Have you heard about SEO? What about ROI? If you haven’t, I don’t know what rock you’ve been hiding under. Chances are you’ve heard these acronyms a lot lately. And, hopefully you’re thinking about the two together. If not, you should.

Your website ROI depends a great deal on your SEO investment. “If you build it, they will come” does not apply to your website.

If you build it, optimize it and consistently create new content, they will come. That’s what SEO does. By identifying the proper, targeted keyphrases and using them correctly on your website, you’ll improve your search ranking and more prospective customers will come.

But, the question is…what will they do when they get there?

If you invest in SEO copywriting, you’ll have a better chance of getting your prospect to take the next step. Delivering website ROI means that prospects not only get to your site, but also they do what you want them to when they get there—they call you for more information, go to another page for details, download a white paper or even buy your product. But, you have to tell them what you want them to do.

So, invest in the science and art that is SEO copywriting. Your return will be a website that is targeted, informative, persuasive, highly readable and most importantly converts your prospects.

While reading Made To Stick by Chip and Dan Heath, I found reinforced insight in their section on “Appealing to Self-Interest” (Chapter five) and their take on “WIIFY” (what’s in it for you). They stated that WIIFY should be a central aspect of every speech—and I agree!

Inspired by the Heath brothers, here are three ways to add more WIIFY to your B2B marketing strategy:

1. Spell it out for your customers or prospects. Succinctly, connect the feature you describe to how it will benefit them. Why go through four bullets before you say what’s really in it for them? It should be first.
2. Remember that “you” is the most engaging word in the English language.  Consider a project you’re currently working on. Is it “you” focused? Can you work in some more “yous?” Try it. It’s always about your customers and prospects, not you. As the Heaths say, even subtle tweaks can make a difference.
3. Lastly, let your customers and prospects imagine what it’d be like to use your product or service. Here you can use “you” again, but add some more punch to how they’ll benefit by letting them imagine how they’ll feel during or after using your product/service. Will they feel less stressed? Will they save money? Let them picture themselves using it and they will.

Want more? Read Made to Stick. You might also like Chip and Dan Heath’s newest book titled Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.

How many times did I say “you” in this blog post?

Growing up, my siblings and I often heard those words from our farm-raised father. For him, even easy days meant pouring blood, sweat and tears into his work, home improvement projects and various community organizations. I didn’t inherit his handiness with a hammer, but I believe the work ethic I developed makes me particularly adept at the business of marketing communications.

Why? Because marketing communications is hard work. To do it effectively requires constant focus, the ability to finesse a plan and the need to be flexible to change it all at a moment’s notice. There is no clear roadmap, no magic bullet and no crystal ball that can show you the right way. Hard work is really the only way to be successful in marketing communications.

Ever wonder why so many professionals blog, tweet and give away free marcom advice? Because they know that most organizations don’t have the resources or willingness to do the really hard work of pulling it all together. Today’s marketplace demands that you connect too many dots, align too many strategies and juggle the different needs of too many people.

Effective communications are entirely possible to pull off, but you need to roll up your sleeves and flex some marcom muscle. Tired of just thinking about it? Call a b2b marketing communications resource that’s ready to get to work and will be with you for the long haul.

With football season gearing up, I was drawn to an article titled, “Colts spurn conventional wisdom to win over fans.” The article discusses how the Indianapolis Colts continue to move the marker on their march to making themselves a model NFL franchise.

The team has grown its sponsor count to 240—up 20 from last year and well above the league average of 190—and has a season-ticket waiting list of 17,000—up from 11,000 last year. And, they did it all in an unconventional way.

So, how did they get there?

In 2000, the team abandoned its traditional television, print and radio marketing campaign and opted to invest in more personal community visits from team representatives. Turns out, this unconventional path has been a real success for the team over time.

This same theory or approach can be applied to B2B public relations and marketing. Sometimes, the best way to grow your customer base, increase sales, raise awareness or drive interest isn’t through traditional marketing tactics. Sometimes, the best way to reach your marketing goals is to ditch some of the traditional tactics and really figure out what motivates your customers and prospects. It’s time to start thinking outside of the box and put new marketing tactics in the game.