January 2014

4 Reasons Why B2Bs Should Leverage Social Data

January 31, 2014/by Corey Padveen

Though it is no secret that social data is important, B2B brands are not taking enough advantage of it.

Data mining – whether on a large or small scale – is a critical component when it comes to a successful social business strategy; this is especially true when it comes to B2Bs. And yet, so few B2B brands are taking advantage of the values that social data can offer when building a comprehensive, goal-oriented strategy.

The reasons listed below should be enough to convince any decision maker as a B2B enterprise to start paying closer attention to their social data.

Optimize Your Content Strategy

Recently, we published an article discussing the difference between content strategy and content marketing. Essentially, your content strategy is the strategy with which you are going to generate interest from your target audience on social platforms.

As a B2B, it can sometimes seem difficult to find a message that resonates with your audience. After all, with so much content from which people can choose, the message from a B2B is not always going to make it to the top of the pile. By keeping a close eye on your data, however, you can see exactly what types of content and what motifs generate the most interest from your audience, and share information geared towards garnering their attention.

Monitor Your Competition

It’s one thing to look at superficial measurements, like the growth of a competitor’s network. It is another thing entirely to dive into the public data that exists about your competition’s social presence and see where they are succeeding, where opportunities exist for your brand and, most importantly, how you compare in terms of share of voice and sentiment when it comes to key criteria.

Because we might not necessarily be looking at increasing sales directly through social media as B2Bs, it is important to find a way to set benchmarks for measuring success. Often, identifying KPIs among your competition’s data and striving to surpass those benchmarks is a great way to work.

Reach Broader Audiences

Understanding when your target audience is most active and where they spend the majority of their time is going to be essential to reaching the broadest audience possible.

At the outset of any social business program, you are going to want to ask yourself who you want to reach. Do you want to reach your buyers, or would you rather reach the end users of products or services to whom you are selling? Knowing what kind of audience you want to reach with your content will help you better leverage this data in order to ensure that every piece of content you share is shared strategically so as to reach the broadest audience possible.

Understand Your Buyers

On the surface, social is all about sharing stories. But just beneath there is a world of opportunity in the form of data, and that data can be leveraged not only on these social media, but in your business operations.

Studying the data that concerns your buyers – either as individuals or businesses – on social media can help you optimize your offline and off-social marketing initiatives in order to ensure that they resonate with your buyers.

Traditional B2B marketing tactics need to incorporate, at least to a degree, social data. By understanding your buyers’ habits, preferences and knowing what it is they are looking for, you can better prepare yourself offline to make the sale.

The potential that exists within your social data is virtually limitless. With so much being published every day, and more insights being made available at every second, it is hard to understand why more B2B businesses are not taking the time to study social data.

Are you leveraging your social data? What are you using it for? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

And next week, don’t miss our Director of Global Social Business Strategy, Corey Padveen speaking live in Las Vegas! Find out more here.

How to Optimize Your YouTube Videos for Viewer Retention [VIDEO]

January 24, 2014/by Corey Padveen

Visual content is a powerful thing, and the longer you can keep your audience engaged with your content, the better.

If social data and trends have proven anything, it is that if content is king, than visual content is the king’s supervisor. We are constantly sharing information, articles, pictures and videos, and hoping that our audience doesn’t scroll past our content to spend time with someone else’s. And yet, when they do, our long, well-written article seems to lose out to a photobomb or video of a cat.

So what can we do to better the odds that our audience will stick around and spend time with our brand on social media?

There are a few simple things that you can do in order to better the retention you receive from your audience, and these tips will help with that when it comes to YouTube.

There are hundreds of lifetimes worth of video on YouTube, and more content is being uploaded every day. It would be unwise to think that, when there is so much people can be doing online, let alone on YouTube, they will sit through your entire video every time. That is, of course, unless you have leveraged the data you have at hand on your YouTube videos for viewer retention optimization.

It is a much easier task than you might think, and this useful video will walk you through the steps to do it yourself.

What’s the Difference Between Content Strategy and Content Marketing?

January 20, 2014/by Corey Padveen

While both content marketing and content strategy fall into a very similar category in the realm of social business, there are some subtle but important differences to be aware of.

One of the most trending concepts in the world of social business these days (both on and offline) is content marketing. We hear it mentioned by virtually every thought leader and industry member. But as with a lot of buzzwords, as they increase in popularity, they can often decrease in clarity.

