Thinking like a publisher

Thanks to the web and free publishing tools anyone can now be a publisher - but what to publish?

In The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott he writes, "Prior to the web, organisations had only two significant choices to attract attention. Buy expensive advertising or get third party ink from the media." There were other options such as a company newsletter mailed to the customer database to keep in touch, particularly useful when product purchasing/replacement cycles are long to help maintain top of the mind awareness and unprompted recall of your brand during the long intervals in between. But the web has indeed opened a new door directly to customers, so what do they need to know? Well they don't necessarily want to go straight to an online catalogue. In the b-2-b marketing space purchases are more likely to be researched rather than made on impulse. And of course web site visitors may not yet be a customer, but they could be prospects waiting to be converted.

It is often noted that customers and prospects want benefits, they want to know what your product and service can do for them. Creating an online resource that is authoritative about your industry or market can be a very effective marketing tool. There is plenty of scope for content here, not just talking about the latest developments but taking a step back to provide people new to the subject a straightforward explanation of what the sector is all about, the main things to be aware of and the benefits to their organisation. You should also discuss the operating environment, issues such as legislation specific to this area of interest, what standards apply, examples of applications, new developments, user experience - in short, content which is relevant and informative to prospective buyers that provides a valuable briefing resource. Traditionally this is the area of White Papers and some of this content can indeed be available packaged in a PDF for download. But a blog actually can do much more. There are several benefits in using a blog. Although company sponsored it can afford to take a more  personal approach, less formal than the White Paper and certainly more flexible. Content can be developed by several authors, each with different expertise and knowledge of the subject. A blog is not restricted to text alone, images and video can be used to great effect and links can take readers to further information such as products that meet their needs. Blogs are also an interactive tool allowing followers to comment on articles and authors and others to respond.

The thing is, running a blog does require effort, not just to set up, but to keep going forward, to maintain quality and build followers and that is what not many companies are good at doing. But those who do will see the rewards. Taking the moral high ground in their market sector will build authority, develop trust and know what, when the time comes to replace or buy a new product guess whose name will be high on the short list of vendors.

Have the rules of PR changed?

Not everyone gets what PR is about.

Forget about the formal definitions, in the B-2-B world PR is about generating favourable news coverage for a client, it is about managing the reputation of the client and in money terms it is about using the PR fee to gain value that simply buying equivalent media space for advertising could not achieve. It is not the world of murky 'spin doctors' who seek to manage news in the political arena. And it is not just about press releases either.

The thing about PR is that it can use many channels to communicate and this often used to cause problems in one B-2-B agency where I worked, between advertising account executives and PR account executives as to what constituted PR and what had strayed into advertising territory.  Traditionally press releases could probably be regarded as the core of a PR programme along with newsletters, company magazines, subscribed articles, White Papers and the like. But whatever the actual delivery mechanism the process ultimately required client approval before release and the news pitch was directed towards the editors of trade press publications. It was the editor who decided which press release would appeal to the readership of his magazine.

But in the era of social media the audience is not an editor writing for say a technical audience, but the end customers themselves. So it is argued the formal style both of writing and presentation should be abandoned in favour of an informal conversation with the customers. And another thing - the imperative of instant communication and response bypasses the process of review and approval. It is no longer just the press release, but the blog, Facebook, Twitter, news feeds and video that are useful PR communication tools. It is not of itself an alternative as some might assume, or without cost - whether the hours consumed are on the in-house budget or as an outsourced fee. Opening up the writing task to a roster of authors also involves risk - a wrong word here or there can destroy years of carefully constructing that reputation at a stroke.

One approach we have used to manage the diversity of news channels is to develop a PR Grid that chooses the style and form of publication and how appropriate a particular news item is for certain channels. Some items are only for the social media channels, items which are different, unusual or in some other way more interesting still go down the traditional publication route as well as the social media routes. Brought together it makes for an integrated approach that still delivers a consistent core message but in a way that recognises the diversity of broadcast options.

DAY 2 at ABTT Theatre Show

On show with British Harleqiin.

ABBT Theatre Show

Great buzz on opening day.

Should all marketing communications now be online?

Some marketing commentators are suggesting that traditional marketing tools are no longer of value and that trackable and measurable campaigns should now all be online.

Although much evidence points to the company web site as the preferred portal for initial contact with a vendor, what drives visitors to the site in the first place is another matter. This may well be conventional display advertising in a trusted industry sector publication. A recent email received from Industrial Technology quoting from market research they had commissioned, noted that "Despite the growth of on line promotion, advertisements still play a major part in directing traffic to websites and, from our reader research findings, 76% of readers prefer magazines to keep up to date with new products. 66% then visit the chosen manufacturers websites." 

The sudden uptake a year or so ago, of QR codes provides a link from the printed page to a landing page which in theory offers a simple connection without the need to key in a url. There is some scepticism about the take up of these, or whether the novelty value has passed. It still takes time to open an app, scan and view content which has to be pretty good to bother doing this on a regular basis. So if the first experiences are disappointing, the call to action will have to be very compelling to bother.  Interestingly looking at Google Analytics for some clients the move to mobile devices is growing, but at under 12% of site visitors is still a minority, with the top platforms being iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

Social media referral currently accounts for just over 1% of their traffic, despite a significant client commitment to engage in this area. Here there is even more scepticism in b-2-b marketing. It seems some people are becoming bored as noted in a recent article reflecting on some market research. "Along with saying that they were bored, the Facebook defectors also used the words “not useful” to describe the experience. Apparently, some users simply aren’t getting the information that they require when they log on to the service. One major issue could be that users aren’t seeing the statuses, photo uploads, and other activities from the people they care about. Even if they want to see what Person X had for breakfast, it might not appear on their News Feed. Facebook has been upfront with the fact that only a small percentage of your friends actually see your posts – somewhere around 12%." A big question is whether advertising is that effective in a social environment. The fall of 30% in Facebook stock since the recent IPO suggests that the financial markets are also having their doubts.

At a more general level over 70% reached the client web sites through search - more searching by brand name than for generic product - 16% via referral and 12% direct. Most likely the referred and direct visitors are more valuable as one third are returning visitors. So getting visitors to the web site is not simply generated by other online actions but in many different ways and that points to a fully integrated marketing campaign both on and off line. The challenge is getting the best mix of offline, online and new tools to create an effective and joined up campaign.

Marketing for small businesses

Most UK businesses are small, most need marketing expertise, but most cannot afford much.

In a recent blog we noted the dilemma that businesses most in need of professional marketing expertise were least able to afford access to such skills, or have budgeted to spend on traditional marketing communications programmes. Looking at marketing not as an expense, but as an investment the picture can look different. In technology markets the business may have its origins in a new product idea, or a set of products that can address a niche market. However the small business is funded, there will be some revenue expenses that are a regular, probably monthly, commitment such as salaries, premises and utility services. There may also be capital expenses in machinery or tooling which have been made on the basis that the investment will deliver benefits. The benefits might be in lower unit costs of production, or improved quality (less rejects and returns) that will lead to better product profitability and more sales. But the increased sales are unlikely to materialise if potential customers remain unaware of this great product. Which brings us back to marketing. Viewed as an investment, marketing should therefore demonstrate valid returns, which ultimately are measured not just in sales leads, but in profits growth.

First there must be a commitment to make that marketing investment and allocate funds accordingly - the figure will have to be affordable, but it is essential. Secondly it has to be consistent and a regular budget commitment each month. Thirdly the investment should be carefully made to get the right mix. Finally the success or otherwise must be monitored and things not working analysed and changed. This is where outsourced marketing support can  make the difference.

An experienced marketing agency that also understands the company's market, the terminology and technology can help ensure that an integrated marketing plan can be devised and implemented to achieve targets, stay within budget and become part of the team driving the business forward.

 

Social Media

A less reverent look at the social media game .....


Social Media Revolution (parody)