marketers – Editorial PR

05/Aug/2019

Automation in digital marketing campaigns can push audiences more readily through the sales funnel and address problems with the “murky middle” section, according to a new study of the “biggest pain points” for brands published by GetResponse and Demand Metric.

The two companies conducted the study of more than 280 B2B and B2C professional marketers between June and July of this year to identify the tactics and channels most capable of driving positive action during each stage of the sales cycle. These tactics included content marketing, video marketing, search and social media.

The sales funnel is usually broken down into four distinct sections, with awareness at the top followed by interest, decision and action. The study found that marketing usually works better for enterprises at the top of the funnel since it was rated as the best performing, while the middle section found the most resistance.

“Today’s marketers are smart, digitally savvy and have an unlimited number of ideas and tools to execute campaigns. Yet they often struggle with moving opportunities through the funnel,” Get Response director of marketing, Courtenay Worcester, said in a press release for the report.

She added: “By taking a closer look at the issues causing the most friction in the funnel, and enabling marketers to significantly reduce them, companies can realize stronger ROI and customer retention.”

Problems in the funnel also stem from marketers’ inability to determine the success of their investments. Just 30% of respondents said that they are currently capable of fully understanding the return on investment for their efforts across the marketing funnel, with the middle sections being a notable issue.

However, automation is helping to ease customers through the funnel more effectively. When tactics use some degree of automation, there is a 100% increase in performance, and perhaps more importantly, the notoriously difficult middle phase sees marked gains.

While the use of cutting-edge technology can address some of the challenges that marketers face, more than 80% admit to not to having implemented full automation for even one phase of the marketing cycle, which is undermining efforts to succeed on a regular basis.

Integrating marketing tactics also has a hugely positive impact on the performance of campaigns. When this is done successfully, both the top and middle sections can expect to see performance triple, while the bottom of the funnel sees performance double. Therefore, implementing more closely aligned strategies should be the focus for B2B and B2C professionals this year.

However, brands also need to improve the quality of their marketing tactics during the flow from the top to the bottom of the funnel, as the study found their effectiveness decreases during the journey. Respondents used email marketing the most across the sales cycle, while content marketing, including case studies, was also popular.

Demand Metric co-founder. John Follett, concluded: “Marketers have long known that the middle section of the funnel presents the most challenges. What they didn’t always know was how to reduce that friction and convert more leads. The GetResponse/Demand Metric study proves the power of automation in digital marketing and its ability to drive at least a 3X improvement in the murky middle of the funnel.”

Aimee

04/Sep/2017

Influencer marketing has taken off in a big way during 2017. However, according to new research published by Rakuten Marketing, the practice of hiring well-known celebrities and other individuals to promote products and services has not been without its drawbacks for brands that are finding it difficult to determine ROI and key metrics for their endeavours.

It is no surprise to see marketers turn to influencers en masse, as it effectively allows them to sidestep the challenges associated with building a target audience quickly. A popular social media personality, for example, already has a huge following, so it’s just a matter of placing the content in the right place at the right time to drive reach and awareness and engage with users.

However, while the potential benefits are enticing, more than a third of marketers have admitted they are not exactly sure the effect influencers are having on their brand due to an inability to effectively measure return on investment. This imprecision is particularly troublesome in a world where transparent, precise measurements are required to inform all types of decision making in marketing effectively.

“No one really quite knows what the best route to measure the impact of influencer marketing is,” said Michelle Stoodley, Benefit’s head of digital marketing. “It’s probably the only thing in digital marketing that exploded before there’s been any real benchmark for success. It kind of goes against a lot of what digital marketing is normally about, which is numbers, data and tracking.”

A separate study published by Rakuten Marketing and Moran Consulting in August found influencer marketing costs are rising in the UK. Posts by a celebrity with a social media following of more than one million now command a colossal £65,000 fee, though some premium fashion brands are paying more £160,000 per post for certain big-name influencers. In contrast, “micro influencers” with less than 10,000 followers average a relatively more palatable £1,350 per post.

