Part II. – Draw in much more consumers strategically and smartly.

More consumers strategically … According to Forrester’s study, 63 % of acquisitions involve greater than four individuals – up from just 47 % in 2017. These customer teams usually consist of leads with differing degrees of authority and influence. Individuals you collaborate with when selling to a service can consist of gatekeepers, influencers, blockers, champs, individuals, decision manufacturers, and a range of other agents, who can make or damage your company. To overcome this challenge, thorough study and customization are crucial.

You must be prepared to involve with every one of the sorts of contacts provided in the previous paragraph – a process that is a lot easier stated than done. Inevitably, these contacts are individuals, so they are normally responsive to a specific method. Research the potential customers you speak to – and get a feeling of their priorities, individual preferences, and seniority within your company.

Additionally, understand the common measure that joins you – the company you work for. Know the ins and outs. Recognize the market and find out where the business stands compared to the competition. Do you have a feeling of the pain factors and can you deal with every one of these aspects when talking to someone you engage with around this? Longer sales cycles In 2023, greater than a 3rd (35%) of customers intended to make fewer purchases due to a possible economic crisis – and we expect this pattern to continue into 2024. As purses tighten, sales cycles lengthen. Customers take more time to make acquiring decisions and tend to increase the arguments during the process.

Rather than spreading yourself throughout numerous leads, focus your energy on involving yourself with potential customers, who are most likely to convert. By raising your communications with these leads, you will certainly use your time better and boost your opportunities of closing a sale.

Furthermore, take into consideration using adaptable pricing plans. Amongst sales representatives who offer freemium choices, a staggering 90% state, it is „really reliable“ at converting potential customers right into paying customers. Offering a complimentary device or widget, item trial, appointment, or service list can boost your exposure early in the sales procedure.

More consumers strategically … Brand Name Ambassador

Marketing-Experts have actually long thought that a good solution is the very best advertising and marketing.

A lot more especially: Faithful customers that share their favorable buying experience are a lot more relied on than advertisements. So why not utilize them to benefit your service? The secret to success is recognizing the most influential clients and turning them right into brand-name ambassadors. It indicates building a trusting relationship with your clients by not only guaranteeing an excellent level of service, yet also surpassing your expectations and providing included worth that fully fulfills your passions. It’s difficult, however it deserves it. Diese will absolutely result in an increased return on your advertising and marketing financial investments.

More consumers strategically … By creating your very own motivation program to urge the promotion of your brand name and offering multiple possibilities for such activities through social media sites and apps such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, your base of faithful clients will continuously expand without any unique initiative on your part. In the direction of a customer: First way of thinking Going forward, focusing on purchaser rate of interests will certainly have a greater effect on just how sales reps perform their sales efforts. When we think about the concept of „customer initially“, it redefines the paradigm. We need to take a closer consideration of just what buyers wish to purchase and how we decide to offer them what they want. It has to do with ending the old mindsets, especially the way we approach the customer to offer him the services or the product. The key to overcoming this obstacle is a more consultative, useful and compassionate strategy of selling. Steps such as energetic listening and discussions tailored to figure out the „why“ behind a purchase will certainly be essential in the future. Sales efforts can no longer go to the leading edge of a presentation.

You ought to prevent your possible Reach out to clients who wish to adapt to a buyer-first setting. Focus must be placed on elements such as thorough customer study and relationship building, to adjust to a globe where the customer has the power. Develop a connection with your customer first! „Be there before the sale!“ Acquaint on your own with concepts like customer-centric sales. Learn how to implement your sales efforts without pressing purchasers. Try to plan your initiatives around your prospects’ routines, not your own. Somehow, comprehend your purchasers’ special obstacles and put them first. Steps like those listed below supply them with the best opportunity to much better comprehend and adjust to a world in which the customer has disproportionate power. Brand names will certainly turn to micro-influencers Influencer Marketing has actually gotten on everybody’s lips for several years.

With the devices to develop their own audience, creators – YouTubers, bloggers, Instagrammers – have actually developed huge followings and achieved a condition on par with celebs from more conventional media like TV and Movie.

More consumers strategically … Micro-influencers

Micro-influencers with around 100,000 fans or less are now being taken seriously by brand names. While big-name-Influencers charge upwards of $10,000 per blog post, micro-Influencers typically cost a lot less: a few hundred dollars to absolutely nothing more than a cost-free gift of their product.

Micro-influencers likewise tend to have actually an extra involved target market about their total number than bigger influencers. Often the average interaction rate of 5 % doubles for mega-influencers. In 2024, brand names will create lasting relationships with relevant micro-influencers as part of their influencer advertising, to build bigger areas and raise consumer counting and loyalty. Make the most of chances to connect with YouTubers and influencers.

Lay the foundation for an effective business year now, act, and demand your custom-made project strategy now.

January 12, 2024January 17, 2024

Draw in much more consumers strategically and smartly

More consumers strategically and smartly … According to a study of over 1,000 sales professionals, one of the biggest challenges facing sales reps was attracting attention from competitors; 26% of participants said it was a major issue. Differentiation is an essential issue in virtually every field, and sales is no exception.

Salesmen are among the most crucial players when it comes to differentiating their company from the competition. Firms are characterized by their certain value, and at its core, sales is the process of communicating that worth as effectively as feasible. And when your sector is flooded with a selection of alternatives that all offer the exact same basic purpose, this procedure can become complex and aggravating. Resolving this difficulty begins with figuring out worth via understanding—recognizing exactly how your product and services work, what sector you remain in, your buyer personalities, who your straight rivals are, and just how they’re trying to stand out from others.

Naturally, that’s a great deal to track, and creating that understanding is easier said than done, but you require all of it if you want to develop an effective value suggestion. Know the functions of your offering and the benefits that come with it, inside and out.
Research the companies in the sector you serve completely to determine typical discomfort points. Talk with your existing customers about why you picked your option. Develop a solid picture of the prospect who might purchase from you and adapt it as your landscape changes. Comprehend your rivals as long as it is feasible. What do they provide that they don’t? Where are you stronger? Where are you weak? Do you have functions you don’t have? Do you charge a more affordable rate? The special value your business can provide forms the basis for your distinction.

If you wish to stick out from your competitors, you need to understand what makes your company unique. If you can do that and sell on that basis, you’ll be in a solid position to stick out from your competitors. Find clients! For 49% of marketing professionals, the main goal around sales is to enhance client acquisition, as B2B research-based marketing company Ascend2 exposed in its 2020 digital marketing report. It’s a local business myth that customers just appear. The process of acquiring brand-new consumers can be costly and specifically testing for smaller companies that do not have the exact same budget (and heavyweight) as larger businesses.

More consumers strategically and smartly …

Mid-sized organizations, small company proprietors, self-employed individuals, and aiming business owners have numerous means to bring in brand-new customers without being a household name. Initially, place yourself on your own as a specialist in your industry by producing a blog and uploading helpful content that demonstrates your understanding to potential customers. Second, maximize your local business web site for online search engine optimization to boost website traffic and conversion.

Along with utilizing the best methods, like enhancing page speed and creating a boosted customer experience, you also wish to track your success by keeping track of the right key efficiency indicators (KPIs). To blog! Blog writing isn’t disappearing anytime quickly. Not only does material advertising help raise brand reliability and boost conversions, but it is also one of the most typical methods for customers to uncover brand-new brand names. 77% of people check out blogs frequently, and 56% have acquired something from a brand name after checking out one or more blog posts.

Furthermore, brand names have their own blog sites, so they are not at the mercy of transforming algorithms or social media fads. They offer a regular center for academic, enjoyable, and interesting web content that keeps consumers on the website and loyal. Brand names can develop entire blogging microsites as part of their content marketing approach. Visitors can search for essays, suggestions, and podcast episodes as part of the purchasing experience. That creates trust. Content is king! Quality and creativity are very important.

Every online electronic source becomes an asset for your company. Both consumers and services seek original web content from brand names when making choices. Material advertising continues to be crucial to the success of a business. Simply creating articles to generate leads and website traffic may not be enough.

Companies need to begin establishing material centers and embracing numerous web content techniques to stay pertinent.

The content must provide high-quality information that piques the interest of your customers. Video clip material remains to preponderate, with brief video clip web content seeing a significant increase in appeal as a result of its effectiveness, surpassing infographics and articles.

The quick growth of short-form video clips aligns well with the fast-moving focus period of online target markets across varied demographics.
Go for a variety of content with videos, white papers, and other rich media to involve your audience.

By creating and purchasing a well-organized content center, your search engine optimization method can expand and be affordable in the long term.

More consumers strategically and smartly … Social media!

Social media for communication, branding, and advertising. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and numerous social networks with videos, podcasts, and prominent social media sites as marketing platforms will boost sales. When a service or product is promoted on any of the above platforms, client views and exposure boost.

Businesses and consumers alike are ending up being more open concerning social media sites and increasingly accepting of various kinds of material. This subsequently makes marketing an item’s brand name simpler because of the mass reach of these platforms.
Influencers who succeed on social networks will certainly be a good selection, as there is something to match every organization. From mega-influencers with a million followers to nano-influencers with just a thousand followers, companies can look to target influencers that are the best market for their target social networking platform.

User-generated content (UGC), Tik Tok effects, Instagram filters, and branded hashtags are simply a couple of ways companies are getting entailed. The popularity of such content is anticipated to increase as it drives engagement and increases understanding of services.
Amazon SG has actually done a terrific brand name influence project utilizing TikTok as a medium and its branded hashtag challenge, UnboxAmazonPrimeSG. The result? Amazon SG got to 9 hundred thousand individuals with its Unbox AmazonPrimeSG Branded Hashtag Challenge and garnered almost four million overall unique video sights, with more than 8 thousand overall video clips developed for the obstacle.

Lay the foundation for an effective business year now, act, and demand your custom-made project strategy now.

February 20, 2015

20 tips for Instagram brands!

While it is undeniable Instagram has become an indispensable social network for brands, few of them are able to benefit from their digital communication strategy!

Whether through lack of content, ideas or time (or all that at a time), many brands on the social network decide to give up or abandon it in favor of more platforms generating benefits, such as may be a Facebook or Twitter.

But the app, which now has 300 million active users worldwide can prove to be a showcase of the DNA of a brand, allowing it to sublimate its products / services and create its own visual identity so instant and creative, to the delight of its customers and / or clients!

When we know more than 46% of its users follow brands, we can understand the interest and the need to read the following 20 tips. So here we go!

20 tips to optimize your use of Instagram:

– Publish Single & exclusive content: own your brand and and make sure that users will not see your content on other social networks or your competitors, for example.

– Your post must create the emotion for the user, to allow them to spent a time for their “preferred” brand that they could not live without you! (Well said like that, it may impress, but the idea is there)

– Think “timeless” do not add time indicators, users must be able to identify your vision no matter what time of day it is!
– Focus on one item: useless to capture everything dwell instead on an item you want to promote to your subscribers. One you want to make them remember!
– Crop your photos: center the elements and play with symmetries. These are very popular on “Insta”!

