blogs making sales

BLOGS MAKING SALES

JOINING THE DOTS BETWEEN A BLOG & SALES.

EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT A BLOG IS...

...RIGHT?

AND WHY & HOW PEOPLE USE BLOGS?

...RIGHT?

TO FIND INFORMATION OR CONTENT ON A TOPIC.

SO HOW DOES THIS BECOME RELEVANT FOR CLIENTS & BRANDS?

THERE IS A LOT SAID ABOUT BLOGS CONTRIBUTING TO CRM, SERVICE & BRAND AWARENESS

BUT WHAT ABOUT SALES?

LA RAISON D’ETRE!!!

DO YOU HAVE SALES-DRIVEN OBJECTIVES FOR YOUR OFFLINE MARCOM PLANS?

SO YOU PROBABLY WANT TO IMPLEMENT DIGITAL STRATEGY TO REACH SALES-DRIVEN OBJECTIVES TOO...RIGHT?

JUST LIKE YOUR TRADITIONAL MARCOM PLAN, YOU NEED TO CONSIDER THE BUYER PURCHASE PROCESS

LET’S CONSIDER THE MODEL.

BUT MCKINSEY SEE THE DECISION PROCESS MORE LIKE THIS NOW:

THE SOCIAL NET HAS CHANGED THE NATURE OF ONLINE DECISION MAKING BEHAVIOUR

SO HOW DOES A BLOG FIT INTO THIS?

A BLOG PROVIDES AN ENVIRONMENT FOR INFORMATION.

INFORMATION THAT ORIGINATES FROM YOU, BUT ALSO FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS.

IT ALLOWS POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS TO ENTER, OBSERVE & ASK QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS AROUND PERFORMANCE, SERVICE, EXPERIENCE & COMPETITOR ALTERNATIVES...

...ARE ALL ANSWERED THROUGH THE SELF-PERPETUATING CONTENT ON THE BLOG.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN SELF-PERPETUATING?

SOME CONTENT COMES FROM THE BRAND, WHICH STARTS THE BALL ROLLING...

...WHICH IS ADDED TO, COMMENTED ON & ORGANISED BY CUSTOMERS....

IT ALL HAPPENS:

LIVE.OPENLY.USEFULLY.

OK...BUT HOW DO I KNOW THAT A BLOG WILL ANSWER RELEVANT QUESTIONS FOR CONSUMERS?

STEP 1:TRAFFIC FUNNEL

LOOK AT YOUR CURRENT PURCHASE FUNNEL OR ACQUISITION GOALS.

WHERE ARE THEY DROPPING OUT?

WHY ARE THEY DROPPING OUT?

IS IT BECAUSE THEY FORM QUESTIONS & MUST LEAVE THE SITE TO FIND ANSWERS?

A BLOG COULD KEEP THEM ON YOUR SITE!!!

A BLOG COULD KEEP THEM ON YOUR SITE BY QUICKLY AND EASILY ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS

IF THEY LEAVE, YOU RISK THEM BE EXPOSED TO DISTRACTIONS....

...LIKE OTHER BLOGS OR SITES....LIKE GOOGLE ADWORDS....LIKE DISPLAY MEDIA.

REDUCE THE DISTRACTIONS BY KEEPING THEM ENGAGED & EMPOWERED WITH INFO ON YOUR BLOG.

STEP 2: INBOUND LINKS

WHAT SITES ARE REFERRING YOU TRAFFIC?

DO THEY HAVE INFO THAT YOU DON’T?

WEIGH UP:INCORPORATE THE SAME INFO ONTO YOUR BLOG, ORPARTNER WITH THEM TO HELP THEM HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS.

SO TO CLARIFY:

IT REDUCES PURCHASE RISK THROUGH INFO EMPOWERMENT.

SO TO CLARIFY:

RESTRICTS COMPETITIVE FORCES ENTERING THEIR INFO SEARCH.

SO TO CLARIFY:

CREATES AN ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS TO BECOME PART OF YOUR SALES TEAM.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THE BLOG ADDS-VALUE?

STEP 3: ANALYTICS

MONITOR & REPORT ON CHANGES IN YOUR TRAFFIC FUNNELS.WHERE ARE THE DROP-OUTS?HAS IT CHANGED?

MONITOR & REPORT ON IN-BOUND LINKS.

WHAT CHANGES DO YOU SEE THERE?

MONITOR & REPORT SITE STICKINESS.

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE TIME-ON-SITE NOW?

ALL THIS IS MEASUREABLE, VALUABLE & SALES DRIVEN.

GREAT...SO WHY SHOULD IT BE A BLOG AND NOT A WEBSITE?

A WEBSITE DOESN’T HAVE THE SELF-PERPETUATING BUILD QUALITIES

SO IT WON’T ALWAYS BE CURRENT & RELEVANT.

...AND THAT IS HOW A BLOG CAN DRIVE SALES OBJECTIVES.

SUMMARY:1. SET SALES-DRIVEN OBJECTIVES.

2. EVALUATE CURRENT TRAFFIC/ACQUISITION FUNNELS.

3. EVALUATE TRAFFIC FLOWS.

4. BUILD A SELF-PERPETUATING INFORMATION HUB = A BLOG.

5. MONITOR & REPORT.

6. MEASURE CHANGES IN COST PER SALES ACQUISITION.

THINK STRATEGY, NOT TACTICS.

PRESENTATION BY:Marek Wolskislideshare.net/marekting

PICTURE CREDIT:WEB TRENDS MAP 4 - FINAL BETAhttp://informationarchitects.jp/web-trend-map-4-final-beta/