The New Rules of Marketing a Small Business

Maria Verven• Entrepreneur and owner

of Verve P.R. and Vaping Vamps

• 25 year career in P.R., former V.P. of Piper Jaffray, Fleishman-Hillard

• Lecturer at the U of MN, Teacher of New Rules of Marketing & SEO classes

• Passionate about helping small businesses get found online

There’s been a massive shift from traditional marketing to

Internet (or inbound) marketing

What happened?

The Big Picture

• Of the entire North America population (350 million), 275 million are online (80%)

• Of the world’s population (7 billion), 2.4 billion are online (35%)

• There are 630 million websites (Jan 2013) • Nearly 7 million publish blogs on a blogging

site; 11 million publish using social networks

Old School Marketing Yellow Pages

Newspaper AdvertisingDirect Mail

Telemarketing

Internet (Inbound) MarketingSEO: Search-Optimized WebsitePPC: Targeted Banner AdsSocial MediaContent Marketing, “New” P.R.

Why the Shift?Because it shortens the sales

cycle in half or more

Customer searches on the web for your products & services

It’s a whole new world.A new way of doing business.

A new way of communicating.

Don’t miss the BOAT!

What is Internet marketing and how does it work

Change

Content

Channels

Credibility

4 C’s of

Inbound Marketing

CHANGE“Build it and they will come.” NOT!!Your audience won’t find your site if it’s “low quality:”

• Page content (+title tag) doesn’t match keyword search

• Stagnant site (no updates)

• Low amount of original content

• High bounce rate, low visit times, low returns

• Low number of inbound links and mentions in social media and other sites

CONTENTis King (& Queen)

Think multimedia! • Articles, e-books, blogs,

tweets• Podcasts, screencasts, videos

Change is good Quality + quantity Keyword richBuilds AUTHORITY

CHANNELSSo many to choose from. FOCUS!

Where’s your target audience?Be consistent, use keywords

Don’t start without a follow-through plan

CREDIBILITY or Building TRUST

Clean, easy-to-navigate websitePlenty of good, up-to-date, keyword-rich content

No broken links, typos, old info., etc.Inbound links from trusted sites

Blogs are the BEST!!

Like a Brick House

The House = SEO on every page

The Chimney = blog, social media, etc.

The Smoke = keyword-rich updates

SEO = Search Engine Optimization• “SEO is the process of improving the visibility of a website or

a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.”

Where would you hang a Picasso?

“When you build a website but don’t optimize it for search, it’s like hanging a Picasso in your basement.”

Maria Verven

Paid Ads

Title Tag

Meta Description

Google Places

Keywords – They’re KEY!

Words associated with your product or service, usually strung together into 2-4 keyword phrases

Goal: To have your site come up on the front page

The sweet spot: Use keywords with high number of searches, but low competition

Keyword Chart – One Example

Keyword Daily Search Vol. Competition

Where to use keywords

• Title and Meta Description• Website headings and content on every page• Title and alt tag on website images and videos• Anchor text (text with a link to your website)

– Internal and external links

Build Links – Establish Authority!• Ways to build links

– Online directories – Get reviewed– Guest post on influential blogs, online forums – Links from sites with related products/services– Social Media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.)– P.R. and Article Marketing

• Create remarkable content on your website that others will want to share – Include sharing mechanisms

Social Media for Local Merchants

Optimize your site for local searchCreate consistent keyword-optimized profile

Get recommendations from happy customersJoin & hold MeetUps

Send releases to local media, bloggers

More Sage SEO Advice• Build all website content from the outside looking in.

Optimize every page for search.

• Web content and link-building need to appear natural and not spammy

• Experiment and examine the web stat’s. Forget about the Google algorithm, focus on core strategies

• SEO = part art, part science. And it takes time. Ranking can take months, so get on the right track

Your ChimneyWhat’s your Content Strategy?

• Blogging

• Social Media

• P.R.

• Article Marketing

Blogging

Huge for SEO, search (think: keywords)It should pass the “blink” test

Educate | Entertain | Engage | EnrichAddress your audience’s key concerns

Your blog is the HUB of all of your communications

Blogging 101

• Anyone and any company can blog• It’s a huge SEO play• You need a blog strategy • Four A’s of blogging:

– Attract & entertain. Think multi-media– Alert your audience to news, deals, etc.– Ameliorate their lives (how-to’s, tips)– Attitude – really SAY something!

