Category: Top Posts
6 Secrets to Making Online Video Work for Small Business
Kathy Saenz of Neighborhood America Shares What It Takes to Make Video an Effective Content Marketing Tool
Even a micro business can use video effectively to communicate with its customers online.
But, as we amateur carpenters know, you can wind up with a mess instead of a masterpiece unless you understand how to use a potentially powerful tool well. In that spirit we’re happy to can share with you six terrific tips for using video successfully from talented Southwest Florida professional, Kathy Saenz.
We recently caught up with Kathy, who is Neighborhood America's corporate communications manager, for a brief interview on the best ways to communicate with video. Kathy's unique background as a university trained former TV producer and reporter taught her what it takes to tell great stories in our short attention span world. She has been able to help Neighborhood America add video communications to their core marketing capabilities. When it comes to using video effectively, Kathy and her company really get it.
Here Are Kathy's 6 Secrets to Video Success for Small Business:
Read MoreWhy Being Visual Can Bring Beautiful Business Results
Inspiration from ‘Visual Blogger’ Mark Smiciklas of Intersection Marketing
It's hard to make things easy. And, it's even harder to be amusing at the same time.
But the very best visuals take a complex idea or series of connected ideas and make them instantly understandable. Just the right visuals make those ideas even more memorable when they are funny as well. In the case of the Intersection Marketing blog from Mark Smiciklas, he manages to do both consistently. Read MoreSix Steps to a Successful Small Business Content Marketing Strategy
How to go from clueless to compelling to transform prospects into buyers
In 2007, the mention of content marketing brought as many blank stares from small business owners as the mention of a website did 10 years before. In fact, in 1997 when we started our small business magazine in Southwest Florida, few owners had websites, let alone an online marketing strategy.
In 2009, most small businesses do have websites and the term, ‘content marketing,' has gone from obscure to fashionable. When I say fashionable, I mean that the usage of the phrase has skyrocketed in the past two years. For example, the number of visitors to our website who arrived because they had done a search for 'content marketing,' has increased by a factor of 10.
I'm delighted that content marketing has come out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Even so, for most small businesses, developing a content marketing mindset and a strategy to follow just does not come naturally. Fortunately, the fundamentals of a successful small business content marketing strategy are much more commonsensical than you might think. In fact, they build on what have long been best marketing practices. Even those content marketing elements that require a new mindset have a simple and compelling logic that even the smallest business can grasp and adopt.
Here are the six steps that can put you on the path to an effective content marketing strategy:
Read MoreThe Best Way to Promote Your Offline Business to Online Prospects
Use Free Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Directories to Bring Your Business Front and Center on Local Web Searches
(Guest post by WordPress fanatic and small business web consultant Don Campbell)
If your business is an "offline" business with a physical storefront, the most effective way to improve your search rankings in Google is to list your business in the free local business directories from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. Once you are listed in these directories, you have a chance to get listed in the "Google 10-Pack" - which is an invaluable way to get the word out about your business when people type in search terms in your local area.
In fact, if you don't claim your Google Local Business Center profile, in some cases it can be scooped up by others who want to capitalize on the listings!
Read More5 Twitter Tips to Strengthen Your Content Marketing Strategy
Here are six easy ways for Twitter to strengthen your content marketing efforts:
Read MoreTwitter for Business Made Easy
Great MindMap from the Mindjet Folks Simplifies Twitter and Proves Power of Mindmapping
- Twitter is a micro-blogging service that you can use from anywhere you can get an Internet connection.
- You sign up and give yourself an identity that lives on Twitter, such as mine--Twitter.com/newtbarrett.
- You can then post 140 character text messages which may include hyperlinks.
- You can choose to follow fellow members whose ' tweets ' will show up automatically on your Twitter page.
- Other members can choose to follow you to see what you have to say.
- The heavy hitters on Twitter may have thousands of followers and may post dozens of tweets per day.
- Every Twitter member can pass on or ' retweet' other messages so that the reach of what you have to say is potentially huge and global.
- All of this happens in real time


