Category: Marketing

Social Media Best Practices for SOHOs: You Don’t Have to be Big to be Successful Online!

One of the benefits—and potential downfalls—of the online environment is that it is a great equalizer. The smallest company, including solo operations, can present a “big company” feel, effectively competing against the big players in their industries. This can also present a downside, of course, for those seeking goods and services from online providers; all that glitters is not, necessarily, gold, so caveat emptor certainly applies.

Still, for small companies, and even individual practitioners in service industries like consulting, law, accounting, engineering, etc., it can be relatively easy to establish a strong presence online.

We’ve done that for our own marketing needs, and we work with a variety of other small businesses and independent consultants to help them establish a “big brand” online. In doing this, we have found some very important best practices that really must be adopted to generate results: Continue reading “Social Media Best Practices for SOHOs: You Don’t Have to be Big to be Successful Online!”

A Wealth of Social Media & Marketing Tips from Experts and Practitioners

Just returned from the 6th Annual Social Media & Marketing Conference sponsored by the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce and my head is spinning. It seems that no matter how much we may all think we know a lot about social media and/or marketing, there is always so much more to learn. I learned a lot today from both the presenters and other attendees. Continue reading “A Wealth of Social Media & Marketing Tips from Experts and Practitioners”

Do You Know Who Your Customers Are? You May Be Surprised!

I worked in a healthcare organization for about 10 years from 1996-2007. Back at that time the transition between referring to patients as “customers” was just emerging and it was fairly controversial. Marketing and administration favored the approach and logically it seemed to make some sense. But I can recall the debates, conflicts and consternation from clinical staff — physicians and nurses — about the use of this terminology.

At the time, I was firmly on the side of using the term “customer.” After all, I had come from the marketing world with a background in the investor-owned utility industry and a private educational firm, in addition to experience growing up in a family-owned business, so the concept of “customer” was one I firmly identified with.

In hindsight, though, Continue reading “Do You Know Who Your Customers Are? You May Be Surprised!”

PR More Effective than Content Marketing? Probably! But…

Nielsen recently released a report, commissioned by inPowered which indicated that content marketing (the current, go-to communication tool for many B2B and B2C marketers) is actually 88 percent less effective than public relations (PR).

The news has the communication community abuzz online with conversations taking place in many of the social media groups I follow. Many are expressing shock, some disagreement, over the results.

But, when you think about it, it’s really just common sense.

Continue reading “PR More Effective than Content Marketing? Probably! But…”

10 Copywriting Tips to Generate Results!

I’m a copywriter from way back and, although, my life has taken a number of twists and turns since my old copywriting days, writing has been a passion of mine for many, many years and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. The thing is, much of what I learned as a professional copywriter holds true regardless of the type of writing I do: whether I’m writing a brochure, copy for a newspaper ad, a script for a radio announcement or a page or blog for a web site, there are some tried and true techniques that can be used to boost the odds that the copy will get the results I’m looking for.

Following are some tips I’ve gathered and used over the years — can you add to the list? Continue reading “10 Copywriting Tips to Generate Results!”

Is It Time to Update Your Web Site?

Web sites have become a “must have” for businesses of any size, in any industry or geographic location. In fact, to a large degree, if you don’t have a web site, you don’t exist. When potential customers are looking for products or services they are very likely these days to turn to the Internet and do a search. If your business doesn’t come up in their search efforts, you’re not likely to be part of their consideration set. Continue reading “Is It Time to Update Your Web Site?”

How to Use Social Media to Grow and Market Your Business

The wide proliferation of social media sites–from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram–provide a myriad of opportunities for businesses of any size to connect with their target audiences. That can be good news and not-so-good news for marketers. Why? Because while the out-of-pocket costs for using most of these tools is low to none, the time investment can be significant. Add to that Continue reading “How to Use Social Media to Grow and Market Your Business”

Challenges on the Horizon for Marketers in 2014

As 2014 rapidly approaches (I can’t believe how rapidly it’s approaching…) businesses are looking ahead to the New Year and thinking of the challenges and opportunities they will face. We recently responded to a reporter’s inquiry about marketing challenges lying ahead in 2014. Here’s our perspective:

There are two key challenges that businesses are likely to face in 2014 from a marketing standpoint: one is evergreen, the other is continuing to emerge: Continue reading “Challenges on the Horizon for Marketers in 2014”

Some “Silly” – But True! – Advertising Rules You Shouldn’t Overlook!

The field of advertising is traditionally known as a haven for “creative types.” And those types often come up with some pretty creative “rules” for doing business. Some of the rules may seem pretty silly, but they work. And there’s nothing silly about that. For instance: Continue reading “Some “Silly” – But True! – Advertising Rules You Shouldn’t Overlook!”

Why Marketers Often Fail to Sufficiently Narrow Their Target Audience

One of the most common missteps made by businesses large and small, in both the for-profit and not-for-profit arenas is a failure to clearly identify the desired target market. Why? In my experience, I see this happen for a variety of reasons: Continue reading “Why Marketers Often Fail to Sufficiently Narrow Their Target Audience”