Rapid Growth in B2B Marketing Programs Ahead as Companies Realize Benefits of Integrated Communications
March 15 2012 - 10:52AM
Business Wire
PAN Communications, a public relations and digital media leader
driving communications strategy for emerging and innovative growth
companies, forecasts increased interest and engagement resulting
from successful campaigns that use a blended approach of social and
traditional media programs. Clients across the company's portfolio
mix of technology, consumer engagement, and healthcare & life
sciences have seen increased visibility, web traffic and brand
awareness, and there are several factors marketers need to keep in
mind while building their campaigns.
According to the 2012 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark
Report, generating high-quality leads and a high volume of leads
have been the two top challenges marketers have faced from
2010-2011. Marketers are having a difficult time achieving a
balance of quality and quantity, so it’s important for
organizations to “revolutionize” their approach to marketing,
making sure all activities link back to revenue.
"Critical to the success of any B2B program, emphasis should be
placed upfront on the research and discovery of who the true
business decision makers are and what type of content they need,"
explained Jason Ouellette, vice president at PAN Communications.
"Armed with this knowledge, we can provide clients with integrated
communications programs that not only provide brand awareness on
the traditional side of public relations, but we are also able to
balance that effort by establishing the organization as a true
market leader through digital channels, social communities and
direct engagement."
CMOs are cautioned, however, by the fact that nothing can
replace the third-party validation their brand can receive by the
business and trade traditional media reporting on their products
and services.
"Potential prospects, business partners, current customers -
even employees and shareholders - rely on the written word stemming
from media engagement," said Jennifer Meyer, vice president at PAN
Communications. "Therefore, we advise clients to mix and balance
their campaigns to establish and reinforce how their publics
perceive their company's brand."
With so much change throughout the public relations marketplace,
the PAN Communications technology team has collated a list of the
top subjects that matter most in 2012:
- Mix it Up - Content is king, and
there are many digital outlets companies can use to reach their
target audience. However, don't lose sight of traditional PR:
newspapers and magazines are still read and trusted by millions of
people every day. Going digital 100 percent of the time is a
mistake in the B2B market.
- Deeper thought leadership and
engagement - Thought leadership is a crucial component for
increasing awareness, igniting excitement, and creating engagement
within a very emotional market. Audiences are most likely to trust
those who speak to them and showcase their knowledge.
- Increased emphasis on metrics and
reporting - Measuring "impact" over "activity" is what matters
most. It's a given that your marketing team is busy, so spend
efforts measuring how effective your programs are, not how many
"impressions" you may have received. Share of voice, sentiment
analysis, spikes in web traffic and determining if these visitors
are "sticking" due to proper content development is paramount.
- Don’t be a Tool – Measurement
tools such as Radian6 can provide insight needed to effectively
gauge a program and companies are encouraged to make use of them.
But don't stop there: the real value is the critical analysis of
the data that is reported, and combining that data with the
traditional venues. Companies tend to rely on charts and graphs
that spit out only part of the story. Nothing can replace rolling
up your sleeves and doing the work that's required to properly
assess program effectiveness.
- Crisis communications is now a
commoditized offering for PR firms - With the explosion of
social media, each PR practitioner should be well-versed in
handling crisis communications activity and how to counsel clients
during situations that can damage a company's brand reputation
within minutes. The possibility of crisis becomes an integral – and
given - part of a PR program.
- With traditional media, less is
more - As traditional forms of media decrease, their relevance
and prominence among readers increases. It's more difficult to
secure coverage in these venues, and for good reason; there's less
of them and even fewer pages. Your company news, when it's
included, becomes much more valuable than at any other time. So too
does the journalist covering that beat. This provides all the more
reason for continued cultivation as part of your program.
- Rise in online community creation
and engagement - More and more executives are turning to their
peers for advice and recommendations. Members are passionate about
a common goal, project, product, among many other things.Online
communities are an important target because they are your virtual
audience. Members of your community are digesting, sharing and
spreading your voice and brand. It’s more important than ever for a
business to listen to what their customers and partners are saying
so they can provide feedback and direction as to where to find more
information.
About PAN Communications
With an expertise in content creation, PAN Communications is an
award-winning public relations agency that utilizes all media and
disciplines to increase awareness and opportunities to achieve our
clients’ business objectives. As an integrated communications
partner to companies that lead their industries or those that
aspire to, PAN drives strategic public relations for technology,
consumer engagement and healthcare & life sciences brands. For
more information visit our website at www.pancommunications.com,
follow us on Twitter (@PANcomm) or call 617.502.4300.