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- 27 Feb
How to Build Interactive Content to Achieve Your Digital Marketing Goals
by Chris Lewis
Because the online content landscape is so crowded, audiences value originality that interest and engages them. One way savvy content marketers are responding is to create compelling interactive content.But, What Is Interactive Content?
For a piece of digital content to succeed, it needs to engage. That may sound trite, but engagement is a big challenge for content marketers today. And it’s nearly always the deciding factor between a hit campaign and a miss that “fell just short.”
Now, interactive content comes in many forms. But all interactive content shares one main trait. It’s built to have an audience actively engage with it in a way that isn’t solely reading written content. I is nearly always customizable. It allows user input. And, it is functional only when a user engages with it. But, where and how to start? To help you get started, the right way, here are 4 types of interactive content you can build at MarketingProfs.comNOTE: A Free Registration pop-up for MarketingProfs will open on this site and registration may be required to read the full article.
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- 26 Feb
Consumers Are Skeptical When Brands Take A Stand. How Can They Boost Credibility?
from Marketing Charts
Consumers respond favorably to businesses that are not only driven by growth, but that also focus on impacting societal issues in a positive manner. And this is backed up by a recent survey report from Sprout Social. They found that 7 in 10 of the more than 1,500 consumers surveyed say they think it’s important for brands to take a stand on social issues.But Do They Really Trust the Motives of Brands That Do?
The survey found that consumers do want brands to take a stand. But, about two-fifths feel that brands are not credible when they do. That skepticism has increased since 2017. And, is reflected in consumers’ perception of why brands take a stand. More than half feel that brands do so for PR or marketing purposes.
What Gives a Brand’s Stance Credibility?
The report points out that customers are more likely to think a brand’s stance is credible if it has an impact on the brand’s customers. Or if it impacts the brand’s direct business operations. To see more on this study and to download the original report, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com.
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- 13 Feb
Should You Gate Your Best Blog Content?
Gated blog content is a tried-and-true way to collect email addresses for your marketing campaigns. But gating all of your best content isn’t necessarily always the best move, either. You should decide on a case-by-case basis if a given piece of content should be gated.
There’s More Than One Way to Slice it
There are multiple factors that determine whether a piece of gated blog content will meet the goals you have for it. Or if it will just sit there, totally untouched.
Gating your content can lead your marketing strategy to either skyrocket or nosedive. And it almost entirely depends on choosing the right content to gate. And what information you require as the key to that gate. Here’s your guide to deciding whether or not you should gate your best blog content at Jeff Bullas’ Blog.
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- 20 Jan
More B2B Marketers Say Successful Content Generates Sales
rom Marketing Charts
Almost two-thirds of B2B marketers believe that content marketing is an effective tactic for the top of the funnel. And yet it also is proving to be useful for activities further down the funnel. Indeed, it’s the bottom-of-the-funnel goals that are growing the most for B2B marketers in North America this year. This, according to a recent report from the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs.com.Bottom of Funnel is Benefiting from Content as Well
The survey of more than 650 B2B marketers in North America reveals that more respondents achieved top-of-the-funnel goals such as creating brand awareness and generating demand or leads. However, the biggest improvement was with goals residing towards the bottom of the funnel.
To see more of the data, for additional insights into the report and to download a copy of the original report, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com
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- 05 Dec
8 B2B Video Marketing Myths Debunked with Cold Hard Facts
Video has exploded in the B2B landscape over the past few years. And, today, it has becoming a staple in today’s modern marketing and sales toolkit. However, there are some common misconceptions and video marketing myths. And those myths seem to be keeping some businesses from reaching their full video potential.
But, That Need Not be the Case
Video is here to stay. According to a study conducted by Heinz Marketing, 68% of organizations plan to increase their level of investment in video in the next six to eight months. Now, more marketing and sales professionals are realizing that video plays an important role throughout the entire buying journey. And this includes their sales cycle as well. And they are experiencing first-hand the true impact it can have on their business.
There’s still a lot to be said about video and its use in your marketing and sales mix. But to help you out, here are eight of the most common video marketing myths. To find out what they are, read the full article on the Heinz Marketing Blog.
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- 26 Nov
The New 4Ps of Marketing and What They Mean to You
Back in college or at some point in your career, you learned about the 4Ps of marketing. As the old mantra goes, they are place, price, product, and promotion. Though nearly 60 years old, the 4Ps still hold weight today.However, the marketing landscape has been undergoing drastic changes. And today, marketers must shift to an even more permission-based data strategy to fuel their personalized marketing strategies. That suggests a new set of the 4Ps of marketing.
Now Privacy, Permission, Personalization, and Performance (ROI) are the way forward for marketers looking to earn consumer trust and loyalty. To learn what these are and how to apply them in your business, read the full article at MarketingProfs.com.
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- 04 Nov
2018 B2B Video Completion Rates and Success Benchmarks
from Marketing Charts
We know that in the B2C space, marketing videos have grown in popularity. But, this year B2B marketers have also named video as their top lead generation tactic.But keeping B2B buyers engaged can sometimes be a struggle. Marketers are constantly challenged with the cold, hard reality of engagement. So, the question remains if they work and how they can work harder for our marketing. And, can video really help with that?
One measure of video marketing success is video completion rate. That means, people watching the complete video from start to finish. And a new video benchmarks from Vidyard [download page] offers insights into that very benchmark. And what they found for completion rates for business-related videos, and the results are encouraging.
But beyond just completion rates, the study offers other benchmarks for business-related videos on Vidyard’s platform in 2018. To see what those are and to learn just how effective B2B marketing videos can be, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com
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- 18 Oct
Creating LinkedIn Campaigns Efficiently and Effectively
Brenna, as a Senior Marketing Consultant at Heinz Marketing, has worked on numerous LinkedIn campaigns. And that work has ranged from developing strategy and reviewing existing campaigns to improve performance. In fact, you could say she’s done it all. So with all of that, she thought that she might as well write a blog piece covering some of the ideas she has arrived at.
Just in Case You’re Playing Along at Home . . .
First, she willingly admits that she is, “by no means, an expert in digital marketing or LinkedIn campaigns.” But, rather, what she has to say is based on her solid experience and some rather impressive results and performance she’s seen.
In this article, she points out a few things to keep in mind when creating a campaign. And then brings up some solid best practices and tips she’s used along the way. So to learn more, read the full article, Creating LinkedIn Campaigns Efficiently and Effectively, at Heinze Marketing’s Blog.
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- 14 Oct
Email Marketing vs. Social Media: Grudge Match or Dream Match?
Some may feel that email marketing and social media marketing are at opposing ends of the marketing spectrum. But, they can work together to benefit your next marketing campaign. Both have their relative strengths and weaknesses. But, in combination, they can make a powerful combination for your marketing.On The One Hand . . .
Social media marketing, on the one hand, is the act of promoting content on social media channels. While email marketing is the process of leading prospects down the sales funnel by sending marketing materials directly to those who’ve subscribed to that content.
And there are engaging, eye-catching methods you can use to integrate both marketing strategies in ways that will delight your customers. A holistic approach to digital marketing incorporates both social media and email marketing to reach your customers in a creative and memorable way. Believe it or not, the two rival methods work very well together. To see how, read the full article at HubSpot.com
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- 07 Oct
New Research Reveals How to Accelerate the Buyer’s Journey with Content
by Josh Baez
It’s no secret today’s buyers are overwhelmed. And today, the average consumer experiences tremendous marketing fatigue. They are literally being bombarded from every angle with marketing messages. And, that experience isn’t always a positive one.
Are We Hindering or Helping?
70% of buying decisions are made before ever talking to a salesperson. And these days, for buyers, experience and information matters more than ever. So, now there is an even greater reliance upon content for marketing outcomes.
As marketers, Are We Enabling Those Decisions or Hindering Them?
But, what can be done? New research just released give us some great tips. The report gives us some intereting insights into how we can best use our content to accelerate our buyer’s journey. And not to hinder it. So to learn what they found, read the full article at Heinz Marketing’s Blog
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- 04 Oct
Which Tactics Do Marketers Consider Effective At Different Stages of the Funnel?
