I get really excited each week when I find great posts to pass along to our inbound and digital marketing followers. My favorite one this week talks about applying the 80/20 rule to marketing. I’ve actually never thought about this concept in a way that so closely relates to my work – but when I took a deeper dive into the methodology, it really made sense. Check out this post along with a few other good ones I’ve collected this week:
Over the last decade, the purpose and functionality of an organization’s website has changed drastically. Websites are now storefronts, sales representatives, customer service personnel and ultimately, an extension of your team. If your website doesn’t tell your company’s story and go above and beyond to address a visitor’s needs, you’re most likely missing out on opportunities to convert a prospect into a customer.
Ever get used to how something works and have everything set up the way you like it, and then it updates and changes on you? You then have to relearn the new updates and steps and get used to a new platform.
We meet with marketing professionals frequently and many are solely responsible for creating content for email, social media, blog and inbound marketing strategies. When we ask who and what departments these individuals work with to help generate ideas and stories for their channels, we oftentimes hear that the task never moves outside the marketing department or if it’s a one-person role, the marketing manager’s personal day-to-day responsibilities. Our question is always the same: If you don’t step outside your silo, how can you avoid quality and consistency issues, burnout or most importantly, tell the full story?
Once upon a time there was a small business that started blogging in hopes to increase its website traffic. After spending many hours, months, and even years of consistent blogging, the business grew. The blog turned into a great marketing tool for the business. It became a marketing machine, generating leads, setting the small business apart as an industry leader.
Small businesses are always looking for opportunities to grow their network and build strong lasting relationships. Having a solid network helps to increase awareness and build your brand, which can help bring in more website traffic.
Have you been noticing the pictures of people that are appearing next to the search results in Google? Do you click on those results, as opposed to results with no pictures? Are you wondering how those pictures appeared, and how you can have your picture show up too? All of this has to do with Google Authorship. Google Authorship is set up by adding a “rich snippet,” a special code and link, to your site.
“There are more than 3.5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, etc.) shared each week on Facebook.” (Source)
RIDE Adventures is in the motorcycle touring business, a type of adventure travel that many avid motorcycle enthusiasts don’t even know exists. When we recognized that few potential customers would be searching for “guided motorcycle tours in South America,” it became obvious that we’d have to find another way to draw people to our website. If motorcycle riders weren’t searching for “motorcycle tours,” what were they searching for? Hubspot’s Keywords and Blog Analytics tools made this easy to discover, and we’ve been blogging accordingly ever since.
It happens to all of us. We open up a blank document and stare at the empty page for what seems to be an eternity. You have an idea for a blog but don’t know where to start. Or maybe you don’t even have the idea yet. Either way, that blog post is not creating itself. So, how do you overcome this obstacle and create exciting and engaging content? Follow these four simple steps and you’re on your way to developing an A+ blog.