– Edit photos (sparingly) in addition to the filters, many settings are available in post-production (brightness, contrast, shadows, etc.) and you will get a unique look and quality, but do not overdo it, your subscribers might not like it!

– Avoid glare: some textures, such as shop windows for example, reflect the opposite view and disturb the final rendering. Try to take your photos in simple, natural environments.

– Do not rely on managers: some proposed frameworks can distract the user from the content of your photo, avoid them whenever possible.
– Be concise: Limit descriptions of your photos 4-5 lines maximum.
– Do not add any text or logo on your photos (point).

– Add hashtags: they generate 12.6% more engagement, but do not overdo it! We must stay consistent and not try at all costs to benefit from the popularity of a “word-pound” that had no connection with your content.
– Hire your customers: the pictures showing consumers using your products receive 30% more engagement, a bargain! But do not forget to ask permission to owners of pictures before re-published with the account of your brand.
– Choose a fairly broad term-back: you will get 29% of “likes” and more!
– Prefer publications on Wednesday (+ 1% of commitment) and Sunday (+ 6% of commitment).

– Post in the mornings: photos generate maximum commitment in the morning between 6 am and 11 am, depending Over-Graph.

– Choose wisely your filters: for example, the filter “Mayfair” gives rise 2% more engagement with the filter “Toaster”…
– Show your face: the pictures containing faces get more commitment and comments than others!

– See life in blue: publications where the blue color dominates are very popular and earn 24% of “likes” and more!
– Step into the light: the light shots get 25% of “likes” and more.
– Choose images rather than videos: these are less efficient than 26%. The question is whether the new Instagram of the week (auto loop playback videos in the news wire) will change the situation…

Bonus: You can get inspiration from these eight successful brands on Instagram (And no, there are no Starbucks and Coca-Cola)!

Authors bio:

Stephen E. Karsch was born and raised in Bern, Switzerland. Stephen is a technology geek and loves everything about tech, high tech, computers and programming. He graduated from Bern University of Applied Sciences with a bachelor’s degree in Business Information Technology. You can get in touch with Stephen on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram.

March 7, 2014March 24, 2014

3 Social Media Marketing Goof-ups You Probably Have Fallen Prey to

I would be sounding too mainstream when I say social media marketing has transfigured the approach we had towards marketing the products of a brand.

The conventional ways to advertise the offerings of companies had become obsolete, to say the least. We needed a fresh approach that would reboot our stratagem and generate a curiosity and interest among our customers one more time. And this is what social media helped us to achieve, ever so seamlessly.

But with all said and done, there are a number of goof-ups that brands unintentionally fall prey to, which fail to bring in the results. While some page owners complain that their page and the corresponding posts fail to get as many likes and shares as they would want, others have complains of an altogether different, but much too common, nature. They are worried about that fact that even though they get some incredible response from their followers on social media in the form of Likes, Shares, Retweets, etc. they do not see much improvement in the sales.

Simply put, the number of hits on their social media accounts do not translate into buyers, and that is something that bothers them – justifiably so.

$Smiley face$

So, how do they go past these barriers, which in the first place, they don’t know the cause for being there? However, when your social media marketing endeavors is not bringing the desirable results for you, or for that matter, failing to make any impact, it is most likely that the problem lies within your strategies around it. Here are the 3 mistakes you might be making:

Being Too Fancy, Too Funny

Let’s say, if you are managing the page of a Cola brand, you have a target audience that mostly consists of youth. So, posting fancy and funny stuff might just do the trick. But when you are managing the Facebook page of a multinational automobile brand, there has to be more sophistication on the page. You can’t post jokes around Rajnikanth or Justin Bieber and expect more people turning up at your counter to buy cars. Posting funny stuff isn’t bad, but you should make it more attuned to the taste of your audience, which aren’t there just to like and share your posts.

They may have joined you on social media to keep themselves updated with the latest offerings and services by you. Make it a point that at least twice in a week you post something that creates a brand recall value.

Not Interacting with the Followers

Wasn’t that the purpose of the whole exercise? To create a platform that helps your customers interact with you in a more amicable environment? So, why are blatantly ignoring their comments when they enquire about certain products? Once you have created a brand page, you need to ensure that you get involved in one to one conversations and reply to each comment that pertains to your services and products. By doing this, you are only making your customers feel more welcomed. Otherwise, you aren’t making full use of the platform.

Doing Excessive Promotion

So, there is another extreme end of the spectrum. At this end, there are page managers who keep bombarding their followers with the strictly product-oriented posts. Agreed, that was the intention, but when every posts of yours is centered on product promotion, and there is no fun at all, the Unlikes will soon start pouring in. So, try to be on a balanced ground.

Drive these 3 mistakes out of your social media marketing stratagem and you just might have the results you are looking for.

About the auhor:

Maria Mincey is a PHP Development expert who seamlessly delivers focus in her writings. She works for Xicom Technologies, a Offshore PHP Development Company. You can connect with Maria on LinkedIn, Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter.

xxxxxx

xxxx

February 28, 2014March 24, 2014

How to Drive More Facebook Traffic to Your Website

The overwhelming majority of brands operating on Facebook don’t actually use Facebook to sell their products and/or services.

They use the site primarily to build up an interested audience, to drive brand awareness and reach, and to get hordes of people into their sales funnel.

Facebook is basically a complex advertisement in this sense, and the actual selling takes place offsite. Because of this, many social media marketers are constantly looking for ways to use Facebook to drive traffic back to their main website.

