by Fronetics | Mar 8, 2016 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Social prospecting helps you identify potential customers outside your established audience using social platforms.
Social media should be an integral part of your marketing strategy — we know it helps build brand reputation, gather market intelligence, discover customer problems, and influence purchasing decisions. But your lead generation efforts should also include the use of social platforms. It’s a practice called social prospecting that can be highly effective in identifying new prospects.
You’ll use your existing social handles to identify and pursue potential customers that may be interested in your business but that don’t yet know about it. HubSpot describes social prospecting: “It’s about scouring the social web, identifying potential prospects, and engaging them through content to get them to your site and move them through your funnel.”
Why does it work?
Think about the size of your established audience. Now think about the total number of active users on social media: As of the fourth quarter of 2015, Facebook had 1.59 billion active monthly users, Twitter averaged at 305 million, LinkedIn had 414 million, Google+ had 111 million, and Pinterest had more than 100 million. Those enormous numbers equal enormous potential for your business.
That’s because social media isn’t just for recreational purposes anymore. More than half (53%) of B2B buyers report using social media to research purchases, in fact. Social prospecting allows you to be proactive in finding all of the considerable number of social-media-using prospects who are looking for you, too.
How do you get started?
If you already have a social media presence, that’s step one. It gets a little more complicated from there.
Fronetics has developed a free social prospecting workbook to learn how to use social listening to generate new leads for your business. We’ve identified the quickest way to find potential customers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+. Every worksheet includes:
- Short preparatory work to make the actual prospecting easy
- Visual instructions on how and where to find prospects
- Pro tips that will help you get the best results
- Prescriptions (Marketing Rx) for success
- Take-home exercises for follow-up prospecting
Happy prospecting!
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by Fronetics | Mar 7, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
Your content stinks. Here’s why.
Twenty-seven million pieces of content are shared every day — and most of it is crap. To attract readers to your content, you must stand out, and I mean really stand out, among the masses. That’s no easy feat.
You may be spending an enormous amount of time and money as part of a content marketing effort, but, if no one is reading what you’re producing, you’re definitely not achieving your ROI. Consider the following points, and ask yourself if any could be negatively impacting your readership.
Here are the top 10 reasons no one is reading your content.
10. You don’t have a strategy.
Only 11% of companies without a documented content marketing strategy find their efforts to be successful, compared to 60% of companies with a strategy in place. And that number rises to 86% when the company designates someone to lead the strategy. Having a clear vision for your content and a plan for executing that vision is crucial to earning an audience.
9. Your content isn’t search-engine optimized.
Seventy-seven percent of today’s buyers use Google to research information about products. Search engine optimization (SEO) means writing copy for your digital assets so they will be prioritized by Google in web queries related to your business or products. Three of four people will click on the top five search results. So the further you move from those top five results, the less likely someone is to find, much less read, your content. If your content isn’t SEO-friendly, readers may not even have the chance to see what you’re writing because it is so far down in their search results.
8. You are using the wrong channels.
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it, did the tree fall after all? Stop publishing in the empty woods. Who is the target audience for your content, and where are they active? Evaluate your audience (or lack thereof) in each of the channels where you publish, and see if something is amiss. This will vary greatly by business. You can access personalized information on your followers’ social media habits through analytic programs like Google Analytics and sites like Tweriod.
Also to consider: on lightning-fast platforms like Twitter, a miscalculation of timing could be to blame. (See The Best Time to Post on Social Media.)
7. You’re not publishing often enough.
Inconsistent content is one of the primary reasons readers become disengaged with a particular publisher. Even publishing one more blog post a week can significantly boost your readership. Try a little experiment for a few months by playing with the number of times per week you publish — say, three times per week one month, four times the next, and five the next. You’ll find the sweet spot where you get the most engagement but can also handle the production schedule.
The next reasons have to do with the substance of the content itself.
6. You’re publishing a sales pitch instead of content.
Imagine you’re looking to buy a car. Researching different options online, Site A, run by Dealership A, offers expert opinions about various makes and models, while Site B talks about how Dealership B offers top-notch customer service and a no-nonsense negotiation policy. You’d probably never come across Site B in the first place because the content is irrelevant (and trite… and annoying), whereas Site A has exactly what you’re looking for.
Content marketing is your opportunity to provide valuable, expert information to people who are seeking it out. Associating your brand with that sort of expertise attracts customers — not to mention, helps them find you via organic search in the first place. No one wants to read your sales pitch over and over again, and they won’t.
5. You are not telling the truth.
I am talking about two different definitions of truth here.
For one, are you being honest? Today’s consumers can smell b.s. from a mile away, largely because the Internet forgets nothing and forgives nothing. The prevalence of user-review sites and platforms like social media means customers will always have an outlet to share their experiences, both good and bad. If your business does not provide what you promise, people will be upset and take to these forums to complain about it. Trust and transparency are two key assets in earning (and keeping) readership.
Secondly, are you being true to who you are as a business? A recent Harvard Business Review article defines successful marketers as mission-focused, not consumer-focused. Don’t produce content based on what you think your customers want to hear. The beauty of content marketing is that when you put your business mission out into the universe through content, people who are seeking that information find you. In other words, build it, and they will come.
4. You’re not offering anything of value.
DigitalTonto says, “The first step towards engagement is creating value beyond the basic transaction of payment for a product or service.” This is the essence of content marketing: a related offer of value in the form of expertise, entertainment, etc. For example, L’Oreal Paris provides free makeup tutorials on its YouTube channel, Destination Beauty, and, Apple offers free classes, product demonstrations, and tech support from the Genius Bar for product users.
The question to ask is, what is your value to your customers? Can you offer expert advice on a particular topic through a blog? Is there something about your products or your people that would make for entertaining or informative videos? Do you have access to top-of-their-field specialists that could lead a webinar series? Find whatever it is that is unique to your company, and leverage that in your content marketing to attract readers.
Because there is so much content out there, today’s consumers can afford to be partial to publishers who provide information in a way that is pleasing to them. They also have shorter attention spans than goldfish. That means things like format, length, accessibility, and voice can majorly impact whether people read your content or not. Also, be mindful that different platforms should offer different experiences based on reader expectations (e.g., Instagram isn’t the place for lots of text).
2. You’re not heeding performance analytics.
The one certain constant in marketing is that things will always change. What works for you one year will certainly be irrelevant the next. Content marketing won’t allow you to rest on your laurels, either. You should stay on top of your analytics to monitor what kind of content is successful in the present moment, and you should tweak how you’re doing things as people, technology, and events change. Keep testing new ideas to see how they are received, and get rid of old standbys that no longer pull their weight.
1. Your content is bad.
While this seems obvious, it’s worth repeating. If the quality of your content is bad, no one will read it, regardless of what value it offers. The same goes for if you find yourself saying, “it works,” or “it’s fine!” If there are 27 million options, who would choose “fine?”
Do an honest evaluation of your content, or have a neutral outside party do so for you. Is it original, substantial, and well-written? Make sure that your content is edited, and that it is free from grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and awkward phrasing. And remember that you get what you pay for. Professional writers can be expensive, but there’s a reason for that — theirs is a specialized craft, and very few people can do it well. If you want people to read your content, you should make sure that it’s worth reading.
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by Fronetics | Mar 3, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Source: Rosaura Ochoa | Flickr
Here’s how marketers can launch a B2B social media program that grows business.
A recent Harvard Business Review article discloses that a number of B2B CEOs still believe social media isn’t right for them, that it’s a tool for the B2C segment. In reality, many B2B marketers successfully leverage social media to engage potential customers, gather market intelligence, build brand awareness and reputation, discover and intercept customer problems, and influence purchasing decisions before sales calls are ever made.
In short, if you are not in the B2B social media game, you are missing out on enormous business opportunities.
Getting started with social media can seem like an intimidating task, especially if your C-suite is skeptical of the benefits. Here are six steps to launching a B2B social media program that will grow your business to its full potential.
1) Speak in the right terms.
Convincing management that you want your team to spend more time on social media to gain “followers” or get “shares” might be a hard sell. To win support, focus your argument around the factors that are most important to them. Lead generation, lead nurturing, conversions, sales, ROI, profits: this should be the vocabulary with which you approach this conversation.
2) Create a strategy — and put someone in charge.
Only 11% of companies without a documented content marketing strategy find their efforts to be successful, compared to 60% of companies with a strategy in place. And that number rises to 86% when the company designates someone to lead the strategy. Working with an experienced marketing consulting firm, like Fronetics, you can develop an inbound marketing strategy that aligns with your business objectives. And whether someone on your team heads up execution or you outsource that responsibility, the leader should continually monitor analytics and tweak the strategy accordingly. Which brings us to…
3) Determine which analytics to track.
In the B2B world, it’s not about shares, likes, or impressions, though those numbers speak to your brand exposure. (Read more about so-called “vanity metrics” here.) Leads generated, conversion rates, sales, and ROI are going to be the things you’ll want to track. If you have a good, flexible strategy in place, these metrics will help you adjust your efforts to ensure you’re achieving your business objectives.
See: The Six Marketing Metrics Your Boss Actually Cares About.
4) Develop quality content.
Twenty-seven million pieces of content are shared every day — and a large portion of it is crap. A social media presence could be pretty pointless unless you’re using it to push content that is original, high quality, and representative of your brand. One of the biggest mistakes B2B companies make is using social channels to push a sales pitch. You’ll quickly lose your audience, who is turned off by a strong sales pitch. Social media is about engaging your audience, building brand awareness, and offering valuable information.
See: Three Elements of Good Content.
5) Decide which channels are right for your business.
Who are you trying to reach, and what are you trying to tell them? These are good questions to ask when trying to determine which platforms will comprise your social media program. There’s a wealth of information out there about which channels are used by whom and when. You’ll also want to choose channels that you’ll be able to maintain regularly and which play to your strengths. As an obvious example, if you don’t have the capability to make videos, YouTube probably isn’t for you. Remember, you’ll likely want to work through several different channels to reach a maximum number of potential customers.
See: Which Social Media Channels Should Your B2B Business Use?
6) Follow your competitors.
Following your competitors is a great way to stay up to date on what they’re doing, especially if you don’t have a ton of time or money for competitive research. And when I say “follow,” I don’t mean “copy or imitate.” I mean subscribe to their blogs, engage with them on social media, and like and share their content that you find meaningful for your audience. This way, you become part of the industry conversation happening online, and you know exactly what your potential customers are seeing from (and how they’re reacting to) your competitors.
See: The Role of Social Media in Supply Chain Intelligence.
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by Fronetics | Mar 1, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
A new digital marketing program helped one firm reinvent itself after traditional methods proved ineffective.
A prominent marketing firm was experiencing an all-too-familiar predicament: They had a great product that, for some reason, was not selling. They had been following their traditional marketing regimen; however, something about the purchasing landscape seemed to have shifted, and in a way that rendered their methods ineffective.
Then, a new content marketing program changed everything in just a few months. For the better.
The firm’s business was real estate marketing, and their great product, a community of new homes in a highly desirable location. Real estate, like so many other sectors, has experienced a major shift in buyer behavior in just the last two decades, with the majority of research being conducted online. The firm realized that a digital marketing strategy, unlike traditional print ads, could better reach a wider audience of potential homebuyers.
In less than 90 days after implementing the new content marketing program, sales increased by nearly 40%. Within the year, social reach grew by 325%, web traffic by 250%, and sales by 300%.
Download this case study to learn how the firm achieved such remarkable results.
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by Fronetics | Feb 25, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Data/Analytics, Marketing, Strategy
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The most efficient lead-generation strategy includes a way to capture potential customers’ information.
An effective lead-generation campaign requires several different strategic layers.
Firstly, you must entice potential customers with an exclusive, high-value offer — like ebooks, whitepapers, free consultations, product demonstrations, or discounts. A clear, highly visible call to action (CTA) or two can help ensure they know how to attain it and can encourage them to choose it over your competitors’ offers.
But you’re not done there. Unless you are capturing those quality leads effectively, you could be dropping the ball and missing out on potential customers.
Here are some tips for successfully capturing leads.
You absolutely need to have a landing page for your offer. Your CTA should not take the potential customer to your website’s homepage or anywhere else, but rather to a landing page, which provides your offer and captures the lead information.
Landing pages are one of the most important elements of lead generation and are effective for 94% of B2B and B2C companies, according to research done by MarketingSherpa. A great landing page:
- Describes the offer
- Does not include links to other things on your website that will distract the lead and perhaps send them elsewhere before you can obtain their information
- Is simple and not cluttered with information but emphasizes the benefits of your offer
- Has ways to share the offer on social media
- Has a form to capture the lead information
Capturing leads: It’s all in your form
The last point suggests the next step in your strategy: A good form is how you will successfully capture those leads. It is where your potential customers will provide their contact information in exchange for the special offer you have enticed them with.
So, what makes for a good form?
- Keep it short. The fewer fields you have in a form, the more likely you will receive conversions.
- Avoid using the word “submit” on your form. Nobody wants to submit their information, so use a phrase that demonstrates that they are getting something they want by supplying their information — something simple like “Get it free,” or “Download now.”
- Add a privacy message (or link to your privacy policy) that indicates their email or contact information will not be shared or sold.
Want more leads? Use multiple channels
To generate and capture the most leads possible, completing these steps in just one of your marketing platforms is not enough. Marketers should utilize multiple channels in order to maximize their lead-generation efforts.
The objective is to make it easy for buyers to research, evaluate, and purchase products in any way that is most appropriate for them. Some leads may find you through your blog, some through social media, and some through organic search (which is why all of your content should be SEO-friendly). Thus, you should make sure you are promoting your special offers, effectively placing CTAs, and properly using landing pages and forms in every facet of your digital presence.
Such an efficient, multi-layer lead-generation strategy can reduce your cost per lead while delivering higher quality prospects to your sales team.
Want to learn more? Download for a complete list of innovative tips and proven strategies to improve your lead-generation and -nurturing strategy.
Download guide
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by Fronetics | Feb 24, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
Putting together digital marketing pieces in a way that fully meets regulatory requirements can grow your business exponentially.
There is a misconception that companies within a regulated industry are denied the benefit of digital marketing. These businesses often hide behind their regulations, simply because it is easier than working with them to create new avenues into the digital realm of marketing and company branding.
Is your marketing antiquated and stuck in the past? Could you be using regulations as an excuse to avoid change and stepping into the digital age? Are you really restricted from having an effective social media presence?
The facts say that you are not.
Regulated industries, such as those in the financial management realm, can be creating a very personal connection and presence with their customers, and therefore developing a competitive advantage. But, they must be willing to take the initiative to change how things are accomplished, to re-organize, and to create a cooperative strategy within their organization. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to tackle content marketing in a manner that fully upholds your regulatory standards.
It not only can be done, but the companies who successfully adjust can grow their businesses exponentially. In fact, other companies within your industry are probably already proving this to be true. A recent study indicated that that 77% of respondents from companies across industries planned to increase their digital marketing budgets in the coming year.
So, how does a business in a regulated industry — with restrictions on things like publishing, advertising, and even how interviews can be conducted — overcome these challenges and become a content marketing machine? How do you deal with the fact that every piece of content must be reviewed by an attorney or an outside compliance agency? How do you promote your business when there are even restrictions on customer testimonials?
First, marketing in today’s digital environment will require an overhaul of your strategic planning (aka, how you do things, and perhaps how you have always done things) and the release of any fear you have of digital marketing.
Creating an environment conducive to digital marketing
Here are a few tips to support this change:
- You must create a management environment where the swift development of rich content can thrive. In regulated industries, this probably means you need fast and effective access to an attorney, who can read and approve new content for public consumption within a couple of hours.
- You need to create a smooth, reciprocal interaction across these departments, with a focus on a more efficient operation and mutual support of the approval process.
- You need to invest financially in a solid strategic plan for your digital marketing. It takes money to make money, so to speak. Consider teaming up with a firm of talented individuals from outside your industry, who specialize in how to create digital content customized to your target demographic. This team should have the capability to analyze content performance metrics and to guide your digital presence to achieve optimal results. Their services should provide you a customized content plan, increase your customer engagement level, and develop a digital presence for your company that meets regulation standards for your industry.
- Your content writers and management team needs to be well-versed on the latest data and statistics, as well as your overall marketing initiatives, so they can produce content based on the latest facts and figures that will attract new customers. Essentially, they need to know what your new customers want and have the data available that will garner their attention.
Once you have paved the way, your company can begin to benefit from the creation of a blog, eBooks, and other digital presentations.
So how do you make it happen? How do you begin to access these modern marketing techniques in a regulated industry?
- First, your leadership team must be on board, ready to embrace change and to learn to communicate in new ways. If this is not something you can see happening because mindsets are stuck in the 1990s (pre-social media age), then you should educate stakeholders on how social media can impact a business’s growth and success.
- Redevelop the marketing department and provide the resources necessary to stay compliant and obtain necessary legal approvals quickly and efficiently.
- Befriend the legal department. They should be part of your support team, not a challenge you must overcome. Remove old paradigms and replace them with creative solutions, like an interactive spreadsheet shared between marketing and compliance to speed up the social posting process. Make marketing and compliance part of the same team, one that works together to seek solutions, alternatives, and compromises.
- Give it time. This is a big step in the right direction to align long-term strategies to better reach a new set of consumers. But it does not happen overnight. Plant the digital marketing seeds today and reap a crop of new customers tomorrow.
If you are in a regulated industry, the time to embrace change and step into the realm of digital marketing is now. Those who learn to evolve, to think creatively to find solutions, and to face new demands as a team are the ones that will rise to the top of their industry and experience a competitive advantage that supports future success.
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