by Fronetics | Jul 25, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Strategy, Supply Chain
Get your news in front of the one billion iOS users with this step-by-step guide to publishing on Apple News.
Do you use Apple News? If you have an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch) and have upgraded to iOS 9 or beyond, the app is preinstalled.
Users love the easy-to-read interface and the fact that they don’t have to download a number of different third-party news apps. That’s because Apple News aggregates content from various media outlets, from the New York Times to local blogs, based on user preferences. You can refine what news you see by choosing your preferred publications and topics, which are as general as politics or as specific as the Chinese economy.
There are a number of topics and channels relevant to the supply chain. From supply chain management and automotive logistics to packaging news and sustainable brands, Apple News is an excellent source of content for companies in the industry.
Here’s more good news: Anyone can publish on Apple News. That means your business can distribute your content through this platform with the chance to reach the more-than-one-billion iOS users around the globe.
Signing up as a publisher is simple. Here are four easy steps to get started.
1) Sign into iCloud.
Go to https://www.icloud.com/#newspublisher and enter your iCloud login details. You can quickly create a free account if you don’t have one already. Click “Continue.” Note that you’ll need to agree to the End User License Agreement.
2) Set up your channel.
Complete details about your publisher name, contact info, and channel name. As a publisher, you can have multiple channels, each representing a different publication (such as a blog and a newsletter). After set up is complete, you can add a new channel by clicking “Create New Channel” and entering publisher and channel info.
Channel content is divided into sections. Your default section will contain the main content of your channel, but you can have up to 25 other sections to organize your content by topic or type. Apple suggests that 6 to 8 sections is optimal.
3) Upload your logo.
Upload a PNG file (smaller than 2 MB) of your logo that will be used throughout News to identify your content.
4) Select a publishing format.
You must choose between RSS feed or Apple News Format, which optimizes your content for iOS devices. Other benefits of Apple News Format include the ability to create articles in Publisher, add team members, get analytics, and earn revenue through iAd.
Once you submit all of this information, Apple will review your information and get back to you before your channel launches officially.
Learn more about publishing on Apple News.
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by Fronetics | Jun 27, 2016 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media
This is part one of a three-part series on Twitter for B2B. See part two, Tweet This: 20 Ideas for Content for the Supply Chain, and part three, How to Use Twitter Analytics.
One of the top social media sites for B2B marketers, Twitter can help businesses spread brand awareness and communicate with customers.
When it comes to marketing your B2B company, Twitter could be a fantastic tool to give you a competitive edge. Gone are the days that Twitter is only for teens or simply to pass time on the commute to work.
It’s in the numbers.
According to Social Media Examiner, 66% of marketers are planning to increase their Twitter use, and 58% of marketers want to learn more about it. After all, Twitter is consistently ranked as one of the top three social media sites for B2B marketers, along with Facebook and LinkedIn.
Twitter reports that 50% of users have visited or shopped at the websites of the businesses they follow. Additionally, 43% plan to purchase regularly from the businesses they follow, and 60% of followers make a purchase because of something they saw on Twitter.
The statistics don’t lie. Twitter is incredibly effective in increasing and maintaining your customers’ loyalty and creating new connections.
What exactly is Twitter?
Twitter’s new user FAQs describes it as “a service for friends, family, coworkers etc. to communicate and, most crucially, stay connected with the exchange of frequent, brief messages that are searchable and viewable by all of your followers.” This allows for constant interaction with other Twitter users across the globe, whether they are individual users or companies.
Why your business should be using Twitter
Twitter can be an effective tool for businesses to spread brand awareness and communicate with customers and business partners. Here are 6 reasons why you should be utilizing it.
1) It has a mobile application.
Even if your website is mobile-friendly, having a social media platform that is also easily accessible on a mobile device is extremely important. Reportedly, 70% of executives use their smartphones to learn about a product or service after they first hear about an offer. On Twitter, 83% of users are mobile. It’s becoming the 21st century newspaper. Users check it on their way to or from work, during their lunch break, and in their free time. Tweeting frequently keeps your business top-of-mind while current and potential customers browse their feeds.
2) Its reach is global.
Twitter supports 40+ different languages. If your supply chain includes international suppliers or partners, this feature is the perfect opportunity to reach those users, as well as domestic customers at the same time.
3) It’s excellent for customer service.
Your account will receive notifications any time your company name is mentioned in a tweet, so you can respond instantaneously if a customer has a complaint or concern. This is crucial, since the number of customers expecting a response on social media has doubled since 2013.
4) It makes analyzing your engagement simple.
Twitter Analytics makes it easy to measure your impact and see where you should adjust your strategy. Calculate your engagement, learn about your followers’ usage patterns, and more.
5) It allows for broad networking.
By searching a simple keyword such as “content marketing,” you are presented with hundreds of results, including tweets, hashtags, and different accounts. Follow the ones that seem relatable to begin a network of interest for your business. You can then retweet content that would be of interest to your followers, thus increasing your status as a source for knowledge and information.
6) It reaches your target audience.
Twitter has 310 million monthly active users. That includes the large majority of organizations, from small businesses (79% are on Twitter) to Fortune 500 companies (78% are on Twitter). What’s more, an IDC report found that 75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C-level/VP executives use social media to make purchasing decisions. Your business should be where your customers are, and your business should really be where your customers are researching potential business.
Terms you should know
If you’re going to use Twitter, knowing the lingo is essential.
- Tweet: A Twitter update. The personal message you compose to your followers. May include pictures, video, text, or links to other web pages. 140 characters or less.
- Hashtag (#): Use to create a community of posts talking about the same thing. For example if you want to see posts about inbound marketing, search #inboundmarketing. Join the conversation by using the same hashtag in your post.
- Retweet: Taking someone else’s post and re-posting it to your page so all of your followers see it, too.
- Quote tweet: Similar to re-tweeting, except you can add your own message to it as well.
- Followers: Someone who subscribes to see your posts on their personal timeline.
- Direct message: Send someone you’re following a private message to have a conversation away from your feed.
- Twitter handle: @yourusername, what someone uses to tag you in a tweet or can search you by, how you’re identified.
But how do I “tweet”?
Tweets are posts under 140 characters that are posted to your personal page and show up in all of your followers’ Twitter feeds. You can post photos, videos, links, or your own content, so get creative!
To begin writing, click the button in the top right hand corner of your screen that looks like a feather quill on paper.
Retweeting
The button for this looks a bit like the recycling symbol. It’s located below each tweet in your feed. If you like what someone says and want your followers to see it too, click the retweet button, then the retweet option that pops up. The original post will appear on your feed.
When someone retweets you, it is now seen by not only your followers but theirs as well. This is one of the great things about Twitter. It’s very easy for one post to be seen by a very large amount of users.
This is how a retweet will appear to your followers, except where it says “you” it will say your twitter account’s name.
Quote tweeting
When you click the retweet button under a post, it gives you the option to either retweet or quote tweet. If you want to add something to the original post you want to retweet, choose the quote tweet option. A window then pops up allowing you to type your own message with the original tweet attached. The difference between this and simply retweeting is that when you retweet, only the original tweet is reposted and not an additional message from you.
Here’s what a quote tweet will look like to your followers:
How to gain followers
Knowing how to create the content you want on your Twitter is only half the battle. Now you have to gain followers to read and help you promote this content. Here are 5 ways to increase your followers and get the results from Twitter you so desire.
1) Promote your username as much as you can.
Add a follow button and/or your Twitter feed to your website and blog, and put the link to your Twitter in your email signature. You can even promote it offline on business cards or around the office.
2) Use your existing customer base.
Upload your email contacts into Twitter and follow your customers. It will let them know you’re thinking about them and prompt them to follow you back.
3) Search keywords and hashtags that relate to your industry and audience.
Use them to join in on conversations and get noticed in Twitter communities surrounding your industry. Users who like what you have to say will be inspired to follow you to get your updates.
4) Have the people who support you offline join in online.
Send out a company-wide email encouraging your employees to follow you on Twitter and retweet your posts.
5) Ask for retweets.
When someone retweets your post, it goes to all of their followers, increasing your reach exponentially. Don’t be afraid to ask your followers and employees for support. Sometimes a contest or incentive works extremely well to get the retweeting going.
The finishing touches
- Don’t forget to give your brand a little personality. As Kelly Jo Horton said in her article, 10 Things B2B Marketers Should Be Doing on Twitter, “All work and no play makes your Twitter feed a dull read. Don’t be afraid to have a little fun.” Post a joke or a funny picture, or show what it’s like behind the scenes at your company.
- Be conscious of where your followers are located. If they’re in different time zones, make sure your tweets match their schedules as well as your own.
- Keep up your audience engagement by making sure your tweets aren’t just a one-way communication. Start conversations with followers. Respond in good time if someone starts one with you.
A positive online connection can be the beginning of a profitable professional relationship. Twitter and its 310 million users are a great place to start making those connections.
Editor’s note: Sarah Collins is a summer intern at Fronetics Strategic Advisors. She is a rising sophomore at James Madison University, College of Business studying Marketing. You can find her on LinkedIn.
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by Fronetics | Jun 23, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy, Supply Chain
HubSpot users also saw 3x more leads and 4.1x web visitors per month after a year using the software.
A study has found that using HubSpot for your inbound marketing can increase sales revenue by 72% in 12 months.
A 2016 MIT Sloan student analysis showed that HubSpot’s inbound marketing software provides users a substantial boost in quality leads, which converted into more sales. In year two of using the software, customers continued to see impressive increases.
