2014 Digital Marketing Fundamentals

introducing

Digital Marketing Fundamentals

Presented as a SCORE Workshop

what will we cover?• Content Strategy• SEO• Blogging • Social Media and social media sharing and advertisin

g• Email marketing• Search marketing pay per click

digital marketing

• digital marketing is the promotion of products or brands via one or more forms of electronic media.

• allows small, local businesses to compete• Requires business marketing strategy• planned: annually, 6 mos, quarterly • use a planning template

which is more plentiful?

how they relate

Emailmarketing

Website+

Blog

SocialMedia

SearchMarketing

PPC

Customer

Digital MarketingContent Strategy

content is king

• Anchors plan• Can be basis for social

media• Starts a conversation• Positions

why strategy?

If you put effort into planning your

marketing and content strategy you

you’ll have a higher success rate and also continue to execute based on a strategy,

versus reacting to what is wrong due to lack of organization.

strategy

Before you jump into planning answer these critical questions:– What triggers your customer to purchase?– What are you seasonal / sales goals?– What do you want to communicate?– Who are my customers; personas/segments– What questions can you answer, problems can

you solve, or understanding can you add?– What can you reasonably commit to?

content planning questions• My audience is...• I’m offering them...• They will find it via...• They will care because...• They will interact by...• Their next step will be...• They will share it because...• They might not share it because...• The solution for this is...

From How to Create a Winning Content Promotion Plan by Stephanie Beadell on BuzzStream Blog

From How to Create a Winning Content Promotion Plan by Stephanie

Beadell on BuzzStream Blog

customer path

need a new fridge

search net for deals

visits yr siteand calls

buys

need a new fridge

search net for deals

visits yr siteand calls

need a new fridge

search net for deals

buys

visits yr siteand calls

need a new fridge

search net for deals

sales funnel

show up in SERPs

visit website

sign up for newsletter

open / read

buy

or see your PPC ad

or call for information

show up in SERPs

sign up for newsletter

visit website

show up in SERPs

sign up for newsletter

open / read

visit website

show up in SERPs

sign up for newsletter

buy

open / read

visit website

show up in SERPs

sign up for newsletter

or see your PPC ad

buy

open / read

visit website

show up in SERPs

sign up for newsletter

Owned=Channel a Brand Controls

Earned=When Customers ortraditional media become

the channel

Paid=Brand pays forUsing a channel

Website Blog

Tumblr Pinterest

Flickr Twitter

Facebook Google+

Advertisements

Facebook Promoted Posts

Promoted Tweets

Google AdWords

Your marketing sweet spot

Facebook shares

Magazine articles

Newspaper articles

Re-Tweets

+ ups in Google+

owned earned paid

distribute content

content types

• Photos• Videos• Text / written articles• Curated content

Photo credit: Yutaka Tsutano

SEO

truth

“SEO has evolved to become the result of an actual marketing strategy versus marketing tactics” Rae Hoffman

seo planning is step 1

• seo is not an item to be left to the end

• plan first• w/o planning, you’ll

never get where you want to be

Photo credit: Oatsy40

search engine optimization

• Company you keep• Associations• Quality results first• Demoting poor quality in favor of higher

quality

Google’s goal = best answers

“We show the results at the top that answer the user’s queries directly

(after all we built Google for users, not websites).”

Posted by Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google

seo components

• A strong SEO strategy has three core components: – links– content– social media

• What's become more pronounced in the last year is the relationship between these elements.

• Best user experience, e.g. mobile compatibility is no longer optionalRead more: 5 SEO Trends Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know for 2014

pandas, penguins, hummingbirds

fundamentals• solid, strong brand• great copy• adds value• well-designed site• useful information• fast• mobile responsive

all ins• Title

– page– file media library

• Text• Tags

– alt– post– H2, H3

• Page• Subheads• Descriptions

other considerations

• Inbound links• Bold• Cross site links as on-

page navigation• No “click this link”

rather, “click for map to our location”

Your Blog

why blog?

