I could have more talent and fire in my bones than Michael Jordan, Angelo, and Jackson put together....but I'll never be as successful (financially) as they were if I don't find the correct market for my talent.
A market is a place where something becomes valuable and attainable to other people. Ultimately, it's the place where you can sell what you have to someone else who wants it---- and (hopefully) they have the means to buy it.
Michael Jordan had the NBA. Michelangelo had the Pope and the High Renaissance. Michael Jackson was the king of Pop Music.
These were their markets where they conducted business....
Jordan's core business was playing basketball better than anyone else, so he played in the NBA where he could market his extraordinary talent effectively. If he doesn't find the NBA, the Chicago Bulls don't win 6 NBA Championships and Nike doesn't get Air Jordan, which still generates billions of dollars in sales revenue each year.
Jordan made over $100 million by himself in 2014....solely from Nike and the Air Jordan brand. And how many years ago did he retire? He's doing this now because he found the right market then....back when he made himself eligible for the 1984 NBA Draft.
My mission, as a businessman, should also be to find the biggest market possible where I can become valuable and attainable to other people.
The purpose of Business is to make a profit.
The simplicity of this statement needs to resonate...because many times the most obvious truth is (by far) the hardest to understand.
Businesses (both large and small) are supposed to grow, and if your profits aren't coming in larger and larger each year....you aren't growing.
So if your business profits are not increasing (i.e. growing), perhaps you might rethink where you're currently marketing your company. I, personally, would ask myself the following questions:
- Where is the majority of our business coming from right now?
- Are my competitors engaging with customers I should be reaching as well?
- Am I selling my products, talents, services, etc. in the wrong place?
- Am I investing my time and resources into something that actually gives me more time and more resources?
If you can honestly determine that your company isn't growing at the moment..... the problem most likely has nothing to do with the quality of your products, talents, or services.
You're probably just selling in the wrong place.
What if Michael Jordan chose to be a Street Ball legend in NC instead of joining the NBA. He might have been the most talented basketball player who ever lived....that only a few local ballers in Charlotte ever knew about.
Most every company in existence today (including our company) will need a solid Digital Marketing campaign to help generate more profits-----driving more online customers to their products and services with smart phones, tablets, and computers.
According to the digital analytics firm FLURRY, Americans now spend an average of 2 hrs and 57 minutes on their mobile devices every day......which means digital devices have now surpassed television as America's "first screen." Advertising on TV and Radio is still effective (though expensive), but Digital Marketing on the internet is now the most effective way to grow your business.
This is especially true for small to medium-sized companies because their brand isn't famous yet. In order to make your brand famous, you need to reach a larger target audience. Unless you have millions of dollars to spend in your marketing budget......the very best and most efficient medium to use right now is the digital internet.
Therefore, SEO is the most essential part of a company's Growth Marketing campaign because it generates the most significant, measurable increases in profit revenue by driving the most internet users to your products and services.
Fact: 81% of Americans perform a Web Search before purchasing anything.
Another Fact: If your company's average order is greater than $10,000, 70% of buyers review 4 or more pieces of related content first....before they buy.
Fact #3: 75% of senior business executives watch videos on business sites each week. 65% of them go on to visit the vendor's website after watching their video.
Fact #4: Searches using a mobile phone have increased over 247% year on year, but most businesses are behind the curve....as less than 10% of American businesses are currently mobile-friendly.
Fact #5: 79% of American buyers share product or service-related content via email, 53% on LinkedIN, 39% on Twitter, and 18% on Facebook according to a recent study by Earnest.
We think it's unfortunate that SEO is a conceptual mystery to the average small business owner.
Search Engine Optimization isn't some weird, abstract formula that only "geeks" and "computer nerds" understand. To the contrary, Content-Driven SEO is actually a creative service that only the most passionate, talented firms can do well.
In 2016, Google's Hummingbird algorithm still rewards companies who consistently produce in-depth, engaging content about their products and services.....but not just on their website. We'll continue to see a particular focus on achieving the same engagement across all platforms (search, social, paid advertising, etc) with relevant, market-related content.
With the introduction of Google's new Pigeon algorithm (July 2014)----smaller, localized businesses achieve higher SERP rankings based on their exact physical location as it is presented and optimized on the web.
And now, with their latest Mobile Friendly algorithm update (April 2015), websites are ranked higher in searches performed by mobile devices when they are assessed as "Mobile Friendly" by Google search engines.
This is significant....because over 50% of all Google searches are performed on mobile devices.
To check if your site is mobile-friendly, you can examine individual pages with the Mobile-Friendly Test or check the status of your entire site through the Mobile Usability report in Webmaster Tools. Knowing how to apply this information is all part of an effective, well-rounded SEO campaign that focuses on who you are as a company---- while optimizing for what Google is currently looking for.
Over the past four years, I (personally) learned that our talent for design and production and SEO should be made affordable to the large number of small business owners who need it.
Affordable prices for excellent marketing = growing business for our clients
By integrating our design and video production services with a Content-Driven SEO campaign, IE Growth Marketing can help your business thrive in today's Digital Marketplace....turning larger profits at an affordable price.