Affiliate marketing is an online market where advertisers or merchants pay the individuals or companies who do the task of promoting the services and products on the basis of their performance.
It is fundamentally a profession of referring the products to clients by utilization of effective marketing strategies and skills. The people or company who carry out the task of promoting these commodities are known as affiliates. They range from blog writers to content post makers who execute the promotion business by writing or by making videos.
It is a great passive source of income for people desiring to be a part of this online money earning pursuit. The major reason why affiliate marketing has the possibility of providing enormous money-making contingency is that of the income credited based on the work performance of the affiliates. This is an exceptional feature that differentiates it from the rest of the businesses prevalent on the market. The commission received on the affiliate marketing business depends on various factors and is largely influenced by:
1. Rational program:
The commission paid by the affiliate marketing program to the affiliates depends on the scale of the program. It also depends on the type of services offered to the affiliates with many of them ranging from less demand driven to more demand driven. It is similar to selecting a supplier for a service that is available through multiple resources. The niche picked up for affiliate marketing program has a great impact on the prosperity of the affiliate marketing. If the affiliate marketing program does not have enough sufficient followers, income generated through it will be very less.
The profitability and success of a particular niche should be estimated prior to making the decision. The nature of opportunity provided by the affiliate marketing program will predominantly determine the amount of revenue generated out of it. The choice of the program has a great impact on the monetary gains achieved through it.
2. Selection of equitable product:
The success rate in affiliate marketing is directly proportional to the amount of wealth accumulated through marketing. The type of services and products offered by affiliate marketing program will largely determine the sales generated through it. Some products may have a large amount of sale irrespective of the type of crowd drawn towards it while the sale of certain products will be highly saturated which destroys the opportunity of earning money out of it.
The potential of the product can be determined by analysis of its past performance and accordingly, the decision can be made. Another way in which reputed products can be ascertained is by visiting different affiliate marketing websites which offer a fair picture of the present profitable scenario.
3. Proficiency and expertise:
Provision of online sources for gaining knowledge and training about affiliate marketing is widely available which helps get background knowledge about the business. Education about the subject and skills for execution are crucial for being successful in creating a proficient working space in the business. They play a significant role in shaping up the work experience as an affiliate for any marketing program. The necessary expertise can be harnessed through the means of various affiliate marketing tutorials, videos, and podcasts which are available online.
Along with a good working culture, a good client-customer relationship is also needed to bring about success in marketing. There are a lot of affiliates in the market but if the work and services provided are customer driven, it can actually make a drastic difference.
4. A vast expanse of network links:
Becoming a member of different market networks can prove to be beneficial from a future perspective as it increases opportunities for learning, sharing of knowledge and understanding various marketing associations and professionals. It provides an occasion of becoming accessible to all the related data and information about affiliate marketing. Having good network links can also help acquire additional knowledge about the products and sales which will eventually help in framing up sound marketing strategies. Although strong network connections do not directly influence affiliate marketing, it cannot be denied that it can specifically bring about substantial transformation in the quality of performance.
5. Authentic discernment:
Affiliate marketing can prove to be a boon for earning enormous amounts of income if genuine business and marketing strategies are adopted instead of unrealistic ones. A clear perception about the objective to be carried out is very essential to give money-making outputs. To get a clear perception and insight about the marketing business, thorough research on the persistent market requirements needs to be done.
Apart from these, there are certainly other factors like the type of market chosen to carry out marketing and conversion time for the customers to perform the desired action can play a defined role in influencing the affiliate marketing either positively or negatively. Even though these factors are minor in nature, their direct or indirect impact on affiliate marketing cannot be denied.
But Pepsi has also had some major successes, namely with the PepsiCo Recycling Rally campaign launched in 2010. This project has been so successful that it earned the company a Gold Honor in the MarCom Awards in December 2017.
For this award, PepsiCo created a campaign to teach K-12 students about recycling in their schools. They focused on marketing to educators and reached a new demographic via a program that is still going strong more than eight years later.
Educators are increasingly being recognized as a valuable audience to target. They make up a significant portion of the general population, have high participation rates in a number of sectors, and are sophisticated shoppers who respond to marketing that includes independent research and facts.
There are several marketing strategies brands can employ to effectively connect with educators.
1. Join forces for an important cause.
Many companies already include corporate social responsibility as a major part of their marketing strategies, and teachers are more willing to support brands that will add value to their students’ lives. PepsiCo used recycling and sustainability efforts to teach children about how to protect the environment. To follow PepsiCo’s lead, find a cause that represents a common interest between your company and educators.
2. Make it a competition.
Stir up educators’ competitive spirit with a contest in which classes or schools go head to head for a good cause. Everyone loves a little competition to make things interesting. A contest builds unity and teamwork within a class or school and gives teachers something concrete to work with as they attempt to get their students excited about school projects.
A great example of this is the Box Tops for Education program, which lets students collect box tops from food and other products and turn them into money and prizes for their schools.
3. Give them some extra incentive.
To encourage students to participate in these competitions, it’s important to provide teachers with incentives they can use to entice students to get involved. These could include tickets to an amusement park, a class pizza party, or a movie day in class. A great example is Pizza Hut’s Book It! program, in which kids earn free pizza for hitting a reading goal each month.
Motivation plays a huge role in how a student engages (or not) with a subject. These extrinsic motivators are especially powerful in changing student behavior and engagement, emphasizing skills, or encouraging certain behaviors. When used properly, they can be powerful tools for winning a child over to a school subject like reading or a civic activity like recycling.
4. Ease the lesson-planning burden.
Teachers are always looking for new materials to incorporate into their classrooms, so providing an educational component to your program or partnership will increase the chances of teachers wanting to take advantage of it. This aspect can also teach students how business and community service go together.
A major element of CSR is looking beyond the company’s bottom line and engaging in causes that further the social good. In the end, these efforts serve as good PR for a brand and encourage sales, but that’s not the main point. Companies tend to have resources that individuals lack, giving them the capacity to fund charities, sponsor community athletics or arts programs, and support local cultural or educational initiatives. Educators are eager for this support, especially when it comes with additional classroom tools and strategies.
5. Be selective with your audience.
First-grade teachers need different lessons and incentives than high school English teachers. Research what your demographic wants, as it will be challenging to find an overarching theme for different age ranges. Determine what type of teacher your company can most effectively connect with, and focus your efforts there.
