We all know marketing in tech is done differently to other industries, but what makes a great technology company marketing plan?

The IT and High-tech industries are well-known for innovation. But having a great product is only half of the work of a successful go-to-market strategy. Now more than ever, it's crucial for marketers to step up and add value, to help differentiate and stay ahead of the fierce competition in the sector. How do you do that? Read our steps to creating a winning marketing plan for your technology company.

Why invest in marketing for tech?

Worldwide IT spending in 2023 projected to total $4.6 trillion in 2021, an increase of 5.1% from 2022. Your marketing plan is more important than ever in securing your market share of that growth. Clearly, marketing plans for technology companies need to develop to take advantage of all the omnichannel tactics available to the…

Marketers face their own particular challenges when it comes to digital marketing for financial services

It’s not exactly considered the sexiest of industries but digital marketing for financial services is a necessity – your customers are living in a digital world, so that’s where you need to be as well. The question is, how do you compete as a finance firm against influencers, funny viral videos, memes? How do you engage your audience and keep them interested? It can sometimes be difficult to know where to start, so, in this blog post, I’m going to share my top tips for financial services digital marketing. Before you get started with digital marketing though, make sure that your firm is in compliance with any online promotion laws; whether there are special regulations for running a contest on social media or for data collection, it’s always best to check and protect yourself. And now, let’s get…

Are you using social media monitoring (SMM) tools and services tactically? Or maybe you're still not sure if you are using the right SMM tool(s) based on your specific business needs?

Social media monitoring offers digital marketers a wealth of opportunities for a more strategic approach. There is certainly plenty of conversation about these tools and services. So with so many definitions and nuances out there, let's start with a 3 step glossary: Social Media Intelligence: All aspects of social analytics inform your social media intelligence. This intelligence includes not only your own business but the wiser macro and micro environment, such as your competitors. Social Media Listening: This tool is for listening consumers and delving into customer personas and motivations to inform market research. Social Media Monitoring: Ongoing use of data-drive listening and analytics to shape your social media marketing strategy. Successful enterprises across all industries are continuously looking for the…

Managing your own social media accounts is one thing, but you need to pay attention to the social media presence of others as well

Social media marketing is sometimes overlooked by B2B companies. However, even when you’re targeting huge companies in your marketing efforts, it's important to remember that the decisions are made by people, people who - just like everyone else - use social media. Statistics say that 84% of C- and VP-level buyers check social media before making a purchasing decision. Social media for B2B companies can be a communication channel, a platform for raising brand awareness and even a source of leads. Managing your own social media accounts is one thing, but you need to pay attention to the social media presence of others as well. From your audience to your competitors, there are a lot of insights you can get from monitoring social media. [si_blog_banner_cta] B2B companies…

Customer listening is now essential

Ever talked with someone who doesn’t seem to listen to you or let you get a word in edgewise? Pretty annoying, right? The same is true in digital marketing. In order for you to market and, ultimately sell better, you need to listen as much as you talk. Only then can you capture the critical customer feedback you need to inform the tactical tweaks and strategic transformations you need to make to take your business to the next level. The best way to do this is by listening – at first manually if that’s all you can afford to do – but eventually in a deep, analytics-based way. This is the realm of customer listening (CL) platforms.

What’s a Customer Listening Platform?

A customer listening (or CL) platform is a SAAS-based app that allows you to listen to all the streams of customer data you have available so you…

The updated report elaborates the why, what and how of selecting social media listening and engagement platforms

Social media has been evolving rapidly and presenting a wide range of new challenges and opportunities for businesses to capture the attention of customers. A series of developments, ranging from major acquisitions and closures, new privacy regulations, increasing adoption of AI; a rise of messaging apps and "dark social", the decline of social sharing and organic reach, to name a few, have been disrupting and shaping the industry. In order to stay competitive and make more informed strategic decisions, continuous learning and new approaches are required to master new social technologies and developments. In order to enable companies and individuals to understand the market and make effective decisions about the selection and use of social media monitoring tools and services, this November’s Social Media Monitoring (SMM) Tools and Services Report 2018 by …

The best social media listening tools to use in 2018 to help you develop your social media strategy

“The success of a relationship is solely dependent on two factors: a man's ability to listen lovingly and respectfully to a woman's feelings, and a woman's ability to share her feelings in a loving and respectful way.” ― John Gray, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus The core premise of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus is that men and women communicate differently and in order for a relationship to be successful, they each need to be aware of how the other works. Men, in particular, have to do a better job listening. [si_guide_block id="5676" title="Download FREE Resource – Digital marketing plan template" description="Our popular marketing planning template built on the Smart Insights RACE planning system."/] Not surprisingly, most brands suffer from the same shortcomings. Instead of listening to what…

Follow these examples to get the most from Twitter marketing in 2017

Twitter remains one of the most popular social media platforms and it’s recognized by brands as a way to facilitate customer and user engagement. But, with over 350,000 tweets posted per minute, achieving brand visibility is a challenge. Success is not just about how many followers you have, it’s about engagement with users, building strong relationships. Twitter allows you to reach a larger audience and increase brand awareness. But there are challenges to overcome such as exposing your brand to negative comments, dealing with customer complaints, and remaining visible.

18 Brands + 2 CEOs, 12 Months of Twitter Data

Using Interbrand as a reference, we chose 18 successful global brands from 9 industries. For a different perspective, we included two well-known CEOs, both with a big presence on Twitter. For the period of…

Why you need a plan to defend and improve your online reputation

In an online world of viral news articles and social media, your brand’s image is something that can quickly be affected by even the slightest misstep. That’s why protecting your brand’s reputation is more important than you’ll ever realize.

The Significance of Your Online Image

It’s easy for us to forget that the internet is still a relatively new business channel. When we look back on the history of the internet in 25 or 30 years, 2017 will still look very much like the Wild West. Rules are still being developed, concepts are just now being understood, and what works isn’t always clear. But when you cut through all of the unknowns, it doesn’t take an advanced degree to recognize the importance of maintaining a strong online image. Information spreads fast online and you have to keep up. The internet gives everyone a…