Who is the Content Guru?

Who am I? Why is this blog here?

I am the content guru! In 2003 I found myself in one of those crossroads of life. The result is that I decided to change my profession (I was no longer interested in designing seamless underwear...) and so I started writing about everything ever since.

I have been writing web content and growing my new career along with the field of web marketing. What used to be an esoteric side kick is now a full blown market, that calls for high quality content among the many mediocre writings and digital scribbles of the masses. After 10 years of writing for others and two years of writing for the benefit of my CPU alone (the digital equivalent of a drawer), I have decided to share my experience and to start posting for myself.

Content about anything and everything is what you will find here - all written be moi! No automatic generators! So feel free to read and enjoy. and if you would like me to write up some web content for you, feel free to ask...

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Sunday, November 30, 2014

תפקידי השיווק - או בקיצור "מה ייצא לי מזה?"

לא כל יום נותנים לגורו של תוכן הזדמנות לכתוב בלוג שהוא גם כל כך קולע למטרותיו העסקיות...ובכל זאת, השבוע שאלו אותי בדיוק את השאלה הזו. למה בכלל לעשות שיווק? או "מה ייצא לי  מזה?"
אז אני עונה , ועוד בעברית (זה גם לא קורה כאן הרבה...)

מדוע צריכה חברה פעילה עם מכירות טובות קמפיין שיווקי.
התשובה היא שאם קמפיין כזה ממלא את תפקידיו הייחודיים, הוא רק יעצים עוד את עסקי החברה ויביא להגדלתם.
איך שיווק עושה את זה?
לקמפיין שיווקי ארבעה תפקידים: חשיפה, הזנת לידים, שימור לקוחות והאזנה לשוק.

1 - חשיפה, או ליתר דיוק, הגדלת החשיפה של העסק לשוק שבו הוא פועל - השאלה שצריך לשאול היא, האם הפעילות והקשרים שיש בחברה היום יאפשרו לאנשי המכירות להכיר כל חודש 10 אנשים חדשים?  בעולם ה B2B, קמפיין שיווקי יכול להביא לחברה 10 לידים איכותיים בחודש. על ידי ניהול אתר, קידומו ברשת, ניהול פרסומים שונים בין אם בחינם או בתשלום, וכתיבת תוכן ברשתות חברתיות, מאוד סביר לדרוש מקמפיין שיווקי מסודר עם תוכן איכותי להיות מסוגל לגרום לכך שיהיו באתר החברה 1000 מבקרים ייחודיים חדשים בחודש ושמתוכם 10 אנשים ישאירו פרטים להתקשרות.
את הפעילות אונליין שציינתי כדאי ללוות גם בפעילות אופליין ואף ליצור סינרגיה בינהן. תערוכות, פרסום בדפוס, כנסים והדגמות.

2 - הזנת לידים או באנגלית LEAD NURTURING - משהגיעו האנשים החדשים והכירו את העסק, צריך לחשוף אותם לתכנים שיזינו אותם ויקרבו אותם לכדי רכישה וביצוע עסקה.גם כאן לתוכן שיווקי מתוכנן ומשולב עם אסטרטגיית מכירה מובנית יש תפקיד חשוב ב"בישול" הלקוח ויצירת מוכנות אצלו לביצוע עסקה. אחרי שהחשיפה הראשונית הביא ל"מודעות" AWARENESS אצל הלקוח הפונטציאלי לקיום העסק עלינו להביא ל"התקשרות" עימו באמצעות הזנתו במידע רלוונטי עבורו "INTERACTION" וזאת כדי לתת לו כלים ל"החלטה" DECISION כדי שיבצע פעולת רכישה ACTION. (לפי מודל עסקי AIDA).

3 - שמירת לקוחות קיימים וחזרת לקוחות - גם מי שמכיר את החברה ואף קנה ממנה צריך להיות מעודכן בשינויים וחידושים כדי שידע מתי יש עוד הזדמנות לעשות עסקים עם החברה.
על החברה לדאוג לכך שגם לקוחותיה הטובים ביותר זוכרים אותה ואת מוצריה ומעודכנים בנעשה בה. כאן יש לרשימת תפוצה ולניוזלטר תפקיד חשוב באספקה של מידע רלוונטי ואיכותי ללקוחות. לעסק עלות גבוהה מאוד להביא את הלקוחות ולכן מאוד כדאי  שהם יחזרו. עלות של לקוח חוזר או שימור הלקוח נמוכה בהשוואה להבאתו לראשונה.

4 - האזנה לשוק - בעידן האינטרנט ורשתות חברתיות אין כמעט דבר שלא ניתן למדוד ושיח שלא ניתן להאזין לו. חבל לא להשתמש בכלים אלו ולהקשיב למה שיש לשוק לספר. האזנה ממוקדת לשיח המקועי ברשת בשילוב עם מידע שיביאו אנשי מכירות מתערוכות ופגישות ותרגום נכון של המידע יכול להביא לכך שהחברה תדע מראש לצפות מה השוק רוצה ולספק את הפתרון המתאים.

ועכשיו לקטע של המטרות העסקיות.
ע"י ריכוז כל הפעילות הזו ע"י גורם אחד (פעילות אונליין באתר ורשתות חברתיות, תערוכות, הרצאות, ברושורים, חומר שיווקי כתוב, פרסומים, מיתוג ועוד) . ניתן ליצור מצב של סינרגיה - בו השלם גדול על סכום חלקיו ולנצל בצורה מיטבית את האלמנט השיווקי בחברה. לטעמי כדי להשיג אימפקט רציני, אין להסתפק בעשייה חלקית אלא צריך ראיה היקפית ומאוחדת של נושא השיווק.
השיווק המודרני מתרכז מאוד סביב תוכן שיווקי איכותי. ללקוחות נמאס לקרוא "זבל" ברשת והם מחפשים מידע רלוונטי ואיכותי להם. אנשי שיווק שיידעו לספק תוכן שכזה יצליחו ובגדול. תפקידו של גורו תוכן הוא בדיוק זה - כתיבת תוכן שיווקי איכותי והפקה שלו על פני כל סוגי המדיה הקיימים ולשלבו בתוך מאמצי שיווק היקפיים - ליצירת מערך שיווק יעיל ומגוון.


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Tips for writing good content

As marketers, we know that content is king in today's digital marketing world. Another familiar buzz word is engagement. All marketers want to create engaging content. Engagement means that we want to communicate with our readers. We want them to be interested in what they read, we want them to identify with our content and we want our content to compel the readers into an engaging action. We want their reaction and feedback to what we write. Here are a few tips on how to achieve that goal:

1 - Put yourself in the readers shoes
If we want our readers to be interested in what they read, then we need to think what will interest them. If we want readers to identify with our content, then we need to put ourselves in their place and try to understand what drives them. What will make or break them? What problems do they have and what solution and assistant we can offer them through the content we provide? what do they need to know in order to be compelled into engagement with our content?  Who is the target audience and what do they want and need? We want feedback from our readers, we should be able to check ourselves and give our own feedback, to make the content even better.

2 - KISS - Keep it short and simple
In the era of the world wide web, people have a very short attention span. Patience is almost non existent. this means we need to keep our messages and our content short and simple. Over elaboration will cause a loss of interest in our readers. Lack of focus will cause confusion. Before you set about to write your content make sure you have defined your target. What do you want the readers to learn from your content? What is the main message? What activity should the reader undertake after reading your content? How can you achieve these goals? If you know the answers, you will be able to write focused and simple content that is engaging and is thus efficient for your business.

3 -"If you have to shoot, then shoot. Don't talk" - Start your content with a big bang!
The short attention span of readers today has already been mentioned. The first paragraph is paramount to peaking the readers interest, so put all the big guns right at the beginning. Focus your first few sentences on the needs of the reader and push all the buttons you think will make readers react to your content the way you want them to. readers need to understand what is wanted of them right att he start. If they wish to comply, they will stay to read the rest. then at the end you remind them of the action you want to take and provide closure to your content that way.

4 - Do not over sell
Yes, we are all marketers. Yes, our readers know this. still if we over do it with selling and marketing jargon, readers will be put off. To many exclamation marks and bold or colored font will also annoy our readers rather then serve the emphasis purpose. Readers what to know that they are getting value for their time. Our content needs to provide them with that value. the WIN WIN situation occurs when both the reader and the writer get value from the content and the engagement it has spurred.

5 - Be professional and organized
Write using correct language and grammar. check your spelling. Organize the content into understandable paragraphs and headings for easy reading. Make the reader feel that this content was written by a professional. Good professional content created a reputation that is transferred also to the product you are marketing. Making a good impression is always conductive to good marketing content.

Remember that you need to provide great text, but images can also help enhance your content. There are many ways to present content today, like info-graphs and videos. But even so, the basis of all content formats is a well thought message and a great script. So the above tips are always relevant. I hope you will find them helpful.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

A Marketer's dream - Driving for change in your organization

Many people face various obstacles to change in their lives and feel frustrated that it is so. Many coaches, psychiatrists and consultants make a living from this...I was once told that business relationships are just like personal ones... just in a business context. Not being able to realize your professional dreams in your work place can be just as frustrating as not achieving your personal goals.
This makes me wonder, what should an employee do to realize professional dreams? How can such an employee drive change in the work place so that the dream may take place? Or more specifically, how does a marketer initiate and drive towards innovation and change in the marketing department against a management that is fixed in the habitual ways of doing its business? Here are five tips.

1 - Organize your thoughts:
Its not enough to say "we need to innovate" or "we need to change our marketing"... its not even enough to say "we need a website". You need to define exactly what it is that you need and why.
For example: its true that in today's world every business organisation  needs an online presence. The reason I say this with such confidence is simple. Today everyone who needs information of any kind turns FIRST to the Internet to look for it, so this means your business has to be online so that you can be found by those people who are looking for you. However, this does not necessarily mean that you need a website - there are other methods to be online. Facebook may be the "third largest "country" in the world today" but if your clients are not its citizens, that is not going to help you. A newsletter can be a great tool, but only if your clients bother to read commercial emails in their inbox without chucking them to the "spam" first. You need to take a more detailed look at the idea of an online presence.

You need to crunch the details and define the exact steps required to achieve change, and to make sure that you ideas fit the reality of the organization your work in and the field of business to which you are marketing. To continue the example: consider what are your exact business needs and how can a certain online presence assist in the marketing efforts more than others. Consider where you audience can be found on the web and how do they like to receive their information best. Consider the realistic scope of the budget your managers will approve for innovative marketing initiatives. This brings us to the next tip.

3 - The salami method - slices:
Sometimes its best to cut a big change into smaller steps and take them on one at a time. Smaller projects with smaller budgets are also easier for your managers to accept. Your boss may be willing to experiment on one of your "crazy innovation ideas" if it costs the organisation less money. So cut your big change into smaller chunks and put them in the right order (remember, organize your thoughts...). Then focus only on realizing the first step, and do whatever it takes to make this step happen (the others are sure to follow). Stay focused and keep your managers focused on a target that is easier to grasp and to define. Managers will always find it easier to approve innovative thought if you can show them that its worth it. This brings us to the next tip.

4 - Show me the money!
Show your managers how the new marketing initiative can bring in more money for the organization. The activity you wish managers to approve needs to stand the test of a cost benefit analysis. You can use any kind of backing for your claims. Check statistics online, run a small test and crunch the numbers for your boss. In today's world almost any marketing activity can be measured. If you can rank your marketing activities and find out which is more efficient, you can cut actions that do not bring required results early and use the funds to start on something new instead.
For example: if you know that an online campaign is less effective than an exhibition because you not only get more leads from an exhibition but also each lead is cheaper (this is called Key Performance Index) then you can tell you managers that this is so with confidence. Confidence radiates authority and authority inspires trust. Trust, efficiency and benefits are great selling tools when it comes to management approvals. This brings us to the next tip.

5 - Self marketing - sell your project and yourself
A marketer needs to always sell the various marketing activities and oneself in the organisation. When you have an achievement, you had better be showing it off to everyone in your organization, managers and co-workers alike. Make sure that everyone knows how great you are at your job! If they think you are a great marketer, managers will have a greater tendency to trust your initiatives and approve the budget for them. If you constantly toot your horn about your work, just like you do for the product your organization sells, you will benefit from your own marketing efforts. This brings us to the next tip.

6 - Never give up!
Tenacity is a key factor is achieving whatever it is you set up to do. Be consistent and keep drilling your ideas to anyone who will hear them until the message gets through to management.
Its not just about the business and getting more leads from marketing, its about yourself!  Its great when you can have professional goals to reach for your self development. This will give you motivation to excel at your job and will provide you with flavor for your daily routine. Remember that you must never give up striving for improvement and innovation.

I conclude with a sentence many couches use, but its really does work,so here goes:
Remember to believe in yourself and others will believe in you!
Believe in your dreams, professional and private - work hard to get them and they might just come true...
Food for thought
Good Luck







Monday, March 17, 2014

The importance of creating a focused and effective email campaign for marketers

In the era of internet people have less and less time to actually read content! You may be the best writer out there and no one will know because people just do not take the time to read! The average time span for reading an email is 51 seconds! (according to a survey by Nielsen). White its more than the 8 seconds you get for first impressions in meeting a person face to face, it is precious little time to get your message through.

This means that marketers have to be efficient and attractive in order to get potential customers and readers to actually read the marketing content they provide. How to create  such an email? here are 5 tips.