The in-depth report was a compilation of customer survey responses and web data gathered over a 24-month period for HubSpot users from 2013 to 2015. It looked at three fundamental aspects of marketing methodology:
- Attracting new visitors to the user’s website
- Conversion of these visitors into customer leads
- Closing those leads into actual sales
Leveraging tools to streamline and magnify marketing and sales efforts is important for all businesses in the supply chain and logistics industries, but it can be especially important if your business is small, or has limited resources. HubSpot proved to be a competitive solution, with cost-effective results that increased leads, customers, and revenue.
Report highlights
Attracting new customers
- Users averaged 3x more leads per month after a year.
- Websites averaged 4.1x more visitors per month after a year.
Conversion of website visitors into leads
- Approximately 83% of the HubSpot customers experienced an increase in their conversion rate of leads into customers.
- Size of the business did not matter; all saw significant increases in site traffic and lead conversion rates.
Closing those leads into sales
- 72% of HubSpot customers saw an increase in sales revenue in one year.
Other findings focused on substantial support in meeting goals and the ease of attracting the right customer persona for optimum results.
- 96 % of customers surveyed said that HubSpot helped them meet their marketing goals.
- 68% of customer respondents felt that their efforts generated better quality leads while using HubSpot.
- Increased customer satisfaction was reported by 46% of HubSpot users since they began using the program.
Is HubSpot right for your business?
HubSpot is a marketing platform that takes all of the inbound marketing methods that were once separate services and consolidates them into one integrated software package. It provides marketing analytics, lead intelligence, A/B landing page testing, CRM integration, email service integration, eCommerce integration, and API integration.
From one location, you can blog, tweet, optimize, then capture and nurture leads. It drives the right customers to you using extensive research specific to your industry. It pinpoints your competitors and potential customers, including their typical pain points, interests, and questions.
A separate 12-month study conducted by Overgo involving both B2B and B2C businesses compared companies using HubSpot to those who did not. It found:
- An average increase of 170% in organic traffic after one year, whereas those using HubSpot saw an average organic traffic increase of 590%.
- HubSpot received 125% more (B2B) and 294% more (B2C) leads than companies not using HubSpot. (Several of the B2B companies received fewer leads because their targets are multi-million dollar deals, a much smaller avenue of opportunity.)
The difference was attributed to the tools HubSpot offers its customers, which include:
- Ranking opportunities – a feature that shows which keywords offer your business an opportunity to get ranked on the first page of search results.
- Conversion opportunities – shows which keywords are attracting a lot of traffic but not converting, then suggests ways to increase conversion.
- Long-tail opportunities – suggests keywords where ranking could improve substantially if you add a certain word or phrase.
- Competitors – compares your site’s ranking and search volume to your competitors.
- Campaigns – helps organize keywords into campaigns for tracking and measurement.
HubSpot’s inbound marketing software has consistently provided a relatively fast and high return on investment for the majority of B2B or B2C companies, no matter their size.
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by Fronetics | Jun 6, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
Trying to pass your sales pitch off as content will only hurt your content marketing efforts.
Think your blog is a refreshing new way to highlight your products or services? Do your posts include verbiage like “one-stop-shopping,” “innovative,” or “industry leader?” Stop right there. Everyone you reach probably knows right away that you are trying to sell them something, and they will quickly move on.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, being “salesy” will make potential customers look elsewhere, or run in the opposite direction — perhaps to your competition. The best way to win customers is to stop boasting about yourself and to stop trying to sell. Content that answers your customer’s needs is what will grow your business.
Nobody welcomes a sales pitch
Admit it: you tune out anyone that comes across as trying to sell you something. You get emails, voicemails, and social media updates with “information” that is really a not-so-cleverly disguised sales pitch. What do you do? Most likely you hit delete, or you do not read past the first sign of a sales promotion.
So you know deep down that “salesy” does not sell. Yet, according to a recent study of 500 global marketers from the Economist Group, many B2B content marketing programs are doing just that: promoting products throughout their content efforts. In fact, 93% of the marketers surveyed said they directly connect content to a specific product or service.
Customers see right through this trick. The same study found the majority of B2B customers are annoyed by pitches. In fact, 71% of B2B executives reported that content they didn’t like seemed more like a sales pitch than valuable information.
Focus on your customers to increase sales
So what should you content be doing? Rather than forcing your products on your prospective customers, take time to answer their questions. Be the expert advice they are seeking. You do this by:
- Keeping content informative and educational. Your content should hold value for your readers.
- Letting your content demonstrate market expertise. It should give the reader a favorable impression of you and your business. They should walk away thinking that you know what you are talking about.
- Write as if you are speaking to a business peer. You are approachable and intelligent. Speak the language of the customer, and bring something new to the table, in terms of information.
- Focus on topics and questions of crucial importance to your target audience. What do they care about or want to know more about?
The philosophy of content marketing is to offer help, to educate, and, at times, to entertain your target audience. This is accomplished by focusing on the customers’ needs and interests, not your company’s latest product. When you form this online relationship with your audience, you gain their trust and respect, and that is what brings in sales.
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