A few years ago, digital transformation was a sophisticated term which meant that a company was adopting the latest marketing techniques which …
Digital Transformation Initiatives Reach Beyond Marketing
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Posts mit dem Label Beyond werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Digital Transformation Initiatives Reach Beyond Marketing
Digital Transformation Initiatives Reach Beyond Marketing
Facebook Is Testing Empathetic Emoji To Go Beyond The Like Button
Facebook is finally moving beyond the Like.
The social network announced today that it will begin testing six emoji to enable people to react to posts with emotions other than a simple like. Now, Facebook users will be able to express love, laughter, happiness, shock, sadness and anger with a quick click or tap.
The new feature will start testing today in Ireland and Spain before an expected rollout in the rest of the world later this year. The move isn’t a surprise. Facebook users have been begging the social network for a dislike button for years, and last month CEO Mark Zuckerberg said to expect a test soon. Except, Zuckerberg said, it wouldn’t be a dislike button but something that didn’t lead to a situation where people were downvoting posts.
Emoji are an obvious solution, one that already it being used by publishers like BuzzFeed and communications services like Slack and by Facebook users who drop stickers into comments.
Facebook’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, explained in a Facebook post today:
“As you can see, it’s not a “dislike” button, though we hope it addresses the spirit of this request more broadly. We studied which comments and reactions are most commonly and universally expressed across Facebook, then worked to design an experience around them that was elegant and fun. Starting today Ireland and Spain can start loving, wow-ing, or expressing sympathy to posts on Facebook by hovering or long-pressing the Like button wherever they see it.”
The emoji options will appear across mobile and desktop versions of Facebook on posts from friends, Pages or advertisers. People pressing or hovering over the Like button will be presented with the emoji options. There will be no option to turn off the feature on posts.
For brands and publishers, the new feature will provide richer data about how people are reacting to their content. It will also give Facebook more detailed information on user preferences, which no doubt will get fed into the algorithm that determines what people see in their News Feeds.
Here’s a Facebook video showing the new feature in action:
Today we’re launching a pilot test of Reactions — a more expressive Like button. As you can see, it’s not a “dislike” button, though we hope it addresses the spirit of this request more broadly. We studied which comments and reactions are most commonly and universally expressed across Facebook, then worked to design an experience around them that was elegant and fun. Starting today Ireland and Spain can start loving, wow-ing, or expressing sympathy to posts on Facebook by hovering or long-pressing the Like button wherever they see it. We’ll use the feedback from this to improve the feature and hope to roll it out to everyone soon.
Posted by Chris Cox on Thursday, October 8, 2015
(Some images used under license from Shutterstock.com.)
Facebook Is Testing Empathetic Emoji To Go Beyond The Like Button
Beyond Email: Use Multi-channel Marketing Automation to Generate and Nurture Leads
While marketing automation is a hot topic across industries, many marketers are daunted by the complexities of combining customer journeys, content strategies, and dense technologies. Marketing automation technology allows marketers to generate and nurture leads with sequenced, segmented, and automated campaigns that deliver content at scale, with minimal intervention. Automation can be used to dynamically change content; test messaging; and sequence messages and notifications. As with any marketing initiative, the goal should always be focused on providing content that benefits your customers.
Here are some of the simplest ways to use automation to generate and nurture leads now.
Email is the granddaddy of marketing automation. It’s the best documented and most mature automation channel, and is the gateway to automation for many marketers. There are several types of emails that can be automated:
- Lead nurturing – Lead nurturing is an integral part of a successful marketing strategy, and it builds relationships at scale. Craft content that guides a potential customer through the purchasing process, incorporating third-party reviews, purchase incentives, a sense of urgency, and strong calls to action.
- Existing customer programs – Encouraging repeat purchases increases the lifetime value of your customers. If your product has a typical expiration or consumption rate, you can automate emails reminding customers to make their next purchase. You can also automate product recommendations based on past purchase behavior, broadening the customer’s awareness of your products and services.
- Cart abandonment – If a customer adds an item to their cart, and then abandons their cart before purchasing, you can automate a retargeting workflow that triggers an email to the customer with a discount code or other incentive to buy now.
