The 6 Best Slideshare Decks on Content Marketing

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes I just get sick of reading (and writing) articles but still have the desire to consume or share great content.

That's why I spend a lot of time on Pinterest, scanning people's pictures on Facebook and on Slideshare. And while some people think slides are a sign of the downfall of civilization, they can be an effective way to deliver a message, make a business case and walk others through a process.

So I sought the best slideshare presentations on Content Marketing and found a ton to chose from. And from that list of amazing presentations, I chose these 6 to demonstrate some of the best thinking on content ' from the business case, to the strategy, to how to get it done. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Did I miss any great ones?

I love a good manifesto and a call to change. Rand Fishkin does a great job in this deck explaining why we all need to just get started in content marketing. Warning: some content is not suitable for young or especially innocent audiences.

The Content Marketing Manifesto from Rand Fishkin

In this presentation, Joe Pulizzi details why content marketing has become such a hot buzzword. He looks at the latest research, and shares case studies looking at five content strategies that separate the good from great content marketing professionals.

Good to Great Content Marketing: 5 Content Strategies Working for Marketers from Content Marketing Institute

In this deck, Charlene Li and Rebecca Lieb from the Altimeter Group talk about new research results on Content Marketing and discuss the need for organizations to rebalance their resources to become proficient content creators.

Marketing Cloud: Winning Content Strategies Marketing Webinar from Rebecca Lieb

In this deck, Steven Van Belleghem shows how advertising is evolving towards content marketing, and delivers a pragmatic way to start with content marketing in your company.

A six step content marketing model from steven van belleghem

In this deck, my friends from Eloqua and JESS3 show you how to get some business done with content marketing and address every stage of the buyer's journey in your marketing strategy.

From Content to Customer by Eloqua & JESS3 from Eloqua

Not to be outdone by their competition, the folks at Marketo use the visual storytelling power of slideshare to show the impact of marketing with visual content. They go through how to use infographics, video, visual note-taking, memes, and Instagrams into marketing campaigns.

Visual Content Marketing: Capture and Engage Your Audience from Marketo

Please follow the conversation on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Subscribe to the B2B Marketing Insider Blog.

How To: Scope Out Your Business Competition Online

No matter the size of your business, it's important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your closest competitors online. Especially since research shows that 66% of U.S. adults have used the Internet to aid in a purchase, a business' online presence is more valuable than ever.

If you don't already know who your local business competitors are, you can conduct a search for your own products or services in your area to see what other businesses appear in the search results, check local listings, or even ask friends and family if they know of other nearby businesses similar to yours.  Then, once you determine who your top competitors are, here are a few places you can check to gauge their effectiveness online.

Website

Your competitors' website is a good place to start when assessing their Web presence. It will tell you many things about them, such as some of the keywords and phrases they are using to optimize their website copy for search, their main value proposition or key message, their featured products or services, and their target market. This can not only help you understand more about your business competition and what differentiates you, it can also help you compare your online marketing efforts. Is it easy to identify what they do within the first few seconds? What products or services do they offer? How are they similar to you, and how are they different? Are they promoting themselves more effectively than you are? Understanding these key factors can help you develop a marketing plan that will help you bring customers to your business instead of theirs.

Search Engines

Gauging your competitors' placement on search engines isn't always an easy task, especially since algorithms are continuously changing. However, it can help your own search advertising strategy to see the results of your competitors' organic and paid search tactics. Keep in mind, it's best to perform searches in a private browser so the search engine won't take into account your browsing history and you'll see generic results. Here are a few things to look for:

Shelf Space ' Search for a competitor's business name online to see how much 'shelf space' ' or links on the search results page ' they own, and what type of content is displayed, such as their website, blog, videos, reviews,  and even text ads. Remember which local listings, social media sites, and content sites are displayed and compare them against the ones that show up when you search for your own business name.

PPC Ads ' To see what your competitors may be doing in paid search advertising, start by identifying a list of 5-10 top local keywords and searching for them on top search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing If your competitor is also bidding on their own business name in search advertising, chances are their paid search ad will show in the sponsored section of the search results when you search for their name as well. Bidding on your business name is a cost-effective way to quickly get your brand to appear on the search engine results page.

Organic Rank ' Also look at the organic listings when you search for those local keywords, as well as the keywords you are optimizing your own site for. Where do your competitors rank in comparison to you? What kinds of content are ranking ' is it just their site, or do other content and social sites show up as well?

Reviews & Local Listings

Take note of your competitors' online reputation by looking at their reviews online. You can check out review sites like Google + Local, Yelp, Citysearch, or industry-specific sites and see how they are ranking compared to you and if those sites are optimized for search. In addition, conduct a search for your competitor's reputation terms, like 'Business Name Reviews' on a search engine and see what turns up. Do your biggest competitors have more reviews than you? Is their reputation overall positive or negative? Either way, you may want to start asking some of your happy customers to leave you reviews on some of these sites, so that when a consumer is researching both you and a competitor, your glowing reputation can speak for you online.

Social Media Sites

Another place you want to audit your competitors online is on social media. Start by looking for their Facebook page, Twitter profile, and Google Plus pages. Do they have these pages created and optimized? If so, what types of profile photos and 'about' information are they using to represent their brand? In addition, take a look at how many fans they have, how frequently they post on each social network, and what kinds of content they are sharing. It's important to know the kinds of messages they are sharing and how often so you can determine what's most effective for your business type. You can also use this information to create unique messages for your social fans that will set you apart from your business competition.

Content Sites

Content sites like a company blog, YouTube channel, or photo site, are also key ways businesses can boost SEO and engagement online. See which of these of these sites your competitors have created and which they are using to their advantage. What types of blogs, images, infographics, or videos are they sharing? Are they using relevant descriptions and keyword-rich tags? Because these types of content can rank well in search engines and provide backlinks to a business website, seeing which sites work for your competitors can help you decide the types of sites you want a presence on as well.

Now that you have a good idea about your competitors' Web presence, you can take this information into consideration for building your own online strategy. What tactics work well for them that you can try in your own marketing? What are you doing more efficiently than your competitors that you can focus on to give your online presence a boost?

Have you ever scoped out the competition online? What did you learn, and what did you do with the information? Share your thoughts in a comment!

Do You Follow Up After A Sale? How to Increase Sales Productivity

One of the easiest ways to increase B2B sales productivity is to continue to sell to current customers. This is done by actively creating and nurturing a relationship with them. It takes far less time, energy and money to sell to a current customer than to sell to new customers. Many salespeople make the mistake of not following up after the first sale. But by implementing an after sale plan, a company can increase sales with repeat buyers.

Keep in Regular Contact with Customers

A good way to remain in touch after a sale is through email. In most cases, a salesperson has the customer's email address. Sending periodic emails with information about new products or upcoming sales is a good way to bring about new orders. Any method of communication works to build a relationship. Sending tweets on Twitter, a newsletter, text messages on smartphones or automated phone messages are all ways to remind customers that your company offers products or services that they need.

Ask for Feedback

Another way to follow up with customers is to ask them how the product or service they purchased from you is working out. Many customers are eager to discuss their experiences or may have questions. Getting feedback offers companies the chance to learn what areas of the company need improvement. A company dedicated to great customer experiences can expect more repeat business. By asking customers for their opinions, you show that you value them and this is an excellent way to nurture the business relationship.

Nurture the Relationship

When following up with customers, it is important not to bombard them with sales information and promotions. This aggressive hard sell may put some people off. A better approach is to offer useful information to the customers. Articles on the industry, videos or tutorials on the products, or case studies about how the products have helped other customers are other methods for keeping in touch while also nurturing the relationship.

Make Product Suggestions

After you get to know a customer, you are in a better position to recommend other products or services he may be interested in. This is a very effective way to increase sales. Since you have listened to the customer and showed interest in helping him, the customer is more willing to accept your product or service suggestions.

If you don't follow up with customers after every sale, you are missing a chance for repeat sales. Customers often buy related items down the road, and by nurturing a relationship with them, it is far more likely they will contact you when they are ready to buy. Smart salespeople understand that following up is an important part of the sales process. With regular contact, you create long-term repeat customers.

Can a Video Increase Leads and Sales on my Website?

Read about the surprising response rate results (good and bad) from adding a video to a business website.  Even Google didn't see this coming.

Is there a sure-fire way to increase the response rate on your website?

Heck, who wouldn't want to see a doubling in the amount of leads, calls, emails, sales, or opt-ins' without having to get more traffic to your website?

But how?

