ROI research (Return on Investment) is a key consideration for companies pursing or thinking about pursuing the hottest digital trends:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Big Data
• Digital Transformation
• Influencer Marketing
• Mobile Apps

Each of these areas is about innovation with the goal of saving companies time, money and providing better and more personalized customer experiences.

But the reality is they are big endeavors that also require big investments and often infrastructure change. So how much? For how long is required? When does it pay off?

Here is the ROI research on the 5 hottest digital trends.

ROI research on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

70% of companies claim they’re using a form of artificial intelligence (AI). This includes machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, and cognitive computing. Manufacturers worldwide are looking to technologies through artificial intelligence (AI) to increase efficiencies and avoid disruption from industry newcomers. KPMG surveyed 299 global manufacturing CEOs, and another 73 from the US. The conclusion for their ROI research: AI investment could take up to 5 years, 56% of manufacturing CEOs say.

ROI research on Big Data

Big Data adoption reached 53% of companies in 2017 according to the NewVantage Partners Big Data Executive Survey. 84% of survey respondents name factors related to speed, insight, and business agility as the primary reasons for big data investment. Tech Republic reports that ROI on big data can be delivered in 6 months if companies outline a very specific business case and outcome for the big data investments. Examples include sensors to shorten delivery routes or reduce in-transit theft. Behavior data to better understand consumer preference and relationship to sales. Wikibon research claims, the average Big Data project delivers a 55 cents ROI for each dollar invested.

ROI research on Digital Transformation

88% of companies report they are undergoing digital transformation. This year, according to IDC, companies around the world are expected to have spent a total of $2.1 trillion on digital transformation. The network is at the heart of any digital transformation according to IDC. No network means no business. Yet IDC has stated that in the next two years almost a third (30%) of large and midsize businesses will suffer a service failure due to mismatches in power delivery and IT workload profiles caused by hardware obsolescence. A DT-ready network can be surprisingly affordable achieving an average return on investment of 349% over five years and payback in as little as six months. Automation is an essential element of such a network; an IDC study found that companies lowered their networking costs by 33%.

ROI research on Influencer Marketing

75% of marketers are using influencers as a marketing tool and many plan to increase spending 43% in the next 12 months. A study on influencer marketing showed that it can give an ROI of 11X more than banner ads. A Celebrity Intelligence survey found for $1.29 beauty brand spend on beauty influencer, they are generating a return of $11.38. According to Tomoson, $6.50 in revenue is generated from every $1 invested in influencer marketing strategies. Finding the right influencers for the right campaign is one of the most frequent difficulties faced by nearly 68% of the marketers.

ROI research on mobile apps

58% of all connected consumer time takes place in mobile apps, according to digital research firm comScore. According to a report by Gartner, mobile apps will be responsible for generating a revenue of $77 billion by 2017. Mobile apps are a core ingredient in the future of tech in our everyday lives. ROI research on mobile apps is determined based on the function and goals of the app. It’s different to develop mobile games to make money than to create a free corporate app to enhance your brand and be able to connect more directly with your customers. But ROI is also pretty basic for mobile app. The primary markets are the Apple Store and Google Play. They offer tools for keeping a record of the times our app gets downloaded, as well as from which countries it was downloaded from and user performance data. You can also check the comments and opinions left by those who have tried our app and the error reports it may have generated to act accordingly and get these problems solved in future updates.

Does this ROI research help you in your pursuit of these innovative technologies. Could your company benefits from a ROI assessment for any initiatives you may be doing or thinking in these areas?

Mobile App marketing

Mobile App marketing matters. The number of apps available to Android users is 2.1 million on Google Play and iPhone users have 2 million available apps on the Apple App Store.

Mobile apps account for nearly half of global internet traffic and are an important channel to consider for businesses seeking to better communicate with customers.

But only 40% of smartphone users browse for apps in app stores. The majority find apps through search, websites, social media, ads, videos, reviews and recommendations.

Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they’ll come. A marketing plan for your Mobile App is as important as its development.

Here are 9 essential rules to follow for Mobile App marketing.

1. App store optimization (ASO)

Both Google Play and Apple’s App Store algorithmically prioritize certain apps in search results based on a variety of ranking factors (ratings, tags, screenshots, app title, download data etc.). However, unlike SEO (which primarily focuses on Google) app store optimization is not a one-size fits all game. The most important ranking factor when it comes to app store optimisation is your app’s title. If you’ve built a train time-checker app, then it’s recommended to use ‘train time checker’ in the title.

You can use Google’s Adwords Keyword Tool (with the device setting on mobile) to identify which terms and phrases are relevant to your app people search for the most on mobile.

2. Social media marketing and advertising

One of the most effective ways of acquiring mobile app installs has been through clever use of Facebook’s advertising platform. Use a combination of page promoted posts & sponsored stories targeted to mobile news feeds. Similarly, promoted tweets are another highly effective way of driving mobile app downloads when set up correctly. Start off with a small budget testing various different keyword segments, and scale up what drives the best cost-per-acquisitions. Reddit advertising is ridiculously cheap. Play around with advertising or contributing on niche social networks, such as Reddit or Quora.

3. Reviews, drive them naturally

Reviews are a huge aspect of app store optimization, as well as an important factor in convincing people to download your app. It’s extremely important that you find an effective way of driving reviews in a way that’s natural and won’t trigger Google or Apple’s spam filters. Offer something cool – be it some free credits or an extended subscription, giving the user something valuable in return for a review is a win-win situation that seems to work well.

4. Microsite with a blog for effective search engine optimization (SEO)

A micro-site opens up a whole host of marketing possibilities. If you’ve built an app that sells concert tickets in London, you could build a micro-site and do some SEO around it. If you ranked #1 for ‘London concert tickets’ you’d drive approximately 8,100 people searching for ‘London Concert Tickets’ to your app per month. If you create a blog on your site, you can find many other relevant keywords for your app and write blogs using these keywords in titles to continuously drive traffic to your site and, for there, to your app.

5. YouTube channel for app instructions

You can also create your own YouTube videos on how to use the app to deal with specific problems. This will help capture people that are looking for solutions to those problems, and convert them into users. Once they see a step-by-step guide on how they can use the application for their needs, they’re so much more likely to give it a try. Remember that even simple apps can be confusing to some people, even with instructions and onboarding. A demonstration is a great way to get customers interested in downloading and using the app.

6. Email marketing

Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways of driving traffic, building advocacy, and converting leads to users / customers. Build a newsletter and offer your potential users information that’s useful and valuable to them. They’ll respect you for it and ultimately be more inclined to download your app.

7. Start Mobile App marketing before launch

From the minute the app concepts and designs are complete, you should be thinking of marketing it.  Figure out who your ideal users are, why they should download the app, and how to encourage them. If only 40%
search for apps through the mobile app store and the rest find the apps through YouTube videos, blogs, and tutorials online, among other options; that’s means your missing out on over half the audience you could have if you start Mobile App marketing early.

8. Use Mobile App marketing to engage with potential customers

In order to create the ideal app, it has to be designed to meet your ideal users’ needs. So you should get feedback from your target audience throughout the creation process. Seek out and engage with potential customers during the app creation process. Get feedback from real users through through your microsite, your blog, your YouTube Channel and social media.

9. Get more feedback from customers after launch

Mobile apps in app stores are often ranked on popularity and value, based on ratings. So you definitely want to get customer feedback and more reviews to increase the possibility of more downloads after launch. You should also include contact info in your app descriptions, so customers can reach out with more detailed feedback or questions.

Do these rules for Mobile App marketing make sense to you? If your thinking of developing a Mobile App for your business, do you need a Mobile App marketing plan?

Successful company blogs have plenty of evidence to prove they generate results.

• Blogs for B2B marketers have 67% increase in lead generation over  their peers that don’t. (Insideview)
• Blogs are 63% more likely to influence purchase decisions than magazines. (Contentplus)
• Websites with Blogs have 434% more indexed pages with search engines and 97% more inbound links to help SEO (U.addresstwo)

But blogging is hard work. It’s takes time, resources and requires a purpose.

If you need examples to prove it’s worth the effort, here are 10 of the most successful company blogs and why they work.

1. BIGELOW TEA: Who knew Bigelow Tea can bring out the flavor of Roast Loin of Pork, make the perfect Cosmopolitan more perfect or be your companion to the Ultimate Fall Tea Party? That’s just some of the many uses you’ll discover for Bigelow Tea when you read the Bigelow Blog. When a commodity product conveys versatility beyond what you imagined, doesn’t that make you think about the brand in a different light?

2. CLEVELAND CLINIC: Many believe they are putting out the best healthcare content anywhere. In a regulated industry generally far behind the content marketing curve. The Cleveland Clinic blog, Health Essentials, helps people deal with chronic diseases, overcome depression, and the battle to live a healthier life. They publish as many as three blog a day and all of the content is written by physicians who practice there. No wonder a regional hospital has more than 2 million Facebook Likes.

3. DOLLAR SHAVE CLUB: It’s hard to think of shaving – or anything bathroom-related –  as fun. But on Dollar Shave Club’s company blog, the brand creates content that displays a sense of humor while also providing practical information about men’s shaving and other bathroom habits. By taking on a fun and friendly tone in its blog posts, the business is able to successfully discuss bathroom habits openly in a way that maintains a lightheartedness and makes readers feel like a buddy, rather than just a customer.

4. EVERNOTE: The era of post-it notes is coming to its end. With an increased focus on technology, apps are increasingly becoming the preferred method for taking notes for thousands of people. Note taking apps like Evernote help you simplify the complications in everyday life. For example, no one wants to forget an anniversary or birthday. With content that’s tailored to helping make you more productive at home and at the office, you’re sure to find something that fits your needs on Evernote’s blog. Like how you can spend less time in meetings and more time getting work done.

5. GENERAL ELECTRIC: General Electric’s brand is old manufacturing, but all that is changing, The company is becoming digital. GE Reports provides great content on the next ideas and around the industrial internet of things and beyond. To rank among top blogs, brands need to focus on using their blogs to provide information, engage readers and establish trust. Successful company blogs will continue to be an integral part of a successful marketing strategy, so marketers must ensure they are incorporating these effective and successful strategies into their blogs into 2017.

6. HUBSPOT: HubSpot is one of the leading companies within the marketing industry, so it would make sense that its successfblog follows suit. The brand’s content utilizes many best practices that keep readers constantly coming back for more. HubSpot’s company blog makes the topic and application of inbound marketing readily available and easily digestible for the brand’s customers and leads. It also serves as an excellent example of how a company can use its blog to effectively promote its products and services, without being overly pushy or assertive. Readers leave feeling as though they’ve learned something instead of being sold.

7. MARRIOT: Marriot On the Move, Marriot’s company blog, signs off each blog post, “I’m Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the Move.” At least twice a month, the founder and CEO of the company put his voice behind his brand. He recognizes employees, explains company developments and defines leadership. If the chairman spoke to you regularly, wouldn’t it increase your positive perceptions of the company? That’s what successful company blogs do.

8. PATAGONIA: Mention the brand, Patagonia, and travel and adventure come to mind. But, in the highly competitive world of e-commerce, materials, stitching, color availability and shipping policy are what has to take priority to any potential buyer. How to accomplish both? Your blog. On The Cleanest Line, Patagonia’s Blog, you can read about paragliding in the Alaskan mountain ranges to the many species of animal that inhabit Ibera National Park in Argentina. All without leaving the website. Doesn’t that make a premium-priced brand a little bit more worth the money?

9. WISTIA: Much like HubSpot, Wistia takes what it knows and effectively shares it with the world. The online video hosting and analytics company posts content that educates, informs and engages its readers on everything they’d want to learn about video marketing. What makes Wistia’s blog so successful. If customers have purchased the service, then offering expertise, tips and how-to’s on various video-related topics only keeps them coming back to learn how they can enhance what they are creating with Wistia. The blog follows the simple rules of ‘be kind, be friendly, be inclusive and professional, and take care of others.

10. ZAPPOS: If you thought their blog was only going to talk about shoes, you’re sorely mistaken. Instead of Zappos’ blog being a place for promotions and company news, they transitioned it to an outlet for inspiration and everyday life. With everything from their culture and style to active lifestyles and kids, you’ll find something that takes you there in their company blog, Beyond the Box.

Does this help you understand what makes for successful company blogs. Does it inspire you to create one?

• Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website.
• B2B marketers that blogs receive 67% more leads than those that don’t blog.
• Marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive ROI. (source: HubSpot)

Blogs certainly seem to bring big benefits to business.

But, to see these benefits, it helps if the company blog has an idea behind it, a distinct voice and people who can keep it current, timely and help with outreach.

Would your business benefit from a company blog?

Here are 10 inspiring company blogs with ideas for yours.

1. BIGELOW TEA: TALK ABOUT MORE USES THAN CUSTOMERS IMAGINE: Who knew Bigelow Tea can bring out the flavor of Roast Loin of Pork, make the perfect Cosmopolitan more perfect or be your companion to the Ultimate Fall Tea Party? That’s just some of the many uses you’ll discover for Bigelow Tea when you read the Bigelow Blog. When a commodity product conveys versatility beyond what you imagined, doesn’t that make you think about the brand in different light?
2. BMW:  KEEP VALUED CUSTOMERS IN THE KNOW: BMW owners love their BMW’s. Many businesses have customers equally fanatical about their product. Is your business one of them? So why not use a blog to talk to them. Because they want to know what you are up to. At the BMWblog, you can learn about BMW’s most legendary models. their latest changes and their most legendary models to come. A blog can be a place where the people who care about you most are kept the most up to date. Don’t you think that can have an impact on your business?
3. DROPBOX: MAKE CUSTOMERS’ LIVES EASIER: One thing for sure about Dropbox customers. They are going to be online when they’re using your product. So why not be a help to them. If you want to know how to sync Dropbox with MacOSSeirra, the best way to review designs on Dropbox or tips to working remotely with Dropbox, you can find them on the Dropbox Blog. Isn’t this value for a cloud storage service better  than one doesn’t provide this kind of help.
4. HUBSPOT: BE A HELP RESOURCE: Hubspot’s blog is dedicated to helping marketers with content marketing. If you do a search for any online marketing tactic/tip in Google, you’re most likely see a HubSpot article as one of the top results. HubSpot has been so helpful and put out so much helpful content marketing advice, they rank in a top position on search engines for anything related to content marketing. Does increasing your search rank make a company blog worthwhile?
5. MARRIOT: PUT THE PERSON BEHIND THE COMPANY OUT IN FRONT: Marriot On the Move, Marriot’s company blog, signs off each blog post, “I’m Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the Move.” At least twice a month, the founder and CEO of the company put his voice behind his brand. He recognizes employees, explains company developments and defines leadership. If the chairman spoke to you regularly, wouldn’t it increase your positive perceptions of the company?
6. PATAGONIA: BRING YOUR BRAND IMAGE TO LIFE: Mention the brand, Patagonia, and travel and adventure come to mind. But, in the highly competitive world of e-commerce, materials, stitching, color availability and shipping policy are what has to take priority to any potential buyer. How to accomplish both? Your blog. On The Cleanest Line, Patagonia’s Blog, you can read about paragliding in the Alaskan mountain ranges to the many species of animal that inhabit Ibera National Park in Argentina. All without leaving the website. Doesn’t that make a premium-priced brand a little bit more worth the money?
7. RED CROSS: SHARE YOUR GOOD WORK: For someone making a donation to a non-profit, a key consideration is where is the money going. On Red Cross Chat, the Red Cross Blog, categories from International, History, Blood (Family) and Disaster share their good works from every vantage point. Wouldn’t that make you feel better about where your money is going?
8. WHOLE FOODS: EXPLAIN YOUR PASSIONS: Whole Story, the Official Whole Foods Blog, explains different varieties of apples, why specific ways of farming matter and their benefits to your body. They write almost daily. Sometimes more than once a day. In one sitting, you can read about the products your picking up to recipes to prepare them. Doesn’t this make you feel better about what you’re buying?
9. SOUTHWEST: CREATE A BRAND COMMUNITY: At the Southwest Airline Community, Southwest’s Blog, “every seat has a story.” The blog is a community. One where you share stories, exchange knowledge, find inspiration from our members and get tips about airline travel. As of this writing there are 75,000 members in the Southwest Airline Community. Doesn’t that prove the benefits of a company blog?
10. WORDSTREAM: BE A GO-TO RESOURCE FOR YOUR INDUSTRY: If you’re a digital marketer looking for the latest information about Google or Facebook, Adwords or ideas for social media, you’ll find them on the WordStream Blog. Written by company employee and Founder and CTO, Larry Kim, the WordStream is often first tips, points of view and inside information about topics that can make a difference in marketing performance. Doesn’t that contribute to being an industry leader?

Do these company blog give you inspiration? Which one is closest to your company? Do you need help developing a company to help your business stand out?

By Antonio Tooley

Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve written a killer blog post that will dazzle your readers and have them asking for more? Of course you have, but more often than not, those posts would wind up getting maybe a few Facebook likes, and not much else. That’s because you are going about it all wrong. Lots of bloggers make the same mistake: they create their content based on their own personal preferences, or what they think the readers want to see. The final result are posts that nobody seems to be interested in, and after investing all time and effort into writing them, the bloggers give up on the blog altogether.

Instead of repeating those same mistakes, try going about it the opposite way: bring the content to the people. Give them what they want. In order to achieve this, you need to be aware of what’s currently grabbing their attention. Sounds like a lot of work, but it really isn’t because there are tools which can do that for you. We have chosen 7 tools that will help you discover trending topics. Keep on reading for more.

BUZZFEED

It’s no secret that Buzzfeed is one of the most entertaining websites on the web, covering a wide range of topics, anything from pop culture, food, music, social news to gadgets, life hacks, and everything in between. But, it can also be used as a tool to give you a keen insight into what’s trending at the moment. With millions of viewers every day, Buzzfeed is definitely one of the tastemakers as far as content is concerned.

GOOGLE TRENDS

Since Google is the most powerful search engine on the web, you would be right in thinking that Google Trends have a good idea about topics that are trending among internet users. It allows you to search through trends in several different categories, if you want to fine-tune your research, or you can simply make use of the “Trending Now” button, which provides you with a detailed list of topics that are hot at the moment. You can either choose to view the results of your search with the help of a visualizer, or with the tried-and-true method of top charts. You can also customize your search based on your location, month, and plenty of other parameters.

BUZZSUMO

Another great online tool which can help you discover popular topics, as well as the most influential people on the web, is Buzzsumo. It is a bit more flexible than its competitors, because it allows you to perform your search by entering either a keyword, a topic, or a domain. Now, the clever bit is that it ranks the results based on a total number of shares across all major social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, as well as Pinterest.

TWITTER

And there it is, the mother of all websites when it comes to trending content: Twitter. Apart from being one of the most popular platforms on the Internet, Twitter also allows you to discover trends in several different ways. You can choose to search through topics that are trending throughout the entire world, or you can simply limit your scope to your own country. You can even check out the topics that are trending in some cities, as well. You should also take the time to check out trending hashtags and read what other influential users have to say on that particular subject. Once your blog attracts enough followers, you can use Twitter to expand your influence and become one of the trendsetters.

FLIPBOARD/ZITE

Flipboard is basically a news and digital magazines aggregator that is also compatible with social media’s news feeds, which allows users to browse through all kinds of content in a single very pleasing space, where focus is put in one content at a time. However, what makes Flipboard really interesting is its recent addition of a news curation software, designed by its former rival Zite, which lets the app deliver to each user only that content that is really relevant to him or her. Thanks to a powerful Artificial Intelligence core, Zite learns from users’ habits and interactions, and constantly perfects the content selection it displays. It was thanks to this great power that the app was first bought by CNN for $20 to $25 million dollars in 2011, and later on bought by Flipboard in a deal that the press estimates may have been as high as $60 million, in order to improve its own application.

REDDIT

Reddit is one of those resources you have to check out if you are interested in trending topics, if only for the fact that is so popular. In fact, there have been many reports that the influx of visitors from Reddit was sufficient to crash smaller sites. You don’t want your blog to go down, but you do want to take advantage of Reddit’s massive influence. Finding your way around trending topics on Reddit can pose some difficulties if you are new to the site, so we suggest that you subscribe right away to subreddits that are related to your industry, or simply your personal preferences.

FOLLOWERWONK

FollowerWonk was designed as a site to help users find and follow influential content creators and brands within one’s area of interest. You can also be clever and use it as a tool to figure out your target audience. For instance, if you are running a blog that is reviewing digital cameras and providing useful guides on photography, you’ll want to find influential blogs on Twitter that are similar to yours, and discover if they have a common audience. Simply use the “Compare Users” feature, after which you will know if that particular niche you are targeting has enough readers to make it worth exploring.

With these 7 helpful tools, you will never be out of the loop when it comes to trending content. But, even if you are leaning on trends to find topics for your blog, don’t just follow in everyone else’s footsteps. This is your chance to provide your own fresh take on popular topics.

Antonio Tooley studied journalism at Rutgers University and lives in New Jersey. He’s a writer for a dissertation writing service Edugeeksclub. He will be happy to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter.