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What can content marketing do for your business?

May 22, 2012

Content marketing.  It seems like everyone’s talking about it. But what exactly is it and what can it do for your business?

Odds are, if you’re doing any marketing at all — you’re at least accidentally dabbling in content marketing.

First — it goes by many names.  Some people call it custom publishing or branded content.  Other people slap the label of social or digital marketing on.  And all of those names are accurate.

Content marketing is a broad term for any marketing technique that creates and distributes valuable, helpful and relevant information that demonstrates that you know your stuff.  These tactics draw the attention of people who are already your customers or could be your customers and they consume, share, and value the content.

The ultimate goal of content marketing is to create a sense of trust and comfort that will lead to someone making an initial purchase, making an additional purchase or referring you to someone who’s ready to make a purchase.

There are other benefits as well.  It’s a powerful way to establish yourself as an expert, to shorten the sales cycle, to impact SEO results and depending on your business – to educate, entertain, and inspire your audience.

I found an infographic from Visual.ly that I think does an excellent job of not only demonstrating many of the different possibilities when it comes to content marketing — but also gives you a sense of which tactics deliver what outcomes.

Check it out! (click here to download larger version)

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Content marketing is important but not free!

May 21, 2012

One of the things that irks me is when I hear a marketing “expert” extoll the virtues of content (or social or digital) marketing and to close the sale — they remind their audience — “and best of all, it’s free.”

Poppycock. (I know…such language!)

At MMG, we believe there’s not really an organization in existence that can’t benefit from a content marketing program.

But like most good things — it’s not free.  Access to some of the social networks might be free — but creating compelling content that demonstrates the value of working with you is going to cost you time, attention, dedication, money, and a host of other things.

I elaborated on this thinking over at the MENG (Marketing Executive Networking Group) Blend.  Check out my post (by clicking here) and let me know what you think.

 

 

Related articles

• What Makes Good Content Marketing Great? (problogger.net)
• Elements of a Strong Content Marketing Campaign [INFOGRAPHIC] (contently.com)
• The Grande Guide to B2B Content Marketing [Free eBook] (contentmarketinginstitute.com)

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Are you falling behind when it comes to mobile?

May 13, 2012

I think it is fascinating in a “I don’t get it” sort of way.  We all know that mobile is where digital is headed.  We’ve all repeated the “by 2015, the #1 way we will access the internet is through our smart phones” and yet… it seems like most people are lollygagging along when it comes to getting onto the mobile train.

Is your website mobile optimized?  Are you learning more about mobile ads?  Are you thinking about how you’re going to accept mobile payments?

Or do you look like this infographic?

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Going viral = out of your control

May 8, 2012

It seems like one of the goals I hear more and more is… “and we want it to go viral.”  I translate that to mean — we want a lot of people to see it.

But rarely when someone says they want something to go viral, do they really understand the implications of that.  The biggest one is — the minute it begins to go viral, it begins to take on a life of its own and it is beyond your control.

Let me give you a very tangible example.  My daughter and several of her college friends decided that they wanted to jump into the Sh*t People Say meme that was started in December (the original video has over 16 million hits – click here to view it) and make a video based on what University of Northern Iowa students say.

Their intention was pretty straight forward and college kid appropriate — they thought it would be funny. (And it is).  So they scripted and shot the video with that intent.  It’s filled with inside jokes about the names of resident halls (Dancer, Bender, Rider so you can imagine the joke!) and some of the art that lives on campus. And the first 50 viewers or so, mostly their friends or people within their circle of friends, were of the same mindset.  They got a lot of “LOL” type comments.

But then as the video began to spiral outside their own circle and go viral, some interesting things happened that we all need to keep in mind as we cross our fingers for a viral spread of our marketing efforts.

Not everyone is going to like it.  Some people took the humor as putting down the college they loved and took offense.  And there were a couple swear words sprinkled throughout which a few people objected to.  No matter how clear your intent or how pure your motives — as your audience widens, so will the range of opinions.

People will apply it to their own agenda. Like most Universities, UNI was not without some controversy this year.  Budget cuts are leading to dropping some majors which routinely only graduated a few kids a year.  Professors and special interest groups started sharing the video as proof “that the kids are upset that classes are being cut.”

