![\"SEO](\"http:\/\/c1f.3cd.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/SEO_Content_Creation_Black-300x286.png\")
<\/p>\nMay 5, 2017<\/p>\n
Marketing in the 20th century was primarily done three ways: In person, via phone or by mass communication (television\/radio spots, newspaper\/magazine ads and direct mail).\u00a0 These are still valid components to consider today when developing your marketing plan.\u00a0 Add to these the 21st century goodies: websites, social media, email marketing, pay-per-click, etc.\u00a0 As you can see, there\u2019s lot of marketing choices these days but please make sure your foundation is in place before you get too far down the path.<\/p>\n
What makes a solid marketing foundation?\u00a0 I suggest it\u2019s all the items that you own and fully control.\u00a0 Do you own your social media channels?\u00a0 Can you dictate exactly how your brand is presented and the breath of exposure you get on social media?\u00a0 No, you are always one \u201cterms of service\u201d change from potentially losing all the momentum you\u2019ve built.<\/p>\n
So, what are central components of a strong marketing foundation?<\/p>\n
A domain name you own and control.\u00a0 You\u2019ll want to secure both the .com and .net version of your domain.\u00a0 Buy each domain for two years or longer (because Google likes that!)<\/p>\n
A high-quality logo for your business that\u2019s easily recognizable and represents your brand well.<\/p>\n
A professionally designed website that\u2019s graphically appealing, easily navigated and converts (makes browsers become customers).\u00a0 It also must auto re-size for easy reading on a cellphone.\u00a0 You website is the center of all your marketing efforts.<\/p>\n
An email marketing program where you constantly capture email addresses of prospective customers to add to your list of regular customer who receive your company\u2019s monthly, branded email newsletter.\u00a0 Remember, they came to your website so there must be an interest in your product or service.\u00a0 Every email you send moves them closer to buying or using your service again (or trying it for the first time).<\/p>\n
The items listed above all have one thing in common. You are in control!\u00a0 You set the rules and decide how things will work.\u00a0 Can your business survive with only these four tools in your marketing toolbox?\u00a0 Probably.\u00a0\u00a0 Can you excel and grow using only these tools?\u00a0 Probably not.\u00a0 You\u2019ll need social media to create the \u201cdigital word of mouth\u201d for your company and drive your website activity and rankings.\u00a0 Broadcast\/print advertising will get your message to the masses fast while pay-per-click places your ad on page one of Google search.<\/p>\n
Build your foundation and make sure it\u2019s stable. Then focus your attention on the supporting elements like social media and mass advertising.\u00a0 It\u2019s called marketing strategy for a reason.\u00a0 It takes careful planning and consistent monitoring to insure your marketing effectiveness.<\/p>\n
PS:\u00a0 Let\u2019s not forget the oldest form of marketing in the world: person to person.\u00a0 Make sure you get from behind that desk and out in front of people whenever the opportunity permits (maybe even create a few networking opportunities at your office!)\u00a0\u00a0 There are hundreds of business networking events across Atlanta every month.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a list of the most popular ones: www.joelslist.com. See you there!<\/p>\n
Oh, for the good ole days\u2026\u00a0 Back when all your social media posts were seen by all your followers.\u00a0 Not today!\u00a0 (In fact, your Facebook posts rarely reach 15% of your followers.)<\/p>\n
What\u2019s one to do?\u00a0 The answer lies in your wallet.\u00a0 You might want to \u201cPay to Play\u201d.\u00a0 Social media channels are actively seeking new ways to monetize their business model.\u00a0 One way is by charging you a fee to expose your company\u2019s posts\/updates to a larger audience.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just Facebook.\u00a0 LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest all have paid options. \u00a0We\u2019ll discuss a few of these \u201cPay to Play\u201d options below:<\/p>\n
Facebook \u2013 Boost A Post:\u00a0 As was mentioned in the introduction, most of your followers on Facebook never see your post. But, you can increase the number of people who do see your post by boosting it.\u00a0 This service will cost you but you can set how much money you\u2019re willing to spend.\u00a0 (The less you spend, the lower the exposure.)\u00a0 You can also select the demographics, geographic location and interests of the individuals who will be shown your update on their news feed.\u00a0 The persons you target can be people you already know or people you don\u2019t currently interact with. Tracking the success of your post is easy thanks to the Facebook Ads Manager.<\/p>\n
LinkedIn \u2013 Sponsored Update:\u00a0 This is LinkedIn\u2019s paid service.\u00a0 LinkedIn is the business social media channel, so naturally anything you promote on LinkedIn is geared toward the business customer. (Think B2B not B2C.)\u00a0 Unlike Facebook, your shared updates are currently seen by all your connections.\u00a0 However, LinkedIn Sponsored Updates can expose your update to an even wider audience.\u00a0 You can define your targeted audience based on variables like age, gender, location, job title, job skills, company size, company industry, etc.\u00a0 You will need to decide whether you want to pay per 1000 impressions (CRM) or per click (CPC).\u00a0 CRM is good for building brand awareness while CPC is good for lead generation.\u00a0\u00a0 This is an auction for ad space so will need to select your maximum bid amount.\u00a0 Results from sponsored updates can be tracked via the LinkedIn Ads Manager.<\/p>\n
Twitter \u2013 Promoted Tweet:\u00a0 Twitter is home to the tweet, the very popular 140-character social media message.\u00a0 (Factoid: The tweet has the shortest lifecycle of any social media update at about 18 minutes.)\u00a0 Just like Facebook and LinkedIn, Twitter has paid options for expanding exposure. One such item is the Promoted Tweet.\u00a0 With this, you can target by keywords, interests, geography and device (cell phone, android or iPhone, laptop\/PC, Mac, etc.)\u00a0 Promoted Tweets appear at the top off a person\u2019s timeline and then scroll through the timeline.\u00a0 Simply select your bid based on your budget. You\u2019ll be charged when someone follows your account or clicks, re-tweets, favorites or replies to your Promoted Tweet.\u00a0 Use Twitter analytics to track how well your Promoted Tweet is doing.<\/p>\n
Pinterest \u2013 Promoted Pin:\u00a0 The Pinterest Promoted Pin has not been rolled out to the general populous but Pinterest has invited select individuals to use the service and serve as a beta tester for what will be offered to the masses very soon. Pinterest Promoted Pins are a great if you have something to sell because it gets your product in front of a lot more eyes and you can point the customer directly to your website for purchasing. (Factoid:\u00a0 The Pinterest pin has the longest life cycle on social media.) To create a promoted pin, select one of your recent pins.\u00a0 Then choose the keywords you\u2019d like to target, demographics and location.\u00a0 Like Twitter, you can also choose which devices will show (or not show) your Promoted Tweet.\u00a0 You are charged when someone clicks on your pin and is directed to your website. (You do not pay for views, re-pins, or likes.)<\/p>\n
Should all businesses use the paid options above? Probably not.\u00a0 Should your business use a couple of the options? Maybe.\u00a0 Should you at least try one of the paid options? Yes, absolutely!\u00a0 (Suggestion: Start with Facebook\u2019s \u201cBoost A Post\u201d.)\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s commonly accepted that you should review your overall marketing strategy at least once a year.\u00a0 When it comes to the digital portion of your marketing, we recommend a review every 60 to 90 days.\u00a0 The ever-changing Google algorithms and the frequent updating of social media\u2019s \u201cterms of service\u201d necessitates this constant reevaluation.<\/p>\n
Below are a few key points to consider when setting your digital marketing resolutions (goals) for the first quarter of 2015.<\/p>\n
Your customer expects your website to be graphically appealing, easily browsed (on all devices) and filled with quality content establishing you as an authority capable of filling their needs.\u00a0 Google is looking for much of the same.\u00a0 However, you must first satisfy Google\u2019s spiders (site scanners) if you want your website to show up high enough in the search rankings for customers to find you.<\/p>\n
Just last month, Google began putting a \u201cmobile friendly\u201d notation (on mobile search results) next to websites that are easily viewed on a cell phone.\u00a0 At the same time, Google let it be known that they\u2019re preparing to rank websites denoted \u201cmobile friendly\u201d more favorably.<\/p>\n
Is your website \u201cmobile friendly\u201d in Google\u2019s eyes?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Keep in mind, the average lifespan of a business website is 2 to 3 years before the site begins to look dated. If your website fails the \u201cmobile friendly\u201d test, please reach out to Make It Loud.\u00a0 We give you our honest feedback and direction.<\/p>\n
How effective is your current social media strategy?\u00a0 Are you using the platforms your target market uses?\u00a0 Does what you\u2019re doing seem effective?\u00a0 Should you restructure your social media mix or possibly expand the channels you\u2019re using?\u00a0 These are all valid questions and ones that must be objectively answered when evaluating the effectiveness of your on-going social media efforts.<\/p>\n
Dramatic changes occurred in social media this past year and these changes will continue and only increase in frequency.\u00a0 One easily recognized recent trend is the push by all the social media towards monetization or what is often referred to as \u201cpay to play\u201d.<\/p>\n
Facebook recently told marketers not to expect their posts to organically appear on their follower\u2019s news feed and suggested they should plan to spend some greenbacks to gain the broader exposure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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In 2015, we suggest allocating marketing funds towards \u201cboosting your posts\u201d on Facebook and promoting accordingly on your other social media channels.\u00a0 At least give it a try and gauge for yourself.<\/p>\n
As a way of helping small to mid-sized business owners gauge their digital marketing efforts, Make It Loud is offering a FREE Digital Marketing Assessment.\u00a0 If you will go to makeitloud.net and answer a few multiple-choice questions, one of our Digital Marketing Consultants will reach out to you with a full review of your current marketing (including suggestions for improvement) and assist you in prioritizing your action items.\u00a0 Please enter promo code 2015 to receive your free assessment.<\/p>\n
THANK YOU for your friendship and business.\u00a0 Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!<\/p>\n