Small Business Marketing Archives - Fast Marketing Minute

Ever hear of the APP Formula of Content Marketing? The acronym was new to me, so I wanted to share it with you. It’s all about making your content crisp. Today, let’s talk about a handful of techniques to make your writing more on point — and crisp, to keep your reader’s attention.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. If you’re looking to build an expert brand, let’s connect. Check me out at RobinSamora.com and contact me there. Talk tomorrow!

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Did you know that millenials in a professional position appreciate access to continued training? And, according to a recent LinkedIn survey, 42% of millennials reported listening to podcasts? 

So, here’s an idea. Give your millennial workforce podcasts — private podcasts.

If you send a monthly internal email with company updates, announcements and events, release it as a podcast instead. Why pull employees away from their jobs for a day if you could record a podcast so that they could listen when they’re available. With podcasts you get someone’s undivided attention, as long as they commit to listening.

You could ask company leaders to record weekly or monthly podcasts with insights on industry trends, competitive analysis, or what’s new on the horizon. Or ask employees for feedback on what topics would help them succeed on the job, so they can do their best work.

Create content about what they want to learn in a format they like and use daily. Listening to podcasts also provides your staff a chance to pause, rewind and relisten, should they need to. 

Private podcasting could also keep teams connected in a virtual work environment. More companies are moving toward increasing remote employees, flexible hours and results-based work models. Having a weekly podcast to come back to will keep them more grounded and personally invested in the company.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Are you looking to create more brand advocates within your company? I’m happy to share my insight of being in business for over 20 years. Contact me at RobinSamora.com. Talk tomorrow! 

The post Retain Millennial Employees with Private Podcasts appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Are you on the fence about creating an audio book? As long as your book isn’t full of images or photos that carry the story, it may be a good idea to expand your outreach and grow sales. 

Let’s look at 4 reasons why you should turn your book into an audiobook. 

Audio books are yet another example of your ‘owned media.’ Plus, I didn’t mention that libraries love to buy audio books. 

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. If you’re looking for ways to engage your target audience, download a copy of 96 Content Marketing Ideas to Start a Conversation. It’s at RobinSamora.com/96ContentIdeas. Talk tomorrow!

The post Why You Should Turn Your Book into an Audiobook appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Social proof is key to growing your business. In fact, about 72% of customers won’t take action until they read a review. Here’s what to do when you get a bad review.

What to Do When Someone Writes a Bad Review

Rule #1: Never argue publicly with someone who has given you a negative review, even if they’re dead wrong. This has a poor reflection on you – not the reviewer. Instead acknowledge the problem and apologize for it. Then, take it to the next step.

Rule #2: Always thank the person for their feedback and for taking the time to write the review. Feedback is important and you can always learn something. It could be as simple as how to deal with angry customers without them making you angry.

Rule #3: Get on the same level with your customer. Empathize with them. Explain how you understand how upset and frustrated they must be over the situation. Again, even if they’re wrong, try to understand where they’re coming from and how they feel about it.

Rule #4: This is important. Ask them to contact you directly to resolve the issue offline, off of social media. When responding, leave your direct contact info, so there’s no question on how to reach you. Then, be sure to respond — in a reasonable amount of time.

Rule #5: Once the problem is taken care of yet, update the status of the review as “resolved.” Explain how you helped the customer and what action was taken. Highlight your superb customer service.

Bad reviews happen, here’s what do to when someone writes a bad review. Know that you can easily turn them into good PR if you handle your customer correctly.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Everyone wants good PR. If you’re looking to build your marketing and get better PR, download a copy of my free report, 52 Marketing and PR Tips to Get Attention. It’s at RobinSamora.com/52tips. Talk tomorrow!

The post What to Do When Someone Writes a Bad Review appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

We’re all so busy talking about connecting with our customers, that we sometimes lose sight with surprising our clients with ways that show we care.

My colleague, Matt Ward, in his book, More…Word of Mouth Referrals Lifelong Customers and Raving Fans, talks about the 4 Pillars of his Care Package — which simple in concept, delivered makes a huge impact on building relationships and business.

Here are 4 Pillar Principles to the Customer Care Package to Build Relationships and Customers:

Other ideas? Ask your customers for advice, collect swag at events that they would love (say they love highlighters), and give your clients reviews on social media — without them asking.

Remember these 4 ways to surprise and delight your customers.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Check out my Top 40 Small Business Marketing Blog, Robin’s Rainmakers to read all the ways you can grow your business and be a more powerful connector. You’ll find all this info and more at RobinSamora.com/blog. Talk tomorrow!

The post 4 Ways to Surprise and Delight Your Customers appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

If you’re a small business owner, work usually follows you home or maybe you work out of your home. Raise your hand if that’s you? So how do you stay focused and get things done, when everything and everyone around you is demanding attention. 

