Web Accessibility
We have just updated the Strategic Marketing website with new web accessibility tools. This enables visually-impaired viewers several ways to adapt how our website is displayed to make reading the content and navigating the site easier. If your website does not yet have this feature, we will be happy to help you to implement it. In fact, having a site with optimized web accessibility will improve your SEO and Google ranking, so it is definitely something that we strongly recommend. If you would like to see how it works, go to www.thinkstrategic.com and click on the blue wheelchair icon on the left side of each page.
- Published in Media, Web Design
Create Video Marketing Campaigns
If you haven’t started using video marketing as a consistent component of your campaigns, then you are likely behind your competitors. Thanks in large part to social media, video content consumption has been on the rise for several years and is now crucial to your paid campaigns. Not just ANY video either. Marketers, business owners and entrepreneurs are looking for new ways to engage their viewing audience with a variety of video tactics and are developing content that is tailor-made for their specific audience. Paired with a streamlined follow-up strategy, video is guiding customers right into the sales funnel and having a big impact on businesses’ return on investment (ROI).
An agency like Strategic Marketing will help you to finetune your video marketing strategy, backend logistics and creative development to make sure you are getting the best results from your content. Below are some things to consider when developing your video marketing strategy.
Creating Video Content
From interviews and explanation videos to webinars and entertainment, if you can think it – you can make it. Make one of every style if you want! Your video content should showcase your brand while being relevant to the viewer. The more you cater to your ideal audiences’ interests and needs, the more success you will find with your video strategy. Make sure to opt for “suitable” instead of “salesy.” Be mindful that your video brings something of value to the customer and is not just about your product or service. There is a time and place for every kind of video. From shaky behind-the-scenes clips to professionally shot drone footage, it’s about what you are evoking with your content. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Develop a library of clips that you can reuse and reorganize to keep your content fresh.
- Work with a professional to shoot quality footage worthy of your brand name.
- Tell a story – not a sales pitch.
- Choose the best thumbnail. This is the first thing people will see prior to ever clicking your video.
- Stay relevant and relatable to your ideal audience.
- Use people (if applicable). A smiling face can be the connection between the buyer and your product.
- Use “supers” to support your audio since many watch videos with the sound off.
- Research budget-friendly video software. You may be able to start with some simple clips.
- Above all, invest in your content as it will be inextricably tied to your brand identity.
Video Marketing Platforms
Not sure where to put up your new video marketing footage? Luckily, pretty much every platform offering advertising is set up for video. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and many others are beefing up their ad formats to include a variety of ways you can present your content. This is where it gets tricky. Each type of format is going to come with different costs, audiences, and responses. Campaigns have a myriad of targeting parameters and audience segments, which is great – if you know how to use it. Products and services are unique for each business and results can differ depending upon each variable. This is where working with a company like Strategic Marketing can help you to keep your campaigns straight, on budget and optimized for performance. An agency partner can help you to realize your campaign goals with a flawless execution.
If you don’t plan on using video in your paid campaigns, then posting video organically can generate some traffic as well. Post the video to your business Facebook page or YouTube channel and share the links in places where your customers would find it. Most of all, make sure you are leveraging video on your website where people can engage with your product right on the page.
Driving Leads Through Video Marketing
Success begins once you can translate your video views into revenue! By using targeted messaging and strong calls-to-action in your content, you can drive people to your website, product page, or sales funnel. The easier you can make the transition from video to sale for the viewer, the more results you can generate. For example, it is more likely for a viewer to hit a button under the video to navigate to your site than it is for them to type in your full URL into the search bar to find your product. Creating a frictionless sales funnel will help you to convert more people, faster. Make sure you are driving leads to precise pages relevant to what they watched and provide a clear path for them to follow. Busy pages full of links or pages that do not load are bound for failure! If you think you can improve, Strategic Marketing can help you develop clean sales funnels that maximize your ROI.
Creative Cohesiveness
Have a common thread across all of your marketing efforts. Simple branding elements can help you stay on track while creating your content. Make sure you stay within your color schemes, add your logo and stay consistent with your story. From there, the more places you put your video marketing content, the more chances it will be seen. And seen again. And seen some more. For example, tying video into your email campaigns can boost your open rates by 19%. Just add “video” to your subject line! By nature, marrying the different tactics increases the frequency a customer sees your ad while also cultivating a sense of brand consistency – an element perfected by the high-end brands with padded marketing budgets. Try your content across all of your marketing efforts. After the initial launch, you can see which platforms yielded the best results and you can finetune your strategy from there. Don’t be afraid to switch creative if it is not resonating with your audience the way you imagined!
The Results
Apart from creating your videos, the most important part you will need to do is monitor the performance of your new assets. The results you see from your content will tell you what to do next. Perhaps you need to switch creative, put your video on a different platform or maybe toggle some campaign settings to adjust who sees your ad. Robust reporting and thorough monitoring will help you to optimize your campaign to reach the highest ROI possible from your video marketing efforts. However, just tracking the campaign is a full-time job and you have a business to run! Working with a partner like Strategic Marketing can ensure that every aspect of your video marketing campaigns is being tracked and reported back to you with the appropriate suggestions for improvement.
