By the end of this week, it will be 2021. Many of us are ready to mark the end of 2020 and gear up for a less stressful, more positive new year. As we set goals, identify strategies and tactics and finalize our plans for 2021, it is helpful to look back and see what we learned this year that we can put into our toolkit for the future. Here are some blog highlights from our 2020 posts that we hope you can use going forward.
2020 Blog Highlights
The Top KPIs for Evaluating Your Website Performance
A company’s website is one of its most vital resources. As an essential marketing tool, your website provides visitors with valuable information, guides prospects through the sales process and can even act as a headquarters for sales transactions. That’s why it’s important to optimize your website to ensure it meets your organizational goals. When fine-tuning your website, consider these key performance indicators (KPIs):
- Bounce rate
- Unique website visitors
- Pages viewed per session
- Average time on pages
- Top landing pages
- Top exit pages
8 Top Content Marketing Myths—Busted!
With so much information coming at us each day, it is easy to get confused about what is fact and what isn’t. To set the record straight, we collected eight common content marketing myths and explain why they wreak havoc on the lives of professional marketers.
Myth #1: Creating good content is easy.
Myth #2: A plan is just a list of tactics.
Myth #3: Content is just words.
Myth #4: Content only requires the expertise of a thought leader.
Myth #5: You’re lazy if you outsource content creation.
Myth #6: The only measure of content marketing success is converting leads into customers.
Myth #7: You must create daily content to compete.
Myth #8: Social media is for publishing original content.
21 Resources to Help You Stay Educated and Engaged
A true professional is always learning. Thanks to digital resources, staying on top of trends is easier than ever. This blog offers a compilation of our favorite informative resources for marketing, business and entrepreneurship.
- Podcasts: Modern Marketing Engine, Copyblogger FM, Youpreneur
- Blogs: MarketingProfs, Content Marketing Institute, Vickie Sullivan, Hive9, B2B Marketing Zone
- Webinars: Marketo, B2B Marketing, BusinessWatch Network
- Resource Libraries: Hubspot, Influence & Co, Salesforce
- Online Events and Summits: Social Media Marketing World, Adobe’s Digital Experience Conference
- Books: “The Thought Leaders Practice” by Matt Church, “Everybody Writes” by Ann Handley, “Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World” by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani, “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg
Is It Time to Revitalize Old Content?
Consistent producing new and engaging content can be a strain for most marketers. We’re constantly searching for ideas for the next blog, white paper, newsletter, video or webinar. By revising and revitalizing your existing library of content, you can save time, maximize resources and engage your audiences in new ways. This blog features our top tips for bringing new life to old content.
- Conduct a review and analysis of old content.
- Edit and renew old content.
- Remove outdated content.
- Redistribute your best content.
- Repurpose content for different channels.
- Redirect when necessary.
How to Create a Multicultural Marketing Strategy
Multicultural consumers represent approximately 40 percent of the population, yet only five percent of marketing spending is multiculturally oriented. When executed well, multicultural marketing can unite people, empower groups and capitalize on culturally connected populations. This blog features practical tips for ensuring your marketing strategy has an international and multicultural appeal.
Step One: Evaluate your internal culture and attitudes toward diversity and inclusivity within the organization
Step Two: Identify your local footprint.
Step Three: Think about the multicultural aspects of the national outreach of your company.
Step Four: Consider the viability of the global marketplace.
Do Your Prospects and Clients Trust You?
To develop and retain a strong customer base, companies need to build rapport and earn trust. This blog shows how you can develop and nurture trust with your target audiences through your marketing messages.
- Let clients speak for themselves
- Showcase your company’s expertise.
- Foster client loyalty.
6 Myths About Paid Social Media Advertising
Social media platforms have become a primary source of information, connection and promotion. But social media advertising can be difficult to navigate. Before committing your marketing dollars to a paid social media advertising program, take a look at six common myths and the truth that surrounds them:
Myth 1: Social media advertising is only for B2C.
Myth 2: Social media advertising is all about self-promotion.
Myth 3: Social media advertising is too expensive.
Myth 4: Each social media platform is a silo.
Myth 5: Anyone can handle your paid social media ads.
Myth 6: You have to run ads on all of your platforms.
5 Statistics That Will Transform Your Lead Generation Beliefs
Generating quality and consistent leads is a priority for most businesses. As communication platforms grow and change and as customer preferences and new marketplaces emerge, business trends shift. This blog highlights the latest statistics, research and trends marketers need to know to effectively create, implement and evaluate lead generation programs.
- There is a 165.9 percent increase in lead generation success when using three communication channels versus only one communication channel. (Xant)
- Only four percent of website visitors are ready to buy. (Marketo)
- Content marketing generates three times as many prospects as outbound marketing, but costs 62 percent less. (Demand Metric)
- 78 percent of social sellers outsell peers who don’t use social media. (LinkedIn)
- Segmented campaigns deliver up to a 760 percent increase in revenue. (Campaign Monitor)
Always Keep Learning
Of course, this information isn’t everything you’ll need to know to develop next year’s marketing plan. But staying on top of trends, new findings and business changes requires constant awareness. True professionals embrace lifelong learning. 2020 has taught us a lot about agility, resilience and tenacity. When we take these lessons from our blog highlights into 2021 and apply them to our marketing programs, we can reimagine what the future and our success will be. We wish you joy, peace, prosperity and belief in a brighter future.
