A KICK-ASS GUIDE TO CREATING THE ULTIMATE INBOUND MARKETING STRATEGY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

A KICK-ASS GUIDE TO CREATING THE ULTIMATE INBOUND MARKETING STRATEGY

FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Brandignity is a Naples, FL full service inbound

marketing company that is devoted to helping

our clients build their brand and market their

business’ websites online. As search engines

evolve they require a more comprehensive web

marketing approach to all SEO related efforts.

At Brandignity we put on our best “marketing

hats” for every inbound marketing project we

take on. We think that search engine rankings

are important but so is building a business

brand through proactive internet marketing

and branding efforts. Efforts that over time,

will naturally build a websites strength and

power which ultimately will lead to increased

search engine rankings. If you have any

questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at

866-250-4541 or email at [email protected].

“ We don’t mind if your project is big or small, we get it done for you.”

Quoted on

TABLE OF CONTENTS Proper Website Design & Branding 4

Onsite SEO 7

External SEO 10

Local SEO 13

Social Media 16

Pay Per Click Advertising 19

Reputation Management 22

Email Marketing 25

Content Marketing 28

Mobile Marketing 31

CHAPTER ONE Proper Website Design & Branding

Your website is the primary way people will get

interested in your brand. You can be funny or formal,

interactive or informative, but there are certain

essentials you need to have in a good website.

Follow the tips below to make sure your site is

as well-designed as possible.

Up-to-Date Design

What do you think of when you see a website

with nothing but plain text or a site that has a lot

of animated GIFs? You probably think that the

designer hasn’t entered the 21st century yet, and

thus take the brand as a whole a lot less seriously.

Keep these principles in mind:

• Don’t turn your customers off by having an

outdated website. That means no excessive

use of animated GIFs or other poor

graphical choices.

• Keep things clean and easy to read. Check

color and font size.

• Use navigation bars to allow mobile users

easy access to your site.

• Make your site as clean, modern, and

responsive as possible.

Good, Solid Branding

From Amazon.com to Microsoft to McDonald’s,

the most successful companies have consistent

branding throughout the site. You should make

sure your logo is prominent on each page within

your site. Ideally, displaying the logo in a header

or on a navigation bar is the best way to go. Keep

your color themes and visuals consistent with

your logo in order to create brand synergy.

Everything about your website should scream

your brand’s name.

Conversion Aspects

Once somebody has visited your website, how do

you keep in contact with them? Your homepage

should include at least one way to convert a

“ Not having proper website design can be the make or break of your online success.”

5Chapter One: Proper Website Design & Branding

Brandignity • [email protected] • 866-250-4541 FREE WEBSITE ANALYSIS

one-time visitor into a regular customer. One

potential conversion aspect to explore is a lead

form, which is a way that people can use your

services in exchange for their name, address,

and other important contact info. Putting up an

option to join an email list is another great choice,

since it helps your customers by letting them

know when you have new updates while also

making sure that you have a broader reach

with your promotions.

Separate Services Sections

Your homepage shouldn’t be very text-heavy. If

you have a number of different services to offer,

you should make sure that each service has its

own separate page. This will not only help avoid

information overload from customers visiting your

site, but it will also improve your overall traffic.

Search engines like Google will rank you higher if

you have a number of useful, informative sections

rather than just clumping everything together on

one page.

Keep Code Clear

While the coding behind a website isn’t something

the average customer sees, it can influence your

search engine standings. Keeping your coding

clear and easy to understand is great in case you

have a change in staff and somebody else takes

over the website. Garbled code or sites with a lot

of junk code that doesn’t appear on the site often

get flagged as potential spam pages in Google and

other major search engines. The clearer and more

concise you are, the better. This goes for text your

customers can see as well as code which they

can’t see.

These are the basic guidelines you should follow

when developing or editing your brand’s website.

These tips will ensure a better search ranking,

more traffic, and a better conversion rate.

A few additional resources:

• http://www.brandignity.com/2013/10/what-you-

need-to-know-about-responsive-web-design-

and-seo/

• http://www.brandignity.com/2013/05/impact-of-

web-designing-on-online-advertising/

• http://www.brandignity.com/2013/12/guidelines-

to-save-your-seo-from-these-7-website-design-

blunders/

6Chapter One: Proper Website Design & Branding


CHAPTER TWO Onsite SEO

Search engine optimization, or SEO for short,

has changed a lot in recent years but remains an

important part of marketing your brand online.

If you hope to rank high on the major search

engines, you need to tune up your site’s SEO

using the following guidelines.

Keyword Research

The most important part of SEO is knowing

what keywords to use. Your keywords should be

something that is relevant to the content you

are posting and that people are likely to type in

a search for. Keywords don’t have to be limited

to just one word, either – a two- or three-word

phrase can work just as well if it is a common

search term. Many search engines provide

statistics as to which keywords are most

popular. Among those, the most commonly

used tool is Google’s Keyword Planner, which

is focused specifically on the world’s most

popular search engine.

Inserting Metadata

When people find a search result leading to your

page, the default description will usually be a

random selection of text pulled from your website.

You can get better control of the way your site

appears to interested searchers by using a

metadata description. This is a simple HTML

tag that you put in as part of the header on any

given page. By making the metadata description

concise, accurate, and engaging, you will attract

more casual searchers to your website.

“ Onsite SEO is the foundation to everything you do moving forward.”

8Chapter Two: Onsite SEO


Structuring your URLs

Your site’s URL addresses don’t matter to anybody

but the computers, right? Wrong. While search

engines and bookmarks are the most common

way that people access a website, many people

still use URLs to navigate. Keeping your URLs

short and easy to remember will help users

find specific sections of your site easily. Search

engines also tend to rank sites without a lot of

subdirectories in the URLs higher. When you

have multiple words in your URL subheading,

make sure to separate them by hyphens instead

of underscores, as some search engines filter

out underscore-heavy URLs and give them a

lower ranking.

Generate Good Content

While there are all sorts of SEO tricks you can

use to boost your search rankings, absolutely

nothing beats high-quality content. You should

make sure that everything you produce on your

site is relevant to your brand, engaging to the

user, and updated regularly. Avoid redundancy

whenever possible and listen to feedback carefully.

New search algorithms have been ruthless about

dropping rankings for low-content sites, so

putting up the best quality possible is the best

way to survive in the modern SEO environment.

Optimize your Images

The average user waits a grand total of three

seconds for a website to load. If the site hasn’t

fully loaded in those three seconds, the user

gives up and goes elsewhere. Optimize your site

through these notions:

• Reduce the file size of any images you post to

your site to speed up loading times.

• Give your images a descriptive name and include

an alt-text tag, as search engines look for both

these items during image searches.

• Name your file in a clear and distinct manner

so the image can be found in search engines.

Generate a Sitemap

A sitemap is a piece of HTML or XML code

that gives search engines a full layout of your

website. Generating a sitemap gives search

engines a way of determining the key focus of

your website and including it in related searches,

even if those searches don’t use your preferred

keywords. XML is the most common sitemap

format, although both work quite well. HTML,

however, is probably best used for text-heavy

sites only rather than Flash or media-

heavy websites.

Your onsite SEO determines the way in which you

present yourself to the rest of the world. Think of

it as a job interview for your website – the better

the presentation, the more likely people are to

take your website seriously.

9Chapter Two: Onsite SEO


CHAPTER THREE External SEO

Your web traffic isn’t determined by what’s on your

site alone. You should also be aware of how your

website interacts with other similar sites. This

is called external SEO and it is an area of focus

for Google and other search engine leaders. The

better you manage your external SEO, the more

successful your site will be.

Safe Linking

Have you ever fallen in with a bad crowd? Just

being around certain people marks you as a

potential troublemaker. On the Internet, search

engines view your site by the “crowd” it is in,

which in this case is determined by links to and

from the website. Avoid creating link directories,

as these often get marked as spam. Also make

sure not to link to low-content sites. If such sites

link to your website, do what you can to get those

links removed. The links to and from your website

are often seen as a direct representation of the

type of content you have on the site.

Business and Niche Profiles

The Yellow Pages is a thing of the past for most

businesses, but there are still lots of directories

you can take advantage of in order to promote

your brand. The size of your industry and your

target customer base should determine whether

you go for a national directory, which has more

listings and a broader reach, or regional directories,

which has fewer listings and a more targeted

audience. If you have the resources and the desire,

you can also target both national and regional

directories to get the best of both worlds.

Content Marketing Techniques

Content marketing can be used for external SEO

in addition to onsite SEO. Connect with other

similar sites and brands that will cooperate with

you and set up a content sharing program. This

can include the following:

• Adding the occasional guest blogger or expert

from another website.

“ Your links tell a lot about your authority in your industry, the better the links the better your SEO outcome.”

11Chapter Three: External Seo


• Issue targeted PR releases at sites that have the

audience you want to reach.

• Use eBooks and white paper to prove users with

content they can take from your site and can

share as they see fit.

Video Marketing

Using sites such as YouTube, DailyMotion, or

Vimeo to host ads or video content about your

brand can help you reach a whole new audience.

You can also get a leg up on the competition with

shorter videos through services like Vine. Make

sure you use strong content in the description of

these videos and include keywords if applicable.

You should see a video description as a sort of

mini-site that tells people about your brand.

Building External Relationships

In almost all industries, it’s not what you know

but rather who you know. You should make sure

to touch base with bloggers and journalists

connected to your industry so you can build a

positive relationship with them. You should also

make sure you generate excellent word of mouth

through strong social media offerings and a

comprehensive link profile. The more people

know about you, the more they will trust you.

By managing your external SEO as thoroughly

as you handle your onsite SEO, you will have a

remarkable advantage over your competition.

SEO is all about how you present yourself, and

following these tips will place your brand in the

best possible light.

12Chapter Three: External Seo


CHAPTER FOUR Local SEO

Do you have a physical storefront or the type of

business where local customers are extremely

important? If so, you need to focus at least some

of your web marketing on local SEO to make sure

you bring them in. Some suggestions on how to go

about this include the following.

Google, Bing, and Yahoo!

The three biggest search engines on the web –

Google, Bing, and Yahoo! – all have local

directories you can tap into. Additionally, new

search algorithms are placing more emphasis on

location so people in Philadelphia, for example,

can find chiropractor services in their area even if

they just type “chiropractor” into the search field.

Google Maps allow you to go even further, providing

specific directions to your business and even a

street view that allows people to immediately

recognize your storefront, even if they’ve never

been there.

“ You can build new foot traffic to your business by being extra visible online.”

14Chapter Four: Local SEO


Foursquare

Foursquare is an app for mobile devices that can

help you drive foot traffic to your location. Users

of this app check in at certain participating

businesses and receive a number of points,

badges, or another reward. They can then travel

to the next location in their area. If you join

Foursquare, you are increasing the odds that

somebody will step into your storefront, even

if only briefly.

Groupon

If you have coupons or deals you can offer as a

promotion, Groupon is a great option for you. The

biggest benefit to this system is that if too few

people sign up for the offer, nobody gets it. That

means you can determine what level of discount

is profitable for you but still have protection if it

doesn’t reach the right number of people. There is

no upfront participation cost, so you can easily take

advantage of this opportunity if it makes sense for

your business.

Online Coupons

If you prefer a more traditional coupon strategy,

there are still a number of online venues that can

work for you. You can place special discounts up

on sites like Coupons.com or CouponClipper.com,

both of which have a Local Offers section. You can

also look outside traditional coupon sites, offering

online coupons through local news sites or even

on such venues as Craigslist.org

Google AdWords

One of the most popular ways of marketing a

brand these days is Google AdWords. These ads

appear right alongside search results and can be

embedded into certain content. The two big

advantages that AdWords has over similar

services are the robust analytics options and the

high level of customization. Through simple IP

exclusion and placement targeting, you can make

sure your ads get focused on a local area without

paying a high cost.

Implementing a Strategy

Some of the options listed above require more

than an automatic signup. You will get more out

of Foursquare, for example, if you have a strategy

in place before you sign up. This may mean

allying with other local businesses to make sure

that there is a clear path that leads Foursquare

users to your front door. You should also

implement a content strategy along with any

of these moves, emphasizing information that

will attract a local audience and calling out

your deals wherever possible.

Even if you have an online store or rely on clientele

from around the world, having a strong local base

is good for most businesses. When you establish

that, it makes everything else in marketing

much easier.

15Chapter Four: Local SEO


CHAPTER FIVE Social Media

Social media isn’t the wave of the future – it’s the

wave of the present. Even now, you probably have

multiple ways to access at least one social media

network, be it through your computer, phone, or

tablet. Social media is also a powerful marketing

tool, especially if you follow this advice.

Share Content Frequently

Any major updates to your website, such as a

section redesign, new feature, or new blog entry,

should be added to your social media channels.

Some of the most clickable social media

posts include:

• How-to guides

• Press releases

• General interest blog topics

Make sure that you not only include something to

entice people to click on your link but also include

an image of some sort, since the image will draw

more attention than plain text will.

Make Frequent Status Updates

New content isn’t the only thing you need to

share on your social media channels. You should

also make frequent status updates on all your

networks. These updates could include something

about your brand or they could be general interest

topics that tap into whatever is trending at the

time. The idea behind a status update is to show

the personality behind the business so customers

can form a personal connection with you.

Engage Followers

Follower engagement is one aspect of social media

that a lot of businesses drop the ball on. Creating

contests and quizzes, regardless of the prize

offered, is a great way to generate interest in your

brand. Using Instagram and other photo-sharing

services for a contest is also helpful in this regard,

as you can get some very artistic and interesting

uses of your brand that go out to thousands of

different potential customers.

“ Social media is all about sharing and engaging. Get your audience to reciprocate an action.”

17Chapter Five: Social Media


18Chapter Five: Social Media


Social Advertising

Never underestimate the power of ads on social

media sites. You can take out advertising space on

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other sites in a

targeted way that gives you control over what age

groups, regions, and other key demographics see

the ad. This is a great way to generate more

followers, which in turn increases your brand’s

overall reach. Every new follower has several

dozen friends who are also potential

new

customers.

Remarketing

Some visitors might show interest in a social

media post but not visit your site. Maybe they’re

multitasking or maybe they want to check it out

later. Remarketing makes sure that these

potential customers get a gentle reminder

through the form of another ad in the future.

AdRoll is the most popular remarketing site out

there, but there are numerous alternatives as

well. This is a good non-intrusive way of making

sure that potentially interested parties remain

aware of your brand in the future.

Social media is a goldmine for a clever advertiser.

Many companies these days even employ individuals

whose main purpose is to maintain various social

media networks and keep people engaged. While

you don’t have to go that far, following these tips

will give you the chance to turn your social media

pages into major hubs of activity and get many

new customers in the process.


• http://www.brandignity.com/2014/01/a-guide-in-

optimizing-your-social-media-accounts-to-get-

traffic/

• http://www.brandignity.com/2014/01/3-tips-on-

how-to-monetize-your-social-media-following/

CHAPTER SIX Pay Per Click Advertising

One of the oldest forms on online advertising,

Pay Per Click or PPC for short offers a simple

cost-to-effect ratio where a user displaying your

ad is paid a small amount each time a visitor

clicks on the ad. One of the biggest benefits of

PPC ads is that it allows you to recruit website

owners and many other independent parties to

do your advertising for you. No matter how

widespread your ad becomes, you only pay when

it successfully draws people to click on it.

Google AdWords and Bing Ads

When you enter any search term, you are almost

certain to see some ads on the screen before you

see the results. On Google and Bing, these ads

show up either at the top of the page or to the

right of the search results. Both of these search

engine giants use an ad system that allows you

to customize your audience and tailor your own

specific meta description. Make sure you use all

“ Pay Per Click advertising can give you instant visibility right next to the biggest players in your industry.”

20Chapter Six: Pay Per Click Advertising


the SEO principles discussed earlier when designing

these ads in order to get the most benefit out

of them.

Social Media PPC

Most of the major social media networks, including

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn offer PPC

advertising that you can take advantage of. This

approach works best if you want to target the

Generation Y group that grew up in the 1980s, as

they are the primary users of these sites. Social

media PPC allows you to combine words and

images in an attractive package and can be

modified so that only specific users or groups

of users are able to access the ad.

Landing Page Optimization

Once you have traffic starting to trickle in thanks

to PPC ads, you should examine the landing page

that people are reaching and make sure it is

properly optimized to maximize your conversion

rate. This involves making sure that you have a

lot of related content and sales connected to the

selling point that brought the customer to your

page in the first place. For example, if you sell

digital cameras, make sure you also have

accessories available from your landing page

so customers who have already bought a camera

can still outfit their purchase with something

you are selling.

Ad Copywriting

Good copywriting needs to be present in any PPC

ad. Ad copywriting should take advantage of your

brand’s specific strengths, but also of your

competition’s weaknesses. You shouldn’t refer to

a competitor by brand name, but if the brand is

popular enough you can easily bring up flaws that

others have experienced and then emphasize how

your product addresses them. PPC is just like any

other advertising – good copywriting and effective

content is extremely important.

In the end, PPC is something you should approach

like any other sort of marketing, but you should

make sure to recognize the specific perks of PPC.

You can customize these ads in ways that you can’t

customize others, and the ability to specifically

target search engines and social media networks

gives you the ability to target key demographics

with ease.


• http://www.brandignity.com/2014/01/a-guide-in-

optimizing-your-social-media-accounts-to-get-

traffic/

• http://www.brandignity.com/2013/12/3-ways-

to-find-new-keywords-and-expand-your-ad-

words-presence/

• http://www.brandignity.com/2013/11/how-to-

get-creative-with-your-ppc-campaigns/

21Chapter Six: Pay Per Click Advertising


CHAPTER SEVEN Reputation Management

The classic song goes, “I don’t care about my bad

reputation,” but that doesn’t apply to businesses

at all. Your brand is built on your reputation.

Negative press or bad word of mouth can destroy

you even before you properly establish your

business. The problem with bad press is that

almost everybody who is moderately successful

receives it at some point. When your reputation is

on the line, what do you do to defend your brand

The Proactive Approach

One option when it comes to reputation management

is to be proactive and make sure you stop bad

press before it even starts. This requires a lot of

effort in terms of identifying potential sources that

could harm your reputation and squashing them

before they start. You might need to make

alterations within your own company in order to

respond to issues brought up before they reach

wide circulation. Alternately, you can have your PR

team focus on keeping your brand in a positive light,

emphasizing ways it helps others and any

philanthropy your company might do. You

shouldn’t go on the attack and tear down other

brands too much, as this may lead people to

perceive you as a bully.

The Reactive Approach

For those companies that have less time or resources

to invest in proactive PR, the reactive approach can

often work as long as you stay vigilant. If you are

going to be reactive, you need to make sure you are

wired into the news as much as possible. Follow every

newsfeed that might connect to you so you know

exactly what others are saying about your company.

When a PR disaster does rear its ugly head, its time

to go into overdrive and make sure the problem is

addressed as quickly and effectively as possible. The

reactive approach is easier on company resources but

still requires a team of people who are very skilled

when it comes to communication so they can put

metaphorical fires out fast.

Using Active Content

Whether you choose to be proactive or reactive about

your reputation management, your greatest tool

“ Create a buffer between you and any negative material that might rear its ugly head.”

23Chapter Seven: Reputation Management


is making sure you have lots of high-quality

active content that promotes a positive image

of your company. Some active content you can

consider includes:

• Let your customers get to know your employees as

people. Doing so gains you valuable empathy and

allows you to get the benefit of the doubt from your

customers when something bad happens.

• Generate active reputation content through press

releases that highlight the ways you are helping

your community and providing valuable services to

the public.

• Include employee profiles with pictures to show

your customers what kind of people work there.

The key to reputation management is to combat it

with preparation and content. The more you reinforce

the notion that you are a valuable asset to your com-

munity and the more you emphasize the personalities

of your employees, the better a chance you will have

of people giving you a moment to explain any lapses

or problems that might come up.

Additional resource:

• http://www.brandignity.com/internet-marketing-

services/online-brand-reputation-management

24Chapter Seven: Reputation Management


CHAPTER EIGHT Email Marketing

What is the most effective form of online

marketing in the world? You might say SEO or

social media, but while those are important,

email marketing has been the best way to get

conversions for years. Not only is email marketing

effective, but its dominance in terms of conversions is

unlikely to change in the next few years. Because

of this, you need to make sure to have a strong

email marketing strategy. The tips below will help

you get started.

Gathering Email Contacts

Nobody likes to get unsolicited emails, so you will

need to make sure that you build your email list

from a group of people that specifically want to

hear from you. The best way to accomplish this is

to have a signup section for your email lists. This

can be as simple as a box on your landing page

that allows interested parties to put in their email

addresses. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to provide

incentives to get people to sign up. Offering coupons,

special deals, and other incentives is a good way

of making sure that people seriously consider

signing up for your emails. Let customers know

what sort of benefits your emails offer and you

will be very surprised at the positive response

you receive.

What to Include in your Emails

Once you’ve built your email list, what do you

offer? In addition to coupons, company news, and

the occasional employee profile, you can repurpose

certain parts of your website to make sure your

employees get the featured content you want

everybody to see. This can include blog entries or

even top stories that can be found on your homepage.

Yes, this might mean that your customers will be

less inclined to check certain parts of your website

if they can expect all the relevant content on a

regular basis, but you should remember the

conversion power of an email list. If you provide

relevant links alongside your content, your

customers are likely to click and return to

your website.

“ An oldie but a goodie. Email is still one of the most powerful forms of marketing when done right.”

26Chapter Eight: Email Marketing


Promote your Content via Email

As a way to provide additional incentive for people

to sign up for your email list, you should provide

special content to those who have joined the

group. This can include previews of upcoming

information on your website, which gives your

most dedicated customers a sort of sneak

preview. It can also include special content that

people who aren’t on the list can’t access. If

you make this content multimedia, such as an

exclusive video or podcast, it becomes even more

desirable. This is a good way of turning your email

list into something exclusive that people always

want to become a part of.

Your email marketing can take many different

forms. No matter how you use the list, however,

it always represents one of the best ways to turn

casual readers of your website into regular

visitors and then into customers. Even in a

world of social media and mobile-friendly

websites, email still makes the world go ‘round

and is an extremely valuable marketing tool.


• http://www.brandignity.com/2014/01/8-email-

marketing-resolutions-for-2014/

Example of leveraging your blog content with email:

27Chapter Eight: Email Marketing


CHAPTER NINE Content Marketing

It is well established that content is king,

especially with modern search algorithms such

as Google Hummingbird. But how do you go about

creating good, consistent content? Follow the

advice below and you will surprise yourself.

Blog Writing

Blogs are incredibly popular in this day and age

because they land in that sweet spot between

informative content and personal interest. If you

don’t currently have a blog section on your site,

you definitely need to add one right away. Ideally,

you should update your blog on a weekly basis at

least – preferably more. Once you have the blog

set up, consider bringing in the occasional guest

blogger for cross-promotion purposes and to provide

something new and interesting for readers.

Press Releases

Press releases are a good way of keeping your

readers up to date on the latest development

within your business, but they don’t have to be

limited to your website alone. When you develop

press releases, make sure you distribute them to

industry news sites so you can maximize your

exposure to readers. Press releases are usually

best when kept short and concise, with a maximum

length usually not exceeding 1,000 words unless

you have some extremely big news to share.

Articles

The meat of most websites is the article content

you provide. Your articles can cover a variety of

different topics as long as they remain relevant to

your brand. The ideal word count for these articles

is usually between 300 and 800 words, which

allows them to be informative without going on

too long. You should also make sure your articles

remain as timeless as possible, since they will be

on your site for the long term.

Videos and Images

We live in a visual society. People don’t mind

doing some reading, but they tend get much

more engaged when they have something to

look at. Videos are a good way of managing this,

“ Content marketing has proven to be one of the most important ingredients in online marketing”.

29Chapter Nine: Content Marketing


especially considering that major streaming sites

like YouTube and Vimeo are constantly upgrading

their terms of use to make life easier for content

producers. If you want something visual without

getting on film, an infographic might be the way

to go. Infographics combine visuals with dense

information, giving you a great chance to educate

and inform. They are also easy to share and can

often go viral if you make them visually

appealing enough.

