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Content marketing is nothing new. By now it’s well established that social media, blogging, and video provide businesses with uniquely powerful ways to engage customers—creating trust and building brand loyalty. In fact, small business owners may actually be tired of hearing how vital content marketing is; it’s certainly a subject that generates a great deal of discussion.

But if the advantages of content marketing are so well known, why do many small business owners resist engaging in these important, brand-enhancing channels? The truth is, there are some obstacles to effective content marketing—and these obstacles are not insignificant, but neither are they insurmountable.

In this post, we’re going to acknowledge five of the primary barriers to entry, but also posit some solutions for small business owners to consider.

Common Barriers to Content Marketing

Lack of Time

One reason why business owners don’t do content marketing? They feel like they just don’t have the time for it. It’s certainly true that content marketing requires consistency, and that you need to put some time into regular content production and quality control. With that said, however, one of the great things about content marketing is that it’s scalable—and if you only have the resources for one blog a month, that’s a perfectly viable start. Social media posting can all be automated. And, of course, working with a marketing agency removes almost all of the busywork from your plate.

Lack of Money

Another common obstacle is the cost associated with content marketing. Posting to Facebook may be free, but what about running PPC ads? What about sponsored LinkedIn updates? What about pricey email marketing platforms? While these things can be helpful, we’ll say again that content marketing is wonderfully scalable—and that, when you work with an online marketing agency, you can develop a strategy that fits your goals and accommodates your budget.

Lack of Talent

We don’t mean to insult anyone, but let’s be honest: Some small business owners may not be great writers. Some may have little or no experience making videos. Some may not be comfortable with social media. There are always ways to work around these limitations—if you’re not a great writer, you can maybe do live video streams and curated content—and, once again, we’ll note that outsourcing to an online marketing firm takes care of the talent issue pretty straightforwardly.

Lack of Metrics

It’s possible that you’ve tried content marketing and didn’t find it to be effective—but maybe the reason for this is that you didn’t have a clear definition of success. A lack of meaningful metrics can certainly impede your content marketing success, but that’s something you can remedy by strategizing some key objectives. Increased website traffic, increased social media engagement, increased response to your marketing emails—these are not just worthy goals, but measurable ones.

Lack of Understanding

We meet a lot of small business owners who say that they eschew content marketing in favor of search experience marketing, SEO, or something similar. Our argument is that these different disciplines work best when they are working in tandem. You don’t have to choose between then; instead, we’d recommend trying to use them harmoniously. An integrated digital marketing strategy will help you join these complimentary mediums.

What’s Your Barrier?

Is there a reason why you haven’t embraced the role of content in your marketing strategy? We’d love to talk with you about your obstacles, and to share some ways in which Driven2020 can help. To start that important conversation, we encourage you to reach out to our marketing team at Driven2020 today.

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There are numerous ways for your business to use Facebook—and ideally, you’ll use all of them in tandem. There’s a great need to utilize your Facebook page to share content and cultivate an organic fan base; with that said, there’s also great benefit to running paid Facebook ads. It’s only when you unite these two methods that you’re really using Facebook for all its worth.

The good news here is that, when used correctly, the Facebook Ads platform is incredibly valuable—a powerful tool for building your brand and expanding your customer base. You’re not just throwing money into Facebook, but actually investing in the bottom-line success of your company.

Allow us to highlight just a few of the things that make Facebook Ads so beneficial for your digital marketing.

Why Use Facebook Ads?

Facebook Ads Allows You to Target Your Audience with Precision

You might be amazed by just how narrow and specific you can be with your Facebook Ads targeting. It’s not merely that Facebook allows you to target your ads just to women, or specifically to  women between ages 18 and 35, or women who live in your geographic area. You can actually target to moms, to new moms, to moms of preschool kids, to affluent moms, to hip moms, to moms who drive Jeeps—once you dig into the targeting options, you can ensure that you know exactly who’s seeing your ads.

You Can Use Ads for Different Objectives and Goals

Facebook doesn’t just let you pick your audience, but also the ultimate objective of your campaign. Are you looking to get more likes for your Facebook page? More traffic for your website? More engagement with your posts? More conversions in your ecommerce store? You can accomplish all this and more with a Facebook Ads campaign.

You Can Eliminate Risk Through Careful Bidding

Facebook Ads employs a bidding system in which you choose the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for an ad display. You can actually choose an ad type where you only pay when you make a conversion, though—which effectively removes the risk that your ads just “won’t work.” When used properly, Facebook Ads allows you to protect yourself from waste.

There Are Advanced Analytic Options

There’s an old saying in marketing—that marketing without data is like flying blind. Well, you never have to fly blind with your Facebook Ads, because the platform allows you plenty of opportunities to get reports and metrics. You can figure out what’s working and what’s not, and hone your ad campaign accordingly.

