Content is king, but distribution is queen and she wears the pants

Content is king, but distribution is queen and she wears the pants

Content is king.  By creating and distributing valuable and relevant content in a strategic and consistent manner you will be able to create demand for your products and services and will be able to drive profitable customer action.  That being said, while content is king, content doesn’t go far (actually it goes nowhere) without distribution.  Wise words by BuzzFeed’s Jonathan Perelman: “Content is king, but distribution is queen and she wears the pants.”

Distribution wears the pants

For content to be successful for your business you need to do more than create content – you need to distribute content.  Moreover, the content needs to be delivered consistently over time, at the right time, and in the right place.

For your company this means taking the time to identify the distribution channels that are the right fit for your company, your content, and your goals.  It also means taking the time to learn how to distribute content via these channels effectively.

For example:

  • LinkedIn and Twitter are good candidates for letting people know about the white paper your company just released, whereas Pinterest is probably not a good white paper distribution channel.
  • Levering your 140 characters for Twitter is key, but taking those same 140 characters to LinkedIn or Facebook will likely result in you falling flat.
  • Distributing your content multiple times a day via Twitter is essential given the short lifespan of a Tweet; however, distributing content multiple times a day via email will not be well received.

Content will help you move the needle.  Content will drive profitable customer action.  However, your content, no matter how valuable it is, will not be seen and therefore will not be effective if you do not have a solid content distribution strategy.  If you want results, remember who wears the pants.

This post was first published on DC Velocity.

Content is king, but distribution is queen and she wears the pants

Content is king, but distribution is queen and she wears the pants

Content is king.  By creating and distributing valuable and relevant content in a strategic and consistent manner you will be able to create demand for your products and services and will be able to drive profitable customer action.  That being said, while content is king, content doesn’t go far (actually it goes nowhere) without distribution.  Wise words by BuzzFeed’s Jonathan Perelman: “Content is king, but distribution is queen and she wears the pants.”

Distribution wears the pants

For content to be successful for your business you need to do more than create content – you need to distribute content.  Moreover, the content needs to be delivered consistently over time, at the right time, and in the right place.

For your company this means taking the time to identify the distribution channels that are the right fit for your company, your content, and your goals.  It also means taking the time to learn how to distribute content via these channels effectively.

For example:

  • LinkedIn and Twitter are good candidates for letting people know about the white paper your company just released, whereas Pinterest is probably not a good white paper distribution channel.
  • Levering your 140 characters for Twitter is key, but taking those same 140 characters to LinkedIn or Facebook will likely result in you falling flat.
  • Distributing your content multiple times a day via Twitter is essential given the short lifespan of a Tweet; however, distributing content multiple times a day via email will not be well received.

Content will help you move the needle.  Content will drive profitable customer action.  However, your content, no matter how valuable it is, will not be seen and therefore will not be effective if you do not have a solid content distribution strategy.  If you want results, remember who wears the pants.

This post was first published on DC Velocity.

Not participating in social media?  Here are 4 reasons why you need to start – today

Not participating in social media? Here are 4 reasons why you need to start – today

Social media marketing

There is much more than meets the eye when it comes to social media marketing. From expanding corporate communications to learning valuable information about consumers, social media has benefits that help businesses grow and expand their reach.  Here are four powerful reasons why your business needs to incorporate social media into your marketing strategy:

1. Sharing Educational Content with Consumers

Leveraging social media as a tool for educating customers is a B2B marketing strategy that many businesses miss out on. Build your social media channels and develop thought leadership by providing objective, educational content that is relevant to your customers’ business problems. Become a resource of industry-related information through your original content and content curated from across the Internet. When potential customers are beginning their buying process, they gravitate towards companies with whom they are familiar and perceive as industry experts. According to Sirius Decisions, 70% of the buyer’s journey is complete before they ever contact a sales representative. Socially sharing educational content will increase your visibility to buyers during the sales process. Buyers are more informed than ever before, and businesses need to strive to be a resource for their customers on social media.

2. Improve Your SEO Ranking

Inbound links and social shares are two key performance indicators (KPIs) to be mindful of throughout the SEO process. Inbound links and social shares are two increasingly important factors that are taken into consideration during website indexes. These increase what Google refers to as Author Authority, and the more authority, the more SEO weight your website gains. Bottom line: the stronger your presence on social media, the higher your search engine page rank will be.

3. Generate New Leads

Social media can be used to help businesses build robust marketing campaigns to support lead generation, often with little to no cost. The plethora of social media networks and websites can seem overwhelming, but popular networks like LinkedIn and Twitter are a great place to start using social media to generate qualified leads.

LinkedIn is an ideal space for businesses; the community of professionals is a great resource for networking. LinkedIn supports businesses with community pages, company pages, groups and discussion boards for users to share ideas, content and talk to like-minded professionals. LinkedIn is also a useful tool for leads by gauging interest in products and services based on conversations. Additionally, Twitter is another free platform that users can use to drive lead generation efforts. According to Inside View, B2B marketers who use Twitter generate twice as many leads as those that do not.

4. Stretch Your Marketing Dollars

Even if you do chose to upgrade your social media toolkit and pay for premium benefits and services, the cost of implementing a social media marketing campaign is significantly lower than using many traditional mediums. The real-time data and analytics received through different social platforms provide users with valuable insights and the opportunity for businesses to pivot campaigns and tactics as needed in order to have the highest possible impact. Moreover, you be flexible with your marketing strategies, campaigns and tactics.

What have been some of the biggest benefits that your organization has seen as a result of their social media practices?

 For more information on the benefits of social media, check out our white paper.

 

Not participating in social media?  Here are 4 reasons why you need to start – today

Not participating in social media? Here are 4 reasons why you need to start – today

Social media marketing

There is much more than meets the eye when it comes to social media marketing. From expanding corporate communications to learning valuable information about consumers, social media has benefits that help businesses grow and expand their reach.  Here are four powerful reasons why your business needs to incorporate social media into your marketing strategy:

1. Sharing Educational Content with Consumers

Leveraging social media as a tool for educating customers is a B2B marketing strategy that many businesses miss out on. Build your social media channels and develop thought leadership by providing objective, educational content that is relevant to your customers’ business problems. Become a resource of industry-related information through your original content and content curated from across the Internet. When potential customers are beginning their buying process, they gravitate towards companies with whom they are familiar and perceive as industry experts. According to Sirius Decisions, 70% of the buyer’s journey is complete before they ever contact a sales representative. Socially sharing educational content will increase your visibility to buyers during the sales process. Buyers are more informed than ever before, and businesses need to strive to be a resource for their customers on social media.

2. Improve Your SEO Ranking

Inbound links and social shares are two key performance indicators (KPIs) to be mindful of throughout the SEO process. Inbound links and social shares are two increasingly important factors that are taken into consideration during website indexes. These increase what Google refers to as Author Authority, and the more authority, the more SEO weight your website gains. Bottom line: the stronger your presence on social media, the higher your search engine page rank will be.

3. Generate New Leads

Social media can be used to help businesses build robust marketing campaigns to support lead generation, often with little to no cost. The plethora of social media networks and websites can seem overwhelming, but popular networks like LinkedIn and Twitter are a great place to start using social media to generate qualified leads.

LinkedIn is an ideal space for businesses; the community of professionals is a great resource for networking. LinkedIn supports businesses with community pages, company pages, groups and discussion boards for users to share ideas, content and talk to like-minded professionals. LinkedIn is also a useful tool for leads by gauging interest in products and services based on conversations. Additionally, Twitter is another free platform that users can use to drive lead generation efforts. According to Inside View, B2B marketers who use Twitter generate twice as many leads as those that do not.

4. Stretch Your Marketing Dollars

Even if you do chose to upgrade your social media toolkit and pay for premium benefits and services, the cost of implementing a social media marketing campaign is significantly lower than using many traditional mediums. The real-time data and analytics received through different social platforms provide users with valuable insights and the opportunity for businesses to pivot campaigns and tactics as needed in order to have the highest possible impact. Moreover, you be flexible with your marketing strategies, campaigns and tactics.

What have been some of the biggest benefits that your organization has seen as a result of their social media practices?

 For more information on the benefits of social media, check out our white paper.

 

Social Media and the Logistics and Supply Chain Industries

Social Media and the Logistics and Supply Chain Industries

Social Media

Social media and social media technologies have rapidly changed the way companies do business across every type of industry. Social media brings businesses closer to their customers, provides a platform for communication and building thought leadership, and when executed properly it can help drive business and provide a significant return on investment. Businesses that ignore social media forgo these opportunities and miss out on potential business development opportunities.

According to The McKinsey Global Institute, 90 percent of companies who were using social media or social technologies for their business reported benefiting from their efforts in 2012. And how could they not? Utilizing a social media technology can increase a company’s reach into their industry and provides optimal channels for communicating with their customers.

The supply chain and logistics industries are two industries that have not adopted social media and social technologies as quickly as others. Business owners in these have a difficult time seeing past the “social” aspect of these technologies and understanding what the implied benefits of using social technologies can mean for their business. Many find themselves asking “why?” instead of “how?” when considering implementing a social media strategy, and ultimately allocate resources elsewhere within their businesses.

The Fronetics white paper, Social Media and the Logistics and Supply Chain Industries: Why Not Participating is a Risk You Can’t Afford to Take, provides meaningful insights into why supply chain and logistics companies need to be using social media and the value of these technologies. Learn how to move past the barriers to adoption, how to leverage social technologies, and learn what  a social presence can mean for your business.

To learn more about why your business needs social media, download Social Media and the Logistics and Supply Chain Industries: Why Not Participating is a Risk You Can’t Afford to Take today.