Why Your Online Marketing Isn’t Working

By Jon Gelberg
Source: http://www.inc.com/jon-gelberg/online-content-marketing-how-to-stand-out.html

Attention spans have gotten shorter and the competition has only grown stronger. What are you doing to rise above the noise? Online marketing is not for the timid.

Consider: On the one hand, millions of companies online produce mountains of content. On the other, consumers have pitifully short attention spans, little to no patience, and an unwillingness to take the time to really delve deeply into any online content.

How do you even compete in that environment? In general terms, you can’t–unless you’re doing three things:

1. You’re damned sure you’ve got something worth saying.
2. You get your message across quickly, briefly, and clearly.
3. You’re loud!
   Whether you’re using your company website, blog, social media activities, or advertising, you have to shout to your target audience, delivering the message that you have real, valuable expertise

How do you turn up the volume?

At a speaking engagement last month, I spoke about content marketing and how to position yourself as an expert online. I told the crowd that they had to embrace their inner Einstein and be prepared to tell the world just how smart, creative, and innovative they are.

A member of the audience raised his hand and expressed his reservations about presenting himself as an expert or even someone with a particular expertise. A member of the boomer generation, he was uncomfortable with the whole notion of self-promotion.

While sympathetic to what he was saying, I also knew that that attitude would not serve him well in the digital world. In the gentlest possible terms, I suggested to him that he either forget about marketing himself online or that it was time to start tooting his own horn.

Remember, your target audience is demanding and wants only to hear from the best. If you don’t have something to brag about, then you are doomed. If you have something to brag about and don’t do it, you’re doomed.

Your ammunition

Sit down right now and make a list of what differentiates you and your business.

• What are your academic and professional credentials?
• What are your best success stories/case studies?
• What industry/professional awards have you won?
• What great things are your customers saying about you (testimonials)?
• What great things have the press said about you?
• Who are your most impressive clients?
• Just how successful ($$$) is your company?
• Armed with this information broadcast it–loudly–to your target audience.

If you can’t convince yourself why customers or clients should be coming to you instead of your competitors, then how are you going to convince your target audience?

However you feel about it, there is little or no place for humility on the Web. In a world where your potential customers are looking for the very best and all of your competitors are just a click away, you’ve got to make yourself heard.

Jon Gelberg is the Chief Content Officer at Blue Fountain Media, a leading Web design, development, and marketing company based in New York. @JonBFM

What Makes a Great Brochure?

by Ann Fottler-Pierce
Source: http://www.xtremebrandmakeover.com/brochure-design-tips.html

There is hardly a company out there that couldn’t make excellent use of a good product or service brochure. In fact, a well designed, informative brochure is often the cornerstone of a company’s marketing effort. They can be used for a single purpose, such as a leave-behind piece for sales calls, or for multiple uses. They can be mailed to prospects to spark interest, handed out at events and trade shows, mailed to fill information requests and more. A really good brochure can do a lot of heavy lifting for marketing and sales, the operative word being GOOD.

A marketing piece as important as this will be viewed carefully and will reflect the quality and value of your company’s products and services in the recipient’s mind. It can establish your credibility and professionalism, or destroy it. It can make the big sale, or break it. So, when it’s time for your company to produce a new brochure, make it a top priority to get it right the first time.

What goes into the design of a high-quality brochure?

A quality brochure will use a combination of design, visuals, text and layout to create a look and feel that emphasizes your marketing objectives – introducing a new product, selling a service, creating brand awareness or soliciting donations. The objectives can vary as widely as the designs, what matters is that your brochure communicates effectively to your target audience. Often, having an outside firm write and design your brochure will help you avoid the trap of using industry jargon and acronyms. They will help you to view things from the prospect’s point of view instead of a salesperson’s.

When starting your brochure project begin by identifying your target audience. Who is this brochure aimed at? CEOs, housewives, human resources managers, affluent males over 50? Know your audience and speak to it, specifically. You may find that you have more than one distinct target audience you need to engage, such as a CEO and an IT manager. These two individuals would have very different concerns and levels of technical expertise. In that case think seriously about creating more than one brochure to appeal to each audience and address their specific questions and concerns. Remember, you need this heavy-hitting brochure to be effective. Creating more than one version may get you a higher ROI than producing just one, all-purpose brochure.

When you’ve determined who you are talking to select the most valuable benefit they derive from your product or service. You may want to do research here with past customers to determine that benefit, it’s not always what you think it will be. Your product may help a busy executive stay organized, but the real benefit to the customer may be the time your product saves him, or the freedom that organization gives him. If you take the time to identify why past customers bought your product it will pay off with new prospects. Then your new brochure can make use of text, pictures, colors and design to emphasize what that benefit will mean to them.

In the initial design process be sure to involve any high-level decision makers right from the start to get the buy-in you’ll need for approval. This will help you avoid costly redesigns and other changes at the end of a project when they are the most expensive and time consuming to make.

As we said in the beginning your brochure will do some heavy lifting for your sales and marketing departments, so don’t strain it too much. Avoid the temptation to overload your brochure with every fact, feature and detail of your offering. Give prospects the information they need to get excited about your product and persuade them to take the next step in your sales process. That could be calling to place an order, visiting a web site, setting up a sales appointment, or visiting a store location. Whatever your sales cycle calls for, make sure your brochure prominently asks your prospect to move forward – this is a Call To Action. That’s what you’re really after, so be sure to ask for it.

A brochure allows you to leave a lasting impression on your prospects. That means a poorly executed brochure will actually do more harm than good, costing your company much more than the price of producing a high-quality piece in the first place. Be sure to check out the materials of the competition. The idea here is not to copy them, you always what to differentiate your company, but to make sure that your materials are as good or better than theirs. You will get the best ROI by using professional designers, photographers, copy writers, proofreaders and printers for your project. Help them gather all the information they need about your company, brand and product, then with guidance from you, let them do their stuff! The next time a prospect asks you for more information, you’ll be proud to present them with your impressive new brochure and you’ll know your well on your way to a new sale.

Ann Fottler-Pierce is founder and creative director of Xtreme Brand Makeover and its parent company, Piercing Communications.

7 Ways to Make a Mini-Marketing Campaign

By Tim Donnelly
Source: http://www.inc.com/guides/201109/7-ways-to-create-a-mini-marketing-campaign.html

Go big or go home? Forget that. These strategies for increasing your brand influence take hardly any time, and very little money.

Let’s say you’ve got some down time between major marketing campaigns. Does that mean your marketing efforts have to go into hibernation? Of course not. You can fill in the downtime in your bigger advertising strategy with some mini-marketing campaigns that are often quick, uncomplicated and cheap—or even free. Experts from top marketing firms share some ideas on things you can do to run a smart—and influential—mini-marketing campaign that might even change the way you reach your customers in the future.

1. Experiment with new audiences.
“Throughout the year, large campaigns rarely stray from their core target audiences. But there are opportunities within secondary audiences. To draw on these opportunities, we usually turn to social first. We monitor social campaigns throughout the year and identify key questions and conversations we want to explore further. Then, when we have time, we survey these audiences, conduct small, targeted promotions, or post engaging messages to see what they have to say. More often than not, we learn something new that we weren’t considering for an upcoming launch or get added validation for a new idea or direction.“
—Todd Miller, managing partner, The Archer Group

2. Go big with pop-up events.
“Find a venue where many people who are your customers or prospects show up. Better yet, buy a booth or offer your services for speaking or host a party for customers and encourage them to bring friends. This gives you the chance to speak with current customers to learn what they like/dislike, but mostly it gives you the chance to prospect. Just don’t make the mistake too many business people make after the event: failing to follow up on every lead. If you gathered hundreds of business cards or email addresses then send a thank you and invitation to stay in touch. Offer something of value in this email—a discount, a free newsletter, added features, etc.—then the people most interested will “hand raise” and identify themselves to you for further follow-up and marketing efforts.“
—Linda Worrell, managing director, Red F

