Did You Post Your Website and Forget About it?

Posted on July 19, 2013 by admin

17432422_sYou’ve seen how brick and mortar stores are always renovating, right? It’s not that they have money to burn, it’s because they understand the importance of keeping things fresh. Once a new website is up and running, many of us fail to change it regularly. This can be a key factor in gaining and keeping customers.

Here are three reasons why you should update your website. First and foremost, it helps you as far as search engines go. Customers are looking for the most up-to-date information and by keeping fresh content on your page you allow search engines to track that. There is hidden value put on those websites that offer unique content on a regular basis. Falling behind in this area can drop your rankings and fast.

Updating your website also shows your customers you’ve been busy. Don’t keep grand openings from two years ago in your top news feed. Instead, mention yesterday’s open house for a new product or service offering. Leaving outdated information at the top of your page could make readers think you’ve gone out of business. Make a point to update your website at least once a month, if not every week.

If you have customers coming to your site regularly, it generates discussion and discussion generates revenue. More people are likely to link back to your website if others notice it on social media outlets. People like to share news, so give it to them.

There are several ways to keep your website full of fresh content. You can start off by incorporating a blog. Blogs are a great tool to connect on a personal level with your readers. Look for popular topics within your industry and offer up your opinion on them. Don’t forget to include a way to get feedback within the blog. This will get more attention.

Consider adding multiple menu options, including a news section and an image or video tab. Include photo galleries, which you should update often, and demonstration videos, if applicable. People love visual elements to informative content. The news section can also give them a viable option for returning to your website.

News is a relative term. Even if you think it’s an average occurrence or mundane, put it on your website. That one million product sold celebration or new product launch could be the trigger that gains you a new customer. There are numerous ways to deliver fresh content to your website. We can help you decide what works for your company.

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Popularity or Search Engine Optimization, Which One is Getting You on Top?

Posted on July 18, 2013 by admin

20429388_sSearch engine optimization is a lot like high school. It takes time to become the popular kid, and some work to maintain that reputation. Your company may be facing similar strides online. Being the new business on the block has obstacles and a majority are going up against those who have already established their online presence.

While it may not seem fair that a better content producing site gets bumped to a more popular one it happens. The biggest reason is trust. In today’s world, it is easy to manipulate search engines and Google knows it. By allowing popularity to trump search engine optimization it keeps certain sites on top and gives Google users that bit of confidence.

As far as search engine optimization is concerned, it is relatively easy to make your way to the top which is why popularity usually wins. But don’t get discouraged. Those companies worked hard to get that ranking and so will you. Everyone must earn their popularity for Google and its users.

So how do you gain popularity? Google has a few  indicators to determine your ranking. For the most part it’s all about how you are engaging with your readers. Are you delivering as far as links and social sharing? These are all factors in deciding your popularity.

Social sharing and links can easily coexist and be manipulated. Links can gain you popularity but not within social shares. Those won’t pass PageRank. Focus more on your social shares to gain search engine optimization and popularity. Take advantage of social signals for sharing popular topics like celebrity news or other hot topics.

While links can earn you search engine optimization points, don’t depend on them. Google is really looking at how companies are achieving lots of links they didn’t necessarily earn. So make sure your links are legitimate. Even those back links that you might think are boring can gain ground in the eyes of Google.

Yet the most important way to get the attention of Google is how you are interacting with your readers. Their analysis gives them access to data that determines user behavior and quickly notes who is popular and who isn’t. From how long a user is actually on a site and scrolling through the pages to their bookmarking and copy and pasting activity, it’s all noted.

Google has developed algorithm updates as well as other announcements to help those already established sites. Contact us to help tackle popularity with search engine optimization and become a trusted site for Google and its millions of users.

 

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Do Your Current Branding Ideas Focus on a Broken Promise?

Posted on July 17, 2013 by admin

17674205_sThe best branding ideas should directly impact the customer, encouraging spending. You need to understand what influences buying power and create excitement about those specific products and services. Your brand must be a promise to deliver. How you commit the brand to your targeted audience must have priorities.

A brand’s capabilities, nature, and competitor’s promises are all factors that can shape your brand. It’s no surprise that brands succeed by their ability to deliver and if their promise is believable. Branding ideas shouldn’t overlook the integrity of the promise, which means the character of the brand shouldn’t stray too far from that particular industry.

The most important of all branding ideas is using a promise to connect businesses and customers. The easiest way to achieve this is to build excitement. The big names like Pepsi and Hershey have done a good job doing this. Both have established a promise that drives customers into quicker buying decisions. Now whether that is done by branding ideas that offer bargains or the simple pleasure of experience, differs upon the execution.

The best branding ideas generate sentiment and interest. For customers, focus on the thrill of the purchase and spontaneity. If you are looking to create a promise to another business, focus on how you are going to get them more money.

Let’s be honest, businesses want to maximize their value in every aspect. The branding idea here is to highlight a risk priority and a promise to deliver the most minimal risk possible. This is an example of ensuring your brand’s promise is aligned with the customer’s decision-making promise.

Branding ideas for your B2B needs is a wide world. Each promise can be different from the next and you will need to really cater to your audience. If you are marketing to a service industry, reliability is key. Deliver a brand that gives these business dependability. This same concept can correlate to other industries, too.

If you are looking for branding ideas to entice government entities, an effective promise would be about predictability. These groups are centered around productivity and efficiency. Develop a brand that could be used for policies, budgets, and even deadlines.

If you are looking for fresh branding ideas, contact us. We can develop a successful guideline that’s easy to implement and keeps you focused on delivery.

 

 

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Pinterest Marketing and What You Need to Know Now

Posted on July 16, 2013 by admin

18645548_sPinterest is still attracting a lot of attention. Partly because of its ease of use and wealth of information, but also because of how it is changing how marketing works. According to a study by Simply Measured, a social media analytics firm, almost 70 of the world’s top 100 brands are on Pinterest. One in five Pinterest users have purchased a product they’ve seen on the site and they tend to spend around $80 per purchase, compared to the $40 Facebook users spend.

And on top of all that, Pinterest has upped their game by updating their look. The best part, at least to those who are avid Pinterest users, is the larger pins. The images are now a lot bigger and only get bigger when you click on the pin. Also, with their new look, they added a couple of different areas that promote better discovery, which is good for Pinterest marketing. You’ll see a column to the right where you can scroll down and see other pins from the same board; under that, you’ll see a block with other pins from the same website. If you scroll just a little bit further there are several blocks of other boards of where else that pin has been pinned. These new discovery features help the Pinterest marketing process by helping users find content that is similar to the pin they’re currently viewing. One last big change that happened with this new look is the disappearance of the “repin” button. Now there’s just a button under the pin that says, “Pin It.”

What does this change mean for Pinterest marketing? The discovery is easier for users, but it means that the images that are pinned need to be interesting, so they will stand out. This also means that you will have to embed these compelling pictures in your blog posts, so your audience will pin them on Pinterest – resulting in more traffic back to your website. Additionally, be sure to pin original content on your boards. Statistics have told us that 80 percent of content on Pinterest is just repins. If you’re pinning interesting, new content, it will stand out and help you gain more followers.

One last thing Pinterest has done is provide a Business Page option. If you already have a Pinterest for your business, it’s easy to switch over from a personal page to the business page, so don’t let that stop you. When you have a business account, your profile won’t look any different, but you will have more behind the scenes features. You will get new buttons, badges, and widgets for your website or blog. Additionally, you’ll have the capability to look at the Pinterest Analytics. This information will include such things as the number of pins and pinners from your website, the number of repins from within Pinterest, number of website visitors sent from Pinterest, the most repinned and most clicked pins, total number of times your pins have appeared on the site and the number of times they were seen (impressions). You can also check out the Pinterest web analytics page to learn more about it.

Pinterest is doing wonders for Pinterest marketing and we can only imagine it getting better. Let us help you coordinate your Pinterest marketing. At Susan J. Campbell, we can compile images and keywords to get you more repins and more traffic to your website.

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Monday Morning Coffee with Runner’s Feat

Posted on July 15, 2013 by admin

New Picture (4)There’s that moment when you finish something that you never thought you would, you did it well, and you are extremely proud of yourself for reaching that goal. It’s almost indescribable but there’s a part of you that wants to hold on to that feeling for a very long time.

Runner’s Feat is helping female runners hold on to that unique feeling by providing special, race and distant-specific beads for a bracelet.

This small company actually got started after Patty ran a race and made a bead for herself as a way to celebrate her accomplishment. After many compliments and requests from friends for her to make them one as well, she decided that more people might like to have a bead too. Patty and her husband, Tim, work together while traveling the country to sell their beads and other products. They find out about dozens of races and begin the creative process.

The beads are high quality, made here in the U.S., and each race has a distinctive design created by Patty herself. They have several large race-specific beads, but they also think about those smaller races too. And if you don’t see a bead for your race, they can make a custom-designed bead for you and your friends. To see the whole line of their beads, check out their website. Also, ask to be their friend on Facebook and you’re sure to hear about exciting races – probably some you never knew existed.

Their whole mission is to help make each runner feel the pride of their accomplishment every time they slip on that bracelet. In addition to these very special beads, Runner’s Feat offers quirky and fun stickers to place on your car. With funny sayings like, “13.1, half the distance, double the fun,” it’s just another way to show pride in your running achievements.

Whether the distance is 5k or 26.2 miles, each female runner deserves the opportunity to show that she finished something exciting. Susan J. Campbell would like to give a congratulations to all the ladies out there who are training hard for these races, to those who have completed them, and to Runner’s Feat for providing them a way to hold on to that accomplishment for years to come.

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The Path to Distinct and Unique Nonprofit Writing

Posted on July 12, 2013 by admin

When you think about your nonprofit and the writing you produce, does intriguing, riveting, or “page-turning” come to mind? If not, how can you change that?

There are always several tips for good writing, but do these tips cross over into the nonprofit writing world? Good writing needs to be tight, forceful, colorful, and rhythmic. For all communications, it is important to fit the context; these points expand on that context and can help with your nonprofit writing:

Tight: To the Point

Most of the time good writing often calls for a good hook and an outstanding introduction; nonprofit writing is a situation that asks for getting straight to the point. Often times in nonprofit communication more information is given than is necessary. Shorter sentences result in shorter paragraphs which in the end results in a clean, tight piece of writing.

Forceful: A Balancing Act

Another commonality in nonprofit writing is taking advantage of emotions, as well as facts. Forceful writing is taking the best of both those worlds by grabbing your audience’s attention through a descriptive and moving story, then convince them that they are able to make a change with some specific statistics. Stirring up emotions is useless unless statistics can be there to be backed up, as well as the ability to change those numbers.

Colorful: Storytelling requires abnormal words

Typical writing, even great writing, tends to be more black and white; writers choose more traditional words rather than exciting words. It would be more influential to tell the story in a way that will grab their attention, like step two suggests. Replace generic words with specific words.

Rhythmic: Conversationally

As in the previous steps, you have the opportunity to tell a story, which is sometimes best done in a conversational manner. Creating your communications to reflect a conversation is not an excuse to ramble, however. It is best to know what points you want to make, where you are headed with the story, and what reactions you wish to incite. The best stories are done with a purpose.

Good writing takes work even for the best of the best. Don’t stress too much about it and let Susan J. Campbell help you with your nonprofit writing. We understand the time and effort it takes to manage everything. Contact us to help take some of that load off of you and your organization.

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Ten Ways to Improve Your Social Marketing Strategy

Posted on July 11, 2013 by admin

17728525_sWhen it comes to your marketing strategy, the back seat is not the best option. In today’s world of social media, you need to take action. If no one is talking about you, you don’t exist. Even in negative conversations, a great marketing strategy will allow you to take the bull by the horns and work through any misconceptions others may have about you or your brand.

By getting involved in social media you can take advantage of the endless opportunities to capitalize on having a presence and developing a positive reputation. Here are 10 ways you can improve your social media marketing strategy.

