An overview of opinions and observations for the month.
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Letters to Ilysha #8
Dear Ilysha,
I got to see you again today :)
Daddy was a bit worried this week because he got to the Contact Centre at about 9.30am, and at almost 10am, you were still nowhere to be seen! Daddy was waiting inside impatiently when Mummy came hurrying in with you in her arms apologising whilst you smiled straight at me looking mischievous :)
We signed in and went into the play area - Mummy's schizophrenia was working in Daddy's favour this week, she was speaking to Daddy perfectly fine like nothing had ever happened - but Daddy is never the one to provoke an argument so he just went along with it. Mummy explained you had not long woken up and hadn't had your breakfast yet... :D - Daddy was grinning at this point because he knew what that meant! Until now Mummy had always fed you before we spent time together, but this week I was going to get to feed you! :D
Daddy went and fetched the high chair and set it up, and Mummy explained about your breakfast routine. She had made you a big bowl of tropical mushed up puree, you had a raspberry yoghurt and a bottle of water. Mummy explained you found the tropical a bit tangy, but that you did like it :) - I she said bye to us both, and left with a smile saying she'd see us in a couple of hours - that's right, this week I got to have you to myself for the full session without Mummy there with us! :')
I sat you in the high chair and fastened the five point harness, and positioned you facing me - you were looking at me looking confused hehe. I got your bowl of tropical out and you started kicking excitedly with your eyes lit up - I guess you were a hungry little girl! I was feeding you, but I quickly learned the creche environment is very distracting, as you kept turning to see what was going on around with you! I had to constantly chase your mouth with the spoon! Then when you did face me, you grabbed the bowl and dipped your fingers in your food little mucky pup! I sucked your fingertips to get the food off them and you laughed in delight hehe :')
You ate nearly all your food but towards the end seemed disinterested, so I left the last bit - too be fair the bowl had more food in it than I eat these days! :') - you loved your yoghurt, I didn't have to chase you for that! I did a good job of not decorating your whole face with your food hehe :) - then you had your bottle of water, but you're a lazy little bugger and wouldn't hold it up yourself, so Daddy held it for you. I got you out the high chair and cradled you whilst you were drinking out your bottle and you were lying back looking up at me inquisitively :')
I carried you with me & took the high chair back, and then we came back to play. I'd brought all your toys with me again this week, and you happily picked up where we'd left off last time! It was like we'd never left. You still liked eating all the toys, and you still were obsessed with my boots haha, random little things that amuse me :) - and you had a little chat with me again this week, babbling away whilst we were playing :) - you kept pulling your socks off this week too! I must've put them back on about 10 times hehe!
I got a brilliant video of you giggling your head off as we played - I was rocking you and letting you push off the floor with your little feetsies, and chucking you in the air and catching you, and flying you around - you were giggling constantly and it was so adorable, the cutest giggle I've ever heard in my whole life :) - and just seeing you smiling and happy is the greatest feeling I've ever known.
You showed me your new trick this week, my clever little girl had learned how to roll over! So I was lying on the floor with you rolling over with you, encouraging you to practice :D - you'd end up on your tummy and reach out for me making little grunts trying to push yourself forward with your little legs and I'd reach for you to get you to push forward towards me :')- other parents were giggling as I rolled round the floor with you - I must have looked crazy hehe!
Towards the end of our time together you were starting to get tired, you were rubbing your eyes and yawning, so I picked you up and walked around with you, rocking you and comforting you. You were looking up at me, smiling peacefully - such an amazing feeling, just holding you, and knowing you are mine, and seeing the love in your eyes - nothing makes Daddy feel more invincible.
Mummy came to fetch you at the end of the session, and was still civil with Daddy - I explained you hadn't finished all your food and Mummy said that sometimes you don't manage eat it all so not to worry. We discussed your new skill of rolling, and Mummy told me you were getting good now at home, that you'd rolled halfway across the room the other day :') - Daddy's clever little girl. I gave you a kiss and a cuddle, and told you I loved you and that I'd see you next week, and said goodbye to your Mummy, and then came the saddest part when I have to watch Mummy take you away for another week.
I love you so much my little Princess, every time I see you, it reminds me why I fight for you, why I will never give up on you. Every second we are together makes the pain when we're apart worth it. You are truly my everything - and I can't wait to proudly watch you grow up :') - I'm counting down the minutes to seeing you again already... the weekends can't come quick enough anymore, and I wish the days between away until I can see you once more.
I love you Ilysha, my daughter, my Princess, my world. I'm going nowhere...
Daddy x x x
Friday, 28 June 2013
Crash For Cash Awareness
Cash for crash fraud still affects you - even if you are a genuine motorist.
You must have heard by now about crash fraud. There has been a lot of media attention lately as angry motorists start to realise that they are the one's who are paying for the lavish criminal lifestyle of those involved in cash for crash scams.
Recently the Sun ran a two page spread that focused on brothers Raja and Bilal Waqas, two such fraudsters costing honest people extra money. The article highlighted that the fraud industry has become so lucrative that it was described as being even more profitable than dealing drugs by those involved. When fraudulent insurance claims are exploited to their full potential, the insurance companies are left to foot the bill. In this case, a whopping £400 million.
"But why does my insurance go up? I haven't made a claim?!"
It doesn't seem fair does it? Other people exploit the system and commit fraud and you have to pay more for your insurance as a result? The AA have revealed that it cost Insurance companies £2 billion last year just to cover the cost of whiplash claims. Insurance companies are simple businesses just like any other - they rely on their income being higher than their overheads. When an insurance company is paying out for claims, they need to recover the money from somewhere and unfortunately their only income is from the insurance policies they sell, meaning it's you who feels the pinch at renewal.
- Vehicles are purposely damaged and involved in crashes for cash.
- Clients receive a courtesy vehicle paid for by the insurance company.
- Clients make false injury claims paid for by the insurance company.
- The damaged vehicles are recovered and stored, again, paid for by the insurance company.
- The vehicle is written off and the client is paid the value of the vehicle by the insurance company.
Influence of the Informed
Product and Industry Knowledge Importance
The world has changed. Buyers have changed.
In this age, the old methods of marketing are no longer effective. We are in the information age, and with reviews, product descriptions and alternative suppliers only a few clicks away on Google, it’s important to establish yourself as a leader of your industry. Statistics show that 97% of the time, cold calling is ineffective. This supports the idea that trust is now a key part of the buying process; a customer wants to know who they are doing business with prior to committing.
An overwhelming 81% of people surveyed advised that friends and their social network influence their purchase decisions. Opinion and feedback are a lot more accessible in the digital age; prospective clients will consult your company website, social platform profiles, public reviews, and ultimately speak to other customers of yours to educate themselves about who they’re figuratively “getting into bed with”.
It is suggested that companies who engage with their buyers via social media platforms tend to establish better relationships and resultantly their customers are more loyal. Trust is paramount – if you are seen as a massive faceless corporation then your potential customers will not relish the thought of having to deal with you. We all know what it’s like when you ring up with an issue, spend 25 minutes on hold, get transferred between 5 people and end up speaking to somebody who’s grasp of the English language is equivalent to that of Manuel on Fawlty Towers.
In this age, the old methods of marketing are no longer effective. We are in the information age, and with reviews, product descriptions and alternative suppliers only a few clicks away on Google, it’s important to establish yourself as a leader of your industry. Statistics show that 97% of the time, cold calling is ineffective. This supports the idea that trust is now a key part of the buying process; a customer wants to know who they are doing business with prior to committing.
An overwhelming 81% of people surveyed advised that friends and their social network influence their purchase decisions. Opinion and feedback are a lot more accessible in the digital age; prospective clients will consult your company website, social platform profiles, public reviews, and ultimately speak to other customers of yours to educate themselves about who they’re figuratively “getting into bed with”.
It is suggested that companies who engage with their buyers via social media platforms tend to establish better relationships and resultantly their customers are more loyal. Trust is paramount – if you are seen as a massive faceless corporation then your potential customers will not relish the thought of having to deal with you. We all know what it’s like when you ring up with an issue, spend 25 minutes on hold, get transferred between 5 people and end up speaking to somebody who’s grasp of the English language is equivalent to that of Manuel on Fawlty Towers.
Statistics
have proved that website driven traffic converts higher than other mediums; on
average 6% of website driven traffic is that of social media influence. Over
time, cost of marketing decreases and the value of your consumer base rises –
once you have expanded your reach sufficiently and provided rich contributions
to the community, they will recycle your content and advertise your company to
their own social networks.
The question remains however, “how do we get the reputation necessary?”
Well it’s simple logic really. Rich content and an understanding of your demographic. If you can provide the stories and information, address the concerns, and answer the questions of your target market in an effective manner – you will see a good ROI. Do you remember the insightful and interesting articles you read on the internet, or do you remember the shameless blunt adverts that tried to force you to buy products you don’t need? It’s rarely the latter.
You need to engage your audience – get involved! Primarily you will need to grow your base of followers – this is best done by finding out who follows the leaders of your industry, who follows your competitors, and who follows you? This is your marketing demographic – these are the kind of people you can socially engineer to buy products from you effortlessly. Well… pretty effortlessly.
The question remains however, “how do we get the reputation necessary?”
Well it’s simple logic really. Rich content and an understanding of your demographic. If you can provide the stories and information, address the concerns, and answer the questions of your target market in an effective manner – you will see a good ROI. Do you remember the insightful and interesting articles you read on the internet, or do you remember the shameless blunt adverts that tried to force you to buy products you don’t need? It’s rarely the latter.
You need to engage your audience – get involved! Primarily you will need to grow your base of followers – this is best done by finding out who follows the leaders of your industry, who follows your competitors, and who follows you? This is your marketing demographic – these are the kind of people you can socially engineer to buy products from you effortlessly. Well… pretty effortlessly.
When you
know who is interested in your industry, then you can place yourself in their
line of sight. This is easily done by engaging with the social community –
start commenting, replying, and getting your name showing up all over the
networks your target market consult. Sooner or later, your buyer will wonder
who you are, and why they don’t know you properly since they see your name
everywhere they go – this will expand your reach, and drive buyers to come and
research.
If you focus on top influencers in your industry you can attract their followers – how often have you been looking at a company’s profile, and then spotted an affiliate you like and jumped onto their profile afterwards? Statistically, this is a common scenario – for example, you’re looking on Sony’s profile, and then you spot Playstation 4 commenting, and pop onto theirs afterwards. This is social engineering.
If you build it, they will come.
So, like the proverbial story of Noah, you have generated enough attention and hype to bring your followers to your digital Ark. They are beginning to arrive in pairs, but you will need to give them a reason to check out what’s aboard – they aren’t going to bother coming into your Ark if it looks more like a canoe after all. If you can couple a clean and optimised profile with valuable and rich content, your prospective buyers will not need to find shelter elsewhere. Metaphorically of course (I am in no way endorsing inviting homeless people to sleep in your business premises).
You need to create high value and top quality content, whether it is articles or e-books, videos or podcasts – create something revolutionary, something your buyer will benefit from and tell their social network about. Perhaps you could even repurpose existing content, encourage engagement, comments, likes and shares – address the buyers questions and concerns in further marketing approaches. If a few buyers ask what you mean by “xyz” then next time, write an explorative article about “xyz” – you know that it’s something your audience want to know more about! Let your demographic dictate your content wherever possible – give the fans what they came to see.
