Content Marketing Archives - Fast Marketing Minute

Looking for video marketing ideas on Instagram?  Well, here are 7 ideas to start with.

7 Types of Marketing Videos that Perform Well on Instagram

The post 7 Types of Marketing Videos for Instagram appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Want to optimize your search engine ranking? Look at keyword research to improve your marketing strategy.

Write a Topical List

Begin with a keyword list that describes your business. Say you’re a dentist. Start with services you provide like “Cosmetic Dentistry,” “Dental Checkup,” “or “Dental Cleaning.” Search engines consider the searcher’s location when they display websites, so if someone nearby is typing these keywords, you have a higher chance of showing up.

Use Tools of the Trade

Keyword tools like SEMrush can show you how often people search for specific keywords, giving you an idea of which ones are worth including on your website. If there’s high volume on certain keywords, it means there’s lots of competition.

Longer Keywords Go a Long Way

Websites like 1800 Dentist will probably have a higher keyword ranking than your local dentist. To rank higher, use longer-string keywords like “Dallas Cosmetic Dentistry” or “Oral Surgery in Dallas” so your website appears in more relevant searches.

What’s Your Intent?

Knowing how your customers think is half the battle when you’re crafting SEO strategy. If it’s back to school time and summer is over, more people may schedule a dentist appointment. Use the intent of your customers to your advantage by providing content that will target their predicted keywords

The post 4 Ways Keyword Research Can Drive Marketing Strategy   appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Want to know how to build a better marketing plan and win more customers? Look at the marketing framework to see if you’re on target. Here are some tips to help you get there.

Let’s talk about what it takes to improve your marketing plan framework.

The post 5 Strategies to Improve Your Marketing Plan Framework appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Want to create sponsored content that doesn’t look salesy? Here’s how.

While some savvy social media users can smell a sponsored ad a mile away, not every post needs to look so promotional. Here’s how to combine exciting sponsored content that’s engaging without looking too salesy.

Create Value, Not Just Content 

Before you post anything, ask yourself, “Will my followers find this valuable?” If the answer is no, it’s time to retool it. Make your followers’ lives easier by solving a problem or teaching them something new. Combine entertainment, humor, and trending topics to make the sponsored content practically sell itself.

Add More Variety

Variety is the spice of sponsored content, which in turn attracts a variety of audiences. If you’re posting about top restaurants, try adding images of food with cityscapes to appeal to different audiences who may be interested in travel and not just food.

 Pick Your Platform Wisely

Depending on the type of post you’re creating, one platform might be better for your content than another. If you have a younger audience who is hooked on video, post on TikTok or YouTube. Go where your audience is most likely to be.

Vet Your Sponsors

Before you create sponsored content together, check your partner’s website’s domain authority score to see if they’re worth your partnership. There are plenty of online checkers that will analyze websites for you, including Moz Domain Analysis. A website with a high score means they have an engaged audience who frequents their site, which you can rely on to see your post.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. My passion is low-cost marketing to help you grow your business. I wanted to give you a heads up that at the end of the year, I’m moving this podcast from the Alexa platform to my website, www.RobinSamora.com. Visit me there, then schedule a call. Talk soon!

The post How to Create Engaging Sponsored Marketing Material appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

In the market for a new logo or want to rebrand? Here’s a checklist of what you need to know.

Want to create an attention-grabbing logo, one that speaks to your brand and your customer?

1. Make a Lasting First Impression

A logo is your company’s first impression, so make it visually striking, legible, and easy to understand. Whether you’re creating a logo for the first time or revamping your existing one, always ask family, friends, or business partners for feedback.

2. Speak to Your Customer

A dull, flat, colorless logo on a kid’s clothing store? Imagine how many kids or adults would want to shop there? Make sure your logo design captures the mood, desires, and personality of your customers. If not, you might be turning off prospective buyers who think you don’t understand them.

3. Design a Logo with Character

Does your logo have personality? Does it capture your brand? Your logo should to appeal to your target audience. If you’re looking for fun, quirky logos, you can get ideas from food products or apps. Find inspiration from their designs, experiment with the font, color scheme, and even the spacing, to push your creative boundaries.

4. High-Quality Counts

A high-quality logo is non-negotiable.  Your logo represents your business everywhere online and offline. Your storefront, your website, your blogs, videos, social media platforms, and marketing materials. Make sure whatever you create is 100% professional, high-resolution, and scalable, too.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. My passion is low-cost marketing to help you grow your business. Check out my website at RobinSamora.com, then schedule a call. Talk soon!

The post Marketing Checklist for Logo Designers appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Struggling to come up with topics for your next writing piece? Here are some tips to get your creative juices flowing.

If you’re a marketer, sometimes you come up empty handed in the idea department, especially if you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed or just blah. Here are 3 strategies to keep ideas flowing:

1. Write What You Know

To get the creative juices flowing, start with your experiences of what you’re good at, like running a business. Talk about mistakes you’ve made and learned from, or business wins you’d like to share.  Do you continuously answer the same questions to customers? Use those FAQs as individual topics and as upcoming videos. They all achieve the same goal: they give helpful information about your business and point them to you.

2. Keep a List

Even good ideas can be forgotten, so keep a notebook with you. Better yet, keep a running list of ideas on your phone. Use an app like Evernote to log and organize your thoughts. Or send memos to yourself. Some of the best ideas come in the middle of the night, so keep a notebook on your nightstand too. Just make sure you can read your scribble.

3. Find an Outlet that Fits Your Idea

Don’t pigeonhole yourself into writing something you’re not passionate about.  Your best writing comes from your interests, what’s in your heart, and what you believe in. I’m not saying not to research, because that’s important. But start writing, first. You can always tweak your copy to fit a particular blog or publication.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. My passion is low-cost marketing to help you grow your business. Check out my website at RobinSamora.com, then schedule a call. Talk soon!

