tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29593970845807584632024-03-13T21:35:46.951-07:00The Content GuruThe "contentguru4all" blog is intended to be about humorous (?) insights into the professional marketer's life.JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-63130130301818808552022-03-11T05:49:00.004-08:002022-03-11T05:49:47.194-08:00<h1 style="text-align: left;">Chatbot Software 101: The Ultimate Guide to Automating Your Sales, Marketing, and Customer Care in 2022.</h1><p>Visit almost any website today and you will see a small “pop-up” item, usually on the bottom right, and it will appear to be “talking” to you! This is called a chatbot software. These little widgets are actually very convenient devices for communicating with your customers, especially about commonly asked questions. Visit almost any website today and you will see a small “pop-up” item, usually on the bottom right, and it will appear to be “talking” to you! This is called a chatbot software. These little widgets are actually very convenient devices for communicating with your customers, especially about commonly asked questions.</p><p><br /> Does your business need a chatbot? Is your business ready for this leap into purely digital communication? Which features will be best for your business? These questions and more will be answered by this article. When you finish reading this you will be able to understand what a chatbot is. Acronyms such as AI, ML, NLP, and UX won’t be “all Greek” to you!</p><h2><img alt="this is a chatbot software" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-566 aligncenter" height="194" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Top-image-300x194.png" width="300" /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">First, What is a Chatbot?</div></h2><p>A chatbot enables people to interact with an app, a messaging platform, or a website in a conversational manner. Essentially <strong>chatbot software</strong> “chats” with the user, hence, the name “chatbot”. Often, a chatbot will be the first contact a customer has with a business, whether in sales, customer support, marketing, and more. Chatbots can also be used for internal communication systems and operations.<br /> A business which uses a chatbot for communication with either customers or between employees controls how the chatbot interacts. In more technical terms, chatbots function on the basis of already scripted conversation, utilizing language recognition (both written and spoken), Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms, and Machine Learning (ML), to emulate human conversations, and to perform various transactions. Chatbots improve your user’s experience.</p><p>Rather than taking up your sales and support staff time with answering commonly asked questions, a chatbot can be enabled to provide these answers. The bottom line is this: <strong>chatbot software</strong> saves time and money for your company, without sacrificing customer contact.<br /> Still not sure if your business needs a chatbot? Read on…</p><h2><img alt="A chatbot talks to you" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-569 aligncenter" height="193" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pic-2-chat-300x193.png" width="300" /><br /> What Type of Business Does NOT Need a Chatbot?</h2><p>ALL businesses need a chatbot! According to <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/251666/number-of-digital-buyers-worldwide/">Statista</a>, over 2.14 billion people purchased goods and services online in 2021. Oftentimes, these customers want an immediate response to questions. They have become used to getting everything with the click of a button! This is when a chatbot comes in handy.<br /> Smaller business can begin with a free c<strong>hatbot builder</strong> or <strong>open-source chatbot software</strong>. As the business grows, a paid chatbot solution becomes more relevant.</p><p><img alt="chatbot statistics" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-575 aligncenter" height="110" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pic-2.5-stats-300x110.png" width="300" /></p><h3>Who Uses a Chatbot?</h3><p>Any business looking to increase profits needs to offer multiple digital communications avenues with customers. Chatbots are an excellent tool and can be used for:<br /> • Human resources<br /> • Recruitment<br /> • Sales<br /> • Marketing<br /> • Support<br /> • Customer care<br /> As your business grows you want to make sure you never lose touch with your customers.</p><h3><img alt="A chatbot can increase your availability" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-574 aligncenter" height="193" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pic-1-pls-hold-300x193.png" width="300" /><br /> Chatbot benefits that will blow your mind</h3><p>Chatbots:<br /> • never take days off<br /> • do not experience “burn-out”<br /> • do not become bored with their jobs<br /> • do not require hiring more staff<br /> • aid in customer retention<br /> • help increase your revenues<br /> • give you more data about your customers<br /> • allow your employees to work more efficiently, also from home<br /> • are excellent remote collaboration tools<br /> • never miss a query<br /> • can alert the relevant individual as needed<br /> • create a speedy, flexible service<br /> • allow more work to be done, with fewer errors, and less confusion</p><h3>Are Your Customers Ready to use <strong>Chatbot Software</strong>?</h3><p>Pretty much all your customers will enjoy the immediate gratification which chatbots offer. Some, such as more elderly users who are not used to digital communications or very young whose language skills may still be lacking, may find using a chatbot more challenging.</p><h2>Are Chatbots Illegal?</h2><p><strong>Let’s be clear: CHATBOTS ARE LEGAL!</strong></p><p>There are, however, regulations which work to minimize using chatbots for nefarious purposes. Additionally, chatbots can be limited by their scope of capabilities and which transactions they may undertake.</p><p><img alt="chatbot software levels" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-576 aligncenter" height="194" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pic-3-levels-300x194.png" width="300" /></p><h2>What is the Difference Between Chatbots, Virtual Assistants, and Virtual Agents?</h2><p>Chatbots come in all shapes and sizes. Some are simple, some more complex.<br /> • <strong>FAQ Chatbots</strong> are used to present relevant answers to commonly asked questions.<br /> • <strong>Virtual Assistants</strong> can answer questions, collect basic data and perform basic actions.<br /> • <strong>Virtual Agents</strong> can do all the above and also perform multiple and complex transactions.<br /> • <strong>AI Chatbots</strong> can make users feel like they are chatting with a real person. They do so by using voice and text recognition software with utilize Natural Language Processing (NLP).<br /> • <strong>Menu Chatbots</strong> offer questions with options to users, in the manner of a decision-tree, in order to lead the user to their desired destination or result.<br /> • <strong>Contextual or Rule-based Chatbots</strong> are based on logic, using predetermined business rules, processing queries in a conversational mode. When combined with ML capabilities, improved responses are developed.<br /> • <strong>Keyword Recognition Chatbots</strong> will “listen” and respond according to NLP and AI principles.<br /> • <strong>Voice Bots</strong> can understand what you say and may even talk back to you!<br /> • <strong>Hybrid Chatbots</strong> use a mix of AI and rule based functions.</p><p><strong>Chatbot platforms</strong> are intelligent conversational interfaces. This does not mean they think for themselves. They are programmed with built-in templates and scenarios representing the most common questions, tasks, and transactions. Are you confused? Is this too much “tech-jargon”? Read on and discover more…</p><h2><img alt="AI chatbots" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-578 aligncenter" height="146" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pic-6-ai-300x146.png" width="300" /><br /> What Makes (or Breaks) Good Chatbot Software?</h2><h3>What do you need to consider when choosing chatbot software?</h3><p>• Budget<br /> • Necessary functions<br /> • Scale of your business<br /> • Your existing infrastructure<br /> • Security compliance of your industry</p><p>Bear in mind, you can always scale up. Address your key concerns first. Setting up a chatbot should be both intuitive and easy!</p><h4>Here are some key features to look for:</h4><p>Drag and Drop <strong>Chatbot Builder</strong> - Use it to build your decision-tree, define rules and functions, and create scripted responses. No coding required.<br /> <strong>Flows, Templates, and Users</strong> - Procedure flows and templates allow you to set up your chatbot according to your industry, and the learned processes from chatbot setups already executed by the chatbot vendor.<br /> <strong>Facebook Chatbot Software Integration (also with other channels and systems)</strong> – Your chatbot should integrate with Facebook messenger and Instagram DM, as well as other popular website content management systems (CMS). Integrating with popular apps increases your availability to your customers. This requires API integration, diverse cloud use, and security functions.</p><p><img alt="chatbots integrate with social media and popular apps" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-579 aligncenter" height="200" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pic-7-social-300x200.png" width="300" /><br /> <strong>Security</strong> – Due to chatbot software being cloud-based in many cases, there is the risk for cyber-attacks. With increasing numbers of home-based workers, remote connectivity is important. Security, identification, and access becomes more complex. Privacy regulations, such as GDPR must be considered. There are also some industy-based security concerns requiring compliance.<br /> <strong>Chatbot Personalization</strong> – You will want your chatbot to seem as “human-like” as possible. Look for conversational ability, and options to customize and brand your chatbot.<br /> <strong>Easy to Use</strong> - A chatbot should be easy to use for your customers, for your support employees, and your IT team. Look for an intuitive user interface (and if possible coding–free) for all users of the software.<br /> <strong>The Human Handoff</strong> – A seamless interaction between the chatbot, your customers, and any personnel should be expected.<br /> <strong>Reporting and Analytics</strong> - At the end of the day, you not only want to have succeeded in your interactions with your customers, but you also want to have gained information about them. Look for a good reporting tool and check if the chatbot can interface your database.</p><p>So now that you have your <strong>chatbot platform</strong> set up, how will it make you money?</p><h2>In the Words of Jerry Maguire “Show Me the Money!” (#1)</h2><h3>Is a free trial a good idea?</h3><p>YES! Using <strong>free chatbot software</strong>, free plans, or free trials, is a great way to start using and gaining experience with a chatbot. However, that free software is typically limited in the number of users or in functionality. As your business grows, you may want to switch to a paid option, which may be via monthly subscription plan or based on the number of users. Such a plan can allow you to grow your chatbot usage gradually.</p><h3>The Link Between Scope and Price</h3><p>Larger companies may have their own in-house IT staff, larger budget, and more complex needs, along with greater integration with their existing IT and website infrastructure. They may also have a larger number of employees and more customers, which are perhaps located internationally.</p><p>Smaller businesses do not have in-house IT staff or large budgets. They may also have simpler needs. <strong>Cloud-based chatbots</strong> with scripted templates and a <strong>chatbot builder</strong> which requires little, or no coding are appropriate for their needs. As they grow, they can add IT staff as needed, and add more functionality to the chatbot.</p><h2>In the Words of Jerry Maguire “Show Me the Money!” (#2)</h2><p><img alt="How chatbots make your business money?" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-580 aligncenter" height="193" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pic4-show-me-money2-300x193.png" width="300" /></p><h3>Four Ways that Chatbots Can Help Your Company Make Money</h3><h4>Quick Response</h4><p>• Ensure customers receive appropriate responses<br /> • Keep customers happy and loyal</p><h4>Increased Revenue per User</h4><p>• Present timely upsell opportunities to customers<br /> • Increase customer engagement through proactive responses<br /> • More conversions and sales through enhanced customer service</p><h4>Improved Operational Efficiency</h4><p>• Allow for increased efficiency via transaction guides<br /> • Reduction of complaints and volume of support tickets<br /> • Considerable savings in cost</p><h4>Reduce Customer Churn</h4><p>• Increase customer retention leading to savings and increased profits</p><p>Now, let’s check out which chatbots really stand out!</p><h2>A Short Review of the 7 Best Chatbot Software options for 2022</h2><p><img alt="According to Jared Cornell, in his blog about Chatbots Life published in June 2021" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-577 aligncenter" height="111" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pic-4.5-citation-300x111.png" width="300" /></p><p>According to <strong>Jared Cornell</strong>, in his blog about <a href="https://chatbotslife.com/15-best-chatbot-software-in-2021-c2ca960b06ee">Chatbots Life</a> published in June 2021 “…chatbot builders must have smart functionalities and a zero or slight learning curve for effortless and efficient usage.”</p><p>Below is a list of <strong>chatbot examples</strong> that meet these conditions, and their main features.</p><p><strong><a href="https://chatfuel.com/">Chatfuel</a></strong></p><p><img alt="Chatfuel chatbot software" class="aligncenter wp-image-589 size-medium" height="132" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/chatfuel-300x132.png" width="300" /></p><p>An easy way to build a chatbot without coding. It is designed for improving marketing operations with social media integration, gaining, and storing customer contact data.</p><p><strong>Key features:<br /> </strong>• Official partner of Meta (formerly Facebook)<br /> • Sends prospects from social media ads directly to your chatbot<br /> • Cuts your cost per lead<br /> • 24/7 response<br /> • FAQ templates to resolve 80% of customer queries<br /> • Drag and drop user interface</p><p><strong>Pricing:<br /> </strong>Free trial for one month, including 50 conversions. Paid plans start from $8.99/month and allow for more conversions (or users) with a reduced cost per conversion rate. All plans include a full-featured bot and support.</p><p><a href="https://manychat.com/"><strong>Manychat </strong></a></p><p><img alt="Manychat chatbot software" class="aligncenter wp-image-592 size-medium" height="132" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/manychat-300x132.png" width="300" /></p><p>Built to enhance sales by engaging customers in Instagram and Facebook direct messaging tools. Conversation automation to drive more sales, and engage prospects.</p><p><strong>Key features:<br /> </strong>• Automated interactions: Instagram Direct Messages and Facebook Messenger<br /> • Instant support and personalized conversations<br /> • Visual drag and drop interface, no coding<br /> • Captures contact data<br /> • Complete funnel with SMS and email<br /> • Connect to diverse tools; Shopify, Google Sheets, MailChimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, Zapier and more</p><p><strong>Pricing:<br /> </strong>Free plan for up to 1000 users with limited channels and features. Pro plan for $15 per month.</p><p><a href="https://www.drift.com/solutions/chatbots/"><strong>Drift Chatbot </strong></a></p><p><img alt="Drift chatbot" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-590 aligncenter" height="139" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/drift-300x139.png" width="300" /></p><p>For conversational marketing to engage customers, qualify leads, share content and schedule a meeting with sales. It’s all about the power of the right conversation at the right time, to personalize the customer experience.</p><p><strong>Key features:<br /> </strong>• Qualified leads handoff to sales reps (routing)<br /> • Expedite your marketing ROI, get sales revenue faster<br /> • Automated marketing pipeline<br /> • Geo-targeting<br /> • A/B testing<br /> • Message customization</p><p><strong>Pricing:<br /> </strong>Drift has a free option and 3 paid main plans: Premium, Advanced and Enterprise. Each plan stacks more features on top of the previous one. Prices are not available online. All plans include onboarding and troubleshooting support. There is a special plan for startups and extra services for customization and AI.</p><p><a href="https://www.tidio.com/"><strong>Tidio</strong></a></p><p><img alt="Tidio chatbox software" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-595 aligncenter" height="132" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/tidio-300x132.png" width="300" /></p><p>Combines live chat and chatbots for enhanced customer relationships for better service and higher sales. It offers easy installation and integrates with many services and apps.</p><p><strong>Key features:<br /> </strong>• Live chat<br /> • AI and templates for automating 40% of customer conversations<br /> • Website visitor data collection<br /> • Reduced cart abandonment by 60%<br /> • Lead qualification<br /> • Timely communication to customers on mobile, desktop and tablet</p><p><strong>Pricing:<br /> </strong>Free plan available. Trial period of 7 days. No credit card required to start. The paid plan starts from $15 per month for up to 40 operators. For $39 per month there are no limits on the number of active chatbots or visitors.</p><p><a href="https://www.ada.cx/"><strong>Ada</strong></a></p><p><img alt="Ada chatbot software" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-588 aligncenter" height="128" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ada-300x128.png" width="300" /></p><p>Powers conversations between a brand and its customers. Serving innovative companies such as Zoom, Facebook and Shopify. It can integrate with Salesforce for enhanced operational efficiency.</p><p><strong>Key features:<br /> </strong>• Automated personalized customer experience<br /> • Your brand is always available<br /> • Proactive suggestions that drives results<br /> • Beyond automated FAQs<br /> • No coding<br /> • Business- and developer-friendly support</p><p><strong>Pricing:<br /> </strong>Pricing plans are not provided online. You can request a demo.</p><p><a href="https://mobilemonkey.com/"><strong>MobileMonkey</strong></a></p><p><img alt="MobileMonkey chatbot software" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-593 aligncenter" height="134" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/mobilemonkey-300x134.png" width="300" /></p><p>It calls itself the best chatbot, sales-automation text messaging platform. With a focus on mobile apps and social media integration, it helps businesses create a seamless customer experience, while cutting customer care costs.</p><p><strong>Key features:<br /> </strong>• Instagram DM approved, integrates with Facebook, SMS and website chats (WordPress plugin)<br /> • Products design for industry silos; agencies, in-house marketers, companies<br /> • 24/7 integrated chat automation, live chat support<br /> • OmniChat® – patented chatbot marketing technology<br /> • Multi-platform chatbot builder<br /> • Unified chat inbox<br /> • Money back guarantee (or get more leads)<br /> • Data collection and segmentation<br /> • Lead qualification and nurturing</p><p><strong>Pricing:<br /> </strong>A free trial is available. Price is available on call.</p><p><a href="https://www.liveperson.com/"><strong>Liveperson </strong></a></p><p><img alt="Liveperson chatbot" class="aligncenter wp-image-591 size-medium" height="131" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/lifeperson-300x131.png" width="300" /></p><p>The world’s first AI-powered conversational cloud. Its live chat makes it easy for conversations to happen in the channels customers use every day. For marketing, sales and customer care.</p><p><strong>Key features:<br /> </strong>• Voice to messaging, live chat, automated chatbots<br /> • Intent manager – discover and understand your customers in real-time<br /> • Conversation builder – easily scale with intuitive point-to-click interface<br /> • Conversation manager – engage with customers on desktop and mobile<br /> • Conversation analytics – measure and optimize, gauge your chatbot ROI in real-time<br /> • Integrated with SMS, websites, social media and third-party, including CRM<br /> • Enterprise-grade security compliance</p><p><strong>Pricing:<br /> </strong>Prices not available online. You can request a demo.</p><h2>Chatbot software 2022 snapshot</h2><h4>For easier decision-making, use the table below for an “at-a-glance” review of chatbot features and prices:</h4><p><img alt="Chatbot software comparison" class="alignnone wp-image-597 aligncenter" height="227" src="http://okrcontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pic-5-tableb-300x146.png" width="466" /></p><p> How to Select a Chatbot?</p><h3>Which chatbot platform is best?</h3><p>Many <strong>chatbot software</strong> option offer similar features. Everyone promises AI, increased conversions, and higher revenues. You now have a better understanding of the various capabilities offered, and the technologies behind them. Choose a chatbot based on your business needs, your budget, and on your experience with a potential supplier. Understand what you will get for your money. Remember, you can always scale up, so <strong>chatbot software</strong> with growth plans are an excellent starting point. From free to DYI to complex AI chatbots, the market has something for everyone.</p><p>This blog post was originally published on my blog. <a href="http://okrcontent.com/chatbot-software-101-ultimate-guide-2022/">http://okrcontent.com/chatbot-software-101-ultimate-guide-2022/</a></p>JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-91309753268390857422018-06-26T08:33:00.000-07:002018-06-26T08:48:19.879-07:00What is the connection between the Mondial (soccer world cup) and informative content?<b>It's Mondial time! the whole world is in football/soccer fever! And a great time to contemplate what success in this endeavor means. When it comes to such a prestigious competition, and in fact any high-level sports achievements, athletes prepare for years! Just like a good marketing content strategy - it's a marathon, not a sprint. They who invest and prepare, have a much better chance of winning. </b><br />
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Informative content strategy is a long-term effort</h3>
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Countries invest in children, opening soccer schools and training kids over years to create the players of tomorrow. A targeted investment of funds over time enables football clubs to bring top professionals for their young teams, sponsor sports scholarships and develop game strategies that ensure an ongoing supply of top players. The children of today are training to become the world soccer championship winners in ten year's time.<br />
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Content marketing done well is similar. Investing in blogging, videos, social media posts, presentations etc. and providing our target audience with professional information they need over time, helps create a reputation for yourself and your business. However, you need to realize that with informative content, you are in for the long haul. When you maintain a constant flow of published content in relevant channels, the results will remain for a long time.<br />
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There is no magic wand. no button to click that will magically bring you hundreds of leads. Achievements in sports and in a business call for hard work over time.<br />
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Great marketing content is a combined effort</h3>
Success in sports and in business depends on many people who work together. Winning the soccer world cup means not only did 11 players do their job on the green grass field, it means the coordinated efforts of many contributors have helped them succeed. Form the manager and trainer, to medical support, logistics and more.<br />
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In business, the combined efforts of all departments are what brings success. Great marketing is not a standalone achievement. It calls for a great sales team too. What use are many leads of the deals are not closed? And it does not stop there. Closing the deal is worthless if the company cannot deliver.<br />
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For great informative content, you need a combined effort of a <a href="http://contentguru4all.blogspot.com/2016/06/what-does-it-take-to-make-unicorn.html" target="_blank">unicorn writer</a> who is great at storytelling on the one hand with an engineer or product manager who is good at explaining the important principles and USP of the product. Only if the information flows within the company, or from the company to a contractor content writer, can the story come to light with the most advantageous angle.<br />
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It is like a good kick that brings the ball to the front of the field an enables players to kick a goal. Soccer is a game based on teamwork and cooperation. Only if the information is kicked forward to the right people, will the story come to life.<br />
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Focused messaging for optimal content value - the key is taking aim</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1TYAkEUYTpryAwipfHpJEUzyKPTFXL4IoRIAiGwvsL6BVH_3AcqRq9Kryr3aNk_0VmtUfSgTx1fZbv1esYepaLogGMlOzED2pvngiEWujMQiJ_eX7C_Lifv-YEKW1awiNa2i7wlAnrPU/s1600/football-1274661_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1TYAkEUYTpryAwipfHpJEUzyKPTFXL4IoRIAiGwvsL6BVH_3AcqRq9Kryr3aNk_0VmtUfSgTx1fZbv1esYepaLogGMlOzED2pvngiEWujMQiJ_eX7C_Lifv-YEKW1awiNa2i7wlAnrPU/s320/football-1274661_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you want to remain in the awareness of your audience for a long time, you need to constantly remind them of your existence. But you cannot overdo it, be too pushy or too sale oriented. That is why informative content is such a powerful tool.<br />
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A soccer team can win the game only if scoring more goals than the opponent. For scoring, the kicker needs to take perfect aim, sending the ball past the goalkeeper with precision. Informative content also needs to be focused and targeted. The idea is to provide your target audience with extra value by making the exact information they need easy to access for them.<br />
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To top it off, clear and focused content needs to be distributed to a target audience using relevant channels at the right time. this precision of the entire content marketing chain is what will make the content strategy successful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yPSpAArWD53T83j6ehk2MYyCm2pnhKjUl7JI9z7HDKIazVsVWoITjqxIroo1WpvFREZ5cdceju2WvfO-9AYR7BZnLWs9s0W9iIOwsHBFrkVlzsMUNCBHJOQIr4HNYSR4YpPpYRLOJOk/s1600/audience-1866738_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="1280" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yPSpAArWD53T83j6ehk2MYyCm2pnhKjUl7JI9z7HDKIazVsVWoITjqxIroo1WpvFREZ5cdceju2WvfO-9AYR7BZnLWs9s0W9iIOwsHBFrkVlzsMUNCBHJOQIr4HNYSR4YpPpYRLOJOk/s320/audience-1866738_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Working with the best - everybody wins!</h3>
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Like the development of a winning soccer team and the maintenance of profitable club, a good content strategy takes many stages that need to be assembled like a puzzle and to work well together. Top soccer teams hire the most talented players and best trainers. You want to do the same. At the start of your content marketing efforts is a <a href="http://contentguru4all.blogspot.com/2016/06/what-does-it-take-to-make-unicorn.html" target="_blank">unicorn content writer</a> who quickly grasps your product or service and truly understands its value and client base. Do not waste the valuable time of your engineers and developers on writing content that does not flow (and which may be boring for your target audience). Invest your resources carefully. Let a content pro write up your informative content telling your story and highlighting insights into your products for all to read.</div>
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Informative content helps your target audience understand the value of your product or service, just when they need a solution. Providing relevant and valuable information will increase their engagement, loyalty and the probability of purchase. Everybody wins!</div>
