by Elizabeth Hines | Nov 20, 2014 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Last month when Flipboard launched the third version of its mobile news app, Mashable called it “the most personal and magazine-like experience the platform has offered yet”. Compared to previous versions, Flipboard 3.0 seems more adept in curating relevant and individualized content for users – a function that can be traced to Flipboard’s newly acquired, topics-based technology.
Earlier this year when Flipboard acquired Zite from CNN, it announced plans to integrate Zite’s technology into Flipboard’s product, improving its capability to personalize news feeds for users. The company reports that once the full integration is in place, they’ll sun-set the nine year old Zite app. First debuting as an iPad-only application, Zite quickly expanded its reach into the smartphone applications market while concurrently navigating acquisitions by CNN then eventually landing at the giant media aggregation app Flipboard. So what is it, exactly, that CNN and Flipboard found so appealing about Zite? Quite simply, it’s personalization.
What the founders of Zite realized early on, and then successfully developed, was that users wanted an individualized news feed that served up topics-specific content. Not only did Zite deliver on that functionality, but it took news feed generation a step further by introducing an element of fluidity. Over time, the application learned what type of content and topics the user found valuable and used that information to curate highly-relevant material. Setting Zite further apart from competitors was its expertise in culling articles from sources other than what users would typically find on social media or search engine results. Flipboard has positioned themselves well to leverage the Zite technology given their similar user bases and platforms. Indeed, Flipboard 3.0 is both more personal and less personal – striking a balance of topic specific, uniquely-sourced content and trending, staff-curated content.
4 Flipboard Uses for Content Marketers
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Use it to Promote
If your content strategy includes blog writing and the distribution of your content, you should be using Flipboard. It naturally lends itself to the social promotion of your brand and content. Extending your brand beyond your website is as simple as creating a Flipboard magazine of your products and/or services.
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Use it to Learn:
Flipboard’s 100 million active readers have already amassed a sizable collection of insightful content about specific topics. No matter what industry you work in, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll find unique content either generated or curated by industry peers.
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Use it for Productivity:
You’ve already created great content. Flipboard makes it easy to share content across your existing social networks. Want to send a prospect a product or service listing? Tweet them a link to your Flipboard magazine showcasing your products and services.
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Use it to Unwind:
Miss the last episode of your favorite show? Catch up by reading show-related content. Want to plan a trip to the beach in February? Browse Flipboard’s travel magazines to find the best hotel deals and insider information about resorts.
You can download Flipboard for free. It is available for iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry, Kindle Fire & NOOK.
by Elizabeth Hines | Nov 19, 2014 | Blog, Leadership, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Talent
Networking is often thought of as a (dreaded) job search action item. However, thinking about networking in this manner will leave you at a disadvantage. Networking is an action item necessary for your professional and personal growth.
Those who view networking as more than just a job search must, gain a competitive edge over those who turn to networking only when they are making a job/career change. Glen Llopis puts it this way:
“The more you procrastinate, the more you will find yourself disconnected from the opportunities that may potentially advance your career or allow you to meet the right people.”
How and why does networking matter? Here are five reasons why networking is essential and why connections matter:
- Research has shown that the larger the network, the larger the salary
- Networks beget jobs
- Networks bring opportunities that benefit and feed your career, professional development, and personal interests.
- Networks make people smarter
- Networks make people happy
Moreover, Kathryn Minshew, founder and CEO of The Muse and The Daily Muse, points out that:
“Networks are powerful, and when done right leave you surrounded by a core of individuals who are all rooting for your success and happy to help you.”
One of the greatest networking tools for professionals is LinkedIn. So before you begin, make sure you optimize your LinkedIn profile for success.
by Elizabeth Hines | Nov 13, 2014 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
Founded in 1997, Cerasis is a top North American third party logistics company offering logistics solutions with a strong focus on LTL freight management. For 15 years the company utilized traditional marketing strategies – placing ads in glossy industry publications (print) and relying heavily on referrals. This strategy was effective. The company acquired new customers, retained current customer, and realized positive growth. However, Cerasis was not attracting larger and more sophisticated shippers, and brand awareness was low. Moreover, Cerasis was not perceived as a leader within the industry. The company recognized that in order to catch the attention of their preferred customers, increase brand awareness, and be perceived as a leader within the industry they needed to make substantial changes to their marketing strategy. To overcome these challenges Cerasis decided to shift from their traditional approach to an inbound marketing strategy.
Strategy matters
Understanding that strategy is critical to success, Cerasis took the time to put a strategy in place. Taking a research-based approach to strategy development, Cerasis studied internal company data, trends, and metrics and conducted market research. Using this information Cerasis determined the type of messaging it wanted to share, identified their target audience (buyer persona), and identified the platforms it felt would be the most effective.
Adam Robinson, Director of Marketing at Cerasis, notes that the company took a measured approach:
“Once we had a strategy in place we needed to execute it. We started simply – we posted one piece of content each day.”
Revenue matters
Cerasis’ strategy paid off. Within 25 months Cerasis realized a 14% increase in revenue. This increase was directly attributable to inbound marketing. In addition this stream of revenue, the company’s sales team was able to generate revenue totaling $20 million during this period – more than double the previous two years combined. This can also be linked to the company’s inbound marketing efforts as they increased the company’s brand awareness and positioned Cerasis as a leader within the industry.
