Three B2B content marketing case studies
The increased focus on content marketing has continued , a trend highlighted by a number of studies surveying marketers’ top priorities:
The content marketing boom is also reflected in the relative search volume trends for phrases related to content marketing:
Content marketing can be defined as the strategy of providing valuable, relevant, quality content that customers want in order to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.
This definition certainly applies to a number of notable case studies, particularly those involving Coke, Disney and famously Red Bull and Felix Baumgartner's space jump in 2012. However, whilst these are all very valid and useful examples of content marketing at its best, they are all from consumer brands.
Content marketing is practiced…
Use these tools to give your blogging a boost
Anybody who has ever owned a website knows how much hard work goes into creating, and then running and updating it, adding changes, uploading content and media, and keeping track of all the social media accounts tied into it. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The problem is, the only thing an end user sees is the content, which makes it the most important ingredient.
Coming up with exciting content is a bit tricky though, not just because everything has already been done to death, so it’s hard to come up with anything original, but also because once you set out to create it, it seems as if everything is turning against you and wants to prevent you from creating it. You name it: procrastination (although that one is on you), writer’s block…
These trends will shape mobile marketing next year
Mobile marketing strategies span across several industries. Due to rapid changes in mobile technology and marketing approaches, marketers have to be on their toes to adapt the new trends that come their way and integrate the same in their promotional strategies.
What are some of the top trends that we can expect in the coming year? What new hardware will make headlines? Which technology is going to gain more prominence?
Based on the results of a recent marketing trends poll conducted by Smartinsights (which asked users to share their views on marketing techniques that will have maximum commercial impact in 2016), here is a list of five of the top marketing trends as they relate to mobile marketing. They're in the order they were voted on by Smart Insights readers.
1. Marketing Automation
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During Dharmesh Shah’s and Brian Halligan’s keynote at Inbound 2015 they announced Hubspot’s new Ads feature which, for the first time, aligned Hubspot’s inbound marketing methodology with more 'traditional' paid search.
When I heard this it raised an important question for me; do paid ads really fit into the inbound model or are Hubspot are simply looking to cash-in?
The case against: Are Hubspot just cashing in?
During the announcement Hubspot said that 53% of their users already use paid ads, which means they have instantly created a captive audience of more than 7,500 subscribers, which is handy.
Remember that this feature is also a paid ‘add-on’, if it were truly a part of the Inbound Methodology, would it not be made part of the standard software? I may be being picky as…
Tis the season for Digital Marketing Exams. It's time to F.R.E.A.K.O.U.T!
So my cohort of IDM friends have recently been speaking about the upcoming IDM Digital Marketing Diploma exams. Speaking might be better rephrased as "freaking out". Why? well, we are all feeling pretty overwhelmed by the scale of the digital marketing landscape these days.
Not one day has passed since (well, since I can remember) without some new update through my inbox on... Google, Facebook Advertising, Snapchat Stories, new entrant Periscope, the topic of Big Data!, permission and breaches, cookies, convergence, customer acquisition, integration, RTB, mobile, Panda, Penguin, penalties, optimisation, keywords , SEO, PPC, programmatic, Affiliates, retargeting, ad blocking,first party, third party data, eCRM, loyalty, advocacy, own media, earned media, bought media. Youtube, influencers, analytics, dashboards, automation, apps, opt in opt out, search, social, traffic, CTR's, OR's, CPM, CPC, CPA, LTV, OVP, AMC (agh). And then there is the world of Ad networks! .....The…
Use this chunking tool to help stimulate content marketing ideas
Chunking is something that is used in Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and performance coaching but it can also be used to plan your next content campaign.
Most clients are always looking to create content about them and as agencies we know that we need to produce content that the audience cares about so they share it.
The challenge is finding the middle ground that satisfies the needs of the business whilst producing content that has an actual audience to share it.
This is where our chunking tool can really help to uncover communities that you might not have thought of otherwise. You can use it here
Chunking up to move away from niche product targeting
If you want a client to look at alternative communities outside of their direct customers then you can chunk up.
Let's…
Tips on using Google Analytics to improve traffic building and conversion
Google Analytics provides a wealth of insight, so much more than the basic visits, page views and bounce rates which are are the limit of what some marketers consider. So we believe that Google Analytics deserves more focus to use the insight to drive improvement.
We like this infographic from Quicksprout since it goes further than stating the obvious metrics. Instead, it shares practical steps to take to use Google Analytics to increase your traffic particularly through keyword analysis when you link Google Analytics with Googles' Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools), conversion rates and 'how tos' (such as where to place your keywords, how to analyse top referring sites and more..). So use this infographic as a prompt to get started with practical steps to optimise your website using the insight available in Google Analytics.
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How to sell more products using quizzes and the power of personalization
What if you could be more like Amazon and offer just the right products at the right time to personalize your product recommendations in an almost creepy way? If you could do that, you'd experience an immediate 7.8% increase in sales, you'd also have a much better understanding of your customers, and your boss would definitely give you a thumbs-up.
This all sounds amazing, except for one problem - you are not Amazon, you don't have thousands of engineers to work on perfecting every single aspect of your personalization program. Most likely you also don't have tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to build personalization into your product CMS, and you are a marketer, so doing any coding yourself is incredibly daunting.
Trust me, I've been there. Which is why what I'm going to show you today is so…
UK Fashion brands see opportunity in expanding into the US Market
US businesses have long eyed up opportunities in the buoyant UK retail market with brands typically establishing a presence in the UK as a launchpad into Europe. Now a large number of British retail brands are heading back in the opposite direction.
In many cases, these ventures have met with considerable success. The upscale retailer Boden, for instance, expects US sales to overtake those of its home market within a few years.
It’s very clear, however, when it comes to relocating a brand across the Atlantic, American and British audiences shouldn’t be approached as a homogenous group even though the language is shared. Consumers on both sides of the Atlantic will respond best to localised and personalised content strategies.
Buzzfeed, for example, one of the web’s biggest and most influential content hubs, has editorial teams in both regions. They find that their…
Using lotteries as a marketing tool
Suppose you’re the new director of customer experience at British Airways looking to build a stronger emotional connection with your brand. How do you do it?
If you’ve been told once, you’ve been told a thousand times: Consistently offer a fun and enjoyable experience. Easier said than done, right? What’s new, unique, and appealing that’s low cost, drives traffic, and improves sales conversions and relationships…and hasn’t been done already by your competitors?
The advantages of lotteries
Believe it or not, some marketers are starting to think about offering entry into official nationally run lotteries. When it conforms to rules and legalities, giving away lottery tickets as promotional gifts can make a lot of sense. In fact, it’s surprising that more marketers haven’t figured out their potential to make an emotional connection with customers and prospects, and incorporated…
