Plan with Purpose: How to Build a More Strategic Content Marketing Calendar

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A well-crafted content calendar is the backbone of any annual marketing plan. By strategically planning and executing your content, you can effectively reach your target audience, build brand awareness, and drive business growth.

At Green Apple Strategy, we believe a content calendar should be more than just a list of topics. It should be a strategic roadmap that aligns with your overall business objectives. By taking a thoughtful, data-driven approach, you can create content that resonates with your audience and impacts your bottom line.

Key Steps to Building a More Strategic Content Calendar

 

Key 1: Define Clear, Strategic Goals

As with any marketing tactic, it’s essential to understand why you’re investing in it. Are you looking to raise brand awareness, drive sales, or build stronger customer relationships? Knowing your goals upfront makes it easier to create content that directly supports them. And don’t forget to consider your target audience—understanding who they are and what they care about helps you create content that resonates with them.

Key 2: Audit Your Content with a Strategic Perspective

Before creating new content, look at what you already have. What’s working well, and what’s not? Are there any gaps you need to fill? A quick audit of your content helps you focus on what’s driving results and repurpose top-performing pieces into new formats—like turning a blog post into a video. It’s a smart way to build on what you’ve already done rather than starting from scratch every time.

Key 3: Identify New Opportunities to Address Audience Pain Points 

Getting to the heart of your audience’s daily life is essential for creating content that adds value. What challenges are they facing? What questions are they asking? When you focus on their pain points, you can create content that offers solutions and shows your brand as a helpful resource. 

Keep in mind that your customers’ needs may change over time. Stay aware of those shifts and update your content accordingly—this keeps your messaging fresh and relevant.

Key 4: Make Keywords Work for You

Keywords are more than just a way to improve your search rankings—they help you strategically connect with the right people. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find terms your audience is searching for, and use those words naturally in your content. But don’t overdo it—focus on quality content that answers your audience’s needs. This will improve your visibility and ability to engage with the right people.

Key 5: Plan Ahead and Stay Organized

The purpose of a content calendar is to help you stay organized and productive. Prioritize topics that align with your business goals and schedule them in a way that makes sense for your audience. 

A consistent publishing schedule and process-oriented approach will keep you organized. By planning in advance, you are setting the stage for smoother execution and reduced stress in the future.

Key 6: Think About How You’ll Promote it, Not Just What You’ll Share

Great content is only effective if people see it. Share it across the forms your audience consumes—social media, email, blogs, videos, and more. Don’t just post it and hope for the best. Instead, use data-driven strategies to boost engagement! You may even consider using paid ads to extend your reach and make sure your content is reaching the right people at the right time.

Key 7: Pre-Determine How You’ll Measure and Adjust

Once your content is out there, don’t forget to measure how it’s performing. Track metrics like traffic, engagement, and conversions. Analytics will give you a clear picture of what’s working and what isn’t. Use these insights to adjust your strategy. Maybe you’ll want to double down on topics that are resonating or tweak areas that need improvement. Keeping an eye on your results lets you stay flexible and responsive to what your audience wants.

Your Roadmap to Content Success Starts Here

Building an effective content calendar is about more than filling up a schedule. It’s a way to ensure that every piece of content you create is working toward your business objectives. 

If you’re ready to take your content planning to the next level, Green Apple Strategy is here to help. Contact us today to see how our strategic planning services can help you create an approach that drives meaningful results.

 

The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Successful Product Launch

Team members reviewing marketing items in an office on a screen and board

Launching a new product or service is an exciting milestone for any business. It’s your chance to introduce something fresh to the market, attract new customers, and grow your brand. But it’s also a critical moment—especially for small to midsize companies—because a lot is riding on getting it right. One misstep can mean wasted time, money, and resources. In fact, research shows that 95% of new products fail within the first year, and a poorly executed launch is often the reason why.

