Saturday, April 30, 2016
Honesty, Heart and Transparency. Are We Talking About Marketing? Yes, We Are.
Content-marketing expert Salma Jafri says that in an age of authentic marketing, there's no reason to fear it.
The Pros & Cons of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Other Social Networks [Infographic]
Nowadays, social media is one of the main channels used by companies to reach their target audiences. But with so many different social networks available, how do you choose which will work best for you?
It's not a one-size-fits-all solution.
For example, recent research has shown that teens and millennials are moving away from Facebook and into other social networks like Instagram and Snapchat. So if you're primarily targeting teens, you may want to focus your resources on building a stronger presence on those networks.
To learn more about each social network's strengths and weaknesses, check out the infographic below from Visage. It'll cover the key stats, pros, and cons for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Snapchat. Acknowledging these can help you create and publish the most engaging content possible on the networks that work for you.
Friday, April 29, 2016
How These 3 Fashionable Cousins Use Data To Drive Demand
To satisfy customer demand, these entrepreneurs stay on top of buying patterns and emerging trends relevant to their business.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Designing a Customer Strategy Focused on Genuine Loyalty
How to win customers and influence sales with five factors that help cultivate loyalty.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Chase Jarvis on Creativity and The Art of Entrepreneurship
I'm super pumped to bring you today's guest on The School of Greatness.
I've been waiting years to interview my good friend Chase Jarvis for the podcast, and the stars finally aligned.
Chase is hard to pin down because he's involved in so many awesome things and knows the power of the hustle.
He is not only one of the best photographers in the world, shooting campaigns for brands like Apple and Nike, but also is the founder of CreativeLIVE, the online education company.
He is a sought after speaker and a hugely successful entrepreneur.
But at heart he's an incredible person, a true artist, and one of the most mindful and sincere guys I know.
So when he was in LA recently filming interviews for one of his new projects (which I got to be part of), I finally grabbed him for an interview.
Chase is incredible at breaking down complicated things, like becoming a world-famous photographer, into daily habits and tasks.
We also get into the role of insecurity in art, work, and finding purpose.
You're in for a treat in Episode 321 with the one and only Chase Jarvis.
Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher Radio or TuneIn
The School of Greatness Podcast
“The things that make you weird and quirky are your biggest strengths as an artist.”
Some questions I ask:
- What have you learned about yourself since switching your leadership style? (13:15)
- How does insecurity cultivate creativity? (14:38)
- How do you transition from a corporate job to freelancer? (19:58)
- Was there a moment in your life when you realized what you were born to do? (27:45)
- When someone is in a creative block, what is something they can do to move forward? (35:25)
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- Why taking care of your health is so important to being a successful creative (29:00)
- 3 things that are hugely important to make great art (30:20)
- How to get into the zone to create awesome work consistently (41:15)
- The keys to using visualization as a powerful tool (44:10)
- Why Chase considers meditation the single biggest game changer in his adult life (49:25)
- Plus much more…
Continue Seeking Greatness:
FOLLOW CHASE
Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Check out my new favorite mattress, Leesa, and get a 100 day risk-free trial and $75 off your order at http://leesa.com/greatness
Have you signed up for The School of Greatness Academy yet? This is my 8-week online course and mastermind that will change your life and business. If you have what it takes, apply today! I want to see you make something great.
HAVE YOU READ THE SCHOOL OF GREATNESS BOOK YET? ORDER A COPY AT HTTP://LEWISHOWES.COM/BOOK
- Music Credit: Fly with Me by The Lost Beat ft. HIZE
You may also like these episodes:
- Casey Neistat on Writing Your Own Creative Rules for Success
- Visual Poetry: How to Be an Entrepreneurial Artist with Nick Onken
- Find and Follow Your Purpose with Jeff Goins
Did you enjoy the podcast?
I love Chase, his wisdom, his perspective, and his creative ideas. What did you get inspired to create after listening to him?
“If you don't write your own script, someone else will write it for you.”
The post Chase Jarvis on Creativity and The Art of Entrepreneurship appeared first on Lewis Howes.
How to Get Noticed in Today's Crowded Business Environment
Just because the business world is changing doesn't mean you should look to some tried-and-true tactics to stand out.
What To Do If Your Website Traffic Is Down
First thing: Don't panic.
Keep in mind that Google updates its algorithm between 500 and 600 times per year - and that doesn't even include the major updates such as Panda (2011's emphasis on strong content) and Penguin (2012's crack down on over-optimizing and keyword-based anchor text).
It's good to keep an eye on your website visits and performance to notice change over time, but if you're getting less traffic and fewer phone calls, it's time to investigate further.
Step 1: Check your code.
Even seemingly simple website tweaks could result in the accidental deletion of your tracking code.
Whether you're using Google Analytics or a marketing automation tool such as HubSpot, double check to make sure you're receiving the accurate performance data from your entire website.
It sounds like an obvious check, but you won't believe how often it can happen if you have a webmaster or someone else making website edits for you.
Step 2: Analyze your keywords.
Those search terms that had you on page one of Google last week - are they still holding up?
If a few of your website pages dropped from the first, second or third search result position down to seven, eight or nine, that could result in a major drop in visits to your website.
I recommend you look at your larger traffic-driving keywords and overall pages to see if there has been a decline in placement across the board.
Even a drop in placement from the 1st page to the 2nd, 3rd, 5th+ page could be a sign that you're in penalty - meaning Google sees suspicious or outdated tactics and lowers your search result ranking or removes your website completely from its pages.
There is plenty of keyword tracking software out there that can do all the heavy lifting for you. All you would need to do is check your rankings and monitor for big keyword shifts. From there, you should evaluate how bad the drops in rankings are and adjust your SEO strategy.
Step 3: Take a look at Domain Authority.
A key factor in calculating your search engine ranking is Moz's Domain Authority.
It's calculated by the frequency of new pages published, number of pages, number of outbound and inbound links and quality of links, among other parameters - and it's so influential that Google weighs it in the algorithm.
So when Moz rolls out an update to the Domain Authority of all websites, if you've lost quality backlinks or stopped making updates, your ranking could fall and subsequently get a loss in website traffic.
You can keep an eye on it here.
Why is this important? Well, your website's authority tells Google a lot. If your authority is dropping, it's a signal to Google and other search engines that maybe the quality of the site isn't as good as it used to be.
If the quality is suffering, Google doesn't want to damage its reputation as a search engine and deliver poor results.
You want to keep an eye on this on a monthly basis and make adjustments as you see your authority start to change. If it's getting better, keep doing what you're doing! If it's declining, then it's time to change your strategy - either by adding content that people would find interesting and linking to or reaching out to high quality sites for a link back to your site.
Step 4: Analyze for toxic backlinks.
Although Google says bad backlinks can't hurt you, they definitely can.
Even if you believe you have strong and clean link building practices, you could be in penalty and not even know it - thanks to Google's Penguin update.
You definitely should look for referral links that you wouldn't necessarily want your website associated with. You can see this by taking a look at your referral traffic in your web analytics or marketing automation tool - pull up the data and ask yourself these questions:
- Do you have any partners in different parts of the world?
- Do you see an increased amount of links coming in from a different language?
- Do you see links to pages that don't exist on your website?
Those are definitely things to watch out for as that could be a clear sign of a hacked website or unfavorable links. Unfortunately, I've been seeing a lot of this lately.
If you uncover toxic backlinks, compile a list and call in the professionals - it's time to submit a disavow file to Google and start the cleanup process.
Step 5: Call in the outside reporting.
If you've made it this far and still haven't found the issue, I recommend purchasing reports from SEMRush. This tool provides a small amount of data to show where you're ranking, charts to show a drop in organic keywords and a look at whether there's an algorithmic change.
Once you have the data, a look the organic graph and analyze what it's telling you: If you're seeing declines in keywords and traffic, then check and see if it coincides with an algorithm update.
Typically, you can pinpoint what month and year your decline took a nosedive and research to see if Google rolled out any updates during that timeframe - there would likely be extensive coverage on Moz with advice on how to remedy the situation.
Final Thoughts
The truth is, Panda and Penguin are just the beginning of changes Google is going to roll out over the next decade.
Usually major algorithm announcements are made the same day they're rolled out in search, but I tend to see movements in website data weeks - or even months - before that.
You'll tend to see major movements in other industries before they're rolled out everywhere, so that's why I like to keep my ear to the ground.
You never truly know what Google will change next, so you have to keep analyzing what's happening with your online presence and stay up to date with tactics and trends - it's all part of a strong inbound marketing strategy.
We've got a bunch of great content on understanding keyword fundamentals, ranking above competitors and tips for increasing website rankings to help you master your search engine marketing strategy.
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