It’s always fascinating for us at AutoUSA to learn about the trends in the market, the changes in customer behaviors and the challenges faced by our dealers. This year’s annual survey results highlighted an evolving marketplace, where customer behavior is changing and forcing dealers to examine their processes, and their positioning in the market.

According to the results from AutoUSA’s annual Internet Marketing survey, the following were chosen as the three biggest challenges that Internet departments are facing:

1) Not Enough Leads (26% of respondents chose this as a major challenge)

Dealers don’t seem to be getting the hoped-for volume of leads they want or expect from their websites. This is interesting because two years ago, “keeping up with lead volume” was the number one challenge. In spite of increased spending on websites and SEO/SEM, and increased traffic, it seems dealers are failing to convert visitors into leads.

To me there’s a simple explanation for this. Consumer expectations and behavior have changed in the last two years. Today’s customers want to be in control of the car-buying process, while many dealers also want control of the process. As a result, dealers and dealer website vendors are saying “It’s all about the lead, give me the lead,” while their customers are saying “It’s all about the information, give me the information.” So when a customer visits a website and is bombarded with chat pop-ups, lead forms and can’t find the information they are looking for (such as price or payment information), they are going to leave the website and find the information somewhere else.

This trend isn’t going to change. Dealers must adapt and give customers the information they want, otherwise they risk losing them to a competitor. Remember, a customer visits only 1.8 dealerships on average before making a vehicle purchase. That tells me today’s consumer has already done the majority of their research online before heading out to their top two dealership choices.

Dealers that focus on the customer’s website experience – making it user-friendly, full of helpful content, and making it convenient for the customer to walk themselves through the process – are more likely to draw customers in than websites that are designed solely as a virtual brochure or to get the customer’s information. Conversion tools that are useful to customers, including trade-in calculators, showroom-visit incentives, and payment quoting tools give customers a compelling reason, or even a reward, to submit their information.

Instead of battling for control, dealers should be helping customers with their search for information. Chances are, those who help the most will be one of the 1.8 dealerships visited.

2) Not Enough Staff (20% of respondents chose this as a major challenge)

Staffing issues tend to be a perpetual challenge year after year, according to our surveys. Whether it’s not enough staff, the quality of staff, staff turnover or staff not following processes – it’s clear that many dealers believe that finding, training and keeping the right staff is a never-ending challenge.

But is it really the staff that’s the problem, or is it that many dealerships haven’t changed their sales model to reflect the state of the market? It’s well accepted that nearly 90% of car buyers start their search online. They, like the majority of us, are used to transacting business regularly online, whether it’s buying books, music, electronics, shopping for homes or travel. The Internet is a common tool, but many stores still treat it as a stand-alone department. We continue to see progressive, successful dealerships with high volumes in Internet sales adopt a model where every salesperson is also equipped to handle Internet inquiries so they can scale to serve more “leads”.

3) Quality of Staff (19% of respondents chose this as a major challenge)

As a young sales manager, I was taught by my GM that a salesperson’s failure (and their subsequent departure from our dealership) was my fault. You hire a skill set, train the desired behaviors, and manage execution of the processes so that you have the best-quality staff possible.

There are many new hires who do not receive enough training and are not held accountable when they don’t follow processes. If quality of staff is your greatest challenge, take ownership of that and improve the quality of your staff, and consequently the customer experience, by providing training and expecting excellence.

Salespeople can be trained to follow Internet processes; it’s no different than training them how to take phone calls or how to deal with customers in person, just a different method of communication.

Other major challenges cited in the survey were as follows:

4) Staff does not consistently adhere to written processes (18%)
5) Marketing budget not large enough to accomplish objectives (18%)
6) Keeping up with lead volume (17%)
7) Lack of staff accountability (16%)
8) Lack of management buy-in (16%)
9) Lack of staff training (15%)
10) High staff turnover (9%)

What is your Internet department’s greatest challenge? How have you dealt with some of these challenges?

POSTED BY Josh Vajda

Day 2 of New Media Expo 2014 from the Rio got underway with morning keynote speaker Scott Stratten, president of UnMarketing, discussing the topic of QR codes and marketing strategies in general during his presentation “QR Codes Kill Kittens: How to Alienate Customers, Dishearten Employees and Drive Your Business into the Ground.”

Certainly the title of the presentation, which doubles as the title for Stratten’s new book, catches your attention right away, just like the man himself. Stratten, who claims to know absolutely nothing about SEO, invented the ‘No’ Button website, where visitors click an animated button to hear a bellowed “Nooooooo!” for eight seconds. That’s the entire site. Sound a little strange? Try it, I bet you’ll return to the site soon enough. Overall, it’s received 20 million views, and as Stratten notes, he ranks first on Google for every version of “no” except for the two-letter version itself!

The Life and Death of QR Codes
But seriously, why do QR codes kill kittens? Because every time a QR code is used improperly or excessively, a kitten dies, Stratten says. He’s joking (right?), but his point is a good one. They can be effective, but they’re being forced on a consumer base that’s not willing or ready for them just yet. At least not that ready.

“I’ve seen QR codes on airline magazines, for instance,” Stratten says. “Problem is, the only time people read airline magazines is during takeoff and landing, because they’re not allowed to use their phones!”

Perhaps Stratten’s most telling example is a poster of missing pets, which has a QR code directing users to a reporting website. The idea itself makes sense, but when you begin to break it down, you start to see a number of holes in the strategy.

For instance, Stratten notes a total of 3.6 percent of smartphone users are capable and willing to scan a QR code on their smartphone. The willing part is important, because if a user tries once and it doesn’t work effectively, they’re far les likely to try again. As Stratten explains, there has to be a better way for individuals to contact an owner if they find a missing pet. That better way? How about, I don’t know, a phone number? While less than 4 percent of people will be scanning the QR code, 99 percent of cell phone users have the capability of calling a telephone number. It’s easier, and more effective. Don’t just use QR codes for the heck of it, especially when there’s a much simpler way to accomplish your objective, Stratten explains.

More than QR Codes
For Stratten though, the overall point isn’t just about QR codes. It’s about doing too much, and not focusing on what matters. As I noted in my presentation yesterday, you shouldn’t just “use Facebook for the sake of using Facebook.” You need to focus on the important things, particularly the content you’re producing. You can Tweet, Facebook and Instagram the heck out of something, but if the content itself isn’t quality, it’s really not going to have much reach.

“You want word of mouth? Do things worth talking about,” Stratten says. “You can’t manufacture viral, you can’t make people talk.”

The pressure on marketers is to hop on the next big thing, just so you don’t miss out. But that can be a dangerous game. As QR codes show, there’s probably some value in each of these mediums, but they need to be used correctly – and not overused – so that this value isn’t obscured. Ultimately, it’s not even about the tool itself, it’s what you do with it.

“You get ROI from listening and being awesome, and sometimes that can happen on Twitter, Stratten argues. “You can all have Twitter accounts, but you gotta use them right.”

At the end of the day, there’s so much being thrown at marketers, it can be tough to sift through the mess to come up with an effective strategy for your brand. But what Stratten wants to convey – in between showing us hilarious tweets from Taco Bell and police departments – is that regardless of the branding avenue you choose, make sure the message is a good one. That’s what’s really going to attract the Likes, ReTweets and +1s.

Blue

Being so focused on online marketing we get caught up in our virtual world that we often get boxed in by the bits of information streaming across the world wide web.
 
Think about it! This is a staggering number! Imagine with just over 5 percent of total sales being made online it makes one think of all the opportunities that still lie ahead for us.
 
This makes finding ways to take digital marketing mobile an incredibly important and the conduit to make this happen is the Smartphone. The traditional PC market of notebooks and desk-based units is expected to decline 7.6 percent in 2013 (see Table 1). This is not a temporary trend induced by a more austere economic environment; it is a reflection of a long-term change in user behavior.
 
Beginning in 2013, ultramobiles will help offset this decline, so that sales of traditional PCs and ultramobiles combined show a 3.5 percent decline in 2013.
 
Here are some statistics that that makes the case for the urgency to develop the technology to make this a reality.

Worldwide Devices Shipments by Segment (Thousands of Units)

Source: Gartner (April 2013)

Tablets are seeing aggressive price erosion and Smartphones are also becoming more affordable, driving adoption in emerging markets and the prepay segment in mature markets. Of the 1.875 billion mobile phones to be sold in 2013, 1 billion units will be smartphones, compared with 675 million units in 2012.
 
It is said the the trend towards smartphones and tablets will have much wider implications than hardware displacement. Software and chipset architecture are also impacted by this shift as consumers embrace apps and personal cloud.
 
