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Archives for May 2014

May 30, 2014 By Benjamin Porter Leave a Comment

When to Speak Up on Political Issues

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Marketing to women

This weekend’s mass shooting in Santa Barbara has resulted in more than just another call for gun control. This round of gun violence, which specifically targeted women, has reinvigorated the nation’s conversation about misogyny and the harm it inflicts on society.

Here at Brandsplat, it’s not often that we advise our clients to get political with their blogs or social media posts. But we’re making an exception in the aftermath of this news, which joins other recent horrific acts of violence against women, including the highly-publicized abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria and this weekend’s stoning death of a pregnant Pakistani woman.

However regrettable, outsized violence against women is something that occurs every day in every society, regardless of its laws, its traditions or its culture. So why do we recommend treating this differently and speaking up now (other than it being the right thing to do)?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but, THIS IS YOUR DEMOGRAPHIC. Women are far more likely to interact with a brand online than men, according to a recent Finances Online infographic. They’re also more likely to interact more often and for a wider range of uses. What’s more, women use their mobile devices to engage their spheres of influence, and since this market is growing fast, you want to be in there. Social media is where women, more than men, get their news and share their opinions on what they read.

Need specifics? How about this: 22% of women shop online at least once a day, with 92% passing along information about deals or finds to others, according to Ogilvy & Mather. Or this: 85% of all consumer purchases are made by women.

In other words, women have the power to make or break your brand. And because they’re more socially motivated as a group, not saying anything in the face of this onslaught will get you noticed — and not in the way you want.

That’s not to say you can get away with simply giving lip service to the problem by slapping a trending hashtag on your tweets. Dig deep, people. Start with your female employees. Ask if any of them would like to organize some kind of company-wide awareness and volunteering initiative. See if there’s a need in your community for a coalition of businesses to fund anti-violence efforts (there is). If you’re a leader in your field, raise awareness across your category. Encourage open dialogue. Listen. Listen harder.

Then partner with one or more organizations that work to inspire confidence in girls.

Go beyond putting your money where your mouth is. Put your money where our future is. No hashtag required.

To see the full infographic and article by Alex Hillsberg, go here.

Filed Under: Brand Engagement, Digital Engagement Tagged With: ISLA VISTA shooting, marketing to women, violence against women, women

May 23, 2014 By Benjamin Porter Leave a Comment

Three Benefits of Blogging You Might Have Missed

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Three Benefits of Blogging You Might Have Missed

 

Most business owners now understand the importance of blogging in terms of raising the profile of their business, both online and in their local community. But even those who were early adopters of blogging as part of their marketing strategy for their business don’t always think of the following three benefits:

1. Ward off competition

It’s true: Blogging can help your business stave off a competitor. Let’s say you run a small consulting firm specializing in helping companies save money on their telecommunications bill. If you’re doing it well, your blog is full of stories of satisfied customers and tips that make it clear that you’re the expert in a particular niche. Why would a potential competitor want to have to try to prove that she is more awesome than you when you’ve already cornered that market?

2. Attract investors

In the same vein, having this record of your thoughts and experiences can also lead to someone saying, “That company has a great business model and is led by a fabulous person. I’d like to meet with them and see if I can be part of their future success.” And once you sit down with this potential investor, they already feel as though they know you, your dreams and your company’s raison d’être.

3. Organize your own thoughts (and get feedback!)

Kind of like keeping a journal, a business blog helps you keep track of ideas that you’re considering for your company. Better yet, they’re ideas that your audience can weigh in on. Say you run a small chain of coffee houses in a tri-state area and you hit upon an idea: What if your stores hosted an open mike night or a poetry slam? By blogging about it, you can both record your idea and gauge potential interest in these events. Maybe your readers aren’t that interested in either idea, but they would like to see you make room for a mother/daughter tea event. There’s extra revenue, just like that.

We know what you’re thinking: “Man, I have GOT to get on this blogging thing, even though I have no time!” Don’t worry… we can help you out. We work closely with our clients to go beyond informative blog writing — we study your industry, learn its acronyms, talk about your dreams. In short, we capture your voice.

So when it’s time to finally start that blog, or turn your existing one over to a professional who can be sure it gets updated more than once a quarter, give us a call at (800) 299-5498 or shoot us an email at hello [at] brandsplat [dot] com. We’ll have your blog working for you in no time!

Filed Under: Blog Content Management, Blog Marketing, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing Tagged With: blogging as part of their marketing strategy, blogging for business

May 16, 2014 By Benjamin Porter 1 Comment

How NOT to Attract Business with Your Blog

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Just as responsible attorneys deplore ambulance-chasing hacks, we here at Brandsplat get our dander up when we see the art of attracting business through blogging debased with thoughtless posts. After all, our writers take great pride in their work and enjoy partnering with our clients to establish just the right tone and content necessary to increase traffic to their stores or offices. So we occasionally get little rants emailed around the office when they stumble across something especially bad.

Here are the top three types of posts that you DON’T want to have associated with your business (and which we promise never to write for you):

1. The Not-So-Humble-Brag Blog: This post is irritating in part because it has so much promise. The business has won some kind of recognition or reached a milestone and rightly wants its customers to know. So far, so good; sharing these accomplishments can help improve a company’s image with its current and prospective customers or reinforce an already good reputation. But in this case, the writer went tone deaf and belted out an egregiously self-congratulatory blog, forgetting to thank the company’s employees as well as other stakeholders. What could have been a gracious reminder of why customers choose to do business with this company instead prompts customers to ask, “Do I want to be associated with this kind of pompous behavior?” Brandsplat tip: Spread praise evenly for best results.

2. The Close-But-No-Cigar Blog: We’ll admit to geeking out a bit when a blog comes across our laptops with a Big Idea. Maybe it’s a philosophical confrontation of the nature of a company’s business a la Jerry Maguire. Maybe it’s a connect-the-dots piece that helps us write even more meaningfully about a certain topic. These types of blogs are rare and, when well done, command attention. However, the great majority get bogged down by a lack of proper execution. Some of them start out well, but the line of reasoning isn’t clearly borne out. Others have so many grammatical errors that we can’t see the argument for the typos. And nearly all need a good editor to stand back and say, “I do not think it means what you think it means.” Even your shampoo bottle knows enough to recommend that you rinse and repeat — or in this case, wait a few hours and review your work with fresh eyes. Or, even better (and this brings us to our Brandsplat tip): Have someone else look at your blogs before you hit the big button.

3. The My-Political-Opinion-Is-Better-Than-Yours Blog: Sure, most of us know that business and politics don’t mix; you’re more likely to offend someone and lose their business than you are to impress an already-like-minded individual and gain theirs. Unfortunately, there are plenty of opportunities for the politics of business to creep into a company’s blog (say, proposed tax code changes or a news story that criticizes hiring practices in a company’s industry). That’s usually when the trouble starts. This is particularly true when the business owner is handling a lot of the marketing him- or herself, as there’s no counter-check on what’s being put out there (see point 2). But let’s say the writer pulls it off and pens a post in praise of something he or she considers innocuous, like helping little old ladies cross the street. That’s when the blog’s readers take over and start commenting, adding their own two inflammatory cents. Haven’t enabled comments? That’s OK, they’ll just share your blog on Facebook with their own take — likely one you’d never want associated with your business. Brandsplat tip: Remember, it’s all too easy to start out writing about the virtues of a particular position and end up sunk in vitriol.

Interestingly, these poor choices often happen when writers feel pressured to “put something up on the blog already!” and don’t have the time to think through what they’ve written. That’s just another reason to hire a content marketing service, and we happen to know a good one. Let us know if we can help by emailing hello [at] brandsplat [dot] com or calling 800-299-5498.

Filed Under: Blog Marketing Tagged With: blog post tips, blog posts, types of blog posts

May 9, 2014 By Benjamin Porter 1 Comment

Four Ingredients in the Brandsplat Secret Recipe for Content Marketing Greatness

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Four Ingredients in the Brandsplat Secret Recipe for Content Marketing Greatness

 

Easy, Col. Sanders: We’re not giving away the store. But we’ll share a portion of our secret recipe for content marketing greatness with you today. (Psst! Check back every week for more ingredients and eventually you’ll have all the ingredients you need!) Why would we share this information with you, knowing you could apply these tips yourself, you ask? Because what’s great for content anywhere is great for content everywhere. We don’t want a sloppy Internet. Besides, we’re betting if you cook up great content using our tips, you’ll have more success than you have time to deal with and then you’ll look to us to take over!

So, without further ado, here are a few tips for tasty content:

1. Focus on the benefits, not the features:

Go beyond writing about a particular product or service’s features — instead, write about the benefits of the product or service. This allows your target audience to imagine themselves and their lives being made better in the short- or long-term. That’s ultimately what closes the deal for you.

2. Use an active voice:

Too many great ideas have failed to be communicated due to passive voice syndrome. Education is key to ensuring your idea isn’t next.

3. Use bulleted lists:

Bullets help readers more quickly understand how much content they’re agreeing to read — an important part of the give-and-take relationship of content marketing. Every time we write a blog, we know that we’re asking someone to give us the time it will take them to read something in exchange for the information

4. Be brief:

Along the lines of #3, remember that keeping your content short and sweet helps keep readers engaged with your piece — and keeps them coming back for more. One caveat, however: Make sure you don’t sacrifice the proper content tone for the sake of brevity. No one wins when that happens.

Got your hands full in the kitchen? Need help whipping up some delicious content? Let Brandsplat be your sous chef. Give us a call today at 800-299-5498 or email us at hello [at] brandsplat [dot] com and watch us cook!

Filed Under: Brand Engagement, Online Marketing Tagged With: content marketing, content tips

May 2, 2014 By Benjamin Porter Leave a Comment

Good Traffic But Low Conversion? Time to Rethink Your Content

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Good Traffic But Low Conversion? Time to Rethink Your Content

 

We’ve all been to a website, blog or social media page that left us wanting. Maybe we didn’t find the information we wanted. Maybe the information was there but something about it left us feeling uncertain. Maybe there was too much information, leaving us feeling overwhelmed.

The blame for each of these opt-outs can be traced directly back to poorly-written or -strategized content. If you’re seeing a good number of visitors stepping into your virtual showroom but leaving without converting — whether that means buying a product, signing up for a newsletter or contacting you directly to learn more about the services you offer — you’re likely looking at bad content.

The good news is that it can be faster, cheaper and easier to fix bad content than it is to overhaul an entire website. So before you say, “Let’s just start over!,” check your content for these key traits:

1. Quality — Was your content written with a strategy in mind? Does it clearly demonstrate the value of your offerings? Did the writer identify one or more personae to address? Does it feel like it is written to a single person or a small group of people rather than the entire Internet? If you can’t say “yes” confidently to these questions, you’re likely coming off as sloppy, impersonal or bland.

2. Quantity — There should be just enough content to inform and incentivize your visitors, but not enough to make them feel like reading it is a chore. One good way to check for too much quantity is to ask yourself if you see information that’s not absolutely crucial for conversion. If you answer “yes,” that may be discouraging visitors. On the other hand, if you don’t provide enough content, you may not be adequately distinguishing yourself from your competition. Basically, your content should cover your value proposition — why they should choose you over someone else — as well as a bit of background. More is too much, less is too little.

3. Calls to Action — Great content gives visitors clear next steps to take in order to encourage their conversion. What does your content currently ask them to do? If nothing, there’s your problem. If you’re using CTAs but still not getting conversions, check to see whether the CTAs are clear, ensuring that they explain what the visitor is agreeing to provide in exchange as part of the conversion.

If you know you need help but aren’t sure how to fix it yourself, give the awesome content strategists at Brandsplat a call today at 800-299-5498. We’ll review your content and give you our two cents on how we can improve your conversion rate quickly and affordably.

Filed Under: Brand Engagement, Digital Engagement, Online Brand Management Tagged With: call to action, conversion, great content

BRANDSPLAT creates articles, blogs, social media, and all written content in the voice of your brand. Our clients include entrepreneurs, personalities, mid-size companies, and some of the world's biggest brands.

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