You need to begin with a clear goal and a plan of action to achieve it. Your goal should be about what you hope to gain from participating in social media. If you are trying to generate more sales leads or improve customer service, focus on that. Once you are sure about what your goal is your marketing strategy should follow suit and drive the sort of content that gets published as well as the activities you offer on your social platforms.

The next step is to do your homework by putting together an amazing team to provide quality content that hits home with your targeted audience. You need to establish who you are writing for, who is doing the writing and how it will be maintained. But your message can’t end there. Maintaining your online presence depends on you interacting with customers. Make sure you are providing the content they are looking for.

It can be difficult at times to manage your time so a big portion of your marketing strategy should be about making time. Keep an “80/20” mentality. When you are online, spend only 20 percent of that time promoting yourself and your brand. Spend a majority of your time establishing a rapport with readers. This can be easily done by creating a system that ensures you are devoting certain hours during the week to online interactions.

If done well, the marketing strategy should also include the integration of both offline and online efforts. There should be a seamless effort between the two in order to maximize any and all cross promotional efforts. You need to keep in mind that even the best marketing strategy can lose focus.

Remember to focus on the quality of your content and not necessarily the quantity. No one will remember if you posted 10 blogs this week but they will remember two incredible features that helped answer their questions or shed some light on a subject they find interesting. Let your audience guide the conversations. This will enable them to form an attachment to you and your business.

Having a productive marketing strategy is great if you have the resources and the ability to join the online conversation. We can help you evaluate your resources and provide the appropriate marketing strategy you need to write quality content that engages your customers.

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Social Media Tools Go Beyond Just Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on July 10, 2013 by admin

18759053_sIf there’s one thing that National Small Business Week has taught us is that there are more social media tools available that just Facebook. If you haven’t made the move to using social media as a part of your day-to-day marketing plan, you really need to. But don’t just create a profile and forget to establish yourself, and your brand by providing regular content.

For this reason alone, it is best to take advantage of the other social media tools available to companies besides Facebook and Twitter. If you are looking to really give yourself a presence online then you may want to take a closer look at three top apps: Vine, Instagram, and Pinterest. Not only are these apps great social media tools, they are easy to use, addictive, and growing in popularity as discussed in this article.

Users are quickly identifying with the way these platforms allow endless loops of visual aids to be shared. If you are familiar with Twitter than you will see a lot of comparisons with its app, Vine. Both are channels that allow users to post quick hits. Where Twitter uses words, Vine gives you the ability to share looping video clips up to six second long. These quick loops can be created as a short film or stop-motion animation.

You need to be sure that your message translates well to a visual element. For example, quick shots of a pile of mulch surrounding a tree as it is watered and grows is a great way to establish different aspects of what your company does. Fun, around the office videos do well on this medium, too. If you are just starting out it is important to tie in what it is that your company does and how you do it.

If you haven’t already figured it out, social media tools are allowing us to make better connections with our customers. In order to do this successfully, we need to be more human. These three platforms allow us to do that. Instagram offers a snap shot into the life of you and your company.

You simply take a photo, filter it, and share on a variety of platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or your newly established Instagram profile. By applying hashtags to your Instagram photos you can pinpoint your location and grow your targeted audience. Instagram is great for those pictures of fun potlucks at the office, an impromptu meeting out on the deck or celebrating an employee’s anniversary with cake and ice cream.

Now if you’ve mastered having fun with Instagram and Vine you should definitely move on to Pinterest. This is probably one of the most addictive social media tools out there right now. It’s a bulletin board that allows you to organize your content and photos to illustrate your goods and services. It’s a great tool that lets you actively participate in the creative world of your business and your customers.

Pinterest not only gives you the opportunity to “pin” your own items but items and content that is aesthetically pleasing will get re-pinned, generating your brand all over again. Creating a team to encourage pinning and re-pinning and adding hashtags will ultimately bring viewers back to your site and generate traffic and revenue.

If these new social media tools are a bit overwhelming, they don’t have to be. Contact us to learn more about leveraging these three channels to increase your brand recognition and establish your company on some of the most popular mediums out there.

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How to Make Your Blog More Appealing

Posted on July 9, 2013 by admin

4280455_sIn order to make your blog appealing you must carry on the excitement of the headline. The headline and the first paragraph are the most important components of any blog. If you do these two things well, you will make your blog more appealing to your targeted audience and no doubt get them to enjoy the entire content.

Experts urge writers to focus a great deal of their efforts into the first 50 words of your blog. These words have to be made of gold since that is what initially draws the reader in. You wouldn’t create a fancy invitation only to slam your door in a guest’s face would you? Here are five simple ways to get the reader’s attention, and keep it there.

It’s good to lead off with a question, a rhetorical one works best. Engaging the reader right off the bat with a thought provoking introduction can make your blog more appealing. It’s curiosity that engages people. You can accomplish this with an anecdote or quote, too. The point is to get their attention so why not make them laugh or immediately tell them the point of the post. If you’re not going down the entertainment route, choose a well-respected quote from a well-known author or a famous person.

You could also tap into the reader’s imagination using powerful description coupled by words like “picture this” or “do you remember when.” Make your blog a validation of a reader’s potential experiences and produce a vivid mental image that accompanies your content. A great way to accomplish this is to use metaphors, simile, or an analogy. This is one of the most simple and powerful ways to tell a story. It can capture a reader’s ability to tell their own story.

Another way to make your blog worth the read is to add a little bit of shock value. Remember those odd little nuggets of useless information you’ve been saving for an awkward icebreaker, well, you can use them to make your blog interesting from the beginning. But remember to keep it subtle and favorable for a wide audience. You know who your targeted reader is but you may not know all their tastes. So keep relevance in mind and close as well as you opened by linking back to your original thought.

If you aren’t sure how to make your blog more inviting, contact us to bring your posts to a new level to obtain more reads and more followers.

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Monday Morning Coffee with Seniors Helping Seniors

Posted on July 8, 2013 by admin

shsThey say giving is better than receiving — but if you’re an older adult who needs a little help to remain in your own home, receiving can certainly be a good thing, too. One organization has found a way to accomplish both:  Seniors Helping Seniors. The organization is connecting seniors who want to provide help to others with seniors who need basic in-home assistance.

Seniors Helping Seniors is part of a national franchise that has opened a new location in St. Joseph, Mo. The goal of the organization is to match active seniors with older adults who need basic, non-medical help at home. The seniors who take paid positions with Seniors Helping Seniors can provide help with activities like preparing meals, light housekeeping tasks, companionship, transportation to appointments even yard work or basic home maintenance. Some can stay overnight, or help with respite care.

The model is built on the age-old concept that helping feels good, and that most seniors are healthier and happier when they have meaningful activities to fill some of their hours. Many of the Seniors Helping Seniors team members have histories of being active community volunteers or are considering just a few hours of extra income each month to pay for “extras.” Based on testimonials on the organization’s website, the satisfaction of being a friend to a senior in need and providing that extra set of helping hands may be the biggest reward.

Seniors Helping Seniors was created by Kiran Yocom in 1998, based on her observation that many seniors needed to feel connected with a purpose – while many others needed a few hours of help each week with basic tasks. Yocom had worked with Mother Theresa in the past, and wanted a way to live out some core beliefs about help and compassion.

Today, the organization has dozens of franchise locations across the U.S., numbering well over 100 offices. Seniors who want to become helpers can begin the process online, or read testimonials to learn more. Seniors who need help can also begin the process online and can find news articles and interviews about the service. Seniors Helping Seniors also participates in several community awareness events for causes that impact seniors, as well as senior information fairs nationwide.

The overriding theme of joy and fulfillment through service is a key story of the Seniors Helping Seniors story. Although the team members are paid, a greater emphasis by far is placed on the benefits of sharing one’s time and talents with someone else in need. This message remains clear throughout the organization’s tagline and website, accomplishing a few basic elements of an effective brand message.

Today, Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions recognizes that sometimes a succesful “big idea” for a service, and a brand, can be quite basic — as long as it shares a message the audience can resonate with quickly and share easily with others. What’s your big idea? Contact us today to talk about it. 

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