Lead generation is the lifeblood of any business. While there are many effective ways to attract qualified leads, often you a little something extra to jumpstart your efforts.
While we aren’t suggesting that you forgo the tried-and-true methods of lead generation, there’s no harm in augmenting those methods periodically. What follows are some ways to do just that.
1. Consider product videos. A majority of people are visual learners. Consider posting videos that illustrate how one of your products works.
2. Get rid of (the word) spam. Research shows that when a company proclaims that it will never spam a customer, just reading the word spam makes a person less likely to buy. Protect your privacy is a better phrase to use.
3. Make sure your call-to-action stands out. When you make your call-to-action LARGER it results in more leads. Speaking of calls-to-action, more is almost never better. Instead of sprinkling a variety of calls-to-action on your webpage or in an email, stick with just one. Research shows that when people have too many choices, they are less likely to make one.
4. Don’t be afraid of a little self-promotion. Promoted tweets and Facebook posts get you more customer exposure. While these type of posts often get a bad rap, the truth is that as long as your promoted content is original and offers something of value, these posts can payoff.
5. Update your blogs. We all know how important original content is but updating blogs (when appropriate) can work just as well. If you previously wrote about an industry trend and new numbers come out regarding that trend, simply update your original blog to garner attention without spending a lot of extra time.
6. Make the most of your signature line. Studies show that the simple act of linking the signature line in your emails back to your website or landing page can increase traffic back.
7. Administer a quiz. When you offer a quiz on a timely and relevant topic, you can also gain a number of new leads. Make sure the quiz is simple to use, however, or people won’t bother to take it.
Adding a little something extra to your lead generation efforts doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort. The payoff, however, makes it well worth it.
Three Ways to Break Through the Cluttered Content Marketplace
Content MarketingThree Ways to Break Through the Cluttered Content Marketplace. Many businesses are using content marketing to promote their business online. This is no surprise given the many ways these businesses can use content marketing to leverage their brand. From allowing a business to be seen as thought leader in their industry to capturing leads to building brand loyalty, content marketing is the name of the game.
Unfortunately, your business is not the only one that knows this. As a result, your target audience is relentlessly being bombarded with online messages. So how is a business to stand out? What follows are three strategies to help you get noticed and stand out from the crowd.
1. Know your audience. You must do more than just create content. Make no mistake, posting content that doesn’t connect with your target audience is as pointless as not posting any content at all. Think of it this way: Is your content entertaining? Great. But is it entertaining to your specific target audience? It better be or it won’t do a thing for your business. Does your content tell stories that your target audience wants to hear? Does it solve the problems your target audience is experiencing? If the answer to these questions is no, then your content is nothing but clutter your target audience will tune out. What’s worse, your target audience will come to see your business as a nuisance they want to avoid.
2. Think in terms of maximum engagement. Is your content merely consumed by your target audience? If so, it’s not doing its job. Your content must be easily shared but it needs to go a step further. It must be likely to be shared. You can include a million share buttons but if your content is not viewed as something that inspires readers to bring to the attention of others, that content has a very limited shelf-life (never a good thing in the world of content marketing ). You also must make sure your content does not exist in a silo. Repurpose your content so it fits different platforms. This includes everything from blogs to social media to email marketing. Your content’s reach should be far and wide.
3. Beware of content overload. It goes without saying that quality trumps quantity. However, your content needs to be more than just high quality. It must be something your target audience not just wants to read but feels that they have to read. This type of remarkable content not only breaks through the clutter, it is something your readers anxiously wait for because it is that significant and helpful.
Content marketing has proven itself invaluable to businesses competing for attention online. As a result, the stakes are higher than ever to break through the noise that surrounds it.
Five Simple Ways Businesses Can Integrate Digital and Traditional Marketing
MarketingSeven Ways to Come Up with Blog Topics
Content MarketingSeven Ways to Come Up with Blog Topics. Blogging can do wonders for a business. Driving traffic to its website and converting that traffic into leads are just two important benefits of blogging. Blogging also helps a business become seen as a thought leader in its industry which helps establish trust with current and prospective customers.
