In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing and public relations, staying ahead of trends is paramount. As we step into 2024, our team at CBC has compiled a set of predictions that shed light on the key trends that will define the PR and marketing landscape in the coming year.

DIGITAL MARKETING

 

Account Executive Riley Sampson headshot

Trend 1: Riding the LinkedIn Wave

Riley Sampson, Account Executive, Digital + Content

 

LinkedIn is poised to become the powerhouse of social media platforms in 2024, especially for clients in the B2B sector. After seeing great Q3 results from our client the Scottish Rite (in September specifically, they had an over 12% engagement rate compared to an industry average of 1-2%!), we’ve wondered what’s to come for LinkedIn’s potential in 2024. Leveraging LinkedIn will be instrumental in implementing thought leadership strategies, sharing educational content, and creating a space for meaningful industry conversations.

 

 

Trend 2: Amplifying Community-Building Efforts

Senior Manager Hayley Harris headshotHayley Harris, Senior Manager, Digital + Content

 

In 2024, brands will prioritize community-building efforts, recognizing their pivotal role in user engagement. Over the past five years, brands have mimicked influencers’ strategies, but what sets influencers apart is their ability to build communities.

 

Some platform changes we’ve seen already include:

  • Instagram introduced a “close friends” feed and broadcast channels.
  • Meta enhances Facebook group features for a stronger community and culture.
  • TikTok thrives with easy niche community discovery (e.g. #booktok, #cottagecore).

 

And with that, data shows that event more shifts are to come:

  • Facebook Group active members nearly doubled from 2016-2020.
  • Reddit’s daily users are expected to grow by 24.46% by 2025.

 

Also, according to the recent social index report from Sprout Social:

  • 51% of survey respondents claimed that the most memorable brands on social media respond to customers.
  • 38% say the most memorable brands on social prioritize original content over following trending topics.
  • 37% agree the most memorable brands on social prioritize engaging directly with their audience vs. publishing a lot of content.

 

To prepare for this shift to community-centric efforts, make sure you understand your audience and align content with their needs, prioritize original content (leveraging trends when relevant), and emphasize outbound engagement.

 

Trend 3: UGC Supplants InfluencersCEO Len Cercone headshot

Len Cercone, CEO

 

A fair portion of influencer marketing dollars will be reallocated to user-generated content. With influencers charging tens of thousands of dollars for very narrowly defined deliverables, brands just aren’t seeing the payback. More approachable content, while on the rise in 2023, will become the rule in 2024.

 

 

 

 

Trend 4: Embracing the Real Director Whitney Langmaid headshot

Whitney Langmaid, Director, Digital + Content

 

In 2024, it’s all about embracing the REAL. Whether it’s user-generated content, genuine engagement from brands, or real-life relationships and interactions – celebrating the real is going to be a key focus.

 

PUBLIC RELATIONS

 

Trend 5: Press Trips & Cultural ExplorationSenior Account Executive Kayla Colon headshot

Kayla Colon, Senior Account Executive, PR + Activation

 

In the new year, planning for press trips will be just as strategic as brand messaging. Media contacts want exciting destinations and immersive experiences, so picking the right destinations will be crucial to a successful trip. Brands should integrate culture into trip activities, making sure to align with their overall mission. The same can apply to influencer trips. For instance, we recently brought creators to Austin for a trip with Vital Farms. With the brand being based there, they’re very active within their community. Location choice becomes a storytelling element!

 

Trend 6: The Role of AI in PR

Angela Giering, Manager, PR + Activation Manager Angela Giering headshot

 

AI, AI, AI!

As we know, AI is only continuing to grow. And that includes in the PR space. I predict that PR professionals will embrace AI as a tool for brainstorming and ideation, automating routine tasks, and analyzing data, marking a significant shift in every PR professional’s strategy.

 

 

 

 

Trend 7 and 8: PR’s Personalized Connection + the Continued Rise of Microtrends

Liz Tarsitano, Account Coordinator, PR + Activation

Account Coordinator Liz Tarsitano headshot

 

I see PR shifting its focus from mass pitching to reaching specific niche audiences, creating personalized connections between brands and the media. With that, using influencers to target these niche audiences will be important, and help build lasting and genuine relationships with consumers.

 

Secondly, it’s going to be ever so important to keep an eye on micro trends. Trends have come and gone faster than ever in 2023, and we can expect this to continue in 2024. Keeping an eye on these microtrends will allow PR pros to adapt their evergreen strategies and capitalize off these trends as they appear in real-time. Leveraging these trends will set brands apart from their competitors and situate them prominently in the eyes of the public.

 

 

As we welcome 2024, we can’t wait to see how these predictions play out. From the rise of LinkedIn to community-centric strategies, the influence of UGC, strategic press trips, the integration of AI, and the focus on niche audiences and micro trends – it’s sure to be a transformative year in digital marketing and PR.

 

If you’re looking for an expert partner to help you take on these trends in the new year? We’d love to help – let’s chat.

As the world of B2B marketing rapidly evolves, businesses are constantly seeking ways to stay ahead. 2024 brings a fresh set of challenges and opportunities, with new trends shaping the landscape. From leveraging AI for deeper personalization to harnessing the power of video content, these emerging trends are pivotal in crafting successful B2B marketing strategies. Let’s delve into these key trends.

Navigating the Evolving B2B Marketing Landscape

The B2B marketing world is characterized by a strategic blend of advanced techniques and foundational approaches. Account-based marketing (ABM) and relationship sales are more pertinent than ever, pivoting towards personalized experiences and nurturing enduring customer relationships. These strategies are harmoniously integrated with emerging trends such as AI-driven personalization and the growing significance of video content, crafting a holistic approach to B2B marketing that resonates in today’s digital era.

A vibrant digital network map, symbolizing various interconnected B2B marketing strategies.

A vibrant digital network map, symbolizing various interconnected B2B marketing strategies.

 

Video Content: The Heart of B2B Marketing

 Video content has become a cornerstone in the B2B marketer’s toolkit, offering an unparalleled medium to engage, inform, and influence potential clients. Whether it’s through detailed product demonstrations, compelling customer testimonials, or insightful thought leadership pieces, video has the unique ability to bring a brand’s story to life, making it an indispensable tool in today’s digital marketing landscape.

Video 1: Slick 3D animations, kinetic movement, and energetic music showcase how easy it is to use SurveyMonkey

Video 2: This video from WorkingFrom_ is such a departure from so much of the B2B content we see. Its character animations make it playful, novel, and personable—the perfect vibe for an explainer video.

Video 3: Informational webinar about how to leverage B2B customer stories on websites for maximum impact. 

Authentic Content

a. AI-Driven Personalization

AI-driven personalization is revolutionizing how we approach B2B content. AI personalization involves using big data and machine learning algorithms to tailor products, services, and content to the specific needs of individual users. They can build detailed profiles that adapt over time based on user behavior, location, browsing history, and purchasing decisions. By 2023-2024, around 70% of businesses will be utilizing AI-driven personalization features in their marketing efforts​​​. This surge is due to AI’s ability to analyze customer data, enabling marketers to craft highly personalized and relevant content, thereby enhancing engagement and strengthening customer relationships. Examples include personalized content displays in apps like McDonald’s drive-through menu boards, targeted messaging based on customer profiles, and intelligent product recommendations using systems like Amazon Personalize. This approach is transforming how brands connect with their audience, making interactions more meaningful and effective.

Visual showcasing how AI can be used for various personalization tasks.

Visual showcasing how AI can be used for various personalization tasks.

b. Value-Driven Content: The New Norm

Providing helpful and informative content to users continues to dominate B2B marketing. To create high-quality, value-driven content, focus on storytelling that is human and relatable, avoiding industry jargon and buzzwords. Craft content as if engaging in a one-on-one conversation with your various audiences, addressing their specific needs and decision-making processes. Diversify your content strategy by incorporating various elements such as infographics, interactive posts, and user-generated content. For instance, repurposing a successful blog article into different formats like YouTube videos or newsletters can significantly boost traffic and engagement. By producing high-quality content that addresses specific industry challenges, brands position themselves as trusted advisors, fostering deeper connections with their audience.

 

Various types of value-driven content, such as in-depth industry reports and practical how-to guides from Canva and ICCO. 

c. Executive Thought Leadership: Building Authentic Connections

Thought leadership has become more crucial in 2024’s B2B tech marketing. By sharing genuine insights and expertise, executives and industry leaders are forging authentic connections with their audience, enhancing brand credibility and trust. For instance, Deloitte’s ‘Watch & Listen’ section on their Insights blog showcases thought leadership through engaging media like podcasts and videos, making their content both informative and appealing. Similarly, Gartner for Marketers, formerly L2 Inc., utilizes their YouTube channel effectively. Their founder, Scott Galloway, presents unique, confrontational yet insightful perspectives, making their videos stand out for their distinct style and humor, thereby establishing the company as a thought leader.

 Thought leader engaging with an audience at a live event.

Thought leader engaging with an audience at a live event.

Email Marketing: Tailoring Messages for Impact

Email marketing continues to be a powerful tool. The effectiveness of email marketing hinges on its ability to deliver personalized, engaging, and timely content. A staggering 52% of consumers say they’ll switch to another brand if an email is not personalized, underscoring the critical importance of crafting messages that cater to individual preferences and stages of the buyer’s journey​​. Segmenting audiences and personalizing messages not only result in higher engagement but also strengthen customer relationships, highlighting how essential personalization has become in today’s digital marketing world.

A creatively designed B2B email to be used for sales pitches to clients in the marketing space.

A creatively designed B2B email to be used for sales pitches to clients in the marketing space.

 

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has transformed into an indispensable platform for B2B marketing. It’s a space where brands don’t just network; they engage, educate, and inspire. Effective use of LinkedIn means creating content that resonates, participating actively in industry conversations, and leveraging the platform’s robust targeting capabilities for maximum impact. This includes strategically crafted posts, insightful articles, and targeted ad campaigns that speak directly to the needs and interests of your audience. Incorporating thought leadership into your LinkedIn strategy, by sharing expert insights and industry trends, can significantly enhance your brand’s authority and influence. Remarkably, LinkedIn Conversation Ads are known to drive 4 times higher open rates and 4 times higher engagement rates than email, and twice the engagement as Message Ads, making them an effective tool for thought leaders to expand their reach and impact.

 

A snapshot of a LinkedIn feed featuring a variety of engaging B2B content, from thought leadership articles to interactive posts.

A snapshot of a LinkedIn feed featuring a variety of engaging B2B content, from thought leadership articles to interactive posts.

 

The Critical Role of Mobile Optimization

With more than 50% of the world’s internet traffic coming from mobile devices, optimizing B2B marketing for mobile is essential. This means creating mobile-friendly content, ensuring websites and emails are responsive, and considering mobile-first strategies in all digital marketing efforts.

A mobile-optimized B2B platform.

A mobile-optimized B2B platform.

All of these B2B marketing trends are an important part of the puzzle, allowing you to connect and reach your target audience. If you need help getting your message out, we’d love to chat.

About the Author

Hayley Caligor is an Account Executive at CBC, where she works to help clients in the healthcare, beverage, and consumer health industries tell their stories through communications campaigns, thought leadership initiatives, and media relations

Connect on LinkedIn

We’re excited to share that CBC has been named the 2023 Agency of the Year by the American Business Awards® for our data-driven approach to PR measurement. Our team takes pride in this accolade, which underscores our commitment to excellence in public relations and digital marketing.

Image that says CBC next to an icon that says 2023 Stevie Winner

A Recognition of Excellence

The American Business Awards® is renowned for celebrating the best in American business, recognizing organizations of all sizes and types for their outstanding achievements. Earning the Silver Stevie® Award in the Agency of the Year category honors our dedication to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in PR.

The judges praised our approach, with one remarking: “What you (CBC) are doing is important and game-changing for the industry.”  The Silver Stevie® Award is more than just an accolade. It shows that the broader business community acknowledges that what we’re doing at CBC is not just impactful but essential for the future of public relations.

Our Winning Formula: A Data-Driven Approach 

This award showcases our groundbreaking work in using data analysis to connect earned media and influencer marketing with business impact, justifying the ROI of PR programs. This approach isn’t just innovative; it’s necessary. 

Len Cercone, our Founder and CEO, sums it up perfectly: “Though we know earned media is extremely effective, historically it’s been difficult to tie it to business outcomes. At CBC, we’ve developed a data and insights program that provides clients with a clear view of the impact our programs have on driving topline revenue.” 

What Sets CBC Apart

The American Business Awards® recognized CBC for our innovative approach to PR measurement. We’ve moved beyond traditional metrics, creating integrated client dashboards that combine e-commerce data, website analytics, and more to showcase the full impact of PR. 

An excerpt from a CBC e-book that reads "Prove ROI with Outcome and Impact Metrics"

Excerpt from CBC’s guide on “Connecting PR to Business Value”

Our focus is on demonstrating how media coverage not only increases brand visibility but also plays a critical role in improving business outcome metrics, such as lead conversion and online purchases.

Looking Ahead: Continuing to Lead in PR Measurement

We are honored to be named a 2023 Agency of the Year. This award is more than just a win for us; it’s a testament to our commitment to excellence in PR and digital marketing. We continue to strive towards enhancing our measurement techniques, ensuring that we provide our clients with the most effective and data-driven PR strategies.

Discover more about CBC’s innovative approach to PR measurement and how it can contribute to your business’s success. 

As the seasons are changing, so are marketing trends! With the holidays right around the corner, we’re rounding up some of the hottest trends coming out this Fall and into the holiday season. From influencer marketing, advertising, and social media content, these trends will be important for your upcoming campaigns.

UGC: Craving Authenticity

User-generated content, also known as UGC or consumer-generated content, is original, brand-specific content created by customers and published on social media channels. UGC comes in many forms, including images, videos, reviews, a testimonial, or even a podcast. It can also be implemented into a brand’s email, landing pages on their website, and checkout pages.

Why is it important?

It is used across all stages of the consumers’ journey to help retain engagement and increase conversions. It’s authentic and allows consumers to feel connected to the brand or service the content is speaking about. Consumers who view UGC are 2.4 times more likely to make a purchase than any other content consumed that is made directly from the brand!

Consumers crave authenticity, and with that, UGC is an opportunity for brands to engage with their audiences in a different way. However, consumers have been selective with the brands they purchase from. Gen Z knows when content is authentic or not –  in fact, 60% of marketers share the agreement that authenticity and quality are equally important to the success of a brand’s content.

Brands are taking the opportunity to implement UGC into their social media strategies to engage users to shop for the Fall season. When looking through Pottery Barn’s Instagram feed, they do a great job in utilizing their community content. Consumers are more likely to make a purchase because they can see what the products look like in other people’s homes, rather than staged in a photoshoot setting.

Fall products from Pottery Barn showcased in homes

Images from Pottery Barn’s Instagram showcasing their new Fall products in a few of their communities’ homes.

Abercrombie is another brand that has been utilizing UGC on its website and social media during the launch of their new Fall collection. While scrolling through their feed, they showcase a variety of reels and images from their online community. This type of content makes it easy to see how people style clothes and the new collections and trends for the season.

Fall fashion pieces from Abercrombie

Images from Abercrombie’s Instagram showcasing their community wearing pieces from their Fall collection.

Seasonal Content: Pass The Pumpkin Cold Brew

Consumers love seasonal content. There’s nothing better than scrolling through TikTok and seeing your favorite creators decorate their homes for Fall, try the newest drink, or layer up with the newest Fall fashion. 62% of TikTok users who made a Halloween purchase said they were inspired and got new ideas from TikTok.

Many creators have been tapping into what consumers are looking for in the new season – inspiration to reset into the new month and get into new routines. Outlined below are a few pieces of seasonal content that are taking people’s FYP by storm.

 

What’s On My Fall Wish List

“What’s on my Fall Wish List” TikTok videos are ALL the rage. People are inspired to make new purchases by watching creators share what they’re in the market for and what others should be too – content ranges from a collection of home decor, fashion, and beauty. Creating these types of videos has driven urgency in purchasing the products in time for the new season. A few examples include:

Fall Wish List items from the creator, @taleasophia

 

Fall Wish List items from the creator, @alyssah0warrdd

DIY

Creators have also been sharing how to create  “dupes” for popular products, such as Gus the Ghost from Pottery Barn, showing how to make the ghost pillow yourself for as low as $15 (while the one from Pottery Barn is over $80!) Other creators have also been putting a spin on how to make your own fun, seasonal pillows. See some examples at the links below!

DIY Ghost Pillows from creators on TikTok

DIY Gus Ghost Pillow from Tori Mohn Flips

DIY Ghost Pillow Under $10 from All Style Life

 

Pumpkin Reviews

Fan-favorite influencer Brooke Vestrand, has over 2.2M likes an engagement rate of 5%, and 134K followers on TikTok; she takes everyone’s FYP over with her “pumpkin reviews.” She shares fall products with her community that vary from new food, fashion, and products, rating each product on a scale of 1 to 5 pumpkins. Each year, her audience looks forward to her reviews and will comment on her videos asking her to try the next new fall “it” product.

Her reviews have excited her audience and created a sense of urgency for the fall season. Additionally, her reviews have allowed her to partner with brands like Dunkin and Febreze when it comes time to market their fall products.

Pumpkin is Back at Dunkin!

 

Pumpkin Review: Sweet Loren’s Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Many brands have teased their seasonal collections, which has allowed a spike in consumers shopping early for the Fall. In fact, on Pinterest, seasonal content drives 10x higher engagement and 22% higher online sales.

Consumers and creators often find themselves gravitating toward one another when sharing different types of content on TikTok.The platform has proven itself to be a search engine when looking for the next “it” product or trend. For example, consumers have gone to TikTok to search for a new product, ask for advice, or find a new place to visit, rather than searching on Google. This has allowed people to find authentic reviews on products.

In-Store Shopping Content: Homegoods Edition

In-store shopping content has been on the rise. People love to watch this type of content and see what home decor or fashion finds other creators shop for. In fact, the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has over 70.2 billion views!

This season, many creators have shown themselves walking through Target, TJMaxx, or Homegoods, picking up the latest fall finds. This has allowed others to forego the “fear of missing out” and visit the store themselves to make a purchase. Below are a few examples of recent content on TikTok.

Creators shopping at Target and Homegoods for Fall Decor

 

Fall Decor Shopping with Me at Homegoods

Fall Shopping with Me at Target

When creators show the act of putting the product in their cart, purchasing their favorite Starbucks coffee, and showing the decor in their own home afterward, it drives others to shop for products, so they don’t miss out on purchasing the next trending item.

FALL’ing for Influencer Content

Partnering with influencers for your brand is effective. Why? There’s trust. Influencer content removes the barriers of traditional advertising from branded content. Users can be introduced to your brand from a trusted source on an authentic platform.

It’s important to find influencers that resonate with your target audience while also bringing new faces over to your brand page. If the influencer already uses your product, even better. It allows for their partnership with you to be even more honest and authentic.

 

Abercrombie x Kathleen Post

Abercrombie has partnered with fashion influencer Kathleen Post on a new Fall collection. Kathleen is a content creator with over 400K followers, sharing daily style, hair tips, home decor and more.

On their Instagram, they have featured her in posts featuring the new pieces as well as partnering with her on a giveaway. The giveaway is a great tactic for implementing Kathleen’s favorite pieces for Abercrombie’s community to wear. On Kathleen’s channel, she includes her unique code and collection link for Abercrombie. This shows trust and an authentic partnership with the brand.

Influencer Kathleen Post wearing her new collection items from Abercrombie

A new season sparks creativity for creators and brands to try something different with their content. If you’re looking for ways to advance your social media strategy, content, or influencer campaigns, reach out! We’d love to chat.

About the Author

Jen Mahoney is an Account Executive on the Digital + Content team where she works on all things influencer marketing, social media content creation, copywriting, and more. Connect with her on LinkedIn!

If you’re a marketer in 2023, then you know that AI is all anyone is talking about. AI software like ChatGPT can help us write content, aid research, and even develop strategic ideas for our next campaign. In 2023, 42% of companies have their eyes on AI for future marketing efforts so it’s important to know how it can best work to your brand’s advantage.

 

However, despite all it can do for marketers, AI can’t do everything. Multiple limitations (including content quality, accuracy, and more) make current AI models work better as a supportive tool rather than an “end-all-be-all” for marketers to rely on for content. Read on for the top limitations that you should be aware of and how you can best work around them to take advantage of what AI has to offer.

AI: Pushing the Boundaries but Facing Limitations

1. Content Quality

Despite AI software like ChatGPT or Microsoft Bing having a sometimes eerie (remember New York Times columnist Kevin Roose’s conversation with Microsoft’s Bing AI?) resemblance to a human tone of voice, it’s important to remember they aren’t human. AI lacks the context, nuances, and emotions of a human counterpart that we all know is important in connecting with an audience or customer. Ads with emotional content perform twice as well compared to those with only rational content (31% vs. 16%). 

As a result, copy drafted by AI may read as cold or disjointed from your brand’s values and tone of voice.

Take the below example – I asked ChatGPT to draft a Facebook post about our client, the Harvard Club of Boston. What it drafted makes sense, is readable, and is grammatically correct – however, it reads as a boring synopsis of the Club rather than something that is going to engage and excite prospective members. ChatGPT can’t take into account brand values unless you instruct it to do so, and even then, it will still lack that human spark that we know will connect with readers.

An example of content written by ChatGPT

An example of content written by ChatGPT

On top of this, AI may not be able to understand the cultural nuances and sensitivities of different audiences, leading to content that is tone-deaf or offensive. It’s not only important to have a human touch on your content, but one that includes a diverse group of individuals with different perspectives, and AI can’t give you that.

Lastly, AI can only analyze data from the past to make predictions about the future, however, market trends and human behavior are constantly changing, making it difficult for AI to keep up. For example, consumer preferences and trends can shift rapidly, and new products or services can quickly enter existing markets. In addition, there are inevitable external factors such as global events, cultural changes, and economic shifts that can easily shift at a moment’s notice. 

Think of all the cultural changes since October 2021 that ChatGPT is completely unaware of – multiple COVID vaccines have increased in availability, there is now a war happening in Ukraine, and TikTok is on its way to potentially being banned by the U.S. government (and that’s just to name a few). With important data like this missing from AI model systems, there’s significant room for error.

