Good morning, Mélange fans! Today, we’ll talk about different ways that you can boost your content marketing efforts, will learn about the confusion in the industry between artificial intelligence and machine learning, will get tips straight from a CMO on cold selling to CMOs and will discover strategies for winning back lost leads.
Rocket fuel for your content marketing engine
Looking for a way to boost your content marketing efforts? How about adding video, suggests Thomas Allen in Forbes. Not only do video summaries help expand your reach, gain social signals and shares and improve your authority, but in his experience optimized video content has a better chance of reaching the first page of Google’s search results.
Another content marketing suggestion? Amp up your efforts using traditional PR. Issuing a press release allows you to get more mileage out of your content. While it isn’t a tactic you’ll likely want to use for every post or article you generate, it may be helpful for boosting special pieces that deserve some extra oomph. Explore the remainder of Thomas’ content marketing ideas here.
Artificial intelligence, machine learning and more
Quick: what’s the difference between artificial intelligence and machine learning? If you know that there is a difference but struggle to articulate it, you’re in good company. In fact, a recent survey by Heinz Marketing and EverString as reported in eMarketer found that only one-fifth of B2B marketers interviewed had a strong understanding of the differences between the two. About four in ten or 37% admitted they weren’t clear at all on what the differences are.
So why is there so much confusion in this area? The survey authors have a theory that makes a ton of sense to me; check it out here.
Reaching the illusive CMO
The CMO: the holy grail of sales targets. You just have to cut through the noise and get through to them so that they can see why your product/service is perfect for their organization, right? Maybe not.
CMO Jeff Rohrs has penned a piece at MarTech Advisor offering us a bit of perspective from the CMO’s point-of-view — specifically, from the point of view of his inbox. First, a sense of scale: With 6,829 technology companies actively trying to sell something to CMOs, it’s easy to see how an individual marketing leader’s email inbox could easily be overwhelmed. In fact, Jeff admits to receiving (and deleting) more than 200 unsolicited emails from business development reps on a weekly basis. So what advice does Jeff offer savvy sales folks? Reach out to and develop a relationship with the frontline marketers who would have an immediate appreciation of the time-savings and value your product could bring, and who likely don’t get the volume of email their CMO does. Read all of Jeff’s tips here.
Win back lost leads
Think about all of the money your business spends on lead generation activities. And now think about what happens when the lead that was within your grasp slips away. Just like you wouldn’t let a $100 bill fly out of your hand on a breezy day without at least giving chase, you shouldn’t let a lead go without seeing if there’s something else you can do to win it back.
In Business2Community, author Nicole Bryan suggests a handful of ways to to get once “lost” leads back into your sales funnel. First, take an open, honest look at why you lost the lead and take the appropriate action. For example, if the lead was a hot lead, a quick phone call may reveal that you still have a chance to seal the deal–and if not, you can at least gain insight into what made them lose interest. Did you fail to follow up quickly enough? An honest apology goes a long way. Additionally, consider offering a time-limited promotion to create a sense of urgency and force the lead to make a decision, typically in your favor. Check out the rest of Nicole’s tips here.
