Are You Ready to Serve on a Board?
Giving of your time and talent to serve as a board director for a professional, service or charitable organization can be a rewarding, demanding, challenging and life-changing experience. Making the most of board service to foster both your personal growth, as well as that of the organization you have decided to affiliate with, should be the focus of any board appointment you seek out and/or accept.
Whether you are hoping to make a difference, give back, or simply looking for a new challenge, board service is often considered an expected step along your career path. Doing so not only affirms your expertise and community commitment, it can also further enhance your reputation. As noted by BoardSource, a national organization aimed at strengthening nonprofit board leadership, board members provide the critical intellectual capital and strategic resources to power nonprofit success and strengthen communities.
Just as there are many different reasons for serving on a board, they are many nonprofit boards to choose from. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics there are 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States, including charities, chambers of commerce, private foundations, civic leagues, economic development and fraternal organizations. All have boards of directors who are seeking volunteers, particularly when it comes to strategy, finance, marketing and diversity. Before you lend your time and talent, consider not only what you hope to give, but what you hope to gain from your board service.
Determine the Path That Is Right for You
What are you passionate about? Answering this question will help steer you in the direction where you can have the most impact and receive the greatest satisfaction. You want to make a commitment and invest your time to initiatives and causes that are meaningful to you personally and/or professionally, because as a board member you become an ambassador for that organization. It is easy to talk about issues and causes that inspire you and where you feel rewarded by your contributions.
What skills can you build upon? Many times your initial involvement on a board of directors is based on what skills and expertise you bring to the table. However, because boards are typically made up of people from diverse backgrounds and experience, they offer an opportunity to strengthen your team building skills, while expanding knowledge and understanding through different perspectives. Being open to different paths to success or seeing things through a different lens helps everyone, and the organization, be better together.
Are you ready to expand your network? Being recognized as an expert or community influencer is why you became part of a board in the first place. Now that you are serving as a director affords you the opportunity to elevate your profile. Your service on a board adds to your credibility and can further build your personal and professional reputation. This not only increases the number of people who seek you out, but broadens your horizons and expands access to new relationships that can influence and shape your future goals.
How much are you willing to give? Beyond the monthly board meeting, it is important to remember that serving as a board director will also lead to committee work and asking for financial support. As BoardSource points out, one of the primary responsibilities of board directors is to ensure the organization has the resources necessary to carry out its mission. Demonstrating your own commitment as a donor and supporter of the organization you are serving makes it easier to ask others for support. This is where your passion and commitment for what you are doing shine through and puts words into action.
Other Considerations
The other thing to keep in mind is that less may be more. While being asked to serve on multiple boards is flattering, asking yourself the above questions can help you identify one or two that truly inspire you, and where you feel your time and talent can have the most impact. You don’t want to serve in name only.
Also ask yourself if serving on a nonprofit board may be a stepping-stone to serving on a for-profit board. If so, your experience and expanded network can help take you to the next level.
Most importantly, remember your board service should be rewarding. It is about connecting what you are passionate about, advocating for a cause or issue and making an impact. Where can you make a difference?
Questions?
Have questions about your organization’s public relations and reputation management? Millennium can help you build credibility and increase awareness. Call 877-873-7445 or email me at [email protected].
About Millennium Agency
Millennium Agency is a nationally recognized, top woman led B2B branding, positioning, and digital marketing firm who knows how to create value that emotionally influences your customer’s buying decision, giving you the competitive advantage. As your trusted partner in B2B software technology and manufacturing, we provide the branding and positioning framework that make an impact – so you can focus on what you do best – run your business successfully. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, and a worldwide presence, the professionals at Millennium Agency would like to learn more about your business. Visit www.mill.agency or book time here.
Understanding Healthcare Social Media
Community health, patient experience and visual content— these are key focus areas for healthcare social media.
Today, hospitals and providers seek to make tracks towards greater patient engagement.
The time is now. It is no longer a question if hospitals and healthcare systems should be on social media, but how effectively they are using it to connect with their current and potential patients to build brand awareness, loyalty and market share.
Joining the Social Conversation
According to a study by the Ohio Hospital Association and MindSet Digital, more than half of the 83 hospitals surveyed spent upwards of 50% of their marketing communication on social media. It was less than 10% three years ago. You know your patients are talking, but do you know on what channels? For your social media efforts to be effective, you need to be engaging them where they already are.
