Ready to give your website a boost and bring in more sales? Start by checking off these 10 easy makeover tips. 1. Review brand positioning Don’t be put off by the all-encompassing phrase ‘brand positioning’. It generally describes what makes your business unique – what sets it apart from the competition. You need to know this inside-out so you can position yourself in the marketplace. Ask yourself a few questions to ensure you’re on the right track: Who are my direct competitors? How do those competitors position their brands? How does my brand position compare to theirs – and what makes mine unique? From there you can develop a value-based positioning statement, and adjust your website to convey exactly that. 2. Pop-up strategy No, we’re not talking about the ugly, seizure-inducing pop-up ads from the early days of the internet. Pop-ups these days are used by even the most reputable news agencies – especially as a means to capture ad revenue when print media is dying. When used intelligently, pop-ups can generate thousands of additional leads every month. But be care not to fall into common traps like displaying pop-ups too many times to the same visitor, or bombarding them the moment they click on your site. Take your time and define a pop-up strategy for the rest of 2019. 3. Freebies Who doesn’t love free stuff? It’s an easy way to get people ‘in the door’ and from there it’s up to you how you turn that freebie lover into a customer. But make sure even your freebies offer something of worth. That could be a free online seminar from...
You needn’t be a professional copywriter or experienced marketer to write business blogs. To improve your blog posts, you just need to know how to use them to your advantage. Whether you can knock out a quick article in under 30 minutes, or spend hours agonising over the right opening line to snag your audience, the most important thing to remember is that you know your business better than anyone else. Couple that with these four essential steps, and you can improve your blog posts and increase your chances of converting readers. 1. Choose the right topics Content marketing agency professionals spend years honing the craft of topic ideation and delivery – it’s why they’re so good at taking businesses large and small to the next level. But you don’t have to be a content marketing expert to recognise the importance of choosing the right topics. After all, without an interesting topic, no one is going to read your blogs. And if no one reads your blogs, your online presence will suffer greatly. So just how do you choose the right topics? Start by asking yourself the following: What are you passionate about? If you’re not interested in the topic, or it’s not relevant to your business, that will seep into your writing and turn off the reader. Who’s the audience? As a business owner, you likely cater to multiple demographics and have more than one target audience. Do your blogs appeal to everyone, or are they niche topics where you can drive readers towards a particular product or service? Is it evergreen? An ‘evergreen’ blog is one that has long-term appeal. It’s...
If you’re a service based business, you need to generate leads. But if you have no means of lead capture on your website, or for other lead generating activities, you’re probably allowing many prospective clients to slip away. Perhaps you’ve come across the term ‘lead capture’ while reading up on content marketing, but aren’t quite sure what sort of difference it would make to your business, or how you would implement it. Let’s take a look at what lead capture is, what the benefits are, and what’s involved in doing it. What is lead capture? Lead capture is the practice of inviting website visitors to register their details in order to receive content and/or further communication from you. In the simplest form, lead capture is that ‘subscribe to our newsletter’ or ‘subscribe for updates’ option you see on many sites. However, unless your content writers are turning out highly unique material and you have droves of people signing up, this doesn’t go far enough. One reason this isn’t sufficient for most service businesses, is that not all their prospective clients have precisely the same interests, challenges, pain points and buying motivations. Unless you’re able to segment your database into buyer types, and deliver the most relevant content to each, results with a newsletter subscription alone are likely to be mediocre. Another issue is in the timing. When someone subscribes to your blog or newsletter, that action doesn’t indicate what they’re interested in right now, or how you might help them. However, if they download an eBook related to a specific challenge, it’s a different story. What you have then is often...
In today’s online obsessed world clients and agencies apparently think radio advertising does nothing to lift sales or improve brand perception, so they steer clear of using the medium. They seem to believe that radio advertising is just a waste of valuable dollars. Why is this so, when more than half the population are listening every day? Unfortunately, most radio advertising is boring and annoying to listeners, and without an emotional spark between your radio commercial and the audience, you will never sell anything. Much like good content marketing, the most appealing and memorable radio ads are those that are insightful, tell a compelling human story and aim to create a strong bond with the audience. Although there are hundreds of creative spots written and on-air, only a very few have the magic ingredients needed to cut through the clutter, and those commercials can make your bottom-line jump with joy, as well as build your reputation. These gems are the ads that people remember. Whether sales promotion or image building, no matter what you’re selling, your target audience is listening and a remarkable radio idea is waiting to be born. Writing memorable radio advertising is only one part of the equation; writing a concise piece of communication that delivers both sales and higher brand awareness is even more challenging. With sound effects, music, brilliant scripting and creative production, a well-crafted radio spot can stir response like no other medium. Be Inspired. Dramatize the proposition Here is what you need to aim for as you develop your radio scripts. The entire thing should be framed as an experience for the...
If writing is not your thing, you might want to consider producing vlogs – or video blogs where you talk about a topic or viewpoint rather than outlining it in written form. On the other hand, you might be thinking about producing some how-to videos to enhance your written content, increase engagement and grow new audiences. MORE: Engaging All the Senses With Content Marketing Video Whatever your motives, the same general content production principles apply – such as quality, consistency, and relevance. And while you don’t have to be a budding James Cameron or JJ Abrams, you will need some basic equipment to ensure your videos are an acceptable standard. After all, poor lighting and bad recordings are not a very professional look! Here’s a quick look at what you need to get started. Camera: As for just about anything else, when it comes to video cameras you get what you pay for. A basic video camera with a built-in microphone for instance can be bought for a relatively low price ($300 or less) and can be a good place to start out. If you want to use your own microphone however you will need to make sure that the camera has an external mic port. If you intend investing in regular video production for your business, you might need to spend a bit more for a professional model – which will probably cost you at least $1,500. Tripod: A tripod allows you to operate the camera hands-free and also keeps the camera steady. If you don’t have a tripod you will at least need a surface on which to...
While blogs, social media channels and video are all very effective platforms for publishing business content, podcasts and webinars can give audiences a more immersive and personal experience of your brand or business at a relatively low cost. MORE: Choosing the Best Channels for Promoting Business Content We take a look at how podcasts and webinars work, and why it’s worth considering using them to enhance your content marketing strategy. What is a podcast A podcast is essentially a digital audio file that can be listened to directly online or downloaded onto a device such as a smartphone for later listening. There are several benefits of podcasts: They are relatively easy and inexpensive to produce, especially when compared to video which requires greater investment in terms of time, money, equipment and expertise. Software applications such as Skype and GarageBand enable just about anyone to make their own podcasts without the need for complex technical knowledge. They can be used to connect with audiences using a conversational and more ‘natural’ tone than written formats. They may also cut out the need for constant grammar checking, re-checking and editing that comes with writing! Podcasts can be listened to while doing other things such as walking, exercising, resting, travelling on public transport, or even while going to sleep – providing a very accessible form of content for your audiences. Transcriptions from podcasts can be used as a form of content or as a resource for expanding on topics in future blog articles. MORE: Content Creation Tools Used by Agencies and Pros Podcast ideas Podcasts can be used in a number of ways, including to:...
