Talk to just about any entrepreneur. They’ll tell you pretty much the same things. They all seem to struggle with:
Working long hours, but with no marketing plan in place
Worrying about how to attract new customers
Losing market share and not understanding why
Losing sight of marketing trends
Stress about their company’s future
How to Approach Positioning Your Business
Yes, you work hard. That’s not one of the reasons businesses fail. Generally, they fail for lack of strategy. That especially applies to marketing strategy. It’s a simple concept, really. Not complex or confusing. But the truth is that most business leaders are just plainly too busy to take time out, sit down with the team, and dedicate focused time to developing a solid, up-to-date marketing strategy and marketing plan.
Ponder these three simple steps to get started:
Explore the marketplace. Which of your competitors are successful? Why?
Clearly define your goals. Make them measurable and achievable.
Assign responsibilities for action steps toward those goals.
Fundamentals of a Solid Plan
Be sure to include these elements in your discussions and incorporate them into the final plan:
How to reach new customers – brainstorm a list, then narrow it down
How to promote your business – include traditional and digital platforms
Build your reputation – positive word of mouth is super-important
Help new potential customers say, “Yes, I’ve heard of you!”
Put together a Public Relations Plan
Develop a Public Relations strategy
Create a Media Kit and Press Release Campaign
Develop a distribution list
Persuade the media, your customers and potential customers
Use the power of social media to enhance your image
Create a Crisis Communication plan
Want to build your brand equity, but aren’t sure how? Need to build awareness with potential customers?
Positive Word of Mouth – A Must-Have
Stop for a moment to think about this: 90% of customers trust referrals from people they know, 70% trust credible reviews posted on the internet, and a measly 14% trust traditional advertising.
Brands need to encourage a dialog around their products if they wish to compete. Interactive Marketing channels — from social media platforms (like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Yelp and YouTube among others) to the exploding array of mobile applications (like FourSquare) — facilitate communication between users and therefore host these brand-related conversations.
Have you updated your marketing strategy and marketing plan?
Mike Koenigs is one of the internet’s best marketers. He is the creator of several of the world’s most popular and game-changing products, including Instant Customerand Traffic Geyser. A huge proponent of the power of video, let’s take a closer look at his core strategies which you can leverage to propel your business forward.
The “10 x 10 x 4 Formula”
Mike has created a streamlined model for achieving success with video. It’s called the 10x10x4 formula. The first 10 represents the top 10 questions customers typically ask about your product or topic. To address them, you’ll create 10 separate videos, each typically running two to three minutes. To illustrate, assume you’re doing a video promoting your yoga studio. Questions your videos might cover include:
What are the benefits of yoga?
How can yoga help me lose weight?
Am I too old to practice yoga?
Will yoga help relieve my lower back pain?
Is it difficult to do most of the poses?
Once you’ve selected the top 10 questions and have articulated clear, concise answers, set up the camera, attach the microphone, and press record. Again, each video should be no more than two to three minutes long. After the footage is recorded, transfer it to your computer, edit and polish each segment, and add text (a headline) to each video reflecting the question covered. You can then upload your videos to the various distribution sites. This entire process can be done in under a day and is a key first step in establishing your position as an industry expert.
Holy Cow Questions
The next 10 in the 10x10x4 formula answers questions your audience should be asking. Mike refers to these as “holy cow questions,” because they allow customers to view the topic in ways they hadn’t previously considered. These are significantly different from frequently asked questions. “Holy cow questions” clarify exactly how your product will benefit your audience. Examples for a yoga studio include:
Can yoga help me live longer?
Does yoga provide better results than other forms of exercise?
How does yogic breathing enhance my quality of life?
Does yoga enhance my immune system?
In these segments you want to let your personality and warmth shine through. In addition to further establishing you as an authority on your subject, they help you create a deeper, more personal connection with your audience.
The Final 4
The final 4 of Mike’s 10x10x4 formula represents the following four videos:
A call-to-action at the end of each of the 20 videos. A strong call-to-action moves viewers from simply admiring your message to entering your sales funnel. The action can be opting in to receive your free newsletter, signing up for a trial class, or purchasing an entry-level product. It’s best to position your call to action at the end of your video.
A personalized website video. To develop a closer bond with customers, greet them with a welcome video that reinforces your brand and message. Also include information that provides immediate value, and a clear call-to-action that encourages opting-in to receive additional videos. This is a proven strategy for increasing conversion rates.
A thank you video for opting in. When visitors opt-in, say “thank you” for doing so. This is courteous, indicates thoughtfulness, and helps further develop trust.
The sales video. Internet marketing experts typically follow the opt-in with three value-added presentations that include some of their best material but do not attempt to sell products. Selling is reserved for the last video. In this fourth and final video, offer the solution to a very real problem…at a price. Conversion rates will vary, but odds are good many will decide to make the purchase decision if you proactively:
Establish trust.
Provide helpful free content.
Introduce the audience to an existing problem.
Offer an easy-to-implement solution with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Selling Through Video
Video is here to stay. In fact, it will become an increasingly important part of the online experience as time progresses. In just a few years, selling through video may become mandatory to remain competitive. Mike recommends you hit the record button now and gain valuable experience with this medium. Many of today’s top online marketers began with zero on-camera training and have spent years honing their craft and developing phenomenal products. Their status among elite industry icons is the result of a calculated, long-term process and has organically developed over time.
Contrary to popular belief, there’s no such thing as instant success. However, the sooner you get started, the closer you’ll be to becoming the next “overnight sensation.”
Steve Olsher is the author of Internet Prophets: The World’s Leading Experts Reveal How to Profit Online and creator of Internet Prophets LIVE!, which takes place June 8-10, 2012 in Chicago. Featuring 29 of the world’s leading Internet, Mobile and Marketing experts such as Jay Conrad Levinson, Mike Filsaime, Mike Koenigs, Larry Winget, Marc Ostrofsky, Dan Hollings, Janet Bray Attwood, Armand Morin, and many others, Internet Prophets LIVE! provides small business owners, solopreneurs, and consultants with proven no- and low-cost guerrilla marketing strategies, tools, and tactics for cultivating leads, dramatically increasing conversion rates, and generating massive, passive income. Tickets are only $197 until June 5th. For more information and to reserve one of the VERY limited number of remaining seats, please visit www.InternetProphets.com.
How to Achieve a Great Look and Search Engine Optimization
For the past few months, I’ve been working with a client on their website redesign. The first thing that the lead project Partner, Peter, told me was that he loved a clean, sleek look. One of his friends has a site that he admires, and Peter would like to achieve something similar: http://www.goldenstartea.com
My client also liked the look of another site, closer to his industry: http://www.coop-systems.com Both of these sites have a very large graphic that occupies the space closest to the upper right hand corner. Here’s the problem: search engines work by spidering a website, starting at the top left corner. These sites display graphics in that valuable space. What’s wrong with that? Let’s start with some basic SEO principles.
Website SEO Basics
Search engines all have an algorithm that determines what the site is about, and which words (keywords) describe that. Generally, Search Engines place emphasis on the first 200 words, Headings, Subheads, bolded, italicized and underlined words.
So, if you’ve placed a graphic in the top left spot, the search engine wades through HUNDREDS of lines of code before it even gets to the text. Search engines’ algorithms account for this, and the sites’ rankings are negatively affected. SOLUTION: You want to place your most important, keyword-laden text in that area of prime Home page real estate.
Grab Attention with Headlines
The Home page headline should really be about THEM – your potential customers’ needs and problems, and how you promise to solve their problems and/or meet their needs. It should not be about YOU – yet.
Headlines should grab the visitors’ attention within 2-4 seconds.
The next 3-5 seconds should affirm that they found what they’re looking for, and give them a reason to stay on the site.
These should promise a benefit to the visitor and incorporate the most important KEYWORDS.
The best headlines should be:
Benefit-driven
How-To
Attention-grabbing
Offer-driven
Ask a question
Direct statement
With these concepts in mind, you can boost your website rankings quite a bit by just re-arranging the graphic placement to a lower position on the page. For more tips, tricks and SEO insights, check out CVG, Inc.
Do you have other tips for Home page SEO and Headlines? Please share!
Ms. Chapman’s new book, The WebPowered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available in May 2012. Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
There is a right way and a wrong way to do, and even people butting in to tell us how to do it. Social media idea has evolved in a very short time into opportunities for marketing rather than for us to leisurely sift through those who are definitely kindred spirits, colleagues in the field and related fields and others who search for knowledge.
I like marketing best when it is practically invisible or at least done with tongue and cheek; we have to do some. What I don’t like is when it has become a doorbell for target marketing. We aren’t necessarily talking about collaborating in the near future.
My positions on many aspects of what we do are clear in my blog, but I have also said I am open. If I were the smart marketing person, the last thing I would do is approach me about is taking something from a sales perspective rather than a people/trainer perspective, but it could be done. LinkedIn used to be a good place to have discussions but it has evolved the same way, a place to market rather than discuss and share. GovLoop seems to still be in the sharing mode, but government can be restricting in limiting how and who deals with contractors. And, Face Book? If you aren’t willing to sell to friends and grandma, you aren’t a salesperson. Not really a friend either.
My advice. Come in as a friend and offer assistance. And, mean it. If you don’t; don’t join the network. Old-fashioned networking was no different. You don’t set up a table and start talking about your products. You may mention them or stir up interest. When the customer is ready, he’ll come to you. Now you have someone ready to listen to you and discuss with options with you.
I’ll end this with a bit of marketing on my part; I’ve got a couple of books I think you might enjoy. But here’s the thing, I make no claims it will change your life or make you rich–only ideas you might make use of. Here are the links to The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development and my new novel, In Makr’s Shadow, where the world is run by an evolving artificial intelligence. You guessed it! Some humans want their world back. Here’s a clue. Most haven’t an idea about how to fight for anything they want since they had their way so long.
How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Businesses
Want to learn about the latest trends in social media? Want to know how experienced businesses are doing it right?
Michael Stelzner, Founder of Social Media Examiner, has just released the 2012 report on the results of his fourth annual social media marketing study. He taps into 3800 marketers and shares their experiences and insights – the who, what, when and why of social media marketing.
Michael has invited me to share this information with you – completely free. You’ll learn, in 42 pages packed with data and charts (over 70 charts!), what online marketers are doing, and what they plan to do online.
Major Findings of the Study
Michael summarizes the key points below. Thank you, Mr. Stelzner!
Marketers still place high value on social media: A significant 83% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business.
Measurement and targeting are top areas marketers want to master: Forty percent of all social media marketers want to know how to measure the return on investment (ROI) of social media and find customers and prospects.
Video marketing holds the top spot for future plans: A significant 76% of marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube and video marketing, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2012.
Marketers seek to learn more about Google+: While only 40% of marketers are using Google+, 70% of marketers want to learn more about it and 67% plan on increasing Google+ activities.
Top three benefits of social media marketing: The number-one benefit of social media marketing is generating more business exposure (reported 85% of marketers), followed by increasing traffic (69%) and providing marketplace insight (65%).
Top five social media networks/tools for marketers: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and YouTube were the top five social media tools used by marketers, in that order.
Social media marketing still takes a lot of time: The majority of marketers (59%) are using social media for 6 hours or more each week, and a third (33%) invest 11 or more hours weekly.
Social media outsourcing underutilized: Only 30% of businesses are outsourcing some portion of their social media marketing, only a slight increase from 28% in 2011.
You can find the original page for the report here:
Ms. Chapman’s new book, The WebPowered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available in late April 2012. Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
You’ve written dozens – maybe even hundreds – of blog posts. Perhaps at first you had writer’s block, sitting at your computer with a blank screen and a blank mind! Then it started to roll, and you got into the groove. Interesting and relevant info started to roll out and seemed to take less time. And you had more fun.
Now, you’ve done so many posts that you’ve gone full circle back to blank mind. If this sounds like you, I have a quick solution.
How to Profile Your Ideal Customer
The most meaningful blog posts are those that solve a problem, fill a need, help someone make more money, or answer an important question. This concept works no matter what type of blog you write, or what business/niche you’re in.
Do this: Sit down and start to list characteristics of your ideal customer. To define your ideal customer’s profile, specific to the niche you chose:
List their top 30 needs.
List 20 unique problems they face.
List 10 of their topic-related likes and 10 dislikes.
List 40 products they buy.
List 25 questions they have – answers to which are information topics they would be eager to read.
That’s a good start. Have you blogged about everything listed here? If not, you’ve now uncovered lots of really valuable blogging material.
While you go through this profiling exercise, add anything else that comes to mind that you feel is important to your ideal customer. Save this profile and add to it from time to time as you learn more about them. This list is gold for your blog and your business.
Research Niche Groups
Now that you have a great start on a rich profile, find groups on social networks that engage these people in conversations about their problems, needs and questions. Take notice of the comment threads that have the largest number of comments – they are the topics of widest appeal. Scan these threads. Cover as many as possible.
Have your list ready and add the ideas that come screaming out, because these online conversations are your gold. You’ll find all the topic material you need for your next 100 blog posts.
How to Find a Group
On Facebook: Enter keywords for your niche in the search field at the top of any Facebook page. Filter the search results to show only groups by clicking the “Groups” icon in the left-hand column of the screen. Scroll through the available results to look for your group. If the group does not show up on the first page, click “Show More Results” at the bottom of the page.
On LinkedIn: You can find and join LinkedIn groups from the Groups Directory or the Groups You May Like page. Please note that there may be multiple groups on LinkedIn for each interest, organization, or affiliation.
Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available in April 2012. Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
OK, so you have a video on YouTube that you think could go viral. It’s short, clever, shocking, challenging, controversial, funny or touches your emotions. You gave it an attention-grabbing headline, an intriguing thumbnail, and you tagged it. You’ve also gotten lots of comments, your own and others.
Viral Videos Are Often Funny
How Do You Launch it Into Viral Land?
Marketing. You must give it an initial push in order to capture your audience’s attention.
It may surprise you, but some of the best and biggest viral videos are the result of careful marketing plans. And if someone else did it, so can you.
Here’s how to market your video:
Blast it out to your email list
Tweet about it.
Embed it AND share it on Facebook. Ask friends to share it.
Submit it to other big social networking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, and Slashdot.
Do the same on your blog and website.
Ask high profile bloggers to write about it.
Go to groups and forums that are relevant, post it, and start threads about it.
Include a link to your video in your comment on a very active thread.
More Video Sites
And, while you’re at it, go ahead and post it to some of the other social video sites such as
Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The NetPowered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available in April 2012. Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
As you may already know, I have the pleasure of working with entrepreneurs and helping them launch or grow their companies. One of my recent clients, BreathalEyes LLC, just launched a smartphone app (for your iPhone) that tests your blood alcohol content (BAC) in less than ten seconds! Here is BreathalEyes in the App Store. BUY IT – it’s just 99 cents. No kidding – it may just save your life, or that of a friend or another driver.
because they promoted their app online as well as offline. They spent many hours doing the usual online posting, including a Facebook page, Twitter account (@BreathalEyes), and a Google + page.
They also had the insight to make a relatively small investment and engage a marketing consulting company, Appency, that exclusively helps clients launch and market smartphone apps. The folks at Appency know many of the key media contacts in the app space, and have success getting their clients’ stories placed.
App Media Coverage
The results: here are a few links to the media coverage they’ve received in the past month:
First and foremost, they were featured on Huffington Post!!! Here it is.
Ries was also invited to speak at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s conference on BAC Detection on April 18th. BreathalEyes management has received some pretty good feedback from individual law enforcement officers. The TBI has invited them to start attending their “wet labs”, which is when they get people drunk at the police station to practice checking their BACs!
Do you have more ingredients for the ‘Secret Sauce’ to market a smartphone app?
Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available in April 2012. Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
LinkedIn has become the premiere U.S. online business social network by keeping standards high. If you understand how to use LinkedIn to meet professionals, recruit employees, do research and promote your business, you can benefit greatly.
I’m a big fan of LinkedIn. Here are a few more tips for effectively using LinkedIn Company Pages.
Updates
Now you can post updates to your Page to keep followers informed about things like employee hires, job openings, company news and announcements, and just about anything that’s worth telling.
Not only that, but it helps extend your influence as a professional and industry expert.
Enhance Your Company Page
– Make your page robust with info about your company, people, products, servcies, and specialties. Be sure that you use longtail keywords and pull your blog posts in by inserting your blog URL.
– Imbed a YouTube video, on your services obverview page as well as the specific info pages.
– Add rich content; videos, links, announcements, and valuable information. Ask and answer questions. What are your followers search for? Give it to them.
– Enable the page for status updates.
Build Your Following
– Have all your employees link to your company page.
– List 2-3 benefits of following your company page.
– Offer something of value and post a ‘call to-action’. Ask for the follow!
Monitor, Track and Tweak
Use LinkedIn’s Analytics feature to tell the story of visits to your content and Company Page. Check frequently for comments and respond immediately. It’s the quality of the content and conversation that enhances your professional status.
How much time can you allot every day to enhance your LinkedIn Company page? Even a few is great. They add up!
Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
Since social media changes at the speed of light, NO ONE can keep up with it. Not even the professionals, who spend every waking moment at their computer screen. Social Media Examiner’s mission is to help you navigate the constantly changing social media jungle.
That’s my insider secret. Every time Social Media Examiner lands in my inbox, I take away something valuable. Often several things. I really look forward to it, and I bet you will, too.
Delivering Value to Small Business Owners
Social Media Examiner is read by 450,000 people each month. According to their site, they are “the world’s largest online social media magazine … designed to help businesses discover how to best use social media tools like Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect with customers, generate more brand awareness and increase sales.”
I am one of their 117,000 email subscribers. This little gem offers you updates, guides, and PRACTICAL ways to get the most juice out of your efforts.
Social Media Examiner’s Content
Offering a unique single source of knowledge, the site contains comprehensive articles and videos on how to use the best social media tools, along with original case studies, reviews of the latest industry research and advice direct from the world’s leading experts.
Categories you can search on their site include:
Expert Interviews
Research
Tools
Viewpoints
Case Studies
Reviews
How Tos
Videos
Tips From Today’s Email
I’m taking the liberty of sharing a few fabulous tidbits from today’s Social Media Examiner email. I do this in the spirit of spreading the word and supporting a site that deserves success:
These are GREAT resources. The Founder and his staff get kudos for their vision and excellent execution. They have nailed relevant, meaningful content for their target market.
Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
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