The Use of Digital Marketing and Social Media in Its Infancy in Finnish Industrial Enterprises

Traditionally, Finland has been regarded as one of the top users of Internet technology. Alarmingly enough, certain recent research results  do not seem to support this notion. In autumn 2011, the DIMAR research   project funded by the Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) explored the current state of digital marketing and social media in the Finnish industry. According to the survey, every 10^th industrial enterprise in Finland makes no use of digital media. Still fewer enterprises make use of social media. As much as 50% of the enterprises participating in the survey said that they were not utilizing social media at all.

Accordingly, the views the enterprises have of the manifestations of social media vary depending on the medium in question. Quite surprisingly, the tools of social media were considered the least important: almost half the enterprises participating in the survey thought that they are unimportant. On the other hand, the enterprises react more positively to customer magazines, newsletters, email and SMS marketing and sales support material. Approximately every 10^th enterprise utilizes the potential offered by e-commerce with only every second enterprise using online advertising (banners). Neither have the roles of search engine advertising and optimization been established in the marketing operations of industrial enterprises. A customer magazine, newsletter and sales support material are considered familiar and safe media, which can contribute to successful business.

The research results are alarming in that enterprises may not understand the importance of the media of digital marketing familiar to the ever growing number of customers, particularly young people. Enterprises have to know where to find their customers. “Even if some enterprises must have understood this, the results of statistical surveys do not confirm that assumption”, says Mr. Jorma Kananen, Principal Lecturer of Business Operations Research and Development at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences.
Some of the worst barriers to the utilization of digital marketing in enterprises seem to be lack of resources, and a limited amount of time and know how available including difficulties with content production. Technical difficulties or shortage of money are only regarded as minor obstacles. Therefore, lack of resources may be interpreted to be equivalent to lack of experts of marketing. The staffs at enterprises keep working as before without recognizing the need for change. As Kananen goes on to say, “a skills gap in the utilization of the current marketing tools and media seems to be the greatest obstacle to successful business activities.

In order to make the use of digital marketing more effective, enterprises do not, necessarily, have to increase their marketing budgets but instead, re-organize them. This also calls for new kind of contemplation on the relationship between enterprise and customer and their mutual communication. Instead of gigantic investments, digital marketing will generate cost savings. Customers may participate in product design, and it will be possible to solve claims within the customer community. Furthermore, real time discourse with customers will make business activities more effective. The utilization of the nearly free tools of social media will save costs.” However, in order to achieve this, the enterprise has to take digital marketing and the new technology into account in its strategic planning. It is high time to question the traditional way of marketing, in which an enterprise approaches the target group chosen through a marketing communications campaign”, Kananen points out.

(Some background information of the survey: The participants were 150 industrial enterprises. Thus, the results are only suggestive.  There will be a further study in spring 2012 with SMEs in Central Finland as the target group. http://www.dimar.fi/)

Further information:
Mr. Jorma Kananen, Principal Lecturer of Business Operations Research and Development at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, Business and Services Management, jorma.kananen(at)jamk.fi, tel. +358 40 732 8742

Internet Marketing Campaign – Is It Right For You?

If you think your products and services are worth a buy across the globe, then an internet marketing campaign is the solution you’re looking for. This will enable you to reach out to anyone on the planet. Whether it’s managing customer information, launching a public relations campaign or building sales.

If you’re thinking that this sounds like a lot of blah, read on.

An internet marketing campaign has, you guessed it, everything to do with the internet! It helps you use the internet to advertise or sell goods and services. There are lots of creative ways you can do that, some of the most popular being:

• Pay per click advertising
• Banner advertisements
• Email marketing
• Search engine marketing
• Blog marketing
• Article marketing

Each of these has its advantages, and what you choose to use depends a lot on your business goals. For the moment, let’s look at the benefits of pursuing an internet marketing strategy in general:

24×7 visibility – Customers around the globe are relying on the internet as a primary source of knowledge, so you need to be right there.

Zero in – Internet technology can help you identify your target, like no other. Web analytics (which is jargon for understanding the behavior of visitors on your site) has the ability to identify and track potential customers, and saves you the bother of a wild goose chase.

Cut costs – It’s no secret that it would cost you an arm and a leg to run a full-blown campaign on TV or other media. The internet is an extremely cost-effective medium in comparison, and therefore gives you the chance to pass on some of those savings to your customers.

Seize the moment – You never know when there’s somebody with a need that your product can satisfy – an internet marketing strategy enables you to be in the customers’ face at all times. When the impulse to buy seizes your customer, you need to be there, pushing your wares.

Give them what they want – If you’re a reseller, an internet marketing strategy will allow you to understand your customers’ needs better, and then customize the product offering to their needs. For example, online sellers of music could create a personalized compilation of favorite tracks. This will help secure customer loyalty and build favorable word of mouth.

Build a buzz – By allowing customers to interact with each other you can create a loyal community. Take eBay for example.

If you’re thinking there’s got to be a catch somewhere, well, you’re dead right! While deciding on your internet marketing campaign, it’s useful to bear some things in mind.

Information overload – With all the information available online, it’s not surprising that most customers are either comparing prices or worse, are confused! So you need to be creative while deciding your internet marketing campaign, to make sure you stand out among the crowd.

Fear of fraud – The internet is not without its share of rogues, and that could make prospective customers feel vulnerable. You need to reassure them about the safety of doing business with you. Reputed online sellers will ensure that they link up with secure payment gateways. eBay even gives useful advice about trading safely.

No touchy-feely – most people still think of the internet as a place to gather information, but would rather purchase at a store where they can experience the product. You can actually do something about this – for example http://www.amazon.com allows prospective book buyers to read selective pages before they decide to buy. Alternatively, you could frame an attractive exchange policy or money back guarantee.

A problem of image – You’ll find that a lot of rival websites have queered the pitch with their slow response rates and laughable customer service policies! You’ll need to work that much harder to undo the damage.

As with any business decision, you need to think carefully about your internet marketing campaign. While you’re the best judge, there are professionals like http://www.wilsonweb.com, http://www.web-source.net and http://www.marketingtips.com that could help you make that call.

via Internet Marketing Campaign – Is It Right For You?.

Getting Too Much Email on LinkedIn?

Let’s face it, if you participate in social media, you really relinquish all privacy. LinkedIn is one of those places that you often think of as only a “business network” and may not give consideration to what information they gather and share. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn only has about 29 options and they are easy to understand and navigate. Many social media strategists, myself included, will recommend that you join groups, but that can flood your Inbox. Here’s how to solve that problem.

1.  Group settings Each group that you join has email settings. Go to the group and click the ‘More’ tab>My Settings at the top.

You can decide if you want to receive emails digested daily, weekly or not at all. You also can control whether or not you allow members from that group to contact you directly. This defaults to checked. If you are getting too much email, uncheck this.

2.  Email Privacy Settings Under the Privacy Settings (click your name in the upper right of the page, then settings) you can edit your “Email Preferences” to select the types of messages you want to receive, who sends them, and how frequently you get them.

3.  Group Privacy Settings You can also set some rules inside Group Privacy Settings such as how often emails from groups are digested and whether or not you want to be invited to join groups.

Are you interested in receiving invitations to join specific groups? If so then check this box, if not, uncheck it

Hopefully, these tips will give you a little more control over your Inbox in the future.

Original Blog Post: http://socialstrand.com/2011/07/25/getting-too-much-email-on-linkedin/