Inbound & Digital Marketing Blog

It's 2012, and most companies realize that Inbound Marketing works much better than old-fashioned interruption marketing.There's only one problem -- The number of worthwhile marketing intiatives is overwhelming!

I know, just Google for "best marketing initiatives." Now you're overwhelmed again. And, some of the recommendations you'll find are just plain wrong.

Here's what doesn't work: Trying to trick Google and the other search engines. Google has billions of dollars and over 30K employees including some of the smartest people on the planet. What definitely does work is creating remarkable content that help your prospects -- As long as you do it consistently.

Inbound Marketing Priorities

Here's what I do to set priorities. Have you seen HubSpot's new Marketing Grader? It's free -- Even for non-HubSpot customers. It's the upgrade for their old Website Grader.

The best thing, is that the good folks at HubSpot have already done the hard work of seeing what's important for your Inbound Marketing in 2012. Just don't be disappointed if your score is lower than it was in the old Website Grader. HubSpot is being tough on us to help us have the best possible inbound marketing!

Here's the marketing grader for Inbound Team:

OK, a 76. Maybe, I should have hidden our results. Oh, wait. This is all built from public information. You can run a marketing grader on anyone you want, including Inbound Team! You can even run this report on your competitors (And they can run a report on you!).

I benchmarked us against HubSpot, and they only got an 87! HubSpot created the tool, and even they can't ace it. It's a pretty tough scale after all, so maybe a 76 isn't that bad.

The best part is that HubSpot provides detailed coaching on how to improve your score. In fact, we orginally scored a 74. We were missing some mobile optimization. In another post, I'll show you how, in just a few minutes, we added Apple icons and Meta Viewport tags. As a result, Marketing Grader gave us two more points.

Besides the coaching, Marketing Grader groups the results by Top of the Funnel, Middle of the Funnel, and Analytics. They'll even show how you compare to your competitors in each area. Sure, all of your Inbound Marketing works together. But, it really helps to be able to focus on one key area at a time.

The 2012 Inbound Marketing Challenge

Run, your own Marketing Grader. If you can beat our 76, leave a comment and brag about it! Of course, we're not going to accept our current score, and it will be improving. So you'll have to stay on your toes.

If you can't beat us, then call 800.609.9669 and get some help with your Inbound Marketing.

HubSpot recently introduced a new Prospects tool that provides some amazing real-time data on the people who are visiting your site!

With some work, it's always been possible to mine your server logs and use a reverse IP lookup to see who's visiting your website. That's what HubSpot does, but they've made it really easy to use. To see what I mean, watch a 4 minute video on HubSpot's new prospect tool.

Top of the Sales Funnel Visitors

People visit your web site for all kinds of reasons. They may have come across your site on Google, LinkedIn, or through some other inbound marketing activity. Something about you caught their attention. These visitors are right at the top of your sales funnel, and it could be too early to reach out to them. But, what if they are an ideal target prospect -- A perfect potential customer?

Prospects on your site are much better than people you buy from a list. They really are interested in you! If they seem like a great match for you, why not connect with them via LinkedIn or just give them a call. Just don't lead with "I know you visited our website ..." That might freak them out.

Middle of the Funnel Visitors

Other people may be further along in the buying process and lower in your funnel. Perhaps you  contacted a prospect or even delivered a proposal in the past. Then, nothing. You might have given up to focus on better prospects.

Now, they're back. Fortunately, you've got the prospect tool, so you know they're back. They might be embarrassed that they couldn't purchase from you before, so they're reluctant to call. You, however, can make a timely call and get the sale back on track.

Takeaways

As you saw in the video, it only takes a few minutes a day to see who is visiting your site. Make time for yourself and your salespeople to check this valuable information every day!

How are you going to use the prospects tool? Leave us a comment.

Image Credit: Sean MacEntee

Internet Marketing Comprehensive Review

Inbound marketing is all about getting found by customers. Unlike dated and costly outbound tactics, inbound marketing relies on leveraging web content to bring customers to your cyber doorway. To ensure your web content is out in view of your target audience, optimize it and place it in locations where they’re most likely to run across it. Here’s an overview of the 3 key components of inbound marketing strategy. 

