Category: Digital Marketing
How to Make Inbound Marketing Work for Your Aviation Business
Aerospace and aviation companies looking for every competitive advantage should be taking a closer look at inbound marketing. Inbound delivers a range of important benefits, including:
- Reaching and engaging closely targeted prospects
- Generating quantifiable leads
- Elevating and building credibility for your brand
- Becoming a thought leader in your market
- Increasing your website traffic and search engine ranking (SEO)
What is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound marketing is a philosophy that challenges traditional, interruptive techniques for an all-new approach based on attraction. It’s designed to complement today’s B2B buying behavior, and it works.
It’s called inbound because it draws potential customers in to you, eliminating the need to reach out with a cold call or email. Just imagine – the customers come to you!
Inbound marketing works when you help your audience find you (via your website) and give them answers to burning questions, hard-to-find information they need or want, help with their most difficult challenges or even authentic inspiration or motivation. In a word, content. We’ll talk more about that in next week’s chapter.
As HubSpot, an inbound marketing authority says, “by publishing the right content in the right place at the right time, your marketing becomes relevant and helpful to your customers, not interruptive.”
The most important thing to remember is this — everyone is looking for help — but no one is looking to be sold.
Why Should You Care?
If you want a more relevant, efficient and effective marketing program, you should care about inbound marketing. Inbound generates more qualified and receptive leads, at less cost with a higher conversion rate, than traditional outbound marketing.
Traditional Marketing Examples
Depending on the plan and frequency, these items can add up fast, potentially totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Advertising
- Direct Mailers
- Purchasing Lists
Inbound Examples
Depending on your internal resources, many inbound tactics have little or no cost.
- Blogging
- Content
- Subscriber List
If you have something to say, or something to sell, inbound marketing creates an environment by which someone who needs your product can easily find you. And that’s something any marketer can get behind.
What Should I Do to Get Started?
Here are 7 phased steps to jump-start your effort.
Phase 1
- Create and maintain a modern, up-to-date website that is mobile- and search-engine friendly. This is the hub of your inbound program. Be sure to include an area for viewers to subscribe to your content.
- Hold a brainstorm meeting to gather content ideas. Ask yourself “what questions do customers or prospects most frequently ask? What are current hot topics or needs in the market?”
- Create a content and tactical monthly calendar – this should be the foundation for all your marketing-related activities.
- Create and distribute your content through channels like email, social media, website and blogging.
Phase 2
- You should see a spike in website traffic as a result of your content and promotion strategy. Begin converting traffic into leads by using landing pages, savvy calls to action and substantial content and offers.
- Use lead nurturing techniques to convert leads into sales, integrating with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
- Convert customers into brand ambassadors.
How Can it Work for Aviation, Aerospace and Defense Businesses?
BDN began using inbound techniques for our own business in July 2015, and the results have been more than encouraging. In fact, this blog is one important element of a multi-dimensional strategy that is delivering real results.
A wide variety of B2B businesses in an array of industries are making inbound work for them, and you can, too. Hubspot did a helpful piece about “16 Companies in Boring Industries Creating Remarkable Content,” and if boring industries can do it, imagine the potential for aerospace. Our work and products are exciting, but we default to presenting them in expected, non-interesting ways.
GE — well known within the aviation sector — is breaking away from the norm and is widely recognized for having a best-in-class inbound program that is refreshingly modern and unexpectedly unique and creative. Examples include Pinterest boards entitled “Mind=Blown” and “Badass Machines,” and a humorous take on the Ryan Gosling “Hey Girl” meme featuring Thomas Edison. Other examples include entertaining science-related YouTube videos and Txchnologist, a magazine designed to highlight “the great challenges of our era through industry, technology and ingenuity.”
In addition to BDN’s Inbound Marketing case study and Hubspot, here are some other relevant resources to expand your knowledge and understanding of inbound marketing:
- Learn how to cultivate subscribers and why they are better than leads here.
- Marketo is an alternative to Hubspot.
- Jay Baer is a renowned social media and content marketing consultant and his Convince and Convert blog is a great, worthwhile read.
Don’t forget: Digital marketing is key to most lead-generation efforts. Download this useful digital marketing guide to learn more.
RAMP UP YOUR DIGITAL KNOWLEDGE: TERMINOLOGY GUIDE
Digital marketing is on the rise but coming to terms with the jargon isn’t always that easy. The experts at BDN Aerospace Marketing have put together this digital terminology guide to ramp up your knowledge.
See something we missed? Share it in the comments and we will be happy to help!
You can also download the full guide here!
Growing Opportunities in Digital Marketing
Digital marketing opportunities are expanding beyond just SEO, paid advertising, and social media.
For example, by 2017, 74% of all Internet traffic will be video-centric. The good news is that most aerospace marketers are already using video in their marketing efforts. But the bad news is that we are using one-dimensionally, primarily at trade shows and events. We’re really just scratching the surface of its potential marketing power.
There are so many new and creative ways to take our digital marketing in exciting new directions. Not just because they are exciting and new — but because they work.
Here’s an overview of what’s possible, and specific ideas about how to make these new approaches work for you.
Interactive content is a creative and effective way to engage and interact with your audience. Interactivity helps audiences find and engage with content that is specifically of interest and relevant to them, at the same time providing marketers with valuable insight and information about customers.
Examples of interactive content include design tools (ex. design your own aircraft livery and interior) calculators (ex. how much time or money can I save by installing your product?), quizzes and questions (ex. what aircraft upgrade will most benefit my specific operation?), interactive whitepapers or infographics (ex. show maintenance intervals and costs for every component in your product), or contests and sweepstakes. It may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. There are numerous tools and services to help. Ion, Marketo, and Snapapp are several to consider.
Video marketing has exploded in popularity and effectiveness, with consistently high levels of engagement, and video is an ideal way to communicate the value of benefits of aerospace and defense products. From high-quality branding productions that showcase the sex appeal of an aircraft in flight, to technical pieces that explain the inner workings of a product – having the ability to show and tell your story is a marketer’s dream. Videotaping and sharing customer testimonials is also worthwhile, because trusted recommendations are highly influential with B2B buyers.
Once you have the video assets, put them to use strategically and creatively to reach a range of audiences as part of your overall marketing program.
Looking for inspiration? Check out BDN’s own newly released video program.
You may also be interested in You Need Great SEO, And Here’s What You Need To Know To Get Started or 8 Best Practices for Email Marketing Success.
Social Media Image Sizing Cheat Sheet
You wouldn’t put a blurry photo on the cover of a printed brochure, so don’t even think about putting one on the cover of your social pages. Represent your business well by using and sharing imagery sized appropriately for each channel. Use this infographic for easy reference — it has everything you need to know.
You can also download the full cheat sheet here.
YOU NEED GREAT SEO, AND HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED
If prospective customers don’t know about you, they can’t buy from you.
If prospective customers know about you but can’t find you online, they won’t buy from you — because most B2B buying decisions happen online.
MarketingProfs.com shares that 71% of buyers prefer to conduct research and purchase on their own, with an access to a sales representative only if needed.
Today, your website is arguably the most important part of your sales and marketing effort. But if your website has not been optimized to achieve top search rankings, it’s wasting time and money. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important to all industries and all marketers, including aerospace.
We notice that SEO is a term that gets tossed around a lot. But what does it really mean?
Let’s say you are a mid-size MRO provider working to increase sales. Your brand is fairly well known, but you aren’t one of the really big guys, and you have a lot of competition. If you Google a relevant phrase, like “helicopter engine overhaul” and your business name does not appear on the first page (preferably in the top three positions) your prospective customers won’t find you, but they will find your competition.
You need great SEO, and here’s what you need to know to get started.
- Google rankings are based on more than 200 different factors, but essentially they all come down to content and credibility.
- The more frequently you add relevant, quality content (blogs, white papers, videos, photos, links, news) to your website, the more your rankings will improve.
- Building links to your site from other trusted sources, and updating search directories, social media and other website promotion tools to establish credibility will also improve your ranking.
- Finally, address basic optimization activities, such as updating meta titles and meta descriptions, creating a proper URL structure, and optimizing internal links.
Achieving better rankings does not have to be complicated, and you don’t necessarily need an SEO consultant to be successful, you just need the dedication to producing a quality website that your customers care about. As with all good things, there are no short cuts, and the cheaters get caught — and punished — by Google.
Don’t be afraid of SEO. You just need to get started, stay focused, and update your site. It won’t happen overnight. When it comes to SEO, slow and steady wins the race, the rankings, and, ultimately, the customers.
For more information, take a look at this graphic. It’s a BDN favorite for explaining SEO.
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Digital Advertising: How and Why it Can Work for You
Aerospace marketers unanimously cite budget constraints as one of their most significant professional challenges. As many have been forced to re-evaluate how and where to invest their limited marketing dollars, paid digital advertising has become a viable alternative to traditional methods — and with good reason.
Digital advertising is often considerably more affordable, targeted, immediate and measurable than traditional advertising.
But is it right for our industry and your business? Let’s define three options and how to use them most effectively.
Pay-per-click advertising, or PPC, is widely used in aerospace marketing. In fact, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are all using it extensively.
In PPC, advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Search engine advertising is one of the most popular forms of PPC, but it is not the only option available. PPC ads may be placed through website publishers, directly through social media (Facebook and LinkedIn) or through an ad network like Google Ad Words.
Benefits of PPC advertising include the ability to track conversations and the fact that you only pay for the actual website visits that occur. Additionally, most PPC platforms allow you to set a strict spending limit, so costs can be monitored closely.
In aerospace marketing, PPC is well suited for a specific campaign, like a new product launch. As opposed to SEO efforts, which may take more time, you’ll get instant recognition with targeted audiences through the use of specific, carefully selected keywords.
Bonus Tip: Purchase the names of your competition as keywords. If a prospect searches for that competitor, they’ll see your ad at the same time.
Here is more information to get you started.
Display advertising is the online placement of visual ads on targeted websites. Display ads may be purchased directly from a publisher or through an ad network like Google.
Before you purchase from an aerospace industry-specific publisher, explore ad network options. Many websites in our industry are overrun with competing ads in limited space, potentially diminishing the chance that visitors will notice and engage with you, and you’ll probably be surprised by the precise targeting that is possible with other options.
And while it has always been challenging to quantify the effectiveness of print advertising, digital methods offer instantaneous information about click-through and conversion rates of web traffic that comes to you as a result of a digital ad. Monitor and measure everything you do, and adjust your spending to support what works best.
Learn more about display advertising here.
Retargeting, sometimes called remarketing, is a type of display advertising and is an excellent tool for businesses with long sales cycles, where lead nurturing is essential. Retargeting works to bring visitors back to your website site over time by regularly showing them relevant subject matter ads when they visit other websites. For example, if a potential customer is doing buying research and visits both your website and that of a competitor, retargeting provides you an opportunity (that your competition may not be using) to lure them back with a clickable special offer or a promotion for interesting content.
Retargeting works as users visit your website, their machine gets cookied. This cookie passes important data to retargeting platforms like Google and AdRoll, signaling that the user has visited your website before. The list of cookied machines gets added to the retargeting list and will begin displaying ads for your website.
Learn more about retargeting here.
Measurement is an essential part of any digital marketing effort. The goals of each online campaign will determine which metrics you should track and analyze. Impressions can indicate the success of a branding campaign, clicks can show increased web traffic, and form fills or conversions represent increased leads or even sales.
It’s important to remember that digital advertising is a tool that should be employed strategically as part of an overall marketing plan. BDN’s digital media coordinator Savannah Ivanitski works with our team and our clients to develop and deploy effective digital marketing strategies. Contact us to learn more.
You may also be interested in: Aerospace Marketers: 5 steps to establish or improve your use of social media…and the FTC regulation you need to know now
Aerospace Marketers: 5 steps to establish or improve your use of social media…and the FTC regulation you need to know now
The use of social media for aerospace marketing is no longer a question. It’s now an essential part of the aerospace marketer’s toolkit.
If you work in defense, know that some of your most important customers — the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps — were early adopters that now fully leverage the power of social media. They use it for its convenience, reach, affordability and effectiveness, the very same reasons it has become the medium of choice for terrorist organizations worldwide. Like it or not, it works.
In a recent study that looked at the use of social media in the defense industry, Defence IQ found that 62% of respondents (prime contractors, subcontractors, and the media) believe that it is very important or essential to improve their online and social media presence by 2017.
Here’s how to make social media work for your business.
- Have a plan and a purpose
To be effective, it’s essential to understand why you are using social media, how it will connect to your overall marketing and communications strategy, and what you want to accomplish. Your plan should also include a budget, process and dedicated staff fully qualified for the work. Maintain an editorial plan, but be flexible enough to react to timely events. And always support your brand and maintain a consistent voice across platforms.
- Pick your platforms
From Facebook and Twitter to online forums, LinkedIn and YouTube, you’ll have more options than time, so be strategic in selecting the correct channels. The Defence IQ report found, for example, that government-related audiences favor corporate websites by a wide margin, followed by YouTube, LinkedIn, targeted content, Facebook, Slideshare, and Twitter. It’s interesting to note that government contractors vastly misjudged what channels their customers view as most effective. As with any form of marketing, it’s critically important to fully understand the people you are trying to reach.
- Know your audience
Find and follow your audience to learn what interests them. Search hash tags or use a tool like “we follow” to listen and learn, then use the knowledge to tailor content. Bear in mind that social media requires some trial and error. You’ll need to experiment with each channel’s unique audience to determine what resonates best with your fan base. But if you give them what they want, your audience will find you.
- Make it worthwhile
Whatever you do, don’t sell. Don’t make it all about you. And don’t bore your audience by recycling press releases or rehashing old news. Help, engage and inform, all in a relevant, audience-centric way. If you give them a reason to return, they will.
- Analyze and improve
By establishing a plan and purpose, you have set goals for your social media program. Now it’s time to monitor and measure success. It’s important to keep track of posts, frequency, and engagement to determine the best social media plan moving forward. For example, you’ll want to determine when users are active online on each platform and post during those times. Also, Google Analytics is an important tool that can tell you if social media is driving traffic to your website, because that’s where the majority of B2B buying decisions start and end.
- Did you know?
The Federal Trade Commission requires that you disclose any relationships with anyone you may be promoting. A helpful article explaining this regulation can be found here.
B2B expert MarketingSherpa recently published new information detailing engagement and reach of the top social networks. Learn more here.
Don’t Work Your Website, Make it Work for You
If your website isn’t working for you as a lead generation tool, then you’re leaving money on the table. Ignoring opportunities is inexcusable. Your sales expert wouldn’t do it, so your website shouldn’t either.
One of the best ways to invest in your website is to start creating and publishing unique and helpful resources. They need to be different enough that prospects have to come to your site in order to get this information, and helpful enough that they need to seek out the information in the first place.
BDN achieved this with a comprehensive trade show directory. A database of all of the industry trade shows was hard to find. We developed our own and it is now the most downloaded resource on our site.
You can do the same. It’s very simple, really. Invest in your website by generating some great content, and watch as the leads begin to pour in.
Curious to learn more about aerospace marketing?
Get On Board: Introduction To Whiteboard Videos
I’m suddenly obsessed with white board videos as a great way to tell technical stories in a quick, concise and eminently watchable way. We’ve all seen too many traditional, snooze-worthy corporate videos. They are a big investment, but if they are not masterfully produced they do little but bore the audience and clearly convey that your company is boring, too. They are not being used much in aerospace marketing yet, though our friends at Able Engineering were among the first, and we love the end result.
Some people might worry that a white board concept is too edgy or cartoony for our industry, but it’s not. Heck, the United States of America has branded a “White House White Board” online to explain potentially daunting topical issues (note to President Obama: lose the talking heads).
If you have not yet seen or experienced a white board video, start with a Google search and start exploring. They’re all the rage, and, well, we’re on board.
Finders, Keepers?
Just because you found that photo on the Internet doesn’t mean you can use it for free. Check out this link where John Mueller summarizes the total cost to recreate a sunset image.
http://www.petapixel.com/2012/01/10/this-photograph-is-not-free/
So, next time you’re looking online for an image to use, you might want to consider asking for permission, or looking at a stock photography site. Might be worth the extra effort.