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Marketing Tips

4 Additional Common Marketing Mistakes

Part 2 of common marketing mistakes.
Numerous business conversations have exposed common mistakes made with marketing. My goal is to explain these mistakes so you can change your thinking about marketing since it’s crucial to any business.
Read 5 Common Marketing Mistakes
1. We only need a marketing professional for a while, and then you can take over the marketing.
Not really, the opposite is true.   If the relationship works well and both the business and the marketing professional are making money the last thing a business owner should do is take over the marketing again.

When an owner calls in a professional they were struggling with marketing, why go back to the struggle? Besides working with a marketing professional for a year does not make you a marketing expert.

There is also a difference between knowing what to do for marketing and then implementing the program.  Marketing professionals don’t give up all their secrets.
2. It’s not important to review past marketing efforts.
Reviewing past marketing is essential. Why?

A business can’t move forward unless it knows what’s happened in the past.  Reviewing the effective and non-effective marketing helps a company make better decisions about where to start, what should continue, and what can be tweaked to be more effective.

If the marketing efforts were not successful, but maybe they should have been, exploring why and making minor changes, saves time and money.  Often a simple change generates success.

Keeping detailed records of marketing efforts from the beginning also indicates progress and where to make future improvements.
3. Everyone should be the target of your marketing.
Impossible and foolish. You are not everything to everyone.  The buzz phrase in marketing is “the riches are in the niches.”

Everyone is too general to make a serious impact.  […]

By |August 26th, 2018|Marketing Tips|2 Comments|
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5 Common Marketing Mistakes

Common marketing mistakes pop up in business conversations, all the time. I hope this blog post helps change your perception and ideas about marketing.
I’ve been working in the field of marketing for many years, and these common mistakes continue today. I would like to give you a new perspective on marketing and lead you in the right direction for your business marketing.
The 5 Common Mistakes
1. Once the marketing plan’s in place, there’s no need to adapt, change or revamp.
The reality is, marketing plans change all the time, and if you are working with a professional, this will be the case. Experimentation is part of the game and if ideas are working, fantastic! If not, change them.

A business focus changes frequently, and so does the target of the marketing.  If that happens, the marketing plan must change.

For instance, a current client was looking to increase the traffic to their website; they had an idea of their clientele, so we structured the content and SEO to speak to that audience. As website traffic progressed and client calls increased, they realized that they wanted to attract a more sophisticated clientele.

We changed the website content and blogs so we could attract those particular clients. Plans always need to be adapted.

Starting with a niche marketing plan is always best for advertising, but sometimes a client believes their business solves the problem of a particular group of people, test it out and then make changes.

Marketing will always be an ongoing process.
2. Building a website creates immediate success for a business.
The reality is, for a website to gain any traction with traffic and search engine optimization; it needs at least nine months of adding content, updating and adapting specific elements for a […]

By |August 22nd, 2018|Marketing Tips|2 Comments|
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Zip Media Does 2 Things for Clients: Facebook & Emails

I have revamped Zip Media to do 2 things. Facebook Marketing and Email Marketing, that’s it!
Why? It’s simple since I’ve in marketing for more than half my life, I have worked with a variety of businesses and a variety of marketing options.

In my experience, I have learned that these two options consistently provide the best rate of return on your marketing dollars. They will get you the leads you want and generate the sales for a successful business.

There are other factors in what makes a business successful, but if you have a good product and services, these two options will work. It’s Zip Media’s job to work, test and adapt these options for success, and it will work for all types of business.

I work with Real Estate Agents and Brokers along with Interior Designers. I find focusing my attention in a particular industry helps me provide better service to my clients. These two options also offer fantastic lead generation in an industry that gets clobbered with new marketing ideas.

As a marketing professional, I’m fascinated by technology and how it’s used to create, develop and market a business. The endless possibilities are exciting. I also like change and the fast pace of digital marketing. Keeps me on my toes! Plus social media marketing and email marketing are fun and provide incredible data we can use to make educated changes with marketing.

Facebook advertising and email newsletters are not very expensive and can be worked effectively for almost immediate results. There is an art to setting these up and operating them effectively, and that’s what Zip Media does for its clients.
We set up everything, work it, test and provide the customer with the leads they want.

If this […]

By |July 3rd, 2018|Marketing Tips|0 Comments|
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Why is website content important?

Website content is important because it’s how a company introduces itself to the reader, and how it sells itself to potential clients.

Website content includes main pages and the blog.

The website content question pops up frequently from clients, so I wanted to address this issue on the blog.

NO judging! As obvious as this may be to some, it’s not to others. My goal is to help my clients with their marketing, not put them down because they don’t know everything about digital marketing.

It’s true, creating a website can get tedious, but having quality material about the company is imperative. I’m sure this is part of the reason I get asked these questions.

(To all clients; I try to make this process as easy and painless as possible).

A quick guide to the structure of basic website main pages…..

About Us: tells a little about the company.
Services page: introduces the reader to the goods and services offered.
Employee page: showcase employees because they are the strength of the company.
Blog: where the reader gets up to date relevant information.
Contact Info page: all contact info including a form

(A basic website layout can be adjusted or increased depending on the business. Some have used testimonials, but it’s dependent on the target market)

Design of websites main pages needs to be simple and visual, and the content structure should be written for readers and search engines. A delicate line exists between attracting clients and search engines, but can be accomplished with a clear target.

Websites are designed to provide opportunities for readers to buy. Always think sales! If the blog is always WE do WE do WE, in one click your company loses a sale!

Write content with these ideas in mind

What’s in it for the client?
What […]

By |August 15th, 2014|Blogging Tips, Marketing Tips|0 Comments|
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3 motivating blogging stats.

Encouraging client’s creation of blog postings is a day to day occurrence.  One of the best ways to develop organic traffic on any website is blogging, and this is no secret nor has this tip changed much in the world of digital marketing.

Instead of constantly hammering away at clients the value of blogging I have developed creative and motivating ideas to stress the importance of blogging.

Since motivation and learning come in many forms, my hope is sharing statistics on blogging will trigger certain clients sense of urgency and importance in writing their blogs.

Motivating clients to complete material for the blog is a common problem.  It’s also common for writers in any field around the world.

What has worked for me personally, is one simple quote taped to the wall in mission control, otherwise referred to as my office that states “the difference between a successful writer and a non-successful writer is….. one writer writes, and one thinks about writing.”

This quote is my daily motivation.  It’s simple and creating one blog is also simple.  Here is why for myself.  I have confidence in my ability and knowledge of marketing. The marketing techniques I employ get desired results for clients.  I read and research daily on the ever-adjusting and developing web marketing.  Knowing these details, I have plenty to share with my clients and potential new clients. Simple.

Each business and person is motivated by different “hot buttons” so this post is for my stats driven clients.  My hope is these stats are motivating enough to advance your presence on the web by sharing your knowledge on the blog and work toward increasing revenue.

So here they are…..

1.  The average company will see a 45% growth in traffic when […]

By |July 17th, 2014|Blogging Tips, Marketing Tips|1 Comment|
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3 More Tips for Choosing a Marketing Professional

Finding a Marketing Professional who is knowledgeable and you can trust is challenging.  Trusting the information they provide is a leap of faith and that’s the reality.  This is the second article containing 3 more tips check out the first blog.
These tips were compiled from clients experiences who came to us for help. Our job is fun and when done well our relationships continue and our clients make more money so we all win and we are very aware of this lucrative relationship.
3 more Tips for choosing the right Marketing Professional and deal breakers to help sift through the options without wasting too much time.
Tip 4:  A good MP doesn’t suggest every social media marketing option available.
Most marketing professionals agree that not everyone and every business needs to get involved in every social media option available.  It’s dependent on your target market- first of all.
Social Media Marketing is a giant marketing opportunity and by giant I mean a tiny bit of research shows how many options are available, it’s scary and overwhelming.  Realize most Social Media is free but the time it takes to work it effectively to generate revenue or to communicate with customers is enormous.  Most small business owner just don’t have the time.
A good marketing professional understands your business and picks options that are manageable and serve the purpose of generating revenue or communication with customers.
Deal Breaker:  If they recommend a business get involved with every type of social media options and do not have a strategy for using these Social Media Marketing options then move on.  It’s too much, they don’t have a plan to generate revenue or communicate and they are following a trend without understanding it’s purpose.
Tip 5: […]

By |July 11th, 2014|Marketing Tips|1 Comment|
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3 Tips for Choosing a Marketing Professional

Finding a Marketing Professional who is knowledgeable and you can trust is challenging.  Trusting the information they provide is a leap of faith and that’s the reality.  
Here are 3 Tips for choosing the right Marketing Professional and deal breakers to help sift through the options without wasting too much time.
Tip 1: A good MP asks questions about your business first.
A serious Marketing Professional starts every new meeting asking questions about your business.  A good professional already researched the type of business and industry but asks questions for confirmation and perspective on what they researched.  This indicates they’ve invested time into this meeting and take business seriously.
Trying to sell their service immediately is a red flag not a deal breaker.  If the meeting continues and they DO ask questions about your business, continue with the other tips.
Deal Breaker:  If they never ask quality questions of your business, it’s a deal breaker.  How can they help your business when they don’t know much about your business or take time to listen to you?
Tip 2: A good MP recaps what you told them and creates a preliminary marketing plan on the spot.
With the preliminary research completed before the meeting and the quality questions asked in the appointment, a good Marketing Professional can give you an idea of a marketing plan moving forward.
Really good marketers would start with a short term, revenue generating plan and then explain a long term marketing plan.  These plans should incorporate a mix of marketing options specific to your business and industry.
Deal Breaker:  If the marketing professional tries to sell you the “big kahuna” marketing plan right away it’s not a partnership between the two of you, it’s them selling to you […]

By |July 9th, 2014|Marketing Tips|0 Comments|
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