3 Steps To A Better LinkedIn Photo

If LinkedIn was like Tinder, would your customers swipe left or swipe right?

I know a few Millennials, and scarily a few Gen X friends, who use Tinder to, well, hook up.

If you don’t have a great pic, then you are immediately ‘eliminated.’ Sort of voted off the relationship island before you ever washed ashore.

Your picture is the first step to moving toward ‘hooking up’ with your customers and prospects.

If they swipe left, then you’d be left in the dark and your chances to connect with them and their network would end right there.

If they swipe right, then you are headed in the right direction with your relationship – as a thought leader, subject matter expert, or as a sales person!

The Research Tells Us A LinkedIn Profile Picture Can Open Many Doors

• Profiles with pictures generate 11X more views than those profiles without a photo. We know it’s a numbers game, so the more people who look at your profile, then the greater chance you have at connecting! (Source: LinkedIn)

• LinkedIn profile photos with smiles or laughs get the most views, love, and attention. (Source: PhotoFeeler)

• Who’s Viewed Your Profile remains the #1 feature for the second year running with 76% of respondents picking it as a favorite feature. (Source: Forbes)

This research paints the picture that you need to have a great LinkedIn profile picture to make a connection with your customers! Without a photo, you are not part of the billion annual LinkedIn searches. If you have an atrocious photo, you will win a place on my LinkedIn profile photo Wall of Shame. And, those who have seen my personal branding workshops know the only thing that honor generates is laughs!

3 Things You Can Do To Get Your Customers To Swipe Right!

1. Take A New Picture Every Year. Connect your network to your freshest face every year! And, make sure to laugh or smile in your photo!

2. Take a professional-like photo. If you cannot secure a professional headshot, then enlist a friend to use an SLR or high-quality smartphone to snap 100 photos, so you can choose the best one.

3. Run your photo by 5 people in your network. Forget about asking your Mom or brother what they think. Ask someone in your network what they think of your smiling face in your new photo. This request will get the best and most authentic view of you.

The Big Picture Lesson When It Comes To Your LinkedIn Profile Picture

The bottom line is that you need an excellent picture to succeed on Tinder or LinkedIn! Focus on taking the best one so you can get the most action! That’s it.

Photo Source: flickr user heyjohngreen

P.S. Your Next Steps! I am the author of MarketingThink.com, a social media and social selling coaching blog. Please sign up for email delivery of my posts and pass this sign-up link to your friends and co-workers, who you think might benefit from reading these ideas.

P.P.S. If you want to get hold of me directly, please send me an email to moran.gerry@gmail.com or contact me directly on MarketingThink.com. I read every email.

P.P.P.S. Thanks to Kyle Tuverson (@ktuverson) who suggested this blog post’s idea.

This article originally appeared on MarketingThink.

The post 3 Steps To A Better LinkedIn Photo appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

12 of the best branded Vines of June 2015

Only the very best branded Vines make it into our monthly round-up.

Here we celebrate the informative, the entertaining, the innovative and the interesting.

Although one or two downright bizarre ones slipped in this week.

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A Marketer’s Search For Meaning: 5 Attributes of Relevancy

I read an article the other day that said that people are hired for hard skills and fired for a lack of soft skills. I’ve found this to be true, and even more so for marketers as our pace of change keeps picking up speed.

I listen to marketers talk about the struggles they have in their organizations and I notice something. Those who consistently amaze me have a set of qualities that aren’t mainstream. They look at their work differently and what they create stands apart. There are things that they do, think about and commit to that others won’t make the effort. I see them as:

Grit – I love this word. Resilience. Passion. Perseverance. They convey the same essence, but I love the, well, grittiness of what this simple word means. Let’s get down to business and let’s get things done. It’s how certain people are able to dig deeper and deliver that extra ‘something.’ They’re not bothered by short-term distractions, because they have their eye on the long-term goal. Athletes are like this. The play’s over the but game’s still on. They turn around and give it all they have again and again and don’t get caught up in setbacks.

Curiosity – Whether it’s technology, a process or how to handle a situation, these elite are constantly curious about the world around them. They ask questions about things other people overlook and talk to people that others dismiss. I’ve had fascinating conversations with people I admire  about how walk/don’t walk signs look different in various parts of the world and why. They are perpetual students with constant curiosity.

Accountability – Own things. Own your career. Own your role. Own your outcomes. No one respects a person who makes excuses or passes the buck. Luminaries don’t complain about how someone else isn’t delivering and, instead, focus on what they can contribute – and then they over perform. Be so incredibly awesome at what you do that you put pressure on everyone else to up their game just by showing up every day. Henry Rollins said, “There are other innovative people that wake up early just like you, so you’d better be prepared.” 

Reflection – In the midst of all the demands placed on leaders and their teams, they take the time to step back and reflect on the work that they do, the meaning they create, and how that meaning affects the experiences that they create for others. Taking time to reflect is much different than judging what happened. Reflecting is objective and filled with observation. Judgement looks for something or someone to be wrong. Having new experiences doesn’t guarantee that a person will learn from them; but leaders reflect on them and look for deeper insights into how they will perform, how they will work with others and how they will approach new challenges.

Vulnerability – This isn’t something you do but something that you’re willing to be. The reason that I include this is because the willingness to be vulnerable – to stick your neck out and not know if it’s going to get chopped off – is the root of innovation and creativity. University of Houston professor and author Brené Brown talks about this in her book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead.  She talks about a conversation she had with a CEO and recognized entrepreneur known for disruptive innovation. When she asked him about the biggest barrier to creativity and innovation, he said:

“…it’s the fear of introducing an idea and being ridiculed, laughed at, and belittled. If you’re willing to subject yourself to that experience, and if you survive it, then it becomes the fear of failure and the fear of being wrong. People believe they’re only as good as their ideas and that their ideas can’t seem too ‘out there’ and they can’t ‘not know’ everything. The problem is that innovative ideas often sound crazy and failure and learning are part of the revolution. Evolution and incremental change is important and we need it, but we’re desperate for real revolution and that requires a different type of courage and creativity.”

