Mangal Karnad, Author At FableSquare

WHICH IS BETTER – SEO OR CONTENT MARKETING?

by Mangal Karnad | Aug 5, 2019 | Content Marketing, SEO

I think you would agree with me when I say:

You want your website to be a High ranking Search Engine Optimized (SEO) website with loads of traffic coming in.

Let me tell you what SEO and Content Marketing are

SEO is short for search engine optimisation. It is the process of improving the Content on a website to make sure people can easily find it via search. The fact is, an SEO friendly website is at the top of the page (high ranking) of the search result (SERP) unless there is a promoted result (which is an ad) at the top.

Content Marketing is the creation of relevant content and making it available to the target audience, so as to inform and engage them.

How are SEO and Content Marketing interlinked?
Create value for the reader:

There are some misconceptions about SEO. SEO is no more about keyword stuffing. Ranking a website was relatively easy in the past; the practice was to look for keywords which had the highest search volume and use them in the website content liberally. While stuffing keywords tricked the search engines, the content became unnatural and less enjoyable to read.

Now, the focus has shifted to creating informative and meaningful content around the keyword.

Establish Subject Matter Expertise with Content Marketing:

Moreover, this is where content marketing comes into play. Content Marketing – is the creation and sharing of information (Content) in the form of blogs, infographics, case studies, infographics and videos that educate the prospects. The Content is placed on the website and strategically shared on various platforms as people consume content from different platforms.

Content marketing not only helps you build your brand’s awareness but also helps in establishing your subject matter expertise.

Leverage content for better SEO:

Creating useful, informative Content consistently will help improve SEO. Using relevant keywords in the right context will also enhance user experience and make them visit the website directly and often. Direct website visits are one of the critical aspects of Search Engine Optimisation.

Create relevant and informative Content:

Write interesting Content and internally link your website. Internal links are links that provide more information on the topic form another page in the same site. When visitors dwell, spending more time reading and browsing multiple pages, the bounce rate is bound to reduce. If enough people spend time reading, Google will make it easier to find by up ranking that piece of content.

Backlinks establish authority:

Backlinks are incoming links to a webpage. When your content is authoritative, and readers benefit from it, they refer to your site with a backlink.

Make your Business Discoverable:

While Good SEO practices help your content to be found by consumers who search for it, great content helps improve your SEO results. These two are a marketer’s compelling tools.

SEO is all about ranking high on search indexes. Creating fresh and valuable content frequently will help improve SEO ranking. SEO and content marketing work hand and glove, and are both essential to make your website (and hence the business) discoverable.

New Media and its impact on PR practice

by Mangal Karnad | Sep 29, 2018 | Public relations, Thought Leadership

Welcome to the Age of New Media. Gone are the days when we had select few print publications, a handful of TV Channels and a fixed style of news reporting. The advent of the Digital Age has bought in an exhaustive list of new media thereby expanding the scope of coverage and opportunities.

Traditionally, media companies presented factual, unbiased reporting to their readers or viewers in order to provide them information. Today anyone with a smartphone or a tablet can create and share news or information to reach masses through various social media platforms.

However, this doesn’t mean that journalism is dead. With a shift in demographics like higher disposable incomes and the need to be well-informed, the new age media has the onerous task of living up to it. The new age millennial has a shorter attention span, and they are always on the hunt for compelling and gripping stories and content. Hence, new age journalism is all about reaching a larger audience in a shorter period time with exciting content.

Role of a Journalist or a PR professional in the age of new media:

Journalism today is no more about just writing and speaking. New age journalists rely both on verbal and visual communication skills and keep themselves updated with various forms of social media to tell their stories. Often, they are needed to take photographs or shoot videos, design the layout for the website or promote their message through social media. The traditional media houses are catching up fast and are exploiting the new media to expand their reach. PR professionals need to be creative and sharpen their pitching skills.

The media today needs a PR person more than before. Journalists are constantly on the lookout for new stories and information, and they pick up interesting stories from the social media feeds! PR firms need to be on the alert for such opportunities for their clients. The ordinary pitch isn’t going to work much longer. A creative pitch which is short, crisp, and accompanied by videos and infographics might be preferred.

Influence of Social media:

With the changing times, media has evolved too. As everyone is glued on to his or her smartphones today, the source of breaking news is no more the Newspaper or TV, but the various social media handles that one owns. Journalists share their personal opinion or a story more openly on social media than via traditional medium. Therefore, there is less fact-checking involved here as there is a constant need to upload new information before it gets published (by someone else) and becomes stale. No wonder for publications the order of the day is “Publish first and then correct if necessary.” Twitter is considered as a “news network” as it is the social media platform where generally news breaks first.

Social media has influenced public relation practitioners too, and the industry has seen some dramatic changes as well as new opportunities for communicating with clients and businesses. As journalists are more active on social media and pick stories from these mediums, therefore PR people should be active on these mediums too and portray and post newsworthy content on behalf of their clients in such a way that it is of interest to the media.

It is important to grasp these new channels of communication so that we can effectively use them as a means to communicate with the public and to see how it affects the PR practice. The journalism and PR programs in colleges need to implement these changes in the course curriculum to equip future practitioners with the knowledge and skills required to handle these media.

Five Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Good Logo

by Mangal Karnad | Aug 10, 2018 | Branding

They say it takes only a couple of seconds to form a first impression. Be it a casual meet up, interviews, pitching to Leads or meeting customers, first impressions matter! It can break or seal the deal. A company’s logo is like a first impression. It’s more than just a graphical representation, and it does have the ability to create a positive experience and a lasting impression. Here are a couple of reasons explaining why a good logo is essential to your business.

Represent the Business

A well-designed logo represents who you are and can form a brand perception. Colours, fonts and designs used in a logo play a vital role when it comes to influencing the consumers’ thoughts. A simple and uncluttered logo is easy to perceive and remember. While creating a logo, ensure the designer understands the essence of your brand and it is highly recommended to design it in the vector format. This is essential to maintain the resolution (clarity) of the logo whenever the logo is scaled.

Build Customer Loyalty

We often hear people say, “I need a xerox”, and without a second thought, we know they are actually referring to a photocopy. Such is the impact of brand familiarity – in this case, the brand name itself has become a commodity. As consumers, our inclination towards buying services/products from a familiar brand is more when compared to a new brand. A logo is the face of your brand. The way the logo portrays your business can help the brand get etched in the customer’s mind. The consumers’ familiarity with the brand can help your business go a long way.

Establish Brand Identity

Consumers build a sense of trust when they are satisfied with the products/services. Consistency in the quality makes the brand more dependable. A logo is an element that expresses your brand identity. Hence it is imperative to craft a logo that’s here to stay. Keeping this is in mind, it may not be an ideal practice to change logos frequently just to incorporate what’s currently popular/in style – since this can communicate inconsistency in the brand and evoke confusion among the consumers.

Facilitate Branding

Most consumers can identify a well-known brand by just glancing at the logo. For example, the yellow letter ‘M’ on a red background reminds most of us of a McDonald’s restaurant. It is also interesting to note the clever combination of colours used in the logo. Psychologists say the colour red can stimulate attraction and appetite, and yellow can trigger happiness. In short, a logo connects people with your brand.

Differentiate your business

The footwear market today is flooding with different brands of shoes. Amidst this, the ‘swoosh’ (check mark shape) logo grabs our attention, and we immediately recognise the brand, Nike. A simple logo that is fluid and indicates motion and speed – perfectly fits into the athletic shoe category! It is also said to portray the wing of the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike. The clarity and simplicity in the logo help a business stand out in the competition.

Why is Email Marketing important for building Brand Awareness?

by Mangal Karnad | May 14, 2018 | Marketing, Content Marketing

email-marketing

In its essence, Email Marketing is the use of emails to promote products or services. The intention is not just to convert leads into customers, but to also enhance the relationship with potential or existing customers.Now the challenge is, how to rank organically high in the SERPs?

Why Email Marketing?

Cost Effective

Compared to traditional marketing approach where printing and labour can be an expensive affair, Email marketing allows a business to reach out to consumers for a comparatively negligible cost.

By sending out emails to the right target audience, the business is likely to see an increase in the ROI (Return on Investment). The key here is to build your own email list after doing a careful study on choosing the right audience. But beware, unsolicited emails are a turn off for most of us. So, buying a random list of email ids and sending out emails is not advisable and chances of interfering in the receiver’s personal space are high.

Call to Action

A business can incorporate a ‘Call to Action’ in the email in the form of a click-through which helps the consumer to inquire, subscribe, get routed to the website, provide feedback, or make a direct purchase. This way an email can be used to not only promote the brand but can also be used as a platform to entertain queries and even drive sales.

Accessibility

With a mobile device in almost every pocket, it is easy to get notified of new emails instantly. Although social media posts is a marketing trend, according to recent study consumers are more likely to check an email than a social media post.

Measurability

While working on a campaign strategy, it’s quite essential to keep track of the response rate. This will help gauge which areas need attention and which areas are favouring the business. An Email Marketing software can help you keep a track on the number of email recipients who have opened the mail, signed-up/ unsubscribed, clicked on links in the mail etc. Accordingly, the business can change bring about changes in the strategies that’ll help build a rapport between the brand and consumers.

Newsletters – to keep consumers informed

Newsletters are an excellent means for a business to ‘educate’ the consumers about its various products/ services. It is an opportunity for the business to showcase its expertise on some matter related to their products and services.

For example, through articles that help consumers make the right choices while making a purchase, or how as a business your products cater to the consumer’s needs by emphasising on the quality of the materials used. This would prompt the reader to know more and probably even subscribe to the newsletter. In this gradual process of building trust with the subscriber, the brand gets etched in the consumer’s mind.

Creating Lasting Impressions

by Mangal Karnad | Nov 29, 2017 | Branding, Personal Branding

Lasting Impressions:

Have you heard of the Von Restorff effect?
The Von Restorff effect also called the ‘isolation effect’, states that an item that “stands out like a sore thumb” is more likely to be remembered than others. In other words, we remember people, places and things that are outstandingly different.

Named after Hedwig von Restorff, a bias in favour of remembering the unusual.

For instance, the most famous structure in Italy is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, known worldwide for its unintended tilt to one side. An inadequate foundation on the ground which was too soft on one side to support the weight of the structure caused the tilt. Just imagine, it’s remembered because it’s built badly!

Imagine shopping in your neighborhood superstore, 2000 brands are trying to get your attention, so how will you buy the 20 that you need, and not end up with a lot more? To be easily remembered, or to stay on top of one’s mind, a lasting impression helps. With products it is called branding; the same rule applies to people as well. People, like brands, need to be distinct, and that is where ‘Personal Branding’ comes into play.

Successful brands stand for something, Tally for accounts, XEROX for photocopying and Bisleri for mineral water. Likewise, for people to be considered a brand, it is essential to have a point of view, some people will be against you, but there will be someone supporting your point of view. The adage “Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything” says it well.

Let’s talk about leaders; we can never imagine Mahatma Gandhi in a suit, Usha Uthap without her gorgeous silk sarees and large bindi or Dr. Kiran Bedi with long hair!
Each one of them communicates a message or a principle. Gandhi stood for ‘non-violence.’ Read more about Gandhi here: Gandhi – The Master PR Practitioner.
Popular Indian director Farhan Akhtar described Usha Uthup as ‘A Rockstar in a sari’, she stands out as a pop and Indipop singer with her unique traditionally draped sari, fresh flowers in her hair & a bold, big bindi. She is an ambassador for traditional Indian values.
Dr. Kiran Bedi for her no-nonsense attitude and for bringing in a positive relationship between police and people.

Brands get built over long periods of time; it takes conscious and consistent effort. To begin with, one can focus on identifying which aspects of

His or her traits to showcase, and then go about being uniquely showcased.
A couple of aspects to keep in mind to be established as a brand:
Be Knowledgeable – Be a Subject Matter Expert
Have a Personality – Be well dressed and carry yourself with panache
Seek Publicity – Speak in industry forums, write about the subject and become a guide to your industry.

Building a brand “YOU” takes perseverance!

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