Content Marketing: Giving a Little to Get More

October 21, 2014October 21, 2014 / ME / Leave a comment

Content marketing is about giving potential customers different forms of media content that they want, in exchange for getting the opportunity to subtly market a brand, product, or service to them. Rather than creating advertisements or direct marketing materials, businesses create content such as blogs, whitepapers, downloadable guides, podcasts, infographics, videos, and even social media posts that provide educational and/or entertainment value. By offering free access to such valuable content, businesses get the chance to market to potential customers, while at the same time establishing themselves as experts and authorities in their field.

If the concept of content marketing is still new to you, here is a handy introduction to content marketing, including:

The fatal flaws of traditional advertising
An in-depth introduction to content marketing
The advantages that content marketing provides over traditional advertising
Tips on the best practices that will make your content marketing more effective

10 Stats on how Inbound Marketing can Increase Your Sales

October 16, 2014 / ME / Leave a comment

In previous posts, I’ve shared with you stats on how much consumers love inbound marketing, as well as stats on how inbound marketing can increase SEO and website traffic. The gist? Inbound, content marketing has proven to work in increasing brand appeal and website performance.

But, SALES is the real matter of concern for businesses. So, the question is: can inbound marketing help your sales and increase your bottom line? Here are some stats that suggest it can:

Of US e-shoppers surveyed, 81% are at least somewhat likely to make additional purchases, either online or in a store, as a result of targeted emails (Harris Interactive).
Customers who receive email newsletters spend 82% more when they buy from the company (iContact).
Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads (The Annuitas Group).
Companies that automate lead management see a 10% or more increase in revenue within 6-9 months (Gartner Research).
82% of marketers that blog daily generated customers from their blogs (HubSpot).
Companies with mature lead generation and management practices have a 9.3% higher sales quota achievement rate (CSO Insights).
Nurtured leads produce, on average, a 20% increase in sales opportunities versus non-nurtured leads (DemandGen Report).
Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month (HubSpot).
Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost (Forrester Research).
Marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13 times more likely to enjoy a positive ROI (HubSpot).

If you (or your boss) have not yet begun to leverage the proven effectiveness of content marketing, and you want to learn more about how to do it well and on a budget, contact WordWise Creations now, and let me help you cash “in” on inbound marketing!

4 Stats Proving Inbound Marketing Helps SEO and Site Traffic

October 15, 2014October 15, 2014 / ME / 3 Comments

(Photo: writtenbysumer.com)

From my last post with stats on how consumers feel about content marketing, we know research has shown that consumers do appreciate businesses and brands that share content, and tend to make buying choices based on inbound marketing. So, doubters may now be wondering, does inbound marketing improve SEO and website traffic? The answer: yes!

Here are some stats that shed some light on how much websites love content marketing:

Blogs give websites on average 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. (Inbound Writer)
Year-over-year growth in unique site traffic is 7.8 times higher for content marketing leaders (19.7%) compared to followers (2.5%). (Kapost)
Website conversion rate is nearly 6 times higher for content marketing adopters (2.9%) than non-adopters (0.5%). (Kapost)
Inbound marketers double the average site conversion rate, from 6% to 12% total. (HubSpot)

These numbers paint a clear picture of power of content marketing. So, are you taking full advantage of the benefits that inbound and content marketing have to offer you and your bottom line? If not, contact a content marketing expert right away for more information on how to develop a strategy that works for you.

5 Stats on How Consumers Feel About Inbound Marketing

October 14, 2014 / ME / Leave a comment

Outbound marketing is just that – out – and today’s “in” tool for business marketing is inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is the act of promoting a company through blogs, online newsletters, whitepapers, social media, and other forms of content marketing which serve to bring customers in my giving them something in exchange.

Still, it’s almost every day that I find myself trying to convince a potential client about the benefits of inbound marketing and content marketing. So, I compiled a few stats to share with them, and with you. Here are some facts you might not know about inbound marketing and the way consumers feel about it:

80% of business decision makers prefer to get information in a series of articles versus an advertisement. (Exact Target)
61% of consumers say they feel better about a company that delivers custom content and are also more likely to buy from that company. (Custom Content Council)
90% of consumers find custom content useful. (McMurry/TMG)
78% of consumers believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships with them. (McMurry/TMG)
50% of consumer time online is spent engaging with custom content. (HubSpot)

These stats should be easy to believe, too, especially if you’ve spent time online reading a company’s blog or social media posts to gain new information or perspective on something. I know I have! If you and your business are not maximizing the power of inbound, content marketing for the best results, just contact me for more information on how I can help you do just that.

10 Commandments of Successful Blogging for Businesses

September 24, 2014 / ME / Leave a comment

Blogging isn’t easy. In particular, for businesses using blogging as part of a content marketing strategy, it’s critical that blog content is interesting and makes people want to read, and perhaps share, the content. In addition, there are a myriad of variables that must be considered, such as length, relevance, which publishing platform(s) to use, and the best time to post.

But there are some other specific considerations that are essential for a successful business blogging campaign. These include:

Telling a story
Knowing your purpose
Targeting your known audience
Providing something of value
Tracking metrics to define success

Including visuals and images
Considering layout readability
Adding a Call to Action
Focusing on SEO
Setting a schedule

Matt Wesson of Salesforce expands upon each of these to provide businesses with useful guidance and some easy-to-apply tips for honing your blogging strategy for greater success. Read more…

It’s Coming, but is Your Business Ready?

August 22, 2014 / ME / 2 Comments

Nobody likes to read bad web pages, yet many businesses get so caught up trying to optimize their site that they forget about the importance of quality content— but Google’s ferocious site-grading algorithms should be making businesses think twice.

Continuing its work to improve the Internet and user experience, Google recently released its new Panda 4.0 update and announced that Penguin 3.0 is on the way. These Google algorithms – including Panda, Penguin, Platypus, and Hummingbird – analyze websites and modify search rankings based on the quality and strength of site content. More specifically, the algorithms target sites that use spam and “black hat” SEO tactics like keyword stuffing, text advertisements, and link schemes, and subsequently lower the sites’ rankings.

So what can businesses do to prepare for these ever-improving algorithms and ensure their site isn’t negatively affected? From analyzing traffic to diversifying anchor text and evaluating links, here are some incredibly useful tips to help improve your website’s content, search rankings, and appeal. Read more…

Content Marketing Tips

July 7, 2014 / ME / Leave a comment

Image credit: Shutterstock

What is content marketing? Sure, it’s all the rage in today’s digital marketing world, but what is it, and how can businesses do it well? Content marketing includes things like blog posts, social media shares, webinars, and more that allow you to directly engage with potential customers and clients.

We all agree that’s a great idea and a good way to reach the market with your product or service– haven’t you ever gotten information from a blog post or a lead on a new product or deal via social media? Of course! The problem for many businesses, though, is the time and effort it takes to get it done. Effective content marketing requires consistent effort delivered over time, and a good content marketer will know how best to address your target audience, express key messages, and align with both your branding persona and customer needs.

So how do you do it? Author and Educator Martha Collier offers 5 useful tips for successful content marketing campaigns. Read more…

How to Align Your Digital Marketing With Your Ideal Customer

So Many Blog Ideas, So Little Time

July 3, 2014July 4, 2014 / ME / Leave a comment

Image credit: Shutterstock

Maintaining and developing content for a blog can be tough. It’s natural to run out of ideas, and sometimes we all need a little help – writer’s block can be very frustrating! Whether you are running it yourself or you hire an experienced blog writer to manage your blog marketing, developing new and unique topics is challenging. So, here’s some help:

1. When trying to come up with a topic for your next blog post, one strategy is to think about specific areas of your industry that you might discuss, evaluate, or even demonstrate with images or presentations. You might create a poll and blog the results, share and comment on recent news in your industry, or list some industry resources you’ve found valuable.

2. Your business and customers, too, are key– they are who the blog is for, after all– so don’t be afraid to do a little self-promotion in your blogs. Blogging is a marketing tool, right? So, other ideas are to discuss what sets you apart from the rest, answer some FAQs potential clients might have, or provide some customer testimonials to showcase your history of satisfied clients and proven results. Topics like these that exemplify your expertise can be extremely effective.

3. Finally, don’t be afraid to get a little personal in your blog posts. Not only will it add a touch of personality to aid your brand and image, but it’s a great way to share who you are – and people like to buy things from people they know. For example, you could talk about a book you’re reading, some challenges you’ve faced, or what you love about what you do. A content marketer with creative writing skills can help you make these their best.

Effective blogging as a marketing tool results requires consistent effort over time– just a blog here and there won’t work. It’s about quantity as much as quality, so don’t let a little thing like having no ideas stop you from posting today! In a guest blog for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), small business expert Anita Campbell expands offers some of the examples above as part of her list of 36 great blog ideas to help you when you’re stumped. Read more…

Do you have any other ideas that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them! Please comment below.

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#growth

July 2, 2014 / ME / Leave a comment

Leverage the power of words.

As I grow my new business, I find I’m increasingly excited by so many fresh ideas and the field of Content Marketing overall. I’ve always had an innate talent for language – and the art of using words to produce the most powerful effect or persuasion – but it’s especially rewarding to be able to apply it more now in my career. I’ve long known I was WordWise, but I’m finding that I’m also increasingly MarketingWise, BrandingWise, and PRWise… and I’m just getting started.