Motorcoach Marketing Fall 2017

MOTORCOACH

ISSUE 04/ NOVEMBER 2017

MARKETING FALL 2017

Marketing and Sales Information Designed for the Motorcoach Industry

How to Write Catchy

Email Subject Lines THE 11 SKILLS ESSENTIAL

Employee Retention: 4 Ways to Keep Your Best Team Members

Marketing During

the Slow Season

TO A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING CAREER

16 Visual Storytelling

Tips to Give Your Content

Marketing a Boost

34

26 06

INTRODUCING THE 2018 LIVE AUCTION COACH/

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Prevost H3-45: The Ultimate Touring Coach, Both modern and timeless, the H-Series™ is clearly a Prevost...

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MARKETING DURING THE SLOW SEASON/

MARKETING SKILLS: THE 11 SKILLS ESSENTIAL TO A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING CAREER/ Over the last few years, we’ve spent tens of thousands of hours working with hundreds...

THE GROWTH OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN 2017/ Over the past decade, we’ve seen social media marketing grow from an overlooked...

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Is your business in a slowseason slump? Don’t let the off-season get you down!...

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16 VISUAL STORYTELLING TIPS TO GIVE YOUR CONTENT MARKETING A BOOST/ The numbers are staggering – marketers are investing heavily in visual content: 74% of marketers use...

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EMPLOYEE RETENTION: 4 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR BEST TEAM MEMBERS/ Employee turnover rate can greatly impact the success of a company, especially with a smaller team. For...

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HOW TO WRITE CATCHY EMAIL SUBJECT LINES: 17TIPS/ No matter what they say, people do judge emails by their subject lines.

In fact, 47% of email recipients...

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INFORMATION AND TRAINING FROM GO MOTORCOACH/

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LINKEDIN CONNECTS SALES, MARKETING TOOLS FOR B2B ADVERTISERS TO TARGET LEADS, ACCOUNTS/ LinkedIn is updating its Sales Navigator tool so that sales teams can target ads to their contacts and...

PRODUCTION Production deliverabilities layout&design: Phone: 360.468.3699

Email: info@deliverabilites.com www.deliverabilities.com

ADVERTISING Motorcoach Marketing Council opportunities: Phone: 360.840.0779

Email: chris@gomotorcoach.org motorcoachmarketing.org

TAKE YOUR Passenger EXPERIENCE FROM MEMORABLE TO UNFORGETTABLE. The striking exterior of the Prevost H3-45 sets the stage for high expectations.

The luxurious cabin confirms an unexpected level of comfort. Passengers enjoy a stunning view, with added privacy that makes every moment more personal.

More than just memorable, this is an experience your passengers will never forget.

prevostcar.com

This puts coach travel in a whole new light

The 2018 MCI J4500.

Discover the beauty within. ®

Cue the lights. Bring on the ambiance. When it comes to wowing passengers, the 2018 MCI J4500 has the inside track. With a newly redesigned interior, the J4500 features more beautiful lighting throughout, including programmable variable LED color lighting that can bathe the cabin in the hue of your choice. And now, with the most floor space in the industry, the J4500 offers the best-in-class legroom and seating for up to 60 passengers.

Factor in the model’s low total cost of operation, its more spacious and functional driver cockpit and a rear window option, and you’ve got a coach that’s truly ready to impress.

Get your first look soon! Visit mcicoach.com for our Reliability Rally schedule.

Get Enlightened.

Check out the 2018 MCI J4500 coach at mcicoach.com

The Motorcoach Marketing Council/ From the president.

November. Can you believe it? It seems like it was June last week, and now we’re only weeks away from turkey. Just today, while listening to the radio, I heard there are only 7 more Saturdays until Christmas! As the year quickly draws to a close, one can’t help but reflect on the accomplishments of 2017. We made some significant strides and had a wonderful year! As a council, we appreciate the opportunities we’ve been given to grow this industry.

As I have applied the concepts that I’ve learned from the council to my own business, I’ve seen results. That notwithstanding, I have struggled to give marketing the time and attention it deserves.

This is something I continue to work on, and I know this is the case for many of you that I have the opportunity to speak with. The bottom line is this: instead of thinking about marketing as something that we will get to, someday, we have to work on it today.

With 2018 around the corner, we’re getting ready for the coming show season that is almost upon us. ABA and UMA both have their respective shows in January, and they inevitably set the industry standard for quality and substance. We’re planning to attend and participate at both of these events, and look forward to seeing you there!

As a council, we share your goal of selling more charters, to more people, for more money. If there are ways we can better support your efforts, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know. We are anxious to serve you!

-Jeff Rogers

As in previous years, the council will be executing fundraising efforts at these shows. We’re hosting the GlowMotorcoach party at a great venue on the opening night of the UMA Expo. Pat O’Brians is within walking distance of both host hotels, and with three bars, live music, and dancing, you are sure to have a fantastic time! We’re also excited to announce that this year’s auction is on track to be another record breaker. Prevost will auction an H3-45, and they’re planning to donate a portion of the proceeds from the coach sale to the council to further our important work.

As you know, our mission is to help operators sell more charters, to more people, for more money. It is exciting for us to see more and more operators embrace this effort by running new, exciting, successful campaigns that are game changers for their businesses. At this year’s expo, we will be awarding the first Annual Marketing Award to an operator who has rolled out a campaign that is helping them open new markets and get more people to GoMotorcoach. If you or someone you know would like to be considered for this award, please visit our website and submit an application.

As operators, marketing is one of the things we have to continually focus our time and energy on.

Jeff Rogers

MMC President.

Owner First Class Tours Houston, TX

Prevost H3-45: The Ultimate Touring Coach

Introducing the 2018 Live Auction Coach.

Both modern and timeless, the H-Series™ is clearly a Prevost thoroughbred. The style is striking - from its distinctively proud front end to the elegant rear treatment. And the innovative features and functional design are just what you have come to expect from the Prevost brand. Highly recognizable on the road or at the curb – it catches the eye. There is no mistaking an ordinary bus for the Ultimate in Touring Coaches: the Prevost H3-45.

Highlights LARGEST STORAGE CAPACITY The Prevost H3-45 is more than just another pretty face. The H3-45 coach boasts incredible luggage space on the market with an impressive 470 ft3 /

13.31 m3 of underfloor capacity and the highest deck in the Prevost lineup.

maintenance are easy to identify and schedule.

AMAZING PANORAMIC VIEWS

INNOVATIVE ENGINE COMPARTMENT PACKAGING

Flush-mounted, frameless windows ensure your trip will include exceptional panoramic views, greater passenger privacy, and a reduced strain on the airconditioning system.

