Automate your impact with this simple inbound growth funnel

Apr19
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Inbound growth refers to the use of content and paid campaigns to grow a user base, and driving the users to take action. Part of the same family as growth hacking and inbound marketing, this process uses a couple of specific marketing strategies to push users through a funnel to reach a particular goal.

Once advanced, this process can take place in an almost entirely automated system. You can automate, and therefore scale, your impact. That’s why all brands – nonprofit, for-profit, or somewhere in between – should consider how it can play a role in their marketing efforts.

Here’s the standard marketing process on which inbound growth is built:

Inbound Growth Process

In inbound growth, we prioritize email marketing and retargeting/remarketing (advertising served to people who have already visited your website or are a contact in your database) to build, segment, and message our target audience(s).

Essentially, the goal is to build a community of website visitors and email subscribers, and use email and retargeting/remarketing to convert these prospects. Let’s take a look at a basic funnel:

Continue reading “Automate your impact with this simple inbound growth funnel” »

No budget? Here’s how to accelerate word-of-mouth marketing for your social enterprise

Mar12
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According to a study by Nielson, 92 percent of consumers believe recommendations from their friends and family over all forms of advertising. Word-of-mouth marketing is powerful, and lucky for those with limited budgets, it can also be free.

Nielson Piechart
In a crowded space this is a huge opportunity, and you ought to be taking advantage of it. Here’s how. Continue reading “No budget? Here’s how to accelerate word-of-mouth marketing for your social enterprise” »

How to make your marketing 12x more powerful with social proof

Feb24
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“To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful.” – Edward R. Murrow.

A lot of things go into our decision making. When viewing this through a marketing lens, credibility is certainly one of those important factors. And one of the most powerful ways of achieving credibility in the online space is through social proof.

Did you know, for example, that consumer reviews are 12x more trusted than vendor descriptions? People don’t always trust a brand, but they always trust other consumers.

Social Proof
Social proof (the concept that people will conform to the actions of others under the assumption that those actions are reflective of the correct behavior) is incredibly powerful. If it isn’t a key piece of your marketing messaging right now, here are a few ideas for how it could be. Continue reading “How to make your marketing 12x more powerful with social proof” »

Marketing for good? Capitalize on these tactics exclusive to socially good brands

Feb10
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Marketing is a crowded space. There are so many brands competing for attention that it can be overwhelming for consumers and frustrating for marketers.

Fortunately, socially good brands have an advantage. There are several key marketing tactics that allow our marketing campaigns to really STAND OUT from the crowd.

Take a look, and put them into practice. They can offer you a valuable edge. Continue reading “Marketing for good? Capitalize on these tactics exclusive to socially good brands” »

Create a content marketing strategy that actually works (plus a free content calendar template)

Jan20
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Far too many brands confuse “output” with “outcome”, and there are few places where this is more evident than content marketing.

So. Much. Noise.

It’s a problem that’s causing brands to waste thousands of dollars and hours every year on marketing that offers limited value.

Content Marketing
Content marketing shouldn’t be about creating content simply for the sake of it, or because everyone else is doing it. It should be tied to very specific business goals and aligned with your overall strategy.

Here are the six steps (and the exact content calendar template) I’ve used to build out my content marketing strategy for the upcoming year.

(If you already have your strategy and just here for the free content calendar template, here you go!). Continue reading “Create a content marketing strategy that actually works (plus a free content calendar template)” »