Marketing trends change all the time. As a local business owner, it can sometimes be hard to keep up or even know which ones you should be following. Are any of the past or current marketing trends worthwhile? In marketing, you’ve got to pick and choose. Very few people have an unlimited budget that allows… Read More

Cyberattacks can strike no matter how big or small your website might be. In fact, they strike more frequently than you might think, with one study showing that most websites face around 58 attacks every day, even when patched. The kind of damage resulting from these attacks can vary, from things like financial loss, compromised… Read More

These days, a solid email marketing campaign is a crucial tool in any robust online marketing strategy’s toolbox. Subscribing to a weekly newsletter is easy—all it takes is one click. But what happens after the person in question is signed up to your mailing list? How can you ensure they actually open as many emails… Read More

Marketing isn’t the same as it was ten years ago. With digital advancements, marketing is no longer all about billboards and full-page spreads in the local magazine. Are you making the most of online marketing opportunities? If you’re not, you’re losing out on plenty of attention from potential customers and clients. People are spending more… Read More

Take a second and look around. Brand imaging is everywhere, especially on social media. There’s no denying that social media engagement has become crucial to a digital marketing strategy, but managing your brand across multiple social media platforms is a lot of work, not to mention time consuming. Small businesses run up against the same… Read More

Chatbots, which are pieces of AI technology designed to have automated conversations, are a hot topic right now, and with good reason. Anyone who spends any amount of time online knows that more and more business, both small and large, are fighting for your attention. It has become crucial for businesses to find ways to… Read More

Just like with the content on your blog, the quality of the content you publish on social media is just as important.  So is having established goals and objectives regarding why you’re posting in the first place. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s simply not enough to post great content… Read More

There is one thing that will make or break your law firm in terms of profit this year. Do you know what it is? The answer is conversions, but I guarantee that it isn’t in the way you think. Conversions equal profit, right? Yes. But what has an even bigger impact on your success isn’t… Read More

Actively participating (aka: not spamming them with backlinks to your content) in LinkedIn groups within your niche and/or location can be a great way to get your name out there and make new connections. Don’t shy away from starting a new conversation or joining an existing one. Ask questions, share ideas, or/or provide insights into what’s… Read More

Where would we be without engineering? Probably stuck back somewhere in stone age technology. Engineering firms, and the services they provide, have been critical to creating the world as we know it. When you provide such an essential service, it is easy to push aside the idea that, just like every other industry, you need… Read More

Creating successful lead generation strategies for your accounting firm can be a frustrating process. In the accounting industry, your services are needed and required, but they also aren’t something that most clients are excited about fitting into the budget. Your potential clients know that competition among accounting firms gives them the upper hand. You need… Read More

Having a great elevator pitch in your arsenal is a must. Your audience has a short attention span, so if you want them to buy what you’re selling, you need to be able to present your idea quickly and persuasively. It’s your chance to make a great first impression that generates interest around your idea… Read More

As content creators and marketers, we are always in hot pursuit of our target audience. And, while love is in the air, there is no magical rhyme for getting your audience to love your brand. After all, matters of the heart require more than just luck.Here are 14 proven strategies to win over your audience… Read More

I personally think that being consistent is the key ingredient to branding. Too many companies want to be all things to all people, which is the exact opposite of targeting a specific audience. That’s why you have so many businesses rebrand, because they don’t know what they want to be, and they’re constantly trying to… Read More

Branding is the process by which a company stamps its business culture and what it stands for in the mind of a customer. When you think of Apple, you think of sleek products with interesting designs. When you think of Red Bull, you think of action and adventure, and exploring new things. Branding isn’t about… Read More

You need to make sure your site is responsive, so that people who access it on mobile devices have the same quality experience that they would if they were on a desktop. While this may seem obvious, a lot of B2B sites aren’t optimized for mobile, so you’re seeing businesses lose a chunk of mobile… Read More

An online community interacts, engages, and becomes a vital part of a business. That’s why the first step is to offer great content. It’s beating an old horse, I know, but quality content is still the best way to distinguish your business from the competition, to build credibility and authority, and to attract prospects. Great… Read More

Do you know the biggest mistake some businesses make when it comes to content? They post that content on every single social media platform they can imagine, and hope for the best. But this scattershot, one-size-fits all approach doesn’t work, because it ignores something very valuable in the marketing process: the audience. You can’t put… Read More

I think the surge in video content can – and will be – a big game changer for small business owners. Videos play well on desktop, but they are fantastic on mobile devices, and since more than half your target audience now consumes content on the go, video is powerful way to reach them. For… Read More

I think, on average, pay-per-click (PPC) is overrated when it comes to marketing ROI. Why? Because I think marketers almost become obsessed with paying for quality leads, so they overspend, and when they step back, they often realize that could have saved a chunk of that money by building organic leads instead. PPC is a… Read More

In July of 2017, WhatsApp boasted 450 million active users per month. With so many users and thousands of businesses looking to reach them, the new Business API has potential. The API can help companies reach their target audience through advertisements that lead to chat boxes. It can assist in shipping confirmations, appointments reminders, and event… Read More

I think influencer marketing has worked wonders, because it has helped me establish my credibility and authority as an agency owner. Getting on the radar of an influencer can take a lot of work. It also requires patience and diligence, because establishing your credentials with someone who is already an authority requires a specific strategy.… Read More

I think it’s really important for financial services companies to market with one question in mind: How do we help our customers better understand what we offer?  Because more so than many other businesses, the financial services industry has a lot of technical jargon and concepts that many consumers simply don’t understand. So how should… Read More

People always used to say that there’s no such thing as “bad PR.”  But in a day and age when videos of people being dragged off airplanes go viral in a matter of minutes, I think that even PR folks with nerves of steel can agree that this is simply no longer the case. If… Read More

Controversy sells, and it always has and it always will. Marketing expert Jeff Bullas calls this ‘contagious content’ that ‘people can’t wait to share.’ But as the owner of a business, you have to be very careful how you use controversial content, because if you stop over the line into being offensive, you will not… Read More

Branding is how a business expresses its values and vision to customers in a way that is distinct and unmistakable. And one of the branding methods businesses can use is to tell the ‘story’ of their company. Done properly, a company’s story can help advance its goal, and that was true for marketing expert Beth… Read More

The irony about content marketing is that many people focus on the ‘marketing’ part to the detriment of the ‘content’ aspect, which really defeats the purpose. Because the quality of your content will largely determine the effectiveness of your marketing, and if your content isn’t up to snuff, you better figure out what’s wrong. As… Read More

If you think Google is the only real way to promote your business online – you’re mistaken. The reality is – social media is bigger than ever. And it looks set to continue to grow. While you shouldn’t ignore Google completely – you might be wasting a lot of time (and money) trying to improve… Read More

More than just a hot buzzword, influencer marketing has now become an essential aspect of branding. But a lot of companies still view influencer marketing with a wary eye, mostly because they are not sure what it entails and how it could benefit their business. Simply stated, influencer marketing refers to strategies in which businesses… Read More

What’s one of the biggest mistakes you’re making right now? No, it’s not your prices or your content marketing strategy, it’s something much more important: You’re not targeting your market in the right way. You can’t achieve great marketing returns if you haven’t properly targeted your market, because the “who” determines the “how.” Marketing guru… Read More

I think the biggest advice I could give for SBs marketing on Facebook with limited resources is to forget the sale and remember the person. Hunh? What I mean is that you can’t hard sell on social media, users are way too savvy for a sales play that is naked and greedy. So what do… Read More

I think it’s really important for financial services companies to market with one question in mind: How do we help our customers better understand what we offer? Because more so than many other businesses, the financial services industry has a lot of technical jargon and concepts that many consumers simply don’t understand. So how should… Read More

If you’re trying to entice new customers, gamification is effective because you are rewarding consumers for sampling your products and services. So for example, if you have a rewards offer for new customers that offers them a free product or service of equal price for every two products or services they buy, you are offering a valuable… Read More

A big content marketing trend for 2017 is live streaming and how it can help brands engage and convert prospects into long-term customers. Facebook Live has really upped the live stream game, and you’re seeing huge brands as well as smaller companies utilize this social media tool. Live streaming can be used in several effective… Read More

One of the most common bad social media practices I run into is brands that have no idea to whom they are marketing. So they end up with campaigns that are scattershot and one-size-fits-all, which ultimately results in consumer confusion. The most important thing companies must do before starting any type of social media campaign… Read More

IDEA 1: Show Properties Virtually With so many visual platforms to advertise properties, there’s no excuse for you not to provide 360-degree panoramic virtual tours of your available properties on your website. Virtual tours provide every detail a tenant would want to see before they commit to a live walkthrough, but it also sets up… Read More

I think one of the most effective ways to tell your company story is to post a video on your blog, site and social media platforms that gives users a peek behind the scenes. For example, you can post “Meet the Team” videos in which your employees talk about their work process, a typical day… Read More

Influencer marketing can – and does – work wonders. Don’t believe me? It’s helped me establish my credibility and authority as an agency owner tremendously. Getting on the radar of an influencer can take a lot of work. It also requires patience and diligence, because establishing your credentials with someone who is already an authority… Read More

If you use Google regularly, you may have noticed that when running a Google search, your search results often vary between browsers, even when the device is the same AND the search terms are the same. Why does this happen? It happens because Google’s algorithms return different search results based upon a variety of different… Read More

Every Realtor knows that buying a home is a much more complicated and emotional process than simply browsing through Zillow listings and finding a good deal. A home that captures the imagination and creates a sense of wonder will attract interested buyers faster, and elicit a much more powerful sense of urgency to close. By… Read More

No matter where you lie on the political spectrum, the feat that Donald Trump pulled off in November to win the presidential election was impressive. Why? Because Trump didn’t so much as run an election as sell a brand, and that brand did exactly what he intended: identify a target audience, and deliver exactly what… Read More

Once a small business owner gets his blog up and running, content curation and content marketing can help him (or her!) get more SEO out of his blog and posts. Content marketing is creating new material like newsletters, blogs, eBooks, and videos that people can use or learn about a specific subject. This content can… Read More

1. What goes into developing a brand voice? First, I think you absolutely have to identify and correctly target your consumer group, because without knowing WHO you are selling to, you can’t know HOW to market your business. For example, if I’m selling a product or service that appeals to young, active Millennials, I can’t… Read More

Local marketing is becoming more important, whether you own a brick-and-mortar or whether you are solely digital. Geotargeting simply means using geography to target your market in a hyper-specific way. The first thing to do when employing this strategy is to establish your perimeter. So for example: Do you want a one-mile, three-mile, five-mile or… Read More

1.  Newsletters should always be a good mix of content, coupled with some sort of call-to-action.  Straight sales pitches are NOT newsletters and you will have people unsubscribing faster than you can say “told you so”  if that’s the method to your madness. 2.  Pay attention to design and layout.  Newsletters that are just haphazardly thrown together are not going… Read More

For retailers who are heavily invested in natural search marketing, the recent decision by Google to switch the location of paid ads from the right side of the search results page to the top of the page, was a blow to the gut. Why?Because it means that natural search results will be pushed further down… Read More

1. What are your best tips for developing your brand image? I think you have to first identify your target consumer group and know exactly what their wants and needs are before you can brand your company. Because properly researching your market allows you to understand what is most important to them and how you… Read More

It’s interesting, because for nearly a decade, Google has been the industry leader in local searches, and it’s kind of dominated that service to the exclusion of every other company. But here’s the thing. Facebook has a billion consumers, and when they launched Marketplace in October 2015, Google had to take notice. A billion? That’s… Read More

I’m not sure there’s any magic formula to improve your Facebook Ads conversions, but there are some solid strategies that can help you optimize your ads to draw more visitors and therefore more conversions. The biggest thing is to display a clear message as part of your ad. Users have short attention spans, so your… Read More

Big data has become kind of the trending “thing” lately, and it’s easy to see why. With big data, you are getting specific information on your customer’s buying habits, whether it’s social media data, mobile usage data or specific data about customer wants and needs, you are building a profile of what your ideal consumer… Read More

It’s always hard to predict what’s going to trend in the digital marketing space, but I think overall we’ve been seeing a push toward more personalized marketing that is hyper-specific to the wants and needs of a targeted audience. I think a lot of marketers were comfortable a few years ago with a kind of… Read More

The Total Market Approach (TMA) to cross-cultural marketing has become fairly widespread, especially with the bigger brands such as Coke and Nike. It’s kind of a no-brainer to use TMA these days, because there is so much diversity in consumer groups, and in some ways, trying to appeal to every unique need or niche is… Read More

I think blogging content is so important in marketing for a small business that I would recommend that entrepreneurs hire a dedicated person to handle all their content. I think it’s worth it, even if it means moving your budget from some other area and transferring it into your blog creation, because I’m a firm… Read More

The key to any type of content you create for your business is this: don’t be boring. And that’s especially true when creating corporate videos. I think the first way to accomplish that goal is to use humor. Attention spans are short, and comedy is always a way to hook interest and keep people watching.… Read More

First, you must offer quality and useful content by creating a blog. It’s not enough to just have a website that offers your services, you must have a blog that has actionable content targeted at consumers who know very little or nothing about the construction business. Why? Because when you educate consumers at a basic… Read More

Social media engagement has become one of the most important ways for digital marketers to reach their targeted audience, because so many people engage, debate and make purchase decisions on these platforms. And that’s especially true on special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, which offers companies a date tailor-made for social media outreach through a… Read More

Without brand auditing, you really have no idea if your branding efforts are working within your target market, and where the weaknesses are in your marketing efforts. So what are some effective ways to conduct a brand audit? Well, first I think you have to understand and define what you’re auditing. To me, the most… Read More

What is SEO? SEO is an acronym for search engine optimization, and what it means is all the strategies a company uses to drive visitors to its website. That can be everything from the effective use of keywords to creating content that users find valuable. It’s important to remember that SEO is not a marketing… Read More

I think one of the big trends in law firm Internet marketing is offering content that differentiates itself from the competition. So many big and small law firms are online now, and they are trying to brand themselves in different ways. So what’s the takeaway for 2017? If you’re a law firm, you have to… Read More

Newsletters should serve as a vital part of any small business’s marketing plan, because they promote products and services in a capsulated format, which can help draw subscribers to your site and generate revenue when they engage with the products and services that you offer.  Newsletters help your business grow by educating the subscribers on… Read More

It seems as if web designs have gone kind of all over the place in the past five years, but I think you’re starting to a few trends that will take hold in 2017. First, I think because attention spans are at an all-time low, web pages are going to be simpler, less cluttered and… Read More

Every chiropractic business needs a website and a blog at minimum. The website should be easy to navigate, well organized and emphasize videos and images. But you must also have a blog that is informative and entertaining, and that has actionable and useful content. What is useful content? Any content that a consumer can use… Read More

The lifeblood of your business is enticing visitors to sample what you’re offering in the hopes that they will convert into clients who continue to see value in purchasing your goods and services. But how do you do that? In an amusing post, social media expert Bryan Eisenberg repeated this quote from North Carolina Head… Read More

When you’re trying to increase your business’ online presence, you want to utilize strategies that are beneficial, and avoid those that are costly and time-consuming with a low yield. One good thing about Internet marketing is that it enables you to make quick, course-correcting decisions once you realize what’s not working. So to help guide… Read More

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is so commonly used now that is has become nearly a curse word in online marketing. But the truth is that SEO is a beast that you can tame if you approach it with the right mindset, and the tools needed to wrangle the monster. And as content strategist Lisa Barone… Read More

There’s no question that marketing your business is the key to attracting and sustaining your targeted consumers. But if you employ outdated marketing strategies, you may find yourself unfavorably compared to a competitor who has seized on the most up-to-date methods to brand its business and appeal to motivated consumers. So how exactly do you… Read More

One of the key aspects of an effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is the usage of keywords that convey relevance and value to visitors who search for the services and products you offer. In a recent article, marketing expert Bryan Eisenberg talked about the 5 R’s of SEO as being content that has reach,… Read More

One of the most important parts of online reputation management is maintaining what are known as your local listings. Your local listings are the information you will find about your business on websites and applications designed to give consumers localized information about the area around them. Some of the most well known places where these… Read More

As the owner of an online business, you can read all the advice you want about SEO, CRO, ROI, and all the other acronyms that provide great tips about boosting  the number of visitors to your website. But the truth is that it doesn’t matter how many people you entice to your site if you… Read More

A key, and sometimes pivotal point in the life of any startup is when the time comes to put the initial team together. Finding the right group of people to pull your idea out of its infancy and guide it through to the next level is of the utmost importance. A great team can help… Read More

Email marketing – sometimes you wonder how many people actually still use their email. Everyone is guilty of using an old email to sign up for something just so an employee will stop hassling you or you can use the website without having to worry about bombarding emails. Many businesses probably wonder on a daily… Read More

So you’ve spent years honing your products and services to the point where they are as good as can be, and now you’re ready to unleash them on the world. Except, that market that you’re targeting is already inundated with so many companies that it’s going to be difficult to make your business stand out.… Read More

No matter how great your products and services are, your business won’t survive if you can’t get the word out to prospective consumers. But in the digital age, there are so many different ways to advertise that it can be quite a challenge figuring out whom to target, when to target them and on what… Read More

If there’s one thing that holds true about digital marketing, it’s that there is no shortage of people, pages and blogs with advice about how you should handle your digital marketing. On one hand, this is a good thing. There’s a constant flow of new ideas and places to look for inspiration when you’re not… Read More

So you’ve made it over that first marketing hurdle. You’re no longer the only one reading the content you’ve created. It took some time, but the persistence paid off and you’re starting to see some consistent traffic coming in. There’s only one problem — most of the people who are hitting your pages seem to… Read More

One of the biggest changes that is emerging as a result of the widespread and ever-growing use of mobile devices is the use of voice search. Almost every device we use these days has some form of digital assistant that understands voice commands. iOS has Siri. Windows has Cortana, and Google, in a slightly more… Read More

Over the past five years, email marketing has become one of the most effective ways to reach your targeted audience, because it offers so many different ways to present your content. But as online marketing guru Barry Feldman discovered when he interviewed email marketing expert Hunter Boyle, one of the main reasons emails fail to… Read More

One of the biggest realities of the Internet is how it revolves so much around user-generated content. Today, just about anyone can be a publisher, and more importantly, it can be done for cheap. But that in and of itself is also problem. The ease of creating and publishing content means readers now have to… Read More

Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere for the last few weeks, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Pokemon Go. As a truly unique form of mobile gaming, the new app has attracted an unbelievable amount of attention as well as an enormous base of players, both children and adults, all over the world. So far,… Read More

Let’s continue with our series on how you can use Pokemon Go to boost your business. In part one, we talked about how to find out if you happen to be near one of the game’s Pokespots or gyms. We also talked about how to take advantage of the Pokespots by purchasing and using lures… Read More

Let’s continue with our series on how you can use Pokemon Go to boost your business. In part one, we talked about how to find out if you happen to be near one of the game’s Pokespots or gyms. We also talked about how to take advantage of the Pokespots by purchasing and using lures… Read More

Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere for the last few weeks, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Pokemon Go. As a truly unique form of mobile gaming, the new app has attracted an unbelievable amount of attention as well as an enormous base of players, both children and adults, all over the world. So far,… Read More

So you’ve had your website up and running for a few months, and you’ve been working hard to build a list of email subscribers, just like all the big name marketing gurus say you should. You’ve already got more names on that list than you thought you’d ever get. It’s amazing how many people actually… Read More

Even though social media has existed for quite some time now, it’s still a relatively new concept in the grand scheme of things. We’ve never had such an easy way to connect with so many people so quickly. Like any technology that is still evolving, there is a lot of misinformation about social media that… Read More

Social media can work wonders for your business. With literally billions of users checking in on social platforms every day, the possible reach is virtually endless. It goes far beyond any other marketing medium we’ve known. Navigating social media can be a bit like traveling through the wild west. Much of what happens is in… Read More

With any new business, marketing is always a top priority. After all, if nobody knows about your business, you aren’t going to have one for long. Getting the word out to as many people as possible is of the utmost importance. There’s no denying you’re going to have to do some work to get things… Read More

Your website is looking good. You’ve got top-of-the-line design. You’ve got real content. People are interested, and maybe they’re even sharing and talking about what you’re doing. Are you ready for it? Do you have what you need to turn those visitors into bonafide leads? Once they’ve shown interest in your free content, it’s time… Read More

SEO is an ever-changing part of running a business online. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out, or if you’ve had one or more sites online for years. Search engine optimization is one of those things that you need to keep up with and maintain constantly. A big part of keeping up with SEO… Read More

At one time, SEO and marketing were two separate things. Search engine optimization was just a small part of an overall strategy. Today, the two are virtually inseparable. If SEO is not a part of your marketing strategy, you might as well not have a strategy at all. In modern business, you absolutely must have… Read More

If you want to take your paid advertising to the next level, you need to be using Google AdWords. I’ve written at length about this versatile platform, and why you absolutely need it. It’s the Holy Grail of internet advertising, and if you’re a savvy business owner in {ip:cityName}, you’ve likely already made it a… Read More

You can manage just about every aspect of your business online. You probably already rely on the Internet to build robust marketing campaigns, manage your payroll, and track inventory, but if you’re anything like my clients, you’ve likely failed to focus on one very important area: reputation management. When our mothers and fathers were starting… Read More

How many overwhelmingly positive SEO experiences have you had? Where the page you painstakingly optimized actually performed as expected? The traffic flowed steadily, you received a number of quality backlinks, and even generated a number of sales. It’s pretty hard to do in the hypercompetitive world of 2016, and it feels amazing when you succeed… Read More

Last week I wrote about the importance of hiring a talented copywriter. As I mentioned, nothing hurts a business quite like sloppy copy. It makes you look unprofessional, it can cost you potential sales, and it can really make it difficult for you to advertise successfully. Continuing in that same vein, I’d like to address… Read More

You’ve got a website. You’ve got an email platform to capture leads and stay in contact with your fans. You’ve got a company blog, vibrant pictures, a bunch of great products – and you’re still not getting ANY website hits. It’s maddening. There’s nothing worse than pouring a lot of time and energy into creating… Read More

It’s really no question at all – your business’ website should absolutely have a blog! I know what you’re probably thinking: Blogs are a waste of time. Blogs are for Game of Thrones conspiracy theories, not businesses. My company can’t possibly benefit from having a blog. Wrong, wrong, and wrong again. No matter how “unsexy”… Read More

Look, I get it. Social media is everywhere, and it often feels like it’s better at promoting divisiveness than it is at boosting connectivity. Whenever I log on, all I seem to see is people using it for – in my opinion, anyway – all the wrong reasons. I cringe every time I see my… Read More

No matter where you look, you’re going to find marketing advice in every corner of the web that tells you how you need to take advantage of social media if you want to succeed today. So off you go and now you’ve got your Facebook account, your Twitter account and maybe you even signed up… Read More

Don’t Delete Negative Comments Nothing will speed a customer through the stages of unhappy to infuriated faster than having their comments deleted from your website or social media pages. If there’s one thing you never want to do, it’s to make an already unhappy customer even more unhappy. If someone is unhappy or even angry… Read More

Don’t Hide From Problems Not responding to a problem at all can do just as much harm as responding badly. Ignoring a customer on the Internet is the same as ignoring a customer who’s walked into a brick and mortar store. Have you ever walked into a store with a problem or a question and… Read More

Marketing is much more than flashing an ad in front of someone and turning them into a drooling zombie who absolutely must have your product. Maybe in a perfect world, but alas, we do not live in that world. I’m sure this comes as no surprise to you. Learning to think like one of your… Read More