How to Set Up Your 2014 PR + Marketing for Max Success

Special thanks to Maisha McKinney, Operations Manager, for her excellent research and analysis for this post; and to Emma Loggins, Director of Social Media, for her invaluable input.

“Stay the Course” for a successful 2014, says one financial pundit.  That’s good advice for marketers, too, especially if you are focused on achieving established sales goals.

Have you already prioritized your marketing resources around:
Content
Search, and
Social Media

…in that order.

If you still need to do this, please click here for tips to get started. 
Or give us a call.

2014 is the year business goes social. Business-to-Business marketing tactics will more closely mirror Business-to-Consumer practices.

The best practices of content, storytelling and measurement remain.  They are key building blocks of the ongoing Micro + Visual trend, which we predicted last year. It’s now in full swing and perfectly suited to readers’ appetites for a picture plus a short, simple message.  See it. Get it.

In fact, photo sharing social media site Instagram – in our opinion – completes the Big 5 social media venues where your company’s presence and strategic messaging can drive B2B sales.

Here are the Big 5 venues:
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Google+
Instagram (with Pinterest and Snapchat coming on).

Almost a quarter of Fortune 500 companies are active on Instagram;
click here to read a study.

Other B2B marketers agree with me.  Take a look at
7 Predictions + Trends for Social Media in 2014:

  1.   Social Business will be the new norm.
  2.   Image sites will explode.
  3.   “Micro –content” networks are here to stay. Visual content will
  become integral to marketing strategy.
  4.   Platform-specific and user-generated content will keep growing.
  5.   Micro videos will take over from conventional videos
  6.   Google+ will become one of the big 5.  Twitter will be more
  important than Facebook.
  7.   Social ad spend will increase.

Digital Marketing Spend in 2014 Will Increase, As Well.
Did you know 98% of marketers plan to increase or maintain their spend
for 2014?

Four key areas where marketers plan to increase spending in 2014 are:
  A.  Data & analytics (61% plan to increase)
  B.  Marketing automation (60% plan to increase)
  C.  Email marketing (58% plan to increase)
  D.  Social media marketing (57% plan to increase)
   Summary stats from ExactTarget Marketing Cloud report, link below.

What do you want your 2014 marketing to achieve for your company?
What challenges are you facing? What questions are top of mind? 
I would like to know; give me a shout now and let’s talk.

***
Resources:
Wells Fargo Advisors Releases 2014 Economic and Market Outlook Report
5 Key Differences Between Pinterest and Instagram Messaging
How B2B Companies Are Utilizing Instagram For Social Media Marketing
“How Data Will Change the Playing Field for Marketing & Sales.”
Summary stats from ExactTarget Marketing Cloud report
“6 Predictions for Social Media in 2014”
“Top 5 Social Media Marketing Trends Of 2014”