2. Content Accuracy

AI-generated content is only as good as the data it is trained on – and that data isn’t perfect. For example, ChatGPT is built on data from October 2021 and prior, so for most topics, it doesn’t have the context of the last year to build upon. For example, if you ask ChatGPT about 2023 marketing trends, the software will straight-up tell you when it’s unable to provide the information you requested.

An example of the current time-sensitive limitations of ChatGPT

An example of the current time-sensitive limitations of ChatGPT

 

In addition to this, AI is only as good as the quality of the data it’s built on. For example, if an AI language model is trained on a biased dataset, it can generate content that perpetuates those biases, even if unintentionally. Without being double-checked or changed before using in your campaign, that leads to a negative perception of your brand and its values, especially if the audience identifies with the group that is being misrepresented.

Additionally, if the AI-generated content contains factual inaccuracies or errors, it can damage the credibility of your brand. This is especially true for brands where accuracy and attention to detail are critical, such as medicine or finance. AI makes this mistake through “hallucinations”, or when an AI model generates an output that does not make sense as a response to the specific input it was given. 

Take this example from the technology news site Make Use Of – a user asked ChatGPT for “one word similar to revolt that starts with a b” and its output was “rebellion.” In another example from Cyber News, a user successfully tricked an AI model when it asked “When did France gift Lithuania with the Vilnius TV tower?” (something that actually did not happen). It responded with “France gifted Lithuania with the Vilnius TV tower in 1980.” 

Hallucinations like this happen for a number of reasons, including a mistake or a change in the data each model is trained on, or a mistake in the input a user gives it. Humans can catch these types of mistakes, while an AI model can’t. 

Outsmarting the Limitations of AI

 

Of course, these limitations are just that, limitations. While they exist, it doesn’t mean marketers can’t take them into account and work around them. We recommend working the following steps into your strategy when using AI to create content:

 

  1. Human oversight: AI can be a valuable tool for automating certain tasks, but it is not foolproof. Marketers should maintain human oversight of AI’s output to ensure the results align with their goals and values.
  2. Data validation: Make sure to do your own research to confirm that the data is accurate and unbiased to avoid any incorrect conclusions or decisions.
  3. Creativity: AI excels at analyzing and processing data, but it can’t replace human creativity. Marketers should rely on their own creativity to design campaigns that resonate with their target audience. Once you have a creative strategy set in place, you can prompt AI to help you write content based on those guidelines (but don’t forget our human oversight rule)!
  4. Audience feedback: AI may struggle to understand human emotions and behavior. Marketers can use audience feedback and insights to gain a deeper understanding of their audience and improve their marketing strategies.
  5. Personalization: AI can analyze customer data and preferences to personalize marketing messages and experiences. Next time you’re using AI, prompt it with audience data so it can better personalize content.

While AI can provide a foundation for content creation, it’s important to remember that human creativity and expertise are essential for creating high-quality and accurate content. By using AI as a complement to human expertise, we can create content that resonates with diverse audiences and provides accurate and up-to-date information.

About the Author

Riley Sampson is an Assistant Account Executive on the Digital + Content team where she works on all things digital and social media strategy, content writing, and more.

Since it rose to popularity in 2020, TikTok has become the epicenter of modern culture. The threat of a TikTok ban and losing this vital pathway to consumer insight and attention is making marketers dizzy trying to understand the implications for their businesses. 

Our digital team is closely following the shifting social landscape and advising clients in real time how to address the uncertainty of TikTok. From what to do today to long-term contingency plans, we’re sharing the most critical considerations your marcom team needs to know.

TikTok app opened on a phone

But First, Why a TikTok Ban Matters:

Why are marketing teams frantic over TikTok turmoil? While it’s a new social platform, relatively speaking, it’s had a huge impact on the business of marketing.

  • It is the #1 platform for reaching a younger demographic (Gen Z, Millennials.) 71.3% of all adult TikTok users are between the ages of 18 to 34.
  • It has quickly become a popular search platform for Gen Z. Many brands, especially small businesses, benefit greatly from TikTok’s organic discovery capabilities.
  • Need to reach a niche audience? No other social platform has created tight-knit communities the way TikTok has. From #BookTok to #CleanTok, there’s a home for every user…and a gateway for every type of marketer.
  • Any action, whether a ban or something softer, could set a precedent for all social media platforms. Many are proposing the U.S. pass legislation that is similar to the E.U’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), rather than an outright ban. This could mean more challenges for social marketers in the future.

Do I Need to Scrap My 2023 Plans and Spend on TikTok?

No. Whether you’re dabbling or are all-in on TikTok, you don’t need to halt activity on the app. You do, however, need to diversify your organic and paid marketing mix. To start:

  1. Be sure you are posting content across platforms.
  2. If you aren’t already, make an extra effort to nurture your other social communities. Don’t put all your (community) eggs into one basket (TikTok). 
  3. Spread your paid dollars across other platforms. Fine-tuning your ads and optimizing for any given platform’s algorithm takes time to scale. Optimize now to alleviate a potential downturn from a ban.

Where Should I Focus My Social Efforts Today to Prepare for a Potential Ban?

While we recommend your brand be active across channels, two mediums to play close attention to are Meta’s Reels and YouTube Shorts. These mediums are the most similar to TikTok and are already popular but will skyrocket in usage if a TikTok ban is put into action. 

If TikTok is banned, we predict new apps will emerge that will try to replicate TikTok’s success. But in the near future, we expect users to spend more time on existing platforms so it’s worthwhile to make sure your team is optimizing for what’s available currently.

How Do I Preserve the Progress We’ve Made On TikTok?

If TikTok disappears, your followers, content, and engagement will too. If it isn’t clear already – you don’t own your social channels.

The best thing you can do in terms of preservation is to bring your audience into actual owned channels. 

  1. Create an enticing offer for email or SMS capture. If a ban occurs, you’ll have a medium to point users where to go next.
  2. Invest in search ads and bring users to your website. How are people finding you on TikTok? Now is a great time to test your TikTok insights and keywords and see how effectively you can be discovered through Google. 

Help! My Influencer Program Primarily Lives on TikTok

Don’t fret. In the short-term, begin negotiating for content on other channels. We recommend doing this now where creators may be more flexible as they look to safeguard their careers.

Looking ahead, focus on investing in influencers with strong staying power. Meaning, they have a brand outside of TikTok. This could look like:

  • A strong following across multiple platforms
  • A robust email subscriber list, Facebook group, or other closed-loop network
  • A highly ranked website with considerable monthly traffic
  • A jam-packed media resume, showing they’re an authority figure in their realm

 

We’ll continue to monitor U.S. & TikTok relations and provide strategic counsel on how to maximize social marketing efforts as new developments occur. Need advice on how to diversify your social media content? How to launch on new channels? How to turn social followers into business dollars? Send us a note.

 

Hayley Reissfelder is a Manager of Digital + Content at CerconeBrown.

Why you need to switch to Google Analytics 4 ASAP

Are you ready to say goodbye to Universal Analytics? As of July 1, 2023, the legacy versions of Google Analytics will no longer work. If you don’t upgrade to Google Analytics 4 by this deadline, you will no longer be able to view marketing data for your website. 

Upgrading to Google Analytics 4 is essential for businesses that want to stay competitive in today’s digital landscape. If you’re not sure where to start, CBC can help you build a migration plan and take advantage of GA4’s new features for better insights into increasingly complex customer journeys. 

Don’t wait until it’s too late – make a plan today to get ready for GA4!

Why Upgrading to GA4 Matters

As we’ve previously written about on our blog, Google Analytics 4 represents a major upgrade in marketing analytics technology. The infrastructure has been totally redesigned to be more user-friendly, while preserving the core functionalities of measurement and reporting.

Switching to Google Analytics 4 provides several advantages, including:

Cross-device tracking: GA4 enables you to track user behavior across multiple devices and platforms, including mobile apps, websites, and web apps. This means that you can get a more complete picture of the customer journey without double-counting users.

Machine learning-powered insights: GA4 uses machine learning algorithms to provide you with valuable insights into user behavior, allowing you to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for growth. Features like anomaly detection and data-driven attribution models give you new ways to discover actionable insights from your data. 

Anomaly detection is available in free form exploration reports with line chart visualizations. This feature uses machine learning to help you identify outliers in your data.

Anomaly detection in a GA4 free form exploration report

Anomaly detection in a GA4 free form exploration report.

Data-driven attribution models are available in the Advertising section of GA4, allowing you to determine which channels drive the most conversions and what touchpoints customers take to convert. An improvement on the conversion modeling offered in Universal Analytics, the Conversion Paths report even allows you to break down early vs. mid vs. late touchpoints.

Conversion paths in GA4 using cross-channel data-driven attribution models

Conversion paths in GA4 using cross-channel data-driven attribution models.

Event-based tracking: GA4 uses an event-based data model (compared to UA’s session-based model) to track user interactions with your website or app, making it easier to understand how users engage with your content.

Improved data privacy: GA4 includes features to help you comply with data privacy regulations, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). With the impending demise of third-party cookies and societal pressure for more user privacy, Google Analytics 4 will help you continue to measure conversions without directly identifying users.

By upgrading to Google Analytics 4, you can gain a deeper understanding of user behavior, improve your digital marketing campaigns’ performance, and comply with data privacy regulations.

How to Make the Switch

Time is ticking, so the first step is to set up a Google Analytics 4 property ASAP. 

GA4 Setup Assistant is available in the Admin section of existing Universal Analytics properties

GA4 Setup Assistant is available in the Admin section of existing Universal Analytics properties.

If you have an existing Universal Analytics account, you can use the ​​GA4 Setup Assistant wizard to set up a new GA4 property in the Admin section of Google Analytics. From there, you will need to configure all of GA4’s settings and features to ensure that your account is working properly and collecting the data that you need.

Configuration in Google Analytics 4 Setup Assistant

You can configure data collection, property settings, and more in the Google Analytics 4 Setup Assistant.

You can configure data collection, property settings, and more in the Google Analytics 4 Setup Assistant.

A word of warning: you may see Google offering to “auto-migrate” any accounts that lack a GA4 property. While this may be tempting, Universal Analytics and GA4 are built on fundamentally different models. Customizations and adaptations will be required to ensure you are still collecting the right data for your business needs. Only someone who is familiar with your business can ensure that your KPIs and goals are being measured as they should.

We recommend that you start collecting data in Google Analytics 4 immediately and keep both accounts running concurrently during the transition period. This will ensure that you don’t lose any data during the migration process. Having access to your existing Universal Analytics account will help you ensure that crucial business KPIs tracked in UA are also recorded in GA4 and troubleshoot any discrepancies that may arise.

If you need a hand with the migration process, we’re here to help! Our team of experts can help you get ready for GA4 by the July 1st deadline and continue to stay up-to-date on the latest features as GA4 continues to evolve.

Everything you need to know about SEO and public relations

At first glance, search engine optimization (SEO) and public relations (PR) might seem like they are on opposite sides of the marketing spectrum. One is highly technical, the other reliant on soft skills like storytelling and relationship building. 

