Marketing & Communications for Small Businesses
"Interruption Marketing" is Dead.
Long Live "Inbound Marketing!" Web marketing - or inbound marketing - recognizes the way people now search for products and services. They use the Internet, and they Google everything, from their business challenges to their personal problems. Using the words that first come to mind, the words they're using are usually short and sweet, and they're more likely to trust the sites that come up in the organic search rankings (non-paid listings) - the ones in the middle of the page, not the paid ones at the top and right-hand side. They look for which sites they can trust: sites that are clean and easy to navigate. Sites with lots of good, rich content. Sites without broken links. Sites with customer reviews that tell it like it is. Sites with content and blogs that are fresh, compelling and up-to-date. Finally, they reach out to their online network and get referrals from their social networks on Facebook, LInkedIn and Twitter. They'll see if you have a business page and who's engaging with you on those pages. Guess what?! Reporters are just like the rest of us. They turn to Google to find information and sources for stories they're working on. Just think what a great news story could do for your business! |
How Does Inbound Marketing Work?
Inbound marketing is a quantum shift away from outbound marketing, so it's important to understand how it works. If you've already done core positioning work for your company, that's great! We won't need to start from scratch and we can probably dive right in (see our web marketing packages and pricing). VERVE Core Web Marketing Strategy If you haven't developed your company positioning, we recommend you start with the VERVE Core Web Strategy. Here are the four steps we walk our clients through when building their core web marketing program: VERVE Step 1: Core Audiences First, we identify your core audiences. Who are they specifically? What are their needs, issues and wants (what keeps THEM awake at night?). Where do they live online? Are they on Facebook? They may or may not be. Are they in LinkedIn groups? Understanding your key audiences is key to building landing pages and a compelling CTA (call-to-action, see "The Hook" below) that will get them to take desired actions. VERVE Step 2: Core Differentiators Next, we help you define what makes you and your business different and special. What's your "USP" or your Unique Selling Proposition? Why should someone buy from you and not your competitors? Your core audiences need to understand what makes your business different and special from competitors who offer similar products or services. VERVE Step 3: Core Messages Then we write the core statements that you'll use in all of your communications -- both online and off-line. Your key messages are the very core of your web marketing, because they focus on what makes you unique and different from your competitors. You usually only need to have two to three key messages per key audience segment. We’ll even show you the keywords your audiences are using to find your products and services. Keywords are the key to being found online. You NEVER want to build a website without knowing what keywords are in your 'sweet spot:' the keywords most used by your prospects, but that aren't so competitive that you'd never be able to rank on them. VERVE Step 4: The Hook Now that we've done all this work to get people to your website, what do you want them to do? You don't want them to make a fleeting visit. You want them to DO something. We’ll help you develop a strong CTA (Call to Action) that will compel your audiences to take a desired action, such as giving you their name and e-mail address so you can put them into your sales funnel. |
Want to increase the number of visitors to your website?
Driving traffic to your website is the most important and efficient way to increase your revenues.
This chart shows how unbelievably effective inbound marketing can be in driving website traffic.
Driving traffic to your website is the most important and efficient way to increase your revenues.
This chart shows how unbelievably effective inbound marketing can be in driving website traffic.
What happened in late January 2012?
Website visits skyrocketed from around 250 visits a day to over 2,500 visits a day when VERVE client Assessment.com launched its new website. (Real chart from Google Analytics)
Website visits skyrocketed from around 250 visits a day to over 2,500 visits a day when VERVE client Assessment.com launched its new website. (Real chart from Google Analytics)