MOST ADVANCED SYSTEM

MULTIPLEX

Painstakingly developed and rigorously tested to optimize the operational efficiency and legendary reliability of the H3-45, the Prevost advanced multiplex system is synonymous with reliability, user-friendliness, and ease of maintenance. This system also offers remote diagnostics so planning for maintenance and preventive

Behind the bold “Prevost” logo on the Prevost H3-45 engine compartment panel is the remarkably efficient layout of the potent and proven Volvo D13 powertrain. The ingenious installation of the Diesel Particulate Filter, SCR unit, and the Rooftop Diffuser offers an array of benefits, including reduced engine compartment heat, easier and safer maintenance, and protection against burns or fires at ground level. The new electric fan drive provides fuel efficiency and phenomenal space in the engine compartment for easy access to components surrounding the engine.

MARKETING

Marketing During the Slow Season/

BY JORDHAN BRIGGS

Email In your slow season, spend some time adding new products and services that will serve your customers year-round.

Is your business in a slow-season slump? Don’t let the off-season get you down! Rather than waiting for business to pick up, use your valuable time to ramp up your marketing efforts. In order to keep your company thriving and the revenue coming in, you will have to identify how to market to your customers in new and creative ways. Here are five marketing ideas to help get you started:

Add Complementary Products In your slow season, spend some time adding new products and services that will serve your customers year-round.1 To accomplish this, start brainstorming and identifying what your customer needs all year that you don’t currently offer. This will help you to build onto an existing product or create an entirely new one that will better serve your current customer base.

Now premium quality Winnard brake pads and rotors are available in North America – only from ABC. From engineering to design to manufacturing and product delivery, Winnard and ABC accept no compromises. Learn more about Winnard at www.abc-companies.com/parts

OE Quality, Breakthrough Performance.

Collect Customer Reviews Throughout the year, but even more so when your busy season comes to a close, you should be requesting that your customers review your services and products. After collecting customer feedback, use their testimonials for your off-season promotional material including emails, blog posts, the website and social media updates. The more honest and interesting content you can generate from your customers, the better!

Increase Interaction and Content on Social Media It is important to stay on your customers’ minds and social feeds throughout the entire year. Leverage your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn pages during your slow season. Continue to share interesting content even if your customers cannot currently utilize your products or services. Remember, your social media pages are your year-round persona, so keep sharing special discounts, publish reviews and run sweepstakes to generate publicity for the coming seasons.

Host a Customer Appreciation Event Staying social with your customers all year is

essential to sparking off-season sales. In order to interact with them, you will need to generate some excitement and what is more exciting than an impromptu sale for your most loyal customers? It doesn’t have to be just a sale either, make it an event! Provide early offers and discounts to get your customers excited about your products and services.

Email, Email, Email Although your email communication will be less frequent during your slower season, it is important to continue sending valuable content to your customers’ inboxes. This will set your business up for success when demand begins to ramp up. Your emails should remind your customer to view your new content and remind them to connect with you on social media sites for updates and deals. This will establish loyalty with your current customers and grow your audience in the off-season. 

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TOO BUSY RUNNING A

CHARTER BUSINESS TO DO THE MARKETING

YOU NEED TO DO? NO PROBLEM...WE CAN DO IT FOR YOU. GoMotorcoach

SALES TRAINING DRIVER RECRUITMENT

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT MARKETING MATERIALS

EMAIL TEMPLATES MARKETING SUPPORT

COVER.indd 2

1/3/17 4:59 PM

MARKETING

MARKETING SKILLS: THE 11 SKILLS ESSENTIALTO A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING CAREER/ BY: Scott Albro

Marketing is changing at a rapid pace thanks to dynamics like the internet and the changing customer behavior.

Over the last few years, we’ve spent tens of thousands of hours working with hundreds of different marketers.

When you spend this much time with people in a certain role, one of the more interesting things you can do is try to determine the skills that make someone successful in that role. This is particularly interesting for the field of marketing simply because marketing has changed so much in the last decade. While successful marketers can exhibit a wide variety of traits, we’ve identified 11 marketing skills that really stand out today.

revenue tend to thrive in their careers.

That’s because most CEOs believe that marketers are detached from corporate business objectives. A recent survey by the Fournaise Marketing Group highlights this problem – 78% of CEOs think marketing isn’t focused on generating topline revenue growth.

And 80% of CEOs believe marketers are disconnected from short and longterm financial objectives. Marketers who can tie their efforts to improving revenue thrive in an environment like this.

TODAY’S ESSENTIAL MARKETING SKILLS

The success of a marketing organization depends on its ability to understand its target market. The marketer who can understand and effectively articulate what customers and competitors are doing has a foundational marketing skill. Becoming the voice of the customer is particularly valuable to a business. Marketers who can collect both quantitative and qualitative data about customers and present that data to executives in a strategic manner are very valuable. One other point – this isn’t just about gathering data via surveys. Direct conversations with customers are critical to this effort and usually more valuable than survey data.

1. In general, today’s successful marketers:

highly

2. Are revenue-driven marketers 3. Know their markets

customers

4. Create remarkable experiences

and

customer

5. Are great storytellers 6. Test everything and assume nothing 7. Never stop acquiring marketing tricks

new

8. Use data to make decisions 9. Enjoy working with technology

KNOW YOUR MARKET

10. Manage their work according to a schedule

CREATE REMARKABLE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

11. Write very, very well

Today’s most successful marketers create remarkable experiences for customers. Thanks to the internet, there are now many more points of interaction between a customer and brand today. These interactions are growing richer and richer and it’s

12. Deliver results

specific,

identifiable

REVENUE-DRIVEN MARKETING Marketers who are capable of driving

Many marketers make decisions based on their gut instincts, but with the wealth of data available to them, this doesn’t need to be the case.

Good marketers are continuously testing things like new marketing campaigns, ad copy, and pricing to turn data into business results.

A big part of creating a remarkable customer experience is telling a good story.

marketing’s job to create and manage these experiences. Marketers who can create experiences that truly resonate with customers are rare, but those that can deliver business results that far exceed the norm.

BECOME A STORYTELLER A big part of creating a remarkable customer experience is telling a good story. It’s harder than ever to get a customer’s attention. That’s why marketers such as Seth Godin believe that storytelling is critical to successful marketing. Marketers must be good storytellers for the simple reason that customers identify with compelling stories more than anything else. Most successful marketing campaigns tell

a story that custom on an emotional le can tell great sto via a variety of ma are indispensable attracting a custom be challenging.

TEST EVERYTH NOTHING

Many marketers ma on their gut instin wealth of data avai doesn’t need to b marketers are con things like new ma ad copy, and pricin business results. For of tools, such as

mers identify with evel. Marketers who ories to customers arketing campaigns in a world where mer’s attention can

platforms and SaaS tools, are now available, making testing easier than ever. For example, simple A/B tests will help you test the effectiveness of relative offers, copy, and designs.

HING;

Marketing is changing at a rapid pace thanks to dynamics like the internet and the changing customer behavior.

That means that marketers have to learn faster than ever. Something as simple as learning has become an essential marketing skill. Fortunately, there’s a wealth of information available online that can help marketers learn about new marketing trends. Many of the world’s best marketers are

ASSUME

ake decisions based ncts, but with the ilable to them, this be the case. Good ntinuously testing arketing campaigns, ng to turn data into rtunately, a number online advertising

NEVER STOP LEARNING

actively blogging and tweeting the latest data and information. LinkedIn is another powerful tool for acquiring marketing knowledge . Examples of topics to learn about now include social media, content marketing, big data, and mobile marketing. My cofounder, Craig Rosenberg, puts the importance of continuous learning this way, “Self-educate as much as you can.

The marketing you learn in school or in books is much different than how marketing actually works. You should read blogs, white papers, attend webinars, go to online and offline training… Even CMO’s spend a lot of time self-educating on marketing. You can never know enough.”

USE CUSTOMER DATA TO MAKE DECISIONS Marketers now have access to a tremendous amount of data. As a result, companies are able to understand their customers much better than before. Marketers who learn how to collect and analyze customer data in an effort to make better decisions will be in extremely high demand for decades to come. Whether this data is used to simply understand the market or to create and optimize more effective marketing campaigns, most employers are looking for people who are adept at using data. A background in statistics, deep knowledge of excel, and an understanding of analytics tools are useful skills in this area. And don’t forget that some of the valuable customer data comes in the form of one-on-one conversations with customers.

BECOME A MARKETING TECHNOLOGIST Gartner predicts that by 2017 marketing will spend more on technology than the information technology group itself. That means that marketers who are proficient with common marketing applications and systems will thrive. This doesn’t mean that you have to be an engineer to succeed, but you do need to be able to use many of these applications as a business user.

Commonly used marketing technologies include CRM, marketing automation, email marketing, marketing analytics, and a plethora of emerging, online marketing technologies.

MANAGE TO A SCHEDULE Successful marketers use schedules and project plans to ensure that they complete their work in a timely fashion. Most of the work in a marketing organization is deadline-driven. For example, marketing campaigns have launch dates that everyone working on the campaign focuses on. Good marketers work backwards from the launch date and develop a schedule that governs the work they do. They also treat those launch dates like scripture, doing everything they can to make sure they launch on time.

LEARN HOW TO WRITE Many marketers underestimate the importance of writing, but copywriting is one of the most important skills that a marketer can have.

It’s the foundation of almost every marketing campaign.

From ad copy, to emails, to landing pages, copywriting is a relatively basic skill that can have an outsized impact on conversion rates. It also happens to be the foundation of the enormous amount of internal communication

that marketers must manage inside of their company.

DELIVER SPECIFIC, IDENTIFIABLE RESULTS Finally, marketing has evolved into a field where marketers must deliver results. Whether it’s a lift in brand awareness, generating a certain number of qualified leads, or delivering revenue, marketing is now on the hook to perform.

Successful marketers focus on delivering results that share three characteristics.

First, the results they deliver can be easily identified and understood by the business.

Second, they deliver results that have an impact on the business, usually on the revenue side of things. Third, they deliver these results on a monthly basis.

Those are the 11 marketing skills that we’ve identified in working hundreds of marketers over the last few years. By the way, we also recently identified 18 sales skills that sales reps should possess. And ff you want to learn more about how these skills can help you have a long, productive career in marketing, check out our recent post on marketing careers. What skills do you think marketers should possess today? Let us know in the comments below. 

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In regards to the Motorcoach Marketing program, we love it. So far, we have made the 1000 postcards, and we did some full page handouts. We just got a stand up banner.

When I get some time, I’ll be making new rack cards for both offices. We made 500 church theme postcards and 500 in the safety theme.

We sent out the church cards through a local mailing company to every church within 50 miles. So far, we have had a great response and 4-5 people booked trips from it. I plan on using the safety ones soon by sending them to our new customers. All of our staff and drivers love the modern design and the finished products. Only one of my staff has watched the videos so far, but we will be working on that next month. So far I’m very happy with the service. It works well and looks great!

Chris Knittel

Owner/General Manager New Mexico Texas Coaches, LLC

We Help Operators Sell More Charters To More People.

Easier. Faster. Far More Effective.

MotorcoachMarketing.org

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WEBSITE

The Growth of Social Med in 2017/

dia Marketing Over the past decade, we’ve seen social media marketing grow from an overlooked niche tactic to one of the most influential digital marketing techniques used today. What began as a method that was mostly limited to B2C companies has continued to expand across industries and is now utilized by every type of organization, regardless of background. There’s a good chance you’ve at least dipped your toes in the water of social marketing, but you might not realize just how significant the technique has become.

This growth in popularity has been particularly noteworthy of late. In 2016, we saw the role of social media marketing expand beyond lead generation and brand awareness. Some of the core objectives of social marketing have shifted, with a greater emphasis on customer experience leading much of the change. Now, more than ever, it is important to recognize recent trends, acknowledge what other businesses are doing, and understand how to properly use social media in 2017.

The new year will certainly be a big one in terms of new, social-centric marketing campaigns. In fact, surveys have shown that almost 70% of professionals marketers expect to increase their spend on social media activity over the next 12 months–more than any other marketing activity.

One of the most attractive qualities of social marketing is the ease with which businesses can implement new campaigns, regardless of the size of the business. Another is the ease with which video content can be created and shared, which is a major driving force of recent marketing strategies. A recent study that collected data from 1,200 marketers revealed that more than 80% want to create more video content in 2017, with Facebook and YouTube specifically named as two of the key channels that would be emphasized more in 2017.

The growing emphasis on video and the ease of incorporating social platforms continues to take social marketing to new heights. In fact, social media could become the leading marketing activity for digital marketers, in terms of spend and number of campaigns, in the near future. Don’t believe us? This has already happened in India.

A survey last year of marketers in India revealed that almost 70% of professionals consider social media to be their number one digital marketing tactic. This was significantly higher than the next most popular tactic: email marketing. This trend shows no signs of stopping, and soon American marketers may be echoing these beliefs.

In addition to easy access platforms and the growth of video content, a newfound dedication to experience of customers has inspired more businesses to develop comprehensive social media strategies.

While 85% of businesses are currently using social media to drive traffic and increase awareness, 71% consider community engagement to be the leading motivator behind their social presence, especially when it comes to improving overall engagement and improving

underwhelming relationships with clients.

This is due to the lack of options that offer the level of customer engagement social media platforms do. More companies are beginning to embrace the role of social in their marketing strategies as the benefits of connecting with consumers become

apparent. Effective social media strategies give these companies an opportunity to reach out and support customers in new and exciting ways. Given the availability of different channels like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, the ability to mix things up and keep everything fresh goes a long way in developing closer relationships.

The new year will certainly be a big one in terms of new, social-centric marketing campaigns. In fact, surveys have shown that almost 70% of professionals marketers expect to increase their spend on social media activity over the next 12 months–more than any other marketing activity.

Some of the most striking numbers surrounding the expansion of social media as a digital marketing tool: >220 Million: Number of new social media users from this past year. >93%: Percentage of marketers that say their business is actively using Facebook for strategic purposes. >89%: Marketers polled that say their business is currently using Twitter in their digital marketing strategy. >42%: Percentage of digital marketers that said their spend on social media increased in 2016. >72%: Percentage of surveyed marketers that say the use of social media in their

digital marketing strategy has remained the same or increased over the past year. >71%: Digital marketers that say they always use visuals in their social media marketing. >58%: Percentage of marketers that say using social media to drive traffic to their websites is the most important use of the technique. >83%: Digital marketers that say creating more video content would be their number one priority if they had more time and resources. >42%: Marketers that said they would invest in live video if time and resources were not a factor. >26%: Percentage of digital marketers that are looking to add Instagram to their digital strategies in 2017. >22%: Percentage of digital marketers that are looking to add Snapchat to their digital strategies in 2017.

It is important to recognize the continued expansion of social media marketing and understand how best to utilize it. While it is only one facet of a complete marketing strategy, the significance of its role continues to grow. If you’re not actively using any social platforms, get on it! If you are, consider recent trends and address whether you are using social media to its full marketing potential. 

READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE ONLINE CLICK HERE

GoMotorcoach

do•it•for•you

NO TIME FOR MARKETING? NO PROBLEM... WE CAN DO IT FOR YOU.

MARKETING

16 Visual Storytelling Tips to Give Your Content Marketing a Boost/

By KRISTIN TWIFORD The numbers are staggering – marketers are investing heavily in visual content: 74% of marketers use visual assets in their social media marketing – Social Media Examiner 93%

of

senior

marketers

say

photography is either important or critical to their overall marketing strategies – CMO Council Video will account for 80% of all internet traffic by 2019 – Cisco How do you produce visual content and use it to catch your audience’s

attention? Earlier this year, I conducted a webinar on the topic.

Now, I share with you the 16 tips your content marketing team needs to try.

1. Always use a visual Now, this may seem like an obvious

tip, but it needs to be reinforced.

It’s crucial that your team is communicating visually across platforms.

Does your team have a policy to always include a visual on Facebook or Twitter? Posts with images get 2.3 times more engagement on Facebook.

Buffer found that its tweets with images were retweeted 2.5 times more than non-image tweets.

The NFL’s Baltimore Ravens have a mandated policy to include an image in a Facebook post, according to Digital Media

Manager Erin Herbert. When the team applied this visual-first approach across all its digital channels, engagement increased across the board.

When the team redesigned the Ravens website to put photos and videos in the spotlight, it saw a 23% increase in time spent on the home page, and a 2.4% increase in users clicking to watch a video or view a photo gallery.

Do an audit of your website, social media channels, emails, apps, and more, and make sure you’re using photos and videos to catch and retain your fans’ attention.

2. Start with a creative pitch Now that you’re focused on using visual content, how can you make sure that content stands out?

Start with an irresistible idea.

The Visit Norway team challenged several agencies to pitch a creative idea for a summer campaign. One pitch caught its attention from the start: #SheepWithAView, the chance to see Norway through the eyes of its roaming sheep.

Throughout the production and rollout of the campaign, the creative team stayed true to the simple, quirky concept. As a

viewer, you could meet a sheep on Instagram, click to a landing page to watch a video about the sheep’s life, and fall down a rabbit hole of similar content.

The campaign went viral, racking up 87 million impressions and a million engagements on social media between June 25 and August 13, according to Beate Gran, digital media manager for Visit Norway New York office.

Make sure your photographers, videographers, designers, and marketers are all on the same page about your brand’s visual guidelines and standards so your audience has a coherent, familiar experience with your content.

4. Connect with a value As Simon Sinek says in his TED Talk, “It’s not what you do, it’s why you do it.”

3. Build a consistent visual identity across platforms

Customers don’t connect with products or services, they connect with a brand’s values.

The strongest brands have a consistent visual identity. When you build your brand guidelines, include a photography section that outlines your photography style, key photo characteristics, and guidelines on image use on social media and your website.

Include examples so everyone is on the same page.

Red Bull sets a fantastic example of how to connect with a value through visual storytelling.

Rather than making videos about energy drinks, Red Bull makes videos about energy. They know what their customers care about, and they produce content with those values at the core.

Pandora recently hired its first inhouse photographer and digital asset manager, Michael Baca.

While Michael shoots most of the brand’s custom photography, he also sources stock photos and hires freelance photographers.

No matter the image source, his goal is to create a consistent look and feel across platforms.

We want any photography that’s on social, in our marketing, to look like it came from the same camera. It’s consistent, it’s coherent, it’s speaking the same language. – Michael Baca

What do your customers care about? What makes them tick?

Creating a video that tells that story will get more attention than a video about your product.

5.

Source photography

gorgeous

Do you know how to think more like a photo editor than a marketer? The right photo will engage your audience better than just any photo.

Hiring a professional photographer can help you tell a more accurate and

Graphics and infographics are a great way to demonstrate a concept visually even if the concept is not inherently visual.

compelling story. The design team at Applegate Natural & Organic Meats draws a direct line from sharing professional photography on social media to sales.

People will see the recipe and say, ‘oh that looks delicious,’ and they’ll go out and buy our products. – Holly Sellner, graphic designer for Applegate Plan ahead. Make sourcing high-quality photography a priority. Otherwise, you might find yourself picking a boring stock photo the day you need to publish your content.

6. Get started with video There’s no denying it – video content is capturing everyone’s attention. Your team has no excuse not to focus on video.

Wherever you are, go with it. You can start shooting short videos for social media with your iPhone or step up your video production by setting up an in-house video studio.

Here are three examples to inspire you: Minnesota Vikings’ short, snackable videos on Instagram, better known as “Vinekings” (the series started on Vine) Virgin Hotels’ series, “Vanity at the Vanity,” which highlights tips from social media influencers

Holland Marketing Alliance’s short film, “The Tale of Kat and Dog: A Holland Cool Movie,” which tests long-form video storytelling 7. Geek out on GIFs The Graphics Interchange Format was introduced in the 1980s, and now – lucky for us – we are experiencing a GIF renaissance.

GIFs are great for sharing fun, light-hearted content. Twitter has made it easy to add GIFs to your tweets as well as your replies, with a built-in GIF option that lets you choose a prepopulated GIF around phrases like “mic drop” and “no.”

You can also use Giphy Capture or Adobe Photoshop to create your own GIFs. You can repurpose video clips, share teasers for upcoming content, demonstrate a step-by-step process, and more.

Next time you’re shooting a video, think about which snippets might make good GIFs to tease your video on social media, in emails, or on your website.

8. Test live video Live video is a hot topic for marketers. What’s the best way to use Facebook Live, Periscope, or Instagram Live stories? I argue there are two reasons to go live: Encourage viewers to join in – think FOMO (fear of missing

out) – If you can catch your fans’ attention while an event is unfolding, you can motivate them to join in before it’s too late. This is especially true for audiences of universities, destinations, sports teams, and retail brands.

Give your audiences something they couldn’t otherwise experience – Whether it’s an exclusive event or a spectacle across the globe, give your viewer a front-row seat to something extraordinary. A perfect example of this is National Geographic’s #SafariLive. People who might never experience a safari in person have the chance to watch live and ask questions in real time. It’s the next best thing to being there.

Make sure everyone on camera and behind the camera is on the same page.

9. Experiment with 360-degree video Experiment with using 360-degree video to establish a sense of place. Visit Las Vegas uses 360-degree video to drop you into trademark Vegas scenes, from the hottest parties to a zip line over the strip.

Some 360-degree videos give a better view than someone could ever get on their own. Check out this video that lets you fly over the Grand Canyon on the outside of a helicopter.

Not every story should be told in 360 degrees. Don’t sacrifice the story for visual effects. Think about viewing a 3D movie that you would have preferred to watch in standard two dimension – the wrong format can feel forced and take away from the story.

Brands also can create experiences that lead people to create and share UGC. Holiday Inn Express parked a pancake-selfie truck in New York City. Visitors could have their selfie printed on a pancake. Seeing your face on a pancake is an experience that begs to be shared.

What unique views and experiences can you offer your audience with 360-degree video?

Remember to pay close attention to usage rights and make sure you have permission to use UGC before you feature it in any communications. Just because you have permission to use a fan’s photo on your Instagram doesn’t mean you can use it on a billboard.

10. Source content

user-generated

User-generated content (specifically, user-generated visuals) can infuse your brand’s storytelling with authenticity.

Incorporating content from your followers into your social media, website, and other communications can help you present a more balanced, wellrounded view of your brand.

11. Engage with graphics and infographics Graphics and infographics are a great way to demonstrate a concept visually even if the concept is not inherently visual.

UGC is especially popular in the travel industry. Now that travelers turn to Instagram to check out a city, hotel, attraction, or restaurant, travel brands are using hashtags to curate fresh content from different perspectives.

Spotify, for example, combined brightly colored graphics and clever copy to illustrate user data.

Then, the users who generated the content feature it on their own social channels or embed it on their websites. In the example above, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp shares UGC on its Instagram, which gives the Instagram an authentic feel.

Tools like Venngage and Ceros allow you to make longer, more interactive infographics and landing pages.

Free tools like Canva and PicMonkey allow you to create quick graphics for social media and more.

12.

Work influencers

closely

with

Influencers can bring a fresh

perspective to your brand and help you reach a new audience.

But how do you ensure a return when you’re working with influencers?

Visit Greenland asks influencers not only to share content with their own social media, but also to submit a number of visual assets to Visit Greenland’s database. That way, Visit Greenland can repurpose the influencers’ content and help it reach a broader audience.

Choose on-brand influencers, not just those with large followings. Give them unique experiences with your brand and work with them to share their content through a wide variety of channels.

13. Highlight real employees and customers The stories unfolding every day about your brand are often more interesting than the stories you brainstorm in a marketing meeting. Listen for those stories.

Keep open the lines of communication with your employees and your customers, and let them know you’re looking for story ideas. Remind them that no story is too small or insignificant. Sometimes the simplest stories are the best ones.

Southwest Airlines not only encourages employees to share organic stories with the

communications team, but also uses a tactic the team calls, “social listening.”

“Hudson’s Big Day” started as a Facebook post. A mom shared a photo of her son who just had an incredible experience. Behind a fence, Hudson watched planes land and take off when a pilot stopped his plane and waved to him from the tarmac. Southwest noticed the post and picked up the story. They contacted the pilot, set up a tour of the plane for the little boy and his family, and recorded the experience.

They shared the video with their own internal team and on social media. According to Brooks Thomas, social business advisor for Southwest Airlines, they even use the video to train new employees to show how they want all employees to go the extra mile.

Your brand has incredible stories to tell – make sure you’re listening for them.

14. Interact with other brands Followers love seeing brands interact with each other on social media. You often see this during major events like the Super Bowl or the Oscars.

The #CuteAnimalTweetOff – perhaps the best battle ever to happen on the internet – is a fantastic example of how a playful back-and-forth with another brand can delight your fans. It all started when a fan saw a cute photo in the National Zoo’s

Twitter feed, and challenged her local aquarium (Virginia Aquarium) to share an even cuter photo.

Zoos and aquariums across the country started chiming in, sharing their own adorable photos. The #CuteAnimalTweetOff went viral and was picked up by several major news outlets.

Make sure you have a good dance partner. If you want to have some fun with another brand on social media, sometimes it’s best to make sure they’re game, then let the conversation evolve organically.

15. Publish your best photos in real time Your fans want photos now. And at a time when everyone carries a cell phone, you have to get your photos out faster than everyone else. Your brand’s photo has the best chance of dominating a trending conversation if it’s the best photo and it’s shared quickly.

You need fast access to your professional photographer’s photos. Don’t settle for the shot your social media coordinator snapped on a phone.

The Colorado Rockies use a realtime image delivery workflow with an FTP system. The team photographer uploads photos from the field to the team’s visual media library, where the social media manager can access them.

The best photos of a home run, for example, are on social media within seconds after the batter crosses home plate, ready to be retweeted by thousands of fans.

If your photographers use FTP to share photos, make sure they have a lightningfast Wi-Fi connection. Some photographers carry portable Wi-Fi hotspots to ensure that they have access.

16. Go behind the scenes Audiences love behind-thescenes content, and Instagram and Snapchat stories are perfect for giving fans an insider’s look.

Think about the perspective only you can give your fans. What can your team access that a journalist can’t? Test that content in your Instagram and Snapchat stories.

You may find you should share that content across all your social media channels.

The Clemson Tigers are setting a standard for the best social media in college sports because they are masters of behind-thescenes content. Every piece of content shared gives the viewer a sense of what it’s like to be a Clemson Tiger. Rather than sharing generic shots of the team celebrating a win on the sidelines, viewers see the team dancing in the locker room.

Sometimes, you must convince your own team to let you share a behind-the-scenes look at your brand. Take the time to earn their

trust – it will pay off.

Start now You don’t have to try all 16 visual storytelling tips this month.

Start with one. Adding a little more visual storytelling to your content will give your marketing a boost. Experiment and tackle new ideas as you go.

Please note: All tools included in our blog posts are suggested by authors, not the CMI editorial team. No one post can provide all relevant tools in the space.

Feel free to include additional tools in the comments (from your company or ones that you have used).

Improve your storytelling – visual and text – and much more in your content marketing programs.

Subscribe to the free daily CMI newsletter (or weekly digest) for more tips, trends, and topics to help your success.

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

What Skills Are Necessary to Be a Great Content Marketer?

Find the Heart of Your Brand Storytelling with These 6 Questions 23 Things to Consider When Creating Video Content [Examples] Native Advertising Is Not Content Marketing.

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STRATEGY

Employee Retention: 4 Ways to KeepYour BestTeam Members/

By Jennifer Post

Employee turnover rate can greatly impact the success of a company, especially with a smaller team. For businesses that operate with hourly staff members, the blow can be particularly hard: In 2015, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reported that the annual turnover rate for hourly employees is a whopping 49 percent, costing an average of nearly $5,000 per employee.

The good news is, there are ways employers can attract and retain the right hourly workers to reduce high employee turnover. John Waldmann, CEO of employee scheduling

software company Homebase, offered four tips for businesses with an hourly workforce.

1. Start during the hiring process.

The hiring process is when you should be looking for candidates who can not only do the job well, but will stick around for a long time.

The most common frustration from managers, according to Waldmann, is how hard it is to find quality employees. With the unemployment rate below 5 percent, this is particularly hard right now. Finding

an applicant who is available, falls within the desired wage range, can commute to work and has relevant experience can feel impossible. “Make sure you’re aware of exactly what a successful employee will do: What are the job duties they will be expected to perform, what are the behaviors that are required to be effective at completing the tasks, and what are the minimum requirements an applicant must have to even be taken into consideration for the role?� Waldmann told Business News Daily.

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employee wants to stay at a given job. If an employee seems to always be scheduled when they’ve said they aren’t free, your scheduling process clearly needs an overhaul, said Waldmann.

“Your employees are the heartbeat of your business, interacting with customers and making sales that keep the doors open,” Waldmann added. “You need their hard work each day, and that means matching up your business needs as closely as possible with the schedule they want.”

3. Honor time-off requests.

In the same vein as making sure your scheduling lines up with employee availability, giving employees the time off that they request can make them feel valued and want to stick around to see the business succeed.

“Everyone needs a break every now and then,” Waldmann said. “And employees have a lot of reasons to request time off – a vacation, a sick family member, child care in the summertime, etc. As a good manager, you want to grant your employees the time-off requests they’re asking for.”

On the flip side, a business also needs to make sure it is adequately staffed, added Waldmann. Not granting time-off requests to keep the business fully staffed may lead to disgruntled employees. But if the pendulum swings too far in the other direction and you grant timeoff requests too liberally, you’ll wind up understaffed.

“This can all be avoided if you improve your time-off request

process. Having a deadline in place – for example, at least two weeks’ notice – will keep your business running smoothly,” Waldmann said.

“There will always be last-minute calls due to illness or emergencies, but managing the planned days off will set you up for success.”

4. Communicate.

Communication comes first. Your employees want to know what’s going on with the business as it relates to them.

“When you share more with your employees, they will be much more likely to stick around,” said Waldmann. “Make sure they feel comfortable making suggestions for improving sales and efficiency, just as you give them pointers on how to improve their performance.

Communication needs to flow in both directions.”

Overcommunicate the value that every role and every employee has on the team. When an employee is reminded how the work they do helps the business succeed, they’ll be more motivated by the tasks at hand.

“Over time, without reminders of the contribution the employee has on the business’s success, employees can lose their pride and connection to what they’re doing,” said Waldmann. “It is so simple that we often neglect to say it.” 

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SOCIAL MEDIA/ This presentation was given at the 2017 annual meeting of the Bus Association of New York. If you are looking to radically change how you address over 80% of your potential market, watch here.

STRATEGY

How to Write Catchy Email Subject Lines: 17 Tips/

By Olivia Allen

No matter what they say, people do judge emails by their subject lines.

you send them content, make it catered toward the individual.

In fact, 47% of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based on subject line alone. That’s why it’s so important to craft subject lines that are compelling enough to get people to click through.

Relevance and timeliness. Crafting email subject lines that incorporate trending topics or timely headlines can help you establish your brand as an authority within your industry.

While they may seem like a small part of your message, they’re one of the very first impressions you have on your email recipients.

And they’re a marketer’s ticket for standing out in a crowded inbox.

Do you want your email content opened, read, and clicked? It all starts with the subject line.

Here are 17 tips to help jazz them up and boost engagement.

What Makes a Great Email Subject Line Before we get to our more detailed best, let’s go over some fundamentals of what makes a great subject line. Regardless of your goals, these are the essential elements that your subject line should possess: Urgency. Communicating urgency and scarcity in an email subject line can help compel readers to click (or act) -- when phrased creatively and strategically.

Curiosity. If your subject line piques the recipient’s natural curiosity and interest, they’ll have to open the email to get more information.

That can result in, well, a higher open rate.

An offer. At the end of the day, people love new things and experiences -- especially when they come free, or at least discounted. Open with that by including it in your subject line.

Personalization. Marketers have never had more ways to learn about their subscribers’ preferences, jobs, or general (dis)likes. So when

Name recognition. When you understand your audience’s preferences and interests, you can pique their interest by including the names of these recognizable individuals by including them in your content, and mentioning them in your subject lines.

Cool stories. By front-loading your email subject line with a compelling allusion to a story that the message tells -- but can only be read if opened or clicked -- your audience is likely to become intrigued, and want to learn more.

How to Write Clickable Email Subject Lines 1) Keep it short and sweet.

Email subject lines will get cut off if they’re too long, particularly on mobile devices. And with 67% of email opens taking place on mobile, we recommend using subject lines with fewer than 50 characters to make sure the people scanning your emails read the entire subject line.

If you’re struggling to keep your subject lines short, think about which words matter less and where you can remove a frivolous detail. For example, if you’re sending an order confirmation, doesn’t “Your order is being processed” look better than “Order #9435893458358 is being processed”? Same goes for your regular emails: Do you really have to include the word “update” or “newsletter” in there? (Actually, a study from Adestra found that emails including the word “newsletter” in the subject line saw an 18.7% decrease in open rates.)

2) Use a familiar sender name.

That name recognition we mentioned earlier doesn’t just apply to the famous -- it applies to the familiar.

“If the “from” name doesn’t sound like it’s from someone you want to hear from, it doesn’t matter what the subject line is,” explains Copy Hacker’s Joanna Wiebe.

Thanks to the amount of spam email people get these days, most people hesitate to open email from unfamiliar senders. No one likes talking to a robot. Think about when you call a company and can’t get a hold of an actual person. It’s frustrating, right? This goes for email, as well.

Never use “noreply@company.com.” I repeat: Never use this email address. Not only does it make it look less personable, it also stops people from adding your email to their address book.

Instead, avoid using a generic email address and send the email from a real person. For instance, we once found that emails sent from “Maggie Georgieva, HubSpot” performed better in terms of opens and clickthrough rate than emails sent from just “HubSpot.” (HubSpot customers: Learn how to personalize the “From” name and email address here.)

3) Use personalization tokens.

