Good Content Makes It Much Easier To Boost Your Web Presence

Finding the time to build good content is essential for inbound marketing. It’s the cornerstone of visitor engagement and long term ROI. Yet, it requires a firm commitment by top management. I’ve been re-reading “Smart Content Marketing Relies On Efficient Production,” a useful post by Derek Gordon from Search Insider on 4/27/11. Here’s a quote:

Who has time to do all this stuff? By stuff, marketing professionals are referring to the production and distribution of the variety of content that flows from strategies that are built to engage audiences, improve search rank, and yield better bottom line business results.

Efficient production techniques can help you become more successful at building good content

Which is all very nice but one must come up with the goods, right? It won’t just grow on a tree all by itself. You have to write it, produce it, make all the edits and write, write, write some more, thereby producing the videos, articles & posts, photos, webinars, eBooks, podcasts and tweets. And, you need to attract inbound links from others.

Who said it was going to be so easy and facile anyway? (Okay, I’m indulging a little.)

Most of the clients I know, the ones who have never jumped into blogging, are a little wary of the commitment they’ll need to make in pursuit of content marketing. We work with small organizations. Mostly we’re into a business blogging approach when the idea of content marketing is under discussion. But one could also be looking at photography, online videos and/or webinars as the driving force for establishing an inbound marketing program. It really doesn’t matter. The continued production of interesting information, is a relatively new mindset for many organizations. Unless they’re used to a regular diet of corporate communications and ‘PR,’ the notion of actually developing an Editoral Calendar scares the devil out of these firms. Tell them the advantages of building a website in a blogging tool like WordPress, and using it as a Content Management System (CMS), the marketing manager or owner may perk up a little, but you can feel some of the air leaving the room at the same time because the benefit comes at a price.

Efficient production is extremely important in this regard. You need to go forward with efficiency right off, or you may not get very far. Derek Gordon talks about an interview done by a Bloomberg reporter who asked if he could record the session on his Flip HD video camera. By doing this the reporter said he could edit a brief ‘newscast’ for the video channel:

• then use the transcript to write up the story;
• then use the audio for a podcast:
• then use a few still photos captured from the video for the Title screens;
• and for online display ads to be used on Bloomberg’s web properties.

The formula would seem easy enough: record the session in a no frills manner using a Flip HD camcorder (on a tripod with external microphone works best), return to your office and start slicing, editing and producing the elements into plug & play system that publishes directly to your website and social network.

There is a very satisfying simplicity to this content strategy. The primary road block to this model may be more psychological than physical or budgetary. But of course there’s a learning curve and a commitment curve as well.

You will need to establish a Web Hub to be constructed from your website and blog, your social framework which may use popular tools such as  FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google + and varied bookmarking sites, etc. But once you have established your online presence based on these elements, you will have most everything you may need to capture useful streams of compelling information.

I can feel it starting to happen with the customer at this point. A dawn of recognition. The look of awareness and interest starting to grow.

You have likely been there yourself in your meetings. What do you do to help your boss, or colleague, start taking the next few steps toward the most focus set of goals?

Up To 55% More Visitors To Your Website

Here’s some news: you can receive 55% more visitors by adding a company blog to your website. But it will take some work to realize the benefits. As reported by Compucast, according to a recent study by HubSpot of 1,531 customers (mostly small- and medium-sized businesses) showed those with blogs received 55% more visitors, 97% more inbound links, and 43% more indexed pages. (795 businesses blogged; 736 did not.)

By creating engaging content, coupled with proper navigation, good usability and copy, you can drive increased visibility in search engines. We like to call this “Natural SEO” (Search Engine Optimization) because that’s what it is. A beneficial process that occurs from writing interesting content and creating a sustained online dialog with customers, colleagues, friends, prospects and industry professionals. Additionally, you’re building inbound links when you let site visitors reply to your pages or posts. It’s something search engines are programmed to find online.

Explore The Benefits of Using WordPress As A Content Management System (CMS)

In a site powered by WordPress, you receive an attractive, modern site that’s easy to manage: simple enough for beginners; powerful enough for experienced users. Here’s a brief list of potential features:

• Personal administration page
• Ability to add pages, articles, press releases, photos, videos, PDFs
• Multiple user accounts
• Ability to accommodate visitor comments
• Search engine ready: just add content. The system builds useful page URL’s automatically
• Well designed ‘look & feel’ to reflect your Brand

Not Ready For Blogging?

That’s okay. You can still take advantage of powerful Web 2.0 features. By adding new pages to your company website with interesting news, services or products, you’ll get a boost in site traffic. Allow visitor comments and you’ll gain even more. We enjoy building websites that incorporate a content management system (CMS) so our customers can update their own content whenever they wish.

There may be significantly more opportunity than you think in creating informative blog posts, thereby establishing a voice within your industry or market. Take care to do it properly. With a little planning upfront you can create an inbound marketing program that develops strong leads to sales performance.

Please comment below with your thoughts on the subject of business blogging and the benefits of “Natural SEO” for your Internet marketing program.

Interesting LinkedIn quote on Mashable that may mean something important for entrepreneurs. Overall, LinkedIn appears to rank in second place among the best, i.e. “top ten” social media sites for up & coming start-ups and highly entrepreneurial businesses:

From hiring to networking with cohorts and potential clients to participating in groups and question threads, LinkedIn is a powerful social network for entrepreneurs and business professionals of all stripes. It’s a great place to both discover and research potential job candidates (with a reported 75% of hiring managers using it over Facebook and Twitter), as well as both keeping up with and extending your network.

Like many other entrepreneurial firms, our Agency is working fast and furiously on social media strategies for clients and ourselves. LinkedIn has been growing exponentially in recent years. However, like other social media choices, it’s not an instant success kind of thing. You need to position yourself as an expert in the LinkedIn Answers domains, particularly in the ones that will best reflect your professional interest. This is a very good way to underscore your credentials and experience in a fast growing professional social media environment. As the aforementioned post on Mashable suggests, you’ll increase your authority and drive more traffic to your website with an effective use of LinkedIn.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to ask for advice on LinkedIn as well. You don’t have to be the oracle of the tribe at all times. It also works well to be asking intelligent questions.

Here’s another good link on LindedIn from a recent post on “Lept Like a Blog.”

Are you making good use of your LinkedIn presence?

As always, we like to hear what you think.

Your Website Can Do More, Cost Less and Pull In Better Traffic

Many site owners fail to realize their website is just the beginning of a larger process. Though they may understand usability, keyword optimization and branding. Often, there’s much that can be done to bring real excitement and fresh results. If you’re passionate about serving your customers and proving what you can do for for them, you’ll enjoy having a website, or company blog, that pulls more qualified inbound leads and customer traffic. Transforming static pages into a compelling inbound program — with blog posts, web video, social media, carefully tested landing pages, new conversion steps and more — requires the ability to look at your product with fresh eyes.

Start re-thinking your website. Ask, “how can we add more compelling content on a regular basis?” Now, you’re getting closer to the real challenge. A website that’s easily updated. A website that pulls in more leads. A website:

• That you can update
• That grows over time with useful news and information
• That offers every opportunity to demonstrate your responsiveness
• That’s very search engine friendly
• That “works for you.”

Building websites using WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) benefits you because:

• WordPress is the world’s leading blog software
• It is one of the fastest growing platforms for building business websites
• Major Search Engines love blogs
• Using a CMS allows you to think about your content in a more fluid style
• Your site can help you attain more: Energy, Excitement, Opportunity, Sales.

There’s always more to say on the subject of blogging, especially for business. What do you say to your management team? How do you get them to commit to a company blog that drives new traffic and results?