by Marcus Ledbetter | Dec 31, 2012 | Blogging Ideas, General, Inbound Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter, Web Marketing
Are you looking to get some momentum with web traffic? Trying to figure out how to build links and bring in more customers? This post is for you.
I’ve been listening to that lavishly written classic on human relations “How To Win Friends And Influence People” while jogging lately. What a powerful book. This is probably my fourth time through the audio version. It will not be my last.
It got me thinking about how building web traffic (link building, SEO, social media) is basically winning friends and influencing people online. So it makes sense that we can take what Dale Carnegie said back in the 30s and tweak and update it some to implement his techniques on the web.
There is a great deal to be learned here for content and inbound marketers. The outline below is verbatim from Dale’s book with his statements in bold and my comments following each. Some of the points deal with winning friends (and getting links), while others deal with influencing people (converting visitors into customers). Parts 1 through 3 of the book relate to content marketing, while Part 4 is about leadership which doesn’t apply here. These comments are through Part 3 only.
How To Build Links And Influence People
Part One
Fundamental Techniques In Handling People
- Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain. In all online interactions, keep on the sunny side. This is especially true with the use of sarcasm, which never plays well in text form. Stay light years away from negativity, whining, and sarcasm. (more…)
by Marcus Ledbetter | Dec 18, 2012 | Email Campaigns, Facebook, Hubspot, Inbound Marketing, SEO, SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing
So you’ve read articles, watched webinars, maybe even attended a seminar or two about Inbound Marketing. You’re hooked. You’re ready to get started! The only problem is, you’re not sure you have the budget for a full-on Inbound Marketing campaign.
Inbound Marketing doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg!
You have probably heard of Hubspot as well. Inbound and Hubspot typically go hand in hand, and if you are running a serious inbound campaign, Hubspot is by far the best option and in the end, the most cost effective solution. As a result, many people have had their excitement about inbound tempered by sticker shock when they see what agencies typically charge for their monthly fees. We are going to do something though that might fly in the face of what a software partner should do — we’re going to tell you how to attack an inbound marketing campaign WITHOUT Hubspot.
3 Major Components
A good inbound marketing campaign needs a minimum of three major components: (more…)
by Marcus Ledbetter | Nov 7, 2012 | Consumer Trends, Facebook, Inbound Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, SEO for Small Business, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter, Web Marketing
My nephew Oliver illustrates the new found power of the consumer.
I am 4 pages into writing a new eBook. We’re working on an accompanying InfoGraphic as well. Stay tuned. I’m having a blast writing it.
In some of my research, I came across what I think is one of the best statements of the tectonic shift away from Outbound and toward Inbound Marketing that I have ever read. And it is not from a company that has anything to benefit from promoting Inbound. Here you go . . .
Shift of Power to the Consumer
Euromonitor International published a study in January titled “Online Travel: Shift of Power to Consumers” with the following synopsis . . .
The online travel revolution which has taken place in the last 10 years has led to substantial changes in the travel industry’s competitive environment. These are so significant to force companies to re-think their business models. In particular, consumers now play a much more central and active role, while technology players have become essential partners for travel companies. Customer knowledge and social interaction are key requirements to compete successfully in this new environment. (emphasis ours)
Those are heavy words. Revolution. Substantial. Significant. Force. Re-think. Essential. (more…)
by Marcus Ledbetter | Oct 30, 2012 | Facebook, Social Media Marketing, Twitter, Web Marketing
Twitter has come a long way since the days of the Fail Whale. It’s more than a garage start-up, it’s like a legitimate, bona fide business, with a real revenue model.
Twitter turned on “Promoted Tweets” and “Promoted Accounts” last year and have been putting those options in front of potential advertisers with more frequency of late. It gets better for marketers. Late last week, Twitter announced “gender-targeting” for advertisers. That’s a strange option, it would seem, as Twitter does not ask for the user’s gender as Facebook does. Here’s how Twitter explains it.
“We’re able to understand gender by taking public signals users offer on Twitter, such as user profile names or the accounts she or he follows. We have strong confidence in this approach.”
They claim this method is 90% accurate and that should be good enough for marketers to pull the trigger on gender-specific promotions. I’m expecting AARP promoted tweets to my account. Surely they’ll also start age-targeting me as I tweet next summer that I’m breaking into my 40s. 🙂 (more…)
by Marcus Ledbetter | Oct 4, 2012 | Consumer Trends, General, Inbound Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking
Being part of a company with roots in web design for small business, I’ve heard it quite often. “I don’t need to market. My business is referral-based.”
That’s fantastic. I love and have run referral-based businesses. ITD Interactive gets most of our clients from referrals. But that doesn’t mean we don’t work at it. We work hard to make sure our business is referrable.
I mentioned in yesterday’s Whiteboard Wednesday: How to Get Testimonials for a Website that John Jantsch’s book The Referral Engine is one of my very favorite business books. This book can change the trajectory of your business in a hurry. Read it.
John’s chapter “Content as Marketing Driver” speaks directly to the “I don’t need to market” small business owner. (It happens to be saturated with Inbound Marketing philosophy.) You may have been thinking that Inbound is all about bringing in new business via search or social. While that certainly does happen, Inbound is also about revving up your referrals.
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Education Breeds Referral
(more…)
by Marcus Ledbetter | Aug 9, 2012 | Inbound Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Web Marketing
Typically, any business expense is examined through the lens of ROI. If you have to buy a new piece of equipment, the first question you will ask is “how long until this new purchase pays for itself?” Oddly enough, Marketing ROI seldom receives the same type of scrutiny as other expenses. Why is this? We track the ROI of everything else, why are we satisfied to spend our marketing dollars without having a clear picture of what kind of return we are getting on our investment?
In previous posts, we have discussed the expenses related to common marketing outlets such as radio, television, billboards and display advertising. Personally, I think most (more…)
