Articles Written by the Edge Marketing Team


by Megan Miller

For tech startups venturing into the legal or accounting technology space, precise targeting and strategic planning are imperative for success. Poorly targeted messages and campaigns not only waste time and money but can harm your reputation if seen as tone-deaf or uninformed. In these niche industries, it’s all about having a strong understanding of your audience and hyperfocused messaging that resonates with prospective clients.

Here are five important foundational steps to take as you focus your startup in the legal or accounting tech sectors.

  1. Identify Your Target Client and Be Specific

Begin by defining your ideal client. For example, if your product or service is designed for law firms or accounting firms, identify other defining characteristics, such as firm size, areas of specialty, geographic location and industry focus. Solo practitioners have very different habits and needs than do big law or the big four accounting firms, for example.

If your offering is intended for corporate teams or in-house professionals, consider company size, geography, vertical industry, regulatory environment. If you have satisfied early clients or beta users who find your product a great fit, they may be representative of your best segment.

Conduct market research to pinpoint specific firms and entities that align with your offering. How many firms fit your target profile? What technologies are common in that group? What are their challenges and pain points? How are technology decisions made in these firms? Industry analysts, statistics platforms and user surveys are good information sources.

  1. Analyze Your Competitors

In the competitive landscape of technology, it’s essential to gain insights into your rivals. Conduct thorough market research to understand the product features in the most popular competing solutions. Beyond product comparisons, look at each competitor’s strategy. What is its declared strategy? What is its source of funding? What companies does the competitor partner with? Has it made recent acquisitions? Is it visible in the industry and in the media? This information will offer a sense of competitors’ trajectories in the market. Also look at user comments and product reviews on social media, review sites and employment websites.

  1. Craft a Compelling Value Proposition

By this point you have spent several hours researching your market. Gathered intelligence will enable you to differentiate your startup, highlight your distinctive value propositions and capture the attention of firms and corporate entities seeking innovative solutions.

Synthesize your knowledge of your product strengths, the target customers’ needs and the available alternatives on the market. In the process you are looking to identify the unique strengths of your product that are solving a key problem, addressing a pain point or offering the customer an irresistible improvement on the current situation.

For each segment of interest, ask the following questions:

  • Is there a link between the segment members’ profile and the information products they use?
  • Is there a pattern around segment characteristics and their information purchasing and usage dynamics?
  • What emotional stake do prospects have? Appeal to their need for security, leadership, growth, personal success, etc.
  • What sources do they go to for information on technology options?
  • How should the solution be positioned in the context of its competitors?

Based on this data, craft a unique value proposition that clearly communicates the benefits of your product or service, highlighting how it solves the identified problem better than available alternatives.* The value proposition should be customer-focused, concise and easy to understand.

*Note that available alternatives typically include the status quo. The client will weigh new solutions against the option of not adopting a new product at all.

Be specific! It’s tempting to make a broad statement that suggests your solution is perfect for everyone. The problem is that type of statement doesn’t speak to anyone in particular.

Weak: Trusty Soft is the leading accounting software for law firms that need trust accounts.

Stronger: Trusty Soft is a cloud-based trust accounting solution that helps midsize law firms securely and confidently handle retainers, litigation settlements and business transaction proceeds.

  1. Select the Right Marketing Channels

Choosing the most effective marketing channels is crucial in the technology sector. Consider where your target markets typically engage and gather information. For instance, some firms may frequent industry-specific conferences, while corporations might rely heavily on digital platforms and industry publications. Consider the firm profile, specific specialty areas and industry sectors that resonate with your audience.

Resist the urge to jump onto social media or email marketing without first solidifying the message. Then, run A/B testing with variations on your message; the results will reveal which approach has the most appeal.

  1. Leverage the Power of Influencers

In the technology arena, building trust and credibility is paramount. This is where influencer marketing comes into play. Industry-specific tech influencers, including respected attorneys or accountants, technology or subject matter experts, analysts and high-profile consultants or bloggers, can lend their authority and expertise to endorse your solutions. Their endorsement exposes your startup to a broader audience and validates your offerings within the legal and accounting communities.

Now the Fun Begins

The work invested in research and strategy development is now beginning to pay off. Your value proposition and messaging will serve as a road map for the activities that most think of as marketing. Website design, tactical campaigns, events, public relations and educational content will be higher quality, more consistent and more successful.

Rinse and Repeat

Peter Drucker’s mantra “You can’t manage what you don’t measure” applies here. Despite all the research and analysis invested in understanding your market and crafting the message, accept that markets are dynamic. Measure campaign results and keep lines of communication open with clients using your product. Adapt and change to meet the changing market, and you’ll thrive.

Did you know?

Research from Google found that B2B purchasers are nearly 50% more likely to buy when seeing some personal gain or value in their choice. Also, when they perceive personal value in a product or service, they’re eight times more likely to pay more.

About the Author

Megan Miller is a marketing strategist focused on legal and accounting technology. She works with clients to research markets, establish objectives, and execute programs and campaigns that drive measurable growth. A tech marketer with over 20 years’ experience, Miller has built brands, trained teams and introduced successful products for global companies and startups. She writes on trends and topics in electronic discovery, data privacy, cybersecurity, and AI.

/by Megan Miller

by Jennifer Marsnik

Taylor Swift recently wrapped up the 2023 U.S. leg of her Eras tour. You don’t need to be a fan of her music to appreciate Swift’s business acumen, which has fueled the masterful way she’s built her brand and managed her reputation – no pun intended, as her 2017 “Reputation” album is among the 10 featured on the record-breaking tour.

The music industry might seem to have little in common with B2B professional services, but we can learn from how Swift connects with her audiences. The foundation of her success isn’t just about her product – the music she writes and sings – it’s about how she brands herself, creates engagement with her fans and leverages her reputation to build loyalty and keep them wanting more.

For individuals and businesses alike, a strong reputation is among our most valuable assets. Establishing it is only the first step; knowing how to use it can take you to the next level.

Brand vs. Reputation

A brand is how a company defines and presents itself and what promise it makes to its target market. It’s controlled by the company and should convey what makes the company relevant to its customers.

Reputation isn’t what a company says about itself, but the perception others have about it, its products and services – and whether it follows through on the brand promise it makes. Reputation is about credibility and legitimacy, which must be earned and maintained over time.

Have a Reputation Plan

While your reputation resides in the minds of others, you can influence their perceptions. Build a program for reputation management by defining goals and outlining a strategy to achieve them. Budget and available resources may inform tactics used, but consider who your target audience is, the best communication channels to reach them and, importantly, your key messages. To execute the plan, secure employees, customers, partners, industry experts and influencers to help share your messages. As your company and its offerings evolve and adapt to changing market needs and trends so must your goals and strategies for managing your reputation.

Establishing and maintaining a good reputation cannot be accomplished by a corporate team alone. Planning and monitoring are important steps, but the engagement of internal and external stakeholders is the linchpin of success. Just as complainers contribute to a negative reputation, a positive reputation requires others to be willing to share their voices on your behalf.

Lessons to Learn

Taylor Swift is a case study in effectively engaging fans, the media and others to amplify messages. But that success doesn’t happen by accident. She is known for meticulous planning around everything she does. Beyond her skillful approach to building anticipation for new album releases and tours, she has created a legion of fans dubbed “Swifties” who espouse her virtue to anyone who will listen and defend her relentlessly. And they spend millions of dollars to attend concerts, purchase merchandise and stream her music, even buying the “Taylor’s Version” rereleases of her early albums.

Swift knows and respects her audience and understands how to reach them, talking to them even when she’s not selling anything. Her authenticity in how she communicates directly with fans is among the reasons Swifties are so loyal. She creates things she knows they want, builds genuine excitement and then – and this is key – follows through with experiences that leave them wanting more.

Professional services organizations have different target markets from pop stars and use different channels to build their brands and communicate their key messages. But Swift offers useful examples for how to connect with an audience, foster engagement and build loyalty by leveraging a strong reputation.

Did you know?

Taylor Swift: Improving the U.S. economy one tour stop at a time…

As stated by Fortune, a recent report from research company QuestionPro said the Eras tour could generate $4.6 billion in consumer spending in the U.S. alone.

About the Author

With Edge Marketing since 2007, Jennifer Marsnik specializes in helping clients develop and implement strategic plans that support their overall business goals.

She lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband and enjoys golf and cheering on the Twins, Vikings and U of M Gophers. With her two Swiftie daughters home for the summer, Jennifer has listened to a lot of Taylor Swift music the past few months and finds herself knowing more about the artist and her Eras tour than she ever thought possible. #LongLive

/by Jennifer Marsnik

by Cindy Kremer Moen

Content has become an essential tool for businesses to engage with their audiences. Gating content, or requiring users to provide personal information before accessing specific material, has emerged as a common strategy in relation to sharing content. While this approach offers benefits such as lead generation and eventually revenue generation, it also presents challenges in terms of user experience and reach. What are the pros and cons of gating content? And what impact might gated or ungated content have on your business?

Pros of Gating Content

Gated content has become the gold standard for lead generation in business-to-business marketing. Potential clients are willing to give you their personal information – knowing they might now become a sales prospect – just to gain access to your content when it is perceived as valuable. The pros of gating content include:

Lead Generation: Gating content allows you to collect valuable user data, such as email addresses or demographic information, in exchange for access. You can use this data to build a robust customer database and drive targeted marketing campaigns. By capturing user data, you can nurture prospects and convert them into leads and then clients.

Audience Segmentation: Content gating allows you to segment your audience based on the type of content they are interested in. This information can be used to personalize future communications and deliver content that is more relevant to specific groups, leading to better engagement.

Quality Control: Gating content ensures that only those genuinely interested in your material will access it. By using a form as a barrier, you can filter out casual visitors and focus on catering to a more engaged and invested audience. This can enhance the overall quality of interactions.

Enhanced Data Collection: In addition to gathering lead information, gating content can provide valuable data on user behavior, preferences and interests. You can then analyze this data to optimize your content strategy and marketing efforts.

Cons of Gating Content

Recently, some businesses have skipped the gating process entirely, opting for free, easy access to valuable content with the expectation that more people having access to their content will lead to more prospects. The cons to gating content include:

Reduced Reach: Implementing a content gate can limit the reach and exposure of your material. Many users may be unwilling to provide personal information, resulting in a smaller audience. This reduced exposure can impact brand awareness, diminish organic reach and hinder the potential for viral or organic growth. When content is behind a gate, search engines and social media platforms may not be able to index or share it, leading to reduced organic reach and potentially impacting your website traffic.

User Experience: Gated content often creates a barrier between the potential audience and the desired material, negatively affecting user experience. Visitors who encounter multiple content gates or complex registration processes may feel frustrated or discouraged from engaging further. It is essential to strike a balance between collecting information and providing a seamless user experience to mitigate these concerns.

Perceived Value: The decision to gate content may influence how users perceive its value. If users encounter multiple instances of low-quality or uninteresting gated content, they may become skeptical about providing personal information in the future. You should ensure your gated content offers value and justifies the gating strategy to maintain user trust.

Missed Opportunities for Engagement: Gating content prevents casual visitors from accessing it, which means you might miss opportunities to engage with a broader audience. Some users may not be ready to provide their information yet but would still benefit from consuming your content.

Competitor Advantage: If your competitors offer similar content without gating it, users may prefer their approach, as it requires less effort and zero sharing of personal information.

Conclusion

Gating content has its advantages and disadvantages, and whether you should use it depends on your specific goals and type of content. While it can provide lead generation opportunities and eventually revenue streams, it may also limit reach and compromise user experience. Striking the right balance between capturing user information and delivering a seamless experience is crucial to maximizing the benefits of gating content while minimizing the drawbacks.

Ultimately, you should carefully assess your target audiences, objectives and the value proposition of your content before deciding whether gating is an appropriate strategy. Excessive gating may lead to user frustration, reduced website traffic and a negative impact on search engine optimization efforts. A thoughtful approach, where some high-value content is gated and other content is easier to access, likely will yield the best results.

Did you know?

According to Instapage.com, as much as 80% of B2B content marketing assets are gated.

About the Author

Cindy Kremer Moen has helped Edge Marketing clients with strategies and tactics to meet their goals since 2006. 

She and her husband have two college-aged sons and recently relocated to fulfill a lifelong dream of living near the shores of Lake Superior.

/by Cindy Kremer Moen

by Vicki LaBrosse

Generative artificial intelligence has transformed various aspects of public relations functions, offering new possibilities for communication and engagement. ChatGPT, an advanced language model, has emerged as a powerful tool for automating PR tasks. While ChatGPT can streamline processes and improve the efficiency of certain functions, it is important to consider that its most recent training data is already nearly two years old (a lifetime in the tech industry) and that human interaction and skills remain central to PR purposes.

 

Relationship Building and Personal Connection

Media relations rely heavily on relationship building and establishing personal connections with various stakeholders, including journalists, influencers and the public. Generative AI tools can help provide information and respond to queries; however, they lack the ability to build genuine connections. Human interaction brings empathy, emotional intelligence and the ability to connect on a personal level, which are vital for fostering trust and credibility in PR efforts.

