Syndicated from http://blog.hubspot.com – HubSpot Inbound Marketing Blog

5 Tips to Improve Channel Partner Lead Generation

Online marketing is unique for each business. For large businesses that rely on channel partners to sell and distribute products, the online marketing process can be a challenge. With many channel partners across multiple locations, how can a business make sure that partners have the leads they need to help grow the business?

In a recent conversation with a channel marketing manager I was asked, “What can I do now to get my partners and resellers found?” As with many channel marketing managers, their time is very constrained, but the need to do more lead generation for their resellers is ever present. Additionally, they often talk about how their resellers do a great job once someone is introduced to them, but often their own websites are not helping them bring in new leads. After asking me that question, she said, “I wish I could just give them a few tips to get them started in Inbound Marketing and getting website traction”

5 Tips For Channel Partner Lead Generation

1. Identify Longtail Keywords -  Find 10 keywords that are in the longtail for your services or products and provide them to your resellers and partners to use.  Keywords need to be used in a consistent way on each webpage in the page title, the URL, the page headers and text. By doing the background research and providing a starting point, your partners or resellers can quickly optimize their pages.

2. Provide Partners with Lead Generation Offers -  Create an offer such as a ebook or webinar that can be downloaded or accessed from each partner’s website. Maybe your company provides security software and you have a tool that does a quick, free sweep of their network to test for vulnerability. Another option would be to offer a free assessment that will help prospect better understand which product offering best fits their needs. By creating these downloads, you are giving your reseller network an offer they can give visitors that come to their websites.

3. Create a Landing Page Template - Create a standard landing page that every reseller can put on their main page of their website to both capture lead data, and provide an offer. 70% of visitors to a website are in the “early stage” of buying. They are not ready to purchase, but are starting to investigate. Instead of having them visit your site and then “drive on”, give them an offer in exchange for collecting some of their information, even if it is just an email address. This will allow you to stay in touch with them via email offers or turn over the lead to your sales team for qualification and follow up.

4.  Develop An Email Template and Campaign - Email is an important part of the lead generation mix. Create a great email marketing campaign with an offer that each partner can send to new leads. Maybe it is a free assessment of a website, or an opportunity to attend a free consulting session. This campaign is to help move leads further down the funnel and to help increase a partners lead-to-customer percentages. Often channel managers have the ability to give marketing funds for offers, so why not provide them the email message to use as well.

5. Share Partner Successes -   If one of your partners is finding an offer is converting leads well or a free assessment is leading to more business in the door, let the network know! Inbound marketing may be new, but closing a deal is well understood and anything that drives more business to one partner will help the overall brand and network as well. Share the success!

What have you done to help improve inbound marketing for your channel partners?

Photo Credit: brackenb

Connect with HubSpot:

 

 

Expert Advice: How to Start a Website Redesign

Here at HubSpot, we get a lot of questions around website redesigns. When should they be done, how should they be done and what mistakes not to make. In this three part series, we’ll examine some of the common pitfalls you might fall into and ways to avoid them.

One thing that all of our partners agreed upon, is that before embarking on any redesigns, companies should truly understand their goals and their customers. Without these necessary prep steps, you’ll wind up designing a website in a vacuum and wasting money. Here are just a few of the key questions that you should ask yourself before you change one pixel:

What Are Your Goals?

We also heard from HubSpot Partner Kelly Ward, of Digital K, who believes that “it’s important to take a top-level view of the website. [Figure out] what are you trying to ACHIEVE with your website? Are you trying to attract new customers? Service existing customers? Portray a new image for your company?”

What Are You Currently Doing Right?

HubSpot partner Keith Moehring of PR 20/20 echoes just these sentiments. He says that “Prior to doing any type of redesign … a company needs to look at what keywords are driving traffic and to which pages, and what pages have incoming links...Another area that needs to be evaluated thoroughly is who is coming to the site and what is drawing them in.”

Are You Doing This For the Right Reasons?

