Category: HTM Blog

  • HyperTarget Attends Affiliate Summit East

    HyperTarget Marketing Participates in Affiliate Summit East:

    “Meet Market”

    Director Eric Evans and the HyperTarget Marketing Team Discuss Pay-Per Call Marketing

    Sunday, August 2, 2015 New York, NY
    The New York Marriott Marquis
    12:00pm-6:00pm in the Westside Ballroom Salon 1-4 & Foyer

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
    HyperTarget Marketing
    213.973.9905
    info@hypertargetmarketing.com

    New York, New York – HyperTarget Marketing director Eric Evans and his support team will be hosting a table at the Affiliate Summit East 2015 Meet Market in New York City. This exciting event will bring together some of the newest and most respected companies working in the affiliate marketing space. Those in attendance will learn about the advantages of pay-per call marketing over other affiliate programs, as well as gain insight as to how the industry has changed in light new developments. Also, conference attendees will be able to hear these panelists discuss their expertise with pay-per-call campaigns and their thoughts on what has made their pay-per call advertising campaigns successful.

    Pay-per-call marketing emerged as an advertising solution to pay-per click, in which advertisers pay for qualified impressions on a per-call basis. The goal of pay-per-call marketing is to generate qualified calls (calls with a legitimate interest in a product or service), which can in turn reward publishers and ad networks appropriately. The pay-per call industry has experienced rapid and extreme growth, especially as users and begin to rely more on mobile phones for interfacing with brands, a trend that has been recognized and accounted for by major search engines. Come meet the team and discover what HyperTarget Marketing can do for you.

    About HyperTarget Marketing: HyperTarget Marketing is a lead generation and call marketing solutions company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 2009, HyperTarget was an early adopter of pay-per-call marketing and has a passion for helping businesses get highly qualified inbound call leads.

    Find out more at www.affiliatesummit.com/15e-conference/

  • Generational Bias May Not Be Founded

    “Know your audience” is the marketing industry’s equivalent to Socrates’ directive “gnothi seauton” (though perhaps marketing could use a little more self-awareness from time to time).

    Know your audience. It sounds like a simple imperative, especially when big data allows us to see trends that in the past would have seemed unfathomable or strictly hypothetical. This understanding is even more available when we consider all the interactions that occur publically across different social media platforms, providing direct feedback on our marketing efforts.

    Understanding your audience is essential during the brainstorming process before launching a marketing campaign. However, from a practical standpoint it is necessary to know where that audience resides. Traditionally choosing a platform for a particular marketing campaign has relied heavily on demographics, such as using print media and television for Baby Boomers and social for Millennials. But as hinted at in our previous post on multi-pronged marketing, and expounded upon by Liane Dietrich in her recent post on Marketing Land, this arbitrary division of different platforms should come to an end.

    We (Were) the Future

    Oldmancafe
    (via Unsplash.com by Jeff Sheldon)

    Liane writes, “Cross-device behavior is often seen as being associated with Millennials. This young, tech-savvy demographic group of digital natives is known for using multiple platforms to connect with brands, research, and shop for products.” As a member of Generation-Y myself, I understand the point that she makes here. I use Twitter for social interactions, LinkedIn for business networking and Netflix for entertainment. Not only that, my entire career has taken place sitting in front of a computer screen (a little sad, but true).

    Often times the driving force behind this level of engagement across different platforms comes from a generational desire to do things better, more efficiently and to not heed the warnings and advice of earlier generations (for better or worse). In fact, old media in some ways has been dubbed “old” because of its association with its primary demographic. I remember one time when I wanted to get a new bed. I mentioned something about it at a family dinner to my grandmother. One week later, she came back to the house with a bundle of newspaper clippings of different beds. Little did she know that earlier that week, I got a bed off Craigslist, ordered sheets from Ikea and had a custom pillow made on Etsy.

    Change is Happening (Not Where You’d Expect)

    Whether due to the increasing integration of “things” with the internet, increased exposure, or negative feedback like the situation described above, the demographics of those using multiple platforms is changing. According Liane, a study done by ComScore reveals that people over the age of 55 are now the fastest growing group of multi-platform adopters. So it high time that we abandon our preconceptions about where our target audience is. We live in a global society, but it is important to not forget about the generational diversity that exists across different marketing platforms.

  • The Benefits of a Multi-Pronged Marketing Plan

    Fact: Every business needs customers. That goes undisputed. Generating qualified leads should be in the fore mind of every person working in the digital marketing sphere. This circle continues to expand as traditional marketing disciplines finally shuck their aversion to going all-in with digital services.

    “By 2019, 35% of ad spending will be online. Digital marketing is getting to be a bigger piece of the pie — and that means that traditional marketing and advertising agencies are moving into the digital space in a big way.”

    – Moz webinar (4/7/15)

    Photo via Unsplash.com by Todd Quackenbush
    Photo via Unsplash.com by Todd Quackenbush

    Changing of the Guard

    This is so true. Many old-school PR and advertising agencies have struggled to embrace the online marketplace. I remember in the mid-1990’s when most companies thought “this whole having-a-website thing” was a passing fad. Furthermore, popular sentiment back then was businesses that included a URL in their marketing materials or ads were thought to be pandering to a silly trend.

    My, how things have changed! Marketing and advertising are the latest industries to fall prey to the “how-the-heck-do-we-go-digital” trap, but these industries are certainly not alone in their battle to stay relevant.

    Print media (book, magazines, and other periodicals) and entertainment (traditional television, the entire distribution system of both music and film) have struggled with this evolution for the last 20 years, with no end in sight.

    These industries, and many others, have to continually reinvent themselves. The threat of becoming obsolete has proved to be a real one. Trying to compete with the constant barrage of new ideas and platforms is tough. Staunchly holding on to outdated, conventional methods and hoping the “trend” will pass isn’t a recommended strategy.

    So, what are the recommended strategies then? With all the online chatter, what’s the best way to stand out from the crowd? What does a thorough marketing plan really need?

    The Multi-Pronged Approach

    Luckily, the best marketing strategy is a comprehensive one: a plan that includes both modern marketing methods and long-established promotional techniques. There are plenty of ways to spread the word online: SEO, pay-per-call/click,  mobile promotions, link building, social media advertising, PR campaigns, pre-video snippets, native or sponsored content, banner ads… The list goes on.

    The goal is to get your brand or message in front of the right set of eyes. The goal is to target consumers who are already actively interested in your product or service. But this must be done in a natural way.

    We live in a consumer culture. Some people get squeamish when human beings are referred to as “consumers”. But hey – I buy things. I’m a customer, a purchaser, a user of services. I consume, therefore, I’m a consumer. I’m fine with that. It’s far preferable to legislators referring their constituents as “taxpayers”. But I digress.

    Furthermore, I don’t mind being “targeted” when I’m actually on the hunt for something – whether that be granite countertops, red cowboy boots, or a refinance on my mortgage. The objective of any marketing company is bringing together those who provide, and those in need – regardless of specific industry.

    Make your marketing/advertising campaigns count. If you put the needs and desires of people in the forefront of your mind, qualified leads and conversions will follow.

    Related pay-per-call guides

  • Mobilegeddon’s Importance for Marketing Campaigns

    On April 21st Google launched an algorithm change that affects all sites that are not mobile friendly, which has been deemed by many as “Mobilegeddon”. Please remember being mobile doesn’t just mean phones, but all types of tablets are included in this change as well. Since affiliate marketing and online marketing in general is essential for generating leads, if you aren’t up to date on which algorithm changes are pertinent to your site you could suffer a huge loss on your Google search positioning.

    Why This Algorithm is Important

    Google created a “mobile friendly test” that allows users to enter a site URL and check how mobile friendly that site is. On the whole, if your site doesn’t pass the Google test then the Googlebots will see your site as a less reliable source. However, Google did state that if your site is the most relevant option for users that it will still show even if it is not mobile friendly. Sites that are more suitable for all web-linked devices will definitely get a boost in their rankings.

    This tool actually gives a breakdown of all issues that occurred from trying to load that site via mobile. Below we have included a screenshot showing exactly what you will see. The tool shows exactly how Google sees your page and if your site is not mobile friendly it will include a link explaining how to convert your site. It also shows each issue with your site specifically such as small text, page is too wide for mobile, and links are too close together – thus not very clickable, as shown below.

    HTMMobileFriendly

     

    NotMobileFriendly

    Benefits of Mobile

    Obviously, anyone could explain that social media traffic has greatly increased in the last 5 years alone, which means mobile marketing is importance. It isn’t only effective for the younger populous. Approximately half of the 65+ generation is using social media. This means that having a mobile website isn’t just about gaining the attention of young folks, but also older generations. Your web presence doesn’t have to be “hip” and flashy to be effective, it just needs to be simple and concise for everyone. In fact, an article from Pew Internet & American Life Project says that while young generations are moving away from blogging, more and more senior generations are moving towards blogging. This study also showed that most young adults are moving to “micro-blogging” which mainly consists of much shorter status updates instead of content rich blogging.

    For Your Marketing

    Google’s updates are oftentimes reflective of society. Mobile is important. Users have shown it is important and Google has solidified it. Google algorithm updates are updated to benefit search engine users and can be used as potential sign posts for what users want and how businesses can adapt to these needs. For example, mobile has been emphasized in the most recent update. If you have little to no mobile marketing, now might be the time to adopt a pay per call campaign, MMS (multi-media message service), mobile games and banner ads, or QR bar codes. The Google algorithm is constantly changing to adapt to user needs. Besides rankings and SEO, Google algorithm updates (like “Mobilegeddon”) can have impacts on your business, both positive and negative.

  • Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It?

    In a single word, yes. This type of campaign may not be for every marketer. This type of strategy can take some time to build up a proper clientele, but has proven to provide a significant increase in traffic and sales. So, go into any new partnership well educated about your particular niche market. We will go over some basics if you are just getting started with affiliates.

    Cost Effectiveness:

    Let’s start with the biggest “elephant in the room” – cost. Affiliates are usually only paid  a commission percentage when they actually drive a sale to your site. The merchant you are working with will pay out a commission based on the work provided. So, if you are considering marketing with an affiliate company you won’t have to worry about extra hidden expenses. However, you of course would always want to make sure you are doing extensive research on the company to make sure they are reputable and their prices & vision align with your marketing strategy.

    Start Small:

    This type of marketing can actually be quite lucrative especially with smaller businesses. It is easy to become discouraged when comparing to larger niche businesses. Keep in mind that if you have a smaller market niche, then the hard part is already out of the way. You have created a product or service that others do not have leverage over. Use this fact to your advantage and target affiliates that align with your strategy. Your marketing merchant should be able to help you outreach to those in and around your community and express rare value in advertising a smaller company.

    Look at the Big Picture:

    Creating relationships with affiliates (as long as they are dependable ones) is always a good idea for expanding your circle of consumers. Be cognizant of the fact that affiliate marketing could potentially have a negative effect on a company’s search engine optimization if done incorrectly. The end game shouldn’t be how many sites you can affiliate yourself with, but what quality sites you can partner with. With consistent algorithm updates from Google, one can be sure that those geniuses will find a way to weed out the bad content from the good. If you are putting your company name on quality sites you can be sure that quality consumers will be finding and passing along the information.

    Be Prepared:

    Affiliate fraud of course is always a concern when marketing this way. However, if you are patient and make business choices with direction this shouldn’t be a problem. Be direct with your partners, test out any business venture before starting it, and follow through with regular check ups to make sure your needs are being met. There are also several technical ways to prepare yourself for fraudulent behaviors depending on your business.

    Feel free to check out the articles referenced in this article for more useful information about affiliate marketing and how to avoid affiliate fraud.

  • The Importance of Inbound Marketing

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  • Avoiding Pay Per Call Fraud

    If you weren’t able to catch the action of LeadsCon don’t worry. We are here to fill you in on affiliate call fraud. Eric Evans, of HyperTarget Marketing moderated a panel at LeadsCon on this very topic. Here are some of the basics of what you need to keep in mind when trying to avoid these types of fraudulent behavior, not only in a call-based business, but in any marketing relationship.

    Fraudulent Call Specifics

    If you are running any type of call-based business it is imperative to make sure you are screening any potential incoming clients to confirm you won’t be scammed. There are several ways to do this. First, you can employ an automated answering system that automatically forwards frequent callers to a separate line. Secondly, a clear IVR (Interactive Voice Response) will not only weed out fraud callers, but also help your real clients get exactly where they need to go quickly and efficiently, which definitely helps with a first call resolution. Lastly, if you are unable to set up either of the previously mentioned items, then ask questions, and lots of them. While this isn’t always the most time effective method it will no doubt tell you who is real.

    Test Partnership Waters

    Make sure that who you are doing business with is legit. Relationships go quite a long way in any kind of business partnership. Start small when creating a new business endeavor. Have your inductee create some smaller content or outreach first to make sure they are a good fit with your marketing strategy. This not only eliminates the chances of them not having the same vision as you, but also makes sure they are who they say they are. This can also help if you want to check the kinds of viewers, followers, and customers they are bringing you are real.

    Be Clear About Your Needs

    If too much is left up to interpretation you could be setting the campaign up for failure. Set clear goals within a respectable and reasonable timeline with anyone worth working with. This way everyone involved knows exactly what is expected and there is no chance of trailing off or not getting the types of clients the business needs. This means that meticulous organization and documentation are key for success.

    Always Follow Up

    Even if you have clear guidelines set, they mean nothing unless there is follow through, especially if you are deciding to take on a new client or business partner. Set up multiple call backs and meetings to discuss your short and long term strategy plan. This is a good way to build rapport with a new client. Additionally, you never have to feel in the dark about exactly what is happening. Follow up doesn’t mean you have to micromanage all the ins and outs, but it does hold all parties exclusively accountable to the services exactly as they were discussed.

    Avoiding pay per call fraud is vital for anyone running a call marketing campaign. Make sure to keep these points in mind and be sure to visit panels and presentations when you are trade shows. You never know what you might learn.

  • Optimize for Maximum Gold Online This March

    We are all guilty of spreading our efforts too thin at times. It’s St. Patty’s Day and everyone will be busy gearing up for parties, making corned beef and cabbage, while still carrying out their daily routines. Unfortunately, there are no leprechauns to make life any easier. In the marketing world, it’s easy to try everything at once to get your business off to a running start (or perhaps you need a fresh face to your ads). However, this can prove to be very exhausting, discouraging, and ultimately ineffective. You may be lacking some very key ideas in order to save yourself some heartache and effectively advertise at the same time.

    Where to Market Online?

    It would be easy to say your marketing campaign should stretch from one corner of the web to the next. However, this wouldn’t necessarily be effective marketing. It is true that social media is the next big key to marketing success, but putting a business’s ads on irrelevant sites does not mean more business. A company is much more likely to receive new and continued business if you are sharing your web presence on related sites.

    How to Market Online?

    No one said it was going to be easy. A business that does their research will be a profitable one. If you can research and find all types of sites that fit within your area of expertise you will have an entire network to build upon. Once you have found relevant sites, communities, blogs, and all types of social media, market to them all. Build a campaign that encompasses and includes as many mediums as possible.

    Marketing Campaigns

    Plan out exactly what you want to accomplish by reaching out to your audience. Effective marketing campaigns are simple and concise. Include an easy to understand call-to-action that intrigues customers and makes them want to share, comment, and like. Make sure that it is easily accessible for them to do so. No one wants to fill out a giant form in order to participate. Catch people’s attention by thinking outside of the box and doing something you maybe wouldn’t normally do.

    Social Media Planning Apps

    Once you have created a “network” the best possible thing to do is stay organized. Daily interaction is what keeps marketing tools fresh in the consumer’s minds. Use every possible tool at your disposal to your advantage. Schedule time each day to reach out to the community on each one of your social media apps and/or make sure to write a comment on a relevant blog. Any kind of daily community involvement is always beneficial to your business. There are many different project managing apps available to keep it all straight.

  • LeadsCon Panel Discusses Affiliate Call Fraud

    HyperTarget Marketing Participates in LeadsCon Panel:

    “The New Elephant in the Room: Affiliate Call Fraud”

    Director Eric Evans Joins Other Industry Leaders to Discuss Pay Per Call Fraud

    Tuesday, March 3, 2015 Las Vegas, NV
    The Mirage Hotel and Casino
    3:40pm-4:20pm in the Grand Ballroom BC

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
    HyperTarget Marketing
    213.973.9905
    info@hypertargetmarketing.com

    Las Vegas, Nevada – Eric Evans, of HyperTarget Marketing, will be leading and moderating a session on affiliate call fraud with three other industry professionals at LeadsCon Las Vegas 2015. Empire Today’s Marketing Manager Dan Altman, Invoca’s Senior Channel Partnerships and Business Development Director Anna Jefferis, and RingPartner’s VP of Marketing and Operations Mike Williams will all be joining Evans to discuss current affiliate fraud schemes and potential methods that can be used to counter fraudsters. Furthermore, conference attendees will be able to hear these panelists discuss their expertise with pay-per-call campaigns and their thoughts on what has made their PPC advertising experiences successful.

    Pay-per-call marketing emerged as an advertising solution to click-fraud, in which advertisers pay for qualified impressions on a per-call basis. With enhanced technology, clicks are easy to counterfeit and produce, while calls, in theory, are not as easily fabricated. The goal with pay-per-call marketing is to generate qualified calls (calls with a legitimate interest in a product or service), which can in turn reward publishers and ad networks appropriately.  With the rapid and extreme growth of the pay-per-call industry, there has been an increase in the amount of fraudsters joining the market. While call fraud is more difficult to achieve than click fraud, it is not impossible. Due to the complex nature of call fraud, those using affiliate call fraud are some of the most savvy and refined fraudsters. This has made tracking fraud and holding individuals accountable complicated for both marketers and publishers within the industry.

    About HyperTarget Marketing: HyperTarget Marketing is a lead generation and call marketing solutions company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 2009, HyperTarget was an early adopter of pay-per-call marketing and has a passion for helping businesses get highly qualified inbound call leads.

  • How to Meet Your Lead Generation Goals

    A recent study by 360Leads concluded that only approximately 17% of companies from six continents meet their lead generation goals, despite many of the companies’ participation in lead generation programs. While it is important for any individual company to analyze why their lead generation efforts aren’t gaining momentum, it is equally important to look at possible solutions or changes that can be made to a lead generation campaign in order to make it more successful.

    Make Yourself Credible

    Another thing that lead generation campaigns can benefit greatly from is increasing a business’ credibility. Make yourself known in the industry. Don’t be shy, spread the word about your company (in a non-spammy way), and engage with competitors in discussions and roundtables. By gaining credibility or spreading information about awards or interviews published regarding your business, you can help influence prospective customers’ view of you. Credibility will make you seem authentic, and that can greatly impact the success of your lead generation campaigns.

    Embrace Mobile

    It cannot be reiterated enough: mobile is important for any type of marketing plan. If your marketing or lead generation strategy does not include mobile, then you are doing it wrong. Today’s world is mobile. There is no going around it. To succeed in a mobile world, it will require you to embrace mobile to some degree or another. A majority of individuals use mobile to search for products, and a majority of individuals make purchases over their phones or at least make contact with businesses by going from mobile search to direct calls.

    Focus on Relationships

    Stop focusing on the numbers aspect of your goals. Yes, they are important. But they are not the only important thing. Relationships have the potential to make or break a business. Focus on fostering relationships within your industry and focus on growing relationships with potential customers (as well as current customers). The success of your lead generation can greatly benefit from cultivating relationships with prospects and showing people that these relationships are cherished.

    Engage the Community

    This ties in with focusing on relationships, but the target here is to engage with the community in a personal sense. A lead generation campaign can profit from a company’s presence. By engaging with the community at a personal level, you have the potential to garner a customer’s attention. Let them know your interests (outside of your business interests and wanting them as potential prospects). Not only does this make you more credible, but people will see you as genuine, and this can help show how independent your business is from similar companies.

    Meeting any goal can be hard, especially in a difficult industry. It is important to constantly evaluate how you operate and how effective these strategies are. Given the right tools, more and more lead generation campaign goals can be met.