Marketing is hard. Actually, that’s not true. It’s great marketing that’s hard. It doesn’t take much effort to maintain the status quo. When marketers list off reasons why there’s no need for them to change, I can’t help but ask them: “Is that really how you want to spend your career…just treading water?” Some are honest and up front with me and admit that yes, that’s what they want. They don’t want hard. They just want a job.

My question for you is, what do you want from your career?

Feature Image Photo Source: flickr user pagedooley.

This article originally appeared on Type A Communications.

The post A Marketer’s Search For Meaning: 5 Attributes of Relevancy appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

The Entrepreneur, The Compass, And The Fog

Serial social entrepreneur, Arthur Nelson, describes how a company’s story is always filled with twists and turns.

“I’ve never started an organization that ended up doing what it was originally intended to do,” Arthur Nelson once told me. Coming from the founder/co-founder of over twenty organizations (half of them nonprofits like TERC), his statement has stuck with me for over twenty-five years.

Arthur explained that entrepreneurship is like standing in the fog with a compass. The general direction is known, but the path is hazy. The only way to identify the shapes in the distance is to walk toward them.

“Until the entrepreneur goes out there and tries something, an accurate picture of the problem cannot be determined,” he said. By following his own compass into the mist, Arthur learned that he’d eventually uncover more important needs that clients would be willing to pay for.

For example, fifty years ago, Arthur’s childhood friend Jim Boyce introduced him to Max Millikan, the founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for International Studies. Jim and Max were working on a social problem–the fact that although the United States was becoming a global economic powerhouse, its private enterprises didn’t understand foreign business. Ignorant to local customs, monetary exchanges and business practices, US business professionals often found themselves in embarrassing situations.

Arthur joined Max and Jim to find a solution. “We decided that to do so, we’d form a business to support the activities of government, private business and multinational corporations.” The three men formed Associates for International Research (AIRINC) in 1954.

With the team on board and the mission established, AIRINC sought funding. “We made unsolicited proposals to various government agencies, seeking to perform international research services,” Arthur said. And although these proposals were targeted at helping businesses understand international cultures, the federal government asked AIRINC for help with another problem. The State Department wanted to learn more about the Balkans, including such things as economy, culture, etc. AIRINC had just landed the first of many government contracts.

By 1958, the company had developed ideas, techniques, and volumes of information. But they had a business problem. Since all of AIRINC’s revenue came from government contracts, the team worried about long-term business sustainability. “We were convinced that we needed to create some product, something that would help break our reliance on soft money. As luck would have it, we had stumbled upon a commercial problem.”

Mobil Oil approached AIRINC about an issue with its American employees living in Indonesia. The employees complained that their compensation was inadequate to live abroad and Mobil executives didn’t understand the complaint. According to State Department data, it cost 33% more for an American to live in Indonesia. Therefore, Mobil simply added 33% to their base pay (over-base compensation) and assumed that the employees would make the necessary adjustments to live within that budget. However, with the expatriates on the verge of revolt, Mobil sought a second opinion.

“At the time, we had no way of determining how much it would cost us to actually execute on the contract,” Arthur said.  “But we felt that it was indeed anotherresearchable problem, and it was well worth the risk to do so.  We accepted the contract and went to work. We asked ourselves questions such as how much does an average family consume in a year?  How many pounds of beef?  How many cans of beans?  We interviewed employees.  We took them shopping.  We went house hunting with them.”

It didn’t take too long for AIRINC to understand the problem. The over-base compensation tables provided by the State Department were flawed. Developed to compensate diplomats living overseas, they didn’t account for government perks such as subsidized stores (the “PX”) that were located on military bases.  AIRINC’s final report validated the employees’ claim. It was more expensive for American expatriates to live in Indonesia.

Although AIRINC had lost money on that first contract, it had also developed an objective approach to determining over-base compensation.

“And the more we looked at the tables, the more we saw the product that we were looking for to break our reliance on soft money. Mobil liked the results and asked us if we could apply our methodology to other facilities located across Europe and Latin America. In 1959, Amoco approached us to solve their problem. In 1960, General Dynamics came knocking. It didn’t take us long to see that if the cost of the surveys could be amortized over many customers, then the resulting margins would be positive.”

Fifty years later and AIRINC is still in the over-base compensation business. According to its website, the company “…manages over 850 client accounts from five full-service offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; Brussels, Belgium; Amsterdam, Netherlands; London, UK; and Hong Kong, China as well as a satellite office in Munich, Germany.”

“No, we didn’t end up educating American business people about doing business in foreign countries,” Arthur said, “at least not the way that we had originally planned. Instead, we uncovered an opportunity that we never would have been able to uncover had we not started our international research company.”

By walking into the fog with his compass.

Photo source: flickr user chrismatos

The article originally appeared on StoryHow.

The post The Entrepreneur, The Compass, And The Fog appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

The Marketing Performance Blueprint – Book Interview

Discover what's possible when the art and science of marketing collide.

The Marketing Performance Blueprint is an actionable and innovative guide to unlocking your potential as a marketer and accelerating success for your business. With an eye toward the marketing industry's rapid evolution, this book focuses on the processes, technologies, and strategies that are redefining the marketing environment.

