INBOUND ACCELERATOR

Several times a week, I write a blog post to share advice and insights about integrated public relations and marketing and the various tools and tactics involved in everything from brand development to campaign implementation.

Blog posts are written by me several times each week to share advice and insights.

Which of those sentences sounded better to your ear?

Creating a comprehensive content marketing strategy requires more than brainstorming a few blog post titles and writing social media updates. It should include taking a close look at 10 different questions about your audience, your goals, your competition and the market environment.

Chances are that your business website today serves as your advertising, front door, sales floor, customer service desk, and human resources and recruitment office—and needs to answer the same questions and often perform the same functions as the individuals who work in all of those areas. That is the expectation today’s consumers have of business websites.

But if your website was built 10 years ago, it may not meet all of those expectations.

Although we at JONES are huge proponents of organic content on social media (download this case study to learn why), there are definitely times when advertising is a necessary complement to your regular schedule of high quality posts, videos, and links.

And while Facebook ads may seem inexpensive, it is essential to target them for your specific audience, rather than wasting money on ads that are primarily reaching people in the wrong geography, demographic group or interests.

While Twitter may have the first social media channel to embrace the hashtag as a way of organizing content and reach new audiences, Instagram has taken the hashtag to new levels. Using hashtags on Instagram is vital to extending your reach, but you still need to do your research and think strategically.

The first question may be how many hashtags you should incorporate into your Instagram captions. Some brands and ambassadors may stuff as many as 30 hashtags into a single caption (the maximum allowed), but that can end up just looking spammy, rather than creating the impression and image you are reaching for. Instead, focus on just 5 to 10 carefully selected hashtags that will attract an audience but maintain a focus on your specific targeted audience.

Small businesses can’t afford to ignore social media, but they also have to be aware of their own limitations in how much of their budget and time they can commit to staying on top of multiple channels.

We’ve all run into it at some point: a broken link. Maybe you were following a trail of backlinks to try to get the origin of some statistic (I’ve traced many back trying to find out just how outdated a social media or digital marketing stat might be — you’d be amazed at how long some things continue to circulate!). Or maybe you discovered an error on your own website that explained why some pages weren’t getting the traffic you thought they should.

Either way, a 404 error is more than just irritating. For your website, it could mean serious damage to your reputation and performance, as Spiralytics oulines in this infographic.

In social media marketing, timing is essential. With more than 100 million new Instagram photos and videos posted on the site each day, getting your content in front of your target market means fighting for eyes of a busy audience. If you aren’t there when they are, your hard work to create great content falls flat.

So how do you know when to post?

Marketing channels change. Marketing tactics change. Marketing content changes.

But some things about marketing are no different now than they were when I founded JONES more than 15 years ago. Or when I got my first job in marketing and PR a few years before that.

Because life shouldn’t be all business all the time, and I’ve taken a serious approach over the last year to sharing 15 marketing lessons I’ve learned since founding JONES more than 15 years, today I want to lighten the mood.