Connect February/March 2014

BIG data and the rise of the Artisan

The Inbox | 4 Big Data | 6 #HashtagThis | 10 Trending with... | 14 Operation Contact | 15

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INSIDE

formerly Mail Print

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February/March 2014

Mail Print is now

NextPage!

You’ve known and trusted Mail Print and Graphic Services for your printing and direct marketing needs for more than 25 years. We’ve made our greatest investment ever in technology, plant infrastructure AND are in the process of adding staff. These changes will take our business and yours into the future of marketing.

We are pleased to announce the evolution of NextPage. Just tell us the marketing problem you face, and we’ll offer you the most effective and efficient solution, from offset printing, digital printing, inkjet and flexographic printing.

Plus, much more including digital content delivery of email, video, mobile and social media.

With a track record exceeding 25 years of providing the best full service printing and direct marketing, we are ready to help you take your content beyond the printed page and integrated into the digital age.

In February of 2013 we merged with Graphic Services Printing and L & L Manufacturing and brought Larry Wittmeyer into our ownership group. Our goal is to to show our commitment to growth and our move into the future of digital marketing that goes beyond the printed page.

We’ve expanded from 40,000 to 70,000 square feet to make room for new equipment and technology and over thirty new team members ready to serve you.

We’ve invested in the fastest and most high-tech hardware and software to allow you to effectively use customer data to target individual buyers with personal messages.

We’ve broadened our tool box to include traditional printing as well as digital printing, email, landing pages, personalized web sites, mobile marketing, social media, and give away items.

Find out how NextPage can help you find new life, goNextPage.com

!

PRINT IS ALIVE

publisher’s letter

Go for it

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he start of a new year always brings a new sense of hope. You use the change of date as a way to think about what you want, what you will do better and how you can improve your overall situation.

Great marketers know there’s no switch they can turn on to suddenly start thinking strategically and change course. Marketing is a constant process and the best of the best treat every day like it is New Year’s Day. In other words, marketers never tire of building a relationship with their markets, which allows them to adapt in the middle of summer, spring or fall.

According to the Chinese calendar, 2014 is the “Year of the Horse.” So, following this premise, it would make sense that we ride into the new year like a bunch of wild stallions and aggressively engage with our communities. As we all know, each day brings new opportunities, and belief in ourselves and our brands can carry us a long way.

Don’t sit back and wait for change to happen. This year, don’t just accept change, initiate it.

So, let’s not stand pat. Let’s get up on that horse again in 2014 and “go for it.” In fact, you should race to the front of the stampede and lead the way. Don’t just sit back and wait for change to happen. This year, don’t just accept change, initiate it.

Sure, things can be a little rough these days, but sitting around waiting for time to pass is not the path to prosperity. Embracing change and “going for it” can be rewarding both financially and personally. Actually, we would submit that it is downright soul-enriching.

In this amazing issue, we went for it again! Our cover article, “Big Data,” walks through the concept and how you can start preparing your data strategy. In turn, our second feature, “#Hashtag This,” examines how communication is being somewhat commoditized by all of the new vehicles available. The bottom line is that great marketers take their connections very seriously and are more than willing to “go for it.”

Enjoy the issue, Happy New Year, and let’s all “go for it!”

Gina M. Danner

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CONTENTS 3

Publisher’s Letter Go for it

4

The Inbox

6

Big Data Rise of the Artisan

10 #HashtagThis Does the keyword symbol matter to your brand?

14 Trending with...

Digital marketing guru Mike Coughlin

15 Operation Contact A look at the most popular B2B marketing channels in the new year

Publishers

Gina M. Danner Tom Harvey

Managing Editors Rosanne Kirn Kallen Leak

Art Direction

Brent Cashman • Creative Director Jaime Hill • Graphic Designer Connect is published bimonthly by NextPage 8300 NE Underground Drive, Pillar 122 Kansas City, Missouri 64161 © 2013. All rights reserved For more information contact goNextPage.com 800.660.0108

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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The Inbox

Popular, but inaccurate beliefs about paper

1.

2.

Using paper kills forests.

Reputable and responsible paper companies attain their “responsibly managed forest certification” by ensuring the planting of four trees for every one tree used in the process of papermaking.

Papermaking

and paper printing over-consumes fossil fuels and energy. Printers around the world have adopted ecofriendly print production measures, including scrap recycling, biodegradable packaging, and even renewable energy sources for equipment and facility operation, reducing their carbon footprint on environment, and therefore yours.

3.

Digital is more eco-friendly. A paperless society does not make an eco-friendly environment. A projection issued by McKinsey & Company estimated that digital and wireless communications could surpass all other greenhouse gas emitters by 2020.

SOURCE: Deliver Media: Give Your Direct Mail Campaign the Green Light

Did you

know

February/March 2014 • Connect by NextPage

70

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of today’s ads and direct mail are printed on recycled paper

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Print ad inserts prompted 52% of readers to visit an advertiser’s website.

- The Millcraft Group: DO You Know The Facts?

NextPage Makes Major Investment in New Technology NextPage, is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Komori Lithrone G40 40” 8 color printing press. The Komori press introduces an exciting new concept in printing to the area, “Offset On Demand”. Nearly a $3 million investment, the Komori uses approximately 35% less energy and can run up to a maximum speed of 16,500 sheets per hour.

This game changing press is one of only three in North America and is fully operational at NextPage’s Kansas City facility. To read more about the Komori please visit http://nxtpg.co/komoripress.

U.S. Postal Service Announces New Prices for 2014 The increase effective January 26, 2014, is intended to generate $2 billion dollars in incremental annual revenue for the Postal Service.

Retail First Class

Increase Type Old New Per Piece

1 oz. Letter 0.460 0.490 0.030 2 oz. Letter 0.660 0.700 0.040 1 oz. Flat 0.920 0.980 0.060 Postcards 0.330 0.340 0.010

First Class Automation Postcards, maximum size 4 1/4 x 6

Increase Type Old New Per Piece

Mixed 0.258 0.278 0.020 AADC 0.246 0.265 0.019 3-Digit 0.246 0.265 0.019 5-Digit 0.234 0.251 0.017

First Class Automation - 1 oz. Letters

Increase Type Old New Per Piece

167

$

Mixed 0.405 0.435 0.030 AADC 0.384 0.406 0.022 3-Digit 0.384 0.406 0.022 5-Digit 0.360 0.381 0.021

per person U.S. advertisers spend $167 per person on direct mail to earn $2,095 worth of goods sold; a 1,300% return.

Standard Class Automation - Letters

Increase Type Old New Per Piece

Mixed AADC 3-Digit 5-Digit

0.282 0.301 0.019 0.266 0.279 0.013 0.266 0.279 0.013 0.247 0.261 0.014

SOURCE: Print Drives Commerce, 2013

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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BIG data and the rise of the Artisan

by Kurtis M. Ruf

February/March 2014 • Connect by NextPage

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We are Drowning in Big Data and starving for knowledge.

The term “Big Data” is thrown around pretty easily these days. When you hear the term you might think of NSA phone recordings, Google web tracking, or Amazon shopping cookies. Yet the term, theory and practice have implications and opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Let’s start with what “Big Data” really is.

Big data by definition is a collection of data so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using typical software and data processing tools. From a business perspective, ongoing challenges include determining which data is worth collection vs. archive, and how do we collect, classify and analyze this data across departments in a uniform way. Then from a strategic perspective how does the individual team member use that data vs. how that data is used by the organization as a whole. Having the ability to navigate the increasingly complex environment will be the key to success in the competitive business environment.

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

February/March 2014 • Connect by NextPage

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Trends - Growth of Big Data will be unending As technology has evolved, it is increasingly more efficient to collect and store many data points from lots of people.

