Get Under Our Thinking Caps: What We Learned From Digital Summit Detroit
We’re a big fan of the Digital Summit series, and we’ve attended their events in Atlanta and Detroit before. We send our team to these events to stay on top of current trends in our industry and find out what top thought leaders in our industry are talking about.
This year’s Digital Summit Detroit was no exception. Here are some of the ideas and trends they brought back with them.
Find the Right (Not the Loudest) People to Shout Your Story From the Rooftops
Insights from Nick Stagge, ExpertVoice, @NickStagge
Consider this — since when did the amount of reach someone has equal the power of their influence? In Nick Stagge’s session, he said the best way to grab potential customers in the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey is to use a voice that they can easily relate to.
Instead of reaching out to the person with millions of followers, who is the person that your consumer looks to for reliable advice? Finding that person helps consumers connect on a deeper level and creates lifelong loyal advocates for your company.
Companies today tend to put too much pressure on dumping as many people as they can into the top of their funnel. So far in 2018, marketers have spent $420 billion on awareness content. Why? It’s easy to do. But how much is it actually helping?
Having more choices never makes things easier. In reality, just because you put more in doesn’t mean you’ll get more out. (At least, not with conversion funnels.)
The companies that are doing the best are those that are putting their focus on the engagement and conversion sections of the funnel. To do better, you want to seek out the opportunities that are the best for your business and nurture them throughout their entire journey with you. This will save you time across the board and eliminate a lot of the people who are just a wrong fit.
You Are What You Eat, and No One Eats Cheap Advertising
Insights from Peter Weinberg, LinkedIn, @LinkedIn
B2B marketing doesn’t have to be boring! This is something we’ve been saying for a long time, and Peter Weinberg agrees. In fact, he believes that B2B can actually have a stronger emotional angle than a B2C company, because people are making a decision for their business, which takes a lot more consideration than just buying something for yourself.
So, how do you make an impact on these consumers? You’re going to need more than your “Sally from Sales” persona. The detail behind your marketing campaigns comes from data-driven personas that are built on the data you have on real consumers, not just your inferences from experience.
One way you can get that data is through a pixel from a social media platform like LinkedIn or Facebook that you place on your website or landing page. These pixels track data on the people that visit and convert on your pages, so you have real numbers and information from their social profiles to work with.
From there you can use the information that you gain to create stronger campaigns. But it’s important to remember that most consumers can spot a weak effort. You are what you signal, according to Weinberg, and if you’re choosing the quick and dirty route for your advertising, your audience is going to know. And they’re less likely to trust you. Don’t be afraid to spend time and money on making things look good, because that’s what people are really looking for.
Think about it: we all complain about how expensive phones are, but you have to admit that Apple’s sleek advertising is convincing. They spend billions on creating ads, and it signals to consumers that their phones are high quality. You can do the same with your product too by paying attention to the underlying message of your ads.
You Get More Flies With Strong, Organic SEO Honey
Insights from David Doran, Oneupweb, @Oneupweb
When you look at keywords, you might be able to find a ton of good opportunities, but just because it’s a good chance for you to rank high on a SERP doesn’t mean that it will be a good SERP for conversions.
This is something that both SEO and PPC professionals struggle with, and David Doran argued that the two can work together to create a united front that drives more leads for your business.
If you’re looking for keywords that your audience is using, think about terms that people might use when they’re looking for products like yours. For example, “inbound marketing websites” would be a strong keyword for our website, but “the best website images” isn’t going to get us anywhere.
Essentially, you’re looking for keywords that consumers who are further down in the funnel are using. “The best website images” might be a good blog for us, but it’s not going to send any prospects our way — at least not immediately. Pay attention to the intent behind your keywords to start building stronger campaigns.
The overall keyword research that you do needs to be shared between those who are focused on SEO and those who are focused on PPC. That research can build a foundation that the two teams can work together on.
One main way you can start seeing results is by paying attention to where you’re placing your ads. SEO will tell you where you’re already ranking well, so why not advertise against those terms? When consumers see a brand that has an advertisement and an organic result, it actually makes a big difference. In fact, David Doran and his team tested this, and they found that 79 percent of keywords showed CTR growth on the ad when both an ad and organic result were displayed.
How does having your name twice on a page make an impact? To be blunt, your business looks like you have your crap together. Consumers know that being on the first page of Google means something, even if they don’t know everything you did to get there. On their end, most people have a loose knowledge that Google shows you what you want to know, and they have it all on the first page. If you control two spots, you look really, really good. So take a look at your organic keyword research and find a spot where you can try and take the reins on a SERP, you’ll probably like the results you get.