You Can Use Facebook for Remarketing, Too

This one will require a bit of technical know-how—or the guidance of an online marketing firm like Driven2020—but basically, you can use Facebook to reach out to people who have already visited your website and considered buying a product. You can set up ads to follow them across the Facebook network, keeping your brand in the forefront of their minds as they weigh purchasing decisions. This is a powerful way to guide potential customers through the buying process.

Use Facebook—But Use It Strategically

Facebook comes packed with so many advertising options, it may seem overwhelming at first—and that’s the one big downside. But don’t worry. You can take advantage of all these benefits by reaching out to Driven2020.

We’d love to talk with you about social media, paid ads, and any other marketing needs you may have. Ad
ditionally, we would love the chance to present you with some integrated marketing solutions. Start that conversation today. Reach out directly to the team here at Driven2020.

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Nobody likes receiving harsh criticism, and that certainly includes business owners. Receiving adverse comments or bad reviews from customers can feel personal; it can feel hurtful. It can bruise the ego—and yet, online reviews aren’t merely a matter of personal vanity.

Consider this: Reviews from sites like Google, Facebook, and Yelp are critical parts of the consumer journey. As a buyer weighs a major purchase, he or she will almost certainly pay attention to Google star ratings, or to feedback left from other consumers. These online reviews inevitably play a role in consumer decision-making, which means they impact the perceptions of your brand and your bottom-line revenues.

Online reviews are significant for other reasons, too. Did you know, for example, that Google reviews are key ranking factors for local SEO? The point here is simply that having online reviews is important—and having favorable reviews is ideal. You can’t simply ignore or opt out of online feedback, but rather, you have to proactively seek strong reviews.

How to Get Positive Online Reviews

So how can your business ensure that it’s receiving positive online feedback? The best and simplest thing we can say is that you should focus on providing excellent products and services. That’s possibly something that goes without saying, yet it’s important for us to underscore this central fact: You can’t fake your way into good reviews. Your efforts to court positive feedback have to start with actually earning those five-star ratings.

A related point: We don’t recommend trying to buy reviews, or to bribe people into leaving feedback. This is a poor strategy for far too many reasons for us to list, but basically: It can backfire spectacularly, leading to both SEO penalties as well as a PR crisis for your brand.

With that said, there are some recommended strategies for getting customers to leave feedback:

Make Your Review Platforms Easy to Access

Links to your Google review profile, Facebook page, and Yelp profile should all be clearly visible to your customers. Place links on your website, but also in email signatures, on invoices and receipts, etc. And don’t just include links, but calls to action, as well. Ask your customers to provide feedback, and provide them with an easy way to do so.

Ask for Reviews

Along those lines, send follow-up emails to your customers, thanking them for their purchase and expressing how much you’d love them to provide you with honest feedback. (Don’t forget to provide them with the relevant link!) Another approach: Go into your contact database and identify some of your best, most loyal customers. Send each of them a frank, personalized email, explaining to them how valuable online reviews are to your brand, and asking them to take a minute to leave you one.

Incentivize

While we do not recommend attempting to buy or bully your way into reviews, we do think it can be effective to have contests or drawings. Let your customers know that everyone who submits a review, within a given span of time, will be entered to win a $25 gift card to Starbucks, or simply a credit for your own products and services.

Monitor Reviews

Finally, we’d certainly recommend keeping an eye on the online reviews you receive—thanking people for their positive feedback and acknowledging constructive criticisms. This isn’t just about ticking off a requirement on your online digital marketing checklist. It’s also to show that you’re willing to engage with your customers and clients; to listen and take them seriously.

Remember: Reviews Matter

Reviews shouldn’t be seen as “extras” within the context of your marketing efforts. They’re really indispensable—and if you need help managing your reviews, we’d love to provide it. Talk with us today. Reach out to the team at Driven2020.

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When you own a brick-and-mortar business, your SEO endeavors tend to be highly focused. What you want, ultimately, is to get foot traffic—to get people into your store to make purchases. As such, you want to market to a very specific audience—locals. When you own a mom-and-pop shop in Los Angeles, it’s not especially advantageous to market yourself to customers in New York, Vancouver, or Beijing.

In other words, a big part of your SEO online marketing strategy should be local SEO—showing up on the Google search engine results page (SERP), and perhaps even in a coveted map pack position, when people in your area conduct searches with commercial intent.

Local SEO doesn’t have to be a big, daunting, or overly technical undertaking, either. In this post, we’re going to list five simple ways in which business owners can position their brands for local visibility.

How to Improve Your Local Search Results

Claim All Your Local Listings

First of all, local SEO isn’t just about your website. You want to create as many customer touch points as you can, which means claiming your Google My Business page, starting a Facebook page, and taking advantage of sites such as Yelp. Industry-specific sites, like TripAdvisor, can also be handy to have. Make sure that, on each listing you establish, you present consistent NAP (name, address, phone number) information. In other words, always list the same local phone number, and avoid listing your business name differently (i.e. don’t say Al’s Pancake House in one listing but Al’s Pancakes in another).

Include Contact Information Throughout Your Website

That NAP information should be displayed on your website, too—and in fact, we’d recommend including it on every page, not just on a Contact Us hub. This information is used by Google’s algorithms to determine your location, so including it on every page of your website is smart.

Use Localized Keywords—Naturally

If your storefront is set up in San Diego, California, it’s wise to include San Diego and/or California in your content here and there—though make sure you don’t overdo it! Google wants content that reads as naturally and smoothly as possible. We see sites that overstuff local keywords, and the result is something like this: “Looking for a San Diego plumbing company? Our San Diego plumbing company offers San Diego plumbing services to…” This, of course, is ridiculous. You can be natural and judicious in your keyword placement without making it seem robotic.

Ask for Reviews

Reviews from local customers go a long way toward boosting your SEO. Make sure your customers feel encouraged to leave feedback in the form of a Yelp review, a Facebook review, or—best of all—a Google review. Include review links on your website, and encourage people to offer you their thoughts.

Get Local Links and Citations

Finally, you’ll benefit greatly from having other local businesses or organizations link to your website. The easiest way to achieve this is to reach out to local chambers of commerce, BBBs, or professional organizations, and to simply ask for links in their online directories. It really is that simple!

Be Found by Local Customers

Local SEO has a direct, bottom-line purpose behind it—you want people to find you, to visit your business, and to become paying customers. As such, an investment in local SEO can pay huge dividends, especially when it’s done right.

We’d love to talk with you more about what effective local SEO looks like. Connect with Driven2020 today to begin that important conversation about the future of your brand!

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Online marketing is always changing—and one of the most significant evolutions is the transition from search engine optimization (SEO) to search experience marketing (SEM). In this post, we’re going to highlight that journey, and also explain what makes SEM such an invaluable paradigm, not just for online marketing companies, but for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

SEO and Beyond

You’re probably familiar with SEO already. Essentially, it’s a part-art, part-science approach to maximizing visibility within search engine algorithms, positioning your company website to be found by search engine users.

By its definition, SEO maintains a fairly narrow focus on the organic search listings that show up on the search engine results page (SERP). And don’t get us wrong: That’s invaluable. Your brand needs to be visible in those search listings. SEO is still a non-negotiable part of any online marketing practice.

However, it’s really best understood as one component of a broader, more integrated approach—and that leads us to SEM.

SEM and the Customer Journey

One of the best ways to think about SEM is in terms of the consumer’s search journey. It’s not always as neat and as straightforward as a person initiating a Google search, seeing a business listing in the organic search results, clicking it, and immediately buying a product. It’s nice when it happens that way, but usually there are some additional steps involved.

For larger purchasing decisions, in particular, the consumer is more likely to spend some time doing research—scanning the SERP, looking at reviews, perhaps even consulting social media. In this process, the consumer is likely to see a lot of different brands mentioned. You need yours to stand out, and also to foster confidence and trust. That’s what SEM seeks to address.

How SEM Works

SEM is about maintaining brand visibility throughout the search engine journey—creating multiple touch points and chances for conversion throughout the consumer’s research. This is achieved through organic search results, but also through placement on other parts of the SERP—that is, paid ad spaces. Social media (and especially paid social media ads) can also play a role here. The goal is for the consumer to see your brand recurring throughout their search journey, from the initial inquiry all the way through the point of conversion—and even past that, via remarketing and follow-up.

There are some significant benefits to this approach. One is that you build trust. Having your brand placed across the SERP and present throughout the search journey, instills a sense of confidence in the consumer; your brand becomes available to them on a consistent basis. Additionally, you’re increasing your impressions. Rather than just being present in the organic listings, you may also cover some paid ad space on the SERP—thereby providing more opportunities for the consumer to connect with your brand.

Research shows that providing these multiple touch points from your digital marketing management can have a real effect, and that effect can sometimes mirror the convoluted nature of the consumer search journey. For example, a lot of the conversions attributed to paid ads actually come through other channels, like SEO. A consumer might see a paid ad for your brand, hold it in their head for a while, then conduct a proper search for your brand later on—and that’s when the conversion happens. Even if the ad doesn’t get clicked on, it was responsible for planting the seed and getting the ball rolling.

Get Started with SEM

To establish your brand as a brand of choice, you’ve got to invest in the search experience—and that means SEM. We’d love to talk with you more about what this looks like on a nuts-and-bolts level. Reach out to Driven2020 today to have that conversation.