Is Your Company's Content Marketing Delivering Profits?

MAKING CONTENT WORK FOR YOUR BRAND

When it comes to content marketing, the reality is that companies are doing more online marketing activities and getting less results. That is not a pretty picture and it is a strong signal that your marketing strategy and implementation is at fault.

Most marketers don't have the advantage of cutting-edge strategy; it perpetually lags behind how their customers and prospects are actually using the Internet and Mobile to find their products and services.

As a result, most marketers are spending more money, employing more tactics and creating greater volumes of content across multiple channels than ever before. But despite that investment and effort (according to a study by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute), only 36 percent of businesses believe their content marketing is effective.
How can you reverse this breakdown?

At Promise Productions visual marketing communications, we believe the problem begins when there is a misalignment between the content within content marketing vehicles and the strategic messaging that defines your business.

With large volumes of content created by numerous people with the company and spread across wildly divergent mediums, it's easy for the most important, strategically aligned messages to get lost. That means your marketing is no longer integrated; it is chaotic.

When this happens, your content intended as "content marketing" degrades into "free advice" — and spending precious budgets to dispense free advice that doesn't help you accomplish your content marketing or business goals.

We a Promise Productions also often another breakdown: companies that think they will win the content marketing war by overwhelming the competition with massive amounts of content (low-quality content, usually).

By focusing too heavily on volume, many marketers employ an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach of content creation. They seem to believe that if they create a plethora of case studies, white papers, printed collateral, tweets, social media posts, etc., something will eventually "stick."

We've found that a smarter approach is to focus on engagement rather than volume. By "engagement" we mean, focusing instead on the conversations customers and prospects are already having, and where they are having them, jumping into those conversations with replies, answers, and demonstrating willingness to help the prospect get closer to their solution. We believe this is a much more effective strategy that will lead marketing teams to create quality content that delivers measurable ROI.

If you would like a better marketing strategy and approach to attracting your best business prospects, call Promise Productions at 877-858-0071.

The value of having the right person in your corner when it comes to business development

Marcus Kaiser is a business development expert that partners with business leaders and business owners to help them accomplish the vision for their company. With 18 years experience in marketing communications for the Fortune 50 and the small business owner alike, Marcus is excited about the many possibilities for mobile marketing to attract new clients and profits to companies of all sizes.

"Today, the money is in mobile. Because that is what your customers already use for finding services and selecting products. We do mobile better by making easy for customers to choose you to do business with." - Marcus Kaiser

Marcus focuses on how to leverage the proliferation of smartphones and tablet's to your company's advantage - be that apps for customer loyalty or being found in a local search with a mobile website. He has made his clients tens of millions of dollars of additional profits through strategically placing them where and when prospects are ready to take action.

Because mobile search is rapidly becoming the primary way customers find and choose the products to buy and the services they use, his mission is to position you for success. And through mobile, the emerging market is literally right in your prospects hands. He recognizes that those who win in the local mobile marketing arena now will soon be enjoying the lion's share of the profits in their marketplace. http://PromiseProductionsUSA.com

Deadly Flaw #2 - Simply Cutting Costs will pull us through

Deadly Flaw #2: Cutting Costs will pull us through. This myth is killing many companies today precisely because it has (had) a grain of truth to it! Yes, there are areas off fluff and inefficiency that need to be cut out. But face it, you can only cut costs so much and for so long. And probably the areas you've cut costs in are the wrong ones.

Many companies neglect consultants and marketing when times are "tight" and thereby starve themselves of the vital nutrients they need to have that forward-thinking vision that will differentiate themselves in the marketplace and elevate their value. The result is a downward spiral of defeat.

You already see it reflected in national politics; now see it in your own company: It is easy to look at Congress and realize,

"there is no real solution as long as politics is king, where mere rhetoric prevails and no willingness to meet the people at their need or truly change the underlying approaches to today's economic conditions. Both taxing and throwing money at new policies in a reactionary way never addresses the  Instead of everyone protecting their turf or clinging to their past political dogma, special interests needs to give way to everyone's interests." 

 I am here to remind you that these very same flaws exist in most businesses preventing them from surpassing their competition and enjoying the lion's share of the profits. 

