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Smart digital marketing for private schools

Adrienne Wilkerson

April 29, 2020

Originally published on December 7, 2018. Updated on April 29, 2020.

A digital marketing strategy for private education institution should focus on connecting with the customer at every stage of the buying cycle. Most of your potential students and their parents will move through some or all of the four stages. It is important to understand the stages and how to most effectively interact with your potential customer in each of them.

The four stages of the buying cycle are: attract, convert, engage, and close. We’re going to look at how the different elements of your private school’s marketing strategy will fit into these stages.

Developing a new marketing strategy? Schedule a free consultation today.

1. Attract

The first stage is when parents or students become aware that they need you and start looking. For example, a parent could be frustrated by overcrowded classrooms, poor academic standards, or lack of extracurricular options. This drives them to start looking for alternative schools in their area.

As the parent or even a student is researching, they’re typing keywords into Google or scrolling through social media, and they discover one of your blogs. It might talk about an award one of your teachers recently received or the importance of a well-rounded arts program. It shows them that you might have a solution to their problem, so they click through to your website to learn more.

There are several methods you can use to connect to parents:

Social media posts and ads

Regularly publishing strategic content on channels like Facebook and Instagram creates an online presence, a brand, that establishes credibility. The goal of your social media should be to attract people who are looking for solutions and direct them to your website. This process moves them through the funnel. The most effective social media channel for your private school will depend in part on where you are located and where your potential students and parents spend their time. For a robust strategy, we recommend 2-3 channels. Social media ads help you target the exact types of parents and students you’re looking for, which makes it easier to attract qualified leads.

Blogging

Quality content that educates readers and keeps your website current can significantly increase your leads. Blogging is a great way to promote your school, answer frequently asked questions, comment on newsworthy topics and position it as a thought-leader in education. The most important thing is to be consistent, whether that means posting once a week or once a month.

Google SEO & Ads

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) means that the content on your website is optimized with keywords in your content, your photos are tagged correctly, and you have quality backlinks. All of these items will help parents and students find you when they need you. A robust Google Ads program is essential because it ensures that you are getting top listings and therefore more potential exposure to attract the people looking for quality independent schools.

2. Convert

The second stage is when the parent or student decides to connect with you, offering details such as an email or phone number in exchange for something of value. This could mean following you on Facebook, subscribing to an e-newsletter or signing up for a promotion – for example, a short video on techniques parents can use to prepare their kids for school.

At this point, they are not necessarily ready to make an appointment to take a walk through of your school, but they want more information. They are considered leads with the opportunity to convert them to prospects. Here are some ways you can help them:

Landing pages

A landing page is a dedicated page on your website that focus in on a specific service, offer, product, or piece of information that you think will convert an enrollment. When an interested party clicks on a PPC (pay-per-click) ad on Google or Facebook, it will take them to the landing page. They must then provide some basic contact information to access or receive what they are looking for, which opens the door to a conversation with your enrollment office. It is a “win-win” for both parties. The end users get the information they need, and you obtain contact information for future marketing.

Video content

Video content has become the preferred method for information consumption, especially for students. Instead of (or in addition to) writing a blog, consider creating some informational videos that answer questions, tour the campus or teach something interesting. You don’t even have to be on camera, the video can be narrated animation or a moving infographic.

Podcasts

Connect with parents through radio-style programs on topics of interest to the listeners. Podcasts can be recorded daily, weekly, monthly or on whichever schedule works for you. They are audio only and often involve interviews, guest speakers, etc. They can be especially effective in reaching the busy, commuting parent who doesn’t have time to watch or read something in detail.

eBooks, reports, or whitepapers

A well designed, visually stimulating published piece can still be effective, especially if your target patients are 40 years or older. This group tends to prefer reading material rather than watching a video. This can be an effective tool for establishing authority and winning over parents.

3. Engage

When people enter stage three, it is time to cultivate the relationship. You know they are interested, but for whatever reason, they haven’t yet made the decision to enroll. This is your opportunity to sell your school and stop them going somewhere else. You have the chance to stay in contact with them and develop a deeper bond of trust using some of the techniques below:

Email marketing

It’s not enough to just collect information from a parent; you must have a system to follow up with those leads. Email marketing via relevant content sent out at regular intervals is a powerful way to foster and develop leads into converting to enrolling their child in your private or boarding school.

Longer videos

YouTube provides a powerful medium for longer format videos as opposed to the short 30-60 second spots that are popular on social media. Longer format videos give you the chance to engage on a deeper level with interested parents or students. They provide you with a lot more time to expound on topics such as the effects of nutrition of growing brains, the stages of development in elementary children, how to communicate with your teen, and much more.

Quizzes

Facebook allows you to create quizzes on a wide variety of topics. If you’ve spent any time on this social media platform, you’ve probably seen at least a few. Many are silly, but statistics show that people love to engage with them. So why not use them to your advantage? For example, if your school has a liberal arts focus, your quiz could center around art drama. It’s a fun way to connect.

Read more: Is marketing the new sales?

4. Close

This is the final stage and the goal of the entire process: a new enrollment. Sometimes circumstances in their lives my push them into making the decision and sometimes you can help them along the way. Before you welcome a new family to the school, you can try:

Free tickets

If your school has a sports game, play or other event coming up, you can give away tickets. This can provide a way for people to come and get a taste for the community your school fosters.

Appointments

The goal of all of this is to get people to call, make appointments for a tour or a meet and greet, and come through your door. Afterall, getting them through the door is the hardest part, right? The rest is relatively easy because you’re terrific and you care, and you have a fantastic school!

Phone calls

Setting aside the time for a phone call is a personal touch that shows you care about the student’s future. It’s a great opportunity to address any concerns the parent has and explain why choosing your school is an investment in their future. It’s old school, but it works.

Read more: How much should you spend on marketing?

Things to remember

Not every parent or student will need to go through every one of these stages, and some will go through it several times. Statistically, about 2-4% of those in the attract stage will jump directly to calling you, 5-15% will choose to call you in the convert stage, and approximately 80% will become choose to enroll in the engage stage. Some people will become aware of your school in the attract stage, then get distracted by life and end up coming back to you later.

Consistency is vital as is relating to each person in the correct stage of the buying cycle. For example, you don’t want to send the person who just signed up for your podcast and email that says welcome to our school! Instead, it should be welcome to our podcast; we are thrilled you are interested in learning more about _____________.

The buying cycle may sound intimidating, but it’s vital to understand how the modern, digital-savvy customer engages with your school so you can know how to move them through the cycle. Once you understand the process, the sky is the limit for your new enrollments.

Ready to revolutionize your buying cycle? Schedule a free consultation today.

Why is corporate branding important? (VIDEO)

Adrienne Wilkerson

April 21, 2020

Originally published on November 21, 2017. Updated on April 21, 2020.

What is a corporate brand?

It doesn’t matter if your company operates on an international, national, regional, state, city, or neighborhood level; no matter the size, you have a brand. It really doesn’t matter if you have invested millions or nothing at all in your brand, it still exists. Your brand is the heart of your company; it is what comes to the minds and hearts of consumers and employees when they think of your business.

Every time anyone interacts with anything that has to do with your company it is reinforcing an idea about your business. Your brand is much, much more complex than just your logo and the colors you choose to put on your website. Your brand is so much larger, and it impacts your business on every level.

When companies are first starting up, it’s common for them to skip the branding conversation. After all, there are product lines to develop, services to perfect, and sales to be made. However, every company should start by answering two questions: who are we, and why are we doing this?

This is the core of your brand, and it will set the stage for everything else.

Want to talk corporate branding? Schedule a free consultation.

Designing a corporate brand

Part of a strong brand is knowing what sets you apart from your competition. This should become a cornerstone in your company’s messaging, both externally through marketing and also internally. Your employees should be just as aware of what makes their business different and be able to take pride in what they do every day.

Consumers and staff alike have access to more information than ever before. They have more choices, so it becomes even more critical that your company knows that it knows that it knows why it is different. We’ll give you a tip here: in our current marketing economy, it is not about the “best” product or service.

It’s about the experience. The relationship.

Take Apple for example. It has built such a strong brand around its products that fans will stand in line and even camp out overnight to get their new devices. There is a culture that has evolved around Apple fans to the point that people become Apple fanatics. They will pay more for Apple products just because they are Apple products. Apple carefully cultivated this brand and developed the fan base the followed the brand.

Economic value of a brand

When you’re looking at the value of your business, you must always consider both tangible and intangible assets. Successful organizations know that their brand is one of their most valuable intangible assets. Every year, Interbrand ranks the best brands around the world on their value. How do some of our favorites rank?

The Lego brand comes in 67th with a brand name value of almost $6.7 million. Nike ranks 18th with a brand value at $25 million. Disney’s brand name is worth almost $39 million dollars. Amazon ranks 8th but has the fastest growing brand name value at $50.3 million and 33% growth in 2016. Who were the top three?

Coca-Cola took home the 3rd place spot with a value of $73.1 million; Google captured the second-place spot, their brand is considered to be worth $133,252 million dollars. And drum roll please… Apple stands alone in the first-place spot with a brand name value of $178,119 million dollars.

Now, if you’re running a small to medium-sized business, you might wonder what all of these big names have to do with you. These are some pretty impressive numbers. They illustrate on a brand scale what a brand name can be worth when a company invested in developing the brand. The same principle applies to any business.

For example, the difference in the value of the brand between known competitors Coca-Cola and Pepsi is staggering. Coca-Cola’s $73.1 million is more than three times what Pepsi’s brand name is worth at $20.3 million. The companies both started in the 1890’s a mere five years apart, and yet in the last 120 plus years, Coca-Cola has consistently had a stronger brand. Why? They invested heavily in their company brand.

Brands reinforce values

One of the reasons why brands like Coca-Cola and Apple consistently beat their competition is because they understand the brand guides their company. Their brand answers the question why. Why does the company exist? Why do employees want to work there? Why should consumers buy a Coke versus a Pepsi?

Every company, no matter the size, should be able to answer the why questions on a deeper level than just “because we’re better.” Anyone can say that. You have to go deeper, you have to understand why you are coming to work every day, why your employees should (beyond the paycheck), and why your clients keep coming back.

Salim Ismail, lately of Singular University, writes in his book Exponential Organizations about the importance of a Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP). The MTP is the “higher, aspirational purpose of the organization,” he says. It doesn’t try to describe what the business does, but what it’s aspiring to accomplish. This is the heart of your brand – not the colors or even the logo, but the why. It’s the purpose of the company!

Corporate brands attract loyalty

Your brand makes promises to customers, fans, and prospects. In every way your company interacts with and communicates with the public, you are either reinforcing that promise or weakening, maybe even breaking it. When that promise is reinforced, time and time again, your customers know what to expect.

That builds loyalty. Let’s take Coca-Cola, for example. Its brand consistency is legendary, while it has updated parts of its messaging, it has never ventured from reinforcing their core message:

To refresh the world…
To inspire moments of optimism and happiness…
To create value and make a difference.

This is its mission, it’s MTP. Time and time again, Coca-Cola has proved it can connect emotionally with its customer base. It’s been in business since 1892, which means its appeal spans generations. That’s some serious longevity.

Ready to get started? Schedule a free consultation today.

What are buyer personas & how can they convert leads? (VIDEO)

Adrienne Wilkerson

April 14, 2020

Originally published on March 30, 2015. Updated on April 14, 2020.

Most of us have been asked at one point or another to describe our target market. Usually, we rattle off a series of demographics, casting some wide nets in the hope of landing a good catch. “Middle-aged women,” we say. “Men aged 40-50 with kids,” we guess. “High-income homeowners in this ZIP code,” we tell our marketing agencies.

Historically, these demographics shaped the way marketers constructed their message to potential buyers. However, the advent of social media has significantly changed the way we market, because now we can deliver extremely targeted messaging directly into the pockets of those most likely to buy from our clients.

This dynamic shift requires that we go deeper than just identifying our target market. We need to find out who is buying from us and why. Thankfully, there are many tools at our disposal. We can ask our customers why they chose us. We can find out what search terms are trending on Google. We can find out what are the most popular kinds of tutorial videos. We can see what’s popular on social media and analyze the strategies of our competitors to see what works.

Once we’ve done that, we can create a buyer persona.

Want to skip ahead? Schedule a free consultation today.

What are buyer personas?

According to leading inbound marketing company HubSpot, they are “semi-fictional representations of your ideal customer based on real data and some select educated speculation about customer demographics behavior patterns, motivations, and goals.” In short, they are who you are trying to reach.

Look at it this way: instead of trying to attract and engage some 3 billion people on the internet, focus on those most likely to become the type of clients that excitedly promote you to their connections.

Dave, for example, could be a 45-year-old man who owns his own home and has a wife, two kids and a hairy pet dog. He probably needs his ducts cleaned. Great! How can your HVAC business connect with him?

Or take Jessica, a 42-year-old who works part-time in an office job, who has one child in kindergarten and one in elementary school. She needs to go to the dentist and figures she’ll bring the kids along for their first check-ups. Awesome! What’s going to make her choose your clinic over a competitor?

They’re both about the same age, living in the same area, with young families, but they have different needs so they’ll respond to different messaging. That’s why it’s so important do to your research. The more you know about your ideal customer, the better you can find out how you can best add value to their lives.

Dave, for example, might want to know exactly what a duct cleaning entails and what nasties are lurking in his air vents. Jessica might want a dentist that specializes in kids. Once you’ve identified their need, you can create a marketing campaign to cater to their interests and help solve their problems.

Read more: Is marketing the new sales?

How to create a buyer persona

The most effective buyer personas are always centered on the question of “why?” Why will someone need to buy your products or enlist your services? Focusing on their motives will help you create a marketing campaign centered around the content they’re likely to search for and consume before making a decision to purchase.

Alternatively, you can think of it this way: What is their problem? How will you solve it?

“When you intimately know your player personas and communicate to them in a personal way, you skyrocket your changes of turning them from just a contact in your database into a lifelong customer,” Hatchbuck Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Jonathan Herrick, explained in an interview with Inc. Magazine.

Personas will help your business become more competitive, so it’s important to give them some thought and make sure they’re well-crafted. They will help you focus on sending the right message to the right customer, which will lead to more leads and a higher conversion rate. Ultimately, it’s about boosting your bottom line and making your marketing budget go as far as possible.

Focusing your sales funnel

Modern customers are very well-informed. Social media and search engines mean they can find exactly what they need, when they need it. Inbound marketing is a philosophy centered around the idea of making yourself as easy-t0-find as possible. In the communication age, when people are hungry for content, you need to be searchable. You need to provide people with the value you’re looking for and make the path to purchase smooth.

The first step is awareness. Unless you have the right content, people will not stick around long enough to engage with your company, your products and services. Personas are key because they help you create the right content, which will attract visitors. Find out what your customers like to consume, what questions they need answered and what information they’re looking for. Use that as a starting point and create content accordingly.

Once the customer has landed in your digital eco-system, provide what they need, and do it quickly. Don’t play games or waste their time. It’s important that your website is up-to-date, well-organized and fast-loading with strong calls to action that encourage the website visitor to take the next step, whether that’s scheduling a free quote or booking an appointment. Education is critical in this phase – make it clear why they should choose you.

As soon as the customer engages with you, respond in kind. If they ask for more information, call them within 24 hours. If they reply so a post on social media, give a positive response. If they schedule an appointment, send an auto-generated email thanking them for their booking and confirming the details. Engage, engage, engage.

The final step is conversion. When you sell the product or deliver the service, ensure the customer’s needs are fully met. Seamless and high-quality service will significantly increase the chance of them becoming a repeat customer – and better yet, recommending you to their friends, family, and neighbors.

After all, word of mouth is still the most powerful tool in any marketing plan.

Ready to optimize your marketing strategy? Schedule a free consultation today.

Which website development company should I hire?

Adrienne Wilkerson

February 13, 2020

Originally published on September 11, 2015. Updated on February 13, 2020.

There are many factors that go into choosing a website development company. To be perfectly honest with you, we hear a lot of horror stories from businesses about website builds, whether they’ve tried to build a website themselves or they’ve hired a company to help. We figured we would just call it out and pass on some tips to help you choose the right website developer/firm for your website.

Website Development And Design

First off, there are several types of website projects. You might be looking for your first ever website, you might be looking for help with a website redesign or you might be looking to refresh your website content. The scope of work will also depend on your budget and the size of your website.

Here, we’ll run you thorough the basic website development process for each:

Building A Website From Scratch

First-time web projects are often the hardest, because it means building everything from the ground up. These websites are usually around 7-10 pages and require like purchasing a domain, setting up the hosting, and making sure the design is optimized for different devices, including mobile.

One of the hardest parts about first-time website builds is putting together all of the content. That means creating a homepage, writing your about page, defining your products or services and collecting all of the necessary right photos, text and contact information.

More often than not, most websites get bogged down with one element: writing the text. We recommend that every website has text that is professionally written for several reasons:

SEO: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an ever-evolving science, which basically revolves around predicting which combination of keywords are most likely to be searched on sites like Google so that your website appears near the top. This is really important when it comes to helping potential customers find your website. This is one area where professional copywriters will make a big difference, because they’re up-to-date with all the latest trends.
Tone: The language you use on your website is just as important as the design in establishing a “look and feel” that correctly represents your brand. Communication styles evolve quickly, but the past few years have seen a consistent and strengthening trend towards more conversational and approachable wording. Sometimes that can be a challenge for business owners when we want to get specific and “talk shop” about what it is we do, which is why professionals can help.
Time: You have a business to run and more often than not, there isn’t time to write the content yourself. You are investing money into your website and the last thing you want is to have the whole process held up waiting on text. A professional will make sure it’s finished on time.

Starting from scratch? Find out why we recommend building your site with WordPress.

Website Redesign Services

Sometimes, your website might simply be outdated. It’s important to remember that a website design isn’t a one-stop project. In fact, experts recommend they’re updated every 2-3 years so that it stays on top of all the latest trend. Usually this means undertaking a complete redesign, including new photos and updated text, though some elements may move over from one site to the other.

In our experience, these sites are often a bit larger and more developed because you’ll be much more in tune with what’s working and what’s not within your business. The website development process for redesigns usually includes:

Updating for new technology
New design to meet emerging trends
Updated content for better user experience and Goggle rankings
New security measures
Taking advantage of new options in SEO and content marketing

Want to learn more? Here are 10 signs it’s time to redesign your website.

Copywriting Services

If the time has come to refresh the content on your website, you’ll need to engage a copywriter. A copywriter will be able to help you refine your messaging, update the language used to make sure your content comes across as being modern, define your products and services and make sure every page is optimized for SEO. They may also be able to help you create a social media strategy.

Website Development Costs

Regardless of whether you need a brand-new website, a website redesign or just a refresh, making sure you hire the right company is absolutely crucial. There are a variety of options available, including doing it yourself, hiring a solo developer, an offshore team or a professional agency.

Both the solo developer and the offshore team often charge by the hour to complete a project and that rate is based on their overhead. An offshore web company may charge anywhere from $10 – $40/hr while a solo web developer in the US is typically charging between $25 – $100/hr.

Especially if you are just getting your company started, these prices may look very, very good to you, but there are some challenges involved with both the sole developer and the offshore team.

There are several different things you will need to consider in making the right choice:

Marketing
User Experience Design
Visual Design
Programming
Project Management
Photography
Quality Content (text) Creation

It can be difficult to find all of these things in one place. For example, doing it yourself means spending hours upon hours researching and wrestling with unfamiliar website development tools. Hiring an offshore team might lead to problems with language barriers and time differences. A solo developer will be an expert in a few things from that list, but probably not them all.

Okay, we admit we’re a little bit biased, but we do genuinely believe that a professional agency will give you the best bang for your buck. Take Beacon Media + Marketing, for example: we have a team of professionals who specialize in design, content creation, coding, SEO, even photography. We will also give you an account manager, who will walk you through the process from start to finish.

Looking to convert leads? Here is the anatomy of a high-converting landing page.

Website Development Process

Regardless of which route you take, we highly recommend putting together a document that sets out exactly what you want on your website. It doesn’t have to be long – usually about 1-2 pages is enough. It should cover what style of website you want (modern, traditional, colorful, classic, etc.), which pages are crucial to the site (About Us, Services, Portfolio, Staff, Contact Us, etc.), and any goals for the site (inform, collect leads, educate, connect with clients, e-commerce, etc.).

It’s also very helpful to include links to examples of other websites you like and explain what you like about them. For instance, is it the way the colors are combined, the layout, or maybe the navigation that appeals to you? Using this document when you start approaching web developers will make sure you both start on the same page – literally. It’s a great tool to help you get more consistent estimates from company to company, and a company worth hiring should be asking these questions and more.

We would be happy to sit down and discuss these questions and more. If you are interested in seeing our work, please check out our portfolio, then give us a call at 907-563-6008 or drop us an email.

Facebook & Google Ads: What analytics should I track?

Adrienne Wilkerson

December 4, 2019

You know you should be measuring the success of your Facebook and Google ads.

You’ve probably looked at some of the analytics in an attempt to make sense of it all.

Maybe you even understand some of what you’re looking at.

But how do you know what Google and Facebook analytics are the most important to track?

Better question: How do you know if the analytics you’re seeing are good or bad?

Today, we’re not only talking about what analytics to track, but also how you can tell if your ads are successful.

Enjoy the journey to more informed Facebook and Google advertising!

Definitions of Popular Analytics

Before we get started, I would like to give you a handy guide of popular analytics and their definitions for you to reference as you go along.

Please read over each of these–the nuances will help you understand their value!

Reach – The number of unique people who saw your ad.

Impressions – The number of times your ad was shown. This is often a higher number than reach because some people will be shown your ad multiple times. They say that someone must see an ad seven times before they become aware of it, so you want this!

Engagement (Facebook) – The number of likes, comments, and shares on your ad.

Engagement Rate (Facebook) – The number of likes, comments, and shares on your ad divided by the number of people who saw your ad.

Clicks – The number of clicks on your ad not including likes, comments, and shares. For example, clicking to enlarge a photo, play a video, or expand an ad.

Link Clicks – The number of clicks on your ad to your profile or website.

Click-Through-Rate (CTR) – The number of link clicks on your ad divided by the number of times your ad was shown.

Cost-Per-Click (CPC) – The amount of money you spend for each link click on your ad.

Hopefully, these definitions help you as we cover what analytics to track today!

Facebook Analytics to Track

If you’re advertising on Facebook, your goal is to get as much engagement as possible in terms of likes, comments, shares, and ultimately, clicks through to your profile or website.

And you want to do it for as little money as possible.

Facebook analytics like reach and impressions can give you context for what is going on with your ad, but the gold is in the numbers on link clicks and cost.

This is especially true for a lead generation campaign where the objective is to generate link clicks that convert to leads for your business.

The cheaper the link click, the lower the cost of acquisition per lead.

The only exception is a brand awareness campaign where you may simply be measuring eyeballs on the ad (reach and impressions).

Two of the most important Facebook analytics for measuring link clicks and cost are click-through-rate (CTR) and cost-per-click (CPC).

For this reason, online advertising tool WordStream publishes a report on industry benchmarks for these Facebook analytics that they keep updated throughout the year.

How do you know if your Facebook analytics are good or bad?

Measure them against those of other companies advertising in your industry!

Here is the industry benchmark infographic for click-through-rate:

Facebook & Google Ads: What Analytics Should I Track? — WordStream: Updated August 2019

So, for instance, if you are in the consumer services industry, a click-through-rate of OVER 0.62% would be great!

That would mean your Facebook ads are performing above average for your industry.

It is important to note the distinction between click-through-rate and cost-per-click.

Although you want to see a HIGH click-through-rate, you want to see a LOW cost-per-click.

Here is WordStream’s industry benchmark infographic for cost-per-click:

So, in this case, if you are in the consumer services industry, a cost-per-click of UNDER $3.08 would be fantastic!

These numbers give you an idea of how Facebook ads perform in various industries as well as what you can expect from your ads.

They provide valuable context.

A consumer services company shouldn’t complain about a cost-per-click of $2 but a retail company should absolutely look at bringing that cost down!

Now, let’s turn the page to Google ads and analytics for a bit.

Google AdWords Analytics to Track

We have included a discussion of Google ads and analytics in this article because they are a part of an integrated digital advertising strategy and they are very similar to Facebook analytics.

Similar to Facebook ads, with Google ads you’ll want to be tracking link clicks and cost, although there are other analytics like reach and impressions that provide context.

For Google ads, you’ll want to track exactly the same two analytics, click-through-rate (CTR) and cost-per-click (CPC)!

And in the same way, as they do for Facebook, WordStream publishes industry benchmarks for Google too.

Here are the Google industry benchmarks for click-through-rate:

And here are the Google industry benchmarks for cost-per-click:

Just like with Facebook analytics, you want to see a HIGH click-through-rate and a LOW cost-per-click for your industry with Google.

Something a little bit different that you’ll notice here is the distinction between the analytics for Google “search” advertising and advertising through the “Google display network” (see the blue and green bars in the left column).

Your analytics will look a little different depending on which kind of Google advertising you’re using, so pay attention!

In conclusion, click-through-rate and cost-per-click are the analytics you should track for both Facebook and Google ads, although reach and impressions can show you how many people are looking at your ads and how many times they see them.

Click-through-rate and cost-per-click are analytics that combine some of the most important information to create the most comprehensive picture of what is going on with your ads.

If your Google or Facebook analytics are above industry standards, congratulations!

You’re right on track.

If they are not, you may want to consider testing alternative images or copy until the numbers are where they should be.

We would love to chat with you about how your Facebook or Google ads are performing as well as offer some recommendations for how to make them even more successful.

Our team of Facebook and Google certified specialists have been running, A/B testing, and tracking analytics on ads for years!

You can schedule a free consultation with President Adrienne Wilkerson or VP of Marketing Jennifer Christensen using their automated scheduler, available here.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Best of luck as you continue learning how to track the analytics on your Facebook or Google ads!

What is marketing? A look through the eyes of a marketer

Adrienne Wilkerson

October 30, 2019

Recently, on the way to work, I heard a radio ad that caught my attention.

It was for an imaging provider. They were offering the latest and greatest in imaging technology and procedures. Radio ads don’t usually catch my attention, but this one made me pause. A marketer by trade, I began to get inside my consumer brain to explore exactly why this particular ad was so effective.

Here’s what I discovered:

I had been looking for an imaging provider (need)
I had been in need of imaging services for over two years now (pain)
I didn’t want to go to just anyone because the procedure is typically painful (pain)
I was aware of non-painful, alternative methods (education)
I didn’t know who offered them (need)

It was the perfect culmination of events. I just so happened to turn the radio on that morning during the time this provider’s radio spot was running, I just so happened to be in a season of life where I needed their services, and I just so happened to have enough consumer education to know that they offered exactly what I was looking to find.

The crazy thing is I didn’t even call the number at the end of the ad! Nor am I planning to anytime soon. But when the time comes and the stars align just right again, you can be sure that this provider has my consumer preference.

This experience did a few different things for me. First, it made me realize just how difficult it can be to win people’s business (and how incredible it is that we’re so great at it at Beacon!). Second, it reinforced the importance of targeted, consumer data-based digital advertisements versus the shotgun approach of traditional media like radio.

Finally, it re-centered my definition of marketing.

Marketing is not about who can talk faster, or close better. It is about a deep psychological understanding of customer needs. – Michael Brenner, What Is Marketing?

Handy Definition of Marketing

When I got home that night and had some more time to mull over the events of the day, I pulled out my iPhone and Googled, “What is marketing?” It’s a slightly embarrassing search for a marketer, especially one who took numerous academic courses on marketing in school, but sometimes we all need to be reminded of “the main thing.”

A particular part of the Wikipedia definition caught my eye, “Marketing is the study and management of exchange relationships.” “That’s it,” I thought. Marketing is literally just taking people like me, everyday people who listen to the radio and Google simple searches on their smartphones, and finding a mutually beneficial exchange of value that you both agree upon, typically your services in exchange for their money.

“Marketing is the study and management of exchange relationships.” – Wikipedia

I thought about everything that this involves, from finding and targeting the right people using data like demographics and life circumstances, to creating the right offer using differentiation and customer education where necessary. A fresh framework for marketing began to form in my mind.

Suddenly, I could see that everything that we do at Beacon falls neatly into that framework.

All Marketing is Inbound Marketing

We are a digital marketing agency. That means we focus on digital media such as websites, videos, social media posts, and blogs rather than traditional media like print, radio, and TV. We do so because we believe it is the most effective. Not that we don’t use traditional media in combination with digital media sometimes as a part of a holistic strategy, but we prefer to invest our money (and our client’s money) where we know we can get results.

As I mentioned earlier, digital marketing is highly targeted, whereas traditional marketing takes more of a shotgun approach. With digital marketing, you can show people ads based on their demographics, life situation, interests, and even outwardly expressed needs. You can also track their responses. Because everything is internet-based, we can follow every like, comment, share, click, and convert (or bounce). It’s kinda hard to know if someone called or visited your website from a print, radio, or TV ad. There are methods, but they all come back to digital tracking in the end.

One of the core philosophies of digital marketing is called “inbound.” It’s the idea that if you know who you want to serve, if you truly understand them in all of their wants, needs, pains, and dreams, and you put valuable information for them in the places that they spend their time, they will notice you and pursue a business relationship. Of course, in the age of the internet, pretty much everybody spends a great portion of their time online.

This is how we create exchanges at Beacon. We market online. We conduct deep customer research and practice A/B testing on as many demographics and other customer markers as we can get our hands on until we have the perfect target audience. We find out exactly what they’re searching online down to the keywords and phrases they use to communicate their problems and desires. Then, we craft our value-driven brand message and produce helpful information.

Most Important Part of Marketing

What is a brand message? To us, it is an empathetic messaging that will resonate with our target audience given what we know about them.

The truth is, the provider I mentioned at the beginning could have done a lot more by way of brand messaging. If they had focused more on what their technology means for the patient, as in, less pain, rather than just how cool and awesome it is, they would have had a chance of capturing more than just people like me. I had to read between the lines. Fortunately for them, I knew a thing or two about imaging technology.

A brand message is more than just empathetic statements. It is also empathetic action.

I am a content writer, and 90% of my time is spent producing information that helps the customer along their journey. I answer commonly searched questions, write “how-tos” and “quick guides,” and generally put written form to the solutions our clients are offering their customers.

This does more than simply educate the customer. When we produce empathetic and valuable content like this for our customers, we show them that we are the kind of people who have the answers they are looking for. The result? They want more from us, which quickly becomes our products or services themselves.

“Traditional marketing talks at people. Content marketing talks with them.” – Doug Kessler

If I could summarize all of this succinctly in one statement it would be this, “know thy customer.” If marketing is the study and management of exchange relationships, then the obvious first step is knowing who you are relating to and what they might want to exchange. Inbound marketing is one of the best ways to find and foster exchange relationships through data-based targeting and empathetic brand messaging.

We are seeing incredible results for our clients who use this marketing framework every day. If you are interested in getting back to “the main thing” in your marketing, we would love to talk! You can schedule a free consultation with us at the link.

As always, happy marketing.

How to Produce Scalable, Affordable Video at Your Reno Business

Adrienne Wilkerson

October 24, 2019

Video is quickly becoming the media format with the highest marketing ROI for businesses of all sizes and industries nationwide. YouTube recently hit the 2 billion monthly active users mark, a statistic that, alongside many others, indicates internet user preference for the video medium over other digital and traditional content types.

So how do small to mid-sized Reno businesses keep up with an ever-increasing demand for video content (not to mention high video production rates)? We’re glad you asked! Or at least, we’re glad you’re willing to entertain the question.

Today we’re talking about best practices for making video production scalable and affordable, including a trick called content repurposing, the value of making video a part of your company culture, and a few examples of scalable and affordable video formats you can use immediately! We’ll also look at some folks who have mastered video in their content domains. Let’s dive right in and get started!

1. Learn About a Little Thing Called Video Repurposing

What is content repurposing and how does it apply to video?

Content repurposing is the act of taking one piece of content and reworking it into various formats to be used across your marketing channels.

Content repurposing is the act of taking one piece of content and reworking it into various formats to be used across your marketing channels.

A video, if it’s long enough, can be that initial piece of content that is re-iterated into various forms.

Let’s say that you filmed a 15, 30, or 60-second commercial for your Reno business.

You may upload that video to YouTube, place it on the home page of your website, announce it on Facebook, and think you’re done, you’ve exhausted all channels on which to publish your video, and it will soon be forgotten in the hubbub of the internet. But you would be wrong! There is a lot of life to squeeze out of one video production.

The individual elements of your commercial, the audio, video, and B-roll, can each be taken apart and re-edited to make several shorter video snippets. You can focus on key phrases or key moments in the footage.

These snippets can then be shared to your social media over the following weeks, months, or for however long you can make the lifetime of your video production last!

In this way, you are spending less money on less video production for more video content. How cool is that?!

Perhaps the best way to understand content repurposing is to see it in action.

Example: Gary Vee, Video Extraordinaire

People have mixed feelings about Gary Vee. Some love him. Some think he’s a little too crude for professional media.

One thing we all know for certain, he’s the king of video and content repurposing.

Gary Vee seemingly records every waking moment of his life. In reality, he just flips his video camera on whenever he has an important thought or anecdote. But it looks like he is doing 100x more than he actually is because he’s a content repurposing genius.

Gary uses what he calls his “content pyramid” model, which takes one long-form piece of “pillar” content and repurposes it into 30 different content pieces including videos, gifs, podcasts, blogs, social media posts, stories, and more on 20 different platforms. You can learn about the model on his SlideShare, here.

In his SlideShare, Gary Vee provides an example of a keynote he repurposed that generated over 35 million views.

How much money do you think it cost Gary to give that one keynote? We may not know, but we can guess that the two hours he spent talking was more than covered by the marketing value of the views he received.

Video Strategy Saves Your Reno Business Money

Learning how to content repurpose and following content models is about more than just the coolness factor, it saves your Reno business money.

Start with a plan, and you’ll end up spending less money for more video content.

One of the best ways to ensure excellent content repurposing is to make your video commercial as “repurposable” as possible.

In the storyboarding process, plan to film B-roll and record audio that is modular and can be rebuilt into several different formats of video.

This will give you a library of video content to work from for, again, more content for fewer dollar bills.

2. Make Video Production Part of Your Reno Company Culture

Another great way to make video production scalable and affordable at your Reno business is to get your staff involved!

It’s a common misconception that video production is the exclusive task of a professional videographer.

Although it is important for your Reno business to be publishing high-quality video content for your reputation, the technology of the iPhone camera has greatly improved over the last couple of years and your staff probably have some customer communication skills and experience with what a video for social media should be like.

They may not be the best quality, but iPhone videos are passable, and the fact that they are filmed casually will make your Reno customers feel like they are getting an exclusive, transparent look into your everyday operations.

Make picking up the iPhone and recording a quick video a simple, fun thing that everybody in your office is encouraged (*cough*required*cough*) to do!

You will save a lot of money by supplementing more costly video production with these shorter forays into video media.

Example: Allen Gannet, LinkedIn Video Guy

Allen Gannet is an excellent example of someone who is not afraid to just pick up his iPhone and record. His platform of choice is LinkedIn.

As spontaneous as his videos may be, Allen exemplifies the idea of creating a plan before filming. Every one of his videos in his series #AllenAsks follows the same format.

Allen is known for asking questions of moderately famous business people when he runs into them at networking events or over the course of his business day. He starts by introducing his special guest and himself, he asks a simple question, gets their answer, summarizes that answer into something “bitable,” and then literally “peaces out.” The videos typically last no more than a minute.

You can watch Allen’s videos on LinkedIn, here.

Allen is a LinkedIn influencer and his videos frequently get thousands to tens of thousands of views. Given that LinkedIn is a lately reemerging platform, this is significant. And it only cost him 60 seconds on a Tuesday afternoon.

Get Video in Your Blood

A fantastic way to get “video in the blood” of you and your Reno staff is to make it as easy for all of you as possible.

Write scripts for you and your team and provide them with mini “production kits” with everything they will need to say in their video and to publish it, including any calls-to-action, how-to instructions, and any graphical elements you want them to use.

Empower your Reno staff with the resources they need to be the heroes in front of the iPhone camera and to learn to enjoy the video production process!

Lead the Video Charge by Example

An important thing to note is that, if you are going to be requiring your Reno staff to get in front of the camera, you can’t balk away from it yourself.

We all know that people are led by example. Not only will seeing you do it first make the new thing palatable for your team, but it will show them exactly what you are expecting from them and it will set the tone for the rest of the videos they produce.

Just like video helps your customers visualize what you are doing for them, an example video will help your Reno staff visualize what you want them to do.

3. Try-On Some of These Video Formats for Size

After all of this discussion about “just get in front of the camera,” you’re probably wondering, “but what do I say??”

Hopefully, some of these video format ideas will help you out.

Get inspired by the ideas that create a vision in your mind as something that might actually work for you and your Reno team.

Example: Beacon, Video Playground

Beacon Media + Marketing (that’s us!) is at a place where we’re taking the video trends seriously, exercising our content repurposing muscles, and getting everyone on our team in front of the camera.

We’re creating videos for YouTube, on Facebook Live, for our blogs and web pages, and more, each with particular content repurposing…purposes.

Our team has been making plans, experimenting with new formats, and writing scripts. In summary, we’re walking what we’re talking! Here’s our latest staff-recorded video, Social Media Specialist Luke Pahlau filming an intro for one of our social media blogs.

This video was recorded using a simple iPhone tripod and a mic attachment. Again, you don’t need any fancy equipment to get these done, just some thoughtful planning, a willing subject, and a pre-written script!

The blog this video was recorded for currently ranks #1 on Google for the search “social media for med spas.” It is a part of one of our marketing funnels that regularly generates (pre-sold!) leads for us. And it only took about fifteen minutes to film.

Doing Short Interviews Like Allen

Possibly the easiest format of new video content to produce at your Reno business is the short interview

All you need is a simple format, such as an introduction, a question, and a summary, like Allen Gannet uses.

Consider pulling people aside over the course of your business day–staff, clients, partners, people in your community–and asking them to record a quick 30-second video with you!

Creating Long, “Pillar” Videos

Longer video productions may seem daunting, but they can be curated fairly easily as well.

The first place you should be looking for long video content is among the other formats of long content you are already producing at your Reno business. For instance, if you are already speaking at events (like Gary Vee), guest lecturing, offering trainings, or recording podcasts, you should be filming this content as well.

Publish these “content pillars” to YouTube and break them down into smaller bite-sized pieces using the Gary Vee content pyramid model. You can also film yourself reading any blogs you are publishing or giving blog summaries to your audience.

One of our favorite formats of “pillar content” at Beacon is our Facebook Lives. We regularly bring in clients, other business owners, and change-makers in our community to our office to interview them in a shorter podcast-style format to publish live to Facebook. Once the live video is complete, we download it and publish it to YouTube. We have also repurposed our Facebook lives for landing pages.

https://youtu.be/YI7BnYYWrjg

Another idea for pillar video productions is the product demo. Some of the best YouTubers get views by casually unboxing products in front of the camera and filming their reactions and commentary. Consider filming yourself walking someone through your product or service.

Just Picking Up the Camera

Sometimes video production is less about having a plan and more about knowing when is the right time to turn on the video camera.

Gary Vee is great about filming whenever he has an important thought or insight to share, no matter who he is talking to.

Whether you are in a meeting with a client or talking something over with a team member, if you are sharing something that you think other people could benefit from, “lights, camera, action!”

Consider using this for your starting line, “Hey guys, I was just talking with so-and-so, and I feel like this is something you could benefit from too.”

You may be amazed by just how valuable these spontaneous videos are to your audience!

Do you feel inspired? We hope so. Our goal has been to show you just how approachable, scalable, and affordable video production can be. Ideally, you can start using some of these video format ideas as early as today if you’d like! If you are looking for a video production company in Reno who can help you develop the video portion of your marketing plan, we would love to talk. You can schedule a free consultation with our President Adrienne Wilkerson using our live scheduler here. Happy filming!

(VIDEO) It’s Time to Launch Your National Brand. Here’s What You Need to Do.

Adrienne Wilkerson

September 18, 2019

Ready to go national?

We’ve been waiting for you to say that.

Not because we’re psychics or anything, although that would be pretty helpful for our line of work.

No, we’ve been waiting because we’re so incredibly excited about how straightforward national launches are in the age of digital marketing that we’re about to burst.

Literally, we almost told the guy in the elevator this morning (okay, not literally, but there would be much enthusiasm if asked).

Digital marketing was made for national brands.

These are the kinds of campaigns we live for.

Alright, enough elation, let’s talk about about how to launch a national brand with digital marketing.

Launching a National Brand Tip #1: Use Digital Marketing

Okay, okay, we gave this one away already but it’s so so important that it deserves repeating.

Digital marketing was made for national brands.

The era of the internet opened up a literal window (we’re serious this time) for businesses to make a grand entrance into the rest of the nation and the world.

Digital Marketing Is Made for National Brands

When someone says, “digital marketing,” what comes to mind?

You probably think about social media first. Facebook. Instagram. Snapchat.

And you would be right: social media is a significantly large apparatus in the digital marketing toolbox.

But it’s only half the picture.

The primary goal of digital marketing is to put your brand in front of people in the places and spaces they spend their time online.

“The primary goal of digital marketing is to put your brand in front of people in the places and spaces they spend their time online.”

Social media is one of those places, yes.

According to some estimates, internet users around the world are spending an average of 2 hours 22 minutes on social media.
But this pales in comparison to how much time consumers spend online in total, which averages 6 hours 42 minutes.

How do we capture the rest of this internet time?

By tapping into the king of the internet: Google.

Google has a market share of 88.47%…

…making it the #1 search engine in the world.

Adding Google to our marketing mix, we can create touchpoints with our brand across internet users’ entire online experience.

Anywhere in the world.

Because it’s the internet, we are not limited to our physical location.

Did we mention that?

So not only are we able to access everyone’s internet time with digital marketing, but we are able to access everyone’s internet time, as in, everyone throughout the nation.

In order for a national brand to take root, it’s going to need a lot of reach.
Digital marketing is the only kind of marketing that can guarantee that.

Let us explain.

Digital Marketing Is Highly Targeted

Maybe we should talk about the difference between digital marketing and its counterpart (*cough*traditional marketing*cough*) to clarify what we’re saying here.

And when we say “traditional marketing,” what we mean is print, radio, and TV.

We’re talking about the difference between using digital media such as social media and websites to promote your national brand, and using traditional media such as newspapers and TV commercials, kapich?

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way…

Digital marketing is highly targeted.

It allows you to show your ads *just* to the people you want to, using information like:

Demographics such as age, job title, and income
Interests such as hobbies, groups, and the things they follow
Location (better known as geotargeting)

Traditional media firms can do a lot of expensive market research and they can tell you who they think is seeing/hearing your national brand, estimating things like impressions and reach, but they really don’t know who is engaged.

Let that sink in for a minute.

With digital marketing, we can not only target exactly the kind of customer you want across the nation, but we can also measure exactly who is interacting with your national brand.

Digital Marketing Is Measurable

When you start marketing your national brand with a digital agency–if they’re doing things right–one of the first things they’ll do is place what’s called a “tracking pixel” on your website.

This is nothing more than a little HTML code that allows them to see where people are coming from and where they are going, so don’t worry about getting bugged here.

Here’s what’s so amazing about that.

Digital agencies can track clicks, messages, phone calls–real actions taken by internet users from their ads–and more.

So the next time you bring in a $10,000 client (if you’re one of those businesses with a high profit margin that we’re all jealous of), your agency will be able to show you exactly which ad they came from, where they visited on your website, and when they finally made the decision to begin working with you.

Wow.

Talk about measurable ROI.

When you launch a national brand, you face a lot of uncertainty, because you’re going into markets that you’ve never been in before.
The kind of user behavior data that digital marketing provides will be invaluable for you in the early stages of your national business.

So, in summary, USE DIGITAL MARKETING TO LAUNCH YOUR NATIONAL BRAND PLZ!

Phew, got a little intense there.

Tip #2: Harness the Secret (Not So Secret) Power of SEO for Your National Brand

We talked about social media. We talked about Google.

These tools are hugely important to launching your national brand, as we said.

If you aren’t running nationally targeted Facebook, Instagram, and Google ads, your national brand is going to flop. Period.

But a lot of businesses already know this.

Today, we want to dive a little deeper into the secret (not so secret) digital marketing tools that can make all the difference when combined with national social media strategies.

A big one is SEO.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of making your web presence so search engine friendly that when Google crawls your online information, they know to rank you super high for the searches you want to rank for (as in, the #1 or #2 spots).

You typically want to rank for searches regarding the kinds of products or services you offer, of course.

How do you do that on a national level?

Bonus tip! (cue Beacon theme song?) You still need to niche.

Bonus Tip: You Still Need to Niche.

Just because you’re trying to reach everybody now doesn’t mean that you should try to reach literally everybody.

Obviously, you have a particular target audience in mind.

But even still, it can be immensely hard to compete with the other businesses across the nation who are also targeting the same audience in the search results.

Narrowing your target audience even further can narrow the base of businesses you have to compete with.

This time, we’ll explain using some real examples.

Get excited! (*woohoooooooo*)

National Web Content

There are two clients that we have recently gone national with that make for excellent examples of this kind of SEO.

The first one is Beacon (suprise!).

The second must remain undisclosed (boohoo), but they still provide an excellent example.

It is this client for which we implemented a national web content strategy, as in, we rewrote their web content so that when Google crawls it, they’ll pick up a national audience.

This client’s industry is highly competitive, probably one of the most competitive industries in the nation.

But even in this case, narrowing their target audience enough to create a reasonable amount of competition was not a difficult task.

We decided to write pages on their services (let’s pretend they’re business consulting company) aimed toward different sectors of their target audience.

So it went something like this, we wrote pages on:

(business consulting services) for restaurant
(business consulting services) for retail, and,
(business consulting services) for medical

It would be incredibly hard to compete for the search “business consulting services” on a national level, however, competing for “business consulting services” for a particular industry is a completely different game.

By modifying the search term with an industry, we were able to significantly downsize their competition.

Digital Marketing’s Hidden Gem: Blogging

We did a similar thing with Beacon.

At Beacon, we recently decided that we want to work with businesses across the country, but we knew that ranking for searches like “digital marketing” and “social media marketing” nationwide would be next to impossible.

So we started writing blogs on searches like “digital marketing for orthodontics” (an industry we like to work with) and “digital marketing for Reno” (a market we want to focus on).

Hey, that’s another bonus tip! (Beacon jingle) Focus on a few markets you have traction in first.

Bonus Tip #2: Focus on a few markets you have traction in first.

We already had some word-of-mouth in the dentistry industry, and our lovely President had recently set up a coworking space in Reno, Nevada.

So it only made sense to focus on these markets first in the grand scheme of our national strategy.

We wrote these blogs using every SEO best practice in the book, which is a little too much to get into today, but here are a couple of the boxes we checked:

1,600-2,000 word blogs
Keyword in the title, headers, URL, meta description, and alt tags

These blogs result in direct leads from the industries and locations we target, coming in from the blog through our chatbot.

In summary, don’t forget about SEO.

It’s a crucial part of spreading your national brand.

Launching a National Brand Tip #3: Invest in High-Quality Digital Media

Alright folks, here’s the kicker.

If you’re going national, you’re going to have to up your media game.

Gone are the days where a logo design from the 90’s “cuts it,” especially online.

Please do not have your 16-year-old niece or nephew do your social media graphics, no matter how talented he or she may be.

The national market is savvy and won’t suffer a low-res image like your local customers did (did they ever, really?).

It’s time to invest in high-quality digital media.

Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room: Your National Brand

Is your brand ready to enter the national stage?

The answer to this question is not: “Yeah, the logo looks okay.”

To launch a national brand, you need:

An impactful name and tagline
A sleek, modern logo
A comprehensive brand guide including icons, fonts, colors, and imagery
A website and social presence that reflects this brand guide
An impactful brand message that breathes through it all

If any of these pieces are not in place, your national brand is going to suffer.

Before you go national, have a seasoned agency take a look at the consistency of the image you are presenting to your customers.

Going From Good to Great with Graphic Design

A national brand’s graphic design should hit the right mix of familiar and novel.

It should stand out in a way that makes a statement about your “new,” national business without forgetting to relate to your new, national target audience.

This balance can be difficult to strike.

As hard as it may be to hear this, the ability to recognize and create great graphic design work can really only come through experience.

It takes years of studying popular styles and trends to get a feel for what works.

For this reason, we recommend that you hire an agency that is comfortable with launching national brands.

You’ll want your brand visuals to resonate with the largest number of people possible within your target audience.

Because visual work can be highly subjective, an experienced agency will have practices in place for multiple creative team members from a variety of diverse backgrounds to review material before it’s approved.

They will also have a strong graphic designer who understands the nuances of the visual world.

Digital Marketing and Video

Last but not least (drumroll, please!), a national brand needs video.

Not only is video the best format of media for achieving engagement online.

Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users!

But video is the medium of modern marketing.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

If you want to look like/be a national brand, you’ve got to act like one!

Get together with a videographer and schedule some high-quality video productions.

You won’t regret it once you see the national leads rolling in.

That’s all the advice we’ve got for today!

We could go on and on about launching a national brand, but we can only cover so much in one article.

If you’re ready to go national and you’d like to talk more about digital marketing, we’d love to chat.

Book a free consultation with one of our founders using our live scheduler.

Best of luck to you as you enter this new and exciting season of your business!

(WATCH) Here’s Why Video Marketing Is So Important

Adrienne Wilkerson

August 15, 2019

“Wow. Just…wow.”

That’s how we’re feeling about the video explosion that has occurred over the last 5-10 years.

Maybe you’ve seen some of the numbers:

“More than 500 million hours of video are watched on YouTube each day.”

– WordStream

Pretty crazy, right?

We’re guessing that if you’re reading this article, you already have some idea of just how valuable video marketing can be.

Our goal is not to convince you of what you already know, but to help you find that final piece of evidence that will push you over the edge and get you started on a video marketing campaign for your business.

So let’s talk about why video marketing is so important!

Why Is Video Marketing So Important?

Why is video marketing so important?

Short answer: Everybody’s doing it.

No, seriously–video is huge and you are simply going to miss out on a massive portion of your target audience if you do not begin marketing your business this way.

The numbers back it up.

In a minute, we’re going to show you what we mean.

Long answer: Video is the closest thing to real, human interaction that we can get with technology.

In reality, with the exception of touch, taste, and smell, video is the closest we can get to human conversation in the digital space.

People desire human relationships just as much as ever.

Today, we’re also going to talk about why the numbers are so high.

Video Marketing Is Important Because the Numbers Say So

Online advertising expert WordStream published an article full of gold on video marketing statistics that they update on an annual basis.

The numbers show us just how big this video trend has blown up, where it is occurring, and just how much ROI video marketing can make.

Just how big is video? Consider this statistic from WordStream:

“One-third of online activity is spent watching video.”

Let that soak in for a minute…one-third.

Can you imagine absorbing one-third of your customer’s internet time?

Of course, just because you are video marketing doesn’t mean you are capturing all that traffic, but the data is enough to make you pause.

Where is all of this video consumption happening? Primarily on YouTube and social media, according to WordStream:

“YouTube has over a billion users, almost one-third of total internet users.”

Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world behind Google?

Yes, YouTube receives so much traffic that it is considered a search engine.

Where does social media come into the video marketing mix? WordStream says right here:

“Over 500 million (half a BILLION) people are watching video on Facebook every day.”

YouTube and Facebook are truly the platforms of choice when it comes to video marketing (WordStream):

“45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week.”

So what does that look like from an ROI standpoint? According to WordStream:

“Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.”

“Sixty-four percent of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos.”

If you want to see outstanding results from your marketing efforts, video marketing is the way to go.

It is also the way of the future, as per WordStream:

“The 25-34 (millennial) age group watches the most online videos.”

Millennials have become the dominant generation in the workforce with more purchasing power and say in cultural norms.

Even more video-savvy is their counterpart, generation Z. According to HubSpot:

“59% of Generation Z (16-24-year-olds) have increased their YouTube usage since last year.”

If you want to get in front of the next couple generations, you will need to invest in video marketing.

Video Marketing Is Important Because It’s Human

So why are so many people turning to video?

To be honest, it’s because it allows for a more human experience.

Video lets human faces, expressions, tones, and inflections come through, something that text can never dream of and photos only strive to achieve.

Video marketers have found that the more raw and authentic video seems, the better it performs.

This is important for one reason: The basis of every relationship is trust.

Behind every question your customer asks you is the question, “Can I trust you?”

Video marketing answers with a resounding, “Yes.”

With video, there is no hiding behind fancy graphics and smiling pictures–there is just you in front of the camera, doing your thing.

Here are some other things we have discovered about people and video:

People care about people. Heatmapping data shows that on websites, people’s eyes go to faces before they go to text. Our natural instinct is to assess the people involved in any situation before we assess the situation itself. How much more so with a video of faces!
People feel overwhelmed. Digital experts estimate that most of us are exposed to over 4,000 marketing messages a day. People don’t want to filter through all of that information any more. They want to receive the information that is important to them in the simplest way possible. This is something that video excels at.
People are bored or lazy. Video is entertaining. You can spend hours watching video and not notice. It is the absolute easiest format of media to consume.

At this point, you are probably wondering how to get the power of video to work for your business.

We have just one piece of advice: Use it everywhere.

Use Video Everywhere

In business, video can be used just about everywhere for just about anything! Not just your marketing, but your full customer experience.

If you think about it, a video can replace just about any touch-point you have with a customer.

Thinking about sending a thank you email to a client? Send a personalized thank you video instead!

Planning to schedule a product training with a new customer? Record an in-depth training video instead!

Video can be used for:

Product demos
Client onboarding
Customer education
Introduction to the company
Meeting the team
Customer support
And much, much more!

Of course, common video marketing applications include:

Brand promos
Event promos
Thought leadership
Explainers
How-tos
Customer testimonies
And more

Video marketing can come in the form of pre-recorded videos, live videos, 360° videos, and virtual & augmented reality.

Here are some stats to show just how big a difference video can make in every aspect of your marketing:

“Video on landing pages is capable of increasing conversion rates by over 80%.”

– HubSpot

“The mere mention of the word “video” in your email subject line increases open rates by 19%.”

– HubSpot

“Blog posts incorporating video attract 3x as many inbound links as blog posts without video.”

– WordStream

In everything you’re doing, ask yourself the question, “Could I record a video for this?”

Our 14-Point Checklist for Effective Video Marketing

We know that getting out there and starting something new (especially video marketing) isn’t easy.

Simply pulling out a smartphone or turning on a webcam and recording works for some people, but not everyone.

For commercials and promotions especially, we recommend a formal video production process.

This ensures the highest level of quality so that you represent your business in the best light possible.

Our video production process is a straight-forward, 14-point checklist:

Location ✔ Reserve the filming location beforehand so you don’t have to worry last-minute.

Actors/Actresses ✔ Find the talent for your video ahead of time so you don’t have to scramble.

One Day of Filming ✔ Get all the footage you need for many videos from one shoot to save time.

Storyboarding ✔ Start with a scene-by-scene plan that leaves nothing up to guesswork or “winging it.”

Scripting ✔ Feel confident in what you are saying with a plan of action and prepared script.

Editing ✔ Edit the video to remove any “ums” and “uhs” so you can be sure you sound your best.

Focused Message ✔ Stay on topic so people stay online and watch your engaging video production.

Plot-Oriented ✔ Use every scene to drive the plot forward and keep your viewers interested.

Transitions ✔ Implement smooth transitions so your viewers stay focused through the full video.

Call-Out Titles ✔ Share important information like names and titles without detracting from the video.

Branding ✔ Brand your videos with your logo, colors, and fonts so people know it’s you.

Licensed Music ✔ Match the video with licensed music that aligns emotion and message.

High-Quality Audio & Video ✔ Put your best foot forward so you have every opportunity to earn trust.

Content Repurposing ✔ Create multiple video assets from one shoot so you have more to work with.

This checklist combined with creative video ideas had led to some of our best video marketing work.

Try the checklist for yourself and see what you think!

Do you feel ready to start video marketing yet?

We hope that some of this data and anecdotal evidence has shown you the importance of launching a video marketing campaign for your business.

Video is booming and it looks like it’s here to stay.

If you would like to talk more about the value of video marketing, we would love to chat!

Please schedule a free consultation with one of our co-founders.

We look forward to meeting you and discussing the future!

Why Is WordPress So Popular for New Websites? (VIDEO)

Adrienne Wilkerson

July 15, 2019

You’ve probably heard a lot about WordPress, but did you know that it is the most popular content management system in the world?

Here are a few facts to confirm that statement:

Over 43% of all websites in the world use WordPress.
WordPress has over 65% market share worldwide among content management systems, far outstretching Wix, Weebly, and Shopify.
Many top brand-name websites use WordPress, including the White House, Coca Cola, and The Wall Street Journal.

Like many businesses, non-profit organizations, medical practices, and even media outlets, at Beacon Media + Marketing, we choose to use WordPress for our websites.

While there are several competitive options out there, WordPress offers several unique advantages that set it apart.

Are you interested in upgrading your website to a WordPress site? Chat with us to see how we can help.

1. WordPress is Free and Open to Everyone

WordPress software has been and always will be free.

By visiting wordpress.org and clicking the “Get WordPress” button, you could download your very own copy of WordPress right here, right now!

If you are web-savvy and know how to set up and host your own website, you might want to do just that.

However, most people need a little extra help.

Although the content management software is free, setup and hosting services are not.

That said, one of the many reasons why WordPress is the preferred option is the extremely low ($0) price point.

Please note: There is a difference between wordpress.org, which offers a free download of the WordPress software but requires separate hosting, and wordpress.com, which offers paid packages that include hosting. While wordpress.com packages are great for beginners, they do not allow for much expansion and growth with your business. Other CMS (such as Wix, Weebly, and Shopify) only offer such packages which is why they are not preferred.

2. You Can Build Any Kind of Website You Want on WordPress

Looking to launch a blog, create your first company website, or set up and online store?

WordPress can do it all through themes and plugins.

Theme – In the context of websites, a design structure that can be customized to your needs.

Plugin – A software that can be added to the primary software for additional features and benefits.

You can find thousands of themes and over 50,000 plugins through WordPress and third-party developers.

All you must do is choose the theme that supports the type of website you would like (e-commerce, portfolio, forum, etc.), then, install the plugins that add any custom features you desire that are not included with the theme.

Many themes and plugins are free, however, some more robust features cost money.

Other CMS only offer certain kinds of themes with their packages and have limited app stores (again, limiting your options and expansion opportunities).

3. WordPress Is Easy to Use

WordPress is a WYSIWYG editor, which means “what you see is what you get.”

WYSIWYG – “What you see is what you get.”

The changes you make through the WordPress dashboard look the same as they do on the live website, so you don’t have to make guesses about how things will turn out while you are editing.

Additionally, the WordPress editor is as easy as Microsoft Word.

You can bold text, italicize it–whatever you want to do–all without ever touching the HTML.

That said, if you want to touch the HTML, you can always switch from the visual editor to the text editor using the tabs on the right.

4. You Don’t Have to Learn to Code to Use WordPress

As mentioned, you don’t have to touch the HTML to edit text with WordPress.

You also don’t have to touch the CSS, PHP, or JavaScript (the other three languages WordPress runs on).

Any basic styling that you want to do–whether it’s changing a theme color or font or updating your logo–can be handled through the “Appearance” tab on the dashboard.

This is also where you can change your theme, add widgets, and update your navigation menu.

The entire WordPress system is a gorgeous interface that is made to be intuitive for anyone.

5. You Can Get WordPress Support Just About Anywhere

WordPress has an extensive support database, and WPBeginner is a great resource for newbies.

In addition, because WordPress is so popular, you can find the answers to your most burning questions all over the internet.

Everyone wants to be a WordPress expert, so a simple Google search on your dilemma should do the trick for delivering a myriad of helpful results.

6. WordPress Is Scalable and Can Handle Business Growth

Say you have a company website and you would like to add an online store.

That’s easy–simply install the most popular e-commerce plugin (that’s WooCommerce) and make sure you have a theme that supports it!

Changing themes and adding plugins are not difficult tasks, just be aware that changing your theme means you may need to go through the customization process again.

The best practice is to plan ahead and choose a theme that supports future growth–if you know you want to add an online store in the future, pick the right theme!

You can plan for adding anything down the road with the right theme.

7. WordPress Integrates with Most Business Software

Want to allow visitors to subscribe to your company newsletter directly from your website?

Install the MailChimp for WordPress plugin!
Or maybe you would use the Constant Contact Forms plugin instead.
Or perhaps you would use the Brilliant Web-to-Lead for Salesforce plugin.

Whatever software you are using to run the sales and marketing side of your business, you can bet there is a WordPress plugin out there to facilitate integration.

8. With WordPress, You Own Your Business Website – Not so with the “Other Guys!”

What happens when you forget to pay or can’t pay your monthly bill for your Wix, Weebly, or Shopify website?

Well, you don’t own your website or its content–you are merely renting the internet space–so your information is at best held or at worst lost when your website inevitably goes down.

When you host your own website because its WordPress, you are in charge of the backups so if you have been faithful, you will have a copy of your website if it goes down.

If you work with an agency who hosts your WordPress website for you, make sure they:

Perform regular backups to multiple locations
Say that you own your website and its contents in their contract

We have had many, many clients who have been burned by other website providers and agencies because they got themselves roped into contracts that were not written in their favor.

Please be careful and get a WordPress website with an ethical agency!

9. WordPress Is the Best Blogging Platform in the World

WordPress was originally built to be a blogging platform exclusively!

Over the years, they have adapted to offer all kinds of websites, but they are still the best blogging platform on the planet.

Every WordPress website you create comes with a blog that you can either turn on or off.

If you choose to turn it on, you can count on the fact that your WordPress blog will be top-of-the-line–a classy writing experience for your writers and editors and a clean reading experience for your visitors.

WordPress allows for scheduling blog posts in advance, setting roles for everyone from administrators to contributors, and much more.

So whether you want a small blog for company updates or a full publication, you can do it through WordPress.

10. WordPress Is SEO-Friendly

The WordPress framework was designed with SEO in mind.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – The process of making your website as friendly for a search engine (such as Google) as possible so that it ranks higher on the results page.

Whenever you create a new blog post or web page on your WordPress website, WordPress automatically generates a title and description.

This information is very important for SEO–it’s the information that shows up in the search results for that page:

With an SEO plugin, you can also customize the title and description–we use SEOPress.

Some SEO plugins like SEOPress will also rank your content by other important factors for SEO so you know how to improve your page or post:

11. You Can Upload Photos, Videos, & Documents

WordPress supports all of the most common file types including .jpeg, .png, .pdf, and more.

Unfortunately, some of the other guys do not support as many file types as WordPress.

So if you are planning a media-rich site, WordPress is the way to go!

12. WordPress Is Mobile-Friendly

In 2015, Google released an update that rewards mobile-friendly websites, placing them higher on the results page (marketers lovingly called it “mobilegeddon”).

Consequently, non-mobile-friendly websites are penalized.

Mobile-Friendly a.k.a. Responsive – A mobile-friendly website is a website that is easy to view, read, and navigate on a smaller screen; it adapts to the screen size it is being viewed on.

Many WordPress themes are built to be responsive to all screen sizes including smartphones and tablets.

With WordPress, you know that your website is being rewarded rather than penalized in the search results!

13. WordPress Is Safe & Secure

The WordPress team is constantly releasing new updates to make WordPress software safer and better at keeping threats at bay.

As the most popular CMS out there, you can count on this being a priority.

WordPress provides security for over 30% of the internet!

14. It’s Just Popular!

Finally, the popularity of WordPress itself means that you can count on it sticking around and getting a lot of tender loving care.

We have used WordPress for all our new client websites and we thoroughly enjoy it.

Are you ready to join the 30% of the internet that uses the best CMS out there?

If you are interested in learning more about launching a WordPress website with us, we would love to geek-out with you in a free consultation!

Wherever you go, we hope that you can find the perfect website tool to meet your needs.

Happy marketing!

The Connected CEO: Part 1

Adrienne Wilkerson

May 31, 2019

Originally published on July 18, 2013. Updated on May 31, 2019.

Is it important for CEOs to be active on social media?

My answer to this question is a resounding YES! Social media is here to stay, and it’s becoming more and more critical to our communication systems. While I believe there are some legitimate concerns, they are far outweighed by the benefits.

According to recent research by CEO.com from 2019, 70% of Fortune 500 CEOs have no social media presence at all. That means of 500 CEOs only 19 have accounts on Twitter and only five of them have ever posted a tweet. Now, I’m sure some of you are scoffing, because why would a successful CEO worry about Twitter? They have people for that, right? Well I’m sure they do, however there is a huge missed opportunity for CEOs who are not leveraging social media to help their companies.

Most studies I have read list LinkedIn as the one social media outlet they do participate in, which isn’t surprising. This is a key tool for networking with other professionals and colleagues. It’s also one of the most professional and structured for business interactions and therefore the “safest.”

When we step outside of just the Fortune 500 companies and look at CEOs across America, 50% use Twitter, 47% use LinkedIn, 45% use Facebook. So, if you are a CEO, what are the benefits that could entice you into committing to using these powerful tools and what is keeping you from taking the leap? Why should you choose to be a connected CEO?

Want to get started? Schedule a free consultation today.

Grow the company brand

Human connections are everything. In fact, about 66% of consumers say their perception of a CEO impacts their perception of a company! When a CEO chooses to engage customers, vendors, employees, and the public as the face of the company s/he has the opportunity to humanize the brand and give people someone to whom they can relate.

Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group is a dynamite example of being a relatable face of his company. If you are concerned about the possible PR implications of interacting directly with the public, take some lessons from your PR departments and stay connected with them to understand what is going to help and hinder the public image.

Attract high-quality talent

About 80% of employees say they would rather work for a “social CEO.” Being connected and interacting with the public allows a CEO to communicate that they are more approachable and innovative (and by extension, their company is as well). It means that CEOs need to take the time to learn how to interact on social media channels.

You are sending out the message that you are relevant. Social media is not just for “young people” anymore. If you are going to lead and develop your staff, part of that is meeting them where they are and learning to communicate with mediums they understand and value. The days of the ivory tower are quickly disappearing and the successful CEOs are figuring this out and adapting.

Generate new leads

Customers want to engage with you, and social media provides an opportunity to do that. It’s a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of the community that surround your company.

Social media provides a wealth of feedback in an instant, offering the kind of insights that were historically only available through surveys, forms, and lengthy interview processes. CEOs now have the unique ability to be part of providing customer service and bringing a level of transparency that is fast becoming critical to the growth of their companies.

Understandably, many CEOs are wary of getting involved and feel that interaction on that level is too risky. However, there are processes that can be put into place with a company’s PR department or company to mitigate the risk of something being said that shouldn’t have been.

The truth is that the absence of a CEO on social media is huge and noticeable hole that may have a more negative effect than an honest mistake on a company’s long-term PR strategy.

Something to consider

I want to leave you with some stats that are powerful in and of themselves and if you are thinking about taking the plunge and becoming a connected CEO, then come back in two weeks and check out my next blog with tips on how to effectively manage your social media presence.

Embracing the power of a negative review

Adrienne Wilkerson

May 30, 2019

Originally published on January 19, 2016. Updated on May 30, 2019.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

That saying has been making the rounds on playgrounds for well over a century. It’s an adage that implies that words and insults can’t hurt whoever is the brunt of the comment.

If we’re being honest, it’s never really made any of us feel better, and that’s especially true in the age of digital marketing and social media. Words certainly can, and have, hurt plenty of companies over the years. Many people rely on social media reviews when they’re making purchasing decisions, so when they see a bad review that was handled poorly or ignored, they’re most likely not going to trust the company with their business.

Negative reviews aren’t all bad. Many companies have misguided fears and that result in an aversion to bad reviews, but that’s not the answer. It is impossible to make everyone happy, and if you’ve been in business for any length of time, you are going to have someone out there who is unhappy with something. Reasonable consumers understand this and will take it into consideration when scanning reviews. What do you do?

Take a bad review, handle it with respect and stellar customer service. Turn the situation around. You have the opportunity to mend any damage with the reviewer, build your reputation for making customers your top priority, and build trust with anyone that sees your response. Use negative reviews to your advantage!

Need help managing a marketing crisis? Schedule a free consultation today.

Bad reviews have been shown to improve conversion by 67%. If you handle them properly, having negative reviews can actually build trust with consumers.

Approach each negative review calmly

Make it a habit to check social media accounts for what people are saying about you. Don’t just rely on customers to post to your business page or to tag you, because many won’t. Choose a social media tool, such as Google Alert, that will tell you every time your name is mentioned on a blog, website, or in the news. There are other sites available that will also track social media sites for mentions as well.

Remember, it’s not you that the customer is upset with, it’s the situation. Take a few minutes to read through all of your reviews and mentions. Reply to the positive ones first. Then, when you’ve had a chance to process things, take a deep breath and go back to the negative ones. Facebook tracks business response times, displaying it as a badge on their pages, so try to reply within an hour of receiving a complaint.

Most importantly, never delete negative reviews. Customers want to know that you care about them and are reading what they have to say, discerning customers will notice an absence of negative reviews and may become suspicious – such is the nature of the Internet. Address each concern promptly, publicly and personally. (Of course, if they contain inappropriate language or are defamatory or otherwise offensive, then you should delete or report the comments. We definitely want you to be responsible social media users!)

“When you answer a negative review and address the upset customer, you are also speaking to the hundreds of other consumers that want to know how you conduct your business. Consumers understand that mistakes happen, so when they see a business trying to do the right thing, it builds trust.” ~ Phil Penton, President of Social Integrations.

Acknowledge the concern raised

Acknowledge the customer’s issue and let them know that it’s being looked into. Give them a sense of when and how they can expect a response. Don’t just copy and paste an automatic response to issues. Customers can spot those immediately, and they’ll feel as though they’ve been brushed aside. Keep your tone conversational, include their name, your position with the company (it gives you credibility), and mention their issue in your response.

Look into the issue and assign the appropriate person to handle it. Having an escalation plan for employees is helpful and will ensure more consistent customer service. The plan can tell staff who deals with various types of complaints, what can be done at each level to alleviate the issue, and who has the power to offer compensation.

Going the extra mile makes a big difference. People know that no business is perfect and that mistakes happen. Take ownership of what went wrong so that you recognize the problem and prevent further blame from being thrown at you. Owning the issue will allow you to focus on finding a solution instead of stemming a flood of anger.

It is vital to make sure to keep your tone conversational and natural and come across as genuine. It takes time to build trust with a customer but only seconds to lose it. Empathy and honesty (without blaming the customer) can fix almost every situation. You don’t have to have the answers, but you need to be willing to find them.

Read more: The future of marketing

Take your response offline

Don’t rely on free products and services to fix problems raised in negative reviews. You’ll find your policy will be abused if this is your first line of defense. Helping them find an answer or fixing the original problem should be your default action. Offering coupons, vouchers, or replacements can go a long way toward earning you a second chance. Follow up by encouraging the client to update their review if their second experience is better.

After your initial response to a complaint, see if you can take further conversations out of the public eye. This will give you a chance to work with the customer one on one, be more personal, and avoid other commenters from dog piling on top of you. Private messages, email, or even a phone call are ideal ways to continue the conversation.

Finally, always follow up.

Don’t assume that an issue is resolved just because you responded to it. Follow up with the customer to make sure that they’re satisfied. Taking the extra time to touch base is a personal touch that lets them know that you really do care about them and their relationship with you in the future. It also provides you with an opportunity to gain some feedback about your processes and make changes to prevent future hiccups.

You can’t make everyone happy all of the time, but you can be honest and open with your customers and you can make them feel valued. If you take the time to make amends with customers who have had a negative experience, then you’re more likely to get their business again, and they’re also more likely to recommend you to others.

Let’s develop a strategy to improve your online reviews. Schedule a free consultation!