Fast Marketing Minute

Content creation is a vital part of content marketing. And, it’s almost impossible to do it all yourself. That’s why savvy marketers build a team of freelancers and outsourced employees to help write and produce blogs, articles, presentations, social media, reports and more.

Here are 4 Benefits of Outsourcing Content Creation

* Hiring a freelance marketing or content writer will free up your time to work on your business. Instead of worrying about pumping out blogs, video and social media posts, you can focus on the bigger picture. It will give you back precious time to create strategy, launch new products, or even take that vacation you’ve been dreaming of for the last six months.

* Once they understand your brand and voice, they can create consistency in your content and messaging. You’ll be posting quality content more frequently, and if you don’t feel like writing a blog today or get too busy, you’ll probably shove it off until tomorrow or next week, which always doesn’t work. Freelancers and marketing companies have to meet your deadlines, or they won’t stay in business. Providing fresh, on-brand content is their job.

* Hiring a freelancer is more flexible and cheaper than bringing someone on-staff. Hiring a new employee, even if it’s someone part-time can get expensive, between salary and benefits, and it’s a problem you won’t have with freelancers. Plus, using freelancers gives you the option to switch things up if you need a different area of expertise or a fresh viewpoint.

* Because you can pull from a large pool of professionals, you can experiment with other forms of content like videos, infographics and podcasts -- all things that freelancers or marketing companies can facilitate for you.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. I’ve been in business for 20 years and I know I can’t do it all myself. It’s impossible. Don't try to do it all. Need ideas on making your marketing easier? Reach out by email at [email protected]  Talk tomorrow!

 

If you’re in business or manage a large team, you lead the pack from the top down. Managers, staff, freelancers, even 1099 employees look to you to share your vision of the company's values and goals.

Whether it was you who created the vision, or not, it really doesn't matter. It’s important to have a strong company culture to keep employees, and create a work environment that’s positive, so that your employees will speak well about your brand in the marketplace.

Here are 3 Reasons Why You Need a Strong Company Culture

1. When you show that you’re committed to company success, your employees will follow suit. If you’re wishy washy, slacking off and don’t communicate with your staff, your team will take notice.

You may have employees who have been with you for five or more years, and hopefully that’s the case. What’s important is to provide an environment that fosters growth. With a strong company culture and competitive pay and attractive benefits, your team will recognize your efforts and stay. If you find that members of your team are quitting every year or two, or looking for new jobs -- you can see the signs -- then you may have a bigger problem on your hands.

2. Most employees take pride in their work. Everyone gets in a rut sometimes, but if everyone at your company is going through the motions and doing the bare minimum to earn a paycheck, it’s probably time to assess your company culture. Valued, engaged employees want to go above and beyond their duties to do their best for the company. They feel personally invested.

3. Listen and work toward solutions regarding employee concerns and suggestions to make things better. This applies to both company culture and daily operations. Establish an open-door policy that encourages staff to come to you to talk about anything. They’re the ones working day in and day out with your product or service, so if they have an idea on how to make things better, hear them out. Don’t work in a silo. That could be your blind spot.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Employees are marketing your company every single day, so make sure what they have to say is positive, and that they feel valued. If you’re interested in hearing more about company culture, here’s another podcast you might like; How to Create Fandom Through Your Employees. You can find it in the show notes here. Talk tomorrow!

So you know there are four kinds of media. Social media, traditional media, your own media (that would be your website, blogs, articles, video that is your own) and there’s also earned media. Earned media is when someone else talks or writes about you, or you’re featured on the news. You don’t usually pay for it, and you’re either contacted by the media or a reporter, or you pitch them.

Here are 3 Ways to Get in the News and Earn Media Attention 

* Use HARO. Daily. Seriously. If you know about it, use it. If you don’t, grab a pen and write it down. HARO, stands for Help A Reporter Out. It’s a place where reporters, journalists and the media go to find experts. They posts questions and requests, and there are thousands of requests, so don’t get overwhelmed. Spend some time sifting through the queries each day. If you don’t have time, hire a virtual assistant to do it for you and ask them to forward the best ones for your business.

* Newsjacking can quickly get you attention. When something big is happening, like COVID-19 and it makes major news, write about it fast -- just be sure it relates somehow to your industry. Don’t wait days to get visibility. You have hours to make this an effective strategy. When you get published, link the story to all of your social platforms, and tag the media outlets who featured you. It takes a bit of practice, but newsjacking puts you in front of a huge audience. It just takes some media savvy, a bit of practice, and a dose of courage, so give it a try.

* Pitch follow-up stories. If you missed the boat on newsjacking, think of a different spin or a related story that a journalist would be interested in.

Here’s something I’m working on. All the schools in my area are closed for at least a month, and my neighbor is a science teacher who’s working from home. He’s also known as Metric Mark and throws kids science parties. I suggested he post daily science tips on social media and his Google My Business Page and record a Facebook live event every Saturday called Saturday Morning Science.  What we’ll do is pitch the press about his teaching kids science in a fun and innovative way, while school’s out. It’s newsworthy right? And interesting. And if you want to know, yes he does wear a lab coat and those big lab glasses.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. If you want to get media attention, download a copy of my PR Template, How to Write a Winning Press Release. It’s at RobinSamora.com/PressRelease. Talk tomorrow!

To create an unforgettable presentation, you need to have content that exceeds expectations. You can have a different view on a topic that may be considered boring or dry, or add a personal story -- one that makes you seem human or makes people laugh. You can talk about a time when you lost almost everything, where you felt like a total jerk until… or the aha moment you’ll never forget.  Naturally, this will lead into a bigger story, where you can talk about your challenges, lessons, and of course -- your solutions.

How you deliver the information is important too. At Toastmasters and at the National Speakers Association, they teach you to use the volume of your voice and body language to get attention. If you make an important point, do it loudly, and then be silent for a moment to let your audience reflect on what you had to say. Throw your hands up if you’re talking about something unthinkable. Turn your back. Grab a prop. Need inspiration, watch go to YouTube or watch Toastmasters finalists perform, or better yet -- watch exceptional TedTalks to hear their style.

Mix up your language too.  Use a play on words or apply the allure of alliteration. Hear all those  A’s? Or metaphors like, kisses are the flower of affection. Mix conversational style, slang, formal language and don’t forget to move your body too. Stiff is for cardboard only.

Last thing, if you’re presenting a powerpoint, Include some novel imagery. Don’t go crazy with every slide. If you're talking about moments of change, you can include an image from 50 Photos that Changed the World. They’re powerful and everyone will be able to relate.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. If you’re an expert or speaker, you need marketing ideas and a plan to promote your brand. I’ve got a year’s worth. Download my guide, 52 Marketing and PR Tips to Get Attention. It’s at RobinSamora.com/52tips. Talk tomorrow!

Texting your customers is a good way to cut through advertising noise, overloaded inboxes, and jibber jabber of social media. There’s just so much information! Texting adds a personal touch to your marketing and 97% of smartphone users text regularly. If you asked me, I’d say most of the day.

If you want to message your customers through text, the goal is to have texting from a company feel like a message from a friend. If it’s right for your demographic and on-brand for you to text your customers, it’s worth a try. But like all communication, there are some best practices to consider.

Take a look at 4 best practices for texting your customers 

* Let your customers opt-in to receive texts. Just because they sign up on your terms when they create an account or sign up for your mailing list, it doesn’t mean it’s ok to text without permission. While it is legal, people can feel violated, like you’ve stepped into their personal space if they haven’t given you express permission to text them. So get permission.

* Always include an explanation of how to opt out in every text. You don’t want anyone to feel trapped in the messaging. If customers feel trapped, there’s a chance it will negatively impact you in some way.

* If you’re using texts to announce sales or specials, don’t bombard people. They don’t want to hear from you every day -- maybe once or twice a week. Tell them when a sale is starting. Remind them when it’s ending. I hate it when I get bombarded. Don’t you?

* Don’t use texting just for sales. Consider adding a customer service element to your messages. If someone made a recent purchase, ask them for feedback. If it’s positive, forward a link to leave a review. If it’s not so good or a negative review, use text messaging to directly solve their problem. That eliminates email chains that can go on for days and unnecessary customer service phone calls. Your goal is to create a personal touch.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. There is so much going on in the world right now. Take time to get to know your customers and reach out. It’s not always about sales. If you need some guidance, email me. I’m at [email protected]. Talk tomorrow!

Every marketer should have evergreen content in their digital library, content that doesn’t go out of date. It’s often put on the ‘later’ plan because there’s such a demand to stay relevant with market trends. But that doesn’t mean it’s not important. Just be sure to put your own spin on it.

Here’s How to Generate the Best Evergreen Content

* Choose a topic that people will always want to know about. To help you determine what content your audience wants, look at other evergreen content in your industry. You can do a simple Google search or try a free trial of BuzzSumo, which shows you evergreen scores on similar content.

* Improve on already popular content in your industry. Often large brands will come out with listicles. If you see one that has a lot of great info, take that listicle, and turn it into an article. Choose a few of the points, or all of them if you think it’s relevant, and build on them to create something more in depth that always provides value.

* One thing to remember is that you should always be updating your evergreen content. That’s how it stays evergreen. Update pop-culture references and statistics. Change the year, so if it was tips for 2019, change them to tips for 2020. And make sure links are still working for outside sources. Any time you make a new piece of evergreen content, add a link to it on your editorial calendar for a year from now. Then you won’t forget about it, you’ll have a plan to keep your evergreen content fresh because no one wants a dead tree on their website.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Want a list of resources like Buzzsumo to help your plan your evergreen content? Connect with me on LinkedIn and I’ll send you my list. I’m at LinkedIn.com/RobinSamora. Just let me know where we met. Talk tomorrow!

 

If you think that press releases are dead, you’re dead wrong. In the past, traditional media releases were sent by mail, but now with social media and distribution online, they’re easy to create and send.

Press releases are an important PR tool to keep prospects and customers up to date with what’s going on with your company, and its products and services. They also give you a competitive advantage in your industry. And of course, written correctly, media releases provide valuable SEO opportunities, using strategic keywords and placement.

How to Write a Press Release That Gets Published

* What is the goal of the release? Sure, it serves as an announcement, but what do you want the result or pay-off to be? Keep that in mind while writing and proofing the release. You’re suggesting the end-reader to take some sort of action, right?

* Keep it short, simple and to the point. A press release should rarely hit the second page. A good rule of thumb is for it to be between 300 to 500 words so it’s easy for a journalist to read and quickly understand.

* That goes for your headline, too. Don’t make it catchy. Make it informative. Say what you’re announcing. Save cute copy points for ads.

* Don’t flood your press release with keywords. Write it for the readers. A few keywords strategically placed works, but ranking shouldn’t be the reason you’re creating the release. It’s one of the many reasons, but not the main one.

* Include quotes from leadership within your company -- exciting or interesting ones. These quotes should engage a reader and make him or her want to continue reading. Including or two in the release makes a reporter’s job easier.

* Also be sure to add your direct contact information. Someone who’s covering your topic or industry should be able to call or email you quickly. Include your cell phone and if you want to be a resource, be available 24/7.

* Lastly, and this sounds like a no-brainer, make sure the press release is well-written. Write it like it’s a news article, so it can be published as-is. Having informative, easy-to-read content is hands-down the best way to get your press release printed or posted on an industry page.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Have a press kit? Or looking to build one? Listen to How to Create a Press Kit in 5 Easy Steps. You can find the link here on my text and also on my podcast page. Talk tomorrow!

If you’re an author thinking about publishing a book, some research shows that the best time to release your book is in the winter, typically February and March. The weather is usually bad, people are stuck inside, and are looking for something to do. The hustle and bustle of the holidays are over, there’s some time to relax, and people may be bored -- so your new book may be the perfect solution.

January is best for diet and self-help books -- and business too. Readers are interested in meeting their new year resolutions. Their intentions seem solid.

Have a book about female empowerment?  Consider releasing in March for International Women’s Day or in May for Mother’s Day.

June is a good time to publish a book that talks about getting a job, career advice and industry related topics. Recent high school and college grads are eager for direction in their next step in life.  The beginning of the school year, say September, is also a good time for this topic, but there are disadvantages. Your readers may be too busy and opt not to buy.

If you write fiction, especially for young adults, summer is the best season. Reach your audience when they have some down time, July and August.

The fall is also a great time to publish a book, especially if it would make an amazing holiday gift. You have to remember that there’s a lot of advertising noise at this time of year though. How will you promote your book so that it really stands out?

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute, I help authors and experts build a strong personal and professional brand. Email me for social media profile tips that help you get seen, heard, and remembered. Connect with me at [email protected]  Talk tomorrow!

Are you up to date on the latest Pinterest stats? Did you know that Pinterest has 320 million monthly users, that 71% of its audience is female, and 80% of women use Pinterest to plan life moments?

If you have an audience that’s predominantly female and actively buys, look at adding Pinterest to your current marketing strategy, if you aren’t already. Create and share content that appeals to your target market, and drive traffic to a designated landing page or special offer.

Here are 6 Ways to Use Pinterest to Market Your Business 

* Create pins that are engaging. Encourage people to “try” your products and services and let you know their results. The more clicks and comments you get, the more the Pinterest algorithm will boost your content, just like Facebook and other social media.

* Just like anywhere else, use a call-to-action. 80 percent of people who see your pin won’t interact with it if it doesn't have a CTA. So create one. In fact, create a list and test to see which call-to-action performs the best.

* Every marketer should know their keywords. So use your keywords in your pins and on your boards. “Yum” might be a cutesy name for a board with recipes, but people are searching for the word “recipes,” “dinner,” etc. Write copy like you’re searching for a term in the Google search bar.

* Hashtags are now being used on Pinterest as well, though they aren’t very popular there yet. It doesn’t hurt to add a couple for search reasons, but don’t go crazy like you would on Instagram. Check out the hashtags for Pinterest page, linked here in the notes.

* And lastly, create various boards.  Some should align with your business and brand personality, and others that relate to your audience. Create a customer avatar and consider their interests. It makes your content more well-rounded and wholesome, and if someone clicks through to your profile, they see all of your “interests,” not just a bunch of pins for blogs.

* Try to spend a few minutes each day pinning OPP (other people’s pins) and include one pin of your own. If you don’t have time every day, focus on the weekends. Pins that are posted on Saturday and Sundays get the most traction, especially between 8 pm and 11 pm. You can also schedule your pins with automation tools like Buffer or Tailwind.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute.  Build a base of raving fans who love your business. Want ideas on which social platforms to use? Contact me at RobinSamora.com. Talk tomorrow!

Think of how many times you use email in the course of a day. And how many emails you send from your mobile phone. 20, 30, maybe 50 a day?  Are you taking full advantage of promoting your personal or professional brand with your email signature? I bet not. Most people don’t even think of adding a mobile signature on their phone, and that’s definitely a lost opportunity.

To make your email signature an effective marketing tool, here’s what to include: 

* Your name, title and company should stand out. Highlight who you are and your expertise.

* Keep the colors -- if you use them -- on-brand and simple. If you have five brand colors, stick with two. More than that looks too busy.

* Include a branded image. This could be your company logo or if you have a personal brand, consider using a killer headshot.

* Make sure to have a link to your website, obviously. Or a recent press win, or a chapter of your latest book. Or your media kit. You get the point. Promote what you want to feature.

* Include links, preferably clickable icons, to your social media. Make it easy for people to find, follow you and connect with you on a more personal level. And please test all the icons to make sure they work.

* Add a call-to-action -- nothing flashy. A line of text with a link is all that’s necessary, but you’re missing opportunities if you don’t include your latest lead magnet, or article, or testimonial.

* You might also consider adding a link directly to your calendar for people to schedule a time to talk with you. They may do it on impulse and if they do, make sure there’s a mechanism in place for them to confirm. Your time is valuable

* And lastly, add tracking to all of these links with UTM codes, so you know if this strategy is working.

If you need help designing an attractive, dynamic email signature, Hubspot has a free tool that I love. You can find that here in the show notes.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Are these marketing tips helpful? I’d love it if you could write me a review. Go to FastMarketingMinute.com/review and share your thoughts. Thanks so much and talk tomorrow!