While there are certainly foundational pillars of marketing that stand the test of time, the nature of marketing is to change. Everyone is looking for new tactics and approaches to help stay ahead of trends and stand out from the competition. Even with experience in this field, it can be hard to keep track of how quickly things shift.
Thankfully, there are ways for marketing students to connect to the industry—ways that don’t involve spending all of your free time scrolling through marketing-related accounts on social media. Marketing blogs provide an awesome avenue for gaining perspective, learning best practices and sparking your creative side.
To help you get started, we’ve identified 14 quality marketing blogs in areas students might be interested in. Need to keep a pulse on the industry? Want to finally learn the finer points of search engine optimization and digital marketing trends? Just need a little inspiration? Bookmark this list for later, so the next time an opportunity arises, you’ll be ready.
Marketing blogs for learning the basics
When you’re new to the game, it’s always a good idea to gain a sense of the craft from the pros. Follow these blogs for insight on real-world situations encountered by those currently working in marketing.
1. Moz
From breaking into video content marketing to boosting your web traffic, the Moz blog is absolutely packed full of helpful tips on developing your current strategies and finding new ways to reach your audience. This is a must-have bookmark for anyone working in digital marketing.
2. RazorSocial
The RazorSocial blog doesn’t mess around. They are filled with useful how-to guides covering a variety of common marketing technology initiatives. RazorSocial is made for those who want to wade into the deep end of marketing in a modern age.
3. Seer Interactive
Run by an agency specializing in digital media, the Seer Interactive blog offers insightful updates on digital marketing basics like SEO, paid search, Google Analytics, social media, user experience and more. This is an excellent option for anyone looking to brush up on digital marketing strategies and trends.
4. Content Marketing Institute
As you might expect, the Content Marketing Institute blog is made for marketers focused on content marketing strategies. Here you’ll find helpful articles covering subjects like developing a publishing process, how to set content performance objectives and how to craft the perfect eye-catching headline.
5. From the Future
The From the Future blog gets into the nitty-gritty of performance auditing as well as search engine optimization (SEO). You may have good content, but do you know how to get it in front of the people who need to see it most? This blog offers plenty of useful tips and how-to guides.
Marketing blogs for staying up-to-date
Sometimes, you need to identify the trends in order to innovate on your own. These blogs help you know what’s going on in the world of marketing before you enter it as a professional.
6. AdAge
If you want to know what the biggest marketing budgets are up to and where the market is headed next, the AdAge blog is a fantastic source of the most-recent marketing news. This is an excellent nexus of all things advertising-related.
7. SparkToro
SparkToro is an audience research software startup co-founded by Rand Fishkin (founder of the aforementioned Moz blog) with a blog that’s packed with useful information about the shifting digital marketing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) landscape. Here, Fishkin carries on the easy-to-read, highly informative style of blogging that helped build Moz’s strong reputation within the industry.
8. Adfreak by AdWeek®
From laughable mistakes in advertising to genius wins, Adweek’s Adfreak blog will help you stay on top of all the current waves in pop culture. This site highlights advertisements and digs into the minds of the creatives who’ve made them.
9. Adweek’s Social Pro Daily
Though these topical headlines are more like content bites, Social Pro Daily will give you an idea of what’s changing day to day in the world of Facebook®, Twitter®, TikTok® and other social media platforms.
10. Digiday
For brand updates and expert opinions, Digiday is a quality catchall publication. Here you’ll find updates on the digital advertising industry at large as well as case studies in high-profile successes—and flops!
11. Search Engine Land
With hundreds of subject categories to choose from, the Search Engine Land blog looks at how marketing and technology intersect in the digital media age through SEO, paid search and more.
Marketing blogs by industry professionals
As students, we all have days when the creativity seems to run out. Not matter what you do, clichés follow you around. These successful marketers offer intriguing tips designed to reframe your focus and show you what’s possible.
12. Seth Godin
Seth Godin’s short-form, off-the-wall content ranges from topics like “Quieting the Lizard Brain” to “Permission Marketing.” If you are looking for a marketing blog that doesn’t take itself too seriously while peppering in useful insight, this one is for you.
13. George Tannenbaum
In his blog Ad Aged, explore “the future of advertising, the decline of the English language and other frivolities.” You might have to dig a little for the marketing content, but you’ll have a good time doing it.
14. Babak Azad
With many years in the world of marketing, Babak Azad is a marketing consultant with lots of lessons to share about performance marketing and brand building. While much of the content is understandably geared toward business owners, the subject matter covered is useful for all levels of marketing professionals.
Get a grasp of what lies ahead in marketing
By keeping up to date with the world of marketing as a student, you could gain an edge, learn something new and learn how you can contribute to a team in creating effective, successful campaigns. For a better idea of where a marketing career could take you, check out our article “12 Intriguing Marketing Job Titles to Strive For in Your Career.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in 2016. It has since been updated to include information relevant to 2021.
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