Keeping Up with All Things Interactive
The flood of news and information about marketing today is voluminous, making it challenging to
keep up and on top of everything. I do 3 things in an effort to stay abreast of what is going on:
Subscribe to weekly summaries to know what is happening in marketing. My two favorites are:
1) Mediapost has online roundup of daily news, and the ability to subscribe to specific topics such as search, email, video, gaming, metrics, social media.
2) Smartbrief provides succinct excerpts on a variety of industries. I subscribe to the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) Smart brief as well as Smartbrief on Social Media.
Read business books for a deeper understanding of new marketing approaches.
Do so with the following discipline: On the inside front cover, write a 1-line summary for each chapter. On the inside back cover, jot down the quoteable quotes you might want to use later with the page number on which they appeared. I can’t take credit for this as it comes from Tim Sanders, author of Love is the Killer App. 
It’s time consuming, but if, like me, you’re apt to remember something if you write it down, it’s very helpful. I haven’t read Crush It by entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, but that’s next on the list. (Click on the link only if you want to read a review.)
Attend online webinars to learn how to apply new marketing approaches. Aural learning is a nice break from reading, and there are a ton of online webinars available. If it’s social media you’re learning about, Awareness Networks has a terrific series featuring thought leaders in social media. Hubspot, another Boston-based company also offers a series of webinars including a program called Inbound University, a series of webinars that culminate in an Inbound Marketing designation for those who achieve the 75% minimum score. (Disclosure: I am a proud certificate holder!)
Another aural opportunity: Boston-based agency, PJA, hosts a weekly audio program in which the senior execs comment on what’s happened in social media this week. Insightful and conversational. Bonus: possible to multitask while listening. Hashtag #pjalive.
What are your tips?