 

Crisis Management and Reputation Protection

In times of crisis, effective PR relies on swift and thoughtful response management. While ChatGPT can handle routine inquiries, it may struggle to address complex or sensitive issues. A PR partner who knows your company becomes crucial during crises as they possess the experience, judgment and ethical understanding necessary to navigate delicate situations, protect the organization’s reputation and communicate effectively with the media and the public.

 

Adaptability and Flexibility

ChatGPT operates based on predefined algorithms and responses. However, PR situations often require quick thinking, improvisation and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. PR professionals are able to respond appropriately to unforeseen events, adjust messaging strategies and effectively manage evolving PR campaigns.

 

Ethical Considerations and Decision-Making

Public relations professionals are bound by ethical guidelines and must make informed decisions when interacting with the media and the public. Generative AI lacks the moral compass and ethical judgment required to parse complex ethical dilemmas. PR pros have the ability to make nuanced ethical decisions, considering various factors such as transparency, accountability and stakeholder interests.

 

Brand Voice and Identity

Maintaining a consistent brand voice and identity is vital in PR efforts. While ChatGPT can be trained to mimic a specific brand’s tone, it may still lack the depth of understanding required to fully embody the brand’s essence. Marketing and communication specialists have the talent to infuse the brand’s personality, value, and vision into all communications, ensuring a cohesive and authentic representation.

 

Creativity and Strategic Thinking

PR often involves creative thinking, strategic planning and out-of-the-box ideas. Generative AI can provide factual information and respond to specific queries, but it lacks the creative capacity to generate innovative PR strategies. A PR team can brainstorm ideas, develop unique campaigns and leverage their creative and strategic thinking to make a lasting impact.

 

While ChatGPT offers undeniable advantages in streamlining PR processes, it is crucial to recognize the indispensable role of human interaction in public relations. PR professionals bring contextual understanding, personal connection, crisis management skills, adaptability, ethical decision-making and creative thinking to PR efforts. Combining the strengths of ChatGPT with human expertise allows organizations to leverage the efficiency of generative AI while maintaining the essential human involvement.

About the Author

Vicki LaBrosse, director of global public relations for Edge Marketing, works with clients to develop and execute comprehensive PR and marketing strategies that will help grow their business.

/by Vicki LaBrosse

by Mary Obregon

When working with clients, we see a lot of common questions about using LinkedIn for strategic growth. Many people and companies are on this platform, and many are looking for answers on using it to its full potential. Here are some of the top questions that clients ask when it comes to leveraging LinkedIn for marketing:

  1. What kind of company policies or requirements should be in place?

When implementing LinkedIn marketing strategies, it is important to have certain company policies and requirements in place to ensure effective and compliant use of the platform. Some key policies and requirements to consider are:

  1. Content guidelines
  2. Employee guidelines
  3. Data protection and privacy
  4. Compliance with LinkedIn terms of service
  5. Intellectual property rights
  6. Employee advocacy guidelines
  7. Compliance with advertising regulations
  8. Monitoring and response protocols
  9. Performance metrics and reporting
  10. Continuous education and training

Consulting with legal and compliance teams will ensure that your company policies and requirements align with applicable laws and regulations. Additionally, regularly review and update your policies to reflect changes in LinkedIn’s features and guidelines, as well as any evolving legal or industry requirements.

  1. Is social media amplification software effective?

The use of amplification software on LinkedIn is a topic of debate. While some people may argue that it can help you expand your network and reach, others view it as an unethical practice that can potentially harm your professional reputation. It is important to consider the platform’s terms of service and community guidelines, as employing automation software may violate those rules. Instead of relying on amplification software, it’s generally recommended to focus on building authentic relationships on LinkedIn. Engage with content that genuinely interests you; contribute meaningful comments; and connect with individuals you genuinely want to engage with professionally.

Should a company decide to implement amplification software anyway, understand that it will only pull content that already exists online rather than provide original content crafted by marketing. Imagine a negative review or nonfavorable piece of content getting queued up for posting by your amplification software and then blindly getting shared by staff to an exponential number of followers. Even with heavy monitoring, the risks don’t outweigh the reward.

  1. What size of company is best for amplification software?

The decision to use amplification software for marketing purposes is not primarily determined by the size of the company, but rather by the specific marketing goals, strategies and ethical considerations of the organization. A professional marketer who knows how to optimize your content to the right audience and can help solidify marketing goals may be more effective than amplification software. And a professional could also help determine whether amplification marketing would benefit the company.

  1. What are the different subscription levels within LinkedIn? Which do you recommend?

LinkedIn offers several subscription levels for users:

  1. LinkedIn Basic (Free): This is the standard account level that provides basic features such as creating a profile, connecting with other professionals and accessing limited job search features.
  2. LinkedIn Premium Career: This subscription is focused on job seekers and provides enhanced features for career development, including advanced job search filters, InMail credits to message recruiters directly and access to LinkedIn Learning courses.
  3. LinkedIn Premium Business: This subscription is designed for professionals and businesses looking to expand their network and generate leads. It offers additional features such as advanced search filters, access to insights and analytics and the ability to send InMail messages to any LinkedIn member.
  4. LinkedIn Sales Navigator: This subscription is tailored specifically for sales professionals. It provides advanced lead generation and sales prospecting tools, including lead recommendations, advanced search filters, CRM integration and real-time updates on prospects.

For marketing, the recommended subscription level would depend on the specific goals and requirements of the company. If the focus is on personal branding, networking and job opportunities, LinkedIn Premium Career would be suitable. If the objective is to expand the reach, generate leads and analyze campaign performance, LinkedIn Premium or LinkedIn Sales Navigator would be more appropriate. It is recommended to evaluate the features and pricing of each subscription level to determine which one aligns best with your marketing objectives and budget.

  1. What have you seen as successful in terms of gaining followers?

After working with many clients over the years, and adapting to the changing times, we have developed and implemented strategies and tactics to help businesses grow by leveraging LinkedIn. We have crafted campaigns for organic follower growth and sponsored content leads and have seen exceptional results. When utilizing LinkedIn’s hypertargeting capabilities and carefully crafting content that resonates with that audience, the results flourish.

There are so many questions when it comes to LinkedIn. As things only continue to rapidly change and accelerate, it is important to keep up with the trends and use them to your advantage. With the help of experts like our seasoned marketers here at Edge, there is no doubt that your business will blossom.

About the Author

Mary Obregon joined the Edge team in September 2020, amid the pandemic, in order to gain experience in the field by any means. Mary is now HubSpot certified, Yoast certified and Google Analytics certified!

When not working, Mary is most likely spending time with friends, family or her boyfriend.

/by Mary Obregon

by Tanya Amyote

In today’s digital world, a website is an integral part of any business; however, simply having a website is not enough. Unlike a crockpot meal where you can set it and forget it, for a website to stay relevant, competitive and dynamic you must regularly reevaluate it to ensure your content, design and “behind the curtain” tools are modern, user-friendly and accessible, giving your prospects a true and up-to-date picture of your business and your offerings.

How often should a company conduct a website reboot?

While there is no set rule for how often a website should be updated, here are some factors to keep in mind:

  1. Your business itself: Has your company undergone a significant change? A merger or acquisition? A rebranding or new product launch? A pivot to a new vertical? These are all great reasons to take a look at your website and make sure it contains the information you want your prospects to see first.
  2. Technology: Our industry moves at a breakneck pace, and with more and more business being conducted on mobile devices, your website needs to be optimized for the various devices, browsers and operating systems used today.
  3. Trends: Ensure your website design is modern, your technology is up to date and you are ahead of the curve in meeting the latest accessibility guidelines (more on those later).


You’ve decided to do a website reboot. Now what?

  1. Set clear goals. Before making any updates to your website, define the objectives for what you want to achieve. This will help you stay focused and establish that your updates align with your overall business strategy. Do you want your website to be primarily a knowledge base for your clients? Or are you more focused on lead generation? Determining the primary goal will help you outline the best path forward to meet that goal.
  2. Engage a professional. Your website is often your first point of contact with a new prospect. Don’t let an outdated or clunky design be your prospect’s first impression of your company. Redesigning a website requires commitment from all stakeholders, including designers, developers, content creators and business owners. Failure to communicate realistic timelines and expectations can lead to a website that is incomplete or ineffective.
  3. Pay attention to “behind the curtain” considerations such as search engine optimization and accessibility. From adding alt text to images to the planning of the website site map structure to keyword research, taking time to consider updating such factors early in the process will help prevent redundant efforts later.

Digging a little further into that last point, with the increased awareness of the need to nurture cultures of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, accessibility is an important consideration when developing and updating your website.

Ensuring that your website meets accessibility guidelines allows people with disabilities to use your content effectively. For example, people with low vision or colorblindness can benefit from designs using high-contrast color palettes, while people who have difficulty using a mouse can benefit from features such as navigation through keyboard shortcuts.

