Business/Marketing: Just because you use Google AdWords, Facebook, etc...

I've lost count of the amount of times I've heard companies and clients say: "We've used Google AdWords and/or Facebook and Twitter advertising in the past and it doesn't work."  Or they'll say: "Yes we are currently (or working with a third-party) utilizing Google AdWords, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., in our marketing/advertising campaigns, but if anything changes we'll be in contact."  Well, that's great!  You should be using one or more of these platforms, paid and/or organic, in some way or another, otherwise you are potentially missing out on a lucrative revenue stream, and at the very least, increasing brand awareness and loyalty.  However, just because you are or have used AdWords, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., does not mean you are maximizing their potential, in all reality chances are you are not.  Let's face it, these companies are for-profit and prefer the uneducated and misguided to use their services as it pads their bottom lines.  Think about it, if your ad does not appear on the first page Google or if your Facebook ads are not reaching your target market(s) you are essentially throwing your hard earned money at companies that are, or are close to being worth billions of dollars.  They actually count on the majority of users to blindly throw money at advertisements -- even if a company is allocating as little as $10/day, and there are 100s of 1000s doing so, the profits can be astronomical.  I'll spare you the math, however, if you multiply (10 x 1000 x 100 x the amount of days), you'll get the point.  Great business model to emulate if you can, btw!

The same is true for companies that are using a 3rd party vendor for months and/or years without seeing even a minimal increase in their ROI.  Granted after months/years, most companies will get the point and drop said vendor, but after how much capital has been lost?  Coupled with the fact that many of these 3rd party vendors, definitely not all as there are a lot of great ones, are out to get your money as well -- hitting or getting close to their numbers as the contract end-date nears.  And believe me, they are banking on the fact that the company is not versed in PPC campaigns and the various platforms.  Some companies have invested so much in their marketing/advertising campaigns, trusting the 3rd party vendor as being experts, only to go out of business.  Small to mid-sized businesses simply do not have the resources to sustain an unsuccessful marketing campaign -- in fact they rely on each calculated investment to provide incremental benefits at least in the short-term.  So what do you do?

For starters, companies must realize that these platforms, although logical and necessary, are extremely complex, with many variables and KPIs.  And often times work off one another, hence the integrated marketing campaign.   Secondly, as stated above, there are literally millions of companies, some of which are your competition, using these marketing/advertising platforms daily!  Obviously, their budgets will vary from dollars a day to 1,000s of dollars a day, but budget doesn't necessarily declare a winner.  Kind of intimidating, don't you think?  No wonder why so many companies will tell you AdWords, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., do not work, or they are a waste of money.  Or worse, they have live campaigns running with high impressions and low click-throughs and conversions -- low to no ROI, etc.  

When companies tell me these platforms do not work, my first reaction is, are/were you using it correctly?  To use a sports analogy: If I gave someone a baseball bat and told them to step-up to the batters box and take a few swings at a major league pitcher, chances are they are going to tell me it doesn't work. Well, I'd argue there's a lot of professionals that hit off these pitchers every single day with that same bat -- some better than others.  The same rules apply for your SEM campaign, just because everyone has access to the same tools doesn't mean everyone can hit it out of the park.

The moral of the story is: Just because you use Google AdWords, Facebook Advertising, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, etc., doesn't mean you are using it properly and effectively.  And it most certainly doesn't mean it doesn't work!  As a matter of fact it does, and many company's are taking full advantage of it.  And, no, you do not need to have an enormous marketing budget, all you need is a trained professional that understands the dance between analytics and messaging, and how the entire campaign works as one, not individually.

As always, I'd love to hear your comments and thoughts on this topic.

If you are in need of any business and/or marketing consultation, feel free to shoot me a brief introduction note at: modernbizstraetgy@gmail.com.

Cheers,

ModernManTellsAll

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Marketing: Google AdWords and increasing your ROI

Most companies, marketers, and consumers for that matter, are aware of Google (67.6% market share) and use it daily to perform searches, look up content, find informative articles and blogs, and to buy and sell products/services.  For this blog post I will be focusing specifically on the seller side, and how companies and marketers are utilizing Google AdWords ineffectively and are wasting/losing a significant amount of capital.

