At it's very core, inbound marketing is all about pulling prospective clients to your great content, converting those prospects to leads, nurturing them, and then closing the deal. When you go bass fishing, you have to lure the fish to your hook, react to the bite, set the hook and land the fish. So bass fishing and inbound marketing are the same? Not really, but there are 3 areas that bass fishing and inbound marketing resemble one another!
Lures Are A Start
Look in any bass angler's tacklebox and you'll find a myriad of different lures for different situations. Spinnerbaits are great early spring/fall baits to use when bass are chasing shad and other bait fish. Jigs are pretty much a good all-purpose lure when your looking for the "big bite" Plastic worms are perfect for those hot summer months when the bass are a bit more lethargic. Ultimately, all these baits are great for catching bass, but you have to know when to use them.
An inbound marketers "tacklebox" isn't much different from a bass angler's tacklebox. Different tools for different situations. Blogs are great content to show a business' expertise in a particular area. Whitepapers are even better content than blogs because a business can actually go into more detail about a particular service or a client success from implementing a business' product or service. Videos are great content because viewers can instantly build a connection with a face, or a business can show its product or service in action. These are just three examples of "lures" available to an inbound marketer. However, just like a bass angler, an inbound marketer must know when to use them.
Location, Location, Location
Bass anglers may have the greatest lures in the world, but if they aren't around fish, they'll never catch a single bass. Bass anglers use lake maps to locate ledges, points, and other structure that could hold bass. Then, once their on the water, they use pretty sophisticated depth finders to find these structures and determine if they have the right elements (brush, logs, pea gravel, chunk rock) to hold bass. Once they've found a "spot", they then start fishing to see if any bass are in these locations.
Inbound marketers are no different, except their "lake maps" are the internet and social media. Once a company is on the "lake" they have to do some research to find the right elements. Inbound marketers do this through tasks like keyword research and social media research. Once they've found the right elements, inbound marketers start optimizing their website for the best keywords and start listening to social media conversations to find out what others are saying about the products or services that are similar to those of their business. Inbound marketers then start "fishing" by sharing their great content with the social mediasphere, through lead nurturing campaigns, and pay-per-click campaigns just to name a few.
Rinse & Repeat
Once a bass angler has located fish on a structure with certain elements using a certain lure, they'll start looking for other areas on the lake with the same attributes. Once they find areas with these attributes, bass anglers will start trying to build a "pattern". Once they've found a pattern, they can start catching bass by the barrel full!
Inbound marketers are similar, in that once they've started to convert visitors to leads, they start analyzing the data to find how the visitors found their content and how those visitors converted to leads. The name of the game in inbound marketing is lead conversion. Once an inbound marketer starts converting site visitors to leads, they can hand the leads to the sales team to close the deal.
So, bass fishing is a lot like inbound marketing. They both have tools, are all about location, and require a great deal of analysis to experience success. What other ways do you think bass fishing (or fishing in general) and inbound marketing are similar? We'd love to get your feedback!
Photo courtesy of my personal tacklebox
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Since the beginning of May, we've been working behind the scenes with a project called the Crawford: 20/20 Vision in Crawford County, Ohio. More specifically, we've been mentoring an intern that was hired by one of the major financial backers, the Bucyrus Area Community Foundation, of the Vision project. The Crawford: 20/20 Vision is "an unprecedented effort to bring together the people of our county to take charge of our challenges and turn them around. The initiative will develop and implement a Crawford Vision that will guide our county for the next decade."
Since March, the committee leading the Vision project has held a series of meetings throughout Crawford County. During each of these meetings, it became apparent that the demographics of the attendees was skewed very heavily to the age 50 & older crowd. This wasn't a huge surprise, considering that data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the county has an aging population and that this aging population (50+) will outnumber the younger population (50 & under) by 2018. The charts below show age demographics of meetings held May 17 & May 18, respectively.
May 17 Mtg
Age Demographics
| May 18 Mtg
Age Demographics
|
 |  |
Based on this data, Janet Pry, Executive Director for the Bucyrus Area Community Foundation, hired an intern to implement social media and permission-based email marketing to reach the under-represented under 40 age demographic. Janet recently shared some insights about social media and this project.
