DEREK JETER AND THE UNFORTUNATE RISE OF "MOMENT MARKETING"

Derek Jeter's All-Star game farewell is everything wrong with brand marketing today. (Note: my status as a Red Sox fan has little bearing on this assessment).

A couple of weeks ago I was watching the increasingly boring major league All-Star game when I was forced to sit through three minutes of unabated awkwardness - three minutes of uncomfortable high fiving, forced congratulations, and enough candy sprinkles to fill a Jeter souvenir ice cream helmet (or maybe just a Jeter gift-basket).

The viewing audience were forced to sit through a contrived celebration for the sake of one alarming and concerning trend in brand marketing, something I like to call "Moment Marketing".

In 2013, in the midst of Mariano Rivera's own yearlong self-congratulatory retirement party, during the 2013 All Star game, team Manager Jim Leyland asked his American League team to remain in the dugout while Rivera trotted to the mound for his final All Star game appearance. Viewers held witness to a truly touching moment as Rivera, the greatest Closer in baseball history, stood alone on the mound amid the cheers of thousands of fans in the stadium as well as his professional baseball peers. This moment was shared and viewed millions of times over the coming days in what was undoubtedly heralded as a perfect representation of baseball, perhaps in the same way that Field of Dreams represents baseball - as something more myth than sport.

Of course, this year when Jeter took the field for what would be his final All Star game appearance, the questions for most viewers had to be, "what type of moment will we get this year? How will they top last year's Yankee farewell?" and the rest is, well, nothing to remember at all. Major League Baseball predictably ruined it by force-feeding us a "moment" that even Walt Disney would have dismissed as too sugary, all for the sake of garnering free branding via a moment like Rivera's.

Unfortunately, today's marketing strives so much for these moments - things that are organically shared to the extent that they become marketing campaigns unto themselves - that they end up creating mere representations of what a true moment should look like. What we as the audience are left with aren't moments, but second-rate theater productions. And who wants to share that?

TOP 10 DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS FOR SMALL + LOCAL BUSINESSES

Most marketers and business owners today know the importance of using web marketing, but many small and local businesses are restricted by budget concerns and ROI. Digital marketing tactics should not only drive awareness for small businesses, but they should be highly targeted and powerful enough to generate business. With that in mind, below are the top 10 digital marketing tactics for small and local businesses to get the most out of their limited resources.

1. Facebook ads: Advertising on facebook can be targeted down to the zip code and include targeting toward demographics, interests, education, life stage and more. Ads also run on a cost per click model and new ad formats include promoted posts, offers, event ads, and other creative messaging as well as traditional ad content. Facebook ads can drive to a number of locations either on your website/page or Facebook page, including page “likes”. These ads are the most cost efficient and can build Facebook page fans that can be targeted with timely messaging, promotions, events, new services/products and more.
2. Mobile Search: Mobile searching is extremely important today, especially for local businesses. Someone searching on a mobile device will likely use a local qualifier which gives your local business the edge in PPC results. Google’s recent change to “enhanced ads” give you more control over what messaging appears on mobile devices vs. others. Mobile search ads can be targeted down to zip codes and can drive timely messaging, promotions and content that could result in a distinct advantage over other businesses.
3. Paid search: Tried and true, paid search ads are among the most cost efficient method of presenting targeted messages to interested online users. Local and small businesses want to be sure to refine geo-targets to their immediate areas and use tightly knit, detailed keywords in order to avoid waste.
4. Local SEO: SEO should be considered for all sites in some way, but many local or small businesses can’t compete with larger companies on broad terms. Local businesses should focus on optimizing their websites for their specific locations using geography terms and other local qualifiers. It is also important to optimize for location services such as Google Maps, Yelp, and others in order to show up in as many places as possible for local search results. Some paid services such as Yext will post your business to multiple local sites for a fee.
5. Promotions/offers: It’s not a surprise that online users, like everyone else, love promotions, coupons, offers or deals. Coming up with a couple of promotions will give your small business fodder for messaging in various ad formats including mobile, Facebook and search.
6. Location-Based Networking: Location platforms such as Foursquare and Yelp can be used to your advantage by encouraging visitors to “check-in” or “review” your business there. Incorporate these sites into your business offerings, reciepts, signage, menus and social platforms to give your business additional strengh online.
7. Twitter: Many businesses see Twitter as an inefficient waste of time, but if used properly it can be the most powerful form of marketing you have. Integrate twitter posting and conversation into everything you do, from new products to customers to events, “behind-the-scenes” footage, employees, etc. Over time you will build a solid portfolio of tweets and content which can be used to drive your product messaging in personal ways.
8. Display Banners: Banner ads have the potential to be quite inefficient, but if used properly can be excellent awareness and results drivers. Using a targeted network like Google Display Network allows for geo-targeted ads while choosing specific placements such as local news sites will build additional local awareness. Using promotions, events and specific calls to action will drive higher CTR and more activity.
9. Location Extensions: Google paid search ads now allow for extra location lines in sponsored ads, which means your local business can take up much more real estate in results, giving you an additional advantage over the competition.
10. Social Strategy: I’ve already stated the importance of Twitter, but an overall social marketing strategy ties together Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Linkedin, Tumblr, Instagram, Vine, Foursquare, and more. There are many ways to connect these platforms together so that when something happens in one place, it echos through the others, building a halo effect around your business and keeping the conversation, and branding, going around your brand.

