B2B Monday Myth: I Can Save Money By Keeping Digital Marketing In-House
by MGB2B
The Myth: Keeping Digital Marketing In-House Saves You Money
The Truth: With All the People You Need to Hire, Outside Help Is Worth Looking Into
Some companies are big enough that they can afford the marketing team they need to run their digital campaigns. But often, this is not the case. The number of people you need to have on staff to do digital marketing well is higher than you might think.
Think about it in terms of the different channels you need to drive prospects into your sales funnel. Then, consider the people who make that happen. Let’s take a look at the key components of a strong digital program:
- Paid Search and SEO. These are easily two of the most important parts of a successful digital marketing program, but B2B brands are often unsure of how to execute them successfully. You can hire an expert internally or an outside agency to help you avoid roadblocks.
- Email. This is easily overlooked, but it is essential for reaching both prospects and current customers. Whoever runs your email program should know everything there is about segmentation, testing, landing pages, and reporting (just to name a few).
- Content Creation. This is a big one. Content takes a lot of time. And often a lot of people, depending on how many pieces of content you’d like to produce each month. The best thing to do is calculate that first, then figure out how many people you’ll need to pull it off. Some companies use 1 or 2 people. Larger brands often have entire content studios producing their content. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, your content team will also rely on some of your key staff outside of the marketing department for stories, demos, and other substantial pieces they can turn into engaging content. Together, you can create the arsenal of content you need for a successful campaign.
- Social Media. Have interns running your company’s social media? You may want to rethink that. Content is no good unless it’s distributed properly. You’ll need someone who can not only post now and again but create an overarching social media strategy that can be fine-tuned and perfected over time.
- Design. With increasing demand for compelling visual content and landing pages that drive prospects to convert, you’ll need a talented designer to help you. Many B2B brands focus on quantity when it comes to content, leaving design and writing to fall by the wayside. But you can’t underestimate the importance of design. Simple, intuitive design is a difficult goal to achieve, but there are designers out there who make it happen every day. Those are the ones you want to work with.
- Reporting. Some reporting will fall to your Search person. Some to your Email person. And some to your Social person. But you’re going to need someone who can evaluate everything from the top down and make recommendations to improve your marketing program overall. This might be your Marketing Director or someone beneath him or her. But it needs to be someone who’s good with numbers. And someone who both cares about accuracy and can interpret data.
- Web Development. Not all web developers are created equal. If you’re lucky, you can find one who is brilliant not just at coding but at understanding the consumer’s journey online. They understand the importance of user experience. And do everything they can to make it smooth and seamless. There are not many who have mastered this. So when you find someone who has, do whatever you can to make them stick around for as long as possible.
Depending on the needs of your organization, you’ll need at least one person working in each of these categories (if not more!). And you won’t likely want entry-level people in these positions.
So, using the list above, add up the salaries of your mid-to-expert-level internal digital team. Then compare the total to what an ad agency or other outside service might charge. More likely than not, your number is going to be higher than the agency’s.
Often what works best is a mix of an internal team and an outside agency. Your lean, internal team works with the agency to develop a sound marketing strategy, and each one uses their strengths to implement the seven key components listed above. Which gives you the most bang for your marketing buck. And keeps you – and your CFO – smiling.
Continue ReadingB2B Monday Myth: B2B Copy Should Be All Business
by MGB2B
This may be a myth you’ve heard debunked before. It’s not a new concept: B2B doesn’t need to be boring. And it 100% should not be. Especially if you want to stand out in a sea of B2B mediocrity.
Because even though the All-Business-All-the-Time Myth has been debunked many times, there is no shortage of stiff, unreadable B2B copy in the world today. In fact, that describes the majority of B2B copy.
Now how much you can loosen up depends largely on your audience. While you want to be conversational, you also don’t want to take any guidance from say, your favorite stand-up comedian. But most likely, what resonates with your audience will fall somewhere in between where you are now and Stand-Up Johnny’s saltiest script.
Here Are a Few B2B Copy Tips to Get Started:
- Look to Your Audience First. A little research can go a long way. Talk to some of your key salespeople, staff members and customers to establish a brand voice and messaging that will resonate with your target. Once the brand voice is established, make sure that voice appears everywhere. You don’t want someone to click on an ad and discover a website that looks and sounds like a completely different company.
