that theme, the two latest episodes of Thinks Out Loud, our weekly e-commerce podcast, looked at “The Biggest Trends Driving E-commerce” and “Mobile, Millennials and More: E-commerce Trends 2015.” Both worth checking out. And if you like the podcast, you might want to read this MediaShower interview with me about search, mobile, and responsive design. Good stuff.
6. Mobile Commerce Daily reports that Lord & Taylor has expanded its iBeacon program to all US stores. I’ll be visiting a local L&T at some point this holiday season and will let you know my impressions.
7. Switching gears to social, GetElastic examines the end of Facebook like-gating and what it means for marketers while eMarketer asks “Does Anyone Really Use Social for Customer Service?” Good insights there.
8. Marketing Charts reports on the demographics of US high-speed internet users. Valuable data, well worth looking into.
9. And, finally, Mike Blumenthal says that Google achieves 100% monetization above the fold with new its new ad pak. That’s very bad news for most local business and something you should keep an eye on in the coming weeks and months regardless of your industry. Google keeps moving in this direction across industries and search products. So, you could be next. How’s that for a chilling thought?

If you’re looking for more to hold you over to next week, check out these “6 Excellent Marketing Posts for a Chilly November Weekend,” the “9 Mobile Marketing and E-commerce Must-Reads for This Week,”, “9 Must-Read Marketing and E-commerce Gems: The Top Posts from October” or any of our ongoing E-commerce Link Digest series. Good stuff all over the place to help you fight off the chill.

Want to learn even more about how customers changing behavior shapes e-commerce and marketing? Register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” While it’s targeted specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons apply to just about any business. You can get your free copy of the report here.

Plus, don’t miss these slides and video from my recent webinar, “Digital Marketing Directions: Three Key Trends Driving Your Marketing Next Year”:

Finally, you might also want to check out some of our past coverage of the mobile, local, social web and how to make it work for your business, including:

• What Your Customers Expect from Mobile and E-commerce in 2014
• 10 Key Posts about Millennials and Mobile: E-commerce Link Digest
• The Secrets Behind “It’s All E-commerce” for 2014
• Should Marketers Really Trust Google in 2014?
• The Zen of Digital Marketing Strategy
• 7 Steps to E-Commerce Heaven
• Today and Tomorrow: Mobile and The Changing Customer Journey
• Mobile Makes E-commerce Even More “Frictionless”
• Your 2014 Internet Marketing New Year’s Resolutions – Thinks Out Loud Episode 56