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Content marketing for your small business

Donna Papacosta — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:35:22 +0000

First in series

You have a website for your small business. Your site may even be optimized for search. And yet, when prospects use their favourite search engine to find a business in your category, you’re on page 7. Or 19. Do you ever flip through to the seventh or 19^th page of search results? Me neither.

No one wants to be the proverbial needle in the haystack. So how do you improve your odds of being found? First, be sure that your site truly is search-engine friendly. Have a neutral third party analyze it for you. (If your web developer inserted your company name or the word “home” as the title of your main page, your site may not be as optimized as you were led to believe.)

But let’s move beyond what the search engines care about. What about your prospective customers or clients? When they discover your site, whether via search or by directly keying in your URL, what do they find? Lots of fluff about your company history and the awards you’ve won? A list of product features?

Let’s face it: No one cares about your company history except you, and many awards are meaningless to the typical client. As for product features – they do belong on your site, but more important to the prospect are the benefits of your product or service.

What your prospect wants to know is this: Can you help solve their business problem?

Content marketing allows you to accomplish this by enabling you to demonstrate your approach to business, your leadership in your industry and your track record of solving clients’ problems.

In this series of blog posts, we’re going to explore:

The benefits of content marketing
How to get started with content marketing
How to use social media to amplify your content marketing
How to keep your content marketing efforts going
How to add content curation to your content marketing program
And more

Feel free to send me your questions about content marketing.

Other posts in this series:
Content marketing defined
How to get started with content marketing

For more content like this, follow me on Twitter or GooglePlus.

Visit the Trafalgar Communications website for information about how we can help your organization to tell its story through traditional and new media.

For attorneys getting started with social media

David M. Ward — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:24:21 +0000

If you're new to social media and you don't know where to begin, Twitter is a good place to start. Why? For one thing, there are fewer things to do to get up and running. You choose a name, fill in a few blanks, and you're good to go.

Another reason is that there are lot of other attorneys on Twitter, as well as people who connect with them. You can follow a few attorneys, watch what they do, listen to what they are are talking about, and get a sense for how things work. Some (many) of the people you follow will follow you back. All of sudden, you have people to talk to.

If you've been on Twitter for awhile and you're ready to dip your toes into the power-user pool, this excellent article can help. You'll learn about setting up lists, searching for people to connect with in your local market and finding information you can write or talk about. You'll also learn how to connect with people and engage them in a conversation, which is why we're on social media after all. And you'll learn some of the requisite posting etiquette so you don't embarrass yourself. (I'm just saying. . .).

Twitter is a lot more powerful than you might assume when you first start using it. It's worth exploring some of the things it can do. It may not turn out to be your favorite social media hangout, but it's a very good place to start.

How to get started with content marketing

Donna Papacosta — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:13:20 +0000

Third in series

Links to previous posts in this series:
Content marketing for small business
Content marketing defined

Let’s assume that you have a marketing plan for your business, and you’d like to add content marketing to your existing programs so you can reap the rewards of inbound marketing.

Before you begin to create content, be sure you have your target market in mind.

What do they need? What have they asked for in the past? Can you identify their future requirements? If you have crafted a buyer’s persona, now’s the time to use it.

Remember that you are not creating marketing materials per se. You are producing freely available content that is all about THEM, the customer, not about YOU.

Start by looking at content that you’ve already produced that can be repurposed and repackaged, as long as it’s fresh.

Do you have a recent case study? An interview that you did with a customer? Have you ever put together tip sheets or informational (how-to) materials for your clients? Have you given a speech to an industry association? You may have a treasure trove of content just waiting to be shared. Do edit it to make sure it’s up to date and outwardly focused.

And please, don’t be afraid of free. You want as many people as possible to consume and then share your content, and the fewer layers of friction between the content and them, the better. (This means no filling out forms with their mother’s maiden name, etc., just to access your content.)

So what kinds of content are we talking about?

The simplest way to start is a blog, particularly one that’s integrated into your website and highlighted on your home page.

You can also create audio or video podcasts, case studies, white papers or eBooks. Think about running a webinar, and then recording it to be shared. Do you have some excellent presentations? Post them on Slideshare and embed them in your blog. A whole new audience might discover you via Slideshare. (When I posted a presentation on content curation last fall, I was astonished to see the number of views skyrocket past 7,000 within weeks.)

To be sure to reach your prospects who aren’t as web-savvy as others, you can also publish your content in a newsletter. Just be sure that you let subscribers opt in, lest you be labeled a spammer.

In the next post, we’ll delve deeper into how-to tips for creating content that people love to share.

For more content like this, follow me on Twitter or GooglePlus.

Visit the Trafalgar Communications website for information about how we can help your organization to tell its story through traditional and new media.

Recap of “Optimize your LinkedIn presence” with Anita Windisman

Donna Papacosta — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:52:24 +0000

If you missed our IABC/Toronto Professional Independent Communicators meeting last night, here’s a quick recap of the Tweets of Anita Windisman’s excellent presentation on how to use LinkedIn for business.

Online Marketing News: Facebook IPO, Harmonize with Google+, Pinterest Dominates Traffic

Ashley Zeckman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:55:25 +0000

Facebook in Numbers: Prior to the IPO

The big news in social media and business this week is Facebook’s new IPO. This infographic from statista and creative commons shares some very interesting figures about Facebook, before it goes public.

Highlights include:

In 2012 Facebook is expected to reach: 90% of U.S. Social Network Users & 60% of Internet Users.
Assuming a valuation of $100 billion, Facebook would be work 67 to 100x’s it’s estimated 2011 net income.

The Social Media Buzz

“How to Harmonize Google+ With Your Other Social Platforms” Search Plus has placed even more importance on blending your online marketing strategy in order to adhere to the social, personal, and personalized search algorithm. This post offers some great tips on harmonizing Google+ with your current platforms. Via Search Engine Watch.

“StumbleUpon Kills Direct Links, iFrames Everything” With over 20 million users StumbleUpon may be getting some heat for their recent updates. One particular change to be aware of is the removal of all direct links which point back to content sources from within the platform. If you are a Stumbler I strongly recommend reading this article. Via Search Engine Land.

“The Social Enterprise: Your Path to Job Security” While it is not surprising that social networking technologies will receive increased budgets this year it is important to understand the shift that many industries are taking. Social media has become a recognized method in which your customers and potential customers will consume information about your services. Social media must be used a s tool to educate, communicate, and engage on an ongoing basis. Via InformationWeek.

Your Brand & Your Customers

“Inside the mind of your buyers” Each of your customers has something that makes them different. It may be their specific pain points or their budget restrictions. This article provides 6 helpful tips on how to close a sale by focusing on what motivates your customers to buy. Via Entrepreneur.

“The big tip for 2012: Convergence is here” The need for a multichannel strategy has been around for awhile. However, this year marketers will be focusing more and more on the convergence of those strategies. Some of the trends we are seeing these days are popular television shows encouraging viewers to interact via their mobile device or iPad in real time. Since we are finding that many customers are multi-tasking the 4 tips within this article provide guidance on dealing with convergence and what steps you should take to keep up with a rapidly evolving means of communication. Via Econsultancy.

“3 key features of Twitter brand pages” This piece takes a deeper look at the changes rolled out by Twitter late last year and the potential impact for brands. It covers changes such as the expanded header area, featured Tweets, and separating your mentions from replies. Definitely worth taking a look. Via Ragan.

Working as a Team to Bring You the News – TopRank

Alexis Hall – Pinterest Driving More Referral Traffic Than Google+
Reports are showing Pinterest is now driving more search referrals than Google+ and YouTube. This post, from Search Engine Watch, explores the question if the online pin board can compete with Facebook and Twitter, featuring an interesting infographic from Monetate. Via Search Engine Watch.

Brian Larson – Super Bowl Viewers Will Check Phones 10 Times During the Game
Sometimes it takes just the right stat or factoid to drive a point home. Mobile’s growth cannot be denied by any rational person, but how about this stat: super bowl viewers will check their smart phones 10 times during the game. That’s right, the most compelling and entertaining football game of the year, which is augmented by million dollar commercials and halftime performances from Grammy award winning artists, can’t keep viewers from the powerful pull of mobile. The real question isn’t whether you should engage in mobile marketing, but rather are you positioned to be on their screen when they check their phone one of those 10 times? Via Mashable.

Emily Conley – Inside Facebook’s S-1 Filing: 845 Million Users, $3.7 Billion In Revenues In 2011
On Wednesday, Feb. 1st Facebook filed its S1 registration (which companies use to register securities with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). The filing makes public certain financial and user data, including:

2011 net income: $1 billion (up from $606 million in 2010)
2011 revenue: $3.7 billion (up from 1.97 billion in 2010)
2011 monthly users: 845 million (roughly 50% active on a daily basis)
2011 average daily photo uploads: 250 million

This article also delves into shareholder information and background on the company’s ‘hacker way’ culture centered on having a positive impact on the world. Some very interesting insights into this social media giant’s success! Via Fast Company.

