FROM ZERO TO HERO: MARKETING FOR STARTUPS & GROWING COMPANIES - #ACC2015 Lily Leung Twitter: @LilyLeung

FROM ZERO TO HERO:
MARKETING FOR STARTUPS &
GROWING COMPANIES

#ACC2015       Lily Leung
               Twitter: @LilyLeung

“I haven’t been everywhere, but
it’s on my list.”
–Susan Sontag

                From Zero to Hero: Marketing for Startups & Growing Companies

55                                             155,364
visits                                           visits

         April 2010                  Jan 2012

                      exploreforayear.com

Hero’s Journey

                                                            ACHIEVEMENT
    YOUR VISION                                             CELEBRATION!
                                       Marketing

CHALLENGES: No Leads, Customers :(                      BREAKTHROUGH:
                                                       New Strategies, Tools
                                                             Tactics

                                        THE PIT
                                     Despair, doubt,
                                      anxiety, fears

Today’s Agenda

1.   Marketing: Then vs Now
2.   Buyer’s Journey
3.   Getting Started with SEO
4.   Getting More out of Social Media
5.   Email for Conversion
6.   Your Marketing System
7.   Closing Thoughts
8.   Questions

Who currently does any type of
 online or digital marketing?

MARKETING: THEN AND NOW

Then:                        Now:
Seller-Centred               Buyer-Centred,
                             Buyer In Control
                                   % of the way through the buying
                                process before a customer engages a
                                             sales person

                                                         80%
                 vs.
                       VS.           57%

                                    2015                 2020

                             Source: Corporate Executive Board,
                             Gartner, Forrester, 2015

Then:                        Now:
Seller-Centred               Buyer-Centred, Multi-
                             Channel, Multi-Dimensional

                 vs.
                       VS.

                             Source: Dimensional Marketing,
                             Deloitte University Press, 2015

Then: Spray & Pray,        Now: Data-Driven, Targeted
Expensive for              Offers, Low Cost and
Small Business             Attribution & ROI

                           Website Analytics,
        Cold Calling
                           Email Analytics,
                       VS. E-Commerce
        Direct Mail

        Mass/Ads

Then: Directories,         Now: Google – top 5 search
Yellow Pages,              results account for 67.6% of all
Encyclopedias              clicks

                     vs.

                           Source: Google Organic Click-Through Rates
                           in 2014, moz.com

Do Have a Website?

à Is It Only About Your Products?

People Don’t Buy Products,
They Buy Better Versions of Themselves.

          Image: useronboard.com

Buyer’s Journey

Prospect is              Prospect researching         Prospect is compiling list
experiencing a problem   options and approaches to    of products to narrowing
or opportunity.          solve problem/opportunity.   down options to make a
                                                      purchase decision.

                                                  Definitions: HubSpot.com

Buyers go through 57% of the
buying process before engaging a
sales person!

                  Image/Definition: HubSpot.com

Wants…                Wants…                   Wants…

Neutral:
                       • Case Studies        •   Comparisons
• Educational Blogs
                       • Live interactions   •   Free Trial
• Reports
                       • Product Brochures       Consultation
• Whitepapers/
                       • Comparison          •   Demos
  Guides
                         Guides              •   Price Estimates
• Tip Sheets,
                       • Webinars            •   Offers
  Checklists

Example: Where Should I Go On Vacation?

e.g. Top Trips to Take in   e.g. G Adventures      e.g. Price of XYZ Trip;
2015; Trending              Brochure; Air Canada   Specific Flight Prices; Book
Vacation Spots; Must-       Vacations Brochure;    Flight & Hotel and Get %
See Places in Europe        Sample Itineraries     Off; Extra Reward Points

Finding Topics People Care About, Driven by Data

Google Keyword Planner
(free):
https://
adwords.google.com/
KeywordPlanner

Content Ideas for “Boring Industries”
            (That Are Also Easy and Fast to Write)

1.   Answer commonly questions or
     objections from customers

2.   Create a checklist

3.   “25 Resources/Links For…”

4.   “Common Problems With X & How to
     Solve It”

5.   Upcoming market trends

Content Ideas for “Boring Industries”
            (That Are Also Easy and Fast to Write)
                                             EXAMPLE: REAL ESTATE
1.   Answer commonly questions or       What Do Real Estate Agents Do? How
     objections from customers          is a Condo Different From a House?

