I recently went to a web site looking for some information about drawing classes for my son. The company whose site I visited is highly respected and has been around for years teaching the arts. Unfortunately their home page didn’t show how great they are. It was cluttered, a bit confusing and didn’t provide a clear message.
This particular organization has been in business 36 years, but their web site didn’t give the impression that they were established and reputable. It’s really important to impart a good first impression. People won’t stay at your site for long if they don’t like what they see. If I didn’t already know about this business, I wouldn’t have received a good perception of it when looking at their home page.
Home page content should be concise since people on the web are trying to quickly determine if what you offer is what they need. It should be neatly laid out with links readily available to take them to the information they seek.
The home page gets more attention than any other part of your site. Doesn’t it make sense to put the most time into it? Content should contain key words that tie into exactly what your site is about. If you are a creative arts center specializing in dance, drawing and photography, then say that. For instance, ”Our Creative Arts Center offers dance, drawing and guitar instruction for the San Mateo, CA area”. So if someone is doing an internet search and wants to find guitar instruction in that area, your site will pop up. Bottom line is the content has to be relevant to what your business has to offer.
I have 11-year-old twin boys who are budding entrepreneurs. Recently they created a website KCCoStuf where they plan to sell homemade items. They have yet to determine what this homemade stuff will be, but they sure had fun creating their website and thinking about how to find buyers.
Connor, he’s the one on your right, told me he wished he had thought to put their site’s address in the back of his father’s race car for some free advertising when they were at New England Dragway last Sunday. Not a bad idea. Casey was intent on delivering fliers to his classmates.
They had already set up Twitter and Facebook accounts and were spreading the word about their business. They had written plenty of posts, although they were a little heavy handed with the sales pitch and not so much about relationship building - although there was some useful content on there about how to make your own bouncy ball :-). A business card with a logo had been developed and even though it was a little rough, they had the idea. Signage and collateral were also in the works.
Now they’ll never make a dime from this venture, but the thing I got from it was their enthusiasm about the work. Ideas were constantly popping into their heads about ways they could spread the message about their website. It was brainstorming in its purest form.
Marketing really can be a lot of fun even if you aren’t 11 years old. Start with some good market research, then let your creativity roll. Remember to set goals and keep your focus on them, but have fun while doing it.
Tags: brainstorming, Content, entrepreneurs, Facebook, Marketing, New England Dragway, Twitter
The items in this photo are from one of my favorite stores, Company C, in Concord, NH. Their products are bursting with beautiful colors and great designs and you can’t help but want to look around.
Marketing content needs to work much the same way. It should draw readers in with interesting information and words that compel them to want to know more. The message should speak to the audience you are trying to reach. You can’t write the same way for a software engineer as you would for a musician. But you do want to dazzle them both with a message that delivers something they’ll want to learn more about.
When you add some color to your marketing content, your reader will want to spend a little more time “looking around” and will be more likely to become a lead.
Tags: Company C, Concord NH, content marketing
I was listening to Car Talk http://www.cartalk.com/ on National Public Radio, one of my favorite weekend shows. Tom and Ray Magliozzi were talking to a woman who admitted she was attracted to a Jeep Liberty from its commercials which featured a driver accumulating an array of singing animals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Vok2fM7Lg. Jeep’s ads made her associate their vehicles with adventure. Now that’s advertising power.
Even though Tom and Ray 
told her that there were many negatives to Jeeps such as poor handling and low gas mileage, it was apparent that the ads had played a significant role in her strong desire to switch from her current Toyata Sienna minivan. She was ready for adventure.
Think advertising is overrated? I think it’s pretty powerful stuff.
Tags: Advertising, Car Talk, commercials, Jeep Liberty, minivan, National Public Radio, power, Sienna, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, Toyota
I received this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH9vcZO9SKw in my e-mail today about an enlightened stupid marketer. It pokes fun at, as Marketing Profs puts it, “those who knowingly operate in a superficial world of marketingspeak clichés”.
It’s good for some chuckles, but instead of “don’t know it, don’t show it”, it’s a better idea to get expert help and educate yourself. Are you a stupid marketer or an enlightened stupid marketer? If either, check out some of the great marketing blogs out there like http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ or http://www.chrisbrogan.com/ or the many terrific books available. Before you know it you’ll be empowered by your knowledge and never again have to pretend you understand those marketingspeak clichés.
Tags: enlightened stupid marketer, Marketing Profs, marketingspeak clichés, stupid marketer
In the world of instant gratification, it’s easy to move on to the next new thing rather than sticking to something. This is part of our throw away society. But to make something successful, it takes time and effort.
Heard that blogging will help build your business? Right, but it doesn’t happen overnight and you have to be committed to it.
Twitter is another tool that many people are quitting http://bit.ly/LPf2n . I think Twitter’s problem is more than its inadequate home page. Many people start on it to achieve fast results. When they don’t get them quickly, they’re ready to move on.
You can’t learn to play piano overnight, it takes practice and commitment. So do most things in life. Stick with what works, tweak what doesn’t. Put real effort in and if still no results, then cut your losses.
Tags: Add new tag, blogging, business, effort, Twitter
I was looking through YouTube for information on Content Marketing and came across a video by Charles Brown on Personal Branding with Content Marketing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxzNsj8hMSA. I thought Mr. Brown did a good job describing why in today’s job market, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd by presenting employers with a clear idea of who you are and how you can help their company.
It’s the same for products/services. What’s in it for the consumer? No one wants to spend money on something that isn’t going to help them in some way.
On NPR over the weekend they had a segment that told how a woman had spent money on products at the Atlantic City boardwalk from professional pitchmen who convinced her that she couldn’t live without what they had to offer. Most of the products she never used because they just didn’t work after she got them home or because she simply didn’t need them.
These pitchmen, though effective, are not authentic and only intend to make a one-time sale again and again. They’re not concerned with developing long-term relationships for continued business. It’s the same with job seeking. If you want to keep a job once hired, you had better have a product (you), that does what you pitched.
The graphic in this post shows seven key attributes that are necessary for personal branding and that can really apply to any branding. They are described as follows:
-
Coherence - being consistent and intelligible - your story needs to have coherence.
- Meaning - you must have a purpose in what you stand for and get that across to others.
- Value - what can you provide to others that will make them want to hire you or use your product?
- Authenticity - be real in your message.
- Commitment - be ready to do what you say you will.
- Vision - have an understanding of where you want to go and how you will get there.
- Flexibility - be ready to make changes to reach your goals.
The most important attribute and what the others are built around is Authenticity. Without it, the rest falls apart.
Has having an authentic brand helped you in your job search or business? How so?
Tags: Brand, Charles Brown, content marketing, NPR, personal branding, pitchmen, YouTube
On Mother’s Day my mother, my sons and I headed to Wolfeboro, NH where we had a hearty breakfast and then visited the Wright Museum www.wrightmuseum.org, which features WWII artifacts and information.
While there, it was really interesting to see all the advertisements that were created to sell war bonds. It was a successful marketing campaign with more than 85 million Americans - half the population - purchasing bonds totaling $185.7 billion. Not bad considering people only made $2,000 per year on average back then.
This was an emotional time with patriotism running high. Celebrities such as Rita Hayworth and Bette Davis helped the effort, and Norman Rockwell created a series of illustrations that were reproduced by the Saturday Evening Post. Even Bugs Bunny helped to sell bonds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TUPUbvO0eU. The bond effort produced the greatest volume of advertising in US history with ads generated by both the U.S. government and private companies.
OK, enough of the history lesson. What we can learn from the war bond effort is that a campaign is successful if it touches consumers’ emotions and shows that the product/service fulfills a need. In this case, helping Americans support their country’s freedom. Reach your audience just as effectively by understanding their concerns and demonstrating how what you have to offer can benefit them.
Tags: Advertising, campaign, Marketing, war bonds, Wolfeboro, Wright Museum, WWII
Over the years I’ve dealt with many clients. They’ve come from all types of industries, each with different expectations. What I’ve found is that the following three components go a long way in keeping any type of client happy to produce a positive end result.
- Ask thought provoking questions. Your clients may not clearly describe what they want or even know yet, so it’s important that you draw it out of them. Find out what their expectations are through investigative questions that will give you a good understanding of their goals.
- Listen carefully. When dealing with your clients, listen carefully to what they have to say. Take notes and if there is anything you are unsure of, clear it up with them. Better to do it now than get in the middle your work and realize you need more data and have to contact them again.
- Define their expectations. Once you have spoken to your client about what they need and have taken your notes, ensure you have understood them. Determine whether you are both on the same page with what is expected. If you are providing a proposal, include this information in it. If it is a more informal project, state clearly what you believe they are looking for and get their agreement.
Although completing these steps doesn’t 100 percent guarantee you won’t miss the mark, it will greatly reduce that chance.
Tags: Add new tag, client, expectations, happy
I’m a loyal customer of E&W Automotive www.eandwauto.com in Loudon, NH because of their service. They recently changed my car’s fuel filter and it cost me just $30. They drove me home after I dropped the car off at their shop and when they were finished they picked me up too. E&W has a loyal following because they are friendly, caring and honest.
A few weeks ago when I tried to deal with my telephone company to resolve an issue, I was transferred three times, each time getting stuck in a queue for 10-15 minutes before reaching a person. After being on the phone for almost an hour, my situation was still not resolved. Unfortunately they’re the only game in town, but someday they’ll have competition, and poor service is likely to lose them customers.
Low prices may find you new business, but bad service will eventually drive it away. Treat your customers well and they’ll stay with you.
Tags: competition, customers, Loudon, service
Email
Twitter
LinkedIn
FaceBook