The marketers who will redefine the industry in the coming months and years will never stop challenging conventional knowledge and solutions. Whether in terms of evolved talent, advanced technology, or more intelligent and integrated strategies, these driven professionals will be in demand as the pioneers of the new marketing era. The Marketing Performance Blueprint helps marketers blaze a trail of their own by providing a roadmap to success.

The post The Marketing Performance Blueprint – Book Interview appeared first on Heidi Cohen.

Stop Focusing On The Sales Process, Silly!

The buyer’s journey and the selling process terms are often confused.

However, the sales process focuses on how to push the customer to get them to buy from you.

While the buyer’s journey presents the client’s questions and needs that need to be answered and met.They need content and contacts to help them through their journey – at their own pace.

They need content and contacts to help them through their journey – at their own pace.

So, are you creating your business strategy based on the selling process or the buyer’s journey?

It’s important for you to rethink your content marketing and social selling strategy to sherpa the buyer through their decision making process.

Your Customers Are Researching For Answers To Help Them Buy

• 70-90% of the buyer’s journey is complete prior to engaging a vendor, so it’s difficult to sell to someone who is not listening to your sales tactics. (Forrester)
• B2B buyers engage with 11.4 pieces of content prior to making a purchase, indicating it takes multiple types of content are critical to touching your audience base. (Forrester)
• 76% of buyers prefer different content at each stage of their buying research, so content marketers need to (Source: Pardot)

The research suggests that decision makers are self-sherpa their way through their buyer’s journey with content. They have their own content marketing strategy to guide their purchase suggestions, no matter what your selling process.

3 Key Steps To Use The Buyer’s Journey Instead of The Selling Process

1. Focus on Content Development For Each Phase Of The Buying Process. Creating customized content is the key to joining you customer on their buying journey!

2. Deliver Content To Where Your Customers Congregate. Social selling requires more than sending out Tweets and LinkedIn posts. Marketers who map their expertise, content and connection to customers in their watering holes will cross the winners line at the end of the buyers’ journey.

3. Use Your Employee Evangelists To Go Wider and Deeper. Activating your employees and their earned networks will help you consistently connect with an incremental network (to your company’s owned channels) of buyers at the various levels of their research and decision making.

Do you have another way to map your efforts to the buyer’s journey? If so, please share below!

The Big Buying Lesson

Companies need to put themselves in the shoes of the customers. Understanding questions they will ask will help deliver the expertise on their terms vs. trying to sell them something you think they need!

GerryMoran" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-size="small">Follow @GerryMoran

The post You Need To Stop Focusing On The Sales Process, Silly! appeared first on MarketingThink.com.

Photo Source: flickr user marcosuk

The post Stop Focusing On The Sales Process, Silly! appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

Shoppable video: the missing piece of your marketing strategy?

Shoppable video has not gained widespread adoption. In this post I'll look at the reasons for this failure and suggest ways to make this a more routinely used tool.

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7 Steps To Get Marketing Awards Every Time

Entering marketing awards contests takes time but the rewards can be worth it. Here are 4 factors to consider to help you determine whether going after marketing awards are worth your efforts and 7 steps to an award winning strategy.

The post 7 Steps To Get Marketing Awards Every Time appeared first on Heidi Cohen.

Content Marketing That Converts

How Do You Create Content Marketing That Converts?

There’s been a fundamental shift in the way marketers and customers create, consume, and share content.

Every day, billions of photos are uploaded, tweets are posted, snapchats are sent, and pieces of content are shared.

As marketers, we need to consider how our customers are consuming content and where, when, and how to engage them.
 
A content marketing strategy should be designed to engage your audience throughout the buyer’s journey. Producing relevant content for each lifecycle stage and delivering it at the right time and place is crucial to successful content marketing.

That’s the secret to creating content marketing converts!

The World Has Changed

It starts with the belief that the world has changed. Digital, social and mobile technology are causing disruptions in industries from taxi cab drivers to education.

And no function has been more disrupted than the marketing discipline. The way businesses need to connect with consumers has been altered forever. Traditional methods that have been honed since the beginning of the modern era no longer work.

And yet I hear marketing leaders say all the time, “Marketing hasn’t really changed.” I couldn’t disagree more.

Ask your friends (who aren’t in marketing) what they think you do and they will say something like advertising or selling. Marketing has a marketing problem.

But marketing isn’t the bastard child of selling and advertising. It is a conversation! [Tweet this!]

Most Marketing Stinks

Look around most marketing organizations and you will see a few things:

• Content getting created that is never used
• Campaigns budgets wasted on tactics that don’t work
• Marketing programs created because the boss thinks they will work
• Marketing materials that talk about your products and services

But here’s the truth: the majority of marketing time, budgets and people are wasted on creating content that your potential customers don’t want. Because they don’t care about you or your products. They are just trying to get their jobs done, to solve problems, maybe to even laugh once or twice a day.

So help convince your company to start creating content that people actually want!

How To Create Content That Converts?

Content marketing is a strategic solution to a strategic problem: creating more stuff that people want. Using your internal resources to drive the business forward (not the egos of the executives.)

So how do you create content that converts? I think it’s pretty simple, really:

1. Create content your potential customers actually want
2. Publish every single day on each topic that relevant for your audience
3. Focus on subscriptions. That means publishing content that is so good, people opt-in to see it every day

It starts with defining the questions your customers are asking (in Google.) Then looking at the types of content your customers are sharing (on social.) Which channels do they use to consume this content. And which influencers are they listening to.

These are all knowable things in today’s digital world. Marketers who look at the kinds of marketing that actually works are creating content that converts.

