Data allows a business to take action with clarity and vision, more so than ever before. These targeted numbers are everything. They are the driving force in business, particularly with SEO. Data gives you a clearer view of what is going on with your customers and/or operations. Algorithms use collected data to predict or optimize numbers. Numbers have a secret language, and if you can decode it, you will have everything you want to know about your business. The one caveat is, some marketers have learned the manipulate the data to back up and claims they make. If they want the data to reflect a surge in traffic then they can do so; however, the numbers that demonstrate traffic did not result in conversion may be conveniently discarded.
The information is there, learn to decode it and use it to your company’s benefit. Big data marketing is now an exact science. Marketers can understand consumer buying responses to both micro and big markets which enables markets to adjust spend across the variety of channels available from television to Twitter. The best way to go about this is to examine actual sales over a period of time as well as the intensity of activity changes from week to week. Three months is the average length of consumer memory. So the question is whether to focus on short-or long-term efforts. For example, rooted in insights from big data it has been tested that Twitter is useless after three p.m. on Fridays and does not regain steam until Monday morning.
Insights help you not to waste efforts. Learn enough to understand what the metrics and dimensions mean so the wool will not be pulled over your eyes.
Archive for June, 2015
Every platform for social media has one goal: to connect. A Facebook connection is called a friend; Twitter calls them followers, and LinkedIn easily enough refers to them as connections. The trick with connecting with people is not to act as if you want something from them. Connecting is just that, meeting somewhere in the middle to discuss common interests. The second you begin selling yourself to anyone on these platforms in an overdone manner, they will likely delete or block you.
Still, you want to include your business in the conversation. For the most part, you would not be on a platform if you did not have something to say. How do you strike a balance? Try the 80/20 rule. This rule of thumb means 80% of your feed should be about your connections, and 20% is all about you. Most people will understand the need to sell as long as it does not interfere with their desire to feel valued. In other words, they will tolerate it if it is relevant to them.
Try to target your audience through common interests. Someone interested in fashion will love anything on trends, design, or accessories. They may not love it if you start discussing your services as a hedge fund manager. Perhaps you can get a niche going through different avenues, but most likely not.
Connect with your audience as fellow travelers in this life rather than potential customers. It will make the journey easier for all of us.
The value of one blog, given the digital footprint of all publications, trumps the postcard 1,000 times over. People like to hear and share good products. Blogs are built around people who want to share their experiences and are powerful for marketers. Every website should have an updated blog. They are dedicated to almost every product you can imagine. A million and one uses for baking soda, or the little black dress are some examples of blogs with large followings. The most successful bloggers keep their content relevant and consistent. Think of all the blogs dedicated to celebrities. They will never run out of topics, but bloggers can lose credibility if they miss a big story. Consistency and relevance must be your top goals with your blog.
Be interesting
Popular blogs intersperse images with their words to keep the reader interested. Guest blogging is one way to build links. A reputable person is invited to write on your blog and hopefully bring their audience with them. Check out sites that offer free images to make your content pop. Some readers will appreciate visual cues.
Seek validation
If a blogger is raving about your product/service, send them a thank you card or ask for their feedback to improve your business. Every single person on the planet wants to have his or her opinion matter. Allow them to be heard. If you leave comments open, you will find independent conversations happening. Communities can be built on your blog if participants feel heard and comfortable. When you demonstrate to readers that you are listening, they will champion your business every time. Do not take it for granted that people love your business. It can all go away if you become cavalier about their loyalty. People make businesses.
Pioneers
2015 started with an interesting addition to the balance of work-life-family conversation. Apple joined forces with Facebook to cover the cost of egg freezing for their female staff. These American giants are pioneers by offering the $20K in coverage perk as part of their benefits package in an elective capacity. Why now? Will it work? The answers are not so simple. A 2014 study of Catalyst Research found that men held more than 95 % of CEO positions in both Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies, for a total of 954 male CEOs out of 1,000 companies.
This means that 46 women hold the same positions as their male counterparts despite receiving the same education and having equal experience. It is a rule that goes back way before the glory days of Mad Men: there is a bias that favors male workers, especially in corporate America. Women reach career peaks at the same time they perceive their biological clocks to be ticking. Male mid-level managers do not have to face the tough decision: career advancement or starting a family. Once the decision towards family has been made, women statistically speaking are more likely to take time off work for pediatrician’s appointments and school functions than working dads.
Both Apple and Facebook feel this change will support women in the workplace by giving them the option to advance their careers and delay starting a family until they feel ready to do so. In a recent press statement, Apple stated, “We want to empower women at Apple to do the best work of their lives as they care for loved ones and raise their families.” As a female entrepreneur as well as a loving mother to my sons (ages 5 and 10), I want to express my opinion on this interesting development for women.
Career versus Family
Egg freezing is not a decision one goes about lightly. Usually, there is a medical reason prompting women to do so. The most common example is women whose fertility might be effected by cancer treatment. It is recommended by the ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) for chemotherapy patients to do it. The ASRM does not recommend the invasive procedure to delay childbirth. There are safety, emotional and efficacy risks. Egg freezing is not a sure thing. It may give women false hope, and if time has run out, there may not be any other options. This could be a detriment to career women. As Claire Cain Miller of The New York Times points out, “workplaces could be seen as paying women to put off childbearing.” They could be paying them with false hope, which could negatively affect families. In the short-term, it may be a great solution. Companies get more working years out of their female work force. Long-term, it may not be that simple.
In 2010, there were 23.2 million working moms, down from 25.2 million in 2007. Mothers with young children are less likely to work than those with older children according to a study conducted by the Department of Labor. In 2010, 57.0 percent of moms with a child under six years old worked; 71 percent of these moms held a full-time job according to DOL. According to Pew Research, the share of mothers who do not work outside the home rose to 29% in 2012, up from a modern-era low of 23% in 1999, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.
A Happy Medium
Families are not defined by statistics, however. The decision to start a family is personal as well as the decision to delay it for a few years. A happy medium between starting a family and lessening career impact is to offer more flexibility rather than delay. A family friendly workplace is where women can raise their children with support from their corporate bosses. The choice is more personal than business in most cases. Companies can begin being more flexible by offering maternity and paternity leave. Other options include flexible hours and childcare benefits.
Companies have so many choices in helping shape that decision, other than giving the option to freeze the decision to have kids.
18 years of your life as a parent is scheduled around school times, practices, performances, conferences and work. It would benefit employers to understand the challenges working mothers face and allow for flexibility. By striking a balance, companies will be rewarded with loyalty and stronger productivity. According to a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-), flexible hours can affect employees positively (93%) on the quality of employees’ personal/family life. Other benefits included employee morale/ job satisfaction (91%), and employee retention (89%).
Not Just Women
Dads are also expected to take a larger role in the family balance. According study conducted by PEW research, 50% dads say that juggling work and family is difficult for them. Both moms and dads that work feel continually rushed, 40% of moms and 34% of dads according to Pew Research. According to a study conducted by BHFS/Mercer – 72% of the companies surveyed adopt a work life focus as part of their benefits program since that increases retention the most.
Actionable Steps
Such benefits might include:
– Provide good maternity leave to both parents
– Provide flexible hours
– Provide wellness programs such as stress reduction, fitness, comprehensive health plans
– Provide Health Days: At work where your employees get free flu shots, preventive exams, vaccinations.
– Provide parenting classes: Host parenting classes in your company for parents
– Provide EPA (Employee Assistance Programs) including: personal financial assistance help, nanny services, childcare support to name a few
Future
This debate will not go away any time soon. Starting a family at the cost of career advancement should not be something that women should be pressured to do. Corporations should be pushing flexibility and a family friendly culture to the forefront rather than medical procedures.
We all hated mathematics in school. Most of those formulas never applied to real life. Now a formula is determining the amount of traffic we receive on our websites. An algorithm is an internet program that gives you all the marketing information needed. Algorithms use that data to predict or optimize your visitor numbers.
Google, Yahoo and Bing’s organic listings operate off an algorithm that scans websites for content. What does this mean? Every couple of weeks, a search engine program will scan your site for new content and other aspects of your site. They do this to use your information to make money from their paid advertisements. When the program has run through your site fifty times and seeing the same website aspects over a few years, the search engines begin to trust that you are a valuable and true resource for their customers: the people on their computers, ipads, and phones using search engines. It is that simple.
This means that your content must be new to be considered valuable. Blog posts are a great way to keep your content new when the sweeps happen. Re-purpose your content as often as possible. Switch out images and other tweaks may help.
No Cabs
The other day I had a meeting in Miami Beach. Fellow Miamians understand that Lincoln Road is just a nightmare when construction is going on. I wound up having to take an Uber at the suggestion of my associate. Uber is a car service in which their drivers use their own cars and pay for their own insurance. In effect, Uber does the connecting, but has little risk and will never run out of clients given that they are way cheaper than cabs.
No Content
Facebook relies on it subscribers to come up with the content. Most are more than happy to post pics of their food and gratuitous selfies. The greatest thing about this social site is that the subscribers do all the work. If Facebook tried to post content there would be a near riot worse than the uproar over their so-called privacy settings.
No Real Estate
Airbnb does not own real estate. Instead, people rent out their homes or have an even exchange. If you are going to Augusta for the Masters, you can rent a home rather than a hotel room at a much cheaper rate.
So what does the success of these businesses that do not own or generate anything mean for you? It is all about connection more so than any product itself. We are moving away from selling something and focusing on making the world smaller. This is the future of business. Take a moment and consider how you can angle your business to this new worldview.