Explore insights on SEO, AI, and digital marketing strategies designed to help your business grow, stay visible, and adapt in a constantly evolving online landscape.
Here at BEACON, our social media content creators use the website Canva.com to streamline the creation of online graphics. It’s actually a really great program for those with little to no graphics training but it, unfortunately, has one flaw: the amount of fonts available are overwhelming!
As the Type Wizard on staff (think they’d mind that being my official title?), I have put together a handy guide for fonts and how they tie into Canva.com. This guide touches on the basics of font terms, use, and dos & don’ts. If you have ever been confused by terms like “serif” or cannot figure out how to make type stand out over an image, then this guide is for you.
ANCHORAGE, AK – (February 10, 2014) Beacon Media + Marketing is excited to announce the addition of Business Development & Media Director, Rita Corwin, to its team.
Corwin’s history in marketing, communications and business development as well as her experience as a long time media personality makes her a particularly effective liaison between the local business community and our creative team at Beacon. Her vast experience in media production brings innovative resources to Beacon Media + Marketing. “Beacon is particularly excited to collaborate with Ms. Corwin in reintroducing Rita’s signature production, “Spotlight on New Business,” stated Jennifer Christensen, V.P. of Beacon Media..
Debuting in 1992 Rita’s incredibly popular television feature “Spotlight on New Business” aired for an unprecedented 15 years and was unmatched as the best media value for introducing businesses in our community. Now, by popular demand, Beacon is pleased to announce that the “Spotlight on New Business” series is back.
“We are kicking off a new look for “Spotlight on New Business” and plan to launch on February 28th, 2014.” said Adrienne Wilkerson, President of Beacon Media. Over 1,600 businesses have been in the “Spotlight.” It has helped entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses with fun and results oriented marketing ideas.
Corwin and the rest of the team at Beacon Media and Marketing are committed to innovation, creativity and measurable results for our clients in the field of Inbound Marketing and Design.
Google rolled out their Authorship program a few years back, but it seems a bit slow to catch on with mainstream businesses. This is really too bad considering some of the great ranking benefits with Google.
What is Google Authorship you ask? It is a way to connect the blogs you write and publish online to your Google+ account. Personally, I believe it is yet another way Google is trying to get us to use Google+ since it pretty much bombed after they launched it. But the important thing is that increasingly connecting the two is figuring into Google’s search algorithm!
As a business professional, you have taken valuable time to craft and post a blog on your company’s website. Congrats! You’re ahead of the game! So, what happens if someone plagiarizes your hard work? Google makes the case that if you have signed up for their Authorship program, then your original article will show up before the stolen one since you have already established yourself as the author!
Another interesting feature is that you can add a face to your work with Google Authorship. After you have signed up and Google verifies your work, your Google+ image will be proudly displayed beside the search results. We all know that search results with images grab people’s eyes and have higher click rates. This in turn can lead to more traffic back to your site, which is a big part of any content marketing strategy. It seems like a great win-win situation.
Connecting everything is very simple and only takes about five minutes. You can follow this link directly to the Google+ page to get started. Click Here.
I just recently signed up, and am keeping an eye on the ranking for my blogs to see if they increase. If you do decide to connect with Google Authorship, let me know what you think of it. I would really enjoy hearing your thoughts.
There is an old saying “nothing is as constant as change,” and this is perhaps never more true than with SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Google is constant adjusting and improving their highly secretive SEO algorithm to improve the transparency of the user online experience. Then you have the other four top search engines working to keep up with Google and give users a reason to switch: Bing, Yahoo, Ask, and AOL. But considering Google has 900,000,000 (estimated) unique visitors per month and it’s closest competitor, Bing, has 165,000,000, we are going to focus on Google first.
There are big changes afoot in the world of SEO, and have been for several years. It is no longer just a “simple” case of paying for link-building and not having to worry about quality content if your website was overly optimized on the backend. As with social media, most of this change centers around the end user. Now content is king, so it is more important than ever to have dynamic content. This way people want to “backlink” from their website to material on your website. There are some pretty specific ways you can go about doing this, and one company Raka Creative calls it the Inbound Marketing Trifecta. The way they summarize this is fantastic, so I’m not going to reinvent the wheel. Instead I’m going to recognize them as thought leaders in this and put a “backlink”.
Keep these three things in mind when strategizing your SEO:
Dynamic Content
Make sure the story of your buyers is driving the content you are creating and publishing, both on your website and in your blogs. Claim Google Authorship to build trust and thought leader status.
Social Signals
Engage consistently in a conversational and meaningful way with clients, buyers, and other experts in your industry.
