The Found Gen

Marketing That Works.

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Giving Thanks to a Crazy Year

We know you don’t need us to tell you just how crazy of a year 2020 has been – you’ve been on the same tumultuous ride as us. But as we look back, we realize there really is a lot to be thankful for despite a pandemic, economic uncertainty, civil unrest, and a roller coaster of an election cycle.

In fact, it’s really because of the dynamic environment surrounding 2020 that we’ve all had to rise to occasions many of us previously thought insurmountable. Perhaps you’ve had to pivot your business and target completely new customers, or perhaps you’ve been fortunate to see a surge in clients and thus also have had to pivot.

Whether we like it or not, where we are today looks a heck of a lot different than where we were a year ago – and there is a lot of good in that. Here are some of the reasons we’re most thankful this year:

  • A global pandemic has forced us to redefine what it truly means to put our family first. And this year for those on our team, it looks a lot like getting makeovers from our toddler while multitasking on a client’s project, cradling a newborn while researching for a new assignment, or stepping aside from the laptop to make sure our distance learners have not wandered astray…again. All craziness aside, we are so thankful for the support of our families – and our team – every minute of every day.
  • We must continue to be advocates for change. Despite so much pain and sadness this year, we are grateful for those who have chosen love over hate and who are working so hard day-in and day-out to elevate the voices of those who most desperately need to be heard. We are also grateful that we too get to be active participants in the betterment of our future. If your voice needs lifting, please let us know.
  • Health is never something to take for granted. Nuff said.

As we look ahead to 2021, we are optimistic that many of the positive changes we’ve seen come out of this year will continue into the future. Onwards and upwards. With gratitude.

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Why Aren’t You on LinkedIn?

With so many social media platforms begging for your attention and unscrupulously gobbling up your brain cells, it can be easy to write off every platform as a time-waster. But not all social media platforms are created equal. When used properly, each platform offers different ranges of benefits for users that can utilize the system to maximize the platform’s potential.

Of all the social media platforms, LinkedIn can be one of the most beneficial channels for job hunters, businesses, brands and everyone in the professional world. It’s been around longer than Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all these whipper-snapper platforms. Whether you’re searching for jobs, building a professional network, or building a brand, LinkedIn is an invaluable asset to anyone attempting to enter the professional realm of any industry.

Ready for some stats? LinkedIn can boast about the following:

  • Over 660 millions user in 200 countries
  • More than 30 million companies on its platform
  • 2nd most popular B2B marketing platform after Facebook
  • 52% of buyers rank LinkedIn as the most influential platform in their buying process

And here are 7 more reasons to get on LinkedIn now.

Peeps are peepin’ at your LinkedIn

By peeps, we mean hiring managers, potential clients, recruiters, that guy at the coffee shop that you handed your card to. LinkedIn is the first place most professionals will go to learn about you. LinkedIn is a living digital C.V. that paints a complete (depending on how well you maintain your profile) picture of your professional experience.

It’s all about connection

With LinkedIn, it’s not about amassing a huge amount of followers. In fact, with the standard account, you’re not allowed to connect with anyone unless you know them personally or you have a mutual connection. The idea is to create a network that you can actually interact with in a meaningful way.

Get recruited

Apple, Google, Disney and thousands of other employers recruit on LinkedIn. Even if you’re not actively job hunting, you could be missing out on potential opportunities by not being on LinkedIn.

Join the job search

You can search LinkedIn’s powerful job board and apply to jobs directly on LinkedIn. With almost half of the world’s companies on LinkedIn, you’ve got a pretty robust job search engine to navigate.

Build your brand

As a small business, freelancer, creative, expert in your field or even just as a professional, your brand is vital these days. It helps you stand out in your industry, makes you marketable and tells your story to a massive potential field of professionals.

Get Google’d

If you apply for a job, reach out to a potential client or hand out your card trying to build a connection, the first thing most people do now is look you up through a search engine. If you’re on LinkedIn it’s easier to get on the first page of results because LinkedIn is a recognized and powerful network, which Google likes.

A source of information and market/industry research and news

Even if you’re not about the connections or you don’t care about recruiters and job hunting, LinkedIn is still one of the best places to follow the industry giants, connect with experts in your field and keep up industry news. On LinkedIn you’ll get more relevant news on your timeline than just about any other social media platform. It’s a wise thing to stay on top of trends, reports and data.

So, is the moral of the story that you be on LinkedIn no matter what? No, that’s not what we’re pushing for. But if you feel like you could use any of the offerings on LinkedIn to your advantage to boost your professional or personal career, why not join?

It’s certainly not required to have an account, but of all the social media platforms, LinkedIn can boast some of the most direct benefits to its users. Plus, it’s free, so it can’t  hurt to at least try it out.

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How to Write an Email for Maximum Impact

Your inbox is waiting for you the minute you wake up in the morning and it doesn’t stop until you turn it off at night (and not even then, really). If it feels like you’re submerged in a deluge of email messages, you’re not alone. We too know what it feels like to be inundated with irrelevant messages and sub-par subject lines.

But as you swipe through your inbox, every now and then you may notice something that gives you pause, begs you to ponder, and maybe, just maybe, click open. Yes, those are the emails we’re going to talk about. Those are the emails that make an impact, and shouldn’t every message you send to your clients or potential clients make an impact?

Here’s a simple formula for giving your emails the edge they need to get opened, get read, and get them across the finish line:

Get opened – Your emails can’t make an impact if they are not even opened. So, step one is to craft a compelling enough subject line that intrigues your readers to take the next step and open your message. But it’s not just the subject line that matters, it’s also the combination of having a trustworthy and familiar “from” name and email address combined with that captivating subject line.

Get read – Start your email with maximum value – get to the point right away and give them a reason to continue reading your message. When you offer a relevant message and write it in a way that connects with your readers, you are much more likely to get them to take action.

Get them across the finish line – At the end of each email, it’s your turn to ask something of your reader. A smart and simple call-to-action is just what it takes to nudge them along. Maybe it’s something like, “Let’s Do It!” or “Sign Me Up.” Your call-to-action should be clear and impactful. Buttons work well, bold or different colored fonts do too – anything to stand out from the rest of your message and force your reader to take notice.

Writing an impactful email doesn’t have to be hard, but you do have to be smart about it. With short attention spans and stiff competition in your readers’ inboxes, taking the time to write a careful email can be the difference between your message ending up in the trash bin (or worse – spam!) and securing a new lead.

For help with email and all of your content marketing needs, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today at The Found Gen or hit us up on Instagram @thefoundgen.

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Is Email Marketing Really as Good as We Keep Preaching?

Yes!

Social media seems to rule everything around us. Online channels appear to be taking over the minds and hearts of consumers (and politicians) across the globe. With the landscape of marketing changing so much, and our attention spans getting shorter and shorter, is email dead?

Not even close.

Email marketing is still alive and kicking and it remains an indispensable tool for drawing in new customers, retaining old ones and building brand awareness. Email marketing is one of the simplest, most direct and most effective forms of marketing. Sorry TikTok, but you’re not monopolizing the marketing world just yet.

Let’s take a look at some of the top reasons why email marketing trumps so many other marketing strategies. We’ll start with the staggering number of email users across the globe. In 2019, there were 3.9 billion email users and by 2024 that number is expected to rise to 4.48 billion users. That’s more than half the people on the planet!

Top reasons to use email marketing

In email marketing the big idea is that you are speaking to a base of subscribers that has already invested in your brand. Rather than speaking to a bunch of strangers in a crowd, you’re talking directly to people who are already sold on your product or service, or are in the process of converting.

For all these reasons and more email marketing is effective because it’s: targeted, measurable, cost-effective and invites engagement.

  • It’s targeted to reach exactly who you want to reach. If your email list is robust enough, you can target by lead status, demographics, location, etc.
  • It’s measurable because you can gage the success of your campaign with key metrics like open rate, bounce rate, click-through rate, etc. With these kind of analytics at your fingertips you can measure and modify your campaigns to make them the most effective.
  • It’s cost-effective as heck! Want the most bang for your marketing buck? Email marketing has an average return of $54 for every $1 you spend. That’s a 5300% increase. That kind of ROI is almost unheard of in marketing.
  • Finally, email marketing is great for engagement. On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the engagement rate averages at less than 0.6%. The average open rate of emails is 22.86% with a click-through rate of 3.71%. Yeah, social media can’t touch this…

While nothing in marketing is foolproof or guaranteed, email marketing ranks high among the most effective forms of communication and sales. That’s why we preach it. That’s why we will keep singing its praises.

Long live email marketing!

