Entrepreneurs and Their Communities

RRDC REGIONAL RURALDEVELOPMENT CENTERS

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Crafting the Message:Effective Online Marketing

Glenn Muske – NDSUConnie Hancock - UNL Extension

Housekeeping Details• If you haven’t already done so, enter your

name/email address into the chat box• Session will be recorded• Feel free to type questions/comments at

any time

The Starting Point

“Build it and they will come” doesn’t work

Examine Your Behavior

• What was the last marketing message you saw or heard?

• Did you respond?• Why did you respond?• In what media type did you find the message?

Your Marketing Message Must Meet 3 Requirements

1. It gets seen in the jungle– 5000/day or 200 per hour

• http://bit.ly/1jqhCBb

2. Message must resonate with the consumer

3. There is a call-to-action

Crafting the Message

• Who is the audience• What do they need? What is their

headache/problem? • How can you help? It’s not what’s in it for me

but what’s in it for them. Think benefits• How do you differ from the competition• Build trust – testimonials, examples, past

results,

Some Basics• Marketing is:

– Everything you do– Traditional and online– Internal and external– Done by everyone – you, your employees, your

customers and your ex-customers– Activities pre, during, and post – SERVICE!

Some Basics: Part 2• Marketing can:

– Sell– Create awareness– Build a brand/identity/trust/relationships– Communicate value/benefits of product/service– Establish yourself in the marketplace– Make connections– Identify who the customer is, what they want and

what price they will pay;

Some Basics: Part 3• Marketing occurs:

– Everywhere and anywhere– Among people– And today, a great deal happens online.

Why Online Marketing?

• It’s where people are• It influences purchasing behavior

– Forrester Research – Buyer today is often 2/3 to 90% of the way through the decision making process before they ever interact with a person

– Got there by gathering information online

Your Online Marketing Effort

Online Marketing Keys

• Content is king• Distribution is queen• And action trumps them all.

– Action rarely happens if the consumer: • Doesn’t know where to go (landing pages)• Isn’t asked to do anything (Call-to-action)

Marketing Goals

Message

Landing Page

Call to Action

Evaluation and Start

Over

The Marketing Process

Remember there is nothing that can’t be made better.

Landing Page defined

• “…a web page that allows you to capture a visitor’s information through a lead-capture form.”

Hubspot

Why landing pages are important

• Generate New Leads• Give premium content a home• Collect demographic information• Understand who is engaged• Can be used in multi-channel campaigns

http://blog.katapult.co.uk/inbound/inbound-marketing-101-landing-pages-explained/

– Provides relevant, useful, and original content– Promotes transparency and fostering

trustworthiness – Explains your products or services – Makes it easy for customers to navigate your site

(including on mobile sites)

https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2404197?hl=en

Good Landing Page Experience

Elements of a Landing Page

• C = Clear Call to Action• O = Offer• N = Narrow Focus• V = VIA: Very Important Attributes• E = Effective Headline• R = Resolution – Savvy Layout• T = Tidy Visuals• S = Social Proof

http://blog.kissmetrics.com/c-o-n-v-e-r-t-s/

Write content for the purpose of educating and informing

• Offer smaller, bite-sized pieces of your content that can easily digest and easily share

• Not entirely unique, but taken from longer pieces that people can opt in or decide to read at their leisure

• These can be data points, memorable phrases or action items and will fit nicely for Facebook or Twitter posts

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2320358/5-Ways-to-Have-Killer-Content-in-2014

Perfect Landing Page

• Heading – – What they are about to get and why it is important

• Bullets• Testimonials• Call to Action• Place for customer to fill in contact information

– Less fields to fill in – the better

Improving Your CTA

• What do you want customers to do• Create the Hook

– What’s in it for me?• Give your customers a reason to act

– Provide the sense of urgency• Optimize CTA• Consistent presentation• Test and Measurehttp://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-improve-your-social-media-calls-to-action/

Optimizing Call To Action

• Consistent presentation• Qualify your offer – 100 left• Size matters BIG time• Placement is key – ”Don’t make me think”

– 3 to 5 seconds• Brightly Colored• Whitespace wonders• It’s not what you say – it’s how you say it!

http://www.instapage.com/2013/02/20/5-call-to-action-tips/#more-5422

How to get started

• Offer something for free– If value is there – the customer will take action

DownloadBuyFindGet

OrderPurchaseReviewShop

Call to Actions

• https://squareup.com/

Test – Test - Test

• Test different online pages• Test how people respond• Test Social Media

– Email marketing– Tweet– Facebook page– Blog

• Test Traditional marketing

• Content is what people want.• Content is what people share.• Content is what makes buying decisions

happen.

http://www.copyblogger.com/2014-rainmaker/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=779131&utm_campaign=0

Additional resources

• http://huskerpreneur.wordpress.com/resources/workshop-materials/landing-pages/

• http://www.copyblogger.com/2014-rainmaker/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=779131&utm_campaign=0

• http://www.instapage.com/2013/02/20/5-call-to-action-tips/#more-5422• http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2320358/5-Ways-to-Have-Killer-Content-in-

2014• http://blog.kissmetrics.com/c-o-n-v-e-r-t-s/• https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2404197?hl=en• http://blog.katapult.co.uk/inbound/inbound-marketing-101-landing-pages-explain

ed/

eTailing – Taking Charge of Your Online Presence

http://go.unl.edu/etailing

Online Curriculums

• Direct Marketing of Specialty Food

http://go.unl.edu/directmarketingfood

• Marketing Agritourism Online

http://go.unl.edu/agritourism

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Blog - http://entrepreneursandtheircommunities.wordpress.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eXtensionentrepreneurs

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/extbizteam

Thank You! Mark your calendars2nd Thursday, 2:00pm ET; 1:00pm CT; 12 pm MT; 11:00 am PT

http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/etc-cop

– February 13 –Blogging for Food – Jennifer Lewis – The Soup to Nuts Resource for Artisan Food Entrepreneurs

– March 13 – Incorporating Video into the Marketing Strategy – Jeremy Doan, Rolling Plains Adventures