Leanne Nelson+ by | Sep 10, 2013 | Content marketing
One of the more popular phrases when it comes to the online presence of businesses lately is content marketing. “You should focus on content marketing”; “Content marketing is the best way to increase your exposure”; “How to create epic content marketing” and variations of the theme are all over the place. All very well, but what is content marketing? First ask, “What is content?” Perhaps firstly we should think about what “content” is. Content is information. Blog posts, news, photos, presentations, infographics and so on are all content. There’s plenty of it around. Useful content is something that someone is interested in consuming. Someone that is in your market. So what is content marketing then? The key is to produce useful content and present it to your market in an interesting, accessible way all the while keeping your marketing goals in mind. Content marketing falls under that beast called internet marketing. Ugh. Dodgy brothers, right? Well, yes and no. Unfortunately there is no shortage of scammers that will willingly take your dollars in the name of internet marketing. But on the other hand, it is a legitimate and effective form of marketing. The key is to produce useful content and present it to your market in an interesting, accessible way all the while keeping your marketing goals in mind. Why would I bother? The internet gives everyone a voice. It gives your competitors a voice. It gives you a cost-effective way to reach a potentially unlimited number of customers. But you need to be in it to win it, so to speak. Simply having a website isn’t enough. Search...
Leanne Nelson+ by | Jul 30, 2012 | Content marketing
A presence on the web makes great business sense. It’s not difficult to set up, build and maintain any number of websites and social media accounts. In fact, the hard part is deciding which web presence to build. Of course, your choice will largely depend on your business goals and marketing strategies but there are a few rules of thumb to help you decide. Build a website I believe the most important web presence for any business is its website. More and more, the first point of call when looking for products and services is the ubiquitous search engine. A website is your home on the interwebs. It’s a place that you own (I’m talking your own domain here, not something hosted on WordPress.com or your ISP’s free website). This is the place that’s designed to suit your business and operates by your rules. It might be your online store – your only shopfront. It might provide information about your services. It might be a news or education source for your clients. Get on social media Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, … where to first? Any and all of these social media services can help you build relationships with your clients. The key is to only choose the ones that you’re willing to spend time in developing and working on AND the ones your clients, potential and existing, are using. Unfortunately, it’s not a case of build it and they will come. However, done properly, social media can benefit your business enormously. There is a big BUT with social media, though. You don’t “own” your social media property like you...
