Ethical Inbound Marketing Blog

Insurance Content Marketing: The Case for Case Studies

2012-01-11T13:02:38Z

Case studies create an opportunity for insurance marketers to tell detailed success stories. You can use this insurance content marketing best practice to tell how a particular customer solved a problem utilizing a specific product or service. Case studies can also show how a certain event has impacted an industry practice.

In today’s digital marketing world, case studies can easily take the form of white papers (as well as blog posts, YouTube videos and SlideShare presentations). For the purpose of this post we will focus on white paper case studies.

Today’s white papers can be distributed through your corporate website via instant PDF download. They can also be offered in exchange for the recipient’s contact information. Professionally researched, written and search engine optimized (SEO) white papers are excellent high-value content. That means they provide highly relevant information targeted to a specific audience. Statistics prove this type of high-value content is something potential customers consider valuable enough to obtain in exchange for their contact info.

Benefits of a White Paper Case Study

Builds Credibility. The old writing adage that it is best to “show “ and not to merely “tell” is the secret to the success of white paper case studies. Showing your product or service as a key tool in a client success story resonates with prospective customers. Concrete examples -- presented clearly and concisely – can establish a firm foundation with prospective customers.

Grabs Attention. White papers work because they specifically show innovation in action. All businesses want to see how “the other guy” created success and learn from it.

Enhances Readership. Digitally distributed white papers are built for enhanced reader participation. First, the reader has to actively choose to download the whitepaper. Second, a digital document can be filled with relevant links to further reading (this enables a compelling streamlined presentation of content, while also satisfying the needs of readers who want more detail). The document and its accompanying landing page (a digital sell sheet where prospective clients fill out a form to download the paper) can also be optimized with relevant keywords so that targeted consumers have a better chance of finding the document and reading it.

Here are links to a few well-executed white paper case studies related to the insurance industry:

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty: Armed Robbery in a Retail Store

Marsh: Novartis $250 Million Punitive Damages Award -- Why Employment Practices Liability Insurance Matters

Navigant Consulting: Madoff-Related Litigation -- Going After Money That’s No Longer There

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:

Insurance Marketing: Content Strategy Is key To Improve Lead Generation

Insurance Inbound Marketing: CMOs Need to Earn CEO Trust

Insurance Social Media Marketing: Simple Template for Success

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Insurance Company White Papers

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Getting Social with Agents/Brokers

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Know Where the Conversations Are

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Abundant Online Opportunities

Content Marketing: Powerful Tool for Insurance Companies

Inbound Marketing: Why Social Media for Insurers Will Get Easier

Smart Business: 5 Tips for Hiring a Good Freelance Writer

2012-01-05T17:16:35Z

Finding an experienced and reliable freelance writer can be overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Knowing what to look for in a good freelance writer can make the endeavor manageable, feasible and productive.

I am a successful freelance writer and, more important, at various times in my 20+ years in marketing I have hired a good number of quality freelance writers (as well as designers, illustrators and photographers). So, I know both sides of the business quite well.

Top 5 Things To Look for When Hiring a Good Freelance Writer

1. State-of-the-Art Smarts. You hire a freelance marketing copywriter for his/her expertise and also for his/her ability to use that knowledge to get your work done on time, on budget and on message. Experience is essential, but it must be up to date. In today's fast-changing, analytics-driven marketing world there's no room for posers. You either know it or you don't. Make sure the writer you hire knows SEO and the principles of online marketing and how these new methodologies integrate with traditional marketing methods to maximize results. Also keep in mind that age does not matter when you are looking for a writer. Skill and relevance make the difference. Personally, I don't care if a prospective writer has been around long enough to have worked for David Ogilvy himself, if that person has done the homework and can prove state-of-the-art smarts, he or she should make the cut as you narrow down your field of potential freelance writers.

2. Organized Communication. It is the duty of any freelance marketing copywriter to be organized and efficient. At a moment's notice you deserve to know the precise status of the writing assignments you've entrusted to that individiual. Make it a standard practice to seek out writers who are exceptionally organized. It's especially nice if a writer shows the inclination to stay a step or two ahead of you, providing weekly projects updates and status reports (so you don't waste your time chasing down such basic information). A freelance writer who is this organized will help significantly in keeping your projects on track.

3. Bold Problem-Solving. In today's marketplace you have to be willing to test different approaches to reach your marketing goals. A writer with a proven track record for bold problem-solving can enhance your marketing project in untold ways. Look for a writer who can offer more than just words. Ideally, you can find a writer who is a good conceptual thinker and one you can trust to help identify opportunities for integrating new approaches (such as SEO and cross media marketing) that allow you to maximize reach and also measure results.

4. Courtesy and Respectfulness. Your time is valuable. Any freelance writer you hire should recognize and respect that fact. Look for a writer who will preplan for conference calls, web meetings and other interactions (rather than "wing it" on your dime). You should always have the feeling that a freelancer priotitizes the need to participate effectively and efficiently in order to use every minute of your your meeting time to its fullest (and, subsequently, help move your projects along faster). Find a writer like that and you'll probably end up working with him/her for a long, long time.

5. Undiluted Honesty. Honesty is the best policy and it should be the foundation of any relationship with a freelance professional that you hire. Costs and job specs should be clearly stated upfront. Look for a writer who presents project quotes and invoices that are simple to understand and easy to read (absolutely no ambiguities). Honest, complete and clear communcation upfront means no surprises, disappointments or trust issues down the road.

Those are the things I look for in a freelance writer. They are also the things I deliver to clients who hire me as a freelance writer. As a result, I enjoy productive client relationships and enviable client retention rates.

Insurance Marketing: Content Strategy Is Key To Improve Lead Generation

2011-06-28T12:04:21Z

Online content is an insurance marketing opportunity. Insurers have been developing printed marketing content for years. It’s the practice of taking that content online and optimizing it for Google and other search engines that is the vital new twist. Content that used to be communicated through print materials and broadcast channels can now be communicated and distributed more efficiently (and often more effectively) online.

Content Strategy Is a Must for Insurers

Insurance marketing and communications strategies require a content component. During all phases of marketing -- from lead development and nurturing, to social media activity, product launches and brand campaigns -- it is the content (both online and printed materials) that spur action by your target insurance buyer audience.

Content Initiates the Lead Nurturing Cycle

Current marketing practices research by Eccolo Media indicates that consumers seek out online marketing content in the pre-sales phase of the lead nurturing cycle -- before they ever speak with a company rep or underwriter, or obtain a coverage quote. That means insurance marketers need to view content (especially online content) as the entry point in lead generation. As the content specialists at Eccolo Media state, “Evangelizing proactive content strategy from the C-suite down will not only result in more cost-effective and targeted communications, it will support a more nimble and relevant organization overall -- one that is uniformly committed to more leads, warmer leads, and content assets that are more easily tuned for market advantage.”

Insurers Should Incorporate a Variety of Content Delivery Channels

For today’s insurers, a proactive strategy should incorporate a variety of content delivery channels, such as brochures, product sheets, case studies, white papers, seminars/webinars, blogs, social media, newsletters, and online/offline broadcast ads and interviews. Five years ago, the online marketing piece simply did not seem relevant to many insurers. Today it is rapidly taking hold.

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:

Insurance Inbound Marketing: CMOs Need to Earn CEO Trust

Insurance Social Media Marketing: Simple Template for Success

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Insurance Company White Papers

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Getting Social with Agents/Brokers

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Know Where the Conversations Are

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Abundant Online Opportunities

Content Marketing: Powerful Tool for Insurance Companies

Inbound Marketing: Why Social Media for Insurers Will Get Easier

Inbound Marketing Basics: Building Links the Right Way

2011-06-20T12:37:34Z

There are ethical and acceptable ways to build links to your website, then there are the less acceptable tactics. Below is a quick rundown of the good and bad of link building. The list is not meant as an exhaustive or detailed overview of link building strategies. Instead, it is a starter guide to get inbound marketing novices thinking in the right direction regarding ethical link building practices.

Link Building Strategies To Pursue (A Beginner's Guide)

1. Submit Your Site to Online Directories

Getting listed (for free or a nominal fee) on relevant directories is a basic link building strategy. There are many online resources that provide lists of directories that are worth pursuing. Here is one online resource to give you and idea of the directory opportunities that are out there.

2. Get Your Customers To Link to You

Before online marketing, companies extended customer relationships and encouraged brand advocacy by getting people to wear t-shirts, carry tote bags, place bumper stickers on their cars, etc. The digital version of those activities is getting customers to link to your site. If customers love your company, they may be willing to place an icon for your company on their site. That icon links back to your site.

3. Blog Like It matters (Because It Does!)

You’ve heard this before. Blogs – when well written and consistent – are link magnets. Good content that you encourage people to share will earn listings and links from other blogs. Blogging is hard work, but the link-building and trust-building rewards make it worth it.

Link Building Strategies To Avoid

1. Avoid Buying Links

Avoid sites that exist solely to sell you a link. The more powerful the link, the more it will cost. Purchasing links might give you a big boost in Google rankings, but Google does not support this tactic and will ban sites they discover selling links.

2. Avoid Spamming for Links

Link spamming. If you participate in online conversations, make it truthful and relevant. Link spamming is the opposite. It is a practice by which a person provides bogus, irrelevant on nonsensical info in a blog comments section or online forum with a link back to their own website. Email spamming for links. Don’t run bulk email campaigns that simply ask for links. This is spam and it is a practice that will damage your online reputation.

3. Avoid Link Farms and Link Exchanges

Link farms are sites with a ton of outbound links. Link exchanges are sites that offer to link to you if you link to them. Both may sound like good ideas, but Google does not like link farms or link exchanges. Getting involved with either type of site likely cost you with a downturn in your Google page rank.

If you found this post useful, you might also like:

Inbound Marketing: 8 Web Pages Visitors Expect To See

Inbound Marketing: 3 Ways It Can Boost Business

Inbound Basics: Increase Website Traffic with Long Tail Keywords

Inbound Marketing Basics: Building Blocks for Success

Inbound Marketing: Increase Website Traffic with Better Page Titles

Inbound Basics: Increase Website Traffic with Well-Crafted 'About' Page

Insurance Inbound Marketing: CMOs Need To Earn CEO Trust

2011-05-31T13:49:24Z

Insurance marketers these days face an uphill battle to prove the value of inbound marketing to their CEOs. A MarketingSherpa report sheds light on this important subject. Available as a free download via HubSpot, the 45-page report, How To Become Indispensable to Your CEO, is well worth reading.

Key CMO Challenge: Lack of CEO TRUST

CEOs simply do not exhibit the same level of trust with CMOs as they do with other C-suite executives. The MarketingSherpa report states, “(The CEO) doesn’t question the Chief Technology Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Sales VP the same way (he/she) questions (a Chief Marketing Officer).” The report indicates that there are many factors contributing to this lesser trust in CMOs, including:

Everyone who has watched a commercial or read a print ad thinks they know something about marketing.
Because sales executives talk directly with customers all day, it is easy for a CEO to assume they know more about customers that the CMO.
Marketing often gets blamed when sales don’t close.
The CFO, CTO and Sales VP can all show a direct correlation between their activity and company results. Of course, this often is not so clearly accomplished with marketing activity.
New inbound marketing (a.k.a social media marketing, online marketing, content marketing and eMarketing initiatives) hold the promise of better marketing and sales integration, better proof of marketing ROI, better customer engagement (and new levels of customer insights). Unfortunately, all this takes time and, in the world of instant communication and instant results, time is exactly what CMOs don’t have. According to the MarketingSherpa report, “the average tenure of a CMO these days is two years.”

Antidote for CMOs: EARN CEO Trust

The MarketingSherpa report outlines exactly what today’s CMOs must do to have the best chance of overcoming the trust challenge with CEOs. The steps you may want to follow include:

Know your CEO. The report encourages all CMOs to formally interview their CEOs. Tell the CEO that the purpose of this interview is to confirm you are both on the same page strategically.The folks over at MarketingSherpa were even kind enough to provide 18 scripted questions to ask a CEO.

Know your customers. Listen to customers and prospects by interviewing them personally. Spot trends. Communicate findings effective to C-suite executives. Win.

Know your marketing ROI. Measuring marketing results and reporting them regularly (before you are asked for them) is a must. The report is upfront that this process can be a bit messy, as there are not yet any uniform ways to measure marketing ROI and present the metrics. The report suggests you stick to best practices (which are outlined for you within the report) and be consistent about it. You may also want to read my post on this subject titled, Inbound Marketing Metrics: 5 Key Measurements.

Know how to be a leader. Your behavior can create your own glass ceiling. Know how to behave like a leader and you will have a better chance of shattering the glass. The report gives you precise guidelines on leadership behavior that revolve around the more general themes of being fair, honest, diplomatic, positive and accountable for your actions.

Know how to communicate with your CEO. A CMO’s job security is built, in large part, on his/her ability to convince the CEO and other C-suite executives to do the right thing in terms of marketing. Again, this is easier said than done. It's a good idea to follow established communication best practices, which are spelled out in detail in the report. Some of these best practices include: avoid marketing jargon; answer confidently if you know the answer (if you don’t, admit it and say confidently that you will find out ASAP); put numbers to as much information as you can (CEOs generally respond well to numbers); take into account your CEO's personality when talking with him/her (the report provides an invaluable guide to Occupational Personality Types, which should help you pinpoint the best communications strategies for making a point with your CEO).

Download Your Report Today

Again, I cannot recommend highly enough the value of reading MarketingSherpa’s How To Become Indispensable to Your CEO. I got my copy as a free download from HubSpot. Insurance marketing executives as well as CMOs from other regulated industries that are slow to adopt new marketing methodologies stand to gain the most from this report. As always, thanks for reading!

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:

Insurance Social Media Marketing: Simple Template for Success

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Insurance Company White Papers

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Getting Social with Agents/Brokers

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Know Where the Conversations Are

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Abundant Online Opportunities

Content Marketing: Powerful Tool for Insurance Companies

Inbound Marketing: Why Social Media for Insurers Will Get Easier

Insurance Social Media Marketing: Simple Template for Success

2011-05-05T17:55:54Z

Ninety percent of marketers surveyed recently indicate that social media is important for their businesses. Nearly as many (88 percent) say they rely on social media marketing to generate business exposure, as well as increase website traffic (72 percent) and improve search engine rankings (62 percent). These results are part of the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Michael A. Stelzner. This study surveyed more than 3,300 marketers with the goal of understanding how they use social media to grow and promote their businesses.

Social Media Marketing Goes Mainstream

Social media marketing is fast becoming standard practice among businesses of all sizes. For property/casualty insurance company marketers it creates a tremendous opportunity to connect directly with agents/brokers as well as both commercial and personal insurance buyers. This is why -- unlike a year or two ago -- nearly every insurance company is exploring social media marketing initiatives.

Proper Planning Helps Get Social Media Started Right

Being part of a complex and highly regulated industry, insurance companies have to ease their way into social media marketing. It requires careful, incremental planning and manageable presentation of goals. A simplified social media plan that is well-organized, scalable and identifies tangible marketing objectives can make all the difference in obtaining the all-critical “buy-in” of top executives.

An Insurance Social Media Marketing Template for Success

I’ve found that a successful first step for many insurance marketers is to create a preliminary project plan for social media marketing. This preliminary plan creates an organized view of your marketing objectives BEFORE factoring in important details such as ROI, labor and staffing. To help insurance companies create a simple preliminary social media marketing plan, TFW Co. has developed a FREE planning template to ensure your social media initiative gets started right. You can use the completed template in-house to propose implementation of a social media marketing plan. It is likely that your completed planning template will help you gain approval to take your social media marketing initiative to the “next level.” The next level will be to request proposals/pricing from outside vendors for implementation of your social media plan. You can simply submit your completed Preliminary Social Media Planning Template for Property/Casualty Insurance Companies to a number of firms to request proposals.

Give It a Try and Let Me Know How It Works

Download your social media planning template today! Try it out and let me know if it works for you and where it can be improved. This is version 2 and I welcome input on how to make it better. Get Your FREE, No Obligation Copy Today!

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Insurance Company White Papers

2011-05-02T14:25:01Z

Commercial lines property and casualty insurance companies stand to gain a lot from content marketing in the form of white papers. These are not the printed and bound text-heavy, encyclopedic white papers of yesteryear. We’re talking streamlined, digitally-distributed white papers with easy-to-read text and helpful full-color visuals.

White Papers Built for Speed

Modern white papers are distributed as PDF downloads via the Internet. They are promoted on websites, in blog posts, as tweets and Facebook updates, through Slideshare presentations, podcasts and Youtube videos. And let’s not forget promoting them through online newsletters, online press releases and even signature lines on email messages.

Soft Sell with White Papers

Today’s white papers focus on a single issue, trend or industry solution and present that topic in an objective, thorough and compelling fashion. They do not overtly sell. Instead, they educate prospective clients in a nonvendor-specific way. Content marketing through white papers is perfect for commercial insurers who pursue accounts with sizeable premium and complex risk exposure that require a longer more “educational” sales process. The better you can help potential commercial policyholders understand the risks they face, and the newest and best practices to mitigate those risks, the more likely your company is to eventually get the sale.

Why White Papers Work

Eccolo Media, a marketing firm that conducts ongoing research on the use of collateral marketing materials for the technology industry, has helped me understand why white papers are so important in today’s marketing mix. I believe their findings translate to commercial lines insurers who are pursuing large accounts with complex risk exposures. I encourage you to visit the Eccolo Media publications page for further reading on the value of white papers. Here’s a breakdown of what their ongoing research supports:

White papers impact purchasing decisions
White papers get shared (both digitally and as print outs)
Decision-makers read white papers
Decision-makers at larger businesses rely on white papers more so than their counterparts at smaller companies
White papers prove most effective early in the sales cycle
Decision-makers value well-written white papers

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:

Insurance Inbound Marketing: CMOs Need To Earn CEO Trust

Insurance Social Media Marketing: Simple Template for Success

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Getting Social with Agents/Brokers

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Know Where the Conversations Are

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Abundant Online Opportunities

Content Marketing: Powerful Tool for Insurance Companies

Inbound Marketing: Why Social Media for Insurers Will Get Easier

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Getting Social with Agents/Brokers

2011-04-25T16:05:59Z

By now, we all know that a combination of social media channels, including corporate blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube (among others), can be used to great effect by insurance companies when communicating with insurance buyers. Three of the many companies that are “hitting it out of the park” with business-to-consumer (B2C) social media include State Farm, Allstate, and USAA.

