Posts Tagged ‘B2B marketing’

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Which Social Media Channel is Right for My Business?

Monday, August 30th, 2010

With all the buzz about Facebook lately and its ambitions to be the social hub of the Internet, many small business owners are wondering which social media channel they should direct their attention to.

How do Facebook and Twitter compare? Is it right for my business to invest in social networking?

To answer these questions, HubSpot pulled data from 2600 of its customers.  Companies were sorted by industry and were examined to see how many followers they had on each channel (referred to as the channel’s reach by Rick Burnes over at HubSpot).

From the chart below, we can see Facebook has more “reach” with B2C businesses…B2B businesses enjoy more success with Twitter.

Data from this chart doesn’t exactly mean you should only work with one and not the other. Considering Facebook’s expertise, ambitions and sheer scale of its plans, it would be unwise to not have a Facebook profile at all and focus solely on Twitter and vice versa.

And don’t fall in the trap of thinking your industry doesn’t use social media so it’s not worth considering. As with websites, blogs and SEO, being the first to step into to social networking will certainly payoff in the long run. Don’t be shy…experiment with social networking no matter what industry you’re in.

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5 Ways to Create a Sustainable, Engaging Following on Facebook

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

As Facebook continues to take the social media marketing world by storm, many businesses are trying to figure out how they can develop a strong following that’s sustainable over the long term…what can brands do to emulate others’ success?

Below are five elements of a successful Facebook page from our friends at Mashable, who include some great examples of companies successful at Facebook marketing.

Integrating these tips into your social media marketing strategy can help you maximize the value of your Facebook page(s).

1. Network with other platforms

One way successful brands on Facebook got to where they are is by working in tandem with other platforms to drive visitors to their Facebook page. Many companies expect consumers to find their Facebook page automatically without adding links into their homepage. The result…most people are unable to find your page on the bustling social network.

Consumers should be able to easily find your Facebook page…whether it’s through a prominent link on your homepage or through other social networks like Twitter. Connecting multiple social platforms and a hub from the brand website can help funnel customers throughout your network.

2. Create a resource to target a new demographic

Many Facebook pages serve as a connection hub while others offer pertinent information to their customers. This information is used as an added value to have consumers create a connection with the brand.

These “Boxes” allow you to target specific demographics for your products and services outside of those who already know and love what you offer.

3. Have contests to boost user participation

Another way to engage potential customers is to offer contests and coupons. Many Facebook users do not simply join a page because they’re loyal to your brand. However, they may be motivated to join if they can get a coupon or enter into a contest and win something.

Offering something to consumers is one big way you can develop a large following. This can be a coupon, free shipping, weekly deals for Facebook fans and more.

4. Empower those who have pre-existing pages that feature your brand

There’s a chance a loyal customer has already created a Facebook ‘fan’ page for your products. One of the most fabled stories of a company who has successfully done this is Coca-Cola. What started out as a fan page for fun for a couple of Coke enthusiasts when on to become one of the most popular pages on Facebook.

Rather than coming in and taking over the page when the company decided to take Facebook on, they brought the enthusiasts to the Coca-Cola plant in Atlanta and gave them a tour. The two guys maintain control of the page but now have the blessing and financial support of the company…empowering these fans ensures a passionate commitment to the page’s success.

Therefore, it isn’t always the best idea to take over a Facebook page. Instead, reward the creator and make an even more enthusiastic customer who will spread that to others.

5. Be sure you’re targeting the right demographic

You may be trying everything you can to grow a following on Facebook but nothing ever happens. One reason is that you’re target demographic may not be on Facebook. Therefore, before you do anything, you need to find out if your target market hangs out on Facebook.

Research from Quantcast shows Facebook tends to skew toward younger females…53% of these women have kids and make over $60,000 per year. The demographic is changing too with older, more professional women joining up. The college market is pretty saturated.

Keep checking to monitor changes in the social network’s prime demographics and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Facebook has seen lots of positive growth over the last few years and is expected to continue its dominance of the social networking/marketing world. Besides great content on your site and blog, Facebook offers you a way to find more customers. Many people join Facebook pages because they have friends who “liked” a product.

Facebook is essentially a place people go to interact with their friends and see what they’re saying about certain things. Capturing this market can propel your company even farther in the online world.

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Webinar Provides Great Tips on Optimizing Landing Pages

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Recently, I took the time to watch a webinar hosted by Marketing Experiments on optimizing landing pages. By landing pages, we mean any page meant to motivate someone to take action – no matter if that’s clicking a “buy” button, downloading a newsletter or filing out a contact form.

By evaluating different metrics and experimenting with different layouts, Marketing Experiments’ webinar outlined how you can drive much higher conversion rates.

It’s not about marketing intuition or a list of best practices…successfully driving higher conversion rates with landing pages is more about a framework or methodology. Think about it more from a sequence of thought perspective rather than mere optimization of words or images. In your reader’s mind, the value of every action you desire for them to take must outweigh the cost.

It’s like a see-saw – on one end you have cost, and on the other you have value. If the cost is high, fewer people will find the value in going further.

So how do I reduce “cost” in my landing pages?

To reduce cost, you must reduce friction by eliminating any unnecessary length or difficulty in the order path, or thought sequence.

Basically, the hosts (Flint McCaughlin & company) of the interview say you must answer two of the readers’ most critical questions very quickly – you have to do this within “four inches and seven seconds” according to Flint.

Not answering the questions “Where and I?” and “What am I doing here?” means more people will be clicking that back button.

Be sure your visitor knows where they have landed.

Also reduce cost by not having many form fields. Keep questions to a minimum.

Increasing your page’s value along with decreasing its cost is another way you can drive higher conversion rates. Carefully identify and communicate key factors that set you above your competition…offer “unique value” to your prospects.

Another way to increase value – use specific, quantitative and instantly credible language when describing benefits of your products or services.

Take about an hour or so and watch this very useful webinar. They provide great examples of their work so you can visually see how to structure a page for maximum benefit along with how you should approach what you say…I’m trying some of their tips now so I’ll let you know how it works out.

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How to Make Sure Your Content Doesn’t Drag On

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

A lot of content swirling around the Internet doesn’t do much except roll over and play dead – what we mean is, it doesn’t convert visitors if it attracts them at all.

Good content informs, entertains and motivates the reader to take the next step…maybe that’s making contact, or ordering or downloading an ebook for example. Whatever that next step is, good content gets the reader to keep going rather than click the back button and search further on other sites.

One of the ways to accomplishing this goal is to ensure your content doesn’t drag on, or overstay its welcome. Think of it like a neighbor. You may like talking to them occasionally but you don’t exactly want them over to dinner every night.

Leave your readers wanting more, and then give them more when they move on to the next phase of your engagement process.

Many online marketers either do too much or too little with their content. While there is a minimum amount of words you need on a page, there’s no particular number to shoot for. Basically, the amount of content you develop depends on what’s needed to move the reader along to the next stage…nothing more, nothing less.

Use only the number of words you need to convert a site visitor and not one more. Your audience isn’t just one person…its many different personas and personalities, each with their own unique needs. Trying to explicitly satisfy them all will cause your content to “wear out its welcome.”

Remember, you don’t have to meet everyone’s needs perfectly on one particular webpage or blog post. Figure out, in a general sense, what each group’s next step would be and provide them that opportunity. For some, it may be an “about us” page, for others it may the “buy” button and others may be interested to learn more about “shipping policies.”

What you want to do is develop content that’s minimal but provides opportunities for all types of people who come across it. From there, they can go find what they need to allay their fears or answer their questions, providing the entire audience with what it wants.

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9 Steps to Properly Filming a Video Interview

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

More and more, adding interviews to your website and blog are a great way to drive interest and traffic to your site. But many online marketers have yet to adopt this strategy out of lack of experience and equipment.

What you first need to have is someone to interview, or an interviewee. You can find someone just about anywhere – maybe a coworker or the CEO of your company. Or maybe even a client or a prominent figure in your industry who can share their views with your readers.

Once you have someone in mind and they have agreed to be interviewed, you need to prepare for the actual filming. Continue reading for 9 steps to properly film a video interview to ensure your interview goes as smoothly as possible and accomplishes your goals.

1. Know what your interview is about beforehand

First thing you need to do is develop your questions and send them to the interviewee ahead of time. The interview itself isn’t the time to figure out what your story will be about…be prepared for that before you even enter the room.

2. Take a moment and get to know the interviewee before setting up

Before you get your camera equipment out, take a few moments to build a rapport with the interviewee. This will get both of you in a more relaxed state of mind for the interview. If one or both of you are new to interviewing, you will need to calm down before going any further. Let the interviewee see you care about them and are appreciative of their time.

3. Setup camera equipment before they sit down

Wait until you have setup your camera equipment before having the interviewee sit down. Once you’ve set all of the equipment up, have them sit down to make your final adjustments.

4. Make sure you like where the interviewee is looking

Once your camera is setup and the interviewee is in place, be sure you’re okay with where the interviewee is looking. You will want them to maintain eye contact with you so don’t stand directly behind the camera but next to it a couple of feet away.

5. Stay in one place

The interviewee will keep looking at you so if you’re wandering around, that will look weird on film. Stay in one place and maintain eye contact with the interviewee.

6. Focus your camera closely

A big face in an online video is a good thing…focus your camera closely to get more of the interviewee’s face onto the screen.

7. Be aware of your background

Do your best to have a background free of any distractions. Don’t have anything going on behind them and check to see how any tall objects like power poles or trees look on the video. You don’t want to have your interviewee look like they have tree trunk growing out of their head!

8. Pay close attention to lighting

While you don’t want the interviewee to be squinting because of light in their eyes, you don’t want to have sunlight or strong light behind them either. This will make it difficult for viewers to see the interviewee. If you’re indoors, you may need to move lighting or get a lamp to balance out other light sources in the room.

9. Wear headphones to filter out abstract noises

Any kind of noise can come along and ruin your video. Keep your headphones on to monitor any abstract noises that may come along and ruin your video.

These are a few of the things you need to keep in mind when filming an interview. Below you can see some both good and bad ways to position someone on camera.

In the end, you can edit the film, post it on YouTube, link to it through your blog and include a short summary of the interview for those who prefer to read (…and to reap some of the advantages of SEO). And you can let the interviewee know when it’s up so they can link to it from their blog, giving you another high-quality link to your site.

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