People use content marketing and content strategy interchangeably. That’s a mistake. While both phenomena are closely related, they possess some notable differences that make them distinct features of a business strategy.

Why do we keep hearing about this stuff, anyway?

Content marketing and strategy are much more than simply sharing content to different media; content marketing is storytelling.

Lately, we have seen some outstanding examples of brands leveraging the power of the story. Lots of brands – from small to large – are jumping on the content marketing bandwagon to try and create an engaging story of their own, but it is a lot easier said than done.

Unlike conventional forms of marketing and advertising, the concept of content marketing relies heavily on your ability to connect with your audience. For consumers, the novelty of endless content being shared on multiple media channels has worn off. People only want to see (and, more importantly, share) content that they find interesting and resonates in some way.

For this reason, the brands that have found the most success when it comes to content marketing are those that have developed an intricate content strategy based on what they have deemed relevant to their audience.

What is content strategy?

Content strategy all starts with some good ol’ fashioned research. Sure, there are plenty of tools to help you out; after all, there is so much data to sift through that we would never be able to do it without at least a little help. But content strategy all starts with determining what your audience cares about.

This can be industry-relevant – for example, maybe you notice that your audience is most interested in learning about the difference between content marketing and content strategy – or it can be a social issue. And no, not a social media issue. A social as in societal issue. First identify what your audience cares about, then share information that they find relevant and interesting.

People do not like spending money if they don’t have to. (Or really want to.) So, when you share nothing but self-promotional content, they are more than likely to ignore you. After all, why would they listen to what you have to say if they know it is all going to lead back to a sales pitch?

Content strategy is all about avoiding the sales pitch. Determine how your brand can connect with your audience on a human level and share information that resonates from that perspective first.

How is content marketing different?

Content marketing is, by definition, a form of marketing to your audience. When people are listening to what you have to say and develop a rapport with your brand, then you can tell them about your products, services or special offers.

Considering the historical seller-consumer dynamic, there is, in many cases, an inherent distrust of the brand by the consumer. However, if, through your content strategy, you can build that trust by showcasing that you really do care and really are a brand that your consumers can relate to, there is a much greater likelihood that your audience will listen, and maybe even consider your product or service.

Your sales position needs to be in line with the issues that connected you to your audience in the first place. Maybe it is something as simple as a donation to a worthy cause from the sale of certain products.

Is there an example that showcases both these concepts?

Say, for example, there is an office products retailer than develops a content strategy around recycling. Much of the content that is shared with their audience relates to green practices and recycling.

After some time, their content begins to go viral, as their target audience – businesspeople with a penchant for environmentalism – can relate to what they share. At this point, they begin to promote one of their complimentary services: buyers can return used ink cartridges for reuse instead of throwing them away.

There is a much greater likelihood that people will listen to the sale pitch if this is the case.

The difference between content strategy and content marketing is all about the marketing side of things. While content strategy sounds a lot like it is done behind closed doors, it is actually a very active endeavor.

Brands have to devote to learning about their audience and be patient when it comes to successful content marketing. Success with the strategy is not going to come overnight. But with patience and a strong devotion to your audience, content strategy and content marketing are sure to pay off.

Have you ever considered a content strategy or engaging in content marketing? Tell us about yours in the comments below or on Twitter!

How to Look at Post Details on Facebook [VIDEO]

January 17, 2014/by Corey Padveen

Your post details on Facebook can give you some tremendous insights into the success of your Facebook marketing.

When it comes to marketing on Facebook, the network has come a long way. That’s not surprising, considering it is now a public company and needs to provide value to the businesses that use it.

That said, Facebook is constantly going through changes – some more drastic than others – and it is not always easy to keep up.

One of the great features that Facebook provides for marketers is the ability to look at post details on Facebook to see exactly what your audience is doing when they come across and engage with your content.

Superficially, it’s a simple feature. But when you tie it into some of the great data that Facebook Insights provides, it can be extremely valuable.

Have a look at the video below and see for yourself why the ability to look at your post details on Facebook can be a great asset when marketing your brand on the world’s largest social network.

Marketers are Moving On from ROI; Data the New Challenge

January 15, 2014/by Corey Padveen

Leveraging data is now the biggest challenge facing marketers.