Educators are a powerful force in society, and their influence is far-reaching. (I’m proud to say I’m a former public school math teacher myself!) Joining forces with teachers can elevate your marketing strategy, but you need the right methods to connect in a meaningful way. The tactics above will help you effectively partner with people who play an important role in shaping the minds of future generations.
Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. workforce today, according to Pew. And yet they seem to be the ones who struggle most to find and keep the jobs they really want.
As digital natives, Millennials have a lot going for them. With a little patience, discipline and some humility, Millennials can have the marketing careers they dream about — and be the star employees growing companies need them to be.
Here are few useful tips for Millennials hoping to break into the marketing world.
Want the job? Do your homework first.
Your contacts are more important than your resume, which is likely to be pretty light straight out of school. If you want to work at a big agency and know someone connected to that agency, make plans to meet up with them. Do your research first to learn everything you can about the company. Visit their social, read their press pages, About Us sections and any recent news. When you meet up with that contact, ask about their job, what the culture of the office is like, what skills they value and need most. In these informational interviews, you should do the least amount of talking and the most listening.
Even if you don’t have any contacts, you can use LinkedIn wisely. You can learn a lot about a company – including the head of the department in which you’d like to work. Take the time to write a personalized cover letter to that manager and explain how your interests line up with the company’s mission and vision. If you’re from a creative field, use that imagination to help you stand out. Build an infographic or a microsite, record a video or a song, make something tangible to help you stand out and showcase your value.
Don’t just answer questions at your interview.
Interviewing for jobs is a lot like dating — and no one enjoys a date that talks about themselves all evening. Ask original questions. Show the hiring manager you’re interested in the company and that you’ve taken the time to really learn about it. Even more important, listen and take notes.
Always follow up with a thank-you note — within 48 hours. Whether you want the job or not. You never know when you’ll cross paths with this person again in your career so leave the best impression. Email is easy (i.e., lazy) so try putting an actual pen to paper and mailing that thank you. It might seem old school but guess what gets saved, passed around, and displayed on someone’s desk — and acts as a reminder of you? Not that formulaic email.
Mind your online presence.
Your prospective employer will look you up on Google. What do you think they’ll learn about you? Take the time to build your personal brand. Make sure your profiles are up-to-date and that the values you reflect dovetail with your dream company. If you’re aiming for a role that’s focused on social media, your profiles had better reflect how savvy you are.
Now that you’ve got the job, hold onto it for a while!
Millennials have a reputation for demanding promotions early on. Your job is an opportunity to learn what you don’t know. Be patient. You may feel ready to take on more, and the best way to demonstrate that to your manager is to end every one-on-one with “What can I help you with?”
Stay hungry and don’t be afraid to fail. Guess what? Everyone fails at some point. What’s more important is learning from your failures and taking accountability for them. You’ll gain some of the best lessons of your career from missteps. Take it from a Gen X who’s been there.
Contributor Peter Minium explains how connections are formed on social media, the purpose of these connections and how they can be leveraged to win the social media marketing game.
Thousands of years ago, clans gathered around fires to share their day’s experiences and to tell stories that established group norms and shaped social organization. Today, the fire’s embers have been replaced by the glow of internet-connected devices, but the communal exchange of stories and perspectives remains a fundamental force in social development.
From a business standpoint, a few important differences emerge from this evolution. Social media users can now publicly discuss their experiences with brands or products, forming large coalitions of interest that exert vast social pressure on brands and other organizations. From the presidential election to the newest cereal, everything is now a matter of public interest.
The essential principle, however, of shaping our world by sharing stories remains the same. The connections we build with others around us are the infrastructure of social change. Understanding how these connections are formed on social media, the purpose of these connections and how they can be leveraged is foundational to social media marketing.
Understanding social mechanics with game theory
Though the need to participate in social exchange is obvious, it has proved challenging to effectively model how social systems work, especially when considering the impact of new media and technology on societal discourse. Game theory, a mathematical evaluation of competition and cooperation between interested actors, is a promising solution.
Despite what its name may suggest, game theory has little to do with “games” as we might typically think of them. It seeks instead to understand how rational participants, bound by a set of rules, respond to different stimuli. The application of game theory to social media can help us identify the objectives of social media users, and how they work to achieve them.
The “players” of the social media “game” are clearly the users — brands and consumers alike. Brands use social media to reach new customers, build a loyal audience and respond to consumer reviews, while the private social media user wants to keep up with friends, stay current and participate in social conversations about matters large and small.
Gaining powerful allies in the social media status game
Brands and consumers have different objectives, but how they achieve their ends is the same: social influence. All social media users compete for a limited supply of influence, clamoring for their voice to be heard. The mistake that many brands make is to see consumers as targets, or even enemies, instead of the powerful allies they can be.
If brands cooperate with consumers, assisting them in achieving their objectives, both can win the social media game. Above all, this means brands must provide social media users with the tools they need to increase their status, and thereby their influence on the conversation. By doing so, brands can proliferate their messaging and gain the vocal support of a vast audience.
Social status is at the core of every human interaction, and one of our most central drives. Its significance has recently been underlined by the discovery that changes in status are processed by the striatum, the same part of the brain that processes money. Researchers found that an increase in social status triggers a definite and quantifiable neurological reward.
Increasing and measuring status with game mechanics
In conversation, we largely seek to increase our prestige, which can be done in one of three ways:
Creating new content.
Sharing content.
Challenging content.
Each of these adds value to the conversation, introducing a new perspective, supporting, or critiquing an existing perspective, which in turn increases our status.
These avenues are built into most social media platforms, with “likes,” “shares” and “comments” all enabling us to quantifiably assign status to others and evaluate our own. Like points and levels in a video game, these features allow us to measure how popular we are in a community, and our brain rewards us each time we win a point — or punishes us if we lose.
In terms of game theory, these features should be thought of as game mechanics, which leverage our:
Desire to accumulate.
Preoccupation with social standing.
Appreciation of feedback.
Interest in connecting.
Enjoyment of personalization.
By tapping into deeply embedded psychological drives, these mechanics make social media engaging and rewarding.
Brands help themselves by giving consumers a voice
Each time brands elicit feedback from consumers or release content that is exciting or interesting, they give social media users another opportunity to score social points. Making a witty comment or sharing a fun video will increase a user’s status in their community. This is clearly a win for the brand, just as much as it is for the consumer.
It is equally important to avoid disapproval as it is to build support. Social media can magnify consumer condemnation as easily as it can bolster approval. Many brands have found themselves the targets of social media callouts when consumers chastise brands for an unsatisfying product, an ill-phrased comment or a poorly timed campaign.
Game mechanics are only part of the picture
The dangers of social media are exemplified in Pepsi’s 2017 ad featuring model Kendall Jenner, which referred to recent protests against police brutality. Though it portrayed Pepsi as a reconciliatory force, bridging the gap between opposing factions through the unifying power of its product, an irate public condemned the ad as tone deaf on social media.
Pepsi’s ad failed for two important reasons. Despite the brand’s intentions, audiences found the ad inauthentic, feeling it did not align with the brand’s purpose. More importantly, the ad did not respect the seriousness of the conflict, whose racial overtones and mortal significance demanded a great degree of sensitivity in the eyes of the public.
A winning application of game theory
In stark contrast, Heineken’s Worlds Apart ad won widespread acclaim the same year. The ad depicted ideologically opposed pairs working together to build a bar, before electing to share a beer and discuss their differences. Though Heineken’s ad responded to the same social climate and expressed a similar theme of unity, it could not have been more differently received.
It is possible that the public saw beer as a more genuine point of unison over such serious issues, but the real difference lies in Heineken’s treatment of social concerns. Rather than positioning itself as a heroic savior in a trivialized conflict, it showed itself facilitating participants in their individual struggle to have their voice heard and to improve their world.
We can look at Heineken’s ad not only as a case study in sensitive and authentic messaging, but also an effective example of game theory in action. Heineken allied itself with social media users, providing them a platform from which to express themselves. In doing so, it enabled them to become heroes in their own story, winning likes, comments, and shares in their own networks.
Winning the social media marketing game
To win the social media marketing game, brands are increasingly using the behavioral insights offered by game theory to craft effective social media strategies.
While brands and consumers have seemingly different objectives, they share the same drive for social influence. By recognizing this and enabling buyers and prospects to enhance their social status, brands can create a win-win situation for consumers and shareholders alike.
Peter Minnium is President of Ipsos Connect, where he leads the US team in helping companies measure and amplify how media, brands, and consumers connect through compelling content and great communications. Prior to his switch to market research, Peter was Head of Brand Initiatives at the IAB focused on addressing the under-representation of creative brand advertising online.
Unilever’s chief marketing and communications officer Keith Weed has commended Twitter for taking steps to eliminate fake accounts on the social platform.
On Wednesday, he tweeted that he is pleased to see Twitter “taking a big stand against the fake followers polluting the digital ecosystem.”
His comments are in response to Twitter’s recent decision to remove locked accounts from follower counts across profiles globally. Twitter locks accounts when it detects sudden changes in account behavior, like tweeting a large volume of unsolicited replies or mentions. Until now, those locked accounts remained in follower counts, but moving forward they will be removed.
“Most people will see a change of four followers or fewer; others with larger follower counts will experience a more significant drop,” wrote Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s legal, policy, and trust & safety lead, in a blog post. “We understand this may be hard for some, but we believe accuracy and transparency make Twitter a more trusted service for public conversation.”
The move comes one month after Weed expressed his concern over the issue of follower fraud at Cannes Lions. At the festival, Weed said Unilever will no longer work with influencers who buy followers and encouraged the industry as a whole to do more to curb the issue.
“The key to improving the situation is three-fold: cleaning up the influencer ecosystem by removing misleading engagement; making brands and influencers more aware of the use of dishonest practices; and improving transparency from social platforms to help brands measure impact,” Weed said at the time.
Live Stream Marketing and Your Integrated Marketing Plan
Live stream marketing is growing in popularity in all different areas. Sports teams can now broadcast their games across the internet, bands can reach a bigger crowd online and companies can market to their unique audiences.
Multiple social media platforms now offer users live streaming marketing capabilities too. Whether you want to use Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or even Twitch, there’s a platform for everyone. Due to the multi-channel accessibility lives streaming provides, businesses can reach bigger audiences than ever before.
According to Marketing Week, live stream marketing is the key to building authenticity with younger generations. Sara Carter, an experienced tech expert at Enlightened Digital, agrees. “Live stream marketing is going to be most efficient when trying to reach millennials and Generation Z,” Carter says. “With the ever-growing importance of finding ways to differentiate your brand, live stream marketing just might be a good strategy to add when trying to reach these demographics.”
4 Big Ways to Use Live Stream Marketing
Live Stream Interviews
Customers want the inside scoop that’s happening NOW. Conducting “get to know me” interviews with different employees and creators can be a great way to do that. It will give your business relatability and give prospective customers a better understanding of your company’s culture and values.
Another benefit of live streaming is that it’s able to be filmed wherever you want it to be. These interviews can take place sitting at your desk or on a set created in the meeting room. If live stream interviews are something you want to try, be sure it’s done with a professional air. Be prepared with questions to ask, act comfortable in front of the camera and know how to use the technology. Poorly done live stream marketing can become a negative reflection of your brand. If you’re unprepared, it will show. The time and preparation will pay off when audiences can tell you put effort into creating something special just for them.
How-Tos
Another great live stream marketing engagement idea is creating a tutorial. A how-to live stream can be a fun and interactive outreach. A how-to live stream doesn’t mean an artistic how-to necessarily, which is a common misconception. These live streams can range from how to write an eye-catching blog post to how to put together a great summer outfit. There are countless ways for any business type to get involved in this live stream tactic. How-tos are for anyone that’s creative enough to come up with a fun idea that customers will want to emulate. How-to live streams can also provide an opportunity to reach a new audience, especially if you center your project on material that’s different from what your business typically gravitates towards.
Content Collaboration
If you’re afraid that the content or employees in your live streams repetitive, don’t worry! Live streaming is a great place for content collaborations. Inviting outsiders in will give your stream a fresh set of opinions and ideas. These individuals can be creators or influencers working in your field, or even other business owners that you think could make a positive impact. Use tactics like a back and forth conversation between CEO’s, a Q&A, or a content swap with a social media influencer in your city. There are endless options when it comes to working this into your live stream marketing strategy. Working with other influencers in your field introduces them to a new audience and gives your brand access to the audience they’ve already built. Both sides win!
