Twitter Appoints Dr. Fei-Fei Li to Board of Directors

Twitter, Inc. announced the appointment of Dr. Fei-Fei Li to the Company’s Board of Directors as a new independent director, effective immediately.

Taking Your People, Processes and Technology Along In Disruptive Strategies

“With unparalleled expertise in engineering, computer science and artificial intelligence (AI), Fei-Fei brings relevant perspectives to the Board as Twitter continues to utilize technology to improve our service and achieve our long-term objectives,” said Omid Kordestani, Executive Chairman of Twitter. “She shares Twitter’s passion for using technology to promote positive change and her appointment aligns with our commitment to adding a director who reflects the diversity of the Twitter service and also possesses deep technology and AI expertise.”

COVID-19 Impact on Influencer Marketing – How Brands Are Tackling?

“Twitter is an incredible example of how technology can connect the world in powerful ways and I am honored to join the Board at such an important time in the Company’s history,” said Dr. Li. “AI and machine learning can have an enormous impact on technology and the people who use it. I look forward to leveraging my experience for Twitter as it harnesses this technology to benefit everyone who uses the service.”

For Stamats New VP of Business Development, It’s All About Relationships

Stamats’ new Vice President for Business Development can’t wait to start helping clients tell their stories. Kathryn Edwards has a successful sales background in the specific areas Stamats markets too – higher education, healthcare, and publishing. But it’s her ability to develop enduring relationships with her clients that makes her work impressive. She’s eager to bring her energy, fresh ideas, and a unique perspective to her new role with Stamats.

ContentWriters’ SEO Optimization Strategy Leads to Growth in Business for Retail and Ecommerce Clients

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to help clients in all aspects of marketing and branding for their organization. I’m excited to help them tell their story and watch it connect with their audiences,” says Kathryn. She has a history of developing valuable relationships with senior-level leaders at colleges and universities, with health care providers, and with multiple nonprofits. Most recently with SAGE Publishing, Kathryn developed new markets for the company’s digital academic library resources and built and managed a multimillion-dollar account list.

Working in higher education, healthcare, and business to business sales and marketing for 25 years has given Kathryn a sincere appreciation for the important work her clients are doing. “In higher education, they are developing our future leaders; in healthcare, they are caring for our families and friends; and in business, they are driving growth in our local and national economy.”

Kathryn believes her client-first approach will be a valuable asset to Stamats. “I listen and learn about what’s important to the client,” she adds. “My passion is partnering with my clients to help them find the right solutions to meet their needs.”

The Face of Social Media will Change After COVID-19

Stamats’ Executive VP Bill Stamats is also eager for Kathryn to begin her Stamats career. “Kathryn is a salesperson. Her business development capabilities and experience will fit with what Stamats can offer potential clients. She’ll have the ability to sell Stamats marketing services in at least three different markets that the company serves.”

Sustainability Tech Spin-Out Higg Co Hires Former Nike Exec As Growth Continues

Higg Co, the San Francisco-based technology company founded in 2019 to unify and scale sustainability measurement, announced it has appointed former Nike executive, Del Hudson, as the company’s new VP of Marketing & Communications.

Voice Optimization: The SEO of the Future

Higg Co develops and hosts sustainability measurement tools, allowing companies to integrate measurable data directly into internal systems, improving end-to-end decision-making. Its goal is to unify sustainability measurement practices within consumer goods industries.

The technology company was spun out of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) last year, with additional Series A funding from impact investment firms Titan Grove Holdings, Buckhill Capital and Sanjeev Bahl of Saiburg B.V. Supporting the apparel, footwear, and textile industries to scale digitalization of sustainability data across global supply chains is Higg Co’s current priority.

Hudson, who has spent 20 years in communications and sustainability leadership roles in the US, UK, and New Zealand will oversee brand marketing, communications, and stakeholder relations for the company. Since launching a year ago, Higg Co has expanded product offerings to include brand assessments, upgraded the Higg Index user experience, enabling the completion of more than 10,000 factory assessments in 80+ countries, and now employs more than 50 people.

At Nike, Hudson held various leadership roles in Global Communications then Sustainable Business Innovation, where she was responsible for external partnerships, brand integration, sustainability reporting, and ESG disclosure. Under her leadership, Nike was a founding contributor to the New Textiles Economy initiative and was named Multinational category winner of The Circulars business awards at the 2017 World Economic Forum.  After Nike, Hudson headed the North American office for UK-based circular economy think-tank, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Higg Co CEO, Jason Kibbey, says, “Del’s experience building purpose-led brands and supporting industries in transition will be incredibly valuable for the next phase of our growth. I first collaborated with Del around seven years ago and her understanding of both the sustainability journey and emerging opportunities within our clients’ industries is a real asset. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have her join Higg Co.”

