Posted by Justin Cambria on Mon, Aug 30, 2010
This weekend I finished reading
Brian Halligan and
Dharmesh Shah’s book
Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs as part of my first set of objectives here at PNP. As
inbound marketing practitioners, there were some valuable pearls of wisdom to glean from the book.
The book is a great primer for business owners or marketers who are not digital natives to get a sense of the landscape of inbound marketing. It neatly outlines the tools – On and Off Page SEO, Blogging & RSS, Social Media – and basic implementation methodology that you need to know to attain baseline proficiency in this arena.
Here are 3 good takeaways you can use in your marketing, to which I've added something relevant that's changed the picture since the book's publication:
Being #1 overall in Google searches really matters
From p. 58, describing Google search results for any term: ‘A recent study show that Google’s first page captures over 89% of the traffic… Even within the first page, the traffic is not spread evenly – the top ranked result (number one on the first page) captures about 42% of the traffic.’ I didn't know how much more traffic #1 gets than #2 in a search.
But now... There’s another variable in this picture now, too: Google Caffeine. Search results are now influenced by an increasingly complex set of factors, including the searchers' location, search history, and social media network. It’s still important to do as much as you can to be close to the top for your important keywords, but while you may be #1 for a searcher in Boston, you may not be for the same term by a searcher in San Francisco.
Takeaway: chasing the top slot if you are number 2 or 3 could result in a big traffic bump and it’s worth the effort to pursue the top slot. But pay attention also to your local search results in important locales.
Answer questions on LinkedIn Answers – and now, Facebook Questions
I've looked at LinkedIn as an online resume which may one day have value, and simply accept that as the default professional networking site, it is essential to maintain an updated profile. I try to keep my profile active by updating it with tweets.
But I have never answered a question on LinkedIn answers, which the book suggests as a good way to establish some thought leadership within the community and a next level step to get more value out of LinkedIn.
But now... Facebook has rolled out a version of questions recently, this is another place where it’ll be worth spending some time to get more value than just simple networking from these sites.
Takeaway: Visit LinkedIn Answers and Facebook Questions, subscribe to some topical interests, and ask and answer some questions. I plan to make this part of my daily morning check up online, and maybe you should too!
Test multiple Landing Page designs and copy
I have some landing pages to work on for our website, and having read the book, I plan to A/B test a couple of different landing pages. Best practices dictate having an eye popping graphic, a simple and easy to complete form, and no other links to divert your potential customers’ attention elsewhere.
But now... Companies are continually having to compete on more and more specific niches. If you are dedicated to a single specific product or service, consider adding a landing page to your home page. Test your conversion rate, which means that as many visitors to your landing page as possible are actually filling out your form. I learned that 15% is a base target for conversions on your landing page, and 50% is excellent. Try a couple of different designs and see if your conversion ratios improve.
Takeaway: Test new landing pages for your campaigns, and consider slapping a compelling form on your home page if you are a niche service.
What are your favorite internet or marketing ‘must read’ books?
Sick of Old Fashioned Marketing? Take HubSpot for a Spin.
 Find out how we can help turn your website into a marketing machine.
Sign up for a HubSpot Demo with PullnotPush.
|
Posted by Jeff Machado on Tue, Aug 17, 2010
As Client Services Manager for Park Street Designs at PullnotPush, I get a great opportunity to field questions about how to get the most out of the HubSpot CMS.
One of the main questions that pops up is how to add custom social media buttons to a HubSpot portal. In this video, I walk you through the simple steps to follow in order to add your own buttons on your HubSpot site.
Remember, you can follow this same process for adding buttons linking back to your YouTube, Twitter, and other relevant social media pages that you may have.
Make sure to leave your questions in the comments if you have any other questions about the HubSpot CMS!
Whitepaper - 17 Ways To Get Found Online
Is all website traffic created equal? Learn how to generate website traffic from social media in a Web 2.0 world.
Download the free whitepaper for 17 tips you can implement to start increasing your website traffic in no time.
Posted by Samantha Coren on Wed, Aug 11, 2010
It seems like just about every day you hear news reporters taking aim at the most outlandish events in social media. With every infidelity or cyberbullying case uncovered on Facebook or Twitter there's always something you can take away when it comes to social media marketing for business.
Don't believe me? Let's take a look at some current events in social media rocking the newswires:
An Ohioan mother of two discovers that her husband has a second wife on Facebook. Now she fights for the custody of her sons and to prove that her original marriage was lawful.
Marketing Takeaway: Don't let someone find out your business screwed up big time via social networking sites. Represent the same set of values on and off line and you'll find yourself avoiding a whole bunch of unwanted drama.
Chris Peterson, head coach of Boise State's football team, has decided to ban his players from tweeting during the regular season. Why? He thinks it's a giant distraction.
Marketing Takeaway: HubSpot's VP Mike Volpe has a unique stance on social media policy (or lack thereof). Forbidding your employees from participating in social media is like shooting yourself in the online marketing foot. It shows that you don't trust your workers to use good judgement, and cuts away any sort of beneficial interaction with your connections of supporters.
Us PullnotPushers tweet constantly throughout the day on @PullnotPush and our personal accounts: @s_coren, @jeff_machado, @justincambria, @czwolf, @timstansky and @danronken.
Swiss Pharmaceutical giant Novartis rattled the Food and Drug Administration's cage with language describing a drug to treat a form of leukemia. Apparently the FDA believes that the copy generated by a "share more information widget" on Facebook didn't properly reflect the risks of taking the drug.
Marketing Takeaway: It's always a good idea to make sure you aren't breaking any state and federal regulations with the content you publish on social media (or else where for that matter). Not sure if what you're putting out is safe? Have someone proof your work and run the research who's qualified.
The Week of Crazy Ways to Quit Your Job
In other news this week, PullnotPush would like to give a special Magnet award for "Cleverest Way to Quit Your Job" to Steven Slater. Slater was a JetBlue attendent who lost his cool after getting fed up with rude passengers and slid down the escape slide to freedom. Now he has a Free Steven Slater Facebook page set up by fans with over 25,000 likes to fund his legal fees.
The runner up? The folks on reddit sure did love the girl who decided tell her company via e-mail she was quitting with a series of funny photographs and a whiteboard. Too bad it turned out to be a hoax by a struggling LA actress named Elyse Porterfield.
Marketing Takeaway: Never underestimate the impact of a remarkable story and social media users spreading the word...however it's way better when that remarkable story is true.
What are your thoughts on these bizzare, yet newsworthy items?
Posted by Justin Cambria on Mon, Aug 02, 2010
As I sat at the computer to ponder blogging ideas for the Pull Marketing Blog today, the internet was abuzz with the news (unofficial!) that Twitter users have now published 20 billion tweets. That's no small amount of 140 character musings. As a business, blogging for bloggins sake and tweeting for tweetings sake seem to make little sense. How do we keep our content fresh and relevant in a cybersphere that is absolutely swimming in information? How do we generate compelling blog ideas each day? It's a challenge.
The folks over at HubSpot had similar thoughts today, and note that sourcing fresh content constantly is an important strategy. But given the signal:noise ration in an internet with 20-billion tweets (it's ironically fitting that the 20-billionth tweet, from Japanese graphic designer GGGGGGo_Lets_Go, has no obvious meaning for English speakers) how do you do this?
Here's 3 things that I find helpful:
I tend to go around the internet, grab feeds of blogs that I find interesting and want to read regularly, add them to my reader, and forget about them. It's a good idea to folder and organize your feeds by business or personal interest, and to maintain a folder of those feeds that you can count on to help with ideas.
- Make a Twitter list of thought provoking Tweeters
While you may enjoy Sh*t My Dad Says and many other great and less-than-professional Tweeters out there, after having had a laugh at those, you may want to arrange those people in your field into a list that you can check regularly for those folks whose tweets get your writing juices flowing.
It never hurts to review your important keywords, and write a post on, oh, say,
blogging for business. You never know when a quick read of your feeds or favorite Tweeters will give your brain the kickstart it needs to tie something relevant and current online up with your strategy for attracting traffic, and getting found by more and more of the people who are spending their lives contributing 20-billion tweets to the world.
Have you contributed 1 of 20-billion? Join us on Twitter!
Posted by Samantha Coren on Thu, Jul 29, 2010
At PullnotPush I get to teach small business owners the ins and outs of inbound marketing. It's refreshing to talk to people who are so dedicated and immersed in every aspect of their business. One thing is for sure though - running your own business can take up quite a bit of time.
The beautiful thing about HubSpot is that it gives the small business owner a one stop shop for managing a web presence and channel for new customers. I was eager to find out how small businesses outside of the ones I currently work with were fairing in the world of inbound marketing with the big orange sprocket.
To quench my curiosity I spoke with the heads of three local businesses from different parts of the US who are involved in different industries. All three of them are current HubSpot customers. Here's what they had to say:
“Prior to HubSpot (April 28th 2010) we practiced traditional advertising that included radio, outdoor (billboards), magazines/programs (professional sports), and a non-structured email campaign. We did absolutely no SEO or Inbound Marketing prior to our launch with HubSpot.
Our landing pages have been an awesome tool to help build our email list and the blog has not only helped with SEO, but after the first 90 days we have over 220 subscribers via email and RSS. We also use the social media tool to engage the community when one of our brand keywords populates and submit all of our articles to the social media outlets that HS provides. Our social media reach has increased by 3000% since becoming a HubSpotter.
By using the Keyword Grader along with the Competitor reports we have been able to target more long tailed keywords” with lower volume that our competitors are not targeting. This has led to 187 of our 583 keywords being ranked in the Top 100 and improved our search traffic by 382% since HS launch.
Our content creation really has been focused on our blog for not only SEO, but to become a “Trust Agent” in our industry and for the city of Nashville. This has also helped with Link Building as we have increased our inbound links from 67 to 364 since June 1st.
HS makes it so easy that we spend less than 5 hours per week on our entire social media and blog campaign and about 2 hours per week with on page and off page SEO."
"360 Signs started in September of 2008. We are a commercial sign company providing design, fabrication, and installation of many type of business signs: lobby signs, directory signs, floor, wall, and window graphics, monument signs, building sign, vehicle wraps, event signs and many more. We sell only in the Austin, TX area and are fortunate to have achieved a great deal of success during our first two years.
We rely on personal networking, networking groups, and the internet to drive our new business and repeat and referral business to come from current clients. We relied on paid search for our first 18 months in business and thought we did quite well with the amount of leads we were getting. Our website has generated over 50% of our business to date.
We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of leads, over 200%, since I started using the HubSpot tools. We have added two sales reps to handle the extra leads. I have been particularly pleased that we have landed some larger accounts off the web, not just small businesses.
We are ahead of many of our competitors in terms of optimizing our website and improving our page ranking for a company our size. We differentiate ourselves on design and service since it is impossible for us to make signs that someone couldn’t get at other sign companies in Austin. The website helps position us properly and attracts customer that value service and quality."
"Test Drive Technologies was
started to help used car & truck buyers to make an informed decision on what they are purchasing. We are the eyes, ears and hands of our clients that find themselves in the automotive market. Before HubSpot we were solely relying on organic search & free classifieds.
There are so many tools on HubSpot that I use every day. I particularly like the social media engagement tool; it is easy to use and monitors the keywords that I find relevant to the automotive industry. This not only keeps me on top of what is going on but also what the consumer base thinks is happening. I also find the CMS at HubSpot very easy to use.
Our blog is what is making us stand out above our competition. We are able to post our findings for each of our inspections right on our blog much like a case study without the particulars of dealer and buyer information. Having these results on our blog will allow our potential clients to see what we do, how we do it and what we find in some vehicles.
Most of our competition is all about pay per click advertising. Our blog is what is bringing in most of our customers which also allows us to pass this savings on to our clients."
Sick of Old Fashioned Marketing? Take HubSpot for a Spin.
Find out how we can help turn your website into a marketing machine.
Sign up for a HubSpot Demo with PullnotPush.
|
Posted by Samantha Coren on Fri, May 28, 2010
With the rise of streaming video services like Netflix and Hulu the home video market continues to fight an uphill battle for consumer interest. Recently, HBO released the second season of the popular vampire series True Blood on Blu-ray with special Twitter and Facebook features. Fans with internet ready Blu-ray players can view the series' official Twitter and Facebook feeds in real time when watching the discs. Additionally fans can
post clips and earn special virtual gifts as the more they watch.
Having the built in
social media marketing aspect seems like a cool gimmick, but will True Blood set the bench mark for future interactive Blu-ray releases? I feel that these new features are great for super-fans of movies and TV shows to "one up" each other and prove their fandom. In this sense it's a great way of maintaining constant fan engagement.
However for the casual home viewer they'll probably prefer to watch their videos without the interruption of constantly checking and updating their social networks. If studios and networks can provide more
high value offerings in terms of content to their home video customers beyond silly Twitter and Facebook updates it would probably be in their best interest. After all, it's going to get quite irritating having all your True Blood fanatic friends cluttering your feed to let you know they all "came out of the coffin to watch Episode 1".
Have you had a chance to try out any social media features on Blu-ray releases yet? Tell us about your experience in the comments!
Posted by Samantha Coren on Tue, May 25, 2010
So, you started a Twitter account for your business last year, tweeted a few times, and let it go stale. The intern went back to school, you got swamped with work, and you forgot all about one of the biggest sensations in
social media marketing. Let's face it - not even having a Twitter account looks way better than a Twitter account for a business that looks left for dead. If you've been meaning to get more involved with Twitter, here's how you can quickly zap the life back into your account:
Get set up on a Twitter client that allows you to schedule tweets.Being able to pre-program tweets in advance is a great way to prevent a lapse in activity. Make sure to double check if your scheduled tweets are going out at the time you set them for. When pre-programming your tweets, you want to double check if your links work properly. Not sure what to use?
Co-tweet and
Hootsuite are popular options that are currently free, however Co-tweet is more suited toward having multiple users tweet.
Make sure your profile is complete and current.Statistics show that
Twitter users with pictures and profiles have way more followers on average to people who keep everything defaulted. Create a nice background for your Twitter profile, make sure all your bio info is current and that you're linking to your website. Upload a version of your logo that squares off nicely.
Pick a minimum number of Tweets a day.
Some companies only post once a day while others post dozens of times a day - pick whatever makes the most sense for you. If you're going to be posting multiple times a day, it's a good idea to stagger out the timing. No one likes seeing their Twitter feed cluttered up by the same person.
Get more people at your company tweeting than just you (or your intern).Now it's perfectly fine if you have an intern tweet for you, but other people at your company should be involved in order to prevent a lapse in activity. It's also way more fun to get different people in the company tweeting. Co-tags are a way for businesses to differentiate between multiple people tweeting on the same account. Usually co-tags are placed at the end of tweets and have the posters initials. Twitter backgrounds are often include a "key" to explain who's who.
Check at least once a day for mentions and Retweets.Seeing how well people engage with you on Twitter is a pretty standard social media benchmark. Responding to people's mentions of you gives a more personal touch to your activity than just tweeting link spam.
Use Twitter's saved search feature to stay current.Pick a few keywords that are important to your business and keep track of what people are tweeting about. Respond to others’Tweets that you feel are relevant. This is a great way to engage people who might be unfamiliar with your business but who are actively talking about your industry.
Make sure your website visitors aware of your Twitter.Making your main site visitors aware that you tweet is pretty important. It's a built in audience of people who already showed some level of interest toward your business. Including a link on your contact page, having the little Twitter "T" logo in the top corner, or a box of your latest tweets are all popular ways to go about doing this.
Have you successfully brought your Twitter account back from the grave? We’d love to hear how you did it in the comments.
Posted by Samantha Coren on Fri, May 21, 2010
Ever since we conducted our first Tweet & A with Rebecca Corliss people have been dying to know who we were going to interview next. The PullnotPush team's passion for clever marketing and good burgers led us to Jon Olinto, one of the co-founders of b.good.
One of the best small business success stories in Boston comes from Jon and his childhood friend Anthony Ackil. The two's passion for good food and good people lead them to opening their first b.good restaurant in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood six years ago. Their philosophy of cooking real food fast caught on like wildfire and created legions of b.good fans (or family as they like to refer to them) all over Boston.
Jon and Anthony promoted the restaurant over the years with clever contests and an active social media presence on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. It wasn't so much an internet marketing strategy as it was simply sharing their story with their fans. This summer the two plan to fulfill a dream of buying an ice cream truck to distribute their tasty b.good shakes. They shared on Facebook and Twitter their search for finding the perfect used ice cream truck for the job. Their followers loved it.
Sharing their story seems to have paid off - the two are now preparing to open their seventh restaurant in Hingham, MA. Jon was nice enough to take a break from the craziness involved with running a business and answer our tweets. Here's the recap from yesterday's Tweet & A:
@PullnotPush: This summer looks super busy for you. Opening a 7th store and driving free shake trucks! How do you find time for marketing?
@b_good_: Always believed telling story of real people who make our food is critical for our success. So, always has & will be priority.
@PullnotPush: Fun videos seem to play a big part in promoting the restaurants. Has making videos and hosting video contests impacted business?
@b_good_: they're an engaging way for us to make customers part of the story that is b.good. we think that's how you create real loyalty.
@PullnotPush: Are there any new contests coming up in the pipeline?
@b_good_: great one next wk. just bought old, yellow ice cream truck. gonna have our family name her. winner gets free shakes for summer.
@PullnotPush: When it comes to supporting the local community b.good gets very creative. Any tips for other businesses looking to get involved?
@b_good_: we never had lots of $ to donate. so, forced to do weird stuff. key is always focusing on causes of most passionate customers.
@PullnotPush: Many smaller local businesses aren't very involved in social media. Do you think they're missing out?
@b_good_: yeah, i think every biz can be more human. SM allows biz's to be human - have emotions - instead of being faceless & voiceless.
@PullnotPush: What are some things people you think people should avoid when promoting a new business?
@b_good_: on SM, i'd say avoid being anything other than who you really are. SM makes it's too too easy to sniff out cheesy salesmen.
@PullnotPush: What's the next step for the b.good family?
@b_good_: World domination. But, before that, we're holding annual Family BBQ this summer. Local burgers, beer & bands for local charity.
@PullnotPush: And finally, any advice for someone who's thinking about starting their own business?
@b_good_: don't listen to the "haters". people will tell you not to do whatever it is you're going after. block that out and get started.
PullnotPush would like to thank Jon Olinto for sharing his bits of wisdom with our readers. What are your thoughts on b.good's promotional tactics?
Whitepaper - The 7 Universal Laws Of Pull Marketing
 Want to learn how to switch your marketing efforts from interruption to attraction? Learn how to become a lead generating magnet by using Pull Marketing techniques.
Download the free whitepaper to discover The 7 Universal Laws you should following on a daily basis to make the most of Pull Marketing.
|
Posted by Jeff Machado on Thu, May 20, 2010
This is a guest post by Kristin Dziadul, Marketing Analyst for Backupify. She blogs on her own site as a new generation marketer, discussing new inbound marketing techniques and Generation Y studies and observations. She can be found on Twitter @KristinEDziadul.
The heavy reliance on the Internet today means that not only should brands be present online, but people too. Some may ask, why would I want to be considered a brand? The answer is that it is one of the best things a person can do today to distinguish themselves in the market place and gain a large social and professional following.
There are many outlets a person can use to showcase and demonstrate their personal brand, from Twitter to Facebook, LinkedIn to FriendFeed, YouTube to Ustream and many more. Whatever combination you choose to create your personal brand, make sure the message you give on each is consistent and professional.
For example, upon graduation from college I developed my personal brand as an up-and-coming marketing professional and chose Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Brazen Careerist to showcase my brand. Everything I post or talk about on each of these sites is marketing and technology related since that is what I specialize in and want to be known for.
For those who have not yet started developing a personal brand, it may seem like an odd idea, however it can help not only you understand what you stand for and what you excel in, but employers and peers will see that as well. Soon you will realize that people will start to come to you for particular issues or topics because they see you as an expert or resource. I have found that many companies now come to me to review their latest iPhone app or marketing idea just because they know that that is what I am good at and love to do.
High level executives to college students alike should be developing a personal brand. Although you may be a part of a larger company or college community, you need to distinguish yourself. For example, a CEO may want to be seen not only as a CEO, but as an expert in a particular field or topic of interest and let customers and clients know this. This also helps people see the CEO not only as the head of the company but a true expert and real person. Once consumers and clients see a high level person as a real person and not just the head honcho of a company, they will be more willing to do business with them, especially online.
This is such a great opportunity for college students to start distinguishing themselves in the tough economy today as I did. A resume can only go so far, and then you must start demonstrating your talents. Yes, I had a good resume, good interviewing skills and many awards and accolades in the marketing field, but how could I really SHOW potential employers this?
I did this by demonstrating my knowledge and ideas on my blog, tweeting about topics of importance to me on Twitter, sharing valuable and relevant information on Facebook, and creating videos on YouTube that ranged from a video resume to my predictions of Googles’ future. If you integrate all of your social sites together (I have all my links to each of my social sites on each site so visitors can see my entire brand) people will get a well-rounded view of who you are and what your brand stands for.
I strongly encourage every person to begin developing their personal brand. This is not something that can be done all at once, but it is a steady process of making contacts, interacting with people, sharing information, developing content and much more! I truly enjoyed discovering my true talents and developing my brand around that to show others, and in turn I landed a job because of it. The possibilities are endless and your brand can be used for so many ways to help advance your career.
Posted by Jeff Machado on Tue, May 11, 2010
One of the gold standards for measuring your success in social media is looking at how often the content you create gets retweeted. With just the click of a button, the reach of your blog post can grow exponentially beyond your own list of followers.
With this comes the potential for increasing leads from social media, a boost in your thought leader status, and more activity on your blog. But so many people write blog posts that get no love whatsoever.
Tired of a blog that just isn't getting the retweets you want? Follow these 3 tips.
1. Knock Em Dead With Your Titles
Success in Inbound Marketing isn't just about highly optimized blog post titles (though they certainly help!). Sometimes, you have to play more to your audience than to search engine algorithms. While Google may crawl your posts, they're not the ones who will actually read them and tell others that they should be reading them too. Take your time to write down several variations of your titles. Ask someone else which one appeals to them most.
A good title will take you a long way on Twitter. Try to keep your titles short though for optimal Retweeting.
2. Have an Opinion (Or Else!)
Unless you're writing a blog for the traditional media where being impartial is a must, there is no reason to be meek and skirt around the issues in your blog posts. Don't be afraid to tell people what they're doing wrong. Don't just rely on keywords as the driving force behind your posts. Use your emotions, experiences, and get people to feel something as a result of reading what you write. Compel them to take some sort of action and change the status quo.
Boring blog posts just don't get retweeted.
3. Have A Clear Takeaway
The moment I took a stand on blog commenting vs Twitter, I saw just how powerful Retweets can be. The success of that post came from having a very clear opinion that left people with solid advice of what to do next. As a result, I'm hoping more and more people are harnessing the benefits of blog commenting now and feeling more connected. Blog posts don't have to be papers covering the ins and outs of a subject. You just have to have one end goal in mind and convince others that they should be taking a similar action.
Make your readers feel like they've learned something so they can pass it on to others.
What's your next step after reading this? Will you brainstorm some new titles for blog posts or will you start reading other blogs to start developing opinions on new trends? Let us know in the comments!