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In this list, Conversational Marketing readers can find the most recent featured articles, including a recap of each week’s most discussed posts called “Conversational Marketing Rewind.” Featured articles span across a variety of topics and are loaded with valuable information for readers.
Most people view Twitter as a way to converse with others and publish useful information that others are hopefully interested in reading.
Have you ever thought of it as a highly useful competitive research tool?
Here are a few ways to use Pinterest to boost your search ranking.
This week's top conversational marketing stories:
5 Ways to Use Social Media and Your Online Presence to Drive People Offline by John Jantsch on Ducttapemarketing
This post by John Jantsch with more than 230 reactions looks into five ways to use social media and online presence to drive small business results offline. In the digital world we live in today, before actually going to a store, auto shop, hair salon, or restaurant, people are going to go online to do some kind of search on the company or product they are looking to invest in. Jantsch puts online calls to action at the top of his list of ways to increase awareness, he writes “When people do find and visit your site make it easy for them to use your website to get a free pass, coupon or trial product. Enable tools like click to call or chat from Olark, so they can get in touch right now and get their burning questions asked. Put a tool like GenBook on your site they can find a time and schedule appointment without needing to call. Make sure that you have turn by turn directions and links to maps so they can find your business and even send the directions to their smart phone.” He also speaks about running local ad campaigns using Google Adwords, networked networking, local social groups, online and on the go. These tips will surely assist in creating a name for your small business and drive profit to your company. Have you seen any small business grow with successful online marketing campaigns? If so, which ones?
Beyond Tools, Marketers Must Focus on Content Altimeter Report by Jeremiah Owyang on Webstrategist
In this post by with more than 200 reactions, Jeremiah Owyang discusses the importance of focusing on content, not just the tools used to send out and create it. The author points out six trends from an Altimeter Report that seem to be most popular among marketing agencies and vendors. The top trend highlighted is the notion that video and image content seem to reign supreme, drawing in the most viewers and interaction among users. Some other trends spotted include, mobile and location-based marketing are the second most-cited area into which marketers want to expand content initiatives. Marketers must manage flow and develop the ability to respond in real-time in social channels. Creating intriguing content for your customers or followers is the biggest hurdle to leap over in the marketing realm. It won’t matter what social media outlet you are using to send out a message, if the content is not interesting to the readers, you simply will not get your message across effectively. What are some of your favorite companies to follow on Facebook or Twitter?
Facebook Stats: Five Years of Worldwide Growth on Marketingprofs
This post on Marketingprofs with more than 160 reactions highlights some interesting facts about the social media giant Facebook over the past five years. From the post, “Across all regions worldwide, Facebook's penetration climbed dramatically over the past five years. Though US and European markets leveled off somewhat in 2011, other regions such as Latin America and the Middle East and Africa continued to attract large numbers of new users during the year, suggesting that although Facebook already reaches one-half of the Internet users worldwide, its audiences are still growing.” Facebook is not only reaching extremely impressive amounts of internet users, it is the most engaging social site. “In addition to attracting huge numbers of people, Facebook is also the most engaging social network among world audiences, according to separate research from comScore.” How much time do you spend on Facebook? Is it your “go to” social site?
Let's keep the conversation moving forward! Have you noticed any successful small business internet marketing campaigns? Is the content you’re reading engaging your attention ?
What is happening with Facebook Marketing? Facebook has become the default social network to focus your promotion efforts on when it comes to marketing on social media. In fact Facebook is now the single largest publisher of all US display ad impressions. It delivers 28 percent of all display ad impression which is more than Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and AOL combined!
Building up your brand’s social media presence takes time, effort and sometimes a little bit of luck. All of that hard work, however, can be undone by these five common social media mistakes. To avoid a public relations disaster and keep your followers and fans happy, make sure you aren’t committing any of these social media sins.
This week's top conversational marketing stories:
Hey Retailers! Refine That Mobile Marketing Strategy (Altimeter Report)- by Jeremiah Owyang on Webstrategist
Jeremiah Owyang looks at numbers released by an Altimeter Report in this post with more than 260 reactions, and discusses ways retailers need to refine mobile marketing strategies. He says, “This report is powerful in a few ways; it indicates the growth in the space, referencing that 45 percent of all mobile phone users are carrying a smart phone, and the growth rate for tablets is 23 percent annually.” The report highlights some missed opportunities by marketers, such as forgetting to link to their site when creating an app. “Yet beyond the mis-steps of retail marketers, this report provides a maturity framework segmented into three major steps, and a point based system that brands can use to self-assess their quality. Lastly, you’ll find a breakdown in roll out steps from plotting the impact of strategy, choose business impact, choose application type, add features, extend platform support, and then finally globalize.” This post includes the report in its entirety to highlight trends in mobile marketing as well as how companies are expanding their mobile marketing efforts. Do apps really help drive brand awareness? Are marketers taking the right steps to optimize mobile marketing for their brand?
Is Your Marketing Producing the Results You Expected- by John Jantsch on Ducttapemarketing
In this post on Ducttapemarketing with more than 180 reactions, John Jantsch discusses ways to see the return on investment (ROI) for marketing efforts made by your company. Oftentimes, seeing ROI in the marketing field is one of the most challenging aspects of a marketer’s job. Jantsch discusses two important steps to ensure marketers are producing the results they expect. These steps include setting expectations and measuring results. Jantsch says of setting expectations, “One of the simplest, yet most effective things you can do is set expectations or goals for your marketing. You can create overall revenue goals, campaign goals or more product or service specific goals, but either way, simply defining a target number will prove to be one of the best first steps.” After setting explicit goals, there needs to be a way to measure results, he says “You can make this is a simple as a weekly sales total or as complex as the results of multivariate ad element testing, but the key is start measuring something and sharing the numbers.” Have you seen your marketing efforts produce results that you expect?
Why a Silent Customer Can Be Deadly- on Marketingprofs
In this post by Marketingprofs with more than 130 reactions, the author discusses the importance of making complaining easy for your customers. Sean D'Souza at True You Marketing had a bad restaurant experience, “He called the restaurant chain's toll-free number to complain, but was told that complaints should be directed to the specific location's manager. D'Souza couldn't be bothered—understandably—and simply chose to stop patronizing the restaurant.” Often times, customers “silently” stop supporting a brand, meaning after a bad experience or a lack of customer support, they may just cut off brand loyalty all at once. Customers oftentimes do not enjoy going the extra distance to voice a complaint. Have you had a bad experience with a product that caused you to silently lose brand loyalty altogether?
Let's keep the conversation moving forward! What are some mobile marketing strategies that you have seen as successful? How do you measure your marketing efforts? How far will you go to voice a complaint before giving up loyalty?
Looking to double your number of retweets? Here are some best practices to higher retweets and adding followers to your Twitter account.
This week's top conversational marketing stories:
How and Why I Use Buffer – by John Jantsch on Ducttapemarketing
John Jantsch’s post on Ducttapemarketing, which includes more than 500 reactions, discusses one of the biggest reasons why he’s successful on Twitter. Jantsch cites keeping his followers happy by tweeting or sharing 8-10 blog posts a day through a program called Buffer. He says, “The Buffer app is a tool that allows me to easily bookmark and schedule Tweets or Facebook updates from any browser or mobile device. This way I can effectively spread my Tweets out over the course of a day, whether I find something in my morning reading or as I surf around throughout the day.” He goes on to say flooding people’s Twitter or Facebook feeds will increase the chance that they’ll ignore or unsubscribe from your feed. Jantsch’s post subheadings, “Why I use it” and “How I use it” offer insight into the application that can make social sharing easier and more effective. How do you ensure your tweets are not cluttering a follower’s feed? What’s your strategy?
Three Ways to Make Your Content Search Friendly – by Marketingprofs
A post on Marketingprofs with more than 170 reactions discusses three ways to make your content more search friendly, according to Lindsay Atkinson's blog on Digitalthirdcoast. Atkinson states that the number one tip is to create high-quality information: “More and more, your best SEO results happen when customers recognize the value of your information and want to share it with their social networks.” Other ways to make your content more search friendly include focusing on evergreen topics and format for easy consumption. Marketingprofs draws the following conclusion about content: “Make it well worth reading. Your content won't be king until it deserves a crown.” Do you agree that these tips will make your content king? How do you make your content search engine friendly?
Your Personal Brand: Normal is not enough – by Rebecca Rapple on Personalbrandingblog
Rebecca Rapple’s post on Personalbrandingblog, bringing in more than 130 reactions, highlights keys to taking your personal brand to the next level. She says “Being average, playing it safe or blending in with the crowd is no way to define your personal brand. Rather, normal is not enough. Effective brands take risks, stand out effectively and put in the hard work.” This post walks the reader through her strategies, which include “Be different: take a risk,” “Be different: stand out effectively” and “Be different: put in the hard work.” She says of taking risks, “To effectively brand yourself, you need to take a stand. Identify your target audience and tell them something that you believe in. This can be as simple as offering a different solution in a meeting to declaring your political affiliations.” Have you taken a risk lately to better your personal brand?
Let's keep the conversation moving forward! How do you manage your social media posts? Have you stood out in your workplace lately? Is your content drawing the attention of search engines?
Marketers’ Super Bowl strategies are locked up by now, so consider the suggestions below more of a wish list than a guide. These apply to far more than the Super Bowl, though, so print them out or save them in Evernote and use them throughout the year ahead.
Written by Jeff Bullas - Coca Cola has been part of popular culture for over 100 years and has been called a “Vision Brand“. Recently they have realised that their marketing strategy that has worked well for them for decades needed to evolve and as such they are moving from “Creative Excellence” to “Content Excellence”.
This week's top conversational marketing stories:
5 Ways to Increase Facebook Engagement Every 5 Hours- by Mac Ocampo on Socialmediatoday
A post by Mac Ocampo with over 800 reactions discusses 5 tips to help increase Facebook engagement every 5 hours. According to his post, “Facebook has made recent changes like adding a significant metric such as the “People Talking About This” and launching Facebook Actions through the Open Graph last week. Facebook tells users changes like the Timeline profile will enhance user experience. Though some of you might agree that these changes aren’t exactly improvements for usability, most of them can be used to improve user engagement strategies.” According to Ocampo, some ways to get the most out of the new enhancements include, “Time Management,” “Encourage Customer Feedback,” “Conduct Surveys,” “Monitor Mentions and Answer Queries,” and “Your Social Media Dashboard is your Best friend.” Have the new Facebook enhancements helped increase user engagement on your page?
5 Ways to Use Other People’s Content in Your Marketing- by John Jantsch on Ducttapemarketing
A post written by John Jantsch with over 430 reactions discusses “5 ways to Use Other People’s Content in Your Marketing.” Jantsch writes, “One of the best services marketers can provide these days is to act as a filter for all that’s being produced out there and aggregate the best of the best on behalf of our communities.” Some of his tips include, “Cobrand a winner,” “Email newsletter snacks,” “Curate a magazine,” “RSS to HTML,” and “Ask little things.” Jantsch walks the reader through these steps and includes many helpful examples how to incorporate these strategies into your marketing efforts. Do you use any of these tactics to better your marketing strategy?
Three Tips for the Introverted Conference Attendee- on Marketingprofs
A post on Marketingprofs with over 140 reactions discusses “Three tips for the Introverted Conference Attendee.” According to Lisa Petrilli of Marketingprofs, “if you happen to be an introverted marketer, which likely means a conference is not the most comfortable of settings, you'll need a strategy for ensuring your company gets its money's worth—in a way that is comfortable for you and honors who you are.” The tips mentioned in the post include, “Avoid avoidance,” “Use the buddy system,” and “Work the room one person at a time.” Each of these tips are broken down into more detail to assist with execution. What other strategies could make an introvert more comfortable in a conference setting?
Let's keep the conversation moving forward! How do you engage readers on Facebook? How do you manage other people’s content to benefit your marketing efforts?
Learn how to reduce the rate of email unsubscribes and maintain a happier email marketing list.
Women are earning, spending, and influencing spending at a greater rate than ever before.
This week's top conversational marketing stories:
5 Ways to Get Your Customers to Create Content For You- John Jantsch on Ducttapemarketing
A post by John Jantsch with over 900 reactions discusses ways to have your customers create and drive content for you. According to his post, “Your customers, the ones that already know, like and trust you, are more equipped to tell the real story of your business than an army of writers in any marketing department, so why not engage them to do just that.” Jantsch suggests “One questions testimonials,” “Video appreciation parties,” “Tell us your story,” “Community knowledge base,” and “Helping your peers,” as ways to create interaction and case study testimonials regarding your company’s performance. Do you find feedback forms and comment sections help drive content on your webpage?
Integrating Social Media Still Challenges Marketers - Marketingprofs
A Marketingprofs post with over 600 reactions highlights statistics from an InSites study regarding the state of social media among marketers. The study points out that 27% of companies are working to integrate social media into their marketing efforts, but most report they are still in the early stages of development. Marketingprofs states, “Fully integrating social media into the organization positively affects companies in three key areas, InSites finds: 1) More effective marketing communications; 2) higher customer satisfaction; and 3) stronger financial returns.” The post also discusses other findings from the study including “Larger Companies More Integrated,” “Tech, Media Sectors Lead in Social Integration,” “Barriers to Social Media Integration,” and “Social Networking Stats: B2B and B2C Comparisons.” Has your company fully integrated a social media strategy to boost business?
7 Keys to an Effective Blogging Strategy- Roger Parker on Personalbrandingblog
A Roger Parker post on Personalbrandingblog with over 160 reactions discusses 7 keys to an effective blogging strategy. His list includes empathy, perspective, schedule, system, editing, synergy, and tracking. Parker says of empathy, “The foundation of an effective blogging strategy is empathy, a measure of your willingness to make blogging decisions from your intended book buyer’s or prospective client’s point of view. Blogs are not about you! Blogs are conversations, not podiums for you to preach to, or manipulate, others. Empathy involves knowing who your intended blog’s readers are, what their problems and challenges are, and delivering the information they need to succeed.” What are some strategies you use for your blog?
Nine Simple Tactics to Drive a Higher Return on Trade Show Investment- Pamela Markey on B2bleadblog
A post by Pamela Markey on B2bleadblog suggests nine tactics to drive a higher return on trade show investments. Her first tactic is “Do thorough research,” she states, “Find out which attendees fit your Universal Lead Definition. If you have access to the registration list, analyze it. Look up registrants on LinkedIn. Develop a list of targets you want to seek out during the event. Research the sponsors, too. They should all be on the event website. There may be ways to join forces with them to reach your audience.” Knowing your audience is always a benefit when trying to engage listeners. Other tactics mentioned include, “leveraging social media,” “partner with event organizers,” “Get involved with the event,” and more. Have you been to a trade show recently? What are some of your tips?
Let's keep the conversation moving forward! How do you engage readers on your blog? How has social media impacted your company’s marketing efforts?
It's that time of year, again. Time to sharpen our pencils and get ready plead our case for 2012 conference events & meetings spend. No doubt, your CFO is locked and loaded. How about you? Are you ready?
This week's top conversational marketing stories:
5 More Personal Branding Trends For 2012- Heather Huhman on Personalbrandingblog
A Heather Huhman post on Personalbrandingblog with over 240 reactions discusses 5 trends to watch for, concerning your personal brand. Most of the trends involve social networking and online content writing, including, “online is expected,”” online is changing,” and “creating value for your public” She states, “in 2012 more than in the past, being online and on social networks won’t make you necessarily “stand out” from the crowd. Being social online is now expected — it’s no longer out of the ordinary for people (especially job candidates) to be on social media. This means you need to take your online personal brand to the next level to ensure you really stand out; engage with your audience and try something different to gain attention.” Was your social media presence a factor in obtaining your current position?
Four Questions to Ask About an SEO Agency- Marketingprofs
A Marketingprofs post with over 210 reactions discusses four essential questions to ask an SEO agency to ensure they have credibility in the field. Number one on the list is “Do they eschew outlandish guarantees?” Often times, firms without much credibility or experience may make over the top guarantees such as top ten rankings which may be very difficult to obtain. Also included in the list were the following, “Do they offer search traffic and conversion reports?” “Does their website identify the leadership team by name?” And, “Do the SEO and digital marketing trades discuss them?” What do you look for in a credible SEO agency?
Turning Marketing Strategy Into Action- John Jantsch on Ducttapemarketing
A post by John Jantsch with over 130 reactions discusses tips to clearly communicate a “simple, clear, business strategy.” The first tip mentioned is to “Build and tell stories,” Jantsch adds “You must develop a set of core stories that you use in your business building. The stories that help people understand how your business is different, not because of what it does so much, but because of what it cares about or doesn’t do.” Also included, “Sell by teaching,” “become a platform,” and “Reverse the experience.” does your business story portray how you are different?
Let's keep the conversation moving forward! What are your 2012 personal branding trends to watch? How will you make sure you are using a credible SEO agency? What brands have been successful with “selling by teaching?”
IKEA France recently ran a social campaign on their Facebook page promoting a unique contest where those who have 'liked' their Facebook page can win an evening in their furnished pop-up apartment.
Virtual event planning tips: how to plan your virtual event like you'd plan your wedding.
Whether they pushed the pop-culture envelope, captured consumer attitudes for a moment or forced changes in how the big game's ads are run, the following represent the commercials we think spurred the most movement.
Written by Jeff Bullas - View Comments Categories: Blog, Blogging, Content, Social Media, Social Media Marketing Why do you turn on the television? Why do you open a magazine? Why do you read the newspaper, whether it is online or folded and crumpled on your coffee table? We want to be entertained, amused and educated and the reason you open the laptop, turn on the tablet or browse on the mobile, is that we are seeking information and it is called content. Google earns $30 billion a year indexing and helping you find information and content. In an information age, creating content should become the focus of your marketing, whether it is for the consumer or for business.
This week's top conversational marketing stories:
How to Sell Anything Using Social Media
A post by John Jantsch on Ducttapemarketing with over 780 views discusses tips and strategies that will help sell anything using a social media network. This article reviews these steps, including testing your messages, targeting your messages, proving your worth, and engaging your readers. The need to follow this list is because “most people don’t participate in social networks to shop so any sales message can feel sort of harsh and in the snack sized, feverish world of tweets, shares and likes any and all messages are very easy to ignore.” How do your social media messages stand out from the crowd?
Buyers Guide: A Strategy for Managing Social Media Proliferation (Altimeter Report)
A post by Jeremiah Owyang on the WebStrategy blog with over 600 reactions discusses strategy for managing social media proliferation. An Altimeter report on how to manage social media proliferation is discussed highlighting such key elements from the report such as “A Thorough Methodology, Five Business Use Cases, Altimeter Radar, Pragmatic Guide, and A Resource Checklist.” What do you think are some key elements for managing social media proliferation?
Four Timeless Email Copywriting Commandments
A post on Marketingprofs with over 280 reactions discusses “Four Timeless Email Copywriting Commandments.” The first commandment on the list states to never bury the lead, adding “Within the first few sentences, subscribers should understand your offer, why they want it, and how to get it.” The article also explains the importance of not stating facts the subscribers already know, in other words, cut to the chase. The final two commandments listed walk through keeping your focus and avoiding weak calls to action such as using the term “learn more.” Do you agree with these rules and do you find them to be the four most important aspects of email copywriting?
Let's keep the conversation moving forward! How will you improve on your email copywriting and social media networking skills? Do you measure your marketing results, if so, what steps do you take?
Kellogg Co. is revamping its marketing strategy for its Special K cereal brand with an updated application that lets users manage their weight loss goals via mobile and desktop.
Over the holiday break, Google did some serious traditional TV advertising to help promote Google+.
A new year on the calendar means new hope, new opportunities, new products, new trends and, most important of all, new budgets for many marketers. And while you'll get served your share of predictions for the year ahead, here are five things you can bank on happening in social media.
- The Face of Facebook Pages is Changing. Again.
The new Facebook Timeline began rolling out to individual user profiles last month and is designed to be the "journal of your life." Timeline is also coming to Pages, likely soon. While it's unclear exactly when it is coming or how similar it will be to what we've already seen, we should expect the rollout to begin early this year.
While brands' core strategy of creating content and messaging fans in their own newsfeed will not change, the content journey and user experience most certainly will. Facebook has already removed the restriction that prevents non-fans from interacting with Pages, and it would not be surprising to see them do away with "like gate" landing tabs as well. If that is the case, the approach to applications will change significantly and will be accessible only via paid media or engaging wall post messages.
This week's top conversational marketing stories:
7 Social Media Resolutions for 2012 - Dan Gershenson on Personalbrandingblog
A post by Dan Gershenson with over 260 reactions discusses 7 social media resolutions for 2012. Number one on his social media list is to “clean out the quiet people on twitter," interaction is key, and lack of conversation is not moving things forward. What are some of your social media resolutions for 2012 and how will you go about ensuring you meet your goals?
The Five Most Engaging Podcasts of the Year - John Jantsch on Ducttapemarketing
A post by John Jantsch with over 300 reactions shares the top 5 most engaging Ducttapemarketing podcasts of the year according to his listeners. B2B marketing tips and rules are discussed including best practices to better your business. Are you a Ducttapemarketing podcast listener? Which tips have helped you better your business?
End of an Era: The Golden Age of Tech Blogging is Over - Jeremiah Owyang on WebStrategy
A post by Jeremiah Owyang with over 1500 reactions discusses the end of booming Tech blogging. He discusses “four trends that show the end of an era” which include “corporate acquisitions stymie innovation” and “tech blog talent turnover.” Owyang also takes a look into the future of tech blogging and how to evolve with the times. Is tech blogging truly on the decline or is the best yet to come?
Five Personal Branding Resolutions to Keep in 2012 - Erik Deckers on Personalbrandingblog
A post by Erik Deckers with 130+ reactions discusses five personal branding resolutions to follow to ensure a respected personal brand. Some of his tips include avoiding spamming social media outlets, focusing on providing valuable information and having something to offer when connecting or re-posting. How will you better your personal brand in 2012?
Let's keep the conversation moving forward! What are your 2012 personal branding resolutions? And do you believe the golden age of tech blogging has come and gone?
Posted by Sean McGinnis on Dec 28, 2011 in Blog, Business, Sales & Marketing | 6 comments It’s December. That means it’s time the time to give thanks for our successes of the last year and start thinking about changes we’d like to make in the coming year – both personal and professional. It’s also time to reflect back on the year that has passed and assess what worked and what didn’t. Financial and business plans are an inevitable part of this process. But don’t forget to review your marketing efforts of the past year and begin planning for next year as well.
With the holiday season winding down and 2012 just around the corner, it's time to take a deep breath and get ready to plunge into the new year. When marke
Svedka Vodka's stated mobile marketing goals include spontaneous brand engagement and social sharing.
This week's top conversational marketing stories:
Getting More Twitter Followers - A post by Chris Brogan with over 600 reactions gives 10 suggestions for adding Twitter followers, along with 10 recommendations on what not to do. Number one in the "What you might do less or not at all" list is mentioning your Klout score. Have you looked into your own Klout score? Do you find it useful for any reason?
Google+ for Business Gains on Facebook - A post with 100+ reactions from MarketingProfs offers research results on the percentage of top 100 brands on Facebook vs. Google+: "More than three-quarters (77%) of the Top 100 global brands had a Google+ page as of December 19, 2011, up 16 percentage points from the 61% that did so a month earlier." Does your company have a Google+ page? Are there any features of Google+ that you prefer over Facebook?
2 Ways to Make Social Networking Pay - A Duct Tape Marketing post with 150+ reactions discusses two main areas to focus social networking efforts on "who you can help, and who can help you". One way to start focusing on these two areas is to: "Identify five people that you know you can help and that would appreciate your help and reach out and offer to do something very specific to help them with your only goal being to raise them up a bit and start to build a relationship based on giving." Can you think of someone you could reach out to?
Let's keep the conversation moving forward! What are your thoughts on Klout scores? And are there any business benefits from Google+ that you don't find on Facebook?
Join us as we reflect on the past year in social media: highlighting historical moments, notable achievements, new terms and alarming statistics.
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