Marketing - Mike McRitchie | Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer | Telecom Marketing Content Writer

Does Your Brand Really Need a Social Marketing Strategy?

December 1, 2016 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

Social Media Marketing Strategy — Photo credit: greyweed via Foter.com / CC BY

Photo credit: greyweed via Foter.com / CC BY

When it comes to your digital marketing strategy, how important is social media content for mobile users?

According to CMI, 87% of marketers are using social media as a delivery mechanism for content – making it the most common way to get content to an audience.

ComScore reported that mobile engagement on social media has grown by 55% in just 12 months.

Mobile users are more active and are spending increasingly more of their time on their mobile devices browsing content.

In order to connect with a wider range of users in a more intimate way, your brand needs to focus on creating a social media strategy that takes into account mobile users and the other platforms available on mobile.

Using Your Content for Social Media

Many brands turn to social media as a way to gain followers and increase their website traffic.

The benefits of inbound content designed for social media are huge in attracting users that are a good fit for your brand. Content on social media needs to be visually intriguing in order to catch the attention of users that are scrolling on their mobile devices.

Most mobile users are browsing a lot of content while often distracted by other events around them, so content needs to be concise and easy to skim with headers.

Include a blurb and image with your link on social media to better increase click-throughs to your content.

Respecting a User’s Space

Mobile optimized content is a great way to connect with users, but it is sending your content right to your user’s personal device.

With social media marketing, you are able to connect with your users on their own terms and by their own choosing. Your users have to choose to follow you, forcing you to come up with better content that is worth following and sharing.

If you want to get more engagement, you will be pushed to get to know your audience better and create a strong content strategy.

Allow Your Users to Find You

People now fully expect brands to be on social media – especially Facebook.

Most users will look for brands on Facebook when they want to check for brand updates or look at what the brand has to offer.

If you are absent from social media—or, worse, if you don’t update your page consistently—then you will come off as behind the times and may seem irrelevant to users.

If they can’t find you on social media, then your users are likely to turn to your competitors.

Don’t make the mistake of neglecting your social media presence. Use social media to better connect with your users, increase website traffic and get the most out of your content.

Author Biography

Ken Rhie

Ken is the CEO of Trumpia, the most complete SMS software with mass SMS messaging, smart targeting and automation

Freelancing Work – Which Kind of Freelancer Are You? [Infographic]

November 26, 2016 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

You’re an Uber driver. Or you work the holidays at the mall to earn extra cash. Or you do freelance IT work.

Whatever your freelancing specialty, balancing your freelance work with your other job, family and social life responsibilities can be a challenge. There’s just not enough time to do everything. So you need to set priorities and boundaries.

With the shift if social norms towards work and jobs, people want flexible work schedules, telecommute options, and ways to earn more money and contribute to their world. Often this turns into side hustles and freelance works to supplement income and or keep the creative juices flowing. Things that often aren’t available for many in the fixed salary, repetitive task situation in most people’s jobs.

So if you decided to go the side hustle route. Whether starting a full-fledged small business, or just adding some light income at nights or on weekends with minimal administrative work required, you still need to optimize your efforts.

Check out this infographic from Invoice2Go. And when you’ve read it, I’ll continue with my insights on how I’ve implemented some of those ideas (or might) and how you might too.

Enjoy!

Okay. You read through this. Interesting, huh? I think they did a great job with this as it really hit home with me.

Here’s some of my highlights.

Always be prepared to pitch your work, you never know when and where you will meet your next client.

I’ve found clients through family and friends recommendations (I’ve had family refer friends who were being laid off or facing job uncertainty or looking to pursue new opportunities – for me to help with updating their resume or providing career coaching services).

I had a prior client call me six months after I did his resume to get help asking a family member for money to cover crippling student loan debt. Not something I typically do…but because I was ready and able to help, I jumped on it. And it was a cool copywriting opportunity.

Become skilled in your niche to attract and connect with your target audience.

As I’ve consistently published hopefully interesting, thought-provoking, and helpful blog posts to you, my fans who enjoy hearing about cutting edge ideas around small business growth (or your freelancing and side hustle versions) or career strategy advice, I now have people coming to me. Whether it is connecting with my via LinkedIn or my website to have me help them with their business or career needs. Or if it is other bloggers or content creators in the space who want to get their awesome content out to you, my readers (and hopefully drive some extra business their way), this all feeds itself.

You need to keep learning, growing, and trying things if you’re going to grow your connections (both the number and depth of connection). And by doing that, the investment you consistently make will then translate into personal growth and business growth over the upcoming year.

Venture outside of your home and find a good cafe or co-working space, it’s a different type of networking.

Being time limited between my job, freelance work, and family, I often find myself on the living room couch – laptop on my lap – typing away while my kids are watching TV or after they go to sleep. Trying to find quiet time to focus can be a challenge for any freelancer. If you’re single or just need a break or change of pace. Or if you’re transitioning into something full time or are a stay-at-home mom who does this and wants to use the business to get out and connect with people (including your future clients), consider getting out of the house. It will likely spur some new ideas (changing your environment is often the quickest way to mix things up).

