Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 7634 / SEEDWORLD.COM SEPTEMBER 2016 DESIGN ENGINEERING Integrating Innovation: Improving Quality with Engineering The seed industry has witnessed and is poised to experience a number of high- profile transitions. These shifts often take precedence over other trends impacting the practical functionality of facility design, operation, maintenance and output. What significant trend is impacting, or will impact, your facility? How can integrating innovation and engineering solutions improve the quality of your output? Here are some considerations about the increasingly complex applications of seed treatments. Seed-applied technologies are becoming increasingly complex, often requiring spe- cific, multi-step formulas and application processes tailored to specific geographic conditions or proprietary and brand- specific innovations. As the complexity increases so do the corresponding issues. The challenge of consistent treatment coverage, dust off, sticking and clumping, treatment transference, and plant flowabil- ity become more pronounced as applica- EES COMPANIES OWNER AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER JElwer@EEScompanies.com EEScompanies.com JEFF ELWER tion processes become increasingly complex. This not only impacts operational efficiency, but also the quality of your seed. We have seen several innovations in equipment design to address these issues. These innovations are being incorporated into drum, continuous, and batch treatment equipment, provid- ing facilities flexibility to meet their specific needs. The integration of treating and drying processes into an individual piece of equipment or system applies precise rates of chemical, polymer, colorant, or other active ingredients consis- tently before removing introduced moisture, providing a finish polish, and prepping the seed for the next stage of treatment within the same piece of equipment. Attention to the treatment and drying processes in a system reduces the rate of clump- ing, reduces transference from improperly dried seed further downstream, and consolidates clean-out and maintenance. The integration of innovative equipment into your facility should be weighted with your goals and needs, which some- times requires a system-wide assessment. Considering your entire facility as a system of co-dependent parts, we recom- mend looking upstream to assess opportunities to improve processes through engineering improvements to facility design and assessing appropriate equipment integration to improve flowability and ultimately quality. When it comes to measuring the suc- cess of your content marketing strategy, unfortunately there are no hard and fast metrics. But before you can get an accu- rate sense of your return on investment, you must know what it is you want to accomplish. Only then can you measure progress against key performance indi- cators, such as reach, engagement and sentiment. Reach Unique Visits: How many individuals have viewed your content within a given time? This allows you to compare different forms of content and trends over time, but not all unique visits are equal. Geography: Knowing where your content is being read can help you better understand where to allocate resources based on audience goals. Mobile Readership: Understanding how your content is being consumed and viewed on different devices is key to determining how to optimize content design and delivery. ISSUES INK DIRECTOR, CLIENT SERVICES @IssuesInk LHoffman@IssuesInk.com IssuesInk.com LINDSAY HOFFMAN Engagement Time Spent: How long do readers spend with your content? How many pages did they visit? Where did they exit? Heat Maps and Click Patterns: These patterns show what is most relevant to your audience and allow you to optimize content and design. Page Views: A high page view to unique visits ratio signals an engaged audience, and often means that they are coming back regularly. It’s also a good measure of how far along in a website they may have gotten. Sentiment Comments: With social media, everything is out there. For everything you make available online be prepared to engage in a conversation. Users are the best advocates for any product or service, so if they’re engaged enough to openly discuss your content, consider it a success. Social Sharing: Make your content easy to share. With just a few social shares, the reach of your content can increase exponentially. With goals in place and the appropriate key performance indicators selected, you should be able to see if your tactics are moving the needle. If they’re not, don’t throw in the towel. Step back and evaluate. Consider what your audience wants and needs, and then tweak your plan. CONTENT MARKETING Measuring the Success of Content Marketing, Not Your Normal ROI