Emotion and Empathy: The Storytelling Keys to Content Marketing

People, of course, love storytelling. It holds them their interest and makes learning easier and more intuitive. 

How does this relate to marketing. Well, storytelling is the very essence of content marketing. You are telling the story of your brand and what it can do for customers. 

Strategic Storytelling

Storytelling helps content marketers:

• Sell or market
• Share customer successes
• Create a sense of urgency
• Educate, coach, and mentor
• Entertain and amuse
• Energize, inspire, and spur to action

What matters in storytelling and marketing is how you make people feel and what impression you leave them with. It can shape their image of your brand in people's minds and have your audience associate it with strong emotions that provoke them to action. 

Great storytelling relies upon emotion. It can make something that should be dull sing or make what sounds trivial seem epic and important. Empathy is the key. We all connect and feel for each other. By using content marketing to forge an emotional bond with your customers, you become more likely to earn their brand loyalty.

Marketing is a conversation, and conversations almost always include storytelling. Look at it strategically. 

• What emotions are you looking to stir with your content?
• Are you looking to educate your audience?
• Inspire or energize them?
• Are you informing them about the latest industry trends or software updates?

Storytelling can help with all of that. 

Put together a strategy of what you want to achieve and how your content marketing can accomplish that.

How do you know how well you are doing?

Some customers might give you direct feedback, but you can always rely on your metrics and data to see if you have properly gauged what works with your customers.

Important Things to Remember about Storytelling

When it comes to content marketing and storytelling, it does not always have to come down to just written content. You have a variety of mediums to use and see which better suits your audience. You might try videos, podcasts, songs, demos, and more. And, written content can come in many forms: 

• Emails
• Landing pages
• Ebooks
• White papers
• Text messages
• Social media posts
• Newsletters
• Scripts
• And more

Do not limit your imagination and thinking. Let your metrics, instincts, and strategy guide you toward the content forms that will work best for your audience and business needs.

As such, don't think that you need to be doing B2C to harness the power of emotion and it isn't right for B2B. Sometimes, you might be dealing with a mix of B2C and B2B, especially with the line between them blurring all the time. Besides, there is room for emotion in B2B, even if you are only pointing out how your brand can help make someone's life and job easier and aid them in achieving success. Ambition, having goals, wanting to do better at your endeavors, and relieving stress are all emotional things. Feel free to tell a story about them. 

Also of importance, remember that you can have the best content in the world, but it will mean nothing if its presentation is bad. So, your content, regardless of its form, needs to be easy to read, understand, listen to, see, and engage with.

What Goes into Every Story

Empathy makes us care for others and the people in stories. We understand and sympathize with them. We see ourselves in them. That allows emotions to stir us up and makes us understand the lesson or message you want to impart and causes us to take the action you wish us to.

Thus, empathy and emotion must go into every story. They make good stories great and more memorable, and make content marketing more effective and powerful.

                                                     

Find out more about the usefulness of storytelling and emotion in content creation and how they create a softer sell with “The Art of the Soft Sell in Content Creation and Inbound Marketing.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

from Oracle Blogs | Oracle Marketing Cloud http://bit.ly/2QCwIaQ
via IFTTT

What It Takes to Launch the Next Great Blog, Podcast, or Video Channel

This week, we had some resources for any new, ambitious content-based project you want to get off the ground. (Or...

Continue Reading

The post What It Takes to Launch the Next Great Blog, Podcast, or Video Channel appeared first on Copyblogger.

from Copyblogger http://bit.ly/2YQqmaC
via IFTTT

How to Build Relationships with Online Influencers (without the Awkward)

There’s one not-so-secret ingredient that makes SEO work. It also makes social sharing work. Referrals, too. I won’t be mysterious...

Continue Reading

The post How to Build Relationships with Online Influencers (without the Awkward) appeared first on Copyblogger.

from Copyblogger http://bit.ly/2HZwFSc
via IFTTT

How to Perform a Thorough SEO Audit in Less Than 3 Minutes

They say there are over 200 ranking factors in Google’s algorithm.

But are you going to take the time to optimize your site for each and every single one of them?

