Ensure 2018 Measures Up: What to watch, do and look for in your marketing

Ensure 2018 Measures Up: What to Watch, Do, and Look for in Your Marketing

 

With all the time, energy and money that goes into marketing, it’s critical you know what you are getting out of it. The team at @revenue put together our top tips and notes to ensure your 2018 marketing plan is measuring up.

Social Media

Successful social media is so much more than how many people like or follow you. The success is in building a community who interacts, shares and ultimately, buys. How do you know you're building a community?

  1. Go beyond vanity metrics (page views, number of followers). They may feel great, but the point of social media is to be SOCIAL!
  2. Carve out time in your calendar to engage and connect with those in your community. The more you engage, the more engagement you can expect from them.
  3. Monitor the actions people take on your content and the conversations people are having with you and one another. Leverage free tools like Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, Instagram for Business and LinkedIn post analytics to find more meaning in your measurement.

You can't just post articles and content, you have to connect and engage to be the most effective on social media. Connect with Sue Koch to identify the best ways to build your audience, respect your tribe and make sure to have fun with it for your needs!

 

Email

Email metrics are widely available through your email service provider, but there are a couple of key things to keep your eye on. Ensure your email is as effective as possible by measuring, optimizing and improving key elements.

  1. Make sure your emails are getting read by monitoring your open rate. Try testing subject lines and your from line to optimize visibility. It doesn’t hurt to throw in an emoji here and there! ????
  2. Your next level of engagement are your clickers. All of your emails should have very specific calls to action that will engage your audience brings them that much closer to a sale. Be sure to make your email clickable by linking images, headlines and large buttons. The more options they have to click, the more clicks you get.
  3. Less common than clicking, some recipients will actually reply to your marketing email! This is much less frequent than just clicking but provides the highest level of engagement. Be sure to respond quickly and take advantage of the outreach.

You don't need the fanciest, most advanced email servicer to make a big impact in your marketing campaign. Talk with Megan Robinson today to effectively engage, connect, and rank your email list!

 

Search Engine Optimization  

Getting on Google search's first page is the name of the game. We measure SEO success by our keyword rankings (the higher the better), volume of targeted traffic (the more the better), and the number of conversions on the site.  

  1. SEO success is ultimately measured by how well your website ranks for specific keywords. Make sure you are looking for consistent improvement month over month and maintain your position.
  2. Although ranking well is important, we do it to get more website traffic. Be sure to monitor the traffic you receive and the quality of it. Is your bounce rate increasing? Is your time on the site getting shorter? Make sure that the traffic you are getting is of high quality.
  3. We not only want to rank well and get quality traffic to the site, but we also want to make sure that traffic is converting. Whether making a purchase, filling out a contact form or picking up the phone and making a call, visitor conversion is the ultimate goal and indicator of SEO success.

 

Networking

Effective networking is every bit as critical to your success as a solid digital presence. If you are sitting in your office relying solely on your website to fill your pipeline you will have a lot of really good opportunities to organize your office supplies! But how do you quantify effective networking? It takes some elbow grease but when you have an additional 30-50% of your leads coming from the relationships that you've built, you will be singing a different tune!

  1. Identify organizations that cater to your specific verticals or sizes of business. Associations should be a part of your research, not just Chambers of Commerce or high priced networking opportunities.
  2. Try it, track it, change it. You must have a system (CRM, spreadsheet or other) that allows you to track what your investment in the networking is. This includes travel time, time at events, follow up time, etc. Use your hourly rate to calculate your total investment and after 6 months compare that to the anticipated value of leads received. Check this number every six months.
  3. Keep in mind that Strategic Partners (those that can refer you LOTS of business) are often as valuable if not more than just one lead. These are the folks that you build deeper, long-term relationships with, invest your time and track the results. You will get a stronger ROI and create a more significant network than just hoping to get leads from events.

If you aren't tracking your results from networking, you are simply socializing. Make sure that you give your effort the proper value!

 


Oh you don't do 'business cards'? Greeeeat.

Oh You Don't Do 'Business Cards'? Greeeat.

If you have been out networking lately, you may have come across a new kind of networker. The ultra-cool, tech-savvy business professional that no longer involves themselves with the incumbrances of archaic tools such as...the business card.

Typically, you will get a response like, “Oh, yeah, I don’t DO business cards, but I will find you on LinkedIn” or my favorite (and yes, this is a true story) “If people want to find me, they’ll find me. Just remember who I am and search for me”. I kid you not. Allow me to share with you why this is not only an ineffective business practice but is, for all intents and purposes, blatant poor manners.

If you are at an event where business building is the purpose, others have come with the intention of connecting with you, engaging with you, (if you are in the right group) finding ways to connect you and following up with you. Not having a business card forces that other person to either find a place to make a note on how to find you or who they wanted to connect you with. This is a person that WANTS to be of service to you, to help you, or to send you business...why make them work for it?

If you are going to connect to them via LinkedIn, that only creates more work for you. Typically, the connection starts with a connection request and then an IM and then eventually it moves into an email or phone conversation. If you have a card, that person not only has a physical representation of your brand but a way to reach out to you without having to search all over the place or wait for you to connect with them. In networking, effective follow up is the name of the game, and your lack of card starts you out with a disability.  

In the professional networking world, brand and first impressions are EVERYTHING. They are the first step in establishing trust, integrity, and professionalism. It’s such a small investment that has such a huge payoff. Once that card is in someone else’s hand it also allows you to track things like:

  • Do they follow up like they said that they would?
  • Do they remember what I do and does my card give them enough info to remember?
  • How many cards am I going through vs. how many people am I truly connecting with?

Being able to effectively measure your efforts is key to business building, and if all it takes is a solid business card, isn’t it worth it?

Need help with your networking strategies, brand or a new business card? We’d be happy to help!  marie@atrevneue.com


Annoying or Appealing? 5 Ways Brands Get Unfollowed on Social Media

Annoying or Appealing? 5 Ways Brands Get Unfollowed on Social Media

 

www.suekoch.com

Too many businesses come out of the gate on social media with no plan of attack. It’s a completely normal response, as even many Fortune 500 companies admit to shooting from the hip without a strategy when it comes to social media. The downside of that, however, is that you’re more likely to fall into habits that turn your target audience away instead of drawing them in.

Investing in a content strategy is the best way to make sure you develop relevant ideas, creative content and a delivery style that inspires a loyal community.

A Sprout Social study found that 86% of social media users want to follow brands. But when they do, there are particular social media habits that cause them to turn and walk away.

Over-promotion: If someone you’d never met before knocked on your door and told you to go to their new store down the street, would you? What if they did it every day? Or three times a day? No. You’re more likely to slam the door in their face and hide. But if they introduced themselves & demonstrated interest in your needs, and shared a bit about their story, you may stop by for a visit in support of them. Then, you may build a rapport and start to appreciate their brand. Soon, you buy something. And you tell your friends and they buy something.  And the cycle continues. It is better to have patience in the process to inspire relationships, referrals and longevity, instead of forcing a first date where someone leaves when you go to the bathroom.

Slang & jargon: If you said something like “I soo can’t with adulting right now, I’m getting turnt tonight!” Would your friends look at you like…

Yeah, then don’t…

Trying too hard: Have you ever watched a newbie comedian struggle, and curled up in your chair with discomfort & embarrassment for the poor entertainer? It’s kind of like that. You may not walk out on the show, but on social media, we have an unfollow button.

Be yourself. Don’t try to hard to force humor or a style of communication you think is going to appeal to your audience. If it feels weird, it probably is. Do research first. Follow other pages that appeal to a similar audience as your business. Watch their interactions and participate. This will help you get a better feel for how to be yourself while communicating successfully to grow an authentic following.

Obvious automation: Do you post every single day at 10:18 am? Does every post follow the same format in copy, link, and image? Is there no personalization to your conversation? We see you robot! There’s nothing wrong with scheduling your uniquely crafted content in advance. But it’s critical to show up and mix in some ‘in the moment’ content and participate. The days of “set it and forget it” are long gone, and people will move on to a more real experience.

Ignoring conversation: This can be a result of automation, missed notifications, or simply lack of awareness. Make sure to respond to your community. People expect a response on social media. It doesn’t need to be immediate, there is still some forgiveness mindset out there but never ignore them.

Especially if someone asks you a question in a comment, sends a private message to your business, or presents you with feedback. It is critical to makes sure the original poster and the rest of the community see you acknowledge, demonstrate care and follow up. People may be a bit forgiving about how long it takes for you to respond, but they are not forgiving about being completely ignored.

What you should do:

Edutain them! People crave new ideas, they want to learn, to be entertained, and yes, to get to know the humans behind a brand. Make them laugh! (In an authentic way of course. See: “Trying too hard” above…)

They will buy from you, but first, they need to… !!cliche alert!! know, like and trust you. 

Make notification and message review a part of your daily process. This will help you keep in touch with your community and also learn more about what they want to see from you.

How do you make that happen? A solid strategy and action plan. Unless you are a master of improv, shooting from the hip will never support you in truly crafting a message that meets your audience in a consistent, cohesive manner, and allow you to build a strong community.

Get in touch with Sue via Facebook Messenger at @SueKochCatalyst or via the contact form. Thank you!


Gratitude: Mission Critical

Gratitude: Mission Critical

 

We typically stroll through our business day with a polite ‘thank you’ here and there. Our businesses may offer a cash bonus for referrals and if we have a holiday gifting program, some groans as we sign the STACKS of cards. Blerg.
You know what we are excellent at? COMPLAINING! I know… sometimes it is just letting off steam, sometimes it is an offhanded comment that needed to be released and sometimes it is a little more sinister. This, my fellow business leaders, is an epidemic. Have you ever realized how much easier it is to show gratitude for a small to a medium event, but it’s almost uncomfortable to show HUGE gratitude for a grand gesture?  It’s psychologically harder for us to celebrate the big gifts or wins than it is to complain about the little stuff.

I have so much chaos in my life, it's become normal. You become used to it. You have to just relax, calm down, take a deep breath and try to see how you can make things work rather than complain about how they're wrong. Tom Welling

I experienced this first hand as the waves of love and assistance poured out after Jim’s passing.There were never the words to say “thank you,” to the people who helped me survive, return to my life and start moving forward. It was scary to realize I could never fully express how thankful I was. Whoa - big. Too big. But….

This year I think it’s time to take some brave steps to that place of radical gratitude.

I am not talking about cheesy cheese: “We’re thankful for you” flyers offering a 10% discount on yackity schmackity. BOOOORING, and also not gratitude. It’s a tired sales techniques and it’s insulting. Stop it.I’m talking about a lifestyle of gratitude. A business practice that celebrates the blessings that come from each lesson, client and coworker.

If you have a hard conversation that allows you perspective - CELEBRATE.

When you have a miscommunication and you are both able to get back on the same page and team - CELEBRATE.

If you have a week that is simply full of laughter - CELEBRATE.

I know this is going to trigger a bunch of knee-jerk no’s. It’s going to be expensive, it’s going to take work, I am so busy….Yep!

Ok, it doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does have to come from the heart and that takes effort. But guess what people do when they feel valued? THEY GIVE MORE! They try harder, they return the favor and they take it to other parts of their lives. So be a part of RADICAL GRATITUDE...what can it hurt?

What if you were able to ask every single client and employee or vendor at your org if they felt that you are grateful for their contributions? How many of those answers would you be afraid to hear? I implore you to make gratitude part of your mission. Empower your staff to show acts of gratitude grand and small. What could a $50 a month ‘Gratitude Budget’ do for your company, internally and externally?

Let’s start now: thank you for reading this blog!

Marie Hale is the owner and co-founder of @revenue, a sales and marketing collaborative dedicated to changing the world, one business owner at a time. Marie was also very proud to have been honored with the Midwest Women in Tech Leadership Award in the area of Marketing & Media 2017.


Women in Leadership - This is our REVOLUTION

Women in Leadership - This is our REVOLUTION

Let’s just start this love fest by saying this is an….interesting time in our political and business lives. I’m not leaning left or right (heck, I’m doing my best to learn how to fly just so I can hover and not touch a toe in anything), but we can’t ignore the international uproar women’s voices are creating through two simple words…. Me Too.

As leaders, what is our responsibility here? Listen, I don’t expect we dive headlong into every issue, headline or whisper, BUT, we do have a responsibility to stand up and say, ‘Yes, this system is broken.’ And it applies to both women and men. BUT we are the generation of leaders that can fix it. We are the women that can lead from a place of pain and secrets to a structure of honesty, safety, and education. We can prevent future incidents from continuing to be commonplace. And you don’t have to be in Hollywood to do it.

Allow me to use the example of a nonprofit I work with. They found out one of their mid-level instructors had allegations leveled against him for past incidents at a different job. They reacted boldly and simply, even though through their name got pulled into the mix.

  1. They made no excuses. It didn’t matter that they didn’t know. They wholeheartedly lived their values and making excuses or second-guessing anything had no room there. They addressed the situation publicly and immediately.

  2. They placed no blame. This is a tough one. We all want to point the finger when a woman says that she has been victimized and attack the accused. NOT YOUR PLACE. We can offer loving support, resources and mentoring, but it is not our place to be the judge and jury. We need to take the person at their perception and help them process instead of tearing away at an event that we were not present for.

  3. They created a safe place. At every level of their organization, they created a safe person, an anonymous email address.They made it available and accessible for every part of the org and ensured anonymity and protection with a  no retribution ever policy.

This will not be a quick fix. As women, we have an additional responsibility to lend a hand, because there are too many of us that say, ‘Me Too’.  You may have become an accidental leader, or you may have planned for your leadership for your entire life, but if you are a leader you bear the responsibility of facilitating change and protecting those in your posse. The best thing is this isn’t a political issue! It isn’t a grey issue. It’s an opportunity to keep others safe and that is a value we should all share.

Marie Hale is the owner and co-founder of @revenue, a sales and marketing collaborative dedicated to changing the world, one business owner at a time. Marie was also very proud to have been honored with the Midwest Women in Tech Leadership Award in the area of Marketing & Media 2017.


The Power of Polish: Making the most out of 7 seconds

The Power of Polish: Making the Most out of 7 Seconds

Those of you that know me know that I never show up underdressed. I wonder if you know why I take care in my appearance?  Let me create a little business case for you….

When I started my entrepreneurial career I was young, and I mean young young. That special age where you think you know everything and that at 30 you will be a real grown up. That’s where I started. Since I already knew everything, it was easy, right?  Um, not so much. I very quickly stepped into a public role as the leader of eWomenNetwork and needed to not only sell to but confidently lead, a group of women that were 20+ my seniors and provide them with true value.

If I had walked on stage with a side ponytail or the most up-to-date fashion atrocity, it would have skewed their view of me for many, many months, and I would have to earn that credibility back. Not happening. I had sales to close. At that age, it sometimes felt like more of a costume, but I was ok with playing a role until I achieved the goal. Your appearance is how others decide to view you as a person, which they do, within the first seven seconds of meeting you.

What does your appearance say about you? Here are just a few possibilities:

  • Professionalism

  • Motivation

  • Experience

  • Attention to Detail

  • How you Represent your Brand

  • Trust

  • Like-Mindedness

So often we see business owners and employees that haven’t taken the time to put themselves together in a way that will not only help them open doors but help them close sales. A few years ago, one of my legal clients had a gorgeous baby face, not a wrinkle in sight. Before she went to court, she would pull her hair back into a simple high ponytail. How would you feel about a lawyer that looked like she was still in college? Not great was the answer for a lot of her clients. All it took was a different hairstyle to allow her to elevate her image to the professional kick-butt lawyer that she truly was! It simply took a little polish.

For the next week, I would like you to try a little experiment. Every morning, before you leave the house, take a look at yourself in the mirror and ask these three questions:

  1. Do I look like my brand (personal or business)?

  2. Is this a great fit for the meetings I have today?

  3. Does this convey my professionalism, my intent and my level of experience?

If the answer is always ‘uhhhhh maybe?’, it might be time to start putting together what your personal brand needs to be.

For questions or more information contact me at Marie@revenue.wp10.staging-site.io


Permission-based Marketing: Where yes means yes, and no means no

Permission-based Marketing: Where Yes Means Yes, and No Means No

Marketing can be powerful, impactful and even helpful; but it can also be annoying and unwanted. These days, marketers are trying to decipher through some blurred lines on whether their message is wanted, appropriate, and even legal.

This is where permission-based marketing can be so powerful.

“Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them. It recognizes the new power of the best consumers to ignore marketing. It realizes that treating people with respect is the best way to earn their attention.”

As you can imagine, we believe permission-based marketing is the best kind of marketing because it targets the right audience, with the right message. To help you find your voice, below are several situations that are all “Yes” (full permission), and a couple of situations you don’t want to get caught in.

Yes means yes: Situations where your marketing can make a HUGE impact!

Your email list:

If someone is on your email list, it means that they have expressed specific interest in your business. A good email list if full of highly engaged contacts that are expecting you to send them something. **hint, EXPECTING** that’s right, when they signup, they are flat-out asking for it.

Social Media:

Your followers, likes, and community is another place where your audience is interested, engaged and looking for information. Social media platforms give you the voice and audience to kick your marketing into action.

No means no: Critical misses that burn marketers and brands.

Purchasing an audience: If you have a list or an audience that you purchased, you are walking some fine lines. These contacts have not expressed interest, so often your message will appear as unwanted and even intrusive. Because of this, your campaign performance will suffer and you won’t be getting the results you are capable of.

Promotion overload: Remember, you must treat your audience with respect and provide relevant information. If you are always talking about yourself and not providing value, this is a great way to get ignored and lose your audience.

Find your safe word: Just in case you are afraid of crossing a line, there are a couple universal safe words that you should know: “unsubscribe”, “opt-out” “unfollow” and “block”. Always respect your audience’s decision.

Rule of thumb- get permission where you can, and ensure that content is always relevant and interesting to your audience.

If you are looking to build your audience or need help finding the right words, we can help.


Dream Bigger

Dream Bigger

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness

That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves

Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

Your playing small

Does not serve the world.

-By Marianne Williamson

‘Marie, I have something to tell you,’ my client began, ‘when I started dreaming about my business and setting goals I was stretching to see myself at 400k in my first year. I thought I was calculating something wrong when I saw that I had booked 800k, but when I realized that I would have more than a million dollars of business on the books before my year was even close to its end I got…’ He took a deep breath, ‘I got scared.’

Sounds like a great problem to have, right? We all roll our eyes at those who tell us that their businesses have grown too quickly, but epic growth not only brings with it a bevy of technical issues but a lot of emotional issues that we aren’t prepared for.

Questions come flying through our brains like:

  • Does this mean that I should expand my business?
  • Should I raise my rates?
  • Do I want a bigger business?

And the truth is, this can be a scary and lonely place to be.

I would like to offer you two words that can greatly impact your future, wherever you are in your journey. Dream Bigger. If your goal, your dream, your plan doesn’t stretch you, make you uneasy or is something that you could do in your sleep, you aren’t dreaming big enough. If you don’t feel a little nervous when you review your goals every month (not your numbers), you are playing too small.

The next part of Marianne Williamson’s poem goes on to say that “we are all meant to shine like children do”, and there is so much truth in that. If your business doesn’t light you up, if you aren’t on fire, take some time and reassess why the heck you are working so hard.

How do you know when your dream is big enough? Gut check time.

  1. What impact would achieving this goal have on my life? If there is no true impact...push further.
  2. How does this align with my values? If your goal doesn’t allow you to exemplify your values (ex. It’s more than just a number) or the impact of your goal on you financially doesn’t allow you to achieve a personal goal that matches your values it’s time to realign.
  3. When you take time to put your goals into actionable steps, can it be done with little to no effort? You should want a little sweat to happen on your way to your dream, it makes it more thrilling to achieve.

This year, I had to realign personal goals this when my whole life suddenly changed; my partner suddenly died. I had to learn how to dream again, how to figure out what will bring me joy, abundance or peace when my dreams were suddenly and uncontrollably altered and out of my control. Learning to dream big is a practice, a muscle, a gift you must work on for yourself.


Google’s Mobile First Index Coming Soon

Google's Mobile First Index Coming Soon

Google has just released a bit more information about, Mobile First, its upcoming change to how it indexes site content.

Currently, Google analyzes the desktop version of a website and then ranks the mobile version of the site based on what it learns from the desktop version. The opposite of this will happen when Mobile First takes effect.  Google will analyze, index and rank the site based on what it learns from the mobile site.

Google has been constantly reminding us that each day more and more site visits come through mobile devices. Today many mobile sites are just “lite” versions of the desktop site and do not provide the best user experience.  Mobile First is Google’s way of making sure that content on a mobile site is as robust, relevant and authoritative as a desktop version. When mobile rankings are tied to content on mobile sites Google can more easily serve up the best results in its search engine results.

In addition to site content, Google will also review a site’s load speed, user experience (UX), architecture, internal linking, and site data structure to determine page rankings. This in-depth review by Google makes it critical that your site is the best it can be from a technology, content quality and user experience point of view.

Google has hinted that Mobile First will be rolled out sometime in the second half of 2017.  In keeping with Google’s modus operandi, we expect Google to make the change first and then update us rather than giving us a go live date in advance.

For a complimentary review of how your site will fare when Mobile First is implemented please contact me at 224.595.1340 or at harry@revenue.wp10.staging-site.io.


Your Best Business Partner - Silence

Your Best Business Partner - Silence

People should never underestimate the power of silence.  Ask any teacher in front of a room of children and they will agree that one of the best ways to get a room full of children to settle down is to simply stand still and be silent.  Silence signals expectation.  It provides space for thought, creativity and listening.  The proverb is true, silence IS golden.  In business, silence can often be your best partner on the road to success.

When we are silent we are leaving space for active listening to others.  Now I’m not saying that you should say nothing and just stare at the person across the table.  That might be a little creepy.  But, what is effective is asking an open-ended question and then giving the person time and space in which to answer.  By quieting ourselves we make room for other thoughts and opinions.  We are able to be open because we aren’t worried about what we are going to say next.  We are simply intaking, receiving information.  If you are interviewing a new employee, you will get better answers to your questions if you give them that space.  If you are talking to your team, you will get better feedback if you don’t jump in and give them the answers.  If you are meeting with a client, you will get better insight into their wants and needs if you let them take their time and think it through before you fire away with another question.

Good sales professionals also understand the value of silence.  In general, they operate under the 80/20 rule.  You should listen 80% of the time and talk only 20% of the time.  By doing this you can uncover needs, understand possible objects and connect with their/your customers in a meaningful way.  Sales professionals also know that silence can prevent the classic blunder of “talking themselves out of the sale”.

Silence is difficult for us to master.  It makes us uncomfortable and often we rush to fill that space with words.  Let’s say you are at a business presentation.  You have just presented a deal to your customer.  It’s a fair deal and you are anxious to close it.  Your customer looks at the presented document and doesn’t say a word.

...10 seconds go by...

...20 seconds go by...

You start to worry.  Sure, they could just be thinking it through, they could also be thinking about what they want for lunch... but maybe, just maybe, they are thinking this deal doesn’t cut it.  So, you start filling the silence with concessions, apologies and even objections they hadn’t even thought of.  Before you know it the deal is either much less profitable or, even worse, nonexistent.  All of this could have been avoided by simply staying quiet and giving the customer the chance to process the information they have been given.

Silence is a powerful business tool.  By learning how to strategically harness the power of silence business leaders can become more effective at communication, connection, and even sales.  Are you looking to be a better business leader?  Take the first step with our free leadership assessment tool and personal assessment.  https://www.atrevenue.com/leadership-development