Fast Marketing Minute

Did you know that 25% of adults in the US own a smart speaker, like an Amazon Echo or a Google Home? And 31% of smartphone users in the world use voice search, like Siri, at least once per week. Voice search is here to stay, and more powerful than ever for marketers to reach their ideal customers. So be prepared.

Long tail keywords are being used as part of everyday conversations. People are saying things like “Alexa, order a pizza.” (And yes, you can do that with Dominos.) So do some research about what long tail keywords people are using to find your brand.

You probably ask Alexa or Google a question every day without even thinking. So take that a step further and start answering questions on your blogs. Create a list of questions a potential customer may have about your services or your industry. Write a blog that answers each one. Some may be basic, but it’s ok as long as they answer the question. You can also add these frequently asked questions FAQs to your Google My Business page too.

One thing is, if you change your core content, ask Google to reindex your website, so it sees your new keywords. You can hear more about how to do that here. Check the Fast Minute Marketing text on this podcast for a link to the article.

Lastly, as with any SEO, make sure your website performance is strong. This won’t make or break you, but it will help you rank better in voice search as voice assistants need to provide search results immediately for the user. You can check your site speed with PageSpeed Insights on Google.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Do you need a spot coach to help with a specific marketing problem?  Email me at [email protected]. Talk tomorrow!

 

Unless you have a social media team at your disposal, learning the art of backlinks is well worth the time. It doesn’t have to be super complicated, just understand the basics and see where it takes you.

 

Here are 4 simple tactics to increase your backlinks and online presence.

 

* The most obvious way to create backlinks is on your own social media. Any time you write new content, share it on all your social media platforms. It’s the fastest, easiest way to gain lots of backlinks. Don’t forget to include a link if you post your content as a LinkedIn article, too. I repurpose my content weekly with LinkedIn articles. 

* Guest blogging on other sites is another way to increase links back to your website. Identify companies and experts who share an audience with you (but aren’t competitors), and reach out and ask to write a guest blog, contribute an article, or be on their podcast. It gets your content (and you) in front of new eyes who may be dying to do business with you, once they learn more.

* You can also get backlinks by answering questions on sites like Quora or ASK.fm. Search for questions relating to your content, give a brief answer, then link to more in-depth content on your website. You can do this on platforms like Reddit as well. Answering questions with links on professional LinkedIn and Facebook groups can be beneficial as well. In all cases, don’t be salesy.

4. Another great way to get backlinks is by creating Google Alerts for your brand. You should be setting up Google Alerts anyway -- and it’s free. When you set them up and they’re working, you’ll be notified when you’re mentioned in someone else’s content. Then you can reach out to the site or content owner and ask them to link to your website.

This is Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. I love helping people get free publicity and would love to help you grow your business using the same tactics big brands use. Get in touch with me at RobinSamora.com. Talk tomorrow!

 

Social media can be annoying because you always have to write it, post it, and engage so that you’re in tune with your audience. But did you know it can be annoying to your followers too?

Here are 4 ways you may be annoying your audience on social media, and don’t even know.

* Your posts are too long and poorly written. Basic writing rules apply here. Keep it short and simple. Most people don’t want to read ‘War and Peace’ on social media. Get to the point, and use proper grammar and punctuation. Extra words don’t make you sound important or smart. If in question, use the app Grammarly though that’s best for longer format writing.

* Maybe your posts are outdated or overdone. If you’re talking about the same exact content three times a week, with no variety, it’s easy to glance over your posts and find content that’s more interesting. Unless you have a fresh take on your topic, or share news that your community wants to read, you could be wasting your time and losing your audience.

* Your posts are too personal. New technology gives us a lot of information about our colleagues and prospects, but that doesn’t mean we should use it all. I know I hate when someone scans my Facebook page for images, and then sends them to me on a Send Out card. Maybe it’s me. Personal is personal, don’t cross the line.

* Lastly, posts that aren’t optimized for the platform can be annoying. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest all require different image sizes for the best-looking graphics. And when they look off, it’s off putting to me anyway. Sprout Social keeps an always up-to-date guide on image sizes that I keep in my bookmarks bar for quick reference. And your best design tools usually have this too, with the paid versions.

 

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. I’ve just written a special report on Social PR Trends. Would you like a copy? Download it at RobinSamora.com/SocialPR. Talk tomorrow!

 

Google has more than 200 indicators that determine SEO, but the top three should be no major surprise. Do you know what they are to rank higher on Google?

First is content. Creating lots of valuable content on a consistent basis that provides value to readers is extremely important. Make sure your content has a clear purpose and lets your audience know who you are and what you do, without any question.

What you write about should be relevant to your target market, answer specific questions, and include keywords that people will actually search for. Someone who’s browsing on the web probably won’t be searching for “60-minute shiatsu.” They’re going to look up “back massage near me”, so keep your copy clear and concise. No jargon.

Second is metadata which in short, describes your content.  Be sure to fill in all your page titles, meta descriptions, and tags. Create snippets that are highly searchable, and describe the content by adding information that’s unique to each page. Some website platforms have this feature built in. If you’re on WordPress, I like using Yoast to create custom snippets. Plus, you get other SEO tips -- and the free version works perfectly fine.

The third most important factor for getting better SEO is website performance, which is basically the load time. Faster is better, but don’t sacrifice quality to get there. How can you have the fastest website? Adjust image size and resolution for the web. There are apps that can help with this like, Smush for WordPress. Use a reputable web host that can handle high traffic times and also enable website caching.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Would you like a quick marketing and PR evaluation? Go to RobinSamora.com/contact and let’s set up a time to meet. Talk tomorrow!

When you think of online quizzes, do you think of the ones that tell you what kind of dog you would be, or which celebrity husband or wife would be the perfect match? Let’s just say, quizzes are not all created equal!

Quizzes can actually work to get attention and build engagement. Just be sure to create them in a style and language your target audience will respond to. Do some reverse engineering and think of what your customer’s end goals are and what they’re trying to accomplish. Then, create a quiz with ‘you’ as the solution.

Let’s say, you’re a travel agent and want more honeymoon business. You can design a quiz to identify the type of client, time frame of their travel, and dream destinations for a wedding. You can include destinations where you have the most experience and connections. A yoga studio could customize a quiz to determine the type of class someone should take, whether they’re a morning or night person, and what their goals are -- more flexibility, less stress, better balance.

When you post quizzes on social media, you get clicks and likes, increasing your engagement score on social media, which boosts your other content. Plus, people are likely to comment with their results, sparking conversation about your topic and brand. And you get to chime in!

If done right, quizzes can also help you capture a lead. Ask for the person’s email address to add to your marketing machine, your sales funnel. Put this field at the end of the quiz, though, because by then they’ve already invested the time in answering the questions, so they’re more likely to give it to you. You can create a quiz through online tools like Interact, which has both free and paid versions.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Do you want to grow your business and brand? Let’s have a conversation. You can find me at RobinSamora.com .Talk tomorrow!

 

If you’ve been writing content and not getting much traction, maybe you’re writing the wrong content. Taking the time to understand your target market is a vital part of connecting with a busy, over-communicated audience. What does your reader want to know? And why is it important?

First, what are words and phrases are people searching to find you? What topics are people searching that have to do with your business? Do some keyword research. Long tail questions are much more common now, especially with voice search, though your customers aren’t using voice search on desktop. Check out keyword tools like Moz, which you can use free for 30 days, or Google’s Keyword Planner as a starting point.

Next, take a deep dive into researching your target audience. Look at age, gender, lifestyle, interests and hobbies. In fact, create an avatar of your ideal customer and write content that will speak to them. What are they struggling with? What’s on their mind? What are they afraid of happening -- or not happening?  You can ask questions in person, by email, on social media, or through an anonymous survey tool like SurveyMonkey.

When you know all this, and look at what’s trending online and, with using tools like Buzzsumo, write content that answers your customers questions and solves their problems. Help them define their goals by content rich information. Tell them how you’ve overcome similar problems. And don’t be afraid to get a little personal because it makes you more human. Be helpful, candid and it’s perfectly ok to add a dose of humor. It’s a great ice breaker and puts us on an even playing field.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Want to up your marketing game? Ask me about writing a customized marketing plan for you. Email me at [email protected]. Talk tomorrow!

Today we’re going to talk about promoting your blog. It’s important to know, whether you write one -- or your role is to promote your company’s blog to gain more attention and free publicity. Blogs help you showcase your expertise and done consistently, help your target market find you online.

You know it’s a given that you have to write to answer your customer’s questions and pain points, which again tells the world, you’re an expert.

Here are three easy ways to promote your blog:

First, consider creating templates to promote your blog on social media. I suggest 5-10 templates that use your brand colors (refer to your brand guidelines) and fit your style. Once they’re created, plug in your blog title. You also want to include your logo on these images. Canva is a free, user-friendly design tool that our team likes, and if you use the paid version, you can automatically resize your posts for different platforms, like Instagram, Insta Stories, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google my Business, and so on.

Second, when you post your blog, email everyone on your list. I do this on my weekly marketing tip sheet Robin’s Rainmakers . If you create an easy to read email template, it also gives you the opportunity to promote other content too. After sending the blog to your list, go back to your template and share that, along with your link, on social media platforms too.

Third, you want to repurpose all of your content. Publish your content on other outlets. You can republish your blog on Medium and post it as an article on LinkedIn. I’d wait about 14 days after you post the original to publish it on other platforms, and at least 7 days before publishing somewhere new. Put these tasks on your calendar so you don’t forget when to do it, and where you posted.

This is Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Do you want more attention for your business or brand?  Download a copy my special report, 52 Marketing and PR Tips to Get Attention at  RobinSamora.com/52tips. Talk tomorrow!

 

When it comes to ads, quick is best, right? Well usually -- unless you’re running the Clydesdale commercial for the Big Game. Turns out that isn’t true on Facebook though.

Marketers thought it was all about an eye-catching image and a great tagline. But, like everything else on Facebook, we were wrong. AdEspresso recently did some A-B testing. They ran the same ad, but with 7 variations. The only difference was copy length and format.

The content with one full paragraph performed best with the highest number of leads and lowest CPA. The content that was three paragraphs long came in second, and surprisingly the content that was six paragraphs long came in third.

What does this tell us?

Storytelling in ads is inherently relevant in today's market, which makes sense. That’s what we’re on Facebook to do -- learn about other people, their lives, their stories. Writing ad copy that’s captivating and shares something personal is a must.

Why is it so effective though? Well, first of all, Facebook is all about the user experience. Interesting ads that connect you to your audience provide higher value, so users are more likely to see it in their newsfeeds. More importantly, longer content creates more engagement. People will comment and react to content they connect with, so give them something they want to see.

Unless you have an extremely personal brand or an absolutely amazing story to tell, six paragraphs is probably a bit much. Plus, you don’t want to get comments that include “TL;DR.” One or two paragraphs is going to be your sweet spot. Remember this is a reflection of how users feel about all Facebook content, so consider using this insight while writing posts too.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Are you telling your best story online?  Tell me about it. Find me on Facebook or LinkedIn @RobinSamoraPR. Talk tomorrow!

It happens to the best of us. We finally stop working, but our minds are still racing with things we need to do. Tasks and priorities that are unfinished on a big long list.

What’s important is to spend your time away from work, not working. It makes us happier in our lives, in our relationships, with our families, and more productive in our business.

So how can you turn off your work brain and let it go?

* End today by organizing for tomorrow. Make short lists and assign priorities. 3 - 5 work best. Put important to-dos on your keyboard. Feeling prepared will help you leave the stress of work, at work.

* Wind down by reading a book, watching your favorite show, or writing in a journal. Switch the focus from work to relaxation -- whatever that means for you. Your brain needs rest, just like your body.

* Go for a walk or at least get outside. Fresh air clears your mind and so does exercise. Take your dog for a walk or play with your kids. Schedule some personal bonding time.

* If you work from home, set up a designated space and only work there. When you’re done, close the door and walk away. That way, your work won’t be staring you in the face while you're trying to make dinner or relax with your family.

* Put some “me time” on your schedule. Take 15 minutes every day to practice some kind of self-care. It could be meditation, tai chi, yoga, breathing exercises or just take a shower to change up the energy.

The point is you will burn out if you always keep working.

This is Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Have a suggestion to take your mind off work, after work? Message me on LinkedIn @RobinSamora. Just let me know how we met. Talk tomorrow!

Facebook, like Google, is always changing the rules with its pesky algorithms. The trick is to stay on top of reaching your audience without having to buy ads.

Here are 4 ways to increase organic Facebook reach with a zero ad spend:

* Create content that sparks a conversation. Add questions to your posts. Write about a new trend in your industry or newsjack to address a similar topic that relates to your business. Encouraging comments on posts is the best way to increase reach. But, don’t solicit comments or use “comment baiting” by asking your followers to drop their thoughts in the comments. This will ding your reach efforts.

* Go Live. Your followers get a notification when you go live. What better way to grab attention? Facebook is really pushing for its live platform to be successful, so it rewards you for using it. Plus, it’s a great way to get post engagement, boosting your organic reach even further.

* Post on the right day, at the right time. Facebook users are most active on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 pm to 11 pm. You can view when your following is most active through Facebook Insights. Post your content right before the peak times to hopefully catch the most eyes.

* And lastly, ask your followers to turn on notifications for your page. Reminding them that they may be missing important information will create a little FOMO. But make sure you’re providing valuable content or they’ll switch those notifications back off.

 

This is Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. If you’re looking to grow your business and brand, download a copy of my new report, 52 Marketing and PR Tips to Get Attention. You’ll find a tip for every week of the year (if you can wait that long). Talk tomorrow!