Inbound Marketing with Relevant Web

Integrated Inbound Marketing

It is well known that the business website is critical to generating revenue around the clock without the overhead of bricks and clerks.  But how do you attract customers to the site and keep them coming back for more?  In order to do this, you need a framework which brings to the table the best practices of using inbound marketing.  This means attracting prospects through social media, building a following through social media groups, building credibility through relevant blogs, and configuring a site which is search engine friendly to get the highest possible natural listings. 

 

 

 

 

 

SEO Optimization

In the past, businesses were found by hanging out a sign for passersby or by getting their name listed in the Yellow pages.  Businesses used tricks like neon lights or starting their business name with AAA to get noticed.  These tricks worked particularly well for plumbers, barbers, and bars.

Today, more and more customers are searching for services on the web with search engines.  The common search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing use cleaver algorithms to find and index web sites.  The search engines crawl websites and try to determine what the site is about, then make a copy of it, and finally index it for future reference. 

The search engines are aware that people often try to trick users as to what the site is really about so the process has gotten quite sophisticated as to how best to inventory the world of websites.  How can Google™ be sure what your site is about?  The key items the search engines look for are:

• How frequently the site is updated – current and frequently updated information is more interesting and credible.  This means you must have a CMS which allows updating on a daily basis without the overhead of recompiles or regression testing.
• Link tags or descriptions.  It is not the picture or the content as much has the internal description used to reference it.  In fact, search engines can’t read pictures or flash.  The wording on the tag or link is more credible than the resulting content.
• External references back to the site.  Of course, it is interesting how you describe yourself, but what other people say is far more credible.  In order to get this, a site must inspire others to talk about on their own.  The paid link services have not proven to be successful as search engines seem to be aware of bought links as opposed to inspired linked.  Use your social media and blogs to get people talking.  The right blogger can indirectly reach over 7 million people in only a few days.
• Key words.  These are the words your customers might use to describe your services or offerings.   They can often be very different from how you or a knowledgeable industry insider might describe your business.  The best approach is to start with determining what key words your competition is using.  You can choose to take them head on and fight for the center or you might choose to promote a new angle.   As you build your content, be aware of your focused words, but don’t force them into a sentence as it will be obvious that it is contrived and thus loses credibility.

 

In simple terms, your business must be able to rank high on the natural search results for your selected key words.  Try it often and on different search engines.  If you are not listed in the first 2 pages, you simply will not be found as people seldom go beyond the first page.  They simply expect the ‘big’ players to be listed first.  But be aware, you may not be able to ace all of the search engines, so it is best to focus on the market leader – which for now is Google.

Of course, there are paid advertisements and rankings, but these have not been proven to be effective in the long term.  A huge majority of the follow on clicks are still from the natural listings as people find these more credible.  People always believe a word of mouth recommendation over an advertisement.  However, it can be worth using some paid rankings from time to time to generate a spike of activity or to test out new key words.  But you have to be ready to monitor the results closely.

 

Social Media

The primary use of social media is to attract attention and build a loyal following.  There is no better way to target specific groups and stay in touch with a target community.  Tools like Facebook™ and LinkedIn™ allow you not only to be found by specific searches, but also to target specific self-declared groups.  However, in order to attract the attention, the topic must offer something of value – it must be relevant.  The offering in terms of advice, references, or similar must have value to the target community.  Of course, it is great if the item of value is related to the business offering, but it is not required.  For example, information on business dress casual is interesting to those who will be going on a job interview.  However, the provider must remain keenly aware that this is a social atmosphere in that any blatant commercial pitch will likely backfire.  A good way to view the conversation is to keep it light as if it were a friendly dinner party.  Nobody wants to hear an insurance pitch from the brother-in-law.

The goal is to draw the broader community into a dedicated group or page which has a similar focus or interest – not necessarily directly tied to your product.  This group or page is an effective way to both measure your prospective customer base, to get insights as to their real needs, and to communicate directly to them.  One of the best approaches to a group is to pose questions or solicit feedback on related topics.  The most successful topics are about the group’s common challenges rather than any specific product.  How do you research a prospective employer?  What are challenges around the house when you are unemployed?  This will not only provide valuable insight as to what services are most desirable, but also establish your brand as the industry authority.  Most people eagerly engage with people who solicit their opinion and provide feedback so that it shows their voice was heard.  It doesn’t have to be personal feedback, but simply a summary response or a broadcast thank you.

However, the group or page is not an effective place to deliver premium content or drive revenue.  It is best reserved for discussion and updates.  The prospects can comment without any fear of commitment.  It is like looking in a store window.  While the prospect is outside, they will often compare notes with other prospects.  But the business owner seldom gets to eavesdrop to the extent provided in social media.   Some businesses worry about letting their customers talk freely in public; however, even negative comments can be turned into good will if the business responds appropriately.  All too often negative comments are public, but the business response is private or edited.  In this case, both are public and in the author’s own words.  The goal is really to build curiosity into the business’ core web site.  Then, we get them to come inside – where hopefully you already know what they think.  So, the landing page can continue the process to convert them to a registered prospect so they can get more tailored communication and maybe even some free stuff.

Blogs

Unless your business is the absolute bottom line discounter, you must build credibility for your purpose, expertise, and content.  Customers like to go to the recognized source – and will pay a premium for it.  A blog is becoming the preeminent method for achieving a broad readership and following.  These are short articles establishing a position or recommendation on a topic of interest to the target community.  These are not product advertisements or rants, but short articles usually based upon a lifetime of knowledge and experience.  They must deliver valuable content to the reader and not just refer the reader to a paid service. 

It is amazing how much relevant information business have on the shelves.  This information can be found hidden away in their minds or on their bookshelves.  A common mistake is to restrict the blogging to only senior approved staff.  In reality, some of the riches blogs come from experienced staff on the front lines.  A wealth of rich content can be found in prior works or just life experience that does not require a huge effort to publish.  The best blogs are only a few paragraphs so sometimes an existing work can generate several blog entries over several weeks.  Some examples of existing information which can be recycled:

• Existing general works can be edited down to one key point.
• Custom work can be generalized to fit a broader audience
• Staff experience can be tapped for life experience
• Speeches can be captured to video
• Slide shows generalized and shortened.

 

The blog not only establishes your credibility, but it also drives your SEO authority because each blog page itself is viewed as a website.  This means after providing some unique and valuable nuggets, it is advantageous to always refer the reader back to the core site for additional information.  Of course, the links must carefully use the appropriate tags to describe what will found within the referenced landing page.  This is a key way to increase the SEO authority of your home domain while at the same time developing a loyal prospect base.

 

Landing Page

Now that we have a prospect interested, where do we send them?  The recommended process is to direct prospects to a specifically designed Landing Page.  A business may have several Landing Pages for different lines of business or target customer groups.  A common mistake is to direct prospects to the home page which is by necessity a hub which is a one size fits none.  Chances are your business offers several products, but this prospect came only because of an interest in one!  Don’t put all of your toys on the table and ask them to pick.  By contrast, the Landing Page has a specific focus and a call to action.  It shows clearly what the business is offering this prospect and what you are asking the prospect to do – Subscribe to our newsletter!  At this point, it is a best practice to offer some free service with a minimal obligation.  Some examples:

• Newsletter
• Resume review or preparation
• Job search questionnaire
• Interview quiz
• White papers

 

The most successful teasers do not necessarily require any upfront registration or credit cards.  These barriers will dramatically increase the bounce rate before the prospect has even tried your service.  It seldom works on the street to ask someone their SSN before at least getting some agreement on the weather and the latest sports game.  Remember, your competition is only one click away.  The better approach is to ask for the registration after the prospect has consumed the free item.  Then, you not only have their information, but you also have a more committed prospect.  They agreed to register after they digested your information; this avoids wasting a lot of time following up with cold leads.

 

 

 

 

 

CRM

After a business has pulled in new prospects with high search engine listings and kept their interest in social media, the business must convert these prospects into customers.  This process must use a light touch and be easy to use.  It must allow the customer to have control over their account and be comfortable that they can unsubscribe at any time.

This tool enables the business to directly communicate with their subscribers with content that is tailored directly to their situation or needs.  The information can be delivered with tailored screens, tailored newsletters, and/or advertising.  General messages are rapidly becoming as in effective as billboards.  Registered prospects expect you to know them and to give them the respect they deserve by only giving them what they need to know.  It is unproductive to explain how to fill out a resume at McDonalds when your customer only wants CIO positions.

This database will become your businesses most important resource.  It will be used as an initial pool for seminars and book sales.  The CRM system can’t be something you sit on the sideline.  It must be integrated into your web engine and complete plan.  The settings must understand privacy preferences and security restrictions.   The best practices leverage the CRM for:

• Self-managed personal accounts for automatic follow up and repeat customer tracking
• Tracking multiple addresses, including security and status designations
• Attach customers to business-oriented groups with a lifecycle status history tracking
• Send targeted email messages or publish online directories (by groups)
• Export lists for mailings or perform mass email messaging
• Leverage relationships between customers and businesses or between family customers
• Track and leverage the status history of each customer by product or opportunity

 Now, you are online and ready to go with your e-business.  But check out the inbound marketing ready web framework.