Michael Rabinovici

Benchmark 2012 Lead Generation – Key Industry Trends for Generating Leads of the Highest Quality – Free Excerpt

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I thought  this may be of interest to anyone in the midst of Q4 and planning their 2013 campaigns.
This is the company we regularly follow, and that we trained with a few years ago. 

This free excerpt from the report is excellent for anyone looking to take their lead gen to the next level in 2013 – http://bit.ly/lead-generation-2012

The information and insights from this company on lead generation are pure gold  and well worth reading.

For the latest developments in social media and mobile marketing follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/mikerabinovici

Michael Rabinovici

Dollar Impact of Social Media – How does a Cool Trillion or so Sound?

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One of the most frequent questions we hear from clients relates in one form or another to the dollar ROI from social media.  As the industry matures, more data is becoming available to shed light on this question.

A recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute examines the current usage of social technologies in four commercial sectors:   consumer packaged goods, retail financial services, advanced manufacturing, and professional services.  It concludes that the potential value to be unlocked by leveraging these technologies across the four sectors could potentially contribute $900 billion to $1.3 trillion in annual value.

Although the value that can be captured varies from industry to industry, all of them can benefit.  The key to success? Creating the conditions for the full and enthusiastic participation of employees.

Click here for a copy of the study. Click here for a review of the report in Fast Company Magazine

For the latest information on, and best practices for, Mobile and Social Media marketing follow me on Twitter at Twitter.com/mikerabinovici

Michael Rabinovici

B2B – Which Social Media Platform Rules?

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Many of our B2B clients use a number of platforms when it comes to their social media marketing efforts.  In these (relatively) heady days of social media marketing efforts, that’s a good thing.  As this marketing channel matures, however, focusing marketing efforts on the social networks that deliver the best ROI becomes increasingly important.  According to a report by BtoB Online, 30% of the marketers surveyed  ranked LinkedIn as the most important social media channel.  Here is how the others stacked up, as well as some other helpful statistics.

Social Media Network Used Most Often

•    LinkedIn (83%)
•    Twitter (80%)
•    Facebook (79%)
•    YouTube (60%)
•    Blogging (50%)

Social Media Use by B2B Marketers

•    32% are "very" or "fully" engaged in marketing via social channels, up from 21% in 2011. That number is expected to increase to 53% by 2013, according to BtoB:
•    35% began marketing via social media in the previous two years alone
•    Only 13% report using social media marketing for more than 4 years  

For an excellent summary of the report click here. For related information go here.

For more mind blowing research and insights on social media and mobile marketing follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mikerabinovici or email me at michael at ar-com.com.

Michael Rabinovici

Social Media Marketing in B2B vs. B2C, what’s the dif?

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As companies and internal marketing departments evolve their social media strategies and refine their tactics, research is becoming available to shed light on these efforts.

One area of particular focus has been the potentially different impact that social media has on B2B marketers in relation to their B2C brethren.  In a recent study titled “2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report” Mark Stelzner asked marketers how they’re using social media, and more than 1,900 business-to-business (B2B) marketers shared their insights.

Here are some highlights:

•    Of the B2B marketers who took this year’s survey, over 93% use social media to market their businesses. While that’s slightly below their consumer-focused brethren (95.2%), there’s been a significant increase since the 2010 survey when only 88% of B2B marketers responded affirmatively.
•    Over 56% of B2B marketers acquired new business partnerships through social media (compared to 45% of B2C marketers)
•    Nearly 60% of B2B marketers saw improved search rankings from their social efforts (compared to 50% of B2C marketers)
•    B2B marketers are better able to gather marketplace insights from their social efforts (nearly 69% vs. 60% of B2C marketers)
•    The one area where B2B marketers significantly lag behind their B2C counterparts is in developing a loyal fan base. 63% of B2C marketers found social media helped them develop loyal fans, compared to only 53% of B2B marketers.

For more information on the report click here.

For more mind blowing research and insight about social media and mobile marketing, follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mikerabinovici or email me at michael at ar-com.com

Michael Rabinovici

Content Marketing – Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends for 2012

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Content marketing is gaining an increasingly important role for B2B marketers, and in companies’ overall marketing strategies .  Below you will find a link to the 2012 Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends survey put together by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs.