Since the dawn of social business, one of the greatest challenges facing marketers was how they could measure ROI. It is ironic that in a field that has so long been dominated by the immeasurable – the hope that print media gets into the right hands, the dollar value of great branding – now, the most measurable feature of all was being criticized for its inability to be measured.

Marketers are now moving past this issue, particularly as they begin to understand how social media, in particular, Social Equity, can be measured. The new challenge facing marketers: leveraging data and making it actionable.

Recently, StrongView released their “2014 Marketing Trends Survey” and the results are very interesting.

What is so interesting about it?

Well, for starters, the findings seem to allude to a more evolved digital marketer. There is no longer a focus on the issues of measurability – which many social marketing evangelists would tell you was never a major issue – but rather a focus on how the vast amounts of data can be leveraged by brands.

What’s more, marketing is getting more attention. This means two things. First, on a macro scale, when it comes to business, marketing expenditures are generally a good indication of how the economy is performing. This survey found that 93% of those surveyed planned on increasing or, at least maintaining their marketing budgets in 2014, up 4% from 2013.

On a micro level, this means that the value of big data and new age digital marketing strategies is finally being recognized by businesses of all sizes. Now, the question is how to use it.

What exactly is big data?

Big data is exactly what it sounds like: it a whole lot of data. We wrote an article a little while ago detailing exactly what big data is and how it can be used by brands.

So why is it so valuable?

Well, big data provides business with insights into their audience, industry, brand and competitors that has never before been captured. There are billions of social accounts on dozens of networks out there, each capturing and publishing so much content that it is literally impossible to keep up.

It is no surprise that brands are having a tough time leveraging data.

What do you mean by leveraging data?

These endless fields of data are ripe for the harvest, but so few marketers know where to start with it. When billions of pieces of data exist out there about your industry, or even your audience alone, how can you turn it into something valuable?

Leveraging data can mean quite a few different things. First, data can be used for branding purposes. When you look at the data collected about your audience, you can position your brand – at least on social – to relate as closely as possible to them.

It can also mean more efficient marketing and advertising campaigns, both in and out of social.

Imagine knowing exactly what your audience tastes and preferences were, and having the ability to build campaigns targeted to those preferences. That is a benefit that leveraging data can have for your brand.

Again, this is much easier said than done. With so much to sift through, even the most experienced marketers are having a tough time getting a grasp on big data. That’s not their fault – this is a brand new concept, and a very exciting one at that.

What else have we learned about marketers?

The StrongView report also points out that, as per usual, there are a lack of resources to execute comprehensive initiatives. The irony here is that the biggest issue – leveraging data – can’t really be dealt with until the second major issue – lack of resources – has been addressed. But such is life.

Marketers are also looking to improve engagement, while 36% want to improve their targeting.

There are more great stats available in the summary and the report as a whole here.

So what can we expect in 2014?

It appears that data, in all its glory, will be the focal point of the marketer’s 2014. As the business world has slowly come aboard the move to social business and integrated digital marketing, it is finally time to see what great benefits these new media can have.

What are your biggest challenges when it comes to marketing right now? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

We can expect to see some of these content marketing trends pick up steam in 2014.

Content marketing is storytelling. It is, essentially, what attracts people to our brands online. Last year, we saw a major explosion is the concept of content marketing. Now that it is an established practice, we can expect to see some of these content marketing trends take shape in the coming year.

Research by Content Marketing Institute noted that most business plan on increasing their involvement in content marketing in some form or another in 2014, particularly through the use of social media.

If you have not yet involved yourself in content marketing, or taken the time to learn more about it, now is a good time to start.

How do you plan on engaging in content marketing in 2014? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Embedded from Digital Marketing Philippines

How to Track Goals in Google Analytics [VIDEO]

January 10, 2014/by Corey Padveen

Ever wonder how you can track goals in Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is an outstanding tool. With the right filters, goals, segments and understanding, it can be as powerful as many enterprise level softwares when it comes to tracking the success of your digital and social marketing.

But in order to get to that point, you need to know how to set the system up. Unlike many enterprise level analytics systems, Google Analytics requires quite a bit of manual labor.

While entire blogs can be (and have been) written about the intricacies of Google Analytics, this short video simply explains how to go about creating and tracking simple goals in Google Analytics. Have a watch and try setting some up on your account to see how they work.