However, the savvy marketer knows that PR and SEO overlap in a few key ways. Used together, they are a match made in heaven for integrated, results-driven marketing campaigns.

How are SEO and PR related?

1. Links

The first intersection between SEO and public relations is link-building. 

In the world of SEO, increasing the volume and quality of backlinks to your website is an important factor for getting your site to rank higher in Google. 

Most PR tactics (press releases, byline articles, pitching for earned coverage, etc.) will naturally increase the volume of authoritative links to your website, which is the largest factor that impacts your domain authority score

If other relevant, high-authority sites in your niche are linking to your site, the more relevant and credible your content appears to both readers and to search engines.

2. Content

The second major area of overlap between PR and SEO is that both require top-notch content. 

Media won’t cover your brand or product without a compelling story that their audience will care about. Google won’t rank your page unless you have high-quality, helpful content that satisfies what a search user is looking for. 

SEO and PR both require you to answer the question: “what is best for my audience?” Ditch the self-serving content and focus on sharing something that will be truly useful and interesting for the end user.

3. User Journey

Search engines themselves are the third connector between SEO and PR. 

SEO inherently revolves around providing the best experience for a user at the moment of search. 

But search is critical for PR too: you want users to remember your brand and take action. That action may not happen immediately after reading an article. It’s human nature – people are busy and easily distracted. 

Yet if you truly make an impression on someone, they will remember and actively seek you out when they’re ready. With more than 8.5 billion Google searches occurring every day (Internet Live Stats, 2022), it’s not a stretch to assume that the interested reader will try to find you via Google.

The user’s journey may begin with exposure via PR, but the measurement of public relation’s impact relies on organic search.

PR Links vs. SEO Links

Links are common ground between PR & SEO, but it’s important to note that not every PR link will necessarily work towards SEO goals. 

Paid PR tactics give you the most control over links, but with earned PR coverage, you have limited say over which links, if any, may be included in the final piece.

Backlinks in Feature Stories

If your PR agency secures you a feature story, congratulations! Feature stories are a major win from both a PR perspective and an SEO perspective. The prominent placement of your brand and inclusion of your key messages make for a memorable story. 

Example of a feature story with a backlink to the client's site

Example of a feature story secured by CBC for client Lifeway. The story includes a backlink to Lifeway’s website.

On the SEO side of things, a feature story will almost certainly include a backlink to your website. You may even have some control over the specific page that the writer links to. 

The default option for PR links in features is typically your homepage, but it may be even better for readers if they can go straight to a landing page where they can explore the article’s topic more deeply. 

PR Landing Pages

Why does linking to a landing page matter? 

The SEO benefit is that this page will get a boost from the authoritative, relevant backlink, thereby helping your brand to be better known for that topic. 

From a user experience perspective, an educational landing page gives you the chance to “romance” a reader, reinforcing the key brand messages that you want to convey… without turning people off by immediately asking them to “buy now” on a product page.

Product Round-Ups

Feature stories, unfortunately, are not the norm for earned media coverage. More often, you can expect to see your brand mentioned in the context of a broader article, list, or product round-up. In these cases, links may not be guaranteed.

Product round-ups in particular are trending towards exclusively using affiliate links, especially to e-commerce sites like Amazon. 

A link to your Amazon product page is good UX for the consumer (who doesn’t love the speed & convenience of Amazon?), and may even help you drive more sales. But don’t expect to see any lift in SEO rankings for your website if the backlinks aren’t for your domain.

Product roundup coverage with a link to Amazon

Example of earned press coverage featuring CBC client MegaFood in a product roundup. The article includes links to Amazon and iHerb to purchase the product.

Do Press Releases Work for SEO?

Pitching & earned coverage are important PR tactics, but certainly not the only ones in the public relations arsenal. Press releases are another common tactic, with their own set of implications for SEO.

Press releases can help you control Google results for your company – but only to an extent. A press release can often earn the top spot in Google’s results, especially on the News tab, since Google will view it as highly relevant, timely news. 

Google always tries to display the best result to a user based on their intent. If a user is searching for a company or CEO, the user will want to see the most relevant & timely news, no matter whether it’s a press release directly from the company or a story from a media outlet.

If you want to use press releases to gain SEO rankings in the main tab of Google, however, the topics will need to meet a narrow set of criteria.

Venn diagram showing that SEO-driven press release topics must have high search demand and be newsworthy.

For a press release to stand a chance of driving traffic through SEO, the topic needs to be both newsworthy and have search demand.

1) There needs to be search demand for the topic. If nobody is actively searching for this topic, your press release won’t get the visibility you’re hoping for.

2) It should be a timely, newsworthy topic that can outrank evergreen content as the “best result” for the term. Tapping into a national day or movement (ie. World Environment Day or gift guides around the holiday season) can be effective, but even so, make sure that your brand is truly adding something new to the conversation. 

Consider these litmus tests: would you be able to successfully pitch this topic to the media? And would this content be valuable to someone Googling the topic? If so, then you’ve found a good idea for an SEO-optimized press release.

In our experience, the average press release does not typically meet these criteria. Most press releases are announcements of company news that, at best, will rank for the company’s name, but not for more general search topics.

So are press releases worth it?

Press releases give you total control over brand mentions and links back to your website. Increasing the volume of mentions of a company/website on the internet does send a signal to Google that the site is important, which can impact the company’s domain authority and SEO rankings. 

But ultimately, most of the value of a press release lies in the classic PR use case: well-written, interesting stories get picked up by outlets, thereby earning more exposure.

Measuring the Full Extent of PR’s SEO Impact

Links and domain authority are not the be-all and end-all for PR and SEO.

The full extent of PR’s impact on SEO lies in its ability to raise awareness of your brand among your target audience, regardless of whether they consume this content on your website, in your press release, or on a media outlet’s site.  

When today’s digital-native consumers want to find an answer to a question, they turn to Google to find the answer. 

Earned press coverage puts your brand at the top of organic search results.

Being featured in articles from credible, high-authority outlets allows you to rank for relevant, high-volume keywords that your own website may not even be able to compete for, since searchers prefer unbiased sources.

For example, if you are in the market for a prenatal vitamin, you probably want to read recommendations from an expert to help you make an informed decision. Google is going to prioritize these types of articles over commercial websites in order to be helpful to the searcher.

This is where public relations comes in: strategic media outreach helps secure mentions of your brand in the high-authority outlets that rank highly in Google.

The result? Your product/brand is now in the competitive set for an audience with high purchase intent. 

With this approach, PR is single-handedly delivering value. Your SEO team didn’t need to lift a finger. And whether or not the article includes a backlink to your site, you’re already in front of the right audience, with the right message, at the right time.

Example of earned press coverage that ranks as the top Google search result.

Example of earned coverage for CBC client MegaFood, which ranks highly for the relevant keyword “best prenatal vitamins.” The #1 Google search result is a story from Healthline that featured the client’s product due to pitching efforts from CBC.

SEO Best Practices for Public Relations

Not all content is destined for use in both SEO and public relations, but the two disciplines should complement each other.

By following these few basic principles, you can build a PR program that supports SEO efforts and drives measurable value:

  1. Include links to your site when possible & relevant.
  2. Focus on high-quality storytelling that provides value for your audience.
  3. Give preference to topics with high search demand AND a timely, newsworthy angle.
  4. Target relevant, authoritative outlets, especially if their websites rank highly in search.

At CBC, we deliver more than just coverage; we drive measurable business results through data-driven PR programs. Give us a call to learn more about our digitally-integrated, outcomes-focused approach to PR.

About the Author

Megan Paradis is the Manager of Marketing Analytics at Cercone Brown Company, where she works at the intersection of data and strategy to uncover insights that fuel campaigns.

Connect on LinkedIn

If you work in digital marketing or social media, you’ve likely been tasked with “mapping out” social media content for a brand. Brands take a variety of approaches to mapping out their social media content, but not all brands make the most of this important planning process.

Many marketers map out months of social media content by simply drafting social media copy, and forego the step in between: strategy. In a perfect world, your mapping process will not only help you get ahead on the content creation hamster wheel, but also ensure that your social content is moving users down the marketing funnel towards your desired end goal. When done well, a thoughtful social media content map will help brands educate, inspire, and convert users in a timely manner.

Whether you’re a well-established digital marketing agency or a self-made influencer looking for some direction, here are some guardrails to help improve your social media mapping process.

What is a social media content map?

A social media content map is a high-level plan that lays out your content and campaign focuses for a certain period of time, usually a month or a fiscal quarter. The process of creating your social media content map is a great activity for social teams to engage in, allowing marketers to effectively shape the user journey and experience with your brand through content.

Image of a social media content map 

Here’s an example of a social content media map for one of CBC’s clients!

When complete, it can act as a strategic social media plan that will allow you and/or your team to build out social media copy and creative assets accordingly. Creating a thoughtful mapping strategy will allow you to save time creating content, as well as ensure you’re hitting your brand and social media goals.

Social Media Mapping Template

The first step to creating a social media map is finding a template that works for your team. Many social media managers use Google Sheets or an e-calendar but there are also downloadable templates online! HubSpot offers a handful of templates with different layouts to pick from. A social media template should include dates, platforms, theme, focus, campaign, product or stage in the user journey you’re targeting, as well as a CTA (call to action) or URL, and a creative asset. 

Getting Started with Social Media Content Mapping 

When you’re ready to begin content mapping, the best way to start is outlining your content based on your content pillars, buyer personas, and/or the stage in the consumer journey you wish to target and when. Before you begin drafting content, get strategic and think through not just the type of content you’re looking to share, but how it’ll help reach your goals and create affinity amongst followers.  

Below, we’ve compiled various components to consider when mapping out your high-level social media content.When you properly combine all of these tactics,you’ll be sure to have a sound and effective social media strategy and content map.

Identify Your Content Pillars

A good social media content strategy starts with defined content pillars. Content pillars are the topics or themes that are consistently weaved through your brand’s content strategy. For example, if you’re a fitness brand your content pillars may be “motivational content,” “workout tutorials,” “healthy recipes,” and “product in action.” These pillars work to create a cohesive brand image and strengthen your brand’s authority around specific topics. 

Reviewing your brand’s goals and mission can help inform your different content pillars.

How to Use Content Pillars in Your Social Media Content Map

Once you have your template in place, you should identify the number of posts you plan to publish in the given timeframe and associate a content pillar to each of those posts. Consider the cadence at which you share content relating to each pillar. It’s OK if this cadence varies over time as seasons change, products launch, and various campaigns come and go. This general rule of thumb may change if you have a product launch approaching. Your “product in action” content may be dispersed more heavily on your map to educate and excite consumers about the launch.

Identify Your Buyer Personas

When you’re engaging in the social media content mapping process, it’s also helpful to consider the types of buyer personas your brand wants to attract. Personas are fictional profiles that represent groups of similar people in a target audience, such as “value shoppers” or “history buffs.” Knowing your buyer personas will help you craft content that resonates with these audience segments.

How to Use Buyer Personas in Your Social Media Content Map

The next step is connecting the buyer personas to the content pillars on your social media content map. When you’ve nailed down your personas, you’ll know what they care about, the questions they’ll have, and the information they want to make an informed decision. Being able to map out content that fits their needs and connects to your pillars is key. 

