Internet Marketing Blog of KeChange

To Blog or Not to Blog?

When marketing on behalf of regulated industries (such as the healthcare companies, financial services and law firms we often work with), working within strict guidelines is a large part of the process - externally and often internally, as well. While you may be more limited in your blogging tone or breadth of discussion topics, there are numerous benefits to corporate blogging that should not be ignored. In highly regulated industries, in particular, there is much to be gained by integrating a blogging strategy as part of your company’s public outreach efforts. The following are the key benefits to incorporating a blog into your current marketing mix:

•   Puts a human voice to your company’s name

There’s little doubt that society increasingly thrives on interaction – it’s no wonder then in the age of 24-hour news access and Twitter accounts of celebrities leaves your 1.0 website sounding cold and devoid of personality.  Blogs have become a crucial component of incorporating a more personable, human approach that people have come to expect from industry-leaders. If executed properly, a blog can help your company forgo positioning itself as rigid and unapproachable.

• Promotes transparency

If you were to imagine for a moment that your company is a building, a corporate blog would serve as its windows. A good blog allows current and potential customers to peer inside and gain a greater understanding of what is going on internally.  While blogs are an excellent tool for building trust and customer loyalty, the most widely read blogs are those that position themselves as news outlets for the industry, rather than a PR tool dedicated to solely promote one company.  People hold blogs in higher esteem when they deliver unbiased reporting – particularly in a company blog.

• Starts a conversation with your industry, clients and potential customers

Maintaining a corporate blog will be useless if it’s used only as a channel for promoting a monologue; blogging is a two-way street. If you have no desire to engage readers in a conversation, have no doubt that your readers won’t stay readers for long. This can create reservations for some, but rather than fearing the blogosphere, instead embrace the unique freedom it offers you.  A major benefit of running a blog is that you have the opportunity to answer questions or concerns related to your company in an avenue that didn’t exist before. A good blog platform will also allow you to moderate comments so that slanderous or inappropriate language doesn’t appear on your site, but be careful not to confuse constructive feedback with derogatory language. Your blog articles should serve as a starting point, but be sure to keep track of the comments and feedback you receive from your readers. The conversation about your products or services will take place regardless; it is much better to know what is being said and be able to respond to it in a timely manner than to let it simmer on the Internet and build momentum. Participating in that conversation is a proactive approach that will help your company address potential issues and problems when they arise.  

• Results are easily measurable                        

Online measurement tools are increasingly important – like any other avenue of business, the blog food chain derives from results. One of the main criticisms of the social media phenomenon has been how to measure its success without a clear ROI? Blogging, on the other hand, allows you to measure results for various metrics with countless tools available online. For example, Google Analytics, one of Google’s free tools, is a customizable site analysis resource that can provide you with just about any breakdown of information you need. Goals, goal conversion, and return on investment – it’s all available, and better still, it’s all free.

 

Just like banner ads and spam, it will be the users who ultimately determine how effective a business blog is for them. It is understandable why certain industries remain hesitant about embracing blogging, but those who don’t catch on soon risk being left behind their competition and in the unenviable position of having to play catch-up.

 

Written by Ilona Lemeshov, Internet Marketing Associate

Digital Marketing 101 for Financial Services

Somewhere between the hype and the compliance-driven stigma lies the truth about social networking for the financial sector: technology and social media provide the industry an opportunity to reach out and engage potential clients and maintain a loyal base with current ones. Over the last few years, client and prospect habits have evolved along with the growth of the internet, and they will no longer tolerate being treated as a number in your mailing list or continue to be fed with direct marketing propaganda. Instead, your newly empowered customers will rely on information online, whether it is on websites, blogs or social media sites.

It’s often said that it can cost up to seven times more to acquire one new customer than to retain an existing one. However, according to a recent study released by the Loyalty Guide, costs are significantly higher in the case of the financial industry. With a growing ease of switching and the vanishing boundaries between company and consumer, relying on inertia is no longer an option for maintaining your customer base. Financial service institutions must proactively build relationships and engage their clients if they hope to stand a chance in today’s highly competitive market. Put simply, to ignore social media, is to ignore your customers.

