3 Keys to Corporate Blogging Success
Outbrain recently published The State of Content Marketing 2012. The report revealed that 82% of brand and agency marketers plan to increase their content marketing efforts this year, namely to increase brand awareness and target early-stage leads. The report also revealed that social media is the most popular way to drive traffic to content, with 96% of respondents currently utilizing social media.
Since a blog can be the center of your social media strategy, I’d like to suggest some ways that you can use a blog to increase your brand awareness and drive more people to your content …
How to Get More Sign-Ups for Your Software Trials and Demos
If your organization sells software, you probably rely on demos and trials to attract leads and fill your sales funnel. However, since most software vendors now offer free trials, giving something away for free is no longer enough to convert leads. You’ll need to make your offers more engaging and relevant to your customers’ needs. Here are three ways you can increase the opt-ins for your demos and free software trials …
18 Hot Topics for B2B Blogs
One of the biggest challenges B2B marketers face when they develop a blog is maintaining its momentum. You may write a few posts, run out of ideas and let your blog sit empty as you devote your time to other projects. However, to realize benefits from a corporate blog, you must post engaging content on a regular basis. Here are 18 topic suggestions for your B2B blog …
The 3 Biggest Shifts Needed for Successful B2B Content Marketing
Content marketing is a fairly new concept that many marketers are struggling to figure out. To achieve benefits from content marketing – such as increased brand awareness, web traffic, leads and sales – many technology marketers have to rethink most of what they were taught about marketing. Here are 3 shifts in thinking that will help you compete with your content marketing-savvy competitors and increase your ROI …
3 Things to Look for in a Freelance Copywriter
Outsourcing your writing to a freelance copywriter can be a challenging task. The wrong writer can cause project delays, increase your workload and even cost you more in the long run. However, the right writer can make your life easier and improve your marketing ROI. Many marketing professionals work with several copywriters before they find the best fit. You can make your search easier by looking for the following 3 qualities in a freelance copywriter …
How to Increase the Conversion Rates on Your B2B Product Pages
According to MarketingSherpaʼs 2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report, generating high-quality leads is still the #1 challenge faced by B2B marketers. If you work for a B2B organization, much of your marketing probably aims to drive high-quality leads to landing pages for your products or services. However, once leads arrive at these pages, how many of […]
How to Bring New Life to Your B2B White Papers
There’s a debate happening about the value of white papers. In an effort to produce more content, many businesses are pushing out poorly-written white papers that do little to engage their target audiences. This is flooding people’s inboxes with boring content and causing marketers to question the format’s ROI. However, there are new ways to reimagine the classic white paper to excite and influence your audience …
3 Things a DJ Can Teach You About Content Marketing
Since I spend a great deal of time thinking about both marketing and Lindy Hop, it’s not surprising that learning how to DJ for dancers reminds me of marketing. Some marketers are like inexperienced DJs. They blast out a message when their audience may want something completely different. However, if you don’t pay attention to your audience and give them what they want, they will ignore you and go to your competitors. Here are 3 ways to play to your crowd:
3 Ways to Break Out of a Content Marketing Rut
Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If your content marketing is on autopilot and you’re not getting the results you want, I wouldn’t say you’re insane, but you could certainly use some fresh ideas. Here are three tips to help you break out of your content marketing rut.
5 Keys to an Editorial Calendar that Keeps Your Content on Track
If you had the opportunity to attend Content Marketing World, or if you’ve been checking out all of the Content Marketing Institute’s amazing videos from the event, you may have lots of ideas on how to improve your content marketing. However, many organizations fail to see ROI from their content marketing because they don’t create a plan for getting everything done. This blog post will show you how to get your content marketing efforts moving forward with the help of an editorial calendar.
5 Ways to Improve Your Landing Pages for Better Conversions
As a B2B marketer, you put a lot of effort into getting your target audience to visit your website and opt in for your white papers, videos and reports. However, if your landing pages don’t entice people to request your content, a lot of your hard work will be lost. That’s why I wanted to provide advice on how to improve your landing pages …
The #1 Way to Improve Your B2B Marketing
The B2B market is changing. A few years ago, buyers were more likely to contact a sales representative to learn about a product. Now they prefer to conduct their own research – either through online search or their social networks – and wait to speak with a sales representative. If you want to generate more […]
How to Select a White Paper Topic that Drives Leads
White papers can be a key element in your lead generation mix, especially if you sell technology products or services. According to the Eccolo 2010 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report, 83% of technology buyers said “white papers were moderately to extremely influential in helping them make their final purchase decision.” However, many white papers miss the mark when it comes to engaging an audience and driving leads. One reason could be because readers don’t relate to the topic …
3 Easy Ways to Find Your Big Stories
One of my clients recently came to me with a problem. Their corporate brochure didn’t reflect how they were different from their competitors. When I spoke with the owner, I discovered that they regularly performed amazing feats of customer service. For example, a member of their team flew halfway around the world to get a client what they needed on time-with only 48 hours’ notice. What a story!
Even if you’ve never personally flown around the world for a client, you may have similar stories about your unmatched service or amazing products. However, you could be taking these stories for granted or you simply don’t know how to find stories that will “wow” potential customers. Here are 3 ways to uncover your hidden gems:
Do White Papers Still Work?
Lauren Carlson from Marketing Automation Software Guide sent me a link to a blog post that questions the value of white papers. She argues that, “Once scholarly in their ambition, white papers have devolved into thinly-veiled, lengthy sales pitches that no longer appeal to the educated buyer’s shortened attention span.” She recommends companies find new […]
5 Ways to Promote Your White Papers and Generate Leads Online
Although many marketers take the time to create white papers, their messages may only reach a fraction of their potential audience. This is because some marketers simply post white papers on their websites, sit back and hope their ideal customers will find them. If you want to increase your readership and the amount of leads you generate, you must make it easy for your target audience to find your information. This post contains 5 ways you can promote your white papers online and direct more leads to your website.
What Count Basie Can Teach You About Writing B2B Marketing Copy
One of my favourite musicians is Count Basie. He was known for his minimalist approach to playing the piano and leaving lots of space between his notes. His music was exciting not just because of what he played, but what he didn’t play. I was listening to Count Basie the other day and began to think about how his minimalist approach could be applied to writing marketing copy. Here are my thoughts …
5 Keys to Amazing Case Study Interviews
In This Issue: 5 Keys to Amazing Case Study Interviews
Perhaps you’ve been thinking about tackling a project that many B2B marketers put off due to lack of time or resources – collecting customer success stories. This month, I’d like to make this challenge easier for you by offering you my time-tested tips for conducting awesome customer interviews. I find that using these strategies allow me to save tons of time and help the case studies to practically write themselves.
5 Ways Content Marketing Can Benefit You
Content marketing is one of the hottest B2B marketing developments. According to Compendium, content marketing will be to 2011 what social media was to 2010. That’s because marketers are discovering how important it is to use compelling content to educate and entertain their target audience. Read on to discover 5 benefits you can achieve when you implement a content marketing strategy.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Using Jargon in Your B2B Marketing Copy
Communicating with jargon is understandable. Since you are immersed in your field on a daily basis, it may only seem natural that others should speak your language.
However, using jargon in your communications can confuse your readers and make them feel alienated. If your message gets lost under layers of complex technical talk, your prospects will look elsewhere for answers to their problems.
Here are 5 tips to help you understand when to use jargon and when to avoid it: