The web has leveled the marketing playing field for small businesses. It used to be that as a small business, unless you were really lucky, you had no way to compete with the big guns of your industry. Now, however, with a bit of strategy, a pinch of small business SEO and some hard work, […]
How to Find a Good SEO Company In Your Industry / How to Find a Good SEO For Your Needs Your online presence depends on Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and everything depends on online presence. If you don’t come up in Google search engine results, it’s much harder to connect with your audience and industry. […]
![7 Reasons Reporters Aren't Using Your HARO Responses [18 Pro PR Tips!]](https://www.contentfac.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock-133069037.jpg "7 Reasons Reporters Aren't Using Your HARO Responses [18 Pro PR Tips!]")
At TCF, we use HARO constantly. It’s one of our favorite tools because it’s basically a reporter’s Rolodex from the 90’s, except it doesn’t take up room on our desks, it’s always updated, and its reach is much further. Plus, it’s free! In fact, we once used HARO to get 6 media placements in 30 […]
This may sound surprising coming from the owner of a digital PR agency, but I’ve got a love/hate relationship with press releases. If I’m being honest, sometimes it’s mostly hate (and primarily directed toward press release distribution services that make big promises and rarely, if ever, deliver). And I’m not alone: many pros in the […]
![How to Create and Use Twitter Lists to Market Your Business [The ULTIMATE Guide]](https://www.contentfac.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-use-Twitter-lists-graphic-1024x512.png "How to Create and Use Twitter Lists to Market Your Business [The ULTIMATE Guide]")
One of the things that we preach (and practice) at The Content Factory is how important managing Twitter lists is to your social media marketing strategy. Ask any of our social media managers – or SMMs, as the tweeps call them these days – and they’ll tell you that being a savvy Twitter list manager […]
If there’s one thing entrepreneurs have in common, it’s that they want to maximize results while minimizing their time investment. Technology makes this more possible than ever – and the right Google Chrome extensions can revolutionize your work experience. Unfortunately, there are thousands of them – and you certainly can’t download them all. I’ll cut […]
For years, Facebook and Twitter have been the standard go-to’s for social media marketing. However, over the last few years there has been a palpable change in the digital landscape. The demographics of social media sites are starting to shift as new platforms begin to emerge. And as Facebook and Twitter invest more heavily in […]
![The Entrepreneur's Guide to Owning Small Business Saturday [7 Expert Tips]](https://www.contentfac.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock-Main-Street-U-S-A-3892759.jpg "The Entrepreneur's Guide to Owning Small Business Saturday [7 Expert Tips]")
From Labor Day sales to Black Friday, business owners have plenty of occasions to ramp up their marketing and offer special discounts. But for entrepreneurs who own small businesses, there’s no single day as important as Small Business Saturday. It was created just for businesses like yours! SBS is also supported by your neighbors who shop […]
![THE 10-Step Guide to Hosting a Twitter Chat [+ Tool List]](https://www.contentfac.com/wp-content/uploads/Twitter-Chat-e1436793585788.jpg "THE 10-Step Guide to Hosting a Twitter Chat [+ Tool List]")
If you’re using Twitter for business and you spend a decent chunk of your time marketing on Twitter (as we suggest you do), you’ve likely come across an organized Twitter chat. When done well, Twitter chats can generate a ton of social engagement, increase your following and maybe even propel you into the role of being a […]
![How to Get Quoted in the Media 6 Times in 1 Month Using HARO [Bonus: It's FREE]](https://www.contentfac.com/wp-content/uploads/Thank-You-Note-to-HARO-1024x683.jpg "How to Get Quoted in the Media 6 Times in 1 Month Using HARO [Bonus: It's FREE]")
We’ve been singing the praises of HARO (Help a Reporter Out) since we first started The Content Factory back in 2010, and there are several reasons why we’re such enthusiastic evangelists for the brand. First and most obvious, the service is free. Second, HARO opens the doors to media coverage that you may not think is possible. […]
Often times, the best way to teach someone how to do things right is to point out everything they’re doing wrong. This is especially the case when it comes to Facebook marketing strategy. Don’t take it personally. We wouldn’t be writing about what you’re doing wrong if you were the only one. Here are four […]
What is a step and repeat banner? It’s the backdrop thing with logos on it that you see behind celebrities in pictures at red carpet events – or at least, that’s its technical definition. We prefer the marketing-specific explanation: step and repeats are an inexpensive way to increase brand awareness by getting your logo and […]
![How to Market Your Business at Trade Shows and Maximize ROI [Complete Guide + Infographic]](https://www.contentfac.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-market-your-business-at-trade-shows-and-conferences.jpg "How to Market Your Business at Trade Shows and Maximize ROI [Complete Guide + Infographic]")
No matter what business you’re in, there’s probably a conference, trade show or convention that brings together the biggest names and brightest minds in your industry – and you’ll probably go to at least one per year… or at least you should. We’ll get into why conferences are important to the growth of your company […]
The average entrepreneur’s “to do” list is about 15 miles long, and the first mile and a half includes all of the tasks that needed to be done yesterday. Although we’ve all been told to eat the frog first, it’s usually much more enjoyable to find new and exciting ways to procrastinate instead. It’s natural […]
Q: What’s lamer than a crappy photo of Nebraska? A: Having to pay $8,000 in copyright infringement penalties for it. This is a lesson we recently learned the hard way, and if you have (or contribute to) a blog you might want to read about our story so that you never, ever make the same mistake […]
Lists of inspirational quotes for women often read like hokey “Chicken Soup for the Soul” style filler – hardly applicable to the strong, intelligent entrepreneurial women that we know. But inspirational quotes can actually be great motivators, if they’re the right ones. So we’ve decided to reclaim the genre in a way that’s actually helpful […]
In November, 2012, something big went down. A monumental change occurred, but unless you (like us) constantly keep your thumb on the pulse of all things social media, you probably didn’t even notice. Few people did, but that change could be the beginning of a social media networking takeover. Why? Because in November 2012, the […]
Twitter marketing for business is serious stuff. If you don’t believe us, try snatching a keyboard from a social media networking expert and see what happens. Just try it. At The Content Factory, we tweet so much that we hashtag things in our sleep, and we find it difficult to unplug from the world of Twitter marketing, […]
“In the digital age, every business is in the publishing industry.” That’s a quote from a recent Huffington Post article, and it says so much about content marketing that for us it’s something of a mantra when we discuss strategy with new clients. We’ve written, tweeted, posted and pinned for businesses that sell everything from […]
Have you ever met someone who’s obsessed with business apps? You know, the guy around the office who downloads them all like it’s a new form of Pokemon. He pounces on naïve interns and managers with childlike glee and blathers on and on about all the cool apps he’s discovered, waving his smartphone about. “I […]