by Fronetics | Oct 1, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Supply Chain
Consumers are more likely to trust content generated by their peers, which means higher conversion rates at a lower cost for your brand. Is your brand benefitting from user generated content?
Highlights:
- User generated content is content created by users of a specific brand or on a specific platform.
- Images and video of real people using your products or talking about your services will create trust and loyalty for your brand.
- Don’t be afraid to engage with your audiences over social media, respond to comments, and answer questions.
Video transcript:
I’m Katie Russell, a marketing strategist here at Fronetics, and today I wanted to talk to you about user generated content. Also known as UGC, user generated content is one of the hottest topics in digital marketing right now, but there are many businesses that don’t know how to use this tool to their advantage.
Let’s start with the basics.
What is UGC?
User generated content is content created by users of a specific brand or on a specific platform. It’s highly effective and comes at little or no cost to your business.
With that said, a lot can qualify as UGC including: comments on your blog, testimonials on your website, social media posts, blog articles, videos, Instagram stories, The list goes on and on. What it comes down to is that UGC is really any form of content that comes from a customer or a user.
So, what are the benefits of UGC?
Authenticity
We know that consumers are more likely to trust content generated by their peers, which means higher conversion rates at a lower cost for your brand. This also means the content is authentic and genuine reviews from buyers. Does it get any better than that?
Inexpensive
Since your brand is not generating the content, you don’t have to invest in the time and resources to create it.
What’s hot in UGC right now?
Visual content
Visual content is by far the most popular among audiences, so visual UGC is a no brainer. Images and video of real people using your products or talking about your services will create trust and loyalty for your brand.
Snackable content
We all know that the attention span for content is extremely short these days. When reposting UGC, focus on short, funny and positive content. Content that leaves users feeling informed and entertained will perform best for your brand.
Enlisting influencers
Whether it’s a famous celebrity or a micro-influencer that’s respected within your industry, brands involving influential people in their marketing campaigns can expect higher ROI from UGC.
Don’t forget to follow-up
Once you’ve grabbed the attention of your community with a successful UGC campaign, it’s up to you to capitalize on the momentum. Don’t be afraid to engage with your audiences over social media, respond to comments, answer questions. Have questions about starting a UGC campaign as a part of your digital marketing strategy? Visit us at fronetics.com.
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by Fronetics | Sep 24, 2019 | Blog
Although content is extremely important, it’s only effective if it gets in front of the right audience. Here’s everything you need to know about content distrubution.
Highlights:
- Content distribution is the act of promoting content to online audiences in multiple media formats through various channels.
- Don’t fall victim to the “spray and pray” strategy where you post every piece of content anywhere and everywhere to increase the chances of achieving your desired results.
- Kick things off by looking at how each channel you want to use matches with the audience, your goals, and the priorities outlined in your overall content marketing plan.
Video transcript:
I’m Katie Russell, a marketing strategist here at Fronetics, and today we’re going to be talking about content distribution 101.
Content distribution is a term that’s often thrown around in marketing circles without any specifics attached. Given the growing popularity of content marketing, brands run the risk of having content lost in the shuffle. Here’s what you need to know to start implementing a successful content distribution strategy.
What is content distribution?
First off, what is content distribution? Content distribution is the act of promoting content to online audiences in multiple media formats through various channels.
There are three main components in the process for enabling your brand to build (and grow) communities of loyal, engaged consumers:
- Evaluate your distribution options
- Develop and document your strategy
- Promote your content
Evaluate your distribution options
Let’s start with evaluate your distribution options. Don’t fall victim to the “spray and pray” strategy where you post every piece of content anywhere and everywhere to increase the chances of achieving your desired results. You want to make sure your content is getting in front of the right people, with the right messaging.
Whether you are new at content marketing or a seasoned expert wanting to make the biggest splash possible, you need to decide which channels make the most sense for distribution. Some channels are more appropriate for your content than others, so you want a clear understanding of the unique value proposition of each, and how strongly those benefits align with your audience, brand voice, and goals.
Develop and document your strategy
Once you’ve generated a list of the most viable distribution options, building a strategy is the next step. Kick things off by looking at how each channel you want to use matches with the audience, your goals, and the priorities outlined in your overall content marketing plan. Resources and content types will help establish your editorial strategy. Make sure to document the details of your distribution decisions, so the information can be referenced easily, updated as necessary, and shared throughout your company.