Insurance B2B Social Media Success: Know What Matters Most To Agents and Brokers

Determining which insurance companies are doing a great job utilizing social media marketing directed at their agents/brokers is not so easy to identify. But one of the things we do know is that to make social media work for an agent/broker audience, insurance company marketers must use a variety of channels to communicate the messages that matter most to their producers. According to the most recent (2010) Agent/Insurer Relationship Survey conducted by American Agent & Broker Magazine, agents/brokers care most about the following items pertaining to insurance companies (presented in order from most important to less important):

Underwriting flexibility
Claims handling
Market stability
Ease of doing business (e.g. real time technology)
Commission structure
Breadth of products and services
Contingent commissions
Marketing support

The Right Message Can Build Relationships

If I were an insurance company marketing professional looking to start a B2B blog to build relationships with agents/brokers, I would probably use the above list as my starting point for defining the keywords/categories the blog would address. Clear and consistent messaging on where your insurance company stands on the issues listed above (or what it has to offer agents/brokers pertaining to the listed items) could help your insurance company stand out as a transparent organization that understands agent/broker concerns. This type of content can attract blog readers including not only agents/brokers, but also journalists and potential policyholders. Increased readership increases the potential to build new relationships and bolster existing ones. Most important, it could be the right mix of content to prompt readers to:

TALK about your company, products and services
COMMENT on your blog (which can provide your company with powerful insight from the folks on the front lines)
SHARE your content via their own blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
GROW YOUR FANS and advocates within the agent/broker community

That, in a nutshell, is B2B relationship-building via social media. It's an active and engaging process that can greatly enhance all insurer-to-agent/broker communication efforts.

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Know Where the Conversations Are

2011-04-23T11:56:20Z

In my previous post on the subject of abundant online opportunities for insurance marketers, we looked at some basic analysis of the keyword “insurance” provided by HubSpot in its free ebook titled Online Marketing Opportunity Report: Social Media, Blog and Search Engine Activity by Industry. The two main points insurance company marketers should take away from the basic keyword opportunity analysis provided by HubSpot is that:

1. A robust online community looking for content pertaining to "insurance" already exists.

2. Blogs and social media remain relatively untapped online channels for extending the “insurance” conversation.

That’s good basic insurance marketing information. But today, thanks to the data provided by HubSpot, this post takes a closer look at the potential for the keyword "insurance." The goal is to present a snapshot of how many actions take place for "insurance" and the level of competition for that keyword within specific online channels. The chart below shows the data HubSpot compiled for the keyword “insurance."

HubSpot.com "Online Marketing Opportunity Report"; Page 30 "Analysis of (Keyword) Insurance"

What you are looking at in this chart (HubSpot explains):

"Activity numbers were recorded at a single point in time and represent a snapshot that will change. The raw activity numbers are directly recorded and then extrapolated in some instances to give estimates for longer time frames such as a month."

"The competition rating is generated using proprietary HubSpot algorithms that give a measure of how crowded or saturated a particular channel is for the keyword “insurance.” A competition score of 50 represents an average level of competition."

Formulating Insurance Marketing Strategies for Each Channel

Understanding how to formulate an insurance marketing strategy around this data is critically important. Interpreting activity levels and competition incorrectly can lead to misguided online marketing strategies. Below is a basic interpretation of the data for "insurance" and some preliminary thoughts on how to implement an online marketing strategy based on that word. Guidelines for interpretation and strategy based on keyword analysis are dealt with in much greater detail in HubSpot's free Online Marketing Opportunity Report: Social Media, Blog and Search Engine Activity by Industry. I recommend downloading a copy and reading the whole thing.

Insurance Search Engine Marketing Example

Question: Is it a good idea to launch a search engine ad campaign focusing on the keyword “insurance?"

Answer: NO (based on interpretation of data presented in above chart)

Why: The fact that the keyword “insurance” has significant traffic might lead you to believe that it’s a good keyword to pursue in a search engine campaign. However, it also is highly competitive (99%). That means it is a word you should most likely stay away from, unless you are already an online marketing powerhouse. A better strategy might be to create a group of relevant keywords that are selected because they have a decent amount of traffic and are only moderately competitive. Instead of “insurance,” you may want to focus on building a keyword group including “insurance programs” or “D&O insurance” or “insurance solutions,” all words with moderate traffic and moderate to low competition.

Insurance Social Media Marketing Campaign Example

Question: Is it a good idea to launch a blog or implement a social media strategy utilizing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube, with each channel focusing on the keyword "insurance?"

Answer: YES, YES, YES, YES & YES (based on interpretation of data presented in above chart)

Why: Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube all present abundant opportunity for insurance marketers wishing to focus on the keyword “insurance.” For each of these channels there is a reasonable amount of activity for “insurance,” but the competition is average to below average.

Blogs. We already know from the search engine numbers in the chart above that people are searching the keyword “insurance.” To gain blog readers/subscribers, your job is to consistently create relevant "insurance" content that is optimized for search engines. Relevance and consistency are keys to blogging success.

Twitter. To gain Twitter followers with the keyword “insurance” you can promote your blog posts via links within your tweets, and also share links to relevant “insurance” articles written by others. Another good strategy is writing frequent 140-character “insurance” tweets that focus on a single interesting fact (i.e., a premium volume milestone for your company, a link to a hurricane emergency claims website, information on a charity event sponsored by your company, etc.)

Facebook. To gain Facebook fans utilizing “insurance,” you can do everything suggested for Twitter, plus you have the wiggle room to get a bit more creative. You can test special offers, contests and surveys to help gain fans.

LinkedIn. Building connections in LinkedIn utilizing “insurance” will most likely revolve around LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn Answers. Both can be powerful lead generators if your participation is consistent.

YouTube. Gaining viewers/subscribers on YouTube utilizing “insurance” may take the most effort. A video blog on “insurance” issues is a reasonable way to get started. You can also feature your insurance company television ads on YouTube. Commercials are very popular, especially if they are funny or quirky. About a year ago, State Farm Insurance Company used YouTube to great effect when it sponsored a music video for the pop group OK Go. To date, that YouTube video has more than 25 million views. State Farm is clearly acknowledged at BOTH the beginning and the end of the video. See for yourself:

Insurance Marketing Online Opportunity Summary

Because the keyword “insurance” has reasonable levels of activity across the Internet and average to below average competition within the most popular online channels, the opportunities for insurance company marketers are significant. As HubSpot states: “Establishing a 'first mover' (or even a 'second mover') advantage in areas where competition is low and activity is reasonable can result in success.”

What Do You Think About Online Insurance Marketing?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section. And, as always, thanks for reading.

Inbound Marketing: 8 Web Pages Visitors Expect To See

2011-04-22T13:18:24Z

If you’re just getting started on an inbound marketing website, it pays to map out your site’s core pages before you start to publish online. This exercise will help you plan the information you want to share with prospects. It will also help ensure all of that information makes it onto your site in a neat and organized fashion, including photos and other graphics. While your website should be unique to your company and feature unique content, it’s a good idea to feature as many of the “expected” pages outlined in the list below as possible. These are the basic web pages that most site visitors will expect to see as key navigation points to help guide them through our site:

BLOG. Your site should have at least one blog. It is a key social tool that helps you connect with prospects and customers. Publish posts on topics that are relevant and helpful to users of your products and/or services. It’s best if the posts are not overtly sales-oriented. Informational posts are much more likely to engage readers and keep them coming back for more.
CAREERS PAGES. Create a separate page for each job posting at your company.
COMPANY NEWS PAGE. Add a news page with relevant product news, employee events and announcements.
CONTACT US PAGE. Website visitors want a contact page so they can reach out to you directly. It should be easily visible from each page of your website.
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS PAGE. Who you work with speaks volumes; what they say about you matters even more. People want to know that you have happy clients who like to work with you. So devote a page just to these types of comments.
MANAGEMENT TEAM PAGES. Create a separate page for each member of your management team. The page should contain a photo, brief biography and links to connect with them via social media sites.
PRODUCTS / SERVICES PAGES. If possible, these pages should be organized by industry served. That way you can create pages with content customized specifically to the needs of site visitors from targeted industries.
RESOURCES/LIBRARY PAGE. Use this page to present a one-stop location for all downloadable materials that you offer through your site, such as white papers and eBooks.

What Do You Think?

Do you agree that website visitors these days expect to see certain standard web pages to help guide them through a site? Would you add or delete any “expected” pages from the list featured in this post? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. As always, thanks for reading.

Inbound Marketing: 3 Ways It Can Boost Business

2011-04-21T11:20:04Z

Getting an inbound marketing program up and running can benefit your company in many ways. Here's what the HubSpot 2011 State of Inbound Marketing report has to say about inbound marketing effectiveness in today's marketplace:

1. IT CAN SAVE YOUR COMPANY MONEY

HOW: Inbound Is a Lower-Cost Marketing Methodology

Inbound marketing channels continue to deliver dramatically lower cost per lead than outbound channels do. Among businesses surveyed by HubSpot, those that spent more on inbound marketing activities ended up spending 62% less per lead than businesses that spent more on outbound channels.

2. IT CAN PUT YOUR COMPANY WHERE THE ACTION IS

HOW: Inbound / Social Media Is the Fastest Growing Marketing Category

Social media and blogs are becoming marketing powerhouses. They are the fastest growing category in lead generation budgets and they continue to be ranked as the lowest cost lead-generation channel. In addition, more than any other channel, social media was ranked among HubSpot survey respondents as a source of leads that continues to grow in importance.

3. IT CAN HELP YOUR COMPANY INCREASE CUSTOMERS

HOW: Inbound / Social Media Is a Recognized Lead-to-Customer Conversion Engine

More businesses are generating real customers with social media and blogs. On average, 50 percent of marketers using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and company blogs who were surveyed by HubSpot say they have acquired at least one customer through each of those channels. This is proof that social media is not just for brand awareness; it can be used to directly generate leads that convert into customers.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Are there other ways inbound marketing can turbo-charge a company's marketing efforts? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. And, as always, thanks for reading.

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Abundant Online Opportunities

2011-04-19T20:26:37Z

For insurance marketers, half the battle in creating a successful online marketing strategy is in properly identifying where the conversation about your industry is happening. This means knowing how and where people are talking about the insurance industry, be it on Twitter, Facebook, blogs or other of the multitude of online communication channels available today. This is not always an easy concept to grasp -- especially when online marketing is new to you (as it is for many of the insurance company marketing professionals with whom I work).

I recently downloaded a free ebook from HubSpot.com, a top inbound marketing company, that I think helps show through example how the “conversation identification” process works. The 50-page ebook is titled Online Marketing Opportunity Report: Social Media, Blog and Search Engine Activity by Industry. The purpose of the document is to show a snapshot of where online activity is occurring for keywords representing 33 industries. “Insurance” was one of the keywords analyzed for the ebook.

Opportunity Analysis for the Keyword Insurance

HubSpot used a proprietary algorithm to analyze keywords representing 33 industries, the goal being to show relative online activity (not absolute numbers) for each industry. Since I work with a lot of insurance marketing professionals, I am using "insurance" as the example for this blog post:

The pie chart on the left shows overall online activity for “insurance.” Results break down approximately as follows: 70% on search engines; 20% on blogs; and 10% on social media (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.). It can be inferred from these numbers that – at this point in time – people are more inclined to do a search of “insurance” than to blog about it. For insurance marketers it means that you can benefit greatly from content marketing (i.e., writing an “insurance” blog) that utilizes thoughtful search engine optimization practices to help ensure yours is the content being found in these searches.

The pie chart on the right shows relative online activity across four popular social media sites. It’s important to note that only 10% of the conversation on “insurance” currently takes place within social media. With that in mind, social media analysis for “insurance” breaks down approximately as follows: 40% on Twitter; 30% on LinkedIn; 15% on Facebook; and 15% on YouTube.

Insurance Marketing Online Opportunities: Two Key Points

1. The “conversation” (most likely made up of a rich community of insurance buyers, insurance agents/brokers, journalists, etc.) is already taking place online. This community is actively looking online for content pertaining to insurance. Now it’s time for insurance company marketers to provide the quality content this community is looking for.

2. Blogs and social media both remain relatively untapped online channels for extending the “insurance” conversation. This means blogs and social media also create huge opportunities. For insurance company marketers ready to make the commitment to deliver quality, relevant content on a regular basis, you have an already thriving “insurance” community that's hungry for content.

What Do You Think About Insurance Marketing Online?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section. And, as always, thanks for reading.

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:

Insurance Inbound Marketing: CMOs Need To Earn CEO Trust

Insurance Social Media Marketing: Simple Template for Success

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Insurance Company White Papers

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Getting Social with Agents/Brokers

Insurance Inbound Marketing: Know Where the Conversations Are

Content Marketing: Powerful Tool for Insurance Companies

Inbound Marketing: Why Social Media for Insurers Will Get Easier

Inbound Basics: Increase Website Traffic with Long Tail Keywords

2011-04-19T20:26:18Z

One often ignored aspect of inbound marketing is standard web pages and their value as searchable, informational content. We tend to think only of blog posts and downloadable materials, such as white papers and eBooks, as content. But, search engine optimized (SEO) text on standard web pages can be just as effective at generating and increasing website traffic.

Value of Long Tail Keywords

One excellent text optimization strategy for generating traffic on standard web pages is targeting “long tail” keywords. Such keywords are a bit more detailed than standard broad category (or “short tail”) keywords. Because long tail keywords are more specific they are not searched by as many people. They can sometimes make it easier for your company to get found online because they improve your chances of showing up on page one of Google search results for that term. And, when you show up on page one search results, your chances to increase traffic to those pages gets a big boost as well. Here are a few examples of long tail keywords that have proven effective for some TFW Co. clients:

EXAMPLE 1 - Nursing home inbound marketer:

nursing homes (short tail keyword)

skilled nursing facilities (mid tail keyword)

certified skilled nursing facilities Rochester NY (long tail keyword that proved most effective)

EXAMPLE 2 - Insurance company inbound marketer:

fine arts insurance (short tail keyword)

commercial fine arts insurance coverage (mid tail keyword)

fine arts insurance coverage for museum collections (long tail keyword that proved most effective)

EXAMPLE 3 - Midsize manufacturer inbound marketer:

heavy duty seals (short tail keyword)

chemical resistant seals (mid tail keyword)

seals for use in chemical reagents (long tail keyword that proved most effective)

What Do You Think?

Are long tail keywords worth the effort? Do you have an experience to share that shows how long tail keywords on standard web pages worked effectively to boost website traffic? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. As always, thanks for reading.

Digital Life: How Digital Media Impacts Our Kids

2011-04-19T20:25:53Z

As an inbound marketing professional, I'd be remiss not to consider the impact our increasingly wired world is having on our daily lives, particularly our kids and our future workforce. I make a living based on the fact that our culture is, with each passing year, more digitally literate and self-sufficient. Is there a moral or ethical dimension that needs to be considered?

I did a Google search on this subject and uncovered a gem of a New York Times article titled Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction by Matt Richtel. It is a terrific piece that hits close to home. We have two sons, one in high school and one in middle school. Both are good students. They are nice kids who have no trouble engaging in conversations with adults. Despite these admirable qualities, the digital divide is a constant challenge to all adults our kids encounter (including us). Many of us simply don’t get what is happening to the firm ground on which learning and communication was basd for the majority of our lives. We try to understand what’s going on with our kids, but our understanding falls short because – unlike them – we are not fully digitally rewired. My understanding of the situation was expanded greatly by viewing this video on YouTube:

How Digital Media Impacts Our 'Secret Powers of Time'

The above video is a 10-minute presentation by renowned psychologist Philip Zimbardo that conveys his concept of “The Secret Powers of Time.” He shows how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. This is truly amazing stuff that is relevant to each and every one of us in our lives at home, school, office and in the community.

At the 5:40 mark in the video Zimbardo addresses the challenge of teaching digitally rewired kids. Here is a condensed paraphrased version of his more salient points on this subject:

"...In America, a child drops out of school every nine seconds. It’s worse for kids from a minority background and it’s worse for boys than girls. There is actually a disaster recipe developing among boys in America, literally dropping out of high school and college. The cause is not simply poor performance. A recent study shows that by the time a boy is 21years old, he’s spent 10,000 hours playing video games alone. That creates kids who have not learned social skills (i.e., emotional-social intelligence). It also creates kids who live in a world that they create. While they are playing Warcraft, Call of Duty and other games which are exciting and which they fully control, their brains are being digitally rewired. One of the consequences of this rewiring is that they will never fit in a traditional classroom that is analogue (i.e., someone talks at you without even the nice pictures). In other words, it is boring… the student controls nothing… the student sits there passively. Traditionalists who say schools should go back to traditional classrooms teaching reading-writing-arithmetic the old-fashioned way, according to Zimbardo, are proposing a disastrous solution that digitally rewired kids will never fit into. Today’s kids, Zimbardo says, have to be in a situation where they are controlling something and school is set up so that students control nothing. It’s passive. School is all about learning delay of gratification, quite literally, endlessly."

Creating a Different Future

One of my sons wants to become a teacher. Hopefully the high school classrooms he enters will be vastly different from the ones he will be leaving shortly. In-classroom digital tools will be imperative for successful teachers, students and schools in the not-too-distant future. Kids will need to be given more control over how they navigate the learning environment. Time adjustments will also be necessary, such as later starts to school days. With careful implementation, I believe that all of this can be achieved without sacrificing the authority of teachers and administrators (in fact, I think such changes will ultimately enhance their authority). I believe the same is true of work environments. As we recruit younger "digitally rewired" workers, those of us with a firmly analogue past will have to keep stretching to close the digital divide. We will have to accept the "rewired" workforce of our future as the brilliant, creative -- yet different -- folks they are certain to be.

Inbound Marketing: Celebrity Look-Alike Photos = High-Value Content

2011-04-19T11:43:24Z

Need a smile? Check out the celebrity look-alike photo series by editorial and commercial photographer Chris Buck. He offers an interesting twist on the celebrity lifestyle in his clever series titled Isn't, in which he casts ridiculously good celebrity look-alike models and shoots them in scenarios that reference pop culture. These are beautiful photos that are pure fun to look at. My two favorites are below, but you can view many more at Chris Buck’s website. His site is a great example of inbound marketing in action. His celebrity look-alike photo series, in particular, is an excellent strategy to get people to find him on the web. High value content. Original. Free.

