Helpful Marketing – Inbound In Focus – Marshall J Ponzi – Audio-Video and New Media Marketing

When it comes to Inbound Marketing and creating online content, business people generally have long lists of questions. You don't need to look far to find loads of engaging, useful video, audio and written content on the internet. It all looks great. It seems to work. You'd like to try it. But when it comes time to start creating your own business content, things can get downright overwhelming. It's blank page syndrome. Where do you start? Unfortunately, the daunting list of questions stops many people in their tracks, and prevents them from building valuable connections with customers. Any big, unfamiliar problem can be solved by breaking it down into manageable chunks. Inbound and Content marketing are no different. In this session of the Helpful Marketing Podcast, we'll begin to break down the problem and  look at each of these key questions: How can Inbound Marketing help my business? What should I say in my content? How do I produce content? How do I get people to listen to my content? The good news... You don't need all the answers to each of these questions to get started creating valued content. Hopefully, this discussion will help you get "un-stuck," so you can start connecting now.

Customers, clients, and consumers all go through a similar thought process leading up to a purchase. Call it the “Buying Cycle.” The full buying cycle can begin long before any sales and purchase decisions. Thanks to the internet and Inbound marketing, businesses can reach out and connect with customers much earlier in the buying cycle. Traditional sales and marketing has focused on the “sales” stages of the cycle. But helping customers in the early stages offers new marketing and relationship opportunities. Marketing content that speaks to all stages helps attract more qualified and motivated prospects, shortens sales cycles and ultimately improves customer satisfaction. In this session, we’ll look at the Buying Cycle, how to engage customers early, and ways to tailor marketing content and offers to help at all stages. To help explain, here’s a guide showing the Customer Buying Cycle and types of content that are most effective at each stage. Download the Content Mapping Guide here. Thanks for listening! We’d love to hear your thoughts, questions and experiences. Please join the discussion!  

Welcome to Episode #2 of The Helpful Marketing Podcast!  Thank you for listening! We are now on iTunes! Please stop over and subscribe. If you have comments or concerns, please leave a review. Would love to hear from you. Subscribe to The Helpful Marketing Podcast on iTunes Gangnam Style:  Wacky Music Video or Content Mastery? It’s more than just a viral YouTube video, watched nearly 600,000,000 times. Gangnam Style, by Korean Rap artist, PSY has exploded the popularity of the Korean music industry. This is content marketing on steroids. What does it mean for your business? The Power of Audience - My Eye Opening Experience At first, creating your own content can feel like wandering around in dark, lonely place. Is it safe? Is anyone out there? Am I saying the right thing? This past week, I experienced, first-hand, the power of hearing from those first listeners. Wow!!  What a jolt of positive energy. What a sense of mission when you first realize you’re on the right track. Thank you, to everyone who listened to and commented on the first episode of the Helpful Marketing Podcast. Great to have you along for the ride. Looking forward to the rest of the journey. Special thanks to The Podcast Answer Man, Cliff Ravenscraft, for helping me make it happen!  I'm truly lucky to have this experience very early in my podcasting life! Content Marketing:  When Best Intentions Destroy Trust Helpful Marketing is all about building trust by giving freely to educate and inform your audience.  Marketing is all about driving sales. But even when the content is truly useful, some times selling at the wrong time can backfire, destroying all trust. Today, I talk about a negative experience I had with an internet marketer. Join the Conversation Interaction and conversation: That's the whole point of content marketing. It’s a two-way street of talking, sharing and teaching. Please help me make the Helpful Marketing Podcast helpful to you. Let me know what's on your mind! What are your biggest marketing challenges? Thinking about content marketing and don’t know where to start? Have some great marketing techniques you’d like to share? Let’s get the conversation started. Leave me your comments and questions below. Send me an e-mail. Give me a call at: 224-764-0510. However you'd like to connect, I look forward to talking!  

Welcome to the inaugural episode of  The Helpful Marketing Podcast! Glad you're here! This podcast is all about sharing ideas and insights to help you grow your business by harnessing the power of online marketing. What is Helpful Marketing? When it comes to building business, the Internet and social media have changed the game. They've enable a more savvy, educated customer that seeks out information and knows what companies they want to work with before businesses even “meet” them. To compete, businesses need to reach and truly help customers before they come to the door. But how? The answer: Inbound marketing, content marketing, Permission Marketing... By any name, it's all Helpful Marketing. It's all about building communities of customers and prospects by freely sharing your unique insight and expertise.  Using dynamic online media like video, podcasts and blogs, you can impart true value to your customers in the way they want to receive it. By starting the conversation, you, the business expert, build trust and rapport, turning a casual viewer into a buyer and then into a lifelong customer. Imagine a steady stream of customers, coming through your business’ door, day and night, seeking your help and expertise. With that kind of customer contact, wouldn't your business grow by leaps and bounds? Prospects are better qualified, customers are better educated, and sales cycles shrink dramatically. Best of all your marketing works for you, while you focus on other aspects of the business (or get some rest!). Compete on a Level Playing Field The Internet hasn't only changed customers. It's leveled the competition playing field for all sized businesses. You don’t need a Madison Avenue-size marketing budget or a Hollywood production company on your side. Producing online audio, video and written content has become easy and affordable.  Now, even the smallest businesses can reach and attract customers in ways that were previously reserved only for the largest companies. Inbound [Helpful] marketing can be your entire marketing strategy or it can complement what you already do. You don't necessarily need to change your message, just shift how you deliver it. Thank you for listening! If you find this helpful, please head over to iTunes, subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review. We'd also love hear your thoughts, questions and experiences on this site. Please join the conversation!