If your company isn't utilizing email marketing, it's time to step up your game.
Email marketing is often treated like the weird uncle your family has to put up with during the holidays. Marketers frequently think it’s inconvenient or that it doesn’t work, but actually, it’s ranked as the easiest marketing tool to use. How often do you check your own email? Is it currently open in another tab? It definitely is on my computer. My email is open all the time, and I can’t stand having unopened emails.
It turns out that I’m not the only one who feels this way. The average business professional checks his or her email at a minimum of 3 times a day. Actually, "check" is a misleading term. Most professionals are always on their email – it’s just always open and on their computer. Now, how often do you check your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter pages during the work day? My guess is pretty often, but probably not as often as email. Am I right?
I recently went to the Delivera Lunch and Learn, and was blown away by all the amazing information they provided. I was content with getting free Jimmy Johns, so it was an added bonus to learn email marketing statistics that I had never heard before. Since the marketing industry is always evolving and growing, it’s important for marketers like you and me to stay keen on what’s new.
So, now that you know how important email marketing is to your overall marketing strategy, how do you get started? That’s where we come in. At The Squad, we love to help you grow your business by telling your story – so let’s talk.
My cousin recently graduated from college. She was terrified and desperate to start her career, but didn't know where to start. She called me in a panic, and for good reason, too. Let's be honest, we've all had that fear of what life will be like after graduating from school or leaving a job. It's tough getting out in the real world and finding a new place to start.
So, when my cousin graduated college with hopes of getting into marketing, I gave her some much-needed advice. Then, I realized that this advice can be applied to general job searching, but especially in the area of marketing.
1. Job searching is now your new full-time job. Don't play around all day and hope something falls into your lap. If you want a job, treat job searching like a job. Talk with neighbors and contacts, research online, and even approach the companies you would love to work for to show your interest and even prove your worth. Looking and applying for jobs can take a long time, but if you approach your situation like a full-time job, your chances of landing the right one will increase.
2. Clean up your social media. In my experience, every company I've worked for has always checked an applicant's social accounts. We looked at resumes, then LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even Tumblr and Pinterest. Employers look at it all. Make sure your profile pictures, posts, and even friends lists are squeaky clean. Employers can see it all and will decide if you will represent their company appropriately.
Pro Tip: LinkedIn can even be leveraged to get job prospects. Headhunters and businesses will look for possible candidates by their LinkedIn profiles, so not only should it be professional and up-to-date, but also make sure it sells you. Put your certifications, schools, volunteer experience, top projects, and resume on there. Make sure to interact with professionals and work on making yourself visible in a positive light in the industry.
3. Brush up your resume and cover letter. Your resume is a summary of your skills and experiences. Your cover letter is the written, "Hello." Make sure they are up-to-date and appropriate. If you have completed a Fellowship or have just left a job, even if it it's been a while, put it in there. Just be sure to emphasize your skills and experience.
4. Customization. Many people don't realize how crucial this is. If you are applying for an engineering firm or to be a marketing account manager, make sure you customize your resume and cover letter to the company, position, and HR person (if you can find out who the HR person is, then customize even to his/her resume and cover letter preferences). Address the cover letter to the HR person by name or just say "Dear XYZ Company Representative." Make sure to look at the job description and pay attention to the skills and job requirements. Customizing your resume and cover letter to highlight your experiences and skills in the company's desired areas are a huge plus.
5. Talk to people. A vast majority of jobs are found through connections. Jobs can be found through a neighbor, friend, an old professor, or even an old co-worker. You never know if there's an opportunity knocking until you ask around. You have connections - use them. You might even get the reference you need to get a job you really like.
6. Variety of sites and searching. Ladders, Monster, Indeed, and countless more - there are plenty of job sites out there. So, don't limit yourself to just one site, or even to job sites in general. I found The Squad through a Facebook ad (yes, you can promote vacancies through Facebook ads). Thus, don't limit yourself to just Indeed or Monster. Branch out, look in unique, but respectable places. You might be surprised to find what's out there.
Before I started working for The Squad, I picked up some knowledge about SEO, marketing, and advertising through school, internships, and jobs. However, with my time at The Squad and delving further into the industry, I found some great free and cost-effective certifications that can beef up a resume and knowledge. When my cousin was job searching, I gave her these to look into:
1. Inbound Marketing HubSpot Certification. There's the HubSpot certification that is expensive and best if you're part of a company/agency. Don't bother with this right now. Go for the free HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification. This gives you a great overview into marketing, such as the consumer funnel, social media, email marketing, blogging, and so much more. This is free and open to anyone and only takes a couple days to a week to do. It's perfect if you're rusty and need to brush up, or just want to learn more. Also, be on the lookout because HubSpot sometimes opens other certifications for free that are useful.
2. Google Analytics. If you are in the marketing field then there's one phrase you should know by now - Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If you want to get into the game, then you should get certified by the industry leader. Learn about how to understand Google Analytics, Google Webmaster tools, Keyword Planner, and much more. However, be aware that Google has not updated their online classes recently, so some might not be up-to-date. If you can tough it out, however, you will find nuggets of useful information. Plus, Google Analytics certification is sometimes required (and at least looked well upon) for many companies.
3. YouTube. This is often overlooked, but with video being such a growing trend, get ahead of the curve with a YouTube certification. This is not quite as open as the previous two, so please look at the requirements. However, if you do actively manage YouTube channels, then you're on the right track. With this certification, you can learn about strategy, sales, methods, and even how to increase viewership.
There are a variety of jobs out there, be it marketing or otherwise. Job searching is always daunting, but take a deep breath and dive right in. Use these tips and you'll be on your way.
If you're interested in working for the Squad, apply here. I hope this helps, and happy hunting!
Workflows have earned a bad name throughout the years. From sales notifications to irrelevant information, our email inboxes take a major hit.
As an excellent way to "drip" information to potential clients, workflows work to guide prospects through the sales funnel. If exercised in a respectful manner, you can convert prospects to leads and be on the winning end in no time; however, if your strategy is an unjustified and desperate attempt to sell all the things!, then a rude awakening is certainly plummeting down the sales pipe.
Take my advice as I walk you through my experience in receiving an unjustified email drip that left me wanting to tell the world the "right" way to work your workflows.
Recently, I received a connection request on LinkedIn from someone I’ve never met. With a similar industry and current city, I thought the request harmless, so I accepted. The feeling of instant regret took over as I was promptly enrolled into a series of emails of which I had zero interest (or knowledge) in receiving - all directed to my personal email. The first email I received, included the subject line "quick question."
Intrigued, I open the email only to discover I was tricked! I was the victim of their next sales pitch. Not only was a "quick question" lacking from the email, but I was confused about why I received this email in the first place. I felt deceived and annoyed by the discrepancy of the subject line and the content of the email.
A few days later, I received a follow up email asking if I could find a 15-minute window to discuss the product of the sales pitch. Since there was not a "Unsubscribe" button, I had no choice but to respond to the person behind the email address and let them know I, personally, was not interested in their product. After being thanked for my "candor", (very funny mister salesman) I realized this poor soul had no idea the pain inflicted on that of a marketer.
In order to give email marketing a better name, there are a number of things to consider to make sure your efforts are concentrated in the right places. Distributing information that interests and is relevant to the recipient is crucial. Before you start throwing random darts at your next email campaign, think about the answers to these questions before you hit "send."
Are they interested in my product? Can my product help them? Do they work for a company that already provides this product?
These questions will help you determine if your prospect qualifies to receive your email.
Additionally, I am opening Pandora's box and sharing with you a few secrets of our email practices. Follow these tips to make sweet progress in the email arena.
DO: Make sure the recipients have agreed to receive your emails and that they are interested in the subject matter. Before every new email campaign we execute with our clients, we send an "opt-in" email. This email simply lets the recipient know that they may receive a few emails from us, and if they do not wish to receive them, they can easily click a button to unsubscribe. No harm, no foul.
DO: Be honest with the recipient. If the email I received had actually been what the subject line implied, I would have been a lot less annoyed. Being deceptive to land a sale isn't really winning - not to mention, it's cheap. At The Squad we are all about transparency and respect. Why would you want to do business any other way?
DO: Include an unsubscribe button. This little gem saves a lot of face. In my case, I was forced to respond to the sender, which provoked a catty response and essentially, poked the bear. By removing the "person" from the middle of the email, you eliminate any undue exchange between you and the recipient.
Bombarding prospects with unsolicited emails is a sure-fire way to scare them off. If you follow these email best practices, you will earn the respect and attention of potential clients. Here at The Squad, we use these best practices to execute these strategies in a respectful manner. Reach out to us today to get started.
Blogging is a big deal these days. Lots of companies are using it for the added value that it brings to their SEO efforts. Others utilize blogging for personal reasons. Major corporations set aside lots of money for the so-called "mommy bloggers" of the world. Blogging is indeed a huge industry. Lots of time and effort go into crafting the perfect post, starting with a content calendar and then, of course, writing your content.
Chances are, if you took the time to write the article, then you want as many eyes on it as possible, right?
I thought so.
If the last step in your blogging efforts is just hitting the publish button, then you are missing out on lots of potential visitors to your content and ultimately to your site.
There are tons of resources out there for steps to take once you've published your content. So, I won't bore you with the 101 ways you can promote your post. Rather, I will share what I do personally to help boost my own blog posts.
This step is a no-brainer for most people, but, just in case, let's cover it again. Facebook and Twitter are fantastic resources for your brand. They allow you to interact with your fans, but, more importantly, as a brand, you are able to direct your followers to the content that you want seen. Just remember to mix things up!
StumbleUpon has quickly emerged on the scene as a competitor in the social arena. What's more is that StumbleUpon is a major traffic driver to many websites. StumbleUpon allows users to submit a page that they would like to have 'stumbled'. Pages are then categorized by topics that are selected in the uploading process. As a user of the site, topics of interest are selected and then articles matching those selections are then shown.
Pinterest is quickly becoming a force in the social media sphere. For many bloggers, Pinterest is the number one source of traffic, even beyond organic Google searches. There are lots of moving parts in making Pinterest work as a traffic source, but the number one takeaway is this: a pretty image that is Pinterest friendly will get lots of clicks. A pinable image that performs the best on Pinterest is a vertical image that is 500 x 750. Be sure that your background image being used in this application can be stretched to that size with no pixilation. It typically takes 3 months for a pin to gain steam, but the results are worth the effort!
There are lots of pinging services available, but my go-to is Ping-o-matic. Pinging services allow you to alert the search engines manually that your blog has a new post up for indexing. Sometimes it is helpful to give Google a little nudge, which is where pinging comes in.
Marketing your blog can be a job all by itself. At the Marketing Squad, we would love to sit down with you and talk about how we can help ease some of that burden! Contact us today or leave a comment if you would like to continue the conversation!
I recently attended a local GLI event that featured Steve Case, Co-Founder and former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of America Online. Steve was a true internet pioneer and, from the tone of his discussion, he seemed very passionate about passing his torch of experience to the next generation of forward-thinking entrepreneurs.
The focal point of the discussion was around his book "The Third Wave." The concept for his book was inspired by Alvin Toffler, who published a book with the same title in 1980. Toffler's book describes three types of societies, based on the concept of 'waves'—each wave pushes the older societies and cultures aside.
Case’s book also has three waves, with the Information Age being the first wave, in which the ground work and infrastructure is built to support this new information highway known as the Internet.
The Second Wave is creating and developing all the technology that resides on the Internet that our society uses to connect and improve lifestyles. Technology such as apps, social networks, smart phones, tablets, etc...
Case’s Third Wave is more about applying the Internet and technology, including AI (artificial intelligence) to solve important issues such as hunger, disease, crime, etc... It will also have a great impact on healthcare, transportation, finance, education, agriculture, and manufacturing.
"The Third Wave of the Internet will be defined not by the Internet of Things; it will be defined by the Internet of Everything. We are entering a new phase of technological evolution, a phase where the Internet will be fully integrated into every part of our lives." – Steve Case
Why does this Third Wave matter to your organization or small business? It’s not just coming, it is here, and as it gains momentum, every economic sector is at risk of being disrupted. Therefore, the better we understand the possible implications to our respective industries, the more prepared we’ll be to embrace the changes and leverage the opportunities. Just like at the beginning of the Information Age (Case’s First Wave) there are many challenges from the drastic shifts in the marketplace landscape. However, there are also huge opportunities for those that are brave enough to ride this wave. More importantly, there’s never been more opportunities for forward-thinking entrepreneurs and small businesses to change the world for the better. Or at least put a dent in it.
Most of my time as a 24-year-old is spent doing one of two things: working in digital marketing or salsa dancing. I am very passionate about both of these subjects. Just ask one of my coworkers, and they will tell you how much I love all things Latin and how excited I get when I can make an impact for one of my clients through digital marketing. Driving up to Cincinnati two times a week for practice might seem crazy to most people, but it's worth it to me to be a better dancer. Digital marketing is what I pour myself into every day and strive to always improve in as well. Salsa dancing and marketing may seem like two completely opposite concepts, but over the past year working at The Squad, I have made some interesting connections between the two. Stick with me through this blog and you might learn a little bit about how we do marketing at The Squad and maybe even a thing or two about salsa dancing as well!
Anyone who knows anything about partner dancing knows that connection is the foundation that makes the dance possible. When I speak of connection in this sense, I am not talking about something abstract. The connection required to get you through the complex moves and fast spins of a dance is a physical one, created by a proper frame that moves your entire body and connects to your parter. Without this connection, you are not going to be able to feel when to accelerate or when to stop on a dime.
I have found that the same is true when it comes to marketing for clients. We strive to tell our clients' stories in a way that will grow their businesses, but if we aren't connected to them and in-step with what is going on in their world, it will be impossible to do effective marketing. For example, last week we were going full force promoting a Homearama home on social media for our client P. L. Lyon's Architectural Builders. We planned to put all of our momentum into selling the home up through the event, but when a lady saw a sneak peak video of inside the home on Facebook and showed up at our client's doorstep to make an offer, we had to make a sudden stop and change the pace of our marketing for the week. Otherwise we would be spending money on ad dollars to promote a home that had already sold!
In dancing, you have to connect your frame to your own body so that it moves as one unit and then connect with your partner to be able to move smoothly through the dance. As marketers, we make sure that we have connection by keeping up with the ever-changing marketing trends and communicating with members of our internal team. Then we connect with our clients through weekly calls and constant checks on their account. We strive to be quick responders when we receive communication from our clients so that we can take action and make something beautiful and effective through our connection!
In dance, you can take your steps on beat and still lack musicality. Musicality is your ability to interpret the cadence of a song. You may not know this, but there are many different types of salsa music. Salsa romántica is slow and smooth, while salsa tropical is more playful and island-sounding. There is also a type of salsa that is fast-paced and incorporates more elements of jazz. Different songs inspire a different cadence of dance. If you don't add some musicality to your dancing, then you are just moving your feet.
Speaking in the right tone or voice for our clients is the equivalent of dancing with musicality in salsa. In order to create content that effectively conveys the message, your client requires the right tone and voice. To do this, you have to really know your client, just like to dance with the right cadence, you really have to know the music. That's why our directors encourage us to listen to salsa music when we are not dancing so that we become familiar with the instruments and rhythms that are common in salsa. In the same way, you need to study your client (as well as their target audience) to be successful in marketing.
The last connection I would like to make between salsa dancing and marketing is that of improv. Let's face it: sometimes things don't go as planned and you have to react on the spot. Even the pros make mistakes, but their secret to being phenomenal dancers is that they make their mistakes look like part of the dance. In order to do this, you have to know the dance! The more you know the patterns and steps of the dance, the better you will be able to work through the mistakes and turn them into something phenomenal. This is true, whether you are dancing socially or performing a choreography. The same goes for digital marketing. Whether you have to change the pace of your marketing because something unexpected happens, like in my example above with the Homearama home, or you have to address a mistake that you or your client made, you have to take charge and own your next move. Mistakes can be turned into some of your best moves both on and off the dance floor.
If you would like to talk to someone about taking the first step in digital marketing for your business, share your goals with us here! You can also reach out to me on Facebook if you are looking for a place to take lessons or go dancing in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana!
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