Posted on Wed, May 02, 2012
Inbound marketing continues to grow as a way for business to use the internet effectively for business growth which comes as no surprise to those of us involved in helping companies to implement comprehensive inbound marketing programs. It delivers consistent, predictable and sustained results at lower cost than conventional marketing approaches and more companies are adopting it as part of their marketing mix and achieving some powerful results. Where websites have often been viewed as another line item expense in corporate budgets, the ROI (typically between 100-300%) that companies experience from well executed inbound marketing initiatives is changing that view quickly.
This interview post by Dewaldt Huysamen with Rand Fishkin, CEO and co-founder of SEOmoz an industry leader, provides Rand's insight on how valuable inbound marketing is both now and into the future. One observation that we'd like to point to is the implicit value of inbound marketing that he alludes to. To say it explicitly, (as we repeat often in our blog and elsewhere) while inbound marketing has many positive attributes, perhaps the most powerful are:
- The reversal of the conventional marketing spend paradigm- When you create a campaign with print, radio, TV etc. when the investment is spent, the campaign and any benefits more or less end. Alternatively, once you've made the investment in a new inbound marketing campaign and launched it, the benefits begin and can last long into the future. We know of cases where a lead generation initiative was created in 2008 and continues to this day as a top lead generation performer for the company, we think that's powerful.
- The reversal of the website as a line item expense in the company budget- As a company continues to develop their site into an engaging hub of information targeted to their specific audience and creates compelling offers of interest to that audience that convert them into leads that can be automatically nurtured into highly qualified prospects, the website is transformed from a static and abandoned piece of internet highway real estate into a powerful business development and growth tool, an invaluable corporate asset.
Whether your company is small, medium or large/enterprise, isn't it time you evaluated the merits of a comprehensive inbound marketing program for your company?
Contact us now and set up a call. We guarantee that in 15 minutes or less we can offer you a valuable insight that will generate more traffic or leads from your website!
Posted on Fri, Apr 20, 2012
Ann Fuller is CHEO's Director of Public Relations and this months Third Tuesday (perhaps the Ottawa social media Meetup group) guest speaker. The public health care industry which is so highly valued by most Canadians, is in a period of transformation where they must find ways to deliver better health outcomes, in a more timely fashion and all with less money...no simple task! Could social media play a role? If so how? What are the opportunities and risks of this relatively new tool for the health care sector? Full event details and registration for this event are available here...
As we learned from Richard Binhammer, the original richard@dell, 'social media is a tool that allows any organization to do business better.' In his presentation to the Third Tuesday group some time ago he went on to explain how Dell was using social media not just in the sales and marketing division (where too many people believe the value is in our opinion), but also in client service, product R&D, recruitment etc. in a nutshell all the core business groups of a company's activity. Can these same lessons be applied within the health care environment? Our short answer would be a strong 'YES' but just how remains to be seen, and Ann is in a unique position to share her 'insight from within' on all aspects of possibilities and pitfalls...oh yes, we've also learned through the experiences shared by other social media leaders, there will be stumbles. As a public space and valued community asset, how will the health care sector respond to stumbles?
This presentation is a must see for anyone interested in the Ottawa social media space, in fact, if you're in from out of town on May 7th, don't miss this, as with all Third Tuesday events that we've participated in, there will be lots of learning and the opportunity to speak with another interesting player on the Ottawa social media landscape, mark your calendar now!
Posted on Wed, Apr 04, 2012
If Your C-Level Executives Are Social Your Brand Will Benefit
Has there been discussion around the board table about whether or not your company's executives should participate in social media? The recent study by eMarketer has results that should be of interest to any company that wants to do business better using social media and provides further evidence on the value that social media has for your brand. Bottom line...C-Level executives should be participating!
If you think you don't have time for social, think again!
Posted on Fri, Mar 16, 2012
Well...What Do You Think?
HubSpot Ready to Pounce as Traditional Marketing Gets "Obliterated"
If HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan is feeling pretty exuberant about the future of online marketing these days, you can’t blame him. In a conversation on Tuesday, Halligan revealed some exceptional numbers from the Boston-based company’s 2011 fiscal year. Fresh off of a $32 million round of funding last March (and the #17 slot in our list of America’s Most Promising Companies), the company raked in $29 million in revenue last year, up 81% from 2010.
Read the full article here...
