Marketing Guru Ashok Lalla Talks About The Past, Present And Future Of Digital Marketing !

Ashok Lalla

Ashok Lalla has been in the field of marketing for the past 16 years. After driving digital marketing strategy for brands such as Infosys and Taj Hotel Resorts and Places, Mr Lalla is now an Independent Digital and Marketing Advisor and continues to work with some of the top brands in the country. In this interview with Techstory, Mr Lalla talks about how digital marketing has evolved over the past 16 years and how brands can mix online and offline marketing strategies to design a winning campaign.

You have been in the field of marketing since the time internet was not in widespread use. How do you think the way companies look at customers has changed from then to now?

Back in 2000, when I started out in Digital Marketing (called Internet Marketing back then), brands in India were just beginning to discover the Internet. Most focused on building websites (mousetraps they believed the world would beat a path to). Soon they discovered that traffic did not come naturally and then focused on spending on Search to drive their brand’s Internet visibility. Ecommerce wasn’t really a focus for most.

16 years on, the Internet has evolved enormously and not surprisingly, the way brands look at it has evolved too. Today, most brands look to drive their presence beyond just websites and look for more than just traffic to their websites. They seek everything from driving brand visibility to creating brand preference to driving direct and indirect sales to using digital as an important means of delivering customer service and getting consumer insights and feedback.

Marketing has evolved from a common message to all consumers to different messages to different groups of consumers to personalized messages to every consumer. Do you believe that marketing is more and more becoming a function of technology and the company with the best technology will win the branding game?

In theory, digital allows brands to deliver unique messages to their customers. In reality, there is still a lot of push of conventional messages delivered through various digital channels and content formats.

Technology is just an enabler and a means to an end. The development of appropriate brand messages to various audiences is still the task of brand custodians. Technology merely helps connect brands to consumers faster, further and in newer ways.

In times when marketing is becoming more and more personalized, what according to you is the future of mass marketing techniques such as television and print advertising?

Television and print has a role to play in the marketing mix and is unlikely to go away anytime soon. The crores of rupees routinely spent by ecommerce brands in India on print, TV and outdoor advertising to drive traffic to their online stores is testiment to this.

That said, we are seeing more integration of TV and social media and even with print and social though to a smaller extent.

What is changing is how the digital footprints of print and TV channels is growing and evolving beyond just being an online version of offline content. This change is seeing brands seek to build better integrated communications strategies, and also accepting the reality that conventional linear narrative is passé. Over the next couple of years we will see this integrated space evolve further and it’s use get more sophisticated too.

Do you think review sites that allow customers to provide feedback about brands is putting a lot of pressure on companies? Do you think customer becoming the king can affect companies in a negative way? How do you think companies can best handle this situation?

Customer online reviews and their using digital to express displeasure or demand service is growing. Brands are gearing up to recognise that digital (and more so social media) is becoming the default channel for customer expression. Several have already adopted means of listening and responding to feedback in realtime. More evolved brands have even integrated their social channels with their CRM systems so they can respond appropriately to their customers.

Outraging and overly demanding customers is something brands are learning to deal with online, as outrage can spread quickly. At the same time, consumers are also learning to accept that while acknowledgement of their feedback online maybe quick, the actual resolution may take longer, and often require offline intervention and interactions.

What are some of the latest techniques that companies are using in the field of digital marketing?

Taking an integrated approach to digital marketing as part of the larger marketing and business approach is the best way for brands to leverage the true potential of digital. Unfortunately, we still see many brands take a siloed approach to digital and even treat channels and platforms within digital and social independently.

There is a huge lack of clarity about ROI of digital marketing. What do you think this is still the case? What according to you is the solution to this problem?

Most brands still look at lower order metrics from digital such as views, likes, shares, visits… As brands evolve to understand digital better and take a more integrated approach to it, they are seeking to go beyond these relatively trivial metrics to more meaningful marketing and business metrics. Achieving this requires a better integration of digital marketing with the rest of marketing, as well as investing in systems that integrate metrics across channels and roll them up into marketing metrics.

What are some of the biggest challenges that digital marketers are facing today?

The top 3 challenges for marketers in India today would include:
– Cracking the integration game effectively. This is true both at the marketeer end and the agency end. Everyone is talking integration but most are still struggling with its effective implementation.
– Understanding the real digital opportunity in India where English continues to be the major language of the Internet and data speeds and access creates challenges in reaching and influencing consumers.
– Going beyond the mindset of giving discounts and freebies as the only way of acquiring customers. This has become almost endemic in the ecommerce space with most brands unable to think beyond discounting as a marketing strategy.

(Image Credits: Freepik)

Marketing Guru Ashok Lalla Talks About The Past, Present And Future Of Digital Marketing !

SVAKOM Invites Interested Candidates to Proclaim About Their Affiliate Program

It is a good method to make money without much effort

This press release was orginally distributed by SBWire

Newark, DE — (SBWIRE) — 11/27/2015 — The launch of their affiliate program by SVAKOM has garnered a lot of interest amongst people who wish to make money by way of commissions of 25 to 30% on sales of their products. The Company was founded in 2006 and deals with massagers for women. It is said to be a pioneer in such products and has a variety of them to choose from. All those who wish to know more about the affiliate plan can visit http://www.svakom.net/affiliate.html.

Anyone who has a blog, manages their YouTube Channel or owns a website can consider marketing their products on their respective platforms. They claim to provide banners and images to such people and also invite reviews of their products after using them. These massagers are of the rechargeable kinds and are said to be of high quality.

The website says, “The manufacture of our products is done by following the ‘green’ method. There is a lot of auditing that is done at various stages of the production to ensure high levels of quality and effectiveness. We are an international brand that has pioneered the usage of cameras and an ‘Intelligent Mode’ in massagers to make them more interesting.”

To obtain more information about the program, visit http://www.svakom.net/affiliate.html.

About svakom.net/affiliate.html
The website claims that they provide distinctive products to their customers and this is what has made them popular in several countries. Their affiliate program is believed to be a lucrative chance for interested people who have the relevant platforms to market their merchandise.