3. Sponsor conversations.
“People today love to talk and express their opinions. Blogs, chat rooms, comment sections are filled with loads of people expressing themselves. This, if you play your cards right, can be a great opportunity for your product or brand. Why not offer up topics for people to discuss? And make them topics that relate to your marketing efforts. Use Facebook or blog comments to start a relevant conversation where, at some point, your product can play a role. Be careful, however, not to appear to be ‘selling.’ Generate a conversation that is authentic to the topic, and that your brand can become a part of as opposed to a conversation that is about your product. People will happily talk about things that are interesting to them, and brands are not interesting. So make your brand a byproduct of the conversation, not the topic itself.“
—Kevin Roddy, chief creative officer, Publicis & Hal Riney

4. Attach yourself to large events.
“Sponsoring big events can be an effective but expensive way of connecting with industry leaders. Instead of going the sponsorship route, think of interesting ways to associate your product or service with the event to create organic buzz. For example, a cocktail hour at a nearby venue or a social-media driven game that incorporates panels and parties might be more cost-effective ways to leverage an event. Your campaign idea should provide value to event-goers; the reason Foursquare was a hit at SXSW was because it made it easier for friends to find each other. Keep in mind that early adopters can be your biggest cheerleaders, so connect with anyone going to the event who is an admitted fan of your product and reward them for sharing positive stories. People trust the advice of their friends and peers, so keep in mind that one good experience with your product can have a waterfall effect that goes viral.“
—Maneesh K. Goyal, CEO of MKG, an experiential marketing agency

5. Emphasize earned media.
“Emphasize ‘earned’ media programs during these ‘dark’ periods in-between your big campaigns. Earned media, in the form of, for example, traditional public relations efforts and social media programs can be a cost-effective way to stay in market even when you don’t have ad budgets. We have found that emphasizing social media outreach and programs just as paid advertising campaigns wind down can be a highly effective way to keep an organizations message in market even after paid ads go away.“
—Jose Villa, founder and president Sensis advertising agency

6. Try a new format.
“One of the things you have to look at when you attempt short-burst marketing is how much share of somebody’s attention you can capture for the most reasonable share of money. What I would consider looking at social as an environment to capture market share. There’s not much advertising in social apps. Usually, you get a large percentage or 100 percent share of voice within the application. Within that you’re also getting a very engaged audience. Some offer the opportunity to buy in the stream of social activities people are performing across web and mobile. It’s the most effective way you can spend your money for a short burst of time. The key is buying ‘in activity:’ as you send a gift, perform a mission, check in or set a status, that is when we perform our advertising. You’re reaching an engaged consumer at the right time. As somebody performs a social activity, and you reach that consumer, that’s when they’re likely to share, that’s when they’re likely to ‘like.’”
—Robert Victor, CMO of Appssavvy

7. Revisit old leads.
“One thing to do would be to recontact people that you’ve spoken to that have for whatever reason, in a friendly way, turned you down in the past. Revisit those people. If people have called you to inquire about your product or service but have not bought from you, it’s always good to call those people back and re-pitch them. They’ve already expressed interest in you, they may or may not have been in research mode when they called. It’s a fruitful, no-cost list. You don’t have to spend money to get that list. You know they’re interested in your product.”
—Dan Feldstein, cofounder and chief marketing officer, Red Ventures

Read more:

• Creating Marketing Campaigns That Matter

Tim Donnelly is a freelance writer and managing editor of Brokelyn.com. His work has appeared in Billboard, The Atlantic, Thought Catalog, and The New York Post. @TimDonnelly

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

Marketing Lessons From the ‘Little Guys’

By Janine Popick

Big businesses need to lighten up, get creative and take a few cues from small business owners.