1 - Create your email campaign according to client expectation: Remember what type of message you have to deliver and make your newsletter look accordingly. there are mostly 3 types of campaigns: Content, offers and events. You are either providing your readers with valuable content - this means usually more text in the email, or you are providing info about a special product or discount - an offer - this usually means a focused email with short text and a link to the coupon or a web shop, or you are announcing an event and want your readers to register (conference, webinar, etc.) this means a shot email with details of the event and a link to register (call to action). Readers have learned to expect a certain look for each type of campaign and the design helps them understand what your email is about, even before they read it.

2 - KISS-keep your message simple and direct: You know people do not have much time, so say what you want to say in a simple, clear and direct manner. Use carefully selected images to enhance your message and create clear and obvious paths for a call to action. Make its easy for your reader to understand what it is you want them to do and why.

3 - Good division of elements in your email: Keep a balance between graphic elements and text in your messages. Too much text may be daunting and a picture is worth a thousand words. A short and focused animation may also be of use, especially for a product launch. Remember that the top left of the screen is scanned by your readers first. Clear division of content and hierarchy of headers and titles to different parts of your email campaign will help readers to understand better what it entails. Use a clear font in a comfortable and readable size. Organize your content and keep it orderly, so that your readers may easily search through it quickly. Use a professional and aesthetic design to further promote yourself as a serious provider of information.

4 - Keep up with the technology: Make your email campaign accessible to new devices and readable in as many platforms as possible. Responsive designs are easily read in most mobile devices (smart phones and tablets) today and are suitable to more than one screen size (alternatively make you message no wider than 500 pixels for easy reading in smart phones...provided it is not too long). GIF animation is supported by most platforms, and even if it is to supported by the emailing system of your reader as an animation, you may be sure that the separate images will still be seen.

5 - Remember to ask questions: the best way to find our what your readers want to read about is to ask them. A short survey email may prove to be a powerful tool to enhance the final emailing campaign you are planning and a means to guarantee its overall success. Contact readers who have been inactive to find out why they have stopped interacting with you. Use the emailing system as an effective sieve to sort our readers who are not truly potential clients for your business and who are not interested in receiving your newsletters.

Remember that eventually, if people feel that they are receiving good value from you, they will remain registered to your newsletters and campaigns. By keeping your message focused and effective, people will be able to evaluate the quality of your email campaign and their interest in it quickly. Showing respect for your readers time and intelligence in making such choices will be reciprocated, when you have upscaled the quality of your distribution list and increased your business following a successful email campaign.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

How to Create good Video for Marketing

in today's internet world, video has become a powerful tool for marketers. The saying is that one picture is worth a  thousand words...to phrase this to more modern times - one video is worth a thousand pictures. People in the era of web like to get their information visually. Video channels and sharing sites have become powerful search tools in the web. All this means that as a marketer, you should definitely have videos as part of your marketing mix, or you are going to miss out on a great exposure channel. On the other hand, there is so much video out there that is is hard to make your material stand out. This article provides 5 tips to help you create more engaging videos at a moderate cost.

1 - Tell a relevant story - think about the information that your audience wishes to see and how you can provide it for them in an interesting manner. Statistics show that most people are looking for tutorials and training, information on how to use products or educational information such as new trends and tools. Think about the problem that your product solves for your customers and then how to enhance this information in a short video. Present a story line - show the problem and then the solution. Keep the video focused on the i,portant messages you wish to deliver. Make sure what you are showing is indeed the most relevant information your audience seeks.

2 - KISS - Keep it simple and short - think about delivering a focused message in simple terms and within 5 minutes. In today's electronic world even a 5 minute video may sometimes seem to long. People are not looking for flashy high budget effects. You can keep the cost of the video very moderate and still create an engaging film. If you have complex information, consider delivering it in a series of short videos - asking your viewer to watch the next video at the end of each short film (see more below about call to action).

3 - Create clean and focused imaging - consider your composition, lighting and sound.
Composition: The rule of thirds in photography recommends that you divide your frame into 9 blocks (3X3) and use the 4 dividing lines as guides to locating the most interesting objects in the video on those lines. Lighting: When filming people, make sure the lighting is complimentary and there are no shadows falling on their faces. Purchasing a good flash light even for home use is not very expensive and it will change your video completely, giving it a very professional look. Asking your subject to wear colors that compliment their complexion and paying attention to simple make up will also improve your video considerably.
When filing products, make sure the background is neutral and there is no scatter in the frame.
When filming computer screens, make sure there is no reflection and the content on the screen is seen clearly in your film. There are editing software that capture what is going on the screen directly from the computer. Sound: You need to make sure there are no distractions within your video frame. No moving people in the background and no background noise. You might consider using music in your video in a background yet enhancing capacity. Music can help create the right atmosphere for your video without taking center stage. there are websites that provide such soundtracks for moderate costs. If you are recording speech, make sure that you are eliminating the background noise as much as possible and use a good professional microphone.

4 - Do not forget branding and a call to action - your video is part of a marketing mix and its role is to engage your customers to continue their interaction with your information. Place a clear logo in the beginning and the end of your video, so that it is clear to the viewer who is providing them with information. Use your branding colors in the video sequences to enhance your brand even further. If you have music that is identifiable with your brand, use it. You can create such music by using a certain soundtrack in all your videos repeatedly. Make sure that your website link or a link to a landing page is embedded in your video. Include a call to action asking the viewer to do something after they have finished watching your video. should they contact you (provide info how to do so), is there a white paper they can read to further deepen their understanding of the information in your film? should they watch additional videos? Refer them to your website, brochures, presentations and all the other components of your marketing mix.

5 - Share and track - use all the modern web channels to expose your video to a maximum of viewers, and measure their viewing habits so that you can improve your content continuously. Once you have uploaded a video online, make sure it is shared and exposed to your audience via all the available channels. You tube and other video sharing platforms, social media networks, your own website, PR websites, special content websites and indexes or sites of relevant exhibitions as well as your newsletters and mailing campaigns should all have a link to your latest video. Try to create a buzz around the fact that your are publishing new content. Create a special landing page for your video and a corresponding PPC campaign in Google and Social Media platforms. Use the metrics and reporting of channels such as you tube to research the success of your video. Did your audience view your video to the end? how many people viewed it? How many people shared it? All this info is important to understand if your video has indeed provided your audience with relevant information that has interested them enough so that they took the trouble to view your film to the end and even to share it with their colleagues and friends (see first tip about telling a story). If this is not the case, see when the viewing stopped and try to learn from this, where your narrative needs improvement.

If you keep to these guidelines, you will be able to create simple yet engaging video content that will enhance your marketing efforts. In today's internet world, advertising is no longer an expensive undertaking possible only for large and established firms. Anyone can be an internet star! If you create an engaging video and a buzz around it, it can do wonders for your business.

Here is a link to a video I was involved in creating, as part fo my role as MarCom manager for Vidisco Ltd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bIIAuM21c0

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Women and Coping with Chauvinistic Questions in Interviews for a Job - A Suggestion

I have recently seen discussions in forums the refer to the issue of chauvinistic questions that women have to face in interviews for a job. I am sure this is a largely common phenomenon.
There is probably not one mother ,who has not been asked (even if ever so subtly) how she manages her career and her role as a mother. Or any woman who has not had to content with questions about her martial status and the negative reactions to it. From an employee's perspective, it seams that you are "dammed if you do and dammed if you don't". If you are single, then you are inadequate because you have not found a man to marry (and one day you will and then where will your employer be when that happens...). If you are married you are inadequate because the first child will come long soon...If you are a mother, you are inadequate because you already have children. If you are a grandmother you are inadequate because you are too old...and the list goes on.

I have to admit, that I have never heard my male acquaintances complain about marital status question at interviews. I have to admit that I deeply resent that fact that women still get asked about this issue in the 21st century. But I can only change the world one step at a time...



If you are interviewing for a job, this means you want to find employment. This translates to the fact that unfortunately, it is not in your best interest to pick up a fight about feminism and chauvinism at the work place in the middle of a job interview. Many women ask, what can be done. Here is my advise.

The guideline for any job interview is to keep a positive attitude and to sell yourself as a professional and efficient employee. Do not get personal, its business.
This means that you have to control the interview and steer it in the direction of professionalism always. Get the message across that you can do the job you are interviewing for in the best way.
It would look weird if you avoid answering the marital status question entirely, so I suggest that you do answer it in straight, simple and laconic terms. "yes I am Married". "I am single". "I have two children". You do not however have to provide further details if you do not wish to (e.g as a single woman, are you in a relationship? How old your children are etc.). The way to avoid getting deeper into questions one may find too personal is by taking your answer in a different direction, one that is relevant to the professional aspect of your abilities as a prospective employee.

If you are asked about your martial status, concentrate you answer about availability for travelling and extra hours. This is after all what your prospective employer is concerned about. Talk about your capabilities in muiti- tasking and organisation, talk about time management. You can mention your family if you like ("Hey, I have 4 kids, I know how to run time schedules for them all"), or you can remain more aloof (I, like all working mothers, use various solutions available to me and I can fulfill all the tasks as is required for my job in the best manner").

Taking control of your interview and steering it to the direction you want, delivering the messages you choose is the key to selling yourself, as you choose to do. You are not inadequate, no matter what your marital status is! You should not allow anyone, especially not prospective employers to make you feel inadequate. You  might even rethink your decision to work at a certain place if you do not feel well in an interview. Remember that you are also scoping the workplace and seeing if it fits for you, its a two way street! There i a saying "begin as you wish to go on", this is true for the workplace as well. If you shrink away at the start, you will always do so. If you are proud of who you are in an interview you will remain proud when you become an employee.

I am reminded of an episode of "Yes Prime Minister", in which Sir Humphrey teaches Bernard not to let journalists carry him to undesired directions if interviewed. Sir Humphrey explains that if one is asked a question one does not want to answer then the answer should be about what one wants to talk about and the original question avoided. Sir Humphrey demonstrates to Bernard by saying: "I think the real question is... and then you make another statement of your own!"

The advice is this post is relevant for men as well. They may not have to specifically face the martial status and motherhood questions but men too should begin as they wish to go on, when looking for a new job. Good luck everyone!


Thursday, January 30, 2014

Great PR Content - My Formula and a Compliment

Its nice to be able to complement colleagues on great work. This time my compliments go to Rebecca Ehrenpreis who wrote a short blog post detailing a new website and a new invention to be found within.
Rebecca writes about a website that helps people find out their ring size. She begins with a personal story, moves on to describe the new product, quotes the company representative and provides users a convenient link to the website. All this is done within a short text and non obtrusive writing that is just a pleasure to read.

what should a great PR text include?
1 - Always keep it short and simple. Your message should stand out and be easy for your readers to find.
2 - Engage your readers so that they can sympathize with the product or service you are promoting. This can be done by telling a personal story or emphasizing a problem that you think your potential audience may have.
3 - Once you put forward the problem at hand, a problem your readers can relate to, all that remains is to offer them a solution on a platter. Describe your product or service in light of its being a solution to the problem raised earlier in the text. Keep the details basic and easy to understand.
4 - Include a short quote from a company representative that elaborates on the benefit for your audience. Putting a name and even a face to a company makes it all more personal. People like to deal with people directly. Talk about just one aspect of the product, which is the main solution relating to the problem at hand. Get your audience to be interested, they can then choose to learn more about your product.
5 - Provide an easy to access link to more information. If your audience wants to learn  more, the path they need to take in order to do so should be clear.

Rebecca used all 5 components of the above detailed formula in her short blog post.
I hope you will also find this post as a useful tool when next posting a PR text.

see Rebecca's ring size post in the link
http://www.beckysbeautytips.com/2014/01/26/an-innovation-for-measuring-your-ring-size/
More about Rebecca
beckysbeautytips.com
more about "Find my Ring size" in the link
http://findmyringsize.com/

Monday, January 27, 2014

How to Get the Gold out of Social Media?

I recently attended a Facebook marketing seminar and one of the things the presenter said was that the real money is not in the social media but needs to be dug out of there.
so Data Mining has a whole new meaning now. Mine the gold out of Facebook and other social media networks means that you need to get people who surf in these networks to click on a link that  gets them out of the social media and into your marketing funnel - a link to a landing page or your website, depends on how you structure your marketing efforts.

But which social network would give your business the best results? There are a few issues to consider before making this choice:

The first instinct is to day - maximum exposure. but then over time we have learned that in order to get good conversion rates, is you can focus on your public, then quality is better than quantity. The internet gives you the ability to focus on your true public. social media networks like Facebook and linked in are able to cut through the masses and sort out those people who care really interested in your information.

Facebook is able to collect many tidbits of information about the combination of interests of its users, so you can really use its campaigning tool to find exactly who you want to approach with your messages. Placing an advert in the news-feed itself guarantees that it is seen also in mobile smart phones and tablets. these are the viewing platforms of the future and will become increasingly important to your business.
Linked in enables membership in targeted groups and you can use their campaigning tools to reach those groups.

Focusing your efforts is also important. It is very difficult to spread the work in all the various social networks. yo have to be efficient and select the network that is best targeted to your specific audience. Facebook has gotten its users used to commercial content, while twitter and linked in are characterized by a public that is more sensitive to marketing.  You have to also think about the type of product and which way to present it will be the most efficient. If you have lots of interesting pictures, you might consider Instagram or Pinterest (e.g these are great platforms for internal designers). If its video, then YouTube is the most powerful channel out there today, and yes, ?I do regard YouTube as a social media network!
Focusing your message also means that you need to repeat it often. setting up an automatic system of adverts and links is part of getting good results. Frequency should not be too often, but you should be exposed again and again to your potential clients. Twitter has the "retweet" system, which enables messages to be repeated again and again in the network.
Focusing means also thinking locally. Local networks may be more powerful in certain markets, so if you want to penetrate them, looking for the strongest local social media or forum is the best solution, and it usually means posting in the local language as well. Professional forums and magazines could prove to be the best communities in which to reach your audience online.

The trick to an efficient and focused campaign is efficient presence. this means that you choose the best two social media networks that are most suited to your product and marketing strategy (see above in focusing), and you remain active in those networks, putting all your efforts into them. In other networks, where you only need to be present (active low scale), will only serve as background to repeating your postings from active networks and linking into your funnel.

Being active means to engage: Put most of your content into the active social network. Take part in discussions, follow group members, respond to posts and create interesting content. Post your own adverts in these networks, pulling readers out of the social media network and into your landing page  in order to provide the reader a more elaborated experience with your specialized marketing content. Invest your dollars in campaigning in the social media network you have selected to be active in.

Being present means links to the active social media or to existing content on the website, with no special effort at new content or paid campaigns.

Selecting the main network to be active in is not so simple anymore. Social media has become a popular and accepted means of communication and not only for the young. If you have never worked with social media before, it is advised to test all the networks in the first month and then select the ones to be active in based on results and achievements of the test campaign. the internet offers great measuring tools that can dig up data on your campaigns into the finest details.

Flexibility is key: One network is hot today and cold the next. If in the past Facebook catered to the young and restless, it is today becoming a mainstream family network and young users go to the smart phone apps Like "Whats app" and Insatgram.  Twitter was all about news when it started, and now no celebrity who respects themselves will be caught without the ability to "tweet" about every step they take. Being aware if these trends and the changing nature of each of the social media networks is key to launching a successful campaign. Using the measurement tools available to day and monitoring achievements will help you maximize your campaign results. watch your campaigns as they develop and steer them in the right direction, making changes as you learn along the way.

Remember that social media marketing is supposed to serve your product and business. Do not create content jsut for the sake of creating content. Do not purchase "likes"  just so you can have thousands of irrelevant people looking at your posts. Make your posts focused to your clientele and give them links into your marketing funnel for maximum results. Dig the gold out of social media, do not stay behind to wallow in the river's mud...


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Email marketing - recommended frequency and other tips

If you are about to use the email marketing method that send all kinds of emails to people you do not know, you might as well do it right! We all suffer under the flood of information (mostly not requested) that flows into our email and social network walls. If you are a marketer and want to use these tools to expose your product, the least you can do is try not to annoy your potential customers.

A marketing colleague of mine says he does not mind annoying his customers with emails. The way he sees it, if someone does not think that the emails they are receiving is giving them value and if they are annoyed by it, they can unsubscribe. My colleague is big on mass emails on a daily basis, claiming that the high quantity is actually a mechanism to filter out readers who are not interested in his offer. He claims that people who are annoyed with his emails unsubscribe and those that stick to it are the people who will also eventually purchase from him. So by flooding the in-boxes of his potential customers (and annoying them in the process) he claims that he filters the true;y interested parties.

All marketers know that its all about exposure. the more people see your message, the more who will eventually buy into you products. So if a marketer keeps the rate of emailing low, the potential customers will not be seeing the product he or she is selling at all.

So what's the right thing to do? marketers annoy their  potential customers if they email them to much, but it they refrain from doing so, they may be missed entirely. I believe the answer is somewhere in the middle. One should create a graduated funnel to market a product, offering free information along the way and distributing that info with automatic emailing software, but one should not overdo it. As long as you are offering your potential client value, they will stick it out, even if they are a bit annoyed on the way by your emails. so its not only about frequency or about value - its about a good  and balanced combination of both. The golden rule of balancing value and frequency will ensure that you annoy less people, but you also get the clients you want to work with, and who think that they receive the most value from you.

So how can that be done? 10 tips to consider:


  1. Know who your preferred clients are: What is your value proposition and how much you want them to pay for it. Transcend these issues in focused messages in your emails, and those who are not good clients for you will be sorted out once they understand that your value proposition is not what they are looking for.
  2. Strategy and planning: Email marketing is a great and effective marketing tool. But if you want to use it successfully, you need a marketing strategy from day one and a plan that will drive the right customers to your contact lists. Over aggressive marketing can even damage your brand reputation, so make sure you are sending targeted valuable messages to people who are interested in them and who feel that getting your info is making a difference to them. Do not be spontaneous, plan it all out and then work the marketing plan step by step.
  3. Do not email for the sake of emailing: Your messages have to contain value to your readers, or else they will opt out of your list and feel annoyed. Flooding in-boxes for the sake of creating as many emails as possible is not the way to go. You can get great exposure using an emailing tool, but use its ability to give you focused and values exposure rather than a flood of irrelevancy.
  4. Develop a consistent marketing funnel: Offer you client additional value in each additional message. Each message is also targeted to filter out people who are not interested in or unwilling to pay what we will charge for our services. The further along a client is in the funnel, the more suitable that client is for us, but the more suitable we are form them as well. 
  5. Keep your messages focused and interesting: Make it easy for people to understand what value you are offering and how they can get it. Make your emailing an easy read. The message should not be too long before you get to the point. Write with humor, make your massages fun. Keep the spirit of the messages positive.
  6. Timing is everything: Do not send too many emails. Daily messages is not the way to go. Think about the value you are offering and what would be a reasonable and valuable time span to receive it in.
  7. Keep is clear and simple: If your grandma can understand what you are writing about and what she needs to do, your message is probably clear and simple. clients will find it easy to get their value from it.
  8. Give before you take: Provide your client with additional value an free information before you ask them to pay money for additional services. If they receive from you, they will find it easier to give back. The value you give them along the marketing funnel should create their loyalty and trust. Generosity is reciprocated. Clients will then feel more comfortable purchasing from you at your desired price.
  9. Call to action: Create a clear style to your message with an obvious heading and a conspicuous call to action , so that people can find it easily and act on it. Its not about being pushy or aggressive, its about providing clear instructions as to the next step. Keep it simple. If people know what to so, they will do it!
  10. Good followup and learning: Use the statistic tool of the emailing programs to see who opened your messages and what they clicked on. what they liked and where are they seeing the value. You can then refine your future messages according to what you learned and improve your marketing even more, to the growing benefit of you and your clients.



Email marketing - recognise the trap that floods your inbox

we all know what its like, we get annoying emails that flood our in-boxes and we do not recall subscribing for them at all... what's worse, even if we request to unsubscribe, our request is not always granted. One might think, this kind of cyber behavior is illegal...well, it;s not! Unfortunately...

The anti spam ruling determines that in order to email any content that is commercial - i.e will induce readers to spend money - then one must get permission to do so. Getting permission is usually achieved in two ways.
1 - an non permitted opt in email that contains a short explanation about the offerings and a request for people to register. this is not very effective, and its seen less and less.
2 - an advert or email with a free gift! One must register in order to receive this gift. once you have registered, you have technically given you permission also for commercial emails and the automatic email marketing tools of today have pulled your email into a mailing list that is usually connected to an automatic chain of commercial emails - hence the flooding of your inbox begins.

you are supposed to be able to unsubscribe from this emailing, and all modern emailing tools have an unsubscribe option. This thing is, that all these tools maintain a list of the emails that unsubscribed. So this means the owner of the list can reuse the addresses in another context, and you continue to get emailing to your inbox, even if you unsubscribed! Furthermore the anti spam regulations allow people to send any kind of advertising emails even without permission, as long as you are not being solicited to spend money directly in these emails - they are covered.

It is unfortunate, but the little people are trapped and there is little one can do to stop the flooding.  Here is what you can do

  • You can mark certain emails as SPAM and hope that the Gmail and other emailing programs will learn and stop sending messages from such addresses to your inbox.
  • You can also unsubscribe consistently - it does eventually lower the amount of emailing you receive. it is advised that you unsubscribe in two ways:
  1. Use the link in the email itself, but make sure to read carefully the instructions so that you will indeed unsubscribe and not resubscribe...these mass email services have tricky mechanisms.
  2. Write a reply email and request to have them stop sending you emails.
  • You can avoid registering your email as much as possible to any free offers and such, and thus not enter the chain at all.
Users of Gmail have a bot of good news, the division of the inbox into 3 categories (primary, social and promotions) mean that usually the promotional mass emails are pushed to the promotions category and you can erase them all in one go! the downside to this new system is that if you  did want to get some promotional information, the email will be indeed found in the promotions section and you need to look for it there in between all the other undesired emailing.

If you are a marketer, remember what its like to have you inbox flooded with junk! using automatic emailing methods is a great way to get exposure to your message and product, I just wish marketers would use this tool with more moderation, so that my inbox would not be flooded with junk, just because I take an interest in what people have to say on the web... lets hope the current flood of junk in everyone's inbox will teach marketers not to flood our inboxes in future.