Media Contact

SVAKOM Design USA Limited
Address: 113 Barksdale Pro Ctr
Newark, DE 19711
Contact Number: +1-844-478-2566
Email: customer-service@svakom.net
URL: http://www.svakom.net/affiliate.html

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/svakom-invites-interested-candidates-to-proclaim-about-their-affiliate-program-645200.htm

SVAKOM Invites Interested Candidates to Proclaim About Their Affiliate Program

Viralnomics: How to Get People to Want to Talk About You

“A must-read for anyone who wants to win at social.” – Jonah Berger (NYT Bestselling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On)

***Discover how to get the right type of people to want talk about you.***

ARE YOU SHARING GREAT WORK, but it seems nobody is listening? Does it seem like you’re at the mercy of social networks’ mysterious algorithms? Do you feel like it is an insurmountable task to understand and leverage social media?

In Viralnomics: How to Get People to Want to Talk About You, Jonathan Goodman shows you how to appeal to people’s desires and get them to share your message as an extension of themselves.

In this engaging, entertaining, and educational quick read you will discover:

• Methods to ethically persuade on social media so that you can market all of the time. (pg 105)


• How to identify and befriend the real influencers (they aren’t who you think they are) because once you know who they are, it’s easier to gain access to customers. (pg 23)


• A concept buried deep in psychological research that holds the secret to purposeful social sharing. (pg 53)


• The two keys to creating true power with Internet marketing for more sales. (pg 65)


• How to craft your messages and build your networks so that you have a clear plan for all of your social media marketing efforts. (pg 115)

If you desire to use social media marketing to get your product, service, or small business out to the right audience you don’t need to understand what buttons to push, you need to understand and appeal to the people pushing them. This book will help.

Don’t delay, scroll up and get the best book on social media today!

Click Here For More Information

Viralnomics: How to Get People to Want to Talk About You

What Merchants Need to Know About Affiliate Fraud

Affiliate marketing has grown from a new tool to a multi-billion dollar industry over the past two decades, and like any relatively new process, it has admirers—including the merchants who are projected to spend $4.5 billion on affiliate marketing in 2016—and critics, who raise concerns about the potential for fraud.

As with ecommerce in general, merchants who prioritize fraud prevention and detection will benefit the most from affiliate marketing relationships, while those who don’t do their research are putting their revenue stream, reputation and banking relationships at risk.

Fortunately for merchants, there are established practices to get affiliate marketing right. Recognizing the forms that affiliate fraud can take, understanding the consequences, and following safety recommendations can reduce the risks.

Many Types of Affiliate Fraud

As with credit card fraud, affiliate fraudsters have developed a number of URLS (“typosquatting”), and outright malware. In the most extreme cases, fraudulent affiliates make purchases with stolen credit card data or lure customers with false product claims.

The Consequences of Affiliate Fraud

Cookie-stuffing and other tricks that allow affiliates to claim credit for transactions they didn’t generate costs merchants money in wasted commission payments. The loss might only amount to a few hundred dollars if the merchant is vigilant and catches the fraud early, but in some cases thieves will get away with millions. Perhaps the most high-profile example involved eBay affiliates who authorities say bilked the company out of up to $35 million.

Commission losses are reason enough to take an aggressive stance against affiliate fraud, but the damage can go much farther. Customers who buy based on false or misleading claims made by scam affiliates are almost certain to file chargeback requests—as are consumers whose stolen card data is used to make commissioned purchases. By that time, of course, the duplicitous affiliate has already received a hefty commission, so the targeted merchant is liable for the lost commission, the lost product or service, and chargeback fees. On top of that, false affiliate promises can wreck a company’s reputation among shoppers, and excessive chargebacks can raise processing rates or even shut down a merchant’s banking relationships altogether.

How Merchants Can Protect Their Affiliate Programs

The single best practice a merchant can follow is to get to know their partners in affiliate marketing. This includes not only outside program managers and network contacts but the affiliates themselves. Merchants can meet prospective affiliates, build lasting relationships, and keep up with the latest developments at industry events like Affiliate Summit and in online forums for merchants and affiliates. Depending upon the size of the business and the resources available for in-house affiliate marketing, merchants should either vet prospective affiliates individually or through a trusted affiliate program manager.

All merchants should take the following steps, as well. Gather, keep and regularly review as much program information as possible, such as IP addresses, referring URLS, and chargeback code data to see if patterns are developing that might indicate affiliate fraud. Some merchants have been able to spot cookie-stuffing schemes early on by reviewing this data daily or even hourly.

Ensure that your payment service provider (PSP) will screen new affiliates and incoming referrals to ensure that they don’t originate from IP addresses that are on suppression lists, to stop fraud before it starts. Create offers that contain fraud-abatement tools to verify and screen incoming traffic.

Regularly visit affiliates online to ensure that they’re presenting the company’s products and services accurately, without language that might mislead customers and lead to chargebacks and reputation damage. Finally, train employees to contact customers if there is a concern about an affiliate-referred transaction, to confirm the legitimacy of the purchase before fulfilling the order.

Managing risk in affiliate programs does take time and vigilance, but the rewards for merchants are a larger pool of prospective customers, more sales, and good relationships with customers, partners, and banks.

Kirsty Tull is marketing manager at BillPro

What Merchants Need to Know About Affiliate Fraud

What Every Marketer Needs To Know About Facebook Relevance Scores

Paid advertising has been a growing trend in digital marketing as new channels continue to open up and online users continue to grow more diverse …

What Every Marketer Needs To Know About Facebook Relevance Scores

Chad Ian Lieberman Originator Talks about The Future of Virtual Reality Treadmill

(1888PressRelease) Mr. Chad Lieberman Internet Marketing Consultant examines how big virtual reality has become as Virtual demonstrated their most recent version of WalkEstate.

“Virtual Reality treadmills are a thing right now, even as we wait for the commercial release of the VR headset from WalkEstate. The design has been on Virtue’s workbench for more than two years, and will likely be launched before the year ends,” described an excited Mr. Chad Lieberman.

Chad Ian was addressing a discussion on present and future technological advances for common life applications in a recent summit help in New York City, among a crown of technology experts and lovers from all walks of life.