And you can too. And I’d like to help. Tweet me @BrennerMichael and let’s chat.

These are the tips I presented recently to a Business Marketing Association gathering of B2B Marketing professionals in my home town of Philadelphia, PA.

Content Marketing That Converts from Michael Brenner

Photo credit: flickr user dmertl

Please follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook and Subscribe here for regular updates.

The post Content Marketing That Converts appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

WHOIS privacy changes: what they would mean for brands

Proposals being considered by ICANN would limit the use of WHOIS privacy protection services that domain name owners frequently use to keep their domain registrations under the radar.

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7 Essential Roles for a Successful Content Marketing Strategy

All too often a brand’s content marketing “team” is a one-person show. In reality, this is the same as asking someone to perform a seven-person job.

Understandably when an project is just starting out, its tough to get all the right players involved.

However, it’s important to be realistic and aware of all the different roles and responsibilities needed to execute a successful content marketing strategy. Although some may outsourced to  agencies or borrowed resources from other teams, but here are the key roles and responsibilities that should be covered for any content marketing team.

1. Content Marketer / Editor

This is someone who strategizes, writes, and oversees content projects. The role of an editor is crucial in order to ensure brand consistency and alignment with business objectives.

2. Community Manager

The Community Manager is one who distributes your content across social channels, engages online communities, and contributes to content projects. Oftentimes this role is overlooked as a junior-level position, but it holds great responsibility. This role is the persona your brand portrays on social channels, so its important they know how to interact with prospects, customers and influencers appropriately.

3. Analytics

A content marketing strategy should constantly be analyzed in order to optimized. Someone in charge of analytics should be tracking best and worst performing content, tracking conversion and flagging trends. They should also be continuously sharing their findings and communicating metrics to the rest of the team.

4. Designer

You can never underestimate the power of an amazing user experience. A good designer is critical in bringing content to life through smart design and rich visuals.

5. Curation

A content strategy should never only focus on creating net-new content.  A team’s curator should be able to supplement new, original content by finding and re-purposing the best content from your business and from around the web.

6. Contributors

This can be any content creator, whether it be a blogger, photographer, designer, employee — who contributes to your project. The more contributors you have, the easier it is to scale your efforts, so always look for experts as potential contributors. Employees are often overlooked, but can be excellent subject-matter experts for your brand.

7. SEO / Paid Specialist

Even great content needs a push. Paid distribution is essential to getting your content seen by new audiences and jumpstarting engagement.

Photo Source: flickr user ramsd

The post 7 Essential Roles for a Successful Content Marketing Strategy appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

#076: Are You Really Using Your Cell Phone Too Much?

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Emma, Official Sponsor of the UnPodcast

On this episode of the UnPodcast we talked about things that would not have even been possible five years ago. We also discussed how often people look at their phones in a single day, and why that may not be as big of a deal as it seems.

Other topics include:

• [00:01:28.25] This wore Scott and Alison out
• [00:02:21.23] The best Facebook post of all time
• [00:03:01.00] We went through this in the 90s
• [00:05:10.26] Why Uber works
• [00:05:36.27] The question you don’t want a cab driver to ask
• [00:07:19.01] The difference between innovation and having a great product or service
• [00:09:08.19] Why constantly picking up your phone may not be that big of a deal
• [00:12:03.22] What would cause you to panic the most?
• [00:13:26.24] Two things about phones
• [00:13:51.09] This shouldn’t be an exemption to common courtesy
• [00:14:36.03] Doing this is no longer a necessity
• [00:15:57.26] An easier way to buy tickets
• [00:18:40.27] How we spend our money
• [00:20:20.13] The only reason Scott listens to voicemail
• [00:23:18.18] As a customer, you should always be able to do this
• [00:25:17.15] Why you only think you own your car
• [00:27:22.26] How people should get your business
• [00:27:46.14] Alison’s new favorite service on the Internet
• [00:30:03.02] Exactly what you should do as a business owner
• And so much more. . .

Items mentioned in this episode

The Battle Is For The Customer Interface

Uber

myemma.com/unpodcast

To have and to hold: We now spend more time looking at our PHONE than with our partner

Score.big

JPMorgan Chase Ends Company Voicemail

GM says you don’t own your car, you just license it

The User is My Mom

Video provided by: AtomicSpark
Audio recorded by: Wayne Cochrane Sound

Google reveals cross-device conversion stats

In today's multi-device world, it's all but logical that campaigns delivered to a consumer on one device might influence a purchase made on another device. 

The challenge for marketers is in tracking those cross-device conversions.

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How To Unlock Your Product Stories To Increase Sales

Do you know how to unlock your content marketing product stories? Includes examples of real products that have increased sales from their product stories. Add these 7 types of product stories to your content marketing portfolio.

The post How To Unlock Your Product Stories To Increase Sales appeared first on Heidi Cohen.

Stay The Course With Demand Generation

When discussing Demand Generation Strategy you should always look at all options before making a decision.

That being said too often we try to “outsmart” everyone else and choose a different path as it feels daring and exciting. Sadly this new adventurous path often leads to disaster.

A wise man once said, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” (T. Bertram Lance). This phrase has no greater meaning then in the Demand Generation World.

Here are a few things to consider when you are looking for a new Strategic Demand Generation direction.

Look At Your Competitors: Investigate what your competitors are doing in the marketplace. Do they rely heavily on Social Media? Pay per Lead acquisition? High Inbound Volume? Do they have a Lead Generation Team?

These answers can give you a huge advantage as you can learn from those that have already experimented and found what works best. Now this is by no means an absolute, as each persons’ company and product differ, but it certainly gives you a running start.