Ken Horst – 5 Ways to Brand Your New YouTube Profile
YouTube has provided users with a number of smart ways to get more out the Brand/Profile page. Some of the great updates are the ability to add multiple custom URLs in an area that is clearly visible to users and the ability to create your own custom overly ad for your videos. You can also prevent other ads from showing up on your videos. Via Social Media Examiner.

Time to Weigh In: Have you taken any steps to integrate Google+ with your other platforms? If so what have you done that has worked? When trying to get into the mindset of your potential customers, what is the most important thing you should know?

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
Online Marketing News: Facebook IPO, Harmonize with Google+, Pinterest Dominates Traffic | http://www.toprankblog.com

Huxley on Truth vs. Wishes

Sam Parker — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:30:08 +0000

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”

– Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
English writer

Email this quote

Sales bright…

annoy: (uh-’noi) verb: to disturb or irritate especially by repeated acts

The last thing we want to do is annoy them (our prospects & customers).

It’s never our intent. But our intent doesn’t matter.

What we do matters.

Here are the sales facts…

They don’t like it when…

we’re pushy
we call too much
we’re "just checking in"
we’re unprepared
we’re disrespectful of their time
we keep calling if they say they’re not interested

Get the complete list of 16 things that annoy our prospects and customers and the 5 things really want.

(Leaders: Let your team in on this one and be sure to consider the replacement activities too.)

Connect with Sam (guy behind this stuff)…

Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+ | Twitter

Can a 20-something be a social media expert?

Donna Papacosta — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:49:25 +0000

At last night’s IABC/Toronto Professional Independent Communicators (PIC) meeting, Anita Windisman did a terrific presentation on LinkedIn, which I’ve blogged about here. In reviewing the tweets generated during Anita’s session, I noticed a single criticism:

Great networking & presentation at #pictips tonight. Some good tips, but I was surprised by 1 of the comments …

Ppl under 30 aren’t all ‘kids’. Just b/c someone has their MBA doesn’t mean they’re more of a ‘SM expert’ than someone younger #pictips

Let me put this in context. Anita mentioned that she has an MBA and 18 years of marketing and business experience. She made an offhand comment that she’s not a “kid” doing social media training.

[I did not write this down verbatim, but I think I’ve captured the spirit of what she said.]

I’ve always maintained that a social media “expert” is not someone who merely can train you in the mechanics of Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn or GooglePlus or Hootsuite or TweetDeck or whatever. Anyone can learn how to retweet, how to tag, etc. These are necessary skills, but they do not in and of themselves yield business results.

Plenty of my clients attend seminars on social media, then walk away saying, “OK, so now I know how to do the mechanics, but what do I tweet about? Do I have to be on Facebook? Why would I connect with someone on LinkedIn? What do I say? How is this stuff relevant?”

These are important questions about business strategy.

So, yes, one does not need an MBA or any other degree for that matter to be a social media “expert.” [You’ll note I keep putting the word in quotation marks because I’m not sure that the word “expert” is even appropriate.] But I do believe that business people want to work with a marketing specialist or a communications consultant who can help them solve problems, using social media or some other tactic.

In a field as young as social media, there are bound to be many young practitioners. Last year I attended an event where I met one such woman. She described herself as a social media trainer who’d been in business about a year. When I asked her what she’d been doing before then, she said she was a wedding photographer. In fact, she still was.

I’m sure she’d be proficient at explaining how to retweet on Twitter or tag someone on Facebook, but I doubt she’d be able to advise a senior executive on a blogging strategy or a content marketing campaign.

After a decade or so in business, one’s degree is largely immaterial. I don’t think I’ve mentioned my own Masters in Public Administration to a client, with the exception of some of those in the public sector, who like to see consultants with these particular letters after their names.

But business experience is another matter. It’s a prerequisite, in my humble opinion, before one can advise another person.

One’s age is not a prerequisite. Someone can be 40 with two years in business. But I doubt that a 25-year old, unless he’s a prodigy of some kind, could have more than a couple of years of real-life business experience.

I’d love to know what you think. Does a person need business experience to be a social media “expert”?

Please share your thoughts on this. Am I off base?

Content marketing defined

Donna Papacosta — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:46:01 +0000

Second in series

In the previous post I talked about the importance of content marketing for small businesses. Much of this is true for medium-sized businesses too. Heck, large brands use content marketing, but they often have large agencies to help.

Let’s focus on your small- to mid-sized business.

Perhaps we should define content marketing before we proceed further. When I speak to clients about content marketing, I describe it as: The creation and sharing of information that’s valuable to your prospects and customers. Content marketing is worthwhile because it can help establish or build your brand, cultivate thought leadership within your niche or industry, and ultimately generate leads. It’s like a magnet drawing prospects to you.

But content marketing is not advertising! And it’s not sales-y. This is an important distinction. After all, if a prospect wants to read your sell sheets, they can probably find them on your website.

How do we define effective content marketing?

When we measure results, we can see the needle moving. People discover your company, and feel that you are the one who can solve their problem. And then a funny thing happens. Prospects call you. Isn’t this type of inbound marketing every business person’s dream? To be freed of the burden of cold calling?

When your content is effective, people consume it and then share it, because it’s practical and usable, and targeted to your market. Yes, it showcases your expertise, but in a subtle way. When you publish a case study about the success of one of your clients, for example, the narrative should be written in a way that shines the spotlight on them, not you.

In the next post, we’ll expand on this idea and talk about HOW to create excellent content so that you can enjoy the benefits of inbound marketing.

For more content like this, follow me on Twitter or GooglePlus.

Visit the Trafalgar Communications website for information about how we can help your organization to tell its story through traditional and new media.

Save time and reduce mistakes with form letters

David M. Ward — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:34:28 +0000

I suspect that as much as one third of the mail and email messages you send each week are routine responses or messages. Inquires are answered, new clients information is transmitted, newsletters are mailed. You probably have some of these saved as form letters. You may also store snippets of text you use frequently, ready to copy and paste into your outgoing messages.

If you're not doing this, now is the time to begin assembling a library of form letters, just as I'm sure you have for pleadings, discovery, and agreements.

If you do use form letters, it's a good idea to review them to see how you can make them better.

Not only do form letters save the time otherwise spent drafting an original letter, they also save time spent instructing others who respond on your behalf. After all, it's a lot quicker to tell your assistant to "send letter 3-B" rather than explain what you want them to say (or dictate the letter yourself).

Form letters also reduce mistakes. You won't forget to tell someone something that is already in your letter.

Form letters also reduce the number of incoming calls seeking additional information or clarification. Clients and prospects will like seeing that you are prepared and thorough.

The first step to improving your form letter library is to make extra copies of every letter and email you send over the next week or two. If you use Evernote, you can send everything into a temporary notebook for this purpose or assign a "form_letters" tag. You might also want to go through your sent email folder for the last few months and selectively forward emails to your Evernote email account. You can do the same with digital copies of letters sent by regular mail.

Also, go through your incoming mail. You may be getting letters sent to you that are (a) answered by phone or in person (i.e., at the consultation or meeting), (b) not being sufficiently answered, or (c) not being answered at all. Send these to your email account, too.

(For more ways to use Evernote in your law practice, check out my Evernote for Lawyers eBook.)

Once you have assembled a sampling of letters and emails, the next step is go through them and ask yourself,

How often do I send all or part of this information?
Is there anything in here that I could save and use?
Is there anything here that could be improved? Expanded? Clarified?
Is there anything here that could be put into a form letter?

Take the time to create or expand your library of form letters and get in the habit of using them. And every time you dictate an original letter, ask yourself if some or all of it could be added to your library.

If five percent of your current messages today are form letters, and you could increase this to just ten percent, you should see a significant time savings.

Essential Shifts in Online Marketing: Are You On Board? Are You Optimized?

Lee Odden — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:21:54 +0000

Is your company adaptable? Is your marketing optimized?

I think most online marketers get the fact that marketing and communications on the web is a fast changing place and that most companies are structured to move at a slower pace than the digital world is evolving.

Take for example, the notion of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It’s been around for about 15 years or so and in just the past few months Google has made the most significant changes ever. Despite the crystal clear focus towards search integration with social, many companies and digital pundits are still skeptical about the role of organic search let alone how to optimize Google+ to attract and engage customers.

Yesterday I saw a video on the Inc. Magazine website titled, “Increase Your Search Engine Page Rank”. Is that really what a business needs to succeed online? An inflated PageRank score? What about understanding how to attract more customers? What about engaging customers who are inspired to refer your brand to even more customers?

