Some of the most common themes from this year’s conference included how marketing can and should drive business results, ways to build compelling brands through storytelling, and making marketing more important within organizations.
There were plenty of great B2B insights to choose from, but I’ve narrowed it down to my top 5 takeaways over the 3-day event.
- It’s not B2B or B2C its B2H= Business to Human. While this isn’t a new idea, it bears repeating. Linda Boff, Chief Marketing Office at GE, reminded us that business leaders don’t log in to a different internet at night. Every business, whether B2B or B2C, has the ability to create emotion. She brought this idea home and demonstrated the power of storytelling with examples like “My Mom Works at GE” (warning: grab the tissues).
- Stop doing the things that don’t matter. ROI is by far the #1 objective for B2B marketers in 2016. Michal Brenner, author of the Content Formula, told marketers that if your activities aren’t driving business results, then stop. Our world today is infinitely more measurable than just a few years ago; any dollar you spend on Google Adwords or Facebook Ads can be tracked back to ROI.
- Empathy is the most important job of marketers. Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder of Orbit Media equated data-driven analytics to empathy, urging marketing to use data to determine what their customers are looking for. Which topics do people care about? When are the leaving your site? Where are they coming from? Google Analytics can be a very powerful decision support tool, so you aren’t making decisions based simply on opinion.
- Find your unique purpose. If you know Tell Your Story, you know we love talking about purpose. GE’s Linda Boff discussed the importance of having a unique purpose. What is GE’s purpose you might ask? They are the world’s only digital industrial company. Digital and industrial don’t typically go together, but GE is doing just that. They used humor to communicate this purpose with the “What’s the Matter with Owen” ad campaign. While it wasn’t designed as a recruitment campaign, recruiting has shot up 8 fold for the company since launching this campaign.
- Get a seat at the table by focusing on business outcomes. Peter Isaacson, CMO of Demandbase, said marketers need to be focusing on business metrics like pipeline revenue instead of campaign metrics like click-through-rates (CTR). Peter also discussed the exploding area of Account Based Marketing which focuses in on your top 5-50 accounts, instead of traditional demand gen which goes after 10,000+ accounts. “ABM Is about identifying the companies most likely to buy, and then marketing to them,” said Peter.
For more insights and takeaways from the conference, check out the #BMA16 on Twitter, and if you like what you hear, join us next year.
George and Amanda at #BMA16
Responsibilities would include assisting the Tell Your Story team in development, implementation and management of marketing, business development, social media and public relations efforts for a variety of Tell Your Story clients.
- Writing / Content Development— We need someone with excellent writing and editing skills that is comfortable writing for B2B and B2C clients. The candidate must also be able to help write proposals, press releases and blog posts, and be able to summarize research and develop creative briefs.
- Social Media— We need someone who can create and develop strategic social media programs for our clients. Must understand how we use social media outlets like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, WordPress and others to reach our target audiences. Must manage, tweet, post, re-tweet and make suggestions on a daily basis. Must manage our “editorial calendar” and help manage social media contests and promotions.
- Social Advertising—We need someone who understands how social advertising fits into any social media program. Must be able to develop and executive social advertising campaigns in Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
- Public Relations— We need someone who understands the basics of PR, media relations and how it integrates into social media and the overall marketing mix. Build media lists, write press releases, pitch media…etc.
- Account Management / Client Relationships— We need someone who can help our team and clients get organized, get smarter and stay on time and within budgets. Ideal candidate will have experience in a direct client-facing role.
- Measurement— Must know how to effectively monitor and measure social media as well as online and traditional media, and report back on how our initiatives are helping us achieve our clients’ business goals.
- Effective communication skills, both written and oral.
- Self-motivated, detail oriented, good organizational skills and ability to prioritize, multitask and meet deadlines
- Knowledge of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Cision, online social media tools and other programs to be discussed a requirement.
About Us
We develop and amplify stories so organizations can be successful and its people happy. We are nimble and flexible and work with clients who want a nimble and efficient agency partner that can deliver on the expertise and resources necessary to develop, share and manage their great stories through marketing communications.
Interested candidates should email info@tellyourstoryinc.com.
]]>
How can business-to-business make their content marketing more effective? George shares his thoughts on creating better, more valuable, relevant and consistent content in his guest post 10 Tips for Doing it Better (Content Marketing, That Is) on the One North blog.
]]>
Social news feeds have become a highly competitive space over the last few years, as platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and most recently, Instagram, have opened their self-service advertising models to all businesses. In order to get the maximum results and ROI desired from their content, brands and organizations are finding they have to “pay-to-play” in the social media game. Achieving stellar results organically is more difficult than ever as competition for eyeballs continues to increase, and various marketing research supports the notion that organic reach will be next to zero in the next few years.
Social media advertising, when planned, executed, optimized and measured correctly, is an effective way to:
• Increase brand awareness
• Extend content reach and help ensure content is served in the right place, at the right time
• Promote thought leadership
• Create engagement and dialogue among influencers and audiences
• Drive targeted website traffic
• Enhance SEO and build quality back links to your website
• Increase leads/sales
Although each social platform is a bit different, social advertising begins with choosing the appropriate objective for your campaign (audience growth, website traffic, engagement, etc.) and building other components like copy and creative around it. The self-service functionality of most major social platforms makes it fairly painless for any marketer to navigate setup. Here’s an overview of the different ad options available on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and some of the pros and cons for each.
Ad Types include:
• Promoted Page—increase followers
• Boost Posts—increase reach and engagement of Page content
• Website Ads—increase traffic to website or landing page
• Retargeting—reach users who have already visited your website or landing page
• Other objectives include Events/App Installs/Offers
• Carousel Ads—website ads that allow users to showcase multiple images and links in a single ad set
Pros:
• Cost effective—Facebook traditionally has a very low CPC, depending on audience reach desired and other targeting factors
• Advanced targeting—demographics like gender, age, location, job titles, interests, income level, shopping habits, etc.
• Custom audiences—brands can use internal data to target and remarket on Facebook
• Robust analytics for tracking results—easy to continuously edit/optimize/measure ads
• Facebook’s self-service ad platform can be used to place ads on Instagram using the same formatting (copy, images, calls-to-action)
Cons:
• Stringent ad guidelines for brands to maintain quality and integrity of the News Feed
• Difficult to track quality of followers—abundance of “fake clickers”
Ad Types include:
• Promoted Account—increase followers
• Promoted Tweets—similar to Facebook’s boosted post to increase reach and engagement of tweets
• Website Clicks—drive traffic to a website or landing page
• Twitter Cards—allows attachment of rich photos, videos and media to Tweets that drive traffic to your website, or other desired actions.
• Conversational Ads—ads include a call-to-action button with customizable hashtags to prompt audience engagement
Pros:
• Advanced targeting—Twitter continues to roll out enhanced targeting capabilities. Target by general demographics like age and location, plus keywords, user handles, interests, and more.
• Twitter Cards provides a unique ad format that allows marketers more control over how their promoted content is displayed and shared.
• Robust analytics for tracking results—easy to continuously edit/optimize/measure ads
Cons:
• Spam followers can be hard to avoid
• While still a cost-effective option for social and digital advertisers, CPCs are generally higher than on Facebook.
Ad Types include:
• Sponsored Updates—increase reach and engagement of Page content
• Direct Sponsored Updates—similar to a Sponsored Update but only shown to target audience within the ad set rather than as a public post on Company Page
• Text/Display Ads—promote product or service by driving traffic to LinkedIn Company Page, website or landing page
• Recruitment Ads (not available through self-service model)
Pros:
• Advanced targeting allows you to get very granular with your audience and message with criteria such as job titles/functions, company names, industry, skills, groups, etc.
• Assurance your audience is valid—minimal fake accounts/spammers
• Robust analytics for tracking results—ability to continuously measure/optimize/improve ads
Cons:
• Highly competitive bids leads to a very expensive ad buy
• Limited geo-targeting capabilities—only able to target major markets
Although countless marketers and organizations have unlocked the power of social media advertising and see concrete results that impact the bottom line, it’s still a largely uncharted territory for many companies. As marketers continue to embrace content marketing, we anticipate social advertising to become a fundamental tactic as part of any strong/effective content marketing plan. Don’t have one of those either? Check out our guest post for client and partner One North Interactive on 10 tips to get started.
If you have questions on how social paid ads can integrate with your existing content marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to contact me directly at nbenzer@tellyourstoryinc.com.
]]>When you find people you work well with, you want to make it last. And when you find people who make your clients happy, you really want to make it last. At Tell Your Story, I’ve had the privilege of having two such people work side by side with me, Amanda Pollard and Nicole Benzer. And it’s about time I recognized them properly!
Amanda Pollard has been promoted to Director, Content & Social Strategy. We have been on a fun journey so far, having first met when I was heading up and growing the Chicago office of what is now gyro. I introduced her to Twitter! True story. She was a skeptic then, but now she jokes she spends half her day on Twitter and the other social channels we use to tell our clients’ stories. She was my first full-time hire at Tell Your Story in 2011, and was an early new breed of public relations professional who understood the power of combining earned, owned and paid media to develop and share great stories. And she keeps getting better and broadening her story both professionally and personally.
Amanda Pollard of Tell Your Story
Nicole Benzer has been promoted to Director, Digital Marketing. Amanda and I often say that we hit the jackpot when we hired Nicole, after reviewing more than 200 resumes back in early 2013. Nicole hasn’t only mastered the role we hired her for – integrating traditional PR with social media community management – but she has taken herself and our small agency to the next level in developing crucial knowledge in the areas of paid social media, SEO and SEM, and our partnership with One North Interactive, providing a true digital marketing perspective to Tell Your Story and its clients.
Nicole Benzer of Tell Your Story
I used to think titles weren’t that important, especially at a flexible, nimble (and small) agency like ours. But I was wrong. Titles are signals to the marketplace of what we are and what we do. It sets expectations and it puts pressure on those with titles to meet and exceed those expectations for professional success and personal fulfillment. Plus, new titles are deserved as people grow into new specializations and take on more responsibility. So, it is with this that I say congratulations to Amanda and Nicole, my team members that rock the house. Give them a shout-out on Twitter at @apollard19 and @nicolebenzer.
This partnership further solidifies both of our agencies’ positions serving the unique needs of B2B and relationship-based organizations. For One North, it gives them the storytelling and content marketing capabilities that many current and prospective clients need in their overall marketing mix. For Tell Your Story, we gain One North’s second-to-none digital, technology and strategy know-how to better serve our clients.
We believe great partnerships are formed when each organization can build upon each other’s strengths. One North’s strengths lie in creating extraordinary interactive experiences that deepen the relationships between businesses and their most important audiences. Tell Your Story’s strengths are in developing and sharing great stories through traditional public relations, ever-evolving social media channels and overall integrated marketing.
As One North CEO John Simpson puts it, “Developing and sharing valuable content has become an integral part of creating meaningful digital experiences. It’s a natural extension of our services and one that we’re incredibly excited to offer.”
And we are incredibly excited to start rolling so more organizations can truly tell their stories.
For more information on our partnership, please visit onenorth.com, and stay tuned for more info. You can also contact me directly at 847.921.3925 or Email me.
]]>
Tell Your Story Founder George Rafeedie gave a recent breakfast seminar with the Chicago Business Marketing Association where he taught a group of B2B marketers how to develop and share stories on any budget.
In his dynamic presentation, George explained how every organization (big, small, start up, non-profit, division) has a story. And our job as marketers is to find it. Then develop it. Tell it. Measure it. And lastly, improve it. The story should be unique and tied to an organization’s purpose, the difference they make in the world, says George.
He shared the following 8-step process that marketers can use, right now, to develop and share their story/purpose.
1) Executive download & brainstorm. This is where executive buy-in happens. It is where you go to your boss/CMO/President/whomever and explain the process and why your organization needs it. This step is crucial as it ensures your stakeholders feel like they are part of the process. During this step, you should meet with your internal stakeholders for one-on-one meetings and brainstorm sessions. This allows you to get the information you need to develop your story, while bringing everyone in to be part of the process.
2) External interviews. You don’t need 6 months and lots of money to do customer research. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Just talk to a few of your customers (5-10 is a good goal). Include both current and former customers and get a direction of what they think of you (the good, the bad, and yes, the ugly). Get words, images, ideas, and quotes that will help you craft your story. An added bonus? Customers like to give their opinion; it makes them feel important.
3) Research/research review. Review any surveys or other internal or external research done in the past. Monitor your industry and audit what your competitors are doing.
4) Purpose-driven creative brief. Pull everything from steps 1-3 together in a document that lays out your message. This document answers the question: “What is your brand purpose—the difference you make in the world?” It should also include a description of your values, voice, and support for your purpose. George shared the example purpose of “We drive positive behaviors with rewards that people want and need,” for a client who sells 150 brands of gift cards for large-scale incentive, rewards and recognition programs.
Steps 1-4 can be done on your own, within a month. Of course you could bring in a consultant or agency to help, depending on time and resources available.
5) Creative concepting. This is where you bring your message to life with words and imagery. During this step, you can really scale up or down with budget.
6) Integrated tactical plan development. Develop a plan of how you are going to distribute your stories through Earned, Owned and Paid media channels. George gave several examples of each type of media: you “earn” a story in the New York Times, you pay for retargeting ads, and you own media like your website and blog.
7) Execute. Now it is time to tell your story! You need to consistently create and curate valuable content that resonates with your audience. Although this is hard work, the real challenge is getting to your authentic story. Remember, it is not always about your company. Your content should bring value to your customer.
8) Evaluate. Be sure to set out goals at the beginning of your process. Everyone’s goals are different so figure out what is important to your organization and stakeholders. Maybe it is traffic to your website. Or leads. Or sales. Nirvana is when you can directly measure your efforts to revenue generated. This makes it very easy to justify and continue your efforts.
Remember that you can do this process on any timeline and virtually any budget. Storytelling boils down to understanding your audience, identifying your purpose and connecting with the people you want to reach.
See George’s full BMA presentation here.
Photos courtesy of BMA Chicago.
]]>
Tell Your Story’s Founder, George Rafeedie, was a recent guest on Bootstrapping in America, a live online segment produced by the Tastytrade network that highlights entrepreneurs and their paths to success.
George discussed why effective story telling is crucial for an organization’s marketing efforts, in addition to a primary factor in overall business success and growth.
Hear how he’s applied his experience as a corporate marketer to build a small business that’s rooted in creating and sharing great stories through social PR.
]]>
Tell Your Story Founder George Rafeedie shares his thoughts on how identifying and communicating a brand’s purpose is essential for marketing success on the Cranium Studio blog, Brand Musings.
Read what George had to say and see examples of purpose-driven branding here: Brand Purpose, Key to Content Marketing Success
]]>
“Be More.” Two words, countless nuances, depending on whom you’re talking to. For the hundreds of B2B marketers that attended BMA15, this slogan invariably implies how we must continually adapt and evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of a world guided by technology and innovation. B2B’s potential is overwhelming, yet promising, as we continue to strive for improvement in all areas.
After attending dozens of sessions and combing thousands of posts on Twitter over the past few days, these 5 themes seemed to rise time and again for marketers looking to Be More.
- Customer experience and satisfaction is the catalyst for all marketing initiatives, but great customer service isn’t enough anymore. Experiential marketing is becoming the norm and successful brands are learning how to deliver exceptional experiences to their customers.
- Employees are the foundation and support system for customer loyalty, acquisition and retention. Every brand, regardless of industry, should make employee engagement a marketing priority. This has never been more true as millenials are becoming more relevant as consumers, business decision makers and employees. It’s crucial for B2B marketers to not only know how to reach this powerful audience, but also work alongside them.
- Words like emotion, passion, human, and face-to-face prevailed. B2B marketers need to focus on serving rather than selling. They need to forge real, personal connections.
- It’s never too late for a second act, but don’t change your stripes. BlackBerry’s comeback is a prime example of a brand reinventing itself to stay relevant. Ingredion is another example of how a global enterprise can effectively rebrand to create marketing value and consistency.
- There are no mistakes. The great thing about marketing is that it’s a constant cycle of creativity, exploration, testing, measuring and improvement.
What other themes did you identify at #BMA15?
Check out our #BMA15 takeaways from Chapter Leader Day, Day 1 and Day2!
We’re already looking forward to BMA16!
]]>