As it all stands today mobile provides us with the means and the greatest opportunities and it will be interesting to see how we develop the ways and how this will all unfold in 2014 and the coming years.

By William Cosgrove


 

By and large, marketers have mastered acquiring high-quality leads, but they strike out when it comes to nurturing them.

Despite having the ability to contact 92 percent of leads, Forbes’ research shows that brands touch base with only a quarter of them.

When they do reach out, often it’s too slowly. Forbes reports that 71 percent of generated leads spoil because companies don’t react soon enough.

Fight the urge to point a finger at the sales department. Pinterest’s Head of Partner Marketing Steve Patrizi says a majority of the sales funnel belongs to marketers.

From top of the funnel to the bottom, here are a handful of lead nurturing stats and what they mean to marketers:

1. Automation drives leads

Need more leads? Businesses that use marketing automation to nurture prospects see a 451 percent increase in the number of qualified leads.

What it means: Automation is a must. Not only does automation deliver the right content at the right time, it’s a foolproof way to ensure that every prospect gets nurtured.

Want to get more leads? Download Vocus’ free Do Marketing Automation Better guide now!

2. Leads not prepared to buy

In 2010, Gleanster reported that between 30 and 50 percent of the leads that enter a pipeline are better for future opportunities than current ones.

Relating to that, MarketingSherpa reports that 61 percent of B2B marketers send all leads directly to sales.

What it means: In general, sales departments perform best in the short game. The stats above indicate that marketers don’t deliver the leads sales are best at closing. Lend them a helping hand.

Score your leads and send the closest to conversion to sales. For the rest, nurture them to the point where they need a salesperson. Establishing your business as a trusted resource and maintaining an open dialogue is the best way to do this.

3. Sales cycles lengthening

For 43 percent of B2Bs, the time it takes to go from attraction to conversion has increased. (A SiriusDecisions study reportedly shows that the sales cycle has increased 22 percent.)

What it means: Shrinking budgets and more decision-makers from more departments are at least partially responsible for the numbers above.

Though the former may be something for the sales team to tackle, overcoming the latter requires understanding the needs of each person in the decision-making process and providing content that answers those needs.

Customers rarely move along a path to purchase that marketers dictate. Tracking customers and finding where they abandon that path shows which content works, which falls short and how to adjust accordingly.

4. Different content for different stages

Roughly three of every four of your customers want different pieces of content as they move through the sales cycle.

What it means: Meet the demand by diversifying your content. Identify the types of information your customers need at each point in the marketing funnel. Then determine the best platform for addressing your customers’ needs, whether it’s a blog post, webinar, white paper, newsletter or video.

Bonus stat: Email is a go-to tool for providing information. Targeted emails drive 18 times more revenue than non-targeted ones. 

Customizing content to a prospect’s position in the sales cycle helps nurture them. (Via Salesforce)

5. Jumpstart stalled prospects

Often, it’s easier for prospects to do nothing instead of making a purchase. In fact, nearly three in five sales opportunities end with buyers doing nothing.

What it means: Customers may not realize they have an issue or how serious it really is. Identify your prospects pain points, show how your product provides great ROI and differentiate yourself from the competition.

Conclusion

The happy ending? Despite requiring more time and effort, nurtured leads deliver big rewards.

Companies that nurture leads well generate 50 percent more sales at a 33 percent lower cost.

BY BRIAN CONLIN

Image: DellCloudApplications (Creative Commons)

A war is brewing.

Recently, Masters in Marketing posted this fantastic infographic that gives a perfect overview of the current state of affairs in the social media space.

Some significant take-aways:

• • Over 60% increase in adult internet users using Facebook
  • 40-80% increase in overall social media participation for users over 30
  • 20% of all internet users over 18 are active on LinkedIn
  • Between Q2 and Q3 of 2013, there was a 15% increase in usage of LinkedIn

Branding has an interesting dual nature that makes it both
an advantage and a disadvantage for the little guy.

It’s well known that despite what we’d like to believe, brands
people hate can still succeed. Why? They’ve reached an event
horizon, usually with their immense size, that allows them to
offer things that smaller companies just can’t do.

There’s a simple explanation for how brands people dislike
endure: consumers will continue dealing with a brand they
don’t like if other advantages are significant. People will
tolerate bland stores and mediocre service at Walmart if they think their grocery bill will be ten or twenty
bucks cheaper.

