by tradesmeninsights | Apr 29, 2010 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
That’s the $64,000 question. Marketers are split on whether social media will deliver measurability according to a recent study by Datran Media’s 4th Annual Marketing and Media Survey. 87% of those surveyed said that accurate online measurement was at least somewhat important for driving increased brand awareness, revenues or performance.
According to eMarketers’ CEO and co-founder, Geoff Ramsey, in his insight brief, Seven Guidelines for Achieving Social Media ROI, most marketers today do not invest sufficient time, effort or money on social media measurement.
The leading metrics used to measure social success focus on increased site traffic, but on its own, it cannot justify heavier investments in social media.
Of those respondents, those who are heavily invested in Facebook and Twitter were most likely to track online.
For the B-to-B sector, they are having a tough enough time finding justifications and budgets to do social media. After they cross that hurdle, then they’ll have to start monitoring their activities.
If you like this post you might like:
Why Do People Ignore Social Media Metrics?
B-to-B Marketers: Analytics Key To Your Internet Success.
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 28, 2010 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
Those of us who have been blogging for sometime may be under the assumption that once someone finds our blog they become a groupie and read every one of our posts. Well, here’s a wake up call.
Would you believe that 80% of the people who come to your site are first-timers?
This is true for most bloggers. Even the big boys like Jay Baer and Jason Falls have 65% plus who come to their sites for the first time. Jay Baer wrote a recent post, 5 Ways to Make Friends with Strangers on your Blog, where he outlines his suggestions on how to capitalize on your blog.
This comes from new research from Compendium Blogware (I recently attended a webinar from them) that shows that for more than two-thirds of corporate blogs, new visitors comprise more than 80% of blog traffic. So once your ego gets over the fact that the number of groupies following may not be as large as you thought, what do you plan on doing?
I’m a believer that the glass is half full and that this provides all of us with an opportunity to convert those first-timers to regulars. Here are some things you should consider doing:
- Make your site easy to navigate – 80-95% of all clicks to your blog are organic which means they didn’t come directly to your URL.
- Make sure your blog is focused – so the new reader can easily identify what it is you are focusing on and make it personal (put up your photo).
- Keep talking about your key ideas over and over – Just because you wrote something last week, it doesn’t mean they see it especially with 80% plus being first-timers.
- Keep them on your site by referring them back to other posts you have written on the same subject – this helps you build thought leadership quickly.
- Make it easy to subscribe to your RSS feed – if they like what they’ve read, make it easy for them to read you regularly.
These are my thoughts. Do you have any to add?
Here are some other posts you might find interesting:
10 Engagement Tactics That Will Help B-to-B Marketers
Forrester Report: Most B-to-B Blogs Fail.
If you like this post, please pass it on.
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 22, 2010 | Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
This is the second part of a two-part article on the plant engineer. Here’s a link to the first part (Part 1). For those of you who are targeting the plant engineering function, you should read a new study that was just released in April from Plant Engineering magazine, called, “The Changing World of the Plant Engineer.” From the study, you’ll gain insight on the changing role of the plant engineer, what they’re thinking about for 2010 and beyond. So next time you’re talking to a plant engineer, think about what’s on his mind.
The second part has to deal with 7 changes they would make about the manufacturing operation:
- Decrease Outsourcing/Keep Manufacturing in this Country – They want to not only keep what’s left of manufacturing in this country, but want to bring back what’s offshore. They don’t believe this country can survive as a consumer society.
- Increase/Improve Automation – Replace aging equipment with automated machines with vision inspection to reduce costs and improve productivity.
- Educate/Train Employees – More operator training and involvement in predictive/preventative maintenance. Training of future techicans and engineers. Keep up-to-date on new technology.
- Aging Equipment/Facilities – Invest in systems that would help reduce costs and improve quality.
- Decrease Regulations – Reduce tight environmental and OSHA Regulations. This will help level the playing field with China.
- More Efficient/Lean – Increase improvement and LEAN culture for all employees.
- Tax Incentive/Tariffs – Make the playing field level so we can compete. There should be tax breaks for companies that keep their manufacturing here in the States.
These are interesting insights as to what’s on their minds.
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 21, 2010 | Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
For those of you who are targeting the plant engineering function, you should read a new study that was just released in April from Plant Engineering magazine called, “The Changing World of the Plant Engineer.” From the study, you’ll gain insight on the changing role of the plant engineer, what they’re thinking about for 2010 and beyond. So next time you’re talking to a plant engineer, think about what’s on his mind.
Part 1 – We’re going to review the highlights of their top 10 biggest job related concerns:
- The Economy – No big surprise on this one, but beyond what’s happening in Washington, they are worried about economic factors they have no control over like global competition, currency fluctuation and environmental issues.
