Below are some points to consider as you consider digital marketing.

Search

• Google is the #1 search engine.
• You Tube is the second.
• What are you doing on You Tube?
• Turn your white papers in videos, product videos, how to videos etc

Google+ is actively searched by Goggle so it helps with rankings.
Get active on Google+…it might just help those rankings.

Social media
Social media is a new form of communication just as the phone was once. And as with the phone it may seem odd to start with but you will get the hang of it.

People are already talking in social media about your business, as such your “social phone” is already ringing – are you answering it? If not this is bad.

And if it is not ringing then this is even worse. Facebook is the #1 website on the web – what does it say about your business is you are not being talked about?

What should you use social media for?

• Use it to listen to your customers. People want to be heard.
• Find affinity with your customers. Helps you get in the mind of your customer.

Budgets

• Digital marketing earns you sales; it is an investment not an expense.
• Amortize your website costs. If you do you site properly it will last 3 years.
• There is money in your balance statement somewhere for digital marketing – find it – cut back a trade show

And some stats:

• 70% of people believe what they read on the web.
• Over 40 year olds are the largest buyers of iPads.
• More than 50% of traffic is coming via a mobile browser.
• 69% of all business on the web starts at Google.
• 41 year old woman are the biggest players of social games

Cheers

Tatts

Every effective landing page is a marriage of strategy, creative & execution. Even when your strategy is sound, if you fail to execute landing page best practices, it can hurt your ability to convert. Run your landing page through this 10-point checklist to make sure you have the basics covered.

Message matched. Your landing page copy should mirror the words and phras­es used in your ad. Make sure what the visitor clicked on is reflected very clearly when they land on your page. This is called ‘pathway to purchase’ and it helps reduce bounce rate by reinforcing the visitor is in the right place.

Relevant. Just because your ad & page copy match doesn’t necessarily mean your page is relevant. Make sure your page is rel­evant to what you offered in your ad, and rele­vant to your call to action. Everything needs to be cohesive—the copy, the offer, the images.

Valuable. Is there a clear value proposi­tion in your offer? The role of the landing page isn’t to inform, it’s to sell. So don’t be afraid to make your pitch. Tell people why it’s in their best interest to convert.

Above the fold. Make sure your most important content is above the fold. That means copy, images and calls to action. You can have good stuff below the fold, but the best stuff needs to be high on the page.

Scannable. Long sentences, tons of bul­lets, lots of paragraphs—it’s hard for a visitor to read all that! On the landing page you have only a few seconds to make your case. Make sure that it’s easy to scan the page and absorb the overall message. Vary the length of your sentences, use bullets (and keep them short), and make sure paragraphs aren’t too long.

Visually actionable. At a quick glance it should be very clear what the key ac­tion is on the page. What does the page want the visitor to do? Pick up the phone? Fill out a form? Click a button? Whatever it is, make sure your page is very obvious and very ac­tionable. It should visually compel the visitor forward into the desired action.

Distraction minimized. Edit, edit, edit. Get rid of unnecessary copy, graphics and especially links. Every element of your page should be increasing your odds of con­version. No exceptions. Get rid of extra links, unrelated calls to action, superfluous graphics and anything else questionable.

Easy to convert. Make sure your con­version is clear and easy to act upon. If your conversion is someone picking up the phone, make it really easy to see your phone number. If it’s making a purchase, then adding to the cart needs to be super simple. If it’s complet­ing a form, only ask for information you really and truly need. Just like minimizing distrac­tions, you want to eliminate hurdles between the click and the conversion.

Feels good. The most subjective point, but important. Take a gander at your page. Ask others to look at it too. Does it make the visitor feel good? How good is your page as compared to your competitors? Don’t neglect the ‘feel good’ factor—even landing page visi­tors want great experiences!

Tested & optimized. Landing pages are the perfect place to test—copy, images, offers, layouts, forms. You name it, you can test it. Without testing you are leaving conver­sions on the table.

Source: Ion interactive

Good design is a crucial part of any successful website, and its importance grows as the internet gains more experienced, demanding users. A visually attractive and intuitive website says a lot about you, your company and the way you think and demonstrates your willingness to engage your target audience. An experienced web user will make almost instant decisions about you based on first impressions of your site, and if that impression is negative they won’t go past your home page.

With this in mind Google is testing a new feature called Instant Previews which allows visitors using its search engine to preview home pages by clicking on a magnifying glass by the listing. This not only previews the page but also highlights and enlarges text which contains keywords from your search. If you rely on traffic to your site from a Google search then looks have never been more important.

Matt

I am delighted to report that all our accounts are all going very well; we have excellent clients who are motivated that their brand, service or product should be loved, cared for and showcased to the world.

As such we are doing the traditional collection of brand, film and advertising projects.

However digital now leads most of our projects. It would seem the iPad was the tipping pad.

Whereas previously the website was the only digital de rigueur, now businesses and brands MUST HAVE:

• Social Media marketing
• Search Optimization (organic and paid)
• Websites that are built for smart phones
• Apps

The above list is no longer discretionary – if your business is not communicating with these tools then you falling behind as badly as those who chose wireless over TV, AM over FM and Beta over VHS.

Once you have the MUST HAVES, more active marketers can try…

• Twitter
• Banner ads
• Augmented Reality
• Location-based social networking
• SMS marketing / Short codes
• RSS feeds
• Blogs
• Shot codes

The digital communication revolution is close to our heart, because it has created a global marketplace; a world where different time zones can work seamlessly together.

Tatts

Adweek reports this week on how Wasa crispbread is promoting “snackspiration” and its cracker biscuits to the world via its Facebook page. This is a great example of an attractive microsite built within a companies facebook page. The site has a lot of underlying functionality and encourages viral engagement.

Here is a link to the Adweek article to find out more. And, here is the campaign running on Facebook 

Networked Nigel

Back in June I posted a blog about Apple’s new iAd network which allows developers to embed highly interactive advertising within their Apps.

Now up and running the platform is receiving mixed reviews. An article in the LA Times says both Unilever and Nissan have been impressed with results with customers spending up to 10 times longer interacting with the iAd than with comparable online advertising.

On the other hand Apple’s control over the process of creating the ads seems to be causing a few issues as the industry is not used to this – and projects are taking longer to roll out than expected, according to The Wall Street Journal .

Matt

On July 1 Apple plans to launch it’s new mobile advertising network for iPhone and iPod touch devices called iAds. According to Apple “iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads”, with the advertising experience taking place within apps rather than redirecting users to a browser window.

When you select an ad it will take up the screen using HTML5 and from there the user can interact with and explore the ad.

This comes after Apple bought the advertising network Quattro Wireless earlier this year. Google are also looking set to enter the mobile advertising arena (on their Android platform) with an agreement to buy mobile advertising firm AdMob.

IT research company Gartner put the global mobile advertising business at $13.5 Billion by 2013 due to the increase in smart phones and other mobile devices.

Matt

Augmented Reality (AR) is the newest form of digital communication…and it is astonishing.
AR is the overlay of graphics onto a video stream or other real-time display.  It moves the digital experience from the online environment into the real world. AR will change the world of marketing in the same way that social media has and will open up a world of possibilities in terms of how brands can market to savvy, younger consumers.

TIMEZONEONE AND AUGMENTED REALITY
TimeZoneOne worked with the U.S. Army to create an interactive experience that engaged viewers and promoted recruitment. We initiated an event based and online augmented reality campaign to support U.S. Army NASCAR sponsored events. We created a unique interactive event and online brand experience supporting the sponsorship in which a NASCAR is steered across a desert racing Army vehicles.

Powered by the augmented reality technology D’Fusion, users can now race the Army sponsored NASCAR and also educate themselves on Army vehicles online. The augmented reality application is complemented by content on FaceBook and YouTube allowing for a prolonged PR effect and strong viral potential.

AR is in its infancy but we believe that AR will become a very important way for brands to engage with customers and fans.

goarmy.com/raceforstrength

This photography studio is doing some unique work thinking outside the box on the use of digital ad space.

mark