The Covid crisis has changed how people work. Remote scenarios are now the norm. Travel options are limited and many business events and gatherings have been eliminated. People around the globe are slowly returning to work and feeling more normal.

This is also the most likely route for events. Events, seminars, expos and meetings have been an integral part of business life for many years. In-person events are almost certain to return. A survey shows that 82% will host live meetings this year. This is a significant increase.

What is the best way for people to attend in-person events? Employee Advocacy is one effective way to do this.

The Challenge: Attracting the New and Convincing the Elder

Businesses adapt to this hybrid work style and begin to offer live events in-person with remote attendance. Two obvious problems arise when building an audience.

First, they need to re-engage their target audience. This will allow them to get back to attending business events in person after years of remote work. This is basically reestablishing familiar routines from the past after a long hiatus. This could include clients, employees, and partner organizations. Sometimes it is just a matter of letting people know that events are back.

Another option is to bring in new prospects who can attend events. It can be any combination of the above, but it can also include potential clients and partners who could become future stakeholders.

Hosting events can be a significant expense. Hosting events can have a significant impact on your finances so make sure you optimize your expenses. It is important to find the best tools to maximize your ROI and meet your bottom line.

Several questions will be raised as a result.

• How can we get people to sign up & take part in our event?
• Who are we looking to target in order to get involved?
• How can we get our message across to the right people?

Effective Employee Advocacy is the answer to all these questions.

How can you build an audience? Employee advocacy.

Employee advocacy is the act of encouraging employees to post content about the company to their social networks. This helps to build brand awareness, generate leads and recruit followers. It works because it is so effective. Because people trust individuals more that corporations and use social media to make educated decisions.

• 71% of Americans receive their news and events via social media (Social Media Today).
• 91% of buyers in B2B are active on social media (SuperOffice), and 75% use social media to help with purchase decisions (Linkedin).
• 76% of those surveyed said they trust content shared with them by people more than content shared by brands (AdWeek).

Employer advocacy via social media can be a great way to help:

Increase brand awareness and awareness for events. Employees will be more likely to share information about your event online if you are hosting it. Employees will have the exact type of targeted connections that you are looking for in their professional networks.

Attract leads via trusted employees. This will not only expand your network but could also increase your revenue.

Reduce paid media expenses. Employees sharing content and increasing awareness about events and campaigns means that traditional paid media costs are reduced.

You can measure results. It's simple to track how your EA campaigns are performing and see the source of leads and share results with the right tools. You can then fine-tune your event promotion strategy by learning what works and what doesn’t.

3 Key Tips to Building an Event Audience with EA.

Although it may seem daunting to use Employee Advocacy for awareness and to build an audience for an event, there are steps that you can take to make the process easier. These tips will ensure you have a successful social media campaign to build your audience for your event.

Provide minimum guidelines for how teams can support your events. Do not just give content. Explain why and how you will use it. Be specific about the event and the audience. Also, include how to register.

There are many content types you can use to promote the event. You can use a variety of images, videos, and gifs. Visual content is the most effective. Don't forget to include audio or video content. To grab people's attention and generate interest in your event, make sure you do not miss a beat.

Engage them at both the beginning and during the event. Gamification can be used to promote posts made during events or through surveys. It's important to generate interest before, during, as well as after the event.

Conclusion: Employee advocacy can help you build your event audience organically.

If your employees have the right content and promotional materials and are given incentives and guidance to share the information, they can help build new audiences for your event online. This could be whether the event is held in person, remotely or in some combination of both. They can connect with others in their industry and share similar interests and motivations by using their professional network. Sociabble has the digital tools and platform to support you and enable social sharing. We can make sure your events, both current and future, are a success.

Marketing is evolving faster than ever before. After two years of zoom meetings, many marketers are now looking at the best marketing events for 2022 as a way to keep up with the industry.

These 2022 marketing conferences will allow you to not only learn from the best in marketing, but also make new friends, discover a new tool for your job, and spend quality time with your boss and colleagues.

Is there ever a time in history when the marketing industry has experienced so much change in so little time? The world has changed dramatically over the past two decades to adapt to global pandemics.

This includes consumer behavior, marketing trends and Web 3.0. All of these factors are affecting the way marketing teams work in today's business environment.

Forbes says that attending marketing conferences and events throughout the year is a great way to stay on top of new trends and opportunities. It's easier than ever to attend events that have digital components, which eliminate the need for you to travel.

Marketing conferences offer a great opportunity to network with peers and learn new ideas throughout the year.

This is why I have compiled this list of 2022's best marketing conferences. This is a list of my favorite marketing conferences that I recommend you look at. Nearly all of them have been my speaking engagements so I know firsthand the importance and quality of each event.

Here are some quick tips:

• Marketing events and conferences provide the chance to learn and make connections within the industry.

• Many events for marketing in 2022 offer both in-person and online events.

• Registering early for many events can help you get discounts and other perks.

• Check out the program from the previous year to determine if the event is right for you.

How do I identify the Best Marketing Conferences Every Year?

In the last 10 years, I have been to over 100 marketing events! Each year I choose the best events because I know they are the best and I return every year.

I also try to find events that I have never heard of or attended, but which I find interesting (I'm thinking about you Lavacon!) So I also included some of those events here. Since I haven’t been overseas for a while, I only included one non-US conference this year. (However, if you are aware of any marketing events that cannot be missed outside the US, please leave a comment.

Your industry and specialties will determine which event is best for you. You should check them all to determine which one will be the best for you.

The quality and calibre of the keynote speakers is one of the best indicators that a marketing event is worth attending. Do they share their knowledge and not promote themselves? Or are they just random brand marketers who have never spoken before? Or are they professional and experienced speakers?

Anyone can have Oprah speak at any event, and Coldplay perform at any concert, provided they have the budget. We are looking for quality, not quantity. Events that target brand-side speakers or big-name celebrities only are trying to sell as many tickets possible.

The way it is promoted can tell you a lot about an event. These are some of the most successful marketers I have met. They are creative in keeping us interested.

Here are the top marketing events for 2022, so let's get on with it.

The Best Marketing Events in 2022

MarTech

Dates March 29-30, and September 28-29.29.2022

MarTech Conference offers you the chance to learn about dozens of time-saving and profit-boosting technologies and tools, as well as the strategies and tactics you need to leverage them. Register now for a free place!

While we wait for details about 2022, you can see the agendas of the previous fall/spring events.

SMX Series

Dates SMX Advance, June 14-15 2022 and Next November 15-16 2022

SMX events, hosted by MarTech (Third Door Media), are all about search. SMX events will feature experts on how to drive traffic and convert visitors through SEO, PPC/SEM and analytics. Register for free this year!

These links will take you to the agendas of previous SMX Advanced and SMX Next events. We're still waiting for details about 2022.

PS – In March, I will be giving a workshop for SMX titled “Creating an SEO-friendly Content Marketing Programme”. If you're interested, let me know.

B2B Marketing Exchange

Dates February 28-March 2

Scottsdale, AZ

This event is the core of B2B marketing and will cover current issues such as Demand Generation, Messaging Frameworks, AI, Audience Centricity, and Messaging Frameworks. Yoga is offered in the morning. You bet.

“Easily one the most valuable marketing events I have attended in my career.” Jeanne Hopkins, CRO, HappyNest

This event is something I try to attend about every other year (if they invite me to speak, hello #B2BSMX). I also love to reconnect with old friends, get to know amazing B2B marketers and keep in touch with all things B2B!

World of Content Marketing

Dates September 13-16th, 2022

Location in Cleveland Ohio

The Content Marketing World is the largest, four-day content conference in the world. It's also one of the few marketing events that exclusively focuses on content marketing. Learn why content marketing is important. In my workshop, you'll learn how to create a content marketing strategy. There will be case studies that show how to reach, convert and engage new customers. Learn how to create engaging content experiences. Meet amazing content marketers from around the globe

Content Marketing World places a strong emphasis on the building of a community. This is why it is an event that I cannot miss. It attracts thousands of content marketers, including those from large brands and emerging brands as well as agencies. The event features over 100 sessions, workshops and forums that are led by industry leaders. You'll also make life-long friendships. The fun and learning don't stop after the event.

Get a glimpse at what you can expect. The Content Marketing Institute has released a new video.

CMI's contentTECH Summit will be held March 22-24 in San Diego. This summit brings together thought leaders and practitioners in the areas of content tech innovation, strategy, and process.

Digital Summit

Dates : Multiple

Locations Multiple virtual or in-person

Digital Summit events are held in over 20 cities throughout the country each year. The Digital Summit Series is a high-value and accessible marketing event due to its many formats and broad range of topics.

At a few of these summits in 2020, I was able to speak with some incredible, well-dressed digital marketing people. We are hoping to shed the worry and masks as we move into 2022.

You can see their complete list of past and upcoming events here.

MarketingProfs B2B Forum

Dates/ Location: Online April 6-6, 2022, and In-person Fall, 20,22

I have not missed this event in more than a decade. Why? B2B marketing is different from B2C marketing in that it has its own set trends, best practices and quirks. MarketingProfs organizes this event every year to address topics that are relevant to B2B brands.

Ann Handley hosts the MarketingProfs B2B forum. It covers proven strategies, actionable insight, and interactive huddles, making it an engaging two-day event. Even better? Even better? A ticket to the event comes with a year of PRO membership and access to many other resources.

Registering for the 2022 program is open. You can also register separately to get access to the entire 2021 program.

LeadsCon

Dates March 21-23 2022

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Although organic traffic is great, every brand needs leads and converts to make money. LeadsCon is a conference that focuses on performance marketing, the kind that converts. It features keynote talks, breakout sessions and exhibits as well as networking events. This is a great way to learn and make new connections in the industry.

Although the agenda for 2022 is still being developed, you can see last year's speakers to get a sense of what you can expect from the event. I have spoken here before and was impressed by the speaker line-up and audience.

Brand ManageCamp

Location/Date: TBD

Forbes named it one of the “best conferences in marketing”

Len Herstein, founder of Brand ManageCamp, is excited to return to a live conference after two years of working virtually. This conference is for you if you are looking for actionable insight that you can immediately use to build/manage/grow profitable brands, better connect your customers/consumers and become a more successful brand leader. This conference offers a 360-degree view on brand and brings together a variety of job titles in marketing strategy execution.

Brand ManageCamp is a two-day conference featuring the best branding and marketing speakers. It is a single track agenda and 100% keynote style. There will be no breakouts, panel discussions or workshops. Only two days of marketing inspiration

The Brand ManageCamp speakers are so great, they tend to stay for the entire event! You will, too. This event has been a pleasure to attend 8 times, both as a speaker and as an attendee. Highly recommended!

MAICON

Date(s): Aug 3-5, 2022

Cleveland, Ohio

Unless you live under a rock you will know that artificial intelligence has become a key component of any data-driven content strategy. MAICON, or the Marketing Artificial Intelligence Conference focuses on human marketers using AI-powered marketing technology to create better, more effective strategies that produce greater results. They will be covering how to make all software tools that marketers use, including email, search and ad buying automation, content strategy and more, more efficient by leveraging AI.

The next-generation marketer is the focus of this year's event. Learn from them and how you can become one. You can find out more information about the registration options here.

MozCon

Dates July 11-13th, 2022

Location: Seattle (Washington)

MozCon claims to be more than a marketing conference. We agree. It focuses on SEO and other aspects of search marketing. This is a crucial component of any marketing strategy and one that we are constantly changing.

While the 2022 agenda and speakers are still being curated by MozCon, you can see the 2021 agenda to get an idea of some of the exciting topics covered at MozCon.

Confab

Dates May 9-12th, 2022

Location: Minneapolis (MN)

Confab, like Content Marketing World is one of few conferences that focuses exclusively on content marketing strategy. With a mix of keynote speakers, workshops and breakout sessions, the event is focused on education and collaboration. It also features networking events and social events. This event is a great opportunity to meet industry leaders, learn from them, and make new connections.

Confab already has their speaker lineup ready for 2022 — check it out!

LavaCon

Dates October 23-26 2022

New Orleans (LA)

This is my new favorite little gem. It looks amazing, but I don't know if I will be able to go. LavaCon began in Hawaii (get the idea?) Every year, it takes place in a different location.

This conference aims to assist marketing organizations in using content technologies. It is a timely topic in an age where technology is constantly changing. It's focused on sharing best practices and building community, just like other events.

This year's event focuses on one of the most difficult challenges in marketing: connecting content silos across the enterprise. Register before January 10, 2022 to receive a complimentary colleague!

You can view the program from last year here, or register for 2022 right away!

Inbound

Dates TBD

Location: Boston

Hubspot's annual marketing event Inbound, which is hugely popular in the United States, will be back in 2022. Oprah Winfrey, Gary Vaynerchuk and Michelle Obama are some of the speakers. It is attended by thousands of people around the globe.

The event, as you would expect from Hubspot covers a wide range of topics for marketers (you may see the 2021 agenda right here to get an idea), and features meetup sessions to help attendees connect with their peers.

You can see a video of Brian Halligan, Executive Chairman and co-founder of Hubspot, and Yamini Rangin, CEO:

B2B Market IGNITE

Date: June 1-3

Location: Chicago (IL)

In 2021, I will be speaking (virtually), at the next two events organized by B2B Marketing. The “Ignite” event in the USA will be 2022 and it will focus heavily on B2B Brand.

Why? Why? Because brand is the number one weapon of an organization in the post-Covid, high churn recruitment market. B2B buying is evolving. Decision-makers now prefer to ‘buy into' a company rather than ‘buy out'. Inclusion and diversity are now a key component of organizational design and employee training.

B2B Marketing Ignite USA will examine these interrelated themes in detail, providing both inspiration and actionable solutions for B2B marketers.

B2B Market EXPO

Date: November 22-24

Location: London (UK)

B2B Marketing Expo in London is one of the most important marketing events in the UK. It is a must-attend event for all B2B marketers. Two years ago, I had the honor of speaking at this event. I was astonished at the number of smart marketers I saw on the stage and met during it.

Get your marketing strategy on the right track with great content

Attend marketing events in 2022, but don't stop there. Apply what you have learned by creating a content strategy that delivers. Marketing Insider Group has a team of experts that can assist you. For one year, our writers and SEO specialists can provide optimized content that is ready to publish every week. Take what you have learned at

To learn more, or to schedule a consultation with me immediately, check out our weekly content subscription service.

It can be hard to stand out among the sea of online content. Content marketing that is thought-leadership is one of your best options to establish your company and name as an authority in your field.

Leadership marketing is more than just publishing the same old blog posts and rehashed ideas everyone else seems to be posting. You can be a leader and not a follower by investing more time in creating high-quality content that is original and has your opinions.

Your company can get more media exposure, generate new business opportunities and convert leads through thought leadership content. LinkedIn research has shown that 58% of decision makers read at least one hour of thought-leadership content per week. 60% said this content had convinced them to purchase a product or service that they had not considered before.

What exactly is thought leadership content marketing? Reading examples from other organizations is a great way to learn more about this type of content.

Quick Takeaways

• 
  You can grow your brand by investing in thought leadership content. This will help you build trust and credibility with your audience.
  
• 
  Trust is built by thought leadership that focuses on providing value to the reader and not showcasing products
  
• 
  These examples offer amazing digital experiences and are consistent in publishing consistently. They engage their readers at all stages of the buying process
  

1. Nutanix Forecast

It is very difficult for enterprise cloud service providers to stand out in a highly competitive market.

With its online magazine The Forecast, cloud computing company Nutanix has established its leadership position in the industry.

The Forecast provides industry news and ideas on the people, trends and technologies shaping the cloud computing industry.

The Forecast's content is divided into different categories, such as:

• Technology (news, stories, and information about cloud technology, hybrid IT and infrastructure, as well as data management)
• Business Discussion and guides for management, digital transformation and leadership
• Industry (trends & stories about how real companies use cloud technology)
• Profile (biographies and interviews of key members from the Nutanix global staff)

There's also a section for video and podcast content. This podcast explores some of the ideas in articles, in a conversational audio format.

Nutanix is able to publish original, innovative content, which appeals to many audiences, even though it's a niche.

2. First Round Review

First Round Capital, a venture capital firm, launched First Round Review as a blog to share their vast knowledge and experience with entrepreneurs in technology.

This company is different from other venture capital companies. Instead of building a portfolio of companies they invest in, they envision themselves building a network of entrepreneurs.

First Round Review is a reflection of this approach. It shares ideas, best practices and advice from the network to help entrepreneurs build better businesses.

First Round's blog has seen a tremendous response, including thousands of shares and a significant increase in traffic.

First Round Review was instrumental in helping me to educate many startup founders about content marketing and the benefits it offers.

3. Autodesk Redshift

Autodesk, a software company, named its blog after a scientific phenomenon that relates to objects moving through space. Redshift's editorial team strives to continue to evolve and move forward as the universe expands and moves. They want to be at the forefront in architecture, construction technology, and sustainability.

Autodesk's former blog, Line//Shape//Space won many awards for its content, but it grew beyond its initial audience of small businesses.

Redshift was created when the Autodesk content team realized the need for innovation and engagement with businesses of all sizes.

Redshift's focus lies on the future of making things. Content covers trends and predictions in the most recent technologies, including machine learning and generative design.

Autodesk wanted to target a wider audience and personalize each reader's content experience. Visitors can register on the site to follow specific authors or content categories and to bookmark articles for later. Based on past interactions, an AI algorithm automatically suggests content.

Autodesk's “Inside My Design Mind” series also features several senior executives as Redshift authors. The content team successfully implemented an employee advocacy program after gaining the support of the executive team, who are now “content marketing champions”.

4. American Express Business Class

American Express divides the content of its Business Class Trends and Insights Blog into four major categories: Managing Money; Getting Customers; Building Your Team and Planning for Growth.

These content silos contain many other sub-categories, including leadership, productivity and company culture.

Amex's blog is still a success. Originally known as OPEN Forum. American Express chose to provide actionable tips, insight, and inspiration for businesses to adapt and succeed, rather than using content to drive direct sales.

American Express decided to outsource content marketing agencies like ours, rather than relying solely on their writers. We were able to provide stories, advice, and experiences. The Business Insights blog is given a community feel thanks to this relationship. It also increases exposure for all those who contribute.

Business Class has launched a live video series called “Office Hours”, which is available on YouTube and Instagram. This series invited founders and executives from small businesses to a Q&A to share their experiences with the COVID-19 crisis.

5. Intermedia Cloud Communications Blog

Intermedia, a cloud business application provider, uses their blog for news, security advice and case studies from businesses that have successfully deployed cloud technology to increase performance.

Intermedia's content team is able to publish articles that are popular and shared by their audience by focusing on current and trending topics.

The COVID-19 crisis brought together content such as “New Study: More than Half of U.S. SMB Owners Believe That Working Remotely Is Here to Stay Post-Pandemic”, and “How to Manage Live Attendee chat during Webinars”.

Intermedia's cloud services are demonstrated in real-life cases and interviews with customers.

6. DivvyHQ Blog

Content marketing platform DivvyHQ must practice what they preach, and show best practices in content market.

The DivvyHQ blog offers actionable advice, tips, and strategies for content marketing at the enterprise level. It also shares case studies from their most successful customers.

The DivvyHQ Content Management Platform offers powerful tools to automate content and streamline workflow. However, not everyone is aware of these tools or how to use them. DivvyHQ shares helpful content that teaches how to automate content marketing and systematize content management. It also showcases its product.

7. Microsoft “Stories”.

Storytelling is a cornerstone of content marketing success. It is also used by many of the greatest visionaries and leaders in the world. Microsoft recognized this and decided to name their blog and news page “Stories”.

Stories provides news about the latest Microsoft products and events.

Recent stories include a collaboration between an environmental charity and a software developer to help companies pivot during the coronavirus epidemic. Also, the blog offers insight into the ways people with disabilities use accessible technology to accomplish more.

Story Labs is a sub-publication that publishes stories and provides a deeper dive into topics like accessibility, sustainability, future technology, and more.

Story Labs features stories and profiles of employees, which demonstrate the talent and expertise behind each branch of the global Microsoft brand.

8. CNBC and Grow by Acorns

People in financial services need expert advice.

Acorns, a micro-investment app, understands this and has started Grow, a personal finance blog and investment blog that is both authoritative and educational.

They partnered with CNBC, a trusted news source, to create a team made up of money experts who can provide accessible content about how people can make the best of their money, regardless of their financial situation.

Only a portion of the blog is dedicated specifically to investing. They provide a lot of value to their audience by publishing content on financial topics like saving, getting rid of debt, and increasing your income. This builds trust and authority.

9. Optimizely Insights

Optimizely, a digital experience platform provider, built their Insights platform to educate customers to “Know More” and “Do More.”

Personally, I love their mission statement's clarity and visibility. They also have a customer-centric focus that adds value.

Optimizely has a deep community of engaged users who are eager to share their insights. Optimizely helps their audience understand how the top brands use experimentation to create exceptional digital customer experiences.

Optimizely, previously known as Episerver was a CMS, Personalization, and Testing engine. They also have a Customer Data Platform. With their recent acquisition of Welcome Software, Optimizely focuses on optimizing digital experiences.

10. Zen Desk's Relate

Technology can only take you so far when it comes to customer service. A customer service software company recognized that it could help customers get the most out of its product. They offered advice and suggestions for creating amazing customer experiences.

The Relate blog discusses topics like empathy in product design, online living, working, building relationships, and being a better company.

Zendesk wants its audience to benefit from their content, even if it's not their intention to become customers. Each article is informative without any sales pitches.

These Content Marketing Success Stories are your chance to be a part of these success stories.

Want more inspiration and ideas? You can find more ideas and inspiration on my list of top content marketing examples from dozens of blogs.

Our Content Builder Service can help you get more visitors to your website by publishing quality content consistently.

Get in touch with me to set up a consultation and receive a PDF copy of my books for free. Get started today and you'll be able to generate more leads and traffic for your business.

Without trust, it is impossible to build meaningful customer relationships.

Your brand should be trusted by people. You can achieve this by how you conduct your business, interact and protect clients' data, as well as the way that you promote your products. This trust will ultimately increase online conversions.

Customers and online communities use trust signals to validate your business' credibility and legitimacy. These can take many forms, including badges, certificates and content. Online users will also look for these symbols to verify the authenticity of your site. Google considers trust signals to be more important when assessing how SEO-friendly a page is.

Let's take a look at common trust signals that you can use on your site to build a community and increase online conversions for the brand.

Quick Takeaways

• 
  Don't miss the chance to ask your customers to review your product.
  
• 
  Highlight client testimonials and include logos from well-known clients brands.
  
• 
  Share your story with your customers, including an about page. Encourage customers to visit your social media profiles.
  
• 
  Develop a content strategy that positions you as an industry thought leader.
  

1. Include relevant information about your product and services

B2B buyers don't just base their buying decisions on how many product details you give them but also on how useful that information is.

Although you might feel that you are doing a tremendous service to your customers by posting lengthy product descriptions on the site, you should consider other ways of educating potential buyers about the product.

This is especially important if your product is technical or customizable. In this case, product training videos can be created to demonstrate how your product works, or how you can customize the program to suit specific business models.

This is a great opportunity to show leadership in your industry. What makes your product or service so relevant right now? What can you do to help potential customers more than your competitors? Consumers are looking for content that is relevant to their needs and addresses their problems.

2. Display customer testimonials and reviews

Encourage people to write product reviews once they have used or bought your product. It is a sign of respect that they are willing to share their experiences with your product.

Customer testimonials can be used as trust signals, just like product reviews. If your company is primarily a service provider, testimonials will work better.

A testimonial can give your brand and company a personal touch that can help build credibility.

Highlight testimonials on any page of your website, including your homepage or landing pages that are focused on a specific solution. Highlighting testimonials should include a detailed description of the customer's experience with your service. This will help you impress future customers.

Make sure to include the name of your customers, company name, job title and photos so that website visitors can verify that they are legitimate customers.

People who were not familiar with your company may be more interested in it or move on to the next stage of the marketing funnel. You can engage prospects and encourage them to convert by combining user-generated content and personalized lead nurturing.

3. Share your blog posts

Content marketing can also be used as a trust signal. This is a return to our previous point about thought leadership. Your industry knowledge is represented by your blog and any other content that you create.

You're helping customers by sharing useful content via blog posts. Your content will show that you are an industry expert and can offer valuable insight and advice.

This is how trust signals can be increased for your business if you use content marketing in a consistent manner. Customers will be more inclined to label your business as self-serving or untrustworthy if you offer too much sales-y content.

4. Promote Your Social Media

Social media is all about sharing information with others. It can be a great way to encourage people to trust marketing and word-of mouth marketing.

A social media presence that is active and engaging can help you build connections with other users. You can share content, start interactions, and develop relationships with your followers. Social media has been a major platform for marketing leaders who have established themselves as a brand.

It is important that you display your company's social media profiles on your website so people can learn more about your brand. You can also post photos of company events and news about industry milestones to make you more approachable.

Your LinkedIn or Twitter account can be displayed alongside your photo to help you build a closer relationship with potential sales leads. Connecting with your social media followers can help your business meet like-minded people who can help expand your professional network.

5. Provide Contact Information

B2B customers may prefer to talk to someone about your business by phone, while others might prefer to get preliminary information via email. Make sure you include your email address and phone number prominently on the website.

These are just a few of the options. You can also tell your visitors who they should contact in a specific department so that they have someone to call.

An ‘about us page' page is a good example of this. This page allows potential customers to access your employees' information. It also gives you the opportunity to tell your customers more about your business than just what product or service they are interested in.

Information about your business address can increase your trustworthiness. This is because it lets customers know where they can find you company. Local searches are a great way to be found from a SEO perspective.

6. Feature Brand Logos of Well-Known Customers

If someone trusts you with their company, you should show them the logos of well-known brands and companies. It's becoming a common practice to mention media outlets that feature a startup retailer or a upcoming tech company to help influence public perception.

7. Badges for display security and other seals of approval

Visitors need to be able to verify the integrity of your website and ensure that they are not falling for scammers or other people who may misuse their financial or personal information. 68% of business leaders feel that cybersecurity risks are increasing in 2019.

You must ensure that customers who are B2B vendors have access to your site or business.

Common security seals include anti-virus secure badges and verifiable/accredited business badges. These security seals can provide peace of mind for your visitors when they are browsing your website or looking at your brand's offerings.

Trust Signals in a Nutshell

Your website's trust signals are crucial in increasing conversions. They see it as a place they can interact with you and/or buy from you.

Your prospects shouldn't have any reason to doubt the credibility of your brand. Your contact information, as well as your blog post on thought leadership, should be clear to website visitors.

Are you looking for credible content to promote your business? Get help creating credible content for your business by checking out our weekly content marketing service. Or, schedule a consultation free of charge today.

Content marketing plans are not complete without great content. However, your work doesn't stop when you hit the publish button.

People need to read the content if it is to be of any benefit to you. Therefore, your content promotion strategy is as important as the research phase and content production phase.

There are many ways to promote your content, and the number is growing every day. It's not enough to stick to the same old methods everyone uses to promote content. You can post your articles to your Facebook page. However, you should do more research to discover where your audience is spending their time online. Also, you should explore other channels that might be helpful in reaching new audiences.

Quick Takeaways

• 
  Understanding your audience is key to determining the best channels to promote your content.
  
• 
  Facebook remains the most popular social network, but it may be outperforming other networks if you are targeting a younger audience.
  
• 
  You can use content promotion tools to create content and distribute it. Try different types of content.
  
• 
  Save time and find the best posting times with a content automation platform.
  

Understanding Your Audience

It's crucial to research your audience before you begin content promotion strategies. This research will help you discover:

• Their age, sex and location as well as their browsing device (e.g. laptop or mobile phone).
• Which social networks do they use?
• Which times do they check their emails and use social networks?
• They follow other brands and their interests online
• How they came across your site
• What type of content they share.

Most of this information can be gathered from Google Analytics, your email marketing software, and your social media analytics. This will give you a baseline that can help you determine which content is performing well and who your writing is for.

Buzzsumo is another tool that can be used to find influencers within your niche and determine the content they are promoting. This strategy is useful in guiding content production and can also be used to identify channels for paid or free promotion.

Social Media

It's no surprise that social media is a major part of many content marketing strategies. There are over 3 billion social media users around the world, with over 40% saying that they would rather buy from brands that offer useful content.

There are many social media platforms, but it is not feasible or efficient for large companies to try to use all of them. It makes sense for most businesses to choose a few social media networks to focus on. The first step to creating a social marketing strategy is to decide which social networks make most sense for you.

Facebook continues to be the clear winner despite rumors about its demise over the past few years. Depending on where you live, Facebook is responsible for between 70 and 90% of all time spent using the most popular social media networks.

Most businesses pick Facebook to be one of their social media networks. This is not a rule and you should learn more about your audience.

In younger age groups, Facebook usage is declining. They prefer to use social networks like Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. These networks are more beneficial if your audience is younger.

It is also important to think about the best content for each platform. Thought leadership articles are well-received on LinkedIn. Visual content is best on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

You should not only post links to your content to your social media channels but also make your content easy to share with others. You can share your content quickly using social media buttons. Also, make sure to include a relevant eye-catching image.

Email Marketing

Although social media is a great way to reach large numbers of people, it can also be very effective in reaching them. However, if you want to ensure that people who are already interested in your brand see your posts and they go to their email list, this can increase your click-through rates.

It's important to create compelling email subject lines when promoting content via email marketing. This will ensure that your receiver opens and reads your email. Your email body should be concise and direct. Include a clear CTA and a link to your content.

People will only sign up for your list if they are interested in receiving something. Don't promote your content by using your email list. Consider how you can offer subscribers exclusive perks and special offers that add value.

Commenting on blogs and forums

Although forum and blog links are often criticized for being poor quality links in SEO circles they can still be very useful ways to grow your audience. It is important to provide valuable information and grow your authority rather than just using other blogs or forums as links.

Although this method is simple, it can be tedious. It is necessary to create a list of relevant sites, forums, or online communities within your industry. Then, you will need to engage in conversation with other users, sharing your expertise.

You can answer questions on Quora, as well as sites that are specific to your industry. Be helpful and informative, and avoid self-promotion. You can increase the likelihood that others will read your comments and click through to find out more.

Guest posting

Remember that you don't have to publish content on your site. Guest posting on high-quality websites can help you reach a wider audience, boost your authority and brand.

Guest posting should not be used as an SEO trick to get another link to your website, but as an opportunity to share information with more people. You should publish content on other sites that is at least as good as what you have on your site.

You should look for opportunities to guest post on authoritative sites within your niche. They are very selective about what they publish. Once your guest post has been published, make sure to promote it on all of your social media channels.

Paid Promotion

Although you can get a lot of traffic and leads using only free content promotion methods, paid methods are more effective if you have the funds.

There are several paid options to consider:

Social Media Advertising

Paid content promotion can reach many more people than standard posts on social media channels.

This type of paid promotion has another advantage: you can target specific groups of people with your content. You could, for example, limit the display of a post to only men between 25 and 35 who live in the USA and are interested in gadgets or travel.

Retargeting can be used to show targeted content to customers who have previously interacted with your brand. This is a popular method for e-commerce marketing, but it can also be used to promote content about specific topics.

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing, or SEM, is where you pay to have your content appear in search engine results pages that are specific for certain keywords.

Although SEM is often used to get users to buy a product or sign up for a mailing list to receive information, it can also be used to promote general content.

Content Distribution Networks

The content distribution network has become a very popular form of paid content promotion. They are often found on major news sites as well as all over the internet. This type of promotion will show you a list of related articles at end of each post. It is usually labeled something like “If this was interesting, you might also enjoy …”.”

These networks are known for attracting low-quality content using clickbait titles. However, they can be a great way to reach specific audiences. Be sure to carefully choose which sites you want your content promoted on and clearly label it as sponsored content.

Automated Content Promotion

Marketing automation tools can make content promotion more efficient.

You can save time and help your marketing team identify the best times to post to social media.

Automation platforms can analyze the content performance and engagement across all your channels and will improve their scheduling over time. Some platforms even use artificial intelligence for targeting specific audiences or individuals.

Supercharge Your Content Promotion Strategy

Our Content Builder Service can help you get more visitors to your website by providing quality content that is consistently published. Contact me for a quick consultation and I will send you a PDF copy of my books. Get started today to generate more leads and traffic for your business.

thought leader is one of the most popular terms among the buzzword police.

But What is thought leadership? How do you combine the experience and talent of your team with humility and authenticity that today's audience demands?

Let's get on the same page.

What is Thought Leadership?

I define thought leadership as a form of content marketing in which you tap into the expertise, passion, and talent within your business to answer the most pressing questions of your target audience about a topic.

It is not your pedigree. It doesn't matter where you went to school. Thought leadership means that you give the most relevant and profound answers to your customers' greatest questions in the format your audience prefers.

The Unique Point of View Trap

Content marketing is only as good as the thought leadership. Brands should avoid the “unique view trap”, as I refer to it.

There are many executives who delay pursuing thought leadership because they don't want to be seen as unique. Our content must be unique and differentiated to compete.

Your audience doesn't need your content to be different all the time. They just want the best answers to their questions. Bryan Rhoads, the former Head of Content for Intel, once stated, “You have to win internet every day.”

My advice is to differentiate your point of view when necessary. Your visual design should be different. You can also differentiate your visual design by being an authority or helping your customers with different content every day.

Also, we need to be cautious with thought leadership. Wikipedia calls it “business language” and defines it as information that others recognize as being innovative. It covers topics and trends that have an impact on an industry.

Why should you consider a Thought Leadership Approach?

Deep research is one of the best ways you can establish authority in your field. It is important to share a depth of knowledge with others.

It is also important to identify all the challenges your customers face and determine the best solutions. This is a great opportunity for brands to discuss their products and what they offer.

This approach is not recommended. If you promote yourself too much, your audience will stop listening and you will lose all the trust you have earned.

Who Should Use Thought Leadership Marketing Content?

Both B2B and Consumer companies need thought leadership. B2B Content Marketing is complicated due to the amount of decision-making involved in B2B.

Leadership content that is thought-provoking can be used to help business leaders achieve alignment with their peers. This is often a difficult task.

Thought Leadership is also useful for marketers as it allows us to describe the solution we offer or the purpose of our brand in terms of customers. Even consumer companies can effectively use thought leadership to support their overall mission, and establish authority in their industry. Branding is about being associated with the needs of your customers.

Where does thought leadership come from?

Thought leadership can come from anyone – customers, executives, product managers and designers, as well as salespeople, customer service reps and customers. All of us have knowledge, experience, and a point-of-view.

However, your thought leaders must inspire your customers to take the next steps in their journey.

I advise you not to force it. It is impossible to MAKE people share their knowledge. You can create programs to support and highlight those who have the expertise. Call me. I can help!)

What are the Benefits Of Thought Leadership?

Brand affinity is the first step to Thought leadership. Communicating thought leadership allows you to be part of the conversation early in the consumer journey. Your audience will get to know you.

Thought Leadership is the ultimate outcome of a solid Content Strategy. Marketing is not the only thing that content can do. Leaders are everywhere. You can expose your thought leaders to start the process of becoming social business. Real people talking to real customers and real buyers.

Thinking Leadership Content From Subject Matter Experts

Thought leadership can reduce your sales cycle and give credibility to your brand. Research shows that B2B leaders pay attention to this. Nearly half the C-suite say they evaluate an organization based on its thought leadership, and 81% of them believe that engaging in thought leadership content increases their trust.

Similar results have been achieved by many companies. They have become thought leaders in their field by creating a steady flow of thought leadership content. They can use the content we create with them to build relationships and show their knowledge in RFP responses.

However, it takes serious skills to develop thought leadership. We have worked with subject matter experts and leaders at many companies, including fast-moving startups as well as global corporations. This is how we maximize each interaction with an SME.

Get to Know Your Audience

This applies to all marketing activities. Before you can begin to strategize, write or design for your audience, it is important that you get to know them. It's unlikely that they will read it if it isn't written for them. Before you speak to an SME about thought leadership, it is important to know some details about your audience. This will help you frame your questions and create the content that you ultimately create.

A Primer

Sometimes we come up with ideas and pitch them to clients. Other times our clients throw an idea our direction and suggest someone who might be able to serve as an SME. Understanding the topic is key to having a productive conversation. To help us shape our research and interview, we ask clients to send us some bullet points or sentences about the topic. There is no need to create a formal document. This is a way to get the thoughts of an SME on a specific topic.

Do Your Research

It is crucial to do research before speaking to an expert. Although you might not be able do extensive research on the topic, it is important to understand the basic principles and concepts of your topic.

This means that you should:

• Find authoritative sources online by researching your topic. While content from competitors may provide context, you can still find useful resources for your topic.
• Start to identify industry publications and to begin to own your industry. You can find places where thought leaders are speaking and where your audience is hanging out. This will give you an indication of the opinions of your audience on the topic and any recent developments.
• Scour social media. LinkedIn groups might be suitable for a B2B audience. There may be a lot of conversation on Twitter or Facebook depending on your topic.

Take a look at some great examples of thought leadership to see what you can learn from them.

Ask Many Questions

Ever tried to interview someone but it felt like you were pulling teeth? This is a terrible situation to find yourself in.

You can write as many questions as possible, just in case. You will likely find that you can manage with just a few questions, and then the rest of the conversation flows naturally. Don't rely solely on this. Always be prepared.

Infuse yourself with the habit of asking SMEs questions before you interview. This will help them prepare (if possible) and it will help you avoid procrastinating.

Be Specific

It is crucial to be precise during interviews. This is especially important if you don’t fully understand the topic. It is important to ask specific questions and provide follow-ups in order to understand the content and make it interesting for your audience.

This is not always easy. This may require your SME to be clear about the topic and avoid industry jargon. When I speak to SME's about insurance funding strategies, I ask them for examples from real clients. This allows me to confirm my understanding of the SME's message and is often helpful to include in a piece.

Think on your Feet

Interviews can be difficult. You need to ask the right questions, listen attentively and take notes. It's important to ensure you get the right information from your SME. This may mean rephrasing questions or asking them in a different way. This is what we call “thinking on one's feet”. It involves digging deeper into a topic, or offering creative suggestions quickly. Practice is the best way to improve.

Ask

You might not discover everything even after spending time researching and planning for the interview with an SME. Ask your SME to share any additional information. This question can often add context or provide an opportunity for discussion about other pertinent information that could help shape the message. These open-ended questions often lead to new topics that can be discussed in the future.

The Problem With Thought Leadership Strategies

Thought leadership can be a powerful tool. Though some might argue that the term is now jargon, the true value of thought leadership done well is not to be underestimated. In fact, genuine thought leadership is still a key factor in the success of companies in almost all industries.

Though the future of thought leadership looks bright, there are still many obstacles. Many leaders who create and execute a solid strategy for thought leadership fail to succeed. Many people think that thought leadership means a large following on social media. In reality, though it is an ongoing process of building trust and education with your audience through engaging content of high quality.

However, even the most valuable content needs to be accompanied by a driver and instructions. Many brands make the mistake of believing that any content will help them reach their goals, even if it isn't good enough.

Too many strategies fail to connect all the content assets of a brand in an effective way. Your content assets, including guest posts and blog posts, press mentions as well as whitepapers, awards and speaking engagements, should all work together to help you reach your thought leadership goals.

If there are misaligned strategies, it can lead to a lack of harmony between assets. This leaves thought leaders with little content and little influence.

How to Harness The Power of Your Thought Leadership Strategy

A well-written content will help you grow and reach your audience, establish relationships with them at scale, and increase your credibility as an authority and influencer in your industry. These objectives can only be achieved if you create each piece of content according to a strategy that aligns with your thought leadership goal.

