getting goosebumps - نیماتودی...bryan adams ceo and founder of fully integrated digital...
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Firstpublishedin2015by:
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27ParliamentStreetLiverpool,L85RN
Englandwww.wordscape.org.uk
Copyright©BryanAdamsandDaveHazlehurst2015www.ph-creative.com
BryanAdamsandDaveHazlehurstareherebyidentifiedastheauthorsofthisworkinaccordancewithSection77oftheCopyright,DesignandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
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thispublicationshouldbeaddressedtothepublisher.
Theinformationcontainedinthisbookisofageneralnatureandtheauthorandpublishercannotacceptliabilityforitsuseinconjunctionwithacommercialorotherdecision,nor
forerrorsoromissions.
ISBN:978-0-9930221-6-6
ACIPCataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
WrittenbyBryanAdamsandDaveHazlehurstEditors:Emma-LeeCurtisandKathrynLamble
Design,typesettingandproduction:DanielSchoolerPublisher:FionaShaw
ContentsAcknowledgements
Gettoknowtheauthors
ForewordKieranFlanagan,MarketingDirector,HubSpot
Whatisinboundmarketing?
Whythisbookwillhelpyourbusiness
Howtoreadthisbook
Introduction
Chapter1GettingyourstorystraightWhyit’simportanttoyouandyourcustomersandhowtoensureyou’rebeingauthentic.-Thepowerofgettingitright-Thesciencebehindtheapproach-Theconsequenceofgettingitwrong-Recommendedreadingandresources
Chapter2TherightdirectionHowtoalignyourbusinessobjectiveswithyourmarketinggoalstoensureeveryoneinthebusinessisonthesamepage.-Writingyourdigitalstrategy-Examplesofadigitalstrategyatwork-Consideringyourdigitaltactics-Definingyourobjectives-Examplesofdigitaltacticsatwork-Recommendedreadingandresources
Chapter3UnderstandingyouraudienceHowtolistentoyouraudiences’wants,needsanddesiresinordertomaximizeyourchancesofengagingandsellingtothem.-Understandingpathos,ethosandlogos-Buyerpersonas-Personamappingandvalidation
-Recommendedreadingandresources
Chapter4Rightplace,righttimeAnindepthlookatwhere,whenandwhatyouraudiencespendstheirtimelookingatandwhotheyarealreadyinfluencedby.-Optimisingyourcontenttobefoundonline-Googleupdates-SEOandaudiencepersonas-See.Think.Do.Delight-Socialmediaandaudiencepersonas-Recommendedreadingandresources
Chapter5HowtotellastoryMasteryourabilitytoeffectivelycommunicatewithimpactandemotionalintelligenceinordertoelicitthedesiredaction.-Thescienceandartofstorytellingforyourmarketing-Storytelling–learningfromHollywood-Storytelling–leariningfromgreatleaders-Storytelling–learningfromcomedians-Recommendedreadingandresources
Chapter6ThestorysofarHowallofthepreviouscomponentsandideasfittogetherintooneneatplanyoucanworkfromandrelyon.-Getthemostoutofyourinboundmarketing-Recommendedreadingandresources
Chapter7:part1ThemasterplanAcomprehensivelookattheskillsyouneedtoactionyourplan.-Gettingorganisedfordaytodayactivity-Leveraginginfluencersandopportunities-Leveragingotherpeople’sinfluence:Ego-jacking-Leveragingthenews:News-jacking-ToYouTubeornottoYouTube-Recommendedreadingandresources
Chapter7:part2Payingtoplay-Payingtoplay:Facebook-Leveragingbestpracticetechniqueswithinthesocialchannels-Trend-jackingformaximumeffectwithTwitter-GetthemostoutofFacebook-MaximisereferralswithPinterest-TellyourstoryonYouTube-ReachmillennialswithSnapchat-ExplorethefeaturesonG+-GetaudiencecentricusingTumblr-ShowcaseyourproductsthroughInstagram-BoostyourengagementlevelsbysayingEllo-BlogyourwaytomorecustomerswithMedium-Recommendedreadingandresources
Chapter8ToolsforthejobWhattomeasureandhowtomeasureittodeterminewhatmattersandhowtodeliverthesuccessyou’relookingfor.-Measuretheactivity-ThepowerandjoysofSocialAttributionModelling-Whatisyourconversionrate?-Heatmappingandeyetracking-GoogleAnalytics-TwitterAnalytics-TwitterAdManager-FacebookInsights-FacebookAdvertsManager-LinkedIn:Who’sviewedyourprofileandhowyourankforprofileviews-LinkedIn:Campaignmanager-YouTubeAnalytics-PinterestAnalytics-Instagram-Recommendedreadingandresources
Andfinally…
Glossary
HowPh.Creativecanhelpyou
Stayingintouch
Followus!
Acknowledgements
ThisisthepointinthebookwherewegettoextendourthankstotheteamatPh.Creative–theybringtheadvicecontainedwithinthisbooktolifeonadailybasis.So,thankyouto:
MikeHazlehurst,PaulMason,StevieCrane,RobertWatts,JennyMiddleton,StewartBennett,DanielTrotter,JakePittman,ElizabethMcCarthy,TerryBanks,SamanthaHindley,CraigGraham,AlisonMiller,DanielReese,DavidLancaster,GeorgeEllis,LynneGregory,JenniFleet,SamDavis,MikeNg,JamesTaylor,HeatherDuvall,LukePower,MichaelBowen,AnthonyWhitelaw,DanBooth,MichelleRiches,MarkRussel,AndyFlatman,HelenAdams,NikkiMistryandTraceyWest.
SpecialacknowledgementsThanksmustgotoJennieMandelkowforhercopyeditingandschedulingkeepingusconsistentlyontarget.
ThankyoutoDanSchoolerforcreatingabeautifullydesignedandillustratedbook.
Andlast,butbynomeansleast,aspecialthanksgoestoEmma-LeeCurtisandKathrynLambleformakingsenseofitallandforsixmonthsofincrediblehustle.
Wewroteabook,guys!
Gettoknowtheauthors
BRYANADAMSCEOandFounderoffullyintegrateddigitalmarketingagency,Ph.Creative,Bryanhasovertenyears’experienceinthefieldofdigitalmarketing.RegardedbymanyasoneoftheUK’skeyfiguresinsocialmediaanddigitalmarketinghefeaturesregularlyintopinfluencerandmarketingbloggerlists.Bryanisalsoanaccomplishedkeynotespeakerandhasspokenateventsallovertheworld,fromThailandtoBrazil,theUSandthroughoutEurope.
7quick-firequestionsforBryanCAREERHIGH?Securing£500kinvestmentintotheagency.Gettingthebusiness‘investmentready’andthenbeingabletoinvestinexcellencehasbeenarealturningpoint.
CAREERLOW?Therewereafewconsecutivemonthsin2005whereIwasn’tsurewherethemoneytopaywageswouldcomefrom.Ican’trememberwhereitdidcomefrom,butitwastoughandverystressful.
BIGGESTACHIEVEMENT?Iusedtohaveadebilitatingfearofpublicspeaking.ToovercomethefearIenrolledonastand-upcomedycourseandgraduatedbyperformingmyownmaterialtoacrowdof300strangersatacomedyfestival.
PROUDESTMOMENT?Thebirthofmyson,Harrison.Noquestion,nocompetition.
SCARIESTSITUATION?Jumpingoutofaplanetoconquerafearofheightsdidtestmyresolve,however,itdidn’twork–Istillhateheightsandstronglyrecommendnotpeeinginajumpsuitat30,000ft.
MOSTEMBARRASSINGSTORY?Twominutesbeforepresentingahugebusinessdealtoasmallaudience,(includingNASA,NATO,NYTimesandGoldmanSachs)Ibentdownandshreddedthebacksideofmytrousers.Idon’tknowwhy,butthatdaywasa‘nounderwear’day.#PeachGate
FUNNIESTTALE?
Ioncecutmyheadvery,verybadly(laterresultinginasizeablescarjustabovemyhairline)inabadlylitstreetinLondon.Asmyheadbledprofusely,Iranaroundpanickingandeverybodyjustignoredorlaughedatmyantics…ItwasHalloween.Veryfunnynow,butironicallyscaryatthetime.
DAVEHAZLEHURSTPartnerandDirectorofClientServicesatPh.Creative,Davebringshisrelentlessenergyandpassionforallthingsdigitaltotheagency.Frequentlysharinghisextensiveknowledgeasakeynotespeakerandworkshopleaderaroundtheworld,DavehasspokenateventsfororganisationsincludingGoogle,LinkedInandTheCharteredInstituteofMarketing.
7quick-firequestionsforDaveBIGGESTACHIEVEMENT?BeingaskedbyGoogletodeliverGoogleexpertisetotheiraudienceviaaHangoutOnAir,livefromtheirLondonbase.WhentheredlightturnedgreenIhadtotalktoalargeemptyroomfor45minutes.Verystrange.
PROUDESTMOMENT?Thebirthofmytwochildren,Louie(akaGoogleJunior)andEllie.
SCARIESTMOMENT?Easily,watchingthe2005ChampionsLeaguefinalbetweenLiverpoolandMilan.Atfulltimethescorewas3-3sowewenttopenalties.I’mabigRedandthetensiongotsohighIhadtohidebehindthesofaduringtheshoot-out.Whatamomentinfootballinghistory!
FUNNIESTTALE?WhenIwasakid,myneighboursownedawoodenrockinghorsewhichIabsolutelyloved.I‘dvisittheirhouseallthetimejusttohaveagoonit!Ataboutmidnightonenight,Isnuckoutofmyhouseandactuallyletmyselfintotheirs!Hearingcreakingnoises,myneighbourscreptdownstairs,thinkingsomeonehadbrokenin.Instead,theyfoundme,sittingmerrilyontheirrockinghorse,havingawhaleofatime…
BRAVESTFEAT?Askingmyfather-in-lawifIcouldmarrymywife,Alison,hadmeprettyanxiousandIdon’toftengetnervous.WewerewatchingaLiverpoolmatchtogetherandthewholetimeIwasrunningoverthescenarioinmymind.Allofasudden,Hyypiäscoredfromacorner–theadrenalineofcelebratingjustledmetoblurtingitout,towhichhecalmlyreplied‘I'msureshe'dbedelighted!’
MOSTEMBARRASSINGSTORY?WhenIwasabout9Iallowedsomegirlswe’dbeenplayingwithtomakemeoverforfancydress.ThegirlspromisedmethatIlookedlikeAdamAnt,butinactualfactIlookedmorelikeToyahWilcox.ThiswasmadeworsebythefactthatIthenhadtowalkallthewayhomeinfull,NewRomanticgarb.
SOMETHINGNOBODYKNOWSABOUTYOU:IgotengagedonliveTV.
Foreword
Marketingtodayishard.That'saninescapabletruthandonethatmanybusinessesarestrugglingtoovercome.
Weusedtoliveinaworldwheredisplayadshadaclickthroughrateof10%;thosesameadsarenowluckyiftheygetaclickthroughrateof0.10%.Whetherit’sunsubscribingfromemaillists,installingadblockersorsimplynotansweringthephone,consumerstodayhavemanyoptionsforblockingoutourmarketing.
Thisshiftinpowerisnotabadthingformarketers.Infact,it’sempowering.Wehaveanopportunityinfrontofustorethinkhowwetreatourprospectivecustomers.Nolongerjustametricinourspreadsheets,nowwecanprovidethemwithsomerealandtangiblevalue.
Andthereinliestheproblem–creatingrealvalue.Traditionalmarketingiscentredonthegoalsofthemarketer,notthoseofthecustomer.Howcanwecreateamarketingexperiencethatistailoredtotheneedsofourcustomerswhenwe'veneverreallyconsideredwhotheyare?
Hundredsofbrandsarevyingforthesecustomers’attentiononline.Withalimitedamountofattentiontodistributeamongthem,manybrandsaregoingtoloseout,buriedinthenoise.Howareyougoingtoensureyourvalueisheard?Todayyourmarketingneedstoturnheads.Itneedstoprovokequestions,stimulateconversationsandgenerateabaseofloyalfollowers.It’shardright?Marketingtodayisnocakewalk.Luckily,in‘GettingGoosebumps’BryanandDaveprovideuswithablueprintthatanswersthesequestions,anditstartswith‘Goosebumps’.
‘Goosebumps’iswhathappenswhenyoutrulyunderstandyouraudienceanddeliverrealvaluetothem.Goosebumpsarethereasonanewpersonwillsignuptoyouremaillist,followyouonTwitterorFacebookandcommentonyourlatestblogpost.
WhatBryanandDavedescribeas‘goosebumps’shouldbeoneofthekeymetricsinyourmarketingtoday.Itmaynotbeeasilysummarisedinamonthlyreport,butitwillhelpyoucreateanarmyofloyalfollowersforyourproductsandservices,onethatdoesn’tsimplydisappearwhenyoustoppayingforadvertisements.Marketingcanseemcomplexattimes,butitcanalsobeextremelysimple.
Thebrandwiththemostloyalfollowerswillusuallybeattheircompetitorsinto
submission.Asamarketeryouwillneverbeaskedtostopgeneratingmoretrafficandleads.Youwillalwaysbeaskedformore.It’swhatmakesthegreatmarketers,well,great.Butshouldwealwayswant'more'?Andarewemakingthebestuseofthis'more'?Wellnotwithoutcontext.
Contextiswhathelpsusshowtherightcontenttotherightaudienceattheprecisemomentitreallymatterstothem.It’sthiscontextthatwillhelpyoucreateamarketingfunnelthatistrulyrelevanttotheindividualswhoaremovingthroughit.Remember,thesearepeople,notmetricsinaspreadsheet.Youwanttocreateanexperiencethatmatterstothem.BryanandDavedescribehowyoucandothisbycreatinga'SeeThink,Do,Delight'funnelforyourbusiness.
Oh,thisallsoundsprettysimpleright?Butyou'rethinking,myaudienceisn’tevenseeingthecontentI'mcreatingforthem.Yes,contentmarketinghasliterallyexplodedoverthepastthreeyears.Thecompetitionforeyeballsisfierce.That'swhythedistributionofthatcontentissoimportant.Inchapter7wegetanincrediblelistoftacticsthatwillhelpusleveragesocialchannelstohelpourcontentriseabovethenoise.Inthefollowingpagesyouwillnotonlybeintroducedtoanarrayofclevermarketingconceptsandtactics,butmoreimportantlyyouwillhavesome'aha!'moments.DoyouknowtheHollywoodformulathatwillhelpyoucreateamazinglysuccessfulcontent?Haveyouconsideredwhyyourmarketingneedstoappealtoboththe'human'and'chimp'sideofyourcustomer’sbrain?OrwhyRedBull’sphenomenalmarketingshouldhavereallybeendonebyaninsurancecompany,ifinsurancemarketershadanyballs!
Butforgetallthat,hereisthebestthingaboutthebook.Ithasbeenbakedtoperfectionbytheexperienceoftworenownedmarketerswhohavebeenthereanddonethat.BryanandDaveknowwhatthey'retalkingabout.Theyaren'tsimplyregurgitatingsomeblandmarketingtheorythatjustsoundsgood.Instead,whattheydescribeinthebookactuallyworksbecausetheyhaveimplementedthesestrategiestohelprealcompaniesbuildmarketingandsalesfunnelsthathavehelpedtopropeltheirbusinessaheadofthecompetition.Simplyput,theseguyshavewalkedthewalk.
Ihopeyouenjoyreading‘GettingGoosebumps’asmuchasIdid.IamconfidentthatbyimplementingBryanandDave'sconceptsyouarelikelytoredefinehowyoudomarketing.Expectbetterresults,moreclosedleads,delightedcustomers…aswellasalotoffunalongtheway.
KieranFlanagan–MarketingDirector,HubSpotFollowKieranonTwitter@SearchBrat
Whatisinboundmarketing?
Inboundmarketingiswidelyacclaimedasthemosteffectiveapproachtodigitalmarketinginthemodernage.Butwethinkit’smuchmorethanthat.
Inboundmarketingisaphilosophy:amindsetthatputsyouraudiencefirst.Forthefirsttimeinbusinesshistory,it’sthecustomerthatisincontrol–notbrandsorbusinesses.
Inboundmarketingisthesmart,authenticapproachtomoderndaybrandandbusinessbuilding.Turningthetraditionalsalesprocessonitshead,inboundmarketingfocusesonpullingyourcustomersin,ratherthanpushingyoursalesmessageout.It’sanapproachthatcompelsyoutodovetailyourmarketingplanningwithyourbusiness’aimsandobjectives,creatingaseamless,consistentvoice.
Afterall,it’smucheasiertogrowabusinessifyourprospectscallupandbuyfromyou,insteadofyoucallingyourprospectsandtryingtoselltothem.Buildingareputationandonlinefollowingletsyoubegintogeneratetraffic,leadsandnewbusiness.It’stheapproachwhichcanhelpyouside-step,reduceoreradicatecostlydigitaldisplayadvertisingentirely.
Thisbookdoesnotpromiseovernightsuccess;inboundmarketingtakeseffort,timeandcommitment.Ifyoubuyintothephilosophy,thisbookwillprovidetheinsight,toolsandresourcestogrowyourbusinessinawaythatyouraudiencenotonlyappreciates,butisincreasinglydemanding.
WhythisbookwillhelpyourbusinessYouliveinanonlineworld.Youwouldn’thavegotthisfarinGettingGoosebumps,otherwise.Weknowthatthisbookwillhelp99.9%ofpeoplewhosellproducts,servicesortheirbrandonline-oranyonewhowantstoworkinanorganisationthatdoes.
So,ifyouwanttostart,improve,orupdateyourtechniquesforcreatingacompellingstorytogiveyourbusinessaboostonline,thenreadon…Here’showwe’llhelp:
CEOsandbusinessleadersLookingtogetagripofhowtodirectdigitalcommunicationswithconfidenceandauthority?Thisbookwillquicklyempoweryouinhowtocommandadisruptiveandcontagiousfuture.Thiswillstrikeachordandsitbythebedsideforweeksandweeks.
SeniormarketingmanagementLookingtostretchabudget,findnewwaystowinandacceleratetowardpromotion?Followingtheprinciplesinthisbookwillhelpyoustandoutasanexpertteamleader,capableofchallengingconventionandinspiringateamtowardsaward-winningwork.
MarketingexecutivesLookingtostandoutinacompetitiveteam?GettingGoosebumpswillkeepyouonthestraightandnarrow.It’sacompassthat’salwayspointedtowardsdoingagoodjobproperlyfirsttime–evenunderthepressuresofafast-pacedagency.
SMEbusinessownersLookingtopunchaboveyourweight,outsourcetoanagencywithconfidenceandclarityandgenerateasignificantROI?Thisbookgivesyouasolidgroundinginthefundamentalsofinboundmarketing,soyoucanaskforwhatyouwant,andknowexactlywhatyou’regetting.
BuddingdigitalexecsandtraineesLookingtoimpressanewteamorclimbtheranksquickly?GettingGoosebumpsshowsyouhowtoapproachachallengefromadifferentangleandcomeupwithsomethingthatmightjustbetrulyremarkable.
TraditionalmarketersWorriedyou’vebeenleftbehindandlookingforaguidinghand?Thisbookwilldelivertheinstantreassurancethatyourexistingskillsareverymuchinplay,butwillprovideyouwiththeadditionalprinciplestobecomecontagiousandmagneticinthedawningdigital
age.
ThebedroommarketerLookingforawaytocutthroughthenoiseandmakesureyouputyourbestfootforward?Thisbookdiscussesthelatesttechniquesandagencytipstomakesureyou’reup-to-dateandreadytotackleanychallenge.
Howtoreadthisbook
We’veincludeddetaileddownloadplans,soyoucanplotyourstep-by-stepstrategyinadetailed,measurableway.Ifyou’refollowingtheGoosebumpsstrategy,we’dsuggestreadingthebookthroughbeforeyoudownloadtheextras,soyouknowwhatyou’vegottodoandwhen.If,ofcourse,you’rejustlookingforalittleinboundinspiration,thendon’tfeelyouhavetofolloweverythingwesaytotheletter-justreadingthroughsomeoftheideasandexampleswillhelpyouclarifyyourplanning.
MarketingstrategytimelineBelowyouwillfindafullyrealised,digitalstrategytimeline,inallitsglory.Thisservesasavisualrepresentationofallofyourtacticsandmeasurablemetricsacross12monthsofactivityonline.Weunderstandit'salittledifficulttoseeindetailatthissize,butwewantedtogiveyouanideaofwhatayear'sworthofjoinedupthinkingcanlooklike.Tosaveyoustrainingyoureyes,you'llfindthecomponentsofthetimelinebrokendownacrossthenextfewpages.
Downloadyourversionofthetimelinehere:
http://www.ph-creative.com/goosebumps/timeline
See,think,do,delightPersona1PaulGerrard
Paulis19andiscurrentlyinhisfirstyearofuniversity,studyinglaw.Helovesfashion,footballandhisfriendsandmostofhisbuyingdecisionsaremotivatedbyconvenienceandprice.HeusesSnapchatandTwittereverydayandwatchesYouTubeandNetflixreligiously.
Paul’sprimarygoals:
Paul’sprimarygoalistoretainasmuchofhismoneyaspossibleforsocialising.Heismotivatedbyreferraldealsandincentivesforsigningupwithaparticularinsurer.
Paul’spainpoints:
Pauldoesn’townanythingofsignificantvalue,sohomeinsuranceseemsunnecessarytohim;heviewsitasanexpensehecoulddowithout.However,Paullistenstohisparentswhenitcomestomakingnewlifedecisionsandhepromisedthemthatwouldgetcontentsinsuranceatagoodpricenowthathehasmovedtouniversity.TheideaoffillingoutlengthyandcomplicatedinsuranceformsisarealturnoffforPaul.
See,think,do,delightPersona2:StevenWakefield
Stevenisa37yearoldwhohasatopflightjobworkingasHeadofCorporateAffairsforamulti-nationalbasedinCentralLondon.Heismarriedwith2children,ownshisownhomeinLondonandlikestoplaygold.HespendsalittletimeonTwitterandLinkedInandbrowsesYouTubeattheweekends.
Steven’sprimarygoals:
Steven’sprimarygoalistoprovideahighstandardoflivingforhisfamily.Along-termsecondarygoalistosavetowardsbuyingaholidayhomeabroad.
Steven’spainpoints:
Stevenistimepoorandverybusyandfindscomplicatedorconvolutedprocessesannoying.Ifhehastore-readsomethingtounderstandithefeelshistimeisbeingwasted.Hismainworrywhenpurchasingahomeinsurancepolicyisgettingstuckmid-waythroughanapplicationwithnoonetohelphim.Hewantstofindareputableinsurerthatcanprovideatailoredservicetohisspecificneeds,basedonthesheervalueofthegoodsheisinsuring.
INBOUNDMARKETINGBUSINESSOBJECTIVESQUARTER1
INBOUNDMARKETINGBUSINESSOBJECTIVESQUARTER2
INBOUNDMARKETINGBUSINESSOBJECTIVESQUARTER3
INBOUNDMARKETINGBUSINESSOBJECTIVESQUARTER4
Introduction
Imagineasimpleandeffectiveapproachtomarketingthatdelightsyouraudience,andisdrivendirectlybyyourbusinessobjectives.
Bysharingourmarketingphilosophywithyou,weaimtoprovideyouwithameanstosimplifymarketingagain,puttingtheemphasisbackonthecustomerandtheirexperience,whilstdrivingactionfromthetoplineobjectivesofyourbusiness.
Inordertoachievethisweneedtoforgetabouttechnologyforasecondandthinkabouthumanengagement–it’stimetomeasuremarketingusinggoosebumps.
Wewillinspireyoutolistentoandloveyouraudience,that’stheonlywayyou’lltrulyout-thinkyourcompetition.Wewanttoempoweryoutocreatecompellingmarketingmaterialthathelpsyoubuildcontagiousmessagesandcreateamagneticbrand.
Everydecisiontobuyisbasedonemotionaltriggers,sothebestpossibleresponsetomarketingmaterialthatyoucaneverhopefor(rightbeforeyouraudiencedecideswhatactiontotake)istogetgoosebumps.
Goosebumps:Thephysical,involuntary,telltalesignthatanemotionalconnectionhasbeenmade.
Gettinggoosebumpsisthetelltalesignthatyouareachievingapositiveresponsefromyouraudience.Withoutagreatstorytotellorapowerfulmessagethatlandswithimpact,allthetoolsandtechnologyareirrelevant.
Apassionatemessagedeliveredwithimpactwillallowyouraudiencetoconnectwithyourcorevisionandbecomeanadvocateforyourbusiness.That’swhatyoushouldbeaimingfor,everytime.
Solet’sstartattheend.Thefoldoutonthefollowingpagesiswhatyouronlinemarketingplanfor2015couldlooklike.
Mostonlinemarketingplansgowrongwhentheylackstrategyandrelyongeneralcontentandactivity.Potentialcustomersarequicklylostwhenbrandscreateasetofrigidmessagesthatonlyspeaktoonespecificgroup,ataparticularpointintheirbuyingcycle.
Thisold-schoolapproachtodigitalmarketingisdead.Inordertosucceedonline,yourdigitalstrategycannotbeonesizefitsall.Youraudienceismadeupofgroupsofindividualswithdistinctneedsandexpectationsofyourbusiness.Youmusttalktothemasifit’saone-on-oneconversationwhereverpossible.
Remarkableonlinemarketingtodayisfluid,yettargeted.Italignswithyourbusinessobjectivesandtalkstoyouraudienceinatailoredwaysoastomaximisetheirexperiencewithyourbrand.Ateverystageofyouraudience’sbuyingcycletheirneeds,wantsanddesireschangeandyouhavetoreactaccordingly.Thismightsoundtough,butit’scertainlynotmissionimpossibleandthisbookwillproveittoyou.
Untanglingtheelementsofcreatingarobust,flexibleandeffectivedigitalmarketingstrategy,thisbookwillintroduceeightfundamentalprinciplesthatwillensureyourbusinessisalwaysonestepaheadonline.
BehindeachstepinGettingGoosebumpsyou’lldiscoverthelatestagencysecrets;mappingoutexactlyhowtodelivercreativityunderpressure,withouttheworrythatit’snotcontributingtotheoverallbusinessnumbersthatmatter.
CHAPTER1
GETTINGYOURSTORYSTRAIGHTWhyit’simportanttoyouandyourcustomersandhowtoensureyou’rebeingauthentic.“Abrandforacompanyislikeareputationforaperson.Youearnreputationbytryingtodohardthingswell.
JeffBezos
“Greatcompaniesthatbuildanenduringbrandhaveanemotionalrelationshipwithcustomersthathavenobarrier.Andthatemotionalrelationshipisbasedonthemostimportantcharacteristic.”
HowardSchultz
“Thosearemyprinciples,andifyoudon'tlikethem…well,Ihaveothers.”
GrouchoMarx
Ourphilosophyisbuiltaroundthebeliefthatyouneedtoweaveinterestingstoriesaroundyourbrandtoemotionallyconnectwithyourintendedaudience.Theworldofmarketingischangingandpeoplearewillingtoberiveted,engagedwithandmovedbyastorybeforetheyevenconsiderengaginginbusinesswithyourbrand.
Yourgoalistohavethemfallinlovewithyou…Oratleastcreateabrand-crushwithlastingsentiment.Onesuchexamplespringstomind;picturethescene.
Muharremisdeafandcommunicatessolelythroughsignlanguage.Everydayisspenttryingtoovercomebarrierstocommunicationandmakemeaningfulsenseoftheeverydayworld.Whenwemeethim,Muharremissettingoutonemorning,accompaniedbyhissisterOzlemforastrollthroughthequietIstanbulsuburbtheybothlivein.WhenMuharrembumpsintoastrangeronthestreet,hediscoversthefirstcluethattodayisnoordinaryday.Muharremispleasantlysurprisedwhenthatstrangersigns‘goodmorning’tohim.
Brushingtheunlikelyeventoffasahappycoincidence,MuharremandOzlemcarryonthroughthestreets,signingidlechatwhileheadingtowardsalocalfoodstore.Whentheshopkeeperoffershimhotbagelsinsignlanguage,andacustomerwhodropsabagoffruitonthefloorapologiesinthesameway,thelookofbemusementthatwashesoverMuharrem’sfacerevealshisracingmindandstateofconfusion.
“Doyouknowhim?Ishehearingimpaired?”heaskshissister.
“Idon’tknow!”
Tryingtoadjusttotheunfamiliarworldinwhichhehassuddenlyfoundhimself,MuharremandOzlemhailacab.Ofcourse,noteverythingisasitseemsandtheshocknowfullyfloodsMuharrem’sfacewhenthetaxidrivercheerfullywelcomeshimandaskshisdestinationinfull,fluentsignlanguage.AllthebarriersthatMuharremisusedtonavigating,everydayofhislife,areslowlymeltingaway.SteppingoutofthecabontothelocalsquareOzlemnoticessomethingfromthecornerofhereye.
“Lookthere!Lookthere!”
Inthecentreofthesquarewasanelectronicbillboard,featuringanadvert;prettystandardstuffforabustlingneighbourhoodcentreinacapitalcity.Exceptthisbillboardwasusingsignlanguage.AnditwassigningdirectlytoMuharrem.
“HiMuharrem.Samsungwantedtopreparealittlesurpriseforyoubecauseaworldwithoutbarriersisourdreamaswell.”
Theday,ofcourse,wasnotexactlyasitseemed.CamerasswoopinonMuharremashissister,friendsandbystandersembracehim.Muharremhadthechancetoliveforadayinaworldwithoutbarriersthankstoaveryspecialstuntfromabrandthattrulyhaditscauseattheveryheartoftheirmarketing.SamsungTurkeytooktheresidentsfromMuharrem’ssuburbofIstanbul(includinghissister,whowasinonitallalong)and,inasinglemonth,taughtthemallsignlanguage.ThetightlyscriptedandchoreographedjourneythatMuharremtookwasfilmedbydozensofcarefullyconcealedcamerasaseachparticipantjoinedinwiththeefforttohelpMuharremspendadayinworldwherehecouldcommunicatewithsatisfactionandease.
Whatfor,youask?Well,ultimatelythestuntwasaimedatadvertisingSamsungTurkey’snewvideo-conferencingcallcentreforthehearingimpaired.It’snotatopicwecanallrelateto,butSamsungdidsomethingbrilliant.Theymadeanewcallcentreallaboutahumanstory.Theyfoundwhattheywereallabout,communicationwithoutbarriers,andtheyengagedtheiraudienceinastorythatperfectlyreflectedthatvalue.Needlesstosaythecorrespondingvideowentviral,generatingover3millionviewsonYouTube(andcounting)andbecameoneofthoseclipsthatyoujusthadtowatch.
RegardlessofhowyoufeelaboutSamsung’snewcallcentre,it’sadaythatyouorMuharremwillnotforgetaboutanytimesoonandSamsungarethatlittlebitmorememorableforittoo…YoumighthaveevendevelopedalittlesoftspotinyourheartforSamsungbytheendofwatchingthatvideo,orjustlikeoneofourteaminPh.Creative,youmayfindyourselfinfloodsoftears(rightKathryn?).
Checkitoutbyvisitingthelinkbelow–we’resureit’llgiveyougoosebumps.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter1Resources
Ifyoudon’testablishwhoyouareandthereasonyouexistasabusiness,it’sverydifficulttoconvinceanyaudiencetotrustyou,buyfromyouorattachanyloyaltytowardyourbrand.Ontheotherhand,ifyourpurposeandyourvisionareclear,onlinecommunicationcanbeanextremelypowerfulmeansofinspiringincrediblestorytellinganddeliveringamessagethatresonateswithyouraudience.
ThepowerofgettingitrightInDecember2013theeighthlargestairlineinAmerica,WestJetAirlines,createdaChristmasmarketingcampaignwhichnotonlygeneratedatonneofengagement,butitalsodemonstratedabrandthatremainstruetoitsvaluesandvision.
WestJetAirlineshasavision:tobecomeoneofthebiggestairlinesinAmericabyprovidingguestswithafriendly,caringexperiencethatredefinesairtravel.Theirvaluesincludebeinghonest,caring,positiveandpassionateineverythingtheydoandkeepingthecommitmentstheymake.
WestJetAirlines’ChristmasMiraclecampaigndemonstratesabrandthatcaresaboutitscustomers.WestJetaskedpassengerswhattheywantedforChristmasbeforetheyboardedaflight,usinganinteractiveSantaClausTVscreen.Aseachpassengerscannedtheirboardingpass,SantaspoketothempersonallytoaskwhattheywantedforChristmas.ItwasalovelytouchofpersonalChristmasjoy.
Butthatwasn’ttheendofthestory.InthetimeittooktheflighttotaketotheairfromTorontoandreachitsdestinationofHamilton,WestJethadeachandeverycustomer’sChristmaswishbought,giftwrappedandwaitingforthemattheotherendontheluggagebelt.CompletewithapersonalappearancefromSanta.
WestJethasareputationforlookingaftertheiremployeesandinreturn,theylookafterthedetailsthatdelighttheircustomers.Sothisstuntringstruewiththeirbrandstory.It’sheartwarming,personal,endearingandgenerous.Itwasdocumentedandvideoed,andits36millionviewsonYouTubeprovehowsuccessfulittrulywas.
Thisisanexcellentexampleofstrategicmarketingthat’sintunewiththecompany’svision.Marketingmagiccanhappenifyourcommunicationsandmarketingactivitiesareallpullinginthesamedirectionasyourbrandvalues,yourvisionandyourpurpose.
Plainoldmagiccanhappeneverydaytoo,butwhereWestJetAirlinessucceededisinmaximisingthepotentialoftheircampaignwithclevermarketing.Theyleveragedeverybitofdigitalgoodwillthatwastobehadfromthatparticularmarketingactivity.There’snothingwrongwithorchestratingthisatall;it’snotphoney,it’sauthentic.
WestJetAirlinesliveandbreathethesentimentbehindthegesturewhichiswhy36millionpeoplehaveboughtintothemagicoftheexperiencetheycreated.Theyleveragedtheirpurposeandtheirbrandvisionintoanemotionallycompellingstunt,andmanagedtoexecuteitextremelywell.Seeforyourself,it’smarketinggenius.
Toaccessthisvideoandallofyourresourcesforchapter1,visitthelinkbelow.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter1Resources
Whatdidyouthink?It’sprettycompellingstuff.Now,we’reawarethatWestJet’scampaignrepresentsabigmarketingcampaignwithanevenbiggergesture.Andofcourse,biggesturesareoftenaccompaniedbybigbudgets.Weunderstandthatthiskindofmarketingstuntmayappeartobeoutofreachformanysmallerbusinesses,butthekeytakeawayfromtheWestJetexampleistheconceptandtheintention.
Talkingtoyourcustomersandlisteningtowhattheywantwillgetyoufurtherthananymammothmarketingbudget.YoumightnotbeabletogivethemflatscreenTVsforChristmas,butyoucangivethemabrilliantexperienceateverystageofthebuyingcycle.Thatgiftisworthitsweightingoldintheworldofbusiness.
ThesciencebehindtheapproachAretherecertainbrandsthatyoujustcan’thelpbutbeenamouredwith?Haveyoueverbeenwonoverbycleveradvertisingorpackaging?HaveyoueverlistenedtoakeynotespeechbyaCEOorbusinessownerandbeeninspired?Let’sbehonest–weallhave.
SimonSinek,authorofStartwithWhysumsupwhysomebrandsmakeaconnectionandothersmissthemarkbyintroducingtheideaof‘TheGoldenCircle’.Threeconcentriccircles,decreasinginsizerepresentthreequestions;what,howandwhy?
What?The‘what’representstheservicesandproductsyousell.
How?The‘how’representsthewayyoumakeyourproducts/services.
Why?The‘why’istherationalebehindeverythingyoudoasabusiness.
It’sthe‘why’stagethatissooftenglossedoverwhenplanningbrandcommunicationsandonlineactivities–thestumblingblockformanybusinesses.
ThesuccessofglobalbrandssuchasInnocent,StarbucksandAppleisthattheyalwaysstartwith‘why’andthentakeyouontheemotionaljourneyofwhattheirproductsstandfor.
Weunderstandthepurposeandbeliefsofthesebrandsandwe’reinstantlyprovidedwithameansofemotionallyinvestinginthem.So,what’syourpurpose?Whyshouldyouraudienceemotionallyinvestinyourbrand?Howcanyouuseyourhigherpurposetoinspire,entertain,educateandconvincethemtostayloyal?
TheconsequencesofgettingitwrongNotallbrandsarequiteassavvyasWestJet,StarbucksorApple.Evenglobalpowerhousescanfallwhentheyfailtounderstandbothwhattheysaytheystandforandwhattheirtargetaudienceactuallybelievetheyrepresent.
TakeinvestmentbankJ.P.Morgan.Onitswebsiteitliststhefollowingasoneofitscorevalues:
“Wedoourbesttomanageandoperateourcompanywithaconsistentsetofbusinessprinciples.Webelievethatshareholderswillbenefitaswedotherightthingforourclientsandthecommunitiesweserve.”
Sowhathappenedin2013,whenthebankinvitedTwitterfollowerstoaskViceChairmanJimmyLeeanything,inanenlighteningQ&Asession,usingthehashtag#AskJPM?
Sixhoursofcarnageistheanswer.Twitterusersquestionedandcondemnedeverythingfromthebank’sroleinthefinancialcrisisandwhyno-onehasbeenheldaccountable,totheirinvolvementintheBernieMadoffinvestmentscandal.UltimatelyandunsurprisinglytheTwitterQ&Awascancelled.ThisPRdisastercouldhavebeenavoidediftheironlinecommunicationwasrootedinarobuststrategy,informingthemofwhattheirbrandactuallyrepresentstothemassesontheinternet.Byfailingtounderstandtheironlinebrandperception,andforjumpingintoanonlineactivitywithoutpriorresearch,theyjeopardisedtheirbrandevenfurther.J.P.MorgancouldhaveavoidedthisiftheyhadincorporatedablendedapproachtotheirPRandsocialmedia;bytuningintotheconversationstheiraudiencewerehavingandrespondingtotheirconcerns,ratherthanjumpingonatrendinabidtoappearrelevant.Themoralofthestory?Liveandbreatheyourbrandvaluesonline,oryou’llgetcaughtout.Ensureyourmissionstatement,visionandcorevaluesinformyouronlinemarketingstrategy.Oppositeisadiagramforyoutofillin,soyoucannotethe‘what’,‘how’and‘why’thatmakeupyourbusiness.Startwithwhy,thenworkyourwaythroughthesections.Inthecentreofthediagram,youshouldbeabletoformasetoftangiblebrandvaluesthatdefineyourbusinessbasedonthethreeprinciples.
Youcandownloadyourownprintableversionofthisworksheetat:
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter1Resources
Ifyourmarketingteamdoesn’tensureyourstrategyalignswithyourbrand’svaluesandbusinessobjectives,howcanyoubesurewhatyou’redoingonlineisauthentic?
Andmoreimportantly,howcanyouconvinceyourcustomersofthis?Togetgoosebumpsyouraudiencemustfeeltheauthenticityandbelieveyourmessagetobetrue.
Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS
Fish!StephenLundin
Thismanagementparable,setinthefishmongersatSeattle'sPikePlaceMarket,seesprotagonistMaryJaneRamireztaskedwithturningaroundhercompany'sfailingoperationsdepartment.Thisbookisdesignedtohelpfindawaytocreateafun,happyworkplace,whereemployeesliveandbreathethecompany’svisionandvalues.
CreativityInc.EdCartmull
AsmuchahistoryofPixarasmanagementbook,thisisadefinitiveguidetobuildingacreativebusiness.Cartmull’sstorytellingtakesusthroughhisjourneytoconnectthemanyspecifictaskshisemployeesperformwithPixar’swiderbusinessobjectives,drivinghisteamtocreatesuchanimatedclassicsasToyStoryandFindingNemo.
StartwithWhy:HowGreatLeadersInspireEveryonetoTakeActionSimonSinek
Thisbookoutlinesthe‘GoldenCircle’–the‘how?’,‘what?’and‘why?’Itadvocatesstartingeverybusiness,projectorcampaignbyasking‘why?’first.Thatway,youestablishthereasonforaskingyouraudiencefortheirloyalty.
ONLINETOOLS
TinyPulse
Thisonlinesystemcollectsanonymousfeedbackfromemployees,creatingabarometerofhappinessinyourorganisation.Youcanchoosepre-writtenquestionsorcreateyourown,soyoucandelveintohowmuchyourteamunderstandsyourvisionandvalues.
www.tinypulse.com
TheFeedbackMatrix
Therealimpactoffeedback,positiveornegative,comesinthemanneryourespondtoit–orindeedifyouchoosetorespondatall.Firstaskyourself‘whatcanIdowiththiscriticism/compliment?’Createandplotfeedbackonamatrixdividedintofoursections:advice,compliments,criticismandsuggestions,thendecidewhatadvicetofollow,whattoignoreandwhatshoulddriveyoutotakeaction.
BrandvaluesguidelinesdownloadDownloadourbrandvaluesguidelinestemplatebyvisitingthelinkbelowtostarteffectivelybuildingtheframeworkforyourbusinessandplanningyourgoalsaccordingly.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter1Resources
Takeawaysforchapter1Nowthatwe’veexploredtheimportanceofunderstandinghowyourbrandvaluesaffectthewayyouraudienceperceivesyou,checkoffeachofthestagesbelowasyoucompletethem.
☐Establishwhatyoustandfor
☐Decidehowyouwantyouraudiencetoviewyou
☐Setaclearmessage
CHAPTER2
THERIGHTDIRECTIONHowtoalignyourbusinessobjectiveswithyourmarketinggoalstoensureeveryoneinthebusinessisonthesamepage.“Strategyisbuyingabottleoffinewinewhenyoutakealadyoutfordinner.Tacticsisgettinghertodrinkit.”FrankMuir
“Victoriouswarriorswinfirstandthengotowar,whiledefeatedwarriorsgotowarfirstandthenseektowin.”SunTzu,TheArtofWar
“Asatisfiedcustomeristhebestbusinessstrategyofall.”MichaelLeBoeuf
Alltoooften,therearethreescenariosthatplayoutwhenbusinessesplantheironlineactivities.
Thefirstscenariooccurswhenthereisnostrategywhatsoever.Instead,ahandfulofwell-meaningtacticsandactivitiesareroutinelyorsporadicallyexecutedinthehopethatonlinemagicwillhappen,moreleadswillfindtheirwaytothebusiness,andsaleswilldropthroughthetilleachmonth.
Thesecondscenarioissometimesmoredangerousthanthefirst.Thereisadigitalstrategyinplaceyetitdoesn’tintegratewiththeoverarchinggoalsofthebusiness.Instead,itresemblesacollectionofgenerictacticsandsocialmediameasurables,andasaresultfailstoaddanyvaluetothecurrentbusinessobjectives.
Thethirdscenariooccurswhenadigitalstrategyhasbeendesignedwiththebusinessobjectivesinmind,howeveronreview,it’snoweitherdriftedintoamoredilutedversionoftheoriginalvisionorit’sstucktoorigidlytotheoriginalplan–eventhoughthebusinesshasnowmovedinanewdirection.
Allofthesescenariosaresymptomsofthesamerootcause.Adigitalstrategy,planorroutineofactivityissometimestheafterthoughtofabusinessstrategythatseesdigitalasmerelyatacticoranamplificationtechniqueforexistingactivities.
Digitalcancertainlyextendreach,stretchconversionratesandhelptoincreaseaudienceengagement,howeverdigitalshouldbeusedstrategicallyandnotjusttactically.
WritingyourdigitalstrategyIfyoudon’tknowwhyyouaredoingsomething,howcanyousetrealgoalsandmeasurableKeyPerformanceIndicators(KPIs)toworktowards?Howcanyouidentifyifwhatyouaredoingisworking?
Asking‘why’willhelpyoutoidentifyyourbusinessobjectives,whichinturnwillformthefoundationofyoureveryactivityonline–helpingyoutobuildaclearstrategictimelineorplantofollow.Identifythe‘why’andyourstrategicplanwillfollow.Plottingactivitiesonachartandthenaskingyourself–‘whyarewedoingthis?Doesthisalignwithouroverallbusinessobjectives?’–willensureyougeneratereal,tangibleresults.ThePh.Creativemethodologyenablesyoutoplanyourcommunicationsandinboundmarketingbystartingwithwhy.It’sthisapproachthatmeansyou’renotflailingaroundinthetacticsandactivityofsocialmediawithoutaddingvaluetoyourbusinessgoals.Aneffectivestrategicplanhastobe:
SpecificMeasurableAcheivableRelevantTimely
Setting‘SMART’objectivesisamethodasoldasthehills,but‘SMART’objectivesarestillthebeststartingpointwhendefiningyourbusiness’goals.
-Writedownyourspecificobjective
-Outlinehowyouwillmeasureit
-Checkitisattainableandrelevanttoyourcompany’svision
-Setadeadlineforwhenthisshouldbeachieved
DownloadourSMARTobjectivesmarketinggoalstemplatebyvisitingthelinkbelowtostartplanningyourbusinessgoalswithclarity.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter2Resources
Sales–Advocacy–AwarenessThesearethreemetricsthatshouldalwaysplayapartinyourbusinessobjectives.Usethismodeltoensureyoufocusononeprimaryobjective,integratingthe
othersthroughout.
ExamplesofdigitalstrategyatworkOnceyou’velaidoutyourKPIsandascertainedwhyyou’redoingwhatyou’redoing,youcanstartputtingastrategytogetherthatisin-linewiththeprimaryobjectivesofyourbusiness.
Belowaresomegoodexamplesofadigitalstrategyatwork:
-GrowingaFacebookcommunityof100,000engagedfansbecauseyouconsistentlyconvertanaverageof13%ofthecommunitywitheverypromotion.
-Drivingrevenueupby5%byincreasingtheconversionrateofyourwebsiteby5%andthetrafficby25%.
-Usingregularemailmarketingtonurturealistofprospectstowardsbuyingforthefirsttime.Convert90%offirsttimecustomersintorepeatcustomersbyrefiningafollow-upemailcampaign.
-Findingandtargetingsocial‘influencers’tobuildreputationandcredibilityinaspecialistfield.
-Engaginganewpersonaofyouraudienceworthanadditional10%ofgrossprofit.
ConsideringyourdigitaltacticsSowheredoesitusuallygowrong?Amongthesuccessstoriesfrombrandsandcompaniesusingsocialmediaaremanymorefailures,oftenrootedinthefactthatobjectivesforeachchannelwerenotplannedoutfromthestart.Herearefourofthemostcommon.
‘Let’ssellonTwitter’
ManybusinessesusechannelslikeTwittereffectivelytoengagewithcustomers.Butwhenusedwithoutclearobjectivesinmind,itcanbedetrimentaltoyourbrand.Today’sconsumersexpectbrandstoworktowintrustandprovidevalueonline,notjustleadwithasalespitch.Beingoverlypushywithyoursalestacticsonthisplatformcanbackfire,ultimatelylosingyoufollowers(andpotentialcustomers).Similarly,postingcontenttoTwitterwithoutpriorknowledgeofyouraudiencepersonaswillalsoresultinlowerengagementandfollowerrate.
‘Thetargetaudienceonlineisthesameasitisoffline’
Targetingthesamepeopleonlineasofflineisnotalwaysthebestmethodtoemploy.Whensettingdigitalobjectivesyouneedaclearunderstandingofhowyouraudiencewillinteractwithyouonline,soyoucantargetthemeffectively.Individualsoftenhavedifferenthabitsonandoffline–acustomerwhomaybuyexclusivelyinstorewon’trespondtoasalesmessageaskingthemtopurchaseonlineandviceversa.It’salsoimportanttothinkabouthowyourtargetaudienceshopsonline–whethertheyneedinformationfirstoraredrivenbysalesordiscounts.
‘We’lljusthaveaninfographic’
Justthrowingapieceofcontentoutintothedigitalspaceandhopingsomeonewillseeitisuseless.Contentsuchasinfographicsandblogsneedtobebackedbyarelevantstrategybasedonclearlydefinedobjectives.Oneproblemthatoccursoftenisthepromotionofcontentbecominganafterthought.
Youmayhavethebestinfographicorblogarticleintheworld,butifyou’reonlysharingitwithyour400Facebookfollowers,yourreachwillbeseverelyhindered.
‘Thatcampaignwasgreat,thanks,bye’
Inboundmarketingdoesn’tstopafteronecampaignorevenatthecheckoutbutton.Settinganobjectivetocontinuebuildingrelationshipswillopendoorsforup-sellingandretainingloyalcustomers.Ifyoucontinuetodelightyourcustomersaftertheinitialsale,you’ll
createacommunityofactivebrandambassadorsandadvocateswhoendorse,supportandultimatelyloveyourbrand.
Definingyourobjectives
Youandyourteamshouldbeonthepulseofemergingmedia;newplatforms,techniquesandtools–butthatdoesn’tmeanyoushouldcramthemallintoyourmarketingprogramme.Carefullyselectonlythechannelsandmetricsthatwillbenefityourbusiness.Onceyou’veoutlinedclearSMARTgoalsandobjectivesandmappedoutyourpersonas,selectingtherightchannelsshouldfallnaturallyintoyourtactics.Ensureyouconsistentlyreviewthesehowever,ifyourpersonas’interestsandonlinehabitschange-don’tgetleftbehind.
SixmetricstoconsiderwhendefiningtacticsReputationCreateanenhancedexperience,valuablecontentorgreatcustomerserviceandyourreputationwillbuildtrust,encourageadvocacyandgeneratecustomerreferrals.
EngagementAuthentic,honestengagementwithyourcustomerswilldrivetrustandadvocacy.Themoreyouengage,themoreyourcustomerswillteachyouaboutyourbrand,informingyourobjectives
AwarenessRaisingbrandvisibilityinthedigitalspaceisnotaneasytask.Withsomanycompetitorsvyingforyouraudience’sattention,beingseencanprovedifficult.Settingthisasakeyobjectiveandpinpointingwhereyourcustomersareandwhattheywanttoseewillensureyouremainvisibleintheonlinespace.
SalesEncouragingyouraudiencetogivetheirdetailsandpermissiontomarkettothemallowsyoutoremainincontactwiththemandpersonaliseyourapproach.
SentimentThroughenhancednavigationandcustomerserviceonline,yourbrandcanprovidevalueandagreatexperience,improvingsentimentandencouragingreferralsandre-visits.
VisibilityRankingfortherightkeywordsisstillrelevant.Knowwhatyouraudienceissearchingforandmakesureyou’reinahighpositionwhentheymakethatsearch.
ExamplesofdigitaltacticsatworkThetacticsyouimplementshouldhavetheprimaryfocusofachievingyourstrategyandmeetingthegoalsyouoriginallylaidoutforyourbusiness.
Belowaresomegoodexamplesofdigitaltacticsatwork:
-UsingFacebooktoinvitepeopletoaseminar
-UsingGoogleAdwordstofindmorecustomerssearchingforyourproductsorservicesrightnow
-Emailingyourdatabasetomarketa50%offJanuarysale
-Tweetingouteverytimethere’snewsoranewblogreleasedonthewebsite
-Sendingsales‘In-Mails’onLinkedIntoidealprospectscitybycity
Remember,yourstrategiclistshouldfocusonachievingyourbusinessgoals,whileyourtacticallistshouldbeyourto-dolistforthemonth.
Beforeexecutingdigitaltactics,aclearstrategymustbeestablishedthat’sin-linewiththeprimaryobjectivesofthebusiness.Thegoodnewsisthatthisdoesn’thavetobedifficultatall.
Beforeyoudoanything,defineeffective,meaningfulobjectivesthatwillmakeanimpactonyourbusinessandresonatewithyourcustomers.
Useourstrategyworksheetattheendofthischaptertohelpyoudefinethese.Combineyourtacticswithyourstrategyandaboveall,remembertoconnectwithyourcustomerson
anemotionallevel.
Ifyoucansuccessfullycommunicateyour'cause'oryour'why'(whatyoustandforoverandaboveafinancialgain)youprovidesomethingtheycanbelieveinandchampionwith
you.
Ifyouachievethis,goosebumpsaren'tfaraway.
Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS
Breakthrough!HowGreatCompaniesSetOutrageousObjectives–AndAchieveThem
BillDavidson
Althoughnotstrictlyaninboundmarketingtext,thisbooklooksatmorethan70breakthroughbrands,includingIBM,DellandAmericanStandardandshowshowtheyadoptedoutrageousobjectivesandwhathappenedwhentheyachievedthem.
MasteringtheRockefellerHabits
VerneHarnish
Thisbookchampionsprioritisationandwillhelpyoutoidentifywhat’scriticalforyoutoachieveinthenext90days,helpingyoucommunicateittoyourteam,creatingenergyandfocus.
ONLINETOOLS
GoogleAnalytics
GoogleAnalyticsisanessentialtoolinunderstandingyourwebsitetrafficsources,ecommercegoals,searchtermsandaudiencedemographics.
www.google.com/analytics
DashThis
DashThismakesyourreportingtaskssimple,andpullsinformationfromarangeofsources.Allowingyoutocreateweekly,monthly,quarterlyandannualreportsandprovidinganinstantsnapshotofyourperformance,DashThisisagreattooltoaddtoyourarmoury.
www.dashthis.com
ImplementingyourbrandvaluesdownloadDownloadourguidetoimplementingyourbrandvaluesbyvisitingthelinkbelowtostarteffectivelyincorporatingyourvaluesintoyourcontentstrategy.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter2Resources
Takeawaysforchapter2Nowyouunderstandhowtosetachievablegoalsandthekeydifferencesbetweentacticsandstrategy,thereareafewthingsyoushoulddotoensureyoumaximiseyoursuccessrate.Checkthemoffbelowasyoucompletethem.
☐Cementyourbusinessobjectives
☐Linkeachtacticwithinyourstrategytoyourbusinessobjectives
☐CheckyourstrategyagainsttheSMARTmethod
CHAPTER3
UNDERSTANDINGYOURAUDIENCEHowtolistentoyouraudiences’wants,needsanddesiresinordertomaximizeyourchancesofengagingandsellingtothem.“Theaimofmarketingistoknowandunderstandthecustomersowellthattheproductorservicefitshimandsellsitself.”PeterDrucker
“Whenyouenchantpeople,yourgoalisnottomakemoneyfromthemorgetthemtodowhatyouwantbuttofillthemwithgreatdelight.”GuyKawasaki
“Theattentioneconomyisnotgrowingwhichmeanswehavetograbtheattentionthatsomeoneelsehastoday.”BrentLeary,CRMEssentials
So,thesearchforgoosebumpscontinues.Thischapterismakeorbreakforourcausebecauseit’sherethatyouwilldecideontheanswertothefollowingcrucialquestion.Howmuchdoyoureallywanttomakethatconnectionwithyouraudience?
Haveyoueverheardthesaying,‘peoplebuyfrompeopletheylike’?Thisisanoldadage,whichhasbeenwrittenaboutandquotedmanytimesovertheyears–especiallyinbooksandwhitepaperswrittenaboutsalestechniquesandtactics.Itstandstoreasonthatinordertobeeffectivewithsalesandmarketing,youneedtounderstandyouraudience,theirmotivationsforbuyingandwhat’simportanttothem–notsoyoucanusecreepysalestechniques,butsoyoucangivethemthevaluethey’relookingforandmaketheirlifeeasier.
Byunderstandingthewaysinwhichyourproductsorservicesaddressapainpointorcommonproblemforyouraudience,you’reensuringthatyourcontentisalwaysrelevant,valuableandisn’ttryingtoforceasale.
Thequickestandmosteffectivewaytoachievethisistofullyunderstandyouraudienceand,attheriskofsoundingalittlemushy,you’vegottoalsolovethemenoughtowanttounderstandwhatmatterstothemmost.Youneedtogetagriponwhatyouraudiencereallyappreciateandactonthistobuildameaningfulrelationship–onethat’sbasedonvalueandtrust.
Theworldhaschangedandthepowerhasmostdefinitelyshiftedbetweenconsumerandbusinessbrand.It’snolongerrelevantoracceptabletouseover-bearingpersuasiontechniquesthatborderonmanipulationtohammerhomeyoursalesmessages.Instead,theconsumerdictatesthatweleadwithvalueandplaybytheirrulesontheirterms.
Ourprofessionaldutyistoliveuptothisexpectationandoptimisetheuserexperience.Thus,maximisingconversions,frompassiveengagementtoaqualifiedleadorsale.Itcouldbearguedthatconsumerbehaviourandpowerhasshiftedsomuchthattheartofethicalpersuasionhasbecomere-alignedwithitsoriginaldefinition.
Tobecomemoreeffectivewithallaspectsofmarketing,we’veexperimented,testedandconsultedavastarrayofsourcesandexpertsovertheyears.
Onesimplemessagethatwecontinuetorevisithasbeentheideathatduringanexperiencewithyourbrand,peopledon’tnecessarilyrememberwhatyousaid(orwrote);instead,theyrememberhowyoumadethemfeel.So,we’rebacktoouroriginalpremiseof,canyouprovokegoosebumps?Ordoyouleaveyouraudiencecolddespiteconveyingalloftherelevantinformation?Theartofpersuadingyouraudienceinvolvesconsideringthreebasicappeals;pathos,ethosandlogos,whichwereoriginallydefinedbyAristotle.Who
knew?ThegreatestinboundmarketerofalltimeisAristotle.Pathos,ethosandlogosdividethemethodsofpersuasionintothreecategories:personalcharacter,emotionandlogicrespectively.
