There are many methods a good digital marketing company can use to enhance your online marketing presence and you must be able to measure the effectiveness of those methods.

The clients only concern is, and rightfully so, is the amount of traffic to their site and the investment to get it there, where it is coming from and the return on their investment- how much of that traffic is being converted to actual sales.

The responsibility from getting the traffic to converting that traffic is a responsibility that is shared by both the marketing company and the client. If one or the other is not fulfilling their role in the partnership the effectiveness is diminished.

This is why a marketing company must partner with their client and communicate regularly to be able to pinpoint exactly where improvement is required.

Knowledge is power and having the knowledge of where your site’s traffic is coming from, how effective your social connections are, and overall where your traffic is originating from and what people do when they get to your site is paramount.

How those people are engaged once they get there is equally as important as getting them there.

Knowing the cooperation that is required to succeed in a relationship between a digital marketer and the client, good analytics is what is going to give both the knowledge they need to improve where improvement is required.

Forrester Research published a report indicating that the need for better analytics is needed by companies to better understand the value of search and how much of a company’s web traffic originates from search.

According to the report; “Although marketers are aware that search contributes to a company's growth, data analysis needs to improve.”

The same report indicated that many companies separate their search marketing efforts from their regular marketing activities and according to Forrester; “brands will spend more than $33 billion on search marketing by 2016, up from $24 billion this year.” 

Clearly one of the most revealing reports is the report released by Experian Marketing Services mid January 2013 summarizing web trends of 2012.  The report revealed that search engines are a key factor in web traffic sources.  Search won the web traffic race with a staggering 49% of traffic to web sites compared to 3.8% from Facebook and 1% from YouTube.

One would predict that as more and more people use smart phones that search will continue to be the dominant factor for any marketer.  It stands to reason that they would want to be able to measure traffic to your site.

 Good digital marketing companies with Content creation and marketing platforms designed to attract search have spent the time developing analytics that measure performance, show results and also focus on results of effort from search.

Other forms of good analytic reporting can show the value of social news posts compared to the same interest from search. Business owners can quickly focus on messages that are working and enhance that space compared to days gone by when everything was guess work.

As you gain knowledge from meaningful reporting and real time analysis you can make smarter decisions based on results.

                                       Social Analytics Graph courtesy Of One Big Broadcast

For example many businesses gain insights they would never conceive by studying reports from individual social networks. This includes combining results from different platforms and adding analysis tools. The end result allows for smart, informed and important decision making that could affect marketing spend or strategies.

It is essential to continually dig deeper into the many areas of content creation and marketing platforms - These reporting tools can reveal that in many ways all things are connected.  By harnessing the power to create deeper and meaningful reporting, companies can make smart real time decisions based on 'what people are saying'.

The Importance of Blog Analytics

The power of blogging can’t be denied. Because of this I wanted to touch on the importance of the ability to measure their effectiveness.

What was once a simple hobby for the digital enthusiast has become a worldwide sensation. Millions of individuals post to the web each day, detailing their ideas and intentions. It’s an enduring part of the social media experience... and it’s also one that, when properly utilized, can redefine every brand.
 
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is understood as essential. Companies forever rely on socially rich content to generate traffic and sales. Applying this technique to blogging, however, was once considered impossible. 
 
But today this is possible with new innovative techniques that have been developed.
 
SEO-infused blogs can be delivered to every client. Each post is defined by relevant content and keywords to secure high search engine standings. Information is effortlessly integrated into social communities (such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest) to bolster traffic. An innovative analytic system measures the real-time results of each page, determining what readers want and how to best satisfy their needs. The possibilities are endless.
 
Blogs should be created to do more than simply state opinions. They should be done in different ways to be fully optimized. Blog Data Touch Points (Courtesy Of One Big Broadcast)

One Big Broadcast is one company who has pioneered the concept of harnessing teams with multiple blog engines- Each engine producing its own analytics and weaving its way into corporate analytics.

Blog Analytics

Since blogs are all powerful for content marketing everyone is using blogs to get their marketing message out so it is important to be able to measure blog performance.

On the analytics side you want to drill down deep into each blog post of each individual blog. Back in the old days of marketing there was a saying 'Listen to what your customers are saying'. By having the proper analytics tools you can listen to each blog post by applying deep analytics monitoring. This tells companies which blog had the most interest from a social and search level. In this way you can uncover things that would not be possible otherwise.  When you see a spike you your readership on a particular blog topic - the people have spoken to what they are interested in. 

There have been multimillion ad campaigns started on the strength of the results of good analytic programs. 

It starts with high level of ALL blog topics. Each blog should be an engine capable of attracting its own set of search terms, its own following of people. Each blog sends out 100s of news feeds (see Change Lives Here) and the blog touch points with each post.

 

In the chart below blog analytics users can adjust the date range in this example to gain valuable insight.

                                                                    Courtesy of One Big Broadcast

Attached below is a blog post that spiked at a popular restaurant:

 

                                                                 Courtesy of One Big Broadcast

Along with this all API activity you can use Google Analytics tools to create custom reports to monitor and report on exact conversion metrics for individual pages or campaigns. For example OBB’s new newspaper ad generator tool. A special report can be created to report to track conversions and other important data via advanced features in Google Analytics.

It is safe to say that a marketing company and their clients must view their relationship as a partnership with the responsibility for performance shared by both parties. And with the right tools there are many ways of measuring the effectiveness of your digital Marketing.

Understanding your responsibility as the client and partnering with a company that can provide proper tools and analytics, review them on a consistent basis and keep you up to date on the latest changes and developments is the key to successful Digital Marketing.

William Cosgrove

 

Reports

1. Marketers Need To Better Align Search, Online Goals -http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/192006/marketers-need...

2. Search Remains Key Driver To Web Sites - http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/191338/search-engi...

This article helps  to substantiate the need for businesses to work with professionals who are innovative and have the latest technologies to experience the tremendous benefits that can be realized in online marketing campaigns.
William Cosgrove

To kick off Social Media Week New York, Scott Monty, Global Head of Social Media at Ford Motor Company, gave an illuminating presentation entitled, "Social Wheels in Motion: Ford's Lesson in Social Media."

The presentation covered several of Ford's incredibly successful social campaigns over the last few years, providing valuable lessons to brands, both big and small, looking to drive real business results using social media. Below are five of the most important lessons Monty and his team at Ford have learned over the last few years.

1. If you have a good product, let go of fear and let others tell your story

One of Ford's first social campaigns was its Ford Fiesta Movement in 2009. In an attempt to build buzz about the car in the United States, Ford gave 100 digitally connected people a Fiesta for six months. Each had to create a themed video every month, while also documenting their time with the car on social media. Ford then put the content up in real time, unedited and unfiltered, essentially turning over the brand to its consumers.

Monty said they were confident in doing so because they had the product to back it up. And the results proved this: the campaign received 132,000 hand-raisers looking for more information, 82% of which were new to Ford and 30% of which were under the age of 25.

2. Social media is not a campaign, it's a commitment. We always need to be on

Ford has created its Social Hub as a place for costumers and fans to consume information, interact with other users and provide feedback and suggestions to the brand. Of all the ideas users submitted, Monty said 40% were either already in vehicles or were currently being worked on. Ford also created a badge system, in which users could select badges that matter to them and share on their social networks. Ford could then target its audience and deliver relevant content based on the types of badges that users selected.

3. The complete integration of paid, owned and earned media can have a significant impact

In 2010, Ford wanted to reveal its new Explorer in a new way. So it took to Facebook to let fans know they were doing things differently. Leading up to the reveal, Ford provided sneak peaks, interviews with the design team, and behind-the-scenes looks with the chief engineer. Additionally, there were events around the country in which Ford could secure earned media as well as targeted digital ads.

Ford completely integrated its marketing team to combine paid, owned and earned media. The results: on the day of the reveal, Ford received 100 million social impressions, 400 million browser impressions, and reached 66 million Americans.

4. People engage with personalities, not product features

In 2011, Ford wanted to change the perception of its Focus, "the rental car that nobody wanted," according to Monty. They turned to an orange Spokespuppet named Doug and his sidekick John and hired successful TV directors to create a series of videos that reached mostly males in their late 20s. The idea: speak the customer's language, be self-aware and commit to entertaining. The results were palpable: the videos recorded 4,000,000 views, and there was a 77% improvement in opinion of the Focus, with a 61% consideration rate.

5. Embrace the platforms your audience uses

Ford created another web series last year entitled "Escape My Life" in which an actress playing a production assistant was given a new Ford escape. The catch: the car came with an annoying product specialist who followed her around. The eight videos were distributed through YouTube and Tumblr, combined with a paid media integration.

Additionally, the product specialist, Barry, had his own blog on Tumblr, in which he created memes and discussed zombies (the latter of which saw 19,000 impressions). Overall, the campaign hub recorded 1.5 million visits, with a great deal occurring on Tumblr.
Posted by the Guardian

This post originally appeared on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Blog

by David Wallace
DealerNet Services
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Is there such a thing as failing profitably? In the world of lead generation, this may sound like a very dangerous idea. After all, the only real measure for a company’s continued survival is its success in generating sales leads. So what about failure, and its connection to making a profit?  You see, there is what we call a total failure, and there is also what we consider as a profitable failure. The former is one that really ruins a company, while the latter becomes a stepping stone for the eventual success of a firm. If that is the case, then we should aim to fail profitably, if success will not be had on the first try.

But here is the question: how will you do that, create a culture that promotes this idea?

First of all, we should take an active role in embracing failure. If you think about it, the reason why so many firms are mediocre, if not worthless, in the products or services that they offer is because they decided to play it safe. And if there is anything you can learn from playing it safe, it is that you will never truly grow. It stifles creativity, makes conservatism reign supreme, and it rarely helps you in your appointment setting campaign. If you want to succeed, then be open about the possibility of failure.

Second, try to fail small, fast, and smart. When you embrace failure as part and parcel of your lead generation efforts, you will want to turn it into a manageable setup, a learning opportunity. The trick here is in division. Let us take a major telemarketing campaign, as an example. For a big project like this, you would want to divide it into several smaller steps or stages. In this way, you can mitigate the effects of failure, as well as learn what went wrong before you proceed to the next stage.

Third, identify the opportunities from failure. As the old saying goes, “every cloud has a silver lining”. Make it a point to understand what went wrong. Take it as a learning opportunity for you and your marketing team. Yes, it may look bad, but if these can serve as a springboard for your campaign to shine, then why not take the chance?

Lastly, think of this as an attitude issue. If you think that failure will ruin you, then it will. But if you believe that this will help you become a better business manager or entrepreneur, that this will just be another stage for you to finally get to the top, then it will be the case. What you need to do now is to take that leap of faith, take the risk, and learn a good lesson from it all. That is how you properly make failure be profitable.

Who knows, this might just be the thing you need to generate the B2B leads that your company’s success require. Falling down is not the end, you know. It is in standing up that matters.­
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