Category: Social Media Marketing

Mitch McConnell Is Positioning Himself as the Champion of the U.S. Hemp Industry

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The Senate Majority Leader sees hemp as a boon for Kentucky farmers and his own reelection next year. April 18, 2019 4 min read Opinions expressed by Green Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Politics is legendary for making for strange bedfellows but it doesn’t get any stranger than hearing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, staunch Republican from Kentucky, tell reporters earlier this month that he is behind quickly cleaning up any “glitches” with the U.S. hemp industry. That’s an issue most would associate with Democrats but money talks and there’s a lot of money talking about hemp. McConnell, who successfully led the charge to legalize hemp farming in the 2018 Farm Bill, has vowed to do whatever is necessary to get a regulated hemp system running smoothly. McConnel, speaking in football analogies, described hemp supporters as in the “red zone,” according to the Associated Press. “I’m prepared to do my job … all […]

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The Voice of Authority? When the Salesperson Was the Expert

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In the old days, salespeople were the experts we relied on to educate us about products and services. In a world where we didn’t have the ability to go online to conduct independent research, buyers were at the mercy of sellers. Of course, that’s not true anymore. Yet many sales managers still run their teams as if it is. Related posts: 8 Keys to Coming Off as the Expert in Whatever You Sell The Salesperson Expert versus the Web-Educated Buyer How To Seal The Deal By Understanding The 3 Phases Of The Customer Buying Cycle A New Domain Authority Is Coming Soon: What’s Changing, When, & Why To Be a Better Salesperson, Master Your Ego and Bend Time 5 Easy Ways to Transform Your Website into a Standout Salesperson Expert Witnesses Find New Business By Newsjacking How Do I Improve My Domain Authority (DA)?

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Why the Secret to Growth May Be a ‘Velvet Rope’ Strategy

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Sometimes, your best move is to give certain clients the boot and refuse to accept others. April 18, 2019 6 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. If you’re an entrepreneur, your time is extremely limited. Not surprisingly, time management is one of the top challenges small business owners face, along with a lack of cash flow, according to recent research from Guidant Financial. Yet many entrepreneurs continue to trade time for money, acting as if time were an unlimited resource. That’s understandable: Who cares that you’re overextended when your client base is growing, right? If your startup is still making a name for itself, saying yes to any customer who will have you may seem like the right choice. But eventually, this kind of blind acceptance will backfire. What’s more, it will actually impede your ability to grow. That statement may seem counterintuitive, but to scale your startup effectively, […]

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The Complete Guide to Building ‘Buzz’ and Getting Press for You and Your Business

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Experts outline a plan of attack to get your company and your personal brand noticed. April 18, 2019 15 min read Not too long ago, an entrepreneur named Matthew messaged me on Facebook with a refreshingly honest request for help, writing: “This is my fifth year and I would honestly like to know how to get my name out there.” What he had in mind, Matthew continued, was, “getting my company in magazine columns… even magazine covers…”  What he wanted to create, he wrote, was … buzz. It’s what all entrepreneurs want, typically in the form of three overarching goals: Create a brand that is a household name, or at least is well-known within its industry. Build a reputation as a founder respected by employees and customers alike. Get recognized as a thought leader.  There is no hack that can instantly deliver any of these items, but that first one — building a […]

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With 4/20 Burger Carl’s Jr. Ventures Where Most Corporations Only Dream of Going

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For all the talk of the CBD boom, very few corporations as big as Carl’s Jr. have marketed anything containing the hazily regulated cannabinoid. April 18, 2019 4 min read America’s favorite food, the cheeseburger, will soon (albeit fleetingly) be infused with America’s favorite cannabinoid, the seemingly ubiquitous CBD. Well, at least one part of that combination isn’t unhealthy. Carl’s Jr. announced Wednesday that it will unveil the “Rocky Mountain High: CheeseBurger Delight” at a single location in Denver, Colorado on this Saturday, April 20, the unofficial yet universal marijuana holiday known as 4/20. The burger appears to have most of the usual artery-clogging attributes of fast food — two beef patties topped with pickled jalapenos, pepper jack cheese, fries — but is slathered with Santa Fe Sauce infused with five milligrams of CBD. Despite many restrictions not usual at a burger joint — customers must be at least 18 […]

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Ultimate Guide to Hashtags

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You see them everywhere around the web… From Twitter to Instagram, hashtags are an essential part of social media. So, why should you use hashtags? To start with, tweets with hashtags tend to get twice as much engagement as tweets without them. Plus, they can help you gain more followers, improve your reputation, and help your customers find information faster. To show you how you can use hashtags to increase your online presence, I created an infographic that breaks down the correct way to use hashtags. To further help you get the most out of hashtags, I’ve created another infographic that will teach you how to leverage them on each popular social network. Conclusion I know I’ve been a bit lazy when it comes to using hashtags, but I have to say, it works. When I was active on Instagram, I saw that pictures with hashtags received at least 15% […]

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How to Build a Reliable (and Profitable) Affiliate Network From Scratch

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Many brands remain uncertain of just what exactly affiliate marketing is. Here is Lesson One. April 18, 2019 5 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. According to industry expectations, by the year 2020, total spending on affiliate marketing will reach $6.8 billion, according to a recent article in Inc. Despite the increasing prevalence of this advertising tactic, however, many brands remain uncertain of just what exactly affiliate marketing is — or how they can leverage it in their own strategies. Related: Affiliate vs. Influencer Marketing: Which Should Your Company Use? In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is a method in which brands team up with third-party channels to promote their products. These affiliates share links to products and earn a small commission for sales or web traffic generated by their content. Unlike standard ad placements, your brand isn’t responsible for producing the ad content. Rather, the affiliates create the content […]

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The One-Hour Guide to SEO: Link Building – Whiteboard Friday

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The final episode in our six-part One-Hour Guide to SEO series deals with a topic that’s a perennial favorite among SEOs: link building. Today, learn why links are important to both SEO and to Google, how Google likely measures the value of links, and a few key ways to begin earning your own. Click on the whiteboard image above to open a high resolution version in a new tab! Video Transcription Howdy, Moz fans, and welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. We are back with our final part in the One-Hour Guide to SEO, and this week talking about why links matter to search engines, how you can earn links, and things to consider when doing link building. Why are links important to SEO? So we’ve discussed sort of how search engines rank pages based on the value they provide to users. We’ve talked about how they consider keyword use […]

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The 5 Books I Read That Helped Me Build a Multi-Million Dollar Company

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Even a book published in 1910 can teach us about avoiding negativity and disillusionment and about feeling grateful. April 18, 2019 7 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Mistakes will be made, money spent, time wasted and opportunities missed: That’s the life of any entrepreneur, considering that there is no blueprint for how to start a company. Related: 15 of the Best Time Management and Productivity Books of All Time Mistakes etc. are all part of the risk (and thrill) of starting your own company. Still, even the lack of a road map needn’t mean you have to go into the startup world completely blind. As someone who has helped thousands of founders and executives take their businesses to the next level, and built a multi-million dollar business along the way, I can tell you that some of my best education didn’t come from a formal education, but from […]

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Ubisoft Is Donating $564,000 to Help Rebuild Notre-Dame

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‘Assassin’s Creed Unity’ features the cathedral and will be free to download for a week. April 18, 2019 2 min read This story originally appeared on Engadget Following the fire that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris this week, Ubisoft has pledged €500,000 ($564,000) to help restore the iconic church. The studio, which faithfully recreated Notre-Dame in Assassin’s Creed Unity, is also offering that game for free until April 25th on PC to honor the landmark. “We want to give everyone the chance to experience the majesty and beauty of Notre-Dame the best way we know how,” Ubisoft, which is headquartered in France and has studios in Paris, said. In solidarity with everyone moved by Monday’s events we’re donating to the restoration of Notre-Dame & giving you the chance to play @AssassinsCreed Unity on Uplay for free. Details below: — Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) April 17, 2019 Such is the level of accuracy and detail that Ubisoft put into its version of […]

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5 Signs You’ve Built a Business That’s Ready for Buyers (and a Bidding War)

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Are you considering selling your business? These five signs indicate that you’re ready to take that leap. April 18, 2019 6 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. While some entrepreneurs are content to stick with a single company that they’ve built from the ground up, others are constantly on the lookout for something new. For example, take New Zealand entrepreneur Rod Drury, who established and sold companies Glazier Systems, AfterMail and Xero for millions of dollars. Consistently building successful brands that you can sell for a profit is an exciting way to make a living. Related: Expert Advice to Help You Prepare to Sell Your Business So, if your goal is to be a successful serial entrepreneur, you must develop the ability to recognize when your business is ready to sell. Here’s what to look out for: 1. You have demonstrable systems. Each business has its own unique […]

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10 Products Successful Entrepreneurs Need to Increase Productivity

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Hack your way to higher productivity with these workspace essentials. April 18, 2019 9 min read Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. For many entrepreneurs, figuring out how to increase productivity at work is a task that’s both formidable and frustrating. It’s sort of like you’re Indiana Jones, but instead of dodging booby traps on your quest to find the Holy Grail, you’re trying to avoid working unnecessarily hard in your pursuit of total efficiency. Spoiler: There’s no panacea when it comes to hacking your productivity; if there was, we’d all be doing it. Rather, you should strive to find simple, practical ways to fine-tune your day-to-day routine while establishing a healthy, comfortable, and distraction-free work environment. If that […]

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What You Need to Know Before Investing in a Chick-fil-A Franchise (60-Second Video)

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Three things to know about one of the world’s most successful franchises. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Chick-fil-A is one of the most successful and influential fast food chains in America. Thinking of opening your own? Here are three things you should know. It’s not an investment. According to its website, “The Chick-fil-A franchise opportunity requires that the individual be free of any other active business ventures and operate the restaurant on a full-time, hands-on basis.” It’s not easy. Of the 20,000 applications it receives on an annual basis, Chick-fil-A only accepts about 75 to 80 new franchises each year. That means about 0.4 percent of applicants get approved. By contrast, Harvard Business School accepted 11 percent of its applicants for the Class of 2019. They maintain control. You don’t own a Chick-fil-A franchise, you operate one. And to maintain ownership of the franchise, the company chooses […]

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Business Lessons from the Former President of Red Bull

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Jim Baily used to run Red Bull Canada. Now he’s in the CBD business and he sees nothing but green. April 18, 2019 6 min read Jim Baily didn’t have much experience with cannabis until a bad bike injury opened his eyes to its medicinal benefits. A marketing veteran, Baily was President of Red Bull Canada up until 2013 and held executive positions at Adidas and Reebok. But it wasn’t until fairly recently that he jumped to the green side as CEO of Phivida Organics, a food and beverage company that infuses organic active hemp extract into iced tea, water, and various clinical products. Baily sees many parallels between the energy drink and CBD-drink business. Energy drinks such as Red Bull were not yet even approved for sale in Canada when he moved to head operations there. “I have been in business for a while, but I haven’t seen the energy behind […]

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How to Dominate Word-of-Mouth | UpCity

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What is Word-of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM)? Have you ever wondered how some companies manage to gain new customers without spending a fortune on advertising? Or how some brands manage to pop into the conversation more frequently than others? It’s not magic and it’s not random. What you’re seeing is the power of word-of-mouth marketing at work! Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) begins with the basic premise that personal recommendations are the most powerful form of advertising. Put simply, focusing on word-of-mouth means providing positive, memorable experiences throughout the customer lifecycle and keeping your brand in the forefront of the conversation. Why is WOMM so Effective? Everyone from marketing professionals to university academics agree that when it comes to buyer behavior, trust is one of the most important factors. According to M. Nick Hajli of the University of London, trust influences buyer behavior “by directly influencing intention to buy and indirectly influencing perceived usefulness.” […]

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Creating a Tribe That Will Help Your Business Succeed

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How to determine if you’ve surrounded yourself with the right people-and what to do if you find out you haven’t April 18, 2019 6 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The following excerpt is from Scott Duffy’s book Breakthrough. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | IndieBound You can have the right idea and the right plan. You can work harder than your competition. But if you don’t have the right people around you, you won’t succeed. The people around you should inspire you, challenge you, motivate you, and be there for you when you really need them. You’ll know when you find these people, because you’ll want to run ideas by them, brainstorm with them, and look forward to spending time with them. If, however, the people around you are pulling you down or impeding your progress, you need to […]

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The Power Of Emotional Marketing

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Consumers think with both their rational and emotional brains. Study after study says that when we buy, it’s for emotional reasons. Logic comes into play when we try to justify the money we have (or are about to) spend — especially when we’re giving into our wants. Here is what one Psychology Today article says about our shopping habits. fMRI neuro-imagey shows that when evaluating brands, consumers primarily use emotions (personal feelings and experiences) rather than information (brand attributes, features, objective facts). Advertising research reveals that emotional responses to an ad has greater influence on a consumer’s intent to buy an ad (more so than the ad’s content). According to the Advertising Research Foundation, ‘likeability’ is the measure that best predicts whether an advertisement will increase a brand’s sales. Positive emotions toward a brand have far greater influence on consumer loyalty than trust and other judgments. Emotions are one reason […]

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Fonts Matter for Content Marketing: Going Beyond Calibri, Arial, and Times New Roman

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In addition to guest posting on the UpCity blog, LGK Marketing CC is featured as one of the Top Digital Marketing Agencies in the United States. Check out their profile here. Although I spend thoughtful hours selecting the perfect font for each project, I sometimes wonder if it is time well spent. Do clients appreciate this extra care? Does anyone notice? Does it matter? I am here to shout from the rooftops – YES, FONTS MATTER! A recent client, “Kathy,” serves as a case study and the inspiration for my writing about this topic. Kathy hired us to do a website and then provide accompany marketing materials, graphics and social media posts, to be used for one of the events featured on the website. We needed two fonts for the lower third of a graphic: one for a headline and another for some accompanying text. I picked two fonts I thought looked good […]

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3 Ways to Build the Rewards Program Customers Want

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To earn your customers’ devotion, remember that loyalty is a two-way street. To get it, you’ve got to give it. April 18, 2019 5 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Every business aims for its customers’ loyalty, but how much loyalty do you show them back? It can take years of hard work to do that, but it’s well worth it. According to a recent report by Bain & Company, customer loyalty has a major impact on a company’s bottom line. The report states that in the financial services industry, for example, firms that retain just 5 percent of their customers increase their profits by 25 percent or more.        Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much to lose that loyalty. Last year, InMoment’s annual “CX Trends Report” found that nearly a quarter of consumers get angry after a bad experience, and they’re four times more likely […]

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4 Unconventional Ways to Become a Better SEO

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Let’s get real for a moment: As much as we hear about positive team cultures and healthy work environments in the digital marketing space, many of us encounter workplace scenarios that are far from the ideal. Some of us might even be part of a team where we feel discouraged to share new ideas or alternative solutions because we know it will be shot down without discussion. Even worse, there are some who feel afraid to ask questions or seek help because their workplace culture doesn’t provide a safe place for learning. These types of situations, and many others like it, are present in far too many work environments. But what if I told you it doesn’t have to be this way?  Over the last ten years as a team manager at various agencies, I’ve been working hard to foster a work environment where my employees feel empowered to share […]

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