Test, Test, Test: Pilot programs are the ultimate way to experiment. It limits your risk, and provides excellent information to help you determine the path forward. Remember you should still tread lightly and go into a pilot program with your “eyes wide open” so you are clear on goals and cost. A company that is not running a pilot program quarterly is a company that is not optimizing.

Understand Your Needs: It is critical that you have a well thought-out framework before you start your search or discussions. This includes a budget as well as your goals and available head count. Often times people look to a new direction with nothing more than a “we need more Sales” mantra. This can lead to wasted funds as well as false positives, as without rational goals you cannot claim success or failure.

Don’t Over-Complicate: Sometimes the simplest path is the one that leads to greatness. I have seen a team of 5 lead generation callers outperform a pay-per-lead or social media budget that is 4 times higher.

Do not fear the simple approach because it isn’t “sexy” or being talked about on LinkedIn by the masses. If it works for your company then it is the right path to attain all your goals. Many times we feel that if we do not create large groups of people that spend larger amounts of money that we are failing in our Demand Generation quest. This could not be further from the truth. Stick with what works, and forget about the rest.

As Technology grows the Demand Generation world grows too. There are new tools on a daily basis that require investigation, but never forget where we originated, and never be talked into wasting money on needless tactics. Find the path that works for you and stick to it. Work each day to enhance and optimize not rip and replace.

Photo Source: flickr user aigle_dore

The post Stay The Course With Demand Generation   appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

The most powerful data is the data you already own: new report

Marketers are under enormous pressure to turn data into customer knowledge, competitive advantage and ultimately profit.

Our brand new report The Promise of First-Party Data examines the opportunities in the proprietary data they already have (or should have).

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Content And The Future Of B2B Marketing

The commercial web is just 30 years old. Social just turned 12. And the mobile web is even younger.

In a relatively short period of time, these technologies have drastically changed our world.

As consumers, brands and marketers, we create, consume and share massive amounts of information.

The question we get asked quite often:
How does a B2B brand compete with all the noise and reach your target customers with relevant and timely information?

In my latest presentation to more than 500 B2B Marketers at the B2B Summit in London, I provided a roadmap and examples of how brands need to reach buyers with stories that help and entertain them at the individual level.

“Content today must compete with pictures of babies and kittens!” [Tweet This!]

I gave some ideas and tips on how to create content that people actually want to read and share.

And how to turn that engagement into real buyers you can count and real revenue for your business. Check out my presentation below.

Content And The Future Of B2B Marketing

What do you think? Is content the future of B2B Marketing? Or will we see more of the same ole’?

Please follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook and Subscribe here for regular updates.

The post Content And The Future Of B2B Marketing appeared first on B2B Marketing Insider.

How to foster a more digital company (even if you’re in healthcare)

If traditional inefficiency makes for digital opportunity, meet the greatest opportunity since Y2K…the US healthcare system.  

Econsultancy’s recent roundtable with Ogilvy CommonHealth brought together marketers seeking to transform their industry.

Read more...

Earned Media Metrics: How To Track Your Results

How do you track earned media? Check out how 37 marketing and PR experts define earned media metrics.

The post Earned Media Metrics: How To Track Your Results appeared first on Heidi Cohen.

How To Brand Your Business Online

How To Brand Your Business Online. For more information on how to market your business online check out our website at http://bluesquaremanagement.com/ Online Branding: How To Build Your Brand & Brand Your Company Online If you stop to think about branding, and look beyond the fact that the buzzword is often overused in just about every marketplace, you’ll realize that effective branding is all about letting customers know who your company is, what it does, and exactly how you do it. Online branding helps you create a niche for yourself in the global marketplace. It’s the best way to tell anyone who might have even the slightest interest in your company everything they need to know, in the best way possible. Why Online Branding Works Simply stated, online branding works amazingly well because everyone from Grandpa Joe to your ten year old cousin in Idaho is online. Even people who aren’t online very often know they can find specific facts very quickly, with just a simple click or two of the mouse. Even better, people are more comfortable than ever with the process of interacting and spending money online. So, if your company does not currently practice any online branding techniques, you are missing out on a major share of potential revenue. How To Brand Yourself Online : Three Tips For Taking Advantage of Online Branding While there are many strategies you can use to implement online branding and use it to its’ full potential, there are a few that stand out as the best, and easiest way to get your business noticed. Be Publicly Visible – You can’t have too much public visibility, and you can’t have too much transparency regarding the way you do business. A big part of online branding involves taking advantage of social media marketing – and while this might seem like a lot of work, the fact is, once you establish a presence on Facebook, start your Twitter feed, and get LinkedIn and Foursquare hooked up, you’ll find that your customer base increases rapidly. Create Excitement – Creating excitement about your company and what you have to offer is another major method for making the most of online branding. You have the ability to interact with your customers just as much as you like, and you can give them the feeling that they are actually major stakeholders in your corporate affairs. Don’t Go It Alone – The number one way to take advantage of the virtual gold mine that is online branding, is to find a reputable company to help you get a solid start and make the most of your online presence. While this may represent an initial investment, the rewards can be immediate – and, they’ll be on the same scale as your attempts at marketing yourself the right way. Blue Square Management Internet Marketing Company 9 Grange Road Orpington Kent BR6 8ED United Kingdom T: 01689 602 248 W: http://bluesquaremanagement.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BlueSquareManagement Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Square-Management/243267665717120?ref=hl Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlueSquareSEO Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Bluesquaremanagement/posts?hl=en How To Brand Your Business Online #onlinebranding #howtobrandyourbusinessonline #howtobuildyourbrand #howtobrandyourcompany #howtobrandyourselfonline #howtobuildabrandonline

The Two Types Of Brands (And The Entrepreneurs Behind Them)

Recently, I was having a discussion with branding expert David Brier on the sometimes questionable state of brands today. He laughingly mentioned a client who recently asked, “How did you know? You must have time traveled to know what we’d need.”

