Monday, June 24, 2013

Whats your Content Marketing Strategy?




There has been a shift in the way consumers purchase products and interact with brands or businesses. The popularity of social networking took the marketing world by storm. Social networking is the reason why the marketing industry has changed.
- Consumers can see reviews, complaints, and suggestions all with a simple search or glance at their timeline.
- Consumers do not hesitate to tell friends and family about good or bad service. Word of mouth advertisement has always been huge but with social networking, telling your immediate friends and family has turned into telling your whole network.
-There are also many other businesses that target the same audience as you. You just need to stand out, by showcasing your personality and what makes you and your business unique. You want people to like and trust you. If 3 people are selling the exact same chocolate bars, you have to figure out what different approach will win the consumers business.
Content marketing has become a popular marketing technique because there is a lot of competition and the consumer has the ability to easily access data that can quickly influence their buying decision. As a business owner you have to set yourself apart from the crowd. Content marketing shows the consumer that you are in business to help them, you understand their needs and wants, you value any time they spend with your products or services, and you appreciate their loyalty to your brand. You are in the process of forming true relationships and not just trying to get a sale so, naturally you should say,“Thank you!” Show the consumer you appreciate them, even if they haven’t bought anything yet, they will soon.
I personally think many successful businesses have been using the content marketing approach many years before it actually became the thing “thing to do.” It is all about forming valuable relationships with the consumer.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t completely understand how content marketing can help your business. Once you establish specific goals it will become easier to understand. Content marketing is not a new Internet trend; this is something you should get a full understanding of if you plan to be successful online. Content Marketing is a streamlined approach to a few different techniques that have been around for years.
1. Pick a niche market.
2. Make specific goals  and define what you want to achieve. Instead of saying you want more sales you should narrow it down. Setting specific goals like, I want to start creating more tutorials or I want to include more videos for readers are greet goals.
3. Define your target audience. Knowing the demographics of your ideal audience will help you streamline your content because you will know exactly who you are trying to reach with your content.
4. Start thinking like the consumer that is in the market for your products or services so you can offer solutions to their problems. Listen actively so you can relate to the consumer.
5. Find key people in your niche constantly and learn from them.
6. Offer free content to your target audience through the platform that agrees most with your product or services. Social networking, e-Books, webinars, blogs, articles, video, slideshows, audio files, white papers, and newsletters are all platforms that you can use to reach out to your consumer. Having diversity in the content you share will allow you to reach the most people possible in your target audience.
7. Make sure all your content is conversational, engaging, and timely. Free is good but don’t just throw something together because it is free. It has to be something of value. The consumer will see right through any halfhearted attempts to offer free content that is junk or old material.
What are some of your Content marketing approaches for your online business?

Monday, June 17, 2013

Self Publish on Kindle




Forrester research revealed that 25 million people in the U.S. own an e-reader and 54 million have a tablet. Those numbers are predicted to grow in the future. Amazon Kindle eBooks represents one of the best and low risk opportunities that business owners can use to change their financial fortunes forever.

By self publishing on Kindle you can:

- Create useful content that you can turn into a larger eBook, into content rich articles, or blog posts to keep your audience updated on current trends.

- Establish trust and creditability with your target audience. Having a well put together eBook will help with establishing you as an expert in your field.

- Save a lot of money vs. the traditional publishing method.

- Add clickable links back to your website to drive traffic.

- Place yourself in a position to get more leads and sales.

 As an internet marketer you should cater to the different lifestyles and learning styles of your target audience and by having your book on Kindle you will be able to reach more people that need your services, or products.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Finally Facebook Supports #Hashtags


Facebook is finally on board and they have added support for the #hashtag. Users will be able to search and click on hashtags to see other status updates, pictures, and links that are using the same hashtag. Hashtags are basically the subject of the messages, and it makes it easier for users to find content on Facebook.

Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram have already been using the hashtag to organize content. When you click on a hashtag in Facebook you will see a feed of what other people and business pages are saying about that particular event or topic. Hashtags do not override the current Facebook privacy settings, you can only search public posts and content posted by your friends.

This is great news for Internet marketers because you will be able to join conversations about anything that is relevant to your industry with real time public conversations being displayed. Think of keywords, targeted keywords are great to use for a hashtag search. You should use this feature to engage with consumers and stay current with the news in your industry. A marketer can also add hashtags in an advertising campaigns to amplify your reach over multiple social networks.

Hashtags are a great way to organize content but there are a few suggestions that an Internet marketer should know to make sure you are getting the most bang for your efforts.

Hashtag Etiquette 

1. Make sure your hashtag relates to your message. Do not add hashtags to a message if it has nothing to do with the message, that is considered hashtag spamming. It will also make you look like you don't know what you are doing. Consumers don't want to search #Dogs and end up seeing a picture of a bird in the results. 

2. Keep your hashtags short and to the point. Three words should be the maximum for a single hashtag. Anything longer becomes really hard to read and your message may be lost in translation. For example; #HashtagsThatTurnIntoSentencesAndGoesOnForALongTimeAreAnnoying  

3. Use hashtags to help build brand awareness. By creating a unique hashtag for your business you are starting a new real-time feed with that particular hashtag. So when a consumer clicks on your unique hashtag they will pull up your businesses messages, pictures, or links. An unique hashtag will also help you get noticed and bring attention back to your business.

4. Do not hashtag every word in your message. A message with a lot of hashtags is hard for the consumer to read, so focus on the subject of your message and add your hashtags at the end.

Hashtags are great tool for marketers and now that all the major social networks are supporting clickable hashtags this will be very helpful when trying to engage with the consumer.