Big brands have “known certainty” playing in their favor. Even if the experience is sub-par, you know what
you’re getting, and you also know you’re probably getting it for pretty cheap.

The future “mom and pop” shops of the world need to do better─but in a strange twist of fate, it’s building
a brand that people love, one customer at a time, that’s the answer.

Today, we’ll look at some research and examples that can help you do just that.

You Can’t Be Everything to Everyone

I hate Miracle Whip.

Frankly, I don’t think there is any faster way to ruin a perfectly good sandwich.

It seems I’m not the only one—Miracle Whip, interested in understanding shoppers’ perceptions towards
the brand, found through their research that people eitherloved or hated Miracle Whip:

Some people praised Miracle Whip’s yumminess, but one character said he’d break up with his girlfriend
if he learned that she liked the dressing. Another said, “I’d rather lick your shoe” than try it.

They quickly found out that Miracle Whip is a very polarizing product.

This is interesting to note because in traditional tests of consumer satisfaction, such as the Net Promoter Score,
brands like Miracle Whip might look somewhat average, despite the fact that there are millions of people who 
really love the product.

Net scores won’t work with a brand that has just as many haters as it does true fans. The best way to address
this divide, as Miracle Whip found in its subsequent marketing strategy, is to play it up.

Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, Miracle Whip embraced the polarizing responses to its product
by creating an ad that interviewed fans, dissenters, and “love-to-hate” celebrities on what they thought about
Miracle Whip in a campaign called Take a Side:

Better yet, Miracle Whip went straight to the fans by encouraging them to make their own responses.

By encouraging users to create a “Love it or Hate it” video explaining how Miracle Whip created a divide
in one of their friendships/relationships, the brand received some pretty funny responses, including this
one from a boyfriend who stated he had a problem “accepting the right of all couples to come together
in holy union.”

As marketing professor Xueming Luo later noted in this Harvard Business Reviewrelease, this strategy
wasn’t just for laughs: the results from this campaign were fantastic, resulting in a 631% surge in social
media postings and a 14% increase in sales.

This shouldn’t be surprising—we’ve covered research in the past that shows nothing brings people together
quite like a common enemy. The secret is simply to create a social identity that causes division.

The data has shown that brands with plenty of animosity can still succeed in a big way. Not every company
can be loved like Amazon; take a look at the love/hate ratio below, and you’ll see that very polarizing brands
like McDonald’s and Starbucks are far and away outperforming their less polarizing counterparts (perhaps
the biggest worry is that people feel nothing when thinking about your brand):

In the same way Abercrombie & Fitch’s CEO can get away with saying that the company doesn’t want ugly
people wearing their clothes, your company should appeal to an “in” group . . . but without being such a jerk.

Classic examples include places like ThinkGeek, who want “geeks only” for their variety of merchandise,
or Apple, who focused more on what their consumers were not (“mindless lemmings”) in order to create
division.

Keep It Simple, Stupid

If there was ever a universal rule for branding, it would be this: the easier it is to understand, the better.

Simplicity allows for better decision making—or at least that is how consumers perceive it. No surprise,
then, that according to this research:

75% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand that they feel is simple.

We’ve talked about the importance of projecting this to new customers via your homepage, as 
further research has shown the same fondness for simple websites, but this simplicity is really
about telling customers what you do and why it’s unique.

In many ways, the appeal of simplicity is seen through all aspects of marketing. In one study
 of over 7,000 consumers which analyzed product “stickiness”—or the likelihood of consumers
to follow through with an actual purchase—the single biggest driver was decision simplicity.

We looked at the impact on stickiness of more than 40 variables, including price, customers’
perceptions of a brand, and how often consumers interacted with the brand. The single biggest
driver of stickiness, by far, was “decision simplicity”—the ease with which consumers can gather
trustworthy information about a product and confidently and efficiently weigh their purchase options."

Since simplicity is subjective, how you simplify things for customers depends onwhat they want.
Dollar Shave Club’s entire model—delivering razors to your door—was able to succeed because
the unique pitch was easy and focused on the right thing: what a pain it is to go to the drugstore
just to buy a razor.

Many “delivery clubs” have followed this model and failed, often because they looked to copy the model
without thinking about what they are selling—not everything is made for a delivery subscription model,
because the annoyance of purchasing the item just isn’t there like it is for razors.

This idea of simplicity also should address your brand’s “desired personality,” according Stanford
psychology professor Jennifer Aaker. Her research found 5 common dimensions in a brand’s personality,
and people like it when yours is obvious:

Make sure “who you are” is apparent in other areas that reflect customer perceptions as well—JCPenny
found this out the hard way when they tried toeliminate sales, a key part of their value-based brand,
from their stores. Remember that elements like pricing, packaging, etc., all play a role in how customers
perceive your business.

The Intersection of Ideas

The best ideas are often found at a crossroads, and this applies to branding as well.

An excellent example comes from our friends at Zapier. As a platform that lets you connect and automate
different apps, branding for Zapier wasn’t “hit you over the head” obvious.

The team found a great crossover by positioning themselves as a way to access “superpowers” to get your
work done. As can be seen through their well-done case studies, Zapier really can come to the rescue when
used correctly.

To highlight this, the recent redesign makes work of a really interesting comic book style:

You might not immediately think of superhero branding when it comes to a tech startup, but given the
widespread recognition of the superhero motif and Zapier’s positioning, it makes absolute sense.

Another benefit of branding “at the crossroads” is the inherent simplicity of connecting two ideas—as
long as it’s done right. When people get what ideas you are connecting, your brand is very easy to
understand.

A bar with a western theme makes sense and allows us to clearly define what it is. It’s the amorphous
branding that you need to worry about: the combining of too many elements or themes that aren’t
compatible. If it leaves people scratching their heads, you’ve done something wrong.

When Should You Brand on Perception?

Do you think Land Rover honestly believes that most people who buy their vehicles will be using them
for off road trips? Given the amount of SUVs they sell, it’s doubtful.

Despite this, they still brand themselves as the car of off the grid adventures. Why?

Recently, an exceptional article by Marc Barros addressed this issue of why companies should brand
 on perceptions instead of reality. The stupidly simple reason is because people buy on perceptions,
not reality.

Some of the examples Barros chose were hilarious but entirely true:

Perception
Drink this beer and you will be like this guy.

Reality
This girl to guy ratio is about right.

Perception
Your surfing videos will look like this.

Reality
When you aren’t the best surfer in the world and don’t have a professional video crew.

This brings us to the aforementioned Land Rover example. Again, according to Barros:

Perception
This car is for driving to amazing, desolate locations.

Reality
Most owners just take the car to Safeway.

Barros cites a study done on “puffery” in product branding, which found that only the most
discerning, experienced consumers were immune to puffery—the act of branding on perception.
The watch geek wearing a Vacheron Constantin won’t fall for that James Bond advertisement; they
already know what they want in a watch.

Traditional consumers, however, do care about the potential lifestyle that a product may bring—
that’s why suburban folks might buy a Land Rover in the first place. AsMarc would put it:

It’s not about the performance of the product, it’s about the lifestyle of the person using the product.

It makes sense for a boot company like Viberg to create videos about how they hand craft each boot
using the best materials—they are appealing to a very savvy and highly discerning audience.

But for sneaker companies like Nike, who sell to consumers with less of an interest in how the product
is made, there’s a real need to brand on perception; if their sneakers are worn by this or that athlete,
if you buy them you might play like them, too.

Written by Gregory Ciotti

Brands are expected to spend more on paid ads in the coming years, as eMarketer predicted digital media investments will climb from $36.8 billion annually to $62.83 billion by 2017. The “Digital Ad Spending by Industry 2013: Forecasts and Key Trends” report explained this total is split across mobile and desktop, but also varies across verticals. Brands don’t need to increase their ad budgets to be successful, but they will find it’s critical they build search engine marketingstrategies that reflect their long-term goals. 

The eMarketer report broke industries into two categories – companies looking to improve branding and others hoping to increase direct responses, such as leads and sales. 

Companies in the travel sector skewed the heaviest toward bottom-of-the-funnel goals and it’s predicted they will spend 73 percent of their paid ad budgets to drive results. Other verticals expected to spend heavily to improve direct response include: 

• Retail (64 percent)
•  Financial services (62 percent)
•  Media (60 percent)
•  Telecom (55 percent)
•  Healthcare & pharmaceuticals (54 percent)

On the other end of the spectrum, entertainment brands and consumer package goods (CPG) marketers plan to spend more on top-of-funnel goals like brand awareness (63.5 percent and 63 percent, respectively). 

This breakdown is similar to another report Brafton recently covered from Webmarketing 123, which found both B2B and B2Cs list bottom-line goals as their top priorities in 2014. It’s important for marketers to produce tangible ROI when running any campaign, but they may lose leads and conversion opportunities if they don’t balance their efforts across the sales spectrum. By putting emphasis on branding and engagements, marketers create a pipeline of prospects that can eventually contribute to hard sales.

It’s equally as important to strike a balance with organic content marketing. Content should be created for prospects throughout the sales funnel, as well as those who have yet to enter, and current customers. It might be easier for marketers to cater to a wider audience with a focus on organic brand content, rather than paid ads, because these pieces live longer online and can be repurposed across channels for greater value.

by Brafton Editorial

What do E.T., Jimmy Kimmel, Mashable and The Washington Post have in common?

They all used native advertising.

Also known as sponsored content, native advertising allows businesses to include branded content that resembles journalistic content in a publication’s pages.

The paid content will never match the credibility and value of earned media, but it can still amplify earned or owned messages, according to Edelman Chief Content Strategist Steve Rubel.

In Steve’s Sponsored Content Report he breaks down the ins and outs of native advertising.

This article highlights Steve’s findings about why native advertising’s popularity has surged and how brands and publications use it.

Why Now?

Native advertising has existed in some form for decades.

Recently, though, major news publications that had once shunned branded content from its pages have become open to it.

Here are three reasons why:

1. Vanishing revenue streams

It’s no secret that U.S. news media outlets need new sources of revenue.

Even since the beginning of 2013, advertising prices have dropped sharply because of increased content accessibility, fewer banner clicks due to increased mobile usage, and digital ad exchanges providing real-time ad inventory trading.

At the same time, few consumers have shown a willingness to pay for news.

2. Evolving reader behavior

Twitter and Facebook pioneered chronological news consumption with its layouts that include ads and personal content alongside editorial news.

People generally accept advertising in social networks (and search engines) because they understand that’s the cost of a free service.

Having paid, owned and earned content next to each other has potentially changed how audiences feel about “the permeability between advertising and editorial (e.g. the so-called church-state wall),” Steve writes.

Wrestling with native advertising? Register for Steve’s free webinar now!

3. Brands focusing on content

Fifty-five percent of B2C content marketers said spending on content would increase over the next 12 months, according to a 2012 study.

The continued growth of content marketing—which allows marketers to tell their brand story on their own websites, mobile apps and social channels—creates stiff competition for prospects’ attention.

Marketers joining forces with news executives “may enable sponsored content to thrive,” Steve writes.

What Do Native Ads Look Like?

Just as content types differ, so do the types of native advertising. Steve’s research has show three common approaches.

Steve suggests that more forms of native advertising will emerge as the practice becomes more widespread, ethical dilemmas are resolved and publishers differentiate offerings.

Here are three of today’s most popular methods:

1. Paid syndication

Currently the most common format, paid syndication places clearly labeled branded articles, videos, slideshows and infographics in the news section.

Paid syndication has potential pitfalls, though. Clearly labeling content as a “sponsored post” could drive readers away.

Other times, it can frustrate readers. In January 2013, The Atlantic published native advertising by The Church of Scientology and came under fire as its audience found it too self-serving. The backlash forced them to take down the article 11 hours later.

AOL, Slate, NBC News, and Gawker Media are some news outlets that run paid-syndicated posts.

2. Paid integration

Steve compared this tactic to TV product placement, where a publication weaves a brand into a narrative.

BuzzFeed, for example, uses this tactic by creating a post centered around a “sponsor’s ideals” with a brand message weaved in, Steve says.

Other publications will integrate native ads into posts but do so more overtly. For example, a top 10 list will have a sponsor listed as number 11.

3. Paid co-creation

The future of native advertising may be paid co-creation, Steve says. It has the potential to benefit readers, marketers and publishers while being “ethically safer.”

With the tactic, a brand funds the development and staffing of a new site, news section or app. Though a marketing team guides the new platform’s direction, the publication typically controls the editorial content.

Mashable, for example, has teamed its content creators with marketers to develop a series of feature articles that relate to the brand’s values or themes.

Conclusion

Steve writes that native advertising continues to evolve and provides the PR industry an opportunity to expand its relationship with media outlets. However, unknowns, including solutions to ethical issues, remain.

The onus of resolving the pitfalls of native advertising does not belong to publishers only, though.

“The PR industry can play a key role in the development of this new advertising format,” Steve writes. “Experimentation should be encouraged. And just as the social media revolution expanded the profession’s remit, so may sponsored content – but perhaps in a much more profound and accelerated way.”

BY BRIAN CONLIN

Here's an old recipe for what may be ailing you this morning

70% social media visitors are frequenting platforms for business purposes which surely wants to make B2B marketers to want to sit up and take note.

Lets start by understanding a few quick facts about B2B social media marketing

• Organisations set varied goals on social media which in descending order range from brand awareness, customer acquisition lead generation to customer retention.
• B2B marketers rate blogs & in person events as most effective
• After Twitter and Linkedin, Youtube and slideshare has been rated as second most effective marketing form for B2B content.
• On an average 30% of B2B marketing budgets are allocated to content marketing. Needs to be provision for in all B2b marketing plans without which no amount of promotion will deliver results.
• Most content of B2B marketing are based on industry trends.
• Metrics of success vary from reach, downloads, lead generation to brand sentiment positive versus negative.
• Twitter dominates the B2B landscape whilst in terms of efficacy of content the blog scores the highest.
• The top preferred social media channels for marketers include twitter, linkedin, Youtube, facebook and the blog

Platform choices should be decided based on nature of content to maximise conversation value and virality. Serious brand centric content is best placed on blogs, twitter, linkedin etc whilst casual customer centric content thrives on facebook/youtube etc. Also blogs become ideal for thought leadership, linkedin for collaboration and twitter for marketing services.

Today B2B marketers are using various techniques to harness interaction levels on platforms and increase frequency of visitation. Eg : Cisco runs a UGC (User generated consumer) blog and rewards visitors, contributors, active writers, employees who contribute to it in the form of badges and a meter which is trackable using Cisco logins. The same is visible in the screens below.

Dell also runs a rewards programme on facebook to encourage repeat visitation, engagement and conversations . To strengthen its social media presence it has also set up a social media listening center powered by listening tools. The dashboard ensures realtime responses and feedback along with an always on sense of positive /negative sentiments.

You tube being another very critical b2b channels content investments are being made to build a rich repository of videos ranging from product ,service, customer support, events and specials. Cisco being a classic example of building a video enabled site on youtube.

B2B brands are recognizing the importance of being conversational and casual to connect better. Hence posts which spark conversations are becoming critical.
“ Wish you could indulge in multi-tasking/face to face interaction even in the cloud? What if you could attend a board meeting at the Headquarters without moving
an inch from your cubicle?”

The key mantra to good content marketing on social media is to build a rich content property/platform and circulate/ interlink it across social media touchpoints in various formats to multiply reach, virality and conversations to amplify it. The same in turn enables buzz, multiple inbound links, better searchability and scale.

This is a far better strategy versus fragmenting content, creating multiple content inputs and spreading the investments thin. Also to create consumable content for B2B marketing its
critical to build it in the form of downloadables, videos, infographics and articles.

Social media success metrics should always be mapped against set objectives which can range from reach within the TG to increasing website traffic or lead generation to influence.. The measures vary based on platform . Eg : Views on youtube, followers on Twitter/Linkedin, fans on Facebook , Mentions/retweets /PTAT .

B2B marketers need to adopt the following approach to build robust social media presence .
• Listen – don’t pitch
• Entertain – make people laugh
• Educate – Share helpful information
• Listen some more
• Ask questions – solicit feedback/market research
• Be transparent, reciprocative and accountable to the community

Whilst we take cues from B2B marketers like Cisco and Dell who have got their act together and made huge foray in social media the following 7 steps would certainly ensure a kickstart in the right direction.
1. Set social media goals which tie back with overall business goals
2. Allocate minimum of 20% + of social media budgets for content creation
3. Create a content strategy as a first step before venturing into conversations in the community
4. Build a robust content property around the same which rests in a central location preferably on the blog.
5. Have a distribution plan in place to interlink the content property across social platforms and maximise distribution, inbound links
6. Measure success against the goals set
7. Have relative progressive benchmarks to build on social media plans

So its time to gear up to be a truly networked brand and interact, engage, collaborate using available social media platforms & tools.