Roll of money with a Paid label

At Digital Storyteller, we like to think of paid advertising as adding fuel to the fire, giving things a little kick. Paid advertising shouldn’t be the whole cake, just an ingredient you add toward the end for some flavor.

Organic search

3 best small business marketing ideas so that you can fall in the small portion of startup businesses that don’t fail. Originally posted by Express Text

business

As our world becomes more and more fragmented, the economic slowdown is having an unprecedented impact in nearly every country around the world. At the same time, many brands and employers are attempting to put their purpose at the center of everything they do — those with a clear purpose are prospering, while many corporate “dinosaurs” that refuse (or are unable) to adapt are dying off as the rate of change increases.

Organizations of the future need to embrace fully the concepts of empowerment, learning, and balancing technology with the individual if they are to succeed, by using the power of technology and automation to rehumanize — rather than dehumanize — the workplace.

These major changes are being driven by a few important factors in consumer behavior:

Generational gaps are closing in the workplace.

More generations are working together than ever before, with different expectations and attitudes. By 2025, experts expect millennials to make up nearly 75% of the active workforce. Outside of the workplace, life expectancy is continuing to rise and up to two-thirds of babies born in the last year could live to be 100. In the older generations, people are retiring later or not at all. All of these changes mean we now have an environment in which older workers already report facing prejudice at work and millennial executives struggle to gain acceptance from older colleagues.

Flexibility and job changes are more encouraged than ever before.

By 2020, almost 20% of US workers — or 31 million people — will be “contingent” rather than permanent. If that sounds like bad news, consider that 80% of today’s contingent workers appreciate the flexibility. Most of Uber’s growth has come from drivers who use their own cars, and 75% of them have other jobs. (What happens when a job for life becomes a job for a day?)

The model for success isn’t cut and dry anymore.

New, innovative business models are springing up all over the world, many of them rooted digitally in the “sharing economy.” Nearly half of American business leaders think that their current business models will cease to exist within the next five years.

Robots are taking over (sort of).

Artificially-intelligent supplementation devices could replace 33% of jobs by 2025, and Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England stated earlier this year that almost 15m UK jobs could be “hollowed out” with the workforce being replaced by robots: “Alongside its great benefits, every technological revolution mercilessly destroys jobs and livelihoods … well before the new ones emerge.”

While these trends will affect everyone, it is especially pertinent to keep up with these changes as the leader of an organization — this could be the wake-up call you’ve been waiting for.

To thrive in the new era, we must rethink the role that organizations and their workforce play in driving competitive advantage.

Thriving will mean adapting to the changes, facilitating the interconnections between humans, and investing in their uniquely human attributes. If you are struggling to take your company into the digital space, reach out to Digital Storyteller today!

social media

As marketers, we often spend a huge amount of time creating content that is designed specifically for your customers, prospects, and leads. We are writing, analyzing, optimizing, and innovating every day. Sometimes, we’ll spend hours writing a single caption. 

In fact, we usually spend so much time planning and executing the email strategy, we hardly ever connect with other marketers on our teams who manage our blogs and other content, including social and chat, website, video strategy, events, PR, and more. And this isn’t unusual.

Traditionally, marketers focus on the details — they sweat the small stuff and divide to conquer. One marketer may be in charge of improving conversion metrics, while another focuses on SEO and someone else optimizes product pages. You might even have an intern creating some Instagram stories.

But when marketers complete these tasks in isolation, prospects and customers are left with a disconnected experience.

If you want your business to succeed, you need to take a step back and see the bigger picture. How do all your marketing activities connect? What do your customers really experience? And how can you keep your team working towards the same goal? Let’s find out.

The conversion process is longer than you expect.

We like to believe that every customer takes a predictable, linear path from awareness to consideration to purchase. This process starts with an ad, a blog post, a call-to-action, an email newsletter, and then transitions smoothly into a purchase. Done and done.

Of course, some prospects will take this direct route through your marketing funnel, but most take several detours along the way.

By trying to force the customer journey into a linear, step-by-step mold, you risk losing prospects that don’t fit your design. Consumers want information before they buy, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all method for getting it.