At Green Apple Strategy, we’ve helped businesses of all sizes, from B2B to B2C, develop marketing plans to launch new products or services. Whether you’re preparing for your first launch or looking for ways to improve, this guide offers essential steps to ensure your product reaches the right audience, drives adoption, and makes a lasting impact.

Setting the Stage: Pre-Launch Essentials for Success

Effective product launches don’t happen overnight. They require careful planning, market research, and a clear timeline. Pre-launch preparation is all about laying the groundwork to make sure your new product has the best possible chance to succeed. Here are a few resources to help: 

Cross-Team Collaboration: How to Ensure Departments Work Together

One of the most overlooked aspects of a successful product launch is internal collaboration. Your product launch will involve various departments—marketing, sales, operations, and customer service—all working toward the same goal. If these teams aren’t aligned, you’ll encounter bottlenecks, miscommunications, and missed opportunities. Here are a few different articles to enhance interdepartmental collaboration: 

Tell a Story, Build a Brand: How to Position Your Product for Success

Once you have your internal team aligned and your pre-launch planning in place, it’s time to focus on how you’re going to position your product in the market. This is where your branding and messaging come into play. Here are a few helpful articles to help you think through marketing your new product:

From Planning to Execution: Real Examples of Launch Success

Sometimes, the best way to plan your product launch is to see how others have successfully done it. Here are a few case studies that showcase how Green Apple Strategy has helped companies launch new products and services with measurable success.

  1. CaringWays: Launching a New Business Model

In 2022, CaringWays approached Green Apple Strategy to launch its brand with a new identity, website, and marketing strategy. Through careful planning and collaboration, we helped them pivot their approach to target partnerships with healthcare organizations, which became a game-changing opportunity for their business. This agile approach allowed CaringWays to adjust mid-launch while still keeping their long-term goals intact.

      2. The Gardner School: Growing in New Markets

As one of the nation’s leading early childhood education centers, The Gardner School takes a strategic approach to launching new locations. Green Apple spearheaded their market research, digital campaigns, and promotional strategies for entering new markets. Our detailed, tailored approach has consistently helped them build strong brand awareness and fill classrooms quickly.

These examples highlight the importance of agility, collaboration, and market research in any successful product launch.

Ready for Launch? We’re Here to Help Every Step of the Way

Timing is everything when it comes to launching a new product. Whether you’re still in the planning phase or need help refining your strategy, Green Apple Strategy can provide the expertise and insights you need for a successful launch.

With our tailored strategic planning services, we’ll work alongside you every step of the way—from market research and messaging to branding and implementation—to ensure your product gets the attention it deserves. Contact us today to learn more and set your next product launch up for success.

The Modern Blog Playbook: What Every Post Needs to Stand Out

Blogging has been a cornerstone of digital marketing for years. Companies of all sizes have used it to build brand awareness, generate leads, and drive sales. But with the pace of technological advancements, it’s essential to stay updated on best practices to ensure your blogs remain effective. 

Here are a few compelling statistics to consider:

  • Companies with blogs produce 67% more leads monthly than those that don’t blog (DemandMetric).
  • Businesses that blog generate 55% more website visitors (HubSpot).
  • 70% of people prefer learning about a company through articles instead of advertisements (DemandMetric).

These numbers highlight why blogging is a smart marketing investment. But rapid changes in digital marketing make it harder for companies to keep up with best practices. In this post, we aim to demystify some of these shifts and share key elements that can help businesses create more effective blog content.

The Evolution of Blogging: What’s Changing and Why It Matters

Over the last two decades, blogging has gone from a niche hobby to a mainstream marketing tool. However, recent trends and changes have made it increasingly difficult to navigate, especially for businesses trying to maximize their blog’s effectiveness. 

Here are three key changes that businesses need to consider in 2024:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Content Creation

Artificial intelligence has transformed how businesses approach content marketing. It’s now easier than ever to use AI to generate blog post ideas and outlines. However, while AI can save time, it also runs the risk of stripping away the human touch that readers crave. Blogs that rely solely on AI often lack the personality and unique voice that build trust and authenticity with readers. While AI can assist in the writing process, it’s crucial for brands to add a human element that resonates with their audience.

2. Google SEO Algorithms

Google’s search algorithms are constantly evolving, and this has significantly impacted how blogs rank in search results. Recent updates, like the introduction of Google Gemini, have altered how content is indexed and displayed. Businesses now need to be more strategic about keyword usage, meta descriptions, and overall content quality. Blogging is no longer about simply stuffing posts with keywords—it’s about delivering genuinely valuable, well-structured content that aligns with Google’s latest ranking factors.

3. Changing Consumer Preferences

Consumer behavior has also shifted, with shorter attention spans becoming the norm. Today’s readers prefer content that is easily digestible, concise, and actionable. Long, text-heavy posts without visuals or interactive elements struggle to hold readers’ attention. 

Companies that don’t adapt to these changing preferences risk losing their audience. To stand out in 2024, blogs need to be scannable, engaging, and offer immediate value to the reader.

The Anatomy of an Effective Blog Post in 2024

Given these changes, there are several key elements every blog post should include in order to remain effective and resonate with today’s audience. Incorporating these elements into your blog will help you navigate the evolving digital landscape and ensure your content remains relevant.

1. Valuable Content Your Audience Cares About

The foundation of any successful blog post is content that matters to your audience. In 2024, this goes beyond basic keyword research. Your content should address your audience’s pain points, answer their questions, and provide actionable insights. 

Readers are bombarded with information every day, so your blog needs to offer a compelling reason for them to spend time on your page. By prioritizing high-quality, relevant content, you’ll not only improve your SEO but also foster a deeper connection with your audience.

2. Compelling Images

Images do more than break up text—they enhance engagement. Studies show that blog posts with images get 94% more views than those without. 

In 2024, visual content is essential for maintaining reader interest, especially considering shorter attention spans. A well-placed infographic, photo, or chart can provide a visual explanation of complex ideas, making your content more accessible and enjoyable to read.

3. Engaging Headlines and Subheads

Your headline is the first—and sometimes only—chance you have to capture a reader’s attention. With so much content competing for clicks, your headline needs to be both compelling and concise. 

Subheads also play a crucial role in keeping readers engaged. They make your blog post easier to scan, which is especially important for readers who skim before committing to reading the full article. Well-crafted headlines and subheads can boost your click-through rates and help guide readers through your post.

4. Links to Other Forms of Content

An effective blog post doesn’t stand alone. It should serve as a gateway to other forms of content, whether that’s additional blog posts, case studies, videos, or social media channels.

Internal links can help drive traffic to other parts of your website, improving your site’s overall SEO. External links to reputable sources can also enhance your credibility, showing readers that your blog is well-researched and grounded in industry knowledge.

5. Clear Call to Action (CTA)

Every blog post should have a purpose, whether that’s to educate, inspire, or persuade. A clear CTA at the end of your post ensures readers know what to do next. 

Whether it’s subscribing to your newsletter, downloading a free resource, or contacting your sales team, your CTA should guide readers toward the next step in their journey. An effective CTA not only drives engagement but also helps convert readers into customers or leads.

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

Blogging in 2024 is more complex than ever, but by incorporating these key elements into your posts, you can create content that engages your audience, supports your marketing goals, and adapts to the latest trends. 

At Green Apple Strategy, we’re continually evaluating the effectiveness of our clients’ content marketing strategies, including blogging. We’re also committed to sharing what we learn with our community.

Want to learn more about effective digital marketing strategies? Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest tips and trends.

Our Top 10 Marketing Insights & Topics from 2022

2022

2022 provided its fair share of challenges for marketers. Many businesses were still navigating the ripple effects created by the pandemic — whether it was learning how to promote new services or balancing business development needs with operational capacity. Economic obstacles and the fear of an impending recession caused some companies to tighten their marketing spend or focus on fundamental strategies. Companies learned how to embrace the “new normal” of virtual team meetings and hybrid work models.  