Know that we all view things through our own perception/lens.  And nuance and meaning can be inferred or transfered if the motivation or inspiration is strong enough.  Sometimes that will work for you and other times, it might take you off course.

People will nitpick at it, because they would have done it different.  Apparently UNI is a very windy campus and one of the bits referenced that inside joke.  A commenter pointed out that they should have shot it in a different location which is the windiest of the windy spots.

One of the truths that has become apparent via social networks is that everyone has an opinion.  And now, they have multiple ways of sharing it. Some will applaud your efforts, others will take the opportunity to critique.  You can’t put yourself out there if you aren’t ready to accept both.

The lessons learned by the UNI students is a very valid one for all of us that create content and toss it out into the social wind — hoping it will grab an updraft.

There’s the trade off.  If your efforts goes big (their UNI video has over 5,600 views as of this posting) it will also go places you never imagined or intended it would go.  Is that bad?  No, of course not.  The goal is exposure.  

But you need to be ready for the tangents, the crazies and unintended consequences because those are part of the package too. If your brand is strong and consistent, most people will dismiss the fringe comments and see what you were trying to say.

The fear that comes with the potential loss of control is why so many brands do social media badly or not at all.  You have to be willing to let go and trust your audience.

Hmm, there’s an interesting twist.  We want them to trust us with their money but are we ready to trust them with our message?

(Hat tip to my daughter and her fellow students for their creativity and willingness to see what happens.  A special nod to freshman Linh Ta (Electronic media major) for a great job shooting and editing the video. Want to read her thoughts on studying journalism in today’s world? Check out her blog.)

Photo courtesy of www.BigStockPhoto.com

 

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9 Keys to Wicked Awesome Landing Pages

May 5, 2012

Note from Drew:  Every once in awhile I like to open up the blog to a guest with a depth of expertise that I think you’ll benefit from.  Here’s Jason Well’s take on landing pages.

A few weeks ago I spoke at SES New York about mobile PPC and SEO. I touched briefly on mobile landing pages.

After the presentation one of the attendees walked up to me and said, “thanks for covering mobile landing pages, but most people still need help on their standard landing pages.”

He was right.

Especially in the B2B world, ‘regular’ landing pages are still critical.

While keeping in mind that no landing page is perfect, there are a few simple (and not so simple) rules to creating wicked awesome landing pages.

1. Goal – When you create a landing page what is your goal? Do you want people to download a White Paper, schedule a demo, or call you on the phone? This goal should be clearly defined and obvious to the visitor at-a-glance. Everything on that landing page should work to accomplish that goal.
2. Headline – The headline of your landing page needs to be short and precise. That is all.
3. Brief Copy –There is a rule that journalists use that marketers should also apply. The rule is this: use the fewest words necessary to get your point across.
4. Call-to-Action – What do you want a visitor to do on your landing page? (Remember our discussion about goals above). This call-to-action should be crystal clear. (Think blatant, obvious and simple).
5. Options – You don’t want to necessarily mandate that your visitors fill out a form. Give them options. Place your phone number in prominent locations on the landing page so they can call you, if they prefer.
6. Fields – The other day I visited a landing page that stunk. It was terrible. Why? Because they wanted me to fill out 16 information fields! 16! Now, there is no perfect number for form fields. But one thing iscertain: 16 is way too many.
7. Testing – You should A/B test every element of your landing pages. Place phone numbers in difference locations. Change and tweak specific form fields. Change copy and headlines. Test and refine. (Everyone knows they should do this, but most people don’t).
8. ‘Retreat’ Offers – If someone doesn’t want to sign up for a demo on your landing page, for example, give them the option to download a White Paper when they leave.
9. Metrics – Most marketers know what percentage of visitors to their landing pages are converting. (i.e. how many people are filling out a form to download a product or see a demo). But does your conversion rate include people who called you as a results of your landing page? Does your conversion rate count those people who +1 you after visiting your landing page? Including those ‘other metrics’ in your conversion rate will give you a more complete picture of how effective your landing page actually is.

Bio: Jason Wells is the CEO of ContactPoint. Their new product, LogMyCalls, represents the next generation of intelligent call tracking and marketing automation. Prior, Jason served as the Senior Vice President of Sony Pictures, where he led the creation and international expansion of Sony’s international mobile business line from London.

Jason holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

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What can you learn from a small town?

April 30, 2012

Turns out, quite a bit.

The whole concept of having a marketplace is blurry today.  It used to be — you sold stuff to your neighbors because they were the only ones close enough to buy from you.

But today the world is one “global small town” where all your customers can talk directly to each other and every one of them can buy from you or from the guy on the other side of the planet.

In their book Small Town Rules (click to buy it on Amazon*) authors Becky McCray and Barry Moltz take a look at what works in a small town and help us understand how those same rules apply to us, whether we are a big fish in a little pond or a tiny fish in a huge pond.

The truth is — size, scale, and resources are no guarantee of success anymore.  Who would have thought Tom’s could have created enough buzz and passion that they become the worldwide sensation that they are today?

Today more than ever before it’s about how you build relationships, trust and compelling word of mouth.  And no one knows how to do that better than a local shopkeep.

Barry and Becky tell great stories, offer up plenty of examples but best of all — give us seven rules to learn and follow, no matter how big or how local your business is.

1. Plan for zero. Planning for zero income requires building new sources of revenue and all kinds of different equity.

2. Spend creative brainpower before spending dollars. This protects you from doing something just because everyone else is… and let’s you introduce your customers to the real you.

3. Multiply lines of income to diversify your risk. That way if one stream runs dry, the others keep things flowing.

4. Work anywhere, anywhen through technology. We have new expectations and tolerance for how and when we get responses from companies.

5. Treat customers like community. Make them feel valued, special and like an insider.

6. Be proud of being small. Small and nimble is the new big.

7. Build your local connections. Making connections that count help you accomplish the first 6 rules because you quickly learn that you can’t do it alone.

This book is a great read for anyone who is running a business — anywhere.  Turns out we all have a lot we can learn from those small towns.

 

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What is the next step?

April 25, 2012

That’s the question you should ask yourself as you create any marketing piece.  “What is the next step I want the prospect to take?”

Whether it’s a Facebook fan page, an enewsletter, a TV spot or a blimp with your logo on it — you have earned their momentary attention.  What are you going to do with it?  Where do you want to take the conversation/connection from here?

• Do you want to give them the opportunity to contact you?
• Do you want them to share your content?
• Do you want them to ask you a question?
• Do you want them to laugh so hard that they have to tell someone about it?
• Do you want them to try a sample?
• Do you want them to redeem a coupon?
• Do you want them to click, text or call to give you a donation?
• Do you want them to sign up for your enewsletter or blog?
• Do you want them to stop by the store?
• Do you want them to recognize your name when you call?

There is no magic right answer other than — you should have an answer.  Sales is a series of tiny baby steps.  But you always have to be asking…what is the next step.

After you know what the next step should be — you need to help your audience know what the next step is.  And by help I mean — tell them.  Don’t be shy or subtle.  Tell them.

Last week, I was fortunate to speak at a conference held by the Oklahoma Restaurant Association*and as part of their event — they hosted a reception where many of their members got to show off their best entrees as guests mingled through a large ballroom — nibbling on snack sized portions of all these good eats.

One of the restaurants, The Rib Crib,  had clearly asked the question “what do we want them to do next” because as they gave you the sample-sized sandwich, they also handed each person a wooden coin that offered them a free entree at their next visit.  They were clearly telling us what to do next.  “Come experience our restaurant” is what they were saying to us.

Start looking at all of your marketing materials.  If you can’t clearly identify the next step — how do you expect your prospects to?

 

* Many thanks to my friend Scott Townsend for paving the way to the invitation to speak.

 

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Where are digital marketing dollars being spent?

April 20, 2012

Wondering where people are expending their efforts (and money) when it comes to digital marketing?

Take a look at this chart — it’s pretty telling. (This chart is part of the 2012 edition of The SoDA Report, from the Society of Digital Agencies.  More on the SoDa Report here.)

As you can see, when marketing decision makers were asked (in the where they were going to focus their attention, in terms of earned and owned media — they had some very definite opinions, with Word of Mouth and Blogger Outreach topping the charts.

Those surveyed said that they were continuing to shift their spending from traditional, expensive tactics toward digital—especially earned media —though it’s rarely a one-to-one exchange. According to the SoDA Report, a dollar or euro lost from TV and print budgets becomes 20 cents of digital.

While only 22% of client marketers are forecasting increases in traditional media spends in 2012, 50% projected an increase in paid digital media and two thirds say they expect to increase earned digital media efforts this year.

How do their answers align with what you’re doing at your place?

 

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How non-profits can get media coverage for their events

April 18, 2012

I was recently asked how a non profit can get one of one of their local TV stations to run PSAs to promote a fundraising event.

Here’s what I replied:

Most TV stations (and many radio stations as well) DO NOT donate a ton of time to run local PSAs because:

• Although they are bound by law to run a certain number of PSAs, they are not bound to produce any (which is also what the charity wants them to do for them)
• Very few local charities can afford (or bother) to produce a radio or TV PSA
• If a local charity does produce a radio or TV PSA — they do it on the cheap and it looks it, so the stations don’t want to run it because honestly — they’re can be pretty awful
• Every radio and TV station gets a ton of professionally produced PSAs, far beyond what they have to run
• Another downside of running one local charity’s PSA — everyone else demands equal treatment and they simply don’t have the capacity to do it for everyone

So…first things first — local charities need to abandon the PSA idea. The likelihood that they would be successful is not very good and they’d have to put some serious money into the production of a spot to get the media’s attention and even at that — there’s no guarantee.

So — what can they do?

There are several ways to increase the likelihood that the media will provide some exposure for a non-profit event. But NONE of these come with a guarantee. And all of these might get you news exposure. Most likely, none of them will get you ad time.

• Get one of the on air talent to participate in the event – hopefully you’ll get news exposure
• Schedule the event during a slow news time (10 am on weekdays) and (Sunday early afternoons for the weekends)
• Make it very visual, crazy or something people would love to witness (watching people play basketball is not such a thing. Watching people play basketball while riding donkeys — is.) and try to get news time — as opposed to advertising time
• Have someone from the station (reporter, sales person etc.) serve on the event committee (this takes time to cultivate….these people know why they’re being invited) and hope they can be helpful to at least get news coverage

And there are three ways to pretty much guarantee coverage/spots run:

• Partner with someone who advertises on the TV station and ask them to donate a portion of their buy to run spots for the event. Sometimes the station will (after they see their customer’s commitment to it) donate some extra spots.
• Get the TV station on board as your media sponsor. This is incredibly difficult — because everyone asks them. The event has to be truly unique, have a very wide appeal (like Jolly Holiday Lights) and be able to become an annual event of significant size (like the Duck Derby). Every TV station probably has a half dozen of these each. They can’t really take on more than that and give each event what it needs.  (disclosure: McLellan Marketing Group is very proud to have launched both of the mentioned events and negotiated their media partnerships)
• Get a sponsor to buy a certain amount of media time (radio or TV) and ask the station to match or at least provide some bonus spots. (easiest and most likely to happen)

I know it’s discouraging but keep in mind that the media does not exist to give away what they sell.

They’re all incredibly generous to the community — but most communities  simply have too many good causes and too many good charities. They simply can’t support them all.

(I know many of my readers serve on local boards and volunteer a lot of their time…so I hope this is helpful!)

Stock photo courtesy of BigStockPhoto.com

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Mobile banking — trends for 2012

April 15, 2012

I recently gave a presentation to a packed house of bank and credit union professionals about mobile banking and where it’s heading.  And the “theme” of my message to them was — if this isn’t your top priority for 2012, it sure better be for 2013. (I’ll bet my pal CK Kerley would agree!)

The Federal Reserve just released some really telling research that not only shows how many of us are already using mobile banking – but how many people changed financial institutions so they could use mobile banking.  (download PDF of the research by clicking here)

Here were some of the key takeaways from the presentation (which you can click through below.  Email subscribers…click here.)

• 20% of financial instutition customers are already using mobile banking
• Another 13-20% say they will be by the end of 2012
• 60% of new customers said that being able to use mobile banking influenced their decision to switch
• 11% of users are using their phone’s camera to remote deposit checks

This isn’t optional for financial institutions that want to be in business in 2020.  It’s really that simple.

Here’s my presentation — I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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