by Elizabeth Hines | Apr 14, 2016 | Blog, Marketing, Strategy, Supply Chain
If you’re looking for the latest news and information about happenings in the industry, you should have these five supply chain websites on your radar. In no particular order:
www.dcvelocity.com
Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+
DC Velocity is a multi-media magazine serving the informational needs of logistics and supply chain managers and executives. The website is updated on a daily basis with the latest in industry-related news and educational content, written by fellow supply chain professionals. Content includes:
- Best practices/case studies
- Emerging technology
- Labor issues
- Management trends
- New products and services
- New market research
- Equipment profiles and reviews
- Professional development and enrichment opportunities
- Columns and Q&A interviews with industry thought leaders
- Special reports, including:
- Salary surveys
- Best practices awards
- Annual state of the industry spotlight
DC Velocity also regularly posts exclusive news, case studies, seminars, and user-content on their video channel, DCV-TV.
Also check out sister publication Supply Chain Quarterly. This high-quality source for industry intelligence offers cutting-edge ideas on all aspects of the global supply chain, from product design, procurement, transportation, and warehousing to human resources, information technology, and finance.
Read my blog on productivity for DC Velocity.
electronicspurchasingstrategies.com
Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
Electronics Purchasing Strategies is a vibrant online community and resource center for buyers, sellers, and suppliers of components, design, distribution, logistics, production, and other services to the global electronics manufacturing industry. Industry strategists and those that serve in the trenches share their ideas about everything from inventory tracking to supply chain planning. Specifically, EPS focuses on the following subjects:
- Economy
- Government and industry rules and regulations
- Purchasing and manufacturing strategies
- Contract manufacturing
- Distribution
- Logistics
- Software development
- Component manufacturing
- Trends with a focus on interconnects, passives and electromechanical devices
Also, I regularly contribute to EPS’s blog — see what I’ve been writing about lately.
www.logisticsmatter.com
Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest
LogisticsMatter is an independent supply chain news aggregator and blog covering industry trends and developments, written by founder Martijn Graat. Very conversational with a sleek, modern design, this site offers information about the many challenges one encounters working in the supply chain industry — from handling returns to emerging technologies. Subject areas include 3PL, logistics, supply chain, transportation, shipping, sustainability, and social media.
Be sure to follow Graat/LogisticsMatter on Pinterest, a rare industry presence on the social media platform, where he regularly shares infographics about the supply chain and logistics industries.
www.supplychainbrain.com
Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
SupplyChainBrain is touted as the world’s most comprehensive supply chain management information resource, written by experienced industry professionals and trusted content partners. In addition to providing complete coverage of all fundamental supply chain principles, this site identifies emerging trends, strategies and best practices, forward-thinking ideas, cutting-edge solutions, and the latest innovations — and continues to write and report on these as they evolve and mature.
The website features 70 topics, over 2,000 videos, regular podcasts, a think tank of blogs, whitepapers, and research, as well as a list of resources, just in case all of that was not enough for you.
www.supplychain247.com
Facebook | Twitter
Supply Chain 24/7 is an informative online business resource for transportation, distribution, logistics, and supply chain professionals. Select from webcasts, whitepapers, news, and photos, or search for a company overview by industry or trending industry topic. Subject areas include transportation, manufacturing competitiveness, warehouse and distribution centers, and the latest trends from the supply chain industry and the technologies that serve it.
What are your go-to supply chain websites?
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by Elizabeth Hines | Apr 13, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
You can help your company grow by using social media. Here’s how.
If your business is not utilizing the marketing power of social media, then you are at a severe disadvantage. In this digitally focused world, the fundamentals of marketing have evolved. Everyone, from business to consumer, is online, and you need a solid grasp on social media in order to position your company for growth.
Fronetics Strategic Advisors developed a training on social media, specifically designed for business owners, marketers, and employees who are seeking to expand their social media horizons. The training explains what social media can do for your business and describes the basics of each platform. What do each of these platforms do? What are the benefits of each? How can LinkedIn help your business?
Consider it Social Media for Business 101. Here is a sneak peek:
Why is being on social media so important?
Social media offers an opportunity to build brand awareness and establish your company as a leader within the industry. It is one way that potential customers or clients get to know you and see examples of your business knowledge. Dialogue about your business engages the public, makes them feel a connection to the business, and, if you do it correctly, builds a level of trust between your audience and your company.
What, exactly, can I do with it?
- Engage with/share your company’s content across your social networks
- Invite others within the industry to “like” and “follow” your company on all social channels
- Engage in conversations online and share feedback
- Subscribe to your company’s blog
- Invite others within the industry to subscribe to the blog
- Forward relevant blog content as appropriate
- Optimize your social media profile
How do I begin?
On Twitter
From your Twitter homepage, search for your company using the search bar in the upper-right corner of the page. This will take you to the company’s Twitter feed. Start by “following” the company. After this, you’ll be able to interact by retweeting and favoriting tweets. Retweeting will display a post to your followers. You’ll have the option to add your own comment before the retweet.
On Facebook
From your Facebook homepage, search for your company using the search bar in the upper-left corner of the page. This will take you to the company’s Facebook page. From here, you can “like” your company by selecting the thumbs up “Like” button in the bottom-right corner of the cover photo. As you scroll down the page, you’ll find posts that have been shared by your company. You can “like” and/or “share” each individual post. When you share a post, it is displayed on your profile page and will show up in your friends’ news feeds.
On LinkedIn
From your LinkedIn homepage, search for your company using the search bar at the top of the page. This will take you to the company’s page. “Follow” your company to start receiving the company’s posts and updates in your news feed. From your newsfeed you can “like,” “share,” and “comment” on posts. Use Groups to help connect and engage with potential prospects and industry peers. Find LinkedIn groups by selecting “Groups” from the dropdown box under the main category “Interests.” Get recommendations and discover new LinkedIn groups by using the “Discover” feature. Join a group by requesting membership.
Social media is an opportunity for engagement. Participating across multiple platforms is an ideal way to build brand awareness and establish your company as a thought-leader in its industry. To learn more, download the Fronetics Social Media Training below.
Download training
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by Elizabeth Hines | Apr 12, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
Content drives business growth, builds customer loyalty, and helps nurture leads.
One of the best ways to market your business today is to plant the seeds that will generate new customers tomorrow. Enter, content marketing: a long-term solution that helps businesses build brand awareness, grow their audience, and generate new leads and sales.
Most companies, more than 85% of them, realize that content marketing is a vital component to cultivating growth. But, according to the Content Marketing Institute, less than half of those who use it believe they do it well.
It may be particularly difficult for smaller businesses to justify allocating precious time and resources to a strategy that they are not sure is being executed properly. How can they compete against industry giants that have name recognition and massive budgets working for them already?
Medium-sized to smaller companies need to establish a relationship with their potential customers or clients and drive brand awareness, accomplishing this goal with far less resources. And content is the way a company makes that all-important connection.
With quality content, you become a source of knowledge and advice. Most importantly, it reaches potential customers where they most often look for new information: online. Whether a blog, white paper, webinar, video, or social post, you are creating brand awareness and building trust by distributing content. Establishing your company as a reliable source of knowledge is what makes a customer eventually choose to do business with you.
Content Works Overtime
Through your content strategies, you have an endless opportunity to provide potential customers with information about your business, your services, products, tips, or simply advice. The best part is as long as it is good, quality content, on topics that speak to potential customers’ needs and questions, it will continue to generate sales leads.
According to the Harvard Business Review article on the subject, “In both B2B and B2C businesses, customers are doing their own research both online and with their colleagues and friends. Prospects are walking themselves through the funnel (where they gain knowledge for buying decisions), then walking in the door ready to buy.”
Coined by McKinsey, the metaphor of a “funnel” describes where consumers start with a number of potential brands in mind then methodically narrow down their choices. At the end, they emerge with the one brand they chose to purchase from. With social media and digital marketing, content is now a huge factor in the “customer decision journey”.
Will Content Work for Me?
A successful content marketing allows your business to reach more and more potential new customers each week. However, there are some requirements for content to properly do its job.
- Content needs to be consistent (frequent, fresh posts)
- Content must be engaging (taps into what people really want/need to know)
- Content must be good quality (entertains and informs: potential customers should learn something from it and walk away feeling that your company knows what it is talking about)
According to Inc. magazine, it is best to take a holistic approach to your content marketing plan. First you must write down your strategy and be able to tie your overall business goals and objectives into your content calendar.
This is your path and serves as an ongoing content guide. Statistically, only 11% of companies without a documented content marketing strategy find their efforts to be successful, versus 60% of companies with a strategy in place. Designate someone to lead your strategy, and success rises to 86%. In fact, according to a survey by the Content Marketing Institute, the majority of the most effective B2B marketers (86%) have a designated person overseeing their content marketing strategy; versus the 46% of less-effective marketers who do not.
Also remember, content marketing’s main objective is lead nurturing, not producing instant results. You will slowly develop a loyal following of readers and content consumers who continue to return to you for knowledge and, ultimately, your product or services.
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by Elizabeth Hines | Apr 11, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
What is the ideal frequency for posting to Twitter? We did the experiment.
I came across an article on Socialbakers that suggested that posting to Twitter three times per day is the ideal frequency for brands. Intrigued by this statistic, I looked further and found that Buffer posts to Twitter 14 times per day.
At Fronetics we typically post content to Twitter an average of 40 times per day. That’s an average of 40 times per day for Fronetics, and an average of 40 times per day for each of our clients. That’s a lot of time on Twitter. Given this, the numbers given by Socialbakers and Buffer caught my attention. Could we reduce the frequency to which we post to Twitter and keep (or even increase) engagement and ROI? We decided to do the experiment.
The results
As shown in our social experiment infographic, when we reduced the number of times we post to Twitter from 40 times per day to 15 times per day, our engagement and ROI plummeted.
Not only did we realize close to a 50% decline in traffic to the website, we also realized a 33% decline in new contacts. That’s a 33% decline in our lead pipeline.
We also realized a decline in link clicks (58%), profile visits (61%), retweets (65%), and new followers (39%). In short, our engagement numbers took a dive – off a cliff.
So, how often should you tweet?
Although the numbers were abysmal, the experiment was a good one. It showed that, for Fronetics, posting to Twitter at a frequency of around 40 times per day is right for our company.
Does that mean the frequency is right for each of our clients? No. Does it mean that the frequency is right for your business? No. What it means is that there is no magic number when it comes to the ideal frequency for posting to Twitter.
Your company, or your marketing partner, should conduct due diligence and determine what the right frequency is for your business. Yes, you may realize a significant decline in engagement in ROI during your experiment. On the other hand, you may realize an increase in engagement and ROI — captured with lower output in terms of time and resources.
Do the experiment. I’d love to hear your results, and learn what frequency works for your business.
Not tracking your metrics on a monthly basis? Start now. Metrics enable you to measure success, drive strategy, and demonstrate the ROI of your marketing efforts.
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by Elizabeth Hines | Apr 6, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Fronetics Strategic Advisors helps clients increase brand awareness, foster meaningful customer engagement, and grow business.
Fronetics Strategic Advisors is a management consulting firm focused on identifying and executing areas for growth and value creation for our clients. We are unique in that we use a data-driven approach to align marketing programs with business objectives and to deliver results.
“Fronetics” is derived from the ancient Greek word fronesis, meaning wisdom or intelligence, and is translated as “practical wisdom.”
Our team of strategists, marketing professionals, writers, designers, and social media experts leverages industry experience to elevate our clients’ brand position within the industry. We work with you — getting to know your business, your target customers, your industry, and your competition — to create a digital and content strategy individualized for your specific situation and needs. We put metrics on all marketing activities and monitor them regularly. And then we identify challenges, trends, and opportunities and take action so that your content marketing program constantly evolves and delivers results.
Fronetics offers comprehensive digital and content marketing services, including: content creation, content curation, content distribution, social media management, email marketing, lead nurturing strategies, and pay-per-click. Learn more about what we can do for your business below.
Content Creation
There is a lot of content out there. If you want your content to stand out and drive profitable customer action, you need quality content. At Fronetics, we create quality content that drives results. Unlike other firms, we don’t outsource content creation. By keeping all content creation in-house we are able to ensure a quality product.
Our team creates the following types of content:
- Blog posts
- Articles
- eBooks
- Case studies
- White papers
- Newsletters
- Press releases
- Infographics
- Social media
- Custom content
Social Media
Social media is an incredible tool; however, for it to be effective it must be driven by strategy, be consistent, and must have someone managing the execution.
At Fronetics, our social media strategists distribute content, curate content, engage your target audience, and monitor your social networks. We develop a social media strategy that aligns with your company’s goals.
We analyze your competition, classify your target audience and cultural attributes, identify the influencers in your industry, recommend platforms, detail best-engagement practices, create social media schedules, and identify specific tactics that deliver results.
Through the proper execution of social media, your brand is given a voice and personality, and becomes more accessible to your target audience.
Strategy Workshops
To effectively attract target customers, generate leads, and establish your company and your brand within your industry, you need a digital and content marketing strategy; a piecemeal approach does not work.
At Fronetics we offer both half-day and full-day workshops to help your business create and execute digital and content marketing strategies that drive success and elevate your brand position within your industry. Our workshops are intensive and hands-on. By the end of the workshop you will have an actionable and sustainable strategy that is aligned with your company’s business objectives.