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<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-36552473698856259812016-11-21T03:04:00.000-08:002017-03-28T13:54:48.111-07:00Is a picture really worth 1000 words? Or should the question be which kind of picture? <h3>
Stock pics or not stock pics that is the question</h3>
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I have been asked many times if stock images are really doing their job in marketing. All the pictures we see in advertising, using beautiful models, are always just a bit too perfect. Stock images are no different. We all know this. So why are marketers still using this "illusion"? Perhaps the target audience dismiss these images as fake, creating an emotional distance that is not desired to marketers? Or are people still buying into the perfect world advertisers create?<br />
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It has been suggested that when using pictures of real staff, the level of transparency goes up and the company shows its true face for the benefit of its clients. However for SMBs the question would be: Does the opportunity to use real staff and convey self-confidence and transparency outweigh the downside of exposing the true size of the business? A more abstract campaign might crate the desired illusion that the business is bigger.<br />
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Other questions are: would real images look as professional as the stock pictures? Would they convey the right message and provide the desired atmosphere? After all clients are used to the polished look of the stock images, so maybe it's best not to "rock the boat"?<br />
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Concept is key to good marketing content</h3>
Here is a fact - no one likes a fake image. "Canned Happiness" is something we can all smell a mile away. On the other hand, we all enjoy beauty and we like nice packaging- so a professional image with models is not always negative. The point is that beauty has to be part of a deeper concept - the true marketing driver is the concept. If people get what the image is trying to say, then it will work regardless of what the people in it look like. The beautiful smiling faces are not an added value, unless they fit with the general concept of the campaign.<br />
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Concept is also a key factor is deciding if you want to use stock images or use real staff. Concept will help you decide if you need to invest in a customized photo-shooting and what type of images you will want to produce. Perhaps a more abstract imaging is best to get your message across. Making use of unique connections to create associations to your product or service using images is a powerful and emotional marketing tool.<br />
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I like to mention the <a href="http://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/campaigns.html" target="_blank">DOVE</a> campaign for a concept that chose to use real people. They have been doing this for 12 years! It started with the iconic pictures of normal women in underwear and has been followed by various angles for empowering women (showing women that others see them differently, that women tend to be more critical of themselves, that looks not always affect one's carrier success). But even DOVE is choosing the people it works with very carefully. We need to realize that even if some of the campaigns are shot in the real world, editing is used for refining to create the perfect message. The DOVE campaigns are real life - professionalized.<br />
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Real life can look great!</h3>
Here is a logistic consideration. Your real staff images can look very professional if you forgo the cellphone "selfie" and use a professional photographer. So it's not a contradiction in terms to use your real staff for professional looking images. It is a question of budget, time and cooperation. Do you have the budget to hire a professional? Will your staff be cooperative and be willing to be photographed? Do they have the time for this? Will you be prepared to use touch ups to get the best atmosphere? (Thus loosing a bit of the "truth" of your pictures? Or is that totally against the concept?)<br />
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If you use a faded background or some graphic effects, your real life images do not necessarily have to reflect the real size of the company. If you use images of not only the staff, this too can obscure the company size.<br />
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Do not forget the text</h3>
A copywriter once told me that "No thousand images would be able to describe one word!" The power of words is still a key driver in marketing today - even within the digital channels. True, video rules and pictures catch the eye, but without text nothing would move on the web! Everything is tagged and labeled.<br />
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Marketers need to deliver the message in various formats. One decision maker likes to see a video and another prefers to see data in an excel chart. A third prefers to read an article. Many marketing leaders (including <a href="http://neilpatel.com/blog/" target="_blank">Neil Patel</a> and Hubspot) say that a good content strategy needs to involve continuous blogging. The recommended blogging amount per company differs, but a good rule of thumb is <a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/blogging-frequency-benchmarks#sm.0001k2tbvckurf9ppf71g0td0ifxg" target="_blank">11 blogs per month</a> if you are an SMB and want to generate significant exposure to your product, as is indicated by increasing traffic to your website.<br />
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Complex technological products and medical devices call for a more niche central approach. You still need the content to take your customer from the top of the funnel, via its middle and then to the bottom decision phase, but the audience is very targeted and the information they seek is derived from very specific interests. If digital marketing is a service you offer to technology clients, you know that quality marketing content is a key component in the services you provide.<br />
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This is why I started the OKR content house. With my team of writing specialists, I provide my clients a customized content writing service. The first stage includes understanding who the audience is and what types of content they require. A content plan with targeted themes and effective channels can then be generated and executed. Taking a look at published content and understanding its level of success is essential to tweaking and defining the next offer.<br />
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Creating <b>marketing content that works </b>is an ongoing effort. Over time you will see your web statistics go up. Quality content, geared to your niche audience will generate the buzz in <b>your</b> market - and it's well worth the effort.<br />
To learn more, <a href="mailto:ofrak007@gmail.com" target="_blank">contact me today!</a><br />
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<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-13789572274796680972016-09-29T00:31:00.001-07:002016-09-29T00:32:42.655-07:00What does Pregnancy Have to Do with Inbound Content Marketing Ideas?<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The sheer volume of inbound marketing content businesses require </h3>
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In an era, in which companies are no longer selling products or services, but rather providing information and solutions to their customers and potential clients, content is the fuel that drives the marketing and lead generation machine. Digital tools have made it possible for people to widen their searching and learning, parallel to making it possible for smaller entities to get good exposure, thus empowering both consumers and businesses. With these new capabilities has also come an increase in competition over online real-estate and a decrease of the time a person forms a first impression regarding digital content. </div>
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All this means that the quantities of content a company needs to generate has grown exponentially. According to <a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/blogging-frequency-benchmarks#sm.0001k2tbvckurf9ppf71g0td0ifxg" target="_blank">Hubspot</a>, in order to achieve maximum effect from blogging on website traffic, a company needs to post 11 blogs per month! That is ~3 per week. So where can companies get enough ideas to be able to generate so much high quality and interesting content? We all have an amazing resource available to us, and if we notice it, we can gear it towards collecting content idea. This resource is our brain, and more specifically the<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticular_activating_system" target="_blank"> Reticular Activating System</a>.</div>
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Start noticing ideas for inbound marketing content</h3>
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When I was pregnant with my first born child, I suddenly noticed how many pregnant women were on the streets. Then after I gave birth, I started noticing people with little babies up to one year of age. As my baby became a toddler I became especially adept at noticing little tykes about to run into trouble – like outrunning their mommy’s to the next cross road. I also noticed that the people who noticed it when my toddler outran me were mostly parents around my age group. As I became pregnant with my second child, my mind hones in once more towards all the other pregnant women out and about. </div>
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It’s not that the birth statistics in my home town have changed overnight, but rather that pregnancy as a theme of interest became relevant to my life. I started noticing pregnant women when pregnancy was of the highest important to me. I was so tuned into this subject that I not only saw more pregnant women, but I also heard more people talking about pregnancy and child birth , filtering these specific conversations from the general hubbub on the street. This phenomenon is called Reticular Activating System (RAS). We can all do this when something in important to us, it’s part of nature’s tools for reconnaissance, allowing us to gather information that is of high importance to us, exactly a time, in which it is most relevant.</div>
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Utilizing RAS for collecting inbound content ideas</h3>
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So, I bet you are asking yourselves what RAS has to do with inbound marketing content. Well, if you can train yourself to use RAS to notice ideas, which are relevant to your business content, then you can use RAS to help you collect inbound content ideas. You are probably already doing this, as I assume your business (or the company you work for as a marketer) is important to you. So all you need is just a little more awareness to this idea collection process.</div>
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Take the time to stop and note any idea that comes to you, which is related to y our business. Good ideas and bad ideas. Use a recording device on your smartphone or carry a small pocket book and a pen with you at all times, so you can write down any scraps of ideas that come to you at any time. Try to record at least 2 ideas a day. The quality of these ideas is not what matters. The purpose of consistent idea recording is to train you mind to collecting ideas. The more often you do this the easier it becomes and the quality of the ideas will improve.</div>
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One a week take the time to sort through the ideas you have recorded and crate a list of the good ideas. This list is your idea bank. For each idea, consider how you can present it with digital tools – is a blog post the best way to go? Or perhaps a short video? Or maybe both? Can you extract an infographic from your idea? Can your initial idea be an inspiration for something more? Write all content types and relevant remarks down, adding them to your idea bank. </div>
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It’s probably best to manage this idea list in an excel file so that you can easily sort the list according to categories relevant to your business (to which personas is your idea relevant? In what stage of the buying journey do you think your idea is most interesting to your customers and/ or potentials? What content type can you create from each idea?). This way when you need to create a certain content piece (e.g. an awareness blog for CEO’s) you just go to your idea bank list and take your pick.</div>
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Reticular Activating System is a skill that we all have. When you are tuned in to collecting ideas, they will come to you! If you are aware of this mechanism of your brain, you can utilize RAS to become a better inbound marketer.</div>
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JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-43162918596364891322016-08-10T02:57:00.000-07:002016-08-10T02:57:08.822-07:00On Page SEO - Links OptimizationI was recently asked about internal and external links with regards to on site search optimization.<br />
It is no secret, anyone who has ever read a bit about SEO knows that links are an important factor in optimizing your website for search.<br />
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There are two types of links: internal and external.</h3>
Internal links link between pages in your website<br />
External links link to and from your website to other sites.<br />
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<b>But what to do? </b><br />
First things first – you need to understand that the best way to create a link network is to systematically create links over time. So yes, you need to be committed to this process. The good news is that you can control quite a large portion of your link network and create is naturally. If you create this network using simple logic, the links will work well for you. Google encourages the natural way to thinking. This means, if you do things the way it makes sense to do them, it will probably work well with Google too.<br />
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So how best to arrange all these links?</h3>
Here it is in a nutshell, a procedure that anyone can conduct on their website if they are willing to invest the time.<br />
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Internal links:</h2>
One of the on-page optimization tactics you can create yourself is a hierarchical set of internal links - meaning links between pages in your website.<br />
The idea is to link between the pages on your website but using logic and hierarchy.<br />
Consider that Google crawlers use links to move between the pages. If your network of internal links is done logically, it will help Google better understand your site and optimize it for search.<br />
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So what to do?</h3>
1. Create links using your keywords for each page.<br />
2 - Hierarchy in internal links mean that sub-pages link to the parent page in the navigation and main navigation pages link to home page. And vice versa.<br />
Linking between pages that share a theme is also a good logical pattern.<br />
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<b>For example:</b><br />
My site has a home page, an about page, contact us page, a products page and an applications page.<br />
I have three products and two applications.<br />
1 product serves one application and the other two serve another application.<br />
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<b>What would my link network look like?</b><br />
Home page would link to about, products, applications and contact<br />
Links can be nice CTA buttons (contact) or a word of text (about, products, applications)<br />
About, products, applications and contact would each link to the home page (link at the bottom with the word "home" would do, just next to the "back to top" link on each page)<br />
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The three separate product pages would link to the products page.<br />
The two separate application pages would like to the applications page.<br />
All product pages would link to one another.<br />
Each product page would link to the relevant application page.<br />
Each application page would link to relevant product page.<br />
Each application page would link to the other application.<br />
All these links are done with keywords in the middle of the text.<br />
Product links can look like a CTA image inviting the reader to learn about more products.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezxp7Plf1QYL1qvKrWtMLZNUpks5f-s0_Y-bXWta6A1fEh15lGn9SGbVM_-9QboAfvPIBYVLIZ2wGgwTFcTt5lsA9uyHQ9FRTPP7SsoLdJuwAbde_BaGFVc9NMKemEEZi4OZFQKsTeOQ/s1600/internal-links.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezxp7Plf1QYL1qvKrWtMLZNUpks5f-s0_Y-bXWta6A1fEh15lGn9SGbVM_-9QboAfvPIBYVLIZ2wGgwTFcTt5lsA9uyHQ9FRTPP7SsoLdJuwAbde_BaGFVc9NMKemEEZi4OZFQKsTeOQ/s320/internal-links.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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3. If you have a blog, make sure you link to previous blog posts and to relevant product/ application pages (per above example).<br />
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4. Create CTA for each page per relevancy to link to landing pages.<br />
Product pages CTA can be inviting the reader to learn more about other products, Application page CTA can be an invitation to download an eBook about a certain connected subject.<br />
Blog CTAs can be an invitation to read more blogs or to download a tool or eBook to further deepen knowledge about a certain theme relevant to the blog post.<br />
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Always think what your reader should do next. How to keep them interested so they click another CTA and stay on your website, getting closer to purchase with each step.<br />
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External links - outward:</h2>
It’s good for SEO for your website to link to other sites in your field.<br />
You can create a news / PR page and link to interesting news items in your field.<br />
You can have a recommendations page on the similar principle<br />
In your blog posts you link when you quote someone. This gives then their due credit and prevents you from poaching on their information. It also gives your information the authenticity it requires.<br />
It’s always good to link to sites that have authority in your field.<br />
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External links - inward:</h2>
You need to get other websites to link to your site.<br />
Guest posting in a way to go (if you can get the placement)<br />
Paid advertising and banners also serve this purpose, but they cost money and are considered less authoritive. If you start out, it could be a fast way to promote your site.<br />
Commenting on social media groups and linking the comment to your site is a free way to go about this.<br />
Indexing your website in free indexes and forums in your field is also good.<br />
Publishing articles in free article websites is good.<br />
Syndicating your blog posts by placing them on LinkedIn Pulse and other free blogging platforms will only cost you your time.<br />
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All this will generate a links network over time that will lift your site in the search ranks and help Google understand what your site is about.<br />
Hope this helps, please comment if it does.<br />
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Ofra<br />
<b>Teaching the Mean and Lean method for DYI marketing for small businesses.</b><br />
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JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-40664666744926311502016-07-27T11:34:00.002-07:002016-07-27T11:43:59.618-07:00What is important when choosing a content management system (CMS) for your new website?<h2>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">What is a content management system?</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We are not all professional HTML, CSS or Ruby on Rails programmers - and yet, many people create their own websites. So, how do they do it? They use a </span><b>Content Management System, or CMS</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">. A CMS is an application that allows you to create and update your website. It helps you design the website, create the pages you need, the menu and navigating and a blog. A CMS makes updating the content and making changes to the website a relatively simple process, including texts, images and videos.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">Open-source vs. closed CMS</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There are many programming professionals who have developed their own CMS, these are closed systems, which are programmed by their providers and thus all updated and changes are to be made only by their creators. Closed CMS are paid for.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">An open-source CMS is a platform developed by a community of programmers and which is available for free, for use by anyone who wishes to use it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">These CMS are called open-source because their source code is open and available to the public. This way, many programmers can join the developing community and contribute to further develop the CMS. The community of developers around such a platform continues to update and develop applications for it, some of which will also cost money.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">The advantages of open-source CMS</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">The first and obvious advantage is that open-source CMS are FREE!</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You can have a website, which can even be quite elaborate, without having to pay monthly fees for licensing a CMS.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">The second advantage is that you are not dependent on a specific supplier to manage or create a website for you.</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As open-source CMS is available for free for the pubic to use, many websites have been created using these platforms. There are professional website builders who swear by these platforms as the best! The community of developers and users of open-source CMS is growing daily. Adopting these platforms is easy. The code is open and thus you can keep your website and the CMS even if you decide to change a website building supplier.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">The third advantage is that they are simple to use.</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Open-source CMS were designed for being used by people who are not programmers, thus using the CMS and updating your website content is easily done.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Installment of an open-source application is also relatively easy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">The three giants of open source CMS are: </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">WordPress, Drupal and Joomla.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">The most popular open-source CMS is WordPress </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">WordPress is probably being used by half the CMS websites today. The platform was first created in 2003 and is now up to its 4th version. This CMs has over 2000 free themes (themes are used for determining a design for the website). It has over 27,000 free plugins and gets updated every 42 days - these are two indicators of a dedicated and industrious developing community.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">WordPress started out as a blogging platform, and its most powerful features are still related to blogging. Its best used for image/ brand awareness websites that are created to help create awareness to a brand and contain mostly written content. It’s great for blogs, corporate websites and websites for small to medium size businesses.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Its learning curve is short and it’s very easy to install the CMS (one-click installment is available with the most popular web storage suppliers). It’s easy to use, change themes and design and it will create all the pages and blog posts you need.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org.</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">WordPress.com will enable you to start your own WordPress website on the WordPress server. You will not have your own domain and the free version is very limited. WordPress.org is the platform for creating your own website, with your own domain. You will also select your own storage supplier. WordPress.org is therefore the CMS you want to use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">Joomla is best designed for interactive websites</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">E-commerce and social media websites and websites that want their audiences to interact with them are best created on Joomla.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Joomla was created in 2005 and is the second most used open-source CMS today. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It has a fine balance between user friendliness and powerful features. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Joomla offers over 900 themes and 7000 plugins. Its true power lies in the amazing plugins its community of developers have created, which make power features easy to implement in a Joomla website.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On the other hand, it’s not an easy CMS for absolute beginners. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Its learning curve is longer than that of WordPress and you need a higher set of technical skills to work with it. Joomla offers a great help portal and there are many courses targeted at beginners. Users who swear by this CMS say it’s worth investing and learning to use it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">Drupal is a one size fits all feature powered CMS</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Drupal is very powerful (used among others by the White-House), and it has many features, but you really do need programming knowledge to install it and to design a website with it. On the other hand, it’s very easy to use for updating your website content. So even if you will probably need a professional to set it up for you, you can then be very independent when using it, even for complex features.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Drupal was created in 2000 and is thus the first open-source CMS giant. It offers over 1800 free themes and over 24,000 plugins. (These numbers are ever growing in all the open-source CMS applications). Drupal is very powerful and has the power to automate features in your website and is thus best suited for large websites, with a complex navigation structure that has a clear hierarchy.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You can do almost anything with Drupal and it’s very flexible. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Features that might require custom coding in WordPress or Joomla are ready made for Drupal. However, it has a long learning curve and is best installed by professionals. Its best suited for organizations who have full time web admins.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">An infographic reviewing the differences between these three platforms is available <a href="http://websitesetup.org/cms-comparison-wordpress-vs-joomla-drupal/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">So what do you need to consider when selecting your CMS?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">My advice is to use an open-source CMS. It’s free and easy to use for updating your site.</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">An expert comparison of the three open-source CMS platforms can be found </span><a href="http://www.templatemonster.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-cms-for-my-website/" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">Summary</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Popularity </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">- all the three giants are giants! So all are popular and have a good supporting community. Even so, WordPress has considerably more downloads.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Learning curve, installation and website design</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - beginners can only install a CMS and design a website by themselves only with WordPress. Joomla and Drupal are harder to install. Designing a website is more complex with Joomla compared to WordPress but Joomla offers more features. Drupal design can only be done by programmers.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Learning curve, updating content - routine use of CMS</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - all three open-source platforms are easy to use for updating the content on your website.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Complex features and automation</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - Joomla and Drupal offer complex features in the open-source code that will require custom coding with WordPress.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Type of website </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">- selecting a CMS is best done when considering the type of website you want to create. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For a Blog and a simple corporate website WordPress is best and easiest.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For an interactive site that is easy to run, Joomla is the most suited.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For a large website with hierarchy and a requirement for powerful features, Drupal is top quality!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">So what do I use?</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">I have personally worked on websites with WordPress and Drupal. Being an </span><b style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">expert for inbound content marketing for B2B companies</b><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;"> has put me in the way of either relatively simple brand awareness websites, blogs (most suitable for WordPress) and corporate websites with large volumes of organic content that required creating a clear hierarchy, taxonomy and automation (best done with Drupal). I think both CMS platforms are great and both are easy to use when updating a website.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Whatever you choose, I wish you fun and exiting times with your new website.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></div>
JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-78747790300146766742016-07-18T09:18:00.001-07:002017-07-23T07:30:57.567-07:005 Facebook page management and posting mistakes and how to avoid them (2016)<b>According to SocialFlow and <a href="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/new-study-shows-facebook-reach-down-42-0" target="_blank">SocialMediaToday</a>, there has been a 42% reduction in reach per post in Facebook from January to May 2016. Furthermore, Facebook has shifted the content of the news feed towards friends and family (as quoted in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/30/technology/facebook-to-change-news-feed-to-focus-on-friends-and-family.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTURZeFpUVm1PV1ExT1RZeiIsInQiOiJtR0dNb3VEYTdIYVdyQXNWcnVSa2ttUFVZUERuK3REbFl6cnlnTzFHZDhvTWEzT1Qwak51R3VEelEza2VaeGpVQlwvU1E3Z2xHQUk1M0cxKzJUbGdwMHFkZ0FJZzVqVTZwaCs4b0VxVDNQcEE9In0%3D&_r=1" target="_blank">New York Times</a>). These changes are affecting reach, exposure and awareness performance for marketers. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbaOa80x5EbObwKrCAWjOXK0fuCbtoHmF3xy7EfqCrKz-m5uFX6-GiB7yGFiArrFYYHJgdh6l14ETN_sNcgY0zsL3pCv3VgzZpuvjmqLaxG8fcTc4jKo-CRXPh-7kgkO7glomkE8Cgjc/s1600/cloud-709098_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbaOa80x5EbObwKrCAWjOXK0fuCbtoHmF3xy7EfqCrKz-m5uFX6-GiB7yGFiArrFYYHJgdh6l14ETN_sNcgY0zsL3pCv3VgzZpuvjmqLaxG8fcTc4jKo-CRXPh-7kgkO7glomkE8Cgjc/s320/cloud-709098_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Make sure your post stands out!</td></tr>
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With Facebook reducing commercial organic post exposure, putting forward certain types of content (video and live posts), and pushing back other content (e.g. high frequency updates from a certain page) marketers and social media page managers are faced with the need to increase their paid social media campaigns, in order to gain the same performance from their social media pages.<br />
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It’s imperative to continuously keep up with tips and guidelines to creating and maintaining a successful Facebook page. This blog lists 5 posting mistakes that marketers make, which reduce their fan/ follower base even further. Read more to learn how to avoid them:<br />
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<b>Mistake #1: Announcing instead of conversing</b><br />
Facebook is a social media network. Successful pages are those that find the fine balance between socializing and commercial content. People go into Facebook because they are looking for entertainment, education and communication with friends. (They are not in social media in order to buy something). Businesses that provide entertaining content, a personal outlook into the business and in general show a friendly face will be successful in social media. <br />
The 80/20 rule applies: 80% of your content should be informative, and maximum 20% can be commercial oriented.<br />
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You need to write a post in social media as if you are talking to a good friend. You want to encourage a conversation/ discussion/ reaction from your readers. Avoid big announcements and statements that have no real base. Do not make promises you cannot keep just to be provocative. We are all sick to our ears of supernatural aspirations of commercial entities.<br />
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<b>Mistake #2: Prolonging instead of KISSing</b><br />
KISS – keep it simple and short. Researches show that people scan their feed, quickly going over <br />
40-60 characters before deciding if to pay more attention. Short posts that make a focused point are the kind of posts that will be read. Giving your readers concise instructions will have higher probability that they will follow through.<br />
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Ask your readers clearly to take a certain action: “register now”, “tell us what you think”, “share your opinion with us”, like our page to get a gift” etc. Do not ask for something that is too much effort. Your request should also be simple and short. Asking your readers to interact with your content and providing an easy way for them to do so will clear the way for them to engage with you.<br />
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<b>Mistake #3: Frequency oriented posting instead of resource oriented posting</b><br />
You have to plan ahead! A post should have a clear target and it should have a clear location in your marketing funnel. The Call to Action should move your reader a little closer towards becoming a customer. If you have no inbound content strategy, as is reflected in each post, you will not gain the true benefits of the inbound content marketing methodology.<br />
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Posting often will get you nowhere! In fact, Facebook tends to push back updates that are coming too frequently from a certain page. The quantity vs. quality rule applies. Too many posts without a clear objective will bore your readers and they will leave the page by clicking "Unlike".<br />
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Even if your campaign is successful, too many leads may not prove to be qualified leads, which m ay actually lead to businesses. If you are a small business, perhaps you cannot properly handle high quantities of leads. You need to take all your resources into consideration and make sure each step in your web funnel is properly and professionally handled, so that your readers will have the best experience they can get. This will make them stay for more.<br />
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<b>Mistake #4: Sporadic content instead of constant loyalty</b><br />
Although its best not to post if you have nothing interesting to say, it is important to post on a regular basis and to remain consistent. Your audience learns to expect your posts, so you had better not disappoint them.<br />
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People in the digital era are looking for immediate satisfaction, so only one bad experience and they leave! Years of loyalty from a customer can be ruined with one silly mistake. It’s no different in social media. Keep to a certain standard you can uphold in the long run. Teach your audience to expect a certain level of information from you and make sure you keep providing it.<br />
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<b>Mistake #5: Stagnation instead of innovation</b><br />
You need to keep your audience interested, and in order to do that you have to be up to snuff. Be on top of the latest trends not only in your field but also in the field of Facebook posting. At the time of writing this blog, Facebook is promoting its new live posts platform. Thus posts that use this tool will gain higher exposure. Another platform, which Facebook is promoting is Instagram. Post that are placed also in Instagram are pushed in the Facebook feed.<br />
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Facebook also lifts posts that get lots of comments and re-shares to the top of the feed. The assumption is that if a post in engaging and getting readers to comment or share, then it means the post is entertaining and interesting. Facebook wants its readers to stay in its site – so if you provide interesting content, you will benefit from an upward push.<br />
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You need to know more than just the tolls and platforms available. You need to be able to create original and innovative content that is humorous, entertaining and memorable. This kind of content is engaging, and people will share it with their friends. This way, your readers work as your marketers, distributing your message and getting your word out to the world. This format of recommendation is looked on kindly by Facebook and is one of the best ways to make the most of your Facebook business page.<br />
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Business pages that find the correct balance continue to grow their follower base, while providing their readers with an enhanced customer experience, building a relationship with their customers that encourages loyalty.<br />
Facebook is looking to encourage video and live posting, forwarding a more personal communication agenda with this policy. As Facebook strives to be more social, so should you.<br />
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JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-89174431206506034912016-07-02T08:14:00.003-07:002016-07-02T08:18:28.842-07:00I Just Received my Hubspot Inbound Certification! YEH!It took 12 classes, 13.42 hours two mugs of coffee, three snacks and going to the necessary 3 times,,, but I did it! I got my Hubspot Inbound certification.<br />
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here is to the beginning of a new journey:-)JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-15327601360324400822016-06-07T07:51:00.003-07:002016-06-07T22:48:38.245-07:00What does it take to make a unicorn content writer?<b>It’s not easy to be a content writer. In a world in which everything is measured and analytics has turned everything into a set of numbers, how can one be evaluated as a good content writer?</b><br />
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<b>While one can evaluate content according to its performance in the world of analytics and stats (what is the reach? how many people read the blog or viewed the video? etc. these result depend on many factors and not just the quality of the content. Good content is in many ways a matter of feeling, you just know when it’s done right! So how to determine a good content writer from a bad one? Here are some characteristics that a unicorn content writer should have.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A unicorn content writer lives and breathes the trade. Do you have a unicorn in your pocket?</td></tr>
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Customer oriented thinking</h3>
A good content writer has to write about your business in terms the customers want to read or hear about it. At best, your writer has been a customer of your product or a similar product and knows what the customer needs. A good content writer should first review and use your product before writing about it. If your writer understands the challenges your customer is facing, the writing will be oriented to present solutions to these challenges, and that is what your customers what to see!<br />
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Second nature creativity</h3>
A good writer is a creative person. Creativity has many manifestations. Your content writer will help their child build a paper model of "the theory of relativity" or make a "Noah's ark" presentation for a sibling's school project. Not to mention dressing up for Halloween. Content creation is not just about writing good text but also creating visuals, videos and making them all complement each other.<br />
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Excellent explaining skills</h3>
A good content writing is good at explaining things. Anything! Why a certain camera is better than another? How to bake shortbread? How to calculate your mortgage payments...Taking complex concepts and simplifying them to the layman is a key asset in content writing for business.<br />
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<br />A sense for greatness</h3>
When you see a product that is well designed you just know its so! Even if you are not a professional designer. This explains how so many people around the world from many different cultures think that Apple products are cool! The design just works for them all! It’s the same with content. When the blog post or video is good, it’s recognizable. A content writer should have a sense for greatness, so that they are able to create really good content that simply works!<br />
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An eye for trends</h3>
A good content writer need not shy from looking at what others are doing and learn from what they find. Gathering insights from data and statistics, watching content from the competition, analyzing trends and explaining the reasons for them is key to understanding the industry one is writing about.<br />
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Fast turnaround</h3>
Reacting to current events quickly is key to writing compelling and relevant content that is always up-to-date.<br />
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<br />Quick learning skills</h3>
A good content writer learns not only about the industry they write about, but also about content marketing industry and any tools that compliment writing content. Knowing the framework, in which the content needs to be disseminated and in which it needs to perform help make a better writer.<br />
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Success satisfaction</h3>
A good content writer enjoys seeing the fruits of their hard work. Seeing good content being read or viewed by people and learning from one's successes is key to continue writing successful content.<br />
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CLO - Content Listening Officer</h3>
A content writer is always on the prowl for new information. Listening to the conversation on the web, social media, and reading blogs and magazines is important to stay on top of the game. A good content writer is truly interested in the themes they write about.<br />
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Writing for the sake of writing, or just for fun</h3>
Is your content writer writing just for fun? Do they have a blog? More than one? Are they writing a book? A writer who enjoys writing for the sake of writing is practicing the craft and will thus only be getting better and better. Enjoyment in one's work is a good starting point for quality.<br />
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<b>If you find all of these characteristics in a content writer, you have a unicorn!</b><br />
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JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-91299083884374647462016-03-24T06:24:00.001-07:002016-05-09T15:57:07.862-07:00Why do businesses need to alter their lack of understanding, when it comes to the need for marketing communication strategy?A research conducted by McKinsey in 2012 [1] shows that businesses do not present their brands to the market in a way that is suited to the information that their customers are seeking. McKinsey defined this as a gap that causes the brands to "talk past their customers". In other words, businesses, which communicate the information that their customers want to hear, will be successful in selling their products and services to those customers. A proper marketing communications strategy could be the difference between a surviving business and a thriving one.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marcom strategy can help you stay ahead of the game</td></tr>
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Here are some <b>points of alteration</b> that can help businesses on the road to a comprehensive and effective communication strategy.<br />
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<b>1. Alter the added value view point</b><br />
We are all taught at business school to talk about added value to the customer. If we can prove this added value, the customer will buy the product or service. This assumption is valid, but most companies use this to deliver messages about the features of their product or service without stopping to wonder what their customer is really looking for? If you alter the view point an start with the added value the customer wants to find, then you can communicate to the customer how your product will provide them with the added value they seek. Added value comes first and foremost in solving a problem for a customer and in providing a service or products that the customers think they need.<br />
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<b>2. Alter the company characteristics view point</b><br />
According to the McKinsey research, B2B companies are promoting characteristics such as broad product portfolio, innovation, global presence, corporate responsibility, diversity and equal opportunity as a basis for brand strength. Whereas customers find characteristics such as honesty and dialog, responsible action along the supply chain, leadership and specialist expertise of importance when they evaluate a brand. Once again it is advisable to turn the focus onto the customers and their views. Customers want to buy from people and businesses they perceive as honest fore and foremost! reputation is key!<br />
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<b>3. Alter the messaging focus</b><br />
Considering that most B2B companies are focusing on similar messages, your business needs to create a unique message. Do not elaborate on features that might be similar to the competition. Finding the point that makes your product unique and solves a certain need in the market is key to creating a compelling marketing message. Do not concentrate only on the product features. Do not talk only about your company and product or service. Talk about the need of the customer and how it is met by your company. Expand this message to include core values, which are a part of your company DNA and that resonate with your target customer audience. If your customers can identify with the reason WHY you do business, they are more likely to buy from you.<br />
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<b>4. Alter the marketing communications infrastructure</b><br />
Assuming your know who you customers are and what they need, now you need to find them in order to deliver your marketing message. The possibilities to deliver a marketing message in the era of web marketing are endless and not very expensive. But perhaps because of this multiple choice / low budget environment, marketers tend not to be focused and they just try everything or to follow the herd. Taking the time to understand in which channels your customers are best tuned in to hear your new and clear message can prove instrumental to turning a slow campaign into a blitz of marketing success!<br />
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<b>5. Alter the emotional rationale</b><br />
As the tools for marketing are ever changing, principles of marketing remain constant. If you can create a marketing message that will be clearly heard by your target audience, and which resonates with your customers, touches their heart and involves emotions in their purchase, your chance of acquiring their business and then their loyalty for a repeated purchase will increase considerably.<br />
Yes, even in business we purchase with the heart and then justify with the intellect. Numbers and statistics are good and important data, but only if they support a more emotional call to fulfill and an unmet need.<br />
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<b>To conclude:</b><br />
A comprehensive marketing strategy, which includes understanding of the unmet need, the target customers including their considerations and personas, combined with products highlights and the best dissemination opportunities, will help your business to stop "talking past your customers" and help create an open dialog with customers from day one, starting with effective communication of marketing and brand messages. A marketing communications strategy can help your business develop a focused road, driving a clear path through the overwhelming verity of marketing options and tools.<br />
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[1] http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/how-b2b-companies-talk-past-their-customersJandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-91414226267592328062015-12-12T05:33:00.000-08:002015-12-12T05:33:24.318-08:00Is there a connection between marketing and dating ?<h3 style="background-color: #fefefe; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: gandhisans, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.35rem; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
<span style="color: #565b57; font-size: 18px; line-height: 28.8px;">Actually I have recently heard an interesting comparison of online marketing or growth hacking to a dating experience from more than one source. The idea is that online marketing takes a customer through a journey. Dating is also a journey towards finding your (it is hoped) lifetime partner. So how does it work?</span></h3>
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<a href="http://roojoommedia.s3.amazonaws.com/src_images/src_38540_growth-hacker-funnel.jpg">http://roojoommedia.s3.amazonaws.com/src_images/src_38540_growth-hacker-funnel.jpg</a></div>
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Acquisition = blind date</h4>
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First the customer needs to know that a certain company/product/ or service exists - this is done via dissemination in various channels. Today social media is the starting point for most of the <b style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">acquisition</b> campaigns. These campaigns are geared to capture leads, get the prospect to sign into a distribution list (perhaps in return for a free gift or coupon) so that the company can start the communication process and the prospect enters the sale/marketing funnel</div>
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This is like going on a blond date. You saw an advert somewhere on social media or a dating site and now you opted in for the first meeting. You probably gave the other person you email or phone number so that you can coordinate this first meeting. The communication process has started.</div>
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Activation = relationship</h4>
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Now the comply has the name of the prospect and its time to gain their trust. This is done by repeatedly sending more information to this person about the company or the service and generally keeping the service in the awareness of the prospect until they take some action and become an <b style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">active</b> customer.</div>
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In the dating world, this is the part in which people go out on dates repeatedly. If the communication is working, they will continue to date and will enter into the relationship phase. During the relationship phase there are various stages and hurdles that have to be faced (like meeting the partner's parents, deciding to move in together etc.). These are the "small sale" stages, each time one of these hurdles has been met and removed, it compares to the selling of a small product or service, on the road towards the main goal/ flagship product.</div>
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Retention (resulting in revenue and referrals) = matrimony</h4>
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Now that a company has an active customer is all about getting them to make repeated purchases an also to spend more money in each purchase. up-selling, cross-selling and getting the customer more and more engaged with the product, so that the always keep coming for more. Alternatively this could mean getting the customer to trust the company enough in order to buy its flagship product, which is also the most expensive products. This could also means to get the customer into purchasing a retainer - <b style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">retention</b> mean getting the customer to always purchase, making them a source for growing your <b>revenue</b>. Happy customers will also hopefully <b>refer</b> you to new prospects and thus serve to further grow your income.</div>
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This is a lot like matrimony. Once you get married, your partner has effeminately signed up for the biggest product, you! As the marriage progresses there is always retention and re-selling points: steps that you will take together that will get you more and more engaged and involved with each other. For example - buying a house together, and having children. Here the revenue is not money but rather deepening of the relationship and partnership. The more things you go through together with your partner the more deep the commitment you will have towards one another. It terms of the commitment currency, you are spending more and more in this relationship, becoming more committed and "repurchasing the product" every day - your commitment to your partner only grows.</div>
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By repurchasing everyday and staying in the marriage, you are serving as a reference for others to enter the marriage state. You will of course not wish to refer others to being married to your specific partner :-)</div>
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As I mentioned at the beginning of this response - I have heard this in various sources recently, but I liked the inforgrahic Quicksprout has put together on this subject, so I ma sharing it here with you.</div>
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www.quicksprout.com/the-definitive-guide-to-growth-hacking-chapter-4/</blockquote>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.6;">This also reminds me of a blog post I wrote a couple of year's back for a blogging competition for a job seeking website - in which I compared getting a job to dating.</span></div>
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First you go to the interview (blind date/ first meeting) then you negotiate the terms of employment (relationship) and then you get the job (matrimony). In the post I used another marketing model usually referred to as AIDA. More on that in another response...here is the link to the blog I wrote.</div>
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https://jobmob.co.il/blog/market-yourself-for-dating-and-job-search/</blockquote>
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(reference to the link in my blog:</div>
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http://contentguru4all.blogspot.co.il/2013/09/i-wrote-post-for-bloggers-competition.html)</div>
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Wishing you a great weekend and happy reading,</div>
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Ofra</div>
JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-44997958309748563162015-09-17T02:26:00.003-07:002015-11-30T02:37:48.904-08:00I just completed a new website - www.RTUTEC.com - and I did EVERYTHING on this one!Its the first time I have used WIX as a platform to build a website. Its biggest advantage is that really anyone can build a website using it. no programming knowledge required! its easy and intuitive and very very visual and with lovely graphics.<br />
the disadvantage is that everything in manual! If you want something in your website, then you have to put it there! No aggregation pages, sections and automated graphics of any taxonomy!<br />
Also, I am not aware of any SEO or web promotion advantages for this platform (no plugins).<br />
I think its a great platform for small websites and for beginners.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RTUTec Ltd. Home page, all Images designed by me on this site</td></tr>
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<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-84745392075995471482015-04-27T11:31:00.000-07:002015-04-27T11:32:00.512-07:00What I learned from Neil Patel regarding growing a blog and writing converting posts<b><a href="http://neilpatel.com/blog/" target="_blank">Neil Patel</a>, the founder of Crazyegg and KISSMetrics came to Israel, again. Neil came to lecture about growing a blog. Its a great privilege to hear someone so knowledgeable who is also still approachable and an entertaining lecturer to boot. Lets see if this post can demonstrate what I learned...</b><br />
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<u>3 reasons to why a blog is good for your business.</u><br />
The first advantage of a blog is the fact that you have control over the content that you publish. even if you allow guest posts on your blog and want other writers to contribute - the last choice is yours. In social media you have no control on how people react to your post or how the discussion will develop. When you have a blog, you can even close the comments option if you feel it does not fit your concept, or monitor the comment posted.<br />
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Neil's first tip regarding the content of the blog is that the content should teach! the idea is that people who read your content should get some value form it. If they learn something and can even implement what they learn - then this means your content teaches them things and they get value.<br />
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Neil also recommends stretching borderlines and being original and creative. If you have fun when you write and try new things, the results will be interesting and fun to read. If people feel they learned something, had fun doing so and got value, the chance they will convert is higher.<br />
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<u>Guess what is the most obvious converting part of the blog?</u><br />
One of the most important things is a good blog post is the header. Neil writes long posts of 2000 words , so he always ends them with a short summary and used headers in it 3-5 times. Headers help organize the text for your readers and informed them of what;s coming up. 80% of most people skim the headlines first and then decide if to read the actual content. Headlines generate interest, so you need to make them interesting. You want your readers to be curious regarding your content.<br />
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<b>Neil's 6 tips for good headlines:</b><br />
1. Use adjectives and questions to generate interest<br />
2. Use shocking negative words<br />
3. 65 characters is an ideal length for a header, 6 words is good - informative and not too long<br />
4. Use numbers - uneven numbers work better. The bigger the number, the better (but remember the context when you decide on a number).<br />
5. Avoid word play and double meanings, keep it simple and clear<br />
6. make heading suited to the content beneath it<br />
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<u>Here are some samples for good headers:</u><br />
"eyebrows you would kill for, 7 tips to create your eyebrow design"<br />
"5 management mistakes you make, that will kill your business (and how to avoid them)"<br />
"101 ways to save money fr a small business"<br />
"11 worse ways to pitch a VC (and how to fix your pitch)"<br />
"Here is why investors will not give you money (and what to do to change that)"<br />
"21 reasons why no one reads your press releases (and how you can fix this)"<br />
"11 ways to dress like Natalie Portman for under $100".<br />
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Your opening paragraph should also invoke curiosity, here is an example.<br />
Headline: "7 SEO mistakes you are probably making"<br />
Opening paragraph: "Have you ever seen a first age ranking on Google search that has no keywords in it? Have you wondered how they do it?"<br />
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Headline: "7 ways to generate creative headings for your presentations"<br />
Opening Paragraph: "If your presentation slides do not have interesting headings, people will assume that what you have to say is boring too. in this post you will learn tools that will help you generate interesting headlines for your PPT slides, and you can come back to this formula whenever you want to create a presentation."<br />
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<u>3 things to avoid when writing your blog</u><br />
<i>Avoid over promotion:</i><br />
People do not like self promotional content. If its too commercial they will not read and you lose credibility. List blogs are a great way to provide information for people that is organised and easy for them to absorb. Put yourself in number 2 of the list. 2 is the magic spot. If you put yourself first, you are being too pushy. If you go for place 3, people might just not read a bout you. so in this case its 2 that is the magic number.<br />
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<i>Avoid over protectiveness:</i><br />
People tend to keep all the best stuff to themselves, but blogging is about sharing your wisdom and knowledge. Its a hard decision to make - where to place your best content. Neil says that if you are just starting out and need the push from blogs that are stronger than yours, you should give them your best content. This means you cannot post it on your blog because you want to avoid double content. Guest posting and using the authority of popular blogs is a great promotional tool for you and you will get good reputation for publishing good content on such platforms. When you are stronger, you can then keep the good stuff for your own blog.<br />
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<i>Avoid snobbery:</i><br />
The web encourages the writing style to be direct and conversational. So write a lt of "you" and "I" in your content. make your readers feel like you are talking to them. Avoid being over-intelligent and keep your language simple. Dumb down your content so that the widest common denominator of people will understand (I should have written: Dumb down your content so that most people reading it will understand what they are reading:-).<br />
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<b>Neil's 6 tips for creating a good infographic</b><br />
An infographic is a visual tool to explain complex ideas, to slice and to simplify them for your audience. Its a great converting tool. Here are Neil's tips on how to best create them.<br />
1. Keep them visual, use images not words to get your ideas across.<br />
2. 5-6 points/ enhancements make an idea infographic - do not make them too short or too long, or the conversion rate goes down.<br />
3. The various points should flow - create a story in your infographic<br />
4. Keep the color scheme simple. (BTW blues convert better on Facebook, because this matches their brand)<br />
5. do not forget to put your URL and logo at the bottom<br />
6. put an embedding code for sharing your infographic when publishing it.<br />
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Other things that were discussed were the best time to post blogs (depending on the platform you are sharing in), how to get a guest post chance, monotization and promotion of the blog. Remember that people do not always see the first time you promote your blog on a social media platform, so do not be afraid to repeat the post 3-4 times during the 10 days after posting (then come back to it in 6 months time...fr round no. 2 of new readers). Neil also discussed the posting frequency. Although its best to post more often, if you do not have something really good to post and nothing interesting to say, then do not post!<br />
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<u>To sum it all up</u><br />
So why was it worth buying the ticket to hear Neil Patel lecture this week in Israel?<br />
I learned why a blog is good for my business.<br />
I learned of the importance of headlines and how to create good ones.<br />
I learned what to avoid when writing my blog.<br />
I got great tips for creating infographics.<br />
To top it all off I learned about monotization and promotion.<br />
It was great to hear Neil talk, its obvious he has fun being the marketing hackathon that he is,<br />
I feel secure in recommending his marketing blog "<a href="http://www.quicksprout.com/university" target="_blank">Quicksprout</a>". I am sure I will continue to learn.<br />
Thank you Assaf Einstein for inviting Neil <a href="https://events.bizzabo.com/200223/home" target="_blank">back to Israel</a>.<br />
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<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-53935107804952274652015-01-24T05:39:00.000-08:002015-01-24T05:39:49.717-08:00Colours and what they mean to us in marketingwhen creating a marketing campaign, the use of colors can sometimes be the difference between failure and success. Its the special combination and balance in an advert that draws attention but not only that, it guides people to take action in a specific and desired way. In a logo the choice of colors can change the message underlined in it.<br />
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But even a more generic view is required. Sight is the major sense in which we relate to the world surrounding us. People who can see get 80% of their information through their eyes, by actually seeing it. What we see is light in various wave lengths - that is, we see colors. Colors are therefor a major tool in the way the human mind learns and communicates. This mans the marketer needs to ask, what effect do certain colors have on people and how this can be harnessed for the sake of marketing. I have put together a short review of the major colors and what they mean to us (in the western world).<br />
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<b>Red:</b> The color of fire and energy. Red will always catch you eye and draw your attention. Energy can be positive and friendly but sometimes it bursts out! Red is used to market sports, entertainment but also foods, fashion and cosmetics. If you want your message to be about provocation and buzz Red might be a good color to use, as long as you do not overdo it. Remember that red can sometimes be perceived negatively (we stop at a red light).<br />
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<b>Orange:</b> Orange is a lighter version of the energy red. Its still exiting but also a bit milder and even childish, so Orange can radiate confidence. Orange is used to market safety products, products for higher efficiency and children brands. Its a happy and friendly color.<br />
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<b>Yellow:</b> Yellow is a very bright color. it radiates positive energy and optimism. Yellow is used to market child care brands but also technology start-ups and innovators.<br />
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<b>Green:</b> in today's world green is fore and foremost the representing color for the environment; for recycling and nature. green is all about youth nurturing and growth, green represents the health of the planet and of society. Green is used to market health products, government initiatives and scientific programs.<br />
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<b>Blue:</b> Blue is the color of water. Its calm and clean. It enfolds within many mysteries but also encourages trust. Blue is used to market many high-tech products and is very popular in the Internet. Blue is used for business and trade initiatives but is also manifested in the health and medical industry.<br />
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<b>Black:</b> signals stability and strength, combined with professionalism and class. Black is always solid and just right. It helps put the message together. Black and grays and slivers are used to market prestigious and traditional brands.<br />
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<b>Purple:</b> Purple is the color of wisdom and magic. It represents both knowledge and the mystic, it has a healing property.. Purple delivers a message of creativity and imagination. It is used to market spiritual fields such as astronomy but also health activities that have oriental routes such as yoga and aromatherapy.<br />
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<b>Brown</b>: Brown is the color of the earth. it represent for us the ordinary and routine. Its a color of history and tradition, representing a steady and safe conservative way of thought. Large companies with a deep tradition will use this color for their marketing combined with gold. Brown is especially suited to market activities in the mining, construction and finance worlds.<br />
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Colors effect people very deeply. But color psychology is just one part in the puzzle of messaging and marketing. However in a fast pace world, in which on had but fractions of seconds to create an impression and interest a potential buyer to read more, color is a major part of the puzzle. Remember that colors are what we see, but even of more importance to marketers is the fact that colors are also the first thing we notice (even if its done unconsciously and automatically).<br />
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Great info graphics on this subject are:<br />
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Color in culture<br />
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=InfographicsforDesign<br />
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The color emotion guide:<br />
http://thelogocompany.net/blog/infographics/psychology-color-logo-design/?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=InfographicsforDesign<br />
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Colours ofthe web<br />
http://www.colourlovers.com/business/blog/2010/09/15/the-most-powerful-colors-in-the-world?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=InfographicsforDesign<br />
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<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-85983062369931837802014-11-30T21:00:00.000-08:002014-11-30T21:00:47.973-08:00תפקידי השיווק - או בקיצור "מה ייצא לי מזה?"<div style="direction: rtl;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">אז אני עונה , ועוד בעברית (זה גם לא קורה כאן הרבה...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">מדוע צריכה חברה פעילה עם מכירות טובות קמפיין שיווקי.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">התשובה היא שאם קמפיין כזה ממלא את תפקידיו הייחודיים, הוא רק יעצים עוד את עסקי החברה ויביא להגדלתם.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">איך שיווק עושה את זה?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">לקמפיין שיווקי ארבעה תפקידים: חשיפה, הזנת לידים, שימור לקוחות והאזנה לשוק.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">את הפעילות אונליין שציינתי כדאי ללוות גם בפעילות אופליין ואף ליצור סינרגיה בינהן. תערוכות, פרסום בדפוס, כנסים והדגמות.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ועכשיו לקטע של המטרות העסקיות.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-76061402432714072702014-05-20T00:57:00.004-07:002015-01-24T05:40:39.536-08:00Tips for writing good content<b>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:</b><br />
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<i><u>1 - Put yourself in the readers shoes</u></i><br />
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.<br />
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2 - <u><i>KISS - Keep it short and simple</i></u><br />
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.<br />
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3 -<u><i>"If you have to shoot, then shoot. Don't talk" - Start your content with a big bang!</i></u><br />
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.<br />
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<i><u>4 - Do not over sell</u></i><br />
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.<br />
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<i><u>5 - Be professional and organized</u></i><br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-21410244410991503482014-04-13T13:11:00.000-07:002014-04-13T13:11:47.029-07:00A Marketer's dream - Driving for change in your organizationMany 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.<br />
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.<br />
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<u>1 - Organize your thoughts:</u><br />
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.<br />
<b>For example:</b> 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.<br />
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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. <b>To continue the example:</b> 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.<br />
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3 -<u> The salami method - slices:</u><br />
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.<br />
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<u>4 - Show me the money!</u><br />
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.<br />
<b>For example:</b> 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.<br />
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<u>5 - Self marketing - sell your project and yourself</u><br />
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.<br />
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<u>6 - Never give up!</u><br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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I conclude with a sentence many couches use, but its really does work,so here goes:<br />
Remember to believe in yourself and others will believe in you!<br />
Believe in your dreams, professional and private - work hard to get them and they might just come true...<br />
Food for thought<br />
Good Luck<br />
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JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-81588897778251548402014-03-17T02:31:00.001-07:002014-03-17T02:33:16.815-07:00The importance of creating a focused and effective email campaign for marketers<b>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!<u> The average time span for reading an email is 51 seconds! </u>(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.</b><br />
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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.<br />
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1 - <u>Create your email campaign according to client expectation:</u> 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.<br />
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2 - <u>KISS-keep your message simple and direct: </u>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.<br />
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3 - <u>Good division of elements in your email:</u> 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.<br />
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4 - <u>Keep up with the technology:</u> 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.<br />
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5 - <u>Remember to ask questions:</u> 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.<br />
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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.JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-59518383414037547152014-03-04T01:39:00.000-08:002014-03-04T01:43:13.898-08:00How to Create good Video for Marketingin 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.<br />
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<b>1 - Tell a relevant story</b> - <u>think about the information that your audience wishes to see and how you can provide it for them in an interesting manner</u>. 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.<br />
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<b>2 - KISS - Keep it simple and short</b> - <u>think about delivering a focused message in simple terms and within 5 minutes</u>. 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).<br />
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<b>3 - Create clean and focused imaging</b> - <u>consider your composition, lighting and sound</u>.<br />
<i>Composition: </i>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. <i>Lighting:</i> 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.<br />
When filing products, make sure the background is neutral and there is no scatter in the frame.<br />
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. S<i>ound:</i> 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.<br />
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4 - <b>Do not forget branding and a call to action</b> - <u>your video is part of a marketing mix and its role is to engage your customers to continue their interaction with your information</u>. 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.<br />
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5 - <b>Share and track</b> - <u>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</u>. 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.<br />
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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.<br />
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Here is a link to a video I was involved in creating, as part fo my role as MarCom manager for Vidisco Ltd.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bIIAuM21c0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bIIAuM21c0</a>JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-80008850874399613692014-02-06T01:40:00.001-08:002016-12-12T02:37:35.748-08:00Women and Coping with Chauvinistic Questions in Interviews for a Job - A SuggestionI 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.<br />
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.<br />
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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...<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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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").<br />
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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.<br />
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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!"<br />
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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!<br />
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<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-9139649354454504892014-01-30T01:04:00.002-08:002014-03-04T00:01:31.927-08:00Great PR Content - My Formula and a ComplimentIts nice to be able to complement colleagues on great work. This time my compliments go to <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Rebecca Ehrenpreis </span>who wrote a short blog post detailing a new website and a new invention to be found within.<br />
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.<br />
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what should a great PR text include?<br />
1 - Always keep it short and simple. Your message should stand out and be easy for your readers to find.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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Rebecca used all 5 components of the above detailed formula in her short blog post.<br />
I hope you will also find this post as a useful tool when next posting a PR text.<br />
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see Rebecca's ring size post in the link<br />
<a href="http://www.beckysbeautytips.com/2014/01/26/an-innovation-for-measuring-your-ring-size/">http://www.beckysbeautytips.com/2014/01/26/an-innovation-for-measuring-your-ring-size/</a><br />
More about Rebecca<br />
<a href="http://beckysbeautytips.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" target="_blank">beckysbeautytips.com</a><br />
more about "Find my Ring size" in the link<br />
<a href="http://findmyringsize.com/">http://findmyringsize.com/</a>JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-20432806528769139332014-01-27T04:33:00.000-08:002014-03-04T00:01:09.949-08:00How to Get the Gold out of Social Media?<b>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.</b><br />
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.<br />
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But which social network would give your business the best results? There are a few issues to consider before making this choice:<br />
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<u>The first instinct is to day - maximum exposure</u>. 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.<br />
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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.<br />
Linked in enables membership in targeted groups and you can use their campaigning tools to reach those groups.<br />
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<u>Focusing your efforts is also important.</u> 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!<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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<u>The trick to an efficient and focused campaign is efficient presence.</u> 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.<br />
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<u>Being active means to engage: </u>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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<u>Selecting the main network to be active in is not so simple anymore</u>. 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.<br />
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<u>Flexibility is key:</u> 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.<br />
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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...<br />
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<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-12212220799193637122014-01-21T02:13:00.002-08:002014-03-04T00:00:27.219-08:00Email marketing - recommended frequency and other tips<b>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.</b><br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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So how can that be done? 10 tips to consider:<br />
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<ol>
<li><b>Know who your preferred clients are: </b>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.</li>
<li><b>Strategy and planning:</b> 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.</li>
<li><b>Do not email for the sake of emailing:</b> 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.</li>
<li><b>Develop a consistent marketing funnel:</b> 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. </li>
<li><b>Keep your messages focused and interesting: </b>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.</li>
<li><b>Timing is everything:</b> 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.</li>
<li><b>Keep is clear and simple:</b> 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.</li>
<li><b>Give before you take:</b> 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.</li>
<li><b>Call to action:</b> 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!</li>
<li><b>Good followup and learning:</b> 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.</li>
</ol>
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<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-90456264506815314772014-01-21T01:28:00.001-08:002014-03-03T23:59:45.920-08:00Email marketing - recognise the trap that floods your inbox<b>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...</b><br />
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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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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<br />
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<ul>
<li>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.</li>
<li>You can also unsubscribe consistently - it does eventually lower the amount of emailing you receive. it is advised that you unsubscribe in two ways:</li>
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<ol>
<li>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.</li>
<li>Write a reply email and request to have them stop sending you emails.</li>
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<li>You can avoid registering your email as much as possible to any free offers and such, and thus not enter the chain at all.</li>
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2959397084580758463.post-49002480708908699942013-10-31T01:19:00.003-07:002014-03-03T23:59:06.404-08:00Marketing ghost writing - credit is the eceptionhi all,<br />its rare that a marketing writer gets direct credit - we all do ghost writing jobs.<br />But this time, I wrote it and my name (and even my picture) is on it!<br />So if you want to know more about what the company I work for does, enjoy reading this article.<br /><a href="http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=10238">http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=10238</a><br />Ofra<br />JandJs Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05728072175125783766noreply@blogger.com0