Facebook is the dominant platform being used for healthcare social media by hospitals and patients alike, which also mirrors the national trend of 71% of all Internet users being on Facebook, according to a study done by the Pew Research Center. Following Facebook, the Ohio study found hospitals are also using YouTube and Twitter, with LinkedIn, blogging and Instagram gaining ground.
Have a Plan
* Remember, it is a two-way conversation. You are going to get questions and comments and you better be ready to respond, or you will quickly lose your credibility and your audience.
* Who will respond? In most hospitals, the marketing and/or public relations department will manage social media as part of the overall strategic communications plan. But larger hospitals and healthcare systems can have multiple managers. Make sure there are clear guidelines for your response protocols that are accurate and timely.
* Have a content plan: Of course you are going to want to promote providers, events and success stories, but it can’t be all about you. You need to think about what is trending in healthcare social media, what your patients are talking about and what your community needs are so that there is relevant, useful information and news they can use every day.
* Measure results: Initially impressions, likes, comments, share, favorites and retweets might be your primary metrics. Ultimately, however, you want to make a connection between social media and your market share, and will want to track patient inquiries with your hospital practices and services.
Visual Content is Key
Never has the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” been more true as it is today. Think of it as the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale having gone mainstream as the more common Emoji—you know in an instant if someone is happy, sad, excited, in love. As our digestion of online content has gone mobile, if we can’t see it, we aren’t likely to stop and read it.
The same is true with your promotional news and events that you will share on social media. Your community doesn’t want to read about it, they want to experience it. They want to see the provider, feel the excitement of crossing the finish line, and connect with family members of the patient whose life was saved.
According to Google’s Think Insights, YouTube traffic to hospital sites has increased 119% year-over-year. This is because you can deliver a very human experience up front that demonstrates your featured provider’s, and hospital’s, capabilities. By being emotionally invested, a potential patient is more likely to take the next step to learn more.
A case in point is Dr. Howard Luks. A New York based orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Luks has been called a pioneer in healthcare social media, as well as one of its top 100 influencers. In an August 3, 2013, article in Modern Healthcare, Dr. Luks spoke about how he posts educational tweets and health advice, writes articles and shares videos of him discussing common orthopedic injuries. He said, “A Web presence humanizes our existence. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear from my patients, ‘You’re exactly like you were in your videos.’”
Promote Health and Wellness
Population health, preventive medicine and managing chronic disease are the main tenants of holding people more accountable for their health in this new era of medicine. One of the best ways to create community around health is through social media, about topics that are of interest to your population. As Paul Matsen, chief marketing and communications officer at Cleveland Clinic told HealthLeaders Media, “Social media gives us an opportunity to be a meaningful, helpful part of our people’s everyday lives when they aren’t sick or don’t need our services.”
Recognized as a leader in healthcare social media, Cleveland Clinic’s social media strategy has proven its sustainability with over 1.5 million fans on Facebook and a half million followers on Twitter. The secret, says Matsen, is building relationships with their healthcare consumers that transcends time and space. And, they don’t typically post about their own organization very often. Instead, the focus is, and should be for all, helping your patients and community make healthy decisions everyday: at home, about exercise, at the grocery store, at the pharmacy and when visiting your doctor. The key is to focus on the little things everybody can do every day to make a big impact in their life over the long term.
Talk About Patient Satisfaction
Customer experience is among the top priorities for businesses large and small, and in hospitals the patient experience is tops among critical measures in healthcare alongside quality, health outcomes and patient safety. As patients are being asked to be more of a stakeholder and accountable for their own care, so too are providers being held accountable for a patient’s overall satisfaction with that care. Just because you are down the block, doesn’t mean you are the provider of choice by default. Patients want quality, value and personal care, and they are increasingly turning to social media to make decisions about their healthcare.
Social media is today’s word-of-mouth, but with a much bigger audience. If a patient is happy with their care you might hear about it. If they are unhappy with their care you will definitely hear about it, and so will everyone else. That’s why it is important to respond, and quickly. No comment and deleting negative comments about your hospital are not options. Respond immediately. This doesn’t mean the whole situation needs to be played out on Facebook and Twitter, but it does call for a meaningful response that:
* Acknowledges the patient’s complaint.
* Thanks them for their feedback.
* Shows empathy for their situation.
* Provides options for addressing their issue appropriately.
* Reaffirms your hospital cares about the patient perspective and welcomes feedback.
The same protocol can be followed for positive comments as well, because nine out of 10 times, someone else will chime in, reaffirming the patient experience.
Keep it Going
Whether you are just joining the healthcare social media conversation or looking to amplify your hospital’s existing social scene, engage current and future patients with visual content that connects emotionally. Share and discuss information that meets your community’s population health needs. And ensure patient satisfaction with timely, compassionate responses to their shared experiences, good and bad. Need a prescription for a healthcare social media strategy the increases brand awareness, patient engagement and market share? Schedule your appointment with Millennium today! Call 1-877-873-7445, email me directly at [email protected] or connect via Twitter or LinkedIn.
It Starts With “Hello”
Jerry McGuire had her at “Hello.” Adele had us all at “Hello.” A simple “Hello” can be what makes the difference in the success of your brand’s customer experience.
So much of marketing communications and public relations is about connecting with our target audiences and getting them through the front door, whether it is to attend an event, make a purchase or support a cause. We craft custom content and use imaging that best promotes the product or service being offered within the context of the overall organizational brand. It’s what happens after our target audience has made the decision to engage—the customer experience—that will have the biggest impact on the success for your marketing, public relations and living up to your brand promise.
It is what Forrester Research refers to as “signature moments.” A colleague of mine who worked at a hospital often shared stories about patient encounters. The hospital does not have valet parking, however she recalls at least three occasions when patients handed her their car keys, she went in search of their vehicle and drove it around to the front door. A simple gesture of assistance made an impression, because she recognized an opportunity. Engaging a customer with a simple and sincere “hello” or “may I help you” can open doors to a rewarding experience for you and your customer.
It’s the Journey, Not Just the Destination
This is the age of the consumer and Forrester Research notes that customer experience rose to be the number one priority factor in 2015. While digital is the primary vehicle for personalizing, promoting and connecting target audiences with the brand and delivering on the promise is very much a human experience. As explained in an article in the Harvard Business Review, the customer experience has to meet or exceed the brand promise throughout the customer’s journey, both virtually and face-to-face.
Disney and Southwest Airlines are two companies that are renowned for their focus on the customer experience. How are they so successful at delivering a consistent experience? Their employees. Both companies recognize that their number one brand ambassadors, the ones who are going to deliver on the brand promise, are not the CEO, but the front line employees. By empowering their employees to resolve issues on the front line, the top companies provide opportunities to deliver on those “signature moments,” personalize the customer experience and deepen brand awareness and loyalty. This does not mean every issue centers around conflict resolution. Sometimes it is simply about sensing that there is an opportunity to make a difference and acting on it with something as simple as “hello.“ As the saying goes, “it’s the little things.”
Served, Not Sold. Involved, Not Told
Patrick Jackson is a legend in the public relations field. Always ahead of his time, he was a visionary on the power and importance of relationships to help organizations thrive. In the late 1990s, the Internet was in its infancy and social media wasn’t even on the horizon, but one thing Pat Jackson was often quoted on—and in this day of digital communications and social media, has never rang more true — was: “______ want to be served, not sold, and involved, not told.”
He said fill in the blank: employees, customers, shareholders, etc. Each depends on the other for our brand’s overall success, and with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, etc., the engagement is no longer top down. To be successful in business we have to continually monitor, listen, engage and respond throughout the customer’s journey with us, to stop and say “hello,” because if you don’t deliver the expected customer experience, someone else will.
Say “Hello”
Need help optimizing your customers’ experience both on and offline? Let’s talk. Call 1-877-873-7445, email me directly at [email protected] or connect via Twitter or LinkedIn.
Everywhere you look, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to name a few, hashtags are being used to curate content, build a community, and amplify campaigns around various topics, events, and brands. This hashtag symbol has taken over the social media world with it becoming a part of our everyday dialogue. A company that knows how to properly use this symbol in their online conversations can expect to see a growth in followers and the potential for those followers to become actual customers. With that being said, if your business is not yet on the hashtag bandwagon to better connect with consumers it’s missing a digital opportunity to grow business and missing this chance is a #fail. Here are some helpful hashtag tips that will enhance your marketing strategies:
Hashtags Promote your Brand
Hashtags give a brand greater visibility on social networking sites. They create searchable content for social users to click and explore. This appeals to consumers because they get to see feedback from other social users, which generates brand interest. Hashtags that are used less as a message and more as a call to action lead to greater brand engagement. Instead of hashtagging every word, it is important to create a single hashtag that can generate positive feedback, like Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke campaign. In just a few short months, this campaign reversed the decade long decline in Coke consumption. Not only did Coca-Cola print more than 1 million personalized cans this past summer, but the campaign’s website also let visitors type names to make “virtual” Coke bottles that they could share on social media. This was a huge success as well, with more than 6 million bottles shared. Just to show how far this little symbol has come, agencies dedicated to hashtag campaigns are popping up. Even corporate marketing departments now staff people whose primary function is to create hashtags and track their usage.
