Social marketing map that every marcom manager should have

If you’re a marketing communications manager who’s involved with or wants to become involved with social media, then Overdrive Interactive’s Social Media Map is a must-have tool.

It includes everything from social bookmarking and B2B social networking sites to social networks, video sites and more–complete with links to each site.

Thanks to my Twitter Tweep @MichaelGass for uncovering this handy social media map.

Share your keyword bank development process on the Integrated Marcom Minute Blog.

Leverage keywords to boost SEO on all marcom content

Integrated marketing communications can be more effective with a “keyword bank or glossary” (That’s your company’s inventory of keywords and phrases.) Some B2B marketers only think of keywords in the context of a website. When you think beyond your website, you can leverage your keywords and phrases to boost search ranking from all of your integrated marketing communications.

Share your company’s keyword bank with colleagues, agencies, outsourced copywriters and anyone responsible for writing online or offline content. Need help developing your keyword bank?… download my free Integrated Marcom Planner Keyword Bank worksheet.

Share your keyword bank development process on the Integrated Marcom Minute Blog.

Four ways B2B marketers are using Twitter

Twitter is the latest microblogging platform that B2B marketers are using to generate leads; build brands; and for long selling cycles, continue the conversation. Should you use Twitter in your integrated B2B marketing communications program? Read Integrated Marcom Minute to learn more about Twitter including a list of more than 30 B2B companies that are using Twitter and a link to “tweetiquette.”

Are you or your B2B marketing colleagues using Twitter?

Tell us on the Integrated Marcom Minute Blog.

Are microsites hurting your marketing campaigns?

Your integrated marketing communications manager embarks on a new campaign for a product launch… we’ll call it big-idea. So you buy “big-idea.com” and drive as much traffic as possible. The challenge is that “big-idea.com” doesn’t have a lot of recognition by search engines. It takes months to build it, so your product launch will take longer to gain traction. Plus your email messages may be affected if the new domain hasn’t been added to white lists.

Alternative… create a microsite from your main website i.e. “companywebsite.com/big-idea.” Search engines already know you as “companywebsite.com” and since that site is already indexed and white listed, your new product launch will get greater visibility right from the start.

What do you think?

Tell us on the Integrated Marcom Minute Blog.

Ten Places to Integrate Your Online and Offline Marketing Communications

Here’s a quick marcom checklist for integrating your offline marketing communications with your online presence:

1. Brochures (thanks to templates, you’ll probably never forget this one)
2. Postcards & holiday cards (this one may reference a microsite or landing page URL)
3. Business cards (use the back side for even greater emphasis)
4. White papers, case studies, publications (use specific URLs tied to the content i.e. www.company.com/specific-white-paper)
5. Envelopes & stationery (again… link to specific landing page if contents are promotional)
6. Product labels
7. Packaging
8. Promotional items (jackets, tee shirts, flash drives, key chains and more)
9. PowerPoint presentations
10. Videos, podcasts, webinars (anything that customers can view, download or print)

Tell us on the Integrated Marcom Minute Blog.

A must-have website checklist that every marcom manager should read…

Whether you’re responsible for product pages, general content or a commerce site, this list can help. It’s one of the most comprehenisive website checklists that I’ve seen. That’s why Stoney deGeyter calls it “The Best Damn Website Checklist, Period.”

What do you think?

Tell us on the Integrated Marcom Minute Blog.

Does your B2B business need a MySpace?

It depends… if you go back to marketing basics, go where your market is. So if your target market is on MySpace or Facebook, then it could make sense for you to be there, despite the fact that many B2B marketers think social sites are more applicable to B2C marketing. If you decide to have a social component or two into your marcom mix, visit this post from onlinemarketingconnect for a primer on what to consider.

What do you think about integrating social media into a B2B marcom mix?

Click here and tell us on the Integrated Marcom Minute Blog.

Are your title tags driving traffic or just taking up space?

Whether you’re a copywriter, author, or anyone who’s ever written anything, you know the importance of a good title. It’s what draws readers in. But somehow the importance of the title doesn’t translate to web pages.

If you wrote 5 books, would you give them all the same title?

Or if you wrote 5 white papers, would you just use your company name as the title? Of course not!

Yet this happens all the time on websites. I’m talking about the title tag–the part of a website that appears in the blue box at the top of your browser.

The title tag tells search engines what the page is about. So your title tag should be relevant to the page content. And you have about 65 characters to work with. That means if you use your company name, you could be sacrificing characters and visitors if you don’t get to the point and include a few keywords.

What about branding?

It depends on the page. If it’s the home page or an upper level page, then it may be appropriate to include the company or brand name. However if the page is designed for conversion or selling, then the more relevant the title the more likely you’ll drive qualified traffic… provided the rest of the meta data and page include relevant keyword-rich content.

Here’s a good MarketingProfs article on title tags. And when you arrive on the article page, check out the title tag as it appears at the top blue box on your browser.

Share your thoughts on writing effective title tags.

Landing page copywriting… how long should it be?

In general, the least amount of copy you can use to get your message across is best–no surprise there. However, you should also consider the following variables according to Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, Director, MarketingExperiments.com:

* Cost: low=less copy; high=more copy
* Perceived risk: low=less copy; high=more copy
* Level of Commitment: low=less copy; high=more copy
* Motivation: emotional/impulse=less copy; rational/analytical=more copy

So what does that tell us about copy length on landing pages?
The more complex and costly the product and the greater the commitment and consideration process, the more copy you may need on your landing page and vice versa.

Remember to test your landing page copy first.

Tell us about your landing page copywriting length experience.

SEO copywriting… how to select the most effective keywords.

Copywriting for search is not just about driving lots of traffic. Copywriting should help drive the right traffic that will convert into customers. Interested buyers who are further along in the selling cycle search on more specific problem or solution keyword phrases like “minimizing risk on underwriting seniors’ insurance policies” or “risk management software for reinsureance businesses.” A serious buyer wouldn’t just search for “risk management.”

Make sure your copywriting reflects what buyers are looking for, and you’ll convert more visitors into buyers. Learn more… download your free copy of my Integrated Marcom Planner and go to page 4–Keyword Bank Development.

How much does a podcast cost? Where can you find podcasts?

Get answers to these and other questions on podcasting in my newly revised “Podcasting Demystified…How to generate leads and boost conversions with podcasts. Click here for your free copy.

Web 2.0 Analytics — What should you measure?

With the interactivity of web 2.0 such as social media and user generated content (UGC) we should be measuring “engagement” (there’s that word again). Your web analytics solution should enable engagement metrics in addition to the usual opens, clicks and conversions.

What are engagement metrics?…

* analyze click stream data (defined as what happens after the initial click-thru i.e. I click the link and then… fill out the form, partially fill out the form, abandon the form, etc.)
* sessions/visit
* repeat visits
* downloads, uploads

The above items aren’t really new. It’s just that we were caught up measuring the more concrete opens, clicks and conversions. In addition to the above, here are the web 2.0 and RIA-type (Rich Internet Application) metrics we should be monitoring:

* review any comments/posts, joins, votes, subscribers
* event stream analysis — newer web analytics providers should track things like zooming, rotating, adding content, etc. made possible by including event tags in the programming applications like Flash, Java, etc.

Collectively all of these elements help you continuously improve the effectiveness of your integrated online marketing campaigns.

An overlooked element on autoresponders?

Autoresponders are the “thank you” pages that pop up after you’ve submitted a form. They’re also great places to integrate with your website. Good integrated marketers do more than say “thanks” on their autoresponders. They integrate their online campaign back to their web or microsite. You can too, by including a link or even a navigation bar on your autoresponder. (But don’t make the mistake of misplacing your navigation bar… click here to learn more.)

Simple technique to optimize your web copy for search…

Include at least a few keywords and phrases from each page’s meta data in the copy for that page. For example, if your metadata says “write better copy faster,” then the page should include the same keyword phrase where it makes sense. A good rule is to include the keyword phase in one of the H1, H2, or H3 headers as well as in the paragraph that follows. Search engines often determine relevance by the placement of keywords and phrases.

Three simple ways to get a double-digit lift in response…

* Use postcard-style layout
Postcard-style emails can boost click-through rates by as much as 50% compared to the popular newsletter-style format.
(postcard style refers to large graphic with a call to action and varied cell blocks containing text and graphics)

* Include your company name or brand name in the subject
Subject lines with your company or brand name had a 60% boost in open rate compared to those without branding.

* Use text links instead of graphic or image links
Text links received 83% more clicks than image links.
*

Source: 2006 SilverPop study.

Big mistake on landing pages… are you making it too?

Nothing kills conversion rates faster than a navigation bar on your landing page. What’s worse than a navigation bar? No landing page at all… sending click thrus to your home page!

The idea behind the landing page is to provide specific content based on a specific action — usually completing a form. When you give visitors more than a “submit” button, you’re shooting yourself in the foot… not to mention blowing a huge hole in your conversion rate.

And above all, avoid sending visitors to a generic web page expecting them to find the special offer that inspired them to click thru to your site in the first place. Use a landing page that reiterates the offer and its benefits. Plus make the form easy to access — above the fold — and easy to complete.

Does your copy answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”
Increase readability and response by understanding your audience and making certain the copy addresses their concerns. Put your copy to the test. Read through your website or a sales brochure from your audience’s perspective. Then, ask yourself, “What’s in it for me?”

If you clearly understand the benefits, then you’ve passed the “What’s in it for me?” test. If not, you could be losing website visitors and wasting direct mail or sales brochure dollars.

Are you SHOUTING at your website visitors?
Use large fonts sparingly (18+ point size – i.e. wow!). Highlighting one or two words is an effective way to get visitors’ attention. However, when overused, they can be perceived as Shouting.

Does teaser copy really increase response?
Teaser copy is a strong offer or statement placed on the outer envelope of a direct mailer — i.e. “Free Gift Enclosed” or “Open Now… dated material.” The purpose is to arouse curiosity and entice the prospect to read further. It’s difficult to predict the outcome. In his book, Business to Business Direct Marketing (NTC Business Books, 1998), Bob Bly, a leading business-to-business direct marketing consultant, suggests testing a portion of the mail list to determine if the teaser copy influences response.

When in doubt… don’t.

It’s o.k. to leave off the teaser — it may even increase your response.

Keep the following tips in mind:

Test a portion of your mail list before rolling out to the entire list.

In business-to-business direct response marketing, teaser copy can indicate “junk mail” and may be trashed before it leaves the mail room.

Teaser copy can be more effective in one-to-one selling such as consumer or small business where mail is less likely to be filtered.

Try copy that is less sales-oriented such as “important account information enclosed.”

Use a first class live stamp instead of bulk or metered mail. Studies show that first class live stamps outperform metered and first class bulk mail in eliciting response.

A provocative way to sell technical products without looking like a catalog.
The magalog is a cross between a magazine and a catalog. It’s an engaging way to provide informative technical articles while “soft-selling” related products and services. Other benefits include: cross-selling, up-selling, and strengthening brand affinity.

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