Category: Conversion Optimization

Post date August 18, 2015

How To Develop a Successful Bank Conversion Marketing Program 1200x600 c default

As featured in an earlier blog post, millennials represent 92 million in the United States and are reaping the benefits of improved financial conditions after bouncing back from the recession hit. These young adults are ripe for new banking relationships and considering new bank products to suit their needs, such as checking and savings accounts. This is the perfect time to convert them into new banking customers but how does one do that with one of the most fickle generations?
Establishing a well-planned conversion marketing strategy is key to success realization. There are numerous formulas and methodologies from which to choose. At BIGEYE, we use a proprietary model called the BIGEYE Conversion Matrix™ (BCM). It starts with preparing your data set, followed by activating your conversion optimization program and unlike other methodologies out there, works with both online and offline conversions.

Here’s how a conversion marketing program may look like for a bank:

Audience data insight

It’s important to not only know your audience but to immerse yourself in understanding them. For example, millennials were born into technology, the Internet, read blogs, and are practically tethered to their mobile devices. It’s also important to note that these young adults are not especially brand loyal and highly influenced by their peers.

Market and audience segmentation

In addition to pulling demographic, psychographic, ethnographic, and technographic insight on your audience, one must also consider the target market(s) and segment the audience into more groups. For example, your branches may be located between a couple of neighborhoods and your audience may be a mix of individuals and companies. The approach toward attracting one segment may be significantly different than the other.

Program KPIs, goals, and objectives

One of the most important stages of establishing your BCM data set is defining your vision for success realization. What are the key performance indicators, goals, and objectives? How will you measure success? Most likely the answer will contain a number of items such as number of new accounts opened, number of bank products upsold to existing bank customers, in-branch appointments booked, number of live chat sessions, branch and ATM location look-ups, etc.

Metrics and benchmarking

Once your KPIs, goals and objectives are defined, it’s important that a form of measurement and benchmarks are set. You may feel that your conversion marketing program is successful but in order to prove your instincts in quantitative terms, you will need to run your result data through the metrics.

CRM planning

Using the right customer relationship management tool and setting it up effectively will ensure that every conversion is organized for future action to be taken. By spending some time planning your CRM strategy, your bank can build an ongoing email marketing program and alert your customer service representatives of a customer inquiry.

SEM planning

Finally, the success of your conversions is tied in part to the quality of traffic your website and/or landing pages receive. A carefully designed search engine marketing program that integrates organic with paid search strategies, will help drive the exact audience you are seeking to convert.

Running your conversion marketing program

How To Develop a Successful Bank Conversion Marketing Program

Once your BCM Data Set is complete, you are ready to launch your program. For new accounts, you may wish to set up dedicated landing pages that are custom designed to provide content specific to the audience segment you wish to attract and the product or offering you wish to feature. One of your landing pages might feature your small business checking account products with clear call-to-action (CTA) messaging directing the user on how to take action. Another landing page might focus specifically on your “no fee” checking account products with a clearly stated “Apply Now” CTA button.

Once your landing pages are created and your SEM program is pointing to them, you will want to test multiple versions of each page to maximize your conversion performance potential.

Some of the elements you can test are as follows:

Color – Does the blue button perform better than the red one?

Copy – Are there certain words that resonate more with your audience than others?
Images – Is the photograph you’re using showing someone that is too old or too young? Maybe it’s not the correct ethnicity or the activity of the subject is all wrong.

Content Positioning – Does the user have to scroll down to far to find the CTA button or form? If so, consider trying a version of the page that brings that more prominently above the fold.

As your bank introduces new products, features, branch locations, etc., you will want to make updates to your program so that they correspond accordingly. The more targeted, relevant, and tested your program is, the more conversions you will receive.

In search of additional ways to establish – and maximize – you bank’s conversion marketing program? Contact our team of experts today to devise an innovative approach that both attracts and retains profitable customers.

Audience Audience Segmentation Branding Content Marketing Conversion Optimization Creative & Production Digital Targeting Services Environments Implementation Media & Analytics Strategy & Positioning Website Development

Post date May 25, 2015

marketing2 1200x600 c default

Whether making a last minute push to meet year-end numbers or simply subscribing to the reality of “use it or lose it,” most retailers pick up the pace when it comes to their Q3 and Q4 marketing methods. Wondering how to aim for and achieve the best possible results? Consider these seven proven ways to maximize your retail marketing allocations.

1. Better your blog

Unfortunately, many retail business blogs miss the mark when it comes to achieving their full potential. Why? Because they exist out of a sense of obligation, as opposed to as an extension of a company’s overall business strategy.

Blogs are cost-efficient, highly effective marketing tools….unless they’re left to languish, in which case they offer value to neither you nor your consumers. Conversely, a well-executed blog can help you build engagement and foster consumer loyalty while also enhancing SEO rankings and search results. Stop thinking of your blog as your website’s “ugly stepsister,” and start thinking of it as more of a fairy godmother of sorts — with the magical potential to generate sales leads.

2. Look harder at search engine marketing

Odds are, you promote your website via Search Engine Marketing (SEM) throughout the year. However, did you know that Q3 and Q4 offer the enhanced opportunity to take a closer look at your conversion rates? Are your average costs per lead and conversions meeting your expectations? If not, consider where your efforts may be failing.

For many organizations, the critical element is poorly-designed landing pages which fail to generate search marketing ROI. After all, different campaigns have varying search optimization parameters. Taking the time to customize each campaign can yield powerful results right when you need them.

Also, keep in mind that while starting new campaigns may not yield realizable ROI by year’s end, maximizing your existing processes and programs has the potential to improve outcomes.

3. Focus on Facebook

While social media in general presents valuable opportunities for marketers, Facebook takes second place only to Google when it comes to worldwide net digital ad revenues. When was the last time you evaluated your Facebook advertising approach? Whether you’re looking to cast a wider net or increase sales, Facebook offers a captive audience to savvy advertisers.

Not only that, but Facebook’s robust analytics allow you to target your audience, choose from different ad formats, and understand your results through reporting, tracking and measuring capabilities. If your marketing efforts are going awry, these metrics can help you take swift, corrective actions.

4. Go for growth

While dwindling resources may compel you to trim expenses, it’s also important to keep an eye on the prize: building value. This doesn’t necessarily mean cutting costs, but instead amping up accountability. Execution-driven strategies position you to demonstrate the effectiveness of your retail marketing campaigns, and information management is a critical part of the process.

Today’s retail marketers have access to more actionable data than ever before. Demonstrable results are not only essential to assessing ROI, but also to making any last minute adjustments to move forward in the most productive way during retail’s busiest season.

5. Optimize email efforts

On that note, heading into the holiday season, it’s particularly important to deliver content to consumers via the most appealing and accessible means. While social media gets the lion’s share of attention, email remains a preference for many in your target market.

But not just any emails. From delivering coupon codes to informing recipients about upcoming in-store and online flash sales, emails can drive both traffic and conversions.

And don’t forget about the importance of mobile. Responsive, aesthetically pleasing email messages can also further optimize Q3 and Q4 outcomes.

6. Count on content

The typical 21st century consumer doesn’t want a hard sell; he/she wants value. As consumers prepare to open their pocketbooks during the season of giving, give them a gift of your own: meaningful content that either answers a question or enriches their lives in some essential way.

Content should be consistent, relevant, unique, and focused on making the entire shopping process more accessible and user-friendly. When designing your content strategies during Q3 and Q4, keep in mind that the best content is not about completing a sale, but about telling a story that engages consumers and bolsters your brand.

7. Cultivate the consumer experience

We can agree by now that contemporary customers are all about value over hype. With consumer confidence harder to come by than ever before, retail marketers can position themselves for success by earmarking Q3 and Q4 funds for enhancing efforts to understand what motivates their customers and deliver on these insights.

Don’t overlook the power of omni-channel marketing. Relevant real-time content delivered via a consumer’s preferred mode of communication has the potential to increase both sales and consumer engagement.

Finally, Q3 and Q4 also offer an ideal opportunity to nurture your leads. Are you doing everything you can do — in the most direct, targeted way — to get better ROI out of your lead generation?

As the calendar year draws to a close, retail marketers are greeted with unprecedented opportunities to put their end-of-year retail marketing dollars to optimal use. These seven techniques are sure to help you focus your marketing efforts where they’re least likely to overdraw your resources — and most likely to generate ROI.

Our team of retail marketing experts understands the challenges of doing more with less – and we’re poised to assist you in doing just that! Contact us today to schedule a consultation!

Conversion Optimization Media & Analytics

Post date November 18, 2014

How to Market Your Advertising Agency 1 1200x600 c default

A client I once worked with, who specialized in online foreign language instruction, offered a series of classes for a relatively low rate, yet the business’ marketing director explained that they were experiencing an extremely low conversion rate – relative to the volume of visitors to their site. This was one of the most affordable language programs in town, yet conversion rates were at a dismal 4%. He’d come to me for guidance, and actionable assistance in pinpointing the potential reasons why so many of these visitors would “bounce off” the site before purchasing classes.
When I audited his website, I was shocked to discover that there were at least seven steps involved in the conversion process. And, that didn’t include the third-party payment system that was working in tandem to provide e-commerce services. Overall, it was no wonder that the user experience was “clunky” at best.

Since the language class curriculum and offerings were a primary source of revenue for the client, I suggested a strategy that might have appeared to be an obvious solution to an experienced digital marketer, but perhaps, was not so apparent when coupled with the management of various marketing tasks associated with a large language school. My recommendation was simple: implement a more efficient process for prospective students to navigate from the homepage to the checkout phase – all in an effort to increase conversions.

To define conversion marketing in the broadest sense, it is the process of converting site visitors, or browsers, into paying customers. While there are no guarantees that a user who accesses a company’s website will “convert” – or perhaps potentially transact business – there are measures that can be taken to help reduce roadblocks during the purchasing process, which, in turn, may often lead to profitable conversions.

With regard to the client example I used earlier, for his website, I emphasized the importance of placing a clear call-to-action on the company’s homepage. For instance, “Learn More” provides clear direction that all site visitors are able to interpret and understand. When integrating this call-to-action button in a prominent spot on the home page, BIGEYE’s team of digital strategists determined that it was important to ensure that it was accessible across all devices by sampling and A/B testing different layouts to determine the best placement, all in an effort to ensure an optimal click through rate. As a result of our preliminary analysis, we discovered that when placed just below the central image on the website’s homepage, the target audience of prospective students responded. In addition to placement, we also experimented with various color palettes, and ultimately uncovered that blue incited a greater number of users to “Learn More”.

The client’s foreign language program offerings were quite extensive, however rather than providing page after clickable page of information pertaining to online class options, BIGEYE’s digital team opted to include relevant information, as well as a “Sign-Up Now” button, on the second “inside” page. With a more streamlined process, a seemingly cumbersome number of clicks was no longer required to navigate from the homepage to the checkout screen. The prospective student was able to easily enroll in courses, reducing the friction that initially clogged the process.

With the advice of the digital experts at our Orlando internet marketing agency, and with a small amount of web development, conversion rates increased by 40%, and all in a matter of weeks. This added significant revenue to the company’s bottom line, with minimal investment by the client. Ensuring an effective approach to manage conversion roadblocks requires the expertise of a professional partner, and our team at BIGEYE is poised to assist you with your strategy.

While in this day and age (and of course, depending on the specific industry), a conversion rate of 5.31% or greater is an ideal goal, there are always opportunities to continue to strive to achieve the highest possible results. Dedicate time to review your website for potential roadblocks to the conversion process. To further your efforts, work closely with a user experience designer to better assist with website optimization by reaching out to our Orlando marketing agency. We’ll help better position your business’ online user experience for conversion success – contact us today!

Conversion Optimization Creative & Production Media & Analytics Search Engine Optimization Website Development

Post date October 16, 2014

Optimizing Your Website Experience for Conversions 1200x600 c default

A client I once worked with offered a series of language classes for a relatively low rate, yet the business had an extremely low conversion rate relative to the number of people who visited the site. This was one of the most affordable language programs in town, but conversion rates were at a dismal 4%. He came to me for help in pinpointing why so many people who visited the site would leave before “converting” or in layman’s terms “purchasing classes.”

When I audited his website, I discovered that there were no fewer than seven steps in the conversion process. And, that didn’t count the third-party payment system in place, which had a defective user experience as well.

Since the language classes were a primary source of revenue, I suggested simplifying the checkout process. By making it super simple to go from the homepage to the checkout page, visitors would be more likely to do just that.

Online conversion marketing describes the process of converting site visitors or browsers into paying customers. While a business can’t force a person to spend money with their business, they can do things to help reduce friction in the purchasing process, which often leads to greater sales.

For the client, I suggested his business start by placing a clear call to action on the home page. “Learn More” offers a clear direction that anyone can understand. We integrated this call to action module to a prominent spot the home page, where visitors from any device could see it. However, we didn’t stop there. Using several different tools, we tested different layouts to determine the placement of the call to action to get the most clicks. We discovered that when it was just below the central image on the page, this drew the most attention for the audience. We even experimented with colors, ultimately finding that blue had the greatest impact on getting people to click the “Learn More” button.

Then, instead of providing page after clickable page of information on the class options, we opted to include relevant information (and ONLY relevant information), as well as a “Sign Up Now” button on the second page. No longer would it require seven clicks to move a person from the home page to the checkout screen. Now, the user would be able to get there in two clicks.

With the advice of the team at our Orlando marketing agency and a little bit of website redesign, conversion rates went up 40% in a matter of weeks. This added significant revenue to the company’s bottom line, all with minimal investment.

If your business’s conversion rates are under 100%, then there’s always room for improvement. Try looking for areas of friction on your website, and work closely with a user experience designer who can help optimize your website for conversions. And, if you’re still stuck, reach out to the team at our Orlando marketing agency, who can help you learn to optimize your webpage for success.

Branding Conversion Optimization Media & Analytics Strategy & Positioning

Post date September 18, 2014

Whats the Difference Between a Customer and a Good Customer 1200x600 c default

Interestingly, when businesses contact our Orlando marketing agency, they have a pressing issue: Business is steady, but they’re often frustrated with the client base itself. Whether it’s the salon clients who don’t tip, the hotel guest who always complains so she can get a free upgrade or the consulting client who rarely pays on time, there is a common refrain – how do you attract and retain the best customers?

It’s no misnomer that if you don’t diligently focus your branding and marketing efforts on finding good customers, you may end up with too many of the wrong type of customers. In addition to simply being a headache to you, the wrong type of customer may actually dilute the value of your business as a whole.

[featured]

Don’t know what strategy is best for attracting customers? Let BIGEYE discover and define the right customers for you. Contact us today, and we will share our recommendations to guide your business for success!

[/featured]

Let’s talk about the “daily deals” industry, for instance. These limited-time offer sites capitalize on deal seekers, people who purchase tickets for a dinner or excursion that they may not have purchased without a special incentive. (In most cases, the opportunity for consumers is to pay less than full price.)

The “daily deal” strategy works well for some businesses, as they may promote deals often because it’s what their target market loves. Big retailers such as Walmart and JCPenny both keep their customers returning by offering low prices and sales on everyday products.

But the problem with some of these deal sites is that the deal-seeking customer can be detrimental for businesses in search of long-term clients rather than a one-off visitor. The person who comes in using a Groupon may not have much interest in returning to the restaurant, unless he or she can get another offer. In this example, the deal seeker just paid half-price for a meal, and may have done so with no intention of returning or spreading the word to other potential diners.

In applying the “deal strategy” on a larger scale, you’ll notice all kinds of problematic customers. These are the types of people who shop in department stores for fancy dresses, wear them out for a night on the town, and then return them the next day (yes, people really do that!). Or, they might be the people who come into your restaurant and complain during every visit until their meals are comped. While it’s important to provide a great experience in hopes that customers engage in positive word-of-mouth marketing, it’s also necessary to consider whether your marketing efforts are attracting these “Debbie Downers”…and if so, how to change course.

When evaluating whether you’re working with the right types of customers, focus on the 80/20 rule, which suggests that 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. Essentially, this means that for many businesses, [quote]80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients[/quote] 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients. The goal here should be to focus on the tactical strategies that drive that 80% of sales, rather than exhausting yourself trying to please those customers whose purchasing power makes up only 20%.

If you’ve noticed that the quality of your customer base is on the decline, contact our Florida marketing agency for strategic direction. We can assist you in determining how to target your marketing efforts toward the right customers with the right message.

Conversion Optimization Digital Targeting Services Media & Analytics Media Analysis & Measurement

Post date November 26, 2013

Marketing Tools We Give Thanks For 1200x600 c default

Happy Thanksgiving!
In a world growing more complex on a daily basis, the team at BIGEYE gives thanks for a few marketing tools that help make our lives easier–and give us more time to spend the holidays with our families.

Google Analytics:

Google Analytics is an all-around excellent tool. It offers numerous ways to allow people to monitor their websites, such as allowing them to measure bounce rates, time spent on particular pages, and website behaviors as a person navigates the page.[quote]For ecommerce companies, the tool also allows people to measure conversions and the amount each purchaser spends.[/quote] It even allows the user to set goals and manage the actuals against those goals.

Facebook Page Insights:

At the most basic levels, Facebook Page Insights for brands allow users to track page views and engagement with posts. It allows page administrators to measure page likes, total reach, post clicks and engagement. It also allows quick links to help promote big posts, and to easily create and manage Facebook ads.

Optimizely:

Though more of a user experience tool, Optimizely is a great resource for digital marketers working alongside their product teams. It offers easy website optimization to help marketers determine whether their website home pages are easy to navigate. Using A/B tests, it helps determine whether different layouts might be more helpful to your business.

MailChimp:

MailChimp is a leading tool for email marketing. It helps businesses of any size keep track of their email marketing strategies by allowing companies that use it to track email open rates, click rates and subscriber numbers. Therefore, it allows marketers to implement testing strategies to help optimize their emails, and allows them to consider both the frequency of the emails and the content therein.

Alexa:

As a free tool, Alexa helps marketers keep tabs on their competition. It helps marketers determine who their competitors are, and what those sites’ traffic and activity looks like. And, all it takes it knowledge of a competitors’ website; it helps determine global rank, rank within the U.S. and where people are finding the site. This can help marketers figure out what working–and what’s not.

SocialMention:

SocialMention easily allows people to conduct social listening, allowing them to pull from a multitude of sources to figure out what people are saying about a given product or trend. Using just a keyword, it can help users learn what people are saying about the given keyword, pulling from sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Ask Jeeves.

BrandWatch:

SocialMention is a great tool for figuring out what people are saying about a given keyword, but BrandWatch is a great tool for learning how social media users are talking about brands. While there may be some overlap between the two services, BrandWatch is much more involved, offering visual interpretations of data and helping brands figure out larger patterns.

Without these types of tools, our jobs as marketers would be much more difficult and far less efficient. The team at our Florida ad agency gives thanks for these uber-helpful marketing tools, all of which continually help us produce the best marketing strategies for brands of any size. In search of more info? Contact us today for a consultation – after you’ve enjoyed your turkey and all the trimmings!

Audience Branding Consumer Insights Conversion Optimization Digital Targeting Services Media & Analytics Public Relations Qualitative Research Strategy & Positioning

Post date December 12, 2012

What Makes a Social Media Campaign Successful Alternatives to ROI

If there’s one thing we’ve learned here at our Orlando ad agency, it can be very difficult to offer a clear cut return on investment for social media efforts. In fact, most companies inherently sense that there is some value in having an active and engaging social media platform, but because they can’t always tie it to an actual return, it can be difficult to determine the exact value of a Twitter follower or a Facebook “like.” While it may be slightly easier to determine a return based on a campaign that successfully incentivizes people to purchase a product, it’s nearly impossible to determine how a successful campaign leads to brick and mortar sales, brand perception and other valuable consumer information.
But, a new method of thinking suggests that marketers look to other data points beyond a dollar for dollar return. These new media experts suggest that, in the same way that advertisers can’t necessarily calculate an exact ROI based on the success of a single television commercial campaign, they should stop trying to attach a ROI to a social media campaign. [quote] In fact, with the field of data science constantly growing in value, it’s highly possible that in the future, big data will be more valuable for a company than dollars spent.[/quote]

The following are some metrics that advertisers can use in order to help them determine an actual return on investment for a social media campaign.

Data through qualitative responses: One of the best ways to find out what consumers want from your company is to ask them directly. If the goal of your social media campaign is to ascertain data about customer wants, then incorporating questions that encourage them to engage by providing information such as their favorite websites or types of features they’d like to see integrated with your product, then a breadth of data can be invaluable.

Sharing: People tend to share content that triggers an emotion, and that they feel the need to share with others. On Facebook, “likes” are valuable, but sharing is what brings your content into the minds of people who wouldn’t have seen it otherwise. You can calculate shares in terms of impressions, and can compare your shares against previous campaigns.

Click-through rates, conversions and other analytics: You can also use data tracking tools such as Omniture to find out where people are finding your content, how long they stay on your page and other useful information that can help you build more successful campaigns in the future.

Press Impressions: You know you’ve built a strong campaign if the press are covering it in a positive light. AdAge and other companies are always reporting on businesses that use social media and digital marketing in innovative ways, and being able to capitalize on this helps to bring attention and viewership to your campaign so that even more people will pay attention.

At our Florida advertising agency, we understand that the importance of developing social media campaigns that drive sales in the short term while also providing a lasting brand-to-consumer relationship. And in our book, a happy customer is always the epitome of success.

Content Marketing Conversion Optimization Media & Analytics

Post date November 26, 2012

Pinteresting Advancements Pinterest for Business Helps Companies Drive Innovation and Revenue 1200x600 c default

A year ago, Pinterest blew up into popularity so fast that even the founders themselves were astounded. However, a leading question on everyone’s mind revolved around a single question: how could the Internet’s pin board help drive revenue?
Pinterest continues to grow in popularity because it offers a visual approach to daily inspiration. Particularly popular among adult women, a coveted demographic in the digital marketing space, Pinterest is almost an unexpected success in the tech world.

As people are predominantly visual beings, it makes sense that these images offer daily inspiration. Many brands seek to use Pinterest to capitalize on this, pinning photos of visually-interesting items and offering track back features that allow people to purchase those items directly from the website. Even here at our Florida marketing agency, we use Pinterest to help showcase inspirational design.

Recently, the company introduced Pinterest for Business, a profile model that stands apart from a personal Pinterest profile. Typically, when companies develop pages specifically for brands, they enable brands to engage with followers in ways that are not available to personal accounts. For example, Twitter brand pages allow customized skins and prominent graphic placement, and Facebook offers brands broader opportunities for sponsored posts and features like multiple page administrators and weekly data roundups. [quote]With Pinterest’s launch of new business pages, it is essentially offering evidence that it is taking the first steps toward creating a possible revenue-generating platform for its company.[/quote]

Pinterest launched its business pages alongside several case studies of how some companies have successfully used Pinterest to help lead to customer acquisition, retention and conversion. For instance, Etsy, an eBay-like service for people who sell crafts and other artistic goods, uses Pinterest to help showcase members’ products. This helps members generate sales and thereby helps to keep the Etsy marketplace growing.

Jetsetter, a flash sales travel site, helps lead promotions by engaging its followers through Pinterest. The company encourages brand supporters to post their most inspiring travel ideas, which helps them involve their community. During one promotion, Jetsetter invited a team of celebrities to name the top pinners, who won prizes accordingly. Participating pinners pinned more than 50,000 pins in one month.

Finally, there’s the gluttonous guilty pleasure site AllRecipes. AllRecipes is a go-to spot for the best ways to cook anything from kale to Rice Krispies Wreaths. Marketers are generally aware of the fact that images often inspire action, and this is tactic is probably most effective when it involves food. For years, advertisers and marketers have been able to capitalize on the comforting sensations that people experience when faced with aesthetically-pleasing food. AllRecipes uses their food photography and the Pinterest platform to help their community share recipes through repins, as well as to drive traffic back to their site so that people could find even more meal recipes.

As the Pinterest business pages continue to develop, we will doubtlessly continue to see innovation in how brand pages leverage the Pinterest platform to help make the best user experience possible…. the team at our Orlando marketing agency is “Pinterested” to see what the next generation of business pages holds.

Conversion Optimization Media & Analytics Real Time Monitoring & Tracking

Post date November 20, 2012

Its Not So Black and White New Insights about Black Friday 1200x600 c default

Years ago, Black Friday marked the day when stores would stop operating at a loss for the year, and would enter “the black” in terms of the year’s sales. Merchants and their employees would leak deals to consumers to lure them into stores with special offers. This was all done in an effort to clear inventory in preparation for holiday sales, where the companies made a high percentage of their sales for the year while people spent money in anticipation of the holidays.

But Black Friday doesn’t operate like that anymore. These days, Black Friday is more of a kickoff signal for shoppers to begin a month-long holiday spending spree. Deals that used to only last during the 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. regular brick-and-mortar store hours have moved online, and may last through the weekend and into the following week, with an event called Cyber Monday. (The original theory there is that while people had off on Black Friday after Thanksgiving and could visit the stores in person, Cyber Monday served to capitalize on peoples’ Monday morning shopping habits when they returned to work and were sitting in front of their computers).

Today, Black Friday is more of a ritual to get people into a spending mindset. And spend, they do… Black Friday weekend in 2012 racked up $52.4 billion for merchants across the country.

If your company is planning to take part in Black Friday, then our Florida Advertising Agency has some ideas to help you make the most of it.

First, all businesses should know that it is typically cheaper and more cost-effective to run an online campaign than a print one. Companies must plan print campaigns months in advance, and must pay for advertising space in their local publications. On the other hand, these companies can build online campaigns in mere hours with no printing fees, and such campaigns have the capacity to reach far more people.

If you do opt to run an online campaign over Black Friday weekend, it’s also important to know what you’re up against. You are in competition against a large number of massive Internet retailers (think Amazon, for starters), many of whom attract buyers through free shipping. But as we all know, the Internet is a big place, and is big enough for all types of commerce. Address this by developing a creative and attention-getting marketing strategy. If you need some ideas, don’t hesitate to contact our Florida marketing agency so that we can help you get your gears turning.

Finally, if you want to make the most of Black Friday, you don’t need to put all your eggs in one basket. Continuing to run sales through the holiday season will help you clear your inventory and drive sales throughout the New Year. A mix of online and in-person discounts will help drive a diverse group of people to your store both online and in-person.

Black Friday can be a big moneymaker for your business. It provides a platform for innovative marketing opportunities at both your retail location and at your store. As the BIGEYE team gears up for another Black Friday to help drive commerce throughout the United States, we wish you the best of luck with sales. And of course, happy shopping!

See how we can revolutionize your digital marketing strategy.

Branding Conversion Optimization Media & Analytics

Post date October 3, 2012

New Twitter profile pages help brands spell 1200x600 c default

If you’ve been following Twitter (no pun intended), then you already know that the company is on the cutting edge of innovative concepts for brands and marketers. Marketing experts latched on to the benefits of Twitter when it first began blossoming into popularity in 2006, and have maintained real-time communication with fans and allies through the digital platform’s interface, which is designed specifically to engage with the short attention spans that signify the digital age.
As the need for innovative marketing solutions continues to evolve, so too does the need to leverage these platforms to create positive brand experiences. That’s why our Orlando advertising agency loves Twitter’s new enhanced profile pages, which are customizable to help brands tell their stories faster than you can add a hashtag.

These days, an active Twitter profile is a necessary component of a multi-platform digital marketing campaign, not to mention a landscape rife with opportunity for marketers to learn about their fans’ interests and address customer service issues in an instant. In many ways, Twitter is superior to other social networks, due to its ability to offer real-time communication and responses in addition to featured content placement through the new brand pages paired with geo-targeted sponsored Tweets. The new pages add to the interactivity of the branded experience, with features that allow you to customize your brand page skin to make it stand out amongst the Twitter-verse. They also now allow for a large profile header for a prominently displayed a brand photo, which will appear as the background of your brand profile photo, Twitter handle and 160-character bio.

Perhaps most importantly, Twitter brand pages support a free Promoted Tweet function at the top of the page. This pin allows Twitter page viewers to see the Tweet first as they follow your feed, so your social media team can refer back to it and point followers to it with ease. The new features also allow brands to pin multiple Tweets, and will display the most popular one at the top of the feed.

[quote]Because of Twitter, thousands of brands have been able to expand the scale of their business by being able to better communicate with fans, clients and critics through short and simple messages.[/quote] As always, the key to Twitter success is to deliver high-quality, interesting content that with engage your brand’s community to leave them with a positive impression, which will spread brand awareness and ultimately result in increased sales and conversions.

One of our Florida marketing agency’s favorite examples of a Twitter brand page success is @GQMagazine. The flashy backdrop of the page offers an eye-catching interactive experience. The page designers took advantage of the new features, offering class and style in the way that only GQ can.

@Starbucks also takes advantage of the dynamic new features by showcasing a delicious cup of freshly brewed coffee on the background skin of the page. The highly visual page header shows rows and rows of fresh coffee grounds, for a page so good you can almost smell it.

The @TodayShow page header is highly visual, featuring photos of the hit program’s cast assembled as a collage, which is contrasted against the brightness of The Today Show’s logo. This highly visual representation draws a reader’s eye directly to the header, buying valuable seconds in the amount time that the reader spends on the page looking at the photos. The background is set to The Today’s Show’s standard light orange color, with a design incorporated into the skin.

Each of these demonstrates the innovative ways in which brands are latching on to the developmental offerings that Twitter continues to build to better support businesses and help them grow.

As one of the leading Orlando ad agencies, we are committed finding innovative ways to use social media in digital marketing campaigns, bridging the gap between digital communication and offline consumer relationships. With technological breakthroughs such as Twitter’s new brand pages, combined with social strategy tailored to suit your needs, our Orlando advertising agency is committed to developing successful campaigns for any budget.

Be sure to check out our Twitter page here @bigeyeagency to view the new Twitter profile in action!

How do shoppers make purchase decisions? Download Retail Disrupted Today.