Downloadable Publications

Some content works best when people can

download it and take it with them on an e-reader

or smartphone. eBooks and white papers are both

good ways to provide quality content that can be

shared and distributed in a number of ways.

• eBooks are essentially regular books but in

electronic format. However, you should note that

they can be as long or as short as you want – a

10-page eBook can have the same impact as a

300-page manual.

• White papers are usually how-to guides but

sometimes contain other information. Both

of these are usually downloadable and can be

distributed off-site, so make sure your brand is

prominently displayed so people know where

they came from.

Everything currently done by every prominent

search engine out there is geared toward making

content marketing more important. If you can

follow these suggestions and build up solid content

now, you will be further and further ahead of

everybody else in the future.


• http://www.brandignity.com/2014/02/content-

marketing-strategy/

• http://www.brandignity.com/2014/01/5-secrets-

to-creating-really-responsive-content/

• http://www.brandignity.com/2013/11/5-inspir-

ing-content-ideas-for-your-blog/

30Chapter Nine: Content Marketing


CHAPTER TEN Mobile Marketing

The percentage of users who access sales websites

via smartphones or tablets exceeded 50% in 2013.

This number is continuing to climb rapidly with no

end in sight. Because of this, no marketing plan is

complete unless it accounts for the mobile world.

You can provide the same content to mobile users,

but you need to make sure you customize the look

of your website so it can easily be accessed from a

phone or tablet.

Is your Site Mobile Friendly?

The first starting point in optimizing your website

for the mobile web is as simple as seeing how it

looks when viewed from mobile devices. Make

sure you test your site on both tablets and

smartphones so you can see what the different

screen resolutions do to your website. If you have

access to multiple devices, you should check your

site on those. For example, although an iPhone

and an Android Phone usually see a website in

the same way, they sometimes differ. The more

thoroughly you test your site, the more confident

you can be that it looks great on any device. If you

detect issues such as not all of the content

showing up appropriately, make sure you make

the necessary changes as soon as possible.

App Development

It’s very easy to develop apps for both the Apple

iStore and Android platforms. If you can think

of anything that can make your customers’ lives

easier, you should work to develop that into a

downloadable app. If you’re having trouble trying

to figure out exactly what you should develop, you

should consider looking at what others in your

field are developing. Don’t steal those ideas, but

do make sure you’re receptive as to what those

innovations do and how you might be able to

improve upon them. It’s usually best to offer new

apps for free, but if your development costs run

higher than you expect, you can consider putting a

price tag on it that can help your budget while also

being affordable.

“ More customers are accessing info on the go. Don’t forget about a mobile strategy”.

32Chapter Ten: Mobile Marketing


Mobile Promotions

Mobile devices are rife with promotion possibilities.

You can:

• Provide downloadable coupons which provide a

discount either on your website or in a brick and

mortar store.

• Host “hot spot” events where people who gather

at a certain point get to download a special prize

or discount associated with your brand.

• Offer content that only activates if it is shared

successfully with a certain number of people.

The biggest benefit to mobile promotions is that

there is a lot of support from third parties, be it

a major name like Foursquare or a smaller

independent party. Find the promotion that fits

your business best and go to it. The response

you receive will almost certainly be impressive.

If your site isn’t mobile-ready, you are putting

yourself at great risk of falling behind your

competitors. If you’ve read any recent analytics

reports, you’ve almost certainly noticed a steady

increase in mobile traffic, so now is the time to

make sure you are ready to meet the needs of

those potential customers.


• http://www.brandignity.com/2014/01/how-to-

capture-offline-business-with-mobile-payment-

options/

• http://www.brandignity.com/2013/11/7-effective-

easy-mobile-seo-tactics-for-better-result/

33Chapter Ten: Mobile Marketing


A KICK-ASS GUIDE TO CREATING THE ULTIMATE INBOUND MARKETING STRATEGY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Marketing

Transcript of A KICK-ASS GUIDE TO CREATING THE ULTIMATE INBOUND MARKETING STRATEGY FOR YOUR BUSINESS