Some are building tremendous Facebook followings, with tons of fans and plenty of engagement, but they’re still having trouble getting people to follow the brand outside of the network.

Here are a few tips to help you drive Facebook traffic directly to your website.

Tips for Using Facebook to Drive Your Website Traffic

1: You Have to Present It!

Believe it or not, some people marketing on Facebook don’t think to include a link to their site in the material they release. Sure, they’ll link to their site in their page’s “About” section, or they’ll mention it in a roundabout way in some other location on the site. But when it comes to actually backlinking the site inside of some update, they neglect to do so. So the first step in getting Facebook traffic to your site is to provide your audience with the destination. This isn’t going to solve the issue by itself, but it’s important that you present people with the destination you want them to reach.

2: Post About Your Site

Maybe you’ve been posting backlinks to your website yet still can’t get traffic there. That’s always a big issue on Facebook, mostly because people need to know a little bit about the destination before they click. At this point in the Internet’s tenure, too many Trojans have been downloaded by too many users for everyone to simply click a link they don’t recognize. So earn some trust and build some interest by actually posting about your site. Have you updated the pages over there? Leave a post about it on Facebook. Perhaps you’ve decided to launch new products, to post new reviews, etc. Write about it in social media and inform people about your site.

3: Make Linked Content More Engaging

Another great way to get people to actually click-through when they see that site link is to create content that’s much more engaging. Content that people Like, comment on and share is also content that people are going to click-through in higher rates. This is where you need to get interesting. Don’t focus on just a little bit of print, like “Click this link.” Be creative. Post video clips, infographics, share other people’s content, ask questions, link inside of polls and quizzes, and get people interested in what they’re reading.

4: Throw Out Some Teasers

The teaser is always a fantastic way to generate traffic. Many people have a deep-seated need to find out what’s on the other side of that classic “knock-knock” line or to shout out “two bits!” after hearing “shave and a haircut.” The teasers really get people going. A question as simple as “Was this a good use of my time?” or “Is it worth the money?” can get people scratching their heads and ready to find out what those teaser questions are about. Or you could go another route and give half of a story, with the line “Here’s how you find out more,” or something along those lines. Tease, and they will come.

5: Be Generous With Your Promotions

Facebook is unique in that you can host a wide range of contests and promotions directly from the site, not needing anything else but perhaps a mass mailer to deal with all the responders. However, Facebook is also used best as an advertising tool. In other words, you can use the social network to inform people about a contest, but you can host it from your main website. This is going to draw a lot of people over. Just make sure that you’re giving them something worth visiting on the other end. Make sure you’re offering the goods and are providing fresh, relevant content to your audience. You want repeat traffic, not just one-time clickers.

As long as you can cater to an audience and strike up some interest on Facebook, you can drive this traffic directly to your website. It just takes a little effort. Make sure you’re including your links, information about your site, and that you’re providing people with a reason to actually visit. If you can do those simple things, Facebook can become one of the main sources of your site traffic.

About the author:

Simon Campbell, a writer from a Facebook ad campaign tool – Qwaya. He loves to write different topics about social media and participates in some communities and forums. You can connect with Simon on Twitter.

January 17, 2014March 24, 2014

SEO in 2050: The Future is…

Photo credits: Thos Ballantyne

Search engine optimization has been around since the very early days of the world wide web. Having said that, it’s gone through many changes over the years. In fact, SEO in 2014 may be unlike anything that has come before. While the basics still apply – like quality over quantity – there are a lot of other things that are necessary in order to compete. Rather than another boring 2014 predictions post, we thought we’d get out the time machine and make some long range predictions for the SEO industry.

SEO in 2050

This is not your grandfather’s SEO by any means. Here’s a peek at some of what might be happening in the SEO world in 2050 and beyond.

SEO Robots – While ‘bots exist online now, in the future Google and other companies will likely let real life robots loose into the world. Whether it’s their car that drives itself or something else they invent with all the robotics companies they’re buying up quickly, there’s a good chance that Google’s index will start to invade the “real world” before 2050.
Real Names – Anonymity on the web – truly being anonymous – is becoming more difficult with each passing year. By 2050, there’s a good chance that the only SEO that will work will be tied to a verifiable human. Perhaps Google’s army of robots will actually come to your house to make sure you are who you say you are online – and then rank you appropriately.
SEO Hobbyists – In the very early days of search engine optimization, it was easy for anyone who spent a little time studying to be able to see results on their own. That has changed over the years, however. Today, many SEO professionals have concentrated on one single area. The era of a jack of all trades SEO approach is over as it takes a team of dedicated people to get anything done.
Search Engine Wars – By 2050, there’s a good chance that the search engine wars will finally be over, with one company – probably Google – being the sole survivor. By this time, Google may have swallowed Microsoft and other companies to become a massive monopoly on a scale never before seen on the planet. Sound crazy? Wait and see what happens. Remember Demolition Man.

No one can know the future for certain, but it’s a lot of fun to make predictions – especially so far into the future. We’d like to get your input as well – something that will be very important for SEO in 2050. So leave your thoughts below and share your predictions with the rest of us. Depending on how old you are currently, you may be around long enough to come back in 36 years to see if we were correct or not.

When it comes to SEO, business professionals like Leonard Albanese are constantly learning about new methods and techniques. This helps him and others make sure their professional image online isn’t tarnished at all.

About the author:

Adam Prattler is a consultant for search engine optimization ny and has been working since the last 6 years. With a degree in engineering and a graduation in design, he believes he has the ability to look at from every aspect, be it technology, content or design. You can connect with Adam on LinkedIn, Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter.

