O STAND UT MAGAZINE
RAND FISHKIN:
BEING AUTHENTIC ONLINE
Treat Your Customers As VIP’S
How To STAND OUT Online Do You Want To Be A Thought Leader In Your Industry?
Neil Patel Tells Us Why
SELLING DOESN’T SELL
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Contents
NEIL PATEL: WHY SELLING DOESN’T SELL DO YOU WANT TO BE A THOUGHT LEADER IN YOUR INDUSTRY?
14
TED RUBIN: THE RETURN ON RELATIONSHIP IN YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
18
SPEAK UP & STAND OUT - HOW PUBLIC SPEAKING CAN HELP YOUR BRAND WITH GERRY MORRIS
7
CONTENT CR*P? 22 ISIS YOUR ANYONE READING WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN?
25 RAND FISHKIN: STAND OUT ONLINE
14
YOU TREATING YOUR CUSTOMERS LIKE 29 ARE A PAIN IN THE BUTT? OR A VIP?
31
WANT TO BE TRUSTED ONLINE? YOU NEED TO BE AUTHENTIC!
24
33
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Contributors Neil Patel
Neil Patel is the co-founder of Neil Patel Digital. He’s a New York Times bestselling author. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 online marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies in the world. He was recognised as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under the age of 35 by the United Nations. Neil has also been awarded Congressional Recognition from the United States House of Representatives. neilpatel.com
neilkpatel
Rand Fishkin is the cofounder and CEO of SparkToro. He’s dedicated his professional life to helping people do better marketing through his blogging, videos, speaking, and his book, Lost and Founder. When Rand’s not working, he’s most likely to be in the company of his partner in marriage and (mostly petty) crime, author Geraldine DeRuiter. If you feed him great pasta or great whisky, he’ll give you the cheat code to rank #1 on Google.
sparktoro.com
SparkToro
@SparkToroHQ
@neilpatel
Rand Fishkin
Leading Social Marketing Strategist, Author, Speaker, Provocateur, Ted Rubin has been listed #13 on Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers, and number #2 on the Leadtail list of Top 25 People Most Mentioned by digital marketers. Return on Relationship, ROR, #RonR is the basis of all Teds philosophies‌ It’s All About Relationships!
Ted Rubin tedrubin.com
Gerry Morris
Ted Libtard Rubin
@tedrubin
Gerry is the creator of www.bookspeakersdirect.com - a place where guest speakers can be contacted and booked directly by clients, without the loss of any commissions. After a near fatal accident, Gerry wanted to give back to his community more and created a space where he and his team collaborate with speakers from all fields of expertise. Their aim is to make www. bookspeakersdirect.com a central hub for clients to come and source the perfect speaker for their events and then engage with them directly. bookspeakersdirect.com
@book_speakers_direct
Editor In Chief
Robyn Gipters Welcome to Standout Magazine! We are excited to share our first issue with you.
Our philosophy at Standout Publishing is to help increase credibility, audience and leads for your business. In such a highly competitive marketplace, it can be hard to know where to begin in ensuring your business stands out and there are a number of things you can do to gain traction in the industry. We want to show you how. In this issue, we are very excited to have expert marketer, Neil Patel chatting to us about why selling doesn’t sell. Co-founder of Neil Patel Digital and a major force within the marketing industry, Neil explains ‘the rule of seven’ on page 7. Turn to page 24 to read our interview with the CEO of SparkToro, Rand Fishkin, about the best ways to ensure your business stands out in the sea of marketing strategies. Leading social marketing strategist, author, speaker and provocateur, Ted Rubin,
shares his theory of return on relationships and the importance of having a solid and lasting social media strategy on page 14. Meet founder of Book Speakers Direct, Gerry Morris and learn how he connects clients and speakers to help boost your brand and business. Also, in this issue, we have put together plenty more articles to help position you as the best in the business, such as: • How to become a thought leader in your industry, • Is anyone reading your content? • The importance of being authentic online, and • How to make your customers feel like they’re VIP’s. Thanks for taking the time to read Standout Marketing Magazine. We hope you enjoy turning every page.
Robyn
Selling DOESN’T Sell WHY
NEIL PATEL
I
n today’s highly competitive marketplace, it can be hard to know where to begin in ensuring your business stands out. You have put your heart and soul into your products and services, and be ready to convert those sales. But, do your customers know, trust and like you? Remember that customers don’t buy from businesses, they buy from people they trust. Expert marketer Neil Patel advises businesses to keep in mind ‘the rule of seven’. That is, a prospective customer or client needs to see and interact with your brand seven times before they will convert to a sale. They need to know who the brand is (that’s you), what you stand for, and that your perspective aligns with their own. One of the best ways to build trust with a customer is not pushing sales, but instead, consistently offering some sort of education or advice. “What you will find is that if you educate, you will build a following because you are helping someone but not asking for something in return. Over time, they will continue following you, it goes into the ‘rule of seven’… they get to know you and there is much more of a bond. Then, they are more likely to convert,” he said.
