5 Tips For Successful Sales Forecasting Posted on April 30, 2020May 4, 2020 by Tricia O'Donnell Every business would flounder without a steady stream of sales. And what sets top, high-performing businesses apart from all the rest is their ability to master their sales tactics. Not only are their strategies successful, but they’re consistent. As the famous saying goes, ‘long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity.’ But delivering consistently isn’t that easy. With things like the changing economy, lack of demands, and budgetary restrictions, consistent sales pipelines can seem like a fairy tale. What makes sales a little more predictable, however, is accurate sales forecasting. If you know what’s coming in the next month, you can set B2B goals that are both ambitious and achievable. You’ll also know how to beat those goals, as the process of forecasting itself reveals a team’s strengths and weaknesses. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s dive deeper into what sales forecasting is. What is Sales Forecasting? In short, sales forecasting is predicting sales to help you boost your business efficiency and better allocate resources for the months to come. Sales forecasting is quite important for small businesses in particular. They’re the most vulnerable to seasonality, change of the market trends, and new competitors in the area. Likewise, a big company gets the luxury of many variables canceling each other out. A small business, however, can be dramatically impacted by a single big deal that fails to go through. Having a perfectly built sales pipeline gives you an edge over the competition and helps your company to adapt to any shifts early by developing revenue that’s predictable. Here are some tips for accurate sales forecasting. 1. Rely on Data, Not Wishful Thinking To forecast reliably you must consider what has happened in the past. That means you need to rely on hard data, not guesstimates or gut feelings. To rely on this data, you need to be collecting it. Before you freak out over how to even go about doing that, rest assured that there are plenty of ways to measure sales success, as well as tools and software out there that can assist you, which brings us to our next tip. 2. Choose the Right Software There’s plenty of forecasting software tools out there. But it’s up to you to choose the right software for your needs. You’ll want access to both qualitative and quantitative types of data so you can track the decrease or increase of performance numbers as well as why those increases or decreases are happening. Another hallmark of good forecasting software is automation. Marketing and sales automation tools help track and store your data, eliminating the possibility of human error and thus making your forecasts more accurate. 3. Define Your Key Metrics Aside from a lack of accurate data, many small businesses fail to forecast efficiently because they rely on outdated or vanity metrics. A vanity metric is something that feels good but doesn’t lead to improvement. For that reason, you must become very specific about your sales KPIs and the kind of sales and marketing metrics you collect and use. The formula is simple; a good sales performance metric is actionable, comparable, and is a rate or a ratio. That means you can use it to improve and measure progress by comparison. 4. Schedule a Weekly Forecasting Meeting It’s important to meet with your sales team regularly to make sure you’re both on track with your goals and to gather any insight into what’s coming in in the following weeks. At the same time, pay close attention to any red flags that come out and can dramatically deviate your final numbers from the original forecast. Your weekly meetings are crucial, as they help you identify issues before they become larger concerns, and they encourage your team to brainstorm ideas that can lead to improvements. Plus, they’re just a great way to get your teams aligned. 5. Manage Your Forecast Killers Creating an accurate forecast isn’t just about collecting and interpreting data. It’s also about finding the red flags and taking them out before they have any measurable effect. Some red flags include deals that have been in the pipeline for a long time and are experiencing stagnation or ones that missed their close dates multiple times. Since time kills sales, these are unlikely to progress, so identifying these red flags will allow you to be better prepared for future ones. Big deals should be flagged too. Since they have a more significant impact on your final figures, you don’t want to rely on them to make up most of your forecast. Calling them out will help you get a bigger picture of what other deals you should be focusing on to help close the gap. Other red flags include: Late forecasted closing dates, as these deals are likely to slip Lack of activity on a deal. The more dormant a deal is, the harder it is to revive it. Lead source. Look at where certain leads are coming from and if they’re a high-quality lead source or not. Buyer’s job title and if it indicates decision-maker status. Once you consider these red flags, your forecast should be a lot more predictable. Arm your sales strategy with a forecast that is both achievable and ambitious. You want to make sure you can hit your goals and create a healthy stride, but also continue to move forward and improve your numbers month over month.
