twelveoaksgroup.net » Article Marketing

You Are the Expert

Elizabeth — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:05:28 +0000

Give away your knowledge and market yourself as the expert! Your knowledge and experience within your industry is invaluable and by offering it to others you will increase your credibility in the eye of the consumer and your peers which in turn yields sales. There’s no doubt this will require some invested time and thoughtfulness, and you may even give away secrets to your competition, but if you’re offering valuable information and it has your name attached to it, people will know where to go when they’re ready to spend their money.

Get creative! This is a fun way to market and connect with your customers and it doesn’t have to be complicated. There are a variety of ways to disseminate your information; think Facebook, email, Twitter, website, blog, Youtube, radio, newspaper, podcasts, or letters. Then think about what you’d like to offer up –this of course should relate back to your business. Could you share articles or books, DIY project ideas, money saver ideas, tip and tricks, offer guidance to others in your industry, share interesting facts, or the latest trends? The truth is, whether your business is just starting out or you’re an old pro, if you can offer people relevant information; increased trust and sales will be close behind!

Need more ideas or help executing your own ideas? See what Twelve Oaks Group can offer your small business!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth McPhail grew up learning about the trials, tribulations, and perks of small family-owned business. She creates and maintains websites and blogs, and in her spare time can be found on the water boating!

Branding Your Small Biz

Elizabeth — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:51:27 +0000

Big-businesses can offer product or service with a “take it or leave it” attitude –small businesses however, are not afforded this luxury. The little guys –in an effort to stay in the game or grow—are often left to tweak the image of their product or service in different situations so that meaningful messages are conveyed to potential customers at all times. This creates a tricky situation for branding consistency. Below are a few things to keep in mind as you strive to brand and grow your business.

1) Potential customers need to have a clear understanding of what and who your business is before they will buy anything.

If your business is not self-explanatory, it’s important that you convey clear and concise messages about what you have to offer and the application of it –think elevator speech, and then where you’re going to publicize that info. If your business is self-explanatory, think about the image you’d like to convey to people and how you might set yourself apart from other businesses like yours.

2) Keep everyone on the same page.

It’s Important that businesses strive for consistency and cohesion with all publicized info. The way information is presented on Twitter, Facebook, and websites varies greatly, but because each of these platforms is so effective at relating to the customer on different levels, there is immense opportunity to enhance the image of your business. That being said, it’s important the customer doesn’t receive conflicting ideas. Social media admin need to have a clear understanding of what the short-term and long-term marketing objectives are and an overall understanding of how to put forth info and respond to comments in a way that aligns with the priorities and values of the business.

3) Maintain consistent logos, colors, and fonts.

While you may be a long way from the widely-recognized Swoosh, it’s important to remain consistent with these nuances. Some brand recognition is better than none. Brochures, business cards, website headers, etc. should all maintain the same look and color scheme.

Small-business is full of compromise. Next time you find yourself at a crossroads, weigh your options and stay mindful of your business branding. Would you like some hands-on assistance? See what Twelve Oaks Group has to offer.

Elizabeth

What and Why Is Article Marketing Important to Small Business?

Pam — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:08:53 +0000

By now, I am sure you have heard of article marketing, right? Twelve Oaks Group saw something on the Internet the other day, so I thought I’d break down that article for you. Here is the nitty, gritty about what and why article marketing is important to Small Business.

What the heck IS article marketing?

Well, let’s say you write several articles and upload them to the Internet by submitting them to different article directories, or perhaps you outsource the writing and submitting of them to a freelancer. Article marketing is a form of advertising for your small business and is very effective for driving customers to your website.

According to Phil Stone, Internet Marketing Success Coach, in his article, “What is Article Marketing,” he indicates that there are actually three types of articles that can be used to drive that traffic:

• Articles for blog or web site posts
• Articles as press releases
• Articles sent to article submission sites

Combining these three tactics together provides small businesses with a very effective internet marketing strategy that can propel their business to increased traffic — and therefore, increased sales.

Why is Article Marketing Important to Small Business?

There are actually many benefits to article marketing; however, we’ll break it down to the 3 top reasons as to why article marketing is important to small business. Let’s take a look at what they are:

1. Visibility – Using the 3 different types of articles gives you a lot of visibility as more and more businesses read your articles. Think about it. Prior to purchasing products and services from a small business, potential customers want information on that particular product or service, right? This sets you up to being a subject matter expert. They don’t want to deal with someone that is not knowledgeable about what they wish to buy.
2. Brand Recognition – Building brand recognition takes elbow grease and time. Nothing worthwhile will ever happen overnight but you can do it. By using articles, more and more customers are going to begin to know your brand. The key to your success will depend on YOU making your content and expertise available to them where they can enjoy it in their own time.
3. Profitability – There are two sides to this. One side of the coin is that you won’t have any large expenses to worry about. As a matter of fact, you can publish articles (yes, including press releases) at many sites for free. Using this form of internet marketing can also attract additional revenue to your bottom line because it will increase your opportunities for sales. Article marketing can be used by any size business — large or small — Business to Consumer (B2C), Business to Business (B2B) or Business to Government (B2G) – nationwide or global. Article marketing can prove to be an effective source of additional income to your business for years to come and be a source of potential customers for life.

Twelve Oaks Group has lots of web services and internet marketing ideas that you can use for your small business. We’d love for you to give us a call at (731) 337-4330.

Pam

Pam Lokker is a master writer and proficient virtual assistant, as well as being Co-owner of Borlok Virtual Assistants.

In addition, Pam is Customer Service and Content Manager for the Twelve Oaks Group.