The scramble is on, and has been for the last 10 years or so, for companies to create and build an online presence.  In today's world it is absolutely essential to have at least a company/business website where potential consumers can find you and get an idea of what your brand is all about and what you are offering as far as products/services.  With millions of websites now online, how does one standout and get noticed?  One way is to type your exact web address into the url search, which only works if consumers are aware of your company and have, more than likely, purchased from your business in the past.  The other way, and most common, is through the Google search, where consumers type in keywords, usually two to four words, into the search bar.   Once the keywords have been typed the Google search page is populated with data - listing ads from a variety of companies that fit the search criteria.  If your company is not listed on the 1st page, where 75% of people do not go past, you are essentially throwing your money into a black-hole.  If this is the case I would recommend pausing your campaigns and read the following 3 steps prior to reactivating them.

1) Conduct a thorough keyword analysis:

In my experience this is the most common mistake companies and marketing managers are making and the easiest to fix.  That said, it is probably the most important as well.  When conducting your initial keyword analysis it is important to know your industry and target consumers.  Once you have done the preliminary research you can access Google AdWords keyword planner function.  From here you can type in industry related keywords and AdWords will perform a search and populate 100s sometimes 1000s of potential keywords with key metrics such as competition, avg. monthly searches, suggested bid, impressions, etc.  Granted many are far too broad to use in a campaign (not recommended), however, there will be many options to choose from and further target your search.  When keywords are too broad your ad(s) will show in searches, which may not be your target market.  Therefore causing people to click on your ad with no intent to buy, meanwhile you will be charged on your CPC (cost per click) campaign -- lowering your ROI.  There are many advanced features in the keyword planner as well that can increase keyword efficiency: Search competitor websites, landing pages, trends, etc.  However, the basics are the most important to get right -- then worry about advanced features.  Once you have selected your top 20 or so keywords you'll want to utilize AdWords match function: Broad, Phrase, and Exact are the basics.  If you are very confident a selection of keywords match what the majority of your consumers will be searching for, then you'll want to use either phrase or exact match, thus targeting your prototypical consumer, whom are more likely to convert on your site.

Helpful hint: You can use a combination of the three in your Ad Groups

2) Organize Ad Groups:

Organizing your Ad Groups is highly recommended.  I have seen this far too often where a client has created multiple ad groups with a variety of ads that are not cohesive, thus lowering their quality score and ad rank and increasing their CPC.  All of which will negatively affect your ROI.  When organizing your ad groups you want to create groups for each individual product/service, and then create ads accordingly -- utilizing the proper keywords from your analysis. For example, if your company is a bakery and you sell fresh bread/rolls, cookies, brownies, and cakes, you would want to create ad groups for each individual item and then allocate the respective keywords accordingly.  Organization is key, so if you can get it right from the start you'll be far better off than going back and analyzing all the ad groups, ads, keywords, etc., as it is a lot of work!  Furthermore, it will cost you more money and time to backtrack.

3) Coordinate landing page copy:

Landing page copy and functionality is EXTREMELY important.  For one, this is where your directing your ad traffic and if it does not portray what your ad is trying to sell, your conversion rates will be low, as well as your ROI.  We want to increase ROI not bring it down.  The most important thing with landing pages is to keep the messaging clear and concise, utilize SEO keywords when possible, have a strong Call to Action, educate the consumer on the product/service, and track and procure as much of the user-data as possible.  There are a lot of cool and affordable 3rd party sites that make creating professional landing pages easy.  My favorite, and perhaps the most popular, is Unbounce.com.

Keep in mind the above are some basic steps and tips on how to manage and increase your ROI when using Google AdWords.  There are many more advanced options and techniques to consider; however, although these are basic steps/tips they are still very common mistakes many companies and marketers are making on a day-to-day basis.  One last thing I would say is to track and analyze as much as you can as often as you can, and make adjustments accordingly.

As always, I'd love to hear your comments on this topic, so please leave comments if you desire.

PS - If you are in need of any Business and Marketing consultation for your small to mid-sized business/start-up feel free to shoot me an email at: modernbizstrategy@gmail.com.

