Everywhere you turn people want to talk about content marketing. What platform are you using, what content are you pushing, what channels are you leveraging and what is the right cadence of distribution are all questions content marketers are thinking about every day to position their product one step closer to their prospective consumers. As consumer marketing gets more and more targeted and sophisticated, the right content strategy is a critical element across any marketing plan.
If 2015 was about getting your feet wet, 2016 is about creating a strategy and operationalizing it in order to drive real results. But if you read the numbers you will see that while everyone is now doing it, they don’t know if they are being successful or even what success looks like. So here are some recommendations to think about as you are sitting down to determine if you are approaching your content marketing properly:
- Know your audience. We all think we know our customers, but how much data or research do you really have into their preferences? Do you understand why they have engaged or bought your products in the past and why they may again? Are you analyzing all of the data at your fingertips (Google Analytics, email marketing metrics, social metrics, brand sentiment, premium content downloads. Etc.) Knowing your audience is the most critical first step in launching an effective content marketing strategy to turn prospects into buyers.
- Know the Journey of Your Buyers. As you move your customers through a traditional funnel (awareness, consideration, conversion, advocacy), what content is most critical at each step to keep them progressing? Is your message resonating with them? Are you materials up to snuff? Are your prospects seeing your product or brand in the most consistent, effective manner across every potential channel?
- Create and document your plan. Doing content marketing by feel is not smart. Create a plan which outlines your target, your messages, your channels, and your calendar or cadence of activities. Each week when you huddle as a team it is much easier to make sure everyone is doing their assigned roles and progressing the program. Clearly you will want to course correct as your review the metrics, but starting with a solid plan can keep you one step ahead of your prospective customers.
- Measure, Evaluate and Evolve. The more you look at the numbers, discuss what they mean, and make sure everyone on your team understands the impact of their actions, the better your program will become. A weekly review, even if for 15 minutes, can you a long way to ensure that you don’t get too far off course over the course of a month or quarter.
- Take some Risks. Sure, everyone will want to use traditional channels (social, web, sponsored, etc.), but moving out of your comfort zone to try a channel where you have not spent time or money in the past can be effective.
- Combine Paid and Earned Efforts for Content Distribution. The best content in the world will fall flat without distribution to an engaged audience. Unless you are a well-known consumer brand with a large following, leveraging paid channels including social networks and search are critical for an effective program.
- What She Said. Engage influencers to amplify content marketing efforts. In today’s consumer marketing world the opinion and recommendations of influencers can go a long way and deliver the same impact as a great media article.
These recommendations can help you hone your content marketing strategy for 2016. The less prepared you are to succeed, the less your chances for driving real success with content marketing.
As an agency that works with a number of cyber security clients, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been on Bluetext’s radar for quite some time. The GDPR, which goes into effect May 25th, 2018 regulates how companies must protect the personal data of European Union citizens.
The impending deadline is not lost on U.S. multinational corporations that touch EU citizens/consumers in any way, but most of the angst has been confined to those responsible for corporate compliance, IT and security. But GDPR is highly relevant to marketers and advertisers, who must start preparing now to ensure compliance. And the stakes are enormous: fines for non-compliance could be as high as 4% of a company’s global revenues! I’m no math whiz, but any executive responsible for that kind of fine can start looking for a new job now.
Whether or not marketers will be yelling Mayday! on the May deadline day roughly eight months from now will in many ways come down to becoming fully educated on the intent of GDPR when it comes to customer data privacy, its requirements, and how to convert the compliance challenge into an opportunity.
Organizations, not just CMOs, have some ways to go towards GDPR compliance. Gartner estimated earlier this year that more than half of companies affected by the GDPR will not be in full compliance with its requirements on deadline day. In commenting on this prediction, Bart Willemsen, research director at Gartner, counters the notion that this is only an issue in the European Union.
“The GDPR will affect not only EU-based organizations, but many data controllers and processors outside the EU as well. Threats of hefty fines, as well as the increasingly empowered position of individual data subjects tilt the business case for compliance and should cause decision makers to re-evaluate measures to safely process personal data.”
For marketers specifically, the confidence level in being prepared for the GDPR is similarly low…and dropping. As of May, only 54% of businesses expected to be compliant by the deadline, per a Direct Marketing Association (DMA) survey – down from 68% when the survey was conducted just three months prior. In fact, nearly a quarter of companies had not even started preparing for GDPR, even though the law was first announced in 2012.
The challenge for CMOs will be dictated by how much transparency they need to build into their marketing processes – particularly as it relates to how customer data is handled. The less transparent, the heavier the lift it will be to not only comply with GDPR, but demonstrate this compliance. Ultimately, a core tenet of GDPR – providing citizens with “ownership of their data” and right to erase their data – runs counter to the desire by brands to deliver a superior, customized experience by retaining and analyzing as much data as possible.
Clear guidance will help alleviate those concerns for marketers and others impacted by the legislation. GDPR directs companies to keep data as long as it is necessary. How marketers define what is necessary may be different than how it is defined by citizens and EU lawmakers
At the same time, some marketers are struggling to understand if efforts to be more transparent will come back to bite them. At a Direct Marketing Association (DMA) event this past May, chairman Mark Runacus pondered whether the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) would “penalize those who are trying to be open, honest and transparent.”
DIGIDAY has one of the better summaries of what marketers and advertisers need to start paying attention to now. A few takeaways from GDPR the author focuses on include:
- The definition of personal data has been broadened to include online identifiers such as IP addresses and cookies. This could cause problems for digital marketing, given cookies are not gathered with an individual’s consent.
- Under the GDPR, advertisers must get explicit and informed consent from EU residents. This means no more of the so-called “clickwrap” forms, those lengthy contracts that millions of people sign off on without reading each day. Instead, brands must find a way to get user consent, devoid of pre-checked boxes, or attempt to get implied consent.
- The GDPR won’t just affect organizations across Europe. Any business anywhere with personal data from EU residents must abide by the reforms.
- Marketers will need to take greater responsibility when processing personal data, and ensuring that the manner in which consent was acquired from customers in the database is GDPR compliant.
Within these challenges lies an opportunity for marketers to become more transparent stewards of customer data, improve data privacy and security, and build a more trusted relationship with the customer. It won’t be easy, but starting GDPR compliance now – if you haven’t already – is critical.
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A dynamic logo is a company mark that is malleable and constantly changing while maintaining its overall look and feel. Logos were once thought of as a permanent visual representation of a company, but in the ever-changing digital world that is no longer the case. Here is what you need to know about dynamic logos.
Logos are no longer static and evolve with the brand. The company mark is now transformative and many companies, such as Google, have begun consistently changing the display of their mark. The challenge is to maintain a consistent visual identity in the logo so the brand is still recognizable to consumers. This involves certain visuals of the logo to remain locked, while other elements are consistently inconsistent.
Many well-known companies have enlisted the aid of top branding agencies to shift towards dynamic logos, include AOL, MTV, and Seagate. A step further would be an animated logo that is responsive to the consumer. One such logo is the mark of Brazilian communications company, Oi. The company’s type is the fixed visual while splashs of color that shapeshift to the consumer’s voice is infinitely dynamic. With such a dynamic logo taken to the next level, there are now endless versions of the company’s mark unique to its consumers.
A dynamic logo allows a company to shape the consumer’s experience with its brand. By using these types of brand logos, companies have the fluidity to customize their mark for any occasion and engage their consumers.
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Successful digital campaigns need to connect to its audience while simultaneously getting the company’s message across. Digital marketers spend a huge amount of time analyzing their target market and audience before building a campaign and crafting an implementation strategy for seamless execution. Here are five tips to help your company create a successful digital campaign.
- Know your personas. Personas are fictional characters representing a company’s potential customers. Each persona has its own role, goals, challenges, company, job, skills, preferences, and so forth. Understanding your personas and building a detailed profile for each is a key step in creating an effective digital campaign.
- Analyze your competitors. Keep an eye on the public-facing marketing efforts of your competitors to understand how they are targeting their consumers. By gaining a better understanding of your competition, it provides insight to how you should position yourself in the market to stay ahead of the competition.
- Optimize your SEO. Understand the keywords your personas are searching for on search engines and integrate those keywords in your digital campaign’s SEO strategy. Optimize the meta data of your campaign by integrating your target keywords in your campaign’s title, content, meta description, URL, and image alt text.
- Set an offer strategy. Once your digital campaign has successfully captured a consumer’s attention, you need an offer strategy to draw them in. A common approach is through the promotion of gated premium content. Understanding the content that appeals to each of your personas will direct the premium content offer that should be tailored for each. A complete profile for each persona will guide a company’s content creation and fill any gaps in its content offerings.
- Create a lead strategy. Although generating leads is the goal of a digital campaign, it is not the end goal. An internal strategy needs to be in place to continuously inform and engage a lead, whether through email or other mediums, with the end goal of transition a lead to an eventual customer.
A successful digital campaign requires a significant amount of planning before it can be built, tested, and implemented. Developing an adept understand of the market environment alongside a solid SEO and content strategy are the key factors to launching a successful digital campaign.
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A logo is a central part of a company’s brand. It’s the first thing customers see, and what they learn to recognize as a short-cut to your brand values. And it needs to convey a strong message about what you stand for, and how you work with your customers. Choosing the right logo can make a big difference. Refreshing your current logo might be even more crucial.
Here are five reasons why companies refresh their logos:
Hindrances. As a company evolves and grows, its products and services will change in tangent. A logo from its past may now risk pigeon-holing and hinder the company’s growth. A company’s original logo may include words describing its offerings. As its product and services expand a logo refresh would be needed to accurately represent its growth.
Modernization. Overtime logo images that were once fashionable can become considerably outdated. Sleek, minimalistic logos are the trend today and many companies find the need to adjust their logo to appeal to today’s audience and stay relevant in the market.
Renaming. When a company changes its name, its original logo may no longer be relevant and a logo refresh is due. This is especially true for companies where their original logo was a literal representation of its original name.
Digitization. As the world grows increasingly digital companies now need to take into consideration how their logo renders on different screen widths and other mediums on the web. Old logos did not take responsiveness into consideration and must redesign and refresh to adapt in the digital age.
Acquisitions. When two companies become one, the company name may change and their logo as well. An acquisition instantly expands a company’s products or service and their original logo may no longer be an accurate representation of the new company.
Since a company’s logo is such a close depiction of a company, a major change in any area of its business will affect its single most important visual representation. A logo refresh aligns a company with its core values and ultimately its consumers.
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As more and more brands enter digital maturity, new top-level domains (TLDs) are becoming available for registration. Previously, only generic domain names and country code domains were available for use, such as .com, .net, .us, .ca, etc. Now the doors have been opened to a whole new set of domain extensions, including .business, .expert, and .guru. Here is everything you need to know about new top-level domain names and why they were introduced:
Growing Shortage of Alternatives. As companies expand their presence in the digital space, acquiring an appropriate top-level domain name has become increasingly difficult. It wasn’t long before most short domains were taken and resulted in newer domain names becoming increasingly long and absurd. For example, flights.com is unavailable and the alternatives becoming increasingly bizarre: cheapflights.com, buycheapflights.com, bestcheapflights747.com.
Providing New Choices. The introduction of new domain name structures not only made it possible for companies to acquire an appropriate domain, but also tailor their domain to appeal to both their target consumers and performance on search engines. For example, healthfoodbusiness.com can now be structured as healthfood.business or health-food.business.
A Domain Name at a Glance. With increased flexibility for companies to acquire a tailored and concise top-level domain, it is possible for consumers to gain more insight about a company directly from their domain name, such as their location and area of business. From a company’s perspective, a differentiated and professional domain name may provide it the edge they need over their competitors.
Increased Regional SEO Value. Search engines currently do not rank new domains differently from established domains on a search engine results page (SERP), but there are regional benefits where a .de domain will rank higher on SERPs in Germany but not in the USA. With this in mind, companies may want to consider how this affects their choice on a top-level domain name if their target audience is in a different region, for example: green-cars.ottawa.
New TLD Name Options. The list of available new domains is growing every day, but in general new domains can be internet terms, a description of an offer, or regions. Examples include: .website, .online, .webpage, .work, .photography, .travel, .ca.us, .berlin.de, .bc.ca, etc. The possibility for a company to acquire a more suitable domain is now significantly higher.
Restrictions on Choosing a New Domain. When a company is choosing a new top-level domain name, it must follow rules set by the respective domain registry. Common restrictions include trademark law and regional domain extensions. Protected company brands and names are not available while many regional domain extensions are only allowed if the company is based in that specific region.
Securing a New TLD Name. While many new domain names have launch dates, many others do not have a specified release date. Companies can either request a non-binding pre-reservation for domains without a specified release date or a binding pre-registration for domain names with a specified release date. Non-binding pre-reservations allow companies to pre-order a new domain name with no obligation to buy when the domain is ultimately released. Binding pre-registrations require payment upfront and is a binding agreement.
The availability of new top-level domain names opens doors for companies seeking to harden their digital presence. Ultimately, the decision to choose a new domain name is a strategic one that should be made in tangent with a company’s business goals. As the world evolves to be increasingly digital, how a company presents itself on the world wide web is more important than ever.
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Rebranding is not to be taken lightly. It demands a commitment of time, energy and resources to be successful. There are many things a company should consider and analyze before the decision to rebrand is made. As the world grows increasingly digital, more and more aspects of people’s lives are affected by the instantaneous nature of information. This needs to factor in to the direction the brand needs to take. The accessibility of information at people’s finger tips has changed the mindset of consumers, posing significant challenges:
Where are your consumers? It is difficult nowadays to find someone who does not own a smartphone with the ability to access the internet anytime and anywhere. As consumers spend more time on smaller screens, companies must optimize all aspects of their websites and platforms to perform on these devices— or risk hurting their brand with hard-to-read and poorly-rendered webpages. Companies either need to rebrand and keep up with the times or risk becoming obsolete.
Are you targeting effectively? With the rise of the digital age is the emergence of social media platforms and numerous new ways for a company to reach the people they would like to target. Each new medium requires a different strategy to navigate and not all companies are equipped to immediately do so. A company’s current messaging and image may not have the ability to capture the attention of its target audience. These obstacles are a clear sign that a company needs to revamp its brand to maintain a strong market presence.
How flexible is your current brand? A company’s graphics and visuals must be scalable and adapt to different mediums. Brand assets in the modern era are used for web, mobile, print assets, social media, icons, and the list goes on. All these elements must be taken into consideration starting at the core of a brand’s design for the company to grow along with its consumer base. When a company is unable to effectively utilize its brand in new mediums, a brand redesign is needed before the company falls too far behind.
As the digital age brings new challenges, it also brings new opportunities. An increasingly responsive world may cause initial difficultly for a company adjusting to adapt, but by rebranding doors are opened for the new brand to reach its target audience like never before.
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Top branding firms focus on a variety of factors when rebranding a company. A brand refresh is a large undertaking that involves individuals at all levels in an organization to successfully implement. With the aid of a branding firm, the process can be smoother than expected. Here are 5 more things top branding firms to consider when rebranding your company:
What is your company’s reputation in the market? A company’s reputation can precede it in the market place and form impressions in the consumer’s mind even before they have exposure with your brand. If your company has less than a positive reputation within the market place, rebranding will provide you the opportunity to start anew with a clean slate.
Are you planning to expand your business abroad? There are many adjustments for a company to take their business into the global markets, and a rebrand may be necessary for a company to ensure they appeal to consumers in the global markets past cultural and social lines. Top branding firms are experts in helping companies navigate this tricky terrain to achieve growth in international business ventures.
Has there been a drastic change in executive leadership? A change in a company’s top leadership positions may cause enough organizational changes that the current brand no longer resonates with the company’s new direction. Rebranding the company becomes necessary for the company to maintain a cohesive voice and image.
Is there the need to further develop a corporate identity? As a company grows and develops overtime, the preliminary guidelines set for the brand at the beginning may no longer be strong enough to define the brand as a whole. Without a standardized visual style or extended color palette for example, the company’s corporate identity quickly becomes muddled. Top branding firms set disciplined brand guidelines to ensure uniformity company wide.
Has there been a change of company ownership? When a merger or acquisition occurs, or if a company shifts from private to pubic, there is the immediate move to rebrand the firm. In the case of a merger or acquisition, rebranding fully integrates the new portions of business under one corporate identity to maintain uniformity in the market. When a company shifts from private to public ownership, the company now must comply with legal requirements and top branding firms can be a key player in aiding this transition.
A brand refresh is more often than not a necessary marketing strategy as a company grows and undergoes changes. Top branding firms aid companies of all industries in making this critical change and continuing achieving success in their respective markets.
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There are many factors top branding agencies focus on when rebranding a company. Typically, companies rebrand every 7-10 years but what motivates them to do so? Rebranding often involves choosing a new standardized color palette, a new logo, a new voice, and even a new name. Company dynamics shift to embody the new image and it can be challenging for everyone involved. Here are the 5 things top branding agencies to consider when rebranding your company:
How does your brand stack up to the competition? When placed next to your competitors, how does your company measure up? Do you appear modern and cutting edge? Or do you appear outdated and in need of an upgrade? Visuals aren’t everything, but the first impression a potential customer has of your brand may be a lasting one and ultimately sway their decision in a saturated marketplace.
Are you reaching your target audience? Companies utilize different strategies to appeal to different consumer groups. What appeals to millennials may not capture the attention of older generations. If your company’s goal is to reposition itself in the marketplace to win over a new consumer base, a brand refresh from a top branding agency may just be what your organization needs to reach its goals.
How are the markets changing? Technological advancements have caused major shifts in many industries that have required companies to adapt quickly. The rapid pace of digitizing society has meant companies need to keep up with the times or find themselves left behind. Top branding agencies specialize in positioning their clients for success by implementing best practices in the digital space.
How has your company grown? As companies evolve and increase the offerings of their goods and services in different sectors of the market, the original brand may no longer resonate with its diversified consumer base. Such disconnect between the brand and its offerings may begin affecting the company’s marketing efforts of outlier products or services. Top branding agencies work with clients in such growth dilemmas to find cohesiveness in their organizations and create a new corporate visual identity to tie everything under one brand.
Are there inconsistencies within your company? Are there many different versions of consumer-facing assets used within the company? Is the company voice disconnected from one product or service to another? Are consumers unaware two of your products or services are offered by the same company? If so, rebranding may be a necessary strategy to help both the consumer and company connect the dots of a fragmented brand.
A company rebrand from a top branding agency is more than just aesthetics. A fresh new look and feel is noticed by consumers and works as a strategy to bring more cohesion to the company while simultaneously drawing attention from the market.
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In the arena of top marketing firms, data-driven marketing seems like the key buzzword of the past few years. In fact, it’s no passing fade. Leveraging analytics to reach target customers has become a key component of any successful digital campaign. According to a recent survey by the Global Alliance of Data-Driven Marketing Associations, employing a data-driven approach has become the backbone to just about any campaign or messaging—whether it’s targeting the right audience, or even predicting potential success. And as marketing technology continues to make inroads across the industry, it’s should not be surprising that more businesses want to take a data-driven approach to their marketing.
The use of data to improve the effectiveness of marketing, and to measure it, is virtually universal these days. In fact, a recent study found that the number of marketers who still don’t use data are now just one in 10. In addition, even more complex data techniques, such as integration of third-party data and cross-channel measurement, were found to be widely used.
The survey found that more than nearly 80 percent of advertising and marketing professionals are now using data-driven techniques to maintain customer databases, measure campaign results across multiple marketing channels, and segment their data for proper targeting. Again, for those of at the top digital marketing agencies, this finding makes perfect sense. Marketing automation platforms, when configured properly, can easily deliver this type of feedback, and those platforms have been aggressively showcasing these capabilities.
The survey, which targeted both advertising and marketing executives from a wide variety of industries, notes a clear shift in spending patterns. The survey respondents reported a strong expectation that spending on data-driven efforts would continue to rise. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents said their spending on data analytics for marketing would rise, while only seven percent said they expected a decline in spending the coming year.
While data-driven marketing is not quite yet a flawless solution, that’s not unexpected for a relatively new approach that relies on new technologies, data-driven marketing isn’t a perfect solution, at least not yet. A recent analysis from Square Root found a challenge for many companies is gathering the type of high-quality data that is necessary to optimize results. Data analysts are searching to find more effective ways to collect, manage and understand data. Forty-four percent of the survey respondents reported that they were still using outdated tools. A similar amount believed they could make decisions without in-depth data. According to the survey, over a quarter of respondents cited other time wasters from data source overkill to bad numbers. Square Root’s study, in particular, found more than half of data professionals felt they could use better training, closely followed by another 49% who desired more user-friendly or updated data tools.
But chief marketing officers and other executives wouldn’t be making these investments if they didn’t think they deliver results. They recognize the benefits to the bottom line.