- Write Like You Talk. Pretend you’re having a conversation with a friend. Whether your audience is reading a blog post, an ad, or your website, they need to feel like you are talking to them. They might be looking for ways your brand can help or empower them. But, just like your friends, they don’t want to hear you bragging about yourself.
- Tap Into the Emotions of Your Potential Buyer. It turns out that B2B buyers are not that different from the average retail consumer. The purchasing process is not devoid of emotion; in fact, emotion is often what drives the process.
- Include Calls to Action. Ads need them. Emails need them. Websites and landing pages REALLY need them. Even direct mail. The Call to Action. It’s almost like the holy grail of copy. Why? Because that’s how your prospects will know what to do after they’ve read your friendly B2B copy. That’s how you convert them. And that, most important of all, is how you’re going to know which channels work, and which ones don’t. Which brings us to…
- Reevaluate and Refine. Today’s analytics can tell you a lot about what’s effective and what’s not. You can test messages almost anywhere. Banner Ads. Paid Search. Subject Lines. If you test which messages are most effective at converting your prospects into customers, you’ll be able to become consistently more effective with your messaging.
So What Now? Where Do I Begin?
Pull a few different pieces from your marketing arsenal – both online and off. Read them out loud. Have your significant other read them too. Does the copy sound strained or boring? Time to breathe some new life into your brand voice.
Does it sound smooth and conversational (but not too salesy)? Maybe it only needs a few tweaks here and there. Either way, a simple review is an exercise worth going through. You might start by hiring a professional writer or an ad agency to help you evaluate and get your brand headed in the right direction.
One thing is for certain – in today’s competitive environment, you can’t afford NOT to have effective copy.
Continue ReadingB2B Monday Myth: Your Website Is an Online Brochure
by MGB2B
The Myth: Your Website Is Like an Online Brochure
The Truth: Your Website Should Be Used as an Engagement Tool
Your website should offer more to your visitors than a listing of services or products. It should do more than simply tell people who you are (although it should do that at the very least). Think about what your prospects want from your website. Then think about what you want them to find out.
Take into account how your prospects make purchasing decisions. Chances are, a visitor is not going to arrive on your home page and decide right then to buy your product. It takes time, and they are likely exploring competitors. To foster engagement, your website must go beyond what’s contained in a traditional brochure. But it needs to have a clear path for your prospects to follow.
Here Are the Keys to Building a Better B2B Website, and More Effectively Convert Leads:
Define The Primary Function Of Your Site
Clearly identify what you want people to get out of your website. What actions would you like them to take now that they’ve visited you? Is your overall goal to provide buying solutions, or is it to direct a customer to a sales representative? These two functions are very different, and the decision you make will change how your website is set up. Once you know what you want your visitors to do, you can provide them with a clear call-to-action.
Give Your Home Page Purpose
Your home page should very clearly state who you are and what you do. These are basics for what the visitor should get from initially viewing your website. It is also helpful to state your value proposition, or a clear statement that tells the customer what benefits you can provide them.
This may be the first thing website visitors see when checking out your website. First impressions are important. If your home page has too much going on, or doesn’t have a clear call-to-action, people will move on. Keep it simple and easy to navigate.
Create User-Focused Landing Pages to Build Your Leads List
If you haven’t already, you should consider landing pages that live as a part of your website but focus on specific topics that interest prospects. For instance, if you are a manufacturer or components for multiple verticals, but you want to push a product that benefits only the aerospace community, a specific landing page will help you get the job done. You can drive the exact type of prospect you are looking for to this page using Paid Search. If their search terms match what you’re offering, they find a product that is relevant to them instead of finding your home page. Furthermore, you can use the page to capture their information and get them into your sales funnel, instead of having them kick around on your home page, then bounce on over to your competitor’s site.
Use Content To Your Advantage
Another way to drive people to your website is by creating relevant content, usually in the form of a blog. Doing so is a good way to provide information while positioning yourself as an honest company with integrity and authority. Some larger companies go beyond the blog and create full, separate sites just devoted to content. You have to examine what your capacity is for creating content, and churn out only what you feel will be most effective given the time you put into creating it. Whatever you create, make sure it is optimized in order to draw in prospects who are in the right mindset. It is a slower burn than Paid Search, but a great way to gain the trust of a prospect over time.
If your website is only providing information, you are missing out on these key opportunities. Give your site more of a purpose, and use the web as a tool instead of a stand-alone collateral piece, and you’ll both engagement and leads start to rise.
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