Let's be real for a second—2019 has been wild. Kanye started a church. Starbucks made it into Game of Thrones. The nerds nearly stormed Area 51. Fully grown adults bought and wore fanny packs. And Instagram announced it would be making "Likes" invisible on its platform.

Over the last few years, we've watched influencer marketing explode like a mac truck in a Van Damme movie. The past year was the biggest yet, indicating nothing but a continual climb for the marketing channel in the future. But as big as influencer marketing has become, many small businesses are still unfamiliar with how it works, as well as if it's right for their brand. That's why today we're explaining exactly what influencer marketing is, and why no matter who you are, it needs to be part of your marketing. Let's dive right in.

Quite often, the objects we encounter every day are laden with history and reason, and we are unaware of it. It's understandable. For starters, we're busy guys and girls. Not to mention, we can't possibly be walking, talking experts on the reason, historical context, and functionality behind everything we touch in our world. To quote an icon, "...ain't nobody got time for that." 

There are a few places to go when you’re needing inspiration in the workplace. Some of us scroll through Instagram, some peruse Pinterest, and some head on over to their bookmarks to skim through their favorite blogs. But would you believe us if we told you that LinkedIn was actually one of the better places to gain inspiration from thought leaders in your industry?

Despite what you may think, LinkedIn is no longer just a place for corporate players to share thinly veiled sales pitches, show off their use of the word “leverage,” or repost the occasional, “You can do it, dreamer,” poster. If you’re following the right people, LinkedIn becomes a place where you keep a finger on the pulse of your industry, find your fire, and get inspired. That’s why today we’re talking about our The Top Ten LinkedIn Influencers Worth Following Right Now.

Fact: writing a white paper is no joke. It’s certainly one of the bigger sorts of projects a marketing team will work on and will require some serious leg work. White paper’s require hours of research, a healthy dose of timely and reliable sources, a research position and tone of voice, a dang good subject. It typically will be anywhere from 3000-5,000 well thought out words and an all-hands on deck approach from more than one of your marketing team members

Over the past few years, there is a new infatuation that has been sweeping over our nation. For better or worse, it's been washing over our televisions, newspapers, social media feeds, and now, our marketing campaigns. From the white house to the Kardashians and their diet shakes, we've become obsessed with controversy. And as a business, it's something to be aware of. If a marketer's job is to keep her finger on the pulse of the nation, and that pulse is racing, what does that mean for her work? Does she stoke the flames of this new infatuation? What does she risk if she does? Better yet, what does she risk if she doesn't? Today we're taking a look at some real-life examples of controversial marketing campaigns and the repercussions for the companies who created them. 

In the past decade or so, we've seen the emergence of one of the most powerful marketing tools since the invention of automation: The Influencer. When tapped correctly, the influencer can be a major asset for promoting your brand awareness and overall product. On the contrary, influencer marketing done poorly can come back to bite you in the business butt in a major way. Today we're taking a look at what an influencer is, as well as some inspiration on how to use them, and some serious warnings on how not to use them from real life booms and busts. 

When creating your marketing messaging, it's kind of important to know who you're talking to. And by kind of, we mean a whole hell of a lot. The best way to define who you're talking to is by creating buyer personas. A buyer persona is a representation of a fictional buyer who fits the profile of your customers. This is more than just assuming general attributes; it's a character based on data.