Start the second half of 2016 off right, by getting your blog organized. The following are a few of my favorite online business solutions for blogging and social media that help keep things organized and looking great.
THE BLOG
Jun
In 2016, video content will be a clear winner. So it’s time to start spicing up your social media feeds and websites with videos that will captivate your audience and encourage them to engage. Adding a video to your homepage will not only be eye catching to your visitors, but it will also decrease your bounce rate and increase the amount of time visitors stay on your site. But it’s not always easy to find good quality stock videos. I went out and found a number of similar blog posts but most of them have links to very low quality sites; so I wanted to create a list of links to high quality sites. Here are 7 great sites where you can find quality free stock videos to spice up your site.
Jun
SMS marketing may just be the most unappreciated and undervalued marketing medium of our time. No one seems to want to do it, and no one is talking about its massive benefits. While some may veer away from it, likening it to telemarketing; in reality, there are very few similarities. SMS is the perfect place to inform customers about sales and give out special deals.
May
In today’s digital marketing, finding a professional to write your website is essential. Your website is the hub of all your on-line interactions and will likely serve as a customer’s first impression of your business. I always tell my clients that a well written website should give you a foundation to build the rest of your marketing on.
A good website will:
- Build trust with your audience (ethos)
- Appeal to your target market to draw them in (pathos)
- Convert web visitors into leads (logos)
Unless you or someone on your team is an experienced content writer, hiring a professional to write your website is definitely a necessity if you want it done right. But with scads of writers popping up all over the place, how can you tell which one will be right for your business?
May
At some point, everyone is a beginner. When you’re trying to get your business’ website up and running and want to start generating coveted search traffic, beginning to optimize your website for SEO can seem like a daunting process. While there are many great SEO companies out there, there’s no need to feel discouraged if paying someone else to optimize your website just isn’t feasible. The reality is, learning SEO isn’t rocket science and the basics can easily be learned and applies with a little effort. Here are a few strategies to help you get started without breaking the bank.
May
The essence of content marketing is all about great ideas. Ideas are what it takes to get your content shared and ideas help you to build trust with your audience. For the B2B marketer, ideas are even more important. Turning yourself into a thought leader is very effective because it allows you to be relational. On social media, someone is more likely to connect with a real person than with a brand. While most brands should certainly have a presence of their own, creating a forum for yourself as a thought leader will help you build trust with your audience that much faster and your following is likely to grow more easily.
Apr
When it comes to selling to customers, companies and business owners are always making sure the message getting across to their customers is doing its job. Great messaging of course can make or break a sale. However, in terms of hiring, the world of job boards and Craigslist ads are riddled with very little information, poor language, over-zealous presentation, or a combination of all three. In the search for talent, the language of hiring is very often—downright awful. Instead of attracting the best, companies often scare off the best and end up hiring the worst. Here are a few recruiting language sins that you should avoid if you don’t want the best talent to run for the door.
Mar
As one of the largest social media networks, Twitter is a great platform that any business can utilize. With a well laid out plan, virtually any business can use Twitter to help promote their business, offer better customer service, and earn new customers. When you’re planning out a strategy for any social media channel, the most important thing to remember is that it won’t stand alone. Your Twitter presence should accompany your website, your email marketing, and any other digital and traditional marketing you do.
Jan
In my last blog, I talked about everything that needs to be done before you’re ready to start your Inbound Marketing plan. Once your website and CRM are set up to start capturing leads, and your blog and CRM are planned and ready to go, it’s time to start thinking about free offers to attract new leads. These things can include e-books, webinars, free trials, or free consultations. Choose things that would appeal to your target audience and remember, the more ways you provide potential customers to interact, the better. These free offers are not only important to show your knowledge and experience, but they are the primary way you will capture customer information.
Jan
2016 is posed to be an even bigger year for inbound marketing. With the increasing popularity of ad blocking software, companies will be working harder to engage with customers organically. For companies wanting to get started however, things can be very daunting. There are so many aspects to getting started with demand generation that it is easy to become paralyzed right at the start. But before you get ready to start giving out free ebooks and webinars, make sure you have the basics in place to actually get results for your efforts.