It’s usually assumed that when it comes to marketing, small businesses can always learn from their larger counterparts, right? Chances are, the big guys have survived their fair share of marketing campaigns, whether good, bad or downright ugly. Factor in an ample marketing budget and a well-paid marketing team and they’re probably light years ahead of smaller businesses. But is that really the case? I beg to differ.

Corporations tend to keep a closer eye on their bottom line, which means they’re far less likely to take risks or test out new ideas. Conversely, the folks in charge could also decide to gobble up every last penny in the budget knowing if they don’t use it now, it might not be there next year. But what if those dollars came out of their own checking accounts? They’d certainly think twice before spending it now, wouldn’t they?

Most small business owners experience pangs of guilt after opening up their pocketbooks. I know I did when I first launched my e-mail marketing company, VerticalResponse. It seemed like every dollar spent on advertising was one less dollar going toward buying new supplies or technology, hiring employees or even clearing their paychecks. It’s a pretty tough pill to swallow. Because every dollar is so important, small businesses want to see results for everything they spend, and they want to see them quick.

That’s why small businesses must be super creative when it comes to acquiring customers. Here are some things that  I think small businesses are doing good that larger companies might learn a thing or two from.

Grassroots Marketing

Remember the days of good ol’-fashioned face-to-face networking? Ever see anyone from a huge corporation at a local Chamber of Commerce function? Small business owners frequent these gatherings and network like there’s no tomorrow, because a lot times this is their only opportunity to get out of their store or office to meet like-minded people. The San Francisco Chamber, for example, holds after-hours events where local business owners meet, exchange ideas, establish leads and stay in touch however they can. Bigger companies should follow suit by designating community coordinators who can get to know owners by name and attach real, human and hopefully smilling faces to corporate logos.

Social Networking

Small businesses excel at building genuine connections, engaging existing customers and leveraging their networks to secure new prospects. Take San Francisco-based pet boarding facility Pet Camp. They keep in touch with e-mail marketing and include lots of easy-to-share content. They take photos of their campers and post them to their Facebook page (often with hilarious captions), so proud moms and dads can check in on their four-legged family member while away. Of course, larger companies do encourage social media participation – as long as employees follow their gazillion-page social media rulebook. Now I’m not saying social media should be a free-for-all, but companies of all sizes can benefit from having a personality and some flexibility when it comes to social media.

Over-Delivering

In order to set themselves apart from competitors, “mom-and-pop” operations realize a few extra touches make all the difference in the world. I once bought a pair of shoes from a seller on eBay. The package not only arrived in pristine condition, but came with a free shoehorn, leather protection and hand cream. Talk about making the most of your packaging real estate. When was the last time you were treated to a freebie by Amazon?

Being Human

Small businesses do a great job at showing what happens behind the scenes, which helps establish a stronger and more genuine connection with customers. Sonoma, Calif.-based winery Longboard Vineyards encourages readers to learn about Oded the owner, his passion for wine-making and his loyal Longboardians while browsing photos of the lush grounds and their trips to Costa Rica and San Diego. What an great way to immerse people in the company culture.

Lightening Up

Many entrepreneurs start their own businesses for the chance to do what they truly enjoy, not to make it to the top of the corporate ladder. Customers sense this the moment they enter their stores or visit their websites. Vermont’s Magic Hat Brew Company injects fun into everything they do, whether it’s telling folks about upcoming events or where to buy beer. My own company once shot a rap video to increase awareness of what we do and years later, it’s still getting views.

I challenge big businesses to lighten up, get creative and take a few cues from small business owners. Urge your CMOs to pretend they’re spending their own money and you’ll be surprised at what they come up with to battle the competition and the “little guys.” But watch out, we’re sure to put up a fight!

Source: http://www.inc.com/janine-popick/marketing-lessons-from-the-little-guys.html

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse, a leading provider of self-service e-mail and event marketing, online surveys, social media, and direct mail solutions. The company was ranked No. 1,771 on the 2011 Inc. 5000 list. @janinepopick