10 Tips to Drive Traffic to Your Website

Posted on April 18, 2012 by admin

Driving traffic to your website can be a challenge until you find just the right process that works for your company. This traffic is what you need to grow your presence and revenue opportunity on the Internet, making it an essential part of your marketing strategy.

There are 10 simple strategies that should be put in place when it comes to driving traffic to your website:

  1. Identify keywords or phrases that have a connection with your business that don’t already have a large number of advertisements associated with them.
  2. Create a little bit of controversy with your blogs so that people get engaged when reading what you have to write and hopefully will take the time to respond.
  3. Use graphic data when driving traffic to your website because most people want a visual effect that ties in with the subject.
  4. Stay abreast on current events that deal with your company or product and post about these events on your blogs.
  5. Create top 10 lists (hence this post) but make sure that you create them to hit your target audience.
  6. Promote any online tools that your company may offer to make the readers visit more pleasant.
  7. Have fun graphics and a great web design if you want people to come back for more.
  8. Utilize social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and more.
  9. Make sure to blog on a regular basis so that people know when to expect new content from you.
  10. Highlight your company in your blogs. If you have done something spectacular, let them know.

These 10 tips are crucial for driving traffic to your website. At Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions, we have a dedicated team of writers who focus on these steps for each individual client. To learn more about the services we offer or if you would like help building your website, contact us today.

Posted in Marketing Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Word of Mouth Power Reigns. Boost Yours with Facebook Strategies.

Posted on April 17, 2012 by admin

 

Few marketing strategies are as powerful or as elusive as word of mouth. It’s an ancient strategy that still carries intense importance today toward building brand power, but where does word of mouth fit into modern social media tools?

If your business is using Facebook to create an active conversation with your audience, you’re already boosting your word of mouth potential. Yet many organizations make the mistake of throwing up some random posts or comments as a Facebook strategy, or feeling they’ve succeeded if they gain new numbers of fans. The reality is that the numbers of “Likes” you have on Facebook doesn’t necessarily equate to word of mouth power.

Here are some strategies to help you gain more value from Facebook and turn those conversations into word of mouth success:

  • Aim past the likes. Aim for active, consistent dialogue instead. This is where your organization’s online community begins.
  • Feed that consistent dialogue with fresh content, using keywords and focusing on valuable, quality information in your posts. While you may think it’s interesting that you got a new goldfish, keep in mind that even a Facebook post is true content and your audience is looking for quality and value.
  • Add links in your posts to your blogs. (Sounds simple, but some organizations overlook this step).
  • Put elements like how-to lists, tips and “blast from the past” items as links in your Facebook posts. This builds your element of quality, and encourages audiences to share your Facebook posts with their friends.
  • Run a planned campaign on Facebook. A simple way is the “Like-gate” tool, which asks your user to take the basic step of liking you if they’re interested in a discount, coupon or special piece of content.
  • Use tabs feature across your Facebook page to highlight what you want users to do next, such as download an article or a coupon. Tabs are a portal toward getting users to do something, and even if you need to take an extra step or two to get the tabs running, you may find them very valuable. Even smaller businesses can likely afford the tools and strategies needed to carry out a social campaign on Facebook and see real results.
  • Implement Facebook to get people excited about going to your site and signing up for your enewsletter. Bait this offer by including an easy link to your email signup in your Facebook post, and offer a chance to win something if they take that step.

As you implement strategies to move past the “Likes” on Facebook, listen. If you have a sale or event, listen to customers talking. Chances are good you’ll hear “I saw this on Facebook,” or, “a friend sent it to me from Facebook.” This is word of mouth power, and it is powerful indeed – especially when integrated into an overall content marketing strategy.

If you’re ready to take this new direction but don’t have a plan, we’ll work with you to put together an effective strategy. To learn more, contact Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions today.

Posted in Content Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Cup of Coffee with Erika

Posted on April 16, 2012 by admin

It’s that time again. Time for your Monday morning cup of joe with another one of our team members, Erika Conard. We sure hope that you are enjoying these glimpses into the lives of our team, because we definitely enjoy sharing them with you! So grab your coffee and meet Erika, one of our writers.

 

I wasn’t sure on the approach I wanted to take when talking about myself, so, in a nutshell, here goes!

Favorite Quotes: I believe that “God doesn’t give you anymore than you can’t handle”, and that is definitely a quote that I live by these days. But I cannot stand the quote, “It is what it is.”  I believe that attitude is EVERYTHING!!!

Likes:I love my husband and our 3 kids, substitute teaching and my SJC team!!! I also enjoy being around positive, fun people; gardening, travel, running/walking, wine and I also LOVE horses and plan to have one in Heaven someday!

Dislikes:  People who gossip, social climbers, people who don’t have any pride in themselves or their property.  Quitters and lazy people do not impress me either.

Work History:  My first job out of college was at Franklin Templeton Investments in             Ft. Lauderdale, FL and I was fortunate enough to meet Sir John Templeton before he passed. After that I started my most important job, staying home for 10 years and raising our 3 children while we moved around the country with my husband’s career. I started substitute teaching in 2004 and taught First Grade in 2005-2006.  Now, I am very blessed to work for SJC Copywriting and have a wonderful, positive, fun group of gals to work with!  I also love to substitute teach and do that as often as my hectic schedule allows.

My DREAM is to one day own a new 2012 VW Slug Bug and drive it around with my husband’s head sticking out of the sunroof (as you may have noticed in the photo, he’s a little on the tall side)…and to have my horses in Heaven someday.

Susan’s take on Erika –

In case you’re wondering, that horse Erika will have in her next life will be that of the warrior horse. Erika is a constant ball of fire with passionate ideas, dedication to a quality life for her family (and I don’t mean the kind of quality that has anything to do with money) and pouring out love on those around her. She is one who will quickly go to battle for those she cares about – and will carry the biggest stick.

I invited Erika onto our team in a point in her life where she needed a change, and a challenge. I’m not sure you could get more challenging than to ask an elementary teacher at heart to write about enterprise resource planning and telephony solutions. My phone would often ring after her assignments were submitted, with Erika calling to make sure her blogs made sense. Her passion for wanting to do a great job, coupled with concern over this foreign topic, made for some fun conversations.

Rest assured, Erika does a great job for us, dedicated to getting her work in early and sharing a positive note for those receiving the completed assignment. She’s a champion for the team, always offering support and encouragement to others, even when things are more than challenging in her own life. We are definitely blessed to have Erika on our team and in our lives.

Posted in Monday Morning Coffee | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Social Media Marketing Mistake: 3 Pitfalls to Avoid

Posted on April 13, 2012 by admin

It’s Friday the 13th – are you ready for things to start going wrong? What about your social media marketing efforts? If you don’t have a clear strategy in place, it’s possible that you have already made a social media marketing mistake or two. I know I have, which is why I set out to find out mistakes others have made, and what they learned in the process.

This Social Media Today post is a great example. It includes the three biggest mistakes that should always be avoided in social media marketing. Let’s take a closer look and see if they seem familiar, and how we can avoid the same pitfalls.

Social Media Marketing Mistake: Ignore Your Followers

It can be very easy to set up your social media site, start posting away and hope that you’ll get noticed, get followers and get more revenue. If you’re paying attention to what’s happening on these platforms, you should know that simply pushing out information is not enough. It’s a crowded environment; you have to do something to stand out.

Make your followers feel good about following you. Provide them with relevant content and posts they want to read; thank them for mentions and RTs; and don’t forget to RT or share other posts. In other words, get in the conversation! It’s a two way dialogue – don’t make the social media marketing mistake of ignoring your critical audience.

Social Media Marketing Mistake: Ignore Successful Trends in the Market

It’s great to get notice on your social media platforms, but you have to have the right notice for the right reasons. Pay attention to what others in your market are doing – is there a similar trend going on? What do they know that you don’t? If the major players in your market have launched a particular strategy, it’s possible they’re on to something. Don’t make the social media marketing mistake of missing that all-important trend that could drive new customers and new revenue for you.

Social Media Marketing Mistake: Believe Niche Limits are Your Limits

Remember that earlier statement about standing out in your market? If you accept the limits in your niche, you’ll limit your ability to attract new clients and set yourself apart from your competition. Take a risk and try something new – if it doesn’t work, the most you’ll lose if your time.

To go that extra mile, you have to be willing to take a risk with your social media marketing. Check out complementary or similar markets to see what they’re doing – is it something that will work for you? Don’t let the social media marketing mistake be the chance you didn’t take.

Like I said before, everyone is guilty of at least one social media marketing mistake, but it doesn’t mean you have to repeat them. Ready to try something new? Give us a call at Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions and we’ll explore some fun options with you.

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Posted in Social Media Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Consistent Content – Do it Right or Don’t Do it at All

Posted on April 12, 2012 by admin

Too often, I will meet with clients who know they need to do something with their website, but they don’t really know where to begin. They also know they need to have a blog or add social media to their strategy, but they’re barely scratching the surface on what they could accomplish. When they ask my opinion, my answer is always to create consistent content. If you can’t keep up to date and consistent in content creation and social media – don’t even waste your time.

This doesn’t mean a huge investment in your online work. In fact, I encourage clients to get engaged with what we are doing for them. We can put their social media strategy together, but they need to be responding to direct posts; they should be engaging the audience; and they should be actively building their brand on these channels. We can always assist – but their role is critical.

Consistent content doesn’t mean that new blogs, articles or even press releases have to be added several times a day, but they should be added several times a week. More importantly, make sure the content included in these pieces are relevant for the audience and are keyword rich. I could spend a lot of time writing about my volunteer work or the room I decorated in my house last week, but that’s not really why you’re here. You don’t want tips on community service or household improvements – that’s not my niche. You come here to learn how to drive more traffic online.

The same is true for our clients in healthcare, mental illness, youth programs, cloud-based technologies, eCommerce and more. Each of these companies has their own niche, their own expertise. Their audience wants to glean knowledge from interacting with these companies – and they want to learn from you, too. If you’re not creating consistent content, those looking to your site for advice will look elsewhere as they have already exhausted your resources. You want to keep them coming back for more.

We can work with you in the creation of your consistent content. As I mentioned earlier, our focus won’t be to capture your entire budget to create as much content as possible. Instead, our goal is to help you create consistent content that is relevant to your audience and drives additional traffic. Want to know more? Contact Susan J. Campbell Copywriting (yes, we are copywriters at heart) Solutions and we’ll show you how.

Posted in Content Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

How Social Media Marketing Increases Sales

Posted on April 11, 2012 by admin

Social media marketing will work when strategized and executed correctly, there is no question about it. For nearly six years social media has been a major force among progressive business owners and the results have proven positive. According to a post by the Weidert Group, the more you engage in social media marketing, the better your sales.

Large companies have more money to play with for advertising, but it seems that smaller companies can spend less and still enjoy great results. Social media marketing is a fruitful, yet inexpensive way for the smaller companies to get noticed, and larger companies to leverage the power of their brand in new channels.

If you are willing to spend five hours per week or one hour per business day on social media marketing, the results will speak volumes:

  • The ability to generate new business leads
  • Quick results, usually within the first six months
  • Reduction in marketing costs
  • Increased exposure to your business
  • Increased traffic to your company website
  • Development of loyal fans to your company/product
  • Better business partnerships

Like any other marketing tool, the more time and effort you put into social media marketing, the more results you will see. There is not cost in putting forth the effort to use social media marketing but what if you don’t have the time to invest?

This is where SJC Copywriting Solutions comes into play. We have key people who focus specifically on social media marketing for our diverse client base. These professionals are ready and willing to help you form the best business strategy for your company.

We’ll build out your editorial calendar and show you how we can collaborate together to drive traffic through social media marketing. We’ll schedule your posts for you, promoting your keywords and online assets. Ready to learn more? Give us a call today.

Posted in Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Let’s Get Fresh: With Content Marketing That Is

Posted on April 10, 2012 by admin

You crave fresh air. The smell of fresh cut grass. Fresh greens at your local farmers’ market.

Google craves fresh content marketing. So do your clients, and the “fresh” movement is creating quite a buzz. The Google Panda update last year is kickstarting conversation across SEO arenas and content marketers near and far. What are you doing to infuse your content marketing with an air of fresh?

Why is the need to update your website, your blogs and your other forms of social media with fresh content marketing tools so … in fresh produce terms …  raw? And why is Google giving you some SEO guidelines for keeping this fresh content coming?