Despite these challenges, our team at Green Apple, and the clients we serve, have discovered valuable insights to propel our work forward. As Albert Einstein once summarized, we’ve found that “in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

As we reflect on everything we’ve learned from 2022, we wanted to recap the insights and articles that our audience found most helpful throughout the year. As you’ll see, they cover a variety of topics in almost every aspect of marketing. We believe this goes to show the integral role that marketing plays in every area of the business. Without further ado, here are our most popular blog posts from 2022.

1. What Not To Do During a Zoom Meeting

We’ve all seen or experienced our fair share of Zoom faux pas over the past few years. But an embarrassing interaction isn’t the only thing that can derail a Zoom meeting.

As a virtual agency, our team has learned A LOT about maximizing Zoom for productive team meetings. This article outlines some common mistakes to avoid. 

2. 7 Key Elements of Eye-Catching Content

Marketing has always been about capturing attention. How can you do that in our world that seems busier and noisier than ever? This article highlights some helpful design tips to consider whether you’re creating a social media post, print ad, or sales collateral.

3. Why Corporate Social Responsibility Should Be on Your Radar for 2022

Social responsibility platforms have become a priority for businesses in almost every industry. How can you leverage it to connect with customers and prospects in a more meaningful way? This article outlines a few key ideas to consider. 

4. 5 [Virtual] Client Appreciation Gifts for 2022

The pandemic created the need to find ways to show appreciation virtually. But as the way business has evolved, virtual appreciation gifts are also great for clients you might have in other parts of the country. This article highlights five of our favorite ideas. 

5. Frustrated by the Fact That Marketing is Constantly Evolving?

We understand that it’s easy to get frustrated by the constantly-evolving nature of marketing. This article offers some encouraging reminders for business leaders or marketing managers who are frustrated by the fact that nothing seems to be working like it once did. 

6. Is Print Advertising Still Viable?

Print advertising isn’t dead. In fact, we’ve found that print advertising has some advantages over digital features depending on our client’s target audience and goals. This article shares a few benefits of print advertising and strategic ideas for integrating it into your marketing efforts.  

7. Enneagram and Marketing: The Creative Beauty of Type Fours

The enneagram has become one of our team’s favorite tools and topics to discuss in recent years. This article describes how an Enneagram 4 — also known as “The Individualist” – provides the much-needed creative ideas and spark for your marketing. 

8. 20 Questions to Ask Yourself That Will Improve Your Customer Profiles

It’s essential that you know your customers if you want your marketing to resonate. As a result, every business should develop customer profiles or buyer personas for their key target audience. This article unpacks 20 different questions that will make that experience more effective. 

9. 4 Factors for Creating a Customer-Centric Culture

The experience you provide customers directly impacts your bottom line. How do you go about creating a culture within your business or organization that values the customer experience? While the specific tactics or strategies may evolve, this article shares four key factors that you need to create a customer-centric culture.

10. Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Threes Move Mountains

Enneagram 3’s (also known as The Achiever) offer essential traits and skills that can be helpful for managing your marketing efforts. This article unpacks the traits of The Achiever from one of the Enneagram 3’s on our team, our Founder and Chief Strategist, Samantha Pyle. 

Get the Latest Marketing Insights & Trends

At Green Apple, we’re constantly looking for new sources of marketing inspiration for our clients. We typically share what we’re learning each month through The Core, our monthly newsletter. Sign up to get the latest marketing insights and inspirations delivered directly to your inbox. 

Our Readers’ Favorite Blogs of 2021

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When it comes to powerful marketing tools, we’re a huge proponent of the power of blogs. A successful blogging strategy can provide a huge SEO boost for your website, scale up your Google ranking by providing more content for the algorithm to sort, and can strengthen your brand identity. We practice what we preach, and our 2021 blogging strategy has brought us an increase in website visitors, new qualified leads, and content to use on several different marketing channels. Here are our readers’ favorite blogs of 2021: 

1. Four Factors for Creating a Customer-Centric Culture

In this blog, we give our top suggestions for building a brand culture that focuses on bringing your best to your customers. By animating your team, centering on your purpose, and understanding who you’re serving, you can bring unparalleled experiences to your clients and customers. 