I think there’s something seriously lost in translation between real consumer behaviors and marketing efforts that succeed on the web. Companies see an article like the one above and start asking consultants for help with increasing their PageRank score which is a distraction from what’s important.

To make sense for companies in the midst of all this change and differing online marketing advice, there are two essential ideas worth considering for anyone in a position to create online content:

A different way of thinking about optimization

Rather than tactics like web page SEO, blogging or video driving an online marketing approach, what if companies instead made more of an effort to focus on customer behaviors and preferences for information discovery, user experience and engagement? In other words, what if they researched what types of media, topics and channels both customers and those who influence customers prefer? With that knowledge, develop a content mix and corresponding optimization effort.

This is content marketing 101, but so many marketers are caught up in specific tactics, they lose sight of the target audience they’re after in favor of the crack-like effect of pumping out “a viral video”, another infographic or contest to attract more fans, friends and followers.

The Discovery, User Experience and Engagement optimization approach that I talk about at length in Optimize transcends those tactics and emphasizes that a web marketing effort should be focused on the role of content and human experience as it relates to meeting both the objectives of the consumer and the brand. Once those key triggers are understood, then the editorial, keyword optimization and social networking tactics are defined.

How people find information, what formats and topics resonate, how to inspire interaction, sharing and commerce are all part of this three part optimization approach. The platforms, apps and social technology might change, but a more holistic view of optimization can guide content marketing efforts regardless of what social media, networking or search engine platform rules the day.

In this scenario, optimization is more in alignment with the actual definition of the word optimize: ” to make as perfect, effective, or functional as possible”. Then applying that approach to connecting customers with brand content and experiences in a way that motivates consumers to act: buy, refer, share. Each touchpoint in the brand and consumer experience across the customer lifecycle can be optimized for better performance, for more desirable outcomes.

Develop adaptive models for online marketing technologies

By that I mean create processes and plans for rapid detection, testing and evaluation of shiny new social or online technologies to determine their potential role in the content marketing mix. Many companies feel overwhelmed and don’t know what or when “the next Twitter” will pop. Or even if they should care. Others withdraw from testing and stick only with the few social platforms they know.

Creating an adaptive approach to incorporating new social and web applications, tools and platforms can filter down the most relevant shiny new objects and allow for more rapid incorporation with content marketing efforts. This approach means coordinating people that can fulfill these roles. For that, there will be some social business and internal collaboration tools involved. Leveraging your collective organization to monitor and filter for emerging social technologies relevant to engaging with your customer base can result in more rapid identification, best practices formulation and successful implementation.

Most companies don’t have staff or resources dedicated to testing out new social technologies, so why not tap into the collective knowledge, wisdom and reach of your employees, partners and even your customers? Without the ability to adapt, the momentum of many online marketing efforts will certainly die or at least lose out to the competition that’s paying attention.

As it is for the surfer in the image above, an adaptable approach to content and optimized online marketing is about the journey. It’s about trying to perfect your craft and continuously refine what you have to work with every day. Use the tools of the day knowing they will change. Focus more on whatever it takes to stay connected with your customers and community using the search and social channels that are most relevant.

How are you defining optimization in your organization? Do you see the value of taking a step back and viewing optimization more holistically? Does your organization have a process for monitoring, testing and adopting new technologies for marketing?

I’ll be talking about many of these key #Optimize principles at OMS and SES Accelerator coming up next week in San Diego. I hope to see you there.

Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.

© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
Essential Shifts in Online Marketing: Are You On Board? Are You Optimized? | http://www.toprankblog.com

Content marketing for your small business

salescount.com

Content marketing for your small business

Related Posts:

For attorneys getting started with social media

Related Posts:

How to get started with content marketing

Related Posts:

Recap of “Optimize your LinkedIn presence” with Anita Windisman

Related Posts:

Online Marketing News: Facebook IPO, Harmonize with Google+, Pinterest Dominates Traffic

Facebook in Numbers: Prior to the IPO

The Social Media Buzz

Your Brand & Your Customers

Working as a Team to Bring You the News – TopRank

Related Posts:

Huxley on Truth vs. Wishes

Related Posts:

Can a 20-something be a social media expert?

Related Posts:

Content marketing defined

Related Posts:

Save time and reduce mistakes with form letters

Related Posts:

Essential Shifts in Online Marketing: Are You On Board? Are You Optimized?

A different way of thinking about optimization

Develop adaptive models for online marketing technologies

Related Posts: