Outbound Marketing Meets Inbound Marketing

When can an avid inbound marketer like me get behind an outbound marketing company? When it involves creative innovation that  allows marketers to cost effectively reach their target market AND create an inbound opportunity which is supported by the marketer’s content.

Enthusem is online system for marketers to send personalized printed messages with an online call to action and tracking to back it up. Here’s how it works.  I run Find and Convert, an inbound marketing agency. Let’s say I have identified a list of 100 companies I would like to target for our inbound marketing services. Rather than waiting for them to find and contact me, I could reach out to them through Enthusem in a very personalized and creative way that may get their attention. I would send an Enthusem card to one or more executives at each of these companies. Each card would be personalized to each individual with an image on the face of the card which is visible through the envelope. For example, let’s say I saw the CEO of a target company speak at a conference and I took his picture. I can put that image on the front of the card. The message inside the card would reference a key point he made during his talk that I found very insightful and I would like to discuss further with him. The call to action would be an invitation to visit a digital piece of content of mine that is consistent with the point he made during his talk.  How unique is that? Can you see how this CEO would likely at least open the card and read it when he sees his picture of him speaking on the front of the card?  Of course, my goal is to get the prospect to become an inbound visitor to my content to attract them to our inbound marketing services.

Below is a screenshot of how I would upload the image of the CEO making that presentation into Enthusem.

When the recipient of my card visits the landing page I’ve uploaded to Enthusem, I will be notified by email. I recognize that since I’m marketing to another business, they may not be ready to buy when they visit my content. So, now that I know they’ve visited my content, I can plan to invite them to another piece of content such as my Facebook fan page or a particular blog article on a topic I think may be of interest. In other words now, I can nurture that lead using the lead nurturing feature in HubSpot.

Enthusem is the only outbound marketing system (that I know about) that truly combines personalized outbound marketing with inbound marketing strategies. The online attachment to a personalized card is the content which marries the outbound touch to the inbound contact. When someone receives my Enthusem card one of two things can happen. They can read the card and toss it. Or, they can read the card and visit the online attachment. In both cases, I’ve created some awareness for my brand. In the latter, I’ve created a lead which I can nurture.

Back to my example of targeting 100 businesses. If I mailed them an Enthusem card once each month, my cost would about $300. That’s not a typo. I didn’t leave off a zero. It’s about $3 per card out the door. I can select the image for the front of the card, create the personalized message, upload my online attachment and schedule to send a card, all for $3. And, I can log into my account from my laptop or from my mobile device.

Steve Tingiris, CEO of Enthusem says it best. “We live in a longtail world. It’s no longer dozens of markets of millions, rather millions of markets of dozens. Enthusem allows you to reach niche markets cost effectively, generate leads and measure them.” Below is a brief interview I did with Steve.

How to Convert Old Media Marketing to New Media Marketing

In the marketing world there are several ways that people refer to new media marketing. There are phrases such as:

Inbound marketing
Internet marketing
Web marketing
Social media marketing
Online marketing
Digital marketing
E-marketing
Interactive marketing

The phrase which is probably the most hyped is new media marketing! But, is a marketing strategy that includes blogging, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flckr still new? It’s 2010 not 2007. New media, is not so new anymore!

Consider that some businesses are still in new media denial. There are still some businesses who think they can ignore new media. They believe that old media is still the way to market. So, they still use the telephone, the print ad, the tradeshow and direct mail as the sole way of marketing their business.

The old media examples just mentioned are not obsolete. They can still be effective, but they should be adapted to the new media mindset of your prospective buyers. Let’s look at each of these old media formats and how they can be converted to new media marketing.

Telephone
Rather than cold calling for sales prospects call people to conduct a survey on a relevant industry topic. Invite them to take a survey on the phone or online. If they prefer the online survey get their email address and send them a link to your online survey. Be sure to offer them a free copy of the survey results. Keep them informed by email in the future. Don’t sell anything in this phonecall. The person will remember the content experience about your brand and possibly buy from you when she is ready. Of course, the best use of the telephone is to call all the leads you develop through your inbound marketing strategy.

Print Advertising
Assuming you’re advertising in a relevant publication, make your call to action accessible online on a unique landing page that is attributable to the ad so you can measure it. If you have a phone number in the ad, be sure it’s unique so you can measure the results of the ad. In many cases, print advertising serves to build or strengthen your brand. Even if you have a good call to action, sometimes the best result is brand awareness. Nonetheless, be sure the reader can engage your brand online in a way that can be traced back to your ad.

Tradeshows
You can integrate your tradeshow marketing with your online strategy in several ways. Whether you are exhibiting or just attending a tradeshow you should always talk about the event online before, during and after the event. Use your blog, Facebook and Twitter channels to discuss your contribution to the event as well as the contribution of others. Use Flickr and YouTube to share your photos and video from the event. Connect online with the people you meet at the event to keep the relationships going after the event.

Direct Mail
Similar to print advertising be sure to have a measurable call to action. Consider linking the call to action to personalized URLs (PURLs) as landing pages. This will allow you to measure the results of your direct mail campaigns very clearly with online interaction attributable to your direct mail campaigns.

New Media Transitions
There are many businesses that continue to use old media marketing strategies very well by integrating them with new media channels. Ultimately, you can achieve great sales results by integrating your old media and new media plans by connecting and engaging people the way they want to be engaged.

Avoid using old media strategies in a vacuum. Similarly, avoid using new media tools in a vacuum especially as a megaphone to blast your sales message. Rather integrate your old media and new media channels into the marketing 2.0 mindset so your audience will want to connect with you and your brand to explore what you can do for them.

As I’ve said many times previously, brands who adopt the mindset of a content publisher and a relationship collaborator are the ones whose content marketing strategy delivers the best results. Even old media marketing can convert to new media marketing using an integrated approach.

Are you still using old media marketing? Start integrating it with new media. Tell your story below.

Psychotherapist a Self Taught Inbound Marketer

Ken Donaldson has a very unique vocation.  He is a licensed mental health counselor, aka a psychotherapist. Ken also calls himself a life coach and a relationship coach. Ken has been in private practice for sixteen years. While Ken is a psychotherapist by vocation has had to become a marketer. Here’s his story. The podcast interview has the whole story…

When Ken first got started in his profession, he expected it to be much easier to develop his practice. He created about 1000 business cards and waited for the phone to ring.  But the phone didn’t ring. He quickly realized developing his practice would require marketing.  So, he started speaking. That was a good start because when Ken spoke to a roomful of people he created more exposure for himself. His speaking gigs usually produced some client referrals and more speaking gigs. Ken eventually realized he had a business. So, he set out to learn how to grow and run a business.

Ken started educating himself on how to run a business by attending workshops, reading books, blogs and websites on marketing. While Ken doesn’t consider himself an aggressive marketer, he realizes that compared to most of his colleagues in his profession, he is like a Chris Brogan.

Marry Yourself First

Ken is the author of a best selling book: Marry Yourself First. His book is a compilation of “the best of his best advice” for people to live extraordinary lives.  His book offers 24 key life principles that give people success. Ken’s strategy is to market his book as a way of marketing Ken Donaldson. And vice versa. He has two websites. His primary website is Ken Donaldson.  And, his Marry Yourself First website promotes his book.

Video Marketing

When Ken first developed his website he was advised that it needed audio. So he added audio. Then he was told he needed video. So he added video. He learned that it wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be. He also created a small website called Ask Ken Donaldson. Ken creates short video responses to the questions he receives. Then, he posts them on YouTube and on his website. He currently has nearly 90 videos. Ken’s content marketing strategy is to produce free advice and give it away through his websites, his blog, Facebook and Twitter with video as a primary form of content delivery.

Location, Location, Location.

As the old saying goes in real estate, Ken has learned that in marketing it’s content, content, content. Ken’s strategy is to give his best in 3 to 5 minutes. He produces content that delivers on the 3 E’s reaching people who are interested in his content. Ken’s videos are very authentic and human. For example, during a vacation in Utah he created some video with beautiful scenery. It was totally unscripted, raw video because it was so casual with some good advice from Ken.

Trading Dollars for Hours No More

Ken’s practice is doing well. His content marketing strategy effectively drives clients to his practice. In 2009 he got more clients from the internet than ever before in his sixteen years. He attributes his success to being more visible, more available and more downloadable.  He eventually plans to “trade dollars for hours.” He’s already started producing premium content through his 5 CD program and has more plans for more premium content.

Ken’s brand is growing and his business is thriving. I feel strongly that these content marketing, inbound marketing strategies apply equally to all business of all sizes across all industries.

In addition to the website links for Ken above, you can connect with him on Facebook and Twitter. He’s a good example of a niche marketer having fun while enjoying success.

If you want to learn more about content marketing strategies, check out my book Marketing 2.0.

@berniebay

Interview with Brian Halligan, Co-Author of Inbound Marketing

Podcast interview with Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot.

I interviewed Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot to discuss his new book, Inbound Marketing, Get Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs, which Brian co-authored with his co-founder and fellow MIT alumnus Dharmesh Shah. First, I asked Brian to briefly describe HubSpot. In full disclosure, Find and Convert is a HubSpot partner.

HubSpot is an inbound marketing software company which is about three years old now. HubSpot helps companies transform their marketing strategy from the ground up through a methodology which is implemented and managed on their web-based software platform. HubSpot software helps marketers run their organic search engine optimization, PPC and social media strategies with analytics and lead intelligence to measure results.

Inbound Marketing – The Book

Brian describes his new book as a cookbook for marketers that provides the transformation from old style marketing to the new inbound marketing. The book describes how marketing has changed over the past 5 years. In his book, Brian and Dharmesh outline the five steps in becoming an inbound marketing centric business.

1. Create lots of content
2. Optimize that content for Google and social media
3. Spread that content
4. Measure results
5. Convert website visitors to leads and customers

A New Mindset

If you’ve read my blog before or listened to any of my recent podcasts you’ve heard me say that the new marketing is a mindset. It’s a new way of thinking. It’s all about creating content and building relationships through your content. As Brian points out in his book, marketers need to make the shift away from interruptive marketing to inbound marketing. He says the modern marketer is half a traditional marketer and half a content creator. When a marketer creates “remarkable” content, other content producers will remark about your content. In fact others will link to your content. And, links are the currency of the web which will produce traffic to your website. In fact, Brian says the modern marketer’s content becomes a magnet to their website hub.

Not Your Father’s Marketing

I asked Brian how marketers can embrace inbound marketing? In response he takes us on a trip down memory lane (you may not be old enough to remember his story). He says that marketing hasn’t changed much over the last 50 years. But, during the past 5 years it’s changed a lot and will continue to change in the coming years. In 1965 television ads worked exceptionally well. People had to watch the ads. They had no choice. In fact, they had few choices in their media consumption. Today, consumers can block out ads across most media platforms including television, radio. email and web browsers. In short, consumers can filter out most advertiser’s interruptions.

Are You Worthy?

In years past any company with a healthy budget could advertise and sell products. Even bad products could be marketed and sold with a big budget.  Today, the friction is far less for great ideas with less money required to get the word out. Good products with good positioning and happy customers can sell by spreading the word around the web. Bad products (unworthy) can’t hide anywhere in the current marketing paradigm.

Measuring Results

A common question asked by marketers about inbound marketing is how do you measure results? Not surprisingly, Brian and Dharmesh devoted a chapter to this question. Their advice is to look at campaigns using the funnel metaphor. Study the flow of visitors to your website hub, the conversion to leads, to opportunities and ultimately to customers. Study all the web channels that filled your funnel and see which ones have produced the best results in the funnel. The ones that work best you should  “double down” on and nix or revise the ones that don’t.

What’s Remarkable Content?

I asked Brian how does a widget manufacturer produce remarkable content? One of the case studies in his book is Whole Foods. They are a natural and organic grocery food retailer. As part of their inbound marketing strategy one of their buyers blogs during his trips to France.  He blogs about his meals during his trips, and the cheeses he bought on his trips. He cites another example of a fishing rod manufacturer who creates lots of content about the industry, not about the product. The magic sauce of inbound marketing is not to sell your product through your content. He says marketers should turn their website into a magnet about your industry to attract people. Invite customers, analysts and others interested in industry topics to engage with your content. Allow your content to become a magnet and engage people in ways that can convert into leads. It’s a very common mistake when marketers jump on the web and create content all about their products.  Marketers can be very successful inbound marketers if they talk about industry issues and watch others link to your content.

Watch Your Competition

Marketers can easily watch their competitors in the age of social media and tools like Google Alerts. HubSpot created a series of tools under the Grader brand. Marketers can use Website Grader to measure their own websites, as well as their competitors side by side.  Other Grader tools such as Twitter Grader and Facebook Grader allow marketers to watch their competitors on a frequent basis with a lot of transparency. Marketers can watch the competitive trends. Startups can be very aggressive by watching competitors closely.

Why Now?

In this chapter Brian and Dharmesh stress that marketers should not wait to embrace inbound marketing.  The barriers to entry to beat the top content producers are high. The longer a marketer waits to become an inbound marketer the harder it will be to catch up. All the great content that marketers produce will generate links back to their website hub. The content becomes a permanent asset on the web.