RSM - What were the initial challenges you faced in implementing social media with Crawford: 20/20 Vision?
Janet -
Skepticism. Most of the people on the (Crawford: 20/20 Vision) committee are over 45 years of age. They know of Facebook, Twitter, blogging - but they have not really used them in any sort of business capacity. I don't think they understood the power that could be unleashed by using the various media outlets. Even e-newsletters via organized, web-based programs were not something that they used. Social media has come into the business world with such speed that many people are intimidated by the technology.
RSM - How did you overcome those challenges?
Janet - By hiring a young, intelligent student to initiate its use and "forcing" the issue. The only way to truly overcome the challenges, fear and skepticism of social media is to start using it and see the power it brings to the table.
RSM - Since implementing social media as a part of the Crawford: 20/20 Vision community engagement efforts, what's been the response you've received from individuals in the community?
Janet - Very positive, I believe. It allows so many more people to participate in the discussions. Going into this process, we knew that one of the hardest aspects of the process would be communications. One thing that is obviously lacking in Crawford County is one or two powerful media outlets. The newspapers' readership is dropping and their coverage of local issues is meager. We could not rely on the print media to get the word out. Crawford County does not have a television station. The radio station has been very helpful in airing news of the events, but it is hard to know how many people listen and take in the dates, times and places of the meetings when they hear it on the radio. We told the consultants right at the beginning that communication would be difficult. The social media outlets really provide a powerful communication tool.
RSM - What role do you envision social media having as you continue moving forward with Crawford: 20/20 Vision?
Janet - I think it will be vital in the implementation process. Again, we have known from the start that the planning part of the process is just the beginning and in many ways the easiest part to accomplish. Implementing a plan takes ongoing energy and by-in from community members. I think the social media outlets will provide the forum for ongoing discussions. And, there is nothing better to "nudge" someone to action than to be reminder of things on Facebook!
Besides the Facebook Fan Page, they've also started a blog, a Twitter profile, and a YouTube channel. Plus, they started using e-newsletters to engage subscribers from their social media outlets and attendees at the community meeting. We strongly encourage you to check out at least one of their social media tools.
Has the effort to engage the under 45 population using social media in this rural Ohio county worked? We think so, especially given the Insights from the Crawford: 20/20 Vision Facebook Fan Page and age demographics of a recent online survey conducted through the Facebook Fan Page.
Facebook Fan Page
Insights
| Recent Survey
Age Demographics
|
 |  |
What other ways can the Vision project engage the under 45 demographic through social media? We would like to hear your thoughts, ideas and suggestions!
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Up until 3 years ago, I was an avid fisherman. So much so that I actually traveled around Kentucky and Ohio and fished tournaments on the weekend. I was even lucky enough to fish in 2 national tournaments; one in Louisiana and one in Kentucky. I even had sponsors to help me finance my passion. Some paid cash, while others provided products. Life changed after my last national tournament in Kentucky and I've since not fished a single tournament. But, I still fish. Not as often, but my 4 year old daughter likes to go fishing and so I take her to one of the local reservoirs.
Despite my absence from competitive fishing, I still keep up with what's happening on the professional tournament trail via BassFan.com. On this website, they keep a running tab of the Top 10 World Rankings in the sport. These point rankings are based on a "proprietary method" that isn't disclosed on BassFan.com. However, they do list several contributing factors that include pervious tournament performances, strength of the field, and various others for the top-level events in the BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) and FLW Outdoors tournament circuits. And yes, there are professional leagues for bass fishing.
Very few pro bass fishermen live off their tournament winnings, although one tournament win can have a profound effect on a pro's financial well-being. The majority of pros either finance their career from personal funds, or they have large sponsorship deals to finance their careers. With the current recession we're experiencing, many of these large sponsorship deals are becoming increasingly difficult to land. Companies involved in professional bass fishing sponsorships include fishing tackle companies (Lucky Craft, Berkley, G-Loomis, etc.), fishing boat manufacturers (Ranger, Triton, BassCat, etc.), boat engine manufacturers (Mercury, Evinrude, Yamaha, etc.) and main stream companies (Toyota, Wal-Mart, Land-O-Lakes, etc.). All these companies sponsor fishing pros because they want to increase brand awareness with the nearly 40 million people, according to the American Sportfishing Association, in the United States who fish. There are other reasons, but I need to get to the point.
Back to the BassFan World Rankings, and more specifically the Top 10. Given my affinity for fishing and the nature of my business, I decided to do a little non-scientific research to see how the pros in the Top 10 are using social media to help extend their brand beyond the boat launches, weigh-ins, highway mileage and traditional website presence. Below is a quick table that breaks it down by angler rank, website, Facebook Fan Page and Twitter profile.
| | Angler
| Website?
| Fan Page?
| Twitter?
|
1
| Skeet Reese
| Yes
| Yes-2
| No
|
2
| Brent Ehrler
| Yes
| No
| No
|
3
| Kevin Vandam
| Yes
| No
| No
|
4
| Tommy Biffle
| Yes
| No
| No
|
5
| Bryan Thrift
| Yes
| No
| No
|
6
| Mike Iaconelli | Yes
| Yes-multiple
| Yes
|
7
| Aaron Martens
| Yes
| No
| No
|
8
| Cliff Pace
| No
| No
| No
|
9
| Greg Hackney
| No
| No
| No
|
10
| Gary Klein | No
| No
| No
|
You Won't Catch a Thing if Your Line's not in the Water
The findings, while non-scientific, are very alarming. 7 of the top 10 have a website. I wonder why the 3 at the bottom are waiting to start with the most basic component of internet marketing. After all, it is 2010. Simply developing a static website with sponsor logos and links to sponsor websites can help build both the angler's brand and their sponsors' brands. Don't worry, initially, about developing new content. Just get with the times. Sort of sounds like some small businesses that are reluctant to develop a website. Most that I talk to cite cost as the primary reason for not having a website. Again, it's 2010 and phonebooks are on the verge of being extinct.
Find the Bait, You'll Find the Fish
As I dug deeper, I found that there are huge opportunities for these professional athletes. Only 2 of 10 are utilizing a Facebook Fan Page. Facebook is close to hitting 500 million users worldwide, with over 113 million in the US alone over the age of 18. Then, if you drill that down to the number of US users 18 and over whom either like, or have an interest in, fishing you get just over 2 million people. Not all of the 2 million people may like bass fishing, but it should give these pro fishermen (and women) some incentive to embrace social media. If 2 million isn't enough, Facebook also provides a great set of analytics tools called Insights. This is where a pro angler can start to really impress potential sponsors. They can show sponsors their fans' demographics, their fans' interactions with media, and the Page's growth over time just to name a few. The one thing sponsors want to know, at least in my experience, is what the angler's reach is. Now, at least with a Facebook Fan Page, a pro angler can provide these statistics with ease and accuracy. Plus, they can provide some really unique content that extends their sponsors' brands into the space. So, there are 2 million people in the US on Facebook that "like" fishing. How many do you think like coffee? How about cars? Flowers maybe? I think you get the point.
Don't Ignore What Others Use to Catch Fish
The other thing that raised an eyebrow was these anglers' use, or lack thereof, of Twitter. Only 1 of the top 10 is currently using Twitter. And, the one using Twitter, hasn't "Tweeted" in nearly a year. But, that's beside the point. At least he's created an account and "squatted" on his name. Twitter, while not providing the any level of reporting, still serves as a great tool to spread a message and build a following. Plus, it can help to extend an angler's reach to another group of people who share similar interests. It all comes back to one thing. Creating, building and maintaining a following on Twitter adds additional value to the angler's brand, thus providing additional value to the angler's sponsors' brand.
