Tag: content marketing

Engaging Your Audience Through Social Media

Social media is critical for most (but still not all) businesses these days. It is a key communication channel that allows businesses and individuals to connect with a wide audience very cost-effectively.

As a business owner I maintain both LinkedIn and Twitter accounts for myself and have used them to successfully connect with prospects, clients, the media and other audiences. I’ve gained more than one client simply through my LinkedIn profile.

As a marketing communication consultant I work with clients to develop and manage their online communications presence through content marketing and management. These activities generally involve a strategy around driving traffic from various social media activities (LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc.) to their web sites to generate some specific action, ultimately leading to a sale or new client interaction.

In my work I’ve found the keys to success to involve primarily two things: Continue reading “Engaging Your Audience Through Social Media”

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!”

6000 Views and Counting – LinkedIn Authorship Gets Results!

LinkedIn recently added a new option for many of its members — the ability to write and publish posts that would be put before a broader audience than their own connections. If you see a little pencil icon next to the paperclip icon in the “Share an update…” box at the top of your home page, you have the ability to create and publish posts. Both my consulting profile and my freelance writing profile have these icons as do all my clients’ profiles.

So we’ve been experimenting with this option to see what kind of activity we’re able to generate.

Yesterday I posted an item on LinkedIn that I’d recently written as a blog post–“Four Little Words That Can Reveal a Lot: ‘Why Do You Ask?'”–the response has been phenomenal (at least by our standards). Last night as I was reviewing online activity for all of my accounts I noticed that I had about Continue reading “6000 Views and Counting – LinkedIn Authorship Gets Results!”

Communicating Efficiently Online

Expanding communication opportunities bring both benefits and challenges to marketers today. While the availability of a wide range of communication options can be empowering, it can also be overwhelming. Which to use? When? How? How can you ensure that you’re not just wasting your time?

Marketing staff at both large and small organizations are finding themselves faced with significant opportunities today, but these opportunities can translate into a significant amount of work. What can they do to ensure that their time is being spent most effectively? Continue reading “Communicating Efficiently Online”

Landing Clients Can Take Time! The Value of Ongoing Communication

I was recently contacted by a potential client who told me he had been receiving and reading my monthly eletter for a few years. I didn’t know him and neither of us could think of how he might have come to be on the list, but when I took a look at my email list I found that he had joined the  list on July 29, 2009–more than four years ago!

This experience highlights the long-tail sales cycle that consultants–and others–often experience. Landing clients can take time. Consequently, it pays to be patient. It also Continue reading “Landing Clients Can Take Time! The Value of Ongoing Communication”

How Should You Measure Your Social Media Activity?

We work with clients regularly to help them evaluate or establish various channels of online communication with their key audiences. Social media is obviously often part of the process we use in helping them connect with these audiences. Often, but not always. When it is, just as with any other form of communication, one thing we want to establish right up front is a means of measuring the value of this activity.  Continue reading “How Should You Measure Your Social Media Activity?”

Contributing Content: Big Opportunities in Content Marketing!

There are big opportunities these days in content marketing. All kinds of organizations, from traditional publishers and media outlets to businesses hoping to gain online traction through organic search are looking for quality content. That means big opportunities for content creators of all kinds. It also means big opportunities for businesses and individuals hoping to get media coverage for themselves and their products and services.

Why?  Continue reading “Contributing Content: Big Opportunities in Content Marketing!”

Creating an “Integrated Marketing Plan”

I was asked recently to provide some information for an article on how to create an “integrated marketing plan.” That phrase has become quite popular and is, I would agree, more precise terminology to convey what a marketing plan actually does. In truth, I would think that every marketing plan would, by definition, be Continue reading “Creating an “Integrated Marketing Plan””

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?”