Content Marketing is one of the most talked about and trusted online marketing tactics in 2021.
91 percent of B2B marketers are doing it, as are 86 percent of B2C marketers, according to the Content Marketing Institute.
It can help your business generate online traffic, expand your presence on social media, establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, and most importantly, bring in new sales and leads.
But despite its current popularity and buzzworthiness, there are still a number of misconceptions about what content marketing is, how it works and what it can do for you. We’re going to clear up some of these misconceptions and help you get a better understanding of how content marketing can help your brand in 2015. Read more
Email is one of the most effective marketing platforms in the world today. Marketing is based on judging books by their covers, thus attractive email subject lines are crucial. The choice of words used in the subject line has a huge influence on the readers and determines whether the hard work devoted to writing the email is fruitful.
Investing additional time into writing a good subject line increases your open email rates. This grants you additional exposure increased contact with the target market. Here are some suggestions when it comes to writing strong email subject lines.
Use aspects of personalization
For this, use tags in the subject lines indicating the addressee’s name and locality. For most marketing professionals, this has been observed to increase open rates. Combining this tactic with some targeted automation announcement will improve the effectiveness of the strategy.
Be target specific in creating recipient lists
Though sending blast messages to every contact in your list may seem comprehensive, it may be offputting to some recipients. Due to receiving irrelevant messages, some of your recipients may feel confused and, at times, frustrated. To solve this problem, segment the list based on past experiences and observations of consumer behavior. Forms are good sources for such information because they are filled with descriptions of personal preferences.
Around 40% of emails sent are opened in a mobile device. Assuming your readers might open emails in their mobile device, your subject line should be under 50 characters so it doesn’t get cut off. To minimize the character count, only use the most crucial words in your subject line and take away the unnecessary ones.
Avoid overuse of caps and exclamation marks
Excessive use of exclamation marks and caps lock will make your recipient feel like they’re being yelled at. Not only is the tactic disruptive, but 70% of recipients are likely to mark such emails as spam. Avoid this mistake and use action-based language to catch your readers’ attention instead.
Do not divulge the contents
A strong subject line hides the contents of the email from the reader and instead makes them curious. Additionally, you should avoid making the subject line overpromising, which means whatever is indicated in the subject line should be consistent with the contents of the email.
Ask reflective questions
Ask relevant questions in the subject line to attract the reader’s attention. Formulate a question that appeals directly to the recipient, and then provide internal links that provide an answer to the question. This is an efficient strategy that will translate to more email reads.
A/B testing
Though subject lines can be formed based on many ideas, the focus should be the target market. A/B testing involves carefully researching your target audience and experimenting with different subject lines. A successful campaign tests different subject lines on customers and adopts the ones with more reads. It is necessary to research continuously so as to remain relevant and effective.
https://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/iStock-539095784.jpg15362048Debbie Szwasthttps://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/STLogo-websml-biggerAM.pngDebbie Szwast2021-09-06 10:00:442021-09-13 02:12:22Tips to Consider When Developing Strong Email Subject Lines
Landing pages are a great way to provide website visitors with helpful content, collect important customer information, and begin to build a relationship. They can be a great tool for generating leads for your business. But in order to convert visitors into leads, you must offer them something of value, and do so in a way that is easily navigable. Here are a few easy ways to enhance your landing pages.
Viewers should have a quick and clear understanding of the offer
People have very short attention spans, so in order to keep them on your landing page, it needs to be easily digestible within the first few seconds of viewing. Your message to your website visitors should be as clear and concise as possible. The headline should tell your visitors exactly what it is that you want them to do, and how to do it.
Many marketing tools seem similar and are often mistaken for one another. Two tactics that are often confused are drip email marketing and lead nurturing campaign. It’s true that there are similarities in the way they work. However, they are two distinct tactics that serve different purposes. You should have both in your marketer’s toolbox to use when appropriate, especially with attraction marketing. Let’s learn a bit about each tactic and when they should be used.
Email Drip Marketing
Emails are a huge part of modern marketing. One email marketing option is email drip marketing. Named after drip coffee makers, this marketing tactic sends out emails at specific timed intervals. Time is the only factor used to indicate when an email is sent. Nothing else.
When should you use email drip marketing?
Educating prospects on all the products and services in your company’s portfolio.
Keeping your brand in front of your customers while they are contemplating a purchase.
Announcing new products or services for your business.
Showcasing best sellers in your portfolio.
A well-crafted drip email campaign can educate and inform your audience. However, done too frequently, or used only to pitch products or services, your audience may perceive these emails as spam.
A lead nurturing campaign is not based on timed emails. It is based on the lead’s behavior. When a lead performs a specific behavior, it triggers an email with targeted information to be sent to your audience. These emails are designed to guide the lead through the buying process.
