The Undeniable Power Of Search Engine Marketing

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bing Network. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you could choose just ONE form of digital marketing, what would it be?

I get asked this question from big brands all over the world, and my answer is always the same…

Search engine marketing.

It often shocks people, because social media and content have been such a big contributor to my success. But in reality, search engines are where I continue to get the best return on investment.

In fact, 55% of the traffic for this site comes from organic search alone. And for me, more traffic means more earning potential.

Search engines are the lifeblood of digital marketing, not just because they deliver the most sustainable traffic to websites, but also because they are an essential component of our every day life.

Without search engines, life from a digital sense would inevitably stand still, stop functioning and most likely create widespread panic.

We are reliant on our ability to get answers and information at the click of a button, and that's why search engine marketing is such a powerful tool for you as a marketer.

But don't take my word for it, let me show you what I mean…

Powerful search engine marketing stats

There is more to search engine marketing than just website traffic, and to illustrate why you should consider it an integral part of your digital strategy here are some statistics:

• 96% of marketers use search engine marketing to provide content to their prospects


• Organic and paid search engine traffic contribute to more than 60% of total website visitors


• 48% of consumers start mobile research with a search engine


• 18% of local mobile searches lead to a sale within one day


• 81% of B2B purchase cycles start with a web search


• 57% of B2B marketers say SEO has the biggest impact on lead generation


• The highest spenders are most likely to turn to search for purchase information


• Conversion rates are 10 times higher from search than from social media

Of course these are just stats, but they tell a compelling story. Search engine marketing is here to stay, and it's importance will only grow as the global adoption of mobile devices continues to accelerate.

So how can you make the most of it?

A unique opportunity

A few weeks ago I wrote an article that encouraged you to diversify your search engine marketing strategy; in order to stay competitive and create a distinct point of difference for your website.

The most natural place to start if you're looking to diversify your strategy, reduce your overall risk and tap into some unique opportunities, is with the Bing Network.

Bing has come along way in the past decade, and it's much more than just a search box on a webpage. It's now a powerful connector between technology, information, people and knowledge.

Beyond being your typical search engine, Bing powers over 14 billion searches around the world across the Microsoft ecosystem; from Cortana, Xbox, Twitter, Apple and Amazon.

This means as a search engine marketer, Bing offers a unique opportunity to reach MORE people, in MORE ways and on MORE platforms.

Bing helps search engine marketers reach people at times when they are ready and willing to spend money – in their everyday lives. They connect you to prospects where and how they want to be reached.

More than just keywords in a search bar

Search engine marketing isn't just about dropping a few keywords into a search bar anymore…

It's much more than that.

Now search is present in everything we do, from interacting on social networks, to purchasing products, to finding a local restaurant.

As the digital marketing space continues to evolve, so will search, and you need to be prepared to ride that wave and capitalize on opportunities when they surface.

Networks such as Bing help you diversify your search marketing risk and tap into a growing and unique opportunity to reach your ideal customers.

Learn more about Bing Network

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Marketing Influencers: Four Ways to Elevate Your Content Strategy and Amplify Your Outreach

Marketers can learn a lot from established voices who are driving decisions in marketing, and this analysis of 21 influencers' content sharing offers ways you can improve your own content strategy. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

Marketing Influencers: Four Ways to Elevate Your Content Strategy and Amplify Your Outreach

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Create an Audience of People Who Spent the Most Time on Your Website

Back in May, Facebook made updates to Website Custom Audiences that gave advertisers more targeting power based on quality of website visit.

That launch allowed advertisers to create audiences based on frequency of actions taken.

In the example above, an audience is being generated of people who have visited JonLoomer.com at least 20 times during the past 30 days. But this update also included the ability to create audiences based on frequency of events occurring, like registrations, purchases and searches.

All of this was made available to advertisers creating audiences from the Facebook Ads Manager or Power Editor. There were a few other features made available to the ads API (accessed by third party tools):

• Time spent: How long someone spent performing an action or visiting your website


• Dynamic date: A range of dates when someone was visiting (rather than a duration)


• Aggregate values: Total amount someone has spent

The big news: You no longer need a third party tool to create audiences based on time spent on your website.

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Facebook advertisers can now create audiences of people who spent the most time on their website…
Click To Tweet

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How to Create

To create a Custom Audience based on time spent on your website, start by creating a Custom Audience within Ads Manager the way you normally would.