Our comment in Forbes:
It’s rare that we see the kind of success that Hubspot is experiencing. It requires first recognizing a problem that’s real and that others may have overlooked and following this observation up with action that delivers a real solution. Such is the case with the brain trust at Hubspot. I have never come across a company where each action taken that delivers positive results is almost immediately supported and developed. For those who have watched and interacted with this company and their partner agencies, it comes as no surprise that the company is experiencing such broad based success and expansion. Great product, impeccable timing, extraordinary execution…remarkable people! Continued success.
What are your thoughts? How do you see the evolution of marketing? Is the era of outbound marketing truly drawing to a close?
Posted on Thu, Mar 15, 2012
The LinkedIn "Answers" Feature Generates Interesting Discussions!
Recently a question on social media came up in the "Answers" section of LinkedIn and the response we gave was recognized for its quality so we thought we'd share this with you as many of the companies we speak with wonder about social media and how it might fit into their web based actions...
LinkedIn Question:
What do you think needs to be considered when companies want to transition to Social Business? (meaning use Social Media for business purposes)
Our response:
What a great question, and so far, lots of solid input.
I had the very good fortune to meet and speak with Richard Binhammer who is the original richard@dell who has some notoriety as one of the original Dell social media team. In conversation with him one of the key points he made was how social media is a tool that allows any company to do business better and went on to explain what he meant by this. While many people think of social media as a vehicle for sales and marketing (which of course it is) this is only one business unit that can benefit a company. Now to answer your question...
As a first consideration, because we see this time and again as the single most significant barrier to social media engagement, is there executive buy-in and support? Without this a social media initiative is may never really take off. One of the reasons that Dell continues to be an example of the power of using social media is that it was Michael Dell who spearheaded their actions and supported continued efforts despite some of the infamous failures along the way. If social media begins without this buy-in, it will be a much longer and harder journey unless an ROI is established that allows for a business case development that makes sense to the bean counters...shorten the journey by establishing executive support.
The second consideration is who is going to work on the initiative. Regardless of the size of the company, the recommendations we offer clients are based on the experience of others we have spoken to about their programs first steps, including RIM, DELL, and a Canadian government branch, the NCC, among others. That is, start with a small group from within who are already savvy in the social mediasphere and are interested in making it work for the company or organization. As others have pointed out in this discussion, there are internal business cultural issues, strategies, tactics, plans, analytics, goals etc. that will ultimately have to be articulated. A company that tries to do this in social media from the top down is bucking the tried and true process, and further will likely end up missing out on some of the very best that social can offer them...start small, review activity and results, build on success, adapt, adapt, adapt.
The third consideration is a very simple plan to begin with. The plan should establish some simple goals that might include the effective promotion of some corporate content or gaining the following of a small number of a group of people who are relevant to the organization. If a company thinks that by starting a social media program they should suddenly see incredible outcomes, they will be very disappointed. Start small, take your time, listen and allow for the evolution of the internal processes, policies etc. in a somewhat organic fashion.
The fourth consideration is key...YOU WILL STUMBLE AND BUMBLE along the way! Social media is a highly interactive space and as such very difficult to control and anticipate the sort of interactions your company will engage in. Trying to predict what will happen in advance is virtually impossible so don't try, you have to go with the flow and when you stumble, you have to pick yourself up, brush off the dust and engage again. Social media has no set path!
These considerations and approaches have served companies who have made the leap into social media extremely well. They allow for a company to evolve social policies, plans, goals, KPI's and the list goes on. Further, this approach will drive results not limited to the sales and marketing units, but also other key areas including HR, customer support, product development etc. allowing as Richard said, any company to do business better.
I hope this contributes to the discussion!
...End
As stated previously, many companies we speak with have questions about social media and how best to start using it for business. While many are focused on the sales and marketing aspects, there are many other ways that social media can make valuable contributions to a companies operations. As you plan for social media, we urge you to think about the various business units within your company that could benefit!
Posted on Mon, Feb 06, 2012
Mobile Communications Are Vital To Business Today, Should There Be More Competition?
Openmedia is reporting that the big three Canadian telcos aren't serving business and consumers as well as other countries, and further are working hard to limit choice and competition. As new bandwidth comes up for auction later this year, what are the implications of the big three footprint and their efforts currently underway to influence policy?
Read their full evaluation and decide for yourself here. You may decide that it is all of our vested interest to register your concern and Openmedia has made it easy, simply express your opinion with their online petition, it only takes a moment. Not everyone will necessarily agree with Openmedia's perspective, but being informed is a responsibility we have so that we can ensure the various perspectives have an appropriate voice. Take a moment...it may prevent price increases and or service limitations!
Note: OpenMedia.ca is a non-profit organization that safeguards the possibilities of the open and affordable Internet. They work towards informed & participatory digital policy.
Posted on Thu, Feb 02, 2012
Who better to speak to an audience on social media in Ottawa than Tony Clement, a federal politician, President of the Treasury Board of Canada, and an early adopter (as politicians go) of social media, in particular Twitter as a platform of engagement and conversation. On February 7th, in the NAC's Panorama Room, Mr. Clement will speak to an audience of Third Tuesday Ottawa social media enthusiasts, who no doubt, are looking forward to hearing insights from this highly visible politician.
Mr. Clement's activity in social media is not limited to his personal use, but also as a government initiative having introduced a number of programs and guidelines that could be viewed as moves to a more open and transparent government environment. How will these measures affect social engagement? What constraints are placed on government employees? What goals have been established and how are they being monitored and measured? These are all questions that may be answered in what promises to be one of the more interesting Third Tuesday events.
Although social media continues to gain traction as a tool for any business or organization to "do business better" as Dell's Richard Binhammer put it, there continues to be skepticism from a large portion of the more senior executive levels. Why? Likely a lack of understanding and the establishment of goals as they relate to their business undertakings. Mr. Clement's address may well offer C-level executives a way forward in their social media engagement, or at least some compelling reasons on the value offered by the social media channels. Almost all speakers that have addressed this social media Ottawa group have talked about starting small with simple goals and building from those successes. It will be interesting to see if Mr. Clement's presentation results in an uptick in social media use by some of the skeptics!
Posted on Wed, Oct 05, 2011
By Joe Forward, Legal Writer, State Bar of Wisconsin
Oct. 5, 2011 – Many lawyers and law firms produce client alerts, newsletters, and other online content to keep existing and potential clients informed on important changes in the law, and to promote the brand of the firm or lawyer. But is this investment paying off?
Alan Vitberg, owner and chief marketing guru for Vitberg LLC in upstate New York, says lawyers are incredibly proficient at producing valuable online content to build brand awareness. But most aren’t leveraging the content to obtain new leads, and they should.
“There’s been a huge marketing transformation in the last couple years,” said Vitberg, who formerly served as director of marketing for a top 100 accounting firm. “Professional service firms should have the capability to produce online content and the mechanism to leverage it.”
Read the full article here...
Is Your Firm Leveraging Your Content Development Ability to Create New Clients From The Web?
This article presents further evidence on how and why professional services firms should be investing resources that will generate success with inbound marketing. What is your firm doing? Whether you're a medical, dental, legal, accounting, engineering, financial (the list goes on), service company, your audience is online and looking for solutions, what are you doing to attract and engage them? If nothing is the answer...don't expect much business growth from the internet! As the article points out, most professional service organizations are well positioned to provide great content for your target audience, and many do. Leveraging that effort into new clients (from internet lead generation) is the next step in the process and if you're missing out on this opportunity, you may well be missing out on the greatest opportunity available for sustained business growth and development available today.
If your company has not yet started to take advantage of what the internet offers as it relates to business growth, get some direction now, it's not too late to get started. At IME, we're here to help and work with companies like yours, but whether you choose to work with us or someone else is not the important thing, it is to get started with someone...now!
Posted on Tue, Jul 12, 2011
Posted on Tue, Jun 28, 2011
Content, Landing Page Lead Offers And Social Media Are Key To Success
As a market leader in the provision of a comprehensive software platform for inbound marketing, Hubspot is well positioned to offer some insight on the subject of online lead generation. This report summarizes the results achieved by Hubspot customers which now number closer to 5000 than to 4000. There aren't many surprises from our perspective, websites with regular fresh content, numerous opportunities for conversion, strong social media presence do better than laggard websites, but there is something we thought was of particular interest.
If you look carefully at the various graphs they pretty much all share a common shape, up and to the right of course, but look more closely, it is not a linear relationship. The 'hockey stick' curve is evident in almost all graphical representations in the report indicating that more isn't just better, more is WAY better. We know this is a challenge for business today. Generating content, creating landing pages, online lead generation offers, engaging with social media, evaluating analytics reporting, yes it all requires time and effort, but the results are clear. When you undertake a comprehensive inbound marketing program whether internally or with outsourced help, you are creating a website that's a business growth asset for your company that will pay for itself over and over for many years to come. What's that worth to your company? What would it mean for the future sale value of your company?