Mobile Marketing

Video Drives Sales – Here’s What You Need To Know

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Study after study has shown that video is the easiest and most effective way to engage customers and drive them to take action. Video works exceedingly well to create brand awareness, activation, onboarding, and retention. Effectively using video as a component of your marketing strategy helps you gain a competitive edge in an  increasingly crowded market.

According to a Wyzowl State of Video Marketing Report and Hubspot surveying:

  • Online video watching has almost doubled since 2018.
  • Nearly 93% of brands reported new customer acquisition came from videos posted on their social media.
  • 87% of video marketers reported that video gives them a positive ROI.
  • 85% of consumers report wanting to see more videos from brands. 
  • Video usage in ad campaigns increases conversion rates by 34% according to Vidyard.  
  • Unbounce reports including a video on your landing page can boost your conversion rate by up to 80%. 

Clearly, video is no longer a nicety; it’s a necessity to ensure your brand is responsive to consumers’ growing desire for efficient and informative self-service options along their buying journey. More consumers than ever before are digesting content before reaching out to sales. Video enables marketers to target different personas to deliver the most relevant and compelling information at various stages in the sales funnel. Video has been shown to be superior at explaining information and building momentum, so it’s a great choice to keep moving prospects further into the buying journey and down the funnel by directing them to the next relevant video. Avoid the pitfall of the “request a demo” option. It works much better to use wording like “watch our demo now.” Simple changes like this will boost your conversion.

In order to take full advantage of video content, you need to understand the best strategies for using video as well as how to track and quantify its impact. The importance of video will only grow as we move further toward enterprise self-service. Let’s take a look at the four most common types of videos you should be creating.

Explainer Videos 

As the name alludes, this approach is best when you need to explain a complex product or service or differentiate your brand. 

Onboarding Videos 

This is typically a series of videos that welcome new customers and work to get them more familiar with a product or service by addressing key areas. Often these videos will include screen captures and audio instructions to show actions the customer will need to take.

Demo Videos 

This video approach allows you to demonstrate your product or service to show prospects exactly how it works. This type of video also makes use of screen captures and audio instructions. 

Testimonial Videos 

These videos are your opportunity to showcase satisfied customers to positively influence prospects. 

Top Tips For Maximum Results

These tips will help you achieve your video marketing goals and track your results. 

Shorter Is Better – The goal is to deliver relevant information as quickly as possible. Follow these time guidelines:

Explainer Videos: 45-90 seconds
Demo Videos: Maximum of 10 minutes
Onboarding Videos: 1-3 minutes
Testimonial Videos: 45-90 seconds

Using More Videos Is Better – Don’t think of your videos as a one-stop shop. Instead, realize that the most effective approach is to drip your content over a series of videos. Prospects are more likely to watch more short videos. 

Use Videos To Address Pitfalls – Use what you know about your sales funnel and any of its possible pitfalls and address them with videos that pull prospects down your funnel. 

Track the ROI Of Your Videos – You’ll want to track who watched what and how those views impacted your KPIs, influenced new leads, the amount of new pipeline, and new revenue generated. 

For marketers looking to deliver on the new self-service buyer journey, maximize their sales efficiency, and increase conversions, video is a must in your marketing strategy. Video delivers a full-funnel strategy that is proven effective. 

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The Future of Digital Marketing

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The digital marketing landscape has changed tremendously, and we can expect more of the same in the years to come. Our ability to work with user-level audience data will continue to evolve, creating obstacles and presenting opportunities. As always, marketers will be asking themselves questions like:

Addressability – What is the best way to reach my audience?

Segmentation – How do I differentiate my audience as needed?

Measurement – How do I determine the success of my marketing?

Growth – How do I keep my CPM down and grow?

Looking Beyond Just Sales To Measure Success

A critical component of digital marketing is measuring the cost per lead. However, moving forward, marketers will seek to measure the effectiveness of digital campaigns using a variety of changing metrics. We’ve already seen that process begin, thanks to recent changes with the elimination of cookies and other perishable IDs, browsers blocking ads and cross-channel targeting, etc.

Moving forward there will be a greater focus on the overall sales picture. Of course, sales are a critical measurement for the success of a campaign, but they are not the sole measurement. It’s increasingly important to also look at brand affinity, content engagement, e-mail/newsletter/membership/offer sign-ups, and shopping cart behavior to name a few. There was a time not long ago when CPMs were the sole gauge to measure the success of campaigns against chosen outcomes, but that will be less prevalent moving forward. 

Consumers are more particular than ever about what they are willing to consume in terms of content. They will continue to expect high-quality content. Marketers will need to find new ways to tell stories that connect them with their consumers who are seeking information and value in anything they listen to, watch, or read.

Studying Collected Data To Drive Sales And Strategy

Businesses collect more and more data on their audiences, but it’s what they do with that data that really counts. As targeting gets more complicated, data becomes more valuable. It will help dictate how marketers go about reaching a targeted audience. Marketers able to reach their targeted segment through digital platforms are able to justify paying a higher cost per lead. Digital marketing will continue to be built on data – even more so going forward. Marketers will be focused on the following priorities:

  • Data Quality
  • Valuation
  • Monetization

Data Quality Still Rules The Future Digital Marketing World

Data will only become more critical to digital marketing in the future. Marketers need quality data to make the connection between audience and value. With third-party cookies going away, some marketers are shifting to using first-party data to collect information about consumers. Zero-party data is also gaining attention. Zero-party data comes from customer surveys and polls, but first-party data comes from customer web activity. Marketers can use both data types to personalize their ad campaigns. 

Effective CRM management will also become more important to enable faster data access and analysis.

Marketers who improve their data quality and connectivity will be in a position to create more impactful campaigns and thus develop deeper relationships with their audience.

Valuation Methods Will Continue To Evolve And Improve

Now that the dust has settled on losing some digital identifiers that enabled marketers to target audiences (like cookies), we see that today there are even stronger tools for making identity connections with audiences that enable marketers to find extra value in the data that is collected. Marketers must remain open to change and stay abreast of changes. With heightened consumer expectations, new end-to-end experiences will need to be developed that are relevant, immersive, and frictionless at every touchpoint – from acquisition through engagement and retention.

Data Is The Future Of Monetization

Limits to third-party tracking have led to an accelerated need to access granular user data and powerful algorithms to drive effective targeting in order to personalize and monetize content experiences. Marketers must evaluate data collection methods and results on an ongoing basis, making adjustments when necessary. Having a good understanding of the data collected primes marketers to be able to monetize it by creating effective digital marketing. When marketers improve their data quality, they can build better campaigns, which leads to better relationships, which leads to sales. Also, marketers who feed their funnel with better data have higher user satisfaction and retention rates and more effective audience acquisition strategies.

We’ve seen major shifts in the digital marketing ecosystem, and more are certain to come. As marketers, we must view them as an opportunity to do our job more effectively and efficiently. What’s to come in digital marketing will help marketers enhance and connect first-party data in the evolving digital platform. Advanced tools will aide marketers in valuating audience data and unlock new ways to monetize it.

Subscribe to my monthly LinkedIn Newsletter: Digital Marketing Snapshot.

Digital Marketing Trends for 2023 

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It’s difficult to stay up on all of the changes and new opportunities in digital marketing. Yet, with 1.5 billion social media users around the world, the demand for digital marketing only continues to grow – and consumers’ expectations right along with it. Consumers want increasingly rapid response times, a stellar user experience, and options for how they do business with the brands they choose.

Digital marketing, like never before, enables marketers to deliver what consumers want when they want it, using multiple platforms. The benefits of digital marketing on growing the bottom line cannot be overstated.