Promote your content
Simply posting your content and waiting for your ideal audience to magically discover it won’t cut it. Make sure you are:
- optimizing your content with keywords, backlinks and calls to action
- repurposing and repackage top performing content
- consider sponsored content on social media sites
Want more information on how to successfully implement a content distribution strategy? Visit us at fronetics.com.
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by Fronetics | Sep 19, 2019 | Blog, Data/Analytics, Marketing, Marketing Automation, Supply Chain
In a highly competitive B2B landscape, AI can be the strategic advantage your brand needs. Here’s everything you need to know about AI for marketing.
Highlights:
- AI enables predictive analysis – the ability to look at a large set of data and predict what steps to take to reach a desired outcome.
- Social listening powered by AI gives marketers key insights into brand perception and audience reaction.
- When considering purchasing an AI technology for marketing, consider if it includes its own Big Data source.
When we think about artificial intelligence (AI), it’s often with a twinge of unease. Whether it’s pop culture telling us that robots will take over at their earliest opportunity, or fears of human labor being replaced with machines, AI is a complex, controversial, and even mysterious topic. But when it comes to the applications of AI for marketing, there’s actually a lot to celebrate.
It’s important for marketers not only to have a thorough understanding of the uses of AI for marketing, but to be aware of industry trends, and how to determine investment to maximize ROI.
What is AI for marketing?
While it’s not necessary for marketers to be artificial intelligence and robotics experts, it’s beneficial to have a functional understanding of the technology that enables AI for marketing. In a general sense, the term “AI” refers to the area of computer science that enables the creation of software and machines that possess what we think of as intelligence. That is, they are able to work, react, and learn without being specifically programmed for each task.
AI is enabled by data science, “the practice of organizing and analyzing massive amounts of data.” When it comes to marketing, AI can be thought of as an extension and development of marketing automation. Essentially, AI for marketing is software that collects, analyzes, and reacts to large amounts of data, with increasing levels of sophistication.
According to content intelligence expert Bart Frischknecht, of Vennli, AI for marketing can be categorized in one of two ways.
- Recommending: This type of marketing software “predicts which action will have the most positive outcome in order to recommend a next step in a series of events.” Frischknecht describes these recommendations as “stepping stones on the way to fully automating a given task.”
- Automating: Software that automates is a furtherance of software that recommends. For a task to be automated, it needs to be “routine and repeatable, the goal needs to be specific, and the steps to achieve that goal must follow an exact set of rules.”
Think of data as the fuel that powers AI for marketing. As we gather more and more data, and devise increasingly sophisticated analytical methods, the possibilities for intelligent automation in marketing will continue to expand.
5 examples of AI for marketing
1) Data filtering and analysis
At Fronetics, we’ve advocated for a data-driven approach to marketing since our founding. For marketers, data is the most powerful strategic weapon in your arsenal, and AI is sharpening it even further. AI software can consolidate large amounts of data, and analyze it to determine patterns and trends.
2) Social listening
Social listening, also known as social monitoring, is the process of observing and examining social media, to identify and access what is being said about your brand. Social listening gives marketers valuable market intelligence, prospect insight, tone awareness, and competitive advantage.
Current AI software lets marketers not only engage in sophisticated social monitoring, but it also enables “sentiment analysis,” automatically generating a report of the overall attitude of your audience and perception of your brand.
3) Predictive analysis
Beyond simply filtering and analyzing data, AI for marketing goes a crucial step further: predictive analysis, the practice of applying the information extracted from data sets to predict a future outcome or trend.
This revolutionary capability of AI can be used to analyze buyer purchase behavior, for example, and determine when and how to distribute certain types of content. Social media scheduling tools, for instance, use predictive analysis to suggest the optimal times to share content.
4) Audience targeting and segmentation
As B2B buyers increasingly come to expect personalization at all stages of the buyer’s journey, it can be a challenge for marketers to deliver. However, AI makes personalization possible at a large scale, drawing on data to segment and categorize audiences.
The limits of the specificity of this segmentation are determined only by the amount of data available. In other words, the more data, the more the AI software can instantly segment a contact list and deliver personalized correspondence.
5) Chatbots
One of the most ubiquitous examples of AI for marketing, chatbots are computer programs that simulate human conversation using auditory or textual methods. Chatbots communicate with buyers within a messaging app, like Facebook messenger.
3 questions to ask when considering an investment in AI for marketing
While the possibilities of AI for marketing are virtually endless, the reality for most companies is that marketing budgets are not. When considering an investment in any technology, including AI, maximizing ROI should be top of mind. Frischknecht suggests that marketers ask the following three questions when considering an investment in AI for marketing:
- Which marketing task will this technology automate, and will doing so alleviate a significant burden for marketing staff?
- Does purchase of the tech include its own Big Data source, or do I need to provide all the data? If the latter, do I have adequate data, and can I connect my data source to the tech?
- What evidence exists of the tech making good recommendations or automating one of my tasks.
AI is revolutionizing marketing. Investing intelligently in these technologies can provide critical market insights, data processing capabilities, and predictive analysis.
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by Fronetics | Sep 18, 2019 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Video Marketing
Here are 15 social video marketing statistics that every supply chain marketer should be aware of in 2019.
Highlights:
- 87% of business use video as a marketing tool.
- 83% of marketers report that video gives them a good ROI.
- Social video marketing trends to be on the lookout for: live video and 1:1 personalized video.
If you believe everything you read, you might think that social video marketing has taken a bit of a hit in the past year or so. Largely thanks to Facebook’s well-publicized inflation of video view metrics, companies are naturally wary of investing in video creation and promotion on the platform.
But Facebook’s transgressions shouldn’t undermine marketers’ confidence in the future of social video marketing. Both expert analysis and hard numbers support the notion that video isn’t going anywhere. As digital media expert Michael Humphrey puts it, “All the major upward trends still wrap around video.”
According to Lux Narayan, CEO of independent social analytics company Unmetric, audiences “are longing for more interactive experiences as well as long-form storytelling that only video can best achieve.”
Here are 15 social video marketing statistics we think supply chain marketers should be aware of.
15 social video marketing statistics for 2019
- 47% of internet users have watched brand advertising videos on social media within the past 3 months. (Toluna)
- Of the social media users who have watched branded videos in the past 3 months, 43% watched on Facebook, 38% on YouTube, 18% on Instagram, and 13% on Twitter. (Toluna)
- 87% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool, up from 63% in 2017. (Wyzowl)
- 55% of people consume videos thoroughly – the highest percentage of any content type. (HubSpot)
- 30% of users prefer video ads to text or still image ads, while 52% report having no preference. (Only 18% prefer text or still image ads). (Toluna)
- 83%of marketers say video gives them a good ROI, up from 78% in 2018. (Wyzowl)
- 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions. (Invodo)
- 68%of people say they’d most prefer to learn about a new product or service by watching a short video, over text-based articles (15%), infographics (4%), presentations and pitches (4%), and ebooks and manuals (3%). (Wyzowl)
- 48% of social media users have sought more information about a product or service based on social video marketing. (Toluna)
- 33% of survey respondents answered yes to having bought a product or service from a brand solely based on social video marketing. (Toluna)
- 88% of video marketers are satisfied with the ROI of their video marketing efforts on social media. (Animoto)
- 82% of social media users prefer live video from a brand to social posts. (Impact)
- 81% of marketers say video has helped them generate leads, and 84% say video has helped them increase traffic to their website. (Wyzowl)
- 61% of marketers have made more marketing videos in house in 2018 than they did in 2017. (Animoto)
- 67% of users said they would like to see more social video marketing in the future over other types of ads. The remaining 33% are indifferent, not opposed. (Toluna)
The future of social video marketing
Suffice it to say, the numbers bear out the fact that video marketing, and particularly social video marketing, is a trend that’s here to stay. Live video is increasingly popular, and savvy brands are incorporating it into their strategies.
In addition to live video, given the growing ease of shooting video on smartphones, another big trend is likely to be 1:1 video. Marketers can nurture leads via personalized video messages, rather than phone calls or emails, using video to offer additional content, product support, or simply to foster a relationship.
The bottom line is that video offers up the kind of engaging storytelling that users today want. And social media is the ideal distribution platform for video, making social video marketing a winning strategy.
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by Fronetics | Sep 11, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
Ushering qualified leads through the sales funnel requires the right kind of content at the right time. Here’s what kind of content you need for ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu.
Highlights:
- ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu are abreviations for top of funnel, middle of funnel, and bottom of funnel, respectively.
- ToFu content should be geared toward audience engagement and getting contact information – not converting.
- MoFu stage content should establish that your business can address a prospect’s specific needs.
Consider this statistic: 50% of qualified B2B leads aren’t ready to make a purchase when they initially convert. That means that in order to usher prospects effectively through the sales funnel, marketers need to deliver the right content for each stage of the buyer’s journey. That’s where idea of ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu content comes in.
In case you’re wondering, none of these three words refer to soy-based vegetarian snacks. Instead, ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu are marketing portmanteaux, meaning top of funnel, middle of funnel, and bottom of funnel, respectively. Effectively nurturing inbound leads depends on creating and delivering the right type of content for each stage of the funnel.
ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu: a primer
Before we talk about what kind of content to deliver to prospects at each stage of the buyer’s journey, let’s take a closer look at what the terms ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu refer to and what your goals should be at each stage.
ToFu: top of the funnel
At the top of the sales funnel (ToFu), your goal is to draw in a wide audience of prospective leads, increasing brand awareness and customer engagement. This is the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey, and it represents your first impression. Leads at the top of the funnel are getting a sense of what your business does and your brand identity.
For ToFu leads, your goal isn’t conversion but simply to obtain contact information and generate interest. Says Gaetano DiNardi, Director of Demand Generation for Nextiva, ToFu “is where strangers become familiar with your brand for the first time… At this stage of the game, you don’t care about conversions; you care about piquing intrigue.”
MoFu: middle of the funnel
The middle of the funnel (MoFu), is the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey. This can be a tricky and uncertain stage as your leads continue to engage with your brand and learn about your products and services but remain unready to commit to purchase. “MoFu is usually the most complicated funnel stage because of how hard it is to define,” says DiNardi.
Ideally, by the MoFu stage, you should have a clearer idea of who your leads are and what they’re looking for. Your focus should be on continuing to educate your leads and situating your products and services as the solution to the challenges and needs of your prospects.
BoFu: bottom of the funnel
The bottom of the funnel (BoFu) is the decision stage of the buyer’s journey. You’ve established a relationship with your prospect during the MoFu stage, and your lead is now turning to you for specific information about your products and services. It’s at the BoFu stage that leads are ready to make a purchasing decision.
This is the stage when it’s all about conversion. Your goal is to inspire your lead to convert, helping them to realize that your business has the solutions they need. It’s important to note here that your goal is not to “sell,” but rather to make sure your leads know that you’re there to help.
(Made with Canva)
Optimizing ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu content for lead nurturing
Once you have a clear idea of the stages of the sales funnel and your goals for each, it’s time to consider the right types of content to ensure that prospects receive exactly the right message for each step of the buyer’s journey.
ToFu content: generating engagement
At the top of the sales funnel, where your goal is to engage your audience and collect contact information from qualified prospects, your content needs to educate leads and establish thought leadership. ToFu content shouldn’t pressure your audience to make a purchase, but instead should be geared toward providing information that speaks to needs, challenges, and questions common to your target audience.
According to Coralie Wood, Director of Demand Generation at LoginRadius, “Top-of-funnel content needs to be much more digestible and informative to ensure you are positioned as a thought leader.”
Some types of content that work particularly well for the ToFu stage:
- Blog posts
- Infographics
- Video content
- Whitepapers
- eBooks
MoFu content: addressing prospects’ needs
At this challenging middle stage, your content should begin to establish your business as the solution to a prospect’s specific needs and challenges. This is the consideration stage, and your lead is in the process of evaluating all available information to prepare to make a purchasing decision. Developing the relationship requires that your content be highly informative about how your business is ready to meet your prospect’s needs.
Because of the “wide net of interested leads who haven’t been fully qualified,” says DiNardi, “if you are too shameless about plugging your products or services, you’ll come across as pushy and likely to turn off buyers.” Instead, he suggests being “helpful and knowledgeable, while guiding your prospects into the right decision.”
Effective content types for the MoFu stage include:
- Email campaigns
- Free templates or guides
- Product-to-product comparisons
- Webinars
- Case studies
BoFu content: inspiring conversions
Now that your ToFu and MoFu content have attracted and nurtured a qualified lead, it’s time for your BoFu content to convince your lead to convert. It’s the closing stage of the buyer’s journey, which means marketers should be directing prospective buyers toward content that sells. This type of content is about cementing a decision and helping your leads recognize that your business has the right solutions.
“It’s important to note here that BoFu content can also lead directly into validation. This starts to cross the line from traditional content marketing to things like product marketing and customer testimonials,” says Mike Baker, marketing director at Lola.com. “As you work closer to the bottom-of-the-marketing funnel, your content should shift from purely educational to a more consultative, product-focused and a ‘show-don’t -ell’ style of marketing.”
BoFu content types geared to inspiring conversions include:
- Product demos
- Case studies and testimonials
- Free assessments or trials
- Targeted email campaigns
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