January 11, 2014March 24, 2014

Do You Panic When Facebook Goes Down?

If you’re a basic Facebook user and find that dreaded “Maintenance” or “Page cannot be displayed” message when logging onto the site, you might get a bit frustrated after multiple attempts to refresh. However, you’ll ultimately just go over to YouTube or Twitter to bide your time. Though what if you’re a marketer using Facebook? When you hear those two dreaded words, Facebook down, how do you handle it?

Many marketers begin to panic, and maybe for good reason. There’s a lot of time and money tied up in the site, and you can never be sure if it’s just down for a few minutes or if it will be down for days or weeks. However, there’s a lesson to be learned from the basic user out there. Don’t fly into a panic. Just bide your time and do other things. Here are a few things you can try if you find a Facebook crash in the future.

How to Handle Business When Facebook is Down

1: Vent Via Social Media

Take your frustrations to social media and use the downtime to your advantage. For instance, if you have a Twitter following, the odds are great that many of them also use Facebook and are also frustrated that it’s down. You don’t have to bash or curse the site, but you can float some tweets out there gauging the atmosphere and voicing your personal dislike of the situation. “What do you guys think about the Facebook crash?” There will probably be trending hashtags you can use, if you’re not creating them yourself, like, for example, “#FacebooksDead” or “#ConstantCrash.”

2: Track Your Data

Instead of twiddling your thumbs as if your collective hopes and dreams are tied up in one social media site, take this opportunity to perform some analytics checks and see if you need to tweak anything when the site comes back online. Take a loot at how your campaign is going, how your ads have been performing, and other key aspects of your campaign. You have a chance here to come back stronger.

3: Try Your Facebook Material on an Alternative Outlet

The reason some marketers get very angry and end up in a panic is that they had plans to use Facebook that instant but can’t now because it’s down. For instance, they may have created a new detailed post that they were sure would draw engagement. If this is a situation you find yourself in, you can wait for Facebook to come back, or you could try your luck with an alternate outlet. You might be able to draw more buzz and engagement by releasing the material elsewhere. At least think about releasing it in another location first.

4: Plan Your Reentry

When Facebook is down, you also have a good opportunity to take your time to plan your reentry. Using the tip above and assuming you had a great post ready to be launched, rethink your approach. You could create a lot of buzz by being the first page your fans see with an entertaining post about Facebook’s crash. For instance, creating a poll about how aggravated people are or something along those lines can really draw a big crowd ready to engage.

5: Speak to Your Fans Personally

If you have the contact information of some of your fans, like their email addresses or mobile information, you could send out a quick message to them and use Facebook’s status as a great talking point to start an ongoing dialogue. It also endears you more to your fans by showing a real side and a real interest in social media interactions. Facebook being down doesn’t have to be a waste in any fashion.

Facebook has great up time, solid servers, and they’re usually able to handle even the biggest updates while the site is still functioning. However, every site experiences crashes and downtime, and Facebook will be no exception in the future. So if you ever manage to encounter a crash, just remember not to panic. Use the time to engage with fans in a different way.

About the author:

May 8, 2013May 8, 2013

42 Profitable Reasons to Consider Inbound Marketing Strategy for Business

The proven and successful inbound marketing strategy is a great way to generate high quality leads.

Therefore inbound marketing is known as the “riskless” marketing strategy because of the activities done which are long lasting and bring an increasing stream of future customers to your offers.

Why is this inbound marketing such a great way to generate leads?

Inbound marketing offers you a strategic and smart approach to be and to stay several steps ahead of your competition.

Inbound marketing is the marketing strategy that focuses on getting found by customers when they research online for products and services your business also has to offer.

With inbound marketing businesses “earn” their way to the customer and his loyalty, by publishing helpful information on a blog, in social media and forums.

Inbound marketing includes: Content creation like blogging, video, photo, whitepapers, eBooks, podcasts, press releases, comments in social media and other blogs and forums, Social media two way communication, lead generation, lead conversion, lead nurturing and closed-loop analysis.

How can Inbound Marketing help you?

A. It saves you up to 62% of your marketing budget
B. Makes you stand out of your competition
C. Helps to generate a massive amount of leads
D. Gets you up to 55% higher lead conversion rates
E. Increases your customers and sales

Infographic: Inbound Marketing Rising

TOP 42 Reasons to Jumstart your Inbound Marketing NOW!

1. 60% of companies will execute an inbound marketing strategy in 2013.

2. Marketers dedicate 34% of their department budgets to inbound tactics, but only 11% to outbound.

3. 48% of marketers will increase spend on inbound marketing in 2013.

4. 34% of all leads generated in 2013 come from inbound marketing sources.

5. Inbound practices produce 54% more leads than traditional outbound leads.

6. 17% of marketers say traditional advertising and direct mail are less important than they were 6 months ago.

7. Traditional advertising and PPC deliver the least leads of any form of marketing.

8. Only 6% of marketing leads originate from advertising or PPC campaigns.

9. 34% of businesses cannot or don’t calculate overall inbound ROI in 2013.

10. Adopting a marketing/sales agreement saves companies with more than 200 employees $195.84 per new customer.

11. Only 24% of companies have a formal process for marketing/sales handoffs.

12. Companies who test are 75% more likely to show ROI for inbound marketing.

13. Inbound marketers double the average site conversion rate, from 6% to 12% total.

14. The average website conversion rate is 10%.

15. 81% of companies integrate inbound marketing with larger marketing goals.

16. Marketers spend 55% more of their time than their money on blogging.

17. 82% of marketers who blog on a daily basis have acquired a customer through blog content.

18. 57% of marketers who only blog once a month have acquired a customer through blogging.

19. Inbound marketers plan to hire an average of 9.3 people this year.

20. Only 18% of marketers are purely focused on developing quality content in 2013.

21. 25% of marketers cite reaching the right audience as their top priority for 2013.

22. Only 5% of marketers have no integration between inbound marketing and overall marketing goals.

23. 50% of marketers consider their companies primarily customer-focused.

24. 17% of sales teams and 11% of executives fully support inbound marketing efforts.

25. 73% of marketing agencies are implementing inbound strategies.

26. Only 41% of nonprofits report adopting inbound tactics for 2013.

27. Just 21% of enterprises assimilate inbound marketing with their overall marketing strategy.

28. 47% of CEOs and CMOs ignore formal marketing/sales agreement development.

29. Marketing is 125% more likely than sales to provide inbound resources.

30. Increasing total lead volume is the top priority for 21% of marketers.

31. Customers average a total of 9,100 leads after 1.5 years of inbound marketing.

32. 67% of marketers produced a blog last year.

33. Only 20% of marketers without a blog reported a positive ROI for 2012.

34. 27% of marketers report that both social media and email marketing produce the lowest total average lead costs.

35. 15% of marketers say SEO leads have the highest sales conversions.

36. Social media delivers 14% of all leads and 13% of all customers.

37. 52% of all marketers have found a customer via Facebook.

38. 43% of marketers have found a customer on LinkedIn.

39. 36% of marketers have found a customer on Twitter.

40. 41% of marketers have adjusted their budget due to the success of inbound marketing.

41. 41% of CEOs report inbound delivered measurable ROI.

42. Marketers with more than 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 leads per month.

Source:

February 19, 2013February 20, 2013

My prospects aren’t using social media, so I don’t need to be there!

WRONG!

Increasingly prospects shift from traditional to the digital media.

They research about products and services on search engines, forums, and blogs and in social media to get the best products and services for their money!

To get found online when future prospects are looking for products is one of the major challenges businesses are facing today.

Millions of businesses competing for paying customers and it have become a difficult task for most of them to stand out of the crowd and to make future customers aware about their offers.

Trust is a major factor when it comes to get new customers acquired.

Companies need to understand that they need be there before they ask for a sale. They need to establish themselves as an authority and trusted source in their industry.

Social media platforms are today serving as a great inbound marketing tool for building credibility, brand awareness as well as community of people with same interests. These people than become aware of the businesses products and services and can become paying customers.

The most popular channel to share content is social media, the advantages of platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for business and to win customer loyalty are known. About 76% of marketers say they used a social network as the main channel for content distribution.

Successful companies use every possible communication channel to get in touch with their target audience. They are interested in what their recent and future customers are thinking and communicating about them.

In a recent survey conducted, 72% of the marketing consultants have agreed that they are using social media marketing for their businesses online.

This tells the importance of social media marketing tactics and inbound market solutions for businesses online.

A new research of Pew Research Center shows that 69% of adults use social media!

What do you think how are the chances that none of your prospects are included in that majority of adults using social media?

If you still have doubts that your prospects are active in social media feel free to try the advertising targeting platforms of any of those social networks. There you can segment your target audience at no cost. Then you will see by yourself.

Social media is a powerful communication channel to get and to stay in touch with prospects, future and current customers and to build relationships with industry influencers. You can also connect with reporters who are looking for industry experts on upcoming stories like you to interview them. This could improve your credibility and bring you additional free exposure, prospects, leads and customers for your business!

As simple as that!

Infographic: Lead Generation

What do you think about social media for business? Let me know your toughts in the comment section below!

Read also these related articles:

January 30, 2013February 4, 2013

Why Everybody Loves Infographics

What exactly are infographics?

Infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly.

Infographics can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends and this is what made them a powerful marketing tool for businesses.

Infographics are shared on the web, Twitter and Facebook more often than other content online.

Infographics are easy to understand, to consume and to share. On Twitter, LinkedIn und StumbleUpon Infographics get more retweets than other content.

Marketers love Infographics because they offer an easy and powerful viral marketing tool to spread the word about the company’s products and services.

B2C and B2B also love infographics as they explain sophisticated facts in a very easy understandable way.

“A picture is worth a thousand words”

The most popular Infographics are about business with about 12.7%, technology with about 10% and social media with about 9%.

As infographics are able to explain sophisticated topics in an easy way they are very popular for technology.

Infographic: The State of Infographics

What are your experiences with infographics? Tell me in the comment box below.

October 16, 2012

The Debate Results: Will Technology Kill the Call Center?

Last month, I told you about an upcoming online debate called: “Will Technology Kill the Call Center?”

Research firm Software Advice moderated the event earlier this month with a panel of call center and customer service technology experts from IntelliResponse, Drumbi, Avaya Inc. and Etech Global Services.

The 45-minute discussion was hosted in a Google+ Hangout where the panel answered a list of scripted questions before fielding queries from the digital audience of 40. The group talked about trends in customer contact channel utilization, technology and the future call center.

The speakers offered advice for consumer contact strategy and ways companies can prepare for the future.

The speakers agreed first of all that customer contact channel utilization for non-traditional channels – such as virtual agents – is growing. This is primarily the result of better technology that can finally deliver on the promises from six years ago. So customers are now empowered with a choice of how they want to contact you. But this doesn’t mean they are using these contact avenues instead of phone – it just means by the time they get there they are likely at a critical point.

