IntroductionWelcome| 00:04 | Hi! I'm Lorrie Thomas Ross.
| | 00:06 | Welcome to Online Marketing Fundamentals.
| | 00:09 | In today's time-crunched nation, people
want information instantly at the click
| | 00:13 | of their fingertips.
| | 00:15 | They are flocking to the Web to find
products, services, and information.
| | 00:20 | In this course, we'll first create a
foundation by defining how online marketing
| | 00:24 | works, and identifying its
distinctions and components.
| | 00:29 | In addition, we'll discuss planning
and online marketing strategy, as well
| | 00:33 | as determining your target audience, and
measuring the results of your marketing efforts.
| | 00:38 | Planning and building a Web site
is crucial to the success of your
| | 00:42 | online marketing strategy.
| | 00:44 | From creating a site map, and building
a wireframe, to selecting a domain and
| | 00:48 | hosting company, we'll explore the necessary
steps for getting your site up and running.
| | 00:53 | From there, we'll tackle the key
elements for establishing a Web presence,
| | 00:57 | including creating compelling online
content in the form of articles, social
| | 01:01 | media posts, online press
releases, and even e-mail newsletters.
| | 01:06 | Great Web site content can only take
you so far without having an audience, so
| | 01:11 | we'll cover how to reach and grow your
audience through successful search engine
| | 01:14 | marketing, including search engine
optimization, and paid and local search.
| | 01:20 | We'll see how to harness the power
of social media, including Facebook,
| | 01:24 | Twitter, and LinkedIn, as well as
blogging to keep your audience updated,
| | 01:28 | informed, and engaged.
| | 01:30 | And finally, we'll delve into online
advertising, as well as e-mail marketing, to
| | 01:35 | help gain valuable sales and exposure.
| | 01:39 | Slow is the same as stop when
it comes to online marketing,
| | 01:42 | so let's get started with
Online Marketing Fundamentals.
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| Who is this course for?| 00:00 | This course is for anyone looking to
tackle the power of online marketing.
| | 00:04 | It's not what we know, but
what we're open to learning.
| | 00:08 | If you're interested in a career in
online marketing, you need to market your
| | 00:11 | products and services more successfully,
or you're a Web pro looking to expand
| | 00:16 | your services, then this course is for you.
| | 00:19 | No matter how experienced or inexperienced
you are with online marketing, you
| | 00:23 | need to know the fundamentals
so your marketing work works.
| | 00:27 | Online marketing isn't so much about
the tools and technologies, but more about
| | 00:32 | how we use the tools, so our work is
on-brand, on-point, and true to purpose.
| | 00:38 | Let's get started.
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| Using the exercise files| 00:00 | Having worksheets to follow can be
of great value in developing your
| | 00:04 | online marketing strategy.
| | 00:06 | I've provided a few here as exercise files.
| | 00:09 | Exercise files are available to
premium subscribers of Lynda.com, or for those
| | 00:14 | who purchase the DVD.
| | 00:16 | Simply download the exercise files
to your computer, and place them on the
| | 00:20 | Desktop for ease of access.
| | 00:23 | The exercise files are
organized by chapter number.
| | 00:26 | Whenever an exercise file is available
for a video, you'll see a yellow overlay
| | 00:31 | at the bottom of the screen that
indicates the location and name of the file.
| | 00:35 | Enjoy!
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1. What Is Online Marketing?Online marketing defined| 00:00 | There are many preconceived
notions of what online marketing means.
| | 00:04 | Some think it means having a Web site, or
buying advertising, or getting your site
| | 00:09 | found higher in the search engines.
| | 00:11 | To set this foundational course on the right
foot, let's formally define online marketing.
| | 00:17 | Online marketing ties together the artistic and
scientific aspects of the Web with strategy.
| | 00:23 | This can include design, development,
awareness building, communication,
| | 00:28 | connection, customer
service, sales, and analytics.
| | 00:32 | Let's talk about each point.
| | 00:34 | First is awareness.
| | 00:36 | You could have the best products or
services on the planet, but if nobody
| | 00:39 | knows, what's the point?
| | 00:41 | A big piece of the online marketing puzzle
is finding out ways to build awareness.
| | 00:46 | Next is communication.
| | 00:48 | Think of it as information
distribution, or simply education;
| | 00:52 | communicating who you are, what you do,
whom you serve, why you're worth working with.
| | 00:58 | And the heart of marketing is connection.
| | 01:00 | This is where we get people to
know us, to like us, and to trust us.
| | 01:06 | Service; one of the most overlooked
pieces of the online marketing puzzle.
| | 01:11 | This is where people may get
frequently asked questions answered, may have a
| | 01:15 | good experience shopping with you, even
getting through pages of your Web site,
| | 01:19 | or simply being found in the search
engines may be considered good service.
| | 01:24 | And the last piece of the puzzle is sales.
| | 01:26 | We've got to make money, honey, right?
| | 01:28 | All of these pieces: awareness,
communication, connection, service, all come
| | 01:33 | together to help boost sales.
| | 01:37 | Online marketing includes things like
placement of online advertising, working
| | 01:41 | on search engine marketing, or SEM,
search engine optimization, or SEO.
| | 01:45 | It also includes e-mail marketing,
social media marketing, content marketing,
| | 01:51 | using Web analytics, online public
relations, mobile marketing, and user
| | 01:56 | experience optimization; often a
combination of many of these options.
| | 02:01 | There is no right way to
approach online marketing.
| | 02:05 | The power to think critically about
online marketing, and identify areas to
| | 02:09 | improve, as well as leverage new
opportunities, is where success lies.
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| How online marketing works| 00:01 | Online marketing works, not only to help
acquire customers, but we can't forget
| | 00:05 | its power to serve and support repeat sales.
| | 00:08 | Think acquisition and retention.
| | 00:11 | The true meaning of marketing
means maximizing relationships.
| | 00:15 | We must address the art and science
of online marketing, but let's not
| | 00:19 | forget that it's the heart, the relationship
part of marketing, that makes marketing matter.
| | 00:25 | It takes an average of seven
touch points to make a sale.
| | 00:28 | Touch points can mean anything from a
referral, a Web search, a social media
| | 00:33 | mention, seeing a press release,
getting an e-mail, or seeing an online ad.
| | 00:38 | The more online marketing puzzle pieces
you have working for you, the higher the
| | 00:42 | likelihood that you will get prospective
customers to know, like, and trust you.
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| Distinctions of online marketing| 00:00 | The Web has changed the way we work,
communicate, spend time, and spend money.
| | 00:05 | So of course, the way we approach marketing,
and how we're taught marketing today has changed.
| | 00:10 | The main online marketing distinctions
are that it is 24/7, meaning that even
| | 00:15 | when you're sleeping, online
marketing is up working for you.
| | 00:19 | Next, the worldwide visibility can
open your business to a global market.
| | 00:24 | Another distinction is the ability to
capture sales and leads online directly,
| | 00:28 | so you don't have to
rely on other sales outlets.
| | 00:32 | Another distinction is that you can
reach a very targeted market, so even if you
| | 00:36 | have products or services in certain
niches, you can affordably make riches by
| | 00:41 | being found to people who want
specifically what you are offering.
| | 00:45 | In summary, these distinctions help
maximize your customer acquisition, and
| | 00:50 | retention, saving you time,
money, and human resources.
| | 00:55 | In our time-crunched nation, consumers
are more empowered, and expect information
| | 00:59 | at the click of their fingertips,
| | 01:01 | so having a strong online
marketing presence can give you a huge
| | 01:04 | competitive edge.
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| Components of online marketing| 00:01 | Online marketing has many components.
| | 00:03 | For the focus of this course, we'll be
looking at the heavy hitters, like content
| | 00:07 | marketing, which is content on your
Web site, as well as content off your Web site,
| | 00:11 | on things like article sites.
| | 00:14 | Also, search engine marketing, which
includes improving your SEO, getting found
| | 00:19 | higher in the natural search engine
listings, paying for search engine
| | 00:23 | advertisements, and even
optimizing local search results.
| | 00:27 | E-mail marketing; one of the most
powerful ways to continually connect with
| | 00:32 | existing customers, as well
as recruit current customers.
| | 00:36 | Online public relations is another
area we're going to cover, where you can
| | 00:39 | become your own media department to
increase your credibility, and visibility.
| | 00:45 | And let's not forget social media,
one of the biggest pieces of the online
| | 00:48 | marketing puzzle today, which is
going to include everything from a blog, to
| | 00:53 | Facebook, to Twitter, to LinkedIn;
even comparison shopping sites.
| | 00:58 | And online advertising, where you pay
to play, to be found, and that can be
| | 01:03 | on display ads, like banner ads, or in
search engine ads, or even in e-mail newsletters.
| | 01:09 | Lastly, we're going to talk about the
most valuable piece of marketing real
| | 01:13 | estate: the Web site itself.
| | 01:15 | Let's look next at building a healthy
Web site foundation to set the tone for
| | 01:20 | online marketing success.
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2. Building a FoundationOnline marketing planning and success| 00:00 | There is a great saying;
| | 00:01 | we do not plan to fail, we fail to plan.
| | 00:05 | Just like it isn't wise to build a
house without a blueprint, you need to
| | 00:09 | approach online marketing with a plan.
| | 00:11 | This creates a healthy foundation.
| | 00:14 | Approach online marketing with the
mantra of strategy first, execution second.
| | 00:19 | These marketing planning tips apply to
building a Web site from the ground up, or
| | 00:24 | optimizing an online marketing
foundation that already exists.
| | 00:28 | There are several success steps that must
be considered as planning points to process.
| | 00:34 | The five success points to
consider for online marketing planning are
| | 00:38 | credibility, usability,
visibility, sellability, and scalability.
| | 00:45 | Credibility refers to the
impression we make online.
| | 00:49 | Credibility is exuded on our sites,
blogs, through our content, videos, PR,
| | 00:55 | social media, or reviews.
| | 00:57 | We never have a second chance
to make a great first impression.
| | 01:01 | Building trust is an online marketing must.
| | 01:04 | Usability is how well people
can use your online marketing.
| | 01:08 | Marketing work needs to be user-friendly.
| | 01:11 | This comes from appropriate and
professional design, site architecture, clear
| | 01:16 | navigation, call to actions, e-mails,
content, and even social media.
| | 01:22 | Visibility is critical as we
build our online marketing plans.
| | 01:25 | We can offer the best products and
services, but if nobody knows about
| | 01:29 | them, what's the point?
| | 01:30 | Visibility can come from a number of
marketing channels, including advertising,
| | 01:35 | natural search, social media
marketing, online PR, or e-mail.
| | 01:39 | You want to have a healthy mix of visibility
options planned into your marketing mix.
| | 01:44 | Having that idea of what visibility
channels will be used is critical to
| | 01:48 | think about as you plan.
| | 01:50 | These visibility options may require
space on your Web pages, may be integrated
| | 01:55 | into design, require additional
budgeting, or take some technological setup.
| | 02:01 | Sellability is a critical online
marketing planning piece, as this is how well
| | 02:05 | you show, and tell, and sell the value of
your organization, products, and services.
| | 02:11 | People need to understand why you or
your organization are worth working with.
| | 02:16 | This can come through in videos, testimonials,
press releases, taglines, and photos.
| | 02:21 | Thinking about sellability, which means
communicating and educating your value
| | 02:26 | in the online marketing planning
process, will help ensure that your value
| | 02:30 | points are woven into site pages,
and overall online marketing work.
| | 02:35 | When we employ credibility, usability,
visibility, and sellability, we reap the
| | 02:41 | benefits of scalability.
| | 02:43 | Online marketing efforts can last
a lifetime on the Web, building and
| | 02:47 | compounding overtime.
| | 02:49 | Think of online marketing
scalability like a good stock.
| | 02:53 | Small investments made consistently
over time can grow to support your
| | 02:57 | organization's overall
Web presence and marketing.
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| Defining your target market| 00:00 | Now that you have seen the five
success steps that work together to make your
| | 00:04 | online marketing matter, let's
look at the next critical step.
| | 00:08 | This is understanding your target market.
| | 00:11 | Who is your ideal customer?
| | 00:13 | What are their needs, wants, problems?
| | 00:16 | How do you help them?
| | 00:18 | Understanding your target market will
ensure that they are served from the time
| | 00:22 | they see you through promotions,
arrive on your site, and throughout their
| | 00:27 | entire user experience.
| | 00:29 | A Web user has a mentality of, all I
want to see is what's in it for me.
| | 00:34 | We only have a few seconds to
make a meaningful impression.
| | 00:38 | With the competition a click or two
away, connecting with your ideal client by
| | 00:43 | understanding them is so important.
| | 00:45 | When we think about online
marketing, let's remember that we want to
| | 00:50 | attract ideal prospects.
| | 00:52 | Many times we get wrapped up in
wanting traffic, and lots of it.
| | 00:56 | The key is to focus on attracting
and connecting with people who really
| | 01:00 | matter, so we don't waste our time,
energy, and money with people who are not
| | 01:06 | the best prospects.
| | 01:07 | Manage your marketing time wisely by
first identifying the people you really
| | 01:12 | want in your customer base.
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| Online marketing measurement| 00:01 | With online marketing we need to
create ideas, execute our ideas, and then
| | 00:05 | monitor our execution.
| | 00:07 | This create, execute, and monitor
process is ongoing, with measurement helping us
| | 00:12 | decide how to best use our time,
energy, and monetary resources.
| | 00:18 | Success metrics are both
qualitative and quantitative.
| | 00:23 | Examples of qualitative success
metrics could be things like branding,
| | 00:27 | credibility building, supporting future
business goals, and generating PR interest.
| | 00:33 | Quantitative success metrics could be
things that are mathematically measurable
| | 00:37 | like leads or web inquiries, number
of emails signups, traffic, and sales.
| | 00:43 | When you are planning your online
marketing foundation, plan to have web
| | 00:47 | statistics built in from the get-go.
| | 00:49 | One of the big distinctions of
online marketing is its trackability.
| | 00:54 | Many online marketers like to say "if
you can measure it, you can manage it."
| | 00:59 | This can only happen if web statistics
are built into the code of your web site.
| | 01:03 | There are a lot of
different web analytics tools.
| | 01:07 | One of the most widely used
services is called Google Analytics.
| | 01:11 | I suggest if you are getting started
work with the free analytics tools first.
| | 01:16 | Web analytics help you measure
traffic volume, referring sources of traffic,
| | 01:21 | and quantitative goals like sales, leads,
emails signups, conversion rate, and
| | 01:26 | even referring search keywords.
| | 01:29 | Now that you know what it takes to
build an overall successful online marketing
| | 01:34 | foundation, let's move specifically
into website planning so your website
| | 01:39 | becomes a web solution as the home
base to support marketing success.
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3. Planning a Web Site for Online MarketingSite map| 00:00 | Just like we built our online
marketing foundation with a plan, or a blueprint,
| | 00:05 | we approach the specific process of Web site
planning for online marketing the same way.
| | 00:10 | To serve as our model for the course, we
will put these principles to work on a
| | 00:14 | fictitious company we will
call Two Trees environmental.
| | 00:18 | Two Trees environmental is a mid-
sized environmental company that provides
| | 00:22 | consulting to landowners
and small businesses.
| | 00:27 | Two Trees environmental has
consulting experts in environmental planning,
| | 00:31 | botany, geology, and engineering.
| | 00:34 | To successfully build a solid Web site,
a Web site map must be documented before
| | 00:39 | new design or optimization begins.
| | 00:43 | This will help ensure important pages
and components are included, and will also
| | 00:48 | give you or your Web designer
clear expectations to design from.
| | 00:53 | This planning stage helps spare unnecessary
redesign, or additional programming work.
| | 00:58 | Think of a Web site's map purpose like
building a house, where you need to identify
| | 01:02 | what rooms of the house will need to be built.
| | 01:06 | A Web site map can be as simple as a
document that has a list of the Web site
| | 01:10 | pages, in the order that they will
appear in the navigation, like this text
| | 01:14 | version. Or, a site map can also be more
visual, where the pages are represented in
| | 01:19 | true map form, like this version here.
| | 01:23 | Whether you are designing your own
Web site, designing for an organization, or
| | 01:27 | managing a Web designer, this is a
critical online marketing step, as it ensures
| | 01:32 | that a site is built with all the
important pages, and in what order.
| | 01:37 | Pre-planning saves a lot of out of
scope work if the strategy first, execution
| | 01:41 | second mantra is applied.
| | 01:43 | In the planning process, you will want
to include pages for main navigation,
| | 01:47 | subnavigation, and even footer links.
| | 01:51 | Things like logins for e-commerce or
client access are called utilities, and
| | 01:55 | must also be noted.
| | 01:58 | Now that we've covered site
mapping, let's look at the next step;
| | 02:01 | defining your site components.
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| Site components| 00:01 | As you move from identifying the rooms
you want in your house, a.k.a. the pages
| | 00:05 | of your site, you also need to start
thinking about Web site components, as those
| | 00:10 | will need to be built into your
wireframe, which we will cover shortly.
| | 00:14 | Think of site components as things you
want in the main rooms of your house.
| | 00:18 | Do you plan to have online marketing
widgets, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or
| | 00:23 | YouTube that users can click to?
| | 00:25 | Is building your e-mail
newsletter list a priority?
| | 00:28 | If so, you may want a sign up
box designed into your site.
| | 00:31 | Here are some examples of
online marketing site components.
| | 00:36 | What you will see are things like, get
a free consultation. This is a button
| | 00:40 | that helps promote action for someone
that potentially would like a free consultation.
| | 00:46 | You may also see things on the
footer of a Web site, like blog, or YouTube,
| | 00:50 | Facebook; little links that have
small icons next to them that might get
| | 00:55 | integrated into the design process.
| | 00:57 | Let's not forget the e-mail sign up.
| | 01:00 | You'll see things like, join our e-list to get
environmental news, articles, and case studies.
| | 01:05 | This would be something that our
case study, Two Trees environmental, could
| | 01:09 | potentially use to help
build their e-mail newsletter list.
| | 01:13 | You don't have to design the
components like you see here.
| | 01:16 | You just have to clearly document what
components you want to include, so they
| | 01:20 | don't get lost in the design process.
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| Wireframing| 00:00 | Oh, the wonders of wireframing!
| | 00:03 | The most valuable marketing real
estate lies in the small space on your
| | 00:07 | computer monitor, or for mobile
sites, at the palm of your hand.
| | 00:11 | Your site's home page, and other
critical pages of your Web site, can be
| | 00:14 | architected via a wireframe so that
critical pages are visible, and certain
| | 00:20 | actions are encouraged by Web site visitors.
| | 00:23 | Think of your Web site as
your online marketing nucleus.
| | 00:26 | We can use the opportunity, or lose it.
| | 00:29 | Web site visitors need to be guided
through your site once they get to it.
| | 00:33 | Before design work begins, a wireframe
ensures that the placement of pages,
| | 00:39 | navigation order, and site
components all have a place.
| | 00:43 | Like you see here, a wireframe is
typically done in black and white to keep the
| | 00:48 | focus on mapping out where things will
go on a page, before people even start
| | 00:53 | critiquing things like colors.
| | 00:55 | In the sample wireframe for Two Trees
environmental, the goal was to show the
| | 01:00 | placement of navigation, like Home,
About, Consulting, News, Blog, Contact, as
| | 01:08 | well as where introductory
copy and headlines would go.
| | 01:13 | Note, the purpose is more about
architecture, versus colors or text.
| | 01:17 | This wireframing step helps keep the
focus on getting approval on layout before
| | 01:23 | color and copy might get nitpicked.
| | 01:25 | Fun Web marketing planning fact:
| | 01:28 | sometimes Lorem Ipsum text is used in
lieu of real text during the wireframing
| | 01:33 | process to show where text will go,
even if the text isn't ready for the site.
| | 01:39 | Wireframes can be designed with graphic
tools, and many times they are simply
| | 01:43 | sketched out on a piece of paper.
| | 01:46 | Wireframes can be done
with or without graphic tools.
| | 01:49 | Just approach the step in a
way that works best for you.
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| Elements of a successful site| 00:00 | There is no one site fits all solution.
| | 00:04 | As tempting as it to start designing
sites, or start moving things around, the
| | 00:09 | planning time spent can save a lot of
fixes, or oops, I forgots, in the future.
| | 00:15 | Think of a successful Web site, not so much
as a site, but instead as a Web solution.
| | 00:22 | The elements critical for
success are clear architecture;
| | 00:26 | first and foremost, where are things
going to go? Like we covered in the
| | 00:31 | wireframing process, where do you
want your photos to go? Headlines, text,
| | 00:37 | certain segments, call to actions,
things like social media widgets.
| | 00:43 | Next is smart navigation.
| | 00:45 | Sounds simple, but having a clear plan
of the order of pages -- like Home, About,
| | 00:51 | Press, Services, Blog, Contact -- need to
be planned out, because that helps make
| | 00:58 | your site successful.
| | 00:59 | Let's not forget all of those call
to actions. Things like maybe a button,
| | 01:04 | or also simple words, like learn more,
that may link into other pages of your Web site.
| | 01:10 | And components like e-mail sign ups, if
you want to increase people signing up for
| | 01:15 | your newsletter, need to be planned
as part of the successful step process.
| | 01:20 | Most importantly, a successful site
needs to serve the target market, and be
| | 01:25 | focused on really offering them great
customer service as a means, indirectly, to sell.
| | 01:32 | Don't expect a Web site to sell
immediately upon first glance. It is how all
| | 01:37 | of our marketing works in unison
through serving, supporting, and selling that
| | 01:42 | will equal marketing success.
| | 01:45 | Having a successfully
strategized site will support your overall
| | 01:49 | online marketing efforts.
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| Home page best practices| 00:00 | To open the door to make your Web site a Web
solution, we start first with the homepage.
| | 00:06 | The homepage is like the front door of a house.
| | 00:09 | Think of your homepage as a north star.
| | 00:11 | It needs to make people feel comfortable,
and reinforce that they are where they
| | 00:15 | are supposed to be, but also guides
them to where you want them to go.
| | 00:20 | We want to get visitors to our sites,
but we have to get them through the site,
| | 00:25 | and that's what happens with a smart
homepage that is on-brand and on-purpose.
| | 00:31 | Homepage planning is a lot easier
when you start first with the Web site map,
| | 00:35 | which becomes a wireframe, and then
with that, moving into formal design.
| | 00:40 | Embrace your inner architect.
| | 00:42 | You architect a homepage just like you
would plan a space, like a room, or an office.
| | 00:47 | Remember the Web site map, site
navigation, call to actions, and
| | 00:51 | marketing components.
| | 00:53 | What you'll be adding to the work we
covered -- like site mapping, call to actions --
| | 00:58 | is mindful marketing messaging, so
that that homepage really clicks as a
| | 01:02 | marketing support tool.
| | 01:05 | Messaging on a homepage must clearly
communicate who you are, what you do,
| | 01:10 | and whom you serve.
| | 01:12 | This can be communicated through a
logo, bullet points, clear Web site text,
| | 01:17 | photos, or even video.
| | 01:19 | A homepage needs to attract
ideal visitors or customers.
| | 01:23 | Remember that once people are getting
to your site, getting the ones that you
| | 01:27 | really want through your site can be
accomplished with mindful messaging, and
| | 01:31 | both show me, and tell me ways.
| | 01:33 | As you can see, the
Web site comes together nicely,
| | 01:38 | thanks to the power of planning.
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| Privacy policy| 00:00 | A final point to weave into your Web site
planning process is your online privacy policy.
| | 00:06 | While this may not be as exciting as
designing a Web site, a privacy policy is an
| | 00:11 | online marketing must.
| | 00:13 | A good privacy policy addresses how you
use personally identifiable information;
| | 00:18 | what you do or don't do with
e-mail addresses you collect.
| | 00:21 | It discloses if you use any tracking
technology, like Web analytics, or if you
| | 00:26 | have any type of cookies on your Web site.
| | 00:29 | A privacy policy also discloses if
you sell or rent contact information
| | 00:34 | collected on your site.
| | 00:36 | You can do a Web search for a phrase
like privacy policy to see examples of
| | 00:41 | privacy policy best practices.
| | 00:43 | You can use free privacy policy
generators online, or you can go through a
| | 00:48 | third-party privacy company,
like truste.com, for help on this.
| | 00:52 | However you approach this, know that
having this is a critical must for online
| | 00:57 | marketing management.
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4. Building or Optimizing a Web Site for Online MarketingDIY or hire help?| 00:00 | Building the Web site yourself, or hiring
help, is a decision you may be pondering.
| | 00:05 | There is no right or wrong answer to
this, but here are the three important
| | 00:09 | points to contemplate before you
decide: time, money, and expertise.
| | 00:15 | The first point is time.
| | 00:17 | Do you have the time to build
your own Web sites?
| | 00:20 | Some of us know how to build Web sites,
or have invested in a Web site platform
| | 00:24 | that helps us build it on our own.
| | 00:27 | Being able to build a Web site, and
having the time to build a Web site can be two
| | 00:31 | very different things,
| | 00:33 | so be realistic with your availability.
| | 00:35 | Even if you hire someone to do the
Web site for you, prepare to budget time
| | 00:40 | to manage the project.
| | 00:42 | This may require writing Web site copy,
reviewing design revisions, and gathering
| | 00:47 | components the designer may
need, like photos or videos.
| | 00:51 | The second point is money.
| | 00:53 | Are there funds to hire help?
| | 00:55 | If not, the decision on how to proceed
may be determined by this point alone, or if
| | 01:00 | branding is super critical, maybe you
can't afford a site that isn't top notch.
| | 01:06 | If that is the case, it may be
time to interview Web designers.
| | 01:10 | The last point to ponder when
deciding whether to build your own site, or
| | 01:14 | hire help, is expertise.
| | 01:16 | If you have the expertise and confidence
to tackle your own Web site management;
great.
| | 01:21 | If you do not, hiring a professional
could get the job done on time, and on budget.
| | 01:28 | Do note that I used the word
professional, as not everybody who calls themself
| | 01:33 | a Web designer or Web developer may have the
expertise required to get the job done right.
| | 01:38 | So do your due diligence.
| | 01:40 | See examples of their work, ask for
references, and talk to a few different
| | 01:45 | candidates before you choose.
| | 01:47 | Choosing based on time, money, and
expertise are important decisions that will
| | 01:52 | help you critically evaluate what
works best for you or your organization.
