Your business doesn’t operate in a vacuum.

There are countless outside factors that influence whether or not you’ll turn a profit. Your competition plays a huge role in the success of your business.

That’s why it’s so important for you to take the proper steps to gain a competitive edge on other brands in your industry. But, as I’m sure you’ve quickly realized, this is much easier said than done.

The ease of access to the Internet has amplified your competition at an exponential rate.

You’re no longer just competing with a few other local or regional businesses. You’ve got to worry about national and global brands as well.

What makes your company unique? What differentiating factors help you stand out? Why would a customer buy from you over your competitors?

These questions are difficult to answer, especially if you aren’t constantly researching the competition. But with so many other brands to keep an eye on, this can seem like a daunting task.

Not to worry. There are plenty of online tools to help you keep tabs on your competitors. I’ve narrowed down this list to the top 10 I found to be the most helpful.

If you try these out, it will be much easier for you to brand and market your business, taking into account what your competitors are doing.  [click to continue…]

Social media is evolving. Brands need to do more today than just have active profiles on different marketing channels.

Successful businesses are increasing their presence by leveraging relationships with social influencers to create brand awareness.

We’re seeing an increase in the use of micro influencers, which made my list of the top marketing trends to look for in 2018. So for those of you who haven’t implemented this strategy yet, it’s time to get your feet wet.

You may be surprised to hear how big of an impact influencer marketing campaigns can have on your company. In fact, 30% of people say they are more likely to buy a product if a non-celebrity influencer recommends it to them.

The results will vary by generation.

For example, if you are marketing to Generation Z, you’ll need to know that 70% of this group say they can relate to YouTube creators more than to traditional celebrities.

This means you don’t have to find pop culture icons like Kanye West or Shaquille O’Neal to promote your brand. It’s great news because this will obviously be more cost-effective for your marketing budget.

But since influencer marketing at this scale is relatively new for most businesses, it can feel as if you’re entering uncharted waters.

Where do you find social influencers? How much should they be paid? Do they have enough followers to have an impact on your business?

Fortunately, there are online platforms to help you get connected with social influencers. I’ve narrowed down the top 10 platforms for managing these relationships.

Review my list to see which ones fit the needs of your brand before you decide.  [click to continue…]

Content marketing is an absolute necessity for brand survival in 2018.

You’re on the right track if you are currently creating and distributing content. But for those of you not seeing results from these marketing campaigns, it can be frustrating.

If you’re putting so much time and effort into this, why aren’t you seeing results? What’s the issue?

I see this problem a lot when I’m consulting businesses. They don’t have a clearly defined content strategy. If this sounds like you, it’s important you read this post carefully.

It’s great that you are continuing to publish new content. But this isn’t effective if your sales aren’t increasing.

Sure, content marketing can be used for many different things. Primarily, businesses use content marketing to:

• generate leads
• acquire new customers
• increase brand awareness
• establish credibility
• engage with an audience

All of these are great and critical for success. However, you need to learn how to create content that directly drives sales.

That’s why you got into business in the first place, right? You wanted to make money. I can sum up one of the best ways to create content that drives sales in just one word.

Relevancy.

If your content isn’t relevant, you won’t see high conversions. It’s that simple. Follow this guide to find out how to drive sales with highly relevant content. Here’s what you need to know.  [click to continue…]

People love watching videos. That’s why 87% of marketers use video content to engage with their audiences on the Internet.

More than half of marketing experts across the globe say they get the highest ROI from their video promotions.

When it comes to social media, videos generate 1,200% more shares than both text and pictures combined.

Another reason why videos are great is because it’s easier for viewers to comprehend your message while watching videos. In fact, your audience will retain 95% of information they consumed through a video as opposed to just 10% of information they consumed through reading text.

It’s no secret that video content has been dominating the latest trends.

But with so many videos out there flooding the market, you need to make sure your video promotions can stand out from the crowd.

The majority of consumers prefer watching video content on YouTube and television:

These are the platforms you should prioritize when creating a new video promotion.

Don’t get me wrong, just because videos are a great way to market your brand doesn’t mean you should completely abandon your other marketing strategies.

You should still continue blogging, sending emails to your subscribers, and staying active on social media. Another reason why video promotions are so awesome is because you can incorporate them into all these other distribution channels as well.

It’s easy to add videos to your blog, embed them into your emails, and share them on social media.

Here’s something else to keep in mind. Yes, consumers love videos. But that doesn’t mean that everything you publish will automatically be a huge success.

You’ve got to learn how to engage with your audience through promotional videos, which is why I created this guide. Keep these tips in mind if you want to continue running successful video promos.  [click to continue…]

Your content is great. You’ve been applying new strategies and learning how to master the art of storytelling to make your content more engaging.

But now what? This is useless if you’re unable to distribute it to your audience.

I see this problem all the time when I’m consulting businesses. They have excellent writers who know how to write great blog posts, but nobody is reading their work.

The key here is learning how to distribute your content so it can reach the widest audience possible.

If you’re using only one distribution channel, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

Some of you may be thinking, “If it’s on my website, someone will eventually see it.”

That’s not true. You can’t rely on your website alone for content distribution. That’s because people consume information in a wide variety of ways.

For example, if you have a B2B company, you should be aware that majority of your content is being viewed on desktop computers.

B2C companies, on the other hand, need to put more emphasis on optimizing their mobile websites for Google searches.

But effective content distribution goes way beyond the types of devices your audience is using. Using multiple methods of distribution gives more people a chance to see your content.

Use this guide as a reference for how to successfully deliver content to your target audience. Here’s what you need to know.  [click to continue…]