How to Integrate Social Media and SEO to Drive More Leads and Increase Marketing ROI

How to Integrate Social Media and SEO to Drive More Leads and Increase Marketing ROIDrive More Leads and Increase Marketing ROI Sergio Balegno Director of Research i f h MECLABS Primary Research / MarketingSherpa

Today’s speakers Brian Carroll Executive Director, Applied Research, MECLABS Executive Director Applied Research MECLABS Brian Carroll is Executive Director of Applied Research at MECLABS. Brian is also co‐founder of InTouch (now part of the MECLABS Leads Group), a B2B marketing firm and one of the first companies to provide Group) a B2B marketing firm and one of the first companies to provide lead generation services for the complex sale. Author of the popular book, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale (McGraw‐Hill), Carroll is a leading expert in lead generation and he s (McGraw Hill) Carroll is a leading expert in lead generation and hes profiled and regularly quoted in numerous publications. Brian also speaks to 20,000 people a year on improving sales effectiveness and lead generation strategies. @brianjcarroll 2#b2blead

Today’s speakers Sergio Balegno Director of Research, MECLABS/MarketingSherpa Director of Research, MECLABS/MarketingSherpa Sergio manages a team of analysts who conduct studies of marketing practices, publish content in the form of benchmark reports, how‐to handbooks and training curriculum, and present findings at industry handbooks and training curriculum and present findings at industry events, training workshops and webinars. He has worked in marketing since 1980, first on the brand‐side as Vice President of Marketing in the airline industry, then on the agency side as President of Marketing in the airline industry then on the agency‐side as a founding partner of a B2B marketing communications firm. @SergioBalegno 3#b2blead

Today’s agenda • How social media and SEO drive inbound leads • MarketingSherpa case study g p y • Social marketing architecture • CMO priorities and perceptions • Calculating social marketing ROI Calculating social marketing ROI 4#b2blead

Annual research cycle improves marketer know‐how • Publish research on what’s working (and what isn’t) for marketers •Benchmark Reports, Case Studies • Identify best practices and formulate practical methodologies formulate practical methodologies •Handbooks, Special Reports • Teach marketers how to apply best practices and methodologies •Summits, certification training, webinars • Repeat cycle for continuous Repeat cycle for continuous improvement / knowledge transfer 5#b2blead

How social media and SEO drive inbound leads

Social impacts organic traffic and conversion rates • Chart: Conversion rates from organic search listing traffic • Search marketers who integrate social media achieve a 59% better rate of conversion. Why?... • Rankings are driven by relevance • Relevance increases credibility • C ed b ty d es co e s o s Credibility drives conversions 7#b2blead

Social media and search integration is essential • 76% agree that “many natural search listings today natural search listings today are linked to social media content, so the integration of social media and SEO tactics social media and SEO tactics is absolutely essential.” • Search algorithms focusing on younger, relevant content 8#b2blead

Together, social media and search accelerates inbound lead capture and conversion i b dl d d i • This synergistic relationship worthy This synergistic relationship worthy of a title: Inbound Marketing • Chart: Q. Are you integrating social media and SEO tactics to increase inbound lead generation? • Nearly half using this synergy to N l h lf i thi t improve inbound marketing KPIs 9#b2blead

But, 11% don’t know what Inbound Marketing is • Inbound marketing is a strategy that focuses on being found by prospective customers, as opposed to finding them (outbound). • Inbound leverages earned media – I b dl d di social media, SEO and content sharing – to attract customers • Social marketing architecture Inbound marketing helps customers find you required to drive leads to you 10#b2blead

MarketingSherpa case study

Delivra’s inbound strategy pulls in 70% more leads and doubles annual revenue per account l d d d bl l • Delivra: email service provider Delivra: email service provider • Challenge: list fatigue and limited budget for outbound tactics = declining qual/quan of leads g q /q • Objective: improve quality and quantity of leads with inbound strategy using existing resources gy g g • Gap: lack of content and a social marketing architecture to accomplish objective 12#b2blead