The truth is, the customer journey is messy and can be difficult to predict — everyone’s is a little different. Some customers may look for information about your brand through search, while others may click on an ad, an email, or seek out reviews from friends.

And the journey doesn’t stop there. Marketers shouldn’t stop interacting with customers as soon as they click “buy” — if you want to maintain and nurture unique relationships, you need to continue to interact with customers after you make a sale. That’s why it’s important to build strong bridges between your marketing efforts to build one cohesive brand experience.

Build strong bridges using your HubSpot CRM.

As a marketer, you’re probably used to using multiple tools and point solutions to connect with prospects and customers. Not only is this method inconvenient, but if all your marketing efforts aren’t connected by a customer management solution or CRM, it also creates a disjointed experience for customers. Marketers need to take a step back and see the bigger picture. If you want to build a complete customer experience, focus on connecting your marketing software with the tool that should be at the core of your marketing efforts: your company’s trusty CRM.

CRMs are traditionally considered a tool for sales teams to track leads, prospects, and customers. With them, reps can see every interaction a contact has had with a brand. Everything from calls with a sales rep to website visits is tracked and logged in a contact record.

While you may be familiar with a CRM, you probably aren’t using it to its full potential. Masters of email marketing, live chat, ads, and social media tools they may be, marketers rarely use a CRM for anything other than creating email lists, if at all. Think about it. You probably stress over the last-minute details of a campaign and track its success, but I’m guessing you rarely check to see how your campaigns are influencing individual contacts, or who’s consistently engaging with your marketing efforts.

By putting it at the center of your marketing strategy, you can truly personalize your messaging. You can use any data point or marketing engagement metric to segment contacts beyond lifecycle stages. This allows you to create more targeted, meaningful content and ads and expedite the sales process, helping your entire company grow better. Without a CRM, your personalization efforts are smoke and mirrors at best, and insufficient at worst.

If you’re curious about utilizing the HubSpot platform or setting up your own digital marketing strategy, contact us at Digital Storyteller today!

a nice looking workplace

Blogging, especially when combined with social media, is a powerful way to promote your business online. There are still many business owners that are hesitant to make the jump and start a business blog, but they’re missing out on a big opportunity.

There are several reasons why business owners don’t blog:

  • It takes a commitment of time and resources that can be overwhelming.
  • They don’t know how to get started from a technical perspective.
  • It can be challenging to develop a loyal, engaged following on a business blog that focuses on one specific topic.
  • It can be difficult to consistently come up with interesting business-related post ideas.
  • But starting a business blog doesn’t have to be an intimidating or overwhelming experience. Once you get started, the benefits of a business blog can make the effort worthwhile.

Here are 7 of the biggest reasons you should start a blog for your business:

Easily update your entire audience at once.

Beyond your company website, a blog is a fantastic tool to keep your audience in the loop about your business. While a website might be more practical in content and straightforward in tone, a blog offers more flexibility to connect with customers, to share updates in a way that shows who you are, not just what you do.

Think of your blog as your direct communication channel. It’s a space to talk in-depth about your products and services, share timely content, and comment on relevant industry trends in a way that lets your brand personality shine.

Build long-tail relationships and drive traffic.

A chief reason every company needs a blog is to increase its visibility. Put simply, the more blog content you create, the more opportunities you’ll have to show up in search engines and drive organic traffic to your website.

Blogs provide the perfect platform to strengthen your SEO strategy. By creating fresh and well-written articles that incorporate long-tail keywords, images, and videos, you’re boosting your chances of getting seen, generating traffic and converting leads.

Improve internal linking.

Unlike inbound linking, internal linking is something that is completely within your control. This means there’s no reason not to use them within your blog posts. It can help visitors with site navigation, pointing them to the most important pages on your website.

Internally linking to other blog posts and pages on your website can also improve your SEO success. The more relevant links you have, the more likely it is you’ll rank better, which can lead to more traffic and potential leads.

Get feedback from customers.

Good business websites do a solid job of giving customers the information they need, but it is usually done so in a one-way manner. There’s often no room to ask questions, comment on content, or start a conversation.

This is why a blog is so powerful. It creates a two-way conversation with customers, leads, and industry peers. With a more relatable tone and an interactive platform, you can encourage feedback and discussion in the comment sections of your blogs.

Having in-depth conversations with your customers is a great way to build trust and authority in your brand. Plus, it allows you to examine your business from your audience’s point of view and make changes to improve your services.

Build your email database.

Email marketing is a solid marketing strategy. But it’s not always easy to get people to sign up. This is where a blog can help. It ensures your business stays top of mind and helps reinforce your audience’s need to keep updated.

If people find your blog content informative, relevant, and engaging, chances are they’ll trust that your email newsletters are as well. To push them towards signing up, include internal links in both your blogs and newsletters. This makes it easier for them to read about promotions, new products, or business updates.

Provide in-depth explanations of products and services.

Blogs allow for in-depth explanations and teaching about what your products and services can really offer. For example, you could write customer case studies, explore specific benefits, or provide easy-to-read “how-to” guides on your most technical services.

The more your company produces content like this, the more it will be seen as an authority in the industry. This not only builds up your knowledge bank, but it also breeds innovation and creativity – the deeper and more complex your posts are, the more ideas you’re likely to generate.

Easily increase brand exposure.

Blogging is a simple way to get discovered via social media. Every time you write a blog post, you’re creating content that people can easily share on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other channels. This helps expose your company to audiences you might not even know yet.

On the other hand, blog content helps fuel your social media output. Instead of trying to pull new social media content ideas out of a hat, you can simply promote and link recent and relevant blog posts. You’re simultaneously strengthening your social media presence and bringing in new visitors. It’s a win-win.

If you’re looking to reach new audiences, build your brand and stand out from the competition – take inspiration from the reasons above and get started on a business blog.

Having a blog not only provides a strong foundation for your marketing, but it’s also fun and inspiring – and a great way to share ideas, generate new ones, and build a community of like-minded and engaged people.

Content creation and blog management are just two of the many services we provide at Digital Storyteller. Contact us to learn more and schedule a FREE 2-hour brand storytelling session today.

apple devices

Is investing in a marketing tool like HubSpot going to be worth it for your company? As digital marketers, there are many intelligent tools to navigate email marketing, website design, analytics, and more. With HubSpot, everything you need is in one place. It allows your processes to run more smoothly and provides a big picture analysis of how your company’s marketing is performing.

HubSpot is a software that combines marketing, sales, service, and analytics all in one place. Under each of those umbrellas, you are able to utilize the tools you need to be successful.  For example, in the marketing section, there is a place for web design, blogs, email marketing, live chat, web traffic analytics, and more!

As a digital marketing company, this simplifies all of our processes by creating a one-stop-shop for everything we need to know about our clients. Not only does it give us what we need to know, but it also provides the tools necessary to put that knowledge to work. In addition to making our lives a bit simpler, it streamlines processes for our clients, too.

In HubSpot, the “customer lifecycle” can be mimicked virtually. It begins with designing a site that will attract your target market. Once you attract customers, you build sales leads and turn those leads into customer relationships. After successfully connecting with your audience, you can provide excellent customer service and gather data to maximize your marketing efficiency. All of this happens in one place, so there is little room for error between steps. 

There are so many tools within HubSpot, that it can be difficult to navigate as you begin to use it. But if you take the time to learn the intricacies of the software, it will be a huge benefit to your company. It has made our lives simpler at Digital Storyteller as we continue to implement it with our clients.

a video camera

Oh video, video… why do you torture me, video?

In the world of digital marketing (and life, let’s face it, if you have a business, you have digital marketing) , there are two kinds of vloggers… people who are eager to leap in front of the camera and shoot their every wild musing and people who are resistant to being in anything less than an Academy Award winning production.

For most of us, neither recording our every thought nor waiting for Sam Mendes to come produce our brand identity video is the best strategy. So, without further ado I’d like to share tips and tricks for making your Vlogs watchable… dare I even say, compelling: