6 Creative Sales Promotions For This Holiday Season Posted on November 8, 2019November 19, 2019 by Tricia O'Donnell When the millionth red-and-green holiday promo makes its way into your inbox, it becomes difficult to think creatively about how your business might create its own. You may feel like you’re better off letting everyone else fight for holiday customers while you focus on your growth plan for next year. But think of it like this: you have a unique opportunity during the holidays to connect with your customers in new ways. Some clients may have some leftover budget and may be ready to spend it if the right offer comes along. And people are naturally focused on giving this time of the year, so you may have fewer hurdles when it comes to landing new clients. You can make a ton of mistakes this holiday season, but don’t let not implementing an effective campaign be one of them. Here are nine ideas to spark your creativity as you plan your holiday sales promotions. New Year’s Resolution Giveaway We all know the value that testimonials add to your sales process. Real, specific recounts of how you’ve helped current clients are the grandfather of all marketing methods. They give you great third party credibility and provide that word-of-mouth recommendation that is undeniably effective. Pair that with the fact that people love the possibility of winning something for free, and you have the formula for a great sales promotion. Reach out to your clients, asking them to provide a quote on how you’ve helped them this past year, and how your product is going to help them meet their 2020 New Year’s resolution. For every client that participates, offer them something in return, like a valuable guide, resource or infographic. Use these testimonials in a social campaign, on your website, or to send to specific leads. Doing so can help boost your credibility and future sales. Free Holiday-Themed Content A great top-of-the-funnel promotion is to provide your leads with a holiday-themed resource. It can be a guide or holiday-themed email templates. Whatever you choose to put together, you want to make sure you do so with the intent to wow them and show off your expertise. For inspiration, think of questions you get most often from leads or focus on content topics that center on the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey. When putting this resource together, have fun with it. Make it engaging and drive the holiday theme home. Use fun images that add color and vibrancy to the piece of content. Also, and this is the most important part, make sure the end goal is to convert leads to prospects. Add a CTA or offer at the end of the resource to a demo of your platform or a free consultation. Word-of-Mouth Advertising As I mentioned earlier, word-of-mouth advertising is one of the best (and oldest) forms of advertising out there. And while we’ve already covered standard referrals, it’s also definitely worth running a promotion around client referrals. A great way to entice customers to participate is by offering a free month of your services (or a free product) if they refer your company to a friend and that friend becomes a customer as well. We’ve found that the strongest clients are those who have gone through a lengthier sales cycle (as they’re more educated on what we do) and those who were referred by a friend. This approach allows you to tap into your client’s network where you can reach other like-minded brands that could benefit from whatever it is you offer. A New Year’s Countdown Free Trial Free trials can be expensive, especially for physical products businesses. But if you have a little extra budget left over at the end of the year, harness the excitement that comes with the New Year by offering your product free for a limited time. The key to keeping costs down? Limit the window of time in which your customers can opt-in, and limit the number of customers who’ll get access. Spend extra time getting your customers buzzing about it right away to spread the word, but don’t offer the freebie until seven days — or even just a few hours — before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Mystery Rebates From Santa We all love receiving gifts during the holiday season. It’s fun to be doted on, of course, but the mystery behind what is under the wrapping paper is where most of the excitement comes from. Sometimes, the thrill of expectation is more fun than the present itself. The same idea can be used when putting together a promotion for your business. Instead of advertising a traditional rebate (like a $50 gift card after your purchase, for example) opt for a mystery rebate within a certain price range. Explain that one lucky customer will get the largest rebate — which will entice customers to take the chance and make a purchase. Use holiday imagery to advertise and make it seem like Santa is the one handing out the rebates. There’s a lot of options you can take to make the messaging fun and on-theme. A Surprise Holiday Offer To encourage more sales during the holiday season, offer a discount on an additional service if customers request a quote or sign up for your platform. Inversely, if your main product or solution is pricey, create an offering that’s significantly less and use it as a marketing tool. An example of this approach would be to offer a free or low-costing webinar right before the holiday (surprise!) and then during that webinar, promote one of your service lines or product packages. This approach is more attractive because you aren’t asking for anything upfront and deterring people immediately with any overwhelming costs. Instead, you’re getting them engaged by way of an informative, surprise holiday offer (webinar), and using that opportunity to build trust with them, making them more inclined to consider taking you up on the real promotion at the end. Have fun with your holiday offers and sales promotions this year. Think outside the box and try using at least one of the ideas mentioned above. They’ll help you increase some sales before (or during) the holidays and add a little bit of fun to your marketing strategy.