To learn more about Cerasis’s approach to inbound marketing and the results realized, download the case study: 3PL Cerasis acquires 98 new customers through inbound marketing.
by Elizabeth Hines | Nov 11, 2014 | Blog, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Ello launched in beta on August 7th. By the last week in September the invite-only social network was receiving more than 50,000 invite requests per hour.
What sets Ello apart from other social networks? Ello is ad-free and doesn’t sell user data to third parties. On October 23rd Ello became a Public Benefit Corporation; therefore, making it virtually impossible for Ello to ever sell ads or user data.
The company’s manifesto points to the frustrations which were the impetus for founding Ello, and to the company’s strategic direction:
“Your social network is owned by advertisers.
Every post you share, every friend you make, and every link you follow is tracked, recorded, and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold.
We believe there is a better way. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity, and transparency. We believe that the people who make things and the people who use them should be in partnership.
We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce, and manipulate — but a place to connect, create, and celebrate life.
You are not a product.”
Ello’s mindset resonates. Not only are people clamoring to join the social network, investors are pounding on the door. CEO and Co-Founder Paul Budnitz told BusinessWeek:“I have every investor in the world in my inbox. Someone today offered to fly us out in a private jet to talk, and we said we’re just too busy.” Ello is only open to additional financing from backers with similar values.
What can businesses learn from Ello’s rapid rise to stardom? No one wants to be thought of as a product. If your company recognizes this and your social media strategy reflects this – you are more likely to be successful and rise to stardom (or at the very least increase your revenue).
Your company should use social media to:
- Build trust and relationships with prospects and customers;
- Engage with customers;
- Listen;
- Learn from your customers.
As Alexandra Samuel, Vice-President of Social Media at Vision Critical, recently wrote in an article for the HBR Blog Network: “Instead of relying on algorithms and ad targeting to get dollars out of their customers’ wallets, companies need to think about the value they can offer to their customers’ online lives.”
by Jennifer Hart Yim | Nov 4, 2014 | Blog, Leadership, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Within five years social media literacy will be the single greatest factor distinguishing top performing procurement leaders from the rest.
Now don’t get me wrong – that’s not to diminish the importance of superior financial skills, sourcing, and/or change or people management abilities, but simply to say that social media will add a new dimension to these existing critical competencies.
For Roland Deiser and Sylvain Newton, authors of McKinsey Quarterly ‘The six social media skills every leader needs’, social media has created a dilemma for executives: “while the potential of social media is immense, the inherent risks create uncertainty and unease.”
For those schooled in 20th century management theories, social media’s unscripted approach to conversations, horizontal collaboration and fragmented power structures, is undoubtedly unsettling.
But the transformative power of social media is too big, too loud, and simply too pervasive to miss.
Today, Procurement Leaders are expected to ‘do everything.’ Is social media just ANOTHER thing to add to their To-Do list?
Yes and no – but that doesn’t mean it has to be a thorn in your side. Instead, why not utilize the seemingly transformational power that social media represents? Not only will it allow you to manage change more effectively and maintain costs, but it will also negate the risk of unruly online behavior.
If you’re hoping social media is really just an issue for the Chief Marketing Officer (or perhaps even just your teenage daughter and son), this next statement is going to hurt: Every leader – regardless of industry or profession – needs to be social media savvy, and the expectations for CPOs to be masterful (not just literate) are ever greater. Here’s why:
1. Procurement needs to create 360 degree visibility
Social media visibility will help position yourself as a connected thought-leader in the eyes of not just your team, but your Board and suppliers too.
You’re in a unique position – as the facilitator of connectivity you should rightly take the lead when it comes to all-things social. Suppliers can benefit from simple initiatives like creating private groups that can be used as discussion areas.
2. Procurement needs to be a Customer of Choice (and stay ahead of sales during negotiations)
Your marketing team has probably been using social media to connect with customers for years. Although the use of social media to connect with suppliers is still in its infancy (although eMarket places are rapidly growing), be assured that sales executives are already scanning social media to understand your industry (and you as a customer) better.
3. Procurement needs to mitigate the risk
So here comes the scary part – while the benefits of social media are real, so too are the risks when it comes to issues of commercial in confidence and defamation.
Procurement (and your suppliers) deal with highly sensitive issues on a daily basis. CPOS must understand social media in order to develop and manage an operational social media policy that stimulates collaboration, but adequately mitigates risk. And don’t even think about a social media blackout…your employees, your suppliers, your customers are online so it pays to stay one step ahead.
4. Procurement needs to upskill… or die
There has never been a more pressing time to engage, retain and upskill existing procurement talent.
The labor market is tightening, bringing with it new risks.
Luckily social media breeds collaboration, making approaches such as peer-to-peer learning a viable (and cost-effective) option to procurement professionals looking to develop.
What’s more, by its very nature online learning is highly accessible and available across a range of devices and form-factors. At the time of writing, all of Procurious’ training modules are free to members. So go and get them while they’re hot!
