If you want rock-solid online branding and marketing you need something. And that something is a 1-2-3 branding and marketing mix… 1. Great content. (The red meat your audience consumes.) 2. Social media done right. (Your engagement touch points.) 3. Story. (The script you need to master.) This mix not only helps you with strategic…
Want to Find Customers Online? You Must Master These 3 Rules
Here’s a fact: People buy from those they trust. And for trust to develop they must get to know and like you. If you can’t meet them every day for coffee, how on God’s green earth will they come to like you? Easy: A consistent, helpful, honest story makes you likable and trustworthy. In a nutshell:…
4 Big Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs Content Marketing Now
I keep reading bloggers who say content marketing is not for small business. It takes too much time and effort. If owners or managers are not on board with a plan, it will never work. That there’s too much hype on this very topic… content marketing, that is. Yadda, yadda, yadda… It does take time…
How Much Does Website Design Cost?
I’m asked this question often. In fact, it’s probably the most common question a prospective client will ask me. And it’s often their primary focus. I don’t blame them. Marketing dollars are precious and they’re entering a territory they know little about—website design and development. Whenever I’ve hired a contractor, price was always a top…
What Crispy, Golden Treat Is Branding Defined? (And How Can It Help You?)
My father loved to take excruciatingly long drives. Growing up in the small state of Maryland, we’d often venture out to Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the cozy surroundings of Western Maryland. So, what in John Travolta’s hairpiece does this have to do with branding? Well, please read on for a not so scientific explanation. As a…
3 Things You Must Do Before Starting a Marketing Project
How do you kick-off a campaign for your company? Where do you start digging for those nuggets that might turn out to be pure gold? Well, before we dive in, let me describe three practices that will help any marketing project … 1. Don’t Treat Marketing as a Crisis. At the start of a branding…
5 Ways to Power up Your WordPress Blog
What are you going to do with your platform? That WordPress website of yours? What’s your vision? You do realize you have some competition? With everyone and their mother blogging it’s hard to distance yourself from the other primates. Comedians, speakers, musicians. You name the profession, they’re online building a platform. But building a WordPress…
Blogging for Business? 4 Steps to Take Before You Start
There’s a topic I would like to expand on. And I guarantee you’ll have a strong opinion on it. It’s something any business owner must pay attention to, but before you think about dropping bombs of wisdom in the comments below, let me lay this puppy out… Doom and gloom is an easy topic to…
Why Small Businesses Hate Content Marketing (and What to Do About It)
Have you ever tried to explain what Content Marketing is to a small business owner? Ever been to a meeting where social media comes up and you’re greeted with blank stares and a “let’s please move on” gaze? And what about the following … “I like the idea, but not right now.” “We just don’t…
6 Reasons Why I Eat at Dick’s (and What a Seattle Burger Chain Can Teach You About Branding)
There’s a tiny Seattle-area hamburger chain that’s survived an unrelenting beatdown. Territorial behemoths known as McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s don’t like small fry horning in on their territory. But a little place called Dick’s Drive-In is surviving and thriving in spite of the fast food corporatocracy. Seattleites have heard all the jokes around the name,…
