by Fronetics | Oct 17, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
Use these strategies to help your business generate revenue with content.
One of the biggest challenges inherent to content marketing is measuring how writing blog posts and posting on social media equals a revenue stream. I know I write over and over again in this space about how content marketing is one of the most effective strategies for growing business and generating revenue. But many in the supply chain industry still struggle to understand the connection.
I highly suggest listening to this podcast interview with Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi. He talks about monetizing content. In summary, businesses need to be about more than just their products and services — they need to be a valuable resource for their customers. This is why content marketing works. It’s a move away from the promotion of products toward branding oneself as a source of knowledge.
But back to monetization. Here are some key takeaways from Joe’s interview about how to generate revenue with content.
Revenue models
Once you’ve established your outlets for content distribution (blog, podcast, YouTube channel, social media platforms, or other publishing outlets) and built an audience, how do you go about generating revenue? According to Joe, there are 10 different revenue opportunities.
The traditional opportunities that most companies think about are:
- Selling products
- Selling services
- Keeping customers longer
- Increasing yield
- Selling different products
But Joe says that there are five additional revenue-generating activities:
- Sell advertising on your site
- Create a sponsorship deal
- Launch a conference or event
- Sell premium content
- Ask for donations
Joe advises that business new to these ideas not try everything at once. “Try one revenue model every six months,” he suggests.
Rethink your marketing department structure
Chances are, your marketing department is set up far less efficiently than it should be.
Joe sees a trend of businesses setting up their marketing departments primarily as an opportunity for the sales team — in other words, they are leading “product-first.” “Yes,” he says. “Selling products is important. But you can’t lead product-first anymore. The only competitive advantage people have today is communication.”
It’s time for marketers to refocus on making markets and creating opportunities for organizations. It’s about creating and developing trusted relationships with your audience, and monetizing those relationships by doing more than selling products. Adopting a new vision for your marketing can turn it from a cost-center into a profit-center, with marketing being “profitable in and of itself.”
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Oct 16, 2017 | Blog, Leadership, Talent
Google trains new managers in these six areas to make them highly effective leaders.
When you think of the word “manager,” you associate it with leadership. (Or, at least, I do.) But the two don’t necessarily go hand in hand.
Being a manager is just a position; a leader is something more. Oftentimes the skills that get people promoted to the managerial level don’t necessarily make them effective leaders. Then you’re stuck with managers that can’t lead, and that’s a problem. (See How to Be a Bad Leader: 6 Common Characteristics of Poor Leadership.)
Lucky for us, organizations like Google have spent years researching what makes an effective manager. Using Project Oxygen, an internal study analyzing more than 10,000 manager impressions, Google identified 8 habits of highly effective managers, which the company now uses to train new managers. Google shares this presentation through the re:Work website, which focuses on 6 key attributes.
6 key attributes of highly effective managers
1. Mindset and values
Dr. Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, studied the science of growth mindset, the belief that intelligence can be cultivated. Project Oxygen showed that productive leaders live this philosophy at work. They are eager to learn, take risks, and challenge themselves — all of which ultimately boost their performance.
Also, Google empowers new managers to leverage their individual values in their management styles. This drives deeper meaning into their work and supports them when they, inevitably, need to make tough decisions.
2. Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize emotions in yourself and others, and leverage this awareness to manage behavior and relationships. Managers who are emotionally intelligent make better decisions, communicate more effectively, and seem more relatable to employees. They can better control the emotional climate of the workplace by anticipating employees’ needs and creating an environment that supports them.
3. Manager transition
Google has new managers share the challenges, surprises, and frustrations of their transition from individual contributor to supervisor. This not only teaches that it’s ok to be vulnerable and honest, but also encourages others to offer advice and to help devise actionable new strategies.
4. Coaching
A good coach nurtures and grows the talent on his/her team. The positive effects impact more than just team performance. Research by the Human Capital Institute and the International Coaching Federation shows that a strong coaching culture increases employee engagement and revenue growth.
Google defines good coaching as:
- Timely and specific feedback
- Delivering hard feedback in a motivational and thoughtful way
- Tailoring approaches to meet individual communication styles in regular one-on-one meetings
- Practicing empathetic “active” listening and being fully present
- Being cognizant of your own mindset and that of the employee
- Asking open-ended questions to discover an employee’s acumen
5. Feedback
“Embrace bad news to learn where you need the most improvement.” — Bill Gates
The purpose of feedback is to improve performance and foster professional growth. But words can hurt, and employees can interpret constructive criticism as an attack. Thus, the ability to provide feedback effectively is essential for any manager.
Google teaches new managers to be consistent across their teams when delivering feedback, and to balance the negative with positive. It’s also important to treat these conversations as a dialogue, not a monologue. Being authentic and stating growth opportunities in a clear and compassionate way will build trust between new managers and their employees.
6. Decision making
Effective leaders take on the tough task of making decisions and, often, with little time to deliberate. Managers make decisions taking into account their personal values, as well as the values of their organization, and they must be consistent over time.
It’s also important that managers occasionally throw their ideas out to their team and ask for feedback. By creating solutions that are based on a comprehensive understanding of the issue, managers are able to make decisions based on their internal compass, as well as the feedback from others.
After implementing this new-manager training program, Google saw statistically significant improvement in 75% of its underperforming managers. That speaks to the impact these 6 areas have on the effectiveness of new managers. And managers have a major impact on the effectiveness of their teams. So a great new manager can be all the difference for a company. In the words of Andrew Carnegie, “People don’t like to follow leaders who are dedicated only to their own personal glory, but they will sacrifice everything for leaders and communities who give them a higher calling, a greater purpose.’”
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Oct 11, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing
As peer recommendation becomes increasingly important to B2B buying decisions, user review sites can make or break a business.
How often do you consider going to a much-hyped summer movie but change your mind when a friend shares the terrible Rotten Tomatoes reviews? According to Quartz Media, many a summer movie has proven more “bust” than “blockbuster” after negative feedback on the movie review site.
Just as Rotten Tomatoes can sink a would-be summer blockbuster, user-review websites can have a toxic effect on your business.
B2B buyers are increasingly relying on peer recommendations in the purchase process. In fact, 67% of those surveyed in Demand Gen’s 2017 B2B Buyers Survey reported that peer reviews are an important part of evaluating a list of solution providers.
Third-party user review sites as peer recommendations
Third-party user review sites function like peer reviews, particularly in the B2B space, where a buyer can’t always get a good vendor recommendation at a neighborhood dinner party. They need industry peers that have experience with these vendors to provide honest feedback.
So when someone leaves positive feedback about your business on one of these third-party sites, it’s a huge win for you. Potential buyers will see your customer’s kind words and form a positive association with your brand name. It can be the difference in winning a new customer’s business.
Dealing with negative user reviews
While your business will benefit greatly from positive reviews, it’s important to acknowledge that not all reviews will be favorable. You need a strategy for dealing with negative reviews. Here are a few tips:
1) Ignoring a bad review won’t make it go away.
Take the time to respond to criticism online, publicly if possible. Acknowledge the concerns of the reviewer, offer solutions, and invite them to contact you directly to resolve the issue. Negative reviews don’t have to be disaster — they can even be an opportunity for growth.
2) Learn from your mistakes.
This one may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often business don’t take negative reviews seriously, only to make the same damaging mistakes over and over again. If the reviewer has a valid concern about your product or service, take the time to address it internally.
3) Encourage more reviews.
Reviews are a way to empower your customers, and they represent vast opportunities for your business. Seek them out!
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Oct 9, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Talent
As peer influence becomes increasingly important in B2B buying decisions, empowering employee brand ambassadors will benefit your bottom line.
I recently attended a dinner party where I met a new acquaintance. We talked about our families, our hobbies and, of course, our jobs. She recently started working for a small business about which she was tangibly passionate. After listening to her talk, I went home, immediately started following the company on social media, and purchased some products.
Some companies are overlooking their greatest marketing tool: their employees. That woman made a big impression on me and actually influenced a sale. The experience reflects a trend that’s also growing in the B2B space: the impact of peer influence on buying decisions. In fact, 68% of B2B buyers say they give credence to peer reviews in the purchase process.
Imagine the number of people you could reach through each employee’s peer network. It’s a massive opportunity.
I’ve written lately about the rise of influencer marketing. It’s a strategy B2B businesses are starting to understand and use to their advantage. But you don’t need a Kardashian or even an important industry professional to get started. Employees are your most natural, ready-made influencers.
Here are 3 reasons to invest in making your employees brand ambassadors.
3 benefits of employee brand ambassadors
1. Increased social media reach
According to a study conducted by the MSL Group, employee advocates are connected to 10X as many people as their brand on social media, and can increase the reach of brand content by 561%. If your employees are posting about your company on social media, they’re reaching a much wider audience than your company page is.
While 57% of companies have a LinkedIn company page, 94% of B2B buyers use LinkedIn to distribute content. If your employees are posting company content to their personal LinkedIn accounts, imagine the potential range your brand has to reach new audiences. And these people aren’t hearing it from your corporate page. They’re hearing it from a peer connection. That’s definitely more powerful.
2. Increased brand engagement
When it comes to increasing brand engagement, there is no better place to start than with your own employees. Peer influence is a natural extension of employees who believe in your company and its mission.
While only 3% of employees share company-relevant content on social media, they actually drive a 32% increase in engagement. And their advocacy has a greater impact their peers’ buying decisions than you might imagine. Studies show that leads gathered as a result of employee advocacy convert 7X more often than other leads.
3. Elevated employee (and company) performance
While your employees are advocating for your company, they will also benefit from their new role as brand ambassadors. They will be more engaged and invested in their jobs. And the additional responsibility will foster a sense of pride and professional growth.
That pride translates to greater productivity. Companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%. But that’s not all! Companies with highly engaged employees saw a 20% increase in sales and a 10% in customer ratings.
Empowering your employees
Successfully reframing your employees as brand ambassadors requires creating a culture that empowers and incentivizes employee participation. Offer them the appropriate training or knowledge. Ask them to complete specific tasks (e.g., sharing company content), and give them room to be creative in their ambassadorship as well. Make sure you regularly engage them and thank them for their help.
Keep in mind: Employees are much more likely to participate if what you’re asking them to do is seen as complementary, not supplementary, to their workload. Make sure you are appropriately compensating them for any activity outside of normal working hours to avoid resentment. And, most importantly, keep the dialogue open. You never know how impactful your employee brand ambassadors can be.
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Oct 5, 2017 | Blog, Leadership, Strategy, Talent
A hot temper. Moodiness. Micromanagement. These are common traits of a bad leader.
What’s the number one reason talented employees quit? Gallop polls show that 50% of employees cite their managers as the reason for leaving. A bad leader can cost your company. And poor leadership at the highest levels of a company can be detrimental to a business (Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes and Turing Pharmaceuticals’ Martin Shkreli, as two recent examples).
While we often write about successful leaders and positive leadership traits, I think it’s about time we start talking about the opposite end of the spectrum. Here are 6 common characteristics of poor leadership that should be red flags to all companies.
6 ways to be a bad leader
1. Lack of transparency
Everyone appreciates honesty and transparency, and the same holds true in a professional setting. Even if you’re trying to prevent worry or stress, employees know when you’re not giving them the full picture and it makes their jobs more difficult.
Your team will appreciate knowing where they stand within the company and the greater goals you’re trying to accomplish. Oftentimes this leads to more focused and driven employees, who take pride in being part of a team working toward mutual goals.
2. Insulting employees in front of their coworkers
We all make mistakes. We are human, after all. But how a supervisor reacts to an employee’s mistakes is a direct reflection of their leadership style — good or bad.
We have all witnessed a leader get upset when issues arise. That’s natural when s/he is invested in the business. Good leaders know cooler heads prevail, offering constructive criticism in an appropriate one-on-one setting. But a bad leader berates employees in a group setting. Instead of helping employees learn from mistakes, his behavior only alienates people and causes resentment.
3. Micromanaging
I bet you are thinking of a specific manager from your past, as I am. Micromanaging may be my least favorite characteristic of bad leadership. Nothing says, “I don’t have faith in your work,” like a boss that is constantly looking over your shoulder.
Employees are only able to grow and develop if they are allowed to do so. Supervisors should provide direction and then empower their teams to get the work done. Your employees will become more confident and productive knowing they have your trust in their abilities and the space to be creative.
4. Lack of empathy
As leaders, we must understand that our jobs are important, but so are our employees. Understanding the challenges that your team faces, both professionally and personally, is key to creating happy and productive employees. When supervisors work to alleviate barriers, they create a supportive culture among their team.
5. Inconsistency
Last-minute changes, mixed signals, and overall inconsistency can lead to confusion and frustration within your team. Leaders who blow up at one person but listen intently to another foster fear among employees, who become unsure of how to approach you. That leads to lack of communication, which is never good for business.
Lack of consistency leads to a lack of trust and slows productivity. Employees that are unclear on direction or expectations spend time and energy worrying about how to approach their supervisors instead of how to get the job done.
6. Closed-mindedness
Feedback can be hard to hear, especially from your staff. But an unwillingness to listen to your team and take their ideas seriously will create tension.
Leaders that dig their heels in and refuse to consider new perspectives make employees feel undervalued and unable to control their own destiny. Not only does this cause employee dissatisfaction, but also leaders miss out on potentially good suggestions to improve business.
Remember, businesses don’t fail — leaders do. What other traits make a bad leader, in your experience?
Related posts:
