Mark Tennant Edwards Communications – Content Marketing

2. Mark Tennant Edwards Communications – Content Marketing Case Western Reserve University – IT Analyst at The School of Medicine Podcaster: A Slice a Day – 200+ episodes Email: mark@EdwardsCom.net Phone: 440-361-9914

3. Agenda: • Building an audience through subscription -Email • Content Marketing – Definition and why content? • Mobile – Why it’s important, from your web site to your email. (Barry Edwards) • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Yoast WordPress Plug-in (Barry Edwards) • Social Media Marketing – Audience engagement and promoting content • a) Facebook – (B2C) • b) LinkedIn – (B2B) Your profile and Showcase Pages • 7. Optimizing for local search with Google My Business

4. 1. Building an audience through subscription • Build your audience from an owned platform (your web site) • Promote via social but, do not 'build your digital house on rented land' (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) …you have no control over these platforms. • You only have control over owned platform, your website and you control what your connections see. • You need some type of offering to gain subscribers. (No ‘salesy’ lead program to gain sales) • Add value, for example, with a weekly/monthly newsletter of your best content. Be consistent!

5. Building an audience through subscription • Once a person knows, likes and trusts you the odds of that person ultimately purchasing increase dramatically. • It takes time to build a subscriber base but it will happen if you make it a priority. • Find an email provider that is easy to use. • Mail Chimp or AWeber probably best to begin with as the sign-up forms and setup is easier than most. (Check their free training – both are pretty good)

6. Subscription Hierarchy

7. On why subscribers are critical to your online success… Joe Pulizzi - CEO - Content Marketing Institute http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/about/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joepulizzi https://twitter.com/joepulizzi

8. 2. Content Marketing – What is it?

9. Create a Content Mission Statement • What will your content represent? (Information authority around your industry) • Who will it serve? (Target audience) • How will you reach them? (Blog, Video Blog, Podcast) • What is your expected outcome? (What do you hope to accomplish?) • Your mission statement will change and evolve as you create more content. • Content Ideas? Run them by your mission statement; • If the idea fits, do it. If it doesn’t, don’t.

10. 3. Mobile – Why it’s important to your business • A web-site that is optimized for mobile, is built on an easy to use content management system that is easy to update and maintain after it's been built. Wordpress (WP). • Another WP advantage: Plugins - small, pre-packaged apps that you can plug in to WP to automatically add functionality such as mobile, to your website.

11. Desktop Website Version

12. M O B I L E V ERSION

13. On the importance of mobile to Google and Google Search…. Neil Patel - Co-Founder CrazyEgg, HelloBar and KissMetrics http://crazyegg.com http://hellobar.com http://neilpatel.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilkpatel

14. Is your website optimized for mobile? • People are 5 times more likely to leave a website that is not optimized for mobile - Google May, 2016 • Google Search will not show non-mobile optimized web sites in search results when the search is performed on a mobile device. • Test a website for mobile optimization: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/ • Test how mobile friendly a website is with this new tool (June, 2016) from ThinkWithGoogle: https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com/

15. Testing your web site for mobile optimization • Test a website for mobile optimization: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

17. 4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Have a least a rudimentary understanding of SEO – Moz.com and other online resources available to learn. Most are free. Bruce Clay – SEO Expert’s Free Tutorial is a super resource where he teaches: Keyword Research – How to select keywords Choosing the right keywords for SEO relevance How to optimize content for SEO And more and free! http://www.bruceclay.com/seo/search-engine-optimization.htm

18. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) On why SEO is so important for content and getting found via Google search…. Cory Collins - Content Marketing Manager at @PageOnePower https://twitter.com/coryrcollins http://coryrcollins.com/published-works/m https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-collins-8b3a9389

23. 4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • Yoast SEO (formerly known as WordPress SEO by Yoast) is the most complete WordPress SEO plugin that exists today for WordPress.org users. • It helps you: • Optimize your pages content • Images • Titles • Meta descriptions and more!

24. 5. Social Media Marketing – It’s not about the sale! • Know what social platforms your audience uses. • Promote content that leads traffic backed to an owned-media platform, your web site. (Some may not want to leave Facebook, but…) • Optimize content as best as you can on social but ultimately you need to own that audience • Do not build a content home on property you do not own (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.) • Pick one, maybe 2 social media platforms to start, no more than that!

25. Social Media Marketing – Know where your audience is online…. On the importance of knowing where your audience is online and finding them. Benji Hyam - Co-Founder of Grow and Convert & Postable http://www.growandconvert.com/ https://www.postable.io/ https://twitter.com/benjihyam

26. 6a) Facebook (B2C) – Verifying your Page • A verified Page helps boost credibility while instilling trust with anyone who views your Page. • A verified Page helps rank your business towards the top of Facebook's search results. • After verifying your page you will have access new features as they become available. • Example: A verified Page gets access first to new Facebook features. • The new 'Shop' section where you can showcase and sell products right from your Facebook Page (As of June 1, 2016, Shop section not rolled out in it's entirety)

27. Facebook (B2C) – How to Verify a Facebook Page

28. Facebook (B2C) – 8 ‘Engaging’ Facebook Facts • Posts with questions and images = engagement • Posts with 50 characters or less get most interaction • Videos directly uploaded to Facebook get 6 x’s more engagement than an embedded video from YouTube • Hashtags get less engagement on Facebook – Not a hashtag platform • Posts published between 10p-midnight (local time) garner the most engagement. • Sunday posts garner more engagement as less posts are published • Posts that link to long-form content garner good engagement (hint: content on your website) • Posting images back to Facebook from Instagram (a Facebook owned company) garner a 23% increase in engagement – Neil Patel (2016)

29. 6.(b)LinkedIn (B2B) – Do Not Overlook LinkedIn! LinkedIn! On why to publish on LinkedIn… Stephanie Sammons - LinkedIn Expert/Consultant/Author https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniesammons http://www.stephaniesammons.com/ Book: Linked to Influence Buy it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Linked-Influence-Powerful-Influencer-Attracting/dp/1942761708

30. LinkedIn (B2C) – Power up your LinkedIn Profile • Build a network around your niche or industry – LinkedIn is a business platform, it’s not Facebook. • Do NOT randomly connect with just anybody. If it's not a good fit for your business, kindly decline and possibly point them to your content. On why you need to power up your LinkedIn profile….

31. 5 LinkedIn Mistakes That Are Harming Your Business • 9-page ‘cheat sheet’ guide on the top 5 mistakes business professionals are making on LinkedIn • http://bit.ly/stephanie-sammons-5-linkedin-mistakes

32. LinkedIn –Showcase Pages What are LinkedIn Showcase Pages? They’reare extensions of your Company Page, designed for spotlighting a brand, business unit, or initiative. What are Showcase Pages? Advantages of Showcase Pages… Chris Raulf - CEO - Boulder SEO Marketing http://www.boulderseomarketing.com/blog/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisraulf https://twitter.com/swisschris

33. LinkedIn – Don’t ignore LinkedIn Showcase Pages • Choose a Page Name • Create a Showcase Page (Have to have a LinkedIn Company Page first) • Optimize for Search (Use keywords that describe your business with SEO in mind. • Use up to 200 characters to draft a compelling product or service description.

34. 7. How to optimize for local search (SEO) • Google My Business – Claim, verify & manage the Google side of your business. • Being Found – Keep all business information up to date and complete as possible. Easy to do. • Make it easy for people to find you and your business • Cost: Free • Time factor cost

35. Google My Business tips for local search - http://bit.ly/google-my-business-improve-local-rankings • Getting Found: • Complete your Google Business Profile • Verify Your Location • Add Hours (brick and mortar) • Encourage, Manage and Answer Google Reviews (Teach customers how to complete a Google Review - See Freebies Folder) • Add Photos & change them often every 4-5 months. • Encourage customers to submit pictures

36. Google Maps – Place Labels Labels and icons feature of Google Maps that will mark (label) your business All icons are clickable that allows you the ability to discover more about each place. Verifying your business improves your chances that your business will display within a placed label.

37. Google My Business – Knowledge Panel • When searching for a business or type of business on Google, more often than not you will see a panel that looks like this. • This is called the Knowledge Panel. • This is where people see customer reviews. • This is where you need to shine and encourage customers to submit reviews. • Modify the how to document to your business and teach your customers ‘How to submit a Google Review’…

38. Q & A

39. Thank you very much! Mark Tennant mark@EdwardsCom.net Facebook.com/EdwardsCom Twitter: @marketennant

40. Helpful Online Tools: Razor Social - http://www.razorsocial.com/start-here/ The #1 Online Tools Directory – http://canva.com - Design any type of graphics or buy cheap! Yoast SEO Wordpress Plug-in https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/ WordPress plugin that makes it easier for bloggers to optimize blog posts to rank on Google. https://pixabay.com Free images and videos you can use anywhere

41. - http://www.razorsocial.com/start-here/ The #1 Online Tools Directory – Many tools are free!

42. - https://about.canva.com/ - Design anything from this online tool with thousands of beautiful template layouts or create your own. Design flyers, banners, menus, posters, infographics, magazine covers & more!

43. Yoast SEO Wordpress Plug-in https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/ WordPress plugin that makes it easier for bloggers to optimize blog posts to rank on Google.

44. - https://pixabay.com Free images and videos you can use anywhere