Top Line Results’ Todd Hockenberry feels that sometimes website redesigns happen for the wrong reasons. First, there’s the “redesign as part of new management.” He writes “Not having a clear, strategic reason why they are redesigning is one I see regularly. Companies still look internally for that answer way too often - new manager, new logo, re-organization, don't like the design.”

Todd also thinks that sometimes, companies build a site as a means of fixing all their business issues, without looking deeper at their true problems. He says, “We deal with a lot of small to medium sized manufacturers and there are many who think a new website will be a field of dreams.”

So, What are the “Right” Answers?

This last question is actually a trick question. There is no one right answer to these questions; every company has different motivations and goals with a redesign. However, take the time before starting to make sure that you’re investing your time and money wisely. To ensure that you are being true to your company’s needs & goals, really analyze if a redesign is necessary and what you want to accomplish.

Photo Credit: zhurnaly

Free Webinar: Website Redesign for 2010

Learn how to redesign your website with an internet marketing strategy in mind with Mike Volpe, HubSpot's VP of Marketing. Download the Webinar Nowand learn how to turn your website into an internet marketing machine.

Connect with HubSpot:

 

 

Free Ebook: Understanding Blog, Social Media and Search Engine Usage by Industry

The four most important social media channels to marketers are Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube (See the 2010 State of Inbound Marketing for data). But which one(s) are the most active for your industry? HubSpot recently analyzed 33 industries to find out. An overview of data from our new ebook, the Online Marketing Opportunity Report is displayed below:

So what does this data mean for your business? To begin with, low activity doesn’t necessarily equate to low opportunity; it may just mean that you need to adjust your strategy for that channel.

HubSpot put together a comprehensive guide to applying this type of data to your business, along with a more detailed analysis of all 33 industries. Download our free eBook to read more.

Connect with HubSpot:

 

 

How to Write a Whitepaper That Will Capture Leads The following is a guest post by John McTigue, Executive Vice President and Co-Owner of Kuno Creative. Kuno Creative is a Certified HubSpot Partner Agency based in Avon, OH that specializes in building brands and capturing sales leads.

Crafting a good whitepaper isn’t easy. Creating one that will capture leads is an even bigger challenge. Although there is no standard definition of what constitutes a whitepaper, most people would agree that they differ from blogs in scope, style and intent:

Scope

Whitepapers are usually in-depth reports on a specific topic, like a research paper intended for publication on the Web. Typically at least 10 pages in length with illustrations, charts and references, the average whitepaper is not designed for casual browsing and usually requires several readings to glean the full extent of its information. Readers expect a high degree of expertise backed by solid research that is fully documented by references. It can take weeks or even months to write and polish a good whitepaper.

Style

Whitepapers are usually serious in tone and professional in appearance. You can expect your readers to include people who are considering purchasing your products or services, so you want to make sure your whitepapers are written well, edited well and formatted to represent your brand on the same level as your brochures and website. It’s a good idea to enlist the services of a graphic designer to layout your pages, images, fonts and colors for best results. Have at least two experienced writers review your document for grammar, spelling and accuracy. Make sure your management team has reviewed it to avoid possible problems with content or strategy.

Intent

Blogs are intended for reaching out to the general public, to update them on your ideas and strategies. More often than not, blogs are opinion-based. Usually blogs are informal and often playful. Whitepapers are for capturing leads – it’s all about business. You are providing something truly valuable for your target audience. Good information backed by well-documented research is worth its weight in gold. When someone signs up for your whitepaper on your landing page they are connecting with you and allowing you to connect with them further, i.e. move them further down the sales funnel. They will gladly do this if your whitepaper provides useful information and insight they can’t get elsewhere.

So what constitutes a great lead-generating whitepaper?

1. Find a topic that feeds a need. You must know your target market, what do they want to know and what’s already out there? You can explore topics in social media and community sites that generate a lot of comments. If you have expertise in one of those topics, get to work.
2. Put your heart into it. Don’t just patch together a bunch of other peoples’ work. Analyze the data and add value by evaluating options and presenting them to your readers in an easy to understand way.
3. Make it substantial. Cover the ground. Make an outline first, and organize it well into chapters or sections. It’s a good idea to make each section a “bite-sized” chunk, maybe one page with charts or graphics that covers a certain point.
4. Make it authoritative. Do your homework and make sure you mention previous authoritative work on the subject. Your mission isn’t to be the only expert in the field – it’s to be the latest expert with the freshest insights.
5. Create a great landing page. Include a summary and topics to let people know what the whitepaper’s about. Tell them why it’s important to them, and with time and exposure, include some snippets from comments and reviews.

Here are some examples of whitepapers on inbound marketing:

• Inbound Marketing Blueprint for the C-Suite (Kuno Creative)
• Inbound Marketing Gameplan (PR2020)
• The 7 Universal Laws Of Pull Marketing (PullnotPush)
• Internet Marketing Whitepapers (HubSpot)

Tell us about some great whitepapers you have downloaded and why you liked them.

Photo Credit: alancleaver_200

Connect with HubSpot:

 

 

Expert Advice: Overcoming Inbound Marketing Challenges

Here at HubSpot we sing the praises of Inbound Marketing from the rooftops. Yes, it is an amazing way to see growth in your SEO goals, website traffic, leads and customers. It helps you develop a deeper engagement and establish yourself as a thought leader. But, that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Proper inbound marketing can take a lot of hard work.

We asked the HubSpot Partners what they think the hardest part of inbound marketing is and how they work through these challenges.

Partner Teicko Hubert of Focus to Grow believes the hardest part is the understanding “of the cultural shift that has to happen to make inbound marketing work” and that “a website is merely fiction unless you understand how inbound marketing works.” That said, Teicko believes that this change can be overcome, but, “it takes diligence and a hyped focus on refining your story telling skills and probing skills.” This is a great point, just like learning any other skill, inbound marketing takes hard work and there’s an adjustment period.

Another successful partner, Phillip Johnson of Fatiguana Endeavors, says that he feels the biggest challenge is having the time to create content. However, by “creating both long and short term strategies for content creation and broader Inbound Marketing tactics” you can start to see benefits sooner and the reward of all the time you are investing. Seeing shorter term results often gives you a boost of confidence that you are on the right path and can help direct your long term strategy.

Of course once you get started with inbound marketing, you have to keep it up. Inbound Marketing Experts’ Andy Xhignesse reminds us that inbound marketing has to be an ongoing part of your daily routine. While positive results are great, you cannot stop as soon as you they occur. Instead, see them as a sign that you’re on the right track and keep going!

Finally, our always wise partner Dale Berkebile of Brandwise, chimed in to remark that inbound marketers always need to keep their priorities in order and remember “quality over quantity.” It’s great if you have a large reach but keep in mind, you also need to engage with them. As Dale says, “500+ Facebook fans + 9000 follower[s] + no interaction = disaster.”

So what do all of these partners’ suggestions have in common? Well first, don’t give up! Inbound Marketing can take time. Second, there’s no one “thing” that you can do to guarantee success. It’s not just followers, it’s not just content creation, it’s not just having a great website. It’s what happens when all of these pieces, and more, come together to form a unified inbound marketing strategy.

Connect with HubSpot:

 

 

New CMO Survey Reports Marketing Spending to Rise

Twice a year Professor Christine Moorman at Duke's Fuqua School of Business surveys hundreds of CMOs to get an overall measure of what is happening in marketing as part of a project aptly called The CMO Survey.  Below are a couple highlights from the latest report, released today.

Marketing Spending Should Increase

The CMOs reported that on average their budgets would increase 9.2%, a much larger increase than any of the other surveys done in the past 2 years.  Clearly companies are starting to invest in marketing as they see the economy improving.  Another factor might be that budgets that had been cut before during the recession might now be allowed to grow back to their previous size.

Internet Marketing Spending to Grow

The CMOs also reported that on average they were going to grow their spending on internet marketing by 13.6%, a much larger increase than in any other area.  Just like 6 months ago, CMOs are cutting spending on traditional advertising.  It seems that the better marketing ROI from internet marketing and inbound marketing is influencing the investment decisions CMOs are making.  I would personally love to know if this spending is still online advertising focused or if CMOs are starting to invest in more content generation and community management to leverage inbound marketing, but that was not included in the survey.

 

Social Media Marketing Spending Increasing

As part of that increase in spending on internet marketing, the survey reports that social media marketing spending is increasing over time.  Unfortunately it is not clear from the data if this is just more spending on advertising on social media websites like Facebook, or if companies are making an investment in inbound marketing by hiring people to create content and build relationships with their target market online.  This latter type of investment is the type of activity that can transform your marketing to be a lot more effective.  Merely advertising on Facebook instead of the local newspaper is not going to transform your marketing.

What do you think?  Do these CMOs have it right?  How would you allocate your company's marketing budget if you ran the show and could start with a blank slate?

Free Download: Marketing Data: 50+ Marketing Charts and Graphs

HubSpot has compiled over 50 original marketing charts and graphs on topics including Lead Generation, Blogging and Social Media, Marketing Budgets, Twitter and Facebook Download the ebook now! to have access to these charts for use in your own presentations

Connect with HubSpot:

 

 

Visualizing How a Link Spreads Through the Twitterverse

A few months ago, I did some research into visualizing how a story spreads across the Twitterverse and how that spread could be visualized.

Using a combination of the Twitter API, the TweetMeme API and the Processing visualization library, I was able to graph the spread of a handful of popular links.

In the TweetMaps below the circles represent each user who ReTweeted the link, they're bigger or smaller based on the number of followers they have. People who are following accounts that Tweeted the link before they did have lines drawn to the accounts they're following (and could have "caught" the link from).

The graphs show the first wave of Tweets of each link (generally the first few hours). When you see a number of circles extending horizontally across the graph that means that those accounts all Tweeted the link very close together in time.

The first example is a post on the HubSpot blog. You'll notice there's a line of accounts that posted the link at very similar times. This is because there are a number of automated Twitter accounts that post every link on the HubSpot blog RSS. You'll see this pattern again in the examples below. You'll also notice that there is a high amount of variance in the size of the circles, indicating that the people who Tweeted the link have varying amounts of followers, and there is a high amount of interconnectivity between them as well.

The next example is from celebrity gossip blog TheFABlife. The difference is striking, other than a single, highly followed account (which is probably the blog's own official account) all of the other accounts have few followers. This is a good indication that this link's audience is much more "mainstream." Again notice the high level of interconnectedness visible.

Now let's look at a TweetMap of a link from Seth Godin's blog. You'll notice there isn't one big account that starts the chain (since there is no active, official Seth Godin Twitter account). There is a lower amount of interconnectivity present than in the previous examples, and most Tweeters have low numbers of followers.

The above example is from MSNBC's site. There are very few connections between ReTweeters, and there are a few very large accounts amidst mostly low-follower accounts. The large accounts are probably official MSNBC accounts.

An example from FoxNews tells the story of a community with a high variation in follower counts and lots of inter-connections.

An example from Alternet.org shows a set of accounts with lots of followers and a moderate amount of connection.

The final example, from TechCrunch, shows the main Techcrunch account followed by a large number of low-follower accounts. It also displays lots of connections and a large automated Tweeting line.

Marketing Takeaway

The internet now gives marketers a way to map word-of-mouth that was previously impossible. Take the time to understand how your content as well as your competitors content spreads online. Look for opportunities to optimize the word-of-mouth spread of your content on Twitter and other social networks.

Free Download: Marketing Data: 50+ Marketing Charts and Graphs

HubSpot has compiled over 50 original marketing charts and graphs on topics including Lead Generation, Blogging and Social Media, Marketing Budgets, Twitter and Facebook Download the ebook now! to have access to these charts for use in your own presentations

Connect with HubSpot: