Selling with Content

How blog content became a pool company's best salesperson

This is  great video produced by Michael Seltzer, owner of the Social Media Examiner. Seltzer interviews Marcus Sheridan, owner of River Pools and Spas who tells his story of how posting blog content, as part of an inbound marketing program, turnred his business around after it tanked in 2008 when the recession hit.  

There are several videos about Sheridan's story, but for me, this one stands out because Seltzer digs out the details. We find out how content became Sheridan’s best saleperson, and exactly what kind of content he posted. I especially like this story because it is about selling swimming pools, not the latest high tech gear that has a lot of intrinsic interest. No, nothing with that much sizzle, swimming pools. If this approach can work selling swimming pools, it can help sell anything.   

 

Read all of Seltzer's helpful commentary about his interview: How to Use Content to Increase Your Sales

Content creation becomes the top SEO tactic

The series of "Panda" changes to the Google search algorithm that started in February 2011 have shaken up the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) world. The stated goal of the changes is to reduce the ranking of sites that post a lot of reused content, and reward sites with original content.

This change may have shaken up how marketers see SEO as well.

In 2010 when the "Marketing Sherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Survey" asked respondents from search agencies to pick the "most effective" SEO (search engine optimization) tactic, 83% chose “keyword research” as the top selection.

One year later, in the 2011 version of the same survey, there were some small changes. The name of the "top box" selection was changed from "most effective" to "very effective," and the mix of tactics changed.

But the biggest change: marketers now consider "content creation" as the top SEO tactic pulling ahead of last year's winner, "Keyword" choice.

In just one year, "content creation" has clearly moved to the top of the SEO agenda. Blogging, the tactic renown for pumping fresh content into websites, more than doubled in importance moving from 15% in 2010 to 31% in 2011.

While content moved up, several "traditional" SEO tactics showed big drops. “Keyword search” dropped from 83% to 43%, title tags from 50% to 42%.

If you want better SEO, think about your content!

See the 2010 result See the 2011 result

As social media saves the broadcast market, can it help yours?

As younger TV viewers watch a program, many of them chat about it on social media. Is this a big deal? Watching this happen as the parent of a teenager, I'd say maybe not. But it is actually proving to be important for the economic health of the broadcast industry.   

      All media companies are fighting ad commoditization because new digital media are being created every day. For example, this is happening with banner ads on consumer websites. In 2005, Bain & Company reported that there were over 200 million ad impressions offered to media buyers in the US. Three years later, in 2008, there were four times as many, or about 800 million offered. Why? Because the number of websites offering consumer advertising increased proportionally. During this same time, the cost of these website banners (as measured in CPM) dropped by half. It is simple supply and demand.  

     The television organizations are in the same boat. As more ways to view television become available, more ad inventory is added and ad prices drop. With an oversupply of digital media, media buyers have stopped putting as much value on "eyeballs" and instead now focus on finding media that delivers more "engagement."

     Media buyers are interested in social media, not because it is cool, but because it is highly engaging. Television programs with a social media trail have a certain proof of media engagement. If a TV viewer likes a program enough to watch it, that's good. But if a viewer likes a show enough to watch it and chat about it to friends on social media, it proves a higher level of engagement.

     Last May at the "Upfront Market" an event where broadcasters showcase their new fall programs and can sell up to 70% of their ad inventory for the year, social media was center stage. As reported in The New York Times:  

"At almost every turn this week, television networks are talking about being liked - not only in the ratings, but also on Facebook and Twitter. Social media have been an integral part of the sales pitch at the "upfront" presentations held by Fox on Monday, ABC on Tuesday and CBS on Wednesday."

    A TV show that can prove engagement can often keep ad pricing at a higher level despite lower ratings. A recent study by TV Guide measured the top ten "social shows" of the 2010-2011 season, and many were not the top rated shows. They are: 
 
 1. NCIS
 2. American Idol
 3. Criminal Minds
 4. Glee
 5. House
 6. Fringe
 7. Bones
 8. Castle
 9. Smallville
10. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

     As the TV world becomes more fragmented and broadcasters struggle against the commoditization of their ad inventory, social TV may be a big help in proving engagement and keeping their prices from sliding. 

OK, now let's talk about social media as part of the marketing at your company. The real value of social media is not that is "cool" but because it generates customer engagement. If social media has the power to create enough engagement to save the broadcast market ...think it can with yours? 
 
     Read The New York Times account of social media at the Upfront event:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/business/media/19adco.html

     Read the TV Guide social media study:
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Most-Social-NCIS-Idol-1033024.aspx         

Search is first source for company news, then online news, then print

The British PR company Edelman has been doing an international survey on the topic of "trust" for eleven years now. Because they are a communications company some of the questions always drift over into media topics. This year's study (2011) was no different. With 5,075 responses from 23 countries the study offers an international perspective often hard to find. One finding answers a questions many in the B to B world ask a lot these days: how do people now find out information about companies? This is an important question ask because as potential buyers begin searching for information, understanding where they are looking helps marketers know how to reach them at this critical time.    

When respondent were asked where they "generally go first" for information about a company, search was the top choice (29%), followed by on-line news sites (19%), and then print sources (15%). Going to the company website received only 11%, and social media only 5%.
Some observations:

• When people want news about a company, the perspective of a 3rd party seems very important, otherwise why wouldn't they just go to the website of the company in question?
• With all the consumer buzz over social media, it does not seem to hold up well as a business news source. Great place to keep up with friends? Yes. Place to find information about companies? Not so much.
• For those who say that print is finished as a communications medium, think again. While a third place finish may not be great compared to a few years ago, it is still prominently on the map.  

Download the entire Edelman study HERE.

 

A marketing definition of “content”

    Failure to define content in specific terms is the biggest reason content marketing and social media programs fail. But to define the content of a program we first need to define content itself. 

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, content is:

 

a) Something contained- usually used in plural, ie. the jar’s contents or the drawer’s contents

 

b) The topics or matter treated in a written work, ie. “table of contents.”

“Something contained?” Is that all? No way! For marketing professionals “content” cannot be a vague amorphous thing that just fits in where we put it, it is our life blood. Neither is it just a list of topics on a page, it is the prime weapon we use to fight our battles.

 

Here is my definition of "content" which is extremely helpful in getting new content marketing and social media clients off to the right start:  

 

“Content is information with a purpose

designed to change a target audience.”

Let me describe the four elements of this definition:

 

• Information: I use this word in the widest possible way. Information can be newspaper articles, photos, news, stories, analysis, research, pictures, video, or data.

• Purpose driven: in marketing, content is created for a specific mission with nothing random about it. If the content created does not have a purpose, neither will the website, newsletter, magazine or Twitter account built with it. There is nothing magical about a Twitter account or a newsletter. Just becuse you build it, doe not mean they come. The engagement comes from the content, not the platform. On a technical level, Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh's Twitter account with close to 2 million followers is identical to mine with only 773. 

 • Change: after reading, viewing, or consuming content the audience must be changed in some way. I’m not saying every piece of content has to be life changing but it must be create some change. For example, after consuming content an audience member might be more informed, more entertained, less anxious, more hopeful, more likely to buy a certain product  etc. Content that does not create change is useless.

 

• Target audience: in marketing, content is created for a target audience. Without a well defined target in mind its hard to create content that will hit it. Content audiences can be very varied, for example: car enthusiasts, wine lovers, women between 18-25 years, upper income New Jersey residents, etc.

 Before you launch your next content marketing program think about the purpose driven information you will need to create, that will change a target audience. If you do this first, the rest gets easier. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The customer feedback salepeople miss that social media hears

Your organizations salespeople can be a terrific source of customer feedback, so can a social media listening program. Do you need them both? Yes.

Research from a recent study I did for NCI, the largest real estate publishing company in the country, documents an area of customer feedback that salespeople typically miss. This same area is one where social media listening excels: understanding why customers leave.  

The NCI study of over 5,000 respondents asked home sellers why they leave, or fire, real estate agents they are working with to sell their home. At the same time, we asked real estate agents why they think their customers, the home sellers, leave them. Comparing the results tells a universal truth about the selling process and the limits of the customer feedback it gathers.  

A majority of real estate agents (58%), assumed that "lack of progress" in selling a home, was the main reason a home seller would leave them. Reasonable. But the miss comes in assumng this is the only significant reason. Agents assume that all other reasons a customer would leave them are of little consequence: 

• Agent did not spend enough time: 14%
• Other agent seemed more competent 8%
• Other agent seemed more eager  8%
• Agent did not give progress updates 4%

        All other responses were 3% or less

But when home sellers were asked why they left the real estate agents, it was clear that other factors were important as well. Lack of progress was still the top reason with 45% picking it (vs. 58% for agents), but other reasons were far more important than agents thought:     

• Agent did not spend enough time: 37%  (only 14% of agents thought so )
• Not impressed with agents selling skills: 27% (only 1% of agents thought so)
• Agent did not give progress updates:  25% (only 4% of agents thought so)
• Agent gave too many excuses 23% (only 1% of agents thought so)
• Agent focused on selling other homes 19% (only 1% of agents thought so)  

For all the comparisons, here is a chart from the NCI study:  
 
Clearly, the real estate agents are not getting the whole story but typically it is not their fault. When a buyer, of any kind, decides to buy from someone else, they often give the losing salesperson an expedient excuse that is light on details, "competition gave us a crazy price", "my boss over ruled me", or "we just thought we'd try something new." An honest answer to a salesperson or real estate agent can revitalize the salesperson's efforts resulting in phone calls, e-mail, and meetings over a decision that has already been made. 

Social media listening is the opposite. Monitoring "customer dissatisfaction" is a core function. Angry customers who are leaving or have left your company often vent frustrations through social media channels. If you are listening you can "hear" the complaints and respond appropriately. 

Read more about the NCI study

Steve Jobs shows that great content always finds a way

Whatever you are doing for the next 15 minutes, will probably not be as useful as watching this video of Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University. 

Jobs talks on how he set life  priorities from three difficult experiences: his early life as an adopted child, being fired from Apple in 1985, and his life and death encounter with pancreatic cancer. It is a serious, timeless piece of wisdom from an iconic American hero...great content!

But as I watched the video I saw something unsettling. The Stanford students were barely listening to Jobs. At the start many were talking in the background. Into the speech, audience laughter came at times as if the students were watching a TV sitcom rather than serious lessons of life and death. 

But with social media, great content can endure beyond initial audience indifference. This video is alive and well on YouTube, where it has been seen by millions (3.6 million on one of many posts), on iTunes, blogs, and websites. 

Since 2005 Jobs went on to become Amerca's most respected CEO. As he departs for yet another leave from Apple for unspecified health issues, the message of this address seems more urgent than ever. No one is laughing or talking in the background now.

 

Most marketers: Social Media is cheap and cool but not very effective

Social Media's rapid adoption has been primarily because it is cheap and cool. Being effective? Not so much.

Blasphemy? Not really. We have all read the high profile Social Media success stories and know they deliver "the goods." But the majority of the Social Media use I see "on the street" is pretty basic stuff:

• Send out a press release, Tweet about it.
• Have a company event, put it up on a Facebook page.
• Come out with a new product, post it on your blog.
• Etc.

At this level of execution, Social Media is not the tip of the marketing spear, but just offering support to PR and other "exposure" functions. In cases like these, it is hard to isolate tangible results leadingna majority of marketers to doubt the effectiveness of their Social Media.

A recent study by Junta42 and MarketingProfs well documented this.

First, the good news: when close to 1,000 marketing directors were asked which content marketing tactics they now use, Social Media (less blogs) topped the list with 79% saying they are users:

But later the study came to a different finding: despite marketers using Social Media more than any other tactic, it is also the tactic they least believe to be effective (only 31% do). Also, more than any other tactic measured, 69% of respondents believe Social Media to be "less effective" or "ineffective." Ouch! Not good ratings for a medium that prides itself on being highly measurable. What is going on here?

Let's look at cost. While access to Facebook and Twitter (etc) are free, dedicating talent to get a Social Media program done right is not. As anyone reading this blog should know by now, good content is not cheap and a Social Media program is only as good as its content.

But marketers see this differently, Social Media might not be free, but deploying it can cost less than deploying any other tactic on the Junta42/Marketing Profs Study list.

And we cannot ignore the cool factor. I can't tell you how many companies have told me they deployed Social Media programs because their younger employees told them they had to do it.

The message for those of us advocating for a more engaged use of Social Media in business is simple: don't think because Social Media is everywhere that everyone thinks it is effective. Most marketers are still not convinced.

For now, Social Media is everywhere because it is cool and cheap. Someday, it might also become widely used, and used differently, because of its effectiveness. But if this study is to be believed, this time has not yet come.

Download the Junta42/Marketing Profs study

"Online media is bought on religion or politics"

Susan Bratton’s “DishyMix” podcast came up with up one of the funniest and succinct descriptions of how media gets bought during her interview with media metrics guru, Jim Sterne (photo at left). Sterne is the founder of the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summits where online wizards gather to interpret data from online programs and ad campaigns.

In the world on online ad metrics you would think that the numbers would speak for themselves and there be little room for the human element. Wrong. When Sterne talks about how media decisions get made, metrics and all, the human element is still very much present.

According to Sterne media is bought on either "religion or politics." According to Sterne, “If it’s religion, your CMO 15 years ago was good at buying television. So television gets all the money ‘cause that’s what he knows. Or, she really was a brilliant “search” marketing person, so search gets the focus. She’s the hammer and everything looks like a nail.”

“Politics is where the corporate search guy is going to get more money because he has known the CMO longer or has more power.”

Sterne summarizes, "You know it’s religion if they say, 'You know I’ve always done it this way and it’s worked for me.' It's politics when they say, 'Gees, we don’t have enough resources and this seems like the best way to go."

Click to listen to or download the DishyMix podcast featuring Jim Sterne here