The successful creation or update of a company website can be a complex process requiring specialized skills and experience. By engaging a strategic marketing consultant to walk you through the process, you gain access to the latest tools, insights and talent, optimizing your content and design, boosting your company’s rankings in search engine results pages and assuring your story is seen by your target audience.


About the Author

Tanya Amyote joined the Edge team in 2016, as marketing assistant, Excel enthusiast and token Canadian.

When not solving the world’s pivot table problems, Tanya is an avid reader, fountain pen user, and advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion.

/by Tanya Amyote

by Nicolle Martin

It’s that time of the year! Trade show season is in full swing! I just got back from ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago and was so happy to see that things seem to be back to normal. While there was still some masking, the attendance levels appear to have come back up and it was so nice to see so many friends and colleagues in person again!

If your company is going to be sponsoring a trade show or if you are attending an event anytime soon, there are some important things you should take into consideration. We all know that preparing for a trade show can be a daunting task, but with the right planning and organization, it can be a great opportunity to showcase your company’s offerings and your expertise while connecting with current and potential customers.

Set Goals

Outline your goals for the event. What do you hope to accomplish? Sponsoring, and sometimes even just attending, a trade show can be an expensive endeavor. Make sure you think about what you want as an outcome so you can outline the steps you need to put in place to get there. A few things to think about include:

  • Do you want to generate leads?
  • Are you looking for brand awareness?
  • Are you launching a new product?
  • Are you there to network?
  • Are you there for education and thought leadership?

Understanding what you want to get from the event will help you identify the best way to accomplish that outcome.

Attendance

Whether you are having a booth, speaking at a session or two or there to network with other attendees – have a plan. Consider what each day will look like and prepare accordingly.

If you have a booth, work with your team to let them know what goals you have set for the event. Have a schedule so that you can take full advantage of your time to get in front of the attendees.

If you are there to meet with other thought leaders and network, make sure you look at the agenda and identify the sessions and networking events you want to attend ahead of time.

Promotion

Let people know you will be at the trade show through your company website, social media, email campaigns and whatever other channels you have at your disposal. Set meetings in advance whenever possible. Continue your promotions while you are at the event. Send out information so others know you are there and can see what you are doing.

Follow-up

After the event is over, make sure you follow up with any leads you made while there. This is your opportunity to thank them for their time, remind them of the interaction you had at the event and build a relationship. This is the part of event planning that many people and companies fail to do, but it is a critical one. Do not miss out on your opportunity to connect with the people you met one more time while the interaction you had with them is fresh in their minds.

Trade shows are a large part of most marketing budgets because with the proper planning and forethought, they can be a valuable asset to any marketing plan and produce positive outcomes.

 

About the Author

Nicolle Martin is a senior account manager for Edge Marketing. She has more than 20 years of experience doing public relations and marketing in the legal and accounting industries.

Nicolle and her husband have two daughters.

/by Nicolle Martin

by Megan Miller

You’d have to be living under a rock to have missed hearing about ChatGPT – the relatively new AI tool that has brought artificial intelligence out of the lab and into the hands of consumers, students, poets and now lawyers and accountants.

ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows you to have humanlike conversations and much more with a chatbot. The language model can answer questions and assist users with tasks such as composing emails, writing blog posts and generating code. Is this the new cool thing or a threat to business, professional services and marketing?

Recent headlines about AI are full of emotion. Some are bullishly optimistic:

“Best Ways to Use Generative AI in your Law Practice”

“How ChatGPT Can Improve Education, Not Threaten It”

Some sound worried:

“What Will Happen to Accounting Jobs?”

“AI Ethics a Growing Concern”

“AI Can Make New Malware”

“ChatGPT Has Pretty Depressing Thoughts About Big Law And The Billable Hour”

Some even predict a brave new world:

“ChatGPT Is a Tipping Point for AI”

“‘A Revolution in Productivity’: What ChatGPT Could Mean for Business”

How Did We Get Here?

AI tools are not new. The earliest successful AI program was written in 1951 by Christopher Strachey, director of the Programming Research Group at the University of Oxford.

Today, generative AI systems are proliferating. Generative AI can produce new content, whether as images, music or text, without being explicitly trained. Generative pretrained transformers (GPTs) are large language models (LLMs) that produce humanlike text using deep learning. ChatGPT is in the generative AI category.

ChatGPT Went Viral Quickly

Tools based on generative AI technology have been available for two or three years. Most focus on a specific audience or use case, such as visual, audio, text or code generators. Text generators include Jasper.ai, Rytr.me, Copy.ai and a number of others.

ChatGPT is not the first generative AI tool, though it is the first to win broad awareness – and likely the first to end up on late-night television. How did ChatGPT capture viral attention in late 2022? I asked ChatGPT to answer that question, and the AI engine replied (verbatim response from ChatGPT):

There are several reasons why ChatGPT went viral quickly:

  1. Superior performance: ChatGPT is a highly advanced AI language model that has shown impressive performance on various NLP benchmarks, including natural language understanding and text generation tasks. Its ability to understand and generate human-like responses has made it popular among users.
  2. Open-source availability: The source code for ChatGPT is freely available, which has made it accessible to developers who can use it to create various AI-powered applications.
  3. User-friendly interface: ChatGPT can be accessed through a user-friendly interface, such as chatbots and virtual assistants, which has made it easy for non-technical users to interact with the model and experience its capabilities.
  4. Social media promotion: ChatGPT has been promoted heavily on social media platforms, with users sharing their interactions with the model and generating buzz around its capabilities.

In a nutshell, OpenAI made GPT “friendly” on a consumer level. A free, easy to access, intuitive to use tool that is fun to play with was irresistible to early adopters and tech-curious users, who tried it, found it simple and shared the experience liberally, causing ChatGPT to go viral.

Next: Battle of the Titans

The competition between the tech giants will continue to evolve. Microsoft has invested $10 billion in ChatGPT. Microsoft’s Bing search engine is already integrated with ChatGPT. One million people have joined the waitlist for Microsoft’s AI-powered Bing. According to sources cited by The Verge, Microsoft is also preparing to demo the capabilities of OpenAI’s language technology in Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and other apps as early as March 2023.

Google – the historic king of search – responded to Microsoft’s move by introducing Bard, its rival to ChatGPT. The two will compete to define the next generation of search. Other tech leaders Apple, Nvidia and IBM plan to start making more significant and direct plays in the space.

A Healthy Field of Startups

Often the most innovative new technology is developed by unknown startups, and AI is no exception. DealRoom has identified over 210 startups in the generative AI space. Keep an eye on these – they are developing AI solutions for specific use cases and vertical markets. Some will boom on their own, and some will be acquired by bigger players.

The Game Has Just Begun

Unlike the short-lived frenzy over the metaverse, generative AI has legs. However, all the worry, concern and predictions for AI in the legal and accounting professions are premature at this point. As with most technology revolutions – and this one may drive as much change as the mobile phone revolution did – the mainstreaming of AI into our daily lives will happen in a gradual way. Markets and business practices don’t flip overnight. Stay on top of AI trends and enjoy the ride!

About the Author

Megan Miller is a senior consultant with Edge Marketing, assisting clients in development and execution of strategic marketing plans and implementation of marketing technologies. A global technology hound, Miller has built brands, trained teams and introduced successful products for global companies and startups.

A certified eDiscovery expert, Miller has written on trends and topics in electronic discovery, consumer electronics and the internet of things – before the IoT was even a thing. Her work has appeared in Attorney at Law, US Tech, TechnoLawyer, ACEDS and other industry publications.

/by Megan Miller

by Jennifer Marsnik

Content has been used for centuries to educate and persuade as a means of promotion. “Poor Richard’s Almanac,” for example, was first published in 1732 by Benjamin Franklin to promote his printing business. So, while it’s nothing new, expansion of digital channels in recent decades has catapulted content to a key part of the B2B marketing mix today.

But good content marketing isn’t just occasionally posting to your blog or sharing an insightful article via social media. As with any program, it requires purpose, strategy and thoughtful planning.

Here are some tips to get started:

  1. Make it a priority. Deciding to embark on a content marketing program is step one. Formalize your intention to promote the idea that it requires more than the random creation of a few pieces.
  2. Define a goal. Being clear about what you’re trying to accomplish will keep activity focused and purposeful and may help minimize the effects of the inevitable distractions that come along.
  3. Know your audience. Write and design content with a specific reader or viewer in mind. The more assets are tailored to a targeted audience, the more likely they will prompt a response.
  4. Inventory your current content library. What do you already have that can be repurposed or refreshed to use again?
  5. Identify resources. Who are the subject matter experts and thought leaders, writers, designers and others who will contribute background information and help produce content pieces?
  6. Brainstorm themes and topics. What are the trends, challenges or issues that will resonate with your target audience(s) and position your company as an authority on the subject?
  7. Determine content types. Content assets take many forms (short/long, written/visual, etc.) and may include any combination of external article placements, blog posts, white papers, e-books, infographics, videos, podcasts, webinars, case studies, reviews and testimonials, press mentions, newsletters and more. Prioritize what makes the most sense given your resources and budget.
  8. Establish distribution channels. Use a variety of channels to disseminate content: your website, blog, emails and social media, as well as third-party outlets. Leverage technology – marketing automation tools like Marketo, HubSpot or Pardot and social media tools like Sprout, Zoho or Hootsuite will help automate and simplify the management of content distribution.
  9. Create a content calendar. Commit to an achievable cadence and assign the necessary resources to produce the content.
  10. Execute the plan. Appoint ownership and an ongoing manager of the program and move forward with the plan. Don’t forget to track activity and measure results!

Producing content requires skill and resources, and its benefits often take time to realize. Successful programs require patience and a commitment to follow through. But their advantages are many. A strong content marketing program builds brand awareness and trust, strengthens your reputation as an authority and subject matter expert and promotes engagement. It’s a low-cost way of reaching audiences while serving as fuel for a variety of activities including sustained PR, SEO, social media, email and other campaigns.

But successful content marketing doesn’t happen by accident. It requires both a strategy and methodical execution of a thoughtful plan. Edge can help you get started – contact us to learn more!

About the Author

With Edge Marketing since 2007, Jennifer Marsnik specializes in helping clients develop and implement strategic plans that support their overall business goals.

She lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband and two daughters, and enjoys golf and cheering on the Twins, Vikings, and U of M Gophers.

/by Jennifer Marsnik

by Cindy Moen

According to Forrester’s 2021 B2B Buying Survey, B2B buyers engage in an average of 27 interactions before making a purchase, and about 60% of those purchases involve a committee of at least four people. If yours is like most small businesses that sell to other businesses, the tools that measure marketing return on investment are often financially out of reach. Still, you need to know which tactics are working to help you get to those 27 interactions and which can go by the wayside next year.

For businesses that can’t waste precious dollars on pricey marketing analysis tools, a simple spreadsheet that tracks these eight measurement points will give you insight into marketing success. Your team can track the following:

  1. Website Users. In the Google Analytics “Reports Snapshot,” the number of people who visited your website for a given period of time show up as “Users.” Month-over-month, this number should increase if you are investing in marketing activities.
  2. Average Engagement Time. Also, from Google Analytics snapshot, this number tells you how long people are spending on your site. If this number is low, visitors are not engaging in your content, and you should consider amping up your copy and content.
  3. Pages and Screens. Digging a little deeper into Google Analytics, navigate to “Engagement” and then “Pages and Screens.” This report shows you all the pages of your site and how heavily engaged visitors are with them. Is there a blog post that seems particularly popular? Promote it on LinkedIn or repurpose the content. Is there a page you feel more people should visit? Work on optimizing the page and improving the content.
  4. Google Analytics. I probably should have started with this one. If you do not have Google Analytics for your website, go now and get this added. Do it today.
  5. LinkedIn Followers. The more people hear about your company through marketing, the faster your LinkedIn followers will grow. The more thoughtful, insightful and optimized posts you make on LinkedIn, the faster your followers will grow. The more contacts you invite to follow your LinkedIn company page, the faster your followers will grow. Month-over-month, you should see an increase in the number of followers you have on LinkedIn.
  6. LinkedIn Impressions. From the Analytics tab on your company page, go to “Content.” Make sure your metrics are set to “Impressions” and you have the time frame set to the dates you want to measure. From here, you can see the number of people your posts reached (impressions) and the number of people who engaged with it via “reactions” and “reposts.” If you are posting quality, relevant content, your impressions should increase each month.
  7. LinkedIn Clicks. From the same content analytics page, change the metrics to “Clicks.” This indicates how many people clicked on the content you provided. If you are posting content people want to read, clicks should be increasing each month.
  8. Marketing Database. If you are reaching the right people at the right time and place with relevant content, your marketing database should grow each month.

Tying sales back to a specific marketing activity can be a challenge for small businesses, especially when buyers need time and tools to get to know your company before making a purchase. Tracking a few key metrics using the free tools available to you doesn’t need to cut into your marketing budget and will still give you insight into return on your marketing investment.

About the Author

Cindy Kremer Moen has helped Edge Marketing clients with strategies and tactics to meet their goals since 2006. She and her husband have two college-aged sons and recently relocated to fulfill a lifelong dream of living near the shores of Lake Superior.

/by Cindy Kremer Moen