According to Mr. Lieberman, the technology is intended for home consumers, and already has 4,000 preorders just waiting for the launch of the devices. The WalkEstate is currently in the manufacturing phase, and will begin shipping out to consumers before the end of 2016, he says.

Further describing it, he stated that the treadmill was accompanied by tracking pods and special shoes with which users can run and walk while sucked into a game. It also has a harness for support, giving the very concept of VR another useful application.

“Physical movement takes your enjoyment of VR to the next level, which is why the WalkEstate is so awesome. The player can walk and jump 360 degrees within virtual environments. Imagine if you’re in a real war zone with all that comes with it – actively pursuing an enemy, getting away from danger, hiding – the whole nine yards.

Amid general skepticism, Mr. Chad Ian Lieberman Internet Marketing Expert stated that the immediate demand indicates that virtual reality is something the market is ready for. “It’s just that it hasn’t until now been done right and hasn’t been affordable for the average consumer.”

In conclusion, he was sure the VR treadmill will really change the VR experience for most homes. At the very least, there are 4,000 people who believe in it, and the number can only go up.

About Chad Ian Lieberman New York

Chad Ian Lieberman New York started over 9 years ago, and it boasts a cumulative experience in easy and cost effective search engine marketing services, including search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, online reputation management, linking and PPC management to help businesses of all kinds remain competitive and increase their visibility on the major portals and search engines. Its services have been developed to suit a variety of business needs, with bespoke packages for specials needs of each client. They provide the comprehensive search engine marketing solution, from strategic consultation to in-depth reporting systems in the US, Canada, France, UK and many other countries. Learn more at http://6wseo.com/Blog/Chad_Lieberman/

http://www.6wim.com

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Chad Ian Lieberman Originator Talks about The Future of Virtual Reality Treadmill

6 New Insights About Content Marketing Hiring Trends And Job Growth - Marketing Land

If you’re looking for a content marketing job, you’re in luck. But if you’re trying to hire for content roles, you may find there’s a lot of competition for talent.

A recent study by Fractl (my employer) and Moz confirmed there is growing demand for content marketing skills. “The Inbound Marketing Economy” analyzed more than 75,000 job listings on Indeed.com containing digital marketing keywords, including content marketing terms.

To get a pulse on the current state of content marketing careers, I’ve compiled the study’s most compelling stats and gathered input from recruitment professionals. Read on to see how much content marketing has grown as a career field in recent years, how much content marketers are being paid, which states have the most job prospects, and more.

The Number Of Content Marketing Job Listings Has Grown Nearly 350% Since 2011

Between January 2011 and January 2015, the number of job listings on Indeed containing “content marketing” or “content strategy” grew by about 350%. This uptick in the number of job listings coincides with Google’s Panda update in February 2011, which shifted online marketers’ focus from quantity to quality content.

And the upward trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down…

26% Of Marketing Executives Expect To Hire Content Marketing Roles This Year

“Compared to a year ago, we’re seeing greater demand for content strategists,” said Diane Domeyer, executive director of The Creative Group (TCG). According to TCG’s recent study on the hiring climate for creatives, 26% of marketing executives reported they expect to hire for content marketing roles in the second half of 2015. This was the third most common response, right after creative art direction and account services (27% each).

While this kind of growth is great news for content marketing job seekers, overall the volume of available content marketing jobs is still low compared to other inbound marketing jobs such as social media, digital marketing and SEO. This suggests that despite its surge in popularity in recent years, content marketing has yet to hit the same level of ubiquity as SEO and social media in an organization.

Additionally, a lack of hiring budget may be limiting the number of content marketing jobs. More than half of marketers surveyed in a recent study by Contently reported that a quarter or less of their 2015 marketing budget was dedicated to content marketing. We can expect more content marketing job growth if these budgets increase in the coming years.

Content Marketing Roles Have An Average Salary Range Between $60,000 And $74,000

According to “The Inbound Marketing Economy,” the average salary for job listings containing “content marketing” or “content strategy” is $61,000. (When content marketing is part of the job title, that amount jumps to $74,000.)

While this is lower compared to some of the other keywords in the study, it’s not exactly pauper’s pay. Other sources on content marketing salary data report similar findings in this range:

LinkedIn Profiles Containing “Content Marketing” Have Grown 168% Since 2013

Between June 2013 and June 2015, the number of LinkedIn profiles in the U.S. containing “content marketing” has increased by 168%. This is the largest growth among all of the terms analyzed in the study. However, as you can see in the graph below, content marketing still lacks the volume of other keywords.

Massachusetts And New York Have The Highest Concentration Of Content Marketing Jobs

Content marketers have the greatest number of opportunities in the Northeast, with the highest concentration of jobs in Massachusetts (3.8 per capita) and New York (3.3 per capita). California is third on the list, with 2.8 content marketing job listings per capita. Many of the other states on the list have large metropolitan areas where corporate headquarters and marketing agencies are likely to be based.

Keep in mind, the study only looked at jobs containing the words “content marketing” and “content strategy.” In other words, this study didn’t account for every job opportunity for online content producers. If the map above shows your state is a content marketing desert, it may just be due to job listings using different terminology.

Plenty of job listings describe content marketing tasks without any mention of the phrase “content marketing.” If you’re using online job boards to find content marketing roles, include searches for phrases such as “online content” or even “content” to ensure you don’t overlook potential content marketing opportunities.

Soft Skills Still Have A Lot Of Value

While it’s important to showcase content marketing skills, recruiters also recommend that job seekers should show off the soft skills that make them a well-rounded employee. The three recruitment professionals I spoke with all mentioned that soft skills still have weight despite the increasingly technical nature of digital marketing roles.

“In addition to having the requisite technical skills for a job, employers are also placing greater emphasis on soft skills such as the ability to lead a team, solve problems, or negotiate,” said Domeyer. “Companies have to work harder to attract and retain professionals with these in-demand skills. Some are even hiring junior talent that they can train if the candidates have strong soft skills and fit in with the workplace culture.”

“In addition to having the requisite technical skills for a job, employers are also placing greater emphasis on soft skills such as the ability to lead a team, solve problems, or negotiate.”

TopSpot Internet Marketing agrees that technical marketing skills can be acquired with enough training; instead, their team focuses on soft skills during the talent search. Their Talent Retention Specialist, Abby Frizzell, says she looks for candidates with “great communication skills, a positive attitude and the desire to learn, which can’t be taught.”

Perhaps the most obvious skill you should display in an interview was pointed out by Ilene Bauer, senior recruiter at SapientNitro. She says not only do you need a solid portfolio for any creative role, but you also need the ability to talk about your samples of work.

To learn more, be sure to check out the full results from the study, which include data on other digital marketing career fields.

Do you have experience hiring for content marketing roles, or are you seeking a content marketing role? I’d love to hear how your experience aligns with what I’ve shared — please leave a comment below.

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Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

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About The Author

Kerry Jones is the Inbound Marketing Manager at Frac.tl, a content marketing agency that specializes in the science behind viral marketing campaigns.

(Some images used under license from Shutterstock.com.)

6 New Insights About Content Marketing Hiring Trends And Job Growth - Marketing Land

What Online Gambling Affiliates Need To Know About New Jersey's New Policies

Contents1 How the line is drawn

What Online Gambling Affiliates Need To Know About New Jersey"s New Policies

When Donald Trump brags about his Facebook success, it's a sure sign you should be skeptical

Workers began removing the large letters spelling out the Trump name from the shuttered Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City last year. (Mark Makela/Reuters)

The (maybe) presidential campaign of D. J. Trump issued a highly Trumpian news release in response to news that his announcement  Tuesday made a big splash on Facebook.

“Trump Smashes Social Records Following Presidential Announcement,” it yelled. “3.4 million Facebook users in the US generated 6.4 million interactions regarding the launch of his campaign, the highest by far, among all 2016 GOP candidates.”

Why? Because “Mr. Trump has a tremendous audience across the country,” as the news release notes — with probably more accuracy than it intended.

In general, how something does on social media is a bad way to gauge success. In politics? It’s especially dumb, as we’ve noted before. We’re comparing apples to cameras to a 1973 Deep Purple LP when we pit Donald Trump launching  Tuesday afternoon against Martin O’Malley launching on the weekend against Hillary Clinton launching a campaign that starts off 14 miles in front of the competition. And then we’re using that comparison to try and predict tomorrow’s lottery numbers. This is the first contested presidential campaign in which Facebook is so dominant. We have no baseline of comparison in politics.

What we do know is that online fame seems to help. The extent to which campaign launches generate interest from individual Facebook users and get “interactions” on the social platform is loosely correlated to how active the candidates already were on Facebook — or at least how much interest they got. We compared user interest and interactions within 24 hours of the launch to how many followers each had on Facebook the day of the announcement, and voila. (Clinton is in italics because data from the day of her launch was not available. Instead, we used today’s figure.)

As we noted before, the two people getting the most attention on Facebook last fall were Clinton and Ted Cruz — numbers 1 and 3 around Trump on the users/interactions scale. (Notice, too, that Trump “smashed social records” — in the sense that he did worse than Clinton.)

Clinton, Trump and Cruz are outliers. Or maybe Rand Paul and Mike Huckabee are; they didn’t do as well as you might have expected given their high follower counts. It’s hard to say, because we don’t really know what this means. It is not the case that Trump did a lot of organizing around Facebook; it is pretty clear, too, that not all of those interactions were of the “hey, I’m voting for this guy” type. It’s just … a number. It’s bigger than the number for the Nikon, but smaller than the number for “Who Do We Think We Are,” (to continue the joke from above).

Here’s one real thing we can look at: How those interactions compared to candidates’ standing in the polls. We compare the Real Clear Politics average from seven days after the launch to the number of interactions in those first 24 hours. There’s essentially no link at all.

(Notice, too, that we had to take out Hillary Clinton and the Democrats because they’re on a different scale of support. Another way in which comparing Clinton to Trump is tricky!)

If you’re wondering how these figures correlate to rate of change in poll numbers, we actually get some correlation — stronger correlation than between followers at launch and the number of interactions. Cruz saw the biggest jump after 14 days and the most interactions within 24 hours. Rubio saw the second-biggest jump … but fewer interactions than Rand Paul, who didn’t see as big an increase in the polls.

But Paul was doing better anyway. And Cruz announced first. And all sorts of other things that come into play in polling. This is a classic correlation/causation conundrum.

We also have a smaller data set. We’ll see what happens with Trump. Maybe he’ll prove the validity of the last graph, jumping up in the polls. Perhaps he’ll end up more like the graph above it, staying mired in the lower tiers of the Republican candidates.

The ferocity with which Trump pushed out those Facebook numbers, though, reminds us that we have these numbers because of marketing: Marketing from Facebook; marketing from Trump. And for that reason, if no other, it’s very much worth defaulting to skepticism.

In short: We don’t know what Facebook numbers mean, if anything. So we should stop pretending we do.

When Donald Trump brags about his Facebook success, it"s a sure sign you should be skeptical

Why Email Marketing Beats Social Media in Lead Generation, And What You Can Do About It

Social media has many legitimate marketing uses. When used right, social lets you build a genuine relationship with your customers. It helps you find out what people are saying about your brand and it enables you to share interesting content with your audience. Regardless of whether they’re in B2B or B2C, most businesses today can’t afford not to have a social media presence.

But there’s one thing that social media isn’t great for: lead generation. Social media works effectively for many marketing activities, but generating new leads isn’t one of them. In fact, when it comes to generating leads, the good ol’ email will always beat social media. One 2014 study from management consulting firm McKinsey & Company suggests that email conversion rates are 40 times higher compared to Facebook and Twitter combined. “The rate at which e-mails prompt purchases is not only estimated to be at least three times that of social media, but the average order value is also 17 percent higher,” according to the report.

An understanding of its drawbacks as a lead gen tool is critical to getting the most out of social media marketing. So why is email, a relatively old channel, better suited for generating leads? Here are a few reasons why.

1. 
   

   With email, you’re reaching an audience that already knows you.

