Why Businesses are Leaving Facebook – And Whether You Should Too Posted on February 18, 2019February 27, 2019 by Allie Wolff Facebook has taken a big hit in the past year, with privacy and security concerns running rampant, but that’s nothing compared to the problems it’s caused countless small companies that focused their marketing strategies on the social media giant. Despite protests to the contrary, Mark Zuckerberg and company haven’t demonstrated much concern over data privacy. What they have done is tweak the algorithms on the site to a point where small businesses are now reaching only a tiny percentage of the customers they once did. With limited ad reach and concerns about data security, small business owners around the country are asking, “Is Facebook right for my business anymore?” A Steep Dive in Engagement The rate of engagement with Facebook users has made a significant drop in the past 18 months. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, large numbers of Facebook users are changing their relationships with the social media site. The study found that in the past year: A little over half of adult Facebook users have adjusted their privacy settings.Over 40 percent of users have taken a break away from Facebook for several weeks or longer.About 26 percent of users have deleted the Facebook app completely from their phones.All in all, 74 percent of Facebook users have taken one or more of these steps. Perhaps even more important for small business owners looking to advertise to a younger demographic, these statistics apply to younger Facebook users at a much higher rate. Users under 30 have taken at least one of these steps at a rate of four times what users over 65 have done. The quick version? If you’re looking to sell to that all-important 18-to-35 demographic, Facebook is increasingly becoming the wrong place to go. Is “Family-Friendly” Bad for Your Business? After a string of congressional hearings on data privacy, Zuckerberg was faced with intense user outrage at the perceived break in trust. Two years of Russian election meddling and false news had turned many of the most loyal followers into jaded casual users, at best. Facebook’s answer to these issues was to make significant changes in its News Feed, designed to show users more posts from friends and family and fewer public content posts, including those provided by businesses. The stated goal was to make Facebook more “family-friendly,” meaning more social posts and fewer ads and commercials. With the algorithms dropping the hammer on big and small business alike, owners found that the only way they could generate any reach was with individual posts they created themselves. Traditional business ads just weren’t getting through anymore. With overnight revenue losses of up to 75 percent, some online business owners felt they had no choice but to drop Facebook entirely and look for other marketing platforms. Not the First Time This new algorithm change is only the latest in policy switches that have negatively affected businesses on Facebook. The social media site began by offering free marketing in exchange for engagement. But once companies built large fan bases on the site, Facebook began to manipulate the Edgerank algorithm, which resulted in companies being restricted to the number of fans they could contact without paying for the privilege. In 2012, organic reach was only about 16 percent, and it was restricted further in the next year. Today, it’s estimated that only about 2 percent of all of a brand’s fans can actually see its posts. This gives businesses two basic choices: pay extra for what they used to receive for free (after helping Facebook build the fan base) or leave it all behind. A Creative Alternative Some companies are banking on a third alternative, one which doesn’t rely on traditional engagement metrics to get the word out about their products. These brands are hoping that, with the right blend of creativity and really cool content, the 2 percent of Facebook followers they do reach will turn into evangelists for their brand and spread the word for them. Create enough memes, contests, GIFs and games, and you won’t have to pay to reach a larger audience. Your small audience will share your content for you in waves. Instead of being a passive fan base, your tiny 2 percent group can turn into a mobile street team, happy to do your marketing work for you. Alternatives to Facebook Marketing Some brands are dropping Facebook entirely and looking for better options in social media. Increasing numbers are relying on email newsletters for a more personalized approach to marketing. Those who still like the concept of a social media site are moving to Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram and the like. The smartest way to do this, of course, is to create accounts on other sites and test-drive them for a while before dropping out of Facebook. The Bottom Line What’s best for your business? Should you drop your Facebook business account, or should you ride out the storm and see what happens next? Unfortunately, the only answer is, “It all depends.” Are you seeing conversions from your posts? Are you getting at least some steady traffic? If you’ve still got movement and engagement, dropping out could be a big mistake. At the very least, you’ll alienate those fans who relied on you being on Facebook. Are you still getting likes and follows after six months on the site? It’s hard to judge anything by the honeymoon period, but after six months things should have settled down. If you’re still getting steady engagement, that’s a good sign. If you’ve been on Facebook for years and you’re getting absolutely no response, maybe it’s time for something better. But if you’re still getting movement, it could be smarter to stay. Where does your ideal customer hang out online? The answer to this might inform your next move more than any other. If you’re marketing to women 30-50 years old, take a hard look at Pinterest as a social media alternative. Every social media site has a solid demographic core. Find the site for your best customers and stake a claim there.