How to Manage Social Media Without Overloading Your Schedule Posted on November 7, 2019November 19, 2019 by Natalie Slyman Social media isn’t an option for businesses. To stay relevant and competitive, and connect more with your audience, businesses must be active on social. But being successful at social media marketing takes more than just posting the occasional tweet, image or update. You have to look at certain metrics, like clicks, reshares, likes, and responses for each post to see if they’re actually resonating with your audience. You also need to make sure you’re eyeballing your site traffic to see if social is driving any new site visitors and helping convert them to new leads. But, comparing that data with how many times you’re posting (or should be posting) to see what the sweet spot frequency is can take up a lot of your time. For busy professionals, trying to figure out what frequency gets the most engagement isn’t something that’s at the top of their to-do lists. Thankfully, the folks over at CoSchedule have already done much of the legwork for you by compiling a lot of data around post frequency per social platform. Phew. According to their research, here’s how often you should be posting on each of the main social media platforms every day: Facebook: 1 post per day Instagram: 1-2 posts per day Twitter: 15 Tweets per day Pinterest: 11 pins per day LinkedIn: 1 post per day The problem with this list? Who has time to publish that much?! I see those numbers and almost immediately get overwhelmed. With those kinds of numbers, posting to social media would be your full-time job, and that just isn’t realistic. Here are a few tips for managing your social media activities and still generating results without overloading your already jam-packed schedule. Be Realistic With Your Capacity There are many social media platforms out there, but that doesn’t mean you have to be present on every single one of them. It’s far more effective for you to focus your efforts only on those channels where your target audience is likely to be. A quick way to determine this is to look at your website analytics and see which social platform is generating the most site traffic. Another option that is a bit more involved, would be to look at your audience personas, their ages, location, and other demographics, and then compare that information against the user demographics of certain social platforms for overlap. By only focusing on the social channels your audience is on, you’ll be able to master each of those channels and eventually see more engagement. You’ll also save time by not wasting your efforts where they’re not going to be most beneficial. Focus On Quality Over Quantity While the posting frequency per platform listed provides a guideline, it’s not necessarily set in stone. Your goal should be to share content that is useful to your audience. Maybe 15 tweets a day just doesn’t get your company the type of engagement you’re after, and that’s fine. If those tweets are just hanging out there, without any likes and reshares, then consider reducing the amount of time you’re posting each day. The key is to stick with your adjusted schedule so you can track it long enough to see if those changes improve anything. It’s better to publish one or two highly engaging updates or pieces of content than it is to bombard your audience with pointless information just to make a quota. The same concept can also be applied to fans and followers. Being successful on social media isn’t about how high those numbers climb. It’s about connecting and nurturing relationships with the right people, as those are the type of connections that will ultimately pay off in the long run. Leverage Technology Technology is our friend. Especially since finding the time in your already hectic schedule to post on social media several times a day is almost impossible. Since consistency is key when it comes to successfully marketing on social media, let’s all take a minute to thank our lucky stars that there are tons of tech solutions out there to help us get the job done. Using a social media scheduling tool, like Buffer or Hootsuite, can help you effectively plan out all of your social media posts for the coming days, weeks or even months. Doing so will keep your social channels active, even when you don’t have the time to stay on top of them. What’s more, most of these tech solutions have a way for you to track engagement on your posts as well and can provide you with a comprehensive report on how your social posts are performing week over week. Repurpose and Curate You don’t have to produce all the content for your social publishing needs yourself. Curating relevant material from others is a great way to beef up your content calendar, provide valuable articles and content for your audience to check out, and possibly create valuable business relationships in the process. Another idea is to tap into your audience for some user-generated content to boost engagement and access additional material to publish. If you’re stumped for something to post, go back through the content you’ve already produced to see if there are pieces that could be repurposed. For instance, you could take a white paper and turn it into an infographic, or break down an eBook into several informative blog posts. The possibilities are endless. Being successful at social media doesn’t have to be a major chore. Understanding the optimal frequency of posting on each of your chosen channels and implementing a strategy that incorporates the above tips can help bring your social media marketing to the next level without wasting a single, stressful minute.