Cheers,

ModernManTellsAll

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Marketing: 3 most common digital marketing mistakes

The 3 most common digital marketing mistakes...

Ah yes, it's that time again.  With digital marketing becoming more of a necessity than a "fad," I thought I'd share my opinion/observations on the three most common mistakes I see across the digital landscape and with clients and associates.

1) Duplicate and redundant content across all channels

I have this listed as number one for two reasons: For one, it is probably the most common.  And two, it drives me nuts to see this.  Think about it, with 3rd party apps like Hootsuite, SpreadSocial, and SocialOomph scheduling and coordinating posts is super easy, and sometimes too easy as a social media manager or operations manager can schedule multiple tweets for the week and assign the same posts across all channels (not recommended).  This makes sense right??  Spread our message to as many people as we can across all channels efficiently...that's the name of the game.  Well, no, not really.  All of the social media channels have a different communication and interaction method, and many times, a completely different demographic.   Therefore, duplicating the same message across all social channels could in fact be hindering your brand instead of growing it.  Many social media users are extremely educated and versed in the proper communication and interaction methods/techniques and can quickly tell what your company is doing, and many times turn them off all together.  It actually portrays laziness as well, almost as if you don't want to take the time and don't really care about your product/service.  So take the time to properly communicate, promote, and engage across all social channels.  If you're limited on time and resources then narrow your channels down to one or two.

2) Poor grammar 

Poor grammar, the ultimate brand killer.  If there's one thing we've learned over the last few years, it's the fact that one or two mistakes on social media can absolutely damage your brand, and it can be very hard to bring back the loyalty.  I'm not going to tell you what you should or should not post as far as graphic content (American Airlines), politics, religion, etc. as that is obvious.  What I do want to address is the use of poor grammar.  I get that you only have a certain amount of characters to get your message across; however that should not mean you have to sacrifice proper grammar.  Yes, it forces you to be far more creative with your writing, which is a good thing; All the more reason to find a qualified digital marketing expert to communicate this message properly.  I understand that mistakes are made from time to time, as many of us get so busy and our attention is not fully focused on our social media posts; heck, I'm sure you can find a few grammar mistakes on this blog (I am not perfect).  However, when these mistakes are constantly happening you will discredit your brand and portray a lack of professionalism and commitment to stand behind your product/service.

3) Buying followers and likes

OK, I get it you want more followers.  This actually used to be a lot more common two or so years ago, however, I still see this happening with some smaller companies that I meet with, they have 1000s of followers on Facebook and/or Twitter, and my first reaction is, WOW, that's great!  Then I'll ask questions such as: How are your sales from these channels? How much is your website traffic increasing monthly? What is your ROI?  Once I get the answer, which is most common, none or very little.  My next step is to analyze the social media channels and see how engaged their followers are; are there a lot of likes and shares, comments, etc.  Typically the answer is no.  If you have a few thousand followers and you're posting content regularly, you should, by default have some interactions happening.  That is if your followers are a part of your target demographic and actually invested in your message: your brand and your product/service.  If they are not, then those thousands of followers mind as well be one.  That said, not all is lost as the reality is, if you have that many followers it is that much easier to find and engage, new, real, potential customers and attract them to your social media pages organically.

So there you have it, the 3 most common digital marketing mistakes I have come across over the last few years.  The best advice I can give is to pay attention to what you are posting, what you're followers are saying, and where your content is being distributed.

As always, I'd love to hear your comments on this topic, so please leave comments if you desire.

PS - If you are in need of any Business and Marketing consultation for your small to mid-sized business/start-up feel free to shoot me an email at: modernbizstrategy@gmail.com.

Cheers,

ModernManTellsAll

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Marketing Strategy: How to standout amongst the clutter

How to standout amongst the clutter...a question every Marketing Manager and company is, or should be asking themselves.

To start let's first explain what I mean by "clutter".  Clutter is the saturation of content, posts, pictures,  video, TV commercials, billboard ads, etc., crowding our social media pages, train stations, streets and sidewalks, etc.  Just think about all of the posts and ads on your personal Facebook page, Twitter account, LinkedIn page, etc., which may only have a couple hundred people or a couple of thousand (if you're a social butterfly and/or great networker), either way those numbers are unsubstantial when you look at the grand scheme of things.  But even still, there is no way to possibly read and click on all the posts.  For one, everyone is extremely busy managing their own lives, and for two some of the posts/content is not worth looking into any further, let alone engaging in meaningful conversation.

So what can you do as a Marketing Manager or a company that is dealing with hundreds of thousands or even millions of potential clients/consumers.

Choose your social media platforms wisely.  With so many options out there to engage in and communicate your brand, a company/marketing manager must define which platforms will provide the highest ROI and maximize available resources, no matter how limited.  A great way to do this would be to access and analyze the direct competitors (particularly the leaders) - see which platforms they are using, chances are the same will work for you, or some combination of.  Secondly, the company/marketing manager should determine which platforms they and their team are most comfortable and familiar with using.  The last thing you want to do is work with a platform where no one has experience, or where your target market has limited use.  If you do some research on major brands and industries you will see, for the most part, they will use the exact same platforms, give or take one or two.  For example, the car industry will use Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Know your audience.  Everyone is enamored with numbers.  I have 10,000 followers or 100,000 Facebook likes.  That's great, who are these people?  How did you get them?  Are they turning into customers?  Are they sharing and commenting on your posts/content?  The point is, you can have all the followers in the world, but if they are not in line with your brand, your message, and/or product/service, you mind as well have zero.

Content is King.  Yea, we've all heard this countless times, of course uploading and posting content is a must for your brand to gain awareness, penetrate markets, and in the end bring in revenues.  But the question is, what kind of content is going to engage your audience to the point where they want to click on your posts, share, like, engage, and ultimately buy into what your brand is about. This is where it is important to post visually stimulating content (e.g. pictures, videos, etc.), these can be original content (if you can this would be ideal), or even stock photos, free google pictures, a trending YouTube Video, etc., as long as you are clear of copyright infringement any and all of the above will work just fine.  Just make sure the content is in-line with the brand, and portrays what the culture is like, what the company appreciates and values,  educational, has something to do with the industry and product line, etc.

Engage your audience as much as possible.  Some of you have heard of the 80/20 rule in marketing, where 20% of your marketing messages produce 80% of your campaign results, which may very well be true.  But I'm here to tell you this rule also applies to the amount of time a Marketing Manager, and their team, should be allocated towards engagement.  The more we engage the audience the higher the probability that the campaign will build loyal followers/customers, and ultimately become successful.  Now these percentages are by no means set in stone, as a Marketing Manager should constantly be tracking and analyzing results, and should adjust accordingly - maybe try a 70/30 rule, whatever works for you.  The point is, social media has made marketing personal, it's almost as if we have gone back in time (so to speak), to a time pre-television, pre-intertnet era, where human interaction was essential for a brand to sell a product/service.  Social media has a very human element to it, granted there are some robots trolling Twitter and Facebook; however, for the most part, there is a real human being on the other end.  Always try and remember that.

Commit.  Ah, the dreaded word for some of us, but yes, you MUST commit to a well-defined integrated marketing strategy.  Gaining brand awareness and market penetration is something that takes a lot of time, particularly if you are a new startup or small and growing business.  As stated above, the internet and social media is cluttered with content - everywhere we look we are inundated with adverts, business associates, family and friends, heck everyone on LinkedIn has the ability to blog now with a direct, built-in audience.  In the web 2.0 world we now live in, everything grows exponentially - meaning once you get a 100 followers, the next 100 will not be as hard, and once you hit a 1000, the next 1000 happens that much quicker, as long as you commit to the marketing plan and strategy.  That said the opposite is true as well.  If you only commit to the integrated marketing plan/strategy for a short amount of time it is going to be that much harder to build that audience back up - attention spans are extremely short and once you lose or start to lose an audience action must be taken immediately or you risk being forgotten (e.g. JC Penny).

As always, I'd love to hear your comments on this topic, so please leave comments if you desire.

PS - If you are in need of any Business and Marketing consultation for your small to mid-sized business/start-up feel free to shoot me an email at: modernbizstrategy@gmail.com.

Cheers,

ModernManTellsAll

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