-
- 17 Apr
For Better ROI on B2B Webinars Don’t Overlook Low-Hanging Fruit
- Apr 17, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Webinar Marketing
Some consider webinars to be a great tool for any stage of the buyer’s journey. When done properly they can be your best tool at a couple of points in the funnel. But, if you’re trying to use webinars to blast cold leads with boastful information about your product or company, you’re probably not going to get the level of attention and engagement you’re after.
Webinar Success Principle One: Teach. Don’t Preach
B2B webinars don’t have to be a lengthy sales presentation in disguise. And they don’t have to be boring or single-use content. To achieve a better return on investment, there’s plenty of low-hanging fruit to consider when you’re planning and putting together your webinar.
To learn how, read the full article at MarketingProfs.com
-
- 16 Apr
8 Email List Building Tactics for Small Businesses Marketing Success
- Apr 16, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Lead Generation
by Rukham Khan
The current competitive landscape dictates that to survive, you must keep growing. And, with that in mind, businesses of all types and sizes employ all sorts of strategies and tactics to sustain and even accelerate their growth.
Email: Still the Go-To Business Building Tool
Even after all these years, one of the most successful and proven methods for growing small businesses has been through email. But that means you need to do list building. We all know that having a quality email list offers lots of advantages. An good and receptive email list gives you direct access to the people who actually want to hear from your business.
But, that’s where the hard part comes in. Contrary to what you may think, building email lists for small businesses can be an inexpensive but effective strategy to grow your business. So, to help you get started, here are eight ways that you can build email lists to grow your small business at WordStream.com
-
- 15 Apr
New Webinar Benchmarks Study Gives Clues for Success
- Apr 15, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Webinar Marketing
from Marketing Charts
As countless studies have demonstrated, webinars are a highly valued content format. This is especially true with B2B buyers and at various points in their ‘buyer’s journey’.
Once again, this year, ON24 has released its webinar benchmarks report [download page]. The report is based on an analysis of more than 22,000 webinars conducted on its platform in 2018.
But, Exactly How Do Webinars Perform?
Even though we accept that webinars, as a B2B content tool, work, there are still lingering questions that we all have. Like, what days of the week are most effective? Or, how about the length of the session? And what should we expect as a registration-to-attendance rate?
To learn the answers, and see some of the highlights of this study, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com
-
- 13 Apr
Five Website Conversion Principles That Will Increase Your Lead Volume
- Apr 13, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Website Conversion Strategies
One of the most critical elements of your landing pages and conversion paths is your form. Yep, you read that right. Your lead gen form acts as the main gateway between a user and you. And it can either keep the visitor a stranger to your company or help turn that visitor into a lead for your company.
A Bad Form Kills the Experience Your Landing Page Provides
And, as a result of a form that seems a chore to complete, it can kill conversions. After all, we know that buyers are becoming increasingly fussy.
Without a delightful and error-free experience with your brand or website, it’s likely you’re losing out on conversions, leads, and clients. In this article, Marcus Taylor gives us five conversion rate optimization (CRO) principles that will increase lead volume and help you surpass your lead-generation targets. So read the full article at MarketingProfs to learn them all.
-
- 12 Apr
Should B2B Marketers Gate Their Content? Or Not
- Apr 12, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing
from Marketing Charts
This is a debate that never seems to die. To gate or not to gate your B2B content?
As the argument goes, . . . “to gate content only serves as a barrier to prospects.” And the response . . . “yes, but the content needs to work for me and I want to gain contact information.”
To Gate or Not to Gate. . . . That is the Question
It seems that some 44% of B2B companies gate content. But why is that the case? While it’s a safe assumption that it’s about acquiring more leads, there are also other benefits. This, according to a recent report [download page] from Walker Sands.
While it’s true that close to two-thirds of the B2B marketers surveyed for the report who gate content cited earning qualified leads as their reason for doing so, more than half said they used gated content to add prospects into an automated marketing program.
To see more of the data and insights, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com
-
- 11 Apr
7 Ways to Upgrade Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Now
- Apr 11, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing
from WordStream.com
With more than three billion people now using social media every single day, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to your brand’s social media activities and status.
But this can be tricky when social media keeps changing. There have been a host of updates to social media platforms throughout 2018 and into 2019. There are also a ton of new trends that affect how users engage on these platforms. Each of these changes has been a catalyst for businesses to adjust their social media marketing strategies and tactics.
In order to stay competitive, you need to adjust your strategy, as well. In this article, Senior Outreach Specialist Tabby Farrar and Social Media Executive Mollie Hyde give us seven killer social media tactics that your social media strategy needs right now.
-
- 10 Apr
Four B2B Marketing Trends to Watch This Year
- Apr 10, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategies
from MarktingCharts
One of the promises of digital technology was to put an end to the dilema John Wanamaker faced almost a centry ago. He once mused that he knew that half of his marketing spend is wasted. But, he just didn’t know which half. So for B2B marketers, it’s not too much of a surprise that less than 4% of those surveyed for a report by Wpromote [download page] plan to reduce their digital budgets next year.
But What Are The Factors in Play?
There are some significantt trends that surfaced from Wpromote’s study. Most of which connect with other themes as featured previously on MarketingCharts and show a clear picture of the four B2B marketing trends that merit watching.
To these trends and some probing insights, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com
-
- 09 Apr
How User Intent Affects Your SEO Performance: Intent-Based Keyword Research
- Apr 09, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Search Engine Marketing, SEO, Website Conversion Strategies
by Inna Yatsyna
Early in the ‘era of search’ keyword research was quite a simple thing. All that was needed was to collect a wide range of all the words somehow connected with your content. And then, it would rank high. At the time, search engines’ algorithms were mechanical and robotic. So, looking for the pages relevant to queries, they relied on the number of similar keywords.
Times, They are a Ch, Ch, Ch, Changing . . .
Some of the newer technologies of machine learning now allow search engines to provide users with high-quality and relevant results based on their intent, not just on the words they use. That’s why building your SEO strategy around high-volume keywords doesn’t work anymore. Today there are loads of factors which matter for your website ranking and for traffic it drives. And user intent is one that matters significantly.
Well, what actually is user intent? And how can you use it? In this article, Inna Yatsyna takes a look at what user intent is, and how it should affect your keyword research. So to better understand it, and equip you to be able to develop your SEO and improve your content strategy, read the full article at Jeff Bullas’s Blog.
-
- 08 Apr
What Is Twitter and How Does It Work?
- Apr 08, 2019
- admin
- 0
- Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Twitter
Now you may be thinking that it is a bit late in the game to be asking “what is Twitter and how does it work?” After all, Twitter, as a social networking site was launched way back in 2006. Today, it is undoubtedly one of the most popular social media platforms available. It boast 100 million daily active users and 500 million tweets sent daily.
But,Really, What is Twitter?
Twitter is a lot of things to a lot of people. It can be used to receive news, follow high-profile celebrities, or stay in-touch with old high school friends. And, it can be used for personal, business, religious and especially for political purposes. In fact, it can be used for a lot of good and even bad things.
But its popularity can be intimidating. And if you don’t know how to use Twitter by now, should you even bother trying to join the masses who’ve acquired years of experience on the site? Fortunately, Twitter is incredibly easy to use. And in this article at HubSpot.com, explores what Twitter is, who uses it, and how you can get started on the site, today.
-
- 06 Apr
How to Measure Event Marketing Performance and ROI
- Apr 06, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- B2B Marketing, Event Marketing, Lead Generation
by David Becker
Event marketing has consistently grown in popularity over the past few years. Why is that? Well, it’s becuase they work well for attendees, sponsors and vendors. But, for most companies, they are often one of the biggest marketing expenses they have.
Why do so Few of us Actually Measure the Real Impact of Event Initiatives?
As is the case with accurately measuring any marketing program, it all begins with assigning the right metrics to your goals. But, before looking at the metrics and tools needed to measure success, you must have a clear vision on the outcome you want to achieve from your events.
In this article, David Becker from Marketo shares an ROI attribution model that will help you to more accurately measure the results from your events. So, to learn how it all works, read the full article on the Marketo Marketing Blog.
-
- 05 Apr
Which Types of B2B Influencer Content Do Buyers Find Valuable?
- Apr 05, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Conversion Strategies
from Marketing Charts
We know from previous research that B2B leaders say content spurs their buying processes. In fact, almost all respondents to a new survey [access page] by Demand Gen Report and ON24, say they are now placing an even higher emphasis on the trustworthiness of the source of information for the content.
“TRUST” is Easy to Spell But Hard to Achieve
For those of us in the B2B content business, this means, using trusted influencers in a content campaign can prove fruitful. But what formats work best when running influencer campaigns? To see more of the data and to find out what works best, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com
-
- 04 Apr
Google Shopping Ads Benchmarks for YOUR Industry
- Apr 04, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Google, Search Engine Marketing
by Mark Irvine
We now know that, today, one out of three paid clicks on the SERP go to the shopping ads. And ecommerce advertisers know that they can’t miss the prime digital shelf that shopping campaigns
It is particularly difficult when you’re launching your first shopping campaign. It can be daunting to know whether you’re doing a good job. And many advertisers may be surprised to discover that their Shopping campaigns perform differently. Some may have different click-through rates, costs, and conversion rates from their search campaigns.
So how should you expect Shopping ads to perform in your industry? To see what he came up with and to get the benchmarks for your specific industry, read the full article at WordStream.com
-
- 03 Apr
The Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Ads for Entrepreneurs
- Apr 03, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- #Startup Marketing, Facebook, Facebook Advertising
There are a lot of benefits associated with being an entrepreneur. There’s thee freedom. The ability to work for yourself. The ability to scale something with your unique stamp on it. And, of course, the potential to reap a hefty percentage of the profit.
If There Were No Risk, The Rewards Would Mean Far Less
Less talked about are the growing pains inherent in striking out on your own to create something uniquely yours. Among those pains is de-coding the complex world of Facebook ads. And yet, those are often at the top of the list for entrepreneurs. Creating, maintaining, and growing a startup is one thing. But having the Facebook ads chops is something else entirely.
So, if you’re among that select group of pioneers, we’re going to show you how to do just that. This is your beginner’s guide to Facebook ads for entrepreneurs at WordStream.com
-
- 02 Apr
Most B2B Buyers Admit to Postponing Purchases. How Should Vendors Respond?
- Apr 02, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Conversion Strategies
from MarketingCharts.com
It seems that content marketing still has a lot of power in the market. In fact, according to Aberdeen report [download page], content ,in one form or another, kick-starts buyer journeys for about half of B2B buyers. But, still, they found that a substantial number of purchasing decisions don’t go anywhere. A whopping 53% of B2B buyers saying they postpone decisions on at least half of their purchases.
What is to Blame for These Stalled Decisions?
Many buyers appear to point the finger at the vendors, reporting that they cancelled or postponed a purchase because they saw no differentiation between solutions. And more than half claiming that no vendor met their needs. And, it also seems that buyers are not overwhelmingly confident that their needs have been clarified when they are involved in making a purchase.
The report suggests a number of remedies that vendors should consider to address this buying confusion. And to learn what they are and to download the original report, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com
-
- 01 Apr
Digital Adoption 101: How To Reach Digital Marketing Nirvana With Your Business
- Apr 01, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Social Media
by Zac Johnson
As the saying goes, today, the only constant is change. And, in the business world this can be a life-and-death matter. What can you expect to happen if your business doesn’t adapt to the changes within its own industry? Well, it’s probably destined to fail.
Is This Simply Deja Vu All Over Again?
This adaptation-fail is something we continue to see time and time again with offline businesses. Especially for those that never fully make the move to online. And for both B2B and B2C businesses, it’s important to make sure you aren’t just changing with industry trends and technology. You also need to make sure these advancements are actually working for you as well.
One clear observation that businesses of all types should be focusing their efforts on, is how this ‘brave new world’ of digital can be leveraged for their success. There is actually a term for all of this. It is called ‘digital adoption‘. To find out you can make all this work for your business, read the full article on Jeff Bullas’s Blog.
-
- 30 Mar
What Are Xennials? And, Do They Matter?
- Mar 30, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Gen X Marketing, Generational Marketing, Xennial Generation
For the past several years, the world has been obsessed with Millennials. Employers grouse about them, marketers try to understand them, and Gen X parents hope their kids don’t become the stereotype. The general demographic cohort that we have labeled the Millennials were born between the early 80s through the early 2000s. That’s a considerable span, and as you can imagine, the people born in the 80s are experiencing life in a very different way than someone born in 1999. Enter the Xennials.
Many are now suggesting that the older Millennials (who are 30-45) are blending with the younger Gen Xers to form what has been defined as The New Adulthood or Xennials. This melded age group has more in common with each other, as opposed to either the Gen X or Millennial groups they actually fit into, based on their birth year.
This “in-between” generation has redefined what growing up looks like and it’s worth our time to learn more about this forgotten group of consumers. Xennials comprise 8% of the US population or approximately 25 million people and were typically born between 1977-1983. This group is also called the “Oregon Trail Generation” in reference to a popular computer game when they were growing up.
One of the more telling facts about this group is that they had analog childhoods and digital adulthoods. They were born without the internet but used it to find their first post-college jobs. They’re the last generation to remember using the landline phone to call their friends to make plans for the weekend.
Here are some characteristics of these New Adults:
- Many of them will never work for an employer but instead will move right into being an entrepreneur
- They marry later
- Many of them are opting out of home ownership
- International travel is a priority
- They are tech savvy but not tech absorbed
- They are very financially literate and comfortable managing their money
From a marketing perspective, what will ring true for this target audience?
Nostalgia plays well: This group invented social media, but they remember how good life was without out. They like to reminisce about the days when everyone wasn’t connected 24/7, and you still watched TV to get the day’s news. Shows like Stranger Things appeal to their fondness for the 80s, and they get credit for the resurgence in vinyl record sales and Fuller House.
The defining moment of their childhood was 9/11, so they also tend to demonstrate more patriotism and believe in the country’s resilience. Family bonding is very important to them, and they love to cook and entertain. Interestingly, they’re also most likely to pay professionals to do chores to save time, and they’re the ones who brought about the open concept trend.
They’re natural optimists: Another nickname for this generation is the “lucky generation.” They were old enough to grow up without the challenges of the digital age like cyberbullying, sexting and having their every embarrassing moment shared with the world. They grew up as the Berlin Wall fell and Apartheid ended.
They got their first job before the recession and bought their first home (if they bought one) before property prices hit the roof.
They’d rather be associated with Gen X than Millennials: There’s no bigger insult to a Xennial than to assume they’re going to behave like the stereotypical Millennial. They see themselves as very hard-working savvy investors and view their entrepreneurialism as a way of continuing the American Dream.
They straddle the tech fence: This micro-generation loves to use innovative devices that improve their life like fitness bands, smart appliances, and VR/AR headsets. But they disregard some of the more frivolous social networks like Snapchat and still subscribe to magazines and newspapers.
The post Are you forgetting the Xennials? appeared first on McLellan Marketing Group.
-
- 29 Mar
9 Expert Tips For Perfecting Email Open Rates
- Mar 29, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Inbound Marketing
In today’s highly competitive world of online communication, every email you send competes against hundreds of other email messages at any given time. But they also are up against a dwindling attention span of subscribers. As a result, any email you send, including your marketing emails, should aim to grab a subscriber’s attention in their crowded inbox.
Great. So How Can You Do That, You Ask . . . ?
Well, first off, lets start with your subject line. If it’s not interesting enough to catch their attention in a fraction of a second, you might not have a second chance. Then, you won’t get your message across. And besides, if you regularly practice email marketing, ineffective subject lines can noticeably harm your open rates. And then, consequently your potential revenue.
But that only scratches the surface of the issues that can hinder your email marketing success. And to help you our, here are 9 Expert Tips For Perfecting Email Open Rates on Jeff Bullas’s Blog.
-
- 28 Mar
7 Creative Hyperlocal Marketing Strategies for Growth
- Mar 28, 2019
- Dan Hoff
- 0
- Hyper-Local Marketing, Lead Generation, Marketing for Small Business
by Irina Weber
The world is becoming more and more mobile. In fact, according to Google, searches on mobile devices have grown. Currently they are up by 150 percent. So, with that, it makes sense for businesses to tap into this trend. It may be time for you to begin hyperlocal marketing.
Great! What the Heck is Hyperlocal Marketing?
Hyperlocal marketing is an entirely new marketing approach. Designed for small, local business, it focuses on a smaller number of shoppers. And in a very defined and smaller area. So, it specifically targets people in highly localized and address-specific regions. Plus, it emphasizes people with a tendency to purchase locally.
And that means that hyperlocal marketing is a super targeted form of niche marketing. And you don’t need to spend money to generate inbound traffic to your local business. So, to get started, read the full article at Jeff Bullas’s Blog.
-
- 27 Mar
The Ultimate List of Email Marketing Stats for 2019
- Mar 27, 2019
- admin
- 0
- Email Marketing, Instagram, Lead Generation
Nowadays, marketers put a lot of emphasis on chatbots, Instagram influencers, and other new opportunities to reach their customers.
But your contemporary communication methods shouldn’t distract you from one of the oldest and yet most effective messaging channels — email.
You might be wondering if email is still a worthwhile marketing strategy. In fact, email generates $38 for every $1 spent, which is an astounding 3,800% ROI, making it one of the most effective options available.
If you’re still hesitant, keep reading — we’ve cultivated a list of email marketing statistics for 2019 to demonstrate just how powerful email can be.
Email marketing stats
- 93% of B2B marketers use email to distribute content.
- Active email accounts are expected to hit 5.6 billion by 2019.
- 83 percent of B2B companies use e-newsletters as part of their content marketing program.
- 40 percent of B2B marketers say email newsletters are most critical to their content marketing success.
- It’s estimated that the U.S. will spend over 350 million dollars on email advertising in 2019.
- Mobile opens accounted for 46 percent of all email opens.
- 35% of business professionals check email on a mobile device.
- Apple iPhone is the most popular mobile client for reading emails with 29 percent of all opens occurring on this platform. Gmail is a close runner-up at 27 percent.
- 73 percent of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come via email.
- More than 50 percent of U.S. respondents check their personal email account more than 10 times a day, and it is by far their preferred way to receive updates from brands.
- 99% of consumers check their email every day.
- 80% of business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention.
- 59% of respondents say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions.
- The most opened emails relate to hobbies, with an open rate of 27.35 percent.
- >59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI.
- 56% of brands using an emoji in their email subject line had a higher open rate than those that did not.
- Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue.
B2B Email Marketing Statistics
1. 93% of B2B marketers use email to distribute content. (Content Marketing Institute, 2017)
2. Active email accounts are expected to hit 5.6 billion by 2019. (Statista, 2018)
3. 83 percent of B2B companies use enewsletters as part of their content marketing program. (Imaginepub.com, 2017)
4. 40 percent of B2B marketers say email newsletters are most critical to their content marketing success. (Content Marketing Institute, 2017)
5. It’s estimated that the U.S. will spend over 350 million dollars on email advertising in 2019. (Statista, 2019)
Mobile Email Marketing Statistics
6. Mobile opens accounted for 46 percent of all email opens. (Litmus.com, 2018)
7. 35% of business professionals check email on a mobile device. (Convince & Convert, 2018)
8. Apple iPhone is the most popular mobile client for reading emails with 29 percent of all opens occurring on this platform. Gmail is a close runner-up at 27 percent (Campaign Monitor, 2018)
Demographic Email Marketing Statistics
9. 73 percent of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come via email. (Adestra, 2016)
10. More than 50 percent of U.S. respondents check their personal email account more than 10 times a day, and it is by far their preferred way to receive updates from brands (Campaign Monitor, 2017).
11. 99% of consumers check their email every day. (DMA Insights, 2017)
B2C Email Marketing Statistics
12. 80% of business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention. (Emarsys, 2018)
13. 59% of respondents say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions. (SaleCycle, 2018)
14. The most opened emails relate to hobbies, with an open rate of 27.35 percent. (MailChimp, 2018)
15. 59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI. (Emma, 2018)
Email Marketing Best Practices Statistics
16. 56% of brands using an emoji in their email subject line had a higher open rate than those that did not. (Forbes, 2017)
17. Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as a 760% increase in revenue. (Campaign Monitor, 2019)
-
- 26 Mar
How to Convert With Psychology: 4 Design Levers To Pull
- Mar 26, 2019
- admin
- 0
- Conversion Strategies, Digital Marketing, Website Conversion Strategies
by Tyson Quick
Users, visitors, prospects, leads, and customers. What do all these words have in common? Well, simply put, they’re how marketers classify the people who engage with their brand. And yet, as they tend to lump them together in analytics dashboards, it’s easy to forget that they’re just like you and me.
Human Needs and Desires Create Demand for Your Business
After all, it is those human needs and desires that your product or service aims to fulfill. But, in order to fulfill these needs and desires, your business needs more than just a good product. In todays digital world you also need a solid grasp of design. And fortunately, when you optimize your website design for conversion, you can leverage psychology everywhere. You can do it with colors and numbers, shapes and taglines, and even the serifs of letters.
And knowing how psychology and design intersect is key to guiding prospects toward conversion. So to learn the four foundational principles that will help you marry psychology with design, as well as some little-known phenomena that can give you an edge in your design and conversion rate optimization efforts, read the full article at HubSpot.com