marketing strategies 101, online marketing strategy basics, and best practices

Do. You have a strategy a strategy. That, explains. What, you are trying to accomplish how. It's going to be accomplished, and how, you measure success if not. Then, you've got a problem a strategy. Is, not. Having a Facebook strategy or Instagram, strategy those. Are channels. Now. What you do on Facebook such, as making it post that. Is a tactic, a. Strategy. Is the, singular, overarching. Principle, that. Dries how to use, tactics on specific. Channels and why. This. Is evidenced by the frustration, people express, about social. Media marketing, two. Of the most common questions are how, do I know which, social media to use and. How. Will I know it works that's. A question of ROI, return, on investment. Finding. A return on investment of marketing, is difficult. Without, a strategy, this. Is evidenced, by the number of searches, for, how to find, social, media ROI in. Content. Marketing it's, very similar to social media marketing in that, no one seems to be sure how, effective, it is in, one. Study it was found that 50% of, content, does, not drive, any, engagement. It's. The age-old problem, of half. Of my advertising doesn't, work I just don't know which half, but. It's no wonder in asking. Marketers, about strategy, only. 32, percent said. That they had a documented. Strategy, that, was communicated across, their, organization. 20, percent had, no strategy at all and, about. Half had, a verbal strategy, but. Nothing, was written down or clearly. Communicated. To the organization, I think. We all know what happens to information, if it is not written down or, communicated. Clearly. This. Is why. 46%. Of marketers cite strategy, as their number, one obstacle to. Effective, marketing. Not. Only that when strategy, is a problem, then it leads to other problems, anything. That supports, strategy, suffers, such, as training how. Can you train, your marketing, team effectively, when, you don't know what, you want to achieve and of.

Course It's hard to find a return on investment if you, don't know what, you're doing or why you're doing it and it, also exposes. The metrics, you are using to, measure success if you. Aren't defining, what success looks, like, have. You ever been distracted, by something shiny like a penny on the sidewalk it. Immediately, distracts. Us because it's shiny but, it's usually worthless. You'll. Know you are suffering from this when you or your company get distracted by the latest fads headlines, apps, or, technology. When. You look at a single tactic, or a channel to provide results rather, than your total, plan, or. You, ignore, internal, data but. You rely on external. Headlines, for, decision making in, other. Words when, you are externally. Directed, you. Allow factors, such as headlines, media, and fads to, drive your decisions, when. You are internally. Directed, you, use data developed, through your own efforts specific. To your business it's, all about what influences. Your, actions. Businesses. That rely on internal. Factors, for, a defined strategy based, on their own data they, find results. People. Focused on external, factors for success jump. From solution, to solution, seeking. Immediate, results. You. Have a strategy, everyone. Does, it's. Really just a matter of whether it's a good one or, not, for. Example Facebook posts, they're, a tactic, a strategy. Informs, you as to why you are making that post and why. You are using Facebook. Before. We even begin talking, about customers, and strategy, it, all starts with, knowing, yourself and, your company. How. Many times have you ever talked to a salesperson and after. They've given their spiel you're. Still not convinced, if it's even worth listening to anything more they have to say you. See that's, because they haven't properly communicated. Their, value statement. Sometimes. We hear sales pitches that are more focused on the company than on our needs and so. Your customer, needs to know what, value you, provide, so. When asking, who, are you what. I want to know is what. Drives you as a, business owner or working, for a company what. Makes you get up in the morning and tell, the world about your, company, maybe. You have a better product maybe, you just have a passion, for this business or. Maybe. There are other reasons that, drive, you to do. What you're doing because. That will influence, how you are, the better option, on the marketplace. When. I ask people that question why. Are you the best in your business or why should people choose you I get, a variety of the answers about service, quality, our, innovation. My experience. You. See the problem with those responses. Is they're. Very company, focused, they. Rely. On our. Service, our, quality, my. Experience, the. Problem there is it's all internally, focused it's. All about the company, you're. Not looking at it from a customer value. Standpoint, and so. If your focus is service.

Show. Me a specific, customer. Example. How. Do you deliver that service to the customer, if, you. Say that our differences quality, well, what, is it about that quality that makes you better what. Is it to the end-user that makes it better. Focus. Your response, on the customer, because. This is what is in the customers head they. Want to know what's, in it for me what's. My value. So. All of your presentation, about how long your company's been in business or, how many years, the founders, are there anything, like that people. Don't listen to that what. People want to know is. What's. In it for me what's. My value, because. When they see the value then they're on board, with what you have to offer. So. Look. At what your company is doing look. At how you were communicating, is it. A monetary, value are, you saving them money is it. Functional, something. That will save them time or. Is it tangible just, something to own or. Is it more of a deeper emotional. Need. Identify. The value, that you are giving, to the customer. So. When I ask you what does your company do is your. Response customer, focused, does. It clearly define the value, that, I would. See or experience, as a, customer, of your company. To. Truly understand, your customer, you, need to understand, their, motivation, what, do they really need in breaking. Down the different needs Tony, Robbins identified, six. Basic needs we, have a need for comfort, variety. Significance. Connection. Growth. Or, contribution. For. Example, certainty. You. Saw this when people, liked the way things are they don't like change they like reliability. Maybe nostalgia. You. Can sell cherished, memories, to this crowd, because, they like that, certainty. That comfort, in certainty. Also. We like variety, you. See we like things to remain as they are but we also like things to be different so depending. Upon what product, you have variety. Speaks. To a number of needs such as risk or chances. Maybe. Even a sense of rebellion, the. Unfamiliar, or challenged we. Also like significance. A product. Can be positioned, to, show us our significance. Or creating. Significance, maybe. Its social, status maybe, it's our reputation or recognition. By others, this. Is the need, for celebrity. In all of us, another. Need is connection. Or love, and this is one of the strongest, ones it's. That sense of belonging its. Attraction, it's confidence because. It's a connection it's. A sense of personal, attraction, that people, like me. You. Can also sell, a product based on making, you a better person. Every. January people, like to make resolutions, to go to the gym to get in shape maybe. Before summer they want to have the Beachbody this. Is all about getting better improving. Your skills or reaching. Some, sense of achievement and. Finally. Its, contribution. It's. Going beyond yourself, and doing, something for other people now. That, could be for recognition, or. Self-satisfaction. Now. There are many motivating, factors, behind contribution. But, it starts with wanting to do something for, someone else, think. About how people, sell travel, they. Don't sell it as get, on a plane and go somewhere, ultimately. They're selling vacations, as a way to reward yourself for working. Hard the rest of the year and now, you deserve it or. They, sell it as a way to reconnect, with, your, significant, other with your family with relatives, or friends, you. See in that way they're, not just selling the need for a vacation they're. Selling the benefits, and the, emotional, satisfaction you'll. Receive, through. A vacation. So, in developing needs, think. About the need behind. The need the. Emotional. Satisfaction that. You can produce in, your, customer. When. Someone asks you what, do you do or what does your business do how do you answer that question. Most. Times we, do what's called our elevator, pitch our thirty second explanation of what our business is all about. Unfortunately. People, don't have that kind of time we're. Limited our attention span isn't that great and so. We've, got to narrow down our explanation. I like. To refer to this as more of your twitter pitch can. You explain your business and the, value to the customer of, utilizing, your business in, 140. Characters or less. One. Value statement, or tagline that's being used right now on the University, of Phoenix website, is powerful. I love. This that a degree doesn't just change, you, you. Change more than your own life one, course at a time and the picture is of a baby it. Implies, that the, value, of this degree goes far beyond what you do or what, you are able to influence it goes two generations. Beyond, really. A powerful, value, statement, that puts the value in the context, of the customer, and not, the company, this. Is the purpose of a, clear, value statement, and you.

Can Measure the power of your value statement, by, three simple measurements, number. One is there, a tangible, customer. Benefit. Nothing. About you or your company it's. All about what you do for the customer also. Is there a clear monetary. Difference however. If you remember back to the websites there, was very little about money, the. Value, was, in emotional. Satisfaction the. Rebellious, the, legacy, of future generations the, lifestyle. It's. All about the customer emotional. Satisfaction and, if you can hit that factor, you, will be effective. When, developing, your value statement, make, sure that you've identified a, clear, emotional. Need that will connect to the customer, make. Sure it does reflect your business and also. Make, sure that your statement is universal. For all types of customers, that you'll be dealing with so, be sure that, when you develop your value statement it is a clear value for. All customers. An. Effective. Way to target different customers. Is by identifying their. Needs I want. You to do something as we start this video I want you to take 30 seconds, and draw. A picture of you on a. Great, vacation. So. What did you draw, did, you draw yourself on the beach, did you draw yourself golfing. Or hiking. In the mountains are. You alone do you have people around you you. See this, is an interesting way to find out what. Do people visualize, is the perfect vacation, one. Company did this but then they also followed, up with a series, of statements where, people had to agree or disagree, these. Are called needs based statements. You, can recognize them if you. Are to agree or disagree with the statement that starts with I do I, like, or I prefer, here's. A few of the questions that, were asked I prefer. To do my own vacation research, yes. Or no you see by answering questions, like this and giving. A value statement, it will help me understand, what. Kind of person you are and what, needs you have when, you think about a vacation, the.

Company That executed. This survey found, that travelers, tend to fall, into five, categories, the. Recharge, category, was someone who wanted their itinerary, taken care of they, wanted to have fun but still stay, connected, the. Security, segment didn't, want any surprises, didn't want to have to deal with anything, these, are the people that just like to sit by the pool and have, a quiet vacation then. There's the traditional group they go to the same destination, every year, the. Variety, group wants to see new things with. Every vacation. Then. There are the self planners, they. Just want to get to their destination, and they'll figure it out when they get there now. Everyone, has different, needs so. Our self, planners, that just want to get to the destination and they'll use their smartphone, they'll, ask locals. They'll figure things out they value, independence. But, you see the shared need is with, our variety. Group a variety. Group, they want to see something different. Every time so. Both of them while. One group wants to do it on their own and the other group relies maybe, on a travel, agent they, both share, the, values, of independence. And variety. Ultimately. They, will share the same sense of accomplishment with the family, that goes to the same destination, every year because, what they are looking for is to reconnect, with each other so. We need to understand, the emotional, needs of our customers, and there, are some crossover, needs in hiking. They want to see something new they want to challenge, themselves but, feel a connection, to, the earth and to other people around them, and they want to experience, the environment in their own way there's. A lot of similarities, to our spa, or food, customers, even. Though they want a more comfortable experience, in, their, own way they want to have a connection, to the earth to, other people, and they. Are just as concerned about the environment but in a different way, understanding. Those needs will, help us as we create content as we. Communicate, with people individually, but also as a group, the, better we understand, our customer, their, individual, needs the, shared needs but, also the common, needs which need to be reflected on the website, because we're receiving, a wide, variety of different. Kinds of customers. So. Start by understanding the common needs that people are looking for when, they're looking for a vacation or something specific, to your business then. Start. To segment customers based, on their individual, needs and you'll, be more effective, in communicating. To each group. You. In. Our previous video we looked at grouping, customers, according, to their need we. Developed, this with, the persona. You. See not all of our customers are the same just. By looking. At what, people need or what, need they're trying to satisfy we. Can see that there are multiple motivations. Of, what people are trying to achieve even, with just a vacation, there, are a number of reasons that people will use to, go on a vacation a lot, of expectations. As to what they want out of that and so in order to market effectively we. Need to understand, what. Motivations, people have and be, able to speak to those motivations, otherwise, our marketing. Is very broad, and we don't speak to the needs of anybody. The. First way most people will try to group, their customers, is, through demographics. Demographics. Are, the typical age income. Region. Social, status or of, a socio-economic, view. Of people. But. What demographics, failed to provide our motivations. Needs. A, specific. Identity. To our typical, customer that's. A demographic view, of an audience, it. Doesn't, dive in as to, what, they want at a vacation. What are they looking for and what. Emotional. Triggers, will, cause them to choose, one.

Vacation Provider, or one, destination, over another. That's. Why we focus on the persona, you, see the persona, gets into, pain. Points, deeper. Emotional. Needs that. Drive, their motivation, that drive their decisions. You. See even within a single demographic, we can have multiple, personas, because. People, make, decisions based. On different, needs and motivations. So, when, we create a persona, really. What we're doing is telling a story about, a, specific group of people demographics. You know what those are but what I'm really interested in are motivations. What, drives them to choose one. Destination, over another what, drives them to choose a specific, guide what. Are they trying to satisfy what, goals are they trying to reach the, advantage, of developing. This persona. Is that it helps you to connect, your marketing, in a very personal, and emotional, way, to, different, groups based. On their needs ultimately. What, a persona, does is it, creates empathy, when. You see the image when, you give your customers, names it makes, it more real you develop. Your marketing according. To the needs of someone who's much more real than just a customer. It. Creates that empathy, that you and your group can use to connect, more clearly to the needs of your customers. When. Segmenting, your customers, it's important to understand, that not all of them are the same some. Are more profitable, than others, it's. Important to understand, who your best customers are, and how. Much money do they spend, now. When, I say best customers, a lot, of times people will define that differently it, could be based purely, on profit, or, reliability. Or, that they refer new business or simply based on the relationship. Based. On the type of customer, you're trying to produce you. Need to have a method of measuring that when. Way of measuring profitability. Is the. RFM, analysis, recency. Frequency and. Monetary. Recency. Based on when was the last time they were at your business, frequency. How often do they buy from you and monetary. How, much. This. Helps us to understand, the customer. Lifetime value, equation. The. Customer lifetime value is, based. On the, average value, of a sale how. Many sales a customer. Makes usually. Within a specific amount, of time a year, or a month and then. How, many years, that, customer, is retained. You. Multiply all of those you. Take away your, cost, of doing business and, your cost of acquiring the customer and that gives. You your customer. Lifetime value if. You, have a monthly, subscription business. Or software-as-a-service then. You're more interested, in what's going on on a monthly basis and so, you can add your revenue. Per customer per, month the. Costs, per customer per month your. Monthly retention, rate and the, cost to acquire a new customer and that, will give you your monthly, customer, value which, you can then develop. Into an annual customer, value. Understanding. The customer lifetime value will. Help you understand, how different, segments. Are more, profitable than others and also. What you can do throughout, each stage to. Improve, the customer lifetime value. One. Of the surest ways to increase your business's, profitability is, by, understanding loyalty. And leveraging. It to, build, that within, your current customer, base, first. Of all by, understanding the value of loyalty, you understand, how it plays into your business as a whole do.

You Know your customer lifetime value. Loyalty. Is one of those ways that you can increase, the, customer, lifetime value. What. Happens if you were to increase your repeat customer, business by, just 5% if, you. Ran the numbers on that you'd be convinced, that this is a great idea so think, about how much you market to your existing. Customers, in developing. Brand, advocates. People. Are loyal to a brand when, they feel as though they, have received value. When. They've been recognized, and appreciated, that's. What, makes them loyal and so. The more you, show that value. That appreciation. And also. Letting, the customer know at a personal, level that you certainly appreciate, their business, it increases. Their loyalty. This. Is valuable because every, repeat, customer, is worth. Five. New, customers, that's, because the cost to acquire those new customers, is completely. Eliminated, with, someone who you already know and who is already in, your database comes, back and buys again, also. Loyalty. Drives, referrals. People. Love to tell others when they've had a great experience so how, do you know when, your customers, are ready to be referral, sources there's, a simple question and maybe, you've received this question before in some. Questionnaires, they'll ask you how likely are you to recommend our, product, or our company to, a colleague, or a friend do. You remember seeing that if so. You might also remember the. Answer scale it's, from a zero to a ten now. If you, are not likely to recommend, your a detractor, that means that you've answered somewhere. Between zero, and six, if you. Answered, seven or eight that means your passive, that means you had an okay experience, with the company but, you are not ready to commit to, being an advocate if you. Answered, nine, or ten that means that, you are likely to, promote the company given, the chance you. Come up with your Net Promoter Score. Through. Subtracting. Your detractors, from your promoters, the. Net Promoter Score, is all based, on that question are you. Willing to provide, a referral to a colleague or a friend, now.

It's Very interesting because, if you ask open-ended, questions, along with that survey you'll, find that each group also uses. Very different language your, promoters, are very excited, they use words that reflect that, passives. Will always give, a positive. But. Then a negative, such. As the price. Detractors. At least have tried the product but they didn't see the value now. What I love about promoters, is that. Usually. When we perform, this type of survey, we ask promoters. How did you find out about this company, most. Promoters, found, out from, other promoters, and so. It's, a logical step, that promoters, breed promoters, and it's your least expensive marketing. Channel it's word-of-mouth, customers. Developed from word of mouth are usually, happier, more satisfied. Customers. And they stay longer and so. In order to create loyalty, it comes, down to rewarding. Your best customers. Recognizing. Them and responding. To them when they communicate with, you make. It easy for them to share your, brand, message make, it promotable, such. As Nikes just do it you see referred customers, are 25%. More, profitable. 18%. Less likely to leave your company they. Have a higher, customer, lifetime, value than. Average and, because. They're referred you, didn't have to spend the acquisition. Cost to get them so, they have higher margins. Listen. And learn from your best customers, know. Who your best customers are and reward, them and also. Focus. On them give, them a simple, message to promote. Your, company to, their friends. You. In, a very short amount of time our, behavior, has changed drastically. Having, smartphones, at the ready being, able to look up information whenever, we want it has, changed, our behavior, these. Are called micro moments. Google. Is very interested, in micro moments because, it drives, their, search engine activity, Google, has classified micro, moments under four primary areas. People. Who want, to go somewhere who. Want to know something, do. Something or buy. Something, there. Are micro moments that, follow the customer, journey so.

The Customer journey of discovery, the moment that they decide, to do, something or start, investigating. Something this. Is where they, start, investigating what. They want to do and what. Would it take to do it and can, they afford it the next moment is consideration. Where, they're looking at all the options they were available they're, researching, what's out there, comparing. And refining. Who. They want to do business with and their options, the, next micro moment is when. People are in the experience, they. Are either on their trip or on their vacation, and think, about all the photos you see of people who post pictures of themselves on vacation, they're, in the experience, but, they're sharing, it at the same time now. In the moment people also want to know what's near me where. Can I go eat while I'm here and also. When, they post they, have emotional, words with, that the. Key here is that, as people, experience. Things they share them at the same time so. The experience, and the share are intricately. Tied together, now. The average length of a micro moment is only, about 90, seconds that's. Enough time for you to pull out your phone look, it up on Google see. The answers that are there and then put your phone back in your pocket or your purse until the. Next moment, of inspiration strikes. So. What we need to do is know, this behavior, and how. Our customers, are searching, for information, we've. Already started developing, a plan and understanding. Their content, needs and when they need it now. We have to start thinking about how, do we deliver the, content that they want and how do we make it easy to get it into their hands and also. How, can we make it shareable, so, that while they are in the moment they, can recommend it to others micro, moments are all about, understanding, the scenario, or the mindset, people have when, they are searching for, particular information, if you, can provide, them engaging. Content, early, in their experience, they're. Going to come back and look for more because, you've answered the, need that they have in the, moment. Developing. A marketing plan is the, first step to success. Part. Of this also is, understanding. How your business works and the. Goals you have for growing your business, this. Enables you to have a clear, direction clear. Measurements. And goals. To work for, so. Let's, ask what. Are your business goals do. They align to your marketing if. Your goals are to develop, new customers, are. You then marketing, to, bring in new customers and measuring. Yourself according, to that goal if, your, goal is increased. Profitability, well. You get there by increasing, your revenue and decreasing. Expenses, how. Are you doing that is that, part of your marketing plan and are, you evaluating, your business, based, on those goals so, it comes down to setting a goal but, understanding, the process, that creates that goal, identify. What it is that you want to achieve specifically. And then.

Look, At the process, that affects that goal in order, to understand, the actions, and steps that you need to take to, achieve that goal I love, to ask people what, do you want. Typically. They'll respond. I want, more visitors, I want, more leads I want, more followers they'll. Answer with, a lot of things that sometimes. Have nothing to do with increased, business they're. Looking for more visitors there they're looking for more subscribers, but. Ultimately, when. It comes down to it any business owner or any marketer, is looking. For increased. Profitability, they. Want to make, more money and decrease. Costs, because. When there's more profitability, the, business grows there's. More money available for reinvestment for. Additional marketing and business growth and if. That's ultimately, what, you want as a business, then, we need to look at everything we. Can't just look at the marketing we can't just look at your day-to-day activities we've got to look at the entire process of. Business. Decision-making we. Need to look at the workflow we need to look at the marketing, that you're doing your, business operations and the assumptions, that you are making, that are reflected, in your, marketing I like, to say is if you want to increase profitability, than, everything's, on the table you've. Got to look at the entire, workflow. Designed. To achieve your goal so. We start by looking at what is your goal do you want to increase revenue, by, how much do you want to increase it do. You want to increase it by new customers, or do, you want to increase by developing. Existing, customers do, you want to increase the average order on your website or increase. Upselling, or cross selling or even. Increasing. Your sales, close. Rate, from. Lead generation, you see. All of these will require a different process, to follow up on the goal look. At how your business goals are reflected. In your marketing, know. Where, you need to improve in order. To effect your final goal. You. Now. As we are developing our content, plan before. We start publishing anything. We, need to evaluate, where, we are going to publish it and what. We can expect as, a result. You. See every. Channel, is different. Most. People are ready, to rush and start posting content, because. We've developed, somewhat, of a plan at this point people. Want to know where should I post how much time I should spend there and we, need to slow down and consider what. We are trying to achieve, the. First thing to understand, is that not, all of these channels, are equal. People. Use. These channels, in different ways. To, accomplish different, things, this. Gets to the old adage of the, medium, is the message that means how you receive, information, whether. It's a means, of communication, or a device. Or even, an electronic. Channel it. Will determine how. Much you will engage, and how, much information you, will receive, just.

Think About the difference, of how, you will, receive, something through email, as opposed, to seeing. An online, ad or. Even, if you will receive a flyer in your mail, you're. Going to evaluate that information, much, differently, based, on how you're receiving an, example. Of this is a survey, that was done of multiple. Ecommerce, companies. They. Were trying, to evaluate how. Different, channels affect. The customer, lifetime value. They. Found that search, is king when it comes to not only getting new customers but. High-value. Customers, people. That initially, found the company through, search, tended. To become a higher, lifetime. Value, customer, than any other channel. Conversely. Twitter. Is a, more passive activity. Than search when. You have a problem you search for it and if, you find your answer, that, was because you took an active, approach to finding your answer on Twitter. It's a bit more passive, these. Customers didn't have a need but they responded. To a promotion and B, of that they ended up not being profitable. Customers, in the long run people. Engage, differently, on different channels, it. Comes down to the context. Of the content, and the. Competition. For the reader's attention and, your. Motivation, to find the answer you. See if you're, reading news, on a blog, or a news site you. Are paying much more attention to the content, you're. Interested, in the content, and everything. Around that. Content, is very, high in context. Meaning. If you're on a news site the links the images, they are all going, to flow, with the content, and there's. A lack of competition. For your attention, if you, see a link in the content you'll know that you can click on it to get more information, it's, there for reference or to provide additional, resources. So. Blogs. New. Sites, editorial. Information, are very, high in context, and very low in competition. Which. Is why you will engage more, you, will spend more time you, will read more deeply, on those types of sites now. On the opposite, end of the spectrum are our. Faster. Social, media sites Facebook. Twitter. Snapchat. And Instagram, these. Are very fast paced but, context. Is very low, because, you go from one post to the next, and they can be about drastically. Different, subject, areas and the. Competition, for your attention, is very high everyone's. Writing snappy, headlines. Uploading. Creative. Pictures trying. To get your attention and get you to click on their, post as a. Result, there's very little context. From one post to the next and there's, a lot of competition for your attention, the. Result, is you, don't invest heavily. When, you click on a link most. Visits from these, types of social media sites are one, page for, a few seconds and then people are back into, their news stream, so. The effectiveness, of the, engagement, is determined, by what. You're doing what you're looking for and where, you are, so. Evaluate. Media based on what you want to a.

Are You. Looking for more sales are you looking for a response. Or are, you looking to engage that. Will determine what. Channel you will use and how, you will, use it. In. Order to determine the best way to market and further, develop, our plan we. Need to be evaluating, our objectives, what. Is it that you want to accomplish. So. Understanding. How people use these channels differently, will. Help us figure out which, are going to be the most effective, to, accomplish, our objectives. So. We, start by understanding what, options we have available we. Can look at social media search. Email. List. All the different media that, is available to you now. Look. At your business objectives what. Is it that you want to achieve is it, more sales are. You reaching customers across, an entire life cycle are you. Measuring return, on investment, from the different channels we. Need to evaluate which channels, we are going to use but, also couple that together with, our business, objectives and then, make sure that, we are assessing, the right things, in our measurement, we. Want to make sure we're using the right tool for the right job, now. In terms, of acquiring new, customers if. This, is your goal then you, need to look very closely, at search, engine marketing, search. Engines will provide the highest quality visitor. As well. As provide the, highest return, on investment, over the long term you see, by nature search. Solves. The problems, that people have right, now it. Is, an in-the-moment. Need, and people. Are programmed, to go to search when they have a problem, and so. If you're, using organic, search. Engine, optimization. There, is a long term payoff, because it takes time to optimize and, build, rankings, in the search engines but. You can also offset that with paid search to, get immediate, visitors, now. One of the best uses for social, media is engagement. You. Can use it to develop, new customers, but, where it really is, the most powerful is with engaging, with, customers that. Have already used you and like you they. Respond, to shareable, content, lists. Their, image driven they, like quick attend, and content, that they can like share. And move, on now, this works both for a consumer. Audience on Facebook or other channels or a, business. Audience on LinkedIn. The. Advantage, to this is that you can optimize your campaign, you, can boost it you can pay to increase. Targeting, and you, can get measurements, on your campaigns.

But. These channels, are a bit more passive because. People are initially, looking, to connect, learn. More about other people and update. Themselves on their friends and colleagues and, maybe, get some news in the process, they're. Not actively, looking to fulfill a need rather. They're, connecting, and following. Up on the latest information you. See social, networks, are focusing. On monetizing. Their networks and because. Of that they're going to limit your exposure and. Focus. You more on paying, to reach your followers, just. Posting, something, organically. On your page is not, going to reach your entire. List, of followers if you. Want to increase, your reach you're going to have to pay and, you. Can also get into the paid program to, reach specific, customers. That, already know you and like you and have subscribed to you and we, call that dark social it's, that paid, version, of targeting. A specific message, to. A specific group of customers. But. Social media has gone to a pay-to-play you're. Going to have less reach and less visibility, the, main reason, is that the audience doesn't belong, to you technically. In social media the, audience, is that network's, audience, and you're, only renting, their users you. See you're not in total control of your reach or your, visibility it is. Subject, to the, network, and how they are monetizing, and how. Much, visibility, they, are allowing you what. I love about email, it's the, audience that you truly own it's, yours you can control, how often you send you, can control the message, the call-to-action the. Deliverability. And the timing, of your messages, it's. One of the only channels, that is cross-device, in fact. Email, has the highest, return on investment, of any. Digital. Marketing activity, if, you're, trying to build, your own audience, and build, loyalty in your audience then, email, is the, most cost effective way to do that it's. Critical, to developing, a long-term customer, base so. Before trying, to figure out which channel, you're going to use think, about what you want to accomplish, think. About what, you. Can reach and how, you can own an audience, it's. Great to use social media but understand. The limitations, as well, as how you can leverage it in order, to communicate, your. Information. And drive. The intended, action. You. We've. Done a lot of research and a lot of planning but. Now it's time to put this all together and understand. The big picture you. See content marketing it's not just, about writing blog posts or Facebook. Posts it's. About developing, content. That you can use in multiple ways and, understanding. Also how, to break it apart from, multiple purposes, if you. Are like me you are tired and frustrated, by, the amount of advice to simply create, great content people. Are tired of writing articles if they even like doing it in the first place and here's. The problem, most, people don't have the time to sit and write blog posts all day and also. If we don't see results we. Don't want to do it let's. Approach this differently the. First way to approach it differently is to stop thinking in terms of a linear funnel, process that. Whole sales funnel. Where all of the visitors are in the top they, drop out a little bit and at the bottom are our, sales you. See people's, behavior, is completely. Fragmented. This. Is more like the customer, decision-making, process, it's, messy, it's unpredictable, it's scattered, it's. Just like you, browse, the internet it's like how I browse, the Internet it's, like all of us when we're researching or investigating. We, go to different sources we consume different media and we, have, different levels of trust based on what we see where we see it and how, we take. In that content. I like. To think of content, as a meal and so. A content, asset, is the, meal presentation. It's the big picture now, a meal is made up of multiple ingredients, and you. Can enjoy some of those ingredients without, the meal those. Are the little facts that, go to make up the big picture but. Also you assemble, those facts and explain, how they work together and that's, your how-to information, and, then. A meal. Typically, has a couple of dishes to it and that's the presentation. It's, how you take those facts and instructions, and you present it to people and you. Can, develop that as a whole or you can break it down into smaller, parts so, see, content, marketing, not just does writing, a simple blog post but. It's developing. An asset, library of different, kinds of content different. Ingredients. Explanations. Of how those ingredients work together and different. Methods of presenting. The content, create. A single content, asset, that, has dozens, or hundreds. Of snackable.

Bytes Of information. You. We, need to pull back a little bit and understand. A bigger picture of what. We can do to build our business in, driving. People to your website most. People, will, not take any actions, whatsoever. Search. Will provide a significant. Amount of visitors to your site but a lot, of them are going to leave as soon as they get there maybe. Because they saw their answer or maybe because they didn't in, general. Only a very, small, percentage, of people will, take action, on our website, and register. Subscribe. Or buy, something and a, lot of that is dependent upon how, they, found the website you, see content. Marketing is just the beginning of, the process it gets them to the site but, here's the key when they come to the site it, produces. Data. Now. This data is important. Because, what. Happens, is that a small file called a cookie, is placed. On the visitors browser now. A cookie, tracks your behavior, across websites search, engines, and your, interactions, with advertisements. Online it's. How we can target people effectively. Regardless. Of how you find, my website, or find. A landing page you'll. Get a cookie on your browser, that. Tells me how you found it and what you looked at now. Because of that cookie I can. Now target you, with an ad I can. Show that ad to any, user, anywhere, who has been to my website because. They have that cookie on their, browser I can, do this by setting up an ad campaign that will only show, these ads to people that have visited my website this, is called, retargeting. Or. Remarketing. I can. Also do this in business-to-business. This, is the most basic start, to gaining data on a potential, customer and then, nurturing, the relationship to, drive ultimately, a conversion, and further, actions. This. Type of marketing can be used throughout, a customer, lifecycle the, content. You generate, is, typically, used as a bait for these campaigns, that. Then can be used to recapture. Leads it. Can be used to retain customers, or reward, loyal, customers. You. Can't look at content, is a one-time, activity, that ends, when you press post. Successful. Organizations. That use content, see the publish or post is the beginning of the process they. Have a plan for how to push, promote. And optimize. The content, they. Also have a plan to, use that content to drive new prospects, educate. Visitors. Recapture. Anonymous. Visitors, who have been to the site but didn't take action, Riaan gauges them but, also nurtures. New, customers, so, content. Is just the beginning and. Utilizing. Data, and technology. We. Can get our content, back in front of people who have visited our website but. Not taken action this. Is important, because they. Have expressed a need they. Have seen our content, but, something, caused them to leave, getting. Our ads in front of them or an offer they may respond, to we, can recapture, that lead and bring, them back to, our site. You. Have. You ever felt like an ad was following, you around online, that. Is retargeting, because. You visited, a specific, website you. Now have a cookie on your browser from that business and because. Of that cookie, they, can place ads in, front of you attempting. To persuade you to come back retargeting. Is all about getting back in front of people who expressed, an interest in a business, whether. They clicked on an ad or a post just. If they went to one of my web pages I can, deliver advertising, specifically. To them, now. I need to be smart and how I approach, people based.

On Their behavior I have to sell them differently, now. Earlier, we looked at the big picture of how content, marketing is used. Across the board in acquiring new customers growing. Current customers, and building. Sustainable, business growth in this. Video I went to look more in detail at the technology of, retargeting. Retargeting. Enables, me to reach those people who left my website without. Registering, or converting. As a lead, or a customer. Now. That means they are undecided, but, I can't react the same way to, all of, those people who, are undecided, I need. To understand, their behavior, in order. To determine the level of motivation. Motivation. Is the key what. They did on the landing page or on the website helps, me to assess their motivation, level and I, can assess that through. Clickable. Trackable. Actions, you. See the longer you spend on a landing, page maybe. You watch a video download. A PDF, or click. To open additional. Content, all of, those clicks can, be measured and then. I can look to see how, many visitors took, specific actions. And I, can utilize that as a measurement, of how motivated. You are to find an answer or if, you might still be searching and so, it does require technical. Expertise, in addition. It's going, to require that analytics. Be set up properly on your website, to, track visitors, their, behavior so, that you can have knowledge of what they've clicked on and what, they've done. While they are there. Retargeting. Is a way to follow up with those anonymous visitors, that leave your site regardless. Of how they find it but, the key is in, understanding. Their motivation. If they. Are highly motivated they're, going to take more actions, that you can track and then, you can deliver a customized. Message based. On their motivation, level and bring, them back to your website. You. When. Driving people to your website an effective. Way of getting, them to take action is by sending them to a specific, landing page that, backs up the offer you made, this. Is your sales pitch this, is where you have got to present a compelling, reason for them to take action, so. Your landing page is your primary, sales pitch, this. Is where you want them to take action you, have literally seconds, to get their attention and move. Them into a decision, point, in. Order to do that we, need to present our offer very.

Clearly, The. Landing page has primary. Elements, and these, are really, specific, to not only the landing page but across our web pages as a whole but. Here are some basic rules the. Heading at the top of the page this, is where you can put your logo a tagline, a purpose. Statement you. Can even put an image there we call this the hero spot because, it's interchangeable. And you, can test it to find what works best, the. Call-to-action. This, is what you want people to do whether. It's register, subscribe. Purchase, book that. Is the big bold button that, you present to people asking. Them to take action now. Something to remember is, we. Don't always see the entire, page at one time if you, have to scroll, down we, call that below the fold and so, if your call-to-action is, below, the fold most, people may not see it the. Content, on the page now. I don't advocate, having a lot, of content, especially paragraphs. Of content, because, people won't read it they won't spend enough time there, however, you do need to follow through with content, that explains, the promise, you made in your ad in your post or in your offer. Secondary. Calls to action are things, that we can track to find engagement. Of the page to see if people were interested, this, can be videos downloads. Industry, specific pages where they have to click to see more in-depth, information. Now. There are specific behaviors. That, are predictable, believe, it or not we as humans can be predictable, in how we look at web pages one. Thing is the Z pattern our eyes. Tend to follow a specific, pattern every time we go to a web page they. Start in the upper left go, to the right go down, to the lower left and then over again to the right we. Don't like to scroll a lot we stay in that top spot and because. Of that we, can do some predictable, things this is why you'll usually see a call to action in the, top right, because. That's where our eyes will naturally move. Now. Something, that can either assist, that or hinder, it is if, you use pictures, of people, in your hero spot, pictures. Of people, will, draw. Our eyes away from that predictable, Z pattern because, we always look, at, people's. Faces and even, more we want to look at their eyes to, see what. They are looking at and if, you can direct, an image, with pictures of people to, your, call-to-action you, can increase. The efficiency of your landing page if people. Are looking somewhere, other than your call-to-action it might, actually damage. Your conversion. Rate, the. Color red is good, for, getting someone's attention, however. If you overuse, the color red that, can distract people from the predictable. Browsing, pattern because, what you're saying is everything's, important rather, than one. Thing being important. The. Great thing about landing, pages is you can constantly, test, and optimize them, the, worst thing you can do with the landing page is leave, it alone you can, test your calls to action you can test the size of your buttons the color of your buttons how much content, you have or test other ways that people can engage with your landing pages also. When. Using, landing, pages in an ad campaign especially, for retargeting, be, sure if you are making an offer to one group of people that, you send them to a landing, page that reinforces. And addresses. That offer don't. Send everybody, to the same landing, page if you, use a different offer or you have, a different. Promise. Send. Them to that unique. Page that delivers, on that offer or that promise. So, your landing pages they, need to deliver on your promise and what, you want people to do needs, to be big. Bold and obvious. You. In. All of your marketing activities one, of the most important, conversions, you can get is the email address email, is powerful, it, produces, the highest return on investment, of any digital, marketing activity, it's, your audience and you communicate, with them whenever, you want. It's. The audience you, own they. Have given you explicit. Permission, to market. People. Prefer receiving. Promotional. Material, through, email, rather than through their social channels. This. Is why people respond, to email, offers, more, than any other, type of offer the, return on investment is incredible. Especially, compared, to other channels, people. See email as being the least intrusive, of all channels and because. Of smartphones. Email, usage is at an all-time high. This. Has led to companies, trying different ways to capture emails. On their, websites through, the homepage the email page a checkout page people.