Want to make your clientele feel like they know the ins and outs of your business? An office tour could do just that. Having the ability to create brand loyalty is an essential step in establishing a strong business. Allowing customers to step inside the office of the CEO, for example, could make those watching feel like part of the team. These live streams can show off your company’s personality and culture. Your office’s decoration can display an identity, and identity provides something to which a customer can relate.
The Impact of Live Stream Marketing
It’s measurable. In the end, what matters is how your company and the marketing strategies you’re using are accepted. By live streaming, your brand can get immediate, quantitative feedback on both reach and engagement. Live stream marketing is convenient, free, and super hot right now!
So don’t be shy, get live! The world is ready to watch.
Bonnie Harris is an integrated marketing communications (IMC) expert with more than twenty years of marketing communications experience across traditional and digital media. She has created IMC campaigns for a wide variety of clients from Ivy League universities to healthcare specialty practices. She blogs and writes about IMC for national… View full profile ›
Read more at https://www.business2community.com/video-marketing/4-big-ways-to-use-live-stream-marketing-02088510
Getting inside the marketing mind means not only understanding your customers and how they make decisions but understanding your own marketing efforts to ensure they align with your customers and prospects.
Marketing Mind
Take a look at the infographic at the bottom of this post (if you have trouble reading it, simply click on the figure to enlarge it). The image shows a look inside the marketing mind.
Divided into 2 hemispheres (unfortunately, a division of labor that has fallen out of favor in the medical community) makes the distinction between analytical and creative aspects of marketing. In the not too distant past, these activities would have been similarly divided with the IT and Finance functions concerned with analytical components and marketing/ sales folks owning the creative components of marketing. Just as the notion that the 2 hemispheres of the brain function independently has fallen, so has the functionality of dividing analytical and creative activities between different departments or functional areas.
Today, I’d like to focus on the data side of the marketing mind. For more on the creative side, check out my posts on content marketing.
The analytical marketing mind
It wasn’t so long ago that marketing was dominated by creatives and expressing marketing performance relied on squishy metrics such as ad recall and reach. Today, properly constructed marketing efforts generate a host of metrics that help businesses optimize market performance in terms of sales, conversion rates, AOV (average order value), and customer acquisition — things that translate to the firm’s bottom line.
Based on the infographic, data analysis generates 7X as many inquiries and 4X as many leads compared to firms who don’t analyze such data. I leave it to you to see other benefits of having an analytical marketing mind.
Caveats:
All data has a cost. Those costs may reflect costs to gather, analyze, and store the data. Or, the cost may reflect annoyances to prospective customers that might interfere with conversion–opportunity costs. Either way, you should only collect data that help improve your marketing efforts to reduce these costs.
Data quality is critically important, as well. Bad data lead to bad decisions and the prevalence of inaccurate data makes this a serious concern. Data mistakes come from a variety of sources, but the most common is human error–either the data was input incorrectly or there was a problem constructing the database. Sometimes, data errors come during analysis when data are combined without a clear understanding of the data contained in the database. For instance, combining inquiries with conversions would be inappropriate but it analysts don’t clearly understand what is in the database, they might make such a combination.
Companies with clean data are 3X more likely to see revenue growth, according to the infographic.
Data analysis and application
In the old days, marketing or someone in the C-suite might ask a business intelligence employee to create a report that can be run daily, weekly, etc or for a custom report. The request might take days or weeks to complete. Today, we need up-to-the-minute data, often in real-time, and our data needs change frequently. Hence, marketers must become more analytical with the ability to query databases using SQL, Python, and other tools. At the same time, traditional marketing research is less about surveys analyzed using SPSS, and more about qualitative data collection using text analytics.
Data analysis has moved beyond targeting, to focus on marketing personas, which contain rich behavioral and psychographic data in addition to demographics.
Sharing the marketing mind
Data must be shared among the various folks who’ll use the data–such as sales, creative, operations, NPD (new product development), and other functional areas. Holding the data hostage with only a few people able to access it is counterproductive.
Aligning the creative with data is necessary to optimize market performance. Good, quality, fresh leads need to go out to the sales force (who also need to funnel insights back to the corporation rather than hold them close to the chest). Creative needs to understand which offers, headlines, images, sharing options, and posting schedules are most effective, they need to understand how and why subscribers respond to email messages, they need to know what social media strategies are working best on which platforms. Helping creatives glean actionable insights from the data is critical for performance.
And, that’s why it’s often ineffective to use statisticians or other data crunchers for data analysis. It’s not that they aren’t experts with data manipulation because they are. But, without an understanding of marketing concepts, these data jockeys don’t know WHAT to look for, as not all metrics that contribute to market performance are obvious to those without such training. By the same token, data analysts might have a hard time translating the data into action for creatives who may also not have a good understanding of marketing concepts.
Hence, someone needs to bridge the hemispheres between data and creatives.
Data helps tailor content
Another way in which the complete marketing mind facilitates market performance is through using data to tailor content to individual users. For instance, knowing that a particular visitor is interested in a particular product and how they’ll use that product, helps creatives tailor their content to better align content with the needs of that customer. Knowing where a customer is along the journey toward conversion and loyalty also helps creatives craft content that specifically addresses concerns a visitor might have based on their own customer journey. Knowing how to effectively address these concerns leads to improved market performance.
Every Marketing Tool You Need to Know About in 2018
This mega list of marketing tools is categorized.
Check out tools for automation, email, ads, SEO, SMM, research, analysis and a ton more.
Most of these tools are either free or affordable.
Each tool alone has the power to energize your marketing successes. Together, these tools could add up to your winning formula for making marketing unicorns.
