Last week, Synergy Technology had the pleasure of welcoming clients and customers from all over the UK to our ‘Digital Marketing Awareness Day’ in London.
The digital landscape is changing rapidly. At Synergy we know how important it is that businesses keep up to speed with changes within the industry to make the most of the opportunities available to them We teamed up with one of our partners, eMarketeer, to offer our clients an opportunity to expand their knowledge of the digital world and enhance their current marketing strategy.
After the obligatory bacon butties, the day was kicked off by Steve Kemish, a multi-award winning marketer and a highly regarded speaker, lecturer and writer. Steve touched on all aspects of the customer journey and discussed how B2B companies can effectively use digital marketing to increase revenue and receive maximum return on their marketing investments.
Klaus Trolle, Chief Marketing Officer at eMarketeer, then took our guests through the many different stages of creating an effective and engaging marketing campaign. As all delegates were eMarketeer users, the afternoon session was an opportunity for them to interact with the software and take advice from an eMarketeer expert. Covering everything from creating engaging emails through to marketing automations, Klaus covered all the bases of effectively managing a campaign from start to finish.
We covered a lot of ground throughout the day and all that attended left inspired, feeling like a true ‘marketeer’. There was a lot helpful advice and insight to take away and below are just some of the key things that surfaced throughout the day.
6 things B2B companies should remember when approaching Digital Marketing
1. Email Marketing is not dead
There are a lot of factors influencing the success of email marketing. It is a highly competitive environment and consumers are becoming increasingly frustrated at the prospect of an inbox bursting at the seams. Despite harsh spam filters making it increasingly difficult to reach new customers, email is still one of the most widely used marketing tactics and is very much alive and kicking.
2. Content is still king….
Consumers want to teach themselves about new products and services in the market, and will turn to the internet when they are considering a purchase. This means that most customers are at the end of the buying cycle when they approach a supplier. It is important that the content you have on your site will make an impact. You need to deliver the right content at the right time during the buying cycle so that you can guide customers towards a purchase.
3. …..But keep it simple
Making it too complicated is the worst possible start. Consumers are bombarded with persuasive messages every day. Too much information, or content loaded with jargon will only make whoever is reading it tune out. Keep it short, simple and to the point. By taking this streamlined approach to content marketing, you are more likely to keep the audience engaged and the more engaged they are the more likely they are to reach out to you. However, it is important to make sure that what you are saying has substance. Knowing your audience is key so that the content you put out will resonate with them.
4. Blog, blog and blog some more
Blogging is a growing trend that is showing no signs of slowing down. It is proven that blog frequency has a direct impact on customer acquisition. If you write thought-provoking, educational and relevant blogs on your website, you can easily establish yourself as a thought leader within the industry. Not to mention the benefits regular blogging has on your website rankings. Good quality blogs will lead to an increase in organic traffic to your site. By using keywords relevant to the topic, your content will start to fit into more search queries which will ultimately lead to more potential clicks to your site.
5. The dinner party approach to social media
Social media doesn’t work for everyone. Not every product will be eligible for a ‘like’ on Facebook but before giving up completely, make sure that your approach is right. One analogy that proved popular throughout the day was the dinner party approach to social media. When it comes to social media you are either the host or the guest. Like the dinner party scenario, you need to ensure that you are courteous, show respect and above all have something to bring to the table. To achieve this you need to be talking about things that people will be interested in – attract their attention with content that is relevant to them and most importantly contribute to their conversation in order to keep them engaged. The biggest mistake that you can make with social media is talking about you and your business all the time. Imagine the dinner party scenario. If you make it all about you and don’t offer insightful, engaging and thought-provoking conversation, you are potentially alienating people and encouraging them to walk away from you.
6. Make it mobile
Making your website optimised for mobile is crucial. There is nothing worse than clicking on a site to be presented with overlaying text, pictures hanging off the page and links that don’t work or appear from nowhere. Customers want the same experience on your website whether they are at their desk or sat on a train looking at your website on a mobile or tablet device. Your website is your shop window and by not making your site mobile-friendly, you run the risk of alienating customers straight away.
So to finish… To conclude, the message that resonated the most was that businesses that want to be successful with their marketing need to keep it real. The days of the hand-shake, smiling face stock photo are long dead. Consumers want to really know the businesses that they associate with on a personal and tangible level.
