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ISBN:978-0-9930221-6-6

ACIPCataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.

WrittenbyBryanAdamsandDaveHazlehurstEditors:Emma-LeeCurtisandKathrynLamble

Design,typesettingandproduction:DanielSchoolerPublisher:FionaShaw

ContentsAcknowledgements

Gettoknowtheauthors

ForewordKieranFlanagan,MarketingDirector,HubSpot

Whatisinboundmarketing?

Whythisbookwillhelpyourbusiness

Howtoreadthisbook

Introduction

Chapter1GettingyourstorystraightWhyit’simportanttoyouandyourcustomersandhowtoensureyou’rebeingauthentic.-Thepowerofgettingitright-Thesciencebehindtheapproach-Theconsequenceofgettingitwrong-Recommendedreadingandresources

Chapter2TherightdirectionHowtoalignyourbusinessobjectiveswithyourmarketinggoalstoensureeveryoneinthebusinessisonthesamepage.-Writingyourdigitalstrategy-Examplesofadigitalstrategyatwork-Consideringyourdigitaltactics-Definingyourobjectives-Examplesofdigitaltacticsatwork-Recommendedreadingandresources

Chapter3UnderstandingyouraudienceHowtolistentoyouraudiences’wants,needsanddesiresinordertomaximizeyourchancesofengagingandsellingtothem.-Understandingpathos,ethosandlogos-Buyerpersonas-Personamappingandvalidation

-Recommendedreadingandresources

Chapter4Rightplace,righttimeAnindepthlookatwhere,whenandwhatyouraudiencespendstheirtimelookingatandwhotheyarealreadyinfluencedby.-Optimisingyourcontenttobefoundonline-Googleupdates-SEOandaudiencepersonas-See.Think.Do.Delight-Socialmediaandaudiencepersonas-Recommendedreadingandresources

Chapter5HowtotellastoryMasteryourabilitytoeffectivelycommunicatewithimpactandemotionalintelligenceinordertoelicitthedesiredaction.-Thescienceandartofstorytellingforyourmarketing-Storytelling–learningfromHollywood-Storytelling–leariningfromgreatleaders-Storytelling–learningfromcomedians-Recommendedreadingandresources

Chapter6ThestorysofarHowallofthepreviouscomponentsandideasfittogetherintooneneatplanyoucanworkfromandrelyon.-Getthemostoutofyourinboundmarketing-Recommendedreadingandresources

Chapter7:part1ThemasterplanAcomprehensivelookattheskillsyouneedtoactionyourplan.-Gettingorganisedfordaytodayactivity-Leveraginginfluencersandopportunities-Leveragingotherpeople’sinfluence:Ego-jacking-Leveragingthenews:News-jacking-ToYouTubeornottoYouTube-Recommendedreadingandresources

Chapter7:part2Payingtoplay-Payingtoplay:Facebook-Leveragingbestpracticetechniqueswithinthesocialchannels-Trend-jackingformaximumeffectwithTwitter-GetthemostoutofFacebook-MaximisereferralswithPinterest-TellyourstoryonYouTube-ReachmillennialswithSnapchat-ExplorethefeaturesonG+-GetaudiencecentricusingTumblr-ShowcaseyourproductsthroughInstagram-BoostyourengagementlevelsbysayingEllo-BlogyourwaytomorecustomerswithMedium-Recommendedreadingandresources

Chapter8ToolsforthejobWhattomeasureandhowtomeasureittodeterminewhatmattersandhowtodeliverthesuccessyou’relookingfor.-Measuretheactivity-ThepowerandjoysofSocialAttributionModelling-Whatisyourconversionrate?-Heatmappingandeyetracking-GoogleAnalytics-TwitterAnalytics-TwitterAdManager-FacebookInsights-FacebookAdvertsManager-LinkedIn:Who’sviewedyourprofileandhowyourankforprofileviews-LinkedIn:Campaignmanager-YouTubeAnalytics-PinterestAnalytics-Instagram-Recommendedreadingandresources

Andfinally…

Glossary

HowPh.Creativecanhelpyou

Stayingintouch

Followus!

Acknowledgements

ThisisthepointinthebookwherewegettoextendourthankstotheteamatPh.Creative–theybringtheadvicecontainedwithinthisbooktolifeonadailybasis.So,thankyouto:

MikeHazlehurst,PaulMason,StevieCrane,RobertWatts,JennyMiddleton,StewartBennett,DanielTrotter,JakePittman,ElizabethMcCarthy,TerryBanks,SamanthaHindley,CraigGraham,AlisonMiller,DanielReese,DavidLancaster,GeorgeEllis,LynneGregory,JenniFleet,SamDavis,MikeNg,JamesTaylor,HeatherDuvall,LukePower,MichaelBowen,AnthonyWhitelaw,DanBooth,MichelleRiches,MarkRussel,AndyFlatman,HelenAdams,NikkiMistryandTraceyWest.

SpecialacknowledgementsThanksmustgotoJennieMandelkowforhercopyeditingandschedulingkeepingusconsistentlyontarget.

ThankyoutoDanSchoolerforcreatingabeautifullydesignedandillustratedbook.

Andlast,butbynomeansleast,aspecialthanksgoestoEmma-LeeCurtisandKathrynLambleformakingsenseofitallandforsixmonthsofincrediblehustle.

Wewroteabook,guys!

Gettoknowtheauthors

BRYANADAMSCEOandFounderoffullyintegrateddigitalmarketingagency,Ph.Creative,Bryanhasovertenyears’experienceinthefieldofdigitalmarketing.RegardedbymanyasoneoftheUK’skeyfiguresinsocialmediaanddigitalmarketinghefeaturesregularlyintopinfluencerandmarketingbloggerlists.Bryanisalsoanaccomplishedkeynotespeakerandhasspokenateventsallovertheworld,fromThailandtoBrazil,theUSandthroughoutEurope.

7quick-firequestionsforBryanCAREERHIGH?Securing£500kinvestmentintotheagency.Gettingthebusiness‘investmentready’andthenbeingabletoinvestinexcellencehasbeenarealturningpoint.

CAREERLOW?Therewereafewconsecutivemonthsin2005whereIwasn’tsurewherethemoneytopaywageswouldcomefrom.Ican’trememberwhereitdidcomefrom,butitwastoughandverystressful.

BIGGESTACHIEVEMENT?Iusedtohaveadebilitatingfearofpublicspeaking.ToovercomethefearIenrolledonastand-upcomedycourseandgraduatedbyperformingmyownmaterialtoacrowdof300strangersatacomedyfestival.

PROUDESTMOMENT?Thebirthofmyson,Harrison.Noquestion,nocompetition.

SCARIESTSITUATION?Jumpingoutofaplanetoconquerafearofheightsdidtestmyresolve,however,itdidn’twork–Istillhateheightsandstronglyrecommendnotpeeinginajumpsuitat30,000ft.

MOSTEMBARRASSINGSTORY?Twominutesbeforepresentingahugebusinessdealtoasmallaudience,(includingNASA,NATO,NYTimesandGoldmanSachs)Ibentdownandshreddedthebacksideofmytrousers.Idon’tknowwhy,butthatdaywasa‘nounderwear’day.#PeachGate

FUNNIESTTALE?

Ioncecutmyheadvery,verybadly(laterresultinginasizeablescarjustabovemyhairline)inabadlylitstreetinLondon.Asmyheadbledprofusely,Iranaroundpanickingandeverybodyjustignoredorlaughedatmyantics…ItwasHalloween.Veryfunnynow,butironicallyscaryatthetime.

DAVEHAZLEHURSTPartnerandDirectorofClientServicesatPh.Creative,Davebringshisrelentlessenergyandpassionforallthingsdigitaltotheagency.Frequentlysharinghisextensiveknowledgeasakeynotespeakerandworkshopleaderaroundtheworld,DavehasspokenateventsfororganisationsincludingGoogle,LinkedInandTheCharteredInstituteofMarketing.

7quick-firequestionsforDaveBIGGESTACHIEVEMENT?BeingaskedbyGoogletodeliverGoogleexpertisetotheiraudienceviaaHangoutOnAir,livefromtheirLondonbase.WhentheredlightturnedgreenIhadtotalktoalargeemptyroomfor45minutes.Verystrange.

PROUDESTMOMENT?Thebirthofmytwochildren,Louie(akaGoogleJunior)andEllie.

SCARIESTMOMENT?Easily,watchingthe2005ChampionsLeaguefinalbetweenLiverpoolandMilan.Atfulltimethescorewas3-3sowewenttopenalties.I’mabigRedandthetensiongotsohighIhadtohidebehindthesofaduringtheshoot-out.Whatamomentinfootballinghistory!

FUNNIESTTALE?WhenIwasakid,myneighboursownedawoodenrockinghorsewhichIabsolutelyloved.I‘dvisittheirhouseallthetimejusttohaveagoonit!Ataboutmidnightonenight,Isnuckoutofmyhouseandactuallyletmyselfintotheirs!Hearingcreakingnoises,myneighbourscreptdownstairs,thinkingsomeonehadbrokenin.Instead,theyfoundme,sittingmerrilyontheirrockinghorse,havingawhaleofatime…

BRAVESTFEAT?Askingmyfather-in-lawifIcouldmarrymywife,Alison,hadmeprettyanxiousandIdon’toftengetnervous.WewerewatchingaLiverpoolmatchtogetherandthewholetimeIwasrunningoverthescenarioinmymind.Allofasudden,Hyypiäscoredfromacorner–theadrenalineofcelebratingjustledmetoblurtingitout,towhichhecalmlyreplied‘I'msureshe'dbedelighted!’

MOSTEMBARRASSINGSTORY?WhenIwasabout9Iallowedsomegirlswe’dbeenplayingwithtomakemeoverforfancydress.ThegirlspromisedmethatIlookedlikeAdamAnt,butinactualfactIlookedmorelikeToyahWilcox.ThiswasmadeworsebythefactthatIthenhadtowalkallthewayhomeinfull,NewRomanticgarb.

SOMETHINGNOBODYKNOWSABOUTYOU:IgotengagedonliveTV.

Foreword

Marketingtodayishard.That'saninescapabletruthandonethatmanybusinessesarestrugglingtoovercome.

Weusedtoliveinaworldwheredisplayadshadaclickthroughrateof10%;thosesameadsarenowluckyiftheygetaclickthroughrateof0.10%.Whetherit’sunsubscribingfromemaillists,installingadblockersorsimplynotansweringthephone,consumerstodayhavemanyoptionsforblockingoutourmarketing.

Thisshiftinpowerisnotabadthingformarketers.Infact,it’sempowering.Wehaveanopportunityinfrontofustorethinkhowwetreatourprospectivecustomers.Nolongerjustametricinourspreadsheets,nowwecanprovidethemwithsomerealandtangiblevalue.

Andthereinliestheproblem–creatingrealvalue.Traditionalmarketingiscentredonthegoalsofthemarketer,notthoseofthecustomer.Howcanwecreateamarketingexperiencethatistailoredtotheneedsofourcustomerswhenwe'veneverreallyconsideredwhotheyare?

Hundredsofbrandsarevyingforthesecustomers’attentiononline.Withalimitedamountofattentiontodistributeamongthem,manybrandsaregoingtoloseout,buriedinthenoise.Howareyougoingtoensureyourvalueisheard?Todayyourmarketingneedstoturnheads.Itneedstoprovokequestions,stimulateconversationsandgenerateabaseofloyalfollowers.It’shardright?Marketingtodayisnocakewalk.Luckily,in‘GettingGoosebumps’BryanandDaveprovideuswithablueprintthatanswersthesequestions,anditstartswith‘Goosebumps’.

‘Goosebumps’iswhathappenswhenyoutrulyunderstandyouraudienceanddeliverrealvaluetothem.Goosebumpsarethereasonanewpersonwillsignuptoyouremaillist,followyouonTwitterorFacebookandcommentonyourlatestblogpost.

WhatBryanandDavedescribeas‘goosebumps’shouldbeoneofthekeymetricsinyourmarketingtoday.Itmaynotbeeasilysummarisedinamonthlyreport,butitwillhelpyoucreateanarmyofloyalfollowersforyourproductsandservices,onethatdoesn’tsimplydisappearwhenyoustoppayingforadvertisements.Marketingcanseemcomplexattimes,butitcanalsobeextremelysimple.

Thebrandwiththemostloyalfollowerswillusuallybeattheircompetitorsinto

submission.Asamarketeryouwillneverbeaskedtostopgeneratingmoretrafficandleads.Youwillalwaysbeaskedformore.It’swhatmakesthegreatmarketers,well,great.Butshouldwealwayswant'more'?Andarewemakingthebestuseofthis'more'?Wellnotwithoutcontext.

Contextiswhathelpsusshowtherightcontenttotherightaudienceattheprecisemomentitreallymatterstothem.It’sthiscontextthatwillhelpyoucreateamarketingfunnelthatistrulyrelevanttotheindividualswhoaremovingthroughit.Remember,thesearepeople,notmetricsinaspreadsheet.Youwanttocreateanexperiencethatmatterstothem.BryanandDavedescribehowyoucandothisbycreatinga'SeeThink,Do,Delight'funnelforyourbusiness.

Oh,thisallsoundsprettysimpleright?Butyou'rethinking,myaudienceisn’tevenseeingthecontentI'mcreatingforthem.Yes,contentmarketinghasliterallyexplodedoverthepastthreeyears.Thecompetitionforeyeballsisfierce.That'swhythedistributionofthatcontentissoimportant.Inchapter7wegetanincrediblelistoftacticsthatwillhelpusleveragesocialchannelstohelpourcontentriseabovethenoise.Inthefollowingpagesyouwillnotonlybeintroducedtoanarrayofclevermarketingconceptsandtactics,butmoreimportantlyyouwillhavesome'aha!'moments.DoyouknowtheHollywoodformulathatwillhelpyoucreateamazinglysuccessfulcontent?Haveyouconsideredwhyyourmarketingneedstoappealtoboththe'human'and'chimp'sideofyourcustomer’sbrain?OrwhyRedBull’sphenomenalmarketingshouldhavereallybeendonebyaninsurancecompany,ifinsurancemarketershadanyballs!

Butforgetallthat,hereisthebestthingaboutthebook.Ithasbeenbakedtoperfectionbytheexperienceoftworenownedmarketerswhohavebeenthereanddonethat.BryanandDaveknowwhatthey'retalkingabout.Theyaren'tsimplyregurgitatingsomeblandmarketingtheorythatjustsoundsgood.Instead,whattheydescribeinthebookactuallyworksbecausetheyhaveimplementedthesestrategiestohelprealcompaniesbuildmarketingandsalesfunnelsthathavehelpedtopropeltheirbusinessaheadofthecompetition.Simplyput,theseguyshavewalkedthewalk.

Ihopeyouenjoyreading‘GettingGoosebumps’asmuchasIdid.IamconfidentthatbyimplementingBryanandDave'sconceptsyouarelikelytoredefinehowyoudomarketing.Expectbetterresults,moreclosedleads,delightedcustomers…aswellasalotoffunalongtheway.

KieranFlanagan–MarketingDirector,HubSpotFollowKieranonTwitter@SearchBrat

Whatisinboundmarketing?

Inboundmarketingiswidelyacclaimedasthemosteffectiveapproachtodigitalmarketinginthemodernage.Butwethinkit’smuchmorethanthat.

Inboundmarketingisaphilosophy:amindsetthatputsyouraudiencefirst.Forthefirsttimeinbusinesshistory,it’sthecustomerthatisincontrol–notbrandsorbusinesses.

Inboundmarketingisthesmart,authenticapproachtomoderndaybrandandbusinessbuilding.Turningthetraditionalsalesprocessonitshead,inboundmarketingfocusesonpullingyourcustomersin,ratherthanpushingyoursalesmessageout.It’sanapproachthatcompelsyoutodovetailyourmarketingplanningwithyourbusiness’aimsandobjectives,creatingaseamless,consistentvoice.

Afterall,it’smucheasiertogrowabusinessifyourprospectscallupandbuyfromyou,insteadofyoucallingyourprospectsandtryingtoselltothem.Buildingareputationandonlinefollowingletsyoubegintogeneratetraffic,leadsandnewbusiness.It’stheapproachwhichcanhelpyouside-step,reduceoreradicatecostlydigitaldisplayadvertisingentirely.

Thisbookdoesnotpromiseovernightsuccess;inboundmarketingtakeseffort,timeandcommitment.Ifyoubuyintothephilosophy,thisbookwillprovidetheinsight,toolsandresourcestogrowyourbusinessinawaythatyouraudiencenotonlyappreciates,butisincreasinglydemanding.

WhythisbookwillhelpyourbusinessYouliveinanonlineworld.Youwouldn’thavegotthisfarinGettingGoosebumps,otherwise.Weknowthatthisbookwillhelp99.9%ofpeoplewhosellproducts,servicesortheirbrandonline-oranyonewhowantstoworkinanorganisationthatdoes.

So,ifyouwanttostart,improve,orupdateyourtechniquesforcreatingacompellingstorytogiveyourbusinessaboostonline,thenreadon…Here’showwe’llhelp:

CEOsandbusinessleadersLookingtogetagripofhowtodirectdigitalcommunicationswithconfidenceandauthority?Thisbookwillquicklyempoweryouinhowtocommandadisruptiveandcontagiousfuture.Thiswillstrikeachordandsitbythebedsideforweeksandweeks.

SeniormarketingmanagementLookingtostretchabudget,findnewwaystowinandacceleratetowardpromotion?Followingtheprinciplesinthisbookwillhelpyoustandoutasanexpertteamleader,capableofchallengingconventionandinspiringateamtowardsaward-winningwork.

MarketingexecutivesLookingtostandoutinacompetitiveteam?GettingGoosebumpswillkeepyouonthestraightandnarrow.It’sacompassthat’salwayspointedtowardsdoingagoodjobproperlyfirsttime–evenunderthepressuresofafast-pacedagency.

SMEbusinessownersLookingtopunchaboveyourweight,outsourcetoanagencywithconfidenceandclarityandgenerateasignificantROI?Thisbookgivesyouasolidgroundinginthefundamentalsofinboundmarketing,soyoucanaskforwhatyouwant,andknowexactlywhatyou’regetting.

BuddingdigitalexecsandtraineesLookingtoimpressanewteamorclimbtheranksquickly?GettingGoosebumpsshowsyouhowtoapproachachallengefromadifferentangleandcomeupwithsomethingthatmightjustbetrulyremarkable.

TraditionalmarketersWorriedyou’vebeenleftbehindandlookingforaguidinghand?Thisbookwilldelivertheinstantreassurancethatyourexistingskillsareverymuchinplay,butwillprovideyouwiththeadditionalprinciplestobecomecontagiousandmagneticinthedawningdigital

age.

ThebedroommarketerLookingforawaytocutthroughthenoiseandmakesureyouputyourbestfootforward?Thisbookdiscussesthelatesttechniquesandagencytipstomakesureyou’reup-to-dateandreadytotackleanychallenge.

Howtoreadthisbook

We’veincludeddetaileddownloadplans,soyoucanplotyourstep-by-stepstrategyinadetailed,measurableway.Ifyou’refollowingtheGoosebumpsstrategy,we’dsuggestreadingthebookthroughbeforeyoudownloadtheextras,soyouknowwhatyou’vegottodoandwhen.If,ofcourse,you’rejustlookingforalittleinboundinspiration,thendon’tfeelyouhavetofolloweverythingwesaytotheletter-justreadingthroughsomeoftheideasandexampleswillhelpyouclarifyyourplanning.

MarketingstrategytimelineBelowyouwillfindafullyrealised,digitalstrategytimeline,inallitsglory.Thisservesasavisualrepresentationofallofyourtacticsandmeasurablemetricsacross12monthsofactivityonline.Weunderstandit'salittledifficulttoseeindetailatthissize,butwewantedtogiveyouanideaofwhatayear'sworthofjoinedupthinkingcanlooklike.Tosaveyoustrainingyoureyes,you'llfindthecomponentsofthetimelinebrokendownacrossthenextfewpages.

Downloadyourversionofthetimelinehere:

http://www.ph-creative.com/goosebumps/timeline

See,think,do,delightPersona1PaulGerrard

Paulis19andiscurrentlyinhisfirstyearofuniversity,studyinglaw.Helovesfashion,footballandhisfriendsandmostofhisbuyingdecisionsaremotivatedbyconvenienceandprice.HeusesSnapchatandTwittereverydayandwatchesYouTubeandNetflixreligiously.

Paul’sprimarygoals:

Paul’sprimarygoalistoretainasmuchofhismoneyaspossibleforsocialising.Heismotivatedbyreferraldealsandincentivesforsigningupwithaparticularinsurer.

Paul’spainpoints:

Pauldoesn’townanythingofsignificantvalue,sohomeinsuranceseemsunnecessarytohim;heviewsitasanexpensehecoulddowithout.However,Paullistenstohisparentswhenitcomestomakingnewlifedecisionsandhepromisedthemthatwouldgetcontentsinsuranceatagoodpricenowthathehasmovedtouniversity.TheideaoffillingoutlengthyandcomplicatedinsuranceformsisarealturnoffforPaul.

See,think,do,delightPersona2:StevenWakefield

Stevenisa37yearoldwhohasatopflightjobworkingasHeadofCorporateAffairsforamulti-nationalbasedinCentralLondon.Heismarriedwith2children,ownshisownhomeinLondonandlikestoplaygold.HespendsalittletimeonTwitterandLinkedInandbrowsesYouTubeattheweekends.

Steven’sprimarygoals:

Steven’sprimarygoalistoprovideahighstandardoflivingforhisfamily.Along-termsecondarygoalistosavetowardsbuyingaholidayhomeabroad.

Steven’spainpoints:

Stevenistimepoorandverybusyandfindscomplicatedorconvolutedprocessesannoying.Ifhehastore-readsomethingtounderstandithefeelshistimeisbeingwasted.Hismainworrywhenpurchasingahomeinsurancepolicyisgettingstuckmid-waythroughanapplicationwithnoonetohelphim.Hewantstofindareputableinsurerthatcanprovideatailoredservicetohisspecificneeds,basedonthesheervalueofthegoodsheisinsuring.

INBOUNDMARKETINGBUSINESSOBJECTIVESQUARTER1

INBOUNDMARKETINGBUSINESSOBJECTIVESQUARTER2

INBOUNDMARKETINGBUSINESSOBJECTIVESQUARTER3

INBOUNDMARKETINGBUSINESSOBJECTIVESQUARTER4

Introduction

Imagineasimpleandeffectiveapproachtomarketingthatdelightsyouraudience,andisdrivendirectlybyyourbusinessobjectives.

Bysharingourmarketingphilosophywithyou,weaimtoprovideyouwithameanstosimplifymarketingagain,puttingtheemphasisbackonthecustomerandtheirexperience,whilstdrivingactionfromthetoplineobjectivesofyourbusiness.

Inordertoachievethisweneedtoforgetabouttechnologyforasecondandthinkabouthumanengagement–it’stimetomeasuremarketingusinggoosebumps.

Wewillinspireyoutolistentoandloveyouraudience,that’stheonlywayyou’lltrulyout-thinkyourcompetition.Wewanttoempoweryoutocreatecompellingmarketingmaterialthathelpsyoubuildcontagiousmessagesandcreateamagneticbrand.

Everydecisiontobuyisbasedonemotionaltriggers,sothebestpossibleresponsetomarketingmaterialthatyoucaneverhopefor(rightbeforeyouraudiencedecideswhatactiontotake)istogetgoosebumps.

Goosebumps:Thephysical,involuntary,telltalesignthatanemotionalconnectionhasbeenmade.

Gettinggoosebumpsisthetelltalesignthatyouareachievingapositiveresponsefromyouraudience.Withoutagreatstorytotellorapowerfulmessagethatlandswithimpact,allthetoolsandtechnologyareirrelevant.

Apassionatemessagedeliveredwithimpactwillallowyouraudiencetoconnectwithyourcorevisionandbecomeanadvocateforyourbusiness.That’swhatyoushouldbeaimingfor,everytime.

Solet’sstartattheend.Thefoldoutonthefollowingpagesiswhatyouronlinemarketingplanfor2015couldlooklike.

Mostonlinemarketingplansgowrongwhentheylackstrategyandrelyongeneralcontentandactivity.Potentialcustomersarequicklylostwhenbrandscreateasetofrigidmessagesthatonlyspeaktoonespecificgroup,ataparticularpointintheirbuyingcycle.

Thisold-schoolapproachtodigitalmarketingisdead.Inordertosucceedonline,yourdigitalstrategycannotbeonesizefitsall.Youraudienceismadeupofgroupsofindividualswithdistinctneedsandexpectationsofyourbusiness.Youmusttalktothemasifit’saone-on-oneconversationwhereverpossible.

Remarkableonlinemarketingtodayisfluid,yettargeted.Italignswithyourbusinessobjectivesandtalkstoyouraudienceinatailoredwaysoastomaximisetheirexperiencewithyourbrand.Ateverystageofyouraudience’sbuyingcycletheirneeds,wantsanddesireschangeandyouhavetoreactaccordingly.Thismightsoundtough,butit’scertainlynotmissionimpossibleandthisbookwillproveittoyou.

Untanglingtheelementsofcreatingarobust,flexibleandeffectivedigitalmarketingstrategy,thisbookwillintroduceeightfundamentalprinciplesthatwillensureyourbusinessisalwaysonestepaheadonline.

BehindeachstepinGettingGoosebumpsyou’lldiscoverthelatestagencysecrets;mappingoutexactlyhowtodelivercreativityunderpressure,withouttheworrythatit’snotcontributingtotheoverallbusinessnumbersthatmatter.

CHAPTER1

GETTINGYOURSTORYSTRAIGHTWhyit’simportanttoyouandyourcustomersandhowtoensureyou’rebeingauthentic.“Abrandforacompanyislikeareputationforaperson.Youearnreputationbytryingtodohardthingswell.

JeffBezos

“Greatcompaniesthatbuildanenduringbrandhaveanemotionalrelationshipwithcustomersthathavenobarrier.Andthatemotionalrelationshipisbasedonthemostimportantcharacteristic.”

HowardSchultz

“Thosearemyprinciples,andifyoudon'tlikethem…well,Ihaveothers.”

GrouchoMarx

Ourphilosophyisbuiltaroundthebeliefthatyouneedtoweaveinterestingstoriesaroundyourbrandtoemotionallyconnectwithyourintendedaudience.Theworldofmarketingischangingandpeoplearewillingtoberiveted,engagedwithandmovedbyastorybeforetheyevenconsiderengaginginbusinesswithyourbrand.

Yourgoalistohavethemfallinlovewithyou…Oratleastcreateabrand-crushwithlastingsentiment.Onesuchexamplespringstomind;picturethescene.

Muharremisdeafandcommunicatessolelythroughsignlanguage.Everydayisspenttryingtoovercomebarrierstocommunicationandmakemeaningfulsenseoftheeverydayworld.Whenwemeethim,Muharremissettingoutonemorning,accompaniedbyhissisterOzlemforastrollthroughthequietIstanbulsuburbtheybothlivein.WhenMuharrembumpsintoastrangeronthestreet,hediscoversthefirstcluethattodayisnoordinaryday.Muharremispleasantlysurprisedwhenthatstrangersigns‘goodmorning’tohim.

Brushingtheunlikelyeventoffasahappycoincidence,MuharremandOzlemcarryonthroughthestreets,signingidlechatwhileheadingtowardsalocalfoodstore.Whentheshopkeeperoffershimhotbagelsinsignlanguage,andacustomerwhodropsabagoffruitonthefloorapologiesinthesameway,thelookofbemusementthatwashesoverMuharrem’sfacerevealshisracingmindandstateofconfusion.

“Doyouknowhim?Ishehearingimpaired?”heaskshissister.

“Idon’tknow!”

Tryingtoadjusttotheunfamiliarworldinwhichhehassuddenlyfoundhimself,MuharremandOzlemhailacab.Ofcourse,noteverythingisasitseemsandtheshocknowfullyfloodsMuharrem’sfacewhenthetaxidrivercheerfullywelcomeshimandaskshisdestinationinfull,fluentsignlanguage.AllthebarriersthatMuharremisusedtonavigating,everydayofhislife,areslowlymeltingaway.SteppingoutofthecabontothelocalsquareOzlemnoticessomethingfromthecornerofhereye.

“Lookthere!Lookthere!”

Inthecentreofthesquarewasanelectronicbillboard,featuringanadvert;prettystandardstuffforabustlingneighbourhoodcentreinacapitalcity.Exceptthisbillboardwasusingsignlanguage.AnditwassigningdirectlytoMuharrem.

“HiMuharrem.Samsungwantedtopreparealittlesurpriseforyoubecauseaworldwithoutbarriersisourdreamaswell.”

Theday,ofcourse,wasnotexactlyasitseemed.CamerasswoopinonMuharremashissister,friendsandbystandersembracehim.Muharremhadthechancetoliveforadayinaworldwithoutbarriersthankstoaveryspecialstuntfromabrandthattrulyhaditscauseattheveryheartoftheirmarketing.SamsungTurkeytooktheresidentsfromMuharrem’ssuburbofIstanbul(includinghissister,whowasinonitallalong)and,inasinglemonth,taughtthemallsignlanguage.ThetightlyscriptedandchoreographedjourneythatMuharremtookwasfilmedbydozensofcarefullyconcealedcamerasaseachparticipantjoinedinwiththeefforttohelpMuharremspendadayinworldwherehecouldcommunicatewithsatisfactionandease.

Whatfor,youask?Well,ultimatelythestuntwasaimedatadvertisingSamsungTurkey’snewvideo-conferencingcallcentreforthehearingimpaired.It’snotatopicwecanallrelateto,butSamsungdidsomethingbrilliant.Theymadeanewcallcentreallaboutahumanstory.Theyfoundwhattheywereallabout,communicationwithoutbarriers,andtheyengagedtheiraudienceinastorythatperfectlyreflectedthatvalue.Needlesstosaythecorrespondingvideowentviral,generatingover3millionviewsonYouTube(andcounting)andbecameoneofthoseclipsthatyoujusthadtowatch.

RegardlessofhowyoufeelaboutSamsung’snewcallcentre,it’sadaythatyouorMuharremwillnotforgetaboutanytimesoonandSamsungarethatlittlebitmorememorableforittoo…YoumighthaveevendevelopedalittlesoftspotinyourheartforSamsungbytheendofwatchingthatvideo,orjustlikeoneofourteaminPh.Creative,youmayfindyourselfinfloodsoftears(rightKathryn?).

Checkitoutbyvisitingthelinkbelow–we’resureit’llgiveyougoosebumps.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter1Resources

Ifyoudon’testablishwhoyouareandthereasonyouexistasabusiness,it’sverydifficulttoconvinceanyaudiencetotrustyou,buyfromyouorattachanyloyaltytowardyourbrand.Ontheotherhand,ifyourpurposeandyourvisionareclear,onlinecommunicationcanbeanextremelypowerfulmeansofinspiringincrediblestorytellinganddeliveringamessagethatresonateswithyouraudience.

ThepowerofgettingitrightInDecember2013theeighthlargestairlineinAmerica,WestJetAirlines,createdaChristmasmarketingcampaignwhichnotonlygeneratedatonneofengagement,butitalsodemonstratedabrandthatremainstruetoitsvaluesandvision.

WestJetAirlineshasavision:tobecomeoneofthebiggestairlinesinAmericabyprovidingguestswithafriendly,caringexperiencethatredefinesairtravel.Theirvaluesincludebeinghonest,caring,positiveandpassionateineverythingtheydoandkeepingthecommitmentstheymake.

WestJetAirlines’ChristmasMiraclecampaigndemonstratesabrandthatcaresaboutitscustomers.WestJetaskedpassengerswhattheywantedforChristmasbeforetheyboardedaflight,usinganinteractiveSantaClausTVscreen.Aseachpassengerscannedtheirboardingpass,SantaspoketothempersonallytoaskwhattheywantedforChristmas.ItwasalovelytouchofpersonalChristmasjoy.

Butthatwasn’ttheendofthestory.InthetimeittooktheflighttotaketotheairfromTorontoandreachitsdestinationofHamilton,WestJethadeachandeverycustomer’sChristmaswishbought,giftwrappedandwaitingforthemattheotherendontheluggagebelt.CompletewithapersonalappearancefromSanta.

WestJethasareputationforlookingaftertheiremployeesandinreturn,theylookafterthedetailsthatdelighttheircustomers.Sothisstuntringstruewiththeirbrandstory.It’sheartwarming,personal,endearingandgenerous.Itwasdocumentedandvideoed,andits36millionviewsonYouTubeprovehowsuccessfulittrulywas.

Thisisanexcellentexampleofstrategicmarketingthat’sintunewiththecompany’svision.Marketingmagiccanhappenifyourcommunicationsandmarketingactivitiesareallpullinginthesamedirectionasyourbrandvalues,yourvisionandyourpurpose.

Plainoldmagiccanhappeneverydaytoo,butwhereWestJetAirlinessucceededisinmaximisingthepotentialoftheircampaignwithclevermarketing.Theyleveragedeverybitofdigitalgoodwillthatwastobehadfromthatparticularmarketingactivity.There’snothingwrongwithorchestratingthisatall;it’snotphoney,it’sauthentic.

WestJetAirlinesliveandbreathethesentimentbehindthegesturewhichiswhy36millionpeoplehaveboughtintothemagicoftheexperiencetheycreated.Theyleveragedtheirpurposeandtheirbrandvisionintoanemotionallycompellingstunt,andmanagedtoexecuteitextremelywell.Seeforyourself,it’smarketinggenius.

Toaccessthisvideoandallofyourresourcesforchapter1,visitthelinkbelow.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter1Resources

Whatdidyouthink?It’sprettycompellingstuff.Now,we’reawarethatWestJet’scampaignrepresentsabigmarketingcampaignwithanevenbiggergesture.Andofcourse,biggesturesareoftenaccompaniedbybigbudgets.Weunderstandthatthiskindofmarketingstuntmayappeartobeoutofreachformanysmallerbusinesses,butthekeytakeawayfromtheWestJetexampleistheconceptandtheintention.

Talkingtoyourcustomersandlisteningtowhattheywantwillgetyoufurtherthananymammothmarketingbudget.YoumightnotbeabletogivethemflatscreenTVsforChristmas,butyoucangivethemabrilliantexperienceateverystageofthebuyingcycle.Thatgiftisworthitsweightingoldintheworldofbusiness.

ThesciencebehindtheapproachAretherecertainbrandsthatyoujustcan’thelpbutbeenamouredwith?Haveyoueverbeenwonoverbycleveradvertisingorpackaging?HaveyoueverlistenedtoakeynotespeechbyaCEOorbusinessownerandbeeninspired?Let’sbehonest–weallhave.

SimonSinek,authorofStartwithWhysumsupwhysomebrandsmakeaconnectionandothersmissthemarkbyintroducingtheideaof‘TheGoldenCircle’.Threeconcentriccircles,decreasinginsizerepresentthreequestions;what,howandwhy?

What?The‘what’representstheservicesandproductsyousell.

How?The‘how’representsthewayyoumakeyourproducts/services.

Why?The‘why’istherationalebehindeverythingyoudoasabusiness.

It’sthe‘why’stagethatissooftenglossedoverwhenplanningbrandcommunicationsandonlineactivities–thestumblingblockformanybusinesses.

ThesuccessofglobalbrandssuchasInnocent,StarbucksandAppleisthattheyalwaysstartwith‘why’andthentakeyouontheemotionaljourneyofwhattheirproductsstandfor.

Weunderstandthepurposeandbeliefsofthesebrandsandwe’reinstantlyprovidedwithameansofemotionallyinvestinginthem.So,what’syourpurpose?Whyshouldyouraudienceemotionallyinvestinyourbrand?Howcanyouuseyourhigherpurposetoinspire,entertain,educateandconvincethemtostayloyal?

TheconsequencesofgettingitwrongNotallbrandsarequiteassavvyasWestJet,StarbucksorApple.Evenglobalpowerhousescanfallwhentheyfailtounderstandbothwhattheysaytheystandforandwhattheirtargetaudienceactuallybelievetheyrepresent.

TakeinvestmentbankJ.P.Morgan.Onitswebsiteitliststhefollowingasoneofitscorevalues:

“Wedoourbesttomanageandoperateourcompanywithaconsistentsetofbusinessprinciples.Webelievethatshareholderswillbenefitaswedotherightthingforourclientsandthecommunitiesweserve.”

Sowhathappenedin2013,whenthebankinvitedTwitterfollowerstoaskViceChairmanJimmyLeeanything,inanenlighteningQ&Asession,usingthehashtag#AskJPM?

Sixhoursofcarnageistheanswer.Twitterusersquestionedandcondemnedeverythingfromthebank’sroleinthefinancialcrisisandwhyno-onehasbeenheldaccountable,totheirinvolvementintheBernieMadoffinvestmentscandal.UltimatelyandunsurprisinglytheTwitterQ&Awascancelled.ThisPRdisastercouldhavebeenavoidediftheironlinecommunicationwasrootedinarobuststrategy,informingthemofwhattheirbrandactuallyrepresentstothemassesontheinternet.Byfailingtounderstandtheironlinebrandperception,andforjumpingintoanonlineactivitywithoutpriorresearch,theyjeopardisedtheirbrandevenfurther.J.P.MorgancouldhaveavoidedthisiftheyhadincorporatedablendedapproachtotheirPRandsocialmedia;bytuningintotheconversationstheiraudiencewerehavingandrespondingtotheirconcerns,ratherthanjumpingonatrendinabidtoappearrelevant.Themoralofthestory?Liveandbreatheyourbrandvaluesonline,oryou’llgetcaughtout.Ensureyourmissionstatement,visionandcorevaluesinformyouronlinemarketingstrategy.Oppositeisadiagramforyoutofillin,soyoucannotethe‘what’,‘how’and‘why’thatmakeupyourbusiness.Startwithwhy,thenworkyourwaythroughthesections.Inthecentreofthediagram,youshouldbeabletoformasetoftangiblebrandvaluesthatdefineyourbusinessbasedonthethreeprinciples.

Youcandownloadyourownprintableversionofthisworksheetat:

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter1Resources

Ifyourmarketingteamdoesn’tensureyourstrategyalignswithyourbrand’svaluesandbusinessobjectives,howcanyoubesurewhatyou’redoingonlineisauthentic?

Andmoreimportantly,howcanyouconvinceyourcustomersofthis?Togetgoosebumpsyouraudiencemustfeeltheauthenticityandbelieveyourmessagetobetrue.

Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS

Fish!StephenLundin

Thismanagementparable,setinthefishmongersatSeattle'sPikePlaceMarket,seesprotagonistMaryJaneRamireztaskedwithturningaroundhercompany'sfailingoperationsdepartment.Thisbookisdesignedtohelpfindawaytocreateafun,happyworkplace,whereemployeesliveandbreathethecompany’svisionandvalues.

CreativityInc.EdCartmull

AsmuchahistoryofPixarasmanagementbook,thisisadefinitiveguidetobuildingacreativebusiness.Cartmull’sstorytellingtakesusthroughhisjourneytoconnectthemanyspecifictaskshisemployeesperformwithPixar’swiderbusinessobjectives,drivinghisteamtocreatesuchanimatedclassicsasToyStoryandFindingNemo.

StartwithWhy:HowGreatLeadersInspireEveryonetoTakeActionSimonSinek

Thisbookoutlinesthe‘GoldenCircle’–the‘how?’,‘what?’and‘why?’Itadvocatesstartingeverybusiness,projectorcampaignbyasking‘why?’first.Thatway,youestablishthereasonforaskingyouraudiencefortheirloyalty.

ONLINETOOLS

TinyPulse

Thisonlinesystemcollectsanonymousfeedbackfromemployees,creatingabarometerofhappinessinyourorganisation.Youcanchoosepre-writtenquestionsorcreateyourown,soyoucandelveintohowmuchyourteamunderstandsyourvisionandvalues.

www.tinypulse.com

TheFeedbackMatrix

Therealimpactoffeedback,positiveornegative,comesinthemanneryourespondtoit–orindeedifyouchoosetorespondatall.Firstaskyourself‘whatcanIdowiththiscriticism/compliment?’Createandplotfeedbackonamatrixdividedintofoursections:advice,compliments,criticismandsuggestions,thendecidewhatadvicetofollow,whattoignoreandwhatshoulddriveyoutotakeaction.

BrandvaluesguidelinesdownloadDownloadourbrandvaluesguidelinestemplatebyvisitingthelinkbelowtostarteffectivelybuildingtheframeworkforyourbusinessandplanningyourgoalsaccordingly.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter1Resources

Takeawaysforchapter1Nowthatwe’veexploredtheimportanceofunderstandinghowyourbrandvaluesaffectthewayyouraudienceperceivesyou,checkoffeachofthestagesbelowasyoucompletethem.

☐Establishwhatyoustandfor

☐Decidehowyouwantyouraudiencetoviewyou

☐Setaclearmessage

CHAPTER2

THERIGHTDIRECTIONHowtoalignyourbusinessobjectiveswithyourmarketinggoalstoensureeveryoneinthebusinessisonthesamepage.“Strategyisbuyingabottleoffinewinewhenyoutakealadyoutfordinner.Tacticsisgettinghertodrinkit.”FrankMuir

“Victoriouswarriorswinfirstandthengotowar,whiledefeatedwarriorsgotowarfirstandthenseektowin.”SunTzu,TheArtofWar

“Asatisfiedcustomeristhebestbusinessstrategyofall.”MichaelLeBoeuf

Alltoooften,therearethreescenariosthatplayoutwhenbusinessesplantheironlineactivities.

Thefirstscenariooccurswhenthereisnostrategywhatsoever.Instead,ahandfulofwell-meaningtacticsandactivitiesareroutinelyorsporadicallyexecutedinthehopethatonlinemagicwillhappen,moreleadswillfindtheirwaytothebusiness,andsaleswilldropthroughthetilleachmonth.

Thesecondscenarioissometimesmoredangerousthanthefirst.Thereisadigitalstrategyinplaceyetitdoesn’tintegratewiththeoverarchinggoalsofthebusiness.Instead,itresemblesacollectionofgenerictacticsandsocialmediameasurables,andasaresultfailstoaddanyvaluetothecurrentbusinessobjectives.

Thethirdscenariooccurswhenadigitalstrategyhasbeendesignedwiththebusinessobjectivesinmind,howeveronreview,it’snoweitherdriftedintoamoredilutedversionoftheoriginalvisionorit’sstucktoorigidlytotheoriginalplan–eventhoughthebusinesshasnowmovedinanewdirection.

Allofthesescenariosaresymptomsofthesamerootcause.Adigitalstrategy,planorroutineofactivityissometimestheafterthoughtofabusinessstrategythatseesdigitalasmerelyatacticoranamplificationtechniqueforexistingactivities.

Digitalcancertainlyextendreach,stretchconversionratesandhelptoincreaseaudienceengagement,howeverdigitalshouldbeusedstrategicallyandnotjusttactically.

WritingyourdigitalstrategyIfyoudon’tknowwhyyouaredoingsomething,howcanyousetrealgoalsandmeasurableKeyPerformanceIndicators(KPIs)toworktowards?Howcanyouidentifyifwhatyouaredoingisworking?

Asking‘why’willhelpyoutoidentifyyourbusinessobjectives,whichinturnwillformthefoundationofyoureveryactivityonline–helpingyoutobuildaclearstrategictimelineorplantofollow.Identifythe‘why’andyourstrategicplanwillfollow.Plottingactivitiesonachartandthenaskingyourself–‘whyarewedoingthis?Doesthisalignwithouroverallbusinessobjectives?’–willensureyougeneratereal,tangibleresults.ThePh.Creativemethodologyenablesyoutoplanyourcommunicationsandinboundmarketingbystartingwithwhy.It’sthisapproachthatmeansyou’renotflailingaroundinthetacticsandactivityofsocialmediawithoutaddingvaluetoyourbusinessgoals.Aneffectivestrategicplanhastobe:

SpecificMeasurableAcheivableRelevantTimely

Setting‘SMART’objectivesisamethodasoldasthehills,but‘SMART’objectivesarestillthebeststartingpointwhendefiningyourbusiness’goals.

-Writedownyourspecificobjective

-Outlinehowyouwillmeasureit

-Checkitisattainableandrelevanttoyourcompany’svision

-Setadeadlineforwhenthisshouldbeachieved

DownloadourSMARTobjectivesmarketinggoalstemplatebyvisitingthelinkbelowtostartplanningyourbusinessgoalswithclarity.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter2Resources

Sales–Advocacy–AwarenessThesearethreemetricsthatshouldalwaysplayapartinyourbusinessobjectives.Usethismodeltoensureyoufocusononeprimaryobjective,integratingthe

othersthroughout.

ExamplesofdigitalstrategyatworkOnceyou’velaidoutyourKPIsandascertainedwhyyou’redoingwhatyou’redoing,youcanstartputtingastrategytogetherthatisin-linewiththeprimaryobjectivesofyourbusiness.

Belowaresomegoodexamplesofadigitalstrategyatwork:

-GrowingaFacebookcommunityof100,000engagedfansbecauseyouconsistentlyconvertanaverageof13%ofthecommunitywitheverypromotion.

-Drivingrevenueupby5%byincreasingtheconversionrateofyourwebsiteby5%andthetrafficby25%.

-Usingregularemailmarketingtonurturealistofprospectstowardsbuyingforthefirsttime.Convert90%offirsttimecustomersintorepeatcustomersbyrefiningafollow-upemailcampaign.

-Findingandtargetingsocial‘influencers’tobuildreputationandcredibilityinaspecialistfield.

-Engaginganewpersonaofyouraudienceworthanadditional10%ofgrossprofit.

ConsideringyourdigitaltacticsSowheredoesitusuallygowrong?Amongthesuccessstoriesfrombrandsandcompaniesusingsocialmediaaremanymorefailures,oftenrootedinthefactthatobjectivesforeachchannelwerenotplannedoutfromthestart.Herearefourofthemostcommon.

‘Let’ssellonTwitter’

ManybusinessesusechannelslikeTwittereffectivelytoengagewithcustomers.Butwhenusedwithoutclearobjectivesinmind,itcanbedetrimentaltoyourbrand.Today’sconsumersexpectbrandstoworktowintrustandprovidevalueonline,notjustleadwithasalespitch.Beingoverlypushywithyoursalestacticsonthisplatformcanbackfire,ultimatelylosingyoufollowers(andpotentialcustomers).Similarly,postingcontenttoTwitterwithoutpriorknowledgeofyouraudiencepersonaswillalsoresultinlowerengagementandfollowerrate.

‘Thetargetaudienceonlineisthesameasitisoffline’

Targetingthesamepeopleonlineasofflineisnotalwaysthebestmethodtoemploy.Whensettingdigitalobjectivesyouneedaclearunderstandingofhowyouraudiencewillinteractwithyouonline,soyoucantargetthemeffectively.Individualsoftenhavedifferenthabitsonandoffline–acustomerwhomaybuyexclusivelyinstorewon’trespondtoasalesmessageaskingthemtopurchaseonlineandviceversa.It’salsoimportanttothinkabouthowyourtargetaudienceshopsonline–whethertheyneedinformationfirstoraredrivenbysalesordiscounts.

‘We’lljusthaveaninfographic’

Justthrowingapieceofcontentoutintothedigitalspaceandhopingsomeonewillseeitisuseless.Contentsuchasinfographicsandblogsneedtobebackedbyarelevantstrategybasedonclearlydefinedobjectives.Oneproblemthatoccursoftenisthepromotionofcontentbecominganafterthought.

Youmayhavethebestinfographicorblogarticleintheworld,butifyou’reonlysharingitwithyour400Facebookfollowers,yourreachwillbeseverelyhindered.

‘Thatcampaignwasgreat,thanks,bye’

Inboundmarketingdoesn’tstopafteronecampaignorevenatthecheckoutbutton.Settinganobjectivetocontinuebuildingrelationshipswillopendoorsforup-sellingandretainingloyalcustomers.Ifyoucontinuetodelightyourcustomersaftertheinitialsale,you’ll

createacommunityofactivebrandambassadorsandadvocateswhoendorse,supportandultimatelyloveyourbrand.

Definingyourobjectives

Youandyourteamshouldbeonthepulseofemergingmedia;newplatforms,techniquesandtools–butthatdoesn’tmeanyoushouldcramthemallintoyourmarketingprogramme.Carefullyselectonlythechannelsandmetricsthatwillbenefityourbusiness.Onceyou’veoutlinedclearSMARTgoalsandobjectivesandmappedoutyourpersonas,selectingtherightchannelsshouldfallnaturallyintoyourtactics.Ensureyouconsistentlyreviewthesehowever,ifyourpersonas’interestsandonlinehabitschange-don’tgetleftbehind.

SixmetricstoconsiderwhendefiningtacticsReputationCreateanenhancedexperience,valuablecontentorgreatcustomerserviceandyourreputationwillbuildtrust,encourageadvocacyandgeneratecustomerreferrals.

EngagementAuthentic,honestengagementwithyourcustomerswilldrivetrustandadvocacy.Themoreyouengage,themoreyourcustomerswillteachyouaboutyourbrand,informingyourobjectives

AwarenessRaisingbrandvisibilityinthedigitalspaceisnotaneasytask.Withsomanycompetitorsvyingforyouraudience’sattention,beingseencanprovedifficult.Settingthisasakeyobjectiveandpinpointingwhereyourcustomersareandwhattheywanttoseewillensureyouremainvisibleintheonlinespace.

SalesEncouragingyouraudiencetogivetheirdetailsandpermissiontomarkettothemallowsyoutoremainincontactwiththemandpersonaliseyourapproach.

SentimentThroughenhancednavigationandcustomerserviceonline,yourbrandcanprovidevalueandagreatexperience,improvingsentimentandencouragingreferralsandre-visits.

VisibilityRankingfortherightkeywordsisstillrelevant.Knowwhatyouraudienceissearchingforandmakesureyou’reinahighpositionwhentheymakethatsearch.

ExamplesofdigitaltacticsatworkThetacticsyouimplementshouldhavetheprimaryfocusofachievingyourstrategyandmeetingthegoalsyouoriginallylaidoutforyourbusiness.

Belowaresomegoodexamplesofdigitaltacticsatwork:

-UsingFacebooktoinvitepeopletoaseminar

-UsingGoogleAdwordstofindmorecustomerssearchingforyourproductsorservicesrightnow

-Emailingyourdatabasetomarketa50%offJanuarysale

-Tweetingouteverytimethere’snewsoranewblogreleasedonthewebsite

-Sendingsales‘In-Mails’onLinkedIntoidealprospectscitybycity

Remember,yourstrategiclistshouldfocusonachievingyourbusinessgoals,whileyourtacticallistshouldbeyourto-dolistforthemonth.

Beforeexecutingdigitaltactics,aclearstrategymustbeestablishedthat’sin-linewiththeprimaryobjectivesofthebusiness.Thegoodnewsisthatthisdoesn’thavetobedifficultatall.

Beforeyoudoanything,defineeffective,meaningfulobjectivesthatwillmakeanimpactonyourbusinessandresonatewithyourcustomers.

Useourstrategyworksheetattheendofthischaptertohelpyoudefinethese.Combineyourtacticswithyourstrategyandaboveall,remembertoconnectwithyourcustomerson

anemotionallevel.

Ifyoucansuccessfullycommunicateyour'cause'oryour'why'(whatyoustandforoverandaboveafinancialgain)youprovidesomethingtheycanbelieveinandchampionwith

you.

Ifyouachievethis,goosebumpsaren'tfaraway.

Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS

Breakthrough!HowGreatCompaniesSetOutrageousObjectives–AndAchieveThem

BillDavidson

Althoughnotstrictlyaninboundmarketingtext,thisbooklooksatmorethan70breakthroughbrands,includingIBM,DellandAmericanStandardandshowshowtheyadoptedoutrageousobjectivesandwhathappenedwhentheyachievedthem.

MasteringtheRockefellerHabits

VerneHarnish

Thisbookchampionsprioritisationandwillhelpyoutoidentifywhat’scriticalforyoutoachieveinthenext90days,helpingyoucommunicateittoyourteam,creatingenergyandfocus.

ONLINETOOLS

GoogleAnalytics

GoogleAnalyticsisanessentialtoolinunderstandingyourwebsitetrafficsources,ecommercegoals,searchtermsandaudiencedemographics.

www.google.com/analytics

DashThis

DashThismakesyourreportingtaskssimple,andpullsinformationfromarangeofsources.Allowingyoutocreateweekly,monthly,quarterlyandannualreportsandprovidinganinstantsnapshotofyourperformance,DashThisisagreattooltoaddtoyourarmoury.

www.dashthis.com

ImplementingyourbrandvaluesdownloadDownloadourguidetoimplementingyourbrandvaluesbyvisitingthelinkbelowtostarteffectivelyincorporatingyourvaluesintoyourcontentstrategy.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter2Resources

Takeawaysforchapter2Nowyouunderstandhowtosetachievablegoalsandthekeydifferencesbetweentacticsandstrategy,thereareafewthingsyoushoulddotoensureyoumaximiseyoursuccessrate.Checkthemoffbelowasyoucompletethem.

☐Cementyourbusinessobjectives

☐Linkeachtacticwithinyourstrategytoyourbusinessobjectives

☐CheckyourstrategyagainsttheSMARTmethod

CHAPTER3

UNDERSTANDINGYOURAUDIENCEHowtolistentoyouraudiences’wants,needsanddesiresinordertomaximizeyourchancesofengagingandsellingtothem.“Theaimofmarketingistoknowandunderstandthecustomersowellthattheproductorservicefitshimandsellsitself.”PeterDrucker

“Whenyouenchantpeople,yourgoalisnottomakemoneyfromthemorgetthemtodowhatyouwantbuttofillthemwithgreatdelight.”GuyKawasaki

“Theattentioneconomyisnotgrowingwhichmeanswehavetograbtheattentionthatsomeoneelsehastoday.”BrentLeary,CRMEssentials

So,thesearchforgoosebumpscontinues.Thischapterismakeorbreakforourcausebecauseit’sherethatyouwilldecideontheanswertothefollowingcrucialquestion.Howmuchdoyoureallywanttomakethatconnectionwithyouraudience?

Haveyoueverheardthesaying,‘peoplebuyfrompeopletheylike’?Thisisanoldadage,whichhasbeenwrittenaboutandquotedmanytimesovertheyears–especiallyinbooksandwhitepaperswrittenaboutsalestechniquesandtactics.Itstandstoreasonthatinordertobeeffectivewithsalesandmarketing,youneedtounderstandyouraudience,theirmotivationsforbuyingandwhat’simportanttothem–notsoyoucanusecreepysalestechniques,butsoyoucangivethemthevaluethey’relookingforandmaketheirlifeeasier.

Byunderstandingthewaysinwhichyourproductsorservicesaddressapainpointorcommonproblemforyouraudience,you’reensuringthatyourcontentisalwaysrelevant,valuableandisn’ttryingtoforceasale.

Thequickestandmosteffectivewaytoachievethisistofullyunderstandyouraudienceand,attheriskofsoundingalittlemushy,you’vegottoalsolovethemenoughtowanttounderstandwhatmatterstothemmost.Youneedtogetagriponwhatyouraudiencereallyappreciateandactonthistobuildameaningfulrelationship–onethat’sbasedonvalueandtrust.

Theworldhaschangedandthepowerhasmostdefinitelyshiftedbetweenconsumerandbusinessbrand.It’snolongerrelevantoracceptabletouseover-bearingpersuasiontechniquesthatborderonmanipulationtohammerhomeyoursalesmessages.Instead,theconsumerdictatesthatweleadwithvalueandplaybytheirrulesontheirterms.

Ourprofessionaldutyistoliveuptothisexpectationandoptimisetheuserexperience.Thus,maximisingconversions,frompassiveengagementtoaqualifiedleadorsale.Itcouldbearguedthatconsumerbehaviourandpowerhasshiftedsomuchthattheartofethicalpersuasionhasbecomere-alignedwithitsoriginaldefinition.

Tobecomemoreeffectivewithallaspectsofmarketing,we’veexperimented,testedandconsultedavastarrayofsourcesandexpertsovertheyears.

Onesimplemessagethatwecontinuetorevisithasbeentheideathatduringanexperiencewithyourbrand,peopledon’tnecessarilyrememberwhatyousaid(orwrote);instead,theyrememberhowyoumadethemfeel.So,we’rebacktoouroriginalpremiseof,canyouprovokegoosebumps?Ordoyouleaveyouraudiencecolddespiteconveyingalloftherelevantinformation?Theartofpersuadingyouraudienceinvolvesconsideringthreebasicappeals;pathos,ethosandlogos,whichwereoriginallydefinedbyAristotle.Who

knew?ThegreatestinboundmarketerofalltimeisAristotle.Pathos,ethosandlogosdividethemethodsofpersuasionintothreecategories:personalcharacter,emotionandlogicrespectively.

Usingablendoftheseappealswillensurethatyourmarketingalwaysresonateswithyouraudienceandyouconsistentlydriveyourcustomersthroughthesalesfunnel.TheycouldalsobethesecretingredientstoGettingGoosebumps.

PathosPathosconsidersadirectappealtotheemotionsofyouraudience.Byunderstandingyouraudienceandmappingyouridealpersonas(semi-fictionalrepresentationsofyouridealcustomer)youcangaugewhichemotionsgetthebestresult.Throughfullyunderstandingthepainpointsandpleasuretriggersofyouraudience,youcanconnectonanemotionallevel.Thiswillgivethemnotonlyareasontoshareyourcontent,butareasontoformabondwithyourbrand–makingthemmorelikelytobecomeadvocates.

Ofallthethreeappeals,itispathosthatisconsideredthemostimportanttomasterandleadwith,wherepossibleandappropriate,inyourmarketing.Allbuyingdecisionsareemotional,regardlessofwhatitisbeingboughtandifyouknowyouraudiencewellenoughtomakeaconnection,youwillreaptherewardsfromabusinessperspective.

EthosEthosistheappealofcredibilityandpersonalcharacter.Bycraftingethosintoyourmessagesyouarebuildinganddefiningcredibilitythroughestablishingauthorityandrespect.Yourmarketingshouldconveytheideathatyouareatrustworthybrandandbuildastrongcaseforyourcharacter.

LogosLogosisalogicalappeal,typicallymarkedbyfacts,figuresanddata.Thiskindofappealhelpsyouraudiencerationalisetheirbuyingdecisionsthroughshowingthemclear,logicalbenefits.Thepsychologyofthebuyingdecisiondictatesthatyourcustomerfeelstheyhavemadetherightchoiceintheirpurchase.Appealingtoyourpersona’slogicalsidebyprovidingfacts,dataandreviewsaboutyourproductsorservicesactsasaformofsocialproofforyourcustomer,cementingandreinforcingtheirdecisiontobuy.

PathosPathosiscraftedintothiswebpagedesignthroughtheintroductionofrelatablecharacters.Thisisachievedbytheadditionofphotographsofthebrand’skeypersonas.

EthosEthosisestablishedwithinthiswebpagethroughtheuseofbrandmessaging.ThebenefitsofLinkedInareclearlyspelledoutfortheuser,whichhighlightsthecredibilityofthebrand.

LogosLogosisachievedthroughpresentingthekeyfactsandfiguresandrationalbenefitsoftheservice.Thediagram,coupledwiththeaccompanyingcopyhelpstheaudiencereinforcetheirdecisiontousetheservice.

BuyerpersonasTomakeatrueemotionalconnectionwiththemembersofouraudience,we’dhavetositandmeeteachandeveryoneofthem.Whilsteffectiveinthelongterm,it’snotexactlyscalableandpossiblynotthemostsensibleoptionformostbusinesseslookingforgoosebumpsmomentswiththeiraudience.

Withthisinmind,thepracticeofpersonamappingcanbeextremelyeffectiveandalotmorepractical!Buyerpersonasidentifycommonbehaviouralpatterns,sharedpainpoints,bothprofessionalandpersonal,aswellasuniversalgoalsandthedreamsofyourcustomers.Thisprovidesapowerfulbankofinformationwhichwillenableyoutodeliverinformation,productsandservicesthatfittheirneeds.

HubSpotdefinesabuyerpersonaasthefollowing:

‘Abuyerpersonaisasemi-fictionalrepresentationofyouridealcustomerbasedonmarketresearchandrealdataaboutyourexistingcustomers.Whencreatingyourbuyerpersona(s),considerincludingcustomerdemographics,behaviourpatterns,motivations,andgoals.Themoredetailedyouare,thebetter.'

Whoshouldyouaskaboutyourbuyerpersonas?

Don’tjustaskyoursalesteamaboutyourcustomers,thiswillgiveaone-dimensionalresult.Insteadyoushouldtrytoaskarangeofpeople,including:

-Yourcustomers–throughsurveys,pollsandfocusgroups-Potentialcustomerswhodidn’tbuy(tofindoutwhy)-Seniorteammembers–CEOs,DirectorsandManagers-Marketingexecutives-Salesteam

Thiswillgiveabroader,morebalancedviewofyourpersonas.

PersonamappingOnceyou’veidentifiedyourbuyerpersonas,thereareeightactionsthatwillhelpyoutomaximisethisinsightandgeneraterealresultsforyourbusiness:

1.Reallocateyourresources

AremostofyourpersonasonTwitter?TakeyourexecutivesoffFacebookandmovethemontoTwitter.IsyouronlineadspendwithLinkedIn,butyourcustomersareonFacebook?Moveyouradspend.

2.Usetheirlanguage

Makesureyourcommunicationreflectstheirtoneofvoice.Usethebuzzwordsandslangtheyuseandmakesureyouplaceyourselfatthecentreoftheircommunity.

3.Personalisecommunication

Segmentcontactlistsbypersona,soyoucanprovideeachwithtailoredcontent.Thatway,youwon’talienateyourcustomerswithirrelevantnews,informationandoffers.

4.Createcontentwithyourpersonasinmind

Whetherit’savideo,blogpostorlandingpage,everypieceofcontentyoucreateshouldspeaktooneparticularpersona.Identifywhatengages,excitesandentertainsthemandprovideit!

5.Learnwhatyourpersonassearchfor

Keywordsstillplayacriticalroleininboundmarketingstrategies.Identifytheproblemsyourpersonaswanttosolveandwhattheyaresearchingfortohelpthemfindresolutions.

6.Audityourexistingcontent

Lookatyourexistingcontentandworkoutwhichpersonaitalignswith.Ifitdoesn’tspeaktoanyofyourbuyerpersonas,reworkitor–ifitcan’tbeupdated–getridofit.

7.Co-marketwithrelevantbrands

Ifyoujoinforceswithotherbrandsthatyourpersonasadmire,you’lldoubleyourpower.Tryajointwebinarwithamediapartnerorinviteanindustrythoughtleadertoguestblogforaninstantboost.

8.Mapyourpersonastothebuyingcycle

Pinpointyourcustomer’sstageinthebuyingcycle(howclosetheyaretopurchase)so

youcanprovideevenmorerelevantandtargetedcontentthatwillbringthemclosertocommittingtobuy.

BreakingdownthecustomerjourneyByidentifyingspecificbuyerpersonaswithinabusiness’saudience,wecanbegintoexplorethesubtle(orsometimesnotsosubtle)differencesinhowweneedtocommunicateamessage,inordertogetthedesiredresponsewe’relookingfor.

Toillustratethispointwe’vecreatedanexamplecompanycalledGotItCoveredInsurance(GICI).GICIsellshomeinsurancetoavarietyofcustomersbuthasidentifiedfourdifferentbuyerpersonasthatneatlycategorisethemajorityoftheiraudienceandalsorepresentwhoitfeelstheyaremostlikelytosellto.

GICI’sbuyerpersonasareasfollows:

1.Affluenthome-ownersincentralLondon.

2.Establishedlandlordswithalargeportfolio.

3.Housingassociations.

4.Studentsmovingtouniversityforthefirsttime.

Evenatfirstglance,itisunderstandablethatdespitesellingtheexactsameinsuranceproducttoeachbuyerpersona,themessage,toneofvoiceandtheincentiveormaincallstoactionwillneedtobedifferent.Bytakingthetimetounderstandeachpersona,wewillsoonseejusthowdifferentthosekeymessagesneedtobe.Themoreinformationwecanobtainforeachpersona,thebetterourresultswillbelaterdowntheline.Givingeachpersonaaname,job,ageandlivingscenariohelpstofillingapsthatpaydividendswhenitcomestodevisingacontentplan.

Mappingyourpersonasbasedontheirdemographicsandlifestyleisagoodplacetostart,butdoingsomethingcalledempathymappingyourpersonaswillhelpyoudigdeepertouncoverexactlywhattheythinkandfeel.Empathymappingisatechniquethataddsvalueandinsighttothepicturethatyouhavealreadypaintedofyourbuyerpersonas.

Yourdemographicresearchandimpressionofyourtargetcustomerwilltellyouwhotheyare.Butempathymappingtellsyouwhattheyfeel,howtheythinkandinwhatwaystheyaremostlikelytoact.

Thisisatremendouslyusefulprocessbecauseitputsyouinyourpotentialbuyers’shoes.Itisthisprocessthatallowsyoutounderstandtheirpainpointsandwhatemotionally

affectsthemandtailoryourmarketingmessagingaccordingly.

Ofcourse,thisprocessneedsvalidatingwithsolidresearch,howevermostbusinessesaresatonthisvaluableinformationabouttheiraudiencebutthey’rejustnotputtingittogooduse.Takealookatthefictionalpersonasonthenextpage.Dotheyseemreasonabletoyou?Giventheinformationonhand,dotherelatedstrategicdecisionsthatfolloweachonemakesense?Youbethejudge.

Buyerpersonaone:Affluenthome-ownersincentralLondon

Demographics

Name:StevenWakefield

Age:37

Jobtitle:HeadofCorporateAffairs

Income:£75k(combinedhouseholdincome:£150k)

Homestatus:Home-owner,married,twosmallchildren

Education:MastersdegreeinEconomics&History

Identifiers

-Methodical,diligent,thorough

-Appreciatesqualityandattentiontodetail

-Articulate,canbestubborn,likestoargueapoint

-Israrelyimpulsivebutappreciatesagooddeal

-Likesgolfandfootball

-SpendstimeduringtheweekonTwitter,LinkedInandoccasionallybrowsesYouTubeattheweekends

Goals

-Primarygoalistoprovideahighstandardoflivingforfamily

-Secondarygoalistosavetowardsbuyingaholidayhomeabroad

HowGICIhelps

-Providescomprehensive,nononsensecoverthat’scompetitivelypriced

-Makesiteasytoaddhighvalueitemstoapremiumwithoutfussandwithouthuge

increasesinmonthlypayments

-Premium,fast-trackclaimsmembershipmakesitquickandsimpletoclaimwhennecessary

WhatStevenappreciatesmostaboutGICI

-GICIoffersaplainEnglish,clearguidetowhat’scoveredandwhat’snot

-It’seasytoadditemstothepolicyonlinewithoutfuss

-GICIrewardsSteveneveryyearwithafreecaseofwinefornotmakingaclaimandremindshimofthecompetitiverateshe’spayingcomparedtothegeneralmarketplace

EmpathymapofStevenWakefield

Stevenconsidershistimetobevaluableandhasahighlevelofself-importance.Hefeelsannoyedifinstructionsorexplanationsarenotmadesimplebecausehavingtoreadovercomplicatedinformationisawasteoftime.

Stevenappreciatesaclearofferandupfrontdetailsofwhattheproductincludesanddoesnot.Herequiresreassuranceandconfidencetosubmitaformonlineandwillonlydosoifhe’sreadandunderstoodalloftheinformationhe’spresentedwith.

Heseeshimselfasavaluablecustomertoaninsurancecompanybecauseofthesheervalueofthecontentsandgoodsheisinsuringandhelikestofeelappreciatedandvalued.Hismainworryaboutapproachinganinsurancecompanyonlineisgettingmid-waythroughanapplicationprocessandbeingstuckwithoutanyonetohelphim.Hismainworryingeneraltermsismakingaclaimandbeingturneddownduetomisinterpretingtermsandconditionsonapplication.

FurtherchallengesforStevenistofindareputableinsurerthatoffersanefficient,tailoredservicebasedonhisneedsthatcanprovidethepeaceofmindofcomprehensivecontentscoverwhichisinclusiveofallofthevaluableitemsinhishome.Hisdesiredoutcomeistocompleteanefficient,yetthoroughonlineprocesswithouttheambiguityorgreyareasthatplantseedsofdoubtbeforeprocessingthefinalapplication.Havingapersononhandtoansweranyquestions,quicklyandeasilyisawell-placedcomfortblanketthatmotivatesSteventoproceedfromthestart.

Idealmarketingmessages/signpostsforSteven:

1.Nohiddenclauses:weinsureallofyourhomecontentsforthepriceweagree.Nofussandnoexceptions.

2.Ifyouhaveanyissuesworriesordoubtsduringyourapplicationprocess,anadvisorisonhandtoansweryourquestionsandhelpyoucompleteyourapplicationproperly.

3.Ittakessixminutesfromstarttofinishtofillinthissimpleapplication.

4.Weprovideapersonalhotlinetoyourdedicatedrelationshipmanagertodealwithyoureveryneedwithoutdelay.

5.Asathankyou,pleaseenjoyafreecaseofwineofyourchoicenowandeveryyearyoustaywithus.

Buyerpersonatwo:Studentsmovingtouniversityforthefirsttime

Demographics

Name:PaulGerrard

Age:19

JobTitle:Student

Income:12k

Homestatus:Renting,single,nodependents

Education:Pre-law

Identifiers-Carefree,excitable,outgoing

-Lovesfashion,footballandfriends

-Highlymotivatedbyconvenience

-Mostbuyingdecisionsaremadebasedonprice

-Listenstohisparentswhenitcomestonewlifedecisions

-UsesSnapchateveryday,watchesYouTubeandNetflixreligiouslyandisjuststartingtowatchandhostMeerkatchats

Goals

-Primarygoal:Retainasmuchdisposableincomeforsocialisingapossible

-Secondarygoal:Seeprimarygoal

HowGICIHelps

-Takescareofeverythingquicklyandeasily

-Offersaonesizefitsallbasicpackage

-RewardsPaulwithavoucherforasupermarket

WhatPaulappreciatesmostaboutGICI

-Thepriceischeap

-Hehasavouchertobuybeerwithimmediately

-Thepromisetoreplacehisphoneorlaptopwithin24hoursofmakingaclaim

EmpathymapofPaulGerrard

Pauldoesn’townanythingofsignificantvalueapartfromalaptop,asmartphoneandsomehouseholdbasics.Therefore,heseeshomeinsuranceasanexpensehewouldratherdowithout.Heisprettycarefreeandcan’timagineanythinggoingwrongathomeandsohewouldmuchratherspendhismoneyonsocialisingandenjoyinghimself.

Whenheseesthevoucherrewardforsigningup,Paulisdrawntotheimmediategratificationandcouldbepersuadedtopassontheofferiftherewasafurtherrewardforgeneratingreferralsamongsthisfriends.Heisfairlywelleducated,howeverheislaidbackandlikestohaveasimplelife.ComplicatedformsandlengthyparagraphsoftextcausePaultorunforthehillsandputoffthejobuntiltomorrowornever.

Histopchallengeistopleasehisparentsbykeepingthepromiseofgettinghomecontentsinsurancewhilstsavingasmuchmoneyaspossible.Hisdesiredoutcomewouldbetocompleteaforminlessthantenminutesandtohavetheentireprocessdone,dustedandconfirmed–includingthevouchertoclaim£50ofgoodsathislocalsupermarketonthesameday.

Idealmarketingmessages/signpostsforPaul:

1.Signupnowfor£120andimmediatelyreceivea£50vouchertospendinTesco.

2.Ittakeslessthan10minutestocompletetheentireapplicationprocess.

3.Referafriendandreceivea£20voucherforeveryreferralthatsignsup.

4.Oneprice,nofuss.

5.Loseyourphoneandreceiveareplacementwithin24hrs.

So,asyoucansee,thekeymessagesaretailoredtoappealtotwodifferentpersonaswithinthesameaudience,toprovokethebestresponse.Althoughtheproductisthesame,theirneedsaredifferentandsoshouldbethemessaging.I’msureyou’llagree,ifthosemessagesweredilutedinordertospeaktotheaudienceasawhole,thechancesofengagementwouldreducedramatically.Howcanyouexpecttoreacha37yearoldfamilymanwiththesamemarketingmessageusedtoreachan19yearoldstudentwhohasjust

movedawayfromhomeforthefirsttime?

Giventheinsightintothesetwopersonas,let’squicklylookathowthatmightinfluenceourcontentplan,toreacheachofthemateachstageofthemarketingfunnel.

We’llcoverhowtodesignanefficientmarketingfunnelalittlelateron,howeverit’simportantyougraspthepowerofpersonaandempathymappingandthepoweritgivesyouforgettinggoosebumpsfromyouraudience.Here’swhatapotentialcontentjourneymightbetoengagewithSteven.

STEPONE

Rightatthetopofthefunnel.TogetSteventoSEEtheGICIbrandandregistertheirexistence.

Channel:YouTube

Contenttype:Video

Intention:Inspire

Message:Ourpremiummembersenjoyluxurybenefitsincludinggolf,spa,footballandweekendbreaks.

STEPTWO

Middleofthefunnel.TogetSteventoTHINKaboutGICIasapossiblesolutiontoaspecificneedhehasforinsurance.AlsocreateawarenessoftheGICIwebsite.

Channel:Twitter

Contenttype:Infographic

Intention:Educate

Message:Comparedetail,costsandbenefitsofthetop5premiumhomeinsuranceproductsonthemarket.

Channel:LinkedIn

Contenttype:Blogpost(Pulsearticle)

Intention:Educate

Message:ThenetworkingandsocialisingbenefitsofjoiningexclusiveB2Bmembershipsandclubs.

STEPTHREE

Nearthebottomofthefunnel.ToenticeSteventoDOsomethingwithGICItoeitherbuyimmediatelyoratleastengagewiththebrandandinputcontactdetails.

Channel:Twitter

Contenttype:Deal/offer

Intention:Convince

Message:Registeryourinterestinourhomeinsurancepremiumthismonthforfreeexclusivemembershiptoourclub.

STEPFOUR

Rightatthebottomthefunnel.ToDELIGHTStevenwithanexceptionalcustomerexperiencethathevaluesenoughtobecomeabrandambassador.

Channel:Email

Contenttype:Welcomeemail

Intention:Inspireandconvince

Message:We’resopleasedyou’vedecidedtojoinourclub,we’dliketosendyouabottleofwinetocelebrateandinviteyoutojoinourprivateLinkedIngroupwhereweshareevenmoremembershipvalue.

Inreality,Stevenwillbounceallovertheinternetandsocialchannels,searchingbeforehesettlesonGICI.Hemayevenaskfriendsandfindinsightandbeinfluencedbymanyotherbrands.However,withthisapproach,we’restrategicallyputtingcontentintheplacesheismostlikelytoseeitandstackingtheoddsinourfavourwhenitcomestoreachingourtargetpersona.What’smore,becauseweunderstandwhatStevenappreciatesandrespondsto,wecantailorthestyle,toneandpersonalityofthecontenttobestmatchhiswants,needsanddesires.

We’realsoconsideringhisframeofmindandwherehemightbeinabuying/decisionmakingcycleatthatpointintime.Contentatthestartofhisjourneyisproducedsimplytoentertainorinspire.Whereaslaterinhisbuyingjourney,contentthatisspecificallydesignedtoeducateandconvinceismoreusefulandmuchmorelikelytohavethedesiredeffect.Ifyou’restillnotconvinced,gobackoverPaul’spersonadetailsandthenfollowthesamefourstepswe’veoutlinedforStevenbutreplacethechannel,contenttype,intentionandthemessagetobemoreappropriateforPaul.

WeguaranteethatyouwilldesignacompletelydifferentpathforPaul,andsoyoushould.Byconcentratingongettingtherightcontentintherightplacesattherighttime,youarecreatingacontentinfrastructurethatwillleadyouraudiencedownawell-designed

marketingfunnelthatleadstomoreleadsandsales.Imaginehavingatailoredaudiencejourneyforeachofyourpersonasandimaginewhatadifferenceitwillmaketoyourresultswhenyoudo.

PersonamappingvalidationOnceyouhavetakenasteptowardsgettingtoknowyouraudiencebymappingthespecificneeds,wantsanddesiresofyourvariouspersonas,youhaveautomaticallyshottothetopofyourclassinourbookandmorethanlikelytakenagiantsteptowardscrushingyourcompetitiontoo.

However,withoutvalidatingyourresearch,youruntheriskofbasingyourfuturedecisionsonunsubstantiatedhypotheses.Ifyou’vebeendownthatroadbefore,youknowitcanbeverydangerous,somakesureyourfindingscanbequalified.Togetthedesiredvalidationyouneed,therearevariousroutesyoucantakewithvaryingdegreesoftimeandcostattached.Attheveryleast,wehighlyrecommendspeakingtoyourexistingcustomersorspeakingtoprospectsthatyounarrowlylosttoacompetitortogaininsight.Generalengagementwithyourcommunitiestoseeifyou’reontherightlineswillalsobebeneficialtoinformingyourinboundmarketingstrategyThistypeofvalidationcanbeanextremelyvaluableexercisetoengagewithyouraudiencewithadifferentagendathanusualandit’salsoachancetodemonstrateyou’relisteningto,andyoucareabout,youraudiences’opinion.Oftenwe’veseenthislow-tech,lowbudgetapproachcontributingsignificantlytowardsbuildingbrandloyalty;peoplearemorelikelytobuyintoabrandthattheyfeelhaslistenedandmadedecisionsbasedontheiropinion.Imagineifyourfavouritebrandsreachedouttoaskyouropinionandchangedthewaytheydidthingsbasedonyourfeedback.Howwouldyoufeel?Wouldyoulovethemjustalittlebitmore?Sowouldwe.Forafewmorevalidationtechniques,wealsoadviseconsideringthefollowing:

Industrymarketresearch

Thiscanbeexpensiveandlongwinded,however,themoreyouknowaboutthesegmentsofyouraudiencethebetter.Youcanoftenfindawealthofindustryinsightsfromwebsiteslikethese:

www.tnsglobal.com

www.marketresearch.com

www.forrester.com

www.mintel.com

www.theinternettimemachine.com

Youcanaccessthese,plusallofyourresourcesforchapter3at:

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter3Resources

SolicitedsitefeedbackAskingyouraudienceforfeedbackonyourwebsitecanbeanincrediblypowerfulandinsightfulprocess.

However,itcanbeseenasintrusiveanddisruptivetoyourvisitorsandsoit’snotsomethingyoushouldundertaketoooften.Ifyoudoaskyourwebsitevisitorsforfeedbackyoumightwanttothinkaboutofferingsomesortofincentive,torewardthemforsharingtheiropinions.

Someusefulfeedbacktoolstoconsiderinclude:

www.uservoice.com

www.polldaddy.com

www.usersnap.com

www.4QSurvey.com

Youcanaccessthese,plusallofyourresourcesforchapter3at:

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter3Resources

On-sitesearchqueries

Yoursearchboxcanbeagoldmineofinformation;frominformingyouwhatyouraudienceislookingforonyourwebsite,towhatparticularlanguagethey’reusingtotryandfindit.Ifyoucontrolthesourcesoftrafficcomingintoyourdifferentwebsitepages,youcaneasilyfindinsightsrelatingtospecificpersonas.

Youshouldbeusingyoursearchboxdatabaseresultstodiscover:Whatpeoplearestrugglingtofindusingyournavigationmenu(orothermeans)Whatsearchqueriesreturnnoresultsatall(thismeansyouneedtowritemorecontent)WhatlanguageisbeingusedtodescribeyourproductsandservicesIfyouarecorrectlyfunnelingyouraudiencetorelevantpages

Understandingyouraudienceandmappingyourpersonasisavitalstageindevelopingarobustinboundmarketingstrategy.

Createcontentwithyourpersonasinmind.

Customerstodayexpectauthenticity,relevanceandvaluefromthebrandstheychoose.Knowingexactlywhatyourcustomerswantandneedfromyoumeans

you’refarmorelikelytoengagewiththemonanemotionallevel.

Ifyoudon'tunderstandwhatyouraudiencetrulywants,youmightbegettinggoosebumpssomewhere,butnotfromthosewhomattermost–youraudience!

Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS

BuyerPersonasAdeleRevella

Seeyourofferingthroughyourbuyer'seyesformoreeffectivemarketing.BuyerPersonasisthemarketer'sactionableguidetolearningwhatyourbuyerwantsandhowtheymakedecisions.

TheNewRulesofMarketing&PRDavidMeermanScott

Learnhowtoleveragethepotentialthatdigitalcommunicationoffersyourbusinessbyharnessingthepoweroftheinternet.Learnhowtocreatecompellingmessages,gettheminfrontofcustomers,andleadthosecustomersintothebuyingprocess.

PeakChipConley

CentringonMaslow’shierarchyofneeds,ChipConleywalksreadersthroughtheprocessandstrategyofbuildingandsustainingaprofitablebusiness.Focusingontheexperiencescustomers,employeesandinvestorshavewithgreatcompanies,Peakexplainshowtoinspireloyalty,brandstatusandultimatelyfostermaximumperformance.

PersonaandempathymappingworkbookdownloadDownloadourpersonaandempathymappingworkbookatthelinkbelowtostartunderstandingyouraudienceandbeginmappingyourpersonas.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter3Resources

Takeawaysforchapter3Ensureyou’vecoveredwhat’simportantandcheckoffeachstagebelowasyoucompletethem.

☐Mapyourpersonaprofiles

☐Understandtheirpainpointsandwhattheyvalue

☐Createcontentthatappealstotheiremotionsandneeds

CHAPTER4

RIGHTTIMERIGHTPLACEAnindepthlookatwhere,whenandwhatyouraudiencespendstheirtimelookingatandwhotheyarealreadyinfluencedby.“Ifweknowwhatitwasweweredoing,itwouldnotbecalledresearch,wouldit?”AlbertEinstein

“Researchisformalisedcuriosity.Itispokingandpryingwithapurpose.”ZoraNealeHurston

“Ifyou’replayingapokergameandyoulookaroundthetableandyoucan’ttellwhothesuckeris,it’syou.”PaulNewman

Withinboundmarketing,itisnotsomuchwhatyouknow,orwhoyouknow.It’smoreaboutwhatyouknowaboutwhoyoudon’tknow.

Intoday’sdigitalworldwenowpublishmorecontentevery48hoursthanallofthecontenteverpublishedonlineupuntil2004combined.Withfiguresliketheseinmind,it’ssafetosaythatregardlessofhowmicroyournicheis,youhavesomecompetition.

Asyourmarketplacebecomesmorecrowdedandyourcompetitioncontinuestogetmoredifficulttobeat,youneedallofthemarginalgainsyoucanfindtomaximisethereturnoninvestment(ROI)ofeverypieceofcommunicationandcontentthatyouproduce.Simplyproducinggreatcontentthatmaybegoosebump-worthyissadlynolongerenoughtowininthisgame.

Thestrategyandeffortbehindyourresearchandanalysisisdirectlyproportionatetothechancesofyoursuccessonline,soit’sincrediblyimportant–notapartoftheprocesstoberushedorignored.WoodyAllengotitwrong:life’snot80%aboutshowingup,it’s80%research,analysisandplanningand20%knowingwheretoshowupandwhattosaywhenyougetthere.

Thischapterfocusesonthreemainareastohelpyoutogetyourcontentfoundmoreeasilybyyouraudience.

Thefirstareaoffocusisthetechnicaloptimisationofyourcontentintermsofbothwhatyouraudienceislookingforandhowtheyarelookingforit.

Thesecondpartofthechapterlooksathowtofindandengagewitharelevantaudience.Planningproperlywillhelpyougeneratevisibilityforthemostappropriatecontent,withinthecontextofwhatthey’researchingfor.

Finallywelookathowtofindrelevantinfluentialpeopleonline(andoffline)thatcanextendyourreachandaccelerateyourexposure,throughsharingandengagingwithyourcontent.

OptimisingyourcontenttobefoundonlineSearchEngineOptimisation(SEO)hasbeensomethingofamovingtargetoverthelasttenyears.

Ultimately,SEOhasalwaysstoodfortheprocessanddisciplineofmanipulatingtheresultsofsearchenginerankingswhenaprospectivecustomerislookingforyourproductsandservicesonline.Thehigheryourank,themorevisibleyoursitewillbeonsearchengines,thusleadingtomoretraffic.

Thewaysandmeansbywhichyoucanachievesearchenginevisibilityhavechangeddrasticallysincethebeginningofthepracticeandwillcontinuetochangeassearchenginescontinuetorefinehowtheyrankcontent.

Thereareover200factorsthatcontributetotherankingofeachwebpagefoundwithinGoogle.Thisever-changingformulaiscontinuallyrefinedtoedgeusclosertowardsmimickingthevalueabrandoffersacustomerinreallife.

Nolongerarewebpageslistedinorderofjustrelevance.Googlenowfactorsrelevance,contextandqualityofexperiencedeliveredbyawebpageintoitsrankings.

Socialsignalsalsoplayaroleindecidinghowcredibleandtrustworthyawebsiteis–ifyourwebsiteisreceivinglotsofsocially-assistedtrafficandlinks,searchenginestakethisasaverypositivesign.

ThebusinessofSEOischangingTheSEOindustryisslowlyadmittingdefeatfromattemptstofoolorout-manoeuvreGoogle;instead,SEOhasbecometheartandscienceofplayingbytherules.

Jammingkeywordsandphrasesinthepagesofyourwebsitethatexactlymatchthosetypedintosearchenginesbyyouraudienceisnotonlyineffective;itcanbedetrimentaltothevisibilityofyourwebsite.

Insteadofusingwhatartificiallypleasessearchenginestoprovidehighvisibility,youshouldplacemoreemphasisonastronguserexperienceonceavisitorlandsonyourwebsite,pleasingbothyourcustomersandGoogle.Googlehasmademanychangestoitsalgorithmstoevolvetheexperienceofsearch–aimingtoreflectanexperienceyouwouldfindintherealworld.

Panda—February23,2011

Thismajoralgorithmupdatehitsiteshard,affectingupto12%ofsearchresults(anumberthatcamedirectlyfromGoogle).Pandacrackeddownonthincontent,contentfarms,siteswithhighad-to-contentratiosandanumberofotherqualityissues.Thismeantthatwebsitessetupsolelyforthepurposeofhavinglinkspointingtootherwebsites(toseeminglymanufacturepopularitytoboostrankings)wereheavilypenalised.

Venice—February27,2012

Aspartoftheirmonthlyupdate,Googlementionedcode-name‘Venice’.Thislocalupdateappearedtomoreaggressivelylocaliseorganicresultsandmoretightlyintegratelocalsearchdata.Thisupdatewasdesignedtomakeitharderforabusinessto‘pretend’theywerelocaltoaparticularareajustbyoptimisingforseverallocalsearchwords.AgoodexampleofthiswouldbeawebagencyinLondonusingphrasessuchas‘webdesignLiverpool’,justsotheycangeneratebusinessinLiverpoolfromafar.

Penguin—April24,2012

Afterweeksofspeculationaboutan‘over-optimisationpenalty’,Googlefinallyrolledoutits‘Penguin’updatedesignedtocrackdownonwebspam.Penguinadjustedanumberofspamfactors,includingkeywordstuffing,andimpactedanestimated3.1%ofqueriesinEngland.

Exact-MatchDomain(EMD)Update—September27,2012

In2012,Googleannouncedachangeinthewayitwashandlingexact-matchdomains

(EMDs).Thisledtolarge-scaledevaluationofexact-matchdomainsthatwerepopularatthetime.Beforethisupdate,businessesrealisedthatbyusingadomainwhichexactlymatchedkeywordsearches(forexample,www.personalinjurysolicitorlondon.co.uk)theywouldrankwellinGooglejustbecauseofthedomainname.Somebusinessessetupdozensofslightlydifferent‘exact-match’domainstocornerthemarket.Thisupdatebursttheirbubbleandstoppedrankingthosewebsiteshighlyinsearchresults.

Hummingbird—August20,2013

AnnouncedonSeptember262013,theHummingbirdupdateintroducedchangestosemanticsearch.InanattempttoprovidehighlyrelevantresultsHummingbirdfocusedonsearchcontext,ratherthankeywords.Thisupdatemeantthatyoucouldbesurethatyourcontentwouldhavemorechanceofbeingfoundbydifferentpeoplesearchingforthesamecontent,butusingslightlydifferentlanguage.

MobileResponsive–April21,2015

Google’slatestupdatemarkedachangetothewaysinwhichitrankswebsites,basedonmobileresponsivity.WhilstGooglehasbeenproactiveinpushingthebenefitsofbecomingmobileresponsive,thelatestupdateshowsjusthowimportantit’sbecome.ThisupdatechangedthewaythatGoogleranks–nowbasedonusability–asmobile-firstsearchgrowsinpopularity.

SEO&audiencepersonasTheworldoftechnicalSEOmaybechangingallthetime;howeveryourfocusshouldremainontheexperienceofvisitors,byprovidinganefficientserviceandgreatvaluethroughthecontentyouproduceandprovide.

GoodSEOmeansunderstandingacustomer’sintenttoactandputtingtheirneedsfirstwhendevisingandoptimisingthecontentyouwantthemtoconsume.Ifyouraudienceisnewtoyourbrandandnotsureoftherelevanceorvalueofyourofferyet,thehardordirectsellisinappropriate.If,however,someoneisfamiliarwithyourbrandandwantstobuyfromyouasquicklyaspossible,thenadirectcalltoactionisveryappropriate.Inbothofthesescenarios,itmightbethesamepersonbutatdifferentstagesoftheirbuyingcycle.Thismeansweneedtothinkaboutdifferentcontentforeachstageofthebuyingcycleforeachpersonaidentified.

GaryVaynerchuksumsthisup:

“Ifcontentisking,contextisGod”

Optimisingforjustonesetofkeywords,orusingthesamelanguagewithallofyourcontentisnotthesmartestwaytoapproachinboundmarketing.

Thesmartplayistouseablendedapproach,changingyourlanguageateachstageofthesalesfunneltogeneratesignificantvolumesofqualitytraffic.Bytakingsuchanapproach,youwillbemoreaccuratelyassistingyourcustomer’sneeds,aswellassteeringthemfurtherdownyoursalesfunnel.Wesegmentthissalesfunnelinthefollowingway:

SEE,THINK,DO,DELIGHT

See,Think,Do,DelightThebasicpremiseofourphilosophyistousetheinsightyouhavegatheredsurroundingyourvariousbuyerpersonastoinformthecontentyoupresenttothemateachstageofabuyingorengagementlifecycle.Putdifferently,weprovidedifferenttypesofcontenttothesamebuyerpersona,dependingonwhattheywillmostappreciateandvalueatthetime.

Byinformingyourcontentplanwiththisinsightyoucansuccessfullymovecustomersthroughanorganisedmarketingfunnelbecauseyou’reconsideringthecontextofyouraudience’sexperienceandrecognisingthatthesameaudiencewillappreciatedifferenttypesofcontentdependingontheirstageinthebuyinglifecycle.

ThemethodologyofSee,Think,Do,Delightclustersdifferenttypesofcontentateachstageofthemarketingfunnelandtailorsvariationsinlanguageasacustomerbecomesmorequalifiedasalead(andthepropensitytobuyincreases).

Thereareseveraldifferentvariationsofthelabellingofaninboundmarketingfunnel.HubSpotusetheir‘attract,convert,close,delight’model,whichislargelysimilartoourown.Intheinterestofcompletetransparency,we’vetakenourwordingfromAvinashKaushik,awell-knownandrespectedauthoranddigitalmarketingevangelistforGoogle.Hisblogcanbefoundatwww.kaushik.netandiswellworthcheckingout.

Avinashusesthis‘contentcontextfunnel’inaslightlydifferentwaytous–althoughhison-pagetechniqueiscomplementarytoourmethodologyandshouldbeembraced.AvinashusesSEE,THINK,DOtoplanandordercontentthatactuallyresidesonawebpage.Byhisownadmission,itisinspiredbythegoodoldAIDAmodelthatcopywritershaveusedtostructureadvertisingcopysincethelate1800s(attention,interest,desire,action).

See-Objective:Toraiseawareness.Activityatthe‘See’stageconsistsofkeywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoattractnew,uninitiated‘strangers’atthestartofthebuyingjourney.

Think-Objective:Topositionyourbusinessasapotentialsolutiontoyourcustomers’challengeorproblem.Activityatthe‘Think’stageconsistsofkeywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoprovidematerialsurroundingyourbrandandthespecific,initialneedsofyour

audience.Thiscontentaddsvaluetotheprocessbyconnectingthebenefitsofyourofferwiththeintrinsicneedsoftheaudience.

Do-Objective:Tofacilitateatransactionofeithercontactdetails,insightintoindividualneedsand/orunitsales.Activityatthe‘Do’stageconsistsofkeywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoconvincearelativelyqualifiedaudiencetotakesomeformofaction.Thismightnotbemovinginforanimmediatesale,butitcouldbeadownload,arequestforacallormoreinformation.

Delight-Objective:Tomaximisethelifecycleofyourcustomersandprovideopportunitiestorefermorebusiness.Activityatthe‘Delight’stageconsistsofkeywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoaddvalueforexistingcustomersorknownprospects(throughbuildingtrust,empathyandloyalty)inordertoretainthemandprovideongoingopportunities.

Byunderstandingyouraudienceatthisgranularlevel,youcanintegrateyourcontentstrategywithbestpracticeSEO.Youcanmaximisethereachofyourcontentbyusingtherightsemanticsandlanguagethroughoutyourinboundmarketing.Engagingwithyouraudienceonamorepersonal,tailoredlevelatdifferentstagesofthemarketingfunnelmeansyoucanalsocommunicatewithagreaterdegreeofaccuracyandexpectbetterresults,byprovidingabetteruserexperience.

Socialmedia&audiencepersonasOnceyou’vedefinedwhomakesupyouraudience,youneedtofindouthowtheyinteractonline.Socialmediaisoneoftheeasiestwaystogainvaluableinsightintoyouraudience’sinterestsandgaugetheironlinehabits.

CommunitiesFirstly,youneedtofindoutwhereyouraudiencelivesonline.Dotheyusespecificsocialnetworkingsites,oraretheypartofanonlinecommunity?Aretheyinfluencedbyanyoneinthesocialsphere?Ifso,canyouusetheseinfluencerstopersuadeandtargetthem?

HashtagsJustasimportantasknowingwhereyouraudiencearegoingtobe,youneedtofullyunderstandthekindoflanguagetheyuseonadailybasis.Youshouldberesearchingwhathashtagstheyfrequentlyuseandprobingintohowthesehashtagsreflecttheirinterests.Languagecanalsobecrucialindefiningtheintentofyouraudience.Byanalysingtheirconversationsonlineyoucandefinewhichstageinthebuyingcyclethey’recurrentlyat–meaningyoucantailoryourmessagestofitthempersonally.Forexample,ifyourresearchshowsthatyouraudienceisoftenaskingquestionsonsocialmedia,youshouldbeoptimisingcontentwhichanswerstheirquestionsandpushingitthroughtheplatformstheyfrequent.Ifyou’retryingsellaggressivelywhenyouraudienceisn’tready,you’llfallflat.

TrendseasonalityAnalysinghowyourcustomer’sneedschangeandfluctuatethroughouttheyearisalsokeytomakingsureyourmarketingispersonalisedandtailoredforeachcustomer.Byundertakingeffectivekeywordresearchandunderstandinghashtagsandlanguage,youcangaugeexactlywhatyourcommunityislookingforandwhen.

BuyingandbrowsinghabitsByfullyunderstandingthewaysinwhichyouraudienceshops,youcaninformyourstrategytofitwiththeirneeds.Understandingtheirhabitscanhelpyoutoturnacustomerwhohasboughtonce,intoaregularrepeatcustomer.Forexample,ifyourcustomerisoftenbuyingbulkorfamily-sizedproducts,youshouldbetailoringdealsandofferstofitthem.

Ifyoucanprovokegoosebumpswithyourcontent,youdon'twantittobethebestkeptsecretevertold.

Howevercontagiousyourcontentisthesedays,gettingyourstrategyrightforreachingyouraudienceandleveragingcommunityinfluencersiskey.

Followourprocessandmaximiseyourvisibilitywithinsocialchannelsandsearchenginestoo.

Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS

WordofMouthMarketingIdilMCakim

Focusingonthetraditionalconceptofwordofmouthmarketing,thisbookwillhelptoidentifyonlineinfluencers,createstoriesthatwillresonatewithyourconsumersandengagewithinfluencersandcustomersonline.

WebsofInfluence:ThePsychologyofOnlinePersuasionNathalieNahai

Online,everyonereactsdifferentlytothewebsites,socialchannelsandcontenttheycomeintocontactwith.Thisbookexploresthepsychologybehindwhatmakespeopletick,inordertohelpyouconnectwithcustomers,nurturerelationshipsandcreateanonlineexperiencethatattracts.

InboundMarketing&SEORandFishkin&ThomasHøgenhaven

ThisbookcherrypicksthebestandmostpopularinboundmarketingarticlesfromtheMozBlog–thego-toplaceforSEOandmarketinginsights–alongsidesomebrandnewessays.Thisbookcoversfivechannelsofinboundmarketing:contentmarketing,socialmedia,outreach,conversionrateoptimisation,andanalytics,aswellassearchengineoptimisation.

BecomeaKeyPersonofInfluenceDanielPriestley

Wanttobecomeaninfluencerinyourfield?Thisbookoutlinesaspecificfive-stepprocesstobecomingakeypersonofinfluencewithintheinnercircleofyourindustry–fast.

ONLINETOOLS

SocialCrawlytics

Anessentialfreetoolinonlineresearch,SocialCrawlyticsanalysesURLstoestablishhowpopulartheyhaveprovedacrossthesocialspace,thistoolcanalsofindinfluencersandworkouthowyourcompetitorsaredoing.

www.socialcrawlytics.com

Followerwonk

AniftysocialmediatoolwhichallowsuserstosearchforkeywordsinTwitterusers’biographies.Followerwonkisafastandeffectivewaytofindyourbuyerpersonas'influencers(orjustpeoplewhohavethesameinterestsasyou).

www.followerwonk.com

MentionMapp

UsingdatafromtheTwitterAPI,MentionMapploadseachuser’sTwitterupdates,findsalloftheirinteractionsandhashtagmentionsanddisplaystheminaweb-likeformat.MentionMappmakesresearchingyouraudienceandinfluencerssimple,allowingyoutoembarkonajourneyofdiscoverythroughawebofconversationsandinteractions.

www.mentionmapp.com

BuzzSumo

Agreattoolforfindinginfluencers,BuzzSumoallowsuserstosearchforandfilterinfluencersbytheirtype.InfluencerlistscanbeexportedintoanExcelfile,whichenablesresultstobefilteredevenfurther.Thetoolcanalsobeusedtofindthemostpopularcontentaroundcertaintopicsbysearchingaspecifickeywordandphrases.

www.buzzsumo.com

Nuzzel

NuzzelisausefultoolforcollatingthestoriesandarticlesthathavebeensharedbyyourfriendsonFacebookandTwitter.Asocialnewsaggregator,Nuzzelmakesitsimpletoseewhat’simportant,withoutoverwhelmingyouwithdata.

www.nuzzel.com

TwitterAdvancedSearch

TheadvancedsearchfunctionwithinTwitterisoneofthebestandmostunder-utilisedtoolswithintheplatform.Allowingyoutospecificallysearchforandtargetindividualsbasedonparticularkeywords,phrases,locationsandlanguage,itmakesidentifyingconversationsandinfluencerswithinyourfieldsimple.

Understandinginfluencersdownload

Learnhowtoextendthereachofyourcontentandseedeffectivelybygettingtoknowtheinfluencersinyourfield.Downloadyourinfluencerebookatthelinkbelowtogetstarted.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter4Resources

UnderstandinginfluencersdownloadLearnhowtoextendthereachofyourcontentandseedeffectivelybygettingtoknowtheinfluencersinyourfield.Downloadyourinfluencerebookatthelinkbelowtogetstarted.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter4Resources

Takeawaysforchapter4Youshouldalreadyhaveasolidsetofaudiencepersonasmappedout,sobynowyouwillbewellandtrulystuckintotheresearchelementofyourinboundmarketingstrategy.Checkoffeachstepyoucompletebelow.

☐Researchwhatyouraudiencearesearchingforonlineandtheirbuyinghabits

☐Planyourownsalesfunneltomapyourbuyerjourney

☐Understandtheirinfluencers

☐Researchsomemore

CHAPTER5HOWTOTELLASTORYMasteryourabilitytoeffectivelycommunicatewithimpactandemotionalintelligenceinordertoelicitthedesiredaction.“Effectivecommunicationis20%whatyouknowand80%howyoufeelaboutwhatyouknow.”JimRohn

“Peoplethinkinstories,notstatistics,andmarketersneedtobemasterstorytellers.”AriannaHuffington

“Ifhistoryweretaughtintheformofstories,itwouldneverbeforgotten.”RudyardKipling

Storytellingcouldeasilyprovetobethetruecurrencyofmoderndaymarketing.

Thecraftofshapingastorytoignitetheimaginationofyouraudiencecanbethedifferencebetweenbeingrememberedorinstantlyforgotten.Storytellingismassivelyundervaluedbythevastmajorityofbusinesseswhenmarketingthemselvesonline.

AsconsumersorpotentialB2Bcustomerswebecomenumbtothemassesofmediamessageswe’reforcedtodelete,ormentallyskiptogettowhatwe’relookingfor.We’refatigued,easilyboredanddistracted;ignoringthevisualadvertisingonthescreenswe’resimultaneouslyscanning.It’sbecominghardertoholdourattention.

Ifyou’renotaimingforgoosebumpswhentellingyourbrand’sstory,thenyou’renotreachingyourfullpotential.Youruntheriskofwastingorunderutilisingalloftheresearch,personadevelopmentandstrategyplanningyou’veundertakensofar.Withenthrallingstoriesyoucanleveragethepowerofstorytellingandachieveremarkableresults.

Youmayassumethatyouneedaninterestingsubjectinordertoberegularlypublishingcontagiouscontent.However, throughthepowerofacompellingstory,manybusinessesinperceived‘dull’industrieshavemanagedtocreateexciting,emotivecontentthatkeepstheiraudienceengagedandcomingbackformore.ParisianLovebyGoogleistheperfectexample of a seemingly bland topic being made into a compelling piece of contentthroughtellinganemotionalstory.

Inanadvertthatsimplydemonstratesthesearchengineprocess,Googletellalovestoryby using the myriad of search queries one man makes at important and memorablemomentsinhislife.Itworksbecauseweunderstandandrelatetothosemoments.We’vemademanyofthosesearchesourselvesandwe’vebeenonthatjourney.

Checkitoutnowbyvisitingthelinkbelow,beforewelookatthesciencebehindthisapproach.

http://www.ph-creative.com/Chapter5Resources

Googlemayonlybesellingtheirsearchplatform,buttheyskillfullyillustratehowtheirproductaddsvaluetoreallifesituations.

Ifyou’renotconvincedthatParisianLoveisaparticularlygoodexample,we’dliketogiveyouonemoreexampletoreinforcetheideathatyoudon’thavetobesellingsomethingsexytobearmedwithwhatyouneedtotellaninterestingstory.

We’vepolledhundredsofpeopleoverthecourseoftheyearduringconferencesand

keynotetalks,tofindoutwhatthegeneralconsensusiswithregardstothedullestsectororverticalmarketpeoplecanthinkof.Theoverwhelmingmajorityofthosewehaveaskedhaveagreedthatinsuranceisconsideredthedrabbestserviceyoucouldeverpossiblyhopetofind.

Whowantstohearabouttheprovisionoflifeinsurance;aboutprovidingforyourfamilyintheeventofafatality?It’sjustnotsomethingyoucandressuporeasilymakelightof,right?

Wellholdthatthought…

RedBullhascarvedanamazingnicheforitself,strategicallymarketinginsuchawaythatitappearstoowntheextremesportsworldentirely.There’sagoodchancethatmostextremesportsvideoswillhaveitsbrandplasteredalloverthem.

RedBullhasdemonstrateditswillingnesstogototheendsoftheearthtobecrowned‘kingofextremesports’ineverythingitdoes.Frommastermindingstuntstoextensivesponsorshipofextremesports,itsbrandexposureisunparalleled.ThestoryofRedBullisaphenomenalone.Wearen’tclaiming;‘ifasugar-fuelledsoftdrinkcandoit,anyonecan’.That’snotthepointwe’remakinghere,becauselet’sfaceit,softdrinkshavealwaysfaredprettywellwithmarketingstories.Instead,thestoryofRedBullshouldinspireallofustosetoutaloftystrategicgoalandworkoutexactlyhowtoachieveit–nomatterwhatittakes.

Now,imagineitwasn’tRedBullthatsetoutthatvisioninthenineties,butinsteadaninsurancecompanythatspecialisedinlifecover.

‘Nomatterwhatlifethrowsatyou,we’vegotitcovered.’

ItcouldbearguedthattheRedBullstorywouldmakejustasmuch,ifnotmoresenseifitwasbeingtoldbyaninsurancecompany.Itcouldalsobearguedthatifaninsurancecompanywaswillingtobebrave,theywouldhaveamuchbetterchanceofdifferentiatingthemselvesfromtheircompetition.

Nigel Walsh, Vice President and Head of UK Insurance at Capgemini, highlights theimportance of strong branding for insurers. As a leading figure in UK insurance, heunderstands the challenges faced by the industry when it comes to branding andmarketing.

“Thedifferencebetweeninsuranceandmanyotherindustriesisthatwehaveanobligationtoourcustomersforamandatoryproductinahighlyregulatedworld.Wearenotathrowawayproductorservice.Whenpeoplecallus,it’susuallyinastateofduressduetoanaccidentoremergency.It’salltooeasytocompareusonpricecomparisonsiteandhavenoappreciationforourbrand.Thatsaid,consumersandorganisationsabsolutelyhavechoiceandthemarketisfilledwithgreatproviderscompetingforyourattentionandmoneyTheycanonlydothisbyhavingtherightproductattherightpricewithoutcompromisingtheirabilitytoprovidetheserviceexpectedwhenneeded.Todothis,theymusthaveabrandyoucanandwilltrust.”

Someinsurancebrands,however,aremakingapositivechangeinregardstothewaysinwhichtheymarketthemselves.Provingthatit’snotalwaysbesttofollowtheherd,HiscoxInsurancestandsoutamongitscompetitorsforitscleveruseofmarketingmessages.Hiscoxcombinessimplicitywithcompellingmessagestorelayitsbrandvaluesandbenefits.Itsadvertsengagewithconsumerpainpointsandensurethattheaudienceisawarethatthebrandunderstandsandempathiseswiththeirexperiencesassmallbusinessowners.Bydoingthis,itimmediatelycreatesrapport,trustandasenseofcommunitywithinitsdemographic.

WhilstHiscoxisagreatexampleofaninsurancebrandmarketingitselfwell,there’sstillalongwaytogoifitwantstocreategoosebump-inducingresults.Toachievethesesortsofresultsyourself,youhavetoknowyouraudiencesowellthatyoucanpredict,withacertaindegreeofaccuracy,whattheirreactionwillbe.Youhavetoknowwhat’simportanttoyouraudiencepersonasandwhatemotionaldriverstheywillrespondto.Incorporatethisknowledgeintoastrongstoryandyoutooarereadytosellgoosebumps.

ThescienceandartofstorytellingStartingwithacorereasontotellyourstory,thenunderstandinghowandwhentotellitcantransformyourbusiness.

Settingthescene

AnoldretiredgentlemancalledHenrylivedaloneinLiverpool.

Henrydidn’thavemuchtooccupyhistimethesedays.Heusedtowalkhisdog,Scouse,eachmorningalongalocalbeachbeforespendinghisafternoonathisallotmentwherehetendedtohisbelovedvegetablepatch,growingcarrots,potatoesandhisprizetomatoes.

Sadly,afterScousepassedaway,Henrydidn’tgowalkingquiteasmuch.Whenhedidvisithisallotment,itbecameevermoredifficulttoworkthesoilandlookafterhisvegetablesasheliked.Hisvegetablepatch,oncehisprideandjoy,hadslowlybecomeasiteoffrustrationandupset.

Henryhadason,Vincent,anonlychild.Henryhadlovednothingmorethantotakehisyoungsontohisallotment,bondingwithhimastheyworkedthesoil,teachinghimhowtoplantseedsandlookafterthemastheygrew

Vincentwasinprisnnow,afterfallingfoulofpeer-pressureandforcesbeyondHenry’scontrol.Henrywouldwriteletterstohisson,keepinghimupdatedwithhisdaytodaylife,andtheprogressofhisallotment.Thistime,hedescribedhispredicament.

DearVincent,

I’mfeelingprettysadbecauseitlookslikeIwon’tbeabletoplantthetomatogardenthisyear.It’sjustgettingtoodifficultformenow;I’mtoooldtobediggingupagardenplot.

Iknowifyouwerehere,you’dhelpmeout,digginguptheplotlikeyearsago.Imissyouson,stayoutoftrouble.

LoveDad.

Afewdayslater,Henryreceivedaletterbackfromhisson.

DearDad,

Don’tdigupthegarden.That’swherethebodiesareburied.

LoveVincent.

At4amthenextmorning,ateamoflocalpoliceandasmallunitofspecialbranchdetectivesarrivedattheallotmentanddugovertheentireplot.Notasinglebodywasfound.ThatsamedayHenryreceivedanotherletterfromVincent.

DearDad,

Goaheadandplantyourtomatoesnow.That’sthebestIcoulddounderthecircumstances.

Loveyou,Vincent.

Aswellasbeingaheartwarmingandfunnystory,themoralisthatifyoucareenough,there’susuallyalwayssomethingyoucandoforsomebodyelse,nomatterwhereyouare.

Thisstoryalsodemonstrateshow,asanaudience,wecanbedrawnintoastoryandbegintoempathiseaboutasituationthat’sdepictedwellenough.Whatstoriescouldyoutelltoprovideyouraudienceinsightintoyourbrandandstarttobecomemoreapproachable,personableandlikeable?Howcanyoubegintoendearyourselftoyouraudienceandstarttomakeyourpurposesomethingeveryonecanbelievein?

IfyouraudiencebegantofeelthesamesortofthingsforyouandyourbrandasyoudidforHenryandVincentyouwillexperiencesomethingquitewonderful…youstarttorecruitfansinsteadofcustomers.Youstarttocreatesomethingworthrememberingandtalkingabout.

First,thescienceItiswidelyunderstoodthatallmarketingdecisionsareemotionaldecisions.However,itisalsoimportanttorecognisetheneedforrationalthinkingandlogicalinformationtoreaffirmthoseemotionaldecisions.

AhugeinfluenceinthefieldofpsychologyandunderstandingthehumanmindisDr.StevePeters,authorofTheChimpParadox.PetersisapsychiatristwhohasworkedextensivelywithGreatBritain’sOlympicteamandLiverpoolFootballClub.Hisinsightintohowthebrainworksanditsreactionstostimulihasplayedasignificantroleinourapproachtotailoringonlinemarketingmaterial.

Withagreaterunderstandingofhowwethink,wehaveagreaterchanceofstimulatingouraudienceandmaximisingourchancesofGettingGoosebumps.

Petersstatesthatwehavetwosidestoourbrain.Thefirstsideofthebrainistheemotionalside,labelledthe‘chimp’.Thesecondsideistherationalside,the‘human’.

Tobetrulyeffectivewhenstorytelling,bothsidesofthebrainmustbesatisfied.Runningthroughthefollowingstepsensurestheattentionofboththe‘chimp’andthe‘human’arecaptured.AlongsideDr.Peters,therearemanyotherpsychologyexpertsthattalkaboutthedistincttwosidesofthebrainandtheimportanceofconnectingwithbothsidestocommunicateeffectively.Thinking,FastandSlowbyDanielKahnmanisanotherbookwewouldrecommendreadingonthissubject.

Fromamarketingpointofview,thesepsychologicalinsightsarekeytocraftinganinformativeandemotivestorythathelpsustoshowcaseourproductsandserviceseffectively.

We’velearntfromextensivetestingandmeasuringthatsatisfyingbothsidesofthebrainisessentialtoleadingyouraudiencethroughastorythatsuccessfullyresultsintheactionyouwantintheend.Storiesshouldleadwithemotionfirstandthensatisfytherationalaspectsofthethoughtprocesswithfacts,figuresandevidence-basedpositioning.

EmotionallyledthinkingEmotionaldrivers

Therearefivekeyemotionsthatdrivethe‘chimp’:happiness,sadness,fear,angerandanticipation.Whentheseemotionsareevokedwithinus,weseektoconnectwithothers.Thisisthekeytospreadingyourbusiness’message.

Speed

The‘chimp’brainreactsfivetimesfasterthananyotherpartofthebrain,butwhatdoesthismeanforyourdigitalreputation?Ifyourwebpagedoesn’tloadwithinthreeseconds,youcouldloseupto40%ofyouronlineaudience.

Empathy

The‘chimp’brainlovestoconnect.Itwantstofeelthatitisinteractingwithpeoplewhounderstand.Youhavetoknowwhatyourtargetaudienceistalkingabout,andtalkaboutitwiththem.

Thepainandpleasureprinciple

The‘chimp’brainwilldoalmostanythingtoavoidpain.Byunderstandingwhatthefearsandpainsofyourtargetconsumersare,yourbrandcanprovidethemwithasolutionandcapitaliseonthisaversiontopain.Letyourproductorservicesbetheirknightinshiningarmour.

Evidence-basedrationalthinkingFactsandfigures

Thehumanpartofthebrainlovestomakedecisionsbasedoncoldhardfacts.Itwantssocialproof–suchasuserreviewsandinfluencerrecommendations–thatwhatitisdoingisright.Givingclearfactsandsharingcustomerreviewsisagreatwaytoassureyourcustomersabouttheexperiencethey’llreceivefromyourbusiness.

Truth

Ifyou’renottruthfulasanorganisation,thisreputationcanspreadfromconsumertoconsumer.Genuinecustomercasestudieswillprovideproofofyourstrengthsasabusiness.Ifsomeonehasabadexperience,acknowledgmentcangoalongwaytorecoveringyourreputation.

Thebullshitmonitor

The‘human’partofthebrainhasawell-developedcriticalfunction.Peopleseeover10,000linksonlineeverydayandchoosetoignorethemajorityofthem.Aconvolutedandcomplicatedsalesmessagewillgetyounowherefast.Simplifyyourmessageanddeliveritwithsincerity.

Thoughtleaders

Modernconsumersresearchaproductorservicebeforetheymakethedecisiontobuy.Theylookforjustificationthatthey’remakingtherightdecision.Creatingauthoritativecontentplacesyouinfrontofpeopleatthebeginningofthedecisionmakingprocess.

AlittlemoresciencePushing,pullingandguidingyouraudienceinthedirectionyouwanttotakethem.

SmartInsights,adigitalagencythatfocusesonprovidingadviceandsolutionstohelpbusinessesovercometheirmarketingchallenges,hasdevelopedoneofthemostusefultoolsaroundtoeffectivelyplanyourcontent.Theirmatrixsystemallowsyoutodefineyourcontentandthethinkingbehindwhatyou’retryingtoachievewhencreatingit.Thus,allowingyoutoeffectivelystreamlineyourcommunicationstobein-linewithyourbrandvaluesandyourobjectives.

Downloadyourcontentmatrixattheendofthischapterandinthemeantime,checkoutwhatelsetheydoat:www.smartinsights.com

SmartInsightsadvisethatanymarketingcontentyouproduceshouldevokeoneoffourreactions.Ifyouknowyouraudiencewellenoughandyouknowwhatyou’retryingtoachieve,thismatrixcanhelpyouselecttherighttypeofcontenttogainmaximumeffect.

Youshouldbeaimingtoentertain,inspire,educateandconvincewitheachpieceofcontentyoucreateforyourbrand.

Armedwiththismatrix,youcannowcraftpurposeandcontextintoyourstoriestomakethemtrulyeffective.Contentthatfollowstheseguidelineswillassistyourcustomeralongtheirbuyingjourney,movingthemtowardspurchasing.

Youwillnoticethatsomepersonaswillrespondtoinspirationalstoriesandmessagesatthebeginningoftheirjourney,whilesomewillcraveeducationalinformation.Asalways,theeffectivenessofthisprocessisdeterminedbyhowwellyouknowthepersonasofyouraudience.

Andnow,theartWhenitcomestostorytelling,marketersaren’tevenclosetothetopofthelistofexperts.Ifyouwantexcellence,youshouldmodelyourselfonthebest.

Weoftenfindthatlookingoutsideofourprofessionisthebestplacetostart.

Storytelling–learningfromHollywood

HowdoesHollywoodremainsocreativeandcontinuallytelldifferentstoriesyearafteryear?Well,itturnsouttheydon’t.TherearereallyonlysixarchetypalstoriesinHollywoodthatgettoldandretoldtimeandagain.Thereisatriedandtestedformulatothesestoriesandit’srareforHollywoodtostrayfromthisveryprofitablepath.

Thetrick,ofcourse,istodressthesestoriesupdifferentlyeachtimewithdifferentcharacters,challenges,scenariosandadventures.However,thebasicformuladoesn’tchange.

MichaelHauge–author,lecturerandHollywoodscriptwriter–outlinesastep-by-stepapproachtostorytelling.Hismethodconsiderssixbasicstages,whicharedefinedbyfivekeyturningpointsofallsuccessfulscreenplays–amethodwhichyoucaneasilyapplytoanystoryyoutellwithinyourmarketing.

Whateverindustryyou’rein,understandingthesekeypointsandapplyingthemtoyourstorieswillallowyoutostrengthenyourabilitytoenthralyouraudience.AswellasfollowingHauge’sstepstosuccess,youshouldbelookingforopportunitiestoadddrama,addtheunexpectedandaddatwistortopiqueinterest.

Belowaresixtangiblepointsthattranslatewellintoagreattechniqueforstorytellingforbusiness.

1.BeempatheticCanyouexplainyourmessagebetterfromyouraudience’sperspective?Hollywoodscriptwritersmakeyouliveandbreathetheirstoryateverystep.Theempathycreatedhelpsyouraudienceidentifywiththestoryandtherefore,betterengagesthem.

2.MakeyourcustomertheheroTakingHollywoodasaprimeexampleofstorytellingtosell–theydoonethingvery,verywell.Theyputyouattheheartoftheactionanduse‘reflectioncharacters’toplayalongsidethehero.Theyservetohighlightcertaincharacteristicsinthemaincharacterandsupportthemthroughtheirjourney.Butwhoistheheroinyourstory?It’snotyourbrandorservice–you’rethereflectioncharacter.Yourcustomeristhehero.Yourproductorserviceissimplytheaidtosolvingtheirproblemorissue.

3.WriteforyouraudienceUseyourknowledgeaboutyourcustomer’spersonatowritestoriesthatresonatewiththemandappealdirectlytotheiremotions.Agreatstorycouldbelostonyouraudienceifitisn’ttailoredtotheirneeds,interestsanddesires.

4.GrabtheirattentionstraightawayHollywoodstorieskeepushookedfromthefirstcoupleofseconds–yourstoriesneedtodothesame.Inaworldwhereattention-spansareshortyouneedtomakesureyougrabyouraudience’sattentionfromtheoff.

5.HooktheminandcontinuethestoryJustasHollywoodmoviestendtocomeininstalments,sotooshouldyourcompany’sofferingstoitscustomers.Fromtheinitialoffer,thestorymustflow,eachtimeprovidinganupgrade–youcannotbeaone-hitwonder.Ifyouwanttosurviveonline,youhavetobuildacommunityandkeepitalive.

6.Finally…Everytimeyoucreateastory,leaveyouraudiencewantingmore.Yourfollow-upshouldnotsimplybeexpected,butanticipated.TryoutliningastorybasedononeofyourproductsorservicesusingtheHollywoodstorytellingtricksabove.Rememberyourcustomershouldalwaysbetheheroinyourstory,yourproductorserviceshouldbethesolutiontotheirproblem.Tryusingtheoneofthecustomerpersonasthatyoucreatedinchapter3asthecentralcharacterinyourstory.Remembertothinkaboutpathos,ethosandlogosandhowthesecancombinetocreategoosebumps.Filloutthestagesonthenext

pageordownloadyourownprintableversionbyvisiting

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter5Resources

Setup:

Explainatypicalsituationthatacustomermightfindhimselforherselfin.Thisstagemustdrawyouraudienceinandallowthemtoidentifywiththeheroofyourstory.

DieHard:JohnMcClaneisreturninghometohisfamilyforChristmas.

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Newsituation:

Describeasetofcircumstancesthatseethesituationchangeandcreateapotentialintroductionforyourproductorserviceorperhapsacompetitor.

DieHard:JohnMcClaneandhiswifeareattendingaChristmasparty,however,thebuildinghasbeenovertakenbyHansGruberandateamofterrorists.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Progresswiththenewsituation:

Hereyourhero’sjourneyshouldbegoingtoplanandallobstaclesshouldbeeasilyovercome.Usethisasachancetocraftemotionintoyourstoryandconnectyouraudiencetoyourbrand.

DieHard:Theterroristsstormthebuilding,butMcClaneisn'tintheroom.Thismeansheisabletomoveupthebuildingwithlittlehindrance.

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Complicationsandhigherstakes:

Introduceaplottwist,oranunexpectedchangetotheplanatthispoint.Considerasurpriseelementandcreateasituationthatlooksalmostincomprehensible.

DieHard:ThepolicesendinaSWATteamtotackletheterrorists,buttheteamfails.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finalpush:

Thisiswhereallisseeminglylostbutthere’sonefinal,slimchancetosavethesituation.

Thiscouldbesubtle,dramaticoritcouldbeemotional.

DieHard:Afterastruggle,JohnMcClanethrowsGruberoutofahighfloorwindow,resultinginhisdeath.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Aftermath:

Theaftermathstagewillseeyourhero’slifereturntonormalityonceagain,albeitwithsomedifferencesandkeybenefitsnowthatyourherohascomesofar.

DieHard:Normalityisrestoredwhenthepolicereleasethehostagesfromthebuilding.TheMcClanesleaveinapolicecarandreturntotheirlives.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Manygreatleadersaredefinedbythegreatspeechestheyhavedelivered.JFK,MartinLutherKingandWinstonChurchillarejustafewwhohavebeenimmortalisedbytheirwords.

Asbusinessleadersandmarketers,youmaynotbefightingforworldpeaceorglobalculturalchange;however,youarefightingforyourcauseandwhatyourbrandstandsfor.Itisthereforeyourjobtocommunicatethefactsandprovidearationaletoappealtothehumansideofthebrain.However,itisthesentimentbehindthemessagethatcapturesthechimp’simaginationandgivesyouraudiencegoosebumps.

Here’sthetopsixwayswecanembraceteachingsfromgreatleaders:

1.Startwiththecontext

Ifyoudon’tstartyourstorywiththefundamentalcontext,you’llloseyourcustomerfromthebeginning.Don’tassumetheyalwaysknowwhatyou’retalkingabout.Don’twaffle,butdomakesureyousetthescene.

2.Bepassionate

Doesyourmessageshowhowyoureallyfeel?Someofthegreatestleadersinhistoryarememorableandiconicbecauseoftheirpassion.MartinLutherKingsaid,‘Ihaveadream’not‘Ihaveathree-point-plan’forareason.

3.Makesureemotionmakesitintoyourmessage

Ifyouwanttoevokeanemotionalresponsefromyourcustomers,youneedtomakesureyouscriptthatemotionintoyourmessage.Ifyourmessageisn’tpowerfultobeginwith,yourresponsewon’tbeeither.

4.Useyourownexperiences

Someofthemostpowerfulleadersusefactualevidenceintheirspeechestotapintotheemotionsoftheiraudience.Illustrationsofstruggle,failure,andbarriersarewhatmakeleadersappearauthenticandaccessible.Yourstoryshoulddothesame.

5.Keepitsimple

Justasyouwouldrevisitcontentandremoveunimportantdetails,youshoulddothesamewithyourstorytelling.Removeanythingthatisn’tcentraltoyourmessage,leavingjustafewwell-placedinterestingdetailswhichwillhelpyouraudiencerelate.

6.Finally…

Storyisthefabricuponwhichcultureisbuilt.Wetellstorieseverydayofourlives–theybindustogether,helpusformrelationshipsandultimately,candrivechange.Rememberhowpowerfulastorycanbeandmakesureyoursmeetallofthemarkersyousetoutin

thebeginning.

Historyreimagined

Canyouimagineifsomeofthemostfamousandrecognisablespeechesinhistoryhadbeenwrittenwithoutthepassionforwhichtheyhavebecomerenowned?TakealookbelowatWinstonChurchill’s'Weshallfightonthebeaches'speechduringtheSecondWorldWar.It’soneofthemostquotedandanalysedspeechesinBritishhistory.

“Weshallgoontotheend.WeshallfightinFrance,weshallfightontheseasandoceans,weshallfightwithgrowingconfidenceandgrowingstrengthintheair,weshalldefendourisland,whateverthecostmaybe.Weshallfightonthebeaches,weshallfightonthelandinggrounds,weshallfightinthefieldsandinthestreets,weshallfightinthehills;weshallneversurrender…”

WinstonChurchill,June4th1940

Nowimagineifthisspeechhadbeenwrittenusingthebusinessjargonoftenemployedinthecorporateworld:

“Goingforward,wewillexperienceconflictinmanyarenas.WeshallinfiltratetheFrenchdemographicandwithgrowingconfidencewecanleverageourofferinginthisspaceandmaximisetheimpactofourpresenceintheverticalmarket,whatevertheaveragespendmaybe.Weshallstepuptotheplateoneverylevel.Weshallhustleuntilcloseofplay.”

See,whenit’slackingthepassionandsentimenttocapturethechimp’sattentionitfailstoresonate.

Storytelling–learningfromcomediansStand-upcomedyhasgottobeoneofthetoughestcareersthereis.Imaginestandingaloneinfrontofaliveaudiencewithnothingbutamicrophoneandcollectionofstories,anecdotesandonelinersdesignedtomakearoomfullofstrangerslaughoutloud.

JerrySeinfeldnotedthatgoodcomedyhasawayofstickingwithyouandfindingawaytokeepcomingback,buthowcanyouusethislogictocreateastorythatpeoplewillremember?

Here’sthetopfiverecommendationstothinkabout:

1.Writeaboutwhatyouknow

Whencreatingcontentyoushouldpickatopic,whichyouknowinsideout.Makesureyoucanattackitfromeveryangle.It’sfarbettertowritewithconfidenceaboutasubjectyouknowwellthanoneyoudon’t.

2.Builditup

Howmanycomediansdoyouknowthatstartwithapunchline?Comedianswillsetthescenebypaintingapictureandmakingtheirtopicrelatable.It’simportantyoudothistoo,becauseyouneedtoassesswhyyourcustomershouldcareaboutyourcontent.Ifyoucan’tprovideacompellingstory,whichnaturallybuildstoapunchline,you’regoingtofallflat.It’salsoworthnotingthatmanyofthebestcomediansallagreethatthepunchlinewordneedstocomerightattheendofthatlastsentencetomakethebiggestimpact.

3.Bememorable

Whatcleartakeawayshouldyourcustomerreceivefromyourstory?Makeitobviousexactlywhatitisyouwantthemtoremember,evenifitmeansyouhavetomentionitmorethanonce.

4.Tieeverythingtogether

Comediansoftenuseatechniquecalledacall-backtotieeverythingtogether.Theywillrevisitthesamepunchlineatthebeginningandendoftheirset,tobuildintimacyandmaketheiraudiencefeellikethey’repartofaninsidejoke.

Youshouldbedoingthesamewhencreatingcompellingstories–alwaystieupyourstorywitharesolutiontoeveryproblemyouintroduce.

5.Becompelling

Peopledon’tinvestinyourbusiness;theyinvestinyourstory.Ifyouwantpeopletorememberwhatyousay,tellacompellingstory.Givepeoplesomethingtheycan’twaitto

share.

Soyoucansee,marketerscanlearnalotfromotherprofessionalcommunicators.Butwhatelseisitthatallofthesehaveincommon?Toconnectwithyouraudience,youfirstmustbeabletodeliveramessagethat’seasytounderstandandremainmemorableonceit’sbeendelivered.

Onerulemanyleadersandcomediansuseistheruleofthree.Hollywoodscreenplaysarewritteninthreeactstructuresandevengreatlawyersarguethreepointsatatime.

TheRuleofThreeForsomereason,thingsjustworkbetterinthrees.

Theruleofthreeisawritingprinciplethatsuggeststhingsthatcomeinthreesarefunnier,moresatisfyingandeasiertounderstand(didyouseewhatIdidthere?).

Somesaythere'sapsychologicalreasonbasedon'three'beingapatternthat’seasierfortheaudiencetodigestandremember.Otherssayit’sjustthewayitgoes.Theartofwritingagoodjokecanbebrokendownintothesethreepartsandyoucanusetheexactsametechniquetocraftawiningmarketingmessage.

Infilms

1.Sex,LiesandVideotape2.TheThreeMusketeers3.TheGood,TheBadandTheUgly

Inleadership

1.Friends,Romans,countrymen2.Therearethreekindsoflies:lies,damnliesandstatistics3.Icame,Isaw,Iconquered

Inadvertising

1.BeanzMeanzHeinz2.Snap!Crackle!Pop!3.Justdoit

Theruleofthreeisprevalentinallformsofeffectivecommunicationbutismostcommonlyassociatedwithcomedywritingbecauseitworksanditworksverywell.Howcanyouusetheruleofthreeinyourmarketingtogetgoosebumpsfromyouraudience?Whynotstartbytakingsomeinspirationfromcomedyandanevengreaterexampleoftheruleofthreeinaction?

Theclassicstructureofajoke:Thesetup,Theanticipation,Thepunchline

ThesetupAwomangetsonabuswithherbaby.Thebusdriversays:‘Ugh,that'stheugliestbabyI'veeverseen!’

TheanticipationThewomanwalkstotherearofthebusandsitsdown,fuming.Shesaystoamannextto

her:‘Thedriverjustinsultedme!’

ThepunchlineThemansays:‘Yougoupthereandtellhimoff.Goon,I'llholdyourmonkeyforyou.’

ThesetupIwenttothezootheotherday.

TheanticipationTherewasonlyonedoginthewholeplace.

ThepunchlineItwasaShitzu.

Trybreakingdownyourfavouritejokeintotheruleofthree,orbetteryet,trytowriteyourownjoke!Downloadyourownprintableversionat

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter5Resources

Thesetup:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Theanticipation:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thepunchline:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nowtrytowriteashortanecdoteusingthisformofphrasing.Don’tworrytoomuchifit’snotsidesplittinglyfunny,justconcentrateoncraftingtheflowofthemessage.

AgoodexampleofthiscanbeseeninPepsi’sUncleDrewcampaign.

Watchitbyvisitingyourchapter5resourcespageandthentrytocreateyourownusingthesameprinciples.

Thesetup:Setthescene.

UncleDrew:PepsipretendstoshootadocumentaryonabasketballplayernamedKevinatalocaloutdoorcourt,wherehe’splayingwithfriends.Kevin’sUncleDrewcomesalongtowatchthegame.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Theanticipation:Presentarelevantsituation.

UncleDrew:Ateamplayerinjureshimself,presentingtheopportunityforelderlyUncleDrewtojointheteam.Afterashakystart,he’snettingballsswiftlyandshowinguptheentireteam.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thepunchline:Surprisewithanunexpectedbenefit.

UncleDrew:UncleDrewdefiesbeliefwithhisskills–untilheisrevealedtobeGaryErvin,aprofessionalAmericanbasketballplayer.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Makesureyouknowwhoyourcustomerisandmakethemtheheroinyourstorybyshowingthemhowyoumaketheirlifeeasier.

Ensureyouscriptemotionintoyourmessageandcreateastorysocompellingyouraudienceisleftwithgoosebumps.

Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS

ContagiousJonahBerger

Thisbookteachesusthatpeopledon’tshareinformation–theysharestoriesthatresonatewiththememotionally,whichjustsohappentoincludeinformationaboutaproductorservice.

PitchAnythingOrenKlaff

Thisbooksharesthesecrettoclosinganybusinessdeal.ItintroducestheSTRONGmethodofpitching,amethodwhichisasrelevantonlineasitisintheboardroom:

-Settheframe-Tellthestory-Revealtheintrigue-Offertheprize-Nailthehookpoint-Getadecision

ResonateNancyDuarte

Revealingthetruthbehindcreatingimpactfulandinspiringpresentationsthatmoveyouraudienceintopurposefulaction,Resonatehelpsyoumakeaconnectionwithyouraudiencethroughexciting,funandmeaningfulpresentations.Usingthisapproach,you'llconveyyourcontentwithpassion,persuasion,andimpact.

TalkLikeTEDCarmineGallo

TEDandassociatedTedXconferencesareheldinmorethan130countriesandareviewedatarateof1.5milliontimesaday.Wanttogiveyourownpresentationsthisedge?ThisbookbreaksdownthefundamentalprinciplesusedinthetopTEDtalkssothatyoucanusethesetipsyourselfandcreatedynamic,successfulpresentations.

Clout:TheArtandScienceofInfluentialWebContentColleenJones

Thisbookexplainstheimportancebehindusinginfluencetogaintractionwithinyouronlinestrategy.Throughoutliningtheeightprinciplesofinfluence,Cloutcoversallbases,fromcontext,totheartofrhetoric,tothesciencebehindcustomerpsychology.

CreateyourowncontentmatrixdownloadDownloadourguidetocreatingyourowncontentmatrixbyvisitingyourresourcespageforthischapter.Thiswillhelpyoutostartplanningthetypesofcontentyoucancreateforeverystageofyourstrategy.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter5Resources

Takeawaysforchapter5Youshouldnowunderstandtheimportanceofawellthoughtoutstoryandtheimpactthiscanhaveonallofyourmarketingmessages.Youshouldalsobestartingtoincorporatetheprofessionaltacticswediscussintoyourstorytellingmethods.Checkoffeachstepyoucompletebelow.

☐Incorporateyourpersonaresearchwhencreatingyourstory

☐Planyourstory,mappingwhateachpersonaneedsfromyouateachpointoftheirjourney

☐Scriptemotionintoyourmessagesandstorytelling

☐Planyourstorytellingliketheprofessionals,usingourstep-by-stepguides

CHAPTER6

THESTORYSOFARHowallofthepreviouscomponentsandideasfittogetherintooneneatplanyoucanworkfromandrelyon.“Getshitdone.”

AaronLevie

“Ifyoucan’texplainitsimply,youdon’tunderstanditenough.”

AlbertEinstein

“Howeverbeautifulthestrategy,youshouldoccasionallylookattheresults.”

WinstonChurchill

It’stimetofindoutifeverythingwe’velookedathasmerelybeenfunandinteresting,orwhetherit’sactuallymakingsenseandcouldbeofvaluetoyourbusiness.Holdtight.

MostofourstrategicmarketingthinkingatPh.isrepresented,insomewayshapeorform,inourcontentplanningspreadsheet.Youcandownloadyourownversionat

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter6Resources

Weknowit’sabigasktoexpectamarketertogoaway,downloadaspreadsheetandgetalittleexcitedaboutwhattheyfind.Hopefully,alotofwhatwe’veexploredsofarwillmakesensetoyouatfirstglanceandyoustarttofindvalueinwhatyousee.

Thesimpleversionofthespreadsheetisincludedherebecausetheprinciplebehinditscreationoughttobetheprimarymessage.Inthenextchapter,we’veincludedadetailedcontentcalendartohelpyouplanyouractivitiesonadailybasisandtailoryourcontenttomeetyouroverarchingbusinessobjectivesinamoredetailedformat.

Ifyoudon’timmediatelyseethevalueofthespreadsheet,haveagoatfillingitinanyway.Wethinkit’slikelytohaveoneofthreeeffectsonthewayyouviewyourdigitalmarketing:

-Theinbound(content)marketingpennywilldropandyou’llseeadirectlinkbetweenproducingcontentforyouraudienceandachievingyourstrategicbusinessgoals

-You’llrecognisethevalueoftheformatandyoucanimmediatelygetgoingwithplanningyourstrategy

-You’llrecognisethatsomeoneelseinthebusinesswillfindlotsofvalueusingthedocumentandnowinboundmarketingmakessensetoyou

HowtogetthemostoutofthisdocumentStartwithTab1–marked‘ContentCalendar’.

Withthisdocumentyouwillbeabletodefineyourgoalsandplanthenextsixmonths’worthofmarketingactivitiesinlinewithyourtargetpersonas.

Fillinzoneone–businessobjectives

Takeyouroverarchingbusinesspurpose,asestablishedinchapter1,andplaceitinthefirstbox.Followthisbystatingyourkeybusinessobjectivesforthenexttwoquartersineachofthenumberedspaces,andaddthreecontentthemesforeachquarter.Forexample,yourcontentthemescouldbefocusedonspecificelementsthatareimportantwithinyourfieldorsector.

Fillinzonetwo–monthlyperformanceindicators

Nowyouknowwhatyouwanttoachieve,makeittangibleandblackandwhitebyassigninganumericalvaluethatdetermineswhatsuccesslookslikeforeachmonth.Fromourownexperience,99%ofmarketersdonotsetouttangiblegoalsorsetabenchmarkforsuccesswhenplanningtheirdigitalmarketingactivities.Ofthe1%thatdo,lessthanhalfcanshowaclearcorrelationbetweentheirdigitalmarketinggoalsandthatoftheoverallbusinessesobjectives.

Whateverhappensfromhere,byusingthisspreadsheetyouwillknowwhatyou’regunningforandsowillyourteam.

Fillinzonethree–personakeywordsets

Definewhatkeywordsyouwillbeusingtotargetyourpersonasbasedonyourresearchfromchapter3.Thisspreadsheethasroomforthreepersonas:ifyou’veidentifiedmore,it’sbesttocreateanadditionaldocumentfortheothers.

Whenfillingthissectionin,it’simportantyouidentifykeycharacteristicsofeachpersonaatthedifferentstagesoftheSEE,THINK,DO,DELIGHTfunnelandmatchyourkeywordsaccordingly.

SEE-Whatmessagesarelikelytogettheirattentionatthetop?

THINK-Whatbenefitsandmessagesarelikelytoresonatewiththemoncethey’reawareof

you?

DO-Whatislikelytobethemostattractiveandeffectivecalltoactionforthispersona?

DELIGHT-Whataddedvaluewilleachpersonaappreciateandrespondtoaftertheyhaveboughtfromyouforthefirsttime?

Fillinzonefour–contentplan

Usingthepictureyouhavebuiltupofeachaudiencepersona,earmarkthetypeofcontentyoubelievetobemostsuitableateachstage.UsetheprinciplesoftheSmartInsightsmatrixinchapter5todecidewhattypeofcontenttouse,butdon’tworryjustyetaboutwhatthestoryisgoingtobe–thatcomesnext.Fornow,you’remerelytryingtogaugewhatyouraudiencewillbemostlikelytorespondto.

Also,bearinmindtheamountoftime/budgetyouhavetospendoneachpersonaineachmonth.Thiswillbeaveryusefulmeansofpacingandbudgetingyourmarketingefforts.Keepaneyeonthesuccesscriteriayou’vealreadydeterminedinZONETWObecausetheeffortneedstomatchthedesiredoutcomes–doesitpassthelitmustest?Nowisaverygoodtimetodecidehowmanypersonasyou’regoingtoactivelyengagewithmonthbymonth.Youshouldbeabletoidentify‘core’contentthatwillsupplementanyspecificpersona-targetedcontent–isthereenoughcontenttoachievesuccess?

Movetotabtwo/zonefive–influencerresearch

Usingthekeywordandinfluencerresearchtechniquescoveredinchapter4,completethefieldsinthistab.Therearethreetabs,oneforeachpersona.Rememberthelanguageandkeywordsyoudefinewillbecomemorespecific,targetedandlongtail(alongtailkeywordisasearchstringwithusuallymorethanthreespecifickeywordsincluded)thefurtherintothebuyingcycleyougo.

GetcreativeThere’snozonetobefilledouthere.Instead,youneedtobeginwritingabriefforthespecifictypesofcontentyou’veidentifiedinzonefour.Begintobrainstormthespecificsofyourcontentusingthestorytellinginspirationfromchapter5.Thisisthetoughest,mostchallengingaspectofinboundmarketing.

Creatingtrulyeffective,valuablecontentforyouraudienceisthemakeorbreakpointofthisentiremarketingphilosophy.Onefinalbitofadvicehereistobepreparedtofailwithcontentmorethanyousucceed.Andremember,youlearnjustasmuchfromwhatdoesn’tworkaswhatdoes.

Implementyourplanwithwinningtactics

Fromyourresearchintowhereyouraudiencelivesonlineandhowandwhattheyarelikelytorespondto,nowcomesthemostinterestingaspectofthewholeprocess.Thisisthebitwhereyoutakeadeepbreathandactuallystartdoingit.Publish,listen,respondandrefine–withthetacticsyoudecidearemostrelevant.

Thefinalstep–measure,refine,learn,repeat.Measure,refine,learn,repeat.

Measure,Refine,Learn,Repeat.There’snotawholelotmoretoaddtothetitleofthisstep.Justgoforit.

Onekeyelementtoyoursuccess,however,isusingtherighttoolsforthejob.Ph.CreativeisaHubSpotpartner(fulldisclosure)andwepassionatelybelieveourcustomershaveanadvantageintheirmarketplacebecauseoftheintelligencewehaveatourfingertips.Thespeedatwhichwecanmoveandrespondbasedonwhatwelearnbyusingthistoolallowsustomeasureandinterpretresultsinamuchmoremeaningful,andultimatelystrategic,way.Yourstrategyshouldbeguidedbasedoncauseandeffect.Evidencebasedmarketingistheonlygameyoushouldbeplaying.ConsiderusingacontentmarketingtoolsuchasHubSpot.

Bynowyou'renearlyreadytounleashyourownbrandofgoosebumpsontheworld.It'sgottobeefficient,effectiveand,aboveall,alignedtoyourbusinessobjectives.

Thisprocesscanbeassimpleorasdetailedasyourplandictatesbutit'sgottoaddvaluetoyourbusiness.Thischapterisheretoensureyoudojustthat.

Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS

InboundMarketing–AttractEngageandDelightCustomersOnlineBrianHalligan&DharmeshShah

WrittenbyCEOandFounderofHubSpot,BrianHalligan,andCTOandFounderDharmeshShah,thisbookdetailshowbusinessescanembraceinboundmarketingthroughthelatestinsightsandadviceforleadnurturing.Thebookaddresseshowtobestconvertvisitorsandhowtocontinuetodelightthemafterthey’vepassedthroughyoursalesfunnel.

Search&SocialRobGarner

Amust–readforanyoneinthedigitalmarketingsector,thisbookshowsyouhowtodevelop,implementandoptimisestrategiesandtacticstodevelopyourstrategicmarketingplan.

ContentplanningstrategyspreadsheetdownloadDownloadourcontentstrategyplanningtemplatebyvisitingthelinkbelowforusealongsidethischapter.Startmakingyourmarketingmoresuccessfulbyaligningyourobjectives,goalsandcontent,coupledwithfullinfluencerresearchtohelpmaximiseyourreach.

Downloadyourownprintableversionat

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter6Resources

Keytakeawaysforchapter6It’snowtimetostartputtingeverythingwe’vetalkedaboutintoplaceandstartcreatingyoursuccessfulinboundmarketingstrategy.Downloadourspreadsheet(ifyouhaven’talready)andcheckoffeachstepasyoucompleteit.

☐Downloadthespreadsheetandfillitinusingyourresearch

☐Putyourplanintopractice

☐Reviewhowyourplanisperformingatregularintervals

CHAPTER7:part1

THEMASTERPLANAcomprehensivelookattheskillsyouneedtoactionyourplan.“Doyouwanttoknowwhoyouare?Don'task.Act!Actionwilldelineateanddefineyou.”ThomasJefferson

“Everyonehasaplanuntiltheygetpunchedinthemouth.”MikeTyson

“Productivityisneveranaccident.Itisalwaystheresultofacommitmenttoexcellence,intelligentplanningandfocusedeffort.”PaulJMeyer

Adigitalstrategyisalotlikeacartyre:withoutsufficienttraction,youdon’tgoanywhere.Alltoooftenweseebusinessesworkinghardandproducinggreatcontent,yettheyfailtogetthetractiontheyneedtomoveforward.

Inthischapter,weexplorehowtochoosetherighttoolsandchannelsforyourstrategy.Wewillalsooutlinesomefundamentaltacticstohelpyouleveragemarginalgainsanddriveyourinboundmarketingforward.

Ultimately,there’sonlyonewayyou’regoingtofindoutwhatworksforyouraudience,yourbusinessandyourobjectives–that’sbydoingit.Testing,reactingandcommittingenoughtodoitwell,evenwhenit’snotgoingaswellorasfastasyouwouldlike.

Thenumberoftimeswehear,‘socialmediadoesn’tworkforme’isunbelievable.Ifyou’veeversaidthatyourself,wecanassureyouthatit’syounotworkingforsocialmedia,nottheotherwayaround.Butyou’renotalone,sodon’tworry.Inboundmarketingiseasywiththerightapproach,butit’shardwork.IfyoulovetheideaofGettingGoosebumpsit’sprobablyagoodideatostartlovingtheideaofhardworkandacommitmenttoexcellence.

Afinalpointbeforewejumpintoit.Goosebumpscan’thappeneverytimeyoupublishcontent–it’sjustnotpossible.Youcan,however,stacktheoddsinyourfavourbyfollowingtheruleslaidoutinthisbook.

Usethisbooktoguideyourapproach;asaprovenplaybookthat’sdeliveredsuccessmanytimesover.It’snota100%bulletproofprocessforyourcontenttoflyeachandeverytime.However,thisisnotallbad.Havingcontentsinknowandthenisaverygoodopportunitytoengagewithyouraudience.

Toomanymarketingteamsfailwithcontentandmoveonquicklytonewideas,missingopportunities.Sometimes,makingasmalltweaktocontentthathasfailedmeansyou’llfinditdoeswellsecond,thirdorfourthtimearound.

Allgreatmarketershaveproducedcontentthathasfailedthefirsttimearound,butthroughaskingtheircommunityforwaystoimprove,it’sbeensuccessfullyre-launched.Someofthiscontentevencontinuestodrivetrafficyearslater.

Gettingorganisedforday-to-dayWhetheryou’veflickedstraighttothischapteroryou’rereadingthisbookfromstarttofinish,bynowyoushouldbecomfortablewiththestrategicdirectionofyourinboundmarketing.Atthispointyouneedtobereadytogetdowntothenutsandboltsofday-to-dayimplementation.

Thepreviouschapter’sdownloadprovidesasuccinctmeansofmappingtheactivityrequiredtodeliveryourdesiredgoalseachquarter.However,itdoesnotprovidethehelpyouneedinplanningyourdaytodayactionsorwithmanagingtime,researching,producingandseedingoutyourcontent.

Tocombatthis,downloadourtemplatecontentcalendar,whichwillprovideaclearframeworkinwhichtoorganiseeverythingyouneedgoingforward.You’llfindthisinyourchapter7resourcespage.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources

Thisdocumentwillhelpyoutomapdailycontenttasksandalsodeterminethemostappropriatedestinationinwhichtopublish.Thatmeanswhichsocialchannelsyourcontentisdesignedforandwhichpersonait’sbeingtargetedataswell.

Keepingatrackofyourweektoweekprogressisthekeytomaintainingaconsistentandprofessionalinboundmarketingplan.Thisisespeciallytruewhenthere’smorethanonepersoninvolvedinthedeliveryandseedingofyourcontent.Withthisinmind,wehighlyrecommendusingthe‘owner’and‘completiondate’fieldstoensureeverythingiscompletedasandwhenrequired.

Thisdocumentisverybasicanddesignedtoillustratethisapproach.Therearemoreadvancedtoolsavailableonlinetomanageteamproductivityandtasks;howeverthissimplespreadsheetprovidesagreatstart.

LeveraginginfluencersandopportunitiesEffectivesocialmediauseissimilartonetworkinginaroomfullofpeoplethatfindyourmessagerelevantandinteresting;onthatwecanprobablyallagree.Wecanalsoagreethatthefastestwaytoseedecentresultsisbytalkingtothepeoplewhoa)knowwhatthey’retalkingaboutandb)alreadyholdtheattentionoftheothersintheroom.

Buildingafollowingonlineisjustlikerubbingshoulderswithpeoplewhomatterintherealworldtogetahead.Socialstatuscountsforeverything.Whenyoutalk,youwantpeopletolisten,shareandengagewithyou.Ifthepeopleyou’reengagingwithalreadyhaveanaudienceorfollowing,you’reheadedintherightdirection.

It’snotjustwhatyouknowandit’snotjustwhoyouknow.It’snowalsoaboutwhatyouknowaboutwhoyouknow…andhowyoumaximisethatknowledge.

Leveragingotherpeople’sinfluence:ego-jacking

DaleCarnegie’sHowtoWinFriendsandInfluencePeopleisstillasrelevanttodayasitwaswhenitwasfirstwrittenin1936;drivenbytheprinciple:

‘Youcanmakemorefriendsintwomonthsbybecominginterestedinotherpeoplethanyoucanintwoyearsbytryingtogetotherpeopleinterestedinyou.’

Ego-jackingistheartofputtingsomeoneinthespotlightandmakingthemlookbrilliantforwhatthey’veachievedandaccomplished.Thenameofthegameistoflatteryourtargetinfluencers.Thisway,theywillacknowledgeyourexistencesocially,exposingyoutotheirextendednetwork.

Thiscanbeabluntinstrumentifnothandledwithcare.Yourcontentmustpassthebullshittest.Ifyou’reobviouslyblowingsmokeuptheassofpeopleyou’dliketomakefriendswith,itcanbackfireveryquickly.Thegoldenruleistomakesureyou’reaccurateandfairwithpraise–givecreditwhereit’sdue,notwhereit’sconvenient.

Somedevicestoconsiderwhenego-jacking:InfographicsTheadvantageofusinginfographicsistheeasewithwhichtheycanbescannedandunderstoodataglance.Quiteoften,aninfographicwillbeusedtoexplainaprocess,timelineofeventsoranythingthatcanbeeasilyillustratedinavisualway.Infographics

canalsobeextremelyeffectiveatexplainingaconceptorevenaprettytechnicalsubjectquicklyandeasily.

Oneparticularlyeffectiveuseofaninfographicforego-jackingpurposesistomapinfluencerstogetherwithaparticularsubjecttohighlighttheircontribution,orhowasequenceofevents,theoriesandthoughtshavedevelopedovertime.

Whilstbeingextremelyinterestingandvaluabletothecorrespondingnicheaudience,theinfographicisparticularlyappealingtotheinfluencersthemselves.Canyouimagineseeingyournameincludedwithinsomeoneelse’smarketing,givingyoucreditandholdingyouinhighregard,foralltosee?

Whetheryourinfographicblatantlymapspeopleoraprocessorsomethingcompletelydifferent,thekeyistogivecredittotheinfluencer.Ifyouincludealinkbacktotheinfluencer’sprofileorwebsite,there’smorereasonforthemtoshareitonceyou’vegottheirattention.You’llfindsomeexamplesthatweloveat

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources

ListiclesAlisticledoeswhatissaysonthetin.It’salistofthingsorpeople–usuallyillustratingthe‘top100’orthe‘best25’etc.Theseliststendtobesharableanddesirabletopeoplewithaninterestinthatparticularniche.Afterall,you’resavingthemthetimeitwouldtaketodotheresearchthemselves.Obviously,whenyournameislistedamongsttheranks,youwouldbelikelytoshareittoo.

Listiclescanbeoneofthemostblatantego-jackingtools,sotrythisapproachwithcaution.Ifit’stoosimilartootherlists,ifit’sprettyobviousanddoesn’tofferanynewinsight,someinfluencerswillregarditastoorepetitivetoshare.However,itcanalsobethemosteffectivewaytodriveresults,ifdonewell.

Thekeyiscomingupwithanewanglewhichpresentsafreshwaytoboosttheiregos.Ifit’snotparticularlytimesensitive,youcouldfinditcontributesadecentleveloftrafficconsistentlyforquitesometime.

You’llfindsomeexamplesthatweloveat

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources

ReviewsAgreatwaytodemonstrateknowledgeorexpertiseistogiveyouropinionwithsomeinterestinginsightthatwillbeofusetoyouraudience.Ahandyby-productofthisisshowcasingthevalueofaninfluencer’sintellectualproperty,suchasabook,whitepaperorwebinar.Youcaneasilyfindyourselfbeingpromotedbytheinfluencerasaresult.

InterviewsShortofco-authoringabookorcreatingsomesortofcollaboration,interviewingyourinfluencersisthenextbestthingyoucandotomaximiseexposuretotheirnetwork.

Thetricktotakingfulladvantageofaninterviewopportunitywithaninfluenceristoaskgreatquestionsandallowtheinfluencertoanswerinawaythatshowcasestheirbeststories,achievementsorkeypointsthey’relookingtohighlight.

Besuretoasktimelessquestionssothecontentisn’timmediatelyoutofdate.Consideraskingyouraudienceforquestionsandsuggestionsbeforetheinterviewsoyoucanbuildengagementevenbeforetheinterviewtakesplace.

Interviewsalsoprovideyouwithagreatopportunitytolearnfromexpertsandinfluencerstobetterinformyourowngoalsandobjectives.

Leveragingthenews:news-jackingBeingrelevantisoneofthebiggestsuccessfactorsininboundmarketing.Ifyou’renotrelevant,you’renotimportantorusefultoanyoneandyou’renotgoingtogetveryfar.

Youshouldbemonitoringyourcommunitycloselyandengagingontopicalissuesastheyhappen.Theeasiestwaytodothisistosetupanumberofnewsalerts;GoogleAlertsworkwellforthis.Fromhere,workoutasimpledailyorweeklyroutineconsistingofkeywebsitestomonitor–eitherbyvisitingthemorbysubscribingtotheirRSSfeedstoreceivelatestupdates.Byproducingstatsorinformationthatnobodyelsehascurrentlybeenableto,orbyhavinganalternativeorinterestingspinonsomethingtopical,youwillbeabletosuccessfullydifferentiateyourselffromthenoise.Thetrickistoridethewaveasitbreaksandpropelyourselfintothemixofconversationasitunfolds.Followthesefivesimplerulesandyou’lldojustthat!

1.BeflexibleOpportunitiesdon’talwayslookliketheideasinyourplans.

2.BenimbleEffectivenews-jackingrequiresactingfast.

3.Beopen-mindedExploreunexpectedavenuestofindnewcustomers.

4.BeexperimentalFindoutwhatworksthroughtrialanderror.

5.BefirstLeadthewayandensureyouappearasathoughtleaderinyoursector.

ToYouTubeornottoYouTubeToYouTube

Whenyou’relookingtogeneratereferraltrafficandmaximiseyourbrandexposureonline,YouTubeisoneofthebestplacestodothis.It’scurrentlythesecondlargestsearchengineintheworldandthere’snosignofthischanginganytimesoon.

Ifyouraudiencerespondsparticularlywelltovideo,buildingyourownYouTubechannelshouldbeapriority.Thenameofthegamehereistobuildsubscribersthatregularlycheckoutyourcontenteachtimeyoupublishsomethingnew.Ifthere’salreadyanumberofsuccessfulYouTubechannelstalkingaboutyoursubjectmatter,don’tbediscouraged.Itshowsthere’sademandforwhatyou’redoingandalsohighlightssomegreatplacestostarttalkingtopeopleandnetworkingtobuildyourownchannel.YouTubersquiteoftencollaborateorgiveshoutoutstoeachother,whichisaverygoodwaytohelpeachotherbuildafollowing.

TonotYouTube

YouTubeisaphenomenalvideohostingandsearchplatformwithsomeundeniablebenefitsincludingvisibilityandtrafficgenerationasaresult.However,thereareacoupleofreasonstouseadifferentvideohostingtechniquewhichshouldbeconsideredbeforeyoudecidewhichwaytogo.

1.Appearance:YouTubeoffersanumberofcrudesettingoptionsbutitdoesn’talwayslookgreatonawebpage.Itcanlookslightlyunprofessionalwhencomparedtohostingthroughyourownsite.

2.On-pageSEO:IfyouhostallofyourvideosonYouTubeandsimplyembedthevideowithinawebpage,guesswhobenefitsfromthevideoviewsfromanSEOpointofview–YouTubedoes!Byhostingyourownvideoonawebpage,yougettheSEObenefit(Werecommendhavingatranscriptionofyourvideocontentunderneathifpossibletoo).

HowtousevideotogetahugereturnResearchshowsthatforbusinessesonline,oneminuteofvideocanbeworthupto1.8millionwrittenwords.It’soneofthemostpowerfuldigitalmediumsavailabletomarketers,forecasttoaccountfor84%ofinternettrafficby2018–soit’snottobeunderestimated.

Onaverage,68%ofcustomersshareavideothey’vewatchedandthey’re78%morelikelytobuysomethingiftheywatchavideothatshowcasesitfirst–buthowcanyouensurethatyoursisoneofthem?

1.Combinedataandcreativity100hoursofvideoareuploadedtoYouTubeeveryminute.That’s144,000hoursofcompetitionforyourcontent.Don’tgetlostinthecrowd.MakesureyouoptimiseyourcontentbyusingthesametechnicalSEOtechniqueswediscussedearlier.Ensureyouresearchthebesttitlesandkeywordstoincludeinyourdescriptionandtagthevideoappropriately,soit’smorelikelytobefound.

2.EngageanemotionalresponseHoldyouraudience’sattentionusingpathos–adirectappealtotheiremotions–givingthemareasontoshareyourcontent.Thisiswhereyouuseyourpersonaresearchtoreallynailthetypeofcontentthatyourtargetaudiencewillengagewith.Yourvideoshouldbedesignedwithapersonaandanendgoalinmind–otherwiseit’sjustnoise.Toberemarkable,youhavetostacktheoddsinyourfavouranddoyourhomeworkproperly.Thesilverbulletisinundertakingthehardworkattheplanningphase.

3.Gomobile92%ofmobilevideoviewershavesharedsomeofthecontenttheyview.Makesureyourvideosandtheplacestheyarehostedareviewableonanymobiledeviceandeasilysharable.

4.TimeitrightUsinganalyticstodiscoverwhenandwhereyouraudienceisactiveonlinewillimpactengagementlevelsandcouldevenseeyouonYouTube’sleaderboard!Improveyourchancesofbeingdiscoveredbypromotingyourvideowhenthemajorityofyouraudienceareactuallyonline.LotsoftoolswillhelpyoudothisincludingHootsuite,SocialBroandHubSpot.

5.Seed,seed,seedGiveyourvideocontentsomemomentumbymakingitvisibletotheindividualswhoinfluenceyouraudience.Bycreatingyourvideowithaparticularpersonainmind,you

shouldeasilybeabletoidentifykeyindividualsthatcreatetheperfecttargetaudiencetointroduceyourcontentto.Agoodwaytodothisisto‘influenceyourinfluencer’.

6.InfluenceyourinfluencerSometimesit’seasiertogetyourinfluencer’sattentionbyseeingwhoitistheyengagewithmost.Thismightnotnecessarilybeanindividualwiththemostfollowersorgreatestsocialreach.AgreattoolforfindingthiskindofinformationisMentionmapp.com.Itgivesyouavisuallinkbetweeninfluencersandtheircommunityandhighlightsthestrongestandmostfrequentconnectionsinaveryclearway.

Therearenoshortcutsforcreatinggreatcontent,especiallywhenyou’relookingtoaddvalueanddriveyourplanforwardstrategically.

Themoreyouconsiderwhatyouraudiencereallywants-andthegreaterthelengthsyougotoinorderfindoutexactlywhatthatis-thebetteryourresultswillbe.

Doingsomethingproperlyisworth100,000timesthevalueofdoingsomethingquickly.Onlywithpracticeandanefficientprocesswillyoubeabletoachieveboth.

ContentcalendarguidelinedownloadDownloadourguidetemplateforcontentcreationatthelinkbelowtoensureyou’replanningyourcontenteffectivelyandreachingyouroverallbusinessobjectives.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources

Keytakeawaysforchapter7:part1Bythispointyoushouldhaveyourcontentplannedandyourstrategyshouldbestartingtocometogether.Butit’simportanttoconsideryourtacticsbeforeyouleapintoyourstrategy.Checkoffeachofthepointsbelowasyoucompletethem,tomakesureyou’reontrack.

☐Reviewyourcurrentcontent–what’sworkedandwhathasn’t?

☐Ego-jackyourrelevantinfluenceswithlisticles,infographicsandothercontent

☐Schedulenews-jackingintoyourcontentplan

CHAPTER7:part2

PAYINGTOPLAYImplementingyourmarketingplansuccessfullyis,withoutadoubt,oneofthemostimportantelementswithinyourstrategy.Weunderstandthatthischapterisalittlelong,sowe’vesplititintotwopartstomakeiteasiertodigest.

Solet’sstartwithpayingtoplayandthenwe’llmoveontobreakingdownthebenefitsofeachsocialchannelsoyoucanstartleveragingwinningtacticsforyourself.

PayingtoplayMostmajorsocialmediaplatformsarenow,withoutadoubt,PLCs.Everykeyplayerisinthisgamefortheprofitandthat’sthestarktruthweallneedtoaccept.

Untilrecently,manybrandssucceededinbuildingvastsocialmediaaudiencesandmarketingtothemforfree.Butthesocialmediagiantshavecaughton,andreachhasneverbeenasrestrictedasitisnow.

Starbucksisprobablyoneofthebestexamplesofthisapproach.Theyhavebuiltwellover10millionFacebookfansandeveryday,despitebeingamulti-billiondollarorganisation,Facebookallowedthemtomarketandengagewiththeiraudienceinaveryeffectiveandefficientway.

IfStarbucksgaveouta‘freemuffin’voucheronaWednesdaymorningviaFacebook,peoplearoundtheworld,intheirmillions,wouldgoandredeemthatoffer.Ofcourse,theywouldalsobelikelytobuyapremiumdrinkwhilethey’reinthere–whoeatsamuffinwithoutacoffee,right?

Thisgeneratesfantasticcustomersatisfaction,engagementandanicelittlespikeofadditionalcoffeesalestoboot.Cleverstuff.Canyouimaginesomethingsimilarintherealworldprovidingasmuchvalue?It’stheequivalentofhavingaccesstoeverybillboardintheworldfor20minutesonemorning.Infact,it’smuchmorepowerfulthanthat–wholooksatbillboardsanymore?Now,however,StarbuckscanpostcontenttotheirFacebookpageforfreebutthedifferenceis,onlyaround6%offanswillseeit.Iftheywanttoreachtherest,theyhavetopay.Andsodowe.

Butit’snotallbadnews.Therearemanyupsidestothechangingdigitallandscape.In2000,Googleliterallyshookthemarketingworldwiththeiradvertisingplatform,GoogleAdWords.Providingadvertiserswiththeabilitytoputoffersinfrontofpeopleactivelysearchingfortheirproductsandservicesintroducedawholenewmethodoftargeting.ThiswascontrolledbymatchingyouradvertstothekeywordsthatyouraudiencetypedintothesearchboxofGoogle.

Ifthatwasn’tgoodenoughalready,youonlypaidwhensomeoneactuallyclickedonalink.Insteadofpayingforpeopletopassivelyviewyouradvert,youonlypaidforengagement.Unbelievable!

Thiswasagamechangerofmonumentalproportions.GoogleAdWordswashailedthe

mostmeasurable,reliable,accurateandtargetedformofadvertisingtoeverexist.Competitionforkeywordswasalsoextremelylowinthebeginning,meaningthateachkeywordhadasignificantlylowerbidprice.Now,thesamekeywordsarestillbeingusedbyadvertiserstodrivetraffictowebsites,butthosekeywordsaremuchmoreexpensive.Asanexample,‘personalinjuryclaims’wasaround25pin2002.Todayitcanbeover£100perclick.Ouch.

GoogleAdWordsisstillgoingstrong,butnowithascompetition.ItwastheAdWordsmodelthatshapedhowonlineplatformsoffertheirpaidpromotedservices.Yetthesesocialplatformshavebecomeawholelotsmartertoo.

Theexcitingthingforusallis,withoutadoubt,thefactthathistoryhasahabitofrepeatingitself.JustlikethecostofGoogleAdWordscampaignsin2000,socialmediapaidpromotionisextremelycheapcomparedtowhereitwillbeinjustafewshortyears.Nowisthetimetoinvest.Nowisthetimetotakeadvantageofthe‘goldenyears’ofsocialmediapromotion.Trustus,therewillneverbeabettertimetoplayonlinethanrightnow.

Ifyou’restillalittleupsetaboutitnotbeingfreeanymore,wehavefurthergoodnewstocheeryouup.Insteadofpayingtojustreachyourexistingfansandfollowers,allofthemajorsocialplatforms(andverysoonInstagramandPinterest)haveopeneduptheirmarketplacesoyoucantargetusersoftheentireplatform.Thisisexciting.It’samonumentalgamechangerthat,frankly,blowsGoogleAdWordsoutofthewater.

Tohighlighttheshiftinadvertisingopportunities,we’regoingtouseFacebookasourprimaryexample.Itshouldbenotedthatallsocialplatformsarefollowingsuitwithexactlythesamefeatures.Restassured,ifyoureadthefollowingpassageaboutFacebookandyoudon’tthinkyouraudienceisonFacebook,ouradviceisthis:firstofall,checkthatyourassumptioniscorrect.Youmaywellbesurprisedbywhatyoufind.We’veseensignificantROIforB2CbrandsbutalsoB2Bbusinesssellingproductsandservicessuchasinsurance,businessbanking,legalservicesandevenengineeringservicesontheplatform.Secondly,ifyouarerightwecanguaranteetheopportunitiesexistonyourplatformofchoice.TwitterandLinkedInbothhavesimilarlyincredibleadvertisingandcontentpromotionfeaturesthatcandeliverjustashighconversionrates.

Payingtoplay:FacebookPayingtoplayonFacebookcomesintwoforms,thetraditionaladandtheunpublished‘dark’post.

Theunpublished‘dark’postallowsyoutocreatemultipleadvertstopromotethroughyourpage.Butunlikeatraditionalad,itwon’tshowuponyourmainprofilenewsfeed,insteaditshowsuponlyinthefeedsofthoseyou’vetargeted.

Traditionaladscanbetargetedtowheretheywillappearwithinauser’sfeed,buttheywillalsoappearonyourprofilepage.Thislimitsyouroptionsforsplittestinganddistributingadsatscaleaseveryvariantwillbepublishedtoyournewsfeed–potentiallyalienatingtargetgroupswhovisityourprofilepage.Ifapostdoesfairlywellorganicallyonyourpageitmightbeworththenboostingthecontenttoreachawideraudience.Theunpublished‘dark’postfeatureoffersasubtledifferencetotheabove.It’smoresignificantthananyotherformofmarketingtheworldhaseverseen.

Doesthatsoundalittledramatic?Possiblyoverstated?Perhaps,butconsiderthis:younowhavetheflexibilitytodesignmultipleiterationsofapostandsplittestthiscontenttoanaudiencethatyoudefine–withlasertargetedprecision.Youroptionsarenotlimitedtojustgender,age,location,orinterests;youcanevensegmentanaudiencebasedonpreviouspurchasingbehaviour.

Inouragency,we’reseeingtraditionalmonthlyAdWordsbudgetsthathavebeenperformingwellforyearsbeingpouredintoFacebookdarkpostsinstead.Inmanycases,overnighttheROIgoesupbymorethanfivetimes.

Foralongtime,marketershavebelievedthatGoogleAdWordsismoreeffectivethanotherpaidadvertisingmethods,specificallybecauseoftheintentbehinduseractivity.Byshowingadsbasedonsearchedforkeywords,itstandstoreasonthataudienceswillbemorelikelytoclickanadvert,becauseofitsrelevance.

Whilethisisstilltrue,theoptionsforusingpaidpromotionacrosssocialchannelsareexpanding,providingmoretargetingoptionswhichquantifyyouraudiencetoperhapsanevenmoretargetedlevelthanGoogleAdWords.

FacebookCustomAudiencesFacebook’sCustomAudiencefeatureisanothertoolintheiradvertisingarmourythathelpsyoumarketwithsniper-gradeaccuracy.Thistooltakestargetingyouraudiencetothenextlevel,allowingyouultimatecontroloverwhoseesyourads.

CustomAudiencesallowyoutocreateyourownaudienceforeachofyourFacebookadverts–madeupofanymarketinglistthatyouhavecomplied.TheselistscanbeformedfromyourexportedLinkedIncontacts,oryoucanevenassignthehardworktoFacebookandmineinformationfromyourwebsiteormobileapp.Basically,anylistyoucreate,whichincludesemailaddressesorphonenumbers,canbeusedtocreateaCustomAudience.

CustomAudiencescanalsohelpyoutomarkettoyourcustomersbasedontheirexactpointinthebuyingcycle.Forexample,anindividualwhoiscurrentlyatthe‘think’stageinthefunnelcouldseeadifferent(andultimatelymorerelevantad)thananindividualatthe‘delight’stage.Therefore,ifyou’remarketinga20%discountoffer,anindividualwhoisatthe‘see’stagemaybetargetedwithanofferfornewcustomers,whereasanindividualatthe‘delight’stagebetargetedwithanofferforreturning/loyalcustomers.

Thepossibilitiesforthistoolareendlessandshoulddefinitelybeexplored.Whetheryou’relookingtonetcustomerswhohavesubscribedtoyournewslettersorpromotionsorlookingtogainrepeatcustomers,theCustomAudiencestoolisasimplybrillianttactictoemploy.

MeetingtheneedsofthepeopleIt’sfairtosaythatpeople’sonlinebrowsinghabitsareexperiencingamassiveshift.Itisnolongersimplyacaseofpeoplenetworkingonsocialplatformsandbuyingonspecificwebsitesanymore.Weareonline24/7andwebuywhereweseegoodvalue.

Strengtheningitsholdonecommerceevenfurther,Facebookhasrecentlyannounceditsnewmarketingplatform,Atlas.ThelatestinitiativefromFacebookisadrivetoencourageretailerssellinginhighstreetshopstosharetheirsalesdatawithFacebookinordertobetterinformthemofwhatwe’rebuying.ThisistoallowretailerstofindadditionalvaluewhentargetingthesamecustomerviaFacebookandjoinupthe‘realworld’experiencewiththeonlineone.

TheobviousanalogytodrawbetweenFacebook’sassaultonGoogle’sterritoryisthatofBlackberryandApple.WhenBlackberry’sconfidenceindominatingthebusinessphonemarketwasatitsheight,AppleintroducedtheiPhone.WhenApplereleasedtheiPhone,Blackberrywereconfidentthatithadthebusinessmarketsealedwithastrongholdthatwouldbedifficulttodisrupt.WhileApplefocusedonthesociableaspectsoftheirdevice;music,games,video,messagingetc.Blackberrydoubleddownonthebusinessapplicationsandtradedontheiremailprovisionandotherproductivity-focusedfeatures.

YoucouldbeforgivenforlookingatthislandscapeandpredictingpeoplemayusethenewiPhoneforpleasurebuttheBlackberrywouldalwaysbethebusinessweaponofchoice.Howwrongwewere.Applefocusedonthepersonfirst,specificusessecond.TheCEO,manager,executiveandthereceptionistareallpeoplewithfamiliesandfamilylives.Applestartedwith‘why’andtoldastoryofhowintuitivetheiPhonewastouseandpaintedapictureofhowcoolitwastohaveanone.Thisquicklysawitbecomeamust-havelifestyleaccessory.

Meanwhile,Blackberrycontinuestoclingtothefeaturesandthe‘what’butsuffertheconsequencesofignoringthewants,needsanddesiresoftheiraudience.

FacebookarequietlydoingexactlythesameasApple.They’vedominatedtheirspacebygivingtheiraudiencewhattheywantforyearsandnowthey’reclosinginonthebusinesssideoftheirplatformwithatidalwaveofsuccess.

LeveragingbestpracticetechniqueswithinthesocialchannelsTrend-jackingformaximumeffectonTwitter

Twitterisoneofthebestplatformsforengagingwithyourcustomerswhenitcomestoreal-timeandcurrentevents.Aplatformwhichisbuiltaroundlisteningtoothersandsharingopinionsinbitesizeformat,it’sfantasticforboostingengagement.Throughsearchingandhashtaggingappropriately,youcanfindandgetinvolvedinup-to-dateconversationsandtopicalissues.Trend-jacking(usingahashtagtopromoteyourbrand)canbeagreatwaytogainexposureandgetyourmessageseenbythousands.Butbeware,ifnotutilisedproperly,thiscanbackfireanddamageyourreputation,sobecareful!

Makesureyou’vethoroughlyresearchedthemeaningofthehashtagyouintendtotrend-jack,ensureitisrelevanttoyourbrand,findoutwhatpeoplearesayingaboutthehashtagandmakesureyoucanfitintotheirconversations.Finally,establishwhetherusingitwillpositivelyimpactyourbrand.Ifyoucan’tjustifyusingit,orit’snotrelevant,steerclear.Audienceswillseethroughinauthenticattemptsattrendexploitation–don’tappeardesperateandonlyuseahashtagifyouhave100%clarityitwillbeagoodmove.Agoodexampleofabrandeffectivelyengagingintrend-jackingisSnickers’campaignduringtheFIFAWorldCupin2014.DuringthematchbetweenUruguayandItaly,itappearedthatLuisSuarez,theUruguaystriker,hadbittenanotherplayerduringatackle.Inaswiftandclevermove,whichcompletelyresonatedwiththebrand,valuesandhumour,Snickerspostedaphototweetusingthehashtag#luissuarez.Soperfectwasthetiming,sentimentandmessage,itgotretweetednearly50,000times.

GetthemostoutofFacebookAswe’vediscussed,Facebookisagreatplatformforpromotingcontentduetoitsultra-targetednature,particularlywiththeunpublished'dark'post.However,it’snotenoughtosimplypostcontentandhopethatitwilldowell.

Aswithallofyourcontent,youneedtomakesureitfitswithyourbrandvalues,yourobjectivesandmostimportantly,youraudience.63%ofFacebookusersengageonadailybasis,soyouneedtoensureyourpostsareapartofthisstatistic.Whetheryou’repayingtoplay,orpostingorganically,youneedtoensurethatyou’vethoughtthrougheveryelementofyourFacebookposts,fromfantasticimagery,toengagingcopyandaclearcalltoaction.Dothisandyou’llachievemaximumclicks,engagementandsharesontheplatform.

OnebrandthatutilisesFacebookverywellisOreo.Usingamixtureoftimelytrend-jackinganddown-to-earthpoststoboostengagement,Oreoknowsexactlywhoitscustomersareandplaystothis.TheexampletotherightshowcasesOreo’sabilitytopresentexactlywhatitsaudiencerespondsto.ThroughasimpleimageandatongueincheekdescriptionOreogeneratedover20,000likesand1,200shares.Howdidtheydoit?

Byrecognisingatrendandputtingtheirownspinonit.Atthetimeofposting,JohnLewis’s‘MontythePenguin’advertwasgeneratingtractiononsocialmedia.Oreorespondedinawaythatuniquelyshowcaseditsbrandandsubtlyalludedtotheadvert,withoutneedingtojumpontohashtagsorevenincludeadirectreference.It’ssimplybrilliant.

MaximisereferralswithPinterestWithitseasytoconsume,visualinterface,Pinterestisafantasticplaceforyoutoshowcaseyourbrand’sservicesandbenefits.

Pinterestallowsuserstocompileandfollowvisualboardsoftheirfavouritethings–fromweddinginspiration,tophotography,totheplacesthey’dliketovisit.Unlikeanyothersocialnetwork,Pinterestallowsuserstodefinetheirlife,ambitions,desiresandchoicesusingimagesalone–allwhileprovidingadirectlinkbacktotheoriginalpublisherofthecontent.

Manybrandsarealreadycapitalisingonthepopularityofthissocialnetwork,creatingvisuallystunningcontentwhichgetspinnedthousandsoftimesover–providingthemwiththousandsofreferralsdirectlybacktotheirproduct(s).ManymarketersfailtousePinterest,believingitisaplatformonlyforwomen–mistakenlythinkingthatiftheyaren’tsellingfood,clothesorweddingsupplies,they’llfallflat.Thisiscertainlynotthecase.

Theabilitytocreateboardsmeansthatuserscanfollowyourindividualboards–notjustyouasabrand–allowingyoutosegmentproductsandservicesintotailoredgroups,which,whentaggedeffectively,canhit

multipletargetpersonas.It’simportanttorememberthough,asPinterestisavisualplatform–nomatterhowmanykeywordsyouuse,ortagsyouinclude,ifyourimageisshoddy,it’snotgoingtodowell.Ben&Jerry’sistheperfectexampleofabrandthatusesPinteresteffectively.Whileitrecognisesthehighlyvisual,female-dominateduseoftheplatform,thebrandalsoincludesahostofotherinterestingboardstoappealtoawiderdemographic.

From‘FanPhotos’toits‘OnaMission’board,whichshowcasesitsinvolvementingayrightsandfairtradeissues,Ben&Jerry’shasallofitsbasescovered.Combinethiswithstriking,highresolutionimagesandyouhavearecipeforsuccesseverytime.

TellyourstoryonYouTubeYouTubecanbeanextremelyvaluablechanneltoincludeinyourinboundmarketingstrategy–ifusedcorrectly.IfyouneedarecaponwhatmakesagoodYouTubevideo,skipbackafewpagestorefreshyourmemory.

TherearesomefantasticexamplesofbrandsusingYouTubetopromotetheircontentandthegoodnewsistheirsuccessiseasytoreplicate.UnlikeaTVad,creatingcontentforYouTubedoesn’tnecessarilyhavetobehighbudgetorhavehighproductionvaluesinordertodowellontheplatform.

AbrilliantexampleofabrandusingYouTubewellisBlendtec.Theirmostpopularproductisablender,boldlylabelled‘theworlds’mostadvancedblender’.SowhatdidBlendtecdotoshowcasetheirproductonYouTube?Theyblendedstuff.EverythingfromiPhonestodiamonds.Theycreatedastoryfromauniquesellingpoint.

Whywasitsosuccessful?Becauseitprovidednotonlysomethinginterestingtowatch,butitgaveaudiencesareasontokeepcomingback,timeaftertime,toseewhattheywouldblendnext.Keepingitsvideostimely–byblendingitemssuchasthelatestiPadmodel(gainingover17millionviews)–asimpleconcepthastheabilitytobeusedforyearstocome(andallatarelativelylowcost).

Checkitoutnow–weguaranteeyouwon’tbeabletowatchjustonevideo.Youcanfindthisvideo,plusallyourotherresourcesforthischapterbyvisitingthelinkbelow.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources

ReachmillennialswithSnapchatThisfledglingplatformhasbeengainingtractionwiththemillennialdemographicforquitesometime.Whilstmanymarketersfeelthatthisplatformisn’trelevanttotheiraudience,statisticsbegtodiffer.

With400millionsnapssentdailyandunder-25saccountingfor71%oftheiruserbase,thisplatformcanbeafantastictoolforengagingwithayoungeraudience.Ifyou’regoingtobeginusingSnapchat,rememberwhoyouraudienceisandtailoryourcontenttofit.Snapchatworksbyprovidingbitesizevisualchunksofinformation–soremembertokeepitrelevant.Wordysalespitchesorproductdemoswon’tworkonthisplatform;becreativeanddoyourresearchintowhatperformswellandwhatdoesn’t.Behumorousandlight-hearted–ayoungerdemographiclovetobeentertainedsorememberthis.

AudihasrecentlyusedSnapchattogreateffectaspartoftheiradvertisingefforts.DuringtheSuperbowl,itengagedwithitsaudiencethroughcreatingfunny,photo-captionedsnapsthatresonatedperfectlywithayoungeraudience.Bycreatingin-the-momentcontent,pairedwithhumourandstockphotos,AudinotonlygainedtractionthroughSnapchat,butthemomentumspilledoverontootherplatformstoo–gettingmultipleaudiencestalkingabouttheirinteractions.

ShowcaseyourproductsthroughInstagramInstagramisfastbecomingoneofthemostsoughtaftersocialmediaplatformsforbrandstoshowcasethemselves.Instagramhasrecentlyrolledoutadvertisingoptionsforbusinesses,meaningthatitjustgotawholelotmoreattractiveformarketers.

Thebottomlineinusingthisplatformeffectivelyisinthequalityoftheimagesyoupost.Instagram,likePinterest,ishighlyvisual–usersrespectandrespondtoartfulandwellconsideredimagerythatdoesn’tfeelcommercialised.Tobesuccessfulonthisplatform,youneedtoensurethatyou’reauthenticandrespectwhatitisthatyourfollowerswanttosee.

AbrandthatharnessesthepowerofInstagramparticularlywellisStarbucks.Starbucksmanagesallofitssocialchannelsveryeffectively,butInstagramstandsoutasoneofitsstrongest.Starbucksoften‘regrams’photospostedbyfans,boostingengagementlevelsandshowingtrue,humaninteractions,makingthebrandfeelauthenticandhonest.Alongsidethis,itregularlypostsbeautifullycomposedandeditedimages,whichisexactlywhatusersarelookingfor.ByusingcarefulhashtagsthatonlyapplytotheStarbucksbrand(forexample#PSL–pumpkinspicelatte),itensuresthattheirpostsareneverspammyorappeartobetrend-jackingunnecessarily.

ExplorethefeaturesonG+G+isanoftenoverlookedplatforminthesocialmediaarmoury,butcanbeofhugebenefittoyourinboundstrategy.WhilstmanyseetheplatformasaplacetoduplicateFacebookorTwittermessages,ithasmanyindividualattributeswhichcan,andshould,beutilised.

WithadditionalfeaturessuchasGoogleHangoutsandtheabilitytosharelocations,G+canreallyboostabrand’ssocialmediapresenceandSearchEngineResultsPage(SERP)rankingwhenusedcorrectly.G+canalsobebrilliantforextendingyourbusinessnetworkthroughusingitsCirclesfeature.Throughthis,youcancategoriseyourconnectionsandcontrolwhoseesyourupdates.Forexample,ifyou’repromotingaserviceonlyavailabletootherbusinesses,youcanpostanupdatetoyour‘business’circle.

ThroughutilisingtheG+Hangoutsfeature,carmanufacturerToyotacreatedaunique‘collaboratorarea’;adigitalspacewhereuptofivepeoplecancollaborateoncreatinganddesigninganewToyota.Thefinishedcarcanevenbetakenforavirtualtest-driveonGoogleMaps.ThisconceptisuniquetoG+andsobringsnewpotentialcustomerstotheirplatform,whilealsoprovidingauniqueandnovelwaytokeepthemthere.

Getaudience-centricusingTumblrThemicrobloggingplatformTumblrisrelativelynewterritoryforbrands,butwhenutilisedwell,itcanbeextremelybeneficial.

Asitcurrentlystands,only31ofthetop100globalbrandshaveaTumblraccount–whichisgoodnewsifyou’relookingtobeatthecompetition.

Whenimplementingastrategyfortheplatform,placeaheavyfocusontherightkindsofimagery–78%ofpostsonTumblrarephotosorimages.Honeinonyourtargetaudiencetofindyourownniche.Tumblrismadeupofsmallcommunities–understandingthehumourandtonetheyadoptwillmeanyourcontentissuccessfultimeandtimeagain.Ofallthesocialplatforms,TumblrseesthehighestamountofGIFshares,soconsiderthiswherepossible.

LanaDelRey’sTumblrpageisafantasticexampleoftheplatformbeingusedtoengageandpublicise.Topromoteherlatestsingle,shepostedshortGIFsofherupcomingmusicvideotothesite,withfantasticresults.Heraudiencerespondedtothiskindofcontentasitcorrelatedwithwhattheyliketoshareanddiscussacrosstheplatform.

BoostyourengagementlevelsbysayingElloEllomaybearrivinglatetothesocialmediacocktailpartybutwithsign-upsreaching38,000perhouratitsbusiest,thisplatformisgeneratingenoughbuzzforbrandstostarttakingitseriously.

Asanad-freesocialnetwork,youcouldbeforgivenforassumingthatthereisnoplaceforyourbrandontheplatform.Butthat’snotthecase.AlthoughnotassophisticatedasFacebook,therearestillplentyofopportunitiesforbrandslookingtoconnectandengage.BeingsuccessfulonEllodoes,however,requireyoutochangethewayyouthinkaboutyoursocialmediastrategy.Notbeingabletopaytoplaymeansthatonlythosewhoactivelychoosetofollowyouwillseeyourupdates–creatingamuchsmalleraudience,whoaregenuinelyinterestedinyourbrand.

Thiscanbeagreatplatformforidentifyingandengagingwithyourbrandadvocates–justmakesureyou’repostingauthenticandgenuinecontent.MuchlikeTumblr,Ellothrivesonsmallnichecommunities.Youneedtofindyoursandengagewiththemregularly.EveryaspectofEllohasbeenconsideredanddesignedinordertobecleanandcrisp–cuttingouttheclutterofmanyofourcurrentsocialnetworks.Rememberthiswhenpostingcontenttothenetwork:usevivid,clearandhighresolutionimagesalongsideminimaltext.Marketing,mediaandadvertisingpublicationAdweekisanearlyadopterofElloasasocialplatform.Combiningamixofitsusualposts(likelatestarticles)withGIFsandpostsjustforfun,Adweekactivelycapturestheattentionofthosethatfollowthebrand.Elloshowsaviewcountunderneatheverypost–Adweek’sviewcountregularlymatchesandexceedstheirtotalamountoffollowers.

BlogyourwaytomorecustomerswithMediumMedium,createdbyformerTwitterCEOEvanWilliamsandfounderBizStoneinAugust2012,isaninterestingplaceforabrandtobuildacommunity.

Mediumrewardscontent,notforthepopularityoftheauthor,butinsteadforqualityandrelevanceoveranyotherfactors.Categorisingcontentintocollections,Mediummakesiteasyforuserstosearchandfindwhattheyarelookingfor.Medium,likeothersmallersocialnetworksisusedbyavarietyofnichecommunities,soyouneedtofindonewhichwillrespondwelltoyourbrandandcontent.RatherthanusingMediumformarketingalone,youcouldtryusingittotestoutyourcontentbeforepostingittoyourblog,orjusttoproveyourexpertiseinasubjectarea.

It’sagoodideatopostasanindividualonbehalfofabrandratherthanpostingasabrandasanentity.Thishikesupthe‘relatabilityfactor’ofyourwrittencontent–peopleoftenliketoassociateafaceandanametothethingstheyread.Thishastheaddedbenefitofdistancingyourblogsfromsimplemarketingmaterial,positioningthemasgenuineandengagingpiecesofwriting.GaryVaynerchukhasenthusiasticallyadoptedMediumtofurthercementhisbrandpresence.Regularlypostinggenuinelyusefulcontentaimedatsolvingaudiencepainpoints,hispresenceonMediumisstrongwithoutfeelinglikehe’sconstantlytryingtosellsomething.Ifyou’relookingtostartpostingyourowncontentonMedium,hisprofilewouldn’tbeabadplacetostartwhenlookingforinspiration.

medium.com/@garyvee

Thisisthepartwherewesneakinawordaboutbudget.

If,afterreadingthischapter,you’renotconvincedyoushouldbudgetforpaidsocialpromotiontowinnewcustomers,thenyoumaylookbackonignoringouradvicewith

regret.

It’scheapernowthanitwillbeintheverynearfuture,somakesureyoureaptherewards.

Recommendedreading&resourcesONLINE

SniplySniplyallowsyoutoshortenURLsanddrivetraffictoyourownsitewitheverylinkyoushare.Addacall-to-actionbannertoeveryURLlinkandgetrewardedforsharinggreatcontent.snip.ly

HubSpotHavingcoinedtheterm‘InboundMarketing’,HubSpothascreatedoneofthebesttoolsinthebusinesstoenhanceyourinboundmarketingstrategy.Helpingyoutoidentifyandmaximiseyourbuyerpersonas,attractvisitors,convertleadsandclosecustomers,itprettymuchdoesitall.Invaluablefordigitalmarketers.www.hubspot.com

TopsyTopsy,acertifiedTwitterpartner,isasocialsearchandanalyticscompany.ItmaintainsacatalogueoftweetsdatingbacktoTwitter’slaunchin2006.Topsyallowsyoutoanalysekeywordsandauthorsbyaseriesofconditions.www.topsy.com

FeedlyFeedlyisatoolwhichmakesorganising,readingandsharingcontenteasier.Youareabletosearchforspecifickeywordsandstartcreatingalibraryofinformationtoshareacrossyoursocialmediachannels.www.feedly.com

SocialBroWithSocialBroatyourfingertipsyoucananalyseandmanageyourTwitteraudience.Thereareawholehostoffeaturesavailablethatwillmakeyouroveralljobeasier.Fromidentifyinginfluencerstofindingthebesttimetotweet,SocialBrocanhelp.www.socialbro.com

Infogr.amWithover2,000,000infographicscreatedsinceitslaunchin2012,Infogr.ambringsoutthebestinthedatayouhave.Youcancreateandshareinfographics,onlinechartsanddatavisualisations.https://infogr.am/

Hootsuite

ThissocialmediamanagementsystemsupportsallyoursocialmediaplatformsfromTwitterandFacebooktoGoogle+andFoursquare,helpingyoukeeptrackandmanageyoursocialmediachannels.Monitoringinteractions,Hootsuiteenablesyoutorespondinstantly.https://hootsuite.com/

BitlyBitlyisatoolallowingyoutoeasilysaveandsharelinksacrossyoursocialchannels.TheURLshorteningservice,whichwasestablishedin2008,shortensmorethanonebillionlinkspermonth.https://bitly.com/

HemingwayappAusefultoolforexploringhoweasytoreadyourcontentis,Hemingwayappbreaksdownwhereyou’regoingwrongwithyourcontent.Insertjustafewsentencesoranentireessayandletthesoftwareanalyseanyweakpointswithinyourwriting.Perfectforcontentmarketerssearchingforcrisp,clearcopy.http://www.hemingwayapp.com/

TrelloKeeptrackofallofyourdaily,weeklyandmonthlytasks,createcollaborativeareasandvisuallytickthingsoffofyourtodolist.Keepingyouontrack,nomatterwhatyourteamsize,Trelloisamustforanybusinesslookingtostayorganised.https://trello.com/

FutureofsocialdownloadDownloadourFutureofsocialmediaebookbyvisitingthelinkbelow.Startunderstandinghowyoucanusesocialmediatopositivelyconnectandengagewithyouraudienceandstartaddingvaluetoyoursocialinteractions.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter7Resources

Keytakeawaysforchapter7:part2Ensurethatyou'recraftingrelevantcontentforyouraudiencebasedonthesocialchannelsyouhaveselected.Considerdifferentmessagingforeachplatformandinnovativewaysofmakingeachofyourselectedchannelsrelevanttoyouraudiencethroughutilisingtheiruniquefeatures.

☐Tweakthecontentthatdidn’tworktotargetyourpersonas

☐Markwhichsocialtacticsandplatformsarerelevantforyourpersonas

CHAPTER8

TOOLSFORTHEJOBWhattomeasureandhowtomeasureittodeterminewhatmattersandhowtodeliverthesuccessyou’relookingfor.“Successisalousyteacher.Itseducessmartpeopleintothinkingtheycan'tlose.”BillGates

“Marketingistooimportanttobelefttothemarketingdepartment.”DavidPackard

“Anounceofperformanceisworthpoundsofpromise.”MaeWest

Let’sfaceit,gettinggoosebumpsfromyourinboundmarketingisutopianandnotalwayspossiblethefirsttimeyoupublishnewcontent.Youmightverywellgetitslightlywrongafewtimesbeforeyounailitandgetthereactionyou’relookingfor–that’sverycommon.

Itismorethanachievablethough,whichiswhywemaintainitshouldbeyourultimategoalwhenaddingvalueforthedifferentpersonasofyouraudience.

Runningadigitalagencyforovertenyears,we’venoticedthatclientstendtobeinfinitelymoreinterestedinthedetailofweeklyandmonthlyreportswhensomethingisgoingwrong,ratherthanwhenacampaignisperformingoffthechart–it’shumannature.

Moreoftenthannot,whenastrategyisperformingtoplan,clientstendtoenjoytalkingaboutfutureactivities;chattingtousaboutstrategicgoalsandnewwaystogrowtheironlineestateEvenwiththehardfactsinareport,moreoftenthannotit’syourintuitionthatfirstassessesthesituation.Youmustlistentoyourgut.Ifyourcontentisn’tgivingyougoosebumpsit’sprobablynotgoingtosetyouraudience’sworldonfireeither.

We’vetalkedatlengthabouthowharditistocraftcontentthatwillresonatewithyouraudienceaswellasleadthemclosertowardsagoal.Thisstuffisn’teasytomasterandtherearenoshortcuts.Ifyou’vedoneyourhomeworkandyouunderstandandcareaboutyouraudiencesufficientlytobeginwith,youshouldalreadyknow,toacertaindegree,howsuccessfulapieceofcontentwillbebeforeyoupushitouttothebigwideworld.Butsometimes,you’renotright.Sometimesthecompleteoppositehappens.Contentthatyouwerecertainwoulddowellcancompletelyfailandviceversa.

Evenifyou’reright75%ofthetime,that’snotgoodenough.Justlikeit’snotgoodenoughtodriveacarandgettoyourdestinationjust75%ofthetime.

Thefollowinganalogyofacarisaninterestingoneandaccuratelyhelpstodescribethewaymostbusinessesdrivetheirmarketing,eachandeveryday.Ifyouhadtodrive100milestoadistantrelative’shousefortheholidaysandyourentedacarwithnospeedo,nopetrolgauge,noSatNavandnomirrors,howconfidentwouldyoubeingettingtoyourdestinationsafely?That’showmanybusinessesruntheirmarketingdepartment–theengineworks,thetyresaregoodandthecarseemstoreallymoveforwardwell–there’sevensomeonebehindthewheelthatseemstobeareallygooddriver.Butareweburningtoomuchfuel?Arewegoingintherightdirection?Arewewastingtimeandresourcethatcouldbedeployeddifferently?

Theanswerisyes.Inthisdayandage,therearenoexcusesformarketingwithoutafully

functioningdashboard.We’vesuggestedlotsoftoolsthroughoutthisbookthatmeasurevaryingdegreesofsuccessforavarietyofspecifictacticsandtechniques.Thesetoolsareallofgreatvalueandwestandbythem.However,whenitcomestotheoverviewofyourmarketingactivity,wehighlyrecommendconsideringaninvestmentinonemarketingautomationtooltogiveyouclarity,consistencyandeffectiveintelligenceacrosstheboard.

Byassessingthecontributionthatyourindividualmarketingactivitiesmaketoyourcampaignsyoucanseewhat’sworkingandwhatneedsimproving.YoucanalsomeasuretheROIofeachactivityaswellasgatheranoverallROIofallofyourmarketingactivityintotal.Technologyshouldbeanenablerforyourbusiness.Iftechnologyisacauseoffrustrationinyourbusiness,it’sthewrongtoolforthejob.Forthegoodofyoursanity,resultsandprofit,getyourselftherighttools.Intheinterestoftransparency,ouragencyisaHubSpotpartnerandsowestronglyadvocateusingitsparticularmarketingautomationsolution.However,thereareotheroptionsandyouhavetofindtherightsolutionforyourbusiness.

Itisworthpointingouthoweverthatthereasonwe’repassionateaboutHubSpotisbecauseofthesignificantbenefits,resultsandintelligencewehavegainedthroughusingit.Weshoppedaroundandmadeourchoiceverycarefullyafterreviewingtheoptions.Whicheversolutionyouchoose,justmakesureyouhavetherighttoolstoholisticallymanageyourinboundmarketing,effectivelyandefficiently.

Whatshouldyoulookforinamarketingautomationsolutiontomeasureyourdigitalmarketingactivity?Areasofmeasurementyoushouldlookforinonetool

-Blogging&callstoaction-SEO-CMS/landingpages-Leadmanagement-Emailmarketing-Analysis-CRMintegration-Smart/dynamicdownloads

Specificfeaturesyoushouldlookfortomarketsmarter

-Keywordsuggestion/grader-Schedulingacrossmultiplechannels-Pagereplicationforquickexecution-Campaigntaggingtomeasuresocialattribution-Synchronisedcampaignanalysislinkedtootherinboundactivity-Personalisationofpages,emailsandgeneralexperiencetomaximiseconversion

Ahighproportionofmarketingprofessionalsfailtomeasuretheirmarketingactivitiesaccurately.Thiscanbeeasilyforgivenandputright.It’swhenyou’retoldthatyoucan’tmeasureyouractivitythatyouhaveaproblem.

Thesedays,inboundmarketingoffersunprecedentedclarityandaccuracyintermsofmeasuringthesuccessofindividualcampaignsandindicatingoverallmarketingROI.Despitethis,thenumberonequestionwefaceasanagencycontinuestobe,‘what’sthebestwaytomeasuresocialmediaROI?’Inordertopresentasimpleandcoherentanswerit’simportanttocastyourmindbacktothefirstcoupleofchapters.Withoutunderstandingwhatsuccesslookslikeforyourbusiness,it’sverydifficulttotellyouwhatsuccesslookslikewhenanalysingyourinboundmarketingandsocialmediaactivities.

What’sthepointingaining1,000newFacebooklikeseverydayiftheydon’taddvaluetoyourbusiness?Itsoundsgood,butcomparedtowhatandforwhatpurpose?Ontheflipside,ifyoudohavethisinformationallmappedoutit’sveryeasy,butalltoooftenweseetacticsbeingdeployedwithoutthestrategyunderpinningthem.Thinkbacktothemastertimelinespreadsheetthatmapseverythingfromyourbusinessobjectivestoyourbusinessstrategy,downtotacticsandimplementation.Fromhere,it’sasimplecaseofworkingbackwardstoreverseengineerwhatlevelofactivity,engagementandconversionyouneedtohitthegoals.

WhatisthevalueofatweetonTwitter?Ingeneral,whoknows?But,ifyouknowthatoneofyourtargetpersonas,attheTHINKstageofyourfunnel,spendsmosttimeonTwitterandrespondsbestat7pm,whenusingthehashtag#marketingtips,thenyoucanstarttoseethevalueofyourefforts…Andifyouknowthatforeverytweetthatincludesalink,youtypicallyget200click-throughstoyourcontent,whichinturngenerates10downloadsofane-book,younowknowthatthetweetisworth10newcontactsinyourdatabase.

Ifyoualsoknowthatforevery250newcontactsinyourdatabase,youtypicallygetfivenewsalesopportunitiesfromyouremailmarketingofwhichyouconvertonesaleworth£100,younowknowthatyouronetweetispotentiallyworth£4.

10(contacts)/(250contactsneededtomakeasale)x£100=£4

Sowhat’sthevalueof1,000Facebookfans?Ifyouknowyoucansell£100worthofproductsorservicesper1,000fansfromyourFacebookengagement,thenyouknoweachfanisworth10p.

ThepowerofSocialAttributionModellingI’msurebynowyougetthegeneralideaofhowyoucanstarttomeasuresocialmediaandinboundmarketingactivitytobegintoformulateameaningfulROI.However,it’snotalwaysaslinearandsimpleastheexamplesonthepreviouspage.

Sometimespeoplewillclickonalinkinatweet,landonyourwebsiteandthenleave.ThosesamecustomerscouldGoogleyouaweeklaterandclickonanorganiclink(SEO)tofindyouagain.It’sequallypossiblethatthenextdaytheyclickanAdWordslink(PPC)andthencheckyououtonYouTubeorFacebookbeforecomingbackandmakingapurchase.

It’sexhaustingjustimaginingthatjourney,butwealldoit.Onaverageanewvisitortoawebsiteneedstovisitawebsitesixtimesbeforemakinganinitialpurchaseorenquiry.

Quiteoften,whenmeasuringtheeffectivenessofmarketingactivitiespeoplewilllookatthesourcesoftraffictotheirwebsite.It’squitesimpletoseeinorderofreferralwhereyourtrafficiscomingfrom.

