The marketing experts continually exhort marketing teams to provide remarkable content for our audiences. What better way than to actually get four of those experts on a panel to speak on an evocative topic? During “The Great Marketing Conversation,” Robert Rose, Mike Volpe, Ardath Albee and Marcus Sheridan discussed today’s marketing practices – content marketing and inbound marketing in particular – in a pragmatic way aimed at helping marketers make a business case to their organizations. Great conversation. Great content. The response from the audience was, “Do more of these!”

Barbara Mooty sent Candyce this encouraging note:

“THANK YOU! for hosting #TGMC as it was: relevant, informative and the conversation moved at a ‘perfect’ pace for me.”

Candyce and I would like to express our great appreciation to the panel for coming together and making the webcast such a memorable event. Thanks also to DemandGen Report for providing the platform for “The Conversation” to take place. But the Gratitude Express doesn’t end there. Oh, no. Many thanks go out to our audience, an exuberant group who blogged, tweeted, shared and engaged in the conversation. Using the hashtag #TGMC, you were agents of wisdom as you quoted the panelists and shared your own insights. Take a look at the many tweets below.

If you missed the webcast, you can register to watch here:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/934411922

The discussion was lively, and we ended up running out of time before we got to all the audience questions. So Robert Rose followed up in a blog post that addressed some queries:

The “Great Marketing Conversation” Continues – A Baker’s Dozen Answers To Questions

If you’d like to keep up with other panelists, I encourage you to visit their blogs:

Marcus Sheridan – http://www.thesaleslion.com

Ardath Albee – http://marketinginteractions.typepad.com

Mike Volpe – http://www.mikevolpe.com

Be sure to respond in the comments section to engage with these experts and keep the conversation going. If you attended the event, what was your great takeaway? What would you like to have the next “Great Converation” touch upon? Let us know by leaving your comments below. But first, allow me to share the conversation on Twitter during the webcast (thanks again, let’s keep the conversation going):

jditlev 5:40am har været til webinar med 4 content / inbound marketing eksperter og blogget om det: ow.ly/8F6wg #tgmc
 

jlynnwrites Jan 24, 12:06pm
T minus 1 hour and counting #TGMC
landing.propelgrowth.com/TheGreatMarket…

Marketing in the Capital Markets

Having my head in emerging markets and cross-asset trading these days, I’ve been finding the term “alpha” unavoidable. TABBGroup’s Adam Sussman recently spoke on investment in emerging markets as a way to achieve alpha. The industry is all aflutter about cross-asset and multi-asset trading as a means to seek alpha. The concept of exceeding benchmark performance permeates our business in the form of whitepapers, webinars, forecasts and executive briefs.

But let’s some of us be honest, that concept is sorely lacking when it comes to marketing strategy. Many companies say they want the most bang for their marketing buck, but when it comes down to it, they hang all their hopes on one monolithic whitepaper or live event. This is similar to what I call “practicing wishcraft” – taking any action to say you did something and wishing for some magical outcome. There’s a difference between spending money for the sake utilizing available budget and spending it to achieve what I like to call “marketing alpha.”

I seem to be on a roll with the specialized terms. Like a marketer (LOL!).

Anyway, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, banks are under increasing pressure to reduce overhead and increase profit margins via technology consolidation. However, since the financial crisis began, companies across the board have been faced with budgetary challenges that have made buyers cautious and salespeople crazy. The new reality is one of longer, more complex sales cycles with today’s web-enabled buyer in the driver’s seat.

Brave New World of B2B Marketing

Unlike the Aldous Huxley novel, effective marketers have moved away from treating customers like cattle and feeding them marketing soma. Why? Because the buying behavior of capital market buyers has changed dramatically in the past few years, rendering the majority of old-school marketing practices ineffective (and as a result, expensive). Truth be told, old-school marketing was about creating noise to be heard over the competition and get in the door.  It used to be about one-way push. Now it’s about two-way engagement.

In earlier times (some might call them “the good old days”), the company with the most marketing dollars often got the most sales, simply because the customer recognized their name. But as more companies enter the race, more companies start making as much noise as possible. The Internet and email make it easier and cheaper to make noise, resulting in a virtual cacophony of marketing claims barraging customers every day – with everyone claiming to be “the leading, number-one, unique, value-added, trusted provider” of “robust, innovative, cutting-edge, high-performance, ultra low-latency technology….”

Yawn.

How can every vendor be the “leading provider”, anyway?

If you’re in marketing or sales and have not heard the terms “content marketing” or “inbound marketing,” then it’s time to start paying attention to the evolving best practices in marketing. The pressure is on for Marketing to support Sales and help to generate revenue. Your performance depends on it.

Let’s face it folks, our customers are not idiots. They’re sick of the noise, and they no longer trust the marketing puffery. They’re also getting really good at tuning out the noise. They use spam filters, caller ID, gate keepers, DVRs and any number of other methods to tune out advertising and marketing messages.

That doesn’t mean they’re not still buying, but they’re getting more savvy. THEY are in control of their buying process. Research shows that most business buyers of technology do all their early research about business problems and possible solutions BEFORE they talk to a sales person. In fact, their buying processes are generally 75% complete before they’re willing to engage with Sales. So how do you go about influencing the buying decision of a buyer who is wary and weary of traditional marketing hype? How do you now differentiate yourself from your competition?

Achieving Marketing Alpha

Content marketing is about creating educational content that helps your prospective customers understand their business problems, gain a vision of how to solve the problem, and build a business case to get internal buy-in. This content can take the form of whitepapers, blog posts, live events or video. As you provide the prospect with high quality content – information that they can rely on to steer their decisions, you’ll gain their trust and have a significant influence over the buying decision. To quote Ardath Albee, author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale, “Publishing compelling content builds credibility.” This credibility is what gives you competitive advantage.

At this point, you’re probably thinking, “That’s interesting, but how do I get this great content to the customer?

That’s where inbound marketing comes in. This technique uses high-quality content, strategically placed, that is found by prospects who are looking for it and as a result, are ready to engage with you. (talk about warm leads!). According to inbound marketing specialist HubSpot, “72% of companies who blog weekly have acquired customers through their blog.” As a new form of lead generation, inbound marketing is bringing in revenue for companies who have really dug in and focused on sharpening their marketing strategy.

The question arises, “O.K., now how do I incorporate inbound marketing and content marketing to my process?”

On January 24, I will be discussing this with a panel of the foremost experts on modern marketing in a live web event. These speakers are at the top of their game as authors, bloggers and recognized thought leaders in content and inbound marketing. They will discuss the differences between and the convergence of these techniques as well as practical approaches for getting it done as part of a holistic marketing strategy. The goal of this live web event is to give you clear insight into current marketing techniques, going beyond the hype to what works now.  We want you to be better equipped to build a compelling case to gain the funding to implement these techniques.

I highly recommend that you tune in for this hour long session. You can ask questions in advance of the event and online during the Q&A process. I’ll be moderating, and will be joined by:

• Mike Volpe, CMO of HubSpot and a master at inbound marketing (HubSpot generates 40,000 leads a MONTH!)
• Ardath Albee, author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale. Ardath consults for some of the largest technology companies in the world and is well-known speaker on best practices in content marketing.
• Robert Rose is Strategist In Residence at Content Marketing Institute. He co-authored the book Managing Content Marketing – The Real-World Guide for Creating Passionate Subscribers for Your Brand and is also a speaker and consultant in high demand.
• Marcus Sheridan (“The Sales Lion“) is a master blogger who teaches companies how to blog effectively to bring in business. He’s also the author of three books and numerous e-books. Marcus actually inspired this event when he drew attention to a debate between proponents of content marketing vs. inbound marketing on his blog. That post attracted more than 80 comments. You can read that post here: http://www.thesaleslion.com/inbound-vs-content-marketing-compare-hubspot/

It’s No Longer About Marketshare, It’s About Mindshare

The days of “spray ‘n pray” are over. Buyers want to know what’s in it for them, what of value you have to offer them that meets their need. They’re unaffected by perceived market share. They’re seeking a Trusted Advisor to help inform their entire buying process. Achieving that coveted role requires an understanding of what works in this context and directly affects your ability to generate revenue.

Are you struggling with creating an effective marketing strategy? Do you find yourself mistaking tactics for strategy? Are you just a little bit shaky in your understanding of current marketing language? Are you struggling to achieve “marketing alpha”? Join us for:

The Great Marketing Debate Conversation
Tuesday – January 24, 2012
1:00 – 2:00 PM EST (10:00 – 11:00 AM PST)

Click here to register now.

The old marketing model is broken. Time to start the new year with a new foundation for a solid marketing strategy. Here’s your opportunity to learn from four of today’s top marketing thought leaders. They’re passionate about what they do, so the discussion will be quite lively.

Join us, won’t you?

Warm regards,

Candyce

In this the second part of this two-part TrendSpotters installment, I continue my conversation with Harry Gozlan of smartTrade Technologies and Greg Wood of Credit Suisse on cross-asset trading. You can listen to part 2 the discussion by clicking below:

Cross-Asset Trading, Part 2

You can also click here to read a transcript of the conversation.

During the second half of our conversation, we dig deeper into talking about the complexities of cross-asset/multi-asset trading, profitability and wallet share.

To gain further insight on the evolving landscape of multi-asset trading, read smartTrade’s informative whitepaper:

Meeting Multi-Asset Trading Challenges: Workable Approaches for Success in a Dynamic Capital Markets Arena

This whitepaper goes into detail about the components needed to build a global multi-asset trading platform.

Click here for part 1 of the conversation.

TrendSpotters by PropelGrowth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Warm regards,

Candyce

In this installment of the TrendSpotters Thought Leadership Series, we consider the evolution of cross-asset trading, how the industry is changing, and the drivers behind these changes. Joining me are Harry Gozlan, CEO and Founder of smartTrade Technologies, and Greg Wood, Futures Business Development Manager at Credit Suisse’s Advanced Execution Services.

Because of the complexity of this topic, we’ve segmented this episode into two parts. This post contains part 1.

My interview with Harry and Greg was fascinating. They stand at the forefront of this cross-asset trend, and the shared a lot of interesting insights with me. I invite you listen in by clicking below:

You can also click here to read a transcript of the conversation.

Emerging Trends in Cross-Asset Trading

The institutional investment industry not only wants, but needs, to do more with less. Bank consolidation continues worldwide, while the emphasis on holistic enterprise risk management increases challenges for dealing banks and their clients in a post-Dodd-Frank world.  These forces have combined to force the industry to simplify products to improve transparency. The process of simplification has spurred growth in cross-asset trading as asset managers look for alternative alpha.

In the interview, Harry Gozlan points out that buyside demand, particularly from hedge funds have driven the evolution of cross-asset trading. Hedge funds asked for a “single access point to multiple assets to do cross-asset trades, either through auto-hedged securities…,cash against futures, basis trades,” or other combinations. Gozlan points out that traditionally, banks have maintained “siloed FX, equities and rates systems… [assembling] a single entry point to all these assets to provide a kind of cross-asset service to clients.”

As Greg Wood comments in the interview, “People are taking natural steps of looking for alternative alpha. They may be trading domestic equities first. Then they look into cross-border trading. They use derivatives as a hedge… or as an alternative source of alpha. This introduces multi-asset capacity to their trading, where they want to be able to trade each of these asset classes in a similar manner, and then ultimately, manage, risk manage, [and] position-manage those asset classes.”

Cross-asset trading, much of it over-the-counter (OTC), can involve any number of instruments, from conventional equities and fixed income products with FX components, to interest rates and futures,  also often involving foreign exchange as well as options for hedging.  But while the siloed approach can work in the short term, growing volume in cross-asset execution requires the technological capabilities to exploit and actively manage an institutional client’s overall book of business with the trading partner.  This requires a standardized approach to pricing, routing and execution, and ideally should enable clients to use similar execution algorithms across a variety of trading instruments.

Client demand is not uniform and not static.  Whereas large institutional traders or hedge funds may need to execute and measure several components in multiple series of trades, other clients require reliable execution and reporting predominantly for trading in one instrument.  Servicing both kinds of client order flow – and any number in between demands a simply designed yet flexible system that standardizes the trading workflow.

Risk management and best execution mandates are also placing demands on sell-side firms to provide more execution transparency. This demand will only grow in the future, requiring firms to standardize their approach to market data aggregation, internalization, and smart routing while also consolidating and harmonizing their approach to risk management across instrument types.

We invite you to read smartTrade’s informative whitepaper on the evolving landscape of multi-asset trading:

Meeting Multi-Asset Trading Challenges: Workable Approaches for Success in a Dynamic Capital Markets Arena

This whitepaper goes into detail about the components needed to build a global multi-asset trading platform.

Click here for part 2 of the conversation.

TrendSpotters by PropelGrowth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Warm regards,

Candyce

The following is a guest post by Michael Speranza; Senior Vice President, Global Product Management at IPC Systems, Inc.

Investing in emerging markets used to be akin to riding a roller coaster. No longer, judging by new metrics from investments in those regions. I previewed some of TABB Group’s recent emerging markets research, and with their permission, am sharing a few nuggets…

Faster Recovery / Stronger Growth

Emerging markets are growing more reliably and recovering more quickly than developed economies. Consequently, they have enjoyed a lasting boom among investors that does not seem to be weakening. Since 2006, the compound annual growth rate for emerging economies has been 13%, well above the 4% benchmark set by developed markets. In 2010, emerging markets grew GDP at a 17% clip, well outpacing other regions that sought economic recovery.

Emerging Economies Outpace Developed World

Unquestionably, emerging markets have now earned a reputation as the most reliable way to achieve alpha. From December 2008 until April of this year, the equity market performance of emerging economies far outpaced developed economies. This explains why investors have been favoring the BRICs of the world quite blatantly. Historically, emerging markets have been tightly correlated with developed markets. However, since early 2009, the equity fund flow to emerging markets has drastically decoupled from that of developed economies. The IMF predicts that by 2015, one-third of the top world economies will be today’s emerging markets.

