Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions page of MichaelRHunter.com. I put together this page to answer some of the most common questions small business owners and entrepreneurs have in regards to marketing and their online presence. This page is constantly being updated with new information however, If you have a specific question that’s not answered below, please feel free to send me a quick email using the form at the bottom of this page. You can also click here to jump directly to the form below. I look forward to answering any questions you may have. – Michael R. Hunter

Website

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Yes… you do. Welcome to the 21st century. 🙂

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There are several potential reasons why you should re-design your site. If it’s been over 5 years, then it’s probably time. If your website isn’t generating leads or sales for your business on a frequent basis, then it’s probably time for a re-design.

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There are many different CMS (Content Management Systems) out there that you can use to build your site. My favorite CMS is WordPress because it allows you the ability to quickly create a stunning website if you know what you’re doing. WordPress also provides virtually unlimited functionality options with the millions of plug-ins you can add to your site.

[/toggle] [toggle type=”white” title=”Should I use WordPress to build my business website?” active=””]

Yes. WordPress is an amazing tool to use to build your company website and blog. The only down side to WordPress is the lack of built-in security. You will need to manually secure your WordPress installation. There are tutorials online for this, however if you don’t know PHP code, you should probably outsource this. It shouldn’t cost you more than $150 to secure your WordPress Installation.

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My marketing company, Entourage Marketing, builds custom WordPress websites for Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners. You can also use sites like Elance.com, Freelance.com, or Odesk.com to find independent contractors for projects like this.

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You should be updating your website at least once per quarter and posting on your blog at least once per week.

[/toggle] Have a question that I didn’t answer here? Click here to get an answer to your question!

Social Media

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Social Media is a term that represents the evolution of the internet. Also commonly called Web 2.0, social media provides individuals to publish mass messages but also interact and communicate in a one-on-one fashion. Social media is simply a communication vehicle that allows individuals to co-construct value through real time communication. I strongly suggest purchasing my ebook The Value of Social Media: A deep look inside social media for business because it will help you fully understand what social media is and why people are using it. These are two foundational concepts that you must understand completely before you are able to maximize your social media efforts to benefit your business.

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The true answer is all of them, but realistically that can be a challenge for any business to keep up with. The realistic answer is that you should use the social platforms that your target market uses. Facebook and Twitter are a great place to start, but they probably aren’t the best one’s for your business. I talk about this more in my e-book titled, The Value of Social Media: A deep look inside social media for business. Order my ebook today for only $9.97 ($37 value + over $100 in bonuses!).

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The best thing to do is to hire a social media expert on your staff. If that’s not an option for you yet, there is a free software called Hootsuite that you can use to schedule social media posts to be published at a future point in time. Check out Hootsuite.com for more information on the capabilities of their awesome service.

[/toggle] [toggle type=”white” title=”Is there a way to automate my social media?” active=””]

Yes! There are several tools that help you automate posting to your social media accounts. Hootsuite is my favorite. I strongly suggest that you do as little automation as possible. Social media is meant to be personal and conversational. If all you do is “Set it and forget it” then you are totally missing the entire point of social media and you should probably read my e-book. Click here to buy my ebook now!(Get $100+ in bonuses)

[/toggle] Have a question that I didn’t answer here? Click here to get an answer to your question!

Blogging

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A blog is simply an online publication where companies or individuals can post information to the world. Think of a blog like a newspaper that’s constantly being added to, that allows you to edit and update old publications, and that’s information is never inaccessible.

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The more often the better. The key here is to be consistent. If you know you won’t be able to maintain the act of blogging every single day, week after week, then don’t start blogging every day! Start blogging twice per week. I believe every business can and should publish at least one blog post per week. If you can’t manage to write one blog post per week, you simply don’t understand the value creating content has for your brand or business.

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The best way to get traffic to your blog is through e-mail marketing. The second best, is through social media. Social media should be used as a distribution channel for your awesome content.

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The key to writing a good blog post is making sure that you are sharing valuable information. Never publish something that you believe will not serve your reader in some way. For more tips on this subject check out our blog on How to write a great blog post.

[/toggle] Have a question that I didn’t answer here? Click here to get an answer to your question!

Marketing Strategy

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A marketing strategy is a well-thought-out plan to accomplishing your desired results. This plan is the backbone to your business and is often what separates successful businesses from unsuccessful businesses.

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A marketing strategy is one of the key components to the success of any business. Without a marketing strategy, your efforts lack intention. You must have a marketing strategy in order to give your actions direction. This will allow you to operate your business from a place of confidence and intention.

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There are 11 steps to creating a rock-solid strategic marketing plan. I have created a framework that will help you navigate this process. Check out my blog post: Introduction to the Strategic Marketing Compass.

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If you are wanting to hire someone else to create your marketing strategy, I would be careful. A quality marketing strategy can cost upwards of $25,000. Strategic marketing plans take a lot of time to create. Be very careful of hiring anyone to create your strategic marketing plan for under $5,000 because you won’t get a qualified person to put in the hours required to create a rock-solid marketing strategy for less than $5,000. Your best option is to put in the hours and create your marketing strategy for yourself. I recommend using a product I developed called, The Strategic Marketing Compass to guide you through the process of creating a strategic marketing plan that achieves your desired results!

[/toggle] [toggle type=”white” title=”Are there any quality resources that will help me create a marketing strategy on my own?” active=””]

Yes! When I started my first business I was looking for a resource to help me create a marketing strategy for my business, but everything I found was out-dated or wasn’t relevant to small business. It was some former VP of X corperation who wanted to prove how smart he was rather than actually create a helpful and useful guide. SO… after many failed trips to Barnes and Noble’s and dozens of hours searching the web, I decided that I would put my marketing company’s proprietary, marketing strategy creation process into a comprehensive product to help small business owners like you! Check out The Strategic Marketing Compass for more information on my comprehensive guide to creating a strategic marketing plan that gets you results!

[/toggle] Have a question that I didn’t answer here? Click here to get an answer to your question!

Content Marketing

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Content refers to the delivery of information and knowledge. There are many different ways to deliver information including, but not limited to, blogs, TV, radio, books, ebooks, video blogs, webinars, teleseminars, etc. Content is simply communicating information in an easy to consume fashion.

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Content marketing refers to the strategic creation of content to lead content consumers to a desired outcome of your choice. Maybe your desired outcome is a purchase of your product, or maybe your desired outcome is to enroll people to volunteer at a soup kitchen; whatever your desired outcome is, creating content that leads people to that outcome is called content marketing.

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Content marketing is important because it’s a way to build rapport with your audience. There’s no faster way to build rapport than by adding value expecting nothing in return. Humans have strong tendencies to reciprocate. Freely giving and adding value to your target market will create customers for your business.

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Creating content is easy once you get started. Blogging is probably the easiest and most cost-effective way to create content. Check out my blog post called How to write a great blog post. That information is relevant to the creation of many different types of content; although the mode of delivery and consumption may differ, the structure of your content is pretty much the same.

[/toggle] Have a question that I didn’t answer here? Click here to get an answer to your question!

 

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