Lures are Great, but Understanding How They Work is Essential
A website, Facebook Fan Page and Twitter profile are all simply tools that when combined, can be powerful tools for small business marketing. These tools that can be used to ultimately strengthen an angler's brand and further strengthen the angler's sponsors' brand and the same can be applied to a small business. The only difference is that small businesses don't have sponsors. Instead, they have customers. And a small business' customers are the same as angler's sponsors. The real challenge that exists is deciding how you're going to be social, not why you're going to be social. How you engage with fans and followers can ultimately dictate the success of your social media marketing efforts. The best way to figure out how you're going to be social is experiment. But, before you engage you have to listen to understand what people are talking about and how you can engage in the conversation! It's a big pond, but don't be afraid to go fishing.
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Before I get too far in to this post, I want to say that this is not meant to smear any company or business. I had a bad personal experience with service at a local restaurant, which prompted me to post my experience on Facebook and to talk about it in the video below.
Customer service is the key to any business' success. Period. Poor customer service, especially for a small business, can lead to poor reviews on Yelp, Facebook, Twitter. The entire social mediasphere.
Get more of my thoughts by watching the video below. I look forward to your comments & thoughts!
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One of the facts that we'll never deny is that we're a small business. This helps us have a better understanding of the challenges our clients face on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. When it comes to website performance, we're like every other small business in that we strive to generate a return-on-investment from our website.
In March 2010, we started using Hubspot and its full suite of products for small business. We now have the ability to update & change every single part of our website based on data, and you can't refute data. More important than using Hubspot's software is the fact that we have fully entrenched ourselves in the practice of inbound marketing. We've bought in, hook, line and sinker, to the inbound marketing methodology in that same time period and have started seeing small successes.
Baby Steps
One of these "small successes" has been a pretty significant increase in our website traffic from organic search, referrals, social media and email marketing. Here's a screenshot straight from our Analytics. You'll notice the May 2010 data is slightly faded, when compared to March & April, because we're still collecting data.
Here's a month over month breakdown based on each reporting metric.
| | Organic
Search
| Referrals | Email
Marketing
| Social
Media
| Other
Campaigns
|
March-10
| 44
| 27
| 0
| 42
| 0
|
April-10
| 42
| 35 | 6
| 59
| 0
|
May-10
| 58
| 34 | 16
| 98
| 2
|
How We Did It..So Far
Two areas that have grown significantly in the last 3 months are organic search and social media. This growth can be attributed to 3 things we've done as part of our inbound marketing strategy, and can be applied to any business.
- Blogging - Blogging is one of the central activities to any successful inbound marketing strategy. By creating and maintaining a blog, we've been able to share insights into our industry, client success stories and our own success stories. One of the biggest challenges we've overcome centers around the topics and information we share in each blog post. We'll save how we overcame this obstacle for another blog post!
- On-Page Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - We'll never claim to be SEO experts. But, we think we're pretty darn good because we've increased our organic search traffic over the last 3 months. When we started using Hubspot, we utilized the Keyword Grader function to figure out which keywords we ranked for at the time, as well as uncovering keywords we wanted rank for in the search engines. We've also focused on long-tail keywords and monitoring the keywords visitors are using to find our website. Finally, we've started optimizing our old blog posts for SEO. Again, very easy to do all these tasks with the Hubspot software. But, it's something we've made a commitment to reviewing on a regular basis.
- Social Media Marketing - In a previous post, we looked out our website traffic generated from social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you didn't read it, you'll be surprised at the data. From a more macro-level, we've made our blog, and other content, the focus of our social media marketing efforts. Our goal is that our blog posts will spark a conversation with our friends, followers and group members. These conversations are what's critical to social media marketing success. Good, bad or ugly, we've made a commitment to be involved in the conversations that take place everyday in the social media world.
The Next Steps
The last step in the inbound marketing methodology is to analyze and repeat. So, we're going to keep applying the same strategies we outlined above, while at the same time increasing our content. Will we make some small changes? Sure. You have to evolve to stay relevant. We have a checklist of items that we want to create based around our goals of getting found and converting visitors into leads. After all, leads turn into sales, and that's what every business needs and wants!
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If you don't believe that LinkedIn works for marketing a business, then stop reading this RIGHT NOW.
Leave. Go read the Wall Street Journal.
....
Are you gone yet?
....
No.
You're still here?
Good. Then it's obvious that you've got some brains about you when it comes to social media marketing. One of the driving forces behind an effective inbound marketing strategy is promoting the great content that you create on your website. Whether it's a blog, whitepaper, video, e-book...whatever. You need to promote your content. The easiest and most cost-effective venue for promoting content is social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Buzz.
Let's focus on LinkedIn. Here's a REALLY brief history of the growth of LinkedIn. Check out LinkedIn's company history for a closer look, if you have the urge.
- 2002 - Started in a living room with 5 guys
- 2003 - Ends the year with 81,000 members
- 2004 - Ends the year with 1.6 million members
- 2005 - Ends the year with 4 million members
- 2006 - Ends the year with 8 million members
- 2007 - Reaches 15 million members by September
- 2008 - Ends the year with 33 million members
- 2009 - Reaches 40 million members by May 5
- 2010 - Currrently boasts over 65 million members
In less than 10 years, LinkedIn went from an idea to a power-player in the social mediasphere. One of the best parts about LinkedIn is that they've built a membership base around the idea of business networking. Business Networking. It's repeated for a reason. LinkedIn, simply stated, is all about building you social business network. It's a virtual business after-hours event with no time restrictions.
Why are we talking about LinkedIn? Couple reasons. First, we're born-again believers in the power of LinkedIn. Since our partnership began with Hubspot 3 months ago, we've realized, first-hand, the power that LinkedIn has to help drive traffic to your website. As of the date of this post, LinkedIn is our number one source of social media traffic to our website. Check out the numbers below.
Second, we want more people to not only join LinkedIn as members, but also to be active participants in the discussions that occur within the LinkedIn groups. We're a part of nearly 20 different groups on LinkedIn today. There are some great conversations taking place about anything business-related you can imagine. Get involved in these conversations, especially when the topic is related to your expertise.
Are our numbers going to compel you to run over to LinkedIn and start networking with other business professionals? Maybe, but probably not. That's okay though. We see a big opportunity to promote our content on LinkedIn, and you not joining is one less voice that we have to compete with for people's attention!
Few movie scenes tickle my fancy quite like the legendary scene from Good Will Hunting that spawned the phrase "how you like them apples." For those of you not familiar with the scene, give it a quick watch! It's only 40 seconds.
Good Will Hunting first hit the big screen in 1997, and even after 13 years of technological evolution, businesses across the country are still struggling to ask the "pretty girl" for her number.
Ok, so times have changed and in 2010 no one would write a girl's number on a bar napkin unless their smart phone was on the fritz. Today it isn't a phone number that businesses want from the "pretty girl," it's their email address. According to a 2009 study, "View from the Inbox", conducted by Merkle, Inc., email is the #1 preferred method of communication from companies among people ages 18-65. And to be honest, it's not even close! Here are the numbers to prove it!
Unfortunately for business owners, customers have been bombarded by countless organizations trying to push their message through to their inbox involuntarily. This has made people extremely hesitant to hand their email address over to just anyone.
Much like when you were dating, it is easy to strike-up a conversation with a potential companion, the problem lies in knowing how to ask for the crucial contact information. You want to be sure he/she knows you're interested, but you don't want to be the "Stage 4 Clinger" who thought dinner and drinks would lead to a trip down the aisle.
If getting email addresses is as complicated as post-pubescent dating, how can businesses effectively obtain customer email addresses? The answer is simple; ask politely, but don't be pushy. Don't be the guy or girl who calls with nothing to say, be the company who uses customer emails to provide an engaged audience with valuable information. Don't use shady antics to trick your customers into opening an email for a false promotion.
Over 83% of North American email users view false promotional items just as invasive as spam. (Source: Epsilon Global Consumer Email Study) Once you have lost the trust of your audience, whether it is a pretty girl or a list of current customers, regaining that trust is an almost impossible task; and with a single email address being estimated at a $47 value, you can't afford to break customer trust.
When trying to grow your email marketing list, stick to the basics. The more customers feel a personal connection to your brand the more likely they are to give you their email address. You wouldn't walk up to the most beautiful person at the bar and ask for their number right out of the gate, don't do the same thing with email addresses. If you want the pretty girl to give you her number, you have to prove your worth. The same thing can be said for customer email addresses.
The next time you or your organization think about asking for a customer's email address for your small business email marketing, think about Good Will Hunting. Think about how Damon did it. Prove your worth, be polite instead of pushy, and the emails will come to you. Then you can ask the competition; "how you like them apples?"
One of the most common things we hear from many small businesses, especially those in small towns & rural areas, is that they're hesitant to start using email to communicate and market because they don't have email addresses. That's a pretty strong reason to not pull the trigger and start using email marketing for a small business. Don't let that stop you.
One of our earliest clients, a small Amish furniture retailer in North Central Ohio, was in that exact boat. We first talked to the owner about the immense benefits of email marketing. Targeted, direct, trackable. You know the benefits. But, one of the biggest challenges for this business was that they hadn't been collecting customer email addresses since they opened the doors. Did that stop them from starting 2 years ago? Nope. The owner, and his staff, followed 3 simple steps that we gave them and started collecting email addresses in droves! The 3 steps were:
- Setup a collection box with signup sheets NEXT to the register - one part of our email marketing services that are very valuable, especially for a small business that doesn't have a website (what are you waiting for???), is that we provide a hard plastic drop box and 1,000 signup sheets for in store promotion. You don't even need a fancy drop box. Go to the pet store and buy a fish bowl. Make a sign to put on the front of it to tell people why a fish bowl is sitting in your store. While you're making the sign, make a signup sheet that people can fill out with their first name, last name and email address. That's all the information you need to start using email marketing for your small business.
- Get the ENTIRE staff on board - this is probably the most critical element for success in email marketing, especially for a small business. Every member of your staff needs to understand that it is THEIR responsibility to help the business grow its email marketing database. Here's an idea on us. Make a contest out of getting people signed up to receive emails. Give your staff a chance to compete for something everyone wants. An extra day off, the newest tech gadget, free cash. It doesn't matter, just let your staff's interest dictate what the prize will be.
- ASK EVERY person that walks through the door to signup - every single person that walks through your front door is either a current customer or a prospective customer, and every single one of them should sign up to receive emails from your business. Every staff member, including you as the owner, should be asking almost every person that walks in to sign up for your email campaigns. Here's another piece of free advice. Develop a promotion that gives people something free just for signing up for emails from you. However, make sure it's something from your business. Give away a $50 gift certificate. Hesitant to give away free stuff, here's a pretty compelling statistic. According to Stan Rapp, founder of Rapp Collins, the value of a SINGLE opt-in email address is estimated at $118. Enough said.
So, how is our Amish furniture client faring today? In the 2 years we've been working with them, they've grown their database to 399 subscribers. From ZERO when we started. Now, take the 399 subscribers and multiply that by $118. The estimated value of this client's email list is almost $41,000. Not too shabby!
They're open rates are very strong (nearly 30% for every campaign). Oh, and by the way, they haven't even started venturing into the social media world yet. Imagine what they could do with Twitter, Facebook, a website and a blog!
We get it, the world is changing and nobody likes change. However, when you or your business stand in defiance of all the technological advances used in 2010, take this into consideration.
The first text message was sent in December of 1992, when a 22 year-old engineer named Neil Papworth used his personal computer to send the words "Merry Christmas" to the phone of Richard Jarvis. The message was sent via a single network provided by Vodafone. Fast forward 16 years later. With the most pioneering move in political history, presidential candidate Barack Obama first announced his vice-presidential candidate via text message to over 2.9 million people.
Similar stories of progress have been seen with the integration of new technology into almost every aspect of everyday life. Nowhere has this been more prevalent than with the explosion of the internet. In the United States alone, there are over 3,500 different internet service providers providing internet service to over 227 MILLION people across the country. That's over 74% of the US population!
According to a study published by The Nielsen Company (http://bit.ly/diUcmy) 1 in 2 Americans will have a smartphone by Christmas 2011.
What do all these numbers mean? They mean that as technology and trends change, so should your marketing efforts, regardless of your geographic location and marketing budget. We are not suggesting that you do a complete overhaul of your marketing efforts. However, we are suggesting that you stay abreast of the latest trends in small business internet marketing.
A recent survey (http://bit.ly/dzjUHv) conducted by Constant Contact has uncovered some staggering numbers that no business, big or small, can afford to ignore. The survey was conducted with the cooperation of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Service Corps of Retired Executives and the Association of Small Business Development Centers.
Here is the "down n' dirty" if you will.
When asked the question "How important to your business is each of the following methods in finding new customers," here are their responses. (Pay particular attention to the email marketing and website rows)
In case you missed the most important stats on the chart, here they are.
-The most important marketing tool to small businesses is word of mouth with a 98% positive report.
-The most utilized channels to stimulate word of mouth are email marketing at 89%, and a company website at 93%
In another recent study conducted by The Nielsen Company, (http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/us-smartphone-growth.png) research showed that smartphones are poised to out-number feature phones by Christmas 2011.
So what does this mean to you and your business?
It's quite simple. While we understand you might have personal connections to the director of sales at your local radio station, but the time is now to start looking to bring your marketing efforts into 2010. With 90% of businesses across the country taking their marketing efforts viral, small businesses have two choices to make.
Change your ways and move forward with the 90% of other businesses that are doing the same. Or, become those 10% of businesses watching their businesses fall apart at the seams.
Take emotion out of the decision, the numbers don't lie.
Bryan Mulvany is the Chief Communications Specialist at Rock Solid Media LLC. Follow him @bryanmulvany
Inbound Marketing University awarded the Inbound Marketing Certification to Chris Stone, Principal of Rock Solid Media LLC (http://rocksolidmediallc.com), as part of its comprehensive Internet marketing training program (http://inboundmarketing.com).
This certification acknowledges Stone's proficiency in inbound marketing principles and best practices. These principles include: blogging, search engine optimization, social media, lead conversion, lead nurturing and closed-loop analysis.
Stone joins an elite group of Inbound Marketing Certified Professionals. In total, 1,300 individuals have successfully passed the IMU program.
To complete the Inbound Marketing Certification, Stone completed 16 in-depth classes covering each facet of inbound marketing and passed a comprehensive certification exam. (View the full list of classes: http://inboundmarketing.com/university/classes)
The courses are taught by a knowledgeable faculty of professors, including New York Times' best-selling author Chris Brogan, Google's Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik, Internet celebrity Gary Vaynerchuk, best-selling author and international speaker David Meerman Scott, and more. (View all professors: http://www.inboundmarketing.com/university/professors)
This certification is administered by HubSpot.
About Rock Solid Media LLC
Rock Solid Media LLC is an internet marketing company that helps businesses develop customized solutions to get found on the Internet, initiate more leads and convert a higher amount of those leads into customers. Rock Solid Media helps guide your company goal of finding qualified prospects by instituting best practice email marketing, video production, search engine optimization, blogging and social media campaigns. Based in Galion, Ohio, Rock Solid Media can be found online at http://rocksolidmediallc.com
About InboundMarketing.com
InboundMarketing.com is an online community and certification program for marketers. The site's content teaches a new style of marketing that emphasizes business uses of social media, content creation and search engine optimization for marketing. InboundMarketing.com is hosted and moderated by HubSpot, Inc. Register for InboundMarketing.com at http://inboundmarketing.com/user/register.
About HubSpot
HubSpot, Inc. provides Internet marketing software that helps businesses get found online, generate more inbound leads and convert a higher percentage of those leads into paying customers. HubSpot's software platform includes tools that allow professional marketers and business owners to manage search engine optimization, blogging and social media, as well as landing pages, lead intelligence and marketing analytics. Based in Cambridge, MA, HubSpot can be found at http://www.hubspot.com. HubSpot's free marketing tools can be found at http://grader.com.