5 Questions to help set, manage and review your content marketing effectiveness

As we accept that our consumers are learning about, and navigating through, more and more information about our brand, organisation, industries or topic areas as they research online, we're needing to deploy more sophisticated strategies in order we can earn attention, and importantly trust. This is what sits behind the drive of content marketing's rise to the forefront of the digital marketing agenda. Content marketing is starting to mature, too. More and more reports, such as this from the Aberdeen Group, illustrate this, here too.

An easy start-point

Below is a simple matrix of ideas to help you set the KPIs or metrics based on what we've used on different projects. We're not saying "this is the way you must do it" or that you need to use all of these KPIs. Instead, we hope this is a useful framework…

Our review of Twitter dashboard - the new web app that will let you schedule Tweets and review analytics all in one place

Importance: [rating=4] (For Small Businesses) Source: Twitter blog This week Twitter announced the launch of its latest offering to help attract and retain small businesses yesterday. It's called Twitter dashboard and it's been designed to help smaller companies get more out of Twitter, by providing scheduling and analytics all in one package. We hooked up our account took Twitter dashboard for a test drive so we could let you know if it was worth using for your business. Our initial thoughts from evaluating it are: It's cleanly designed and easy to use. Everything is intuitive and extremely simple, so it's perfect for those just starting out who haven't already mastered slightly more complex scheduling and analytics packages. The analytics are well presented, but the…

Use the 6Cs of online customer motivation to help you structure your website's conversion funnel

The 6Cs of motivation is a recognised tool used in higher education and looks at ways to improve classroom motivation and student participation. In 2004 Dave Chaffey suggested the 6Cs of customer motivation in a world where the online offer was developing. The aim was that a model of customer motivation would help define the Online Value Proposition.

How should this model be used?

The 6Cs provide clarity when building or refining a website. You can use the template below to assess the benefits a website and online services offers online audiences, as well as those of your competitors.

What are the 6Cs?

Content

‘Right content’ including more detailed product or service information or value-adding content ‘Right context’ of content for the site visit ‘Right media’ including…

2016. A Bot Odyssey

Bots are the marketing equivalent of drones, but a couple of years behind. A few years ago no one had heard of them and they didn't really work very well (except the sinister military sort), but now everyone and their mum seems to have a drone, and the media is a buzz with ways drones could transform different industries. All the big movers and shakers in the industry are agreed that bots will be the next big thing (we've had content marketing, marketing automation, big data, now bots are the buzzword of choice). MIT technology review told us that the bots are coming back in April, whilst in the same month Facebook opened up its messenger platform for people to build Bots. The little chart of the left shows interest in messenger bots recently according to Google trends. Are bots…

Big majority of marketers now highly focused on user experience

Good news for those annoyed by horrifically complex user journeys, marketers are finally paying attention to your plight! It's probably good news for marketers as well, as a lack of focus on customer journey will mean prospects dropping out of your marketing funnel left right and centre. The chart below based on data from the programmatic ad agency Celtra, show how many marketers have been awakened to importance of customer experience. Very close to half said it was a high priority, whilst another quarter declared it was their highest priority. For those 22% who are laggards who don't think about it, you may want to consider it! Although in fairness, it may be a flaw in the survey given that there was no 'not applicable option'. Source: …

How to optimise your B2B website

Did you know that the average visitor spends only four seconds on a website, before deciding whether to stay on it, or return to the search results? As such, it is critical that a website homepage be high-impact, while also captivating visitors with useful cues and information. To achieve this, there are specific elements that website visitors immediately expect to see. These items are what make the visitor feel confident in the company and comfortable awarding their time to this one site, rather than the hundred others it is likely competing with. These elements span design techniques, optimization strategies, foundational information and call-to-actions that guide visitors throughout the site or to other relevant pages that support build the all important 'social proof'. This infographic, “Top 10 Features Every B2B Homepage Must Have”, will take you on the journey of a business-to-business (B2B) website homepage, differentiating keenly between…

EU data law hasn't gone away just because of the referendum result

The decision to leave the EU has created the impression that it means UK digital marketers have heard the last about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or EU data law, that comes into force in May, 2018. But it is nowhere near as straightforward as that. There is strong speculation that the law may still come into force domestically. Knowing whether to prepare is important because there is a considerable amount of time, money and effort needed by companies to prepare for it, and the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has been given heavyweight powers and sanctions to enforce it should the data law come into effect.

UK will need Data Act if there is no GDPR

The ICO itself…

Late 2016 the tipping point will be reached, as digital spend outstrips TV advertising for the first time

If the forecasts based on current data from emarketer are correct, the US is about to spend more on digital ads that it does on to TV for the first time ever. This is the culmination of years of growth in digital advertising, but has been given a massive boost by the explosion of mobile ads over the last couple of years. From virtually nothing a few years ago, mobile advertising is in a renaissance. Now that over 50% of internet users are on mobile devices, it makes sense for budgets to be shifted to digital spending. The data in this chart also points to other mega-trends, such as increased online video steaming rather than cable TV viewing, as well as increased time spent on social networking sites. These all combine to mean we…

From banal to the facile; a review of Cannes Lions thusfar

Cannes Lions has always showcased the best in creative advertising. Each year the event reflects society trends. 2016 is no exception to the rule. In chandelier adorned halls Creatives and Suits keep fingers crossed, trouser zips in check and lipstick refreshed …all in the hope that they will walk away as champagne winners rather than stumble through the rest of an evening in a drunken stupor. Behind the scenes, organisers check that entrant ‘invitations’ to submit work have covered costs for food, guest appearances, judge ‘expenses’, photography, staging, hotels and left enough to cover personal executive comfort upgrades. Beyond behind the scenes smoke and mirrors, the real winners of the Cannes are neither the brands nor agencies that pick up coveted gongs to display in otherwise drab offices (beyond reception areas) or feature in resumes as power-play points for claiming higher salaries. Valiant victors…

What a high converting landing page needs

Being a digital marketer is simple. All that’s required is to get people to do exactly what you want them to do. That is: act. That act may be as basic as wanting them to click on a CTA button to “learn more.” The act may be a tad more complex, like getting someone to share their personal information with you. Or, the act might be transactional (i.e. getting a customer to buy your stuff).    Unfortunately, getting a person to do what you want, be it online or in person, is one of the most difficult tasks in the world. Some might say, darn near impossible. Among the many powerful tools a digital marketer can enlist to aid in his/her effort to get someone to take action, the most effective is a dedicated page for a…