 Do I need to know a Kardashian? I recently read a book about Harry and Meghan and found it interesting that Meghan Markle made moves early in her career to align herself with influencers, and then became one herself, launching The Tig. So, the answer to the question above is NO, you do not need to know a Kardashian or a Megan Markle to align yourself with influencers. Over the years, influencer marketing has become an immense part of the marketing landscape. Honestly, I had to do my due diligence to learn more. Influencer marketing often sounds too good to be true, but the numbers don’t lie — on average, for every $1 businesses spend on influencer marketing, they make $18.
New to influencer marketing? Confused as to exactly what it entails? You’re not alone. It is something new to my range of services too. The term “influencer” is tossed around a lot, and it’s not always clear what it means, so let me share what I have learned. First, what’s an influencer? The term “influencer” is shorthand for social media influencer. A social media influencer is a person who has gained credibility in a certain niche. Today, influencer marketing is a method of choice for top-tier brands around the world, but it wasn’t always this way. For a while, it was considered nothing more than a passing trend. One thing you need to know: you do not need to be a national company to benefit from this type of marketing. It can be done on a local level, using local influencers. Simply stated, local influencers are bloggers, reviewers, and social media personalities who are based in the same area as your business. Going to in-person events can help you put a face to a name. Of course, we are still in the midst of a global pandemic. And now is not the time for me to talk about networking to meet influencers. Of course, there are plenty of other ways to meet influencers. One option is to use an influencer marketplace or platform. These let you search for creators and influencers within a certain distance of your region. You can further narrow your search by looking for influencers who are in a certain age range, and who are interested in certain topics.
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 These are tough times and most, if not all, industries are being impacted in some way. The world is frightened and wary. There are many things that businesses must consider when it comes to the Coronavirus COVID-19 and somewhere near the top should be your marketing and sales efforts. While it’s understandable that this is not your top priority, if you choose this time to lose sight of marketing when the virus is over, it will be that much more difficult to recover. It is important to remember in your marketing and sales process that everyone's first thought right now is about their health and their family. After that comes business. Always be sensitive and empathize with your prospects.
Let’s look at how your business can move forward and possibly grow during the virus. Move everything online The most obvious issue with COVID-19 is that we’re not out shaking hands and meeting people, and this may go on for a substantial amount of time. Because of that, local events are all canceled and conferences all around the world are being canceled. People are beginning to worry about business events all the way into the Fall. Companies that rely on in-person interactions to grow need to focus much more heavily on digital marketing and inbound marketing tactics. That means developing a strategy and executing immediately. There is no time to delay here. Inbound marketing can take some time to start showing big results so the sooner you can start, the better. Consider quick-win opportunities As I mentioned, inbound marketing takes time, but there are some quick wins. Start looking into utilizing pay-per-click advertising through Google as well as social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Paid advertising can produce some quick results while the other inbound marketing tactics are ramping up. You may also want to consider targeted outreach on LinkedIn, especially if you're in the B2B sector. Do some research on your prospect businesses and then connect with the decision-makers or target persons at those companies. TIP: Don't approach your outreach strictly from a sales standpoint. Be helpful and share content that is important to them. If you educate, you can win. Stay consistent online Consistency is one of the hardest things to keep in times like this, but it's extremely important. Google has made it clear that consistency is a big factor in how they rank. That means that if you've been blogging every Tuesday, it's important to keep blogging every Tuesday. When tough times hit, usually marketing is one of the first things to be evaluated and sales often immediately cut. By cutting your marketing budget, you may save some dollars today, but you'll be sacrificing more dollars later. Consistency is key for ranking and if you give up consistency with inbound marketing, you're going to start losing all you’ve worked for. That can mean your website traffic, your authority, your search engine rankings, even your engagement within social media. This may be your chance to find new and creative ways to reach your target audience. Think outside the box. Take advantage of new opportunities While most people are looking at the Coronavirus as a hardship, for some businesses it can be an opportunity. And regardless of how the opportunity arises, it's your responsibility as a business to capitalize. If your business benefits from everyone being home, or keeps people healthy, or keeps kids entertained while they're out of school, or delivers products to people at home — USE THIS TIME! There is a huge opportunity here and people genuinely need your business. Now is the time to double your marketing and sales initiatives and reach more people. I know this may sound thoughtless or maybe even irrelevant to your business, but I beg you to not make any drastic decisions that will still be affecting you after this virus is over. Keep moving forward and set yourself up now for a great finish to 2020. Video is an integral part of the online experience, and no site hosts more videos than YouTube. The site boasts more than 3 billion video views per day, making it an excellent place for businesses to find consumers.
Viral YouTube is the home of the viral video, the term for a video that spreads quickly to a large audience on the Internet. Businesses can use other social media sites, such as Facebook or Twitter, to direct consumers to YouTube videos. You should also post your YouTube videos on your website for further recognition. Channels On YouTube you can host your own channel. This allows you to centralize an online location for all manner of videos related to the product or service that you are marketing. You can update, revise or create completely new videos about your product or service, while maintaining an outlet for related videos. Businesses have the option to establish a free user channel, such as the one many individuals create, or pay a fee to host a branded channel, which gives you more options and features to improve the pages. Measurement One of YouTube's greatest strengths is the way it allows you to track the number of views each video is receiving. There are no complicated searches or evaluations necessary. Instead, the number of viewers for each video is posted right beneath the video image. This allows you to gauge instantly how widely the videos are being received, and how successfully they are finding an audience. You can also see how many people are recommending your video or commenting on it. Advertising In addition to brand channels, YouTube offers other options for marketers attempting to reach the site's many users. These opportunities include buying advertising on the home page or buying advertising that runs beside certain videos. Also, make sure that you are using your keywords to ensure more recognition in searches.
It is certainly true that Google plays a role in SEO. However, your efforts on the social media site should be about more than gaining followers who don’t interact with your content. Instead, you should be striving to create an environment where fans communicate with each other and your company. You must stay active on the site by sharing content and relevant links, responding to feedback and making connections. Everything should be done with your target audience in mind, so make sure each piece of information is useful.
Myth #2: Social media is becoming the most important aspect of SEO Whether social media sites take over good old fashioned content marketing as the most important aspect of true SEO remains to be seen, but for the time being it should just be another cog in the machine. Search Engine Watch noted that you can’t rely too heavily on social, as it should only be used to back up interesting content. Although certain websites and businesses have found ways to go viral through social sharing, it is not sustainable and often doesn’t lead to long-term success – you need balance to achieve that. Myth #3: The linking conundrum No one denies that links are a valuable way to boost website ranking. However, the days of mindlessly loading up content with links are long gone, and in their place is a strategy that emphasizes quality over quantity. But you shouldn’t go too far with this initiative, which can leave you throwing in citations instead of good links. According to Search Engine Land, it is important to identify the best possible sources and connections, and then using those links and citations to build great content marketing. Myth #4: You need to invest in paid ads to get a better ranking Paid search is another aspect of content marketing that can improve your SEO efforts, as well as the bottom line, but it’s not enough to boost rankings. It was commonly thought that services such as Google AdWords went a long way toward jumping in the ranks, but Google executive Matt Cutts spoke about the truth behind this myth. He claimed that while the search engine would certainly like you to purchase ads, it doesn’t punish those who don’t. Myth #5: Your content can never be improved OK, this might not be a myth as much as it is a common mistake where you become content with everything you have done. Instead of thinking your content marketing strategy is consistently outstanding, take time to evaluate each piece and note areas of possible improvement. Analytics tools can be a huge help as you try to find small details you can improve. Dig through stats such as bounce rate or click-through rate to see what needs improvement and try to pinpoint exactly where you went wrong … or right.  Imagine this: one day you’re on page 1 of Google. The next day you do not appear until page 14. You don’t even know what hit you but it hit you hard. This scenario happens in real life, and in most cases, business owners are left confused and wondering what happened. That’s why a Website Audit Report is a must.
What is a website audit? A website audit allows you to get a professional review and analysis of your website, including its content and inbound links. This covers Web Design and Web Structure Analysis, Page and Link Errors, Page Title and Meta Description Issues, Backlinks Analysis, URL Architecting, Duplicate Content Analysis, Comprehensive Target Keyword Analysis, and much more! I recommend this service before you start any optimization campaign for your website. When you want to invest in an online marketing campaign, particularly SEO, it is important to have a deep analysis of your website. Why Do You Need a Website Audit Report? Your website is the core of your online marketing strategy. SEO, PPC, social media optimization — all these direct traffic back to your site. A faulty website can flush all your efforts down the drain. An audit followed by an appropriate action, on the other hand, prevents that from happening. An audit is needed to find faults in your site so they can be corrected. An audit is also the first step in recovering from Google updates. With the search engine rolling out between 500 and 600 algorithm changes every year, it’s crucial to get a “checkup” for your website annually. Google Algorithm Updates In addition to being better prepared to run an SEO campaign, getting a website audit will also protect your website from Google’s algorithm changes. Google is continuously tweaking their algorithms to provide users with search engine results of ever improving quality and relevance. Online Reputation Management Almost everyone is Googling themselves these days because they know that they are also being Googled. So do you Google yourself and don’t like what you see? Well, what you see is what your prospects and customers see. You may have the patience not to act on negative comments about you or your business but your prospects and customers may not be as forgiving. Fact: 80 percent of people surveyed had changed a purchase decision due to a bad review they saw online. And with competition tighter than ever, businesses are seeing that Online Reputation Management is now a necessity. What is Online Reputation Management? Your online reputation is important. With the huge and ever-growing population searching online to evaluate businesses, bad comments and reviews about your business can gravely affect your target market’s purchasing decision. This is why it is critical to monitor your online reputation and take a plan of action to counter any negative material and proactively act to produce positive material about you, your brand, your business, and your products/services. Why Monitor Your Online Reputation According to studies, 78 percent of Internet users conduct product research online and 80 percent of potential buyers changed their purchase decision after seeing a negative review online. Your business can be at the mercy of online commentaries – or you can use these to your advantage! Online reputation management allows you to respond to negative comments the moment they appear on the Internet. Proactive ORM also allows you to optimize positive reviews about your business so that favorable reviews dominate search results, pushing down negative ones in the process. Also, 44 percent of online adults have searched for information about someone whose services or advice they seek in a professional capacity, like a doctor, lawyer, or plumber. You can use ORM to give these searchers a great “first impression” online. Get an online Reputation Management consultation now to protect your business and to NOT allow detractors to slow you down! Companies invest thousands of dollars when they want to redesign their website, hoping that a more attractive design will lead to more revenue. But is it really about the design? Or is it more about the content? Or, at the end of the day, is it more important that your website accomplishes the goals which you need to achieve?
Without taking into consideration an E-Commerce Website, the two basic types of business websites are: Credibility Sites and Lead Sites Credibility Website A credibility website serves to credential a business as legitimate and trustworthy. Credibility business websites are used by business owners who are sure most of their business is generated by word-of-mouth, by referral, or by a salesperson. They believe a visit to their website occurs during the trust phase of the sales process. People are not discovering the business online; they are checking the legitimacy of the business or just wanting to learn more. Viewers of these sites have already heard about a business’ product or service. These visitors are looking for an online reinforcement of the good things they have already heard about this business. A solid credibility site: 1.) Has a professional appearance. Your small business website is your virtual storefront. No one wants to do business with a store whose physical facility is dirty or unkempt. The same is true of your webpage. 2.) Is current. re you still running a promotion on your site that ended on Mother’s Day and it is now the middle of June? This lack of attention to detail can kill you, as customers think, “They aren’t on top of things on their website, perhaps they won’t be on point with me either.” 3.) Has Accreditation Logos. Are you a member of a professional association, a network, a quality assurance program, the BBB or earned specific licenses and certifications? These logos should be on your website. Even if people don’t know exactly what each organization does, these logos offer a sense of psychological security to your viewer that you are legitimate. Of course, be honest and make sure you are truly a member of each organization you place on your site. 4.) Is Rich in Testimonials. Nothing builds credibility more than real testimonials and endorsements from real customers. Remember: A credibility page is for those potential customers who are already familiar with your company and looking for an additional means of information. It appeals to people who are already thinking of doing business with you. Lead Generation Website The second type of business website is a lead generation site. This type of website contains most of the same attributes as a credibility site, however, it must take things farther. A lead site is designed to be an initial point of contact with your business’ service or product. It is designed to help people discover you online when they have little or no previous knowledge of your existence. Here is what you additionally need: 1.) Strong SEO Nothing is more important to a lead generation site than where it ranks on Google, Bing, Yahoo and the other search engines. When people search looking for a product or service you offer, you must show up on page one! You must have your website and each page on your site optimized to be found on search engines. This is called on-page SEO. You must also work on external SEO. External search engine optimization efforts are an ongoing process where an expert garners quality links created on other high authority sites that point back to your website. Unless you have tons of time and enjoy a steep learning curve, don’t try this on your own because if you get it wrong, Google will bury you. 2.) Possible Paid Online Advertising While organic ranking is ideal, you must get in front of your potential customer. People need to find your business organically (that is, they search a product or service you offer and you rank high on Google; this naturally takes time). In the interim, a paid advertisement on a search engine can get you in front of your audience quickly. 3.) Landing Pages These paid ads should point to specific pages on your site that relate directly to the ad content. A landing page helps convert visitors because it is tailored as the solution to an exact problem or need that the person just searched. 4.) Strong Call To Actions and Capture Mechanisms Bright contact buttons and phone numbers are important to gain contact. They should stand out sharply from other elements on your page. An email capture field should be present. Consider providing visitors the option to sign up for educational newsletters and specials if they provide their email. 5.) Ongoing Content In order to target existing keywords that people search, you’ll need fresh posts. And connecting your site to your Social Media will increase this content. Which type of site do you need? A credibility site can be beautifully designed and placed on the web. Since most people will visit you after they have heard of you, the site doesn’t need as much ongoing content. Visitors are primarily looking to see you are legitimate. In contrast, a lead site needs ongoing work and effort. Before you decide, ask yourself: “What would happen if my credibility site could become a lead generation site to gain even more business?” If you realize that you need more people to find you online to increase your business, maybe you should consider expanding your credibility site to a lead site. Either way, your business website needs to work for you! Organic SEO (search engine optimization) is the phrase used to describe processes to obtain a natural placement on organic search engine results pages.
Increasing your rankings on the organic side of search engine results requires planning, creativity and above all patience. Three to six months is definitely not an exaggeration in the amount of time it may take for the internet to recognize you… But it is worth it. I do not know how many times I have been approached by someone who makes a change to their website and then is frustrated when they don’t jump up in the rankings the next day. Changes, especially subtle ones on infrequently crawled sites, can take many weeks to start showing up in the search engines. Myth #1: PPC (pay-per-click) ads will help/hurt rankings. This one is funny to me because about half the people who think that running Google AdWords will affect their organic rankings believe that they will bring them down; the other half believe they will bring them up. That alone should tell you that neither is true! Website Content: Original and informative content is one of the best things you can do to improve your organic search engine rankings. Believe me when I say quality is definitely better than quantity in this case. Generally your website is going to be an extension of your business or personal life, in either case you should have plenty of unique information to write about. Take the time to write informative articles and try to keep your site fresh with new articles as often as possible. It not only lets the search engines know they need to be visiting your site more often, but it also gives your readers a reason to come back. If you write a good article, chances are people are going to link to it as a resource for others. A great byproduct of a good article is back links. Back Links: In search engine optimization (SEO) terminology a backlink is a hyperlink that links from a web page, back to your own web page or website. Also called an Inbound Link (IBL) these links are important in determining the popularity (or importance) of your website. Some search engines, including Google, will consider websites with more backlinks more relevant in search results pages. Every time an outside source links to a page on your website, this is considered a back link. If you are looking to improve your organic search rankings, take a look at your current back links and the back links of others and see where you can improve. Yahoo! and Google provide tools for checking your back links; in addition many websites offer these services for free. I suggest using a third party if you are new to back link research; it will help you minimize mistakes. Back links help search engines determine what your content is about. Think of back links as votes for your content. When a site links to you, it is saying to the search engines (as well as to its readers) that your page has relevant information on it. When a text link is created, the text inside the link is first looked at for determining what your content is about. Additionally the surrounding text is considered in categorizing your page. It is important to have links from sites that are on topic for what your site and/or article is about. Organization & Navigation: Keep your site clean. If your visitors are having trouble finding pages and content, so will the search engines. Use menus and links that are concise and to the point, and keep all of your navigation where the user can quickly find it. It may not be necessary to directly link to every page from every other page and often times this can be confusing to both your visitor and the search engines. If the user can quickly narrow down what they are looking for they will be much happier and much more likely to link to your site. The search engines are the same way, if your links are specific and fewer they will be given more weight than a large number of general links Keywords: Define a keyword list. It’s unreasonable to assume that you will pull top rank in Google for every keyword relating to your industry. Your goal should be to pull top rank on the most desired keywords. This is an exercise that will take the effort of both marketing and management. Think about how people would search for your products and services, make a list of these keywords, and check the traffic for each term with a tool like Google’s Keyword Planner. Naturally you will want to rank for the keywords with the most traffic, so put them in the order you want – most relevant first. If you have 10 pages relating to the same set of keywords, Google will have a hard time determining which page is relevant. Instead, merge your content into a single cornerstone page. With one authoritative cornerstone page on a specific topic, there is no SEO confusion, and you should rank higher. Optimize your page titles: The <title> HTML tag defines a web page’s title and is meant to be a concise description of that page’s content. It is the first line of hyperlinked text Google displays in their organic search results, and it is what appears in the top frame of most web browsers for that page and in tabs. Google considers this to be the second-most important on-page SEO element AFTER OVERALL CONTENT (overall page content is still the first). When you write your page titles, keep them less than 70 characters, since any text beyond that will be cut off when listed in Google’s organic results. You should include your important keywords in the title, preferably in the beginning. It is also a good idea to include your company name as well towards the end. |
Boost Your BusinessMaria NovakI have over 35 years' experience in Marketing Small Businesses. Categories
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