8 Ways to Provide Your Clients With More Value Posted on April 29, 2020November 14, 2022 by Katie Culp No one likes client turnover. You want to keep your clients happy because happy clients mean a steady income. And to keep them happy, you need to ensure that you’re providing them with plenty of value in both the short and the long-term. Customer loyalty and retention are often at the heart of a successful business. A mere five percent increase in customer retention can lead to a 25 percent increase in profit. A retention strategy adds value a lot faster and more efficiently than one focused on bringing in new clients. And as we all know, very happy customers and very unhappy customers are the ones who are most likely to share their experience with others. So it’s definitely to your advantage to ensure there are more of the former than the latter. You know that providing more value is essential, but do you know how to ensure you’re doing it? Here are eight tips to follow that will help you keep your clients happy and keep your client retention strong. 1. Don’t Make a Promise You Can’t Keep This rule is pretty standard for providing stellar client service. To provide value, you need to meet your clients’ expectations, and then some. It’s important to always deliver on what you say you will since this helps strengthen the bonds of client-business relationships and ensures your clients know they’re important to you. Plus, it shows them that you’re not a liar, which is always good. If you’re worried about setting expectations too high and not being able to get the job done, give yourself some buffer time by adding a day or two to the turnaround date. This will provide you and your team the ability to focus on delivering solid work without being under a time crunch, and it will impress your clients when you complete the project earlier than they expected. Trust me; it’s easier to send a client something sooner than expected than it is to ask for an additional day or two. 2. Create Custom Bundles A client is like a snowflake: each one is unique. It’s extremely rare to service clients that have the same goals, objectives, business plans, and needs. In fact, I’d say it’s near impossible. So, it isn’t great logic to assume that your clients will find a one-size-fits-all solution applicable to their specific needs. Don’t force your client into a plan that doesn’t work for them. Instead, make sure you do your research to understand their industry and ask them plenty of brand discovery questions that unveil their pain points, audience, their selling points to their clients, and so on. Then, put that information to use by creating tailored services that provide them with precisely what they need to succeed. Doing so will only show them how valuable your organization is. 3. Send Gifts There’s a lot of value in making someone’s day. Send treats like a personalized note and a gift card on your client’s birthday, or some surprise company swag just to thank them for their business. Sending gifts is a great way to impress your clients and let them know they matter, and to keep your business top of mind. Don’t be afraid to get creative either; a pizza party or even a singing telegram are totally unexpected — and totally memorable. 4. Create Content Just For Them You talk to your clients almost every day. You get to know them pretty well, and that includes knowing their issues and complaints along with their praises. Often, a client will let you know when they don’t know something about your company or your product. While it may not always be a pleasant conversation, there are things you can do to turn it into a great experience for them. If a client expresses an issue or question that you think is pretty unique or important, use it to inspire some content ideas. Share the question or concern with your marketing team (they’ll thank you for aiding in their brainstorming process), so they can create a blog post based on the idea. Once the article is live, share it with your client, letting her know she was the reason you made it. This shows that you are an active listener when it comes to getting her needs met and that you value her opinion and insight. 5. Partner in Other Ways Maybe your client could become a valuable webinar partner. Or maybe you think they have some great things to say and would like them to contribute to your blog. Think of different ways you can partner up with a focus on finding opportunities that are as beneficial for them as they are for you. For example, if they write a post for your blog, let them share a link back to their own content in the post so they can get some additional traffic back to their site. 6. Use a CRM A CRM will help you get to know your clients better so you can better meet their needs. This includes pulling their social data, website behavior, and content preferences and then using that information to target them with outreach they can make use of. It’s personalized content at its best, and a more effective value driver than sending over a bunch of stuff they don’t want or need. 7. Have Regular Check-Ins Whether it’s by phone, over webcam, or in person, you should be checking in with your clients regularly to ensure their needs are being met. Make sure they feel like they can offer candid feedback since the more open the dialogue, the more you’ll be able to continue improving your service. Also, use this time as a way to give them a status report on various deliverables that are pending, or to request anything you may need from them. It’s also just a great excuse to touch base and keep your relationship strong. 8. Refer Business Providing leads to your client can be a valuable gift that keeps on giving. If one of your clients has expressed needing help in an area that another one of your clients specializes in, refer them! It’s a show of good faith, and will never go unappreciated. If you’re willing to try and throw some business their way, they’ll definitely remember the sentiment and possibly even return it. Follow the tips above for happier, more stable client relationships. While taking actionable steps toward providing your client with as much value as possible seems like a no brainer, many companies fail to rise to the challenge. Do it right, and you won’t just impress your customers — you’ll also soar past your competition.
Detailed Guide on YouTube Video SEO: How to Rank Your Videos on Google Posted on April 28, 2020December 8, 2022 by Guest Author Back in 2005, there was a single video uploaded on YouTube. This video was titled “Me at the zoo” and shot by Jawed Karim – co-founder of Youtube. It has been viewed over 85 million times as of February 2020. Nowadays, YouTube is the second largest search platform after Google. More and more people upload their videos, create channels, and earn solid money using this video resource, proving that leveraging YouTube videos for your company can have some major benefits. Nevertheless, there is still one burning question. “How do you rank YouTube videos on Google?” Let’s find the answer to this question with help from this guide! YouTube as a Powerful Business Platform The modern business era is dynamic and quite competitive. It dictates its own rules on how you should run your business and stay on your audience’s radar. And with such a saturated market, it is especially hard for small businesses to meet the competition. Why? Because there are common problems that small businesses face, which are unique and trying. They have to focus on hiring the right professionals to create a team, product development, spreading brand awareness, finding potential customers, etc. These obstacles make it incredibly hard for them to succeed past the first few years. Even if they gain their footing and solidify it with a base of loyal customers, they’re not totally out of the woods. As you can see, small businesses have their hands full. Luckily, there are tools like Google and Youtube that can aid their efforts of putting their product or service in front of potential customers, which is arguably their biggest struggle. Here are a few core benefits of using YouTube to market your small business: Videos are great at inspiring people to take action. You can utilize YouTube ads to reach an even bigger audience. After watching a video, users are more likely to buy a product online. YouTube will expose you to a huge audience. You can repurpose YouTube videos into written content, infographics, white papers, or webinars. It’s another way to drive traffic back to your site. It will help people find your business when searching online Understand the Basics of YouTube’s Search Engine Algorithm Before we start digging into how to rank your YouTube videos on Google, we must understand the basics of how YouTube’s search engine algorithm works. The YouTube Creator Academy says: “Like Google’s search engine, search on YouTube strives to surface the most relevant results according to keyword queries. Videos are ranked based on a variety of factors including how well the title, description, and video content match the viewer’s query. Beyond that, we look at which videos have driven the most engagement for a query.“ The driver for drawing attention to your video is effectively matching search intent. In other words, you must optimize your video by researching keywords that would align with what your audience is searching on YouTube and using them when uploading your video. Also, note that it is critically important to drive more engagement to your video content. The more views your video has, the more advertisements are shown, and the more money you will get in return. This engagement is measured with a few metrics like average watch time, click-through-rate, likes (or dislikes), and comments. If these metrics have a low level of performance, it will affect your ability to rank well on YouTube. Consequently, you can forget about your videos ranking on Google as well. Now, let’s discuss the steps you should take to get your YouTube content to rank on Google. 1. Identify Traffic Potential for Your Video Content Topics You might be surprised, but some videos on YouTube with millions of views have no keywords to rank for on Google. For example, the video, “Top Smartest People Ever” has 1,832,096 views: But it has not one organic keyword to rank for on Google: How does this happen? It happens because nobody searches for this video on Google, and the topic of the video doesn’t have intent. People prefer to watch a video that covers the subject instead of reading about it. To avoid this issue, you should always identify the topics that would align with a “video intent” and Google’s search queries. Let me show you how this works by using the search query, “how to tune a guitar.” Google always tries to provide users with the information they need, and in many cases, video content is the best option. However, how do you find those topics with “video intent?” You can do this with the help of the Content Explorer tool and the following formula: site:youtube.com inurl:watch title:topic Sort the results by using the “Organic traffic” filter and pay attention to those videos that have the highest traffic value. Now let’s talk about how to optimize your video content properly. 2. Create and Optimize Your Video Optimizing your content is an important step in any content creation process. Content that is optimized makes your website’s pages more attractive to search engines and users, and it elevates the overall quality of your content. The same applies to video content. The hard fact is that people’s tastes differ. It’s hard to know how to create a video that most people would like. A good rule of thumb is to try and get your videos to rank under the “suggested clips” feature: To get your video featured under “suggested clips” on Google, you must write down each step in your video. For instance, if your video is about how to change the strings on an acoustic guitar, you should explain and list out all the steps you cover in the video. Don’t use unnecessary words, if possible, as that will delude Google’s algorithms. Once that step is completed, double check your video’s audio to ensure there’s no background noise, and everything can be heard clearly. 3. Pay Attention to Closed Captions in Your Video Have you ever noticed grammatical errors when you’re reading closed captions (CC) on some YouTube videos? YouTube ads closed captions to videos, but they are not always correct, which is why you should revise their suggestions where necessary. Benefits of doing so include: Allowing people who are watching your video in a noisy or crowded place to understand what you’re talking about. When the sound is off, closed captions clearly indicate what the video is about, which leads to increased video engagement and positive ranking on search engine results pages. Closed captions help Google understand your video as well. And when Google understands your video, it aids in ranking it appropriately. 4. Use Enticing Thumbnails When it comes to creating a video thumbnail, you should try to make it engaging, especially if you want to get clicks from Google. To make sure your video thumbnails are on-the-mark, remember these five rules: Create a custom thumbnail that will attract viewers. Follow the correct aspect ratio. Google displays thumbnails in the 16:9 format. Apply contextual images. Don’t use bland colors. Stick to bright, eye-catching colors. Add descriptive text for video thumbnails. 5. Use Timestamps and Labels Correctly Google can show “key moments” of YouTube videos in search results, which allow viewers to easily scan a video to determine if it has the content they’re looking for or not. What’s more, Google Search enables these clips based on YouTube video descriptions. So, to get the video’s “key moments” shown, you must mark the important parts of your video in the YouTube description. Hence, you must use “labels” and “timestamps.” Here is an example of how it should be done: To make sure that your labels and timestamps are added properly, you should consider the following suggestions: Timestamps should be placed in the video description, but not in the comment section. Timestamps and labels must be placed in the same new line. Keep each label short and descriptive. Follow the timestamps chronology. Labels must be around 40 characters, maximum. Don’t overdo with the timestamps. Google won’t show a large number of them. On-screen content must reflect what each timestamp says. 6. Practical Tips for Getting More Traffic with Video Content Now it is time to talk about YouTube SEO specifically and how you can get more traffic from Google with the help of your YouTube video content. There are two pieces of advice to consider: Don’t shy away from adding the embed code for videos on ranking pages. If you click on the “Videos” tab in Google search, you will see that there are two types of results: Relevant YouTube videos Pages from the organic results with video embeds If someone clicks on the second result in a “videos” tab, it will redirect to the website, not the YouTube channel. To find the pages that are the best place to embed your video, use Google Search Console, and figure out what pages drive more traffic: Then embed a topic-related video on this page for optimal results. Use schema markup. Doing so allows your content to be displayed as a video-rich result. However, if the video is hosted directly on YouTube, Google will show a video-rich result even if there is no VideoObject schema markup applied. The post below contains an embedded YouTube video: If you check the URL with Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool, you will see that there is no VideoObject schema markup being used: For those website owners who use WordPress, the best way to add VideoObject markup is to apply the free Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP plugin. Optimizing YouTube video content may not be the most straightforward strategy out there. It requires time and technical knowledge to get it right. Nevertheless, if you create video material that your audience will love and do your part to help Google understand your video content, you’ll succeed every time. Author Bio Sergey Aliokhin is a marketing specialist who works with various different projects. Currently, he works on marketing for Bannersnack. In his spare time, he likes to study martial arts, play the bass guitar, and read.