- Job Security – Will my plant close, will I be asked to retire early, will I get fired. A lot to think about when they’re trying to do their job on a daily basis.
- Knowledgeable Employees/Aging Workforce – They’re concerned that most of the experienced workforce will retire in the next 5 years leaving them with less skilled replacements.
- Aging Equipment/Facilities – How do they keep the facility running at or above production targets with a reduced workforce and aging equipment that will need more mainteinance.
- Safety – Not a priority with upper management. They are more concerned with increased productivity.
- Plant Closings – Will their plant survive 3-5 years? Will they lose production to India or China?
- Budget – Meeting cost targets in a downturned economy. Where to best spend their limited budgets so they don’t have a major failure.
- Doing more with Less – Increased workload, reduced budgets and limited resources on all fronts.
- Government/Environmental Regulations – A growing government with more burdensome regulations.
- Outsourcing – of jobs overseas and the shrinking importance of manufacturing to our economy.
These are interesting insights as to what’s on their minds. Next up, changes they would make about their manufacturing operation.
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 14, 2010 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
Social media is continuing to expand its reach (an estimated 940 million people worldwide), and businesses and their brands should look to social media as a place to build their brand. Granted, a majority of the activity is on a personal level, but interactions involving information about products and services have increased significantly according to a recent article in eMarketer.com as brands encourage word of mouth.
A recent study conducted in January of 2010 from InSites Consulting reveals some interesting points.
When asked what was the most believable source when it came to info found on the Internet, the most likely answer was their peers. That’s not surprising, but what is is that “the brand itself” came in a close second, far ahead of journalists which are traditionally considered an objective source.
InSites also found that, while brands were not at the top when users became fans, they did show up very well.
What’s this mean to you and your brand? Keep on connecting and conversing. There’s a big audience out there that can and will use your product (or your competitors). Let’s make sure it’s yours.
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 6, 2010 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
We in the B-to-B world realize that digital is fast becoming a very acceptable vehicle which none of us a few years ago would have thought that it would have grown at such a fast pace. In our space, digital will have a role but I don’t believe it will catch up to the consumer side of things. While the enclosed study is primarily focused at the B-to-C side of things, it should be a gauge for us as to things come.
Outsell, which provides research and advisory services to the publishing and information industries, surveyed more than 1,000 US advertisers in December 2009 for its annual “Marketing and Advertising Study 2010.”
This marketing and ad spending study forecasts spending, share, and growth for five media types—online, events, print, TV/radio, and PR/other—and methods used within each, from social networking to mobile/wireless marketing.
In what it calls “an industry milestone crossover event,” US companies will spend more this year on digital and online advertising and marketing than on print for the first time ever.
“Advertisers are directing dollars toward the channels which generate the most qualified leads and most effective branding. As they emerge from the recession, they need more accountability, and they’re spreading their spending over a widening set of options,” said Chuck Richard, Vice President and Lead Analyst, Outsell.
Some nuggets from this report:
- Companies will spend 119.6 billion dollars on online and digital strategies and 111.5 billion dollars on newspaper and magazine advertisements and other print campaigns
- US spending on advertising and marketing projected to increase by 1.2 percent in 2010 to 368 billion dollars
- Spending on newspaper advertising expected to drop 8.2 percent to 27 billion dollars
- Spending on direct mail marketing campaigns could rise 2.7 percent to 24.4 billion dollars and spending on custom print publications would be 3.0 percent higher at 19.3 billion dollars
- Spending on print directories would fall 8.3 percent to 11.6 billion dollars
- Spending on print newsletters would be flat at 11.4 billion dollars
- Spending on television advertising was forecast to drop 6.5 percent to 59.6 billion dollars
- Print magazine advertising could be up 1.9 percent to $9.4 billion
- Methods generating the highest B2B ROI are topped by advertisers’ own websites, followed by conferences, exhibitions and trade shows; direct mail; search engine keywords; and e-marketing/e-newsletters
- B2B advertisers see cross-media marketing as most effective; 78% combine three or more major marketing methods
- 51 percent of B2B marketers rate Facebook as extremely or somewhat effective, followed by LinkedIn (45 percent), Twitter (35 percent) and MySpace (25 percent)
“2010 will not suddenly erase the painful memory of crumbling ad spending in 2009, but it will provide much closer to a flat year for several of the traditional media types,” Outsell said.
The entire 33 page report is available for download for a fee by clicking here
Other posts that might be of interest:
Social Media: Will be Focus of B-to-B Marketers in 2010
B-to-B Marketers: Social Networks Top Priority for 2010