I can tell you what they likely didn’t come to see – a company using social media solely as a broadcast platform. If you are continually assaulted by aggressive advertising, how long before you get annoyed with them? How long before you completely hide them from your newsfeed? Come play Candy Crush Saga! No.
It is important to establish yourself as a thought leader, an expert – gain recognition for your knowledge and willingness to nurture your community and this will expand your social reach. People will talk about how you helped them solve this, or told them the answer to that – people will want to listen to what you have to say. If you are really proactive, you can jump the gun here, research your demographic – check out who is following industry leaders, look into their hobbies and interests, read their questions and concerns, and then market your articles, posts and blogs to be relevant to the core audience you are targeting.
If you focus on top influencers in your industry you can attract their followers – how often have you been looking at a company’s profile, and then spotted an affiliate you like and jumped onto their profile afterwards? Statistically, this is a common scenario – for example, you’re looking on Sony’s profile, and then you spot Playstation 4 commenting, and pop onto theirs afterwards. This is social engineering.
If you build it, they will come.
So, like the proverbial story of Noah, you have generated enough attention and hype to bring your followers to your digital Ark. They are beginning to arrive in pairs, but you will need to give them a reason to check out what’s aboard – they aren’t going to bother coming into your Ark if it looks more like a canoe after all. If you can couple a clean and optimised profile with valuable and rich content, your prospective buyers will not need to find shelter elsewhere. Metaphorically of course (I am in no way endorsing inviting homeless people to sleep in your business premises).
You need to create high value and top quality content, whether it is articles or e-books, videos or podcasts – create something revolutionary, something your buyer will benefit from and tell their social network about. Perhaps you could even repurpose existing content, encourage engagement, comments, likes and shares – address the buyers questions and concerns in further marketing approaches. If a few buyers ask what you mean by “xyz” then next time, write an explorative article about “xyz” – you know that it’s something your audience want to know more about! Let your demographic dictate your content wherever possible – give the fans what they came to see.
I can tell you what they likely didn’t come to see – a company using social media solely as a broadcast platform. If you are continually assaulted by aggressive advertising, how long before you get annoyed with them? How long before you completely hide them from your newsfeed? Come play Candy Crush Saga! No.
It is important to establish yourself as a thought leader, an expert – gain recognition for your knowledge and willingness to nurture your community and this will expand your social reach. People will talk about how you helped them solve this, or told them the answer to that – people will want to listen to what you have to say. If you are really proactive, you can jump the gun here, research your demographic – check out who is following industry leaders, look into their hobbies and interests, read their questions and concerns, and then market your articles, posts and blogs to be relevant to the core audience you are targeting.
Encourage
your demographic to follow you on other social platforms – “if you like what you’ve just read, check out
my other blog posts at whatever.com or drop me wall post over on Facebook”
for example. This cross platform interaction keeps yourself on the buyers radar
wherever they go – if you limit yourself to a single social medium, you are
limiting your exposure. Be creative, post polls, ask questions, and incite
debates – whatever it takes to get the community engaging with you.
Another statistic for you now – did you know that a whopping 57% of people surveyed make decisions on purchases before speaking to a sales rep? That’s correct; our buyers are doing their own research, and removing the opportunity to be pressured into an impulse buy with subtle sales swagger. And where exactly do they do this research? [/rhetorical question] I think we already see where this is going…
Social platforms are varied in approach and great for reaching out to a vast audience – it has been deduced that the majority of users follow companies in hopes of incentives, discounts and rewards – but also for news, information and developments. If you leverage your demographic effectively, you will drive awareness, brand identity and traffic, and once you’re established firmly on their map for rich content, they’ll pop by from time to time without needing to be reminded – they’ll want to read your latest article, and if they like it, they’ll share it with their own social network, effectively advertising for you.
So to summarise, really research your demographic – find out their hobbies, interests, look for connections and common themes – do most motor traders like driving films with fast cars? Do most taxi drivers use social media during the night shift? These kind of indicators can be ideal for targeting content and scheduling tweets and posts. Engage with industry leaders and competitors, get your name out there and generate interest from your demographic – make them come to you. And get some feedback, encourage positive customer reviews, and ask people to share your content if they like it.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Another statistic for you now – did you know that a whopping 57% of people surveyed make decisions on purchases before speaking to a sales rep? That’s correct; our buyers are doing their own research, and removing the opportunity to be pressured into an impulse buy with subtle sales swagger. And where exactly do they do this research? [/rhetorical question] I think we already see where this is going…
Social platforms are varied in approach and great for reaching out to a vast audience – it has been deduced that the majority of users follow companies in hopes of incentives, discounts and rewards – but also for news, information and developments. If you leverage your demographic effectively, you will drive awareness, brand identity and traffic, and once you’re established firmly on their map for rich content, they’ll pop by from time to time without needing to be reminded – they’ll want to read your latest article, and if they like it, they’ll share it with their own social network, effectively advertising for you.
So to summarise, really research your demographic – find out their hobbies, interests, look for connections and common themes – do most motor traders like driving films with fast cars? Do most taxi drivers use social media during the night shift? These kind of indicators can be ideal for targeting content and scheduling tweets and posts. Engage with industry leaders and competitors, get your name out there and generate interest from your demographic – make them come to you. And get some feedback, encourage positive customer reviews, and ask people to share your content if they like it.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Thursday, 27 June 2013
You’re Only As Good As Your Targeting
Next Generation Facebook Advert
Webinar
Dynamic
Creative advertising involves the direct response advertising of products to
consumers who have showed intent to buy, but not actually followed up with conversion
of the transaction.