Building a strategy for inbound marketing success Five‐step strategy: 1. 1 Created guidelines to align brand Created guidelines to align brand messaging across old/new channels 2. Designed a social marketing architecture with a plan and purpose 3. Produced high‐value, search engine friendly content for lead conversion friendly content for lead conversion 4. Leveraged automated marketing for rapid response 5. Analyzed and optimized for ROI 13#b2blead

1. Guidelines align brand messaging across h l f i i channels from conversation to conversion • Push to create content for attracting leads looking for email marketing leads looking for “email marketing” • Content guidelines describe services and competitive differentiation p • Applied across channels – all online, customer service, sales reps, etc. • Pace of adoption was “shocking” 14#b2blead

2. Design a social marketing architecture • Hub sites for content and conversion •Blog •Website • Spoke sites to build communities, p , relationships and engagement •Facebook •Twitter •LinkedIn •Local social network • Spoke sites direct traffic flow into Spoke sites direct traffic flow into hub sites to be captured/converted 15#b2blead

3. Add content designed for SEO and conversion • Two types of content produced: 1. Open access – keyword‐rich blog posts and how‐to articles to lift search rankings and establish subject matter expertise 2. Premium content behind registration 2 P i b hi d i i form – highly relevant exchange of value (whitepapers for contact information) • Form data integrated with CRM system for further qualification and sales hand‐off process 16#b2blead

4. Leverage auto‐response marketing • Nurturing process for inbound leads different than paid outbound • The faster inbound leads were acted on, the faster they converted • Inbound leads more likely to have interacted/requested info from co. • Inbound leads receive auto‐response confirmation email, but not 5‐part series paid outbound leads receive p 17#b2blead

5. Analyze and optimize • Key inbound KPIs analyzed •Number of leads captured •Ratio of leads to sales •Average value of sales •Average return on investment • ROI – prove financial return to win skeptics who control budget 18#b2blead

Results of Delivra inbound marketing strategy • Quarterly revenue increase 25‐40% •Annual revenue/account doubled • Inbound leads increased 70% • Website traffic increased 20% •Cut SERPs for major keywords by half • Blog now generates 3‐4x more Blog now generates 3 4x more traffic than the website#b2blead

Social marketing architecture

Without a social marketing architecture Random acts of marketing R d f k i 21#b2blead

With a social marketing architecture – hub and spoke framework controls traffic flow h b d k f k l ffi fl • Hub sites for content and conversion • Spoke sites for building communities, relationships and engagement • Directs traffic flow in and out of hubs • Number of sites not important Number of sites not important – a plan and purpose for every site is 22#b2blead

Plan and purpose for hub sites • Websites have become hub of overall marketing strategy – primary point of conversion • Blogs have become hub of social marketing strategy k ti t t • Dynamics of timely, keyword‐rich, multi media content is search multi‐media content is search friendly – lifts rankings and traffic 23#b2blead

Plan and purpose for spoke sites • Social networks, microblogs, forums, content sharing and other social sites content sharing and other social sites • Each provides a specific purposd for a • Purpose: spoke sites drive traffic to hub sites for content and conversion 24#b2blead

CMO priorities and perceptions

Priorities for social media are changing – now it’s “show me the money" i’ “h h " • Social channel monetization factors are top‐of‐mind priorities for CMOs • Goal of social channel monetization: Measureable return on investment Measureable return on investment • Strategic phase organizations are 80% more likely than Trial to prioritize ROI • Why? Trial phase organizations don’t have a process for performing social marketing or measuring ROI marketing or measuring ROI 26#b2blead

Perceptions driving social marketing investment • If social marketing perceived to produce ROI, investment follows • Strategic phase 4X as likely as Trial to produce measureable ROI • Why? No process, no proof of ROI, no investment • Think social marketing is free? Think social marketing is free? You’re destined to get what you pay for! 27#b2blead

The promise of social marketing ROI a reality • When ROI equals a positive %, earning more than costing earning more than costing • Average social marketing ROI 95% • One‐in‐four CMOs are doubling O i f CMO d bli their social investment (100% ROI) • Overcoming the myth that social g y marketing ROI isn’t measureable 28#b2blead

Calculating social marketing ROI

ROI is a measure of financial value returned on every dollar invested • Formula: Return on Investment = (Value gained from investment – Cost of investment)/Cost of investment • Tracking the right metrics for determining the values and costs of social media marketing can be a challenge media marketing can be a challenge • “Around 10% of our social media activity directly translates to bottom‐line results, making ROI easy to determine for that portion. However, 90% of the work has to do with people building their reputation online and helping others, so they can effectively promote the brand online. That big chunk of work is impossible to measure in terms of ROI.” –CMO insight 30#b2blead

When it comes to calculating social media ROI, some metrics matter more than others • Qualitative, non‐financial metrics CAN be measured • Quantitative, financial metrics SHOULD be measured • Financial values are metrics that matter most for calculating and proving ROI •Return on engagement, return on innovation, etc., mean nothing in the C‐suite 31#b2blead

Values CMOs can use to calculate the Return • Many values can be measured • Estimated value of quantitative E ti t d l f tit ti social media metrics •Likes/Fans •Followers • Estimated value of qualitative social media metrics •Sentiment •Awareness/Voice • These metrics useful to monitor ese et cs use u to o to audience but not to measure ROI 32#b2blead

Values CMOs should use to calculate Return • Actual sales on ecommerce sites can be tracked to social media engagement • Most organizations know the estimated value of a qualified lead – use it! • There are two ways to gain value – increasing income and reducing costs There are two ways to gain value increasing income and reducing costs •Not factoring social media’s ability to reduce customer support costs is a missed opportunity • Which values can and should you use to calculate social marketing ROI? 33#b2blead

Costs CMOs are using to calculate Investment • Investment side of ROI equals costs associated with social marketing i d ih i l k i • Social falls into two main media categories – earned and paid g p • Earned media time intensive tactic requiring more human resources • Paid media cash intensive tactic requiring fewer human resources 34#b2blead

Formula for calculating the ROI of social marketing (Value gained from investment – Cost of investment)/Cost of investment = ROI • ROI analysis: Social lead gen campaign ROI l i S i ll d i Value Gained • Value: 500 qualified leads tracked to Minus Cost social at est value $150/lead = $75k $ / $ • Cost: Staff plus other expense = $15k Divided by Cost by Cost • ($75k ‐ $15k) / $15k = 400% ROI Equals ROI 35#b2blead

Quick Recap • How social media and SEO drive inbound leads • MarketingSherpa case study g p y • Social marketing architecture • CMO priorities and perceptions • Calculating social marketing ROI Calculating social marketing ROI 36#b2blead

Next Steps and Resources 1. Please fill out the post‐webinar survey 2. View past and sign up for future webinars • B2BLeadBlog.com/webinars 3. Join the B2B Lead Roundtable LinkedIn group • B2BLeadBlog.com/Linkedin 4. Connect and share • B2BLeadBlog.com g • Twitter @B2BLeadBlog 37#b2blead

Join the MECLABS team • We are currently looking for star players to join MECLABS • Opportunities available include • Lead Generation Specialist • Research Analyst R hA l • Key Account Representatives • Major Account Sales Trainee • Online Marketing Manager l k MECLABS.com/Careers 38#b2blead

Thank You

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How to Integrate Social Media and SEO to Drive More Leads and Increase Marketing ROI

by B2B Lead Roundtable on Jun 21, 2011

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How to Integrate Social Media and SEO to Drive More Leads and Increase Marketing ROI — Presentation Transcript