Tagged: content marketing

Content Marketing

Posted on May 5, 2016 by - Online / Content Marketing

Content Marketing

“Content Marketing is a commitment, not a campaign.”
Jon Buscall

The purpose of Content Marketing is to create and distribute relevant and valuable content about your product or service that is meant to attract, acquire and engage a target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action. For over 15 years Insiteful Solutions has worked with hundreds of clients – in Markham, Toronto, and around the world – in developing Content Marketing strategy. We excel at helping you achieve your business objectives with high engagement content and finely-tuned SEO.

Content Marketing is far from a new device for marketers. One of the earliest (and most lauded) forms of Content Marketing was created by the iconic American agriculture and heavy machinery company John Deere. The company began publishing a magazine called The Furrow in 1895. The magazine focused on the farmer and the issues they faced. Decades before the term ‘content marketing’ was even coined John Deere understood that by educating their customer on relevant farming issues they could then market to this community about the benefits of John Deere products. At its peak of publication in 1912 The Furrow reached 4 million households, it is still delivered to 2 million households.

Before diving into the world of Content Marketing it is advisable to create a Content Marketing strategy. When starting this endeavour it is critical to listen to your audience. In the age of the internet with all things accessible it can be difficult to carve out a unique niche in any marketplace. Your company blog and social media platforms are a great way for soliciting feedback and learning more about any knowledge gaps within your customer base. By doing this research you can craft your core content strategy and develop meaningful content for your customers.

Another advantage to delivering valuable content to your customer base is positioning your company as an industry leader. The confidence a company conveys by delivering cutting edge information encourages customers to make better decisions. Two companies that have taken Content Marketing a step further are Adobe and Xerox; both companies have created stand alone websites that deliver information on their respective industries.

At Insiteful Solutions we will help you combine your website, company blog and social media platforms into a successful Content Marketing campaign. One device we suggest to many clients is to use visuals in the form of photography, infographics and/or videos into your campaign. An example of effective use of video and Content Marketing is by the company Bumble and Bumble. Founded in 1977 and now owned by Estee Lauder, Bumble and Bumble is a product line of hair care and styling products. As part of their Content Marketing campaign they have created a comprehensive video collection with advice on issues with hair and trends in styling. This free ‘how-to’ guide has become a cosmetic industry leader in how to combine content with product education.

At Insiteful Solutions we can help you ‘tell your story’ via Content Marketing. Our team of writers can work with you to weave your story into all areas of your on-line campaign. Whether we developed your initial website or you need assistance with existing online material we can augment and create an innovative strategy to increase your SEO and drive customers to your business.

You know your company better than anyone, let Insiteful Solutions help you bring it to the web. 

Blogging

Posted on February 17, 2016 by - Online / Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

blogging

Building Your Business with Blogging

As the year unfolds no doubt one of your business goals is to drive more traffic and attract more customers to your website. Fortunately, with the numerous social media platforms at your disposal you have many options to assist you with your goal.  One of the most tried and true methods though, and one which has been in active use for over ten years, is the creation and maintenance of a blog.  Since 2002 Insiteful Solutions has successfully assisted numerous clients with this popular form of online marketing.

Blogs, which began appearing in the 1990’s but caught traction in the mid-aughts (awkward term for mid-2000’s), has the advantage over other social media platforms by providing the option of writing without limited word counts. Blogs allow you to post and share up-to-date and useful information about your business with current and potential customers.  While the blog will ‘live’ on your website, you can easily amplify your message by sharing the link to your post on your social media channels.  You can tailor the introduction to your blog for each platform and include any corresponding images or videos.  Linking all of your communication channels around your blog post enables you to drive visitors to your business website.  Blogs with comment capability can also can start a valuable dialogue between you and current and/or potential customers.

To assist your business in the increasingly competitive world of search engine ranking, blog posts can be an integral and cost-effective part of your strategy.   To maximize this potential the content of your blog should be rich with relevant with key phrases and words that would connect a search engine to your business.

Blog posts should be topical and targeted. Ideally, a person should be able to read a blog post in seven minutes. It is important to remember that blogs aren’t the domain of extensive white papers or case studies; rather they are meant to introduce new or re-visit topics of value to your customer.   As all things associated with social media, blogs continue to evolve.  Currently the ideal blog post is between 1200-2000 words.  When writing and posting your blog don’t underestimate the power of the title.  It is recommended that a blog title comprise of 8 to 12 words and does not exceed 70 characters (source: http://www.hubspot.com/ ). The title of your blog can then be modified for posting on your social media platforms.  Twitter allows 140 characters per tweet, but for linking articles it is recommended you use 120 characters.  Research on Facebook has found that a title with 12-14 characters generates the most ‘likes’.

If you find the thought of writing a regular blog post too onerous or time consuming there are other options to keep your website full of fresh, relevant content.

Top Ten Lists

Top 10 lists are a quick and interesting way to fill a blog post. If there are certain areas of your business or industry news you wish to highlight you can create a ‘top ten’ list and occupy each section with one or two bullet points with information.

Reference Industry Articles

Re-posting and commenting on recently published industry articles that relate to your business is a quick and easy way to occupy to your blog. An added bonus to this strategy is that it lets current and potential customers know that you are watching trends within your industry.  Another option is to add a ‘feedback’ section where you can encourage your customers to share their opinions about the article; thus opening another line of communication and drawing more attention to your website.

Guest posting

By having another industry leader guest post for your blog you accomplish three things:

  1. You provide your customers another expert opinion on your industry
  2. You increase your potential customer base by exposing your audience to the guest blogger’s followers
  3. It allows you to take a break from posting to focus on other areas of your business

Many bloggers within similar industries have reciprocal arrangements where they will guest post for each other’s blogs.

Create a Video post

If you are more comfortable speaking about your business than writing about it, creating a short video is an option. Fortunately it is now simple enough to create a short video and include the link to your blog and social media channels.  If this is your preferred method of communication you can also create a YouTube channel for your business.  It’s important to note that to increase your search engine ranking you will require a text component to your video.  You can either transcribe your video content or create a separate written introduction which mentions the key words and phrases associated with your business.

Post an infographic

An infographic is a great way of posting information about your company in an accessible visual manner. Built on the shoulders of bar graphs, infographics often contain interesting statistics and facts about a business in a bold branded fashion.  Similar to short videos, search engines do not index graphics, so it is important to include text with key words and phrases associated with your business.

Hire a Copy writer

If your budget allows, hiring a copywriter is always an option. It is important to find one who specializes in your industry and is open to collaborating with you.  When starting work with a copywriter it is imperative to communicate the tone and voice you wish your blogs to convey.  If you decide to open up a dialogue on a blog post written by a copywriter, it is highly recommended that someone within your business respond to customers’ questions or comments.

Writing a blog post using one of the aforementioned methods is an effective and timely way of communicating with current or potential customers. By writing and keeping your business blog up-to -date you are connecting with your audience and sharing with them that your business is current with industry trends and can therefore deliver on its mission.

Insiteful Solutions are online results specialists. For over 14 years we have provided over 610 global companies with targeted strategies for increasing profitability.  If you would like to discuss ways in which a regular blog would grow your business please contact us at: http://www.insitefulweb.com/contact-us or 905-947-8235.

 

 

Blogging – Can your company afford not to blog?

Posted on June 10, 2015 by - Uncategorised

Blogging is essentially marketing your business. Content Marketing can be a tricky business. How do you know what to blog about? How do you reach your target market? How do you understand all the analytics to measure your ROI?

There is no specific model that will work with every industry. If only there could be one fool proof handbook that everyone could use marketing online or content marketing would be easy!

It is now known for a fact that regular, fresh, relevant content that you produce on your website the better your SEO results will be. Having a strong social media audience enhances your SEO as well.

Blogging is an easy way to quickly update your content and spread it through your social media. There are many different platforms out there that allow you to manage your own content, such as WordPress, Joomla etc. (be careful which one you choose as some are more search engine friendly than others).

Adding relevant content on a regular basis helps make your entire site more relevant as well as the post you’re writing. Once you’ve written your post, post it on your social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, SlideShare etc. Posting on your blog and social media allows your “followers” or potential customers, clients to engage with your content and your company, making it easy for readers to leave comments on your blog or on any of your social media accounts.

By writing a blog on a regular basis you start to establish your company as an authority on a subject and you show off your expertise. Many companies find the thought of writing blogs and continuing to do so a daunting task and may shy away from it. They just simply don’t want to write articles as that isn’t their expertise. In an ever changing market place, especially companies with an online presence in today’s world, they simply cannot ignore the fact that they need to stay active and relevant to compete with all the other businesses in their field. Gone are the days where you can just put up your website and update the date every year.

How often should you blog? Well the general rule is you should blog as often as you have something to say. Don’t just blog for the heck of it, you need to keep your readers engaged, wanting to come back to your site or at least contact you to find out more. The more your readers comment or engage with your content the more attention the search engine’s pay attention.

There are so many different elements to take into account when planning a content marketing strategy it is import to formulate a plan and a cost effective budget. Most companies would rather just ignore it completely and lose out on so much valuable website traffic. Why not contact a content marketing company that is focused on helping businesses grow their online presence? We are here to help and give advice and create a package that fits your business. We look forward to growing along side our clients with pride!

You can contact Insiteful Solutions at 905-947-8235 ask for John or Barb we’d be more than happy to learn about your business and discover the best plan to steadily grow your business along side you.