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. 

The 7 Essential Elements of an Effective Blog Post


Blogging can play a major role in the overall success of your marketing efforts. Not only is an effective blog post one of the best ways to optimize the SEO health of your website, but it is also an ideal tactic to position your brand as a thought leader in your industry. Before you think your brand doesn’t need a blog, here are a few statistics to consider; 

  • 77% of Internet users regularly read blog posts. (Source)
  • 61% of Americans spend 3x more time consuming blog content than they do email content. (Source)
  • Having a blog on your website increases your chances of ranking higher in search by a massive 434%. (Source)

While there are numerous factors that go into the overall success of your blogging strategy, the way you craft each post matters. Knowing how to craft an effective blog post can provide a framework you can use to maximize the time, energy, and effort you invest. 

7 Essential Elements of an Effective Blog Post

After writing hundreds of blog posts for our clients over the years, here are a few of the elements we’ve found are most effective for achieving success: 

1. Valuable Insights that Your Audience Cares About

If you want your blog post to cut through the clutter of thousands of other online articles, it’s essential that you create content your audience actually wants to read. You can have the best image and the most interesting layout, but none of that matters if your audience doesn’t find value in the content you share. It’s important to get inside the mind of your customers and craft content that they’ll find valuable. 

2. Strategic SEO Keywords

Blogs are an easy way to boost SEO rankings and gain local importance. When you use blogging specifically for local SEO, you’ll begin creating hyperlocal content—content that’s specific to your exact area. Start by identifying the right keywords for your blog. Then be sure to strategically incorporate them throughout your blog post.  

3. Compelling Images

There are several benefits to using images in your blog posts. The first is that they serve to break up long sections of text that can make it easier for your audience to read. Second, images provide context and help connect with your readers. An image is a great way to connect with the audience in a way words can’t. Images also help with search engine rankings. The alt text added to each image is indexed by search engines, and it can direct interested searchers to your site. 

4. Engaging Headlines and Subheads

Headlines should play a large role in blog strategy. Why? Because most people will scan a blog post before they actually read it. They want to see if the content in the post is relevant and helpful. Adding headlines and subheadings throughout the post will guide readers through the content in a way that makes it easy for them to follow. 

5. Links to Other Forms of Content

People have different preferences for consuming content. This is why it’s becoming increasingly important to provide various forms of content in your post. If you want to get the most out of your content marketing efforts, consider reformatting blog posts into audio or visual content. Supplementing blog posts with audio or visual content is a great way to capture your audience’s attention. 

6. Real-World Examples and Case Studies

If you understand the importance of publishing unique, useful content, you should realize that case studies can be incredibly valuable. Readers want to know how the tips and tricks you share can make an impact on people like them. Incorporating case studies or specific examples in your posts can support the overall content of your post and help readers engage on a deeper level.

7. A Call to Action

Blog posts can be used to support multiple areas of the marketing funnel. You can use them to introduce your brand to new readers or upsell current customers on additional products or services. That’s why it’s important to consider the call to action you craft in each blog post. Think about the most logical next step that you want the potential customer to take, and include a way to take that step throughout your blog post by including a link or button to click or a form to fill out. 

Ready to Take Your Blog Posts to the Next Level?

At Green Apple, we’re constantly evaluating the success of our clients’ content marketing strategies. We’re also regularly sharing what we learn. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay informed on the latest trends and tactics to take your blog (and overall marketing efforts) to the next level.

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

number-one-on-green-background
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.

Build Your 2021 Content Calendar: A Step-by-Step Guide

woman-working-on-calendars


Your content calendar is one of the most important building blocks of your marketing plan. By creating eye-catching content, you can inform your audience, position your brand as a thought leader, and boost SEO. 

But, you might be wondering how to even get started.

Building a content calendar is easier said than done; we know. When you have the right tools, though, it’s really not as difficult as it sounds. In just a few steps, you can plan content for your full year to ensure that you’re connecting with your audience consistently through blogs, email, social media, and other content-related channels. To get you started, we’re sharing this step-by-step guide to building your 2021 content calendar. 

How to Build a Content Calendar in 7 Simple Steps

1. Identify the types of content you need. 

Before you begin, identify the different channels that you’ll be writing content for. This might include blogging, social media, email marketing, podcasts, or webinars. Any channel that you need to be posting on consistently will need its own calendar. 

Pro tip: Build your content calendar in a spreadsheet, using a new page for each type of content. For example, the first page might be blogging, the second social media, the third email marketing, so on, and so forth. 

2. Set a schedule for each type of content. 

Set a schedule for each type of content so that your content team knows when each topic should go out. This will also help you determine how many topics you need for each type of content. Your different channels will all have a set cadence. Maybe you put out one blog a week, one podcast episode every two weeks, and an email every month. Choose a schedule that works best for your audience and your workflow, and try to stick to that schedule as closely as possible.

3. Identify your audience’s pain points. 

Your content really needs to grab the attention of your audience. You have a better chance of doing that if you key into a challenge that they are looking to solve. As an example, your pain point might be that you are ready to build a content calendar but aren’t sure where to begin. That’s how we chose this topic—we know that our audience might struggle at times to map out consistent content. 

4. Research your competitors’ content. 

Researching your competitors’ content is not to suggest that you should use the topics that your competitors write about. Rather, you should see the types of content that they share with their audience. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you must be aware of what your competitors are offering to prospects. Create a content calendar that is very much unique to your company; but, always research competing sites to ensure that you aren’t dropping the ball on any major stressors that your audience might face.

5. Identify the keywords you’re hoping to rank for. 

Using tools like SEMrush allow you to identify keywords that you want to target, increasing your chances of rising to the top of search engine results. By identifying keywords early in your content planning process, you can implement said keywords into your topic ideas.

6. Create topics for each channel. 

Now for the fun part. Begin building your content calendar piece by piece for each channel. We find it most helpful to map out our idea, the description, and target keywords for each topic. With this approach, you can easily delegate these topics to your content experts, and they will understand the direction and purpose of each piece.

7. Cross-reference your topics between channels. 

To make the most of your time and efforts, cross-reference your topics to repurpose as much as you can. For example, if you’ve written a blog article topic that would be great for a podcast episode, you can tweak the topic to fit your podcast audience.

Keep in mind that your audience consumes content differently depending on where they’re getting information. If you are writing a blog article about “10 Things to Know About X,” your podcast audience might prefer the topic to be presented in less of a listicle format and more of a thoughtful discussion. 

The Importance of Timely Content

Though it’s good practice to begin your year with a content calendar, remember that it isn’t set in stone. There will be events that happen in your industry, or even just out in the world, that will cause you to adjust your calendar accordingly. We couldn’t have foreseen the COVID-19 pandemic, but as soon as it began, we started digging into our clients’ content calendars to ensure that all content was relevant, empathetic, and sensitive. A content calendar is a great planning tool, but you should always leave room for change. 

Would you prefer that a content marketing team helped you stay connected to your audience? We can help. 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

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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. Free Resource: Inbound Marketing, Lead Nurturing, & More! If you want to learn more about everything that goes into an effective inbound marketing or lead nurturing campaign, don’t miss our free resource How to Grow Your Business with Inbound Marketing. In it, you’ll find everything you need to know, including a checklist, for how to create, promote, and measure an effective inbound marketing piece.

3 Things Every Business Development Pro Should Know About Inbound Marketing

The number of brands committed to inbound marketing has grown significantly over the past few years, as marketers adapt to the changing reality of how people buy, but many business development professionals still have questions about how it can help them generate more leads and convert more customers. A few months ago, we provided a resource to help sales-people and business executives identify the various ways inbound marketing can enhance their efforts. In this blog, we’ll unpack three key takeaways from the resource that every business development professional should know. 3 Things Every Business Development Pro Should Know About Inbound Marketing Here are three things you should know if you’re considering how inbound marketing can help you grow your business.
  1. Small businesses who are willing to invest in inbound marketing have a significant opportunity to stand out from their competitors.
Although inbound marketing is more effective for small and mid-sized businesses, many are still relying on traditional outbound methods. In fact, the number of small businesses primarily focusing on outbound marketing is double the amount of those focusing on inbound. For brands who are willing to adopt this strategy, this provides a significant opportunity to stand out from amongst their competition.
  1. Inbound marketing helps you educate prospective clients on the unique benefits your company can offer.
Over 50% of brands that use inbound marketing as their primary lead source say prospects are at least somewhat knowledgeable about their company prior to speaking with sales. Less than half of outbound marketing-focused brands can say the same. The takeaway? Inbound marketing helps you educate prospective clients on the unique benefits your company can offer, effectively shortening the sales-cycle of outbound marketing tactics.
  1. Inbound marketing provides twice as many leads than almost any other source.
At least 40% of all referrals for B2B, B2C, and nonprofit brands come through inbound marketing channels, such as SEO, social media, or lead generation efforts. Outbound marketing tactics such as cold calling, advertising, and tradeshows only equate for 20% of referrals. Are you ready to grow your business with inbound marketing? To learn more about how inbound marketing can help you generate more leads and convert more customers, download our free resource “Is Inbound Marketing Worth It?” It will help you answer almost everything you need to know about using inbound marketing to effectively grow your business.