Inbound Marketing 101: Part Three – The Tools You Need Posted on April 23, 2020December 15, 2022 by Jessica Lunk In part one of this series, we covered what inbound marketing is, but let’s reiterate it for the listeners in the back. In a nutshell, inbound marketing allows you to create a pathway that attracts visitors to your website, converts them to prospects, and nurture them with personalized content until they eventually are ready to buy. In part two of our series, we outlined specific ways you can implement inbound marketing tactics for optimal success. But what’s crucial to understand is that your implementation tactics will no doubt require some essential tools. Your inbound marketing strategy will demand a social media calendar, digital advertising, an SEO strategy, and consistent content creation, just to name a few. You can only be successful, though, if you can measure and manage your results to see where you’re hitting your goals and where you need to make adjustments. By using the right combination of technology and tools, you can provide your marketing team with everything they need to be effective at inbound marketing. Let’s dig into the various areas within your strategy that you’ll need some additional help, and call out some of the tools that you can try. Website Building If you don’t want to (or simply can’t afford to) pay a professional top dollar, you have the option to create your own website using one of many different site builder programs available. If you’re a complete amateur and have no experience, go for one of the drag-and-drop sites like SquareSpace or Wix. If you can click a mouse, you can create a professional-looking website. These kinds of platforms are built to allow beginners to create something they can be proud of, and they’re so simple you can have a basic website up and running in a weekend. If you’ve got a bit of experience online, building your own site with WordPress gives you a wide array of options for how your site will look, feel, and work. The basic templates are pretty standard, but you can buy premium ones with a sleeker feel, plus you can choose between thousands of WordPress plugins to do small specialized tasks, such as create a shopping cart or allow an image carousel. Image Creation Social media posts, memes, website design elements, and blog pages all need appropriate images to help with SEO and to attract and engage viewers. Most business owners aren’t graphic designers, so online sites and downloadable programs are a world of help. Here are some image creation tools to get familiar with. Canva One of the most user-friendly sites for inbound marketing campaigns is Canva. It’s drag-and-drop, they have templates set up for Facebook posts, tweets, Pinterest posts, and other social media offerings, and almost all of the site is free to use. They do offer some premium content, but since the site allows you to upload your own graphics, you can create the images you like without any extra costs. Infogram If you’ve got dull and boring numbers, you need to incorporate into your content, use Infogram to turn them into eye-catching images. You can use this site to create infographics, charts, maps, and reports of all kinds. Crello Create social media posts, including animated vector images, with Crello. They offer 25,000 templates for all social media, marketing, and blogging formats, so your imagination can soar for days on this site. With its huge library of photos and images, you can use Crello for months and never create the same image twice. Social Media Posting Social media can enhance your inbound marketing efforts by driving new leads to your website and content. But, it’s crucial to first nail down a posting schedule that makes sense based on where your audience is, and how often you should be posting. Most social media accounts do best if you post on them at least once a day, as doing so tells people that you’re interested and engaged in your subject matter, and you’re a leader in the space with a lot to say. Having a social media posting schedule helps you plan out your posting in advance, so you can post at optimal times of the day yet still save a ton of time. Having a social media tool that allows you to load a number of premade posts or tweets and schedule them to be posted at a later date and time is an absolute must for your inbound marketing strategy. Here are some social media tools that can help you: Hootsuite Hootsuite has the ability to post on a variety of social media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Hootsuite also allows you to track conversions and separate the ROI between owned and paid media. Buffer At Hatchbuck, we love Buffer. You can select the exact times that you’d like to create posts each day and for each platform of your choice. You also get a calendar view that shows you a more holistic view of your posting schedule. What’s more, they show you which of your posts received the most clicks so you can “re-buffer” and share out the higher-performing social posts again. Tweetdeck If Twitter is your social media platform of choice, give Tweetdeck a try. This free program allows you to schedule tweets across multiple accounts. Use it to track your account’s activity in real-time, add images and GIFs to your messages, and keep track of your brand’s likes and follows. Tailwind Tailwind focuses on helping businesses with their visual marketing. If your inbound marketing campaign includes Instagram or Pinterest, this is where you should be scheduling your posts. Tailwind will recommend the best times for you to post your images according to when your audience is most active, as well as a drag-and-drop function for creating graphics. Marketing Automation Don’t forget the most important task for your inbound marketing strategy: marketing automation. If you want to nurture your leads effectively, automate tasks, have reminders set for you, more fully understand your leads, and create personalized drip campaigns, marketing automation is an absolute must. The right marketing automation software provides you with details on your leads’ site behavior, where they are in the funnel, and what they’re looking for from your company. This allows you to send them personalized nurture that they’ll find useful, and gradually ease them through the funnel till they’re ready to buy. There are some great marketing automation tools out there, but it’s important for you to do your research and establish your needs before making a selection. You don’t want to be paying for features you don’t need or get locked into a program that underdelivers. If you’d like to know more about our software and how it can help you achieve your marketing goals, set up a demo of our software today. Endless Variations Inbound marketing can take over your to-do calendar very quickly if you don’t tame it right from the start. Like with any new tech area, it’s best to find one piece that answers your most important need and master it before moving on to others. It can be easy to fall into shiny object syndrome, downloading dozens of new programs, but this can end up costing you time instead of saving it. Like your inbound marketing campaign itself, creating a system of automation works best if you do it one step at a time.
Use a Marketing Automation Tool That Gives You Freedom Posted on April 22, 2020January 7, 2021 by Natalie Slyman Do you know what no one likes? Feeling like they are out of options. Whether you’re looking for a great pair of jeans, where to get a delicious meal, or how you manage your content, having options, and the ability to choose for yourself is invaluable. And when options are no longer on the table, it can feel quite discouraging. Ultimately any decision at that point is being forced on you, and that not only erodes your confidence, but it leaves a pretty bad taste in your mouth. That’s why using a marketing automation software that works with other content management systems is the best option for small businesses. Sure there are advantages to publishing your content on a dual content management and marketing automation platform. But does not having two browsers open really outweigh the crazy additional costs? Wouldn’t you rather utilize a marketing automation tool that works seamlessly with whatever content management software you’re already using and satisfied with? BenchmarkONE is that tool. Let’s break down why having a marketing automation tool that gives you the freedom to use whatever content management system you want is more beneficial for your business. 1. Scalability Use a platform that plays nice with your other platforms in the sandbox. We understand that there are different marketing-related platforms out there, be it for social media, content management, customer management, etc. etc. etc. Building your marketing stack requires a lot of strategy and determination around your needs, and to lock your business into one single platform that may not even grow with you down the line seems like a huge gamble. We designed BenchmarkONE specifically so it could work in conjunction with other software out there, including free content management tools like WordPress. This allows our users to stick with the platforms they’re used to working with, without missing out on all the great, cost-effective features our software offers them. Which leads me to my second point. 2. Low Costs Raise your hand if you signed up for your marketing automation platform with the expectation that you’d be locked into other expensive add-ons. I didn’t think so. Running a well-functioning marketing strategy comes with enough costs. The last thing you need is one of your enabling tools to add fuel to that fire by requiring you to use their additional functionalities at higher price points. What we offer is simple: tailored marketing automation and CRM software that won’t give you a ton of features you don’t need at costs you can’t afford. And we promise we’ll never make you use something just because we offer it. 3. Complete Control We’re all grown adults. We know what’s best for our companies, ourselves, and our marketing plans. We should be able to decide which features we want included in our marketing automation package, and we shouldn’t have to pay extra for features we don’t need. Having complete control over what you need and what you receive is what makes all the difference in achieving your business goals. When that choice is taken away from us, things can get messy, and benchmarks can be missed. Next thing you know, you’ve lost control of your entire strategy, and you have nothing to show for your efforts. The bottom line is that you need convenience and a say in what is best for your company and the way you create content. Avoid a bait and switch situation by looking at marketing automation options that give you the freedom to decide how you go about creating your content. Doing so will keep you in the driver’s seat of your strategy and ensure your goals stay aligned.
8 Important Image SEO Tips for Digital Marketers Posted on April 21, 2020December 1, 2022 by Guest Author It’s not uncommon for digital marketers and SEO experts to get caught up with how their content is performing in search results. I mean, who would blame them? It’s a key component of their jobs. However, to create more well-rounded and compelling content, marketers need to spend time thinking about how to optimize their images for search results. “Alright, but Devin, content is king.” I understand that, but let’s not forget that images can be just as valuable to an audience as written content–and in some cases, more valuable. Did you know that 26 percent of all searches today are conducted on Google Images? That’s more searches than YouTube, Yahoo, Bing, and every other search engine combined. Content that contains visual elements like images or videos receives up to 94 percent more views than text-only content. The proof is in the data, which means it’s time to tackle image SEO with some fervor. Here are eight important image SEO tips that can help you rank higher in search results, capture organic traffic, and increase the overall quality of your content. 1. Design Compelling, Original Images One of the most important tips I can provide is to design compelling, original images that are able to capture the attention of your audience and search audiences. Yes, this tip is less related to SEO and more focused on design, but let me explain. To quote Google: “To boost your content’s visibility in Google Images, focus on the user by providing a great user experience. Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.” Original branded images that are able to visualize ideas/processes can be highly engaging and stand out from the crowd in Google’s image results–leading to a higher click-through rate (CTR), a metric that Google uses when testing the ranking of its search results. You’re also not feeding search users the same stock photo that’s been seen in thousands of other blogs, nor are you reusing and sourcing other blog images. Don’t just write for the user experience, design for it as well. And if you absolutely must use stock photos because graphic design isn’t in your budget, then you should check out the best stock photo websites with a variety of inexpensive and royalty-free images to choose from. 2. Make Sure Images Are Mobile-Friendly Google is all-in on mobile and has even announced that it will make mobile-first indexing its default by September 2020. This means that if your web content is not mobile-friendly, you could see some hits in traffic. On the subject of user experience and user-friendliness, make sure that you’re designing images with mobile users in mind. Here’s an example of what this looks like using one of our G2 articles: If you’re struggling to decipher an image on mobile, then it’s time to make some design tweaks so that it fits both desktop and mobile standards. Tip: Most major content management systems today have options to preview articles on any device before publishing. Make sure you use this feature to preview how your images will look on mobile devices. 3. Avoid Text-Heavy Images Another tip when designing images for articles is to avoid littering them with text. Of course, some text is alright, but if you find yourself writing a paragraph within an image, then it’s time to hit the drawing board for a redesign. Google has world-class character recognition software to recognize text within images, but they still advise against it. From their Webmaster blog: “To ensure maximum accessibility of your content, keep text in HTML, provide alt text for images.” Not only do text-heavy images provide a poor mobile experience, but page translation tools cannot read them. So, keep the important text in HTML and save the text-heavy images for infographics. 4. Use High-Quality Images There are fewer things that negatively impact user experience than low-quality, pixelated images, which is why you’ll want to avoid publishing them at all costs. In a study on e-commerce sites, 63 percent of respondents said the quality of images was more important to them than product-specific information. Quality isn’t just referring to an image’s clarity and resolution, but its relevance as well. Is the image you’re providing actually needed? Is it embedded in the right spot? Does it provide valuable context to the site visitor? These are questions you need to consider before publishing images. 5. Compress Large Images The duality of high-quality images is that they’re great for the user experience, but sometimes come with hefty file sizes. This is concerning, especially since page loading speed is one of the known search ranking factors. The math is simple: The more “stuff” a webpage has to load, the longer it’ll take for the visitor to receive their content. With every passing second, the probability of that visitor exiting your site increases. So, how do you ensure high-quality images aren’t weighing down your webpages? Simply compress them using a number of free file compressors on the web. You’ll be able to retain most of the quality while drastically reducing its size. 6. Write an Adequate File Name Google extracts information from a webpage like headers and body text so it can learn more about the contents of an image. This helps Google understand whether or not an image is relevant to its users. Part of the information that is extracted in this process includes the file name of images. Digital marketers should write file names directly after they create them or edit them before publishing an article. Below are examples of bad, good, and best ways to name your image files: Bad: IMG008956.jpg Good: SEO-tips.jpg Best: 10-SEO-tips-for-digital-marketers.jpg Be sure to use relevant target keywords in your file names and be descriptive, but be wary of keyword stuffing. This could have a negative impact on your image SEO. 7. Write Descriptive Alt-Text After writing an adequate file name and embedding the image in your content management system, you should also look to add some alt-text. Providing alt-text is a signal for search engines when crawling your webpage, but it’s also important for making your content more accessible to sight-impaired search users. Because of this purpose, you should write descriptive alt-text similar to the image’s file name, but try to limit it to a sentence or less. 8. Use Structured Data When Necessary If you run an e-commerce website or host a variety of products, then factoring in structured data with your images can be a game-changer. Structured data is basically markup language that displays your images as rich results. In other words, structured data provides more context to search users about what your product is, its price, how other users rate it, and more. Below is an example of structured data for the Nutribullet blender: Structured data is most commonly used for products, videos, and recipes on the web. You can read more about how to apply structured data in Google’s developer blog. Wrapping up Some digital marketers look at image optimization through such a hyper-focused SEO lens that they forget to actually design for the user experience. Whether you’re selling a product or looking to boost your blog content, user experience needs to be front of mind. Yes, the technical aspects of image SEO like sitemaps, responsive designs, and lazy loading are important, but if the image itself isn’t intriguing and relevant to the user, then no amount of optimization will help. Author Bio Devin is a Senior Content Marketing Specialist at G2 writing about analytics, SEO, and digital marketing. Prior to G2, he helped scale early-stage startups out of Chicago’s booming tech scene. Outside of work, he enjoys watching his beloved Cubs, playing baseball, and gaming.
Big Changes Coming Soon: Hatchbuck Rebranding to BenchmarkONE Posted on April 20, 2020May 4, 2020 by Jonathan Herrick Hatchbuck is excited to announce that we will be rebranding to BenchmarkONE. Stay tuned for the official announcement in early May. Why the rebrand? Back in September of 2019, Benchmark Email and Hatchbuck merged, creating a new martech powerhouse with email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM capabilities. And while the Hatchbuck brand will always be near and dear to our hearts, we’re ready to tell a more cohesive story with Benchmark at the center. With both the Benchmark Email and BenchmarkONE (formerly Hatchbuck) platforms under a single Benchmark umbrella, we’ll be able to consolidate marketing spend, messaging, and communication to our audience and customer base. And that’s just the beginning. With the power of one brand behind both platforms, we’ve set the stage for developing new powerful features derived from the best of both worlds for our email marketing and CRM customers. Why BenchmarkONE? As we searched for a name that would reflect Hatchbuck as part of the Benchmark brand, we certainly left a lot of names on the cutting room floor (sorry, BenchmarkAMP!). Benchmark CRM was a strong contender, fitting the naming convention of Benchmark Email. However, with marketing automation, email marketing, and landing pages built into the platform, Hatchbuck is more than a CRM, and we wanted the name to reflect that. BenchmarkONE aptly fits the spirit of Hatchbuck – one place to manage sales and marketing, simply. What’s the migration path for Hatchbuck customers? With the rebrand, the only thing that is changing is the brand. When Hatchbuck customers login in, they’ll see a new logo and a freshly updated color palette. The user experience will remain the same – the same tools and the same workflows with a new coat of paint. And the Hatchbuck team? We aren’t going anywhere. The friendly faces you know and love will be there to assist, just with a different company name in their email signature. What’s Next? We don’t plan on taking the summer off, that’s for sure. We have some exciting features on deck that we can’t wait to push out in the coming months. We hope you’re just as eager as we are about this new journey we’re about to embark on, and we hope you’ll come along for the ride, be it as a customer, a valued blog reader, or an industry peer.
Inbound Marketing 101: Part Two – How to Implement It Posted on April 16, 2020November 11, 2022 by Jessica Lunk Inbound marketing may be the most effective way to promote your business, but setting up a campaign can be a daunting task. The sheer mass of content that needs to be created can look like a formidable wall to climb, but it’s actually more like a set of stairs. One reason inbound marketing can seem so overwhelming is that it’s never really finished. It’s an ongoing strategy that keeps going and going. The best way to avoid feeling discouraged is by looking at your marketing in a completely different way. It’s no longer a process with a distinct beginning and end. Instead, think of it as a journey with a succession of milestones along the way. Every time you reach another significant point, you’ll begin to see better results. There will always be more steps in the journey, but that means you can continue increasing your bottom line through inbound marketing. Once you change your perception of inbound marketing and how you plan to identify results, you’re ready to start implementing an inbound marketing strategy for your business. The following are some steps to take to ensure you do so effectively. 1. Know Your Audience Every marketing campaign begins with establishing your ideal customer. In the past, there were general audience outlines that helped steer the direction of campaigns. For example, an ideal customer may have been a mother in her mid-30’s living in a suburb, or a 20-something male just out of college with a sudden influx of disposable income. Inbound marketing campaigns rely on more detailed customer views known as buyer personas. They assign a backstory and face to members of an audience you want to reach, giving you the ability to craft personalized emails in each part of the campaign that speaks to their needs. Here’s an example of a buyer persona: Name: Billy Buyer Occupation: Manager of a midsize restaurant Details: Billy’s been with the same company for ten years. He’s 32 years old, married, and has a 2-year-old daughter with his wife. Their household income is $95,000 a year. They own their own home and have two cars. Billy isn’t impulsive. He researches online before buying and often takes weeks to comparison shop for large purchases. To get as much information as possible on and find your ideal customers, do some research. Look and see who your competitors are speaking to and ask yourself, in a perfect world, who would be buying your product. Once you know the buyer personas of most of your customer base, you can create content that speaks to them. 2. Create Your Website The decision to create your website versus hiring someone to do it for you is often a financial one. Either way, having a website is a must, especially one that is structured for content marketing, which is the fuel for your inbound marketing efforts. Your website is the hub around which all your inbound marketing will spin. Be strategic when it comes to what you put on your site, and at the very least, include: An informative and consistently updated blog The ability for visitors to download more valuable content, such as whitepapers, guides, and ebooks A homepage that explains what your company is and does, and has a clear call-to-action Designated landing pages for each piece of downloadable content, complete with a form that asks for visitor information in exchange for that content SEO tactics based on keywords your audience uses to search for information relating to your industry Creating your website is likely to be the most complicated part of this entire process, but it’s crucial that you get it right before moving on to the next steps. Having a way to capture the information of on-site visitors will enable you to send them personalized content and email nurture, and essentially move them through the funnel till they’re ready to buy. 3. Begin Writing Your Blog Ideally, your blog will appeal to your buyer personas, filling a need they have and offering value. This is easier in some industries than others, but every business has something to offer potential customers. Create a blog around topics that answer questions your audience asks in their customer journey, and make each blog post stellar so that each helps people every time. If you’re a carpenter, do a series of DIY posts. If you sell widgets, do a blog on different ways widgets help people or creative ways people are using widgets. Don’t be afraid to pull back the curtain a bit and share your expertise. It’s the best way to show your audience that you’re knowledgeable and can help them. Consistency is key. If your blog regularly publishes content, readers will begin to rely on it. But if you miss a post, you risk breaking their trust. You don’t have to post daily, but set a schedule and stick to it, no matter what. Build a content marketing team so that they can manage and stick to your editorial calendar. 4. Be Active On Social Media When it comes to social media, the scattershot approach never works as well as a concentrated game plan. Create a social media calendar that helps you determine a consistent posting schedule and stay in touch with your followers and audience. Determine how often you should be posting on each platform, and prioritize the platforms that you know your audience is active on. It sounds like a lot of effort, but there are ways to manage your social media without overloading your schedule. Every social media outlet has an average user. Your buyers will tell you where you should hang out. No matter what venue you choose, follow some simple rules: Publish often, using the ideal frequency for your social media outlet. Use visual content as much as possible. Add those attractive, funny, or engaging pictures. Share your blog posts, which invites your followers to click through to your website, read them, and get added to your inbound funnel. Answer questions and make comments. Engaging with your audience is key to building relationships. 5. Create Long-Form Content Long-form content, like whitepapers or ebooks, is very important for your inbound marketing strategy. It gives customers a sense of your knowledge and expertise in your industry, and it provides them with a valuable resource they can use. I mentioned earlier creating landing pages that include website forms for this type of content. By gating your long-form content, you’re asking for visitors to enroll in your inbound marketing. You’re obtaining their name and email address (and more, if you want) so you can get an idea of who they are and send them more personalized content. 6. Use a CRM and Marketing Automation Tool There are various marketing automation tools out there for you to review as viable options, but using one is an absolute must. These tools help you get a better idea of where your prospects are in their buyer’s journey so you can send them personalized content that actually corresponds with their needs. However, I’ll get more in-depth on marketing automation and other inbound marketing tools in part three. Stay tuned! 7. Nurture Your Leads Once people come to your website, you can use lead nurturing to gently push them toward a purchase. This process uses their information, like job title, industry, region, and website activity, to drill down their interests and needs so you can better serve them. Through informational newsletters or email drip campaigns, you can create an even deeper sense of belonging and loyalty between your customers and your company. You’re the one they look to for advice, and now you’re providing them with free help in their inboxes. The key here, like in all inbound marketing, is to emphasize connection and information and to downplay any selling. With this long-tail strategy, you’re able to keep your prospects informed and stay top-of-mind so that when they’re ready to buy, your company is the one they think of. It can take a little bit of effort to implement an inbound marketing plan into your existing structure, but the results are totally worth it. Stay tuned for part three, where I’ll outline the various tools you’ll need to help pull it all off.
Tips for Working From Home With Kids Posted on April 15, 2020May 11, 2020 by Natalie Slyman COVID-19 has a lot of us doing things we usually wouldn’t do. It has businesses laying off tons of people, companies scaling back on marketing and sales strategies, and networking events are getting canceled. Restaurants and small businesses are having to rely on other measures to keep revenue coming in, and all of us are trying to do whatever we can to lend a helping hand to ensure the repercussions of this pandemic aren’t as drastic as they could be. While extremely fortunate to be employed and have the option to work from home, some parents are struggling as they find themselves juggling numerous full-time jobs at once: teacher, parent, and their actual paying jobs. While there are tons of resources out there on tools to help teams work remotely, how to schedule remote meetings, and how to help small businesses, there isn’t a set strategy or game plan for parents working from home with their kids present. A lot of us at BenchmarkONE are working through this exact situation. So, I thought I’d ask a few of our parents how they’re coping and dealing with this current predicament, as well as any tips they could offer up for other parents working from home. Designate Time to Get Organized and Prep “Getting organized on Sunday evening is very important so Monday we can hit the ground running. I like to make sure I have their lesson plans ready, and anything printed that they need, and all supplies gathered. That way, we waste no time getting stuff done and can knock out school work quickly. I also use this time to plan meals and create a menu that I’m able to pick from quickly without much thought. It saves on time and brainpower through the week.” Erin Posey, Dir. of Customer Success “Take an hour or two over the weekend to meal prep easy breakfast, lunch, and dinner items throughout the week. This will put less stress on you while trying to juggle two full-time jobs.” Erin Mueller, Customer Champion Ask for Help “Working from home with an 18-month-old is no easy task. I often put a lot of pressure on myself to do everything on my own and learned really quickly during quarantine that I needed to set realistic expectations. I can not and should not do everything on my own. Now is the perfect time to ask for help to reduce burn-out. While reducing interaction with our family and friends, I have a couple of reliable family members that can watch the baby while I take a meeting, shower, or even take a walk for some fresh air and quiet time. This time has given me the ability to refresh and reset, so I am better able to handle the often long days of being a stay-at-home mom + working.” Lindsey Stroud, Sr. Customer Success Manager Know That Things Won’t Be Perfect “It’s easy as a parent to put a lot of pressure on yourself. Trying to juggle two full-time jobs while keeping everyone fed, happy, and rested isn’t as easy. Let the housework go, let the baby cry a bit, and take a break for some quiet time when you can. Response times and resolutions may be a little delayed, and that’s okay. We’re all in this together!” Erin Mueller, Customer Champion Be Realistic “I’ve learned that while the school stuff is important, my house isn’t their school. I want some learning to happen, but to expect the same level of structure and learning to happen just isn’t realistic. We’ll accomplish what we can and be happy with that.” Pat Hawn, Sr. Sales Rep Be Flexible “If everyone needs a day off or a pajama day, allow it. Give them treats and find ways to say yes throughout the day. I also allow flexibility for myself. Working before they wake up and after they go to bed are ideal times because, well, peace and quiet. However, don’t burn yourself out and try to do it no more than two to three days a week.” Erin Posey, Dir. of Customer Success Enjoy This Time With Your Family “My husband and I are going into our 4th week of working from home with a three-year-old, and we are still trying to figure it all out. We implemented a chalkboard to keep track of each other’s daily meetings and have gotten some ideas from educational cartoons, like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Sid the Science Kid. We’ve scheduled some rug time each day to do letters, numbers, read a book, sing a song, be curious, and get up and move. Also, taking a deep breath and remembering to save time for yourself is important. We will eventually go back to our routines, and I just want to know that I had one accomplishment from this time and that I can say that as a family, we remained healthy and have learned to listen and enjoy each other more.” Lori Naeger, Dir. of Client Care Practice Self Care “Be kind to yourself during this time. A lot is being asked of you, and perfection is not attainable. Your sanity and your kids’ happiness is more important than anything at this moment. Take time to read a book, take a walk, take a nap, or just soak in a bath. However you’re able to squeeze in a little “me” time, do it. The dishes and laundry can wait – take the walk or watch the show. You won’t regret recharging your battery. Also, go outside! The nice weather has been amazing. Your kids can read and do school work outside, and you can eat lunch outside too. Any opportunity to incorporate the outdoors into the day is a win. Fresh air is good for your brain and vitamin D levels.” Erin Posey, Dir. of Customer Success Educational Resources If you’re looking for some more help on how to keep your kids engaged and educated, here are a few resources to dig into: Amazing Educational Resources Scholastic Learn at Home Varsity Tutors Virtual School Day McHarper Manor Daily Arts and Crafts Daily Arts and Crafts Tutorials We hope these tips help you tackle your day-to-day challenges as a parent, employee, and teacher. What everyone is experiencing is unprecedented, but know that you aren’t alone, and there are so many others out there that are doing their best, just like you.