So the inflows are there, as are the returns. This reflects either strong fundamentals or great confidence in those markets among institutional investors. Unlike the bad products that have made the front pages, strong demand for institutional offerings that target emerging markets is not just a matter of Wall Street doing an exceptional job of marketing its own creations. Now it’s based on strong market fundamentals.

Emerging Markets vs. Frontier Markets

There are no exact criteria for defining emerging vs. frontier markets. In general, frontier markets are still dangerously unpredictable. But, increasingly, emerging markets offer steady performance, in some cases, in spite of political uncertainty and regulatory challenges. The relative inaction of the 112th Congress in the U.S. highlights that developed markets are not immune to damages borne from inept policy-making. In fact, the bullish state of emerging markets can be read another way: as a significant, no-nonsense threat to developed markets.

Challenges in Accessing these Markets

More generally, the primary challenge for investors that desire access to emerging markets is doing so quickly. Gaining access to a new fund in India, for instance, can take six months. China can take multiple years.

Institutions have enhanced their product offerings in several different ways to accommodate emerging market growth.

• Bulge bracket global banks emphasize their on-the-ground presence in nearly every major global market as a differentiator. This brings with it local knowledge of how the markets operate (beyond simple regulatory documents) and often the ability to trade in the local market as a local.

• For those just out of the bulge bracket, the offering of tailored products for a client’s investment needs at a low cost can attract significant business.

Increasing Demand

European and North American sell-side firms are encountering continuing demand for emerging market exposure and access from their buy-side clients. We expect that demand to continue for several years, as the developed world continues to struggle with complex economic and political issues while emerging markets continue to experience explosive growth in their middle class and domestic consumer base. Providing access to these markets creates a unique opportunity for sell-side banks, brokerages, and financial technology providers to differentiate, create specialized offerings, and grow their client bases.

You can find more information and a presentation about the emerging markets from the TABB Group by clicking here.

IPC has a financial extranet that helps clients gain access to emerging markets. To find out more, click here.

Warm regards,

Candyce

Institutional investors know that emerging markets often provide the greatest opportunity for alpha. But putting money to work in those markets is not always easy. Liquidity, regulation, infrastructure, even local customs, can all become hurdles that can quickly shift the risk-reward balance away from the investors’ side. That said, emerging markets are still among the few around the globe that are offering solid growth rates.

One of the key drivers of emerging market growth and stability is capital formation. On Nov. 22 in London and Dec. 1 in New York, live panel discussions are scheduled to talk about trading in some of the fastest growing emerging markets in Asia and Eastern Europe. We recently interviewed Nigel Roberts, CEO of Marco Polo Europe, a leading global agency broker specializing in emerging markets, to get his thoughts on this new dynamic.

In our conversation, Roberts, who is one of the panelists for the U.S. event, talked about what makes emerging markets attractive to institutional investors. He also shared some thoughts on the importance of capital formation and which markets have the strongest domestic capital basis on which to grow.

Moving the “Needle”

Emerging markets become interesting to a broader spectrum US and European asset managers when they offer enough scale and liquidity to “move the needle” in a large portfolio or investment strategy. Traditionally, this scale has only been available in the large emerging economies such as China and Brazil; but we see increasing opportunity in other markets as they grow, encourage domestic participation, and open up more to foreign participation. In the event, we’ll talk specifically about which countries offer scale today and which markets are poised for providing that level of scale in the next one to two years.

Drivers of Scale and Liquidity

The ideal driver of this scale and liquidity is domestic market participation and an increasingly vibrant derivative market. In the 1990’s there was a rise in international flow into emerging markets, particularly in Latin American, which resulted in foreigners becoming the dominant players in many cases. This can become a problem. As shown historically; institutions have a tendency to repatriate moneys at home when their own domestic markets are under pressure. This then results in an exaggerated sell-off in the emerging markets.

But today’s markets are much more stable and sustainable because of strong domestic participation. In the past decade, emerging markets have seen 600-700 percent growth in cross-border trading to over 4 trillion dollars in 2010. Domestic participation has held steady at around 65%, indicating that domestic investment is growing at the same rate as international flow. Interestingly, there has been a similar increase in cross-border trading in the derivatives markets, culminating in over seven billion contracts traded last year.

In our conversation, Roberts shared his thoughts about three markets we’ll highlight in the panel discussions.

Poland

Poland requires all citizens to contribute 7 and a half percent (7.5%) of their incomes into pension funds. This has created substantial growth in Polish pension funds, and consequently attracts listing business. Many Eastern European companies list in Warsaw because the available money creates increased liquidity for their listings. As the market grows, liquidity increases, and market rules and regulations change. As a result, the market has attracted increased international flow – from both long-term investors and high frequency traders. This makes Poland a very interesting emerging market. In addition, the Poland derivative market has grown alongside its equity market.

Turkey

Turkey is a bit different. According to Roberts, the level of domestic institutional participation is still relatively small, but growing. Approximately 2/3rds of the trading on Turkdex and the Istanbul exchanges is retail. Turkey is a relatively large player in the emerging market “bucket” and sits firmly in the tier just below BRIC with ambitions to be a regional financial hub. Turkey has made large strides in recent years, highlighted by significant changes in its market rules and regulations and a new trading platform for Turkdex that will be implemented Q1 of 2012.

India

India has one of the highest savings rate in the world at approximately 7% of income. This increasing wealth creates substantial market opportunity. The Indian markets are growing quickly, and domestic retail investors now account for approximately 60% of trading volume. It should be noted that the trading in derivative instruments is approximately 10 times that of equities. The Indian markets are evolving and working to attract more foreign and domestic participation, as highlighted by continued market reforms and continued introduction of improved technology. All this solidifies India’s position as an important BRIC nation.

Come Join the Conversation

Join us for a dynamic and informative evening as we talk about these markets and others on November 22 in London and December 1 in New York. Tabb Group will share results of their recent research in the emerging markets, and we’ll have a lively panel discussion about some of the tricky issues around market access, regulatory issues, and infrastructure needs for trading in these markets. The panels will include renowned industry experts who will share some of their hard earned knowledge and expertise in how to be successful trading in the emerging markets.

Register here for the London event.
Register here for the New York event.

Warm regards,

Candyce

Sasha Dichter of Acumen Fund gave the keynote at FPL Americas on Tuesday. It was a great talk, just as inspiring as I’d hoped it would be.

Here are a few observations from his talk:

The Well Being of the Tribe is Everyone’s Responsibility

The concept that “charity begins at home” is relatively new in history. Traditionally, there was more of a sense that the well-being of the tribe was everyone’s responsibility. If a member of the tribe was struggling, the rest of the tribe chipped in to help the struggling members without expectation of recompense or profit. Sasha quoted Deuterotomy 23:19-20 “Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a fellow Israelite, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.” (NIV). He also told the story of the Potlach ceremony. This was a practice common in many west coast Native American tribes. During the ceremony, the wealthiest members of the tribe passed out gifts to the other tribe members. In this social setting, status was based not on how much you had, but on how much you gave.

Sasha’s point was that the concept of the gift economy – of charitably helping members of our tribe without expectation of recompense – has shrunk in much of the modern world. It first shrank from the tribe to the extended family and now has shrunk even further to exclude most everyone outside our nuclear families.

Shockingly, some of this transformation has actually been driven by our government. According to Wikipedia, the Potlach ceremony was actually made illegal in Canada and the United States in the late 19th century. The ban was only repealed in 1951.

I wonder what the world would look like if we eliminated the axiom that “charity begins at home” and started accepting responsibility to help the less fortunate across the board? (Note: Politically I’m actually a fiscal and social conservative. While I feel it’s everyone’s responsibility to help each other, I’m not convinced that the government welfare system is capable of delivering a sustainable solution.)

Can the Power of the Markets Inspire Innovative Solutions to Poverty?

The developed nations have created tremendous wealth and provided innovations that changed the lives of most people who live in the Western world. But there are still massive problems with extreme poverty throughout the world. More than 3 billion people still live without basic sanitation (which is vital to health). More than 2 billion lack access to safe drinking water.

The Acumen Fund asks, “Can we take the best of philanthropy and the markets, the best of accountability and patience, the best of innovation and extend it to solve the problems of extreme poverty?”

The Acumen fund works in some of the poorest parts of the world – in Pakistan, India, and East and West Africa. In these areas, basic infrastructure such as roads is terrible; they have no access to electrical grids, clean water supplies, or sanitation. Corruption is high, trust is low, and interaction with the markets looks very different than it does in the developed world.

They apply a concept Sasha calls “non-profit venture capital.” They invest in innovative solutions to fundamental problems – such as providing villages with inexpensive access to clean drinking water, building electricity generators powered by rice husks, and providing lower cost lamps to replace kerosene lamps. They allow longer time horizons for the return of their capital, and they look for long-term social impact instead of short-term financial gain. At the same time, they understand that having a long-term impact demands a sustainable business model. While not all of their investments are successful, many are having significant impact and are gradually figuring out a business model that allows for scale and financial sustainability. Acumen Fund lives up to the old Taoist proverb, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach him how to fish, he’ll feed himself for a lifetime.”

I’d like to hear your thoughts. Have you seen other innovative ways to solve extreme poverty?

Warm regards,

Candyce

Planning the FPL Conference

I’ve been heavily involved in planning the FPL Americas conference this year. I’ve served as co-chair of the marketing committee and was also very active in the program committee planning out the conference content. In this role, I had the opportunity to suggest and secure this year’s keynote speaker. I’m very excited about the keynote, but before I tell you about it, let me give you a sense of WHY I recommended this particular speaker.

Protesters Blame Wall Street for Everything

The past three years have been incredibly difficult, and it seems that the news isn’t getting much better. We all struggle with the consequences of the economic climate. Many of us are facing more layoffs and spending cuts. Most are expected to do the work of 2-3 people to fill the gaps from earlier layoffs. And just to get to and from work, many have to skirt Occupy Wall Street protesters who blame Wall Street for practically every wrong in the country today. While I feel that the protesters are poorly informed in many respects, I do think it’s important for Wall Street to pay attention.

Why the Capital Markets Exist

African mosquito nets being manufactured

Jim Northey wrote an interesting note to his Global Finance students at Michigan Tech. Northey points out that we seem to have forgotten why the capital markets exist. It’s important to remember that equity and debt markets were established to provide the capital to build businesses and industry and fund government investments in infrastructure and public services. In return for risking their capital, investors have an opportunity to grow their wealth. Futures markets were created to manage risks involved for the producers and consumers of commodities. Derivatives markets were developed as a way to hedge the risk of investments in other vehicles.

Trading Practices Obscure the Purpose

But as Northey points out, in many ways, trading practices have obscured the purposes of these markets. “Don’t get me wrong,” Northey clarifies, “I am an ardent believer in markets, likely I would sacrifice well-being and even life to defend a free capitalist based society….”

He goes on to share his hope that “this industry can be changed and can return to its rightful place as the engine that drives societal growth and prosperity.”

A Different Perspective

Family with mosquito net

I agree with Jim. The capital markets and a capitalist system can do incredible good in the world. So for the FPL conference this year, I’d like to introduce a different perspective of the capital markets – one that uses the power of the markets to help solve some of the toughest social problems in the developing world – things like providing safe drinking water, making affordable healthcare available, bringing power to poor and remote corners of the world.

Our keynote speaker, Sasha Dichter, has a different message than that of the Wall Street protesters: that the power of the markets can bring real and significant change to our lives and the lives of others.

Patient Capital

Sasha works for a firm called the Acumen Fund. Their mission is to create a world beyond poverty by investing in social enterprises, emerging leaders, and breakthrough ideas. They bring together the best of market approaches, equity investment and philanthropy in something they call patient capital. The Acumen Fund has been pioneering this work since 2001.

Sasha is a Talented Speaker

Sasha is a recognized blogger and speaker on philanthropy, generosity and social change. He was recently featured as a TED.com “best of the Web” speaker, has been profiled as an Innovation Agent by Fast Company magazine, and is a Top 10 Business Blogger on Say:100 media.

Here are some links to learn more about Sasha and the Acumen Fund.

http://blog.acumenfund.org/2010/04/20/acumen-fund-and-ecotact-on-pbs-newshour/

http://www.youtube.com/user/acumenfund

http://www.acumenfund.org/ten/

Come to the FPL Americas Conference on November 1 and hear Sasha speak. I’m certain you will find the stories he’s going to share inspiring and uplifting. The keynote starts at 8:35 am, and this is one talk you won’t want to miss.

Warm regards,

Candyce

The following is a guest blog post from Jeffrey E. Kopiwoda and Seth A. Stern with the law firm Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn Ltd.

Develop A Clear Social Media Policy

Social media offers significant opportunities for financial firms but also poses commensurate risk to firms that are unaware of legal issues affecting the medium. Financial regulators so far have shown little willingness to adapt to the instantaneous sharing of information.  Social media – which thrives on real-time communication – is therefore subject to rules designed for traditional media.  Firms should implement clearly worded policies to ensure their employees do not unknowingly draw regulatory action.

For instance, the NFA requires podcasts and YouTube videos to go through the same ten-day approval process applicable to television and radio ads under Rule 2-29(h).  Further, regulators including the NFA and FINRA will treat tweets qualifying as promotional or advertising materials the same as formal reports.  Even “liking” someone’s post on Facebook arguably could be considered a regulated endorsement. Firms should not assume that social media will be treated leniently due to its informality.

Know The Rules

Regulated entities’ social media activities (like their offline activities) must comply with rules including:

• NFA Rule 2-9, which requires Members to diligently supervise employees in the conduct of their activities on behalf of the Member (including social media posts).
• NFA Rule 2-29 and 2-36, which prohibit fraudulent and misleading communications and include numerous specific requirements for “promotional materials” and other categories of communications, including mandatory disclaimers which are not particularly Twitter-friendly.
• NASD (now FINRA) Rules 2210(b) and 3010, requiring advertisements and other correspondence and literature to be approved in writing by a principal.  Social media sites, blogs, and bulletins (both corporate and individual) must be reviewed prior to their launch and “static” content qualifying as advertisements also must be reviewed in advance.  Content qualifying as a “public appearance” (including chat-rooms and comments to others’ social media sites and blogs) also requires supervision.

Keep Accurate Records, Supervise Diligently

Record-keeping and archiving requirements also apply to social media.  NASD Rules require firms to retain all advertisements and business communications – including information posted on websites and social media posts.  This includes communications sent from smartphones and other devices.  NFA Rules also require Members to maintain promotional materials.  A proposed amendment to CFTC Rule 1.35(a) would require regulated entities to record all communications which lead to the execution of transactions and categorize them by counterparty and transaction.  This would include “digital or electronic media” communications.

Moreover, Firms’ supervision requirements extend beyond their own employees.  You may have heard that website hosts are not liable for third-party content such as comments on blogs and wall posts.  While this is true for most online publishers under federal law, the NFA has issued guidance to the contrary.  According to NFA Interpretive Notice 9063, a Member or Associate must “regularly monitor the content of the sites it hosts, take down any misleading or otherwise fraudulent posts, and ban users for egregious or repeat violations.”  The more successful a site becomes the more it attracts third-party content that must be monitored. Unfortunately, smaller firms without compliance departments may find it difficult to regularly monitor content.

Adopt, Update, Enforce

All firms using social media should adopt, update, and enforce policies governing social media use.  Regulators will want to see such policies, as well as proof that they are enforced, in the event of an audit or investigation.  Firm policies should cover both the firm’s own online activities and employees’ independent activities.  The NFA suggests that policies require employees to notify their employer of any participation in online financial or trading forums and provide screen names so employers can monitor their posts (though employers should be cautious of privacy concerns when doing so).  Polices should make clear that a firm’s procedures manual applies to online communications.

Handle With Care

While this post focuses on issues specific to financial firms, such firms are subject to the same legal considerations that affect all social media users.  Members of our law firm have written extensively about issues affecting both publishers of social media content and employers of social media users.  Also note the National Labor Relations Board’s recent crackdown on employers who discipline employees for their social media use.  Financial firms may be especially interested in recent cases involving the “hot news doctrine.”  A federal appellate court held that a website was within its right to republish, virtually instantaneously, analyst reports banks published for paying clients because the banks’ reports constituted news of interest to the public.  Firms may want to limit how much they share via social media even where they believe content is accessible only to “friends,” “followers” or password-holders.

When In Doubt, Consult With Counsel

This post is by no means an exhaustive list of all regulations and legal issues facing financial firms utilizing social media, and the law will continue to evolve with new technologies and as regulators enact rules to comply with the Dodd-Frank Act.  Regulated firms and individuals should consult with counsel to determine which regulations apply to them and what policies are appropriate given their circumstances.

Jeff Kopiwoda () and Seth Stern () are attorneys with the firm Funkhouser Vegosen Liebman & Dunn Ltd. (FVLD).  They and other FVLD attorneys regularly counsel clients in the financial services industry and elsewhere regarding social media and numerous other compliance issues.  This article is merely informational and does not constitute legal advice.

Warm regards,

Candyce

Creating powerful and relevant content is hard work

As just about anyone involved in content marketing will tell you, creating relevant content is challenging. Generating great content is downright difficult. It requires a lot of thought and attention to the dynamics of a particular topic. With that in mind, we marketers can be sure of one thing — businesspeople love statistics and quotations; they are the pixie dust of many white papers and research reports. Compelling stats and quotes have a magical effect on this audience – they get attention. Creating a piece of content that is front-to-back stats and quotes can be like serving up a sumptuous feast prepared by Emeril Lagasse.

A compelling social media video inspired us

Earlier this year, Candyce and I were introduced to one of Erik Qualman’s inspiring Socialnomics videos at the Social Markets website. As we watched the video, we were amazed and amused by the compelling social media stats that animated across the screen to Fatboy Slim’s “Right Here, Right Now”.  This video was so evocative that we decided to use it to open up our session on social media at the National Introducing Brokers Association (NIBA) Conference in April 2011. You should have seen the faces on the audience as they sat with rapt attention! Every once in a while there would be a quick intake of breath or chuckle to indicate surprise or amusement. The video was a hit and made a wonderful “waker-upper” for a mid-afternoon session. It brought the audience on board with us and prepared them for the presentation and panel discussion that followed.

There were no videos on B2B marketing stats

In my search for other similar videos, I came across an interesting one on the emergence of mobile media, but nothing that covered business to business marketing. It was a foregone conclusion that I wasn’t going to find anything made for the Capital Markets. So when Candyce and I were asked to participate at the NIBA Conference in Chicago, we knew that we’d need another video to open up our session on inbound marketing (at 3:45 in the afternoon, I might add). Having been inspired by the Socialnomics video, we agreed that we needed to create a video of our own that would add impact to our session as well as fuel PropelGrowth’s marketing efforts. We needed a video that would help tell one of our stories while adding value to the industry. It also made sense to begin creating video content, since in our talk, we cited YouTube as the second largest search engine in the world.

Making the case for content marketing

Building on some of the issues we covered in the April NIBA presentation, we agreed that we needed to tell a story beginning with reasons why customers have taken control of their buying process and ending with a compelling case for content marketing. Our goal was to leave the viewer with a sense of, “Oh crap, I need content and I need it now!” We also wanted to provide advocates for PropelGrowth services with content that would help them to convince other decision makers within their organizations.

Telling the story

We began by compiling more stats and quotes than we would ever need. Once done, Candyce suggested that we print them out, cut them into individual strips and lay them out to “storyboard” our content. I thought she was nuts, but this helped tremendously as we were able to interactively move data around, find the holes in our story, and “trim the fat.” We had to make sure that we could transition smoothly from one topic to another while keeping it relevant to our main audience. Once we were satisfied with the result, it was up to me to fire up After Effects and start animating.

Creating the sizzle

Donning my Art Director hat, I began with establishing a typographic style, which in this case could be a little looser than normal, yet not over-the-top. I started by designing the text with an eye on making sure it was consistently legible without being monotonous. Every little element that can keep the audience interested is helpful. From there, I began conceiving visuals to help expand the look and feel of the video. What I wanted to achieve was a bit of intermittent sizzle, then build to a crescendo and the all-powerful call to action.

Composing the music

For the soundtrack, we initially inserted music as a placeholder because there was no time for me to compose something original in time for the NIBA meeting (I also had to get the Powerpoint presentation done). We knew we wanted an original soundtrack to work in harmony (no pun intended) with the motion graphics.

In my past professional life, I created video presentations for High-Def, desktop and web video. It was exciting to bring these parts of my background to bear here, fulfilling our “use every part of the buffalo” mandate.

Senior executives like video

PropelGrowth is in the business of content marketing and we wanted to show our clients and prospects that we are capable of developing more than just written content and live events. We also wanted to meet a perceived need in the industry for innovative B2B subject matter. Video is growing steadily as a vital piece of content marketing strategy. According to a 2010 Cisco report, internet video traffic is expected to increase from 30% to 90% by 2014. Forbes Insight found that “59% of senior executives prefer to watch video instead of reading text, if both are available on the same page. 80% of executives are watching more online video today than they were a year ago.”

Oh yeah…

…In case you have an “oh crap, I need content, and I need it now” moment after watching the video, give us a call. We can help.  +1 212.738.9445 and select option 2 for sales.

Stats used in the video

If you’re interested, here are the sources for all the stats we used in the video:

83% of people report that they no longer trust corporate or product advertising
Edelman Trust Barometer

70% do trust recommendations from users online
Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey (2009)

“People are more likely to engage with and share content surfaced by people they trust.”
— Malorie Lucich, Facebook Spokesperson

In May 2011, Google exceeded 1 billion unique visitors.
comScore Data Mine

There are more social media accounts than people on earth:
Earth population = 6.93 billion
Social media accounts = 10 billion
In-Stat (by way of John Rich of Studiocom)

Time to reach 20 million users:
Facebook = 1152 days
Twitter = 1035 days
Google+ = 24 days
Leon Håland

In 2010 more than 66% of all US Internet users were using social media.
Nielsen

Social media accounted for 22.5% of all time spent on the internet in 2010
Nielsen

The average hours spent per user grew 30% over 2009
Nielsen

If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world
Facebook

Unique visitors to Twitter increased 959% year over year in 2009
Nielsen

Social media is the number one activity on the Internet – exceeding pornography
Huffington Post

If the pen is mightier than the sword…
… then Facebook and Twitter are mightier than the governments of…
• Tunisia
• Egypt
• Bahrain
• Yemen
— Phil Donaldson, Director of Marketing, PropelGrowth

“Hedge fund bets $40M that Twitter can predict the stock market”
Huffington Post

92% of B2B buyers use online resources to research products and services
Enquiro

… 90% of senior executives start their path to purchase with informal online research around business problems online
— DemandGen Report

Most buying cycles are 70-80% complete BEFORE companies are willing to engage with sales people
—SiriusDecisions

“Content is the fuel that drives demand.”
— Joe Chernov, Vice President of Content Marketing, Eloqua

Publishing compelling content builds credibility
— Ardath Albee, Author, Emarketing Strategies For The Complex Sale

Today, there are more than 200 M blogs
China Internet Information Center, Technorati, Wikipedia

72% of companies who blog weekly have acquired customers through their blog
HubSpot

Average cost per lead:
• Outbound channels – $373
• Inbound channels – $143
HubSpot

54% of B2B companies increased inbound marketing budgets in 2011
HubSpot

Average budgets on blogs and social media increased from 9% in 2009 to 17% in 2011
HubSpot

“Instead of focusing on market share, focus on mindshare.”
— Candyce Edelen, CEO, Propelgrowth