  • Target The Right Audience
  • Optimize And Improve Conversion Rates
  • Increase Customer Loyalty
  • Build Brand Credibility

Here are eight digital marketing trends you should plan for in 2023. It’s never too early to retool your strategy and transform your marketing efforts going forward.

1.  Gather Data Using Forms 

Our dependence on big data is as inescapable. It also has the power to be transformative, making it significantly more important to businesses. However, privacy laws have affected how marketers gather data. 2023 will bring with it a shift toward businesses being even more proactive in gathering data, using varying methods. Businesses will continue to implement savvy collection methods and analysis of the information gathered, integrating their findings into their digital marketing campaigns and using it to steer marketing decisions. 

The use of forms will continue to grow in 2023 because they are quick and easy and work so well to gather useful information on customers. Forms are a highly effective way to keep users engaged.

2. Include E-Mail Marketing

E-mail marketing will continue to be popular in the coming year because it’s so effective at generating leads. Nearly everyone in the world has an e-mail account, so that makes this platform a continued must for marketers looking to connect with customers and give them access to their brand. The success of any e-mail campaign ultimately relies on the list you are sending to. Make sure it’s highly targeted and cleaned up regularly.

3. Implement Real-Time Messaging Platforms 

Real-time messaging platforms enable marketers to reach customers quickly and directly, right when they are read to communicate with your brand. It’s also a great way to collect data so you can know as much about your customers as possible. Today’s customer is impatient, often seeking instant gratification. Empowering marketers and sales to be in contact with those eager to do business when they are ready to talk is powerful.

As these platforms mature, they’ll offer brands the mechanisms to capitalize even more on customer data for digital marketing initiatives.

4. Add Ease of Doing Business With Chatbots 

Chatbots have grown increasingly more popular with marketers – in fact, they are the fastest growing brand communication channel. That trend will continue in 2023. Chatbots enable a business to be available 24/7 to engage with customers who need assistance outside of standard business hours, which is a huge asset. 

5. Rethink Old Ways

According to a recent Drift survey, the most common frustrations reported by consumers include:

  1. Websites being hard to navigate (34%)
  2. Not being able to get answers to simple questions (31%)
  3. Basic details about a business — like address, hours of operations, and phone number — being hard to find (28%).

Clearly, the online experiences businesses are used to providing may no longer match with evolving customer demand and changing preferences in the ways customers prefer to buy. Customers increasingly want all of the information they seek at the touch of a button. If they have to work to learn about a brand, they will likely look to the competition.

6. Put Attention Into Details

Consumers are inundated with information. It is imperative that marketers put as much thought into their content and creative as they do in choosing the platforms they will run on. Marketers want their content to work to increase clicks and engagement. Pay close attention to creativity, making your brand stand out in the very crowded online market.

7. Be Strategic About Influencer Marketing 

What was once used by only a handful of brands has now become common practice. It is estimated that more than $16 billion will be spent on influencer-marketing programs by 2023. It’s no wonder then that influencer marketing will continue to boom next year and in the coming years. 

A huge word of caution here. Businesses must understand their vertical and know the type of influencer who will help promote their brand. Choosing the proper influencer can generate a great ROI. However, marketers frequently fall short in this area because they’ve chosen the wrong influencer who doesn’t have the relevant audience or reach for their brand. Marketers want to choose an influencer who can create a trust relationship between customers and brands through transparency and authenticity. To aide this process, marketers must have a thorough understanding of their target audience and then design campaigns that resonate with them. 

8. Consider Outsourcing to Digital Marketing Agency 

Outsourcing some or all of your digital marketing remains a great way to get more done, using the expertise and resources of an agency. An experienced digital marketing agency can help businesses get better overall results by developing strategies that leverage current technologies and best practices across all channels. 

Keeping these forecasted digital marketing trends on your radar and implementing those that work for your business will help you successfully grow your business in 2023 and beyond.

Subscribe to my monthly LinkedIn Newsletter: Digital Marketing Snapshot.