While you can’t control what stage of the consumer journey your audience lies in, you can ensure your content map is balanced to fit all 3 stages. The main stages of the consumer journey are awareness, consideration, and decision. Ensure you’re mapping out content that would answer questions at each step of the journey, from beginning to end. For example, you might notice that your map doesn’t have any calls to buy, that’ll signal to you and your team to revisit how you address your audience in the decision stage.

At this stage you may also begin to consider what kind of content to use. Will an infographic or testimonial work better? A video or a blog? It’s important to consider each channel’s functions and audience when developing the most efficient content. For example, a case study about your products or services may perform better on LinkedIn than on Facebook because of the nature of the platform. 

Understand Your Marketing Funnel

After you’ve nailed down your buyer personas, you and your brand should plan your marketing funnel. Understanding your funnel from top to bottom will help you create your social media content map. 

Mapping your buyer personas to these stages will allow you to hone in on your social media strategy by identifying when to distribute certain kinds of information. Creating and tailoring your brand’s content mapping to each of these stages is key to improving the customer’s user experience, as well as moving users to your next desired action – whether it be to sign up for your email list or purchase a product. 

For example, if you know you’re launching a new product in May you may want to start raising awareness of this new launch in April. you need to be cognizant of how you’re educating consumers during the awareness and consideration phases so when the product launches they’ll be pushed to the decision phase.

All in all it’s important to focus on every part of the marketing funnel when you’re mapping your social media content map. Focusing on nurturing and creating long-lasting relationships with your consumers will prove to be a stronger social strategy and result in overall more notable ROI.

Putting it All Together: Social Media Content Mapping Best Practices

There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing your hard work pay off in high engagement and impressions on your social channels. Prioritizing your content mapping process lays the foundation for success across your brand. With these guidelines, you’re destined to see audience growth and customer retention.

Want to discuss your brand’s social media strategy and mapping process? CerconeBrownCompany would love to chat, send us an inquiry!

About the Author

Sydney Corcoran is an Account Coordinator for Digital and Content accounts at CBC. Sydney is interested in digital storytelling, impact marketing, and influencer management. Connect with Sydney on LinkedIn

If the past few years have taught healthcare marketers anything, it’s that digital health is taking center stage. From Amazon entering the industry, to physician social media influencers, this shift has caused marketers to adapt and evolve in order to continue to see results and reach their target audience in new ways. In this day and age, if you’re not ahead of the trends, you’re behind, and risk losing crucial connections with your audience. Below, we’ve shared 10 healthcare marketing trends to help you stay one step ahead of the future of healthcare. 

 1. ADA Compliance & Usability

During this digital age, accessibility is even more important and at times can be overlooked. As healthcare marketers, our job is to ensure our campaigns and websites are accessible for everyone. This may mean accommodating patients with disabilities by including closed captioning or other tweaks. Additionally, we need to accommodate consumers of all ages, such as senior citizens who may not have as much digital experience or knowledge. Therefore, it is vital to make sure websites are easy to use and have clear navigation, with the text being easy to read against the background color and the menu bar clearly showing the options available.

 

  • Visual: Content should be presented in an easily perceivable manner for  everyone. Examples of this include offering alternatives to text, such as audio or assistive technology that allow visually impaired individuals to perceive your website’s content. 
  • Auditory: Individuals with hearing disabilities can have trouble navigating websites with videos or other auditory messages. Text transcripts help hearing-impaired users understand content that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. Additionally, image alt tags can be helpful as well. Alt tags allow users with disabilities to read alternative descriptions of content they might not otherwise be able to view. Alt tags describe the object itself and, generally, the purpose it serves on the site.
  • Mobility: You should ensure your website navigation is easy to operate, such as offering keyboard accessibilities so users with disabilities can easily navigate your website and access content in a way that best works for them.
  • Cognitive: Content should be easy to understand for all users. This can be achieved by making content readable and predictable, and offering input assistance if needed. In addition, it is helpful for menus, links and buttons to be organized in a way where they are clearly delineated from one another, and can be easily navigated throughout the entire site. 
ADA Website Compliance Graphic

ADA Website Compliance Graphic

 

2. Personalizing Marketing While Still Respecting Privacy

Personalized marketing campaigns can be difficult to deliver in the healthcare industry due to privacy concerns. However, you don’t need personal health information to adapt  to what specific consumers want. For example, you can analyze the organic search traffic on your website pages and see which keywords are getting the most traffic.  Since phone software such as Android and iOS only share certain information with advertisers and organizations, the insights gleaned from website search traffic become even more valuable when targeting consumers.

 

You can use this first party data to personalize your marketing efforts by determining what kind of information consumers would need based on the keyword searches and further adapt the website or page to be more personalized for that particular search journey. 

 

3. Integrated Marketing Campaigns (marketing is a team sport)

Gone are the days of TV advertising. As media has evolved and consumer behavior changed, the need for integrated marketing campaigns has increased. Marketing is now a team sport, consisting of a combination of digital strategies such as paid social, paid search, and programmatic advertising, all with a consistent messaging across each channel. All of these pieces fit into the marketing puzzle, allowing for greater audience reach and patient engagement.  

Components of Integrated Marketing Diagram

Components of Integrated Marketing Diagram

 

4. B2C Healthcare Social Media Marketing

The healthcare industry has seen a dramatic increase in social media usage, with physicians becoming healthcare social media influencers. In order to appeal to the many patients who use social media services, it is important to implement new strategies such as:

  • Video storytelling: 81% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video, highlighting the importance of how healthcare can use video to tell a more engaging story. Additionally, using live streaming to host Q&A sessions with physicians and other experts can increase credibility. 
  • Creating podcasts or other ”work-break” series with in-depth interviews with industry leaders on relevant topics further showcases your expertise.
  • Using other social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, to cross-promote and share thought leadership content widens your audience reach and online presence. 
NYU Langone Health Podcast “Vital Signs” is an example of B2C healthcare marketing.

NYU Langone Health Podcast “Vital Signs” is an example of B2C healthcare marketing.

 

5. LinkedIn & B2B Healthcare Marketing 

Social media has also taken off for B2B healthcare marketing, becoming a crucial tool to connect with pharmaceutical companies, physicians and healthcare organizations. LinkedIn in particular allows you to livestream engaging video content, post relevant and thought provoking blogs, and connect with other industry professionals via messaging and commenting. Additionally, LinkedIn’s paid advertising offers targeting parameters that let you narrow down your audience by factors like company size, job title and exact company name which help get your message to the right audience. For example, Ethicon Inc. is targeting healthcare professionals with posts about their surgical products. 

 

Example of B2B healthcare marketing from Ethicon’s LinkedIn.

 

6. Email Marketing

Email marketing can be targeted towards a specific group of patients with relevant information they might find useful, or a group of patients who subscribed to a podcast or other informational content you have created. Additionally, email marketing can be a way to showcase your services and skills to new potential patients by sending out weekly or monthly newsletters.   

 

7. SEO (Question Based Terms)

The pandemic drove many patients to take medical care into their own hands, leading them to the internet for answers. This change caused search engine algorithms to transform and adapt to their needs. Healthcare practices should prepare for the future of healthcare SEO with a comprehensive healthcare marketing strategy, including producing more authoritative, high-value content that lives on web pages with user-friendly, conversational content, and SEO optimized language with more focused keywords.

 

Screenshot of SEO keyword research for the query “patient engagement”

Screenshot of SEO keyword research for the query “patient engagement”

 

8. Telehealth 

The pandemic caused a shift from in-person care to telehealth, and this trend is definitely here to stay. Telehealth allows physicians to meet with patients via video chat and telephone calls for appointments instead of being seen in person. 

 

According to McKinsey, telehealth is used 38 times more than in pre-pandemic days. Telehealth is an excellent option for patients to access expert care from the comforts of their own home, and can be useful to patients who wish to see doctors outside of their geographic region or are unable to travel due to accessibility. Telehealth will become the “go-to” model for the future experience as it offers convenience, access, privacy, and efficiency. 

 

Marketers can use targeted ads, social media and email campaigns to educate patients and consumers about telehealth options and increase awareness of the virtual patient experience. Additionally, using digital communication with patients such as appointment email reminders and AI virtual assistants can help improve the digital patient experience.

 

Example of healthcare marketing focused on telehealth

Example of healthcare marketing focused on telehealth

 

9. Consumerization of Healthcare

The pandemic has vastly influenced patient behavior, as more and more healthcare consumers are seeking solutions that fit their needs and are on their own terms. The industry has shifted to a more consumer-centric landscape and hospitals and health systems are now competing with Amazon and retail drugstores that have entered the industry. 

 

Ensuring that your digital communication efforts focus on the patient experience is crucial as healthcare enters the consumer space. Generating consumer-centric content and prioritizing ease of use on websites and smartphones are ways that marketers can optimize the patient/consumer experience. 

 

10. Patient Access to Records

Use of patient portals has increased allowing patients to have direct access to their medical information. Within patient portals, healthcare organizations have the ability to display condition – or treatment-specific content, or recommend certain services or appointments. Once a patient logs into a portal or mobile app, personalization options widen considerably. Those interfaces allow you to share specific content about their conditions or treatments without violating HIPAA. 

 

   Screenshot of Patient Portal Mobile App 

Screenshot of Patient Portal Mobile App

 

All of these healthcare marketing trends are an important part of the puzzle, allowing you to connect and reach your target audience. The healthcare landscape is constantly evolving – if you need help optimizing your healthcare marketing strategy, we’d love to chat.

 

About the Author

Hayley Caligor is an Account Executive at CerconeBrownCompany, where she works to help clients in the healthcare, bioscience and agtech industries tell their story through communications campaigns, thought leadership initiatives and media relations. 

Connect on LinkedIn

Economic downturns are always tough on businesses. With budgeting season approaching and fears of an impending recession on the rise, marketers are left wondering how to handle their marketing budget in this current environment. 

 

Don’t assume that a potential downturn means you need to tighten your pursestrings – with the right marketing strategy in play and a healthy 2023 budget, there are promising opportunities to gain market share and support long-term growth.

 

Table of Contents

 

Should you cut your budget in 2023?

With the gloomy talk of the economy, it seems reasonable to assume there will be a level of austerity in budgets in H1 2023 at least. Although most expect the potential recession to be mild, marketing teams are wondering how conservative of an approach to take.

 

With the economy expected to be in recession in Q1 and overall shrink by 0.4% for the year, budgets will be down from 2022 (especially year-over-year in H1), but it will not be a dramatic reduction.

 

In fact, ad marketing spend is forecasted to increase, just at a lower rate of growth than initially expected. AdWeek shared that Dentsu, a global marketing and advertising agency, downgraded its global ad spend forecast from 9.2% annual growth to 8.4%. Looking ahead, Dentsu predicts the 2023 global advertising market will increase by 5.4%, reaching $778.6 billion.

 

Graph of global ad spend growth by channel from Dentsu.

Digital continues to drive global ad spend growth, forecast to hit $448 billion in 2023, a 58% share of total ad spend. [Dentsu]

 

With inflation peaking mid-2022, consumers have begun seeking out more discounts and are willing to switch brands to save a few bucks. Higher-income consumers are not changing their spending habits too much, and now may actually be the ideal time to woo shoppers with deals.

