Jorge's Thoughts: Add Digital Marketing to Your Prospecting Efforts

77 million. 

That's how many baby boomers reside in the United States today, a powerful generation that makes up a significant part of financial advisors' target audiences. 

While it is easy to lump boomers into one large category, it is crucial for today's advisors to realize that boomers have diverse concerns and needs and respond differently to various types of marketing. Just as crucial? For advisors to understand how boomers respond to today's digital marketing strategies.

1. Select the appropriate social media channels. 

Not every social channel will be an effective avenue to market your brand to boomers. Consider the needs and concerns of the boomer audience that you want to target as well as how the sector(s) of your targeted audience use social channels. For instance, 70% of online boomers actively use their Facebook accounts, but only 39% of them actively use their Google+ accounts. 

2. Use visual content. 

There is no doubt that visual content grabs attention, but what does that mean for your digital marketing? By creating and distributing pictures and videos, your content will more than likely earn more interactions and drive more engagement, which can earn you more leads and more referrals. For instance, visual content on Pinterest generates more referral traffic for businesses than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined, and consumers who watch videos about a product are 85% more likely to make a purchase. 

3. Provide an omnichannel experience. 

Social media channels and other digital marketing avenues can be effective ways to begin conversations with future clients, but an omnichannel experience can help you seal the deal. 41% of those aged 55 and over who are online prefer to talk to someone on the phone before making a purchase. Include your phone number - as well as other contact information such as as email address and social media links - on your digital marketing materials. Each point of contact should be able to provide prompt and clear answers about your target audience's needs and concerns. 

Adding digital marketing to your prospecting efforts should be a critical part of your overall marketing strategy. I've created a series of podcasts on this and other marketing tips to help you reach your target audiences. If you have suggestions for topics you'd like for me to cover via this type of content (or any type of content), tweet me at @JorgeVillarRME! 

By: Jorge Villar, President and Founder 

#finservdigital 

Digital Tips for an Integrated Approach to Hyper-Local Marketing

Simply getting your business’ name mentioned in a local magazine or renting local billboard space is not meaningful enough to generate buzz or connect with your local market. As our founder and president Jorge Villar said earlier this week, "hyper-local marketing demands that you use a more integrated approach to impress upon your ideal prospects that you are the trusted, go-to local expert." 

Check out these tips for the digital portion for your integrated approach: 

Optimize your company website. 

Many of your prospects rely on the Internet for their first impressions of your business. 74% of consumers use Google to search for a business before they respond to its marketing. In today’s highly digital world of information sharing, it’s crucial for businesses to establish their credibility in the market and industry by leveraging the power of an effective and informative company website. Without a website, 56% of consumers say they can’t trust your business. 

Your prospects are looking to connect with you—and with your competition—to fulfill their investment needs, and establishing and maintaining a company website is your first line of defense when it comes to outshining other advisors in your market. 



Connect with your audience through online video. 

If you really want to boost your credibility and super-charge your marketing, use online videos. Why? The answer is inthe numbers: 



1.) 74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video. 

2.) 52% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI. 

3.) 65% of video viewers watch more than ¾ of a video. 

4.) Video in email can boost open rates by 20% and increase click-through rates 2-3X. 

5.)  72.1 million smartphone users watched video on their devices at least monthly in 2013, and this is projected to rise to 86.8 million by the end of 2014. 

The ideal duration of an online video (with the exception of your company brand video) is just 90 seconds. Online videos need to be clean, crisp and direct not verbose. Include a clear call to action, your company's phone number, website address and an email address. 

Tip: Choose an email address with someone's name so your target audience feels more confident their message will be seen and addressed in a timely manner. 

Once your video is produced, get it out on the web. What good is having a great online video if no one sees it? It’s worth your time and money to work with a social media specialist to ensure your video content will be seen and drive traffic and response.

What would you add to this list? Tell us below or tweet us!

@rme360

             By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

The Do's and Don'ts of Vlogging for Prospects

Looking to add shareable elements to your content marketing? 


Vlogging - or video blogging - provides dynamic content that helps you develop connections and helps your brand earn more digital interaction.






















By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

Big Ideas About Big Data: How Do You Use it?

Seems simple enough? I mean how can two little words mean much more than, right? Wrong. 

Gil Press contributed this piece on 12 different definitions of big data only a few short months ago, and I'm certain more definitions than I can count have developed since then and floated around the offices of IT departments, marketing departments and CEOs. I like the simple and practical perspective provided by Hilary Mason, founder of Fast Forward Labs, on this complex concept: "Big data is just the ability to gather information and query it in such a way that we are able to learn things about the world that were previously inaccessible to us." 

Let's accept Mason's definition and look toward what other thought leaders think about using big data: 

1. "Data really powers everything that we do." – Jeff Weiner, chief executive of LinkedIn

2. "The goal is to turn data into information and information into insight." – Carly Fiorina, former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard 

3. “I keep saying that the sexy job in the next 10 years will be statisticians, and I’m not kidding.” – Hal Varian, chief economist at Google

4. “Hiding within those mounds of data is knowledge that could change the life of a patient or change the world.” – Atul Butte, Stanford

5. “Without big data, you are blind and deaf in the middle of a freeway.” – Geoffrey Moore, management consultant and theorist

6. “I’ve come across several people that are collecting data just to collect because at some point in the future they might be able to get some valuable information out of it. The question is: is it worth doing that? Is it worth keeping that data and for how long? … You can’t just store data forever. It’s not free to do, and it’s a compounding problem.” – Dave McCrory, SVP at Warner Music Group

7. “Data is the new science. Big Data holds the answers.” – Pat Gelsinger, COO of EMC

8. “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” – William Bruce Cameron, American humor columnist

9. “If we have data, let’s take a look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.” – Jim Barksdale, former CEO for Netscape 

So what's your definition of big data and how do you use it? Tell us in the comments! 

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

This 30 Day Challenge Is Just What Your Social Media Needs

Yes, it can be a struggle to come up with interesting content to post across your brand's social media accounts each day. How do you deal with that struggle? Why not try this 30 day challenge?

See this link for a larger version of the infographic. 

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

Lead Generation Tips for Today's Marketing Landscape

According to findings in the B2B Content Marketing 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends survey, lead generation is second only to brand awareness as a major goal for content marketers in 2015. But what strategies should you use? What small tasks can you accomplish each day to earn more qualified leads?

Let’s take a look at 6 ideas that can help you begin your sales cycle. 

1.      Embrace social media.

This concept isn’t rocket science, but it does mean more than just creating a Facebook page. Embracing social media to generate leads means selecting channels that your target audience uses, creating and curating content daily that works for those channels and that is compelling and relevant to your audience, developing a reputation as a thought leader in your industry and talking with your followers, not just to them. While you won’t see an immediate train of quality leads pulling into your brand’s station, you will begin to connect with those interested in your services and begin to foster relationships.

2.      Send direct mail.

Yes, you read that correctly. Direct mail may have its detractors, but don’t count it out when it comes to your lead generation strategies. HubSpot notes that 18-34 year olds prefer direct mail and that it’s an effective lead generation investment when targeting hyper-local communities. Many marketers focus solely on email to generate leads, so direct mail has more of an opportunity to stand out. Work with professionals who understand how to create the right content and who can target the right audience for your brand.

3.      Hold contests on social media.

There are several ways to hold contests on each social media channel, but for the purpose of lead generation, focus on email-gated contests. Followers will need to enter their email addresses before they can successfully enter your contest, and you can also ask for a follow or a retweet in addition to their contact information. If your contests include the submission of videos or photos, you can collect user-generated content (UGC) as well.

4.      Test and use hashtags.

In 2015, using hashtags should be a no-brainer. What some marketers tend to overlook is the need to test hashtags. Having your brand be a part of the conversation on trending topics and participating in Twitter chats are good ways to be seen as a thought leader, but as you become seen as more of an expert, you also want to create your own content and your own hashtags. Ensuring those hashtags will stick means ensuring your message will amplify its reach. 

5.      Create original content for LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is giving its members access to its long-form blog publishing privileges as a way to create a stronger community of professional insights. These blogs can be great resources for lead generation and can be posted to your company’s LinkedIn page as you further establish yourself as an expert in the industry. Create content that is helpful and interesting to your target prospects. Include a specific call-to-action to subscribe to your company blog or YouTube page and to follow your company’s social media accounts. You can also include a CTA to sign up for a webinar or download a white paper, but be careful not to leave your prospects with the feeling that they are being sold to. 

6.      Revise your strategies as needed.

Your marketing strategies are living, breathing entities; as the behavior and needs of your prospects change, so should your marketing. Measure the results of each activity regularly and revise accordingly. There is nothing about your target audience that is set in stone, so how you interact with them and earn them as leads must evolve as needed.

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360

Make the Multi-Channel Approach Work in 2015

Yearly mail volume sent in 2007: 212 billion

Yearly mail volume sent in 2013: 158 billion

Weekly average of business and marketing emails read by consumers in 2007: 304

Daily business and marketing emails sent in 2013: 100 billion

While email and all things digital remain powerhouses in marketing, direct mail is also an effective medium when it’s part of a multi-channel approach. The numbers above clearly reflect a downturn in print mail pieces, but they also speak to a key direct mail strategy: the use of effective targeted marketing. What does this mean? The age of big data stepped in. For marketers, that meant targeting their messaging to more than mere demographics. For consumers, that meant fewer pieces to sort through and a greater likelihood that targeted pieces received were considered.

In 2015, the intersection of effective targeted marketing and integrated print and digital messaging can optimize consumer engagement with your brand. Here are a few tips to help you plan your marketing and make a multi-channel approach work for your brand:

Personalize your campaigns.

Data selects such as age, ethnicity, gender and zip code are the fundamental bits of information needed to begin any direct mail campaign, but big data is about more multifaceted information. Who are your prospects? What do they like? What are their buying patterns? What are their lifestyles like? This level of data will help you better target your ideal audience.

When you can more strategically target your ideal prospects, you can more effectively personalize your marketing. When your ideal prospects receive personalized marketing, they are more likely to respond to your offer. MindFireInc®, a direct mail tracking software company, studied 650 multi-channel marketing campaigns and found that personalized campaigns consistently and overwhelmingly beat out static campaigns in generating a high response rate from recipients. 

Tell your story.

Brand advocates are the most powerful force in marketing. Do you have customers who can attest to your brand’s way of doing business? To your brand’s products and service? Using their testimonials on your direct mail pieces can not only tell your story but can also build your credibility.

What other stories are meaningful to understanding your brand? Think about marketing pieces you connect with: what types of stories do they tell? Solidify your relationships with your target prospects by evoking emotional responses; sharing your brand’s stream of stories that create its overarching narrative is crucial when earning connections with your prospects.

Mix your marketing.

Print marketing has more than earned its place at the table, and so has digital. 2015 will see this integration pushed further, making both mediums work for your brand. Use your social media footprint on your print pieces to encourage your prospects’ engagement with your brand. Conversations on these platforms build brand awareness as well as brand advocates. Also, track responses with personalized URLs (PURLs). This gives your prospects a way to respond online and gives them a more unique experience with your digital identity than merely sending them to your company website. 

By: Susan Gail Taylor, Social Media Manager and Copywriter at RME360