The answer is that, yes, you evaluate where budgets are going into areas that either never served you or no longer serve you. But you REALLOCATE those funds to new strategies that align with the marketplace and current customer behavior. Without the STRATEGIC VISION to know where to reallocate the financial lifeblood of your company, you're only starving yourself needlessly.

For superior Dallas Strategic Marketing, call 877-858-0071.

The First Step To Success - Declare Your Business A Failure

What do I mean by this? In today's society, "failure" is looked down on. We take it way too personally. Almost nothing is as taboo as "failure" because success is king. Everyone wants to "make it" and prosper. But at this time, we all know we are in a season where prosperity -- although still very possible -- is scarer than ever.

As a premier marketing communications agency in Dallas, Promise Productions offers customized ways to direct your business into that prosperity. (i.e. business development strategies, marketing initiatives, creative ways to show prospects your true value to them, etc.) We love to make our clients wildly successful, but one of the main things we see that prevents companies from achieving greater success is their unwillingness to identfy and admit where breakdowns are undermining they success they could be enjoying.

Let's go over the top 5 ways that many businesses (of every size and in every market) are "failing" today. Because with knowing where you are missing the mark, can come a willingness to truly make the corrections that lead to success.

In our business development services and marketing strategy services, we deal with CEO's and business owners to help them realize their goals for their company. So I am going to be speaking Owner-to-Owner as you take a look at your own company.

This post will cover the first of the 5 deadly flaws. In a nutshell the 5 failure/breakthroughs are:
1. Only reacting to the outward symptoms of failure and not clearly identifying the exact breakdowns responsible for causing it. Without a powerful and clear declaration of failure that gets to the heart of the matter, no meaningful strategy for success can arise.

 2. Failing to adapt to the needs and driving motivations of your market today. This is huge. So many companies have some lofty ideas that have nothing to do with today's realities. As a result, their idealized intentions of success only end in frustration. Face it, the lock has changed and the same old key will no longer open it. Stubbornness, regardless of how well-intentioned or how nasty, leads quickly to extinction.

And the stubbornness to cling to outmoded ways of attracting clients and doing business with them creates a mismatch. Customers at all levels will do business with those that proactively communicate that they understand your needs and will do whatever it takes to meet their client's needs.

3. Failing to give more and more. Trying to survive simply by cutting costs is a superficial reaction and doomed to fail. I understand that we all need to "do more with less", but you're not going to get without giving. Business relationships are a 2-way street -- whether you are buying a house or a can-opener, there is some level of trust required for even the simplest of business transactions. People respond to reciprocity. If you lure prospects with shallow or fake value, they will soon abandon you to those that offer more compelling value.

4. Failing to love. You heard me: business success has everything to do with love. Polishing the packaging without an actual shiny interior will push profits away. You have to admit and identify where corporate apathy and selfishness are making people not care to do business with you.

This includes, but is far more than, being "passionate" about your company's products and services. If you are new to "business love", don't worry, we can show you how.

So let's begin:


Deadly Flaw #1: failing to declare "failure" for what it is.
Here's the "bad news / good news":We're going to reveal that your business is almost certainly failing in several vital areas. And in that, there is the relief that, although your business could be called a "failure" today, it does not have to keep failing and can make the necessary changes to gain even more market share to get on the dynamic path of prosperity tomorrow.

Failure does not have to be permanent -- it does not have to be stamped like a tombstone of your company! So look at "declaring failure" as the necessary step to engaging in the breakthroughs that will make the difference you have wanted all along.

Let's get one thing clear -- first you must admit that it takes more than pat answers. It takes more than a "band-aid" on top of the "same old thing." It takes more than new wrapping paper covering up the same strategic flaws. Trust us, the change you are really wanting is (a) top down, and (b) comes from the inside out, not the outside in.

What we "want" to do will only perpetuate frustration, failure and corporate death, but what we "need" to do will result in achievement, distinction and business fulfillment. First, let's identity the mistaken approach of "doing what we want."

By this I mean, it is tempting to indulge in wishful thinking and believe that applying little minor and painless new policies will quickly and magically make everything better.

I understand the attraction to wishful thinking in your business. This is simply human nature. But the situation here is that many companies have rampant "cancer" within them that requires a much deeper actions -- new ways to think of attracting and serving your customer and new ways of looking at your value within your industry - not just a new policy on top of outmoded and failing core practices.

What we all NEED to do to succeed: First we need to be honest. The most successful companies (throughout history and in every marketplace) always did 2 crucial things:
• they saw things as they were
• they saw how things could be better than they were

Without honesty, we also avoid success. Without admitting the breakdowns -- and by that I mean really pinpointing the core breakdown, we will never get to the turning points to be able to turn them in the right direction!

Here's the Catch
You cannot do this on your own. Reality shows us again and again that, left to your own great intentions, you will end up keep on doing the same thing and falling into the same limiting business ruts. Your business ego will resist getting right down to the REAL breakdown underlying all the symptoms you don't like. You need a "business therapist" (I just made that up and it makes me laugh). But seriously, you need the objective and strategic consulting that only a proven business development and marketing expert can deliver.

The very inertia of your surrounding corporate "culture" will actually prevent the very change you need to live. I know we all want to tell ourselves that we are the "exception", but ptobably we are not the exception to the rule. (after all, 95% of people identify themselves as "better than" the average driver)  But at the very same time we all see the old ways overtake new great intentions (just look at why 95% of people fail to realize their New Year's Resolutions or fail to keep the weight off, etc. etc.)

You want death and frustration? Then go right ahead and indulge in wishful thinking. If that is you, then, here, have another "business Twinkie" while indulging in dreams of "corporate fitness." In the very same way, left to your own devices, you will rationalize those business Twinkies, with their promise of immediate gratification, that end up driving you to extinction.

You won't get on the road to fulfilling results because you lack the objectivity and freedom from ego and familiar rationalizations that is required to make the core shifts that make it finally all come together for you!

When you are ready to stop paying lip service to success and really enjoy a new level of freedom and business fulfillment, we are just a phone call away at 877-858-0071. Talk to a Promise Productions business profits specialist about making your business be all it can be.

© 2012 Marcus Kaiser of Promise Productions

SEO has totally changed? Is your marketing following suit?

"SEO Isn't What You Think It Is." This is the absolute best article on the changing landscape of SEO to articulate and sum up the significant changes we have seen in 2012 period. I did not write it, but it echoes precisely what I've been preaching to my clients since the Summer of 2012. 

Let me make some crucial points and then on to this gem of an article. If you are doing business as usual, you are opting for extinction. The rules have changed! A lot! 

 

So if your marketing or SEO company has not come to you and said "we need to step back and re-strategize your entire approach to online visibility" they are flat out pimping you for money on old models and paradigms of SEO that NO LONGER WORK. 

 

What worked in the first quarter of 2012, no longer works at all in the 3rd quarter of 2012. That is because many things that Google previously rewarded, they now punish. So if your strategy is not FRESH, it is not merely stale, it is painfully DEAD.

99% of SEO companies are baloney - they take a small pinch of actual knowledge and hold it over their client's heads - fluffing up its value so they can charge fat monthly retainers.  This is in contrast to the work it takes to develop a comprehensive strategy based on the actual landscape of SEO in the present with a smart plan for the future. 

 

1% of SEO companies actually know what they are doing. I should know, as a Dallas SEO service provider, I have been in this industry since the very beginning. In well over a decade of local search marketing interaction, I've seen many companies and services come and go and only found 5 other companies (besides my own http://PromiseProductionsUSA.com) that actually GET IT. 

 

That's right, I can say in all honesty that in Dallas' city of 3 million people, there are only 6 legitimate firms amongst 20,000,000 PRETENDERS with little value and lots of hype to snag your marketing dollar and waste it. 

 

I am writing this because I am personally passionate that clients get TRUE VALUE and it upsets me to see so much abuse by other firms to something that could be one of the very most valuable tools to a business wanting more market share and more revenue.

 

Why don't other SEO companies stay current and actually "move the needle" for their clients? Because that takes real work, time and effort to stay on top of the very dynamic world of Search Engine Optimization. It takes visionary strategy. It takes actual innovation and creativity. And these things are not commodities.

 

Yes your website needs well-done SEO, but don't fool yourself to think that this alone will give you meaningful results in today's marketplace. On-page SEO is a necessity. On-page SEO is an assumed foundation if you are serious about your business, but it is no longer enough to rank well in Google. 

 

Today's successful companies must go beyond on-page SEO to off-page SEO and social interaction. If you don't have a brand visibility strategy you are being lost in the shuffle and throwing away your influence and losing valuable prospects left and right. Don't let that happen; use a savvy marketing communications firm that is well-versed in the new rules of search engine visibility since Google's Panda and Penguin updates to gain, and keep, your website in the top search engine results for your most valuable terms. 

 

Here is another "take away" from the new rules of SEO. Your web designer or website developer can no longer do your SEO. 

 

That is because SEO has evolved to incorporate elements that only those with current skills in integrated marketing, social media marketing, marketing communications and digital interactive agencies possess. 

 

Your website designer can intelligently make your website itself the best it can be, but that is just the start to the real process of online visibility. Only those who know web development but ALSO know social media, video SEO and online marketing are actually qualified to pull together the increasingly diverse sets of resources and strategies that are required to get real results in the search marketing landscape of today and tomorrow.

 

Understand that SEO, done right, is a TREMENDOUS VALUE to your company's short-term and long-term profits. SEO done wrong (or according to outdated approaches) is not only a terrible waste of precious resources, it now makes your company PENALIZED. 

 

That's right; you just heard me admit that what Google encouraged you to do a few months ago in your SEO and linkbuilding and keyword approaches, now will actually work against you - burying your company in the depths where no customers will find you and have the chance to do business with you. Google did not merely "update" the rules; they massively changed them - to the point of actually contradicting many of the previous commonly embraced SEO best practices. 

 

If your marketing or SEO company did not proactively come to you and tell you this, then fire them. They are probably not just ignorant or out or touch, they are probably panicking and literally hiding the fact that they just become irrelevant because they don't have the skill sets or marketing savvy to actually do you any good anymore! 

 

If your SEO firm did not come clean and tell you "the very things we've been charging you to do last month are now the things hurting your website visibility today, and becuase we care about your business' success more than we care about milking you for your monthly charges, we have a completely difference strategy to deal with this and win back your search engine placement" then they are quietly deceiving you - having become dangerous liability to your success instead of an asset. 

I am not saying they are necessarily wrong to do the SEO they did in the past. But I am emphatically stating that they are deceptive to keep on doing it today when they should be the first to know how the old rules hurt your results today.

Unless you are an expert whose invested significant time on a regular basis to understand the nuances between what ACTUALLY WORKS and what no longer works, then your business is practically pissing in the wind. 

 

I personally vouch that the info in this article below is the real deal, so I honor her for saying it like it is. There are no short cuts to success. Deal with it. But there are clues that success leaves behind that you can follow. Enjoy results with the significantly different "new best practices" when it comes to giving your products and services the visibility they need to succeed in a digital (and social) world.

 

So, speaking business owner to business owner, I personally invite your company to do itself a favor and learn the info below. It can make ALL the difference when it comes to your SEO, and if you want a diligent SEO company in Dallas, simply call Promise Productions at 877-858-0071.

 