While it is easy to see why blogging is so important to a business, blogging itself can be much more difficult. Many times it isn’t the blogging itself that causes issues, rather the ability to come up with blog topics over and over. In order for blogging to successfully promote your business, it must be done on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, coming up with new and fresh ideas can be extremely challenging.
If you feel as if you have hit a wall in terms of blog post topics, rest easy. What follows is a list of ways to spark your creative juices and have you back at the keyboard in no time.
1. Ask questions. These questions don’t have to be profound. Next time you are talking with a client just ask that client what his or her biggest challenge is right now. And customers aren’t the only ones you can get ideas from, either.
2. Interview experts. People love to read interviews with leaders in their industry who have been successful. Interviews are great blogs because you don’t have to come up with the content, the interviewee does that for you.
3. Brainstorm. It seems simple but how many times have you asked your co-workers and sales team to sit with you for a few minutes and just throw out ideas. You might be surprised at how many topics you gain from such meetings. Bring donuts and the room will be packed!
4. Use personal experience. Think of a time when you learned an important lesson from a failure. Or when you stuck with an idea no one else believed in and it paid off. These types of blog posts make for great reading because they personalize the author.
5. Spy on your competitors. What are your biggest competitors writing about? If they are getting a lot of likes on their blog posts see if there is anything you could learn from their methods or topics.
6. Keep up on current events. This is a great way to write timely and creative blog posts. Sporting events are a good example. How about a post on how hiring employees is like preparing for the NBA draft.
7. Take a look back. What were your most popular blog posts? Consider updating those posts or expanding on them. Chances are they will be popular once again.
Blogging can be difficult but is essential to the success of your business. Hopefully the ideas listed above will make the task of blogging a little easier.
The Best Ways to Market Your Small Business in 2017
Small BusinessIf you are looking for the best ways to market your small business, you need to know what the latest trends in marketing are right now. The problem is, it can be difficult to distinguish an important trend from a passing fad.
While you want to be on top of the latest trends, you also must be aware of what really works. Usually the answer is a combination of the hot new trends and the more tried-and-true methods. It also is important to remember that what is hot today may not be hot tomorrow.
So what is hot today? According to many marketing experts, in 2017 the following marketing techniques will gain small businesses the most traction with customers and prospects.
What is hot this year may not be hot next year. But as a marketer you must keep up with what speaks to consumers at this very moment.
Simple Ways to Jumpstart Your Lead Generation Efforts
lead generationLead generation is the lifeblood of any business. While there are many effective ways to attract qualified leads, often you a little something extra to jumpstart your efforts.
While we aren’t suggesting that you forgo the tried-and-true methods of lead generation, there’s no harm in augmenting those methods periodically. What follows are some ways to do just that.
1. Consider product videos. A majority of people are visual learners. Consider posting videos that illustrate how one of your products works.
2. Get rid of (the word) spam. Research shows that when a company proclaims that it will never spam a customer, just reading the word spam makes a person less likely to buy. Protect your privacy is a better phrase to use.
3. Make sure your call-to-action stands out. When you make your call-to-action LARGER it results in more leads. Speaking of calls-to-action, more is almost never better. Instead of sprinkling a variety of calls-to-action on your webpage or in an email, stick with just one. Research shows that when people have too many choices, they are less likely to make one.
4. Don’t be afraid of a little self-promotion. Promoted tweets and Facebook posts get you more customer exposure. While these type of posts often get a bad rap, the truth is that as long as your promoted content is original and offers something of value, these posts can payoff.
5. Update your blogs. We all know how important original content is but updating blogs (when appropriate) can work just as well. If you previously wrote about an industry trend and new numbers come out regarding that trend, simply update your original blog to garner attention without spending a lot of extra time.
6. Make the most of your signature line. Studies show that the simple act of linking the signature line in your emails back to your website or landing page can increase traffic back.
7. Administer a quiz. When you offer a quiz on a timely and relevant topic, you can also gain a number of new leads. Make sure the quiz is simple to use, however, or people won’t bother to take it.
Adding a little something extra to your lead generation efforts doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort. The payoff, however, makes it well worth it.