Affordable Online Marketing for Local Businesses
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Should You Outsource Content Marketing?
2 months
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
To have the maximum amount of success online you should be publishing materials for your website viewers to digest on an ongoing basis.
This might be in the form of a weekly blog, new pages that feature all the various products and services that you offer, updates to your homepage, new online “specials”, and lots of other potential ideas.
To have the most impact, the best content developers have 3 critical skills:
- Writing
- Domain expertise – are you an expert in the subject you’re writing about?
- Networking skills - Do you know how to promote effectively?
The writing aspect is pretty self-explanatory. Some folks are simply much better writers than others. Or perhaps two people are of equal skill, but one enjoys writing and the other compares it to a trip to the dentist.
Domain expertise is important, but you shouldn’t discount the ability of a high quality researcher learning what they need to know to effectively communicate at least the basics of your field or industry, and then filling them in on the details or personal insight you find most valuable.
Networking skills in this case can refer to the technical ability to post items correctly online, following SEO (search engine optimization) rules, sharing them via social media and through other avenues to gain the most visibility for your website.
Finding someone on your team with all three of these skills - and then the most important of all, the actual time needed to utilize them - can be a challenge for some businesses.
If that’s the case, one choice is to bring in a new staffer to handle the writing and posting duties. For those looking for a simpler and more cost-effective solution, working with an outside vendor/freelancer - of which Hat Trick Associates is just one of your many choices - is the right call.
Whatever you decide, realize that there are significant benefits to you regardless.
If you’d like to learn more about why adding consistently building your website is such a valuable tool, please give me a call at (314) 494-3494 or email me at: [email protected]. You can also Contact Me via my website here at any time to get the conversation started.
Online Marketing that Works
7 months
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
Online Marketing and Creating Urgency with Customers
The role of Hat Trick Associates, and any online marketing
professional in general, is generating revenue for the client. Now, of course I believe that means a strong SEO campaign, great content, and a good social media presence. But anything that makes the client money - I don’t care if it’s hot air balloons - is more money that they can spend on promoting their business online.
Here is a general marketing tip from HTA: Marketing is about creating a sense of urgency to fulfill an immediate need, immediately, in most cases. One of the best uses I have seen or heard of this happened just now on Pandora. “Take a picture of this coupon on the screen right now during this ad to get X off or Free whatever…”
The actual offer didn’t matter much, they had me scrambling for my phone to get the Camera app open to take a pic of the screen before I even knew what the offer was…I didn’t want to miss out.
And I *just took the photo in time. It was almost exciting. They created the sense of urgency they needed to (It was Sport Clips, in this case). The offer is pretty good, actually, as well…so I might really use it. This is a perfect example of a marketing piece that works. Stand on the shoulders of giants - and take note of what works for competitors or those in different industries, and shamelessly steal from them.
Content Marketing Matures to Cover Entire Buying Process
12 months
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
When online content marketing first blew up, brands hopped onto the newly requisite bandwagon and published whatever online content they could muster up. Blogging became an absolute mainstay in online marketing. Websites were made-over with new, richer copy. And soon enough, content truly became king.
However, these early stages of the content marketing era were just that — early, rudimentary, and simple.
Today, just about one year after Google released the industry-changing Hummingbird update, businesses have begun mastering online content marketing. Rather than working feverishly to produce as many words as possible, content marketers are now working smarter and targeting online content to engage with customers throughout the entire buying decision process, guiding them down the sales funnel.
From need recognition to the initial search, all the way to post-purchase, savvy content marketers are covering all the bases. That means those who don’t will soon be left in the dust.
How to Cover All the Bases of Content Marketing
First, make sure you’re familiar with the buying decision process. There are five key steps:
- Need/problem recognition: Let’s say a window in my bedroom has broken. Suddenly, I have one of two needs. Either I need a professional installer to help me replace the window, or I know how to replace it and I simply need to purchase the new glass.
- Information search: Since I like to save money and do things myself, I want to purchase the new glass pane and install it myself. I need to search online to find out what I need to buy. I type into Google “how to replace bedroom window”.
- Evaluation of alternatives: I’ve done my research and I know what I need. Now I need to decide what product I will actually purchase, and who I will purchase it from. To decide, I’ll search for the product and compare different vendors.
- Purchase decision: I know what I want to buy and I’ve found the perfect online vendor. I’m ready to fill my shopping cart and enter my payment information. Hopefully, this will be an easy step, but I still haven’t looked at the shipping costs or tried to use the shopping cart. Hopefully, both fit my needs.
- Post-purchase behavior: My purchase from my preferred vendor went smoothly. I have the new glass and I’m ready to install it. First, however, I’m going to search online for an installation guide.
Creating Your Full-Coverage Content
Cover steps one and two in the buying decision process. In order to capture the attention of potential customers as soon as they enter the market for your product or service, you need to publish online content that answers their initial questions.
- Who manufactures the best glass?
- Who offers the best price on the glass I need?
- Which vendors offer quality customer service?
Next, your content marketing strategy should target the “evaluation” step in the buying process. Again, create content that answers the questions your customers are asking at this critical stage.
- How does one replace a bedroom window?
- Am I capable of doing this myself? If so, can you give me the basic instructions? If not, what should I do?
Finally, don’t forget to address your customers’ post-purchase needs. By providing a an installation guide, for example, you can outshine your competitors and keep customers coming back to you. Cover the entire buying process, and you’ll have a hook-line-sinker content marketing strategy to boost your business well beyond the publishing date.
What’s Next For Content Marketing
Plain and simple, content marketing aims to answer customers’ questions before they even think to ask. Businesses have to anticipate what type of information will attract their target market to their product or service.
Consequently, content marketing will continue to grow more sophisticated. It is a staple of online business. So what’s next? It’s sensible to expect that King Content will really cozy up to Big Data. How, of course, has yet to be seen!
If you want to learn more about advanced content marketing strategies, please don’t hesitate to contact Hat Trick Associates. Our content marketing experts specialize in helping businesses achieve their online marketing goals. Give us a call anytime at (314) 494-3494 or email Jim Haynes at [email protected].