Archives for September 2017

What is Marketing Automation?

September 25, 2017 by Daniel Laws 1 Comment

Marketing automation is software that helps businesses automate marketing and sales initiatives to generate more leads, close more deals, and measure marketing success better. It gives businesses the power to take action based on the behaviors of prospective customers. On average, 51% of companies are currently using this tactic. With more than half of B2B companies (58%) planning to adopt this technology shortly.

How can marketing automation help your business?

Using a marketing automation software can help your business to improve efficiencies, personalize your marketing messages, connect marketing to closed sales deals, and measure your strategy effectively. To some degree, you can set-up marketing campaigns and leave it on “autopilot” while focusing on other business objectives. When used effectively, it will align your sales and marketing teams towards a common goal.

What are some features of marketing automation tool?

Below are few common features:

Lead Scoring – score prospects based on behavior so you can followup with proactive prospects.

Lead Nurturing – automatically stay in communication with prospective customers through the sales process

Prospect Tracking – identifies activities that prospects have interacted with on your website or marketing

Email Marketing – email design templates to send, test, and measure the effectiveness.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tool Integrations – connecting your leads with marketing activities that closed deals.

Integrated Reporting – see where leads come from, which campaigns are working, and the number of deals closed

This is just a brief list of the options it provides. With technology always improving, there are bound to be many more to come.

Should your company be using it?

If you have a contact database and are proactively marketing your company’s products or services, YES. The saying goes, “80% of sales come from 20% of advertising.” Marketing automation will provide some clarity into specifically which advertising efforts are working. By measuring your funnel, you can identify issues to the process and create strategies to improve conversion rates.

What do you need to know about marketing automation software?

It all starts with a strategy. Without a strategy, you have no chance of success! Marketing automation software can be complex, so start with the fundamentals and grow from there. It’s important to have standards for your contact data and keep it organized. Otherwise, you’ll end up with garbage in your CRM which will cause your marketing automation to be ineffective..

Lastly, you must have or create relevant content in different formats (text, images, gif, video, data sheets, case studies, etc.). Relevant content is king, and without it, you are just a peasant in your industry!

If you want more on marketing automation, drop us a line or comment with your feedback or suggestion.

The Latest Web Design Trends

September 18, 2017 by Dabrian Marketing Group 7 Comments

Here at DaBrian Marketing Group, we are always staying up-to-date with the latest web design and development news. We incorporate what we learn into our process and share it with the world. In past blogs, we have discussed best practices for website design and for better user experience (UX) for the respective year. Our Creative Director, Mark Mapp, wrote both 5 B2B Web Design Trends to Consider in 2016 and Five New Web Design Trends for 2015. Now it’s time to reflect on the trends of 2017 and what the year has brought to us, along with what has survived over the years.

Surviving Web Design Trends

Some web design trends we have seen in the past are still going strong today and will most likely continue to do so in the foreseen future. Unique fonts, for example, continue to expand across the web. We’re no longer looking at the standard Arial or Helvetica fonts on every website. As Google Fonts continues to bulk up their library, our options online do as well.

Another trend that continues to sticks around is the Card Design style layout. As we continue to head towards a mobile world, I predict this will become even more popular since it creates an easily stackable layout for mobile devices.

One last surviving trend is the one, long scrolling page. This ties right into the mobile-first approach, saving users load time and in turn data when navigating your website.

Upcoming Web Design Trends

With mobile devices taking over as the go-to device to access the internet, all of our web design practices are gearing toward that future. Because of this, the practice of Minimalism is becoming a more relevant trend. Too often sites of the past had crowded, text-filled areas. This presented the user with too much information at once. As things go mobile, we need to reevaluate how we present information. We need to use symbols, images, and keywords to get our message across as clearly and efficiently as possible.

Since one-page websites are taking a front seat in our design process, so are scrolling anchor points. While scrolling saves a user’s load time, you still want them to navigate to the information as quickly as possible. This is where anchors come in. Anchors give you click points that will take users directly to the relevant content on the page they’re looking for instead of scrolling through it all to find what you want.

A surprising twist this year is that imagery is making a comeback in design instead of the illustrations and vectors we’ve seen these past few years. Large, high-quality images are being used; not to convey a specific message but to support the overall focal point or story being told. Keep in mind that whenever possible you want to have original photos to make your website stand out from the crowd. Otherwise, your site may end up looking like everyone else’s in your industry from using the same stock photography.

Looking Forward

In everything that you read about web design trends these days, the overall message is very clear. Design with mobile in mind first by keeping everything simple and as clean you can. Avoid the clutter and cut down the content. These tips can apply to all web design projects.

Which web design trends have you noticed? Let us know in the comments below!

Social Media Marketing: An Effective Sales Tool For B2B Companies

September 12, 2017 by Dabrian Marketing Group 1 Comment

Social media marketing initiatives do not have to be strictly for business-to-consumer (B2C) companies. Yes, social media is used for connecting with loved ones, watching dog memes (because who doesn’t love doing this?), and sharing cool activities you’ve done recently, but we can’t forget one important detail. These same people have day jobs that your company could do business with.

Business-to-business (B2B) companies have the same opportunities to create relationships and leads with other professionals to grow business and increase revenue.

Where to Start with B2B Social Media Marketing

LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ are all social platforms a B2B manager should utilize.

LinkedIn is clearly the one platform that has the reputation for being for professionals. It includes tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator and advertising methods like Sponsored InMail that assist with targeting the right prospects.

Twitter

Some may find this surprising, but Twitter falls second in generating leads. Most of my clients, whether B2B or B2C, are actively engaging with other businesses on Twitter. This on-the-go app makes it easy to share quick snippets and enticing phrases that lead to content and strengthen the case to work with you. Google also takes into consideration Twitter signals where individual tweets have the potential to be linked directly on the search and help your rankings. Plus, posting a few times per day is accepted here, so share as many articles, stories, or images as you’d like!

Facebook

Facebook is the head honcho of social media, but it’s mostly considered as a B2C marketing channel, however, this needs to be part of your social media marketing strategy as a B2B company. Use photos and videos to catch the attention of users on your latest new content, industry statistics, or share expert advice.

Facebook Live is another great visually appealing way to start the conversation with prospects by having them comment during the stream. There are multiple other ways to target B2B prospects such as social advertising or as simple as engaging with another business’ content. Experiment to find out what works for you.

Google+

Google+ has over 300 million users as of 2016 – believe it or not. While many businesses don’t take advantage of this platform, it has its perks for any B2C or B2B company. Forming communities on G+ will help start the conversation with customers and prospects. These communities can serve as forums to aid with customer service or chat with leads. On top of this, the search engine optimization (SEO) benefits are also exceptional since Google search and Google+ integrated. Google has slight favoritism for its own social platform.

You might as well get used to using it now because it’s not going anywhere. By 2050, it’s reported that every business will have a Google Plus page.

Share Relevant Content Consistently

Grasping the concept of reaching out to prospects through social media is easy, however, what to post may not be. Content marketing is critical when utilizing social media for your business. Show your audience and your prospects that you are an industry thought-leader and know what you’re talking about! And hey, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing. All it takes is the time and knowledge to create a piece of material that’ll convince your future customers to sign on with you. Drive people to your website. Make let them learn more about what you have to offer. Get people talking about your brand!

Monitor Your Online Brand and Reputation

People always have an opinion about your work or company. This could be from your employees, customers, or competitors. Unfortunately, social media is typically the first place people go to complain or share negative feedback. Being the first to respond and to react to these situations will only allow for a better outcome.

But don’t forget to thank those who give you the 5-star reviews, too! Appreciating your customers for taking the time to share their experience will go a long way.

Regular Social Monitoring Helps With:

– Voluntary Feedback

– No matter the sentiment behind the review, it can only improve products/services, attract customer, and allow for additional customer service.

– Employee Actions, Images, and Posts

– Some companies have strict social media policies that restrict an employee in engaging in certain behaviors online.

– Handling an Immediate Crisis

– Negative feedback can spread like a wildfire in today’s online world. Be the first to address the situation and hopefully, convince the user to take it down.

– Attracting New Customers

– When your content is shared, you have the ability to get in front of new prospects you might never have thought of.

– Tracking Competitors and Industry Trends

– What are you competitors talking about? What’s trending? What should you be addressing in your feed?

Social Media Marketing is Right for Your B2B Company

Social media marketing works hand-in-hand with content marketing, search engine optimization, customer service, brand management, and so much more. Skipping out on this marketing tactic is a mistake. When you find the right platforms and strategy for your business, your sales will reflect this. Your hard work will pay off as long as you keep at it.