According to Moz “SEO is the practice of increasing the quality and quantity of traffic to your website through organic search engine results”. This is vital for any business with an online presence. A well-optimized website is bound to attract more traffic. Which means more prospects converting into loyal customers.

This method takes into consideration the Google algorithm, how they use their bots to crawl the web and gather relevant information. This convention of optimizing websites to garner more attention was used since 1990. Since then this method has caught the attention of every website owner. Everybody wants a top spot in the Google search. Ever since SEO has developed into an integral part of digital marketing strategy.

Why Is SEO Important?

Just think about having a business with top-notch quality goods. But the caveat is that your enterprise is in the middle of a jungle. There is no way for any person to buy products from. The quality of products at display does not matter here. Your sales will dwindle for sure.
This is the same in Digital Marketing. Having a website with all the bells and whistles but neglecting SEO services is not good. If your page does not rank on the first page of Google search, then you have lost the importance of SEO for Startups.

Why Are They Such A Big Deal For Business Startups?

Embodying Trust And Quality
Google uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand every website based on user behavior. So, if your website ranks higher, the more it will be trusted by prospects. Google lays much emphasis on the quality of a website. So automatically getting ranked higher assures a good user experience.

1. Bringing More Traffic
   To outclass your competitors and be more visible in web rankings, traffic is paramount. An essential SEO strategy will make sure this becomes a reality. Search Engine Watch claims that almost 33% of clicks go to the number one position in Google search.
2. They Are Cost-effective
   Boasting about the outcome only attained by shelling out thousands of dollars on paid advertising is one thing. But with the availability of many free and cheap SEO tools, respectable ROI is obtained. They can save a lot of money which startups will find valuable.
3. Helps Bring More Customers
   A startup company obviously will not have a huge fanbase following them right from the get-go. They have to build it from scratch. This is where SEO for startups comes in clutch. By making sure your website ranks high and is easily discoverable, it is only a matter of time before customers come galore.
4. Better Customer Retention
   A well-optimized website depends on how original and appealing it is. This has two benefits in itself.

Getting more backlinks from authoritative websites hence increasing our overall ranking.
Customers who are already in will be reluctant to leave because of the quality your website boasts.

SEO is important to startups. They cannot afford to lose customers. Bleeding customers will result in low morale inside a business which is not a good look on us, in front of other prospects.

1. Long-lasting Effect
   The SEO importance will guarantee a long-term yield. That does not mean you should take off your leg from the gas pedal. SEO will always need attention because it is dynamic. But once your page tops Google search results, it will automatically get more quality backlinks. So, this is an investment worthy of your time.
2. Benefits Can Be Accounted Easily
   SEO has loads of benefits. But the cherry on top is that you can keep tabs on every single aspect of your campaign. Simple tools like Google Analytics give valuable insights about referrals, broken links, etc. So if something is going wrong that is hurting your website, you will find and sort it out immediately. There are other best free SEO audit report tools that you can take advantage of.
3. Leaving Competitors In The Dust
   The thing about a startup business is that there will always be people before you. But investing some time and resources into an essential SEO strategy will change that notion for good. Ranking higher than them is the holy grail for the business owner. This will drive more customers to your site and increase conversion rates more than your rivals.

But you cannot afford to rest. Always stay updated with recent SEO trends and keep hustling. If not, the competitors you left behind will catch up in no time.

1. Boosting Brand Awareness
   With a good domain authority, our site is bound to rank higher. So if someone searches for something relevant to your website, it will show up in SERPs. This throws light on your brand. People are more likely to click on your brand and visit your website in the future for sure.
2. Making Irresistible Offer Announcements
   Quality and up-to-date content are the pillars of a well-optimized website. Keeping your website fresh with new content, amazing deals and offers will only result in a bigger sales figure. SEO importance is like a domino effect. Helps with the website ranking and all the other goodies follow.

Recipes For A Successful SEO Strategy

Keyword Is Key
This is an unwritten rule when it comes to the importance of SEO for startups. Google processes queries of people and based on the keywords, pulls out results. So choosing the right keywords will make a whole world of difference. We should not mix this up with keyword spamming. Google is completely against this practice. The penalties are not worth the risk.
Using an SEO proxy to improve your keyword research is another trick. This is because of the anonymity it offers while on the hunt. This has some neat advantages. Avoiding bans is one of them. The anonymous nature it provides will give us the freedom to stay in the dark while scraping for keywords. Using a proxy will always guarantee good network speed.

1. Different Is Always Better
   It is of significant importance to create something new, something that stands out from the crowd. The content should not be compromised in any areas especially in delivery and information it is packing. Good content is guaranteed to get tons of backlinks.
2. Having A Reasonably-sized URL
   The URLs in your websites should be easily crawlable by search engines. So having a format that sums up exactly what your website is about is advisable. This enhances the chances of your website being found by users if they search for the right keyword.
3. Always Keeping An Eye On Your On-page SEO Rating
   Using a proper tool like Ubersuggest can provide valuable outputs about how well your website is performing. It will point out any broken links or critical errors that need your attention. Paying close observation to things that require fixing will help your website ranking.

Things To Be Avoided

Getting The Content Wrong
Content can catapult your websites. But on the other hand, they can also derail your entire SEO campaign. Having one name for a title and providing irrelevant content will be met with harshness from Google. Misleading your audience will do no good and should be avoided.

1. Missing The Right Audience
   Sometimes the content will be of the finest quality. But it will not be earning any links or improving on the SERPs front. This is because the target audience is wrong. Google makes sure that the person behind the keyboard typing in a query finds what he wants. Therefore, SEO for startups becomes so important as pitching to the right audience should be done without any trade-off.
2. Not Staying Updated In The Game
   SEO as mentioned before is a dynamic field. The things which worked today will not work tomorrow. The techniques that worked wonders for one website are not guaranteed to produce the desired results for another website. This is why always keeping yourself educated about new things and trends is very important. It is essential to stay ahead of the pack instead of chasing them.
3. Slow-loading Websites Are Despicable
   Yes, the inclusion of ads in your website can profit you. But only to some extent. This has grave consequences on your website ranking. More the ads, the more time it takes to load the page. So keeping it to a bare minimum is advisable. Also adding pictures of high quality and not optimizing is another culprit which slows down the loading time to a crawl. Websites like this won’t fly well with Google.
4. Buying Links Is Digging Your Own Grave
   Google has made it clear in their webmaster guidelines that buying or selling links is a punishable offence. This technique is lazy on one’s part if one appreciates link schemes. Indulging in such behaviour will result in facing the wrath of Google. That is never good for your website. This usually results in the website in question being removed from the search engine.

Final Thoughts
No one can ignore the importance of SEO for startups. The effects it has on a website are jaw-dropping. The digital marketing space is getting crowded by the day. This means only the person with the latest strategy can outclass their opponents. At the end of the day staying one step ahead of the competition is everything. A well-executed SEO is a golden ticket for this to materialize.

Autor:

Rinki Sharma

One of the most compelling social media marketing strategies for any business has been around since the dawn of time: storytelling. Predating the modern digital era storytelling was practised by ancestral leaders to organize action, transform nations, and pass down historic knowledge. Storytelling is an incredible art form that can be employed to market your business and connect in a more authentically personal manner with your ideal customer.

People are naturally drawn to stories from a young age. There’s a reason why morals and values are taught to children through this same method. Stories engage the listener’s attention from start to finish. And this is one of the main reasons why storytelling is an essential part of any social media marketing strategy. It holds the audience’s attention.

What Is Storytelling?

Before we continue and start looking at ways you can use storytelling as a marketing tool, let’s first take a look at the reasons why it’s so effective. Put simply, storytelling is powerful because humans are wired to react to stories. Before the written word came to be, oral storytelling was the way people obtained and passed on information and learning, so much so that throughout history, individuals used storytelling to survive.

It makes sense that storytelling continues to endure given its long history of use. Part of the strength that storytelling offers is the fact that it helps people connect with an idea or notion on an emotional level. It’s important because no matter how logical we claim to be, anything that remits an emotional response is more prone to produce a reaction or to move us in some way. Furthermore, stories improve recall meaning that an idea that’s portrayed via storytelling will be more memorable. A great example that illustrates this concept can be noted throughout the history of advertising- the most memorable type of adverts are the ones that show a story about what a founder, business, or company can signify to us.

Does It Truly Work?

The Internet is constantly rewarding us with instant gratification, making the human element increasingly more infrequent and coveted. In the social media environment, businesses can no longer afford to be faceless entities. In order to survive, businesses have to connect authentically with their audiences and engage with them on a much more heartfelt level than observed before. That’s where strategic brand storytelling comes into play.

Fun Fact: In 2017 Neil Patel stated that “62% of B2B marketers rated storytelling as an effective content marketing tactic in 2017”.

Strategic brand storytelling is the coordinated narrative that knits together the emotions, values, and facts that your brand elicits. In addition to supplying the target audience with reasons as to why they should invest in a service or product, brands need to begin sharing their story and maximizing social media with a clear narrative that is consistent across all platforms.

A study conducted by the Digital Marketing Institute showcased that the use of effective brand storytelling throughout a content marketing strategy could enhance the value of a service or product by more than 20%.

Nowadays consumers have no interest in outdated and heartless branded adverts. The new era of consumers invests in a brand’s story.

How Can It Benefit Small Businesses/Brands?

Brand storytelling is no longer a nonessential added bonus. It is a must-have, that will sequentially amplify your company’s influence, engagement, and profit. If you treat it as a springboard or starting point for your social media marketing strategy, the results will be a business that is captivating and financially successful.

1. Form an Emotional Connection: Storytelling that concentrates on authentic and honest experiences often activates emotional connections that make your viewers want to engage with your content more often.
2. Boost Brand Recognition: Storytelling holds your audience’s attention for longer periods of time in comparison to other types of content. Whenever storytelling is executed properly, it can strike a chord with your viewers and consequently help them with future recall of your brand.
3. Convert Visitors to Loyal Customers: Storytelling not only increases your visitor’s brand recognition but can further convert them into brand loyalists over a prolonged period of time. When your narrative resonates with your viewers and they can personally connect with it, you can rest assured that they will not only become faithful and returning customers, but they will further sing your brand’s praises – helping with social proof.
4. Captivating Stories Go Viral – Storytelling that’s correctly applied in marketing assets such as video can drive your content to go viral. Especially on social media. In an era where everyone walks around with a smartphone in their pockets and social media is widespread, these platforms become great tools to leverage for content distribution, engagement, and recognition.

How to Craft Your Brand Story to Sell Your “Why” Online

View storytelling as a way to attach purpose and meaning to the information you want to present to your audience. All the characteristics and benefits of your product are relevant, so you want potential shoppers to comprehend them without having to read descriptive information sections, for example, a product description.

Here are a few key points that will help you create a powerful social media marketing story:

1. Make It Relevant. It’s impossible and practically pointless to try to think of a story that would resonate with every single person on this planet. Rather, focus solely on your target audience. What difficulties does your user persona face? How can you turn your ideal customer into a personality in your story? How can you best present the solution in a compelling manner? All these questions are essential to the development process of a storytelling strategy.
2. Use a Strategic Approach for Storytelling. An effective way to incorporate storytelling into your social media marketing strategy is to share different experiences. One of the best ways to do this is to create content with stories from real users (past customers). We can see examples of this method applied strongly in Nike’s advertising campaign, “Find Your Greatness”. Nevertheless, once your target audience is emotionally invested in the personalities, you’ll be able to develop that story further. Another point to add is that creating this “social-proof” personal experience storyline for social media could also be achieved with user-generated content or influencer campaigns.
3. Use Your Audience’s Belief System As the Base for Your Story. When your goal is to convince your target customers that the products or services you’re offering fit into their lifestyle, you need to take into account their belief system. If, for example, you’re selling a protein powder, you can connect the story with sports, health, fitness, and other activities that would belong in the lifestyle of this group of consumers.
4. Bonus! Share YOUR Story: Now, more than ever before you have a multitude of platforms you can use to tell your story. Social media tools like Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram make it effortless to connect with your prospective customers in real-time and share a winning, authentic and captivating story. Social media is also a fantastic tool to leverage when researching and finding elements that might help you craft a great story for your content marketing efforts. You can learn a lot from analyzing your social analytics and data points!

One Final Note

Technology has served as a window, a behavioral study if you like, and allowed us to better comprehend our customers, their buying patterns, and even the human emotions that can successfully trigger the need to purchase. But, when it comes down to it, business is personal; we buy from businesses we like and trust. Storytelling continues to demonstrate its power in supporting companies build and nurture customer connections – increasing business relationships and reputation with consumers.

Tabitha Naylor

For years now, people are disturbed about how difficult it is to write amazing blog posts. And yeah, let’s be honest… it’s REALLY freaking hard to get noticed out there.

So, we created a little guide to help out our members who are the beginning and aspiring bloggers. It breaks down 12 “recipes” that make writing great posts as easy as pie.

And today, we are posting a list of ideas for blog posts and examples of how to structure them.

1. The Explainer (a.k.a., The “How To” Post)

This is a super-practical post that teaches readers how to achieve a specific goal. If you pick the right topic for your post, The Explainer has the potential to attract a ton of social shares. (Example)

2. The Buffet (a.k.a., The List Blog Post)

This post is a collection of related points on a given topic or theme organized as a list. Every year many of the most popular posts on the web are list-based posts, so a Buffet post on the right topic always has the potential to go viral. (Example)

3. The Name Dropper (a.k.a., The “Egobait” Post)

This post celebrates a selected group of individuals for their notable qualities, talents or achievements. Designed to be shared by the people featured in the post, it usually performs well on social media. (Example)

4. The Inquisitor (a.k.a., The Expert Roundup)

This post is a compilation of expert opinions on a single topic or question. A good post of this type will attract shares from participants and also help the author build valuable relationships with them once the post is published. (Example)

5. The Curator (a.k.a., The Resource List)

This post is a carefully curated list of valuable resources relating to a specific topic or goal. Serving as a handy “index” to the best resources on a given topic, it’s great for attracting links and subsequently, search traffic. (Example)

6. The Monster (a.k.a., The Ultimate Guide)

This post is a long-form guide to a specific topic that is exhaustive in both scope and detail. Executed well, The Monster will quickly become the definitive resource on a topic and attract links and search traffic accordingly. (Example)

7. The Illuminator (a.k.a., The “Why?” Post – Type #1)

This post provides valuable insight on a tricky topic or thorny problem. It has a strong bonding effect with readers and also helps to establish the authority of the author. (Example)

8. The Contrarian (a.k.a., The “Why?” Post – Type #2)

This post makes a surprising but persuasive argument that intentionally contradicts the accepted wisdom on a topic. Again, this is primarily a bonding post – readers are drawn to strong opinions well-argued. (Example)

9. The Insider (a.k.a., The Case Study)

This post uses a real-world example backed by actual data to yield insights about a specific topic or goal. People love evidence so Insider posts often attract links and search traffic but also build the writer’s authority. (Example)

10. The Jester (a.k.a., The Humorous Post)

This post uses humour to explore a topic in an entertaining and sometimes provocative way. It’s perhaps one of the best ways to bond with readers but is also one of the trickier recipes to pull off. (Example)

11. The Trailblazer (a.k.a., The Thought Leadership Post)

This post uses the author’s insight and vision to change the way people think about a topic. The ultimate post for building authority, this is also a great “calling card” when connecting with other influencers. (Example)

12. The Storyteller (a.k.a., The “Three-Act” Post)

This post uses a powerful personal story to teach more universal principles and provide inspiration. The toughest recipe of all to write but one that can bond with readers like no other. (Example)

Writing a good and well thought out headline is vital for catching the eye of your audience. With this being the case, it is also important to understand that headlines should include keywords for SEO. The ultimate goal you should find yourself working towards is making your headline extremely clickable.

“Five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” — David Ogilvy

In the list below there are some major points to remember for when you are creating your perfect headline:

1. Use specific numbers/digits & data in your headline – it is often much more attractive to someone when headlines contain numbers. It is a sign of simplicity showing that it is easy to follow and people who click on it will not get lost. For example, saying “the 10 best ways….” Is significantly better than saying “the ten best ways….”.
2. Write more headlines – this may come across as an obvious tip but is still very important. Repetition and practice in writing headlines with guidance provided will certainly improve your headlines.
3. Teaching people in your headline – writing a headline that is expressing how someone could learn a new skill is a very effective way of getting more clicks. The use of things like “a beginners guide” or “In 5 minutes learns how to”
4. Write headlines that are easy to understand – the moment a potential reader stumbles on your web page from anywhere, they should not need any help to figure out what you’re talking about.
5. Create a sense of urgency with immediate effect – the reality for most people is that they don’t want to hang around and wait. Therefore, adding words like right now, today, immediately etc to your headline will attract people to wanting to know how they can gain something so quickly from you
6. What is in it for the customer? – you have to remember that it is always important to put yourself in the shoes of your customer and think is there enough benefit that you could receive from what you are offering. A good approach to overcoming this would be through emotional words
7. The use of adjectives – adding interesting adjectives to your headline may make a more enjoyable read to your audience as well as filling them with more intrigue. For example, “5 effective ways…” sounds a lot better than “5 ways…”
8. Remember SHINE – Specificity – Make sure you are being specific enough so that there is a level of originality and so there is no uncertainty to what you are. Helpfulness – people appreciate how much you are willing to help them so including this in your headline will make a positive impact. Immediacy – making sure what you are offering in your headline expresses that people don’t have to wait around to find out what is on offer from you. Newsworthiness – it is important to think to yourself whether your headline will be good enough to be reported on after success from increased traffic. Entertainment value – one of the most important things is making sure it is engaging. You want your headline to set the reader up with excitement and be filled with a certain level of desire to read what you have to say.
9. Be very specific – the web is very saturated and so there will be headlines that are very similar to others. It is important to make sure you are as unique as possible with your headline. A good example to look for inspiration from is Neil Patel. He creates very specific headlines that are also engaging and intriguing.
10. Measure your headline success – it is very important to note what headlines are performing well. You can compare and contrast between another that may have not performed as good and see what parts you included were the difference

If you are someone who is interested in guest blogging then it is recommended for you to look at how to create the perfect headline in depth and then come on over to a post all about the 11 benefits of guest blogging. As well as this, be sure to check out our post on building your brand through content. This post provides you with what you need to know after executing your headline for your content.

If you have any questions and/or ideas to send to our editorial team, get in touch:

Picture it, a beige boardroom, with monotonal furniture, ‘inspiring’ wall-art of quotes like ‘Teamwork makes the Dream work’ and ‘The harder you work, the luckier you will be’.

There is a boardroom table, enough to seat 12, with the additional side table to sit the CEO’s PA. Around the outside edge of the room are little stands with busts of forgotten people, awards from paid-for award bodies in a sort of narcissistic homage to how great the company is.

Each seat has a beige suit; every suit is white, middle-aged and a man. Kipper ties and drenched in Sex Panther, the Executive’s cologne!

The only female in the room is Julie, the PA.

No room for diversity in this business!

Glass ceiling? That’s four-foot thick!

There’s a smell of stale cigarettes and crap coffee in the air. The meeting starts with the CEO slapping his PA on the ass as she brings him his coffee with the extra good stuff in it, (it’s past 10 am).

“Today’s agenda,” the CEO declares, “our marketing strategy moving forward.”

That’s the image I have in my head when I read LinkedIn’s recent blog titled:

“Don’t Be a Fish Out of Water: Do Business Where Business Is Done”.

In it, LinkedIn, written by Keith Richey, Senior Director, Global Marketing of LinkedIn, explain how their new motto for marketers on LinkedIn is…

“Do Business Where Business Is Done.”

You might think, no sh*t Sherlock, that’s pretty obvious!

Of course, you’re going to get business at a place where business is done, that’s not the reason for my mind wandering back to a 1978 boardroom.

It’s what else was written in the blog, featured on their main website.

I’ll explain:

In the opening statement, Keith Richey writes, “In modern marketing, getting your message to the right audience is key. But if you want to reach business professionals, reaching them when they’re ready to do business is critical” – think we can all agree that’s also spot on.

He goes on, “Reaching your target audience when they’re in a ready-to-do-business mindset is particularly crucial on social media. Sure, your buyers enjoy watching a skateboarder roll down a hill while lip-synching to Fleetwood Mac and drinking Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice. LinkedIn is different, though, and it’s different by design. It’s a place where professionals nurture relationships and grow their careers. If your business message is sandwiched between the skateboarder and your best friend’s vacation photos, it’ll feel out of place.”

So, let’s visit that bit again.

The roller-skating Ocean Spray viral video was one of 2020’s highest viewed piece of content and propelled the Ocean Spray brand into millions of fridges worldwide.

Ignoring that, a happy accident, not everything goes viral and adds $£$£ to the company’s bottom line, I know.

It goes on, “Our new brand campaign, which debuts in the U.S. and U.K. today, uses the “meme-able” visual language of the Internet to demonstrate that LinkedIn is the way to reach your key audience when they’re ready to do business.

On LinkedIn, videos of pugs in bunny costumes look out of place because your target audience is thinking business thoughts, not “pugs in costumes” thoughts. 

In other words, meet your audience where they’re in a professional mindset, ready to do business. And when you do, share content with professional value.”

So much to digest with the above – quickfire questions running in my head:

• Who is LinkedIn to say what thoughts we have while on the platform?
• Who is defining ‘Professional’ and ‘Professional value’?
• Why is business only conducted by people with professional mindsets?

Cue my mind exploring that beige boardroom with the LinkedIn Executives discussing their strategy as the tea trolly rolls into the room. “Got any of those Bourbons, Sugartits?” One of the exec shouts over to Marge, the tea lady.

So, no Pugs in bunny costumes, family pictures or anything remotely not work-related, right.

Keith does go on to share suggestions of content you can share on LinkedIn:

1. Industry: News, trends, observations about where the industry is now and what’s next.
2. Product: Insights on how people are using your solution, ways to use it more effectively, answering burning questions about it.
3. Organizational: Your business’ values, purpose and brand point of view.

Ok, so now we have a little direction from the LinkedIn team. If we start to focus on the 1content ideas suggested above, we will get the views, engagement, and business, right?

Surely LinkedIn wouldn’t suggest a strategy that would reduce the potential organic reach, reduce earning potential to feather their hats? They wouldn’t write an article like this and place a ‘Come and spend money, creating Ads’ call to action at the bottom, would they?

 They did!

Further down the blog, Keith Richey writes, “Many social media sites are more about passive consumption than engagement… …but audiences on LinkedIn are in a more active mindset. Content that engages and sparks a conversation will be more successful on LinkedIn than elsewhere.”

Tell Facebook that! Tell Instagram that. The line between B2B and B2C is getting thinner and thinner each day. Content that engages you, full stop, regardless of platform, wins the race.

It’s as if, in that boardroom, someone stood up and said, “Let’s give our members what WE want to give them, rather than watching for trends and asking/ engaging with our members. Remember five years ago, when we had a record year, well let’s do what we did then… feck progress, feck development, feck cultural change, feck the lot. Let’s resort back to previous conventional wisdom.”

Conventional wisdom told us that the earth was flat, that sexual assault in the workplace was just part of corporate life, that a social class system was the best approach for society, that slavery was ok.

Now I know, comparing 70’s marketing strategies to sexual assault, slavery, or flat earthers is a little heavy, but at some point, in our history, those terrible, awful, acceptable (at the time) practices went out of fashion. They became unacceptable. They became part of history because people stood up and fought against the social norm. They decided to challenge the conventional wisdom held by so many.

In the article, they suggest a need to humanise, influence and invoke trust with your audience, but remain on-brand message, saying to do this; we should focus on being professional.

The humanising of business has been talked about for decades, yet we still see marketers, influential marketers, de-humanising marketing every single day. Promoting hacking, automation, mass emailing, list creation, throwing sh*t at a wall and hoping some of it sticks.

LinkedIn DOES give us the ability to humanise our business processors to market human to human. Human to human doesn’t mean beige to beige. It could mean relationship forming. Getting to know your prospects, helping them achieve what they need to succeed, being a source of information, humour, confidentiality, a shoulder to cry on, a person to celebrate with.

Some of what Keith Richey writes about is accurate, “LinkedIn is the ideal platform for promoting thought leadership not just from a corporate perspective, but from an individual perspective as well.

Your executives can use their LinkedIn profiles to promote their own thought leadership, which humanises and elevates the brand.

You can add even more credibility by including influencer content in your thought leadership strategy. Seek out the people your audience trusts for thought leadership, cultivate relationships, and co-create content with added value for everyone involved.”

So, here is my summary of LinkedIn’s current marketing motto/ strategy.

It’s outdated.

Much like the 1970’s boardroom and all its unsettling goings-on, it should no longer be conventional wisdom guiding the future of a billion-dollar corporation.

The cynic in me would say that LinkedIn wants to promote content ideas that don’t do well organically, because people are more likely to spend money on premium services and ads, increasing their revenue.

While from a business standpoint, I can see the reasoning behind that. Microsoft have a fair hole in their P&L that they need to claw back somehow, but IS driving away the platforms’ most active, most creative members the right strategy?

It also wreaks of being out of touch with modern-day social selling. Passive, engaging content, regardless of if it’s a Pug in a G-string or Reface Video, get the engagement because people are NOT just on LinkedIn 100% of the time, in a business mindset. People consume content at every stage of their buyer journey.

It’s as if there has been precisely ZERO work completed on Buyer Personas (go check out Adel Revella – she wrote the book on it). As if they have no idea about buyer journeys and understand nothing about ‘business consumer’ behaviour.

What does this mean for the platform?

It might attract more stiffs to it. More folk that get slight arousal when they get the chance to write the phrase, “This isn’t Facebook”.

I don’t think it will drive people away unless they start to reduce the organic reach.

If the organic reach starts to dwindle and more 1970’s kipper tie-wearing, Sex Panther smelling misogynists start flashing their quarterly forecasts in some satanic ritual to decide who has the biggest bottom line, LinkedIn will be the next Myspace.

Just a place where our grandkids find our profiles in 25 years when they’re learning about corporate suicide in business studies!

So, what is your take? Out of touch or bring back the beige?

Chris Williams

What is Yoast SEO?

Yoast SEO handles search engine optimization. It is particularly useful because it provides premium SEO at a level that users can understand easily (without extensive backgrounds in SEO or computer software).

Best features:

• Keyword suggestions and it controls for synonyms and different verb tenses
• Helps organize structured data for content pages
• Lets users view snippets that will show up on desktop and mobile, as well as in social media
• Helps with breadcrumbs
• Redirect manager
• Provides easy to read SEO and readability analysis

User Guide:

1. Install and activate the plugin (but first transfer SEO data if you have been using a different plugin)
2. Go to SEO in the sidebar→ general
   • Go to features, all of them are automatically turned on (and it looks like we should leave all of them on, except maybe the admin bar menu if we would rather not have it in the admin bar)
3. Go to webmaster tools→ add metatags from the search engines you are using to verify yourself within those search engines 
4. SEO→ search appearance
   • Generally allows you to choose title and description or data that shows up in posts
   • Leave the description section blank for content pages and it will automatically populate with the first few line of the article/etc.
   • It redirects media attachment URLs, and you want to keep that setting to have better SEO ratings
   • Taxonomies allow you to set up SEO and snippets for categories, tags, etc.
   • Enabling breadcrumbs give it a better advantage in the search (default settings are fine but other plugins can help make the breadcrumb stuff even better)
   • Can backlink site in RSS feed→ more links to your site→ better in the eyes of search engines
5. SEO→ search console
   • Connect to Google search console to get analysis on your rankings etc in search results
6. SEO→ social
   • Connect the site with social accounts so you can control the snippets that pop up when people share articles
   • Makes sure graph metadata is enabled for Facebook and Pinterest
7. Tools
   • Import/export SEO data
   • File editor for .htaccess and robots.txt files (need to do more research on these, apparently very helpful in SEO)
   • Bulk editor to quickly adjust titles and descriptions for all pages
8. Redirect manager (Premium) to redirect error pages, redirect old to new, etc.
9. Optimizing
   • Edit a post/page and there will be a little Yoast SEO box at the bottom of the post editor
     1. The focus keyphrase is essentially the most important one and should be how you think most people will find the article
        • This does NOT optimize for that keyphrase but instead analyze how well your page will be optimized and gives you tips to do it better
     2. Then you can also add other related keywords/phrases
     3. Can set the post/page as a piece of cornerstone content, which means it is ranked the highest in searches, should only be the best of your content
10. Optimizing categories
    • Go to categories→ edit links and the Yoast SEO box will appear at the bottom so you can add keywords
11. Can also use WooCommerce to optimize product sales, but I don’t think that relates to Discuss it much

Learn more in this short video on the basics of choosing keywords.

Helpful future content about how to most effectively look at Google keywords.

For more information about this topic visit the Yoast that has numerous resources on this topic!

People invest time into networking for a multitude of reasons. Be it for Business Development, raising investment, for recruiting purposes or just to get to know peers in their industry.

Tips to Follow to Become a Pro Corporate Networking Agent:

Attire

• Have a smart suit/outfit put to one side always ready to go for networking events. Think of going to a networking event like going to a job interview. You never know who you are going to meet and first impressions always count.

Agenda

• For any event, you are going to have a specific agenda. Maybe there is someone who is talking on a panel you would like to talk to. Or you want to do some market research on a new product. Alternatively, you want to make yourself known by larger competitors. Whatever it is, know the exact agenda before you go. Why is attending going to give you ROI on your time? If you can’t answer that, then don’t go.

Arrive Early

• Arrive early to talk to the organisers. Ask them how many people they are expecting and, if possible, ask to see the delegate list. (Still possible even with data privacy rules) Give them your agenda for being there in terms of people you are trying to meet. You will be surprised how often they will find a way to introduce you to someone meeting that brief. A good organiser will always look to put people together.

Timing Rules

• If you are attending solo, then remember basic timing rules. You should know within a minute whether someone is going to be useful to follow up with. Therefore if you can, initiate open questions (who, what where, how, why.) Once you have clarified on whether they are relevant, either give a very abridged version of what you do (if not relevant) or longer (if you want to follow up with them)

Circulate

• If you are attending with colleagues, avoid the temptation to stick to them. Instead, do your best to circulate, but loop back periodically if you see they are talking to someone who could be interesting. Likewise, if you see your colleague is stranded whilst you are chatting to someone, usher them into the conversation, and if necessary, disengage yourself to ensure maximum coverage of the room.

Elevator Pitch

• Perfect your hook. A one-sentence outline for what you do. Depending on your personality profile, don’t worry about inserting humour as long as it’s Professional. Humor is not always possible, but if you can it’s a good way to break the ice and make people want to engage with you. 

Use LinkedIn

• LinkedIn is the new business card, so don\t be afraid to ask them real-time if they are on LinkedIn and connect with them. More often than not, you will have people in common who will act as a talking point.

Use Time Wisely

• If you find yourself talking to someone for longer than you would like, be polite and explain why you are ending the conversation. It can be direct – I just saw someone I need to catch up with, or more subtle – I’m just going to get some more water. Whatever works. 

Introduce Yourself

• If you are attending an event that requires you to sit as part of an audience, always introduce yourself to people sitting around you. Don’t go and sit in a corner by yourself. So many times, a quick introduction to a few people next to you whilst sitting in an audience quickly translates into a chance to follow up after.

Q&A Time

• If you are attending an event where there is then an opportunity for Q&A, make sure to ask a killer question. Demonstrate your intellect by asking a challenging question for the host and relevant to everyone, where it is genuine (not one you know the answer to yourself.) Done well, people will thank you for asking the question and will make a point to talk to you after.

Control Your Liquor Intake

• If alcohol is being provided and you are drinking, then have a glass of water periodically and stay hydrated. Nothing worse than getting tipsy with work people you don’t necessarily know well.

Follow UP

• If you do end up having productive conversations, then follow up within 48 hours. Keep track of who you met at which event, so you can measure the ROI of the different events you attend. Especially as some networking events demand member dues, this is a good way of measuring which are worth paying for. 

Question for discussion:

Do people think there is actually a quantifiable formula for measuring the ROI on an event post attendance? E.g. cost of time vs value of contact generated? 

So if I earn £100K per annum, I work a 50 hour week, with 2 weeks vacation, my per hour earnings are 

A = days worked in a year after weekends & vacations 250

B = hours worked a day on average 10

C = Annual earnings before tax (100,000)

D = Working hours taken up at an event (5)

E = ticket cost 

(D x ( C / A x B) ) + ticket cost

An event is typically 4-5 working hours in full (including travel time), meaning just to break even on my time spent it needs to generate at least £200 on that basis. This needs to be added on top of what the charge to the event is. So if an event was say £200, this means to attend, it needs to generate £400 just to break even.

How do other people see this? Is it realistic trying to create a formula for ROI for events? Should we be measuring the inputs instead perhaps?

Tell us what you think and leave a comment!

The Importance of Digital Marketing for B2B Businesses

In this day and age, it is essential for B2B businesses to adopt modern marketing channels to ‘keep up’ with competitors. Great marketing strategies are hard to develop, especially when you’re swimming in the foreign waters of digital marketing. It can get confusing and expensive with budgets, design management, and channel decisions, leaving B2B marketers with a lot to juggle when it comes to developing a marketing strategy. Executing these strategies will be the most efficient way in helping the growth and development of your B2B business.

What can Expert Circle offer B2B businesses?

As either being a B2B digital marketer or being a part of a B2B business I am sure you can agree you are constantly looking for new ways to get more brand exposure and increase your leads. This is where Expert Circle comes in. Expert Circle is a place where B2B businesses can gain more exposure, improve their SEO, and increase leads. Expert Circle offers guest blogging and B2B content marketing allowing you to post content without the need for signing up. This gives any business, let alone a B2B business the opportunity to have an additional channel of followers.

Building your brand awareness and reputation with Expert Circle

When you produce content on Expert Circle, it allows you to make informative content of your business in a particular category. The discussion principle should be heavily focused on as this makes the interaction between you and your audience more intimate. Following on from this, the communication of your brand’s values is easily and clearly expressed which as a result will affect brand awareness and reputation.

Benefits of creating content on Expert Circle

• Build brand awareness without putting unnecessary pressure on your audience to follow informative posts about your business
• Ability to invite others to collaborate/work together on content that is within the same category. This could also give the opportunity to discover a new category.
• Ability to embed links back to your website will provide you with more clicks to for example, a landing page that you have created (also improves your SEO)
• A feature of Expert Circle that allows your audience to subscribe to your account allows you to build a solid base audience.

Read more ways on How Expert Circle can Benefit You!

Blogging and producing content on Expert Circle is a vital segment of content marketing for high conversion rates. That is most likely because this digital marketing tactic is a great way to foster relationships with your customers and build trust over time. The more valuable quality content you can provide for your target audience, the more opportunities you have to connect with the buyer and earn their trust. So it is over to you. The first initial step of getting your audience’s trust will help drive your sales and get you started now!

Blake Wolsey-Cooper

What is Expert Circle?

Expert Circle is a favourable resource for content marketers with elements of a social media network. It is a blogging platform, and content marketplace merged into one. As well as this, it gives you an idea of what content consumption will look like in the future. Instead of hosting content on your website and promoting social media, Expert Circle allows the best, most valuable content to stand out among the competition.

What Content Marketers Can Learn from Expert Circle?

1. To take risks. Try new platforms and find new ways to use existing ones. Great storytellers will excel on any platform with the right promotion. Find what works best for you.
2. Invest in long-form content. if you haven’t done so already. Content that educates and inspires is not going away; it’s becoming more popular than ever. Try your best to provide information customers can’t find anywhere else.
3. Focus on great ideas. Ideas are becoming more important than authority. On Expert Circle, great content is recognized for its popularity, not who wrote it or how many dollars have been spent on promotion. Cite references, add illustrations, and write amazing copy to get your content on top.

Digital Marketing Institute’s tips for succeeding:

1. Don’t forget about CTAs. Calls-to-actions are important on any piece of content, but especially on Medium when it’s all about the reader. Try creating an image-based footer that links back to your website to drive traffic. And don’t forget to add CTAs to your content outside of Medium, as well.
2. Utilise GetStencil. Expert Circle offers a unique way of laying out your posts. You can use featured images and layouts using this software that will represent you and your business. This provides you with consistent layouts that your audience will identify and relate to your business.
3. Don’t miss out on the formatting options. Expert Circle offers many formatting options that you may not see when you only use the pop-up toolbar. For example, blockquotes are a great option for catching the reader’s attention and making sure any code is formatted correctly.
4. Share Expert Circle content on other platforms. Don’t rely on Expert Circle’s algorithm alone to get your content in front of new readers. You should also share your content on your established social media channels. Eventually, you may see most of your content views coming directly from the platform, but an initial nudge will be extremely helpful.
5. Work with external writers. There are tons of great writers that push on excellent content consistently. Reach out to writers in your industry and ask them to contribute to your publication. This type of symbiotic relationship will be extremely beneficial for your brand.

Tactics your business can implement to excel on Expert Circle:

• Re-publish content from your blog or website
• Create a collection around a particular theme related to your business.
• Don’t limit yourself to writing; publish visual content that tells a story.
• Create a branded collection.
• Link back to your website or blog.
• Use UTM parameters to measure traffic from your Medium posts.
• Tell truly interesting stories.
• Recommend posts related to your industry.

To conclude, there are many uses of Expert Circle that can benefit you and your business through content marketing and business blogging (If that’s what you are interested in). Expert Circle offers unique software and techniques so that you can reach your targeted audience quickly and efficiently. It is always important to make sure you utilise the tools offered to you as they are there to enable you to look your best in front of your audience. We hope the tips will help you, and we cannot wait for you to get started! 

Blake Wolsey-Cooper

Do you want to have more visibility online? It is important for you to improve your SEO? Do you want to position yourself as a thought leader? If you said yes to one of this question – you should consider guest posting and Expert Circle is the best place to start.

Expert Circle offers a unique feature called guest blogging. Guest blogging allows anyone to be able to produce content without signing up for anything! It is one of the best online marketing strategies you can invest in to benefit yourself and your company. This idea is designed to encourage new people to post without having to commit to a new account. Expert Circle wants to aid you by making full use of the many benefits of guest blogging.

11 Guest Blogging Benefits:

1. Instant exposure to targeted traffic

Contribution to other blogs should attract your audience’s attention and new potential audiences.

2. Expand your personal network
Using guest blogging, connecting with influencers is made simple. Seeking partnership is a great way to authorize your abilities with blogging.

3. Stimulate social media shares
The more shares your branded content gets, the more shareworthy it’ll be to your audience. Share highly rated content in your guest post to try and get as many shares as possible.

4. Grow your social media following
This can accelerate your lead generation efforts. Contribution to another blog enables the host to verify your work as worthy which is seen by their audience.

5. Improve your online authority
The more and more content you produce, the more likely you brand will become more trustworthy to paying customers.

6. Fortify your backlink profile
Most blogs allow you to leave a link back to your own site. You are not given any monetary rewards and so the most they can do is give your brand a mentioning or something similar.

7. Grow brand awareness
Guest blogging is a great way to establish your authority in your targeted niche. Making informative details about your brand in your posts is essential to grow brand awareness.

8. Generate qualified leads
To find more leads, it is advised to look for sites that already have an established stream of traffic. This will help you find people who may already be interested in what you offer.

9. Shorten the sales cycle
Distributing content through popular blogs allows you to immediately build your audience’s familiarity with your brand. Rather than waiting for potential leads, you can introduce your brand’s value propositions in your guest posts.

10. Get useful feedback from the community
Being active in a community allows you to receive constructive and insightful feedback from other contributors.

11. Sharpen your content marketing skills
Guest blogging requires every area of content marketing to be successful. You need to be able to adapt to the specific ‘voice’ of your audience. Repetition of guest blogging will help you to execute these skills.

Expert Circle is the perfect platform for guest blogging

It was created primarily to target individuals who have a particular interest in marketing, leadership, and management. Expert Circle aims to bring these individuals together to create a community that is all about discussing these topics.

Expert Circle offers a one-stop-shop for uploading text, audio and video content to create seamless experiences for readers and viewers. You can create easily viewable and shareable links, which your audience member doesn’t even need to log in to view. You can share as soon as you post directly through your social media, from Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram etc., or schedule if you prefer. You can track the effectiveness of your content, both in terms of views and user engagement. Also, highly-rated content then is promoted by us to everyone. Thus, reach a wider and more diverse audience than through standard channels. Through Expert Circle’s built-in audience, your posts are then curated to avoid trolling and to keep feedback professional.

So, there you have it. A more detailed insight on what Expert Circle can do for you if you are looking to continue or even begin guest blogging!

Get started now!

Blake Wolsey-Cooper

Attributing telephone leads shouldn’t be a headache. But it often is. What works for one marketer might not work for you.

For example, you might not have access to your marketing back-office systems to achieve automated integration. In these cases, wouldn’t it be useful to see a list of live calls as they are received, complete with the caller’s telephone number and a link taking you to the precise journey the visitor had taken to and through your website?

Now you can attribute your inbound leads to whichever platform you use to record the visitor source against leads. You can quickly add the lead source and any one of a multitude of other data points like search term or ad group.

And what’s more, it has been achieved without the need to integrate the systems technically.

Three immediate benefits of attribution

You direct the budget into the right campaigns.
Your objective is to drive conversions and fill your marketing funnel. To do this effectively, you need to understand where your conversions are coming from – including phone calls. Without this insight, you direct the budget into the wrong place.

You can calculate ROI (at last)
As marketers, we’re all expected to justify the success of our campaigns by proving the ROI. You need to have an accurate picture of how many calls your advertising generates, the outcome of those calls, and their impact on revenue. Without this, you’re at risk of underestimating the value of a given channel or campaign and the knock-on effect on your bottom line.

Optimise your keyword bids
You know which keywords drive clicks to your website… but are they the same keywords that drive conversions and calls? For example, you might be bidding on an expensive keyword with a low click-through rate and think that turning it off is a quick win to save the budget. But then your sales start to dry up. So how do you know what caused the drop?

How does Mediahawk’s real-time call attribution work?

Inbound calls can be viewed in real-time within Mediahawk. A unique reference is generated for each call. Looking up the unique reference enables you to precisely link the call directly to marketing activity and view the entire user journey across multiple visits.

By associating this reference with a lead in your CRM system, your call handlers have access to a full range of marketing attribution data for that lead, including source, keyword, campaign, and visitor journey.

• Marketing source and medium
• Keywords used
• Referring URL
• IP address
• Landing page
• Visitor journey on your website included pages viewed and calls made
• Previous visits
• Date and time of calls
• Caller’s phone number
• Service number (the number the caller dialled)
• Call duration and ring length
• A recording of the call

How can attribution data benefit marketers?

Whether you’re an agency or client-side marketer, if you run advertising campaigns, it’s vital that you can prove the impact that your campaigns have on revenue. Real-time call attribution enables you to link marketing to financial performance more effectively, allowing you to:

• Drive more conversions and lower your cost per acquisition
• Make smarter marketing decisions by analysing call conversion data alongside your online response
• Understand the role that phone calls play in the customer journey, and use these insights to refine your marketing even further

Harry Bott

Expert Circle has been designed to help you grow with your personal and professional interests around business, marketing and leadership and reach your full potential. As a member, you are given a perfect canvas for writing on, with a minimalist feel. This helps you to navigate around Expert Circle easily and to post using featured images continuously.

Perks as a Member

When you become an Expert Circle member, it allows you to build awareness for your brand and the business you represent. You can build your follower count and be shared on Expert Circle’s weekly newsletters, which will also help build awareness of your brand. Building a relationship with your selected audience is integral in helping your brand reputation. Expert Circle gives you the platform to build that relationship so that you can grow even more.
Expert Circle also offers a unique feature called guest blogging. This feature allows anyone to be able to produce content without signing up for anything! This idea is designed to give more encouragement to new people to post.

Benefits of Guest Blogging

The pros of guest blogging include instant exposure to your selected target audience, the ability to expand your personal network, stimulating social media shares, fortifying your backlink profile, getting useful feedback from the Expert Circle community and the chance to sharpen your content marketing skills. Another important note to remember is that the more you post, the more credible you will appear to others and improve your chances to be found online.
Through this, you can start generating customer loyalty, where you can start to build on a sturdy audience. In addition, with your newly acquired audience, this will allow you to get the chance to do other things such as:

• Track the effectiveness of your content
• Express your brand’s personality and values
• Backlink to your own site
• Increase your leads and conversions

If you are not yet interested in becoming a member, Expert Circle is free to read, which allows anyone to read it. This enables no restrictions for anyone interested in reading about a specific topic.

Blake Wolsey-Cooper

Learn how to start building your brand through content

As more and more businesses adopt content-led marketing, target audiences are becoming increasingly discerning. Salary surveys, which for so long were the signature piece of content for an agency, are becoming passé, especially when websites such as Glassdoor are reshaping the market, with real-time, up-to-date, accurate information. So, what should you do to adapt and how should you approach your content strategy to create engagement and ROI?

First, think about what question you are looking to address. How relevant is that question to the audience you are seeking to engage with? How much other content is there around the same theme? If there is already a lot, what is going to make yours stand out?

Secondly, how are you going to answer that question? What unique data do you have which can be used to create insight? If in the first instance you don’t have unique data, is it possible to create some by conducting market research amongst your client pool? Tools such as Survey Monkey enable free market research to be carried out amongst small data-sets.

Also, who is going to write the analysis and how much writing do they do? Will anyone be responsible for challenging their analysis internally before it is produced? Is the content going to be visibly authored by them, or are they writing it for someone else? Are you looking to build the brand around the business or the individual writing?

Is this content a one-off or to be a part of a campaign? If it is a one-off, why has that decision been made? What would the implications be for the business to look to have a guaranteed frequency, e.g. producing content monthly?

Can you partner with anyone when looking to produce the content? For example, by combining data you have along with a partner, you can not only have a report showcasing more data than you normally would be able to have, but also have the benefit of both businesses marketing the report to a wider audience.

Once the content has been written, what next? Does your business have a newsletter channel it can distribute through? If so, who is responsible for managing your newsletter data? Have they looked to implement new GDPR requirements for data protection? How are you looking to expand your mailing list? Are you doing AB testing to assess how best to improve open and click rates? Are you attending trade shows or going to events? Can you then create printable versions to take with you and give out?

What is your reach on social media? Within your business is there anyone responsible for centrally managing your digital campaigns across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and other channels? What are you doing to extend your reach as a business? Are you using tools to allow for scheduling content, if so how much are you publishing, and what engagement is that generating?

With your website, can you create a page to allow people to get the report directly? How well designed is your site for SEO? Is your site integrated with Google analytics, can you see where your traffic is coming from?

Finally, if you feel you have unique insight on a key issue, what about contacting journalists, or a PR agency with the right connections? Whilst the trade press are usually happy to have a look at anything sent to them directly, national broadsheets can be somewhat more discerning, and getting exposure with them by using the right PR firm could catapult your brand exposure and significantly increase the ROI you generate.

While Social Media Marketing Strategy is not a new thing, and most of us have our personal social media accounts, starting social media marketing for a business is a bit more tricky than managing an individual account.

When I took over the marketing department at Vacancysoft back in 2016, I felt overwhelmed by the number of things I had to keep in mind and consider when working with the brand online.

I now assembled a concise and direct list of things you have to think about when starting to post on social media as a business:

1. Determine Your Goals: The first step with any Social Media Marketing Strategy is to determine your goals. Without clear objectives, your efforts may lack direction.
2. Audience Engagement: Aim to produce interesting content relating to your audience. By providing high-quality, problem-solving content, you will be building expertise, authority, trust, and even celebrity.
3. Platform Selection: Choose the right platform. Which platform your personas/prospects/clients are most likely to use? There is little point in setting up and maintaining a social media presence on platforms that your clients/users don’t visit much.
4. Brand Identity: Make sure that you are setting up a profile consistent with your brand identity (logo, messaging, keywords). Consistency across platforms helps in brand recognition.
5. Content Creation: Let your audience get to know you. Your social media posts are a great way for your potential clients to get to know you and your personality.
6. Video Marketing: Having an image in your posts is really important, but wherever possible, use original images rather than stock images. Videos on Facebook are most likely to reach and engage audiences. Keep your videos short; shorter videos generate more interactions on average.
7. Call to Action (CTA): Make sure you have a call to action (CTA) along with your posts. Always try to engage your audience and tell them what to do next, i.e., comment, share, call your office, head over to your website, download your special report, etc.
8. Interact with Your Audience: Make sure to interact with your audience. Respond in a timely manner to questions and comments. This builds a sense of community and trust.
9. Consistency: Post regularly. It’s a noisy and busy world out there, and if you want to stay at the forefront of your community’s mind, then you need to be consistent with your posting. Posting once or twice per day seems to be the sweet spot for engaging your audience and not annoying them. Use a scheduling tool to save on posting every day.
10. Off-Peak Posting: Breakthrough the noise by posting at non-peak times. One of the tips is to post on Saturdays and Sundays and post after regular work hours.
11. Link Posts: Send your audience to your blog with link posts. Link posts that use the built-in Facebook link format receive twice as many clicks compared to links typed into a photo update. Simply copying and pasting your article/blog URL into the composer window is all it takes. Link posts take advantage of meta-tags from the webpage, including information titles, descriptions, and photos.
12. Live Broadcasting: Go Live. 20% of all Facebook videos are broadcast live, and the daily watch time for live videos has quadrupled in the last year. Live videos are a powerful way to connect with your audience in real time.
13. Boost Your Posts: Boost your posts. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn algorithms make it more difficult than ever to have our content seen by your audience. Boosting your post can be a great way to amplify your message. Make sure to set a budget and to keep control over it, to avoid overspending.
14. Content Curation: Share relevant and helpful content from other sources. It’s not just about promoting your own content; curating valuable content from other reputable sources can also establish your authority in the field.

View the below the GDPR checklist and check that your company complies accordingly

• Does GDPR apply to me territorially?

It does if you process personal data about EU/UK resident – even if you are based outside of the EU/UK

• Do I process data that GDPR applies to?

If you process data that is capable of identifying an individual (including online presence – IP addresses and cookies) then GDPR applies

• What data do I process and for what purpose?
• Do I process sensitive Data?

Which consist of racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious, genetic, sexual orientation etc

• Do I have a GDPR compliant Privacy Notice?
• Have I added my GDPR compliant Privacy Notice to my website?

If you don’t already – have a link on the footer of your website to your privacy policy

• Have I send my GPDR compliant Privacy Notice to my subscribers?

GDPR requires you to send your Privacy Notice to your subscribers to confirm how you collect and process their personal data and for what use

• Have I added my Opt In wording to my sign box

This is  for if you use a sign up box on your website.

• Have I obtained GDPR compliant consent for electronic marketing communications?
• Have I put in place a system for managing opt outs/ withdrawing of consent?
• Have I put in place GDPR compliant agreements with third parties to whom I transfer personal data to?
• Have I obtained GDPR compliant for processing sensitive data?

Processing sensitive data requires explicit consent – double verification process

• Do I need to appoint a Data Protection Officer?
• Do I need to carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment?

A DPIA is required when the processing is likely to result in high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons

• Have I put in place a system for data breach notification?

A data breach occurs where there is a loss alteration, unauthorised disclosure of or access to personal data AND there is a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. In case of a data breach, you must notify the ICO within 72 hours of the breach.

• Is my insurance adequate?

Contact your insurance broker to discuss any increased liability due to GDPR
Do I have a Data Retention Policy in place?
Have I reviewed security of my data?
Do I need to pay for Controller Charge?
If I have employees, have I arranged for data protection training for them?
If I have employees, have I put in place systems for employee subject access requests?

What is the GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been put together to protect the privacy and data of EU citizens. It replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and aims to harmonise and broaden the reach of EU data protection law across Europe.
In May 2018, the GDPR significantly changed for many marketers; specifically, they’ve changed the way data is collected, processed and used. Providing Marketers with a framework for innovation and growth.
GDPR for marketers brings about legislative change that asserts that data belongs not to a business but the individual. The new regulation aims to give people greater control over the collection and use of their data.

Why was the GDPR needed?

The EU Commission published the first GDPR text in January 2012.
The Commission wanted to update data protection law because there had been huge technological advances since the 1995 Data Protection Directive, particularly in the marketing sector.
The law needed to consider new technological developments, consumer data proliferation, and changing consumer attitudes and expectations.
Until the GDPR came into force, data protection standards still varied across the EU. Still, the new law harmonises member states’ data protection laws because it directly affects national legislation.

What was the DMA’s role in the GDPR?

The DMA represented the interests of the marketing industry. At the same time, the GDPR was being debated in Brussels to ensure a fair balance between the customer’s right to privacy and the legitimate interests of business.
In collaboration with the Advertising Association and other marketing trade associations, including FEDMA in Brussels, the work of the DMA helped achieve a more balanced final regulation compared to early drafts from the European Commission and the European Parliament.
For example, the DMA advocated that the legislation should recognise a business’s legitimate interests alongside the customer’s right to privacy and have direct marketing recognised among legitimate interests for processing personal data in Recital 47.

What is the structure of the GDPR text?

• The GDPR text is a lengthy document divided into articles covering specific issues.
• The text also has explanations of the articles, known as recitals.
• The articles and the recitals need to be taken into account to get a complete picture of the law.
• 99 articles make up the letter of the law and 173 recitals.
• What about the role of consumer attitudes to data?
• The GDPR is written in a more EU citizen-centric way than any of the data protection laws before it.
• That said, recent research has suggested that there are varying opinions on data privacy, and these have been grouped into three distinct segments:
• Pragmatists, fundamentalists and those not concerned.

The Essentials:

The GDPR directly affect the processing of personal data of EU citizens resident in the EU, including those in the UK.
The processing of any personal data belonging to EU citizens or others resident in the EU is subjected to the GDPR rules no matter where the data is stored or processed – this is known as the territorial scope.
This means organisations processing personal data about customers resident in the EU need to abide by the law. Suppose a non-EU based organisation is offering goods or services to individuals in the EU or monitoring the behaviour of individuals residing in the EU. In that case, the law applies to them, too.
For organisations established in the EU, the GDPR always applies.

For those who are non-EU establishments, there are certain conditions for the GDPR to be triggered.
Processing activities must be related to:

• Offering goods or services, irrespective of whether a payment is required, to such individuals in the Union
• The monitoring of their behaviour, as far as their behaviour takes place within the Union. The GDPR will expand the scope of data protection legislation.

The previous legislation only applied to data controllers – usually the brands or agencies with a relationship with the customer. Data processors now have obligations under the GDPR and those that may provide services for the brand or agency.

The principles of accountability:

The principle of accountability under the GDPR is about demonstrating compliance with all of the GDPR’s principles.
Carrying out a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) or employing a data protection officer (DPO) are tools you can use to evidence your compliance. These measures are important to successfully implementing the regulation.
The GDPR is principle-based, but much of it has a risk-based approach. Effective risk assessment is an important part of successful compliance.
The mitigations that you use must be appropriate to the risk to that data. Several tools in GDPR will help you ensure that privacy risks are mitigated as much as possible and ensure you’re able to evidence your compliance.
These include:

• Privacy by design
• Privacy Impact assessments
• Breach notification
• Data Protection Officers
• Data Security

(See Articles 5, 25, 30 and 35 of the GDPR text for further information)
Accountability is a core principle. The GDPR asks companies to be accountable for their own decisions on how they collect and use personal data and have records and evidence of the decisions they made and how they made them. Companies need to be clear about why they need the data, what they are going to use it for, how they will keep it secure and the legal basis they are using to process the data.
Accountability applies to everyone in the organisation. The company is responsible for what it does with its customers’ data and has to consider the customer’s right to privacy when developing new products, services or marketing campaigns.

What is Consent:

The definition of consent was very contentious as the GDPR text was being written. Finally, the word “explicit” was removed from the definition, and the word “unambiguous” replaced it.
The GDPR says: “Consent of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her”
Consent includes:

• Ticking a box when visiting an website
• Choosing technical settings. For example, altering your privacy settings in your internet browser could be a valid consent mechanism, providing all the consent requirements were met

By any other statement or conduct which clearly indicates acceptance Consent does not include:

• Silence
• Pre-ticked boxes
• Inactivity

Consent The GDPR says:
“Consent of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her”

The right to object:

A new requirement under the GDPR is that this right to object must be brought to the data subject’s attention clearly and explicitly at the time of collection of their data or in the first communication made to them.
A full list of rights is as follows:

• The right to be informed – to know what happens to their information
• The right of access – this is known as Subject Access Request (SAR)
• The right to rectification – data should be kept accurate
• The right to erasure – the right to have data deleted / to be forgotten
• The right to restrict processing – where the data subject believes the data is inaccurate or requires it for legal claims, or believes the processing is unlawful or is challenging the data controller’s legitimate interests
• The right to data portability – to transfer data from one supplier to another
• The right to object – to stop data from being processed
• Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling – not to be profiled or to have a human make automated decisions.

At first glance, the GDPR for marketers can be seen as a hindrance to marketing activities. Still, a closer examination of the regulation reveals that it allows marketers to build more transparent and meaningful relationships with their customers.
The GDPR mirrors the DMA’s long-held view about the need to place the customer at the heart of everything we do and echoes our commitment to a code that enshrines five key principles which marketers should follow:

• Put your customer first
• Respect privacy and meet your customers’ expectations
• Be honest, be fair, be transparent
• Exercise diligence with data
• Take responsibility, be accountable.

Out of the six legal bases for which an organisation can process an individual’s data, two closely apply to marketing activities: legitimate Interests, in certain circumstances, and consent.
Consent, the more obvious choice for marketing activity, gives the GDPR its poor reputation in our industry. Still, the DMA has established vital building blocks within the new regulations that will safeguard the interests of marketers.
This has been made possible mainly by our advocacy for direct marketing to be carried out under legitimate interests, thus opening up more opportunities to build and strengthen relationships with customers.

How do you get the most out of networking events? Firstly, one has to decipher the purpose of attending the event and 8 times out of 10. When the primary objective is to obtain as many sales lead as humanly possible, networking will eventually be viewed as a regurgitated and extremely tired Sales pitch event.

So, lets strip it back to basics so to create network heaven.

What is the primary objective of attending such events? The clue is in the name “Network” – the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically: the cultivation of productive relationships.

Networking objectives

Networking objectives can range from promoting brand/company to increasing market visibility, attending focused/industry-specific events seeking collaborative opportunities with industry peers, or adding new members to your network. It is for you to determine your Networking objective for each event, and there will be occasions when an event does not fulfil any objective, and in that instance, you can choose not to attend.

One of the many benefits of understanding and being clear on your network objective is being selective as to which events to attend and not falling victim to Networkilitus, i.e. “being present at every single network event” and possibly at the expense of your day job for fear of missing out, even though there is not a clear and identifiable benefit of attending.

Attending a networking event

Thus when attending a networking event, be clear of what your objective is and try not to deviate as it is all too common to fall into the trap of immediately pitching product/services immediately upon introduction, which can give the impression of someone who is just after a sale as opposed to being perceived as someone who is engaging with others to build solid relationships. If you were on the receiving end, who would you rather spend time talking to? This is not to say that a leader cannot be attained from a networking event as it most definitely can. However, this would generally happen once a relationship has been established and subsequently nurtured and off the back, a mutually beneficial transaction may occur.

Whatever the primary networking objective is, aim to remember “People buy People first”, and building a solid relationship is the foundation for a productive relationship.

For more useful content to grow professionally check out Soluman Consultancy Blog.

Lola Bejide

There are around 25,000 digital marketing agencies in the UK, choosing your perfect agency can be tough. Do you work with a team of freelancers, a full-service agency, a niche agency or even one of the big consultancies that are now getting in on the action? Or do you pick a local partner to your company for ease, or do you select based on the best for your needs, regardless of location? Also, do you pick an agency specialising in your industry and has specific, in-depth knowledge, or do you work with an agency with broader expertise that could offer a different perspective?

Working in marketing for 12 years and running an agency for the last 7, I’ve selected numerous partners to work with on behalf of our clients, and for the agency. Below are a few tips for selecting the right agency for your organisation:

Know exactly the team that you will be working with

The strength of an agency is made up of two key components:

1. Business and operational processes, allowing people to deliver their best work
2. The people, delivering the work and service the client

You can measure the first part through industry reputation, sales collateral, culture, responsiveness, agency brand/presentation, and processes. The second part is just as important, as no matter how brilliantly the business is run, ultimately it is individual people that deliver the work. You need to ensure that you have the right team on the project. Make it a mandatory requirement that you meet at least the project manager but visit the agency better. Most agencies cannot afford to send out the whole team that will be working on your project. Still, if you visited the agency, the likelihood is that you would meet most of them and get a better flavour of the individuals that will be working on your account. In our experience, only about 20% of clients visit our office before selecting us. Still, it is hugely beneficial for the client to get a better sense of the agency’s personnel.

Invest the time developing a detailed brief for the digital agency 

We receive hugely differing briefs, from a single pager for a £100k budget to an 80-page pack for a £20k website. The most valuable briefs are those that clearly outline the following:

• Overall objectives and goals
• Any work that has been done to date (research, insight, wireframes, brand guidelines, etc.)
• What the client is looking for in terms of agency support
• Process for the pitch and the decision making (including who will make the final decision)
• KPIs and measurement criteria – this isn’t vital as we often work with our clients during the strategy stage of the project to define these
• Budget – by not disclosing any guidance on budget, you won’t get the best submissions back from agencies. They will have to make an educated guess on the amount you should invest and then develop a solution around this. We create websites from £10k through to £300k; the solutions proposed for these differ greatly. Digital solutions can be complex, allowing experienced agencies to help you understand what your proposed investment can get you. You are then comparing apples with apples rather than receiving wildly different solutions.

Set a ‘thinking’ brief not a ‘creative’ brief

There is much debate in the industry about the fairness of clients expecting weeks and weeks’ worth of work to be done by the digital agency for free before making a selection. I’m not getting into that argument here, but if you set a brief for the digital agency, make it an insight or approach-driven brief, rather than asking to see pixel-perfect designs. The reason is that selecting a digital agency based on whether you like the design they produce reduces the decision to a single aspect. As a digital agency, we have, at times, benefit from this process, but I don’t agree with it.

When we start working with a client, we have time to do in-depth research, run workshops, understand the brand and the company vision and truly immerse ourselves in the client’s world. A digital agency has none of that when they do a design for a sales pitch. Sometimes they will hit the mark, but it can often be down to luck. The best sales process we have done recently was for the University of Southampton, who prepared a structured workbook for each digital agency, asking how they would do things instead of ‘just design something based on limited information.

We have received and responded to hundreds (if not thousands) of briefs over the years – there is a definite skill involved in creating one that will get you the best results. If you need any impartial advice on this, I can be reached on jenny@yoyodesign.com

Jenny Kitchen

Are you tired of relying on referrals to get more clients?

Do you feel overwhelmed by all the options out there to attract clients in a systematic way?

If so, then I am going to walk you through the 4 steps you need to have a reliable and predictable stream of ideal clients coming to you. This automated lead generation system establishes yourself as an authority and generates leads while you sleep.

Imagine, waking up every morning and having a calendar filled with potential clients wanting to work with you?

Let’s dive straight in!

Step 1 – Traffic

You have a life changing service that you need people to know about! There are many places to get traffic but the place to advertise right now is Facebook.

Even if you work in the B2B space and you think your ideal clients are not on Facebook, they are! In the last quarter of 2017, Facebook had 2.2 billion active users. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

Furthermore, Facebook’s advanced algorithm allows you to target your ideal clients easier than anywhere else.

Let’s say your target audience is mothers aged 30 to 45, that like pilates and live in Leeds, England. Facebook will let you target those specific people.

Step 2 – Your Landing Page

This is where your potential clients enter their email address in exchange for your irresistible offer, such as a free case study, guide or report. The key to getting this page right is using an enticing yet specific headline. For example, we worked with a health coach and used the results we obtained for our client as a case study, for example:

How We Helped a Health Coach Book 16 Appointments in 7 Days While Only Spending $168 in Ad Spend

Specificity works, the more specific you can get with your headline, the better, especially if you don’t have a large following as yet.

Step 3 – Your Online Web Class

An online web class (webinar) is where you offer HUGE value to your audience and establish yourself as an authority because you are helping them solve a problem and the right way to do it.

The webinar is designed to attract the most committed clients, those that really want their problem solved that your solution helps them to do.

At the end of the webinar, you make a soft offer for your prospects to schedule a free call with you. There is no pressure, no pushy sales tactics, it’s a simple offer to get on a call.

Step 4 – Enrolment Call

Prior to the call, you pre-qualify your prospects by asking them to fill in a short application before booking a time to speak to you. This ensures you only speak to the most committed prospects. Remember, you can’t help everyone and time is our most valuable asset so this part is key to ensuring you work with the best. I don’t have enough space here to go into how to handle the call but as with the webinar, you give huge value. Help them get clarity on the solution you provide and that they need it now rather than later.

This part of the process also ensures that you only work with the ones you want to work with and those you can actually help.

If they are the right fit, then you enrol them into your premium program that is priced anywhere between £2000 to £8,000.

So let’s review the 4 Steps again.

Traffic > 2. Landing page > 3. Online Web Class > 4. Schedule a Call

This process is the driving force behind our business and that of our clients.

How much would your life change if every single day your ideal clients were reaching out to work with you at £4,000, £5000 or even £8,000 prices?

How much security would you have if you knew, down to the penny how much it costs to bring a new client into your business?

Want a custom plan of action to generate a consistent flow of leads each and every week in your business?

Schedule a free 1-on-1 action plan call with LanaRoc Solutions!

Rochelle Odubela

Many organisations are seeing significant ROI as a result of their marketing strategies, but for others, this is a pipedream

Where are they going wrong?

Many business owners will have left the year-end meeting with a problem not two months ago: they missed their 2019/20 target. Whether or not you were among them, it’s no stretch to imagine the pressure this puts on the commercial team. Keen to address the issue (and make sure it doesn’t repeat itself), you might find yourself turning to the marketing department for a dependable and sustainable solution.

On paper, inbound marketing delivers those desirables. We know that thanks to increasing connectivity, today’s buyers are taking more and more of the sales process into their own hands. What’s more, 70-80% of those buyers tend to ignore paid ads in favour of organic results. Creating a platform of content that reflects these search terms, matches buyer intent, and addresses their questions represents a phenomenal opportunity for businesses to drive the dependable, sustainable growth they need to meet their 2018/19 targets.

Unfortunately, this is where many businesses falter. When it comes down to it, they don’t know how to turn this tactic into an accountable strategy with demonstrable ROI.

Joining the dots between sales and marketing

It’s a familiar story. Too many companies are making the mistake of investing heavily into marketing strategies without taking the time to properly understand how they can demonstrate their impact on the wider business performance, never mind a return.

The cost of a marketing strategy that doesn’t deliver can be crippling. If you already have a marketing strategy in place and you still missed your target this year, this will ring especially true. Here’s the thing: your marketing team might argue that it has contributed to leads closed, but without the data to back it up, they can’t prove or disprove this either way—and nor can you.

Three ways to fix the problem from the ground up with inbound marketing

For businesses looking to see predictable, scalable, and repeatable business growth from inbound marketing, is it important to understand three key things.

1. Content is the machine powering today’s customer-focused strategies, but it needs to be approached in such a way as it can directly contribute towards your business goals. The keyword here contributes. Content naturally encroaches on every aspect of your marketing activities, from the copy on your homepage to the text in your paid adverts. When you produce content, it should both support and be supported by these other areas.

2. The marketer’s day creating content solely off the back of internet research appears to be waning. To produce assets with a fighting chance of standing out from the digital libraries of articles and videos published every day, you should reconsider how you hire for your inbound marketing activities and how that team operates in terms of content planning and production.

3. Marketing and sales naturally integrate to serve the buyer together. When your organisation understands the inbound methodology across sales and marketing, all of your team can align to achieve the common goal of delighted customers who happily promote you to others.

It’s time to fix all of these problems from the ground up. In the same way that an inbound approach to marketing is transforming the way businesses engage and qualify their leads, a more customer-centric sales process is going to transform your business from selling to helping to buy.

Changing your sales and marketing processes to become buyer-focused is a transformative step. Still, it’s absolutely crucial if you want to join the data gaps between these two traditionally disparate business units—and walk away from next year’s annual sales meeting smiling.

Do you still need help with your inbound marketing strategy?

BabelQuest is here to help you unlock your full potential in inbound marketing!

Tom Brown