What Marketers Can Learn from Rural Businesses – @beckymccray

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AOCP-Becky-McCray-Pinterest Every business, regardless of the size of both the company or the community it is in, faces a certain amount of struggles and adversity. The key in overcoming them is to concentrate on what your strengths and advantages are and use those to leverage success. You need to stand out from your competition, whether you are one of 300 or only 3 of a particular business in your community.

A common assumption is that big businesses and corporations have the upper hand over small businesses, and certainly those in very small, rural communities. How could the little guys possibly compete with the big guys, right? Wrong. In the world of technology – and certainly social media – no one is limited solely by their geographical area.

Becky McCray doesn’t just talk about small business and rural living, she actually lives it. As the owner of two businesses in a community of only 30 residents, her experience and practical perspective make her an authority on how small, rural businesses can grow while shaping and greatly impacting their communities

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Why You’re Not Ranking Higher At Google – @ThomCraver

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AOCP-Thom-Craver-PinterestYou’ve just created a shiny, new website for your business, now you just need to “SEO it,” right? Wrong. Search engine optimization isn’t something you just sprinkle on at the end, it’s an important ingredient that should be used throughout the website building process.

Like an onion, SEO has many layers that make up the whole. It is so much more than just picking some clever keywords and calling it good. No longer is it brushed off as an IT issue, but rather part of the ongoing branding and marketing process. By implementing elements such as optimized title tags, link profiles and metadata into your website, you’ll be well on your way to making friends with Google and ranking through the roof in online search.

Thom Craver is a SEO ninja. He has been teaching the finer points and nuances of effective SEO and related digital marketing strategies to business owners, college students and conference attendees.

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How and When to Use Facebook Ads – @AmyPorterfield

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AOCP-Amy-Porterfield-PinterestMore than 1.4 billion people use Facebook, and more than 900 million visit every day. That alone is reason enough to consider using Facebook ads as a valuable means to connect with your audience – they’re already there!

But how do you connect with them efficiently and promote your products and services without looking like you’re just trying to push sales onto them? There are a few golden rules to follow that will allow you to earn your audience’s trust, promote your products and services and build your ubiquitous email list.

Amy Porterfield knows a thing or two about growing businesses. Her vast knowledge and experience as both a content developer and marketer for some of the country’s top corporations has given her the wisdom to know what works and what doesn’t when trying to grow your audience and build your brand.

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8 Steps to Better Audience Engagement – @Gregarious

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AOCP-Gregarious-Narain-PinterestThere are many ways to go about marketing your brand, and with the endless amount of social media platforms out there right now, visual marketing is topping the charts.

But how do you connect with your audience through visual marketing in a way that influences and shapes the way they perceive your brand?

Most important is to always be true to your audience. Find out where they hang out and be there. Maybe even consider finding ways to include your audience in the marketing with campaigns that include customer’s media such as photos. Steer clear of the trendy route and pave your own road that allows your brand’s voice to resonate with your audience and makes them want to share it with the world.

Gregarious Narain is co-founder of Chute, where he helps enable businesses to create visually rich media that influences and shapes the way people perceive their brand.

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Mind Hacks for Better Marketing Results – @sirjohnhargrave

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Loss of focus is a huge problem, not just with marketers but with people in general.

Part of what we need to learn to do is to develop the habit or the discipline of purposely simplifying our lives so that we can focus our attention on the things that are most essential and important.

When we realize that behaviors such as “multitasking” are actually doing more harm than good for our productivity and performance, we can begin to retrain our minds with more positive habits that we can use not only at work but in our everyday lives.

Sir John Hargrave is the author of Mind Hacking, a book dedicated to teaching you how to reprogram your mind in order to change your life for the better.

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Is Mobile A Bigger Game Changer Than Social Media? – @TheTimHayden

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Mobile is a bigger factor in your small business’s success than you might think. The fact that 90% of all social media and email is first viewed on a smartphone means that your business is losing out big time if you’re not reaching your audience where they hang out.

Understanding that when your audience is reaching you via their smartphones or other mobile devices, they want a frictionless and more condensed experience. They don’t want to have to scroll through multiple pages just to get a phone number or an address. That risky behavior will get you nothing but increased bounce rates and lost customers.

Tim Hayden saw the mobile future coming and used that foresight to help Fortune 50 brands make innovative changes in technology that has brought them bigger and continued success.

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How To Convert Your Online Traffic Into Raving Fans

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Jill & Josh Stanton

You’ve taken the leap and turned your passion into an online business. But what do you need to do next to turn it into a success and keep it that way?

It’s one thing to get traffic to your website or blog, but how do you convert that traffic and get them to become customers and loyal fans? Figuring out how to keep them interested and engaged is the key. Try breaking it down into multiple steps and funneling your followers through the process. This process can also help weed out the ones that aren’t as serious but will leave you with a loyal band of raving fans in the end.

Josh and Jill Stanton said “screw you” to their 9-5 jobs created a successful online business where they encourage and teach other business people how to do the same and take control of their time and expertise.

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How to Ignite Your Inspiration for Podcasting Success #AOC2013

Don’t Miss Podcasting: 6 Months to 6 Figures…A Podcasters Journey

AOC-Card-DumasPrior to the launch of his podcast, John Lee Dumas literally had no online presence at all.  When he launchedEntrepreneurOnFire on September 22nd, 2012, EOFire immediately rose to the top of the iTunes charts and has remained there. Within the first twelve months, John has built a massive audience (419,000 unique downloads for the month of August) and opened up multiple 5-figure monthly revenue streams ($20,000+ a month in sponsorships and $13,000+ a month for FireNationElite, his elite membership mastermind).

Learn the amazing launch strategy John used to generate such a massive audience and income. Come prepared to be ignited with inspiration to take your podcasting efforts to the next level.