Knowing how to create impactful B2B marketing materials can be tricky. Not only do you have to approach potential customers like traditional consumers, but you also have to give them insights on how your product will help them grow and sustain their business. How do you reach out and make sure your company is seen by the right people and inspire them to choose you rather than your competitors?

Here are some B2B marketing trends to help you take your campaigns to the next level in 2020.

Research

The world of B2B products is constantly changing. That is why it is crucial to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to knowing what is going out and what is coming in, especially when it comes to knowing what people want.

It is essential to make sure you do market research often. This helps know your clients and target audience better and understand how the market changes, what advances are made to get your message out, and what products perform the best. That way, you will know which B2B marketing trends to follow and implement and which ones you can ignore.

And market research isn't just a do it once and call it a day type of thing. It is vital to any business, but especially to B2B, to do research every so often to make sure things are working the way the marketing team needs them to work.

Update Your Website

This one should be a no-brainer. If your website is slow, overly cluttered, or, god forbid, not UX optimized, all of the great marketing campaigns in the world won't help drive sales up. How many times have you heard "time is money"? If people spend too long trying to find the product they are looking for or the information they need on your site, they will generally get frustrated and move on.

If it has been a while since you have updated your website, you should do it. Just remember to keep it user-friendly and full of SEO friendly content. Speaking of which...

Create Great SEO Content

It doesn't matter how great your product is. If your target audience can't find you, they won't use your company. The best way to make sure people can find you is by getting your SEO right.

There are two main aspects of SEO, onsite and offsite. Onsite SEO consists of using target keywords to communicate what services you offer to your customers. These keywords help search engines know what your site is about and then list you in relevant searches.

Offsite SEO is when other sites link back to your site. This also helps search engines recognize your field expertise and place you higher in their search results.

Ideally, both should work together to get your page noticed. This will ensure you are on the first few pages when people search for terms related to you and your product.

Social Media

Having an active and relevant social media presence is a key factor in how successful a company will be. It can be a great way to boost your SEO rankings potentially; yes, search engines also consider social media and attract more buyers.

Not only are more and more people following brands they like on social media, but they are also engaging with them on these platforms as well. That means people are looking to things like Facebook and Twitter to gain information about product launches, what other people are saying, and how the brand performs.

Plus, you can gauge what consumers are saying about your products by regularly monitoring your social media channels. So, think of it as constant, low cost, supplemental information for your market research.

Paid Advertisements

Whether with industry-related publications and websites, social media sites, or even on Google with ad words, paid advertising can still be a powerful tool for attracting new customers or retargeting old ones. But it isn't just about getting views or people to click through to your website.

Paid advertising can also help establish you as an expert in a given field. As people download marketing materials or white papers or even look through old blog posts, your analytics will register it and use this information to help your rankings on various search engines.

However, it is important to remember, while paid ads on Facebook or Instagram can be great, it is generally a better idea to use industry-focused social media platforms like LinkedIn to target specific fields and audiences directly. Plus, they tend to cost less than Facebook or AdWords and have a higher ROI for downloads and clickthroughs since they are geared toward businesses and industry insiders.

Use Analytics To Your Advantage

This is what lets you know what is working and what isn't. Google Analytics is a fantastic tool for measuring visitors to your site, how they got there, and who long they spent on each page. MOZ and Hootsuite can also help boost your ratings and understand what is performing well on social media channels.

These insights will help you and your marketing team when it comes to creating great content that is going to resonate with current and potential customers. So, it would help if you were doing quarterly analytics audits at the very least to see what is going well and what you could be doing better.

How to Find the Best B2B Marketing Trends

There are many great tools and ideas out there to help you find B2B marketing trends that will work for you and your company. All you have to do is make sure your content gets to those who need to see it most.

For ideas on how to run a great digital campaign, check out our blog on that. It will help you create and execute a great campaign to generate leads.

Trying to connect to consumers in this modern age of technology is easier than ever. With so much digital and easy to share content, brands need to make sure their content reaches all of their potential customers, no matter where they are. That is why localization services are so important.

Thanks to translation programs like Google translate and countless others, you may be asking yourself, "why do I need to shell out for a localization team"? However, localization is more than just about translating the words, as it turns out.

Let's take a look at seven reasons you should hire a localization team for your digital content.

What Are Localization Services?

Localization services translate content. It is more than a translation service, like, say, Google translate. It takes things like slang, grammar, sentence structure, and regional differences into account. This means they will translate any content you give them for a specific market.

For example, if the Central American market interests you, you would want to hire localization teams from all five countries to ensure your content speaks to the target audience in each of those countries. Or, if you are, say, a French company looking to break into the American market, you should consider different localization for each region in the US, as each has its own slang.

So, let's look at some of the reasons why you should consider hiring localization services.

1. It Helps Brands Look Consumer-Focused

When your company is willing to spend time and money on localization and getting the content out in as many languages as possible, it makes it look like you are eager to put the consumer's needs first.

But, it isn't just about getting the content translated. It is also about taking environmental factors into account. It is about knowing not to promote summer clothing to Australians in July or cute sundresses to Russians in January.

2. It Encourages Engagement

If more people can read and understand your social media posts, they are more likely to comment, share, like, and subscribe. This is even more likely if your posts display a certain amount of cultural sensitivity.

Many big-name brands have created some pretty big (and humorous gaffs) localization mistakes, with Pepsi being one of the most famous. In the 60s, the soda created the tagline "Come alive with Pepsi," which translated into Chinese as "bring your ancestors back to life." And while yes, mistakes like that will be shared across the internet, it won't be for reasons you want.

3. It Can Help Test Certain Markets

If you are thinking about expanding into markets beyond your home one, offering geo-targeted ads can be a great way to test the waters. By localizing your content, you get the most out of these ads. After all, if you are going through all the trouble of creating a great social media campaign for potential customers in another part of the world, why wouldn't you also take the time to make sure it is culturally and linguistically perfect?

4. Your Brand Looks Culturally Sensitive

This one ties in with #1 a bit while being so much more. It goes beyond making sure you understand the difference between which products to offer to northern and southern hemisphere consumers.

It means understanding that not all color schemes will work for every country and every culture. There might be times when using red would be appropriate for a Western audience but not quite what you are going for, say, a Middle Eastern one. This is when localization services can help you send the right psychological message and the verbal one.

5. Increased Revenue

By limiting your content to one language, you miss out on many potential customers. For example, if your primary language is English, you only reach about 1/4 of the people on the internet. That is a lot of people who could be using your product but aren't.

So, even if you localize your website, mobile site, and a few social media posts into Chinese, you reach over one billion more people. If you add Spanish, you are looking at another half a billion. Some of them are bound to translate into increased profits.

6. Cost-Effective

Like with any new service you are offering, getting it right the first time costs less in the long run. Sure, hiring a localization team may initially cost a little more, but you save money when you factor in revenue gains and lack of pr mishaps. So, even if it means taking a little more time to prepare a great localized campaign, the rewards you will gain from having more quality time in the market will outweigh any you see by a rushed launch.

7. Better Ad Performance

It turns out that ads targeting local audiences perform better than global ones, making a certain amount of sense. When localized ads share cultural references that might otherwise get lost in translation and help people feel connected to the product or service. Plus, people are far more likely to share content with which they feel connected. 

And, as we all know, when ads perform better, profits tend to rise as well.

A Few Last Thoughts

These are just a few suggestions on why localization is so important. Just make sure to shop around to find a company that provides the localization services you need.

We offer plenty of different services in several various industries. Get in touch today to get a quote and see what our localization services can do for you and your business!

When it comes to Social Media Marketing, Facebook still reigns supreme. With over 2 billion active users and 65 million businesses using the platform every month, there is no denying the importance of creating and maintaining a page for your small business. Decked out with special features, including targeting metrics and other ways to reach potential customers, having a business page is a great way to market your company. Unfortunately, figuring out how to set up a Facebook account for your business isn’t as straightforward as one would think. Here is a handy tutorial on how to start a Facebook page for your small business.

Before You Start:

Before sitting down and working on your business’s page, you will need to have a personal Facebook page if you don’t have one already. This may seem a bit odd, don’t worry. The two pages are completely separate. You are only using your personal account to access the pages feature. None of your personal information will be shared on your professional page. All of your business's interactions with fans of your business will be as your business. So, there is no need to worry about your privacy or safety.

Now that you are all set with your personal page, it is time to create your business page.

This is also the time to choose who will have an admin role on the page if anyone else will have an admin role. Clearly, if you are a small one-person operation, this won’t be something you need to think about. However, if you are a larger start-up or scale-up, having more people as admins means more people to stay on top of things and engage with people as your page grows.

Getting Started:

There are two ways to access the page area. One is through your personal page and the other, which is far easier, is through facebook.com/business. This is the one we are going to use for the sake of simplicity.

Once you are on the Facebook business-main page, you will see two options: business or brand and community or public figure. Be sure you chose the business or brand option.

After clicking on the get started button, you will be asked to choose your page’s name and business category. Using your actual business name is, of course, ideal. However, sometimes there are companies from other parts of the world with the same name. So, maybe consider adding your location like bobsbakerywitchita or chaptersbookstoreie to ensure you get the name you want.

Once you have chosen a name for your page, it is time to choose a category for your company. Start by typing in what sort of business you run. An autofill menu will pop down, allowing you to choose from a number of selections of industries related to your business. For example, if you type in “bakery,” everything from a bakery to cupcake shop to chocolate shop will pop up, meaning you will have the option to let people know exactly what sort of bakery you own.

The final step in getting started on the process is entering your address and phone number. If you are a strictly online business, don’t worry. There is the option not to show your physical address. It will only show which city your business is located in.

Profile and Cover Photos:

Now that you have the who, where, and what all sorted, it is time to pick a photo. This will make it easier for people to find you and know you are the business they are looking for. It should either be of your storefront if you are a brick and mortar small business, or your logo.

Once you have your profile photo uploaded, you should pick out a cover photo. According to Facebook, pages with a cover photo tend to perform better than those without. Just like your profile photo, your cover photo should reflect your business. Just make sure the photo you chose is high def and professional.

Filling in the Blanks:

Now that your photos and bare basics are up, it is time to fill in the rest. On the left side of your admin page, you will find links to various extras that will help people get to know more about you and your company. While videos and photos will come in time, the most important section to focus on at first is the about section.

This is where you can add your website, about us, directions on how to find you (if you have a physical location), and a ton of more useful information. It even has a place for you to put up your menu if you are a restaurant. Remember, the more information you give, the more like people will be engaged with your page and business. So, fill out every section relevant for your business because the more informative your page is, the more views it will get.

Quick note, when creating your “about” text for Facebook, keep it as tonally close to the “about us” section on your website as possible. The last thing you want is for there to be a disconnect between the two texts. Your Facebook about us doesn’t have to be as long or as in-depth as the one on your website, but they should match.

Adding an Action Button:

Facebook’s action button can be a great way to get potential customers to reach out or learn more. Just click the button on your cover photo's bottom right and choose from everything from messaging you on Facebook to downloading your app if you have one.

Having a call to action button upfront and easy to find can encourage people to follow up and drive up click-through rates. It also helps to focus customers' attention where you want it to go. Always a big plus.

Creating Your First Post and Getting Followers:

Now that your page has all the information ready and your call to action button, it is time to publish your first post.

The first post is important for a number of reasons. It helps you test the waters. It can help get your page's early fans to get engaged and responsive. But, most importantly, it lets people know your business is now on Facebook. You will want to create a post that gets people interested and interacts with the content.

There are a number of ways you can help people get involved with your first post. You can have a competition post between two items or ideas, using like or share to see who the winner will be. Or create a poll about several different items or products you offer.

Or you can use impactful or cute images to get noticed. By featuring a visually interesting product is a great way to get people talking about your Facebook page. Or why not add a cute animal?

When it comes to getting followers, make sure you add the Facebook button on your webpage with a call to action for people to like you. Also, don’t be afraid to share with your friends while creating an ad. Ads can be a great way to use marketing practices to get your new page in front of the right eyes.

Thanks to Facebook marketing targets, you can create ads that can be as wide or as narrow as you want. You can include age, location, gender, and interests related to your business in the targeting framework. This helps weed out people who wouldn’t be interested, allowing you the potential for higher ROIs.

While it may seem overwhelming at first, creating a Facebook page for your business is easy to do. Plus, in this age of social media and online engagement, not having one can be a huge mistake in marketing your small business.

If you need more hints at how to start a successful blog or how to use social media marketing to your advantage, check out http://blogging.org. We pride ourselves in ensuring all of our page's information is the latest and most up to date, ensuring you stay ahead of the curve.

The term "entrepreneur" is thrown around a lot these days. But what does it mean exactly, and how do you know if you are one? Is it just being a self-starter with the desire to start a new business, or is it something more?

It turns out there are many qualities these self-starters share, and you can learn from them. Because, believe it or not, everything on this list is something that anyone can develop.

Let's look at the five traits of successful entrepreneurs and how they help people go into business for themselves.

Passion Drives Them

This one is a given, or at least it should be. Part of what makes entrepreneurs successful is how strongly they believe in and love what they are doing. It is hard to stay motivated about something you are "meh" about.

Starting a new business takes a lot of time and energy. There will be long hours setting up a marketing plan or solving those minor issues every start-up faces. Without passion, all the work and time needed to create a successful business will seem like a chore instead of an invigorating experience.

Plus, as we all know, when something you are passionate about succeeds, the feeling you get is better than any financial gain. Because it isn't about the money, it is about breathing life into something they believe in with their whole heart.

Creativity Courses Through Their Veins

Entrepreneurs tend to see the possibilities all around them. They are natural-born problem solvers. They look at everyday objects and see ways to repurpose them as marketing tools to help businesses grow or assist exciting industries.

They are not afraid of asking "what if" and shun away from the "that is how it has always been done" mentality. They dream big and can make those dreams a reality.

Plus, thanks to their creativity, they can often pull brilliant ideas out of nowhere and come up with more than just quick fixes. You can tell who is an entrepreneur at heart, even in big companies. Look for the person coming up with ideas to simplify the workflow, help productivity, and increase the bottom line with ingenuity.

Determination Is Their Middle Name

One of the essential traits of successful entrepreneurs is that they don't believe anything is impossible. Even if they have to create every tool needed to get something done, they are more than willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

More importantly, people with entrepreneurial spirits aren't afraid to fail. It tends to make them even more passionate about what they are trying to do and their vision.

For them, failure is one step closer to success. They learn from what went wrong, head back to the drawing board, and get back to work. They aren't afraid of tinkering with things to get the results they want; after all, it is part of the process.

They Look On The Brightside

It is easy to get discouraged when things don't get off the ground as quickly as you would like when you start your own business. It is easy to get frustrated when you put in a lot of work to build your dreams and throw in the towel when things don't go exactly as planned. Instead of wallowing these feelings, successful entrepreneurs realize this is part of the process and try to figure out ways to turn it around.

Being optimistic that your ideas are excellent and worth exploring encourages action and keeps you from becoming stuck and inactive. It also helps you be persistent when you have a difficult task ahead of you.

Psychology Today's website examined why optimism helps entrepreneurs succeed when the odds seem stacked against them. They found that optimistic people tended to be more creative, determined, and resilient when dealing with setbacks instead of just believing everything will work out for the best. They also found that even when faced with the statistics, those who were optimistic to a fault thought their ideas were going to succeed more often than not.

This proves the adage that if you believe it, you can achieve it.

They Take Risks

Going into business for yourself is a risky undertaking. And while it is okay to be a little scared, genuinely successful small business owners aren't willing to let a little fear stand in their way.

Instead of letting fear keep them stuck, they look at it as just one more thing on the path to success. If they can conquer their fear and take the leap, they have already overcome the first obstacle standing in their way, their self-doubt.

Once again, it boils down to optimism and perception. Instead of seeing the challenges and risks, they see opportunities and potential. They see the rewards waiting for them, not just the hurdles along the way.

Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

The five traits listed here barely scratch the surface of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. We could have added dozens of other: excellent communication skills, quirky personalities, strong work ethic, etc. However, one thing is certain at the core of what makes them successful is a strong and underlying belief they will be.

If you think you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, get in touch with us about starting your own cleaning service franchise today.

Becoming A Digital-First Bank:
How To Transform Your Digital Presence.

If the last few years have proven anything, it’s that fintech is here to stay. With the rise of online financial services and paperless transactions, the need for digital-first banking has become increasingly apparent.

This whitepaper aims to helps you identify how to transform your bank into a digital-first enterprise, including reworking your business model, working culture, and the technology which drives all of it.

Smart Bundling and Service Add-Ons

During the early days of the fintech boom, some of the savvier starts-ups made a conscious decision to pick and choose which financial services they would focus on, such as lending or investment advice, rather than trying to tackle it all. This came to be known as unbundling, as it represented the move away from the all in one bundle model traditional banking institutions had been using for years. This meant larger, more established commercial institutions were no longer leading the market in terms of expertise about the products they offered. Instead, big banks began to find themselves susceptible to the cherry-picking tactics of these new, hyper-focused, up and coming digital-first companies.

Since then, there have been numerous examples of banks joining with specialist fintech providers to enhance their services. In some cases, this “re-bundling” allows banks to move beyond the traditional, narrow banking domain to a variety of useful financial add-ons, like investment, insurance (and even parking), in an attempt to help customers simplify their daily routines. This shift from simple banking features to add-ons has been a wildly successful business strategy for Chinese tech giants like Alipay and WeChat. WeChat, which started as a social messaging network, added a payment capability to streamline users’ lives. It is now one of the world’s most powerful payment brands.

Similarly, some major fintech brands, such as Revolut, have started adding traditional core banking services to their specialized focus areas. Marcus, Goldman Sachs’ fintech subsidiary, is another example of a harmonious blend of fintech borrowing traditional banking services to offer consumers the best of both worlds.

From a bank’s point-of-view, this partnership of smart bundling traditional banking services with useful add-ons supplied by fintech startups allows them to continue being the customers’ primary financial institution by offering better product features. This approach means they are far more likely to attract and retain customers, thus keeping a strong profit portfolio. Interestingly some fintech start-ups which were initially envisioned as direct-to-consumer brands to compete with banks, such as TransferWise, have begun to recognize the need to partner with larger banks as a way to reach out to their more established customer base.

Digital-First Banking for Digital Savvy Customers:

We believe the digitalization of banking will create a future where Digital Hubs provide key financial services.

Digital Hubs are platforms with which people would interact, like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant. It is the consumer’s gateway to their financial life. Data can be collected over time to predict the consumer's situation and financial interactions. This means their needs will be anticipated and, where permission has been given, acted on.

How to become Digital-First:

Two or three years ago, new digital technologies and how their application could reshape banking services were primarily a topic of discussions at conferences, experiments at the Innovation Labs of bigger banks, and think pieces in financial blogs and news outlets. They are now necessary for larger banks who wish to stay competitive within the financial world.

Digital leaders are increasingly adopting these new and innovative technological advances to gain a market advantage to stay relevant. The market transformation towards being digital-first is well underway.

The actions necessary to become a Digital-First Bank fall into 2 categories:

• Strategy & Propositions: defining future business models to drive customer value.
• Delivery & Operations: developing organizational capabilities to deliver new propositions with speed, agility, and efficiency.

The Staying Power of Digital First Banking

One thing is certain: current business models are quickly becoming irrelevant, as their cost-income ratios are too high and the velocity of change too low. This is why, as introduced in this report, business models need to be transformed to incorporate and even changed to put digital banking solutions front and center. For example, neobanks and challenger banks that adopt a digital-first business model where the entire organization is fully digitized. This approach to bringing new products and services to the market in a digital, rather than paper, format is taking the financial world by storm. Existing banks that can properly adopt a digital-first business model and adopted agile practices, including focusing on niche markets on top of standard banking packages, can move forward and continue to grow in a lucrative way. Whereas, banks that refuse to adapt to this new digital-first approach to banking run the risk of becoming obsolete or, in the best-case scenario, merely a service platform for other, more modern financial institutions profit from

There is something appealing about using big names in marketing and public relations firms, and rightfully so. They have spent years working hard to earn that reputation and renown. Running the gauntlet can be daunting and challenging, but thankfully companies were willing to give them a chance. Here are four great reasons why you should do the same and hire a small PR company.

Who You Meet Is Who You Get:
When you hire one of the more prominent companies, you often meet higher-ups only to have your account passed to one of the junior account managers. This isn't possible with smaller firms. The person who pitches you is also the person who is in charge of your account. They are the one who hears your initial desires and continues to work with you the entire time, even when your PR needs to change and grow. You build a strong working relationship with them, and in turn, they have a better understanding of you and your company from the very beginning.

They Still Have Something To Prove:
Smaller PR firms can't simply rest on their laurels. They don't have any. Every new client gets 110% of their efforts because their success is directly linked to your success. Every bit of great press for you is just as crucial for them. It is their calling card, the proof they can get the job done. On top of that, smaller PR firms will work harder to make sure you get exactly what you want, often coming up with new and inventive ways to create buzz about your business.

More Bang For Your Buck:
This reason is closely tied to the one above. Smaller PR firms tend to be far more reasonably priced than their larger counterparts. Since they don't have the reputation or overhead to warrant higher fees and retainers, smaller firms are a much more cost-friendly way to raise brand awareness for your company. Every cent in business counts, and nobody understands that more than small businesses. So, it makes sense to go for a PR firm because they are in the same boat as you and know how to work within your budget.

Accountability, Accountability, Accountability:
Even the most careful and astute PR guru makes a mistake every so often. Maybe the bold new idea they had didn't go over well. Perhaps the social media campaign got off to a rocky start. Who knows? However, if the guru is a one-person show, or maybe one of three, it is a lot easier to fix what went wrong. More prominent firms often have a protocol for dealing with mishaps, which can include going through higher-ups. Doesn't just dealing with the problem sound easier?

It all boils down to that both large and small firms have unique perks to offer clients. However, taking a chance on a smaller PR firm can provide you with significant returns and a great professional relationship with someone just as invested in you as you are with them.

For Immediate Release
Name of Press Contact: Gillian Bradford

Amsterdam, Netherlands

TomTom Makes Strides In Reliable Autonomous Vehicles.

Since launching its first personalized satellite navigation device in 2004, TomTom has continually made strides in how people get from point A to point B. This year is no different. With two new developments in autonomous driving being announced at the Paris Car show, TomTom is one step closer to making comfortable, safe, electric self-driving cars a reality.

The first product to be launched is TomTom's Autostream. This new and ingenious map-building service allows cars to create an up-to-date horizon by connecting to TomTom's cloud. By partnering with Baidu and Zenuity, TomTom has engineered a high-definition map for autonomous vehicles while not overloading the device on data, thus making sure you can go wherever the road takes you all while having access to the latest information on roadwork and updated routes.

"Our early investment in the TomTom advanced map-making platform means that we can continue to deliver revolutionary innovations like TomTom AutoStream. With TomTom AutoStream, we can significantly simplify and shorten the development time for our customers, accelerating the future of driving." Willem Strijbosch, TomTom's Head of Autonomous Driving,

TomTom's MotionQ, a new and predictive way to ensure passengers' comfort in self-driving cars, is the second big announcement from the SatNav company. No one should have to worry about motion sickness or safety when it comes to self-driving vehicles. TomTom has built an overlay on the display, which allows passengers to see the car's movements, from turns to acceleration, before they happen, helping passengers feel safe and secure.  This exciting new technology will be available in partnership with Rinspeed Snap, a robo-taxi concept vehicle on display at The Paris Car Show.

What makes both of these products possible is a collaboration with Qualcomm. By combining TomTom's state-of-the-art HD mapping system with Qualcomm's camera technology and GPS data, both companies can ensure their newest technology has every advantage as they move closer to realizing self-driving cars.

Everyone should be able to get where they are going as safely and comfortably as possible. This is why the minds at TomTom continually strive to make reliable, self-driving technology a reality.