Many marketers could be suffering from leaky funnels, as the majority (82%) of businesses have zero to moderate integration of funnel sections, while only 2% say they have complete integration of their funnel sections. To make matters worse, according to a report [download page] from GetResponse and Demand Metric, 7 in 10 of the more… Read More »
The post Which Tactics Do Marketers Consider Effective At Different Stages of the Funnel? appeared first on Marketing Charts.
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- 11 Sep
10 How-To Videos That Really Work And Why They Do
On the internet today, video is everywhere. And for marketing, it is at every stage of the buyer funnel.Hearing is One Thing. Seeing is A Whole Different Level
As an example, have you ever learned how to do something with the help of an internet search? The answer is most likely a resounding “yes.” In fact, videos are an especially compelling way to learn how to do something online. That’s because, well, the video shows you exactly how to do it. I’m not alone here, either — most customers would prefer to watch a marketing video rather than seeing an ad.
So if you’re among the 45% of marketers who are adding video content to your strategy this year, there could be a lot of value in making videos specifically for those in your audience who are trying to learn how to do something, too. And in this post, you will see exactly how popular these searches are on YouTube and other platforms, and what you can learn from eight how-to videos about how to make great teaching videos of your own, all at HubSpot.com
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- 05 Sep
The Complicated Relationship Between Social Media and SEO
by Kipp Bodnar
Inbound marketing is in the middle of an interesting evolution. While search has traditionally been a major source of traffic and leads for businesses leveraging online marketing, that is changing. Now, with the growth of social networks, social media marketing is becoming even more important.But, Which is More Important?
The answer? Both can be key to your strategy. They both can, and should, work together. But the key to understanding how and why they need to work together is to think about the problem both search and social solve. They both offer information discovery. And, leveraging both strategies will give you more chances for audiences to discover your brand.
As a marketer, how can you integrate your efforts across both platforms? To find out and to learn how to apply this to your unique business environment, read the full article at the HubSpot Blog
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- 29 Aug
3 Ways to Combine Social Media and PPC For More Conversions
by David Zheng
Social media is home to billions of users worldwide. In fact, there are 2.62 billion, to be exact. And, on the other side of the dial, PPC has a proven track record. producing $2 for every dollar spent.
The problem? How can you leverage both?
Sure, you can run campaigns on Facebook or promoted posts on Instagram. Meanwhile, you can launch targeted search campaigns on Google. But, what if you could combine both, creating a seamless experience for users from start to finish?
Now at this point you may be wondering how can this be accomplished? To start, you can read the full article on Jeff Bullas’ Blog and learn the three ways to do just that and get more conversions
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- 07 Aug
6 Great Tips to a Better B2B Video
Video has increasingly become an the choice medium for many businesses. And that is because so many have found it extremely effective to drive engagement with digital audiences. In fact, video snippets have become one of the top three content types used by B2B marketers in 2018.
Short . . . Medium . . . Long. It All Works
But short-form is not the only digital media tool they use. There is mounting evidence of the impact of long-form video content and social media video stories. The reason? Well, video content appeals to viewers at every stage of their buying journey. Whether they are just being introduced to your business, or are deeper in the sales funnel and looking for more information about your products or services. Video works for them.
With video marketing being one of the top digital marketing trends, now is the time for B2B marketers to focus on creating engaging and valuable videos for branding, lead generation and thought leadership. And if you are ready to start making your own marketing videos, consider these five great tips from Christa Tuttle on Business2Community.com
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- 17 Jul
New Report: Timing Matters for Email Marketing Success
Email marketing is an ever-shifting landscape. What workd last year may not work now. And for that matter, what we used last month may no longer be generating the results we want and need from our campaigns.Change is the Only Constant Here
It is a space that takes a constant flow of insights. And what better way to gain those insights than to simply look at how things are performing? And that is exactly what Campaign Monitor did.
They reviewed the performance of over 30 billion – yes, that is billion with a B – emails across 4.2 million campaigns sent last year. And the report [view original report] revealed some interesting new trends. Some of which seem to conflict with what we may have been using as current best practices.
So, What’s in it for Me?
The report looked at the full range of standard email marketing metrics, including best day to send, click-though performance and open rates. Then used those stats to actually establish a set of industry benchmarks. From there, they went on to actually explain exactly how we can use those benchmarks to improve our marketing programs.
They did observe some of the more obvious points. For example, they noted that emails need to have a clear call to action and that they be easy to read. After all, people are busy and may very likely be reading your message in a non-business setting. And we need to avoid big blocks of text that make it difficult to read. Plus, it is still important to keep the focus on the customer, not your product, to keep them engaged.
To see all of the data and to gain insights into applying the research to your individual email programs, read the Ultimate Email Marketing Benchmarks for 2019 report at CampaingMonitor.com
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- 12 Jul
The Demand Marketer’s Dilemma: Achieving Authenticity, at Scale
by Paul Heald
In today’s marketplace there are myriad options for buyers. And buyers not only want and need information, they also want authenticity. They want to do business with companies that offer good products, believe in their quality and make genuine efforts to meet customer needs.
It Ain’t Easy Being
Green. . . AuthenticThat means forging authentic connections with customers is the best way to cut through market noise and make a sale. Now, achieving authenticity in marketing may sound simple, right? But, when it comes to B2B marketing, though, the job is anything but.
However, authentic connections that are easy to forge with individuals gets challenging fast when organizations are trying to do it at the enterprise level. And if you need to scale, the job gets even harder. So, how can you achieve authenticity at scale? To learn how, read the full article at the Target Marketing Blog
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- 01 Jul
Find Your Ideal Customer with Account Insights and Profiling
by Mitch Folks
The digital revolution has raised customer expectations. Now, people want much more. The need more than just a product or an offering. They crave a complete experience. And that means that the success of your marketing campaign hangs in the balance. Today, it no longer depends on the number of leads you generate. Now, it rests on your ability to maximize your customers’ experience.If it Works Well, Then People Tend to Use it
That’s there has been so much movement to account-based marketing. Now marketing with sales, determine which accounts to target, why they should be targeted, and when they should be targeted. The reason? For one, 87% of companies report a higher return on investment when adding account-based marketing to their engagement strategy. Especially when they compare it to traditional lead-based only marketing initiatives.
In this blog, Mitch Folks takes a closer look at the first step of how to create epic account-based experiences (ABX) with the right account insights & profiling. So, to learn how you can gain highly accurate account insights and effectively profile your targets to create hyper-personalized account-based experiences that your customers and prospects will enjoy, read the full article on the Marketo Blog.
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- 28 Jun
5 Strategies to Target Your B2B Audience Online
B2B audiences aren’t always extremely easy to find, but they’re out there just as often as B2C audiences are. We marketers just have to look a bit harder for them. And that means that B2B advertising has a unique challenge in digital marketing.If you sell a product like socks or toilet paper, you know nearly everyone on the planet uses them, or we all hope they do. So your audience is everywhere. That’s the case for many B2C offerings. The target audience feels like they’re all over the place.
For B2B, That Feeling – and the reality – Isn’t Even Close to the Same
So what gives? Do we just take our ball and go home? Of course not! And that’s because your users are also all over the web, just like B2C audiences. The only difference: We have to work harder to find the proper targeting options. So what can we do? To find out, read the full article at WordStream.com
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- 26 Jun
4 Keyword Research Strategies to Find Your Product-Market Fit
All too often, keyword research is seen as only useful for SEO. And, therefore, is considerd to only be useful when driving growth for an existing business. It seems that a lot of people see keyword research as something that comes into play only once your business has already created its products. But what if we have it all backwards? After all, there’s little-to-no ROI in getting eyeballs on a product people don’t want.
Why Use Keyword Research for Product-Market Fit?
Product-market fit is one of the first things to think about when you start a business. And ideally, you never really stop thinking about it. As your audience grows, their demands change. And their needs evolve. So, you’ll need to constantly adjust your strategy so it serves them best.
This may all sound complicated, and it can be. But not if you stay in tune with what your market wants and needs. And keyword research lets you do that at every stage of business growth. And, to learn how to put this all together for your business, read the full article at WordStream.com
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