   
   

People in your email database have opted-in to get communications from you. They already know you, and at one point, you’ve impressed these people enough that they’ve raised their hands and have indicated that they want to hear from you in the future.

Recommended for YouWebcast: Advanced Social Media: Finding, Engaging, and Converting Consumers

Social lacks that same level of commitment. A social media follow isn’t quite as powerful as an email opt-in. Following someone on social is a more passive activity than signing up for email communications. It’s not unusual for people to follow thousands of people and brands on social, but most would only sign up for only a handful of emails. Email requires a deeper level of engagement and trust.

2. 
   

   There’s too much noise on social.

   
   

The same thing that makes social media exciting and dynamic also makes it a difficult marketing channel: the volume of content. In a single day, Twitter users generate 500 tweets. On Facebook, users post 55 million status updates per day. On Instagram, over 70 million pictures are posted on a daily basis.

Companies are competing for people’s attention on social. And because of the volume and velocity of social media content, only a small fraction of your social media audience sees your updates. For instance, Facebook’s edgerank limits the reach of your posts: only 2 to 6 percent of your fans actually see your content. Twitter doesn’t have an algorithm (at least not yet), but it’s easy to miss updates because people tweet a lot.

3. 
   

   People are more likely to see (and click on) your email.

   
   

Open rates for email marketing messages are generally in the 20 to 25 percent range. If you assume a six percent reach rate for Facebook, that means your message is five times more likely to be seen through email than social.

Click through rates are also generally higher on email, as Campaign Monitor explains:

Click through rates from email are generally in the 3% range, while click-through rates on Tweets are generally in the 0.5% range. This means you are 6x more likely to get a click-through from email than you are from Twitter.

In order to show this in action, influential marketing blogger Derek Halpern ran a test where he sent his latest blog post to the same number of people via both email and Twitter. Here are the results:

– 300 people clicked through to the article from Twitter
– 4,200 people clicked through to the article from email

4. 
   

   You get to say more on email.

   
   

Some things require more than 140 characters. Yes, emails need to be brief as well, but at least you’re not limited to a certain number of characters. To get someone to take action, you often need to say more than a couple of sentences.

How to fix social media marketing

In the same way that email marketing did not kill SEO, social media marketing isn’t killing email marketing. In fact, email still beats social, and it will probably do so forever.

This doesn’t mean you should abandon social media. But it does mean you have to rethink your approach to social, and consider the very real limitations of this medium.

The first step is to acknowledge that social media is not necessarily a lead gen channel. For many companies, social is better suited for brand awareness and customer support functions. Sharing interesting—and usually ungated—pieces of content is more likely to resonate on social than doing a hard sell. You’re more likely to get leads on social if your content is useful and interesting. Regardless of whether you’re posting gated or ungated content, the quality of those pieces need to be super high.

Most of us also have to stop looking at social media as a purely organic/earned play. The social media landscape is following the trajectory of SEO/SEM where paid efforts are becoming just as crucial as organic ones. Facebook openly states that it is limiting promotional updates on people’s newsfeeds. If you want to generate leads on social, you have to make sure you have the budget for advertising.

And given that we know that email will almost always convert better than social, we have to think of ways of bridging the gap—of converting social media followers into email subscribers. I think the best way of doing that is through your corporate blog. If you are producing high quality blog posts, why not start a blog newsletter and get people into your database that way? When people opt-in to your newsletter, you now have them in your database and you can start marketing to them via email.

Social media marketing is far from dead, but it is at a critical juncture. And despite people complaining about email overload, the truth is that email marketing is still a very effective tactic. Understanding how social can help drive your email strategy is the key to maximizing your social media marketing efforts.

Why Email Marketing Beats Social Media in Lead Generation, And What You Can Do About It

More on Branson Visit: Dialog with a Reader About Our 'Tips on Fitting In'

We hear howls about our Facebook page. And those are among the polite ones.

The most detailed, impassioned response — also polite — comes from Alison Chevalier, a MSU graduate who works in Detroit and New York City on online marketing, business development and event planning. The self-described “change agent” lets us share her Facebook post, which has 38 likes by 1 p.m. Her reaction, presented in full, is followed by the author’s response (originally posted as a comment under Chevalier’s post).

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Alison Chevalier: “That ‘article’ was an embarrassment to Detroiters and a slap in the face to someone who just did something very good for our city.”

‘An embarrassment to Detroiters’

When I’m indignant, I tend to write run-on sentences so let me apologize in advance for doing that. But I have to express my outrage for this type of pointless snark. It stems from an underlying attitude of scarcity and that mentality holds Detroit back when we need to move forward.

Alan Stamm, I’m disappointed in you. Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic filled a plane with representatives from all the major UK media outlets, along with reps from select marketing agencies and a few hand-picked young entrepreneurs (Paria Bikes for one) and flew it to Detroit, shuttling several different groups in buses all around the city — each bus taking its respective passengers to different areas of Detroit — to showcase all the positive energy and momentum that comes with the new wave of entrepreneurship that Detroit is experiencing.

I joined in one such group at Shinola and had conversations with several participants who were fascinated by Detroit’s evolution, where it’s been and where it’s going.

Branson was not on every bus so that exercise wasn’t all about photo ops featuring his internationally recognized face. It was about intentionally moving the story that’s being told about Detroit from that of being The Capital of Blight to that of being a city full of amazing people doing amazing things. This is the story Branson wants to get out to the rest of the world — along with the story about Virgin Atlantic’s new Detroit connection, we’re not kidding ourselves here. But guess what? Virgin Atlantic has announced new city connections over the years and those announcements have not all involved throwing a major media event to announce the addition.

Branson and Virgin Atlantic brought GLOBAL attention to Detroit and showed it in the best light possible, and you write a story for Deadline Detroit criticizing Branson for fist-bumping Mike Duggan and members of the visiting group for using the words “thang” and “chillaxing” in their tweets? I’m sorry. I like Deadline Detroit and you’re a good writer, Alan, but that “article” was an embarrassment to Detroiters and a slap in the face to someone who just did something very good for our city.

They only used mustard on the hotdog images used in their VIP signage and not full coney toppings? Bad, BAD Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic for missing THAT opportunity. Forget that Branson and his team created a huge opportunity that will impact Detroit in countless positive ways for years to come.