This type of campaign depends on gathered information about the lead’s behavior. Specific behaviors that can trigger an email include:
Which whitepapers grab the lead’s attention
How many times they visit a specific page on your website
Which webinar they attend
Which of blog post category they spend the most time in
The goal of the emails sent during a lead nurturing campaign is to deliver useful information at critical points in the sales cycle.
A marketing automation system is ideal for lead nurturing. You can build full campaigns within the system that automates almost everything in the process. The power of marketing automation systems is their ability to capture key data. This then triggers the specific emails that nurture leads.
They Complement Each Other Very Well
Drip email campaigns and lead nurturing campaigns, if well designed, will do their jobs well. They both help leads engage with your brand and give leads the information needed to make an informed decision about your products and services.
They are each powerful tools in the marketer’s toolbox on their own, but working together, they are even more powerful. Coordinated campaigns can help close deals faster and keep your brand ahead of the pack.
https://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/email_unsubscribers.jpg407848Dan Gartlanhttps://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/STLogo-websml-biggerAM.pngDan Gartlan2021-08-31 10:37:122021-09-05 22:55:09Drip Email Marketing vs. Lead Nurturing Campaigns; When To Use Each
Just as you put thoughtfully planned initiatives in place to help with new lead generation, you must also think about how you will then nurture these prospects through the sales cycle once you obtain the lead. Successful attraction marketing is having leads. A smart, strategic email and direct mail program can help you maintain a consistent connection with prospects and grow the relationships you have available to you—remaining ‘on their list’ and top of mind when they are ready to act.
Lead Nurturing Basics
It’s a proven fact: marketing needs to assist sales in order to achieve the most effective conversion results. So when you create a program that keeps prospects in touch with your thinking beyond just a salesperson’s outreach, you provide an opportunity to push the prospect through their journey faster. Utilize various outbound communications as key touch-points that complement the sales teams efforts, yet showcase your company’s thinking on a different level. Provide information contacts may be seeking out—not what you want to tell them—to build trust as they make their way to a purchase decision.
Key Considerations
The goal is to offer interesting, relevant and varied content that is not primarily self-serving in nature. Begin by creating a detailed plan for messaging and scheduling of communications. Think about common questions prospects may have, and how you can provide those answers while conveying your competitive advantages, promoting educational content you have to offer, and building trust in your abilities.
A study by DemandGen found that leads that are nurtured with targeted content produce an increase in sales opportunities of more than 20%. To ensure even greater success, target content to coincide with the behavior and mindset of your audiences at different points in their journey—naturally guiding them through the sales funnel by providing the right information at the right time in the buying process.
Set a solid foundation for your program by maintaining an up-to-date database with as much information on each prospect as possible. Determine the activity level, timing and quantity of communications that makes sense for each. Be organized, yet allow for adjustments as your program evolves. Track and score behavior and deliver content accordingly, allowing the sales team to receive better quality leads along the way to reach their goals. And remember: conversion is the ultimate objective. Always hold something back—never tell the whole story in your email—make them want to click through to your site or landing page to learn more.
How Marketing Automation Can Help
According to ChadwickMartinBailey, 56% of U.S. email users unsubscribe from a business or nonprofit email subscription because of content that is no longer relevant. Automation makes it easier to schedule emails, segment contacts, manage your content, trigger responsive emails based on actions, and track the lifecycle of prospects in your marketing funnel. By addressing their specific needs, contacts stay engaged; yet you are ultimately in control because you set the parameters for informing, interacting with and nurturing each lead. It provides you the ability to better target your contacts in a personalized way—assisting the buying decision based on their behavior—and leading to increased conversion rates. Consider investing in one of many standard marketing automation software systems to simplify your Top of Mind program initiatives.
https://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/lead-nurturing-strategy1.jpg406841Nicole Wagnerhttps://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/STLogo-websml-biggerAM.pngNicole Wagner2021-08-27 13:19:042021-09-03 05:03:21The Right Lead Nurturing Strategy Can Help You Stay Top of Mind
Calls-to-Action (or CTAs) are images, buttons, text, etc. that prompts one of your website visitors take some kind of action. CTAs could be trying to get visitors to download a white paper, read an article, or contact for more information. They are an important part of beginning to convert website traffic into leads.
Here are three ways for you to improve your CTAs and to make sure they are maximizing their presence on your website and generating the most contacts.
https://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Improve-Your-CTAs.jpg433830Nicole Wagnerhttps://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/STLogo-websml-biggerAM.pngNicole Wagner2021-08-23 11:56:112021-09-05 22:48:323 Helpful Tips To Improve Your CTAs To Generate More Leads
When researching purchases online, customers expect timely responses to their questions. Organizations that are able to respond quickly and provide content that addresses that customer’s specific needs are more successful. A Harvard Business Review study found that companies are 60 times more likely to qualify a lead, if they follow up within one hour.
