Marketing

Sarah Worsham / Nov 5, 2013

The Power of Being Recommended

Friends 2008 1 bw (Photo credit: Marion Doss)

We generally listen more to our friends and colleagues over what a company or individual who is trying to sell us something says. It makes sense. Since they’re trying to get us to spend money, their intensions are suspect. Which is why recommendations can be so powerful when it comes to building a business. Not only are the deals usually easier to seal, the customers usually are better. Marketo has some great advice on how to become the recommended brand…

We’re now at “the end of the beginning” of social media marketing. While nearly every business and organization has adopted foundational social media platforms, many brands are now asking how they can effectively use these channels to engage their consumers.

The answer? For businesses to succeed in the social media-rich world, they now have to transform their business strategies. They have to make their brands the most recommended.

According to Nielsen and Roper Reports, 92% of all consumers report that a word-of-mouth recommendation is the “leading reason they buy a product or service.” This insight showcases the importance of grounding your business strategy with a focus on the power of the recommendation.

So how do you become the most recommended brand? Here are the 5 steps you need to take…

— Get Recommended: The Power of Word of Mouth by Paul Rand

Sarah Worsham / Sep 13, 2013

Worst Marketing Mistake: Features Instead of Benefits

English: One of the pavilions of the fruits an... — English: One of the pavilions of the fruits and vegetables sector in the Rungis International Market, France. Français : Un des pavillons du secteur des fruits et légumes du marché international de Rungis, en France. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We’ve all seen the product page with a bullet list of features that scrolls and scrolls. As a customer, how does that help you make a purchase decision? If you’ve done your research or you happen to be very knowledgeable about every feature, then the list may inform your decision. However, that’s a big assumption to make if you’re trying to sell to someone — that they somehow understand how each feature means they should pick your product instead of someone else’s.

Sarah Worsham / Jun 12, 2013

F=MA for Content Acceleration

Ever wonder how to measure the effects of the type of content on how well it performs? F=MA (force = mass x acceleration) may be a physics equation, but it also applies to content.

Smaller pieces of content have less “mass” and therefore it takes less effort to get them going. This also makes sense from an intuitive point of view. A tweet is much easier to share than a 2 hour video. Which isn’t to say that the 2 hour video may not be important to your content strategy, but it may take a lot more effort for it to get the audience reach to return on the investment. Steve Kerho has more in his article over on Fast Company:

A four-minute video has significantly more mass than a 30-second video. An email with an embedded video, four articles, and eight links has more density than an email with two articles and three links. We can add various meta-data descriptors to boost SEO performance and sharpen content mapping. That’s not to say more “mass” or “density” makes for better-performing content. Content relevance is what determines success.

Performance attributes require an understanding of the number of exposures, shares, and other engagement measures. We can calculate the acceleration of a piece of content because of how we defined our descriptive attributes. Content-acceleration measurement provides unique insights into how quickly content spreads. To calculate content acceleration, apply this formula: Force = Mass x Acceleration. — HOW YOUR BRAND CAN CREATE, TRACK, AND LEARN TO LOVE BIG CONTENT by Steve Kerho

« Previous Page