Implementing some or all of the tactics above will lead to more results at lower costs for your small or local business. Don’t wait to get started.

10 DIGITAL MARKETING BUZZWORDS (AND WHY THEY ACTUALLY MATTER)

Everyone knows those words. The ones you hear in meeting after meeting; the ones that are spewed forth from every person who’s somewhat associated with the web, digital marketing or business; the ones that your bosses ask you about that make it sound like your dad asking about that new band “what-their-names” and it makes you want to cringe every time he butchers the phrase and calls Green Day “The Green Eggs and Ham Band”.

Yea, those words: BUZZWORDS.

Like any good rumor or myth, buzzwords are based in more than a semblance of truth. Digital marketing is rife with buzzwords these days, but that doesn’t mean we should discount them. After all, sometimes even an overplayed radio song still has musical merit.

Below are the top 10 buzzwords in digital marketing, and why you should actually care about them:

10. Conversion Rate – Any digital marketer who’s worth anything will frequently mention this phrase, and with good reason. The conversion rate is an essential part of any marketing program because it indicates (in most cases) how successful you are at driving towards your goals from your marketing efforts. A lower conversion rate could be deadly to your campaign, while high conversion rates mean you are doing something right. Most of your efforts in a digital marketing program should be made towards increasing some form of conversion rate.

9. Analytics – Where does the above information come from? Analytics. You’ll see this buzzword everywhere, not just in digital marketing, and it’s mainly due to the sheer volume of data we have at our finger tips in every industry today (just ask the NSA). Analytics is the practice of measuring and analyzing that data to make smart business decisions – decisions that could mean major benefits to you.

8. Digital Experience – We’re moving away from simple conversion statistics to a more comprehensive view of how our online users engage and interact with our brands. This is where digital experience comes into play. A positive digital experience results in not only tangible improvements like sales and leads, but also improved brand perception, SEO, and other hard-to-measure stats.

7. Cross-Channel Attribution – This buzzword has been a digital marketing bugaboo for years, and continues to be a pain point for many marketers trying to assign value to various marketing methods and touch points. How effective is a banner ad at driving conversion down the road? How many times does a customer come to the site before deciding to buy? Questions like those keep this buzzword alive and well.

6. A/B (or Multivariate) Testing – Web testing is a major component of any successful online marketing program because it allows marketers to measure the results from various versions of the same ads, landing pages or experiences. Alongside numbers 9 and 10, this buzzword directly leads to better results from your digital marketing programs.

5. Inbound Marketing – A buzzword in the truest sense, inbound marketing was more-or-less coined by Hubspot (an “inbound marketing platform”) as a way to identify a broader marketing discipline which engages users throughout a decision process by bringing them into your various web channels. It is important to note this term’s efficacy – this new phrase signifies a more universal approach to digital marketing.

4. Lead Nurturing/Scoring – This buzzword is a result of the inbound marketing, cross-channel, and digital experience terms in that it represents the various touchpoints a user might take to become a verified “lead”. By using lead nurturing and lead scoring tactics, you are able to better target your online users to give them more useful content, thereby taking them from “prospect” to “lead”.

3. Content Marketing – Content is the new “SEO” as far as I’m concerned. This buzzword speaks to the movement away from cheap tricks to substantial content strategies for brands. Content marketing will result in a more ubiquitous online brand, more comprehensive marketing program, and more dynamic brand content online, giving your brand a “halo” of useful content for your audiences to read, share and use.

2. Augmented Reality – The rise of mobile has led to a boost in this buzzword, which represents the ability for digital tools to “augment” or improve our physical realities. For example, the Yelp app might help you choose a restaurant more effectively, thus supplementing your physical world with digital information. Marketers are heavily invested in this idea because brands should be creating not only useful content but also useful tools.

1. Digital Storytelling – With content marketing comes digital storytelling, which is the intent for a brand to use online content formats to espouse interesting narratives, points of view or anecdotes to build brand equity. Digital storytelling is not only the “buzziest” buzzword at the moment but also perhaps the most promising and important. Brands are moving away from cheap, shallow marketing messages towards meaningful narratives that audiences can actually relate to.

I DON'T "DO" SEO - HERE'S WHY

i’m going to be honest, i don’t do seo.

There’s a whole industry around optimizing websites for search engines. There are a lot of really smart SEO practitioners, and there are more bad ones. Some claim they are “white hat”, others “black hat” while some will pridefully proclaim “grey hat” status.  Most will sell SEO by pitching keyword optimization, code updates, continual management, copy changes, new pages, inbound link building, and so on. All of these things are extremely important, but they aren’t the most important. They are pieces of a comprehensive content and digital strategy.

As search engines move toward hyper-local, personalized, social results, traditional SEO is on life support. Optimizing for keywords is only useful if content is dynamic. Inbound links are only important if your visitors stick around and share with each other.

Search-friendly content should be your web standard; it’s a tactic that should be present and considered throughout your digital strategy. It should be baked into your website, content and social media. But it shouldn’t be done in a silo.

The best SEO happens when a website draws people in with valuable content, and then uses social media and offline content to share this valuable content to other people who also find it valuable. SEO tactics will make these web components even more powerful. SEO – done alone – will fail in the end. You need the ingredients to make it sustainable. Here’s what you need:

Content element: Below are minimum pieces of content you should prepare and be updating for your brand.

1. A properly structured, clean website.
2. Dynamic, frequently updated content such as a blog.
3. Hubs outside of your website that houses brand content (slideshare, youtube, etc.)
4. Social media links, channels and management programs.
5. Solid online PR strategy.
6. A Content strategy
7. Ways to build initial traffic or distribute content.

Tactics for each content element: Below are the SEO tactics that you should think about and administer for every piece of content you produce. If you don’t know how to do some of these things, have someone to consult you, but make sure you have the above elements in line first.

1. Keyword research – find out what people search on, where there is opportunity, but most importantly how to boil down your content to it’s core based on searchability.
2. Meta-data – All of your content should be prepared with metadata so that search engines can read it.
3. Social tie-ins – Social media buttons should be built into everything you develop online. Adding buttons to your content makes sharing easy and build inbound traffic, discussion and engagement around your brand online.
4. Measurement and optimization – you should always be looking for what works best, what keywords are being used, and what people want to view, download or share. This information should be used to build new content and strategies that work even better in the future.

Like I said, I don’t “do” SEO. SEO is cheap. I’m a digital strategist. SEO is a tactic in my toolbelt which helps be build more effective online brands, websites, content and strategies. SEO is more than about building links and keywords; it's about building brands.

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR B2B: 5 STATS EVERY B2B MARKETER SHOULD KNOW

Some interesting data from Eloqua highlights the importance of incorporating digital marketing into your B2B marketing strategy. Here are the most important tidbits:

1.  "78% of B2B buyers start their research with search." - Search isn't often viewed as the most powerful form of B2B digital marketing, but when paired with a comprehensive lead nurturing program it can be the linchpin of your sales funnel. The most significant word here, however, is "start". People that are using search for B2B are most often just beginning their research, so they are all the way at the top of the funnel. Setting up a system or process to guide these people step-by-step through to a sale is essential. 
2. "51% of B2B marketers currently spend 10% or less of their budget on search." - Ten percent! Clearly there's a disconnect between the perceived value of search for B2B organizations and the real opportunity. Search is the place where you should be reaching out and introducing your brand to interested users, but this stat suggests many B2B organizations are not yet fully realizing it's potential as a lead-generator.
3. "When the average order value is above $10,000, 70% of buyers say they view four or more pieces of content." - Here, content is key. Users that are interested in high-cost products or services (i.e. B2B purchasers) need to be convinced or persuaded. They are researching, collecting, thinking, considering and comparing - and they are using all different types of content to help them make a decision. If your organization doesn't have a system in place to develop, distribute, track and follow up on digital leads, now's the time to start.
4. "78% of B2B buyers go directly to vendors’ websites." - Your website is an extension of your sales team, but does it act like it? Many organizations simply have a website because they think they should, and often times they end up acting as a static brochure with a contact button. Start thinking about your website as a dynamic source of sales content for all audiences, and you'll transform your digital channels from brochures to lead-machines.
5. "50% of B2B buyers turn to social media/peer reviews." - Social media is often neglected by B2B organizations because they don't see any value there. However, it's clear that many buyers are using social channels as trust-building tool. Make sure your sales and content system integrates social media channels so that, when a potential buyer is looking for a review, you're able to help them find it in the form of customer testimonials, case studies, and personal contact. Although social media can be "the wild west", at times, your presence there means you can control the message and what people see while researching.

There is no clear-cut template for B2B marketing success. Your organization should put thought into what audiences care most about and what questions they might have when considering your product or services, and you need to put in the time and processes to develop content that guides them through the sales funnel. But the proof is in the pudding, B2B buyers expect to see your organization online from lead to sale - how will you get them there?

SHOULD YOU BE USING FACEBOOK ADS?

I still get a lot of push-back on Facebook ads.

I get it, Facebook is now losing more users than they are gaining, there are continued concerns about privacy, some question the effectiveness of the ads themselves, others simply do not see the value.

But Facebook is a worthy ad platform. Here's why:

1. It has 6 billion active users, most of whom log on every single day (or multiple times per day) to "like" activities, check up on friends and family, or share their own experiences. That's a huge number of people who are in a captive environment and are consciously wasting time - i.e. are in the right mindset to click on something if it's interesting enough.
2. Users openly share what they are interested in, resulting in unmatched relevancy and targeting opportunities. Targeting with Facebook ads includes showing ads to people who outwardly "like" specific groups or topics, those who are simply connected to groups or topics via behavior, and users who are connected to others that are interested in specific topics or targets.
3. On that same note, connection targeting is powerful and hasn't truly been used properly yet. Studies show that people trust referrals above any other form of advertising - Facebook ads tap into this with their connection targeting which shows ads/pages to users based on whether their friends like it. This adds a level of social credibility to your brand or ad.
4. Powerful demographic targeting can layer on top of other targeting to allow for specific messaging, creative or approaches. 
5. It's very effective for content, promotions or events. Although Facebook ads drive a ton of impressions, its impact on awareness is still a question mark. What's not a question, at this point, is whether Facebook ads can successfully promote limited time events, promotions or content. Users are highly likely to engage with one of these ad types and calls to action. If your brand uses offers, relies on events, or produces interesting content (especially things that are audience-targeted), you'd do well to jump on Facebook ads.
6. It's cost-efficient. Facebook runs on a cost per click model, like Google Paid Search ads, but the targeting levels and lower competition means lower costs and high impression levels.
7. Drive page "likes" or website traffic. Though I've seen greater success in page likes, which generate a captive and recurring audience to talk to, you can also drive content downloads or website visits, just like any other online ad. This gives you flexibility based on campaign objectives and long term goals.

Facebook ads aren't for everyone; B2B advertisers will have to put much more thought into their overall marketing program or CRM before truly committing to Facebook, which other advertisers should carefully consider how to best exploit Facebook's targeting and content features to drive specific objectives. With those things take into consideration, Facebook is a valuable digital marketing tactic for many brands today.

6 CONTENT MARKETING SECRETS REVEALED!

CONTENT MARKETING WAS ONE OF THE BREAKOUT DIGITAL MARKETING STARS OF 2013. Today IT'S CLEAR THAT CONTENT MARKETING SHOULD BE A KEY PART OF YOUR BRAND'S DIGITAL STRATEGY GOING FORWARD.

But what does that really mean? At this point you're probably aware of the importance of content marketing (hint: it's really important), where it lives (hint: basically everywhere online), and what it does (hint: uses content to drive brand awareness, engagement and positioning), but there are certain secrets you may not know. Worry not, we've done the digging for you and uncovered six secrets about content marketing that you need to know.

it's not about the product, it's about the audience.