1. Site Audience Comparison
SimilarWeb
Alexa
Google Analytics
Experian
2. Digital Analytics Tools
Google Analytics
Google Analytics Premium
Adobe Analytics
Kissmetrics
3. SEO Keyword Analysis
Google AdWords Keyword Planner
Google Trends
SEMRush
Bing Ads
Übersuggest
4. SEO Rank Checking
Google Search Console
SEMRush
Searchmetrics
Moz
Ryte
5. SEO Site Crawling
Google Search Console
Ryte
Screaming Frog
6. SEO Backlink Analysis
Google Search Console
SEMRush
Ahrefs
Majestic
LinkResearchTools
7. AdWords Paid Search Analysis
WordStream
SEMRush
SpyFu
Optmyzr
8. Influencer Outreach and Management
Buzzsumo
BuzzStream
Traackr
Onalytica
Lithium
9. Data Management Platforms and Audience Targeting
Cxense
Criteo
Krux
Neustar
Oracle
Adobe Audience Manager
10. Page Engagement Tools
Clicktale
Crazy Egg
Tealeaf
11. Content Management Systems
Sitecore
Adobe Experience Manager
Acquia
Oracle WebCenter
12. Blogging Tools
WordPress
HubSpot
Movable Type
ExpressionEngine
Drupal
13. Content Curation and Authoring Tools
Evernote
IFTTT
Feedly
Scoop.it
Cronycle
14. Landing Page Creation and Testing Tools
Unbounce
LeadPages
Instapage
Optimizely
15. Digital Asset Management
Adobe Experience Manager
Wistia
Vimeo
Uberflip
Placeit
16. On-site Push Notifications
Hello Bar
BrightInfo
Sumo
Evergage
Bounce Exchange
SaleCycle
17. Personalization for Ecommerce
Evergage
Barilliance
Marketizator
SaleCycle
Monetate
18. Ecommerce Cart Recovery
Cloud.IQ
SaleCycle
Optilead
Fresh Relevance
Pure360
19. A/B and Multivariate Testing Tools
Convert
Visual Website Optimizer
Optimizely
Oracle Maxymiser
SiteSpect
20. Ecommerce Management
Magento
Woo Themes
Shopify
PrestaShop
Actinic
21. Product and Customer Review Tools
Trustpilot
Feefo
Yotpo
Bazaarvoice
Reevoo
22. Call Tracking
Infinity
Convirza
ResponseTap
CallTrackingMetrics
CallRail
Nextiva
23. Social Media Publishing Focus
HootSuite
Buffer
SproutSocial
Viralheat
FalconSocial
24. Social Media Listening Focus
SocialMention
Talkwalker Alerts
BuzzSumo
Social Crawlytics
Sysomos
25. Social Media Campaign Tools
Shortstack
Spredfast
Woobox
Pagemodo
Tabfoundry
26. Online Customer Service Tools
MobileMonkey
Zendesk
Help Scout
Get Satisfaction
Freshdesk
Groove
27. Marketing Cloud, CRM and Campaign Management Tools
HubSpot
Marketo
Hatchbuck
SalesForce
Oracle Marketing Cloud
Adobe Marketing Cloud
28. Email Service Providers and Marketing Automation Services
Aweber
iContact
MailChimp
Constant Contact
Get Response
Infusionsoft
Act-On
29. Facebook Messenger and Chatbot Tools
MobileMonkey
30. Email Marketing Optimization Tools
SurveyMonkey
Polldaddy
Typeform
Take your marketing strategies to the next level using the tools above.
61% of marketers say that generating quality business leads is their biggest challenge. This shows that all businesses need to spend a lot of energy to attract prospects. To make things a bit easier, it’s important to be clear about some simple but proven marketing tactics — these 12 techniques are essential if you want to know how to attract customers more effectively.
This blog looks at ways to attract a group of prospects or customers potentially interested in your product or service. It is important to properly qualify your business leads good correspondence to your business, the potential for transformation into prospects or, in other words, the serious leads that are worthwhile to provide sales efforts.
Let’s dive into the techniques that will turn your business into a lead generation machine:
Direct Marketing: personally, contact your potential client
The Direct Marketing is a technique used to communicate directly with prospects, e.g. IM, during a call or e-mail, or in person. A direct marketing message almost always involves a specific call to action, intended to trigger a direct response from your target. These responses can range from clicking a link to subscribe to calling a phone number or visiting a website. A strong call for action might even prompt the target to buy a product directly. A direct marketing message can be the first point of contact that prospects have with your brand
A) Know that some people feel this form of marketing as intrusive and painful. As you often contact your prospects without having an appointment, adapt your communication and highlight what are the benefits for them.
A well-targeted direct marketing campaign always has great benefits, as it allows you to:
B) Ability to contact targets that are difficult to reach otherwise
Example: Older generations are not very engaged in digital, but they might be interested in your offer if you call them.
C) Test the attractiveness of your product or service because potential customers must respond immediately
Example: You have designed a new product, but you are not sure how people will react. Why not call a test audience and see how they react, before going ahead and throwing it out?
D) Achieve clear and measurable results
Example: You can very easily evaluate the impact of your direct marketing campaign. If you sent a direct email to 100 prospects inviting them to download your catalog for free, and 20 of them did, it gives you a 20% positive response rate. You can then qualify them and feed them to sign the deal later … knowing exactly how many leads have become customers. Very handy for easily measuring success and calculating the cost of acquiring new customers that results from this campaign.
1. Cold Solicitation: to convince your prospects in real-time conversations
Skip unsolicited calls to potential customers, or “ cold calling”, was one of the favorite techniques before, but its popularity declined. This is understandable because calling people can be tiring and tedious if they have never heard of your company before — and they might not be super interested.
This does not mean that this form of telemarketing is always a bad idea. Having real-time conversations with potential customers can play an important role in convincing them. And if you target your efforts on decision makers, you greatly increase your chances of convincing them.
Focus on clear, targeted audiences with a well-prepared script, and compare statistics about your business (number and duration of your calls), quality (how many decision makers did you reach, how many leads do you have) qualified?) and the conversion rate (how many demos or purchases have followed the call?) to find out if this is a technique in which you should invest. You can buy call lists for this, or build them yourself, for example via events or online searches.
2. Direct Mailing: Make sure your target audience sees your messages
Direct mailing, whether sent by e-mail or mail, can also be a valuable technique if you want to target a specific audience effectively. Make people aware of your brand or catch their attention with creative and interesting messages. For example, top executives may be important prospects for your business, but they do not have much time to browse the web for information. Make sure they do not miss out on your content and send them a direct email with information that you have compiled specifically for them.
Direct marketing: advantages and disadvantages
The reasons why direct marketing is a popular marketing tactic are clear: it allows for personal contact, helps you reach an audience that might be hard to reach otherwise, and provides you with exact figures about who you’ve called or contacted via your mailing.
However, calling or sending a mailing to all these prospects in a personalized way takes a lot of time. And sometimes your efforts are not even appreciated, because not everybody likes to be contacted unexpectedly, or finds that your messages are a little too urgent.
Do not worry: direct marketing is always a valuable tactic, especially when combined with other marketing techniques. And best of all, you can easily do it yourself without any outside help.
Inbound Marketing: distribute interesting content to attract the attention of your customers
We have already indicated that if you contact prospects through direct marketing, you should share valuable content with them … But the content is what, exactly?
The content is presenting information to an audience that can be shared in different formats. There are many possibilities: in addition to e-mails you can write blogs, ebooks or product catalogs, create videos and more.
Content plays a key role in inbound marketing. By broadcasting informative, educational or entertaining content, you create a real relationship with your audience. Providing content to your potential customers helps them find what they need and shows that your business is trustworthy. Without speaking to them directly, you help your prospects assess their situation, find a solution and make a decision.
With inbound marketing, you give potential customers the exact information they are looking for. Perfect for buyers who like to find out carefully before (or even without) a face-to-face conversation.
3. Content: the basic component of all your marketing actions
According to Forrester, for each content sent by a marketer or a salesperson, buyers read three others elsewhere. The buyers’ self-information is real, and our environment exposes us to a lot of content. It’s your job to be heard despite the noise, to find new ways for prospects to find you and to provide them with the information they are looking for.
Keep in mind that content is the core component of all your marketing campaigns, from e-mail to social networks. High-quality content can help you break into information overload on the Internet, and help you earn the trust of your prospects.
You already know that you can create content in a wide variety of formats … But where to post it once you’ve created it? Well, your website is one of the most important places to publish exclusive content. This might seem a bit controversial, but you should even do it for free.
Your content is the first step to attract visitors. Now it’s time to think about turning them into prospects. Your content may be free, but that does not mean you should not get something out of it: what if you asked them for their contact information?
Using web forms to upload your content offering is a great way to gather information about prospects. Why not offer them to subscribe to your blog? A blog can bring a lot of value to your website because it keeps your readers interested and, hopefully, will make them come back for more. Moreover, quality written content also plays an important role in improving your natural search engine ranking …
4. SEO: Attract prospects by sleeping
SEO (“SEO” for Search Engine Optimization) is the set of actions that improve your ranking on search engines. Suppose you sell office supplies — it would be great if people found your website by typing “buy office supplies” as search.
People use search engines all the time, especially Google. With SEO, you make sure that the content you create matches what people are looking for.
The more your website is optimized, the higher it will be ranked high on the search engine results page or “SERPs” (Search Engine Page Ranks). And that’s what you want because it will greatly increase the chances of finding you and clicking on a link pointing to your site.
If you’re looking to optimize your website, try to increase its relevance and authority, because Google values informative content and benefits web pages that use the same vocabulary as your target customers and answer any questions they may have.
->To put it simply, relevance refers to the ability to answer your audience’s question. For example, the associated search terms at the bottom of a page might give you an indication of what your customers are looking for. Google will give your website a higher score if you can provide clear answers to searches.
->Authority is measured by the number and quality of links from other web pages — what you can do first by creating relevant content, or secondly by having guest experts contribute to your blog (“guest blogging “).
Imagine that you sell a wide range of pools. When people are considering this type of purchase, they may be looking for different alternatives. A blog about the differences between concrete, vinyl-clad and fiberglass pools could answer some of their questions and therefore increase your relevance.
Some of your suppliers also find your blog very useful, so they put a link to your website. When a landscaper notices it, he suggests that you work together. You write content that they will post on their website, which will put their visitors in touch with your business. These links to your website will increase your authority and help you reach a new audience.
Choose to invest in SEO if you want:
->Obtain consistent results. It takes a while to appear on the first page of the search engine, but once you are there, you will enjoy a significant increase in traffic.
->Create an authoritative website. This is a well-established resource or website to which one turns for a particular niche. An authoritative website will drive traffic to your page in a sustainable way, and help your business build its reputation until you’re popular enough to dominate the market — which is only possible with smart content and good SEO planning.
Increase the value of your website and get more search traffic because you appear higher in the search engine.
Inbound Marketing: Pros and Cons
The SEO efforts you provide have a long-term impact and they cost you almost nothing — as long as you do not account for the resources you spend to optimize and create your content. All of this might sound a little awesome at first, so it’s a good idea to contact an expert to guide you through the basic steps. Many external agencies and freelancers can optimize your website or create effective SEO content.
You cannot ignore the fact that everyone is online, so you have to be too. People are also actively looking for information, so you should provide it to them. Through inbound marketing and SEO, your business becomes a respected thought leader and source of information. It also makes your website easier to find. If your prospects are aware of your existence, they are no longer surprised when you contact them, so it’s a great idea to attract prospects online and then follow-up by contacting them personally.
Paid online advertising: to reach a more targeted audience faster
Online ads are a great way to reach more of your target audience and find leads. Let’s take a look at some of the most common techniques.
5. Online Advertising & Retargeting: Focus on Your Target Market
Online advertisements are ads on websites. They look like classic magazine ads, but with one important difference: you are fully aware of the results. It is possible to follow the ads online: who clicked on it? What were the demographic characteristics of those interested? The more you know about your target, the better you can customize your ads.
Online advertising is useful for targeting audiences with different demographics or behavioral characteristics. For example, if your business is active in different cities across the country, it might be interesting to target only people who live in these locations. You can also choose where you want to make your ads visible: choose an online publishing space where your prospects spend time. Imagine selling cars: you would like your banner to appear on a website that compares the price of cars.
If you do not know which websites visit the prospects you are targeting, or if you want to distribute your paid shares, taking advantage of retargeting ads can be a good idea. These ads follow visitors to your website via a cookie and then reappear on other sites they visit. These reminders about your business help bring prospects to your website once they are ready to make a decision.
6. Search Engine Advertising (“SEA”): pay per click to get high quality leads right away
You may have already noticed that when you have something, the first hits on Google are ads. Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC) is a form of Search Engine Advertising (SEA) that shows ads in the search engine. Advertisers bid on keyword their keyword list. For example, if you were a plumber, you’d try to use keywords like ‘plumbing’, ‘boiler repair’ or ‘repining’. The advertiser only country when someone clicks on the displayed ad.
Paid Online Advertising: Pros and Cons
Use the PPC technique to attract prospects if you want to:
->Get immediate results and speed up traffic in a short period of time, such as product launches or seasonal promotions.