2.   Create a checklist                 Checklist for Buying Your First Home

3.   “25 Resources/Links For…”          25 Resources for 1st Time Buyers

4.   “Common Problems With X & How to   Closing Costs People Forget & How to
     Solve It”                          Estimate Them

5.   Upcoming market trends             5 Real Estate Trends in Toronto for
                                        2015 and Beyond

6.   Topic Generator Tool               hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator
                                        (Download spreadsheet)

Use Content to Capture Leads &
         Move Prospects Down the Buyer Journey

BUYER JOURNEY                                                   SALES FUNNEL
                •   Email forms on blogs
                •   Email forms on downloadable guides
                •   Start sending consideration stage content

                •   Email forms on blogs
                •   Email forms on downloadable guides
                •   Start sending decision stage content

                •   Decision stage content
                •   Offers, Quotes
                •   Follow-up/contacted

Example: Salesforce.com

              1. Awareness
                                 2. Consideration

                             3. Decision

Example:
Buffer – Getting Traction With Content

                     • Bufferapp.com &
                       blog.bufferapp.com

                     • Signed up 70,000 users in 1st
                       year. Content marketing
                       accounted for 70% of signups

                     • No “sales” team, but has a
                       content team

MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS:
YOUR WEBSITE

Website Basics & Must-Haves

• Wordpress.org (not Wordpress.com)
   • 1-Click installs on HostGator, GoDaddy, Bluehost, etc.
• Add & edit content
• Add & edit forms
   • Email forms, forms for guide downloads
• Tracking: Google Analytics (free)
   • www.google.com/analytics
   • Wordpress plugin: Google Analytics for Wordpress

Google Analytics (Free)

www.google.com/analytics

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

If you make a website and no
one sees it, does it still exist?

QUIZ: What % of people online use search for
purchases (B2B)?

                  a)   45%
                  b)   60%
                  c)   75%
                  d)   90%

90% of B2B researchers who are online use
search to research business purchases.
71% start on a generic query first.

             Source: ThinkWithGoogle.com

Google Rankings: 100’s of Ranking Factors

Source: SEO Ranking Factors 2014 Study, searchmetrics.com

Quality Content: Write for the Reader First

Formatting Tips:
• Heading for page title (), heading for sub-headings ()
• Bolding, bullets, images, links to other pages and external sites
• 3-5 sentences per paragraph; 40-55 characters wide

47% of Consumers Expect a Web Page
          to Load in 2 Seconds or Less
Page Speed Tools
• https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights

                                                 Source: How Loading
                                                 Time Affects Your
                                                 Bottom Line,
                                                 KissMetrics.com

Don’t Forget Meta Tags & URL Formatting

Meta Tags Tools:
• Wordpress: Yoast SEO plugin
• http://www.portent.com/serp-preview-tool
• Page/Blog Post topic should be in the Title & Description

                                    Title (Not the Same as Page Title!)
                                    - About 55 Characters

                                                 Description (SERP)
                                                 - About 150 Characters

Social Signals
• Positive correlation between shares & rankings
• Enable buttons on your content
   • Wordpress: AddThis, Digg Digg

Authentic and Relevant Backlinks

• Ideas: Alliance/Industry Groups, Guest Blog on Related Sites
• See who links to your competitors for ideas:
        https://moz.com/researchtools/ose
• Don’t buy links!

Changes to Mobile Search Results

  Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
  • www.google.com/webmasters/tools/
    mobile-friendly

  Mobile search results changing April 21, 2015

  Search results on smartphones already show
  “Mobile-friendly” icon indicator

Source: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ca

Example: “office supplies toronto”

“office supplies toronto”

From 5+ page to 1st page

Google Business

Google My Business (Free)
• https://www.google.com/business

Google Business – Step 1

• Adding your business: Free but Gmail account required

Google Business – Step 2

• Fill out details; wait for confirmation call or postcard/mail with code

SOCIAL MEDIA

Quiz: What’s the ROI of Email Marketing?

            Source: HubSpot Inbound Certification, 2014

Source: HubSpot Inbound Certification, 2014

Major Social Networks

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Google+
Instagram
Pinterest
Slideshare
YouTube
Vimeo

Free, But Cool Social Media Tools

Scheduling
• Buffer.com (web + app) – “buffers” updates; schedule same tweet
  multiple times
• Hootsuite.com

Twitter
• Followerwonk.com – advanced Twitter search
• Tweriod.com – best time to Tweet
• https://ritetag.com/hashtag-search – #hashtag volumes

Built-in Analytics
• http://analytics.twitter.com
• Facebook, LinkedIn page analytics

QUIZ: How many people make purchases each
       month based on blog content?

               a) 1 in 20
               b) 1 in 10
               c) 1 in 4
               d) 1 in 2

1 in 4 people buy something each month
based on blog content.

                 Source: ResearchNow.co.uk, 2014

Brands Are Increasingly Working With Bloggers &
            Social Media Influencers

        3. Decision                 1. Awareness

                      3. Decision             2. Consideration

Tips for Approaching Bloggers

1. Bloggers who are your ideal customer or influencer
2. Follow and connect
3. Offer something worth sharing/mentioning

What Not To Do
“We ship you our fabulous sim card so you can stay online in Europe while
traveling with 20/30 EURO on it. No roaming charges, no juggling SIMs, no
more hunting for WiFi and it's fast. Where should we ship it btw?

Then you write 2 posts (1 tweet and 1 Instagram/your blog or Facebook)
about ordering a sim card. When you get a sim card, you make 1 tweet and 1
Instagram post – ready to travel, all set up Then you'll get a voucher for 20
OR 30 EURO. And then you hit the road and make 5 tweets while traveling
with a link to @[website] or to [url], at least 3 Instagram or Facebook/blog
posts. Of course we'll RT and repost your posts too! How does this sound?”

Be Delightful
“Hi Lily,
I saw you're based in Canada (we just launched there!), so I’d love to send you
ChargeKey & ChargeCard review units. What’s the best address to send it to?

ChargeKey & ChargeCard are the world's smallest, most portable USB charging
cables.

They integrate seamlessly into your on-the-go life so your phone never runs out of
battery :)

Keep smiling,
Anna”

EMAIL MARKETING

Quiz: What’s the ROI of Email Marketing?

                 a)   2x
                 b)   10x
                 c)   25x
                 d)   40x

Quiz: What’s the ROI of Email Marketing?

d) 40x (!)

                 Source: Direct Marketing Association, 2014

Why Does Email Work?

1.   3.2 billion email accounts (more than Facebook + Twitter)
2.   Click-through rates > Twitter
3.   95% of online customers use email; 91% check at least once a day
4.   Longer lifespan than social media
5.   77% of consumers prefer email for marketing communications
6.   Email lets you be targeted

Source: ExactTarget, Direct Marketing Association, 2014

Getting Subscribers

•   Quality, not quality. DO NOT BUY LISTS, DO NOT SPAM
     • http://fightspam.gc.ca

•   Website slide-in’s, popovers, forms
     • We 15x signups with SumoMe Scrollbox (free,
       http://sumome.com/app/scroll-box)
     • MailChimp

•   Offline: events & tradeshows

How to Send Email Campaigns

How to Send?
• MailChimp.com (freemium)
• Campaign Monitor, SendGrid ($9+/month)

What to Send?
• Follow the Buyer Journey
• Monthly General Newsletter
• Birthday/Anniversary

Tracking Results & Converting Leads

                        How does email help?

•   Who opened, clicked on what, how many times
•   Test offers, subject lines, sender name, time of day
•   Resend to people who didn’t open/click

Late in the Buyer’s Journey:
                  Better One-on-One Emails

Rapportive (Chrome plugin)
• Looks up social profiles
• https://rapportive.com

Late in the Buyer’s Journey:
                  Better One-on-One Emails

Sidekick by HubSpot (Chrome, Gmail Plugin & Mobile App)
• http://www.getsidekick.com

TRACKING & TROUBLESHOOT
RESULTS: SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Start With the End in Mind

Revenue              Customers            Leads                 Website
  ($)                   (#)                (#)                 Visitors (#)

            $1K/                  10%                5%
          customer               closed           conversion

$10K/                                     100/                  2,000/
                     10/month
month                                     month                 month

Closing Deals & Tracking Follow-Ups

      “You Can't Improve What you Don't Measure”

CRMs (free):
• hubspot.com/crm
• insightly.com, zoho.com/crm

RECAP

Recap

1.   Marketing: Then vs Now
2.   Buyer’s Journey
3.   SEO Basics
4.   Social Media & Bloggers
5.   Email Newsletter
6.   Marketing Process

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Marketing: 10 Hours a Week

                    A marathon, not a sprint.
                   à Results in 4 – 6 Months

•   Week 0-1: Setup Infrastructure
•   Week 2-4: Jump-In
     • 1 Blog Post/Week, Share on Social Media, Check Analytics
•   Week 5: Plan Future Content, Social, Offers
•   Week 6+:
     • 1 Blog Post/Week (Or Infographic, Video)
     • Share on Social Media
     • Offers
     • SEO, Email Newsletter

Portfolio of Digital & Marketing Assets

All Sales/Marketing
                      All Digital/Online   Social

Build Your Audience,
Before You Build Your Product

“A rising tide lifts all boats.”
       John F. Kennedy

“A rising tide lifts all boats.”
       John F. Kennedy

QUESTIONS?

#ACC2015                    Lily Leung, @lilyleung
lilyleung.ca/accmarketing   lily.leung@gmail.com