marketing

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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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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Build your key message hierarchy

April 9, 2012

When you get a chance to talk to a prospect — you want to make sure you talk to them about what matters.  And if you’re not well prepared…that usually doesn’t happen.

Think back to when you were a teenager (or a pre-teen if you developed early) and were figuring out how to talk to that boy or girl you had a crush on.

Remember how your brain just fuzzed over when you got the chance and the next thing you knew, you were babbling something about how your cat was stuck in a tree, your grandma had a mustache and you didn’t like pears?

The same phenomenon occurs when we begin to talk to someone new at a networking event or a prospect who just called/walked in the door.

Without a plan, we babble.

The solution is an easy one.  At McLellan Marketing Group, we call it your message hierarchy.  Here’s fair warning — when I tell you how to do it, it is going to appear to be quite simple.  You might even think “seriously Drew, that’s all you got?”

But I assure you, it’s harder than it looks.  And it deserves some time and attention.

Assume you’re at a networking event, and someone you’ve never met before approaches you.  They extend their hand and say — “Hi, I’m Bob.  Nice to meet you.  Tell me what you do for a living.” (I know…no one sounds like that but play along)

Answer these questions in this order.

1. If you could only tell Bob ONE thing about your business (a single sentence) that you hope he’ll remember forever and repeat often. What would you say?
2. If you discovered you had time for a second sentence, what would you add?
3. For some reason – you get a chance at adding a third sentence.  What’s next.
4. Wow…Bob seems fascinated.  Add another sentence about your business.
5. You’re on a roll!  Bob hasn’t said a word…he’s so mesmerized.  Add another sentence, quick.

You get the idea.  It’s the first question that’s the killer.  If you could only say ONE thing…and then had to walk away and that was all Bob was ever going to remember about your business — what would you say?

But once you figure that out — that’s golden.  Now you know the key message you should always lead with.  It doesn’t have to be the exact same sentence every time, but the message should be the same.

When you look at the answers to those 5 questions — you’ve build your message hierarchy.  Think of it as a triangle, widening with every sentence.  The most important point is at the top and then you add a layer underneath, over and over again.

Please give it a try.  It’s tougher than it looks but it will help you stay on target no matter what marketing tool you’re creating.

Photo courtesy of BigStockPhoto.com

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Social media strategy workbook

March 8, 2012

On Monday, we kicked around the notion that while access to social media tools like Facebook and Twitter may be free — that doesn’t mean they’re cheap.  Especially, if you do it wrong.

I promised you a chance to download the social media strategy workbook that we’ve created at MMG as a guide to thinking through the why, who, how and whats of your social media strategy.

I’m a man of my word….so just fill out the little form below and we’ll get you your own copy (you have to confirm you want the workbook by clicking on the link you’ll be emailed).

After you’ve had a chance to look it over or better yet, begin to apply it to your organization — we’d love to hear from you on how it’s going.

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Free isn’t necessarily cheap

March 5, 2012

I was having a brief conversation with @NealShaffer on Twitter yesterday and the gist of our conversation was:

• Half of small & medium businesses are using social media for marketing (Neal)
• Yes…but few are doing it well.  They don’t apply marketing smarts (Drew)
• True, but huge potential to maximize social business (Neal)
• No doubt.  But when done wrong, potential for damage is equally large (Drew)
• I agree completely (Neal)

See — that’s the problem with free.  Business owners (or many so called social media experts) look at the price of entry for having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest or (fill in the blank for whatever’s hot in SM) and they think….”you can’t beat free!  Even if I suck at it, it didn’t cost me anything.”

Wrong. So wrong.

Would you buy a TV commercial that had misspellings?  Or instruct the announcer to swear or say something off color?  Or better yet…would you buy radio time and then not put anything there…so you basically bought :60 of silence?

Would you promise that your newsletter would be packed with useful information and then blather on about yourself, your sales and your products when you get around to sending it?

I’m sure you’re saying (or at least in my head) “No, Drew of course not.”  So why in the world do you (universal you, not you you) do it on your social media sites?

We see unprofessional behavior on FB pages all the time.  And abandoned blogs, Twitter accounts etc.  And the biggest sin of all — being boring because you can’t stop talking about yourself.

Here’s the thing.  People have gotten a little numb to selfish, self-centered marketing in the traditional marketing space.  It’s not right, but it’s been going on for so long — we accept it as the norm.

But social media is different.  Social media promises real people.  It promises relevance.  It promises a relationship.  It promises timely interaction.

And if you violate any or all of those promises, here’s what happens:

• The good feelings I had for your brand/company are gone
• I feel like you lied to me/tricked me
• I will simply choose to disconnect from you
• I won’t be interacting with you anymore…which means my feelings for you have no chance at turning more favorable

Keeping those promises takes a lot of time.  And keeping your eye on the big picture. It’s easy to get sucked back into old habits and begin marketing instead of connecting.  If you really want your social media efforts to work, you have to make a big investment.  No, it may not be money (unless you hire some help) but it’s a time crunch.

Maybe this analogy will help.  When you do social media badly — you are basically enticing someone to come close to you with the promise of a gooey, fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie and when they walk in and reach out their hand for the cookie — you smack them with a ruler, over and over until they leave.

The cost is huge.  The damage is real.  And too many businesses are stumbling over themselves as they rush to a “free” marketing opportunity.

So what does a small business do, Drew? you ask. (again, perhaps it all takes place in my head).  You put together a social media strategy that is built on SMART goals and best customer personas.

How do you do that?  Come back on Thursday and download the absolutely free 18 page e-book that walks you through how to build that strategy, step by step.

It’s a tool we use at MMG with clients every day.  And we’re glad to share it with you.  Really.

And….there’s not a sales pitch or MMG promo in sight.  I promise.  Would I offer you a cookie and then smack you with a ruler?

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Marketing tip #83: Less but better

February 29, 2012

I just wrapped up a 4-part webinar that focused on creating a marketing plan that you’ll actually use.  The final element we covered was marketing tactics.

Now that I know why I am doing this (goals), who I am talking to (best customers), what to say to them (key messaging), how much I can afford to spend (lifetime value of a customer) and the stories I can tell to generate interest, word of mouth and attraction — WHAT am I going to do?

Most people are looking for some secret answer.  The one marketing tactic that they hadn’t heard about or the trick to doing something in a way that no one else has heard of.  That’s actually not the secret.

The secret is — before you add more marketing tactics, take the time to examine what you’re already doing and ask yourself — could we do this better?

You’re far better off to do fewer things but do them better.  Less but better is greater than more.  Seriously – repeat after me.  Less but better is greater than more.

Look at the marketing tactics you’re already deploying.  Could you do it:

• Better?
• More often?
• More consistently?
• More fun/funny/memorable?
• More professional look/feel?
• Shift from being about us to being about them?
• More storytelling and less telling?
• Give up some control and let your audience drive the conversation?

Before you add a thing — add some quality, value and depth to what you’re already doing.  That may be exactly what needed to be added.

No small business has the resources (time or money) to be everywhere.  So be significant and memorable in the few places you choose to be.  Less but better really is greater than more.

 

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