Digital

By Nancie Lyons

Why Market Your Business?

When you choose to market your business, it is because you are looking to promote your products or services. The reason behind marketing is to get your brand message delivered to as many people as possible that might have in interest in your products and/or services.

The Role of Search Engine Marketing:  Lead Generation!

Search Engine Marketing allows you to market your products and services by utilizing the top search engines…Google, Yahoo, and Bing. SEM is one of the most proficient marketing techniques that will effectively drive QUALIFIED LEADS to your business in 3 ways.

1. SEM will get your phone to ring
2. SEM will bring potential customers to your website
3. SEM will bring people to the physical location of your place of business.

With SEM, Connoisseur Digital can provide proficient and effective ways to be found on search engines. We are able to bid on industry specific keywords related to your business, your products, and your services. We can target people who are already interested in looking for a business like yours and the services that you offer. When activating your SEM campaign, we can provide your potential consumer with exactly what they are searching for.

How Will SEM Benefit Your Business Specifically?

When people perform a search on Google, Yahoo, or Bing for specific products or services, more likely than not, they are in a buying stage. Utilizing Search Engine Marketing, we are able to target your business and the products/services that you offer. When someone searches for a specific product relating to your business, your ads will appear on the search engine results page (SERP). SEM enables us to place your business in front of the people looking for you and what you have to offer, increasing your chances of bringing these potential customers directly to your business website.

• Qualified Lead Generation: Search Engine Marketing gives you the ability to market your business 24/7. Being visible on the major search engines, you will have the potential to drive qualified leads to your website at any time of the day. According to internetlivestats.com, Google now processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average, which translates to over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide. Utilizing SEM, you can be a part of those searches in the specific geographic area that you are looking to draw business from.

• SEM is Cost-Effective: When a campaign is built correctly, Search Engine Marketing can be highly cost effective and efficient. Search engine traffic is defined as direct marketing. It can be extremely targeted which will enable you to more efficiently convert prospects to customers. SEM is also, extremely transparent and measurable. There is no guessing as to whether or not you are getting clicks through to your website. At Connoisseur Digital, you are given detailed reporting that will give you assurance that your campaign is working and driving potential consumers to your website.

• Build Your Brand: It is very important to your potential consumer to view your business as an authority in your respective industry. The best way to do this is by building your brand. SEM is one of the most effective ways to accomplish this. When people repeatedly see your business website, they will begin to remember your brand, especially when combined with other forms of marketing like Radio. In the event they do not need your product/services at this moment, they will recall your business name in the future when it applies to their situation.

• Always Stay Competitive:  If you conduct a search for the services that you offer, do you see your business website? Chances are, some of your competitors are already visible on the major search engines. Don’t let them take potential business away from you! Get in the game and begin leveraging SEM to your advantage. By utilizing SEM, you will stay competitive in your industry and you can have a share in the pool of potential consumers.

Google, Bing, and Yahoo account for approximately 90% of all search engine traffic according to www.netmarketshare.com. SEM will enable you to be a part of these searches in order for your business to gain maximum exposure.

If you would like to find out how you can take advantage of this enormous potential, please contact Connoisseur Digital today and speak with one of our experts! We will help you take your business to another level!

By Moss Jacobson

Visual recognition takes time to develop in newborn humans; in fact, some research says that it can take upward of 2 months for a baby to fully distinguish people’s faces. Humans maturation of sensory perception from mere detection of large contrasts between light and dark to full awareness of all the colors, images,even textures we can recognize with sight, gives marketers a valuable, yet complicated, tool for delivering ad messages.

Creative visualization in advertising goes back to the earliest days of print and billboards; a Google search will bring up more than enough ads to capture your attention and cause a major delay in productivity (do not try this at work!). Of course, the focus now is the evolution to digital photos, and video, and imagery across all sizes of viewports, massive out of home display screens, skyscrapers, and even hundreds of illuminated drones in the sky. From simple, print ad images that clearly define a message, to complex animated display ads and videos testing the boundaries of what consumers will tolerate as we browse the internet and use smartphones. This is why the visuals of ads are more important than ever.

Your Consumer is exposed to up to 10,000 messages a day!

In the early 2000’s, marketing professionals often touted that consumers were exposed to more than 2,500 advertising messages every day. Today, the AMA notes studies showing that average consumers are bombarded with up to 10,000 brand messages daily. The AMA further notes that people switch between screens up to 21 times per hour and the average attention span is now a mere eight seconds. Furthermore, there is belief one must see a message between seven and twenty times before taking an action. Eye-tracking research shows that internet readers spend more time looking at images than text on a page. Facebook had this figured out with the previously in-force 20% text rule (now they classify the text density into 4 categories to determine limitations of reach for the most dense ads) which may have confused many, but surely presents an image-rich environment. And now, adding in auto-mute for online video, more than ever, it’s about what we see.

Imagery delivers…

The lesson here is to get more creative with imagery in ads. That’s not to say Geico’s ‘Unskippable’ pre-roll ads were not creative, but they still relied on sound. Think more along the lines of these respected video ads: Hefty’s ‘Office Party’, Under Armour’s ‘It Comes From Below’, or the Jason Bourne 6-second trailer. These examples deliver a distinct visual message accomplished with just the images. Rich-media display ads with movement and/or video will achieve high levels of engagement, too; especially when tied to a brand’s custom, visual content.

So while Radio is undoubtedly the ultimate, cut-thru-the-clutter, low-CPM, reach medium, marketers using the best photo and video imagery deliver compelling ad messages in the blink of an eye. Take a second and critical look at the effective use of your brand advertising imagery.

Looking to take your imagery to the next level, contact Connoisseur Digital creative team, 888-819-2336.

By Doug Gunsolley

This question gets asked quite often in the digital marketing world: What is the difference between SEO and SEM and which tactic is right for my business? Let’s start with the basics:

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is a form of internet marketing that often utilizes keywords and individual bids, to show custom ads on a search engine results page. Also known as PPC (pay per click).

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your website to increase the quantity and quality of FREE traffic through the organic sections of a search engine results page.

Here’s a closer look at both practices.

SEM: The Sprint

If you want visitors to your website today, SEM is your best course of action. A paid search engine ad campaign can be set up and launched in as little as a couple of days, and can drive traffic to your website almost immediately (if it is implemented correctly).
Using a pay per click campaign, you can set an advertising budget and specify which specific keywords you want to be found for, as well as when and where your ads show up using geographic targeting and ad scheduling. You can even take this a step further with a display ads campaign by setting parameters for target demographics such as age, gender, shopping habits, parental status, etc. Your ads are eligible to show when a user types in a search query and you only pay from your budget when that user clicks on your ad.

SEO: The Marathon

If SEM is the sprint, think of SEO as the marathon. Despite what some companies may promise, there is no such thing as overnight success for non-branded keywords. You may not see your search engine rankings shoot up after a day, a week, or even a month. SEO is a slow, steady process that may take a few months to begin showing progress. More competitive industries may take as long as six months to show significant improvements.

There are two main components to SEO: onsite optimization and offsite optimization. Onsite optimization involves applying technical attributes such as proper titles, header tags, meta descriptions, URL formats, scheme data, and the like. Offsite optimization is the process of utilizing opportunities outside of your website. Some common offsite optimization strategies include “link building” (the process of having other websites link back to your page), local listings optimization, and posting to social media sites. These build credibility in the eyes of the search engine, because if several websites are linking back to you, your content must be good. Both onsite and offsite optimization are imperative for good organic rankings.

While many of the actual tactics for SEO do not have a direct cost, the knowledge and expertise associated with implementing them by an SEO team will usually involve a fee. Although there is not a direct cost associated with each visitor to your website, ranking well on any search engine takes time, effort, and a knowledgeable team of SEO specialists.

Which is the better option for your business?

Truth is, SEO and SEM are both important components of any digital marketing campaign. Since succeeding in each requires different skill sets and specializations, many businesses turn to a knowledgeable digital agency for guidance.

If you would like to learn more about how Connoisseur Digital can help your business succeed online, please call us today at 888-819-2336.

By Jackie Magnusson

What is programmatic display and how can it benefit your business?

You may have been hearing a lot about a hot new online advertising opportunity called programmatic display, but what exactly is it and how might it benefit your business?

A display ad is an ad that can be served on a website or social media platform as a banner that visually conveys the intended ad message utilizing components like images, video, and audio. Display ads can be an enticing way to reach your intended audience when they are spending time online outside of search.

What makes programmatic display different than traditional display advertising?

In the past, when an individual or business wanted to run a display ad on a particular website they would have to approach the website owner or representative of that site and then they would need to submit an insertion order for a particular placement and position on said site for a set dollar amount. Technology has advanced to the point where these transactions have now been automated, and a bidding platform can evaluate the available inventory and then bid for that open position, allowing for ads to be shown on a greater number of sites for a lower cost to the advertiser.

What kind of business can benefit from programmatic display?

Any business! Programmatic display is a great marketing tool for any kind of business to showcase their ads to a variety of potential clients on various websites and applications, from NYTimes.com to Candy Crush, programmatic delivers ads to where potential customers are spending their time away from search.

Dynamic banner ads that showcase a compelling call to action can generate more interest than traditional text only ads. Imagery and video in banner ads can help to tell a story, increase brand recognition, and capture attention. Programmatic display offers advertisers an opportunity to be visible to potential clients on the sites and apps where they are spending the majority of their time, even when they may not actively be searching for products and services.

Interested in getting started with a programmatic display campaign for your business? Contact us for a free consult, 888-819-2336.

By Moss Jacobson

In light of the recent speculation that Amazon may acquire Target in 2018 ( https://goo.gl/RqXCc2 ) and with many confused over why the online mammoth is steering towards brick and mortar infrastructure, Amazon’s use of traditional advertising, (specifically Radio), should also be noted. Of course, in the waning days of 2017, Amazon announced plans to make waves in the U.S. digital ad market and attempt to disrupt the Google/Facebook duopoly. So why would Amazon need a traditional ad medium like Radio? For starters, Prime Day 2017.

During the week of July 3rd, 2017, Amazon soared to number 13 in the national advertising Radio commercial airing counts having not even been in the top 100 the week prior. This put them among some of the most prevalent and consistent advertisers we hear daily on U.S. Radio like Geico, Home Depot, and McDonald’s. This makes sense considering that Radio is well-known in the marketing community to maintain the highest weekly consumer reach of any other media, while simultaneously generating campaign awareness lift and delivering quantifiable ROI’s exceeding $23:$1.

Considering Amazon reported spending $7.2 billion in marketing in 2016, landing a top Radio advertiser spot should not be out of the question or out of their budget. In fact, Amazon’s 2016 marketing spend was more than Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Kroger combined. These are all well-known Radio advertisers, so why wouldn’t Amazon compete in the ad space of which some of these retailers typically dominate? That’s exactly what Amazon did. In the battle for purchases during the 2017 Christmas shopping season, the online giant placed in the top 10 Radio advertisers for four weeks; reaching a high in the number 2 spot and taking a spot at number 11 for a 5th week.

Amazon’s monumental endeavor in Radio advertising in the 2017 holiday season paid off for the online titan, as it touted 2017 to be the “biggest” holiday season ever. Amazon is expected to have grabbed more than 50% of new holiday online sales in 2017. They reported more than 4 million people signed up for Prime (or a free trial) during a one week period in December, as well as more than 1 billion total items sold – including $140 million over the 5 days from Thanksgiving thru Cyber Monday, and the Amazon Echo and Fire TV stick with Alexa remote in command of the best-selling products from any manufacturer in any category. It’s reasonable to conclude that Amazon’s monumental dive into Radio advertising, coupled with recent quantitative reports of Radio’s increased effects on driving online traffic, made 2017 Amazon’s most notable year ever.

(Sources: RAB, Business Insider, Inside Radio, Nielsen, Ad Week, CNBC, 247wallst)

By Robin Faller

Google continues to cautiously roll out its Mobile First Index. Your website’s rank will be based on your mobile version, not your desktop version.

How will the Mobile First Index work?

Google will be crawling your site based on your mobile view. The content and page speed of your mobile site will factor into the rank of both your desktop and mobile site. Google will most likely favor content, Title, H1 and structured data that appears on your mobile version.

What does Google have to say about it?

At SMX East in NYC this past fall, Google’s Gary Illyes was interviewed about the move to Mobile First during the Mobile First session. Key takeaways included:

● The primary driver to consider this was the tectonic shift to mobile device use
● Google wants to see a great user experience, fast load times are critical for the mobile consumer
● Google also wants to see the consumer get the best relevant content on mobile
● Dynamic serving sites may not perform as well unless they are properly structured
● Sites that are responsive will be fine, Google continues to recommend responsive design

During the transition Google will run two indexes, eventually moving to Mobile First.

How do I know where I stand?

Google has published resources to help you understand where your site’s weaknesses are.
Test My Site is one of them. The test will generate a checklist of suggested corrections to improve your load speeds. Continue to run regular tests on your site as new additions like widgets, plugins, and photos can slow things down.

Google has also pledged to continue to blog about the Mobile First Index so you can stay updated.

What if I need a site restructure?

If you need an update be mindful of the latest trends:

● User experience varies by industry, some industries require more content than others, some industries require more visuals than others
● Content has to be relevant and informative
● Write quality content that is useful to someone’s search intent
● Include visible conversion path so your audience can easily connect with you (phone, forms on every page, and chat)
● Responsive Design simplifies website crawling and indexing

Both our custom responsive website design and SEO services are based on Google’s best practices. Contact us for a free consult, 888-819-2336.

By Doug Gunsolley

Facebook is now the world’s second largest online advertising platform and trails only Google. The two account for 63% of online revenue. One of the biggest reasons for Facebook’s growth is it has accumulated a wealth of data about its users which advertisers can use to precisely target the customer they are looking for. This data includes audience demographics, interests, and behaviors. Setting up a Facebook Ads campaign is a great way for many businesses to effectively target prospects for branding, leads, and sales.
Like many online advertising platforms, Facebook Ads was originally set up as a do-it-yourself model. And while may firms do try their hand at managing their own Facebooks Ads campaign, setting up and running a successful campaign can be a challenge for the inexperienced. That is why many businesses utilize the services of a digital marketer or agency for Facebook Ads. There are advantages and benefits of hiring a pro to setup and run your campaign in order to get the most out of your advertising dollars.
Here are 5 great reasons you should consider using a professional agency to set up and run your Facebook Ads campaigns:

1) Eliminate Expensive Learning Curves

Let’s face it, online advertising platforms can take a while to master. Getting optimal performance for your ad dollars might take you months to achieve and can lead to considerable wasted spend while learning what does and does not work for your particular campaign. By hiring a pro, you are getting their experience and expertise for your campaign right from the start. That equates to better performance and return on investment.

2) Save Valuable Internal Resources for Core Competencies

Most business owners wear many hats when it comes to running their business and are often pulled in different directions. It can be difficult to devote the time and resources to mastering the Facebook Ads platform when there are pressing business issues. Hiring a digital agency to manage your Facebook campaign can allow you to concentrate on what you do best.

3) Have Access to Ideas that can Help Your Business

Besides creating and running your campaign, agencies can also act as another set of viewpoints and ideas to give insight on your marketing. Since these pros have probably worked with others in your industry, they can be a valuable resource of proven ideas and techniques.

4) Work with the Latest Facebook Ad Formats and Features

A digital agency that runs multiple campaigns can provide you with access to cutting edge features and formats. Facebook Ads can cover a variety of objectives including local awareness, lead generation, Ecommerce sales, video views, etc. Your agency will be able to match your objectives with the type of campaign that will best meet them and use multiple strategies that you might not be aware of.

5) Ability to Change Course Quickly

To produce amazing work for clients, agencies know they must be able to adapt quickly to changing markets and conditions. Your agency can gain actionable insights from the data they are producing in your campaign. They understand that they always need to move quickly to stay ahead of the curve.

Since agencies are accountable for delivering results, any firm you are considering hiring should be an active and knowledgeable partner in running Facebook advertising solutions. A good Facebook advertising agency will not shy away from campaign performance and will be eager to analyze the data to better help you understand the outcomes, gain insights about new audience segments, and identify ways to take your program to the next level. To learn more about how Connoisseur Digital can take your Facebook marketing campaign to the next level, call or contact us today!

By Jackie Magnusson

Instagram is an incredibly powerful marketing tool, when used effectively. The visual impact your ads and posts can have on Instagram can help to capture potential client’s attention, grow your audience, share your content, and reinforce your branding. In order to take advantage of all that Instagram has to offer you should follow these three easy steps:

1. Create Your Business Account.

While this may seem like a no-brainer, when setting up a Social Media account that is going to be used for business it should be a reflection of the business, not of the person running the account. A Social Media business account should be dedicated to promoting the business and gaining followers. More followers mean more people who will see, and potentially share, your business’s posts and content.

2. Define Your Message and Post Accordingly.

Consistency and branding are two major factors that can impact the success of a business’s Instagram page. In order to ensure that you are maximizing your posts on Social Media you should be sure to define what message you would like to send to your potential audience. Make sure that the content you are posting is relevant to your business and reinforces your branding message. For instance, if you are in a service oriented field where you do home renovations, showcasing completed jobs can be a great way to communicate to viewers the kind of work you do, which will ideally generate interest from potential clients who see your post.

3. The Art of the Hashtag

Hashtags can be a great way for people to find your posts, especially if they are using the “explore” feature to browse new content on Instagram. In order to increase the likelihood of people finding you when using this feature, you will want to take advantage of hashtags. When using hashtags with your posts you want to be sure they tie back to the content in the image and the message you want to promote. Hashtags you use should be relevant to your industry, should showcase products, and should highlight any special offerings you have. A closet company for example may want to use #organized when posting an image of a completed closet. Hashtags can help you get found, so don’t hesitate to use them.

Does all of this still seem impossible to manage? Is Instagram a black hole of confusion for you that you would rather not touch with a ten-foot pole? Well we can help with that. If you are at a loss for where to begin, Connoisseur Digital can help get you set up and get a Social Media plan in motion. Call us for a free consultation, 888-819-2336.

By Robin Faller

The Internet is a jungle out there.  Consumers live on mobile, looking for information on demand.  If you don’t deliver, your potential customer will bounce.

Consumers seek…

• Websites that load faster than 3 seconds on mobile
• Easy navigation
• Readable content
• Accountability
• Credibility

As you finalize your online marketing plans for 2018, understand your digital footprint and how it affects your customer experience.  Here are a few questions to consider:

• Is your website loading fast? You can test it here Test My Site
• Is your website providing a great customer experience with bold conversion paths? (Phone number, short visible form, and chat)
• Are you cross promoting what makes your business unique and special on your site?
• Are you showcasing a call to action an offer on your site?
• Are your phone calls being answered with a few rings and handled with a smile?
• How can call handling be improved?
• If you can’t handle calls, can you hire an answering service for overflow?
• Are forms short?
• Are form submits being handled quickly?
• If chat is on, are you responding with a personalized approach?
• What is breaking down in the sales process…are leads being tracked?
• Is your social media footprint telling your story? (Expertise in your industry and company culture)
• Do you have strong reviews?
• Are you responding to reviews?
• Have you provided consumers with a FAQ on your website?
• Do you have a Q&A on your Google My Business page?
• Can your site be found through other rich listings?
• Are you maximizing the convergence of pay per click strategies across Search Engines, Social, and Display?

Start with your website making it the best it can be.  Build your Social Media and Listings profile.

Drive new site traffic through a tailored marketing plan leveraging campaigns SEM, Paid Social, Display and SEO.

Seem a bit overwhelming?  Connoisseur Digital can tailor a plan that will be effective, driving ROI based on your priorities for growth.  Call us for a free consultation, 888-819-2336.

By Moss Jacobson

Since today’s typical consumer journey involves online search along every step, can traditional media such as Radio influence search engine use?

Consider this:

Radio reaches more than 90% of the people age 12 and older in the U.S. every week, and it’s on 24/7. The effectiveness of Radio advertising lies in the scientific foundation of how human brains process and retain sound called echoic retention. The area of the brain responsible for echoic memory provides for sounds to be much more easily implanted and recalled than visual images. (Have you ever thought about how much earlier in cognitive development humans speak compared to learning how to read?) These principles cause people to remember things they never committed to memory as a result of frequent and repetitive exposure to audio messages including words, statements, phrases, jingles, and songs. (Isn’t it a lot easier to sing the 8:33 minutes of “American Pie” than recite the more than 800 word lyrics?)

What happens next:

So When effective Radio advertisements repeatedly inform listeners (249.1MM 12+ reached per week!) about products and services, the messages stick in one’s brain until there is a need to fulfill. When listeners turn to online search during the initiation phase of their journey this is no longer a random search. They are under the influence of the power of words and sounds embedded in their minds as Radio-exposed consumers. (Did you really think all those search terms came out of thin air?)

Yes, there’s the proof:

Recent research revealed that Radio drove an average of 29% incremental lift in Google searches across eight brands. Using Google Trends + Google AdWords, the study derived actual minute by minute search volume for given search terms and matched to Radio spend data by brand, market, date, and day-part. The power of Radio’s audio influence on purchase triggers, specific mentions of pricing, mnemonic branding, and explicit calls to action, resulted in one category achieving 370% lift in search, and it gets even better. In another category, Radio drove 228% more search than television. The results are in, and now you’re listening. Radio is the most powerful and influential media driving online search.

Want to know more? Say “OK, Google. Tell me how Radio advertising drives online search.”

(Sources: Wizard of Ads, Radio Advertising Bureau)