We both chuckled and David told me his response, “Oh absolutely. I visit the future and return to report my findings. That’s my job, plus there are no long lines at the security check points.”

A Tale of Two Brands

Both David and I have had the privilege to work with an incredible variety of brands, marketers, businesses and entrepreneurs throughout our careers — from exciting startups to global Fortune 100 companies. During that time, we’ve noticed a distinct pattern in businesses, essentially creating two distinct “groups” of brands, entrepreneurs and business leaders.

David mentioned in a previous post that touched upon a related pattern concerning the “management side” of business, but David raised an interesting point that would enable those of us who manage, influence or create brands to choose whom to work with when choosing which brands we can effectively impact.

So I decided to interview David to shed light on this important point for those of us who live and breathe branding for a living.

It’s About Time

Steve Olenski: David, you mentioned this is about time. A gazillion books have been written about time and management. How is this different?

David Brier: I started noticing this pattern with a number of clients, and I realized it came down to that ultimate nemesis: time (which so many of us struggle with). But in a different way. Not how brands, CEOs or entrepreneurs use it. Or manage it. Or balance it. It’s something much more subtle. I had to isolate two prevalent types of business approaches I kept running into and asked myself this question: ‘How is it some brands, CEOs or business leaders can usher in something that gets people excited and passionate while others can be successful (even very successful),plowing along without stirring such passion, enthusiasm, allegiance and elated eagerness?’ That’s where it started.

Connecting Dots Others Don’t See

Olenski: What did you discover?

Brier: Looking over brands and the people who got us as branding professionals excited to work on their brands and projects, I found one common characteristic: those who excited me were looking to the future. More to the point, they were creating the present starting with the future. Like a gold medal Olympic runner, they are motivated by the end goal, the finish line, the win for their country.

In short, by that factor that doesn’t yet exist.  This group of business leaders is one category of business people and businesses — a very exciting type of entrepreneur to work with since they look at things which don’t yet exist and work to bridge the gap between what isn’t yet. Oftentimes, these are seen as the visionaries, the ‘geniuses,’ the ones who ignore (or redefine or reinvent) the box everyone else is trying to think outside of. I covered some of this in my video, ‘What is innovation?’ which first appeared in a Fast Company post I’d written.

Connecting Dots Everyone Sees

Olenski: OK, so you notice this pattern, something all of us as branding professionals could use. You’ve mentioned one group. Are there any others?

Brier: The other category of brand and entrepreneur is the one who creates the future starting with the present. This approach uses today’s resources and looks to move those into the future. This tends to be a bit more conservative even though it can achieve incredible success. The difference is this: referring back to the Olympic runner mentioned above, you would find a distinct difference between the runner that’s focused on right now, their current stride, how much they’re breathing, etc. and the one focused on the future. The difference is ‘the launch pad’ or ‘foundation’ of each.

It’s almost a question of are they looking forward from now or looking back (reporting to us their findings) from the future? The most commonly known example of these two types of entrepreneurs is the difference between Microsoft, and Apple under Steve Jobs. Microsoft used the present to create their future in business whereas Steve Jobs endlessly looked to what could be and started with the future dreams and aspirations and brought them into being. This mentality and orientation defined each company, its DNA and the overall culture each company was known for.

There’s a cousin of this second group (that creates the future starting with the present): it’s those who create the present starting with the past. (I am not speaking about those who are revivalists or curators of incredible vintage artifacts.) I am referring here to those who refuse to change with the times or recognize new ways to attack a problem, and insist that the old notion or approach is somehow sacred and must remain inviolate, even when faced with insurmountable evidence that it is no longer effective. The dividing line is, where does a project, brand, dream or vision start? If it starts in the past, it is most likely to become extinct as times change.

If it starts in the future, it’s a wide open playing field and you’re likely “one of the crazy ones” who might just change the world.

A gold medal with olympic rings and maple leaf (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Welcome to the Funnel – Book Interview

Raising brand awareness, building trust, establishing credibility, and ultimately driving revenue, that’s what the top of the funnel is all about. It can be a marketer’s “Paradise City”, but without focus, it can quickly become overwhelming. The one-two punch of social media and content marketing is a vital part of any successfully integrated marketing approach.

If you are not pairing these two powerhouses together then you are simply missing opportunities to grow your business. The tactics and strategies in this book have come together through a tremendous amount of research, trial and error, expert input, and real world applications.

The post Welcome to the Funnel – Book Interview appeared first on Heidi Cohen.

The Importance Of Market Intelligence For CMOs

For CMOs (chief marketing officers), market intelligence about their consumer base is an exceedingly important part of developing positive customer relationships, increasing leads, and creating a life-long customer base. Equally as important as watching your customers, though, is keeping an even closer eye on the actions of your competitors.

What is Market Intelligence?

Market intelligence, as its name implies, is simply the intelligence – or information – about a business’s particular market. For example, the geographic location of a business, the particular demographics of a consumer base, or any other information that’s relevant to a company’s market is market intelligence.

Gathering Competitive Intelligence

Gathering market intelligence about your competitors, or competitive intelligence, is an important part of knowing how your own business fits into the market and how you can better meet customers’ needs. Gathering competitive intelligence includes monitoring your competition’s advertising strategies and the effect of those strategies, how your competition’s products and services are priced, and how their businesses are faring overall.

Tools for Maintaining Effective Market Intelligence

Remember, market intelligence is multifaceted – it includes information about customers, data about room for growth in a market, market share, competitive intelligence, and more. While each type of marketing intelligence is completely different, all are important for managing client happiness and feedback, setting prices, developing content, and designing and implementing business strategies. The following provides a list of tools and resources for gathering and maintaining effective marketing intelligence:

Wiser- Wiser is one of the best services on the market for competitive analysis, and provides CMOs with the ability to view a detailed history of product pricing for your competitors, gauge whether your prices are too high or too low based on the competition’s, set your own pricing strategy, adjust your product prices easily, and more. Wiser’s flagship product is WisePricer, a semi-automatic dynamic pricing engine, and WiseDynamic, a fully automated solution.

BrainJuicer – BrainJuicer describes themselves as an “unconventional agency” that is “reinventing market research.” BrainJuicer conducts marketing intelligence about what motivates people, what drives the decision making process, how behavior economics plays a role in business success, how to facilitate change in businesses, and ultimately how to use human nature to the advantage of your business. Great emotional advertising leads to greater effectiveness & efficiency; most of all, it’s what makes brands famous. Using the BrainJuicer FaceTrace® technology, they can measure what people are feeling, how strongly they’re feeling it, the reasons why & predict likely commercial impact.

SiteAlerts– If you want to find out what your competitors are using when it comes to technology, such as what e-commerce platform or mail provider plugins are being utilized, SiteAlerts can help. What’s cool about SiteAlerts is that not only can you discover competitor technology, but you can also see the traffic that your competitors get, where that traffic comes from, what keywords they rank for, and how their social media strategy is faring.

The Importance of Market Intelligence

Gathering market intelligence is an extremely important aspect of business success. By keeping you more focused; centering your business goals on your consumer; collecting relevant, real information about what works and what doesn’t; providing you with the intelligence to pursue growth opportunities; and reducing your risk, gathering market intelligence may be the most crucial element of your executing effective plans for your business’s prosperity.

Featured Photo Credit: flickr user stevendepolo

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For brands, influence is about more than influencers

Brands are increasingly on the look out for influencers and an entire market has been built around connecting brands with them to reach consumers.

But when it comes to wooing consumers, particularly young, digital natives, are brands focusing too much on influencers and not enough on influence?

Read more...

How To Wow Your Customers And Generate More Business

Get new business from existing customers and their friends by turning potential problems into success stories. 5 Small Business Marketing Tips Any Business Can Use.

The post How To Wow Your Customers And Generate More Business appeared first on Heidi Cohen.

3 Benefits Of Having A Virtual Marketing Team

The working world is seeing a strong shift in how office spaces exist. Cubicles and traditional offices are phasing out, and virtual office spaces are phasing in. The shift towards telecommuting has been slowly building over the last ten years, and now it is accelerating. More and more businesses are discovering that having teams of virtual employees is better for their budget, better for their end product, and thus holistically better for their company.

There are myriad reasons why a shift to virtual employees is smart for many businesses, and nearly all of these reasons apply to a marketing team. It is very common for businesses today to employ virtual marketing teams, and for good reason.

Here’s a closer look at three benefits of having a virtual marketing team.

1. Save Money on Your Office Space  This one requires pretty simple economics: having employees costs your business money, right? So, if you could cut some of the costs of having employees, without sacrificing the quality of the employees or their product, then that would be a big fiscal plus for your business. Going virtual does exactly that.

You can cut back on office space, and all that that entails: rent cost, furniture cost, technology cost, electricity cost, etc.

That may not seem huge on a day-to-day basis, but over the course of a working year, in-house employees cost companies a lot of money in resources. Some people are under the misapprehension that getting rid of an office space can be detrimental to marketing teams, who rely so much on idea-sharing, face-to-face meetings, and collaboration. But with modern technology, that mindset is antiquated.

With video collaboration tools such as those offered at BlueJeans.com, the intimacy and accessibility of an office can be recreated virtually, and for a much lower cost.

2. Broaden Your Scope When you hire an in-house marketing team, you are limiting your scope.  You can only hire employees in your city, who are willing to commute to your office.  Hiring a virtual marketing team, however, increases your scope dramatically. If you are assembling a remote team, you are not confined to candidates in your city, or even your state. You have access to a far greater number of potential employees, which not only allows you to find better candidates, but also cheaper candidates. The larger the pool to choose from, the greater your chance of finding the best option for your team.

3. Increase Flexibility One of the reasons why telecommuting has become so popular is because of the flexibility that it creates. Rather than being confined to offices and 9-to-5s, employees can work where they work best, and when they work best, which increases the quality and quantity of work. Traditional, in-house marketing teams work set hours, but virtual teams – because of their flexibility – usually work on a project deadline basis, and are thus more productive, and more consistent (and not owed overtime). Utilizing a virtual marketing team can be the epitome of working smarter. It decreases the confines that a traditional office has, both literal and figurative. It increases flexibility, productivity, and employee happiness. It’s a win-win.

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#075: The (Un)Successful Use of Controversy in Advertising

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Emma, Official Sponsor of the UnPodcast

On this episode of the UnPodcast, we discussed controversy in advertising, and what makes such controversy successful or unsuccessful. We also shared a feel-good story about a college president who really cares and goes the extra mile, and how he made the difference in the life of one special graduate.

We also talked about a single bad employee’s bad behavior that cost the good company he works for several thousands of dollars in lost business.

Other topics include:

[00:02:25.18] He’s not very vindictive, but he has his moments

[00:03:38.21] The high cost of one bad employee

[00:04:48.14] When it takes a lot to get someone to fire you

[00:05:43.06] How companies make loyalty programs worth it

[00:06:09.09] Screwing up is one thing, but how it’s handled is a totally different thing

[00:06:53.24] Our relationship with Avis

[00:07:39.09] How experience gap impacts our feelings about a company

[00:09:01.17] Where brand erosion happens

[00:09:18.25] Why it’s never one thing

[00:10:29.06] Speaking of good customer service. . .

[00:11:08.09] When using semi-naked people on an ad backfired

[00:13:25.01] The funny thing about controversy

[00:16:30.14] How a company used controversy to play people like a fiddle

[00:21:00.26] Scott’s opinion on weight loss supplements

[00:21:51.20] When it makes sense to offend people

[00:22:47.29] Which petition would you sign?

[00:23:12.25] How the environment impacts the response to an ad

[00:24:23.24] The types of things that get tons of attention

[00:24:59.27] An awesome feel good story

[00:27:32.29] Why it’s not about being good on Twitter

[00:29:32.28] There are layers between some people for good reason

And so much more. . .

Social media doesn’t make you better or worse. It’s simply a mirror and a megaphone. [Tweet This]

Items mentioned in this episode

MyEmma.com/UnPodcast

South Wales ‘Ride me’ bus advert sparks online backlash

What We Can Learn from Protein World’s Social Media Engagement

UnPodcast #67: Social Marketing for Colleges and Universities

Benson Presides at Makeshift Commencement Ceremony for One Student

Video provided by: AtomicSpark
Audio recorded by: Wayne Cochrane Sound

Q&A: Jeff Rajeck on real-time marketing and personalised customer experiences

Econsultancy has published a new report in partnership with IBM which gives a comprehensive overview of real-time marketing and includes detailed examples of how it's being used in South East Asia today.

Read more...

3 Types of Basic Content You Can’t Afford To Ignore

Are you missing these 3 types of basic content? Here are 17 content marketing tips to improve your landing pages, welcome series and post-purchase emails.

The post 3 Types of Basic Content You Can’t Afford To Ignore appeared first on Heidi Cohen.

You Need To Dish Out Delicious Content!

Are your customers sampling your small business from the comfort of their smartphone?

If not, then they’re positively salivating over your competitors’ Instagram, Twitter and Yelp pictures and posts. Much of this content is published by patrons!

So, let’s use a restaurant as an example for how small businesses can approach their content marketing strategy.

Picture this. Your customers are posting their smartphone snapshots and comments on their Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Yelp accounts while sitting at your restaurant’s table. What a yummy idea!

Are you helping your customers feed your small business’s bottom line with the right social media and content marketing strategy?

Small businesses, like restaurants, can set the table to make it easy to follow, engage and convert for the return visit; make it easy for customers work for them.

Research Indicates Customers Talk ‘Social Media’ Better Than Small Businesses

• Only 10% of small businesses use Instagram to drive awareness and conversation around their brand. Customer usage is much higher, so fish where the fish are! (Source: Marketing Experiments)
• When you or your customers, add a photo to social media posts, social media sharing and clicks increase by up to 35%, however, most small businesses are not posting visuals! (Source: Twitter)
• Social media posts with hashtags have double the amount of clicking, commenting and sharing than those without, but small businesses have difficulty pulling off a solid hashtag strategy (Source: Buddy Media)

This research tells us that customers are talking the social media talk, while many small businesses are letting their child or college student handle the most important communication channel for their business! And this child or college student is challenges mapping strategy with best-practice social media and content use.

3 Ways To Serve Up Great Results On Your Social Channels

1. Make It Easy For Customers To Connect With You. I recently visited my new favorite Italian bistro in Lansdowne, PA, Patrone, where they do an excellent job collecting my email address for important updates. There is nothing more valuable than an opt-in email list (as well as the excellent food and service they provided!) But that’s only one-way communication. Focusing on social media channels will help build the groundswell of awareness. However, they promote that their business is on Instagram and Facebook, but do not make it clear on where to follow them. Many small businesses say “follow us” when they are really asking “search for us.’ So, make it easier for the customers to find you!

2. Regularly Feed Your Channels With Great Content. Content is the food for your social media channels. So, feed your channels with significant content. For example, if you owned a restaurant you can post your daily menu on Instagram. If you own a craft beer bar, post your newest brew or daily tap list on Twitter, if you own a hardware store, post a how-to video of the day on Facebook! Or, just take a photo to display the evening’s ambiance!

3. Encourage Customer-created Content. The ‘piece de resistance’ of a successful content marketing strategy is having your customer promote your place with their user-generated content (UGC). To encourage reviews on Yelp, Instagram moments and enjoying dinner with the one you love, make sure to ask your customers to share. And, make it easy for them to make their sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram as hard as possible. Display the proper hashtags on your menu and in other smart, discrete and creative places!

But What About Facebook?

Your small business needs to be on Facebook, but if you aren’t paying to get your message out, then don’t count on Facebook helping your business. However, when your customers share on their pages, your reputation and cred will have a greater chance of spreading and going viral.

The Big Lesson With Small Business Social Media and Content Marketing

As clear as you are with the descriptions on your menu, be that explicit in how to find, engage and share your business content. Your customers are your biggest fans and want to share their experiences with their friends. So, make it easy for them!

P.S. Your Next Steps! I am the author of MarketingThink.com, a social media and social selling coaching blog. Please sign up for email delivery of my posts and pass this sign-up link to your friends and co-workers, who you think might benefit from reading these ideas.

P.P.S. If you want to get hold of me directly, please send me an email to moran.gerry@gmail.com. I read every email.

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