Social Proof: What is It and Why Do Educational Publishers Want It?
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Wikipedia defines social proof as a psychological phenomenon where the actions of others are indications of correct behavior around a particular situation.
In social media, social proof is reflected in the number of Twitter followers you have; the number of fans on your Facebook page; the number of RSS readers your blog has; the number of views for your YouTube videos, etc.
Why is this important? It’s a clear indication to your prospects that you have content worth reading – that your opinions will be important to them. Continue reading
You Only Get 9 Seconds to Make an Impression (Sally Hogshead video)
It used to be that you had 1 minute to grab your prospect's attention. Then it dropped to 30 seconds. Now, because of our fractured attention span, it's dropped to only 9 seconds. Obviously this has huge implications for our… Continue reading
Does the New 80/20 Content Rule Apply to Educational Publishers?
Yesterday I read that companies should plan to give up to 80% of their content away for free and generate sales and profits from the remaining 20%. As publishers, that seems an unrealistic metric.
Content is our stock and trade. We've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in developing the best-of-category, and now we should give it away for free?
How is that a viable business model?
Yet more and more companies are allocating larger amounts of their resources each year to this effort as reported by the Content Marketing Institute. Continue reading
What exactly IS an attraction strategy?
Now we know that the role of marketing has shifted from broadcast mode to networking mode. We can see this playing out all around us both in publishing and in other industries.
The way we communicate with customers and prospects is now more interactive and multidimensional.
Marketing has shifted from interruption mode (broadcast) to invitational (attraction).
But what does this mean to K-12 marketers in a practical way?
ATTRACTION STRATEGY = INBOUND MARKETING = CONTENT MARKETING
No matter what we call it, this new way to market products and services is about providing value and earning customer loyalty. Continue reading
Authentic Marketing 101 for K-12 Publishers
Teachers have long been savvy consumers of educational products.
They can spot marketing jargon and marketers from 100 feet away, and do what they can to avoid both.
K-12 educators don’t generally have a lot of brand allegiance. Their primary concern is - does the product work in the classroom?
Given that educators are particularly resistant to marketing, how should educational publishers begin the marketing and sales process? Continue reading
New Realities of Email Marketing
For smart marketers, the days of indiscriminate batch and blast emails are long gone.
Today's email list builders are not just interested in building the largest list but are gathering names and segmenting them based on individual preferences, behavior or where the name belongs in the sales cycle. Quality outranks quantity.
Savvy consumers are selective about who they give their email address to, and most often are giving it in return for something they value: a free report, white paper, eBook, discount coupons, etc. Continue reading
Interruption v Invitation Marketing for K-12 Publishers
The seismic shift that has occurred in marketing is that we have moved from an interruption model to an invitational model in marketing our company messages.
For years, the interruption model was effective in using broadcast and advertising media to inform prospects of a company's goods and services. Now, despite the channel, prospects are experts at dodging and ignoring broadcast and print ads.
The new effective method of marketing is through an invitation model where a company builds relationships with its community and freely shares content that is important to that community. Companies accomplish this through outbound communications such as newsletters, white papers, videos and social media while letting prospects know they are ready to serve when the prospect is ready to buy. This is called content marketing. Continue reading
How Many Times Have You Started Over?
Whether it's revising a marketing campaign, repainting the dining room or being laid off, there are times in life when you have to start over.
This is that kind of time for me. Just over two years ago, I went to work full-time for my largest client. We did some terrific work together, but that job has come to an end. Basically I worked myself out of a job. Sometimes that happens.
So, I've redesigned my website and relaunched The Teich Group.
Most of the archived blog posts came with me to this new site. Although all the archived posts are posted in November 2011, when you open them to read, you'll see that each one has the original publishing date at the beginning of the post. You'll see them all when you select by categories. Continue reading
SEO Series: Part 1 – Why SEO is Important to Educational Publishers
First published February 24, 2008
As the Internet becomes an increasingly mainstream part of everyone's life, connecting with educators, schools and districts online has never been more important to educational publishers than it is right now. Fortunately, the highly interactive nature of today's websites makes it easier than ever to facilitate conversations that highlight the need for your products and also draw visitors deep into your website to investigate your offerings.
But building a strong website isn't enough. K-12 educators and industry decision makers need to be able to easily find your products and services online. Neglecting search-engine optimization strategies (SEO) for your website, means limiting visits to your website and leaving educators unaware of the help that you offer. Continue reading
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