Clean Linking
It is important to reach out to vendors, clients, and colleagues and offer to link their quality material on your website and other social media outlets.
Implementing these three areas on a consistent basis strategically positions your website to dominate organic searches in your market. Organic SEO will continue to bring you leads long after the material is posted, unlike paid SEO that will cut off the leads at the same time the payments stop.
So, take some time and identify the keywords you believe people could use to search for you, and weave them into your content, engage on social media, and practice clean linking. These three will be a rock solid foundation for your ongoing, lead-producing, organic SEO strategy.
HubSpot’s all-in-one marketing software helps more than 8,000 companies in 56 countries attract leads and convert them into customers. A pioneer in inbound marketing, HubSpot aims to help its customers create marketing that people actually love. Founded in 2006, HubSpot has seen consistent, expansive growth. In 2012 they grew 82% and now have headquarters on the East Coast and in Europe.
Jennifer Christensen VP + Public Relation of BEACON Media + Marketing announced, “We are excited for BEACON to be a HubSpot partner agency. It allows our clients to make smart business decisions, and it perfectly aligns the marketing we provide with the sales process. Our clients want to see results from the marketing and the dollars spent – and HubSpot can provide this.”
Adrienne Wilkerson President + Creative Director of BEACON Media + Marketing added, “HubSpot is one of the premier authorities on inbound marketing and we are honored to represent them in Alaska.”
Tim Thyne, HubSpot Marketing Consultant said “I am excited to begin working with BEACON Media + Marketing. We share the belief that to truly transform your marketing, “inbound” is the way to go and we are thrilled to have BEACON bring this message to Alaska.”
You may know LinkedIn as an online community for people to post their work experience and skills in the hopes that employers will find them. You can use it as your online business card, references, and resume all in one. Indeed, LinkedIn is at its core a directory for professionals and businesses, but it is more than just a space for job searching and hiring – it’s actually great for networking and connecting with colleagues, alumni and friends and therefore gain career-related insight and ideas.
Different than, say, Facebook, LinkedIn is a social network focused on the professional side of your life. It’s also an excellent space for businesses to create pages and communicate what they do and who their employees are. So it is not so much a forum for personal connections and posts; it is a place for updates about a business and information about your industry. It is a tool that businesses can use to grow.
Businesses can use LinkedIn to drive traffic to their websites; LinkedIn is an authority site, which means that if your profile is optimized properly, it is indexed and ranked, increasing your Google visibility. Businesses can also establish personal connections and therefore credibility through recommendations and engagement.
There are several ways to do that, and we’ll cover them all in time. One way, however, is SEO. SEO is probably something you’ve heard of but maybe aren’t sure about. Here’s a brief primer:
SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” What that means is that when people search Google or Bing, they are looking for something specific – and when they hit “enter” on their search, you want your website to be on the front page, at the top of the list. One of the ways to make sure you’re at the top (without paying to be) is to optimize your website for searches. As folks turn away from the Yellow Pages and instead rely on Google to find services, you want to make sure that you have the right keywords to obtain the most visibility.
The best way to figure this out is through Google Keywords. Don’t worry; we’ll do that for you. But basically, if you own a hair salon and you want to attract new customers, you need to figure out what locals are searching for. Are people entering “hair cut Anchorage” or “Anchorage cut and color?” We find out, then organically and smoothly make sure these key words are present in your site’s content.
I’ve recently transitioned from being “location independent” to working a nine-to-five job as BEACON’s new copywriter. It seems that most people are trying to figure out how to do the opposite – leave the office and live a life a freedom. In this digital age, it is fairly easy to work remotely, using Skype, Facebook and email as the main points of contact. There are countless blogs and eBooks out there advising folks how to work for themselves, earn passive income, and sip a mai tai on a tropical beach while running a business from abroad.
I won’t lie; the lifestyle is awesome. I’ve spent the past few winters in Asia, living on the cheap while writing from wherever I wanted to be. I was a freelance travel writer for roughly five years, working on Lonely Planet guidebooks, writing travel articles for the BBC, and meeting amazing people as I bounced around.
But for the past year, I’ve known it’s time to stop the travel-writing lifestyle, or at least put it on hold. There are several reasons for this decision; here are a few of them:
Nothing beats person-to-person communication
I don’t think my writing voice is off-putting, but I really shine at interpersonal relationships. I’ve found it’s easier to get work if I’ve met an editor in person, and I always jump at the chance to meet with a colleague traveling overseas. These meetings always proved to me how valuable in-person networking is, and how lacking it can be in the Internet world.
Community
Travel bloggers have certainly formed a community abroad, but I was never a travel blogger. Anchorage was always my community, and I found that I wanted to invest more time and energy in the place I call home. I’ve loved watching Anchorage grow and change over the past twelve years, and I’d like to invest more of myself in it.
Structure
I value the structure of a set workday, and am grateful to work similar hours as many of the other folks my age. I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t miss working on my couch in my PJs, but on the whole, I’ve found the structure and routine of the nine-to-five life valuable for my brain.
Consistency
Consistency in work and pay was always lacking in my freelance life, yet my bills were always consistent. Not knowing when or where my payment was coming from as well as continually pitching for work was a constant stress, and I often felt like I was spending more time looking for work and following up on invoices than actually writing.
In transitioning from freelance to full time, a few criteria were important: I needed to do what I love (write) and be in a creative environment. Travel fulfilled my need to constantly learn and be stimulated, and I knew that to be happy in an office I had to make sure those same needs were met. I feel extremely fortunate that I have found a job that combines my love for the written word with the structure, stimulation, and consistency I was seeking.
No doubt your company has made themselves known on Facebook by now. Maybe you’ve even ventured further and created a Twitter account? If you just nodded your head yes then congrats! You’re well on your way to expanding your customer base and how you interact with them. When used right, each social media “tool” can create a better customer experience and shape your brand’s reputation.
Now that you’re in the social media mood and possibly feeling ambitious and/or adventurous, check out Pinterest Business pages. If your first thought is: “But Pinterest is only a virtual pinboard for fashion, cupcake recipes, hairstyles… and did we mention cupcakes!” then I’d reply: “Nay! It’s time to start thinking outside the box!” Even non-cupcake organizations (like Universities, Automakers, Pet Insurers, and Non-Profits) can succeed on Pinterest.
If you’re slowly warming up to the idea (and we always need an excuse to get warm here in Alaska!), ask yourself these simple questions to prepare for your dive into the pinning pool:
Who would you like to reach?
What are their needs/wants?
How can you provide this for them?
The answers to these questions will help you begin telling your story to an audience that is already prepared and willing to engage and identify with your company. Go forth and break the mold!
We @ Beacon really love everything about Social Media: We love the strategy, the contests and excitement generated with every post. Social Media is exciting, fast paced and challenging. Take a look at our client, Kaleidoscape. Her Facebook page has generated a substantial following in less than 3 months. She has 754 fans, growing every day, and her business isn’t even open yet! Social Media might be the new bright and shiny tool in our marketing toolbox, but a sparkly new tool can’t replace the basic importance of a hammer or wrench.
The central piece of our client’s online marketing game plan for 2013 still includes the same basic tool that was central in 2012…The website. In fact, for 2013, a top notch website is even more important than last year. A website that generates leads, converts to sales and creates long-term revenue, that’s the meat of the meal. That’s the marketing piece that makes the sales staff AND the accounting staff of a company cheer. It’s a return on investment that grows the company. Where as social media can have a huge impact on branding, client relations and customer service and certainly should be an important part of your marketing plan; the bottom line is that if your website is lacking you are certainly losing sales.
Make it easy to call, email or instant chat with you from every page. Prospective/ current customers have less and less patience searching sites. Since 40% are most likely accessing your website through a mobile or ipad device- it’s up to you to make sure they can click and contact. Even if your customers don’t actually call, the presence of a phone number gives credibility and trust. Check out what we designed for IMIG AV. There’s contact information on the right side of almost every page.
2. Avoid Common Website Templates
There are some great templates out there, and we’ve even used them from time to time when a client needs nothing more than an online brochure and has a very limited budget. Making a lead generating website takes investment and strategy. Invest in the best possible website you can afford, and make sure your page’s purpose is clear and the design complements the function. We suggest using Word Press for great form and function. Lastly, common website templates often don’t allow easy social share functions, landing pages and blogs. These items are key components to creating lead generation. Obviously, having a well-designed site can also increase trust and confidence in a prospective client.
3. Measure And Test Results
The best lead generation tactics in the world will not truly benefit your bottom line unless you are able to test and measure your content, call to actions and landing pages. Google Analytics offers free measuring tools. Your content, sources and even demographics of users can be measured and tested throughout the process. The amount of information provided can help you tailor your landing pages, offers and content shared. There are also various software options to help you automate responses to those possible leads that are visiting your website.
Hopefully we’ve given a few good suggestions on creating more leads from your website. If you have questions on landing pages, blogs or more give us a shout!
Hello there Beacon blog readers! Here’s the first blog from your local print-world maven.
I must make a confession: I’m a type fiend. When I receive emails from MyFonts News, I have to do my best to not short circuit my keyboard with irrepressible drool. Just picture most women’s reaction to Jimmy Choo shoes and you’ll be on the right track. You could even label me as a “type hoarder;” if I see a well-made (and hopefully free) font you’d better believe I’ve already pressed the download button. My Font Book currently has 362 fonts and counting since I just stumbled across The 50 Best Fonts for Designers blog article.
Don’t worry; this isn’t simply a post to declare my love for typography. In my latest font downloading frenzy, I came across the usual option of choosing whether to donate or not. But then something new popped up: Pay With a Tweet – a social payment system. My curiosity had been officially piqued! I clicked the button to pay via Twitter, wrote my own tweet and my download began. After just a few clicks, I came away with a free font and the font creator came away with free advertising (to my astonishing 43 Twitter followers no less).
How does Pay With a Tweet work exactly? You must start with a downloadable product that you are the legal owner of (fonts, songs, ebooks, etc.), create a Pay Button via the Innovative Thunder site and place this newly generated button on your website. Every time someone uses your button, your product and website are advertised on either their Facebook or Twitter (their choice). Keep in mind that your new customer can modify how their post/tweet appears but your website address is unchangeable. In theory, their friends or followers go through the same process and so on. Something that you were once willing to give away for free has now rippled through the Internet, creating free advertising for you as it went!
Well, what do you think? Would you use this social system?
Are you intimidated by the new buzz words popping up everyday? Are you wondering where to start and how far in to get? Do you groan every time someone asks you if you have Pinned, Tagged, Tweeted, Friended, etc?
The scope of advertising and marketing is changing and it is changing fast. How are you as a busy business owner supposed to keep up with it all much less manage it?
This blog is the first in a series that intends to answer at least some of your questions regarding business marketing techniques. More over we are going to give you some tools to navigate the ever-changing waters of current business marketing trends. I want you to walk away with distilled version of what is out there and an idea of what is going to be effective for your industry and even your business. To begin I want to introduce what may be a new concept in marketing.
Introduction to Inbound Marketing.
As I mentioned before the whole face of marketing, the way we interact with our clients, our prospects is changing. In fact it has changed right out from under many of us.
No longer is the primary focus on what many are now calling “interruption marketing.” I call this the traditional marketing efforts and it includes TV, radio, direct mail, print ads, and many things that ‘interrupt’ our lives. Think about it like this: You are listening to your favorite radio station, it’s a sunny day, the snow is melting, the roads are dry, and you are cruising down the highway and your work week is done. Does everyone have that picture in their head? It’s a good moment. Then suddenly the station cuts to a commercial about a new consulting company promising better workflow management and a smoother hiring process. There’s nothing wrong with this. But suddenly everything from work comes crashing back down and your moment has been interrupted. You may remember that consulting firm favorably, but then again you might not.
How about this example? It’s the season finale of your favorite TV show. There’s ten minutes left in the program. What’s coming? We all know; there has to be the cliffhanger commercials, right? Especially if it is a popular show, sometimes there’s almost 10 minutes of commercials for 5 minutes of the finale. Do you really watch these commercials or are they just an irritant. An interruption? If you record your shows like me, you just fast forward everything.
There is a better way! Do you really want to be the company that interrupts your prospects’ moment to sell them something? People do not want to be sold! They want to buy, oh yes they want to buy. But we as a culture HATE to be sold.
So what if there was an alternative? What if you could consistently reach your prospects and set yourself up as an expert in your industry? What if you could build a community where you could interact with your clients, vendors and prospects before, during and after they buy or sell to you? What if your company could be the one they turn to when they need your service or product because they already know and trust you? What if you could do this all without spending a small fortune? This is the opportunity “inbound marketing” offers businesses.
According to Gleanster Research 50% of leads are qualified but not ready to buy. Companies that build relationships with their leads over time have the greatest success in turning leads into customers by staying top-of-mind until the lead is ready to buy. Therefore staying connected with contacts through social media, blogging, and other “inbound marketing techniques” is beneficial from a business perspective. The end goal is to get your leads to “raise their hand” and self-select into further engaging with your business.
Inbound marketing uses high quality content to qualify warm leads so that a company knows their material is reaching those who want to hear what they have to say. It is about offering non-promotional, interesting content through blogging, social media, and well written website copy so that when people are ready, you are the one they turn to. It is cultivating leads instead of having to relay so heavily on cold calling, attending trade shows and playing the sales numbers game.
There is a better way to market your business. As a business owner, you no longer have to rely exclusively on the traditional marketing methods who’s results are difficult at best to track.
Skip to content
about a business and information about your industry. It is a tool that businesses can use to grow.
