“Outbound marketing” is where a marketer pushes his message out far and wide hoping that it resonates with that needle in the haystack. Some examples include trade shows, seminar series, email blasts to purchased lists, internal cold calling, outsourced telemarketing and advertising.
Rather than do outbound marketing to the masses of people who are trying to block you out, let’s do “inbound marketing” where you help yourself “get found” by people already learning about and shopping in your industry. In order to do this, make your website a hub for your industry that attracts visitors naturally through the search engines, through blogs, and through social media sites.
I believe most marketers today spend 90% of their efforts on outbound marketing and 10% on inbound marketing. What if we flipped those efforts?
It’s really not enough to have a Search Engine Optimized website without developing a social media strategy. Here are a few tips that have the potential to add a high level of success to your SEO Website.
If you don’t have a social media platform for your company, create one! Start with the basics: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and a blog.
Gather up content that you already have, chop it up into small bites, then develop a publishing schedule. Add a little spice to your content to make it relevant and fun… things that your target audience would find interesting.
Your Facebook page is a microsite; your YouTube Channel is a video microsite; and your Twitter account is your micro-blog. Driving visits to these pages can drive engagement and create lifelong connections with consumers when they “friend” or “follow” you. Think of fans and friends as people opting into your database.
Post your YouTube channel’s videos and include them on your site.
Promote your social media assets like crazy. Post them on your site, drop press releases about them in the wire services, and link to them from your site and in e-mail signatures.
Track traffic and actions in general using Google Analytics.
Social media is definitely one of the areas in marketing where money doesn’t always win. Take advantage of two of the most powerful ingredients in social media: creativity and personality.
These two elements are the keys to having a practical message and being a trusted source. They are also essential to discovering new and exciting strategies and tactics. Don’t be afraid to try something new or go a different direction than the crowd.
When it comes to blogging, focusing on the bigger idea is better! Write about your client base and what they’re interested in – not necessarily your company.
For example, Graco blogs about things such as ideas for birthday parties, not just their products, because this is something that their client base (parents) are interested in.
Blog readers aren’t interested in “advertising”, so it’s important to promote your business in the context of a certain topic. This makes the content more appealing to a wider base, and establishes expertise in a broader realm.
Ask yourself “What value is this going to create for my readers?” Create value 1st and then promotion will come indirectly!
As you cook Christmas dinner today, watch how your hungry guests keep returning to the kitchen– drawn in by attractive, delicious-smelling food. Today, these hungry people are your family, but on your website they represent your visitors.
You want to attract visitors to your website with compelling content. Notice that as your family comes into your kitchen, they sniff it out, maybe even steal a bite. If this was your website, you’d offer the bite in exchange for a bit of information about the visitor and transform them into a lead.
How to Bake a Delicious, Content-Filled Blog
INGREDIENTS
1 blogger (preferably someone passionate about content production)
1 RSS reader (set up and containing blogs related to your industry)
1 URLÂ (with Typepad or Blogspot accounts removed and discarded)
Blog Analytics, installed
2 cups Social Media
1 cup SEO
1 Image, iconic and captivating
Blog Post Titles, Engaging
3-10 Meta Keywords, Researched
1 Meta Description containing 1 Keyword Phrase
Call-To-Action, Attractive and Mixed with a Compelling Offer
A whole lot of patience (don’t worry…if you bake it, they will come)
(Optional) Team of passionate employees who foster a sense of content creation in your company
Creating great content isn’t easy. If you blog at all, there has probably been a point when you struggled with your content creation strategy and implementation.
However, if you want to get your blog off the ground, kicking butt, and consistently creating excellent content, here are some things that you can do:
Empower the Writers and Creative People Around You – Your first step when starting a company blog should be recruiting people who can join in your effort, starting with people who you know are super passionate about what they do.
Implement an Idea Bucket – Ideas about your company’s space and products can come from all sorts of places; some of the most valuable are from your employees and your users.
Understand On-Page SEO Techniques and Optimize Every Post – People will continue to find your company when they search for the keywords you’re writing about, so make sure you optimize every post that’s written.
Be Smart and Innovative When Engaging Your Community – Reading other influential blogs , commenting on others’ blog posts, and engaging thought leaders in and around your industry are all paramount.
Embrace Your Analytics and Practice What’s Working – If you want the culture of content creation to thrive within your company, always take a moment to celebrate small wins and blog improvements with your team.
Facebook and Twitter are good for sharing personal information with people you are friends with or follow. Blogging is more about establishing yourself or your company as an expert… or, blogging can be just for fun.
So, how do you decide what to blog about? Your blogs should be user-friendly… geared toward your target audience. Here are seven questions you may need to answer before getting started with your blog.
1. Who are your primary and secondary targets for your blog? and what do you want to tell them?
2. Do you understand the key informational needs of your audience?
3. Are you reading other blogs on similar topics, and ones targeting your audience?
4. Are you leaving comments on other blogs that add to the online conversation on the blogs you cover?
5. Do you have a firm grasp on the the keywords you need to focus on?
6. Can you commit to blogging at least two-to-three times per week?
7. What is your ultimate goal in starting a blog? One year goal? Five year goal?
Whether you want to blog for your business or as an individual, these questions about blogging need to be answered.
Everything we do online is becoming integrated into a unified platform that can drive traffic, generate leads and sales, and encourage high-value interactions with the target market.
It’s time to integrate all the elements of search, social media and Web site technology to create more value, connection, and engagement. That includes things that help turn online investments into long-term connections with consumers, such as Facebook fan pages, Twitter followers and blogging.
It’s time to get consumers to spread the word about your brand.
Small businesses that invest resources and time wisely can improve customer/client loyalty and traditional word of mouth marketing efforts through the use of social media.
MYTH: Social Media is only for large brands.
FACT: Social Media can be a powerful tool for a small business looking to increase referrals and strengthen customer relations.
Social media is useful for almost every type of business. Auto sales, restaurants, furniture stores, specialty retail stores… and even professional services can build their online reputation and increase trust through social media.
By taking advantage of social media, businesses can make themselves more accessible, more personable, and maintain long term customer relationships.