It’s important to understand that the reason why the financial industry has been slow to embrace social media has mostly to do with the heavy legal liabilities associated with sharing too much or inaccurate information on the web. These liabilities, and the lack of understanding on how to maneuver around them, have been the primary road blocks for the financial sector. Nevertheless, there ARE companies who have mastered the delicate balance between liability and transparency. The following are excellent examples of financial institutions who have figured out creative ways to integrate social media to into their overall marketing strategies:

Wells Fargo

• Wells Fargo became the first financial institute to adopt social media when it launched its first corporate blog in 2006. It was used by hundreds of employees to brainstorm with each other and interact with customers.
• That same year they launched StageCoach Island, an online virtual world where you can connect with friends and learn smart money management through tasks and chores.
• A Wells Fargo Twitter account was set up and used as their online reputation management tool. They now boast more than 6,000 followers.  

Bank of America

• In January 2009, Bank of America joined Twitter to assist and solve customer problems. Only a year and a half later, almost 900 customer queries have been resolved through their Twitter account.
• There is also a Twitter account with the sole purpose of posting job opportunities. It has listed hundreds of job openings since its creation.

Ernst & Young

• In an effort to reach new hires fresh out of college, Ernst & Young created a specialized Facebook page where they communicate with graduating students starting the interview process online.

Capital One

• Capital One created Slingshot, (and used their YouTube account to promote it!) a ‘yellow pages’ type of social network which allows people to connect to one another, and promote their services.

In other words, if your financial services company is not online yet, get on it as soon as you can. Start by defining a clear online marketing strategy, short-list the top websites where you should establish a presence and begin engaging your networks with valuable content!

 

Written by Ilona Lemeshov, Internet Marketing Associate

Social Media: What the Doctor Prescribed for the Healthcare Industry

“We need brands to create more meaningful connections between their consumers in healthcare.” - Dr. Jay Parkinson, founder of The Future Well & Hello Health

While other industries have already designed and implemented social media strategies, most of healthcare remains stubbornly behind the curve. As newly empowered healthcare consumers turn to the web for advice and support, the healthcare industry must embrace the fact that conversations are happening, with or without them. The healthcare sector operates on the same principles as any other industry; in order to succeed, companies need to listen to customers and respond to their unmet needs and unanswered questions.  By taking an active role in social media, they can act as resources and partners for professionals and patients.  Not convinced?  Keep reading.

The Movement Has Started

In a post by Digital Influence blogger Rohit Bhargava, he points out that there are 367 US hospitals using social media; they are responsible for 10,000 Tweets from 267 Twitter accounts. In health care, the #hcsm and #hcmktg chats are excellent places to find people with interesting perspectives, and @danamlewis, @tstitt, @daphneleigh and @meredithgould are among the ringleaders, while @EdBennet has done a great service by pulling together the listing of hospitals using social media. Take a look at several great examples of social media in the healthcare sector:

Patients Like Me - online community created by MIT engineers to allow patients to share information and their personal experiences. The goal is to connect patients suffering from the same or similar diseases so they can rely on one another for support. 

The Center for Connected Health - community website designed for healthcare providers and policymakers. Members can discuss controversial topics, share best practices, new ideas, upcoming events and research.  

Individual hospitals - The Sarasota Memorial Hospital uses Twitter to answer patient questions and provide immediate customers service. Last March, the Henry Ford Hospital used Twitter to connect with 1,900 people and answer questions during a live brain surgery.

Patients and Potential Future Patients Are Involved In Social Networks

73% of patients search for medical information online before or after doctors’ visits, according to this video from the HealthCare New Media Conference. By integrating social media into the healthcare marketing mix, organizations can share accurate, timely information regarding symptoms, diseases, medications, treatments and more. Social sites like Inspire are providing a forum for patients to share their health problems and questions about treatments with other patients, as well as qualified medical personnel.  Hospitals can utilize social channels to answer healthcare- or illness-related questions or simply provide medical information.

