by Fronetics | Jan 24, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
Companies in the supply chain and logistics industries should take note of these top social media trends in 2018.
While we don’t know what 2018 has in store for companies in the supply chain and logistics industries, we do know change is coming. That is true not only in terms of the economy and your business, but also for the marketing tools you use. Of course, ever-evolving social media platforms are an important part of that.
We already know that Facebook News Feed will be making some big changes this year. What other platforms or types of media will be hot? What will your industry peers and competitors be trying in 2018? As we dive into the new year, it’s important to be aware of the social media trends that will dominate the next 12 months so you can incorporate them where you are able.
As always, good content will be as important as ever. With over one million new-data-producing social media users each day, high-quality content is the only way to stand out from the masses. But we also think you should pay attention to a few social media trends that we have highlighted in the following video. We’re certainly planning to adjust our strategy and those of our clients to consider these things.
As you start to strategize for 2018, and beyond, be sure to consider these social media trends in your content marketing plans.
Top social media trends for 2018
Make sure to follow our blog for our monthly social media news posts to stay updated on the latest platform updates. And feel free to reach out to us with questions or if you would like to see a certain social media trend covered on our blog.
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by Fronetics | Jan 17, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Users will see less content from businesses, brands, and media, so you need to adjust your strategy to appear on your followers’ Facebook News Feed.
Mark Zuckerberg once again rocked the world on January 11 — at least for businesses — when he announced that Facebook News Feed was evolving to include less public content, meaning content from Pages of businesses, brands, and media. The algorithm will now prioritize posts from friends and family (over public posts) and those that “spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people.”
Cue businesses around the world freaking out. They’re about to see their organic reach, video watch time, and referral traffic take a nose dive.
The fact is, this is really not a huge surprise. Facebook has been taking steps in this direction for a while, including the testing of Explore Feed last year. Even though you may have anticipated that some changes to Facebook for businesses were coming, you may be tempted to suddenly stop maintaining your Facebook Page. Is it worth posting content to Facebook if it is not going to reach your followers after these new changes?
Our stance at Fronetics is that Facebook is still worthwhile for businesses. But Zuck’s recent announcement does merit your close attention to — and perhaps a revisiting of — your Facebook strategy. We’ve compiled a list of things you need to know/do in light of the new changes to Facebook News Feed. Here they are.
4 steps to adjust your strategy for Facebook News Feed changes
1) Focus on news-worthy content that drives engagement.
Zuckerberg says, “I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.” That means that engagement will now mean more than ever before for content visibility.
In other words, posting your blog content to Facebook is no longer going to cut it. If your posts don’t garner comments or reactions, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. You’ll need to start thinking of Facebook as a place to post and discuss active news items, hot-button issues, and highly shareable content (content that is educational or entertaining, for example).
Scheduling multiple posts ahead of time, though convenient, will probably land your content further into the depths of oblivion. You’re going to have to pay attention, actively seek to generate conversation between users with your posts, and fight to win space on your followers’ feeds.
2) Tell your community to access the See First feature.
Users who still want to see posts from certain Pages they follow can choose “See First” in News Feed Preferences. So, quite simply, we suggest asking your followers to choose to see your content.
While some proactive followers may do this on their own, we want to encourage you to explicitly remind your community to do this. Remember that people are most likely to do what you want them to when you make it easy, exact, and clear. So send them an email with directions. Or put it in your newsletter or a blog post. Just tell them to do it.
One thing you don’t want to do: goad people into commenting on your posts as a means to increase your content visibility. Facebook has explicitly stated that it will demote “engagement bait,” or posts that ask for comments or reactions. So you’ll actually hurt your content by doing this.
3) Get your executives on social media.
I’ve written before about getting your executives on social media as themselves — they act as brand ambassadors for your business. Facebook’s latest announcement underscores the importance of this directive.
Your company’s executives are the most visible people in your business. For many of your industry peers and customers, they are the face of your brand. Get them active on Facebook to add meaningful thoughts to your company’s posted content, to engage in discussions, and to share newsworthy content of their own.
It’s important to note that I don’t mean that they should do this in a superficial way. They should actively seek to add value to your Facebook content and that which is relevant to happenings within your industry. By being engaging on Facebook, your executives emerge as thought leaders, which boosts your brand’s visibility and reputation.
4) Consider your Ad budget.
In the past, we have recommended adding some social media advertising to a traditional content marketing strategy as a way for clients to add gasoline to a fire, so to speak. It speeds things up. But those companies who are just starting out or who rely heavily on referral traffic might want to consider reallocating budget to sponsored ads.
Final thoughts on the new Facebook News Feed
This is a shift, yes. A challenge, for sure. But not one that’s insurmountable — or even contrary to the basic principles of good, data-driven content marketing.
Remember, Facebook is not eliminating Page content from News Feed altogether — just limiting it. The most relevant, engaging Page content will win that space. So seek to understand your target audience and produce high-quality, original content that engages those people, and you’ll come out on top of the new Facebook News Feed.
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by Fronetics | Jan 9, 2018 | Blog, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Facebook is making lots of changes that will affect businesses’ organic reach. Here’s what you need to know and how it may impact your company.
In our most recent social media news post, we mentioned that Facebook was experimenting with an Explore Feed feature. You may or may not have heard about how this might affect businesses’ ability to achieve organic reach on Facebook.
The social media network claims it is trying to create the best user experience possible. But it might come at a high cost to businesses trying to reach new audiences. Could this be the end of organic reach for businesses on Facebook? Let’s take a look.
What is Facebook’s Explore Feed?
Explore Feed is a new tab on your Facebook homepage that will include recommended content that it thinks you might find interesting. This will include posts, articles, photos and videos from users and other Pages you don’t currently follow.
This separate news feed will only appear when you click on the Explore tab, leaving users’ homepage news feed to content from friends and Pages you already follow.
“We’ve heard from people that they want an easy way to explore relevant content from Pages they haven’t connected with yet,” says Facebook in a statement. “Businesses should be optimistic about the potential for users interested in content like theirs to find their pages through the new Explore Feed.”
What does this mean for your business?
In October, Facebook launched Explore Feed as an experiment in six countries — Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Slovakia, Serbia, Guatemala, and Cambodia. The results showed a massive decline in businesses’ organic reach. Most countries reported a drop of two-thirds within the first 48 hours after Explore launched.
A user’s feed will now only show their friends’ posts and paid posts and advertisements. This is a huge disadvantage for small businesses with limited budgets that have traditionally relied on the organic reach of their Facebook posts to help attract new audiences.
As Mashable says: “That means Facebook’s main feed is no longer a free playing field for publishers. Instead, it’s a battlefield of ‘pay to play’, where publishers have to pony up the dough to get back into the News Feed.”
What now?
Facebook insists these changes are in direct response to requests from users for an easier way to discover new Pages they aren’t already following. But it means a lot of changes for businesses running a Facebook business page. Companies need to ensure their content is high quality, unique and highly relevant. And more and more companies will have to start dipping into their budgets to boost posts and buy ads.
Important to note
Facebook is also tightening the reigns on Pages and individuals that use engagement bait to attract new followers. What is engagement bait?
“Engagement bait is a tactic to create Facebook posts that goad people into interacting through likes, shares, comments, and other actions in order to artificially boost engagement and get greater reach on News Feed,” says Facebook’s Newsfeed Guidelines. The social network’s new algorithm will demote any posts by individuals or Pages that promote their content through engagement bait.
Fronetics’ takeaway
Despite all of these new changes and their accompanying challenges, we’re not ready to write off Facebook for businesses just yet. The key will be for companies to continue to provide the best content possible through the social media platform to organically engage followers.
What do you think of Facebook’s new Explore Feed?
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by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 4, 2018 | Blog, Current Events, Supply Chain, Transportation & Trucking
The FMCSA is not certifying ELD vendors’ products, which means carriers must ensure devices meet the organization’s technical specifications.
On December 18, new electronic logging device (ELD) regulations went into effect for commercial vehicle fleets across the U.S. The ELD mandate has caused major waves in the transportation industry. But it has the potential to rock supply chains and manufacturers around the globe — and not just because of anticipated transportation disruptions and increases in costs.
ELD manufacturers must comply with technical specifications outlined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). They must also register their devices with the FMCSA. Motor carriers might assume that selecting a device that vendors are promoting as “FMCSA certified” would be a simple solution. Amazingly, however, that certification may not be worth the paper it’s printed on.
When does “certified” not mean “verified?”
Last year the FMCSA directed carriers to a site where they could find a list of registered ELDs. The problem with this is that the devices on this list are self-certified by the manufacturer. There’s no guarantee that they actually meet FMCSA guidelines.
To appear on the FMCSA’s list, ELD manufacturers must submit certain documents, including malfunction and diagnostics and product serial numbers. However, to gauge if their product is compliant, manufacturers must conduct their own tests. And the FMSCA is not vetting documentation of the testing.
The problem with this is fairly obvious. Without mandatory testing from a neutral, third-party source, devices are subject to only the rigor of their own manufacturer’s testing. They may not follow the FMCSA’s test specifications. And, of course, less-than-honorable manufacturers could use the lack of oversight to their advantage.
Consequences, however, will fall entirely on the shoulders of the operators and their carriers using non-compliant ELDs.
Compliant today, not tomorrow
Motor carriers purchase these systems under good faith that they will meet the FMCSA’s performance requirements once in use. But the possibility is looming that some ELDs may be noncompliant. Then what?
Carriers have eight days from the time an ELD is determined to be noncompliant to replace it with a compliant one. While drivers can temporarily use paper logs, this obviously isn’t a real solution, and will leave carriers scrambling to get their ducks in a row.
Due diligence
Before selecting an ELD vendor, carriers need to understand the details of compliance and hold vendors to those standards.
Carriers should push vendors for specific information about compliance with FMCSA test specifications. Or they should seek vendors who have opted to use third-party testing companies, such as PIT Group, to independently verify ELDs meet FMCSA standards. Either way, carriers should test and verify the ELDs they have chosen for their fleets on their own to ensure compliance as soon as possible.
The coming months are bound to see many headaches from the confusion caused by FMCSA-certified (but not regulated) ELD devices. Carriers need to be aware of this now, so they can properly prepare for any issues that may arise.
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by Fronetics | Dec 6, 2017 | Blog, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
The increasing popularity of chatbots is making it harder to ignore how artificial intelligence is helping shape the content marketing landscape.
Chatbots are the latest trend in artificial intelligence for marketers, and the supply chain and logistics industries should take note.
Chatbots can help automate and improve some of your marketing and customer service efforts. But to get the most out of these automated systems, you first must understand what they are and how they work.
What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is s a computer program that simulates human conversation using auditory or textual methods. Basically, it’s software that communicates with your customer inside a messaging app, like Facebook Messenger. Chatbots are similar to email marketing, but, instead of ending up in your inbox, they communicate through a messaging app.
Why are chatbots so popular?
As our mobile devices continue to change the way customers receive and interact with our brands, messaging-app usage has skyrocketed. In fact, 2017 saw a 69% increase in messaging-app users from last year. Business Insider reports the number of people on messaging apps surpassed the number of users on social networks. From iMessage to Facebook Messenger, mobile users are leaning more toward this newer technology to communicate with friends and family.
Why the big drop from email? Because people are buried in emails. On average, office employees receive 121 emails per day. Of those 121 emails, only around 20% are opened — and click-through rates are even lower. More and more companies have stuffed inboxes with repeated emails. Over-communication is the number one reason for readers’ unsubscribing to your email list. Chatbots have alleviated the inbox drama.
Why does my business need a chatbot?
Quality messaging without the spam
Chatbots take the spam out of email marketing. When companies market on a messaging app, they create an easier way for leads to receive educational messages about their brand. Chatbots are an easy and fun way for audiences to engage with your brand, getting answers to their questions and quality messaging about your products and services.
Ease of tracking and segmenting
Your brand will also appreciate the ease of tracking and segmenting your customers through chatbots. Take Facebook Messenger for example; using messenger bots, you can identify who your customers are in less than a minute. No other platform (email, social media) can get you that information as quickly or efficiently.
Increased customer engagement
Getting customers to subscribe to your chatbots is much easier than email subscriptions. Why? The ease of usage and lack of friction on messaging apps creates a more positive customer experience. Businesses can set up chatbots to message any user who comments on your social media pages. They can retarget people who have left your site, offering special discounts or promotions if they place an order. And chatbots can also nurture the sales process by notifying you of potential customers that request a specific action during their interaction with your chatbot.
How do I create a chatbot?
There are plenty of chatbot-building platforms available online. Before you pick a platform, make sure you do your research. Here are three of the top chatbot building platforms.
1. Chatfuel
This chatbot engine will do most of the hard work for you, ideal for those lacking programming experience. MTV, TechCrunch, BuzzFeed, British Airways and Adidas are said to have used Chatfuel to create their chatbots, along with almost 20,000 other users across the globe. The user interface is easy and slick, meaning you could create a chatbot in less than 15 minutes!
2. Chatscript
Launched back in 2011, ChatScript is a ‘next generation chatbot engine,’ which has won the Loebner Prize (awarded for the most human-like examples of artificial intelligence) four times. It provides an open source framework for developers to build and deploy chatbots.
3. Facebook ‘Bots for Messenger’
At its F8 developer conference in April, Facebook launched Bots for Messenger, a tool which allows developers and businesses to build chatbots for its Messenger platform (which is used by almost a billion people). Developers build bots, submit them for review, and then Facebook decides which get onto Messenger. The three main capabilities are its send/receive API, generic message templates, and the ability to customize the welcome screen users first see when interacting with your bot.
Messaging automation is the new email automation. Brands will be looking to join the chatbot craze for the ease, convenience, and the positive customer experience. Have you tried a chatbot program yet? We’d love to hear from you about your experience.
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by Fronetics | Dec 5, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Supply Chain
Companies in the supply chain and logistics industries should take note of these 4 trends that are gaining traction as we move into 2018.
Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing Institute recently revealed his predictions for the biggest trends in content marketing for 2018. As the founder of CMI, Pulizzi dedicates his time discussing how content marketing has evolved with leading marketers from around the world and keeps his finger on the pulse of content marketing trends.
Most of the predications we discussed for 2017 are still holding true as we roll into another calendar year. Supply chain and logistics companies are still working overtime to nail down a true content marketing strategy. Native advertising is still the “gateway drug” to content marketing. And the growing dependence on mobile devices has continued to skyrocket.
What does this mean for 2018?
The key trends from 2017 continue to highlight the importance of good content. With over one million new-data-producing social media users each day, high-quality content is the only way to stand out from the masses. As you start to strategize for next year, and beyond, be sure to consider these trends in your supply chain marketing plans.
4 content marketing trends for 2018
1. Original content is king
A recent report claims that Apple is planning to invest over $1 billion on original content. Why the hefty price tag? As competition in the mobile space continues to heat up, brands need to do more to stay relevant. Valuable, original content can help companies like Apple grow its audience and keep its current customers coming back for more.
What does this mean for you? Pulizzi believes that this trend will offer companies multiple options to monetize their content. Either through direct sales to customers or advertising and sponsorship opportunities, supply chain and logistics companies will be able to cash in on their original content.
Make sure to keep a close eye on your competitor’s content. More and more companies will see the value in original content and look to build loyalty and support from their growing audience.
2. Creating vs. purchasing
For those supply chain and logistics companies that don’t have the time or resources to invest in creating original content, acquisitions will offer a pricey solution. 2018 will see a spike in content marketing brand acquisitions, giving companies full-service content options. Back in August, Netflix acquired Millarworld, a comic book publisher, hoping to gain traction with cutting-edge content in a host of different mediums.
While 62% of companies outsource their content marketing, the rise in acquisitions highlights the value of content creation and distribution. The decision to create content vs. buy will depend on the size of your wallet.
3. Content marketing budgets on the rise
According to Marketingmag.com, content marketing will become a $300 billion industry by 2019. That’s a lot of money being spent on content creation and distribution, which can only mean one thing: content marketing budgets are increasing. 39% of marketers expect their content marketing budgets to increase this year.
More brands are seeing the effectiveness of content marketing over traditional advertising. Moving away from traditional advertising and optimizing your content marketing strategy will make your marketing budget dollars stretch further and work harder in getting your content in front of the right people.
4. Content marketing overlap
Many of us are familiar with Marcus Sheridan’s story about the success of his pool company and starting the Sales Lion. Desperate to save his company, Sheridan threw himself into content marketing and created the most-visited swimming pool website in the world. Sheridan’s biggest take away? Marketing is a team sport. “Want content marketing to work? Involve everybody on your teams,” writes Sheridan.
Content marketing doesn’t work in a silo and without leadership. For content marketing to be most effective, leaders need to give clear ownership to someone over your content marketing strategy. From there, everyone needs to get on board, creating a culture of content. Your sales teams should integrate your content marketing into their sales processes. Your PR team should meet regularly with your social media experts.
“To say you have a culture of content is to say that everyone who works for your company understands the value of the information you provide and participates in making that information useful,” writes Marcia Reifer Johnston.
Overlap is bound to happen in your content marketing endeavors. The key is to have clear leadership over your strategy and regularly communicate your goals and initiatives, so your entire team can be engaged in your efforts.
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