It’squitealogicalassumptionthatifGoogleAdWords(PPC)isconvertingthemosttrafficintoleadsandsalesthatAdWordsisyourmostvaluabletrafficsource.However,we’reonlyaccountingforthelastclickofwhatmightbeasporadicorvariedjourneytogettothefinalsalesconversion,justlikethisexample.

Togetthefullpicture,wehavetolookatthecompleteend-to-endjourneyaprospecthastakentoestablishthetrueROIofeachchannelandtheeffortyou’respendingineach.

Ifitturnedoutthatinmostcases,newsalesorleadswerelandingbecausetheirfirstinteractionwithyourbrandwasfromalinktoablogpostonTwitter,you’renowseeingthefullpictureandstartingtoreassessthevalueofyourGoogleAdWordscampaign.

Everytouchpointwithyourbrandthatbringsaprospectclosertomakingapurchaseorsubmittinganenquiryonyourwebsiteorsocialaccounthasavalueattributedtoitbasedonthecontributionit’smadeduringthatjourney.Thisiscalledsocialattribution.

Beingabletomeasurethecompletesocialattributionofyourleadsorsalesisparamount.Itwillshapeyourthinkingandallowyoutostrategicallyplanyourcontentinordertooptimiseyourchancesoflandingnewbusiness.

Imaginetryingtoworkoutthevalueofeachattributionbystitchingvariousanalyticstogether…Suddenlywe’redrivingwithoutadashboardagain.Havingasoftwaretoolto

stitchallofthesemovingpartstogetheriscrucialtoanyseriousdigitalmarketer.

Crucial?Whysoserious?Yourcompetitionisgettingsmarteraswellasworkingharderandthesearethemarginalgainsyouneedtocapitaliseonrightnow.You’venotgotthetimeorthebudgettocompromiseinthisarea.

Whatisyourconversionrate?Theconversionrateisthepercentageofuserswhotakeadesiredaction.Thearchetypicalexampleofconversionrateisthepercentageofwebsitevisitorswhobuysomethingonthesite.

Ahugelyimportantaspectinmeasuringtheresultsofyourinboundmarketingisdeterminingandrefiningyourconversionratefromstarttofinishforeachcampaign.

Itcansometimesbequicker,easierandcheapertoimproveyourROIbyincreasingyourwebsiteconversionratefrom4%to5%of10,000visitorsthanitmightbetogenerateanextra2,500visitorstogetthesamenumberofsalesattheoriginal4%conversionrate.Ideally,we’dliketoincreasebothtrafficandconversionrate.

However,it’snotworthfightingformoretrafficwhenawebsitesimplydoesn’tconvertaswellasitcouldifsomeminorchangesweremade.

Ifyouownedacornershopandnoticedthattheaveragecustomerspends£15whentheybuysomethingatthecheckout,but19outofevery20peoplewalkinandwalkstraightbackoutagain,wouldyou:

A)Standonthestreetcornerhustlingmorepeopleintoyourshop?

B)Experimentwithmoreimpulsepurchasesatthecheckouttoimprovetheaveragebasketvalue?

C)Orfindoutwhy95%ofyourprospectivecustomerschangetheirmindandwalkoutsoquicklyafterenteringyourshop?

Whichonewouldyouchoose?IhopeyouchoseC.It’sano-brainer,right?

Tofixthishypotheticalissueyoumighttrysomeorallofthefollowingtactics:

-Askyourcustomerswhattheylikeanddislikeabouttheshoppingexperience

-Examineyoursignagetomakeitmoreobviouswhatyousell

-Changetheappearanceoftheshoptobemorerelevantandappealingtoyouraudience

-Examinetheislesoftheshoptomakesurethey’retidy,organisedandclearlylabelledsoitemsareeasytofind

-Makesureyouritemsaregroupedproperlysoshoppingisfairlyintuitiveandeasytonavigatearoundtheshop,basedonwhatyou’relookingfor.Experimentwithoffersandmessagingattheentrancetoenticemorepeopletostartshopping

-Assessyourshopassistantstoensurethey’rebeinghelpfulandpleasantwithyourcustomers

-Examineyouradvertisingandmarketingtomakesurewhatyou’reusingtodrivepeopleintoyourshopisconsistentwithwhattheyfindwhenyouwalkthroughthedoors.

Doesthatsoundaboutright?Withyourwebsiteandinboundmarketingyoucandoexactlythesamething.Therearevarioustoolsthatwillhelpgiveyouvaluableinsightsintoexactlywhat’sgoingonwithinyourwebsiteandhowyourwebsiteisperformingintermsofcustomerexperience.GoogleAnalyticsisprobablytheeasiestandmostcommontooltousetosetupbasicgoalstobeginmeasuringhowpeoplearemanoeuvringaroundyourwebsiteandhowmanyofthesevisitorsareseeingthecontentyouwantthemtosee.

Justlikeashopkeepermightplanhowtheywantvisitorstonavigateaphysicalshoptooptimisethebuyingexperience,youcandothesamebychoosingcriticalpageswithinyourwebsitetotrackandmeasurebysetting‘goals’inGoogleAnalytics.Onceyouhavegoalssetupyoucanbegintomeasuretheefficiencyofyourwebsite.If90%ofpeoplearevisitingyourhomepageandthenclickingonalinktoapagethatdoesn’taddanyvaluetoyourbusiness,youcanthenstarttochangetheon-siteexperiencetodiverttrafficelsewhere.

Itisn’thardtoseehowactivitysuchasthishasadded£1,000stomanyclients’bottomlineveryquickly,withoutwaitingformoresignificantvolumesofnewtraffictobuildontheirwebsites.

HeatmappingandeyetrackingAnotherwayyoucanestablishthebehaviouroftheindividualsthatlandonyourpageisthroughheatmappingandeye-tracking.Heatmappingandeyetrackingallowyoutoclearlyseewhatareasofyourwebsitearebeingclickedonorlookedatmost.Thismeansyoucanoptimisethelayoutofyourwebsiteforhigherconversionrate.

Althoughthiscanbeanexpensiveprocesstoundertakeyourself,youcanlearnfromthemanyotherpublishedeyetrackingresultstogiveyouageneralideaofbestpracticeforwebsitecontentplacement.

Measuringtoolsyoushouldconsiderusingtoimproveyourmarketingefforts

Throughoutthisbook,we’vemadereferencetoahostofrelevantresourcesfollowingeverychapterandthischapterwillbenodifferent.However,toclarifyandprovideabetterunderstandingofhowtomeasureyourefforts,eachmajorsocialplatform’sanalyticssoftwareisbrokendownintokeyconsiderations,prosandconsonthenextfewpages.

GoogleAnalytics

Intheabsenceofmarketingautomationsoftware,GoogleAnalyticsprovidessomebasicassistedconversionsandattributionmodellingdata.Youcanusethisdatatotrackthecontributionofallofyourdigitalactivitytowardsthespecificgoalsyoudefine.It’saveryworthwhileexercisegettingtoknowthebasicsofGoogleAnalyticsandbeginningtoexperimentwithsettingupvariousgoalswithinyourwebsite-dependingonhowyourtrafficflowsfromonepagetoanother.

Pros-Canimportdatafromothersources-CaneasilybelinkedwithanyofyourotherGoogleproducts-Continuouslydevelopedtoimprove-Freeonlinetrainingavailable-Createcustomreports-Trackyourowndefinedgoals-CanbelinkedwithGoogleAdwords

Cons-Maximumof20goals-UpgradingtoPremiumisexpensive

-Constantdevelopmentrequiresconstanttraining

Eachsocialmediaplatformalsohasitsownversionofanalyticsandso,independentlyofeachother,youcantrackandmonitortheperformanceofeachchannel.

Thedifferencebetweenmonitoringeachchannelseparatelyandmonitoringendtoendcampaignsissimplythatyou’remeasuringtacticswhenthey’reseparateandyou’reabletomeasuretheeffectivenessofyourentirestrategywhenthey’realllinkedtogetherwithamoresophisticatedsoftwaretool.

TwitterAnalytics

TwitterAnalyticsisavailabletoallusers,notjustadvertisersandverifiedaccountholders.Thismeansyoucantrackandunderstandtheperformanceofeverytweetyoupost.Displayingallofyourmetricsinadashboardformat,youcanviewyouractivity,followerdemographicsandmonitoryourpromotedcontent(ifyou’reusingpaidpromotion).

Pros-Simpleinterfacemakesiteasytobreakdownyourperformance-Seehowyourfollowersareengagingwithyouinrealtime-Downloadabletweetmetrics-Seeyourfollowers’topinterests-Viewhashtagcomparisons-Monitoryourengagementsovera28dayperiod

Cons-Oversimplifiedformanymarketers’needs-Notsophisticatedenoughfordeephistoricalmetricanalysis-Somediscrepanciesbetweenmentions,repliesandretweets

TwitterAdManager

Ifyou’relookingtopaytopromoteyourcontentonTwitter,theirAdManagerplatformisausefultooltohelpyouunderstandthewaysinwhichyourpaidcontentisperforming.

Pros-Keepatrackofyourbudgetandspend-Understandyouraudiencebreakdown-Seetheimpressions/clicks/views/retweetsofyourpromotedtweets

Cons-NotasrobustasGoogleAnalytics-Difficulttosetupcampaignstorunoncertaindaysorduringcertainhoursofindividual

days-Bidsneedtobeadjustedmanually

FacebookInsights

PageInsightsisafreeservicefromFacebook,whichallowsyoutoviewyourpageperformanceasawhole.Displayinginformationinagraph,itoffersarangeofmetricdata,fromnetincreaseinlikestoacomparisonoforganicvspaidreachandvisitstoyourpageandposts.

Pros-Offersahostofdifferentmetrics,includingdemographicinformation-Easytousegraphswhichcanbelifteddirectlytocreatereportsandpresentations-Helpsyouunderstandthepeoplewhomakeupyouraudience

Cons-Fairlystatic–youcanonlydefineyourparametersanddatarangesoncertainmetrics-Therecanbesomediscrepanciesbetweenlikes,commentsandsharesdisplayedandactualengagement

FacebookAdvertsManager

FacebookAdvertsManagergivesyoutheabilitytotrackanindividualadvertorcampaign’sperformanceandmonitoryourspendandbudget.Theinterfaceshowsfrequency,reach,impressions,uniqueclicks,click-throughrateandactiontakenasaresultofyouradverts.

Pros-Constantlyevolvingwithnewfeatures-Simplifieskeepingtrackofyouradspend-Allowsyoutoassignuptosiximagevariantstoeachadvert,makingiteasytoa/btestyouradvertperformance-Specificfilteringmethodsavailablethatallowyoutopinpointkeydemographics,interestsandbuyingbehaviour

Cons-NotasrobustasGoogleAnalytics-Canshowdiscrepanciesbetweenclicks(paid)andactualsessionsonthewebsite-Costperclickisincreasing

LinkedIn:Who’sviewedyourprofileandhowyourankforprofileviews

Asastandardfeature,LinkedInnowincludesdetailsaboutwhohasviewedyourprofile

andwhereyourankwithinyournetworkforprofileviews.Thistoolgivesaverybasicoverviewofhowyou’reperformingontheplatform.

Pros-Incentivisesyoutoimproveyourprofile,ifyourprofileviewsarelow-Displayswhoisviewingyourprofileallowingyoutoanalyseifyou’revisibletotherightpeoplefromtherightindustries-Allowsyoutoanalysethosewhoaretopwithinyournetworktoseehowyoucompare-Suggestswaystoenhanceyourprofiletoimprovepageviewsandrank

Cons-ALinkedInPremiumaccountisneededformoredetailedinsights-Nobreakdownofcontentperformanceisavailable

LinkedIn:CampaignManager

WhenusingLinkedInforbusiness,youmayconsiderusingthesponsoredupdatesfeaturetoboostyourcontent.Theiradvertanalyticsplatformgivesinsightintoyourengagedaudience,impressionsandclicksandallowsyoutomonitorandcontrolyourbudget.

Pros-Specifictargetingmethodsareavailable-Theleadconnectionfunctionallowsyoutofollowuponthosewhoclickyourad-Viewyourimpressions,clicks,leadsandcostperclickfromyouradstable-Viewtheindustriesandjobrolesofyourcampaign’sengagedaudience-Metricdataisavailableingraphformat

Cons-Difficulttoeditcampaignsfromthehomedashboard-Nosearchfeatureforfindingyourcampaignsoradverts-Lackofbulkeditingfeatures-Noconversiontracking

PinterestAnalytics

ForthosewithaPinterestforBusinessaccount,youcangetaccesstoPinterest’sanalyticsfeature.UsePinterestAnalyticstoreviewandtracktheperformanceofyourpinsregularly.

Pros-Seeyourmostviewedandmostpinnedcontent-Accessyouraudience’sdemographicinformationandinterests-Viewwhatdevicespeopleusewhenpinning

-Analysewhereyourreferraltrafficiscomingfrom

Cons-OnlyavailabletoPinterestforBusinessusers-Onlyshowsinformationaboutyourowncontent(asopposedtootherpeople’scontentthatyou’verepined)-Onlyshowsdatafromthedateyouverifiedyourwebsite

Instagram

Atthetimeofwriting,Instagramhaveonlyjustrolledouttheiradvertisingserviceandatpresentitisnotwidelyavailabletoallusers.Althoughinitsinfancy,asapartofthisroll-outtheyhaveincorporatedsomenewtoolstotheplatform,whichincludeaccountinsightsandadinsights,bothofwhichaimtohelpbrandsassesstheirperformance.

Advertisersusingtheservicehaveaccesstorealtimedata,includinginsightsintohowtheirtargetaudiencearerespondingtotheircontent,inasimilarstyletoFacebookInsights.

AnotherinterestingdevelopmentistheAdstagingtool,whichallowsmarketerstocreate,editandcollaboratewithothersontheirpaidadverts,beforetheygolive.

YouTubeAnalytics

Ifyou’republishingcontenttoYouTube,youneedtomakesureyou’reanalysingtheperformanceofyourvideos.Oneofthemostimportantfactorstoconsiderisyourtotalviewcount,buttherearemoreimportantmetricstoconsider–allofwhichareavailableusingYouTube’sAnalyticsplatform.

Pros-Discoverthesourceoftraffictoyourvideo-Providesageographicalanddemographicbreakdownofyouraudience-Understandaudienceretention-Givesanoverviewofsubscribers-Allowsyoutounderstandhowoftenyourvideoissharedsocially-Availabletoallusers

Cons-Videodisplayisnotcustomisable-ToaccessfullrangeofanalyticsyoumustbecomeaYouTubePartner(meaningyoumustdisplayads)-Theplatformisnotassimpletouseasotherservices,suchasWistia

It’sveryeasytobecomeobsessedwiththenumberswhenitcomestodigitalmarketing.

Ifyou’renotclearwhatnumberswilldeliveronyourbusinessobjectives,you’rewastingvaluabletimeandfallingintoaverydenselypopulatedtrap.

Makesureyouhavefullvisibilityofyournetresultsandaclearbreakdownofwhereyou’reinvestingyourtimeandhowit’simpactingyourbusinessgoalsKeepitassimpleaspossibleanddon’tcompromisewithtechnology.

Marketyourbusinessinthemodernageandhaveadashboardthathelpsyoudrivetowardsyourdestinationwithconfidenceandclarity.Continuallyreviewyourgoalsandresults,andmodifyandevolveyourstrategybasedonwhatisgoingwellandwhatisn’t.

It’sthateasy.

Recommendedreading&resourcesBOOKS

InboundMarketingBrianHalliganandDharmeshShah

ThisbookfromthefoundersofHubSpotisacomprehensiveguidetoincreasingonlinevisibilityandengagement.Writtenbytopmarketingandstart-upbloggers,thebookcontainsthelatestinformationaboutcustomerbehaviourandpreferreddigitalexperiences.Fromthelatestinsightsonleadnurturingandvisualmarketingtoadviceonproducingremarkablecontentbybuildingtools,readerswillgaintheinformationtheyneedtotransformtheirmarketingonline.

WatertightMarketing:DeliveringLong-TermSalesResultsBryonyThomas

Astraightforward,straighttalkingbook,WatertightMarketingtakesanin-depthlookathowinboundmarketingdisciplinescandirectlyinfluencethefundamentalsofanybusiness.

SocializetoMonetizeGabrielaTaylor

SocializetoMonetizetakesyouthrough25ofthemajorsocialnetworkingsites,fromsettingthemupthroughtohowtheycanbeeffectivelyleveragedtogeneratemaximumreturn.

ONLINETOOLS

SproutSocialAcomprehensivesocialmediamanagementtool,SproutSocialfeaturesabespokeanalysisandreportingfunction.Youcanreportacrossmultipleplatformsorproducein-depthreportsonindividualchannels,assessingthereachandresonanceofyourmessages.www.sproutsocial.com

CrazyEggCrazyEggprovidesaheatmapvisualisationofwhereinyourcontentpeopleareclickingandwhatpartsofyourpageareviewedmostoften.Thisisparticularlyusefulforassessinglandingpages,allowingyoutocustomiseyourcontentaroundtheplacesthatarebeinginteractedwith.www.crazyegg.com

HubSpotHavingcoinedtheterm‘InboundMarketing’,HubSpothavecreatedoneofthebesttoolsinthebusinesstoenhanceyourinboundmarketingstrategy.Helpingyoutoidentifyand

maximiseyourbuyerpersonas,attractvisitors,convertleadsandclosecustomers,itprettymuchdoesitall.www.hubspot.com

GoogleAnalyticsGoogleAnalyticsisanessentialtoolinunderstandingyourwebsitetrafficsources,ecommercegoals,searchtermsandaudiencedemographics.www.google.com/analytics

DashThisDashThismakesyourreportingtaskssimple,andpullsinformationfromarangeofsources.Allowingyoutocreateweekly,monthly,quarterlyandannualreportsandprovidinganinstantsnapshotofyourperformance,DashThisisagreattooltoaddtoyourarmoury.www.dashthis.com

Radian6Trackyourconversionsacrossdifferentsocialplatformsandmanagemultiplesocialmediaaccountsandcampaignsfromonedashboard.Allowingyoutomonitorsocialmentionsacrosstheweb,youcangainvaluableinsightsintotheconversationsyourtargetpersonasarehavingonlineandengagewiththemonapersonallevel.http://goo.gl/edEeAU

MeltwaterBuzzMonitoryoursocialmediaengagementandanalyticsthroughtheMeltwaterBuzzintelligenceplatform.Allowingyoutodevelopstrongerbrandrelationshipsandgainafullerunderstandingofyoursocialmarketingcampaigns,thistoolhelpsyourecogniseyoursocialmediaROIandactonit.http://www.meltwater.com/

SourceHubSourceHub,fromSocialTalentisafantastictoolwhichallowsyoutogenerateBooleansearchstringsforrecruitingonline.SignificantlycuttingthetimeandeffortinvolvedinrecruitingusingLinkedIn,SourceHubcanhelpyoufindtherightcandidatesquicklyandsimply.https://source.socialtalent.co/

MarketingautomationdownloadDownloadourguidetomarketingautomationatthelinkbelowandstartstreamliningthewayyoumanageyourinboundmarketing.

www.ph-creative.com/Chapter8Resources

Keytakeawaysforchapter8Nowyourstrategyisinplaceandyourtacticsplannedandconsidered,it’stimetothinkaboutmeasuringyoursuccess.Checkoffeachofthebelowpointsasyoucompletethem.

☐Investinoneclearandconcisetooltokeeptrackofyourmarketingactivity

☐Askyourcustomer’sopinionsonyourbusiness

☐Workoutyourconversionrate(andhowtoimproveit)

ANDFINALLY…Sothereyouhaveit.Theendofourwhistlestoptourofthetoolsandresourcesyouneedtogetstartedtobuildyourownrobustanddeliverableinboundmarketingstrategy.

Thegreatthingaboutinboundmarketingisthatit’salmostaliving,breathingthingitself.Constantlyevolvingwithtastesandtrends,thereisveryrarelyadullmoment.That’sbecauseit’saboutpeopleandit’saboutconversations.

Therewillneverbeadefinitiveformulaforyourinboundmarketingand,forus,that’sthebeautyofit.Itwillalwaysbeaboutcreativityandvision.However,whatyou’llfindhereisatriedandtestedrecipeforsuccessthatwillhelpyoutocreatecontagiouscontentsopowerfulitgivesyouraudiencegoosebumps.

Alltoooften,whenyou’reoutonthefrontline,it’seasytoforgetthehumanelementbehindmarketing–webecometooboggeddowninnumbersandtacticswithoutthinkingaboutcraftingemotionandeffectivestorytellingintothemessage.

Nowthattimesarechanging,you’vegottogetcreativeandreactive.Havingyourfingeronthepulseofdigitaltrendswillhelpyoutoremainconsistentlyawareofyourcustomers’needsanddesires.CEOsofcompaniesincludingBlockbuster,WoolworthsandHMVwouldallquietlytestifytotheimportanceofmovingwiththetimesandembracingchange.

Sothequestionis,areyoureadytoembraceinboundmarketing?Areyoureadytochangeyourmindsetandfundamentallyshiftthewayyouthinkaboutbeingsuccessfulinthedigitalspace?

FromCEOstobedroommarketers,thisbookwillhavehopefullyreignitedyourpassionformarketing,highlightedtheimportanceofemotion,storytelling,researchandanalysisandgotyoufiredupandreadytotackleyournextchallenge.

Byfollowingtheprinciplesandphilosophylaidoutinthisbookyoucanstarttomeasuretheresultsofyourmarketingmoreeffectivelyanddemonstratethereturnoninvestmentofyouractivities–thequickestwaytoincreaseyourmarketingbudgetandearnthereputationyou’relookingfor.

Getreadytoharnessnewtechnologyanddriveyourmarketingforwardwithconfidence–cuttingouttheguessworkandachievingthetractionandresultsthatyouneedtosurviveandprosper.Youshouldbestartingtounderstandthatthroughinvestingincontentthatresonateswithyouraudienceyoucancreatereal,rewardingengagement.

We’vewalkedyouthrougheverythingfromdefiningyourbrandandunderstandingyouraudiencetotellingastoryandmeasuringyoursuccess.We’vesuppliedyouwithallthecomponents,toolsandtipsyouneedtocreateaninboundstrategythatstartsgeneratingrealresults.Allthat’sleftisforyoutogetstarted.

Don’twaitforthemarketplaceandyourcustomerstodemandyouworkinthisway,getouttherefirstandmakeanimpactonyourbusiness,beforetherestoftheworldcatchesup.It’saboutlearninghowtodominateyourspacewithavoicethatresonatesacrossatransmedialandscape.Whenthatmessagelands,it’smagnetic,it’scontagiousandyou’reGettingGoosebumps.

Glossary

ADSPEND–theamountofmoneyspentonbothonandofflineadvertisingandpromotions

ADVOCACY–publicsupportfor,orrecommendationof,aparticularcauseorpolicy

AUDIENCESEGMENTATION–theprocessofdividingpeopleintohomogeneoussubgroupsbasedupondefinedcriteriasuchasproductusage,demographics,psychographics,communicationbehavioursandmediause

AUTHORITATIVECONTENT–contentwhichestablishestheauthorasasourceofauthorityandtrust

BLOG–aregularlyupdatedwebsiteorwebpage,writteninaninformalorconversationalstyle

BRANDVALUES–thecorevaluesthatdefineyourcompany’sstrengthsanddifferentiateyoufromyourcompetitors

BUYINGPROCESS–theseriesofstepsthataconsumerwilltaketomakeapurchasingdecision

BUZZWORDS–awordorphrasethatisfashionableataparticulartimeorinaparticularcontext

CALLTOACTION–aninstructiontotheaudiencetoprovokeanimmediateresponse,usuallyusinganimperativeverbsuchas‘callnow’,‘findoutmore’or‘visitastoretoday’

CAMPAIGN–anorganisedcourseofactiontopromoteaproductorservice

‘DELIGHT’CONTENT–keywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoaddvaluetoexistingcustomersorknownprospectsinordertoretainthem,addvalueandprovideongoingopportunitywhateverthatmightbe

DEMOGRAPHIC–thequantifiablestatisticsofagivengrouporpopulation

‘DO’CONTENT–keywords,languageandcontentthataredesignedtoconvincearelativelyqualifiedaudiencetotakesomeformofaction.Thismightnotbemovinginforanimmediatesale,butitcouldbeadownload,arequestforacall,ormoreinformation

EGO-JACKING–theprocessofpositivelyrecommendinganinfluencerwithinyourcontent,withtheaimofprovokingthemtoshareyourcontent

ENGAGEMENT–theinteractionbetweencustomersorwithacompanyorabrand

INFLUENCERS–Individualswhohavethepowertoaffectpurchasedecisionsofothersbecauseoftheir(realorperceived)authority,knowledge,position,orrelationship

INFOGRAPHIC–avisualrepresentationofinformationordata

KEYWORDS–termswhichrelatedirectlytoyourproduct/serviceandarelikelytobesearchedforbyyouraudience

LANDINGPAGE–awebpagewhichservesastheentrypointforawebsiteoraparticularsectionofawebsite

LONGTAILKEYWORDS–keywordphrasesthatconsistofbetweentwoandfivewords,usuallyusedwhensearchingforaspecificitem

NEWS-JACKING–thepracticeofcapitalisingonthepopularityofanewsstorytoamplifyyoursalesandmarketingsuccess

OUTREACH–creativelyreachingouttobrands/businesses/clientswithacreativesolutionoroffer

PATHOS–adirectappealtotheemotionsofyouraudience

RANKING–yourpositiononasearchengineresultspage,inresponsetokeywords,contentandlinksincludedwithinyoursite

RESPONSIVE–awebdesignapproachaimedatcraftingsitestoprovideanoptimalviewingexperienceacrossawiderangeofdevices

SALESFUNNEL–avisualrepresentationofwhereyourbuyersareontheirpurchasingjourney

‘SEE’CONTENT–keywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoattractnew,uninitiated‘strangers’atthestartofthebuyingjourney

SEEDING–findingandapproachinginfluentialwebandblogeditorswhowillfindyourcontentinterestingandengaging,somuchsothattheywillwanttoshareitwiththeirvisitors

SEO–theprocessofaffectingthevisibilityofawebsiteorawebpageinasearchengine'snaturalorun-paid(organic)searchresults

SOCIALAMPLIFICATION–theconceptoftakingapositiveaction–apurchase,alight-touchinteractionorfull-onreview–savingitandthensharingitfarandwide,throughorganicorpaidmethods

SOCIALPROOF–alsoknownasinformationalsocialinfluence,socialproofisapsychologicalphenomenonwherepeopleassumetheactionsofothersinanattemptto

reflectcorrectbehaviourforagivensituation

SOCIALSPACE–aphysicalorvirtualspacesuchasasocialcentre,onlinesocialnetwork,orothergatheringplacewherepeoplegatherandinteract

SPLITTESTING–alsoreferredtoasA/Btestingormultivariatetestingisamethodofconductingcontrolled,randomisedexperimentswiththegoalofimprovingawebsitemetric,suchasclicks,formcompletions,orpurchases

STRATEGY–aplanofactiondesignedtoachievealong-termoroverallaim

‘THINK’CONTENT–keywords,languageandcontentthatisdesignedtoprovidematerialsurroundingyourbrandandthespecificinitialneedsofyouraudience.Thiscontentaddsvaluetotheprocessbyconnectingthebenefitsofyourofferwiththeintrinsicneedsoftheaudience

WEBINAR–aseminarconductedovertheInternet

WORDOFMOUTHMARKETING–thepassingofinformationbetweenanon-commercialcommunicator(i.e.someonewhoisnotrewarded)andareceiver,concerningabrand,product,orservice.

HowPh.Creativecanhelpyou

Establishedforover10years,everythingwedoisfocusedondeliveringremarkableresults.Ourinsight,creativityandexpertisewillhelpyoutoeffectivelytellyourbrandstoryandengagewithyouraudience,whilstconsistentlyhittingyourtoplineobjectives.

Whetheryouneedresponsivewebdesignoraremarkableinboundmarketingcampaign,we'llmakesureyourbrand'svoicestandsoutfromthecrowd.

WHATWEDO

-Webdesignanddevelopment-E-commerce-Inboundmarketing-Socialmedia-CRO-SEO-PPC-UIandUXdesign-Strategy-Videoproduction-Socialadvertising

OURSERVICES

-Consultancy-Inboundmarketingretainer-Audience/personamappingworkshop-Audience/personamappingvalidation-Websiteandsocialmediaaudit-Strategicplanningworkshops-Creativeideasworkshops-Websitedevelopment-Marketingautomationplanning&design

Stayingintouch

Morethananythingelse,we’dlovetoreceivefeedback,storiesoranecdotesofhowthisbookhashelpedyouprogressyourbusinessinsomeway.

We’dalsolovetoansweranyfurtherquestionsyoumayhaveespeciallyifwe’vesparkedanewpassionorinterestwithourideas.Withthisinmindhere’safewwaysyoucanengagewithusandstayintouch.

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