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
3 reasons why ad agencies are more effective at media buying
Okay, let’s get this out of the way right up front. Sometimes, we can be biased. Yes, we love our team of Orlando marketing experts. And yes, we are partial to the smart, passionate, digital-obsessed account executives that make our agency unique. But with absolutely no bias whatsoever: advertising agencies – in general – are always going to be better at media buying than the alternative. That includes working with dedicated media buying agencies and any DIY ad spends you had planned for the quarter. Before the rebuttals come rolling in, let us explain why. REASON 1: PLANNING MAKES PERFECT END-TO-END MEDIA BUYING EXPERIENCES The key ingredient for a perfect media buying experience starts and ends with good planning. While media buying agencies have deep vertical knowledge of the buying process and dedicate their time cultivating relationships with ad placement services, advertising agencies bring a critical breadth that rounds out the marketing experience. Because advertising agencies hire specialists dedicated to media buying, and search engine optimization, and social media management, and creative services all media purchases are grounded against your holistic business strategy. Specifically, advertising agencies align your media spend against your key goals and any other marketing mechanisms supporting these needs. This includes cross-channel audience research, balanced spending, and clear analysis and fine tuning as campaigns go live and generate data and results. Planning your spend across channels, rather than creating piecemeal marketing experiences as they pop up, ensures your marketing dollars are being distributed evenly and put toward the best use — but most importantly, that they are all working together. REASON 2: ADVERTISING AGENCIES ARE A ONE STOP MEDIA BUYING SHOP Show me the money. Give me the best bang for your buck. However you want to say it, you can rest assured that you are getting the best value possible when you invest in an advertising agency to support your media buying needs. Similarly to media buying firms, ad agencies will always get you the best rates on your placement because they have the luxury to buy ad spots in bulk (something individual or small business owners cannot do). In addition to that, advertising agencies oversee the entire advertising lifecycle, making the media buying, creation, and placement experience a one-stop shop. This is especially important for businesses that don’t have a dedicated creative team or who are growing faster than their existing team can support. Advertising agencies reduce strain on your current team without adding more middle men than necessary when you have contacts for each piece of the marketing mix. REASON 3: BEYOND MEDIA BUYING PARTNERS In a world with increasingly transactional business relationships, having a trusted advertising agency can be a breath of fresh air. When you work with a firm like our Orlando advertising agency, we make it our responsibility to get to know your brand, your team, and become engrained in your culture. In this way, advertising agencies become extensions of your own organization. Consider us a second line of defense or a toolbox of sharpened knives ready to cut into your toughest marketing problems — no matter what they may be. Yes, our Orlando marketing agency would be happy to be your media buying partner, but we’d also be so much more more. Advertising agencies zoom out from the campaign at hand to look at your customers’ lifecycle, your promotional calendar, media relations, and digital footprint. Together, we can stay on top of the latest marketing trends and brainstorm innovative new campaigns that will break through the marketing clutter. If you’re sensing a similar theme building from our last two reasons, then we consider our work here done. We think of these three concepts as the marketing world’s “Goldilocks rule.” We’re not too specialized (like a media buying agency), and not too broad (like your team may have to be to support your business needs) … We’re just right. Learn more about how our advertising agency can uniquely complement your business needs by clicking here to explore some of our other business partnerships.
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.
Your agency must be able to answer this online ad spend question
In the United States, digital marketers are spending more than $60 billion per year on online ad spend campaigns. Our team of Orlando marketing agency experts know those are your precious marketing dollars at work, which is why we encourage all of our clients to ask those tough questions when they work with us and with other agency partners. If your agency can’t answer the following questions, you’re probably wasting money on your online ad spend. QUESTION 1: HOW IS MOBILE TECHNOLOGY DRIVING ONLINE AD SPEND GROWTH? Online ad spend across mobile channels increased 66% year over year when compared to last year’s ad spend. There are many reasons for this growth, including an increased emphasis on app usage and discovery (just click here to read why Apple is releasing new paid app advertising for more on that); more secure and streamlined mobile shopping experiences that drive 80% of digital consumers to indicate they will purchase something on their mobile device or tablet this year; and the ever increasing overlap between social media and our personal and professional lives. There is absolutely no doubt that mobile technology is one of the biggest drivers for online ad spend. When you ask the team at your local, Orlando marketing agency which trends are most important, or where you should invest now to support future mobile growth, we recommend: Responsive design: Despite the fact that mobile technology has been exponentially improving over the past decade, many company sites are still not mobile-friendly. Before you do anything else, update your site with responsive design technology that seamlessly adapts your site to any device and any size. Social ads: The prized millennial customer uses social media to find new brands, celebrate brands they love, and complain when brands let them down. Aside from search engine marketing, social media advertising is one of the most powerful ways to reach out to your target demographic. Social mobile apps such as Facebook, SnapChat, and Instagram lure users to their mobile devices hundreds of times per day, making this platform one of the most ubiquitous ways to reach your audience where they are already spending time. Paid app spends: If you have an app, it’s time to explore how paid advertising in Google Play or Apple’s App Store can deepen your customers’ engagement with your mobile app. Whether you want to encourage discovery for a new app, or drive use in your existing customer base, a paid online ad spend can bring much needed attention to your mobile app, putting you in a prime position to take advantage of the mobile boom. QUESTION 2: HOW IS PROGRAMMATIC ADVERTISING IMPACTING YOUR ONLINE AD SPEND? Don’t let anyone fool you. Programmatic advertising is impacting the online ad spend world in a big way. In fact, close to two thirds of US online ad spends will come from programmatic purchases this year, with mobile accounting for 60% of that spend. The trend is already here. This breakthrough allows robots and crawlers to do highly labor-intensive work that once led to human error and lag time between insights and actions. Instead of relying on media buyers to tag ads, comb through insertion orders, and tweak your spend, programmatic ad buying frees your agency to focus on driving your marketing strategy and fine-tuning your spend based on a wealth of hard, up-to-the-minute data. One of the most popular forms of programmatic ad buying is real-time bidding, which automates the term purchasing process by balancing ad inventory against audience data, and your resources and business goals. Let our team introduce you to the power of programmatic advertising and how it can make your customer targeting sharper and generate interest in truly engaged, valuable customers. Give us a call for a deep dive into this revolutionary breakthrough and how it will change the way you think about your online ad spend.
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.
How to create a media plan for 30-somethings year olds
Millennials – in particular 30-something year olds with growing disposable income and mature media usage patterns – are one of the largest and most critical consumer subsets. Understanding how to attract them starts with understanding that millennials have a distinct media usage pattern that differs from their predecessors and will likely differ from the next generation. Millennials who are making meaningful purchases in the current consumer market are what we like to call “digital natives.” That means they grew up with computers and the Internet. That said, 30-something year olds can probably still remember a time when they needed to look up directions instead of relying on their smartphones and GPS, or turned to their friends for referrals rather than hitting Google and Yelp for the most up-to-date business reviews. The result is that millennials with the most purchasing power (read: yes, older) have a distinct media usage pattern that blends some of the most digital-savvy habits of Generation Y and Z with more traditional habits inherited from Generation X and the Baby Boomers. Cracking the millennial media usage pattern helps your business target and engage this critically important consumer subset by targeting your spend where they are most likely spending their time. The mobile media usage pattern: Let’s start with where to find them. More than 70% of all millennials have a smartphone. 30-somethings are no exception. However, as ultra-rich tablets, such as the iPad Pro, are hitting the market, these tech-savvy gadget lovers are turning in their laptops and desktops for more streamlined options that fit their jet-set blend of work-life-balance and remote connectivity. It goes without saying that all millennials are connecting to the Internet in some way, shape, or form. At the same time, older millennials are still purchasing paid television subscriptions (as opposed to strictly streaming options such as Netflix and Hulu), newspaper subscriptions, and print books. Your media planning should take into consideration the value of a heavy emphasis on mobile and tablet-ready trends without completely abandoning traditional media outlets. We recommend a 60% – 70% digital spend compared to traditional media in most cases. If you’re unsure where your product or service fits into this balance, our team of digital experts are available to guide you in the media planning process. Business meets pleasure: One important trend to note is that the average millennial media usage pattern often blends business with pleasure. While millennials are surfing Facebook, they may also be scanning for news headlines and updates. While they are Snapchatting their friends, they may be sending clips from the most recent presidential debates. This important media usage pattern suggests that millennials use their personal experiences to choose their business partners. Unlike Generation X, which typically drew a staunch line between their work life and their personal life, millennials want to invest in brands and business counterparts that speak to them on a personal level. Let your media mix help them make this decision by humanizing your marketing campaigns. Yes, it is always important to earnestly communicate the value and trustworthiness of your brand – but don’t forget to showcase what makes you human along the way. For example, Square does a great job of striking this balance. While showing how their hardware can transform a smartphone into a point of sale system, complete with top-of-the-line security and speed, they feature small, local (often quirky) businesses such as candy makers or regional photographers. These campaigns speak to the millennial media pattern by blending business and pleasure seamlessly. Cracking emerging media usage patterns: Don’t be afraid to explore emerging media trends. 30-something millennials may still enjoy a great Super bowl commercial, but they are usually early adopters of new media trends and eagerly incorporate new technology into their media usage pattern. That’s right, we’re telling you it’s okay to jump on the Pokemon Go craze, explore how augmented reality and 3D mapping could elevate your media mix, and to keep an eye out for new trends. Our Orlando marketing agency has the inside track on emerging digital tools and we can help you craft something that will keep your business on the cutting edge of your millennial audience’s interests. Click here to check out our case studies and some ideas we’ve used to help other businesses like you. Planning a perfect media mix for the millennial audience starts with understanding that their media usage pattern is a one-of-a-kind balancing act of golden-age advertising techniques and futuristic digital trends. The result has generated some of the most fun and innovative marketing we’ve ever done and we are excited to share this unique experience with you.
How to design the perfect influencer endorsement video
One thing is clear. Millennial consumers’ media usage pattern leans heavily on social proof, user-reviews, and non-traditional marketing techniques when forming purchase opinions. Millennials don’t need some advertising executive to tell them what they like; which is why digital marketing firms such as our Orlando-based agency have had to find new ways to balance the media mix and create compelling content that harnesses authentic, user-generated material to build trust rather than relying on hard-sell techniques. Investing in user group communities, review sites, social sharing, and blog posts from your industry’s tastemakers are all great places to begin filling your media mix with user-focused content. These platforms are an opportunity to engage with your best customers, seek feedback from those that need support, and generate referrals. Another tool we love is the power of influencer endorsement videos. YouTube is the second most visited site aside from Google, and video is one of the fastest growing and most engaging channels available in the digital marketing world. When combined with the powerful support of a super user or popular v-logger, you can’t go wrong. The trick is crafting the perfect endorsement video. Trust us, they are not all created equal. Figure out where your influencer video fits in your audience’s media usage pattern: Assuming you are creating an influencer endorsement video to generate more sales, it’s important to choose where you will showcase this video strategically. Understanding your audience’s media usage pattern will help you do this. Keep things simple by partnering with your Orlando marketing agency to determine the best placement and channel exposure for an endorsement based on your audience’s media consumption habits. Our agency can determine exactly where your audience is surfing, which devices they are using, and how to effectively expose your endorsement in a way that fits into their natural media usage pattern. If you attach a spend to your video, an agency will also help you negotiate the best rates and ensure your distribution is on point. If you choose to place your own video, start by determining what platform you want to use. The most common and popular video platform is YouTube; but Vimeo, Vine, Meerkat, and SnapChat (to name just a few) all offer a variety of options for quick social endorsements. We recommend having a feature length influencer endorsement that lives on YouTube accompanied by supporting social material across other platforms. The next question you want to ask is whether you will feature this video on their platforms or yours. The best answer is to go with whichever has greater influence or a bigger audience. You may even choose to expose the video on both if you and your endorser are happy with this arrangement. Choosing the right topic for the millennial media usage pattern: Another reason why it is important to understand your millennial audience’s media usage pattern is to guide the type of topic you want your endorser to cover. A good influencer endorsement will likely fall into one of the following categories: How-to videos and walk-throughs: How-to videos and walk-throughs often show the features or functionality of an app or platform, help prospective customers understand how to use a new product that has little or no competition, or educates customers about how to use a difficult tool. The value of these types of endorsements often show that seemingly difficult products are actually simple, or incredibly effective, when used properly. Your influencer should be able to clearly boil down your product’s use case in a language that the average consumer will understand. Unboxing and product showcases: Although it may seem somewhat strange, there is a huge market for videos that showcase the experience of unwrapping – or “unboxing” – an item and previewing that product’s look and feel. This type of endorsement adds a level of authenticity to claims of quality. For example, toy companies and electronics brands rely on this type of endorsement to help generate excitement about new product releases or to illustrate the unique value and quality of their products in highly competitive markets. Extreme usage or testing: A great example of extreme use endorsements would be an influencer using a high-powered blender to dissolve a cell phone. Although no average consumer would purchase a blender with the express intention of destroying their cell phone, this endorsement shows that the blender goes above and beyond user expectations. After all, if it can blend a cell phone, it can probably handle those kale smoothies with ease. Having an influencer generate this content adds an extra layer of trust to confirm that the use case isn’t a simulation or exaggeration. Storytelling: Storytelling is best used for service endorsements rather than consumer goods. An influencer endorsement of a service provider often blends personal experiences that capture their audience on an emotional or human level to show why an intangible product or experience is important. Choose a topic that naturally aligns to your target audience’s organic media usage pattern. For example, millennials are more likely to choose a brand that contributes to the community in some way or that is connected with charitable efforts. Knowing this, you can choose an influencer whose endorsement tells a story about why your product or service is changing their local community. Find the right influencer and tone: Similarly, make sure you choose the right endorser for your product. There are plenty of people who will be eager to enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame, but not all influencers will resonate with your target audience. Ask for referrals or invite super users to tell their story, but don’t promise any exposure until you are certain they are a good fit for your brand. If in doubt, lean on your local agency to help find the right influencers for your product or conduct some scrappy user testing to determine whether that influencer will be well received. If you are having trouble finding an influencer to volunteer, you can also research top industry tastemakers or bloggers and exchange products
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.
Media buying agencies in the age of Madison Avenue kickbacks
Over the past few weeks, we’ve shared a few posts on media buying and CPM campaigns and how to decode digital marketing jargon. In each post, we’ve mentioned that partnering with your local Orlando marketing agency can help you get better rates and ensure your ads are targeted in the right way when starting a new campaign. Today, we want to delve a little deeper into some of the serious reasons why it’s so important to partner with a trusted marketing agency before forging a new relationship with a media vendor. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT, CATCH ME UP: Last month, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) released an investigative report on media buying firms that shook the trust of agency-client partnerships across the nation. Over the past seven months, the ANA has delved into whispers that media buying firms were accepting rebates and kickbacks as great as 20% from large, media supply corporations in exchange for placing their clients’ ads through designated outlets. Instead of championing their clients’ best interests, these firms fell prey to the same temptation that led commission-based financial analysts to ruin right before the recession in 2008. In essence, media agencies would accept money from their clients intended for a media spend, and then receive a portion of that money back from their media supplier if they reached a certain volume of ad sales or placements. This encouraged media firms to sell more (perhaps unnecessary) ads and inflate the price of their placement services. To disguise this practice, media suppliers and agencies used a variety of convoluted schemes to diffuse the appearance of a direct kickback, including offshoring the rebate, hiding the supplier-to-agency price points, and more. To read the full ANA report, click here. HOW TO HANDLE MEDIA BUYING MOVING FORWARD: Despite being somewhat shocking (especially to the average consumer), this report shed light on a long-held industry suspicion and paved the way for reform. The ANA will begin making recommendations and contract restructuring mandates in the coming months that will limit this behavior and realign agencies with their clients by promoting transparency and punishing illegal incentive plans moving forward. Major media buying houses have the opportunity to come forward with their own suggestions, and a healthy dialogue both refuting and supporting the investigation is underway. The conversation finally frees agencies big and small to address the issue head on and make changes that will support the growth of their agencies while protecting the customers. Media buying has not slowed down… if anything, the importance of a strong digital advertising strategy is more defensible than ever before as more and more business shifts to the online channel. The solution isn’t shying away from media spends, but rather putting checks and balances in place that will protect our customers. It’s also important to educate businesses to do their due diligence before partnering with a media buying firm or trying to conduct media purchases on their own without skilled representation. WHAT WE THINK ABOUT THE MEDIA BUYING SCANDAL: As your Orlando digital marketing agency, we believe it is our duty to represent our clients’ interests. We have met our fair share of exemplary media suppliers and have asked the tough questions that help us forge partnerships with only the best suppliers and most direct vendors. As your agency, we stand behind this investigation and stand behind your needs as you continue to choose us to represent your media buying campaigns. We can, indeed, negotiate better rates and placement for our customers in many instances… but it is never at the expense of your trust. If you are ever in doubt about your past media purchases or want to learn more about how we can protect you from this type of non-transparent business practice, reach out to our team for a comprehensive deep-dive into the gold-standard of media buying practices and the types of questions you should ask before your next paid media spend. Together, we can do much more.
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.