If the thought of social media literacy has you thinking fondly of the ‘good old days’ of cost-downs and low hanging fruit, there is good news: like any skill, social media can be taught so start by mastering the basics, start with understanding:
- The different social media platforms – start with: Procurious; LinkedIn; Facebook; YouTube; Twitter; and Instagram. Think about their intended purpose, how they differ; their reach and their impact
- Basic Twitter functionality
- Simple social media terminology – start with: hashtag; retweet; like; follow; mention; blog; podcast; RSS feed. I recommend checking out Buzz Billboard’s Social Media Glossary here: https://www.buzzbinpadillacrt.com/social-media-glossary/
Now if all this sounds time consuming, well it can be…but it doesn’t have to.
Much like exercise, learning to juggle or learning the guitar, the key is usually to start small and be consistent. At Procurious, we recommend ‘The Daily Habit’ – it takes 15 minutes and can be done as you sip your morning double-shot skim latte:
Scan the Headlines – 5 min
Check the latest news and blogs, keeping your eyes peeled for “water cooler moments”, mentions of your suppliers or competitors in the headlines and be ready to dazzle colleagues and stakeholders with the factoids and market intelligence you’ve found.
Share – 4 min
What did you find that was interesting? An article? A comment? A quote? Well, post it to social media and get people reading and talking.
As procurement people we in fact have access to great, shareable content – in fact many of the best stories come out of buyer/supplier relationships: weird categories sourced; inspiring social procurement stories; and photos from Supplier Awards days.
Ask (or be) an expert – 4 min
One of the busiest parts Procurious is our Discussions area. Most social media platforms will have similar groups or boards where you can throw out a question to the network…..you’ll be impressed by the willingness of people to share their learnings….or at the very least, realize you’re not alone in your challenges!
Grow your network – 2 min
To be the world’s best at procurement, you need to be the most connected. Be referred. Invite people to join your social media networks – on Procurious, you can narrow this down by geography, industry and category which means you can connect with like-minded peers from across the globe. Aim to connect with 10 new people a day across your networks.
Change management, financial literacy, sourcing, vendor and people management will always be core to procurement. Social media, however, allows you to approach these tasks with far greater reach, influence and a superior market intelligence.
Lisa Malone is the General Manager – Procurious – the world’s first online business network for procurement and supply chain professionals.
If you’d like to learn more about how to grow your social media literacy, connect with her on Procurious at (it’s free to join and participate) or follow on Twitter @lisajoymalone.
by Elizabeth Hines | Oct 30, 2014 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
The use of third-party logistics providers are on the rise. As many as nine out of ten 3PLs surveyed by Inbound Logistics reported their client base grew by 5 percent this year, continuing the unabated expansion of recent years.
And there’s good reason for it.
In an interesting article on SupplyChain 24/7, Adam Robinson, the marketing guru at Cerasis, lists seven reasons companies should outsource non-core transportation management functions to 3PL providers. Surprisingly, perhaps, many of the same arguments can be applied to companies debating who should be in charge of their content creation.
As the number one reason to outsource, Robinson cites “Time and Money.”
He writes:
“3PL providers are able to reduce the amount of infrastructure investments in equipment, software, facilities and personnel… These 3PLs are like having non-paid employees on your staff and allow shippers to focus resources on areas where they are the expert (i.e. manufacturing, product sales).”
Time and money – or lack thereof – are similarly common issues among companies with respect to social media. In a new Fronetics report on social media use in the supply chain and logistics industries, nearly half of the respondents cited time and budgetary constraints as their top two challenges. Such companies may, as a result, participate only sporadically or not at all.
Since consistency is crucial to online lead generation, anything but a fulltime commitment to the company blog, content curation, and social media outreach is doomed to fail. An outside provider can, just like a 3PL, take these tasks off your hands, allowing you to focus on your core competencies.
Robinson also argues:
“As shippers rely on 3PL partners to provide more strategic oversight, and help catalyze business process change within the organization, the relationship is growing more fluid, and less analytical. Service providers are becoming an extension of the enterprise.”
In short, 3PL providers should not be perceived as outsiders but as partners who know their stuff. They contract with thousands of carriers and know the fastest and most reliable routes to move product from point A to point B.
A marketing company, especially one specialized in content creation for the logistics, transportation and supply chain industries, works the same way, drawing on a wealth of industry knowledge. In essence, you hire experts equipped with the right strategic tools to leverage their market expertise to your advantage.
Finally, Robinson writes visibility of loads gives 3PLs a leg up on the competition:
“Many 3PLs are able to integrate tracking into shipper IT systems, provide integration into ERP and WMS automated notices or even real-time delivery notifications by e-mail.”
Losing track of a shipment equals chaos. 3PL providers are there to ensure it never happens. In the same vein, companies need to track the metrics of their content strategy or risk wasting resources on something that yields no results. They need to know which social media outlets work for their business and what types of content draw traffic to their site. It takes time and resources – and as our survey revealed, both tend to be in short supply.
Your content marketing partner, on the other hand, knows metrics is as important as a shipment is to a 3PL provider.
Outsourcing content creation may be your strategic advantage over your competition.
