When it’s McKeating, there’s a lot in your name. The blog’s been quiet recently, which is odd for a content marketing company. Yes, I know. But, that’s because I’ve been quite busy writing for other companies and my younger brother was in town this past week. He is a newly minted Doctor and this was the only two weeks he’ll have off from now until…well sometime in the new year. We were thrilled to be able to spend time with him and celebrate his recent engagement to his long time girlfriend, who is also a marketer! Where am I going with this? What does this have to do with the McKeating name? Joe is not just following in our grandfather’s footsteps as a doctor, he is the spitting image of Philip J. McKeating and…
Well, by asking them of course. As a small business, you interact with people on a daily basis. Whether they’ve come into your store, made an online purchase, or just connected with you on social media. All of these interactions are worth their weight in gold…well in today’s currency at least. But they can be even more valuable, if you use them to help gain information that will allow you to attract and convert additional customers. But what will they think? Sometimes we have this irrational fear that asking our customers questions, like what kind of content do you find relevant and meaningful in your life will make us look less professional. But think about it. When was the last time a brand actually asked you what they could do for you? When our opinion is valued, it creates a stronger connection, an increase…
And trying to do everything entrepreneurial by yourself. It takes a lot to run a business, from actually marketing and selling your products services, to the accounting, the marketing, etc. Often I see entrepreneurs trying to accomplish every aspect of their business on their own. This is a slippery slope that bottoms out in burn out. Why do we think we must do it all? There are people who have come before us, having done it all, and managed to somehow do it all successfully. This proof that one can possibly do it all by themselves, has led to a false expectation that in order to be an entrepreneur, we must do everything our business requires by ourselves. This isn’t true and for many, it isn’t healthy. For other business owners, this might stem from the notion that the journey of an entrepreneur is a solitary…
Is Content Marketing Right for Small Business Owners The answer is a resounding “Yes!”. Cell phones and other gadgets like those in home AI units from Amazon and Google have made talk to text searches sky rocket. Think about the last time that you were looking for a new place to eat, or a salon to get your nails done…did you whip out your cell phone and go straight to your search engine of choice? Chances are really good that you did. My husband and I do this all of the time, and it turns out that a lot of other people do too. How do you make sure that our business shows up in the results for these searches? By creating content of course! If you are creating content that is relevant to your customers searches, you will show up in their search results. It…
And be consistent in your content Content Marketing requires us to create a lot of powerful content that is on message, and on brand, but what about on tone? Tone is a quality we use to describe voice. Can your content have a voice? Your voice, comes through in your content when you write. For example, informational content tends to have a more serious tone, but depending on who you are educating, you might take a different tone. Other content designed to entertain your audience, will tend to have a lighter, more humorous tone. Think of your content as the voice of your brand how you communicate with your current and prospective customers. Your actual voice should line up with that of your content to provide your customers with an authentic and consistent customer experience. There really is no right or wrong tone, (even a negative tone, as long as…
It’s Not You – It’s the Algorithms If you’re sharing relevant, and interesting or meaningful content, you should be getting the engagement that you want right? Not necessarily. Let’s take a look at why you might be missing out on some of the followers and engagements you need to move your business forward. Facebook, Instagram, and other social media websites have left their message board roots and grown smarter, forcing us social media managers to learn and become smarter too. If you have been having trouble acquiring new followers or engaging the ones that already follow your platforms, it could be the algorithms. Behind the Jargon. If you’ve been working on building your social media presence you have probably heard people talking about algorithms before. But what are they and why are they hard to understand? Great questions. Algorithms are…
What you say becomes you, becomes your business. These are terms used commonly and openly by many entrepreneurs but to me, they are shortsighted and have negative implications. Allow me to expound upon this thought for a moment. Let’s look at the definition of these words. Hustle: At best, the word means to be frantically about something, or to force something as in to force someone out of your way. Slang definitions of this term are even worse, one is to be aggressive with your sales or financial dealings, while another means to solicit clients in the form of prostitution. Even words like “side hustle” are starting to pop up now and frankly, it doesn’t make the effect any less potent. Grind: Literally this means to reduce to fine particles or to crush something. Are these really the words you want to be using…
Helping entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses architect their brand. When you launch your own business, there is so much to do. After coming up with the idea for your business and figuring out your business plan and how it will all work, you still have to name your business and brand it. Naming is tough, but you got it done. You’ve picked a name that is reflective of the products or services that you offer, with a bit of your personality. But the branding stuff, that’s the difficult bit. In my work with people who have just launched, one of the hardest parts is often their branding. We’re not all writers, or graphic designers. If we were, that would be our line of business. But that’s not you – you’re a photographer, or artisan, daycare owner, virtual assistant. Or maybe…
When Writing for Charity It Pays to Be Authentic. About three years ago, I was working for an online donation platform and for the first time in my life I was really charged with helping people gather donations. For me, it was weird. I never liked talking about money, let alone telling people how to collect more of it. But there I was. And a new world opened up to me. I learned just how much donations are needed, what they can provide for those in need, and how quickly they can dry up. Specifically I was tasked in business development to branch out and sell our platform to a new niche of nonprofits. I decided that since I was passionate about helping animals, that I would contact animal shelters across the state of Pennsylvania (where I happen to live). Researching, and reaching out to these shelters, I was confronted…
Some Words Truly are Better Left Unsaid Can make you both more meaningful and mindful. Recently, I had the pleasure of reading a Buffer article written by Carolyn Kopprasch. In this article, she explained that Buffer did some research and determined that there are in fact words that are better left unsaid. Carolyn explained one of her favorite “happiness hacks”, telling readers that it is as simple as cutting words like “actually” and “but” out of your vocabulary…and by extension, your work emails. Buffer rightly dubs these pesky little words that can convey a meaning you never remotely intended, as detractors. They detract from the meaning that you are trying to convey. Or, in other words, they distract and confuse your readers. I’ve bought into this research and have begun cutting these words out of my vocabulary. It’s…