5 Unmistakeable Benefits of Being a Solo Entrepreneur Posted on February 15, 2019February 12, 2019 by Jonathan Herrick One of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make when starting a business is whether to go it alone or to find a partner. Creating a partnership can be a great move if you want to quickly scale the business, because you’ll both bring your talent, know-how, networks and financial resources to the endeavor. Plus, there are other benefits, like having backup if you get sick or want to go on vacation. However, partnerships are not for everyone. As with all relationships, partnerships can be challenging — and when you add a financial component, even more so. As a result, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons. Sometimes, a sole proprietorshipmakes more sense. Here are five benefits that going at it alone will bring. Read Jonathan’s full article on Entrepreneur.
7 Tips for Nailing Your Agency’s Next RFP Posted on February 13, 2019March 12, 2019 by Guest Author The moment has come: your dream client has submitted an RFP (request for proposal). Now all you have to do is win them over, close the deal, and make their dreams come true. Easy, right? Whether this is your first or thousandth RFP, there’s no denying that the proposal process is a little harrowing. Part-art and part-science, a lot of elements have to come together at the right time to turn your prospect’s consideration into a resounding “yes!” Let’s look at seven tips for agency proposal creation that’ll help you nail your next RFP. Know how your proposal fits into your sales process. If you haven’t established a repeatable, tested sales process yet, now’s the time to do it. Creating custom proposals from scratch might’ve worked when you were a burgeoning organization, but as you grow, an established process will prevent waste and burnout. Plan your packages and pricing, know what you will and won’t do (your niche), and create a template for your proposal that includes different pre-written copy blocks that perfectly communicate your brand messaging. Make it about the client, not you. It may be nearly a reflex to hype up your agency in your proposal — sharing every award, testimonial, and data point that supports how awesome you are. And while these are nice to have, if a prospect is requesting a proposal, it’s likely that they’re already sold on your expertise. What most prospects want in a proposal is reassurance that you understand their problems and have a solution for them. This means putting things into the clients’ terms, and focusing on them, rather than you. Don’t overshare. Although you should, indeed, keep that story about your wild Saturday night out of your agency proposal, we’re actually referring to the kind of overshare that leads to a novel-length document. More information isn’t always better, and too much detail this soon in the game can confuse your prospects and make them worry that they’re missing something. Keep your proposal as short as you can without eliminating key details. At a minimum, your proposal needs: An indication that you understand your client’s objectives and concernsA clear, concise path for helping them get what they want with a timeline and budget for achieving it Of course, every agency is different, but these really are the two key elements that prospects want to see. Appearance is important. Most agencies know this, and while it seems like a shallow truth, it’s true nonetheless: a proposal that looks good will be more memorable than a bland document. Whether you brand your proposal with your own style or your client’s style (or a mix of the two), its appearance should serve as a preview of what your client will get if they choose to work with you. An error-riddled, poorly formatted proposal — no matter how compelling the content — doesn’t reflect well on your organization. Don’t send it too soon. If you’ve only just met a prospect, sending your proposal right away is a recipe for disaster, even if they’re the one who asked for it. Here are a couple of reasons why: You don’t know if they have the budget. So your prospect is sold on your ability to deliver: great! But if they can’t afford your services, the time you spend on a proposal is a waste for both parties.You don’t have the full story yet. Does your prospect only need a couple of services, or an end-to-end solution? Have they worked with an agency before, or do they have no idea what to expect? Your proposal is likely to be totally off-base if you don’t get the answers to these types of questions upfront.You don’t want to agree to something you can’t deliver on. On the surface, your prospect might seem like exactly the type of client you work with. But what happens when you realize they’ve had bad experiences with five other agencies because their expectations are unrealistic? Sending a proposal too soon may wind up locking you into an agreement that hurts your bottom line and reputation. When your client requests a proposal, read between the lines. Chances are, they’re not looking for a fully-fledged statement of work with bells and whistles. They may only want an idea of your fee range, a better understanding of your process, or an idea of how long an engagement might last — all of which you can provide more effectively in a phone conversation or meeting. Get help. Not psychological help, that is (though everyone needs it from time to time, especially when you’re in the agency business), but help from technology. A proposal management service like Proposify, PandaDoc, or DealHub.io can save you immense time and frustration — and whose added functionality can serve as a value-add in the eyes of your busy prospects. Shop around for different proposal software options before you make the leap, as some can be a bit pricey. You can also get help from agency coaches, uh-hum… yours truly. You can swipe my $10k audit and strategy proposal template here. My only request is that you customize it and make it your own to “wow” your prospects. Follow up! It’s not enough to create your proposal, send it, and then sit back and wait. Your prospect is likely considering other options, and if your competitors are a bit faster on the follow-up, they may win the opportunity simply because they took more time to build the relationship. Your client wants to know that you’ll be attentive to their needs when you work together, so now’s the time to “wow” them with your responsiveness. Author Bio Mandy McEwen is Founder & CEO of Mod Girl Marketing, a digital marketing agency based in California. She is the creator of 8+ digital marketing courses where she helps marketing consultants and startup agencies scale faster. She was listed by Search Engine Journal as a top 12 SEO expert and was named a top 10 agency growth coach by BloggerLocal. Mandy’s Facebook group, Mod Agency Insiders, was named a top marketing group to join by Inc.
6 Ways Your Marketing Emails Can Strike an Emotion Posted on February 12, 2019February 12, 2019 by Jessica Lunk Emotional impact is the direct result of strong storytelling – but you’re a marketer, not a writer! Still, with a few strategies around narrative copywriting, you can craft a story that strikes a chord with your audience and compels them to convert. It’s time to put products and features aside and tap into the power of creative storytelling in your next email campaign. Then, you can put your marketing hat back on and monitor your email marketing dashboard for an uptick in open rates and click-through rates. Identify your story. Crafting emotion-provoking content is simple. You just need three simple components to create your story: A character.Something that happens to the character.A result or conclusion. Your story doesn’t have to be long. In fact, you could tell a story in one or two sentences. But it does need, at a minimum, the elements listed above. The story of how your business got started, an anecdote about home life that ties into business life, a conflict that a highly successful industry leader overcame – these are all great examples of stories that can draw in your email subscribers and keep them reading. Tell the story the way you’d tell a friend. Storytelling in email marketing is different than narrative in video, or the movies, or in a book. While other formats allow for plenty of character development, an email offers only limited time and space to get your message across. The best way to tell a story in an email is to write it up as if you’re telling the story to a close friend. You may even tell the story aloud and transcribe it as you speak, to avoid it becoming too formal or stilted. If it reads too much like a textbook or like “marketing speak,” your readers will tune out. Know, and align your content, with the basic emotions. As complex as human behavior is, many scientists have determined that our feelings boil down into just a few fundamental emotions: happy, sad, scared, angry, disgusted, and surprised. (It’s no coincidence that when Facebook opened up post reactions to more than just “like,” these were the options they included). As an email marketer, you can leverage any of these emotions to connect with your reader. Valuable content that educates a reader may create happiness or surprise, especially if it’s something mind-blowing that they’ve never heard or tried before. When working with a negative emotion, position your business as the alleviator of that negative feeling. Let’s take fear, for example. Your target audience has critical issues that, if unresolved, will cause serious problems in their life – job loss, business failure, or loneliness, for example. These are all examples of very real fears, and your job is to paint a picture of how your product or service resolves that issue, ultimately relieving that fear. The same goes for anger, sadness, or disgust. For instance, if your organization is involved in a humanitarian effort, you can use any of these emotions to inspire action on your reader’s part. Segment your audiences to tell more compelling stories. Think of a story that made you feel something so deeply you couldn’t help but take action. Maybe you made a change in your life as a result of it, or you shared that story with your friends. Usually, a story will resonate the most when we can relate to its characters. With the personalization options available in modern email marketing, there’s no excuse not to handcraft your emails to speak directly to small groups of your readers – rather than broadly to all of them. Instead of sending the same case study to one thousand prospects, divide those prospects up and send specific case studies to different groups based on their interests or personalities. Start with “I.” We know: the copywriting playbook always talks about using “you” language to draw the reader in. It’s a great piece of advice for web copy and other general marketing copy. But your marketing emails are different. They’re direct messages from one human to another. And in the same way you wouldn’t saturate a letter to a long lost friend with presumptive “you” statements, you don’t have to do it in your emails, either. Instead, try starting with “I:” I’ve been wondering…I haven’t seen you in a while!I can’t believe this happened to me.I was at the grocery store when… “I” phrases work especially well in email subject lines to hook readers, lead into your story, and create an emotional response. Use a strong visual component. While words are powerful, visuals are instant. If you’re telling a customer story, feature a real image of that customer. If you’re sharing an anecdote from the other day at work, share an image or GIF to give the reader context. Images of people have been shown to create a strong emotional connection, so use these strategically in your marketing campaigns to help prospects see how you serve them. A warning, though: keep your content mobile-friendly and your files small whenever possible. A slow-loading email, even when it’s finely crafted, won’t get read as often as a quicker one. One solution is to provide a descriptive link of an image and allow the reader to click it to view a picture-story on your blog. And instead of embedding video files, try placing a still frame image from the video with the playback symbol over it to encourage readers to click – where they’ll be directed to the actual video.
5 Tips for Better Follow-Up Calls Posted on February 8, 2019February 8, 2019 by Tricia O'Donnell When it comes to nurturing leads and closing the deal, follow-up calls are a must. The way you handle those calls can make or break your chances of success. And if you mess it up enough times, your business will inevitably start to suffer as a result. To improve your odds and make your follow-up calls as effective as possible, here are a few tried-and-true strategies to employ. Schedule your calls. You’re busy. Chances are, the person you’re trying to connect with is as well. Save yourself some time and get the most out of your phone communications by scheduling your follow-up calls in advance. That way you’ll both be ready and there won’t be the need for phone tag. Obviously, there will be exceptions to the rule. An angry customer, for instance, might expect a call back right away. Just use your best judgment. Be prepared. Regardless of how good you may be at thinking on your feet, it’s always best to come to the table prepared in advance of the call. This is especially true if you’re following up on a complaint or inquiry. If you stumble over your words or sound confused, you could come across as incompetent or unprofessional. And if you don’t plan ahead, you may end up having to follow up a second time. Do some prep work beforehand so you don’t waste their time or yours. Ask the right questions. The questions you ask, as well as the ones you don’t ask, can have a major impact on the success of your follow-up calls. Try to avoid ‘yes or no’ questions in favor of open-ended ones that require the other party to provide thoughtful and insightful answers. Just be careful not to pose your questions in a way that could cause you to ‘lead’ the other party’s answers. Before your call, make a list of direct, deliberate questions that will help you get the answers you are looking for. Don’t forget to listen. You may have some great questions to ask, but if you don’t practice active listening, what’s the point? A meaningful follow-up call requires balance – a give and take. If you’re doing all the talking or you’re not bothering to hear the other party out, you won’t walk away with any insight. Provide adequate time to answer before asking additional questions and be comfortable with silence while the other person thinks of his or her response. Clarify answers and ask follow-ups. When the other party speaks, either bringing up a point or answering a question, make sure you understand and are on the same page by reiterating what was said before proceeding. This helps to keep the conversation on track and avoids any potential misunderstandings. If necessary, be prepared to ask additional follow-up questions to dig deeper or get more clarification. Good follow-up conversations can go a long way toward improved customer satisfaction and sustainable business growth. The best marketing in the world won’t do you any good if you don’t know how to properly follow up with leads. Use the techniques above to improve your follow-up communication and make the most out of your client interactions.
How to Identify Agency Partners That Align With Your Business Goals Posted on February 7, 2019October 21, 2022 by Jonathan Herrick As entrepreneurs, we learn to be resourceful — but no business owner can do it all alone. Whether big or small, at some point you’ll probably need help from partners who have expertise you lack — or who can help you offload work that’s piling up on your desk. Sometimes, you may need help from a team. In that case, you may need to turn to an agency that has a specific expertise, like social media, advertising or buying Facebook advertising. Here’s how to find the right agency partners. Look for similar values. If you’re looking for a marketing firm or other creative services, an agency partnership will be most productive if you’re both on the same page, in terms of the types of messaging you think is appropriate. A marketing agency known for edgy, in-your-face campaigns may be great for you if you’re a B2C brand or run an L.A. fashion line for example, but it may not be a good fit for you if you’re an enterprise B2B software company trying to fill the sales funnel. Sometimes, it’s not obvious what type of work an agency specializes in from its website, especially in the case of smaller agencies that don’t work for famous brands. Before you meet with any agency, follow it on social media, look at the advertising it does for its own company and ask to see the campaigns of some of the other customers it serves. The better you know the agency’s “voice,” the easier it will be to determine if the agency is a good fit. Stuck trying to find your agency match? Try a resource such as Clutch that can match your business to the right agency. You can check out their expertise and reviews and increase the likelihood you can find the right partner. Seek out niche expertise. There’s an ongoing conversation in every field about the key issues that matter and how to reach the right audience. An agency that knows what’s being talked about and where will be able to help you add to the conversation, too. If you’re running a fitness or health & wellness business and want to build your presence online, an agency that does general digital marketing might be able to do a solid job. But you’ll likely be even better off with one that specializes in digital marketing for the health and wellness industry and understands your business inside and out. Know your ideal price point. Most small businesses don’t have a “sky’s the limit” budget for hiring agency partners. Make sure you speak to several agencies to find out their pricing, so you know the going rates for the services you need at various tiers of agencies. Often, there’s wide variation, depending on the types of services offered and the level of TLC customers get. Lower-priced agencies don’t necessarily provide better value. Sometimes, agencies charge lower prices because they are relying on very inexperienced team members or outsourcing the majority of their work. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, a great agency can keep rates down because they have a strong internal project management team that can deliver results and get the most out of using lower-cost freelancers. Another factor in the cost might just be where the agency is located. A firm on the coasts may be a bit higher than one in the midwest due to the higher employee payroll, rent and cost of living. If you love an agency but can’t afford a full, retainer engagement, ask if there are other options that would be a win-win for both of you. For instance, if a thought-leadership agency normally produces four blogs a month for clients on its retainer plan, perhaps it offers a scaled down version of one blog a month. Quality is often more important than quantity when it comes to building your brand. Make sure you like working with the agency’s team. Every agency has its own culture. Make sure your partner’s culture meshes with your own so projects go smoothly. If, for instance, your team is made up of metric-driven perfectionists and you hire a more creative-focused agency, there’s bound to be conflict in your future. Sometimes even regional differences in the way business is conducted can come into play. If your team is all about down-home friendliness and you hire an agency where everyone is moving at 100 miles per hour and doesn’t take time for chit-chat, there are bound to be bruised feelings. How do you know if there’s a good culture fit? See if an agency will allow you to do a small project together first as a trial run. Nothing will tell you more about whether the relationship will be successful than how you — and your team members who interface with the agency — feel about that project afterward. A great agency partner will be vetting your company carefully during that period, too. It’s in an agency’s best interest to make sure it can serve you well. Many agencies have gotten burned by clients who cancel important meetings, don’t deliver necessary information on time or treat their teams poorly. In the end, an agency worth its salt won’t want to take on a client that isn’t committed to making the relationship successful. Ideally, your agency partnership will last for the long haul, which means it has to work for both parties.