Now go tackle your freelance work!

Also check out these related articles:

Ultimate List: 156 Most-Read Marketing Blogs

Side Hustle? Promotion? Why Not Both?

Do Millennials Know the Secret?

Ultimate List: 156 Most-Read Marketing Blogs

November 9, 2016 by Mike McRitchie 16 Comments

Marketing Blogs.

Chock-full of timely useful information that can fill your tool belt with what you need to craft great marketing messages to drive customers to your door.

But how do you find them?

Yes, we all know the top ones that are well known in the internet marketing community. Marketing blogs like Copyblogger and Duct Tape Marketing.

But how about other marketing blogs that might bring you different perspectives and unique approaches that haven’t hit the mainstream blogs yet?

And what if you don’t have the time to do the research and hunt down the best of the best?

Well you came to the right place.

I took many of the top lists on the web. I dumped the ones with pathetic social media numbers. And the best of the best rose to the top.

You’ll see the big names. But you’ll also be exposed to some other blogs with interesting twists that just might help you jump start your business marketing and take your small business to an exciting new level.

So jump in and enjoy. And if you like it, please share this post. If you have any other marketing blogs you’d recommend please add as a comment.

NOTE: Checking out all these resources will take some time. You can read it all right now, try to remember to bookmark it, OR you can download the entire marketing blog guide in ebook form for FREE and read it later…and get another productivity ebook thrown in as well.

BONUS 25 SALES BLOGS [UPDATED 11/9/16]

Bonus: 60 Sales Blogs Update [11/9/16]

Are Your Leads A Mirage?

September 29, 2016 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Generating leads, as the precursor to generating sales, is the lifeblood of any business. You don’t get business, you go out of business.

As a small business marketer who is always tight on time and money for marketing campaigns, I’m always evaluating my lead generating marketing and assessing performance.

Like many small businesses this is a part of a part time function. I need to get to the point quickly and move on.

I’ve done Facebook paid ads and Facebook Page posts and boosted those posts.
I’ve tested LinkedIn public posts and posts to industry groups.
I’ve tested Craigslist Ads.
I’ve made opt-in offers at my website.
I’ve done drip marketing campaigns with email and blog posts.

And until you do the analysis, you can’t tell which is doing best. And although Google Analytics helps you find some of those answers, there is often more to the story.

Just because you get more sales from one platform does not mean it necessarily is outperforming the rest. Sometimes paid ads bring in more bottom line dollars (after deducting the costs of those sales) than so called “Free Marketing” channels.

And in the guest post below (they are marketing their services – aka lead generation) there are some very interesting takeaways I think you should know – whether you’re a mid-sized company who will benefit from their services, or a small mom and pop marketer who can still take these ideas to improve their business’ marketing performance.

As I went through the slides, here are some takeaways I found interesting…

How many visits it takes to convert into a sales lead. You’ll be surprised by the number.
Why an inquiry and a lead are not one and the same. There’s more to this than you think.
How overstating your leads will result in poor cost per lead and ROI assessment…which could mislead you into thinking a bad campaign is actually profitable.

Here you go.

When you’re trying to generate quality leads, relying on conversion data in your marketing campaigns will leave you in a vulnerable spot. Based on “The Critical Importance of Lead Validation” study, as much as 50 percent of a company’s conversions are not sales leads. Overstated conversion data causes you to invest in campaigns that are producing much less ROI than you think, and to make campaign changes that make performance even worse.

as much as 50 percent of a company’s conversions are not sales leads Click To Tweet

By validating leads, the process of separating non-sales conversions from sales conversions, you’ll uncover inquiry data that will help you optimize your campaign to its full potential. That data includes how many sales leads you’ve generated versus other conversions, and the online marketing source for each of sales lead. Without this process it is impossible to determine the true effectiveness of your lead generation.

In the presentation below, you will find more eye-opening lead generation data.

The importance of lead validation by organic seo services company, Straight North.

Aaron Wittersheim is an accomplished entrepreneur with more than 20 years of business and technology experience. He is currently Chief Operating Officer at Straight North, a Chicago-based Internet marketing company.

How to Make Yourself “The Most Interesting Man [Woman] in the World”

June 18, 2016 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U18VkI0uDxE[/youtube]

You’ve seen “The Most Interesting Man in the World” Dos Equis beer commercials. The guy who just attracts what he wants and goes through life without a care. He is the ultimate embodiment of pure marketing genius.

Here are some of my favorites…

If he were to visit the dark side of the moon, it wouldn’t be dark
His business card simply says ‘I’ll Call You”
He once won the world series of poker using UNO cards
When he was young he once sent his parents to his room

Check out the rest here: 100 “The Most Interesting Man in the World” Quotes – courtesy of Jay Abraham.

So how can you become The Most Interesting?

To find out let’s look at what makes these ads so magnetic. And how the aura of “The Most Interesting Man” is created.

Great Quotes

The backbone of the ad campaign that draws you in is the great lines.

“He never wears a watch because time is always on his side”

Always using an unexpected play on words, often using a well-known cliches as the backdrop.

They also have a visual basis (like wearing a watch) where you can picture the scene, laugh a little, and admire the moxie and bravado without ever feeling like he’s just a dumb-ass or overly cocky. He just IS the most interesting man in the world.

Pure Alignment

He IS that man. He doesn’t have to pretend. Or practice. Or try. He just does. And everyone just follows his lead without question. It is the power of complete alignment of self. Something we all struggle with – from the everyman to the beautiful, to the rich, to the famous. We all have self-doubts inside us. And seeing someone who appears not to is intoxicatingly attractive to us.

This is also similar to the power of celebrity and why we follow people in the public eye. Think “Housewives” or “Trump” or “Kardashians”.

A Great Story

Great story-telling is a skill we all deep down wish we had. Story-telling is a great sales tool (both for the beer and for the interesting man) because it draws you in. People love stories. They are great to listen to and great to retell.

Along with the great story, the headline/meme is great, “The Most Interesting Man in the World”. It is easily captured and communicated around the water cooler. And all the commercials and quotes support the theme. Building it into an indisputable force. That harnesses the power of repetition without seeming repetitious.

Just check out the video above to see how many different ways they sell the most interesting man concept.

Social Proof

The most interesting man doesn’t tell people that is who he is. Others say it. That is the ultimate way to build a brand or an aura. Demonstrate it and have others observe it so they retell your story. It is like going for that raise or new job. If someone else sings your praises the sale is already made. But it you say it it often comes across as bragging or being conceited.

Video

Although words and audio often sway more than video (just try turning the sound off on your TV vs closing your eyes and listening to the TV. You pick up much more from the audio than you realize. That being said however, video…particularly short video clips no longer than a couple minutes (in today’s soundbite culture) with a scene that catches your attention (as these commercial spots do) is very effective.

You’ll notice these days video is hot. YouTube is the number two search engine behind Google searches.

What makes these interesting man videos so watchable, beyond what I already mentioned, is the star, Johnathan Goldsmith. A distinguished gentleman who young men look up to as a model of what they could be – attractive to women and respected by men. For the women he is someone who appears rich, famous, a little bit the bad boy, and unattainable. And this makes him the ultimate man to them.

Then there is narrator Will Lyman who delivers the lines effortlessly, setting the scene and nailing the punch lines.

Then with the movie-scene quality sets that these commercial are staged in, you’re just drawn in.

What About You?

Now I know we all can’t be like the Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man. But we can all learn a little something from him about how to promote ourselves better without seeming too pushy or conceited.

Get clear on who you are and what sets you apart

We are all different and everyone brings a different set of gifts to the world. The key is not trying to be someone you’re not. The Most Interesting Man is effective in the role because he IS that man. You can do the same once you’ve found your own personal niche.

Not sure what that is? Contact me and I can help you find it out.

Show, don’t tell

If you try too hard and start telling people how great you are, people will be turned off. But if others do the telling for you (because they see how good you are), then you’ll get much farther in life. Yes, there are ways to tell without coming off as too into yourself, but it takes a little bit of skill and underselling. Much better if others sell you to others.

Tell stories that support your message

We all have great stories inside us. And telling stories that demonstrate your gifts and expertise don’t seem like you’re bragging. So work on the key stories that reinforce your personal brand. And get good at telling them.

Be interested

One key to being interesting that I heard from my mentor Jay Abraham was a story (there it goes again) about how he chatted with a man for several hours, listening intently, only asking a probing question or two. When the time was up and Jay had to leave, the man commented about how interesting Jay was – even though Jay said nothing about himself.

Too often people are so busy trying to get the next word in or telling their next thought, that they never truly listen. A good listener is a true gift to someone else. Very few people are truly listened to intently. And by listening fully, they will value you.

We live in a Facebook culture. You know those people on Facebook who post their pics of trips to Europe, Hawaii, beaches, mountain skiing and hiking. It seems like all your friends are having fun all the time. They really aren’t. Yes they look like they’re smiling all the time. But that doesn’t count all the dreary, boring, annoying things they do every day that they don’t post. But if you look at your news feed, you’d think you’re the only one not having fun.

You really aren’t, but there is a small group of people actually posting cool things and taking exciting trips. You don’t have to keep up, but it does help you to be engaged and share something. You can choose – family occasions are often popular. Skip the food posts. Share the funny videos. And if it reinforces your personal meme, share it.

Live Life

Life’s too short to worry about everything. One thing you learn as you get older is to not take things so seriously. Life will be over in an instant. The best you can do is live in the moment, share your gifts, and do those things you would wish you had done. Remember the bucket list? Start doing some of those things. They don’t all have to cost money. And if they do, save up for that instead of buying the next latte.

Enjoy!

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