2. Meet Our Owner/Chief Strategist Samantha Pyle

Our second most popular blog this year served as a quick introduction to Green Apple’s leader Sam Pyle. Her extensive experience in marketing and PR gives her the vision and clarity to guide our team. We love working with Sam every day. Through this introduction, you just might see why!   

3. 7 Key Elements of Eye-Catching Content

There’s no question: more eyes on your content means more leads and more engagement. How can you craft content that captures and keeps attention? These seven tips can serve as a guide when you’re planning future content.  

4. Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Ones Accelerate Your Strategy

We love all that Type Ones bring to our team, including organization, prioritization, and an eye for detail. Type Ones can also be a significant asset when you’re building a marketing strategy—here’s how they can activate your approach. 

5. Green Apple Goes Hybrid

This update on our move from in-person to a hybrid work model explores the benefits of switching to a more flexible working model, especially as the workplace changes in response to the pandemic. 

6. Enneagram and Marketing: The Creative Beauty of Type Fours

Types Fours are creative, original, and insightful. They’re wonderful for bringing new ideas to a team’s approach and process, which makes them valuable in any industry—including marketing. Take a deep dive into all that the Enneagram Type Fours can offer in the workplace through this blog.

7. Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Threes Move Mountains

It’s not a surprise that another blog on the Enneagram and marketing made it on our top ten list. This article explored how Type Threes energize and motivate when they’re implementing a marketing strategy. Our fearless leader, Sam, is a Type Three (as is our Marketing so we get to see (as is Senior Content Strategy, Skylar). We love to watch how Type Threes bring the best of their talents and skills to marketing. 

8. 5 Books to Read When Looking for Your “Why” in Marketing

There’s so much research out there that suggests that purpose is essential when it comes to finding motivation for your work. The same is true in marketing. In order to successfully share the benefits of your brand, you’ve got to dig deep into why you’re in business, what you can offer your customers, and how your purpose animates all that you do.

9. How Enneagram Type Sevens Bring Energy to All they Do

Enneagram Sevens are known for their extraversion, optimism, and verve, and they bring all these traits to the workplace as well. If you work with a Type Seven, they’ll feel a natural draw towards processes they can reimagine, clients they can woo, or venues where they can serve as a spokesperson for your brand. 

10. What Makes an Enneagram Type Five a Marketing Asset

At Green Apple, we use the Enneagram for team building, during the interview process, and to understand what roles and responsibilities are a natural fit for our team members. This guide to Enneagram Type Fives explores a Type Five’s drive for mastery and excellence, and how that can benefit a marketing team.

Harness The Power of Blogging For Your Brand

Want to learn more about how a keyword-driven blogging strategy can activate the power of your brand? Let Green Apple Strategy craft an innovative approach to your brand’s blog so that you can start targeting and attracting customers today.  Reach out to us today for a consultation.

Enneagram and Marketing: How Type Ones Accelerate Your Strategy

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Are you an Enneagram Type One? Have one on your team? 

Type Ones are known for their sense of responsibility to improve the world around them. They tend to accomplish this by striving for perfection, following the rules, and doing what’s right. This person is your organizer—the one keeping everyone in check and keeping everything moving. We’re lucky to have a Type One on our team that is a master of attention-to-detail and organization—two common traits of this Enneagram group. Olivia Cooper, our Senior Client Relations Specialist, is the secret weapon of our marketing team. Let’s take a look at why that is and how the Type One on your team can help accelerate your marketing strategy.  Read More: How Understanding The Enneagram Can Help Your Customers

Type Ones Identify Opportunities for Improvement

“Type Ones are often improvement-oriented. We love to fix everything or solve problems to make something as perfect as it can be. Marketing is always changing, so it’s important to constantly make strategies better as the industry and clients evolve,” says Olivia.  What an essential quality in marketing, right? This right here is what we love about our Olivia, and what we love about Enneagram Type Ones as a whole: they continually make us better marketers, better brands, better communicators. You name it, and your Type One will help you identify opportunities for improvement to make your brand better as a whole. After all, in our fast-changing world, we need Type Ones to show us the light and help us to keep up.

Type Ones Have Great Integrity

“I care very much about doing the ‘right thing.’ Being ethical in marketing is extremely important for transparency with consumers!” she says. Above all, consumers want a brand they can trust so that they can feel good about where their money goes. The Type Ones on your team will always be looking to do what’s right by you and your audience. 

Type Ones Are Organized

“I am pretty organized, which helps me keep everything together. This is especially useful for marketing at an agency, where I’m balancing many different clients at once,” Olivia explains. In fast-paced environments, Type Ones are your ally. They will be the person keeping your projects afloat and ensuring that nothing is overlooked along the way. 

Type Ones Are Detail Oriented

We all like to say that we’re detail-oriented. In fact, I would venture to say that you can find those words on the vast majority of people’s resumes. However, as much as we feel like we need to say that we have a keen eye for detail, that isn’t always the case. No matter how hard we look, we’re going to let a few things slip through the cracks. Not Type Ones. They’re looking out for perfection. “Even the tiniest details are important in marketing. People don’t forget the small things, so I’m always looking out for clients in this way,” says Olivia.

Ready to Accelerate Your Marketing Strategy? 

Our team enjoys learning more about each other through Enneagram Types and Culture Index surveys to ensure that we communicate and work together effectively. In the end, this is all to improve our clients’ marketing strategies and use our small team to garner big results.  Are you looking to see what full-service marketing can do for your brand? Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation.

7 Key Elements of Eye-Catching Content

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The internet is a vast sea of information. Search engines help us find what we need, but even when we’re searching for a topic, we have an overwhelming amount of options. If you’re looking for ways to improve your content marketing, for example, you will then be left to choose from around 12 different articles—and that’s just on the first page of your Google search.  Your audience is out there swimming right along with you, wading through the fluffy content to get to the good stuff. And they’re busy and skimming their content, just like you. So, how do you catch their eye? Grabbing your audience’s attention isn’t an easy task, but expertly crafted content can do the trick. 

1. Keep it concise.

We can’t say it enough: your audience is busy. They want to skim their content, because even when they do have the time, they want to spend it relaxing or enjoying time with their family. Give them what they want as fast as you can, and try not to overload with fluffy language that takes away from your point. Say what you need to say, and let it go.

2. Break it up.

You wouldn’t want to read a wall of text, and neither does your audience. What if you’re heading into an article about how to bake a cake, and you just need to know how to make the frosting? You’re going to want to jump to the end and find your answer. Give your audience a format that they can quickly jump around in. You may think, “Don’t I want my reader to stay on the page as long as possible?” Yes, you do; however, readers will leave your site if they don’t find what they want quickly, and they are much more likely to share your content with their peers if they find your content helpful or valuable. Use sub-headers, bullet points, and numbered lists strategically throughout your content to make it more digestible for the reader. And don’t be afraid of short, quick paragraphs!

3. Focus, focus, focus.

The more specific you are about your topic, the more receptive your reader will be. General articles don’t grab as much attention because we are often on the lookout for exactly what we want. For example, if you want to learn how to make icing for a German chocolate cake, you’re not going to click on How to Make Cake Icing. You’re going to click on How to Make the Best German Chocolate Cake Icing You’ve Ever Had. Even if you feel like specific topics may alienate parts of your potential audience, know that someone is looking for that particular idea. When your content is aligned with what that person is looking for, they will stay on your website longer and share it with others who they know need the same information.

4. Diversify your content throughout different platforms.

When we think of content, our mind often goes to blogging, but it doesn’t stop there. We must also consider social media, email, webinars, podcasts, and any other way that we communicate with our audiences. The beauty of solid, engaging content is that you can mold it to fit these different purposes. For example, if your company created an excellent podcast episode that others need to know about, add it to your next email newsletter, post about it on social media, and summarize the points into a blog article. Good content is a great front-end investment that will provide you with excellent returns.

5. Use imagery.

People are visual creatures. We’re intelligent, and we want to learn new information, but there is still an element of “Look! A pretty picture!” that catches our attention. We want to see beauty in our world, and the internet is no exception. When you’re doing research for work or learning about a hobby, you’ll most likely click on the article that uses visual elements. Not only do we love the way it looks, but visuals make information easily digestible for our brains. For this reason, infographics are an incredible tool that our audiences enjoy reading and sharing.

6. Put the content within your audience’s reach.

We all have friends who use one platform for their information more than others. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, email, or another outlet, make sure that your content is ready and available to your audience whenever the mood strikes. Work with your web developer to ensure that your resources page on your website is as user friendly as possible.

7. Look for creative angles wherever you go.

Creative content inspiration is everywhere we turn. We can find ideas in our daily conversations with clients and coworkers. We can find them in other content that we’re reading or something we see on television. We may even ask pointed questions to clients and others to determine what they want to learn about. You are out to propose new ideas, solve problems, and provide your audience with inspiration and solutions. Remember that as you go about your day, and you will organically collect potential topics to share with your audience.  We can help you create and manage content that your clients can’t take their eyes off of. Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation today!

How Marketing Can Create Company-Wide Collaboration

a round wood table in a warm lit room with three men gathered sitting with white papers scattered
Creating a culture of teamwork and collaboration is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Here are a few reasons why…
  • 75% of employers rate teamwork and collaboration as “very important.” (Source)
  • 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failure. (Source)
  • Collaborative teams are 5x higher-performing because they feel motivated towards a common goal. (Source)
And, while every leader agrees that collaboration is important—creating a culture of teamwork has gotten increasingly difficult in a world where employees can work from anywhere and open offices don’t seem to be working. How Marketing Can Create Collaboration Across Your Company Creating a collaborative team environment is no simple feat, but it’s possible. Here are a few ways in which marketing can play a unique role in supporting this effort:
  1. Constantly remind employees of your mission and vision.
Your mission and vision statements won’t sink in if you promote them once or leave them on your website for others to read. Employees need to be constantly reminded about why they show up to work every day in order to increase teamwork and collaboration. Marketing can support this by looking for creative and engaging ways to keep your mission and vision top of mind for employees.
  1. Encourage creative problem solving and brainstorming.
Collaboration and teamwork works best in environments where creative brainstorming is a regular part of the business. Because of where they sit in the organization, marketing can lead out in this by pulling together leaders from different areas of the company to address issues your company is facing.
  1. Share knowledge, insights, and resources across your organization.
Does your account services team know everything that’s happening in marketing? Does your sales team know all the impressive results you’re getting for clients? Marketing can help bridge the gap by collecting all this information and dissemination throughout your organization.
  1. Celebrate the impact your company is making.
When morale is low, productivity suffers and collaboration decreases. Marketing can play a role in improving morale by regularly celebrating the growth and success your company is experiencing. Celebrating the exciting things that are happening across your business on a regular basis is a great way to create a culture where people are on board and excited about the things that are happening. Whether you’re a large corporation or a small startup—these are a few simple ways your marketing team can play a role in creating a more collaborative culture. Collaborative companies are more productive companies. Leaders who know this invest time and resources in creating environments that are conducive to teamwork.

3 Ways to Improve Sales & Marketing Alignment

back seat passenger in a car looking out at the road and scenic dessert views with blue sky


Getting sales and marketing on the same page isn’t easy. It takes buy-in from both teams and a lot of work to get marketing and development leaders on the same page. It requires investment and direction from senior leadership.  

