A number of normally savvy social business marketers were caught flatfooted after the Boston Marathon bombing. Perhaps not watching the real-time activity in their news feed, businesses went on with scheduled tweets and other posts being published automatically, without any thought as to the breaking news surrounding their marketing message.

B2B mobile marketing, including text message marketing (SMS) and multimedia message service marketing (MMS), can be effective additions to your integrated marketing mix, saysTarget Marketing magazine, providing you follow some simple but vital planning and delivery tips.

QR Codes (short for quick response codes) are a wonderful tool for any integrated marketing campaign. You can use them to entice your customer right at the point of making a purchase decision. You’re able to reach people just as they’re making comparisons, to offer more information or an incentive that will help them make that decision in your favor.

In today’s increasingly mobile world, the ZMOT or “Zero Moment of Truth” has supplanted FMOT as a must-know concept for every integrated marketer.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

Sound like a familiar song? The Five Man Electrical Band may have thought there are too many signs, but the fact is, signs are a way of life. Wayfaring signs help guide us to where we want to go. Billboards inform us about products and services we may need, as well as telling us where to get off the road to eat, drink and rest! Traffic signs prevent us from getting into accidents and from getting tickets. Yes, signs are good. And they are an excellent addition to an integrated marketing campaign.

Having an intern or junior person to manage your social media marketing might seem like a good way to save some money. But think again before turning someone loose on Twitter. Relying on a single person to manage your company’s social media marketing can actually be costly.

Research indicates that 85% of your customers likely live or work within a five-mile radius of your business. If strong signage is not a part of your overall marketing strategy, you’re probably not attracting as many customers as you could be.

How Grainger Put CSR into B2B Marketing

Since “We Are the World” rocked the 80′s with compassionate activism, businesses have infused brands with corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Think of Target,Starbucks and Whole Foods.

Around 2009, content-marketing evangelists like David Meerman Scott and others began encouraging businesses to “think like publishers,” skipping middleman media outlets to send their news releases directly to customers and prospects via company websites and online distribution services. Rewards, they said, would include higher exposure at significantly lower costs, more (and more qualified) web traffic, higher search-engine rankings—and of course, better marketing ROI.

If you think window graphics are reserved only for cliché “Sale, Sale, Sale” or “Going out of Business” messages, then you’re missing out on one of the most visual ways to tie your integrated marketing together. Window graphics have evolved, and today’s marketers recognize that this kind of signage packs a powerful visual punch.