And, hey, if you need help with your email campaigns or newsletters we’ve got you covered from seriously great design to automation, personalization and deliverability – oh and not to mention, dynamic content that’s sure to tickle the fancies of your audience. We put the “Eeee!” in email.

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How to Write a Blog for an Actual Readership

Just like your kitchen staples of bread, milk, and eggs, it’s good to keep a well-stocked pantry of your hardworking and best-performing marketing assets, too – your blogs, newsletters, and social media content.

As we’ve mentioned before, this trifecta of marketing tactics works for a reason – it’s because they’re all about relationships. When you engage with your audience in meaningful ways, they’re more likely to reciprocate and that builds loyalty, trust, and, yep, referrals.

If you’re looking to establish an actual relationship with your clients and potential clients, then get to work putting these blog tips into practice (not sure why you even need a blog? Read this first.

  • It’s not about sales – the objective of your blog posts is to prove your usefulness and value. Your posts shouldn’t be sales pitches. By offering relevant and helpful information to your audience, you’ll be gaining a following that wants to come back for more. Remember that each post is an opportunity to build trust and establish credibility.
  • Write for your clients, not for you – Your website, your blogs, all of your content marketing material should be to and for your audience. It’s not about you. It’s about them. Write your blog in a way that answers important questions your customers have (but don’t be afraid to offer your business as a solution to their challenges).
  • Solve a problem – As mentioned above, your blog is for your customers. Be useful. Share information freely. Help solve their biggest challenges. When you give, you’ll get. No need to keep it a secret.

If you need help solving problems, forging relationships, and staying top-of-mind for your clients, then get in touch with us at The Found Gen today.

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How to Write a Blog for Google

Who wants to read another blog on blogs?

You do, if you want anyone to read your blogs. And if you prioritize blogging you are 13x more likely to see a positive ROI. And companies that publish over 16 blogs per month get 4.5x more leads than companies that only publish 0-4.

So, are you ready to read another blog on blogs?

We want to talk about writing blogs that are not only engaging for readers but also rank on Google. You might think it’s a tightrope walk straddling two worlds, reader appeal and SEO. But Google algorithms have changed and it’s become about much more than simple keyword density and backlinks.

The algorithms are smarter and more human-like. Sure, keywords and links still matter but Google has developed systems that seek out rich, thorough and authoritative blogs.

Here are some principles to remember when writing a blog for readers and for Google.

Consistency

It’s hard – some might argue that it’s impossible – to thrive in content marketing without regular, consistent blogging. Blogs are the lifeblood of content marketing and it’s consistency that’s going to get you noticed by readers and by the search engines.

The ruler here is simple. Blog regularly. Blog consistently. For some companies this might be once or twice a month. For others, it could mean a few times a week. The more regular and consistent you are, the more content you share and the more Google (and readers) may begin to notice you.

Value

Perhaps the most important aspect of blogging is providing value to your readers. This is no more or less than figuring out what your readers want to and solving a problem for them.

Offering valuable content isn’t some secret hack. It’s a very simple (yet difficult to achieve) principal that gives people a reason to read. If you’re not providing useful information or helping people solve their problems, then your content is really giving anyone a reason to click on it.

SEO

You didn’t think we’d get through a whole article about blogs without talking about SEO, did you? Let’s start with optimization. Optimizing does two basic things, it creates content you know your readers want and need and it shares what this content is with search engines. Think of your reader first and the SEO will follow.

Next, you need to have a strong keyword phrase in mind for each blog. The more niche and narrow your keyword phrase is, the higher your chances become of rising above the uproar.

A great title is next on the list. You need a title that’s both catchy and uses the keywords from your content.

Don’t forget the meta description. This is basically the summary for your blog. Give people a description and reason to read your blog without stuffing it full of keywords.

Finally, don’t forget heading and internal links. Heading are like the chapters and guides for your blog. Internal links get people to keep reading your content and spending time on your site.

User experience

When someone clicks through to your blog they don’t want to get sent to a site that looks like it’s from the 90s with neon font colors and a dozen different font types and sizes. They need to have a pleasant experience. Give them a nice interface to interact with, eye-pleasing fonts and layout and high quality images.

Essentially, you need content and aesthetics to both appeal to your reader. If you have the greatest blog ever written but it looks like a word processor chewed it up and spat it out, you’re losing readers because they’re not enjoying the user experience.

And there you have it, four principles that will guide you in your quest to become Google famous. Don’t forget us when you’re ranking #1!