Top Marketing Techniques That Will Add an Edge to Businesses This Year

Hudson says the COVID-19 crisis presents a pivotal moment to accelerate sustainability. “Businesses and governments need meaningful data now, more than ever, to inform decisions and rebuild global supply chains,” says Hudson. “Trust and product provenance are increasingly important and companies are seeing that digitalization of supply chain data can accelerate sustainability, circularity, and transparency, just as it has accelerated all other dimensions of commerce,” she adds. “I’m energized by Higg Co’s opportunity to help the business respond responsibly as we emerge from this crisis.”

Higg Co board member, investor and Titan Grove Chairman, Jeff Tannenbaum, says “Del’s global experience in sustainability and brand communications, with companies like Nike and AstraZeneca, and her knowledge of risk management and ESG disclosure add an exciting dimension to Higg Co’s executive team. The Board welcomes her expertise and insight.”

Amazon Marketplace Leaders Buy Box Experts and Egility Announce Acquisition

Two leaders in the Amazon performance marketing agency space, Buy Box Experts (Lindon, UT) and Egility (Pleasant Grove, UT), announce the completion of an acquisition that will provide an unprecedented level of expertise to brands looking to control and grow on the Amazon Marketplace. Buy Box Experts will continue to be headquartered in Lindon, Utah.

Amazon to win Big in the Retail Economy Post COVID-19

Joseph Hansen, CEO of Buy Box Experts, will continue to lead the newly combined company as CEO. Hansen brings years of digital marketing experience and success to this space. Prior to Buy Box Experts, Hansen founded and sold five companies. In 2015, Hansen and Buy Box Experts partner James Thomson, Ph.D., co-founded the PROSPER Show, where together they grew the business from a two-person startup into the largest US-based educational conference for Amazon Sellers. They successfully sold the company to Emerald Expositions at the end of 2017.

According to Hansen: “With the acquisition of Egility, our leadership team has become more diverse and gained additional experience and best-in-class expertise. We are now equipped to easily scale with sellers of all sizes, providing them with the strategic and tactical services brands need to thrive on the Amazon channel. This acquisition reinforces our strategy to first educate and consult with our brand partners, and then develop and implement cutting-edge holistic services that allow them to grow profitably and navigate the complexity of the Amazon marketplace.”

The Egility team will bring a robust Amazon advertising skillset to Buy Box Experts, LLC, as well as additional resources for listing optimization.

“Since Egility’s launch in 2015, we have successfully scaled our product offering and capitalized on a host of opportunities that helped establish Egility as a leader in the Amazon space,” added Liz Adamson, Egility’s founder, and CEO, who will take over as VP of Account Management in the new company. “Joining forces with Buy Box Experts brings additional value to our clients, and together we are elevating industry standards and innovating the Amazon agency space in ways that have never been done before.”

Digital Marketing Remains the Only Hope of B2B Marketers with Coronavirus Taking Over

The new company will have over 115 employees—including nearly 20 formerly employed at Amazon—along with direct experience managing more than 1,000 third-party sellers and first-party brands on Amazon. Buy Box Experts will serve a broad client base of brands, from those just getting started selling on Amazon to more sophisticated enterprise brands with complicated advertising needs and significant product catalogs.

Buy Box Experts, LLC will harness its deep knowledge and experience serving brands through its suite of performance marketing services, which include strategic advisory consulting, growth-based advertising, product listing optimization, and 1P/3P account management on the Amazon channel.

Link-able is Changing the Dynamics of Content Marketing & Link Building During a Global Recession

As the whole world is stuck at home right now, businesses need to adapt and focus more than ever on their online marketing strategy. Link-able, a unique platform that connects businesses with elite authors, is helping businesses grow their website traffic while also helping authors find work-from-home jobs by link building during this recession.

SEMrush Offers Free Access to Tools During the Pandemic

COVID-19 has pushed up internet use by 70%, creating a content marketing opportunity for businesses like never before. Sites are seeing more traffic thanks to an increase in online users.

While marketing budgets have dropped and businesses are cutting various advertising channels to mitigate risks during this economic downturn, SEO is still proving to be a profitable channel. Businesses are focusing their budgets and investing their marketing efforts further towards SEO. And of course, backlinks are one of Google’s top-ranking factors, making now a good time to focus on quality link building and start driving unprecedented amounts of traffic to their website.

Link-able aims to help businesses with this task by connecting them with exceptionally talented freelance writers who can build quality backlinks for both SEO and PR. Simultaneously, the platform also helps talented freelancers with a passion for writing to find work-from-home jobs.

