Encouraging user generated content (UGC) is one of the most important things you can do for your brand. It’s not that brand generated content isn’t important and doesn’t have a place. UGC just brings something fresh to the table. “It’s one thing for us to serve up a reference or a case study, but buyers intuitively know that those are all coming from specific satisfied customers, versus the wisdom of their collective peers.” ~ Julie Perino, Senior Director of Customer Marketing at Marketo User generated content is still the bedrock of online engagement and the sales cycle. Content that comes from a source outside of the brand most naturally builds confidence in potential customers — whether they are conscious of it or not. User generated content builds trust better Focusing on UGC still matters today for one important reason – your target audience is most likely looking for it. User content, like authentic customer reviews, is a crucial element of the sales element. For example, a poll of nearly 700 TrustRadius users revealed just how much customers use reviews as UGC in their search, evaluation and selection of new software products. This graph shows that 76% of customers use reviews for the […]
AI is everywhere these days. It powers our personal assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Home, prevents credit card fraud, and even successfully overturns parking fines. With each passing month, AI becomes ever more integral to our world. Last week we learned how AI is changing the job of designers. But the impact goes further than that. Advertising and marketing are at the fore in terms of partnering with digital creative agencies to find unique uses for the technology. In fact, AI is transforming digital marketing in many ways from machine learning to building custom content. AI is a relatively broad term that encompasses a number of approaches to building computer systems that can ‘think’ and perform tasks as well as, or in some cases better, than humans. Here’s a look at five of the applications for AI that are already revolutionizing digital marketing.
Artificial intelligence (AI) used to be a concept for science fiction. Now, it’s a part of everyday life. It has become so widely integrated into basic technology that it seems it will eventually take human jobs. While that may sound alarming, there’s actually a lot of opportunities here, especially for web designers. Artificial intelligence has taken on a role quite like J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Iron Man movies — as an assistant. With the help of AI, web designers can achieve layouts and include tech that isn’t only beautiful, but functional as well. Artificial intelligence is actively changing the role of designers by shifting their thought processes. If AI is doing all the groundwork for designers, it allows designers to think beyond the basic. It gives them the freedom to think about what’s next. These next five points will help you understand how artificial intelligence is changing the roles and responsibilities of a web designer. Let’s dive in!
A brand reputation is an extremely fragile concept. As Warren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” We all make mistakes, and even some of the greatest and most popular brands have had their own share of disasters, with Volkswagen’s cheating on emission tests, as well as the Coca Cola’s MagiCan campaign are just two that come to mind. Despite suffering significant reputational setbacks, these companies managed to put things straight. Of course, this process can be more challenging for smaller brands but with a good strategy, it’s possible to fix your brand reputation. Own your mistakes
News
April 17, 2018
Crypto Ambassador, possibly the greatest job on the planet
Do you have what it takes to get the best job in crypto? Become a Crypto Ambassador.
B2B , Integrated Marketing
April 12, 2018
Are You Committing One of These B2B Marketing Sins?
Marketing within the B2B marketplace presents a number of unique challenges and opportunities. A lot of companies within this sector are making some pivotal mistakes when it comes to their marketing campaigns, and these are preventing B2B businesses from aligning marketing to their company needs and maturing their marketing practices. With that being said, read on to discover some of the most common B2B marketing mistakes so you can discover whether your business is guilty of making any of them and what you can do to rectify them… Not aligning sales and marketing Sales and marketing need to align if you are to reach your company-wide objectives. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is by keeping these departments separate. Instead, explore the possibility of having a service level agreement between both the departments so they can work together to master the service provided to customers and prospective customers. Using black hat SEO techniques
Integrated Marketing , Social Media
March 19, 2018
Social Media and Employee Advocacy – 4 Ways to Succeed
You may wonder whether you should incorporate a social media employee advocacy program into your integrated marketing plan. There are many good reasons to do so – it increases the company reach, shows that employees are invested in the company, and can help raise the brand image across social media. But how do you build a program that bridges social media and employee advocacy? You’ll need a system that works for you and your employees. Making an overreaching or too stringent schedule will only decrease buy-in and make everyone hate social media. Use these tips to build a social media employee advocacy system that your team can keep up with.
Integrated Marketing , SEO
March 16, 2018
Using keyword research workflow as part of integrated marketing
Marketers who are worth their salt don’t view keyword research as a side dish – it’s one of the main dishes that you cannot take for granted. Targeting the right keywords ensures that SEO, PPC, and content marketing campaigns reach the right audience. And it helps identify primary competitors. A keyword research workflow can help determine the best keywords consistently. 1. Starting with a Seed Keyword Before you launch any form of keyword research tool, you must first obtain a set of “seed keywords” ready. A seed keyword is any broad yet relevant term in your niche. It’s also referred to as a “primary” or “main” keyword. If you’re generally in tune with your niche, you should already have a few seed keywords in mind. You can also grab a handful of new ones real quick with Google Autocomplete. All you need to do is type anything that’s relevant to your niche, brand, or products and let Google do the rest: For this step, you don’t have to go out of your way to bag multiple seed keywords. Just one will yield hundreds of potential keyword opportunities, so just relax and find something that looks interesting. Just remember that you can also find long-tail keywords with […]
“Our goal for the book was to codify a new marketing paradigm which our readers could leverage in order to build strong bonds with their stakeholders.” – Rina Plapler, author of Amazon’s #1 international bestseller Brand Intimacy: A New Paradigm in Marketing, and managing partner with MBLM. One book that stood out from our recent list of the best marketing books to read in 2018 was Brand Intimacy: A New Paradigm in Marketing by Mario Matarelli and Rino Papler. It’s challenging to find marketing books that truly present a fresh perspective. Brand Intimacy manages to present a unique view that combines the need for a strong brand presence with the need for a meaningful customer relationship. In the age of personalization, brands must connect with their customers in order for them to feel valued and special and that requires emotion. A recent MarketingProfs article explained why it’s not just B2C but B2B customers as well that are motivated primarily by their senses. The implications of achieving brand intimacy with consumers are significant. Customers who feel a close relationship with brands are more willing to pay a higher price for a product just because it is branded a certain way. These customers are also intensely loyal and great brand […]
Content Marketing , Integrated Marketing
March 7, 2018
Wax Picks the Best Marketing Conferences in 2018
Keeping up with the changing marketing technology and strategy is tough. Conferences have to have dynamite content and great networking opportunities to make it worth your time. At Wax Marketing we look for the best conferences every year – these are the ones we’d go to if we could. This is the year to immerse yourself in energy, innovation and inspiration. To pick these bad boys, we took into account factors like the target audience, speaker lineup, topics, and networking opportunities. With attendance ranging from 300 to 21,000, 1-10 tracks, and focus ranging from content management to B2B integrated marketing, one of these events is sure to offer you some great professional development in 2018 Wax Marketing’s List of Best Marketing Conferences in 2018