Healthcare is Top of Mind, in the News and Continuously Changing

Since the last presidential election, healthcare has been thrust into the public spotlight. From universal healthcare to electronic health records to patient privacy, there’s a new healthcare news item in the headlines every day. Social media can provide an effective mechanism for hospitals and healthcare organizations to stay involved in healthcare legislation discussions and answer industry questions.

A perfect example of this is Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The hospital CEO has been using his blog to discuss and comment on health insurance legislation, among other topics.

Social Media Doesn’t Have a Large Price Tag

Budget cuts have become common business practice across nearly all industries—hospitals and healthcare organizations are no exception. But fortunately, social media campaigns don’t include a significant financial investment. Consider the healthcare marketing success story from the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic began utilizing social media channels to promote and increase downloads of its podcasts. The clinic effectively utilized their Facebook fan page, Twitter account and YouTube channel to promote each podcast, resulting in downloads increasing by more than 8,000%.

The benefits of integrating social media into healthcare marketing efforts are priceless – from improving patient care to gaining media coverage to attracting new patients and staff. If your healthcare organization hasn’t already taken advantage of social networking channels, now is the time.

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Written by Ilona Lemeshov, Internet Marketing Associate

10 Commandments of Social Media

There's little question that times are changing for business seeking to build and promote their business.  No longer does a business need 20 years to build their image and customer loyalty, or establish word of mouth advertising.  No longer do business owners rely on TV Executives, Radio Station Directors and Newspaper Editors for an opportunity to market their brand.  Now, we have Social Media. If you are just catching on to the social media craze you had better buckle up, because there is no shortage of social media networks, tools, tips, and resources. For this reason, we've compiled a straightforward, brief summary of what you need to know in order to incorporate an effective social media strategy.

Be real

The age-old saying "be yourself" is equally, if not more, important in online etiquette. Those that have been online awhile know who’s there to market & sell, and who’s there to build relationships. They smell SALES PITCH coming a mile away, and some will call foul the moment they do. Remember, your goal is to build relationships through interaction, not self promotion.

Listen

To be a better marketer you need to be a better listener. Have you ever had a relationship that ended because the other person never seemed to listen to you? That rate multiplies by 10 in social media because it’s easy to click & un-follow.

Value attention when you get it

People are starved for time and are generally thinking about 5 or 6 things at once. If you manage to capture some attention from your prospects don’t squander it, and don’t expect to constantly be in the spotlight. Value the attention you’re given because time is truly a limited resource.

Don’t focus on numbers

A short-term marketer or sales person only sees the quota they need to hit or the volume they need to produce. Social media is about long-term relationship building. Make it your goal to build lifelong connections. Rome wasn't built in a day and your social media strategy shouldn't be either.

Treat your network like a garden

Personal and timely communication is vital if you want to gain business from social media. Tend to your group, help it grow and bloom, and enjoy the beautiful results!

Don’t be a bore

Let your personality shine and you will find the influential connections come much easier. Be different, be fun, be interesting.

Don’t be a social litterbug

If you’re going to create social profiles on every network out there and only visit them once, congratulations, your profile has just become online litter. It clogs the system and will irritate users, not influence them.

Be personable

With the vast numbers of brands and individuals using social networks nonstop, the social sphere can often compare to a virtual vuvuzella. With so many choices and potential competitors available on the web, what makes you different and relatable to others?

Welcome participation and feedback

It's important to keep in mind that due to the internet's ambiguity, people tend to be more direct than they are face to face. But if you are prepared to not take negative feedback too personally, it can be a great way to understand how your brand is perceived by the public and allow you to adjust your marketing strategy accordingly.

Commit time and resources

Social media does take some time – it’s like attending a meeting and building a relationship all rolled into one, except digitally. Social Media Marketing embedded in your Marketing Mix is a long-term goal, not a quick-fix solution, and if utilized correctly it can bring unparalleled results!

By Ilona Lemeshov, Internet Marketing Associate

How To Distribute Audio & Video Content Effectively

Is your company in search of a cost effective solution for distributing audio and video content? If so you’re in luck, as podcasting has become a mainstream way to sharing customized media productions. A podcast is a series of digital media files that are downloaded through web syndication and can be viewed through audio and video capacities. Apple has sold over 40 million iPods since the product was introduced in 2001 and is transforming the way that we market our products. In this day and age, life is a constant on-the-go process which is why over 33 million Americans own an iPod.

Podcasting is a great alternative to large-scale marketing efforts that don’t require the same effort and cost, but still assume all the benefits. Podcasts are built to create relationships that extend beyond the podcast itself and into a business relationship. Creating a series of podcasts keeps your customers up-to-date, enhances your brand awareness, and assures your audience that you care about keeping everyone informed.

Podcasting can become a part of your lead nurturing process by offering prospects an engaging way of learning about your product without the pressure of a sales environment. Your viewers will appreciate the non-sales tone and find great value in your content. This will only lead to further trust between you and your prospects.  If any negative feedback comes back from your podcasts, it will surely be noted by viewers, but you always have the opportunity to engage the situation and respond directly to your audience. 

If you are still unsure, just look at Apple’s reach and how their products are transforming the way we attain information. The newly introduced iPad is selling about a million units a month. With a product this hot that allows people to use podcasts, it is crazy not to engage in this community. More often than not, internet marketing is about engaging the right communities, and right now there’s no better place to be.

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

What Do You Want From Social Media?

As most companies know social media has become a necessity for conducting business. What most companies are having trouble identifying, is what social media can do for your business. There will always be naysayers out there that say, "There are too many social media outlets out there to know what is really going on, I'd rather just pick up a phone." Well for those people in that situation I can understand where you are coming from. But before you start to disengage yourself away from social media, ask yourself, "What do I want social media to do for my business?" Once you are able to assess your needs for social media, then you will you be able to start utilizing social media effectively for your business.

Increase Your Brand Awareness Through Feedback

Creating a buzz around your product on social networks is one of the quickest ways to create brand awareness, but this can attract both positive and negative response. The solution to effectively marketing your brand is by monitoring what is being said about your product. Negative comments aren't necessarily a bad thing for your business; it only creates an opportunity to resolve the issue. By closely monitoring your brand, you will be able to quickly pick up on what is being said and engage your customers better. Negative feedback can become one of the best ways to increase brand awareness, because you have now filled the void of customer satisfaction with a quick response.

Create a Loyal Following

Now that you have engaged conversation with your customers, they now feel bonded to your product. This can be done in a variety of ways...internal blogs, online events, twitter, and just communicating with your audience have shown to be effective. A loyal following goes a long way and will enhance your product for other users that are not yet engaged in your community. Not everything that is conducted online has to be a big sales pitch; users like to see the more personal side. If you are not willing to engage with other users, they will never know who you are.

Driver Traffic To Your Website

Social Media makes this very attainable and it's a fun engaging way to go about it. A few ideas on how to drive traffic to your website are:

• Submitting articles to the correct social bookmarking sites (Top 10 social bookmarking sites)
• Make your headlines enticing; Top 10 articles, Why you need to..., How this product is changing lives. These are engaging headlines that draw attention to your article
• Avoid Pop-ups and banners - they're annoying
• Use images that are fun and relevant to your content

Now that you have a better idea of what your companies intentions are for social media, you must realize that social media is all about communication. Communicating with users is the fastest way to create a buzz around your product. If no one is talking about your product, how will anyone know about it? If you can take anything away from this article it is that communication is the greatest means of interaction and with social media can be used effectively for a business.

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

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Why Your Company Needs A Twitter Strategy In Place

With the rapid emergence of professional Twitter accounts, it has become more and more urgent to create a Twitter presence and manage it efficiently. Before your company begins Tweeting away, you need to create a Twitter Strategy or "Twittergy" as I like to call it.

Monitor the Online Conversations

First, you need to target your audience by selecting a list of 10 keywords to monitor on a daily basis and follow those discussing the topics your company should be weighing in on. A great way to find people who are writing about hashtags(#) based on your business is to use Blastfollow. Blastfollow will allow you to see anyone that is tweeting and using a "#" to identify the content of their tweets. Identifying these voices and following them is a great way to create a customer Twitter community.