Technology Trends To Ignite Your Lead Gen in 2022

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Quarter four is upon us. The numbers don’t lie. A majority of industry experts reported that weak technology infrastructure was the main reason businesses struggled so hard to survive during the pandemic. How about you? Is your technology where it needs to be? Technology isn’t a trend that is going away. There will be a continued move next year away from sales-centric models and toward working with digital lead resources—website, social media, content marketing, e-mail marketing, and others.

As you begin your allocations for next year’s marketing budget – and your lead generation, to be specific – keep the following information in mind. I’ve outlined the trends we’ll see next year and highlight what they mean for you and your lead generation strategy and budget. 

Digital Channels for Sales and Service

As we continue to try to distance ourselves from the Covid-19 pandemic and the effects it has had on our traditional lead gen activities, such as travel, conferences, tradeshows, lunch meetings, and other offline marketing and sales events, we must admit that some of the changes weren’t so bad. Marketers were forced to turn to automation to drive leads while still providing the best customer experience. Inbound and outbound lead generation saw the continued use of artificial intelligence in sales operations. Increasingly, more and more marketers used digital and online channels like video conferencing and live chat offerings to achieve their lead and sales performance targets. Lead generation activities will still be performed through offline channels, but increased emphasis will be placed on digital channels. 

Value-Based Selling to Secure Customers

An increase in digital business strategies means an increase in data available for your use. 2022 will see a movement toward better use of data to shape a value-based selling approach. This trend has marketers responding to their data in real time as a way to slowly build to a sale, showing prospects over time the value of their product or service. 

Artificial Intelligence to Increase Value

AI is becoming more widely used across a broader platform now. That will continue in 2022 and well beyond. More and more companies are looking to AI to improve lead generation and sales because this technology helps gather valuable data on existing as well as potential customers. This data then helps marketers develop  more effective marketing strategies to increase sales. AI is also an effective way to influence future behavior based on prior transactions or interactions and helps identify hot leads that are more likely to convert.

Also on the rise is the use of chatbots. This is a relatively easy way to enhance communication with prospects and customers and to provide better overall service. Chatbots allow companies to be available 24/7 to answer common questions and respond to typical issues. Customers report they love this option.

Better Customer Experience to Build Customer Loyalty

Nothing makes you value a personalized experience more than a global pandemic. Companies will use 2022 to continue work to enhance and personalize their brand’s customer experience. 

Social Media to Generate Better Leads 

Using social media to generate leads is nothing new. Companies will use 2022 to look for ideas to develop better ways of using social media platforms that make sense for their brand. Content will become more personalized using the data available. Video content marketing will continue to dominate, with experts predicting it will account for 82% of total Internet traffic. E-mail marketing is another hot area for 2022. That is because it is highly effective at influencing prospects. Researchers found that interactive e-mails increase their click-to-open rate by 73% and videos boost it an amazing 300%.

Marketers looking to grow in 2022 will want to capitalize on these trends to maintain a competitive advantage in the market.

The Producers Network is a digital media company specializing in franchise development marketing.  We’ve developed  first-party data, cookie-less advertising products and historical data analytics to deliver results.  Learn more at producerdigital.com

Clubhouse: How to Navigate and Stand Out Using the Newest Online Communications App

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As I mentioned in my last blog, Clubhouse is the hot new app that is on everyone’s radar – especially now that it is no longer invite-only.  Clubhouse is a networking platform that enables users to start or join audio-only “rooms.” There are rooms for just about every topic, making Clubhouse a great hub for thought leadership, targeted networking, and industry insight.

As with any new platform, there is a bit of a learning curve. The Clubhouse app is pretty straightforward, but they are making changes to it pretty regularly. The app uses a lot of lingo, so here’s a quick guide to help you decipher all the new terms coming your way: 
 
Hallway – This is where you will be when you open the app. This is your hub where you can see rooms from your followers and the people you follow. If you want to load more rooms, scroll to the bottom of your screen and click on “🌍  Explore.”
 
Stage – Speakers are often on a stage, so that’s where you’ll find the speaker in this app. When you enter a room, the stage is at the top of your screen. It shows all of the moderators and speakers. 
 
Audience Members – If you are curious to see who all is in the room with you, look under the stage and you’ll see a list of muted listeners. Audience members can leave the room at any time without disrupting the talk. There is an icon to raise your hand to speak or you can send the moderator a text. 
 
Moderator – This is the person in charge of the talk. They will be indicated by a green and white asterisk on the list of people in the room. They control the Stage and who talks and when. 
 
PTR “Pull to Refresh” – The moderator will say “PTR” when they want the audience to refresh their screens by putting their finger at the top of their screen and swipe down. 
 
Ping – You can click on the “+” button right next to the Raise Your Hand button to invite a user into a room that you are in.
 
Once you are familiar with navigating the new app, it’s time to work on your brand and content on Clubhouse. As with all other platforms you use, you will need an engaging content strategy in order to gain organic traffic and build awareness. Here are some ideas to get you going:
 
1.     Follow clubs that your target market is interested in.
2.     Better yet, start a club and speak to your target market directly.
3.     Create an engaging and searchable bio that promotes your brand.
4.     Consider connecting your Instagram and Twitter accounts to Clubhouse so you can receive a direct
message in Clubhouse – and encourage those on Clubhouse to follow you on your social media.
 
That’s a quick run through of Clubhouse to get you going on this exciting, new platform. As I mentioned, Clubhouse is still growing and changing, so the best way to learn all of the newest ins and outs is to download the app, jump on, and start exploring.  

What You Need to Know About Apple’s New Privacy Policies and the Impact On Your Digital Advertising

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We all know that apps collect our data. We also know that just about no one reads the existing and very long privacy policies that are full of legal jargon to see exactly what is being done with our data. So late last year, as part of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple set out to rectify that. They introduced a new requirement for all software developers that publish apps through its App Store that they must include privacy labels. These look a lot like nutrition packages that are printed on the side of food packaging. The new labels indicate in an easy-to-read format exactly how data is going to used. 

  • Privacy Label — already released, it requires every app to give users an easy-to-view summary of the developer’s privacy practices that includes how an app uses their data — including whether the data is used to track them, linked to them, or not linked to them.
  • App Tracking Transparency — set to be released this spring, it requires apps to get the user’s permission before tracking their data across apps or websites owned by other companies.

The new privacy labels began appearing in the App Store in December 2020. At top-of-mind for advertisers is whether or not the new privacy labels will influence users’ choices and how this will influence their digital advertising strategy, potentially limiting campaign measurement and attribution on Facebook. Will the new requirements stop users from downloading the app? We don’t know yet. 

When a user opts-out of data tracking, that means apps cannot gather data to share with  data brokers.  What this trickle-down effect means for digital advertisers is that there is less robust data to back targeted advertising. And, data brokers are just the beginning. There is a vast network of apps, social media companies, websites, etc., that rely on capturing vast amounts of user information across different platforms. According to Apple, the average app has six trackers, which in most cases allow third-party data collection and link data from many different sources.  

Facebook’s Response

While the scope of these changes and their affects are far reaching, entangling the entire mobile-app ecosystem, many advertisers are looking for alternatives – as they rely on Facebook to run and personalize ads on their own platforms and other third-party apps.

Most recently, Facebook responded to the Apple changes saying it would shutter conversion-lift studies, instead providing “alternative options to help you effectively test and optimize your ads in response to the limitations resulting from Apple’s updates.” These studies were used test and control groups to measure returns on ad campaigns. They also helped advertisers gauge a user’s propensity to buy after seeing ads on the platform. Without targeted ads and lift tests going away, small businesses won’t be able to reach their customers as well as before. Some are predicting a regression in the industry and a return to older measurement techniques like geo matched-market testing. I have seen rumors online that Facebook is running a beta test for such a tool.

Looking Forward

As with all change, not every outcome is necessarily bad. These privacy changes could lead advertisers to engage in different approaches like media-mix modeling and insight garnered from a variety of sources. Facebook’s look-a-like program is an excellent targeting strategy.  Building a database and using e-mail is a tried-and-true retargeting method of reaching customers and prospects.

If you need assistance navigating through these changes, let’s talk.

10 Top Digital Marketing Best Practices

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How would you like to gain access to the top 10 techniques used by leading brands to drive quality web traffic, increase website conversion, and fill your pipeline with quality prospects? I thought you would. That’s why I put together an e-book that highlights what’s new in marketing and gives tips you can put to work now to start seeing results right away.

This e-book is a beneficial, quick overview that will assist you in your efforts to master the new world of marketing and deliver results.

Click here to request your free copy of 10 DIGITAL MARKETING BEST PRACTICES.

What are you doing that’s effectively driving web traffic and creating quality leads? Share your tips with us!

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Three Primary Challenges Facing Marketing Executives Today

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Platespinning-homepageToday’s marketing executives live in a very dynamic business environment and face new and complex challenges.  Among these challenges, there are three that I believe are most prevalent. The primary challenges facing sales and marketing executives today are digital integration, meeting marketing ROI objectives, and customer experience.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved with each challenge.

Challenge #1: Digital Integration

The reason digital integration is such a challenge is because marketing operations leaders are often not up to speed on the technology needed to fully bring their organizations into an optimized digital environment. Digital transformation is a necessity for B2B marketing operations and requires multiple marketing technologies.

Challenge #2: Meeting Business ROI

There is often a critical gap in business accountability when it comes to marketing operations. However, with increasing availability of financial metrics accountability, the position of the marketing executive has now become more and more relevant in the boardroom. We’ve moved from marketing being viewed as a nicety line item on the budget to a powerful and far more respected driver and supporter of the company’s revenue growth strategy. Marketing is now considered a must-have for overall business success.

Challenge #3: Customer Experience

Marketers’ new battleground is customer experience. Businesses are now required to pay attention to the experience they are delivering to their customers and would-be customers. The reason? Good customer experience pays in a major, major way. Nothing matches the success of a good customer relationship, and today’s technology gives customers ownership over their experiences. So, smart businesses are responding by becoming far more customer-centric. This means their marketing operations are driven by corporate strategy and operationalized by people, data and technology. This combination delivers a customer-centric approach that delivers real business results.

To be a successful marketing executive, these three primary challenges must be faced head on. This will enable you to transform your marketing operations into a strategic one that is primed to meet today’s challenges with forward-thinking, effective solutions.

 

 

How 5G Improves Your Marketing Efforts

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Mobile World Congress 2018 is taking place in Barcelona, and there have already been exciting announcements from participants. The one that caught my attention is 5G, the latest generation in wireless connectivity.

Research conducted by Pew Research Center showed that one in every 10 adults in America use the Internet via a smart phone only. They don’t have or use a home high-speed Internet connection. 5G to the rescue!

5G is simply the fifth generation in wireless connectivity technology. It was designed to meet the needs of a growing number of mobile Internet users. 5G provides better speed, enhanced data management, greater responsiveness, and connectivity to smart devices.

What 5G Means for Marketers

Consumers use their smart devices to seek information and content. The faster mobile Internet speed brought by 5G means a significantly decreased load time, which will lead to even more mobile usage. This continued increase in smart device usage means Google and other search engines will have to address mobile search patterns and how to improve upon them and to deliver an enhanced mobile-specific experience.

The connectivity of our smart devices and the growing usage inspired 5G. Look for even greater connectivity in smart devices and more voice-activated options. 5G will influence how consumers interact with their smart devices and how we communicate with them. It seems we are heading toward the ability for brands to communicate with consumers directly through their appliances. It’s an exciting new world!