Posts

4 Amazingly Effective SEO Strategies for Content Marketing

/in /by


 
When it comes to generating web traffic and online brand awareness, few methods are more effective in the long-term than search engine optimization (SEO), which is simply the practice of optimizing your website and marketing efforts to facilitate higher rankings in the search engines. Since all of those search results are linking to content, the primary driving force behind any SEO campaign is content creation/marketing. Although site owners and marketers should always aim for quality over quantity, to a degree it really is a number game. The number of posts you have online at any given time will directly affect your brand’s visibility. With that said, here are four strategies you can use to achieve expansive results in any content marketing strategy:

1. Geo-Targeting and International Marketing

Sometimes, expanding into foreign markets is all it takes to tap into an extra group of visitors that you might’ve previously overlooked. This is worthy of being mentioned first because it’s something that many marketing campaigns fail to take into account. While global brands can benefit tremendously from international marketing – click here for more information on that – local brands should also be using geo-targeting techniques to increase the amount of traffic generated in the regions where they conduct business.

2. Guest Posting and Allowing Guest Authors

Another way to get your content in front of new eyes is to volunteer to post your content on relevant blogs and sites that allow guest posts. By guest posting on high authority sites and then linking back to a page on your own site, you’re not only attracting direct referral traffic but you’re also improving your SEO stats by increasing the number of high-ranking inbound links that point to your site. Likewise, posting an open invitation for guest authors will give your site fresh new content for free.

3. Infographics, Videos, and Other Media

You could be losing a large chunk of traffic by not producing and promoting infographics, videos, GIFs, sideshows, reports, presentations, and other forms of media content. Infographics can spread like wildfire if they contain a number unique and useful statistics, as they tend to be linked back to as resources by bloggers.

4. Focus on the Social Networking Side of the Coin

Finally, staying active on social media is a duty that no brand should neglect, especially if you’re trying to promote content to generate additional traffic and awareness. Having a post go viral on a site like Facebook or Twitter is a great way to build massive momentum and dozens of strong inbound links in a matter of days.

Content Marketing Has become the Crux of SEO

Not too long ago, SEO was ridden with sneaky, short-sighted tactics that often involved nothing more than seeking out random links from sites that match a set of criteria. However, in recent years search engines like Google have evolved past a purely metrics-based approach and are now able to more accurately discern what quality content reads and performs like. Since the goal of the search engine is to provide links to the most relevant content, it was only a matter of time before content quality became the core issue in SEO, so take note and adapt your SEO efforts to follow suit.

Why Your Company Needs a Mobile Marketing Strategy

/in /by

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article
As a business, you want to make the best of your brand as possible. That means you need to have an effective marketing strategy that will attract customers and encourage them to make a purchase. You might not think that you need a dedicated mobile strategy when it comes to marketing. However, when you consider that most searches online now happen on cell phones and tablets, it makes sense to have one.

What Type of Mobile Marketing do You Need?

When you think about mobile marketing, you are probably thinking about those ads that pop up on games. Although they are a good way to get your brand in front of people, they aren’t the only way to advertise on cell phones.

  • Over 80 percent of mobile use involves apps, so it is the perfect medium to get your brand in front of your audience. While you can create your own app for your business, it isn’t essential. There are many other ways such as Google AdMob to get your advertising onto other creator’s apps.
  • If you are a company that wants to attract more local people to your business, then you can use location-based marketing. It enables ads to be shown to the user if they get near to the location.
  • Another useful type of marketing is SMS based advertising. You are able to send targeted SMS messages to your customers with details of deals and special events. Companies such as Reach Interactive provide you with the ability to send bulk SMS marketing campaigns to your audience which can help retain customers as well as new clients.
  • When someone searches on their cell phone, they will often see targeted ads on the search results. These types of mobile search ads are different from those on laptops, and you can direct users to a different part of your site if you wish.

Email Marketing

People use their cell phones continuously; they check their emails on the go rather than wait until they get home, and that means you can use email marketing to reach your customers. The trick is to keep the content engaging and try to tailor the emails to your customer’s tastes. You can also offer promotional codes, deals and money off coupons and a link to your website to make easy for them to buy.

Make Your Site Mobile Friendly

There is no point trying these mobile marketing techniques if your website isn’t mobile-friendly. You want all your content to be visible and easy to read on a small screen. Otherwise, you may find that viewers will be put off and click away. If you have made the site yourself using a web builder, there are usually options to convert it into a mobile-friendly version so that you can test your design to make sure that it works properly.

Your marketing campaign is a vital part of your business and adding a mobile element along with the other parts of your campaign will allow you to reach your customers much easier.

Importance of Branding for Your Business

/in /by

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales ArticleBranding are the logos and design choices that you make for your business. In many ways, they act as the “face” of your company, and this is the “face” that your customers and associates alike will interact with. Poor branding insinuates that your company is poor, while good branding, and, even better, a great brand marketing scheme, can make a company famous. Branding is key, and it starts with a good logo design, and continues from there. Investing in branding isn’t just a waste of money, it can create long-term, positive associations that bring in more business and increased reputation.

1. Creates Brand Association

When you have reached the point where a simple icon can make someone think of your product and the great associations they have with it, then you’ve done your job. When you create a brand, you create an image that people learn to associate with your product or your service. This, in turn, leads to credibility and even increased sales, since consumers trust in your product and your service.

This is incredibly important if you’re about to launch a new product and want the launch to excel. If you have inconsistent or poor branding, you will have to start marketing your new product from ground zero. If, on the other hand, your brand show authority and is considered reliable, then you can easily sell this new product as an extension. If people trust you and trust your brand, they’ll be more likely to buy a new product you put out.

2. It Can Increase Value

Some branding is designer, which means that not only can you benefit from good associations, but you also benefit from having your name and your logo increase the price of your product. Think of it as a signature on a piece of artwork; it’s there to assure your loyal customers that they are buying your brand, and not some cheap knockoff.

3. It Shows Professionalism

When you have logos and branding, it shows professionalism. This means having custom business forms created so that your branding and your image is repeated for every transaction. It means having customized creations that look professional and thought out. It also instills a sense of pride within your company, showing that you care about the small details, and that your company is a unified business regardless of sector.

4. It Shows Your Values

Great branding is, effectively, a 24/7 marketing tool. Regardless of time of day, it should show your values and highlight your ideals. Is your company fun and exciting? Is it working hard on being environmentally sustainable? Use your branding to showcase these principles through the use of color and through the logo design you choose. Typography alone can tell a story, and proper branding requires you to take that story and share its narrative in everything that you do.

Branding is critical when it comes to creating and fostering relationships. It is how people learn to recognize your company, and it is how they become more likely to buy from you again. Work on coupling your great branding with excellent customer service and a good product, and you’ll create a great association that keeps them coming back.

Photo by Julian O’hayon on Unsplash

3 Alternative Marketing Strategies

/in /by

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article

Your business might have the best product or service in the market, but if you aren’t retaining customers, or no one knows your name, then your sales won’t increase (and may even drop). Companies need to undertake a marketing strategy so that consumers are aware that the firm exists, and more importantly, so that the dollars keep rolling in.

Marketing exists in various forms. While consumers may be more familiar with TV and print strategies, this doesn’t mean that you have to use the same strategy for your company. There is a range of marketing methods that you can use to help your business make its mark, especially in this digital age when mobile marketing and social media are at a full swing. Read on to find out if the following ideas could help you and your company.

Merchandising

Merchandising is one of the oldest, and most effective types of marketing. From mugs to custom lapel pins, t-shirts or sunglasses, your options are endless. Merchandising is a great alternative if you attend a lot of trade shows, or community events. By giving your consumers a take home gift, they will instantly remember your company, while associating it with a positive experience or memory. Even if the item that they take is only used within the home, any visitors may comment or engage with the item if they see that it has your company name or logo. If you are looking to boost awareness, get creative and are restricted by a small budget, then merchandising is the ideal tool for you. For best results, have merchandise that sits on an office desk or can be worn with pride.

Go Digital

The way we do business is changing. In fact, consumers are increasingly influenced by information that they obtain or interact with online. From Facebook to Instagram, and even LinkedIn and Twitter, don’t underestimate the power of using social media as part of your marketing strategy. The beauty of digital marketing is that you can start small too. From only a few posts a day, or scheduled tweets, you can begin to increase coverage and interest in your product or service. So if you thought that social media was only for millennials then think again. If you aren’t using digital marketing to help your business, then you risk getting left behind and becoming invisible.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  There are plenty of tools and templates for social media marketing available to support your digital marketing efforts.

Go Traditional

Make sure that more traditional marketing methods also remain in your marketing strategy. It’s a good idea to produce brochures and sales materials if you are out and about, and want to provide potential customers with a point of reference, or catalogue for them to refer to. Depending on what your company offers, you may also want to consider TV and radio alternatives too. These methods are essential if you want to make the most of potential sales during key sales periods, including Christmas, Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Using TV or radio doesn’t mean that you have to produce a cheesy or dated commercial either. In fact, airtime is crucial if you want to obtain those all-important sales.

From traditional marketing methods, to merchandising and social media, you will need to review your marketing plan if you want to increase your business potential. Make sure to set aside some of your budget to aid your marketing plan, and feel free to get creative.

What Is Inbound Marketing, and Why Is Everyone Doing It?

/in /by

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales ArticleFinding new customers is one of the primary challenges facing businesses. While many businesses rely on traditional outbound marketing strategies to find new leads, this can be costly and even ineffective. For most businesses, paid advertising and cold calling alone are no longer enough to attract customers. Consumer expectations have changed with the advent of the Internet, and many will need a better reason than a catchy jingle or a slick logo to become your customer.

Inbound marketing has emerged as an attractive complement to traditional advertising strategies. Whereas outbound marketing requires your business to cast a wide net to catch a few good leads, with an inbound strategy, you can lure potential customers who are already actively searching for the services you offer. This can increase the quality of your leads, lowering the customer acquisition cost and increasing the ROI of your marketing efforts.

What Is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is a strategy in which a business creates high-quality content to attract potential customers and to build its brand. It is a holistic online marketing strategy that nurtures leads at every stage of the “buyer’s journey,” which models the decisions process a buyer persona goes through before making a purchase.

During the Awareness stage, the prospect tries to find out information about a problem they are experiencing. Next comes the Consideration stage, when they begin thinking about possible solutions. By the time the prospect has reached the Decision stage, they are interested in buying a specific product or service, and want to learn more about it.

With an inbound strategy, you can position your website as an attractive destination with useful information that can help potential customers make a purchase decision. The self-selection process this strategy implies means that potential leads are likely to be of relatively high-quality and receptive to your efforts to nurture them into customers. With an effective inbound marketing strategy, you can expand your market and turn new customers into dedicated promoters of your brand.

1. Defining Your Target Audience

Your marketing efforts should be tailored to your business’s buyer persona. This is a research-based model of your typical customer, which may include their information about their socioeconomic status, psychology, and consumption patterns.

To identify your buyer personas, try to find trends in your customer’s careers, buying habits, or the way they found your business. Interview a wide range of customers, including those who were satisfied and dissatisfied with your product. You gain further insight about your company by interviewing current leads, referrals they may have, and people who don’t know about your company.

2. Attracting New Visitors

Once you have your buyer personas, you’ll be able to create content which addresses their pain points and educates them about relevant subject matter. Blogging is one of the best ways to accomplish this, and the more high-quality content you create, the more authority you can have with potential customers.

Use search-engine optimization techniques to make it easy for prospects to find your content. You can promote your blog posts on social media, which can bring in more prospects as they are shared. The more you blog, the more important you can be to your buyer personas, and the more likely they will be to buy your products or services in the future.

3. Converting Visitors to Leads

Once your content starts bringing in visitors, it’s important to collect their contact information to convert them to leads.

An effective way to do this is through relevant content offers and opt-ins. Visitors can gain access to these once they fill out a form that includes their e-mail, phone number, social media account, or any other way you might want to contact them. Once you’re in touch, you can maintain their interest with further content offers and even start a dialogue.

4. Automated Nurturing

Email marketing is important for staying top of mind with your prospects. Once you have their contact information, you can provide them with content and communications that nurture them along the buyer’s journey. This makes it easy for you to communicate with them, and to make offers which appeal to them, such as a webinar or a teleconference.

By keeping track of what other offers they sign up for, you’ll know which content to offer in order to convert them from a lead into a customer.

5. Delighting Customers

Inbound marketing allows you to turn your customers into brand evangelists. You can keep their interest after they have made their purchase by providing them with a steady stream of useful content which addresses their current needs and builds off your previous work. Ultimately, by keeping former customers engaged with your business, you can increase the ROI of your marketing efforts and make it more likely that they will return as a customer. They may even refer others to your business.

Inbound marketing allows you to build your company while advertising it. The content and relationships you create can provide a steady stream of revenue. There’s no better way to use today’s technology to build a strong brand and a loyal customer base.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article

ShaDrena Simon in an inbound marketing expert and digital strategist at Yokel Local, an inbound marketing agency that helps businesses grow with confidence.