  1. New content = new site users, readers and new visitors.
  2. Welcome back. Fresh content also means your current readers will return to your site.
  3. There’s a strong, undeniable link between word of mouth energy toward your online marketing and the strength of your web site, including your audience and Google’s perception of you. Word of mouth energy is directly fueled by fresh content marketing and quality writing.
  4. It works. Fresh, valuable content adds value to your website and social media efforts – and added value means added outcomes.
  5. You have to. (Sort of). You have to provide fresh content if you want to stay in good with the Google family. Google gets valuable information from you and your users and they use this information to improve users’ search efforts. Ad targets are maximized through information gleaned from users’ searchers, and users’ searches are fueled by fresh content.

If you aren’t providing fresh content, you may not be included in the top searches you need to keep building your brand energy and reputation. (You could opt out, but that will likely put you on the information superhighway sideline. It’s a green, grassy place that doesn’tsee much customer action, if any).

The recommendations from Google toward fresh content marketing are part of overall intentions to provide users a great experience. You know your business benefits when users come back time after time to your site, but what can you do to incorporate fresh content marketing?

  • Use a carefully crafted list of keywords and longtail keyword phrases tailored to your business in all your content. BUT …
  • Resist overstuffing keywords and cluttering up your articles and web content with useless information that’s no fun to read and doesn’t bring value to your users. Your fresh content must now, more than ever, be well-written and worthy of reading.
  • Set up an editorial calendar that includes keywords and topics you want to target and the platforms across which you’ll be implementing them. The editorial calendar is a simple tool that makes content marketing easy and effective, and it reminds you of your next steps on your quest for fresh content.
  • Schedule small batches of blogs and social media posts ahead, when possible. This frees up your energy to focus on writing engaging, fresh content.
  • Collaborate with an expert like Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions to map out your plan for creating fresh online marketing content that is valuable, effective … and fun.
Posted in Content Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Coffee Talk with Ronny Jo

Posted on April 9, 2012 by admin

A company needs many different personalities to make it function. There is always the person who is super organized, the person who works well under pressure, the person who always has a positive attitude, and of course the person who never says no.  For Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions, that person is Ronny Jo.  Grab your cup of joe, take a few minutes to yourself this Monday morning and meet our “never-say-no” team member.

My name is Ronny Jo and I have been writing for SJC for just over a year now. My husband Mark and I have been married for 11 years and have one daughter, Alexis who is eight years old. I enjoy working for SJC because it allows me to not only hold down a job, but also the freedom to be a mom as well. Our daughter is involved in gymnastics, softball and swimming so the flexibility that  this job allows me is important. I am also able to help at my daughter’s school by volunteering in different roles such as the Reading Wall, Little Red School House, being a Head Room Parent and serving as the VP of Communications and Secretary on the PTO Board.

In my spare time (which is rare, but I wouldn’t have it any other way) I enjoy watching NASCAR, playing softball and cards, music (singing and playing), and SUDOKU. My family is also very involved in the Faucett Baptist Church where I lead Vacation Bible School every year as well as serve on the Children’s Council.

Susan’s take on Ronny Jo:

In every company, there tends to be at least one person you know you can count on to do just about anything. For Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions, that person is Ronny Jo. I originally recruited her to our PTO Board when I was president. I noticed how reliable, efficient and hardworking she was as a volunteer. When the business started to grow and I needed to add to the team, Ronny Jo was one of the first people I called.

Her role within the company tends to change and evolve as our projects grow. Ronny Jo handles everything from writing and editing, to backlinking and research. When it comes to a new assignment, she doesn’t seem to know the word, “no”. She’s always willing to learn and she takes a quality approach, caring what happens to the company and whether or not the client is happy with the work. She’s very structured and pays close attention to detail – something essential in this kind of work.

We can’t continue to grow without people like Ronny Jo hard at work, delivering exactly what we need, when we need it. That kind of dedication and commitment is hard to find – we’re planning to hold on tight to this one.

At SJC, we value and embrace the various strengths of our team members. Those strengths are what set us apart from other companies.  If you would like to get to know more about our company and how we can put those strengths to work for you, feel free to finish your coffee and then go check out our website.  You’ll be glad you did.

Posted in Monday Morning Coffee | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Does Your Social Media Strategy Support Your Brand?

Posted on April 6, 2012 by admin

Social media – we’re all there, sharing the latest updates, tweeting about our online specials and posting trending questions in LinkedIn groups. At SJC, we have a social media coordinator who oversees the management of our platforms, ensuring everything we do within our social media strategy supports our brand. If everyone on the team could post at will and on the fly, what would it do to our brand?
You should be asking the same question within your own company – does your social media strategy support your brand? I found this great Marketing Made Easy report (actually in a Twitter post) that I thought offered great insight on the importance of matching your social media strategy with your brand.

Altimeter published a report in January, highlighting the global explosion of social media within the enterprise. Among companies that qualify as an enterprise – more than 1000 employees – each had 178 social media assets and each of these assets were under varying degrees of management. Even more concerning is the fact that only 25 percent of these companies offer training to their employees regarding their approach to social media.

Aside from the fact that these companies had too many hands in the pot, each one was engaging with customers on behalf of the brand, without a clear social media strategy in place to guide those conversations. Interestingly, 70 percent of global brand managers believe their social media efforts are meeting their business objectives, yet only 43 percent actually had a strategy in place.

The disproportionate response suggests that either these companies do not have a clear understanding of the value of the social media channel and have set relatively low expectations, or they haven’t established clear business objectives with which to compare their social media efforts.

Most likely – both arguments are true.

Without that clear social media strategy in place to ensure all interactions, posts and shares reflect the brand, employees could easily share too much information publicly and expose the company to litigation if confidential information is leaked. At the same time, the company is likely spending too much money on social media without a clear return on investment (ROI) or return on influence.

Before you continue your social media efforts, have you clearly defined your social media strategy? This strategy includes defining your business objectives, establishing tools for measurement, planning a regular audit of your social media campaign, making training mandatory and limiting those who are representing your brand on social media platforms.

If you’re ready to re-align your social media efforts with a clear strategy, Susan J. Copywriting Solutions can help. We’ll work directly with you to help you coordinate and execute a strategy that supports your business goals, properly promotes your brand and gives you measureable results. To learn more – contact us today.

Posted in Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

4 Tips to Pinterest Content Marketing

Posted on April 5, 2012 by admin

The hype surrounding Pinterest tends to toggle between those obsessed with the fun ideas they find on the site and business-minded individuals identifying different ways to drive traffic and convert leads with the platform. The latter tend to favor Pinterest content marketing.

As I am a big fan of anything that helps drive traffic to a website to generate more customers and more revenue, I wanted to dig deeper into this newer social media tool to learn how it might work for my business and that of my customers.
In the process, I’ve learned Pinterest does offer a number of SEO
benefits and can help you drive traffic to your website. There really is something to this thing called Pinterest content marketing. Here, we share four ideas that can help you get started and then measure the impact.

Backlinking Opportunities:

If you spend a lot of time driving business online, you know the value in backlinking. It can be a time-intensive activity to drive your own campaign, but if you are actively involved in the massive social network that is Pinterest with valuable, “pinable” content, your information will be shared and the domain authority on Pinterest will serve you well. Remember, Pinterest content marketing only works if you provide something people will want to pin to their boards.

A Facebook Tie-In:

To login to Pinterest, you need to login to Facebook. This not only streamlines your login process (who isn’t constantly logged in to their Facebook account?), it also links your timeline to your Pinterest posts. As a result, your friends gain access to your pinning activity and will click through to see the pins – if they draw interest. Clickable pins will drive more traffic, ensuring you benefit from that viral effect and truly leveraging Pinterest content marketing.

Great Analytics:

Not all social media platforms offer great analytics for reporting purposes. Pinterest analytics provide information on which item within your content earned the referral click, allowing you to click through a see the item elsewhere on Pinterest. At that point, you can interact with the individual that shared/promoted your content. This is the true value in Pinterest content marketing.

Keyword Strategy:

It can be easy to get caught up in the latest social media craze and forget that you have a keyword strategy that should be driving your activity. Don’t forget to optimize on those keywords in your Pinterest content marketing. Be specific in your posts and keep your eyes on the core goal – driving more traffic, converting more leads and building a loyal customer base.

If you need help determining your keywords, building out your Pinterest content marketing strategy and even kicking off your writing activities, we can help. At Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions, our main focus is using our talents in writing, marketing and social media, to help you drive business.

Posted in Pinterest Content Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments