Want More Leads? Focus on Brand Awareness.

Why brand awareness is important to growing your business

The singular goal of most companies that contact Fronetics is to generate more leads — today. This is not surprising in that leads are necessary to generate sales, and sales are necessary to revenue generation and to growth. What is surprising is the number of companies who do not recognize the critical role brand awareness plays in lead generation.

Brand awareness is the likelihood that your company’s brand, products, and services are recognized by consumers. Simply put, if consumers don’t know your company exists and/or don’t know what your company does or what your company offers, your company won’t be a part of their decision process.

Today, more than ever, being recognized and being a part of the decision process is crucial.

The new B2B buying process

The buying process for B2B buyers has become more complex and longer.  The 2016 B2B Buyer’s Survey Report found that 80% of respondents reported their purchase cycle was longer than it was the previous year.  The buying process has gotten longer because most buyers (73%) are using more sources to research and evaluate products and services, and they are spending more time in the research phase itself.

When conducting their research and evaluating purchases, B2B buyers report that they are looking for personalization, and for companies and vendors that demonstrate a deep understanding of the industry.

The place they are turning to conduct their research, and to evaluate purchases, is online: 89% of B2B buyers report using the internet to conduct research.  Specifically, they are going online to: conduct web searches, look at vendor websites, read reviews, use social media, and participate in online forums.

The importance of investing in brand awareness

Your company can not generate leads if your company is not found when B2B buyers are conducting their research.  And, being found is just the tip of the iceberg. Your company will not be included in the evaluation and decision process if it does not have a robust online presence that is inclusive of quality content that speaks to your target customer — that is, content that educates, informs, and identifies how your company can meet the needs of your target customers.  It is about positioning your company as a knowledge leader, building trust, and establishing relationships.  It is about brand awareness.

Building brand awareness takes time and dedication. Companies that are willing to invest their time and resources to brand awareness are rewarded – not just with leads, but with quality leads.

Too often, I see companies who are unwilling to invest either the time or money in brand awareness. One of the most frustrating things to see is a company that gives up too soon.  These are companies who have realized significant gains — they have, for example, increased traffic to the website through organic, referral, direct, and social sources; decreased bounce rates; increased social reach; and increased social engagement. But, because their lead generation has not immediately sky rocketed, they decide to either reduce or eliminate their digital and content marketing activities. It is frustrating because these companies have built a strong foundation, and they are on the tipping point of success.

With the B2B buying process taking longer than ever, with buyers spending more time researching and evaluating their decisions, and with B2B buyers turning to the internet and critically evaluating companies on how they present themselves, investing the time and resources to brand awareness is critical.

As Geoffrey Chaucer said, “Patience is a conquering virtue.”

Why you need to benchmark your marketing performance against your competitors

Competitive benchmarking should be part of your data-driven marketing strategy.

In August 2016, Elaine Thompson claimed the mantle of world’s fastest woman, and Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time. Thompson and Phelps achieved these incredible feats by continuously pushing themselves to do better. To do this, they not only tracked and measured their personal performance, but they also tracked the performance of their peers and of their competitors. Together, this data gave Thompson and Phelps the knowledge and drive needed to improve their own performance.

When it comes to measuring marketing performance, most marketers look inward, focusing on key performance indictors (KPIs) such as website traffic, open rates, social engagement metrics, and conversion rates. While these inward facing KPIs are important, it is also important to look at what is happening outside your organization and to benchmark your marketing performance against peers and competitors. This will give you the knowledge and drive you need to improve your performance and chance of success.  It can help you to identify threats and strategic opportunities.

WHO

When adding competitive benchmarking to your marketing strategy the first step is to determine who to benchmark against. I recommend not just benchmarking against direct competitors, but to also benchmark against industry leaders, and against a company or two that you think is excelling (this company does not need to be in your industry). By taking this more global view, you can gain ideas and intelligence from industry leaders and from the creative and strategic minds of top performers. A word of caution – be strategic and keep the number of companies to a reasonable number.

WHAT

While you should determine the KPIs to track and measure based on your business and marketing goals, here are some to consider:

• Traffic by channel
• Visits by source
• Bounce rate
• Keywords
• PPC activity and spending
• Social engagement
• Social reach
• Posting times
• Top performing content
• Meta description (company positioning)

As with your inward facing KPIs, action is key. Use the data you gather to inform your strategy.

Are You Tweeting Enough?

The chances are that your company is not tweeting as often as it should.

Each second around 6,000 tweets are tweeted. Each minute over 350,000 tweets are tweeted. The median lifespan of each of these tweets is just 18 minutes. After 18 minutes of being live, the chance of someone seeing your tweet is very low. The chance of someone interacting with that tweet — even lower.

Given the large volume of tweets and the short lifespan of each tweet, how often should you tweet?

To get the most value out of each tweet, tweet around five times each day. To get the most value out of your company’s Twitter presence as a whole, tweet up to 30 times per day.

At Fronetics, we recommend focusing on getting the most value out of your company’s twitter presence as opposed to getting the most value out of each tweet.

When developing your Twitter strategy, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Timing is everything.

Identify the time of day most of your followers are active and what time of day your tweets receive the highest level of engagement. Followerwonk and Tweriod  are two tools you can use to conduct this analysis. Rival IQ takes the analysis one step further and shows you when your competitors are tweeting and when they are realizing their highest level of engagement.

It is important to conduct this analysis on a regular basis and to adjust your strategy accordingly.

Be relevant. Be strategic.

Every single tweet you send should be relevant and should fit within your strategic goals and objectives.

Don’t be annoying.

Tweeting when your followers are active and when you have the highest levels of engagement is important, but don’t go overboard. For example, if you learn that 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are the best times of day for your company to tweet, do not schedule all 30 of your tweets to go live at those times.

Be creative.

Don’t tweet the same tweet over and over and over again. It’s ok to share the same article a few times, but change up the image and/or the tweet to make it fresh.

Be visual.

Tweets with images get more engagement than tweets without images. Analysis by Buffer found that tweets with images receive:

• 150% more retweets
• 89% more favorites
• 18% more clicks

Be realistic.

Determine what you can realistically do on a consistent basis. If you can only commit to tweeting 5 times per day, stick with that. It is better to have strategy that you can execute than to have a strategy that cannot realistically be executed.

Finally, remember you don’t need to go it alone. Tools such as Buffer, HootSuite, Sprout Social, and HubSpot allow you to schedule tweets. Scheduling tweets makes it easier to tweet more often so that you can realize the value of a Twitter strategy.

First Impressions in the Internet Age: A Lesson in Branding Yourself

What do people find when they Google your name? Branding yourself can help sway their first impression.

Face it: Potential employers, customers, and other associates have likely searched your name on the internet before they meet you in person. What do they see?

Your LinkedIn and Facebook pages, Twitter and Instagram accounts, personal blog, and even your pins on Pinterest are all subject to public scrutiny. The sum of those findings is your brand image, what you put forth to the world to define who you are and what you are about.

The reality is that when you walk into a job interview, client meeting, or other engagement, you are likely being evaluated against the first impression the person made prior to your arrival through an internet search. Shouldn’t you think carefully about your brand and how you want people to perceive you?

To be successful, you need to take steps to build and enhance your brand. Here are four steps to branding yourself.

1) Define your brand

A brand is a story. What is your story? Take the time to sit down and look at where you have been and where you are. Where you want to be? What is your skill set? What experiences do you have? How are you unique? Take all of this information and knowledge and define your brand — tell your story. Be clear, be concise, and be direct. If you can’t define your brand in a sentence or two, you have lost an opportunity.

2. Take stock

What information is “out there?” Start by making a list of all the social media accounts you have, even if you no longer actively use them. Next, Google yourself. What do you find? As G.I. Joe says, “Knowing is half the battle.”

3. Define a strategy

At this point you have a brand and you know what information about your brand is publicly available. Is the information enhancing or hurting your brand? What steps can you take to strengthen your brand? For example, should you adjust your privacy settings on some of your accounts so that personal information and exploits are not available for all to see? Does your LinkedIn page need to be updated? If you don’t take the time to define your strategy, you will not be able to execute it effectively.

4. Take action

Morris Chang, CEO TSMC said: “Without strategy, execution is aimless. Without execution, strategy is useless.” 

Don’t stop at creating the strategy — execute. And remember, the internet is not static. What information about you gets added over time? Furthermore, it is important to periodically look at your brand. Is it still representative of where are and where you want to be? If not, take the time to re-brand yourself.

When you take the time to brand yourself, you have the opportunity to define that first impression.

A Web Search is a B2B Buyer’s First Move in the Purchase Process

The web search has changed the way businesses shop for products and services — and content marketing is your key to reaching them.

What’s the first thing we all do when we want to try a new restaurant, can’t think of a song lyric, or need to buy a new appliance? We Google it.

The world of B2B sales is no different. Demand Gen’s 2016 B2B Buyer’s Survey Report found that 62% of B2B buyers say that a web search was one of the first three resources they use to learn about a solution. In fact, 94% of buyers reported using online research at some point in the purchasing process.

That means businesses must be more than just conscious of their digital presence: They must actively manage their website and digital content assets to accommodate the ways buyers are conducting research.

Seeing opportunity in the new reality

In the pre-internet age, the salesperson’s role began relatively early in the buyer’s journey. Today’s average B2B buyer, however, progresses nearly 60% of the way through this process before making any sort of contact with a sales rep. That means your prospects are forming their early opinions about your business and your products based on what they find on the web.

This new reality may seem daunting, given how much of the purchase decision-making process occurs before you have the opportunity to engage with a potential client. But in reality, this changing climate offers serious opportunities for businesses to demonstrate their expertise, without turning buyers off with overt sales pitches.

Content is king/key

To make the most of the potential purchaser’s experience with your business, content is key.

A robust content marketing strategy builds brand awareness, establishes trust and rapport with prospects, and generates traffic to your website. Thoughtfully generated and curated content catches the attention of buyers and keeps them interested in your business through the time of purchase.

Specifically, 67% more leads will be generated by companies with an active blog in 2016. And content isn’t limited to your website: a vibrant social media presence helps buyers conduct their research, with 57% of consumers reporting that they are influenced to think more highly of a business after seeing positive comments online.

Again, while this new reality may seem like a challenge, it’s actually a golden opportunity for your business to put its best foot forward with potential buyers. By thoughtfully generating and curating focused, informative content, companies can guide B2B buyers through the sales process, and develop an engaged and loyal customer base.

How do companies in the logistics and supply chain industries use content and social media?

In 2014 Fronetics conducted industry-wide surveys to learn how logistics and supply chain companies were using content and social media as part of their marketing programs.  The reports, Content Use in the Logistics and Supply Chain Industries and Social Media Use in the Logistics and Supply Chain Industries, have informed companies on use, motivations, preferences, benefits, and challenges.

In an effort to learn how companies are using social media and content today, Fronetics has just launched two new surveys.  Fronetics invites individuals working in the logistics and supply chain industries to weigh in and share what their companies doing.

Each survey takes about 3 minutes to complete. Results will be reported in aggregate, using no personal or company information from respondents.

Take the social media survey 

Take the content survey 

Strapped for Content to Share? Try Reddit

Reddit is a gold mine for relevant, engaging content to share with your social media followers.

You probably have heard that Reddit is useful in content marketing. But what, exactly, is it, and how do you use it?

Reddit is a news website/social network in which registered users submit content, such as posts and links, which the community of users (called redditors) curates by voting up or down. The more positive votes, the higher the content will appear on the page. Users also can comment on the content, and their comments are organized by the same up-down voting system. The discussion by redditors is often the most important part of any post.

Content is organized into categories, called subreddits. Subreddits can be as broad as News and Music and as specific as Supply Chain Risk Management and 3-D Printing News. Users can subscribe to a subreddit to have popular posts from that category published on their homepages.

Reddit, which ranks as the 9th most popular website in the U.S. and 31st globally, refers to itself as “the front page of the internet” for a good reason. Whatever the industry, topic, or perspective, there is content about it, ready for you to share.

That’s what makes Reddit great for content marketers, who are always looking for content to distribute to followers to keep them engaged. It is also intuitive to find and share exactly what you need.

5 easy steps to get started on Reddit

1) Sign up

First, you must register. Go to Reddit.com and click the “Sign Up” link in the upper-right-hand corner. Mobile users can download the Reddit app.

2) Get to know the community

After setting up a user account, you begin following a default set of subreddits, including topics like Art, Jokes, and Sports. Access them by clicking the “My Subreddits” dropdown menu on the upper-left corner of the homepage. These default subreddits are great for learning about the community.

3) Customize your subreddits

Find subreddits in your niche. It can take time to browse individual subreddits, but you can slash your search time by creating a multireddit, which is a custom dashboard of content around your particular topic of interest. First, find subreddits you want to include with the subreddit search box . This lets you search for all subreddits related to a keyword (for example, supply chain technology). Narrow down further with advanced search options.

4) Create a multireddit

Next, compile a master list of subreddit names, organized by topic, and save them in a multireddit. So, sign into your account, then go to the Reddit front page, and click on the dotted line on the left side. Click the “Create” button, and type in a name for your multireddit. (You can’t use spaces or symbols in the multireddit name.) When you’re finished, click “Create.” You can then filter the posts you see by those that are:

• Hot: Posts that receive the highest engagement (upvotes/comments)
• New: The most recent posts
• Rising: Posts that are gaining popularity
• Controversial: Posts that receive an equal mix of upvotes and downvotes
• Top: The most popular posts of all time
• Gilded: Posts that received reddit gold
• Promoted: Sponsored content

5) Share

Once you find a link you would like to share on social media, you can queue up content directly from Reddit using Buffer and/or IFTTT. If you have the Buffer extension installed in your browser, you’ll see its link for each Reddit post. Click the link and schedule the Reddit post in your Buffer queue. You can also set up IFTTT recipes, which connect your Reddit activity to Buffer.

Can you post content on Reddit? Yes, but directly marketing your business and self-promotion is not allowed. Instead, create a presence by being relevant within a specific community. Check out reddiquette and FAQs to learn what posts are acceptable. Essentially, 10% or less of your posts and dialogue should link to your own content.

Posting your content can benefit your business. If your post rises to the front page of Reddit, it can drive more than 200K visitors to your content, get picked up by other websites, and garner a ton of social shares.

 

5 Tips to Build Relationships on Social Media

Participating in social media is not about earning followers; it’s about building relationships.

Posting content to social media is a great way to earn followers. But a follower doesn’t necessarily equal a customer. That’s why it’s important to keep in mind that participating in social media is not only about earning a large following; it’s about building relationships with those people.

An article published in Entrepreneur says it best, “Content equals marketing; conversation equals a relationship.” Using social media to converse with people and form relationships is what will ultimately drive sales.

Research from Social Sprout shows that social media messages to brands from customers rose 110% between 2014 and 2015. And that number keeps going up.

So, don’t just hand out your content like a business card and walk away. Customers increasingly expect businesses to converse with them through social networking, so it is critical that your business is online and ready to respond.

Here are five tips to build relationships on social media:

1) Be the person representing a brand.

Represent your company, but be a real person to whom your customers can relate. Do not appear as a brand who is a person; show up as a person who has a brand.

2) Be a real person.

Be personable and real. Open yourself up to conversations that show a bit of the real you. Nothing builds a relationship better than making a genuine connection. In other words, be a real person, not a personality.

3) Show who you are.

In addition to sharing information and knowledge related to your business, don’t be afraid to sprinkle in a bit of what matters to you in your posts. Photos of bring-your-child-to-work day, pets who regularly visit the office, or even your extra-large coffee during a particularly busy week tell a story that your followers can relate to. These kinds of things are excellent starting points for conversation!

4) Show that you care.

To build a relationship of trust, people need to feel that you care about what is important to them. Go beyond just liking, retweeting, or leaving an encouraging message on your followers’ posts. Actually put yourself out there and respond, invite dialog, and demonstrate that they are someone you value.

5) Be a regular.

Show up on a regular basis to interact with your audience and answer questions. And make sure to respond quickly when someone reaches out to you. Don’t underestimate the power of being there when a customer needs you. Remember 7 in 8 messages go unanswered for 72 hours, so if you can be the brand that is always there, you’re head-and-shoulders above the crowd.

Only 30% of Content Marketers Feel They Are Effective

Effective content marketers have these four things in common.

Think your content marketing could be better? You are not alone. Only 30% of content marketers feel they are effective, and, according to a recent survey, 55% of B2B marketers say they do not actually know what an effective or successful content marketing program looks like.

In fact, some of the key findings from the report, B2B Content Marketing 2016: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America, may surprise you.

Recognizing success

First, the team must understand what they are striving for:

• Only 44% of B2B marketers say their organization is clear on what content marketing success or effectiveness looks like; 55% are uncertain. For success, everyone must understand what to look for.
• Only 32% of B2B marketers consider themselves sophisticated or mature in their skill-level. Sixty-four percent of those in the sophisticated/mature phase say they are effective at content marketing, while only 23% in the less-experienced adolescent phase express confidence. But, when strategies are documented, it appears to increase the confidence and success at every skill level.

What makes a team more effective at content marketing?

One key theme that emerged from the survey is that effective content marketers do these four things.

1) They know what effective content marketing looks like.

Effectiveness can be defined as meeting your overall goals and objectives — but in order to do so, those goals must be clear. B2B organizations that have a clear vision of content marketing success are more effective than those that do not. In fact, 79% of the most effective marketers report having that clarity, while 77% of the least effective say they lack it.

2) They have continuous communication.

The most effective B2B marketers (61%) meet daily or weekly with their content marketing team — either virtually or in person. Fifty-four percent say team meetings are valuable.

3) They document their content marketing strategy.

Documenting your content strategies can directly improve a marketer’s overall effectiveness. Fewer B2B marketers are doing this (32% in 2016 vs. 35% last year), even though research supports that a documented strategy can significantly improve results.

4) They document their editorial mission/long-term goals.

Research found that 48% of the most effective content marketers also have a documented editorial mission statement. This statement clearly defines who your audience is and why your content will be effective — it defines your brand. You should also document any long-term goals, like lead generation and sales, for example, will be the most important for most B2B content marketers over the next 12 months.

Having clear communication, documented goals, and defined strategies will provide direction, which can be the guiding light to effective content marketing. Implement these proven steps to better focus your team and to make effective content marketing clear and recognizable.

5 Ways to Advance Your Supply Chain Career

The talent gap represents a professional opportunity for motivated individuals looking to advance their supply chain career.

The global supply chain is continuously evolving, offering new opportunities as demands shift and new technologies are born. But how do you evolve with it?

The key is knowing where to look and how to leverage your talent and skills to fit demand. Opportunities are abundant now, but they are also growing, according to the U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics. It predicts there will be 1.4 million new jobs in the logistics and supply chain field by 2018.

In fact, the number of supply chain employees is expected to double by 2017, with a high demand for managerial talent. That equates double the opportunity for you to move your career forward!

Here are 5 key actions to advance your logistics or supply chain career:

1) Consider all the skills in your wheelhouse.

Evaluate and take stock of your skills and experience. Know how to articulate exactly what you bring to the table when you consider a new position. Your skills may also be highly transferable, so it is wise to be open to new opportunities. Finally, expand those skills with certifications that will give you a competitive advantage. Look for certifications that enhance your operations and supply chain management skills, like those through the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).

2) Network within the industry.

Employers seeking supply chain talent have to be able to find you. Join associations like APICS, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSMCP). You will gain access to career advice and be a part of a network of supply chain professionals. Join online interest groups and professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn. Follow industry blogs and make connections that relate to, and promote, your career aspirations.

3) Expand your software and technology skills.

This is a constantly evolving area in the supply chain, with new software emerging and a growing demand for talent that knows how to use it. Educate yourself within the software and technology space, and you will open many new doors of opportunity.

4) Know how to promote your soft skills.

Do you have problem-solving experience? A background in communication? Leverage those skills on your resume. Recruiters typically have a list of about 30 job skills that they look at when reviewing job candidates. But soft skills take priority because they produce the most successful new hires. These include: knowledge of basic business ethics, problem-solving acumen, and solid communication skills.

5) Let your differences shine.

You may not see much young or female talent in today’s supply chain industry, but don’t let that discourage you. In fact, this signals opportunity. Many companies are ramping up efforts to recruit (and keep) young talent. And women tend to be strong in many of the soft skills needed for the future of SCM. According to  Shanton J. Wilcox, vice president, North America, and lead for logistics and fulfillment at Capgemini, “Many so-called tactical jobs will be replaced by positions requiring more interpersonal and relationship management skills.”

With the present challenges in securing supply chain talent, recruiters are actively searching for specific skills and new employees. You can answer to this demand if you know how to leverage, expand, and promote your skill set to the right people.