Hashtags Generate Loyal Customers
Because marketing has moved from a personal face-to-face communication style to a more digital communication style, it is important now more than ever to maximize customer loyalty. Customer loyalty is marketing’s Holy Grail. Building a relationship with customers is guaranteed to pay off because it secures their faithful return. Using hashtags allows your business to reach beyond your loyal customers so that your content is viewable by anyone who has an interest in your hashtag. According to SearchEngine.com, hashtags help drive engagement. When compared to tweets without a hashtag, tweets with hashtags showed 2X more engagement. However, you need to be cautious when choosing a hashtag. Studies show the shorter and more concise a hashtag is the better of a response it will generate. Another helpful tip is not to overuse the symbol because this will have an adverse effect and scare off consumers.
Hashtags Generate Sales and Income
Giving a brand visibility allows for more consumers and with more consumers comes greater sales and revenue. Creating a successful hashtag campaign can put an unknown company or brand on the map in a matter of hours. When a hashtag generates a social following, there is no telling just how huge this following could become. Take, for instance, #BreakTheInternet. This hashtag originated when celebrity Ellen Degeneres took a selfie with ten other celebrities while hosting the Emmy’s. This selfie blew up social media and for a moment actually broke Twitter. Kim Kardashian and Paper Magazine later teamed up and used this hashtag to promote her cover photo, which generated a massive amount of feedback and publicity and of course, made them big bucks. Tactics like this show just how influential and successful hashtags can be when it comes to marketing strategies.
One thing is for certain: tactics like this show just how influential and successful hashtags can be when it comes to marketing strategies. Millennium Integrated Marketing is no stranger to proper hashtag usage and I’m always available to chat social media strategies. Feel free to email me, Jess Chabot, at [email protected] or let’s strike up a conversation on Twitter.
Have you just discovered that your reputation management strategy is a major turn off to your critics and customers? Wondering how to respond? Should you fire back, get angry, censor comments, ignore the situation entirely or just let it all play out?
These are some of the questions marketers are faced with these days. With more consumers going online to share exactly what they think of brands and companies, it’s become increasingly difficult to capture every single thing that’s being shared.
As someone who is responsible for online reputation management, doesn’t it make you wonder just how many other channels are out there for customers and critics to share opinions on? Do you know what people are saying about your brand? Do you have a plan for responding to feedback?
If your answers are no, here are the hacks for improving your online reputation.
1. You Have to Cover Your Assets
The first step is to know exactly where you are online. The next step is coming up with a plan to use those assets to suit you.
Online reputation management today calls for a lot more than looking after a website. You need to be leveraging your social media channels as a way of attracting, engaging, and encouraging positive feedback.
2. It’s A Lot About Letting Go
You’re in control of where you’re present, what you post, and how you respond to comments. So be sure that your online approach is aligned and consistent for every platform. While it’s near impossible to censor every negative comment you have online, try to respond appropriately and consistently when you do come across negative feedback.
3. Rules of Engagement
It’s always a good idea to have influencers in your corner when issues arise. Take time to build and cultivate relationships online and you’ll be setting yourself up with an army who will assist you with approaching any issues if and when it happens.
4. Is It Time to Rethink Your Strategy?
If your approach to reputation management has not involved planning for or talking about negative feedback, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Managing your company reputation head on shows you really have listened and that there aren’t any off-limit subjects.
5. Don’t Get Negative!
If you counteract negativity with negativity, you’re going to have a disaster. Instead, take a positive approach. If you feel a formal response is in order, keep that positive outlook and show you’re open to feedback and happy to address comments head on.
6. There’s No Mistakes, Only Avoidances
Learning from a mistake is key to improving your reputation management strategy. Maybe you’ve previously responded negatively to negative feedback. Avoid making the same mistake and come up with a plan for addressing issues and offering positive insight.
7. Keep Monitoring
Ongoing monitoring of your reputation is crucial for protecting your online assets. Try implementing cost effective solutions that will allow you to monitor issues in real-time for quicker responses. Not only is it important to monitor your brand mane, but also your company, products, services and even the key executive’s online reputation.
