Category: Performance Marketing

  • 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 Staunchly holding on to outdated, conventional methods and hoping the “trend” will pass isn’t a recommended strategy.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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Keeping Algorithm Changes in Mind When Advertising

    In the fall of last year, Google rolled out several algorithmic updates including Panda 4.1 (September 23rd), Penguin 3.0 (October 17th), and Pirate 2.0 (October 21st). As many know, these changes can drastically affect search engine rankings and website traffic. If you are following Google’s guidelines, it is likely probable that your traffic can increase. However, in cases where you are not adhering to Google’s guidelines, you could potentially cause major harm to your business. This is why it is important to keep Google’s algorithmic changes in mind when considering your advertising options.

    Put Google on Your Radar

    Paying attention to the threats Google makes about what it will penalize can give you some direction when advertising. No more guest blog posts. Pages with too many ads will be penalized. Using Transport Layer Security (TLS aka HTTPS) will result in better rankings. Mobile friendly sites will be highlighted in mobile search. Et cetera, et cetera. Google’s list of threats goes on and on and on. While some of these threats have yet to come through, there have been blips of changes regarding others. You can use these changes to determine what your advertising focus should be. For example, Google’s November 2014 announcement to label “mobile-friendly” sites as such makes it clear that mobile is important. Therefore, mobile advertising campaigns would likely be beneficial for business.

    Adopt a Variety of Advertising Mediums

    In 2009, Google released a lesser known algorithm known as Vince. The Vince algorithm put emphasis on brand validation and factored trust into rankings. The impact of Vince was that marketers and   advertisers had to adopt multi-faceted campaigns in order to build trust. This required more time, more content, and engagement of the online community. More often than not, the goal of an advertisement is to encourage someone to take action or to reach an audience. Using a variety of mediums with specific advertising campaigns can help you achieve these goals, as well as your authority, especially in Google’s eyes.

    Accept Changes Early Rather Than Later

    It is vital for businesses nowadays to have a knowledgeable staff capable of understanding the implications and having the ability of adapting to Google algorithmic changes. Take for example, the October 2014 announcement of Google’s new app called “Inbox”. Understanding the features of Inbox app and how it will affect email advertising is important. Google has made it clear that Inbox app will “bundle” particular types of messages together for better user experience. Taking this into account, it could prove beneficial to evaluate how email advertisements fit into your campaign.

    While nothing is known for sure, it is clear that Google’s algorithms can drastically affect business and advertising. Taking the time to pay attention to Google, adopting various advertising opportunities, and accepting certain changes early can be a huge influence in the success of your business.

  • Lead Generation To-Dos in the New Year

    Performance marketing has taken over the marketing world. It is rare that you would find a business that does not utilize some form of performance marketing. Lead generation is one of these useful performance marketing tactics. Lead generation is the formation of consumer interest about the products and services of a particular business. Lead generation can then be used in a multitude of ways depending on your marketing motivations. Creating lists for emails or online magazines, generating a compilation of potential sales leads, or building a rewards/loyalty program are just some of the ways lead generation can be used. The following is a list of important to-dos to keep in the back of your mind for the New Year.

    Genuineness and Transparency

    Customers want two things from businesses. 1.) To know exactly how the business operates and what type of service they should expect. And 2.) for marketing to feel genuine. No one likes shady business and marketing tactics. When businesses are transparent, they are extending an arm of trust to the consumer. Customers would rather have a genuine interaction with marketers and ads, and have the ability to get information or quick answers. Being transparent and genuine is vital for lead generation for creating consumer interest.

    Efficiency and Communication

    When you have inbound leads it is important to respond and connect with them quickly. Today’s world moves at a quick pace. It is no longer acceptable to try your hardest or be as quick as you can. Customers expect efficiency, and when businesses don’t deliver the end result could be a poor recommendation or a negative online review on Glassdoor. Communicating with the customer efficiently is something that should be practiced by every business, especially in the lead generation industry.

    Content and Engagement

    Content is still king. It has been shown time and time again that people want information. Basic and pamphlet type sites will not generate consumer interest. By providing quality content for potential customers, businesses are engaging with their audience. Social media has proven that people expect businesses and brands to engage with them (just look at the increasing popularity of AMAs). Content and engagement can be very beneficial for lead generation.

    Lead generation is not going away. Not yet. Lead generation can be a powerful tool for your business if done correctly. Make sure you aren’t depriving your marketing strategy of potential successes and keep up on new strategies and tactics in the coming year.

  • Important Things for Performance Marketing in 2015

    Performance marketing and affiliate marketing has been a rapidly growing in the past several years, making the use of search engine marketing more important than ever. Content and social media are great mediums that must be used in the coming year, and it is more important than ever to have a mobile optimized and efficient site.

    Distribution of Content:

    Having great and plentiful content is one thing, but consumers need to see it. Furthermore, the right people need to see your content. Content is meant to provide value. If your content is not being distributed or seen by the appropriate audience, it will do you no good. Any good marketing campaigns should address this. Most pay per call marketers can help businesses distribute their content.

    Social Media:

    Social media has been taking over the web and is changing how businesses operate. Not only does a social medium impact your search results, but social media can influence recommendations, and you now have the opportunity to promote your business through Facebook and StumbleUpon Advertising or Promoted Tweets on Twitter. Social shares and influence relate to social signals, which are slowly appearing as ranking factors.

    Mobile Marketing:

    The mobile phone industry has been booming. Just look at Apple’s iPhone 6 sales. This is indicative of what consumers use to access business information and contacts. Your marketing campaign should include mobile optimized plans in order for potential customers to contact you by phone. Ease of access can translate into quick wins, while difficult user experiences can lead to negative reviews and high bounce rates (where users spend short periods of time spent on your website and leave almost immediately).

    Efficiency:

    Do you have a 404’d page on your site? Does your site take more than a few seconds to load? It is absolutely vital to make sure your website functions correctly and helps to provide a smooth user experience. Checking your website speeds and updating your software regularly is a great practice. Metrics such as unique vs. repeat visitors, bounce rates, and landing page conversions can help you to determine what might need fixing on your site.

    2015 is here.  Now is the time to make sure your marketing campaign and online strategy is enhanced to ensure your business has the best year yet.

  • Reasons to Attend an Affiliate or Performance Marketing Conference

    In any industry, interaction and participation are keys to success. Without some method of interaction, becoming knowledgeable of industry changes, meeting people, and growing your business would be difficult. This is why people go to conferences. Conferences have solutions. The following list includes some of the best reasons to attend an affiliate conference.

    Gurus and Technology

    Conferences are places where all of the experts come together in one location. Many gurus give seminars on internet marketing and other aspects that can include best practices or new methods of success. Often times, these experts will stay after their presentations to meet with guests and answer additional questions. Furthermore, experts on new technologies are available, giving you more access to tools that could help your business operate more effectively.

    Other Affiliates and Performance Marketers plus Vendors

    It is highly probable that you will run into other affiliates and marketers at these conferences. These opportunities are perfect for meeting affiliates in your region or area, and connecting with any local groups that could help you gain and master internet marketing skills. Additionally, there will be plenty of vendor contacts and instances in which to compare tools.

    Information

    This is one of the most important benefits you gain going to an affiliate conference. With everything going on, the most relevant information for internet marketers will be available to you.  Any and all information is useful to everybody, from beginning performance marketers to seasoned marketers.

    A Great Time

    Who says you can’t work and play at the same time. Between the giveaways, prizes, and parties, affiliate and performance marketing conferences are a blast. The social nature of conferences create atmospheres perfect for meeting new friends and building quality, professional relationships.

    It is important for all affiliate and performance marketers to reap the benefits of a conference at least once. These conferences provide you with the knowledge and means to have a flourishing internet marketing business. Below is a list of several of the affiliate marketing conferences happening in 2015.

    -Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas, January 18-20

    -ICOM 2015, February 17-18, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    -IEG 2015, March 15-18, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

    -DIGIMARCON WEST, March 19-20, Vail, Colorado, U.S.

    -World Social Marketing Conference, April 19-21, Sydney, Australia

    -Social Media Marketing World, March 25-27, San Diego, California, U.S.

    -INBOUND, September 8-11, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

    -AMA’s Annual Marketing Conference, September 9-11, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

  • How Pay Per Call Performance Marketing Really Works

    Pay per call performance marketing is a relatively new advertising strategy. While many people know what pay per click advertising is and how it works, few truly understand the concept of pay per call. The importance of pay per call marketing has steadily been increasing amidst the growing relevance of the mobile phone to our society. More consumers than ever have data driven mobile devices, which makes pay per call a worthwhile avenue for business success. So, how does pay per call performance marketing actually work? Take a look at the following chart:

    marketing

    First, an advertiser or business decides to run a marketing campaign. The advertiser/business then creates a pay per call campaign and determines what the pay per call requirements are with the publisher. The publisher then applies the client’s designated phone number to specific marketing campaigns. Potential prospects for the client search for the services the advertiser provides. Prospects see the publisher’s ad and call the designated phone number. The publisher tracks the call and the phone call is forwarded to the client (aka: the advertiser or business). The client then pays the publisher for all qualified phone calls. The pay per call process is meaningful information for marketers and business individuals to know. Pay per call can be yet another tool in an advertising arsenal.

  • Meet the HTM team at Affiliate Summit West

    The pay per call team from HyperTarget Marketing will be attending Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas, January 18-20.  If you are planning to attend, get in touch today to schedule a meeting!