Video marketing to online shoppers is perhaps your best chance to capture the attention of your audience. Although there are simple tactics you can incorporate into your marketing routine, your best bet would be to work with an agency partner who can help you develop your video marketing campaign from concept and creative to monitoring and reporting. Strategic Marketing has the technology, experience, and creative eye needed to help your business boost ROI through robust video marketing strategies. Get started with a free evaluation by filling out the form below.
- Published in Advertising, Digital Marketing, Media, Video Marketing
Local SEO: Get More Customers
Help Customers Find Your Services with Local SEO
The same way you want to find a prime physical location for your brick-and-mortar business, you should strive to have a prime location in search results online. Local customers tend to be higher converting and more loyal than other traffic that you may draw to your website. In order to make sure your services are easily found by those who search for them, you have to set up your online presence using local search engine optimization (SEO) best practices. Improving local SEO will help your business profile rise to the top of the results page in Google. The higher your profile is above competitors, the better the chances are that a searcher will solicit your services. Local SEO helps you bridge the gap between local searches and an ultimate sale, and luckily for all of us, it is simpler than it seems.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is the practice of making technical improvements to your online business profile which help search engines identify your business and services. When this is successful, they will display your business as relevant search result for potential customers. This is specific to only local searches and differs from a generic search for goods, which can be much harder to rank in. For example, if a customer searches “best car services”, your small business may be out-ranked by larger chains. However, if a customer searches “oil changes near me”, Google will populate a list of relevant local businesses they can choose from. When using local SEO tactics, you can ensure you are being seen by these high-intent searchers who are likely to be ready to make a purchase now.
What is the Google Algorithm?
How do the search engines decide which businesses to show first? In the case of Google, they have developed an elaborate program that sorts business results for each search query based on three main criteria: relevance, proximity, and prominence. Based on information provided by you as the owner, reviews from others, information found on your site and much more, this program decides if your business is the best match for the query, if your business is trusted and if you are physically nearby the searcher. Working on your local SEO involves building up the information about your business with the search engines and on your website to better match this algorithm and, in turn, help your site to show more frequently at the top of results. Working with a marketing partner like Strategic Marketing can help you navigate the important changes you can make in each of these categories to improve your business’s position with Google.
Role of Citations
Your business’s name, address and phone number (NAP) can show up on a myriad of different websites, directories and platforms. These listings are referred to as citations. The general accuracy of these citations is important so that the customer can reach and find you, but they play an even larger role in local SEO. Structured citations are places like directories where your NAP is displayed together as a listing. Unstructured citations are usually found on social media, in website content or other areas where the formatting may not be as clear cut.
The more citations you have available online, and the more Google sees your business as relevant and useful to the consumer, the more likely your business will come up in search results. Having prominent and reliable websites feature your NAP can give you major points toward your local SEO. However, inconsistent or incorrect listings will actually hurt your rankings. Keeping track of all of these is a large undertaking, but agencies like Strategic Marketing have tools that automate this clean-up process for you. Leveraging these tools will ease the burden of tracking down and updating your citations found online.
Reviews with Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business, or GMB) page is snapshot of your business listing that is shown to customers searching your products, services, or general business information. Two of the most important factors here are the reviews left by customers and the star rating shown prominently below your business name. This will be the first thing a searcher will see about your business and a low review rating is a big deterrent to potential customers. As a local business, reviews are vital to inform future patrons that your business is worth using. Your responses to the reviews also provide a way for your customers to interact with you, the ability for you to showcase your brand identity, and your chance to manage any negative feedback. Furthermore, Google will use these reviews and ratings to determine whether your business is worth showing to searchers.
For local SEO, being proactive about getting and responding to reviews will have a dramatic impact on how you appear in local search results. A low number of reviews, even if they are positive, will hurt your rankings since it seems as if your business is not popular. There are a variety of ways to solicit and encourage positive reviews and tactful ways to handle negative ones. Already have a poor rating listed on your GBP? The best way to improve it is to earn more positive feedback from your clientele to even out the low scores. Review management will be one of the most important factors of success for your local business.
On-site SEO
Your actual website works in combination with your local SEO. Appropriate keywords, technical data, and other factors found by Google crawlers will help the search engine determine how relevant or useful your business is to potential searchers. Studies show that customers still heavily rely on on the business website to make purchase decisions. Localizing your website content, improving mobile optimization and technical SEO enhancements are great ways to improve your local SEO. These enhancements also improve traffic to your website, how people navigate it, and in turn will lead to higher conversions. On-site SEO is complex and will be unique to your business. For help getting your website up to speed, Strategic Marketing has years of experience in optimizing sites for their clients’ specific goals. Working with a partner will be instrumental to your success.
Final Local SEO Notes
In order for customers to use your business, they have to be able to find you. In an increasingly technological world, customers are using Google and other search engines to quickly find what they are looking for. Improving local SEO will help loyal, ready-to-buy consumers find their way to you – EASIER. By bridging the gap between your business and the customer, you can win the customer ahead of your local competitors and drive business for your company.
The list above only covers a few of the areas that affect local SEO. For an in-depth and tailored look at how your business is performing in search, contact Strategic Marketing or visit www.thinkstrategic.com
- Published in Media
