Blog
Is it really the last Friday in January? Where did the month go?
How are your resolutions going? Still hanging in there? We resolved to read more blog posts and we haven't been disappointed. The New Year has been chock full of great new content from all our favorite bloggers. This week is no exception.
Enjoy these picks and have a great weekend - one last weekend to get your honey do list done before the big game!
4 Ways Social Media Improves the Sales Process via @1to1Media
Still trying to figure out the value of your company adopting social media? Here are four terrific reasons.
Creating calls-to-action that really engage your buyers via Continuous Customer Capture
If you're slapping CTAs on your content as an afterthought, you need to read this post.
Are Shorter Sales Cycles a Wake-up Call for Marketers? by @ardath421
A short but vital read for any B2B marketer.
How Red Bull’s Content Strategy Got Its Wings by @ericaswallow
Not only does the energy drink producer have a content strategy, it created its own media house to power it.
7 Content Marketing Articles Worth Reading by @copyblogger
We love a good wrap up and this one has quite a few links to explore.
Walking the "Be Human" Line in Social Media by @lisabarone
Sometimes you can learn a lot from someone else's screw up ...
Good, Great, and Irresistable Marketing Businesses by @lizstrauss
It's got to be bigger than what you're selling.
9 Ways to Dramatically Reduce Email Unsubscribe Rates by @hubspot
Keep 'em on the list with these tips.
And on a totally unrelated but hysterical note, have you seen Stephen Colbert's interview with Maurice Sendak?
You are not in control of your brand. You never were and you never will be. You may own your brand, but, its identity is defined by your audience: your prospects, peers, and customers. You can make suggestions, of course. You can make your own statement about what you stand for. You can create logos and taglines, vision statements and mission statements, unique selling propositions and value propositions. These are all valuable brand assets, but they are not your brand.
Your brand isn’t what you say. It’s what “they” say. And what they say is based on what you do.
I believe in the importance of strong, “spot on” branding. In fact, I’m currently teaching a closed, beta class on the topic to a fabulous group of solo entrepreneurs. The conversations around what brand is and what it isn’t have been lively and enlightening. Though some folks were initially surprised that their brand was not contained within their logo design and elevator pitch, everyone immediately aligned with the idea that your brand is a “living” part of your business. It’s something that is constantly evolving based on your interactions with your audience.
It’s not enough to say that you’re responsive, innovative, and connected. You actually have to be responsive, innovative, and connected. You have to walk the walk, or the talk falls flat. If you aren’t being your brand in every interaction, people will see that your brand is nothing but a cardboard cutout – a pale facsimile of the real thing. They will feel they’ve been duped. They will get angry. They will definitely call you out.
Creating your brand is an important part of building your business. There is no substitute for doing the work around knowing – really knowing – your business, your motivations, your audience, your market, and your messaging; but … once you’ve laid that foundation you need to remember that "creating" your brand is just the beginning. The end result of all that research and soul searching is a clear and rich picture of the brand you want to be. Now comes the hard part – living up to those expectations.
The only way to bring your brand to life, is to bring its essence into everything you do. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but – when it comes to your brand – a single action is worth all the words in the world. Don’t tell your customers who you are, show them. Live up to the expectations of your brand. If you can do that, what “they” say will match what you say, and your brand will take on a life of its own.
How do you define branding? Do you agree that a brand is a living asset? How do you walk your brand’s walk?
About the Author: Jamie is a freelance strategist, teacher, and copywriter who partners with solo entrepreneurs to define and market their brands. Her specialties include brand development, social media strategy, and content marketing. Enjoy more of her posts, visit her site at Suddenly Marketing, or drop her an email.
More posts by Jamie.
LinkedIn is sort of the dark horse of social networking; just about every professional we know is on it, but it doesn't get a lot of attention in the media compared to its flashier cousins, Facebook and Twitter. How do you use LinkedIn to your best professional advantage? The Savvy Sisters share their best tips:
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Stephanie |
Keep Connected and Current Beyond the obvious step of keeping your profile current and offering links to valuable information that showcase your expertise, use the link between LinkedIn and Twitter to update your status with tweets. And be sure to explore the world of LinkedIn Groups beyond your profile -- that's where you can interact with folks on a range of topics and post surveys. Whether this sparks ideas for blog posts or eBooks, or helps you connect with a potential partner or customer, it's a rich source of goodness. |
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Jamie |
Confession: I'm lousy at LinkedIn I get it. I know what I "should" be doing there (everything my fellow Savvy Sisters advise here), but ... I just can't seem to tear myself away from Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and - most recently (Oh, mighty time suck!) - Pinterest. The only thing I regularly do on LinkedIn is scan the update emails - you know, the ones that tell me which of my connections landed a new job, updated their skills, or made an interesting new connection. When I get the digest of this activity in my inbox, I scan it and reach out to people with a "congrats!" or a "hey, I didn't know you knew how to do that" or whatever might be appropriate. It's a small thing, but it helps me stay on top of the changes in people's professional lives. |
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Wendy |
The importance of those keywords
Keywords are, well, key. When I need an expert or a resource for a story, LinkedIn can always be counted on to provide me with several contacts. This shows the importance and power of updating your profile often whenever you have traveled into new territory.
