Do you struggle to compete on price? Try competing on value instead.

Do you struggle to compete on price? Try competing on value instead.

The concept of value remains rooted in psychology, but the elements of value can make it much less mysterious. The elements can help marketers creatively add value to their brands, products, and services and thereby gain an edge with consumers—the true arbiters of value.

Shoppers crave a compelling story that makes them feel functionally secure and emotionally validated.

Read this Harvard Business Review Article on value: https://hbr.org/2016/09/the-elements-of-value

Digital Ad Revenues Have Surpassed 50 Percent of Total Ad Spending in the US

Magna reports that for the first time, digital ad revenues have surpassed 50 percent of total ad spending in the US. In 2018 digital spend will reach $106 billion, or 51.5 percent of total ad sales. Paid search, social media, and online video advertising, grew by 18 percent, 38 percent and 27 percent respectively while traditional media channels (TV, print, radio) were all down.

https://marketingland.com/report-digital-now-makes-up-51-of-us-ad-spending-248617

Infographic: 64 Statistics on Content Marketing

Content is king and this graphic from iScribblers contains dozens of content marketing stats to help you decide where and how to focus your efforts. Now get busy and write something...or call me I'll create some Taylor Made Communications that will help attract and engage your audience.

Top Five Content Marketing Things to Publish and Five to Avoid

Even with a large team - you can't do it all. Content Marketing takes time and effort. A video takes roughly and hour per minute, white papers, case studies and more require research, writing, re-writing and editing, e-books could take weeks. So which of these should you put at the top of your list and spend time on which can you drop to the bottom. Here are some trends gathered from the web and from experience. If you find you don't have to time - contact Taylor Made Communications - we can create impactful content designed to attract potential customers, add value to your company and brand, and get you back to managing your business.

Create more of ...

1. Videos. Create as many videos as you can. That means more Facebook live videos, Instagram Stories and even simple videos where you overlay text atop images without needing a voice-over.  Use your high quality phone video and apps to create quick clips for social or do a full on multi-camera shoot for important promotional video. On Facebook, people watch 8 billion videos a day - double the amount from just 2015. Video has at least 135 percent greater organic reach than photos. Nearly any video you post will outperform other content.

2. Still Room for Quality pictures.  But don't forget pictures - create and borrow high-quality pictures from your facility, events and customers. Stage photo shoots regularly, take candid pictures of staff doing their things and ask for, and share, customer photos. You want to tell your brand's story and message visually as often as you can and picture is worth a 1000 words. 

3. Infographics. People can't help but click on and view infographics and lists. The colorful design attracts attention, and the factoids of information engage readers. 

4. Blog posts. When you promote ideas, explain issues and answer your audience's top questions - all with the right keywords for SEO, blog posts will help you gain traction and deliver long-term traffic for years. It is like a cruise ship - takes a while to get it going but once you have, on average, 32 posts - eyeballs will follow. 

5. Case studies. Case studies are incredibly powerful. When an actually customer is singing your praises, it becomes a powerful reinforcement of your message to your readers. You are proving, not just telling, how your business can help and how it has helped others. Pro Tip: include a solid mix of hard data and anecdotal evidence and headline making quotes.

You Can Skip These

1. Podcasts. Podcasts are fun to listen to - if you listen to them. But for marketers, they aren't worth the time because they don't offer proven ROI or any increased engagement rate. If you must - create and advertise a Webinar and then leave up a recording to engage new customers. 

2. White papers. White papers are often redundant. What can you say that you couldn't better be expressed in a blog, video or news release? If you create a detailed white paper - make it list "Top Five Content Marking Things to Publish" Busy people will understand they don't have to spend a long time getting the main ideas and the rest of the white paper can help expand up on the lists. 

3. e-books. "Fill this out for a Free e-Book" For most companies, your content should be 100 percent accessible. If you ask for too much information too soon, you'll lose your audience. Instead, invest in marketing automation to gain that information without the friction.

4. Memes. Memes are fun and easy to make - but hard to do right without offending someone. They can also make it look like you're pandering to the younger generation. Or your audience might not get the reference and feel they don't understand your company. For the risk they present, memes don't offer enough of a gain.

5. Filler content.  Don't post something just to post something. Create each piece of content with a goal that aligns with your overall strategy and provides real information.  

Blog on my Friend!

Blog on my friend! As I tell anyone who will listen - Content is King! Read HubSpot's "2013 State of Inbound Marketing" (Inbound is the content your potential customers search for and find). Here are some eye opening stats:

> 34% of all th...e leads generated in 2013 come from inbound marketing sources

> In 2013, 41% of marketers confirm inbound produces measurable ROI, and a staggering
82% of marketers who blog see positive ROI for their inbound marketing.

> WOW - Traditional advertising and PPC (Pay Per Click) will deliver the least amount of leads this year - just 6%

> Inbound marketers double the average site conversion rate of non-inbound marketers, from 6% to 12% total

> 43% of marketers generated a customer via their blog this
year, though the blog requires roughly 9% of marketers’ time


http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/53/file-30889984-pdf/2013_StateofInboundMarketing_FullReport.pdf

Design Email for Mobile!

According to Knotice, in the last half of 2012, 41% of all emails were opened on a mobile device (phones and/or tablets) which is an increase of 14% from early 2012 numbers of 36% and a full 50% increase over the same time last year.

At this rate they predict by the end of this year more people will open email on their mobile device than on their desktop!
Make sure you messages are optimized for mobile. View emails and email newsletters on mobile deviced before sending them out.

http://www.knotice.com/reports/Knotice_Mobile_Email_Opens_Report_SECONDHalf2012.pdf

Good Reputations Sell

Studies used to say a happy customer tells 2-3 people but an unhappy one tells 8-10. But in this age of social networks – you can add a zero or maybe even two to end of those numbers. Online reputation monitoring matters. It often is the o...nly discernible way for a potential customer to differentiate between calling you or your closest competitor for a quote. Customers don’t have to be savvy internet detectives to research your company online. Often just searching for your business category will pop up your company high in the search results because monsters like Google Places (discussed last time), BBB and Yelp tend to pop to the top and display lists of companies along with star ratings and comments.

Of course no business can't please every customer every time and sometimes bad things happen to good organizations. You may be right, they may be completely off base, there may be no room in the middle. What is there to do? One client I have simply has a policy of ‘The customer is always right even if they wrong…especially if they post something bad.’ No fighting, no messy back and forth – just toss money at the problem, fix it and make them happy.

Not all companies and CEOs will want to do that and some situations just can’t be fixed. So what do you do with an awful review in that case? First do the math. If the bad review might reach 100 or a 1000 people online - have four of your happy customers post positive reviews that will ‘out-reach’ the bad one. Not only will the four good reviews boost your average “star” rating but they will now be on top of the bad one and will make people think about the motives behind that bad one when and if they ever get down to it.

Don’t wait for a bad review to start the process. Make soliciting positive reviews an active utensil in your marketing toolbox. Not because of the potential bad rating – but because good reviews simply lead to more sales which will lead to more good reviews. Ask every satisfied customer you conclude business with to help you grow by posting a positive review. Most won’t but some will. By the way – you can spend thousands a year on companies that will help manage your online reputation – and this is exactly what they do