5 Signs Your Employer Brand Could Use an Overhaul Posted on February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 by Jessica Lunk In today’s congested business landscape, brand is everything. It’s what represents the promises you’ve made to your customers. But what many business leaders forget is how the brand promise also impacts employees. In fact, your employer brand can begin to create expectations in your employees before they even become your employees. Your ability to attract, recruit and retain top talent can either be bolstered or hindered by your brand. How can you know if your brand is in trouble? Here are five red flags to look for. Difficulty Recruiting Quality Candidates In a job market where there are more open positions than there are employees to fill them, it’s especially important to have a strong, positive employer brand. When candidates have their pick of opportunities, they have the luxury of being choosy. If you’ve noticed that your job openings aren’t attracting much attention or the quality of your candidates is declining, it could be due to a poor brand image. What information are applicants finding about your company when they do their research? Low Employee Engagement A dip in employee engagement levels could be a sign that your brand isn’t living up to its promises. While your employees may not raise their hand to tell you they are not engaged, your turnover rate is a strong indicator of engagement. In fact, employee turnover among millennials – the leaders of tomorrow – costs the U.S. economy $30.5 billion annually (Gallup) Not only does high turnover mean you have to invest more in recruiting and training than businesses with low turnover, it can also affect your ability to grow your staff. In fact, when it comes to employee experience, just as happy team members will spread the word, so will those who are dissatisfied. How do you fix turnover? Gather data from your workforce and act on the insights: Survey your staff to measure job satisfaction. You may be surprised to learn that benefits like flexible work hours, opportunities to earn bonuses, telecommuting, goal structure, professional development and more can help curb turnover and improve engagement.Use salary guides to compare employee compensation to evaluate your competitiveness in the candidate pool. Underpaid employees who leave may cost your business more in the long run. Conduct exit interviews. It may be difficult for current employees to be completely upfront about their concerns, but those who are leaving may welcome the opportunity to share the reasons they left. Lack of Company Purpose Company purpose matters more today than ever. In fact, 40% of Millennials who plan to remain in their jobs beyond 2020 say their employers have a strong sense of purpose beyond financial success (Deloitte). So, if you’re chasing revenue goals without a mission, purpose or culture, don’t expect your team to get behind you. When people feel like they’re a part of a bigger purpose and they believe that their employer shares the same values as them, compensation, perks and other extrinsic factors don’t matter as much. If you start to notice a growing number of employees placing more of an emphasis on these things, such as asking for raises or grumbling about your benefits package, it could be sign that your employer brand is no longer resonating with your workforce. How do you instill a sense of purpose in your company culture? Focus on the ways that your business is making a positive impact. 44% of millennials believe business leaders are making a positive impact and still have some faith in business’ ability to enact meaningful change in society (Deloitte), while 88% of millennials found their job more fulfilling when they were provided opportunities to make a positive impact on social and environmental issues (Cone Communications). So whether your closet-organizing company helps people work toward less waste by using their space efficiently, or your marketing agency chooses one non-profit a year to offer free services to, tap into the good in your business and use it to fuel your purpose. No Path for Advancement No one expects to stay in the same role forever, and it’s especially true with millennial movers and shakers. Less than 40% of millennials and 30% of Gen Z workers feel they have the skills they’ll need to succeed, and they’re looking to businesses to help ready them to succeed in this new era (Deloitte). And you better believe that this generation has no trouble leaving their company to advance. In fact, according to Gallup, 93% of millennials left their company the last time they changed roles. Offering career training and development would keep 86% of millennials from leaving their current position, Bridge reports. So if you don’t have a clear path of advancement for your employees, you can expect engagement to fall and turnover to kick in. However, if you’re a small business, helping your employees see growth in their role can seem challenging. Smaller teams have less room for upward mobility. But that doesn’t mean your employees have to stagnate in their roles. Encourage them to learn a new skill, enroll in courses, attend conferences or take on a speaking opportunity. Professional development is more than a fancy job title, and you can find ways to help every member of your team grow into a leader in your company. Lack of Flexibility 95% of millennial employees report that work/life balance is important to them, with 70% saying it’s a very important aspect of their careers (Deloitte). If you’re more concerned about when your team clocks in than the quality of their work, it may be time to inject a little flexibility into your business. Allowing for remote work, telecommuting and flex-time can do wonders to keep your team happy and engaged in their work. But flexibility doesn’t stop there. Bringing your pet to work is the new norm, and millennials are far more likely to continue employment at a company that implements pet-friendly policies (60%) than their elders (39%) (Banfield). And flexible leave can help you retain key employees. The Caring Company reports that one-third of all workers had quit a job to attend to caregiving responsibilities. Meanwhile, (Unum) reports that 58% of all workers and 64% of millennials want paid family leave from their employers, ranking at the top of in-demand perks like flexible and remote work options (55%), sabbaticals (38%), student loan repayment assistance (35%), pet-friendly workplaces (15%) and pet insurance (15%). Change is tough, and investing in your employer brand may not seem like a top priority. However, when you measure the cost of employee disengagement and attrition, employer branding is a valuable investment. Your employer brand is certainly as important as your consumer brand. By knowing what signs to watch for, you can be more proactive about creating, nurturing and sustaining a strong brand image that will keep your workforce happy, engaged and loyal.
Why You Should Do a Content Refresh Right Now Posted on February 5, 2019February 5, 2019 by Allie Wolff Looking for a way to dramatically “up” your content marketing game without adding a single item to your editorial calendar? The answer is a content refresh, and here are three reasons why you should do it: To get results without having to spend extra money.To show you keep up with news and changes in your industry.To keep your best content at the top of Google’s search results. What Is a “Content Refresh?” A content refresh is a deep edit of your existing web content — from articles and web pages to FAQs and guidebooks. It may involve capturing new quotes from experts and weaving them into an old article, or it may be more comprehensive, like changing the angle of a piece or reworking it into an audio or video piece. A content refresh doesn’t mean completely gutting your old stuff to make way for the new. After all, this could be detrimental if search ranking is important to your strategy. Instead, think of a content refresh as a light home improvement project: when the paint is peeling, you don’t tear down the whole wall – you just repaint it. By maintaining and improving your digital content, you’re essentially building your site’s equity, and guaranteeing that everything a reader stumbles upon will be interesting, well-crafted, and relevant to what’s going on today. Prioritizing Content for a Refresh The web content you choose to update depends largely on your content marketing goals. If you generate a lot of business through organic search results, your refresh strategy will look different from the marketer who wants to expand into a new type of media — like podcasting or video marketing. Here are a few different approaches to a content refresh based on different content marketing goals. Search Engine Rank A content refresh is the perfect antidote to ever-changing search algorithms. If you’ve noticed some of your articles or pages dropping to the second or third page in search results, prioritize the redevelopment of these. They’re already ranking well, but for some reason, they’re not hitting the first page – where the likelihood that a user will click increases exponentially. Focus your effort on these pieces for the greatest ROI. Persona Marketing If your business has undergone a change in who you’re marketing to, your content refresh should focus on re-imagining your old pieces through the eyes of your new target market. This may call for new examples or use cases throughout your content. It may even require a tone overhaul. Whatever the case, make sure you’ve defined your personas clearly and documented their information so you can pass this along to your writers, editors, and designers. Social Influence The way people interact with your content online can tell you a lot about what’s working and what’s not. Look at the data from your social media management tool to rank content by likes, shares, comments, and clicks. You may only need to tweak the headlines or cover images of your weaker pieces to get more eyeballs on them, as long as the content within lives up to its promises. Social media is a land of first impressions, so when refreshing and optimizing your content for social, keep that in mind. Lead Generation Some of your content pieces may be more primed to generate leads than others. If you have a handful of e-books that are bringing in solid leads and several others that aren’t, target the underperformers (i.e., don’t fix what isn’t broken!) Identify why you’re not getting leads – is the purpose of the lead magnet content unclear? Is the design misaligned with your brand or unattractive altogether? Is the topic simply something your audience isn’t interested in? Authority or Thought Leadership If you want to show that you’re a leader in your industry, your content should be as up-to-date as possible. Any content that quotes old data, refers to technologies that are no longer in use, or references old news items should be first up when it’s time for a refresh. Getting Creative with Your Content Refresh A content refresh often triggers inspiration. It reminds you of the long distance you’ve traveled in your content marketing over the years, and reveals where you can go deeper with different topics. For example, imagine you have a really strong article that’s been popular over the last several months. You could simply add a bit more content to it and re-publish, and call it done. There’s nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, if you wanted to expand the reach of your article, you could: Pull out five interesting quotes and convert them into branded graphics to use in Instagram postsCompile statistics from the article into an infographicConvert the article into a podcast script Take key facts from the article and create a YouTube video on that topic All of this, from one article. Imagine what you could do with an e-book!
5 Top Agency Blogs You Should Be Reading Posted on February 1, 2019December 8, 2022 by Katie Culp Regardless of how much experience you and your employees have, there’s always someone out there who can teach you something new. While some marketers try to project an air of being at the top of their game, the smart ones know that there’s always room to learn new things if they want to stay competitive. Fortunately, the modern world gives us plenty of ways to learn new skills and pick up new information. One great way to learn is by following the blogs put out by major agencies and content creators. With so many options out there, though, which blogs should you be reading? We’ve handpicked five that we think deserve a place on your reading list as you work to grow your agency in 2019. Leo Burnett Worldwide If you’re looking for pedigree, look no further than Leo Burnett. The agency was founded in 1935, and in 2002 it was acquired by Publicis Groupe, the world’s oldest agency holding group and one of the biggest agency networks on the planet. Leo Burnett’s clients are the biggest of the big, and the company’s blog distills the wisdom of working with so many giants in a way that’s instantly relatable no matter your agency’s size. In fact, if you could only read one agency blog then Leo Burnett would probably be the one to choose. The blog covers so many topics that you’ll find a little bit of everything in its archives. More importantly, it gives you insight into the mindset that drives a successful agency year after year. Y Media Labs If you want insight into the technology that drives modern marketing, the Y Media Labs blog is the place to go. The company creates apps for a number of big-name clients, shaping the digital landscape and how major companies interact with their customers. The YML blog provides a look at the tech driving these apps as well as other technology trends in the marketing space. If you want to stay on top of where technology is taking marketing in the future, this is a blog not to miss. Croud If you want a glimpse at a new type of agency, check out Croud’s blog. This company does things its own way, focusing on a tech-focused core staff and a network of creatives and other talents that work when needed. This keeps the company lightweight and reduces corporate bloat, and the work that the agency puts out ensures that there’s plenty of work for its talent pool to do. Because of the nontraditional design of the agency and the diversity of its talent, its blog is a wonder to behold. Each post has its own brilliance, and the wide range of topics in its archives is amazing. You never know what you’ll find in new posts, as they range from practical business advice to thought pieces to breakdowns of just how you should handle things like content and social media on the modern internet. Beyond Beyond isn’t your typical agency, but that’s what makes its blog such a wonder to behold. Beyond focuses on data analytics, research and technology as a means of creating marketing strategies for its clients. This gives the company an amazing insight into how consumers think and act, and also helps it to recognize technology trends that other companies might miss. The company’s blog is a dazzling array of current and up-and-coming technologies, slices of agency life and other insights that no marketing team should do without. If that was all that there was to the Beyond blog that would be enough, but the agency offers up takes on news and culture in addition to these insights. It really provides a great perspective on how the company operates, letting you see what’s important at the agency level in addition to what it is that the company does. Iron Paper If you want to learn about the ins and outs of content marketing, there’s no better source than Iron Paper’s blog. The company is a leader in SEO, social and content marketing, and that makes it perfectly suited to write about these same topics from an authoritative point of view. Even more importantly, the agency breaks down a lot of the details into easy-to-understand how-to guides that can help agencies both large and small to master these same skills. Explore Your Options Of course these blogs are only a few of the countless wonderful blogs that you can find on agency websites. If you have a particular agency or marketing company that you admire, take some time to look around their website. There’s a good chance you’ll find a blog or some thought pieces that will give you some great insights into how the company operates. You can also check out the company’s social media profiles as there are often a number of hidden gems scattered about in posts as well.