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Adding Content to Your Marketing Strategy

February 29th, 2012 | Posted by jasmine in blogs | content marketing | Social media - (0 Comments)

Is your business on Facebook? Good. Do you have “Friends” who are “Like”ing your status? Better. But are they sharing your information across the Web?

Francisco Morales, author of the blog SocialMouths.com, in his recent post “The Rise of Content Marketing (Infographic)” shared an infographic put together by BlueGlass Interactive on The Content Marketing Explosion.

Morales approves its focus on content:

 “With the amount of content that goes left and right in front of you, on your screen, there are content creators, curators, users that share and consume on a minute to minute basis. Now, that doesn’t mean all that content is successful in reaching its goals or has even been put out there with a business goal.”

Just because you’ve updated your business’ blog, or changed your Facebook status doesn’t mean content is working for you. Your content has to inspire your customers to connect.

Laura Abrahamsen, February 29, 2012

 

 

Developing Strong Business Strategies From Within

February 28th, 2012 | Posted by jasmine in Entrepreneur | Expert | Strategy - (0 Comments)

Many facets of business require entrepreneurs to develop goals and then strategies to accomplish these goals. But how often do we see underdeveloped and overly expensive business strategies fail miserably?

In “What is Strategy? It Starts with the Kernal”  Gary Rushin analyzes strategy in business and discusses the importance of understanding and having a sound business strategy.

According to Rushin:

“The kernel of strategy, the central core, consists of three elements: a diagnosis, a guiding policy, and a set of coherent actions….So many companies have multiple goals and initiatives that do not have a coherent approach to achieve progress, other than spending more and trying harder to ultimately fail.”

Tony Arnold, Founder and Principal of Upfront Management, argues that instead of spending more money on advertising or ramping up your sales force as a strategy to increase sales, look to other avenues to achieve growth. In the recent SBNOnline  article, “Tony Arnold: Why You Can’t Expect Money to Solve Every One of Your Problems,”

Arnold argues:

“A close look at your pricing policies, your customer relationships and your sales team’s needs and capabilities can reveal ways to grow revenues even when times are tough.”

As Arnold discusses, by analyzing these three areas alone, you have the potential to develop successful business strategies that do not require you to spend an exorbitant amount of money or an increased amount of time to implement. This makes sense and sounds like good business advice to us. If your business is already struggling to achieve growth, does spending more money to make less really sound like a good business strategy?

Stacey Duwe, February 28, 2012

 

 

PolySpot Technology Makes Big Data Manageable

February 23rd, 2012 | Posted by admin in cloud computing | News | search | Strategy | Technology - (0 Comments)

A recent white paper by Beyond Search’s own analyst, Stephen Arnold, “Cutting Big Data Down to Size: The PolySpot Solution,” tackles the issue of high-volume data flow by taking an in-depth look into PolySpot’s Information at Work Solution.

Arnold gives much credit to the France-based company for creating a revolutionary system that offers an easy-to-use solution to Big Data, making data available and thus valuable to companies. Information from ArnoldIT’s investigation is summarized on PolySpot’s website:

“PolySpot has developed an innovative approach that makes it possible to deploy a robust frame-work over existing content repositories. The PolySpot technology allows licensees to access information from many different sources and deliver information that answers real-life business questions. Users access the content via applications or apps from mobile devices to desktop computers. The company delivers solutions+apps.”

Our team at Beyond Search is glad to see PolySpot offering business intelligence solutions that are much needed in the search enterprise world. This technology is necessary in ensuring that information of significant value is not lost in the petabytes of information that is growing daily.

Check out Apprapids for more insight from the ArnoldIT team or direct your browser to PolySpotto download a full-length copy of the analysis.

Andrea Hayden, February 23, 2012

Upcoming AppRapids Conference is Bound to Impress

February 22nd, 2012 | Posted by jasmine in Apps | blogs | Smartphone - (0 Comments)

Kentuckiana residents who are interested in learning more about how apps are transforming business and digital worlds, consider attending the upcoming AppRapids conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

According to the news release “Apps Are Where Its At: Register Now for AppRapids Conference,” this one day event will be held in at Workshop: the Creative Workplace in Louisville Kentucky on March 28, 2012.

The news release states:

“Apps have been integrated into every aspect of life on both personal and professional levels. However, a lack of knowledge, and consequently agency, exists among many app users and potential app creators. Apps have roots in the past, are impacting the present, and will construct the future. Conference sessions will range from planning and development to implementation and business implications. Speakers will provide details of real-life use cases, best practices and lessons learned.”

This is an excellent opportunity for both app users and potential app developers to come together and share their knowledge. It is bound to make a lasting impression.

Jasmine Ashton, February 22, 2012

Tips to Engage Your Customer With Online Marketing Efforts

February 22nd, 2012 | Posted by jasmine in Business strategy | content marketing | Social media | social technology - (0 Comments)

Today, many companies are utilizing content and digital marketing strategies to engage their customers and increase product and service awareness. Social media venues such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have made online marketing easier than ever. If you are a business owner that is considering implementing an online marketing strategy or ramping up your presence on the Internet, it’s best to first learn how your customers access information and what strategies will work best for your business.

In the recent report, “Good Content Marketing vs. Great Content Marketing: Learn the Difference from Joe Pulizzi”  by Ashley Zechman on TopRankMarketing.com, Zechman shares her thoughts on a presentation on content marketing given by Joe Pulizzi of Content Marketing Institute (CMI).

As Zechman discusses:

“Pulizzi stressed that we must do what we can to make a difference for our audience….If you are trying to figure out why you aren’t having much interaction, it’s probably because you don’t have compelling stories. Online tactics including search engine optimization, lead generation, and social media should all be focused around telling a compelling story to engage your audience.”

Understanding how your customers access information is one thing, but if you can’t capture their attention with your content, then your efforts on digital and content marketing could be wasted. In the recent SBNOnline article, “How ‘Social’ Do You Need to Be?”, Kevin Hourigan, President and CEO of Bayshore Solutions discusses strategies for optimizing your use of social media platforms.

According to Hourigan:

“The key to realizing a specific business’s ‘reward’ from social media, is defining and understanding your realistic expectations, finding your strategic fit, implementing the tactics that align, and taking a disciplines approach to daily social media activity….Effective social media requires strategy, expertise and dedication.”

One key point to take away from these suggestions is that you cannot implement an effective content marketing or social media plan if you do not have the appropriate resources dedicated to maintaining it. If you are small business with already limited resources, you may want to wait until you have the ability to hire a dedicated social media and online content marketing specialist, or consider outsourcing this role so that you can continue to focusing the areas of business that need your attention the most.

Stacey Duwe, February 22, 2012

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