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- 10 Aug
Is Hybrid Content Strategy the Future of B2B Content?
by Tim Morral
A majority of B2B marketers plan to reshuffle their strategies and prioritize the development of short-form content in 2019. A move largely motivated by buyers’ changing content preferences. But aligning content with buyer preferences isn’t as simple as tweaking the marketing budget. Nor is it simply a matter of creating a few more social posts.
Today’s B2B marketers find themselves struggling to maximize business value. Now, they are challenged to use social, video, multimedia and gated content assets to engage audiences. And to do so on a meaningful level.
We know from the experience over the past few years that short-form content works. But as marketers, we have seen that long-form content has it’s place as well. The solution? Integration. By integrating short-form and long-form content in a hybrid content strategy, B2B marketers can increase the business impact of their content investments and engage buyers in more creative ways. To learn how, read the full article at TargetMarketing.com
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- 09 Aug
3 Tips on How to Create Branded Video on a Shoestring Budget
There is growing evidence that all businesses need to develop online video as a core part of their strategy. Consider these two points. First, nearly 50 percent of web users look for videos related to a product before visiting a bricks-and-mortar store. And, add to that, 70 percent of B2B buyers watch videos along their path to purchase. Now, those are certainly compelling arguments to use video, aren’t they. And this goes for businesses no matter which industry or size.
No Need for a Hollywood Production Team Here
The opportunity is real. Even if you are a small-to-medium-sized business with limited experience with online video. With modern digital platforms, even SMBs can effectively use video to increase sales and create brand awareness.
But how do you accomplish those goals without breaking the bank? To find out, here are three tips for ramping up your online video advertising and marketing on a shoestring budget on
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- 07 Aug
A Handy Guide to Press Release Distribution Success
by Sam Allcock
To thrive as a small business, you need people to know that you exist and that you can help them. One way to do that is to get press coverage. But, unfortunately, coverage doesn’t just come naturally. It is something that you need to work to get.Enter: The press release.
Press releases are important for increasing your brand awareness and helping your public relations (PR). But if nobody sees your release, you won’t get very far. You need to distribute it effectively to get your story picked up by national newspapers, magazines, or blogs.
But you may not know exactly how to do that. So, to help, Sam Allcock from HubSpot has put together a Handy Guide to help you learn how to properly create, pitch, and distribute a press release for optimal brand awareness. To see the full guide, read the full article at HubSpot.com.
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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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- 05 Aug
How to Use Topic Clusters to Drive SEO Performance
Today, it’s no longer enough to do keyword research. While this has served as the basis of the vast majority of SEO strategies over the last decade-plus when creating content, it is beginning to drift into the fog of history. Now, we need to think more holistically about our content.
And That Means Using “Topic Clusters.” But, What are Topic Clusters?
Topic clusters are a relatively new way to think about how to write and organize content. From now on, no blog post, article, or other digital content should exist only to include the odd long-tail keyword phrase. When you write, you must think about where your content fits into the bigger picture – a picture that a topic cluster content model builds for you.
But, why are content marketers and strategists using them? And how can you start using them yourself? Let’s examine the topic and see if it’s a good fit for what you want to accomplish in this article by Eric Goldschein on Jeffbullas’s Blog.
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- 03 Aug
6 Psychology-Backed Hacks for Making Engaging Videos
by Clifford Chi
It’s only natural that HubSpot would do a lot of digital marketing. After all, they are HubSpot, and central to that activity is video. So much so that they have compiled a lot of valuable insights into leveraging the natural power of video in their marketing.Short-Form VS Long-Form
One thing that they noticed was that their one-minute Facebook videos usually receive more views than their longer videos. That would be expected. But, the seeming contradiction to this comes from the fact that their long-form videos are their third most viewed video. And when I say long-form, i mean that it is almost four minutes long.
Facebook will boost a video’s organic reach if it deeply engages viewers, so they knew their videos needed to grip their audience from start to finish. Especially since it’s four times longer than the majority of their videos. If it didn’t captivate them, Facebook could squash the video’s organic distribution.
So, to maximize audience engagement, they implemented psychology-backed hacks throughout the entire video. Check it out and see the takeaways to learn how to fully capture an audience’s attention with these 6 Psychology-based Hacks for Making Engaging Videos
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- 31 Jul
Research and Case Studies: B2B Audiences’ Most Valued and Trusted Content
from Marketing Charts
For content marketing to work, it must posses authority. That is the key to achieving the primary goals for content marketing of improving brand awareness, increasing customer conversions and increasing sales revenue. This is per a new report [download page] from Ascend2.A Preponderance of Evidence Does Support This Notion
While this report may be a bit skewed due to the survey sample (which consists in part of research subscribers), there’s previous research to support the idea that data builds authority and trust.
For example:
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- A survey from Clutch recently found that research and original data is considered the most effective form of content.
- And a Demand Gen Report found that over two-thirds of B2B buyers strongly agree. The use of more data and research would improve the quality of the content created and provided by vendors.
- Then add to that research from the Economist Group. They noted credible data and the quality of research analysis are extremely valuable. In fact, they are the factors most necessary to build executives’ trust in content.
To see more of the data and insights, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com.
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- 27 Jul
10 Effective Tactics for Promoting Your Content
by Mario Medina
You want to make your content marketing program work. And to do that, you need to devote a huge amount of energy, time and resources. An add to that the fact that the creative process is not easy either. It simply takes a lot to create great content.If a Whitepaper Falls in the Forest, . . .
But, even when you create great content, it might never be seen. That is, if it’s not promoted and shared. Content promotion is critical to the success of every piece of content. And that means that promotion is crucial to the success of your content strategy in general.
After all, the more views your content has, the more likely you are to engage a customer and ultimately make a sale. So, to make sure content gets seen and has a chance at generating leads, take a look at these 10 unpaid, organic content promotion tactics that Mario Medina brings us on MarketingProfs.
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- 26 Jul
Captioned Video Ads Show A Lift in Brand Linkage
from Marketing Charts
We know that advertisers are increasing their video budgets this year. But are they missing out on one key element that could make a difference to audience engagement? A new survey from Verizon Media has found that and astounding 7 in 10 US consumers watch videos without sound in public spaces. This makes captioning not only important but expected by viewers and crucial for your business.The vast majority of people who use captions are not hearing impaired. Half of the more than 5,600 US consumers surveyed report that captions are important because they usually watch videos with the sound off. Perhaps, more importantly, the majority of respondents said they are more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available.
What Does This Mean to Advertisers? Read the full article at Marketing Charts to learn more.
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- 25 Jul
Who Are “Cuspers” and How Are They Spending Their Money?
from Marketing Charts
A lot has been written about Millennials and Gen-Zers. But what about those young adults who fall in between these two groups? This goup has been dubed Cuspers. They are 19-25-year-olds adnd are just starting out in adulthood. But, they have, already mastered being consumers.Shyness is Not A Defining Behavior With Cuspers
In fact, recent research [see original research] by Fullscreen reveals that while Cuspers haven’t quite hit the financial standing of Millennials, they aren’t shy about spending their money. It seems that Millennials do have significantly higher average household incomes than Cuspers. But even with that, this younger segment isn’t that far behind when it comes to their spending.
To learn more and to see insights that may impact how you market to this emerging segment, read the full articl at MarketingCharts.com
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- 20 Jul
Three Proven Strategies for Engaging Millennial and Gen Z Customers
By current estimates Millenneials and Gen Z constitute a $350 billion combined spending power. And that fact has gotten the attention of almost every major brand. So, that means that brands are making those demograhics a priority. And today they are focused on how to reach them, motivate them, and inspire loyalty among them.
Now Here are the Real Questions
But what’s truly motivating these younger audiences? And how do they differ? And what strategies and tactics can today’s marketers use? Plus, what inspires the enduring loyalty of Millennials and Gen Z consumers?
To find out, Alison McGlone looked into it. She recently hosted a panel at Nerd 100 with prominent marketers and researchers. She assembled a panel of people who excel at understanding, engaging, and bridging these two generations of customers. So, to see what some of the things experts from Facebook, Airbnb, Lyft, Ellevest, and InterQ Research had to say, read the full article at MarketingProfs.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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- 16 Jul
SEO is More Than Just Keywords and Links
The traditional ways of using keywords and links to build SEO rank is changing. As search has moved towards artificial intelligence, and now seeks to determine intent, the dynamics of what was good SEO have evolved. Now, instead of relying specifically on keywords we need to focus on new factors.
Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes . . .
Admittedly, the traditional SEO practices are not dead. But they are becoming more and more outdated. Today, there are a range of other factors that can affect your ranking results. Chief among them are your critical digital assests, your content and web pages.
And if you see that SEO and the performance of your digital assets is is important, then you need ot understand that SEO can be a full time job. And keeping up with the latest trends is difficult as the space becomes more complex. So to help, here are some general SEO tips to think about when writing content and building out your pages on the Heinz Marketing Blog.
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- 15 Jul
Three Tips for Connecting with B2B Buyers
by
It seems that B2B buyers are waiting longer and longer to connect with vendors. Today, rather than immediately connecting with a sales rep, both B2B and B2C buyers prefer to do their own research online, or ask their peers for input. And this makes becoming part of the purchase conversation as early as possible in their consideration process crucial. But a lot more challenging.Why Are They Waiting So Long Then?
Part of this is due to a lack of trust in vendors. In a recent report on B2B buyer disconnect, TrustRadius found that only 11 percent of buyers describe vendor reps as very trustworthy. And only 19 percent say reps have significant influence over their buying decisions. In contrast, 53 percent of vendors say they think their reps are very effective at moving the needle towards conversion.
How can you connect with prospects and get them talking? Here’s three ideas for driving engagement throughout the B2B buying cycle on ChiefMarketer.com
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- 13 Jul
29 Email Deliverability Tips You Must Know
Your probably spend a lot of time drafting poignant email copy. After all, you design wonderfully branded email templates and craft succinct and enticing email subject lines. All desiged to get open rates and click-through rates skyrocketing.If An Email Falls in the Forest . . . ?
But before hitting send, have you considered whether your subscribers will even get the opportunity to read your email? There are a host of things that can prevent your email from ever reaching someone’s inbox. Today, there are even more stringent laws and increasingly sophisticated spam filters. And that means that it’s to your benefit to know everything that can affect your email’s deliverability.
If steering clear of legal trouble isn’t enough to convince you, squeezing more ROI out of your email marketing efforts certainly should. Learn the things you should absolutely never do in your email marketing if you want your messages to be successfully delivered, at HubSpot.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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- 11 Jul
The US B2B Trade Show Market Continues to Grow
from Marketing Charts
Recent studies confirm that trade shows and events are still proving to be incredibly effective. In fact, they are extremely effective across all the stages of the buyer’s journey. And of all event types, B2B demand generation marketers say that in-person events continue to be their best performing top of the funnel tactic.So, How Big is the Trade Show Market?
PwC, one of the largest professional services firms, has some answers. In its latest Global Entertainment & Media Outlook, they reviewed they broader B2B market in the US. And as part of that report, they looked into the trends for B2B trade shows and events.
And of all the sectors they reviewed they found that the trade show market has one of the fastest growth rates. To see some of the data and for a chance to review the original report, read the full article at MarketingCharts.com.
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- 10 Jul
What It Really Takes to Earn Millennial Loyalty
For the past few years, it has seemed as if every conversation around loyalty, circles back to Millennials. And rightfully so. Millennials are now the largest generation living in the U.S. And collectively they possess an annual spending power of $600 billion.
What Millennials Want . . . ?
With this in mind, it’s no surprise that companies across all industries and verticals are catering to the needs of Millennials as a way to earn our loyalty. Thankfully for brands, 80 percent of Millennials already participate in loyalty and rewards programs.
However, above all else, millennials value their time, energy and hard-earned money. And while they enjoy incredible spending power, they prefer experience to ownership. If brands want to capture this demographic, they will have to abandon traditional, shopworn loyalty strategies. So, to learn how, read the full article at
Chief Marketer. -
- 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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