What is social media?

A Huge Shift in Your Audience

Millennials & Gen Y now outnumber Baby Boomers

They have $350 billion in direct spending power

96% join social networks

A Huge Shift in How to Build a Brand

78% of consumers trust peer recommendations

Only 14% trust ads

Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI

34% post opinions about products on their blog

36% think more positively about companies that have blogs

Social Media Connect with customers, prospects

B2C: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

B2B: LinkedIn, Twitter, MerchantCircle

It’s about conversations, dialogue (don’t preach, spam or be too salesy)

Give them a reason to connect

Good content (and a good blog) is the key to driving traffic

If you’re not listening, you’re missing what people are saying about you online!!

Put your referral business on steroids

Increase SEO

Respond to negative comments

Join conversations happening about your brand in real time

Why Facebook

• 1.2 billion users (11% of entire world population)• More than 70 billion pieces of content: links, blogs,

photos, videos, etc. are shared on FB every month• 42 million business pages with 10 or more ‘likes’• Average FB user is attached to 80 pages, groups, etc.• Fastest growing segment on Facebook: 55 to 65 year-

old women

Facebook Do’s and Don’ts

Do:• Give them a reason to “like” you• Update your page frequently• Take a clue from which posts engage your fans• Respond to every comment on your page• Engage with other business pages

Don’t:• Ignore complaints• Make all your updates all about you• Sound like a robot• Offer special FB discounts that you can get elsewhere• Stop posting. Keep up a regular schedule

Why LinkedIn?Connect with customers & their groups

See what questions they’re askingBecome an expert

The perfect place for B2B companies to be

LinkedIn How-To:

Step 1: Set up your profile for search• Give them a reason to connect with you• Choose a professional looking headshot• Use all 2,000 characters (but make it easy to read)• Get recommendations

Step 2: Network like crazy!• Whom do you want to connect with? Be strategic.• Join groups

Step 3: Engage (listen first, then participate) • Answer questions, be genuinely helpful• Be strategic in your answers

• 2nd largest search engine in the world

• 490 million users every month

• Google loves YouTube. Highly indexed

• 2 billion videos viewed every day (almost double the prime time audience of all 3 major U.S. networks combined)

Why

Why Twitter

10 billion tweets. . . and counting

Connect with customers and prospects

Converse with them in real time

Listen and provide customer service

Drive traffic to your blog and website

Twitter is for both B2B and B2C businesses

B2B Companies: This means you, too!Content engages prospectsBecome a trusted resource

Blogs, ebooks, white papers, webinarsFAQ’s, competitive comparisons, case studies

What’s your call to action?

So how do we get this done?(Hint: it’s not

magic)

Social media is here to stay. If you’re not doing it, your

competitors are.

Skill set: • Understand marketing strategy, messaging• Excellent communicator, versatile writer• Familiar with social media, webosphere, etc.• Have time to dedicate to this every day

Just make

sure they know what

they’re doing

You have to put the ball in someone’s court.

Someone has to be responsible for:• Website updates and SEO• Content strategy and updates• Blog strategy and updates• Social media strategy and updates

Three options:

1. Assign it to an existing staff member

2. Hire someone on staff

3. Hire a freelancer or agency

P.R. – It’s Good for SEO!

• Good P.R. is worth tons of link-building efforts• Optimize the title, lead & 1st 250 words of your

news releases• Use free pitch services• “Deep link” to inside pages • Article marketing, using keywords

– eZineArticles.com, etc.

The New Rules for News Releases

• Keyword-rich news releases will be found by reporters & customers

• Helps build credibility & visibility

• Incorporate links to your website

• Think multi-media

• Online newsroom a must-have

CTA = Call to Action

• Now that you got them to your site, what do you want them to do?

• Your CTA should be simple but compelling

• Capture name and e-mail. They won’t want to give you much more than that.

• Make it obvious from the front page what they should do next

• Use this same CTA in your outreach efforts

Contact

Maria Verven

Verve P.R.

www.verve-pr.com

mverven@gmail.com

linkedin.com/in/mariaverven