In this four-part series on online marketing, I have taken inspiration from The Happiness Project. Instead of improving your life one month at a time, I am breaking down the essential pieces of marketing so you can stay organized and focused as you tackle each element.
You can read my first blog post on updating your website, putting together a mobile site, and listening to what people are saying online and my second, on putting together an editorial calendar, improving social media engagement, and blogging. Let’s move on to steps 7 – 9.
Step 7: Share Images and Videos
When you look at the rapid growth and success of YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram, there is no doubt that people respond to and connect with images and videos.
- Become a shutterbug – Get in the habit of taking photos during the day-to-day and of new products, employees, customers, and events. Share them on social media.
- Have a goal for videos – Before you spend time on making a video, decide whether you’re making it to build awareness around your business, increase sales, or strengthen your brand. Once you have a goal in mind, your video will be more focused and relevant for your audience.
- Hold contests – If you really want to engage your audience, hold a photo or video contest. Choose a theme and prize, and consider making the contest open to community voting to really up the social sharing quotient.
- Use YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram – You can create your own channel on YouTube for videos, and, if you’re not using them yet, share your photos on Pinterest and Instagram to reach new audiences.
Step 8: Start a Monthly Newsletter
Because newsletters arrive via email and require the recipient to at least read the subject line, newsletters are a great way to reach your audience and stay top-of-mind with them.
- Keep it focused – Skip the introduction, focus on one to three short and relevant articles, and put your best information at the very top.
- Make it worthwhile –Include something special in each issue to reward your audience for reading it, whether it’s a coupon or early access to a new product or service.
- Get creative with the subject line – As I mentioned above, your subject line can make or break how many people read your newsletter. Get creative to pull people in, whether it’s through humor or irreverence.
- Include images – People are drawn to photos in newsletters, especially ones that include people, so try to include relevant images in each newsletter.
Step 9: Put Together an Ebook or SlideShare Presentation
Bundling blog posts on one topic into an ebook or SlideShare presentation is a smart strategy to employ, as it lets you reuse content you’ve already created. While your ebook is great to share with your audience, SlideShare comes with a built-in audience: It is the world’s largest content-sharing community for professionals, with 60 million visitors a month who view 3 billion slides.
- Think like a children’s book author – Make it fun, visual, and interactive with videos, games, or surveys.
- Use stories – Stories are highly engaging, and the more success stories you can weave in, the more you will position yourself as a go-to expert and problem solver.
- Teach your readers – Add tips, tricks, helpful hints, or other actionable information to make your content more usable.
- Focus each page/slide – Stick to one point per page to keep the layout clean and uncluttered.
- Include a strong call-to-action – Tie it back to the subject of your ebook or SlideShare, and explain the benefit of working with you.
- Add contact info – And not just a phone number! Include your website address, email address, and social media follow buttons.
Stay tuned for the fourth and final blog post in this series, where I’ll cover advertising, hosting an event, and content centers.
Of the above marketing steps, which do you find easy to do – and which do you find hardest?
Image by Flickr user Capt’ Gorgeous (Creative Commons)
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