A typical scenario would be, a consumer navigates your website, adds an item to their basket, but leaves the website without completing the transaction. Your website places an outside pixel that refers to the user and tracks fan behaviour, (this is not the same as a cookie), and logs the users activities over the internet. Your dynamic retargeting advert is then displayed when the user is on Facebook with the advert content referencing your website, the product they were about to purchase (an offer/discount if possible) and a link back to your site to complete the transaction.
Statistics show that 60% of users on Facebook will see the dynamic retargeted advert within an hour, and 15% will see it within 5 minutes. If the user sees the dynamic advert the same day as they initially browsed your website, there is 2/4x more chance of a successful conversion.
On Google Adwords, there is direct correlation between ranking and %CTR (Click Through Ratio). The lower you appear in the search ranking, the lower the CTR. FBX (Facebook Exchange) does not replicate this issue, as the right rail adverts are positioned in a floating element that remains with the user, who statistically scrolls for a lengthy period ensuring consistent exposure for all adverts therein, supported by an 18th position FBX campaign for MTV recently boasting a healthy 3% CTR. As a comparison, it is posited that a 4.2% conversion is an achievement even for a Fortune 500 company. Untargeted adverts average a CTR of just 0.04%, right rail marketing online averages 1% CTR, Newsfeed marketing online averages 2% CTR, and mobile Newsfeed marketing averages 5% CTR.
Dynamic Creative adverts expand on this by target marketing consumers who showed intent to convert. These fully dynamic adverts ran by company such as Triggit, can often present information including dates, locations, times and images coupled with relevant timing to ensure the consumer is reminded and encouraged to convert at the earliest possible opportunity. Bad retargeting annoys consumers and can generate complaints and encourage brand avoidance – nobody wants to be pestered about a product they bought 4 weeks ago from a competitor of yours. Newsfeed retargeting adverts display a 20x higher CTR.
Facebook will now even offer Optimised Marketing and provide insights and analysis to assist in target marketing your products and services to a user base likely to convert based on social metrics and habits of the demographic. Statistics don’t make mistakes, or the kind of assumptions about your clients that lead to low ROI due to oversight.
Boosting Posts is pointless – this will only send the advert to existing untargeted fans including people with no interest or desire in your products or services. Promoting Posts is proven to yield a higher viral response due to the targeted aspect by available social metrics.
Facebook can now extract data from member’s profiles for marketing; this is used in the manner whereby filters are applied to databases of users and matches are found for location/job title/interests etc. A company can therefore upload an email list and have Facebook compile a database of the users included, and filter out those unlikely to convert based on social metrics and statistical analysis.
Edgerank is the hush word of Facebook that refers to their ranking system algorithm (similarly to the Pagerank algorithm of internet giants Google). In short, indicators suggest that any engagement on a company profile is ranked in terms of “trend” and “buzz” and used to influence how frequently adverts are displayed. In short, the more impressions (likes/comments/shares) then the more times your advert will appear. It’s argued by some that Edgerank’s organic ratings were slashed to promote purchasing adverts – others believe it is merely an inevitable consequence of the range of companies now appearing on Facebook. You cannot expect to be shown as often, when the amount of competitors available has increased tenfold. Regardless of which side of the fence you sit, statistically FBX paid adverts do show direct correlation with improved organic positioning.
Statistical analysis for promoting interaction and subsequently impressions point towards photo views and post likes; indicators show that 48% of impressions are generated from photo views, and 32% are from post likes – this makes up a massive 80% of total user interactions.
The social media funnel indicates a set sequence of layers to track consumers. Primarily is the awareness aspect, this generally garners a wide range of potential consumers from everyone who sees your adverts and brand. Next comes interest which will be a lesser percentage of those aware, and naturally controlled by the impact of your advert and the accuracy of your targeting. Following on is desire which will be again a smaller percentage of those who are interested, but will be those you need to specifically profile and target. Finally comes action which consists of converting as many of those with desire as possible into buyers.
Your ROI is directly proportionate to your ability at controlling the funnel – if the taper is extreme, you will be paying extensively to promote awareness but failing to convert peoples interest into desire, and then encouraging them to take action. Monitoring these statistics is paramount to understanding where you are not performing well, and enabling yourself to adapt your strategy to be more successful and provide higher ROI. A recent advertising campaign cost $6833.33 for one month, and generated 3782 leads for a B2B company. This is equivalent of £1.19 per targeted lead.
When actively pursuing higher impressions, be sure to write short concise posts, ask questions instead of just posting statements to encourage comments and interaction, and post interesting photographs relevant to your industry to generate attention.
Try running competitions, posting polls, and creating rich and engaging content that will help consumers develop an interest for your company. Segment your audience – directly market content towards the consumers and demographics that convert. This is social engineering, this is manipulating consumers into a position of trust whereby they will like you, and want to buy from you, to be associated with your company.
This is modern marketing.
A typical scenario would be, a consumer navigates your website, adds an item to their basket, but leaves the website without completing the transaction. Your website places an outside pixel that refers to the user and tracks fan behaviour, (this is not the same as a cookie), and logs the users activities over the internet. Your dynamic retargeting advert is then displayed when the user is on Facebook with the advert content referencing your website, the product they were about to purchase (an offer/discount if possible) and a link back to your site to complete the transaction.
Statistics show that 60% of users on Facebook will see the dynamic retargeted advert within an hour, and 15% will see it within 5 minutes. If the user sees the dynamic advert the same day as they initially browsed your website, there is 2/4x more chance of a successful conversion.
On Google Adwords, there is direct correlation between ranking and %CTR (Click Through Ratio). The lower you appear in the search ranking, the lower the CTR. FBX (Facebook Exchange) does not replicate this issue, as the right rail adverts are positioned in a floating element that remains with the user, who statistically scrolls for a lengthy period ensuring consistent exposure for all adverts therein, supported by an 18th position FBX campaign for MTV recently boasting a healthy 3% CTR. As a comparison, it is posited that a 4.2% conversion is an achievement even for a Fortune 500 company. Untargeted adverts average a CTR of just 0.04%, right rail marketing online averages 1% CTR, Newsfeed marketing online averages 2% CTR, and mobile Newsfeed marketing averages 5% CTR.
Dynamic Creative adverts expand on this by target marketing consumers who showed intent to convert. These fully dynamic adverts ran by company such as Triggit, can often present information including dates, locations, times and images coupled with relevant timing to ensure the consumer is reminded and encouraged to convert at the earliest possible opportunity. Bad retargeting annoys consumers and can generate complaints and encourage brand avoidance – nobody wants to be pestered about a product they bought 4 weeks ago from a competitor of yours. Newsfeed retargeting adverts display a 20x higher CTR.
Facebook will now even offer Optimised Marketing and provide insights and analysis to assist in target marketing your products and services to a user base likely to convert based on social metrics and habits of the demographic. Statistics don’t make mistakes, or the kind of assumptions about your clients that lead to low ROI due to oversight.
Boosting Posts is pointless – this will only send the advert to existing untargeted fans including people with no interest or desire in your products or services. Promoting Posts is proven to yield a higher viral response due to the targeted aspect by available social metrics.
Facebook can now extract data from member’s profiles for marketing; this is used in the manner whereby filters are applied to databases of users and matches are found for location/job title/interests etc. A company can therefore upload an email list and have Facebook compile a database of the users included, and filter out those unlikely to convert based on social metrics and statistical analysis.
Edgerank is the hush word of Facebook that refers to their ranking system algorithm (similarly to the Pagerank algorithm of internet giants Google). In short, indicators suggest that any engagement on a company profile is ranked in terms of “trend” and “buzz” and used to influence how frequently adverts are displayed. In short, the more impressions (likes/comments/shares) then the more times your advert will appear. It’s argued by some that Edgerank’s organic ratings were slashed to promote purchasing adverts – others believe it is merely an inevitable consequence of the range of companies now appearing on Facebook. You cannot expect to be shown as often, when the amount of competitors available has increased tenfold. Regardless of which side of the fence you sit, statistically FBX paid adverts do show direct correlation with improved organic positioning.
Statistical analysis for promoting interaction and subsequently impressions point towards photo views and post likes; indicators show that 48% of impressions are generated from photo views, and 32% are from post likes – this makes up a massive 80% of total user interactions.
The social media funnel indicates a set sequence of layers to track consumers. Primarily is the awareness aspect, this generally garners a wide range of potential consumers from everyone who sees your adverts and brand. Next comes interest which will be a lesser percentage of those aware, and naturally controlled by the impact of your advert and the accuracy of your targeting. Following on is desire which will be again a smaller percentage of those who are interested, but will be those you need to specifically profile and target. Finally comes action which consists of converting as many of those with desire as possible into buyers.
Your ROI is directly proportionate to your ability at controlling the funnel – if the taper is extreme, you will be paying extensively to promote awareness but failing to convert peoples interest into desire, and then encouraging them to take action. Monitoring these statistics is paramount to understanding where you are not performing well, and enabling yourself to adapt your strategy to be more successful and provide higher ROI. A recent advertising campaign cost $6833.33 for one month, and generated 3782 leads for a B2B company. This is equivalent of £1.19 per targeted lead.
When actively pursuing higher impressions, be sure to write short concise posts, ask questions instead of just posting statements to encourage comments and interaction, and post interesting photographs relevant to your industry to generate attention.
Try running competitions, posting polls, and creating rich and engaging content that will help consumers develop an interest for your company. Segment your audience – directly market content towards the consumers and demographics that convert. This is social engineering, this is manipulating consumers into a position of trust whereby they will like you, and want to buy from you, to be associated with your company.
This is modern marketing.
Engaging Prospects with Content Marketing
An Overview of
Effective Content Marketing
Getting
information off the internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant lately,
it appears that quantity has truly saturated quality. As a whole, we have
evolved into companies who overlook the needs of our consumers and ignorantly
amble on with misguided attempts at marketing, wondering why our ROI is
suffering.
A survey of buyers recently demonstrated that 56% were dissatisfied with the experience of purchasing a product or service. It is apparent that there is a critical need for more engaging and customer relevant content, with 47% of the same test group advising they feel marketing materials often lacks breadth and depth. Consumers are indicating that they would like content more geared towards strategic analysis, and useful material that will help them to handle their responsibilities, as opposed to shameless attempts at the fast sale. The customers of today see the buying process as more than a knee jerk reaction to a marketing campaign; they look to build long lasting relationships with the companies they purchase from, to establish trust that they can garner information from you, and that you know your product, and you know how to value a client. Nobody wants to be just another line in another tally chart on another sales board.
Consumers are looking for new ideas, engaging and useable content, assistance in solving their problem and providing them with a solution. We live in the age where we need to share our expertise, demonstrate our knowledge of the products we sell, and help to build up prospects trust in our brands – if you don’t help them learn what they need to, then somebody else will. Don’t miss the opportunity to put yourself on their radar, and keep yourself there.
First of all you need to ask yourself “who are we really trying to engage?”
You need to learn how to profile your demographic and empathise with their position – quite often we forget that our clients aren’t furnished with the understanding of our industry, or our products and services. Think about the questions they may have, the concerns, doubts, and worries – then address these clearly and concisely. Be the comfort and reassurance they need, take them under your wing and guide them to an informed and logical choice by creating strong and deep worthwhile content, not some ten-a-penny recycled blog post.
It appears we often embrace the wrong marketing approach simply because it’s easier to mass produce; we churn out PR’s and blog posts daily even, but because of the notion we need to stay present at all times to be remain on the radar, we sacrifice quality for quantity. We need to focus on what our buyers want from us, and then create the most effective content we can for those we are wishing to engage.