Following the workshop you will receive a full year of support from our expert staff.
Schedule a free marketing assessment
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by Elizabeth Hines | Apr 5, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
The benefits of content marketing take more than a few months to come about.
Kate Lee, Senior Director of Strategy, recently wrote about a client who was disappointed in a newly adopted content marketing program and ready to quit — certainly they should be seeing more leads and more sales by now, right?! Since the company was just a few months in, the answer was no; that’s not how it works.
Content marketing is a long-term solution that helps businesses build brand awareness, grow their audience, and generate new leads and sales. But, like any good relationship, it takes time and effort to achieve results. You shouldn’t give up before the seeds you sow have time to bear fruit.
Just how long will it take for your content marketing strategy to yield results? Well, that really depends on your business and your goals, but you can count on at least six months. (Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, says more like 18.) The point is, content marketing is not a magic, overnight solution. The reason reflects why content marketing is effective in the first place.
Let’s take a look:
Developing your strategy takes time.
Only 11% of companies without a documented content marketing strategy find their efforts to be successful, compared to 60% of companies with a strategy in place. (That number rises to 86% when the company designates someone to lead the strategy.) The significant increase in effectiveness can be attributed to the careful thought and research that goes into building a strategy.
You will need several months to build the foundation of your content marketing plan if it is to be effective. You need time to research the kind of content that resonates most with your audience and to truly understand the (very specific) demographic that finds value in what your company offers. Then you need time to determine and test which distribution channels will most effectively reach your target audience, to discern a plan for content production, and to build out an editorial calendar reflective of your strategy.
Without getting all of these pieces precisely right, you’ll waste an enormous amount of energy and resources working on an ineffective strategy. Take the time to evaluate the market for your business and its content marketing strategy, and you’ll realize results in time.
Becoming an authority takes time.
The goal of your content marketing efforts should be to be a consistent source of information and value to your audience, who gradually will come to trust your authority and reward you with their business when they are ready to make a purchase. And establishing yourself as an expert doesn’t happen overnight.
Consistency is key for two reasons. For one, the average B2B buyer consumes between two to five pieces of content before making a purchase decision. If your content is old, arbitrary, contradictory, or otherwise unreliable, buyers will chose a different vendor whose content is more trustworthy. Consistent and consistently good content keeps your target audience engaged and builds your credibility with them.
Secondly, search engines rank websites based on several factors, and one of the most important is consistency. If your company blogs every other month, compared to companies that post several days a week, your posts will be penalized in search results. And since very few readers click beyond the top five search results, you’re drastically reducing your organic search potential.
As a SumAll article put it, “Whether getting traffic to your blog or your content ranked in the search engines, it doesn’t happen overnight, but instead by repeatedly creating and distributing quality content on a frequent basis for the long-term.”
Building your audience takes time.
The B2B buying process is becoming longer and more complex because the majority of buyers (82%) are using more sources to research and evaluate products and services, and they are spending more time in the research phase itself. In fact, 71% of B2B researchers start with a generic search — rather than searching for a particular company — and do an average of 12 searches before even engaging with a specific brand’s site. They are 57% of the way down the sales path by this point, meaning they have already spent a fair amount of time educating themselves with the enormous amount of information available to them on the Internet.
This means you need to allow your target audience time to find you and complete thorough research about you and your competitors before you even realize that the lead exists. And likely there will be more time before a sale takes place.
Content marketing is much more about lead nurturing than producing instant results. As you build your reputation as a valuable source of information, you will simultaneously build a loyal following of readers and content consumers who continue to return to you for knowledge and, ultimately, purchases. Relationship-building is not a streamlined process, but it does foster the ever-valuable repeat business that will have a greater impact on your bottom line than a one-and-done sale.
Your sales cycle takes time.
Unfortunately, content marketing cannot decrease the length of your sales cycle. Thus, you can’t expect to see the fruits of your labors (in terms of dollars) until at least one cycle is complete.
There should be, however, hints along the way that your efforts are working. Metrics like increased website traffic, email registrations, and social reach offer clues that more potential customers are finding your business in their research. You should take these signs and continually evolve your strategy to accommodate what is working for your business.
Also keep in mind that while content marketing can have an enormous impact on generating and nurturing leads, it does not deliver sales on a silver platter. Sales teams still play a major role in building on those relationships and closing deals.
Give your relationship with content marketing time to play out, and don’t be afraid to adjust your strategy along the way if you find some things are working better than others.
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