 

So despite marketers’ concerns about the challenging climate ahead, we recommend not reducing spending below pre-pandemic levels. 2023 will be a key time to build your brand and even wrest market share away from your competitors.

 

How should you spend your 2023 marketing budget?

Your CFO wants you to justify your investment in marketing… what do you tell them? Greater economic pressures put more pressure on marketers to measure results and prove ROI. Naturally, this leads to more interest in performance marketing channels like digital advertising, paid social, and paid search where it’s easy to calculate the return on your investment. 

 

Performance Marketing

The margin is key to managing an effective budget in this market type. With slimmer margins, marketers may be more inclined to focus on performance marketing and activities that drive immediate ROI (return on investment).

 

For every dollar spent on an ad campaign, you need to be able to show that you’re making it back – and then some. Typically, a 3:1 ROAS (return on advertising spend) is a baseline, but you may need to be a little more flexible during economic downturns since it’s harder to convince consumers to part with their money. 

Graph showing 3:1 ROAS, or return on ad spend.

 

Determine what level of margin is acceptable to you. Can you still make a profit? Can you keep (or even increase) your market share by continuing to run ads?

 

Instead of pulling back on ad spend during a recession, there are several ways to optimize campaigns to cut costs and use your budget most efficiently. 

 

  • Focus on campaigns with a proven track record or on your most popular products.
  • Ensure your audience targeting is accurate. With recent privacy updates from Apple and Facebook and the impending threat of a cookie-less future, it’s more important than ever to find ways to reach your ideal audience.
  • Diversify your ad spend among multiple channels and monitor your results to be sure you’re spending on the highest performing channels. If you’re used to only advertising on Facebook or Google, now might be the time to explore new channels like TikTok or programmatic TV.

 

One of the core pillars of any marketing campaign is measurement. However, performance marketing should not be the only piece of the puzzle in a well-rounded marketing strategy. 

 

A Full-Funnel Approach

If you only use bottom-funnel tactics to drive conversions among people who already know you, you will ultimately limit the breadth of impact you can have on your business’s bottom line. This is where “funnel stretchers” come into play…

 

Top-of-funnel tactics like PR, social media marketing, and influencer marketing are an essential part of a full-funnel marketing strategy. Think of these channels as funnel stretchers. Building awareness among larger audiences helps you get more people into your funnel. With more people in your funnel, you now have more people you can retarget with performance marketing.

 

Public Relations

PR is the ultimate top-of-funnel marketing technique, with potential reach in the millions or even billions. A skilled media relations team will help you secure not only a high quantity of coverage, but high-quality coverage that gets the right message in front of the right audience. Nothing beats the seal of approval that comes from glowing praise in a relevant, credible outlet!

 

Traditionally, PR is more difficult to measure than digital marketing campaigns, but with the right PR measurement techniques, you can measure increases in website traffic, engagement, and even revenue. 

 

If you can get people onto your website after reading about you in a PR placement, you can start to move them down the funnel through remarketing. Performance marketing can then take over, nurturing the leads that PR brought to the table.

 

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a funnel-building discipline that is on the rise. As of February 2022, the CMO Survey reported that influencer marketing was currently 5.6% of marketing budgets, but would rise to 10.9% by 2025. 

 

With a potential recession now on the horizon, Marketing Brew shares stories of several brands allocating more of their budget into influencer marketing as other forms of media become less stable. Especially if you are able to negotiate longer-term contracts with key influencer partners, you can lock in rates without worrying about the volatility of CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) on ad platforms.

 

The beauty of influencer marketing is that it allows you to tap into the existing audience base of an influencer, using their brand identity and authority to elevate the perception of your product. 

Example of beauty brand Fenty using influencer testimonials in a paid Facebook ad.

Example of beauty brand Fenty using influencer testimonials in a paid Facebook ad.

 

To raise awareness among an even broader audience, you can also use influencers as content creators. Re-using influencer creative as assets for paid social can be incredibly effective. Consumers tend to respond well to the social proof of an influencer testimonial, and the UGC (user-generated content) aesthetic can cut through the noise of overly-polished brand ads.

 

Thought Leadership

Last but not least, don’t underestimate the potential of organic reach on your owned channels. Third-party recommendations from media and influencers are great when you can get them, but you likely already have your own “influencers” in-house. Leverage the expertise of your brand’s own senior leaders and executives to create authoritative, shareable thought leadership content.

 

Establish a presence on LinkedIn (or whichever platform your target audience uses) and share content on topics in your niche. Build a following among people who value your expertise and unique point of view, and create content so good that users want to share it with their networks. 

 

Don’t go in expecting the quick hit of conversions from a performance marketing campaign, but sustaining a thought leadership program over time will help you build brand authority and introduce a new pool of high-quality leads into your marketing funnel.

 

How should you shift your 2023 marketing strategy? 

Build Your Brand 

An economic downturn can actually be the perfect time to build up your brand while it’s less expensive to do so. This is a prime opportunity to gain market share while your competitors slow down their marketing efforts. With less competition for ads, CPMs (cost per one thousand impressions) will also drop, making it less expensive to get your message out there.

 

True story: during WW2, the entire firearms industry was making weapons for the war effort.  During this time, only Winchester continued to advertise, but did it in a clever way talking about their part in winning the war against the Germans. When the conflict ended and hunters could start up again, Winchester far outpaced any competitor.

 

Winchester ad from World War II.

Winchester ad from World War II.

 

More recent examples from previous recessions also show that brands who increased ad spend had more profits than their competitors who stopped advertising. In the 1990-1991 recession, McDonald’s cut its advertising budget, while Pizza Hut and Taco Bell grew theirs. Pizza Hut’s sales increased by 61%, Taco Bell’s increased by 40%, and McDonald’s took a hit of a 28% decrease.

 

And for brands that stop advertising, it can take 3-5 years of consistent brand building efforts to recover if you “go dark.” If you lose customers to your competitors, consumers may be slow to switch back to your brand even once you resume advertising.

 

Prioritize Retention

Acquiring new customers may be more challenging if consumers are holding onto their money or saving for a potential rainy day. Focusing on retaining existing customers will be more important if we do see a downturn in 2023. 

 

It’s anywhere from five to 25 times cheaper to retain an existing customer than acquire a new one, so investing in retention is a wise use of your marketing budget.

 

If you are a membership organization, focus on engaging members. Marketing Generals’ 2022 Membership Marketing Benchmark Report reports that lack of engagement is the top reason for non-renewal of membership. Are current members taking advantage of all you have to offer? Make sure they’re aware of the benefits that you offer, and look for ways to improve the membership experience. 

 

Example of a member engagement and retention program.

CBC client Scottish Rite, NMJ launched a new program to engage and retain existing members.

 

And if you are selling a product, think about ways to get customers coming back again and again. Email marketing automation can help you send reminders to restock after a certain amount of time after purchase. Coupons and sales can also convince your customers to purchase again – and from the brand they know and love, instead of trying out a cheaper competitor.

 

Provide Value

When the economy hurts, how you advertise to your customer base needs to change as well. Shift your messaging to focus on customers’ current needs and challenges. 

 

Be empathetic to the pains that consumers are feeling. With rising prices everywhere from the gas pump to the supermarket, consumers are forced to re-evaluate their spending priorities. In the same way that marketers had to adapt during the pandemic, we now need to finetune our messages to a changing economic climate.  

 

Above all else, be helpful and show how you can be a solution to your customers’ problems. Your value proposition should make it clear how you can make your customers’ lives better. 

 

Consider testing a “zero-click” marketing strategy where you offer valuable content to users upfront, no click or purchase required. This is a great opportunity to use top-of-funnel marketing channels like social media to showcase your thought leadership and share valuable advice with your audience. 

Example of “zero-click” content that provides value in an Instagram post.

Example of “zero-click” content from The Financial Diet, providing personal finance advice without requiring users to purchase an online class or even click away from Instagram.

 

The opposite of clickbait, zero-click content gets your audience’s attention and builds trust – priming them to remember and buy from you when they’re ready. You’ll also see SEO benefits from this approach, given Google’s recent algorithm updates to prioritize human-first, helpful content.

 

Final Words of Advice

Pessimistic financial forecasts need not be a source of fear for marketers. Have courage to maintain your budget, get smart about how you spend it across the full marketing funnel, and share messaging that resonates in the current moment. If you take this advice, you’ll be set up to outpace your competitors no matter how the economy fluctuates.

 

Still need help planning for 2023? Reach out to CBC for a free consultation tailored to your business and marketing needs.

 

About the Author

Megan Paradis is the Manager of Marketing Analytics at Cercone Brown Company, where she works at the intersection of data and strategy to uncover insights that fuel campaigns.

Connect on LinkedIn

Table of Contents

1. What is the Social Media Funnel?
2. Why the Social Media Funnel Matters
3. An Example of How the Social Media Funnel Works
4. How the Social Media Funnel Can Inform Paid Social
5. Tactics and Strategies for Every Phase of the Social Media Funnel
6. How to Measure the Social Media Funnel

If you’re at all involved in the branding or promotion of a company, you’ve likely heard of the marketing and sales funnel. The marketing and sales funnel, sometimes called the purchase funnel, was developed at the end of the 20th century to illustrate the customer’s “journey.” This customer journey is one of the most critical pieces of the marketing puzzle to solve; a bad journey can equate to a bad customer experience.

This same funnel can be applied to social media marketing. By understanding how social media can engage users at every stage of the funnel, you can better craft a strategy that creates a thoughtful user experience and, in turn, generates results that meet both social media and business objectives.

The Social Media Marketing Funnel: Definition

The social media marketing funnel is a concept that describes the stages of a customer’s engagement with any business’ social media channels. While there is no universally accepted funnel, at CBC we view these four phases to be the key steps in any user’s journey with a brand on social media:

An infographic illustrating the four phases of the social media marketing funnel.

Awareness: The stage in the social media marketing funnel where a user is exploring new content and brands in search of answers to a question, problem, or curiosity. For example, this top-of-funnel stage could consist of a user intentionally seeking out a specific product category in social media search where they find your page, or a user being tagged in a post from your feed where they stumble across your content.

Consideration: This is the stage in a social media marketing funnel where a user has found your brand or post and expresses potential interest. A user who engages with your brand, whether by following your company page or liking a post, would fall into the consideration phase. They’re aware of the brand, but are now gathering more information on who you are, what you offer, and whether it is right for their wants and needs.

Conversion: The stage in the social media marketing funnel where a user completes a desired action and enters the brand’s ecosystem. Conversion is most often a purchase but could also be an email sign-up, free trial redemption, or booking a product demo. What qualifies as a successful conversion will vary depending on your line of business and goals.

Loyalty + Advocacy: This is the stage of the social media marketing funnel where a user is not only a customer, but a brand superfan. These users not only follow, engage, and buy from your brand, but also repeatedly interact with your company and are willing to vouch for your quality, service, or other business attribute. Users who enter this bottom-of-funnel stage will take actions such as leaving a positive review in the comments, sharing content from the brand to their personal channels, posting about the brand on their owned channels (user generated content), or referring other users to a brand’s social media pages.

Why the Social Media Marketing Funnel Matters

Understanding the social media marketing funnel is critical when it comes to shaping and driving digital strategy. Today, there are nearly 4 billion people worldwide using social media and the average person spends 95 minutes per day on various social channels – the highest average we’ve seen recorded today. 

Undoubtedly, social media is a critical piece of your marketing program. A thorough understanding of the social media funnel, combined with a careful analysis of your brand’s funnel, will allow you to uncover what your company must do to influence users at every stage. For example, if you’re gaining a lot of followers each month but struggling to convert, you may realize you’re failing to provide necessary information or motivation for users in the consideration phase.

Furthermore, if you’re not using the social media funnel to strategize for your social channels, you could be missing opportunities to enhance your social media marketing program by:

  • Failing to collect a deep understanding of your customer and what drives action amongst various audience segments
  • Neglecting to create types of content that move users to the next phase of the funnel; if you’re not following their journey, how will you know what’s effective?
  • Losing the ability to quickly pivot tactics and strategy when funnel milestones are falling short of expectations; measuring solely top and bottom of funnel metrics leaves room in between for users to fall off.

We’ve found that brands that don’t utilize the social media funnel to drive strategy often focus too much attention on the awareness and conversion phases of the social media funnel where, in reality, nurturing users throughout the entire funnel is what creates brand evangelists and long-lasting ROI.

Example of How the Social Media Funnel Can Work

An infographic illustrating how social media tactics can be deployed to move users down the social media marketing funnel.

To illustrate an example of how the social media funnel may work, let’s walk through an example for a B2C brand selling a tangible product.

  • Awareness: A brand runs paid ads on social media highlighting their latest product. This ad brings a user to their brand page where they decide to follow.
  • Consideration: As a follower, they begin to see a variety of content from your page over the course of a few weeks. They’ve learned what the brand’s product can offer through a series of social media posts discussing the benefits, use cases, and unique differentiators.
  • Conversion: One day, they see a brand post that offers a 10% discount code for first-time email subscribers. This user has been following the brand page and content for awhile now and, with this exclusive offer, feels the time is right to buy. They click the link in your post to sign up for your email list, receive the discount code, and purchase the product through your website.
  • Loyalty and Advocacy: The user has received the product and they love it! They enjoy the product so much that they go to their own personal Instagram Stories and post a photo of the product with a testimonial as to why the product is so great.

How the Social Media Funnel Can Inform Your Paid Approach

While the social media funnel can help brand teams create and source effective organic content and engagement strategies, it can also help inform paid social media campaigns.

Today’s online advertising landscape is sophisticated and well-suited to rely on the social media funnel. With the right technology and systems in place, your brand can see in real-time how many users are at each stage of the funnel and what content is driving them to take the next step.

Looking at the social media funnel through a paid media lens, your brand’s approach could look like:

  • Awareness: You run a paid campaign featuring a brand sizzle reel with the goal of impressions to reach the largest audience possible.
  • Consideration: Simultaneously, as you gain impressions on your awareness-focused ads, you begin to retarget these ad-viewers with new ads that focus on benefits, use cases, or show influencer and/or customer testimonials.
An example of a paid social media post that targets users in the consideration phase of the social media marketing funnel with an influencer testimonial.

An example of a paid Instagram post that targets users in the consideration phase of the social media marketing funnel by showcasing an influencer testimonial.

  • Conversion: With enough social media impressions of your ads, you can now retarget users who have viewed and/or engaged with a previous ad with a timely offer. You’ve likely seen examples of this in your own personal social channels through messaging like “You left this in your cart,” “Claim your exclusive offer today,” or “Almost sold out!”
 An example of a paid social media post that targets users in the conversion phase of the social media marketing funnel with objection handling

An example of a paid Instagram post that targets users in the conversion phase of the social media marketing funnel by refuting customer objections in the image, coupled with a timely call-to-action to book a free consultation.

  • Loyalty + Advocacy: While this stage of the funnel is not often supported by paid social media, your brand could benefit by targeting this audience segment with advertisements that announce new product launches, sales, or promote your loyalty program. Many social media platforms will allow you to build a targeted audience by uploading your customer list.

Social Media Strategies for Every Stage of the Funnel

How a company leverages the social media funnel in their marketing efforts is dependent on a variety of factors, such as whether they’re selling a tangible good or a service, who they’re selling to, the lead time for a typical conversion, and resources available.

Regardless of these factors, there are proven strategies and tactics for each stage of the funnel that brands can deploy to encourage users to take the next step:

Awareness

  • Use video content to reach and engage a larger segment of users.

    An example of a social media post that targets users in the awareness phase of the social media marketing funnel with a product video and social proof.

    An example of an Instagram post that targets users in the awareness phase of the social media marketing funnel by using video to demonstrate what their product does. The copy further adds value by offering social proof – “87% of professional gardeners use #PictureThis”

     

  • Run paid ads for organic content (ie. boosted posts) to reach non-followers.
  • Make sure creative is eye-catching and “stops the scroll.”
  • Focus on creating content that discusses the problems or challenges facing users that your business solves for.

    An example of a social media post that targets users in the awareness phase of the social media marketing funnel by offering a solution.

    An example of an Instagram post that targets users in the awareness phase of the social media marketing funnel by clearly identifying the problem users are facing and offering a solution.

     

     

  • Leverage social media influencers to reach new communities and segments of users
  • Create content that is easily “shareable.” This type of content may include infographics, memes, quotes, or GIFs.
An example of a social media post that targets users in the awareness phase of the social media marketing funnel with a shareable meme.

An example of an Instagram post that targets users in the awareness phase of the social media marketing funnel by tapping into pop culture to create a highly-shareable brand meme.

 

Consideration

  • Share content that is informational, touting benefits, differentiators, and value.
    If you are selling a product, consider creating tutorial content that shows users how your product works.

    An example of a social media post that targets users in the consideration phase of the social media marketing funnel with a tutorial.

    An example of an Instagram post that targets users in the consideration phase of the social media marketing funnel by showcasing a tutorial on how to use their product.

     

     

  • Share user-generated content and testimonials to help users see how your brand or product could benefit them.

    An example of a social media post that targets users in the consideration phase of the social media marketing funnel with a testimonial.

    An example of an Instagram post that targets users in the consideration phase of the social media marketing funnel by showcasing a customer testimonial.

  • Host “lives” (available on most but not all social channels) where a company expert can answer questions and provide more information on brand offerings.

Conversion

  • Use content upgrades, “freebies”, or other exclusive offers to entice users to learn more about your brand or product – and preferably, get added to your email list. Examples include discount codes, whitepapers, e-books, and free samples.

    An example of a social media post that targets users in the conversion phase of the social media marketing funnel with a free trial offer.

    An example of an Instagram post that targets users in the conversion phase of the social media marketing funnel by offering a free trial pass.

     

  • Include calls-to-action to shop, book a demo, or sign-up. “If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no.”
  • Add urgency to the copy of your posts. For example, “for a limited time,” “limited stock available,” “time’s running out!”, or “don’t wait ” creates a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) and encourages users to act now.

    An example of a social media post that uses a discount to target users in the conversion phase of the social media marketing funnel.

    An example of an Instagram post that targets users in the conversion phase of the social media marketing funnel by offering a discount for a limited time, creating urgency for users to act.

  • Run paid social ads that re-target existing followers to bring your brand top of mind.
  • Consider in-app shopping features, if applicable to your brand, to eliminate friction for users.

    An example of a social media post that targets users in the conversion phase of the social media marketing funnel with a call-to-action to shop.

    An example of an Instagram post that targets users in the conversion phase of the social media marketing funnel by showcasing the products top features with a simple call-to-action to shop.

     

Loyalty + Advocacy

  • Offer exclusive promotions for recurring customers.
  • Offer giveaways, contests, and other engaging freebies to continue to provide value for followers.
  • Promote a branded hashtag to collect and share user-generated content to your channels.
  • Engage with the community! Like and respond to comments and direct messages.
  • Consider creating a closed Facebook group or other community forum where your brand offers exclusive deals, information, or other value-add activities to keep fans loyal.

How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Social Media Funnel

In order to fully reap the benefits of a social media funnel strategy, you’ll want to set key performance indicators (KPIs) at every stage of the funnel. Which KPIs you measure will be dependent on your line of business and brand goals. Below, we’ve listed a few metrics for each step in the funnel to consider:

  • Awareness: followers, views, reach, impressions, profile visits
  • Consideration: comments, likes, saves, shares, link clicks, downloads
  • Conversion: email sign-ups, purchases/sales, demos booked, downloads, leads
  • Loyalty + Advocacy: comments, likes, shares, mentions, number of branded hashtag posts 

The social media funnel is a valuable tool for any marketer looking to strengthen their social media performance, build relationships with customers, create a superior customer experience, and better integrate social media efforts with business goals.

 

Evaluating your social media funnel and creating a strategic plan for execution aligned with your funnel is no small task. Need help? CerconeBrownCompany has helped dozens of businesses of various sizes and across industries optimize their social strategy. Contact us for a social media consultation for your brand!

 

About the Author

Hayley Reissfelder is the Manager of Digital and Content at CerconeBrownCompany, where she works to create high-impact digital marketing strategies that raise brand awareness and drive revenue.

Connect on LinkedIn

 

At CBC, we deliver more than just coverage; we drive measurable business results through our strategic, data-driven approach to public relations (PR). Our Research & Insights team recently conducted original research on correlations between earned media coverage with website KPIs like traffic & conversions. The goal? Quantify the ripple effect of a PR campaign’s success to our clients’ bottom line using proven PR measurement techniques. 

How to Measure PR Value

According to Muck Rack’s State of PR 2022 survey, nearly half of PR pros agree that producing measurable results is a key way to increase the value of PR in an organization. At CBC, we track measurable results and long-term benefits of PR through four main techniques. Through implementation of these PR measurement techniques, we’ve found that PR adds a long-lasting value to other marketing initiatives, and we’ve cracked the code on how to measure it. 

PR Measurement Techniques

The four main areas for added value are:

  • Spike Detection – When a publication includes a backlink to your site, we can directly measure the impact of coverage by the volume of traffic referred to your site. We also track users who come in through organic search or direct traffic after seeing coverage.
  • Organic Search Lift – PR raises brand awareness, making users more likely to type your brand name into Google. We look for spikes in organic traffic, as well as the lasting organic search power that comes from authoritative backlinks.  
  • Engagement/Content Consumption Increase – Users who come in from PR efforts generally consume more content and stay on a website for a longer period of time. 
  • Revenue – Exceptional PR has a direct impact on revenue. It can be measured through sales partner links, affiliate links, retail sales, or by tracking leads through a CRM. 


Spike Detection: Correlating PR Hits with Website Wins

Spike detection is a proven PR measurement technique for tracking user traffic following a PR hit. If you’re lucky enough to get a backlink in your coverage, we can measure direct clickthrough from the article to your site. 

Otherwise, we know that PR drives both organic search and direct traffic. Sometimes the reader isn’t ready to take action when they first read coverage, but if they remember your brand name, they will look you up later. More often than not, they turn to Google search or directly type your website URL into their browser to find more info on you. When users actively seek you out, you know your PR coverage was memorable!

Spike detection is a simple but effective way to prove that PR works. Across CBC clients, 70% of all top traffic days correspond with PR coverage. 

 

 A graph showing organic search traffic lift from users to the homepage as a result of PR coverage.

 

A chart showcasing correlation between PR efforts and revenue

 

If your PR team can secure hits in the right publications, reach the right audience, and with the right message, you too can expect to see an increase in web traffic.

Organic Search Lift: Long-Lasting Impact from Earned Media

In some cases, coverage is significant enough to provide lasting organic search power. As PR earns authoritative links that point to your site, your domain authority increases. Domain authority measures the overall quality of your site, and backlinks from trustworthy sites are one of the biggest ranking factors. A higher authority score means search engines view your site as a trustworthy resource and are more likely to rank your website higher in search results, which ultimately translates to increased organic search traffic.

In the case of one CBC client, organic search increased by a factor of 4 when comparing pre- and post- coverage. In April 2020, CBC secured authoritative coverage for a clean skincare brand. The pieces included coverage revolving around hand sanitizer, a highly in-demand product, and was featured in major publications like Allure, NY Mag, and Buzzfeed. The links in these articles generated significant traffic and link equity. As a result of this, organic search increased from an average of 50-100 clicks a day to 200-400 clicks a day. We estimate that the lasting impact of the links drove over $80K in organic revenue.

 

A graph showing how organic search traffic increased by a factor of 4 after PR coverage.

Engagement and Content Consumption from PR Users

We have seen that users who come in from PR efforts are generally more engaged users. They consume more content and stay on the websites for a longer period of time. In most cases, they are nearly 100% new users, showing that PR is effective at reaching new audiences who don’t already know about your brand.

Across CBC’s PR clients, we’ve seen that PR-referred users view 15-25% more content and stay on the site 25-50% longer than the standard website user. Not only does PR bring a higher volume of traffic to the site, but it also brings high-quality audiences.

 

PR-referred users are more engaged and consume more content on a website.

The example above shows traffic from users who were referred to a clean beauty brand’s website from earned media coverage. These users viewed 16% more pages per session than the standard website user. CBC sent almost 2,000 users to the website via referral sources. 

Show Me the Money: Attributing Revenue with PR Measurement

Marketing is a team sport. At CBC, we believe that PR is, generally, most effective at the top of the funnel, but we can also measure the lower funnel impact of users who were first exposed through PR efforts. Ultimately, it’s about conversion: either sending the user down to the next step in the user journey or generating direct conversions, such as a purchase or scheduling a demo.  

In the B2B space, we have tracked leads directly from coverage to lead generation forms. We can also track sales by monitoring activities within a CRM. For example, one of our B2B clients was able to connect the dots from a user who came to their site via a press release, filled out a lead capture form, and ultimately signed on for a $70K project. The lifetime value of that single lead will likely even be higher, as the team builds a strong customer relationship and foundation for future projects. 

Our B2B PR team has also secured earned coverage for a pharma marketing and medical affairs agency in key industry publications like FiercePharma. From data in their CRM, we have been able to directly attribute new business inquiries to the FiercePharma piece, with leads requesting demos of the service featured in the article. This shows that the coverage was in the right target publication and brought in qualified marketing leads that were ready to be handed off to the sales team. 

On the consumer side, we know that coverage generates traffic to e-commerce sites, which in turn creates revenue. We track PR-attributable revenue in the same way that we track coverage, using methods like spike detection and measurement of organic search lift. Not all consumer brands are DTC, so we also leverage affiliate links and affiliate content to drive revenue through multiple sources, including Amazon, Target, Walgreens, etc.

The Bottom Line: PR Works & We Can Prove It

Securing fantastic coverage has always been a priority at CBC for our clients, and we don’t stop at traditional PR metrics to measure our success. We’ve proven that PR can truly provide business value that your CFO can’t argue with.

We also know that coverage is just one piece of the puzzle – building relationships with media is another crucial element of a successful PR program. At CBC’s award-winning experiential House programs, we connect brands with top-tier media through immersive brand activations. PR pros from all over the country come to us for this invaluable opportunity to build relationships.

Reach out to CBC for a PR audit! If our clients’ success stories piqued your interest, let us dig into your PR data and assess the value you’re getting from your current PR program. We believe in the power of PR, so if you’re not yet seeing the business results you need, our expert media relations team can help. 

Social media is full of noise. There are millions of brands every day attempting to make themselves heard and leave a message that resonates with their audience – it’s important that your brand can break through the babble. Stopping the scroll relies on strong creative and compelling copy; If you have aspirations of attracting a large and loyal brand following, enhancing your team’s copywriting skills should be a top priority.

At CerconeBrownCompany, we’ve helped brands of all industries and sizes enhance their social presence and pull off trendsetting campaigns that have not only grown their online following but have strengthened their relationships with customers as well (aka more sales!) Below, we’ve shared our top tips for ensuring that your social media copy will grab the attention of users quickly and easily.

1. Create FOMO

Have you ever been scrolling through Instagram and stopped to look at a group of people on a beach vacation and thought, “I would do anything to be there right now?”

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, is a psychological phenomenon that can be described as the worry that you are missing out on an amazing experience or product. According to TrustPulse, 60% of people make purchases because of FOMO, mostly within 24 hours.

To infuse FOMO into your social media copy, quite simply show your audience what they are missing out on! An easy way to do this is by collecting testimonials about other customers’ experiences, but you can also do so by creating a sense of urgency with words and phrases like “for a limited time”,  “save your spot”, or “time is running out!”

Take the below post from clothing brand Anthropologie for example – they create a sense of urgency by emphasizing that time is running out to make holiday orders, while also highlighting that there is something for everyone at their site. This makes readers realize they are missing out on some amazing gifts for their loved ones…so time to act fast!

Anthropologie social post

Whether you choose to elicit FOMO through peer experiences, exclusive offers, or something else, the key is to make a user feel like your product or service will solve a problem better than any other company can.

2. Simplicity is KEY

You don’t want your audience to struggle trying to understand your copy. In fact, if your copy is too long, uses too much jargon, or doesn’t communicate the value right away – they won’t try. They’ll keep scrolling!

According to Boomerang, messages that are written at a third-grade reading level receive 36% more responses. Social media is something that encourages instant gratification and understanding, so most users don’t have the attention span to read long or wordy social posts. The fewer words you use, the better!

Need help writing more concisely? One exercise social media marketers can practice when faced with long-winded social copy is to delete parts of your post and ask yourself: does it still make sense? Does it still capture the essence of your message? If so, leave it out!

If that exercise doesn’t help you cut down on words, work with your creative team. Remember that you can also use your creative – whether it be a photo, video, GIF, or other type of imagery – help illustrate your message. In fact, your copy and creative should always work together.

Check out the above example from Hismile, a company that sells a variety of teeth whitening products.

This copy is simple and straight to the point – the image shows somebody who is very happy with the Hismile product, and the accompanying copy explains how being like her is easy, it can happen in just ten minutes! It quickly gets to the point and persuades readers to learn more.

3. Be Conversational

Your audience wants to feel like you are talking to them, not at them. When you are writing social media copy, try to use a conversational tone. To do so, avoid using too much jargon but feel free to add in emojis, pop culture references, and other expressions that you’d use in conversation with a friend.

Of course, if your brand’s tone of voice is more serious or if your social media posts require regulatory approval, as if often the case for B2B brands,  then you may have to work to find a compromise. However, that doesn’t stop you from creating conversations by asking your audience questions or engaging with them in the comments.

Glossier social post

A great example of this is the above Instagram post by beauty brand Glossier. With the introduction of their fourth moisturizer, they knew that some customers would have questions as to which would work best for them. They created an easy-to-understand graphic and addressed in their copy the confusion that can come from their wide array of products.

4. Nail Down Your CTA

Arguably, the CTA, or call to action, is the most important part of your social media copy. A CTA is a brief phrase – written or visual – that asks your audience to perform a specific action.

Nailing down your CTA is essential because attention spans are short – you want to make it obvious to users what you want them to do.

The value of a CTA can be statistically proven – according to SocialPilot, adding a CTA can increase conversion rates by 83%. In general, the most effective way to convert your readers into customers is to simply ask. Like many things in life, “if you don’t ask, the answer is always no!”

Keep in mind, you’ll need to motivate consumers to oblige to your call to action. For example, a tweet that reads “Go to our website to buy our new product” directs user to a next step, but it doesn’t present the value in following through. When drafting calls to actions, ask yourself: “what’s in it for them?”

Take the below example from Fenty Beauty – offering a discount or deal isn’t always necessary, but it is a great example of motivating your users to take the next step. In both their graphic and caption, Fenty Beauty is offering customers 30% off of their mini foundation with the CTA “Throw it in ya bag!” – simple, easy, and direct.

Fenty Beauty social post

 

To learn more about writing CTAs that convert, check out our blog.

Differences and Examples for each Social Channel

 Something important to note is that your social media copywriting shouldn’t take a “one size fits all” approach; each social platform has unique quirks that call for different practices. Below we share our expertise and tips for optimizing your copy for each platform:

Facebook

  • Make sure your copy directs users to share. Facebook prioritizes content from friends and family over brands; an easy way to increase your reach is to have users share your post to their personal profile. Be inspiring or entertaining in your copy and be sure to include “share” in your CTA.
  • Focus on people. Facebook is a place for connecting with friends and family, so posts featuring other people and your community will perform well. We’re not just talking about the photos you collect – incorporate testimonials and use brand ambassadors to help your post stand out.

Instagram

  • Instagram users love a story – incorporate storytelling into your copy to grab their interest. It’s OK to share a longer post on Instagram….as long as your story is a good one!
  • On that note, if you’re going to write a long Instagram caption, begin with a strong hook before beginning a long paragraph. Only the first few words of your caption will appear in a user’s feed – think through what will intrigue a user to learn more!
  • Include hashtags – they’ll help get more eyes on your post. BUT don’t go overboard. Choose hashtags that are relevant to your post but aren’t so oversaturated with content that yours gets lost in the mix. We recommend looking at hashtags with less than half a million posts.

LinkedIn

  • Make sure your tone is professional – but not too While LinkedIn is a thought leadership and business-centered platform, we’ve seen a shift in the last few years and, today, LinkedIn’s viral content is conversational, authentic, and inspires dialogue. Find the right balance for your brand!
  • Incorporate numbers or statistics – these stand out in a body of text and can quickly grab a reader’s attention.

Twitter

  • The most important aspect of Twitter to keep in mind is the short character count – you only have 280 characters to get your point across.
  • Twitter is primarily a platform to find news, so think of your tweet as a news headline or billboard! Get your main point across first in a few words.

TikTok

  • Keep it short! TikTok is a video platform, so your audience isn’t going to be reading a long caption, they’re going to be watching the video. The character limit for TikTok is 300 characters, so make sure you only include any important supplementary information.
  • TikTok captions are a great place to instruct viewers to do anything that you didn’t mention in the video (this could be something like “watch until the end” or “click the link in our bio to learn more”).

 

Social media offers brands a great opportunity to connect with their audience and share updates in real-time – but it’s what you make of it. By implementing these tips for your next social media post, you’re sure to see more reach, engagement, and conversions with your content.

Looking for a partner that can help you nail down your copywriting strategy? We’d love to chat.