You can build trust and keep it going with the people who are most important to your company and you. You do this by using multiple content assets that are compatible with each other to reach new audiences, engage them in valuable resources, and keep you top of mind so they remember you when a need arises.

These steps will help you create a thought-leadership strategy that achieves your goals and builds your influence.

1. Learn how to build trust.

Everyone has an agenda. Your audience members will be well aware. You can defy their expectations by offering them something for free. You're giving people reason to trust your expertise and sharing it with them without strings attached. You'll gain their trust when you stop promoting yourself and your company. Instead, focus on providing real, tangible value to those who are most important to you.

Focus on education and providing valuable information to your audience about the topics that interest them. If they find that the content is useful or solves a problem for them, they will be more inclined to look out for future content. People are naturally skeptical so don't waste their time explaining why they should believe you. Show them.

2. Make content that will take you on your journey.

Once you have a better understanding of the role content plays in building trust, it is time to develop specific types of content to address specific points within your audience relationship.

First, you need to reach new people. This goal is not as easy as it sounds, no matter how amazing your company's blog. It's a good idea to pitch guest posts and get press mentions in the publications your audience reads.

Engaging, educational content is the best way to keep their attention once you have attracted their attention. These could include blog posts, case studies and videos, downloadable resources or books. All of these help you to strengthen your industry expertise.

Thought leadership is not about how many pieces of content you create, but how you use them over time to keep your audience engaged and your brand top-of-mind. Use your email newsletter campaigns and social media accounts to provide the right content at just the right moment.

3. Be consistent in putting your best foot forward.

Although you've done all the work to create the content, it's not enough. Leadership content is a tool. You must make it work. Consider your most important contacts and relationships and then share the relevant information with those who could benefit most.

Your high-quality content will help you create an online presence that other professionals in your industry can see when they are looking for information. You can reuse your content in creative ways to book speaking engagements, get a place on a podcast or win an industry award nomination.

Thought leadership is not possible without content. However, all content won't guarantee thought leadership. You need a strategy that is specific to your goal. To create your strategy, you must first craft each piece of content with an unwavering goal in mind. Next, arrange them so that they are harmoniously combined, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of their parts.

Business leaders are actively looking for thought leadership content.

Thought leadership, when executed well, is the ultimate expression a B2B company's authority. By highlighting your expertise, it can help to cement your reputation as an advisor. It can help you close deals and generate sales leads.

The good news is that business leaders desire it. Grist surveyed 84% of FTSE 350 executives and found that strong thought leadership content enhances their roles.

It is important for them to keep up with business issues (79%), inform their decision-making (76%), and help them to look ahead (76%).

It is encouraging to see that two-fifths of leaders will contact the company behind thought leadership pieces if it meets their expectations.

Is Your Thought Leadership Content Really Thought-Leading?

These senior executives are passionate about thought leadership but only 31% of the material they receive is actually read. Only 28% of the material actually impacts their decisions.

Hence, why do so many people fall for it?

When asked why they don't like it, the C-Suite stated that their top three complaints were:

• It's too generic (cited 63%)
• It lacks original ideas or insight (58%)
• It promotes the company that made it (53%) rather than meeting their needs.

The Audience Test

Thought leadership allows you to get under your target audience's skin and address their concerns. This requires a collaborative planning process that includes subject matter experts, clients-facing teams, marketing departments, and your target audience.

Original ideas that are strong and impactful – these ideas resonate with prospects, clients, and the media. These audiences can tell you how insightful your thought leadership is. If your idea fails to get traction, you will need to rethink the way you generate them.

Clients

Thought leadership is essential to bringing your clients back to sleep at night. Your content may not be appealing to clients if it is too focused on your company's offerings and not enough on the problems of your clients.

It's not about the problems of today. Clients need to be able to understand your content. 66% of Grist respondents identified keeping up to date with emerging trends as the number one reason they read thought leadership.

Prospects

B2B companies often find that their content doesn't generate conversations with their target customers.

This is often because the report lacks originality. It's the third or fourth article, blog, or report they've read about the same topic. It's not thought leadership; it's thought followingship.

It is your responsibility to find the “white space”: emerging themes that are not being covered elsewhere. You may need to have a different take on already existing themes. What unique insights are you able to bring to the table?

B2B companies, who are often risk-averse, face this problem. This is a common problem for businesses that want to promote content in a safe environment.

The company

You must also make sure that your content is in line with the expertise you provide. It is important to avoid a sales pitch. However, it is not a good idea to produce and research innovative ideas that don't align with your proposition.

You're not able to incorporate expert commentary into your research findings if you do. It will not serve its purpose, no matter how brilliant your idea was.

When choosing content themes, think about the capabilities of your company. Research shows that only 42% of B2B companies involve their client-facing staffs in the content development process.

The media

Journalists can be a great way to gauge the quality of your work. Journalists won't publish anything if they don't have a new perspective or insight and it doesn't help the debate.

Think big. The key is to think big. Start by looking at the headlines that you wish to create and then design research that will get them.

While developing your ideas, you might also be able to share your ideas with a friend journalist. They will they be able to generate the kind of stories that the media wants?

Why does B2B Thought Leadership fail?

First, you must admit to your failures if you want to create compelling, useful, and brand-enhancing content. In other words, you need to understand what didn't work, and why readers are left underwhelmed, or worse, uninterested in the content. Grist's B2B Thought Leadership Survey provides a definitive guide.

Grist surveyed more than 200 executives from FTSE 350 companies with expert assistance from Coleman Parkes. This was to find out when, how, and why they accessed thought leadership material from their advisers. Three reasons stood out when they were asked why thought leadership is not appealing to them. Respondents said they don't like content.

• Too general – not directly relevant for me (63%)
• Lack of original ideas or insight (58%)
• Promotion of the advisor rather than solving my problems (53%)

The best way to alienate a targeted audience is to create generic, unoriginal content that is written from the supplier's point of view, rather than the client's. This should be a part of “content marketing 101”. This is something every marketer needs to know instinctively. However, those who receive thought leadership are clearly experiencing it every day.

These areas are highlighted by the survey which asked respondents to identify the most important qualities in thought leadership. These are the top three responses.

• Fresh thinking: Using new perspectives to view issues and challenges (46%)
• Forward-thinking: Analyzing emerging or important trends (32%)
• Evidence-led: Containing solid data (29%)

In other words, original and specific.

It's also worth looking at the reasons senior executives may be turned off by thought leadership. Material that was:

• Too conceptual without any recommendations (47%)
• Unsubstantiated Featured Opinions (40%)
• 38%) Boring/difficult to read

Although these responses were not as numerous, they are still relevant.

All six responses, and the top three in particular, should be treated as a checklist. Every piece of thought leadership that has been commissioned and submitted to the list should be tested against it. Don't publish if it fails to pass the test.

How To Create Thought Leadership that Drives Results

First, identify the topic closely related to your brand. Is your authority on the topic? You can answer this question by simply doing a Google search.

We often find that brands are competing with more than their direct competitors. Everyone is competing. Everyone who publishes content within your space is competing to be the authority and mind share.

It is also important to identify the most frequently asked questions by your customers. You need to identify them all and then make a list. Then prioritize them. Next, find experts within your company that can answer them.

These questions can be answered in multiple formats and on multiple channels to add value to your audience. Begin with the most important questions and work your way down. Find the best answer to these questions.

Your thought leadership content must be engaging. Although viral cat videos and listicles can be great, you should not dismiss other content types that might interest your audience.

While you need to educate them, we all have our own personalities and can appreciate a bit of humor. Use lots of examples, facts, and quotes. Interviewing customers to create or curate content is a great idea. You can also add your perspective by adding your own perspective.

Your audience needs your help. Do you want to help them? Tell me, what do you think? What does Thought Leadership look like to you?

Do you want to be one of the thought leaders in your company? Let's discuss how we can work together.

My personal branding, constant social audience building, as well as support in creating authentic, ongoing thought leadership content, are all part of my approach. It's something I have done for myself. I have done it for companies that I have worked for. I have helped to activate hundreds or even thousands of thought leaders. It's something I have done for many clients. It's possible for me to do it for your organization.

Get in touch with me today!

Enterprise SEO finally gets the attention it deserves.

The world's largest companies remained largely in the Mad-Men era traditional ad campaigns for a long time. This was possible because of their established brand presences.

But for a time.

It's clear that every brand, no matter its size, must embrace content marketing, and more specifically, an enterprise-level SEO strategy. Google and other search engines have completely democratized brand visibility. It is impossible for large brands to compete with smaller players in the industry who have higher brand recognition and budgets.

These smaller, entrepreneurial businesses are often more successful than larger, established companies. These smaller, more entrepreneurial companies are often better at SEO than large corporations. If your company is large, it's often more difficult to coordinate and faster. Without a concentrated effort, it's easy for your company to fall behind.

This post will discuss why large businesses need to implement a strong enterprise search engine optimization strategy, and the 10 steps they can take.

Quick Take-Aways

• Enterprise SEO is an essential part of managing large-scale content production.

• Two key steps to strong enterprise SEO are content planning and internal best practices.

• The best SEO results are achieved by consistently publishing high-quality content.

• Large companies can use link building and striking distant keywords to improve their enterprise SEO.

• Strong website performance is possible by paying attention to site structure, technical issues, duplicate content, and thin or weak content.

• Regular reporting on key KPI metrics is a great way to build support for enterprise SEO within your organization.

What is enterprise SEO? Why is it so important?

Enterprise SEO refers to the implementation of large-scale, comprehensive strategies for increasing organic search visibility of enterprise-level websites. An enterprise SEO strategy is a broad-based strategy that requires leadership and organizational commitment. It also needs to align with the larger business goals.

It's not a small task, in other words.

It is crucial to the success of large businesses, even those with a substantial market share, because consumer behavior is changing and so are norms about how businesses communicate with customers.

Search engines and the internet have made it much easier for brands to be found online. A company can be no matter how well-respected it may be among its competitors, but without an enterprise SEO strategy, it risks being outranked by smaller, more innovative companies in search engine results pages.

High-quality, consistent content is the heart of any SEO strategy. No enterprise SEO strategy can succeed without strong content. Our 10-step guide to enterprise SEO focuses on great content and then key follow up strategies to keep things fresh, avoid common mistakes, maximize performance, and minimize risk.

Here are 10 steps to make your enterprise SEO strategy a success

Make a content strategy

Enterprise SEO is an important part of any enterprise content strategy. To maximize your SEO opportunities, a good content strategy must include a content plan. This is why we recommend it as the first step.

Although large enterprises might have the resources of smaller companies, they face unique challenges due to their size. Large enterprises face greater challenges when it comes content marketing because they lack the ability to coordinate, be consistent, and act quickly.

Content Marketing Institute recently conducted research that found 74% of enterprise marketers said it was difficult to coordinate efforts across departments and 60% claimed their organizations have too many silos within each department.

Source: Image Source

These issues may not be easily resolved, but it is possible to minimize them by taking the time to develop a solid content plan before you implement any tactics. The internal content planning team should be cross-functional, and have representation from all areas of the company.

Your marketing team should lead the creation of your execution strategies and timeline. However, having a wider range of people involved in the planning phases will not only give you more ideas, but it also creates more buy-in from the entire organization. As you continue to optimize your website and keep your messaging consistent, this buy-in is crucial.

Use best practices in internal SEO

Many people within any company won't be experts in SEO. However, their job responsibilities include website updates, social media, copywriting, and video production. All of these will impact your website's SEO performance.

Every enterprise SEO strategy must prioritize best practices in internal SEO. There are many ways to do this:

• All website owners and updaters should be trained in SEO

• Create an SEO guide that is always available

• Before publication, establish clear processes to ensure content quality control

• Report regularly on the content's performance

Content, content and more content

When it comes to enterprise SEO, there is no way to have too much content. Your brand will be more visible if you create high-quality content.

There are many content types you can create, and you have the option to incorporate them into your overall strategy. You can create content that contributes to your enterprise's SEO performance, including videos, websites, blogs, infographics, podcasts, social media posts and infographics.

Content Marketing Institute reported that enterprise marketers used 10 types of content over the past twelve months. Blog posts (89%) were the most popular, followed by pre-produced videos (81%).

Source: Image Source

Remember: SEO rankings don't emerge overnight. SEO is a long-term process that requires persistence and commitment. You'll make an impact if you produce lots of content and post it frequently.

Prioritize link building

Link building is still a key factor in Google rankings for businesses of all sizes. Link building is a greater opportunity for enterprise-level companies because they have more websites and are generally better known brands. This makes it easier to get other companies linking back to your content.

The easiest way to build internal links is one that can be used as part of enterprise SEO. Look for opportunities to link within your website and blog content. Your most valuable and highest-performing content should be linked often to other areas of your website.

Consistent and valuable content is key to gaining external links. This is especially true for businesses with a strong brand presence. You can also guest blog or partner with industry influencers to increase your external links.

Strive for keywords that are within striking distance

It's even easier than starting over to rank new keywords. You can look at the keywords you rank for only from the first SERP. (which, let’s be real, is almost as bad a not ranking at all). These keywords are sometimes called striking distance keywords. They're the low hanging fruits of enterprise SEO.

You can easily identify them with keyword research tools such as SEMRush. Here's how:

Due to the size and presence of their brands, enterprises are likely to rank for thousands of keywords. It is important to keep your eyes on the keywords with the greatest potential, which are usually those on page two or three. These may require small tweaks and updates to increase their rankings.

Your keywords should be mapped

Keyword mapping can be used to make sure your pages rank for the correct keywords based upon user intent.

If a customer asks a general question but is directed to pages about specific products, the user experience suffers. To find the information they are looking for, they will have to search your website.

Keyword mapping is, basically, the act of intentionally grouping keywords according to theme or user intent, and aligning them with the appropriate pages on your site so that your ranked content has a high potential to convert leads.

Conduct regular content audits

Enterprise SEO, like any other component of your content strategy, is not a one-and done deal. Regular content audits can help you identify which content is performing well, spot potential improvement opportunities, and spot issues early.

Because SEO tactics and ranking factors change, content audits are important. Audits can help you maintain your content and make sure that your content is not lost in search engines.

Because of the amount of content enterprises publish, this practice is even more important. If a broken link is found internally, it can have serious consequences for your website's performance. It is better to take control of your audits than play catch-up after content performance has suffered.

Optimize your website structure

Rankings are largely determined by the indexing of all pages on websites. Google and other search engines crawl the web constantly and index sites to improve SERP accuracy.

Source: Image Source

Search engines generally do not index web pages if the site structure or technical problems are poor.

Your enterprise's IT and web development teams should be onboard with your SEO strategy. They should also work closely with you. Monitoring your website regularly for potential problems, similar to content audits, is a good way to reduce risk and to identify potential issues early to prevent performance issues.

It is possible to integrate it into your existing processes through a partnership between web and IT teams. This will help you understand SEO better and how important it is for your organization.

Reduce duplicate content and remove thin content

Duplicate or thin content is more common on larger websites. Duplicate content can be described as the same content appearing in different places on your website. A thin page is one that has very little content, or doesn't offer high value to your visitors.

This content is inaccurate. However, it confuses search engines about the most important content. You can ensure that your SERPs users will find valuable content by removing unnecessary content.

Measuring goal-driven KPIs

KPI measurement should be a regular part your strategy. This is crucial for a number of reasons. It tells you if your strategy is effective. Your enterprise SEO strategy will be useless if you don't measure results. Regular reporting of key metrics improves accountability and allows you to make adjustments as necessary to optimize your content.

It also shows executives and other employees how SEO can impact website performance and content. This helps to build buy-in within the company and increases the effectiveness of your strategy over the long-term.

Great content can boost your enterprise's SEO strategy

Marketing Insider Group's team of SEO and writers can provide you with optimized content that is ready to publish every week for a whole year. Our Content Builder Services include a comprehensive content audit and a customized editorial plan.

Call us today to set up a consultation and find out how we can help jumpstart your content strategy.

The most efficient way to gauge the growth of your company is through leads. However, they can be difficult to manage.

There are many ways to generate leads, but some methods are more effective than others depending upon the nature of your business.

There are many lead generation strategies. However, the quality of these leads is not always guaranteed. You need to establish a budget.

Although lead sourcing is a great way to stay ahead of your competition, not all businesses have the resources to do so. Quality leads can be costly, making it difficult to find new customers for smaller businesses.

This doesn't have to be true. Free lead generation strategies can be as effective as costly alternatives. Before we get into the details, let's first look at four key elements that every lead generation strategy must have.

The Pillars of Lead Generation

Lead Capture

If you don't provide a way for visitors to your website to register their details, chances are that they won't return. Visitors can now avoid being bombarded with marketing messages thanks to Google's recent core update.

A new strategy is necessary to adapt to changing times. Nicholas Kusmich, Strategic Marketing Consultant and Facebook Ads Specialist suggests two options: 1) Give before you ask, and 2) Each step in the marketing process should be valuable.

This first requires mutually beneficial methods that allow potential leads opt-in to gather data. Lead magnets are one way to achieve this.

Lead Magnets

An optimized process for client acquisition is essential. However, first-time visitors often have trouble leaving their information. This can lead to them not hearing from you again. Lead magnets are the solution.

In return for their contact details, lead magnets provide value to site visitors. These lead magnets can be in the form eBooks, white papers, videos, trials and webinars. You can offer valuable content or tools to them in return for their contact information, which will facilitate future communications.

Landing Page Conversion Techniques

Converting visitors into leads is crucial with landing pages. These pages can be any page that a visitor clicks on after clicking an ad or a call to action button.

Landing pages should not be linked to your main page. They serve two purposes: they capture leads and warm them up for your next customer. Your landing page should educate your visitor enough to convince them to buy.

You should also remember that landing pages must always fulfill the promises you made about your ad source in order to lower bounce rates.

Lead Scoring

All leads are not created equal. They must be prioritized based on their engagement. Lead scoring is a way to prioritize the best leads closest to making a purchase.

This system can be used to quantify the interactions potential customers have with your content. It uses a point system with values that correspond to the type and amount of engagements they've made. Points can be deducted or added based on negative attributes such as downloading an ebook or opting out of your mailing list.

This point-based method of identifying the most hot leads will help you save a lot of time, money, and effort when it comes to reaching your target market and maximizing sales opportunities.

Lead Generation Strategies

Email Marketing

Email marketing is widely considered to be one of the most effective methods to reach your target customer. This is due to its direct approach, and its lowest cost.

Send personalized emails using an opt-in process that uses an appealing call to action strategy. This will not only help you to gain subscribers who love receiving your emails but it also increases your conversion rates.

A free tool for the job: EmailChimp

Blogs

Regular blogs can keep your website current and increase visibility for Google keyword searches.

According to Hubspot Benchmarks, a goal of 11 blogs per month can increase your lead volume up to 4X and increase traffic up to 3X. Include links to other websites as well as a call to action.

A free tool for the job: WordPress

Social Media

Because of its high penetration and large user base, social media is an excellent modern marketing channel. Sharing content and commenting on others' posts can increase your visibility and improve your metrics.

Building relationships with potential customers via valuable social interactions can help you build a loyal following. You can also communicate and share information via dialogue on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media channels.

Free tool to do the job: Hootsuite

Organic Search Marketing

Organic search marketing is undoubtedly one of the best methods to generate long-term, consistent leads. Organic search optimization is a broad-based method that generates a large number of leads for businesses, despite its higher difficulty level and greater scope.

SEO is competitive, and it has been for a while. You can optimize your website pages if you keep up with algorithm changes and best practices.

No cost tools: Google Analytics HTML3_

Online Referrals

Referral marketing programs are a combination of effective tools and techniques that produce a steady flow of leads from existing customers. Reach out to existing customers to ask them to recommend your products and services.

Promos and rewards are the best way to get things moving. These offer incentives to existing customers to refer others.

A free tool to do the job: GetSurf

Reviews

Online testimonials and reviews are becoming the new buzzword. Most consumers check these reviews before purchasing.

Customers will leave reviews if they are happy or satisfied with your product or service. If they are unhappy, they may also leave one.

A free tool for the job: HTML2

Create landing pages with effective calls to action

If you don't provide clear instructions to your visitors, they won't know where to go next. Therefore, make sure that you include a clear call-to-action in all of your marketing materials.

You can make a landing page that is dedicated to specific offers and include a call-to-action for those offers. This combination will be more powerful.

The ButtonOptimizer is a free tool that can be used for your job.

Physical Networking

While social media and digital marketing are great tools for generating leads, personal contact is the best way to build trust with potential customers.

Marketers should be present at networking events. A 10- to 15-minute presentation can be a powerful way to generate leads and even referrals.

A free tool to help you get the job done: Your incredible personality!

White Papers

Our lead capture strategy teaches us that we must give before asking. This means that offering something of value related to your product or services is a great way for visitors to become quality leads. Quality content is more attractive to users and encourages engagement. It also increases your chances of converting leads.

Free tool to do the job: Cava

Video Marketing

Videos are able to generate 66 percent more qualified leads than webinars, and a 54% increase in brand awareness each year. So start creating informative videos, webinars, and live chats to get engagement from your audience.

To direct your leads to the right landing page, make sure you include a clickable call-to-action button in your videos.

A free tool for the job: Biteable

Key Takeaways

It doesn't take much to generate quality leads. You just need to keep these four points in mind when you are creating your lead generation strategies and creating a plan that incorporates all of your free strategies. This will help you to boost your customer acquisition efforts without spending a lot.

What channels can you use to increase traffic to your website as a startup marketer?

My experience shows that most marketers are focused on paid and organic search as well as social media marketing and email marketing. Sound familiar?

It may happen, but that's okay. These are all very important channels. These channels should be included in any marketer's strategy, startup or not.

They're not the only channels that can drive traffic. This is something that many marketers forget.

It pays to think outside of the box.

These are 10 traffic sources that startups should not be overlooking.

1. Reddit

Reddit is a great way to drive thousands to your website if you are able to play the game. This is evident when you consider that the site has received an average of 1.7 billion page views per day for this year, and that subreddits such as Data is Beautiful boast more than 16,000,000 members.

Reddit doesn't like marketers. Reddit hates marketers.

Don't let this discourage you.

Yes, your job might be a bit more difficult because of the Reddit/marketer vendetta. It doesn't make it impossible.

Reddit is best used as a Redditor, not as a marketer.

This means that you can use the site just like any other Redditor. You can share links that are not associated with your brand, and you can comment on existing threads.

Join the conversation.

“If you started promoting your site on Reddit now, it'd be easy to join thousands of Reddit Marketers that are ridiculed on the site. Reddit marketing is all about not marketing.

Self-promotion is not a favorite of Redditors. Redditors aren't big fans of self-promotion.

Your goal is to make normal usage patterns. Reddit users should not be able to distinguish you from them.

It is easiest to not think like a marketer. Participate in subreddits you are interested in. This will allow you to contribute naturally and no one will suspect that you have an ulterior motive.

Once you have mastered the site's navigation, you can start getting involved in subreddits related to your brand or the links you wish to promote.

Remember…

• Before you publish any promotional content, create both a site-wide as well as a subreddit-specific history.
• Reddit will only save the best content and links.
• Do not post links from your domain too often or too often. This can cause spam filters to flag you.

Travis Levell from Project Pivotal has written a post about how to win Reddit's game. He used Reddit to enroll 625 students in his Udemy course.

The key takeaway: Share your top Reddit links to drive traffic, but make sure you don't appear like a marketer by building your profile organically.

2. Email

Email can be used as a traffic-generating tool in many different ways by marketers.

Email Marketing is the obvious choice. As mentioned, it's one the most commonly-used methods of driving traffic. I urge you to create an email marketing campaign if you haven't done so yet. It has been proven time and again that it is the most effective digital channel in terms ROI.

Email signatures and autoresponders have proven to be a great way to leverage email for traffic generation.

Use email signatures to promote your digital activities. It is natural and discreet. Once you have created your signature, you will be completely self-sufficient.

Depending on what project or projects I am working on, I tend to update mine quite often.

Here's how it looks right now:

Here's an example:

Autoresponders are email that fire off an automatic reply to any person who emails them. When you travel, do you send an “out of office message”? You've then used an autoresponder.

Autoresponders can be a handy tool for those times when you are too busy or distracted to respond immediately. Autoresponders help us manage expectations by telling people that they can expect delays in receiving a reply. This allows us to continue our work or whatever else we are doing without interruptions.

They are also great for marketing and driving traffic to your site.

They do both.

I use an autoresponder to let people know that I am currently focused on ContentMarketer.io.

It fulfills both of these purposes. It meets the expectations of everyone who emails me and drives traffic to ContentMarketer.io.

To reply to subscribers to my newsletter, I use an autoresponder. This is to increase traffic to my top blog posts.

The key takeaway:Email Marketing is a powerful platform for traffic generation. However, you can make it even more effective by using your signature and an Autoresponder.

3. The Viral Loop Referral

A viral loop referral, as you probably guessed by the name is a type referral scheme.

Referral scheme with a very unique twist.

It is designed to create a pyramid effect.

This means that a company can start with just one customer and then refer three more customers to the company. Each customer will soon have 13 customers. The company will quickly have …. customers if the cycle continues. Many customers.

Dropbox is the most well-known viral loop referral program.

Dropbox is often cited by many as an example of successful referral marketing.

Dropbox was not original in its referral program, just as Shakespeare copied his predecessors.

They did it so well, that it would be what all other referral programmes aspire to.” – Visakan Veerasamy (Referral Candy)

Dropbox, a cloud storage provider, is the answer to your nine-year-old problem of living in darkness. Although it's an excellent service with limited storage space, it is still a great option.

You get 2GB space when you create your first Dropbox account. You have two choices if you need more space.

1. Upgrade your account by paying
2. Refer new users

For each successful referral, users who choose option 2 receive an additional 500MB of space. They can continue referring people until they have 16GB more space. They must pay after that.

This means that users must refer 32new customers to obtain the full 16GB space.

Imagine if all 32 of these users were referred by each one.

This adds up to a lot of users.

Of course they won't. This is just unrealistic. However, if Dropbox users refer just two people (bearing mind that many will refer more), the viral loop referral program will start to pay off.

It did, of course. Dropbox went from 100,000 users in to 4,000,000 in only 15 months .

The key takeaway: Maximize the impact of referrals by offering a program that rewards customers for each referral.

4. Comment on Facebook

Facebook ads and Facebook business pages are two of the most common ways that you think about Facebook marketing.

That's fine. Both of these are great tools for businesses, and I encourage their use.

These are not the only ways to capitalize on Facebook.

Commenting on posts from other pages can bring significant traffic to your page and, in turn, your website.

It is important to search for pages that are relevant to your industry and to take action quickly. It is important to be the first to comment on a new article.

Your comment must add value.

You want to get as many people to like your comment as you can. If you get enough likes, your comment will be voted “top comment.”

It will stay at the top of your post when that happens. If you choose the right Facebook page, thousands or even thousands could view it.

This post is from The New York Times.

The top post has 444 likes, and has triggered a dialogue with its author. There have been 63 comments.

Why? Because comments add value to the conversation. It also mirrors popular opinion which is very important in this context. You want to attract positive attention and not wind people down.

You may find similar results depending on which page or post you are looking at.

The Onion is a spoof news site. The top comments almost always include jokes that are a play on the original post's content.

Siimon Sander, SVTMedia, has a great post about how to use Facebook comments to drive traffic and engagement to your website and page.

The key takeaway: Drive traffic by commenting on posts on Facebook pages. Remember to act quickly – the most popular comments are the first to appear.

5. Quora

Quora is, in its simplest form, a question-and-answer site. Users post questions and other users respond with answers.

It works in a similar way to Reddit. You'll get the best out of it if your take the time to contribute and act in the same manner as a real user.

You have been warned.

You must sign up for the site to view posts. This is not like Reddit. Quora isn't as anti-marketer-friendly as Reddit.

You shouldn’t be ridiculed if you include a link for additional content (” should not” is the key word here, I won’t be held responsible for any other outcomes! ).

You'll get the best out of Quora, just like other “community-based” traffic sources, if you take the time and write useful, detailed posts.

This happens because people who like your post may “upvote it”. You might get comments. If you get enough engagement from your post, it will be “stuck” at the top or near the top in the thread.

This is pretty amazing, but it gets even better.

Contrary to other sources of traffic we have discussed here – Facebook comments especially – Quora threads and your answers tend to stay around.

Your answer could be found if someone searches for the question you answered, whether it is a month, six months or two years later. If someone gets new answers, old threads may resurface.

This post is an example. It was on the Quora front page, but the second answer is from 2012.

Start exploring Quora to get an idea of what a “great answer” on Quora is like. You can also find an excellent, but outdated, Q&A section that lists some of the most popular answers on Quora.

The key takeaway: Use Quora in a similar way to Reddit. You can copy other users' habits and drop a link to your site when they are discussing a topic that interests you.

6. Guest posts

Some people are looking for links when they write guest posts. It's so much more to me.

First and foremost, guest posts help me to build my brand. They are also a great way to drive relevant, free traffic to my websites.

It is so effective that guest posts are the main source for traffic to two of my tools, Quuu.co and Narrow.io.

Guest posting isn’t as easy as sending out pitches to as many sites as possible in the hope that one of them will take notice. You might get some ‘yeses' this way. Yeah, probably. You're not trying to write for every site.

You need to have standards if you want traffic. Write for websites that have a large audience. Huge, ideally. However, that audience must be relevant.

It doesn't matter how many unique visitors a site receives each day. If none of these visitors are from your target market, it won't matter what you do. Referral traffic is likely to be very low. Any traffic that you get won't matter.

This logic also applies to sites that are highly relevant but have small audiences. Although you might be a good fit, you can't expect the site to get any traffic if it doesn't have any visitors.

You should choose sites that are based on the size of their readership and how closely they relate to your niche. Next, win them over.

You may find guidelines on how to become a guest blogger at some sites. These guidelines will help you succeed.

However, many of the top sites don't make it clear that they are open to guest posting. They don't, as a rule. Few sites will make an exception for a post from the right person.

You have to ask.

Choose the right person to reach out to. If the blog is personal, it will be owned by that person. You'll need to locate the editor for the section you wish to contribute to if it's a large site.

This can help you build relationships before you tackle the topic of guest blogging. Consider commenting on the blog posts of your contacts or approaching them via social media.

My experience has shown that the most important factor in your success is how you approach the topic and whether you have the skills to write a great post.

Bloggers and site owners want interesting, original topics. Or, at the very least, a unique perspective on an otherwise familiar topic. Relevance to the topic they cover is also important.

They are also looking for people who can write.

You shouldn't send the exact same post idea to every site. It is important to show that the post is for them. You should take the time to research potential topics in order to show genuine interest and knowledge about their field of expertise.

Also, don't forget about providing links to examples of your writing.

Always proofread all emails. Carefully. A poorly-written outreach email will get you a “no” from a firm faster than any other.

The key takeaway: Guest postings can drive tons of traffic back to your website, but only if your site has a large audience that is relevant to your niche.

7. Concours

Giveaways can bring in a lot of traffic quickly to your website. You can also waste a lot of money by giving away giveaways.

It all depends on what type of competition you hold and the prize that you give away.

If traffic is all you care about, give away an iPhone or a vacation. You will get tons of visitors, I swear. You'll get so much traffic, your servers will likely crash and your website will go down.

That would be a shame, right?

It would.

However, it is not as bad as spending all that money on a prize which drove a lot of server-breaking traffic.

You must be selective about what prize you give away if you want to hold a successful competition. You should choose something that only you target audience would like.

This restricts the number of people who may be interested in what you do.

Also, be aware of the type competition you are running.

Running your competition with another publication or site is a great way to increase visibility. It promotes your competition to their audience which is fantastic.

However, this also means that contestants will not be able enter directly on the site.

Goodbye, potential traffic.

There's an easy way around it: ask visitors to answer questions that require them to visit your site.

Do not ask simple questions such as “When was our company established?”. You can bet that the answer will eventually find its way to you on the internet. This will result in few visitors to your site.

Say goodbye to potential traffic.

Ask a question, or better yet, set a task to make visiting your site and exploring it unavoidable.

A company selling Ecommerce might ask customers to make a wishlist of products they would purchase if they had $500.

This would allow me to ask participants to read a particular post and then describe their response.

I could ask them, for example, to read “Growth Isn’t Everything: 7 Lesons Learned From 5 Failed Businesses”, pick one case study and then describe what they would do differently.

It is important to avoid multiple-choice answers and competition questions. Your website should be a source of inspiration for entrants.

The key takeaway: Make competitions more memorable by selecting a prize that is closely related to your brand and the things you do. Also, avoid making entry difficult. You can ask entrants to answer a question or complete a task that requires them to visit your site.

8. Automated Voicemails

A voicemail system that is automated works in the same way as a cold email. You leave a message on the recipient’s phone instead of sending an email.

This practice is most often used by student loan service providers, medical debt collectors, and financial institutions. It can also be used for countless other purposes.

It could be used to:

• Recognize customers for purchasing
• Inform current customers about a product that might interest them
• Notify customers about an event, or an appointment
• Send out a series more outreach emails to follow up

Regardless of what you are using automated voicemails to accomplish, it is important that you leave the right message and tone of voice in order to get results. You should sound friendly and genuine, not robotic or corporate.

Try to imagine yourself as your customer: What would you say?

Keep in mind the purpose of voicemail: To get your recipient to visit your site. It's crucial to clearly provide your web address and to give the recipient a reason to visit it.

The key takeaway: Automated Marketing Strategies (including Voicemail) can be very successful – so long as they don't soundautomated.

9. Videos

Videos can do much more than just help you build your YouTube audience. If done correctly, videos can be used to lure people away from YouTube or any other video-sharing site and onto your website.

• Refer traffic can be generated by videos that answer questions common to your industry.

• You can convert visitors to your website by providing detailed product reviews and demonstrations.

• Interview with an authority in your industry. You'll not only get the chance to meet their audience but also have the opportunity to convince them to visit your website.

Video is a great way to explain complex processes to customers if you offer a service or SaaS (software-as-a-service). For maximum effectiveness, you might consider using animated videos or whiteboards.” -Bubba Page for Inc.

You must make it easy for visitors to visit your site in order to maximize referral traffic.

Your web address can be read aloud in the video. You should also include a link in the description.

You can even add annotations directly to the videos.

YouTube isn’t the only site that can convert videos to web traffic. Metacafe, DailyMotion and Vimeo are all options. Periscope, a live-streaming service, was a great option for me.

The key takeaway: Video marketing is a great way to get people to your website, but you must make it easy and appealing to them.

10. Real Life

Strangely, many of the best ways to drive online traffic are offline.

Flyering is one example. Flyering is a type of marketing that has been around long before the internet, but it can be easily adapted to modern marketing.

Make your web address an integral part of your flyers. Give people a reason for them to visit it online. You can track the traffic generated by your flyers by adding a unique code to that URL.

However, for me, speaking with people is the best way to drive web traffic in real-life.

In 2013, I began speaking at conferences regularly. In my talks, I mention my website and include the URL in slides. In exchange for an email address, I often end my talks with a freebie.

This usually results in between 100 and 150 new addresses from great connections (these are people on whom I have made an impact, hopefully).

Google Trends shows the impact of this. Every time I speak at conferences, my name is searched more often.

Business cards are also important. Although they have fallen out of style in recent years, business cards are still extremely valuable. A business card can be a great way to keep in touch with someone if you have a good conversation.

The key takeaway: Don’t be afraid to drive traffic online, even offline. Start talking to people. Just make sure you remember who you are and where you can be found online (and why).

Are there any other traffic sources that are underutilized? It would be great if you could leave a comment below about something that isn't mentioned.

Sujan Patel's first post, Gain Unfair Advantage with 10 Underutilized Traffic Sources For Startups appeared on Sujan Patel.

Email is still one of the best ways to generate leads. Email is one of the most difficult content marketing channels to master. Don't send the wrong headline, or don't format it correctly and you will be hit with an opt-out request. An opt-out request is sent to you.

Your email should not be forgotten. Keep them in your inbox by sending creative, personal and engaging emails.

The Key Takeaways:

• Email automation is your friend. Create a series to send new subscribers emails to keep your company in their minds.
• Do not get lost in the inbox of potential leads – make your email stand out and show your personality.
• In your body text and, most importantly, in your call for action, create urgency.
• Write an email that would like to read at the end of each day.

Email automation is an important tactic for email marketing. It is essential to send regular emails to existing and new subscribers to keep your company in their minds.

What is an automated email marketing campaign? Before we share our top lead generation email tips and techniques, let's look at the basics.

Email Automation Basics

You get a Google search term that leads to your website. They find your blog to be very interesting and want to learn more about you. They sign up to your email newsletter, and now it's time for a performance.

The person may have signed up for many reasons. No matter their trigger, they are interested in what you do.

Step 1: Send a welcome email. Let them know a little about you, your company, and what you love. You can also set expectations for the future.

There are a few options after the welcome email. You might highlight your most popular products, such as a book you have written, or a video explaining your greatest accomplishments. There are many options.

Remember that potential leads won't be interested in your service unless they are able to see how it can benefit them. You should address their problems and priorities in your email series. Your company's products and services should be able to help real people (who happen to be like them).

Your email automation series should be unique. This is your chance to sell yourself and your services.

How can you make your email content work for you? Although you are an expert in your field, you may need help to make lead generation emails work. You're in the right spot!

These are six of our top tips for writing emails that generate leads from B2B.

1. Do not be a robot

Personalize your emails. Personalize your emails with personality, sass and humor. Automated emails can sound robotic or generic. Do better.

Gifs are one of our favourite methods! An image is worth 1,000 words, right? Send an email you want people to read, and watch your click-through rate soar.

2. Make it urgent

You must make your readers feel urgent in order to get them to take action. After you've let your readers know you are sensitive to their situation and have the resources they require, you need to make it clear that they must act now.

There are many ways to do this. This is done by Amazon and other ecommerce retailers. Do you want next-day delivery or free shipping? Order within the next 20 minutes to get free shipping or next-day delivery

You can also emphasize the limitations of your offer in B2B. You might only have a few slots left for your webinar, or only accept a handful more clients each month. You should let your readers know that you are highly sought after and they don't want to miss out.

It is also important to use the right vocabulary to convey urgency. You can communicate directly with your reader by using words such as now, limited time only and hurry.

This sentiment applies to your call for action, if it is not more important.

3. Use a Call to Action (CTA).

Your CTA should be clear, concise, and compelling in its design. This will encourage the reader to take the desired action. Your choice of vocabulary is important here.

These are the 4 CTAs that have been proven to work.

• Get a free trial
• Get the Ebook Now
• Book Demo
• Find out More

They all share the same action words, but there are other factors that can help increase their effectiveness. Design (bold font, bold text, color text etc. It is also important to consider the placement and optimization.

The CTA should be placed somewhere after the pitch. Repeat it at the end. Your reader will have two chances to click. To maximize the effect of your design, make it attractive.

4. Keep it simple

Emails should be between 50 and 200 words. Your time is valuable, as well as your readers'.

This length of email received a 50% response rate. Keep in mind that your email is not the only one reaching your reader's inbox right now.

This applies to your email subject. Mailchimp, a leading email automation service, suggests keeping your subject line to less than 9 words or 60 characters.

Image Source

5. Make it easily readable

Use descriptive words that create a visual effect in your emails to keep them engaging and readable. To make your email more readable, keep your paragraphs brief and make use of the “white space”.

It takes a lot of trial-and-error to create emails that generate business leads. You will need to do a lot more A/B testing, and keep an eye on your analytics. But don't be discouraged.

You can always improve your pitch, approach, and overall design. Try to imagine yourself as the reader and consider what message would motivate you to take the next steps.

Remember, information that helps your potential customers with their problems is key to grabbing their attention and keeping them there. Get help with your content strategy by checking out our weekly content marketing service, or scheduling a consultation for a free.