It was in 2008 that I realised the power of creating and marketing unique content to pull people to your website and blog.

That was one of the primary reasons I started jeffbullas.com.

I discovered this when I stumbled upon Hubspot, a company that was one of the early innovators of content marketing. Their marketing was refreshing change to “old school” marketing and was based upon creating attention through attraction with blog articles and free ebooks.

It was  the dawn of “pull marketing”  or “inbound marketing” rather than push strategies such as telemarketing and direct mail.

Fast forward to 2012 and it appears that there is a growing groundswell of  activity and interest in content marketing is racheting up.

This momentum is not only for B2B but B2C is starting to adopt this marketing philosophy and  Coca Cola has created a brand new marketing strategy based upon this emerging trend.

Other companies such as American Express are also embracing this trend.

So Why has Content Marketing become Popular Recently?

More companies and B2B marketers are now recognizing the power of content marketing, and the effect it is having on customer engagement and brand awareness specifically.

The other enabling factor in this mix is social media because having great content is all good but it needs to be made “visible“.

Social media adds leverage and provides the free “distribution technologies” to your content that were not available before, this adds the “X-Factor” and increases visibility and buzz and creates marketing synergy that is hard to stop.

So What makes a Good Content Marketing Strategy?

According to the infographic below, it is quality, shareable content. Content that people actually want to read, engage with and share.

Companies like Coca Cola are becoming early adopters, maximizing their efforts with unique, compelling content development (such as the Content 2020 campaign). BlueGlass Interactive, a leader in the internet marketing space, has recently partnered with Voltier Digital, an innovative digital marketing agency specializing in content marketing and data visualization techniques (ie. infographics).

The Content Marketing Explosion by the Numbers

So what is the current status of content marketing and what are the marketers plans for 2012?

• 90% of B2B marketers are doing some form of content marketing
• 60% of B2B marketers plan to spend more on content marketing in 2012
• The major content marketing tactic is article posting at 79%
• B2B Marketers are investing on average 25% of their budget on content marketing (smaller companies are spending more)

Take a look at how content marketing has become a power source in marketing as a whole, and why it has become one of the fastest growing industries today.

More Reading

• 5 Lessons from Coca Cola’s New Content Marketing Strategy
• 10 Reasons Why “Liquid” Content Should be Included in Your Social Media Marketing
• What are 10 Addictive Types of Content?
• How to Increase Your Blog Traffic by 55% with One Button
• 5 Motivations for Sharing Content
• 20 Ideas for Social Media Content that Engages
• Is it Better to Share on Google, Facebook or Twitter+
• 9 Questions to Ask your Customers When Creating Content

Like most businesses, you will probably have your marketing plan for 2012 already in place. But have you built your plan so that you’re ready to respond to the latest market trends?

While it’s important to stay focused, it’s equally as important to be prepared for the opportunities and challenges that will come from the latest marketing trends.

Wondering what the future looks like for marketing in the year ahead?

Here are my predictions for the top ten marketing trends of 2012:

1. A broader brand presence across channels

With the range of available marketing channels growing all the time, businesses will start to recognise the value of connecting up their marketing approach across the web, social media and other channels. This will be inspired by the need to better manage business resource in more challenging times – and to create a more streamlined brand presence. Instead of relying on one or two channel marketing approaches, more and more companies will link up their activities to create a truly coherent brand across multiple channels.

2. The rise and rise of user-generated content

User generated content took on momentum in 2011 – and this will continue into the New Year. Whether it is a YouTube video showing a customer using a product or customers sharing their experiences within a selective online community, content that comes direct from the potential or existing customer is likely to grow in value. The key test of this trend will be how successfully companies inspire and facilitate user-generated content. However they do it, it looks like the voice of the user will grow significantly in value in 2012.

3. Mobile marketing reaches critical mass

Mobile is going centre stage. A third of smartphone owners have used their device to buy a product online (Source: EPiServer) and this number is growing. The companies that fully prepare their marketing approach for mobile in 2012 are the ones that will benefit from a potential customer-base that browses – and shops – on the move. This demands targeted, mobile-ready content and a willingness to adapt internal marketing processes. With 59% of UK consumers now in possession of a smartphone and 18% owning a tablet device (Source: EPiServer), mobile marketing is a trend that businesses can’t afford to ignore.

4. The gap closes between business brands and social media

We all know social media is big news for business. But in 2012, it will be even bigger – and even slicker. Companies will start taking social media more seriously as a professional marketing tool. But it won’t just be the big companies using social media to actively connect with customers. Many more companies will start to interact, meaning customer service – and customer interaction – via social media will evolve even further. The gap between social media and the business brand will get ever smaller. Again, the user or the customer will take centre stage with the rise of the brand advocate in recommending, recruiting customers and connecting with companies in 2012.

5. A clearer vision on the value of analytics

Companies will seek to improve their understanding of marketing analytics in 2012. With increased channels and brand presence, businesses will look to clarify and streamline their marketing data. Companies will recognise the value of analytics that allow them to maximise on the flexibility of social media marketing by adapting their content according to live viewer response. Add to this an increasing focus on cost management and online marketing analytics look set to become the vital flipside of business marketing.

6. Up close and personal

Next year is the year that marketing becomes more personalised. Tailored content that is customised to the needs and interests of a specific market or audience will grow in value and popularity. This is for a number of reasons – the increasing growth of content’s role within online marketing and the growing presence of online, niche communities, for example. As people become more and more accustomed to selecting which brands and businesses can join them within their own online community, the value of personalised marketing approaches and content will continue to grow.

7. Content diversifies – again

Content has been big this year – and its role and value is likely to diversify even more in the year ahead. With the increase of personalised marketing, more companies will start to present content that is focused on telling stories about their business and products or services. But this won’t be a top down approach. Companies will need to draw out the stories from within their workforce – and encourage their workforce to share stories. In 2012, carefully crafted, managed and distributed content will play a vital role in successful business marketing.

8. The customer recommendation rules

In 2012, the voice of the user or the customer will get louder. Businesses are becoming smarter at integrating opportunities for customer feedback and response within their marketing approach. Social media word of mouth will keep growing, with people increasingly relying on their own online social circles to advise and comment on their choice of services or products. The companies that actively embrace this shift will be the ones that boost their profile and credibility in 2012.

9. The influence factor takes over

Closely linked to prediction number 9, social media influence will gain critical mass in 2012. Already gaining momentum, a powerful trend in the year to come is the ability for companies to influence, increase and map their influence across the social media channels. The power to inspire users in a real-world, but professional way will make a huge difference to their performance in 2012.

10. Video is centre stage

Anticipated to be big for quite some time, it looks likely that video is set to be one of the leading marketing trends in 2012. The growth of video within business marketing fits naturally with the broadening of social media channels and with increasing customer focus on feedback and recommendations. Expect video to take on some surprising approaches in 2012 – with many companies developing fresher and more user-focused forms of viral marketing.

How’s 2012 looking to you?

2012 is looking like a year where marketing channels and messages will diversify – and where user connection, influence and feedback will rule. Companies can stay ahead by embracing and facilitating how their customers interact with them on social media. Combine this with a more targeted content and better connected cross channel marketing can help grow your leads, customers and revenue in 2012.

Whatever your choice, the New Year is a great opportunity to review what’s been working for you – and what you want to leave behind in 2012. Look back at past marketing activities and at their ROI and other results to see what’s worked best. Then you can move on to make more leads and more customers your New Year’s resolution for 2012. Start with 40 ideas for New Year resolutions now – download this eGuide 40 New Year’s Resolutions for Marketing in 2012.

Guest Author: Sookie Shuen is the community manager at Tomorrow People, an inbound marketing consultancy. Read her Inbound Marketing Blog.

More Reading

• 18 Key Observations about the State of Blogging in 2011
• 6 Social Media Networks to Watch in 2012 [Plus Infographics]
• 10 Things You Must Know about the State of Social Media in 2011
• 7 Top Trends in Social Media
• Is This the Future of Books?
• 5 Insights on the Future of Social Media
• Is Blogging the Future of Publishing
• 30 Predictions of the Future for Twitter
• 45 Social Media Trends and Predictions

In 1997 the first social network was created called sixdegrees.com and was the forerunner of the modern social networks that started to gain traction in 2002.

The first of the modern next generation social media networks that followed in 2002, had the the funky name of Friendster, which to my ear sort of sounds like a hybrid cross between a “Friend” and a “Hamster”.

As with any good idea it was quickly copied (“ripped off” is another phrase that comes to mind) and MySpace was created and launched in 2003.

This social media network dominated for the next 5 years as teenagers became addicted to the interactive and multimedia rich, self publishing web platform that allowed them to share music, content and information with their friends.

The addictive power of the social network was on display to many parents as dinner tables around the world were deserted by teens after gulping down their meat and potatoes, as they rushed off to their computers to continue their “MySpacing”

In 2008 Facebook surpassed MySpace and became the dominant social network.

Since then we have seen the rise of the “smart phone” connecting people to the web without wires or a desk bound computer.

This mobile social web has allowed everyone to become a publisher no matter where they are.

The Information Tsunami

At a conference in 2010 Eric Schmidt the then CEO of Google stated

“Every two days, we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003”

This information includes content such as emails, tweets, Facebook updates, Photos, YouTube video uploads and text messages.

Social networks have largely contributed to this tidal wave of  information and content

• Videos Uploaded to YouTube – 48 hours of Video uploaded every minute and YouTube receives 3 billion views per day
• Photos Uploaded to Facebook – 250 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day
• Tweets on Twitter – 200 million tweets per day
• Email – Over 100 trillion emails a year or more than 300 billion emails a day
• Text Messages in 2011 – more than 7 trillion

Many teens are averaging over 3,000 text messages per month.

Much of this is content is not of great quality in fact it is estimated that 89% of all emails are spam.

So as a Social Media marketer, business owner or CEO, how do you harness, focus and take advantage of this information and content “Tsunami”

Is Traditional Marketing Broken?

If you want to get serious about social media marketing for your business or organisation the foundation of any focused effort is having great content to publish and promote.

Other terms for this marketing approach are

• Inbound marketing
• Content Marketing
• Pull marketing

These all provide a description for an alternative paradigm to traditional marketing that is all about interruption marketing including telemarketing, cold calling and traditional advertising that pushes messages “at” you.

Technology now allows us to block calls, skip channels on your TV or record and watch later.

The secret behind content marketing that is published and promoted on social networks including blogs, Facebook and Twitter is attracting loyal tribes of readers and viewers.

This allows you to attract and pull customers to you that will engage, read and view and then buy.

The 10 Commandments of Content

Here are 10 building blocks that you need to include in your plans for marketing your business on an increasingly social and mobile web.

1. Get Focused

Who are you speaking to? Provide content that communicates with your customers and prospects in a language they understand.

2. Create Goals for your Content

What are you trying to achieve– capture emails, provide leads, nuture prospects or improve your visibility to search engines.

Do you want to make the content so entertaining that it makes your brand memorable and remarkable and do you want the message to become viral. A funny video may achieve this.

When designing your content make sure it is not content for contents sake, but is assisting you in growing your business

3. Become a Publisher

The democratisation of publishing and marketing means that you now don’t have to wait for your local printer to print off 10,000 marketing brochures and then organise them to be letter boxed .

Now you can write a blog article, email it to your “opt in” subscribers, tweet the link to your Twitter followers and promote it on Facebook.

4. Solve Problems

Everyone has problems and helping your customers and prospects solve them will take them from interested readers to raving fans. Write content that shows people how to fix their problems that are relevant to your industry and market.

5. Include Calls to Action

Don’t forget to include calls to action with your content. It could be to subscribe, share or register for an eBook or whitepaper.

Creating small calls to action will lead prospects towards the ultimate goal for any business and that is to put some money down or place an order.

6. Talk like a Human

Corporate speak was invented by copy writers but a while back people started switching off.

Being “Authentic” is the new black and being real is the “new marketing” that is a message that cuts through

7. Show What Works

Case studies that “show” how your product is used are much more effective than “telling“. Create content that showcases how other customers are using your product and services to achieve success.

Nothing like a bit of “social proof” to create credibility, trust and action.

8. Have some Fun

The original 10 commandments didn’t mention having fun but it helps enormously to present you and your company as having a sense of humour. This doesn’t mean making every piece of content a comedy act but lighten up and show your other side.

Orabrush YouTube Video – This companies use of humour and social media helped them sell 1 million toothbrushes that reduces bad breath.

Click here to view the embedded video.

9. Publish Everywhere

Publishing was expensive and just placing an ad in your local newspaper could cost you thousands.

Now you can publish on dozens of social networks at no cost within minutes. Despite there being thousands of social networks, publish on the social media channels that are used by your customers.

Make your content ubiquitous – place it everywhere from hub (blog or website) to outposts (Facebook, YouTube and Twitter) where your customers hangout!

10. Create Multi-Media

Not everyone likes reading, in fact the younger generation generally reads and views content in many formats including online videos on YouTube. The social web is about rich multi-media that engages interest and communicates visually and not just the “written word“.

Publish your content in several different formats and media types that your customers will like and enjoy. Some examples of these are video, audio (podcast), photos, whitepaper, info-graphics and eBooks.

I know I have 10 commandments listed here but I am sure that you may have discovered some more.

How have you used and optimised your content for your social networks and marketing?

Look forward to hearing your stories.

More Reading

• What are 10 Addictive Types of Content?
• How to Increase Your Blog Traffic by 55% with One Button
• 5 Motivations for Sharing Content
• 20 Ideas for Social Media Content that Engages
• Is it Better to Share on Google, Facebook or Twitter+
• 9 Questions to Ask your Customers When Creating Content

Image by ideacreamanuelaPps

Do you have traffic to your website or blog but they are not turning into customers? Do you have plenty of leads and prospects but they are not buying?

Traffic is one thing, turning that traffic into sales is another.

So how do you convert those leads and traffic so they become loyal and  paying customers?

Lead nurturing is the process of building a relationship with your leads and moving them down your sales funnel until they are ready to become a customer. When a new visitor arrives at your website, there are two ways to seize the opportunity and guide them to becoming customers:

Two Ways to Make a Prospect a Customer

1. Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing starts by collecting contact information in exchange for something the visitor deems of value, but with little risk. Often, this entails some form of information or product trial intended to help solve the visitor’s problem.

Email addresses, RSS subscriptions and similar methods of engagement all serve to keep a visitor’s memory and impression of a company or product at the forefront. Later, the contact information provided offers you the ability to educate, inspire, or otherwise engage a potential new customer.

The goal is to encourage both return visits and eventually, sales. Always remember, lead nurturing is all about relationships.

2. Behavioral Marketing

Behavioral marketing collects information about what the visitor does while on the site, and intuitively engages the visitor before he or she clicks away. For example, a visitor might land on your home page, see a button about a product of interest and click to learn more. Imagine if her activities could automatically produce targeted messages announcing special incentives, additional useful information, tips or other enticements.

Behavioral marketing uses your visitors behavior, both on and off the website, to select just the right message, at just the right time.

• If a lead should mention a competitor in a tweet on Twitter, for example, or use specific keywords, you can automatically send that lead a Direct Tweet.
• If they download a document but does not return to your site within a set time frame, an automatic email goes out asking her to review the document.

Each of these examples serves as a way to engage with leads and bring them back to your website.

Both opportunities can evaporate in the blink of an eye without the proper systems in place. Together, lead nurturing and behavioral marketing help increase conversions and provide the building blocks needed to move leads along from visitor through to paying customer.

3 Points Necessary to Gain a New Customer

Nearly every marketing expert will agree, for a visitor to become a customer, you must cover three basic points. Those points are “know“, “like” and “trust“. In other words, before expecting a visitor to buy or invest money, you must cover all 3 points.

1. The Visitor Needs to “Know” – Provide an opportunity for the visitor to learn about the company, product or service (know)
2. The Visitor Needs to “Like” – Help the visitor identify with, relate to, or see a need or usefulness for a particular company, product or service (like.)
3. The Visitor Needs to “Trust” – Help the visitor come to trust the company, the product and most importantly, his or her decision to risk money on it (trust.)

Lead Nurturing Automates the 3 Points

Offering up an email address, subscribing to a newsletter, following on social media, all of these actions demonstrate a visitor’s interest. The visitor has taken the initiative to engage, like starting a face-to-face conversation. With automation tools, you can continue the engagement in a hands-free environment, while still participating in the conversation.

