Marketing Tips

Why Your Blog is Your Most Important Marketing Tool

November 20, 2017/0 Comments/in Blog, How To, Marketing Tips, Wordpress /by Nicole Stelmar

When starting or trying to grow a business, many entrepreneurs overlook the power of blogging as a marketing tool. An up-to-date and relevant blog can be your most effective and high-converting marketing tool. Not only do blogs bring more traffic to your site, but they also help to convert visitors into leads and establish your business as a trusted source within your industry.

If you don’t have a blog for your business or are looking to re-energize your current blog, follow these tips for making the most out of blogging for your business.

Blogs Drive Traffic to Your Website

There are several ways that blogs drive traffic to your website. To begin with, every time you post to your blog you are adding one more page that is indexed and can return results for search engines. Therefore, adding more blog posts increases the likelihood that your page will appear on (and at the top of) the search results page. Frequent updates and posts to your blog signal to search engines that your site is active and should be checked regularly.

Blogging also creates more opportunities for you to reach social media audiences. Every post you make has the potential to be liked, shared, retweeted, and so on. The more times this happens, the larger your audience will become, which should equate to more site traffic. You can also draw from your posts to create your own social media content, saving you time when trying to create content for all of your social media sites.

Types of Content that Drive Traffic

There are many different types of content you can share on your blog, but some have proven to be more effective than others in driving traffic to your website. The two content types that are most successful at driving traffic are “How To” articles and infographics.

How to Articles – How to articles are very effective in driving traffic to your site because there are endless options for topics. They also have great potential to include long tail keywords, which search engines love. How to articles provide value to your potential audience and quickly turn them from visitors into loyal followers. When people realize they can go to you for reliable help in solving issues they are facing (exactly what how-tos are designed to do), they are more likely to check back with you in the future and to share your information with friends, family, and colleagues.

Let’s take a look at a successful how-to article from VitaMedica, a leader in the health and wellness space. In this how-to article, VitaMedica addresses a topic that both current customers and new visitors are interested in. By focusing on a topic that has a lot of search volume, it is more likely that they will draw visitors to their site who are searching for this term. With higher search volume comes more competition, though, so it is usually more difficult to rank your blog post for a highly searched term. Just something to keep in mind when choosing your how-to article topics.

Infographics – Infographics have become extremely popular because of their ability to take complicated ideas or topics and explain them in a quickly digestible visual way. Infographics are shared, viewed, liked, and linked to more than any other type of content. In fact, according to Hubspot, infographics are liked and shared three times more than any other type of content, demonstrating just how powerful infographics are when it comes to driving traffic to your site.

This next example comes from SmartMove, a division of TransUnion. While SmartMove has a wide selection of infographics, let’s take a look at their most recent infographic. The purpose of an infographic is to visually represent data to make it easier to digest the information rather than just reading it. While the information in this infographic could be put in a simple blog post, it is easier for the reader to understand the data when it is represented in this fashion.

Blogs Convert Traffic into Leads

With blog posts generating higher volume traffic to your site, the next step is to convert those visitors into qualified leads. To do this, you should include at least one call-to-action (CTA) on all of your posts. Your CTAs should include some kind of offer to the site visitor that will encourage them to submit their contact information. These offers can include anything from free templates, tools, eBooks, how-to guides, white papers, etc. – really anything that you can offer that provides even a small value to the visitor will help convert more of your traffic into leads. Two highly effective types of content that help convert traffic into leads include white papers and webinars.

Whitepapers – White papers are an effective way to create demand for your product or service without being pushy or using high-pressure sales tactics. The purpose of a white paper is to provide an in depth look at a particular subject that is related to your industry. It allows you to show your potential customers that you have extensive industry knowledge and can address the questions that they want to be answered. This warms the audience up to both your product and brand before the sales pitch ever begins.

A great example of how to effectively use white papers to generate leads is from DocuSign, an e-signature software company. In this white paper, DocuSign goes into detail on how to solve common HR problems by doing paperwork digitally. Before they offer up the high-quality content to readers, they require that the visitor input some information. This allows them to generate leads in return for in depth information on topics potential customers are looking for.

Webinars – Webinars offer potential clients a great opportunity to engage with your company in a more personal way, helping to create an emotional connection to your brand. By hosting webinars, you give attendees the opportunity to ask questions and get a better understanding of how your product or service can benefit them. Having these personal interactions not only helps to create a connection with potential customers, but it also helps you and your company get better insight into questions, concerns, and issues your target audience is facing, which allows you to create other types of content that are both timely and useful.

Our final example comes from Fi360, a financial software company. Fi360 lists all of their previous webinars and gives users the opportunity to not only download a recording of the webinar but also the slides presented. While it is helpful to have potential customers join the live webinar so that you can answer any questions that they may have, it is important also to allow users to access the recordings if they cannot make it at the scheduled time.

Blogs Help Establish Authority

By answering common questions that your target audience has, your blog can become an effective tool for establishing you as a credible and reliable resource in your industry. When your company has high-quality posts that answer questions, explain issues, or offer other valuable information, then potential clients will refer back to your blog on a regular basis. Furthermore, your sales team will have a highly effective way to respond to client questions and give them something they can easily reference over and over again, even after the sales contact has ended, which in turn keeps your brand at the forefront of their minds.

Conclusion

Your blog is an essential part of creating an effective marketing plan. Your blog can increase site traffic, convert traffic into leads, and establish authority. By creating strong blog content in a variety of ways and adding great call-to-actions, your blog will quickly allow you to attract and convert more leads, ultimately benefiting your bottom line for a fraction of the cost of many other marketing tools.

3 Ways to Supercharge Engagement on Twitter

November 10, 2017/0 Comments/in Marketing Tips, Social Media, Social Posts /by Catherine vanVonno

Did you know:

As of the second quarter of 2017, Twitter is already at 328 million active users.
60% of these users have come across an SMB or small or medium business through Twitter.
84% of Twitter users use the social network to hunt for promotions, research product reviews, and find gift ideas.
75% of Twitter users trust a brand more when they follow it on Twitter or when they read a company’s Tweets.

Whether you are a novice at starting an online business or a veteran in the marketing world, tapping on Twitter’s massive influence is something you should put effort on.

When you get active followers who Retweet your posts, message you, and keenly wait for your Tweets, the overall bearing of your brand rises. The surest way to do this is by increasing your engagement rating on Twitter.

Check out the three ways to supercharge engagement on Twitter:

1. Have a Client-Focused Approach.

A couple of years ago, Google updated its algorithm so that websites that give an optimal user experience fare better in its search results pages. The concept to put customers first isn’t only isolated in search engine optimization. It’s also a must if you want to make a difference in a network as vast as Twitter.

The question is, how do you engineer and manage a client-first Twitter account?

Here are some things you can do:

➔ Be helpful to people even if a sale isn’t guaranteed. People are now warier of companies that they feel are just out to get their money. Show your credibility as a brand by answering messages and giving helpful information about your products without ulterior motives.
➔ Get your Twitter profile in order. Are you using an appropriate profile photo for your business account? Did you put essential contact details on your profile? Do you include links to your promotional Tweets for the convenience of your followers?
➔ Hire a Social Media VA (Virtual Assistant). Do people have to wait several hours or days to hear back from you? Are your Twitter posts intermittent? You owe it to your followers and prospective customers to provide prompt responses and updated posts. A social media VA can help you there.

2. Invest on Visual Appeal.

It’s not just Instagram that can win over followers and customers for your business by using high-quality images.

Did you know that Tweets with images can pull in:

➔ 18% increase in click-throughs
➔ 89% more Favorites
➔ 150% increase in Retweets

Just because there is a 140-character limit in a Tweet doesn’t mean you should leave your followers hanging. Captivate them by using powerful images with your Tweets.

3. Share Your Tweets on Facebook.

The power of social media isn’t just confined to one website. That is why if you want your Twitter engagement to increase, you should spread out your efforts to Facebook. These two are the most prominent social networks today, and when integrated, they have the power to catapult your brand into millions of potential customers.

You won’t have to navigate between two different websites or apps to update your social posts. Linking your profiles together gives you the ability to control or monitor your social activities seamlessly.

If you want to learn how to make money online, building a strong Twitter presence is one of the surest ways to go. Practice these three ways to supercharge engagement on Twitter and see how big of an influence it can be on your business.

Essential SEO Tips for Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers

November 3, 2017/0 Comments/in Digital Marketing, Local SEO, SEO /by cwim

The fact that more people are looking to the Internet in search of legal services rather than physical addresses should be enough reason for an attorney to prioritize local SEO. However, online platforms tend to be quite competitive with many professionals competing for visibility.

At any point in time, your rivals are hard at work trying to better your ranking. Below are four essential hacks that will keep you a few steps ahead of the competition.

1. Create a Google My Business profile

When it comes to search engines, Google is by far your best bet. Car accident and personal injury lawyers who possess a Google my business profile (GMB) are in most cases ahead of those without one. The GMB profile is what appears when people search for law firms through local directory listings.

Most prominent legal firms will already have a GMB profile. Here is a description of how you can claim the benefits of such a provision.

First, start by searching the name of your entity in Google.
Once you spot the knowledge graph card of your firm, scroll to the bottom and click the ‘Are you the owner?’ link.
The final step is to verify the entity’s ownership details.

Google offers its clients two options in the verification process. You can opt to verify details by phone or via email. The phone option is ideal for companies that have maintained a physical address for an extended period.

Upon verification, the next step is to edit your profile.

2. Adding a profile photo

Before you proceed to add pictures of your firm, take the time to proofread to ensure your details are up to date, complete and accurate. The more photos you add, the more likely you are to rank higher in the local three-pack.

There is evidence pointing to a positive relationship between a higher ranking and posting many images in a GMB platform. A gallery of 20 to 40 pictures is considered standard for a company. Do not shy away from getting innovative with the shots.

Below are some essential tips on how to go about it:

Showcase your office amenities, make sure your images capture both the interior and exterior appointments
Be sure to include your entire team, from employees to partners
Provide precise details in your area of specialization in the legal field
Ensure the company logo is visible
Have a captivating marketing quote or tag to capture readers attention

3. Applying crucial adjustments to your website

Optimizing your onsite SEO is one of the productive ways you can bank on to rapidly ascend the local rankings. Begin by creating a location-based page; come up with a few keyword phrases to boost your rank. A typical expression would sound like ‘car accident attorney Las Vegas’, ‘Las Vegas personal injury lawyer’ or ‘Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyer & Best Personal Injury Attorney.’

Below are a few tips:

Highlight the location in your page
Ensure the keyword phrase appears in your title, headings, descriptions, and URL. For example, we have included our keyword and branding in the title for another one of our sites: “Phoenix SEO Consultants – The SEO Arizona Experts – Search Engine Optimization Company.”
Make sure the keyword appears as a photo file

Another neat feature is to have the name, address and contact appear in the header. These three details should feature on each page, especially those that attach to your public profile. Include this information in your web listings for consistency.

Page loading times: there are specific measures you can adopt to reduce lag in the loading of your profile. Take advantage of modern technologies such as AMP pages to achieve this objective.

Sufficient content: thoroughly research about how to phrase keywords in your profile page. If possible include a comprehensive article that explains what you offer. Keep an eye on what other players in the field are doing. Compare the depth of content and make changes accordingly.

4. Build a suitable citation for Internet search purposes

To make your venture grow and realize its potential, you will want to have the business mentioned on other sites such as social media platforms and business directories. An excellent citation will propel you to a higher ranking on Internet searches.

If you trust your creative skills, you can opt to create the citation on your citation or use powerful citation building tools such Yext. With Yext, you get to have your company’s details posted on thousands of renowned websites. Yext will swiftly update any adjustments you make to ensure consistency. The cost of enjoying this privilege is quite insignificant as is unlikely to go beyond the 400 dollar mark in annual subscriptions.

As an attorney, you should also prioritize marketing your profile via legal-specific business directory listings. Avvo remains one of the most reliable when it comes to profile claims. Avvo carries a lot of significance and will in most situations rank first when it comes to keyword phrase search.

Having a proper citation in place goes a long way in boosting the online presence of your firm. A study conducted by Moz unearthed some interesting findings. The report shows that companies with high levels of consistency have a better rank In comparison to those with varying details.

It is no secret that most personal injury and car accident attorneys offer most of their services in their local towns and cities. Engaging in this practice will make your profile much conspicuous to your target clients. Ranking on the first page of a local search is a big steal and can help you muscle out your rivals. Bear in mind that the more identifiable you are in the listings, the more customers you are likely to serve.

5 Key Steps To Taking Your Brand Global

September 18, 2017/0 Comments/in Marketing Tips /by Christina Comben

International markets are no longer reserved to tech giants and huge industrial companies. Localization services prepare your website to speak about your product in any language, while international marketers can take your brand global with relative ease. As long as you’re ready to adapt your products, services and content to local markets, you have every chance of achieving international success.

Thanks to the internet and the traffic it generates, any small business can sell anywhere, from Mexico to Mozambique–and even in more traditionally complex countries, like China or Japan. But before you start calculating the ROI, you need to prepare your company for the challenge. Check out these five key steps to taking your brand global with success.

1. You Need a Strategy

Going global is all about speaking local. Meaning you need to approach each market individually if you want to increase sales and become an important player.
There are two major approaches to going global:

One unique product that fits all markets – like Apple
The same product customized for various countries – like most brands, from McDonald’s to Colgate

In both situations, you’ll have to localize some parts of your marketing efforts – price, promotion, distribution, and so on. Apple does it, despite its strategy of having one product that fits all markets. The company provides localized customer service for each country in all their stores, while its website offers carefully localized content for every language their customers speak.

Each country has its own particulars when it comes to customer behavior and buying habits, and all governments have their own laws and regulations for businesses. What works perfectly for your company in your homeland could become a total disaster for your future sales abroad.

Building a strategy will allow you to anticipate problems and avoid wasting resources on activities that won’t pay off. Because whether you have to cut prices or invest more in customer care, you can’t let standards slip in terms of quality and brand image.

2. Give Credit to Your Audience

Going global is, first of all, about choosing the right local markets to sell your product. However, the decision doesn’t belong to you entirely. A detailed research on your present audience will help give you the right answer.

Identify countries where you’re already popular and check if you can increase your market share by being a constant presence in the local market. Starting with countries where people already have some basic information about you can increase your chances considerably.

Analyze the market you aim for and the local business environment before investing in localization. Consider the following questions:

What’s your target market?
How many competitors will you have to deal with?
What are the local trends in your niche?
What makes your product better than local alternatives?
Can you deliver a product that respects local regulations?

Get point-by-point answers to these questions to have a clear idea about the possible demand for your product. Try to understand any market well before approaching it.

3. Each Journey Starts with Website Localization

Almost everyone who has internet access searches for information about a product online before making a purchase. And 52 percent of users prefer to shop from websites that speak their native language.

So, it’s time to teach your website some local languages, to gain trust overseas. Website localization is at the heart of today’s digital marketing. It’s making your English-only website a multilingual tool for various audiences worldwide.

Start with the technical details. It’s not a simple word-by-word translation because you have to adapt everything to local audiences, to increase trust and engagement. This includes date and time format, currencies, measurement units, address format, images, icons and more.

Then you’ll need to optimize your website for search engines in various languages. Improve your local SEO strategy by digging for new keywords and by building backlinks in the targeted language.

Design your website to support all following changes. Languages are different and what can easily be said in three words in English may need an entire phrase in another language. Make sure your buttons and CTAs stick within the original design, either by coming up with smart translation or leaving room for longer messages.

4. Brand Name: To Localize or Not to Localize

It’s mostly up to you, but research on this topic is fundamental. If your name is invented, like Skype or Google, then you may go with the original, (as long as the word you’re using doesn’t already have a meaning in the target language you’d rather avoid).

Many brands have failed in name localization. Among the most famous is Nokia and its Lumia smartphone, which translates to “prostitute” in some Spanish dialects!

Translating your name and slogan word-by-word is also tricky, because translation may sound odd in other languages. A good localization team can come up with smart solutions for your brand, by putting together the right words. Work with local experts, to avoid bad associations and any possible cultural misunderstandings.

Coca-Cola’s brand name in China was translated to “Bite the Wax Tadpole”, the first time around, as a result of not planning localization well.

Pay attention to small details, such as your logo, brand colors and images. Colors have different meanings from country to country, while visuals – especially photos of people and specific places – can exacerbate cultural differences if used incorrectly.

Moderation should be the key when making changes to your brand identity. You want your usual customers to recognize your style, no matter where you sell, so be sure to avoid brand dilution on your quest to fit in.

5. Focus on the Customer Experience

Customers should benefit from all your localization efforts, whether they use your website to learn more about a product or enter your physical store. Train your staff to provide high-quality services in all languages, together with delivering a good product.

Localize all content, especially when it’s meant to help the buyer and not just to make you more visible. Edit all instructions, contracts, terms of agreement, or any other piece of text your buyer may need to get the maximum out of your product.

Then make sure your customer care respects your homeland standards in all local markets. Shipping, packaging, product refunds without additional costs. These are important features customers look for when choosing one product over another. And they’re usually willing to pay more to get the best services.

The Takeaway

Moving from national to international is an important step forward for your business. You’ll need to be ready to invest hours of hard work in putting together the right team and creating the perfect assets.

Plan way ahead of the product launch and make decisions based on market research, rather than your instincts. You need deep knowledge about your new customers to be able to deliver a high-quality product that meets their expectations and takes your brand to international success.

Using Customer Testimonials to Generate More Revenue

July 4, 2017/0 Comments/in Business Tips, Marketing Tips /by Nicole Stelmar

Using Customer Testimonials to Generate More Revenue

It’s safe to say that everyone has heard that “word of mouth” is the best advertising. Regardless of how much money you throw at your paid advertising, your prospects are more likely to do business with you if someone else gives them a recommendation. With all of the current technology available, businesses can leverage placement of customer testimonials online to provide word of mouth advertising, allowing their potential customers to make educated decisions.

Customer testimonials matter to your potential customers because they appear authentic. People know that a business is trying to sell to them, but a customer testimonial is a personal experience that someone else has had. It is a person sharing a positive experience. They are not profiting from you making a purchase; they are only sharing their own experience. Customer testimonials make it easier for potential customers to believe what your business is saying. Here are five practical ways to include customer testimonials in your digital marketing efforts.

Social Proof

One of the ways that you can gain the trust of potential customers is with social proof, which is proof of your customer satisfaction ratings and security seals. Incorporating social proof on various locations on your website will help visitors to trust you more, even if they can’t accurately pinpoint why they feel that way.

A study by the Baymard Institute found that 18% of consumers buying online actually left in the middle of the checkout process because they didn’t trust the site. They also found that many people are reacting on their instincts and gut when making these decisions. That means you need to give them the proof they need so they will feel comfortable purchasing with you online. There are two ways to accomplish this: (1) show them your high customer ratings and (2) use a security seal that shows your website is safe.

Take the company ProFlowers for example. This site added a way for consumers to be reminded of their high ratings which add comfort to shoppers because if others trusted them and it turned out well, then they can expect the same excellent service.

PetFlow is another company that does social proof well. They added a Norton security seal to their checkout process, which according to the previously noted study, Norton is the seal that people trust the most.

Website

Your website is a great location for customer testimonials. While consumers are reviewing your products and learning about your company, they can see what others thought about their purchases and why they love your products. When putting testimonials on your website, be sure to choose customers that are genuine and authentic.

If possible, you will also want to include an image of the customer, as this helps consumers to know that the testimonials are coming from a real person. Include the testimonials on your homepage and product pages, or create an entire section dedicated to testimonials, so that they are easy to find and see.

Louisiana Grills took advantage of all of their positive feedback by including a mix of written testimonials as well as Instagram posts on their testimonial page, not only showcasing all the positive messages they’ve received, but also images of their happy customers with their products.

Social Media

Speaking of Instagram, social media has made it easy for consumers to review products that they love and those that they don’t. They are easily able to give their opinions and recommend their favourite products to their friends and followers. Businesses need to take advantage of social media.

Search daily for people that are posting about your product on social media platforms. When you find a positive review, share it. If you don’t see much, only ask your customers to snap a selfie of themselves using the product to share. People love taking pictures of themselves for social media. Make sure that you leave a nice comment as well as a re-tweet or re-gram. Consumers are always excited when businesses interact with them on social media!

A good example of this comes from the company BioClarity. This business took advantage of a post from one of their customers by sharing it. Doing this takes only a minute, but can make a big impact on your business and its customers.

Paid Ads

Adding customer testimonials is a good way to improve the conversion rate of your paid advertising while simultaneously increasing the trust with your target audience. While the click through rates of Google AdWords is small, businesses that used a customer review extension in their ad saw their click rates rise by an average of 10%. This is an excellent way to get the most out of your marketing budget while also separating your ads from the competition.

Eddie Bauer is an online retailer that implements this tactic. By doing so, they’ve increased their exposure and chance of conversion by making their product rise to the top thanks to the customer review extension within their PLA ads.

Organic Listings

Using customer testimonials for organic listings holds the same benefit as adding them to your paid advertising. As a consumer searches and scrolls through the SERPs, your customer review score will jump out at them. Since people are more likely to purchase from businesses that are highly reviewed, you improve your chance of them viewing your site if you have proof that you are a trustworthy business to work with. To improve the number of ratings you have, try installing a product review rating plugin to your site.

As seen below, Legion Athletics has implemented this technology into their website and are reaping the benefits of increased real estate within the SERP and also capturing the eyes of all the users searching around their related keywords.

Final Thoughts

As we can see, the benefits of customer testimonials are plentiful, and there are multitudes of ways your business can incorporate these positive endorsements into its marketing mix. Whether it’s on your digital assets or inside the SERPs themselves, leveraging this word of mouth marketing can have a tremendous impact on your conversions and brand perception. Are you currently using your customer reviews to their full advantage? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.