Content Marketing – A 6-Step Approach

Do you have a Content Marketing Strategy?  Maybe you should.  Content Marketing is a way to think about Social Media as a deliberate branding strategy for your business.   Think of it this way: Social Media provides a way for people to easily share information they care about.  Content Marketing is the mirror image  – a way to provide information that people will want to share.   Companies that practice Content Marketing can establish themselves as a trusted information source, and let that reputation spread through the natural process of people sharing and talking.  It’s a great way to approach Social Media involvement through the lens of business goals.

With the skyrocketing popularity of social media, consumers of all types are becoming more and more comfortable consuming and sharing information, opinions, and ideas openly across the Web.  It can be fun and engaging to jump right in – watch videos on YouTube, share pictures and stories on Facebook, voice your opinions on Twitter – and see what the commotion is all about.  There’s nothing wrong with diving in – in fact, it’ll give you a good feel for what people are saying about your business or industry, what topics are popular, what behavior is acceptable, and who are the opinion leaders in the social media realm. But after your initial immersion, you’ll likely soon be asking how you can gain business value from these new tools.  Try this 6-step approach. (more…)

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Google Local – Changes Coming

July 21, 2010 Filed under: Internet Marketing,Local Search,SEO — Tags: ,

There’s been quite a buzz going around in SEO circles about changes that Google appears to be testing and is expected to roll out soon for their Local Search results.  These changes were first noticed in a Google test by Linda Buquet, and she writes about the news in her Catalyst eMarketing blog.  Her initial discovery was first shared in Mike Blumenthal’s blog Understanding Google Maps and Local Search, a terrific resource for following everything that goes on in the Local Search arena.  The gist of the coming changes is that Google will be making Local Search Results much more prominent on the search results page and will make it easier to identify and find a company’s Google Place Page.  This is good news for companies with a local market focus, and makes it more important than ever for those business owners to make sure they have a strong, complete, and compelling presence on their Google Place page (see my recent video post on Getting Listed in the Local Search 7-Pack).

Another new offering from Google in the local business category is Google Tags, which are yellow markers displayed on a company’s Local/Google Maps listing to announce advertised specials — coupons, special offers, and other advertiser-supplied content.  Unlike Google’s Adwords pay-per-click advertising, Google Tags advertising is available for a flat monthly fee of $25.  Google is running a promotion this week (through Friday, July 23) for a 30-day free trial of Tags for new customers.

Don’t neglect this important element of your Internet Marketing activities…Google Local Search for small businesses is becoming an increasingly important way for your customers to find you!

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Google’s Local Business Center – Getting Listed in the 7-Pack

July 19, 2010 Filed under: Internet Marketing,Local Search,SEO — Tags: ,

The Google Local Business Center – renamed recently as Google Place Pages – offers a great opportunity for your business to be found by local searchers.    When a searcher is looking for a business that serves the local market, Google will display what’s known as a “7-pack” of business listings alongside a map of the area that pinpoints their locations.  So how, you may ask, can you get your business listed in this premium “7-pack” for your local market?

See the short video below for a quick training and overview of the 7-pack and what you can do to get listed.   If you’re looking for more in-depth training and information, check out the link below the video.

For more information and to see what the local search “experts” say, see this June 7, 2010 report on Local Search Ranking Factors, from David Mihm.

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Social Media Marketing – The 5 Biggest Hurdles to Getting Started (and how to get over them)

July 7, 2010 Filed under: Social Media Marketing — Tags:
Social media for all?

Image Courtesy: Flickr/Matt Hamm

If you’re still wondering whether and how you should join the Social Media scene, you might relate to some of these concerns and hesitations we’ve heard from small businesses — and how to get beyond them.

Isn’t social media just a fad that I can ignore? This is a comment we heard a lot as recently as 6 months ago, but don’t hear much anymore.  Social media has so taken the business & marketing community by storm that not many people still think they can ignore it.  And yet, many small business owners, busy with their own concerns and in some cases struggling to get through recessionary times, are still hoping the social media buzz will die down and eventually go away.  Not likely.  Social media has evolved into a preferred channel of social and business interaction and has levelled the playing field, giving small businesses the opportunity to compete directly for customers and mind share.  It’s a terrific way to gain insight into what your “community” — of customers/clients, partners, patients, or associates — is thinking.  And it’s an excellent way to listen, understand, respond to and engage with that community.

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