by Fronetics | Jul 1, 2014 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
Content can grow your business.
How can content such as blog posts, white papers, eBooks, newsletters, infographics, podcasts, webinars, and video grow a business? Content can grow your business by increasing your search engine ranking, positioning your company as an industry leader, attracting new customers, and helping you retain current customers.
Not convinced? B2B companies with an active blog generate 67% more leads per month than those who don’t. What’s more, a study by the Custom Content Council found that 72% of marketers believe branded content is more effective than advertising in a magazine, 62% believe it is more effective than advertising, and 69% believe it is ‘superior’ to direct mail and PR.
Not all content is equal. Not all content will help you grow your business.
Content that will move the needle for your business is valuable content. It is content that is informative, educational, interesting, and speaks to your customer’s emotions and speaks to their pain points. Valuable content is not a sales pitch. Furthermore, valuable content is content that is delivered consistently over time and at the right time.
Strategy is vital
A 2014 study of B2B marketers found that companies who have a documented content strategy in place are more likely to consider their efforts to be effective than companies who do not have a documented strategy in place (60 percent vs. 11 percent).
The 12 steps to creating a content strategy that will help your company drive profitable customer action are:
- Put someone in charge
- Define your goals
- Define your audience
- Define your metrics
- Identify the right distribution channels
- Create a publishing calendar
- Create content
- Curate content
- Distribute content
- Engage with customers and prospects
- Track and analyze metrics
- Make adjustments as necessary
Want to learn more about these 12 steps and creating an effective content strategy? Download our eBook.
by Fronetics | Jul 1, 2014 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
Content can grow your business.
How can content such as blog posts, white papers, eBooks, newsletters, infographics, podcasts, webinars, and video grow a business? Content can grow your business by increasing your search engine ranking, positioning your company as an industry leader, attracting new customers, and helping you retain current customers.
Not convinced? B2B companies with an active blog generate 67% more leads per month than those who don’t. What’s more, a study by the Custom Content Council found that 72% of marketers believe branded content is more effective than advertising in a magazine, 62% believe it is more effective than advertising, and 69% believe it is ‘superior’ to direct mail and PR.
Not all content is equal. Not all content will help you grow your business.
Content that will move the needle for your business is valuable content. It is content that is informative, educational, interesting, and speaks to your customer’s emotions and speaks to their pain points. Valuable content is not a sales pitch. Furthermore, valuable content is content that is delivered consistently over time and at the right time.
Strategy is vital
A 2014 study of B2B marketers found that companies who have a documented content strategy in place are more likely to consider their efforts to be effective than companies who do not have a documented strategy in place (60 percent vs. 11 percent).
The 12 steps to creating a content strategy that will help your company drive profitable customer action are:
- Put someone in charge
- Define your goals
- Define your audience
- Define your metrics
- Identify the right distribution channels
- Create a publishing calendar
- Create content
- Curate content
- Distribute content
- Engage with customers and prospects
- Track and analyze metrics
- Make adjustments as necessary
Want to learn more about these 12 steps and creating an effective content strategy? Download our eBook.
by Fronetics | Jun 24, 2014 | Blog, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Many companies within the logistics and supply chain industries are stuck on the social media starting line. The reason – “they can’t get past the word ‘social’ and the perception it creates.” The reality is that social media is a tool that can be utilized to create value and grow your business.
This is the fifth in a series of articles that provides examples of companies within the logistics and supply chain industries who have moved beyond the social media starting line and have realized the business value of participating in social media.
Logistics industry start-ups leverage social media
Social media allows for instant connections and communication. Two start-ups, Trucker Path and Keychain Logistics, have created solutions for the logistics industry which leverage these characteristics of social media.
Trucker Path
Launched in February 2013, Trucker Path is a mobile platform for the trucking industry which connects shippers and carriers, and provides crowdsourced logistical assistance.
Specifically, the Trucker Path app (available via iOS, Andriod, and Web) enables carriers to find truckloads, shippers to move their cargo, and for truckers to get crowdsourced logistical information such as the locations of truck stops, rest areas, and information on weigh stations.
Keychain Logistics
Keychain Logistics uses technology to automate the marketplace and match shippers with carriers.
The Keychain Logistics app (available via iOS, Andriod, and Web) provides instant communication between shippers and carriers – eliminating the need for human powered brokerage.
Both Trucker Path and Keychain Logistics have recognized that there is more to social media than socializing – they have recognized that social media is a business tool.
by Fronetics | Jun 23, 2014 | Blog, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
Many companies within the logistics and supply chain industries are stuck on the social media starting line. The reason – “they can’t get past the word ‘social’ and the perception it creates.” The reality is that social media is a tool that can be utilized to create value and grow your business.
This is the fourth in a series of articles that provides examples of companies within the logistics and supply chain industries who have moved beyond the social media starting line and have realized the business value of participating in social media.
Cerasis is a top freight logistics company and truckload freight broker. During the company’s first 15 years it focused on traditional sales and marketing strategies and relied heavily on referrals. This strategy worked. Cerasis acquired new customers, retained current customers, and realized positive growth. However, Cerasis was not viewed as an industry leader, and brand awareness was low.
In 2012 Cerasis decided to participate in social media and launch a content marketing strategy.
Cerasis began actively blogging, and began using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+. The company quickly became seen as a leader within the industry, and brand awareness increased dramatically.
Within 15 months the company received 71 leads from search engines, 65 leads from social media, and 52 leads from webinars. Even more impressive, within 15 months the company gained 35 customers (one customer within the freight logistics industry can mean a lot of revenue).
The results show that Cerasis is no longer on the social media starting line – rather, Cerasis is now a leader, not only in the freight logistics industry, but also in using social media as a business tool.
by Fronetics | Jun 17, 2014 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
Many companies within the logistics and supply chain industries are stuck on the social media starting line. The reason – “they can’t get past the word ‘social’ and the perception it creates.” The reality is that social media is a tool that can be utilized to create value and grow your business.
This is the third in a series of articles that provides examples of companies within the logistics and supply chain industries who have moved beyond the social media starting line and have realized the business value of participating in social media.
Sourcemap: End-to-end supply chain visibility
In the wake of events such as hurricane Sandy, the Fukushima nuclear distaster, the Bangladesh factory collapse, and the horse meat scandal, businesses and consumers are increasingly demanding supply chain transparency.
Sourcemap is a social network which provides end-to-end visibility within a supply chain. Sourcemap offers supply chain mapping, crowdsourced RFIs, risks and alerts, and KPI dashboards. Launched by researchers at MITs Media Lab, Sourcemap was recently named one of Spend Matters Top 50 companies to watch.
Figure 1: What Sourcemap Offers
Sourcemap connects producers, manufacturers, and consumers for end-to-end visibility. Manufacturers can use Sourcemap to trace products down to raw materials, to manage risk, to and plan more resilient, efficient supply chains.
Consumers can use Sourcemap to learn where things come from and what they’re made of, including their social and environmental impact.
Stonyfield used Sourcemap to create an interactive sourcing map for its yogurt – to show consumers where the ingredients that go into their yogurt comes from.
Consumers simply click on an ingredient shown on the map (Figure 2) and then are shown information about the specific ingredient (Figure 3).
Figure 2
Figure 3
In the process of creating the map, Stonyfield engaged suppliers and fostered increased communication and stronger relationships. These relationships, this communication, and the ability for companies (and consumers) to know their supply chain from end-to-end is what Sourcemap wants to provide.
Sourcemap takes social media and makes it a vital supply chain tool.
