How Your Small Business Can Use Content to Generate Leads

Content marketing has become something of an equalizer for SMBs competing for consumers’ attention and looking for ways to generate new leads. As the cost of Adwords skyrocket, the old dictum that you get what you pay for is no longer the case. In fact, when it comes to search the opposite is true. Increasing bids on keywords can be a losing a strategy for many SMBs because bigger brands who can afford to spend more in the cost-per-click market will always be lurking around the corner.

What makes content so attractive for building a new audience and generating leads is that it’s truly ownable. Creating, commissioning, or otherwise earning content provides SMBs the opportunity to extend their business in a more meaningful way to consumers. Content creates value for consumers where other forms of digital advertising like display seek to extract value with direct-response cues that consumers have now been trained to ignore, a likely explanation for why display has hit a wall in recent years.

Here are best practices your small business should use to generate leads with content:

1. Get into the business of blogging

Whether you’re a Fortune 500 or small business, a blog is an essential piece to any content strategy. Blogs provide a simple way to engage consumers with content they find interesting, educational, or entertaining.  Rather than a hard sell on a product, SMBs should consider what other value they as a company –and member of the digital community—can offer consumers.  What is your subject matter expertise?  What is the source of inspiration behind your company? What lessons have you learned that might be useful? It’s this knowledge and use of content that can help to engage with the consumer and turn them into a valuable lead over time.

2. Gain credibility with earned media

Earned media, such as news coverage, press mentions or product reviews, are a great way to increase your visibility in a crowded marketplace. Such exposure goes a long way in educating consumers without a brand’s direct involvement—which is to say consumers often trust earned media more than branded content. 79% of consumers indicated they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, showing that consumer knowledge about your company is a powerful and credible way to excite your audience and generate new leads. With the holiday season quickly approaching, expect to see the role of earned media in consumer spending proliferate.

Got content? Start generating leads with it now!

3. Make multimedia multipurpose 

In addition to providing a more engaging experience for consumers, multimedia assets greatly increase your options for content execution. Video is one of the most versatile assets you can develop. Embedding your company or “how-to” videos into articles and blog posts, turning them into thumbnails on Facebook and linking on Twitter, or adapting them into podcasts on SoundCloud, are all valuable ways to get more views and ultimately boost brand recognition. Similarly, an Instagram photo can live in a blog post which then becomes an appealing thumbnail in your Facebook update. All great ways to engage your audience!

4. Take it offline and get in-store

Many believe that content marketing is limited to the Internet. However, if you’re a brick-and-mortar business, using great content like case studies in lieu of hard-sell sales collateral is an effective way to engage with consumers in-store or at “the last 3 feet” before the sale. Think like the local supermarket that shares recipe cards using ingredients from their shelves. Whether your efforts are on or offline, the key is to always add value, entertain or inform your audience.

5. Build it and they will come…or will they?

Of course, one of the most important steps to consider is how to amplify your content to reach a bigger audience and capture that larger pool of leads. You’ve put a ton of time, effort and spend into creating content, but just because you have it on your site doesn’t mean people will discover it. In some cases, your content may be interesting enough that your audience will share it via social channels, but the reach is still limited to a smaller network. Here are a couple of alternative methods we suggest:

• LinkedIn offers a sponsored updates product that allows businesses to target any LinkedIn member. You’re able to distribute this content directly to relevant professionals in a place their customers and prospects are already consuming professionally relevant content.


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  Outbrain drives discovery of article and video content at scale through personalized recommendations that appear in the footer of online article pages of premium publishers like CNN, WSJ and Slate. By amplifying your content through recommendations on these sites, you’re able to leverage their audience and drive them to your site, increasing your exposure to new leads over time.

Ultimately, whether you use social, content discovery or search to drive a new audience, the power of using your own content and creating value from sharing your knowledge will always better resonate with your audience than a hard product sell.

Got content? Start generating leads with it now!

How Your Small Business Can Use Content to Generate Leads

Easy Tips on How to Get the Best Mobile Phone Contract

Cell phones play a major role in day to day life; they help you stay in touch with family and associates and they enable you to access mail and information on different issues. Other than that, modern mobile phones are capable of storing data, taking and editing pictures and playing videos. Unlike in the past, phones today are very affordable and they have turned into a necessity for many. However, with the many cell phone deals available, getting the right plan may sometimes be a problem -the following tips should help you search out the best deal possible.

Evaluate Your Old Plan

Assessing what is provided in your existing contract will greatly guide you as you look for a new plan. Thus, before doing anything else, you should begin by looking through your phone statements and check whether you have been using all the features that have been made available by your carrier. You can even go further and look into the calls you have made to the same network, as well as the premium and international calls. You should do the same with your text messages as well. With this information in hand, you can then calculate the totals to get an average of what you need every month. Additionally, you should consider the features you want in your new phone contract and the type of phone that you would be comfortable with.


Research

With your average monthly needs and phone model worked out, you can now move on to doing some research online to see what the different carriers have in store. Remember, at this point, you have to factor in the specifics of the package offered rather than just the cost so as to avoid paying for something you don’t need. Since you will already have a clear estimate of your average usage, you should be able to single out a plan that comes with the data, minutes and texts that will fully cater for your needs. However, regardless of what you choose, you should compare it with what you already have and determine whether or not it will be practical to change your carrier.

Negotiate

Once you have reached a decision to go for a new carrier, you should take time to visit them. Your aim here should be to negotiate in order to get the most from what you pay. Also, carriers often give discounts; therefore you should find out about such and take advantage of offerte fastweb among other phone deals. Service providers are always eager to get you on their network, and salespersons will go out of their way just to make you sign up. Knowing this, you should make every effort to get a deal that will work best for you based on your needs and budget. In this regard, if you are not satisfied with what is presented in one store, you can simply leave and go to a different store under the same chain. When you finally get a fitting plan, you can sign, get your application processed, and then enjoy what you have negotiated for

Easy Tips on How to Get the Best Mobile Phone Contract

New Cartridge Link Print Supply Store Promises Best-Ever Quality

Cartridge Link, the new online printer ink store, promises its customers the best-quality cartridges to be found on the web, affordable prices, and an easy way to quickly select your replacement ink cartridges.

The recently opened printer cartridge shop offers customers a best-quality promise, and has designed their website to be easy to use,with a fast, reliable service for printer supplies.

The ink store offers various search functions and a list of top-brand printer cartridges for easy selection. Customers can search for ink cartridges, toner cartridges and paper from a left-hand menu, or select a printer make, or easily find their printer model or cartridge number using the search tools available on the website.

The shop offers a best-quality promise on all their stock. Cartridge Link selects top-quality printer inks and toners from some of the biggest names in the business, such as Lexmark, HP, Cannon and Brother. All inks come with Cartridge Link’s guarantee of quality, which is achieved through a stringent selection process that is applied to every product.

Their compatible ink cartridges are also high-quality, and compatible cartridges come with a further guarantee of best-priced products, making them the cheapest available on the web.

Cartridge Link aims to be to make shopping for ink hassle-free and affordable. A dedicated customer service team is available to talk customers through their purchase. Fully trained staff offer telephone assistance from Monday to Friday and email support to ensure that customers are buying the correct print cartridges.

Customers can buy their cartridges in confidence. For those who are not completely happy with their purchase, the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and hassle-free returns policy.

The print supplies store also offers free First-Class Royal Mail, next-day delivery on all orders. Other delivery methods include priority courier with scheduled delivery, allowing customers to choose a convenient delivery time.

The company offers a number of other incentives, including a £5 refer a friend scheme and reward points on purchases. Extra points are awarded to customers who recycle, as part of Cartridge Link’s commitment to the environment. There are also discount and promotions codes for customers who visit the website. Further offers are available to customers who subscribe to emails or follow the firm on Twitter or Facebook.

The new website offers secure payment via a range of methods including card payments and PayPal. Customers can also track their orders and view their order history.

“We wanted to make our website user-friendly and offer a service that sets us apart from other print suppliers in terms of quality, speed and the shopping experience we offer.”

For more information about Cartridge Link please visit www.cartridgelink.co.uk or contact support@cartridgelink.co.uk.

New Cartridge Link Print Supply Store Promises Best-Ever Quality

Understanding the Business Benefits of Windows Cloud Servers

Information technology (IT) is not the same today as it was 20, 10 or even five years ago. One of the biggest changes over the past couple of years is the utilization of cloud computing, servers and applications to streamline IT services. For a company to stay ahead of the competition, they must understand all current or developing technologies, including Windows cloud servers. Luckily, it will be easy to implement these services — in fact, a blog post by Rackspace declares it will be no harder to run Windows from the cloud than from a standalone server. Understanding some of the most important benefits of using Windows cloud servers will simplify your decision to make the leap with your company. After all, in the near future more and more programs will run on cloud servers as well.

Windows IT professionals need support

Windows Cloud Server is a more up-to-date version of the Windows Server program. The current Windows Server program is widely used by professionals in many industries. However, this program is becoming outdated. In fact, according to the Microsoft Website, the 2003 version of Windows Server will cease to be supported at all by Microsoft after 2015. Your company deserves to have tech support on its side to help it with daily functions and to assist with culture growth and change. The new cloud-based version of Windows server is well supported and ready to leap into the future.

Companies that support technology are more likely to succeed

Designing, developing and deploying applications is very important today and will likely only become more so. Companies that have the ability to support the innovative technology today as well as the technology that may become important in the future are going to experience more success over the long term.

There is a need to meet increasing data requirements

Performance requirements are always changing and companies need to be able to meet the needs of their customers as these requirements change by building scalable resources. Using a cloud server means that scalability will never be a problem, since the server can be adjusted, it will never remain stagnant. As consumers and businesses keep using more app-based programming, data requirements will continue to grow. Think about what the data requirements were when Windows Server 2003 was developed. Today’s requirements are much more intense — while there have been workarounds, a cloud server can grow and change with the needs of technology.

These are just a few of the more important reasons why a Windows cloud server is a good choice for many organizations. Spending time learning about this service and how it can work with your already established service can help make your IT department run smoothly both now and in the future. An Infographic from Rackspace states that 48 percent of SMBs anticipate purchasing cloud services in two to three years. If you are not part of this percentage, you are likely to fall further behind in the cloud revolution — making it even harder to thrive in a hugely competitive business environment.

 

Understanding the Business Benefits of Windows Cloud Servers

Top Trends in Eco- Friendly Products

With the changing time people have transformed themselves to a great extent. The consistent evolution of technology has always managed to gain huge space in people’s lives. And, same is the case with eco-friendly products. Today, these products have become a substantial part of various houses in the entire world. They are basically our simple step in the hunt for completely greener planet. Let’s check out some of the current trendy range in green products.

 

• Hand powered shredder

Before you trash all your personal documents, it is imperative to shred them. This hand shredder does the same for you without using any electricity. This can help you immensely in reducing the carbon footprint on earth.

• Float

While saving environment to a great extent, float can serve to be a stylish solution for lighting in your home. As a green lamp, it will surely create a pleasing ambience in your space. Its usage will also give you a sense of relief as it will give you the feeling of saving earth to a great extent.

• Bamboo Desktop Dry-Erase Board

By using the Bamboo Desktop Dry-Erase Board, you can save a lot of paper.

It is created with the help of a real bamboo and that bamboo is taken from the FSC certified forests.

• Green umbrella

Unlike the conventional umbrellas, these green umbrellas are basically a skeleton of the folding umbrellas. They do not have any fixed surface like the normal umbrellas. Hence, it is more beneficial as it gives you the flexibility of choosing your own cover for the skeleton. It can be a newspaper or a plastic bag as well.

• Moss Carpet

Moss Carpet is simply like the grass under your feet. It is made from imputrescible foam which is called plastazote. This carpet includes all ball moss, forest moss and island moss. The life of the mosses depends on bathroom’s humidity. That’s the reason for this carpet to be placed only in the bathroom rather anywhere else. It will also contribute positively in your blood circulation.

• Seven year pen

It is calculated that every day, 100 millions pens are simply thrown and discarded, which enhances the amount of waste on earth. As an eco-friendly substitute, this pen makes a strong promise of its survival till seven years. Its sleek and modern design gives it a strong edge over other expensive pens in the markets. With a long life, this pen will serve to be a great investment for its buyers.

• 
  Water-powered clock
  Instead of batteries, these clocks run with the salt water. With the help of water as its fuel, these clocks are capable of only telling the time. They are available in different colors in a completely attractive look. With these clocks, you can wake up to define a greener morning in your life.

Solar energy goes a long way in helping in the conservation of environment and there’s one company which is the front runner in promoting solar energy based products. Portable fridge freezers by Aussie Batteries Solar is the company’s most amazing offering. AussieBatteriesSolar.com.au products are known for premium quality.

Top Trends in Eco- Friendly Products

Getting Your Employees to Use an Online Management Tool

In this age of technology, it is vital that your company stays up-to-date on latest technological tools to see how they can improve your company’s operations. One such technology – online management tools allow teams of employees to quickly collaborate together on projects to maximize their success. This online tool provides real-time information to all the members of the team. It allows everyone to stay on target throughout the project.

These services over time can help build employee morale, control costs and help the staff meet important deadlines. This in turns adds up to improved productivity and a boost in overall revenue for the company. While this sounds like a great management tool, some business managers have difficulty getting their staff to use these time saving online tools. The fact is that most employees do not like change and do not believe that the new system will work better for them. Your job as management is to motivate the employees and make this transition to online service run smoothly. Here are some tips to help employees get on board with using an online management tool.

 

Explain the Benefits

Even before you implement the new online management tool, you need to explain to the staff what change is taking place and why. Focus on how these services will specifically help them in the workplace. Discuss how it will provide better communication between team members, and real-time reporting. Also, focus on the simplicity of using the system and the numerous reports they will have access to on a continual basis.  In addition, explain the cost savings to the company, and how implementation of this new management tool will boost overall job performance and productivity.

Provide On-Going Training

Adequate training is an absolute must. Employees will not be interested in using a new system if they do not know how to use it properly. You need to also plan for on-going training, as it may take some members of your staff longer to learn how to use the new computer system. Training must also be provided to new employees on a continuous basis, so they are aware how to use the new system as soon as they are hired.

Clear Communication

Clear communication must also be established between management and the staff. It is pertinent to set goals for both the company as a whole, and individual employees. This will help them see the bigger picture and allow them to know exactly what your expectations are of them. While you want to be understanding of their hesitancy to change their work patterns, you must also clearly communicate that the changes are not optional. Explain that the company is prepared to give all employees time to get used to the new online management tool. However, remind them that this is part of the company’s new project management solutions, and every staff member must be fully engaged in the system to reap its overall benefits.

Listen to Complaints

Be prepared to hear some initial complaints from your employees. It would be unrealistic to make a drastic change in management style and not have some people upset. The truth is that many times the employee just wants to be heard, and know their employer cares. So, set aside a person on the management team that can listen to employee’s complaints and determine if they have any merit to them. If several employees have the same complaint, evaluate the problem and determine if there is a better way to use the system to get the results that staff wants.

Written by Manfredi Bargioni of Hydra Management, a UK based resource management software company company that optimizes resource utilization.

Getting Your Employees to Use an Online Management Tool

Best Christmas Gadgets

Christmas bells are just around the corner, and so it’s time to scratch your head and figure out the perfect gifts for all your loved ones. You have already figured out what to get your mother, daughter and sister (they have been dropping the hints all year long) but when it comes to your male relatives and friends, not that’s a real brain teaser. You cannot give them another sweater, because the ones you gave them last year, still lie at the bottom of the closet. So how about getting them something they can actually use for a change. One kind of gift you cannot go wrong with is electronic gadgets. Below is a list of Christmas gadgets you may want to consider.

An outdoor movie screen:

If you cannot stand your husband and his boys screaming and shouting, while they watch replays of football matches that they has already watched, getting him an outdoor movie theater kit will be the perfect gift for him. This kit comes together with everything you will need to enjoy all your favorite TV shows and movies outside. It is also great for camping trips, family parties or any other festival you may want to host in your home. It will also make for a romantic way to watch your favorite movies, under the stars.

High Tech Ski goggles:

If he is a tech guy, then getting these ski goggles with a built in GPS, will be the perfect gift for him. They weight just a pound, have a rechargeable battery integrated in them, have a flexible frame and are both comfortable and durable. These ski goggles allow you to see in real time how fast you are moving. They will also be able to provide you with details, such as the distance you have covered, the altitude you are at currently, temperature, jump times and a whole lot of other features. It will bring a whole new level of awesome tech fun, to his skiing experience and he will love you all the more for it.

Sports headphones:

You probably know how annoying it is, when you have to stop your workout to re-adjust and put back your headphones, so you can enjoy your favorite tunes while you work out. If you do, then getting your athletic partner a pair of these sports headphones will make his Christmas. Theses sports headphones have a unique over the wire design that keeps the wires behind your body ensuring they are out of the way while you exercise. The cord length measures about 4 feet and delivers very clean, clear accurate sound. Whether its tennis, running, football practice or any other sport, this are the perfect headphones.

Electronic dartboard:

If he is an ardent dart fan, then this is the perfect gift for him. The electronic dartboard has very striking colors, regulation 15.5 inch target and includes all you need to start playing your favorite game immediately. It includes a set of two darts and extra tips. It is suitable for up to eight players, comes with an built in battery operated LCD panel, sleep mode, automatic player changer, missed dart detector, a bounce out button and a one year warranty.

Hot Dog Toaster:

If you love hotdogs, then you would love this toaster. The hot dog toaster has a heat control that is adjustable, a hot dog basket that is removable, and drip tray that you can remove for easy cleaning. It also comes equipped with a pair of tongs and is super affordable. It will make for a great Christmas gift for your loved one, and they can treat themselves or their friends to some delicious hotdogs.

Football alarm clock:

If you are trying to gift a football enthusiast, who rarely makes it to work on time, then the football alarm clock is one of the perfect Christmas gifts. It has a very cool design and is ideal for both kids and adults. The clock has a built in alarm that can be set to a special sport setting, and allow you to wake up to your favorite sports sound. The read time display is large for easy viewing and has a nice, large snooze button.

A funky Designer Wall Clock:

This sophisticated, classy and techy wall clock may be a bit pricey but is word every cent you spend on it. This ultra-modern gadget does not give you time in numerals instead, it shows your time in a statement form such as ‘it is quarter past eight’. It will be the perfect gift to wow your loved ones guests and comes in a range of colors.

The author is a freelance writer who specializes in a variety of article genres including, product reviews, blog and web content, manuscript review and short online articles. She is also a business specialist who majored in Finance and is passionate about finding new and exciting ways to improve business. She can be found creating web content for growth of business ventures, money management and business strategy and planning.

Best Christmas Gadgets