To your success,

Marcus K

 ~~~~~~~~

Updates to Google's algorithms mean that social engagement, rather than search engine trickery, yields top results. 

By Veronica Fielding

Marketers are buzzing from the aftershocks of Google's recent most updates, code-named Panda and Penguin.

Panda, which launched around February of 2011, started using artificial intelligence in new ways to enforce the best practices guidelines Google had long provided to those seeking to optimize their websites.

If Panda was a wrist slap, Penguin, launched in last April 2012, was a body slam to websites still trying to "trick" the search engines into ranking them ahead of their competition. The update emphasized the importance of quality content, originality, and overall user experience.
Both the Panda and Penguin updates contained very clear messages for marketers: stop focusing on technology and tricks and start focusing on people. If your website appeals to people, it will appeal to Google's algorithms too.

But the Panda and Penguin messages go deeper. With them, the search engines are openly acknowledging that a website isn't the only place on the Web that a brand needs to maintain a strong presence. The interactive exchanges that people have with each other and with the brand--online--are happening in the social media channel, and the search engines are placing an increasing importance on how these conversations influence their views on brands and how their websites should rank.

This means that a brand can no longer rely on a well-optimized website to earn Google's attention. A brand must be a conversationalist, going where the people are and engaging them in discussion, and by doing that earn a wonderful reputation.

Smart brands are doing this by fully leveraging each social channels particular properties.

Facilitate conversations with fans on your Facebook page.
Simply announcing what your company is up to isn't going to get fans engaging with your brand. Post information that is relevant to your brand and of interest to your stakeholders. Invite questions, suggest other reading, provide links, curate other content. The point is to have dynamic conversations between your brand and your fans.
Parmesan is a delicious example.

Share tweets about topics of interest (again--not self-serving announcements but follower-serving news) via Twitter.
The search engines are all looking at Twitter activity, at the keyword and brand-name level, as signals for which brands deserve top rankings. No one is going to be interested in miles and miles of one-way tweets about how great your brand is. Know your stakeholders: provide information that will be of use to them and they will not only follow you, they'll retweet what you share.
Whole Foods gets it.

Uploading shareable videos to your YouTube channel optimizes your brand as well as your website.
How? When the content is engaging, people what to share it. When they share it, they often add a link to your website. Encourage more sharing and engagement with people who leave comments by responding to their comments. Remember, Google owns YouTube. Enough said.
Home Depot has a quality YouTube channel.

Pin and Repin interesting visuals on Pinterest.
Pinterest may not be right for every brand, but if you market to consumers and have a brand with visual attributes or messaging that can be supported by photos, images, and infographics, Pinterest is another option to leverage for brand optimization.
Real Simple and West Elm pin well.

Participate in groups, answer questions, and post company updates on LinkedIn.
This is less about SEO and more about putting your brand where the buyers are. Whether you are a B2B or B2C marketer, having a strong LinkedIn profile for your company, complete with referrals from customers and strategic partners, is a strong component in the brand optimization mix. While LinkedIn groups tend to be "closed" and therefore not accessible to the search engines, some are public, and therefore search engine crawlable and the conversations in those groups where your brand is referenced with links to your website can help with SEO and brand optimization too. And don't forget, Company Pages are public and now feature status updates.
Voices.com is a resource on LinkedIn.

Share information on Google+.
There is widespread belief that as Google+ gains in popularity, the conversations there will help with brand and search engine optimization. People have been somewhat slow to add yet another social media profile to their online presence, and brands have been slow to adopt Google+ too, but some brands are making smart use of Google+ now.

See what the New York Times is doing with it.

All of this social media activity works to create engagement around the brand by what has always mattered to the search engines most: people.

So rather than asking yourself, "How do I optimize my website to better rank with search engines?" ask, "How can I optimize my brand so that it's a sought-after participant in relevant conversations?" Answering that will bring you top rankings on the search engines and much, much more.

Veronica Fielding is the CEO of "Digital Brand Expressions", a trailblazing digital marketing agency that specializes in building audiences and connecting buyers and brands through context marketing solutions.

Promise Productions Business Development

We're in the business of helping great companies succeed! Promise Production's services are about targeting, engaging and captivating your best audience.

We believe that not all customers are created equal and our marketing communications, social media management and web visibility strategies are focused on attracting your best prospects -- and by that I mean the ones you ENJOY doing business with the most... and the ones that bring optimum PROFITS.



I find that every business these days is facing one need or another. You may need strategies to get quick cash-flow while also building your brand long-term. You may have a great service and just need to let people know about it. You may want to leverage Video Marketing or Social Media to reach the next level. You may offer an innovating approach and need to differentiate yourself from the competition. You may want the power of a big ad agency without the high fees they charge.

Well if you want, you need, then this is the place you GET. 

Let Promise Productions take you from where your business is to where it want's to be. But realize, you have to be open to a fresh approach -- to service -- to truly giving value in order to get market share.

Let Promise Productions serve your business with strategies tailored to forward your success -- call 877-858-0071.