“Social proof” is a modern, digital age term, but the concept is one we all know. Back in the day we called it being a follower. Not like a ‘follower’ of today where you follow a story, a tweet, a Facebook page, but following along with everyone else’s actions and thoughts. Not making a decision based on your knowledge or knowledge that you garnered through research, but just following along because ‘everyone else is doing it’.

As modern marketers in the age of ‘brand globally’, we truly understand the need for visual consistency and message clarity across business units, different geographic regions and even from tactic to tactic. This ensures there is continuity across a company’s internal and external touch points.

But it doesn’t mean your marketing materials need to be dull. It should be a formula that still adds up to your full brand identity when the right variables are used.

Those of us in marketing are looked upon to be equal parts creative and logical. Develop imaginative concepts for meeting the goals of very organized and results-oriented strategic marketing plans. This is usually the result of a team of people working collaboratively to meet all those criteria. Most people are not usually an even mix of those attributes every day or on every project.

Let’s start by saying we are very excited about the software, apps and programs available to help facilitate and analyze marketing and communications activities. But, let’s also keep in mind that marketing software tools are designed to augment a well-defined strategy, not replace it. In fact, if not used properly, marketing tools can actually hurt your bottom line. A solid marcom strategy still needs to lead the way.

Unfortunately, we’ve seen it before in marketing programs. Great concepts, great creative, great intentions…marginally acceptable implementation! Many times, deadlines, pressures from the powers-that-be, and the urge to start seeing results can push marketers to cut corners on some pretty important aspects of proper marketing communications campaigns.

This topic of conversation comes up quite often around here. How long should a URL be for it to get the most traffic? Oftentimes, it seems like companies don’t put much thought into their URLs. In fact, many times, they are just completely overlooked…

So…you’ve decided to begin using a marketing automation platform to help you gather leads with gated content. Great!

…Now what?

Let’s be real here- The Simon Group is a small agency in a niche market. We don’t have the social media following of some of the world’s largest brands. When we’re talking our average post reach, it’s in the few hundreds range. Our highest reach prior to last week was 646 people. (If you’re reading this, know you’re awesome and we love you for following us!!)

Oftentimes we are asked by clients our feelings on gated content – You know, the information that cannot be accessed until a form is filled out with the user’s personal information, usually their name, email, phone number and some innocuous question. The questions we get usually center on WHEN this type of content should be used, and IF it should be used at all.

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the shifting of momentum back towards traditional media. It is no secret that 15 years ago, online media stormed the advertising industry and nearly knocked out traditional media, like 90s grunge did to 80s hair bands. People clamored to get on the digital bandwagon to gain more market share, reach a broader audience and cut through what was perceived at the time as ad clutter. Or so they thought…

According to the 2017 report from the Content Marketing Institute, more B2B companies are becoming more successful with content marketing. But it all starts with a plan! So here’s the final push… the homestretch… get ready to tackle publishing and promoting your first piece of content, celebrating your successes and reviewing the results.

By the end of these 3 weeks, you’ll be nearly ready to tackle content marketing like a pro. The last segment reviewed how to audit your current content, document your new content strategy and how to create topic ideas that fuel this new strategy. Up next is creating a content calendar based on priorities and ‘low hanging fruit’, fine tune SEO and successfully review and edit your first piece of content.