Which Marketing Efforts Need Updating?

Wendy Covey at Trew Marketing wrote an excellent article that identifies 6 marketing areas that you probably need to update Following a condensed version.

1. You use the world “blast” to describe how you communicate

Technical buyers are very wary of marketing and sales inherently. If you overwhelm them with irrelevant, self-promoting content they are much more likely to unsubscribe or at the very least ignore future communications from you. Instead move from blasts to targeted communications. Yes, you can still announce news, but do it in a way that connects with how your new product/award/etc. will solve a customer need or challenge.

2. Your website is older than three years.

Older websites are less likely to be secure, load quickly, and be effective at helping you in search rankings. On top of this, many of you have sites that have broken links and are difficult to update, leading to stale content which hurts you with search. Instead, redesign using a template-based site where the platform remains updated through a subscription model (rather than updating a myriad of plug-ins every time Chrome has an update). Publish a steady stream of content on a consistent basis (at the very minimum one new page per month) and keep your content on key pages fresh with links and resources to help along the buyer’s journey.

3. Your website is a digital brochure with a prominent contact form…everywhere.

Yes, you want customers to know what products/solutions you offer, and of course you want their information, but publishing a digital brochure looks lazy and may put you at a competitive disadvantage. Instead create a unique online experience that helps the buyer gather information to make a purchase decision, and builds trust in your brand as a credible, experienced source of information.

4. Your social marketing isn’t professionally managed.

This is another example where some companies tend to blast self-promotional information “we will be at X event!” versus sharing helpful information with a point-of-view. There is a clear preference by buyers to interact with people at companies rather than the anonymous company brand itself. Prioritize LinkedIn, choose one or a few spokespeople for your company to be the face of your company social efforts. Post 1-2 times a week with a point of view, and comment on other relevant industry posts. The tone should be helping, not selling.

5. Your only video is a slick, dated corporate overview.

Did you know that 98% of engineers watch video for work on a weekly basis? They look to video for how-to instructions, demos, and other technical information. Overproduced corporate videos are not high on their list. Consider that even a cell phone video can provide value! Don’t be afraid of a lower production effort in order to create videos faster and cheaper. Just pay attention to the sound and lighting.

6. Search engine optimization equates to keyword stuffing and other inauthentic ways to game Google.

Google is constantly updating their algorithm to reward web pages that thoroughly cover a topic and are part of a website that provides a good user experience. Keyword stuffing has been out for a while, and relational content is in. The more content you have on a subject that links together to form a theme, the better you will do at search. Use long-scrolling topical web pages with resources along the buyer’s journey. This is a great place to serve up FAQs with short answers that link to longer blog posts and additional web pages. It’s also a great place to push traffic towards gated content such as white papers, CAD drawings and webinars.

Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3IqzOrr

For a no cost discussion of your situation, some great tools that may work for you and the volume of quality traffic we can drive to your website via content creation and organic search call 630-363-8081 or email jeanna@smartprcommunications.com.