Well, you should… but you probably won’t.

See, SEO has changed… it used to be that you could do a handful of things and rank well. Sadly, those days are gone.

Now you have to do every little thing and do it well to dominate Google.

So, I decided to make your job easier and release yet another new feature in Ubersuggest that audits your website for you in less than 3 minutes.

It’s called SEO Analyzer.

Introducing SEO Analyzer

If you want to find out what’s wrong with your website, you won’t have to do it manually anymore.

All you have to do is head over to the SEO Analyzer and put in your URL.

How SEO Analyzer works

Once you put in your URL, you’ll be taken to a report that looks something like this:

Once the report loads (it typically takes 3 minutes or less), you’ll see an overview like the image above.

The overview is broken down into 3 main sections.

Overview

The first section shows you your on-page SEO score (the higher the better), your estimated search traffic, the number of keywords the domain ranks for, and how many backlinks the site has.

You’ll also see a message from me that breaks down how many pages were crawled and any SEO errors that were found.

When you click on any of those 4 boxes, it will take you to a more in-depth report.

Clicking on the on-page score takes you to a page that lists out your SEO errors. It looks something like this:

Clicking on the organic traffic takes you to a report that shows you how well your site is performing.

Clicking on the keywords box shows you all of the keywords your website ranks for organically.

And clicking on the backlinks box shows you all of the sites linking to that domain.

Site health

This is my favorite section of the site audit report. This is where you can really dig around and boost your rankings

You can click on any of the four site health boxes and drill down into more reports.

This is important because you’ll want to first focus on clearing up any critical errors. From there, you’ll want to fix any warnings and then, finally, consider doing any of the given recommendations.

The health check box gives you an overview of the healthy pages and the ones that have issues or are broken or blocked or even redirected. By clicking on this box you’ll get taken to a report that lists all your SEO issues in detail.

From there you can click on any of those issues and you’ll be taken to the exact pages that contain any SEO errors and what they are exactly. An example of this is pages with too long of a title tag.

If you aren’t sure on how to fix any of the issues, just click on “what is this and how do I fix it?” and a box like this will appear:

And if you click on the critical errors, warnings or recommendations boxes, you’ll see reports just like the ones above. They will be broken down by how important they are.

That way you’ll know which fixes have the greatest SEO impact and how hard they are to implement.

You should first focus on the ones that have the highest SEO impact and are the easiest to implement. And I took the liberty to prioritize the table for you, so all you have to do is start at the top and work your way down to the bottom.

Site speed

Speed is important. Not only do faster load times help boost conversion rates, but they also help boost your search rankings.

There are two sections to the site speed. The section on the left breaks down your desktop load time and the section on the right breaks down your mobile load time.

Site speed varies drastically by a person’s connection and computer, but the charts give you a rough range of how fast or slow your site loads.

Your goal should be to have your site load in 3 seconds or less for both mobile and desktop.

The report even breaks down which areas are slowing down your site speed.

For example, you could have an issue with “First CPU Idle”… and if you aren’t sure what that means, just hover over the question mark and the tool will tell you.

Top SEO Issues

I know I said the report has 3 main sections, but the 4th section is just repeating the site health section.

You’ll see the 3 most important fixes that you should make to your site if you want higher rankings.

If you don’t have the time to fix everything, start off by fixing the 3 issues listed here. Those will give you the biggest bang for your buck.

Conclusion

So, what do you think about the SEO Analyzer report? Do you think it was a good addition to Ubersuggest?

I know I haven’t talked about the SEO Analyzer report much, but we’ve been working on it for 4 months now.

For now, the tool crawls the first 100 pages on your website, and eventually, our goal is to increase the limit to 500 or even 1,000. Technically we can do that fairly easily, but for the launch, I’ve capped it at 100 due to the sheer number of users I have and server load.

Give the SEO Analyzer a try and let me know what you think.

The post How to Perform a Thorough SEO Audit in Less Than 3 Minutes appeared first on Neil Patel.

from Blog – Neil Patel http://bit.ly/2XaXFo9
via IFTTT

Why It’s Important to Start Podcasting for Your Business or Personal Brand

Podcasting has emerged as one of the most popular ways for brands to engage with their customers on a regular basis. While most people think of huge media companies – such as the New York Times or NPR – when it comes to podcasting, the reality is that any business or brand can very easily set up a podcast and make it possible for fans and consumers to download this content to their smartphones. With that in mind, here are four great reasons why it’s important to start podcasting for your business or personal brand.

#1: Reach Fans, Followers, and Potential Customers 24/7

What makes podcasting so fundamentally different from other forms of digital content is that most people consume this content when they are away from their computers. Once you’ve downloaded a podcast to your smartphone, you can listen to it as you work out, as you commute to work in the morning, or as you’re walking around town doing errands. That gives brands a great way to engage with customers on a 24/7 basis.

#2: Develop Your Overall Brand Personality

In many ways, podcasts are just like talk radio back in the old days. For that reason, the most popular podcasts are almost always headed up by a popular personality. So, if your business or personal brand is thinking of getting into the podcast game, you’ll definitely want to find one or more people within your company who can help to develop your overall brand personality.

The good news is that this personality doesn’t necessarily have to be a mega celebrity or top industry influencer. For example, Barstool Sports now has more podcast listeners than ESPN, thanks in large part to its unique (and often irreverent) approach to sports. In January 2019, the company had a cumulative reach of 7.9 million unique listeners, up from 4.3 million a year ago. Moreover, the company’s podcasts were downloaded 37.9 million times in January 2019, up from 19.9 million a year ago.

#3: Bring in Advertising Dollars

Just like you can monetize your YouTube video content, you can also monetize your podcast content. Podcast content is free, so the way that you monetize it is with ads. In 2018, total podcast revenue was $514.5 million. At Barstool Sports, for example, 50% of the company’s advertising revenue comes from podcasting. In 2018, the company brought in $15 million in podcasting revenue from 25 different shows.

#4: Go Deep in Different Verticals

While the most popular podcasts are general interest shows designed to appeal to large audiences, the reality is that the ease and convenience of creating podcast content makes it possible to go very deep in very specific niches or verticals. Barstool Sports, for example, has 25 different shows, while The Ringer has 28 shows and Vox Media has 75 shows.

Final Thoughts

If done right, podcasting can be more than a corporate vanity project – it can be a way to reach new customers; develop your overall brand personality, bring in new advertising revenue; and super-serve your best customers by going very deep in content areas that matter the most to them.

                                                                                                         

Podcasts are only one touchpoint in which you can engage customers. What other channels and platforms might you utilize? How do you intertwine them into one marketing strategy? Learn more about “Cross-Channel Fundamentals” in order to keep up with customers no matter what channel or platform they prefer.

 

 

from Oracle Blogs | Oracle Marketing Cloud http://bit.ly/2WuaywG
via IFTTT

10 examples of highly effective welcome emails

One of the most important tools in your email marketing toolbox is an automated welcome email. When new contacts subscribe to your list, you want to welcome them to the group with an inviting email.

What is a welcome email?

A welcome email is the first friendly exchange between your business and a new subscriber. It sets the tone for future communications and encourages new members to engage with your business.

Benefits of welcome emails

The first message you send to a new subscriber is also the first step to forming a relationship. When that initial interaction is a positive one, subscribers will be more receptive to future emails. In fact, subscribers who read welcome emails will read 40 percent more content from the sender in the next 180 days.

A welcome message is also an excellent opportunity to make a sale. Research has shown that welcome emails have higher open rates and click-through rates than standard marketing emails.

How to write welcome emails — with 10 great examples

To help you create an effective welcome email, we’ve highlighted 10 effective examples. For each example, we’ll point out elements that will help you create your own killer welcome email.

1. Write a welcoming note

Welcome emails should begin with a warm introduction that reflects your company’s personality.

 

The David’s Bridal email above features a great introductory message that thanks new subscribers for making the company part of their wedding day. You can write something straightforward and formal like, “Welcome to our email list,” or “Thanks for signing up to get our emails.” Online fashion company ASOS starts their message with a casual “Oh, hey girl! Welcome to ASOS. It’s great to meet you!” Keep in mind, there’s no right or wrong way to welcome new guests; just make sure it’s conversational and fits your company’s voice.

2. Get to know your customers

Consumers are more likely to respond to emails that contain offers and content that is relevant to them. You can use this first message to learn more about your customers, so you can tailor future emails to suit their needs.

In this email from The Container Store, new subscribers are offered a 15 percent discount for filling out a customer profile.

3. Reinforce the perks of your email list

It’s always a good idea to reinforce a subscriber’s decision to sign up for your emails. One easy way to do that is to offer a quick “perks list,” which tells subscribers why joining your email list was a great idea. World Wildlife Fund does a great job of explaining the benefits of signing up for their emails, displaying the sign-up perks in digestible bullet points.

4. Offer a deal

By offering a discount or some sort of gift, you create goodwill between your business and your new subscribers. It may even entice them to make a purchase. Camp Collection offers a 15 percent discount off of your first purchase as a welcome gift. It’s a small incentive that can benefit both the company and the new customer.

5. Create a clear call to action

Every welcome email should have a clear call to action.

This email is effective not only because of its clean look and promotional offer, but also because of the call to action. Notice how it stands out? The button, rather than hyperlinked text, makes it prominent. Plus, it’s urgent. The words “Book a stylist” inspire recipients to act immediately.

6. Shine the spotlight on your product or service with eye-catching images

As you welcome your new contacts, it’s okay to put your product or service front and center. After all, your new subscriber asked to learn more about your business or product by subscribing. Give them what they want. Use images to showcase your products like Crocs does here:

If you’re a service-based business or nonprofit, try using compelling or emotion-evoking images that relate to your business. Spotlight a successful and happy customer, include a picture of your team or volunteers, display before and after pictures, or use clean, flat, simple graphics and complementary colors.

7. Be mobile-friendly

An effective welcome email has to look good — and work well — on mobile devices. According to Adobe’s Digital Publishing Report, 79 percent of smartphone owners use their device for email. The report also says smartphone users are more likely to use their device for email than for making calls. Clearly, creating a mobile-friendly version of your welcome email is important. (If you’re using VerticalResponse, all our emails are responsive, so they look great no matter what device they’re viewed on.) Check out VerticalResponse’s own welcome email below, as it appears on a tablet. The text is clear and easy to read, and the CTAs are still easy to find and click on, even on a smaller screen.

8. Be helpful

In your opening message, you have an excellent opportunity to link people back to pages on your site that can be helpful, like FAQs, or your blog to give them more information about your company, product or service. This information is especially crucial in the early days of your customers or prospects getting to learn more. The header in this email from Fun.com includes links back to the company’s product page, labeled by category to make it easier for subscribers to find exactly what they’re looking for.

 

9. Ditch the “do not reply” receipt

A welcome email should not be a text-based receipt that says, “Do not reply” somewhere in the message. Your message can incorporate a receipt or account information, but it should also encourage the customer to interact with the company.

A “do not reply” email tells customers that you don’t want them to contact you. Because customer interaction can improve customer satisfaction, it doesn’t make sense to close the lines of communication.

This email from Papier goes the extra mile and includes a support email and phone number for new customers who might have questions.

10. Add social media buttons

Including links to your social media sites is another key component in an effective welcome email. New contacts are curious about your business; otherwise, they wouldn’t have signed up. Fuel their engagement by sharing the social media sites your business is on. Take a look at this email below from EyeBuyDirect. Notice in the footer there are links to the company Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest pages.

It’s always a good idea to give subscribers additional ways to get in touch with you and interact with your business.

With these 10 examples, you’ll be able to create an effective welcome email. Check out our Email Automation feature, which makes introducing yourself to new customers easier than ever.

Join 140,000 small business owners

Get expert tips and email inspiration delivered to your inbox every two weeks.

Subscribe

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in April 2017 and has been updated and revised.

© 2019, Contributing Author. All rights reserved.

The post 10 examples of highly effective welcome emails appeared first on VerticalResponse Blog.

from VerticalResponse Blog http://bit.ly/2HHQbUw
via IFTTT