Automatic emails, new content notifications, RSS feeds and social media updates can all be automated to deliver valuable information to previously engaged visitors on a regular basis. Again, the visitor is not taking a large risk, only learning more and becoming more familiar with a company, product or service. In essence, automatic tools take over the 3 point process needed to move a lead along.

The Power of Automation

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of lead nurturing is the ability to automate. The effort to create an environment that encourages conversions, at least on the part of the business, is expended once, yet repeatedly produces results. It is the equivalent of producing a TV commercial once and replaying it dozens, hundreds or even thousands of times for each individual lead. When done well, the process does not even feel automated for the visitor. Each instance of engagement, such as a series of informational or training emails, provides a gentle nudge towards becoming a paying customer without the business exerting additional effort. Work once, reap the benefits over and over again.

Feedback and Forwarding

Not only does lead nurturing provide the opportunity to move one visitor toward becoming a paying customer, but also provides feedback and referral opportunities. Business owners and key management personnel can see what visitors do, how they respond, what messages they open and what links are clicked. This provides a wealth of opportunity to tweak the process to best meet the needs of your target market.

So you need to:

• Test new content
• Experiment with targeted or segmented promotions
• Request feedback on services or engage customers in the decision-making process.

Social media sharing, email forwarding and similar actions of current leads can also provide a plethora of forwarding opportunities. Produce outstanding content, send it out to your leads and those leads can potentially market your information for you. People, by their very nature, are prone to sharing information and solutions they feel meet the needs of their friends, family, co-workers, supervisors and colleagues.

Lead nurturing, when executed properly, can serve to encourage sales as well as generate more leads through forwarding and sharing.

Build Loyalty by Listening and Responding

How many times have you bought a product and loved it, but couldn’t remember where you bought it? How many times have you thought a product could be improved, but didn’t say anything because you didn’t feel someone would listen?

With the right lead nurturing system, you will never leave your customers feeling like this. Staying in front of previous customers through continued lead nurturing helps them remember how valuable you have been to them in the past.

Giving customers a platform on which they can regularly interact gives them a voice. It also provides you with a means to hear what they have to say and respond in a timely manner with improved products or processes, more interesting content or a better information delivery schedule. Do they want to know more, hear from you less often, or express an idea for a new feature?

Lead nurturing helps provide the means they need to stay engaged with you and your offerings.

Shorten the Time Between Initial Contact and the Sale

According to Market2Lead, the sales cycle is nearly 25% shorter for nurtured leads. That means a visitor engaged in immediate contact through lead nurturing will risk money on a product or service in three-quarters the time as a traditional lead. Faster sales cycles means increased revenues and less effort on the part of sales staff. A warm lead, as any good salesman knows, is easier to convert than a cold lead.

Is Cold Calling a Waste of Time?

Genius.com reports that the top marketing misalignment occurs when vendors rely on cold calls and sales personnel in the early stages of lead development, when leads rely on their own research and low-pressure engagement. Less than 10% of customers surveyed reported buying from a company as a result of cold calls. In fact, buyers listed vendor websites and white papers or ebooks as two of the top three influences that helped them feel confident enough to make a purchase.

Lead nurturing combines these influential marketing tools to help maximize lead conversions.

What It All Means

Given the value of lead nurturing, you have to ask yourself if your current strategies are working.

Look at your current website statistics. How many of your visitors click away after reading just one or two pages?

Consider what might happen if you took a popular knowledge article or white paper that currently enjoys a large percentage of your traffic, expanded it to a short ebook, then offered it as a download in exchange for a visitor’s contact information? A good example of an ebook is “20 Ways to Generate Leads From Inbound Marketing”

Now you know what inbound marketing could do for your business, and start putting those ideas into action today!

Guest Author: Sookie Shuen is the community manager at Tomorrow People, an inbound marketing consultancy. She offers free advice and updates based on her experience of helping businesses evolve through a five step inbound marketing methodology. She handles all online and digital community activities based around Zoober Inbound Marketing philosophy. Read her blog at www.tomorrow-people.com/blog

More Reading:

• What are 10 Addictive Types of Content
• Does Twitter or Facebook Drive More Traffic to Your Blog?
• Do Shared Links Last Longer on Twitter or Facebook
• How to Increase Your Blog Traffic by 55% with One Button
• 5 Motivations for Sharing Content
• 20 Ideas for Social Media Content that Engages
• Is it Better to Share on Google, Facebook or Twitter?
• 9 Questions to Ask your Customers When Creating Content

Image by Shaheer Shahid

I am looking out the window of my office seeing buildings with many dark windows, behind those tinted panes of glass are people working and living and they all have problems and challenges…every one.

They don’t care about you or your company all they care about is finding a solution to their  daily life challenges and issues.

Problems come to people in many forms and it creates  nagging and ongoing pain and dissonance that they wake up with every day and it bounces around in their heads as they toss and turn at night.  The pain could be that they are overweight or they don’t have enough money, their business sales are slow or their relationship is so distracting that they can’t concentrate at work. People just want those problems to go away and find solutions to them so they can enjoy life.

Business is about solving problems for people not telling them that your product is the best widget ever invented because they won’t believe you..give them a hint or a tip for a solution to their pain and they will keep turning up to your website or blog to find out more.

So the main question to ask is… what answers and solutions can I provide today to prospective clients that will ease their pain?

Some of the specific questions that you should be asking yourself are

1. Who are you selling to?
2. What are their goals and aspirations?
3. What are their problems?
4. What media do they rely upon for answers to their problems?
5. How can we reach them?
6. What things are important to them?
7. What words and phrases do they use?
8. What are they really buying from you?
9. What images and multi-media appeal to each persona?

So stop marketing and start solving problems in words, images and videos that they understand, are easy to find in places they are, whether that be online or offline.

You might find that they will tell their friends about you on Facebook or in an email…now that is marketing.

Image by Martino!

Writing an article for your company blog is not for everyone. Just trying to come up with ideas for the blog can be a challenge. At the end of the day there is one important element that is absolutely essential and its name is “Passion” with a capital P…. I couldn’t write about cooking, it bores me. ….Putting pen to paper about gardening would turn me to drink. So there you have it, it’s the one core ingredient required or else your blogging journey will not be a lifetime adventure but just a weekend away.

So you have the passion, you can spell, you don’t mind writing a few sentences and your grammar ain’t half bad, so what’s next. Well it helps to create the right mood, the right eco-system to help facilitate a creative writing head space.

Over at the inspiring Zen Habits blog to which I have my Google reader plugged into, I came upon an article titled “9 simple ways you can bring yourself into flow” which provided some great strategies on how to get into creative flow for writing. The 9 ways are below in simple format

• Pick a enjoyable, challenging activity – this means passion
• Eliminate distraction
• Think before you do
• Isolate yourself
• Let go
• Give yourself a time limit
• Keep moving
• Don’t think
• Practice

So we have laid the platform for a creative blog writing environment, what are some tips on keeping that blog post cupboard full of ideas and your company’s blog pumping out great content that will change your business.

1. Industry News – whats happening this week, this month

2. Industry Trends – where is the industry going, what are the emerging hot segments

3. Customers Pain Points – Write posts that provide solutions for your customers problems

4. Customers successes – Write up a case study about a clients successful project, they will often let you publish their name

5. What not to do – highlighting where something hasn’t worked (the names shall remain anonymous of course)

6. Create a video blog post by interviewing a successful client – this can a powerful providing authentic evidence of authority and credibility for both you and the client

7. Write articles for the different types of customers that are relevant for each of  your vertical markets

8. Brainstorm blog post topics with colleagues and management and create a list for future reference and planning

9. Subscribe to the top industry blogs in your market, both company blogs and personal blogs for ideas

10. Look through your latest news releases for ideas

11. Sign up other staff to write on topics in your industry or market that they are passionate about

12. Develop a series of how to blog posts

13. Turn the “how to” blog posts into short videos

14. When you have a great idea, go straight to your “add new” button and write the headline and save it as a draft or write it down before you forget it.

15. Include a great iconic image at the start of the blog that catches the eye

16. Case Studies are always popular to write about and not just your own

17. Place Powerpoint presentations on your blog by posting  and then embedding links from Slideshare

18.  Run polls and surveys on your blog

19. Create great headlines that catch people attention and makes them want to read the rest of the article

20. Add credbility banners such as how many subscribers, number of hits, blog grade and any awards

21. Provide “share this” buttons to Facebook and Twitter as a minimum

22. Implement “subscribe” buttons via RSS and Email

23. Write in bite size chunks and use bullet points so readers can quickly and easy consumption

24. Break up large blocks of text with iconic and interesting images

25. Take screen shots to place in your post using Software like Snagit to highlight points .. a picture is worth a 1000 words

26. Be yourself even if it is a company blog.. be authentic.

27. Optimize your blog for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

28. Promote and distribute your posts on to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

29. Make the blog easy to find on your company’s web page with a large bannner or button

30. Finally, have fun, mix up the types of posts and add some humour occasionally

What makes your blog rock? Look forward to hearing your suggestions

A blog does take effort, time and commitment and along with your website is the foundation or “HomeBase” for your content. The corporate blog should be the cornerstone to your social media strategy that will be read for years and will help establish you and your company as a thought leader that will get people coming back again and again to your website and blog.

A Blog is your homebase that you own and control and your company’s social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn  and Facebook are the outposts that you should place some of your core content as appropriate for that particular channel.

In this video we look at some of the reasons why a blog is  so important.

If you want more in depth comprehensive details go to my article “20 Reasons Why You Should Blog Before You Twitter”

So, do you prefer to Blog or Tweet?

In over 20 years in sales and marketing I have made many cold calls. Over the last 12 months I have not made one cold phone call or bought any expensive mass media marketing,  yet sales have increased and business is much more fun. Isn’t there a better use of your time and money?  Think of how your life might change if you were calling only on prospects who actually want to buy from you. A lot of  companies still have not realized it’s a digital world and the marketing rules are changing. So how would you optimise your companys digital presence to get found online and drive inbound enquiry for new customers and not have to cold call again or buy expensive mass media.

Here are 10 key strategies to drive traffic to your website, ecommerce site, enquiries to your email inbox and make your phone start ringing.

If you prefer to read this in text format pop over to my  blog post where I discuss this in more detail.

So do you think you could use some of these 1o strategies?

In over 20 years in sales and marketing I have made many cold calls. Over the last 12 months I have not made one cold phone call or bought any expensive mass media marketing,  yet sales have increased and business is much more fun. Isn’t there a better use of your time and money?  Think of how your life might change if you were calling only on prospects who actually want to buy from you. A lot of  companies still have not realized it’s a digital world and the marketing rules are changing.

So how would you optimise your company’s digital presence to ”get found online” and drive inbound enquiry for new customers and not have to cold call again or buy expensive mass media. Here are 10 key strategies to drive traffic to your ecommerce  website, enquiries to your email inbox and make your phone start ringing.

1. Be Yourself (Authentic)

We are all unique and different and your company needs to display that. Gary Vaynerchuck, 33, is proof that passion and hustle can breed success. He turned his family’s small New Jersey liquor store into a wine empire that grosses over $60 million a year; more than 100,000 viewers watch his daily video blog; he’s a sought-after speaker; and he’s signed on to write nine more business books for HarperCollins (NWS).

2. Be The Thought Leader and Teacher

• Do not sell, but engage (trying to sell just turns prospective clients away)
  
• Provide online tutorials and how to’s.
• Stop the corporate speak and gobbledygook and provide content in a variety of ways becuase everyone learns in different ways. Educational theory shows that some people are visual, others are verbal and others are kinesthetic and a mutiple variety of stimulus reinforces learning and recall, so provide the same content in a variety of ways such as
  • Text
  • Video
  • Presentations
  • Podcasts
  • Webinars
  • Slideshows

3. Plan and Write Content for the Markets You Are Targetting

Every business has different market segments within their client base and they all have their own issues and problems and pain points that you need to provide answers to. So when you are developing content for your website or blog you need to consider writing content that adresses each customer persona. I covered this in a recent article “Social Media: 9 Questions To Ask Your Customers When Creating Content “  and it includes asking them questions such as

1. Who are you selling to?
2. What are their goals and aspirations?
3. What are their problems?

Some companies even develop and maintain multiple blogs a good example of this is a online retailer who currently has 13 blogs online (see the article “Why Would Your Company Need 13 Blogs?“)  that provides content for thirteen different segments or styles.

4. Have a Great Headline For Your Content

Did you know that on average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. This is the secret to the power of the headline, and why it so highly determines the effectiveness of the entire piece. Here are some headline types and examples

• Get What You Want (In Health, Wealth, Relationships, Time and Lifestyle) eg.. The Secret To Getting More Money For Your Property !
• Crystal Ball and History eg.. 10 Predictions on the Future of Social Media
• Problems and Fears eg … Get Rid of Your Debt Once and For All
• Fact, Fiction, Truth and Lies example.. Little Known Ways To Make Money On The Stock Exchange
• How To, Tricks Of The Trade. such as..  How To Plan The Ultimate Holiday
• Best and Worst  eg The 10 Worst Mistakes Made by Bloggers

Some more resources:

Writing Headlines That Get Results from Copyblogger

102 Proven Headline Formulas from Authority Blogger

5. Amplify Your Message through Social Media

The Top 5 Social Media channels to consider using depending on your target markets are

1. Facebook (80%),
2. Twitter (66%),
3. YouTube (55%),
4. LinkedIn (49%) and
5. Blogs (43%).

Also consider using multiple social media channels as it amplifies your  message and gives it the best chance to go viral. I covered this recently in a blog post “How Many Social Media Channels Should Your Brand Be Using?” which shows how social media can leverage your message.

6. Build Your Subscriber List RSS for Your Blog, Email and for your e-Newsletter

Offer a variety of ways for people to subscribe at different locations on your website and blog such as at the top, the bottom and on the side panel (make it as easy as possible)

• Subscribe via RSS
• Subscribe via email

7. Search Engine Optimization

It boils down to this: If people think you’re important, so will Google. This perplexes many webmasters and online marketers, since they wonder how people will consider them important when people use search engines to find things online in the first place. How are you important if you’re invisible in the search engines to start with?

And how does Google know people think you’re important any­way? For one, they know because people link to you, and Google fol­lows those links to index and rank web pages. And thanks to services such as

• Google Toolbar
• Google Analytics
• Feedburner
• Google Reader
• Gmail and other applications that keep you logged-in to your Google account

Google has an enormous amount of usage data that shows what people actually spend time doing online. So, there’s that. But how do you kick it off?

To get people to link to you and generally pay attention in the first place, you have to start thinking about authority in a different sense.

8: Have The Website and Blog developed with well written code

Use a developer that does the basics well for your Website and blog

Website:

Two aspects to consider On-site and Off-site Optimization

On-Site Optimisation.

This where they research and investigate your existing website design, build and content and recommend changes to elements such as

• Keywords and Phrases
• Meta Descriptions
• Keywords added as Metadata,
• Search Engine friendly URL’s
• Title to contain keywords
• Restructuring website content
• Make text more readable and user friendly on website
• Offer different media formats
• Clean coding structure optimised for search engine crawlers

Off-Site Optimisation

This is where we research and recommend activities to improve Google search that are not dependent on your existing website but strategies that can be undertaken to improve search engines ranking of the company’s website.

This can be achieved through

• Link Building
• Blog commenting
• Press Releases
• Forums
• Directory Submissions
• Article submissions
• Interacting with Social Media Channels such as
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Blog
• Engaging Bloggers
• Developing content for your various target market “personas” such as for example for a non profit site
  • Students and Researchers at Universities
  • NGO’s (such as World Bank and United Nations)
  • Business and Business Leaders
  • Foundations

Blog

You’ll hear time and again that WordPress is the best way to build a site  and that it’s extremely SEO friendly. The Thesis framework for Word­Press is worth considering, even Google’s own Matt Cutts, search legend Danny Sullivan, and some of the top SEOs and profession­al bloggers around use Thesis for their own sites.

9. Design Your Website To Enhance Your Brand and Authority

If you want to look professional then the website has to give your brand an image that can in a lot of cases make you look bigger than your competitors because they are sloppy with their website design. Do not overlook this.

10. Nourish Your Tribe

Once you have started providing information that solves your customers and subscribers needs, continue to develop and your grow your content so that they want to keep coming back again and again.

So could your business do with a bit of digital optimizing of your inbound marketing so you don’t have to cold call again?  Looking forward to hearing your story.