Marketing Crystal Ball

I asked Brian what’s in his marketing crystal ball? To answer this question, he referenced the large old style marketers like P&G who have allocated big money to advertising over the past 50 years. This approach to marketing built Madison Ave. Brian predicts that in the next 50 years inbound marketing will flip Madison Ave on its head. Advertisers have fewer media outlets to turn to because consumers are watching less television and reading less print. Instead consumers are going online using Google, social media and blogs. Brian predicts the next group of companies that will become Google-size success stories are those who engage on the web through remarkable content. The next Coke will not be an interruptive marketer. The next Coke will be content producers with a great product. I partially disagree. I think this will happen in the next 5 or 10 years. It won’t take 50 years. Just look at Zappos.

Two Real World Examples

I asked Brian for two great examples of inbound marketing. But, I required that he describe his own company as one of them. You may think this was a softball. But, the truth is that HubSpot is a poster child for inbound marketing. I asked Brian to describe their success with HubSpot TV. He described the early days of HubSpot before the product launched.  He was actively blogging about inbound marketing several times each week.  He rapidly adopted the mindset of constantly creating content. So, it started even before HubSpot launched version one of their software product. This approach eventually led to the development of their free Grader products (great content) described earlier. One day one of HubSpot’s product developers, Karen Rubin, suggested starting a TV show! Though some people initially laughed, she convinced V.P. Marketing Mike Volpe, himself a prolific content producer. The rest is history. HubSpot TV is more than one year old now with a loyal and sizable audience. It airs live every Friday at 4pm eastern and is syndicated in iTunes ranking #1 for inbound marketing and other related terms. Shameless plug: I was a guest on HubSpot TV in August. I had a blast!

The other success story Brian told is from his book about a company called 37Signals. I learned that this company has long provided inspiration to HubSpot. They are a small software company out of Chicago with really great products. They created a wildly successful blog called Signal Versus Noise. This blog was once a top 100 blog. They also created a book, and their reputation spread very quickly. I pointed out (unknown to Brian) that we are a 37Signals customer. We use their Basecamp product in our client engagements. And, we learned about Basecamp through word of mouth. Proof positive that inbound marketing is for real.

At the end of my interview with Brian he said something which I believe is profound in its simplicity and its reality. Brian said “Inbound Marketing is not rocket science. The sooner you do it the better off you are!”

Brian, I couldn’t agree with you more…I wish you and Dharmesh success with your new book, Inbound Marketing which is available everywhere.

Inbound Marketing Book Review

I’m writing a review of the new book Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. I haven’t read the book yet.

There are two questions I need to answer before you read my review. First, why am I reviewing a book I haven’t yet read? And, why am I reviewing a book when I have a book of my own to promote?

Reviewing this book before I’ve read it is easy because I know a lot about this topic and about the author’s credentials.  In case you don’t know, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah are the co-founders of HubSpot. In full disclosure, my inbound marketing agency, Find and Convert, is a HubSpot partner. In short, we are so aligned with every word that comes from HubSpot that endorsing this book site unseen is a no brainer. Let’s put it this way. If I didn’t align with this book it would call into question our own belief in inbound marketing principles.  And, nothing could be further from reality than anything short of full embracement of inbound marketing strategies from the founders of HubSpot.

As for the second question, even though I have my own book to promote, I’m not greedy. Inbound Marketing is a book that supports everything I stand for professionally.

In Inbound Marketing you’ll learn or gain further insights into why every business needs to become a magnet to its customers by being easily found on the web. You’ll learn how people don’t tolerate outdated sales messages and outdated shouting through outdated marketing media where the marketer has a one-way message mentality. You’ll learn how any competitor can out market another competitor through remarkable content. You’ll learn how social media is not an option for any business. You’ll learn how to produce leads and convert leads into customers through inbound marketing. You’ll learn how to build and retain your staff for an inbound marketing strategy.

Inbound Marketing, the book, is full of examples of companies who employ compelling content marketing strategies that attract buyers through the web.

Here’s a chapter breakdown of Inbound Marketing, the book.

Shopping Has Changed, Has Your Marketing?
Is Your Website a Marketing Hub?
Are You Worthy?
Create Remarkable Content
Get Found in the Blogosphere
Getting Found in Google
Get Found in Social Media
Convert Visitors into Leads
Convert Prospects into Leads
Convert Leads to Customers
Make Better Marketing Decisions
Picking and Measuring Your People
Picking and Measuring a PR Agency
Watch Your Competition
On Commitment Patience and Learning
Why Now?
Tools and Resources
Tips from the Trenches for Startups

In a few days I’ll launch a podcast interview with Brian Halligan discussing Inbound Marketing and its strategic impact on businesses around the globe. If you want to be notified of that podcast interview subscribe to my blog in the upper right.

Inbound Marketing is a book I’ll recommend to all our clients. I recommend you put it on your reading list.

Take the Marketing 2.0 Challenge

Are you up for the challenge? Marketing 2.0 is a mindset. It’s all about Inbound Marketing! Think like a publisher and a collaborator.  The two pillars are content marketing and relationship building. Social media is a communication channel, not a magic wand. But, without a strategy you’ll fail!

The questions in the Marketing 2.0 Challenge are designed to challenge and inspire you. After you review them add your comments below and engage with your peers around the world who are invited to participate in this conversation. When adding a comment preface it with Q#. For example, Q3 for question 3.

Let’s get started…

Q1. What is your Inbound Marketing strategy?

Your Inbound Marketing strategy should uniquely comprise of online and offline strategies that engage your target customers through content and relationship building so that they will be attracted to your business. Tactics may include SEO, SEM, blogging, social networking and other forms of engaging content that produces trust and appeal to your target buyer.

Q2. What are the staffing implications of an Inbound Marketing strategy?

The staffing implications of your Inbound Marketing strategy are huge. Staff must have a mindset for Inbound Marketing. Applying the outdated style of shouting at customers doesn’t work in the new Marketing 2.0 model. Your staff must think like publishers and collaborators.

Q3. How do you manage social media in your business?

Manage social media in your business first by listening and engaging in relevant communities. Develop a strategy and assign social media platforms to staff according to strengths and interests. If necessary get outside help but always maintain an authentic and human voice in social media.

Q4. What is your content marketing strategy?

Your content marketing strategy should be unique to your business. Produce and re-purpose content that meets the criteria of the three E’s; educate, enlighten, entertain. Your content marketing strategy should never end. Content marketing is an ongoing process. Share content on and offline with your community.

Q5. How much emphasis do you place on building relationships online?

The emphasis of building relationships online is an important factor. It comes back to the mindset. Building relationships online with relevant people builds trust and strengthens your brand. Relationships create fans, loyalty and spreads the word about your content your products and your people, all of which produces positive results.

Q6. How do you measure results of your Inbound Marketing strategy?

To measure Inbound Marketing results start by setting goals. Create a baseline picture of “today.” Over time measure the results of your inbound marketing activities. Frequently measure details such as subscriptions, company mentions, referring traffic, sentiment of your brand and of course, progress on your goals.

Q7. What are the risks of an Inbound Marketing strategy?

There are risks in an Inbound Marketing strategy. The biggest risk is not doing it and falling behind your competition. Another big risk is applying yesterday’s mindset to it. This is Marketing 2.0. Avoid doing it the same way you did it in 1.0. Think like a publisher and build relationships and you’ll minimize all risks.

Q8. What are the roles of SEO and SEM in your Inbound Marketing strategy?

Use best practices to develop a sound SEO strategy. Similarly use SEM best practices to avoid over spending. Create landing pages around very specific themes. Test different versions of your landing pages. Measure everything to determine what works and cut non performing keywords and landing pages.

Q9. How do you integrate offline marketing with online marketing in your business?

Integrate offline marketing with online marketing by creating content that can be used in both media channels. The same principles apply. Take this blog post as an example. It is also available as a physical booklet. But the most value you’ll get from it is the user generated conversation on all these questions below.

Q10. What is your Inbound Marketing strategy if your customers don’t spend a lot of time online?

If your customers don’t spend a lot of time online your Inbound Marketing strategy is exactly the same in mindset. The tactics will differ through offline media. You should still aim to educate, enlighten and entertain with your content and be trustworthy and attractive to your community. You can think like a publisher and collaborator offline as well as online.

Add your comments below. Remember to precede each comment with the question number.

How Broad is Your Footprint on the Web?

Create a Broad Footprint on the Web to be Found the way Buyers Search

The first decade of the new millennium is almost over. As I look at the history of marketing on the web over the past two decades I make these big picture observations, which I discuss in my book, Marketing 2.0.

1990 to 2000 – Most businesses developed their first website. Websites were a one way communication medium from the seller to the buyer. Most businesses had little understanding of organic search engine optimization or pay-per-click advertising to “be found” by buyers.  Websites served mostly as an online company brochure. The strategic value of corporate websites was generally low for most businesses.

