Marketing should include a mix of traditional and online. Studies show that about 96% of consumers are using the internet to research products or services, therefore businesses need a web presence. There's a misconception that only the young use the internet and social media. Baby boomers and seniors have turned to the internet to shop, research, bank, and keep in in touch with family and friends. Because of this shift, businesses need to gear-up for eMarketing.

 

eMarketing is the process of marketing through the internet. eMarketing includes all of the activities a business conducts via the web with the goal of attracting new business, retaining current business, and increasing brand awareness.

 

eMarketing components include:

   • User-friendly website with good content

   • SEM (search engine marketing) both paid search and organic

   • SEO (search engine optimization) optimizing site content to achieve high rankings (free clicks)

   • Online Advertising – ads online, e-mail campaigns, electronic publications

   • Social Media – "word of mouth" was the old way of spreading goodwill. Today it's "word of click." People are clicking to comment ... which spreads faster than "word of mouth."

 

 

Successful marketing on the internet includes combining search engine optimization and social media. Start by identifying your audience and goals and developing a strategy for launching your program. We offer social media management which includes setting-up and management of your profies.

 

5-Steps to Launching a Social Media Program

1. Find your audience. Learn their behaviors, preferences, and methods of publishing. Getting involved where your customers spend time on the web will give you a better sense of where to start.

2. Define your objectives. Objectives are often driven by marketing, sales, and SEO. Social media is not direct marketing therefore different objectives and measurements may apply. Your social media goal should be to be found in social communities. Ssocial content can increase links to website content, improving search traffic and online sales.

3. Build your social strategy. Focus on content and interaction with social media and SEO. Good content is what people share. Use proactive promotion for easy sharing with members of your community. Promotion should include a keyword-focused strategy for reaching goals via new content and/or accepting consumer comments.

4. Create a strategic mix. You'll need to find where your desired audience spends time sharing content. Strategic mix is an investment in time and relationships. You should make the time to respond to your "friends, fans and followers." Remember your manners ... be courteous. Don't view it has short-term. You'll need to continue building relevant links and optimizing content for keywords.

5. Measure your goals. Using both social media monitoring services as well as web analytics can provide you the insight to improve results. Monitoring social media is more than just collecting posts and listening to the buzz.

 

 

QR containing URL link.

 

QR stands for Quick Response and can be read quickly by smartphones using a QR code reader.

 

QR Codes are being used in banner advertising, on t-shirts, posters, magazine ads, in video and on television. Adding a QR code to your website can result in increased page impressions boosting your ranking.

 

Wondering what to include in your QR Code? Consider including details about your business and its locations; click to see a movie trailer or commercial; or, snag a coupon. Placing a poster containing a QR code in your store window, makes it easy for a passerby to scan the image into his phone and learn instantly what a business is promoting..

 

The reason QRs are more useful than a standard barcode is that they can store and digitally present a lot more data, including URL links, geo coordinates, and text. Consider placing a QR image on your business card. The code can contain all of your contact information shown on the card and with a quick scan with the smartphone, your information will be captured eliminating the need for manual entry.

 

 

Studies show that cutting advertising during an economic downturn isn't wise. Advertising in a bad economy makes good business sense. An analysis of 143 companies by American Business Press during the 1974-1975 economic downturn shows that companies who continued to advertise during the recession had the highest growth in sales and net income. They also found that companies who cut advertising had the lowest sales and net income increases during the same study period.

 

During the 1981-1982 recession, McGraw-Hill found similar results when they studied companies who continued to advertise during the recession. Findings showed that companies who cut advertising increased their sales 19% following the recession. Companies who continued to advertise during the recession experienced a 275% increase in their sales.

 

Companies advertising during bad economic times must adapt their advertising to fit the message consumers want to hear. For example – auto manufacturers stress fuel economy instead of performance or the size of their vehicles. Honda's TV spots are stress Honda Values ... a lower cost of ownership when factoring in insurance, fuel and maintenance. And during times when consumers are lowering monthly food expenditures, restaurants promote their low cost menu items and take-out options.

 

Your advertising message should focus on the benefits that you can deliver to the consumer and the branding message should be reworked to deliver a need for the product. Home improvement companies focus on how their products save money and add value to a house when the economy begins to improve.

 

Over the last 100 years the average recession has lasted about 11 months.m If you keep your message strong, consistent and focus on core values, customers will see your business as one that has weathered the storm and will remain confident in doing business with you.

 

 

Television advertising should be considered as a long-term strategy. Your goal should be to reach a 3-to-9 viewing rate to create awareness by your potential customers. As in print, the longer you run your ad, the greater number of people will begin to remember you and potentially become your customer. It also helps to reinforce your brand to existing customers by reminding them of your product and putting your business at the top of the list for their next purchase.

 

Based on what your goals are as a business, there are three major types of ads from which to choose. Call-to-Action is often the best commercial for a local business. Approach it from "call now", "stop by", "visit our website" or "check out our .... ". "Call Now" encourages immediate response. Limited Time Offer or Event ads focus on sales, special offers, or seasonal events and serve as a draw for your business. Awareness ads are great for increasing awareness of a new business or brand. It states who you are, what you do, and where you are located.

 

TV networks sell ads based on demographics allowing you to narrow your advertising to only your best customers or clients.

 

A properly built schedule narrows your demographics and geographic area resulting in better allocation of your budget to reach potential customers. Cable captures 65% of all television viewing in the United States with the average viewer watching 4.5 hours each day. By placing your commercial on cable, your ad can be aired in a small area ... a single neighborhood while appearing on the same networks as major brands. Maximize your budget by advertising in just the areas you service by targeting a single area or creating customized ads for different markets.

 

Target your customers more precisely through "niche" advertising. You can put your business on individual channels like Lifetime, The Discovery Channel and ESPN to reach specific customers who may be interested in the products or services you're selling. Example: sporting goods stores can advertise on ESPN in homes within ten miles of their store.

 

 

It's important to select media that reaches your targeted audience with good results. Commonly used direct response advertising vehicles for small to medium-sized businesses include: Newspaper, Direct Mail, Magazine and Classified Ads, TV and Radio, Internet Ads, Outdoor Media – Billboards, Signage, Press Releases and PR, and Yellow Pages.

 

For a successful campaign, it's important to match your message with your market using suitable media. Example: Advertising a retirement community using a loud, fast-paced radio spot on a rap station would be a waste of your adveritising dollars. Before you buy, make sure you've correctly identified your target prospects, created a message that motivates and you've selected the appropriate advertising medium.

 

If your target audience isn't widely based, choose 2 or 3 primary advertising vehicles … ones that are affordable and in which you can dominate. Don't rely only on one form of communication; choose media that complement each other to ensure that your prospects receive your message. Choose methods according to cost, targeting, and response. A campaign can be broken down into costs per thousand. If you're using direct response advertising, evaluate your success using a cost per sale formula. Expenses include creative (cost of design), production (producing or printing ads), and placement (TV, radio, advertisements, mail list purchase and postage). The more targeted the media, the higher the cost. With a more targeted media, you can expect a higher response rate resulting in the unit cost being lower than less expensive vehicles. Companies that sell advertising can provide you with demographics which should aid you in making the right choice.

 

Are your paid marketing and advertising efforts losing credibility with your target market? Marketers are currently dealing with a "credibility gap." if you were to create an ad today that contained 100% fact, would your target audience believe the message? Probably not because it came in the form of a paid advertisement.

 

To combat consumers' skepticism, you can close the credibility gap of your brand's marketing activities by blending your PR and marketing endeavors.

 

•     •  Use PR to drive awareness and credibility of your brand through the media.

•     •  Align PR and marketing objectives to allow the credibility generated by your PR to blend with your marketing.

 

Good PR strategy working in concert with your marketing efforts adds credibility to the message. This blend will help a consumers' perception of your paid advertising to be more credible. Recognizable results should include a closure of the credibility gap with a higher return on your marketing investment.

 

You've planned a solid advertising campaign and are ready for its launch. Are you ready for its success? Is your business prepared to handle the volume you've planned?

 

Be prepared by gearing-up for a big response and protect your staff from being overwhelmed. Don't miss the opportunity of sound business leads. Hire temporary workers or recruit friends and family to cover the bases. It's always better to be over-prepared and hire too many people for the short term than to fall short of meeting your goals.

 

Educating the team is very important. Any employee who may answer the phone or respond to customer e-mail needs to be familiar with the promotion. It's important to share your objectives and how to handle anticipated questions. Also make sure your employees are able to cover for an overwhelmed sales staff.

 

Always be honest and give accurate information about product availability. A database to track leads and follow-up is a very productive tool. Try to be quick to respond, but never make an appointment you'll fail to keep.

 

Following this plan of action will help to ensure that your customers have a positive brand experience.