Sometimes you just need a good sounding board for helping plan the best approach. Luckily, we have extensive experience in the area of reputation management and are always up for a chat. Feel free to give me, Jessica Chabot, a call at 1-877-873-7445, reach out on Twitter, or email me at [email protected] to learn more about how to plan for putting the best version of your brand out there.
Any public relations professional will cringe at the use of a cliché. Clichés are cheesy, overused, and at some point, become meaningless. PR gurus know the necessity for innovation and authenticity if they want to excel. However, clichés are useful when talking about company culture. In the PR world, company culture can make or break a business. Great company culture allows for great accomplishments. Bad company culture, on the flip side, can only be destructive. Here are three commonly used clichés that companies should practice in their daily routines for a great company culture.
Actions speak louder than words.
Remember when Nike denied the use of sweat shops and employing children to make their products? Or the BP oil spill catastrophe? Consumers are becoming more and more wary of big businesses these days. PR professionals have evolved from campaign pioneers to full-on reputation ambassadors. Instilling brand trust in a customer is a huge responsibility. Saying something in a press release is one thing, but following through with it is a much harder task. Practice honesty in the office. Companies that have an open, accepting atmosphere will foster a positive work environment. This honesty will penetrate into client relationships and the content you produce. And not only will your client become a trusted brand, but so will you.
You are what you eat.
Ok, let’s take this one figuratively. It’s impossible to avoid negative people in the workplace. But, if positive company culture doesn’t already exist, it won’t grow in an environment where people are putting each other down and creating distrust. Companies that host employee parties and outings, offer a plausible amount of vacation time, and employ people who treat others with respect are more successful. Why? Because they are fostering a workplace that allows you to “eat” good stuff – creativity, integrity, and fairness.
It’s not written in stone.
Lastly, it is crucial for companies and their employees to adapt. The world is changing and so are the rules for the communication. New strategies are implemented all the time. New technologies are produced faster than you can say iPhone 6 Plus. The ability to change with the industry and with a client is an integral aspect any successful business. This goes for company culture as well. Employees who are stuck in their ways or who are unwilling to ditch their old habits are a ticking time-bomb. Sooner or later the company will be outdated and out of clients. Empowering employees in the office to think outside the box and look through a different perspective will result in smarter thinkers and an environment that sparks creativity.
In today’s hectic world, how nice would it be to have everything you could possibly need right by your side? A company called BauBax did just that by designing clothing equipped with all your travel essentials built right into the fabric of their sweaters and jackets. Aside from the warmth and comfort of you favorite outerwear, a BauBax jacket includes 15 extra perks from a neck pillow and eye mask to a drink pocket and earphone holders. After raising over $3 million on Kickstarter, with an original goal of only $20,000, BauBax’s product design is indicative of how a master plan with ability to provide all the elements of value in one easy to implement structure can lead to success.
BauBax redefined the efficiency and functionality of their clothing line by strategically building solutions for the everyday traveler right into the framework of their product. A good social media strategy should do this too. Your audience is hard to reach. They have hectic schedules and an array of online stimulus tapping their short attention spans on a daily basis. Your social media interactions need to be personalized, consistent, and adaptable to achieve success, but this takes a plan. Just like the intricately woven details of a BauBax jacket causing it stand out against the competition, your social media plan should incorporate these eight elements to plan for social media success:
1. Identify Your Goals
Be sure your goals provide your company with a concrete direction of where you want to go. The important thing to remember is to keep your goals at a reasonable number. Having a few strong goals with a clear direction is better than having several general goals that are hard to measure and cause your resources to become constrained.
2. Understand Your Audience
Always deliver relevant content. Understanding your customer, what interests them, and how they interact with your content is essential to having a successful dialogue. Creating buyer personas containing detailed characteristics of your target audience(s) is a great way to determine how your social exchange will be crafted.
3. Analyze The Competition/Influencers
Take a look at how other companies and influencers in your industry are interacting on their social media channels. You can use this research to get started with methods that have shown success and also determine how you can set yourself apart to make your engagement unique and memorable.
4. Develop Your Content
Content is vital to any marketing initiative, but not all content is created equal. Don’t just produce copy to fill an empty space. Good content has a personality and that personality reflects your brand. It delivers an authentic message using a style and tone that aligns with your company’s brand and in a range of formats (text, infographics, images, videos) that resonates best with your audience. Content development is the oxygen to your social media strategy. Your message is important and the connection you make with your audience can create recurring value, so take care in how you craft your communications.
5. Choose Your Channels
Always remember you do not have to be active on every social media platform to be successful. Investigate which social channels would be a good fit for your brand and the social connection you are trying to make first, then invest in creating the right atmosphere for those channels with your content strategy. You can always add new social channels down the road, after learning how to make valuable connections with the initial set.
6. Choose Your Tools
Content calendars, publishing automation, editing tools and analytic reporting programs are all available to you to help make implementing your social media strategy as easy as possible. Once you have a thorough content plan in place you can make it more efficient with a range of social media tools.
7. Monitor Your Activity
Once your content is published be sure to continuously monitor it. It is important to see how customers are engaging with your content. You can build new, more relevant content from the feedback and positive interactions you are receiving, while also moderating negative encounters with responsive follow-ups.
8. Measure The Results
Lastly, always be sure to measure and report your results. Almost all social media programs provide some form of analytics. You can identify trends, make competitor comparisons, and evaluate aspects such as the timing and frequency of posts. Using data to review key performance indicators, especially what your customers like and dislike, will determine if your strategy is on target or if your methods need be adjusted to achieve future success.
Finding the right balance between these elements can be tricky. But, if you listen to your customers, curate engaging content, and continually monitor your efforts, then you will see a great social media strategy come together. When following a well-designed strategy, your internal resources will flourish and your customers will be anxiously awaiting the next serving of hand-crafted social content. Not only will your company succeed, but your customer’s preference will become more favorable and your audience will grow. Just like the BauBax jacket, creating something that contains all the right elements for efficiency and functionality can lead to great success.
To learn more about creating a social media strategy for your company contact Millennium Integrated Marketing today for a free consultation.
Though it has been around forever, content marketing seems to be the industry’s favorite buzzword lately. Producing quality content that generates a high level of engagement is every marketers dream. But, in light of this content frenzy some marketers have been quick to call other forms of marketing “dead,” which is the case for search engine optimization (SEO). Some have even claimed content marketing has replaced SEO all together.
We’re here to tell you that’s not the case. In fact, content marketing drives SEO. You can’t have content marketing without SEO, and you can’t have SEO without content marketing. Today, marketers of all kinds are quickly learning that when used together, these two practices produce valuable results.
Working Together
Content marketing and SEO’s functions drastically improve when used simultaneously. Over the years, SEO has transformed from providing exact keyword search results to topical keyword search results. Previously, marketers would arbitrarily insert keywords into content to increase rankings (even if this diminished the content quality). With topical search results, content creators can focus on the quality of the content. However, it is still advised to consciously incorporate exact keywords in your page titles, headers, and meta descriptions. By doing this, you are still practicing good SEO without sabotaging your content.
If your content is relevant and engaging, SEO keywords will thrive. You won’t need to purposely insert keywords if you are providing content your audience truly wants to see. And with high-quality content comes the opportunity for more backlinks to your site. Again, you are practicing SEO through your content marketing strategy.
Even better, the web can document customer response. By reviewing what your audience is saying in comments on and shares of your posts, you can verify your keywords or learn what keywords you should be incorporating.
Keep in mind that using content marketing and SEO hand-in-hand is a long-term process. Do not expect to immediately see results. Instead, continue to satisfy customers with quality content and you will see a strong SEO improvement over time.
Why a Content-SEO Mix is Better Than SEO Only
It is important to recognize that content marketing does not involve paid content. Content marketing is a low-budget form of SEO. While paid SEO practices can be negatively affected by Google updates and software malfunctions, content marketing is not. And while you are focusing on creating high-quality content for SEO purposes, you are, overall, improving your website in the process.
With the production of frequent and interesting content, you are also increasing your social media presence. Hundreds–even thousands–of shares, likes, mentions, and retweets can result. With this newfound social presence, you are fostering a better relationship between your brand and the customer. The chain of reaction that occurs from content marketing and SEO use benefits all areas of your company.
Best Practices for Content Marketing SEO
Stay focused on producing the right content for your audience. When you master creating high-quality, relevant posts, SEO can easily do its job. Also, by putting your all your content on one domain, you are funneling your traffic directly to your content. Again, this allows for easy SEO analysis.
Good content is easily understood, actionable, engaging, and relevant. Relevancy is crucial to content marketing and SEO success. Don’t produce content that isn’t consistent with your company’s image. Not only will this hinder your SEO, but will create a disconnect from your brand.
If you are unsure of if your content marketing and SEO habits are successful, you can run a site audit to determine your areas of strengths and weaknesses. Understanding that content marketing and SEO are most effective when used together will allow for major results. Your content and your optimization will undoubtedly flourish with this pair.
Today, marketing is all about numbers. Big data, small data, analytics. Maybe we love numbers because they help us visualize our efforts. Maybe we love them because we can measure our results. Maybe the numbers make us feel safe when customer opinion and brand reputation are impossible to quantify. It’s easy to forget that qualitative data is just as important as quantitative data. Sometimes the numbers don’t tell the whole story. And in a world where the consumer has the power to post their honest opinions online for the world to see, you better make sure you are valuing user experience (UX) just as much as the numerical data.
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the key to balancing both outstanding UX and utilizing analytics in your favor. CRO is a strategy that involves analyzing and altering a business’s website in order to convert existing traffic into leads or sales. CRO can be analyzed through software. Its popular functions include A/B testing, multivariate testing, heat mapping, mobile analytics, concept testing and surveys — just to name a few. It can be used in conjunction with paid advertising, but it’s just as effective when used alone (and cheaper too!)
To be successful at CRO means you need to know more than just the number-crunching. Remember: customer experience is what defines your company. Always consider your customer’s needs when strategizing CRO. Your reputation lies heavily in the hands of your customers, not just the content or advertising you produce. Focus equally on your company’s reputation and the actual conversions when performing CRO. You can do this by prioritizing UX.
Providing superior UX requires performing consistent and detailed optimization. Look at every inch of your website. Even the smallest change, such as switching the header font, can increase conversion rates significantly. Not only will your research help increase conversions, but also help gain user trust and loyalty. Here are some tips on improving CRO efforts while focusing on UX.
Don’t listen to your gut
Going against popular belief, here. But when it comes to CRO, “going with your gut” will get you nowhere. This cliché is dangerous advice; it keeps you locked in to the same, outdated habits you’re accustomed to. Numbers don’t lie. If you are starry-eyed over your web design but the data tells you the customers don’t agree, listen to the data. The beauty of CRO is that you use what you already have. No need to create a new website, just make a few edits and you’ll instantly see results. Go into it with an open mind and let CRO show you what efforts to ditch and what efforts are worth your time.
Be the user
Let’s face it, you spend more time on your company’s website than any user. Your site’s flaws are masked by your familiarity. Take a step back and browse the site as if it were your first time. Be honest and recognize where your website becomes confusing or difficult. Is purchasing your product a time-consuming process or does it only require a few steps? Is it easy to find your contact page? Or will the user be squinting at the screen to find your company’s phone number? A fresh perspective is sometimes all it takes to maximize CRO.
Improve your conversion funnel
A conversion funnel, also referred to as a sales funnel, is the series of steps a user takes which results in sales or leads. Let’s say a user wants to buy a bike. Every step she takes-from searching for a bike on Google all the way to purchasing a bike on your website-is the conversion funnel. A conversion doesn’t have to be an online purchase; it can be receiving a customer phone call, obtaining a customer’s email address, and so on. But no matter the conversion, giving the user the right information at the right time is crucial to creating an effective conversion funnel. Reduce obstacles on your website to implement the smoothest conversion funnel possible.
Use your words
Seriously, use them. Few tactics for improving UX are as effective as talking to the customers directly. Contact your most loyal and frequent customers. Not only can they tell you what you’ve been doing right, but they are the ones truly experiencing the changes you implement. Customers will be the first to encounter any mishaps on your website. Plus, asking for their input makes them feel important and boosts brand loyalty. It’s a win-win situation.
The user and their experience should remain your top priority when executing CRO efforts. While the software does most of the data analytics for you, it’s your job to execute CRO so it heightens the user experience. When CRO and UX are strategized hand-in-hand, the outcome can only be positive. Exceptional UX and extensive CRO will result in a unique, celebrated customer experience and a significant increase in conversions.
Way back when, a successful PR campaign revolved around print, radio, and television. Now these mediums are just the tip of the iceberg.
With the ways social media has changed public relations, it has gone from a one-way street to a full-blown Autobahn. It can make brands, it can break them, and it can grow your brand in ways that were once thought impossible. Regardless of whether or not you’re using it correctly, it can also be a full-time job.