Select the option for website traffic…

Click the drop-down menu for Website Traffic and select “Based on time spent on your website”…

Now you can create one of these! Facebook defines it as follows:

This allows you to create an audience based on the relative amount of time people spend on your website. We recommend installing a pixel on every page for best results.

You'll recall that when creating an audience based on frequency of website visits or events, you entered the number of times someone visited. Not this time.

As you see below, you can create audiences based on the top 5%, 10% or 25% of active users on your website during the past 1 to 180 days…

A theoretical example:

Your website gets 100,000 visitors during the past 30 days. Those visitors are listed (hypothetically) in order of time spent on your website. So the first person has spent the most time on your website during those 30 days. We'll say they spent 10 hours. The last person spent the least amount of time. We'll say they spent one second.

To create an audience of the top 25% of active users on your website, Facebook takes the top 25,000 in this case.

How to Use Them

When creating these audiences, they will appear on the Audiences page along with other Custom Audiences, Lookalike Audiences and Saved Audiences.

You can then target or exclude this audience when editing the audience while creating an ad set within either the Ad Create Tool or Power Editor.

The Benefits of These Audiences

This option is awesome! Prior to the May announcement, you could create an audience of your website visitors, but it was difficult isolating the best ones. Some people may have visited once for three seconds while some others visited 30 times for 10 hours. They aren't equal!

Then came along the frequency option, and you could focus only on those who visited a minimum number of times. Very helpful.

The ability to isolate time on site takes it a step further. Sure, maybe you visited three times. But were those three quality visits? Would you rather target someone who visited three times for 10 seconds or once for one hour?

This development will allow advertisers to target their most engaged website visitors.

Potential Issues and Considerations

It's still early in this rollout, so I don't expect this feature to be perfect yet. And it's not! Here are a few things to consider…

1. Limit of 20 Audiences

After I created just a few of these, I received the following error message:

I hadn't created 20 audiences for time on my website, but the others I created for frequency of visits contributed to the limit of 20. If you hit that limit, you can always delete the audiences you aren't using.

I fully expect this to be a temporary restriction that Facebook will eventually remove when the rollout is complete and the feature is proven to be stable.

2. No Domain Filter

Go back and look at the screen grabs above of the process to create these audiences. You'll notice that there is no way to filter by URL or domain.

This is something you can do when creating a typical Website Custom Audience…

And it's also available within the frequency of website visits feature released in May (though not available for frequency of Events)…

This is a problem for any advertiser who has their pixel on multiple websites. While I wouldn't advise having one pixel on different websites you don't own (like for clients), I've personally had my pixel on two unrelated websites I do own.

Not having a domain filter would make this feature worthless for me because it would create an audience of the most active visitors from both sites combined.

3. Past Traffic Checkbox

Because of the second issue above, I decided to create a separate ad account for my other website and replace the pixel with one that is unique to that website.

Of course, since I just did that on July 26, I'd want to be sure to uncheck the “Include past traffic” checkbox when creating the audience since I would not want to include the traffic that hit that pixel prior to removing it from my other website.

Upon creating that new audience with past traffic unchecked, however, I quickly realized there was an issue…

As you can see above, the audience that included past traffic for the past 180 days is the same size as the audience that was created on July 26 and wasn't supposed to include past traffic.

I again alerted Facebook of this issue.

4. Slow Build Time

If you've created Website Custom Audiences before, you know that the audiences tend to build very quickly - within minutes - assuming you've had the pixel on your website for a while.

Well, that's not the case when creating these audiences. I found it took several hours to build. My assumption is that it's again because this is a new feature. It's likely that instead of running every few seconds, there is currently a process that only runs a few times per day.

I expect this to eventually change and mirror the real-time building of other Website Custom Audiences.

5. May Not Be Fully Rolled Out

I know that the number one comment below will be “I don't have it yet! When will it come to [X Country]?”

I don't know. But like all rollouts, these things tend to take weeks if not months.

Your Turn

What do you think of this update? Do you have it yet? How will you use it?

Let me know in the comments below!

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3 Advanced Influencer Marketing Strategies for Noisy Markets

Image via Unsplash

Some people hate the term “influencer marketing.” Dress it however you like, but building relationships with world-class bloggers, organizational leaders, and public figures works. It allows you to capture a wider audience and build new business opportunities. According to AdWeek, 92 percent of consumers trust recommendations from their friends and family over branded advertising or content.

