3. Content is KING
Because such an important part of the buying process is completed online, and there is an abundance of information available, good content is crucial. Good content is characterized by a high engagement factor and by being relevant to the recipient. Push marketing is not very effective and is experienced as annoying. Content marketing takes into account the buying process that customers go through and makes a distinction between emotional and rational content. It is recommended to follow a good mix here, see the matrix below.
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Often we see within B2B an emphasis on the rational aspect of content and on the last phase of the buying process, so many product descriptions and extensive demos. While to engage customers in the initial phase, inspiring content is needed.
4. Customer generated content dominates the web
In addition, there is a clear increase in customer generated content. Of the total content, the largest part (26%) is generated by users . Only 18% is corporate content. This offers marketers opportunities to co-create campaigns and even products. Examples are bookstores De Slegte and Selexys, which have merged into Polare . They ask consumers to think along, for example about which books someone would like to see in the new bookstore.
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On YouTube alone, more than 6 billion hours of video are uploaded each month. This equates to one hour of viewing time per month per person of the world population. It is clear that due to the large amount of information available and the fact that we are always connected, our information consumption has changed. People mainly want to consume content quickly and fleetingly, especially in the earlier stages of the purchasing process. Video is a perfect way to communicate short and powerful messages that inspire, but video is also suitable for product tutorials.
6. Social media more accepted
Two years ago, there were still luxembourg phone data skeptical voices around Facebook and other social channels, but now you see that social media is increasingly part of the total marketing package, although few companies indicate that they have a social media strategy (Aberdeen 2012). Good content is also crucial for social media. Social media plays an important role in generating leads, increasing interest and creating trust through recommendations. Research by Nielsen indicates that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family, while 47% of consumers trust advertising on TV. Social media is a perfect channel to stimulate recommendations.
7. Email remains the most important channel in online sales
Despite all the attention for social, email continues to deliver the highest conversion, higher than Twitter and Facebook. Research by Custora among more than 72 million customers who bought on 86 different online retail sites shows that customers who are informed via email are 11% more valuable than average. Facebook customers scored just average and Twitter 23% below average. This indicates that nurturing customers via email is effective. Emails with a social boost that also allow content to be shared, and where customers are rewarded for sharing content, contribute extra to the effectiveness.