"Paul Cooper Isn't Bill Gates" Photo by Chris Buck"Caroline Hodge Isn't Oprah Winfrey" Photo by Chris Buck

Content Marketing: Print + Email + Social = Success

2011-04-18T20:16:39Z

Clients often ask me about the effectiveness of direct marketing these days. In particular, they want to know if direct marketing focuses primarily on direct mail or are other channels of communication used with greater frequency.

The answer is not simple. Direct mail is still effective in some instances, but so is email marketing, telemarketing and social media. What has become clear in recent years is that integration of one or more of these channels makes it possible to significantly boost response rates.

I use the term "content marketing" to describe this integrated approach. But, you could just as easily refer to it as inbound marketing. Regardless of the name you give this approach, you are providing valuable information to prospects across a mix of media so that people will ultimately seek you out and find you online. Once they've found you, your goal is to have them take action that will qualify them as a lead or customer for your product or service.

At the bottom of this post you will find links to some case studies for successful integrated direct/content marketing campaigns that occurred within the past year or so. But before you look at the case studies, it makes sense to first review the following list of direct/content marketing tips.

Direct Marketing/Content Marketing: The Building Blocks of Success

Make a Great Offer. The success of your campaign depends on the offer -- specifically, how well it engages your target audience. You can tell people you are the latest and greatest until you are blue in the face, but conversions to sales in direct marketing will not happen until you make an offer your prospects can’t refuse.
Keep the Message Simple. Before you begin work on a campaign you need to clearly define the one simple primary message you want to get across and also the one action you want recipients to take. This does not mean that your direct marketing letter or landing page has to be limited to two sentences or two paragraphs. It just means that, no matter how long the text of your message, you must remain focused on your one simple primary sales message in order for people to take action.
Utilize Premiums and Sweepstakes. It's also a good idea to offer a premium or sweepstakes as a part of your campaign. Response rates can increase dramatically when your message is bundled with a good premium (i.e., white paper or eBook) or sweepstakes. Special actions like these help you capture contact information for a prospect via forms. These types of special actions also lend themselves to social network word-of-mouth, which can provide another significant boost to your campaign.
Invest in a Good List. Making sure your message gets in the right hands is critical to the success of your campaign. This is well worth an investment of money to buy a target prospect list or -- even better -- an investment of hard work to build and maintain your own list of prospects.

Direct Marketing/Content Marketing: Case Studies Prove Integration Works

Café Express

Tradewinds Resort

Lakota

What Do You Think About Direct Marketing/Content Marketing Integration?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Creativity: 4 Ways To R.O.C.K. Your Intuition

2011-04-18T20:16:16Z

I read a terrific blog post recently at the website of UK agency Idea Engineering. The post is titled What Leads to Greatness, and it includes a bulleted list titled Ingredients for Greatness. The top ingredient on the list is "Train Your Intuition."

How To Train Your Intuition

As I read the Idea Engineering text pertaining to "train Your intuition," much of what was being said correlates with my personal "knowledge approach" to success in running my creative business. This philosophy applies to writers, designers and any other creative professionals who want to be more effective business people. The "knowledge approach" on which I have built my business is something a refer to as R.O.C.K. This philosophy is based on four key knowledge actions that I engage in every day: Read, Observe, Challenge and Know.

The main point of this philosophy is that to be more than just a good writer, designer, project manager or other creative professional, you have to bring more to the table. My mantra since my first days as a junior copywriter at a NJ ad agency is to fill my brain (and keep it filled). I work at this every day of my life. My reward is a well-fueled intuition that I trust implicitly to guide me in creating effective marketing solutions for my clients.

1. READ with Gusto To Feed Your Intuition

Read books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, case studies—anything and everything you can get your hands on (or access on the Internet). It’s your job to be well-read and knowledgeable on many subjects (not just marketing). Curiosity for all things interesting in the world creates the best writers, designers and other creative business professionals.

2. OBSERVE Widely To Inform Your Intuition

Pay attention to your market. Know what your prospective clients are doing. Know what your competition is doing. Know who is winning positive commentary and awards. Social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, make easy work of finding and observing what prospective clients, vendors and competitors are up to. All of this is vital background knowledge that will inform your intuition in ways that often lead to stronger and more successful business partnerships.

3. CHALLENGE Yourself To Strengthen Your Intuition

Challenge yourself on all levels to learn new marketing trends (i.e., social media - start a blog and engage in social networking) and technologies (i.e., environmentally-friendly commercial printing methods - create and print a self-promotion piece using "green" technologies). In our fast-changing marketing world, observation can only take you so far. For example, if you want to learn inbound marketing or content marketing, you have to push yourself to give it a try. Sometimes throwing yourself into something is the only way to learn it. Mistakes are inevitable. Embrace them and learn from them. The confidence you gain from challenging yourself to try adopt new trends and technologies will strengthen your intuition when consulting with clients on similar matters.

4. KNOW More To Enrich Your Intuition

When it comes to running a creative business, you can never have too much knowledge and practical experience. The more you do, the more you know. The more you know, the better your intuition and the greater your successes.

What Do You Think?

What are your thoughts on the importance of continually feeding your brain to bolster intuition? Does it make sense? Will it make you a better business person? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Content Marketing: Powerful Tool for Insurance Companies

2011-04-18T20:15:52Z

I’ve had a number of insurance industry clients ask me in recent months to explain exactly what is “content marketing.” In these instances, I use a definition I adapted from junta42.com:

Content Marketing: Definition

Content marketing is the creation and distribution of information that is relevant and valuable to a clearly defined target audience. The goal of the content is to communicate information without selling. Instead, you deliver content that engages your target audience on subjects that interest them. When you do this consistently, members of the target audience will reward you with their business and loyalty.

FYI... Some other names for content marketing include inbound marketing and social media marketing.

Useful Marketing Tool for Insurance Companies

The next question I am asked by insurance industry marketers is usually something like, “So do corporations like us engage in content marketing?” The answer to that is, of course, an emphatic “yes.” I tell them we all have been doing content marketing over the years, it’s just that now the content is delivered differently. While printed materials are still important, new online delivery channels are fueling the growth in content marketing. Social media (i.e., blogs, Twitter, Facebook), article posting, eNewsletters, downloadable case studies and white papers lead the distribution trends.

The stumbling point for insurers is that their industry is highly regulated. So, while they are comfortable and efficient at producing and distributing traditional printed content, digital distribution is not an area in which there is a comfort level. A report by marketingprofs.com and junta42.com titled B2B Content Marketing: 2010 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends states:

Even highly regulated industries, such as banking and financial services, have high rates of content marketing adoption (93%); however, their focus is on traditional forms, such as articles (82%). These industries use social media significantly less often than other industries (62% adoption rate vs. 79% average).

Allianz Knowledge Is a Great Content Marketing Example for Insurance Companies

There are, of course, some large insurance companies that are using online content marketing to great effect. One of the very best I’ve seen is Allianz Knowledge. What is commendable about this site is how well-defined it is. It sticks to its message while providing deep and vastly rich content.

THE TARGET AUDIENCE: The Allianz Knowledge site targets individuals who recognize and support the need to improve social, economic, and environmental living conditions worldwide. This target audience is likely to be influenced by the insurer’s well-documented alignment of its business activities with sustainability criteria. To fulfill its mission to deliver compelling content to its readers Allianz Knowledge focuses on five key concepts: Climate Change; Energy; Microfinance; Demographic Change; and Safety & Health. The site clearly states that these topics “are vital to our business – and to our world.” This is a message that resonates with the target audience. Some of the key content delivery channels on Allianz Knowledge include:

Blog (the posts are really like mini whitepapers)
Facebook
Twitter
Newsletter
eCards and other unique digital media
YouTube channel

Why Allianz Knowledge Is a Site Worth Checking Out

If you are considering content marketing for your insurance company (or any corporate entity for that matter), I recommend you take a look at the Allianz Knowledge site. It is a personal favorite of mine because it executes its content marketing strategy more effectively than I have seen elsewhere within the insurance industry. The success of this site can be attributed to five key content characteristics:

Timely Content. I'm not sure how the site curator manages it, but blog posts read like a page out of a daily international news publication.
Compelling Content. The issues are covered from a variety of angles. This approach keeps the content fresh and infinitely readable.
Deep Content. The site uses a variety of content delivery channels -- from long-form blog posts, tweets and YouTube channel to an eNewsletter, lovely eCards and other unique digital media to reinforce its key social responsibility messages.
Well-Organized Content. For a site as deep and content-rich as Allianz Knowledge, it is surprisingly easy to navigate.
Sales-Neutral Content. When visiting Allianz Knowledge, you never get the sense that the insurer is selling to you. The only place I noticed content specifically branded to the company was on some of the white papers (but not all of them).

What Do You Think?

Have you explored the Allianz Knowledge site? What are your thoughts? Do you know of other outstanding examples of insurance company content marketing sites? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Social Media Marketing: When Authenticity Becomes Offensive

2011-04-17T04:01:03Z

I love the emerging participatory methods of marketing. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube all add up to make it an energizing and innovative time to be a marketing professional. I must confess, however, that one aspect of the social media phenomenon puzzles me.

