The entire team at NetMarketing Navigator wishes all of you the happiest of holiday seasons! We feel so blessed by the opportunity to partner with our clients and friends. We look forward to guiding you in creating your marketing strategy, and stand-out-in-the-crowd website design and brand. Along with some very cool and exciting opportunities coming up in the new year!

Please enjoy our holiday greeting card below. Just click to play!

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Those less familiar with the topic often refer to anything a business does, related to a cause or social good, as “cause marketing.” However, cause marketing is simply one initiative to be considered in a company’s overall cause strategy, as I like to call it.

Cause marketing or cause-related marketing occurs when a non-profit organization and a for-profit business partner together to create benefits for both the cause and the business by connecting financial or in-kind donations to product sales or consumer actions.

I’ll illustrate it simply with a few examples…

• donating $1.00 to a non-profit when a Facebook page is liked;
• donating a pair of shoes when one pair is purchased (think TOMS);
• donating 10% of revenues from the sale of a specific product;
• asking the consumer to round up their purchase to the next dollar amount and the difference is donated to a specified cause.




These are just four examples. Of course, there are many other ways to approach cause marketing. In most cases, however, what distinguishes cause marketing from other types of company and cause initiatives is that the business’s level of giving, to the cause, is dependent upon consumer sales or actions.


What Cause Marketing Isn’t

Corporate Philanthropy. If a company were to simply write a check, this would be considered philanthropy. It can be done publicly or anonymously; direct from the business or by grants through a foundation supported by the business. But it is generally a rather passive activity. It’s often called checkbook philanthropy.

Certainly philanthropy results from cause marketing. But, it is not its sole purpose. Cause marketing has benefits for both the business and the cause that go far beyond just the money raised. We’ll cover those later in this post. Cause marketing is much more interactive. The business and the nonprofit work more closely together, in partnership, to execute a cause marketing initiative.

Cause Promotion. When a company provides money, resources, or in-kind contributions (products or services) to promotions that increase awareness or concern about a cause, or support fundraising or volunteer recruitment; we call this cause promotion. This includes event sponsorship. It could also mean managing your own promotion campaign such as the Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project. The company hosted 21 beach clean-up and restoration events, from coast-to-coast, in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation in 2011.

Social Marketing. Whereas cause promotion focuses on awareness, social marketing focuses on behavior changes intended to improve safety, public health, the environment, or community well-being. The business supports the development or implementation of the behavior change campaign. Remember the partnership of Pampers and the SIDS foundation encouraging parents and caretakers to put babies on their back to sleep? Behavior change…social marketing.

Just for Large Corporations. Any business, no matter how large or small, can plan and execute a cause marketing initiative. The key, however, is to scale the initiative to the size of your organization and manage expectations of what you can realistically accomplish. It’s very important, also, that you are clear on potential outcomes for both the cause and your business.


What Cause Marketing Does

Cause marketing, being a win-win type of arrangement, has several potential benefits for both the cause and the business.

For the Non-Profit

• Increased revenue
• Access to new audiences
• Greater visibility of the cause and its message
• Connections to the company’s network of employees, team members, vendors, etc.
• Access to marketing, strategy, and other business expertise




For the Business

• Access to new markets or audiences
• Broader awareness of your products and services
• Increased sales
• Increased brand awareness and image
• Competitive advantage over other brands
• Employee or team member retention




In my mind, these benefits are developed and enhanced, over time, through a company’s overall cause strategy. By focusing on strategic partnership with a small number of carefully selected causes, and working towards mutual benefit for both cause and business will create a much more sustainable way to create and leverage impact for good.

Now it’s your turn. Are your wheels turning yet? Do you have some ideas on how you might incorporate cause marketing into your small business or solo-preneur practice? Already doing it? Share in the comments below!


]]> http://netmarketingnavigator.com/blog/2012/11/02/cause-marketing-the-basics/feed/ 0 http://netmarketingnavigator.com/blog/2012/11/02/cause-marketing-the-basics/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NetmarketingNavigator/~3/0F_d_hgkHLM/ http://netmarketingnavigator.com/blog/2012/10/17/the-minimalist-guide-to-search-engine-optimization/#comments Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:55:29 +0000 Julie Smith http://netmarketingnavigator.com/?p=1682 [Continue Reading]]]>

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving traffic to a website from the organic (unpaid) results of the search engine. The higher your SERP (Search Engine Results Page) Ranking, the more visible your site is and the more traffic you potentially get.

We’d all love to improve our site’s SEO and page ranking, but it often seems overwhelming and outside our technical expertise. It doesn’t have to be. With just a few basic tweaks to your site and the way in which you write your page copy and blog posts, you can enjoy the benefits of improved search engine optimization. If you use WordPress, this will be very easy.

In a WordPress site, SEO will be handled by a plug-in like All-in-One SEO Pack or directly within your theme. This will be simple fill-in-the-blank easy.* If you have an html or php site, you may want to contact your webmaster for help with some of this. Here’s my primer for optimizing your home page, individual pages, or blog posts.

Page Title

This is the title that appears at the top of the browser window when viewing your page or post. For example, the Services page on my team’s website has a page title of: Website Design, Social Media Branding, Graphic Design | Navigator Website Design



1. The page title should be unique for each page.
2. Ideally, it will be no longer than 72 characters to ensure the full title is visible in the search result and improve the rate of click-through.
3. Include your primary keyword phrase, in the title, toward the beginning. This increases the relevancy of your content for that phrase.

Page Description

The description is the snippet of copy that appears below the page title in the search result. See example below.


1. It should be no longer than about 165 characters so that the full description is visible in the search result.
2. Include your primary keyword phrase toward the beginning of the description.

Page Headlines

1. Include keywords and keyword phrases when possible.
2. The first four words of the headline are most important, so use your keyword phrase there if it makes sense.
3. Make sure headlines use the H tags like this: <h1>Headline</h1>

Body Content

1. The body length should be at least 300 words.
2. Content is focused on one or two keyword phrases.
3. Include these top keywords in the first and last paragraph of the page.
4. Don’t stuff your page with keywords, but rather look for ways to use them naturally in your page or post copy.

Hyperlinks

1. Don’t just say “click here.” Use descriptive hyperlink text about one topic.
2. Target a specific keyword or phrase in the text.
   Example Hyperlink: Visit our website to learn more about our website design services.
   Notice the keyword phrase “website design services.”
3. The link should take the visitor to a page with relevant content, preferably an interior page…not a home page.

Images

1. Improve image filenames by being descriptive; use keywords when it makes sense.
   Common Example: logo.png
   Improved Example: netmarketing-navigator-logo.png
2. Add a keyword-rich title in the link code
   Example: title=”NetMarketing Navigator online marketing strategy”
   TIP: In WordPress, you’ll see this “Title” field when adding an image to your media library.
3. Assign Alternative Text (ALT tag) to the image
   Example: alt=”NetMarketing Navigator, Your Marketing Guide”
   TIP: This “ALT” field is also present when adding an image to your WordPress media library.

The image below shows another example using an optimized file name, title and alt tag.


Print out this article and follow these tips as you create your page copy and blog posts, and you’ll enjoy improved Search Engine Optimization. It’s as easy as 1-2-3!

Try it out and let us know how you did in the comments below!




*The assumption of this post is that you have already completed research to find targeted keywords and phrases that your visitors may use to find you in the search engines.


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We’ve been talking about website design in this five-part video series. Today, we’re going to wrap things up by talking about something that is so critical to your website’s success, that without it, you might as well hang it up. It’s one thing, though, that so many entrepreneurs skip right over. Don’t let that be you! Watch the video, then share your stories and insights below in the comments.






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Have you ever approached your website as though you were a visitor? Did it intrigue you? Excite you? Make you want to come back? What kind of visitor experience did you have?

Watch the fourth video in this series and learn the importance of your website visitor experience.

I’d love to have you share in the comments any experiences you’ve had on a website, positive or negative, and what was it about that experience that made it so memorable to you. Maybe you’ve learned something about your own site. Share below!


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Grab a cup of java or your beverage of choice, because in part 3 of this series you will learn:

• What is a brand?
• Does your small business have a brand message and visual representation of who you are and the value you provide to your clients?
• Is your brand built consistently throughout your website and other marketing channels?

Watch the video below and find out!

Share your comments below. I’d love to know your thoughts about building a memorable brand and integrating it with your website!





]]> http://netmarketingnavigator.com/blog/2012/09/25/part-3-5-signs-your-website-is-holding-you-back/feed/ 0 http://netmarketingnavigator.com/blog/2012/09/25/part-3-5-signs-your-website-is-holding-you-back/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NetmarketingNavigator/~3/LPKSuEil7Tc/ http://netmarketingnavigator.com/blog/2012/09/18/5-signs-your-website-is-holding-you-back-part-2/#comments Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:30:08 +0000 Julie Smith http://netmarketingnavigator.com/?p=1595 [Continue Reading]]]>

In this second video of five in the series, you’ll learn:

• How your website represents the future success of your business
• The critical part your website plays in the evolving goals and strategies of your business



What’s the next level of success for you? Will your website help you achieve it? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!


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In this video you’ll learn about…

• why your website may not be working for you
• mistakes business owners often make with their website



What makes a website really stand out to you…in a good or not so good way? Share it in the comments!

]]> http://netmarketingnavigator.com/blog/2012/09/10/5-signs-your-website-is-holding-you-back-part-1/feed/ 0 http://netmarketingnavigator.com/blog/2012/09/10/5-signs-your-website-is-holding-you-back-part-1/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NetmarketingNavigator/~3/alZvs-33yvk/ http://netmarketingnavigator.com/blog/2012/08/23/dont-fall-into-this-marketing-trap/#comments Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:18:23 +0000 Julie Smith http://netmarketingnavigator.com/?p=1523 [Continue Reading]]]>

As a small business owner, do you find that you market like crazy to get new clients, and then stop because you’re too busy servicing those clients; only to find yourself broke and in need of new clients again? I call that the “feast or famine” approach to marketing.

You can eliminate that problem, now, in three steps:

1. Your website as a marketing hub

2. A steady stream of fresh, valuable content

3. Two or three strategically chosen marketing methods, systematized and delegated, so that you have a steady stream of targeted prospects every day, every week, every month.



The Hub of Your Online Strategy

Everything you do to market your business should funnel prospects back to your website. It is the HUB of all of your marketing efforts. It must strategically work to get visitors to know, like and trust you…helping them to self-select themselves into your products and services without you having to be slick, cheap and salesy. But you need traffic to your site!

Your Marketing Strategy

Your marketing strategy might be to establish yourself as an expert in your industry; to keep your name out in front of potential clients and partners; and to build relationships with them all through a blend of online, offline, and in-person methods.

All marketing methods, whether they are online or offline, revolve around content. Much of this content “lives” on your website, establishing you as an expert; building that “know and trust” factor; and keeping them on your site longer.

Once you establish a regular stream of content that provides great value for readers, by repurposing content you already have (one article becomes a podcast, a video, and various tips for social media posts), it will be very easy to set up systems and work with marketing professionals who can help deliver it to your audience using marketing methods or tactics.

Using Marketing Methods Consistently

In order to have a steady stream of new clients to help you take your business to the next level, you must market your content consistently.

Don’t try to do every marketing method out there. Choose two or three that work for you and your business. Delegate them. Automate them. Build them into your business processes. Focus and stick with your plan.

For example, if you’re blogging, delegate these kinds of tasks:

• Optimize your content for search engines
• Repurpose your blog post in your ezine
• Optimize your blog to keep visitors on your site longer
• Manage your social media posting
• Repurpose your posts to article marketing directories




Video content? Podcasting? Teleseminars? Get help. These involve easy-to-delegate tasks that can be quickly and consistently handled by marketing professionals to get you results.

What I want to emphasize is that you start small. Get help. Choose your marketing methods and be very deliberate and consistent. This is what will help you eliminate the feast or famine phenomenon in your business so that you always have a steady stream of targeted leads and potential clients. THIS is what will lead to consistently growing your revenue and meeting your profit goals.

Are you experiencing the Feast or Famine phenomenon? Been there done that? Share your thoughts or questions in the comments. Did you conquer it? Tell us your story!


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