It has been said that adding video to your site is guaranteed to improve response rates on your website, leading to more leads, sales and customers.

But, is it?

Well, like so much in life' it depends on the situation.

Situation Where Video Can Help Increase Website Response Rates

1. Personalizing your company- It has been rightly said that, all things being equal, people like doing business with other people' not a faceless company.

This is especially true if you run a small to medium sized business. Whether you are a consultant or a plumber, you would do well to provide an opportunity for prospects to get to know you.

Humanize your business.

And no, I am not talking about saying the same old 'we are a family-owned business, serving the XYZ area since 1942.' Instead, tell them who you are, what your values are (leave out the clichés), what you do for fun.

People will choose you more often if they like you' and your values.

A video is perfect because you can connect with website visitors in ways you can't in print.

2. Social proof. Response rates almost always go up if you use credibility boosting testimonies from your satisfied clients.

However, in the light of some unscrupulous types making them up (easy to do in print), to have a few happy clients offer brief comments about what it was like working with you offers undeniable credibility.

Just make sure the people in the video are enthusiastic. There's nothing worse than someone saying in a deadpan voice, 'what a great experience it was''

3. Visual explanation. Sometimes words are limited in what they can convey. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then is a video is worth, what? 5,000 words? 10,000?

Use a video to show exactly how something works' or how pieces are interrelated. It helps the visitor 'get it' more quickly and in higher numbers.

Caution! There is a surprising dark side. There are documented instances where a video can actually hurt your website response rate.

Seriously.

Video can do wonders for your website's response rate' but there are times it can actually reduce leads and sales.

RETWEET THIS:  A well done video almost always provides a response boost (leads, sales) to your website.  Just beware of the exceptions.

Situation When Videos Lower Your Response Rates

The times when a video on your site will actually lower the response rate on your website aren't necessarily what you might think' poorly done, cheesy content, etc.

• It can be a high quality, professionally done video' and still lower response rates
• It can be visually and skillfully explaining a product or service' and still lower response rates.

Case in point: Google created a high quality video, quite well done, that explained one of their services.

It bombed.

Watch the video below to learn why. Special thanks to WhichTestWon.com

Here's the moral of the story: Even 'best practices' need to be tested.

A word to the wise: don't just throw the latest tactic on your website and assume it will improve your response rates.

If you do want to try something on your site, please, please, please measure and evaluate results. If you don't know how, find a professional marketing company (like 2nd Mile Marketing) that can do it for you.

Otherwise, you will be like the website owner that said, '50% of my website is performing well' I just don't know which 50%'

What You Need To Do Now

1. If you found this article and blog helpful for your business, then sign up for weekly tips (for free!) coming directly to your inbox.  You can also pass the word to others who could benefit.

2. Would it help you to have a website testing guide?  If so, leave a comment below and let me know.  It would help me know if putting something like that together would be welcomed information.

3. Need to increase the response rate on your website' to get more leads, inquiries and sales?  Contact us at 2nd Mile Marketing.  Let us show you our methodical system that can help bring you more (and more predictable) results.

• Add subheads, lists, digestible chunks + images
• Which previous articles can I link to?

Is it Time for your Small Business to Go Mobile?

Fred Wilson is one of the baddest tech investors on the planet. His investments include companies like Twitter and Zynga. Here is a quote from his top notch blog 'Web is flattish. But mobile is growing like a weed.'

So if you are just now developing a website you are BEHIND.
You are developing a new product in a semi-mature industry.

Why would you do that?
You want growth.
You want to be early to the party not late, right?

If you are just not getting a website up, I have one piece of advice: Don't put all of your time, money, and resources in one digital basket.

Focus your energy on your Facebook page. What I have seen working with lots of business owners over the years is that they focus too much on something like a website. Inevitably they spread themselves too thin and all their tech ends up being mediocre. Creating a fantastic small business website is damn hard.

When industries or technologies mature on the product life cycle entrepreneurs need to recognize this change and act accordingly. So what am I doing about it and what can you do about it?

Well, for me I have pivoted my focus and my business to be 100% mobile focused. We are currently in the process of developing several iPhone apps. My online business was not working so it was an easy decision.

If you are small online business you can take several steps to improve your position in this new mobile world.
Here are a few steps you can take:

1. Make sure your website is optimized for mobile.

If you have a good developer this should be a relatively straightforward process. How one optimizes your website for mobile is beyond the scope of this piece. So here is a killer resource to help you get your site mobile ready.

2. Look into making an app.

Depending on what type of business you have, a mobile app may exceed the usefulness of a mobile optimized website. There are lots of places to help you create apps for your small business, but I like this one.

3. Learn about the mobile industry.

If you're considering taking your business mobile, you have to be familiar in with the space. Buy an iPhone and/or Android device, if you don't already have one. Start looking at the app store weekly. Sites like TopAppCharts help you see the trends in the store. Understanding the mobile space and what apps are working is a great way to better understand what is working in mobile.

This is a solid start.

Remember the more things change the more they stay the same. The things that worked on the web can work on mobile. But the device is different so the design and content must be optimized.

Think about how you can develop a simple app or a simple mobile site to supplement your business. Invest time in learning about the mobile space and you will be ahead of the game.

The Content Marketing A-Team

If you grew up watching television back in the 1980's, you couldn't miss the popular show 'The A-Team.'

It included a motley cast of characters who were branded as outlaws but who always fought to protect the innocent, fight the bad guys and generally create havoc wherever they went.

George Peppard played their leader and always ended every show with the line 'I love it when a plan comes together.'

I was reminded of this last week when thinking about building the perfect content marketing A-team.

So here I will explain my view on the cast of characters it takes to make sure your content strategy plans always come together'

Content Strategist

This is the leader, the person accountable to the organization for making sure your business is creating, curating and syndicating the content your buyers are looking fo,r in all the channels where they are looking. This person needs to develop the content strategy, and have some authority over the content process, but needs to be a true collaborator as not all the content production resources will be under their control.

Content is everyone's job in businesses today as brands continue to embrace the need to become publishers. And the strategist is helping define the new content marketing terms for your business, creating new inbound marketing content destinations and filling the gaps to better meet the needs of your buyers.

Editor

This is a new role within many organizations. There may have been website editors and even blog editors. But the new editor is not just someone with a journalistic background. It is someone who understands the nature of dynamic content ' the kind of content that generates comments and social shares.

It is also someone who increasingly has their own social influence and not just publishes content but also shares it and helps get the conversation going.

Content Curator

This is the person who finds the best stuff out of the millions of blogs and website articles published every day. They find great authors. They find great content. And then they distill it down to a format that meets the unique needs of their target audience.

But the Curator is more than just someone who has mastered Google alerts. The curator is also a collaborator and a writer who knows how to work with other content producers and to find ways to help them gain exposure.

Channel Manager

The Channel Manager is ultimately responsible for sharing the site content in as many channels of distribution as possible. This person also needs to be analytical as they report out on the success of your content marketing efforts in general and also identifies the content that drives the highest reach, engagement and conversion.

Additionally, they serve as the main response manager for inbound inquiries, requests and issues. The channel mananger's role may seem tactical but between the reach it enables and the insights generated with their reporting, this role has serious strategic implications for your content strategy.

Social Writer

The social writer is a new breed of journalist, content creator or blogger: they not only create the content, they are also able to gain reach all on their own due to a nurtured base of fans and followers.

The social writer is not confined to any single channel but creates engagement across many types of channels such as websites, blogs, social communities and even offline events.

Designer

Last but not least, the designer is the person or team whose sole mission is to ensure your content and channels are maximized to provide the most positive customer experience.

They understand the multi-channel, multi-format needs of today's busy buyer or consumer and designs content and channels that deliver information quickly, visually, easily and in formats that work for the web and the mobile devices that are becoming larger and larger sources of traffic for much of our content.

So what do you think? Did I miss anyone? Who is on your content marketing A-team? And please 'pity the fool' who wrote this since I am just figuring all this out. (Sorry, I had to find some way to work that line in!)

Please follow the conversation on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Subscribe to the B2B Marketing Insider Blog.

Sales Force Compensation: Challenges of Growth

Finding the best sales force compensation structure for expansion stage technology companies

Sales force compensation is a very challenging and sensitive topic to broach from any number of angles. To people outside of or not familiar with the sales profession, there is unfortunately too much stereotyping of sales compensation as over the top, condoning aggressive sales tactics, and out of touch with the rest of the company's compensation structure. Within the sales profession and management executives, there is constant debate around the right compensation structure as a mixture of performance-based commission versus base salaries.

To date, most of the literature and research out there typically focus on two types of organizations:

• Mature organizations or organizations in mature markets with a sizable, established sales force. For them, the challenges are most acute in maintaining and improving sales productivity through fine-tuning and continuously adapting the sales compensation structure.
• Innovative, one of a kind companies with a new business model or compensation structures that either go against the common wisdom or have some novel characteristics. For these companies, the key challenges will be how they will sustain these models as the company matures and starts having to fend off competitors and copycats.

I find that there is still not a lot of great case studies or discussions around a special set of companies that are of most interest to us at OpenView ' fast growing, expansion-stage technology companies. From our experience, these companies are typically at a point where they have a good product, have found a proven market that accepts that product, but need to rapidly ramp up their sales force to capture a broader market and create enough momentum to take them to the next level.

Of course, to do this well it requires a combination of great management leadership, judicious strategy, and a receptive, growing marketplace. But sales execution and sales force growth and motivation, in particular, is one of the key differentiators for companies in this stage.

We see three distinct sets of challenges around sales compensation, which I shall discuss briefly here and explore further in upcoming articles:

• Compensation for a sales force that is selling both very large deals and much smaller deals, when the sales force is not large enough to be segmented by deal size/market. This is very common with companies selling infrastructure software, which can be used by small technology customers or major corporations. There is always a balance to be made between encouraging sales people to hunt the large but risky 'elephants' while at the same time ensuring that the company still has sufficient coverage of bread and butter smaller deals, as these deals help ensure a more predictable stream of new revenue.
• Compensation and cost planning for a sales force that is growing rapidly on the company's momentum in the market. On the one hand, sales costs can quickly become uncontrollable if the company does not master the sales learning curve and plans to add / promote its sales people appropriately. A deep analytics challenge that arises in this situation is to understand how much of the growth is dependent on marketing investment as opposed to sales efforts, separately from the market's organic growth.
• Retention and promotion of the top early sales persons. It is not clear how fast growing companies should compensate their top sales people, who typically account for an outsized proportion of their deals. Promoting an early top sales person into a managerial role (like a VP) risks hurting short-term sales productivity, increasing their commission risks outpacing the company's growth, and granting of options reduce the pool for future senior management hires. Making these decisions harder is the fact that the first few successful salespeople tend to be the Jacks of all Trades ' renaissance salespersons whose versatility tempts the management to rely on them more and more.

In the next few blog posts, I will explore these challenges and how companies are addressing them, hopefully bringing out some interesting insights that will help sales management design more effective compensation strategies for fast growing companies.

photo by: 401(K) 2012

Sign-up for our Free Weekly Newsletter to get the best new ideas for building technology companies.

Why Chasing Hot Leads is a Bad Idea

In an ideal world, all B2B sales leads would be pre-qualified and ready to buy. And though recent studies suggest that a large chunk of the sales cycle may already be over by the time many prospects talk to a live salesperson, the reality is that inbound sales leads will always occupy a wide spectrum of sales readiness: tire-kickers, hot leads, and everyone in between.

This cold, hard reality: that hot leads will only ever be a subset of the total universe of potential prospects ' means that feeding sales a constant stream of qualified leads requires a demand generation strategy that focuses on 1) reaching potential customers at every stage of the selling cycle, and then 2) employing systematic lead nurturing to move those prospects towards sales-readiness.

In theory, anyway. Of course, in the real world ' a world of sales quotas, quarterly revenue goals, and impatient investors ' not all stake-holders, especially salespeople, are interested in the notion that the most effective lead generation strategy is a long-term proposition. Because our agency works primarily with high-tech companies, we see this kind of pressure often. One result of that pressure can be a demand for tactical, sales-driven campaigns designed specifically to seek out hot leads, campaigns that lead with so-called 'late stage' offers like demos, free trials, or even price discounts.

As I wrote previously in a white paper, 'Lead Recycling: A More Cost Effective Approach to Demand Generation for High-Technology Companies,' focusing demand generation investment on acquiring net new, hot leads is an expensive proposition at best, and at worst, a recipe for failure. Some of the main reasons are these:

' It's difficult if not impossible to target a message exclusively to those prospects that are ready to buy. Media options abound that will enable a company to focus on specific job titles, company revenues, industries, etc., but 'budgeted to buy (insert your product or service here)' ' not so much.

' Many high-tech products are first-of-breed solutions and/or of a complexity that involves multiple stake-holders and demands a more long-term, consultative selling process. Prospects may simply not be ready to buy a solution because either 1) they don't know such a solution exists, or 2) they may not even be aware they have the problem in the first place.

' Focusing on only the most qualified prospects leaves many potential (albeit, more long-term) deals on the table. A potential customer might have precisely the problem that a particular product or service solves and are anxious to solve that problem, yet may not feel as though they're ready to buy and so fail to respond to the campaign.

In addition, response rates from tactical campaigns are likely to be much lower ' for the reasons outlined above ' so companies need to spend more money to generate relatively few opportunities. Lastly, because the campaigns weed out all but those prospects in active-purchase mode, it leaves the sales pipeline empty once those deals have been either closed or eliminated. This requires a constant re-loading of the sales funnel with new, expensive leads.

Just to be clear: it's no crime to include late stage offers as part of your demand generation mix to reach that small percentage of new leads that are indeed ready to buy. However, attempts to focus exclusively on those late-stage prospects are usually doomed to inefficiency. It's a much better idea to cast a 'wider net,' bring in prospects at every stage of the selling cycle, and then employ lead nurturing to drive that larger pool of prospects to the point at which they're ready for sales.

Adapted from the white paper: 'Lead Recycling: A More Cost Effective Approach to Demand Generation for High-Technology Companies.'

Analyzing the Venture Capital Tax Debate: Fairness, Impact, and Consequences

President Obama's 2013 budget once again contains a provision for raising taxes on the profits venture capitalists earn on their investments.

The thinking behind the provision goes like this: Venture capitalists make a lot of money, so it's only fair that they should pay more in taxes. And because they dedicate their time to investing in, working with, and ultimately realizing the value of their portfolio companies, their income should be taxed at the same rates as wages, rather than capital gains.

It's a simple argument that, on the surface, seems to make sense. The problem is that the logic is incomplete. Until we fully understand the implications of the current venture capital tax proposals, we risk unleashing some unintended and, frankly, undesirable consequences for everyone.

This is not a commentary on the appropriate levels of government spending or overall tax policy. It's a simple request that, before implementing any tax policy changes, we analyze the potential impacts should such a policy be put in place. Would the results be better for society than the ones our current tax policy generates?

Widespread economic benefits

Venture capitalists invest equity into companies to help them create new technologies, products, and services; employ and train people; and grow the economy. The capital can be used to hire staff and outside professional services firms, lease real estate, or purchase furniture and equipment. These investments are usually quite risky for the venture capital funds that make them, but sometimes yield considerable financial returns and frequently lead to significant advances in innovation and competitiveness.

Compared to the 'shovel-ready' capital investments that the government tends to make, venture capital is far more effective at stimulating the economy. Venture capital investments don't cost the government anything, yet still generate revenue for it.

Importantly, they help create permanent jobs and stimulate economic growth over the long term, rather than simply creating a short-term spike. For example, according to a 2011 report by the National Venture Capital Association, in 2010, venture capital-backed companies accounted for 11 percent of private sector employment (nearly 12 million people). The report also found that every dollar of venture capital invested between 1970 and 2010 helped to generate $6.27 in revenue in 2010.

Questioning the Logic

Before we change policies, let's be sure that we thoroughly understand how the current proposals will ripple through the venture capital and entrepreneurial sectors, and what their actual long-term impact will be on tax revenues.

Here are some of the fundamental questions that should be answered before making any changes, as well as some insights I've gathered throughout my 12 years as a venture capitalist:

How important is investing in growth companies for the economy and for tax revenue?

I've learned a few things about the benefits of private equity investments, and job creation is one of the great examples. Approximately 60 to 70 percent of the money venture capitalists pump into companies is used to hire and train employees, typically for positions that pay significantly more than the average job. These workers generate payroll taxes as well as non-discretionary and discretionary spending (think new homes and cars, or just more meals out). Employers also pay taxes on their companies' overall income and capital gains. Altogether, we're talking about a significant source of long-term economic stimulus.

Successful companies also bring innovation and competitiveness to our economy. You don't have to look any further than Facebook, Google, or Apple for examples of venture capital-backed companies that have helped reshape the face of our economy.

Will lower net compensation for venture capitalists lead to less venture capital activity or reduced quality?

Anyone who has sat through freshman economics knows that financial incentives change behavior. Earning a lower net income could push some venture capitalists to retire, change careers, or worse, never enter the sector in the first place. While most experienced venture capitalists love what they do, myself included, the movement of people in and out of the industry is relatively fluid. Change the tax policy and there almost certainly will be fewer venture capitalists and less venture capital activity.

What effect would less venture capital activity have on the economy?

This is one of the most important questions to be studied because there would likely be significant downstream effects should venture capital activity diminish. Fewer venture capital investments would mean less funding for growth companies. That, in turn, would translate into fewer jobs, less innovation, and a decrease in our overall competitiveness ' none of which bodes well for the economy.

Will taxing venture capitalists at a higher rate result in greater tax revenues?

It's not likely. Venture capitalists currently receive a portion of the capital gains they help create through their venture capital funds. If they are treated as employees who are paid wages from those funds, we would effectively be increasing the capital gains tax on arguably one of the most important investment sectors in the economy.

In addition, less venture capital activity could lead to reduced start-up funding. That would mean fewer high-paying job opportunities and less business investment, which create taxes both directly and indirectly through their multiplier effect on the economy. The tax increase on venture capitalists would surely lead to lower tax revenues from the missed economic growth opportunities. Understanding this relationship is key to crafting the best tax policy.

Finally, if tax policy were to change, venture capitalists may choose to embrace other avenues that are more advantageous from a tax perspective, further eroding tax revenue.

The road ahead?

There's no doubt that venture capitalists are well compensated and can generally afford to pay higher taxes. But what happens to our economy if we decide to tax venture capitalists more? Do we end up with higher total tax revenues? Will we impede innovation, competitiveness, and job growth in the process? Is there a different tax policy, perhaps a counterintuitive one, that would be better for the economy overall?

Forward-thinking national, state, and local governments recognize the value that venture capitalists bring to their economies. Some of them, such as Israel, Russia, Pennsylvania, and others even offer incentives to attract entrepreneurial activity to their geographies. The tax policies currently under consideration, by contrast, would act as a disincentive. Maybe the policies are optimal, but shouldn't we at least take the time to analyze their implications before implementing them?

The bottom line is that venture capital activity grows our economy. We should be maximizing that growth, not hampering it through tax policy.

photos by: Images_of_Money & 401(K) 2012

Sign-up for our Free Weekly Newsletter to get the best new ideas for building technology companies.

15 Ways to Get to Know Your Target Audience

One of the biggest factors impacting the success of your marketing is how well your audience relates to your content. If your audience feels that you understand their needs and can help them, they will be more likely to respond to your calls to action. If your content isn't relevant, they will tune your messages out.

But how exactly do you get to know your target audience? Understanding their pains, needs and wants can be challenging ' especially if you spend all day running from meeting to meeting and crisis to crisis.

Here are 15 ways to get to know your audience:

1. Subscribe to the magazines and blogs that they read.
2. Subscribe to Google Alerts for the news topics that they follow.
3. Attend the same conferences and trade shows that they attend. If you can't make it in person, you can check out the events' websites to find out what topics are trending right now.
4. Study how your competitors are interacting with your audience.
5. Connect with members of your target audience on Twitter and pay attention to their tweets.
6. Join LinkedIn groups that members of your target audience belong to and follow their discussions.
7. Join Facebook groups that members of your target audience belong to and follow their discussions.
8. Review the comments on your blog.
9. Monitor your social media presence to learn what your target audience is saying about you and which content they are sharing the most.
10. Check your website analytics to learn which pages are getting the most views, as this will give you an idea of the content that your target audience finds the most interesting.
11. Review your website analytics to see which keywords people are using to find your web pages.
12. Use Google's keyword tool to find other keywords that may be relevant.
13. Ask your sales team and customer service representatives about your customers' biggest concerns.
14. Survey your customers to find out what types of content they want from you.
15. Ask for their opinions every chance you get!

Using these tips will help you get to know your audience, so you can create content that meets their needs and increases your conversion rates.

What about you? What methods do you use to get to know your audience? Feel free to share your comments below.

Attention Job-Seekers: Stop Branding Yourself As Lazy!

Every job-seeker knows that employers want to hire people who work hard. However, it's very easy to unintentionally brand yourself as 'lazy' when you are looking for your next job. During your job search, you are put under a microscope, as employers make quick judgments about your work ethic based on actions that may seem minor to you. If you want to stand out in a good way and be seen as hard-working and proactive, make sure you follow these 7 job search best-practices:

1. Do your homework before EVERY 'test.' Treat every career conversation like an interview because every career conversation is an interview. A person recently referred to me for career advice didn't know that I worked in the front-office for an NBA team for 5 years, or that I wrote a book on how to get your dream job. He could have learned this information before our call through a 60-second google search on my name. How motivated do you think I was to introduce him to other people I trust, given the lackluster way he approached his call with me? On the other hand, I've had calls with people who have referenced specific articles I've written when asking me for career advice. Within minutes, these people impress me. Do your homework before any informational interview, networking situation, or job interview, and have a list of intelligent questions you plan to ask. Preparation (or lack of preparation) is always very obvious, and it will be used as evidence for how you approach your work as well.

2. Always take the extra step. Always ask yourself this question during your job search: 'How can I stand out in a good way from my competition?' For example, instead of writing, 'References available upon request' at the bottom of your resume (which is like writing 'willing to meet with you for an interview'), why not just take the extra step and include a 1-page document with endorsements of your work?

3. Never hitch-hike. Every now and then, someone will come up to me after one of my job search seminars (or send me an email after the seminar) and ask me to send their resume along to people in my network. I refer to this as 'hitch-hiking.' Never ask someone else to do your job search for you. Instead, ask people how you can take yourself where you want to go.

4. Use third-party endorsements. The best way to brag is to get the right people to brag for you. As much as possible, use third-party endorsements as evidence for your work ethic, character, talent, intelligence, unique value, etc. Compare these two sentences for a cover letter, and ask yourself which is more compelling:

' 'One of my strengths is my excellent work ethic.'

' 'John Smith, Director of Sales at XYZ Company, referred to me as 'the hardest working sales rep' he's had in the last 10 years.'

5. Don't ask questions that imply laziness. While you may be curious about a company's official work hours or vacation/PTO policy, asking about this too early can make you look lazy. Save these sorts of questions for after you have an offer in hand.

6. Always follow-up fast. Make it your practice to follow-up immediately after any networking situation or interview. Whenever anyone gives you their time and/or advice during your job search, always send a thank you note. This is a very obvious tip that most people take for granted. Want proof? I've actually received thank you letters from people to thank me for sending them a thank you letter!

7. Never submit boiler-plate or unprofessional job applications. Treat the process of applying for a job as if it is the first project the employer has given you as a paid employee. Anything less than a well-written, 100% complete, error-free application will end up in the trash, especially given that employers are receiving hundreds or thousands of job applications these days. You want the employer to read your application materials and think, 'Wow, this person is EXACTLY what we need.' It's a huge turn-off to hiring managers when someone submits a cookie-cutter resume or cover letter.

Author:

Pete Leibman is the Founder and Keynote Speaker for Dream Job Academy and the Author of 'I Got My Dream Job and So Can You.' His work has been featured on Fox, CBS, and CNN.

Special offer until July 30, 2012: Send your current resume (and a link to a job description you are interested in) to Resume@DreamJobAcademy.com. Dream Job Academy will randomly select 25 winners in July 2012 for a Confidential Resume Evaluation from Pete Leibman ($250 Value)! Make sure to include 'Personal Branding Blog' in the subject line of your email.

Report: Oan-European IR Conference in Brussels

Delegates gathered from IR societies in Netherlands, France, Belgium, Portugal and UK

The inaugural Pan-European IR Conference in Brussels on June 11 and 12 brought together delegates from the IR associations of the Netherlands (NEVIR), France (CLIFF), Belgium (BIRA) and Portugal (FIR), as well as from the UK, in an event supported by NYSE Euronext.

The conference kicked off with a dinner in the Grand Palais de la Bourse, which included an entertaining keynote address delivered by Stephan Hollander, professor of accounting at Tilburg University, who talked about the hidden side of IR activities.

'We wanted a speaker from outside, with relevance to IR, but who could include humor and perhaps was controversial,' explained Marcel Schulze, MD of Tradinfo, which organized the conference on behalf of the IR associations.

The day began with the heads of the associations ringing the opening bell of NYSE Euronext Brussels before the first workshop got under way.

Focused on tracking and measuring the effectiveness of IR programs, it was chaired by Hans Buysse, president of the Belgian Association of Financial Analysts, which ranks and gives awards to Belgian companies based on their IR programs.

Unsurprisingly, there was plenty of time for networking built into the schedule, as one of the chief aims of the event was to help IROs network across borders, so Buysse's workshop was followed by a 45-minute coffee break.

Then the fireworks began: Marc Lefèvre, head of business development and client coverage in Europe for NYSE Euronext, and Mark Hemsley, CEO of MTF BATS Chi-X Europe, squared off in a lively discussion about trading venues, new instruments and regulation.

After a long lunch, the group broke into two sessions. One of the most talked-about presentations was by Tjerk Huysinga, vice president of IR Europe at Royal Dutch Shell, who discussed social media.

He spoke in detail about the development of the Shell iPad application for IR, a particularly lively discussion given that many of the IROs in the group were in the process of developing their own iPad apps.

The feedback from delegates was positive, especially in terms of networking opportunities. Many said they were happy to have had the chance to get to know their colleagues from across borders, share best practices and learn from each other.

Hans Leufkens, head of client coverage for Netherlands/Belgium at NYSE Euronext, was extremely pleased with the turnout and positive feedback. 'We look forward to expanding the event next year,' he said.

Attendee feedback

'This was a great opportunity to have updates on current topics in IR and to engage with colleagues from other countries across Europe.' ' Tjerk Huysinga, vice president of IR Europe, Royal Dutch Shell

'This first Pan-European IR Conference exceeded the expectations of most participants. It was a privileged moment for the debate between IROs from various countries about the most important current topics of common interest.' ' Patricia Vieira Pinto, president of FIR

'The Pan-European IR Conference is an excellent opportunity to meet your international colleagues to discuss and share experiences about the same topics we all have to deal with in these volatile capital markets. For those who missed the inaugural 2012 conference, don't miss the 2013 event!' ' Gerbrand Nijman, president of NEVIR

Building a Culture That Motivates and Inspires Creative Teams

In his book Drive, Daniel Pink discusses a number of recent studies that show how people in today's creative knowledge economy are not necessarily motivated and engaged by traditional methods.  In fact, offering rewards for performance (the carrot and the stick), using title and rank to direct people (micro-managing), and lavishing half-hearted recognition can actually be fairly de-motivating.

Instead, people are motivated by their desire to be creative in their work and make a difference. We want to be empowered to find solutions to make their work better. We want to work on something that helps improve the world. We want to solve complex problems that challenge their skills and intellect. It's the creative nature of our work that can keep individuals excited and energized every day.

However, creativity is not just an individual endeavor. In many situations, the most creative work happens when individuals come together as a team and feed off of each other through collaboration, brainstorming, arguing, and exchange of ideas.

As leaders and managers of creative organizations then, it is our responsibility to create a culture that enables individuals to explore innovative ideas in their work and build an environment where teams can flourish. We need to help employees find meaning and interest in their work and design an environment that encourages sharing and inspiration for ideas.

OK, sounds good, but how? A creative work environment is more than just a ping-pong table in the lounge. Physical environment is important, but there are a multitude of other ways a culture of creativity and entrepreneurship can be infused into various parts of your business.

In a Webinar next week, we'll discuss the growth of our creative culture at Mad*Pow, detailing some lessons we've learned along the way. We'll outline our approach in general, and then detail some of the specific activities we've tried ' from the design of our space, to team building activities, to management guidelines, and goal setting. We'll also dive deep into our recently completed company Design Slam event ' a team building design activity that gave Mad*Powians the opportunity to collaborate with folks they don't normally work with, and spend their energy on interesting design problems with few constraints. Exactly the type of team building and creative exercise we intended.

This article is an original contribution by MIchael Hawley.

Find out how you can become a part of Business 2 Community.

Email Spam Law Guide, Part 1: CAN-SPAM

Image provided by: The Chronicles of Nik

As a short disclaimer before I start, I'd like to emphasize that I am in no way a legal expert on email or the internet. As little as a few weeks ago, I didn't know what CAN-SPAM was, and even now, most of my knowledge comes from Wikipedia and questionably reliable forums and blogs. If you have serious questions about the legality of your email practices, please consult the nearest lawyer, which isn't me, since I'm not a lawyer.

That being said, what I am is an expert in scouring the internet for useful information. Employing these skills, I embarked on a fact-finding mission over the past week to understand what exactly is legal, illegal, or legal-but-frowned-upon when it comes to email marketing.

The result is my Email Spam Law Guide. If you're thinking of firing up an email marketing program for your B2B business, this might be a good place to start.

What I found is that the laws intended to fight spamming are actually pretty innocuous, and marketers can stay within the law by obeying a few relatively harmless guidelines.

HOWEVER, that doesn't mean email servers enjoy delivering spam. A number of private-sector mechanisms have sprung up that effectively enforce tighter limits on email marketing than what is strictly legal. In part 2, I'll tell you about both those techniques and how they could impact your email marketing strategy.

Since the first thing on my to-do list at all times is 'Stay out of prison,' I'll start with the legal definition of spam.

CAN-SPAM

In 2003 George Bush signed Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing into law. CAN-SPAM, in addition to being a horribly forced acronym, was a piece of legislation that standardized spamming laws nationally. In doing so it overrode preexisting state laws that were in some cases actually stricter than the legislation that replaced them. CAN-SPAM has three basic requirements for anyone sending marketing emails:

1. Unsubscribe Compliance: When emailing someone, you have to provide an unsubscribe option that can be triggered with just an email address (i.e. no onerous information requirements or fees). The request has to be honored within 10 days. It's like the do-not-call list for phone numbers, except it only goes for the organization you unsubscribed from.
2. Content Compliance: Your subject line has to have something to do with the content of the email. You have to provide an accurate email and physical address.
3. Sending Behavior Compliance: You can't send emails to a list harvested via a web spider or directory harvest (where you guess and validate likely email patterns, such as 'jdoe@gmail.com'). There are some other technical components that won't concern most people doing honest email marketing.

And that's really it. So long as your email complies with those three tenets, you can legally blast out emails without any sort of opt-in.

In other words, unsolicited email may be frowned upon, but it is NOT illegal.

Does that give you the green light to do it? Probably not. In the absence of powerful legislation, email servers have built up their own defenses against spamming.

In part 2, I'll go over what some of these are, how they can hurt you, and the best ways to make sure your emails don't land in a recipient's spam folder.

Sign-up for our Free Weekly Newsletter to get the best new ideas for building technology companies.

Branding And Content Marketing Lessons From Reality TV And The Olympics

The TV networks have learned an important lesson from all the years of Reality TV.

And believe it or not, what they've learned applies both to your brand and your content marketing.

Let me explain.

They've learned that the more viewers are allowed to 'know' the people competing, the more they will become committed fans of those people and in turn committed viewers of the show.

They know that the more they allow us to know the each person's backstory, the more we'll connect with them and become invested in them winning.

I stumbled onto a blog yesterday over at SilverSquareINC.com and learned that VISA is using this same technique to promote Olympic athletes on their VISA Go World channel.

They are revealing each of the athlete's backstory. They are helping us to know the athletes who are competing.

I'm sure it'll have the same effect on people watching the Olympics as it does on reality tv viewers.

What does that have to do with you and your branding and content marketing?

Simple.

Tell your story. Reveal your backstory. Expose more of who you really are.
(This should be a part of your content marketing strategy.)

Do you risk losing some people by doing this? Yep!

But, who cares?

Because what will also happen will make it more than worth it.

In the same way those viewers bond with the reality tv stars, people will start to bond with you.

You will stand out in their minds. They'll 'know' you. They'll become invested in you or your business. (Brand)

And those people you lose will be replaced with fans.

Always remember, fans are worth much more than followers!

Stay tuned for an upcoming post called 'The 2 Critical Ways To Make Your Content Marketing Stand Out' where I'll share two important ways to elevate your content above your competition.

In the meantime, read some of my 'behind-the-scenes' personal story in these posts:

• 'The Day I Was Kidnapped (A True Story): A Business & Life Lesson'
• 'The Martial Arts Master And The Unexpected Business Lesson'
• Content Marketing And A New Purpose For Books

Why Easter Eggs Should Be Part of your Email Marketing Plan

A new type of marketing that I actually like, make that 'Love' is the (and I am branding this so everyone has to pay me a quarter every time they use the term moving forward) 'Easter Egg Marketing'.

An Easter Egg for the virtual world is generally defined as a hidden message, or an inside joke, or a cool hidden function on a web page, program, game or even an email. To find the hidden Easter Egg one may need to mouse over the page looking for the hidden item, or click on seemingly harmless items featured on the program or site. Once clicked or discovered the user may receive additional information or features to the program/game/site. Easter Eggs have been used on computers since the 70s and even in DVD menus.

Go to thinkgeek.com. This is my absolute favorite place to shop online. Whenever you buy from them, they include in your box of goodies a catalog of some of their items with a promo code on the back for 10 dollars off your next order. They also mail once or twice a month to your house the same catalog, with the same promo code. The truth is, you can find these promo codes on promo code sites so they are not that exclusive. But, they also will email you. Now, they do something different with their emails and their Facebook posts, yep they have a pretty active Facebook page. They are fun to read. They are not always trying to sell. Sometimes they are sharing funny articles, important dates in geek history (6/28 was 'Tau day' by the way, 6/29 was Happy Unicorn Appreciation Day). But, and the best part is, they put an Easter Egg in one of their recent emails. I received one the recently, unfortunately I did not see it until an hour after they sent it, and was too late to claim the prize.

So, the email said something like 'there is a promo code hidden somewhere in the email. The first to use it gets 100$ off their next order, they just have to hurry up, throw it in their cart and cash out'. How brilliant is that? They have done similar things on Facebook, where they will throw out a promo code for 100 bucks off to the next person that cashes out their cart. Now, they do not force you to finish the transaction if you did not get there in time and someone else used the promo code first, so they will inform you if the promo code has already been used and no longer available before you buy. But, they keep people waiting for their emails. They keep people waiting for their FB posts. People read them, just to make sure there is not a special little deal in there. BTW, the Easter egg in the email could only be found by looking at the plain text version of the email (view source) and was found at the bottom. It was actually hidden in the HTML version. Only a geek would even think to suppress the HTML to look for it there, which I did, but was too late, someone else found it first.

So, they make it fun, keeping their readers engaged to the point they are reading each and every line of text to find the hidden code. They are making sure that the consumer is reading everything they write. They are keeping the customers engaged with their online cart, yet they aren't always trying to 'sell' them. Instead, they educate them on great moments in geek history and interesting and fun ideas to try. They highlight the customers by posting their submitted action shots using the merchandize, or posting customer submitted geek poetry, all the while sneaking in a deal or highlighting a new geeky item. I love them, and I can't wait for my next email Easter Egg, my cart is full and ready.

Image: Wikipedia

3 Examples of Specialty Manufacturers Leveraging Inbound Marketing

As a leading Inbound Marketing agency in Wisconsin, our team has new discussions daily with prospective clients intrigued by what Inbound Marketing could do for their business, within their specific industry. One of those niche industries we're immersed in within our great state of Wisconsin is specialty manufacturing.

With such a wide array of specialized products being produced, many of these specialty manufacturers struggle to wrap their heads around how certain disciplines of Inbound Marketing (blogging, social media, advanced content downloads for lead capturing, etc.) can be applied to the products they manufacture as a company. This is when we typically offer up some relevant examples of other companies within their industry who are rocking Inbound Marketing.

If this is where your company struggles with Inbound Marketing, here's a look at 3 inspiring examples of specialty manufacturers who are leveraging the power of Inbound Marketing.

1. Mercer International Inc.

As a manufacturer of high-performance Oil/Water Separators, Mercer International has clearly embraced Inbound Marketing, which is apparent the moment you visit their website. Their home page alone is stocked with two downloadable content offers, a video presentation and an on-demand webinar. In addition, their blog is clearly visible in their site navigation and their social media accounts are accessible throughout the site as well.

Here's a preview of the landing pages for their featured whitepaper download. The landing page instantly makes a statement with prominent graphics and a preview of the download, and clearly articulates what you're getting.

2. HydraForce

HydraForce is a great example of a manufacturer who makes highly specialized products ' high performance hydraulic cartridge valves and electro-hydraulic control systems ' yet has embraced the power of blogging on topics in this manufacturing niche. Their blog is dedicated to providing hydraulic tips, techniques and news, and allows their team to demonstrate their expertise while benefiting their SEO performance with the use of fresh and keyword-rich content with internal links to various pages of their website.

They also utilize prominent call-to-action (CTA) graphics in the right column of their blog to direct visitors to targeted landing pages where they can convert visitors into leads.

3. Biocoat

Another great example of a manufacturer who offers a unique product and variety of services, and that's leveraging Inbound Marketing, is Biocoat ' a developer of biomaterial coatings for medical devices. Their website offers informational videos, a stocked library of downloadable resources, robust blog and webinar opportunities as shown below; all designed to attract relevant prospects who are searching for a solution that their company can support.

These are only a handful of examples of the possibilities Inbound Marketing offers for specialty manufacturers, but it proves no matter how niche or specialized your products may be, an Inbound Marketing strategy can be implemented to improve online search performance and attract and convert qualified leads through your website.

To learn more about the disciplines of Inbound Marketing and how to get started, download our free Step-by-Step Guide to Inbound Marketing.

Four Steps To Generate Leads Online With Your Business Blog

Most experienced marketers agree that a business blog is an extremely useful tool to expand online reach, build brand loyalty, and generate leads online. According to Social Media Examinar's 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 79% of marketers with over three years of experience use blogging as a social media marketing tool. Whether you're just getting started or need to revamp your approach, here is a proven four-step formula your business can use to reap the many benefits of blogging:

(DEFINE+LISTEN+ADDRESS) X (COMMUNICATE) = BLOGGING SUCCESS

Clearly define your target audience, listen to them, and then communicate solutions that address their pain points in a simple, concise and relevant way.

DEFINE ' Develop Buyer Personas

Create a demographic profile for each buyer persona. Flesh out personal details, such as gender, age, income and education level, marital status, and children. Speculate on any hobbies, pursuits, and personal interests to give you personas a three-dimensional feel.

Expand on employment information. Create data points for industry, department, specific role within the organization, and level of seniority.

Finally, speculate on each persona's information acquisition and consumption habits. Do they prefer nline search, social networks, books, newspapers, or trade papers? If yes, which ones? Try to be as specific as possible- the more detailed your buyer persona, the more effective your blog.

LISTEN ' Understand Needs and Motivations

If your business is selling a product or service (which for your sake I hope is the case), take a moment to think about the needs and motivations of your target market. What features and benefits are your buyers looking for? Make sure to think about this for each of your buyer personas. Moreover, what type of user experience (UX) is your buyer expecting to have when purchasing your product or service?

On the flip side, you need to anticipate objections. What issues or concerns would keep each buyer persona from purchasing your product or service?

To the extent that you can understand needs and motivations, and expose consumer objections, you can tailor various blog posts to address the interests and concerns of each persona within your greater target audience.

ADDRESS ' Solve Pain Points and Offer Value

Now for the nitty-gritty: how will your product or service resolve a problem, address a pain point, and/or ultimately provide value to your target audience? At his/her core, what does each buyer persona really value? What will get them excited to work with your brand? What are they trying to accomplish with this relationship?

Once you have a clear grasp of such fundamental buyer motivations, you can communicate how your product or service can solve their problems and add value to their lives. Blogging gives your brand a direct and relatively intimate platform to communicate with your target audience on a consistent basis.

COMMUNICATE ' Keep it Simple, Concise and Relevant

Clarity of message is the cornerstone of effective blogging. A simple structure and a clear proposition make for the most compelling posts. Most readers are looking for useful insight they can easily digest in one sitting. The best blog posts are usually 400-800 words in length. Make sure each post is in some way relevant to your target audience: resolve, inform or entertain. Tie your product or service into each blog topic, being mindful of the buyer persona(s) you are trying to reach.

In an increasingly crowded Internet, a well-crafted business blog can provide real value to your target audience. In time, this will translate into more web traffic, leads and sales for your brand.

Follow @chrshorton

Follow @SyneCoreTech

This article is an original contribution by Chris Horton.

Find out how you can become a part of Business 2 Community.

Auto-Publish Blogs for 50% more B2B Leads

As an inbound marketer, you're probably in cahoots with tens of thousands of other inbound marketers across the globe in search for an effective method to gain more b2b leads. It is quite safe to say that nowadays you can't survive getting any leads without social media integration. Promoting your products and/or services is one of the most effective and vital processes of inbound b2b lead generation. However, this might not give you just a piece of the pie and not the entire thing.

So what's lacking? A recent entry at the Hubspot blog, entitled 'Companies That Auto-Publish to Social Media Generate 50% More Leads [New Data]' states just that.

The guys at Hubspot has graced us with pertinent data regarding the effectiveness of auto-publishing blog posts to suit one's advertising efforts for generating more leads. The blog post has indicated that within 3,308 B2B and B2C companies, there is a recorded 576 leads generated to those companies that did not use blog auto-publishing whereas 865 leads have been generated with auto-publishing. On the same note, Hubspot has studied that within 8,892 B2B and B2C companies, a recorded 308 leads were generated with the aid of social media scheduling whereas 981 leads were generated with social media scheduling.

At their graphs, it can be clearly seen that there is a near 40% increase in leads generated with blog auto publishing and a whopping 300% increase when social media scheduling is applied.

Nonetheless, there are still a few things to take into consideration before you start any blog auto-publishing or social media scheduling. After all, if you want to generate more leads then you have to do it right.

1. Optimize the title and content of your blog post

   First thing's first, you have to focus on your targeted keywords. However, you have to make it so that you attract the attention of your targeted market. A title that plainly says something like 'commercial cleaning leads'won't really give you that much attention.

2. Provide readers with tweetable content

   Whenever you post something, give your readers something to focus their eyes upon. For example, you can bold a portion or phrase out of your blog post or article to highlight the importance of that to the topic. For instance, you can indicate in your post on how your prospects can get more cleaning leads. This can get their attention immediately and lets them read the entire article for them to find out more about how they can acquire more leads for their cleaning services.

3. Install social media sharing buttons

   Within your website, don't forget to put in a plug-in or two with easy access to social media sharing. This lets your readers easily share your content with a click of a button. The easier that your content gets shared, the more chances that your blog will spread throughout the World Wide Web.

4. Consider a tool the lets you auto-publish your posts and social media activity

   There are many softwares out there that you can download in order to spread the word about your blog at scheduled times and dates. For one, Hootsuite is one great option that allows you to schedule posts and allows you flexibility on where you want to post them. The good thing about this tool is it is only an on-line application; hence, no download is required.

5. Know the best times to publish your content

   Do a bit of research beforehand on the best times to publish your content. Also take into consideration the market that you are planning to target. As of late, a lot of people agree that reading blogs is now the morning newspaper. So, as an example, when you want to target states within the east coast of the United States, make it so that you publish at the times that they're sipping their morning coffee.

Do you still need excuses on why you shouldn't ramp up your blog posting and social media activity? Does auto-publishing posts still need to be questioned further?

This article is an original contribution by Matt Ford.

Find out how you can become a part of Business 2 Community.

4 Things Mobile Marketers Are Doing Wrong

We all know the stats about mobile marketing. It is going to explode. Google says that mobile search will surpass desktop search by the end of 2013. BIA/Kelsey says that mobile marketing will account for a massive increase in phone calls to businesses within the next 18 months. Mobile marketing spend will increase by 15 to 20 times in the next 6 years.

Mobile marketing is still, however, in its infancy and mobile marketers are, therefore, making mistakes. Here are the 4 biggest mistakes:

1. Measuring the wrong things

By now it is old news that mobile marketing produces phone calls. Google says that 61% of local mobile searches result in a phone call. xAd says that 52% of all mobile ads produce phone calls. BIA/Kelsey says the increase in mobile marketing spend will produce a similar increase in call volume to local businesses.

Mobile=calls.

So why do mobile marketers insist upon measuring click-through-rate, abandon rate, web leads and time-on-site?

They should be tracking metrics surrounding phone calls. There is rich, rich data in phone calls that is being unused by marketers.

2. Creating bad mobile landing pages

A mobile landing page should not be like regular landing page. There should not be a ton of form fields or content. Rather, there should be a 'Call Now' button, maybe a map lookup feature and'if you're feeling lucky'one form field to fill out. Mobile landing pages should be simple, simple, simple. Less is better. Less is more. Brevity is king.

3.Don't try it 

SearchEngineWatch says that only 12% of SMBs have a mobile website. The first way you fail at mobile marketing is if you don't attempt to do mobile marketing at all.

4. Take Google's word for it

Google charges mobile click-to-call advertisers for every click their ads generate. The problem is this: not all of those clicks from a mobile device result in phone calls AND not all of those phone calls are real calls. Some are junk calls. Some are accidental clicks. Some are not qualified leads. Our research shows that only about 50% of the calls that Google says are calls are actually calls. (You got that)? And less than 15% are good, qualified leads.

The bottom line: if you are conducting a mobile click-to-call campaign (and you should) don't rely on Google to tell you how well it is working. You're going to need a tool that can decipher good calls from bad calls for you.

Call Tracking for Mobile Marketing

FREE 30 Day Trial of LogMyCalls

Privacy in the Office of the Future is Surprisingly Inviting

Over the past week I noticed a lot of comments regarding my article on whether or not a deskless office like GlaxoSmithKlein's made sense. Regardless of your opinion, the fact of the matter is that companies are struggling to cope with the changing ways employees now accomplish their work. It's only because today's employee's need to collaborate more to be productive (82% of employees surveyed by a 2008 Business Week Survey said they needed to collaborated at least once a day), but also they are incorporating new technologies to help them at a very rapid pace. Today's businesses are facing the challenge of learning how to harness this shift and help their employees create efficient work.

British design firm PearsonLloyd is tackling the evolving work place problem by developing furniture that is 'designed to provide a range of individual 'Me Places.'' Their goal is to create places where 'workers can remove themselves from the background noise and distraction associated with the general office when they require a space for total concentration.' These aren't your father's cubes. Say goodbye to the plastic, or aluminum, or whatever it is that most cubes are made out of and say hello to the semi-enclosed, upholstered workspace of tomorrow. Throw a bunch of these in the office and working in a sea of cubicles won't make you want to gouge your eyeballs out'hopefully.

What if you were to Facetime your boss right now, totally out of the blue? We have the technology. How would they react? Video conferencing has now becoming commonplace in the workplace. However to most of us, it's still not the same as human interaction. Why? Office furniture company, Steelcase, believes it boils down to the environment where most chats are conducted. The majority of today's video conferences are made using Cisco TelePresense systems that are designed to duplicate corporate boardrooms.

In a recent FastCo Design article Christine Congdon, director of research and communications at Steelcase, states 'You sit side-by-side looking at a big screen, and the space shapes our behaviors so we become very stiff and formal'Those spaces are fine for informative collaboration, but you'd never find yourself getting into a creative flow with colleagues at a distance.' Steelcase's solution? Time to reinvent the video chat. Their goal is to make video conferencing easy and unintimidating, believing the philosophy: 'If it's easier, and not intimidating to users, it will be used more often.' They purpose creating 'spaces reminiscent of photo booths crossed with living room furniture, where someone can relax, but the production approaches studio quality.' This makes the experience casual, while making a high quality, professional looking video. By having a relaxed space it should nurture the kind of spontaneous conversation that can lead to new ideas.

The workforce is in a state of change. The way employees accomplish their work is shifting. For corporations, being able to overcome these challenges will mean the difference is failure or success.

What are your thoughts? Think any of these suggestions will help employees be more efficient at the office?

Image Source: www.iStockphoto.com Image Source:http://pearsonlloyd.com Image Source:http://newsroom.cisco.com Image Source:www.fastcodesign.com

30 Years of Business Change in One Blog Post

It all started with something like this.

This month marks the 30th anniversary of starting my first job in corporate America. I know. I don't look that old. Thanks for humoring me.

So I have been a bit nostalgic about my career (so far) and the changes I've seen. I rarely spend time on this blog looking BACK, but if you'll oblige me this once, I'd like to make a few observations about the changing nature of work that may surprise you:

Technology

Of course this is the most obvious difference ' and I'm not the type of person to re-state the obvious! But to set the stage, there was no:

• Internet
• Email
• Voicemail
• Mobile devices
• Personal computers

My first corporate job was to be in the office by 6:30 a.m. every morning to create a global executive summary of economic, industry, competitor, and customer news. I read paper magazines and newspapers, cut out the important articles with scissors and taped them to paper for photocopying. I typed summaries of the articles on a new-fangled device called a 'word processor' which then printed the document so it could be faxed to corporate offices around the world. The advent of personal computers and the Internet has been so profound that I could not possibly even cover it if I wrote for a month. When email was introduced, my boss fought it tooth and nail. You see, some things never change.

MadMen

I count myself lucky to have witnessed the tail-end of the 'MadMen' period of business culture. When I started my career in 1982, it was a white-skinned, starched-collar, chain-smoking, Ivy League, martini-swilling group of guys running corporate America. I was taken to many business lunches to drink at the all-men, all-white private business clubs that were in every major American city. I am proud to say that when the chairman of my company, Charles Parry, took his rotation as the president of the private club in Pittsburgh, he walked through the front door with our company's treasurer, an African-American, and smashed that rule forever. I was so proud of that! Today, business is for everyone. But it was not that long ago that business was an elitist, blue-blooded sport.

Speed

The reaction time in business has accelerated mightily. Back in the early 80s you had more time to think and gather your response because you could duck and hide behind the slow communication network. If people wanted information from you, they basically had to call you on the phone. The OFFICE phone. So there was no ubiquitous availability like we have now. If a reporter needed information for a controversial story, there were endless ways to delay and turn the situation around in your favor. It was an important skill! Because of the relatively slow communications, there was a lot more downtime built into the decision-making processes.

Globalization

The political world was radically different then. Russia (USSR) and Eastern Europe were closed markets. There was little trade with China and certainly no China supply chain strategy other then British-controlled Hong Kong. Other than Europe, America still had a very U.S.-focused market and supply chain. We still made stuff here. The lack of real-time communication options was a big hurdle to global trade.

Flexibility

Company life back then was pretty rigid. I wore a suit and tie to work every day until around 1992 when 'casual Fridays' started to loosen things up. It was a 9-5 world. There was no working from Starbucks ' I think you could make an argument that mobile devices created Starbucks. As a young employee, my first office had a leather couch and a globe. Yes, I'll admit ' that was cool. But there was a big trade-off. All this rigidity and lack of technology made for a real lack in '

Personal Opportunity

Here are the number of friends I had who started their own company in the 1980s ' zero. To start a company then, you generally had to MAKE something. That meant investing in manufacturing assets ' which also meant securing a bank loan, physical work space, employees, and a support infrastructure. To start something new, you had to have experience, money, and connections.

Compare this to my recent profile of Xavier Damman, the founder of Storify. He does not have a college degree and never worked for a company. Xavier wrote computer code in his apartment in Belgium, teaching himself how to create a start-up company by searching the Internet. After 18 months he had the foundation of his company in place to the point where he got $3 million in venture capital funding so he could move to San Francisco and build his company. Now that is cool.

Accountability

I think a major shift in work life is represented by the growing emphasis on personal accountability.

When you joined a company, you embarked on a 'career path' that relied on building a personal network and gathering enough company-sponsored training programs to propel you to the next level. Companies viewed employees as long-term strategic investments. Honestly, this created a lot of dead weight in the company structure.

Today, corporate cultures are built on flexibility and viewing employees as interchangable parts. Employees are responsible for their own training and career path. If you don't remain relevant, you will be jettisoned and replaced.

The bottom line

Other than being able to strategically hide from my boss through elaborate games of telephone tag, there is really only one thing I miss from 'the old days.' Today we maintain business relationships through email, text messages, maybe even Facebook or an enterprise social media utility like Yammer. I have customers who I have never met. Back then 'team building' was a physical activity like golf, fishing, or dinner at a nice restaurant. Nobody has time for physical events any more and I miss that. It was a lot of fun and it created life-long friendships. You really could have relationship-based selling. I think those days are gone, for the most part.

Well, I have written nearly 1,000 blog posts and this is the first one about 'the old days' and it may be the last. Obviously this could have been a VERY long article, but I kept it to a minimum and hope you found it mildly interesting. What are some other major changes that you've observed in how business works today?

Mark Schaefer is a marketing consultant, author and college educator who blogs at {grow}. You can also follow him on Twitter: @markwschaefer.

Directing a Corporate Video

With businesses needing to become more creative with the types of content that they are creating it is becoming ever more important to have a range of skills that can be applied to specific styles of content, or to at least have a basic understanding of them.

The post will take you through the basics of directing a corporate video so that if your business ends up hiring a production company you will be in a stronger position to understand how the process works and how you may be able to contribute or even take part.

The role of the Director and Producer

In feature films and documentaries, the Director is the creative leader of the project. They hold the ultimate vision as to what the final product will look like and it is their responsibility to steer the crew in that direction. The Producer's role is practical. They hold the purse strings and ensure that the production process runs efficiently.

When talking about corporate videos, it will often be the case that the same person takes on the directing and producing roles. If this is you, we have put together some guidance around the various responsibilities that you will be taking on.

Working with a video production company

If you decide to hire a production company, your role could be quite different. Production companies will come armed with experience, skills, the crew and the equipment. You have the option of providing them with a thorough brief and a budget and letting them do their thing. However, you may still want to direct the video. It is essential that you are clear about the role you want to take at the beginning so that they know what they are working with. Otherwise, you can end up with situations where people annoy each other, creating a resentment which will only impact negatively on the production.

The importance of a good brief

Whether you are working with a production company or freelancers you need to write a good brief. Your brief needs to be strong enough for everyone understand what you are trying to achieve with your video and how you are planning to do it. A good brief will include the aim of the video, who your audience is, the content it will include, the style of the video and how it will be narrated. It should also include practical information like a budget and the beginnings of a production schedule, especially a deadline.

The importance of a budget

Your budget should be a line by line statement of your expected expenditure on the project. It will be difficult to know exactly how long various elements will take, especially if this is your first video production, so be sure to ask the video production company for realistic timescales. Your budget should include costs for pre-production and post-production elements ' as well as just the production process. Knowing how much you can spend from the outset will mean that you can plan within those parameters.

Your creative responsibilities in directing a corporate video

As Director, it is your role to translate the creative vision of the project into reality. Preparation is the key to ensuring you are ready to turn that creative vision into an actual video. Creative preparation should include scripts and storyboards.

Scripts

A script will describe what should be happening on the screen at any one time. It is good practice to write the corporate video script in two columns; the first column can be used to describe the visuals (what we will see on screen at each point; the second column should describe the audio (what sound will accompany the visuals. Scripting also includes writing any dialogue that has been decided in advance of production.

Storyboards
The storyboard is the blueprint for your video production. It is a shot by shot visual description of what will be in your video and is a document that will ensure you and the team are focused and working together ' because you all have the same idea about what you are trying to create. The process of creating a storyboard is particularly useful because it allows you to experiment with different potential structures and story lines. Storyboards don't have to be Turner Prize winning pieces of art. They are worth investing the effort because they will save you time in the long run.

Top tip: If you are new to making videos, one of the most important things you can do is to educate yourself. Watch lots of other corporate videos. See how other people are doing things and get ideas about what to do and what not to do.

Your practical responsibilities

Directing a corporate video team

Production crew
If you have made the choice to hire in freelance camera operators and other crew, it is your responsibility to ensure that they are briefed on all aspects of the job. It is your role to steer their work and also to look after them. Make sure you plan breaks into your production schedule. Ensure that these are communicated to them so that their expectations match what you deliver to them whilst they are working for you. You are also responsible for paying them ' make sure you do it when you said you will do it!

Actors and presenters
If you are hiring in talent such as actors to be in your video, you are also responsible for making sure they are briefed and taken care of. They should know in advance of the shoot what you want them to wear and whether or not they need to learn a script or if they will be using an autocue. You also need to let them know what you want from their performance. This means that you need to decide how much creative control you want over their performance e.g. do you want them to improvise with a script or do you know exactly what you want them to say?

We wrote a short piece on choosing the right web presenter that may be worth a look.

Non-professional talent
It may be that you have non-professional participants lined up to be in your video, e.g. staff, customers or business partners. Non-professionals won't always be accustomed to being in front of big camera, under lights and having to speak in front of an unfamiliar audience. It is your role to make sure they have been briefed in advance and to make them feel as comfortable as possible throughout the process.

Post-production staff
An editor needs to be given the production brief, scripts and storyboards so that they know what the goals of the project are. As director, you are still responsible for directing the edit. However, you need to strike the right balance with your editor. You may be a hindrance to progress by watching over the editors shoulder the entire time. Another major aspect of your role in relation to the edit is ensuring that the editing team work to the schedule and therefore the budget.

Top tip: Don't withhold praise from any of your teams. If someone is doing a good job, keep the vibe positive and let them know. Praise enhances performance ' throw it around generously!

Summary of key points

The preparation for the project is your responsibility and if you do this well, you will make the production process a lot easier and less expensive

You are the keeper of the creative vision and it is your responsibility to communicate it to the team

You are the holder of the purse strings and you need to keep a handle on the budget

It is your responsibility to manage the production and ensure the process runs efficiently

You need to be clear about the boundaries of your own role so that you don't annoy other creative production staff.