This year, several research firms have predicted exponential growth for internet connected devices and computer automation including smartphone adoption, wearable The 5 V’s technology, and various other IP The five V’s of Big data are volume, connectable devices for smart home

Iterative testing is a great resource for proving that the art and magic of your marketing effort is validated and can be held up as a model for additional investment and ultimately replication. Learn more by visiting goNextPage.com/iterativetesting.

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technologies. Google is presenting home monitoring services, everyone you know has a FitBit, UP band or other connected activity tracking device, and Cerner is leading the way in electronic medical record solutions. The data produced from these trends alone will dwarf current data outputs from business and government. To remain above the fray and not drown in data, a new generation of robust tools and expertise, will be required to process and identify relevant information.

Imagine trying to find that needle in a haystack that can change the course of your business.

Historically organizations that may have had processing ability for hundreds of gigabytes are now faced with the prospect of hundreds of terabytes (1024 gigabytes) and soon petabytes (1,000 terabytes – over 1 million gigabytes) of data.

Obviously, IT departments are struggling to keep up when faced with cost control decisions. This level of data will require the purchase of new servers, storage solutions and software to analyze and process the data. The key choice for IT and Marketing leadership is to determine if the answer is to manage internally or outsource.

Velocity

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New Buzzwords, Not New Concepts Given the recent hype surrounding “Big Data” you might think it is a newly formed idea. On the contrary, Big Data and its associated ecosystem has been an ongoing journey, resulting from the intersection of multiple technologies.

For the enterprise, specifically the CMO, (this is a marketing publication after all) the goal is to find customers from an ever evolving, changing, shrinking and growing prospect pool with varied interests and media usage habits. Our goal as marketers is to design engaging targeted marketing touch points to entice response and ultimate loyalty for ongoing use of our products or services. Big data can have a positive and impactful role as a primary resource for solving these important business challenges.

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Big Data

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velocity, variety, value and venues.

Volume is clear. As marketers our goal is to have ALL the information and then figure out what is relevant to our goals.

Velocity is how fast we are able to create and process data. Variety represents the different data types and classifications that allow for proper cataloging, source tracking, and metadata appending using third party resources. Value represents the worth of various data points. Finally, venue represents the connection a consumer has to location and how locality influences decision making. That brings us to the birth of the data artisan.

How these “five V’s” intersect is where the “honey is” or the sweet spot in any data set. The data artisan will work to find the intersection so that he can identify where to find the 20% of a campaign’s effort that will result in the 80% of the success. This is where true art (and value) for the data artisan occurs. For me, I think of it as that great art director who has real talent, but also has a unique understanding of the business need and is also able to develop the great relationship with the client. He is someone hard to find, but worth his weight in gold.

The Sistine Chapel would not be the same. Direct and digital marketing practices have used basic data mining tools since the availability of Census data and compiled phonebooks. Marketers are undergoing a transformation in not only the volume and use of the data, but the tools and techniques used to assess and mine that data.

Traditional mass marketing concepts focused on “one product fits all” methodology don’t fit in the age of big data.

In the direct mail world, we call that spray and pray. With the development of efficient one-on-one and interactive marketing approaches, the ability to take advantage of new ways to customize and personalize engaging communication to prospects and customers is paramount. Think variable data printing or the variable emails we receive from Amazon. With the right data the marketing touch is truly customized around the consumer’s needs.

Insource Or Outsource?

Before you decide to jump on the “Big Data” bandwagon, make sure you understand that the return on investment is not carved in stone. Successful execution of these strategies requires management Data Mining Tools Plus Expertise – buy-in and budget approval. That means Meet The Artisan that leadership must understand the Tools can shape an industry or profession. dynamics of iterative testing. Finding that Imagine Michelangelo without a brush. needle in the data haystack will take time,

testing, retesting and lots of analysis by a data artisan.

Do you build a team and buy software to execute on this effort or use a service bureau essentially “leasing” the talent and resources on an as needed basis?

Using a third party service bureau with Big Data Insights and Data Artisans will allow you to avoid pitfalls and achieve value quickly. Because a service bureau has seen and built lots of modeling tools, they know what to look for. Most service bureaus will provide a low cost data audit and give recommendations to next steps.

From there they often can provide you with visual tools to help in understanding the data components and how your data set may be blended with massive 3rd party data stores for enhanced and impactful results. You gain Insights and maximize the data that matters most!

In Conclusion Regardless of whether you outsource with a partner or invest in building an internal team, one thing is certain – you must get moving. With the convergence of Big Data, improved statistical tools, and cloud technologies, the corporate landscape will change dramatically in coming years. Competitors will acquire customers and new markets will open with agile proactive predictive decision tools all produced by big data!

Kurtis M. Ruf is a partner of Ruf Strategic Solutions, A Pioneering Market Segmentation and Big Data Analytics services firm. Kurt is coauthor of “Contemporary Database Marketing” and is available to assist internal teams in big data best practice. You can reach Kurt at 913-485-8544, kurt@ruf.com, or visit www.ruf.com

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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Does the keyword symbol matter to your brand?

By Lorrie Bryan

February/March 2014 • Connect by NextPage

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ountless celebrities and major corporations do it. President Obama and the Dalai Lama do it. Even Facebook is among the top 50 most popular tweeters. With more than 500 million (and growing) tweets posted daily, Twitter is a big deal. Hashtags – that number sign preceding a word or words – are the key to effectively navigating and utilizing the dynamic information network of the vast Twittersphere.

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Learning to access relevant content and furthering the discussion is an effective way to target audiences, serve them better and compete with rivals, advises Tory Johnson, Good Morning America’s small business expert and CEO/founder of Spark & Hustle, coaching programs that help women start and grow small businesses. “I’ve connected via hashtags with thousands of people to promote my business.”

Does it seem like those little tic-tac-toes are popping up everywhere these days? In fact,

hashtags aren’t just for Twitter anymore. Every major social network is allowing the use of hashtags, so understanding how to use them is important if you’re a business or brand with any presence on social media.

Sue Zimmerman, a social media consultant who Johnson asserts is the queen of hashtags and her go-to girl, advises her clients to watch what other brands are doing with hashtags and then create a strategy of their own.

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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#HashtagThis

“My advice is to approach Twitter in a way that builds relationships leading to benefits, not necessarily to promote a business.”

– Social media consultant Mark Schaefer

“Pick the top 20 hashtags that are relevant to your business – and it’s OK to make up a few that are specific to your brand,” Zimmerman says. “Keep an eye on your hashtags so that you can monitor any customer service issues, respond to questions or simply keep up with what’s going on in your industry. Use hashtags to find clients or strategic partners that can help your business grow. After all, I landed an awesome $25,000-client just by my hashtag strategy.”

Following is some advice for Twitter newbies who want to use hashtags effectively. Just remember: Don’t chase CASH, be BRASH or RASH; don’t tweet TRASH and tweet with PANACHE.

1. Don’t Chase CASH

While hashtag best practices can help you build your bottom line, you must first seek to build relationships by offering authentic, helpful and meaningful content.

Mark Schaefer, a college educator, blogger, speaker and consultant who specializes in corporate social media marketing workshops, remembers the person who told him that he had given up on Twitter because after constant promoting, nothing happened. “I told him that was exactly the problem,” Schaefer recalls. “People are sick of being sold to and advertised to.

They are on the social web for connection, not to hear about your latest press release. So my advice is to approach Twitter in a way that builds relationships leading to benefits, not necessarily to promote a business.”

Schaefer explores this mindset extensively in his book, “The Tao of Twitter,” which now is being used as a textbook by more than 40 universities.

2. D on’t Be BRASH and Don’t Be RASH

Schaefer says that sometimes businesses overuse or force hashtags in an attempt to be cool. It’s important to know your audience and platform. When used appropriately, hashtags can provide useful context, facilitate communication and connect people with a common interest. Everyone benefits.

But when used excessively, they can create annoyance and frustration for your followers, causing them to disengage. Be judicious in your usage – use hashtags only when they will add value. Research the keyword and follow the discussion before you fire off a volley of self-promoting tweets. And then show some savvy and restraint – this generally means avoiding overt self-promotion and limiting hashtags to two per tweet.

YOUR #HASHTAGCRASHCOURSE

5 facts

you should know now February/March 2014 • Connect by NextPage

Fact No. 1

Fact No. 2

The # is a hash symbol used as a prefix to mark keywords or topics in a tweet. While it originated on Twitter, it quickly is becoming a universal tool that is used with other platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+ and Tumblr.

The hash symbol that is added to the beginning of a keyword (#keyword) becomes a hashtag – a searchable link, i.e., a conversation thread that brings ideas together. If you click on a particular hashtag, you’ll be able to see all tweets that also have used that hashtag.

13 While hashtag best practices can help you build your bottom line, you must first seek to build relationships by offering authentic, helpful and meaningful content.

Building relationships through social media is not a DASH; it’s a marathon. It takes time to build authentic relationships that will be mutually beneficial.

3. Don’t tweet TRASH

In spring 2011 amid the conflict in Egypt, the fashion designer Kenneth Cole’s account tweeted: “Millions are in an uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at…”

cause your account to be filtered from search or even get suspended.

Use hashtags only on tweets relevant to the topic. Other practices that are deemed unprofessional and violate Twitter’s rules (support.twitter.com/articles/18311) are: • Repeatedly tweeting the same topic/ hashtag without adding value to the conversation in an attempt to get the topic trending higher

Although taking a hashtag that already was viral and co-opting it to gain attention for the Kenneth Cole brand seemed like a clever idea, nearly everyone found it to be in poor taste. The designer later was forced to make a public apology. Adding one or more hashtags to an unrelated tweet in an attempt to gain attention in a search generally is frowned upon. This definitely will get you unfollowed and could

• Tweeting about each trending topic in order to drive traffic to your profile, especially when mixed with advertising • Listing the trending topics in combination with a request to be followed • Tweeting about a trending topic and posting a misleading link to something unrelated

4. Tweet with PANACHE

Sharpie is one company that uses its hashtags successfully. With a little research, the manufacturer of writing instruments confirmed that its younger market enjoys self-expression. So it created a Twitter campaign designed to align the brand with artistry and creativity. Implementing promoted tweets with topics such as music, art and writing, Sharpie encouraged its followers to tag their conversations involving creativity as well as their artwork with the hashtag #Sharpie. By using the hashtag, Sharpie not only got people conversing and having fun, but it also promoted brand awareness. Its efforts resulted in a successful campaign that increased its Twitter following by 600 percent, with more than 1,000 new followers a day.

So, you’re still not sure about the hashtag how-to? Schaefer says don’t worry about making mistakes. “There are many wonderful and creative uses of hashtags. Just explore, learn and have fun.”

Fact No. 3

Fact No. 4

Ideally, the hashtag you use should contain no more than 10 letters and be highly relevant to both your content and the conversation.

You can insert the hashtag anywhere within your tweet or message – beginning, middle or end.

Twitter recommends not using more than two hashtags per message.

Fact No. 5

Don’t use spaces or punctuation marks within your hashtag and avoid using numbers at the beginning of a hashtag. If your hashtag has multiple keywords, you can capitalize the first letter of each word to aid readability.

Shortly after the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the hashtag #nowthatchersdead emerged. Twitter users read the hashtag as “NowThatCher’sDead,” rather than “NowThatcher’sDead,” and rumors of the singer’s passing spread across the Twittersphere until it was confirmed that Cher was alive and well.

To find out what hashtags are trending, go to hashtags.org. To search hashtag links, go to search.twitter.com.

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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Q&A: Interview with Mike Coughlin

Trending with ...

A Digital marketing guru Mike Coughlin

sk Mike Coughlin, and he’ll tell you it’s all about connections. These days, Coughlin and his company, MP Coughlin Consulting, spend time helping companies small and large make sense of organizational or Big Data through analytics tool customization, dashboard reporting and high-level consulting. Coughlin honed his expertise through his work with companies such as Sony Music, Four Seasons Hotels, the Wharton School of Business and BMW, among others. You want marketing? Coughlin has managed campaigns in as many as 15 different languages in 30 countries. Here’s his take on the art of making connections today.

What do you know that we don’t about digital marketing?

Does human interaction even matter anymore?

Attribution-based analysis is a crucial com- When it comes to any form of marketing, underponent to any successful strategy. Managing standing how humans interact with each other digital marketing in silos is no longer suf- and with various media channels will always be vificient. When looking at data, it’s important tally important. While humans have decentralized to examine the entire consumer buying cycle physically, they’ve formed tighter-knit communities process rather than how each through digital networks. I’d argue When it comes person interacts within a parthat understanding their interaction ticular channel. For example, is more accessible than ever thanks to any form understanding how a particular to social media analytics data. of marketing, prospective customer interacts understanding how with your Facebook page is virDoes digital marketing humans interact tually useless unless you can eliminate any redundanquantify the monetary value of with each other and cies and inefficiencies? with various media It eliminates wasteful spendthat customer. This prospective customer may jump from Face- channels will always ing and an elusive ROI. When it book to a mobile phone, to a be vitally important. comes to traditional marketing, search engine and back again. It measurement of performance is is crucial to demonstrate the true value of your difficult to come by. With the onset of the interongoing digital marketing efforts. net and associated analytics data, performance no longer is a mystery, and strategic decisions no How has human interaction changed? longer need to be based on hunches. By integratIt has evolved from consumers using one ing and interpreting data from multiple sources, device or web-based marketing channels to you can eliminate wasteful spending in channels many. When search engines came out, there or mediums that are simply not performing. In were no social networks. There were no mo- the end, making data-driven decisions can greatbile phones, tablets or other devices to ac- ly reduce wasted time, energy and money. cess the internet. With the proliferation of multiple devices and ways to connect with What new job descriptions will the web, people are keeping themselves digital marketing help create? physically separate, but never fully discon- For starters, I see less “siloed” positions like nected from the web or each other. Thus, social media analysts or paid search strateevery person’s social interactions and pur- gists. There will be newer roles such as “cross chasing habits are measured, often willingly channel analysts” emerging. They will have a disclosed, and run through a mesh of chan- sophisticated understanding of attribution and nels and platforms to produce a wealth of how all of the channels work together rather valuable information. than how they work independently.

February/March 2014 • Connect by NextPage

Before You Go

Operation Contact

A look at the most popular B2B marketing channels in the new year There is a buzz about the marketing scene in 2014, as many B2B marketers begin to set their strategies in motion. According to the “2013 Marketing Mix Survey Results� study by the Sagefrog Marketing Group, some of the more common marketing channels for B2B professionals include:

56

%

67

Social M edia

72

40

%

Search Engine Optimization

%

15

%

Direct Marketing

Email Marketing

8 % 5 32 30 %

%

Websites

Print Ads

White Papers

Read more at www.emarketer.com To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

connect

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8300 NE Underground Dr., Pillar 122 Kansas City, MO 64161 goNextPage.com | 866.938.3607

The new generation in communications, combining the best of technology, talent and services.

Mail Print, Graphic Services, and L & L Manufacturing have served clients for over 25 years. Now we’ve merged and expanded our operations. We’ve made a significant investment in technology and staff, so that we can help you take advantage of the revolution in direct and digital marketing.

You’re ready to go beyond traditional printing and add mobile, email and social media to your marketing mix.

So we’ve invested in the technology and staff to get you there. Call us today for personalized advice of the best tool for your specific need.

The future of printing is now! Keep growing with NextPage.

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