by tradesmeninsights | Feb 23, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
Some of you may have already jumped into Google+. According to recent stats, as of January 2012, there are over 90 million users (Twitter has 100 million active users). To put this in perspective, they launched Google+ by invitation in June of 2011 and opened it up to the public in September of 2011. Google is positioning Google+ as their Facebook for B-to-B.
Google+ is a great content sharing platform, and building an audience on it may be one of the smartest things you do as a content marketer according to a recent post by Brian Clark on copyblogger, Why Google+ is an Inevitable Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy. Here are two highlights on why:
- Google+ is a part of Google – they do a good job integrating with Google docs, Chrome, Google Reader, Gmail and YouTube.
- Search – Google is the king of search and now they announced the Search, plus your world which merges personalized search with social search.
Brian also discusses concerns about Google having a stranglehold on the market and what we might expect moving forward.
The key for those of us who write content is to understand the language of our audience and make sure we reflect that in our content. Search will do the rest.
If you like this post, you might want to read:
Suggestions on How to Make Sense of Google+
Google+ and B-to-B: How to Get Started
by tradesmeninsights | Jul 7, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
Contrary to what people might say, email marketing is still a very effective marketing tool. The key to a successful program lies in the list. If you’ve ever done any email marketing, you know you can rent lists or have publications send out a message on your behalf.
But the best lists are the home-grown ones that you nuture from within. These can come from exisiting customers, potentials for trade shows or ad campaigns, but the key in the cases other than your current customers is having them give up their email address and opt-in to all the great things you want to send them. That’s where a good opt-in page comes in.
I recently read a post in CopyBlogger, 7 Steps to an Email Opt-in Page That Works that made several good points. Here are a few highlights that may seem obvious, but aren’t always followed:
- Determine who you want – this will determine the message you create.
- What do you want from them – you want them to sign up, so get to the point – one point.
- What should it include – a headline, benefits (what’s in it for me), call-to-action and actual opt-in form.
- How much info should you ask for – the more you ask for, the less will sign up.
Don’t overcomplicate an opt-in page. Use my old standby- KISS.
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 16, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
I’ve never been much for beating around the bush. I like to get to the point and move on. Much like a missile, which when programmed, is focused and keeps on track to its target…so should a good post. I guess that’s why I like Twitter so much, because it makes you choose your words carefully, not only to communicate the message, but to be impactful as well. I read a post recently on Copyblogger by Michelle Russell, How to write with a knife, that gives great insight into how to sharpen your message. She does an excellent job showing you how to get the wheat away from the chaff. So enjoy.
Here is some other interesting reading:
Why most Blogs Fail
5 Tips on How to Improve your Blog
