Recognizing hard-working and loyal employees makes good business sense in more ways than one. Staff turnover has a negative impact on employee morale and overall productivity, not to mention company revenue.
If video isn’t yet part of your content marketing mix, there’s ample evidence it should be. According to Cisco, videos will account for 69% of all consumer Internet traffic by 2017.
You may not know them by name, but you’ll certainly recognize one by sight: infographics are visual representations of data intended to present information quickly and clearly.
Before you go all in with digital channels when distributing your content, consider this: People like print! According to a survey by Two Sides, 70% of people say they prefer paper communications rather than reading off of a screen.
When initiating any marketing campaign, it makes good sense to track your progress – or lack thereof. Through quantitative measurements or metrics, you can determine if your efforts are achieving the desired results … or are off course and in need of an alternate strategy.
We recently reached out to Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute , for his views on what’s trending in content marketing. He shared his insights into the challenges to and opportunities for creating valuable and relevant material with the goal of changing or maintaining a behavior. Here are some of his thoughts for small and medium-sized business (SMBs) marketers:
Increase conversion rates. Improve lead generation. Grow email list size. These are the top three email marketing objectives in the coming year for the small and mid-sized businesses we polled in a recent research study. Just 12% of respondents called themselves “very successful” with achieving their important objectives, and 21% admitted to being “somewhat unsuccessful.”
Email remains attractive to marketers for its affordability, immediacy and effectiveness. Best of all, you know your subscribers have given you permission to contact them which means there is implied interest in what you’re offering.
Chances are, your chief competitors are doing their share of content marketing. About half of small and medium-sized business marketers (SMBs) we recently surveyed in partnership with an independent research firm are increasing content marketing budgets; just 7% scaling back.
Happy Earth Day! April 22 marks the 45th anniversary of what the Earth Day Network calls “the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.” Each year, it brings into focus issues of the day, builds community activism around the world and causes us to think about the impact of our own habits.
Need help with social media or other aspects of marketing your nonprofit? We’ll provide the assistance you need.
Before you start, set clear goals to keep the messaging on track and help measure success. Then create a detailed audience profile to capture their interests and preferences, so you can define the information you’ll share and the ways and places you’ll share it.
Sales promotions typically take shape as contests, prizes and product samples that are used for a defined period to stimulate interest and purchase. Do you need an effective, affordable and flexible way to keep attention alive long after your promotion ends?
With inbox overload at an all-time high, it’s the ideal time to freshen up your marketing strategy with a direct mail campaign. It’s an effective, highly targeted way to get in front of consumers, and the statistics back it up. The Direct Mail Association reported that in 2015, direct mail campaigns using a house list generated a hefty 3.7 percent response rate.
With inbox overload at an all-time high, it’s the ideal time to freshen up your marketing strategy with a direct mail campaign. It’s an effective, highly targeted way to get in front of consumers, and the statistics back it up. The Direct Mail Association reported that in 2015, direct mail campaigns using a house list generated a hefty 3.7 percent response rate.
Don’t underestimate the business impact of customer care with your current client base. While providing quality customer service with every transaction is important, going above and beyond will help you stand out from the crowd. Sometimes, you need to show your clients some love, and a gift can be the way to do just that. Does it need to be costly? Not at all. Is it worth it? Absolutely, and if you carefully choose the right branded promotional products to do the job, you can build brand awareness at the same time.
Once you’ve completed this process, you should have a print-ready PDF file. The PDF document should:
Regardless of company size, direct marketers face the same challenges across-the-board when it comes to managing their customer data. Here are a few sobering statistics from Experian:
The ability to engage multiple senses gives print communications a decided edge over digital messages. In fact, the tactile nature of print impacts the brain differently than digital media, generating a stronger overall positive response at a subconscious level where emotionally driven buying decisions are made.
Previously, search engine optimization (SEO) was defined as the process of gaining traffic and visibility from search engines such as Google, Bing and others through both paid and unpaid efforts. But that definition has evolved, observes Martin Laetsch, a noted digital marketing strategy leader.
It’s said you only get one chance to make a good first impression … and it’s proven that color plays a huge role in whether that impression on your consumers is positive or negative.
Today’s marketing focus is largely on digital, and for good reason. Content in electronic form such as blogs, emails, e-newsletters and webinars as well as that developed for social media and websites can be distributed quickly and relatively inexpensively.
If you’ve thought that trade show marketing no longer has a place in today’s highly connected, digital world where you can add new friends or contacts at a click of button, think again. As much as communication changes, nothing has replaced the power of a face-to-face meetings when you’re asking someone to part with their money.
If you’re planning to participate in a trade show this year, you’re part of a strong trend. A 2015 EventTrack study by the Event Marketing Institute and Mosaic reports that a significant 79% of the brand respondents say they will execute more event and experiential programs this year compared to last year.
Google the phrase “marketing services” or “advertising agency” and it’s likely you’ll be surprised at how many choices appear … and how distant from you some options may be.
The year’s end naturally causes us to pause and take stock, both personally and professionally. Goal-setters are either feeling good about accomplishments or making resolutions for the coming year to improve upon past performance.
For many, newsletters and e-newsletters are a preferred component of their content marketing strategy – measures by which you create and share content with the aim of acquiring and retaining customers.
A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%, say Emmet Murphy and Mark Murphy in Leading on the Edge of Chaos. And we’ve all heard it said that most unhappy customers don’t complain; they just don’t bother to come back.
A top business marketing priority for the next 12 months is to gain new customers, according to recent research by InfoTrends.
For most small and mid-sized businesses, organizations and nonprofits, there’s no denying the need for printed marketing materials.
While many charitable organizations are in search of donors, others are seeking something that’s often more difficult to get than financial assistance… and that’s someone’s time. Here are five ways you can find more volunteers by bolstering your online presence:
Whether termed “advertising specialties” or simply “giveaways,” promotional products deserve your consideration and for two very good reasons. With them, you can:
If you haven’t yet optimized your website for smartphone users, you risk losing customers. Potentially a lot of them.
You know this: You’re driving by a business and there’s only a name. You don’t know what they do. They could be anybody . . . doing anything.
Sponsorships, donations, pro bono services, discounts and volunteering. These are just a few of the ways through which small and mid-sized business owners can begin to build a profile as a good neighbor in the community.
You’ve got a website and people are “liking” you on social media. You might have lively dialog on your Facebook page, but are you seeing foot traffic as a result?
Defined as persuasive, authoritative and in-depth reports on specific topics, white papers are for many small and mid-sized businesses an excellent tactic in content marketing – primarily for business-to-business enterprises.
Check your desk, shirt pocket or what you’re wearing on your head. Chances are you’ll find a logoed item from a company you interact with on a regular basis. Why? Because people enjoy getting free stuff, and these promotional items go a long way in building goodwill, brand identity and repeat customers.
We’re bombarded with thousands of messages every day, from billboards to digital ads, direct mail to email. Competition for attention is keen. That means you need to engage a potential customer and deliver your message about your products and services as quickly, simply and efficiently as possible. Anything you can do to make it easier to consume your marketing messages can pay off. And sometimes that can mean the absence of stimuli.
Recognizing hard-working and loyal employees makes good business sense in more ways than one. Staff turnover has a negative impact on employee morale and overall productivity, not to mention company revenue.
Event marketing is made to order for small to mid-sized businesses, nonprofits and other organizations with aggressive goals but limited sales resources. Participating in the right local, regional, national or international events allow you to present your sales story to many prospects in one place within a short period of time. Individual sales calling can’t match it for efficiency.
A major advantage to direct mail is its capacity for one-on-one communications with the prospect or customer. Unlike other forms of advertising, you can get “personal.” What makes a great sales letter that motivates action? Here’s the breakdown:
It used to be that scores, perforations, laminations, adhesives and other special techniques had to be added after your piece was printed. Not anymore!