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Although it can be a scary thought putting your own face on video, time and time again, statistics show that this is by far the most effective way of boosting eyeballs to your social media platforms and website. What’s more, one whitepaper by Cisco (cited in Neil’s blog post Why I’m Spending $144,000 on Video in 2018 And Why You Should Too) predicted that by 2021, 82 percent of global consumer Internet traffic will be video-based. “I believe video marketing is the future. YouTube, for example, gives you a lot of evergreen content and it’s amazing for branding not just on a corporate level, but also a personal branding level,” Neil said. “You have just got to be out there, in front of their faces. If you are doing video, why not get out there, not just on YouTube, but also on Facebook, Instagram, and then leverage all the channels.” Regular blog posts are also a must to help your business stand out amongst competitors, and Neil recommends these also be predominantly educational rather than overly salesoriented. Weekly posting is ideal, which should then be leveraged across social media and email marketing lists to value-add for customers on a wide scale. Writing a blog post need not take all day. Let’s face it, as a business owner, time is always in short supply. Writing from the heart, about a topic you are already an expert in or have a passion for, will give you valuable content that your readers will appreciate – and bring them one step closer to that magic ‘rule 8 standoutpublishing.online
of seven.’ Neil has five tips to make sure your blog posts hit the mark. • Use the words ‘you’ and ‘I’ in the text. This helps it read more like a conversation. • Keep your paragraphs short and to the point, using a maximum of 5-6 lines. This keeps the content easy to skim-read. • Use sub-headings to break up the content, which is also great for SEO. • Focus on the headline, make it appealing. Eight out of ten people will read your headline but only two out of ten will quickly review the rest.
• Make sure that whenever someone is reading your content, it is broken down in such a way as they can take action on it. If they can’t take action, it won’t work well. Two other tried-and-tested methods of helping your business stand out and value-adding not just for your business but for prospective customers and clients is through LinkedIn and public relations. While these tools may seem archaic compared to the shiny new social media platforms we tend to focus on now, they have an oftunderused potential in business circles.
“LinkedIn has one of the biggest B2B communities out there. In LinkedIn, if you can engage with people, in groups, on profiles, create videos, then what you will find is that you will generate leads,” Neil said. “Another way to use LinkedIn is to look at all your connections and see who might be great customers, then hit them up personally. Not only can you generate revenue, but you will also be educating them, helping them out, networking and building up your brand at the same time.”
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THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO IS CONTINUALLY FOLLOW UP AND PROVIDE VALUE. YOU HAVE A LIST OF NAMES AND CONTACTS, BUT IF YOU DON’T CONTINUALLY FOLLOW UP WITH THEM AND GIVE THEM ADVICE, THEY ARE GOING TO GO COLD.
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Public relations, or PR, is often overlooked by businesses because it doesn’t directly impact website traffic or revenue. What it can do, however, is boost your credibility – which is a very valuable asset to any business. In Neil’s blog post, The Advanced Guide to Startup PR, he states that this method of promotion generates conversion rates of 10 to 50 times that of advertising, and that 92 per cent of consumers trust earned media over traditional ads. To ensure your media release has the best chance of being picked up, Neil recommends you focus on the ‘three P’s’; product, purpose and passion. This will show both the journalist and the audience that you know your business and you know your customers and clients. The final piece of advice Neil Patel has for businesses looking to stand out in today’s crazy, crowded marketplace is to not only look forward in terms of promotion, but take care of what you already have. Existing customers are
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worth much, so take time to engage in retention strategies rather than solely working on acquisition. “The best thing you can do is continually follow up and provide value. You have a list of names and contacts, but if you don’t continually follow up with them and give them advice, they are going to go cold,” Neil said. “[Retention is] not about selling, it’s about giving, giving, giving, and then eventually selling once you have warmed them up.” To track how you are progressing, Neil’s favourite tools are Google Analytics and Ubersuggest (available via neilpatel.com). These assist you to gradually tweak your content, whether that be video or written blog posts, to improve your search rankings, be seen by more people and be at the top of your game. Neilpatel.com
DO YOU WANT TO BE A
Thought Leader
W
IN YOUR INDUSTRY?
hen you want your business and its offerings to stand out in the marketplace, there are numerous things you can do to gain traction in the industry and build an audience. This includes marketing strategies like clever business branding, advertising online or offline, blogging, giveaways, having a referral and/or rewards program, and more. One other way to build your business, though, which not enough entrepreneurs focus on, is developing a personal platform. As the leader and
likely founder and CEO of your venture, you are the one who knows your business best and is most passionate about what it offers. As such, you’re in the perfect position to become a thought leader in your field, an influencer who others pay attention to. Getting to this point takes time and effort, but it’s a worthwhile investment that will help you to build credibility, reach, leads, and platform, amongst other things. Here are some tips to follow if you’re ready to go down the path of becoming a thought leader.
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Choose a Specific Topic
Share Your Expertise
With so many people and organisations clamouring for consumer attention these days, the only way you can truly make your mark is to choose a specific topic to specialise in. Ask yourself, what is your business niche, and on what exactly are you an expert? What are you passionate about more than anyone else, what do you value, and what do you love? In which area can you be a changemaker? And, just as importantly, what does your audience value, and where does the overlap lie between your interests and the consumers’?
Of course, you must also share the expertise you have in a public forum. Create content such as blogs, videos, articles, books, talks, workshops, etc. (be as broad as possible in your outlets) where you educate others on what you know. Don’t focus on talking about yourself, though. It’s more effective to focus on helping others to succeed.
Once you’re clear on this, you’ll understand what your personal brand must centre on. Remember that you need to find a precise, concrete area to focus on that differentiates you from other entrepreneurs. By becoming the industry leader on one particular topic, you’ll be more likely to be heard above the noise. In turn, people will start coming to you for information, advice, quotes, and for the services your organisation offers, because you’re known as the “go-to” thought leader.
Develop “how to” content that gives readers, viewers, or participants not only insights but also action steps they can follow to get ahead. If you’re not sure where to start, think about the questions you and other people in your field get asked all the time. Any frequently-asked-question could give you a starting point. Be as helpful as you can, and you’ll soon start building a name for yourself as a thought leader.
WH
S
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Be Authentic
Be Consistent
For the most effective impact, always be authentic. Don’t try to be someone you’re not, or tone yourself down because you think being you in a public forum is dangerous. People respect, listen to and connect with experts who seem to “walk the walk” and who are approachable, natural, and real. They also, on the other hand, switch off from disingenuous people and content.
Consistency is vital, too. For you to become a thought leader at the top of your industry, people have to remember you. They’re only going to do this is you’re consistent in the type of branding you convey. While a certain amount of testing and measuring is normal and needed, always try to ask yourself, before you share something publicly, if it is consistent with who you are and the way you want people to see you.
Think about it like this: you don’t want to build a personal brand based on someone else, do you? You want your profile to be about who you are and what you believe in, and how this can help others. Be yourself, and things will fall into place more easily.
Consistency comes into play in the regularity of your content, too. People need to hear from you often to keep you front of mind, which means you should share information and ideas regularly. Create a content plan a few months ahead at a time, so you keep producing regular content and new ideas. If you struggle with this, look at the topics being talked about frequently in the media. Find a way to tie your offerings and values into these relevant subjects. Journalists might even approach you for your viewpoints on topical matters, and help further propel your status as a thought leader.
WHY FIT IN, HEN YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT? - DR SEUSS
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Ted Rubin: The Return On Relationship In Your Small Business
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t’s no question that in 2019, your business’ presence on social media is crucial. We’re living in a digital world, and if your company doesn’t have a social media strategy, you’re not only missing out on a marketing opportunity that’s proven to be well received but also a huge way to create organic relationships with your audience. The digital world is messy for businesses, and small and medium businesses have to compete with large corporations that have a big marketing budget. So how does a small business stand out? According to leading social
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media strategist, author, speaker, Photofy.com CMO, and provocateur, Ted Rubin, the answer is focusing on your business’ return on relationships. “Networks give you reach,” he says, “[but] community gives you power.” Having a large network of acquaintances and followers on social channels is great, and that network gives you reach; however, having a community that engages, interacts, and knows you and your business is key: “Networks reach; Communities care,” says Rubin. And we want our customers to care about our business. That’s how money is made, but we also
need to make sure we prove that “we” care about our customers as well. And this concept goes back to your Return On Relationship (or #RonR). Developing meaningful relationships isn’t just something we do with friends and family, it’s important to consider in the world of dollars and sense as well. ROR > ROI (return on investment). Why? Because ROI satisfies for a fixed period of time and is income related, while ROR will have almost a halo effect. For example: You run two campaigns that have the same ROI. If one was completed with better customer service or relationship management, it’s more likely to create strong, long-term relationships and customers.
How do you measure return on relationship? Analyzing the return on investment is pretty straight forward. You follow the numbers. But, not everyone pays as close attention to the measurement of return on relationship. According to Rubin, #RonR is common sense: Awareness equals revenue. Authenticity leads to loyalty and advocacy. Each of these attributes is measurable and leads to increased sales and profits, which is also measurable. “I like to say that ROR is the value that is accrued by a person/ brand due to nurturing a relationship,” he explains, “ROI is simple dollars and sense, but ROR is the value that is perceived and will accrue over time through loyalty, trust, recommendations and sharing.” Why is this important? “Because it’s happening whether a company is paying attention to it or not,” he
explains. ROI is measured by numbers; it’s easy. ROR is easy to measure as well. People do business with people they like. “There’s not only the common sense part of it and judgement... it’s also measured through organic engagement, community management, sentiment monitoring—how do people feel about your brand—and more. But it comes down to one word: Value.” How do your social efforts create value for you as a brand and your audience? How do face to face interactions add value to your customer? What prompts them to come back to your social channels, website, or place of business? And, you can measure ROR in terms of money as well. Typically, a customer who regularly absorbs content that references a brand is a more valuable customer than one that doesn’t. They may spend more on average, visit more often and make more frequent purchases, or remain a loyal customer for a longer period of time. And that is a return on relationship.
Ted’s tips on developing strong customer relationships
1Attract traffic rather than drive
traffic.“When you drive something, you’re working much harder than when you’re attracting it,” says Rubin. It’s so much easier to do business when your customer already likes you—through traditional word of mouth or personal experience or social media—than if you’re trying to make them like you. By having good social presence and interacting with your audience, you’re more likely to attract traffic that is loyal. standoutpublishing.online 15
2 Like them before they like you.
A small business owner has more incentive to be liked than the customer. Don’t wait for customers to like you, like them first. Seek them out on social channels without the intent of converting them to customers. Develop a relationship with your ideal customer online, and you’ll most likely attract them to be a customer. Give without the expectation of receiving anything, and you will receive. Listen to them. Listen in the store, listen online. What are they posting about? What are they interested in? What is happening in the town? Don’t jump in with a sales pitch, but reach out and connect with them about what they connect with.
3 Look people in the eye. Before
digital media, the best salespeople, the best leaders look people in the eye. When people feel as though they have your full attention, that they’re the only person in the room, they are incredibly more likely to do business with you and your company. And looking people in the eye goes beyond IRL interactions... Look People in the Eye Digitally. Everyone wants to know you care about them, are listening to them.
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If you know you are meeting with a client, a business acquaintance, a networking opportunity, find out a little information about them before your meeting. We have an unlimited amount of information at our fingertips. Utilize it. Rubin explains he physically takes notes on his phone after each interaction so he can bring it back up in conversation. And he says people are astounded and impressed. Make notes about your customers and clients about their likkes, dislikes, family, etc... whatever you can pick up or they share.
4 Always call people by their name.
Dale Carnegie, the author of what Ted refers to as the “best social media book ever written,” How to Win Friends and Influence People,” (written in 1936) says... “A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” Some things never change.
5 Compliment them. Do you like a
good, genuine compliment? Everyone does. Make a habit of complimenting your customer. Help them take bags to the car. Once you begin doing these behaviors out of habit, it becomes involuntary, and, it goes a long way when building a return on relationship with your audience.
6 Rally like minded people. If you
and your product or service could appeal to every kind of person, it’d be amazing. But the reality is that you have a certain demographic, a niche. And instead of trying to change people’s minds and appeal to the masses, try to rally like minded people. Those are your people. That doesn’t mean stop trying to appeal to other demographics, but there are some people that will never agree with you. Pick a demographic that’s attainable and don’t only market to your current demographic. You’ve already rallied them; they’re your customer base. Instead, focus some marketing efforts on trying to rally similar demographics and building community support there.
7Last but not least... change your
mindset from that of Targeting to one of Matchmaking. No one wants to be a target, but everyone likes a good match. A match is something more lasting, even if it’s not permanent. If I’m matched with a service, brand, or marketing campaign that genuinely addresses my needs, then ideally that’s just the start of a longer relationship. I gain confidence that the brand is interested in me as more than a statistic, and the brand has a much easier path to learning more about me. It’s a collaboration, rather than a one-sided, transaction-based relationship. If we want consumers to feel connections with brands, then we can’t make them feel like they’re being hunted. Let’s change the conversation, and shift from a Targeting mindset in favor of a Matchmaking mentality.
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Speak Up & Stand Out How Public Speaking Can Help Your Brand with Gerry Morris
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P
ublic speaking – a fear for many, can actually be tremendously helpful for your brand and business. Being able to speak publicly is a compelling skill in both business and professional life. The ability to articulate, connect, and persuade are all fundamental skills for success – especially if you’re in a leadership role or own your own business. Public speaking can be of paramount importance to growing your business and improving your career. However, finding public speaking opportunities can be a bit daunting. What do you talk about? How do you get connected with events or hosts? How much is this going to cost? It’s a little overwhelming. That’s where companies like Book Speakers Direct comes in, to connect clients and speakers. We spoke to Gerry Morris, GM at Book Speakers Direct, about the benefits of companies like this and how public speaking can improve your business’ success.
Why did you create Book Speakers Direct? Gerry Morris: Because it made sense. It is fairer for the guest speakers, and it speeds up the process for business owners. If a client is looking to hold an event that requires a guest speaker, who best talk to them than the speaker themselves? Book Speakers Direct was created to connect clients and speakers, encourage open and direct conversations, and ultimately book speakers for events.
Personally, I have almost two decades of experience of booking guest speakers, and throughout my time I came to realize a gap in the market. Two of the biggest challenges in the speaking industry are clients finding quality speakers for their events and guest speakers to be found by a bigger audience.
In your work, have you seen business owners generate profit from public speaking opportunities – not from the event itself but as customer conversion? GM: Most definitely! Most speakers become speakers because they are experts in their field. Sure, there are motivational speakers that inspire an audience, but the majority of the speakers are genuine experts in their field. They have a vast knowledge of the challenges other businesses face to succeed.
How can public speaking/ public presentations help a business owner stand out from the competition? GM: This is where they get to shine. They say public speaking is people’s greatest fear – the joke goes some people would rather be dead than to have to do public speaking. But those brave enough to stand before an audience and confidently communicate their message, by definition, makes them stand out.
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Public speaking is a communication skill we should all have. But how does it make us better communicators? GM: Anyone willing to stand before an audience will research their topic. They will write, rewrite, and agonize over what they are going to say. They’ll practice it over and over, leave parts and add parts, and ultimately rearrange their presentation the best way they can. And that can only lead to communicating better.
So, what makes for a good presentation? Surely you’ve seen successful presentations and flops. GM: I love listening and being engaged by good public speakers. No matter what technology brings us, storytelling and public speaking is one of the best ways to get your message across. I like presenters to have a sense of humor, be their authentic selves, draw me in from the beginning to end, and cause me to want to take action – be that via a sale or just wanting to be a better person.
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THEY SAY PUBLIC SPEAKING IS PEOPLE’S GREATEST FEAR – THE JOKE GOES SOME PEOPLE WOULD RATHER BE DEAD THAN TO HAVE TO DO PUBLIC SPEAKING. BUT THOSE BRAVE ENOUGH TO STAND BEFORE AN AUDIENCE AND CONFIDENTLY COMMUNICATE THEIR MESSAGE, BY DEFINITION, MAKES THEM STAND OUT.
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6 Ways Public Speaking Can Help Your Business
1 | Better understand your customers & build relationships Public speaking can be a window into your customers and industry. You gain valuable insights by speaking in front of an audience and sharing your expertise. You will be asked relevant questions, feedback, and a better understanding of the challenges your customer/industry faces. 2 | Increase your visibility Small business owners don’t have the same name recognition as larger companies, especially in the beginning. In the age of global competition, it’s important to make yourself and your organization stand out. Every event you do will put you in front of potential clients, industry leaders, and relevant decision makers. Additionally, when put online, it will generate web pages, blog posts, social posts, etc. and create SEO related to you! 3 | Demonstrate your expertise The best way to persuade others of your expertise is to show them. Speaking offers a unique opportunity for you to connect with and persuade others on the topics you’re an expert on. You can actively demonstrate your subject matter while connecting with an audience. Also, by opening your presentation up for questions, you can expand even further and prove you’re an authority on the subject.
4 | Practice thinking on your feet Entrepreneurs make constant decisions, and a lot of them are unplanned. Public speaking can be great training for the situations businesses find themselves in. Between technical difficulties, Q&A time, and the occasional heckler, seasoned speakers can handle just about anything. These speaking skills can transfer into your business operations as well. 5 | Build personal confidence & skill You know what they say, practice makes perfect. And practice is the key to improvement. If you invest the time and effort, you’ll see your confidence grow along with your communication skills. Speaking aloud and teaching others can also help you improve your pitching methods, how you phrase certain attributes of your business, and solidify your knowledge on the topic even more. 6 | Set yourself apart from the competition Your competition probably isn’t speaking in front of potential customers, so by taking the opportunity, you become familiar. Actively speaking can really make your company stand out. bookspeakersdirect.com
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IS YOUR CONTENT CR*P? IS ANYONE READING WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN? Today, content marketing is one of the most important forms of marketing for your business to engage in. However, if no one reads or views that content, or if they do, but then don’t take any further steps, you won’t get the results you want and need. In turn, that makes the time and energy (and potentially money) you spend on content wasteful. As you plan out your content for the year ahead, consider the idea of engagement. Content engagement is the term for when consumers take an action on a piece of content or a web page. The action someone takes after reading, listening to or viewing content, sends a signal that this piece was relevant to them in some way. It got them to take the next step and move further through the sales channel. 22 standoutpublishing.online
Not only is good-quality, original content great for SEO purposes, it’s also a brilliant way to drive traffic to your website and keep them on it for longer. It creates brand awareness and authority in a saturated market, which then has the potential to generate new leads and increase sales as more consumers become exposed to the brand. Whether it is in the form of a blog post or social media updates, your content should encourage users to engage with the brand, whether they realise it or not. If it’s genuinely good, users will pause to consume the content, understand the brand message and perhaps even comment, like or share a piece of content. There are numerous ways consumers engage with content, and it varies according to the type on offer. For example, one of your most important tools to give you marketing intelligence is your website. To determine how well content is performing on your website, keep an eye on the following engagement indicators: • The number of pages people look at on your site per session. • The length of each session. • Form completions, such as a Contact Us form, newsletter sign up, free resource download, or blog follow. • Comments on your blog or elsewhere. • Sales (for e-commerce businesses). All of your content should be measured and tracked. Downloadable assets should be created with all embedded
links carrying the information about the original download. Not only can you track the downstream outcomes of people who interacted with the content (allowing you to make the ROI case), but also answer interesting questions about latency and the nature of the sales cycle (e.g. how long after interaction the person responds to the call to action). Consider tracking: • Growth in followers, friends, and other contacts. • The number of Views, Likes, Shares, or Comments your posts/videos get. • The number of times links are clicked on from within posts or profiles. • The reach (total number of users who saw a piece of content) and impressions (total amount of times content was seen, regardless of the user). Also, view engagement statistics from guest or sponsored blog posts you place on third-party sites, online ads, and any other type of content you create and share. Thankfully, it’s easy enough to track all of these details these days, via Google Analytics, AdWords, and the tracking functions on social media sites. Once you have this information, analyse it and compare results from one piece of content to another to see how you can improve future creations. Once you know what is being read your need to work out a formula for success so that each piece of content you writes gets maximum engagement.
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You should consider things like:
TAILOR CONTENT TO YOUR AUDIENCE AND PROVIDE VALUE For each piece of content you design, know exactly who it is you’re targeting. In order for any content to work, you must start with an audience-centric vision and have a specific type of customer in mind, tailoring everything to their interests and how you believe (based on research) they browse, buy, and generally live their lives. Give your content a clearly defined mission. Taking this step will increase the likelihood that the content gets the attention of the right people and is relevant to them, and memorable. After you fleshed out a “job description” for your content, you’re ready to determine what metrics you’ll use to determine success. Similarly, always provide value to viewers. Content needs to educate, entertain, inspire, motivate, or otherwise move and assist people if it’s to gain traction. You don’t need to provide the same kind of value in each piece, but there does need to be a good reason to develop it, apart from simply trying to get more sales. Put yourself in your users’ shoes, and think about problems they want solved or benefits they’d like delivered.
INCLUDE CLEAR CALLS TO ACTION Every piece of content needs to have a clear call to action, based on your goals. What do you want a potential customer to do after they have consumed the content? This might be 24 standoutpublishing.online
going to your website and signing up for your newsletter, contacting you for a quote, buying a product, sharing a post, etc. Think of these calls to action as ways to motivate people to keep interacting with your business and to move further through the sales funnel. Note that the call to action you choose will depend on your goals for the content and the type of platform you’re using.
MAKE CONTENT EASY TO UNDERSTAND Content must be easy for people to understand, too. Don’t use lots of business or industry jargon, complex theories, confusing statistics, or big words that most people won’t know. Content, whether written or spoken, should be simple, clear, and easy for everyone to understand. It should also be consistent with your brand. For instance, the language used by a lighthearted, fun-loving company like Virgin is usually very different from that used by a funeral home or medical device manufacturer. Furthermore, when it comes to how content is displayed, ensure it’s userfriendly, too. Use common, legible fonts in a large enough size that most people will be able to read the work easily without having to squint. Don’t cram too many words or graphics into a space, either. Also use relevant images, illustrations and videos that won’t offend anyone and that tie in nicely to the point you’re making.
Rand Fishkin:
Online
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T
here are now more marketing platforms than ever centre the - in the space Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterst, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter, to name just the big ones. While this offers incredible opportunities for businesses of any size, what often occurs instead, is overwhelm. With a marketing budget in hand and a thirst to grow your portfolio, how do you know where to invest your efforts? Former CEO and co-founder of MOZ, Rand Fishkin recently wrote the painfully real and humorous book, ‘Lost and Founder,’ which offers insight into the unravelling world of startups. Rand’s new software company, SparkToro, aims to reduce the confusion, workload and analysis paralysis that comes with targeting business advertising. Stand Out Marketing Magazine sat down with Rand to find out all about making sure your business stands out in a sea of marketing opportunities. Firstly – which platforms are the best? When it comes to working out where to put your time and money, there is no ‘one size fits all’, but Rand’s advice is to start by making your website and email list the centre of your web marketing campaigns. “Those are channels and sources that you can fully own and control. For the past 20 years, 30 years even, they’ve been incredibly powerful, malleable, controllable sources and I expect them to be one of the few channels to last in that way, compared to social media sources that are out of your control in one way or another,” Rand explains.
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In addition to nurturing your website and list-building tactics, Rand’s advice is to consider your marketing opportunities cleverly. Rather than a scatter-gun approach, invest your time and money in select platforms that fit three important criteria: • Where is your audience? Where do they pay attention and participate? Do they prefer podcasts, or visual media such as Instagram and Pinterest? Do they like to share on social media such as Facebook? Do they go to conferences and events? • Where does your passion and skills lie? Utilise a channel where you can find your groove – don’t be tempted to spread yourself across numerous platforms and post poor content for the sake of ticking a box. That way, your content will be fresh, authentic and engaging. • Which channel can you be uniquely valuable in, more valuable than anyone else who is playing in that space? “If you answer all three of those, you’ve got your channel and you don’t have to play in the others. I think a lot of small business owners feel overwhelmed, like they have to be good at all these different things, but you don’t have to be. Pick one, especially to start with, that fits those three criteria,” Rand said. How much content should I be posting? With your chosen platforms up and running, the next challenge to standing out online is your content. The ironic thing, is that many successful businesses appear to be the ones who produce a lot of content, but mass content doesn’t necessarily equate to
conversions. What you want to find is that your content and posting reflects your enthusiasm and passion, each piece fuelling the next. Rand describes this as akin to climbing a mountain.
stand-out tactic is to utilise research; whether that is from a recent study, a poll you have conducted yourself or insights you have found in your area of expertise.
“All the research says that the time when a business is producing the most content is often the time when they are also producing their most successful work. When you have the passion and you’re trying to create the unique value and you’re also posting every day, that’s when you keep investing and investing and climbing the mountain. You got a few visits today on that piece, maybe you will get a few more tomorrow,” Rand said.
“What I have found works extremely well in both B2B and B2C marketing is research; people love citing research! This is true across all press and media, right down to smaller publications and influencers. Showcase insights pulled from data that you have unique access to, or create your own by doing a survey to answer a question your particular audience will be interested in,” Rand said.
“However, if your journey is starting to feel kind of rote, you are not finding a groove and can’t ignite the passion, if you are creating purely to tick the box not because you are discovering new channels and getting excited about it, then I’d probably stop climbing that mountain.” What type of content do I post? The key to great content is to create something that adds value and is unique to you and your brand. One
Do some digging around what types of content is posted on similar sites to your own, and aim to value-add with something bigger, better, more insightful or even a little controversial. How do I reach my audience for maximum ROI? When it comes to content that gets you noticed and transpires to conversions, Rand’s advice goes against the standard ‘write to your avatar’ pillar that has been industry experts over the years. Why not? Because they don’t
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know you yet – you haven’t got their attention, so market to those who DO have your audience’s attention. “Your audience is listening and paying attention to social media influencers and podcasters, bloggers, writers, authors, journalists and speakers at conferences and events. Find those people and create content for them, figure out what they want to see or read. This will result in an incredible outsized return because those folks are constantly looking for what they are going to share and amplify,” Rand explained. “They need your content. If you can serve them well, you can then reach the audience you want to reach just one degree of separation away - and that is incredibly powerful. I have found that to be a far more consistently successful tactic than trying to create content for the audience themselves.” Reaching these people takes a little PR work, but it is worth it. Take the time to approach them personally, start a conversation and connect with them on a more personal level. You may be surprised how generous influencers and experts in your field will be with their time and advice, as they too want to see you succeed.
Rand and his business partner Casey discussed this difficulty and have come up with a new and very exciting tool that sifts through the billions on online profiles to find the ideal ones for you. “SparkToro crawls the web, crawls a bunch of social profiles builds a targeted list. For example, let’s say I was starting a lighting design firm in the West Coast United States. There are currently around 70 million individual profiles online and growing, so we would filter out the seventeen thousand profiles that say in their bio that they are interior designers (we don’t use personal profiles at all). Of those, 940 are on the West Coast,” Rand explained. “We then look at what are the podcasts they listen to the most, what are the websites they visit, what are the social accounts they follow, what events and conferences they talk about the most and even what hashtags they use.” The end result is a very targeted, unbiased set of data from which you can accurately target your marketing and PR pursuits. Ultimately, this will result in more effective campaigns and much greater ROI with less work – so you can get on with running your burgeoning business day-to-day.
Where do I find these people? Enter, SparkToro. Reaching a new market is challenging and, while worth the effort, can take a significant amount of your precious time. You may only have one contact to begin with, gradually finding more as time goes on, but in the process potentially missing many prospects. 28 standoutpublishing.online
To find out more about Rand Fishkin and SparkToro, visit
https://sparktoro.com/
Are You Treating Your Customers Like A Pain In The Butt?
OR A VIP?
E
very customer you have deserves to be treated like a VIP. Making customers feel valued is crucial to their ongoing loyalty and to your business success and growth. One of the most powerful weapons in the world of business is word of mouth and when you treat your customers like VIP’s they are sure to spread positive accolades to their network, which is good for business.
Here are 8 simple ways to ensure that ALL your customers feel like they are being given the VIP treatment. Train all of your staff to be friendly and engaging to everyone From the person who answers your company phone to managers, floor staff and cleaners ensure that everyone who works for you has a positive and engaging attitude. This will mean that no matter who in your company your customer interacts with the experience will be a positive one. Remind your staff
to leave any preconceived perceptions at the door and to treat every customer the same – every customer deserves to be treated like they are the most important customers in your business. Anticipate their needs A great waiter knows when to refill your glass or replenish the bread bowl just like a great company should be able to anticipate the needs of their customers. When you are one step ahead of your customers and know what they need or want before they even do then you are showing them that you know them and are dedicated to servicing their needs before they even have to ask for it. Give respect It costs nothing to be polite and courteous but it can be very pricey if you aren’t. Treat every single customer regardless of socioeconomic background or perceived status with respect and you will find that your business will be better off for it.
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Show immediate action and solutions, not blame Sometimes things don’t go according to plan and mistakes are made. Apologies are important, but if they are not followed be immediate and effective action then they are just hollow words. When errors occur be accountable, apologise and then ensure that an immediate response is taken to resolve the problem and ensure a solution. Ask for feedback It is really important not only to get feedback from your customers but also to actually take it to heart. When you ask for feedback and more importantly when you respond to feedback you are showing your customers that they have been heard and that their opinion is valued. You can transform an unhappy customer into a happy customer by hearing their feedback and addressing their concerns. Pay attention to details The small things matter so it is important to pay attention to the details. From having a clean and welcoming workspace, to having friendly staff, complimentary refreshments and sending out personalised correspondence – the key is in the detail. Don’t overlook the little things or ever underestimate the power of good customer service.
Give them something for nothing Who doesn’t love it when they receive something for free? From something a s simple as a tip sheet or a discount coupon to free samples or even a goodie bag – whatever it is people appreciate receiving something for nothing no matter how small it is. A great tip for extra business promotion is to give away branded merchandise like drink bottles, umbrellas or even caps. This is a win win for everyone as your customer gets a gift and you get to promote your business! Show gratitude Whenever you can, thank your customers for doing business with you. Always be genuine when you thank them because your customers will spot a fake pretty quickly and that will leave a sour taste in their mouth. If you want to win a customer and their loyalty then you need to authentic and genuine. There are many ways that you can show your gratitude to your customers from sending out gift cards or discounts to reward loyalty to sending out Christmas or birthday cards or even holding customer appreciation days or VIP drink nights. It is important to always keep in mind that your customers are the reason that you are in business so it essential that you ensure that they feel appreciated. Remember a valued customer is a happy one and a happy customer not only comes back but also tells others how amazing their experience has been and that is golden when it comes to good business.
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WANT TO BE
TRUSTED ONLINE? YOU NEED TO BE
AUTHENTIC!
N
o matter what your business is, or how you promote yourself, chances are, someone is going to be looking for information about you online. How you present and maintain your personal brand can be crucial to the growth of your business. But it’s important that your online brand matches who you really are. Here are some ways you can appear authentic online:
1 Be real about who you are. If you are a one or two person business, don’t pretend to have an enormous team offering a raft of services. Customers can relate to the small business operator, especially if your online presence is personal and shows your passion for what you do.
2 Be socially authentic. Your level of
social media engagement will vary depending on the type and size of your business. Where appropriate (and safe), try to include personal headshots so that your customers know who they are dealing with, and use short video messages to create engaging and authentic content. It’s much easier to see and believe your passion through your voice, body language and facial expressions than to read endless text. standoutpublishing.online 31
3 When creating content, make sure
you are including some valuable information – not a promise of what they will find out after buying something but a genuine exchange of information. You don’t have to give away your secrets for free, but some generosity and transparency online will build trust with your audience that will make them more likely to pay for goods and services in the future.
4 Make sure your customers can
contact you, find your store, or ask questions about your products and services. How many times have you read great things about a business then struggled to spot where they are located? If you are time poor, limit contact details to one or two methods (say email and web form) that you can monitor regularly, and try to respond within 24 hours. Only include your phone number if you are willing to be contacted at all hours.
5 Make sure everything you say is true
and can be verified. The online world is full of scammers hiding behind the smoke and mirrors of their claims to success. But it doesn’t take long for false claims to be uncovered. If you believe in yourself and your business, and have happy clients, the truth will be enough to attract more like them.
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6 Focus on the basics – giving your
customers great experiences, and listening to their feedback. Own your mistakes. Even if you don’t like or agree with their negative feedback, acknowledge that they did not have the experience they expected or that you intended, whatever the reason. Responding quickly, maturely and with respect goes a long way in dealing with customer complaints.
7 Seek reviews wherever possible. A
third party report will always carry more credibility than claims you can make yourself. Ask clients to complete review online, or do a quick video interview while you are with them and they have just enjoyed your product or service. Rating a service provider is a relatively new online tool and can be vastly useful for your future clients in choosing you. Being given a high rating form your clients is a great compliment and reflection on your service. But make sure you are focussing on the current client’s experience, and not the rating (which will attract future clients).
8 Creating content online can be
time consuming and won’t always reap rewards. You don’t have to be on every possible platform – pick two that are appropriate for your business and where you can have an impact, whether that’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or blogging. If you respond and post regularly on one or two platforms you will build followers and enthusiasts through your consistency and availability, rather than jumping on the latest trend and spreading yourself too thin. Most importantly, make sure your online brand reflects you. Give your online followers the same respect, privacy, attention and professionalism that you would if it was face to face. You know you are being authentic if there are no surprises when you meet an online customer in real life.
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