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Clients always ask what one thing will help me reach my marketing goals the fastest.  It truly depends on what those goals are. If you want a second option, get in touch at RobinSamora.com.  Talk tomorrow! 

The post Make Your Home Office More Productive appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

If you’re in marketing, you need to be able to write, or at least recognize good copy from bad. You also have to update your content on a regular basis.

Even if you haven’t been hired as a copywriter, pay attention to these 5 content marketing tips to improve your writing.

First, you need to set your mind to the task. Sometimes personal things distract you from focusing. Maybe your writing style changes a little or a lot depending on your mood. That’s ok, but make sure you’re in the right headspace to create quality content that’s positive and encourages your audience to follow your advice.

You should also be passionate about what you’re writing. If you’re bored with the topic, chances are that your audience will be too. Write about what you love or something new you’re intrigued by. Be excited about it. Learning is a lifelong sport and keeps your brain young and active.

Don’t build a 10-foot wall with your content. Keep paragraphs to 3 or 4 sentences, so it’s easier to read. Bulleted and numbered lists are even better ways to make your content easy to consume.

If you need a good way to break up this ‘content wall’, use an infographic, chart or other compelling image. You could make your own, or borrow someone else’s, which is usually easier. Just link to the source to give them credit. No one likes a content thief.

Of course, lastly, don’t forget about SEO. Sprinkle in a few of your keywords where it makes sense to add them. Create a killer snippet for search results. Some platforms have built-in tools for that. If you’re on WordPress, use Yoast.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Get on the brandwagon and learn how to repurpose the content that you write. Download my free guide, How to Turn a 900-Word Article into 36 pieces of content. It’s at RobinSamora.com/900wordarticle. Talk tomorrow!

The post How to Write Better Marketing Copy appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

If you’re on a mission to create more videos this year, you’re spot on.

Videos are the most watched content on social media. And, if you’re thinking of adding music to those videos, you’re at the right place at the right time because today, we’re going to talk about a handful of do’s and don’ts to think about using music for your videos.

Do use music. I love it, you love it, so use it. Adding music to your video content gives it a more polished and professional feeling. You can find tons of royalty-free usic on sites like Bensound, Premium Beat, and HookSounds.

Don’t forget to read the fine print on the license you’re planning to use. Whether it’s for a tutorial on YouTube or in a TV commercial or web ad, make sure you have a commercial license. The license rights for a song can change by website or by track, so check each one.

Do find music that sounds unique. Choose something that vibes with your brand and the purpose of your video. This is all part of your brandspeak.

Don’t use distracting music. In fact, avoid using music in the background of you talking at all. You don’t want to pull the attention away from your information. And your viewers may get annoyed by it and click out.

Do consider using the same music to open and close all your videos. I do this here on the Fast Marketing Minute. It creates brand consistency. People associate it with your brand before the content of the video, or in my case audio, even begins.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Are you looking for a brainstorm partner to grow your business? I’d love to be an adviser to your team. Email me at [email protected] and let’s get a date on the calendar.  Talk tomorrow!

The post The Dos and Don’ts of Adding Music on Your Video appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Everyone can benefit from a virtual assistant, especially small business owners and solopreneurs who have just too much to do! VA’s have all kinds of skills, from generalized admin capabilities to marketing and tech, and back end to front end website work.

So how could a Virtual Assistant help you with your marketing?

If you aren’t sold, think of what your time is worth. Is it worth paying someone to handle it? Then take a few things off your plate. Let go of the reins and hire someone to help you. Then you can focus on the more important tasks of running your business.

I’m Robin Samora with the Fast Marketing Minute. Ask me about the tasks you can give a VA to help get time back — and build sales. You can reach me at RobinSamora.com. Talk tomorrow! 

The post Hire a Virtual Assistant to Help With Your Marketing appeared first on Fast Marketing Minute.

Listening to what the customer wants has always been important in marketing, but with machine learning, we’re taking that to a whole new level.

Social listening analyzes reactions to a product or service. This includes looking at brand mentions, online reviews and interactions with users on a company’s social media.

Of course, there’s technology you can buy that gathers all of this information, plugs it into an algorithm and tells you where you’re exceeding expectations and where you’re lacking. 

Most social scheduling tools have social monitoring built in. Hootsuite and Buffer both have inboxes that allow you to monitor and respond to brand mentions.  Monitoring your mentions and engaging with your audience is only part of the puzzle for social listening though.

Buffer gives you analytics on engagement and audience behavior. That’s social listening — looking at the data as a whole to find trends, outliers and abnormalities. It gives you a better understanding of the public’s views of your company as a whole. 

Once you have this intel, you can use this ‘bigger picture’ to tweak your brand strategy. Up your marketing game on what you’re doing well on. Or, scoring well on.  Listening also allows you to see trends in issues with your product or service, so you can fix the problem — and take care of it right away.

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! 

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