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DaBrian Marketing Blog: News, Insights, and Digital Marketing

Rebranding of adCenter & Search Alliance

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I’ve just finished taking the Bing Ads Accreditation exam , which is free until the end of September. Microsoft is graciously offering this exam for free as part of its rebranding promotion, which includes the renaming of adCenter to Bing Ads and Search Alliance to Yahoo! Bing Network. Offering something for free is always good at getting attention; in my opinion however, Microsoft did this a bit hastily.

What’s In A Name?

Image courtesy of InlineVision.com

The first issue with offering the Bing Ads test for free is the lack of updated questions. Sure, there are a few questions on updates to adCenter/Bing Ads features. The problem is that throughout the test the questions constantly reference adCenter, not Bing Ads! This also holds true for the Yahoo! Bing Network, which is never mentioned in the test either. Microsoft, if you are offering the test free for rebranding purposes, it makes more sense to make sure you call your own advertising platform (Bing Ads) and Network (Yahoo! Bing Network) by the correct name.

PPC Done By the Books

On top of missing a great opportunity to drill the correct/new name of Bing Ads and the Yahoo! Bing Network into the accredited professionals’ heads (assuming they pass the exam), the substance of the test still seems to be mostly textbook definitions. The only exception is when Microsoft starts asking about how to navigate and use their desktop editor, which is still called adCenter desktop in the test. Although this tool is useful for agencies who manage multiple accounts, it is not a necessity for everyone that manages a PPC campaign on Bing Ads to download and use the desktop editor.

As a recently re-accredited Bing Ads professional, I would love to hear your feedback on the rebranding and renaming of Bing Ads and the Yahoo! Bing Network. Also, if you have taken the Bing Ads test, please share your thoughts about it in the comments section below.

Tips to Move Towards Big Data & Enterprise Solutions Part 2

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Last week, I released my Tips to Move Toward Big Data & Enterprise Solutions that focused on your organization internally.  This week’s 5 Tips to Move Towards Big Data & Enterprise Solutions are focuses on projects and customer outcomes from the data.

1. Think Data Quality & Security

In this day and age, it’s critical that you think of data quality and security for the long-term.  What’s the point of having data if it’s not worth a damn?  Work to implement data quality testing and regular data quality checks to ensure that you’re collecting as well as filtering to the necessary databases or solutions.

With all of the privacy issues and customer concerns, you’ll need to create data security policies and procedures.  I would advise that you openly display your data collection polices on your website as well.  The IAB is a great resource to help you self-regulate online behavioral advertising and how you use data.

2. Start small with a project

Rome wasn’t built in a day and Cesar didn’t build it by himself, so start with small projects.  This will help get departments to collaborate and build relationships.  It will also help to identify issues that would adversely impact larger projects so that you can develop a plan to solve the issues. Small projects will be the building blocks of long-term solutions for big data and enterprise solutions.

In my experience, if you can show proof of a successful small project, it will help the decision-maker to see the value and provide justification for universal data as well as the implementation of enterprise solutions.   Tie the small project to brand or high-level strategic goals and objectives, and it will improve your level of internal support.

3. Focus on High Value & Good Customers

The small projects should focus on high value customers.  It’s recommended that you look to answer questions about high value customers, such as who they are, how they interact with your brands, what marketing tactics are critical to conversions, etc. Again, align this information back to your organization’s goals & objectives to gain internal support.

4. Focus on Insights & Outcomes

The high value customers generally account for a large part of revenues, so focus on insight and outcomes that align with revenue generation. Think about what causes high value customers to complete an action or task.  Sometime that data can help you develop hypotheses that can later be validated with surveys or focus groups.  It’s recommended that you connect the quantitative and qualitative data but it needs to be simplified so everyone internally can understand the value of the data.

5. Don’t Measure Everything, Measure what Matters to the Project/Customers!

I’d heard many people say, “Measure everything,” and I understand the thorough process behind it.  If you’re looking to move toward big data & enterprise solutions, I would recommend only measuring what matters for your specific project.  How do you ensure that you’re capturing the data that matters?  It starts with a measurement plan that aligns goals, objectives and KPIs for your project.

Conclusions

This list of tip should help to get your organization on the path toward “Big Data and Enterprise Solutions” but it’s not the end all, be all document.  It should get your thinking about internal, external, and the politics that comes with navigation across business unit to develop value for marketing and your customers.  Let us know what type of progress your organization is making and send us your recommendations to expand the list.

Tips to Move Toward Big Data & Enterprise Solutions Part 1

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With all of the talk about “Big Data”, I thought it was about time that I provide you with a few recommendations to get your organization moving to leveraging large amounts of data. The beauty of having big data is that you can be statistically confident when testing.  Small businesses don’t always have the luxury of this when looking to get a large sample size.

After years of working for organizations such as Liberty Mutual, Sovereign Bank, Idearc Media, and numerous clients (Comcast, Merck, Helzberg Diamonds to name a few), I want to share what I’ve learned about Big Data.  Below are my top 10 tips for big data or developing enterprise solutions that can make a difference:

1. Leadership & Way of Life

You’ll need leadership that’s focused on the facts, invested in people/technology, and constantly pushing for better customer value.  At this time, leadership will need to put up or shut up every step of the way.  Prove it to your customers and employees with actions based on big data that’s part of the organizational goals & objectives!

2. Integrate and Simplify Solution Platforms

Simplify and integrate solutions for optimum efficiency as well as consistency of terminology.  Use solutions that are designed and configured to work together; otherwise you’ll spend time and money trying to connect the dots instead of analyzing the information.  This shouldn’t be limited to digital information, but should include CRM, calls, web analytics, testing, advertising, etc.

3. Invest in Time & People

Spend the time to do the research on big data solutions, recommendations from the field, retailers, etc. Big Data is still young, so this will be a continuous process and the technology will evolve.  You’ll need to educate people to evolve with the technology and methodology in order to analyze different types of data sources and integrate new technology. A statistician and developer will most likely be your number 1 priorities. The statistician is the numbers guru that will make sense of things, and the developer will help connect the information to solutions with APIs.

4. Consistency of Language & Terminology (classification) across the company

Everyone across the organization must use the same language regardless of their geographic location, and the definitions must be documented.  You should think beyond metrics and include meta usage as well as tagging. If not, you’ll run into issues integrating the data and people understanding what reports or dashboards are showing.

5. Leverage Statistics

Leverage your statistician’s experience and expertise with testing that drives business success. In college, most of the business programs required statistics, and it’s time that you start using it!

 Here are a few ideas that I would recommend:

  • Correlations can show you whether and how strongly pairs of variables are related.

  • Probability can be used to measure and predict when an expected event is likely to occur in the future (conversion).

  • ANOVA tests can be used to determine impact the changing a single or two factors has on a measured outcome (a headline has on the CTR).

  • Regressions analysis can be used when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables (marketing surveys)
Part 2 of the Top 10 Tips to Move Toward Big Data & Enterprise Solution will be available next Wednesday, September 19. For the most part, this first half focused on your organization internally.  The next 5 tips will focus more on demonstrating the value.  Stay tuned for the next part!

Top 5 Ways to Drive Sales Using Social Media

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Social media is one of the biggest prospecting tools that companies and sales reps have. The days of solely relying on sales calls and follow ups are long gone. Today, there are a plethora of social media outlets to assist with prospecting leads, establishing contacts, and driving sales. When used properly, social media can be an extremely powerful and vital tool that can give companies an advantage over their competition. Below are my top 5 ways to drive sales using social media:

1)    Create a Branded Social Media Channel. When visitors look at a company’s Facebook page they are looking to have three questions answered: Who are you? What do you do? How can you help me?  If your page can answer those three questions for a visitor, there is a greater chance of generating a lead, identifying a contact, and ultimately closing a sale. In order to answer those three questions, companies must focus on creating a channel that is consistent with their brand, look, and feel and also create content that is relevant to what their target audience is looking for.

2)    Have a Social Media Strategy. One mistake that many companies make is diving head first into the social media pool with no clear purpose or strategy. Do this….and you will surely drown! If you are going to use social media as a tool to grow your business, then it is important to have a strategy in place before hand. Companies need to know what they want to accomplish when using social media platforms. Selling is all about attracting leads, qualifying contacts, and building relationships while continuing to nurture the relationships that you already have. If you are engaging in social media just to gain a large number of followers, likes, or connections then you are doing it for the wrong reasons. Focus on the people who fit your business goals and objectives and you will be more successful.

3)    Expand Your Reach! Using social media outlets can be a great tool. However, in order to use social media effectively and efficiently, you must know exactly how to use each specific outlet. You should spend time researching all the tools and capabilities that are available with each social media platform you plan to use. For example, Facebook is different from Twitter and LinkedIn is different from YouTube. Therefore, knowing the differences and advantages of each platform is the key to success. Also, it is important to use as many social media platforms as possible. This will expand your reach and visibility, broaden your brand awareness, and drive sales.

4)    Remember Social Networking is a Two-Way Street. If someone comments, responds, or wants to connect with you, it is vital to respond back to them. By doing so, you can engage and build upon relationships as well as build new ones. It also puts you back in the driver’s seat and leaves them with the opportunity to keep the dialogue open and ongoing. Also, when you respond back to a tweet or comment it is greatly appreciated and is more likely to create a business opportunity. So, just as you would follow up with calls….follow up with social media!

5)    Track Your Results! There is a lot of great technology available to be able to track your social media campaigns. Tracking your social media platforms will help you to gain insights and grow your business. Be sure to keep track of your outreaches, responses, and close rates from social media interaction. By doing this, you will be able to make adjustments, evaluate your content, eliminate processes that aren’t working and embrace those that are.

Social media is a phenomenon that is and will continue to grow for years to come. In order to drive sales and experience the greatest success, it is vital that companies engage with social media platforms. Generation Y and beyond will be constantly involved and entrenched in the social media world. By adhering to the information that I have shared, companies are sure to drive sales. The rise of social media has provided businesses and sales professionals with many tools to attract new business and drive sales. I guess we can thank Mark Zuckerberg for that!

Have more ideas to add to the list? Let us know in the comments section below, or contact us at 610-743-5602.

DaBrian Marketing Group Confirmed as HootSuite Pro Solution Partner

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Reading, PA - September 2012

DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC is pleased to announce that they have been accepted as a certified HootSuite Pro Solution Partner. HootSuite is a leading social media management system and the self-proclaimed partner of choice for businesses looking to enhance their social media presence and return. DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC can now add the HootSuite solution to their list of exclusive partnerships and certifications in the field of Internet Marketing.

“This recent partnership offers us a great opportunity to both reach and educate our clients about the marketing possibilities that can come from utilizing social media,” said Daniel Laws, President & CEO of DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC.

DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC offers businesses both Social Media Marketing and Social Media Monitoring services as part of their extensive Internet Marketing offerings. Using these services, DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC’s clients can better engage with customers, improve their brand awareness, and gain a distinct competitive advantage in the area of digital marketing.

According to HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes, these types of partnerships allow its members to “demonstrate social leadership, drive reoccurring revenue, and offer customers a game changing solution for their business.” Currently, DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC works with a variety of companies, from financial services institutions to non-profit organizations. With the new resources available from HootSuite, the Reading, PA-based agency can demonstrate an even greater level of expertise to both current and future clients.

About DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC

DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC is a search engine marketing & analytics agency that provides internet marketing solutions to businesses that want to obtain digital expertise, transparent customer service, innovative ideas, and strategies that lead to better customer insights and higher ROI. Company headquarters are centrally located at 500 Penn Street, Suite 201, Reading, Pennsylvania, 19602. For more information, check out the DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC website at https://dabrianmarketing.com, and blog at https://dabrianmarketing.com/blog, or contact us 610-743-5602.