Hint: It is best to create a separate view in Google Analytics when testing different functions in order to prevent any permanent changes or losses to your data.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc5kpNHG0tU&feature=youtu.be

6 Components to Include in Your Social Business Plan

January 8, 2014/by Corey Padveen

When developing a social business plan for your brand, there are certain components that simply must be included.

As social business becomes the norm, brands are beginning to understand that in order to succeed, there needs to be a comprehensive social business plan in place before getting started. Simply diving headfirst into social media is no longer an option. If a company is serious about transitioning into the social era, then a social business plan is a must.

While every brand will have a unique social business plan that suits their goals, there are certain components that every social business plan needs to include. These six elements should be included in every social business strategy, or at the very least should be seriously considered when drafting a social business plan for your brand.

Social Media & Strategy Audit

What does your current involvement in social media look like? In order to create an effective and useful social business plan, you first need to get a good look at what your current activity on social channels looks like, and give yourself a good criticism.

You might be doing some things right, but look honestly at your work, figure out what you want to accomplish and determine where you might be going wrong. Sometimes, this is a difficult task for a business. After all, we never like to think of ourselves as doing anything wrong. When this is the case, it is sometimes beneficial to bring in an unbiased third party to conduct the audit.

The SocialSandBox^TM

Where do you want to have a presence? Determine what your brand’s SocialSandbox^TM is going to look like by evaluating major (and minor) social networks and determining how they can help you achieve your goals.

You might find that some networks are better for helping you achieve certain goals. A keen understanding of every network’s strengths and weaknesses is going to be a must-have when determining this part of your social business plan, so take your time to learn everything there is to know about the major players (and there is a lot to know).

Content Strategy

Social media is all about telling stories that people want to share with their circles. Your content strategy is how your brand awareness is going to increase and, ultimately, what is going to be the driving force behind the success of your program. Figure out what people want to hear about, when they want to hear about it and where they are most likely to pay attention. The answers are going to shape your content strategy.

Social Competitive Analysis

You are not talking in a vacuum. There are billions of conversations already taking place and there is a significant likelihood that at least a few of your competitors are taking part.

In your social business plan, you are going to want to do some research into your competitors’ social business strategies and determine how you want to stand out and what you would like to do both similarly and differently. Analyze what they have done, what they have achieved and set benchmarks that compare to your industry’s standards based on what you have observed.

Data Mining

‘Big Data’ is the buzz word of the day and it can be an invaluable asset to your business – if you use it properly. In order to leverage your data and create Responsive Branding campaigns, you are going to have to properly mine it from the right channels.

Develop a data mining sub-strategy within your social business plan in order to effectively sift through the billions of pieces of data that exist in order to pull out what is most relevant to your company.

Measurement and ROI

One of the most crucial components of any social business plan is going to be the measurement and ROI criteria. These need to be established from the beginning of your transition into a social business. In order to determine if you are succeeding, you need to first determine your key performance indicators (KPIs) and then figure out how you plan on measuring success rates.

There are a number of tools and technologies that can be used to measure the tangible results, but with some returns, you might need to get creative. What is a follower worth? Well, for example, you can determine what percentage of social leads convert, what the value of a conversion is, then apply that ratio to each new fan or follower.

There are plenty of ways to measure your success with social media. You just need to figure out first what you are measuring.

What other components do you think need to be included in a social business plan? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Some Big Predictions for Social Business in 2014

January 6, 2014/by Corey Padveen

We can expect to see social business become even more popular in 2014, and these are some of the biggest predictions for social business in the coming year.

Considering social business is still a relatively new phenomenon, it is constantly evolving and we can only speculate as to where it will go next. 2013 saw the rise of the concept, and these predictions for social business suggest that we can expect to see it get even bigger and more widely understood in 2014.

Mobile as the Focal Point

We saw the rise of mobile in 2013, and that trend is sure to increase in 2014. As mobile devices become users’ primary devices (around the world) the importance of optimizing your mobile strategy for search and social is crucial.

Google’s Eric Schmidt admits that mobile has now won the race for the most important medium. For brands to succeed in the social and digital space, they need to be everywhere. This no longer simply means well-placed ads. Today, being everywhere means having a comprehensive mobile strategy in place that allows customers and leads alike to reach out to your brand and start a conversation.