Content marketing means you have to do some content creation, or at least share relevant content. However, most think this simply means finding material directly related to your brand's products or services. E.g., you're a cupcake maker therefore all web content must be related to cupcakes!
The secret: It's all about your audience.
It is very likely that your audience cares about cupcakes about as much as they care about the paint on the wall - that is, not very. And why should they? Unless you are a cupcake maker or sever cupcake enthusiast, how often do you think about them? How often do they impact your life? The best approach to content is to first find out WHO your audience is (or audience segments) and then determine WHAT they care about. Then, craft or share content they will care about, preferably not related to cupcakes. For example, is your cupcake brand is a bit edgy and young? Find out what "the kids" are interested in these days and create a blog post about it, or continue to share content on your social channels that this audience would find valuable.

you can't automate your way to success.

Many digital marketers have settled into the comfortable "hands-off-the-wheel" approach to content marketing by automating tweets, posts and responses.
The secret: Automating your social or content marketing is doomed for failure.

A successful content marketing plan requires not just time and effort, but a long term plan, research, and a comprehensive strategy. Who is the audience? What type of content will work best? When should the content be distributed? Who is updating what? Build a set of guidelines and strategies, and make sure to revisit them every couple of months, review results, and refine your practices based on what's working or not working.The secret: Content marketing takes time and can be costly in the form of hours, but it simply cannot replace paid advertising (in most cases).Content marketing isn't just about being there, it's about bringing something to the table. Automation inherently fails to do this, and users will figure it out before too long. Instead of automating your content, set up a schedule for you or your team to check-in on your social channels at regular intervals during the day (unless you have a dedicated person, then they should just live in it). When checking in, make sure to post, share, and engage with communities. For blog posts it's certainly okay to have a queue of posts ready to go, especially if you've used an editorial calendar to build timely content, but make sure to work in more relevant content that is not scheduled.

you probably can't avoid paying for advertising.

Content marketing is becoming a major player in its importance and effectiveness for driving results, so many have taken to reducing or even eliminating ad budgets.

Content marketing doesn't happen in a vacuum. There is a hierarchy of value and intent throughout the digital experience, and content marketing fits within just one piece of it. Advertising sits in another, just as your website does. All of these channels and elements are necessary because they all serve different purposes. Although content marketing can result in leads or sales, its audience is at a different stage of the process. Advertising mostly reaches "top of funnel" users, introducing them to the brand or reminding them of your products and services. In many ways content marketing keeps them around and makes them loyal. Cutting off advertising would be cutting off a significant step in the customer acquisition process.  

you're in it for the long-haul.

Some marketers think that simply starting a blog or posting a few times on Facebook is enough to warrant "content marketer" status.
The secret: Content marketing isn't a short term solution, it's a long-term commitment.

it takes more time than you think...

A common misconception about content marketing is that it doesn't require the amount of time and effort as other channels.
The secret: Unfortunately jumping into Facebook once a week and sharing a news article doesn't qualify as content marketing. Content marketing needs concentrated time and effort to succeed.
Scouring for interesting content can be hard. Responding to community comments can be time consuming. Logging in and out of social channels might get tedious. Keeping track of blog posts, link sharing and user comments isn't easy.

...but it's not as hard as you think.

Content marketing takes a lot of time, can get frustrating, and doesn't have a simple path for success.
The secret: Content marketing isn't supposed to be hard!


Content marketing is just the thoughtful way that your brand creates, distributes, and shares interesting information to people. It's a conversation, and it shouldn't be laborious. In fact, it can be fun, and once it is, people will respond in kind. Nobody wants to engage a robot in conversation anyway, and they definitely don't care about talking to a "company".
The biggest secret: Be strategic in your approach and personable in execution; it's just content marketing, after all
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WHY INBOUND?

A website cannot be successful if it lacks three things:

1. Purpose
2. Usability
3. Traffic

Without purpose, your website doesn't have goals to strive towards.

Without usability, your website cannot facilitate successful experiences or desired results.

Without traffic, your website is a ghost town. 

Inbound marketing exists not only to help websites meet all three of these needs, but to meet these needs in new, interesting, efficient, and sustainable ways based on your brand's goals. It doesn't just bring people into the site, it brings the right people to your site at the right time. It builds content that your audience wants to read or engage with. It sets your brand up for maximum user impact across channels. It encourages sharing, conversation and action.
Most of all, inbound marketing helps your brand become successful online.