Blog - Marketing Qualified

Year in Review: 2019

Year in Review: The 4th Entry I started the Year in Review series in 2016. At the time, I was feeling conflicted about decisions I made about school, my career, and lifestyle -- I had no idea where life was taking me. In December of 2016, I wrote a summary of my year. Welcome back...

InWriting Challenge

The Art of Woohoo

The Writing Challenge Today’s topic is to share my top 3 pet peeves, but even thinking about my pet peeves strikes me as a negative thing to do. Instead, I'm going to write about my "Art of Woohoo" which, for some people, is just a silly thing I do from time to time. Little do...

InWriting Challenge

Being Told “You Can’t”

About the Writing Challenge I finished my client work early this year. Now with excess time, I look at my own organization and what I can do for Christmas. Instead of a guide, Christmas party, or campaign, I'm doing a writing challenge. Today's challenge is to write about something that someone once told you (about...

InWriting Challenge

10 Things that Make Me Really Happy

December Writing Challenge December is usually a bad month for B2B sales. It's not that businesses shut down for the Holidays, rather people start to ease into Christmas mode (and B2C advertising takes over). This year I was able to deliver my clients' Christmas campaigns early; leaving me more time to enjoy the Holidays. That...

InContent Marketing

A Change of Pace for Content Strategy

The Frustrating Challenge of Content Over the summer, I hit a wall with my blog. I received emails from readers who enjoyed my writing, but upon further discussion learned that no one was implementing anything I wrote about (ouch). "I haven't implemented your advice, but your blog gave me a perspective to consider". A lot...

InInspiration & Mindset

What Do You Want To Happen?

As I near the end of my MBA, I can't help but wonder what my next adventure will be. Will I plan some time to travel the world? Maybe start a new business? Or maybe I could start working with famous marketers in the world. Part of me wondered what it would be like to...

InInspiration & Mindset

The Effort to Bring More Relevant Brands and Skills to Cape Breton

This is an opinion post. Cape Breton's business scene is still behind the times. When I last gave living in Cape Breton a go, I figured I'd follow the 'adults'; working under their leadership and their example of how to do business. But flashy lights and big cities caught my attention - I moved away....

InGrow Your Blog

Content Marketing – Field Notes, Experiences, and Opinion

Photo by Harley-Davidson on Unsplash. Write blog posts. Make YouTube videos. Advertise. Repeat. These are the lessons that have been drilled into my mind throughout university and on-the-job experience. But why? Academics would likely respond with something to the extent of “because eventually consumers will like your content and eventually trust you; buying your products and services”. For...

InFind Your Niche

How to Find Your Niche (A Simple Exercise)

Photo by Pineapple Supply Co. on Unsplash. We’ve all been there. Either you’ve been plugging away on a topic that’s too broad, or you’re incredibly focused on something that’s not making money. It’s not a fun place to be. However, this is entrepreneurship and it’s all part of the process. But processes can be simplified. That’s why you’re...

InVideo Game Marketing

Rocket League is the Best Example of Product Marketing I’ve Ever Seen

Hi Psyonix, it’s Colin MacInnis. I've been a huge fan of Rocket League for years and am also an avid digital marketer. The things you've accomplished with Rocket League over the last 4 years absolutely thrills me. I decided to write this article as a tribute to you, your team, and the amazing lengths you've...

InUniversity Marketing

Marketing Analysis for Cape Breton University – Opportunities & Ideas

Hi CBU, it’s Colin MacInnis. I’ve noticed a great wave of energy in your brand over the last few months and thought I’d lean in and offer an outside perspective to your marketing operations (hope you don’t mind). Short and simple, I used some tools to collect data from your website and promotions. The data...

InPlan Your Marketing Budget

First-Time Founders & Revenue Projections

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash. Are you a founder estimating your revenue projections? Are you creating a marketing budget for the first time? If so, read this article carefully because there are things you shouldn’t do (and can compromise your fundraising). First-Time Founders Tend to Obsess over Product, Not Distribution I’ve personally made this mistake in the past....

InFind Your Niche

How to Find Your Passion & Ignite Your Career – Tips to Get Started

Photo by Roger Erdvig on Unsplash. This article is for those of you who feel like you’re drifting through life (unfulfilled). Whether you work for someone else or are day-dreaming of leaving your job, I hope my words will inspire you to accomplish more. We’ve all contemplated if we’re in the right career. We tell...

InInspiration & Mindset

The Worst 2 Pieces of Career Advice I’ve Ever Received

Photo by Léonard Cotte on Unsplash. Career advice is a tough topic. Plus, we often get it from people who don't follow their own advice. I’ve seen it. You’ve seen it. It’s a pretty common part of building a career. Among all the advice I’ve ever received in my life, the worst 2 pieces of career advice were:...

InInspiration & Mindset

How I Got Where I Am Today

Photo by Jon on Unsplash. Chasing Dreams & Fighting for Dreams Failure has a distinct taste. It happens before your very eyes and you feel like there's absolutely nothing you can do. It steamrolls you. Takes you down. Grinds you to dust. I’m where I’m at today because of my childhood and experience working with small businesses. My...

InInspiration & Mindset

How I Got Started In My Career as a Marketer

Photo by Devon Janse van Rensburg on Unsplash. Accounting or Marketing? My career in marketing wasn’t intentional. Originally, I started as an accounting student who was driven by numbers, math, and doing entry-level bookkeeping. It wasn’t that I was bad at accounting, it just didn’t feel like the right career move for me. As a business student,...

InGet More Leads

How to Attract Quality Leads at Events

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash. Are you getting 4+ inbound leads per day? If yes, bravo. However, the reality is most small businesses and startups struggle to build their inbound lead machine. Inbound strategies take a long time to develop. They require constant creation of content, online engagement, advertising, and tireless writing, SEO, and guest blogging....

InGet More Leads

How to Get More Natural Inbound Leads for Your Business or Startup

Photo by David Marcu on Unsplash. Every business wants more leads. Lead Generation is one of the hottest topics in marketing and sales, yet Google is flooded with misleading directions on how to actually achieve inbound leads. Take a look for yourself. Almost all the results point to list-based blog posts (“7 Ways”, “5 Tactics”, etc.). In this...

InRun Better Campaigns

The Complete Guide to Creating a Marketing Campaign

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash. Are you having a website traffic problem? Could the quality of your traffic be improved? Website traffic is often a pain point for many marketing managers. They want more traffic so they can yield more sales. Using technology, tools, and systems, website traffic is the piece that fuels it all....

InGrow Your Blog

How to Submit Blog Posts to Google Search Console

Photo by Michael Mroczek on Unsplash The Importance of Time, Relevancy, and SEO Let’s talk about the search engine game. Most bloggers and marketers don’t submit their fresh content to Google. Google bots will eventually, automatically, crawl your website and index your pages, but it could be days, weeks, or months down the road. This would be a...

InGrow Your Personal Brand

[Podcast] Social Proofing for New Brands & Professionals

Episode Introduction How do you build a great brand that people talk about and love? We hear about great companies like Disney and Amazon, but how did they come to be? What strategies did they use? And how can we adopt their methodologies to improve our marketing operations? I’m your host Colin MacInnis, and THIS...

InGrow Your Blog

How to Promote Your Blog Post on Facebook

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash Let’s Get Traffic to Your Blog Post You’ve finished writing your blog post - congrats! Now let’s promote your blog post to get more traffic to your website. This article will show you how to promote your blog post in many practical ways. Feel free to use some, or all, of these...

InBuild Brand Awareness

[Podcast] Part 3: Brand Awareness for Local Businesses

Episode Introduction How do you build a great brand that people talk about and love? We hear about great companies like Disney and Amazon, but how did they come to be? What strategies did they use? And how can we adopt their methodologies to improve our marketing operations? I’m your host Colin MacInnis, and THIS...

InBuild Brand Awareness

[Podcast] Part 2: Clever Ways to Do Outbound Awareness

Episode Introduction How do you build a great brand that people talk about and love? We hear about great companies like Disney and Amazon, but how did they come to be? What strategies did they use? And how can we adopt their methodologies to improve our marketing operations? I’m your host Colin MacInnis, and THIS...

InBuild Brand Awareness

[Podcast] Part 1: Simple Tactics for Inbound Brand Awareness

Episode Introduction How do you build a great brand that people talk about and love? We hear about great companies like Disney and Amazon, but how did they come to be? What strategies did they use? And how can we adopt their methodologies to improve our marketing operations? I’m your host Colin MacInnis, and THIS...

InBuild Brand Awareness

How to Build Social Proof for Your Brand

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash Fake Reviews = Brand Damage People don’t talk about brand damage enough. If you or your brand ever come off as fake or unauthentic, your ability to build loyalty dies. Even if you’re a brand new company setting out with a new website and no customers, there are processes...

InBuild Brand Awareness

How to Grow Your Facebook Page Fast (and Ethically)

Photo by Andre Benz on Unsplash. It’s Pretty Easy to Tell When Someone Buys Likes Our filter for false clicks and bots is strong. Fake reviews on Amazon products. One-off comments on Instagram posts. Even the whole hashtag game. It’s pretty sad. In all the Facebook Page strategies I’ve read, many sing praises to services...

InBuild Brand Awareness

15 Brand Awareness Campaign Ideas

Photo by Thomas Ribaud on Unsplash. The Art of Attention Ever feel like you're operating in a sea of noise? That everyone is yelling and screaming for attention, leaving you with no exposure? You're not alone. Especially when the brands we're trying to build are for companies selling technical products. In my experience, there are 2 ways to...

InCompany Updates

Year in Review: 2018

Welcome Back to Another Year in Review In this blog post we’re outlining the top achievements, setbacks, and takeaways earned in 2018 (because nothing comes for free). Table of ContentsOverview of Goals Set for 20181. Registered MacInnis Consulting as a Business in Nova Scotia2. Participated in the Techstars Accelerator Program in Boston3. Regularly Published New...

InCompany Updates

Year in Review: 2017

Welcome back to another Year in Review In 2017 I made strides towards my goals set in last year’s review. As a recap those goals were: Become Google Adwords Certified (Video Marketing Specialization) – Complete Google Analytics Certified – Complete Hubspot Inbound Marketing Certified – Complete ConvertedU Conversion Marketing Certification – Abandoned I abandoned ship on ConvertedU’s conversion marketing certification as...

InCompany Updates

Year in Review: 2016

Welcome to the first Year in Review "Year in Review" is a blog post series that was started in 2016. Given it was the holiday season, I started reflecting on where I was in life, where I was going, and where I wanted to be. Without a clear sense of direction, I felt overwhelmed with...