Some easy inbound marketing strategies to make you rethink your content
Just as the printing press opened the mind to the imagination of the world’s greatest literary story tellers, so the early days of Hollywood introduced the world to some of the world’s most ingenious visual storytellers. Amongst the greatest was Buster Keaton.
Every Keaton gesture and scene explained all an audience needed to know. Whereas the average silent movie featured over 240 captions (or subtitles) Keaton never used more than 56.
Appealing to both logic and emotions, Keaton’s perfect balance of understated and conspicuous actions caught the eye and then enthralled audiences through empathy… pathos…heroism… as well as every shade of human attachment in between.
Whilst other screen icons went through just the mechanics of a well-rehearsed process, Keaton treated each tumble, grimace, smile, climb, leap, forlorn gaze, and even collision as a unique opportunity to explore creativity.
Beyond a great screen actor, he…
Chart of the day: length of time for results is the biggest challenge for account-based marketing, according to those in the field
Research by #flipmyfunnel amongst account-based marketers has found that length of time for results to show is the biggest challenge. Getting started and content marketing related to ABM are also big challenges.
The study also found that:
8 in 10 (80%) engage one on one via email outreach to engage with clients and prospects, with just over 7 in 10 (71%) using the phone.
Almost 6 in 10 (57%) say their marketing and sales teams are fully aligned.
45% say that revenue generation is the main goal of their account-based marketing approach.
More than 8 in 10 (83%) plan to expand their marketing stack for account-based marketing purposes in the next year.
Source: #flipmyfunnel Account-Based Marketing Survey
Sample: 250 B2B marketers
Recommended resource: …
Amazon has launched Amazon Spark, a new feature aimed at improving product discovery. The idea behind the platform is to bring some of the social buzz that goes on beyond the website into the Amazon app. But here's the catch - it's only available to Amazon Prime members.
Many have said the platform was inspired by Instagram and its use of shoppable photos. Users are able to post stories, ideas, and images of products they like, which others can react to with comments and like.
To access Amazon Spark, you have to use the Amazon mobile app. When you join spark you tell it your 5 top interests so Amazon can create a customized feed for you. There are also a number of niche categories you can select to further define your personal interests.
…
7 Secrets Of Remote Team Collaboration
The ultimate goal of every small marketing business or a large corporation is to build a team culture where productivity will thrive and where all people are tied to the belief that “none of us is as good as all of us.” If you are sharing an office with a couple of people, with your mind set on one thing only, you become a part of a flow and the culture naturally happens.
However, if you are miles away from your marketing team, building a culture and becoming a part of it doesn’t just magically happen. While there’s no doubt that remote working is a growing trend, the question still lingers:
How to build trust and leverage the way marketers work together no matter where they are or what time zone they belong to?
Here, we’ve…
Chart of the day: Only 25% of data is being used for real-time customer engagement
According to a recent study, 25% of businesses are adjusting their marketing communications daily based on customer data they have collected. It was also reported was that only 16% of UK businesses adjust their marketing communication in real-time based on customer behavior and data collection.
Many businesses are yet to make a case for real-time marketing, saying they need to prove ROI before implementing. This is due to the lack of stakeholder buy-in.
What does this mean for marketers? By adjusting your marketing communications you can develop a more personal approach to reach your audience. Businesses that are putting themselves in a position to act in real time are more likely to meet their customer's demands.
Source: SAS
Sample Size: 350 heads of marketing
Recommended Resources: Social Media Marketing Toolkit
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Email Marketing is a must-use marketing channel even for the smallest of businesses
Are you a small business owner? There is a big chance that you have many daily responsibilities. In addition to managing a company, you are the visionary, the motivating force, the expert, and most importantly the one that calls the shots. Entrepreneurs have many tasks that are calling for their attention. They also are the individuals that are responsible for mapping out the road for success ahead of their endeavor. So, what is a small business owner to do with so little time?
It is true that there are various needs that must be met within a business, however, have you considered that you might be spending time on efforts that are not urgent?
Are You Running Around in Circles?
Think about your current marketing efforts. What…
Chart of the day: Research shows the power of email marketing to encourage return visits
Much of the insight about how our audiences interact with us online relates to acquisition channels and conversion to sale. So, I was interested to see this research from Ecommerce personalisation platform provider Monetate which shows returning visitor behaviour related to channels.
It prompts us to evaluate returning visitor rates and their impact on sales and how we can influence them through communications using different channels. This curve shows an interesting behavioural trait where most visitors return within a short period of a week or so (if they are going to return), but others do return.
What are the implications? Monetate conclude with this takeaway:
While outreach tactics, such as targeted emails, should be concentrated within that one-week window, there’s plenty of opportunity to re-engage shoppers after that one-week window: Nearly…
Google introduces a news stream personalized to your interests and Google searches
Google has just rolled out its latest take on the news feed for its mobile app. They have designed a personalized stream of articles and videos based on our choices, searches, and past behavior online. In December 2016 Google launched an update to its app which included two sections:
'A feed that keeps you current on your interests like sports, news, and entertainment, and a section for your upcoming personal info, like flights, appointments and more.'
Google's news feed combines the most important news stories of the day with topics you’ve previously searched. What makes this feed different is you don't need to 'friend' anyone, like posts or scroll through endless pictures of babies and ridiculous memes. Instead, Google is allowing you to discover, explore and stay connected to what matters to you.
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Agencies are among the most enthusiastic adopters of new marketing automation tech
With the launch of another mind-boggling Martech Landscape by ChiefMartec.com (now deservedly renamed the Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic or Martech 5000), it’s safe to say that there is an increased appetite for marketing automation technology. This category has been growing steadily over the past years and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
In fact, it’s so important that marketing automation has now become the top attribute when choosing an ESP, above cost and user-friendly interface according to the recently-published 2017 Email Industry Census.
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What this shows is that most brands and agencies no longer consider marketing…
Chart of the day: Most customers have to contact companies twice to get a resolution to a customer service problem
Research by maru/edr has found that almost 8 in 10 customers contact companies by one method (such as online chat) and then by another (such as by phone) - customers feel they need to use multiple channels to get a resolution.
The research also found that (as expected) email is the easiest method of contact, but phone contact led to a more immediate resolution. Live chat also led to a slightly higher number of resolutions than email. Social media was found to resolve issues the least and the most difficult method for contact, which is surprising - especially with the wider use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. We have seen that more and more companies are investing time to integrate social media into their…
