digitalmarketing Archives - Michael Dillon

January 31, 2018January 31, 2018

Credibility Killers: Does Your Website Lack Curbside Appeal?

My wife, who works as a real estate agent, uses a term to describe whether or not she feels a house will sell quickly or not: curbside appeal. No matter how good the neighborhood is, or how good the school district is, or even if the home is close to shopping and parks and other things people crave, if the curbside appeal of the home does not immediately grab your attention…forget it. Your home will not sell quickly. Whenever she takes on a new client, the first direction she gives to potential sellers is “make sure the front of the house sells itself.”

Websites have curbside appeal too; how well your site is done, and how accurate and current your information is presented, can tell much about your company. That is to say: the average potential customer looking to do business is very superficial; if your website is clean, organized and free from errors, they will most likely be drawn to it and may contact you for business. Have a website that looks out of date, riddled with old and inaccurate information and fuhgettaboutit; they will more than likely pass you right on by, even if your company is a well-run business juggernaut. Continue reading “Credibility Killers: Does Your Website Lack Curbside Appeal?”

March 2, 2017March 2, 2017

Content Has Never Been More Important, Mobile World Congress Panelists Say

Despite all the shiny new things at the Mobile World Congress, content is still the key to marketing success. BARCELONA — Robots, connected cars, virtual reality rides and 5G devices are the shiny things that line the show floor here at the Mobile World Congress (MWC). But content is still king, said Vice Media CEO Shane Smith. "What are you going to fill the pipes with? All of the data and algorithms in the world can only take you so far," he said during a morning keynote at the event, which attracted more than 101,000 attendees from over 200 countries and more than 2,200 exhibitors. But content has to be reimagined for the always on, multiple screen world in which the same viewer might want to watch Michael Phelps win a gold medal, find out his age, see who he is dating and then tweet about it all a […]

Are You Forgetting About Middle of the Funnel Content?

Are you creating great content and seeing no return? Are you baffled because your content performs great on social and generates a lot of traffic to your site, but results in high bounce rates and low conversion rates? Your problem may not be your content or the way you are promoting it. Your problem may be a lack of middle of the funnel content. If your site doesn’t bridge the gap between introductory content and decision stage content, how do you expect your audience to make that leap? I’m sure you have great content and your products / services page is superb, but none of that matters to your audience. Your audience thinks in one mode, and that mode is ‘what can you do for me today?’ Therefore, you need to provide valuable, educational content at every stage of the funnel. You’ve grabbed the attention of your audience, now […]

5 Tips to Crack Google’s Algorithm and Drive Quality Traffic To Your Site

5 Tips to Crack Google’s Algorithm and Drive Quality Traffic To Your Site Let’s face it… With over 200+ Google ranking factors making sure the law of the land prevails, and over 1 billion websites fighting for spots in search engines – if you ignore SEO, your online sales are likely to go south, especially if you are unlucky enough to get struck with a Google penalty. If you do not want to fall victim to a Google penalty, ensure that whenever the Google God’s wave their magic wand and whip up an algorithm update/change, such as Penguin, Pigeon, Panda, Hummingbird, or the recent RankBrain roll out, that you comply. But then again, how do online website owners actually comply when Google reveals only so much? Even if you keep your nose pressed against Google’s conference room, you won’t get to know much. So, how do you actually entice […]

Marketing Research to Bookmark for Your Next Blog Post

If you thought your research days were over when you graduated from high school or college, think again. If you create any kind of content as part of your role, your arguments should be well-supported with data. Why is research so important? It makes your claims credible, your content authoritative, and helps you earn more social shares and backlinks. In fact, an analysis of over one million articles from Moz and BuzzSumo revealed that research-backed content generates more shares and more backlinks than other content types. The thing is, finding the research to cite is tough sometimes. The original source data can be hard to track down and citations might be incorrect or missing, among other issues. For all of you content creators, bloggers, SEOs, and market researchers, we feel your pain. So we put together a comprehensive list of sources with original research data about all things marketing. […]

Want to Know How to Make Influencer Marketing Work?

The Internet is a noisy, overcrowded place. Building momentum for your brand is often an uphill battle, and getting your audience to buy in can be daunting. So, how do you get people to take you seriously? How can you go from being just a little fish in a vast ocean to becoming a recognizable brand or even a household name? One strategy that’s proven to be effective is influencer marketing. The number of brands using this strategy has grown exponentially over the past few years. In fact, “interest in influencer marketing has risen more than 90x from 2013 to the present.” Here are some other stats to give you a better idea of the state of this strategy at the moment: “Influencer marketing content delivers 11x higher ROI than traditional forms of digital marketing.” “Twitter users report a 5.2x increase in purchase intent when exposed to promotional content […]

It’s Time to Pump You (and Your Content) Up

So, Copyblogger has been running for about 11 years now. And in all that time, we’ve never written a post about Arnold Schwarzenegger, unless you count that one time I compared long-form sales pages to the Terminator. Until this week. Entirely independently, Brian Clark and I both used the Governator to illustrate two different points about smart content creation. On Monday, Brian broke down persuasive analogies — citing a particularly effective analogy Schwarzenegger used to make an environmental point. On Tuesday, Stefanie brought a little relief by making some excellent points about why you lose business to your competitors … and how you can start to crush them. Like grapes. And on Wednesday, I explained Jonah Sachs’s idea of “ freaks, cheats, and familiars ,” using good old Arnold as an example to demonstrate all three. On Unemployable, Brian talked with Robert Bruce about the difference between good marketing […]

Identity Matters: How Content Strategists Build Trust and Loyalty

In 2009, whether you were a golfer or not, you likely heard about Tiger Woods. It started with a drama-filled Thanksgiving night with his wife. It ended with a public apology the following February. The superstar’s wholesome image unraveled publicly as one mistress after another came forth. Soon his marriage was lost, sponsorships gone, and fans bewildered. We were left wondering: Who was the real Tiger Woods anyway? Was everything we thought about him just a sham? Woods didn’t need a consultant to help him with his brand. He needed a therapist. He stated this himself in a somewhat bizarre 14-minute public apology. He also could have benefited from a crisis communications expert. But most importantly, Woods needed to figure out his identity – who he was and who he wanted to be. Identity is the foundation for authentic living. Many companies need to refocus on identity as well. […]

The Content Marketing Brand Management Checklist

Brand management is a little bit like dental hygiene: Those who avoid it are going to end up with big problems that easily could’ve been avoided. Yet marketers who fail to comply with brand standards and legal safeguards risk losing more than just a tooth. These failures often cost content marketers their credibility and, in some cases, their jobs. Just ask the people who sexualized IHOP’s pancakes , told Bloomingdale’s shoppers to roofie their friends for the holiday season, and put the male symbol on the cover of The Washington Post’s magazine for a story about the 2017 Women’s March. Perhaps the most painful part of these marketing blunders is that it wouldn’t have taken much effort to prevent them. Shout out to The Washington Post Express who accidentally put the MALE symbol for the WOMAN’S march on their cover today pic.twitter.com/xGS0XE8RTd Without an efficient governance system of necessary […]

How and Where to Repost Blog Content Safely

It’s no surprise that after all the time and energy you put into creating a blog post, you want it to generate the reads and engagements you feel it deserves. Researching, developing, and writing blog posts is only the first half of content marketer’s jobs. The other half of the day consists of making sure that all of your hard work creating the post doesn’t go to waste. Promoting your blog posts on the right platforms and through the right channels is vital if you want your content to be read. But promotion is a tricky subject. And most of the time, it includes paid social advertising campaigns that are poorly managed and don’t see strong results. With this as the norm, it’s no surprise that some content marketers have started re-posting their blog content on other domains to maximize its visibility. While this may seem like a good […]