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| Web site platforms| 00:00 | The next piece of building a Web site is
deciding what platform to build a Web site on.
| | 00:06 | Some of you learning online marketing
may have inherited a Web site, so this
| | 00:10 | decision may be made for you.
| | 00:12 | For those building a site from the
ground up, you maybe wondering about all the
| | 00:16 | different platforms, like Dreamweaver, or
content management systems also called
| | 00:20 | CMS, like Joomla!, Drupal, and WordPress.
| | 00:24 | Lynda.com is an incredible
resource for discovering these systems.
| | 00:29 | In today's world, where making and
managing Web sites is easier than ever, I
| | 00:34 | encourage you to explore several options,
and as you decide what to use, ask a lot
| | 00:39 | of questions, read online
reviews, and look at sample sites.
| | 00:44 | Here are two big decision points
when looking at Web site platforms.
| | 00:48 | Ask yourself how important
it is to self-manage a site.
| | 00:52 | There are CMSs out there to explore.
| | 00:55 | Here is a behind the scenes look
at a content management system.
| | 00:59 | For those of you unfamiliar with
content management systems, we wanted to give
| | 01:03 | you an idea of what these look like;
how you can add pages, or edit content.
| | 01:09 | Every content management system
varies from platform to platform, but the
| | 01:13 | consistent theme with all CMSs is that
you have the ability to make a lot of
| | 01:18 | your own Web site edits.
| | 01:21 | Some of us want to be able to make our
own Web site updates, so the CMS platform
| | 01:25 | we choose will be based on what we know how to
work in, or what our Web master may give
| | 01:30 | us, so we can add content without needing help.
| | 01:33 | The second point to be sure about is
how search-ready a site platform is.
| | 01:37 | As we cover search engine optimization,
you'll have a better idea of what to ask
| | 01:42 | for to make sure your
platform is search engine ready.
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| Domain names| 00:01 | Domain names are important to get a
handle on, whether you already have a site
| | 00:04 | live, or are building one from the ground up.
| | 00:08 | You select domain names for brand
protection, search engine optimization, and
| | 00:13 | for online marketing campaigns.
| | 00:15 | If you have a Web site that you are
working with already, be sure to find out if
| | 00:20 | you know all the domains your
organization may own, or if you have secured
| | 00:25 | extensions of existing names besides
the .com, like .net, .biz, and .info.
| | 00:31 | For brand protection, you may
want to secure those, just so the
competition can't.
| | 00:36 | You can buy Web site addresses with your
company name, and if your company name
| | 00:41 | is long, you may also choose
something shorter for ease of use.
| | 00:46 | Our fictitious business, Two
Trees environmental, has two domains;
| | 00:50 | one is a shorter version that may be
easier for customers to type when e-mailing,
| | 00:55 | or to put on business cards.
| | 00:58 | The shorter domain can always redirect
to the longer URL; it just spares someone
| | 01:02 | a little typing time.
| | 01:04 | Sometimes you may want to secure
misspellings of your company name if the name
| | 01:08 | can be commonly misspelled.
| | 01:11 | Domain names can also be selected to
support search engine optimization.
| | 01:15 | Some organizations choose domains that
have descriptive search phrases in them,
| | 01:20 | and use them to help pull searches.
| | 01:23 | We will explore this in more detail
in the search engine optimization area
| | 01:27 | later in the course.
| | 01:28 | For example, Two Trees
environmental may choose to secure a domain like
| | 01:33 | environmentalconsultingfirm.com
as a way to build out a site on a
| | 01:38 | keyphrase rich URL.
| | 01:41 | Fun fact: the length of time you
buy a domain for can impact search
| | 01:46 | engine optimization.
| | 01:48 | Be sure if you have a domain name that
you know you will have for a long time
| | 01:52 | that you buy it for at least 5 to 10
years, versus renewing it annually.
| | 01:57 | This can show your seriousness to that
URL, which search engines may factor in to
| | 02:02 | their search engine result pages.
| | 02:05 | Lastly, domains may be purchased to
be used to help segment certain online
| | 02:10 | marketing campaigns, which we will address
in the advertising section of this course.
| | 02:16 | You may find that your organization is
sitting on great domains that you had no
| | 02:20 | idea about, that you can use
for separate marketing campaigns,
| | 02:23 | so dig around and get a list
of all the domains you own.
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| Choosing a hosting company| 00:00 | Once you have a domain name selected, you will
need to have Web site hosting in place. Do your homework.
| | 00:06 | You may want to confer with your
Web masters to see if they have a
| | 00:09 | recommended solution.
| | 00:11 | If you are deciding on your own,
here are some questions to ask.
| | 00:14 | Do you have a small site, or a large
site with a lot of required space for
| | 00:19 | images, files, or hosting your own videos.
Or, is it okay to pay less for a shared server?
| | 00:25 | Can your videos live on third-party
video sites, like Vimeo, or YouTube where
| | 00:29 | they host the videos?
| | 00:31 | Do you need a dedicated
server for more guaranteed uptime?
| | 00:35 | As we look back at the Two Trees
environmental Web site map, we will see that
| | 00:39 | this site is mostly text, with just a login
for clients to access consulting PDF files.
| | 00:45 | So in this case, hosting
requirements will not be extensive.
| | 00:49 | A company like this would likely choose a
lower priced hosting package to minimize costs.
| | 00:54 | Whether you are building a new Web site,
or optimizing an existing site, make sure
| | 00:59 | you research a hosting solution that
works best for your needs, as this impacts
| | 01:04 | the speed of your site, as well as its uptime.
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| Web site maintenance and management| 00:00 | Some last things to consider
as Web sites are being built.
| | 00:04 | Remember that Web sites do
not run themselves.
| | 00:07 | The more you learn about online
marketing in this course, the more you will
| | 00:11 | understand that there will be a
need for periodic Web site updates, page
| | 00:15 | additions, optimizations,
and new technology integration.
| | 00:20 | Don't forget to plan to have
Web site analytics built into your Web site.
| | 00:24 | Add this to your Web site build list.
| | 00:26 | It is smart to keep a list of your online
marketing logins to make management easier.
| | 00:32 | I have provided a checklist in your
exercise files that you can print and fill
| | 00:36 | out to help you keep track
of all of this information.
| | 00:39 | Be sure to keep records of the list of
domains you own, how long you own them,
| | 00:45 | your domain company logins, your
hosting records, or even who to call or e-mail
| | 00:51 | to help, FTP access for your Web sites,
e-mail system logins, access to your logo
| | 00:57 | files, blog login and password, social media
logins, and even your Web analytics login.
| | 01:05 | You never know when you may need
these for online marketing management.
| | 01:09 | The easier they are to find, the less
time you'll spend digging around, and the
| | 01:13 | more you'll spend on actual marketing.
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| Mobile sites| 00:00 | As important as it is to have a robust
Web site that employs online marketing
| | 00:05 | best practices, consider programming
your Web site to be mobile-friendly, or build
| | 00:10 | a dedicated mobile Web site.
| | 00:12 | What you see here is a dedicated
mobile site for Two Trees environmental that
| | 00:16 | better serves Web visitors who are
searching for their services and information
| | 00:20 | on their smartphones.
| | 00:21 | A mobile site is architected
differently than a traditional Web site to
| | 00:25 | accommodate the small
space on the mobile screen.
| | 00:28 | Copy as minimal, often bullet
points, and design can be distinct.
| | 00:32 | Some of you may even come up with an
idea for creative mobile app to add to the
| | 00:36 | online marketing mix.
| | 00:37 | Now that you know what is important to
address when building a Web site, let's
| | 00:42 | look at what holds the site and
all of our marketing together;
| | 00:46 | content marketing.
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5. Content MarketingAuthority marketing| 00:01 | Think of online content creation as
online marketing's glue that brings
| | 00:05 | together the success steps of credibility,
usability, visibility, sellability and scalability.
| | 00:12 | Content marketing is simply defined as
content that educates and empowers Web users.
| | 00:18 | It is through compelling online
content that Web site visitors come to know,
| | 00:22 | like, and trust us. This combination
of the know, like, and trust factors is
| | 00:27 | where selling power lies.
| | 00:29 | Let's get into how to use content
as a powerful online marketing asset.
| | 00:35 | Content marketing includes everything
from content that is on your Web site, in
| | 00:38 | e-mails, press releases, on FAQ --
frequently asked questions pages, shared on
| | 00:45 | blogs, videos, posts to social media
sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn,
| | 00:51 | and can be expertise shared on article
sites, and even be things broadcasted in
| | 00:56 | audio through podcasts.
| | 00:58 | As you can see, content for online
marketing is more than just Web site text.
| | 01:04 | Whether you are a new organization,
established organization, or are a solo business
| | 01:09 | leader in your respective field, know
that authoring online content can take
| | 01:13 | your expertise to authority status.
| | 01:17 | In the word authority, is the word author.
| | 01:20 | Let's explore some ways that you can
author content to support online marketing.
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| Article marketing| 00:00 | Publishing content in the form of
articles on your Web site, or on article
| | 00:05 | sharing sites, can multitask as an awareness,
communication, connection, service, and selling tool.
| | 00:12 | There are many article
publishing places on the Web.
| | 00:15 | Do a Web search for article
marketing sites to see all of the content
| | 00:20 | sharing options out there.
| | 00:22 | It's great to know where you can
publish, but critical to know how to write
| | 00:26 | articles that matter.
| | 00:28 | Here are my three writing tips.
| | 00:30 | One; articles need to be customized to
serve the audience you want to attract.
| | 00:35 | Write as if you are speaking
directly to your target customer.
| | 00:39 | Two; articles must be editorial-based.
| | 00:43 | What this means is that articles
need to be informative, entertaining, or
| | 00:47 | ideally a combination of both.
| | 00:50 | Three; what we need to remember is that it is not
wise to write articles that are too promotional.
| | 00:57 | Article content succeeds as a
marketing tool when it is written to empower
| | 01:01 | readers, not to push products or services.
| | 01:05 | Think of online article creation as a
markEDing tool, with marketing spelled markEDing.
| | 01:14 | This is a play on words that you can
use as a reminder to make your content
| | 01:18 | useful and educational.
| | 01:20 | Articles that come across like
commercials will not be well received.
| | 01:24 | When you embrace the approach I call
markEDing -- marketing with an educational
| | 01:29 | twist -- articles are more
likely to be read and acted upon.
| | 01:34 | Let's say that Two Trees
environmental is looking to attract
| | 01:37 | environmental consulting clients.
| | 01:40 | They could write and share
educational content that addresses topics about
| | 01:44 | environmental planning, botany, geology,
engineering, and specifically written
| | 01:49 | for small businesses or private landowners.
| | 01:53 | Topics could be things that educate,
like what small businesses need to know
| | 01:57 | before they hire an environmental
consulting firm, or what landowners need to
| | 02:02 | know about environmental planning.
| | 02:04 | If they wanted to get more targeted,
and appeal to a geographic area, like Los
| | 02:09 | Angeles, for example, the articles could
be even more specific, like environmental
| | 02:14 | planning tips for Los Angeles landowners.
| | 02:18 | Most times, prospective clients don't
know what they don't know, so content that
| | 02:22 | educates in the form of articles -- A.K.A.
markEDing, with the ED for education -- can
| | 02:28 | empower them, as well as create a
connection with the article creator, either the
| | 02:33 | business leader or organization, to
become a pre-qualified sales prospect.
| | 02:39 | Creating articles is only half the fun.
| | 02:42 | Sharing them online is where
the real marketing magic begins.
| | 02:46 | Articles can be shared on your Web site,
on a dedicated article page, or they
| | 02:51 | can be posted to your blog, to your opt-in e-mail
list, and posted on article marketing sites.
| | 02:58 | I encourage you to go online and
search for all the sites that you can post
| | 03:02 | articles to; most of them are free.
| | 03:05 | Another article marketing idea is to
reach out to other Web sites that you have a
| | 03:09 | shared, common target market with, and
offer to guest write articles for them.
| | 03:15 | This could help you get
visibility in other sites, and reinforce
| | 03:19 | your authority status.
| | 03:21 | Once articles are live on the Web,
they can also get socialized, meaning that
| | 03:25 | links to the articles can
be shared via social media.
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| Social media content| 00:00 | Content marketing has gone to a new
level with the onset of social media.
| | 00:05 | Social media content can be everything
from blog posts, Facebook posts, Tweets,
| | 00:10 | LinkedIn posts, videos, and podcasts.
| | 00:13 | We will spend more time on blogging
and social media in future chapters
| | 00:18 | dedicated to those specific subjects,
but know that social media content, like
| | 00:23 | blogs, are big parts of the marketing puzzle.
| | 00:26 | When you were thinking of ways to add
compelling content to brand build, and
| | 00:30 | boost business, remember the popularity
of social media and social networking.
| | 00:36 | People use these tools both
personally and professionally.
| | 00:40 | Search engines are quick to pick up
social media contents, so the visibility
| | 00:44 | potential can be pretty significant.
| | 00:47 | When you approach social media
content creation, like blogging, or video
| | 00:51 | production, mind the three V's:
value, values, and voice.
| | 00:58 | Content on a blog or posted on a social
site needs to have value to the reader,
| | 01:03 | not be salesy propaganda about your company.
| | 01:06 | Content can be educational,
newsworthy, event driven, or can even be an
| | 01:12 | interview with a customer.
| | 01:13 | Content marketing via social media
also needs to weave in your values.
| | 01:18 | Two Trees environmental is
focused on helping companies being
| | 01:21 | more eco-conscious.
| | 01:23 | Their values will come through in
their content, which helps create
| | 01:27 | meaningful connections.
| | 01:28 | Lastly, content and social media
needs to be driven with a human voice.
| | 01:34 | Unlike content like articles or
press releases, social media content is
| | 01:38 | more conversational.
| | 01:40 | Share content in the way
that you would talk naturally.
| | 01:44 | Here is a sample content marketing piece;
| | 01:46 | a blog from Two Trees environmental.
| | 01:49 | This piece of content marketing is a
very authentic blog post written by the
| | 01:53 | company's co-founders.
| | 01:55 | The content is in a conversational
tone to introduce readers to their blog.
| | 02:01 | Content as an online marketing tool can
create a voice for an organization or individual.
| | 02:06 | Content creates, connects,
and sparks conversation.
| | 02:10 | There is a great saying;
| | 02:11 | we learn to write by writing.
| | 02:14 | We only get good at it by doing it repeatedly.
| | 02:17 | For those of use who are not great
writers, know that the content can come from
| | 02:20 | other people at your organization, or
you can hire expert writers to help you
| | 02:24 | take your ideas online.
| | 02:27 | By understanding all the content
marketing options, you can decide how to
| | 02:31 | proceed strategically, and write
what you want, or hire the work out.
| | 02:36 | However you approach content marketing
and social media is up to you, but don't
| | 02:40 | be afraid to be human.
| | 02:42 | The social Web is about being social.
| | 02:45 | Be yourself; offer relevant,
entertaining, and useful content, and you'll be
| | 02:50 | off to a great start.
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| Online PR| 00:01 | It is important to start thinking about
the power of online public relations as
| | 00:04 | part of your overall content marketing strategy.
| | 00:08 | The saying, you are what you publish
is so true when it comes to online PR.
| | 00:13 | You can educate the media, and your
prospective customers, about your company
| | 00:17 | news, your point of view on current
events that relate to your industry, or
| | 00:21 | share new product or service information.
| | 00:24 | Anything that is newsworthy.
| | 00:26 | These days, we can't afford to wait for
journalists to find us as experts. We
| | 00:30 | have to go to them with our news, and
also use online PR to educate our people
| | 00:35 | with the same markEDing concepts --
| | 00:37 | that's marketing with the
capital ED for education.
| | 00:40 | Online press releases focus on
the facts, and just the facts.
| | 00:44 | It's a great exercise to write your
own releases to share the who, what,
| | 00:49 | when, where, why, how, and who cares, to get to
the real heart of the story you are selling.
| | 00:55 | Let's apply these online PR
concepts to Two Tress environmental.
| | 00:59 | Two Tress environmental could do press
releases about company announcements,
| | 01:03 | like new hires, or new projects that
they're working on, like planning, geology,
| | 01:08 | botany, or engineering.
| | 01:10 | They also might do press releases about
current events, like let's say Earth Day
| | 01:14 | is coming up, and they are doing
work to tie in to support that event.
| | 01:18 | They make share their thoughts on new
environmental initiatives, or maybe give
| | 01:23 | their point of view on newsworthy
events that tie in to their industry.
| | 01:26 | Also, repurposing awards and
recognition can become online press releases.
| | 01:32 | Let's say the CEO of Two Tress
environmental wins the 40 Under 40 Award, or the
| | 01:37 | organization is named the top consulting firm.
| | 01:40 | All of these press releases can
become part of the online PR puzzle.
| | 01:44 | This sample release talks about how
two leaders of environmental consulting
| | 01:49 | firms say companies can
never be too earth conscious.
| | 01:53 | This is a press release that shares
their expertise, ties in to Earth Day as a
| | 01:57 | current event, and educates their target market.
| | 02:01 | The platform of the press release
is that community leadership needs to
| | 02:05 | start with organizations.
| | 02:07 | The online press release has a quote,
which is a best practice, as well as some
| | 02:11 | facts on Earth Day, addressing the
importance of the day, while also being
| | 02:15 | interesting to read content-wise.
| | 02:19 | Online press releases are a succinct
content creating way to share news,
| | 02:23 | opinions, events, and keep the media
customers, and even prospective customers,
| | 02:29 | educated about the
happenings at your organization.
| | 02:33 | Think of press release creation as a
way to spoonfeed the media news, your
| | 02:37 | point of views, and updates to help you
build your credibility, visibility, and
| | 02:43 | sellability.
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| Web site and email content| 00:00 | Last but not least, content
marketing can be put to work with strategic
| | 00:05 | messaging on your Web site,
or to your opt-in e-mail list.
| | 00:09 | We will cover more in e-mail in a
future chapter, but start thinking now about
| | 00:14 | how to tie e-mail into your content marketing.
| | 00:17 | Here is a helpful tip when
working on content marketing onsite:
| | 00:21 | Web surfers scan more than they read,
| | 00:25 | so when you can say something
succinctly, especially in bullet points, do it.
| | 00:30 | In this example, Two Trees
environmental is starting to design an e-mail
| | 00:35 | newsletter to send to their
customers who have opted in to the list from the
| | 00:39 | sign-up box on their Web site.
| | 00:42 | Like the e-mail newsletter sign-up box
promises registrants, the e-mail newsletter
| | 00:47 | will share environmental news,
articles, and case studies.
| | 00:52 | Content on a Web site for online
marketing can include things like testimonials,
| | 00:56 | a frequently asked questions page,
and e-mail content, and the best part;
| | 01:01 | content marketing the lives of the
World Wide Web can multitask to support
| | 01:05 | search engine marketing, which we
will cover in the next chapter.
| | 01:09 | Let's keep putting the online
marketing puzzle pieces together.
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|
|
6. Search Engine MarketingOverview of search engine marketing (SEM)| 00:00 | The number one way that people search
for products, services, or information
| | 00:05 | is via search engines.
| | 00:07 | We can't afford to be invisible in
search engines, when the competition is only
| | 00:11 | a click or two away.
| | 00:13 | Our sites need to be searched and found
to attract new customers, and be visible
| | 00:19 | to serve customers we already have.
| | 00:21 | Understanding the art and science
of search engine marketing best practices
| | 00:26 | can help you make small changes to
obtain bigger online visibility results.
| | 00:31 | Search engine marketing is defined as
marketing a Web site through search engines.
| | 00:37 | This can include efforts to improve
organic listings, getting found in local
| | 00:41 | search results, purchasing paid
search advertising, or a combination of
| | 00:46 | search related activities.
| | 00:48 | Think of search engine marketing, also
known by the acronym SEM, as an umbrella
| | 00:53 | term that encompasses all parts of
search: organic, paid, and local.
| | 00:59 | Let's dive deeper into the largest fish
in the search engine marketing waters:
| | 01:03 | search engine optimization.
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| Search engine optimization (SEO)| 00:01 | Search engine optimization means making
modifications to Web sites so that they
| | 00:06 | have a higher likelihood of appearing well in
the organic, or natural, listings of search engines.
| | 00:12 | The acronym for search
engine optimization is SEO.
| | 00:17 | SEO is not related to paid advertising.
The results are based on algorithms,
| | 00:21 | which means mathematical equations
that are unique per search engine.
| | 00:26 | Despite the differences in search
results per page, every engine has a common
| | 00:30 | goal: to provide the best results possible.
| | 00:34 | Natural search results are driven by
the engine's algorithms, how relevant a
| | 00:38 | site seems based on key phrases searched;
| | 00:41 | the popularity of a Web site as well.
| | 00:44 | There are many, many things to
consider when tackling SEO, but the three main
| | 00:48 | points to set a smart
foundation are these fundamentals:
| | 00:52 | architecture, content, and linking.
| | 00:55 | Before we dive into SEO architecture,
content, and linking, we need to define
| | 01:00 | the key phrases that you want
to be searched and found on.
| | 01:04 | Plan your priority key phrases
before any search optimizations are executed.
| | 01:09 | Jot down key words that describe your
organization, your products, and/or your services.
| | 01:15 | Note, I use the word keyphrase versus keyword.
| | 01:19 | There are billions of
Web sites on the World Wide Web.
| | 01:22 | Focusing our SEO energy on broad key
phrases, versus specific little keywords,
| | 01:28 | are going to give you a much better
chance of attracting qualified searches.
| | 01:33 | Two Trees environmental, as you recall,
is a mid-sized environmental company that
| | 01:38 | provides consulting to small
businesses and private landowners.
| | 01:41 | They are experts in environmental
planning, botany, geology, and engineering.
| | 01:47 | The key phrases they will want to
focus on to attract ideal clients are not
| | 01:52 | merely words like environmental, and
consulting, but instead, phrases, like their
| | 01:57 | company name, and more specific
descriptions of the work they do.
| | 02:01 | Here is a short list of some phrases that are
descriptive to the work that Two Trees offers:
| | 02:07 | Two Trees Environmental, environmental
consulting small business, environmental
| | 02:12 | planning, and environmental engineering.
| | 02:16 | For companies who only serve a
specific geographic region, the next step in
| | 02:20 | defining priority SEO key phrases is to
marry those descriptive key phrases with
| | 02:27 | the city or county locations they represent.
Think about it;
| | 02:32 | for organizations who only serve a
certain market, there's no point driving
| | 02:35 | people to your site whom you can't serve.
| | 02:38 | Weaving in geographic descriptions can be
smart next steps to attract that ideal traffic.
| | 02:45 | If your business is geographically
located, remember this equation:
| | 02:49 | business or service description plus location
or region equals optimized key phrase.
| | 02:57 | The power of targeting phrases to
optimize pays to help attract targeted search
| | 03:02 | results, and bring the
right customers to your site.
| | 03:05 | Remember, you want to attract more
than traffic; you want qualified traffic.
| | 03:10 | Create a list of ideal phrases
that you would like to be searched on.
| | 03:15 | Just remember that the phrases need
to be specific to your business and
| | 03:18 | location, not broad words that aren't
specific to what you do, so you can really
| | 03:23 | pull in those qualified searches.
| | 03:25 | This list of key phrases will be
your compass as any future SEM work is
| | 03:30 | implemented, both natural, and for paid search.
| | 03:34 | Although there are tons of ways that a
site can be optimized, for the point of
| | 03:38 | understanding the fundamentals, we will
focus on the Holy Grail of search engine
| | 03:42 | optimization best practices: site
architecture, content, and linking.
| | 03:48 | The architectural structure of a
Web site is very important to help a search
| | 03:51 | engine read it better.
| | 03:53 | Site architecture includes the use of
URLs, the code of your Web site, and even
| | 03:58 | the cleanliness of your code.
| | 04:00 | Blogs are becoming a brilliant piece
of the SEO puzzle, because of the way
| | 04:04 | they are architected.
| | 04:06 | What is most important for SEO basics
is to be mindful of your use of URLs, and
| | 04:11 | to have unique meta-tags
per page of your Web site.
| | 04:16 | For example, Two Tress environmental's
planning page could be set up as
| | 04:20 | twotreesrnvironmental.com/planning, or
it could be SEO architected to have a
| | 04:27 | priority key phrase or phrases that
describe what the page is about, like
| | 04:32 | twotreesenvironmental.com/los-
angeles-environmental-planning.
| | 04:38 | I used dashes between the words to
create a natural space, which is more in line
| | 04:43 | with how people search.
| | 04:45 | We don't type all the words together
in a search query box, so when you're
| | 04:49 | architecting URLs, ask your Webmaster
to name pages, but remember to put dashes
| | 04:55 | in between some of those priority key phrases.
| | 04:58 | Most blogs automatically do this
by making the title in the post the
| | 05:02 | key phrases in the URL.
| | 05:05 | Next, as you get your site architected
for search success, you will want to
| | 05:09 | make sure the meta-tags of each page are
written in a way that helps describe each page.
| | 05:14 | Meta-tags are HTML code that can be
changed, either in the Web system you manage,
| | 05:20 | or you can ask your Webmaster
to reset the meta-tags for you.
| | 05:25 | Architecturally speaking, you're going
to see how the URL on this post has the
| | 05:29 | keywords in the title.
| | 05:31 | This was automatically -- or as I like
to say, automagically done -- based on how
| | 05:35 | the blogs code was set up.
| | 05:37 | Technically, this is called the permalink.
| | 05:41 | Content comes up again as a power player in
online marketing, this time to support SEO.
| | 05:47 | Content can be peppered with your
priority key phrases where it is applicable to
| | 05:51 | help attract searches on
your blog, and your Web site.
| | 05:55 | Speaking of onsite SEO, if Two
Trees environmental is an environmental
| | 06:00 | consulting firm, their About page
headline can say, about our firm, or it can
| | 06:05 | be searched optimized with smart key
phrases to help pull in searches by
| | 06:09 | having optimized copy, like About our
environmental consulting firm, to be more
search ready.
| | 06:16 | Here is an example of Two Trees
environmental's homepage copy, with
| | 06:20 | descriptive words in it, like their
company name, and words like environmental
| | 06:24 | planning, and consulting.
| | 06:25 | These phrases are in HTML text,
meaning that they are in text versus graphic
| | 06:30 | form, and more visible to a search engine.
| | 06:34 | Look critically at your site copy page
by page, and find ways to put your key
| | 06:39 | phrases in headlines,
and in the site copy itself.
| | 06:42 | Use content with key phrases and blog
posts, especially in the titles, and even
| | 06:48 | as you write online articles and press releases.
| | 06:51 | The more you understand SEO, the more
you will find creative ways to weave your
| | 06:55 | phrases into site content, blog posts,
online articles, and press releases.
| | 07:01 | Content is a great way to educate and
inform, but when used additionally for
| | 07:06 | SEO, you can get multitasking power out of it.
| | 07:10 | The last piece of the SEO puzzle is linking.
| | 07:13 | Search engines look at how many links
come from relevant sites that point to
| | 07:17 | your Web site, but they also
look at internal links on pages.
| | 07:22 | You can ask people to link to your site
if they are in complementary industries.
| | 07:26 | You can also create your own linking
power internally with links between
| | 07:30 | pages of your site.
| | 07:33 | This Two Trees press release uses the
phrase Los Angeles environmental planning,
| | 07:39 | and their company name, in the content.
| | 07:41 | This press release content will get
added to the site as a dedicated Web page
| | 07:46 | under the press section of the site.
| | 07:48 | Key phrases in the content can be set to
link to the environmental planning page,
| | 07:53 | and the homepage of the site.
| | 07:56 | Having key phrase rich content that
is frequently added, and links that are
| | 08:00 | created with relevant key
phrases in them, will boost SEO.
| | 08:05 | Now that you understand search
engine optimization's three most important
| | 08:09 | pieces, architecture, content, and linking,
let's move into the next piece of the
| | 08:13 | puzzle: paid search.
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| Paid search| 00:01 | Paid search is an online marketing
piece that can help an organization obtain
| | 00:04 | search visibility in the sponsored
area of a search engine results page.
| | 00:09 | Unlike natural, or organic search, paid
search allows you to pay to be, where
| | 00:15 | advertisers bid on a per click
basis to have their message appear.
| | 00:20 | Marketers create their own message, can
target their ads by things like location,
| | 00:25 | and keywords searched, and also have the
ability to track how many people see the
| | 00:30 | listing, click on the listing, as well
as even knowing the percentage of people
| | 00:35 | who take an action, like signing up.
| | 00:38 | Just like you planned priority key
phrases to target for natural search, that
| | 00:43 | same list can get revisited to
become the key phrases you buy.
| | 00:48 | Let's see Two Trees environmental only wants
to target Los Angeles businesses on paid search.
| | 00:54 | They can buy ads on search engines, like
Google, or Bing, and target people in the
| | 00:58 | greater Los Angeles area, and buy
phrases like Two Trees environmental,
| | 01:03 | environmental consulting small
business, environmental planning, and
| | 01:08 | environmental engineering.
| | 01:10 | Next, Two Trees environmental has to
choose copy to go with these key phrases.
| | 01:16 | The message that goes with ads can
be broken out by multiple groups, so
| | 01:20 | messaging is more specific to the phrase.
| | 01:22 | For example, when people are searching
for the phrase environmental planning,
| | 01:27 | their eye may be more attracted to seeing
an ad with that phrase that they search
| | 01:32 | for in the paid search title or description.
| | 01:36 | Having specific ad copy that supports
the phrase searched is a best practice.
| | 01:42 | Like you'll see here, there are three
different examples of paid search copy,
| | 01:47 | starting with Green Consulting, Enviro
Planning, Eco Biz Planning. You'll see
| | 01:51 | the different use of key phrases in
the titles, as well as the descriptions,
| | 01:56 | how it links to specific pages of the Web
site, and how one of them has a call to action --
| | 02:01 | Click Here -- which may also help
prompt people to go and visit the Web site.
| | 02:07 | Lastly, a tracking plan will need to be
in place to measure advertising success.
| | 02:13 | Success can be defined by traffic,
leads, calls; that is up to you and your
| | 02:17 | organization to decide.
| | 02:19 | Just be sure that money is spent
and measured for return on investment.
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| Local search| 00:00 | One of the best parts about search
engine marketing is that there are ways for
| | 00:04 | local organizations to get searched
and found in verticals like local search.
| | 00:10 | Let's take Two Trees Environmental for example.
| | 00:13 | Two Trees Environmental is a business
based in Los Angeles, California, so what
| | 00:18 | they can do is they can go to search
engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, even
| | 00:22 | sites like Superpages or Yellow Pages,
and they can submit their business to
| | 00:27 | these vertical search
engines specific to local search.
| | 00:31 | And the search engines may ask for
verification either by calling a phone number
| | 00:35 | or sending a postcard to the address
with a piece of code in it that has to be
| | 00:39 | typed in once you submit your business.
But as long as you can verify that you
| | 00:44 | are a business owner at the address
that you work at, you can get your site
| | 00:49 | listed often for free simply by
exploring local search engines.
| | 00:54 | Search engine marketing is such a
powerful online marketing medium.
| | 01:00 | Knowing the basics will help you use all
of your marketing assets as best as you
| | 01:03 | can to boost your visibility.
| | 01:06 | Why do we care so much
about search engine marketing?
| | 01:08 | Well, if you're out of
sight, you're out of mind.
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|
|
7. Social Media MarketingSocial media, social networking, and social media marketing defined| 00:00 | As we get into social media marketing,
let's get clear on the definitions that
| | 00:05 | make up this medium.
| | 00:07 | The term social media means
the technical tools themselves.
| | 00:11 | Social media includes things like
video, audio, or texts that are published
| | 00:16 | and shared in a social environment, like a
video hosting site, podcasting site, or blog.
| | 00:22 | The term social networking refers to the
connection between people, or a group of
| | 00:28 | people, to network and communicate.
| | 00:30 | Social networking sites
include Facebook, and LinkedIn.
| | 00:34 | From a networking perspective, a lot of
folks think of Facebook as more personal
| | 00:38 | networking, where LinkedIn is really
geared towards professional networking.
| | 00:44 | Last but not least, social media
marketing, which is what this chapter is all
| | 00:48 | about, is a type of online marketing
which supports marketing goals through the
| | 00:53 | creation of social media, and
participation in various social media networks.
| | 00:58 | Social media marketing is not so much
about the tools, but how we use the tools
| | 01:03 | strategically to support our marketing goals.
| | 01:07 | Now that the terminology is clear, let's
get more into social media marketing as a
| | 01:11 | piece of our overall
fundamental online marketing puzzle.
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| Blogging and microblogging| 00:00 | First things first; let's talk blogging.
| | 00:03 | Blogging is a big piece of the
social media marketing umbrella.
| | 00:08 | A blog is short for web log, originating
as a form of a diary, where writing, also
| | 00:13 | known as posts, are
shared in chronological order.
| | 00:17 | Blogs are no longer just online journals;
| | 00:20 | they can become a powerful
marketing asset to an organization.
| | 00:24 | Blogs often become the core of social
media marketing when posts show authority,
| | 00:30 | serve customers, build
community, and support public relations.
| | 00:35 | Blogs can also increase search engine results.
| | 00:38 | Many times, blog posts get shared as
links through social networking sites, like
| | 00:43 | Facebook, and LinkedIn, or are posted on Twitter.
| | 00:47 | You can share blog links on other
social media sites manually, or automatically
| | 00:52 | with social media blog feed tools.
| | 00:55 | Blogging has its own chapter in this
course, which I encourage you to dive into.
| | 00:59 | Just know that as you are planning your
online marketing strategy, particularly
| | 01:04 | social media marketing, that blogs
are a big, big piece of this channel.
| | 01:09 | Let's look at Two Trees environmental's blog.
| | 01:12 | The blog is full of great content,
written in a conversational tone.
| | 01:17 | Posts can be many lengths;
| | 01:18 | they just need to have value to the readers.
| | 01:21 | Blog posts may share values of the
organization serving as a voice in today's
| | 01:26 | social Web to boost awareness, share
information, educate, create connections,
| | 01:31 | serve customers, and support sales.
| | 01:34 | The longer you blog, the more
content grows and compounds, providing more
| | 01:39 | content to be searched on,
boosting visibility, and long-term online
| | 01:43 | marketing scalability.
| | 01:45 | Now that you have an understanding of what
blogs are, let's look at microblogging.
| | 01:51 | Microblogging stemmed from the
concept of the traditional blog, in that it
| | 01:55 | shares content, but unlike a
blog that has unlimited typing space,
| | 02:00 | microblogging posts are shorter in length.
| | 02:03 | Microblogs allow users to exchange
small elements of content, such as short
| | 02:08 | sentences, photos, or video links.
| | 02:11 | Twitter is the most commonly recognized
social media outlet for microblogging.
| | 02:16 | Microblogging becomes part of
the online marketing mix to share
| | 02:20 | information, ignite conversations
with like-minded people, and it can
| | 02:25 | indirectly boost visibility.
| | 02:27 | When you think of microblogging, think
of texting on mobile devices; the length
| | 02:32 | of messages are short, and easy to type.
| | 02:35 | The next example is a Twitter account
for Two Trees environmental. The person
| | 02:40 | or people who have access to this
account can post content here, like they can
| | 02:44 | on a blog, but only in microposts;
under 140 characters.
| | 02:50 | It is common Twitter netiquette to use
URL shortners, like bit.ly, or tinyurl.com,
| | 02:57 | to create a shortened URL.
| | 03:00 | Microbloggers love to share links, but not
waste character maxs lengthy URLs.
| | 03:05 | Now that we've covered how blogging
and microblogging fit into social media
| | 03:10 | marketing, let's look next at social networking.
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| Social networking | 00:00 | It's a fact; the usage of social
networking sites is growing every day, so it's
| | 00:05 | naturally getting the attention of
organizations as a marketing vehicle.
| | 00:09 | Marketers want to be where the people are.
| | 00:12 | Social networking works wonders for
three main reasons: one, it's an easy
| | 00:17 | communication vehicle; two, the
communication community factor that makes
| | 00:22 | networking fast, easy, and global;
and three, it's entertaining.
| | 00:27 | If you decide to join social
networking spaces like Facebook and LinkedIn for
| | 00:31 | marketing reasons, do remember your netiquette.
| | 00:34 | This is a place to communicate,
collaborate, and enjoy your networking time, not
| | 00:39 | to be salesy, and push products or services.
| | 00:42 | You wouldn't go to a backyard barbecue,
and walk up to people you didn't know, and
| | 00:46 | start immediately selling your
products and services, would you?
| | 00:49 | Well, we don't in social networking land either.
| | 00:52 | If your posts are just a bombastic billboard,
people won't want to hear what you have to say.
| | 00:58 | Play nice in the social networking
playground; be human, converse, collaborate,
| | 01:04 | connect, and share your content, and your
social networking will be well received.
| | 01:10 | Two Trees environmental employees
may have their own personal social
| | 01:13 | networking profiles, and they may also
choose to build and manage a Facebook
| | 01:18 | business page as a way to engage
their community of customers, potential
| | 01:23 | customers, and employees.
| | 01:25 | Here is an example of what a
business Facebook page looks like.
| | 01:30 | Two Trees can share links to their blog
content, answer questions, post links to
| | 01:35 | Web articles that tie into the interests
of their community, add pictures, share
| | 01:40 | videos, and also enjoy the added
search visibility of having this page.
| | 01:46 | Fun fact: many times Facebook pages
come up high in the search engines
| | 01:51 | adding more visibility.
| | 01:53 | Like Facebook, LinkedIn allows you to have
a personal profile, and a company profile.
| | 01:59 | LinkedIn is a social networking site;
just with more of a professional emphasis.
| | 02:04 | What you see here is the CEO of Two Trees
environmental's LinkedIn personal profile.
| | 02:10 | People at the company may also decide to
create a company profile page to manage
| | 02:14 | contacts, and build visibility.
| | 02:18 | Social networking is a low cost, and
often a no cost way to collaborate with
| | 02:23 | like-minded people, and
accelerate your marketing.
| | 02:26 | Next let's look at the largest
social media marketing vehicle of them
| | 02:30 | all: video.
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| Video sharing| 00:01 | Video sharing can be a
brilliant online marketing medium.
| | 00:04 | Video watching is one of the number one activities
happening online, which you are doing now.
| | 00:10 | Video works marketing wonders, because
the way we take in video messaging is more
| | 00:14 | show me, versus tell me.
| | 00:17 | One of the main reasons video works so
well as a marketing tool is because of
| | 00:21 | the entertainment factor.
| | 00:22 | I'm not proposing that all videos need
to be funny to work; they just need to
| | 00:26 | be enjoyable to watch.
| | 00:28 | This can mean that they are fun,
funny, educational, useful, or
| | 00:32 | just thought-provoking.
| | 00:33 | Most videos designed to support online
marketing are short; 15 to 45 seconds in length.
| | 00:40 | If you have videos to share, you can
create an account on a video sharing site
| | 00:44 | to share content, and then embed the
links to the video into your Web site, blog,
| | 00:49 | or add them to social networking
sites, like Facebook or LinkedIn.
| | 00:53 | YouTube is the number two
search engine on the World Wide Web.
| | 00:56 | An added value point to having videos
on video sharing sites like YouTube is
| | 01:02 | that you can potentially help increase
search results if you use search rich
| | 01:06 | descriptions when you upload your videos.
| | 01:10 | Just like Web site pages have meta-titles
and descriptions that help tell search
| | 01:14 | engines what each page of the site is
about, video titles, descriptions, and
| | 01:19 | tags work in a similar way.
| | 01:22 | Be sure to use descriptive phrases when
you upload videos to reap the additional
| | 01:27 | search visibility benefits
of this social media channel.
| | 01:32 | Sharing videos can be a great
online marketing addition if the videos
| | 01:36 | are mindfully executed.
| | 01:37 | I cannot emphasize enough how important
it is to make sure that your videos have
| | 01:42 | good content in them.
| | 01:44 | Some of you may be able to produce
videos on your own, and some of you may decide
| | 01:48 | to hire professionals.
| | 01:50 | Just make sure that what you share is
on-brand, and on-purpose, meaning that it
| | 01:54 | is edited and produced intelligently.
| | 01:57 | Videos can be compelling
content to support online marketing.
| | 02:01 | Let's look next at social news and
bookmarking as another creative social
| | 02:06 | media marketing option.
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| Social shopping and opinions| 00:00 | In today's social-centric world,
people are empowered with choices at the
| | 00:04 | click of our fingertips.
| | 00:06 | Nowadays, we tend to be more likely
to trust our peers, versus companies.
| | 00:11 | Social shopping and opinion sites
allow us to get feedback easily.
| | 00:15 | Social shopping and opinion sites are
included in online marketing, because
| | 00:19 | organizations can tap tools like Yelp,
Google Reviews, and other sites to review
| | 00:25 | what is being said about their
organization, and create a forum for happy
| | 00:29 | customers to spread the word.
| | 00:31 | The good news is that great
testimonials shared on a third-party site can serve
| | 00:36 | as a great credibility source,
and a source of new traffic.
| | 00:40 | The bad news is that negative reviews
can impact your brands, so sites like
| | 00:45 | these do need to be monitored.
| | 00:47 | Social shopping sites, like Groupon, and
LivingSocial, are ways to create special
| | 00:52 | deals, often at a substantial discount, to
get customers to use your products and services.
| | 00:58 | Social shopping sites can work as an
online marketing option to expose new
| | 01:02 | clients to your business.
| | 01:04 | Just think before you set your deal up
to make sure you are attracting ideal
| | 01:08 | clients that will come back, versus
bringing in deep discount seekers who only
| | 01:13 | want a low price deal.
| | 01:15 | Be sure that if you tap tools like
this, that there is strategy in place.
| | 01:20 | Visit social shopping sites to get an
idea of what other companies are doing to
| | 01:24 | help get your social media
marketing creative juices flowing.
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| Social news and social bookmarking| 00:00 | Social news sites, like Digg,
Reddit, or Mixx, are Web sites that house
| | 00:05 | user-generated content,
meaning anyone can submit.
| | 00:08 | Content is ranked based on popularity; in other
words, how many people link to it, or share it.
| | 00:14 | Social-bookmarking sites, including
Delicious and StumbleUpon, took the old ways
| | 00:19 | of bookmarking sites on our browsers,
and now make the storage of our favorite
| | 00:23 | sites Web-based, so we can access
them from any computer, and organize our
| | 00:27 | favorite links better.
| | 00:29 | Social bookmarking has evolved into a
method for users to organize, store, manage,
| | 00:34 | and search for bookmarks and resources,
while sharing them publicly, so we can
| | 00:39 | visit sites endorsed by our peers.
| | 00:41 | Social news and social bookmarking
sites are worth paying attention to
| | 00:45 | marketing-wise, because the popularity
of sites helps the public search for news
| | 00:50 | to share, and it also helps them share
what they like on their own personal
| | 00:55 | social media outlets.
| | 00:57 | You may choose to add to your online
marketing plan an initiative to produce
| | 01:01 | news and sites that become
popular as a way to increase traffic and
| | 01:04 | visibility to your sites.
| | 01:06 | Visit these social news and bookmarking
sites to get an idea of how they work,
| | 01:11 | to see how or if you want to include
this in your social media marketing plan.
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| Social events| 00:00 | Social networking is about
connecting people online.
| | 00:04 | For those of you who have events
offline, you have social media marketing
| | 00:08 | options that can help boost visibility,
and increase live foot traffic to your
| | 00:13 | business location, or specifically to an event.
| | 00:16 | Sites like foursquare allow members to
note their locations with their mobile
| | 00:20 | phones, and find out where their friends are.
| | 00:23 | Organizations may get creative marketing-wise,
and encourage people to check in to
| | 00:27 | their location by offering an incentive.
| | 00:30 | Here's an example of
someone checking into foursquare.
| | 00:33 | Right before the Two Trees environmental
meeting, they go to foursquare, check
| | 00:37 | in on their mobile device exposing the
organization to all of their friends.
| | 00:42 | So potentially Two Trees environmental
may get exposure to someone's network
| | 00:47 | that they maybe hadn't been exposed
to previously, creating a low-cost or
| | 00:51 | no-cost marketing channel.
| | 00:54 | Event sites like meetup.com and
eventbrite help people find events based on
| | 00:58 | their interests and location.
| | 01:00 | Event sites also make event
announcements and RSVP management easy,
| | 01:05 | thanks to the ability to post and
manage it all on the event sites, sparing you
| | 01:09 | the time to learn how to
program Web pages on your own.
| | 01:13 | Both foursquare and other event sites
are part of social media marketing, as
| | 01:17 | people flock to sites like this to look
for events that they are interested in,
| | 01:22 | giving an organization great visibility.
| | 01:24 | Here's an example of a Two
Trees environmental event promotion.
| | 01:29 | They wanted to bring together passionate,
environmental, friendly business owners,
| | 01:34 | so what they did is they went to an
event planning site; put the event
| | 01:37 | information in there allowing people
in their geographic location to search,
| | 01:42 | find, RSVP, and figure out all the event details.
| | 01:46 | This was a low-cost or no-cost way for
them to get exposure, and bring together a
| | 01:51 | bunch of like-minded professionals.
| | 01:54 | The power of live networking will never fade.
| | 01:56 | Thanks to the power of sites like
foursquare, and event promotion sites, like
| | 02:01 | meetups, or eventbrite, you can amplify
your message online to boost virtual
| | 02:05 | and live connections.
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| Wikis| 00:00 | We've covered a lot of
social media marketing options.
| | 00:04 | Here is one that you may not have
thought of as a marketing tool: wikis.
| | 00:09 | An example of a wiki is Wikipedia; a
free encyclopedia that anyone can add,
| | 00:13 | edit, or contribute to.
| | 00:16 | Wikipedia is considered one of the most
important sources of information on the Internet.
| | 00:21 | From an online marketing perspective,
having a Wikipedia entry could increase the
| | 00:26 | chance that Google, and other search
engines, will place your company higher in
| | 00:30 | their search engine results.
| | 00:32 | The word wiki is short for fast.
| | 00:34 | Wikipedia allows anyone to quickly
create an account to add or edit listings.
| | 00:40 | See if your organization has a listing there.
| | 00:42 | You never know since anyone can post there.
| | 00:45 | Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, so they
do want facts, not a bunch of marketers
| | 00:51 | using this social site as a way to sell.
| | 00:54 | For those of you interested in
being on Wikipedia for online marketing
| | 00:57 | visibility, and credibility boosting, I
encourage you to go online and read their
| | 01:03 | editorial guidelines to see what they
allow and do not allow, to see if your
| | 01:07 | organization could
potentially have a listing there.
| | 01:11 | Another online marketing idea is to
create your own wiki, allowing your
| | 01:15 | customers to connect and share ideas.
| | 01:18 | Organizations use wikis to help
people come together and share knowledge.
| | 01:23 | Wikis can be public, like Wikipedia,
but they can also be private to a certain
| | 01:28 | user group, like academics, or
professionals in a certain field.
| | 01:32 | Marketing is about maximizing relationships.
| | 01:35 | So don't discount the power of
bringing people together under your brand to
| | 01:39 | connect, collaborate, and
potentially accelerate idea sharing.
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| Social media strategy| 00:01 |
Let's recap.
| | 00:02 | Smart social media marketing
execution can be part of your overall
| | 00:07 | online marketing puzzle.
| | 00:09 | Here are the points to focus on for
smart social media marketing execution.
| | 00:14 | Social media marketing is a way to
connect, collaborate, and converse with other
| | 00:19 | people with common interests.
Think community.
| | 00:22 | The beauty of social media marketing is
that many of the social media tools are
| | 00:26 | free, or only require minimal investments,
| | 00:30 | so it is accessible to organizations
and people of all experiences, budgets,
| | 00:35 | sizes, and industries.
| | 00:38 | The power of social media is that
it's easy communication, collaboration
| | 00:43 | community building, and it
has a high entertainment factor.
| | 00:46 | In a nutshell, it's simple and
enjoyable, so people gravitate towards it.
| | 00:51 | If you plan to have a social media
marketing presence, make it an enjoyable
| | 00:55 | experience for you and your target audience.
| | 00:59 | The best social media marketers
listen, understand, monitor feedback,
| | 01:04 | participate, and actively
manage what they set up.
| | 01:09 | We get good at social media
marketing by being part of it.
| | 01:12 | Now that you have a basic
understanding of social media marketing, and some of
| | 01:17 | the big pieces that fall under this
online marketing umbrella, you can start to
| | 01:21 | think about ways to incorporate it
into your overall marketing strategy.
| | 01:25 | Here are some ways to think about
developing overall social media strategy.
| | 01:30 | Start first with the nucleus of your business.
| | 01:33 | Why are you in business?
| | 01:35 | Really get to the core of what gets you up
every morning, and why you go to work everyday.
| | 01:40 | This heart of social media begins to
radiate throughout your whole strategy.
| | 01:45 | Next, you're going to look at your brand.
| | 01:47 | Who are you? What do you do? Whom do
you serve? What kind of positioning power
| | 01:51 | do you want to have?
| | 01:53 | This is going to come through in the
way you design your social media, the
| | 01:57 | content you create, and more.
| | 01:59 | Next, think about the people.
| | 02:01 | The people that you want to serve in social
media, but also people at your organization.
| | 02:07 | Who is going to manage all of
these social media marketing tools?
| | 02:11 | If you don't have a lot of people
that you have available as resources, you
| | 02:16 | may want to start really small and build as time
and resources become more available. Next is metrics.
| | 02:23 | You want to be able to measure how much
traffic you get from social media, the
| | 02:28 | various options out there in social
media, and really get an idea of what's
| | 02:32 | working for you, and what doesn't.
| | 02:33 | So make sure you have a measurement
plan in place. Next is policies.
| | 02:39 | Sometimes you may ask people at your
organization to say or not say certain
| | 02:43 | things on behalf of your organization.
| | 02:46 | You may have guidelines for your Facebook
page; things that people can post, not post.
| | 02:51 | Think about what policies work for you,
document them, and weave that into your plan.
| | 02:56 | And then next is the strategy itself.
| | 02:58 | By documenting the strategy, or your
game plan, it helps you prioritize what
| | 03:03 | steps you're going to
take, and in a logical order.
| | 03:07 | And what brings the whole social media
marketing strategy puzzle together is content.
| | 03:12 | Your brand, the people, the metrics,
the policies, the game plan, the strategy,
| | 03:16 | all comes through in the
content that you're publishing.
| | 03:20 | Let's look next at blogging;
| | 03:22 | one of social media
marketing's biggest powerhouses.
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|
|
8. BloggingTo blog or not to blog?| 00:00 | Blogs are a wonderful online marketing resource,
with the right strategy in place, of course.
| | 00:06 | Frequent blogging can create a voice
for your organization, communicate the
| | 00:11 | value of the products or services you have to
offer, and help boost search engine visibility.
| | 00:17 | Blogging is a foundational base for
leveraging social media connections, and a
| | 00:22 | way to position an organization as an
authority in their respective field.
| | 00:27 | A blog can also serve as a networking
hub for customers to interact, and have a
| | 00:32 | conversation with you or your company.
| | 00:35 | Blogging can be an amazing piece of
marketing collateral to help build brand
| | 00:39 | loyalty, and drive long
term customer commitments.
| | 00:43 | Benefits aside, blogging is a responsibility.
| | 00:47 | It requires commitment, and
dedication to customer understanding.
| | 00:51 | Start your to blog or not to blog
online marketing decision making process by
| | 00:55 | first understanding the six
secrets to blogging success.
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| Blogging success| 00:01 | The secret to blogging success
requires employing these six, now not so secret,
| | 00:06 | essential components: voice, theme,
content, design, SEO, for search engine
| | 00:13 | optimization, and outreach.
| | 00:16 | Let's look at how all of these
six steps applied to Two Trees
| | 00:19 | environmental's blog.
| | 00:21 | Let's look at the theme first.
| | 00:23 | The theme is about conscious planning advice.
| | 00:26 | This was mindfully designed into the
top of the header, so a reader would
| | 00:29 | understand what the content was about.
| | 00:32 | I suggest, when you're picking a theme, think of
something that's larger than your organization.
| | 00:37 | Nobody wants to read a blog
that's just about you or your company.
| | 00:40 | There needs to be a theme that
encompasses your value, and your values, and have
| | 00:45 | that be shown visibly to someone, so
they really understand what the value of
| | 00:49 | the content is about.
Next is voice.
| | 00:52 | Who is going to write this blog?
| | 00:54 | Some organizations choose to have the
founders write. Like for Two Trees blog,
| | 00:59 | for example, the two founders are the
bloggers, which is announced on the side of
| | 01:03 | the blog, under the About section.
| | 01:06 | Some blogs have many, many writers,
sometimes customers become writers, and
| | 01:11 | some organizations choose to have just
one member of the company blog, but just
| | 01:15 | decide what's going to work best for you.
Next is content.
| | 01:21 | Content is king when it comes to
social media, especially with blogging.
| | 01:25 | So as you're thinking of
content, go back to your theme.
| | 01:28 | Your theme is going to be a large
enough umbrella to help decide what kind of
| | 01:32 | posts you're going to
include in there for your readers.
| | 01:35 | Think about content that's
really going to help your customers.
| | 01:39 | Two Trees environmental's blog is going
to talk about conscious planning tips;
| | 01:43 | maybe things to think about when you're
hiring an environmental consulting firm.
| | 01:47 | They may even share links about great
news articles that may help, or educate, or
| | 01:52 | empower their current and prospective customers.
| | 01:55 | Sometimes content could be things
like frequently asked questions that
| | 01:59 | customers ask all the time, and they
become stored on the blog as a way to
serve and support.
| | 02:05 | Next, look at design.
| | 02:07 | The design is important to think about,
because some blogs don't always live on a
| | 02:11 | Web site. They may be on third-party
sites, like Two Trees' blog, for example, that's
| | 02:16 | on Blogger, which is powered by Google.
| | 02:19 | The design was done in a way so it
still looks like the organization, even when
| | 02:23 | you click the blog link, and leave the Web site.
| | 02:26 | Colors are similar, the logo is
included, and even things like social media
| | 02:30 | widgets, like the Facebook, and Twitter,
and LinkedIn, and YouTube buttons; those
| | 02:34 | were mindfully designed into the blog
to become part of the overall strategy.
| | 02:40 | Another success step is SEO;
search engine optimization.
| | 02:44 | When you are writing blog posts, take
advantage of the opportunity to weave in
| | 02:49 | your priority key phrases to
help attract search engines.
| | 02:53 | Blogs are a great SEO Tool, because they
are full of frequently populated content,
| | 02:58 | the way blogs are architected is
really clean, so search engines can read them
| | 03:02 | easily, and when your content is powered
with mindful key phrases in headlines,
| | 03:08 | the content itself, and even links, it
can multitask as a way to help get you a
| | 03:13 | higher search engine ranking.
| | 03:16 | The last success step is outreach.
| | 03:19 | If you build a blog, you want people to come.
| | 03:21 | How are you going to get
your blog searched and found?
| | 03:24 | Here are a few ideas.
| | 03:25 | One easy thing to do is include a link
to your blog in your e-mail signature,
| | 03:30 | so as you're sending e-mails for
business reasons, there's also a link to invite
| | 03:34 | people to read your blog content.
| | 03:36 | Add a link to the blog
on your main Web site.
| | 03:39 | There are also tools, like Twitter feed,
that help automatically feeds your blog
| | 03:43 | content into Twitter and Facebook.
| | 03:46 | LinkedIn even has its own automatic
feed, so if someone is on your LinkedIn
| | 03:50 | profile, you can set it up so your blog content
is actually feeding into your profile too.
| | 03:56 | Companies like Two Trees environmental
may even launch a press release when
| | 03:59 | there is lots of content on the blog,
announcing that they are dedicating --
| | 04:03 | sharing their expertise on environmental
consulting to the World Wide Web.
| | 04:09 | So think about different ways that you
can help promote your blog, and get it
| | 04:12 | out there, because if all of that
content is going to be created, you certainly
| | 04:16 | want people to read it.
| | 04:18 | When these six steps are used together,
blogs become an online marketing asset
| | 04:23 | to build credibility, usability to
help serve customers better, can increase
| | 04:28 | public relations potential, give
you search and social media marketing
| | 04:32 | visibility, support sellability, and be
an ongoing scalability source for your
| | 04:37 | overall online marketing.
| | 04:40 | Now that the blog foundation is set,
let's focus on content creation ideas.
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| Blog content creation ideas| 00:00 | Here are some blog content creation tips:
| | 00:03 | become a Web gemologist.
| | 00:05 | What this means is you can take some
great links, or articles, or other blog
| | 00:10 | posts that you may read on other sites
that you think your customers would be
| | 00:14 | enlightened by reading, and you can
bring them together under your blog umbrella.
| | 00:19 | You can say things like, I recently read
a great blog post by so-and-so, about
| | 00:23 | so-and-so. Make sure you credit the source,
| | 00:25 | but what you can do is you can start to
become a hub of information, so people start
| | 00:30 | to rely on you, and go to you as the authority.
| | 00:34 | Create community, and collaborate content-wise.
| | 00:37 | This could mean interviewing customers,
saying, we love the work that we've done
| | 00:41 | with you, and we'd like to feature you.
Would you like to be famous on our blog?
| | 00:45 | And they say yes, and you send them interview questions,
they fill out the answers; voila! You have content.
| | 00:51 | You can also interview employees, do
case studies; think about things where
| | 00:56 | you're getting really creative, and
don't feel like all of the social media
| | 01:00 | content has to personally be written
by you or your organization. That Web
| | 01:04 | gemologist concept really
helps bring it all together.
| | 01:08 | And do embrace the three
V's of social media marketing.
| | 01:11 | Make sure your content shares your
value, values, and has a natural voice.
| | 01:16 | Here is a final blog content
creation tip: recycling.
| | 01:21 | Recycling is not only good for the planet,
but it can be really great for your blog too.
| | 01:26 | It's so simple to repurpose
content, like an e-newsletter.
| | 01:29 | Let's say you spent hours putting together
content to send out to your subscribers.
| | 01:34 | What you can do is you can take that
content, and repurpose it as separate blog
| | 01:38 | posts, modified a little bit to
sound natural and conversational.
| | 01:43 | Often, frequently asked questions that
people say over the phone, or ask online;
| | 01:48 | those can also become blog posts.
| | 01:50 | Things like news; let's say you had a
great press release that came out. You
| | 01:54 | can do a blog post that said, recently
we had blah, blah, blah happen, and you
| | 01:59 | can give some highlights from that
press release, and link back to the press
| | 02:02 | release on your Web site.
| | 02:04 | Just make sure that when you're
repurposing, that you're not literally copying
| | 02:08 | and pasting, but your repurposing
or recycling that content into more
| | 02:12 | appropriate blog conversational tone,
because when we blog, we tend to write
| | 02:17 | more like how we talk.
| | 02:19 | Blogs are facts married with opinion.
| | 02:22 | Think of yourself as a content aggregator.
| | 02:25 | Your posts will often link to other
sites, with a short snippet of commentary
| | 02:29 | about what you like, dislike, agree, or
disagree with about it, and make sure
| | 02:34 | your content is valuable and interesting.
| | 02:37 | Blogging is a Web marketing tool that
can boost your business if you have the
| | 02:41 | right strategy in place.
| | 02:43 | Managing your blog can become an
easy task, and exciting part of your
| | 02:47 | day-to-day marketing.
| | 02:48 | Use your blog as a tool to post
valuable information, opinions, thoughts, news,
| | 02:54 | links, and expertise, and don't
forget to have fun in the process.
| | 02:59 | When you enjoy blogging, this
will come through to your readers.
| | 03:03 | Next, we'll explore online
advertising: a pay-to-play way to reach your
| | 03:07 | target market.
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|
|
9. Online AdvertisingSearch ads| 00:01 | Online advertising can take
your marketing to a new level when
| | 00:04 | done strategically.
| | 00:05 | While online advertising may not be
necessary for every organization, there
| | 00:10 | can come a time in the online
marketing planning process when you decide to
| | 00:14 | buy online ads to expedite
awareness, distribute your message, make
| | 00:18 | connections, and support sales.
| | 00:21 | Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.
| | 00:23 | Let's look first at how search engine
advertising can support your overall
| | 00:28 | online marketing goals.
| | 00:29 | Search engine advertising is one
of the most popular places to buy
| | 00:33 | online advertising.
| | 00:35 | Search engine advertising wins so many
marketer's online advertising budgets
| | 00:40 | because of its targeting power.
| | 00:42 | You can target campaigns around optimal
key phrases that prequalify people who
| | 00:46 | are in the most transactional mindset,
and advertisers only pay when people
| | 00:52 | click on their ads, making
the spending more efficient.
| | 00:55 | Search engine advertising is more
likely to deliver people who are ready to buy,
| | 01:00 | as the ads are targeted to phrases,
Web sites, or geographic locations that you
| | 01:05 | feel are the best match.
| | 01:07 | Ads can be on the search engines
themselves, like you see here in this example,
| | 01:12 | or they can be ads on other
Web sites that search engines partner with.
| | 01:15 | You can buy advertising on
search engines, like Google, and Yahoo!,
| | 01:19 | and Bing; even on smaller search engines.
| | 01:22 | Go to the different search engines, and
take a look at some of the ads out there
| | 01:25 | to get the ideas flowing.
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| Display ads| 00:01 | Display advertising is an image-based way
of promoting products and services online.
| | 00:06 | Back in the day, they were
referred to as banner ads.
| | 00:10 | Display ads have evolved to many sizes
since their first appearance on the Web.
| | 00:15 | Think of display ads as the
image ads that you see on Web sites.
| | 00:19 | Publishers -- owners of Web sites
large, and small -- can sell space to
| | 00:24 | interested advertisers.
| | 00:26 | Advertisers can also seek out
desired sites, or have their ads appear on
| | 00:30 | groups of Web sites.
| | 00:32 | There are online advertising networks
that represent a conglomerate of Web sites that
| | 00:37 | you can also buy from.
| | 00:39 | Display ads range in size
and technical capability.
| | 00:43 | You can visit www.iab.net to
see all the display ad options.
| | 00:49 | It is important to understand the
pricing language, as it relates to
| | 00:54 | display advertising.
| | 00:56 | Impressions are defined as
how many times an ad is viewed.
| | 00:59 | This pricing metric came from
traditional advertising, like radio and television.
| | 01:04 | Think of these impressions
as views, or eyeballs.
| | 01:07 | Cost per click, CPC, is based on the
cost per click through; a click from the
| | 01:13 | online advertisement to
the advertiser's destination.
| | 01:16 | Search engine advertising in the search
engine sponsored links sections is most
| | 01:22 | commonly sold on a cost per click
basis, and is also referred to as PPC, which
| | 01:28 | means pay per click.
| | 01:30 | When ads are purchased on a pay per click
basis, there is no charge for impressions,
| | 01:35 | views or eyeballs; only clicks.
| | 01:38 | Cost per action, CPA, or cost per
acquisition means payment by advertisers is made
| | 01:45 | only if qualified actions, such as
leads, sales, or registrations occur.
| | 01:51 | Ads are also sold on a cost per lead, CPL basis.
| | 01:55 | Affiliate marketing, which we will
cover shortly, is run on a CPA, or CPL basis,
| | 02:01 | and has a distinct set of rules,
norms, and management responsibilities.
| | 02:06 | Some Web sites, blogs, or portals sell
their advertising on a sponsorship basis,
| | 02:11 | meaning that advertisers pay to appear
on a Web site, but there are no guarantees
| | 02:15 | for impressions, clicks, or actions.
| | 02:18 | Sponsorship allows an advertiser to buy
branded exposure, and be visible to the
| | 02:23 | audience that is on a particular Web site.
| | 02:26 | Online marketing pricing options, as the
way ads are bought or sold, can dictate
| | 02:31 | priority of placement, obligation to
run ads for a length of time, control a
| | 02:36 | brand marketing message, and
integrity of the advertisement.
| | 02:41 | All pricing options need to be
critically evaluated before a marketing campaign
| | 02:46 | is launched, or if you decide that you
want to sell ads on your Web site or blog.
| | 02:51 | Let's look next at affiliate
marketing as an online advertising option.
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| Affiliate marketing| 00:01 | Affiliate marketing is revenue-sharing
that occurs between online advertisers:
| | 00:05 | ad buyers, and online publishers: ad sellers.
| | 00:10 | Affiliate marketing is results-oriented,
meaning that the only time
| | 00:13 | advertisers pay is if they're publishers,
the Web site owners who have ad space
| | 00:18 | to sell, deliver actions.
| | 00:21 | Payment is based on performance measures,
typically in the form of sales, leads,
| | 00:26 | downloads, or registrations.
| | 00:28 | For some businesses, affiliate
marketing can really pay off.
| | 00:32 | With affiliate marketing,
advertisers become affiliates by allowing other
| | 00:36 | Web sites or advertising
networks to promote an offer.
| | 00:40 | They get paid depending on the action
the advertiser pays on, whether it's
| | 00:44 | producing sales, leads, e-mail
addresses, or whatever the desired action is.
| | 00:51 | Advertisers wanting to get into
affiliate marketing must have a sound way of
| | 00:55 | tracking the actions to make sure that
they, one, pay their partners correctly,
| | 00:59 | and two, make sure if the partners
are tracking the actions, that they are
| | 01:04 | submitting accurate action counts for
compensation, and three, to track the
| | 01:09 | quality of the actions.
| | 01:12 | Most affiliates use third-party
affiliate management software to track actions,
| | 01:16 | pay affiliates, and recruit affiliates.
| | 01:19 | You can promote your products or
services by having an affiliate program, or you
| | 01:24 | can also explore monetizing your
Web site or blog with affiliate ads.
| | 01:28 | If you do put ads in your Web site to
make money, you do need to disclose this in
| | 01:32 | your online privacy policy.
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| Social media advertising| 00:01 | Social media advertising is a form of
online advertising that involves buying
| | 00:06 | ads on social media sources.
| | 00:08 | Social media ads can be very
targeted promotional options.
| | 00:12 | Think about this: when you create your
Facebook profile, you include your age,
| | 00:16 | city, interests, and more.
| | 00:19 | Advertisers can target their ads
specifically to target people based on that
| | 00:24 | custom targeting criteria.
| | 00:26 | Visit facebook.com/advertising to
create an ad. You can see how the ad
| | 00:33 | solutions work without putting in a
credit card, so I encourage you to go there
| | 00:37 | and give it a spin.
| | 00:39 | Another place social media
advertising can be tested is within industry and
| | 00:44 | work-related social networking sites
catering to professionals, like LinkedIn.
| | 00:49 | Like Facebook, with LinkedIn you can
visit their advertising area to see how you
| | 00:54 | can target by geography, but also get
more professionally focused ad-wise,
| | 00:58 | targeting things like company,
people's job titles, and even age.
| | 01:03 | You can go to linkedin.com
/directads to learn more.
| | 01:08 | You may be surprised when you
see how targeted your ads can be.
| | 01:12 | When the masses are using social media
everyday, indeed, many times a day, there
| | 01:16 | is an opportunity to reach people.
| | 01:19 | But remember that your ads have to make
an impression against the sea of noise
| | 01:23 | that is already happening there.
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| Local advertising| 00:00 | Local businesses can also
profit by buying online advertising;
| | 00:04 | they can find riches in the niches.
| | 00:07 | Local ads through search engine
advertising companies, like Google, Yahoo!, and
| | 00:11 | Bing, are tapped by local businesses,
because ads can be queued up to only hit
| | 00:16 | certain geographic areas.
| | 00:18 | Local business owners can laser target
their advertising budget to have text ads
| | 00:23 | appear on search results for local
phrases that will elicit only a few searches
| | 00:27 | with their geographic key phrases in them.
| | 00:29 | For example, Two Trees environmental
can have their ads appear to people in the
| | 00:35 | greater Los Angeles area when
people search for specific phrases, like
| | 00:39 | environmental planning, and
environmental consulting. Or, they can buy ads to a
| | 00:45 | larger market, like California in
general, and target their ads to appear to
| | 00:49 | people searching geo-specific phrases,
like environmental consulting Los Angeles,
| | 00:55 | or environmental planning Los Angeles.
| | 00:58 | Local businesses can also buy ads on Web sites
| | 01:01 | that are focused on their geographic location.
| | 01:04 | These can be ads on local newspaper
sites, popular community sites, and local
| | 01:09 | resources that a certain
geographic market visits.
| | 01:12 | Ads on local sites can be sold a
CPM, CPC, CPA, or sponsorship basis.
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| Email advertising| 00:01 | E-mail marketing and e-mail
advertising are not the same things.
| | 00:05 | E-mail marketing means sending
messages to your own permission-based list,
| | 00:09 | usually developed by
getting sign-ups off your site.
| | 00:13 | E-mail advertising involves reaching a
prospective customer in their e-mail inbox
| | 00:17 | through somebody else's list.
| | 00:20 | You can buy ads on targeted e-mail
lists to reach people, either in the form of
| | 00:24 | having your message be the entire message, or
having the ad as part of the e-mail newsletter.
| | 00:30 | Before you buy an e-mail advertising list,
make sure that the list is a quality
| | 00:34 | list, meaning that people have opted into it;
| | 00:38 | that the names were legitimately acquired,
and you understand the payment terms.
| | 00:43 | It may help to talk to references
before you buy e-mail advertising.
| | 00:48 | I feel that the best e-mail list you can
use is your own, which we will cover in
| | 00:52 | the next e-mail marketing chapter.
| | 00:55 | Online marketing is not the
same as online advertising.
| | 00:59 | Advertising is simply one tool
in the online marketing sandbox.
| | 01:04 | You can pay-to-play in the online ad
world, as long as you understand the
| | 01:07 | multiple variables online
advertising presents, and you have an online
| | 01:12 | advertising management plan.
| | 01:15 | Ads need to be created, tested,
measured, managed, and optimized.
| | 01:20 | There is a famous quote: half the
money I spend on advertising is wasted;
| | 01:24 | the trouble is, I don't know which half.
| | 01:27 | The man behind this message is John
Nelson Wanamaker; the man who opened the
| | 01:31 | first department store in 1875.
| | 01:34 | One of the largest distinctions of
online advertising is its measurement power.
| | 01:38 | So there is no excuse for spending
money on any form of online advertising, and
| | 01:44 | not knowing what works, and what doesn't.
| | 01:47 | Web analytics can help you
measure online advertising success.
| | 01:51 | There is more on Web analytics in
other courses offered on Lynda.com.
| | 01:56 | Let's move into one of online
marketing's tried and true channels:
| | 02:00 | e-mail Marketing.
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10. Email MarketingCollecting email addresses| 00:01 | E-mail marketing can be a hugely
powerful online marketing channel.
| | 00:05 | It can be used to send messages to
large audience, and niche audiences.
| | 00:10 | E-mail marketing can be specific, where
messages are sent based on a list member's
| | 00:15 | previous behaviors or purchases.
| | 00:17 | E-mail marketing is so effective, because
it connects you with potential clients
| | 00:22 | in the place that they
check constantly: their inbox.
| | 00:25 | Used correctly, e-mail marketing can
move prospects down the sales funnel
| | 00:29 | automatically, and create
connections with existing customers.
| | 00:34 | First things first: if you want to
tap e-mail marketing, you need a list.
| | 00:39 | If you're interested in growing your e-mail
list, there are some easy ways to do so.
| | 00:43 | Put your opt-in form in places like
pages of your Web site, your e-mail signature,
| | 00:50 | or landing pages from
online ads or social media.
| | 00:54 | Note that in today's world of mass
communication and overflowing e-mail inboxes,
| | 01:00 | the likelihood of someone feeling
motivated to take action on a sign up for our
| | 01:04 | e-mail newsletter call to
action is next to nothing.
| | 01:07 | This type of call to action has zero
value to the person contemplating whether
| | 01:11 | or not they want to sign up.
| | 01:13 | Instead, communicate the type of content;
the value of what you are trying to
| | 01:18 | get people to opt into.
| | 01:20 | Instead of, sign up for our e-mail newsletter,
which reads as more clutter in your
| | 01:25 | inbox, Two Trees environmental said,
join our e-List to get environmental news,
| | 01:31 | articles, and case studies.
| | 01:34 | By being specific about the value of
signing up for their newsletter, Two Trees
| | 01:39 | environmental is likely to get a larger number
of ideal perspective customers on their list.
| | 01:44 | Be aware that an e-mail collected
from a person who has e-mailed your
| | 01:48 | organization, purchased something from
your Web site, or filled out a lead form
| | 01:52 | is not implied permission
to add them to an e-mail list.
| | 01:56 | Use the e-mail best practice
of getting people to opt in.
| | 02:00 | Opt in means they specifically say, yes,
I want to receive your e-mail messages,
| | 02:05 | so the list is high quality.
| | 02:07 | If enough people flag your e-mails as spam,
you or your organization's e-mails may
| | 02:12 | get blocked altogether.
| | 02:14 | Respect is reciprocal.
| | 02:16 | Ask for permission, and you will get
the recipient's respect back in return.
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| Using a third-party management company| 00:00 | Even if an e-mail list has only a few
hundred addresses on it, running it through
| | 00:05 | your personal or organization's
e-mail provider is not a best practice.
| | 00:10 | Internet Service Providers, ISPs,
watch for high-volume mailings.
| | 00:15 | If there is any suspicion that
something is marketing-related, such as a large
| | 00:20 | number of recipients being sent to, even the
smallest organization's list can be blocked.
| | 00:25 | E-mail terminology calls this getting
blacklisted, and it will freeze an entire
| | 00:30 | organization's e-mail system until
the sender gets back in the ISP's
| | 00:34 | good-sender list, or whitelist.
| | 00:37 | Setting an organization up with third-
party e-mail management software allows
| | 00:42 | marketers to work with larger,
compliant, ISP-friendly companies, and enables
| | 00:47 | productive list management for scalability.
| | 00:50 | There are lots of third-party e-mail
management systems, including Constant
| | 00:54 | Contact, Silverpop,
Infusionsoft, AWeber, and MailChimp.
| | 00:59 | Now that we've covered the need for
e-mail management terminology, let's look
| | 01:03 | at messaging strategy.
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| Email messages| 00:00 | The power of e-mail messaging
can make or break your efforts.
| | 00:05 | First things first;
| | 00:06 | you need to know your e-mail
marketing goal.
| | 00:09 | You may want to educate, promote your
brand, keep customers informed of your
| | 00:13 | business news, or broaden your
audience through e-mail forwarding.
| | 00:17 | Whatever your goals are, remember
that defining them first will help you
| | 00:21 | successfully get your point across
in e-mail messaging. Fun fact;
| | 00:26 | many people decide whether or not to
open an e-mail based on the From line alone.
| | 00:32 | As you work on your e-mail messaging,
don't discount the power of deciding who
| | 00:36 | the e-mail will be from.
| | 00:39 | Two Trees environmental's e-mails
can come from the company, Two Trees
| | 00:42 | environmental. Or, if the e-mail is
going to trusted shareholders, it may come
| | 00:46 | from Erik Thomas, the CEO, who the
recipients may have a stronger affinity to.
| | 00:52 | Next messaging step;
the Subject line.
| | 00:55 | The subject needs to be interesting.
| | 00:57 | Two Trees could call their monthly
newsletter Monthly Newsletter, or they could
| | 01:02 | have more of a carrot to lure a reader
to open, like Three Eco-Planning Steps
| | 01:07 | Businesses Must Take to get attention.
| | 01:08 | Once you get to the main message, all you have
to remember is to grab attention. Be interesting.
| | 01:15 | Here are some important things to avoid so that
your e-mail doesn't end up in the Spam folder.
| | 01:21 | Things like avoiding excess punctuation;
| | 01:23 | when you have three exclamation points
in a message, that could flag a spam filter.
| | 01:29 | Also, things like avoiding all capital letters.
| | 01:32 | Many of you know that using
capital letters is like screaming.
| | 01:35 | Well, the same kind of
concept does flag a spam folder.
| | 01:39 | Also, avoid excessive usage of imperative verbs.
| | 01:42 | These are action words, like click, get, buy.
| | 01:46 | And avoid the F word; free.
| | 01:48 | Try to use things like no cost,
be our guest, or complimentary.
| | 01:53 | And avoid use of the recipient's
name in the Subject line; things like,
| | 01:57 | Craig, have you heard?
| | 01:59 | Now, I'm not saying you can't use any of
these things I mentioned, but do notice
| | 02:03 | that if your e-mails are having a
problem getting through the spam filters, that
| | 02:07 | there are a few things that you can assess.
| | 02:10 | Just like you plan a Web site's
architecture, be mindful to plan your
| | 02:14 | e-mail's architecture too.
| | 02:15 | Do you need a neatly designed
header with your company logo in it?
| | 02:19 | Do you want certain sections broken out?
| | 02:22 | Will there be call to actions in
the e-mail to help prompt action?
| | 02:26 | All of the same steps that were woven
into the Web site real estate planning that
| | 02:30 | you learned in earlier chapters do
apply to the use of e-mail space too.
| | 02:35 | Here is Two Trees environmental's
newsletter. They send environmental news,
| | 02:40 | articles, and case studies to the people
who have opted into their list, as a way
| | 02:44 | to create a stronger connection with
customers and prospective customers.
| | 02:49 | They designed their e-mail newsletter
to have social media widgets, and their
| | 02:53 | headline's bolded for ease of readability;
| | 02:56 | little architectural and design
ideas that make a big difference.
| | 03:00 | E-mail marketing is one of online
marketing's most tried and true
| | 03:04 | connection mediums.
| | 03:05 | It educates your audience, boosts your
brand visibility, establishes you as an
| | 03:11 | authority in your industry, and is a
fun, inexpensive way to reach your target
| | 03:15 | audience with news,
promotions, and fun upcoming events.
| | 03:19 | Be clear about your message intentions.
| | 03:22 | Get people to elect to be on your list, and
always, always deliver quality content.
| | 03:28 | If you'd like to learn more about e-mail
marketing, check out the Effective Email
| | 03:32 | Marketing Strategies course on Lynda.com.
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ConclusionOnline marketing strategy| 00:01 | The exciting part of the online
marketing world is that there are so many
| | 00:04 | possibilities, but for some of us,
the endless choices can be overwhelming.
| | 00:09 | Knowing all the online
marketing options is the first step.
| | 00:13 | It's not the tools, but how we use
the tools, that makes marketing matter.
| | 00:17 | As you start to put online marketing
to work, remember the strategy first,
| | 00:22 | execution second mantra.
| | 00:25 | Marketing serves several purposes;
| | 00:27 | awareness, communication,
connection, service, and sales.
| | 00:32 | The beauty of the online marketing
world is that the tools can support a few,
| | 00:37 | if not each one of these purposes,
multitasking your marketing for maximum
| | 00:42 | return on investment.
| | 00:43 | Remember, with online marketing, you
can always start small, and snowball.
| | 00:47 | Little steps can make a big difference.
| | 00:50 | Here is the system I use that helps
take the overwhelm out of all the options,
| | 00:55 | and helps create online marketing focus;
| | 00:58 | assess, optimize, and new.
| | 01:01 | First things first;
| | 01:03 | assess your situation.
| | 01:05 | Revisit your marketing goals.
| | 01:06 | What do you have to work
with? What are you missing?
| | 01:10 | Look critically at where you are at, and
where you want to go. Next step; optimize.
| | 01:16 | Fix things that need fixing.
| | 01:19 | As you review the online marketing
chapters, you may have notes of things you
| | 01:22 | can be doing better, like homepage
messaging, or Web site design, content
| | 01:27 | creation, search engine
optimization, or e-mail address collection.
| | 01:32 | Make sure you are working off
a solid marketing foundation.
| | 01:36 | We cannot see change unless we are
willing to change things that don't work.
| | 01:41 | Lastly, once the assessment and
optimization phases have been addressed, then it
| | 01:46 | is time to move on to new channels.
| | 01:49 | When you are overwhelmed, go back to
the assess, optimize, and new strategic
| | 01:54 | planning chart, as this will help you
manage the steps that you want to take in
| | 01:59 | a smart order.
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| Goodbye| 00:01 | Online marketing is an art and a science.
| | 00:04 | There are so many low-cost
and no-cost options available.
| | 00:08 | As you venture into new channels
to build credibility, improve online
| | 00:12 | usability, boost visibility, and
support salability, remember the power of
| | 00:18 | online marketing scalability.
| | 00:20 | Online marketing can start on a solid
foundation and build and grow over time.
| | 00:25 | Little investments can make a
big impact to support marketing.
| | 00:29 | It's the sum of all
marketing parts that work together.
| | 00:32 | And one more point, have fun.
| | 00:36 | If you aren't having fun with
online marketing, what's the point?
| | 00:39 | When you train your brain to
enjoy the awareness, communication,
| | 00:43 | connection, service, and selling
process, it comes through to current and
| | 00:48 | prospective customers.
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