2000 to 2010 – Most businesses evolved through their second or third generation websites. Strategic value of corporate websites skyrocketed as 24/7 marketing/selling was recognized. Marketing efforts to be found through SEO and paid search marketing have become prominent among businesses of all sizes. Job descriptions and job titles in some marketing organizations include words like “Internet,” “digital,” “online,” “community.”

The Broad Web Footprint

But, there is one aspect of marketing that is not yet mainstream save a few hundred (maybe a few thousand) companies around the world. To be found by buyers, you must create a broad footprint on the web with diverse content. Since there is still one more year and a half left in the decade, there is still time for sellers to jump on this band wagon.

I want to be found by anyone, anywhere in the world, even though I primarily market in U.S. and Canada. And, I certainly DONT’ want to limit where I’m found to Google or Bing or Yahoo (or any search engine).

Sure, being found in Google through organic SEO is very important to me and most businesses. And, pay-per-click advertising (aka SEM), is a terrific way to be found, as long as you’re using best practices.

But, most marketers still think being found on the web means being found in a search engine either in an organic listing, or in a paid (sponsored) listing (PPC). This is a limited view of effective inbound marketing on the web.

Buyers Buy Differently Than They Did Last Decade

I was contacted by a prospective buyer recently. When I asked him how he “found” us his answer was music to my ears. He didn’t remember exactly where he found me. He told me that during the previous week he visited my website, my blog and listened to one of my podcasts. By the time he contacted me, he already had considerable insight into me and my inbound marketing agency. He was ready to speak with me. He was ready to make a buying decision. He had consumed my content long before he called me.

Search Engine Results are Evoloving

The way search engines deliver search results is changing. Google is providing multiple forms of content through “options”.

Bing’s search results are still pretty traditional with links at the top for other content search results:

Kosmix delivers diverse search results. It’s my prediction that before the close of this decade, Kosmix’ search results model will be the norm. Note the prominent display of search result options: Media; News & Blogs; Reviews & Guides; Shopping; Web Search.

The social web has created a conglomeration of platforms where marketers can be found. Buyers are searching for information and finding diverse options of content across many social media platforms. Along the way buyers get influenced by  what others say about sellers.  Sellers who want to compete in the second decade of new millennium must be prepared to have a strong presence with great content across many relevant web platforms. Sellers must build trust and engage relevant communities there with a broad footprint.

Will SEO and PPC become less prominent as methods for being found in the near future? Probably not. I submit the definition of SEO and PPC is evolving. The influence is shifting to buyers. They are the ones who decide whether to contact you based on how effectively you create a broad footprint on the web.

How broad is your footprint on the web?

@berniebay

Media Executives Speak at University of Tampa

I recently had the honor of speaking at the University of Tampa Business Network Symposium. I shared the stage with two local media executives: Paul Tash, CEO and Editor of Times Publishing and Mike Pumo, General Manager, WFLA TV.

The three of us were seated on a stage facing the audience of more than 230 local business executives in the Vaughn Center building on the beautiful UT campus in downtown Tampa.

I spoke first opening with a summary of my favorite video on YouTube. It is a parody of the gap that exists between sellers and buyers. In the video, the buyer (the consumer) informs the seller (the advertiser) she wants a divorce. She tells him how they don’t talk anymore, he doesn’t know her, they don’t have a relationship. The seller counters by rattling off all the marketing campaigns recently conducted and demographics he knows about her. She rolls her eyes implying that he just doesn’t get it and she says “I’m outa here” and walks out.

I spoke about the importance of sellers engaging their buyers through inbound marketing with great content with the intent to build relationships by being human, by informing, by educating and by entertaining. I emphasized how most traditional outbound marketing tactics that produce 2% response rates are becoming less effective due in part to all the filters available to buyers to filter out seller’s marketing tactics. Worse yet, buyers don’t want to be engaged that way. In the past, buyers didn’t have any choice.

Today’s, buyers (consumers) have many more choices in part due to the many platforms on the web. Buyers are increasingly talking with each other in social networks about companies, about products, about people and about anything of interest. The collective power of this word of mouth is at an all time high. Sellers who continue to sell the old way are seeing less results. Sellers who engage with their community and build relationships and offer them great content through their website, articles, blogs, e-books, newsletters, white papers, podcasts, videos, photos, etc. are enjoying more loyalty and sales results.

When the other two executives spoke I was struck by their contrast. Paul Tash runs Times Publishing, comprised of the St. Petersburg Times newspaper and TBT (Tampa Bay Times), as well as 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner Politifact.com. Mr. Tash acknowledged the difficult time which all newspapers are currently experiencing. In attempt to imply that the glass is half full, he compared the economic struggles in Florida to those of Michigan. He said that our struggles are not nearly as hard as theirs due to the decline of the U.S. auto industry. He pointed out that many print newspaper advertisers have historically been auto dealers and real estate companies, both of which are not advertising much at this time. The general message I got from his speech is that this is a “season” which will pass…

Mike Pumo runs the WFLA television station which is an NBC affiliate. WFLA is also aligned with the other local print newspaper; the Tampa Tribune, and also runs TBO.com (Tampa Bay Online). I was VERY impressed with his story. Mike spoke of a meeting they had about a year ago. The executives locked themselves in a room and reinvented their business emerging with a multi-media mix of advertising solutions. The response by advertisers has been very positive. Now, they offer advertisers the ability to reach consumers in any combination of television, print, online and mobile. They also have a pilot program underway for television delivery on mobile devices. It’s clear to me that WFLA is adapting to changing buyer behaviors and delivering marketing products and services to advertisers that can deliver results according to their needs across multiple media channels.

However, I’m afraid for Times Publishing though. It appears to me they don’t get it. During the Q&A one member of the audience asked if print news is going to die or survive. Mr. Tash pointed out that TBT serves a very narrow niche and does very well. He shares the same positive sentiment toward the general print newspaper. He believes they will weather the storm and be ok in the long run.

I couldn’t disagree more. I think it’s just a matter of time before the print news as we know it today is dead. Just look at the Seattle Post Intelligencer. They stopped publishing print after 146 years and committed 100% to online news. News is very personal to most of us. We can already subscribe to news online through RSS. It won’t be long before video news on our mobile devices is mainstream. And, it won’t be long before Internet-based content is available on our televisions through our local cable or satellite providers.  Today’s teenager doesn’t read the newspaper. Do we expect them to read the newspaper in the future? No! Will advertisers pay to advertise to a shrinking audience? No!

I must disclose that I subscribe to the St. Petersburg Times newspaper with home delivery 7 days a week. It is a fine newspaper. But, I only read certain sections. Since I already subscribe to RSS-enabled content, at some point when mobile and television based content give me and my family all the news we need, I won’t need a newspaper delivered to my home.

What about commuters who like to read the paper on a bus or train? Eventually, they will die or retire or buy an iPhone and get everything they need on their mobile device.

What say you about the role of new media as it pertains to meeting the needs of advertisers who want to reach consumers in productive ways that justify advertising budgets?

I’m most curious to observe if people from Times Publishing will engage in this online conversation.

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

Mike Volpe Podcast Interview on Inbound Marketing

In this podcast, I interviewed Inbound Marketing guru, Mike Volpe, V.P. of Marketing at HubSpot. Below is a summary of the podcast interview.  The interview is 28 minutes long and worth every minute (IMHO).

Mike has been a marketing geek for about a decade. I can legitimately call him a marketing geek because his background is in investment banking where he did marketing with a very analytical perspective.

Mike has transferred his analytical skills to HubSpot, an inbound marketing software system sold primarily to small/medium business. HubSpot is an all in one inbound marketing system that, when used to its full potential helps businesses produce more leads. Find and Convert uses HubSpot for ourselves and for our clients. We implement inbound marketing strategies for clients using HubSpot as a toolset as a one-stop-shop platform to manage all inbound marketing campaigns.

The term Inbound Marketing is a relatively new buzzword. It stems from the trend that marketing is transitioning from outbound marketing – broadcasting messages, interruption based tactics hoping that a small percentage respond – to an inbound strategy where you are doing the right things to get found and contacted by prospective customers through good content and relationships on the web. Buyers now have numerous tools they can use to block unwanted outbound marketing tactics such as caller ID (cold calling), spam filters (email blasts),  RSS readers (print advertising), TIVO (television advertising).

A survey conducted by HubSpot in January called the State of Inbound Marketing, cites several compelling findings  including:

• Inbound marketing channels deliver a dramatically lower cost per sales lead than outbound marketing channels. The study cites a 61% lower cost per sales lead through inbound marketing channels!
• Blogs lead other social media categories in terms of importance to business.
• Small businesses are most aggressively allocating lead generation budgets to blogging, social media and search engine optimization.

I often ask clients how they buy products/services. The common response I hear is by searching on the Internet and asking their friends/network for recommendations. So, it’s not hard to understand why Inbound Marketing makes sense in contemporary marketing.

HubSpot co-sponsored the The Inbound Marketing Summit in 2008  in Cambridge (which I attended). This year New Marketing Labs has launched 3 Inbound Marketing Summit events. Both HubSpot and Find and Convert are sponsors at all three events. The theme of IMS 09 is Turn Strategy Into Action.

Mike Volpe wrote the foreword in my forthcoming book: Marketing 2.0. I invited Mike to write it because we are very aligned on inbound marketing strategies. Mike believes that my book will provide a tactical resource to marketers in the “why” of inbound marketing and “how” to do it, for small/medium size businesses (SMB). Of course, I agree.

I have observed many SMB CEOs starting to use LinkedIn and Facebook at an accelerated pace. CEOs are saying “I can’t ignore this, I need to be a part of the social media movement.”

When I speak to anyone about inbound marketing, I try to answer the question “show me the money.” There is a gap between sellers and buyers. That’s a fact…I talk about how marketers can bridge that gap. Conventional marketing is still relevant to some extent but less so. Relationship building has always been important, but now it’s important online. Inbound marketing strategies allow marketers to start building relationships online long before the prospect can become a customer.

A case in point…Mike Volpe and Bernie Borges met online before we ever met in person. When we met in person we already had an online relationship which was strengthened when we met in person. Staying in contact online allows the relationship to continue rather than relying on the traditional, but rare phone call to stay in touch. We can stay in touch easily and productively by following our respective activities through platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Mike also discussed HubSpot TV, which is is a live a video stream every Friday at 4pm at www.hubspot.tv. The weekly show is hosted by Mike Volpe and Karen Rubin. They pick stories that occurred during the week. Sometimes they have a special guest (like MC Hammer who dropped by one day). The studio is in the HubSpot office and is very low cost. They originally spent $400 on a video camera and a $100 microphone.  Any company can do a live web TV stream. HubSpot hopes to add more subscribers. More guests may be coming in the future (maybe me?).

The point of inbound marketing is not about budget. It’s about taking the initiative, anyone can do it!

Predictions from Mike Volpe: Search will become more personalized over time. People will use more than search engines. For example, Facebook delivers relevant results within Facebook. Mike’s prediction is exactly what I’ve previously blogged about: SEO should become SO. This means that people need to have a presence in social media, not just in search engines as technology comes available to deliver search results across many properties on the web. Broaden your footprint on the web where your content and relationships exist on the web so you can increase your ability to be found. Search results will become more personal and will not be limited to search engines.

I will see Mike in San Francisco at the first IMS09 event.

You can find Mike Volpe on Twitter: @mvolpe

You can find me on Twitter: @berniebay

If you’re planning to attend IMS09 in any city, make sure to connect so we can meet up. If not, follow along on Twitter with the stream #IMS09.

Top 5 Reasons Why the Hubspot Viral Video Rocks!

When Mike Volpe of Hubspot first mentioned on Twitter and on Hubspot TV that they were producing a “viral video” I couldn’t help but wonder: “What to do you mean Mike? A video is considered viral only after it goes viral. The people decided if it’s viral. You can’t just call it a viral video until it goes viral.”

I guess Mike has a crystal ball. Here are the top five reasons why the Hubspot viral video rocks!

5) The people in the video are real Hubspot employees. There is not one paid actor in the video. The whole production was done in-house. It’s authentic, not Hollywood.

4) It’s hilarious. When the team popped up from their desks to play instruments to accompany the lead singer, I laughed. Come to think of it, I laughed through most of the video. Humor is always one of the best characteristics of a viral video.

3) The Hubspot team did a great job spreading the word about the upcoming video through Twitter, their blog, Hubspot TV and webinars for weeks prior to the event. They created anticipation for the video. When they launched it on the 8th, they likewise spread the word through online chatter.

2) The video has intensity to it. In the opening scene when the boss (Mike Volpe) slams down a command to the cold caller, the mood is set for the video. Throughout the rest of the video the intensity and the action is high. I can really feel the frustration from the lead character in the video. She is passionate about her disdain for cold calling and her desire for inbound marketing leads.

1) It speaks truth. The message focuses on bringing leads to the sales team using SEO, SEM, blogs, Twitter, RSS enabled content and other forms of great content on the social web. This is the absolute truth!

One more reason this video rocks. It ranks #1 in YouTube for the keyword “marketing.”

I guess Mike Volpe knew all along this video would go viral. I suppose the sales staff at Hubspot is pretty busy handling all the new sales leads. Way to go Hubspot!

If you haven’t seen the video, here it is…

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