Statistically, 61% of companies profiled are marketing blindly, unaware of their ROI or how to monitor this. In truth, it’s also abundantly clear that most companies are completely overlooking strategy in favour of mass producing marketing content – that is, they create daily content with no clear purpose or aim. The marketing never asks for anything or promotes a response or engagement; it simply exists just to exist.
A survey of buyers recently demonstrated that 56% were dissatisfied with the experience of purchasing a product or service. It is apparent that there is a critical need for more engaging and customer relevant content, with 47% of the same test group advising they feel marketing materials often lacks breadth and depth. Consumers are indicating that they would like content more geared towards strategic analysis, and useful material that will help them to handle their responsibilities, as opposed to shameless attempts at the fast sale. The customers of today see the buying process as more than a knee jerk reaction to a marketing campaign; they look to build long lasting relationships with the companies they purchase from, to establish trust that they can garner information from you, and that you know your product, and you know how to value a client. Nobody wants to be just another line in another tally chart on another sales board.
Consumers are looking for new ideas, engaging and useable content, assistance in solving their problem and providing them with a solution. We live in the age where we need to share our expertise, demonstrate our knowledge of the products we sell, and help to build up prospects trust in our brands – if you don’t help them learn what they need to, then somebody else will. Don’t miss the opportunity to put yourself on their radar, and keep yourself there.
First of all you need to ask yourself “who are we really trying to engage?”
You need to learn how to profile your demographic and empathise with their position – quite often we forget that our clients aren’t furnished with the understanding of our industry, or our products and services. Think about the questions they may have, the concerns, doubts, and worries – then address these clearly and concisely. Be the comfort and reassurance they need, take them under your wing and guide them to an informed and logical choice by creating strong and deep worthwhile content, not some ten-a-penny recycled blog post.
It appears we often embrace the wrong marketing approach simply because it’s easier to mass produce; we churn out PR’s and blog posts daily even, but because of the notion we need to stay present at all times to be remain on the radar, we sacrifice quality for quantity. We need to focus on what our buyers want from us, and then create the most effective content we can for those we are wishing to engage.
Statistically, 61% of companies profiled are marketing blindly, unaware of their ROI or how to monitor this. In truth, it’s also abundantly clear that most companies are completely overlooking strategy in favour of mass producing marketing content – that is, they create daily content with no clear purpose or aim. The marketing never asks for anything or promotes a response or engagement; it simply exists just to exist.
Studies
show that the most effective content types are Case Studies, Whitepapers, and
Videos – that being said, 2000 views on your video is all fine and dandy – but
now what? How do you convert that interest into desire and action? Most of the
time it appears companies create more content and simply maintain awareness and
interest without escalating this and pushing for conversion. Other companies
completely skip the interest and desire, and just from awareness straight to
pushing for a sale. The social media funnel is a delicate balance and requires
careful nurturing of prospective clients.
It is difficult to maintain consistency when you churn out content just for the sake of keeping up appearances. Similarly, it is difficult to maintain consistency when there is no direct continuity across your marketing platforms. You need to learn congruency and create a solid marketing strategy across all platforms you utilise. There are three primary focuses, and you need to attend to each, equally on each platform.
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are predominantly product focused and often abused for fast sales, shameless plugs, and brash blatant advertising. Websites are usually more refined, but tend to be company driven focusing on who the company are and establishing a brand presence. Blogs are then usually more customer focused, driving conversational content and encouraging interaction, engagement and Q/A. The problem becomes apparent when a client moves between mediums, there is an evident disconnect as there is no consistency between the content.
A common error when marketing is that of readability. 44% of buyers surveyed expressed concern at the ease of use for marketing – the content needs to be easy to digest, concise and legible – nothing will lose the attention of prospective buyers faster than reading you waffling on in technical jargon they don’t understand. It’s not your fault, you are so accustomed to the terminology in your area of expertise, it’s second nature to drop the words in conversation – this is where you need to be conscious of your demographic. Chances are that average Joe who works in MacDonalds doesn’t know about pixel based dynamic remarketing strategy.
Your content needs to be findable, shareable and engaging. A whopping 73% of buyers actively seek for ideas they can share and discuss. I’m not making this stuff up. Remember, people are busy, and they won’t have time to read everything you post… guess what? They’ll be even less inclined to make time when it’s mediocre content! If you post consistently strong and rich content, buyers will be more dedicated and interested in seeing what you have to say, even if it’s infrequent.
50%-80% of the buyers choice is made outside of contact with your Sales department – most buyers conduct their own research, involve their peers and refer to media reviews, and only then will they compile a shortlist of who to speak to for the sale itself. Create more content around helping buyers to find a solution, educate and inform them, be the one they can rely on. 90% of the buyers surveyed involved social media somewhere during the process – learn your demographics pipeline. Understand their consumption of content is critical for determining lead quality and sales transition.
You need to retain creativity as a differentiator – be original and unique, keep people engaged and on your wave length. If they like and trust you, they will buy from you. Create good content to keep them talking about you. Find content that will drive lead generation, before you need to find a new job instead.
It is difficult to maintain consistency when you churn out content just for the sake of keeping up appearances. Similarly, it is difficult to maintain consistency when there is no direct continuity across your marketing platforms. You need to learn congruency and create a solid marketing strategy across all platforms you utilise. There are three primary focuses, and you need to attend to each, equally on each platform.
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are predominantly product focused and often abused for fast sales, shameless plugs, and brash blatant advertising. Websites are usually more refined, but tend to be company driven focusing on who the company are and establishing a brand presence. Blogs are then usually more customer focused, driving conversational content and encouraging interaction, engagement and Q/A. The problem becomes apparent when a client moves between mediums, there is an evident disconnect as there is no consistency between the content.
A common error when marketing is that of readability. 44% of buyers surveyed expressed concern at the ease of use for marketing – the content needs to be easy to digest, concise and legible – nothing will lose the attention of prospective buyers faster than reading you waffling on in technical jargon they don’t understand. It’s not your fault, you are so accustomed to the terminology in your area of expertise, it’s second nature to drop the words in conversation – this is where you need to be conscious of your demographic. Chances are that average Joe who works in MacDonalds doesn’t know about pixel based dynamic remarketing strategy.
Your content needs to be findable, shareable and engaging. A whopping 73% of buyers actively seek for ideas they can share and discuss. I’m not making this stuff up. Remember, people are busy, and they won’t have time to read everything you post… guess what? They’ll be even less inclined to make time when it’s mediocre content! If you post consistently strong and rich content, buyers will be more dedicated and interested in seeing what you have to say, even if it’s infrequent.
50%-80% of the buyers choice is made outside of contact with your Sales department – most buyers conduct their own research, involve their peers and refer to media reviews, and only then will they compile a shortlist of who to speak to for the sale itself. Create more content around helping buyers to find a solution, educate and inform them, be the one they can rely on. 90% of the buyers surveyed involved social media somewhere during the process – learn your demographics pipeline. Understand their consumption of content is critical for determining lead quality and sales transition.
You need to retain creativity as a differentiator – be original and unique, keep people engaged and on your wave length. If they like and trust you, they will buy from you. Create good content to keep them talking about you. Find content that will drive lead generation, before you need to find a new job instead.
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Letters to Ilysha #7
Dear Ilysha,
I got to see you again today :)
You were back to your usual self this week, all smiles and giggles :) - Mummy left straight away and Daddy got to have you all to himself again for an hour :D
Daddy came prepared this week, your Nanny's had bought you a teething ring with a little teddy bear on it, and Daddy brought a big bag of toys with him to keep you entertained. We played with rattles, and teddies, and played music and danced! :) - you also displayed your fascination with my Timberland boots, you were stroking them with explorative little fingers, examining the different textures! Every time you caught sight of them whilst we were playing, you'd discard your toys in favour of my footwear! hehe :')
You were very lively this week, so vocal! You were talking to me, babbling away and giggling, Daddy was amazed by you once more - you are so wonderful, so magical and enchanting. You were lying on a big orange cushion, looking up at me with them big pretty blue eyes, so enthusiastically talking to me and laughing and gurgling hehe - it was absolutely adorable! Another child played some music on a toy and distracted you :( - but it was still lovely whilst it lasted :)
You are still obsessed with lights, I brought you a pink butterfly toy that lights up and flashes lights in a pattern on the wings - you were mesmerised, staring at the lights and following them with your eyes from side to side :) - and then I was cuddling you and flying you around, and you kept staring up at the ceiling spotlights, fixated on them with a smile on your little mush :)
Mummy was a bit more stand offish this week, she sat up the corner playing on her kindle or tablet, I'm not sure what it was Daddy was glad to just be able to play with you undisturbed :) - we played with lots of toys, and we had cuddles, and I tickled your tummy by eskimo kissing it and you were chuckling your little head off all the while :')
This week I found something else you like - if I sit you on my knee so your feet are just touching the floor, you will rock side to side, pushing off on each foot in turn, all the whilst giggling and wiggling! And you like me holding you just off the ground and bouncing you up and down whilst you push off with your strong little kicking legs :')
Before long it was the time again where Daddy had to let you go home - Mummy changed your nappy before you left, and Daddy gave you a cuddle and told you he loved you. You started crying when Mummy put you in your pram, which made Daddy smile a little bit because it was as though you understood what was happening, and didn't want to leave :')
I love you my little cheeky Princess, and I can't wait to see your beautiful face again next week :)
Daddy x x x
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Letters to Ilysha #6
Dear Ilysha,
I got to see you again today.
I was waiting at the Contact Centre from about half past 9, impatient for you to arrive! Mummy turned up with you and sat the other side of the room - I knew better than to approach uninvited, and no invite was forthcoming so I sat waiting to see you and hold you once more.
We went into the play area and you were grinning at me out of your pram whilst we signed in. Daddy was smiling back, you have that effect on him, contagious and inevitable :) - Mummy let me take you out of the pram and then left for an hour which made Daddy happy, no forced smiles or conversation needed.
I carried you into the playroom and gave you a big cuddle, Daddy loves kissing and hugging his little Princess! You were suffering with your toothypegs and got upset a lot - Mummy had told Daddy he wasn't allowed to let you have your dummy so you were biting every toy we played with.
You were very restless and didn't have much of an attention span this week - you seemed to get very bored and disinterested unusually quick, nothing kept you entertained so Daddy spent a lot of time cuddling you and calming you down. We played a little, you giggled still when I held you in the air, tickled your belly and when we played Row Row Row Your Boat :)
Mummy came back and made you cry within 10 minutes because she sat you down leaning against her legs and turned away to look in her bag and you fell between her legs and bumped your head on the bench! Then she picked you up apologetically and said she'd told you not to push back... that's right, nothing is ever Mummy's fault - Daddy learned that a while back.
Mummy told Daddy to accompany her to change your nappy and then tried to belittle him telling him to pay close attention as if Daddy didn't know anything. Daddy told Mummy he knew how to change a nappy - he's changed hundreds in his life for his little brother and sisters. Mummy didn't like being denied the chance to be patronising so became argumentative and started insulting Daddy. Daddy just ignored her, because he was there to see you :)
You wouldn't stay calm for long and Mummy was annoying Daddy, so I picked you up and carried you out of the room cuddling you. You stayed calm for a while but kept getting upset and crying - I think it was your toothypegs because you calmed down whenever you had something to bite - including Daddy's shoulder hehe :') - I spent around 45 minutes just carrying you around and comforting you when you got upset, which Mummy wasn't happy about because I'd taken you out of her sight.
Time was up before long, and you had to leave again. Daddy never likes having to let you go, but at least you were calmer when you left.
Daddy loves you Princess, and I can't wait for next week already - hopefully you'll be a bit happier by then :)
I love you Ilysha with all my heart.
Daddy x x x
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Letters to Ilysha #5
Dear Ilysha,
I got to see you again today :')
Mummy turned up at 09:35 with you and her sister Steph - Daddy was already waiting impatiently after not seeing you for 20 days again! Mummy sat across the other side of the room with you, and ignored Daddy which confused him, so he came across to say hello. Mummy told Daddy to go away before he even made it halfway across the room - so he returned to the other side and sat back down. Daddy thought Mummy had been trying to be civil for your sake, but it seems Mummy doesn't love you enough to even be reasonable with Daddy. She'd rather you be in an uncomfortable atmosphere for some reason.
Daddy could hear you babbling to yourself as Mummy fed you your breakfast, and he couldn't help but smile, calm in the knowledge you'd be in his arms again soon :') - we went into the Contact Centre at 10am, Daddy was talking to you and pulling faces making you giggle whilst we waited to sign in. Mummy advised the staff she was leaving for an hour, Daddy was smiling uncontrollably at this point! I scooped you out of the buggy and carried you into the play area, not even looking back once to see your Mummy leave :')
Daddy thinks Mummy was hoping you'd cry and get upset with her not being there, and that she'd have to be called back and make Daddy look incapable of looking after you on his own - after all you don't know Daddy much yet, Mummy has kept us apart. I half expected you to be a bit upset, but you didn't cry once whilst she was gone to be fair you seemed to forget she even existed!
The first thing I did was cuddle you, and kiss you LOTS! I was so happy just to have you back with me once more. You looked at me with those big blue inquisitive eyes, but smiled back at me showing you weren't afraid. I took your bib off as you kept tugging at it - I checked what I'd suspected and saw you'd cut your first tooth! :') - you were drooling everywhere! hehe :P
I sat you on the floor with some toys and took advantage of the fact we were alone for a change! I always feel more comfortable when it's just me and you without Mummy - she supervises me like I can't be trusted and that just makes Daddy feel awkward! I took a few cheeky photos and a little video - Daddy isn't supposed to do that due to other children's privacy, but he was desperate to have some photos with his little Princess so he took the risk!
Daddy took your coat off since the Contact Centre was warm anyway, and I'd prefer to feel your skin against mine. We sat playing with all the different toys - the old favourites like the playmat, and the balls. I brought you a present along this week - a little pink bear that played music and had lights on it - you giggled whenever I played the music, kicking enthusiastically and babbling along :') - Daddy had spent the last few weeks looking up activities you would enjoy :) I lay you on the playmat and played peekaboo and you'd look around confused whenever I hid, but giggle uncontrollably whenever I reappeared! I would hide the pink bear and play the music and you'd search for it, lifting up the mat until you found it! Such a clever little girl :)
I was lifting you up and giving you eskimo kisses whilst you smiled and laughed, then I blew raspberrys on your tummy and you laughed all the more! You started blowing bubbles, making Daddy laugh, and I'd do them back at you whilst you giggled at how silly I was hehe :) - I'd read you'd like being destructive at this age, and learning to understand that you could affect things around you - so I stacked up blocks and you kept knocking them down! That seemed to amuse you! I found an orange ball that kept your attention, you'd pass it from one hand to the next studying it and examining it! :)
Mummy returned after an hour and Steph came in too which Daddy wasn't very happy about. At first you looked like you were going to cry when you saw her - Daddy had read that you might get upset out of relief but I calmed you instantly. Mummy and Steph sat talking to each other saying you were looking bored, but you seemed fine to me and were still giggling and playing happily. I asked Mummy why Steph was in with us, and Mummy lied and told Daddy that she was allowed. I later found out that she wasn't supposed to have come inside at all. I think they were just trying to make Daddy uncomfortable so I picked you up and carried you away from them so we could enjoy our precious time together.
You were fascinated by the lights again, and with the sun being out, it shone brightly through a skylight holding your attention. I flew you around and danced with you whilst you smiled and giggled, Daddy's little Princess. I took you around to sit on a pile of beanbags and passed you a skittle which you proceeded to suck and dribble all over hehe - I set the remaining skittles up around you and you kicked out knocking them down every time I did! There was a book that played sounds that you liked and we walked around playing the music whilst you cuddled me smiling :)
There was a different playmat that caught your attention so I lay you down beneath it and you began to suck all the hanging toys! There was a clear plastic ring with little balls inside that rattled, and you were obsessed with it! I lay beside you on the floor and watched as you wiggled and played with the toys. I could happily watch you play for hours, just appreciating how perfect you are :')
I sat down with you on my knee and was bouncing you up and down whilst you giggled, and then Mummy said she wanted to change your nappy quickly before our time was up. I gave you a kiss and told you I loved you, then passed you to your Mummy. She changed your nappy then Steph put you in your pram without either of them saying a single word to Daddy. I cleared up some of the toys we'd been playing with, and then Mummy, Steph and you all left the room. I walked after you and Mummy signed us out. We left the building in silence, and Daddy said goodbye outside but didn't get a reply; he didn't mind that much though, because he'd just got to spend another brilliant 2hrs with his Princess <3
Daddy loves you Ilysha, much more than any words he could ever use would explain. And already, he's counting down again until the next time he gets to see you, hold you and kiss you.
I love you my perfect little Princess.
Daddy x x x
Sunday, 2 June 2013
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