“The company needs to be smarter when they get there,” Avaya Director of Customer Experience Management Laura Basset said. This means knowing whether the customer interacted with self service, and what they looked at. Did they ask a question to a virtual agent? Did they log into their online account?

Ultimately, the debate ended with the agreement that the call center won’t disappear because of technology – it’s already gone. The reborn contact center is a different environment where agents are increasingly expected to handle interactions from myriad channels. This will continue to change the skill set and expectations from these facilities. Watch for more changes to come, they warned.

Click here to watch the entire recording.

About the author:

Ashley Furness is a Market Analyst for research firm Software Advice. Her professional experience spans journalism, sales, advertising and SEO marketing. She’s a seasoned writer having produced copy for business journals, a sports magazine, daily deals advertising and industry blogs. She can be contacted at Ashleyfurness[@]softwareadvice.com, or by calling 512-582-2314. LinkedIn – Twitter – Google +

October 12, 2012March 24, 2014

The ARTS + VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS

What is ‘The Arts’ ?

1.    The Arts is a group of disciplines, comprising many genres, endeavours or art forms, all united by their employment of the human creative impulse, to express and communicate through various art forms.
2.    New and additional genres are being added daily.
3.    Let us put them all in one box for ease of understanding. This may be contentious to some globally, who have different perceptions of The Arts.
4.    The many forms of expression create an adequate or enormous income for many players, but for others, sadly it must just be perceived as a pastime, due to lack of funds or infrastructures.
5.    The Arts are dying in many countries, which are not getting sufficient financial support from their governments or other and so it is time to seek other means of exposure and marketing platforms.

What do The Arts enable ?

1.    Imparting a message
2.    Telling a true story
3.    Education
4.    Imparting own gifts
5.    Creating mindset shifts
6.    Enabling interactive conversation
7.    Enabling enjoyment, laughter, sadness, joy etc
8.    Self expression
9.    Enabling escape from real life – and so on

Let’s look at some players in ‘The Arts’

MUSICIANS – all genres from jazz to rap
ARTISTS – all mediums, including sculptors, potters, etc
DANCERS – al genres, from ballet to hip hop
COMEDIANS
MAGICIANS
SINGERS – from OPERA to RAP – including producers, choreographers
FILM/THEATRE – actors, directors, writers, producers, choreographers
WRITERS/AUTHORS – all genres, including poets, fiction, non-fiction, biographies, etc

Players in ‘The Arts’ need to up their marketing game + would do well, by using the Social networking sites + incorporating VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS into their marketing mix

Adding VIDEO CONFERENCING / WEBINARS into the marketing mix :

More and more of The Arts genres are embracing this powerful technology as an adjunct marketing, training, collaboration, communication and exposure platform. Due to budget and time constraints, people cannot always travel far distances to attend an event/training etc..

DISTANCE Training/Workshops

Globally teaching, learning + rehearsing dance routines, orchestral music arrangements + scores, scripts etc in advance before show time
Creating a global environment for creative research across diverse disciplines, where all players can collaborate, experiment and enjoy artistic exchange and learning, exploring the boundaries of synthesizing art and technology
In this global environment, students can actively explore their creativity and develop, using their own creative gifts through active engagement, reflection and collaboration
More and more music teachers world wide are embracing this technology to teach pupils to play various instruments in remote areas

SHOWCASING

Virtual shows can be created in a global Video Meeting Room, where interested parties can participate in interactive sessions, with people interested in learning more about their particular genre of Art.

BOOK LAUNCHES

o Authors can save a fortune by hosting a virtual book tour.

o This can be co-marketed with e-commerce book companies, online communities and off-line bookstores, that want to drive traffic to their stores and sites.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS

o Invite reporters or editors to an online web interview.

o These web events can be conducted with the media, through relevant websites and e-commerce sites.

o Online web interviews enable interviewing all relevant journalists at once, with the promotion of their stories on Movie, TV, Radio, Theatre, Music, Dance, Arts etc.

o Webinars enable you to expose large groups of people at once to interviews with actors, singers, dancers, poets, playwrights, producers, choreographers, directors etc..

ART EXHIBITIONS

o Artists across all art form mediums, can use Video Conferencing to go global, communicate and show their art to the world.

o They could even stream a pre-recorded video on a virtual tour of their art from their own studio or gallery.

o Inviting a well known art expert as a guest speaker to a Webinar, who in their own rights, will attract numbers to the web event, would be an added bonus.

Adding VMail – The new EMAIL – into the marketing mix

What is a Vmail ?

o Video Email is simple to use, online, browser based technology, which enables you to create your own personal Vmails.

o Most technology platforms allow 20 minutes of talk time, which is more than adequate to impart your message.

o Additional videos may also be uploaded into the Vmail, e.g. a virtual tour of an Artist’s gallery or studio, a Singer or Dancer’s debut or demo, etc..

o No software downloads are necessary.

o Bandwidth is not compromised, as the VMail opens on the Internet.

o Most Vmail purveyors allow full integration into your social networks to share on Youtube or Facebook, etc..

WHY use VMAIL ?

Video Email is the new Email ! It is a perfect adjunct marketing tool to incorporate into your Video Communications suite –

Why ?

It’s Different
More powerful
More Personal
More Effective
Is Creative
Seeing is Believing
Has more Impact
Grabs the customer’s Attention
Enables you to literally look into your contact’s eyes and develop a relationship with that person, engaging them on a level that is simply not possible with a static text email
Enables your voice to resonate on a subliminal level
Static text emails, are easy to ignore, and at their best, give a customer only the vaguest notion of what your business or craft really values

Facts :

– Google loves Video !
– Cisco predict there will be a 10 fold increase in the use of Video over the next 5 years
– Internet Video traffic is now 40% of consumer internet
– People retain 10% of what they hear, but 50% of what they see
– Video is the single, most effective form of communication
– Additional creative marketing platforms are constantly being sought
– ‘Old school’ marketing is no longer effective

Heather de Wit considers herself to be an ‘out of the box’ thinker and is happy to share her knowledge on the merits of utilising Video Email and Conferencing/Webinars. Her experience as a sole Entrepreneur for over 20 years spans marketing, advertising and PR. She enjoys creative writing, singing at functions and is a self-taught artist.

Get in touch with heather :

Facebook
LinkedIn
SKYPE : heather.de.wit
Mobile +27824907143+27824907143
EMail: heather@boundless-activities.net

September 25, 2012March 24, 2014

Will Technology Kill the Call Center?

Customers love instant gratification of call-in service. Until recently, that’s what phone service got them.

But these days the majority of people have tired of extended holding, automated prompts, unhelpful agents and getting lost in a sea of transfers. Couple this with new technologies for better, faster self-service and you’ve got a change a brewing in the consumer support industry.

Later this month, I will host a Software Advice live debate on this topic called, “Will Technology Kill the Call Center?” The event will begin at 1 p.m. Central on September 27 in a Google+ Hangout. To watch the event and chime in with your own questions, visit my Google+ page that day and comment in the feed. Add me to your circle on Google+ and I’ll send you an event reminder.

I will run the event similar to a political debate. A panel of four experts will answer a set of questions one by one, with opportunities for a rebuttal after each response. I will also close with a few questions from the audience, collected via comments in the feed on my Google+ page. To watch, just go to my profile page and click the round play button in the “Hangouts” box.

Here’s a list of the speakers:

Jim Iyoob is the senior vice president of global development for Etech Global Services. He has more than 15 years contact center outsourcing experience in domestic and offshore inbound, outbound, and live chat operations.

Shervin Talieh is the founder and CEO of Drumbi–a technology startup focused on mobile and social customer service. Drumbi leverages voice and data synchronization to streamline call routing and phone customer service. Previously, he also served in leadership positions for Goldeneye Solutions and Accenture.

Laura Bassett is the director of customer experience management and emerging technologies for Avaya Inc. Avaya designs, builds and manages business communications applications for more than one million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500 companies.

Mike Hennessy is vice president of marketing for IntelliResponse. His company provides “Virtual Agents” and other customer self-service offerings. Previously, he worked for Truition and as a communications consultant for Amazon.com, Dell, The Royal Bank of Canada, Hewlett-Packard, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

See you there!

About the author:

September 18, 2012

Do You Want to Control Your Traffic and Lead Generation?

The traffic to your offers online decides about the value and the volume of your business leads.

Are you in control of your traffic and the volume of your business leads? Do you think you can be in control of your business leads and revenue?

I have a message for you: You can be in control of your business leads and revenue!

There is a way how you can increase qualified traffic, business leads and revenue. Content marketing!

Content marketing has become a powerful way to engage customer’s right where they stand.

To share published content in social media is not enough. Content creation and content marketing as a holistic strategy must be performed on regular basis to gain measurable and profitable results on the long term.

Businesses brand them self by creating and publishing original content. Businesses that create and publish remarkable content on the web and in social media:

• Establish thought leadership
• Elevate brand visibility and buzz
• Boosts SEO

Content marketing improves the search engine rank and the content has more chances to get shared on social networks, which also improves brand reach and direct more future customers to landing pages where they can convert to qualified leads.

By generating interesting and remarkable content other blogs, news sites will link to the businesses website and blog which increases the Page Rank and improves the search engine visibility.

Companies utilizing content marketing strategy report an up to 2,000% lift in blog traffic and 40% boost in revenue.

Infographic: The Anatomy of Content Marketing

The best way for businesses to start with content marketing is blogging!

Companies who operate a corporate blog on frequent base get up to:

• 55% more Traffic than companies who do not blog
• 97% more Inbound Links than companies who do not blog
• 434% more indexed pages in search engines than companies who do not blog
• 25x times more business leads than companies who do not blog

September 11, 2012

Grocery Stores discover Social Media as Communication and Marketing Channel

Increasingly consumers shift from traditional to the digital media. They research about products on search engines, forums, and blogs and in social media to get the best products for their money!

To get found online when future customers are looking for products is one of the major challenges businesses are facing today.

Millions of businesses competing for paying customers and it have become a difficult task for most of them to stand out of the crowd and to make future customers aware about their offers.

A recent research from media and marketing services firm Valassis shows that 12% of the surveyed grocery retail executives go from usage of 12% social media in 2012 to a 65% usage in the next five years. They also plan to increasing investments in online marketing in general. The have understood the advantages of facebook for business and other networks to build customer loyalty.

An increasing number of B2C marketers are faced with the challenge to attract buyers to their offers.

This problem can be solved with Content marketing which has established as a powerful way to engage customers in social media.

Also an increasing number of B2C marketers are faced with the challenge produce and publish buyer persona oriented interesting and remarkable content to attract customers on the web and in social media to their products.

The most popular channel to share content is social media, the advantages of facebook for business and to win customer loyalty are known. About 76% of marketers say they used a social network as the main channel for content distribution.

Infographic: How Brands Listen in the Digital Age

This communication ability helps them to better understand and to serve their audience, which sets them apart from their competition and gives them wide advantages in their business field.

Businesses which are willing to communicate with their audience in blogs and social media show that they care about the people who spend their money with them.