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Being Online as a CFPConnect with me on

LinkedIn and Twitter:www.linkedin.com/in/abray

8585

@anbray85www.ab-editorial.com

In the beginning… life online was much, much simpler

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Like all good things in life, the Internet changed.

Google’s Mission Statement

“Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it

universally accessible and useful.”y

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So Google got to work…building algorithms in

2000

… and the Internet began scheming

Filli bl k i h i i bl k f • Filling blank pages with repetitive blocks of keywords and/or photographs to trick Google’s earlier algorithms to rank them higher

• Creating fake websites to link back to primary website

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… and some good people decided to (try!) to make

sense of the ever-changing Google algorithms

Many theories emerged

Webinar Marketing

Social Media Marketing

Pay-per-Click Marketing

Content Marketing

Inbound Marketing

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Content Marketing &

Inbound Marketingg

Content Marketing Thought Leaders

J P li i C M k i I i• Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute

• Ann Handley, MarketingProfs

• Brian Clark, Copyblogger

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Content Marketing in a Nutshell

“C k i i i k i h “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience—and ultimately, to drive profitable customer action… It is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling.”

- Content Marketing Institute

Why Content Marketing Works

1 B ildi b i / k i l i h 1. Building a website/marketing plan with content marketing as a driving influence helps you respect the increasingly educated online consumer.

2. It embodies the authenticity being sought by today’s ever-growing buying power (millennials)

3. It uses tried-and-true marketing and publishing best practices, melding them into digital environments for blogs, social media, calls to action, landing pages, email marketing, etc.

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Where Content Marketing Falls Short

D ’ dd h h ff • Doesn’t address how to prove that content efforts are profitable

• No tracking, no data available

Inbound Marketing

T k h d b l f k i d Takes the nuts and bolts of content marketing and puts them into a holistic plan.

Prioritizes the use of marketing software to synchronize all of your digital marketing activities and allows you to attract people to your site

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Barriers in Inbound Marketing

M k i f b l f ll • Marketing software can be costly for small businesses

• There are specialists in every segment of content that inbound marketing brings together—choosing the best path for a growing business can be challenging.g g

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What to know about Inbound and Content Marketing that I

can’t put up here on the screen.

How do CFPs choose the best path?

A d b i f i b d k i • A good starter website for inbound marketing starts at $3,000.

• If you don’t intend to blog or create content on your own, expect to pay at least $35 per blog.

• Marketing software starts at $300/month.g $

• Marketing agency starts at $3,000/month.

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Recommendations, but first some assumptions…

E i thi h b t ld ( ld ) • Everyone in this room has been told (or sold on) contradicting marketing ideas about how to be online

• Half of you have modest marketing budgets and half of you might work for firms that have larger budgets.

• Most of you are at least nominally interested in growing your book of business through your website.

Before sinking any money…

S b hi ki lik k d b i hi Start by thinking like a marketer and begin researching your ideal client.

Identify who you like working with and why.

Build a marketing persona.

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Once you have a marketing persona… ask yourself

H d id l li f i i h ?How does my ideal client prefer to interact with me?

• Newsletters

• Social media?

• Email update? Video updates?

• Magazine articles?

• Blogs?

• Phone calls?

• Video conferencing?

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What next?

How much do I want to experiment with these communication mediums before having a way to track

Begin experimenting with ONE content marketing stream.

g ytheir effectiveness?

Recommendations if hiring an agency is an option…

If h l $3 000/ h d If you have at least $3,000/month to spend, partner with an inbound marketing agency

A good agency lets you set up a high-level partnership with your business’s growth goals.Good agencies will seek to know you and your business and built elements of both into their plan.p

A good agency will not keep you in the dark, but will seek to educate you and integrate that educational process.

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Recommendations if hiring an agency isn’t within reach yet…

Start one piece of consumable/shareable content such as a blog, a newsletter, a podcast.

Perform your own website audit and ask yourself this question: Does my website and communication strategy enhance my visitor’s experience?

Start following leaders in inbound marketing and content Start following leaders in inbound marketing and content marketing. Check out Moz.com, HubSpot.com, MarketingProfs.com or Contentmarketinginstitute.com. They all practice what they preach and will have free resources.

Final thoughts before shifting to personal online identity…

G d k i i Y i d Good marketing requires you to care. Your input and your personal vision must all be integrated into your

marketing vision. Without these two, you’re just blending in.

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And now I’d like to tell you a story ...

… About the time I cried in front of an equity partner at the second largest immigration law firm in the world.

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B i li i l Being online in a real way requires more than copying

and pasting your resume into LinkedIn

The problem with CFPs on LinkedIn

Bl ’ llBless y’all

- Often sound robotic

- Talk about topics that matter 0% to your clients

- Value sounding authoritative instead of approachably Va ue sou d g aut o tat ve stead o app oac ab y knowledgeable

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How do you stand out on LinkedIn?

1. What interested you most about being a CFP? What surprised you the most? 1. What interested you most about being a CFP? What surprised you the most? What skills did you use that you didn't expect to rely on?

2. How have your ongoing educational and volunteer opportunities influenced how you see your professional capabilities?

3. What makes you a good fit for being a CFP? What intersection of skills and experiences would you want highlighted?

4. What intrigues you about the work you do? Where do you see opportunities for growth in the industry as a whole?growth in the industry as a whole?

5. What is your strongest skill outside of the work you've been paid to do? How would you like to use that skill in professional/volunteer opportunities?

Tips for LinkedIn

1 After taking some time to answer the questions on the previous 1. After taking some time to answer the questions on the previous slide, write your summary in a creative way. Remember: LinkedIn is not your job history; it is where you present yourself as a professional!

2. Identify a few keywords that relate to your skillset – and use them subtly throughout all of the content on your profile.

3. Be creative/imaginative with your profile title. (Yes, CFP is fine. 3. Be creative/imaginative with your profile title. (Yes, CFP is fine. But what else do you do?)

4. Document the work you’ve done when it has tangible qualities that demonstrate your expertise – upload publication samples, etc.

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Rules of Being Online

1 Y h j b i l1. You are more than your job title.

2. Manners still matter. Overtly competing with your competition online is tacky.3. Be who you are, not who you think people want to see.

4. The Internet has no rules.

L ’ b f i d Li k dI d T iLet’s be friends on LinkedIn and Twitter:

www.linkedin.com/in/abray85

@anbray85

www.ab-editorial.com

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