Image by: Giles Gonthier

1. Content
Content is the cornerstone of any successful inbound marketing campaign. It’s what generates interest in your business and draws people to your website. Content is strategically formulated – it’s optimized with keywords that are search engine-friendly, and conveys a valuable message to your target audience.  Publishing high quality content enables you to showcase yourself as an expert in your field. If you come across as a credible problem-solver, people are likely to hire you for jobs. Your content should also revolve around keyword topics applicable to your business. Blogs, videos, white papers, podcasts, webinars, and eBooks are some of the most effective ways to get your content out into the world.     

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The objective of SEO is to maximize your website’s visibility in organic (unpaid) search results. Prospects begin the buying process by entering keywords in popular search engines like Google, Yahoo! Search or Bing. Isolate which keywords they’re most likely to use when searching for your product or service. Incorporate these keywords into your content and aim for keywords that are most likely to get your website ranked highly in search results. Here are the main factors that influence SEO results:

• Title tags that are brief but descriptive, unique for each page, and accurately describe a page’s content.
• Descriptive meta tags that include keywords and summarize the subject of your page.
• Simplified site structure that organizes your content and makes it easy to find. Create a naturally flowing hierarchy that makes sense to viewers and search engines.
• Create 2 sitemaps – one for viewers, and one for search engines. 
• Anchor text that describes the page to which it’s linking.
• Use heading tags to emphasize important text.
• Optimize site images by giving them descriptive filenames and using the alt attribute.
• High quality content that is compelling and useful. Influential sites will earn recognition on their own.
• Write fresh content regularly and ensure your text is easy-to-read.
• Use the robots.txt file to tell search engines not to crawl parts of your site that are not useful to viewers.
• Focus on generating a large number of quality inbound links.

Google offers an excellent Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide. For some valuable SEO tips, check it out!  

3. Social Media
Social media allows for the creation and exchange of user-generated content. It puts your supporters in control, making them more engaged and connected with your business. Social networking is extremely valuable for branding. As our society has grown more “casual,” consumers feel greater comfort buying from businesses that have a face and personality to their name. Social media channels like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube are ideal for engaging with prospects. Show them you’re personable and open to listening to their suggestions and concerns. Build a social media presence using multiple sites so your ability to connect expands.

Social Media for Big Businesses (GF302)

More and more big businesses are realizing what small businesses have known for a long time – they need to be personable with their clients if they expect to gain a loyal customer following. That is, engage them in continuous and meaningful dialogue. This requires using social media tools to create interest and encourage responses from clients while building lasting relationships with them. In an age where consumers have grown jaded and more skeptical about the world around them, businesses NEED to find ways to build trust with their audience.

1. Create blogs that are personable.

In recent years, the blogosphere has proven itself to be an ideal forum for getting the word out. Company blogs are the place for virtual focus groups, posting breaking news, and generating new ideas. Not only are they valuable from an SEO perspective, they’re the perfect platform for company employees to share industry knowledge. Creating a voice for your blog is essential. If you have knowledgeable employees who are passionate about their work and have a story to tell, leverage their skills and enthusiasm to create company blogs. Blogs should be written in a personable voice – like the way you’d carry on a friendly conversation with a co-worker. At the same time, they should be credible and relevant to your company’s industry.       

2. Make your site interactive

Visitors stay on a site so long as it holds their interest. Paula Berg of Southwest Airlines offers some great tips on how to make a website more interesting. Paula recommends adding features like personalization options, reader polls, photo and video galleries, links to company communities, user login and profiles, a consumer-generated Flickr feed, video blog, sharing features, a news feed, podcasts, and rating opportunities. All of these features encourage interaction from site visitors. Interactive sites experience more visits, more individual page views, and more visitors who remain on the site longer. From a consumer perspective, site interactivity conveys an image of friendliness and openness – just the kind of company they’d feel comfortable doing business with.

Enable your site for customer commentary – it’s the best way to gauge public sentiment. Consumers are fed up with the communication barriers big businesses throw up in front of them. Restricting the communication link between you and your clients will not win your business points. Businesses that communicate with their customers openly are viewed as credible and trustworthy. Ignore people and they perceive you as untrustworthy and disinterested in their needs. 

3. Be an active social media participant

The company blog may be your social media anchor, but it’s not the only place where customers can find you. They’re at other outlets like Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, and Twitter. If you’re going to cover your social bases, reach out to your customers wherever they’re most likely to be found. Social media outlets are also useful for promoting new product/service launches, branding campaigns, building a strong fan following, and receiving direct customer feedback.  

From time to time, the names of big companies appear in the news headlines. The media sometimes gives them bad raps through accusations that may not be necessarily warranted. If you’re ever the target of bad publicity, you’ll be glad you have social media channels in place to defend your good name! Your social media outlets are where you can publically defend your actions and clearly state your position. There are many instances where companies saved their brand reputations by delivering publicity through their social channels.

Takeaways

• Your company blog is the epicenter of your social media communications. Create blog content that sounds conversational and is relevant to your audience. Build credibility and trust.
• An interactive website generates interest and allows customers to become engaged with your company.
• Broadcast your product/service via social media outlets you’re customers use. Establish a fan following.      

Twitter for Business (GF501)

Twitter is becoming an increasingly important platform for online business communication. It’s a microblogging service that enables users to send out and read tweets of up to 140 characters. Twitter has unfolded as a valuable and easy-to-use social media tool that enables businesses to share up-to-the-minute information about their products or services. Businesses that are active members of their business community rely on Twitter to share ideas and keep tuned in to what their competition is doing.

Image by: stevegarfield

Building relationships
Twitter is useful for building a more personalized brand for your business by developing deeper relationships with your customers. If your business has the reputation of being sociable and approachable, people will want to do business with you! When consumers have questions about a product, they want to be able to reach the manufacturer quickly and easily. Nowadays, so many businesses restrict their communication channels by throwing up barriers between them and their customers. Remove the barriers and give your buyers access. Twitter provides them access via real time interaction with your business.  If you can establish deeper relationships with your customers, they will feel more loyal about doing business with your brand.    

Receive consumer input
Listen to your customers…closely. Twitter is a perfect way to discover what people are saying about your business. Before considering a new product launch, get feedback from your Twitter followers on whether or not they think it’s a good move. No one understands the value of your products better than the people who use them. Consumer input is the key to developing better products. People buy your products to solve their unique problems. If your products are not delivering the intended results, you want to know about it. Twitter provides an open channel for you to learn ways to better enhance your offerings and make them more marketable.

Promote your business
The nice thing about Twitter is that it’s ideal for people on the move who use mobile devices like iPhones or Blackberries. You can easily deliver your message straight into your customer’s pocket without having to depend on email or expensive printed media. Twitter is the perfect medium for sharing the latest news, promotions, or events related to your business. It’s often easier to announce an upcoming webinar in a short tweet than in an email because many people are more apt to acknowledge tweets than emails. As long as you adhere to the 140-character limit, Tweets allow you to include links to your web pages, blogs, or videos.   

Broaden your horizons
Develop greater expertise in what you do by following industry experts on Twitter. Staying connected with the leaders in your industry provides you with a steady stream of fresh ideas, resources, and tips focused on how to build a better business. Engage with those you follow by joining conversations. Contribute answers and make suggestions so you can build a reputation within your business community. Retweet particularly valuable content with your Twitter followers. The more informative content you forward them, the more reliable they will view you. As your reputation grows, so will your list of followers.    

Chris Brogan’s 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business post offers some practical steps on how to get your Twitter business network set up. Do you have some additional Twitter tips for business? We’d love to hear your comments! 

Greased Skid Marketing is now part of Inbound Team --The Atlanta, Georgia Inbound Marketing Agency specializing in helping businesses grow with online marketing.

John Jantsch of  DuctTape Marketing wrote a recent post on Twitter and small business (http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2009/03/31/all-tweet-and-no-cattle/).

His main point is that small businesses should get the basics of business in place before chasing the latest hot idea or fad. I have to agree!

Execution is essential in effective marketing. No matter how clever the strategy or idea, it's usually consistency and persistence that gets business results.

I think human beings want to imagine there's a magical way to get results. And, the latest fad or technology gets annointed as "The Answer."

Do you find yourself running around chasing the latest big thing?

Or, do you have a system for doing the boring things that will make a difference for your business?