What works for you may not work for someone else, and what works for someone else may not work for you. Read between the lines to find this lesson in each of this week's top five marketing stories from InboundMarketing.com:
1. 10 Reasons Why You Won't Do Content Marketing
Author: Joe Pulizzi
As Pulizzi points out, many companies simply "won't" do content marketing, and they have a myriad of reasons why. Joe lists the top ten reasons, which range from the wrong mindset to misplaced values to neglecting to implement measurement techniques.
Pulizzi says that it's important for a company to know the reasons why they do not want to do something, as this might help that company "pull the trigger." The process may be difficult, but the payoff is worth it.
Lesson: Know Why You Say "No"
2. Small Business Branding- 4 Main Visitors to Your Website
Author: Suzanne Vara
For small businesses, search engine optimization can be crucial for bringing in traffic to a website, and developing keywords and producing content is essential. But, as Vara says, you also need to take your potential customers into consideration: "Who are they, what terms are they searching and where are they in the buying process?"
By creating a persona of the customer you'd like to sell to, you can try to better understand the visitors who are coming to your website, and produce content that is relevant and valuable for them.
Lesson: Develop a Persona
3. Not Every CEO Needs to Be a Social-Media Star
Author: Judy Shapiro, Advertising Age
In this article, Shapiro argues against a recently published study that criticizes CEOs of Fortune 100 companies for not being actively involved in social media. She contests that it's simply not realistic or even beneficial for every CEO to be deeply engaged in social media, citing security as a main issue.
If a CEO has the time to Twitter or the legal flexibility and the inspiration to start a blog, then good for that person. But as Shapiro says, otherwise, we need to lay off the CEOs.
Lesson: Social Media Is Not Always the Answer
4. Luring Local Traffic to Your Web Site
Author: Emily Maltby
Local search is great for small businesses who have a defined audience, and this article gives some ideas of how a business can optimize its website to bring in more local search traffic. Maltby lists "three key elements" as "content, search-engine rankings and design."
By appealing to potential clients, providing content that is informative and relevant to their needs, and making it easy for them to contact you, you can be well on your way to converting more of your local visitors into customers.
Lesson: Know the Locals
5. 8 Dimensions of Excellent Landing Pages
Author: Scott Brinker
In this article, Brinker introduces the "Landing Page Wonder Wheel" as an assessment tool for landing page content and effectiveness. Brinker's eight "dimensions" of the wheel include visual design, depth, freshness, boldness and others.
The purpose of the wheel is to help a company understand what they are doing right with landing pages and where they could use some improvement. The shape of the wheel is used to show the quality of the landing pages, the rounder and larger the wheel, the better.
Lesson: Watch Where They Land
Photo Credit: ninjaneil902
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