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Why isn’t my marketing plan working? Find the right audience and maximize ROI

Picture of Sabrina Martinez

Sabrina Martinez

“Why isn’t my marketing plan working?”

One of the interesting things about working in marketing is that your friends often ask for advice. The scenarios range widely. Recently I’ve been asked about where to start with marketing for an agricultural contracting company in a small country town, how a tutoring business could connect with the right people through Facebook, and the steps a start-up business consultancy should take to establish an online presence.

It’s prompted some interesting conversations, because they’re working hard but not seeing the results they want. They’re really asking: “How do I connect with my target audience?”

You probably already have a good idea about who your target audience is. You’ll know just by looking who walks into your store, stops by your restaurant, or engages your services. If you have any kind of consumer analytics (for example, through Facebook or Google), then you’ll have a deep understanding of who they are, where they’re from, and their interests.

If this is a question you’ve been asking a lot lately, stay tuned, because I’m about to explain exactly how to find and connect with those people using a digital marketing strategy.

Prefer to chat instead? Sounds great, give us a call!

Give your audience a persona

The first step to connecting with your target audience is to create a persona. This means a short description, like a profile, of a person that sums up the key characteristics you need to know. It may sound a little strange – how can creating a description of a fake person possibly help your business?

There are two main reasons. First, it prompts you to think critically about who exactly you’re targeting. We’re not talking broadly about people who have a passing interest, who will visit your website and then disappear into the void of the internet forever. We’re talking about people who have a genuine interest in your products or services, who are most likely to become leads. This is your sweet spot, and targeting these people will ensure you get maximum ROI on your efforts.

Second, your persona will keep you laser-focused. This means everything you do, and every piece of content you create, will have the best possible chance of capturing this person’s interest. You can tailor your messaging, and your digital appearance, to appeal directly to them. For example, farmers wanting agricultural contracting services may respond to earthy greens and yellows with great testimonials and a special offer. Mothers looking for tutoring services may respond better to blues and reds with pictures of happy children and clear results. They help you deliver the right message, to the right person, in the right way.

Making personas work for you

Digital marketing covers a lot of ground. It includes everything from optimizing your website, to creating a strong social media presence, to managing your reputation. It can feel overwhelming when you’re first starting out, because each new element takes time to learn.

Everyone needs a website, because this functions as a type of digital shopfront. It gives your business legitimacy, because people can see who you are and what you can do for them at a glance. When it comes to social media and reputation management, however, different platforms appeal to different audiences. They all have pros and cons, so rather than investing a little bit of effort into all of them, we recommend focusing your efforts on the things most likely to generate results.

That’s where audience personas come in. They can be as detailed or brief as you like. The important thing is that it captures who your target audience is and what’s motivating them to choose your business. Think about your typical customers, then check your analytics to confirm you’re on the right track, before you get writing. Here are some examples:

  • Agricultural contracting: Joe, 55, is a beef producer from just outside Laramie, Wyoming. He manages a large ranch with his 30-year-old son, Jason. He’s lived in the area his entire life, and knows everyone in his tight-knit community. He’s had a good year, so he’s looking to upgrade about 20 miles of fencing, and he wants to hire someone local. His cell phone is always in his hand. He spends a huge amount of time on the phone every day, talking to suppliers and other farmers, and he listens to the radio while he’s driving to town.
  • K-12 tutoring: Michelle, 37, is a nurse from Sparks, Nevada. Her 11-year-old daughter, Jessica, is struggling with math and needs tutoring to ensure she doesn’t fall behind at school. Michelle is married with two other kids. She works shifts at the local hospital, and takes on the majority of childcare and homemaking responsibilities at home, and she’s often stressed. She spends a lot of time on Facebook, particularly in local community groups and mothers’ groups, and she wants to be certain she’s making the right decision for Jessica.
  • Business consulting: Jack, 49, and Kate, 42, are the operations director and operations manager at a manufacturer in Boise, Idaho. They’ve been told that they need to increase efficiency on the floor by 9% this quarter. However, they’re both extremely busy managing large teams and desperately need additional support, so they’re bringing in a consultant. It’s the first time they’ve used this kind of service, so they’ve both been asking their business networks for recommendations. They need someone professional, who can work within a corporate environment and who they can trust to get the job done within budget.

How personas increase ROI

As you can see, the personas give lots of interesting insights. In all cases, the strongest form of marketing will be word of mouth. People trust people they knew, and they’ll all want to ask for recommendations. However, it shows there is a lot you can do to connect with them:

  • Joe is looking for someone local, so once you create a website, you should set up a Google My Business profile. This is a great way to help people connect with local businesses, because it will ensure you appear on Google Maps, and makes it very easy for people to contact you and see reviews of your business. His cell phone is always in his hand, which means email marketing and digital advertising (through Google Search Ads and Google Display Ads) are likely to capture his attention – especially since he’s actively searching for contracting services. Since he spends a lot of time driving, you could also invest in traditional marketing methods such as radio advertising and signage along the main roads into town.
  • Michelle has a lot on her plate, so she needs to find a solution quickly. That means reviews and value statements will be key, so she can see that your business can help her get what she needs. The three best ways to get reviews are to set up a Facebook business page, a Google My Business page, and a great website with a testimonials section. We know she’s very active on Facebook, so Facebook Ads are going to be an effective way to capture her attention. They key is going to be making the value clear, so all ads should include a statement summarizing how much students have improved since they started tutoring.
  • Jack and Kate are looking for B2B marketing, which makes LinkedIn the best choice. Set up a business page, actively post helpful content – such as interesting industry news and top tips, and ensure you ask all your clients to write reviews on completion of service. They’re going to go through your website with a fine-toothed comb, before they recommend your services to the executive leadership team, so make sure it’s sparkling. You’re going to need an attention-grabbing home page, an informative about page, a very clear services page, a compelling testimonials page, and a straightforward contact page.

You don’t have to become an expert in every aspect of digital marketing to start generating strong leads. All you have to do is figure out exactly who you want to connect with, tailor your messaging to appeal to their needs, and focus your efforts on the platforms that count. That’s the secret to efficient and effective digital marketing.

And remember, you can always outsource! Talk to our team today.

Top three marketing myths busted

Picture of Sabrina Martinez

Sabrina Martinez

“I hate marketing.”

I was recently talking to the owner of a tutoring business, and she was shaking her head in despair. She offers lessons in person and online for K-12 students, and she’s been trying to get more students registered. Every time she signs up a few more, a few others move on. It happens over and over again. It’s one step forward, one step back, over and over.

Since I work with a marketing agency (hello, by the way! I’m Kirrily, a copywriter), I asked about her marketing strategy. She groaned and put her head in her hands.

“I’m just not a sales person,” she said. “I’m no good at it. I don’t like it at all.”

It got me thinking. Marketing can be intimidating when you’re first getting started, but it’s nowhere near as scary as you think. On top of that, it’s essential for every small business! I’m going to tell you exactly what I told this business owner, because there are some really common marketing myths floating around that we can bust wide open.

Want to get your marketing back on track? Call our team today.

Myth 1: Marketing is sales

First things first, marketing is not the same things as sales! Marketing for your business doesn’t have to mean dressing in a suit, shining your shoes, and putting on your best travelling-door-salesman smile. You don’t even have to offer a free set of steak knives (although, of course, you can if you’d like). Marketing is essentially opening the door. Then, when the customer walks in, sales is there to seal the deal.

Marketing is all about education. In order to choose your products or services, people need to know they exist. Further to that, in order to choose your products or services over a competitor, they need to know why you’re the best choice. And when they do go ahead and choose you, they need to have a great customer experience, so they go ahead and tell their friends (word or mouth is, after all, the oldest and most effective form of marketing there is). As you can see, information is the key.

There are lots of ways you can do this. The most obvious way is to create a great website that has all this information readily available, presented in a clear and engaging way. It’s really important that your website follows a logical structure and that all the information is well-organized, because it’s essentially your digital shopfront. You wouldn’t leave a pile of packing boxes, old milk bottles, and empty flour packets at the front of your café, would you? Keep your website clutter-free.

The next thing we recommend to all our clients is to set up a Facebook page for your business. This is a friendly and casual way to deliver your messaging right into the pockets of your community, whether that’s existing customers, people living in your area, or demographics you’d like to target. Start by inviting your family and friends to like your page, then encourage all your current customers to like your page, and make sure you share content they’ll find interesting and relevant.

Myth 2: Marketing is pushy

Good marketing won’t feel like marketing at all. Yes, that statement sounds a bit silly, but let us explain. Put simply, “marketing” really just means making information available in a way that people find interesting and helpful. It doesn’t mean you’re shouting for their attention.

Here’s an example. Say your furnace breaks down on the coldest night of the year. What’s the first thing you’re going to do? Modern consumers are most likely to whip out their phone, and Google something like “emergency furnace repair” or “furnace repair near me.”

Google is then going to generate a map showing you all the businesses in your area that have the words “furnace” and “repair” on their websites, which will mean you can quickly see all your local HVAC companies, check out their location and service hours, scan through their reviews, and start making phone calls. Have they shouted at you? No. Have they given helpful information? Yes.

This, dear friends, is modern marketing at its finest.

When we explain this concept to our clients, we like to use an analogy of a cat. If you try to make a cat eat, it’s most likely going to stick its nose in the air, run away, and hide under your bed for a few hours. If you leave some food out, however, the cat will come and find it when it’s ready.

There are a couple of really simple techniques you can use to put this into practice:

  • Google My Business is an easy-to-find profile that helps people quickly identify who you are and how you can help them. It will make sure you pop up on local Google Maps searches.
  • Google Search Ads are the ads that appear at the very top of the Google Results page. These are targeted to specific combinations of keywords and function on a pay-per-click model.
  • Google Display Ads are visual ads that appear on websites all over the internet. These are targeted, so you can optimize them for a specific demographic, and also

Myth 3: Marketing is really hard

It’s true, there are a lot of facets to modern marketing, and learning them all is a considerable investment of time. However, it doesn’t have to be hard work. In fact, you can have a lot of fun along the way (okay yes, we’re total marketing nerds).

However, if you’re slaving away in front of the computer for hours, and you’re finding the content you’re creating to be boring and uninteresting, there’s a fair chance your audience will find it boring and uninteresting too. That means it’s time to think outside the box.

One way to do this is video! Video has exploded in recent years. It can be as cheap and cheerful, or as polished and proper, as you like. Either way, people find it super engaging! All you have to do decide what you want to talk about, plan out maybe three key points you’d like to discuss, and go for it. This can be livestreamed or pre-recorded, it’s totally up to you. People like people, so this can be a great way to work smarter, not harder.

Another great idea, which we use ourselves, is to create content calendars. Planning things like social media or blogs in advance means you’re never stuck for ideas. You can wait until inspiration strikes and then knock out a whole bunch of posts in one go, keeping your brand fresh and your messaging consistent. That’s the most important thing, after all: consistency.

To be honest with you, that’s where we see most businesses come unstuck. They tackle digital marketing with tremendous enthusiasm for a few weeks, and then lose their mojo before they start converting leads. Don’t start too hard and burn out. Figure out what’s reasonable, and stick to it for the long-term. Ultimately, this will create much better brand recognition, consumer loyalty, and growth.

Remember, you can also outsource! Contact our team today.

Landing pages can create a sales funnel without a new website

Picture of Sabrina Martinez

Sabrina Martinez

Marketing and sales go together like peanut butter and jelly. Sure, each one is great on its own, but when you put them together, you get something even better. It may sound a little strange, but it’s a helpful analogy to help you conceptualize your new digital marketing strategy.

Great websites are key to great customer experience. It lets a prospective customer know immediately who you are, what you’re about, and how you can help them. They’ll figure out a glance if you’re fun and fresh, professional and experienced, helpful and informative… or if you’re just a little shady. It’s not just about the design, or the copy, but the overall impression you make on each new visitor. In that sense, we like to think of websites as a digital storefront. It lets people know straight away if they want to walk through the door and learn more, or walk away and go somewhere else.

However, new websites can be expensive. We get it. Website design and development is a huge process that requires a considerable investment of time and money to be done well. The good news is there are lots of different ways you can create a great digital customer experience. In fact, we’re going to let you in on a secret that marketers have been using for years to boost sales without creating an all-new website. Okay, are you ready? We do it by using something called a landing page.

Time-poor and looking for a quick solution? Call our team today.

What is a landing page?

A “landing page” is just a marketing term for the first page a prospective customer visits (or “lands on”) when they click through to your website. Once you have a digital marketing strategy in place, there are a few different ways people can find you – and it might surprise you how:

  • A blog post. This typically occurs if they’ve done a Google search and your post contains lots of search-friendly keywords that has made it rank on the results page. Alternatively, this can occur if you’ve shared the post to social media and people have clicked to read it in full.
  • A product or service page. Again, this can occur as the result of a Google search, but it’s more likely that people will enter your site this way via Google Ads or Facebook Ads.
  • The home page. This is actually not the most common way people will visit you. Generally, this occurs through a direct search or through a referral mechanism like Google My Business.

It’s easy to find out the most common port of entry for new people visiting your website. All you have to do is install Google Analytics on your site. There will be a menu on the left-hand side, so click on Behavior, and then Behavior Flow, which will generate a flow-chart illustrating the way people move through your website. The first column will show you the top landing pages, the next few columns will show you what people typically click on next, and the final column will show you where they left.

A great website should walk them through the process as quickly as possible, until they either go ahead and buy something from your digital store, or schedule a service. The goal is to give customers what they want straight away, so they don’t have to choose their own adventure on your site.

Make it easy for them to find what they need so they have a great experience.

Landing pages can qualify your leads. Find out how.

Key elements of a landing page

Here’s where it gets interesting. A landing page can be a pre-existing page, like a product or services page. It can be a blog that addresses a specific topic, such as a common pain point your customers experience or a frequently-asked question. It can be a custom page, like a special offer.

However, there’s one thing every landing page needs: a call to action.

A “call to action” is another marketing term you’ll hear a lot. It’s used to describe the next step you want a customer to take when they land on your website. This blog post is actually a great example. Right at the start, we asked you to call us. Since we like you, here’s a heads up that we’ll ask you to call us again at the end. (And hey, we’ll do it again now just for good measure – if you want to talk landing page strategy, give us a call. We genuinely love helping people with this stuff.)

Yes, content is important. You need to tell people how you can help them. Yes, design is important. Your page needs to be eye-catching and easy to navigate. However, unless you have a strong call to action that invites a prospective customer to engage with you and take the next step on the path to purchase (we’ll come back to this in a second), the page won’t serve you as well as it could.

Again, make it easy for people! Tell your customers what you need them to do next.

Learn how to create a high-converting landing page.

Landing pages are key to sales

Remember how we said that marketing and sales go together like peanut butter and jelly? The eCommerce boom closed the gap between marketing and sales together, because now it’s possible for customers to float along the journey from hearing about a brand for the first time to buying an item, or scheduling a service, all on their own. This process can happen in as little as five minutes!

In marketing terms, this is called the “path to purchase.” It goes something like this:

  1. Exposure: This occurs when a prospective customer becomes aware of your products or services for the first time. Maybe they saw an online advertisement; maybe they’re actively searching for businesses like yours. Either way, they found you.
  2. Discovery: This phase starts when the customer decides they want to learn more about you. Hello, landing page! They will click on a link and end up on your website. Put your best foot forward and make sure they land on the page that’s going to be most helpful to them. This means promoting products and services pages, or a custom page with a special deal.
  3. Consideration: If they’re still here, it means they’re now a “qualified lead,” which means they’re the type of person who is likely to go ahead and complete a sale. This is where content comes into play, because you need to anticipate any issues that may arise and address them proactively. Answer frequently-asked questions. Remind customers how your product or service will help them. Add video to build trust, so they can see that you’re a real person doing real business. Anything that provides useful information in a digestible way is good.
  4. Conversion: They complete a sale and officially become a customer! Whether they stepped straight through the path to purchase in one go, or they came to your website, left to think about it, and came back again, this is what it’s all about. Congratulations on the sale!
  5. Retention: They have a good experience and either come back again or refer you to others. All you have to do now is rinse and repeat.

If you were going to divide this into marketing and sales, you could say that steps 1-3 fall into the former category, while steps 4-5 fall into the latter. However, as you can see, the digital sales funnel blurs them both into one smooth funnel and gives customers exactly what they need at each step.

Best of all, by focusing on landing pages and the path each customer will take through your website, you can make targeted upgrades without shelling out for an entirely new website. It’s an efficient, effective, and economical way to improve customer experience and boost your bottom line.

It’s time to start making some sandwiches.

Remember how we said we’d ask you to call again? Yup, we’re doing it! Talk to our team about a landing page strategy.

How to choose a digital marketing agency

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Sabrina Martinez

Partnering with a digital marketing agency is an exciting step in every company’s journey. Based on our experience, there are a few different reasons clients look for a marketing partner:

  • They’re beginning a strong growth phase and need to generate more leads.
  • They’re changing their image or going in a new direction and need awareness.
  • They’re chasing big new business goals and need to bring their communities along.

Marketing is a vital part of every business strategy. The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends spending 7-8% of your gross revenue on marketing, with a 50/50 split between digital and traditional methods. This is simply because businesses don’t exist without customers. Marketing is just as essential as the design of your products, delivery of your services, and excellence of your customer experience. If things are going well, it’s a great way to carry your momentum and level-up. If things are going badly, it’s a great way to refresh your image, reset, and move into a new phase.

In this blog, we’re going to run you through the basics of working with a marketing partner. What is a digital marketing agency? How do you choose a digital marketing agency? Most importantly, what can you do to maximize ROI and get the most bang for your buck?

Want to talk to a real person? We get that. Give our friendly team of digital marketing experts a call today.

What is a digital marketing agency?

A digital marketing agency is essentially a business growth partner. They will talk to you about your business, find out about your business goals, learn about your mission and values, and then develop a strategy to help build awareness of your brand and generate as many new leads as possible.

It’s really important to note that this isn’t about sending money into an internet black hole and simply hoping for the best. It’s about using a range of digital tools, and proven strategies, to directly impact your bottom line. You should see direct results within about 90 days of coming on board.

As a quick overview, this includes:

Getting your business to rank on Google

This can be done a few different ways, but usually we combine a great new website optimized with strong keywords, an active Google My Business profile, targeted Google Search Ads, and a comprehensive blogging strategy that keeps your website active.

Building a network of engaged followers on social media

If you already have social media accounts, you’ll know it takes a surprising amount of time to create content and engage with your followers. A digital marketing will help you create a content strategy that captures your tone of voice and directly works toward your business goals, as well as a content calendar that means you never run out of things to post, and they’ll engage with your followers on your behalf. This can be done on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more.

Sending targeted ads to the right kinds of people

The best thing about digital advertising is that you don’t have to send them to everyone (although you can if you wish!). Instead, you can target the kinds of people who are most likely to actually want or need your products and services to address a pain point, which maximizes your ROI. This increases the chance that every ad impression will lead to a conversion (this is marketing jargon that simply refers to a sale). Agencies can do this through Google Display Ads, Facebook Ads, and more.

Educating your customers about how you can help them

The best way to do this is through content marketing. This includes a logical and well-organized website, an active blog page, polished video marketing, and active social media accounts.

Creating a streamlined sales funnel to capture the right people

A sales funnel refers to the journey people take from first becoming aware of your brand to completing a sale. There are a few common steps they all share, and your marketing partner will be able to streamline the process to help you attract the right people and give them a great experience:

    1. Exposure: A prospective customer first becomes aware of your products or services.
    2. Discovery: They are interested in learning more and become an online follower.
    3. Consideration: They are now a “qualified lead” and educate themselves about you.
    4. Conversion: They complete a sale and officially become a customer.
    5. Retention: They have a good experience and either come back again or refer you to others.

This is where all the pieces of the puzzle tie together. First, people will learn about your businesses through targeted digital advertising, or social media, or a direct Google search. Second, they’ll click through to your Google My Business profile, social media page, or website. Third, they’ll look around to find out if you’re the right fit for them. Fourth, they’ll buy a product or schedule a service. Fifth, you can give your marketing partner a high-five, because you’ll know the strategy worked.

Want to find out more about digital marketing services? Get noticed with the right mix of creativity and technology.

How do you choose a digital marketing agency?

There are a few different factors that you should consider in choosing a digital marketing partner.

The most important is obviously track record. You need to know that your investment is going to pay dividends, in the form of new leads, because marketing should be an investment, and not a risk. The best way to assess this is by looking for case studies and testimonials on their website, and by checking out their reviews on Google My Business. You’ll be able to get a pretty good overview of the quality of work they deliver, the types of clients they work with, and their success rate.

The next most important thing is culture. A digital marketing agency isn’t just a robot at the end of an email, and honestly, it would be a waste to treat them as such. You should think of them as a business partner, who is just as committed to helping your business grow as you are, so it’s really important that you’re a good fit for each other. Their website will give you a good overview of this, but you could also check out their social media accounts to get an idea about their brand personality. If all goes to plan, you may end up working with them for a long time, so it’s important to choose well.

After that, you need to look at things details like capability, budget, and business goals.

As a general rule, it’s probably best to start by looking at partnering with a digital marketing agency about the same size as your business. If you’re a start-up, consider a start-up, because they’ll be just as hungry and agile as you are. If you’re medium-sized, consider a medium-sized agency, because they will have solid strategies in place, with a consistent client base, and they’ll be looking to level-up too. If you’re on the cusp of big business, consider a top-tier agency, because they’ll have the resources and processes to support your business goals. That way, you’ll be able to work well together.

Want to talk numbers? Find out how much it costs to hire a digital marketing agency.

How can you maximize ROI?

Good marketing needs good communication. It’s as simple as that. To create a great partnership with a digital marketing agency, and maximize the impact of your campaigns, you need to be very clear about what you want to achieve. This will help your marketing partner design the strongest possible strategy, and deliver the best possible campaign, to ensure you grow in the right direction. Then, once you’ve set your campaign goals, you’ll need to provide prompt and honest feedback.

As we said right at the start, you should aim to allocate at least 7-8% of your revenue toward your marketing budget, and you should aim to make every dollar of this work as hard for you as it possibly can. Help your marketing partner help you by letting them know exactly what you want. That way, they can make all the necessary adjustments to ensure you always put your best digital foot forward. At the end of the day, it’s about helping your business grow, scale, and thrive.

Ready to get started? Schedule a free consultation!

All the things you shouldn’t do with Facebook Ads

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Sabrina Martinez

Facebook Ads can be a time-consuming to set up, and confusing to use, but the pay-off can be truly tremendous. As technology continues to develop and the world progressively grows remote, one thing is becoming clear: the marketing tactics you were using before aren’t going to work the same today.

This is true whether you’re an experienced digital marketer or you just created your company’s Facebook page. Things have changed! And with the average Facebook user spending 38 minutes on the platform every day, it’s no wonder why 92% of marketers use it to their advantage.

The competition’s steep. Over 1.5 million businesses advertise on Facebook. How can you ensure you get seen by the right people? You essentially have two options: you can either learn how to advertise on Facebook, or you can hire someone who knows what they’re doing.

If you’d rather take a shot at it yourself, that’s what we’re covering today, but unconventionally. Today, we’ll be walking you through the top seven things to avoid while advertising on Facebook.

Want to outsource? Talk to our social media experts.

How do Facebook Ads work?

We’ve covered this topic before, so we’ll keep this section short. Way back in 2007, Facebook Ads were known as “dark posts.” Why? Because they weren’t directly associated with your Facebook Page or Group. Therefore, Facebook saw them as “undercover” posts meant to convert your customers without the direct brand association. As you can imagine, they’ve grown significantly from the days of small display ads on Facebook’s sidebar.

Today, Facebook Ads are a laser-targeted tool to get you in front of your customers no matter where they’re at. You can use them to promote your Facebook Page, posts, Facebook Group, or even your website. For example, you run an HVAC business and have your Page set up to drive appointments. You could use Facebook Ads to encourage users to your Facebook Page, Group, or website. That’s the power of Facebook advertising.

Who should use Facebook Ads?

There’s much debate about who should advertise on Facebook (and why), but we’re firm believers that anybody can – and everyone should! eCommerce businesses no longer dominate the internet; the perfect time to get into Facebook advertising is today. It can make a big difference to you bottom line.

Read more: What are Facebook Ads and how do we use them?

What are the most common mistakes we see?

We won’t sugar coat it: Social media marketing is tricky. Every platform has its algorithm to be aware of, and every algorithm caters to a different audience. It can be exhausting trying to stay on top of everything while also running your business. And while Facebook Ads can – and do – make a big difference in business, they can be confusing. Sometimes it’s helpful to hear everything you’re doing right in your marketing, but sometimes the best way to truly level-up your strategy is to understand which parts to improve. With that in mind, are you ready for some hard truths?

Here are the seven most common mistakes we see while making Facebook Ads.

#1: Not knowing your Facebook Ads target audience

As we mentioned earlier, Facebook’s advertising strength comes from its incredible targeting power. You can target people by their location, age, gender, relationship status, connections, interests, languages, education, and even workplace. You can get so hyper-targeted that your pool of users becomes too small. The trick behind a well-targeted audience is knowing their interests.

Most marketers try to either target the largest groups possible or the smallest, but both are mistakes. Instead, they key is to understand their precise interests. For example, suppose your target audience is yoga enthusiasts. In that case, chances are they follow local yoga studios, yoga magazines and blogs, and like workout apps. Add those to your interest lists while creating an ad, and suddenly, your pool becomes much more specific and unbiased.

Advanced Tip: Download Facebook Pixel onto your website. When someone visits your site via your Facebook Ad, Pixel will monitor any action they take and report it to you. Not only will you be able to see your ads working, you’ll be able to retarget to them later on.

Read more: What analytics should I track on Facebook Ads?

#2: Not running strong enough creative on Facebook Ads

What’s the first thing you see on any piece of content, paid or organic? The image, of course! Your creative is the most crucial part of your ad, hands down. Many things can make a creative flop, but the most notable mistakes we see are the image’s relevance.

Is your image reflective of your target audience? Are they good quality photos that aren’t stock images? Are they branded, engaging, and eye-catching? If you’re not sure, get some feedback from your boss or team! If they don’t find them engaging, your target audience won’t either.

Advanced Tip: Use images with people facing to the right. We’re more likely to follow another person’s gaze—leading readers right to your headline.

#3: Using Facebook Ads to run only one ad at a time

Not everyone has the marketing budget for multiple offers running simultaneously, but you should still be running multiple ads at once. This is called A/B testing, and it’s absolutely the best way to know if your ad is operating at the highest capacity. Your team can offer their opinions to get the ad running, but ultimately, the market will show you what it’s interested in – with clicks!

Unfortunately, most small businesses will only run one ad at any given time, slowing this feedback loop and losing out on opportunities to improve their results, decreasing your ROI.

Advanced Tip: Run at least three ads with the same offer. The only difference between all three? The creative! After about six weeks of A/B testing with controlling what’s changed, you’ll have a fire ad, ready to be deployed whenever you need it. Here’s how we recommend you get started:

  • Change the image (or video or carousel) on all three Facebook ads.
  • Find which performs the best after about 10 days.
  • Then, run three more Facebook ads. This time, keep the same creative and change the headlines. Repeat the vetting process.
  • Then change the copy of your advertisement.

Read more: Quick guide to Facebook Ads for contractors

#4: Running Facebook Ads with an incomplete funnel

Here’s the thing: your ad is only ONE piece to a much larger sales or marketing funnel. A “funnel” is the path your customers take from their personal Facebook or Instagram feed to whatever end goal you’d like them to take. For example, say you run a coffee shop, and you want to get more sign-ups for your email newsletter. Your funnel would include your Facebook ad, the landing page with your offer the ad takes them to, the newsletter sign-up form, and the thank you page.

For most ads, the funnel is the same: Your ad, your landing page, and your thank you page. If any of these are outdated, it could affect your conversions (and therefore your results.)

Advanced Tip: Use the same image that’s on your ad on your landing page. This way, people know they’re still in the same funnel—and are on their way to getting the offer your advertised.

#5: Paying attention to the wrong analytics

We’ve already mentioned tracking tools like Facebook Pixel. Still, we recommend using the analytics tool that makes the most sense to you. If you’re already using Google Analytics to track your website, you should continue using it. However, the most important metric when it comes to your Facebook Ads is your click-through rate (CTR). Your CTR lets you see how many people are clicking on your ads – it shows how much you’re paying per click – which lets you know your investment is paying off.

Low CTR could mean one of two things: your ad is losing interest—known as “ad fatigue”—or your pool has run out, and you’ll start paying more per click.

Advanced Tip: To avoid ad fatigue, replace your creatives every two weeks with fresh but similar images or videos. Testing new photos is the best way to develop your advertising expertise!

Read more: Ignite your HVAC marketing plan with Facebook Ads

#6: Running Facebook Ads without a set budget

Or worse, not sticking to a budget. This is the easiest way to get into an advertising hole, and unfortunately, we see it all the time. Here’s the secret to advertising: set a budget, stick to it, and learn to work within it. This is why A/B testing is so important, and why great creative is the key: you should maximize the value of every dollar, and make it work as hard for you as possible.

Advanced Tip: Even if you’re ready to increase your budget, see if you can increase your conversion rates within your existing budget. When you optimize your ad even further, adding the extra allocated budget will triple or even quadruple your results!

#7: Expecting immediate results

By far, the biggest misconception we encounter is that paid marketing will get you instant results. As we’ve already covered, perfecting advertising takes time, especially with Facebook Ads. Even if you have a solid understanding of your target audience and your brand, Facebook’s algorithm doesn’t just shoot ads to your entire pool of targets.

Instead, think of it as a trickle. Every time one ad gets more clicks, Facebook sends it to more users. Your best bet is to let the ad run its course, for roughly ten days or so, and do your analysis of the results afterward. And remember: pay attention to the metrics that matter. If you don’t get the results you wanted, you’re one step closer to understanding the cause. Optimize, test, and try again.

Most of our clients don’t get results within the first month. This isn’t because they’ve got bad ads, it’s because Facebook takes its time to ensure it’s providing you with the best results.

Want to call in the experts? Hi! We’re here to help.

HVAC marketing can boost your reputation (and your sales)

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Sabrina Martinez

The digital revolution has done so much to democratize marketing in the last few years. Now small, local HVAC businesses can compete with bigger companies on a much more equal footing.

Here, we’ll look at three low-cost, and in some cases, free, methods to get huge reach and effective targeting as part of your HVAC marketing strategy.

Prefer to chat to a person? We get it. Give us a call.

Building sales funnels in HVAC marketing

Sales funnels are a widely used marketing technique that you can use to draw in new customers for your business. The basic premise in HVAC marketing is that you start by making people aware of your business and gradually draw them down the levels of the funnel, giving them the information they need, until they decide to become new customers. It’s called a funnel because it starts broadly – i.e. who are you? Then the information gets more specific as they go further along. What’s your full range of services? Then what’s a special offer specific to their needs? Then how do they contact you? The focus narrows until you’ve given them precisely what they need to address the issue they’re having. It’s important to keep this in mind as you design your website and build your strategy from there.

Read more: Capture more qualified leads with landing pages

Awareness is key to good HVAC marketing

Awareness is the first stage in a HVAC marketing funnel. At this point, your main concern is with getting as many people to see your content as possible. You’re trying to convert people from general consumers to prospective leads. These people will remember you next time they need HVAC services. At this stage quantity is as good as quality, you want good coverage, but you also need to make sure that when people read your content or see your ads, they aren’t put off by low quality.

A big part of HVAC marketing is education

Next, you want to be putting out content that answers people’s questions. This shows them the problems they are having, even ones they don’t know they are having, and how you can fix those problems. We like to recommend that you include helpful advice on how people to fix these problems themselves. This breeds goodwill and helps make people trust you so that they remember you as a helpful, trustworthy business next time their A/C unit or furnace needs its annual service.

Read more: Is marketing the new sales?

HVAC marketing relies on engagement

The third stage of the funnel, when it comes to a good HVAC marketing strategy, is engagement. This really requires quality production. Every time someone clicks on one of your ads, or a link in one of your blogs, they will be taken to what we call a “landing page.” It is important that this is just as high quality as the ad or the blog. The purpose of all these ads, blogs, landing pages, and so on, is to get people to reach out to them, to walk into your metaphorical showroom.

The best part of HVAC marketing is conversion

Finally, we come to the thin end of the funnel, conversion. At this point, people are actively coming to you. They know who you are, they know what services you provide, and they have a good impression of your business. Now that, you’ve got them coming to you, you need to sell to them. Let’s continue our showroom metaphor. They want to buy a product that you sell or use a service that you provide. What you have to do is prove to them that they want to buy from your business, not your competitor. At this point, you’re no longer really doing digital marketing, but rather you’ve transitioned into sales.

Ready to get started? Schedule a free consultation.

Social media is key to HVAC marketing

Social media is another incredibly powerful HVAC marketing tool that has made the job of small companies easier than ever before. Because platforms like Facebook have such huge reach, with more than 2/3 Americans using it, you can market directly to your most likely buyers. It’s an essential element of every strategy, because unlike the broad funnel of your website, waiting to catch interested customers, you can use social media more like the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner.

The advantage of social media, and advertising platforms like Google, is targeting. Social media platforms gather huge amounts of data about their users which allow them to model those people really accurately. This means that you can target ads to people and be confident that they are more likely to succeed than traditional ads. The real advantage with social media is that you can do this, while still advertising to huge numbers of people, which makes your sales funnel very effective.

Social media is useful in other respects as well. It allows you to create a community following around your brand, with real person-to-person interaction and gives your customers a direct line to your business for reviews. Some may see this as a benefit only for the customer, but your business can benefit as well, as long as this is done right. When you post content on your Facebook page, you open yourself up to the whole world, and anyone can say anything. This means that any negative reviews you receive can be responded to directly. When doing this, it’s important to do it well though! You have an opportunity to turn a negative review into a positive with a well-reasoned, polite response. We often find that these actually give a better impression of a business than great reviews alone.

Read more: Is your social media producing results?

Blogging can boost HVAC marketing efforts

We briefly mentioned blogging in our sales funnel walkthrough, and here we’ll discuss how to make sure your blogs have maximum effect. Blogging may not be an obvious HVAC marketing strategy, but it’s essentially a method to game Google’s search algorithms, known as Search Engine Optimization.

Whenever someone searches for something on Google, the search engine searches through everything on the internet to bring you the most relevant results. It works out what is relevant based on various criteria some of which we’ll list here, along with the way you can meet those criteria:

  • Relevance: Google calculates relevance based on the amount of time users spend on the search results provided for a given search term. If someone searches “HVAC near me” and they click the first result and realise it isn’t what they’re looking for, they click the back button quickly and Google interprets this as the page having low relevance. You, therefore, need to make sure that your blogs are relevant to the title and keywords you’re using.
  • Questions: You’re probably aware that Google searches are often used to answer questions. A great strategy for blog writing is to find out what questions are being asked, using services like Answer The Public, which allows you to find out what the most common questions are for certain keywords. Just type in the name of service or product you want to sell, find out what people want to know about it, and answer that question. Make sure you link to a page where people can either buy the product online or a contact form so they can get in touch.
  • Backlinks: Google uses links on webpages as a sort of review system. If someone links to your site, it means they think it is good. However, getting other websites to link to yours can be challenging, so we use the practice known as backlinking. This involves linking between pages on your own website, to accrue multiple “recommendations” of your own content.

Ready to develop your strategy? Call our friendly team.

Simple way to use sales funnels in dental marketing

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Sabrina Martinez

You’ve probably seen the term “sales funnel” quite a lot as you’ve been researching digital marketing online. They can be extremely powerful when you’re trying to convert leads, but how can you apply a sales funnel to your dental marketing strategy? That’s a really good question.

Sales funnels works as you’d expect, by collecting as many people as possible at the wide end, and gradually drawing them down the levels of your funnel until they become paying patients at the bottom. The number of people at each stage will reduce as they progress through the funnel, until you only have qualified leads. The way you set up your funnel is important, so here’s a step-by-step guide.

Ready to talk sales? Ask our experts today.

Dental marketing starts with awareness

Awareness is the first stage of every digital sales funnel. This is where people become prospective patients, transitioning from never having heard of your dental practice, to becoming aware of it. This is also the stage at which the person starts to learn how you can help with problems they’re having.

The best dental marketing strategy here is to generate awareness is through content. At this stage, you want lots of people to see what you’re putting out. This maximizes the number of people in the funnel and increases the number of people making it all the way through. This is a case of quantity AND quality – obviously, the content has to be good enough that people actually read or watch it, but you need to make sure you don’t spend too much time making it, and too little working on the next piece.

So, what kind of content you be putting out to raise awareness of your dental practice?

The truth is just a 400-600 word piece about a topic people are searching can increase the chances of people finding your business. Take our client, Dr. Mandanas, whose integrative dental practice is based in Anchorage, Alaska. We write blogs for her dental practice every month and now we have our blog on the top of the Google results page for the search term “integrative dentistry.”

Dental Marketing

You can increase your chances of reaching the top-ranked spots on Google search by practicing Search Engine Optimization, which we explain in detail here. It’s a really neat way to take your dental marketing strategy to the next level. You should also note that in addition to publishing on your website, you can boost the reach of your blogs through Google Ads, Facebook ads, and social media.

Want to phone a friend? We’re here to help.

Education is the key to dental marketing

The next level of the funnel is education. This is for those people who clicked on one of your ads, navigated more of your website after reading your blog, or clicked on a link in a Facebook post. The people who click on a link on social media or an ad need to be sent to dedicated “landing pages,” which are essentially sales pages that give people all the information they need to sign on.

For example, if you’re advertising children’s braces, your ad and landing page should focus on the topic. The landing page should give some more information about the braces you offer, the problems you can fix with them, and how to get in touch with you so that they can learn more. It should be fact-based and persuasive – getting this right is essential to your dental marketing strategy.

Alternatively, if you wrote a blog post about regular cleanings and their importance in staving off periodontal disease, you could then include a link to the page of your website where people can schedule an appointment to have a check-up and cleaning.

Read more: 5 genius ideas to grow your dental practice

Dental marketing leads to engagement

The third level of the sales funnel is where prospects become leads. People in your community are aware of your dental practice, they know they services you provide, they’ve clicked through to your website, and now they need to be converted into leads. The best way to convert these people is by having them reach out to you and schedule a consultation, or to ask about your services and costs.

The question, then, is how to get these people to get in touch?

Your landing pages really need to be on point. You need to be active on social media. You need to run Google Ads for key terms people will search when they have an issue you can address. That way, you’re staying front of mind and making it as easy as possible for them to choose your practice. That way, when they’re interested enough to pick up the phone or fill out a contact form on your website, it will be an easy decision and you’ll be waiting to welcome them into your office.

Although this is a very exciting stage, we’re not done yet.

This is where you cross from dental marketing to sales. The prospective patient is now interested enough in your dental practice that they have actively got in touch with you, but if you can’t close the deal all that work will have been wasted. We call this process “conversion”, as you are converting a person from a prospective patient into an actual patient.

Need help refining your landing pages? Contact us.

Converting patients with dental marketing

Conversion may be more of an art than a science. It’s important to remember that people probably aren’t just looking at your practice. If they’re actively looking for a dentist it’s likely they’re dissatisfied with their current provider, or they have a problem. If it’s the latter case, they are likely to be looking with a sense of urgency and will be looking for a solution ASAP. Whichever of the practices they are researching is able to provide that information first is likely to convert that prospect into a patient.

According to revenue acceleration company Xant, half of prospective patients choose the company that reaches out first. Among the reasons for this are a perception that your practice is well organized, professional, eager to help, and easy to find. Those who do it well are likely to convert.

Read more: Step-by-step orthodontics marketing plan

Dental marketing needs a target

We talked at the start about the way sales funnels grab as many people as possible with a wide opening, and gradually draw people down to become patients as they pass each level of your dental marketing strategy. However, there are tools available that make this even more efficient.

The rise of targeted advertising on platforms such as Facebook, and across the entire web thanks to Google, means that you can use your funnel a bit more like the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner. By targeting your ads based on Facebook or Google’s prediction models, you can make sure that your ads are only seen by people who are likely to make their way all the way through the process. This may seem as though your numbers will be reduced, but due to the vast reach of platforms like Google and Facebook, you can still reach large numbers of people. More importantly, you’ll reach the right ones.

We hope you find this guide helpful in creating your own sales funnel. This is a great time to re-evaluate your dental marketing strategy as many people look to start returning to regular life, although now with a heightened sense of hygiene and cleanliness. Not only is this a time to welcome your regular patients back, but you can also seize the opportunity to increase your market share.

Ready to get started? Schedule a free consultation.

Is your social media marketing producing results?

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Adrienne Wilkerson

Originally published on June 12, 2018. Updated on July 9, 2020.

So you have your social media editorial calendar and you’re consistently posting good content and putting ads out there on social media. Congrats! Good job! Way to be proactive!

The next question, naturally, is how effective are your efforts? Is your hard work producing results? It’s great if the phone is ringing more or there is more foot traffic at your place. But do you know where it’s all coming from? If you don’t this is a great article for you! Getting out there and being active as a business on social media is at least half the battle. However, if you’re not paying attention to the results and where they are coming from, there is a very real possibility you’ll burn out on social quickly. Here are three things to consider to make sure your efforts are producing the results you want and need.

Does Your Social Media Marketing Have Reach?

When we talk about reach in social media marketing, it means something similar to what you would expect: How many people could see something published by you. It doesn’t mean how many people are engaging with your content, but the total number of eyes that could be seeing the posts you put out.

While reach is important to keep an eye on, it isn’t the blockbuster measuring stick it used to be. In the earlier days of social media marketing, there were considerable bragging rights tied to the number of fans or followers you had. This got so bad that at one point brands and even celebrities were “buying” likes, followers, and fans from random places like Thailand, Cambodia, and others. Facebook caught on to this disappointing fad and shut it down rather quickly. Now the focus is on quality over quantity. Yes, you want the number of fans you have to consistently grow over time. However, making sure you engage the followers you do have is now more important than just being the one with the most fans.

The number of impressions is a valuable metric to track on Facebook because it means someone saw the post or interacted with it in some way. Twitter, on the other hand, counts an impression when a post is delivered to a particular Twitter accounts stream. They do not say that someone has seen the tweet, just that it would show up somewhere in a person’s stream. Make sure you keep this in mind as you are comparing stats. In my experience, impressions, especially on Facebook, are more important than your reach numbers. I say this because reach is about the potential and impressions is about those who have seen your material.

Are You Getting Leads from Social Media?

Having quality engagement and reach on social media is a good start, but the goal of these efforts is to drive traffic and leads to your company. I believe social media has a lot of power in generating brand awareness. It is foundational that the public knows your business exists. Awareness is the first step, and while it is more intangible than getting a customer, it carries a lot of value.

Once people are exposed to your company, then you want them to choose you over the competition. You want them to become leads, which are potential new clients. For the most part, we consider followers or fans as leads when they make the jump and click on a post, an ad, or tweet that takes them to your website or a landing page. Some people will give your business a call directly from Facebook, but honestly, this is rare. Leads typically will reach out via your website or a landing page when they are ready to make a buying decision. We do see a fair number of our clients get business via a direct message on Facebook as well.

Google Analytics is a great tool to track the amount of traffic that is coming from social media to your website and if you use a landing page creation service like LeadPages you will have their tracking metrics to look at as well. If your social media marketing isn’t generating the amount or the type of leads you want, that usually means you aren’t on the right platform, or your content isn’t engaging the right customer.

Are Your Leads Converting to Customers?

The final step in the process is making sure your leads are converting to clients. Usually, you have to do this tracking internally because in involves making sure you know which of your new customers were referred to you by social media. If you are marketing through multiple channels, make sure you track which one is delivering better quality leads. That is then the one you need to put the most effort into.

To be honest, this final stage of tracking is often the one most overlooked. There are no easy tracking tools like Google Analytics to automate it for us. Instead, we have to train ourselves and staff to consistently ask the right questions to gather the date we need to prove ROI from our social media efforts. However, it is well worth the extra time and attention to close the loop.

Social media marketing is a powerful tool for businesses in Anchorage and across the US. Part of what makes it so powerful is the tracking that is available to everyone who does it. The monitoring gives us the data we need to prove what is working and what isn’t. The information we get paints a roadmap by which we can guide our marketing to be as effective as possible. Without this data, we are driving blind and throwing our money away. If for any reason, your social media marketing is not getting the results you want, the answers are probably in the data we discussed in this blog and my blog on the effectiveness of your social media. With that information, you can tweak and adjust your marketing until you are getting the clients you want from your social media marketing.

How to tell if your social media marketing is effective

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Adrienne Wilkerson

Originally published on May 10, 2018. Updated on June 30, 2020.

You’ve started your own business. You’ve got a steady stream of customers. You’ve got a website. You’ve got a great reputation and plenty of word-of-mouth recommendations. Things are going well – really well – and you’re looking to take your business to the next level. Social media marketing will play a key part of this, so if you haven’t already, it’s time to set up some accounts. From there, you can develop a social media marketing strategy.

Want to cut to the chase? Schedule a free consultation.

Getting started with social media marketing

First things first, what accounts do you need?

Well, it depends a little on your business, but we always recommend Facebook and LinkedIn. These two create a solid foundation. Facebook is the biggest social media platform in the world, which means it has enormous reach, as well as a really comprehensive advertising platform that means you can connect directly with your target customers. LinkedIn is a business networking platform, which is a great way to connect with other business leaders in your area and stay across the latest trends and developments in your sector.

Of course, there are many other platforms available for businesses to join. If your business is lifestyle based, very visual, or primarily works with women, you might find it helpful to have an Instagram page. If your business primarily works with young people, you might want to consider a TikTok. If you work in a technical field and most of your customers are men, you could consider investing in YouTube. Different platforms are optimized for different demographics, and each one has its pros and cons in terms of ROI.

When you’re starting out, however, Facebook and LinkedIn are great first steps.

Read more: What are Facebook Ads and how to we use them?

How social media marketing works

Second, you’re going to need to develop some content – but how can you tell if it’s working?

There are four key factors that determine whether your social media marketing strategy is successful or not: reach, engagement, leads, and conversions. We’ll delve into the first two in a little more detail below.

Social media marketing for reach

Put simply, reach means the people who are seeing your messaging. This includes the people who follow your account, as well as the people who see any ads you run across the network. As you can imagine, the bigger the reach, the better your chance of targeting the right people, so it helps to develop a big audience.

This means publishing the kinds of content that people actually want to see – for example, things that are interesting, amusing, or helpful. It could be a snippet of important local news, a how-to guide to solving a common problem your customers face, or a personality filled post with an accompanying image that will brighten someone’s day. This will make you memorable and will ensure as many people follow you as possible.

However, social media marketing is different than traditional marketing. In the pre-internet days, advertisers would post messages everywhere, with the hope that casting a wide net would generate a few bites from the right consumers. Facebook’s biggest attribute is undoubtedly its ability to cultivate audiences based on interests. The people following you will be interested in your business, as well as your products or services, which makes them far more likely to take you up on any offers, deals, or promotions you’re running.

As you can see, reach is a really important component of your social media marketing strategy, so we recommend spending a little bit of time thinking about your target customer and creating a buyer persona. Then, it’s a great idea to sit down and create an editorial calendar with a bunch of ideas of interesting and engaging things you can post and share to capture this person’s attention. Make your account as interesting as possible!

Read more: 10 tips for optimizing your social media.

Engagement is the core of social media marketing

Once you’ve built your reach, you need to focus on engagement. You’ve figured out who your target customers are, you’re posting interesting content, and you’ve built up a solid audience of current and prospective buyers. The next step is to elicit a response from them, which will ensure you’re top of mind when they need you. There are three main responses you will want to watch for and track: likes, shares, and comments.

Likes

Likes are important on a post because they show the algorithms of most platforms that this content is something people “like,” which means it warrants making it into more people’s feeds or a higher ranking in search results. Also, people tend to pay more attention to a post with more likes; it means to us that this post is “popular” and we should follow the crowd and like it too. It’s a relatively passive response, but it means your posts will show up in newsfeeds extending past the collection of people who follow your account. Free advertising? Sign us up!

Shares

Shares have a lot more value than likes, because it functions as an endorsement. Pay attention to how many shares your posts receive, because the more, the merrier. When your material is being shared, that means you are hitting the mark and producing content your followers find interesting enough to share with their friends. Essentially, they are putting their name behind the material once they send it out to all of their friends, colleagues, family, etc. This is great when it comes to building awareness of your brand and promoting special offers.

Comments

Comments are a good indicator of engagement because they mean that your material is resonating with people and they want to take the time to leave a comment. Of course, there’s no way to control what people will say, and you may get a mixture of positive and negative feedback, but we encourage our clients to open up comments for a couple of reasons. First, comments show that your material is hitting the mark with your target audience. It’s not boring! Congrats. Second, allowing comments is an excellent opportunity to have a conversation with the people who have chosen to view the content your company is putting out. Anytime you can have a conversation it is a great chance for you to engage and learn more about your customers and prospects.

Read more: Facebook Ads – what analytics should I track?

Leads and conversions in social media marketing

That’s all we have time for today, but stay tuned for another blog about using social media to develop leads and drive conversions. In the meantime, you can read more about capturing qualified leads with landing pages, or if you work in the functional medicine sector, how you can use marketing to convert leads.

Ready to get started? Schedule a free consultation.

Finance marketing: Start building your reputation

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Sabrina Martinez

Every good finance marketing campaign starts with trust.

When you help someone with their finances, they’re not just trusting you with the numbers. They’re trusting you with their livelihood. It doesn’t matter if you’re running a credit union or offering a new POS solution for small retail stores; you can have a profound impact. You can help them solve problems they’re facing every day to improve efficiencies and improve their bottom line.

There are two key aspect of trust that you can develop with digital marketing services.

The first is credibility, and the second is transparency. Clients want to get to know you a little bit, so they have an idea what kind of business they’ll be working with. That means communicating to them that you’re qualified to help, and an expert in your field, and that engaging your service will be the start of an open and honest relationship in which you have their best interests at heart.

Ready to get started? Let’s dive in.

If you’d prefer to skip straight to a conversation, schedule a free consultation.

Trust starts with a website

It may seem elementary, but the first and most important thing you can do to start building online is to have a good website. This isn’t something you can just set and forget. A good website is something that you’re constantly updating with fresh information, to ensure all the content is up-to-date and that it has a contemporary, professional and engaging look and feel.

A website is essentially a digital storefront. Bear with us a moment and picture two offices side by side. One has gleaming windows, fresh paint and clear signage that indicates exactly what products and services are on offer. The other has cracked tiles and cobwebs under the eaves, with a sign that is now missing a few key letters. Which would you trust to help your business?

A good website needs a few key elements:

  • A well-organized structure. Keeping things clear and simple means clients, and prospective clients, can quickly find the information they need. This is the first impression you make, so if your website is helpful, they’ll assume you are too and be more likely to proceed.
  • Concise, helpful information. Modern consumers favor straightforward text, broken up into bite-sized chunks that make each page easy to skim-read. That means using keywords, headings, bullet points and other formatting devices to convey information.
    • An engaging “Home” page. Make the right impression with an attention-grabbing homepage that captures your company’s personality and expertise.
    • A polished “About” page. This is where you demonstrate your qualifications, with brief bios of key team members, as well as any professional affiliations.
    • A helpful “Services” page. Clearly set the services you provide, including a brief sentence or two explaining how you can help your clients.
    • An active “Resources” page. Blogging is great way to capture people’s interest. Blogs are laden with keywords that perform well in search, and can be used to educate clients, answers FAQs, and position yourself as a thought leader.
    • A simple “Contact” page. Don’t make clients play hide-and-go-seek to find your phone number. Ensure your contact details are intuitive and easy to find.
  • Strong visuals. Imagery goes a long way toward creating a sense of transparency. Corporate photos are a powerful way to do this; corporate video will take it a step further. This allows people to see and hear you, so they get a sense of what it will be like to engage you.
  • A clear call to action. What’s the next step you want new clients to take? Arrange a phone call? Schedule a free consultation? Sign-up for something? Make it clear on every page.

Read more: 5 website trends you need to watch this year

Google boosts credibility

Secondary to a good website is a Google My Business profile. This is one of the most powerful ways you can use search engine traffic to generate new leads., because it makes you discoverable to anyone who searches terms like “best accountant in ___” or “best credit service in ___”, etc.

Most importantly, it improves your SEO in your local area, and keeps clients informed about your details – for example, your opening hours, your phone number, and any updates such as holiday closures, expanded services, and so on. It also boosts consumer confidence because it creates a public forum for reviews (we’ll circle back to this a little later in this post) and you can add photos.

Every business automatically has a Google My Business profile. All you have to do to get started is sign into www.google.com/business, fill in the details, and verify that you own it.

Read more: 10 tips to improve your website’s ranking on Google

Power of online reviews

Word of mouth is the original and best form of marketing. Since the first business was invented, people have been talking to their friends, family and co-workers about what they did and how they helped. It’s the simplest and easiest way to generate leads, because if one client tells another person they had a good experience, they are more likely to trust you.

Reviews are the digital equivalent. The internet is made up of a community of strangers, so trust is never assumed, but people will be much more likely to trust businesses if others have had good experiences. Google My Business provides an excellent platform to facilitate this.

Once you set up your profile, ask your long-term clients if they’d mind leaving a review. Make it a standard business practice to ask clients to leave reviews when you finish up different contracts. Ask colleagues, business partners, and even employees to leave reviews.

“That’s great,” we hear you thinking, “but what if I get a negative review?”

Negative reviews are a scary prospect, but they don’t actually have to be a bad thing. For example, they can be a great way to identify opportunities to improve your services and business practices, improving customer experience and increasing efficiency and maybe even profitability.

They’re also a powerful way to demonstrate the character of your company. You may need to take a deep breath and calm down for a second before you reply, but it’s important that you do respond to every single comment left on your platform. Your replies will also be public, so they allow other people to see that you are efficiently, polite and professional. Addressing grievances through reviews also shows your commitment to customer service. Who knows, if you’re able to solve a problem, you may even be able to turn the negative review into a positive!

Read more: 6 must-read tips to rocking your online reviews

Testimonials as proof

Another really effective way to prove your trustworthiness is to incorporate testimonials on your website. All you really need is a positive comment attributed to a real person.

For example, you could use an excerpt from an email one of your clients has sent with positive feedback on a project (with their permission of course). Testimonials can be as long or short as you’d like, as long as you can show prospective clients that they can from a real person at a real company. They are incredibly persuasive – since they’re placed on your website, customers will be perfectly poised to respond to the call to action. It could be the final gentle nudge they need.

Have questions about implementing these strategies? Schedule a free consultation.

What is StoryBrand marketing and how does it benefit my business? (VIDEO)

Picture of Sabrina Martinez

Sabrina Martinez

Originally published on June 20, 2019. Updated on May 22, 2020.

In your personal or professional development, have you ever discovered something so innovative and earthshattering that you’re not quite sure how to incorporate it with your M.O.? Like, you’re frozen in your tracks, wondering if this new world will ever be compatible with the one you have always known?

We’ve been there. In fact, we’ve been there for the past several months thanks to a little thing called “StoryBrand marketing.” The marketing world is changing again. We knew it would. It’s nothing new. However, this time the marketing world is not just making a baby step. It’s making a quantum leap.

If the change required a change of technology, we would be on it in a heartbeat. But it does not. No, no, this change requires something much more difficult: a change of mind.

Let’s talk about StoryBrand and how it is radically altering the way we think about marketing.

Just want to talk it through? Schedule a free consultation.

What is StoryBrand marketing?

In 2017, Author and CEO Donald Miller wrote a book called Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen. He wrote it based on a proven process he developed at his Nashville agency, StoryBrand. The book quickly made the Wall Street Journal’s Bestsellers list and it is estimated that over 500k copies have been sold. Today, he shares the process in his Building a StoryBrand podcast and many classes, events, and free resources on the StoryBrand website.

So what is the StoryBrand marketing process? Well, before we dive deep into what StoryBrand marketing is, you need to know what the StoryBrand mentality is all about.

The driving thought behind StoryBrand marketing is this: Your customers don’t really care about you or your business (sorry, we know that’s a little harsh!). What they do care about is themselves, their life – their story – and how you and your business solve their problems to make it better.

On the first day of marketing school, you are taught the difference between “features” and “benefits.” Features are factual statements about what a product or service is, but benefits are statements about what a product or service does. Benefits tell customers how the product or service provides value to them, answering the question, “What’s in it for me?”

Benefits sell; features do not. For example, “low calorie” is a feature of Diet Coke, but “look good” (because you aren’t putting on weight) is a benefit.

For a long time, marketers have been unwittingly closing in on the StoryBrand mentality–they understood the importance of putting the customer first, but they didn’t quite hit the mark. The simple, “features vs. benefits” narrative was not the full picture.

StoryBrand marketing takes “benefits” a step further into something far more powerful: empathy.

Read more: Seth Godin is still right, content marketing is the only marketing

How to develop a brand story

From what we can see, humans have been telling each other stories since we first learned to communicate. Storytelling is hardwired into our DNA. Something that Miller recognized (and many before him, as he discusses in his book), is that all our stories follow the same format. Here is that format (the StoryBrand marketing process!):

  1. A Character (Hero)…
  2. Has a Problem (Villain)…
  3. And Meets a Guide…
  4. Who Gives Them a Plan…
  5. And Calls Them to Action…
  6. That Ends in Success…
  7. And Helps Them Avoid Failure.

Isn’t it beautiful? This is the storytelling format that we have been using to communicate with one another from the beginning of time. Can you think of any books or movies that follow this format? How about The Matrix?

  1. Neo (the chosen one)…
  2. Is confronted with the reality of his world (artificial intelligence is controlling everything)…
  3. And meets Morpheus…
  4. Who shows him what life is like when you are “awake”…
  5. And calls him to fulfill his prophecy…
  6. Leading to an agreement with the artificial intelligence…
  7. That prevents the destruction of all mankind.

The classics are easy examples. Star Wars… The Lord of the Rings… Harry Potter… each of these audience favorites follow the format outlined above.

Now here’s the fun part: When we, as business owners, enter our customer’s story, we do so as the guide! StoryBrand marketing is:

  • Showing our customers that we also believe they are the most important character in the story (the hero)
  • Validating their problems and empathizing with their pain
  • Letting them know that we are their advocate and we can help (a guide)
  • Giving them a clear, easy way to succeed using our products and services
  • Outlining the victories they will have and the pitfalls they will avoid with our help

To summarize, StoryBrand marketing is both acknowledging and acting on our customer’s perception of our brand’s role in their story, to earn their business.

“StoryBrand marketing is both acknowledging and acting on our customer’s perception of our brand’s role in their story, to earn their business.”

Read more: 5 content marketing tips to improve your SEO

How does StoryBrand marketing benefit my business?

What makes StoryBrand marketing so hard?

Most people think of marketing as promotion–painting the business as the hero–when in reality we should be doing just the opposite!

How many times have you seen something like this on an advertisement?

“We are experts in our field because we have been working in this industry for over X years. Our staff receive the highest level of training and they are all certified professionals. We guarantee the highest quality in all our products because they undergo vigorous testing. Our customer service is second to none. We receive many awards. Give us a call.”

All the time, right? Now, how about something like this?

“What if you had control of your life? What if you felt like a child again? You deserve freedom. Let’s help you get there. By choosing the option that is right for you and joining our community, you can lift yourself up and find your way.”

These kinds of advertisements are a bit rarer, but wouldn’t you rather work with the second company than the first?

A medical doctor could point to the wall and show you his PhD, he could talk about his rigorous training and explain complex concepts to you using big words, but you won’t feel at ease until he tells you simply, “You are going to be okay. We are going to figure this out.”

Unfortunately, many businesses are stuck in the old way of marketing, talking about themselves and boasting about their successes, not their customer’s.

Read more: How to develop a comprehensive content marketing plan

Building credibility through stories

It can be really challenging to make the mental shift–to put yourself in your customer’s shoes–especially if your business has been self-focused for a long time.

It can also be difficult to accept the “risk” of taking the focus off of your business. “But don’t our customers need to know that we are the experts? Otherwise, they shouldn’t trust us!” Yes, establishing the credibility of the guide is a part of StoryBrand marketing, but it is just a small piece of the process. More frequently, we find that it is difficult for us as self-centered human beings (we all want to be the heroes of our own stories) to lean into focusing on the customer.

When businesses lean into StoryBrand marketing, something amazing happens:

  • The traction they couldn’t get on social media begins to materialize
  • The subscribers they couldn’t get on to their blog and email lists begin to appear
  • The leads they couldn’t get on their website begin to come in.

In short, they succeed in their marketing.

StoryBrand has created a free, interactive tool for businesses who are looking to use storytelling in their marketing. It is called a “brandscript.” By visiting mystorybrand.com, you can work through the tool to develop a brandscript for your business! The tool includes video descriptions of each section as well as an outline for you to follow, to make the process as simple as possible.

Meanwhile, we at Beacon Media + Marketing are currently rolling all our clients over to storytelling. On every website we design, social media account we manage, and video we produce, we are changing the voice to focus on the customer rather than the company. We firmly believe that this is the next step forward for our clients, and we can’t wait to experience the results.

Want to learn how storytelling can help sales? Schedule a free consultation.

Digital marketing can make your Reno tourism business irresistible

Picture of Sabrina Martinez

Sabrina Martinez

Reno has a lot going for it. It’s famous for having glittering casinos, great weather, and since Lake Tahoe is just down the road, a lot to do outdoors. In 2018, the number of visitors to Reno topped 5 million for the first time, and we expect it to boom again later this year when COVID-related travel restrictions ease across the U.S.

It doesn’t matter if your preference is hiking, biking, skiing or watersports. The area has gear rental shops aplenty, day tours are a dime a dozen, accommodations are everywhere and plenty of businesses are vying for customers.

What can you do to make your tourism business stand out? The short answer is with an effective tourism marketing strategy. In this article, we’re going to run through the basics of tourism marketing, from strategies to plans and trends, to help you identify a few key ways you can make your business irresistible.

We’re going to use a hypothetical Reno RV rental business as an example.

Prefer to talk it through instead? Schedule a free consultation.

Tourism marketing strategy

Effective tourism marketing comes down to one simple idea: storytelling.

It’s a leisure activity, which means you’re vying for someone’s spare time. Reno has a well-established and highly-competitive tourism industry, but at the end of the day, your biggest competition doesn’t come from other businesses. It comes from the couch/Netflix/sleep. The easiest choice for a customer to make is to stay home, so you need to motivate them.

That means capturing their imagination. Every good tourism marketing strategy crafts a story that generates an emotion and makes that business irresistible. The first step is simply to brainstorm.

The next few paragraphs will run through a few simple questions to get started.

Curious about influencer marketing? We don’t discuss it in this article, but we’ve prepared another whole article that includes everything you need to know to get started.

Who is your ideal customer?

Tourism marketing strategies are only effective if they convert sales. That means you need to share the right message with the right person in order to start them on the path to purchase.

What kind of people are your best customers now? What kind of people would you like your future customers to be? What age? What income level? Families or singles? Local or interstate?

For example, if you’re operating a Reno RV rental business, you’ll know there’s a sweet spot in the market. But are you looking to explore new markets, like young people? Are you getting a lot of enquiries from people who want to do fishing trips? Do you want to enter the luxury market?

Figuring out these details early will help develop the tone and style of your campaign and will help you decide which platforms will be most effective. It will also come in handy later, when you start running ads on Facebook and Google and you need to target specific demographics.

Read more: What are buyer personas and how can they help convert leads?

What are your business goals?

Just to be clear, “I want more business” is not a business goal. Be specific. Having an ideal number in mind will help in a number of ways, for example, when it comes to setting a realistic budget.

Think about what resources you have available and what kind of growth you can accommodate in the short and long-term. It’s important to make sure you can meet the needs of all new customers – after all, digital marketing strategies are incredibly effective, but nothing beats word of mouth.

It might be as simple as “rent four additional RVs every month” or “increase RV sales by 5%”.

Once you’ve identified your ideal customer and set your business goals, you can set measurable key performance indicators. This is critical, because without them you won’t be able to tell if your digital marketing campaign is working or not. This will help you adjust things and refine things as you go.

Read more: 3 reasons why having a mission statement matters

What is your brand story?

Now we can get to the fun part, your brand story. The simplest way to start is by identifying what makes your brand unique. What’s the hook that makes your RV rental business the right choice?

As we mentioned earlier, an essential part of tourism marketing is capturing the imagination of your readers. What’s the story you want them to leave with? What kind of experience do you want them to have? Start at a holistic level – wrapping in the local scenery, local attractions, local experiences – and then drill down the value your business will add. How will it enhance their vacation?

Trust is really important, so your own personal story can be an important part of this. Why are you running this business? Where are you from originally and why did you move here? What’s your favorite thing to do in the local area? What’s your favorite thing about your customers?

It might be helpful to jot down some ideas as bullet points. These will form the basis of the text that will appear on your website, as well as the advertising you’ll run on Facebook and Google.

What do you need to get started? We’re can help with all aspects of marketing, including letting you know The Top 5 Digital Marketing Tools And Why They’re The Best.

Tourism marketing plan

Now that you know what you’re trying to achieve, it’s time to develop a tourism marketing plan that you can put into action to generate leads and start converting sales. Now, for the purposes of this article, we’re going to focus on digital media and not traditional avenues like print advertising.

There are four basic elements to factor in: your website, social media, search engine optimization (SEO) and video. None of these things works in isolation, so make sure you incorporate each one.

Website

A great website is the foundation of every successful digital marketing strategy. It’s the beating heart of your brand story and is the best opportunity for you to educate customers about your products and services. It needs to be simple and easy to use. If you’d like to learn more about websites, we’ve included some handy tips and tricks to help you through the design and build process in this article.

For an RV rental business, you should expect to create at least four pages: your home page, your about page, your booking/contact page and your “Find an RV” page. Make sure you have lots of good images of your RVs as this will really help build trust with your prospective customers.

Read more: Best practice for tourism website design in 2020

Social media

Remember how we talked about storytelling earlier? This is where it plays out. Social media is a great way to capture people’s imaginations, especially if they’re scrolling through their Facebook or Instagram feeds while they’re stuck in the office with a never-ending to-do list on a rainy weekday.

Every good tourism marketing plan will include two types of social media: organic and paid.

Put simply, organic is the kind of things you post from day-to-day to share your brand story. This means colorful and eye-catching pictures, warm and friendly captions, and helpful information. It generally serves two purposes, which is to capture people’s imaginations and starting building trust.

Paid social media is very strategic. You’ll have seen posts marked “sponsored” in your feeds on both platforms. These are highly-targeted messages designed specifically to generate traffic to your website and generate new leads. These work best is you target a very specific demographic and use them to offer something – for example, a special offer or a downloadable local travel guide – so that potential customers feel like they’re getting something of value from you.

You probably have a pretty good idea already about the types of people that are most likely to rent RVs from you. However, if you’d like to learn more about targeting a specific demographic or potential new demographics, the best way is to install Google Analytics on your website. This generates a lot of useful data about who is visiting your website. Here’s a post we wrote (which uses an HVAC case study, but the information is relevant to all small businesses) that will help.

Read more: 10 tips for optimizing your social media presence

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO is the name given to the practice of optimizing content to rank on search engines like Google. Search engines basically scour the internet for relevant keywords, so that when someone searches a term like “small business marketing”, they immediately get a list of articles that use those words.

This is really important in a tourism context, because local experiences are everything and there’s a lot of competition. With an RV rental business, for example, people need to know that you’re an RV rental business and they need to know where you’re based. That way, when they search “Reno RV rental”, your business will pop up at the top of the search results.

It’s pretty simple, really. The more content you publish with those key words, the more Google will assume you’re an authority on the topic and the higher your website will rank.

According to Google, 31.7% of users click on the first result on the list, so ranking is important.

Good SEO is both an art and a science. There are a lot of resources available online (for example, this post we wrote about How To Create A Show-Stopping SEO Strategy), but it may help to get some professional help when you’re starting out just to make sure you understand how it all works.

Video

Definitely include video into your tourism marketing plan. It’s a great way to integrate storytelling into your website and social media strategy and it will also help your content rank better on Google.

Again, picture your ideal customer at work on a grey Wednesday. They’ll be scrolling through their social media feeds on their lunch breaks or on their commutes to and from work, which is the perfect time for you to pounce with a dose of escapism and imagination. Take them on some mini-tours of your local area or show them the latest and greatest RV so they will want to learn more.

Honestly, we can’t stress the value of video marketing enough. Here’s an article (and a video) that will teach you why video marketing is so important.

Tourism marketing trends

Tourism marketing trends change all the time. It’s not just a case of things going into and out of fashion over time. Companies like Facebook and Google periodically tweak their algorithms, which can change the game overnight. The first and most important thing is to make sure the advice you’re getting is up-to-date. Look for articles and blog posts with recent date stamps.

2020 has been a little challenging for tourism marketers so far, with the advent of COVID-19. However, once health authorities give the all-clear, the tourism business will pick up quickly.

Here are some of the top tourism marketing trends we expect to see this year:

  • Increased visitation to smaller markets. People have always wanted to try new things and go to new places. As social media and the travel industry have grown, however, they also want to do things their friends and family haven’t already done. This is a great opportunity for smaller markets to kick their strategies into high gear to attract new business.
  • This ties in with the theme above. Tourists want to embrace unique experiences and opportunities and they want things to be tailored towards their individual needs. This is a great opportunity for RV rental businesses as no two road trips are identical.
  • Shorter booking windows. Perhaps we’re getting more spontaneous over time. Perhaps our desire to escape is stronger. Either way, booking windows are becoming shorter across the industry. This means having a simple and easy online booking process is critical.
  • Focus on small operators and “authentic” businesses. People deal with corporations all day, every day. When they’ve put on their vacation sandals, they want to deal with real people. There has never been a better time for savvy small and medium-sized businesses to seize opportunities to engage with new customers and give them an experience they’ll remember.
  • Rise of experience-based vacations. This means road trips, camping, fishing, hiking, eating and more. Experience-based vacations provide the opportunity to really invest in a particular place or type of trip. All you have to do is convince them the best way to do that is in an RV.

Read more: Essential tools for tourism marketing

Tourism marketing companies

Want to consult with a tourism marketing company in Reno? We can help.

Beacon Media + Marketing specializes in digital marketing, web services, social media and video services. We can advise you on the best approach and we can help with things like website development and video production. Our Reno office is located at 201 W Liberty Street, Suite 312.

Alternatively, you can reach out via our website.

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