But, what happens after you’ve laid the initial groundwork to create that alignment? How do ensure that all the hard work you’ve done until this point isn’t completely abandoned a year from now?

How to Continually Improve Sales & Marketing Alignment

When it comes to maintaining sales and marketing alignment, the biggest factor is communication. Both teams must make sure they are communicating with and enabling the other to do their jobs.

What does this look like in real time? Here are a few tips:

  • Understand the communication preferences of the other person. This sounds really simple, but it’s one of the most important keys for effective communication. If marketing is going to equip sales with real-time updates of who is on your website, make sure the information is presented in ways that are easy to understand and act upon. If you’re going to share time-sensitive information with your sales team, make sure it’s through a channel they check frequently.
  • Have a one-stop shop for all marketing information and sales tools. Creating a single document or microsite that your sales team can use to access sales tools and stay informed about marketing campaigns is another key. You want to make sure you showcase the information in places where sales can easily access it in their cars before a meeting.
  • Determine the right cadence for regular updates. How often should your sales teams be informed with marketing insights? How often should sales teams download what they’re learning to marketing teams? Finding the right cadence to address these questions is important. It could be a weekly stand-up meeting or bi-weekly email that prioritizes what campaigns sales should focus on.

Alignment between sales and marketing is like a road trip caravan. Both teams should stay in their individual cars but constantly stay connected about the directions they’re heading. The two-way communication between marketing and sales teams ensures you’re doing everything that you can to make sure both teams reach the intended destination.

4 Inbound Lead Nurturing Tips Every Biz Dev Pro Should Know

Tree growing and turning into an arrow shaped tree flying off


Inbound marketing has become the most effective way for businesses to generate leads in today’s digital age. However, there’s one essential element required to maximize the ROI of your inbound marketing efforts — lead nurturing.

Creating an effective campaign means thinking beyond generating a lead and considering what happens after someone submits their information to download your inbound marketing resource.

This is where lead nurturing comes in. Lead nurturing will help you qualify and develop the leads your campaign generates, moving them from early-stage leads to interested prospects who are a good fit for your product or service.

4 Inbound Lead Nurturing Tips Every Biz Dev Pro Should Know

But what’s the key to effective lead nurturing? Here are four tips you should know:

  1. (Pre)segmenting the leads you’ll generate.

Before you start writing emails and setting up your nurturing flows, first think about who the leads are you are likely to generate and how you should follow up with them. It’s possible that one nurturing track and one set of messages will work for
 all of the leads your campaign generates, but it’s more likely that you can segment those leads and nurture them in more targeted ways.

For example, if your business caters primarily to two specific industries, you may want to nurture each industry’s leads in different ways and with different content.

  1. Defining your goals and creating email content.

With your segments in mind, you are now ready to start writing the email content for your nurturing flows.

When deciding what kind of content you’ll use, it’s helpful to ask yourself what your ultimate goal is for each segment you plan to nurture. If your high level goal is to turn early leads into sales ready leads, what does that mean in practical terms? Do you have different goals for different segments? Once you’ve determined the goal for each nurturing flow, start mapping out your emails and your content.

  1. Nurturing through your website.

You’ve got your emails written and your automation flows in place. That’s great! But nurturing your leads shouldn’t stop at the inbox. Your leads are likely coming and going from many different parts of your website all the time. Maybe they directly type in your web address to get to your homepage or click a link on social media and end up back on your blog. Depending on the tools you use, you may be able to deliver targeted messages to these leads too.

  1. Determine when leads are ready for your sales team.

The machinery of your campaign is almost fully set up! To take things the final mile, give some thought to when and how you’ll pass leads to your sales team. How this process takes place varies widely from company to company. If you get a few leads, you may walk over to your sales folks and have a face to face discussion about each lead that comes in. If you get a large volume, it’s helpful to have an ongoing process in place.