The Authenticity Enigma in Social Media

Successful social media and content marketing strategy emphasize "authenticity." I have no problem with that. Since the beginning of time the best communicators have always been authentic. My problem is with the evolution of social media's definition of "authentic" (at least as I have seen it develop over the past year). What prompted the writing of this piece is that several respected business bloggers whom I read regularly have posted rants in recent weeks, complete with negative observations of potential clients and competitors as well as nasty, vulgar language. Here are a few lines from three different authoritative business blogs I read regularly (all of which prompted positive comments from readers for their "authenticity"):

EXCERPT SET #1: A financial marketing professional (whose readers, I'm guessing, are banking industry marketers) wrote the following:

"5 reasons banks s*ck at blogging"

"The content on bank blogs s*cks"

EXCERPT SET #2: A social media thought leader wrote the following about the "bullsh*t" side of social media marketing (which, among the three excerpt sets included in this post, received the most rave reviews for its "authenticity"):

"Call it what you will — reposting, featuring, scraping — plagiarizing is a d*ck move. Do you your own d*mn work. Write your own d*mn stuff."

"*ss-kissing will get you anywhere, but where is that, exactly?"

"Speaking of long-term, “*sshole” is not a long-term strategy."

EXCERPT SET #3: A user experience design expert who provides services to ad agencies wrote a rant that included:

“Ad agencies, in particular, are soulless holes…”

"...advertising, as it is widely practiced, is an inherently unethical and, frankly, poisonous endeavor that sees people as sheep to be manipulated, that vaunts style over substance, and deems success to be winning awards."

Thoughtful, Elegant Blog Writing Should Be the Goal

I'm posting this piece today at the risk of being labeled a dinosaur who simply does not "get it" when it comes to the new, loose, straight-from-the-hip style of business social media marketing and blog writing. But, I argue that I do "get it," and perhaps a lot better than some of the esteemed business bloggers quoted above. We all need to blow off steam from time to time. I get that, too. The point I'm trying to make is that it should not be done in writing -- especially within material that is intended to enlighten your readers (many of whom are potential customers). I learned in college journalism classes and through years of professional writing experience that the goal should be honesty, simplicity and elegance in every word that gets published. Achieving a polished, well-crafted piece that is also authentic is hard work. The writer of such a piece takes great pains to revise and rewrite until he/she achieves the ideal without risk of blatantly offending any group of readers. Anything less, in my opinion, is undisciplined writing and unprofessional.

When Communicating Volatile Messages, We Can All Do Better

I will continue reading the bloggers cited above. For the most part, I value their posts and learn from them. But I think they can, and should, do better than the excerpts included in this post. In the words of Dale Carnegie:

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.”

"Understanding" and "forgiving" are part of being "respectful." One of the top five characteristics I look for in clients and subcontractors with whom I work is that they are, in fact, respectful. None of the writing in the blog excerpts cited above achieves anything close to that ideal.

What Do You Think?

Do you find social media "authenticity" increasingly a license to be offensive? Do you expect more from the thought leaders you follow on the web? Is it out-dated to think common courtesy in business-related communications is imperative and that anything less is undisciplined and unprofessional? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

Smart Business: 5 Most Important Client Characteristics

2011-04-17T03:59:40Z

Last week I was asked by a colleague to state the five most important characteristics I look for in clients. This is a topic I have thought about a lot in my many years in the marketing industry. It is smart business to carefully consider certain characteristics about a client before you choose to work with them. My list is short and simple and, I hope, as practical for others as it has proven to be for me over the years.

5 Most Important Client Characteristics

1. SMART (about his/her industry & well-read about marketing trends)

2. ORGANIZED (so that projects move forward steadily)

3. RISK-TAKER (willing to try new things)

4. RESPECTFUL (of my time & talents)

5. HONEST (in all business dealings)

What's most interesting about this list is that it is exactly the same list I would use to describe the 5 Most Important Vendor/Subcontractor Characteristics (this includes writers, designers, photographers, illustrators, printers, distributors, etc.). The above list could also be titled the 5 Most Important Things I Bring To Any Project for Which I Am Hired.

Choosing the people you work with requires careful consideration. I focus on the fact that different people have varying levels of integrity. If you are a business person of high integrity, you will find it unsatisfactory to work with clients and vendors/subcontractors who are at a significantly different level. This need to focus on integrity has never been more urgent than in the fast-evolving worlds of SEO and new marketing methodologies, such as inbound marketing, content marketing and social media marketing. I'd even go as far as to say that one of my secrets to success as an independent marketing professional is that I've always taken the time to carefully consider integrity levels before I choose to work with people. As a result, I have rarely had to worry about a client paying my invoices on time or subcontractors delivering exactly what I expected from them. This all leads to high client retention rates and, equally important, long vendor/subcontrator relationships.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Inbound Marketing Basics: Building Blocks for Success

2011-04-17T03:59:03Z

Inbound marketing is a relatively new marketing methodology. It can scare and confound even the most experienced marketing professionals. But it does not have to. You just need to understand the basics and then it not only makes sense, it actually seems a better and smarter approach.

Inbound Defined

Inbound is internet-based marketing. It works by having prospects find you, rather than the traditional marketing approach of going out and finding prospects through such methods as direct mail and direct response advertising.

Building a Solid Inbound Marketing Strategy

PUBLISH. Content is king in the inbound marketing world. Marketing endeavors should focus on delivering information that is relevant and useful to your target audience. For example, if you run a nursing home business, you could create a white paper directed at the adult children of elderly parents on a universal subject, such as “The Effects of Aging on An Elderly Loved One.” Or, if you’re an insurance company, you could create an annual “Summary of Verdicts in Employment Practices Liability Litigation,” which would be directed at risk managers and business executives. The key when you publish content is to not overtly sell your own company or product. You want to provide information that prospects will value enough to download (in exchange for contact information).

PROMOTE. With inbound marketing you do not commercially print the content (i.e., white papers) and mail them blindly to addresses on a mailing list. Instead, you self-promote the content online. You do this for free through various social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.), the blogosphere and email.

OPTIMIZE. The content you create as well as the text you use online to promote your content should all be optimized with keywords that are most relevant to your target audience. This optimization will enable your content and related online communications to be found by Google and other search engines. So, if someone does a Google search on the words “nursing homes Rochester NY,” your white paper on “The Effects of Aging” will pop up in the search results. THEY FOUND YOU! Cool, huh?

COMPEL. Once a potential client finds you, it is critical to greet them with a compelling online offer. This offer will most likely be to provide a free white paper, or a free analysis or some other high value offer. When the offer is compelling enough you will succeed in driving traffic to a landing page. The landing page is like the reply card in traditional marketing. It is the place where the individual takes an action that transforms him/her into an actual prospect. They do this by completing a simple contact form in exchange for the high value offer.

ANALYZE. Successful inbound marketers use a content management system (CMS) to analyze how their online marketing efforts are working. These systems show your online marketing ROI (a difficult number to capture through traditional marketing channels). A good CMS will also show you at a glance how many leads you are getting from specific content, what blog articles are most successful, which social media channels are actually delivering leads and much, much more. Inbound best practices encourage analyzing online marketing efforts daily. Then simply change what is not working and do more of what is working.

What Do You Think?

When you look at the basic components of the inbound marketing methodology, it's not all that scary or confounding, right? Has your marketing team made the transition to inbound? If yes, have your inbound efforts been successful? What were your greatest challenges in making the transition? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. And, as always, thanks for reading.

Inbound Marketing Metrics: 5 Key Measurements

2011-04-17T03:58:37Z

When you work in the marketing department of a midsize to large corporation, such as an insurance company, healthcare organization or manufacturing company, it’s hard to ignore the growing curiosity among executives about the value and effectiveness of social media marketing (a.k.a. content marketing, inbound marketing, internet marketing, eMarketing, etc.). For the purposes of this post, I will refer to these new marketing methodologies as inbound marketing.

New Marketing Metrics for New Methodologies

In today’s tight economic climate, companies like yours are looking for ways to reduce marketing expense while improving marketing results. This may entail new thinking and pushing yourself past your marketing comfort zone comprised of tradeshows, print advertising, direct mail, etc. While these tried and true traditional marketing methods have worked well for your company for decades, they can be enhanced and even replaced with newer inbound marketing methodologies. These can include strategically optimized websites, product-specific blogs, high-value educational white papers/ebooks (that can be downloaded by prospective customers in exchange for contact information), email lead nurturing campaigns, social media publishing and engagement, webinars, and many other digital media options.

5 Marketing Metrics that Matter Most to Executives

When you implement an inbound marketing program built for customers to find you through a variety of online communication channels, there are certain metrics that are critical to measuring and communicating success to your company’s top managers and executives. According to inbound marketing expert Mike Volpe at HubSpot, the five key inbound marketing metrics that matter most to executives include:

IMPROVED WEBSITE GRADE. This metric is available for free from HubSpot’s Website Grader SEO Tool. Simply plug in your URL and get a score from 1 to 100. This tool can even compare your score with those of your competitors. Very cool. Very powerful. And very easy to understand.
INCREASED WEBSITE TRAFFIC. You want to pay attention to the total number of unique visitors to your website over a time period, usually a month. This is the perfect metric to give executives a sense of the overall interest in your business. Steady growth in unique visitors is proof that your inbound marketing initiatives are working.
INCREASED LEADS. Visitors can be converted to leads right on your website. One way that individuals can officially become leads directly on your website is by filling out a form that provides contact information in exchange for downloadable content, such as a white paper or ebook. Tracking leads is one of the most important metrics for measuring the success of your inbound marketing efforts.
INCREASED LEAD CONVERSION (a.k.a NEW CUSTOMERS). Once you have obtained contact information for a lead, you can nurture that lead through a series of informational emails and, when appropriate, telephone conversations. You will want to track how many leads convert to actual new customers on a monthly basis. It may take some time (on average 12-16 weeks) to get your inbound lead conversion engine humming. But, once it is, your monthly new customer numbers will be what resonates most with top managers and executives.
IMPROVED CUSTOMER ACQUISITION COST. According to HubSpot’s Mike Volpe, “Many businesses don't compute this on an ongoing basis, but knowing the total sales and marketing cost for each new customer (on average each month) is important. It gives you a good sense of how your business is going, and if it is getting easier or harder to grow.”

What Do You Think?

One of the things that is most attractive about inbound marketing is the fact that you can provide detailed metrics that prove what is working. The above list just scratches the surface of what you can measure. Do you agree with the metrics cited above as being the ones executives care about most? What would you add to this executive-level metrics list? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. And, as always, thanks for reading.

Digital Life: Ever Wonder If Online Is Really Reading?

2011-04-17T03:58:08Z

If you're an inbound marketing pro you are most likely on the computer the majority of your work day. Did you ever ponder whether reading email and web pages actually qualifies as reading in the true sense of the word? Not a day goes by in our culture that most of us do not access digital, networked information with an increasing amount of time spent on “reading” email, website pages and other multimedia materials. My gut feeling has always been that this type of reading is not the same as sitting down and reading a good old-fashioned printed book, or even a printed magazine or newspaper.

A 10/14/09 New York Times column titled Does the Brain Like E-Books seems to support my theory. According to one of the column’s contributors, Alan Liu who is chairman and professor of English at the University of California at Santa Barbara, research into the relationship between literature and information culture is worth pursuing. He is head of the Transliteracies U.C. Multi-Campus Reasearch Group on online reading practices and technologies.

In the column, Professor Liu makes the following observations:

Initially, any new information medium seems to degrade reading because it disturbs balance between focal and peripheral attention. It takes time and adaptation before a balance can be restored.

Current forms of digital media behave nothing like “books” or “libraries,” and cause users to swing between two kinds of bad reading. We suffer tunnel vision, as when reading a single page, paragraph, or even “keyword in context”without an organized sense of the whole. Or we suffer marginal distraction, as when feeds or blogrolls in the margin (“sidebar”) of a blog let the whole blogosphere in.

No wonder I still get a headache when I spend exteneded time reading online. No wonder I often opt to review the uncluttered “printer friendly” version. Based on Professor Liu’s insights, a better term may be “reader friendly” version.

Digital Life: Go Digital! Gone Logical?

2011-04-17T03:57:06Z

As an inbound marketing professional, I was intrigued by a blog post I stumbled upon recently authored by UC Santa Barbara Professor Monica Bulger, PhD. The post is titled Is Digital Media the Ruin of Logical Thinking? She launches her essay with a recent quote from William Zinsser (one of my personal heroes): "The epidemic I'm most worried about isn't swine flu. It's the death of logical thinking. The cause, I assume, is that most people now get their information from random images on screen pop-ups, windows and side bars -- or from scraps of talk on a digital phone."

Monica Bulger then cites an excerpt from a 1/15/2010 New York Times article by Anand Giridharadas titled Language as a Blunt Tool for the Digital Age that reads like this:

"(we are becoming linguisitic utilitarians, treating language) as computers do, as a protocol: a code that machines use to communicate with other machines, a code not savored or loved, a code that exists to get the job done and works precisely because it is boring, standardized and pragmatic."

That's where Monica Bulger takes issue. She cites:

"As many scholars point out, the advent of computers, Internet, text messages, etc. have increased literate practice. ... Innovations such as email and texting require us to think and communicate textually."

EXAMPLE: Where an executive in the pre-email days would have dictated correspondence to a secretary, he/she is now actually thinking, typing and editing the message directly.

EXAMPLE: Where kids in the pre-text message days would simply pick up a phone and talk to a friend, they now (almost exclusively) send text messages via phone, Facebook, etc.

In simplest terms, the good in all this seems to me to be threefold.

1) People are forced to think about what they really want to communicate and then say it in as few words as possible. Telegrams, which forced truncated communications in the old days, were a luxury not readily available to the masses. By comparison, today's voicemail, email and texting technology is ubiquitous and FORCES all of us to be clear and concise. If you're not, you're simply ignored. Harsh, but true.

2) People can communicate with a much wider audience via social media. The enormity of the wider audience impacts all of us -- from friends reconnecting after decades to global business being conducted almost effortlessly. The power of it all is truly staggering.

3) Likewise, people can be influenced by a much wider audience through blogs and other social media tools. Rather than "dumbing us down," this new digital age has the power to be the new age of enlightenment. Take this post as an example. How else would I have found the elegant essay written by Monica Bulger if it was not for digital communication?

My simple interpretation of the bad in digital media/communication:

1) Artless communication. I guess I agree with Anand Giridharadas in acknowledging that we run the risk of words being used as pure function, not colorful conversation. I don't look forward to living in a world of talk stripped of persuasion and passion. Of course, the digital future doesn't HAVE to be this way.

2) Lack of personal connectedness in conversation. Social media is great. However, nonverbal cues are the nuance that add significantly to the art of conversation. You miss those nuances with digital conversation. That can make it difficult to truly connect with others.

3) Insular worldview. While the world is literally at all our fingertips these days, one must have a strong internal desire to pursue wider sources of influence. If not, your world can quickly and easily atrophe to the narrowest point of view. The most frightening aspect of this scenario is that you would have seemingly endless sources of information to fuel that one narrow point of view. We see the negative effects of this in U.S. politics already.

So, is digital communication the death of logical thinking? In my opinion, no.

Rather, it is the beginning of an evolution in logical thinking. We are learning new, faster, more concise and geographically broader ways to communicate (inbound marketing, content marketing and social media marketing are all good examples). Depending on your age, the learning curve can be significant. On the other side of all this change we will not only communicate differently, we will apply refined logic to processing that information. The approach won't be any "smarter" or "dumber"; it will just be different and appropriate to move our culture forward.

Inbound Marketing: Increase Website Traffic with Better Page Titles

2011-04-04T12:20:55Z

Page titles are one of the most important details of on-page SEO. They are easy to edit and optimize. The more care you put into creating page titles, the higher your site will appear in Google searches (and the easier it will be to get found by potential customers).

Page Titles: What They Are, How To Edit Them

Page titles are easy to find. The text you see at the top of your browser window when viewing a web page are the page titles. They present important descriptive information to search engines for each web page.

Editing page titles is easy. Titles can be found and edited in your site's HTML. The text that is surrounded with the <title> tag is your page's title.

6 Tips To Improve Page Titles (and Boost Your Google Rankings)

Include keywords. Your goal with SEO is to rank for selected keywords. Placing them in your title text in a great way to improve your chances of page one ranking for certain keywords.
Put keywords close to the beginning of the title This will further improve your chances of ranking for those title keywords.
Make your title less than 70 characters. Longer page titles will not be seen in your web browser or in Google search results. If you make the page title too long, it will also dilute the importance of the keywords mentioned.
Make your title easily readable / understandable for site visitors. Simple clear wording is best; no jargon or confusing terminology.
Put your company name at the end of the page title. This is true in all cases, except if you are a big brand and people search for you through your brand name.
Use different page titles for each page. Each page is an opportunity to target different keywords.

What Do You Think?

Is there anything you would add or delete to my title page optimization instructions to help improve Google rankings? Share your thoughts in the comments section. And, as always, thanks for reading.

Content Marketing: Print a Brochure. Save a Tree!

2011-04-04T11:19:31Z

When it comes to content marketing, printed materials can be a valuable component. Well-designed printed pieces can effectively increase website traffic with motivated prospects. Unfortunately, print isn't pursued often enough these days, in part, because it gets a bad rap from environment. The world keeps telling us that printed paper materials kill trees and are bad for the environment. Sounds logical. I've believed it.

Perhaps Print Is Not So Bad for the Environment

Apparently there is another side to the story (an it's a compelling one). According to the Printing & Graphics Association MidAtlantic (PGAMA) and its new Print Grows Trees campaign, revenue-producing forests are rich sustainable resources that can remain intact only through vigorous profitable consumption, such as paper manufacturing. The association shows that, as paper use declines, owners of revenue-producing forests are being forced to sell their forest to land developers who are turning acres of lush forest into clear-cut housing tracts, commercial developments and agricultural land.

Here is how the association summarizes its pro-environment platform / campaign:

"Print Grows Trees is an educational campaign that uses facts to show that print on paper actually helps to grow trees and keep our forests from being sold for development. By connecting the dots between print and the private landowners who own almost 60 percent of U.S. woodlands, Print Grows Trees challenges the widely held belief that, by using less paper, trees will be saved."

It's All About Preserving Forestland

PGAMA says that, in an ideal world, growing trees would be so profitable that landowners could afford to manage existing forestland (with all its biodiversity) in a sustainable manner. In addition, landowners would be able to convert land that currently has no trees into forests grown specifically for harvesting as timber, much like Christmas tree farmers do. Such a scenario, PGAMA says, would reduce the pressure on primary forests while adding trees to our landscape.

Unique Platform Removes Stigma of Commercial Printing Wastefulness

PGAMA certainly gives you something to think about. I encourage content marketing professionals to visit www.printgrowstrees.com to read more about this intriguing argument in favor of printing on paper. MY THOUGHTS: Personally, I do not see the downturn in print revenues being a primarily environmental issue. I work with large corporate clients who -- across the board -- have reduced print budgets due to cost constraints. Not a single one has mentioned concern for the environment as a primary reason for printing less (though it is quite often mentioned as a secondary concern).

What Do You Think?

Do you think the Print Grows Trees platform is intriguing and deserves broader public recognition? Does its message make you feel more confident about pursuing print projects? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. And, as always, thanks for reading.

Inbound Marketing: QR Codes Spell Opportunity

2011-04-04T10:29:09Z

QR codes are hot! In a recent survey of smartphone users, 32 percent said they’ve used a QR code, and 70 percent said they plan to use a QR code in the near future. The survey, which was conducted by Baltimore advertising agency MGH, further revealed that among all smartphone users the top motivator in scanning a code is to secure a coupon or discount (53 percent and 87 percent, respectively). The survey also found that 72 percent of smartphone users would be likely to recall an ad with a QR code.

QR Codes = Opportunity for Inbound Marketers

For inbound marketers, these QR code survey results mean opportunity. Targeted print materials and print ads can help boost website traffic – especially if they feature a QR code. Imagine increasing website traffic with through the new QR code technology that gives prospective clients permission to immediately access a coupon, downloadable content or a social media contest. Imagine directing tradeshow attendees directly to an online order page… or seminar attendees to an exclusive survey or white paper… or magazine readers to a custom landing page. The applications for this technology are limited only by your inbound marketer imagination.

So What Exactly Is a QR code?

QR codes connect the physical world to the Internet. In other words, it is a physical hyperlink. The name QR code stands for “quick response” code. It is a two-dimensional code (meaning it can be read in two directions). For marketing purposes, QR codes are read by smartphones. You can use a QR code to encode text, a website URL or other data. There are many free QR code generating sites that you can use to generate and print your own QR codes.

What Do You Think?

Have you used QR codes in your marketing campaigns? Were you pleased with the results? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. As always, thanks for reading.

Inbound Marketing: Remarkable Content Requires More Than a Hunch

2011-04-04T09:43:43Z

In an age of inbound marketing driven by SEO content, tweets and daily blog updates, it's tough sometimes to justify the time-consuming task of research. But, being a content writer by trade, I usually fight for research. Why? Because I know from experience that good online marketing -- the kind that helps prospective customers find you and want to do business with you -- is NOT synonymous with "fast and cheap."

Research-Based Content Can Increase Website Traffic, Links and Retweets

The truth is that, online or offline, you can produce far more effective content if you develop your writing based on solid research. This research can take the form of client interviews, customer interviews, demographic data, custom surveys or various web searches. The bottom line is that you will get much more out of your content (i.e., increased website traffic, increased links, increased retweets, increased Facebook likes, increased LinkedIn shares, etc.) if you allow the time for proper research and content development based on that research. People share content that is backed by good research.

It's a Myth that Good Content Writers Function on Intuition

I have the following quote taped to the wall above my computer. As archaic and unlikely as it sounds, the quote is from an American Association of Advertising Agencies 1979 publication titled The Relationship of Copywriting and Research (YES, we can still learn from "old school" marketing experts.) The quote helps give me the strength and the words to help anxious clients rethink research and assign value to it -- even if it does "slow down" the process somewhat.

...It is a myth that the copywriter functions best on "intuition." Although a good copywriter can write good copy for any subject, research is the secret to producing accurately targeted and effective copy...

What Do You Think?

Does the relationship between content and research make sense? Does well-researched content help increase website traffic, links and retweets? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. As always, thanks for reading.

Inbound Marketing: What's an Outbound Marketer To Do?

2011-04-03T23:53:20Z

For many marketers who built their careers on traditional outbound marketing, the new inbound marketing methodologies can be unsettling (and even seem a bit unfair). But it does not have to be that way.

I Used To Curse Inbound Marketing

My 20+ years in marketing and advertising were built on successful implementation of outbound marketing methodologies. Just at the point in my career when I should be reaping the benefit of all my years of outbound marketing for Fortune 500 companies and others, my experience suddenly was irrelevant. At least that is how it seemed to me a year ago. Almost overnight the emphasis moved away from outbound marketing methodologies (ads, brochures, direct mail, trade shows, etc.) to newer inbound methodologies (keyword strategies, search engine optimized content, blogs, social media, lead nurturing email campaigns, etc.).

What a Difference a Year Makes (Long Live Inbound!)

I faced a dilemma one year ago.

OPTION 1 - I could give up my marketing career and pursue other interests (the reason being that I could not and should not be expected to learn an entire new marketing game plan at this stage of my career).

OPTION 2 - I could buck up and learn the new stuff... prove I wasn’t a dinosaur... prove my 20+ years of outbound marketing experience was still worth something in an inbound world (the reason being that I love marketing and could not face walking away from a career I’ve enjoyed so much and for so long).

Obviously, I chose OPTION 2. And I’m glad I did.

Understanding the Trend Toward Inbound: Buyers Need More Control

As marketers, we’ve always been attuned to buyer wants vs. buyer needs. Buyer wants are the “nice to haves,” such as in-car satellite radio. Buyer needs are the “must haves,” such as automobile air bags. For most consumers in-car satellite radio is something they could easily live without, but they won’t even consider buying a car without air bags.

Similarly, inbound marketing has quickly grown into an essential buyer need. Companies that don’t pursue it will simply be ignored by potential buyers. What it boils down to is that, regardless of what you’re selling -- be it hamburgers, cars or insurance -- buyers want more control in the information gathering and buying processes. They want to do these things in their own time frame and on their own terms.

Inbound methodologies help companies preserve their marketing strength among more independent, control-minded consumers. Inbound marketing succeeds in today's marketplace because it channels marketing messages into a “permission” based model, rather than the “interruption” model on which all outbound marketers built their careers. The permission model means you simply design your messages so that customers find you online (rather than actively pursue customers through ads, direct mail, trade shows, etc.).

The Message Isn't All that Different, But the Delivery Is

Outbound marketers who take the time to learn the basics of inbound marketing will be taking a huge step forward in preserving their careers. I've learned first-hand that my 20+ years of outbound marketing experience is perfectly relevant in an inbound marketing world.

I'm not creating glossy 12-page brochures anymore, but I am helping create and implement digital inbound marketing programs that are turbo-charged lead-generating engines. Instead of creating beautifully-crafted selling pieces designed to grab the attention of potential buyers, I now provide the optimized digital content companies need to make it easy for buyers to find them online. It's very saitisfying work because inbound marketing really does work.

What Do You Think?

Have you struggled finding a place where your outbound marketing experience fits in an inbound marketing world? Have you successfully made the transition? How did you succeed? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. And, as always, thanks for reading.

Inbound Marketing: Why Social Media for Insurers Will Get Easier

2011-04-03T10:09:19Z

Imagine a world where insurance marketers enjoy large, comfortable budgets for social media initiatives. Also imagine staffing levels that make the labor-intensive work of social business more manageable. Such a future may not be too far off.

Social Business Maturity Level Is Key

Altimeter Group sheds light on this subject in its report titled How Corporations Should Prioritize Social Business Budgets. For this report, Altimeter Group surveyed 140 corporate Social Strategists (these are primary business decision makers at large corporations) and found that social business maturity drives social business spending. In 2011, Altimeter data shows that investment in 12 discrete social business categories will vary greatly between three social business maturity levels: novice, intermediate, and advanced.

What Insurance Companies Can Expect

For me, the key take away from this report is that how much your insurance company invests in social media marketing depends on how long your company has been marketing in the social media space. There are big differences in social media spending and staffing the longer social media initiatives are actively pursued in large corporations, such as insurance companies.

The report does a great job of outlining what insurance companies and other types of corporations can expect and plan for in terms of social media budgets and staffing. Some valuable information for insurance marketing professionals includes:

Insurance marketing professionals can expect social media marketing budgets to to increase as social media business matures.

Based on data collected from corporate social strategists, the Altimeter Group report states, “...as more corporations undertake social business efforts, and social business becomes embedded into the company infrastructure, a majority of corporations… will see average social business budgets increase significantly.” Altimeter research indicates that social business annual budgets at companies just starting to establish a social media program (novices) averages just $66,000. But, for companies that have been engaged in social business for awhile (intermediate and advanced) budgets can increase (on average) to more than $1 million annually.

Insurance marketing professionals can expect social media marketing teams to grow and spread cross-functionally across their organizations as social business matures.

According to Altimeter, the average size of early-stage social media marketing teams (novices) at corporations is just three to four people. But at corporations that have been involved in social business for awhile (intermediate and advanced), team size increases to as many as 20 people. Large corporations, such as insurance companies, that can support this level of staffing often utilize cross-functional teams. This means that successful insurance company social business teams in the very near future may be comprised of individuals from diverse disciplines, including marketing, sales, underwriting and claims.

Find Your Insurance Company's Social Business Maturity Level

Use this cool tool created by Altimeter Group to determine your insurance company's social business maturity level. Click on the form below to download your own copy.