Usingablendoftheseappealswillensurethatyourmarketingalwaysresonateswithyouraudienceandyouconsistentlydriveyourcustomersthroughthesalesfunnel.TheycouldalsobethesecretingredientstoGettingGoosebumps.
PathosPathosconsidersadirectappealtotheemotionsofyouraudience.Byunderstandingyouraudienceandmappingyouridealpersonas(semi-fictionalrepresentationsofyouridealcustomer)youcangaugewhichemotionsgetthebestresult.Throughfullyunderstandingthepainpointsandpleasuretriggersofyouraudience,youcanconnectonanemotionallevel.Thiswillgivethemnotonlyareasontoshareyourcontent,butareasontoformabondwithyourbrand–makingthemmorelikelytobecomeadvocates.
Ofallthethreeappeals,itispathosthatisconsideredthemostimportanttomasterandleadwith,wherepossibleandappropriate,inyourmarketing.Allbuyingdecisionsareemotional,regardlessofwhatitisbeingboughtandifyouknowyouraudiencewellenoughtomakeaconnection,youwillreaptherewardsfromabusinessperspective.
EthosEthosistheappealofcredibilityandpersonalcharacter.Bycraftingethosintoyourmessagesyouarebuildinganddefiningcredibilitythroughestablishingauthorityandrespect.Yourmarketingshouldconveytheideathatyouareatrustworthybrandandbuildastrongcaseforyourcharacter.
LogosLogosisalogicalappeal,typicallymarkedbyfacts,figuresanddata.Thiskindofappealhelpsyouraudiencerationalisetheirbuyingdecisionsthroughshowingthemclear,logicalbenefits.Thepsychologyofthebuyingdecisiondictatesthatyourcustomerfeelstheyhavemadetherightchoiceintheirpurchase.Appealingtoyourpersona’slogicalsidebyprovidingfacts,dataandreviewsaboutyourproductsorservicesactsasaformofsocialproofforyourcustomer,cementingandreinforcingtheirdecisiontobuy.
PathosPathosiscraftedintothiswebpagedesignthroughtheintroductionofrelatablecharacters.Thisisachievedbytheadditionofphotographsofthebrand’skeypersonas.
EthosEthosisestablishedwithinthiswebpagethroughtheuseofbrandmessaging.ThebenefitsofLinkedInareclearlyspelledoutfortheuser,whichhighlightsthecredibilityofthebrand.
LogosLogosisachievedthroughpresentingthekeyfactsandfiguresandrationalbenefitsoftheservice.Thediagram,coupledwiththeaccompanyingcopyhelpstheaudiencereinforcetheirdecisiontousetheservice.
BuyerpersonasTomakeatrueemotionalconnectionwiththemembersofouraudience,we’dhavetositandmeeteachandeveryoneofthem.Whilsteffectiveinthelongterm,it’snotexactlyscalableandpossiblynotthemostsensibleoptionformostbusinesseslookingforgoosebumpsmomentswiththeiraudience.
Withthisinmind,thepracticeofpersonamappingcanbeextremelyeffectiveandalotmorepractical!Buyerpersonasidentifycommonbehaviouralpatterns,sharedpainpoints,bothprofessionalandpersonal,aswellasuniversalgoalsandthedreamsofyourcustomers.Thisprovidesapowerfulbankofinformationwhichwillenableyoutodeliverinformation,productsandservicesthatfittheirneeds.
HubSpotdefinesabuyerpersonaasthefollowing:
‘Abuyerpersonaisasemi-fictionalrepresentationofyouridealcustomerbasedonmarketresearchandrealdataaboutyourexistingcustomers.Whencreatingyourbuyerpersona(s),considerincludingcustomerdemographics,behaviourpatterns,motivations,andgoals.Themoredetailedyouare,thebetter.'
Whoshouldyouaskaboutyourbuyerpersonas?
Don’tjustaskyoursalesteamaboutyourcustomers,thiswillgiveaone-dimensionalresult.Insteadyoushouldtrytoaskarangeofpeople,including:
-Yourcustomers–throughsurveys,pollsandfocusgroups-Potentialcustomerswhodidn’tbuy(tofindoutwhy)-Seniorteammembers–CEOs,DirectorsandManagers-Marketingexecutives-Salesteam
Thiswillgiveabroader,morebalancedviewofyourpersonas.
PersonamappingOnceyou’veidentifiedyourbuyerpersonas,thereareeightactionsthatwillhelpyoutomaximisethisinsightandgeneraterealresultsforyourbusiness:
1.Reallocateyourresources
AremostofyourpersonasonTwitter?TakeyourexecutivesoffFacebookandmovethemontoTwitter.IsyouronlineadspendwithLinkedIn,butyourcustomersareonFacebook?Moveyouradspend.
2.Usetheirlanguage
Makesureyourcommunicationreflectstheirtoneofvoice.Usethebuzzwordsandslangtheyuseandmakesureyouplaceyourselfatthecentreoftheircommunity.
3.Personalisecommunication
Segmentcontactlistsbypersona,soyoucanprovideeachwithtailoredcontent.Thatway,youwon’talienateyourcustomerswithirrelevantnews,informationandoffers.
4.Createcontentwithyourpersonasinmind
Whetherit’savideo,blogpostorlandingpage,everypieceofcontentyoucreateshouldspeaktooneparticularpersona.Identifywhatengages,excitesandentertainsthemandprovideit!
5.Learnwhatyourpersonassearchfor
Keywordsstillplayacriticalroleininboundmarketingstrategies.Identifytheproblemsyourpersonaswanttosolveandwhattheyaresearchingfortohelpthemfindresolutions.
6.Audityourexistingcontent
Lookatyourexistingcontentandworkoutwhichpersonaitalignswith.Ifitdoesn’tspeaktoanyofyourbuyerpersonas,reworkitor–ifitcan’tbeupdated–getridofit.
7.Co-marketwithrelevantbrands
Ifyoujoinforceswithotherbrandsthatyourpersonasadmire,you’lldoubleyourpower.Tryajointwebinarwithamediapartnerorinviteanindustrythoughtleadertoguestblogforaninstantboost.
8.Mapyourpersonastothebuyingcycle
Pinpointyourcustomer’sstageinthebuyingcycle(howclosetheyaretopurchase)so
youcanprovideevenmorerelevantandtargetedcontentthatwillbringthemclosertocommittingtobuy.
BreakingdownthecustomerjourneyByidentifyingspecificbuyerpersonaswithinabusiness’saudience,wecanbegintoexplorethesubtle(orsometimesnotsosubtle)differencesinhowweneedtocommunicateamessage,inordertogetthedesiredresponsewe’relookingfor.
Toillustratethispointwe’vecreatedanexamplecompanycalledGotItCoveredInsurance(GICI).GICIsellshomeinsurancetoavarietyofcustomersbuthasidentifiedfourdifferentbuyerpersonasthatneatlycategorisethemajorityoftheiraudienceandalsorepresentwhoitfeelstheyaremostlikelytosellto.
GICI’sbuyerpersonasareasfollows:
1.Affluenthome-ownersincentralLondon.
2.Establishedlandlordswithalargeportfolio.
3.Housingassociations.
4.Studentsmovingtouniversityforthefirsttime.
Evenatfirstglance,itisunderstandablethatdespitesellingtheexactsameinsuranceproducttoeachbuyerpersona,themessage,toneofvoiceandtheincentiveormaincallstoactionwillneedtobedifferent.Bytakingthetimetounderstandeachpersona,wewillsoonseejusthowdifferentthosekeymessagesneedtobe.Themoreinformationwecanobtainforeachpersona,thebetterourresultswillbelaterdowntheline.Givingeachpersonaaname,job,ageandlivingscenariohelpstofillingapsthatpaydividendswhenitcomestodevisingacontentplan.
Mappingyourpersonasbasedontheirdemographicsandlifestyleisagoodplacetostart,butdoingsomethingcalledempathymappingyourpersonaswillhelpyoudigdeepertouncoverexactlywhattheythinkandfeel.Empathymappingisatechniquethataddsvalueandinsighttothepicturethatyouhavealreadypaintedofyourbuyerpersonas.
Yourdemographicresearchandimpressionofyourtargetcustomerwilltellyouwhotheyare.Butempathymappingtellsyouwhattheyfeel,howtheythinkandinwhatwaystheyaremostlikelytoact.
Thisisatremendouslyusefulprocessbecauseitputsyouinyourpotentialbuyers’shoes.Itisthisprocessthatallowsyoutounderstandtheirpainpointsandwhatemotionally
affectsthemandtailoryourmarketingmessagingaccordingly.
Ofcourse,thisprocessneedsvalidatingwithsolidresearch,howevermostbusinessesaresatonthisvaluableinformationabouttheiraudiencebutthey’rejustnotputtingittogooduse.Takealookatthefictionalpersonasonthenextpage.Dotheyseemreasonabletoyou?Giventheinformationonhand,dotherelatedstrategicdecisionsthatfolloweachonemakesense?Youbethejudge.
Buyerpersonaone:Affluenthome-ownersincentralLondon
Demographics
Name:StevenWakefield
Age:37
Jobtitle:HeadofCorporateAffairs
Income:£75k(combinedhouseholdincome:£150k)
Homestatus:Home-owner,married,twosmallchildren
Education:MastersdegreeinEconomics&History
Identifiers
-Methodical,diligent,thorough
-Appreciatesqualityandattentiontodetail
-Articulate,canbestubborn,likestoargueapoint
-Israrelyimpulsivebutappreciatesagooddeal
-Likesgolfandfootball
-SpendstimeduringtheweekonTwitter,LinkedInandoccasionallybrowsesYouTubeattheweekends
Goals
-Primarygoalistoprovideahighstandardoflivingforfamily
-Secondarygoalistosavetowardsbuyingaholidayhomeabroad
HowGICIhelps
-Providescomprehensive,nononsensecoverthat’scompetitivelypriced
-Makesiteasytoaddhighvalueitemstoapremiumwithoutfussandwithouthuge
increasesinmonthlypayments
-Premium,fast-trackclaimsmembershipmakesitquickandsimpletoclaimwhennecessary
WhatStevenappreciatesmostaboutGICI
-GICIoffersaplainEnglish,clearguidetowhat’scoveredandwhat’snot
-It’seasytoadditemstothepolicyonlinewithoutfuss
-GICIrewardsSteveneveryyearwithafreecaseofwinefornotmakingaclaimandremindshimofthecompetitiverateshe’spayingcomparedtothegeneralmarketplace
EmpathymapofStevenWakefield
Stevenconsidershistimetobevaluableandhasahighlevelofself-importance.Hefeelsannoyedifinstructionsorexplanationsarenotmadesimplebecausehavingtoreadovercomplicatedinformationisawasteoftime.
Stevenappreciatesaclearofferandupfrontdetailsofwhattheproductincludesanddoesnot.Herequiresreassuranceandconfidencetosubmitaformonlineandwillonlydosoifhe’sreadandunderstoodalloftheinformationhe’spresentedwith.
Heseeshimselfasavaluablecustomertoaninsurancecompanybecauseofthesheervalueofthecontentsandgoodsheisinsuringandhelikestofeelappreciatedandvalued.Hismainworryaboutapproachinganinsurancecompanyonlineisgettingmid-waythroughanapplicationprocessandbeingstuckwithoutanyonetohelphim.Hismainworryingeneraltermsismakingaclaimandbeingturneddownduetomisinterpretingtermsandconditionsonapplication.
FurtherchallengesforStevenistofindareputableinsurerthatoffersanefficient,tailoredservicebasedonhisneedsthatcanprovidethepeaceofmindofcomprehensivecontentscoverwhichisinclusiveofallofthevaluableitemsinhishome.Hisdesiredoutcomeistocompleteanefficient,yetthoroughonlineprocesswithouttheambiguityorgreyareasthatplantseedsofdoubtbeforeprocessingthefinalapplication.Havingapersononhandtoansweranyquestions,quicklyandeasilyisawell-placedcomfortblanketthatmotivatesSteventoproceedfromthestart.
Idealmarketingmessages/signpostsforSteven:
1.Nohiddenclauses:weinsureallofyourhomecontentsforthepriceweagree.Nofussandnoexceptions.
2.Ifyouhaveanyissuesworriesordoubtsduringyourapplicationprocess,anadvisorisonhandtoansweryourquestionsandhelpyoucompleteyourapplicationproperly.
3.Ittakessixminutesfromstarttofinishtofillinthissimpleapplication.
4.Weprovideapersonalhotlinetoyourdedicatedrelationshipmanagertodealwithyoureveryneedwithoutdelay.
5.Asathankyou,pleaseenjoyafreecaseofwineofyourchoicenowandeveryyearyoustaywithus.
Buyerpersonatwo:Studentsmovingtouniversityforthefirsttime
Demographics
Name:PaulGerrard
Age:19
JobTitle:Student
Income:12k
Homestatus:Renting,single,nodependents
Education:Pre-law
Identifiers-Carefree,excitable,outgoing
-Lovesfashion,footballandfriends
-Highlymotivatedbyconvenience
-Mostbuyingdecisionsaremadebasedonprice
-Listenstohisparentswhenitcomestonewlifedecisions
-UsesSnapchateveryday,watchesYouTubeandNetflixreligiouslyandisjuststartingtowatchandhostMeerkatchats
Goals
-Primarygoal:Retainasmuchdisposableincomeforsocialisingapossible
-Secondarygoal:Seeprimarygoal
HowGICIHelps
-Takescareofeverythingquicklyandeasily
-Offersaonesizefitsallbasicpackage
-RewardsPaulwithavoucherforasupermarket
WhatPaulappreciatesmostaboutGICI
-Thepriceischeap
-Hehasavouchertobuybeerwithimmediately
-Thepromisetoreplacehisphoneorlaptopwithin24hoursofmakingaclaim
EmpathymapofPaulGerrard
Pauldoesn’townanythingofsignificantvalueapartfromalaptop,asmartphoneandsomehouseholdbasics.Therefore,heseeshomeinsuranceasanexpensehewouldratherdowithout.Heisprettycarefreeandcan’timagineanythinggoingwrongathomeandsohewouldmuchratherspendhismoneyonsocialisingandenjoyinghimself.
Whenheseesthevoucherrewardforsigningup,Paulisdrawntotheimmediategratificationandcouldbepersuadedtopassontheofferiftherewasafurtherrewardforgeneratingreferralsamongsthisfriends.Heisfairlywelleducated,howeverheislaidbackandlikestohaveasimplelife.ComplicatedformsandlengthyparagraphsoftextcausePaultorunforthehillsandputoffthejobuntiltomorrowornever.
Histopchallengeistopleasehisparentsbykeepingthepromiseofgettinghomecontentsinsurancewhilstsavingasmuchmoneyaspossible.Hisdesiredoutcomewouldbetocompleteaforminlessthantenminutesandtohavetheentireprocessdone,dustedandconfirmed–includingthevouchertoclaim£50ofgoodsathislocalsupermarketonthesameday.
Idealmarketingmessages/signpostsforPaul:
1.Signupnowfor£120andimmediatelyreceivea£50vouchertospendinTesco.
2.Ittakeslessthan10minutestocompletetheentireapplicationprocess.
3.Referafriendandreceivea£20voucherforeveryreferralthatsignsup.
4.Oneprice,nofuss.
5.Loseyourphoneandreceiveareplacementwithin24hrs.
So,asyoucansee,thekeymessagesaretailoredtoappealtotwodifferentpersonaswithinthesameaudience,toprovokethebestresponse.Althoughtheproductisthesame,theirneedsaredifferentandsoshouldbethemessaging.I’msureyou’llagree,ifthosemessagesweredilutedinordertospeaktotheaudienceasawhole,thechancesofengagementwouldreducedramatically.Howcanyouexpecttoreacha37yearoldfamilymanwiththesamemarketingmessageusedtoreachan19yearoldstudentwhohasjust
movedawayfromhomeforthefirsttime?
Giventheinsightintothesetwopersonas,let’squicklylookathowthatmightinfluenceourcontentplan,toreacheachofthemateachstageofthemarketingfunnel.
We’llcoverhowtodesignanefficientmarketingfunnelalittlelateron,howeverit’simportantyougraspthepowerofpersonaandempathymappingandthepoweritgivesyouforgettinggoosebumpsfromyouraudience.Here’swhatapotentialcontentjourneymightbetoengagewithSteven.
STEPONE
Rightatthetopofthefunnel.TogetSteventoSEEtheGICIbrandandregistertheirexistence.
Channel:YouTube
Contenttype:Video
Intention:Inspire
Message:Ourpremiummembersenjoyluxurybenefitsincludinggolf,spa,footballandweekendbreaks.
STEPTWO
Middleofthefunnel.TogetSteventoTHINKaboutGICIasapossiblesolutiontoaspecificneedhehasforinsurance.AlsocreateawarenessoftheGICIwebsite.
Channel:Twitter
Contenttype:Infographic
Intention:Educate
Message:Comparedetail,costsandbenefitsofthetop5premiumhomeinsuranceproductsonthemarket.
Channel:LinkedIn
Contenttype:Blogpost(Pulsearticle)
Intention:Educate
Message:ThenetworkingandsocialisingbenefitsofjoiningexclusiveB2Bmembershipsandclubs.
STEPTHREE
Nearthebottomofthefunnel.ToenticeSteventoDOsomethingwithGICItoeitherbuyimmediatelyoratleastengagewiththebrandandinputcontactdetails.
Channel:Twitter
Contenttype:Deal/offer
Intention:Convince
Message:Registeryourinterestinourhomeinsurancepremiumthismonthforfreeexclusivemembershiptoourclub.
STEPFOUR
Rightatthebottomthefunnel.ToDELIGHTStevenwithanexceptionalcustomerexperiencethathevaluesenoughtobecomeabrandambassador.
Channel:Email
Contenttype:Welcomeemail
Intention:Inspireandconvince
Message:We’resopleasedyou’vedecidedtojoinourclub,we’dliketosendyouabottleofwinetocelebrateandinviteyoutojoinourprivateLinkedIngroupwhereweshareevenmoremembershipvalue.
Inreality,Stevenwillbounceallovertheinternetandsocialchannels,searchingbeforehesettlesonGICI.Hemayevenaskfriendsandfindinsightandbeinfluencedbymanyotherbrands.However,withthisapproach,we’restrategicallyputtingcontentintheplacesheismostlikelytoseeitandstackingtheoddsinourfavourwhenitcomestoreachingourtargetpersona.What’smore,becauseweunderstandwhatStevenappreciatesandrespondsto,wecantailorthestyle,toneandpersonalityofthecontenttobestmatchhiswants,needsanddesires.
We’realsoconsideringhisframeofmindandwherehemightbeinabuying/decisionmakingcycleatthatpointintime.Contentatthestartofhisjourneyisproducedsimplytoentertainorinspire.Whereaslaterinhisbuyingjourney,contentthatisspecificallydesignedtoeducateandconvinceismoreusefulandmuchmorelikelytohavethedesiredeffect.Ifyou’restillnotconvinced,gobackoverPaul’spersonadetailsandthenfollowthesamefourstepswe’veoutlinedforStevenbutreplacethechannel,contenttype,intentionandthemessagetobemoreappropriateforPaul.
WeguaranteethatyouwilldesignacompletelydifferentpathforPaul,andsoyoushould.Byconcentratingongettingtherightcontentintherightplacesattherighttime,youarecreatingacontentinfrastructurethatwillleadyouraudiencedownawell-designed
marketingfunnelthatleadstomoreleadsandsales.Imaginehavingatailoredaudiencejourneyforeachofyourpersonasandimaginewhatadifferenceitwillmaketoyourresultswhenyoudo.
PersonamappingvalidationOnceyouhavetakenasteptowardsgettingtoknowyouraudiencebymappingthespecificneeds,wantsanddesiresofyourvariouspersonas,youhaveautomaticallyshottothetopofyourclassinourbookandmorethanlikelytakenagiantsteptowardscrushingyourcompetitiontoo.
However,withoutvalidatingyourresearch,youruntheriskofbasingyourfuturedecisionsonunsubstantiatedhypotheses.Ifyou’vebeendownthatroadbefore,youknowitcanbeverydangerous,somakesureyourfindingscanbequalified.Togetthedesiredvalidationyouneed,therearevariousroutesyoucantakewithvaryingdegreesoftimeandcostattached.Attheveryleast,wehighlyrecommendspeakingtoyourexistingcustomersorspeakingtoprospectsthatyounarrowlylosttoacompetitortogaininsight.Generalengagementwithyourcommunitiestoseeifyou’reontherightlineswillalsobebeneficialtoinformingyourinboundmarketingstrategyThistypeofvalidationcanbeanextremelyvaluableexercisetoengagewithyouraudiencewithadifferentagendathanusualandit’salsoachancetodemonstrateyou’relisteningto,andyoucareabout,youraudiences’opinion.Oftenwe’veseenthislow-tech,lowbudgetapproachcontributingsignificantlytowardsbuildingbrandloyalty;peoplearemorelikelytobuyintoabrandthattheyfeelhaslistenedandmadedecisionsbasedontheiropinion.Imagineifyourfavouritebrandsreachedouttoaskyouropinionandchangedthewaytheydidthingsbasedonyourfeedback.Howwouldyoufeel?Wouldyoulovethemjustalittlebitmore?Sowouldwe.Forafewmorevalidationtechniques,wealsoadviseconsideringthefollowing:
Industrymarketresearch
Thiscanbeexpensiveandlongwinded,however,themoreyouknowaboutthesegmentsofyouraudiencethebetter.Youcanoftenfindawealthofindustryinsightsfromwebsiteslikethese:
www.tnsglobal.com
www.marketresearch.com
www.forrester.com
www.mintel.com
www.theinternettimemachine.com
Youcanaccessthese,plusallofyourresourcesforchapter3at:
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter3Resources
SolicitedsitefeedbackAskingyouraudienceforfeedbackonyourwebsitecanbeanincrediblypowerfulandinsightfulprocess.
However,itcanbeseenasintrusiveanddisruptivetoyourvisitorsandsoit’snotsomethingyoushouldundertaketoooften.Ifyoudoaskyourwebsitevisitorsforfeedbackyoumightwanttothinkaboutofferingsomesortofincentive,torewardthemforsharingtheiropinions.
Someusefulfeedbacktoolstoconsiderinclude:
www.uservoice.com
www.polldaddy.com
www.usersnap.com
www.4QSurvey.com
Youcanaccessthese,plusallofyourresourcesforchapter3at:
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter3Resources
On-sitesearchqueries
Yoursearchboxcanbeagoldmineofinformation;frominformingyouwhatyouraudienceislookingforonyourwebsite,towhatparticularlanguagethey’reusingtotryandfindit.Ifyoucontrolthesourcesoftrafficcomingintoyourdifferentwebsitepages,youcaneasilyfindinsightsrelatingtospecificpersonas.
Youshouldbeusingyoursearchboxdatabaseresultstodiscover:Whatpeoplearestrugglingtofindusingyournavigationmenu(orothermeans)Whatsearchqueriesreturnnoresultsatall(thismeansyouneedtowritemorecontent)WhatlanguageisbeingusedtodescribeyourproductsandservicesIfyouarecorrectlyfunnelingyouraudiencetorelevantpages
Understandingyouraudienceandmappingyourpersonasisavitalstageindevelopingarobustinboundmarketingstrategy.
Createcontentwithyourpersonasinmind.
Customerstodayexpectauthenticity,relevanceandvaluefromthebrandstheychoose.Knowingexactlywhatyourcustomerswantandneedfromyoumeans
you’refarmorelikelytoengagewiththemonanemotionallevel.
Ifyoudon'tunderstandwhatyouraudiencetrulywants,youmightbegettinggoosebumpssomewhere,butnotfromthosewhomattermost–youraudience!
Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS
BuyerPersonasAdeleRevella
Seeyourofferingthroughyourbuyer'seyesformoreeffectivemarketing.BuyerPersonasisthemarketer'sactionableguidetolearningwhatyourbuyerwantsandhowtheymakedecisions.
TheNewRulesofMarketing&PRDavidMeermanScott
Learnhowtoleveragethepotentialthatdigitalcommunicationoffersyourbusinessbyharnessingthepoweroftheinternet.Learnhowtocreatecompellingmessages,gettheminfrontofcustomers,andleadthosecustomersintothebuyingprocess.
PeakChipConley
CentringonMaslow’shierarchyofneeds,ChipConleywalksreadersthroughtheprocessandstrategyofbuildingandsustainingaprofitablebusiness.Focusingontheexperiencescustomers,employeesandinvestorshavewithgreatcompanies,Peakexplainshowtoinspireloyalty,brandstatusandultimatelyfostermaximumperformance.
PersonaandempathymappingworkbookdownloadDownloadourpersonaandempathymappingworkbookatthelinkbelowtostartunderstandingyouraudienceandbeginmappingyourpersonas.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter3Resources
Takeawaysforchapter3Ensureyou’vecoveredwhat’simportantandcheckoffeachstagebelowasyoucompletethem.
☐Mapyourpersonaprofiles
☐Understandtheirpainpointsandwhattheyvalue
☐Createcontentthatappealstotheiremotionsandneeds
CHAPTER4
RIGHTTIMERIGHTPLACEAnindepthlookatwhere,whenandwhatyouraudiencespendstheirtimelookingatandwhotheyarealreadyinfluencedby.“Ifweknowwhatitwasweweredoing,itwouldnotbecalledresearch,wouldit?”AlbertEinstein
“Researchisformalisedcuriosity.Itispokingandpryingwithapurpose.”ZoraNealeHurston
“Ifyou’replayingapokergameandyoulookaroundthetableandyoucan’ttellwhothesuckeris,it’syou.”PaulNewman
Withinboundmarketing,itisnotsomuchwhatyouknow,orwhoyouknow.It’smoreaboutwhatyouknowaboutwhoyoudon’tknow.
Intoday’sdigitalworldwenowpublishmorecontentevery48hoursthanallofthecontenteverpublishedonlineupuntil2004combined.Withfiguresliketheseinmind,it’ssafetosaythatregardlessofhowmicroyournicheis,youhavesomecompetition.
Asyourmarketplacebecomesmorecrowdedandyourcompetitioncontinuestogetmoredifficulttobeat,youneedallofthemarginalgainsyoucanfindtomaximisethereturnoninvestment(ROI)ofeverypieceofcommunicationandcontentthatyouproduce.Simplyproducinggreatcontentthatmaybegoosebump-worthyissadlynolongerenoughtowininthisgame.
Thestrategyandeffortbehindyourresearchandanalysisisdirectlyproportionatetothechancesofyoursuccessonline,soit’sincrediblyimportant–notapartoftheprocesstoberushedorignored.WoodyAllengotitwrong:life’snot80%aboutshowingup,it’s80%research,analysisandplanningand20%knowingwheretoshowupandwhattosaywhenyougetthere.
Thischapterfocusesonthreemainareastohelpyoutogetyourcontentfoundmoreeasilybyyouraudience.
Thefirstareaoffocusisthetechnicaloptimisationofyourcontentintermsofbothwhatyouraudienceislookingforandhowtheyarelookingforit.
Thesecondpartofthechapterlooksathowtofindandengagewitharelevantaudience.Planningproperlywillhelpyougeneratevisibilityforthemostappropriatecontent,withinthecontextofwhatthey’researchingfor.
Finallywelookathowtofindrelevantinfluentialpeopleonline(andoffline)thatcanextendyourreachandaccelerateyourexposure,throughsharingandengagingwithyourcontent.
OptimisingyourcontenttobefoundonlineSearchEngineOptimisation(SEO)hasbeensomethingofamovingtargetoverthelasttenyears.
Ultimately,SEOhasalwaysstoodfortheprocessanddisciplineofmanipulatingtheresultsofsearchenginerankingswhenaprospectivecustomerislookingforyourproductsandservicesonline.Thehigheryourank,themorevisibleyoursitewillbeonsearchengines,thusleadingtomoretraffic.
Thewaysandmeansbywhichyoucanachievesearchenginevisibilityhavechangeddrasticallysincethebeginningofthepracticeandwillcontinuetochangeassearchenginescontinuetorefinehowtheyrankcontent.
Thereareover200factorsthatcontributetotherankingofeachwebpagefoundwithinGoogle.Thisever-changingformulaiscontinuallyrefinedtoedgeusclosertowardsmimickingthevalueabrandoffersacustomerinreallife.
Nolongerarewebpageslistedinorderofjustrelevance.Googlenowfactorsrelevance,contextandqualityofexperiencedeliveredbyawebpageintoitsrankings.
Socialsignalsalsoplayaroleindecidinghowcredibleandtrustworthyawebsiteis–ifyourwebsiteisreceivinglotsofsocially-assistedtrafficandlinks,searchenginestakethisasaverypositivesign.
ThebusinessofSEOischangingTheSEOindustryisslowlyadmittingdefeatfromattemptstofoolorout-manoeuvreGoogle;instead,SEOhasbecometheartandscienceofplayingbytherules.
Jammingkeywordsandphrasesinthepagesofyourwebsitethatexactlymatchthosetypedintosearchenginesbyyouraudienceisnotonlyineffective;itcanbedetrimentaltothevisibilityofyourwebsite.
Insteadofusingwhatartificiallypleasessearchenginestoprovidehighvisibility,youshouldplacemoreemphasisonastronguserexperienceonceavisitorlandsonyourwebsite,pleasingbothyourcustomersandGoogle.Googlehasmademanychangestoitsalgorithmstoevolvetheexperienceofsearch–aimingtoreflectanexperienceyouwouldfindintherealworld.
Panda—February23,2011
Thismajoralgorithmupdatehitsiteshard,affectingupto12%ofsearchresults(anumberthatcamedirectlyfromGoogle).Pandacrackeddownonthincontent,contentfarms,siteswithhighad-to-contentratiosandanumberofotherqualityissues.Thismeantthatwebsitessetupsolelyforthepurposeofhavinglinkspointingtootherwebsites(toseeminglymanufacturepopularitytoboostrankings)wereheavilypenalised.
Venice—February27,2012
Aspartoftheirmonthlyupdate,Googlementionedcode-name‘Venice’.Thislocalupdateappearedtomoreaggressivelylocaliseorganicresultsandmoretightlyintegratelocalsearchdata.Thisupdatewasdesignedtomakeitharderforabusinessto‘pretend’theywerelocaltoaparticularareajustbyoptimisingforseverallocalsearchwords.AgoodexampleofthiswouldbeawebagencyinLondonusingphrasessuchas‘webdesignLiverpool’,justsotheycangeneratebusinessinLiverpoolfromafar.
Penguin—April24,2012
Afterweeksofspeculationaboutan‘over-optimisationpenalty’,Googlefinallyrolledoutits‘Penguin’updatedesignedtocrackdownonwebspam.Penguinadjustedanumberofspamfactors,includingkeywordstuffing,andimpactedanestimated3.1%ofqueriesinEngland.
Exact-MatchDomain(EMD)Update—September27,2012
In2012,Googleannouncedachangeinthewayitwashandlingexact-matchdomains
(EMDs).Thisledtolarge-scaledevaluationofexact-matchdomainsthatwerepopularatthetime.Beforethisupdate,businessesrealisedthatbyusingadomainwhichexactlymatchedkeywordsearches(forexample,www.personalinjurysolicitorlondon.co.uk)theywouldrankwellinGooglejustbecauseofthedomainname.Somebusinessessetupdozensofslightlydifferent‘exact-match’domainstocornerthemarket.Thisupdatebursttheirbubbleandstoppedrankingthosewebsiteshighlyinsearchresults.
Hummingbird—August20,2013
AnnouncedonSeptember262013,theHummingbirdupdateintroducedchangestosemanticsearch.InanattempttoprovidehighlyrelevantresultsHummingbirdfocusedonsearchcontext,ratherthankeywords.Thisupdatemeantthatyoucouldbesurethatyourcontentwouldhavemorechanceofbeingfoundbydifferentpeoplesearchingforthesamecontent,butusingslightlydifferentlanguage.
MobileResponsive–April21,2015
Google’slatestupdatemarkedachangetothewaysinwhichitrankswebsites,basedonmobileresponsivity.WhilstGooglehasbeenproactiveinpushingthebenefitsofbecomingmobileresponsive,thelatestupdateshowsjusthowimportantit’sbecome.ThisupdatechangedthewaythatGoogleranks–nowbasedonusability–asmobile-firstsearchgrowsinpopularity.
SEO&audiencepersonasTheworldoftechnicalSEOmaybechangingallthetime;howeveryourfocusshouldremainontheexperienceofvisitors,byprovidinganefficientserviceandgreatvaluethroughthecontentyouproduceandprovide.
GoodSEOmeansunderstandingacustomer’sintenttoactandputtingtheirneedsfirstwhendevisingandoptimisingthecontentyouwantthemtoconsume.Ifyouraudienceisnewtoyourbrandandnotsureoftherelevanceorvalueofyourofferyet,thehardordirectsellisinappropriate.If,however,someoneisfamiliarwithyourbrandandwantstobuyfromyouasquicklyaspossible,thenadirectcalltoactionisveryappropriate.Inbothofthesescenarios,itmightbethesamepersonbutatdifferentstagesoftheirbuyingcycle.Thismeansweneedtothinkaboutdifferentcontentforeachstageofthebuyingcycleforeachpersonaidentified.
GaryVaynerchuksumsthisup:
“Ifcontentisking,contextisGod”
Optimisingforjustonesetofkeywords,orusingthesamelanguagewithallofyourcontentisnotthesmartestwaytoapproachinboundmarketing.
Thesmartplayistouseablendedapproach,changingyourlanguageateachstageofthesalesfunneltogeneratesignificantvolumesofqualitytraffic.Bytakingsuchanapproach,youwillbemoreaccuratelyassistingyourcustomer’sneeds,aswellassteeringthemfurtherdownyoursalesfunnel.Wesegmentthissalesfunnelinthefollowingway:
SEE,THINK,DO,DELIGHT
See,Think,Do,DelightThebasicpremiseofourphilosophyistousetheinsightyouhavegatheredsurroundingyourvariousbuyerpersonastoinformthecontentyoupresenttothemateachstageofabuyingorengagementlifecycle.Putdifferently,weprovidedifferenttypesofcontenttothesamebuyerpersona,dependingonwhattheywillmostappreciateandvalueatthetime.
Byinformingyourcontentplanwiththisinsightyoucansuccessfullymovecustomersthroughanorganisedmarketingfunnelbecauseyou’reconsideringthecontextofyouraudience’sexperienceandrecognisingthatthesameaudiencewillappreciatedifferenttypesofcontentdependingontheirstageinthebuyinglifecycle.
ThemethodologyofSee,Think,Do,Delightclustersdifferenttypesofcontentateachstageofthemarketingfunnelandtailorsvariationsinlanguageasacustomerbecomesmorequalifiedasalead(andthepropensitytobuyincreases).
Thereareseveraldifferentvariationsofthelabellingofaninboundmarketingfunnel.HubSpotusetheir‘attract,convert,close,delight’model,whichislargelysimilartoourown.Intheinterestofcompletetransparency,we’vetakenourwordingfromAvinashKaushik,awell-knownandrespectedauthoranddigitalmarketingevangelistforGoogle.Hisblogcanbefoundatwww.kaushik.netandiswellworthcheckingout.
Avinashusesthis‘contentcontextfunnel’inaslightlydifferentwaytous–althoughhison-pagetechniqueiscomplementarytoourmethodologyandshouldbeembraced.AvinashusesSEE,THINK,DOtoplanandordercontentthatactuallyresidesonawebpage.Byhisownadmission,itisinspiredbythegoodoldAIDAmodelthatcopywritershaveusedtostructureadvertisingcopysincethelate1800s(attention,interest,desire,action).
See-Objective:Toraiseawareness.Activityatthe‘See’stageconsistsofkeywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoattractnew,uninitiated‘strangers’atthestartofthebuyingjourney.
Think-Objective:Topositionyourbusinessasapotentialsolutiontoyourcustomers’challengeorproblem.Activityatthe‘Think’stageconsistsofkeywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoprovidematerialsurroundingyourbrandandthespecific,initialneedsofyour
audience.Thiscontentaddsvaluetotheprocessbyconnectingthebenefitsofyourofferwiththeintrinsicneedsoftheaudience.
Do-Objective:Tofacilitateatransactionofeithercontactdetails,insightintoindividualneedsand/orunitsales.Activityatthe‘Do’stageconsistsofkeywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoconvincearelativelyqualifiedaudiencetotakesomeformofaction.Thismightnotbemovinginforanimmediatesale,butitcouldbeadownload,arequestforacallormoreinformation.
Delight-Objective:Tomaximisethelifecycleofyourcustomersandprovideopportunitiestorefermorebusiness.Activityatthe‘Delight’stageconsistsofkeywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoaddvalueforexistingcustomersorknownprospects(throughbuildingtrust,empathyandloyalty)inordertoretainthemandprovideongoingopportunities.
Byunderstandingyouraudienceatthisgranularlevel,youcanintegrateyourcontentstrategywithbestpracticeSEO.Youcanmaximisethereachofyourcontentbyusingtherightsemanticsandlanguagethroughoutyourinboundmarketing.Engagingwithyouraudienceonamorepersonal,tailoredlevelatdifferentstagesofthemarketingfunnelmeansyoucanalsocommunicatewithagreaterdegreeofaccuracyandexpectbetterresults,byprovidingabetteruserexperience.
Socialmedia&audiencepersonasOnceyou’vedefinedwhomakesupyouraudience,youneedtofindouthowtheyinteractonline.Socialmediaisoneoftheeasiestwaystogainvaluableinsightintoyouraudience’sinterestsandgaugetheironlinehabits.
CommunitiesFirstly,youneedtofindoutwhereyouraudiencelivesonline.Dotheyusespecificsocialnetworkingsites,oraretheypartofanonlinecommunity?Aretheyinfluencedbyanyoneinthesocialsphere?Ifso,canyouusetheseinfluencerstopersuadeandtargetthem?
HashtagsJustasimportantasknowingwhereyouraudiencearegoingtobe,youneedtofullyunderstandthekindoflanguagetheyuseonadailybasis.Youshouldberesearchingwhathashtagstheyfrequentlyuseandprobingintohowthesehashtagsreflecttheirinterests.Languagecanalsobecrucialindefiningtheintentofyouraudience.Byanalysingtheirconversationsonlineyoucandefinewhichstageinthebuyingcyclethey’recurrentlyat–meaningyoucantailoryourmessagestofitthempersonally.Forexample,ifyourresearchshowsthatyouraudienceisoftenaskingquestionsonsocialmedia,youshouldbeoptimisingcontentwhichanswerstheirquestionsandpushingitthroughtheplatformstheyfrequent.Ifyou’retryingsellaggressivelywhenyouraudienceisn’tready,you’llfallflat.
TrendseasonalityAnalysinghowyourcustomer’sneedschangeandfluctuatethroughouttheyearisalsokeytomakingsureyourmarketingispersonalisedandtailoredforeachcustomer.Byundertakingeffectivekeywordresearchandunderstandinghashtagsandlanguage,youcangaugeexactlywhatyourcommunityislookingforandwhen.
BuyingandbrowsinghabitsByfullyunderstandingthewaysinwhichyouraudienceshops,youcaninformyourstrategytofitwiththeirneeds.Understandingtheirhabitscanhelpyoutoturnacustomerwhohasboughtonce,intoaregularrepeatcustomer.Forexample,ifyourcustomerisoftenbuyingbulkorfamily-sizedproducts,youshouldbetailoringdealsandofferstofitthem.
Ifyoucanprovokegoosebumpswithyourcontent,youdon'twantittobethebestkeptsecretevertold.
Howevercontagiousyourcontentisthesedays,gettingyourstrategyrightforreachingyouraudienceandleveragingcommunityinfluencersiskey.
Followourprocessandmaximiseyourvisibilitywithinsocialchannelsandsearchenginestoo.
Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS
WordofMouthMarketingIdilMCakim
Focusingonthetraditionalconceptofwordofmouthmarketing,thisbookwillhelptoidentifyonlineinfluencers,createstoriesthatwillresonatewithyourconsumersandengagewithinfluencersandcustomersonline.
WebsofInfluence:ThePsychologyofOnlinePersuasionNathalieNahai
Online,everyonereactsdifferentlytothewebsites,socialchannelsandcontenttheycomeintocontactwith.Thisbookexploresthepsychologybehindwhatmakespeopletick,inordertohelpyouconnectwithcustomers,nurturerelationshipsandcreateanonlineexperiencethatattracts.
InboundMarketing&SEORandFishkin&ThomasHøgenhaven
ThisbookcherrypicksthebestandmostpopularinboundmarketingarticlesfromtheMozBlog–thego-toplaceforSEOandmarketinginsights–alongsidesomebrandnewessays.Thisbookcoversfivechannelsofinboundmarketing:contentmarketing,socialmedia,outreach,conversionrateoptimisation,andanalytics,aswellassearchengineoptimisation.
BecomeaKeyPersonofInfluenceDanielPriestley
Wanttobecomeaninfluencerinyourfield?Thisbookoutlinesaspecificfive-stepprocesstobecomingakeypersonofinfluencewithintheinnercircleofyourindustry–fast.
ONLINETOOLS
SocialCrawlytics
Anessentialfreetoolinonlineresearch,SocialCrawlyticsanalysesURLstoestablishhowpopulartheyhaveprovedacrossthesocialspace,thistoolcanalsofindinfluencersandworkouthowyourcompetitorsaredoing.
www.socialcrawlytics.com
Followerwonk
AniftysocialmediatoolwhichallowsuserstosearchforkeywordsinTwitterusers’biographies.Followerwonkisafastandeffectivewaytofindyourbuyerpersonas'influencers(orjustpeoplewhohavethesameinterestsasyou).
www.followerwonk.com
MentionMapp
UsingdatafromtheTwitterAPI,MentionMapploadseachuser’sTwitterupdates,findsalloftheirinteractionsandhashtagmentionsanddisplaystheminaweb-likeformat.MentionMappmakesresearchingyouraudienceandinfluencerssimple,allowingyoutoembarkonajourneyofdiscoverythroughawebofconversationsandinteractions.
www.mentionmapp.com
BuzzSumo
Agreattoolforfindinginfluencers,BuzzSumoallowsuserstosearchforandfilterinfluencersbytheirtype.InfluencerlistscanbeexportedintoanExcelfile,whichenablesresultstobefilteredevenfurther.Thetoolcanalsobeusedtofindthemostpopularcontentaroundcertaintopicsbysearchingaspecifickeywordandphrases.
www.buzzsumo.com
Nuzzel
NuzzelisausefultoolforcollatingthestoriesandarticlesthathavebeensharedbyyourfriendsonFacebookandTwitter.Asocialnewsaggregator,Nuzzelmakesitsimpletoseewhat’simportant,withoutoverwhelmingyouwithdata.
www.nuzzel.com
TwitterAdvancedSearch
TheadvancedsearchfunctionwithinTwitterisoneofthebestandmostunder-utilisedtoolswithintheplatform.Allowingyoutospecificallysearchforandtargetindividualsbasedonparticularkeywords,phrases,locationsandlanguage,itmakesidentifyingconversationsandinfluencerswithinyourfieldsimple.
Understandinginfluencersdownload
Learnhowtoextendthereachofyourcontentandseedeffectivelybygettingtoknowtheinfluencersinyourfield.Downloadyourinfluencerebookatthelinkbelowtogetstarted.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter4Resources
UnderstandinginfluencersdownloadLearnhowtoextendthereachofyourcontentandseedeffectivelybygettingtoknowtheinfluencersinyourfield.Downloadyourinfluencerebookatthelinkbelowtogetstarted.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter4Resources
Takeawaysforchapter4Youshouldalreadyhaveasolidsetofaudiencepersonasmappedout,sobynowyouwillbewellandtrulystuckintotheresearchelementofyourinboundmarketingstrategy.Checkoffeachstepyoucompletebelow.
☐Researchwhatyouraudiencearesearchingforonlineandtheirbuyinghabits
☐Planyourownsalesfunneltomapyourbuyerjourney
☐Understandtheirinfluencers
☐Researchsomemore
CHAPTER5HOWTOTELLASTORYMasteryourabilitytoeffectivelycommunicatewithimpactandemotionalintelligenceinordertoelicitthedesiredaction.“Effectivecommunicationis20%whatyouknowand80%howyoufeelaboutwhatyouknow.”JimRohn
“Peoplethinkinstories,notstatistics,andmarketersneedtobemasterstorytellers.”AriannaHuffington
“Ifhistoryweretaughtintheformofstories,itwouldneverbeforgotten.”RudyardKipling
Storytellingcouldeasilyprovetobethetruecurrencyofmoderndaymarketing.
Thecraftofshapingastorytoignitetheimaginationofyouraudiencecanbethedifferencebetweenbeingrememberedorinstantlyforgotten.Storytellingismassivelyundervaluedbythevastmajorityofbusinesseswhenmarketingthemselvesonline.
AsconsumersorpotentialB2Bcustomerswebecomenumbtothemassesofmediamessageswe’reforcedtodelete,ormentallyskiptogettowhatwe’relookingfor.We’refatigued,easilyboredanddistracted;ignoringthevisualadvertisingonthescreenswe’resimultaneouslyscanning.It’sbecominghardertoholdourattention.
Ifyou’renotaimingforgoosebumpswhentellingyourbrand’sstory,thenyou’renotreachingyourfullpotential.Youruntheriskofwastingorunderutilisingalloftheresearch,personadevelopmentandstrategyplanningyou’veundertakensofar.Withenthrallingstoriesyoucanleveragethepowerofstorytellingandachieveremarkableresults.
Youmayassumethatyouneedaninterestingsubjectinordertoberegularlypublishingcontagiouscontent.However, throughthepowerofacompellingstory,manybusinessesinperceived‘dull’industrieshavemanagedtocreateexciting,emotivecontentthatkeepstheiraudienceengagedandcomingbackformore.ParisianLovebyGoogleistheperfectexample of a seemingly bland topic being made into a compelling piece of contentthroughtellinganemotionalstory.
Inanadvertthatsimplydemonstratesthesearchengineprocess,Googletellalovestoryby using the myriad of search queries one man makes at important and memorablemomentsinhislife.Itworksbecauseweunderstandandrelatetothosemoments.We’vemademanyofthosesearchesourselvesandwe’vebeenonthatjourney.
Checkitoutnowbyvisitingthelinkbelow,beforewelookatthesciencebehindthisapproach.
http://www.ph-creative.com/Chapter5Resources
Googlemayonlybesellingtheirsearchplatform,buttheyskillfullyillustratehowtheirproductaddsvaluetoreallifesituations.
Ifyou’renotconvincedthatParisianLoveisaparticularlygoodexample,we’dliketogiveyouonemoreexampletoreinforcetheideathatyoudon’thavetobesellingsomethingsexytobearmedwithwhatyouneedtotellaninterestingstory.
We’vepolledhundredsofpeopleoverthecourseoftheyearduringconferencesand
keynotetalks,tofindoutwhatthegeneralconsensusiswithregardstothedullestsectororverticalmarketpeoplecanthinkof.Theoverwhelmingmajorityofthosewehaveaskedhaveagreedthatinsuranceisconsideredthedrabbestserviceyoucouldeverpossiblyhopetofind.
Whowantstohearabouttheprovisionoflifeinsurance;aboutprovidingforyourfamilyintheeventofafatality?It’sjustnotsomethingyoucandressuporeasilymakelightof,right?
Wellholdthatthought…
RedBullhascarvedanamazingnicheforitself,strategicallymarketinginsuchawaythatitappearstoowntheextremesportsworldentirely.There’sagoodchancethatmostextremesportsvideoswillhaveitsbrandplasteredalloverthem.
RedBullhasdemonstrateditswillingnesstogototheendsoftheearthtobecrowned‘kingofextremesports’ineverythingitdoes.Frommastermindingstuntstoextensivesponsorshipofextremesports,itsbrandexposureisunparalleled.ThestoryofRedBullisaphenomenalone.Wearen’tclaiming;‘ifasugar-fuelledsoftdrinkcandoit,anyonecan’.That’snotthepointwe’remakinghere,becauselet’sfaceit,softdrinkshavealwaysfaredprettywellwithmarketingstories.Instead,thestoryofRedBullshouldinspireallofustosetoutaloftystrategicgoalandworkoutexactlyhowtoachieveit–nomatterwhatittakes.
Now,imagineitwasn’tRedBullthatsetoutthatvisioninthenineties,butinsteadaninsurancecompanythatspecialisedinlifecover.
‘Nomatterwhatlifethrowsatyou,we’vegotitcovered.’
ItcouldbearguedthattheRedBullstorywouldmakejustasmuch,ifnotmoresenseifitwasbeingtoldbyaninsurancecompany.Itcouldalsobearguedthatifaninsurancecompanywaswillingtobebrave,theywouldhaveamuchbetterchanceofdifferentiatingthemselvesfromtheircompetition.
Nigel Walsh, Vice President and Head of UK Insurance at Capgemini, highlights theimportance of strong branding for insurers. As a leading figure in UK insurance, heunderstands the challenges faced by the industry when it comes to branding andmarketing.
“Thedifferencebetweeninsuranceandmanyotherindustriesisthatwehaveanobligationtoourcustomersforamandatoryproductinahighlyregulatedworld.Wearenotathrowawayproductorservice.Whenpeoplecallus,it’susuallyinastateofduressduetoanaccidentoremergency.It’salltooeasytocompareusonpricecomparisonsiteandhavenoappreciationforourbrand.Thatsaid,consumersandorganisationsabsolutelyhavechoiceandthemarketisfilledwithgreatproviderscompetingforyourattentionandmoneyTheycanonlydothisbyhavingtherightproductattherightpricewithoutcompromisingtheirabilitytoprovidetheserviceexpectedwhenneeded.Todothis,theymusthaveabrandyoucanandwilltrust.”
Someinsurancebrands,however,aremakingapositivechangeinregardstothewaysinwhichtheymarketthemselves.Provingthatit’snotalwaysbesttofollowtheherd,HiscoxInsurancestandsoutamongitscompetitorsforitscleveruseofmarketingmessages.Hiscoxcombinessimplicitywithcompellingmessagestorelayitsbrandvaluesandbenefits.Itsadvertsengagewithconsumerpainpointsandensurethattheaudienceisawarethatthebrandunderstandsandempathiseswiththeirexperiencesassmallbusinessowners.Bydoingthis,itimmediatelycreatesrapport,trustandasenseofcommunitywithinitsdemographic.
WhilstHiscoxisagreatexampleofaninsurancebrandmarketingitselfwell,there’sstillalongwaytogoifitwantstocreategoosebump-inducingresults.Toachievethesesortsofresultsyourself,youhavetoknowyouraudiencesowellthatyoucanpredict,withacertaindegreeofaccuracy,whattheirreactionwillbe.Youhavetoknowwhat’simportanttoyouraudiencepersonasandwhatemotionaldriverstheywillrespondto.Incorporatethisknowledgeintoastrongstoryandyoutooarereadytosellgoosebumps.
ThescienceandartofstorytellingStartingwithacorereasontotellyourstory,thenunderstandinghowandwhentotellitcantransformyourbusiness.
Settingthescene
AnoldretiredgentlemancalledHenrylivedaloneinLiverpool.
Henrydidn’thavemuchtooccupyhistimethesedays.Heusedtowalkhisdog,Scouse,eachmorningalongalocalbeachbeforespendinghisafternoonathisallotmentwherehetendedtohisbelovedvegetablepatch,growingcarrots,potatoesandhisprizetomatoes.
Sadly,afterScousepassedaway,Henrydidn’tgowalkingquiteasmuch.Whenhedidvisithisallotment,itbecameevermoredifficulttoworkthesoilandlookafterhisvegetablesasheliked.Hisvegetablepatch,oncehisprideandjoy,hadslowlybecomeasiteoffrustrationandupset.
Henryhadason,Vincent,anonlychild.Henryhadlovednothingmorethantotakehisyoungsontohisallotment,bondingwithhimastheyworkedthesoil,teachinghimhowtoplantseedsandlookafterthemastheygrew
Vincentwasinprisnnow,afterfallingfoulofpeer-pressureandforcesbeyondHenry’scontrol.Henrywouldwriteletterstohisson,keepinghimupdatedwithhisdaytodaylife,andtheprogressofhisallotment.Thistime,hedescribedhispredicament.
DearVincent,
I’mfeelingprettysadbecauseitlookslikeIwon’tbeabletoplantthetomatogardenthisyear.It’sjustgettingtoodifficultformenow;I’mtoooldtobediggingupagardenplot.
Iknowifyouwerehere,you’dhelpmeout,digginguptheplotlikeyearsago.Imissyouson,stayoutoftrouble.
LoveDad.
Afewdayslater,Henryreceivedaletterbackfromhisson.
DearDad,
Don’tdigupthegarden.That’swherethebodiesareburied.
LoveVincent.
At4amthenextmorning,ateamoflocalpoliceandasmallunitofspecialbranchdetectivesarrivedattheallotmentanddugovertheentireplot.Notasinglebodywasfound.ThatsamedayHenryreceivedanotherletterfromVincent.
DearDad,
Goaheadandplantyourtomatoesnow.That’sthebestIcoulddounderthecircumstances.
Loveyou,Vincent.
Aswellasbeingaheartwarmingandfunnystory,themoralisthatifyoucareenough,there’susuallyalwayssomethingyoucandoforsomebodyelse,nomatterwhereyouare.
Thisstoryalsodemonstrateshow,asanaudience,wecanbedrawnintoastoryandbegintoempathiseaboutasituationthat’sdepictedwellenough.Whatstoriescouldyoutelltoprovideyouraudienceinsightintoyourbrandandstarttobecomemoreapproachable,personableandlikeable?Howcanyoubegintoendearyourselftoyouraudienceandstarttomakeyourpurposesomethingeveryonecanbelievein?
IfyouraudiencebegantofeelthesamesortofthingsforyouandyourbrandasyoudidforHenryandVincentyouwillexperiencesomethingquitewonderful…youstarttorecruitfansinsteadofcustomers.Youstarttocreatesomethingworthrememberingandtalkingabout.
First,thescienceItiswidelyunderstoodthatallmarketingdecisionsareemotionaldecisions.However,itisalsoimportanttorecognisetheneedforrationalthinkingandlogicalinformationtoreaffirmthoseemotionaldecisions.
AhugeinfluenceinthefieldofpsychologyandunderstandingthehumanmindisDr.StevePeters,authorofTheChimpParadox.PetersisapsychiatristwhohasworkedextensivelywithGreatBritain’sOlympicteamandLiverpoolFootballClub.Hisinsightintohowthebrainworksanditsreactionstostimulihasplayedasignificantroleinourapproachtotailoringonlinemarketingmaterial.
Withagreaterunderstandingofhowwethink,wehaveagreaterchanceofstimulatingouraudienceandmaximisingourchancesofGettingGoosebumps.
Petersstatesthatwehavetwosidestoourbrain.Thefirstsideofthebrainistheemotionalside,labelledthe‘chimp’.Thesecondsideistherationalside,the‘human’.
Tobetrulyeffectivewhenstorytelling,bothsidesofthebrainmustbesatisfied.Runningthroughthefollowingstepsensurestheattentionofboththe‘chimp’andthe‘human’arecaptured.AlongsideDr.Peters,therearemanyotherpsychologyexpertsthattalkaboutthedistincttwosidesofthebrainandtheimportanceofconnectingwithbothsidestocommunicateeffectively.Thinking,FastandSlowbyDanielKahnmanisanotherbookwewouldrecommendreadingonthissubject.
Fromamarketingpointofview,thesepsychologicalinsightsarekeytocraftinganinformativeandemotivestorythathelpsustoshowcaseourproductsandserviceseffectively.
We’velearntfromextensivetestingandmeasuringthatsatisfyingbothsidesofthebrainisessentialtoleadingyouraudiencethroughastorythatsuccessfullyresultsintheactionyouwantintheend.Storiesshouldleadwithemotionfirstandthensatisfytherationalaspectsofthethoughtprocesswithfacts,figuresandevidence-basedpositioning.
EmotionallyledthinkingEmotionaldrivers
Therearefivekeyemotionsthatdrivethe‘chimp’:happiness,sadness,fear,angerandanticipation.Whentheseemotionsareevokedwithinus,weseektoconnectwithothers.Thisisthekeytospreadingyourbusiness’message.
Speed
The‘chimp’brainreactsfivetimesfasterthananyotherpartofthebrain,butwhatdoesthismeanforyourdigitalreputation?Ifyourwebpagedoesn’tloadwithinthreeseconds,youcouldloseupto40%ofyouronlineaudience.
Empathy
The‘chimp’brainlovestoconnect.Itwantstofeelthatitisinteractingwithpeoplewhounderstand.Youhavetoknowwhatyourtargetaudienceistalkingabout,andtalkaboutitwiththem.
Thepainandpleasureprinciple
The‘chimp’brainwilldoalmostanythingtoavoidpain.Byunderstandingwhatthefearsandpainsofyourtargetconsumersare,yourbrandcanprovidethemwithasolutionandcapitaliseonthisaversiontopain.Letyourproductorservicesbetheirknightinshiningarmour.
Evidence-basedrationalthinkingFactsandfigures
Thehumanpartofthebrainlovestomakedecisionsbasedoncoldhardfacts.Itwantssocialproof–suchasuserreviewsandinfluencerrecommendations–thatwhatitisdoingisright.Givingclearfactsandsharingcustomerreviewsisagreatwaytoassureyourcustomersabouttheexperiencethey’llreceivefromyourbusiness.
Truth
Ifyou’renottruthfulasanorganisation,thisreputationcanspreadfromconsumertoconsumer.Genuinecustomercasestudieswillprovideproofofyourstrengthsasabusiness.Ifsomeonehasabadexperience,acknowledgmentcangoalongwaytorecoveringyourreputation.
Thebullshitmonitor
The‘human’partofthebrainhasawell-developedcriticalfunction.Peopleseeover10,000linksonlineeverydayandchoosetoignorethemajorityofthem.Aconvolutedandcomplicatedsalesmessagewillgetyounowherefast.Simplifyyourmessageanddeliveritwithsincerity.
Thoughtleaders
Modernconsumersresearchaproductorservicebeforetheymakethedecisiontobuy.Theylookforjustificationthatthey’remakingtherightdecision.Creatingauthoritativecontentplacesyouinfrontofpeopleatthebeginningofthedecisionmakingprocess.
AlittlemoresciencePushing,pullingandguidingyouraudienceinthedirectionyouwanttotakethem.
SmartInsights,adigitalagencythatfocusesonprovidingadviceandsolutionstohelpbusinessesovercometheirmarketingchallenges,hasdevelopedoneofthemostusefultoolsaroundtoeffectivelyplanyourcontent.Theirmatrixsystemallowsyoutodefineyourcontentandthethinkingbehindwhatyou’retryingtoachievewhencreatingit.Thus,allowingyoutoeffectivelystreamlineyourcommunicationstobein-linewithyourbrandvaluesandyourobjectives.
Downloadyourcontentmatrixattheendofthischapterandinthemeantime,checkoutwhatelsetheydoat:www.smartinsights.com
SmartInsightsadvisethatanymarketingcontentyouproduceshouldevokeoneoffourreactions.Ifyouknowyouraudiencewellenoughandyouknowwhatyou’retryingtoachieve,thismatrixcanhelpyouselecttherighttypeofcontenttogainmaximumeffect.
Youshouldbeaimingtoentertain,inspire,educateandconvincewitheachpieceofcontentyoucreateforyourbrand.
Armedwiththismatrix,youcannowcraftpurposeandcontextintoyourstoriestomakethemtrulyeffective.Contentthatfollowstheseguidelineswillassistyourcustomeralongtheirbuyingjourney,movingthemtowardspurchasing.
Youwillnoticethatsomepersonaswillrespondtoinspirationalstoriesandmessagesatthebeginningoftheirjourney,whilesomewillcraveeducationalinformation.Asalways,theeffectivenessofthisprocessisdeterminedbyhowwellyouknowthepersonasofyouraudience.
Andnow,theartWhenitcomestostorytelling,marketersaren’tevenclosetothetopofthelistofexperts.Ifyouwantexcellence,youshouldmodelyourselfonthebest.
Weoftenfindthatlookingoutsideofourprofessionisthebestplacetostart.
Storytelling–learningfromHollywood
HowdoesHollywoodremainsocreativeandcontinuallytelldifferentstoriesyearafteryear?Well,itturnsouttheydon’t.TherearereallyonlysixarchetypalstoriesinHollywoodthatgettoldandretoldtimeandagain.Thereisatriedandtestedformulatothesestoriesandit’srareforHollywoodtostrayfromthisveryprofitablepath.
Thetrick,ofcourse,istodressthesestoriesupdifferentlyeachtimewithdifferentcharacters,challenges,scenariosandadventures.However,thebasicformuladoesn’tchange.
MichaelHauge–author,lecturerandHollywoodscriptwriter–outlinesastep-by-stepapproachtostorytelling.Hismethodconsiderssixbasicstages,whicharedefinedbyfivekeyturningpointsofallsuccessfulscreenplays–amethodwhichyoucaneasilyapplytoanystoryyoutellwithinyourmarketing.
Whateverindustryyou’rein,understandingthesekeypointsandapplyingthemtoyourstorieswillallowyoutostrengthenyourabilitytoenthralyouraudience.AswellasfollowingHauge’sstepstosuccess,youshouldbelookingforopportunitiestoadddrama,addtheunexpectedandaddatwistortopiqueinterest.
Belowaresixtangiblepointsthattranslatewellintoagreattechniqueforstorytellingforbusiness.
1.BeempatheticCanyouexplainyourmessagebetterfromyouraudience’sperspective?Hollywoodscriptwritersmakeyouliveandbreathetheirstoryateverystep.Theempathycreatedhelpsyouraudienceidentifywiththestoryandtherefore,betterengagesthem.
2.MakeyourcustomertheheroTakingHollywoodasaprimeexampleofstorytellingtosell–theydoonethingvery,verywell.Theyputyouattheheartoftheactionanduse‘reflectioncharacters’toplayalongsidethehero.Theyservetohighlightcertaincharacteristicsinthemaincharacterandsupportthemthroughtheirjourney.Butwhoistheheroinyourstory?It’snotyourbrandorservice–you’rethereflectioncharacter.Yourcustomeristhehero.Yourproductorserviceissimplytheaidtosolvingtheirproblemorissue.
3.WriteforyouraudienceUseyourknowledgeaboutyourcustomer’spersonatowritestoriesthatresonatewiththemandappealdirectlytotheiremotions.Agreatstorycouldbelostonyouraudienceifitisn’ttailoredtotheirneeds,interestsanddesires.
4.GrabtheirattentionstraightawayHollywoodstorieskeepushookedfromthefirstcoupleofseconds–yourstoriesneedtodothesame.Inaworldwhereattention-spansareshortyouneedtomakesureyougrabyouraudience’sattentionfromtheoff.
5.HooktheminandcontinuethestoryJustasHollywoodmoviestendtocomeininstalments,sotooshouldyourcompany’sofferingstoitscustomers.Fromtheinitialoffer,thestorymustflow,eachtimeprovidinganupgrade–youcannotbeaone-hitwonder.Ifyouwanttosurviveonline,youhavetobuildacommunityandkeepitalive.
6.Finally…Everytimeyoucreateastory,leaveyouraudiencewantingmore.Yourfollow-upshouldnotsimplybeexpected,butanticipated.TryoutliningastorybasedononeofyourproductsorservicesusingtheHollywoodstorytellingtricksabove.Rememberyourcustomershouldalwaysbetheheroinyourstory,yourproductorserviceshouldbethesolutiontotheirproblem.Tryusingtheoneofthecustomerpersonasthatyoucreatedinchapter3asthecentralcharacterinyourstory.Remembertothinkaboutpathos,ethosandlogosandhowthesecancombinetocreategoosebumps.Filloutthestagesonthenext
pageordownloadyourownprintableversionbyvisiting
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter5Resources
Setup:
Explainatypicalsituationthatacustomermightfindhimselforherselfin.Thisstagemustdrawyouraudienceinandallowthemtoidentifywiththeheroofyourstory.
DieHard:JohnMcClaneisreturninghometohisfamilyforChristmas.
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Newsituation:
Describeasetofcircumstancesthatseethesituationchangeandcreateapotentialintroductionforyourproductorserviceorperhapsacompetitor.
DieHard:JohnMcClaneandhiswifeareattendingaChristmasparty,however,thebuildinghasbeenovertakenbyHansGruberandateamofterrorists.
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Progresswiththenewsituation:
Hereyourhero’sjourneyshouldbegoingtoplanandallobstaclesshouldbeeasilyovercome.Usethisasachancetocraftemotionintoyourstoryandconnectyouraudiencetoyourbrand.
DieHard:Theterroristsstormthebuilding,butMcClaneisn'tintheroom.Thismeansheisabletomoveupthebuildingwithlittlehindrance.
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Complicationsandhigherstakes:
Introduceaplottwist,oranunexpectedchangetotheplanatthispoint.Considerasurpriseelementandcreateasituationthatlooksalmostincomprehensible.
DieHard:ThepolicesendinaSWATteamtotackletheterrorists,buttheteamfails.
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Finalpush:
Thisiswhereallisseeminglylostbutthere’sonefinal,slimchancetosavethesituation.
Thiscouldbesubtle,dramaticoritcouldbeemotional.
DieHard:Afterastruggle,JohnMcClanethrowsGruberoutofahighfloorwindow,resultinginhisdeath.
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Aftermath:
Theaftermathstagewillseeyourhero’slifereturntonormalityonceagain,albeitwithsomedifferencesandkeybenefitsnowthatyourherohascomesofar.
DieHard:Normalityisrestoredwhenthepolicereleasethehostagesfromthebuilding.TheMcClanesleaveinapolicecarandreturntotheirlives.
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Manygreatleadersaredefinedbythegreatspeechestheyhavedelivered.JFK,MartinLutherKingandWinstonChurchillarejustafewwhohavebeenimmortalisedbytheirwords.
Asbusinessleadersandmarketers,youmaynotbefightingforworldpeaceorglobalculturalchange;however,youarefightingforyourcauseandwhatyourbrandstandsfor.Itisthereforeyourjobtocommunicatethefactsandprovidearationaletoappealtothehumansideofthebrain.However,itisthesentimentbehindthemessagethatcapturesthechimp’simaginationandgivesyouraudiencegoosebumps.
Here’sthetopsixwayswecanembraceteachingsfromgreatleaders:
1.Startwiththecontext
Ifyoudon’tstartyourstorywiththefundamentalcontext,you’llloseyourcustomerfromthebeginning.Don’tassumetheyalwaysknowwhatyou’retalkingabout.Don’twaffle,butdomakesureyousetthescene.
2.Bepassionate
Doesyourmessageshowhowyoureallyfeel?Someofthegreatestleadersinhistoryarememorableandiconicbecauseoftheirpassion.MartinLutherKingsaid,‘Ihaveadream’not‘Ihaveathree-point-plan’forareason.
3.Makesureemotionmakesitintoyourmessage
Ifyouwanttoevokeanemotionalresponsefromyourcustomers,youneedtomakesureyouscriptthatemotionintoyourmessage.Ifyourmessageisn’tpowerfultobeginwith,yourresponsewon’tbeeither.
4.Useyourownexperiences
Someofthemostpowerfulleadersusefactualevidenceintheirspeechestotapintotheemotionsoftheiraudience.Illustrationsofstruggle,failure,andbarriersarewhatmakeleadersappearauthenticandaccessible.Yourstoryshoulddothesame.
5.Keepitsimple
Justasyouwouldrevisitcontentandremoveunimportantdetails,youshoulddothesamewithyourstorytelling.Removeanythingthatisn’tcentraltoyourmessage,leavingjustafewwell-placedinterestingdetailswhichwillhelpyouraudiencerelate.
6.Finally…
Storyisthefabricuponwhichcultureisbuilt.Wetellstorieseverydayofourlives–theybindustogether,helpusformrelationshipsandultimately,candrivechange.Rememberhowpowerfulastorycanbeandmakesureyoursmeetallofthemarkersyousetoutin
thebeginning.
Historyreimagined
Canyouimagineifsomeofthemostfamousandrecognisablespeechesinhistoryhadbeenwrittenwithoutthepassionforwhichtheyhavebecomerenowned?TakealookbelowatWinstonChurchill’s'Weshallfightonthebeaches'speechduringtheSecondWorldWar.It’soneofthemostquotedandanalysedspeechesinBritishhistory.
“Weshallgoontotheend.WeshallfightinFrance,weshallfightontheseasandoceans,weshallfightwithgrowingconfidenceandgrowingstrengthintheair,weshalldefendourisland,whateverthecostmaybe.Weshallfightonthebeaches,weshallfightonthelandinggrounds,weshallfightinthefieldsandinthestreets,weshallfightinthehills;weshallneversurrender…”
WinstonChurchill,June4th1940
Nowimagineifthisspeechhadbeenwrittenusingthebusinessjargonoftenemployedinthecorporateworld:
“Goingforward,wewillexperienceconflictinmanyarenas.WeshallinfiltratetheFrenchdemographicandwithgrowingconfidencewecanleverageourofferinginthisspaceandmaximisetheimpactofourpresenceintheverticalmarket,whatevertheaveragespendmaybe.Weshallstepuptotheplateoneverylevel.Weshallhustleuntilcloseofplay.”
See,whenit’slackingthepassionandsentimenttocapturethechimp’sattentionitfailstoresonate.
Storytelling–learningfromcomediansStand-upcomedyhasgottobeoneofthetoughestcareersthereis.Imaginestandingaloneinfrontofaliveaudiencewithnothingbutamicrophoneandcollectionofstories,anecdotesandonelinersdesignedtomakearoomfullofstrangerslaughoutloud.
JerrySeinfeldnotedthatgoodcomedyhasawayofstickingwithyouandfindingawaytokeepcomingback,buthowcanyouusethislogictocreateastorythatpeoplewillremember?
Here’sthetopfiverecommendationstothinkabout:
1.Writeaboutwhatyouknow
Whencreatingcontentyoushouldpickatopic,whichyouknowinsideout.Makesureyoucanattackitfromeveryangle.It’sfarbettertowritewithconfidenceaboutasubjectyouknowwellthanoneyoudon’t.
2.Builditup
Howmanycomediansdoyouknowthatstartwithapunchline?Comedianswillsetthescenebypaintingapictureandmakingtheirtopicrelatable.It’simportantyoudothistoo,becauseyouneedtoassesswhyyourcustomershouldcareaboutyourcontent.Ifyoucan’tprovideacompellingstory,whichnaturallybuildstoapunchline,you’regoingtofallflat.It’salsoworthnotingthatmanyofthebestcomediansallagreethatthepunchlinewordneedstocomerightattheendofthatlastsentencetomakethebiggestimpact.
3.Bememorable
Whatcleartakeawayshouldyourcustomerreceivefromyourstory?Makeitobviousexactlywhatitisyouwantthemtoremember,evenifitmeansyouhavetomentionitmorethanonce.
4.Tieeverythingtogether
Comediansoftenuseatechniquecalledacall-backtotieeverythingtogether.Theywillrevisitthesamepunchlineatthebeginningandendoftheirset,tobuildintimacyandmaketheiraudiencefeellikethey’repartofaninsidejoke.
Youshouldbedoingthesamewhencreatingcompellingstories–alwaystieupyourstorywitharesolutiontoeveryproblemyouintroduce.
5.Becompelling
Peopledon’tinvestinyourbusiness;theyinvestinyourstory.Ifyouwantpeopletorememberwhatyousay,tellacompellingstory.Givepeoplesomethingtheycan’twaitto
share.
Soyoucansee,marketerscanlearnalotfromotherprofessionalcommunicators.Butwhatelseisitthatallofthesehaveincommon?Toconnectwithyouraudience,youfirstmustbeabletodeliveramessagethat’seasytounderstandandremainmemorableonceit’sbeendelivered.
Onerulemanyleadersandcomediansuseistheruleofthree.Hollywoodscreenplaysarewritteninthreeactstructuresandevengreatlawyersarguethreepointsatatime.
TheRuleofThreeForsomereason,thingsjustworkbetterinthrees.
Theruleofthreeisawritingprinciplethatsuggeststhingsthatcomeinthreesarefunnier,moresatisfyingandeasiertounderstand(didyouseewhatIdidthere?).
Somesaythere'sapsychologicalreasonbasedon'three'beingapatternthat’seasierfortheaudiencetodigestandremember.Otherssayit’sjustthewayitgoes.Theartofwritingagoodjokecanbebrokendownintothesethreepartsandyoucanusetheexactsametechniquetocraftawiningmarketingmessage.
Infilms
1.Sex,LiesandVideotape2.TheThreeMusketeers3.TheGood,TheBadandTheUgly
Inleadership
1.Friends,Romans,countrymen2.Therearethreekindsoflies:lies,damnliesandstatistics3.Icame,Isaw,Iconquered
Inadvertising
1.BeanzMeanzHeinz2.Snap!Crackle!Pop!3.Justdoit
Theruleofthreeisprevalentinallformsofeffectivecommunicationbutismostcommonlyassociatedwithcomedywritingbecauseitworksanditworksverywell.Howcanyouusetheruleofthreeinyourmarketingtogetgoosebumpsfromyouraudience?Whynotstartbytakingsomeinspirationfromcomedyandanevengreaterexampleoftheruleofthreeinaction?
Theclassicstructureofajoke:Thesetup,Theanticipation,Thepunchline
ThesetupAwomangetsonabuswithherbaby.Thebusdriversays:‘Ugh,that'stheugliestbabyI'veeverseen!’
TheanticipationThewomanwalkstotherearofthebusandsitsdown,fuming.Shesaystoamannextto
her:‘Thedriverjustinsultedme!’
ThepunchlineThemansays:‘Yougoupthereandtellhimoff.Goon,I'llholdyourmonkeyforyou.’
ThesetupIwenttothezootheotherday.
TheanticipationTherewasonlyonedoginthewholeplace.
ThepunchlineItwasaShitzu.
Trybreakingdownyourfavouritejokeintotheruleofthree,orbetteryet,trytowriteyourownjoke!Downloadyourownprintableversionat
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter5Resources
Thesetup:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Theanticipation:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thepunchline:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Nowtrytowriteashortanecdoteusingthisformofphrasing.Don’tworrytoomuchifit’snotsidesplittinglyfunny,justconcentrateoncraftingtheflowofthemessage.
AgoodexampleofthiscanbeseeninPepsi’sUncleDrewcampaign.
Watchitbyvisitingyourchapter5resourcespageandthentrytocreateyourownusingthesameprinciples.
Thesetup:Setthescene.
UncleDrew:PepsipretendstoshootadocumentaryonabasketballplayernamedKevinatalocaloutdoorcourt,wherehe’splayingwithfriends.Kevin’sUncleDrewcomesalongtowatchthegame.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Theanticipation:Presentarelevantsituation.
UncleDrew:Ateamplayerinjureshimself,presentingtheopportunityforelderlyUncleDrewtojointheteam.Afterashakystart,he’snettingballsswiftlyandshowinguptheentireteam.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thepunchline:Surprisewithanunexpectedbenefit.
UncleDrew:UncleDrewdefiesbeliefwithhisskills–untilheisrevealedtobeGaryErvin,aprofessionalAmericanbasketballplayer.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Makesureyouknowwhoyourcustomerisandmakethemtheheroinyourstorybyshowingthemhowyoumaketheirlifeeasier.
Ensureyouscriptemotionintoyourmessageandcreateastorysocompellingyouraudienceisleftwithgoosebumps.
Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS
ContagiousJonahBerger
Thisbookteachesusthatpeopledon’tshareinformation–theysharestoriesthatresonatewiththememotionally,whichjustsohappentoincludeinformationaboutaproductorservice.
PitchAnythingOrenKlaff
Thisbooksharesthesecrettoclosinganybusinessdeal.ItintroducestheSTRONGmethodofpitching,amethodwhichisasrelevantonlineasitisintheboardroom:
-Settheframe-Tellthestory-Revealtheintrigue-Offertheprize-Nailthehookpoint-Getadecision
ResonateNancyDuarte
Revealingthetruthbehindcreatingimpactfulandinspiringpresentationsthatmoveyouraudienceintopurposefulaction,Resonatehelpsyoumakeaconnectionwithyouraudiencethroughexciting,funandmeaningfulpresentations.Usingthisapproach,you'llconveyyourcontentwithpassion,persuasion,andimpact.
TalkLikeTEDCarmineGallo
TEDandassociatedTedXconferencesareheldinmorethan130countriesandareviewedatarateof1.5milliontimesaday.Wanttogiveyourownpresentationsthisedge?ThisbookbreaksdownthefundamentalprinciplesusedinthetopTEDtalkssothatyoucanusethesetipsyourselfandcreatedynamic,successfulpresentations.
Clout:TheArtandScienceofInfluentialWebContentColleenJones
Thisbookexplainstheimportancebehindusinginfluencetogaintractionwithinyouronlinestrategy.Throughoutliningtheeightprinciplesofinfluence,Cloutcoversallbases,fromcontext,totheartofrhetoric,tothesciencebehindcustomerpsychology.
CreateyourowncontentmatrixdownloadDownloadourguidetocreatingyourowncontentmatrixbyvisitingyourresourcespageforthischapter.Thiswillhelpyoutostartplanningthetypesofcontentyoucancreateforeverystageofyourstrategy.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter5Resources
Takeawaysforchapter5Youshouldnowunderstandtheimportanceofawellthoughtoutstoryandtheimpactthiscanhaveonallofyourmarketingmessages.Youshouldalsobestartingtoincorporatetheprofessionaltacticswediscussintoyourstorytellingmethods.Checkoffeachstepyoucompletebelow.
☐Incorporateyourpersonaresearchwhencreatingyourstory
☐Planyourstory,mappingwhateachpersonaneedsfromyouateachpointoftheirjourney
☐Scriptemotionintoyourmessagesandstorytelling
☐Planyourstorytellingliketheprofessionals,usingourstep-by-stepguides
CHAPTER6
THESTORYSOFARHowallofthepreviouscomponentsandideasfittogetherintooneneatplanyoucanworkfromandrelyon.“Getshitdone.”
AaronLevie
“Ifyoucan’texplainitsimply,youdon’tunderstanditenough.”
AlbertEinstein
“Howeverbeautifulthestrategy,youshouldoccasionallylookattheresults.”
WinstonChurchill
It’stimetofindoutifeverythingwe’velookedathasmerelybeenfunandinteresting,orwhetherit’sactuallymakingsenseandcouldbeofvaluetoyourbusiness.Holdtight.
MostofourstrategicmarketingthinkingatPh.isrepresented,insomewayshapeorform,inourcontentplanningspreadsheet.Youcandownloadyourownversionat
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter6Resources
Weknowit’sabigasktoexpectamarketertogoaway,downloadaspreadsheetandgetalittleexcitedaboutwhattheyfind.Hopefully,alotofwhatwe’veexploredsofarwillmakesensetoyouatfirstglanceandyoustarttofindvalueinwhatyousee.
Thesimpleversionofthespreadsheetisincludedherebecausetheprinciplebehinditscreationoughttobetheprimarymessage.Inthenextchapter,we’veincludedadetailedcontentcalendartohelpyouplanyouractivitiesonadailybasisandtailoryourcontenttomeetyouroverarchingbusinessobjectivesinamoredetailedformat.
Ifyoudon’timmediatelyseethevalueofthespreadsheet,haveagoatfillingitinanyway.Wethinkit’slikelytohaveoneofthreeeffectsonthewayyouviewyourdigitalmarketing:
-Theinbound(content)marketingpennywilldropandyou’llseeadirectlinkbetweenproducingcontentforyouraudienceandachievingyourstrategicbusinessgoals
-You’llrecognisethevalueoftheformatandyoucanimmediatelygetgoingwithplanningyourstrategy
-You’llrecognisethatsomeoneelseinthebusinesswillfindlotsofvalueusingthedocumentandnowinboundmarketingmakessensetoyou
HowtogetthemostoutofthisdocumentStartwithTab1–marked‘ContentCalendar’.
Withthisdocumentyouwillbeabletodefineyourgoalsandplanthenextsixmonths’worthofmarketingactivitiesinlinewithyourtargetpersonas.
Fillinzoneone–businessobjectives
Takeyouroverarchingbusinesspurpose,asestablishedinchapter1,andplaceitinthefirstbox.Followthisbystatingyourkeybusinessobjectivesforthenexttwoquartersineachofthenumberedspaces,andaddthreecontentthemesforeachquarter.Forexample,yourcontentthemescouldbefocusedonspecificelementsthatareimportantwithinyourfieldorsector.
Fillinzonetwo–monthlyperformanceindicators
Nowyouknowwhatyouwanttoachieve,makeittangibleandblackandwhitebyassigninganumericalvaluethatdetermineswhatsuccesslookslikeforeachmonth.Fromourownexperience,99%ofmarketersdonotsetouttangiblegoalsorsetabenchmarkforsuccesswhenplanningtheirdigitalmarketingactivities.Ofthe1%thatdo,lessthanhalfcanshowaclearcorrelationbetweentheirdigitalmarketinggoalsandthatoftheoverallbusinessesobjectives.
Whateverhappensfromhere,byusingthisspreadsheetyouwillknowwhatyou’regunningforandsowillyourteam.
Fillinzonethree–personakeywordsets
Definewhatkeywordsyouwillbeusingtotargetyourpersonasbasedonyourresearchfromchapter3.Thisspreadsheethasroomforthreepersonas:ifyou’veidentifiedmore,it’sbesttocreateanadditionaldocumentfortheothers.
Whenfillingthissectionin,it’simportantyouidentifykeycharacteristicsofeachpersonaatthedifferentstagesoftheSEE,THINK,DO,DELIGHTfunnelandmatchyourkeywordsaccordingly.
SEE-Whatmessagesarelikelytogettheirattentionatthetop?
THINK-Whatbenefitsandmessagesarelikelytoresonatewiththemoncethey’reawareof
you?
DO-Whatislikelytobethemostattractiveandeffectivecalltoactionforthispersona?
DELIGHT-Whataddedvaluewilleachpersonaappreciateandrespondtoaftertheyhaveboughtfromyouforthefirsttime?
Fillinzonefour–contentplan
Usingthepictureyouhavebuiltupofeachaudiencepersona,earmarkthetypeofcontentyoubelievetobemostsuitableateachstage.UsetheprinciplesoftheSmartInsightsmatrixinchapter5todecidewhattypeofcontenttouse,butdon’tworryjustyetaboutwhatthestoryisgoingtobe–thatcomesnext.Fornow,you’remerelytryingtogaugewhatyouraudiencewillbemostlikelytorespondto.
Also,bearinmindtheamountoftime/budgetyouhavetospendoneachpersonaineachmonth.Thiswillbeaveryusefulmeansofpacingandbudgetingyourmarketingefforts.Keepaneyeonthesuccesscriteriayou’vealreadydeterminedinZONETWObecausetheeffortneedstomatchthedesiredoutcomes–doesitpassthelitmustest?Nowisaverygoodtimetodecidehowmanypersonasyou’regoingtoactivelyengagewithmonthbymonth.Youshouldbeabletoidentify‘core’contentthatwillsupplementanyspecificpersona-targetedcontent–isthereenoughcontenttoachievesuccess?
Movetotabtwo/zonefive–influencerresearch
Usingthekeywordandinfluencerresearchtechniquescoveredinchapter4,completethefieldsinthistab.Therearethreetabs,oneforeachpersona.Rememberthelanguageandkeywordsyoudefinewillbecomemorespecific,targetedandlongtail(alongtailkeywordisasearchstringwithusuallymorethanthreespecifickeywordsincluded)thefurtherintothebuyingcycleyougo.
GetcreativeThere’snozonetobefilledouthere.Instead,youneedtobeginwritingabriefforthespecifictypesofcontentyou’veidentifiedinzonefour.Begintobrainstormthespecificsofyourcontentusingthestorytellinginspirationfromchapter5.Thisisthetoughest,mostchallengingaspectofinboundmarketing.
Creatingtrulyeffective,valuablecontentforyouraudienceisthemakeorbreakpointofthisentiremarketingphilosophy.Onefinalbitofadvicehereistobepreparedtofailwithcontentmorethanyousucceed.Andremember,youlearnjustasmuchfromwhatdoesn’tworkaswhatdoes.
Implementyourplanwithwinningtactics
Fromyourresearchintowhereyouraudiencelivesonlineandhowandwhattheyarelikelytorespondto,nowcomesthemostinterestingaspectofthewholeprocess.Thisisthebitwhereyoutakeadeepbreathandactuallystartdoingit.Publish,listen,respondandrefine–withthetacticsyoudecidearemostrelevant.
Thefinalstep–measure,refine,learn,repeat.Measure,refine,learn,repeat.
Measure,Refine,Learn,Repeat.There’snotawholelotmoretoaddtothetitleofthisstep.Justgoforit.
Onekeyelementtoyoursuccess,however,isusingtherighttoolsforthejob.Ph.CreativeisaHubSpotpartner(fulldisclosure)andwepassionatelybelieveourcustomershaveanadvantageintheirmarketplacebecauseoftheintelligencewehaveatourfingertips.Thespeedatwhichwecanmoveandrespondbasedonwhatwelearnbyusingthistoolallowsustomeasureandinterpretresultsinamuchmoremeaningful,andultimatelystrategic,way.Yourstrategyshouldbeguidedbasedoncauseandeffect.Evidencebasedmarketingistheonlygameyoushouldbeplaying.ConsiderusingacontentmarketingtoolsuchasHubSpot.
Bynowyou'renearlyreadytounleashyourownbrandofgoosebumpsontheworld.It'sgottobeefficient,effectiveand,aboveall,alignedtoyourbusinessobjectives.
Thisprocesscanbeassimpleorasdetailedasyourplandictatesbutit'sgottoaddvaluetoyourbusiness.Thischapterisheretoensureyoudojustthat.
Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS
InboundMarketing–AttractEngageandDelightCustomersOnlineBrianHalligan&DharmeshShah
WrittenbyCEOandFounderofHubSpot,BrianHalligan,andCTOandFounderDharmeshShah,thisbookdetailshowbusinessescanembraceinboundmarketingthroughthelatestinsightsandadviceforleadnurturing.Thebookaddresseshowtobestconvertvisitorsandhowtocontinuetodelightthemafterthey’vepassedthroughyoursalesfunnel.
Search&SocialRobGarner
Amust–readforanyoneinthedigitalmarketingsector,thisbookshowsyouhowtodevelop,implementandoptimisestrategiesandtacticstodevelopyourstrategicmarketingplan.
ContentplanningstrategyspreadsheetdownloadDownloadourcontentstrategyplanningtemplatebyvisitingthelinkbelowforusealongsidethischapter.Startmakingyourmarketingmoresuccessfulbyaligningyourobjectives,goalsandcontent,coupledwithfullinfluencerresearchtohelpmaximiseyourreach.
Downloadyourownprintableversionat
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter6Resources
Keytakeawaysforchapter6It’snowtimetostartputtingeverythingwe’vetalkedaboutintoplaceandstartcreatingyoursuccessfulinboundmarketingstrategy.Downloadourspreadsheet(ifyouhaven’talready)andcheckoffeachstepasyoucompleteit.
☐Downloadthespreadsheetandfillitinusingyourresearch
☐Putyourplanintopractice
☐Reviewhowyourplanisperformingatregularintervals
CHAPTER7:part1
THEMASTERPLANAcomprehensivelookattheskillsyouneedtoactionyourplan.“Doyouwanttoknowwhoyouare?Don'task.Act!Actionwilldelineateanddefineyou.”ThomasJefferson
“Everyonehasaplanuntiltheygetpunchedinthemouth.”MikeTyson
“Productivityisneveranaccident.Itisalwaystheresultofacommitmenttoexcellence,intelligentplanningandfocusedeffort.”PaulJMeyer
Adigitalstrategyisalotlikeacartyre:withoutsufficienttraction,youdon’tgoanywhere.Alltoooftenweseebusinessesworkinghardandproducinggreatcontent,yettheyfailtogetthetractiontheyneedtomoveforward.
Inthischapter,weexplorehowtochoosetherighttoolsandchannelsforyourstrategy.Wewillalsooutlinesomefundamentaltacticstohelpyouleveragemarginalgainsanddriveyourinboundmarketingforward.
Ultimately,there’sonlyonewayyou’regoingtofindoutwhatworksforyouraudience,yourbusinessandyourobjectives–that’sbydoingit.Testing,reactingandcommittingenoughtodoitwell,evenwhenit’snotgoingaswellorasfastasyouwouldlike.
Thenumberoftimeswehear,‘socialmediadoesn’tworkforme’isunbelievable.Ifyou’veeversaidthatyourself,wecanassureyouthatit’syounotworkingforsocialmedia,nottheotherwayaround.Butyou’renotalone,sodon’tworry.Inboundmarketingiseasywiththerightapproach,butit’shardwork.IfyoulovetheideaofGettingGoosebumpsit’sprobablyagoodideatostartlovingtheideaofhardworkandacommitmenttoexcellence.
Afinalpointbeforewejumpintoit.Goosebumpscan’thappeneverytimeyoupublishcontent–it’sjustnotpossible.Youcan,however,stacktheoddsinyourfavourbyfollowingtheruleslaidoutinthisbook.
Usethisbooktoguideyourapproach;asaprovenplaybookthat’sdeliveredsuccessmanytimesover.It’snota100%bulletproofprocessforyourcontenttoflyeachandeverytime.However,thisisnotallbad.Havingcontentsinknowandthenisaverygoodopportunitytoengagewithyouraudience.
Toomanymarketingteamsfailwithcontentandmoveonquicklytonewideas,missingopportunities.Sometimes,makingasmalltweaktocontentthathasfailedmeansyou’llfinditdoeswellsecond,thirdorfourthtimearound.
Allgreatmarketershaveproducedcontentthathasfailedthefirsttimearound,butthroughaskingtheircommunityforwaystoimprove,it’sbeensuccessfullyre-launched.Someofthiscontentevencontinuestodrivetrafficyearslater.
Gettingorganisedforday-to-dayWhetheryou’veflickedstraighttothischapteroryou’rereadingthisbookfromstarttofinish,bynowyoushouldbecomfortablewiththestrategicdirectionofyourinboundmarketing.Atthispointyouneedtobereadytogetdowntothenutsandboltsofday-to-dayimplementation.
Thepreviouschapter’sdownloadprovidesasuccinctmeansofmappingtheactivityrequiredtodeliveryourdesiredgoalseachquarter.However,itdoesnotprovidethehelpyouneedinplanningyourdaytodayactionsorwithmanagingtime,researching,producingandseedingoutyourcontent.
Tocombatthis,downloadourtemplatecontentcalendar,whichwillprovideaclearframeworkinwhichtoorganiseeverythingyouneedgoingforward.You’llfindthisinyourchapter7resourcespage.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources
Thisdocumentwillhelpyoutomapdailycontenttasksandalsodeterminethemostappropriatedestinationinwhichtopublish.Thatmeanswhichsocialchannelsyourcontentisdesignedforandwhichpersonait’sbeingtargetedataswell.
Keepingatrackofyourweektoweekprogressisthekeytomaintainingaconsistentandprofessionalinboundmarketingplan.Thisisespeciallytruewhenthere’smorethanonepersoninvolvedinthedeliveryandseedingofyourcontent.Withthisinmind,wehighlyrecommendusingthe‘owner’and‘completiondate’fieldstoensureeverythingiscompletedasandwhenrequired.
Thisdocumentisverybasicanddesignedtoillustratethisapproach.Therearemoreadvancedtoolsavailableonlinetomanageteamproductivityandtasks;howeverthissimplespreadsheetprovidesagreatstart.
LeveraginginfluencersandopportunitiesEffectivesocialmediauseissimilartonetworkinginaroomfullofpeoplethatfindyourmessagerelevantandinteresting;onthatwecanprobablyallagree.Wecanalsoagreethatthefastestwaytoseedecentresultsisbytalkingtothepeoplewhoa)knowwhatthey’retalkingaboutandb)alreadyholdtheattentionoftheothersintheroom.
Buildingafollowingonlineisjustlikerubbingshoulderswithpeoplewhomatterintherealworldtogetahead.Socialstatuscountsforeverything.Whenyoutalk,youwantpeopletolisten,shareandengagewithyou.Ifthepeopleyou’reengagingwithalreadyhaveanaudienceorfollowing,you’reheadedintherightdirection.
It’snotjustwhatyouknowandit’snotjustwhoyouknow.It’snowalsoaboutwhatyouknowaboutwhoyouknow…andhowyoumaximisethatknowledge.
Leveragingotherpeople’sinfluence:ego-jacking
DaleCarnegie’sHowtoWinFriendsandInfluencePeopleisstillasrelevanttodayasitwaswhenitwasfirstwrittenin1936;drivenbytheprinciple:
‘Youcanmakemorefriendsintwomonthsbybecominginterestedinotherpeoplethanyoucanintwoyearsbytryingtogetotherpeopleinterestedinyou.’
Ego-jackingistheartofputtingsomeoneinthespotlightandmakingthemlookbrilliantforwhatthey’veachievedandaccomplished.Thenameofthegameistoflatteryourtargetinfluencers.Thisway,theywillacknowledgeyourexistencesocially,exposingyoutotheirextendednetwork.
Thiscanbeabluntinstrumentifnothandledwithcare.Yourcontentmustpassthebullshittest.Ifyou’reobviouslyblowingsmokeuptheassofpeopleyou’dliketomakefriendswith,itcanbackfireveryquickly.Thegoldenruleistomakesureyou’reaccurateandfairwithpraise–givecreditwhereit’sdue,notwhereit’sconvenient.
Somedevicestoconsiderwhenego-jacking:InfographicsTheadvantageofusinginfographicsistheeasewithwhichtheycanbescannedandunderstoodataglance.Quiteoften,aninfographicwillbeusedtoexplainaprocess,timelineofeventsoranythingthatcanbeeasilyillustratedinavisualway.Infographics
canalsobeextremelyeffectiveatexplainingaconceptorevenaprettytechnicalsubjectquicklyandeasily.
Oneparticularlyeffectiveuseofaninfographicforego-jackingpurposesistomapinfluencerstogetherwithaparticularsubjecttohighlighttheircontribution,orhowasequenceofevents,theoriesandthoughtshavedevelopedovertime.
Whilstbeingextremelyinterestingandvaluabletothecorrespondingnicheaudience,theinfographicisparticularlyappealingtotheinfluencersthemselves.Canyouimagineseeingyournameincludedwithinsomeoneelse’smarketing,givingyoucreditandholdingyouinhighregard,foralltosee?
Whetheryourinfographicblatantlymapspeopleoraprocessorsomethingcompletelydifferent,thekeyistogivecredittotheinfluencer.Ifyouincludealinkbacktotheinfluencer’sprofileorwebsite,there’smorereasonforthemtoshareitonceyou’vegottheirattention.You’llfindsomeexamplesthatweloveat
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources
ListiclesAlisticledoeswhatissaysonthetin.It’salistofthingsorpeople–usuallyillustratingthe‘top100’orthe‘best25’etc.Theseliststendtobesharableanddesirabletopeoplewithaninterestinthatparticularniche.Afterall,you’resavingthemthetimeitwouldtaketodotheresearchthemselves.Obviously,whenyournameislistedamongsttheranks,youwouldbelikelytoshareittoo.
Listiclescanbeoneofthemostblatantego-jackingtools,sotrythisapproachwithcaution.Ifit’stoosimilartootherlists,ifit’sprettyobviousanddoesn’tofferanynewinsight,someinfluencerswillregarditastoorepetitivetoshare.However,itcanalsobethemosteffectivewaytodriveresults,ifdonewell.
Thekeyiscomingupwithanewanglewhichpresentsafreshwaytoboosttheiregos.Ifit’snotparticularlytimesensitive,youcouldfinditcontributesadecentleveloftrafficconsistentlyforquitesometime.
You’llfindsomeexamplesthatweloveat
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources
ReviewsAgreatwaytodemonstrateknowledgeorexpertiseistogiveyouropinionwithsomeinterestinginsightthatwillbeofusetoyouraudience.Ahandyby-productofthisisshowcasingthevalueofaninfluencer’sintellectualproperty,suchasabook,whitepaperorwebinar.Youcaneasilyfindyourselfbeingpromotedbytheinfluencerasaresult.
InterviewsShortofco-authoringabookorcreatingsomesortofcollaboration,interviewingyourinfluencersisthenextbestthingyoucandotomaximiseexposuretotheirnetwork.
Thetricktotakingfulladvantageofaninterviewopportunitywithaninfluenceristoaskgreatquestionsandallowtheinfluencertoanswerinawaythatshowcasestheirbeststories,achievementsorkeypointsthey’relookingtohighlight.
Besuretoasktimelessquestionssothecontentisn’timmediatelyoutofdate.Consideraskingyouraudienceforquestionsandsuggestionsbeforetheinterviewsoyoucanbuildengagementevenbeforetheinterviewtakesplace.
Interviewsalsoprovideyouwithagreatopportunitytolearnfromexpertsandinfluencerstobetterinformyourowngoalsandobjectives.
Leveragingthenews:news-jackingBeingrelevantisoneofthebiggestsuccessfactorsininboundmarketing.Ifyou’renotrelevant,you’renotimportantorusefultoanyoneandyou’renotgoingtogetveryfar.
Youshouldbemonitoringyourcommunitycloselyandengagingontopicalissuesastheyhappen.Theeasiestwaytodothisistosetupanumberofnewsalerts;GoogleAlertsworkwellforthis.Fromhere,workoutasimpledailyorweeklyroutineconsistingofkeywebsitestomonitor–eitherbyvisitingthemorbysubscribingtotheirRSSfeedstoreceivelatestupdates.Byproducingstatsorinformationthatnobodyelsehascurrentlybeenableto,orbyhavinganalternativeorinterestingspinonsomethingtopical,youwillbeabletosuccessfullydifferentiateyourselffromthenoise.Thetrickistoridethewaveasitbreaksandpropelyourselfintothemixofconversationasitunfolds.Followthesefivesimplerulesandyou’lldojustthat!
1.BeflexibleOpportunitiesdon’talwayslookliketheideasinyourplans.
2.BenimbleEffectivenews-jackingrequiresactingfast.
3.Beopen-mindedExploreunexpectedavenuestofindnewcustomers.
4.BeexperimentalFindoutwhatworksthroughtrialanderror.
5.BefirstLeadthewayandensureyouappearasathoughtleaderinyoursector.
ToYouTubeornottoYouTubeToYouTube
Whenyou’relookingtogeneratereferraltrafficandmaximiseyourbrandexposureonline,YouTubeisoneofthebestplacestodothis.It’scurrentlythesecondlargestsearchengineintheworldandthere’snosignofthischanginganytimesoon.
Ifyouraudiencerespondsparticularlywelltovideo,buildingyourownYouTubechannelshouldbeapriority.Thenameofthegamehereistobuildsubscribersthatregularlycheckoutyourcontenteachtimeyoupublishsomethingnew.Ifthere’salreadyanumberofsuccessfulYouTubechannelstalkingaboutyoursubjectmatter,don’tbediscouraged.Itshowsthere’sademandforwhatyou’redoingandalsohighlightssomegreatplacestostarttalkingtopeopleandnetworkingtobuildyourownchannel.YouTubersquiteoftencollaborateorgiveshoutoutstoeachother,whichisaverygoodwaytohelpeachotherbuildafollowing.
TonotYouTube
YouTubeisaphenomenalvideohostingandsearchplatformwithsomeundeniablebenefitsincludingvisibilityandtrafficgenerationasaresult.However,thereareacoupleofreasonstouseadifferentvideohostingtechniquewhichshouldbeconsideredbeforeyoudecidewhichwaytogo.
1.Appearance:YouTubeoffersanumberofcrudesettingoptionsbutitdoesn’talwayslookgreatonawebpage.Itcanlookslightlyunprofessionalwhencomparedtohostingthroughyourownsite.
2.On-pageSEO:IfyouhostallofyourvideosonYouTubeandsimplyembedthevideowithinawebpage,guesswhobenefitsfromthevideoviewsfromanSEOpointofview–YouTubedoes!Byhostingyourownvideoonawebpage,yougettheSEObenefit(Werecommendhavingatranscriptionofyourvideocontentunderneathifpossibletoo).
HowtousevideotogetahugereturnResearchshowsthatforbusinessesonline,oneminuteofvideocanbeworthupto1.8millionwrittenwords.It’soneofthemostpowerfuldigitalmediumsavailabletomarketers,forecasttoaccountfor84%ofinternettrafficby2018–soit’snottobeunderestimated.
Onaverage,68%ofcustomersshareavideothey’vewatchedandthey’re78%morelikelytobuysomethingiftheywatchavideothatshowcasesitfirst–buthowcanyouensurethatyoursisoneofthem?
1.Combinedataandcreativity100hoursofvideoareuploadedtoYouTubeeveryminute.That’s144,000hoursofcompetitionforyourcontent.Don’tgetlostinthecrowd.MakesureyouoptimiseyourcontentbyusingthesametechnicalSEOtechniqueswediscussedearlier.Ensureyouresearchthebesttitlesandkeywordstoincludeinyourdescriptionandtagthevideoappropriately,soit’smorelikelytobefound.
2.EngageanemotionalresponseHoldyouraudience’sattentionusingpathos–adirectappealtotheiremotions–givingthemareasontoshareyourcontent.Thisiswhereyouuseyourpersonaresearchtoreallynailthetypeofcontentthatyourtargetaudiencewillengagewith.Yourvideoshouldbedesignedwithapersonaandanendgoalinmind–otherwiseit’sjustnoise.Toberemarkable,youhavetostacktheoddsinyourfavouranddoyourhomeworkproperly.Thesilverbulletisinundertakingthehardworkattheplanningphase.
3.Gomobile92%ofmobilevideoviewershavesharedsomeofthecontenttheyview.Makesureyourvideosandtheplacestheyarehostedareviewableonanymobiledeviceandeasilysharable.
4.TimeitrightUsinganalyticstodiscoverwhenandwhereyouraudienceisactiveonlinewillimpactengagementlevelsandcouldevenseeyouonYouTube’sleaderboard!Improveyourchancesofbeingdiscoveredbypromotingyourvideowhenthemajorityofyouraudienceareactuallyonline.LotsoftoolswillhelpyoudothisincludingHootsuite,SocialBroandHubSpot.
5.Seed,seed,seedGiveyourvideocontentsomemomentumbymakingitvisibletotheindividualswhoinfluenceyouraudience.Bycreatingyourvideowithaparticularpersonainmind,you
shouldeasilybeabletoidentifykeyindividualsthatcreatetheperfecttargetaudiencetointroduceyourcontentto.Agoodwaytodothisisto‘influenceyourinfluencer’.
6.InfluenceyourinfluencerSometimesit’seasiertogetyourinfluencer’sattentionbyseeingwhoitistheyengagewithmost.Thismightnotnecessarilybeanindividualwiththemostfollowersorgreatestsocialreach.AgreattoolforfindingthiskindofinformationisMentionmapp.com.Itgivesyouavisuallinkbetweeninfluencersandtheircommunityandhighlightsthestrongestandmostfrequentconnectionsinaveryclearway.
Therearenoshortcutsforcreatinggreatcontent,especiallywhenyou’relookingtoaddvalueanddriveyourplanforwardstrategically.
Themoreyouconsiderwhatyouraudiencereallywants-andthegreaterthelengthsyougotoinorderfindoutexactlywhatthatis-thebetteryourresultswillbe.
Doingsomethingproperlyisworth100,000timesthevalueofdoingsomethingquickly.Onlywithpracticeandanefficientprocesswillyoubeabletoachieveboth.
ContentcalendarguidelinedownloadDownloadourguidetemplateforcontentcreationatthelinkbelowtoensureyou’replanningyourcontenteffectivelyandreachingyouroverallbusinessobjectives.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources
Keytakeawaysforchapter7:part1Bythispointyoushouldhaveyourcontentplannedandyourstrategyshouldbestartingtocometogether.Butit’simportanttoconsideryourtacticsbeforeyouleapintoyourstrategy.Checkoffeachofthepointsbelowasyoucompletethem,tomakesureyou’reontrack.
☐Reviewyourcurrentcontent–what’sworkedandwhathasn’t?
☐Ego-jackyourrelevantinfluenceswithlisticles,infographicsandothercontent
☐Schedulenews-jackingintoyourcontentplan
CHAPTER7:part2
PAYINGTOPLAYImplementingyourmarketingplansuccessfullyis,withoutadoubt,oneofthemostimportantelementswithinyourstrategy.Weunderstandthatthischapterisalittlelong,sowe’vesplititintotwopartstomakeiteasiertodigest.
Solet’sstartwithpayingtoplayandthenwe’llmoveontobreakingdownthebenefitsofeachsocialchannelsoyoucanstartleveragingwinningtacticsforyourself.
PayingtoplayMostmajorsocialmediaplatformsarenow,withoutadoubt,PLCs.Everykeyplayerisinthisgamefortheprofitandthat’sthestarktruthweallneedtoaccept.
Untilrecently,manybrandssucceededinbuildingvastsocialmediaaudiencesandmarketingtothemforfree.Butthesocialmediagiantshavecaughton,andreachhasneverbeenasrestrictedasitisnow.
Starbucksisprobablyoneofthebestexamplesofthisapproach.Theyhavebuiltwellover10millionFacebookfansandeveryday,despitebeingamulti-billiondollarorganisation,Facebookallowedthemtomarketandengagewiththeiraudienceinaveryeffectiveandefficientway.
IfStarbucksgaveouta‘freemuffin’voucheronaWednesdaymorningviaFacebook,peoplearoundtheworld,intheirmillions,wouldgoandredeemthatoffer.Ofcourse,theywouldalsobelikelytobuyapremiumdrinkwhilethey’reinthere–whoeatsamuffinwithoutacoffee,right?
Thisgeneratesfantasticcustomersatisfaction,engagementandanicelittlespikeofadditionalcoffeesalestoboot.Cleverstuff.Canyouimaginesomethingsimilarintherealworldprovidingasmuchvalue?It’stheequivalentofhavingaccesstoeverybillboardintheworldfor20minutesonemorning.Infact,it’smuchmorepowerfulthanthat–wholooksatbillboardsanymore?Now,however,StarbuckscanpostcontenttotheirFacebookpageforfreebutthedifferenceis,onlyaround6%offanswillseeit.Iftheywanttoreachtherest,theyhavetopay.Andsodowe.
Butit’snotallbadnews.Therearemanyupsidestothechangingdigitallandscape.In2000,Googleliterallyshookthemarketingworldwiththeiradvertisingplatform,GoogleAdWords.Providingadvertiserswiththeabilitytoputoffersinfrontofpeopleactivelysearchingfortheirproductsandservicesintroducedawholenewmethodoftargeting.ThiswascontrolledbymatchingyouradvertstothekeywordsthatyouraudiencetypedintothesearchboxofGoogle.
Ifthatwasn’tgoodenoughalready,youonlypaidwhensomeoneactuallyclickedonalink.Insteadofpayingforpeopletopassivelyviewyouradvert,youonlypaidforengagement.Unbelievable!
Thiswasagamechangerofmonumentalproportions.GoogleAdWordswashailedthe
mostmeasurable,reliable,accurateandtargetedformofadvertisingtoeverexist.Competitionforkeywordswasalsoextremelylowinthebeginning,meaningthateachkeywordhadasignificantlylowerbidprice.Now,thesamekeywordsarestillbeingusedbyadvertiserstodrivetraffictowebsites,butthosekeywordsaremuchmoreexpensive.Asanexample,‘personalinjuryclaims’wasaround25pin2002.Todayitcanbeover£100perclick.Ouch.
GoogleAdWordsisstillgoingstrong,butnowithascompetition.ItwastheAdWordsmodelthatshapedhowonlineplatformsoffertheirpaidpromotedservices.Yetthesesocialplatformshavebecomeawholelotsmartertoo.
Theexcitingthingforusallis,withoutadoubt,thefactthathistoryhasahabitofrepeatingitself.JustlikethecostofGoogleAdWordscampaignsin2000,socialmediapaidpromotionisextremelycheapcomparedtowhereitwillbeinjustafewshortyears.Nowisthetimetoinvest.Nowisthetimetotakeadvantageofthe‘goldenyears’ofsocialmediapromotion.Trustus,therewillneverbeabettertimetoplayonlinethanrightnow.
Ifyou’restillalittleupsetaboutitnotbeingfreeanymore,wehavefurthergoodnewstocheeryouup.Insteadofpayingtojustreachyourexistingfansandfollowers,allofthemajorsocialplatforms(andverysoonInstagramandPinterest)haveopeneduptheirmarketplacesoyoucantargetusersoftheentireplatform.Thisisexciting.It’samonumentalgamechangerthat,frankly,blowsGoogleAdWordsoutofthewater.
Tohighlighttheshiftinadvertisingopportunities,we’regoingtouseFacebookasourprimaryexample.Itshouldbenotedthatallsocialplatformsarefollowingsuitwithexactlythesamefeatures.Restassured,ifyoureadthefollowingpassageaboutFacebookandyoudon’tthinkyouraudienceisonFacebook,ouradviceisthis:firstofall,checkthatyourassumptioniscorrect.Youmaywellbesurprisedbywhatyoufind.We’veseensignificantROIforB2CbrandsbutalsoB2Bbusinesssellingproductsandservicessuchasinsurance,businessbanking,legalservicesandevenengineeringservicesontheplatform.Secondly,ifyouarerightwecanguaranteetheopportunitiesexistonyourplatformofchoice.TwitterandLinkedInbothhavesimilarlyincredibleadvertisingandcontentpromotionfeaturesthatcandeliverjustashighconversionrates.
Payingtoplay:FacebookPayingtoplayonFacebookcomesintwoforms,thetraditionaladandtheunpublished‘dark’post.
Theunpublished‘dark’postallowsyoutocreatemultipleadvertstopromotethroughyourpage.Butunlikeatraditionalad,itwon’tshowuponyourmainprofilenewsfeed,insteaditshowsuponlyinthefeedsofthoseyou’vetargeted.
Traditionaladscanbetargetedtowheretheywillappearwithinauser’sfeed,buttheywillalsoappearonyourprofilepage.Thislimitsyouroptionsforsplittestinganddistributingadsatscaleaseveryvariantwillbepublishedtoyournewsfeed–potentiallyalienatingtargetgroupswhovisityourprofilepage.Ifapostdoesfairlywellorganicallyonyourpageitmightbeworththenboostingthecontenttoreachawideraudience.Theunpublished‘dark’postfeatureoffersasubtledifferencetotheabove.It’smoresignificantthananyotherformofmarketingtheworldhaseverseen.
Doesthatsoundalittledramatic?Possiblyoverstated?Perhaps,butconsiderthis:younowhavetheflexibilitytodesignmultipleiterationsofapostandsplittestthiscontenttoanaudiencethatyoudefine–withlasertargetedprecision.Youroptionsarenotlimitedtojustgender,age,location,orinterests;youcanevensegmentanaudiencebasedonpreviouspurchasingbehaviour.
Inouragency,we’reseeingtraditionalmonthlyAdWordsbudgetsthathavebeenperformingwellforyearsbeingpouredintoFacebookdarkpostsinstead.Inmanycases,overnighttheROIgoesupbymorethanfivetimes.
Foralongtime,marketershavebelievedthatGoogleAdWordsismoreeffectivethanotherpaidadvertisingmethods,specificallybecauseoftheintentbehinduseractivity.Byshowingadsbasedonsearchedforkeywords,itstandstoreasonthataudienceswillbemorelikelytoclickanadvert,becauseofitsrelevance.
Whilethisisstilltrue,theoptionsforusingpaidpromotionacrosssocialchannelsareexpanding,providingmoretargetingoptionswhichquantifyyouraudiencetoperhapsanevenmoretargetedlevelthanGoogleAdWords.
FacebookCustomAudiencesFacebook’sCustomAudiencefeatureisanothertoolintheiradvertisingarmourythathelpsyoumarketwithsniper-gradeaccuracy.Thistooltakestargetingyouraudiencetothenextlevel,allowingyouultimatecontroloverwhoseesyourads.
CustomAudiencesallowyoutocreateyourownaudienceforeachofyourFacebookadverts–madeupofanymarketinglistthatyouhavecomplied.TheselistscanbeformedfromyourexportedLinkedIncontacts,oryoucanevenassignthehardworktoFacebookandmineinformationfromyourwebsiteormobileapp.Basically,anylistyoucreate,whichincludesemailaddressesorphonenumbers,canbeusedtocreateaCustomAudience.
CustomAudiencescanalsohelpyoutomarkettoyourcustomersbasedontheirexactpointinthebuyingcycle.Forexample,anindividualwhoiscurrentlyatthe‘think’stageinthefunnelcouldseeadifferent(andultimatelymorerelevantad)thananindividualatthe‘delight’stage.Therefore,ifyou’remarketinga20%discountoffer,anindividualwhoisatthe‘see’stagemaybetargetedwithanofferfornewcustomers,whereasanindividualatthe‘delight’stagebetargetedwithanofferforreturning/loyalcustomers.
Thepossibilitiesforthistoolareendlessandshoulddefinitelybeexplored.Whetheryou’relookingtonetcustomerswhohavesubscribedtoyournewslettersorpromotionsorlookingtogainrepeatcustomers,theCustomAudiencestoolisasimplybrillianttactictoemploy.
MeetingtheneedsofthepeopleIt’sfairtosaythatpeople’sonlinebrowsinghabitsareexperiencingamassiveshift.Itisnolongersimplyacaseofpeoplenetworkingonsocialplatformsandbuyingonspecificwebsitesanymore.Weareonline24/7andwebuywhereweseegoodvalue.
Strengtheningitsholdonecommerceevenfurther,Facebookhasrecentlyannounceditsnewmarketingplatform,Atlas.ThelatestinitiativefromFacebookisadrivetoencourageretailerssellinginhighstreetshopstosharetheirsalesdatawithFacebookinordertobetterinformthemofwhatwe’rebuying.ThisistoallowretailerstofindadditionalvaluewhentargetingthesamecustomerviaFacebookandjoinupthe‘realworld’experiencewiththeonlineone.
TheobviousanalogytodrawbetweenFacebook’sassaultonGoogle’sterritoryisthatofBlackberryandApple.WhenBlackberry’sconfidenceindominatingthebusinessphonemarketwasatitsheight,AppleintroducedtheiPhone.WhenApplereleasedtheiPhone,Blackberrywereconfidentthatithadthebusinessmarketsealedwithastrongholdthatwouldbedifficulttodisrupt.WhileApplefocusedonthesociableaspectsoftheirdevice;music,games,video,messagingetc.Blackberrydoubleddownonthebusinessapplicationsandtradedontheiremailprovisionandotherproductivity-focusedfeatures.
YoucouldbeforgivenforlookingatthislandscapeandpredictingpeoplemayusethenewiPhoneforpleasurebuttheBlackberrywouldalwaysbethebusinessweaponofchoice.Howwrongwewere.Applefocusedonthepersonfirst,specificusessecond.TheCEO,manager,executiveandthereceptionistareallpeoplewithfamiliesandfamilylives.Applestartedwith‘why’andtoldastoryofhowintuitivetheiPhonewastouseandpaintedapictureofhowcoolitwastohaveanone.Thisquicklysawitbecomeamust-havelifestyleaccessory.
Meanwhile,Blackberrycontinuestoclingtothefeaturesandthe‘what’butsuffertheconsequencesofignoringthewants,needsanddesiresoftheiraudience.
FacebookarequietlydoingexactlythesameasApple.They’vedominatedtheirspacebygivingtheiraudiencewhattheywantforyearsandnowthey’reclosinginonthebusinesssideoftheirplatformwithatidalwaveofsuccess.
LeveragingbestpracticetechniqueswithinthesocialchannelsTrend-jackingformaximumeffectonTwitter
Twitterisoneofthebestplatformsforengagingwithyourcustomerswhenitcomestoreal-timeandcurrentevents.Aplatformwhichisbuiltaroundlisteningtoothersandsharingopinionsinbitesizeformat,it’sfantasticforboostingengagement.Throughsearchingandhashtaggingappropriately,youcanfindandgetinvolvedinup-to-dateconversationsandtopicalissues.Trend-jacking(usingahashtagtopromoteyourbrand)canbeagreatwaytogainexposureandgetyourmessageseenbythousands.Butbeware,ifnotutilisedproperly,thiscanbackfireanddamageyourreputation,sobecareful!
Makesureyou’vethoroughlyresearchedthemeaningofthehashtagyouintendtotrend-jack,ensureitisrelevanttoyourbrand,findoutwhatpeoplearesayingaboutthehashtagandmakesureyoucanfitintotheirconversations.Finally,establishwhetherusingitwillpositivelyimpactyourbrand.Ifyoucan’tjustifyusingit,orit’snotrelevant,steerclear.Audienceswillseethroughinauthenticattemptsattrendexploitation–don’tappeardesperateandonlyuseahashtagifyouhave100%clarityitwillbeagoodmove.Agoodexampleofabrandeffectivelyengagingintrend-jackingisSnickers’campaignduringtheFIFAWorldCupin2014.DuringthematchbetweenUruguayandItaly,itappearedthatLuisSuarez,theUruguaystriker,hadbittenanotherplayerduringatackle.Inaswiftandclevermove,whichcompletelyresonatedwiththebrand,valuesandhumour,Snickerspostedaphototweetusingthehashtag#luissuarez.Soperfectwasthetiming,sentimentandmessage,itgotretweetednearly50,000times.
GetthemostoutofFacebookAswe’vediscussed,Facebookisagreatplatformforpromotingcontentduetoitsultra-targetednature,particularlywiththeunpublished'dark'post.However,it’snotenoughtosimplypostcontentandhopethatitwilldowell.
Aswithallofyourcontent,youneedtomakesureitfitswithyourbrandvalues,yourobjectivesandmostimportantly,youraudience.63%ofFacebookusersengageonadailybasis,soyouneedtoensureyourpostsareapartofthisstatistic.Whetheryou’repayingtoplay,orpostingorganically,youneedtoensurethatyou’vethoughtthrougheveryelementofyourFacebookposts,fromfantasticimagery,toengagingcopyandaclearcalltoaction.Dothisandyou’llachievemaximumclicks,engagementandsharesontheplatform.
OnebrandthatutilisesFacebookverywellisOreo.Usingamixtureoftimelytrend-jackinganddown-to-earthpoststoboostengagement,Oreoknowsexactlywhoitscustomersareandplaystothis.TheexampletotherightshowcasesOreo’sabilitytopresentexactlywhatitsaudiencerespondsto.ThroughasimpleimageandatongueincheekdescriptionOreogeneratedover20,000likesand1,200shares.Howdidtheydoit?
Byrecognisingatrendandputtingtheirownspinonit.Atthetimeofposting,JohnLewis’s‘MontythePenguin’advertwasgeneratingtractiononsocialmedia.Oreorespondedinawaythatuniquelyshowcaseditsbrandandsubtlyalludedtotheadvert,withoutneedingtojumpontohashtagsorevenincludeadirectreference.It’ssimplybrilliant.
MaximisereferralswithPinterestWithitseasytoconsume,visualinterface,Pinterestisafantasticplaceforyoutoshowcaseyourbrand’sservicesandbenefits.
Pinterestallowsuserstocompileandfollowvisualboardsoftheirfavouritethings–fromweddinginspiration,tophotography,totheplacesthey’dliketovisit.Unlikeanyothersocialnetwork,Pinterestallowsuserstodefinetheirlife,ambitions,desiresandchoicesusingimagesalone–allwhileprovidingadirectlinkbacktotheoriginalpublisherofthecontent.
Manybrandsarealreadycapitalisingonthepopularityofthissocialnetwork,creatingvisuallystunningcontentwhichgetspinnedthousandsoftimesover–providingthemwiththousandsofreferralsdirectlybacktotheirproduct(s).ManymarketersfailtousePinterest,believingitisaplatformonlyforwomen–mistakenlythinkingthatiftheyaren’tsellingfood,clothesorweddingsupplies,they’llfallflat.Thisiscertainlynotthecase.
Theabilitytocreateboardsmeansthatuserscanfollowyourindividualboards–notjustyouasabrand–allowingyoutosegmentproductsandservicesintotailoredgroups,which,whentaggedeffectively,canhit
multipletargetpersonas.It’simportanttorememberthough,asPinterestisavisualplatform–nomatterhowmanykeywordsyouuse,ortagsyouinclude,ifyourimageisshoddy,it’snotgoingtodowell.Ben&Jerry’sistheperfectexampleofabrandthatusesPinteresteffectively.Whileitrecognisesthehighlyvisual,female-dominateduseoftheplatform,thebrandalsoincludesahostofotherinterestingboardstoappealtoawiderdemographic.
From‘FanPhotos’toits‘OnaMission’board,whichshowcasesitsinvolvementingayrightsandfairtradeissues,Ben&Jerry’shasallofitsbasescovered.Combinethiswithstriking,highresolutionimagesandyouhavearecipeforsuccesseverytime.
TellyourstoryonYouTubeYouTubecanbeanextremelyvaluablechanneltoincludeinyourinboundmarketingstrategy–ifusedcorrectly.IfyouneedarecaponwhatmakesagoodYouTubevideo,skipbackafewpagestorefreshyourmemory.
TherearesomefantasticexamplesofbrandsusingYouTubetopromotetheircontentandthegoodnewsistheirsuccessiseasytoreplicate.UnlikeaTVad,creatingcontentforYouTubedoesn’tnecessarilyhavetobehighbudgetorhavehighproductionvaluesinordertodowellontheplatform.
AbrilliantexampleofabrandusingYouTubewellisBlendtec.Theirmostpopularproductisablender,boldlylabelled‘theworlds’mostadvancedblender’.SowhatdidBlendtecdotoshowcasetheirproductonYouTube?Theyblendedstuff.EverythingfromiPhonestodiamonds.Theycreatedastoryfromauniquesellingpoint.
Whywasitsosuccessful?Becauseitprovidednotonlysomethinginterestingtowatch,butitgaveaudiencesareasontokeepcomingback,timeaftertime,toseewhattheywouldblendnext.Keepingitsvideostimely–byblendingitemssuchasthelatestiPadmodel(gainingover17millionviews)–asimpleconcepthastheabilitytobeusedforyearstocome(andallatarelativelylowcost).
Checkitoutnow–weguaranteeyouwon’tbeabletowatchjustonevideo.Youcanfindthisvideo,plusallyourotherresourcesforthischapterbyvisitingthelinkbelow.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources
ReachmillennialswithSnapchatThisfledglingplatformhasbeengainingtractionwiththemillennialdemographicforquitesometime.Whilstmanymarketersfeelthatthisplatformisn’trelevanttotheiraudience,statisticsbegtodiffer.
With400millionsnapssentdailyandunder-25saccountingfor71%oftheiruserbase,thisplatformcanbeafantastictoolforengagingwithayoungeraudience.Ifyou’regoingtobeginusingSnapchat,rememberwhoyouraudienceisandtailoryourcontenttofit.Snapchatworksbyprovidingbitesizevisualchunksofinformation–soremembertokeepitrelevant.Wordysalespitchesorproductdemoswon’tworkonthisplatform;becreativeanddoyourresearchintowhatperformswellandwhatdoesn’t.Behumorousandlight-hearted–ayoungerdemographiclovetobeentertainedsorememberthis.
AudihasrecentlyusedSnapchattogreateffectaspartoftheiradvertisingefforts.DuringtheSuperbowl,itengagedwithitsaudiencethroughcreatingfunny,photo-captionedsnapsthatresonatedperfectlywithayoungeraudience.Bycreatingin-the-momentcontent,pairedwithhumourandstockphotos,AudinotonlygainedtractionthroughSnapchat,butthemomentumspilledoverontootherplatformstoo–gettingmultipleaudiencestalkingabouttheirinteractions.
ShowcaseyourproductsthroughInstagramInstagramisfastbecomingoneofthemostsoughtaftersocialmediaplatformsforbrandstoshowcasethemselves.Instagramhasrecentlyrolledoutadvertisingoptionsforbusinesses,meaningthatitjustgotawholelotmoreattractiveformarketers.
Thebottomlineinusingthisplatformeffectivelyisinthequalityoftheimagesyoupost.Instagram,likePinterest,ishighlyvisual–usersrespectandrespondtoartfulandwellconsideredimagerythatdoesn’tfeelcommercialised.Tobesuccessfulonthisplatform,youneedtoensurethatyou’reauthenticandrespectwhatitisthatyourfollowerswanttosee.
AbrandthatharnessesthepowerofInstagramparticularlywellisStarbucks.Starbucksmanagesallofitssocialchannelsveryeffectively,butInstagramstandsoutasoneofitsstrongest.Starbucksoften‘regrams’photospostedbyfans,boostingengagementlevelsandshowingtrue,humaninteractions,makingthebrandfeelauthenticandhonest.Alongsidethis,itregularlypostsbeautifullycomposedandeditedimages,whichisexactlywhatusersarelookingfor.ByusingcarefulhashtagsthatonlyapplytotheStarbucksbrand(forexample#PSL–pumpkinspicelatte),itensuresthattheirpostsareneverspammyorappeartobetrend-jackingunnecessarily.
ExplorethefeaturesonG+G+isanoftenoverlookedplatforminthesocialmediaarmoury,butcanbeofhugebenefittoyourinboundstrategy.WhilstmanyseetheplatformasaplacetoduplicateFacebookorTwittermessages,ithasmanyindividualattributeswhichcan,andshould,beutilised.
WithadditionalfeaturessuchasGoogleHangoutsandtheabilitytosharelocations,G+canreallyboostabrand’ssocialmediapresenceandSearchEngineResultsPage(SERP)rankingwhenusedcorrectly.G+canalsobebrilliantforextendingyourbusinessnetworkthroughusingitsCirclesfeature.Throughthis,youcancategoriseyourconnectionsandcontrolwhoseesyourupdates.Forexample,ifyou’repromotingaserviceonlyavailabletootherbusinesses,youcanpostanupdatetoyour‘business’circle.
ThroughutilisingtheG+Hangoutsfeature,carmanufacturerToyotacreatedaunique‘collaboratorarea’;adigitalspacewhereuptofivepeoplecancollaborateoncreatinganddesigninganewToyota.Thefinishedcarcanevenbetakenforavirtualtest-driveonGoogleMaps.ThisconceptisuniquetoG+andsobringsnewpotentialcustomerstotheirplatform,whilealsoprovidingauniqueandnovelwaytokeepthemthere.
Getaudience-centricusingTumblrThemicrobloggingplatformTumblrisrelativelynewterritoryforbrands,butwhenutilisedwell,itcanbeextremelybeneficial.
Asitcurrentlystands,only31ofthetop100globalbrandshaveaTumblraccount–whichisgoodnewsifyou’relookingtobeatthecompetition.
Whenimplementingastrategyfortheplatform,placeaheavyfocusontherightkindsofimagery–78%ofpostsonTumblrarephotosorimages.Honeinonyourtargetaudiencetofindyourownniche.Tumblrismadeupofsmallcommunities–understandingthehumourandtonetheyadoptwillmeanyourcontentissuccessfultimeandtimeagain.Ofallthesocialplatforms,TumblrseesthehighestamountofGIFshares,soconsiderthiswherepossible.
LanaDelRey’sTumblrpageisafantasticexampleoftheplatformbeingusedtoengageandpublicise.Topromoteherlatestsingle,shepostedshortGIFsofherupcomingmusicvideotothesite,withfantasticresults.Heraudiencerespondedtothiskindofcontentasitcorrelatedwithwhattheyliketoshareanddiscussacrosstheplatform.
BoostyourengagementlevelsbysayingElloEllomaybearrivinglatetothesocialmediacocktailpartybutwithsign-upsreaching38,000perhouratitsbusiest,thisplatformisgeneratingenoughbuzzforbrandstostarttakingitseriously.
Asanad-freesocialnetwork,youcouldbeforgivenforassumingthatthereisnoplaceforyourbrandontheplatform.Butthat’snotthecase.AlthoughnotassophisticatedasFacebook,therearestillplentyofopportunitiesforbrandslookingtoconnectandengage.BeingsuccessfulonEllodoes,however,requireyoutochangethewayyouthinkaboutyoursocialmediastrategy.Notbeingabletopaytoplaymeansthatonlythosewhoactivelychoosetofollowyouwillseeyourupdates–creatingamuchsmalleraudience,whoaregenuinelyinterestedinyourbrand.
Thiscanbeagreatplatformforidentifyingandengagingwithyourbrandadvocates–justmakesureyou’repostingauthenticandgenuinecontent.MuchlikeTumblr,Ellothrivesonsmallnichecommunities.Youneedtofindyoursandengagewiththemregularly.EveryaspectofEllohasbeenconsideredanddesignedinordertobecleanandcrisp–cuttingouttheclutterofmanyofourcurrentsocialnetworks.Rememberthiswhenpostingcontenttothenetwork:usevivid,clearandhighresolutionimagesalongsideminimaltext.Marketing,mediaandadvertisingpublicationAdweekisanearlyadopterofElloasasocialplatform.Combiningamixofitsusualposts(likelatestarticles)withGIFsandpostsjustforfun,Adweekactivelycapturestheattentionofthosethatfollowthebrand.Elloshowsaviewcountunderneatheverypost–Adweek’sviewcountregularlymatchesandexceedstheirtotalamountoffollowers.
BlogyourwaytomorecustomerswithMediumMedium,createdbyformerTwitterCEOEvanWilliamsandfounderBizStoneinAugust2012,isaninterestingplaceforabrandtobuildacommunity.
Mediumrewardscontent,notforthepopularityoftheauthor,butinsteadforqualityandrelevanceoveranyotherfactors.Categorisingcontentintocollections,Mediummakesiteasyforuserstosearchandfindwhattheyarelookingfor.Medium,likeothersmallersocialnetworksisusedbyavarietyofnichecommunities,soyouneedtofindonewhichwillrespondwelltoyourbrandandcontent.RatherthanusingMediumformarketingalone,youcouldtryusingittotestoutyourcontentbeforepostingittoyourblog,orjusttoproveyourexpertiseinasubjectarea.
It’sagoodideatopostasanindividualonbehalfofabrandratherthanpostingasabrandasanentity.Thishikesupthe‘relatabilityfactor’ofyourwrittencontent–peopleoftenliketoassociateafaceandanametothethingstheyread.Thishastheaddedbenefitofdistancingyourblogsfromsimplemarketingmaterial,positioningthemasgenuineandengagingpiecesofwriting.GaryVaynerchukhasenthusiasticallyadoptedMediumtofurthercementhisbrandpresence.Regularlypostinggenuinelyusefulcontentaimedatsolvingaudiencepainpoints,hispresenceonMediumisstrongwithoutfeelinglikehe’sconstantlytryingtosellsomething.Ifyou’relookingtostartpostingyourowncontentonMedium,hisprofilewouldn’tbeabadplacetostartwhenlookingforinspiration.
medium.com/@garyvee
Thisisthepartwherewesneakinawordaboutbudget.
If,afterreadingthischapter,you’renotconvincedyoushouldbudgetforpaidsocialpromotiontowinnewcustomers,thenyoumaylookbackonignoringouradvicewith
regret.
It’scheapernowthanitwillbeintheverynearfuture,somakesureyoureaptherewards.
Recommendedreading&resourcesONLINE
SniplySniplyallowsyoutoshortenURLsanddrivetraffictoyourownsitewitheverylinkyoushare.Addacall-to-actionbannertoeveryURLlinkandgetrewardedforsharinggreatcontent.snip.ly
HubSpotHavingcoinedtheterm‘InboundMarketing’,HubSpothascreatedoneofthebesttoolsinthebusinesstoenhanceyourinboundmarketingstrategy.Helpingyoutoidentifyandmaximiseyourbuyerpersonas,attractvisitors,convertleadsandclosecustomers,itprettymuchdoesitall.Invaluablefordigitalmarketers.www.hubspot.com
TopsyTopsy,acertifiedTwitterpartner,isasocialsearchandanalyticscompany.ItmaintainsacatalogueoftweetsdatingbacktoTwitter’slaunchin2006.Topsyallowsyoutoanalysekeywordsandauthorsbyaseriesofconditions.www.topsy.com
FeedlyFeedlyisatoolwhichmakesorganising,readingandsharingcontenteasier.Youareabletosearchforspecifickeywordsandstartcreatingalibraryofinformationtoshareacrossyoursocialmediachannels.www.feedly.com
SocialBroWithSocialBroatyourfingertipsyoucananalyseandmanageyourTwitteraudience.Thereareawholehostoffeaturesavailablethatwillmakeyouroveralljobeasier.Fromidentifyinginfluencerstofindingthebesttimetotweet,SocialBrocanhelp.www.socialbro.com
Infogr.amWithover2,000,000infographicscreatedsinceitslaunchin2012,Infogr.ambringsoutthebestinthedatayouhave.Youcancreateandshareinfographics,onlinechartsanddatavisualisations.https://infogr.am/
Hootsuite
ThissocialmediamanagementsystemsupportsallyoursocialmediaplatformsfromTwitterandFacebooktoGoogle+andFoursquare,helpingyoukeeptrackandmanageyoursocialmediachannels.Monitoringinteractions,Hootsuiteenablesyoutorespondinstantly.https://hootsuite.com/
BitlyBitlyisatoolallowingyoutoeasilysaveandsharelinksacrossyoursocialchannels.TheURLshorteningservice,whichwasestablishedin2008,shortensmorethanonebillionlinkspermonth.https://bitly.com/
HemingwayappAusefultoolforexploringhoweasytoreadyourcontentis,Hemingwayappbreaksdownwhereyou’regoingwrongwithyourcontent.Insertjustafewsentencesoranentireessayandletthesoftwareanalyseanyweakpointswithinyourwriting.Perfectforcontentmarketerssearchingforcrisp,clearcopy.http://www.hemingwayapp.com/
TrelloKeeptrackofallofyourdaily,weeklyandmonthlytasks,createcollaborativeareasandvisuallytickthingsoffofyourtodolist.Keepingyouontrack,nomatterwhatyourteamsize,Trelloisamustforanybusinesslookingtostayorganised.https://trello.com/
FutureofsocialdownloadDownloadourFutureofsocialmediaebookbyvisitingthelinkbelow.Startunderstandinghowyoucanusesocialmediatopositivelyconnectandengagewithyouraudienceandstartaddingvaluetoyoursocialinteractions.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources
Keytakeawaysforchapter7:part2Ensurethatyou'recraftingrelevantcontentforyouraudiencebasedonthesocialchannelsyouhaveselected.Considerdifferentmessagingforeachplatformandinnovativewaysofmakingeachofyourselectedchannelsrelevanttoyouraudiencethroughutilisingtheiruniquefeatures.
☐Tweakthecontentthatdidn’tworktotargetyourpersonas
☐Markwhichsocialtacticsandplatformsarerelevantforyourpersonas
CHAPTER8
TOOLSFORTHEJOBWhattomeasureandhowtomeasureittodeterminewhatmattersandhowtodeliverthesuccessyou’relookingfor.“Successisalousyteacher.Itseducessmartpeopleintothinkingtheycan'tlose.”BillGates
“Marketingistooimportanttobelefttothemarketingdepartment.”DavidPackard
“Anounceofperformanceisworthpoundsofpromise.”MaeWest
Let’sfaceit,gettinggoosebumpsfromyourinboundmarketingisutopianandnotalwayspossiblethefirsttimeyoupublishnewcontent.Youmightverywellgetitslightlywrongafewtimesbeforeyounailitandgetthereactionyou’relookingfor–that’sverycommon.
Itismorethanachievablethough,whichiswhywemaintainitshouldbeyourultimategoalwhenaddingvalueforthedifferentpersonasofyouraudience.
Runningadigitalagencyforovertenyears,we’venoticedthatclientstendtobeinfinitelymoreinterestedinthedetailofweeklyandmonthlyreportswhensomethingisgoingwrong,ratherthanwhenacampaignisperformingoffthechart–it’shumannature.
Moreoftenthannot,whenastrategyisperformingtoplan,clientstendtoenjoytalkingaboutfutureactivities;chattingtousaboutstrategicgoalsandnewwaystogrowtheironlineestateEvenwiththehardfactsinareport,moreoftenthannotit’syourintuitionthatfirstassessesthesituation.Youmustlistentoyourgut.Ifyourcontentisn’tgivingyougoosebumpsit’sprobablynotgoingtosetyouraudience’sworldonfireeither.
We’vetalkedatlengthabouthowharditistocraftcontentthatwillresonatewithyouraudienceaswellasleadthemclosertowardsagoal.Thisstuffisn’teasytomasterandtherearenoshortcuts.Ifyou’vedoneyourhomeworkandyouunderstandandcareaboutyouraudiencesufficientlytobeginwith,youshouldalreadyknow,toacertaindegree,howsuccessfulapieceofcontentwillbebeforeyoupushitouttothebigwideworld.Butsometimes,you’renotright.Sometimesthecompleteoppositehappens.Contentthatyouwerecertainwoulddowellcancompletelyfailandviceversa.
Evenifyou’reright75%ofthetime,that’snotgoodenough.Justlikeit’snotgoodenoughtodriveacarandgettoyourdestinationjust75%ofthetime.
Thefollowinganalogyofacarisaninterestingoneandaccuratelyhelpstodescribethewaymostbusinessesdrivetheirmarketing,eachandeveryday.Ifyouhadtodrive100milestoadistantrelative’shousefortheholidaysandyourentedacarwithnospeedo,nopetrolgauge,noSatNavandnomirrors,howconfidentwouldyoubeingettingtoyourdestinationsafely?That’showmanybusinessesruntheirmarketingdepartment–theengineworks,thetyresaregoodandthecarseemstoreallymoveforwardwell–there’sevensomeonebehindthewheelthatseemstobeareallygooddriver.Butareweburningtoomuchfuel?Arewegoingintherightdirection?Arewewastingtimeandresourcethatcouldbedeployeddifferently?
Theanswerisyes.Inthisdayandage,therearenoexcusesformarketingwithoutafully
functioningdashboard.We’vesuggestedlotsoftoolsthroughoutthisbookthatmeasurevaryingdegreesofsuccessforavarietyofspecifictacticsandtechniques.Thesetoolsareallofgreatvalueandwestandbythem.However,whenitcomestotheoverviewofyourmarketingactivity,wehighlyrecommendconsideringaninvestmentinonemarketingautomationtooltogiveyouclarity,consistencyandeffectiveintelligenceacrosstheboard.
Byassessingthecontributionthatyourindividualmarketingactivitiesmaketoyourcampaignsyoucanseewhat’sworkingandwhatneedsimproving.YoucanalsomeasuretheROIofeachactivityaswellasgatheranoverallROIofallofyourmarketingactivityintotal.Technologyshouldbeanenablerforyourbusiness.Iftechnologyisacauseoffrustrationinyourbusiness,it’sthewrongtoolforthejob.Forthegoodofyoursanity,resultsandprofit,getyourselftherighttools.Intheinterestoftransparency,ouragencyisaHubSpotpartnerandsowestronglyadvocateusingitsparticularmarketingautomationsolution.However,thereareotheroptionsandyouhavetofindtherightsolutionforyourbusiness.
Itisworthpointingouthoweverthatthereasonwe’repassionateaboutHubSpotisbecauseofthesignificantbenefits,resultsandintelligencewehavegainedthroughusingit.Weshoppedaroundandmadeourchoiceverycarefullyafterreviewingtheoptions.Whicheversolutionyouchoose,justmakesureyouhavetherighttoolstoholisticallymanageyourinboundmarketing,effectivelyandefficiently.
Whatshouldyoulookforinamarketingautomationsolutiontomeasureyourdigitalmarketingactivity?Areasofmeasurementyoushouldlookforinonetool
-Blogging&callstoaction-SEO-CMS/landingpages-Leadmanagement-Emailmarketing-Analysis-CRMintegration-Smart/dynamicdownloads
Specificfeaturesyoushouldlookfortomarketsmarter
-Keywordsuggestion/grader-Schedulingacrossmultiplechannels-Pagereplicationforquickexecution-Campaigntaggingtomeasuresocialattribution-Synchronisedcampaignanalysislinkedtootherinboundactivity-Personalisationofpages,emailsandgeneralexperiencetomaximiseconversion
Ahighproportionofmarketingprofessionalsfailtomeasuretheirmarketingactivitiesaccurately.Thiscanbeeasilyforgivenandputright.It’swhenyou’retoldthatyoucan’tmeasureyouractivitythatyouhaveaproblem.
Thesedays,inboundmarketingoffersunprecedentedclarityandaccuracyintermsofmeasuringthesuccessofindividualcampaignsandindicatingoverallmarketingROI.Despitethis,thenumberonequestionwefaceasanagencycontinuestobe,‘what’sthebestwaytomeasuresocialmediaROI?’Inordertopresentasimpleandcoherentanswerit’simportanttocastyourmindbacktothefirstcoupleofchapters.Withoutunderstandingwhatsuccesslookslikeforyourbusiness,it’sverydifficulttotellyouwhatsuccesslookslikewhenanalysingyourinboundmarketingandsocialmediaactivities.
What’sthepointingaining1,000newFacebooklikeseverydayiftheydon’taddvaluetoyourbusiness?Itsoundsgood,butcomparedtowhatandforwhatpurpose?Ontheflipside,ifyoudohavethisinformationallmappedoutit’sveryeasy,butalltoooftenweseetacticsbeingdeployedwithoutthestrategyunderpinningthem.Thinkbacktothemastertimelinespreadsheetthatmapseverythingfromyourbusinessobjectivestoyourbusinessstrategy,downtotacticsandimplementation.Fromhere,it’sasimplecaseofworkingbackwardstoreverseengineerwhatlevelofactivity,engagementandconversionyouneedtohitthegoals.
WhatisthevalueofatweetonTwitter?Ingeneral,whoknows?But,ifyouknowthatoneofyourtargetpersonas,attheTHINKstageofyourfunnel,spendsmosttimeonTwitterandrespondsbestat7pm,whenusingthehashtag#marketingtips,thenyoucanstarttoseethevalueofyourefforts…Andifyouknowthatforeverytweetthatincludesalink,youtypicallyget200click-throughstoyourcontent,whichinturngenerates10downloadsofane-book,younowknowthatthetweetisworth10newcontactsinyourdatabase.
Ifyoualsoknowthatforevery250newcontactsinyourdatabase,youtypicallygetfivenewsalesopportunitiesfromyouremailmarketingofwhichyouconvertonesaleworth£100,younowknowthatyouronetweetispotentiallyworth£4.
10(contacts)/(250contactsneededtomakeasale)x£100=£4
Sowhat’sthevalueof1,000Facebookfans?Ifyouknowyoucansell£100worthofproductsorservicesper1,000fansfromyourFacebookengagement,thenyouknoweachfanisworth10p.
ThepowerofSocialAttributionModellingI’msurebynowyougetthegeneralideaofhowyoucanstarttomeasuresocialmediaandinboundmarketingactivitytobegintoformulateameaningfulROI.However,it’snotalwaysaslinearandsimpleastheexamplesonthepreviouspage.
Sometimespeoplewillclickonalinkinatweet,landonyourwebsiteandthenleave.ThosesamecustomerscouldGoogleyouaweeklaterandclickonanorganiclink(SEO)tofindyouagain.It’sequallypossiblethatthenextdaytheyclickanAdWordslink(PPC)andthencheckyououtonYouTubeorFacebookbeforecomingbackandmakingapurchase.
It’sexhaustingjustimaginingthatjourney,butwealldoit.Onaverageanewvisitortoawebsiteneedstovisitawebsitesixtimesbeforemakinganinitialpurchaseorenquiry.
Quiteoften,whenmeasuringtheeffectivenessofmarketingactivitiespeoplewilllookatthesourcesoftraffictotheirwebsite.It’squitesimpletoseeinorderofreferralwhereyourtrafficiscomingfrom.
It’squitealogicalassumptionthatifGoogleAdWords(PPC)isconvertingthemosttrafficintoleadsandsalesthatAdWordsisyourmostvaluabletrafficsource.However,we’reonlyaccountingforthelastclickofwhatmightbeasporadicorvariedjourneytogettothefinalsalesconversion,justlikethisexample.
Togetthefullpicture,wehavetolookatthecompleteend-to-endjourneyaprospecthastakentoestablishthetrueROIofeachchannelandtheeffortyou’respendingineach.
Ifitturnedoutthatinmostcases,newsalesorleadswerelandingbecausetheirfirstinteractionwithyourbrandwasfromalinktoablogpostonTwitter,you’renowseeingthefullpictureandstartingtoreassessthevalueofyourGoogleAdWordscampaign.
Everytouchpointwithyourbrandthatbringsaprospectclosertomakingapurchaseorsubmittinganenquiryonyourwebsiteorsocialaccounthasavalueattributedtoitbasedonthecontributionit’smadeduringthatjourney.Thisiscalledsocialattribution.
Beingabletomeasurethecompletesocialattributionofyourleadsorsalesisparamount.Itwillshapeyourthinkingandallowyoutostrategicallyplanyourcontentinordertooptimiseyourchancesoflandingnewbusiness.
Imaginetryingtoworkoutthevalueofeachattributionbystitchingvariousanalyticstogether…Suddenlywe’redrivingwithoutadashboardagain.Havingasoftwaretoolto
stitchallofthesemovingpartstogetheriscrucialtoanyseriousdigitalmarketer.
Crucial?Whysoserious?Yourcompetitionisgettingsmarteraswellasworkingharderandthesearethemarginalgainsyouneedtocapitaliseonrightnow.You’venotgotthetimeorthebudgettocompromiseinthisarea.
Whatisyourconversionrate?Theconversionrateisthepercentageofuserswhotakeadesiredaction.Thearchetypicalexampleofconversionrateisthepercentageofwebsitevisitorswhobuysomethingonthesite.
Ahugelyimportantaspectinmeasuringtheresultsofyourinboundmarketingisdeterminingandrefiningyourconversionratefromstarttofinishforeachcampaign.
Itcansometimesbequicker,easierandcheapertoimproveyourROIbyincreasingyourwebsiteconversionratefrom4%to5%of10,000visitorsthanitmightbetogenerateanextra2,500visitorstogetthesamenumberofsalesattheoriginal4%conversionrate.Ideally,we’dliketoincreasebothtrafficandconversionrate.
However,it’snotworthfightingformoretrafficwhenawebsitesimplydoesn’tconvertaswellasitcouldifsomeminorchangesweremade.
Ifyouownedacornershopandnoticedthattheaveragecustomerspends£15whentheybuysomethingatthecheckout,but19outofevery20peoplewalkinandwalkstraightbackoutagain,wouldyou:
A)Standonthestreetcornerhustlingmorepeopleintoyourshop?
B)Experimentwithmoreimpulsepurchasesatthecheckouttoimprovetheaveragebasketvalue?
C)Orfindoutwhy95%ofyourprospectivecustomerschangetheirmindandwalkoutsoquicklyafterenteringyourshop?
Whichonewouldyouchoose?IhopeyouchoseC.It’sano-brainer,right?
Tofixthishypotheticalissueyoumighttrysomeorallofthefollowingtactics:
-Askyourcustomerswhattheylikeanddislikeabouttheshoppingexperience
-Examineyoursignagetomakeitmoreobviouswhatyousell
-Changetheappearanceoftheshoptobemorerelevantandappealingtoyouraudience
-Examinetheislesoftheshoptomakesurethey’retidy,organisedandclearlylabelledsoitemsareeasytofind
-Makesureyouritemsaregroupedproperlysoshoppingisfairlyintuitiveandeasytonavigatearoundtheshop,basedonwhatyou’relookingfor.Experimentwithoffersandmessagingattheentrancetoenticemorepeopletostartshopping
-Assessyourshopassistantstoensurethey’rebeinghelpfulandpleasantwithyourcustomers
-Examineyouradvertisingandmarketingtomakesurewhatyou’reusingtodrivepeopleintoyourshopisconsistentwithwhattheyfindwhenyouwalkthroughthedoors.
Doesthatsoundaboutright?Withyourwebsiteandinboundmarketingyoucandoexactlythesamething.Therearevarioustoolsthatwillhelpgiveyouvaluableinsightsintoexactlywhat’sgoingonwithinyourwebsiteandhowyourwebsiteisperformingintermsofcustomerexperience.GoogleAnalyticsisprobablytheeasiestandmostcommontooltousetosetupbasicgoalstobeginmeasuringhowpeoplearemanoeuvringaroundyourwebsiteandhowmanyofthesevisitorsareseeingthecontentyouwantthemtosee.
Justlikeashopkeepermightplanhowtheywantvisitorstonavigateaphysicalshoptooptimisethebuyingexperience,youcandothesamebychoosingcriticalpageswithinyourwebsitetotrackandmeasurebysetting‘goals’inGoogleAnalytics.Onceyouhavegoalssetupyoucanbegintomeasuretheefficiencyofyourwebsite.If90%ofpeoplearevisitingyourhomepageandthenclickingonalinktoapagethatdoesn’taddanyvaluetoyourbusiness,youcanthenstarttochangetheon-siteexperiencetodiverttrafficelsewhere.
Itisn’thardtoseehowactivitysuchasthishasadded£1,000stomanyclients’bottomlineveryquickly,withoutwaitingformoresignificantvolumesofnewtraffictobuildontheirwebsites.
HeatmappingandeyetrackingAnotherwayyoucanestablishthebehaviouroftheindividualsthatlandonyourpageisthroughheatmappingandeye-tracking.Heatmappingandeyetrackingallowyoutoclearlyseewhatareasofyourwebsitearebeingclickedonorlookedatmost.Thismeansyoucanoptimisethelayoutofyourwebsiteforhigherconversionrate.
Althoughthiscanbeanexpensiveprocesstoundertakeyourself,youcanlearnfromthemanyotherpublishedeyetrackingresultstogiveyouageneralideaofbestpracticeforwebsitecontentplacement.
Measuringtoolsyoushouldconsiderusingtoimproveyourmarketingefforts
Throughoutthisbook,we’vemadereferencetoahostofrelevantresourcesfollowingeverychapterandthischapterwillbenodifferent.However,toclarifyandprovideabetterunderstandingofhowtomeasureyourefforts,eachmajorsocialplatform’sanalyticssoftwareisbrokendownintokeyconsiderations,prosandconsonthenextfewpages.
GoogleAnalytics
Intheabsenceofmarketingautomationsoftware,GoogleAnalyticsprovidessomebasicassistedconversionsandattributionmodellingdata.Youcanusethisdatatotrackthecontributionofallofyourdigitalactivitytowardsthespecificgoalsyoudefine.It’saveryworthwhileexercisegettingtoknowthebasicsofGoogleAnalyticsandbeginningtoexperimentwithsettingupvariousgoalswithinyourwebsite-dependingonhowyourtrafficflowsfromonepagetoanother.
Pros-Canimportdatafromothersources-CaneasilybelinkedwithanyofyourotherGoogleproducts-Continuouslydevelopedtoimprove-Freeonlinetrainingavailable-Createcustomreports-Trackyourowndefinedgoals-CanbelinkedwithGoogleAdwords
Cons-Maximumof20goals-UpgradingtoPremiumisexpensive
-Constantdevelopmentrequiresconstanttraining
Eachsocialmediaplatformalsohasitsownversionofanalyticsandso,independentlyofeachother,youcantrackandmonitortheperformanceofeachchannel.
Thedifferencebetweenmonitoringeachchannelseparatelyandmonitoringendtoendcampaignsissimplythatyou’remeasuringtacticswhenthey’reseparateandyou’reabletomeasuretheeffectivenessofyourentirestrategywhenthey’realllinkedtogetherwithamoresophisticatedsoftwaretool.
TwitterAnalytics
TwitterAnalyticsisavailabletoallusers,notjustadvertisersandverifiedaccountholders.Thismeansyoucantrackandunderstandtheperformanceofeverytweetyoupost.Displayingallofyourmetricsinadashboardformat,youcanviewyouractivity,followerdemographicsandmonitoryourpromotedcontent(ifyou’reusingpaidpromotion).
Pros-Simpleinterfacemakesiteasytobreakdownyourperformance-Seehowyourfollowersareengagingwithyouinrealtime-Downloadabletweetmetrics-Seeyourfollowers’topinterests-Viewhashtagcomparisons-Monitoryourengagementsovera28dayperiod
Cons-Oversimplifiedformanymarketers’needs-Notsophisticatedenoughfordeephistoricalmetricanalysis-Somediscrepanciesbetweenmentions,repliesandretweets
TwitterAdManager
Ifyou’relookingtopaytopromoteyourcontentonTwitter,theirAdManagerplatformisausefultooltohelpyouunderstandthewaysinwhichyourpaidcontentisperforming.
Pros-Keepatrackofyourbudgetandspend-Understandyouraudiencebreakdown-Seetheimpressions/clicks/views/retweetsofyourpromotedtweets
Cons-NotasrobustasGoogleAnalytics-Difficulttosetupcampaignstorunoncertaindaysorduringcertainhoursofindividual
days-Bidsneedtobeadjustedmanually
FacebookInsights
PageInsightsisafreeservicefromFacebook,whichallowsyoutoviewyourpageperformanceasawhole.Displayinginformationinagraph,itoffersarangeofmetricdata,fromnetincreaseinlikestoacomparisonoforganicvspaidreachandvisitstoyourpageandposts.
Pros-Offersahostofdifferentmetrics,includingdemographicinformation-Easytousegraphswhichcanbelifteddirectlytocreatereportsandpresentations-Helpsyouunderstandthepeoplewhomakeupyouraudience
Cons-Fairlystatic–youcanonlydefineyourparametersanddatarangesoncertainmetrics-Therecanbesomediscrepanciesbetweenlikes,commentsandsharesdisplayedandactualengagement
FacebookAdvertsManager
FacebookAdvertsManagergivesyoutheabilitytotrackanindividualadvertorcampaign’sperformanceandmonitoryourspendandbudget.Theinterfaceshowsfrequency,reach,impressions,uniqueclicks,click-throughrateandactiontakenasaresultofyouradverts.
Pros-Constantlyevolvingwithnewfeatures-Simplifieskeepingtrackofyouradspend-Allowsyoutoassignuptosiximagevariantstoeachadvert,makingiteasytoa/btestyouradvertperformance-Specificfilteringmethodsavailablethatallowyoutopinpointkeydemographics,interestsandbuyingbehaviour
Cons-NotasrobustasGoogleAnalytics-Canshowdiscrepanciesbetweenclicks(paid)andactualsessionsonthewebsite-Costperclickisincreasing
LinkedIn:Who’sviewedyourprofileandhowyourankforprofileviews
Asastandardfeature,LinkedInnowincludesdetailsaboutwhohasviewedyourprofile
andwhereyourankwithinyournetworkforprofileviews.Thistoolgivesaverybasicoverviewofhowyou’reperformingontheplatform.
Pros-Incentivisesyoutoimproveyourprofile,ifyourprofileviewsarelow-Displayswhoisviewingyourprofileallowingyoutoanalyseifyou’revisibletotherightpeoplefromtherightindustries-Allowsyoutoanalysethosewhoaretopwithinyournetworktoseehowyoucompare-Suggestswaystoenhanceyourprofiletoimprovepageviewsandrank
Cons-ALinkedInPremiumaccountisneededformoredetailedinsights-Nobreakdownofcontentperformanceisavailable
LinkedIn:CampaignManager
WhenusingLinkedInforbusiness,youmayconsiderusingthesponsoredupdatesfeaturetoboostyourcontent.Theiradvertanalyticsplatformgivesinsightintoyourengagedaudience,impressionsandclicksandallowsyoutomonitorandcontrolyourbudget.
Pros-Specifictargetingmethodsareavailable-Theleadconnectionfunctionallowsyoutofollowuponthosewhoclickyourad-Viewyourimpressions,clicks,leadsandcostperclickfromyouradstable-Viewtheindustriesandjobrolesofyourcampaign’sengagedaudience-Metricdataisavailableingraphformat
Cons-Difficulttoeditcampaignsfromthehomedashboard-Nosearchfeatureforfindingyourcampaignsoradverts-Lackofbulkeditingfeatures-Noconversiontracking
PinterestAnalytics
ForthosewithaPinterestforBusinessaccount,youcangetaccesstoPinterest’sanalyticsfeature.UsePinterestAnalyticstoreviewandtracktheperformanceofyourpinsregularly.
Pros-Seeyourmostviewedandmostpinnedcontent-Accessyouraudience’sdemographicinformationandinterests-Viewwhatdevicespeopleusewhenpinning
-Analysewhereyourreferraltrafficiscomingfrom
Cons-OnlyavailabletoPinterestforBusinessusers-Onlyshowsinformationaboutyourowncontent(asopposedtootherpeople’scontentthatyou’verepined)-Onlyshowsdatafromthedateyouverifiedyourwebsite
Atthetimeofwriting,Instagramhaveonlyjustrolledouttheiradvertisingserviceandatpresentitisnotwidelyavailabletoallusers.Althoughinitsinfancy,asapartofthisroll-outtheyhaveincorporatedsomenewtoolstotheplatform,whichincludeaccountinsightsandadinsights,bothofwhichaimtohelpbrandsassesstheirperformance.
Advertisersusingtheservicehaveaccesstorealtimedata,includinginsightsintohowtheirtargetaudiencearerespondingtotheircontent,inasimilarstyletoFacebookInsights.
AnotherinterestingdevelopmentistheAdstagingtool,whichallowsmarketerstocreate,editandcollaboratewithothersontheirpaidadverts,beforetheygolive.
YouTubeAnalytics
Ifyou’republishingcontenttoYouTube,youneedtomakesureyou’reanalysingtheperformanceofyourvideos.Oneofthemostimportantfactorstoconsiderisyourtotalviewcount,buttherearemoreimportantmetricstoconsider–allofwhichareavailableusingYouTube’sAnalyticsplatform.
Pros-Discoverthesourceoftraffictoyourvideo-Providesageographicalanddemographicbreakdownofyouraudience-Understandaudienceretention-Givesanoverviewofsubscribers-Allowsyoutounderstandhowoftenyourvideoissharedsocially-Availabletoallusers
Cons-Videodisplayisnotcustomisable-ToaccessfullrangeofanalyticsyoumustbecomeaYouTubePartner(meaningyoumustdisplayads)-Theplatformisnotassimpletouseasotherservices,suchasWistia
It’sveryeasytobecomeobsessedwiththenumberswhenitcomestodigitalmarketing.
Ifyou’renotclearwhatnumberswilldeliveronyourbusinessobjectives,you’rewastingvaluabletimeandfallingintoaverydenselypopulatedtrap.
Makesureyouhavefullvisibilityofyournetresultsandaclearbreakdownofwhereyou’reinvestingyourtimeandhowit’simpactingyourbusinessgoalsKeepitassimpleaspossibleanddon’tcompromisewithtechnology.
Marketyourbusinessinthemodernageandhaveadashboardthathelpsyoudrivetowardsyourdestinationwithconfidenceandclarity.Continuallyreviewyourgoalsandresults,andmodifyandevolveyourstrategybasedonwhatisgoingwellandwhatisn’t.
It’sthateasy.
Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS
InboundMarketingBrianHalliganandDharmeshShah
ThisbookfromthefoundersofHubSpotisacomprehensiveguidetoincreasingonlinevisibilityandengagement.Writtenbytopmarketingandstart-upbloggers,thebookcontainsthelatestinformationaboutcustomerbehaviourandpreferreddigitalexperiences.Fromthelatestinsightsonleadnurturingandvisualmarketingtoadviceonproducingremarkablecontentbybuildingtools,readerswillgaintheinformationtheyneedtotransformtheirmarketingonline.
WatertightMarketing:DeliveringLong-TermSalesResultsBryonyThomas
Astraightforward,straighttalkingbook,WatertightMarketingtakesanin-depthlookathowinboundmarketingdisciplinescandirectlyinfluencethefundamentalsofanybusiness.
SocializetoMonetizeGabrielaTaylor
SocializetoMonetizetakesyouthrough25ofthemajorsocialnetworkingsites,fromsettingthemupthroughtohowtheycanbeeffectivelyleveragedtogeneratemaximumreturn.
ONLINETOOLS
SproutSocialAcomprehensivesocialmediamanagementtool,SproutSocialfeaturesabespokeanalysisandreportingfunction.Youcanreportacrossmultipleplatformsorproducein-depthreportsonindividualchannels,assessingthereachandresonanceofyourmessages.www.sproutsocial.com
CrazyEggCrazyEggprovidesaheatmapvisualisationofwhereinyourcontentpeopleareclickingandwhatpartsofyourpageareviewedmostoften.Thisisparticularlyusefulforassessinglandingpages,allowingyoutocustomiseyourcontentaroundtheplacesthatarebeinginteractedwith.www.crazyegg.com
HubSpotHavingcoinedtheterm‘InboundMarketing’,HubSpothavecreatedoneofthebesttoolsinthebusinesstoenhanceyourinboundmarketingstrategy.Helpingyoutoidentifyand
maximiseyourbuyerpersonas,attractvisitors,convertleadsandclosecustomers,itprettymuchdoesitall.www.hubspot.com
GoogleAnalyticsGoogleAnalyticsisanessentialtoolinunderstandingyourwebsitetrafficsources,ecommercegoals,searchtermsandaudiencedemographics.www.google.com/analytics
DashThisDashThismakesyourreportingtaskssimple,andpullsinformationfromarangeofsources.Allowingyoutocreateweekly,monthly,quarterlyandannualreportsandprovidinganinstantsnapshotofyourperformance,DashThisisagreattooltoaddtoyourarmoury.www.dashthis.com
Radian6Trackyourconversionsacrossdifferentsocialplatformsandmanagemultiplesocialmediaaccountsandcampaignsfromonedashboard.Allowingyoutomonitorsocialmentionsacrosstheweb,youcangainvaluableinsightsintotheconversationsyourtargetpersonasarehavingonlineandengagewiththemonapersonallevel.http://goo.gl/edEeAU
MeltwaterBuzzMonitoryoursocialmediaengagementandanalyticsthroughtheMeltwaterBuzzintelligenceplatform.Allowingyoutodevelopstrongerbrandrelationshipsandgainafullerunderstandingofyoursocialmarketingcampaigns,thistoolhelpsyourecogniseyoursocialmediaROIandactonit.http://www.meltwater.com/
SourceHubSourceHub,fromSocialTalentisafantastictoolwhichallowsyoutogenerateBooleansearchstringsforrecruitingonline.SignificantlycuttingthetimeandeffortinvolvedinrecruitingusingLinkedIn,SourceHubcanhelpyoufindtherightcandidatesquicklyandsimply.https://source.socialtalent.co/
MarketingautomationdownloadDownloadourguidetomarketingautomationatthelinkbelowandstartstreamliningthewayyoumanageyourinboundmarketing.
www.ph-creative.com/Chapter8Resources
Keytakeawaysforchapter8Nowyourstrategyisinplaceandyourtacticsplannedandconsidered,it’stimetothinkaboutmeasuringyoursuccess.Checkoffeachofthebelowpointsasyoucompletethem.
☐Investinoneclearandconcisetooltokeeptrackofyourmarketingactivity
☐Askyourcustomer’sopinionsonyourbusiness
☐Workoutyourconversionrate(andhowtoimproveit)
ANDFINALLY…Sothereyouhaveit.Theendofourwhistlestoptourofthetoolsandresourcesyouneedtogetstartedtobuildyourownrobustanddeliverableinboundmarketingstrategy.
Thegreatthingaboutinboundmarketingisthatit’salmostaliving,breathingthingitself.Constantlyevolvingwithtastesandtrends,thereisveryrarelyadullmoment.That’sbecauseit’saboutpeopleandit’saboutconversations.
Therewillneverbeadefinitiveformulaforyourinboundmarketingand,forus,that’sthebeautyofit.Itwillalwaysbeaboutcreativityandvision.However,whatyou’llfindhereisatriedandtestedrecipeforsuccessthatwillhelpyoutocreatecontagiouscontentsopowerfulitgivesyouraudiencegoosebumps.
Alltoooften,whenyou’reoutonthefrontline,it’seasytoforgetthehumanelementbehindmarketing–webecometooboggeddowninnumbersandtacticswithoutthinkingaboutcraftingemotionandeffectivestorytellingintothemessage.
Nowthattimesarechanging,you’vegottogetcreativeandreactive.Havingyourfingeronthepulseofdigitaltrendswillhelpyoutoremainconsistentlyawareofyourcustomers’needsanddesires.CEOsofcompaniesincludingBlockbuster,WoolworthsandHMVwouldallquietlytestifytotheimportanceofmovingwiththetimesandembracingchange.
Sothequestionis,areyoureadytoembraceinboundmarketing?Areyoureadytochangeyourmindsetandfundamentallyshiftthewayyouthinkaboutbeingsuccessfulinthedigitalspace?
FromCEOstobedroommarketers,thisbookwillhavehopefullyreignitedyourpassionformarketing,highlightedtheimportanceofemotion,storytelling,researchandanalysisandgotyoufiredupandreadytotackleyournextchallenge.
Byfollowingtheprinciplesandphilosophylaidoutinthisbookyoucanstarttomeasuretheresultsofyourmarketingmoreeffectivelyanddemonstratethereturnoninvestmentofyouractivities–thequickestwaytoincreaseyourmarketingbudgetandearnthereputationyou’relookingfor.
Getreadytoharnessnewtechnologyanddriveyourmarketingforwardwithconfidence–cuttingouttheguessworkandachievingthetractionandresultsthatyouneedtosurviveandprosper.Youshouldbestartingtounderstandthatthroughinvestingincontentthatresonateswithyouraudienceyoucancreatereal,rewardingengagement.
We’vewalkedyouthrougheverythingfromdefiningyourbrandandunderstandingyouraudiencetotellingastoryandmeasuringyoursuccess.We’vesuppliedyouwithallthecomponents,toolsandtipsyouneedtocreateaninboundstrategythatstartsgeneratingrealresults.Allthat’sleftisforyoutogetstarted.
Don’twaitforthemarketplaceandyourcustomerstodemandyouworkinthisway,getouttherefirstandmakeanimpactonyourbusiness,beforetherestoftheworldcatchesup.It’saboutlearninghowtodominateyourspacewithavoicethatresonatesacrossatransmedialandscape.Whenthatmessagelands,it’smagnetic,it’scontagiousandyou’reGettingGoosebumps.
Glossary
ADSPEND–theamountofmoneyspentonbothonandofflineadvertisingandpromotions
ADVOCACY–publicsupportfor,orrecommendationof,aparticularcauseorpolicy
AUDIENCESEGMENTATION–theprocessofdividingpeopleintohomogeneoussubgroupsbasedupondefinedcriteriasuchasproductusage,demographics,psychographics,communicationbehavioursandmediause
AUTHORITATIVECONTENT–contentwhichestablishestheauthorasasourceofauthorityandtrust
BLOG–aregularlyupdatedwebsiteorwebpage,writteninaninformalorconversationalstyle
BRANDVALUES–thecorevaluesthatdefineyourcompany’sstrengthsanddifferentiateyoufromyourcompetitors
BUYINGPROCESS–theseriesofstepsthataconsumerwilltaketomakeapurchasingdecision
BUZZWORDS–awordorphrasethatisfashionableataparticulartimeorinaparticularcontext
CALLTOACTION–aninstructiontotheaudiencetoprovokeanimmediateresponse,usuallyusinganimperativeverbsuchas‘callnow’,‘findoutmore’or‘visitastoretoday’
CAMPAIGN–anorganisedcourseofactiontopromoteaproductorservice
‘DELIGHT’CONTENT–keywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoaddvaluetoexistingcustomersorknownprospectsinordertoretainthem,addvalueandprovideongoingopportunitywhateverthatmightbe
DEMOGRAPHIC–thequantifiablestatisticsofagivengrouporpopulation
‘DO’CONTENT–keywords,languageandcontentthataredesignedtoconvincearelativelyqualifiedaudiencetotakesomeformofaction.Thismightnotbemovinginforanimmediatesale,butitcouldbeadownload,arequestforacall,ormoreinformation
EGO-JACKING–theprocessofpositivelyrecommendinganinfluencerwithinyourcontent,withtheaimofprovokingthemtoshareyourcontent
ENGAGEMENT–theinteractionbetweencustomersorwithacompanyorabrand
INFLUENCERS–Individualswhohavethepowertoaffectpurchasedecisionsofothersbecauseoftheir(realorperceived)authority,knowledge,position,orrelationship
INFOGRAPHIC–avisualrepresentationofinformationordata
KEYWORDS–termswhichrelatedirectlytoyourproduct/serviceandarelikelytobesearchedforbyyouraudience
LANDINGPAGE–awebpagewhichservesastheentrypointforawebsiteoraparticularsectionofawebsite
LONGTAILKEYWORDS–keywordphrasesthatconsistofbetweentwoandfivewords,usuallyusedwhensearchingforaspecificitem
NEWS-JACKING–thepracticeofcapitalisingonthepopularityofanewsstorytoamplifyyoursalesandmarketingsuccess
OUTREACH–creativelyreachingouttobrands/businesses/clientswithacreativesolutionoroffer
PATHOS–adirectappealtotheemotionsofyouraudience
RANKING–yourpositiononasearchengineresultspage,inresponsetokeywords,contentandlinksincludedwithinyoursite
RESPONSIVE–awebdesignapproachaimedatcraftingsitestoprovideanoptimalviewingexperienceacrossawiderangeofdevices
SALESFUNNEL–avisualrepresentationofwhereyourbuyersareontheirpurchasingjourney
‘SEE’CONTENT–keywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoattractnew,uninitiated‘strangers’atthestartofthebuyingjourney
SEEDING–findingandapproachinginfluentialwebandblogeditorswhowillfindyourcontentinterestingandengaging,somuchsothattheywillwanttoshareitwiththeirvisitors
SEO–theprocessofaffectingthevisibilityofawebsiteorawebpageinasearchengine'snaturalorun-paid(organic)searchresults
SOCIALAMPLIFICATION–theconceptoftakingapositiveaction–apurchase,alight-touchinteractionorfull-onreview–savingitandthensharingitfarandwide,throughorganicorpaidmethods
SOCIALPROOF–alsoknownasinformationalsocialinfluence,socialproofisapsychologicalphenomenonwherepeopleassumetheactionsofothersinanattemptto
reflectcorrectbehaviourforagivensituation
SOCIALSPACE–aphysicalorvirtualspacesuchasasocialcentre,onlinesocialnetwork,orothergatheringplacewherepeoplegatherandinteract
SPLITTESTING–alsoreferredtoasA/Btestingormultivariatetestingisamethodofconductingcontrolled,randomisedexperimentswiththegoalofimprovingawebsitemetric,suchasclicks,formcompletions,orpurchases
STRATEGY–aplanofactiondesignedtoachievealong-termoroverallaim
‘THINK’CONTENT–keywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoprovidematerialsurroundingyourbrandandthespecificinitialneedsofyouraudience.Thiscontentaddsvaluetotheprocessbyconnectingthebenefitsofyourofferwiththeintrinsicneedsoftheaudience
WEBINAR–aseminarconductedovertheInternet
WORDOFMOUTHMARKETING–thepassingofinformationbetweenanon-commercialcommunicator(i.e.someonewhoisnotrewarded)andareceiver,concerningabrand,product,orservice.
HowPh.Creativecanhelpyou
Establishedforover10years,everythingwedoisfocusedondeliveringremarkableresults.Ourinsight,creativityandexpertisewillhelpyoutoeffectivelytellyourbrandstoryandengagewithyouraudience,whilstconsistentlyhittingyourtoplineobjectives.
Whetheryouneedresponsivewebdesignoraremarkableinboundmarketingcampaign,we'llmakesureyourbrand'svoicestandsoutfromthecrowd.
WHATWEDO
-Webdesignanddevelopment-E-commerce-Inboundmarketing-Socialmedia-CRO-SEO-PPC-UIandUXdesign-Strategy-Videoproduction-Socialadvertising
OURSERVICES
-Consultancy-Inboundmarketingretainer-Audience/personamappingworkshop-Audience/personamappingvalidation-Websiteandsocialmediaaudit-Strategicplanningworkshops-Creativeideasworkshops-Websitedevelopment-Marketingautomationplanning&design
Stayingintouch
Morethananythingelse,we’dlovetoreceivefeedback,storiesoranecdotesofhowthisbookhashelpedyouprogressyourbusinessinsomeway.
We’dalsolovetoansweranyfurtherquestionsyoumayhaveespeciallyifwe’vesparkedanewpassionorinterestwithourideas.Withthisinmindhere’safewwaysyoucanengagewithusandstayintouch.
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