Utilizing Geofencing to Improve Local Business Marketing
Geofencing is crucial for local business marketing because it allows you to reach the people who are around you and interested in what you sell. A geofence refers to a virtual boundary around a real-world area. It’s helpful for marketing a local business because it allows for hyperlocal targeting of people in a very specific location. Combined with other marketing tactics, you will also reach people who are not just nearby but also interested in what you offer. Find out how you can benefit from geofencing to market a local business. Using Geofencing to Market My Local Business Again, geofencing isn’t limited to just marketing or even cell phones. For instance, some companies use it to monitor activity in specific locations. The U.S. government relies upon it for security around military installations and even the White House. Still, you will find this tech heavily associated with mobile, local marketing. Geofencing apps rely upon Wi-Fi, GPS, RFID, or other device information to pinpoint the location of the user. The apps might either use proximity to a business or specific coordinates to decide if the mobile user has entered the boundaries of the geofence. Since there are about 7.8 million people in the world and five billion mobile users, this technology has the ability to reach many potential customers. Generally, business access this technology through their own in-store apps, social medial sites, or advertising platforms. Imagine, for instance, you sell vegetarian lunches within a large city. Simply targeting your city or part of the city won’t give you the same results as having the luxury of targeting hungry vegetarians who are only a couple of blocks away or even walking past your front door. When people approach your restaurant, you could offer them a mobile discount or BOGO coupon. When nearby workers start to look forward to lunchtime, you might send them a free delivery coupon. You can expect to enjoy much better conversions than by using promotions, coupon codes, and other ads that simply target people who happen to live within the same ZIP code or city and especially without any geographic targeting at all. Benefits of Hyper-Targeting Local Audiences With Geofencing Look at some encouraging statistics to see how you can improve your own local business marketing with geofencing: Adding geofencing to mobile advertisements will double a typical click-through rate. Over two-thirds of consumers say that they prefer personalized marketing experiences, and geofencing helps deliver that experience with its just-in-time messaging. Even more, geofencing tech works with over 90 percent of today’s smart phones. Also, people almost always have their phones with them when they’re out and about, and they spend an average of five hours each day actively using them. Your own business can benefit from geofencing with: Improved marketing returns: You can assume that customers will prefer to visit a nearby business, so you can enjoy better conversions. With some advertising platforms, better conversions will even translate into cheaper bids. You can spend less money on ads and earn more in revenue. Better data collection: You have a chance to adjust and test the virtual perimeter of your geofence and the kinds of offers and messages that you send. You should also add this information from other data you collect online and locally to gain a better understanding of customer behavior. Improved customer experience: Truly, you will use geofencing to provide your customers with a better experience. You can deliver exactly what they want at the time when they’re nearby and ready to obtain it. Common Ways Local Businesses Use Geofencing for Local Business Marketing Marketers use geofencing in a number of different ways. Common applications include: Business apps: These days, lots of businesses develop apps for consumers to use. Besides the other benefits of having consumers download your business app, you can also include geofencing to send notifications when users enter your defined locations. Text messages: Along with email lists, it’s great to get permission to send text messages to your customers. You can use software to automatically send pre-written text messages when users step inside your zone. Third-party applications: You may not have the resources to develop your own apps yet; however, you can find third-party coupon and promo apps that give you access to geofencing technology and very often, a wide audience. Social media: Twitter, Facebook, and most other large social platforms have advertising programs that will allow you to use their geofencing capabilities. Search and other internet ads: Advertising platforms, like Google, will let you define geofencing locations for displaying ads. Tips to Maximize the Benefits of Local Business Marketing With Geofencing As with most marketing, you should include a clear call to action. In this case, your call to action should emphasize immediate action because you’re taking advantage of the fact that your customers have moved close to your brick-and-mortar office or store. You don’t want to tell these customers that they can save money all month. Instead, you want to let them know that they’re lucky enough to be close just when they have the chance to take advantage of your deal. Also, you’ll enjoy the best results if you mix geofencing with other marketing techniques, like search, demographic targeting, and so on. You probably don’t want to target everybody who happens to wander near your business but those who are most likely to want what you’re offering.
Creative advertising marketing strategies for your company’s Christmas in July
The holiday season is a make or break time for many businesses. Last year, overall spending during the months of November and December was roughly 10-percent higher than the rest of the year. If your business doesn’t flourish during these high spending months, it faces a significant competitive disadvantage during the rest of the year. All of which makes being prepared with creative marketing strategies that much more important for your brand. The best digital marketers understand that it takes months of work to fully prepare for the holiday season. By taking a “Christmas is July” approach, you can help ensure that no opportunity goes unexplored during the hectic holiday months. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at some creative marketing strategies you can begin implementing now to help prepare for the important months ahead. Digital marketing In digital marketing — as in just about everything else — preparation is closely tied to performance. So, what are some of the things marketers can start doing now to get ready for the critical holiday months? Consider the following: Keyword and ideation preparation. It’s never too soon to start generating compelling Christmas content ideas. It’s not unusual to see a lot of derivative, shallow, or evergreen seasonal content published during this period, as agencies and businesses are often shorthanded or dealing with other pressing concerns. This presents marketers with an excellent opportunity to stand out from the fray by offering truly compelling holiday marketing that breaks the usual mold. Select target and landing pages. You might be able to save time by replicating last year’s pages, assuming there isn’t too much difference in terms of keywords and other variables. Add fresh holiday content to your pages. Refine your mobile strategy. Now is the time to figure out which messages or ideas resonate the most. Sharpen your focus by employing data analysis to learn what your customers are searching for. Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. As July rolls into August, begin the process of creating new content for the holiday season. Define and optimize high-value holiday target pages. Finally, begin social media marketing and outreach campaigns. The importance of partnering with the right agency Creative resort advertising strategies play a critical role in holiday season business success. The best digital marketing agencies understand this, and prepare accordingly by taking a “Christmas in July” approach. BIGEYE is a top Florida resort advertising agency with years of experience delivering the kind of creative marketing strategies that win the holiday season. If you’re seeking to invigorate your seasonal marketing efforts, we encourage you to contact us today.
Your next hotel deal is here thanks to Facebook dynamic ads
Facebook dynamic ads help travel and hospitality brands get the word out about their destination and entice future guests with perks and experiences just a plane ride away. Facebook dynamic ads tailor content across devices and platforms to serve customers information about the locations, dates, flights, and destinations they have signaled to buy on Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts participated in a case study for Facebook dynamic ads, boasting a 20% increase in revenue, a 34% decrease in cost per booking, a 55% increase in mobile revenue, and a 44% decrease in mobile cost per booking. In efforts to help more businesses achieve these results in partnership with us, we wanted to understand the four W’s that make this tool effective. We dug deeper into the what, why, when, and who to help you make an informed decision about whether Facebook dynamic ads are right for your business. What: So what makes Facebook dynamic ads so special At first glance, Facebook dynamic ads might simply seem like a retargeting campaign, but these ads pack a serious punch. These full-screen dazzlers are fully customizable. And if the lush, carousel photo option doesn’t catch your customers’ attention, strike-out pricing and promotion overlays, or real-time inventory updates certainly will. These ads are the closest thing a customer can get to actual search results without searching for themselves. Why: Knowing why your customers browse leads to sales Because Facebook uses hyper-specific user data to capture intent to browse or intent to purchase, advertisers can “set it and forget it” when using Facebook dynamic ads. The user funnel will adapt to fit the needs of the traveler based on new signals and the business based on live KPIs and inventory. By recognizing why a user is browsing, the ads can serve exactly what someone is looking for, or make related recommendations resulting in up- or cross-sales that would have never been possible otherwise. When: Travel is time-bound … and your ads should be too Have you ever seen a retargeted ad or special offer too late? Facebook dynamic ads automatically adjusts or turns off based on when users check-out date or flight times have passed. This tool keeps ads relevant, pleasing both the traveler who is seeing content personalized to their needs and the business that isn’t wasting money on travelers who already got back from their holiday. Who: Personalization is key Facebook dynamic ads can funnel clicks to a personalized landing page. In a sense, these ads become mini-travel agents that make the shopping process feel more curated or luxurious. Hotel brands can optimize based on location and price, recommend their sister properties if dates are sold out, or partner activities and attractions, giving the ads broader relevance to the consumer. Like all strong advertising tools, you need to have inspiring content to go with it. If your hospitality brand needs a lift, we can help you create the Facebook dynamic ads campaign that will get you there and the content that will make it all worthwhile. Click here to learn more about our creative content services and how they can transform this next wave of highly personalized customer outreach.
