The online social community Site Reference recently blogged about how going “lateral” can help you succeed online. Don’t just be focused on where you rank on Google. Don’t just fret over how many “hits” you get to your website each month. Instead, focus on actually engaging with your potential customers and build website activity that really matters. It’s the way web marketing is moving, and I think it’s a great thing because it ultimately benefits the consumer and the company marketing the product or service. After all, isn’t our goal to connect our service or product with someone who needs it and wants to buy it?

For the complete article from Site Reference, go here: 3 Strategies to Google Proof Your Business.

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Effective Inbound Marketing is a combination of several strategies. First, you need to look at the content of your site. People at the beginning of the buying cycle are usually gathering information. Does your site provide the information your clients will be looking for? As info seekers get closer to becoming a buying customer, their needs get more specific. Does your site talk to this need and offer a solution that makes them want more information?

This is accomplished through a compelling “Call-to-Action”. A Call-to-Action trades the customer their contact information for something they want. It could be tips or info sheets at the information gathering stage, and a discount, coupon or appointment at the buying stage. Your site should have a Call-to-Action at a variety of levels for every service you provide. When you give away quality information people are happy to provide you with their contact info, and now you have the opportunity to nurture that contact and build a relationship.

It’s not magic and it’s not trickery. It’s honest business: giving people what they want in a way the want it, and, in turn, building confidence that your company is the best choice to move forward. The water out there is full of sharks. It’s really not that difficult to stand out when you offer straightforward, authentic help to people.

At Canopy Marketing we build Inbound Marketing programs for clients using the software platform developed by Hubspot. Hubspot is an amazing, affordable and well organized methodology to build quality leads for your business. Using the software, we develop a strategy and create an engaging, interactive site that will help your company:

• Get found online
• Convert site visitors to customers
• Analyze the process to increase conversions and measure your true ROI

It’s quality web marketing and we are seeing it work for our clients.

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Each facet of Internet marketing is like a stepping stone across the pond. Every pond is different and each step is simply a part of getting you across to the other side. Just as every business is unique, your approach to marketing on the Internet should reflect who you are. Is your competition local or national? Are you selling a product or a service? How and where does the financial transaction occur? What are your competitors doing on the Internet. All of that matters when deciding how to market and where to spend your money.

The Internet is evolving, and users are more sophisticated today. The driving force behind quality Internet marketing is providing quality content. Telling your potential customers why they should buy your product or service and giving them the information they are seeking in their buying process. It’s also called Inbound Marketing. It’s different than going out to your clients with your sales pitch. It’s drawing them TO you with quality info that they want and need in order to buy.

And here’s where keywords come into the picture. It used to be that putting a bunch of keywords into the code of your site was the ticket to getting listed at the top of Google. My perspective is “Who cares if you are on page one of Google if nobody is buying what you are selling.” More important is finding the client who wants to buy and earning their trust because they were looking for something specific and you provided it. That’s quality Inbound Marketing and it hinges on understanding keywords and how they impact they way people find your website.

When I blog for clients or coach them on how to blog effectively, the first thing I do is identify the primary keywords and long-tail keyword phrases that real people are using to buy what my client is selling. Once we’ve settled on these keywords we have a strategy to follow. We use the keywords to map out a blogging calendar, complete with blog titles that incorporate the keywords. So the next time my client sits down to blog they are not wondering, “What in the world do I talk about today?” Nope. They know they want to get hired as a wardrobe consultant, and they know what keywords they are targeting. So they sit down and write a blog with a meaningful title, incorporating the keyword. It’s a balance between strategic thinking and providing meaningful and engaging content that your customers want. It’s not rocket science, but it does take some planning. And it works. Most of your competitors are NOT doing this, so if you do, you just might find yourself with that next paying client.

Next time: more on Inbound Marketing…how it works and why.

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See the new site here.

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So, I’m a bit of a skeptic. But I also know that every day brings a new dimension to social media marketing and its unprecedented affect on our world. What we talk about, buy and believe in is driven more and more by what we see online. So with that, here are a few tips for conquering Twitter with information from .net magazine and my spin:

1. Twitter is about conversation and community. It’s not just a place to broadcast. Talk to your followers and those you follow.

