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The Value of Influencer Marketing

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The Value of Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a hot search term. A quick check with Google trends shows us the searches for the phrase “influencer marketing” is increasing rapidly. The increase became even more dramatic since approximately February 2015.

Brands have embraced the idea of influencer marketing, but struggle to find the right mixture of influencer audience size, blend of social media channels and the right content for each.

Online marketers have known for some time that consumers trust word of mouth marketing. They will consider the recommendations of people who have tried a certain product, stayed at a hotel, or previously enjoyed a meal at a restaurant they are considering – even when the recommendation comes from someone they do not know!

Micro and macro influencers were defined in a previous blog post. Many think that influencer marketing is new, but it is not. Yesterday, I watched John Hamm pitch H&R Block tax services during a television spot yesterday. We are accustomed to seeing celebrities and sports stars endorse products. Online marketing through micro influencer blogs and macro influencer social media posts is relatively new, but gaining popularity.

An ExpertCity study showed that 82% of consumers have a “high tendency” to follow the recommendations made by a micro-influencer. Micro influencers are effective because they are sincerely interested with a product or service and they are engaged with their audience – whether they be a social media following, YouTube viewers, or blog subscribers.

More than 60% or online marketers plan to use influencer marketing this year. As with any other strategy, measuring return on investment (ROI) is important. A campaign managed with the NeoReach platform hit an amazing 5-to-1 ROI for fantasy sports league client FanDuel!

Besides sales and increased website traffic, there are perks to using influencers marketing: Campaigns can help your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy! Influencers eventually have to send their audience shopping via a link to your eCommerce website. The traffic and sales data is how they justify their existence. Be sure that links are not set as “nofollow” links. Lower ranking websites will at least yield more backlinks, but a link from a higher ranking website can really boost your organic traffic!

With loyal and sincere influencers, you also end up with positive reviews and conversation about your products and brand. Good reviews are very important to your eCommerce survival!

Blogging to Promote Your Business Online

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Blogging to Promote Your Business Online

Recently I wrote about the top ten ways to promote your online business. The top ten online marketing methods include social media, video, blogging, guest blogging, content marketing, public speaking, SEO, PPC, social advertising, and email marketing. Blogging to promote your business on your own website is one of the fastest and easiest things you can do. When done well blogging gives readers interesting and useful content. With careful research and planning, it can help your search engine optimization campaigns, and it helps to establish you as an expert in your field.

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I am assuming you already have a website setup. If you do not I recommended a low cost web hosting plan which will run you about $5 per month. For easy maintenance, use a prewritten content management system. I use WordPress for all of my blogs.

To begin blogging identify a topic you understand well, break it down into bits and begin writing as if you are teaching a class or talking to a friend. For example, a good friend of mine is a very skilled recreational photographer, so he writes about it, but breaks it down into sections like camera lenses, lighting, backgrounds, etc… I return to his website for tips on what lenses to buy or tips on lighting design.

Blogging makes your business or ecommerce website a resource rather than just a store. Your blog become a source of information. It is okay to link to products for sale, as long as it is not the focus of the blog post. My friend the photographer has tons of great photography and video tips, but he also sells some online courses too!

Blog as often as you can. The more you can write, the faster your website will be built out. If you are writing for SEO efforts, then try to add at least two blog posts a week. After writing a blog post, do not assume readers will just flock to your website to read it. Be sure to promote your new blog post on social media, in an email blast, or with a press release.

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The Top 10 Ways to Promote a Business Online

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Looking to promote an online business, or to give a brick-and-mortar store a digital advertising boost? Below are ten effective and proven methods to bring more traffic to your website or drive foot traffic to your physical store. Email campaigns, social campaigns and content marketing are all effective ways to advertise online. Pick one and master it, or better yet, choose a few that work well together. Understand how to optimize each technique or hire an expert to help you.

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Ten effective and proven digital advertising techniques

  1. Social media: Social media is used to connect with potential customers, vendors, investors, or other stakeholders. Social media is free in the sense that it only costs your time, but a serious social media strategy will require time, creative graphics, a writer, and possibly a dedicated manager to be effective.
  2. Video: Video is my new favorite for promoting businesses, products and brands. Video does not have to be commercial quality to be effective. Audiences are receptive to homemade do-it-yourself videos, shot from a webcam or smartphone as long as the video provides value or entertains.
  3. Blogging: Blogging is a cheap and easy way to promote yourself, products, story, or brand. For under $30 you can get a website setup and begin writing. Everyone has a story to tell, or is an expert in something. This is a way to get started today! Blogs can be added to existing ecommerce websites to add value and give customers information, tips and tutorials. Blogs turn an ecommerce into a resource.
  4. Guest blogging: Guest bloggers write content for someone else’s website. The advantage is that writers potentially get more readers than they would on their own, as long as they can secure a spot on a better known blog. The only downside to guest blogging is that the content does not live on the writer’s website, but the increase in credibility from a carefully chosen website is worth it.
  5. Content marketing: Content marketing is creating and distributing informative and valuable content in the form of whitepapers, studies, videos, and other downloads in order to attract a targeted audience. It encompasses many of the ideas mentioned above, but the content is written to share knowledge, not as an advertisement. Readers usually give their contact information to get the content.
  6. Public speaking: Public speaking is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field, to network, and to subtly advertise. Public speaking does take time and practice. You will have to speak for free for a time unless you are amazingly famous. If you can keep your travel expenses down, this is a great way to promote yourself.
  7. SEO: Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of adjusting a website’s content and programming to fine tune it so it is favored by search engines such as Google and Yahoo!. SEO is a skill that has a big learning curve and many businesses outsource this to an agency.
  8. PPC: Pay-per-click (PPC) or paid online advertising can bring new viewers to a website. When done well, PPC is cost effective, but it takes skill, understanding, and monitoring to fine tune a campaign.
  9. Social advertising: Social advertising is paying for promoted spots on popular social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. These ads have different names and a few platforms offer more than one option. For example, on Facebook, users can “boost a post” or pay for a targeted ad in the news feed or right-hand sidebar. Pinterest has two options as well. Social advertising is also useful when you don’t have a lot of followers.
  10. Email marketing: email marketing remains one the most effective forms of online advertising. A legitimate list, cultivated from actual customers and leads, yields the best results. As the list is used, additional information is recorded, like purchase history, preferences, and spending habits.

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