->Generate highly targeted traffic. The PPC also allows you to reduce the number of your prospects based on their demographic characteristics. This means that you define which prospects have an interest in seeing your ads, which leads to high-quality leads.
->Try new things. Spend the field with new products or new offers and learn more about how people respond by spending a reduced budget. If you notice that your idea works, go further and create a campaign on your different marketing channels.
When we talk about search engine advertising, everything revolves around Google. Use their video tutorials to set up a campaign yourself, or consult an expert. If paid advertising is one of the main marketing tactics you use, it can cost you a lot. Instead, it’s best to use it for small-scale testing, or as a complement to your other marketing tactics.
Social Networks: combine community animation and lead generation
66% of marketers notice a positive evolution of their lead generation by spending only 6 hours a week on social networks. It’s time to create an account, be visible and active by regularly posting content, and respond to questions and expressions of interest. Even putting a “like” on someone’s post or commenting on their photos helps users remember your brand.
7. LinkedIn: Do you make new relationships to sell more
Finding a prospect through LinkedIn can be very simple, but also take time. Examine the connection suggestions made to you and evaluate whether they match your offer. LinkedIn also offers a large number of groups. Join a group of professionals who might be interested in your business and send them a login request.
Talk to them once they have accepted the connection and use the right sales techniques to close a deal. It’s easy — if you take the time to follow up and keep track of your connection requests and messages.
If you are willing to pay to get some new prospects, you could also use LinkedIn ads. The optional Lead Collection feature redirects members who click on your ads to your landing page, where they can fill out a contact request. It’s very easy for the user, and it helps you build a list of prospects very quickly.
8. Facebook: reach people close to your target audience
Facebook also helps you to generate more leads on social networks. For example, use the ability to get a direct link to your website. The platform also allows you to subscribe to a newsletter directly on the network, so you can quickly get contact details of visitors interested in your newsletter.
When it comes to advertising, Facebook offers simple ways to reach your target audiences.
->Custom Audiences: The first method is to download a list of emails and match the emails to users. You have now created a custom audience for your ads. Custom audiences are made up of people who have taken an action that you have specified, such as going to your website or downloading your app. They are often used to track current users
->Similar audiences: You can also create a similar audience from a list of customer emails, which creates an audience of people similar to your current customer database. There are many ways you can build your database, like hiring someone for B2B data service, having opt-in forms, collect data from sales department. In other words, you use the demographics of your customers to reach a wider group of people who might be interested in your services. A similar audience is useful if you want to size your ads and find a lot of new leads.
Social networks: advantages and disadvantages
The wider your reach on social media, the more prospects you will attract without spending anything. Rome was not built in a day, nor your LinkedIn and Facebook account. Be active and post attractive content to collect more likes and comments. This will increase your chances that new audiences will see your content in their newsfeed.
When it comes to attracting a large number of potential customers, paid options such as “LinkedIn Lead Collection” or “Facebook Ads” will generate more leads. It is wise to use them as a tactic that complements your other marketing actions. Of course, you should be present on social networks, because they are not only valuable to attract or convince a prospect, but also to please your customers and keep them informed.
Email Marketing: so, your potential customers keep your brand in mind
E-mail should be one of your main forms of communication because it helps you stay in touch with your audience. Create targeted messages to send relevant content to your potential customers and keep them in mind. And why not segment your different types of audiences and send them custom content?
An automated and generic e-mail is another easy way to find out who’s interested in your business or who does not, simply by asking your prospects. Give them the opportunity to respond easily to your message (for example by clicking on a call-to-action button or subscription form) and use this opportunity to compile a list of prospects you should call a day. To know more see this article– how to build a targeted email list
Want to know more about email marketing? We have listed a whole set of techniques to turn your prospects into customers — check them out here.
Marketing by e-mail: advantages and disadvantages
Email marketing is inexpensive. You do not need expensive software or hardware and you do not have to waste time sending emails to all your customers separately. Instead, you can standardize your communication for segmented groups of prospects.
It is also very easy to follow the results. With minimal tracking, you know which emails have been received, which people have unsubscribed, the open rate (people who opened your email) and the clickthrough rate (people who opened your email and click on the link that is included).
Remember that people see a lot of content every day. If your prospects receive a lot of emails, how are you going to stand out? Think about what you want to send and who you will send it to. Using original object titles could already help increase your open rate. Adapt each campaign to a specific target audience and send people content that interests them if you want e-mail marketing to work for you.
Affiliate Marketing: Let Other Businesses Help You Sell
In affiliate marketing, someone recommends your product. Whenever a purchase is made on the basis of this recommendation, the ambassador receives a reward. In its most traditional forms, affiliate marketing is established through partnerships. Every time your partner sends you a new client, he receives a commission. The most modern affiliate marketing is placing banners and URLs on partner sites.
By using a tracking URL, you can keep a perfect overview of all the traffic and sales you generate through different promotional techniques. Affiliate marketing is similar to Google’s online advertising (Display Network), but the difference is that you build the partnerships yourself, instead of having to choose from Google’s criteria.
Affiliate Marketing: Pros and Cons
It takes time and energy to establish reliable affiliate partnerships with third parties, especially if you take into account the discussions to agree on the commission amounts and set-up fees. In addition, the commissions come naturally nibble a piece of your profit margin.
But if you do it right, affiliate marketing increases the visibility of your products and services and is a good way to get additional sources of income.
11. Referral Programs: Use Word of Mouth to Acquire New Clients
Testimonials and shared experiences from satisfied customers are a great way to attract potential customers in a cost-effective way. People like to have social proof and concrete results. Word of mouth is also inexpensive: satisfied customers are often more than willing to promote your business for free.
Consider who you are targeting and what similar customers you have. Approach these clients and ask them directly for a recommendation or think of incentives that would encourage them to do so. Ask them for a recommendation when they have just had a really positive experience with your customer support or give a high score to your business … or simply approach your most loyal customers. Make it easy for them to give you a recommendation: do not make them write long letters but a short and pleasant message that they can share.
Referral marketing is a bit similar to affiliate marketing, where partner sites and magazines look after your ads and promote your business. The important difference is that a referral program invests in ambassadors who can recommend your brand to friends and family — Word of mouth may be the oldest marketing channel in the world, but it is still valuable.
Recommendation programs: advantages and disadvantages
Recommendation marketing helps you reduce the length of your sales cycle. People you contact through a referral program will rarely be interested, as cold prospects might be, and calling hot leads helps you save money.
But do not be too urgent. Let people decide if they want to recommend your business. Even a satisfied customer might not want to, because recommending a brand is a big problem for some people because it affects their reputation.
Just set up a referral program, and let people come to you. Do not try to make as many transactions as possible, but appreciate the recommendations you receive.
12. Event Marketing: to convince your potential customers face to face
Since there is no better form of advertising than sharing the experience of a satisfied customer, why not try to please them at an event? This is the perfect opportunity to promote what your brand represents, to show some of the solutions you provide and to build personal relationships with participants. With personal contact, it’s easier to turn potential customers into serious prospects, while conveying the key ideas of your business and increasing brand awareness.
Event marketing: advantages and disadvantages
Events require a lot of time and energy. They are hard work and often come back to sacrifice evenings and weekends. You need to make a lot of effort, but it can pay: have the opportunity to have serious conversations, to meet people who otherwise might never have heard of your company … The good one’s Events are worth it as you invest time — to get out!
Are you ready to attract your potential customers?
None of these techniques represent a guaranteed entry card to an infinite flow of prospects but, if you combine them, they can significantly improve the number of your prospects. Try to find a balance between online and offline actions, personal contact and digital messaging, optimization and creation. Test different things, integrate and apply marketing techniques that will help you attract many quality prospects.
When I started out (around the time Duran Duran roamed the planet), business-to-business (B2B) marketing was confined to the domain of the literal. The customer was deemed rational and analytical, so the messaging was bland and unimaginative. B2B meant “boring-to-boring.” All the communications felt like PowerPoint presentations. We spoke in the native language of sales collateral and trade show jargon. And a bulk of the work seemed dependent on sales teams’ connections and cold calling target clients.
Yet, over the past decade, we’ve seen B2B marketing evolve into “business-to-beautiful”marketing — marketing that illuminates the beautiful stories behind businesses today, expressing their visions and values in society. Suddenly, some of the best work is aimed at procurement executives through thought leadership, branded content, social media and content marketing strategies that drive a wonderful overhead appeal to shareholders and lovers of great narratives.
The shift was inevitable, in my opinion, given the rise of the internet and social media. What we’ve realized through social is that businesses are inherently emotional beings, they are creations of our imaginations, rivers of human growth and determiners of where we build our future communities. B2B marketing is no longer isolated in the ivory tower, creating empires unknown by the general public. Instead, “B2Beautiful” marketing has made the connection between B2B storytelling and our human growth potential. These B2Beautiful stories captivate our imaginations and trigger emotional resonance — key ingredients in building that residual stickiness factor in an attention-deficit world.
My company, The Harris Poll, recently released the Reputation Quotient study (registration required), which reports that contemporary drivers are found in today’s consumer desires, and many of the storytelling strategies employed by B2C marketers are becoming increasingly applicable to B2B marketing.
We see brilliant examples of brands implementing B2Beautiful campaigns today and engaging communities even in functional, low-interest categories. Maersk, for instance, is humanizing logistics services by personifying its giant cargo ships and documenting their travels through stunning visual images on Instagram. Cisco’s award-winning documentary, The Network Effect, highlights telecom development stories, while companies such as Salesforce and The Mosaic Company have created engaging podcasts. The Mosaic Company’s podcast, “The Great Yield Mystery,” featured a dramatic audio play about two farmers trying to understand why their harvest came short — it even offered listeners clues to solve the mystery and win prizes.
These companies understand that brands are stories in and of themselves and every aspect of who they are — from their work culture, logistics, products and services, to how they think and operate behind the scenes — is essential to creating an effective B2Beautiful marketing strategy. Their strategies provide five crucial takeaways that marketers should keep in mind while creating B2Beautiful marketing, regardless of if you’re a startup or a large corporation.
1. Pinpoint Your Story
Use your mission and objectives to frame your values and use those components to create your story. Interestingly, The Harris Poll’s RQ survey also shows that there is a new market opportunity for B2B companies to take action on social issues. A new class of what we call “humanity brands” — companies that stand up for what they believe in and walk their talk. These brands are solving social ills, despite their political affiliation.
Successful B2Beautiful marketing, especially in the age of consumer activism, involves being able to identify issues that resonate with your brand and weave them into your story.
2. Weaponize Your Culture
A 2015 FORTUNE Knowledge Group report showed that corporate culture is incredibly important to building B2B relationships. Furthermore, 59% of executives surveyed rated knowing what a company stands for as more important when choosing a partner to work with, ranking higher than market dominance and innovation.
Depending on its mission, each company’s culture is unique. Once you know who you are and what you stand for as a company, you can then find engaging ways to share those convictions through the right media platforms. WeWork, for instance, uses its Instagram account to showcase their offices around the world, with photos of workers doing yoga or wearing stormtrooper helmets. They are motivating people around their motto to “make a life, not just a living.”
3. Don’t Be Constrained By Your Category
At its core, B2Beautiful marketing involves building emotional equity. Every story you set out to tell about your company should be crafted to evoke empathy. This is how you inspire B2B buyers, (who, by the way, are consumers just like you and me) to be emotionally invested in your brand.
Some of the most emotionally engaging and brilliant work is coming from a few of the lowest-interest categories. In fact, it’s there where the biggest white space is found.
4. Diversify Your Channels And Forms Of Content
As a 21st-century business, there are key owned-media platforms that are imperative for B2Beautiful marketing — a blog for brand storytelling, social media platforms (LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and a newsletter. However, in addition to those channels, there are other platforms such as podcasts, videos, infographics and even gifs.
Work with creative partners to determine the right channels to use, depending on the stories you want to tell about the company, its products and services and core truths.
5. Ensure Your Strategy Is Buyer-Focused
We still are selling, after all, so be mindful of your target audience (B2B buyers) when you create your B2Beautiful marketing. What are their needs? Not just the tangible ones in terms of products or services, but also their values, triggers and unmet needs. What are their goals and how can you help them meet those goals?
Think about how your services amplify their missions, visions and values. Through your strategy, you can even educate buyers on ways to better connect with the end consumer and build substantial relationships that grow over time.
In the coming years, B2B marketing will, inevitably, continue to evolve in this direction. Therefore, it is important for marketers to adapt to these rules in order to differentiate their brands and remain attractive and relevant in the eyes of buyers.