5 Ethical Ways to Get More Backlinks Posted on November 6, 2019November 19, 2019 by Allie Wolff Getting high-quality backlinks is very challenging. That’s because a link from another website is like an endorsement, and the higher quality the website, the more difficult it becomes to get that type of recommendation. Yet, backlinks are listed among Google’s eight most important ranking factors, so it’s not something you can afford to ignore. But how do you go about implementing an effective backlink strategy that is legit? The LAST thing you want to do is pay money to have your links included on websites or attempt other not-so-ethical practices. You’ll want to earn your links, which can only happen if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty and be a little creative with your approach. The good news is, you don’t have to have a Ph.D. in search engine optimization to win at this piece of the puzzle. You just have to focus on building thought leadership and pair that approach with some specific strategies. Here are a few above-the-board tactics to get you started and earning high-quality backlinks in no time. Claim Unlinked Mentions This one’s probably the easiest and fastest way to start ramping up your backlinks. All you have to do is find out who’s mentioning your company online. The simplest way to do this is by setting up a Google Alert or using tools like BuzzSumo, Mention or Ahrefs Content Explorer so that you’ll get a notification any time your business is mentioned. When you find a mention that doesn’t link back to your site, reach out to the blogger or website owner and ask them to add your URL. Easy peasy. In these instances, it typically makes sense to have your website homepage be the URL added, however, if something specific is being mentioned, like your company blog, a product, or a specific article, make sure you request a link back to those items directly. That will help drive traffic back to important pages and also contribute to those pages ranking for specific terms in the anchor text. Pair High-Quality On-Site Content With An SEO Strategy When you consistently create high-quality content that addresses your audiences’ needs and offers valuable education, you’re showing the world that you’re someone leading the conversation in your space. Having robust blog content shows your on-site visitors that you’re a valued resource and have a lot of insight on various topic points within your industry. But that’s just half the battle. You need to also make sure you have an SEO strategy so the content you’re creating ranks in search engines. First, create a list of keywords you want your content to rank for. These keywords should be based on phrases or words your audience is using when searching for more information online. Then, make sure you have a blog post designated for each term. These are typically considered pillar posts, or longer-form posts that are in-depth and thorough. Use those keywords within other blog posts and on-site content as anchor text, linking to the designated pillar post. Do so consistently, and you’ll gradually increase the search results for the pillar posts you’re linking to. When those pieces of content continue to climb in search results, you’ll be increasing your online footprint and getting more awareness for your brand. In turn, you’ll increase the chances of your content popping up when other content creators are searching for similar content to link to in their pieces. It’s not a guaranteed method for getting backlinks, but it’s a great way to put your content front and center so that it can be considered more for backlink opportunities. Create Guest-Contributed Articles If you aren’t familiar with guest-contributed articles, basically, they’re articles you write and get published in online publications. While they’re part of a robust content marketing strategy, they aren’t the easiest to achieve. There are publication guidelines to consider, as well as getting the attention and appealing to online editors so that they actually accept your content and publish it. However, getting your content published online is great for your backlinking strategy. When you create this content, while you don’t want to be promotional, you can find opportunities to link to your on-site content within it, as long as that on-site content offers up more valuable information. So, choose one of those valuable pillar blog posts link to link to, using the designated keyword or words tied to it. Once that article is placed, you’ll get that quality backlink back to your blog and contribute to your SEO strategy. Get Mentioned Online You’re awesome at what you do, right? Your product or service is second to none, correct? Then, why not make a concentrated effort to get more brand mentions? Brand mentions are when your brand is included in some “Best of” lists written by other influencers and thought leaders. Because list and comparison posts tend to perform extremely well in the search engines, getting a mention in these types of articles is a great way to reinforce your brand through third-party credibility, get more prospects to consider trying your product or service and, of course, earn more high-quality backlinks. Since these articles perform well, thought leaders and content creators compile them often, which means they’re always looking for high-quality companies to mention. Have your team reach out to these influencers (or facilitate this outreach yourself) and provide them with a quick elevator pitch of your company and product to see if they’d be willing to include you in their next article. Make sure you are willing to offer them something in return, perhaps a link to what they do in one of your articles (if it makes sense) or to share something out for them on your social channels. Leverage Directories Online directories are still relevant! Provided it’s a quality, trusted and high-ranking site, directory listings remain one of the easiest and most impactful ways to increase your backlinks. When we say quality, we’re talking sites like Google My Business, Yahoo and Yelp. That’s not all, either. Here are a few additional resources to help you locate relevant directories for your business: 21 Web Directories That Still Have Value in 2019 The Ultimate List: 57 Online Local Business Directories 1,000+ Niche Citation Sites in 43 Business Categories Make sure you’ve created a profile on these directories and that all the information on them is correct and up to date. When brands and influencers are looking for experts within a certain industry, often they’ll start with directories. From there, they’ll check out the company’s website and online content to make sure they’re active in the space and to vet them further. Being included in these directories is very important because you never know what kind of opportunity can come from it. Getting more backlinks to your website isn’t always easy, but given the results quality links can provide in terms of traffic and SEO ranking, it’s a task that’s well worth your time and effort. The tips above should help you get off to a good start.
4 Proven Ways to Eradicate Burnout Posted on November 5, 2019November 19, 2019 by Jonathan Herrick Experiencing burnout can have extreme repercussions. It can lead to physical and emotional issues and greatly affect your personal life. I’m talking about overall job dissatisfaction, turnover, depression, anxiety, exhaustion, low motivation, and frustration. Doesn’t sound fun, does it? Having that work-life balance is more than just a fad you hear millennials list as a job requirement. It’s a necessary formula for overall happiness and healthiness, yet most business owners consider it a luxury they just cannot afford. Maybe it’s because as business owners, we’re extremely passionate about what we do and it can be hard to see the line between passion and obsession. Or maybe it’s because we’re so busy trying to make sure our business is successful and our employees are happy that we have little time for anything else. Whether you’ve been struggling with these negative feelings, or you’re just trying to avoid becoming another statistic, taking these four action-steps should help you eradicate burnout and make more time for the things that matter most. Take A Break It’s simple. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or just completely depleted, take a break. Some entrepreneurs believe that if they’re not putting in at least 60 hours a week they’re somehow slacking. In reality, this level of chronic overwork is not sustainable and will come back to bite you in the long run. It might actually decrease your productivity and it will most certainly increase the likelihood of making costly mistakes. If you’re feeling tired and worn out, allow yourself to take a step back. Go for a walk, or just step away from your desk for a few minutes. Or, maybe it’s time to take that much-needed vacation. A great way to incorporate more breaks into your routine is to designate some time on your calendar daily or weekly, for at least an hour, to do something unrelated to work. Make sure you set guidelines so that you don’t slowly start slacking on that commitment. Remember Why You Started In the First Place Business owners who realize long-term, sustainable success without burning out have one thing in common: they are truly passionate about what they do. Chances are, even if you now find yourself chasing every money-making idea that comes your way, you didn’t start out that way. You most likely had big ideas and a passionate force driving your ambition. Take some time to remember why you started your business in the first place. Maybe this means actually remembering the first day as a business owner. Or maybe it means looking back at your business proposal, or remembering what big life events were happening when you chose to embark on your business endeavor. It’s important not to lose sight of the original plan and the kind of person you were when you first put your business wheels in motion. This will help you reboot and refocus your time and energy on meaningful ideas that align with your original vision and values. Never Stop Learning Just because you’ve graduated from school and started your own business doesn’t mean you know everything there is to know. Even if you’re an expert in your chosen field, there will almost always be newer and better ways to do things. By adopting an attitude that is open to learning, you’ll spur creativity which will prevent monotony and help you better address any challenges you may face. And learning new skills doesn’t necessarily have to be exclusive to your line of work. Improved creativity can result from learning to cook, play an instrument or even reading poetry. We’re all works in progress and we’ll never, ever achieve perfection. And that shouldn’t be the goal. Instead, focus on continuing to evolve and grow into the kind of business leader you admire. Keep an open mind and look for the learning moments. They can surprise you and humble you, keeping you excited and reengaged. Make Relationships Your Priority Personal relationships can provide a much-needed relief from work-induced stress. In many cases, simply having the opportunity to discuss what’s going on with someone you trust can help relieve stress and prevent burnout. It might even help spark new ideas that will get you out of a mental rut. If you’ve been neglecting the people who matter in your life, it’s time to shift your focus and make more time to nurture those meaningful relationships. By talking with a trusted peer, friend or family member, you’re able to gain a glimpse into their lives and viewpoint. Oftentimes it also helps you understand that you’re not alone, that others are going through their own experiences of burnout as well. Being able to sympathize with, and receive sympathy in return, will give you the perspective you need to look at your situation differently. Long hours and stressful conditions are par for the course when starting and running your own business, but they don’t have to result in complete and utter burnout. By putting the above strategies into action, and introducing them as part of your routine, you can overcome problems, prevent those crippling negative feelings from creeping in and achieve greater balance in your life. Both you and your business will fare better as a result.
5 Types of Video Content People Actually Want to Watch Posted on November 1, 2019November 1, 2021 by Allie Wolff Did you know that 53% of customers engage with a brand after watching one of their videos on social? Video marketing has, without question, become one of the most effective forms of marketing available. It’s easy to digest, it’s engaging and entertaining, and it can quickly provide information to a curious audience of potential buyers. Introducing video into your marketing strategy seems like a no-brainer. But not all videos perform at this high of a level. In order to use video marketing effectively, you have to do it right by making sure you’re creating the kinds of videos your audience actually wants to be viewing. Otherwise, you’ll lose them before you even had them. We’ve done a little digging and uncovered some information that might help you better hone your video marketing strategy. Take a look below for the types of video content you should consider creating: Vlogs Short for video blogs, vlogs are a powerful way to bring a story to life. And for brands, vlogs are a great way to demonstrate your “human” side, which can do wonders for connecting and engaging with your audience. One marketer that does a great job vlogging is Gary Vaynerchuk. In his DailyVee episodes, Gary documents his everyday work life and shares it with his audience. It’s a simple approach that has amassed Vaynerchuk millions of subscribers. The pairing of music with inspiring clips of Gary’s life and the tips that he shares with other entrepreneurs and professionals assist viewers in forming a connection with him. Viewers get a glimpse into what it’s like to be Gary Vaynerchuk, learn about him, why he has the knowledge he’s sharing and ultimately why he’s worth following and looking to for advice. Behind the Scenes Another powerful type of video content that seems to resonate with prospects and customers is video clips that show a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of a company. Nowadays, workplace culture is one of the biggest differentiators for a company, and bringing visitors on a journey into the day-to-day workings of your business is a great way to showcase your unique culture. Not only could it win you more customers, but you might also find some great employees to join your team as well. Pulling back the curtain and showing what it’s like behind the scenes of your business does more than just showcase your culture to prospective new hires. It can also show your clients and potential clients how your team delivers your company’s product or services to those you work with. These videos take the guesswork out of what your company does and how your team is the most qualified to provide that service. Plus, they can be pretty interesting to watch. Take, for example, the iconic Mr. Roger’s episode where he showed us how crayons were made. For most of us who grow up watching that show, that’s one episode we’ll never forget, and mostly because we learned something new about something we loved. Make more customers grow to love your brand by using behind-the-scenes videos in your strategy. Tutorials How many times have you broken something from IKEA due to frustration from reading the assembly instructions incorrectly? While it may be a totally infuriating and isolating feeling, the truth is you aren’t alone. Many people (myself included) find reading instructions anything but helpful. Doing so leaves a ton of room for error and not only that, it’s pretty boring. Video tutorials, on the other hand, can be fun, more informative, and easier to follow. Watching someone put something together, or walk you through how to use a product is just a more effective way to educate and lead someone through a process. No wonder video tutorials make up a huge portion of what’s consumed on YouTube on a daily basis. When creating your own video tutorials, it’s important to start with an area or product of yours that is commonly hard for your customers to understand or that typically prompts a lot of questions. Go to your FAQs for some of the common questions being asked by your prospects and customers, or meet with your customer support team and pick their brains on what sort of obstacles they encounter when they are consulting with customers. Then, create a fun, informative tutorial that walks prospects through your product and that addresses these concerns. Don’t forget to share this video with customers and prospects, as well as make it easy to find on your site so that it can be viewed as much as possible and easily provide support. Webinars One great way to gain trust and earn the loyalty of your target audience is to give something away for free. I’m not talking about free products or services. I’m referring to knowledge – something that won’t cost your company a dime to distribute to the masses. Enter: webinars. Webinars are great tools to not only generate more leads for your company but to provide real-time knowledge and expertise to your audience. What’s even more beneficial is to keep the recording of your webinar accessible so that it can continue to serve you long after the broadcast. Create a resource page on your website to house all your webinar recordings (along with other gated content) so they can be easily downloaded and viewed by your prospects. Below is an example of how we’ve done that with our previous webinar, “The Best Channels for B2B and B2C Lead Generation.” Testimonials Customer reviews are like gold for your company. People trust online reviews from strangers just as much as they do recommendations from friends and family. A great way to bring some of those reviews to life is to record some video testimonials. Not only will you be showing your prospects your real-life customers, but you’ll also be putting your successes with those clients front and center. Third-party credibility is hard-earned, so it should be shown off. Just make sure authenticity is at the forefront of these videos. No scripts! If the person being interviewed sounds rehearsed or like a robot reading lines, you’ll end up costing you trust rather than earning more of it. If you weren’t thinking of jumping on the video marketing bandwagon, hopefully after reading this post, you’re reconsidering. Remember – in order to do so successfully, you have to remember that there are a right way and a wrong way to approach things. The five types of videos listed above tend to resonate better with audiences, which means they have the potential to produce much greater ROI when used correctly.
5 High-Converting Landing Pages and How You Can Create Your Own Posted on October 31, 2019October 31, 2019 by Jessica Lunk Landing pages are an important part of digital marketing, but they’re not worth their weight in pixels if they can’t help convert visitors into customers. High-converting landing pages do the lion’s share of the work, like the one in this case study. Are you willing to bet a million dollars on your landing page’s conversion potential? The right landing page can make a huge difference, but if you’re making mistakes with your landing pages, it can cost you valuable conversions, time and money. Take a moment to examine a few examples of landing pages with high conversion rates to see if you can tell what makes them so successful. Afterward, come on back to see how you can use these examples to make your high-converting landing pages. Powerful Landing Pages Though there are a lot of well-designed landing pages out there, not all of them do a good job of converting visitors to paying customers. The following landing pages, however, hit the mark: Shopify If you work in eCommerce, then you’ve heard of Shopify. They do a great job assembling landing pages, and it’s mostly because they don’t overcomplicate them or clutter their landing with tons of information. Take, for example, their Instagram feature landing page. What I love about how this is put together is that they include multiple images of what selling your product on Instagram could look like, which shows instead of tells, how the feature can elevate your brand and make your products more appealing to your audience. They also list the benefits of the feature very plainly, eliminating any confusion and zeroing in on three very specific selling points. Intercom Intercom is a customizable messaging platform that helps you generate leads, encourage engagement and provide quick support to your customers. Their landing pages are unique in that they’re bolder and very colorful. This particular landing page has a compelling headline. It draws you in and almost immediately makes you want to download this sales guide. When you scroll down, they list exactly what the guide will offer, along with key sales stats to drive home the importance of accessing this guide and what it can do for your sales performance. This landing page is less simple, but even though it offers up a lot of information, it does so in a way that is easily digestible and doesn’t overwhelm the visitor. It breaks things up well and uses color in a way that is very pleasing and lends itself to the overall readability of the page. Airbnb From the beginning, Airbnb has been all about helping its users create experiences. That’s why its host landing page is so engaging. Front and center are clips from experiences, showing people taking certain classes, crafting and interacting in culturally related activities. It shows the excitement that comes along with being host, making it super appealing. The page continues to list various categories of activities you can host, tools Airbnb offers its hosts, and a simple step-by-step process for getting started. This particular landing page does a great job of leading potential hosts down a path of consideration, by first engaging them with visuals, then providing points focused on the perks and benefits, then ending with action steps. Lyft Signing up to become a Lyft driver is super easy and simple, due to the Drive with Lyft landing page. They do a great job of using space, creating a clean and well-balanced page that makes enrollment quick. Marketo A great guide or whitepaper landing page is one that provides information on what the resource you’re considering downloading will cover, especially if it’s a term or concept that isn’t totally common knowledge yet. Take Marketo’s landing page for their guide to account-based marketing. While account-based marketing is definitely a term every marketing should be familiar with, Marketo still provides more than enough information on what account-based marketing is, why the market is making a shift towards that kind of approach, and hence why as marketers you should be considering it as well. Their form on the right also asks for a decent amount of information, which may seem like overkill to some, however asking for that kind of information allows Marketo to know their customers better and therefore send them more personalized content catered towards their needs. Learning from Their Success Obviously, the examples above are pretty varied in both content, theme and industry. In addition, some highlighted are for particular guides or whitepapers, while others are for a service, which makes for different formats and form fields. So, before simply emulating the pros, make sure you’re clear on your own objectives, style preference and needs so that you’re creating pages that actually benefit your company. Before you build your landing page, here are some key tips that can be used for any type of landing page, in any industry: Create a Powerful Headline: Somewhere above the fold, you’re going to have a headline. Your visitors are looking for it, and you want it to catch the eye and drive home your core message in just a few words. Use Eye-Catching Imagery: Even the sparser examples of landing pages have some form of imagery on them. Not only do the images draw attention where you intend visitors to look, but they complement both the headline and the overall site message. Choose Colors Wisely: Just like with your imagery, the colors you use will go a long way toward boosting the success of your landing pages. The colors should go well together, highlighting the important parts of the page without causing excessive garishness or eye-bleed. Avoid Ambiguity: Never leave your visitors wondering what you’re selling on the landing page. Make sure that you get the point across without sending them looking for more information. Remember Branding: Branding is important, whether it comes in the form of a company logo or other brand identification. Be proud of your branding and make sure it’s obvious without stealing the show. Go back and analyze those landing pages again with these tips in mind. See if you can tell how they make use of these various points, and why different sites tend to focus on particular aspects to the benefit of their brand. Perhaps the most important thing to remember here is that landing pages can evolve over time. As web traffic trends and the natural growth of a business change a company’s needs, updates to landing pages can keep visitors coming. Once you master how to create high-converting landing pages, you’ll find that long-lasting success comes from keeping them current and fresh.
5 Best Customer Retention Tips for Your Small Business Posted on October 29, 2019October 23, 2019 by Jonathan Herrick Online business has spurred highly competitive markets. Consumerism is fast-paced, and buyer expectations are high. That means a small business needs to focus on retention (not acquisition) to compete with a larger organization. Here are a few ways to maintain relevancy with an existing customer base: 1. Targeted Marketing A focus on retention means you must drill down with marketing. Sales funnels should be created with existing customers in mind. Not only does it spur business growth, but also a better investment of time and money. Research shows it costs up to 5 times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to retain an existing one. 50% of loyal customers have left a company for a competitor who better satisfied their needs. People appreciate relevancy and current customers expect content to apply to them. Automated email marketing can include loyalty and discount programs that reward repeat buyers. Using a customer relationship management (CRM) tool helps maintain an ongoing database of existing customers. You can then segment your marketing according to targeted campaigns. This cuts down on efforts wasted in the wrong channels. Only relevant material is sent to people who can use it. The value of the content reinforces brand authenticity and aids in retention. 2. Personalization Strategies This is about the customer experience. Tailored offerings and personal touches lead to a higher rate of sales. 64% of people care more about the customer experience over price in their buying experience. This starts with understanding expectations on an individual basis. Small companies often forget to ask their customers about expectations. It’s a tough conversation that must be initiated by the brand. The simple inquiry generally gets overlooked. A buyer should always have a realistic picture of what they are purchasing. Surprises lead to distrust. If everything is understood and communicated before buying, consumers are much more likely to feel satisfied. This, inevitably, leads to a higher rate of retention. It creates a personalized experience that makes people feel connected to your brand. Your company took the time to share important information upfront. 3. Social Monitoring Modern business gives us the advantage of being a fly on the wall. Consumers are not afraid to share their opinions online. 80% of consumers use social to engage with brands. They are also highly likely to complain on social media pages when dissatisfied. Social monitoring and listening can help a company gain a consensus on performance. Setting standards and tracking key social metrics will give deep insight into consumer preferences. This helps sales forecasting and serves critical decision-making processes. Quantifying consumer behavior can uncover trends that assist in retention strategies. If you don’t have a very active social presence, questionnaires and surveys help keep a finger on the pulse. An email campaign with a quick survey will convey any pain points customers are having. It will also show a small business where they are performing well. Efforts can then be shifted accordingly to further satisfaction. 4. Continuous Communication Don’t leave your people in the dust. Reduce attrition by maintaining ongoing relationships. Many companies make the mistake of focusing entirely on customer acquisition. Then they forget the individual exists. Consumers notice this behavior and they will punish a brand by leaving for a competitor. Some of the best concepts for product development can come from continuous communication with customers. Innovative opportunities mean happier people. They feel more engaged, while less money is spent on development. Always maintain an open line to the audience. Multi-channel monitoring will help to accomplish this task. Explore every avenue and listen to what people suggest. The more involved they feel, the easier it is to sell. 5. Unforgettable Service The pet food company Chewy surpassed competitors when their customer service team began painting pictures of customers’ pets. It only took one memorable act of customer support to go viral. Unlike marketing, however, the key to accomplishing customer retention this way is through authenticity. Providing stellar and unforgettable service encourages customers to share their experience online and with friends and family. This requires every employee dedicated to adapting an experience for each consumer. Going above and beyond duty can include: Consistent and on-time delivery Meeting important expectations An error-free process with zero-defects Taking full and immediate responsibility for issues Creating value through resources and support It’s not just about the aggregate profit your customer presents. Success lies in developing a tailored brand experience for each consumer. It’s demonstrating value through relevant content. The quality, reliability, design, and serviceability of your product is consistently being judged. When someone complains on social media, consumers are watching to see how you act. The audience as a whole is paying attention. The key to customer retention is taking the time to listen to consumer needs, focusing efforts on meeting them, and creating an authentic brand experience that develops into deep-rooted trust.
Everything You Need to Know about Internal Link Building Posted on October 28, 2019October 23, 2019 by Allie Wolff When it comes to linking and SEO, backlinks get a lot of attention (and for good reason), but you can’t ignore the importance of internal link building for rankings and optimization. Internal link building is a great way to move traffic around your site and increase the relevancy and utility of your various pages. It also helps search engines like Google find and assign value to your content, which is a key function of your SEO strategy. And unlike backlinks, which require action from other parties, you have all of the control over your internal linking efforts — meaning less work for a big payoff. So how does it all work? Let’s explore. What Are Internal Links? An internal link is a link within your content that goes to another page on your domain. Think linked features on your homepage and links embedded within your blog posts that lead to other pages on your site. Internal Links vs. External Links Both internal links and external links add context to your site and provide a nice SEO boost, but they operate in different ways. Whereas internal links guide users to another location on your site, external links guide users to other sites. It might not seem like good practice to send someone off of your page, but external links — along with backlinks — round out your linking strategy for better SEO. The external links you include within your content, like the internal links you include, help increase the authority of your page and give the search engines a better idea of where you fit in. Why Internal Links Are So Valuable Any tool that drives more traffic to your various domain pages is a win, but the benefits of internal links go even further than that. There are two major ways that internal links provide direct SEO value: They create relationships between various pieces of content. Search engines are smart, but even they sometimes need some help connecting the dots between various pieces of content. Internal links do just that, connoting relationships between different pages to better help qualify your content. In the process, these links can pass authority on from one page to the other, helping you get double duty out of your top-performing content. They help guide your audience where you want them to go. Internal links remove some of the barriers that stand in the way of seamless site navigation. So for example, instead of just telling a site visitor that you have a page devoted to tips and tricks for using your product you can give them a direct way to get there. This is great for conversions since each link serves as a call to action on the page. Internal Link Building Tips Making sure that you do internal link building properly is just as important as putting those links in there in the first place. Follow these tips to ensure that your internal links make a maximum impact on your SEO. Prioritize Your Best Performing Content Not all internal links are created equal. For best results, focus the majority of your efforts on links that lead out to pages that are already ranking well. Not only will you get a boost in authority to the page where you’re linking from, but you’ll also send more traffic to high-interest content. Keep ‘Em in Context You shouldn’t just be adding links for the sake of links. All internal links that you add should serve a distinct purpose and have a legitimate place within the content. This tells the search engines more about what each page is about and also helps you avoid any SEO hits from improper link stuffing. Use Links to Give a Ranking Boost Where Needed Be strategic with your internal link building. In addition to using internal links to increase authority on new content, look at existing content that could use a leg up on the search results page — for example, a blog post that’s ranking on page two — and use internal links as a way to bolster that page’s authority and get it closer to the top. Accelerate Conversions Remember, one of the great things about internal links is that they serve as discrete calls to action. With this in mind, it’s always a good idea to include links to internal pages that are specifically conversion-driven, such as linking to a downloadable asset or a newsletter sign up page. So long as the placement is appropriate (i.e. in context), you’ll get more eyes on your conversion-focused pages without having to do a lot of extra work. Links matter. Whether they’re internal, external, or leading back to your site from somewhere else, each link that you use to build authority and connections on and off your site has an impact on your SEO. So get to work — there’s a lot to gain.
5 Reasons Your B2B Small Business Needs to Run Pricing Tests Posted on October 25, 2019October 21, 2019 by Jessica Lunk Every online marketer loves a good A/B test. It’s almost fun to tweak a call to action, video, or a chunk of copy and meticulously study the results. The keyword that we always throw around is “optimize.” You want to optimize your traffic, your open rates, your clicks, and your purchases. So, think about standing in a retail store for a moment. When you’re in the aisle, the packaging draws you in, the copy on the box starts the sale, but what do you glance at next? If you guessed the price, you’d be right. We use pricing as a major factor in almost every purchase. Even if the pricing is relatively negligible, we’re wired to want the best bang for our buck. So, if you’re spending all this time A/B testing every element of your website, don’t you think you should do the same with your pricing? It sounds a little unethical, but when performed carefully, you can get some fantastic insights into your pricing schemes and how to set them to maximize profits. 1. Get a More Precise Price-Demand Curve In economics, we learned about the price-demand curve. Basically, if you set your price too low, you won’t have any profits; but if you price it too high, no one will buy it. You’re looking for that sweet spot where you can make the most money per item sold without cutting into your demand. A/B testing your pricing can be a great way of determining this. 2. You Could Find More Profitable Add-Ons One of the biggest concerns with A/B testing your pricing is, “What if the customer finds out?” It could be bad if they view your site on a different browser and see radically different pricing. Luckily, there’s an easy way around this. Instead of merely slapping a different price onto your product, try adding a small addition to the one that is slightly more expensive. So, for example, if you sell an online course, maybe add a bonus video on the variation price point. This allows you to test the prices, keeps customers from feeling deceived, and can let you test out some new offerings. 3. You’ll Know if Your Pricing is Causing Hesitation After testing your sales page time and time again, you think that the page is performing optimally. But what if your pricing causes a kink in the funnel? With every other aspect tested, it only makes sense to test the pricing, too. With A/B testing software like Tasty, you can even go beyond simple analytics and watch user reactions through recordings and heatmaps. This allows you to see subtly in the test, like if their cursor hesitates on the pages with higher pricing or if they’re quick to click when it’s less expensive. The ability to go beyond numerical metrics is an incredibly insightful feature, just remember to figure them into your A/B test plans. 4. Insight Builds Better Pricing Structures Especially if you sell packages or subscriptions, A/B testing pricing can help you understand if your offerings are appealing. Some companies choose to A/B test entirely restructured packages. While this can help you better understand your clients, it is also important to proceed with caution. In these types of instances, it’s better to run page A for a while, then separately run page B, so no one accidentally gets both pricing pages. 5. Google Encourages it, so Your SEO is Safe Google not only recognizes that A/B testing is a part of digital marketing life, they openly encourage it. Some marketers may be afraid of changing up their sales page too much, out of fear of losing their Google rank. Well, fear not. They’re cool with it. In fact, Google AdWords has a built-in A/B testing feature that is worth a try. So, if you want the final piece of your sales insights puzzle, give pricing A/B testing a try. To get started, you’ll want to first think about your company’s sales goals. What are you trying to achieve with this test? Then, define your hypothesis. Ask yourself, “If [variable] then [result] due to [rationale].” Finally, sit down and think about what you think the outcome will be. It’s important to spend some time planning before you launch into any A/B test, not just pricing. In the end, A/B testing is a scientific experiment. Any test that you see as conclusive should be repeatable with similar results. So, with a scientific mind and a business outlook, get out there and test your pricing schema. You could be well on the path to discovering the ideal pricing you never thought was possible. Or, you could just find that your pricing was spot-on—but at least now you know.