Big Data into Actionable Items

A major buzz term in 2013 was ‘big data’. We all heard about it, and more and more people began to understand what it was, but leveraging big data was not on every brand’s radar. Why? Well, effectively, most brands just saw big data as a tool for large companies, and not something that SMBs could use. This will all change in 2014.

We can expect to see a major shift in 2014 towards the use of big data by brands of all sizes. At t2, we coined the term and concept of Responsive Branding, which is in effect the leveraging of big data in order to create campaigns and marketing strategies that cater to the tastes and preferences of your audience. We can certainly expect this trend to increase as (simplified) big data provides brands with insights they would have never had.

Imagine knowing what your audience wants without ever having to ask? This is where big data is headed this year.

Repercussions of Social Media Marketing Myopia

Slowly but surely, social media has become a necessity. Brands – from small to large – that want to grow can no longer ignore the importance of social. A while back, we introduced the concept of Social Media Marketing Myopia. What is it? Essentially, the concept relates to brands that refuse to adopt to large-scale change, thinking that their company or industry does not need it. The results can be detrimental.

Now that we have arrived at an age where social business is becoming the norm, we can expect to start seeing companies face the effects of Social Media Marketing Myopia. Those slow to adopt will now be forced to expedite the process and implement a strategy in order to catch up with their industry.

A Rise in the Importance of Micro-Video

Microblogging started with Twitter. Twitter bought Vine – a micro-video publishing network. After Facebook bought Instagram, Instagram introduced Instagram Video, another micro-video network. Brands have warmed to the idea of micro-video marketing and audiences have started to enjoy it as well.

In 2013, we saw brands like Dunkin’ Donuts create commercials made entirely from Vine videos. As we head into 2014, we can surely expect to see micro-video marketing increase in importance.

Google+ Will Skyrocket

We have long said that Google+ can be a brand’s best friend. Why so many refuse to work with it is quite surprising. After all, search rankings are still of great importance, and we know that social signals factor heavily into improved search rankings. So, logic would suggest that the social network owned by the largest search engine on the web would be of pretty significant importance to improved search rankings.

This is going to become even more true in 2014. With the Hummingbird upgrade now in full effect and the age of traditional keyword search behind us, social and soft search will dominate the playing field. This means that signals from Google+ will become all the more important. Google has long said that they intend to shift their focus on the social layer of their model. This means Google+ (and YouTube) will be a brand and SEO’s best friend.

And there are our five big predictions for social business in 2014. What do you expect to see in the realm of social business in 2014? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

3 Resolutions for Your Social Business

January 3, 2014/by Corey Padveen

It’s the new year and time to ramp up your social business with some resolutions.

First, let us start off by wishing everyone a very happy New Year. We hope that you enjoyed some well-deserved R&R and you’re ready to get started with a new year full of potential!

At the beginning of the year, it is customary to make a few resolutions to better our lives and the lives of those around us. Well, it’s always good to have some business resolutions in addition to those personal ones.

Below are the three resolutions that we think many businesses – whether yours is a fully operational social business or on its way – can benefit from.

Tell More Stories

Content marketing is all the rave these days. Though it is a term commonly used, it is not one that everyone fully understands. What exactly is content marketing? Simply put, content marketing is marketing through storytelling. Share content people love on as many media as possible, and watch it reach whole new audiences.

This year, a great resolution might be to tell more stories. Ramp up your content marketing and perfect it for your industry and your social business. Find out what your audience loves and create content to cater to those preferences.

Try New Media

Maybe you have a blog, a Facebook page and a Twitter account, but have always been afraid of video. Maybe you’re camera shy or don’t know what to talk about. Well, the new year is all about starting fresh, so why not give a new medium a try.

You don’t have to change the way you do business. In fact, almost nothing has to change. Try something and incorporate it into what you normally do (for example, sharing your blog posts to Facebook and Twitter) and see how it works for your business.

Who knows? You might find that the key to getting your brand out there is a new type of media you haven’t yet taken a chance on.

Be Different

A great goal is to find a way to stand out among the crowds. Do something you haven’t seen before. We’re not saying this is an easy thing to do. In fact, it’s one of the most difficult things for a business to do and it is why so many businesses have trouble expanding. But the good news is that the year just started. You have plenty of time to figure out a way in which you can be different and go out there to show your industry what it is.

What are some of your social business resolutions for the new year? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter! And happy New Year!

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