Remember the personalization we mentioned earlier? Using personalization tokens -- like name or location -- in the subject line adds a feeling of rapport, especially when it’s a name.

Everyone loves the sound of their own name.

Plus, it increases clickthrough rate: In fact, research has shown that emails that included the first name of the recipient in their subject line had higher click-through rates than emails that did not.

One example of how brands affix this information to subject lines is when dog walking

company Wag! does so with dog names. Here’s one such email that HubSpot’s Amanda ZantalWiener received: That’s great personalization and great timing.

Another personalization tactic that works is to tailor subject lines to the recipient’s location -- things like lists of their respective cities’ best outdoor bars and restaurants.

Just don’t go overboard with the personalization here. That can be a little creepy. But little personalized touches here and there show that you know more about your recipients than just their email address. However, if you can’t (or don’t want to) use personalization tokens in the subject line, use “you” or “your” so it still sounds like you’re addressing them directly.

4) Segment your lists.

While email blasts that go out to your entire list might be relevant and helpful to some people, it won’t be to others -- and could cause confusion or frustration. Why is this restaurant sending me a list of the best local steakhouses when I’m a vegetarian? Why is this company sending me case studies when I just signed up for its email list yesterday?

Personalize the experience using information from the actions your customers have already taken -- from which forms they’ve filled out, to which industries they’re in, to what their personal preferences are. In email marketing, you can personalize your recipients’ experience using a little thing called list segmentation.

How you segment your lists depends on your business and your goals, but you can read this blog post for 27 ideas for how to slice and dice your email lists for better segmentation.

5) Don’t make false promises.

Your email subject line is making a promise to your reader about what you will deliver in your message. Make sure that you make good on that commitment -- and do not try to get your email opened by making false promises.

This will irk your audience, and they’ll learn not to trust your subject lines, resulting in a lower open rate and a higher unsubscribe rate.

6) Do tell them what’s inside.

Speaking of making promises, if your visitor has downloaded an offer and you’re delivering it via email, it’s a great idea to use a subject line that says something like, “Your new ebook inside!” or, “Your guide awaits!” This works better than a simple “thank you” in the subject line because it makes it clear that something is waiting inside the email.

7) Time it right.

Sending an email at the right time with the right subject line can make a huge difference in open and clickthrough rate. A prime example?

When food publication Eater sends at 6:45 P.M. on a Wednesday evening that said, “Where to Drink Beer Right Now” -- just in time for happy hour. Nailed it.

Another favorite example of mine is a classic email from Warby Parker with the subject line, “Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring.” It was sent two weeks before the recipient needed to renew his prescription. By sending an email at the right time, Warby Parker increased the chances of their email getting opened -- and included a relevant call-to-action about getting a glasses upgrade, too.

8) Use concise language.

Keep in mind that people scan their inboxes very quickly -- so the more clear and concise your subject line is, the better. It’s usually a lot

better to be concise than it is to use complex and flowery language -- unless you’re going for an elusive subject tone to entice your recipients.

When you’re going for a concise subject line, think first about how your email will benefit your recipients. You’ll want to make that benefit very clear. For example, “Increase your open rates by 50% today” is more appealing than “How to increase open rates.”

9) Start with action-oriented verbs.

Subject lines are similar to calls-to-action, in that you want the language to inspire people to click. Subject lines that begin with action verbs tend to be a lot more enticing, and your emails could be drastically more clickable by adding a vibrant verb at the beginning.

Actionable subject lines will inspire people to click on your email by instilling urgency and excitement. For example, in an email inviting people to a hockey legend dinner, the email subject line might read, “Dine with Bruins legend Bobby Orr,” rather than a more generic (and less actionable) “Local Boston Sports Legend Meal.” The former email uses “Dine” to help the reader envision themselves at a dinner table.

10) Make people feel special.

The psychology of exclusivity is a powerful thing. When people feel like they’re on the inside, it gives them a sense of belonging that could build loyalty and compel them to convert better on your emails.

The right phrasing can make your recipients feel special -- and the effect can be magical. A few ideas for phrasing include: “For our beloved customers only” “An exclusive offer for you”

“My gift to you” “You’re invited!”

“Private invite” 11) Create a sense of importance.

There’s a phrase that, for many of us, is reminiscent of classic infomercials: “Act now!”

And while we wouldn’t encourage using that exact language in your content, we do agree that communicating urgency and scarcity in an email subject line can help compel readers to click (or act) -- when phrased creatively and strategically.

But because you don’t want to be known as “the brand that cried wolf,” use these subject lines sparingly, and try to limit them to when the occasion genuinely calls for immediate action.

12) Use numbers.

A lot of businesses send emails with vague statements in their subject lines -- which is why using data and numbers is a great way to get your emails noticed, demonstrate a clear and straightforward message about your offer, and set the right expectations.

Just like with blog titles, using numbers in your subject line is an effective email marketing best practice. You might use numbers to refer to the title of your listicle, the page length of the offer you’re sending, a specific discount, or the numerical benefit of a particular resource you’re providing -- like “Join more than 750 others at this event!”

13) Pose a compelling question.

Asking a question in your subject line can also draw readers in -- especially if you’re asking a question you know is relevant to your recipients’ buyer persona. This is just one way to pique that curiosity we mentioned earlier.

For example, you might try the following: “Are you making these SEO mistakes?” or “Do you know what your website is doing wrong?”

Zillow once sent an email with the subject line, “What Can You Afford?” that linked to a website showing apartments for rent. A subject line like this is both encouraging and a touch competitive: While it gives hope that there are apartments out there that’ll fit within your budget, it also pits your cash against what the market offers.

Another example comes from DocuSign.

They sent an email late in the lead nurturing process, with the subject line, “What are your customers saying?” The body of the email contained a bunch of case studies that were meant to help the recipient move closer to actually purchasing DocuSign. This was a smart move: Folks who are further down the funnel are likely more receptive to hearing customer testimonials.

14) Don’t be afraid to get punny.

Most people love a good pun. It’s a great way to delight your recipients and spice up your emails. Some of the best punny email subject lines come from JetBlue, with subject lines like “Land wanderSome of the best punny email subject lines come from JetBlue, with subject lines like, “Land wander-ful low fares now!”

Quirky -- a community-led invention platform -- worded one of its email subject lines like this: “Abra-cord-abra! Yeah, we said it.” That second part is conversational and self-referential -and exactly what most people would say after making a really cheesy joke in real life.

If you’re the least bit punny, think about small ways you can slip them into your emails when it’s appropriate. Just don’t overdo it.

And remember the rule: When in doubt, ask a coworker.

15) DON’T USE ALL CAPS or overuse exclamation points!!!

A subject line that says, “OPEN NOW AND RECEIVE A FREE TRIAL” or, “50% off coupon today only!!!!!!!!” isn’t going to get you an email open. In fact, it’ll probably get your email ignored.

Why? People don’t like to be yelled at, and using all caps and/or a lot of exclamation points can really rub people the wrong way.

In fact, according to a study by the Radicati Group, more than 85% of respondents prefer an all-lowercase subject line to one in all caps.

Not only are these tactics disruptive, but they look spammy. So instead of using disruptive tactics like these to stand out in people’s inboxes, try personalizing your emails, establishing relevancy, and using catchy and delightful language.

16) Use engaging preview text.

While preview text isn’t technically part of your subject line, it does appear right near the subject line -- and it certainly deserves your attention.

Preview text provides recipients with a peek at the content inside your email, which email clients like the iPhone Mail app, Gmail, and Outlook will display alongside the subject line.

(The exact amount of text shown depends on the email client and user settings.) 

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WEBSITE

LinkedIn connects sales, marketing tools for B2B advertisers to target leads, accounts /

By Tim Peterson

LinkedIn is updating its Sales Navigator tool so that sales teams can target ads to their contacts and companies.

LinkedIn is linking together its sales and marketing products for the first time. As a result, B2B marketers will be able to more easily target their ads on the Microsoft-owned, business-centric social network to new leads and existing accounts.

Among a sweep of updates to LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator sales management tool, businesses will be able to connect the tool to LinkedIn’s self-serve ad-buying tool, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, and target ads to individuals (“leads”) and companies (“accounts”) from their Sales Navigator lists, as well as to “lookalike” audiences of people and companies with similar characteristics. The new ad-

targeting option will roll out to all Sales Navigator customers in early 2018, and at launch it will only be available for Sponsored Content campaigns.

“If you were drawing a Venn diagram of who sales targets and who marketing targets, you’d love to believe those are perfectly overlapping circles. And we all know that’s not the case,” said Doug Camplejohn, head of products at LinkedIn. In an analysis of its own customer base, LinkedIn found that, at best, a company’s sales and marketing targets overlap by 55 percent to 60 percent, he said. For small businesses, the overlap is roughly 14 percent, and among large enterprises, the overlap is no higher than 34 percent. LinkedIn is able to improve that overlap, since Sales Navigator associates a company’s leads and accounts with their respective LinkedIn profiles, said Camplejohn.

Of course, companies could have already used LinkedIn’s account targeting feature that was introduced in March 2016 and a contact targeting feature that was added in April 2017 to aim their ads at contacts and companies in their CRM databases. But that is a largely manual process. By plugging Sales Navigator into Campaign Manager, LinkedIn is automating matters.

“This is a live link. This is not a CSV upload that you do once every few weeks. Every single day, this is being synced. So as the sales team is adding and removing accounts and leads, those lists get dynamically updated in the ads system as well,” said Camplejohn.

With its sales and marketing tools finally synced, LinkedIn plans to add more ways for businesses to take advantage of the connection.

Later this year, LinkedIn will enable companies to take search queries run in Sales Navigator —

which can include parameters like the technology a company uses or its size — and use those queries as ad-targeting groups. And it will make the connection between sales and marketing more of a two-way street by reporting in Sales Navigator when people from a given company interact with a business’s Sponsored Content campaign. That reporting — which will name the company but leave the LinkedIn members anonymous — will serve as a signal of interest, and potentially, buying intent and enable salespeople to suss out new leads.

While plugging Sales Navigator into LinkedIn’s ad-buying tool may be the most notable update LinkedIn is announcing on Tuesday, it is not the only one.

The company is also redesigning major parts of the sales product and adding new features to make it more efficient for salespeople managing their accounts and searching for new ones.

Redesigned home screen and search features LinkedIn will update the home screen of Sales Navigator’s mobile app to focus on a person’s “next best action,” said Camplejohn.

Called “Mobile Briefings,” the new feature connects and crossreferences a person’s calendar with LinkedIn data to distill their day into a digest, listing important meetings and offering relevant information corresponding to those meetings, such as icebreaker topics.

In the spirit of surfacing important information more quickly, LinkedIn is also updating Sales Navigator’s search and discovery features. For example, a person’s saved searches will be brought to the fore, as will the tool’s Company Search feature. And LinkedIn will add a Discover tab that will list people and companies who fit the salesperson’s “ideal buyer profile.”

Enhanced data management Last year LinkedIn connected Sales Navigator to third-party CRM platforms, such as Salesforce, so that LinkedIn data, such as a person’s profile information, could augment their entry into a CRM database. Now LinkedIn will use this connection to make it easier for sales teams to monitor and manage their contacts at customer companies, such as by flagging when a contact has left a company.

Next year, “no longer at company” flags will be automatically added

to entries in a CRM database for companies that use the Enterprise edition of Sales Navigator. If a person has disabled edits made to their LinkedIn profiles from being shared, then LinkedIn will not use “no longer at company” flags for that person, Camplejohn said.

These flags will help to mitigate “zombie” accounts, or companies that may be unintentionally neglected when a contact leaves without the sales team being aware of the change, said Camplejohn. And it will also help salespeople to follow a person to a new company that might not yet be a customer.

In addition to monitoring when people leave a company, salespeople will now be able to use Sales Navigator to manage more information about their contacts at company. After acquiring sales technology provider Heighten earlier this year, next year LinkedIn will plug Heighten’s DealBook feature into Sales Navigator. That feature will enable sales teams to view and edit deal information within Sales Navigator, including adding markers like whether a person is the decision-maker at a company and detailing next steps to take with an account, and have that information piped back to their connected CRM systems.

A platform developers

for

outside

After opening itself up to external sales management tools, including Salesforce and

LinkedIn will update the home screen of Sales Navigator’s mobile app to focus on a person’s “next best action,” said Camplejohn.

Google’s Gmail last year, LinkedIn is unveiling the Sales Navigator Application Platform, a suite of APIs that approved thirdparty developers will be able to incorporate into their products.

Initially, the platform will offer two APIs. A Display API will enable these external products to pull information from Sales Navigator, such as a person’s LinkedIn profile during a BlueJeans video conference. And an Analytics API will pipe reporting data from Sales Navigator so that people can do things like use Tableau’s data visualization software to analyze the relationship between the number of LinkedIn connections shared with an account or lead and whether they were able to close a deal with that company. 

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Exceeding expectations in style and value.

Setra – a Daimler brand

The Setra ComfortClass S 407 CC. Practical luxury, powered by Mercedes-Benz.

For comfort you can count on, and European flair that’s sure to impress, the Setra ComfortClass S 407 delivers superior value and a high “wow” factor, thanks to stylish new exterior options, upgraded seating choices and other improvements.

Plus, Setra coaches are backed by the extensive MCI network, giving you unparalleled access to parts inventory, service outlets, training opportunities and more. To find out what a Setra S 407 can do for your business, visit www.setracoaches.com.

Motor Coach Industries · 200 East Oakton Street · Des Plaines, IL 60018 Phone 866.624.262 · www.setra-coaches.com Distributor of EvoBus GmbH for Setra buses and Setra parts in the United States and Canada.

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