Hashtags are trending topics that people are discussing, and can be seen on twitter in the following format; KeChange seeks answers to #SocialMedia. A hashtag will take the trending topic and serve as a resource for all users searching that topic. This will enhance your online presence and allow users to follow you based on your hashtag.

Project the Right Message

Once you have your 10 keywords in place, you need to establish yourself as an authoritative voice for these areas. Submit articles based on these 10 keywords that pose questions, concerns, and responses for your community of Tweeters. Providing your Tweeters with resourceful information is the best way to get your posts "Retweeted". Retweets are essential for getting your information out to multiple viewers. You can see in this diagram how a retweet can get viewed by hundreds and thousands of external Tweets that aren't apart of your following yet but are potential followers.

Here at KeChange we like to incorporate a content-based formula for Tweeting on an hourly basis. This content schedule includes approximately 8 tweets a day for our business with usually 4-5 of the tweets being business-oriented and 2-3 tweets that are more casual and fun. The combination of these techniques provides a personal way to deliver informative content.

Choose Your Platform Wisely

Twitter has many different outlets for keeping an eye on your followers and we found that a website called Hootsuite is one of the best outlets for staying up to date with your followers. Hootsuite allows you to see your homepage, @mentions, direct messages, as well as trending topics. Hootsuite also allows you to schedule tweets to be delivered at a later time and date. (FYI- @mentions are a public mention of a particular person during a post, designated by using the "@" symbol immediately before a person's twitter name. Responding and recognizing these @mentions is a great way to thank and encourage people to continue interacting with you.

Here's a list of some other effective Twitter outlets:
search.twitter, tweepsearch.com, refollow.com, oneforty.com

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

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How Gizmodo is Capitalizing on the iPhone 4 Saga

You know the joke: Guy walks into a bar, with the unreleased and top-secret iPhone 4, then walks out of the bar…without the unreleased and top-secret iPhone 4. It’s a fantastic story actually, one which sullied the name of Apple Software Engineer Gray Powell, and ended with the much-anticipated next generation smartphone in the hands of Gizmodo, a technology blog on the ever-popular Gawker network.

In the wake of this news, traffic naturally skyrocketed to epic proportions. Curious minds that had never once visited, or probably even heard of Gizmodo, were flocking to the blog to learn more about not only the iPhone4, but how it was discovered and subsequently leaked.

Consider these four one-month analytic figure bumps Gizmodo received, according to Alexa and Quantcast:

• Traffic Rank: #334; up from #1,015
• Unique Visits: 13.3 million; up from 2010 average of roughly 8 million
• Total Visits: 34 million; up from 2010 average of 23.1 million visits
• Reach (percent of global internet users to visited Gizmodo): 1.5 %; up from 0.2 %

Impressive yes, but what we're more impressed by is how Gizmodo is working to retain these new readers, and capitalize on the influx of traffic seen over the month of April. Gizmodo’s maneuver to reign in and retain their new audience is laudable. By scouring their own archives, they were able to unearth a bevy of fanastic blog articles that fresh eyes would likely be interested in reading, dating all the way back to their inception in 2002. It's been branded as "This is Gizmodo." In turn, it gave readers a better understanding of the work they do, and articulated the true understanding have on the consumer gadget industry. A tactful promotional and social media management effort.

So, to our readers who blog: have you ever hit lighting in a bottle like Gizmodo did with the iPhone4, and have been successfully able to keep new readers coming back for more? What sort of traffic spike did you see, and what sort of content did you offer to remain engaging and relevant?

By Nick Fasulo, Internet Marketing Manager

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4 automated sales and marketing tools you can’t live without

The transition is on.  Either you're ahead of the game or you will be switching your methods later (and that can be costly).  Traditional marketing principals based on spend and interruption are waning quickly, and inbound marketing or "getting found" is providing your company a better dollar-for-dollar return.

Internet Marketing technology  is very cost effective.  The best part - it all works while you're home sleeping.  Here are 4 automation tools you can't live without.

1.     Content Management Systems (CMS)

Hosted CMS Solutions (commonly known as Software as a Service) enable companies to build and manage a website.  Prior to the advancement of CMS systems, websites were all built in code, which made administration expensive because it was only accessible by programmers.  CMS solutions, like HubSpot, have enabled sales and marketing professionals to administrate their own websites by making it easy to build web pages, add sales lead forms and provide links without needing a webmaster.

CMS solutions are very advantageous to companies because they often have built-in general features like website performance analytics and social media tools. Some CMS packages are even focused on certain industries. For instance a CMS package for real estate agents may have a real estate listing feature available or a packages for travel agents may have an interface to airline flight arrival and departures. 

2.     Email Automation Solutions

The new practice of lead nurturing harnesses email marketing systems to engage prospects intermittently.   Email marketing automation solutions like Eloqua and Constant Contact enable companies to proactively engage prospective customers or clients who have provided the company with permission to market to them. As these people move closer to a buying decision, company news can spring up or changes in the industry can occur. Always keep the prospective customer in in your sight, and in the loop.

3.     Social Media Sharing Tools

Sharing tools are a very effective way of pushing out content quickly to a variety of viewers. If used properly, it can save yourself the time from having to input your blog into each social network individually. Some of the social bookmarking sites are very mindful of what is said on their sites, so avoid sounding promotional because you will be denied access. Through trial and error, KeChange has found these sharing tools to have great value:

• Ping-o-matic!- Input for this sharing tool is made very easy, just remember to delete your cookies each time you input a new blog.
• Onlywire- Fairly new to my sharing tools, but a very effective tool. Pushes out content to some of the biggest networks for quality viewership.
• Ping.fm- The most reliable tool for distributing blogs. Offers a variety of small to large networks for sharing.

4.     CRM Solutions

CRM Solutions (Customer Relationship Management) have automated the once cumbersome processes of sales management and reporting.  Delivered as a SaaS (or Cloud Computing), Salesforce.com's CRM offering lets companies centralize and automate all sales activities under one roof.

Salesforce.com can:

• Automatically capture a new lead from a CMS system when it arrives
• Populate in into the CMS management tool based on rules
• Provide a "prospect management console and contact database" for salespeople and other executives
• Customize the look and feel of a company's sales funnel by aligning different sales stages in the software with that of the company.
• Provide robust sales reporting solutions in real time, so one doesn't spend hours massaging sales data.

Salesforce also can effectivly integrate and work with with most of the systems mentioned in this article, including Hubspot. When paired together, the two can provide businesses with a "shrink-wrapped" sales and marketing solution that entirely closes the loop between lead and sales management. 

KeChange is an authorized partner of Hubspot, SalesForce.com and Constant Contact.

By Stephen Polinsky, CEO

How to Incorporate ShareThis into your Internet Marketing Strategy

 

 

What are your thoughts on Facebook's advertising opportunities? Have you given it a shot? Found it to be successful?

Or maybe you wish there was a better way to truly target your audience on the giant social media platform. Well now there may be, if utilized correctly. ShareThis, a tool that easily allows you to post relevant links from your browser right on to a blog or Facebook page, has now inverted this valuable way to share content by creating the ShareStream. The stream is an application that allows users to view any and all content friends and/or followers have posted, essentially serving as an RSS feed for what your social sphere deems cool and interesting. The application gets it data from roughly 130,000 sites that use its "sharing button," reaching over 430 million unique visitors a month. ShareStream also comes available as a widget, so links of shared content can be viewed by visitors to your blog or web site.

So just how could this help your online advertising efforts as a way to share your value proposition? Facebook, despite making unbelievable strides in its search tools and connectivity between users, has yet to really offer a way to - in great detail - target your audience when purchasing adspace through them. Others may disagree, but with our few attempts, we feel this is a much more efficent way to identify a niche group, or groups, that we want to target with an advertisment (hint: millions and millions and millions of users is too many).

With ShareStream, if you're able to keenly monitor the interests of your fans and followers, then there's a good chance you can leverage this information to find a true niche before making your adbuy.

By Nick Fasulo, internet marketing manager