For purposes of the research, the survey defined content marketing as follows: “Content marketing/custom media (sometimes called custom publishing, custom content, or branded content) is the creation and distribution of educational and/or compelling content in multiple formats to attract and/or retain customers.”
Here are some highlights:

• On average, B2B marketers employ eight different content marketing tactics to achieve their marketing goals.

• 60% report that they plan to increase their spend on content marketing over the next 12 months.

• Marketers, on average, spend over a quarter of their marketing budget on content marketing.

Industries with the highest rates of content marketing adoption:

• Professional Services………………………………..94%

• Computing/Software…………………………………93%

• Advertising/Marketing………………………………89%

• Healthcare……………………………………………………….89%

• Business Services……………………………………….84%

• Manufacturing/Processing…………………….83%

For a free copy if the report – Click Here

How is your company leveraging content marketing?  What results are you experiencing?  Leave a comment below or email me at michael at ar-com.com

 

 

 

Michael Rabinovici

It’s the End of the Mall as We Know It and I Feel Fine

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Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Gary Schwartz, CEO of Impact Mobile, and author of the recently published “The Impulse Economy”.  In it, he discusses the impact of the mobile revolution on traditional retail.

Click here to listen to the podcast (Length –  22 minutes and 54 seconds of wholesome goodness).

The Impulse Economy – Click here for your copy

“We live in a world where our mobile devices have become extensions of ourselves. We depend on them for instant connections to entertainment, social media, news, and deals. The phone has become our ticket, loyalty card, and catchall wallet. Networks are faster, phones are smarter, and the mobile shopper is ready to spend money now. What can a business do to maximize the mobile buying power of the new impulse consumer?”

Michael Rabinovici

To Mobile or Not to Mobile

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If you’ve had any doubt ‘til now, I think the following stats courtesy of HubSpot will change your mind real quick:

Mobile in 2012

  1. Mobile internet users will reach 113.9 million in 2012, up 17.1% from 97.3 million in 2011.
  2. Smartphone users will reach 106.7 million in 2012, up 18.4% from 2011.
  3. In 2012, 94% of smartphones users will be mobile internet users.
  4. All mobile phone users will reach 242.6 million in 2012, up 2.3% from 2011.
  5. Mobile shoppers will reach 72.8 million in 2012.
  6. Mobile buyers will reach 37.5 million in 2012.
  7. Smartphone shoppers will reach 68.6 million in 2012.
  8. Smartphone buyers will reach 36.4 million in 2012.
  9. Tablet users will reach 54.8 million in 2012, up 62.8% from 33.7 million in 2011.
  10. iPad users will reach 41.9 million in 2012.
  11. In 2012, 76.4% of tablet users will be iPad users.
  12. Adult-aged eReader users will reach 45.6 million in 2012, up from 33.3 million in 2011.

Follow me on Twitter (Twitter.com/mikerabinovici) and get the latest information on, and best practices for, Mobile and Social Media marketing

Michael Rabinovici

Groupon Groupoff

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Chicago based Groupon ("group coupon")  is one of the great technology stories in recent memory.  For those of you who still spend most of the time in the physical world, Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website localized to major markets that promotes itself with the now well-known tag line: 1 Ridiculously Huge Coupon A Day.  It’s been described as the fastest-growing company in Web history.

Here’s how it works:  your business gets exposure to Groupon’s gigantic user base and, in return, you give potential customers a juicy discount.  Whenever Groupon collects money on behalf of merchants from selling  coupons on its Web site, it keeps an average of 50%. The twist – the deal is on only “on” if a pre-determined number of people sign up for it (usually 10 or more). The platform is used daily by a multitude of businesses, ranging from small enterprises to large brands such as the Gap and the Toronto Raptors.

Here are some Groupon highlights:

Launched November 2008
Number of subscribers who receive emails with “Coupon of the Day” offers – 50 million
Revenue (2009 est.) – US $30 million    Revenue (2010 est.) – US $760 million    Revenue (2011 est.) – US $2 billion
Number of employees (2009 est.) – 120  in 30 cities          Number of Employees (2011 est.) – 5,000 in 565 cities
Buyout offers  –  Google made an offer for $6 Billion (offer was turned down)
IPO  – rumours of an IPO within the next 24 months at a valuation of $20-$25 billion

Now that we’ve established that all is well for Groupon, how is it working out for the merchants?  Stay tuned for my next post.