The problem is, so many people are shouting for the attention of established influencers, it's hard to cut through the noise. Everyone wants their attention. How do you engage with influential thought and organizational leaders in noisy markets? Here are three advanced techniques that will increase the performance of your influencer marketing efforts. It's a slow game, but going the extra mile demonstrates your desire to add value.

1. Sophisticated Targeting for Higher Conversions

Laying the groundwork before executing on tactics is the most important first step to influencer marketing. It's also the step that many marketers skip. The outreach may engage them, but the results are often disappointing. This is because proper research was ignored, and the wrong influencers were targeted in the first place.

So how do you find the right influencers to target? Start by focusing on the audience you want to target, rather than the influencers themselves. (highlight to tweet) Your goal might be content distribution or business development efforts. It doesn't matter as long as your goals align with the needs of the influencer audience.

To get this right, it's important to adopt a data-driven approach. There are a couple of tools we can use for this. First, there's Woopra, a customer intelligence platform. Woopra takes customer and visitor data from your website and gives you granular information on them.

Using this data, you can build a profile of the customers, users, and visitors from your website who are most engaged to find more of them. Use this to map out your target influencer audiences. This makes it easier to find influencers who have access to this audience.

Remember that an approach like this requires a manual effort as well as automated tools. Use Twitter hashtags to find those who contribute to conversations around relevant topics. Google Alerts and Mention are also useful when monitoring social media and online communities.

BuzzSumo and EpicBeat can be used to search for the most popular content around a keyword to discover top sharers. Use the Influencers feature in BuzzSumo to reveal potential targets based on a certain keyword.

Finding the right audiences is a key first step to influencer marketing. Reverse engineering the audience before identifying influencers is the best way to approach this challenge.

Now that you understand who you're targeting, it's time to reach out to them and get on their radar.

2. An Agendaless, Multi-Channel Approach

When top marketers report their findings on certain approaches, they're adopted by many marketers at once. As a result, these structured and systematic approaches quickly become saturated. This is exactly what has happened with influencer marketing over the last 18 months. Marketers have been applying similar approaches to a formula, all while forgetting one of the most important elements of marketing: empathy.

Templates are doled out quickly become less effective, causing misguided marketers to come across as misleading and dishonest.

The message is simple: If you use the same approach as everyone else, you're going to get ignored. Forget about the one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, focus on the influencers you're aiming to connect with on an individual level.

For example, one influencer may be a blogger, and another may engage in various communities. Is it smart to engage with them both on Twitter in the same manner? Instead, try sharing and commenting on their content and engage with the conversations the contribute to.

It really comes down to two elements: channel and context. Start by finding out where their attention is, then use those platforms in the context those influencers use them in. Do this in a way that adds value.

This context will also inform the forms of content you should use to engage them with. Analyze the content they are sharing with their audience and provide them with more of that.

Keep an eye out for any conferences of events that your target influencers are heading to. This approach goes beyond just digital channels. When doing this, engage before the event via email or social. Offering someone a coffee while they're in the same place is a hard offer to refuse.

The final ingredient here is authenticity. Don't try to be authentic. Join a conversation only if it makes sense to do so. If you have nothing to contribute, then don't do it. Stick to what you know, and don't chime in when you lack knowledge expertise in a particular topic. It's not worth being called out on!

3. Surprise and Delight, The Ultimate Attention Grabber

We talk a lot about “adding value,” but the term is becoming more and more nebulous, often limited to comments, tweets, and shares. These have their place, but we can do better. In order to truly delight with your influencer marketing activity, you must think outside of the box.

These methods are why I tell other marketers to focus on a small cohort of influencers at a time. It requires manual effort and a sharp attention to detail. These are the techniques that will really help you really stand out from the crowd. They go beyond mere shares, comments, and tweets. They boil down to two things: personal desires and professional goals.

By now you should be monitoring your target influencers closely. You've discovered a lot about them, from what they love in life to the activities they're executing in business. This knowledge gives you the power to surprise and delight them in a way that demonstrates authenticity.

Let's start with guest blogging. Influencers are usually either promoting their products and services or pushing out their own content-they may even be executing on a product launch. Whatever they're doing, a mention on a reputable publication or blog will be appreciated. They're already busy enough with their work.

Mentioning them in content that helps them get their message to a wider audience will serve them and speed up the engagement process.