“Link-able’s vision is to help talented freelance writers earn more for their writing by giving them a practical way to do so while the economy has been seeing its worst since 2008.” – Jay Douglas (Founder of Link-able)

Building quality backlinks can be tricky; it takes a lot of time and work. With Link-able, businesses can simply sign up for their client account and post a link building job, describing their SEO and PR goals. After a review process (Link-able only allows quality websites with good content), clients will then be relevantly matched with writers in their industry who they can hire to build quality, whitehat backlinks.

Marketers are Focusing on Creative Automation for Successful Marketing

Freelance authors on the platform are thoroughly vetted and tested for their writing abilities and SEO knowledge. Link-able also has strict link building guidelines in place for authors since Private Blog Networks and paid blogs are high in circulation.

Link-able is on the other side of the spectrum when compared to other popular gig-economy platforms because of its focus on quality and a strong commitment to helping both clients and freelancers succeed.

Connecting and building relationships with the right freelance writers opens a whole new dimension of content marketing and can broaden the scope of online marketing efforts during this recession.

OMNICOMMANDER Expands Translation Services and Launches French Version of Community Credit Union Website

OMNICOMMANDER, a financial technology firm specializing in website design, branding, and marketing for credit unions, launches the newest offering of their custom website service as their French translation site goes live.

Marketing Automation- A Critical Tool for B2B Marketers

OMNICOMMANDER designs and produces fully custom websites and marketing solutions specifically for credit unions. As such, each website is tailored to meet the unique needs and desires of their clients based on the community in which a credit union is located. OMNICOMMANDER previously executed this vision for Community Credit Union’s new website and continued the project by building a mirror-image of the site in French to better meet the needs of its members. The website can be switched between viewing in English and in French with a simple click of a toggle button, which is a superior member experience over services such as online translation software.

Community Credit Union’s location in Maine has seen a growth in its community of African immigrants, which has led to the need to provide their services in French. Embracing their neighbors in their native language enables them to easily read and process necessary documents to join the credit union or take advantage of services offered.

More than half of all Marketers Focus on Hyper-Personalization via Email

OMNICOMMANDER kicked off 2020 by celebrating its third year in business and has separated itself from the industry by continuing to expand what can be done for a credit union’s digital presence. Since inception, the company has focused on a more inclusive experience by leading the way following ADA compliance and accessibility guidelines. OMNICOMMANDER’s next step in making a more accessible internet was offering Spanish translated sites, and this newest site may be the first American credit union site in French.

maaiiconnect’s brand refresh represents a new era in customer engagement and internal team collaboration

Pioneering digital convergence solutions provider M800 has announced a new brand identity for its flagship product, maaiiconnect, to represent the next generation in global communications. The all-in-one solution for customer engagement and internal team collaboration guarantees exceptionally stable, carrier-grade connections across both telecom and digital channels, helping businesses tackle their toughest communications challenges.

Facebook Bug Marking Legitimate COVID-19 Posts as Spam

Inspired by the cohesive, agile, and efficient structure of an ant colony, maaiiconnect brings together the best of telecom, web, and social media channels on a scalable platform. Similar to the dynamic network of ant tunnels connecting multiple nests, maaiiconnect’s distributed infrastructure and intelligent features empower businesses to continuously evolve their communications and deliver ambitious business goals. The platform puts the customer at the center of every business it serves by mobilizing best-in-class voice and video calls, and smart messaging solutions. maaiiconnect is the first service that truly bridges the gap between telecom and datacom services.

The new logo is brought to life in Cobalt Blue and Aqua-marine. The former color denotes maaiiconnect’s traditional roots — a proven, reliable infrastructure at the heart of its cutting-edge technology. Infusing the design with vivid energy, the Aqua-marine color represents maaiiconnect’s promise to deliver scalable solutions that epitomize the future of communications. The synergy between the dots mirrors the relationship between maaiiconnect’s enterprise clients and their customers — a single interface connecting multiple touchpoints, including web communications, telecommunications, and social media channels.

“The current pandemic has fast-tracked digital transformation for companies globally,” says Peter Chan, Founder, and CEO of M800 Limited. “We are committed to ensuring maaiiconnect continues to help businesses with a freemium solution that maintains operations and drives business success during difficult times.”

YouTube on Coronavirus – To Allow Creators Monetize In the Related Videos

The platform gives companies the capabilities required to boost productivity and engage with customers anytime, anywhere, on any device, including:

  • External engagement tools. Voice and video call, QR code/weblink call and chat, virtual numbers, smart messaging, and third-party system integration.
  • The maaiiconnect dashboard. The software creates a 360-degree view of each customer in a single interface to enable personalized marketing solutions.
  • Internal collaboration tools. Group chat, video call, screen sharing, file sharing, and video conference. The latter launches in Q2.

LiveXLive to Acquire ‘PodcastOne’ and to Enter the Rapidly Growing Podcast Market

LiveXLive Media, Inc., a global digital media company focused on live entertainment, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Courtside Group, Inc., the owner and operator of PodcastOne, a leading subscription and advertiser-supported podcast network home to popular and star-studded podcasts across top genres including sports, comedy, celebrity culture and entertainment, in an all-stock deal. The transaction is valued at $18.1 million based on LiveXLive’s closing price on May 7, 2020. The proposed acquisition is expected to close by June 2020, subject to certain closing conditions.

Coronavirus – Setting Up New Standard for Human-To-Human Marketing

PodcastOne generates over 2.1 billion downloads annually and produces over 350 episodes per week. PodcastOne’s library of over 300 podcasts includes shows from Adam Carolla, A&E’s Cold Case Files, Steve AustinShaquille O’Neal, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Dr. Drew, Heather, and Terry DubrowChael SonnenKaitlyn Bristowe, LadyGang, Mike TysonRich EisenSpencer and Heidi PrattAutumn CalabreseDemi Burnett, Gals on the Go, and many more.

“We’re excited to expand our business into the fast-growing podcast category, complementing our music platform of streaming audio, on-demand video and live event performances. The acquisition will add to and diversify our revenue with a strong advertising component. Once acquired and integrated, we will have a significant opportunity to cross-sell and cross-promote to our respective subscribers, advertisers, and sponsors as well as provide our collective artists and on-air talent with an expanded platform to increase their social media and online presence,” commented Robert Ellin, the Chairman, and CEO of LiveXLive.

Both companies are headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, and planned consolidation of teams is anticipated to generate cost synergies and combine back-end support and office locations. Moreover, LiveXLive has plans to integrate PodcastOne into its music platform, offering current and new subscribers more unique and original programming. PodcastOne will also bring an experienced advertising sales team, tripling the size of the current LiveXLive sales team, as well as an established roster of major national brand advertisers and new distribution channels.

PodcastOne’s founder and Executive Chairman, Norman Pattiz, will join LiveXLive as a significant shareholder and remain as Executive Chairman of PodcastOne. Mr. Pattiz is regarded as a pioneer in the radio industry having founded and built Westwood One into the largest radio network in America.

Marketing Strategy amid COVID-19 – Marketers Need to Rethink, Not Fear

“All of us at PodcastOne are excited about joining the LiveXLive team, and taking advantage of obvious future synergies between our businesses,” commented Mr. Pattiz. “I look forward to working with Rob Ellin to close the acquisition and achieve the growth we both envision.  PodcastOne is a premium producer, distributor, and revenue-generator for audio-on-demand programming. PodcastOne’s well-established podcasting business is an excellent complement to LiveXLive’s  ‘live social music network’, delivering premium livestreams, digital audio, and on-demand music.”

Madrivo Launches Adforia, an Internal Social Media Acquisition Channel

Las Vegas-based performance marketing agency Madrivo Media LLC has earned national recognition for its marketing solutions and has connected millions of customers with companies around the world.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Driving E-Commerce Marketing Success

Madrivo is committed to providing its clients with those marketing channels and tools which allow them to find new customers in the most thoughtful and cost-effective way possible.

As part of that commitment, Madrivo is proud to announce it has partnered with Michael Walker, to lead its internal social media advertising program through Adforia LLC. Michael has a long and successful track record of optimizing social media advertising for brands’ customer acquisition strategies. Specifically, in 2019 Michael was able to provide over 382,000 interested and high converting potential customers to his clients by effectively buying quality media on various social platforms. Together, Madrivo and Michael have created Adforia to focus on social media advertising and will specifically focus on customer acquisition strategies, supporting Madrivo’s focus on finding the best customers for its clients in the most cost-effective way.

How to Use Big Data in Sales and Marketing

“We’re very excited to expand our suite of offerings to our clients through the partnership with Michael and our creation of Adforia,” said Ronen Hamatian, CEO of Madrivo. “Madrivo’s goal is to help our clients find newly engaged customers with high lifetime value, via the most effective channels online.”

Thimba Media Acquires Casinomartini.com to Boost Its Global Network

Thimba Media, a global iGaming content marketing company, takes the next step in its geographical expansion with the acquisition of Casinomartini.com, its player bases, operations, and staff from the Swedish based founders of the business.

Three Ways How RPA Can Bolster Business and Revenue

The Website’s main operations include the UK, Germany, and New Zealand. Casino Martini offers a strong platform for organic growth in these markets for Thimba Media. The agreed purchase price represented a multiple of approximately 3.9x EBITDA for the last twelve months, with the possibility of additional payments based on certain key performance indicators.

The founder of Casino Martini will continue to be involved in the operations and use their know-how to support Thimba Media’s rollout of the product in Latin America and Canada. Thimba’s technical strength and experience will be utilized to optimize the assets and fast track organic growth.

Gamification of B2B Marketing Strategies