I also use the LinkedIn groups to get my name out and to find out the names of others who are active in certain subjects. Stephanie's suggestion of reaching out and joining other groups outside what might be your comfort zone is beautiful. Expand your reach a little, you might be surprised at what you get. |
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Kate |
Make it a Habit Whenever I finish a project or leave a contract, I make sure to send LinkedIn invitations to everyone I built a relationship with. Of course this includes the marketing department, but don't forget the engineers (or equivalent for your specialty). They move jobs, too and if you had a good repore they might be in a good position to recommend you at their next gig. I have been fortunate enough to get referrals for multiple projects from folks I kept in touch with via LinkedIn - and after they switched jobs three times in four years there was very little chance of me keeping up with them any other way. So make it a habit and do it every time! |
Are you on LinkedIn?
How do you engage with the community there?
I was doing research recently for an article on the importance of custom Landing Pages for small businesses. In reading lots of supporting background material I ran across this article:
101 Landing Page Optimization Tips by @oligardner at @unbounce
So much more than just a list is actually the 101 tips broken down into 14 category specific chapters! I read through and took notes adapting my comments to my original small business audience but I also thought there was a lot in here that the Savvy B2B audience could walk away with.
Landing pages are afterall often the customers first touch with your organization. Don't you owe them more time and effort than any other aspect of your site?
Check out this article / ebook! I promise you will know more than you did before about Landing Pages!
Content marketing is a really hot topic these days and is considered the foundation of any good inbound marketing strategy. In today’s competitive online business environment it’s a must for search engine visibility, social media marketing, lead conversion, brand building and referral traffic. Below are 10 requirements for deploying successful online content marketing.
- Blog– While there are other ways to deploy content marketing online, a blog represents one of the most flexible ways to publish content on the internet. Try to host a blog on your own current domain rather than on a subdomain if possible. The only exception is if you have enough publishing throughput to populate both the subdomain and domain with at least 10 posts per week (preferably 21). Otherwise, you’ll be cannibalizing your ability to rank well in Google’s SERPs.
- Publishing Schedule – A schedule serves three main purposes. Besides the obvious of creating deadlines for content producers, the schedule sets the weekly submission requirements for publishing and establishes accountability for the team. According to HubSpot, most blogs reach the point of diminishing returns at 21 blog posts per week.
- Advanced Content– Contrary to popular belief, just because someone has visited your blog or website doesn’t mean they’ve entered the top of your sales funnel. You have to morally bribe them with a quid pro quo transaction. By publishing white papers, case studies, tutorial videos, etc. you will have the currency to barter for your visitor’s email address through a form. After this transaction occurs the visitor is at the top of the funnel (TOFU) and can be placed in a lead nurturing email campaign with the intent of moving them down the funnel.
- Calls-to-action(CTAs) – These represent the billboards on your blog promoting advanced content. They should focus on value, solving problems and convenience. It is also recommended to test CTAs with A/B testing. Never expect a “Get Started Today” or “Sign Up for Our Newsletter” button to drive leads.
- Landing Pages– These are the pages on your website visitors arrive at after clicking on a CTA. They must look trustworthy and have a clear message of value while enticing visitors to fill out the form. It is also recommended to test these pages with multivariate or A/B testing.
- Quality Content– Never focus your content on yourself or your company. Always make sure you’re solving problems or entertaining. Those are the only two reasons people go to the Internet in the first place. If your content does a good job of this overtime the writers may become thought leaders in your industry, thus elevating the business brand to more trusted heights.
- Social Media Distribution– Social sharing buttons are a must for maximizing social visibility of your content and driving traffic. Besides, content is the foundation of any good sustainable social media marketing campaign, aside from the occasional sweepstakes, contest or give-a-way.
- Subscription– Always provide your readers a convenient way to subscribe to your blog. You’ll want to include both email and RSS as options. This is also a good metric to watch when measuring the popularity of your content over time.
- Analytics– Tracking data overtime will provide lots of feedback as to what works well on the blog and what doesn’t. However, it also helps define TOFU and middle of the funnel (MOFU) content. MOFU content is what’s consumed shortly before the visitor becomes a customer. It’s important to identify MOFU content in order to more frequently offer it up to TOFU visitors via email lead nurturing and CTAs.
- Syndication – After your blog has been out there for a while and your content is considered good, other blogs may take notice by requesting (some do it without asking) to republish your posts. As long as the blog won’t damage your brand accept the invitation. Syndication lead to a 348% growth in the number of referring leads for Kuno Creative.
Content marketing isn’t easy. It’s a lot of hard work, but can be very rewarding for your writers, business and brand. Don’t expect results overnight and never give up.
About the Author:
Chad Pollitt is a Certified HubSpot Partner and Director of Social Media and Search Marketing for Kuno Creative, one of the hottest inbound marketing agencies in the country. Catch himpresenting Inbound Marketing the New SEO via webinar on January 31. He has been a guest lecturer, syndicated blogger, keynote presenter and featured in The Wall Street Journal.