Marketing automation helps enable organizations to respond to those requests quickly, engage leads with relevant content, track and score each lead’s behavior, and deliver better quality leads. Read more
https://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/benefits-of-marketing-automation.jpg438841Nicole Wagnerhttps://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/STLogo-websml-biggerAM.pngNicole Wagner2021-08-20 15:42:592021-08-20 04:05:335 Benefits Of Marketing Automation
As technology advances, the amount of research done prior to making a purchase increases. Because it is so convenient to search for questions and concerns on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, people are becoming more cautious in their purchase decisions and want to be absolutely sure that they make the right choice. That’s why it is a marketer’s job to help this consumer and lead them through the “Buyer’s Journey”.
The Buyer’s Journey is the 3 step process that someone goes through leading up to a purchase decision, comprised of an awareness stage, consideration stage, and decision stage. In simpler terms, the Buyer’s Journey is the consumer’s procedure before buying a product or service.
No matter what stage your audience is in, including perfect CTAs that lead to a relevant and beneficial content offering is essential. Also read3 Helpful Tips To Improve Your CTAs.
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Sun Tzu – The Art of War
Often in business, we feel like we’re on a good marketing strategy. But, as we move further away from when that strategy was defined, we’re really just going through the motions. Activities are being completed, but we lose sight of why we are doing them and what they are supposed to accomplish. In addition, there can be changes in the marketplace, competitor’s messaging, consumer concerns, and even the methods of communication.
Most companies review their strategies at year-end, but the best businesses are updating and improving their strategy more often than annually. By more frequently updating your marketing strategies and refocusing your activities, you will stay on track, get through all of the noise and reach your audience.
How about a summer strategy tune up?
Make sure that you’re staying on track to achieve your goals. Ask yourself these four questions:
Does your media mix properly address the ever-changing ways your target audience consumes information?
Does your social media have a strong strategy that echoes your brand yet reaches beyond?
Are there measurements to track whether or not your tactics are executing your strategy?
Stevens & Tate is a full-service advertising agency specializing in strategic creative thinking. Contact our team to discuss your marketing strategy today.
https://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/Inbound-Marketing-Benefits.jpg571840Dan Gartlanhttps://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/STLogo-websml-biggerAM.pngDan Gartlan2021-08-05 10:00:172021-08-13 04:01:04Improve Your Marketing Strategy By Asking These 4 Questions
If you’re tuned in to inbound, you’ve surely found some valuable resources on the internet. There are some failsafe, go-to websites out there that can help you hone your marketing skills. They can also help you develop better content, and drive traffic more effectively. Here are some of our favorite inbound marketing resources:
HubSpot
Arguably the world’s leader in inbound marketing software, HubSpot has more than changed the game of online marketing. As a matter of fact, they practically wrote, broke, and authored the rules of inbound as we know it.
From HubSpot’s comprehensive blog covering everything from marketing to sales and everything in between to the highly lauded HubSpot Academy, there’s something for every marketer. For instance, HubSpot has an interactive course dedicated to content marketing that can provide you with a big picture view of everything you need for a successful content marketing strategy. Subscribe to their updates, and you’ll have access to free webinars, marketing kits, and endless tools as they evolve.
One of HubSpot’s most valuable tools is it’s Website Grader. Enter your website and email, and the Grader will score your website in four categories: performance, mobile, SEO, and security. Use this as a starting point to improve your site’s visitor experience.
Content Marketing Institute
Great content is the cornerstone to any inbound marketing strategy, and the Content Marketing Institute is a must-visit for any inbound marketer looking to pump out quality work. The CMI has pooled together many industry experts to create a comprehensive white paper and ebook library. These are full of techniques for how to engage readers, keep them connected, and tell better stories.
Creating excellent content is a great start to establishing expertise in your field and against your competition; however, attracting folks to your page is a whole different idea all together. Moz is the SEO-focused expert on the internet and their endless SEO learning library has comprehensive information, data, and research for how to improve your SEO game.
Canva
Canva is a free website which allows you to design visually appealing cover photos, social media posts, and presentations. It is used throughout the industry by some of the biggest names in inbound. Canvas also holds a complete library of how-to’s for all things Canva and design related.
The resources available through Canva can help you generate infographics, Facebook cover photos, posters, and more without guessing what dimensions you should work with. Canva’s pre-sized canvases optimize your content for the end digital user without skewing graphics or pixelating fonts.
Social Media Examiner
Once you’ve published your content, created some stylish Canva graphics, and SEO’d your blog posts, turn to Social Media Examiner for helpful tips on how to get your content in front of your social media followers.
As SEO trends and Google’s algorithms constantly change, social media has updated its algorithms. If you’re doing it alone, you’re taking shots in the dark, but thanks to Social Media Examiner, you can stay ahead of the constantly changing world of social media.
https://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2017-08-07-at-12.23.57-PM.png486734Nicole Wagnerhttps://stevens-tate.com/wp-content/uploads/STLogo-websml-biggerAM.pngNicole Wagner2021-07-30 12:21:142021-07-31 02:32:19Five Inbound Marketing Resources Every Marketer Should Know About