2. Don’t crash into other people’s conversations. Just like you wouldn’t interrupt an in-person conversation, Twitter conversations require tact and etiquette, too.

3. Engage your personality. Twitter is personal, even if your there to promote your business.

4. Use hashtags sparingly. For more info on what hashtags are and how to use them see this article from Twitter.

5. Be careful what you say. There’s a fine line between promoting and spamming. Be thoughtful when you post, or don’t.

6. Have a plan. How often will you tweet? Are you ready to respond?

7. Take time to build your profile background. Include personal and company information and make sure your website url is posted.

8. Be a good follower. Find people that tweet about things you are interested in and follow them. And don’t just look for quantity in your own followers.  It’s better to have a few quality followers than a bunch that don’t really care.

9. Offer discounts or promos if you can or offer your insight into news.

10. Tweet the whole story. Don’t be afraid to talk about your failures along with your successes. Twitter is a great place for feedback and conversations that can make us better.

So consider jumping in to Twitter. For information on starting to Tweet, see this How to sign up article. And while your there, follow me …that is if you really care.

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One of San Diego’s leading commercial painting companies, Quality Painting and Wallcoverings has extensive experience with the high-rise tenant improvement market, build-to-suit, restaurant painting, historical property renovation and the acoustic fabric wrapped panel markets.

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I’m preparing a talk right now to present to my business networking group. What to say? I get the opportunity every few months to talk to this group and am always looking for something interesting to talk about so I don’t get too many glazed over looks peering back at me. Talking to any group at 7 a.m. in the morning is pretty daunting.

So I decided to spend some time talking about Social Networking. Ah, the potential minefield of talking about something I don’t feel particularly “expert” about is just the challenge I needed today. I can use this as a chance to research and expand my personal knowledge base, right. Righttttttttttt. Ugh. So dive in I did. And what it really reminds me of is that being authentic and honest in today’s business world is still one of my best assets. I do not consider myself a Social Media Guru. But I do know marketing. And I do see the waves created by Social Media….and the confusion. I also don’t take a lot of my own advice…..things like blogging regularly.

Sometimes presenting yourself as a case study is the perfect way to set up your argument for a creative and sensible approach to Social Media and Business Promotion. So “Tweet” that, buddy.

Facts are that Social Media is an important part of an effective business strategy. Many businesses have not yet jumped on the social media superhighway, so there is opportunity here for us to take some ground. But as in any effective outreach, the bottom line is still trust. Consumers trust “marketing” less and less these days, and research shows that a growing number of us depend on a “person like me” as a reliable source of information about a company. I’ve grown my company from personal connection and referrals. I’ve watched my business networking group help keep fellow business owners afloat during the Great Recession. Personal connection and trust matter. They matter a lot. And Social Media, if done correctly, helps build that trust.

So how do you start? There are countless ways to attack the beast, but here are a few I have seen work:

Blog

A blog provides a personal face to your company and keeps your customers updated about your industry. Short and to the point, a good blog positions you as an expert and provides quality content for Google to index (and tie back to you and your company through search). You can have a stand alone blog, or better yet, have it link from your company website. It shouldn’t be a place to just self-promote. It’s great to announce your latest project or product, but better yet to become the blog that links to other relevant sites or reposts great articles about your industry.

Free WordPress blogs start here.

Facebook Fan Pages

Facebook Fan Pages can be created through your personal Facebook account. You can set up a page for your company and then share the page with all your Facebook “Friends”, inviting them to be “Fans” of your page. Maybe that old college friend has no idea you sell real estate and never would have known to refer you to their cousin who is relocating to your town. If done professionally and with thought, a Facebook Fan page is a great way to expose your social network to your business.

Facebook Fan Pages Info here.

Linked In

Linked In, a social network for business professionals is the stuffy “Facebook” of the working world. Here you can provide information about the jobs you’ve held and make connections with former colleagues, classmates and business acquaintances. Lots of people think of Linked In as the place to go to find a new job, but I’ve found it to be another great place to let people know about my company and make connections that help grow my business.

Check it out here.

There’s a new “latest and greatest” social media tool in the making as I write, that’s for sure. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed or left behind by today’s social media hype. But just remember the old advice about eating an elephant… just do it one bite at a time.

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Check out the new site at:

ESP Website

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Check it out at:

Magic Horse Website

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