I came across this article and recommended it to the Integrated Marketing group on Linkedin. Target Marketing Magazine then named it “Liveliest Linkedin Discussion of the Week.”
Read about how to reach top decision makers here …
Dave Coyne
May 15, 2012
March 7, 2012
February 29, 2012
February 24, 2012
A Brief History of Content Marketing
alt=" History of Content Marketing Infographic " title=" History of Content Marketing Infographic "
width="620" height="1580" />
Like this infographic? Get more
content marketing information from the
Content Marketing Institute.
February 23, 2012
22 Ways to Create Compelling Content When You Don’t Have a Clue
Good Advice from Copyblogger.com
Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.
Need More Help? Listen to How to Generate Content Ideas
February 1, 2012
Lead Nurturing: The First Steps to Take
According to Marketing Sherpa, only 35% of B2B companies actually use a lead nurturing plan. Not surprisingly, the lack of lead nurturing is why the sales department complains that the marketing department does not do enough to qualify leads. Marketing Sherpa’s research seems to support this claim, noting 61% of B2B marketers dump all the leads into the lap of the sales department, but only 27% of those leads are qualified.
Lead generation always seems to get the spotlight in B2B marketing, but what do you do with leads once they’re generated. Since sales cycles are often months long in business-to-business, lead nurturing is vital to keep your prospect engaged.
In the most recent episode of The Multichannel Marketer, I discussed lead nurturing with Marketing Advocate’s Josh Medeiros, who specializes in developing lead nurturing plans. He pointed out that companies often develop a lead nurturing strategy from the wrong end.
“Many type of marketers I talk with are all about content. They’re all about campaigns. They say ‘I have to get my lead nurturing program going’,” said Medeiros. “But that’s not where you start. I honestly believe that you need to start right at the end of the whole process. You need to start with what does a lead look like for your organization. So you start with the end.
”You have to get your sales team involved so they can buy into this because ultimately you’re nurturing leads so you can make sales. …You need to say to the sales department, ‘Look, if you had the best case prospect, the one you’re going to sell to, what does this individual look like? What have they done on the website?’
I would even reference past successful sales that you’ve had. And look at the characteristics of those sales so we can successfully build a lead nurturing profile. That is key.”
In the podcast, I also talk with Josh about the importance of qualifying leads before they enter the lead-nurturing funnel. As well he explains using closed loop marketing to deliver a better return on investment. Listen to it here.
David Coyne
http://www.b2bcopywriter.net
January 17, 2012
Content Marketing: Should You Demand Email Registration for Access?
Content marketing is standard operating procedure for the business-to-business sector. According to a report published by the Content Marketing Institute, 90% of B2B marketers published content for prospects and customers in 2011. The same report also revealed 60% of respondents plan to boost content marketing budgets in 2012 — up from 51% last year.
There’s much debate among marketers as to whether you should require web visitors to register their email (or other contact info) to access content like white papers. The main advantage of an opt-in page is you can keep track of who’s accessing your marketing material. Web visitors may be interested in your product, but aren’t yet ready to buy. With his email address in your database, your prospect is kept in your marketing loop until he reaches the purchase point in the sales cycle.
The disadvantage of an opt-in page is fewer leads — people are increasingly protective about their email address. Even high quality prospects may decline your content offer if they have to give up contact information.
My own perception of the content marketing trend is for companies not to require registration. But it doesn’t have to be exclusively one way or the other. Try these techniques for your content initiatives…
1) Mix it up: Provide some white papers, case studies and other content without requiring registration. See what results you get
2) Offer a powerful incentive: For non-registration content, include incentive text and a hyperlink to your opt-in page at the end of the marketing document. Tell the reader she can access other valuable content by registering at your site — such as a more detailed report on the same topic. Marketing Sherpa publishes a lot of marketing industry reports for a fee, but often provides a free Executive Summary pdf of each topic — offering web visitors a small taste of the full meal deal.
3) Test Response. Try rotating your content from non-registered to registered. Do you get a higher response for some topics versus others? Do templates, demo software, or online tools get a better response than case studies or white papers? Monitoring the results over time can deliver valuable marketing intelligence on the type of content that appeals to prospects.
4) Include text that encourages readers to send your content to their colleagues. Again, include an incentive for new readers to visit your site and register.
5) Summarize your privacy policy. To ease prospects’ fears, place a brief description of your policy near your opt-in form. For example: “Privacy assured. We do not sell, rent or exchange your information with Third Parties.” Depending on your marketing goals, you may sweeten the policy with “We will not contact you by phone, unless you request a consultation.” Also, remind visitors they can unsubscribe at anytime.
David Coyne
http://www.b2bcopywriter.net
January 16, 2012
Are You a Marketing Expert?
I’m currently looking for potential guests for my podcast The Multichannel Marketer. As the name suggests, the program covers a wide-variety of marketing channels — both online and offline.
Each episode is 20 to 30 minutes in length. My preference is for topics that appeal to the business-to-business sector, as this is my area of expertise. However, I won’t rule out guests who work in the business-to-consumer marketplace.
If you’re comfortable being interviewed and are an expert in a marketing channel or technology, please send me an email. Put “Podcast” in the subject line.
January 12, 2012
How to Generate Content Ideas
Yesterday, I interviewed designer and consultant Mike Klassen on how to jumpstart your brain for content ideas. While doing research on content marketing for my podcast, I came across some interesting stats from the Content Marketing Institute. According to a CMI report, 41% of B2B marketers find it difficult to develop content, especially that engages their prospects and customers.
The CMI also published a list of the most popular marketing channels the B2B industry uses to distribute content.
The top five most common channels in 2011 were ...
- Articles -79%
- Social Media Marketing (excluding blogs) – 74%
- Blogs – 65%
- eNewsletters – 63%
- Case Studies – 58%
I was surprised case studies weren’t closer to the top, but they did better than white papers, which lagged behind at number 9 (51%). CMI also noted that social media declined by 5% over the previous year.
If you struggle to find content ideas, listen to Episode 2 of The Multichannel Marketer.
November 14, 2011
Social Media Marketing Mistakes: Top 5
In this podcast, I interview Marc Joffe and Ingrid Joffe of Mass Media Marketing, a company that specializes in developing social media marketing strategies for businesses. I talk to them about the top 5 mistakes companies make when implementing social media into their marketing mix.
Discussion points we talk about include…
- Search engines and social media
- Do you need to use every social media site?
- Authenticity and social media
The podcast is 15 minutes.
David Coyne
http://www.b2bcopywriter.net