In addition to worries about a hike in costs, brands could also be exposing themselves to additional risks. Marketing agency Mediakix revealed earlier in the summer that there had been several cases of brands striking deals with fake accounts on Instagram. The practice is also still very much in its infancy compared to other forms of digital marketing.

Despite concerns, influencer marketing is here to stay for now and is likely to command large percentages of brands’ budgets. The Rakuten Marketing study found three quarters are planning to spend more on influencers during the next twelve months. However, Stoodley urged brands to continue investing in other content formats to build reliable and flexible campaigns that can drive ROI in the long term.

She concluded: “Influencer marketing is probably the part of the digital marketing world that has the least amount of measurement and reliability, so to put all your eggs in one basket would be quite risky. Also, who knows where this part of the industry is going as brands start to pay influencers more and more? It can only go so far.”

Aimee

03/Jan/2017

It’s true to say that 2016 was a huge year for content marketing, and this form of advertising really took off in a big way throughout the year. For 2017, this trend is set to continue. Whilst no one can ever be sure what the future holds, expert Lon Otremba reveals that there are already some obvious trends which will likely find their way into next year’s content marketing and native advertising ecosystem.

Marketers have already realised that connecting with fans and followers through interesting content has become far more efficient than traditional advertising. The best content strategists now know that engaging consumers with content results in a boost in brand engagement too. This has the knock-on effect of providing better Return on Investment (ROI) than traditional forms of advertising.

The result of this is that more marketers are placing their priorities on content marketing, with strategists turning to native advertising as one of their key strategies. This is set to increase over the coming year; especially since many of the consumer connections made with content do not have the associate short-term shelf life of traditional display ads. For example, if the content is compelling enough, fans and followers will spend lengthy periods with brand material.

The optimisation of landing pages is also likely to gain in priority during 2017, with more companies focussing on what consumers do after they click. Instead of attracting people in great numbers to a page they simply bounce off of, strategists will aim to develop post-click content that keeps consumers engaged and on a brand site. This can be far more efficient than optimising ad placements.

Meanwhile, large brands are expected to begin developing more of their content marketing strategies in-house instead of outsourcing work to agencies. This is due to many businesses realising the importance of content marketing, and now combining content development and programmatic marketing to maximise efficiency. For agencies, it will mean increased pressure to develop the best creative content for clients in innovative and new ways, as well as accessing the latest technological tools so brands can still gain value from outsourcing.

Finally, there’s also a word of caution that regardless of the great tech brands may use, it won’t surpass the value of good content. It seems there are new pieces of software, innovative gadgets and fantastic next-gen ways of connecting with consumers appearing almost on a weekly basis. However, it’s important to remember that using these won’t provide success if the content remains of poor quality.

In 2017, it’s expected that tech firms, publishers and marketers will continue to work hard with one another to ensure that great advertising and compelling content is used alongside advanced technology.

Content marketing will continue to evolve over the coming 12 months, and no one can say for certain just how it will develop. However, a few key principles remain; consumers must be provided with great content that is optimised to keep fans engaged for longer. Meanwhile, no wealth of great technology will make up for poor material, whilst marketing agencies will need to find new ways to offer great value to their clients.

Annie

12/Sep/2016

In an era of high competition amongst brands, and some of the shortest time spans in history with which to grab people’s attention, it is vital for content marketing to make its mark on customers immediately. For the best strategies to work, there must be immediate impact so that target audiences remain engaged for long enough so that a piece of content’s messages can be conveyed. For advertisers trying to tackle bounce rates and boost interactions, there are numerous data-backed tactics to utilise.

One of the most important priorities for any content marketer is to ensure they have an accurate buyer persona. It’s useless targeting content towards uninterested parties, and keeping people engaged relies on customers actually wanting to hear what’s being broadcast. To do this, brands must focus on unique buyer personas that allow them to identify what people are looking for and, therefore, help shape content and increase engagement. On average, marketers have four defined ideal customers, though niche companies may have fewer. It’s vital, however, to stop treating any audience as a single entity if any improved interaction is to be noted.

Another tactic, though one that may have to be run past superiors, is to increase the content marketing budget. It’s a fact that real results often come from a boost in spend. Marketing strategies can be kicked off with little capital, but to keep the ball rolling and improve results requires more money. As such, marketing budgets should not solely be for the purpose of written content curation. Money should also be spent on increasing multimedia content, investing in eBooks and whitepapers, and paying for increased promotion and analytics opportunities.

There is also some importance in not overlooking potential platforms, even if a host of networks are already being used. For example, LinkedIn can be incredibly useful for conducting B2B content marketing. In recent studies, the platform was found to be the only truly effective place for B2B marketing. Creating an account and blog is relatively simple, and this allows for original content to be shared across the network. Even better results can be found by utilising LinkedIn’s niche groups.

Email marketing should also play a role in any content marketing strategy. Whilst disseminating material across social media networks can provide good results, any curated email list provides a direct link to consumers. A report from CMI found that 73 per cent of B2C firms still believe email marketing is extremely effective – even more so than producing video content. There are many automation tools on the market too, allowing strategists to easily add email advertising to their content plans. Even sending out a single monthly email can be a very good way of maintaining brand visibility and keeping customers involved.

The best content marketing efforts are not solely focussed on new prospects, but aim to boost relationships with current customers too. And, by using a variety of data-backed tactics to keep people engaged, brands can boost the effectiveness of advertising plans – not only to better the bottom line, but to nurture consumer relationships for the future as well.

Eain

08/Aug/2016

For many people, LinkedIn is one of the last social platforms to focus advertising efforts on. However, for B2B marketers, it can be the perfect network, as long as it’s used correctly. Regardless of whether LinkedIn is a major part of content strategy or not, there are essential pointers to consider when developing a campaign, and by following these, marketers place themselves in the best position to experience success.

It should come as no surprise that producing valuable content remains the most important aspect of marketing via LinkedIn. The Global Content Marketing Leader for the network, Jason Miller, says: “The most important thing is to think about LinkedIn beyond recruiting – because it’s so much more than that.” He went on to add, “For the first time in the history of media, you can engage with the world’s professionals all in one place.”

One of the first steps of any intended content marketing strategy is to sign up to LinkedIn and create a professional, engaging company homepage. It’s essential for this page to properly reflect a company, as it will act as an on-site catalyst for all other marketing plans. The LinkedIn community is huge and rich with expertise; and as such, many professionals want to be part of the website’s conversations. Unlike other platforms, where many people simply spend time, LinkedIn is a place where people invest time to learn, connect and be inspired. Therefor, it’s vital to correctly curate a homepage to maximise appeal and draw readers towards published content.

For all B2B content marketers, it is also essential to increase their content’s exposure. This can be done by publishing material on both LinkedIn and Slideshare. Slideshare acts as a way to draw readers through a self-guided visual journey. It also provides an opportunity to repurpose old content and turn it into something new. This can cut content investment whilst boosting impressions. In addition, according to Mr Miller, LinkedIn’s content gets up to fifteen times more impressions than the website’s job listings, making it an opportunity not to be missed.

Finally, as expected, marketers must be prepared to promote their best content if they want to experience success. The old adage of quantity over quality has been surpassed, and those producing digital content must now pay close attention to ensure new material is fresh and appealing. Producing this content requires significant investment, and this can be wasted if it’s not properly marketed. As such, Mr Miller suggests targeting the correct audience and having the investment budget to properly promote.

For content marketers, LinkedIn offers a great opportunity. Mr Miller concludes: “I don’t think there are any excuses anymore. If you know that you have a different way to fix a problem and you’re not writing about it, and you’re not putting it out there starting with LinkedIn, then you’re just missing opportunities left and right.” Whilst many marketers might be focussed on other platforms, LinkedIn offers real potential – particularly for companies focussing on other business contacts instead of selling directly to the consumer.

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EditorialPR Musings
Content Marketing Blog

Automation can help marketers to push consumers through marketing cycle’s ‘murky middle’

Marketers confused by metrics for influencers as costs rise

The future of content marketing and native advertising in 2017

Keep visitors engaged with data-backed tactics

B2B content marketers need to maximise LinkedIn efforts