Are Experimenting, with all kinds, of ways to get the email address, so. Realize that email, marketing while it might seem old and outdated is still. One, of the strongest formats. To, nurturing. Customers, and driving. Sales. I. Think. We're all familiar with getting, newsletters, and blast emails, from companies, I'm, gonna tell you why you shouldn't do that, first. Of all email. Is a tool set and it's. Entirely, possible to. Use a good, tool, improperly. And that's. What happens with the email we, have to understand, how to use, specific. Tools for. Specific, purposes. My. Biggest rule about email, is that it's a conversation. Typically. We use email. As a blunt, instrument and send. The same thing to everybody rather. Than, making it personal. In order. To make email, personal. It needs to be conversational. And you. Can only be conversational. When, you speak, to, specific. Groups, about. Issues, they care, about you. See not everyone cares about. Everything. You publish, it. Has to be personal, it. Has to be relevant and it, has to be timely, you. See being personal, doesn't mean I'm using your name it, means that, I am answering a question that you have at that time right. Now and I'm doing it in a way that's respectful, that's. Personal, relevant. Means it's important, to you you want this information and timely, means, I'm getting, it to you when you want it you. See when you produce, communications. That are personal, relevant, and timely you. Do this through segmenting. Your email, you, segment your emails, to specific, groups of people this, goes back to our personas. Our need. Based groups. And so. If I email, my persona. Group, and I. Give, them the information they, want, they'll. Click, on it they'll open, it more than usual, here's. A different kind of tool for email and that's, the thank you email I, can, send a thank you when people give me their email a thank. You when they book a thank-you after they have taken their trip I can send multiple, thank. You emails, and people, respond, to thank you emails thank. You emails have two and a half times the open rate and three halftimes the click-through rate of regular. Emails in fact, thank you emails, produce, six times, the, amount of revenue, per email as other, types of campaigns a great. Way to use email, is a welcome, campaign, when. Someone, gives you their email address what. Do you do it's the start of a new relationship, you. See a welcome series, introduces. Your company to a new subscriber, don't. Think that they read all of the content, on your website this, is where you can take some of your package, to content, and repurpose. It for a new. Subscriber. Educate. Them about your company, tell, them more about you what, you do and sell. Them this, is where you can provide more thought leadership, after a sale, of how, to get the most out of the product you can develop again. Multiple. Welcome series based, on what people have done and, also. Welcome. Series produce, higher engagement they're, more specific, they're more timely, they're more relevant and you can see here people, will open a welcomed series more and they will click through a welcome series more, than our traditional, informational. Email, or a promotional, email, like. I said not everyone wants all of, your content, you've. Got to segment your content, to the right audience. Remember. That email is a conversation. It works best, when, you are segmenting. Your list and giving. The right message to the right customer at, the right time. What. Makes an overall. Campaign, successful. As well. As your, business strategy, is, measuring. The right metrics, that. Help you learn how you can improve your campaigns and adjust. Because, it provides direct, actionable, information that. Points you to actions, you can take to, improve your campaigns. So. What do we measure first. Off key performance, indicators, these. Are the metrics that surround, the entire campaign. But. They provide, an, indicator. Of how things are going they. May not provide a direct, count, of success, but. It's all of, the surrounding information, that. Points us towards the direction. Engagement. Tells us how much people were interacting with, our content, but, we need to look at it in terms of how it's contributing to the overall campaign. And ultimately.

To, Our business, objectives, our ultimate. Measurements. Are how. Well we are increasing. In our, business objectives of sales. Gaining. Leads increasing. Registrations, or gathering, email, addresses, from subscriptions, in a. Survey where businesses, were asked, what, do they measure I was. Amazed to see that the top four, things that businesses, measure are key, performance, indicators. Website. Visits, social, sharing time on site and SEO rankings, these, are key performance, indicators, because they do not have a direct impact. On the. Ultimate goal of your business that, is sales, leads, and subscriptions. They're. Extraneous. Factors, that, may, have an impact but it's not direct, the. Last two items subscriber. Growth and sales leads these. Have a direct, impact, on your revenue and I'm, amazed, that they are measured, less, because. Of the high value of impact, when, measuring those two areas, so. Where do we start with analytics, most people are completely overwhelmed, when they open up their analytics, portal to see what's, happening, measure. Your analytics, alongside, your marketing plan measure. It alongside your content, Marketing, scheduled, to see when, certain content, should be popular, and make, sure your analytics. Show. That people are coming to your site more frequently, for that type of content see. What worked well what drove actions, what. Landing, pages drove. People to, conversions. See. What content was shared and also, was, it popular in driving. People, to your ultimate business goal, one. Thing I do want, to stress, is the, concept, of engagement, do you understand. What engagement. Means I think. Engagement, is one of those words that is almost lost, its definition. Because, it means so, many things by. Understanding, the, measurement, and what. You're measuring and how it. Then compares, to other campaigns, you'll, be able to test and see. What is more engaging what. Is a good key performance, indicator, and which, campaigns, ultimately. Contribute, the most to your, overall business objectives. You.

2019-03-04 14:52

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