Everybody Wins With Responsive Web Design [INFOGRAPHIC]

Responsive Web Design (RWD) is a great solution for those looking to deliver their online content seamlessly across a multitude of devices. In fact, RWD can be a great tool for almost everyone involved in the web design process. There are benefits for everyone from the back-end coder, to the SEO marketer, to the end user. Many parties are involved in the process of designing and managing a website and all can stand to benefit in the long-run from responsive web design. In this infographic you will learn about how each of the various parties involved in a web design or redesign can benefit from using RWD. 

everybody wins with responsive web design

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Responsive Web Design eBook Download
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RSS Feed Marketing Tips: Top 10 RSS Feed Benefits

Marketing with RSS feeds could be a boon to your online business. RSS contains headline, summary and hyperlinks of updated web content; hence your readers are informed automatically each time your blog or website is updated. Due to its flexible features, it is also referred as mini database. Now tell me, don’t you wish to
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Visual Social isn’t Vanity, it’s Vital.


social and visual

In the world of social media, the term "vanity metrics" gets thrown around quite a bit as an effort to describe what has been labeled as superficial metrics (the # of page likes, followers, downloads, etc.), and therefore have been labeled as a waste of time to monitor. 

 


"Vanity metrics look good but fail the "So what?" test."

  

 "Vanity metrics are things people love to quote and obsess over, even though they're almost entirely useless to your business."

 

"Vanity metrics are all those data points that make us feel good if they go up but don’t help us make decisions."

 

Quite honestly, I’m tired of hearing about it.

Now, don't get me wrong, there is a hierarchy of importance when analyzing your social media strategy. A share or comment creates a much higher level of engagement than a simple like, and should be valued more. 

 

The Social Engagement Hierarchy


4. The like/favorite/rating

3. The comment/reply

2. The download/contest entry

1. The share 

 

The share becomes the highest level of engagement because not only does the user value the relation the content has to their lifestyle, but they trust that their own network will gain as much value from it as they did. 

But does that mean the number of likes on a piece of content, or the number of likes/followers on a particular account, does not matter? Absolutely not.

Put yourself in the position of a potential customer. Say that customer is looking at two different Facebook pages for local coffee shops. They've never been to either, but notice that one page has 1,200 likes and the other page has only 300. 

Which coffee shop are they going to think is more popular and therefore be the one they should spend their time and dollars on? These numbers matter. 

Content + "vanity" metrics go hand in hand; if your audience regularly connects with your content, they will most likely connect with your brand. If they connect with your brand, they more than likely going to show that connection through a page like or a twitter follow. 

Just because companies have mistreated these metrics as key performance indicators doesn't make them any less important to monitor.

 

Don't blame the metric, blame the operators.  

 

I’m becoming equally annoyed when it comes the simplistic undermining of measurement with regard to the various visual social channels.

At a recent networking event I attended, I raised the question of why it's difficult to access metrics from visual channels (particulary Instagram) on a large amount of analytics platforms. 

The answer I received? That Instagram is great for branding, but because it's not interactive it won't drive traffic, sales, or leads. 

And because of that "we don't monitor Instagram analytics because they are just another vanity metric."

 

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. 

 

Let’s take a brief look at the stats supporting Instagram:

instagram statistics

 
Not too shabby for an application that has been around for just under three years.  

It's safe to say that visual content is the driving force behind developing effective social media strategies and is an overall cornerstone of social media content production. Heck, the Facebook Timeline was designed to make it easier to post and see photos...including Instagram photos!

Likes, comments and hashtags on Instagram, are not pieces of vanity metrics but rather a space for active conversation and community development. 

And with the high possibility of Instagram getting ads sometime in the next year, this audience is only going to become more and more important for companies. 

So why isn't everyone utilizing the importance of these metrics? 

---

Piqora & Nitrogram get it.

piquora

nitrogram

 

 

Wieden + Kennedy gets it.

Wieden + Kennedy instagram
Not only is W+K the largest ad agency on Instagram, but they are also responsible for the launch and success of the official Oreo Instagram account. With the release of the Whisper Fight campaign during the 2013 Super Bowl (which they both developed and monitored) they were able to build a following of surpassing 50K in just over a day. 

oreo instagram campaign

 


Baublebar gets it. 

baublebar website instagram

Using the #baublebar branded hashtag, the jewelery company features brand advocates throughout their site, encouraging the development of earned media.

--- 

It’s often advised to brands and companies utilizing social media to always makes sure that whatever channel(s) you are utilizing, the content is adjusted to reflect the needs and desires of that particular social audience; the audience you are reaching on Twitter isn't neccessarly the same audience you are reaching on Facebook. 

If this is the case…then shouldn’t the Instagram audience, Vine audience, Tumblr audience, or any other audience in the visual social space be of importance as well? Don't they matter to your company? 

Let's Review: 

  • All social media channels can be utilized incorrectly, at which time they become “vanity metrics”
  • Instagram is a social media channel
  • If not used properly, instagram can become another victim on the evil list of "vanity metrics"

Unless, of course, you take the time to measure and understand the levels of engagement you're getting on these visual social channels...as outlined in the Social Engagement Hierarchy.

BAM. 

drop mic                    (source)


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PREVIEW: Executive Guide to Online Marketing

PREVIEW: The Executive Guide to Online Marketing

This brand new, fully researched and illustrated 40-page ebook addresses company owners, executives and managers.

  • Are you running a lean business? 
  • What is lean marketing and what is its value? 
  • Can you get more business online using social media and online marketing? 
  • How do you reach new customers, increase your profile and grow your sales? 
  • What does the research show, what are the metrics, and what is the cost benefit ratio?

Authored by Versio2 Managing Partner Stephan Burckhardt, who previously ran, owned and sold a CHF 12 million business and has consulted startups as well as mature companies in Silicon Valley and Switzerland, the Executive Guide to Online Marketing - A Lean Business Perspective attempts to answer such questions from a management and owner/investor perspective.

The Executive Guide looks at marketing return-on-investment (ROI), sales and marketing integration, leveraging traditional marketing, social media, content and email marketing, lead capture and nurture, search engine optimisation (SEO) and the benefits of an integrated online marketing strategy.

"Companies that wish to grow have the unique opportunity offered through the internet to reach new markets and previously untouched customer segments while spending less through lean marketing methods."

WHAT'S INSIDE

  • The Lean Marketing Paradigm
  • Marketing Effectiveness & ROI
  • What Drives Customer Behaviour
  • Online Marketing Today
  • From Online Marketing to Inbound Marketing
  • Get More Business Online
  • Show Me the Money
  • Looking Forward

The Executive Guide to Online Marketing will be out later this month – register early and be the first to obtain this valuable free download.

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Apple iOS7: Flat Design or Minimalism? – #TheBeard

90 seconds with the beard logoWelcome back to another installment of "90 Seconds of Design with The Beard,” featuring me, Spencer P, Lead Graphic Designer at SyneCore.

Today Apple announced the new release of iOS7 for the iPhone and iPad. Many people are talking about the advanced design that encompasses the features of each device. A leading word amongst all the talk is "flat design."

In this week's video I discuss the truth behind flat design and break down how Apple has successfully deployed this method of simplicity.


 

 

 

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NEW EBOOK: 53 Brilliant Home Page Designs

NEW EBOOK: 53 Brilliant Home Page DesignsWant to see 53 of the internet’s best website designs? With the help of our Inbound Marketing partner HubSpot, we’ve put together this collection of some of the online world’s best company websites. Find out how to make a good first impression while also incorporating the latest online marketing principles. 

53 Brilliant Home Page Designs is free to download, but as a small taster, here are three of the websites deserving of a place in this collection. These websites were gathered with the help of our Inbound Marketing partner HubSpot. 

E-COMMERCE | LEGA-LEGA.COM

Uncluttered minimalist styling, retro visuals and fixed header are all website design trends that put the Lega-lega online shop right on trend for 2013

But style isn’t the only thing that makes a website great. We believe in optimising websites as part of a larger marketing machine. There are clear signs that Lega-lega is doing just that – an active and up-to-date blog, social sharing buttons everywhere, a newsletter, not to mention some impressive Call-to-Actions (CTAs) at the bottom of the home page.

53 brilliant home page designs – Lega-lega.com 

ENTERTAINMENT | HEALTHLIFE.CO.UK

Resembling the single-page websites that we began to see last year, Healthlife.co.uk goes one subtle step forward by adding the fixed header. This gives access to the simplified navigation no matter how far down the page we scroll – and with trendy single-page websites, that could be a long way. This also creates somewhat of a hybrid between the traditional multiple page, content rich websites and the more modern, minimalist, single-page or infinite-scroll sites. 

As we mention in the caption for the screenshot below, the home page features Google Maps integration, but also a way for visitors to share their images via Instagram. This kind of interaction encourages social syndication, because many people also post their Instagram pictures to Facebook.

53 brilliant home page designs 2013 | HEALTHLIFE.CO.UK 

RETAIL | BUFFALOWILDWINGS.COM 

The Buffalo Wild Wings website displays another of the design trends for 2013 we identified in a recent Top Ten list, and that is a definite infographic influence. The website has undergone some changes, but this idea still remains. Bold colours, large fonts and plenty of graphics. There’s plenty of social media integration too, and multiple ways to connect, like and share.

53 brilliant home page designs 2013 | BUFFALOWILDWINGS.COM 

Download our free 53 Brilliant Home Page Designs ebook to see the other 50 website examples, each with a short text explaining their virtues from a design, branding and marketing point of view. Just click on the CTA below or follow the anchor link text in the previous sentence.

53 Brilliant Home Page Designs from Versio2 Digital Marketing

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10 Top 2013 Web Design Trends

Your company’s website is the face of your online presence, and is important for creating the right first impression. But what looked good when you first launched your website may not look quite as sharp today. Here are ten of the latest website design trends – how does yours compare? 

1. Dynamic, targeted content

Every year brings a new set of trends. In 2013, the shift has been towards behaviour driven smart design. This means that the behaviour and preferences of the target audience dictate the design style, and even the content, as with the new Content Optimisation System (COS) from HubSpot – read more about the key features here.

2. Minimalism

Smart design isn’t the only new trend for 2013. Something else we’ve also started to see in many new websites launched or updated this year is minimalism. The Microsoft ‘metro’ approach, which we see in Windows 8, the Xbox interface and Windows-powered smartphones, and all associated online marketing material, is typical and indicative of this trend. Even Apple is set to follow suit with the release of iOS 7 later this year.

Windows 8 minimalist interface design

3. Single website for multiple screen sizes

Ever more people are accessing the internet on mobile devices, creating a need for websites to look good both on full-size screens and on the small displays of tablets and smartphones. 

This is where responsive design comes in, a principle by which one website is coded such that it will adapt its layout and styling automatically, depending on the device it’s being viewed on – read more about the topic in What on Earth is Responsive Web Design?

4. Infinite scrolling

When it comes to e-commerce websites, infinite scrolling is in for 2013. Made famous by Pinterest, a social media platform website which currently has the third highest number of users in the world, infinite scrolling is a design wherein the content loads continuously as you scroll down. 

Essentially, pages can be endless, but this should not be confused with single-page websites, another design trend in itself.

5. Transparency

CSS, or Cascading Style Sheet, allows web designers to control a website’s entire styling – colours, fonts and so on – from one single file. The latest incarnation of this coding technology, CSS3, includes a way to control transparency (opacity) levels of graphics and text. Transparency levels can be used to create dynamic 3D kind of effects. 

6. Modular tile design 

Modular tiles (graphics containing text) are replacing internal text (anchor) links. Since pictures appear more attractive, these designs tend to increase engagement. Using this concept, we can create excellent ‘storytelling’ websites that encourage visitors to move from one page to the next. DigitalPodge.co.uk is a great example.

Modular website design trend

7. App-like interfaces

With the emergence of responsive design, web designers have taken to creating websites interfaces that resemble apps. Characteristics of such websites include clearly presented text and simplified content. Check out Microsoft SkyDrive.com for a good example of a website moving towards the app philosophy. 

8. Infographics 

Infographics aren’t new for 2013, but with the rising popularity of single-page sites and infinite scrolling, we’re now seeing websites appear that bear a striking resemblance to these popular data visualisations.

Online audiences tend to have short attention spans, but the combination of text and images that we see in infographics is more engaging than text alone. Moreover, we humans have excellent visual memory and imagery appeals to us – this is one reason why infographics and highly-visual websites are shared more across social media and aggregators like Reddit and StumbleUpon.

Check out Carbonmade.com for a superb example of an infograhic-style website:

Infographic style website design trends

9. Fixed headers

Fixed headers – in which the top area where the logo and menu normally appear remains fixed and does not scroll up – provide visitors with a website anchor while they scroll through pages.

Although the concept of fixed headers is not new and has existed in the design industry for some time now, this technology was never exploited to its full potential. However, in 2013 we’ve seen a lot of recognition for this highly practical design style. Facebook is one such proponent of the fixed header.

Fixed headers can be used on any kind of website, be it a blog, social network or business portal. It lends a subtle stability to the website and simplified navigation.

10. Large high-definition multimedia backgrounds 

Images and videos have established their importance to web design, and in 2013 we’re seeing more websites with large, high-definition visual backgrounds. As well as aesthetic value, a relevant visual background can give a visitor an instant connection to a website’s character and contents.

This design style is typical of portfolio websites of photographers or design professionals, but it also being used now for all manner of sites. CSS3 transparency allows designers to use full-page visuals as backgrounds, superimposed with informative content, thereby making it suitable for any online experience.

Hellohikimori.com is a stylish example – just turn your speakers down before checking it out.

Full page visual background design trend

Want to see more great website designs? Download for free our 53 Brilliant Home Page Designs ebook. Each example has been picked by Versio2 and Inbound Marketing partners HubSpot, with notes on why they’re so good at creating the right first impression.

53 Brilliant Home Page Designs from Versio2 Digital Marketing

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Facebook Forced to Come Clean on Data Use

Facebook Forced to Come Clean on Data Use

Facebook is revising two key documents that govern the way it treats our data, part of a the court-ordered settlement of a two-year legal tussle. Having read through the proposed changes, let’s discuss some of the more controversial points of which to be aware. 

The two Facebook documents in question are the Data Use Policy (DUP) and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (SRR). Rather helpfully and to its credit somewhat, Facebook has made available versions of each document showing where the changes are being made – if you’re very concerned about your data privacy on Facebook, you can read announcement here, which has links to all the documents in question.

Many of the clarifications have been ordered as part of the court settlement, as a way to compel Facebook to clarify how it treats data from its one billion reported users. However, Facebook appears to have taken the opportunity to add in some new clauses that allow it do more with our data, especially when it comes to advertising.

Here are some of the key disclosures, and controversies, with extracts from the two documents:

  • Facebook won’t give your data to paying advertisers without your consent, but it will display the data it has on you against their ads (without compensation). By using Facebook you consent to the following: “You give us permission to use your name, and profile picture, content, and information in connection with commercial, sponsored, or related that content (such as a brand you like) served or enhanced by us, subject to the limits you place. This means, for example, that you permit a business or other entity to pay us to display your name and/or profile picture with your content or information, without any compensation to you. If you have selected a specific audience for your content or information, we will respect your choice when we use it.” – SRR; section 10.1 
  • Parental consent by default: “If you are under the age of eighteen, or under any other applicable age of majority, you represent that at least one of your parents or legal guardians has also agreed to the terms of this section (and the use of your name, profile picture, content, and information) on your behalf.” – SRR; section 10.1 
  • Social advertising: “In addition to delivering relevant ads, Facebook sometimes pairs ads with social context, meaning stories about social actions that you or your friends have taken. For example, an ad for a sushi restaurant’s Facebook Page may be paired with a News Feed story that one of your friends likes that Page.” – DUP; section IV

Facebook also states that it will treat much of your information as if you’d released it into the public domain. This isn’t new, but is worth pointing out as many people still believe that all their data is private: “Your name, profile pictures, cover photos, gender, networks, username and User ID are treated just like information you choose to make public.” – DUP; section I.

The most significant changes are in the DUP, which, if the proposed changes go through in a week’s time, will have an entirely new section on advertising – we’ve already highlighted above one relevant paragraph.

Unfortunately, there is very little we can do about the advertising. The documents are worded such that by simply opening an account – or not closing them in the case of existing users – we give our consent for Facebook to do as it wishes with our data.

On the positive side, Facebook does state that it will not give your data to advertisers without your consent – see the extract below. Rather, the controversy that most critics are whipping up is to do with the clause that says Facebook can display your name and other information (deemed to be in the public domain anyway) against advertising, on behalf of the paying advertiser. 

“When we deliver ads, we do not share your information (information that personally identifies you, such as your name or contact information) with advertisers unless you give us permission. We may provide advertisers with information when we have removed your name or other personally identifying information from it, or combined it with other information so that it no longer personally identifies you. For example, we may tell an advertiser how its ads perform or how many people viewed or clicked on their ads or install an app after seeing an ad.” – DUP; section IV.

We are currently one day into a seven-day review period, during which time disgruntled users can comment and voice their objections – click here to visit the Facebook blog post if you want to have your say. In the day since it was published, the Facebook post has garnered 1,240 comments, mostly negative. Conversely, it has also been ‘liked’ by some 1,360 people – overall approval, perhaps?

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Does Dark Web Design Affect Readability? – #TheBeard

90 seconds with the beard logoWelcome back to another installment of "90 Seconds of Design with The Beard,” featuring me, Spencer P, Lead Graphic Designer at SyneCore. This week I wanted to talk about an issue that arose when a client wanted a website with a black background. The obvious question this raises is whether or not a dark background affects readability on a website. 

When it comes down to it, websites are affected by many factors other than the color of the background; whitespace, typography, and contrast are also essential design elements. Enough background...let's dig in!

 

 

 

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5 Myths of Web Design for Mobile Devices

5 Myths of Web Design for Mobile Devices

Following on from our recent article What on Earth is Responsive Web Design, in which we shed light on a term being used a lot at the moment, let’s take things further by dispelling a few common misconceptions to do with mobile web design.

With internet-enabled phones and tablets taking over the world, seemingly, web designers are gearing themselves up for a mobile web revolution.

This has given rise to the term responsive web design, a principle by which web pages are coded in such a way that they adjust their layout and styling automatically, depending on the screen size of the device they’re viewed on. You can read more about it here. However, responsive shouldn't be confused with pure mobile web design and building apps.

Even though people are becoming more aware of the importance of mobile web design, few non-developers really know the differences between the various principles. This has led to many myths.

1. Apps are the same thing as the mobile internet, right?

Sorry, wrong. However, we all use apps so frequently for accessing internet-based services, like Facebook, that we can all be forgiven for the confusion. 

Mobile web design is not the same as building a smartphone app to perform a specialised function. Rather, it’s about developing a fully-fledged website that can adapt itself to a smartphone or tablet’s browser app, such as Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android.

2. Mobile websites should have less content

This is another common myth. Mobile visitors should have the same online experience as those who arrive to your main website. By reducing content, you risk hampering the value of your pages. Instead, focus on developing a mobile website that is responsive enough to rearrange and reorganise content so that it does not appear cramped.

3. Mobile websites should mirror your main site

This is where things get a little complicated. A responsive website is essentially your main website which has the ability to display itself differently – that is layout and styling – depending on the device it’s viewed on. Pure responsive design will result in a mobile website with the same functionality, just restructured for smooth viewing.

Many companies do have separate mobile websites that provide different functionality optimised for mobile users. For example, the Amazon.com mobile website is almost an app in that it provides mobile-optimised functionality, such as prominent buttons for creating and adding to wish lists. These lists can then be viewed more effectively on a full browser. 

To sum this all up, if you want a website that can adapt to any device, with all the same content and functionality, responsive is the way for you. If you want a specialised mobile portal that works in a smartphone or tablet browser and isn’t quite an app, speak to your developer about a separate mobile website.

4. Mobile websites need more graphics than text

Many people assume that since readability could be a problem on mobile devices, it is better to replace text with graphics. The idea isn’t bad, but it lacks value – users tend to trust text content more than graphics that are, on the most part, of purely aesthetic value. Also, text is far better for SEO. You can, however, shorten your content while retaining the meaning. 

5. Mobile websites are much easier (and less costly) to create than desktop websites

Web design is the same for desktop or mobile. Unfortunately, some people believe that creating an HTML document set to a narrow page width is all one must do to create a mobile website. If only it was that easy.

Mobile websites are as complex to create as desktop websites, and sometimes more so. They must not only be adaptable depending on the device, but also maintain the same user experience.

If you'd like to speak to Versio2 about your mobile website options, visit our contact page and get in touch. In the meantime, why not brush up on your internet marketing knowledge? Download our FREE Indispensible Guide to Inbound Marketing.

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From the Intern Desk: What Did You Do This Summer?

They say you need internships on your resume to get a job (i.e. you need experience to get experience). It’s a baffling, unfortunate paradox that motivated me to hunt down the all-important summer internship last spring. And I got it. So, this summer, when people asked me how my summer was going and I told them I was interning at SyneCore Tech, most responded with a variation of the phrase “Oh, that will look so good on a resume! What a great experience!”

And I can’t argue with them. Coming out of sophomore year and landing a full-time, paid internship in my desired field was pretty rad, and the resume building was a huge bonus.

On my first day, however, I realized how much more this summer was going to be than a “resume-builder.” Right away, I was doing real marketing work, not intern-y marketing work.

For example, instead of just making the coffee, I was Instagram-ing the coffee for our social channels –

from-the-intern-desk-what-did-you-do-this-summer

(OK, I was still making the coffee, but our CEO does too, so it’s fine).

As summer has progressed, and I sit here in a self-indulgent pool of reflective musings, I’ve realized how much more I’ve gained than a few lines on a document to send to future employers. Here are a few of the big ones:

Take Initiative

While it’s something that I’ve heard industry leaders say time and time again, it’s hard to really understand the idea of “initiative” unless you just do it (props to Nike for pointing this out to all of us years ago).

Initiative doesn’t come from sitting inside your head all-day, thinking about how to be innovative and other sorts of awesome. Taking the initiative means realizing you have an idea and acting on it. Taking the initiative means seeing a potential efficiency and adding some insight to make it better, unconcerned with a false notion of hierarchy. Taking the initiative means spending some extra hours in the office to get another blog done.

I also learned that taking the initiative doesn’t mean that it’s natural for you to publicly voice your opinion. Taking the initiative means that you are motivated by solving problems and getting sh*t done. Moreover, there are no excuses for not taking initiative because you’re not a natural extrovert. Just ask Abe Lincoln.

Have a Voice

There are enough plain-Jane, cookie cutter writers out there, and not enough room for many more. What there is room for, however, are opinionated cheeky writers that aren’t afraid to be a little weird. Just because you might not write in the same style as everyone else doesn’t mean your style won’t resonate with an audience. If you need a little encouragement to let your quirkiness out, Seth Godin’s advice from his talk at #INBOUND13 pretty comforting:

“Now there’s more weird than there is normal. This is the new marketing.”

My inspiration? My colleague Chris Horton – the one who looks to Jedi Master Yoda for inbound marketing advice.

Don’t Over-think Yourself Into a Ball of Nerves

Ok, maybe this is just a personal problem or a problem limited to those over-analyzers, the slightly anxiety-ridden people out there, but it’s a lesson nonetheless. When I first started at SyneCore, I was pretty nervous. There was a lot to learn, as evidenced by some of my thoughts during the first week –

What the hell is inbound marketing?

So ToFu, MoFu, BoFu… those are, like, variations of Asian food, right?

Ahaha – you guys use Google+?

But, within that first week, I was engulfed into an entirely foreign world. I had taken a couple of advertising classes, but I soon realized how little my classroom material reflected the current state of marketing. I was motivated by a sink-or-swim mentality, curious to figure out this whole “integrated digital marketing” thing my colleagues were so jacked about.

That first month was overwhelming, and I spent many a Sunday nights trying to unravel the mystery of Google and outlining potential blogs. Three weeks in, I still found myself frozen every time I sat down to write.

I KNEW NOTHING, I had come to realize. The more I read, the more I realized I didn’t know.

Looking for inspiration, I turned to a quick note I jotted down in one of the many teaching sessions I had.

And then out came “From the Intern Desk: 4 Quick and Dirty Tips to Social Media,” a rather simple post that got some mildly good feedback. I had stopped overthinking everything, and in the process realized this career-changer:

It’s just marketing. We are not, in fact, saving lives.

You don’t have to be so serious all the time, constantly striving for perfection. There are times in the day for stuff like this:

Or this:

Oh, and this:

from-the-intern-desk-what-did-you-do-this-summer 

To many it may look like we’re avoiding “real work” or just messing around, but I learned this summer how important breaks like these are. They remind you to always volunteer to hold the baby visiting the office, eat cake whenever possible and to never fall into the trap of taking yourself too seriously. Ironically, it’s during times like these that we’ve come up with some of our most impactful marketing ideas.

And of course, when you’re really stuck, at the end of the day you just have to say “F#%k it,” and start fresh in the morning.

 

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describe the imageSo I have a confession to make…a confession that up until this point has only been shared with a very select few. 

I’m in love with the CBS live reality show “Big Brother.” Like, really in love.

In fact, I sometimes dream about becoming the next BB contestant. Dream about having the opportunity to live with complete strangers, become isolated from the outside world, be continuously monitored by in-house television cameras and personal audio microphones for an entire summer while ruthlessly competing to stay in the game, and win it all.

  

Big_Brother_Cast_Season_15 

It’s unhealthy, I know.   

But with that out of the way, we can now discuss how this particular show, and many others quite similar, have become so relevant in the world of social media marketing. 

According to early numbers from Nielsen,  the most recent episode of “Big Brother,” which was televised live,  drew 6.83 million viewers. Those numbers created a whopping 8% increase compared to the week prior.

With the modern technology of instant streaming thanks to YouTube, Netflix, and DVR, we can easily control what we want to see and when we want to see it. So how are live reality shows still getting such high ratings?

 

The answer: Live Tweeting!

  

To clarify, I’m not just talking about watching your Twitter feed become quickly populated with episode spoilers (aka The Red Wedding). I’m talking about watching a program live as you simultaneously watch highlighted tweets appear as a banner across the screen. This encourages all viewers to get in on the action, voice their opinion, and see what others think about how the show is unfolding…while the show is on! On top of that, viewers can also vote on certain events to happen throughout the season.

 

RT if u are watching #BB15 now 2 see which HG gets evicted! Tweet live w/us & join the convo on Big Brother Connect http://t.co/6J4T5kFp5S

— Big Brother on CBS! (@CBSBigBrother) August 23, 2013


This is becoming a quickly evolving and highly effective engagement technique amongst TV programs, and one that has been recently proven by Nielsen to be statistically accurate. 

Social Guide Intelligence provides a continuous ranking service of Twitter TV data analytics amongst major networks…and as of this week Big Brother is the only reality TV program to be sitting at a top spot throughout all network types.

With over 162,000 tweets during the show’s hour time slot and over 50,000 unique shares, the partnership between social media and TV programming is continuing to advance the user experience for viewers, while solidifying a cycle of high ratings = better twitter engagement /  high twitter engagement = better ratings.

Although some may believe that live TV is dead, with users instead going straight to the internet for content...these facts show that's quite the opposite! 

 

tv_stats

 

So why does it all matter in developing your social media strategy?

It all goes back to the ideas discussed in how to successfully run your social media marketing like a newsroom.  

There is A LOT of content exchange occurring during these times, and it's your job to make sure that your voice is heard! 

 

Quick Tips to #LiveTweets 

  1. Absorb the Content - If you don't know what's going on, who will?
  2. See What the Others are Saying - Always monitor all sides of the conversation...the good, the bad, & the ugly! 
  3. Provide Your Insight - Share useful content, ideas, & don't forget to ###! 

 

No matter it be a royal baby or a reality show, content doesn’t necessarliy have to always pertain to your industry. When you make a note to become part of national and global content exchange you are playing part to a much larger conversation. A conversation that will only help to continue to build the success of your brand!

 


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how internet org will change the world marketing technolgy minute

This week, Mark Zuckerberg announced his new initiative, Internet.org, a group of tech giants dedicated to bringing Internet to the world. The project is launching with the support of Facebook, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Ericsson, Qualcomm and Samsung and aims to narrow the digital divide by lowering the cost of data. The initiative could eventually bring internet to two-thirds of the world's population. However, the announcement has been met with some criticism from those realizing all companies involved will eventually profit from the addition of billions of new customers. This week, Jacey and Spencer discuss the project and how it could change the world.

 

 

If you find their insight useful, be sure to tune in to SyneCore’s YouTube channel every Friday for more discussion about the latest trends in the Marketing Technology industry.

 

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10 Examples of Inspiring Responsive Web Design

Responsive Web Design - or as I like to call it, RWD - is absolutely THE trend in web design for 2013. As a web designer, it has become second nature for me to visit a website and pull the corner on my monitor to see how the page responds. Most of the time, I am quite pleased to see the content on screen shift and stack to reveal a new layout at every pixel size. But I am a rare breed in that I tend to visit a lot of other agency websites and designer portfolios to tap into the latest design concepts. Though it’s pretty unusual to see a “design-y” website like those ones not implementing responsive elements, there are still plenty of ecommerce, financial, government, etc. websites out there that have yet to utilize responsive web design for their business.

This blog is not about showcasing the flawless responsive web design skills of the trendiest designers, but rather a compilation of the other websites out there - the websites that are using RWD as a great tool to sell, inform, and educate their users about products, services, and brands regardless of device size. Feel free to click on the images to see the full sites in all their responsive glory (unless of course you're reading this on a phone or tablet, in which case just enjoy that each site works)!

NPR

NPR only just recently updated their homepage to reflect a mobile-friendly, responsive web design. Compared to the look of the old site, this new responsive homepage is incredibly open, inviting and easy to read. According to an article written by NPR about their new look, the redesign is one that aims to “think outside the box” of the traditional news website. It is clear to me that this new design will not only provide readers with a greater variety of content, but also a greater ability to consume that content through different devices.

npr rwd

AIDS.gov

AIDS.gov is certainly one of the more modern looking government websites I have ever come across. This is especially true because of the integration of  RWD. The navigation on this site has been designed particularly well compared to other government websites too. Where some .gov sites come across as bulky and difficult to maneuver, this website features large, easy-to-click navigation tabs and a smart approach to the mobile menu. Overall, the site is easy to use and attractive to look at, but these elements do not detract from the purpose of the organization.

aids gov rwd 

Drexel University  

I just have to take the opportunity to stay that I truly believe every university should implement a responsive web design. Talk about reaching your target audience! There are actually schools out there aiming to put a tablet in the hands of every student, and if you don’t think those students are going to use that tablet to research schools or actually apply to the college of their dreams, then you are crazy. In this site, Drexel is able to clearly showcase their unique culture and innovative perspective. In a press release about their responsive site, Drexel said they used “responsive design to engage students, no matter their location or device.” I think they did just that.

drexel rwd 

Wendy’s

Seeing that Wendy’s has implemented a responsive web design gets me quite excited. I can only imagine what the competition will do next to make their fast-food chain the most tech-savvy (I’m talking to you McDonalds, Burger King and especially Taco Bell, with your already killer, millennial-targeted social media strategy). The responsive web design on this site features a very fresh and friendly look with big bold images and simple navigation. If I were an on-the-go consumer looking to compare two fast-food restaurants, an interactive, responsive website like this might just sway me to choose Wendy’s over the less mobile-friendly competition.

wendys rwd

Indochino

Indochino’s responsive website is an absolutely beautiful mix of images and typography. The site really complements the high quality image of the brand. I am also a big fan of the way the minimalistic design works on the product pages. It would be incredibly easy to make a purchase from this site using a smartphone or other touch screen device. Too often, ecommerce websites try incorporate a responsive web design without giving thought to how the user experience will be impacted without the precision of a mouse. But the designers of this particular site have really taken the time to consider UX in both the shopping and purchasing processes.

indochino rwd

Hubspot

Inbound marketing giant Hubspot shows us all how a responsive website can be attractive, informative and sales actionable. Large images and unique content presentations scale to any size, but the message is never compromised as the device width shrinks. Each call-to-action is presented as an integral element of the overall design. Hubspot’s site is also a good example of a web design that doesn’t fear “the fold.” Once upon a time, designers were afraid to make their users scroll to find content, but that’s no longer the case. As Hubspot proves, with the right responsive design, your web visitors won’t mind scrolling or swiping to keep reading.

hubspot rwd

 

The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh

This responsive web design is just perfect for the busy parent on the go. Bright colors, unfussy design, and just a touch of whimsy make this site inviting, while a simple navigation system and the integration of various multimedia elements make it very useable. If you happened to be a mom of three searching for parking or directions to this museum, the CMP website would make it extremely simple to do so. No need to download a separate mobile app or go hunting through endless navigation tabs, because the responsive site puts all the content you could need right at your fingertips.

pb childrens museum rwd

Icehouse Restaurant Minneapolis 

I have a special appreciation for restaurants that use a responsive web design as opposed to a separate mobile website. Often, the mobile sites that restaurants offer provide limited actionability: they assume I am either searching for directions or need to call and make a reservation. But this approach really neglects those site visitors looking to see a menu or trying to find information about events and happy hours. Icehouse has a simple responsive site that doesn't hide content from someone to research a new restaurant on their phone. You get the exact same experience as if you were to visit from a desktop. 

icehouse mn rwd

 

Town & Country

It's a wonderful trend to see more and more print publications re-vamping their online presence by utilizing responsive web design. In the case of Town & Country, the design is quite faithful to the original print edition with beautiful visuals and elegant typography. A lot of news publications out there utilize a separate mobile site instead of a responsive design. The problem with this is that it creates extra work for publishers who then have to manage two separate sites. Responsive technology creates efficiency for both readers and the content creators.

town country rwd

Design Week Portland 

Another great application for responsive web design is in creating sites to promote business conferences. When attending industry events, people are often glued to their phones to stay in contact with the outside world. If I need to look up a room number or find a speaker schedule, it helps to have a website that makes those things easy to find from my mobile device. Design Week Portland has done an awesome job of putting such important content at the forefront of their solid responsive web design. 

portland designwk rwd

Using responsive web design is a great way to ensure that your customers can interact with your brand anywere, anytime. Responsive design is a tool that can be used for more than just a design or agency portfolio. Almost any type of company can benefit from using a responsive design to educate, sell and inform customers, no matter where they are.   


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mac showing hubspot trial COS

Ever wished you could change the content of your website depending on the person viewing it? Different text and images for different audiences – what kind of effect would that have on your conversions? Welcome to the new HubSpot Content Optimisation System (COS), a framework on which to build complete marketing-optimised websites. 

Unveiled earlier this week at Inbound2013, the annual HubSpot conference, the world of Inbound Marketing is abuzz with talk of this revolutionary new platform that blends together website creation, content management, a comprehensive blogging platform and landing page integration. 

As an Inbound Marketing agency and certified HubSpot partner, we’d like to give you an introduction to HubSpot COS by looking at some key features:

Responsive, mobile-optimised design as standard

With more than 60% of adults connecting to the internet on mobile devices, according to a recent survey from Pew, responsive design (click here to read more on the subject) has never been so important. Every aspect of COS has been designed with this in mind. The built-in Content Management System (CMS), blogging platform, landing page creator and email system all take into account responsive design straight out the box.

Mobile optimised blog editing

The COS built-in blog editor offers a mobile (responsive) preview.

Complete marketing integration

Every marketing tool contained within COS is linked either to the built-in contact list manager or a supported third-party Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application such as Salesforce. 

For example, if a new lead is captured whose email address corresponds to a LinkedIn profile, that will automatically show up in your contact database. The content they view and resources they download will also be logged against their name, allowing you to show them different content throughout your COS website the next time they visit.

Personalised, “smart” content

HubSpot introduced smart lists and smart Call-to-Actions (read What the Heck are Smart CTAs?) with the release of HubSpot 3, its flagship Inbound Marketing platform. In COS, the concept is further built upon.

Before, only CTAs and form fields could be cycled depending on the visitor and what they’d seen before. Now, personalisation is possible across web pages, landing pages and blogs.

HubSpot COS smart content linked to contact list

Dynamic COS content is linked to the contact list or CRM application.

Fast load times and secure content delivery

All websites built on COS are hosted on HubSpot secure servers, ensuring fast load times and encrypted content delivery. A slow page load time can result in higher bounce rates (the time visitors spend on a website) and is even thought to affect search engine crawling and optimisation.

We’ll be covering more on website optimisation, including the impact COS will have on the industry and the services we offer, next week. Subscribe to email notifications (top right) or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ or Pinterest.


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3 Things to Consider When Designing a Logo – #TheBeard

90 seconds with the beard logoWelcome to the first installment of "90 Seconds of Design with The Beard,” a weekly video series featuring me, Spencer P, Lead Graphic Designer at SyneCore. These videos are meant to be short, sweet, and straight to the point. Let’s be serious here - providing value in 90 seconds is not the easiest thing to do. But, considering how busy people are with the world of technology, I'm dumbing life down to a quick minute-thirty for all of my soon-to-be viewers out there.

I'm kicking off this week with a few elements that I recently had to consider while designing a logo for a new client. Think reproducibility, simplicity, and choice of typeface.

 

 

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the right way to do industry conferencesAn important component of Integrated Digital Marketing is building connections, yet we often think that only happens online. However, your marketing efforts can be energized by attending industry conferences - but only if you do them right. From pre-conference engagement to following up with new contacts, conferences are a strategic opportunity to network and build your brand. As Sean prepares for HubSpot's Inbound 2013, he and Spencer provide some insights to make your next conference a success. (Don't worry, you can have a little fun, too.)

 

 

If you find their insight useful, be sure to tune in to SyneCore’s YouTube channel every week for more discussion about the latest trends in the Marketing Technology industry.

 

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Reality is Mobile

reality-is-mobile

I spent a recent Saturday scouring the local thrift stores for some furnishings for my new apartment (“Help me, I’m poor” is indeed an accurate phrase to describe my current situation). After digging through the Goodwill down the street from my house, I was still looking for the perfect set of chairs to accent my latest Pinterest find, so I naturally, without a second’s thought, reached for my iPhone to search for other Goodwills in the area. 

I opened up my Google Search app and began typing “Goodw-“ and chose “Goodwill MN” from the suggested search queries. In less than a second I was presented with the three closest Goodwills, each location complete with an address, click-to-call phone number, directions and website. I tapped the “Directions” link of the nearest one and away I went (with the phone sitting safely out of my hands in the passenger seat, of course).

Although it really didn’t appear this way at the time, the experience was magical in a very fulfilling way. In less than two minutes – from the moment I grabbed my phone to the moment I put the car in drive – I was off to my next destination. So yes - #magical.

What it Means to Search on Mobile

While it may have been a magical experience, it was far from unique and uncommon; millions of people perform mobile search queries everyday. A recent Telmetrics study found that 60% of mobile consumers expect search results to generate businesses within walking or driving distance of their current location, and one-in-three smartphone users search specifically for contact info (like my Google search results for Goodwills). According to Google's Mobile Search Moments Study, 40% of mobile searches have local intent, while 45% of all mobile searches are goal-oriented with the intent to make a decision.

These stats reflect the greater underlying motivation of many a mobile search. When I search for something on my mobile device, I have a want or a need that I’m looking to fulfill. No matter my search query, I’m looking for relevancy, proximity and simplicity; three motivators that represent the very foundation of SoLoMo.

To be mobile, according to Merriam Webster, is to be “capable of moving or being moved.” By this definition, mobile search queries should provide actionable relevance by producing information that is unique to the user’s location and experience.

To return to my experience searching for Goodwills, I can categorize it by the following:

  • I wanted only results for Goodwills (i.e. relevance)
  • That were near my current location (i.e. proximity)
  • And had all the necessary contact information clearly laid out (i.e. simplicity)

This mobile search query then lead me to take action – to another local Goodwill to find the perfect set of second-hand chairs to furnish my apartment (note: project still in progress).

Big tech responds

These fundamental principles of mobile search are not lost on the big tech companies. Google recently announced an update to its search engine that brings Google Now-like features to all devices, including voice activation that allows you to search your Google Drive, Google Calendar, Gmail and Google+ accounts. While at least one of the implications of this update extends far beyond the reach of mobile search, i.e. furthering the integration of our entire search experience with Google, it also speaks to the Chief Executive Larry Page’s ultimate vision: 

“The perfect search engine would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want.”

That sounds a lot like simplicity, relevance and proximity to me.

Apple’s iOS 7 has a similar feature to Google Now, although it is far less comprehensive. The feature, entitled Today, alerts the user of the current weather and traffic of places they may be heading, as well as events on their daily schedule. While it does not do nearly everything Google now does, the update points to Apple’s similar ambition “to anticipate information for iOS users before they need it,” according to Erica Ogg’s article in Gigaom.

While Apple may be chasing after Google’s innovation, both tech giants are essentially providing consumers with results that matter most to them – results that are relevant, proximate and simple – so as to offer a personalized integrated digital experience.

Looking ahead

The onslaught of mobile will breathe down your neck until you accept it as not just another device but as a new reality. According to Google’s Director of Mobile and Social, Ian Carrington, mobile search will surpass desktop search in the next couple of years. Analytics firm BIA/Kelsey has that date pegged at 2015. This seems to make sense as more and more users ditch their dumb phone for a smart one (good choice, kiddos). Gartner’s latest smartphone market report found that smartphones outsold feature phones globally for the first time in Q2 of 2013 (mark your calendars, folks – it’s now a holiday), with Android leading the pack enjoying a hefty 79% of the market share.

As you and your business prepare for the new mobile reality, optimizing for local search becomes imperative. Rebecca Churt, marketing manager at Hubspot, recently published a comprehensive guide that gives you everything you need to know to dominate local search. While it may seem like a daunting task, the core component is ensuring that your business is easily found by search engines, and that means making yourself visible online, especially with Google+, Yelp, user reviews, etc. – all things that search engines look for when judging relevancy for a user’s search query.

Ultimately, search engines (Google’s in particular) want to help users find the most relevant information, essentially asking “What’s the best match for this person at this moment?”

Given this, your primary question must be: “How do I make sure my business is the best match?”

 

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10 Top Pinterest Marketing Tips 2013

10 Top Pinterest Marketing Tips 2013

Completing our series on social media marketing updates for 2013, below you’ll find ten quick tips and tricks for that most visually appealing of social networks – Pinterest. From rich pins to influencers and infographics to ebooks, there’s something here for every content marketer.

  1. Pinterest for Business | Create a Pinterest for Business account. You’ll have access to tools that make Pinterest all the more powerful for businesses, such as analytics and rich pins (new for 2013).
    .
  2. Always use an image | Make sure content on your website or blog has an associated picture. This isn’t new for 2013, but is vital so bears repeating. No-one will be able to pin your content – including you – if Pinterest can’t find a picture. Don’t forget that it’s a platform geared toward sharing images.
    .
  3. Use rich pins | New this year, these are pins but with additional rich content – pins of food pictures can have ingredients associated with them, and films can have showing times. Importantly, products and services can carry price tags. At the moment it’s slightly complicated to get rich pins working with your website, but it should be worthwhile if your Pinterest boards are getting some attention.
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  4. Pin your ebooks | Create a board where you’ll post thumbnails of your ebooks and other downloadable resources. It’s up to you whether you post resources from other sources there too – we would recommend you do, keeping your own content to no more than 50% of all pins. Pinterest isn’t so much about self-promotion, and more about sharing among like-minded people. Don’t taut your own content too much – create a board with varied and interesting content that people will want to follow as a valuable resource in itself.
    .
  5. Use product pins | There are actually three types of rich pin – product, recipe and movie pins. They differ somewhat in their enhancements. Perhaps the most interesting marketing-wise are product pins, which will automatically notify pinners when prices drop. In other words, when someone repins one of your product pins with a price tag, they will be notified of any pricing changes by Pinterest. A simple-but-powerful tool if used creatively.
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  6. Keep an eye on Louise Myers | Follow designer and Pinterest enthusiast Louise Myers. She’s has some great boards which are very ‘now’, and really make full use of everything Pinterest has to offer. Pay attention to her Facebook, Twitter, blogging and of course, Pinterest marketing tips.
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  7. Use the enhanced analytics | Pinterest recently increased the capabilities of its built-in analytics. Now you can see not only how many people are pinning your content, but also repins and popular pins. Here’s a good introductory video from Pinterest.
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  8. Pin infographics | Taking further cues from Louise Myers (see Tip 5), pin infographics but keep them categorised within relevant boards. Pinterest and the infographic is a match made in marketing heaven.
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  9. Check out some Pinterest case studies | To start you off, read up on some success stories direct from Pinterest. This list of Pinterest case studies should provide some inspiration for your own pin board efforts.
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  10. Follow the Pinterest for Business blog | This is where Pinterest will make all the most relevant announcements for businesses, as well as regular tips and advice on how to make the most of the visual platform.
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Caveat Vendit: User-Generated Reviews Go Mobile

caveat-vendit-user-generated-reviews-go-mobile

Over the centuries, the Latin phrase caveat emptor, or “let the buyer beware,” has been spoken countless times; a pithy mantra uttered by would-be consumers the world over to ward off the rip-off, or to gently chastise those who’ve unwittingly received a raw deal from an unscrupulous vendor. However, as user generated reviews go mobile, technology is conspiring to turn the very notion of caveat emptor on its head. In an age of consumer-driven online consciousness, unwitting brands may find themselves uttering the phrase “caveat vendit,” or “let the seller beware.”

Imagine a world where millions upon millions of smartphone-clutching, social savvy consumers are able to record their interactions with businesses on the fly, sharing each experience on social sites like Yelp, Foursquare, Facebook, Google+, etc  in real time, just when these experiences are top of mind (and also able to be most accurately related). Sounds like a nightmare for businesses great and small, right?

Sorry, folks, it’s no nightmare. User-generated reviews are now mobile, and they are the new reality for business.

Before you dash off to craft a “no cellphones allowed” sign to hang on the door, user-generated reviews can actually be a good thing for your business. In fact, assuming you are running an upright operation (i.e. no backroom loan-sharking or illicit Bitcoining) and actually providing a product or service that people generally find valueable, you probably stand to cash in on a little online user love.

A quick caveat to remember, though...user-generated reviews are like viruses: while the good ones can make you healthier, the bad ones can kill you.

User Generated Reviews Go Mobile

Online site Yelp recently joined the ranks of Foursquare and other SoLoMo review sites by allowing mobile users to post reviews directly on its mobile app. The company is first rolling out the feature onto its iOS app, but plans on doing the same for Android “soon.”

Aside from trying to cash in on bigger ad revenues by giving users more reasons to stay on the app longer, Yelp’s new mobile reviews functionality will help it stay competitive in the increasingly crowded local information and discovery space, which currently houses uber-mobile luminaries Facebook and Foursquare along with a resurgent Groupon.

There is no doubt that mobile is an important element in Yelp’s business model. In its last quarterly earnings report, 59% of its search traffic came from mobile; nearly 10 million unique mobile devices visited Yelp each month during the same quarter. Based on some informal research, data from Yelp's main competitors seems to paint a similar picture of this overarching trend toward mobile dominance for SoLoMo review sites.

User Generated Reviews Hold Sway

Perhaps more significant than the way users leave reviews is the importance consumers place on the reviews themselves. In a 2012 Inc. magazine post written by Michael Fertik with the appropos title “How Online Reviews Make (or Break) Your Business, the author pulls no punches on the criticality of user-generated reviews for businesses. To bolster his point, Fertik cites two compelling statistics:

  • 89% of consumers viewed online sources of product and service reviews as trustworthy--and another 80% have changed their minds about a purchase based solely on the negative reviews they read.
  • In 2011, 85% of those surveyed said they’d be more likely to purchase if they could find additional recommendations online.

The potency of these numbers may be partially explained in the findings of a new study by researchers from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, MIT, and NYU, which clearly indicates that online group mentality, or “groupthink,” can actually sway individual opinion and action. As detailed in a great post published in Search Engine Watch by Jessica Lee, the study essentially found that, in the online world at least, popular opinion tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, shaping individual opinion in a way reflective of the group.

User Generated Reviews Induce Groupthink

We’re all guilty of online groupthink, whether or not we do so consciously. I for one admit that I’m more likely to read a blog post if it has a large number of shares and/or likes, or to buy a product with the greatest number of positive reviews on Amazon. In much the same way, I’m probably more likely to visit a restaurant (and leave a positive comment about it, if you believe the study’s findings) if it has received a number of positive reviews on sites such as Yelp.

As humans, one could say that groupthink is part of our very DNA; we’ve been programmed to follow the herd, even though we hate to admit it.

On the negative side, the study’s findings also suggest that people are less likely to trash a brand they’ve had a poor experience with, especially if the majority of others are positively disposed toward it. As much as we like to elevate the persona of the contrarian in popular culture, it turns out that few of us have the stomach to be one - so much for rugged individualism.

User Generated Reviews Matter

Here’s the million dollar question: if you compare the above insights into online groupthink with the trend to mobile-driven, user-generated reviews, what do you get? In other words, as mobile reviews proliferate, will users go against the grain and say what they really think, or will they go along with the herd?

Moreover, what happens if brands pay people or companies (which many currently do) to generate positive reviews of their business? Will real consumers, now armed with the ability to leave reviews “in country” ignore the prevailing wisdom and be more critical and honest about their opinions and experiences? Are consumers more likely to be frank in the moment, perhaps when their anger is piqued in the midst of a bad experience, or will they simply forgo the opportunity and let life’s distractions wash away their actual opinions?

Finally, do we as good Netizens owe it to one another (or to the Internet gods) to be honest, even if such honesty is uncomfortable? If I am physically walking out of a store or a restaurant and see someone walking in, am I more likely to tell them not to bother? Am I in any way obligated to do so? In the case of user generated reviews, does the fact that I am telling them through an online intermediary somehow lessen this obligation?

Heady questions indeed. To me, this much is certain: as more users integrate the Internet, social, and mobile into their daily lives, they will do the same with user-generated reviews, first using them as a guide, and eventually contributing to them as a reviewer. This happened to me; I can only assume that it will happen to others.

Regardless, I think it would be a useful exercise for all you decision makers out there to meditate on the concept of user-generated reviews and their migration to mobile, specifically analyzing the extent to which this trend may affect your brand and what, if anything, you plan to do about it.

 

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mixbit the end of vine and instagramHappy Friday and welcome to the latest #MarketingTechMin!

With over 100 YouTube videos being uploaded every minute, it's safe to say that video content is on fire and shows no sign of stopping. But have our favorite video apps finally met their match? 

Meet MixBit, the newest mobile video application from the co-founders of YouTube. Unlike Vine and Instagram, MixBit is developed for those who are interested in creating high-quality short films that can be up to 68 minutes long (256 clips with a max of 16 seconds each). With users also being able to easily pull clips from other videos, this opens a new door for the creation of collaberative content. Spencer and Deanna take a closer look at what this could mean for brands, and will this lead to the end of Vine and Instagram?  

 

 

If you find their insight useful, be sure to tune in to SyneCore’s YouTube channel every Friday for more discussion about the latest trends in the Marketing Technology industry.

 

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Is Your Website Optimised for Sales and Marketing?

Is Your Website Optimised for Sales and Marketing?It’s a simple question, but one many companies fail to ask. All too many websites are simply online brochures, missing out on excellent sales and marketing opportunities. In this introduction to a series on website optimisation, we ask some simple questions to get the ball rolling, such as what areas to look at and why, and who to turn to for the right answers. 

We’ll be covering the “how” in an upcoming blog post. For now, the objective is to ask the right questions before we delve into the practical. Subscribe for email updates (top-right) or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with the latest Versio2 blog posts.

1. Is your website a digital brochure?

If you want your website to work for you, it needs to be more than just a place for displaying information. For many companies this is fine, but they can’t expect to see any sales or marketing objectives fulfilled or any sort of online ROI. 

Some examples of features that set hard-working, efficient websites apart from online brochures include e-commerce and product or service listings on the sales side; and landing pages, social integration and smart web forms for marketing optimisation.  

There are many more features that turn websites into effective sales and marketing machines, but the ones listed here are probably the most basic identifiers. As to who to ask about whether your company website has any of these features, a quick browse should provide you with your own answers. 

2. Is your website engineered to convert? 

This is a question to pose to whoever heads your sales and marketing teams. Is there a clear journey from website visitor to lead, and from lead to sales conversion?

The answer should be easy to define if your website is correctly geared. For specific marketing campaigns, where will visitors arrive, what do you want them to do, where should they go next, and how will your sales team follow up with them? 

3. Is your e-commerce properly set up? Is it efficient?

Was your website designed for e-commerce, or was this something that was added on? Modern e-commerce websites are fully integrated, meaning that every page is part of the sales system and can display popular products or services throughout. Older websites, where e-commerce was added as an after-thought, are often disjointed with no quick routes between informational pages and shopping carts. 

You should also think about the process of buying through your website – is it too complicated, thus putting off potential customers? This excellent post from our Inbound Marketing partner HubSpot discusses shopping cart best practices and ways to boost e-commerce conversions. 

For example, long load times can be very off-putting. Perhaps something you hadn’t thought about before, but how many of us have closed a website window or navigated away, simply because it took a second or two too long to load?

These are all questions to ask of your sales team first of all, because they really should understand how your website works as a sales tool. Think of your website as your greatest salespersons – if he or she isn’t performing, you would ask your head of sales, wouldn’t you? If they decide they need technical advice on the workings of your e-commerce platform, it’s time to contact your development team.

4. Is your website engaging your current customer base? 

This is a broad question that can mean many things, making it one of the most important to answer.  

Firstly, is your website content appealing to your intended audience – on-page text, blog posts, ebooks, pictures and graphics should all be geared towards your target customer personas – click here to find out more about how to create audience personas and download free resources. 

Secondly, is your website linked to your list of contacts and leads, in other words, your CRM software? Websites that are true marketing machines not only work well to collect names and email addresses via landing page forms and offers, but feed those into CRMs like SalesForce or the HubSpot marketing platform’s built-in contact management feature.

Finally, how well integrated is your email marketing, if at all? This is where we enter the realm of lead nurturing – that is following up with people who have downloaded a resource or subscribed to one of your offers via a landing page form. Do you have automated email messages set up to send out to new CRM entries?

5. Is measurement and reporting fully integrated?

As a final thought to ponder in this introduction to website sales and marketing optimisation, no website would be truly complete without adequate measurement and reporting. Without these, you’ve no way of knowing how well your website is doing, and where the weak areas are.

Google Analytics is the very first thing you should have set up, to tell you where people land on your website, where they come from, how long they spend there, and which pages they look at, including the last one before exiting.

Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons and graphics should all be linked to reporting somehow. The most basic way to measure the performance of particular CTAs is to track their links – a URL shortening service like Bit.ly will give you basic tracking. Better still is a system like HubSpot, which can cycle CTAs on pages so you can A/B test their relative effectiveness – we’ve an entire post on A/B or split testing here. 

This last question is perhaps the hardest for companies to address. Full integration of measurement and reporting requires the use of a dedicated platform, such as the one from HubSpot.

We’ll be reporting later this month on an exciting new development not just for HubSpot, but for Versio2 as a partner agency as well, which we hope will help companies create websites truly geared toward sales and Inbound Marketing.

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Let’s Party: How to #Twitterview

A Twitterv- a Twitter what? What the hell is that? Yes, my friends, that was the one and only Chris Horton’s response to a friendly invite for a #Twitterview from Juliane Pettorossi on behalf of Silverback Social last week. I assured him it was not a sinister plot to trap him in and inescapable social media blunder. No no, I explained, a #twitterview is completely harmless; really you should be flattered. With paranoia swirling in his head searching, I’m sure, for some association or reference to a similar conundrum in medieval history, he agreed to the arrangement - only on the condition that I attend for moral support.

I got your back, Horton.

#Twitterviews aren’t anything new. According to Wikipedia, the first twitterview came two years after the social channel’s inception in 2006 from a rather unexpected source. In December 2008, Alain Ochoa #twitterviewed blogger/entrepreneur Bertalan Meskó for Diariomedico.com, a Spanish healthcare news site. Pretty sweet, right?

#Twitterviews can be very strategic and tactical. In fact, they are a fantastic way to increase brand awareness on Twitter (take I Am Playr as an excellent example). However, this blog is from the perspective of an interviewee who was just having a whole bunch of fun – and got some great exposure in the process.

Use the #twitterview #hashtag (and others too).

Silverback Social has been using their #SStwitterview hashtag to track and categorize twitterview conversations (their #Twitterview with Horton was just one in a series). This was awesome for those of us following the conversation.

how-to-twitterview

Yes, I know this is like a DUH moment. Y’all know about #hashtags and don’t need me telling you how freakin’ great they are. But it’s the basics, people. 

If you’re representing a brand, get them and their social platforms in on the action, too.

While Horton has a pretty established Twitter following, there was definitely an opportunity to amplify the reach of the #twitterview. So, we got Synecore Tech, our brand, into the convo as well. (And, really, Horton needed some moral support.)

Enter Deanna and myself.

Deanna had a hell of a lot of fun rockin’ out an Instagram video to capture this special moment in the Synecore Tech timeline, and she simultaneously got some crazy footage of Horton in action. 

 

I managed our (Synecore Tech’s) Twitter feed, starting off with a tweet advertising the #SStwitterview.

 

Jump over to the #SStwitterview to check out @Silverbksocial #twitterview our very own @chrshorton! #socialmedia

— SyneCore Tech (@SyneCoreTech) August 7, 2013

As the conversation progressed, I grabbed some of Horton’s tweets and RT-ed them via the Synecore Tech account.

 

Go content. RT @Silverbksocial: @chrshorton Couldn't agree more. This is why native advertising is on the rise. #SSTwitterview #Advertising

— SyneCore Tech (@SyneCoreTech) August 7, 2013

Synecore Tech has a modest following of 2,470, but it definitely amplified the reach of the convo considerably. Yaa-whoo! 

Tag other people in your responses to get more people in on the conversation.

As Horton was answering Silverback Social’s #Twitterview questions (which were awesome, btw), he was tagging some of his favorite writers, brands, etc.

 

@Silverbksocial Well, @Hubspot has an integrated suite that provides us digital/social analytics. We also use @Moz for SEO #SStwitterview

— Chris Horton (@chrshorton) August 7, 2013

And what do you know - the guy got some responses:

 

@chrshorton @Silverbksocial I agree! @Moz makes awesome tools for #SEO. What do you think of FollowerWonk?

— Alex Yae (@ayae612) August 7, 2013

Boom. Made new friends AND amplified reach. #doublewin

Don't be so serious and have an opinion.

This may be the most important lesson learned from this #Twitterview, and when it comes to these sorts of things (and do I dare say life in general?), this is a kick ass mantra to have. Be bold. Speak your mind. Just do you.

 

@BFunicelli @Silverbksocial @instagram @vineapp Trying to start an online social war? We party both ways @SyneCoreTech! #SStwitterview

— Chris Horton (@chrshorton) August 7, 2013

Some might not like it, but hey – some might throw some respect and kudos your way.

how-to-twitterview

Still feeling all anxious and nervous about your #Twitterview. A final tip? A theme song helps too:

 

Thank you, so much, Silverback Social, for letting us party with you on the Twitterverse. Let’s do it again soon. #youdaabesst

Follow @alyssaceline33
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New Study: Get On YouTube, NOW

Still wondering if creating a YouTube channel is worth it for your brand? Well, I think you may be convinced by the time I get through with you (cue the evil laugh).

 

 

Woah. Ok, that was completely terrifying. Moving on -

Pixability has released a new report, Top 100 Global Brands: Key Lessons for Success on YouTube, that’s got some pretty tantalizing and alluring stats underscoring why you should set up a YouTube account, like, yesterday.

Well, let’s just start with a disclaimer. Taken straight from Pixability’s About Us page, the company is a...

“…YouTube-certified marketing and advertising company that works with brands, e-commerce firms, agencies, and innovative organizations to drive business and awareness with online video and YouTube. Using its powerful, proprietary, cloud-based video marketing software and online.” (Emphasis mine.)

Yes, there actually is a YouTube Certification Program, and by my reckoning, it looks like a pretty exclusive club.

Now before we all go for Pixability’s head with claims of “bias” and “arrogant self-promotion,” let’s remember that we are all arrogant self-promoters (i.e. marketers) and shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously. Besides, we all rely on these kinds of studies from the cool kids to add rhyme and reason (i.e. value) to our work. So let’s just try and keep a dash of rational perspective as I relay these pretty convincing numbers:

(One thing to note: Pixability used Interbrand’s Best Global 100 Brands for their study.) 

  • Only 1 out of the Top 100 Global Brands does not have a YouTube channel (I'd hate to be that guy).
  • 56 of the Top 100 have 10 or more YouTube channels.
  • Since 2009, video publishing rates on YouTube by the Top 100 Global Brands have increased an average of 73% annually. By 2015, Pixability predicts they will likely create over one million new YouTube videos.
  • In the past eight years, these brands’ have attracted 9.5 billion video views collectively.
  • Over 30% of the total aggregate video views for these top brands occur 12 weeks after publication. That means these YouTube videos may have a longer lasting marketing impact than social media.

Oh, those crazy kids and their videos. Most of these top players may have all jumped on the YouTube bandwagon, but that doesn’t mean they’ve all figured out the secret to YouTube success. It looks like some are suffering from flawed video marketing strategies:

"Many of the Top 100 Global Brands fail to reach their audiences because they focus more on video production and less on video marketing. Over 50% of the videos produced by the Top 100 Global Brands have less than 1,000 views."

Given all of this data and insight gathered by Pixability, here are some best practices to invigorate your brand’s YouTube marketing. YES!

Integrate your YouTube videos with your other marketing efforts.

Your YouTube channel should not be a stand-alone effort. All of the content produced for it should be integrated into and pushed through your social channels and blog. At Synecore, we do a weekly Marketing Technology Minute, where we use the #MarketingTechMin hashtag to promote the YouTube video on our other social channels. We also place it as a post right here on our Marketing Technology for Growth blog. 

new-study-get-on-YouTube-now

Maintain brand consistency on your YouTube page.

Just like on any other social platform, make sure that your brand messaging is consistent on your YouTube page. YouTube’s One Channel layout provides a more cohesive experience for both the brand and consumer, offering an optimized experience on all devices. Some of the features include a landscape photo at the top (think Facebook’s timeline photo), a spot for a video to highlight your brand and YouTube page, and the opportunity to create playlists. My colleagues Jacey and Spencer outline some excellent tips to optimize your YouTube channel in a recent #MarketingTechMin:

 

 

Also, while it may initially be appealing to create multiple YouTube channels to target different audience segments, first make sure you have the resources to manage all of the channels. This includes regularly posting fresh content that honors your brand’s unique voice. A good thing to remember: more content > more channels.

Like any other content, optimize your YouTube content for SEO.

After all, YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google, and video content is 53 times more likely to achieve first page ranking status over traditional content, according to Forrester Research. Ahahahaha Google owns YouTube, so yes, being a very irrational fan of conspiracy theory, I do indeed believe that Google is going to take over my life.

How do you optimize your video content? Integrate the keywords that you’re currently using in your content strategy into your meta tags, descriptions and video titles on your YouTube channel. Viola!

Good content is varied and doesn’t necessary mean overproduction.

As Pixability’s study highlights, your YouTube content may have room for commercial, professional-grade (i.e. Hollywood) standard video, but there may also be room for user-generated content and more personalized, event-focused video.

A great example of more event-focused video comes from Intel that highlights the Intel Ultrabook Project in London featuring will.i.am (yaaaaa-uuhhh.)

 

 

One thing to note in this example is that it is coming from Intel, a brand with a big budget. When it comes to producing videos for you and your brand, focus on the content over the fancy production.

Remember, your YouTube channel is just another part of your integrated marketing strategy and, as such, should be focused on the consumer journey. Therefore, there is opportunity for longer, richer content as well as shorter content as well.

The Takeaway

While I do not wish to exhaust you with a repetitive refrain of video, VIDEO, VIDEEEOOOO, I totally am. But it’s because I care. And you just can’t ignore the power of a great video. So there you be – some YouTube stats that you can hide from and ignorantly and, perhaps, blissfully ignore. Or, you can face them like a marketing industry superhero and make that YouTube channel your bi-

Well you know what I mean.

P.S. And seriously – can we all agree to just stop trying to make the next viral video? As Craig Key and I have said before and Pixability alludes to in their study, #viralsucks.

Please and thank you.

 

Follow @alyssaceline33
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the internet of things synecore perspective

Pretty soon you’d rather be seen dead than with a waffle iron that doesn’t have its own email account… When I read this line from a recent eConsultancy post on the Internet of Things (IOT) written by Ben Davis, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. After taking a moment to reflect on the seeming absurdity of the statement, I quickly realized his words pithily encapsulate the gravity of the paradigm shift we're about to go through with the Internet of Things, an uber-tech trend carrying deep implications for individuals and businesses alike.

On a commercial level, the world of connected devices represents a boon for companies far and wide. Marketers, if you think Web 2.0 technologies are making your life complicated, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Get ready for the prospect of having to create personalized web and social interactions not only for each segment of your target audience, but also for their bevy of smart devices. Such is but one small implication of the emerging world of IOT.

IOT

What is the Internet of Things, anyway? This definition from WhatIs.com sums up the idea nicely: IOT is a scenario in which objects, animals or people are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to automatically transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

IOT is world where virtually every thing (humans included) is imbued with one or more tiny computers or smart sensors, all transmitting a flow of data onto the Internet (thus, the Internet of Things).

In the Internet of Things, any natural or human-made object that can be assigned an IP address and given the ability to transmit data via a network is eligible- your tires, coffee maker, liver, underwear- you name it. So far, the Internet of Things has been confined to Machine to Machine (M2M) communications in larger industries such as manufacturing and utilities.

That's only the beginning.

Get ready for terms like “active digital identity” and “digital identity management” to hit the mainstream in the coming months as companies such as Evrything bring IOT mainstream.

Evrything

If you’re still not clear on the whole IOT concept, here’s a great video intro from IOT startup Evrything with the snappy title, “All you need to know about EVRYTHNG in 77 seconds:”

 

EVRYTHNG in 77 seconds from EVRYTHNG on Vimeo.

There you have it. With billions of devices constantly streaming data onto the Internet, it looks like Big Data is about to get a whole lot bigger.

Companies like Evrything plan on using this surfeit of sensor data from the objects around us to provide value to both consumers and businesses.

For example, imagine you just purchased a shiny, new internet-connected bicycle. With the help of an IOT software provider like Evrything (the company has actually trademarked the term, “Web of Things”), you’ll be able to create a virtual avatar of your bike which will live in your social event streams. Your virtual bike would be dynamic, connected to whatever is going on with your bike in the real world; it might display the miles you travel or the route you take (or in my case, the number of dust-bunnies collecting on the bike).

Here’s the exciting part for brands. By creating a digital persona, the company that sold you the bike will be able to send you personalized content, apps, and services designed specifically for you and your bike. The presumption is that information about your bike would get ever more detailed and personalized over time, giving you a living, breathing history of your bike (and that business and others a ton of data about you for future use).

This of course would have various implications for any eventual sale of said bike, as prospective buyers could peruse its entire “social” history. Never mind turning that mileage counter back…

In this way, we may one day have a social graph for nearly every object on the planet- here, here!

In a 2011 interview with eConsultancy, Andy Hobsbawm, co-founder of Evrything, boiled down the value add of his company thusly:

Evrythng is a new service that creates active digital identities for products and other objects… Evrythng helps organise the world’s objects with an active digital identity for every thing.

Wearable Tech

Presumably, wearable tech is a part of that every thing. From Google Glass and Nike Fuel Band to smart diapers and talking dogs, wearable tech encompasses pretty much any smart, connected device you can wear. For example, Mashable recently featured a story about a new smart tooth sensor that knows when you've been eating or talking too much. Researchers at National Taiwan University in Taipei apparently have designed a tooth-sized "wearable oral sensory system" that can recognize when you're chewing, drinking, speaking and coughing. They’re getting decent results, too - the researchers’ data shows the system was accurate 93.8% of the time.

My wife would have a field day with this one.

Rage Against the Human

Call me paranoid, but my mind always tends to wander to the possible negative implications of any new technology. What could go wrong with a world of internet connected social devices?

Plenty. What if my IOT/wearable tech turns against me a la Maximum Overdrive? Think of the havoc a few surly lawn and garden implements could wreak on my well-manicured lawn. On a business level, think of the damage a rogue, socially connected IOT device could do to my online rep if it chose to (note to self: remove all online sensors from the liquor cabinet). What if all of these devices worked together to play a prank on me? I can only imagine everything in my now fully connected world instantly disconnected- no phone, no car, no waffle iron. Shudder the thought…

On a more serious note, the prospects of a world of IOT/wearable tech would surely be a hacker’s dream come true. Questions over the untimely death of “ethical” hacker Barnaby Jack, who was set to give a speech on the dangers of human hacking just before his mysterious death, have recently brought this issue to the fore.

It seems that in pursuing IOT, we humans have collectively resolved to crack open the Pandora’s Box that is Artificial Intelligence (AI) by degrees, incrementally rationalizing our irrevocable action by breathing awareness into the random assortment of dumb objects around us.

Rationalization is, after all, the key to mental health.

So is a smart waffle iron.

 

Follow @chrshorton

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What on Earth is Responsive Web Design?

2012 may have been the year of 'responsive' web design, but unless you’re directly involved in designing and building websites, you’d be forgiven for not knowing exactly what the term means. But with more people accessing websites on a range of devices, it will help you to understand why responsive is so important. Read our quick, no-jargon guide to this most modern of web design principles. 

Getting to grips with the basics

In its most basic form, responsive web design – or RWD, though you’ll rarely heard it referred to by its acronym – is an approach to building websites that takes into account different screen sizes. Coding has been developed to detect browsers and respond by altering the layout and styling of websites automatically, depending on whether you’re viewing them on a full-sized laptop or desktop, a tablet or a five-inch smartphone display. 

Images are automatically resized, as are fonts, but responsive websites also tend to change their layout completely to make better use of the display.

What’s the big idea? 

The leading principle behind responsive web design is to avoid creating different websites for different devices, hosted on multiple domains, and rather to have a single website that can adapt accordingly.

For example, the traditional solution was to have a standard website hosted on your main address (or domain), and another mobile-friendly one hosted on a ‘m’ address e.g. www.yourdomain.com and m.yourdomain.com. You can still see many examples of this today, and in most cases the transition between the two is automatic. 

However, for many companies this presents an obvious problem – two or more websites to update, maintain and spend money redesigning every few years.

Why is responsive so important?

The latest KPCB Internet Trends report tells us that of the 2.4 billion internet users worldwide today, 15% of all traffic comes from mobile devices. That’s up from just 0.8% in 2008, with exponential growth set to continue.

According to KPCB, by 2015 – just two years from now – ‘mobile’ will account for one third of all global internet traffic.

It’s not hard to see why. Smartphones are almost ubiquitous these days, whether iOS and Android-based, and tablets, such as the hugely popular Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab ranges, count toward the proliferation of mobile internet usage. Add to this the success of sharing apps from Facebook, Instagram, Vine, not to mention all the emailing we do on the go, and a future where mobile dominates the internet is easy to imagine.

In fact, it’s not just a projection. In China and South Korea, mobile internet has surpassed desktop usage, and not even that recently – Q2 and Q4 last year, respectively, according to KPCB.

OK, but why should my business go responsive, marketing-wise?

Websites designed only for desktop browsers rarely look great on mobile devices, or at least they could look a lot better. The portrait orientation of most sites doesn’t translate well to small smartphone displays. Mobile-friendly websites, as well as responsive ones, tend to be landscape and easily scrollable, hence the importance of an adaptive layout.

From a internet marketing point of view, many people access social media and emails on smartphones as they check in on their friends, colleagues and read updates. This directly impacts two, if not more, of an internet marketer’s most important tools – social syndication and email marketing. 

Imagine reading opening a newsletter on your smartphone, clicking through on a news story and being taken to a mobile-unfriendly or non-responsive website; if the user experience isn’t ruined completely, it certainly isn’t helped. The same goes for updates sent via your companies Facebook or Twitter pages – many people will open these links on their mobile devices.

How can we go responsive?

It would be quite an undertaking to have a developer change your website coding to make it responsive. Rather, think about factoring it in as part of your next website redesign. Mobile isn’t dominant just yet, but it will be soon if the trends are correct.

All good web developers will offer responsive web design either as standard or as an added feature that isn’t going to break the bank. Also, many modern website templates, and even newsletter templates, are responsive, especially those from Wordpress and MailChimp respectively.

Next week we’ll talk more about responsive web design in the context of mobile, dispelling five myths and telling you how to prepare your online channels for the mobile revolution. All this is in anticipation of a big announcement in the world of not online web design, but of Inbound Marketing and Versio2.

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Oreo Dunk in the DarkIt’s that time of week when I often like to post examples of my favorite pieces of branded content from the past seven days. However, today I would like to take slight diversion and instead take a look at exactly what it is that separates the truly “great” branded content from the stuff that is just “okay.” Is there a secret recipe for generating wonderful branded content? Can it really be as simple as two parts humor for every one part clever, throw in a dash of viral, and Voila! Yes actually, it can be! Despite what you may think, not every piece of branded content has to be as well thought out as a blog post or as well researched as an infographic. Here are four simple tips that will help propel your brand into the branded content hall of fame. 

1. Be Timely, Be Topical, and Newsjack! 

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to talk about time-sensitive branded content without bringing up Oreo and it’s Cannes Lion Award winning Super Bowl tweet. But that tweet was just so darn good! It’s a wonderful example of the type of content you can create when no review meetings or top-level approvals are required. News happens quickly these days, and those who are first to jump on it (particularly when using social media) are going to be the branded content kings. Oreo took advantage of a unique opportunity to be a part of a news story as it unfolded and it worked. 

More Recently the Royal Baby Boy birth announcement presented another unique opportunity to newsjack. Here at SyneCore, we had a taste of fame when we created an Instavid expressing our excitement about the little prince. Not to toot our own horn or anything, but our quick thinking just happened to land us in a video on the New York Times website.   

So the moral of the story is be relevant, keep an eye on the news, and take any opportunity you can to produce topical branded content.

instavid rb

2. Be Consistent 

It’s a fact that if Oreo posted tweets once a day or only had 25 followers, it’s quick thinking during the Super bowl probably wouldn’t have been quite as noteworthy. Building an online dialogue through your social media platforms is essential to the success of your branded content. Not only is it important for establishing your brand “voice,” but it keeps your customers engaged and coming back for more. Sometimes a great conversation via Facebook or Twitter can become branded content in itself. Take Taco Bell for example. The persons monitoring TB’s social media accounts are nothing short of PR and branding geniuses. Taco Bell is constantly in conversation with both customers and other brands. The ensuing banter is branded content at its finest.

tb social

3. Simplicity is Key

Sometimes a simple image, deployed to a simple platform at an opportune moment is all it takes to produce ground-breaking branded content. That’s pretty much what Oreo did right? The brand's social media team took instant action, seized a moment and saw results. They probably spent millions on their actual Super Bowl commercial, but seven months later that advertisement is long forgotten while the Tweet lives on. Don't over-complicate your content creation process. Focus on getting new quality content out there and try not to stress too much over what people will think. 

4. Have Fun! 

No matter what kind of industry you work in, I think it’s fair to say that we all want to work more efficiently and have fun doing it. We also want to work with people who are passionate about what they do, and we want to associate ourselves with brands that do the same. When you strip away the rules of old-school advertising, what’s left is the fun stuff.

Branded content is that fun stuff! Starting conversations with your customers, correlating your messaging with popular public events, and taking chances to be silly is way more fun than generic, shameless self-promotion. 

Now take all ingredients, combine, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

Follow @jaceyleigh
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3 lessons you can learn from your own contentWatch out - Synecore Tech's Content Team has taken over this week's #MarketingTechMin! The Internet is in chaos - complete chaos. Not only is there a mind-boggling amount of data being created, but there is also an insane amount of content. So much content that it seems unmanageable. While you can't solve all of the world's content problems, you can manage your own. Chris and Alyssa are currently in the process of performing an audit on Synecore's own Marketing Technology for Growth blog, looking to re-organize and update the content. This week, the two outline three lessons they've learned so far to help you in your own content management.

 

 

If you find their insight useful, be sure to tune in to SyneCore’s YouTube channel every Friday for more discussion about the latest trends in the Marketing Technology industry.

 

Follow @SyneCoreTech

 

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Is Bulk Email Internet Marketing Still Spam?

Is Bulk Email Internet Marketing Still Spam?

Search for ‘bulk email internet marketing’ in Wikipedia and you’ll be redirected to an article on email spam. Unfortunately, bulk email and spam are interchangeable terms these days, owing to methods which have annoyed and infuriated internet users for many years. However, new tools and techniques allow marketers to email en masse without fear of receiving accusations of spam, in return. 

A brief definition of spam

Let’s start off by defining spam, how it’s different from newsletter marketing and not always the same as bulk or mass mailing.

Spam is junk and always unsolicited (the magic word here). We define spam as unsolicited bulk email (UBE), commonly when the same message is sent to many hundreds or thousands of recipients without their permission. We liken this email to spam, a fairly disgusting luncheon meat known as being ever present, and hard to avoid, as depicted in a famous Monty Python sketch. 

Spam email Monty PythonSeparating spam from mass emailing 

There’s nothing wrong with emailing a lot of people all at once, as long as they expect it. But if they don’t, you could be treading in hot legal water. This is why opt-in permission subscription is so important, where a person wishing to subscribe to communications not only provides their email address willingly, but also click ‘yes’ to a confirmation email (double opt-in).

Different countries define spam and the seeking of permission differently. For example, in Australia controls are tighter – people must give their express ‘opt-in’ permission for certain mailings. In Switzerland the lines are a little fuzzier – it’s possible to send a newsletter to someone who provided their email address for something else.

Surprisingly, in the US, spam is actually legal according to CAM-SPAM legislation, as long as it has a truthful subject line, no forged information and other stipulations.

In Europe, the rules concerning spam are contained within the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications click here for bed time reading, the same set of laws that govern cookies and the treatment of traffic data. 

Is newsletter marketing spam? How can we avoid spamming people?

Again, not if you seek the correct level of permission. MailChimp offers excellent opt-in subscription features by default, giving you an iron clad defence against spam accusations. However, if you’re doing things right, you shouldn’t need to defend yourself. 

To avoid spamming people when bulk email internet marketing, follow these tips:

  • Don’t buy your subscribers – it is possible to buy lists of email addresses, but this really defeats the point of modern online marketing, especially Inbound Marketing where we seek to provide value, build reputation and have followers spread our communications for us.
  • Use a reputable email system – MailChimp is pretty hot on preventing spam, and will ask you each time you subscribe anyone manually whether or not you have permission to do so. We’ve known it to lock accounts when too many emails are added all at once, in too short a time. These features are designed to protect everyone from both sending inadvertently and receiving spam. If you do things correctly, you shouldn’t have to worry about being frozen out.
  • Use double opt-in permission marketing – as mentioned above, this is an inherent feature of the more reputable email systems, and requires that the wannabe subscriber confirm their subscription by replying to an email.
  • Be clear about what people are signing up to – if you have lead capture forms on your landing pages, clearly state that you may use contact details for other communications. Also make it clear that you’ll treat email addresses as confidential and not sell them off to third parties.

My mass emails are legitimate, but are being blocked. Why?

Many email clients sit behind effective spam filters, perhaps a little too effective. There are certain words, for example, that if found in your email subject line will result in it being sent to the junk folder. 

You can find a list of 100 such trigger words and phrases here on the Mannix Marketing blog, or you can read a MailChimp article on avoiding spam filters. MailChimp has a subject line tester that’s kept up-to-date and will inform you of any potential filtering problems, such as: 

  • Using too many exclamation marks!!!!!!!
  • WRITING EVERYTHING IN CAPS
  • Bright red or green fonts
  • Including the word ‘test’
  • Sending to multiple people in the same company (i.e. with the same email domain) all at once

Is lead nurturing spam?

Lead nurturing – automated follow-up emails, triggered when someone signs-up for an offer or downloads something behind a form – is not spam, if you tell people to expect it and personalise as much as possible.

There will always be some people who receive such emails and think of complaining, which is why it is so important to refine your communications and target people with highly relevant information.

If someone downloaded an ebook on social media, your follow-up lead nurturing emails must refer to that and provide something useful – interesting blog articles, an ebook that accompanies the original, and so on. 

To wrap things up and answer our original question, bulk email is more than just spam, if you define it correctly, seek permission and provide value. To find out how you can incorporate mass email marketing into your next campaign, get in touch with Versio2 and we’ll be happy to tell you about the tools we use, including the HubSpot Inbound Marketing platform.


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Happy #Swiss National Social Media Marketing Day!

Happy #Swiss National Social Media Day!

To celebrate Swiss National Day, let’s take a look at occurrences and events being held across the sphere of social media, from Facebook and Twitter to YouTube and Pinterest. Paper lanterns parades, red and white flags, fireworks and social media hashtag extravaganzas!

#SNDNYC

Yes, it’s the Swiss National Day New York City hashtag, currently doing the rounds on Facebook, Twitter and probably every other network that handles hashtags. 

As far as we can tell, the tag was started by the guys at SNDNYC.org (@sndnyc), who organise an annual Swiss-centric event at the Central Park Zoo. Knowing Americans and the safe assumption that there are many enthusiastic Swiss expats residing over in the Big Apple, it’s very likely to be a grand day out for all.

Social media coverage has been reasonably active, and while the SNDNYC Facebook and Twitter pages have relatively few followers, the hashtags on both show plenty of engagement around the subject. 

Swiss National Day NYC hashtag on Facebook #sndnyc 

Swiss National Day NYC hashtag on Twitter #sndnyc

 

IWC Schaffhausen on YouTube

Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen has put together a great little video to celebrate Swiss National Day 2013. The short clip features a miniature orchestra, assembled by the skilled watchmakers of IWC Schaffhausen and conducted by Master Watchmaker Kurt Klaus, giving a rousing rendition of Schweizerpsalm.

 

Pinterest is a flurry of red and white

Pinterest being the highly visual medium it is, is of course awash with red and white and all things Swiss if you only know how to find it, giving us an excellent snapshot of some of the most creative expressions and celebrations of Swiss festivities both past and present:

http://pinterest.com/pin/87820261457193709/

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social-media-marketing-101-what-makes-content-go-viralThe term “viral” is on everyone’s lips these days. Media outlets large and small are increasingly devoting time to covering the latest viral video or tweet. But what exactly is viral content? Does viral content tend to have certain characteristics that lend to its success? Why do we love it?  Simply put, what makes content go viral?

IS IT VIRAL?

By way of a social media marketing 101 working definition, content goes viral if it spreads very fast on the Internet, just like a flu virus would in real life. The content itself can be an article, a blog, a picture, or a video, but it must be very funny, controversial or thought-provoking so that people feel an urge to talk about it or share it on social media.

Marketers are always trying to create campaigns that go viral. Hubspot social media scientist Dan Zarella defines a viral marketing campaign as “any online content created with the intent to ‘go viral.’ This includes non-interactive media like videos, podcasts, articles or blog posts, as well as interactive content like tools, web-based games or ARGs (alternate reality games).”

IT’S ALIVE!

Viral content has three characteristics that lend to its success. Most obviously, people need to find the content exceptional for whatever reason. It needs to become a meme. First introduced by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, a meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. Memes are the cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures much like a virus does.

Second, in order for content to spread quickly to a broad audience, it needs to appeal to market mavens or influencers with high social networking potential (SNP). Finally, viral content must be easily shared. This is where social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are ideal transmitters of viral content. Viral content should also engage viewers by allowing them to comment, share and get involved. The more engaging and shareable content is, the more likely it is to go viral.

WHY WE LOVE IT

According to an odlie but goodie infographic from Mashable, successful viral content displays one or more of the following characteristics:

  • It’s Hilarious
  • It’s unbelievable-makes our collective jaw drop
  • It provokes an emotional response- positive or negative emotion
  • It agrees with our worldview
  • It’s thought Provoking
  • It’s taboo-not covered by mainstream media
  • It’s dramatic-makes for good gossip

Most online content does not go viral. Viral content is unique and rare. It is a living meme, tapping into the cultural Zeitgeist in a way other content just doesn’t.

What do you think makes content go viral? Share your thoughts!

 

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cue-rocky-groupon-makes-a-comeback-with-reserve-and-breadcrumbThe ever-changing fortunes of daily deal site Groupon are reminiscent of the dramatic verve found in your favorite Rocky movie (come on, everybody has one). On November of 2011, Groupon’s stock was over $26; a year later it had lost 90% of its value, closing on November 13th, 2012 at $2.63. Now it’s back around the $9 mark - still way down, but by no means out. To extend the Rocky analogy, one could liken the Groupon of November of 2012 to the battered fighter bleeding out on the mat just before the legendary comeback music kicks in, whereas the Groupon of today sees the bedraggled Rocky back on his feet, doggedly pummeling his incredulous opponent as the crowd stares in disbelief. 

Down but Not Out

Groupon’s initial demise was brought on by a combination of factors, including heightened competition in the local couponing/daily deals space from Google, Facebook, Yelp, and Foursquare (among others), coupled with the rapid consumer adoption of mobile along with some significant management issues. In May of 2012, with the foundations of his erstwhile daily deals empire crumbling around him, Groupon CEO Andrew Mason tried to rally the troops by announcing his vision to re-shape the company into a one-stop marketing solution for local merchants, or as he put it, “the operating system for local commerce.” I must admit, I was among those pooh-poohing the idea at the time, pointing out that Mason’s grand new vision did not really mesh with the company’s existing reality. Convinced of the soundness of my analysis, I smugly went on to write Groupon’s obit before the company had issued its last gasp.

Looks like I was wrong.

Groupon has been working hard over the last year to fulfill Mason’s pledge to become a one-stop marketing solution for local merchants, focusing on the two areas the majority of small businesses care about: lowering operational costs and increasing sales. Enter Groupon Reserve and Groupon Breadcrumb.

Reserve

In September of 2012, Groupon purchased Savored.com, a New York reservations start-up that had partnered with over 1,000 upscale NY restaurants to offer users significant discounts on their final bill for making online reservations in advance.

Leveraging the Savored.com platform, the company launched Groupon Reserve at the beginning of July, initially focusing on 600 upscale restaurants in 10 major US markets. According to a July 1stpress release, though, the company has bigger plans for Reserve:

In the future, Reserve will also feature premium deals and experiences from top beauty, product, travel and entertainment brands, as well as similar reservations capabilities for spas, salons and hotels.

Groupon’s new CEO Eric Lefkofsky describes Reserve as “…an important step in our journey to become the leading marketplace for online deals, where consumers can come to Groupon and discover great businesses at unbeatable prices.”

According to Business Wire, Groupon plans on rolling out Reserve to the company’s existing iPhone app on July 30th. The company also plans on rolling out Reserve to Android devices and the iPad in as well as launch Reserve in more cities in the United States and key international markets at some point in the (presumably) near future.

Breadcrumb

In May of 2013, Groupon relaunched Breadcrumb POS, its free iPad POS (point-of-sale) app for merchants. The product’s blog characterizes Breadcrumb as free, easy to use, and reliable – three things merchants are really looking for in a payments solution. Through its Breadcrumb Payments service, Groupon has set transaction fees as low as 1.8% plus 15 cents per-transaction, which is significantly lower than the 2.75%-per-swipe fee for Square (although Square gives merchants the option of paying a flat $275 monthly fee instead of giving the company a cut of every transaction).

In addition, Breadcrumb POS offers merchants a low price guarantee, pledging to “beat any comparable plan on credit card transaction fees.” This is smart, considering that transaction fees are a huge pain point for many merchants. To augment the user experience and insure reliability, the latest version of Breadcrumb POS also comes with customizable templates fit to specific business verticals, as well as offline payment functionality.

Groupon Redux

Businesses and consumers have two things in common: both are looking for convenience and cost-savings. To the extent Groupon can leverage new initiatives like Reserve and Breadcrumb to facilitate a win-win for businesses and end consumers alike, the company will find success once again. Once more, by building up customer loyalty on both the buyer and seller side of the transaction equation, Groupon opens up limitless possibilities for future expansion. 

Like Rocky, Groupon is down but not out. As the company endeavors to make an improbable comeback, let’s hope it follows the Italian Stallion’s example of confronting all challenges with the eye of the tiger.

--Image courtesy of VCAN.

 

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Nobody likes a broken record, but what if that record was playing music so good that you actually didn’t mind the repetition all that much – like Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde:

 

 

or Mumford’s Sigh No More:

 

 

T Swift’s Red:

 

 

(ok, I’m kind of kidding on that last one… and kind of not…)? And what if that broken record was spewing really wonderful news for marketers, like how video rules (have your heard that before?) and is the next big thing in digital advertising? You wouldn’t mind hearing more on that would you?

Well, according to data from the newly released Digital Video Roundup put out by eMarketer, video is the fastest growing of any digital ad format (Umm, YAY). Here are a few key stats from the survey:

Consumers are Watching Video

  • This year, 74.4 million mobile users will watch video content on their phones, up 16.9% since 2012.

digital-video-advertising-is-growing-marketers-get-excited

  • By 2017, eMarketer estimates, about 45% of all mobile phone users will watch video on their devices.
  • 182.5 million US consumers will watch video content online at least monthly this year, equivalent to 57.7% of the population or 75% of all internet users.

Marketers Oblige; Shell Out Lots of Dough

Given the popularity of digital video among consumers, it’s no wonder marketers are gravitating toward it. The Roundup cites a June 2013 survey conducted by AOL showing that almost three quarters of marketing professionals plan to increase their spending on branded video content or video ads in the next year.

The AOL survey also revealed marketers’ growing preference for digital video ads over TV ads in two key areas: brand awareness and engagement. Nearly half of marketers surveyed (47%) thought digital video ads were more effective at fostering brand awareness than TV ads, compared to less than a third (31%) who thought they were less effective. In terms of driving engagement, the majority (58%) of marketers regard digital video ads as more effective than TV ads. A small number (15%) felt they are less effective. When it comes to video vs. display ads, display is down and out: 9 out of 10 execs thought online video ads had equal or greater impact than display ads.

By 2017, video will account for nearly 15% of all digital ad spending. US advertisers will spend $4.1 billion on digital video ads in 2013. While this is only 9.7% of all digital ad spending, it’s the single fastest-growing format throughout eMarketer’s forecast period. In the coming years, digital video ad spending is expected to more than double, reaching $9.1 billion by 2017.

What is the biggest factor in the success of digital video advertising? According to the marketers in the AOL survey, the ability to quantitatively micro target specific audiences and then measure results. In fact, 73% of survey respondents said that better targeting was the biggest determinant in how much money to invest in digital video advertising; 67% cited better measurement.

The concrete data that accompanies digital advertising allows the big guys and gals pulling out the check books to get a better bang for their buck. Very appealing, don’t you think?

Video Loves Social

In part, the power of digital video lies in social sharing, or “social video.” A December 2012 Netbase study found that video sharing was the 2nd most popular online activity of US Internet users in the key Millennial and Baby Boomer demographics, rating just behind social networking. People share what they love, and the social platforms offer a prime arena to obsessively share that weird cat video or the Dove video that made you cry.

You can be sure that the major social networks know that video is not only here to stay but is fundamentally changing the concept of the thirty-second spot during the latest episode of whatever-hot-new-primetime-drama of your choosing. And that means big bucks for them in the form of video ad revenues.

Facebook

Rumors around the Facebook mill have been swirling. We know Facebook video ads are coming; the only question only is when. Facebook’s audience size, which it proudly proclaims to media buyers as “the equivalent to three Super Bowls happening every day (roughly 300 million people per day),” challenges TV’s still large audience. According to Business Insider sources, the 15-sec advertisement rollout to the Newsfeed won’t happen until Q3 or Q4, even 2014 according to some. Either way, I’ll be anxious to see how quickly TV ad spending comes toppling down.

Instagram

Of course there’s Instagram video, or Instavideo. Yes, we all did cartwheels and backflips when Instagram announced its new video feature back in June. After we landed back on Earth and got our heads straightened out, we marketers immediately got to thinking how we could use this to promote our selves (psh, typical). While the 15-sec clips certainly aren’t rivaling the big time ad dollars, the new feature offers yet another way for marketers to capitalize on the consumers’ growing affection for video. But please brands, please make sure that we stay true to the sepia-toned goodness that Instagram has to offer and don’t pump primary-colored, stock reel content into my feed (I’m looking at you Carnival Cruise Lines).

Twitter

Twitter is opting for a more subtle approach to video advertising with “Twitter Amplify,” taking the “I’ll be your best friend approach,” with the networks, complementing TV ads with tracking and pushing brands’ social reach. However, both my friends at TechCrunch and I are skeptical about how long this friendliness will last.

LinkedIn/Google

LinkedIn isn’t quite threatening the likes of TV video advertising, but it definitely threw its hat into the ring this year with video advertisements for brands.

Google AdWords for video currently runs ads on YouTube as part of the TrueView family, which only requires payment for the amount of views the video gets. Again, with the growth of online video consumption, this is a much better option for brands.

The Takeaway

The research is clearly showing that consumers are integrating video more fully into their everyday lives, though they’re not necessarily sitting on their couches in their living rooms to fulfill this need. Increasingly, they’re watching video on tablets and mobile devices, anywhere and everywhere. If your brand is really interested in connecting with these consumers, you may want to experiment with digital video advertising.

This does not mean video should be treated as a solo initiative. As with all marketing in the Digital Age, you want to integrate video advertising with other existing social media strategies; just remember to use a consistent voice and message across all digital channels.

A final note to brands and marketers: don’t let the prospect of yet another digital medium to master send you cowering in a corner with a pad of paper and a pen crying for simpler times. No, no. Instead, see video advertising for what it really is - a precision weapon that allows you to efficiently navigate the online clutter to reach your target audience with pinpoint accuracy. Or, alternatively, it’s a way to blow tons of your client’s dough without posting any results.

I kid you, I’m a kidder…

 

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The Art of Effective Content Syndication

The Art of Effective Content Syndication

Sharing is caring, they say, but for online marketers creating content it’s absolutely essential. Sharing, or syndication, is an art form in itself, which is why we’ve assembled some of the best tips on how and where to post links to other websites. 

1. Make syndication part of your publishing routine

It’s quite one thing to produce great marketing content – blog articles, ebooks, webinar recordings, and so on – but if you’re not telling people about it, it’s all for nothing.

Create a checklist of syndication outlets, the most obvious being social media. Write your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn messages under your blog article draft, within the Word, Pages or Google Docs document you’re working on. This makes sharing after you upload your article that much quicker. 

2. Set up social media profiles, sharing buttons and use a management platform 

Create Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn business pages or profiles. You can also look into Google+, Pinterest and other networks growing in popularity.

Make sure your content platform includes social media sharing buttons. This will make things quicker for you, and also encourage visitors to do a little syndication for you. The popular blogging platform Wordpress – if you're using it – has many plugins that will add share buttons, the most popular of which is ShareThis. 

Use a social media management tool like HootSuite or TweetDeck to administer all your accounts in one place, and do useful things like automatic URL shortening and scheduling. No more hopping between multiple tabs, cut and pasting links between windows.

3. Distinguish between community management and syndication 

A community manager maintains a social media presence, including posting updates, interesting articles and engaging in discussions with followers.

Syndication is purely the task of sharing links to your content on any other website, including, but not limited, to social media.

You can of course task your community manager with syndication, but we find it’s more efficient for the person who uploads the article (i.e. publishes it) to post links to external websites as part of their routine (see Point 1).

4. Schedule your syndication in advance

This works particularly well on Twitter. Use TweetDeck or HootSuite (see Point 2) to schedule tweets with links to your article, to be sent out periodically over the next few weeks or even months depending on how often you want to remind people about your content.

Always make sure these tweets are unique – there’s nothing worse than repetitive, robot-like automated messages.

Facebook and LinkedIn are slightly different, because while you can alter the wording, scheduling an update with a different image might be problematic. We tend to only syndicate to Facebook once.

5. Think beyond social media, think PR

If you have something newsworthy to blog about, why not create a media release? Distribute it on popular newswires like PR Newswire, PRWeb and PRLog. You may need to pay to use these services, but there are obvious benefits in media attention, as well as positive search engine effects. 

6. Guest blog, but don’t duplicate 

Guest blogging is the big thing right now, and is essentially when you write content for another website and vice versa. The benefit to your business is an inbound link to your website, usually from the bio in your guest post – great for off-page Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), but only if the hosting website has good Google authority.

If your company hosts a guest post on its website, the benefit is additional indexed material (as registered by Google) and hopefully links from the author’s various social media accounts. Again, great for SEO, if your guest blog host has a sizable social media following, especially on Google+. 

Never duplicate your content, that is, don’t send a published article to another website. Google doesn’t like duplicate content, which may negatively affect your rankings. 

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3 Ways to Recommit to Your Content Marketing

Recently, Synecore Tech's fearless leader Sean Royer sent a post around the office by Jay Baer. The title? “The 6 Lifelong Laws of Content Marketing for Agencies.” My reaction:

3-ways-to-recommit-to-your-content-marketing

 

OMG YAY more content marketing.

I kid. Well, kind of. Let’s backtrack a bit. I’m a content creator for Synecore Tech, which is fabulous because I love to write. But I must admit that I am routinely exhausted by article after article of why content marketing is the greatest thing since sliced bread and how my agency will die a cold, lonely death if it does not participate in it.

(Reality check: I am guilty of this, too. I’ve written this and this.)

But then I started to read Baer's "6 Lifelong Laws of Content Marketing" and a sense of rejuvenation washed over me. (I’m not kidding – it was like a marketing Baptism, people.) In his post, Baer really gives the quick and dirty of what content marketing costs, in terms of time and money. Perhaps it was his honesty but whatever the case, it’s a motivating article that I highly suggest you read.

In reflecting on his stripped-down, no-frills explanation of the importance of content marketing, I came up with three strategies I’m currently using in order to solidify a consistent, rocking content marketing strategy that even Mr. Baer would be proud of.

Create a content team

While everyone says they’d love to write a blog on this-and-that, let’s be real honest with each other: those people are lying and most will never follow through – at least not consistently. And that’s what your content marketing needs: consistency.

As we continuously refine our process here at Synecore, we’ve designated specific people to commit to a weekly blog in their area of expertise. With all of the other days left (Baer says shoot for posting everyday and kill the blog if you can’t do two days a week), we have a designated content team that commits to writing blogs for the other days not dedicated to a “weekly” spot. These are then the people that are responsible for most of the blogs as well as eBooks and webinars (or other sorts of premium content).

A note to respond to Baer’s article: he suggests that higher level execs should be writing blogs; however, since we are a smaller agency with a very loose, if any, hierarchy of employees, this model doesn’t make a ton of sense to us. Therefore, we aim for more of a tightknit (and totally rad and awesome) content team.

Make a freakin’ calendar

Although they don’t have the same bureaucratic power as your seventh-grade teacher demanding your algebra homework, armed with a nasty ruler that needs not be used to exercise its full intimidation power…

…calendars do work to maintain consistency in your content marketing.

Our vision at Synecore is to create an editorial calendar each month, which includes a new campaign centered around a piece of premium content like an eBook. Couple that with a complimentary webinar and blogs, and we’ve got a solid month’s worth of content. In addition to the content that is part of our monthly campaign, we’ll sprinkle some timely posts in each week.

The editorial calendar, especially if displayed publicly in the office, is a great way to foster transparency and motivate your content team to keep up with their work. Nobody wants to be that guy that misses the deadline.

Avoid writer’s block

Many times people, myself included, feel as though they don’t have a burning idea for content in their head and thus are prevented from writing anything at all. While it’s easy to say, “Well, if you can’t find anything in your industry to write about, you need to re-think your career/entire existence,” I know that sometimes you’re just completely stuck. To avoid such frustrating existential dilemmas, I try to practice these habits to help with the idea-flow:

  • Designate time in your day to reading industry articles and publications (I use feedly to get the most up-to-date posts in one place). Doing this will give you timely and relevant information or new research that will spark some ideas.
  • Use personal experiences to inspire your content. Remember, you are actually a real person, not just a robot content creator. Your readers will appreciate that they can relate to your personal experiences and that connects them, consequently, to you as a writer. For example, I recently had a completely awesome social media interaction with one of my favorite brands, ModCloth. I did a little research on what others were saying about their social media strategy and voila: a blog!
  • Help out your content team members. My colleague and I are the two main content creators for our company blog, Marketing Technology for Growth, and we often will shoot each other interesting articles that get our wheels turning (I must admit that he is usually filling me with ideas more so than I to him). Or one of us will be working on a blog and then get stuck in an “I-have-no idea-what-the-hell-I’m-writing-about” kind of moment. We hash it out in a quick (or not so quick) conversation and are left with more complex and thoughtful posts. #win

The Takeaway

While there are significant time and cost investments in content marketing, content - in whatever form your company chooses - is useful and vital to your brand. The three tips I outlined above are what Synecore aims for, but make no mistake our strategy is not perfect. And when we get swamped and client work floods in, our own content marketing suffers. However, continuous refinement and improvement is what keeps you growing.

I’d love to hear your brand's strategies for sticking to your content marketing. Please note that I work in a small agency (2-10 range), so these tricks mostly speak to smaller companies. However, if you’re part of a bigger company, I’d love to hear some of your content marketing motivators too!

 

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we-got-hacked-social-media-security-issue-or-pr-stuntNBC News, The Associated Press, The New York Times, Burger King, Fox News, PayPal, Jeep, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Bloomberg News, CBS, and "60 Minutes" are all part of the community of thousands of brands engaging with consumers through social media channels.

They are also all victims to having those social media channels compromised by unwanted hackers.

This past weekend, Chipotle’s twitter account appeared to have joined the growing list of accounts to go haywire. The series of twelve tweets were a rather odd list of commands: 

chipotle tweets

 Chipotle was quick to apologize, telling Mashable "I'm glad no one went Anthony Weiner on us, but everything seems to be fine." 

Many are now questioning whether this mishap was in fact a mistake, an unwanted intruder, or just a carefully placed act of PR (They do have a new major promotional contest in full swing).

Sorry all. We had a little problem with our account. But everything is back on track now! - Joe

— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) July 21, 2013

The bigger question I have is why are these unwanted tweets still appearing…and what can companies do to stop it?  

Staying Secure

Chipotle’s recent Twitter stumble is minor compared to the mess that Burger King’s account suffered earlier this year.

For the hour that the fast food chain’s account was unknowingly exposed, it had been changed to appear as being sold to McDonald’s, while displaying tweet after tweet of inappropriate content. 

BK hack

 In an attempt to curb these embarrassing invasions, Twitter recently updated their login system in order to provide users with the option to implement a two-factor authentication for account access. Users will be asked to register a phone number and e-mail account, providing a unique six-digit code that will be send to the number and required for each successful login. 


"Every day, a growing number of people log in to Twitter," Jim O'Leary, member of Twitter’s Product Security Team, said in a blog post. "Usually these login attempts come from the genuine account owners, but we occasionally hear from people whose accounts have been compromised by email phishing schemes or a breach of password data elsewhere on the web."

Unfortunately Twitter can only do so much in providing protection, and companies need to be aware that security responsibility and control lies directly in their hands.

Companies should follow these guidelines to help increase their account security and reduce the risk of becoming the next hacking victim:

  • Strong Password Creation: Your password should not only be difficult to guess, but should include numbers, special characters, and capitalized characters to create maximum strength.
  • Private Internet Access: When using a public Wi-Fi, it becomes much easier for your account to be accessed by unwanted users. Always login to your accounts under the security of a private internet connection.
  • Consistent Log OutRemember to log out of your company/client accounts when not in use! This is crucial to prevent outside users accessing your account, especially in the event that your electronic device gets lost or stolen.
  • Resisting the Phishing Net: Hacking victims often fall trap to deceptive phishing schemes asking for personal information. NEVER give away secure information to suspicious requests, and always check the source of the e-mail address.

Cry for Attention?

Over 30,000 new followers, 73,421 retweets in over an hour, and a spot on the trending topics list.

No, this is not the result of Burger King’s perfectly executed social media campaign, but rather the exposure hackers have gained for the account they have exploited.

Turning a negative into positive, companies can take what can appear to be dreadful situations into ones of massive brand exposure and attention.

Unfortunately, others have tried to take advantage of this PR opportunity and in turn stage their own account “hacking.” 

mtv hack

dennys hackBut not only have those attempts for attention been deemed unethical, they actually turned users away from engaging with them in the first place. 

mtv reaction

Takeaway

Like any other type of information, keep your social logins secure and safe because no one likes a hacker – especially a fake one. Although the hacked or, uh-hem, “hacked” tweets generate a lot of RTs and possible followers, what does that say about your brand? Aren’t you supposed to be crafting authenticity in your social media strategy?

Remember this, brands: your PR stunts may produce some laughs, but a month from now the general public won’t really care. Instead, they’ll be demanding quality, relevant, genuine content, and if they don’t get it, you can be sure they won’t hesitate clicking “Unfollow.”

 

**UPDATE: Only hours after this post was orignally published, ABC news has reported that Chipotle's twitter account was indeed hacked...by none other than Chipotle themselves.

"Chris Arnold, director of communications at Chipotle, told ABC News that the planned tweets were part of a broader 20th anniversary promotion...'The idea was to incorporate it into our broader social media promotion,' Arnold said. 'We did it to get more people talking about that short string of posts.' "

Dear Chipotle, people have a tendency to unfollow liars. You've got us all foiling your plot on this one rather than unfoiling your burritos...was it worth it? 

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A Beginner’s Guide to SlideShare Marketing

A Beginner’s Guide to SlideShare marketingPresentation sharing website SlideShare this week announced enhanced support for infographics, which is great news for content marketers. But what is SlideShare, and what’s the fuss about it and infographics? Read our guide to find out.

A brief introduction to SlideShare

SlideShare is a popular ‘web 2.0’ website for sharing presentations – simply upload your slides in PowerPoint, Keynote, PDF or OpenOffice format. It’s especially useful because the presentations can then be embedded into any web page, much like a YouTube video. 

Also, like YouTube, SlideShare is almost a social network in its own right. Pages can be optimised for keywords, and there are even some enhanced lead capturing features such as forms that pop up when someone views your presentation. 

Why is SlideShare popular with content marketers? 

SlideShare was bought by LinkedIn in May last year, a very natural fit as both have B2B and professional networking appeal, with very similar – if not identical – audiences. In short, LinkedIn pages can now be enhanced with SlideShare presentations.

Marketers wishing to reach out to professionals do well to upload interesting presentations or slides from webinars, which can then be embedded into blog articles, thus extending the life of content and adding extra value to broader campaigns. You can see an example from our very own SlideShare account, showing slides from our Content Marketing and Customer Personas webinar.

There are also plenty of useful analytics and marketing features, telling you how many people have downloaded your presentations and even the URLs of websites where they’ve been embedded.

What’s all the fuss concerning infographics?

Infographics are very popular with content marketers due to their proven ‘shareability’. People love to retweet, share, comment on and blog about infographics because of the highly visual and creative way they portray information that would normally be hard to grasp. 

The terms infographic and data visualisation are often used interchangeably, but there are subtle differences. The former can be quite broad and more informational than number-based, whereas the latter are like charts but more creative, often helping the reader to put complex data into perspective. 

SlideShare has made the very smart move of allowing people to upload and embed such infographics. Technically this was possible before, but the landscape dimensions of the SlideShare window weren’t perfectly suited to infographics which are (typically) not only portrait, but very long as well, requiring much downward scrolling. 

To wrap things up, here’s a great example from our Inbound Marketing partners HubSpot:


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Some may call it silly. Some may call it a waste of time. But, you just can’t argue with the power of social media. It’s real-time connection with people across the globe. Sometimes it makes your head spin with the constant updates and the “always on” feel, but sometimes it’s like one big party.

That's what it felt like yesterday when the news that the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to baby ________, the third in line to the English Crown. While I’m sure you’ve had it up to your little peasant heads with the Royal News, the Royal Birth yesterday afternoon sparked proof of just how powerful social media can be, even if you're not Oreo or Pampers.

While these two social media powerhouses gave us all some laughs... 

Prepare the royal bottle service! pic.twitter.com/Nlks2kT7Sw

— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) July 22, 2013

 

Every baby is a little prince or princess.WATCH http://t.co/uri8669zei & SHARE pics of yours at http://t.co/3o4OZULHj1 #PampersLoveSleepPlay

— Pampers (@Pampers) July 22, 2013

... We didn't want them to have all the fun.

As my colleagues and I sat at our desks, hungrily scrolling through our Twitter feeds, letting out squeals of delight over the social media goodness happening and maybe, possibly, dancing around in celebration at all of the Royal excitement (so maybe it was just the ladies in the office…), we thought “Hey, we can get in on this action.” We have an Instagram account. We happen to have a cake and balloon in the office. Let’s do it.

This is what came of just a little silliness:

 

 

And then this happened:

 

royal-baby-the-power-of-social-media

 

Which turned into this. Thanks for the nod, Deborah Acosta, Cannon Hodge and The New York Times.

When we stumbled upon the NYT article this morning, after we had all sent the link to our mums and plastered it across our social channels, I got to thinking how this was a prime example of what social media can do for brands large and small. SyneCore has a rather modest following on Instagram, but our use of the prolific, in my humble opinion, hashtag, #RoyalBaby, lead a NYT reporter to snatch it up for a story. While I am sure we won’t triple our business in the next year because of our 10-sec spot on a NYT video, it proved to be a spot on way to create awareness for our brand.

So, keying off of our experience, here are three social media marketing takeaways for your brand:

Be a part of the conversation.

SyneCore is an integrated digital marketing agency – we don't really have anything to do with the Royals. But neither does Pampers nor Oreo. With the rise of content marketing, brands are being forced to become their own newsrooms, providing relevant content to their audience. Relevant content doesn't have to just pertain to your industry; becoming a part of the larger cultural conversation can also build your brand.

Use #hashtags.

I’ve said this before, so I won’t bore you with another #long, #obnoxious #list of #hashtags, but they do really work, especially when you’re getting in on a big event. Case in point: the #RoyalBaby. Deborah probably wouldn’t have stumbled upon our silly little Instagram video had we not used it.

Don't always strive for perfection in your social media strategy. 

Whoa, did she really just say that?

Yep, I did. But I’m not talking grammar – you must nail your grammar. I’m talking about quick, on-your-feet, just-do-it kind of posting. While there is a place for strategic, crafted and scheduled posts, social media is real time, and in order to be a relevant part of the conversation, you must infuse your social strategy with unstaged, candid posts. Our Instagram video isn’t close to perfection; there are some directional cues and awkward pauses in there, but the reality is that it’s, well, real. And that’s what social media does for brands – it connects us in an authentic manner; this can serve to humanize a brand that was traditionally only categorized by a static logo.

How neat.

P.S. Sorry to Deanna, whose birthday celebration was hijacked by The Little Prince. In our opinion, you are totally as cool as the little guy.

 

 

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The Week That Was Twitter (and What Marketers Learnt)

Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ have all received the Versio2 marketing guide treatment – now it’s the turn of Twitter, but with a twist. We highlight some recent events from the Twittersphere and their significance in the world of social media marketing.

1. Give your Twitter followers what they want

According to the Guardian, Pope Francis (@pontifex) is granting time off purgatory to people who follow his Twitter page, bringing the pontifical practice of awarding ‘indulgences’ for faith-related tasks into the 21st century, social media and all. 

Whether you agree with what the Catholic church is reportedly doing or not, it is an example of an organisation’s attempt to modernise and offer traditional services through new online channels, and to offer followers a little of what they want and perhaps expect.

Give your followers something of interest that’s relevant to your company and business activities. For example, product discounts, related news and the opportunity to engage directly with company representatives.

2. Know what you’re doing on Twitter

Unfortunately, it would seem that Denver’s Chipotle Mexican Grill (@ChipotleTweets) did not. Both the Huffington Post and BuzzFeed reported on what appeared to be a series of 12 meaningless tweets posted yesterday. To the credit of Chipotle, they’re still there for all to see – you can see them for yourself below or head to the Chiptole Twitter page.

Bizarre marketing stunt? Perhaps. But as it's such a new Twitter account, it seems more likely that it's a mistake of some kind. Regardless, it does rather give the impression that someone at Chipotle didn’t know what they were doing – a very bad idea when it comes to very public social media.

The moral of this little story is, if you're going to handle community management in-house, ensure adequate training. Otherwise, outsource the job to an experienced community manager or an agency, both of which you should spend time with developing a communications strategy and approval process.

Know what you're doing on Twitter

3. Show a little Twitter conviction

One of the biggest mistakes companies make when they first start tweeting is to not take Twitter seriously enough. If you want to Tweet as a way to promote your business, be sure to dedicate some time or resources to engaging followers, sharing interesting content and syndicating your own content. 

In short, have plenty of ‘Twitter conviction’. @MasoneDylan, according to Marketing Pilgrim, ran on to the field last week during a televised baseball game. Why? Because he said he would if he received 1,000 retweets, which he did.

While we would never recommend such a ridiculous stunt for the sole purpose of stirring up Twitter engagement, his followers did have an expectation of him that he was obliged to fulfil. The lesson here is do be conscious of what you tweet and follow through with your promises. 

How important is social media when it comes to driving traffic and generating leads? Download Marketing Benchmarks from 7000+ Businesses for charts on not only social media, but landing pages, website pages and blogging as well.


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How Businesses Can Survive the Digital Evolution

how-businesses-can-survive-the-digital-evolutionAs another one of our strategy sessions moved off topic into a discussion of the philosophical implications of the digital world and ultimately the fate of human nature (we get deep at Synecore), my colleague Horton and I moved into a discussion of the future of education, including MOOCs (massive open online courses). He directed me towards sites like Coursera, edX, Udacity and, just… #mindblown.

Get Online and Learn

While many MOOCs began just a couple of years ago – edX, founded by MIT and Harvard in 2012 and Udacity, founded by Sebastian Thrun in 2012 – they have welcomed millions of online learners and unearthed enormous debate about the future of education. University agendas aside, one can’t argue how cool this is. I can imagine late nights and Saturday afternoons learning about the history of the solar system and Renaissance art...

Or is that just the forever-nerd inside me talking?

Even if you didn’t love school, with the constant threat of grades or the in-your-face teachers looming around, I’m sure there are some topics that you’ve always been interested in. MOOC offers this to you, for free, without all the other crap that came with your education (seriously, no braces, no horrific picture days, no popular kid table).

These new online education platforms allow you to (and frankly give you no excuse not to) be a lifelong learner, which is exactly what the digital evolution will require of us. Knowledge of computer science and coding, among other things, promises to bring us into the digital era with less angst and more excitement.

Opportunity for Businesses

The MOOC movement is also a golden opportunity for businesses, as owners begin to realize that their companies must adapt to today's digital environment or risk being left behind. The mentality of adaption is nothing new; it’s a common refrain echoed throughout human history, from Darwin to H.G. Wells. Wells knew well (sorry) what he was talking about when he said, “to adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative.”

What You Can Do

To keep up with changes in technology, which seem to be coming faster and faster, you need a team that is not just smart and sharp but also willing to accept the inherent chaos of constant change. You need people who are going to continue to navigate your brand through a crowded digital landscape filled with business after business fighting a war of pixels, #hashtags and data in an alternative reality on a geo-targeted Cloud.

You have two choices: You can hate the digital evolution for forcing you to adapt, or you can take advantage of the solutions placed at your fingertips - solutions like the online knowledge centers Udacity and Coursera. Think what a wonderful resource they could be for your employees. How can you leverage them to build a team that is constantly thinking and learning?

Imagine a program where your company requires employees to use MOOCs to continue to advance their skill set. Yes, you could go the traditional route of sending your employees back to school for an advanced degree, but think of how many more employees you could continue to educate given the easy accessibility and low-investment of these online education platforms?

The Takeaway

There is no excuse for “I don’t know” anymore. The world of information is at our fingertips, and those who survive the digital evolution will be the ones who learn how to use its tools to improve themselves and their organizations. As the changes compound around us, it will be the minds who learn and make connections in our connected, integrated world who will thrive.

So, although the nostalgic old soul inside me would love to send you off with a paperback book somewhere, the digital marketer in me is inclined to encourage you to take advantage of all the digital resources awaiting you and just go learn something.

 

Follow @alyssaceline33
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Social Shopping: How Brands Can Capitalize

social-shopping-how-brands-can-capitalizeBy now, whether with hugs and shouts of joy or with tears and dragging feet, we’ve all (hopefully) accepted that social media is no longer merely a fad or even a tool; rather, it has ushered in a paradigm shift in how brands connect to consumers. Social media is not just a platform to shamelessly promote yourself, but it is an extension of your storefront and all that that encompasses - it is a hub for customer service, a tool to create your brand identity and culture and, as a new study finds, a place to purchase your products.

It looks like social media does indeed have a hefty ROI, according to a new study, “From Social to Sale: 8 Questions to Ask Your Customers” by Vision Critical.  The report – one of the most B-E-A-U-tiful ones I’ve come across – is a lengthy, in-depth look into the consumer’s path from specific social platforms – Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – to the transaction, whether online or in-stores.

While I could give you a lengthy book review that would frankly just look like an uglier version of the twenty-eight-page study, you’re probably better off digging into it yourself (tip: grab a bottle of wine). However, the Vision Critical study does bring up some very important questions brands need to wring out of their would-be customers. Even though I’m a words over numbers kind of gal, I'll first take you through a couple stats for you to reflect on:

  • 4 in 10 social media users have purchased an item online or in-store after sharing or favoriting it on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest. It breaks down between the networks as follows: Pinterest 29%; Twitter 22%; Facebook 38% (Fun Fact: 73% of the population is on Facebook. Marketers, you should be salivating).
  • Pinterest is the network most likely to drive spontaneous purchasing – 47% of purchasers “happened-ed” upon the product – while Twitter and Facebook purchasers are more likely to make social media-related purchases of products they were already researching or considering.
  • Social media drives roughly equal amounts of online and in-store purchasing.
  • Half of social media-related purchasing takes place within 1 week of sharing or favoriting the ultimately purchased item.

Now that you’ve got some foundational numbers, I’ll continue to expand on some of the key takeaways. Vision Critical structured the report using eight questions brands need to ask their customers. Here are three of my favorites:

What do your customers want from each of your social network presences?

A common mistake brands can fall into when beginning their social media strategy is simply blasting a stock post across all of their platforms. Eeek! Please, please stop, OK? I know it’s easier and simpler to do mass, mindless posting, but why should I follow you on 47.39 different channels if I’m going to see the same thing on every one?

This sentiment is followed up in the study, showing how different topics and different styles of posts are popular on the different networks. Vision Critical advises businesses to match their presence to the three C’s of each network: content, culture and category.

Given this, brands should ask these kinds of questions when determining their social strategy on each platform: What type of posts appear on this network? What is the tone and social norms? What kinds of products do well on this platform?

Does purchasing lead to sharing or does sharing lead to purchasing?

Don’t worry, this might be easier to figure out than “what came first: the chicken or the egg?” When asked, “When you shared or favorited this item, were you already thinking of purchasing it?” most survey respondents across all three platforms were at least vaguely thinking about purchasing the product, if they weren't already researching it. However, 29% of respondents on Pinterest were not thinking of purchasing the product (16% on Facebook, 9% on Twitter).

What can brands do to target these social purchasers? Engage those sharing your product or products in the same category. For example, say you’re in the professional dancewear industry. Seek out those social mavens that are engaging in dance-focused G+ communities, use advanced Twitter search to find those tweeting about their favorite ballet shows – you get the idea. Once you find these consumers engaged in the world of dance - or whatever industry you're in - you can then engage with them on a personal level, bringing your kickass brand to "top of mind" among these consumers. #score

How does mobile move your customers from sharing to purchasing?

We know the future is mobile, and given these new findings by Vision Critical, as a brand, consider using tried and true SoLoMo tactics to connect with these social shoppers. Invest in mobile development, like a responsive website that will allow your consumer to consult you wherever they are on what whatever device they choose. Offer mobile deals that motivate your consumer from within the store. Also, consider your in-store signage. How can you engage mobile users with your brand?

The Takeaway

Social media is a beast that can eat you up – if you let it. The best thing you can do? Don’t stay silent in front of your screen racking your brain on how to engage your consumers. Remember: this is social media. The name itself invites interaction and conversation with others. Don’t wallow in a party for one – go out and ask your customers what they like and what they don’t when it comes to their social networks and how they use social media in their purchasing decisions. Your customers are just as unique as your brand; they are the best research you’re going to find.

So get out and start asking questions (and listening). Your motivation? Besides a higher ROI, your brand can avoid the same fate as Eric Carmen.

 

 

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Top Google+ Social Media Marketing Tips 2013

Top 4 Google+ Marketing Tips 2013Continuing on from our recent Facebook and LinkedIn social media marketing guides, it’s the turn today of Google+. Like it or loathe it, Google+ is becoming an increasingly important social network, so it may be time to jump on the Google train. Read our top tips for an introduction to some of the recent Google+ changes in 2013.

1. Create a business page with great visuals 

If Google+ has recently appeared on your radar as a new channel to add to your social media strategy, you’ll probably want to know how to go about creating a business page. 

These are very much like the ones you would find on Facebook or LinkedIn, so if you have one of these set up already, it’s a reasonably simple task of cut and pasting across your company information. Also, if you use Gmail, Google Docs or sign in to Google Search, you'll already have a Google+ profile that you can set up very quickly.

One major difference between Google+ and its rivals is its enormous cover image, which is 2120 x 1192 pixels if you want to make the most of it as branding real estate. You can go smaller with the image – just make sure the proportions fit a ratio of 16:9, and don’t go too small otherwise your image will pixelate or blur.

Finally, beware the circles! The new profile logo is displayed within a circle, so if you upload a square image the corners will be clipped off.

Here are two great examples on business page visuals from Coca Cola and Ford. The latter really shows how the cover can be used like an advertising billboard or magazine spread: 

Amazing Google  cover image

The best Google+ cover image

2. Get involved with Google+ communities

This resonates somewhat with the success we’ve had on LinkedIn Groups, the idea being to participate in discussions to promote yourself as a thought leader and influencer. 

However, Google+ goes one further by allowing you to post to communities as your business page, unlike Facebook and LinkedIn where you can only post outside your business page as an individual.

As with LinkedIn, focus on a few communities to begin with. Engaging in groups and communities can be time-consuming. It will also take you a while to work out which communities are the most relevant and receptive to your input.

You can of course start your own community if you find that one is lacking in a particular area – perhaps your industry has yet to be represented in your region, on Google+?

3. Google+ is essential for local businesses 

Remember Google Places? This was merged into Google+, so if you have a local business and want Google to associate it with an address (so it will appear on Google Maps) and your contact details, setting up a Google+ local business page is essential.

A local business page is different from a standard business page – you’ll need to provide a physical address, phone number, and, of course, a website. All of this will be verified by Google, either by phone or mail (postcard).

The importance of setting up a Google+ local business page, if you are a small, local business, cannot be stressed enough. It helps you get found on local directory listings run by Google, and flags you up as a place on Google Maps. Customers can also leave reviews, and you can add events that will appear in Google listings elsewhere.

4. Always post longer optimised content to Google+

When your Google+ business page appears in search results, underneath it will be your most recent posts, so keep it fresh. 

If you’re running a blog with keyword optimised articles – which we hope you are – always post the content to Google+. If you’re already syndicating content top Facebook, it’s easy enough to paste the exact same update to Google+. However, you’ll be missing out on the advantages arising from one key difference: Google+ posts rank in search results for keywords; Facebook posts do not. 

This really could be one of the deciding factors in the battle between Facebook and Google+. We’ve always known that Google would put its search muscle behind the success of Google+ – we now have Google Search Plus, for example – but only recently has it emerged that certain posts appear on search results pages for certain keywords.

Essentially what it means is that Google+ will have a greater effect on search rankings – the realm of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). To make the most of it now, post more of your blog content to Google+ than you would normally on Facebook.

Rather than posting a one or two-line teaser with link to your article, post the first third or even half of your piece – you want to get as many of your keywords on to Google+ as possible. This way you can still drive traffic to your website by offering up no more than half your article, and there's the added benefit of increased ‘shareability’ – Google+ users in particular are more likely to share entire articles than simple teasers.


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Just How Important is Twitter to Inbound Marketing, Really?

If you have blog posts, special offers, ebooks or anything else you want lots of people to know and talk about, then Twitter presents great opportunities. However, you needn’t settle for just our word on that – we have data from more than 7,000 businesses that shows the impact of Twitter on actual inbound traffic.

1. What is the impact of Twitter reach on inbound traffic?

Our Inbound Marketing partner HubSpot has made available a wealth of marketing data from its thousands of customers. We’re pleased to present it to you in the form of our latest ebook Marketing Benchmarks from 7,000+ Businesses. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the chart shows that the more Twitter followers a company has, the greater the impact on inbound traffic. The biggest changes occur when the following goes from 51-100 to 101-200, and from 201-500 to 501+.

What is the impact of Twitter reach on inbound traffic?

  

2. What is the impact of Twitter reach on traffic for B2B and B2C companies?

The chart below shows gradual changes in traffic related to increased Twitter following, until we get to more than 1,000. Interestingly, Twitter seems to be of fairly equal benefit to both types of company, but really comes in to its own for B2C businesses with more than 1,000 followers.

Twitter has always had more influence with consumers, who tend to trust the opinions and recommendations of their friends and family. It is these same users who are more likely to share things too, such as interesting articles about – or pictures of – impressive new products.

What is the impact of Twitter reach on traffic for B2B and B2C companies?

 

3. I run a small-to-medium size business – is Twitter for me?

According to our data, an emphatic yes! Benefits of increasing Twitter followers helps medium-size businesses of 11-50 employees more than businesses with fewer than 10, but the difference does not become pronounced until we reach more than 500 followers.

Large companies of more than 1,000 employees tend to see the greatest increases in traffic tied to Twitter following, on average, largely because the brands and products involved are already well known, marketing budgets are more sizable and the campaign initiatives that come as a result more imaginative.

I run a small-to-medium size business – is Twitter for me?

 

To sum things up with a couple of statistics:

  • Companies with 50-100 followers generate 106% more traffic than those with 25 or fewer.
  • B2C companies experience a larger increase in traffic than B2B companies after reaching 1,000 Twitter followers.

To see more charts linking not only social media but landing pages, website pages and blogging to traffic and lead generation, download our free Marketing Benchmarks from 7,000+ Businesses.

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How to Stay Ahead of the Game on LinkedIn

Facebook social media marketing tips 2013

Earlier this week we covered six social media marketing tips for Facebook. This time it’s the turn of LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, which presents new opportunities for companies in Switzerland and throughout Europe.

1. Use LinkedIn SlideShare Content Ads

In March this year, LinkedIn acquired SlideShare, a popular platform for sharing presentations online. LinkedIn has now incorporated SlideShare into its ad platform.  

Below is an embedded SlideShare presentation about the LinkedIn SlideShare Content Ads. You can also read about it in more detail on the LinkedIn blog.


2. Be active in groups to expand your network

Did you know, you can send out LinkedIn connection invitations to members of your groups? This is a good way to extend the reach of your network beyond colleagues and professional contacts, but try not to send out too many to people you don’t know. It’s best to actively participate within your chosen groups for some time, striking up a rapport with other members and making a name for yourself. Then, you can request connections with those members you more frequently interact with.

Focus on a few groups to begin with and involve yourself in discussions as much as possible – this will help to establish you as a thought-leader within your industry. If you want to promote your own content – blogs or ebooks, for examples – be sure to also promote articles from other sources.

3. Keep your profile looking fresh and optimised

LinkedIn notifies members whenever their connections update their profiles, so if you want people to visit you regularly, update yours every couple of months. Include new projects, changes of job title, blog articles you’ve written, new skills and experiences, and so on.  

The more people who see your profile, the greater your potential to drive traffic to your main website, landing pages or other social media channels.

Refresh your list of skills, adding new ones as you acquire them. Also, optimise your profile headline using keywords from your own marketing strategy– this will help you to get found in LinkedIn searches, very much like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Google Search. You can use a similar methodology here, always ensuring your headline and skills include keywords from your approved list.

4. Keep an eye on your business page Insights data

LinkedIn provides metrics to help you evaluate engagement with your posts and followers. These include ‘per post insights’, ‘follower insights’ and ‘page insights’.

Per post insights tell you more about engagement – how many people saw your update, was it shared, was it clicked? Follower insights goes into more detail about your business page network with useful demographics and follower trends. Lastly, page insights is very much like the Google Analytics of LinkedIn – page views, unique visitors, and so on.
 


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Top 5 Facebook Marketing Tips 2013

Facebook social media marketing tips 2013

We’re refreshing our Top 5 Facebook social media marketing tips for 2013. You can see the original article here.

1. Make the most of your timeline cover with Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

Timeline covers – the large picture at the top of your business page – are relatively new enough. However, Facebook recently rewrote the rules concerning placement of CTAs, formerly a definite no-no, now a yes-yes. As long as you keep the amount of text to less than 20% of the total cover image area, you can direct visitors to visit your website, take up a discount offer, download a new ebook, and so on. 

2. Encourage comments more than Likes, and think about EdgeRank

Likes on posts are great, but comments are thought to have a greater influence on EdgeRank – the algorithm Facebook uses to determine where items appear in a user’s news feed. The more EdgeRank your business page and posts have, the more likely you are to be seen by your followers. It’s a lot like Google Search’s PageRank (PR) algorithm.

One new way to encourage comments is to use picture replies, a new feature for 2013 which we cover in some detail in The Marketers’ Guide to Facebook Hashtags & Comment Images. One idea is to post a picture and ask followers to post versions of their own, or anything that will encourage them to post images as replies. This will work wonders for your EdgeRank. 

The positive EdgeRank factors are: 

  • Affinity – users that interact with a particular page and its posts will be more likely to see subsequent content from the same source. This also includes interactions of other users, so if there are lots of comments and likes for one post, Facebook will consider it more interesting and increase its chances of being seen in news feeds of other page followers.
  • Weight – a user that interacts with photos more, will see more pictures in his or her news feed. The same goes for different post types such as videos, status updates and shared articles.
  • Time decay – much like Google’s freshness factor, Facebook will seek to provide new content over old.

For more on these factors, as well as negative EdgeRank, read SocialMediaToday.com’s EdgeRank’s Newest Factor: Negative Feedback. 

3. Post a picture to get more news feed attention, but keep it to 407 pixels wide

A picture is much more likely to attract attention than a simple status update, or even a shared article. Resize your image to 407 x 407 pixels and it’ll appear in full in news feeds without any cropping – larger pictures aren’t truly cropped, but do tend to have their edges clipped in previews so that they fit nicely within a person’s timeline. 

We share our own blog articles (including this one if you came her via Facebook), as image posts rather than shared links. 

Overlaying text on your shared images – and thus converting them into elaborate CTAs – is a great way to increase their marketing potential. Just be careful not to get too wordy, as the 20% text rule we mentioned in Tip 1 may also apply to posts.

4. Use shortened URLs

This is very important if you’re going to follow Tip 3 for promoting blog posts, ebooks or landing page offers, because you’ll need to include the URL in the image description. Usually Facebook would remove URLs and simply include a preview with a clickable title, but for images it can’t do this.

A long URL will seem unsightly, so always use a URL shortening service like Bit.ly, which will also track clicks for you. Better still, personalise your shortened URLs – visit Bit.ly for help on how to set up a custom short domain. 

5. Use hashtags!

We couldn’t really write a piece on Facebook marketing tips without mentioning one of the latest developments to receive a lot of attention – hashtags. Use these very much like you would on Twitter, but try to keep it focused as they can be quite polarising. Use too many and you risk annoying people, the rules governing Facebook hashtag etiquette are still unclear. 

Turn to your keyword strategy – you’ll have one if you Search Engine Optimise (SEO) your web pages and blog articles – for help with hashtags. Although they have no effect on Google or Bing SEO that we know of, you’ll still need some focus and a strategy behind the use of hashtags as marketing tools. Also, keep your hashtags consistent across all your social networks, including Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+. 

6. BONUS TIP: Get to grips with Facebook Custom Audience and Lookalike Audiences

Facebook advertising got a whole lot more sophisticated this year. If you have a list of email addresses, export them from your address book or CRM and import them into Facebook Adverts Manager. You can then target display advertising at any users Facebook finds as a match for your email list – a powerful new targeting option.

The Lookalike Audiences extension allows you to match users who aren’t already your followers, to the custom audience lists you create. Read more about it all in 7 Steps to Mastering Facebook Custom and Lookalike Audiences.

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DATA: How Often Should You Blog?

A company blog is an excellent way to generate valuable content to attract visitors to your website. But how often should we publish articles, is it the same for both B2B and B2C companies of all sizes, and what’s the true impact on traffic and leads? Data from more than 7,000 businesses reveals all.

Blogging has many benefits to both B2B and B2C companies. First and foremost, as online marketers we blog to create new, valuable content to attract people to our websites. 

Secondly, blog content provides us with material that we can share on social media, which our followers can then pass on to their own networks. 

Finally, fresh content, regularly produced and properly keyword optimised has a positive effect on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). In general, the more indexed (registered by Google, Bing etc.) pages your site has, the better.

However, effective blogging requires planning, scheduling and oversight, not to mention the actual writing if you want to do it in-house. Even outsourced, there is still commissioning, editing, approval and upload (publishing).

All companies that consider blogging ask the same important questions: how often should we do it, what’s the impact on traffic, how many more leads will we get? Fortunately, HubSpot has made available data from 7,000 of its customers, and as a Swiss Inbound Marketing partner we’re able to present you with the results. 

A quick note before we discuss the data

As with all surveys, the information presented is an average. For one company, blogging daily might work wonders, while for another two-three times per week may suffice. The effect may also differ – so much is dependent on how and where you share your content and how well optimised it is for search engines.

The following information should serve as a general indication, based on a large sample of companies engaged in Inbound Marketing activities, including blogging but also social media, SEO, email marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM or PPC) and landing page creation. 

At the end of this article, we’ll make our own recommendations based on what we know of our readership here in Switzerland and across Europe.


1. How often should we blog to increase website traffic?

The following chart is taken from our latest ebook – Marketing Benchmarks from 7000+ Businesses – created in partnership with HubSpot. According to this, the more your company posts per month, the better.

The chart clearly shows that a company that blogs more than 15 per month receives five times more traffic than one that doesn’t blog at all, on average. That works out as at least four per week – a tall order indeed, especially if your company is just starting out.

We recommend starting small at one or two per week and then ramping it up as your fledgling content schedule finds its feet. This should give you around twice as many website visitors per month, according to our chart.

How much more do I need to blog per month to increase my website traffic?


2. How often should we blog to increase my leads?

In this chart, we differentiate between the effect of blogging on leads for B2B and B2C companies, both of which see huge increases in leads when going from one to two articles per month, to more than 15. 

The data shows that two to three times per week is a solid starting point, still offering large rewards in lead generation over two and fewer per week. 

Why the differences between B2B and B2C, especially at 15+ times per month? Blog articles are no less appealing to industry readers as they are to consumers, it’s simply a matter of generating the right content for your chosen audience. One of the more obvious reasons for this marked difference is social media. Blogging goes very well with sharing e.g. liking on Facebook and retweeting on Twitter, two networks with huge consumer audiences. Professional networks LinkedIn and Xing – frequently used to share B2B blog content – have far smaller audiences, thus skewing the data in favour of B2C.

How much more do I need to blog per month to increase my leads?


3. How will all of our blog posts together affect traffic? 

Again, a slightly different chart this time. This one shows the impact on traffic according to business size (number of employees). Also, here we discuss total published blog articles, rather than a per month frequency. 

Blogging has noticeable benefits for companies of all sizes – each group at least doubling its traffic when reaching the 200 blog post milestone. However, its good news for small companies, which see more than eight times the amount of traffic with 200+ published articles, on average.

How many more total blog posts do I need to impact my traffic?


What it means to companies in Switzerland and Europe

Blogging with the intent of generating traffic and leads requires discipline and a keen understanding of who your audience is and how to reach out to them. Starting of small is a good way to establish a solid blogging foundation. Even if you outsource the writing, there is still a certain amount of direction, approval and oversight on the part of your company.

Use of social media by Swiss companies is lagging somewhat behind the rest of Europe and the US. However, as Versio2 partner Julien Renaud asserts in  EDITORIAL: Swiss & European Marketing Trends, “in Switzerland, especially in B2B, great opportunities await on professional networks such as LinkedIn and XING.” Such opportunities include establishing yourself as an industry thought-leader by regularly participating in group discussions and sharing links to not only your own articles, but others’ as well.

Download Marketing Benchmarks from 7000+ Businesses to find out how web pages, blogging, landing pages and social media affect traffic and lead generation – information which will help you make your own decisions about your company’s promotional activities, and how best to invest your marketing spend.


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The marketing manager's guide to online marketing

In the final instalment of our nod to Douglas Adams’ classic radio plays and books, it’s the turn of ‘measurement, analysis and refinement’ and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) including Pay-Per-Click (PPC), to receive the “Don’t Panic!” treatment. See Part 1 and Part 2 here.

1. Measurement, Analysis and Refinement

  • OVERVIEW: A marketing strategy implemented but not monitored and measured is a little like a sports team that both wins and loses games, but never watches replays, discusses how or why, or finds ways to improve tactics for the next game. Measurement, analysis and refinement is an essential part of a comprehensive, closed-loop marketing strategy, allowing you to gauge the effectiveness of your efforts, understand any strengths and weaknesses, and make changes. It’s also an essential part of determining your marketing ROI.
  • PRACTICALITY: There are many tools within the spectrum of online marketing that provide measurement. Google Analytics is almost an industry standard for website analytics such as visitors and bounce rates, but also useful information such as traffic sources and demographics, and content analysis. Search query information is provided by Google Webmaster Tools. For email marketing, the free newsletter platform MailChimp provides in-depth measurements of your send-outs, such as open and click rates, but also who exactly clicked on what items. For social media measurement, Facebook has its own Insights suite for measuring the reach of your posts, and if you’re engaged in SEM, AdWords and other PPC ad platforms have extensive reporting features. Once you’ve explored and familiarised yourself with all your measurement options, analysing the results and knowing where to make changes is relatively simple.
  • WHAT’S NEW: HubSpot has released version 3 of its comprehensive marketing platform. It’s one of the few truly closed-loop systems, incorporating content, social media, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), lead capture, lead nurture and email marketing, along with measurement and analysis tools, and the ability to refine all processes. We would be happy to give you a demonstration of the HubSpot 3, just get in touch with us here.

2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) 

  • OVERVIEW: There are many forms of SEM and PPC, but the ones you’ll see every day are those that sit at the top and to the right of search engine results pages (SERPs). On Google, the paid or sponsored results appear at the top within a pale yellow box. As a marketing manager, you’ll be familiar with the concept of paying for clicks – depending on your bid, you’ll pay a different amount per click or 1,000 ad views (impressions). 
  • PRACTICALITY: Debate rages as to their effectiveness, but there are signs that PPC ads are once again driving traffic and justifying the money spent on them. Practically, for Google, AdWords is the platform you’ll need to familiarise yourself with. For every ad you create, you’ll have to bid an amount you’re will to pay – either Cost Per Click (CPC) or Cost Per Mille impressions (CPM). The higher you bid, the more likely it is you’ll appear at the top of results pages. 
  • WHAT’S NEW: Google is particularly keen to keep PPC alive, and is constantly innovating. There’s a new AdWords extension out almost every week – the most recent is a function which will soon allow advertisers to include a testimonial and a free link to a reviewer’s website. There’s also AdWords for Video (YouTube), and the more visual Product Listing Ads (PLAs) are proving very effective for drawing in consumers looking to purchase items online.

We hope you enjoyed our Marketing Manager’s Guide series, which will soon be available as an ebook. Stay tuned via Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn and Google+, or subscribe via email (top-right). You can also read a lot more about measurement, PPC and all the practicalities of internet marketing in our Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Internet Marketing (2nd edition).

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EDITORIAL: Swiss & European Online Marketing Trends

Swiss and European online marketing trends

Representing the vanguard of a new marketing movement in Switzerland has been a tough but worthwhile challenge for Versio2, largely because the introduction of US-born Inbound Marketing has highlighted some interesting challenges. Some of these stem from obvious cultural differences between the Swiss and North-American way of conducting business, but similar economic pressures are driving an alignment as companies on both sides of the Atlantic seek to gain a competitive edge by reducing marketing spend, growing their worldwide audiences, and increasing ROI.

Our European neighbours also exhibit slightly different attitudes towards the adoption of the latest online marketing techniques than Swiss companies. The UK is a good example of an ‘early adopter’ that  has traditionally been bridging the transatlantic cultural gap. What happens in the UK and other early-adopting countries, such as the Netherlands or Nordic countries, tends to spread to other European nations with time.

In a recent report by HubSpot, a leading provider of marketing software, called the 2013 State of Inbound Marketing – which saw its first European edition this year – Richard Baxtor, CEO of SEOGadget.com, said:

“We see Europe, and the UK especially, as a market where more businesses are making the decision to create an inbound marketing budget for the first time.”

The report has inspired me to write about our experiences in Switzerland, and the trends we think will shape future adoption of internet marketing in our market, while comparing them with the rest of Europe and the US. Swiss-specific data on the use of various forms of online marketing is scarce, but there are some important experiential observations we can make.

1. Switzerland is mostly familiar with SEO, Social Media and PPC

Swiss companies often believe online marketing is simply Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), social media (limited to Facebook and Twitter), and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, overlooking the importance of content marketing in the form of blogging, lead management and email marketing as core elements of an Inbound methodology – Versio2 Managing Partner Stephan Burckhardt discussed the Swiss focus on SEM or PPC in last month's EDITORIAL: Beyond Google AdWords and Social Media.

Of the European marketers surveyed by HubSpot, some listed blogging among their top three sources of new leads – in addition to SEO and social media – while the US also ranked email marketing highly for generating contacts as precursors to actual sales conversions.

2. Swiss companies are put off by SEO techno-babble

Jargon in SEO is off-putting to many Swiss companies looking to engage in internet marketing activities and SEO alone has often disappointed. We are often at pains ourselves to tone down technical terminology in our frequent blog articles, also because we are more interested in results and see technology as simply an enabler, no more and no less.

Compare this to our French neighbours, who are far more comfortable with SEO than marketing on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Social media strategist Isabelle Mathieu, as quoted in the HubSpot report, said:

“In France, when a company has to choose between investing in SEO or social media, the priority is too often given to SEO. SEO is now a trusted marketing channel in France, whilst social media still raises a lot of questions such as, where is the ROI, how do I get results from social media without having to allocate huge amounts of time to it, how do we engage with the different communities in our market, etc.”

Her comment about social media will ring familiar to our readers, and leads me nicely to my next point.

3. Switzerland is missing out on opportunities on LinkedIn and XING

It’s easy to see social media as only Facebook and Twitter, and like the French, there is an uncertainty in Switzerland as to the true value of such dominant networks. Our case study proves otherwise, showing how a well conceived Facebook campaign can yield excellent B2C results. In our example, a hotel client went from 400 followers to more than 12,000 in just one month while creating 22 million impressions.

In Switzerland, especially in B2B, great opportunities await on professional networks such as LinkedIn and XING, of which the latter has recently been over-taken by LinkedIn in Switzerland, is growing much more rapidly and therefore has a more promising future. 

4. Content marketing is not well understood 

The most important aspect of internet marketing today – content creation – is often overlooked. The focus has been on SEO, PPC and social media, rather than on content marketing, despite it being a relatively mature marketing concept. 

Many companies have yet to understand how content – blogs, ebooks or case studies, but also videos and recorded webinars – drive all other aspects of internet marketing today. In fact, recent changes in the Google algorithm have strongly favoured content in terms of SEO effectiveness. They have given new impetus to content marketers placing the concept squarely at the center of search. 

The Swiss aren’t alone in this lack of understanding. The average age of a European blog, according to HubSpot, is less than twelve months compared to three years or more in the US. In the study, “Creating quality content” was only listed fourth among five marketing priorities, both in the US and Europe – strange when “reaching the right audience” was hailed as the top priority in both markets. Are we failing to see the obvious link between content creation and audience engagement?

5. Economic pressures will drive adoption of Inbound Marketing

Switzerland has so far remained relatively unscathed by the economic woes of our European neighbours and the US. Culturally and politically too, the Swiss have enjoyed comparative stability throughout modern history. However, adversity drives innovation and a desire to adopt new trends, as we’ve seen in the US, UK and other European countries more susceptible to global economic head-winds. 

In a global market, the very same wind is blowing our way. If and when economic pressures do indeed arise – which some here see as inevitable – Swiss companies will look for more effective ways to lower marketing costs and increase ROI while growing their global market presence. Early adopters will gain a competitive edge.

We expect that effective methodologies in marketing and sales will be sought out, and that Swiss companies too will adopt Inbound Marketing strategies that have helped many  companies on both sides of the Atlantic lower their cost per customer acquisition, generate leads and get more business online.


Julien Renaud, Versio2 partner and senior consultant

Responsible for the French speaking part of Switzerland, Versio2 Partner Julien Renaud molds client visions into well-defined digital solutions. His taste for the Internet started 15 years ago when studying at Syracuse University, where he was among the first graduates to receive an education in digital marketing. He founded an online branding agency in Estonia and joined forces with Clinton Hailey. They bonded over a passion for technology and a desire to help businesses grow online.


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Internet marketing trends in Europe and the US

The HubSpot State of Inbound Marketing report has always been US-focused, but a new European edition for 2013 has revealed some interesting, and sometimes surprising, trends when comparing online marketing adoption in Europe with the US. We’ve picked twelve of the best snippets from this survey of 443 marketers across Europe. 

  • Adoption of Inbound Marketing in Europe is almost on par with the US. Of European and US respondents, 58% and 59% respectively said they had implemented Inbound strategies.
  • Around 20% in both Europe and the US said they simply didn’t know if the techniques they were using were Inbound or not, indicating a need for specialist marketing agencies to better inform and educate.
  • Inbound Marketing in Europe is growing at an impressive rate, with 42% of companies set to increase their inbound spending in 2013.
  • ‘Reaching the right audience’ was given as the top marketing priority by an equal percentage (23%) of European and US respondents. Increasing lead generation was of far more importance here in Europe, while in the US, lead conversion was of greater concern.  In both markets, ‘proving marketing ROI’ was the lowest priority.
  • More European than US companies said Inbound Marketing was “completely integrated” into their marketing strategies, but only by a small percentage (36% versus 35%). An equal number (44%) said Inbound was “somewhat integrated” while just 4% said it wasn’t integrated at all. 
  • Only 22% said they had a formal Service Level Agreement (SLA) between their marketing and sales teams. A lack of an adequate SLA can lead to misalignment over responsibilities and procedures, and confusion over goals and metrics. 34% said they had no idea whether they had a formal marketing-sales SLA.
  • The top three sources for lead generation reported this year in Europe have been SEO (13%), social media (13%) and blogging (11%). In the US, email marketing replaces blogging in that list. 
  • European companies are starting to shift their focus away from outbound channels towards inbound. 15% of respondents said direct mail was less important in 2013, followed by trade shows (14%) and telemarketing (12%). 
  • Facebook and LinkedIn are equal in terms of customer acquisition in Europe, with 40% reporting new business from these social networks. However, we’re still some way behind the US, with 49% and 46% reporting new business from Facebook and LinkedIn respectively. 
  • In the US, social media is the top source of lead-to-customer conversions, while in Europe Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the winner by quite a margin – 14% reported this compared to the next best converters, direct mail and email marketing, at 9%.
  • 49% of European companies do not test their Inbound Marketing efforts, making it impossible to know whether they’re working or not. The US is somewhat better at 43%, but only around one in five in both markets said they were conducting any testing at all.
  • Of European respondents, 41% said they either could not or did not calculate marketing ROI. However, “proving ROI” was listed as the top concern in a quarter of all marketers surveyed. This indicates that 25% of European companies want to calculate their marketing ROI, but don’t know how.
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The Beginner’s Guide to the Inbound Marketing Funnel

TOFU, MOFU and BOFU – this has nothing to do with curdled soya milk, yet everything to do with attracting visitors, capturing leads and nurturing them with highly targeted communications and offers. Read our basic introduction to the three-tiered Inbound Marketing funnel and learn how it shapes online marketing campaigns. 

Why a funnel?

Most marketing and sales people will have come across a funnel visualisation of some kind. There are different interpretations – especially between marketing and sales methodologies – but generally it describes a progression from having lots of potential customers at the top of the funnel, to ending up with far fewer, yet more highly qualified, sales prospects and customers at the bottom.

The further along the marketing and sales processes we go, the fewer people we deal with. However, each tier gives us with more sales intelligence and further qualifies those individuals.

Explain the three tiers, please? 

In Inbound Marketing there are three general tiers, though each can of course be divided up further. For the sake of this beginners’ guide, let’s stick with three:

  • Top of Funnel (TOFU) – In online marketing terms, the top of our funnel consists of website visitors that have been attracted to the website by our social media, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM / PPC) and content creation activities. TOFU offers and content – ebooks, white papers, videos, webinars and introductory offers – are very general, have mass appeal and give us shareable material we can spread on social media, announce on our blogs and create Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads for. 
  • Middle of Funnel (MOFU) – We ask visitors to fill in a form and provide their contact details in exchange for a resource or offer, and those that do download or sign-up become our leads. We might also provide new MOFU offers and resources to further qualify and filter visitors – these offers would be more specific to our business activities, such as case studies, product reviews, buyers’ guides and testimonials, and would serve to explain our services and build brand and customer loyalty.
  • Bottom of Funnel (BOFU) – Quite simply, we use automated email marketing to stay engaged with our growing lead database and move, or “nurture”, individuals towards a final sales offer, such as a free consultation, extended trial or discounted price. Understanding how and why a person became a lead, plus other form data, allows us to send highly focused, and therefore more effective, communications. 
inbound marketing sales funnel resized 600

How does the funnel shape our campaigns? 

It’s all about the journey of an individual from making first contact through to securing a sale. 

Let’s look at one example of a TOFU/MOFU/BOFU compliant campaign. For this example, imagine that we are a school wishing to increase annual enrolment numbers: 

  • TOFU – We seek to build a large social media community where we share our weekly blog articles, many of which link to an offer such as an education white paper or video of life at our school. All our articles are written for search engine visibility, so we can be found easily when people search for certain things. We also try to share our content with other websites, blogs and write regular guest blogs too, all with links to our landing page offers. 
  • MOFU – Our landing pages have pictures of the school and wording to make our offers and resources attractive, so we can generate more leads. Our second-tier MOFU offers are more specific to the school – a brochure pack, for example. At this stage we know that anyone that takes up these offers are highly qualified and ready to be nurtured.
  • BOFU – We create lead nurturing emails to keep leads engaged, with interesting blog articles, other offers and a final sales offer, such as a private tour and chance to meet students and staff.

Read more about how Inbound Marketing actually helped one school client of ours double its traffic in just four months, establish an active social media community, and achieve a high lead generation rate on its landing pages with one in five visitors converting – read Inbound Marketing Case Study: Swiss International School.

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Top 5 Blog Topic Brainstorming Tips

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If you’ve recently launched a company blog, or are discussing it within your marketing department, one of the hardest aspects is generating interesting and valuable blog topics on a regular basis. Here are five quick tips that will help your blogging team promote your business online. 

1. Define a content strategy with customer personas 

This should be the first thing your company does before even thinking about actual, concrete blog topics. Your content strategy will also include ebooks, white papers and reports, webinars, videos and other content items that you’ll host on your website. It will define how often you blog, where you share the content, and, most importantly who your audience is.

Create at least three customer personas – we’ve explained how to do that here, and give you some examples here. Brainstorming topic ideas will be many times easier and more productive when you can consider your customers’ pain points, challenges, personalities, and other relevant characteristics.

2. Divide blogs by structure and format 

As part of your content strategy, establish the kinds of blog articles you want to provide for your audience based on their personas.

Blog articles come in many varieties, and you should ensure an even mix of your chosen types:

  • List – Typically round-ups of statistics, but anything with a bulleted list. These are easily digestible and usually quick to produce.
  • News – An article announcing the latest news from your company or industry, relevant to your business activities and audience.
  • Interview or Q&A – Find someone interesting and ask them some questions. This is great content that’s easy to produce, and most people will be happy to talk to you in exchange for a little promotion.
  • Opinion – These work best when they’re written by someone who can best represent your company and give it a human face and voice. 
  • Top Tips – An article just like this. Short, simple, actionable advice is very popular.
  • In-depth – Something more journalistic in style with further research, interview quotes, and references, all revealing something of importance to your readers. 
3. Assign skill levels  

If you have a diverse audience, you’ll find that some are more versed in what you’re writing about than others. Be sure to provide introductory, intermediate and advanced blog content and label it accordingly. We tag our blog articles according to these same skill categories. 

4. Turn one idea into many

When a great idea surfaces, don’t immediately write it up – that could be a wasted opportunity. Instead, take a moment to run it through your content strategy and specifically the three points above.

Can you create one main article with two or three shorter, supporting articles? For example, would this article benefit from something more in-depth, or a Q&A from a well-known blogger on how they themselves brainstorm?

Expand one idea into many and spread them out across your schedule or editorial calendar.

5. Create a mind map of your customers’ pain points

This is one that has worked very well for us. Sit down with the people within your company who regularly interact with your customers – most likely your sales team.

Now, write down all the questions you’re normally faced with when approaching potential customers. Each pain point will generate multiple blog topics that can be addressed in many different ways.

We use MindNode Pro, but there are many other similar mand mapping applications available such as MindMeister and XMind. They vary in features provided and complexity, but basically allow you to create a visual representation or map of pretty much any thought process. In this example, you want to start with your customer personas in the centre or at the beginning of your map, then branch out into the questions that illustrate their challenges and reservations, followed by relevant blog topics on the final level of your map. You should end up with a map that looks like a tree of words and ideas.


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How to maximise your newsletter impact

How can companies double their email newsletter click-through rates, enhance their brand visibility and strengthen relationships with their subscribers, contacts and partners? Read how Versio2 helped one client do exactly that, and find out how you can do the same.

Email newsletters have been around for a long time, but remain a great way to communicate the latest company news and stay in touch with leads, subscribers and partners. 

Their ubiquitous nature and popularity is also their downfall, but therein lies the challenge: how can you keep your newsletter fresh, interesting and something your subscribers regularly look forward to? How can you maintain and hopefully increase your open rates?

Let's first discuss some practical tips when creating newsletters, before we introduce to you a case study from a recent project of ours.

Practical tips for your newsletter design

  • The Versio2 newsletter Through experience, we’ve found that a subject line with buzzwords relevant to our audience produces better open rates. This matches the advice from MailChimp, a popular newsletter platform: “When it comes to email marketing, the best subject lines tell what’s inside, and the worst subject lines sell what’s inside.”
  • Your subject line should grab attention while avoiding anything too sensational – an important consideration in the more conservative European market. Avoid anything too “sales-speak”, instead think creatively. Try asking a question that tells a subscriber that you’re going to give them valuable information.
  • Knowing what your audiences’ main pain-points are will help you brainstorm newsletter themes and subject lines. Imagine you’re a subscriber who sees your email – what would make you want to open it? Send test emails to your colleagues and of course yourself, and see how it works in your inbox.
  • It’s important to get the header right because it’s the first thing most recipients will see upon opening the email. Make the right first impression – modern, well designed, professional – then add in your newsletter character, branding and so on. Be consistent from the start; your header will give your newsletter a recognisable identity and branding. 
  • Include a friendly image and a short introduction from someone that best represents your organisation. A managing director, CEO or other principle figure can give your newsletter the human touch.
  • Use icons, a strong slogan or short text in your header to convey a sense of what your subscribers are about to read. Colours and fonts should be consistent with the overall look, feel and layout.
  • Headings are important for breaking up your text and allowing readers to get a quick snapshot of your content. Headings allow readers to jump to the text that interests them, and lets you draw attention to important items.
  • Similarly, use lots of strong images and visual elements to break up blocks of text and make for a more engaging, interesting experience.
  • More people are reading emails on their smartphones, and statistics show it's one of the leading uses of the internet "on the go". Make sure your newsletter design is mobile-friendly, or pick a responsive template that can change its layout automatically depending on screen size.

Thinking strategically: how to drive clicks, traffic and generate leads

  • Your newsletter design is just one aspect of your actual newsletter strategy. Remember this is a form of email marketing, so be clear of your objectives. Do you only want to keep people updated, or do you want to drive traffic and capture leads?
  • If you want to drive traffic, you need to give people a reason to click and multiple opportunities to do so. Call-to-Actions (CTAs) in the form of banners and text links are hugely important for informing readers of your offers and resources, and directing them to your landing pages where you’ll have lead capture forms.
  • Your CTAs should be a mix of graphics and text. Banners, headers and buttons make up some of visual elements, while text links like “Read more” and “Download now” will provide a logical next step at the end of your content items. 
  • Include teasers for blog articles hosted on your website, along with interesting thumbnails. These should encourage readers to read more by visiting your blog for valuable information. You can then introduce CTAs for your offers or resources within your blog articles.
  • Advanced content such as white papers work very well on newsletters, and give you something to host on a landing page behind a web form. Your subscribers should understand that they are supplying their details again in exchange for a valuable piece of content, as well as agreeing to further communications relevant to your offer. 

Case study: design and content really does generate leads

One client of ours – a Swiss technology provider – asked Versio2 to re-design its newsletter to improve click-throughs, brand visibility in its German and French-speaking key markets, and bolster lead generation.

We not only came with a new design, but a strategy based on the principles above – strong, engaging visuals and valuable content to drive traffic to a landing page.

As a result, newsletter figures in the month following the launch of its new-look newsletter were far in excess of the client’s goal of a 10% increases in click-throughs. Rises of 162% and 170% for the French and German-language newsletters, respectively, surpassed expectations. The following chart shows the German-speaking results only:

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Read about the strategy in more detail and its results in Case Study: Newsletter Re-Design for More Leads. If you would like to speak to Versio2 about redesigning your newsletter and defining a new content strategy for your company, please take a moment to read about our Newsletter Design & Campaign Starter Offer »


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