Are you kidding me?

Can we get over ourselves, Detroit?

And let me just add that Branson personally gifted the four groups of entrepreneurs who were pitching during the Ain’t Too Proud To Pitch event with the services of his marketing teams, his distribution channels, transportation partners and more — even giving one young woman who is a rising star and aspiring fashion entrepreneur at Merit a round trip ticket to London. These four businesses will grow and thrive because of this very special relationship with Branson and that alone impacts Detroit in numerous ways.

— Alison Chevalier

UK visitors and local invitees partied downtown Friday night after a full day of city tours and pitch opportunities for entrepreneurs at the College for Creative Studies.

Reply: ‘Pointless snark’ was intended as lighthearted snark

Whoa and wow, Alison. We never knew there’s so much room between our lines for those who choose to read between them.

Your detailed comments are welcome, as are all responses to our content, because engaging with readers ranks right up there with fairness, accuracy, readability and transparency as core values. Like all news sites, we also try to enlighten and entertain.

Making readers indignant and outraged is obviously not desired, though we know point-of-view commentaries such as this can run that risk.

That said, a few responses to what seems like a selective reading and interpretation of what’s intended as a playful, good-natured, respectful chain-yank.

1.) Our “slap in the face to someone who just did something very good for our city” begins: “We’re glad you came, Sir Richard Branson. We appreciate the new London-Detroit flights, the Hustles Harder shirt and the nice things you say about our city.”

2.) It closes “on an upbeat note” with praise for his “dandy phrase at Friday afternoon’s Ain’t Too Proud to Pitch event. . . . You share what could be a mantra for the city that hustles harder.”

3.) Those three of our 17 paragraphs frame the tone and, on balance, appreciation for all the good stuff we join you in embracing. Between them are what we see as lighthearted snark, though calling it “pointless snark” is as valid as any matter of taste.

4.) Similarly, our view is that fist bumps by white guys of a certain age are uncool (naff in British slang — which may show equal uncoolness, I acknowledge). You see that observation as a criticism of Mr. Branson; I meant it as a laugh line to accompany what seems like an amusing photo.

5.) We agree that Virgin Atlantic and its founder create potentially huge economic, tourism, business and image opportunities for Metro Detroit and Michigan, which far outweigh our poke (whimsy again) at not using a coney dog as a “missed opportunity.”

Two of the three MSU grads who formed Original Stix, a Brush Street startup, on stage Friday with Richard Branson (far right). [Bamboo Detroit photo]

To answer a question above: Yes, we *are* trying to kid you, other readers and #hellodetroit visitors . . .
. . . while making a point about not sounding clueless, callous or foolish by dropping “chillaxin"” and “shake their thang” inappropriately.

If the tone fails, our bad. We shouldn’t need an emoticon to convey mirthfulness, but smiles and winks in an online commentary may be as hard to detect as those in misinterpreted email and social posts.

A more frustrating limit of our website design and CMS is an inability to visually distinguish a column or commentary from news articles. Tone should distinguish one from the other, but I’d rather have a label.

You’re a good writer too, Alison, though a 497-word critique of a 409-word post may be an over-reaction. (Or not.)

I regret your “indignant . . . outrage.” What seems like “pointless snark” is supposed to be lighthearted snark, but reasonable people can differ over which label fits.

Thanks for engaging thoughtfully.

— Alan Stamm

More on Branson Visit: Dialog with a Reader About Our "Tips on Fitting In"

Fox Affils OK On Fall, Worried About Future

After getting a look at what the network plans for its fall schedule, the affiliates held a closed-door session without Fox officials, during which they discussed the apparently vexing issue of how to increase the leverage of the affiliate body in its dealings with Fox, particularly the terms Fox demands at affiliation-renewal time. And the closed-door session revealed a palpable undercurrent of worry about the future vitality of the network-affiliate relationship as alternative means of distributing network programming are developed — means such as on-line streaming scenarios in which broadcasters would play no role.

Fox affiliates appeared enthusiastic about the future of Fox network programming following a rousing presentation in which the affiliates got a look at the shows Fox is developing for this summer and next fall.

But behind closed doors, at a meeting without Fox network officials in attendance, the affiliates sounded a lot less certain of where they stand in Fox’s future plans.

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The program presentation was the main thrust of Fox’s annual full-affiliate meeting held Tuesday in a hotel ballroom in Las Vegas during the NAB Show.

In the meeting, affiliate representatives heard from Dana Walden, co-chair (along with Gary Newman, who did not attend the meeting) of Fox Television Group since last July, and David Madden, president of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting since last July as well. They also heard from Fox Sports President Eric Shanks, who ballyhooed Fox’s planned coverage later this year of golf’s U.S. Open and the Women’s Soccer World Cup — both coming to Fox for the first time.

Walden and Madden showed clips of the new comedies, dramas and unscripted shows under consideration for summer, but mostly for next season.

The comedies include a fantasy football comedy called Fantasy Life; a “comedy-horror” anthology series titled Scream Queens; and Grandpa, a family comedy starring John Stamos.

Brand Connections

The dramas are: Minority Report, adapted from the Steven Spielberg movie, and produced by him; an updated Frankenstein; Lucifer, a satanic drama from producer Jerry Bruckheimer; Autopsy, a police procedural; and Studio City, a primetime soap set, like Empire, in the recording industry, about the rise of a teen pop star and her family.

Fox’s unscripted shows in development include a show called Knock Knock, in which unsuspecting, but presumably deserving families, receive an opportunity to improve their lives around.

Walden also talked up the upcoming return of The X Files to Fox. And she stated the network’s continued enthusiasm for its stalwart music-competition series American Idol. “We’d love nothing more than to bring the show back and do another year with the current panel [of judges],” she said, adding that negotiations are ongoing.

“We have bold and original scripted series that stand out from the crowd, live events and specials that drive circulation and offer strong promotional support, and quality aspirational unscripted shows that inspire and delight fans of all ages. It’s a new day at Fox Broadcasting,” Walden said, positioning the presentation and, in promising a “new day at Fox,” acknowledging and addressing affiliate complaints over the last several seasons about the woeful state of Fox’s primetime ratings (with the obvious, and hope-giving, exception of the new megahit Empire).

“We’re confident in our slate and our incredible team at Fox, whether in programming, affiliate marketing or distribution, this team has new focus, determination and dedication. Thanks again for your partnership and support,” she told the Fox affiliates.

But affiliates, while showing outward enthusiasm and support for Fox’s development slate, are privately worried about the continued strength of that partnership in the years to come.

In their closed-door session without Fox officials, affiliate representatives discussed the apparently vexing issue of how to increase the leverage of the affiliate body as a whole in its dealings with Fox, particularly when it comes to the terms Fox demands at affiliation-renewal time.

One tactic that came under consideration in Tuesday’s meeting was the possibility of holding another one-day “fly-in” meeting this summer in a centrally located city of station-group owners and group heads to formulate strategies for countering Fox’s demands.

Fox affiliates held such a meeting last July in Dallas, even though Fox officials were dead set against it, and communicated to the Affiliate Board that they felt that way.

Billed in the trade press as an “emergency” meeting, some Fox affiliates credit the meeting for presenting a show of force that was effective enough to get Fox to back off of limited-term demands it was making of stations whose affiliations were up for renewal.

After that meeting, some affiliates say, Fox “loosened up [its] limited term demands” and agreed to increase the length of affiliation terms in last year’s negotiations with some 50 affiliates.

An informal show of hands for or against arranging another such meeting this summer seemed to draw more yeas than nays. It was unclear, however, if the meeting will come to fruition — a logistical challenge more than a philosophical one that depends primarily on whether the participants can agree on a day that works for most, if not all, of their schedules. The idea remains under consideration.

But Tuesday’s closed-door session revealed a palpable undercurrent of worry about the future vitality of the network-affiliate relationship as alternative means of distributing network programming are developed — means such as on-line streaming scenarios in which broadcasters would play no role.

The affiliate representatives at the meeting were even asked if they believe that the Fox network, and the other networks too, are already talking about going into the future without local broadcast affiliates attached to them.

Fox Affils OK On Fall, Worried About Future

What Every Business Owner Should Know About Email Marketing

Email marketing has long occupied a strange place in the content marketing landscape. It is perpetually underrated, perhaps because it’s not as flashy or simply not as new as Facebook marketing, Pinterest marketing, YouTube marketing, and the like. Underrated though it may be, study after study confirms that email marketing is an essential tool for small businesses—and that in fact, it may be the most potent online marketing tool of them all.

Of course it is only potent when used properly, and to that end Search Engine Journal has a great new read: Some essential points about email marketing, gleaned from some thorough HubSpot data collection. The points made in the article are all worthwhile, but, for all the small business owners out there, we will affirm the following points in particular:

• Mobile matters. How do most people check the bulk of their email? Through their smartphones. Mobile use has increased 400 percent since 2011 alone, making it a must for marketing emails to be formatted for mobile.


• HTML is the way to go. When using an email platform, it’s preferable to use an HTML base rather than a text one, as it allows for emails to include bold, italicized, and colorful text; a majority of consumers prefer these more eye-catching emails.


• Consumers are using email filters more and more. Knowing what the filters look for is essential.


• Consumers don’t necessarily reject all marketing emails, but they are picky about what they save and what they delete. Offering attention-grabbing subject lines that convey immediate and actual value is the key. Make it clear that you’re not just talking up your brand; you’re offering something customers might truly be interested in.

For small business owners, email marketing is a must—and you can perfect your email marketing measures by checking out all of this impressive and illuminating data.

Author: Amanda Clark

Amanda E. Clark is the president and editor-in-chief of Grammar Chic, Inc., a full-service professional writing and editing company. Amanda is a published ghostwriter and editor, and currently under contract with literary agencies in Malibu, California, and Dublin, Ireland. Since founding Grammar Chic in 2008, Amanda, along with her team… View full profile ›

What Every Business Owner Should Know About Email Marketing

The Small Win Email: A New Way To Think About Conversions

I’ve been hearing a lot about conversion optimization lately. It’s mostly good stuff – writing clear copy, focusing on clean designs, creating a strong value proposition, etc.

Those are all conversion best practices but the truth is that most businesses are powered by small wins. It’s all the things that happen between the top of the funnel and the bottom that ultimately result in conversions.

The reason this is frustrating is because it’s hard to keep track of (and create) small wins. Imagine someone discovers your product or service through your content or social media. That often serendipitously – these people are nowhere near ready to buy from you. Once they are aware, however, small wins make them like you, trust you and, ultimately, need you.

There are lots of ways to create small wins, with email chief among them. In this post, I’ll show you some email examples from companies who are blocking and tackling in hopes of one day scoring a touchdown.

Recommended for YouWebcast: How to Build a Passionate Culture of Team Engagement and Growth

These emails could be considered onboarding emails, lifecycle emails, behavioral emails or promotional emails. It doesn’t matter what you call them – they are being sent to people somewhere between the “initial interest” stage and the actual conversion. They are designed to net small wins like:

• Introduce people to features or products


• Build trusting relationships with content


• Start a real, genuine conversation


• Build momentum towards a bigger goal

Here are a few great examples of Small Win Emails from some really smart companies and people. Let’s get to it.

Backlinko: The Conversation Starter Email

There are a number of ways you can subscribe to Brian Dean’s Backlinko email list. You can signup right on the homepage or you can opt-in via one of the many content upgrades in his posts.

Regardless of how you do it, you’ll immediately receive an email like the one below.

Reply to this email right now and tell me one thing that you’re struggling with.

Even if it’s teeny tiny…I want to hear about it.

The conversion isn’t signing up for his paid SEO course or even clicking a link. It’s simply replying.

This accomplishes two key goals. First, it cements Brian as a real human being in the eyes of the recipient. This is not some corporate blog – Brian actually wants to hear and learn from you. Second, it builds trust. People that respond are making themselves vulnerable by sharing their challenges, struggles and failures. And when Brian responds, he becomes a friend, not just a blogger.

Dropbox: The “Just Because We Like You” Email

How many of your users are one small win away from becoming a great customer?

Well, no one really knows which is why it’s so important to keep people informed about updates to your product. Say, for example, you’re a Dropbox user that travels a lot. This feature – Microsoft Office integration – is huge. It could easily be the difference in using Dropbox instead of a competitor like Google Docs.

This email works because it’s so matter-of-fact. There’s no flashy headline or overstated subject line. The information is important enough that it’s not necessary. The copy is straightforward and leads the reader to a practical call to action.

Shopify: The “Over the Hump” Email

This is a perfect example of a Small Win Email.

There’s an onboarding problem that a lot of SaaS businesses face: their free trial users feel overwhelmed, so they do nothing.

Shopify is tackling this issue.

This email looks and feels a lot like a newsletter but it’s actually a very smart retention email. I signed up for a free trial but let it lapse without setting up my store. Instead of encouraging me to create a store or add a product, they are starting very small. Just create a logo. See how it feels. Dip your toes back in the water.

It could be just the thing users need to get back in the game.

Evernote: The “Did You Know?” Email

We’ve talked a lot about “Did you know” emails on the blog before but this one from Evernote really nails it.

It’s as practical as it could possibly be. Notice that it doesn’t ask users to upgrade to a paid account and it avoids the flashy subject lines that have jaded most email users. It’s simple, clear, personalized and actionable … the perfect Small Win Email.

Automotive Specialists: The Replenishment Email

This email isn’t pretty, but it sure is smart.

We talk a lot about startups, e-commerce, and SaaS business, but here’s a great example of Small Win Email from a locally owned, family business. It’s behavioral in nature – the same type of email I might expect from a SaaS service if I’ve been inactive or a while or from an e-commerce store if I purchased something that needs to be replenished.

It works because it makes my life easier. Of course I know I should change the oil regularly, but I always forget to look at the windshield sticker. Even if I do, I have to set a reminder on my phone and call when I have time. This is so much easier. It’s personalized with my name, my car, the mileage and it lets me book an appointment right away.

It’s exactly this kind of email that is often overlooked by tech companies. Keep it simple – your customers will appreciate it.

Do you send Small Win Emails? If you’d like to share an idea or ask a question, just drop a note in the comments.

The Small Win Email: A New Way To Think About Conversions

Affiliate Marketing: Learn About the Best Way for an Online Business to Generate Additional Revenue

This book analyzes an important business tactic to gain supplemental revenue. Every business online is lacking something, and affiliate marketing may just be that one thing. Web sites from mom-and-pop stores to corporate Web sites such as Wal-Mart’s should implement a marketing system involving affiliates to generate the most revenue possible and please all shareholders.

In order to understand affiliate marketing better, be sure to dive into this book and learn the best secrets I have to offer. I hold a bachelor’s degree in business administration from TU and an associate’s degree in management technology from Owens Community College.

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Affiliate Marketing: Learn About the Best Way for an Online Business to Generate Additional Revenue

New Site IM Special Ops Launches, Providing Unbiased Info About Affiliate Marketing

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Site supplies readers with the most reliable, useful information about affiliate marketing and other online opportunities, launches with special MTTB-focused content wave, IM Special Ops reports

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America – January 23, 2015 /MarketersMedia/ –

The founders of IM Special Ops, a new site focusing on online business and affiliate marketing opportunities, announced that the site is now open and available to visitors. The site launches with an impressive assortment of content that will be of great interest to those looking for ways to make money online, including a number of articles and reviews centering on the popular My Top Tier Business program. The editors of IM Special Ops bring extensive experience in the arenas of affiliate marketing and eCommerce to the project and intend to make the new site one of the Internet’s top destinations for those interested in these subjects.

“We are proud to announce that we have launched our new site and we are now serving our first eager visitors,” IM Special Ops co-founder Thomas White said, “As part of the launch, we have put up some hard-hitting, in-depth articles focusing on the popular MTTB system, and these are already generating buzz around the Internet. Look for even more great content of similar sorts in the days and weeks to come.”

Affiliate marketing is the practice of driving online business to the websites of partner companies in exchange for pre-arranged commissions. A staple of online commerce for many years now, this style of work attracts people who seek independence and financial self-determination.

It can also be a rewarding way of making a living. Research by trade group Affiliate Summit shows that a full 10% of online affiliate marketers make $150,000 or more per year at the present time, despite many of these successful entrepreneurs only committing a portion of their working hours to the activity.

IM Special Ops was founded to give readers reliable, useful insights and perspectives on affiliate marketing and online business opportunities of other kinds. The articles published for the site’s launch focus mostly on one of the most popular affiliate marketing programs at the present time, a system known as My Top Tier Business, or MTTB.

A product of well-known affiliate marketing professional Matt Lloyd, the My Top Tier Business system attracts attention because of its comprehensive, step-by-step nature and the fact that it affords users guidance from seasoned industry experts. In several articles and reviews, the just-launched new site IM Special Ops takes a hard look at this program to determine what its strengths, weaknesses, and overall value might be.

That includes a detailed investigation of a followup effort from the same source, the MOBE license rights program. Like its sibling, this My Online Business Empire system has attracted notable attention in the world of affiliate marketing, and the IM Special Ops analysis of the opportunity is the deepest and most detailed to be found anywhere on the Internet.

The editors of IM Special Ops have committed to maintaining this impressively high level of quality as they expand the site with new content on an ongoing basis. Already reaching many of the affiliate marketing world’s best-informed and most ambitious players, IM Special Ops is set to become one of the top destinations for those interested in what this special style of business has to offer.

About IM Special Ops:
Supplying high-quality, reliable, unbiased information about the top programs and opportunities in the arenas of affiliate marketing and online business, IM Special Ops helps readers see through the smoke and mirrors and set off on the path to success.

For more information about us, please visit http://specialopsim.com

Contact Info:
Name: Thomas White
Organization: IM Special Ops
Phone: (412) 422-8334

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/new-site-im-special-ops-launches-providing-unbiased-info-about-affiliate-marketing/72579

Release ID: 72579

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New Site IM Special Ops Launches, Providing Unbiased Info About Affiliate Marketing