The post 3 Marketing Tips to Brainstorm Writing Ideas appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Did you know that 80% of people read emails on their phones? Want to catch more of their attention and build your business? Here are three tips.

3 Tips to Beef Up Your Email Marketing 

1. Avoid long messages. Long and wordy sentences are tiring and no one wants to read them. How about adding an infographic to grab the audience’s attention instead?  You can find designers who specialize in creating infographics on sites like Fiverr.

2. Switch up your delivery. Try including a video in your next email. It doesn’t have to be professionally shot or edited. Keep it simple and keep it real. You can create short-form videos, under two-minutes, with your iPhone or mobile device.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for ideas. Reach out to your audience or colleagues and ask what they’d like to see. You don’t need to limit yourself to surveys. A virtual Q&A can help get the creative juices flowing even if it takes a little more of your time.

Remember that when you’re planning your calendar for the month, don’t overdo it. Too many emails or the wrong types of emails set you up for a ton of unsubscribes. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Is it informative, engaging, short and sweet, or another blah blah marketing push? Not sure, ask your trusted circle.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. My passion is no-cost and low-cost marketing. Check out my website at RobinSamora.com and let me help you grow your business.  Talk soon!

The post 3 Tips to Beef Up Your Email Marketing appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Ever notice that your logo and colors look different online. The colors aren’t right, the logo isn’t the most current or it just looks off? Here’s an easy way to fix that.

Consistency in marketing is everything, right? Well it should be with your brand, the image of your business, who you are and what you do. How your visual brand looks online and offline is key to people recognizing you in a crowded marketplace rather than your competitor.

Easy Simple Brand Guidelines for Marketing

There’s certain visual branding you can’t fool around with.  And that includes the colors and fonts of your logo. Let’s face it, your logo represents your brand, whether that’s you or your company. And if you’re online, your brand is working 24/7.  You never want to miss a chance to bring in business.

We don’t live in an all-print world any more. When print dominated marketing, it was fairly easy to identify colors with the Pantone’s color chart or PMS colors.  Without the chart, red might be a fire engine red, warm red or cool red.  And, a printed piece from any press might look different if you didn’t use PMS colors.

It’s a digital world and HEX colors rule. A HEX color is a six-digit combination of numbers and letters, a mix of red, green and blue. Basically, it’s shorthand for RGB or red, green, and blue values – probably a bit more than you need to know, but still something you should know.

Brand guidelines and a color brief create branding consistency. They outline your exact colors, fonts and logo styles in various sizes, shapes and formats so you’ll never go wrong – or forget what you’re using.

If you’ve invested in a logo, ask your designer or VA to create brand guidelines. Or, do it yourself.

Who wants a call from the brand police?

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. My passion is low-cost marketing to help you grow your business. Check out my website at RobinSamora.com.  Talk soon!

The post Easy Simple Brand Guidelines for Marketing appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Would you like to build better relationships with your customers? Think about building trust with social media. Here’s how:

1. Build strong communication skills. Think about what your customers want to hear from you. What kind of questions are they asking? Find out from your sales team, check social media or even scroll Q & A platforms like Quora. When you talk with them, use language they’ll understand. Skip the small talk and jargon.

2. Stop talking and start listening. You might think you know what your customers want, but their needs are always changing. Check your data for insight into common concerns, pain points, their goals and interests. Apps like Sprout Social and Hootsuite Insights can tell you what customers are saying about you and your competition. Are you listening?

3. Be authentic and share your story. Produce content that highlights your values and brings attention to what makes your company special. Offer useful information like how-to guides and product demonstrations. Don’t make it always about selling, especially now. Helping is the new selling.

4. Create relationships with your customers. Give them an excellent on-site experience, but don’t ignore them after they’ve make a purchase. Follow up with offers tailor-made for them. What would they like? Look for suggestions based on their previous purchases and buying history.

5. Share happy feedback. Every time you earn a five-star review or get a message from a delighted customer, sing it from the rooftops. Re-share tweets, blogs, pictures and other content that your customers post. Let them become advocates for your brand. It’s the best kind of promotion and referral marketing out there.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Check out my website for a ton of ideas on how to use social media to grow your business. Visit my website, RobinSamora.com. Set up time to talk if you like too!

The post 5 Ways Social Media Improves Customer Trust appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Besides offering a newsletter or some other kind of legal bribe, what are some other ways to collect someone’s email address?

We all want a robust mailing list. So how do we collect emails?

1. Incorporate a squeeze page. Think of it like a preview page. Show just enough of premium content to whet their appetite but require an email address before they can read it all. Squeeze pages work really well when your primary source of traffic is organic.

2. Capture sidebars are another way to grab emails. These are forms built into the main landing page as sidebars promoting a free offer. The drawback is that sometimes prospects will just take the free offer and pass on buying your product or service.

3. Add a pop-under. Pop-unders are like pop-ups but only appear when a prospect leaves your landing page without buying. “Don’t go yet, you haven’t signed up for your free gift.” Unfortunately, pop-up blocking software will also block pop-unders. So they may or may not work.

4. Create a floater. Ever visit a page and a sign-up window is hovering in front of what you wanted to see? That’s a floater. Fill in the requested information and it disappears. Pop-up blocking software doesn’t hide it, but Google doesn’t like it. If you use floaters there’ always a chance it could hurt your organic search results.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. I’ve got a ton of resources on how to build your business with no-cost and low-cost marketing strategies over at my website. Come over and visit. I’m at RobinSamora.com.

The post Sidebars, Floaters and Other Email Marketing Ideas appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.