Suzanne LaChapelle's Weblog

5 Steps to Successful LinkedIn Advertising

suelachapelle — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:25:44 +0000

With more than 100 million users and counting, LinkedIn is a flourishing social media platform for business professionals worldwide.

That’s great news for B2B marketers, because LinkedIn is much more than just a bunch of résumés.

LinkedIn advertising is a huge opportunity for lead generation for B2B companies. Business messages are well-received in LinkedIn’s professionally focused environment.

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6 Best Practices for SEO

suelachapelle — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:14:06 +0000

Google’s search results aren’t what they used to be. Need proof? Just look at its results page. No longer solely comprised of traditional, organic site matches, Google now lists local maps, images, videos and social cues as well — and it’s affecting more than just what you see.

If you rely heavily on search engines for pageviews and sales, as many businesses do, Google search results will drastically affect how your customers find you. If your business needs to be seen and clicked, take into account the following six search engine tips.

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12 Tips to Make Your Company More Creative

suelachapelle — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:12:55 +0000

Last year, reports said creativity was on the decline in the U.S. However, reports this year indicate that creativity is more important than ever to business success. IBM weighed in with a massive study, interviewing over 1,500 CEOs around the world. Those CEOs collectively agree that employee creativity is the most important talent for the 21st century.

Although it seems to be on the decline, creative capacity is more important than ever. Many large companies deem creativity a major competitive advantage.

So, where do you start? What will be your strategy to bolster not only your own creativity, but also that of your business?

First, you’ll need creative employees — then, an environment that fosters and promotes that creativity. Let’s divide these categories further.

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5 Pluses (And 5 Minuses) For Google+ Business Pages

suelachapelle — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:00:58 +0000

Like a Ricola commercial, the call went out loud and clear on Monday when it was announced that finally, after months of promises, Google+ Pages would be available for businesses.

About. Time.

Our own Erica Conroy setup CoupSmart’s Google+ Page and we’ve had a few hours to poke around to see what all the fuss is about.

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B2B Social Media Wins with Inbound Marketing

suelachapelle — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:30:03 +0000

B2B social media becomes a winning approach when marketers change from expensive outbound marketing tactics to more cost-effective inbound marketing efforts like blogs, ebooks and webinars that provide value to prospects and customers. The content you create needs to be educational, entertaining and remarkable so your followers share it with their networks, thereby extending its reach.

The below inforgraphic includes many of the B2B social media statistics we included in a previous post, but we know that some marketers like to share infographics as a way to make their case for social media.

What elements below resonate most with you as you move from outbound to inbound marketing?

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‘White Swan’ Marketing, or How to Focus on What Works

suelachapelle — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:26:06 +0000

When the latest marketing answers fail to produce the results you expect, maybe it’s time to start asking different questions.

You don’t need me to tell you that we’re in a crisis of confidence: Consumers don’t believe or act on the information we give them in the ways we’d hope, so we’re losing faith in the strategies and tools we use to communicate with them. We’re asked questions about sales, and we reply with answers about “engagement” and conversational “buzz.”

Budgets are down, expectations are up, and the proliferation of new solutions for “engaging” with consumers in conversations seems inversely proportional to results that our employers and clients can value. We believe that somehow, sometime, all those efforts will coalesce—the dots will connect—and yield stunning successes, just like those celebrated in case histories and magazine articles.

I have news for you: We’re chasing black swans. And if we keep doing it, we’re doomed.

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SEO Beats PPC & Social Media For Generating Leads, New Industry Report Says

suelachapelle — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:35:17 +0000

SEO is the number one source of leads for both B2C and B2B marketers, beating out both PPC and social media marketing in a recent survey of online marketers. But more of those surveyed say they plan to increase their social media marketing budgets in 2012, ahead of SEO and PPC.

The numbers come from the 2011 State of Digital Marketing Report, which was compiled by Webmarketing123, a California-based online marketing agency. The company surveyed more than 500 U.S. online marketers in August and September; about two-thirds of all respondents identified themselves as B2B marketers.

Whether B2B or B2C, both groups of marketers agree that SEO has the biggest impact on lead generation. 57 percent of B2B marketers credit SEO as their primary source of generating leads, while 41 percent of B2C marketers said the same thing.

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Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing

suelachapelle — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:43:53 +0000

Thanks to the Internet, marketing has evolved over the years. Consumers no longer rely on billboards and TV spots — a.k.a. outbound marketing — to learn about new products, because the web has empowered them. It’s given them alternative methods for finding, buying and researching brands and products. The new marketing communication — inbound marketing — has become a two-way dialogue, much of which is facilitated by social media.

Another reason why inbound marketing is winning is because it costs less than traditional marketing. Why try to buy your way in when consumers aren’t even paying attention? Here are some stats from the infographic ….

44% of direct mail is never opened. That’s a waste of time, postage and paper.
86% of people skip through television commercials.
84% of 25 to 34 year olds have clicked out of a website because of an “irrelevant or intrusive ad.”
The cost per lead in outbound marketing is more than for inbound marketing.
Inbound marketing focuses on earning, not buying, a person’s attention, which is done through social media and engaging content, such as blogs, podcasts and white papers. This content is interesting, informative and adds value, creating a positive connection in the eyes of the consumer, thus making him more likely to engage your brand and buy the product. So it costs less and has better a ROI.

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How to Time Your Facebook Posts to Reach the Most Fans

suelachapelle — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:25:56 +0000

I get asked all the time, “How frequently should I post on my Facebook page? When is the best time to post?”

Answer: Post whenever the most recent status update for your page stops showing up in your fans’ News Feeds.

If you post often, you will see an immediate spike in News Feed impressions, but it’s generally not worth the cost in lost fans. When your fans see two status updates from you in their News Feeds, they’ll likely get annoyed, and will consequently unsubscribe or un-fan. There are few exceptions to this rule.

If you post too infrequently, you’re missing out on opportunities to reach your fans. Over the course of a year, a page with 10,000 fans that posts only half as often as they could misses more than 1 million chances to get their content in front of a hyper-targeted Facebook audience. The larger your fan page, the more often you should be posting — without annoying your fans.

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Top 5 Tools to Better Time Your Tweets

suelachapelle — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:26:52 +0000

When exactly are your best times to tweet? With over 200 million tweets posted each day, this is a very important question to tackle. When you better time your tweets, you’re better able to reach your followers. Furthermore, knowing when they’re actually online is incredibly important.

Let’s examine different tools that help determine Twitter metrics. Each tool takes a look at your own personal following to calculate best tweeting times. Below you’ll find the top five tools and how they can optimize your tweeting schedule.

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