You can also suggest connections with people in your network. If a mutually beneficial opportunity exists, reach out to both the influencer and your own connection, gaining permission to make an introduction. Explain why you think it would be worthwhile before you make the formal introduction

Relationships are built one-to-one. Getting to the “intimacy” stage of relationship building requires going deeper.

While it's great to pay attention to your target influencers' business goals, they're also passionate about other things in their personal lives, too. Let's say Gary Vaynerchuk is on your list of target influencers. If you really pay attention to what he's doing, you'll notice he's a Nike fanatic. There are endless ways you can use this knowledge to get his attention. A coupon code for an online footwear store so he can get a new pair when the need arises is one easy approach. Or, you could find out his shoe size and send a limited edition pair of Nike trainers straight to his office.

These are two extremes. Selecting an approach that goes the extra mile, such as the latter example, will cut through the noise. This is something used often by B2C marketers, but not often done in the B2B world. There's a lot of opportunity in this approach when dealing with executives.

If you're looking for influencer marketing shortcuts, no amount of techniques or tactics are going to help you. True relationships are built by showing you care. Instead, make sure you're building mutually beneficial relationships with the right people. When you're confident with this piece of the puzzle, be super personalized online and in real life. Contribute to their career goals and personal desires.

What does your influencer marketing strategy look like? Is there anything I've missed? Share your experiences below.

Get more content like this, plus the very BEST marketing education, totally free. Get our Definitive email newsletter.

       

3 Advanced Influencer Marketing Strategies for Noisy Markets

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11 Ways to Use Facebook's 24-hour Live Streaming for Business

Facebook Live – the social media giant's live video streaming platform – recently launched Continuous Live Video, a 24-hour live streaming service.

Previously live streams were limited to 90 minutes, but with the launch of this new service it is possible to have much longer videos. The only tradeoff is that videos cannot be saved or shared.

Given the popularity of live videos, which get 3 times more time spent than recorded videos, the new Facebook feature presents a great opportunity for businesses to interact with their target audience in real time.

Videos are an integral part of Facebook's vision for the future and the statistics also point to a massive surge in the consumption of video content on the platform. Towards the end of 2015, Facebook attracted 8 billion average daily video views from 500 million users.

They have also adjusted their algorithm so that live videos appear higher in the news feed, giving businesses all the more reason to go live.

Here are 11 ways that businesses can use Facebook's Continuous Live video for higher customer engagement.

1. Show customers what to expect

A retail business for instance, can give customers a taste of the in-store ambience and superior experience that awaits them through a dedicated live stream from the store. The stream can be made more interesting by having staff talk about the merits of specific products and use cases. Staff can even announce bargains of the day, respond to queries and accept orders.

Bark Box, which ships a monthly box of dog goodies to subscribers, recently live streamed from the world's first store, where dogs are the shoppers and humans follow. The stream which attracted over 72,000 views, gives viewers a taste of what to expect at the store.

Hotels can provide potential guests with a live stream of the view they can expect to see from different rooms. Potential guests can take in views of the golf course, the beach, the gym etc. while deciding if the property is apt for their stay.

A cold meats factory that is proud of its high production standards, can provide a continuous live stream to show customers the effort that goes into the processing and packaging of their favorite meat products. Showing the customer a live view of what is happening can help to build credibility and trust, even more than what can be gained through paid channels.

For example, in one of its live streams on Facebook, Dunkin' Donuts gave its fans a tour of its test kitchen and showcased the construction of a donut wedding cake.  The live stream attracted over 37,000 views.

2. Provide video customer care

Live streaming can also be adapted for round-the-clock video customer care, giving your customers the option to interact with a human representative. Using a live stream for customer care can bring your brand closer to customers as the interaction is immediate, more intimate and transparent.

Mark Zuckerberg's Q&A's on live streams, like the one below, are good examples of how the platform can be used to answer customer questions and deliver a personal touch.

3. Run live online courses

You can run online courses for customers as a value added service. For instance, a company manufacturing photographic equipment can offer online courses that teach customers how to capture spectacular photos and videos. In fact, you can keep the course open to all your Facebook fans, so that even potential customers will be drawn to your equipment, when they see the amazing results that can be achieved with your products.

A recruitment agency can offer tips on CV writing, facing job interviews, body language etc. and answer the questions in real-time, and the best part is they can have different members of the team tackle various topics throughout the day or the week. During the interactions itself they can ask viewers what topics they would like addressed in the coming days.

Benefit Cosmetics, a brand owned by LVMH, runs an immensely popular weekly live stream, where the host and an invited guest share beauty tips and advice. They also respond to viewer questions. With Facebook Continuous Live, these sessions can be extended till all the questions of the viewers are answered. In fact, Facebook itself recommends keeping the live stream open for longer durations as it attracts a higher viewership.

4. Enhance convenience and transparency

Businesses that specialize in made-to-order products that are developed and delivered at short notice can also use live streaming to their advantage.

For example, a bakery can use the live stream to help a customer decide on the right cake for a special occasion and then let them watch the preparation and baking live, right up to the point when the delivery guy walks out of the door with the cake.

You can achieve amazing engagement levels by giving your customers an unmatched access to your business. Customers will appreciate the convenience of being able to select exactly what they want and have their questions answered at the same time without having to leave their homes.

Inviting the customer into your kitchen or back-office shows that you have nothing to hide and they can expect to receive a product or service exactly as advertised.

5. Boost sales

A designer brand can provide a live stream of their latest collection and customers will be able to place orders even as the models walk the ramp.

Brands can maintain their exclusivity by targeting the live stream to a specific geographic area or even age-group using the built-in settings of Facebook live.

6. Crowdsourcing

The live streaming feature can be used for getting feedback on a new product line. A business can interact with its followers and get their opinion or even crowdsource ideas for product improvements.

7. Show project status

A commercial real estate developer can provide a real-time update of the construction status with a live stream from a work site. The project credibility goes up when people can view first-hand what is happening on site. It can be made more interesting by having the site manager interact with viewers and answer questions.

For example, GE's livestreams from the RIO 2016 Olympic Games, provide fans with an exclusive view of the infrastructure and technology behind the event. An event such as the Olympics is perfect for round-the-clock streaming, given the massive global interest in the event and once continuous live video becomes more popular, we can hope to see more global brands switching to this format.

8. Get media coverage

Your live stream can catch the attention of the media as well, and lead to coverage for your business in local online and print publications.

In fact, if you announce a new innovative product line first on your live stream, word will get out fast and attract the attention of key stakeholders including the media.

9. Product launches and demos

Live streams are perfect for product launches, giving your diehard fans the first peek into your latest product.

Live streaming from a car showroom can help potential customers get up close and personal with their dream vehicles. Even a demo of the car in actual driving conditions can be live streamed and questions can be answered while also highlighting the unique facets of the latest model.

Chevrolet's live stream unveiling the all-electric 2017 Bolt EV at the CES 2016 attracted over 55,000 views, showing how the platform can be leveraged effectively for a new product launch.

A printer manufacturer can explain in detail the functions of its latest product and even show a demonstration of how to get the most out of the printer. Even challenges relating to setup can be easily addressed through the interactive sessions.

IHOP, the family restaurant chain's Facebook live stream of pancakes on a beach went viral and became the brand's top social video ever. The brand setup the Facebook live stream to engage customers and draw focus to the pancakes.

With 385,000 video views, the effort was IHOP's top-performing social video. The minimalist video showed pancakes set in a paradise environment with different characters popping in and out to show that it was a live stream and not a video playing on an endless loop.

10. Show your event live

With the 90-minute time limit lifted, you can now conveniently live stream an entire event or conference to your fans on Facebook. Even those who are overseas can benefit from the insights shared at the event.

McDonald's recently live streamed an art show titled 'The Starving Artist', where it unveiled three paintings as part of the National Hamburger Day celebrations. McDonald's first foray into Facebook Live, the stream reached 884, 300 people in 40 minutes according to the figures shared by the brand. So live streaming an event can extend reach to a much larger audience and achieve massive engagement.

11. Run contests

You can live stream a contest and even your Facebook fans can participate by responding to questions that you can specifically reserve for them.

A car-touching competition for instance is perfectly suited for live streaming. There is no telling how long the competition can run as it's a test of personal endurance.

We would like to hear about other creative ways in which businesses can use Facebook's 24-Hour Live Streaming. Share your thoughts below.

Guest Author: Aju Jacob is a digital strategist with skills spanning marketing, media, communications and digital technology. On his blog, Digital Newsbreak, he shares actionable insights on how everyday businesses can leverage digital marketing for business growth. You can also follow him on Twitter @aju_jacob.

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