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Online Marketing Advice You Need To Know Now

Marketing Tips and Takeaways from INBOUND17

Still spinning from INBOUND17, an annual marketing conference in Boston, where I spent four days with 20,000 other fellow marketers, I am excited to share some of the top takeaways and immediately actionable insights. These ideas will help you be strategic about what’s trending in online marketing, so you can stay ahead of the curve and become even more connected to your clients and fans. Dive on in.

1> “Instagram is Facebook’s next Facebook”

So says Facebook’s (owner of Instagram) CEO Jeff Zuckerberg. Straight from the horse’s mouth, Facebook expert Mari Smith advised it is imperative to include Instagram in your social media strategy. When Facebook is putting their energy there, so should you, with opportunities for the fastest growth in growing your followers and increasing your brand awareness.

TAKEAWAY TIP – Connect your Instagram profile to your Facebook page for analytics about how to be more strategic with the right audience. Make sure that your Instagram is “on brand” with the rest of your social media profiles.


2> Video, video, video!

Yes, video continues to be the content darling with social media, especially with Facebook TV and video ads. Also from Mari Smith’s presentation, we heard how Facebook is (still) giving priority to videos created in Facebook—not only for posts, but also for ads. It is getting easier and easier to create more professional ads without having to spend a fortune on video production. Some of the video tools Mari recommended were Wave and Animoto.

TAKEAWAY TIP – If you haven’t started, start RIGHT NOW! Start experimenting and post something THIS WEEK! If you have started, take it up a level – especially if you have a great idea for video or television series.


3> Less is more. Quality over quantity.

20% of your content (the unicorns) is bringing in 80% of your traffic. Work it, be smart, be strategic. This message was repeated in many different forums with varying degrees of statistics. But the general message from all of the speakers I heard (Dharmesh Shah, Hubspot; Larry Kim, Wordstream, and Garrett Moon, CoSchedule) was that you should focus your growth (10x growth, not 10% growth) on these really big content ideas and winners.

TAKEAWAY TIP – Find your most popular content (check the analytics from your website and social media) and make a plan to make it work harder.

 


4> Be human and connect.

We all want to belong – but we need to be solid in belonging first to ourselves. With a new book out, called Braving The Wilderness, Brene Brown kicked off the conference with a most powerful call for everyone to be more engaged with their fellow humankind. Fresh from the front of the Houston hurricane disasters, she had real life stories and proof that we are capable of being humans together – not apart.

TAKEAWAY TIP – Call, touch, hug and/or really look at someone today and everyday! But also as we think of our companies and brands, it’s imperative to be OK and even stand out or stand alone in our authenticity.

 


5> Creativity happens whenever we solve problems.

I took comfort in being reminded that being a creator doesn’t mean you have to be an artist or designer, or really good at making things pretty. Specifically, Wharton professor and author Adam Grant had some very pragmatic suggestions no matter what you do or who you are for how to bring creative ideas to life …which often involve working with your grumpy outlier cohorts.

TAKEAWAY TIP – Have a plan for bringing your next big idea to life. Don’t assume the people who are like you or who like you are always going to be your biggest advocates and the people who can most help you succeed.


Check out my LIVE FB video from INBOUND here. And if you want more insight in how to apply these trends and tips to your online marketing strategy, set up a clarity call with me now.

How a Business Clean-Up Can Bring Marketing Success

You know that feeling when warm weather comes and you want to open all the windows and doors and air the house out? Clean out closets and throw out the collected winter clutter?

It happens to most of us. A new season comes and we have the urge to purge (and clean).

But what about our business? Shouldn’t it get a renewed look and de-cluttering too?

When was the last time you took a day off? Yes… a whole day off *gasp* to do a little clean up on your business.

What Kind Of Cleaning?

There are two clean-up projects you should do once or twice a year.

The first one is more of a clutter buster.

Get rid of old files bogging down your computer.

Move your images and big files off your main computer and put them on an external storage drive. Look at your credit card statement and note any recurring business expenses that you don’t need. Those little $9.99 monthly programs and subscriptions add up.

Open up the virtual windows of your business

The second clean up project is a mental cleanup

A mental cleanup?

There is a tendency with entrepreneurs to forget why we are running a business.  By now you may have realized that running your own business is not easy. As a matter of fact is can be downright hard some days. Like – “I’m done with this” hard.

There’s a reason you keep going.  Why? Do you know the answer?

To (re)find it. It would be beneficial to take another day off! *gasp* TWO days off?!?

Yes! Another day off. To reconnect with your goals and vision. To remind yourself why you’re doing what you do.

Grab a fresh notebook and a brand new pen. Go somewhere that you can think and get away from the hustle and bustle for a few hours.

Ask yourself the following:

  1. What do you want to achieve, in business and in life?

Take a moment to think about what it is you want.  If you want to have a business that allows you to travel, are you structuring it to allow that? If you want to only work 30 hours a week, are the plans in place to do so? Do you have an income goal? Write down what you want your life (and business) to look like.

  1. What’s your secret sauce? What makes you stand out from your competition? What is something you do, that your customers or clients LOVE?

This is the magic of your business.  I’m guessing you have competition.  What do you do to make your business the best choice?

  1. What do they need to learn from you? What can your unique specialties do for them?

Once you get clear on your secret sauce, think about what your ideal customers want from you. When can you deliver this information to them? How do you think they want to get it?

  1. How are you reaching your existing clients? How are you reaching new clients?

What’s working? What’s not?

  1. Where does my best business come from?

If Facebook brings you the most business, focus most of your online marketing efforts there.

What Does This Have to Do With Marketing?

Everything.

It all flows together.

See you do have a vision of what you want your life to look like, but we get caught up in our day-to-day activities. We tell ourselves, “tomorrow, I’ll really hire that VA”,  “Next week, I’ll get started on social media”,  “Hopefully, by next year I’ll be able to work less hours if I can hustle now”.

Start to structure your business around the life you want now, then decide where you need to be productive. What needs to be more efficient? What type of support do you need?

Make your business work for you.

Focusing on what your secret sauce is, changes everything you do. This is how you stand out with your unique voice, perspective, and services. This is how your ideal client will find you. They’ll be drawn to you because you resonate with them.

Knowing what your magic is, allows you to write more freely, and promote your services with the right marketing copy and connect with your audience they way they need you to connect.

Once you start thinking about your marketing with your customer or client in mind, it doesn’t feel so hard. And you’ll have a clearer sense about where best to reach them.

You’ll notice that your blogs are getting read.  Your emails are getting opened. Your social media posts are getting likes and comments.  Why? Because you have cleaned out the stale marketing efforts that are no longer serving you. You have reminded yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing, and you’ll remember what makes you stand out.

Now, open up your calendar and pick your two clean-up days, to.

  1. Clear out the clutter
  2. Set your one-on-one day with your business.

You’ve got this!

Having trouble with your clean up? Let’s schedule a “clarity call” so I can help you make way for marketing success!

5 Reasons You Should Be Using Facebook Live Video

Unless you’ve been ignoring Facebook over the past year, you’ve probably noticed the proliferation of videos in your feed with the launch of Facebook LIVE video. Originally, rolled out for “verified” accounts only, then to business pages, Facebook LIVE video is available now to everyone.

What is it?  Facebook LIVE video is an easy way to record and share a video in real time using the Facebook platform. It is a fairly simple three-step process that instantly puts you live in front of your fans and friends and gives them the opportunity to react and engage with you while you are recording.

Not convinced it’s for you? Here are 5 reasons why you should consider using Facebook LIVE video:

1) Using Facebook LIVE video provides you a way to quickly and easily engage with your audience, clients and fans. They get an opportunity to see you live, hear your voice, get a sense of your personality, tone and approach and brings your brand to life. They can ask questions and react to what you are sharing so you can also know what is resonating with them.

2) You don’t have to write and your fans don’t have to read. In this media saturated, short-attention span world, your Facebook LIVE video instantly goes right to the matter, event, subject or topic without having to craft some perfected blog post or newsletter. Even better, you can use it in your blog post and newsletter like I have done here.

3) Facebook LIVE video gives you the opportunity to bring your audience into your world and give them a behind-the-scenes look at what you or your business is doing. This is a critical part of telling your story and helping people to understand more about you and your business. That exclusive

4) Facebook helps you promote your video. While you are LIVE recording, Facebook works on your behalf to let your fans and others know that you are LIVE and encourage them to tune in while you are LIVE. It typically shows up as notifications. Facebook also wants more people using Facebook video, so it tends to push video up into others feeds to increase or improve engagement.

5) It is so very easy to now create video content, not only to use on the Facebook platform but also to share across other online marketing platforms. Yes, there are a few things you can do to optimize your video process, but in its basic form like the video included here, it is as easy as 1-2-3 GO.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s figure out how Facebook LIVE can work for you and let me know in the comments below how you are using Facebook LIVE or share your videos here. I’ll see you LIVE soon.

Your 2016 Holiday Online Marketing Tips

The year’s not over yet just because the holidays are upon us!

Family get-togethers, feasts, and fun are right around the corner, but don’t close up shop yet! Just because you are doing business online doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for a nice year-end boost.  Here are a few tips for online marketing during the holidays.

How to Create a Holiday Marketing Campaign: A Step-by-Step Guide  – Hubspot
It’s not too late to plan a holiday marketing campaign. Hubspot offers this guide with everything you need to launch one. There are offer templates, free holiday-themed stock images, and resources designed to get your campaign up and running right away.

2016 Holiday Tips Mailchimp
40 tips to make the most of your holiday marketing. With special tips for email marketing focused on promotional calendar planning, segmenting, integrating with social media, using split-testing, and more.

Facebook’s 5 Social Media Marketing Ideas for the 2016 Holiday SeasonInc.
The top social media marketing strategies you ought to try, including viral content, tips for Black Friday, and more.