Snapchat takes on business marketing: Not just selfies any more
We have what we like to call a good news/bad news situation on our hands. If you’ve been holding out against Snapchat as a last bastion against gratuitous selfie-taking and over sharing, you might need to give up on the game. The good news is that it’s for a really good reason. Earlier this spring, Snapchat began introducing customized geofilters that allow individual users and business accounts to create photo overlays for their location, store, or event. Starting at just $5 per filter, excited Snapchatters can promote everything from their wedding or a girls’ getaway, to product launches and charity events. Several months after launch, business marketers are starting to see the value.Naturally, Snapchat has not missed the opportunity to monetize your monetization efforts. The price of each filter is set on a sliding scale based on the filter’s exposure size (which must fall between 20,000 square feet and 5-million square feet) and length of time the filter runs (the shortest amount of time a filter may run is one hour). When we initially learned about Snapchat geofilters, we were reticent to jump on the trend because we weren’t sure what a business would do with them. Now that we’ve brainstormed a few awesome ideas (if we do say so ourselves), we have officially joined the bandwagon. Geofilters let you engage with your target audience while they are already consuming content, which increases your chances of catching – and keeping – their attention. Here are our top three ways to get started. Start with a product launch: Dip your toe into the geofilter pool with a location-based promotion. This is a fantastic vehicle to promote a product launch. Most obviously, it presents an opportunity increase foot traffic to a brick and mortar store as customers pose with your new product or entice nearby Snapchatters to stop by (you might consider offering a 5% or 10% discount to new customers if they Snap your product on site). You shouldn’t feel restricted to solely promote your physical location, however. Michael Kors introduced their new summer line of sunglasses in key target markets (such as Miami and Los Angeles) with a filter that allowed users to pose with a digitized overlay of these sunglasses on their face. Even if those Snappers weren’t purchasing the sunglasses, it raised awareness about the product and generated buzz for other would-be customers. They key is ensuring the filter geography is set to locations where potential customers routinely congregate. And because geofilters can span a 5-million square foot radius, that shouldn’t be too difficult. Seriously, does organic marketing get any better than this? Graduate to an event filter: The novelty of purchasing a Snapchat filter for a personal event is fairly obvious. For businesses, it’s a little more nuanced. First, consider your options. An event filter may be valuable before an event to promote ticket sales or fundraising efforts. It may be useful during an event if you are unveiling a product, special edition item, or unique feature. Similarly, it can help generate buzz during a reoccurring event such as a conference or festival. It may even be useful after an event ends if attendees are taking ideas and products home with them (how cool would it be if there was a customized geofilter after the Apple product release conference for those lucky few who get to beta test new products?). Geofilters promoting an event are one part marketing gold and one part public relations magic, so timing is everything to ensure you get a positive return on investment. Or go for an anytime, lifestyle filter: If you happen to have a business that represents a lifestyle brand, you’re in luck because geofilters are a great idea anytime. Brands that let customers signal they are a certain type of person think: community establishments such Starbucks or a local coffee shop, bars, or restaurants, membership-based clubs and organizations, car dealerships, tourist hot spots, and resorts. Brands, such as Pacific Sunware, that have a certain type of customer (in this case, surfers and beach lovers) can also benefit from a custom filter to help increase brand awareness between other likeminded customers. Despite ourselves, we love the idea of Snapchat geofilters because it turns your customers and fans into brand ambassadors and marketers. In other words, you just increased your marketing team by … oh … 10,000.
6 ways digital marketing can transform automotive sales
Generally speaking, car dealerships are not known for embracing emerging marketing trends such as the digital wave. Not because they don’t want to; but because they don’t always need to. Many local dealers enjoy great success with traditional, direct-marketing tactics and regional outreach via print and broadcast media. However, as national and international automotive sales manufacturers have begun experimenting with digital marketing tactics, car dealers now have a new wave of tools to remain competitive in a hyper-saturated market. Digital marketing brings brand awareness across tiers: Studies suggest that at least 40% of all digital spends correlated to car sales will target brand awareness rather than direct offers. At the manufacturing level, we see this from major retailers such as Mercedes-Benz. During the past to years, the brand has used robust social media and event campaigns to generate buzz about the introduction of their new C300 model with great success. Once customers know about the brand or car model, they will move down the next marketing tier to discover a local dealer who has aligned to these trends. Although it may feel redundant for dealers to promote brand material rather than specific sales offers, it is important for customers to easily find a local presence that mirrors what they are seeing nationally. Investing in digital branding allows your dealership to rise to meet your customers needs as the move downstream toward a certain product or brand. In this way, you and your customers will meet in the middle. This tactic allows you to lead with value rather than discounts as you attract customers who are actively seeking a certain product or brand. Search marketing keeps your brand top of mind: Okay, now your customers have found you. They are excited about the latest model of their dream car and are weighing their options. Big purchases, such as cars, often have a longer sales cycle than traditional retail products, so keeping your dealership at the top of mind is of critical importance. Paid, retargeted, and organic search campaigns give you the opportunity to gently nudge your customer toward the point of sale without bombarding them before they are ready to complete a sale. As customers are looking for information, your website should be optimized to pop up before your competition so your dealership is a place to find answers, not just buy cars. This keeps customers coming back to your site again and again as they move toward a sale. Search optimization is your first line of defense against competition and easier to implement than you may think. Our team of experts at your Orlando marketing agency can determine the best terms to target, what words will make you stand out against your competition, and how to prioritize your search initiatives. The surprising importance of being mobile-friendly: In that vein, your site needs to be mobile ready. We know that customers don’t buy cars on their phones. But they do search for prices, search for the closest dealer to their home or office, and search for promotions that are running when they are ready to buy. According to cars.com, 43% of shoppers start their search on their mobile phones or tablets. We recommend investing in a responsive website design for best results or, at the very least, carefully considering how your website looks and functions on a smaller device. Mobile marketing is one of the first places car dealers try to cut costs, but it may be one of the worst places to make the cut. Click here to learn about some of the amazing mobile strategies our agency has used for business owners just like you. Digital marketing augments accessibility: In many ways, car purchases are a sale of opportunity. If one dealer doesn’t answer the phone, the customer will call the next closest vendor. If a purchaser can’t find the information they need online, they’ll find it somewhere else. Being accessible and responsive is key to success when you are competing against other equally qualified dealers in your area. Digital marketing allows you to be more responsive than the competition. Consider investing in chat, email services, and social media monitoring that allow your dealership to get to opportunities before someone else does. We realize this is yet another channel to manage when you already have phone calls and the floor to look after, but the modern customer expects businesses to be “on” 24-7, available, and ready for business when they are. Love it or hate it, the customer expectation wins. Battle dealer stereotypes with digital customer service: It’s no secret that car dealerships sometimes have a reputation for being deceitful or opportunistic. Using digital marketing to combat these stereotypes gives you the opportunity to showcase your business values. Address issues right away on social media. Encourage customers to review your dealership on Yelp. And don’t ignore your site’s comment section and inbox. Digital marketing enables you to use less resources to tackle service issues head on, which, in turn, builds goodwill and trust between your customers and prospective clients. You can directly handle negative feedback and foster relationships with those who have positive sentiments to share. Trust us, a little goes a long way. Show some post-sale love: Digital marketing also gives dealers the opportunity to foster post-sale relationships with their customers. This can generate referrals, repeat sales, and brand advocacy. You might consider featuring a “customer of the day” on your website or social channels, emailing clients with service reminders or seasonal greetings, and using digital marketing to schedule periodic outreach completely unrelated to sales. Nurturing your customers relationships at every stage of the customer journey reinforces all the work you did throughout the sales process and will help create happier, more valuable customers over their lifecycle. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg! Digital marketing has completely transformed almost every industry – including yours. Click here to contact us about how you can begin the digital revolution at your dealership. We’ll work with you to
Apple Eases Friction In Customers Media Usage Pattern
This time last year, Google Play introduced its first paid search model for app developers. The search giant understands how people use apps as part of their day-to-day media usage pattern to accomplish tasks while barely thinking about it, which is why app discovery is such an integral part of their business strategy. Need an app to workout in your hotel while traveling? Check. Need an app to discover new recipes for a housewarming party? Check. Need an app to find the lowest travel fare? Check. We could go on, but suffice it to say: there’s always an app for that. This month, we were excited – but not surprised – to hear that Apple has taken a page out of Google’s playbook. This fall, Apple will be rolling out a full-scale paid search model in their App Store. Combining paid search with app discovery reduces friction in customers’ media usage pattern lifecycle by making it easier and safer for them to find reputable apps that meet their needs when they want them. In other words? This is beneficial for the end user (because they can find what they want more seamlessly); beneficial for app-based businesses (who want to encourage app adoption and discovery); and potentially very lucrative for Apple (hello, ad sales). Apple’s App Store is Google Play’s biggest rival and the only game in town for apps developed for iOS devices. In 2015, Apple earned $20 billion in revenue from the App Store and other services (think: Apple Care, etc.). Although Apple executives tend to keep the granular details of the company’s financials tight to their chests, rumors suggest close to two-thirds of app downloads come from search hits in the App Store. If this is true, paid search in this space could drive a substantial amount of exposure to emerging apps and significantly improve the customer discovery experience. APP SEARCH FOR ADVERTISERS TO FIT CUSTOMERS’ MEDIA USAGE PATTERN: The best part about Apple’s new paid search model is that it fits seamlessly into the App Store experience people already expect during their typical media usage pattern. Only one featured app will appear at the top of customers’ search results in the App Store, and the only distinguishing difference between a paid app and a non-paid app will be a blue ring around the app badge indicating these results were sponsored. Unlike paid search engine ads that sometimes feel jarring or separated from organic search results, Apple’s new model makes it easier for advertisers to promote their apps without disrupting the customer experience. Naturally, this prime real estate will be a pay to play opportunity for search marketers. Advertisers will participate in a bid auction to secure top keyword terms correlated to their app based on a pay-per-click pricing model (there will be no pay-per-impression option at this time). In tandem, Apple will also offer demographic and audience targeting to keep advertising costs reasonable while ensuring app discovery is as close to a perfect match as possible for the customer. It goes without saying that businesses can use this inconspicuous search experience to support their paid SEO and AdWords campaigns and close the loop between website engagement and mobile app discovery. This is especially important as customers’ media usage patterns almost always include multiple devices across their smartphones, tablets, and computers. No matter where your customers are surfing, your paid search strategy can support their habits and needs. THE WINNING PAID SEARCH MODEL FOR APP-BASED BUSINESSES: Although Apple’s new paid search program is currently in beta testing, the full program will be released this fall. And we couldn’t be more excited. That’s our way of saying there’s no time to waste if your business has (or is developing) an app. Our team of Orlando marketing experts can help you balance your current paid spend to include app advertising while guiding you through this new experience from audience selection, to keyword term bidding, and everything in between to create a seamless end-to-end app experience that supports your customers’ media usage pattern. The paid app program presents a unique opportunity for businesses to reenergize sluggish app usage and encourage adoption if your website and social channels haven’t been as successful as you’d like them to be in reaching this goal. Even if all your channels are performing well, paid app advertising supports an increasing trend of customers searching for apps or related tasks directly in the App Store as part of their media usage pattern. We predict this will be an integral part of the paid marketing mix by the end of the year and one your business should not miss. Click here for current case studies that showcase how our team has helped support app discovery in the digital age. By this fall, your business could be taking part in one of the most important new search trends of the year, so don’t wait to give us a call.
4 ways you can improve your brand’s media mix like a pro
Choosing your media mix is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a digital marketer, so there’s always a little extra pressure to balance your spend. Between ad campaigns, social platforms, and community marketing, your options are nearly endless. Make your media mix work for you, instead of becoming a slave to your budget, by testing into the mix that works for your customers and continuously iterating toward improvement. Trust us, optimizing your media isn’t as difficult as it seems. 1. Prioritize your media mix: The first thing is to realize (and accept) that your team can’t do everything at once. And that’s okay. Even the biggest companies can’t cover every channel and every demographic perfectly. If they could, there would never be any competition. What you can do is flawlessly prioritize your media. If you already have data around how your social platforms and channels are performing, choose your top one or two platforms and invest there. If you are just beginning to optimize your mix, see where your competition has a strong presence and begin exploring there. As your return on investment and company grows, you can expand and test into more channels. Also recognize that it isn’t just about prioritizing where you post. Make sure you prioritize your time as well: spend 50% of your time creating content and contributing in your communities, spend 30% of time engaging with your various channels, and 20% of your time finding content and scheduling shared posts. 2. Use your media mix to set and measure goals: Improve your media mix by using it to set and measure goals, and then by refining your spend and media presence accordingly. Always include a call to action (CTA) in your posts and digital advertisements. Ideally, you should choose a different CTA for each channel or ensure you have clear tracking tools in place so you can determine which mix performs best. Tracking the performance of your mix helps you forecast goals for the upcoming quarter and year, lets you test different engagement methods to discover what your audience needs, and helps you refine your creative approach. In this way, your media mix becomes a vehicle to generate business and to align your team around common goals and business needs. 3. Diversify your media mix: Once your media mix is performing solidly, it’s time to begin diversifying. Use old content that you previously ran as a print ad or repurpose social media content for a digital ad. You might even consider exposing other peoples’ content as long as it does not pose any competitive risk and you have their permission. Swap content across channels and track which types of content perform best in each. A great piece of content or creative campaign may perform tremendously on a landing page with a paid spend, but it may struggle as a social ad. Most times, discovering what will work best, and where, starts with a hunch. Test into these ideas in small percentages so you never risk your core business, but never be afraid to try new things. 4. Don’t forget to listen: Last, but never least, don’t forget to listen. Social listening is an important part of how to determine your strategy. Invest in listening tools, partner with your local Orlando digital marketing agency, or scour your media channels for customer feedback or key data points. Remember, your media mix is first and foremost for your customers, so letting them guide you is the most important key to balancing your media mix like a pro. Give us a call today for an assessment of your current media mix and how you can begin optimizing your time and money based on your business needs.
4 AdWords changes to alter how you think about PPC management
Whether you’re an SEM specialist or simply overseeing your company’s digital advertising spend, you probably follow changes to Google’s AdWords the way day traders follow the stock market. Google’s notoriously shifting algorithms and the media usage pattern. Ad spend rules can seem like a barrier for the average small business owner, and a Byzantine maze of rules and regulations for agency pros like our Orlando-based digital marketing team. Although there’s no tried-and-tested way to beat or get ahead of Google’s changes, the best way to stay in the game is to simply stay on top of critical updates. Over the last year, a few key AdWord enhancements have changed the game yet again and we’re here to unpack the top four updates that might change how your company thinks about PPC management. Goodbye right rail: One of the biggest changes that Google AdWords has announced is the removal of the right rail search results. In the past, paid advertisements would pop up in the top 3-4 search results, followed by a list of organic rankings through the fold and onto the following search pages. To the right of these results, advertisers could feature their business ads in small, less prominent paid slots. This gave small businesses and smaller budgets a chance to bid against the big dogs without overextending themselves. Those days are over. Today, only four search ads will populate before organic results begin. And there’s no right rail. In short, no other opportunities. Additionally, only seven natural results will appear on the first page, meaning that there are fewer paid and organic slots on the coveted Google page one. For advertisers, this means you may have to pay more for paid slots. It also means you should have started polishing your SEO key words list and bringing your content up to speed … well … yesterday. Organic rankings are going to be more important than ever before with these new limitations on paid ads. If you have previously relied solely on PPC AdWords, it’s time to call in the experts at your local Orlando marketing agency. These changes are impossible to ignore and will fundamentally change how marketers think about vying for top spots in the Google ecosystem. App developers rejoice: Mobile and tablet applications are more important than ever before in the average user’s media usage pattern, which is why Google’s AdWords’ improvement to app promotion is something to celebrate, rather than fear. Once this feature is released, you’ll be able to target anyone who has already downloaded your application. Chances are, if your app isn’t brand new, you’ve made enhancements, fine tuned your UX, and rethought how your app can better serve your customers. Use this new retargeting tool to reengage your current audience and teach them about new features in your app. You will be able to link directly into the app based on your users’ keyword searches, making it easier for you to provide self-service help and guided support. Instead of wasting paid advertisement dollars targeting prospective customers or trailers, use this update to ensure customers searching for your product login, app help, or information find exactly what they need the first time. Conversions now optimized: Not all conversions are created equal when you’re considering a customer’s holistic media usage pattern, which is why Google AdWords’ new conversion optimization updates are one of the most important updates on our list. If you are using Conversion Optimizer, Target ROAS or other bidding tools, you’re in luck. With this update, you’ll be able to pick and choose which KPIs you want Google to rank as part of the bidding process. Any serious SEM specialist will enjoy this nuanced refinement because it acknowledges that one KPI isn’t more important than another and allows you to optimize based on which metrics are most profitable for your business. Calling all Adwords extensions: Although this update seems simple, it’s probably our favorite. Google’s newest AdWord extension allows you to add a few extra lines of text featuring a unique CTA based on your business needs. For example, you might include a call out for a free trial, or special seasonal promotion. And no, it does not replace or interrupt your normal product or business descriptions, so you can rest assured that your most important information – and a few extras – are getting to your audience. This update is a great way to lower your care and support calls by featuring your FAQ page, boost sales with a special CTA, or call out your latest and greatest app. In other words, the sky is the limit. So don’t miss out. Talk to our team for a more comprehensive list of Google AdWord updates or click here to learn more about how search engine optimization can impact your digital marketing strategy. We consider it our duty to stay abreast of the latest SEO trends and updates so you don’t have to, so check back often for more release news.
Why you need a pro’s help for digital ad creation and placement
One of the biggest mistakes small- and medium-sized business owners make is assuming they can take a purely DIY approach to their marketing efforts. Being a Jack of all trades is critical when thinking about big picture strategy and crafting a holistic business plan for your organization, but never when it comes at the risk of being a master of none. In our world of ever changing digital marketing trends, rules, and regulations, we like to think of our team as an ace in your pocket. We pride ourselves on deep, vertical knowledge about the most cutting edge digital best practices so you don’t have to. As you delve into the world of paid advertising and social media spends, there are so many options to choose from between your PPCs, PPUs, actual impressions, potential impressions, and reach. And we haven’t even started talking about how to decide on placement, or whether to invest in big data and demographic trends. Placing a digital ad or banner by yourself has never been easier … but partnering with an advertising agency ensures your return on investment is worth the time and money spent on your campaigns. Still not convinced? Here are the top four reasons you can’t afford not to partner with a trusted agency. 1. Don’t let programmatic digital ad placements rip you off: We are all business people. And media placement vendors are no exception. When selling digital ad spots, these companies charge their clients based on the volume you can purchase. Because agencies are often purchasing ad exposure for more than one organization, they frequently enjoy volume discounts and can charge you less to place the same ads in the same coveted spots. The good news is that because agencies also don’t take on customers in direct competition with each other, your company will never be at risk of being pitted against your agency’s other interests. 2. Don’t risk being outside of Facebook’s or Google’s design guidelines: As digital advertising becomes more popular and customers demand checks and balances when surfing their favorite sites and social media platforms to avoid being bombarded by spam, large digital ad exchanges such as Google, Instagram, and Facebook, have begun putting robust regulations around the types of content their users see and the frequency of ad exposure. Unless your team has a dedicated creative staff whose sole job is to stay up to date on these changes, you risk your ads being rejected or ineffective in these critical marketplaces. Our agency takes all platform changes, AdWords updates, and SEO algorithm enhancements very seriously so your digital ad is never turned down and you don’t waste precious time and resources going back and forth with your placement account executives. 3. Get smarter planning spends around trends: Advertising agencies also have the distinct luxury to think about your business outside the fray and fire drills of daily operations. Even the best, most earnest intentions to create a year-round advertising or promotional calendar often get pushed to the wayside by the daily needs of running a business. When you partner with an agency, you have a dedicated team strategizing around the best times to run digital advertisements, how they should be placed, and how much you should spend on each digital ad throughout your business cycle. We take the guess work out of media planning by staying current on your industry’s forecasting trends and tailoring an ad calendar around your unique business needs. You simply have to flip the switch and enjoy the revenue as it rolls in. 4. Dedicated ROI delivery and support: Never place an ad without knowing what the expected ROI will be again. Your digital marketing agency will help you strike the right balance between specialized ad exchange exposure and broad, programmatic distribution so your ads get to the right people every time. When our clients’ businesses prosper, we do too, so getting results is our first priority. Working with an advertising agency takes the guess work out of digital ad placement. Our team also serves as your first line of defense if something goes wrong with the ad itself. Whether you decide to partner with an agency for peace of mind, or to maximize your return on investment, the choice is clear. Digital ads are one of the worst – and most costly – places to cut corners, so give us a call today or click here to learn more about the types of ads we’ve created and curated for our business partners in the past.
The REAL difference between potential vs. actual impressions
Understanding the difference between actual and potential Twitter impressions can seem confusing to those who don’t consider themselves media analytics experts, but don’t worry! It’s much more simple than you think, and very similar to understanding the difference between paid advertisements and public relations when assessing the value of your Orlando marketing agency. To help guide your media analytics spend, we have broken down the difference between each category, as well as when, and how to use them. What is an actual impression: An actual impression is the equivalent of paid media. It represents the actual number of times your tweet (or ad) is seen by your prospective audience. When you send content into the Twitterverse, your actual impressions track the exact number of people who have seen your post. We liken this to your paid advertising initiatives because when you buy media, you often know exactly how long your advertisement will run, how many people will see it, and the scope of your campaign. Actual impressions represent that same raw data. When and how to use actual impressions: Tracking your actual impressions can give you a clear understanding of week-over-week or year-over-year growth. It can unlock your ROI based on the number of people who have seen your content versus sales coming in, and is the general foundation of your media analytics dashboard. Actual impressions are a critical KPI that shows how far your content is going. What is a potential impression: Potential impressions align best with public relations mentions because they represent what “could” or “might” happen. Potential as a KPI reveals your brand’s influence or clout. When a publicist secures a product mention on your favorite blogger’s site, there is no guarantee that every single one of the blogger’s followers will read the article and notice your product placement, but the potential is there. Similarly, if a celebrity or tastemaker shares your posts, your content’s potential to influence new prospects has increased exponentially based on their pool of followers. When and how to use potential impressions: Tracking potential impressions is critical if you are partnering with other brands, engaging with other accounts, and encouraging the viral spread of your content. The impact is a little less straightforward than actual impressions because the figure represents total potential views, rather than what has historically taken place. Any media analytics expert will tell you that tracking both actual and potential impressions blends nicely; depending on the type of campaigns you’re running and the information you want to learn about your customers. Our team can help you dig into which is right for your brand and tailor a campaign around your needs.