- Feedback requests – Sending a well-timed message requesting customers leave an online review of a recent purchase is an efficient way to improve product ratings and reviews while gathering important feedback that strengthens your connection with existing customers.
Social Media
While social media is expected to be Always-On, your social media manager doesn’t need to be ever-present. The advantages of social media automation are as much about consistency and optimization as they are about time savings and reduced demand on resources.
- Scheduling – Content schedulers allow you to manage your content by day, week, or month and can be set up to auto publish for specific times and dates. Social media automation tools also use algorithms to optimize posts to increase the likelihood of engagement. These algorithms look beyond general best practices, and consider the engagement behavior of your followers. There are tools to manage auto-paid social advertising, which is key for improving reach and engagement.
- DMs – There are several tools that can automate direct messages to new followers. However, while many marketers want and use this feature, there’s little evidence to suggest that it works.
- Multi-platform publishing – These tools allow marketers to manage their social media content for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more from a single dashboard. However, marketers should still customize the content for each platform and its audience.
- Analytics – You can schedule standard reports for your social media platforms rather than manually running the reports each day, week, or month.
Website
Website automation is the use of special programs and other tools to manage website information. As site visitors increasingly demand precise targeting tools, marketers turn to marketing automation to optimize customer experiences and improve conversion rates.
- Shopping cart – Marketing automation can be used to reengage consumers who have abandoned their purchase after they’ve filled their shopping cart. Using behavior data as an indication of purchase intent, automation software can personalize banner ads, emails, and landing pages to reflect the interest of an individual customer.
- Retargeting ads – By implementing a sequence of JavaScript on each page of a website, retargeting or tracking IDs create a cookie or pixel that follows visitors after they leave a site. Marketers can publish banner ads that reinforce brand awareness, promote content, or encourage a purchase. This technique is among the most highly adopted lead generation tactics in use today.
Mobile
Customers have come to expect a complete experience from brands that spans time, space, and devices. Mobile marketing automation has the added complexity of context such as location and environment, but it also presents an opportunity to deliver value to your customers when they are most captive and interested in hearing from your brand.
- Location-based marketing: With GPS, geo-fencing, and iBeacon technology, marketers can present messages based on a customer’s physical location.
- Event-based triggers: Marketers can send personalized push notifications based on specific in-app behaviors
- SMS: Use SMS or “short messaging service” to market loyalty programs and communicate with your most active and opted in customers. SMS can also be automated to deliver service alerts and to keep customers aware of product status throughout their customer experience.
Despite claims to the contrary, marketing automation doesn’t exist to make marketing easier – the value of marketing automation is that it makes programs better. Use automation software to deliver a more consistent message, better track results, and to be there for your customers when they need you. Automated programs should be kept in balance with a personalized and approachable marketing content strategy that makes it clear people are behind the brand.
Beyond Email: Use Multi-channel Marketing Automation to Generate and Nurture Leads
7 Marketing Skills You Really Need In 2015 And Beyond
Marketing Skills for Marketers of Today and the Future
If you’ve been a marketer for less than a decade, you probably find it downright staggering to consider how marketing’s best practices have changed in the past 10 years. Consumers aren’t using catalogues, radio advertising, direct mail, or trade shows to make decisions any longer – at least, not at nearly the rate they used to. Social media, content marketing, apps, and personalized advertising are in. Data isn’t a mysterious asset closely guarded by the IT department any longer, either. Big data is now a necessary and accessible tool for making marketing and business decisions.
Whether you’re a seasoned marketer, small business owner, or aspiring marketer, we’ve curated an updated list of the skills you need to bring your career into this decade. Better yet, we’ve even uncovered some expert insights on the skills that will serve you best in the years to come. If building relationships and revenue today and tomorrow is what you’re after, read on:
1. Social Media
Social media is still the most popular activity on the web. However, social media in 2015 looks significantly different than it did in 2011, or even in 2013. Facebook once reigned supreme, and it’s still uber popular, with around 56% of adults as members. However, multi-platform use is on the rise. Consumers are now more likely to split their time between Facebook and other platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. Frankly, sharp marketers are starting to do the same.
Between recent changes in Facebook’s algorithm, an increase in paid social advertising, and shifts in consumer behavior, today’s marketers aren’t just focused on how to create a really great Facebook post. They’re savvy researchers, who know how to discover the platforms their customers are using, and build a presence there. Focus less on platform-specific skill sets than the social and authentic aspects of social media marketing; and your campaigns are likely to really shine.
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2. Content Marketing
Several years ago, blogging was a heavy player in marketer’s efforts to see success. Today? Blogging is still a remarkably effective tool, and HubSpot reports there are 31% more bloggerstoday than there were in 2012. However, blogging is just one form of content, and great marketers take a really comprehensive view towards building a content marketing strategy.
Marketers with a passion for content need to be able to write, edit, and articulate concepts well. They should also have a capacity for conceptualizing and creating visual content, creating real-time, relevant stories (news jacking), and taking a cross-platform approach to telling brand stories.
3. Lead Generation
Marketers can’t just focus on driving web traffic or gaining a social media following. The art of lead generation is crucial for exceptional inbound marketing; and it simply can’t be overlooked in today’s highly competitive atmosphere.
What does exceptional lead generation look like in 2015 and beyond? It could encompass eBooks, whitepapers, webinars, or other on-demand resources. It will likely include well-designed landing pages, too. However, the most critical aspect of lead generation is the concept of give and take. You ask your prospects for just enough information that they’re comfortable opting-in to your email list; in exchange, you offer them truly valuable and relevant information.
4. Email Marketing
I’m sorry, but email marketing isn’t dead. Spam and obnoxiously aggressive email marketing campaigns should have died years ago, but truly great email marketing? It’s definitely here to stay. Exact Target reports that nearly half of consumers make at least one purchase per year based on email marketing, and some 56% of marketers plan to increase their email marketing budget in the year to come.
While best practices are likely to continue to change, exceptional email marketing campaigns are always highly informative, personalized, and relevant to the recipients. Developing the ability to intelligently segment a list and target messages accordingly can only serve inbound marketers well.
5. Relationship Building and Networking
Marketers are essentially connectors. Really, they’re in the business of connecting consumers with needed products or service solutions, and their employers with a steady stream of new revenue. For this reason, a marketer’s career will be much more successful if they’re able to build relationships both on and offline.
Marketers need the ability to develop and project a consistent personal and professional brand online, through social media and content marketing. They need the customer service skills to professionally engage with prospects and customers in online forums. Perhaps most importantly, marketers shouldn’t overlook offline events for marketing their brands, which Content Marketing Institute reports are still among one of the most effective marketing methods.
6. Web Technologies and User Experience
97% of consumers look up a product or service online before making their final purchase. There is no changing the fact that a company’s website is their calling card. Do all inbound marketers need the ability to code a beautiful, mobile-responsive website from the ground up? Not really, especially if they’re in a position to outsource their web design to an agency or on-staff IT professional.
However, every marketer needs to understand the difference between good and bad web design, and be able to articulate this difference in a more detailed manner than simply stating “that is one ugly website!” Understand a bit about how the human mind works, and the behavioral psychology principles behind user experience. Know how humans and technology interact, and how this should affect your site’s design, layout, and load times. Keep up to date on best practices, and your brand will never suffer a terrible website.
7. Customer Service
If there was a single aspect of marketing that will never, ever change, it would undoubtedly be customer service. Brands that put people first, such as Whole Foods and Nordstrom, continue to experience growth and high customer satisfaction year over year. The focus on your marketing campaign should be to make your prospects happy, and reward your existing customer base.
Regardless of whether you’ve been marketing for 20 years or you’re just breaking into the field, remember that you are ultimately a customer service professional. As a public-facing member of your enterprise, your primary role is to represent your brand, and ensure high satisfaction with your organization. Every single marketer can benefit from continual attention to their customer service skills – in fact, this applies to every professional, too!
What are some of the skills you think are crucial to inbound marketers in 2015 and beyond? How do you feel they’ve changed over the past several years?
7 Marketing Skills You Really Need In 2015 And Beyond
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