Companies that blog have

434% more indexed pages.

And companies with more

indexed pages get far more leads.

--Search Engine Strategies Conference, NYC 2013

blogging is..

Blogging is an essentialmarketing component for

your business

reasons to blog?

• Improve Search Rank• Build for Long-Tail Content• Community and Market Education• Communicate High Trust Content• Build Lists, Conversions and Reach• Build Brand Value and Equity

--Search Engine Watch

control of message

You are a self-publisherNew earned mediaGain share of voice

blogging steps

1. Platform Decision2. Platform Setup3. Research4. Plan5. Create6. Post7. Promote8. Evaluate/Adjust

wordpress• WordPress is the

dominant content management system platform.

• WordPress is used by 60.9% of all websites whose CMS is known

• 23.1% of all websites• 2 ‘flavors’

W3Techs article

WordPress.com

WordPress.org

blogger

tumblr

Source Tumblr's Top Draw as a Marketing Platform Is Its Wealthier User BaseRinging up revenue for retailers By Garett Sloane via AdWeek

Research

Blog Posts

Business Goals

What your customers care about

What you care about

What you blog about

what do you post about?

simple advice

Not sure where to start with your blog content?

Follow one, simple rule:

Help other peopleFrom Shareaholic Blog: 4 Ways to Increase Audience Engagement Kali Hawlk

advice on contentValuable content:• Useful or functional for readers

– how to do something– suggests an answer to a question

• Offers insights readers can apply to their own lives for clarity or solutions to problems

• Compels– strong, unique and genuine voice

• Speaks directly to a specific person• Demonstrates authority in niche

From Shareaholic Blog: 4 Ways to Increase Audience Engagement Kali Hawlk

Your content must:

• Provoke thoughtful questions.

• Encourage interested discussion.

• Provide intense happiness.

• Offer solutions to complicated problems.

From Shareaholic Blog: 4 Ways to Increase Audience Engagement Kali Hawlk

taxonomy

• Map it out• Identify primary• Supporting branches• Categories

– One per post• Tags as micro-

categories– Not contained in post

titles

plan blog categories

Cupcakes

Chocolate Birthday DecoratingChocolate BirthdayBirthday

Parent Category Child or

Secondary Categories

Parent Category Child or

Secondary Categories

plan ‘tags’- micro-categories

DarkChocolate

WhiteChocolate

MilkChocolate

ChildCategoryChocolate

Tags

create editorial calendar

Topic Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat SunCakes Birthday

CupcakesChocolate Cupcakes

Desserts How to decorate cupcakes with real flowers

Favorite Milk Chocolate Cupcake Recipes

Superhero Birthday Cupcakes

after posting...promotion

“The real magic lies in content promotion. Without it, your content will struggle to earn a social mention, let alone a quality backlink.”*

• Where will they see it?• What will motivate them?• Where will you/they share it?

*Robbie Richards in 16 Explosive Content Promotion Strategies

Social Media

why use social media?

“...value in bonding with an online community and reaching people where they already spend much of their time — on mobile phones and in social media apps.” NY Times

pew internet stats

73% of online adults use social media

42% use multiple social sites

71% of online adults are Facebook users

***Know your customer and where they are most likely to be in social media.

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0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

9%

89%

7%

78%

6%

60%

0.017%

30-49 50-64 65+

Social networking/media |61% of all adults

Slide credit: Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project Presentation 5 MEDIA SPACES WHERE PEOPLE LIVE

who uses what?

• Pinterest appeals especially to females users (4:1)• LinkedIn is especially popular among college

graduates and internet users in higher income households.

• Twitter and Instagram have particular appeal to younger adults, urban dwellers, and non-whites. – Substantial overlap between Twitter and Instagram user

bases.

Slide credit: Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project Presentation 5 MEDIA SPACES WHERE PEOPLE LIVE

understand each channel

social success

• YouTube appeared to be the strongest of the social networks at introducing new products (18%) and driving conversions (14%). – video is an important format for advertising to

potential customers. • Facebook came in a close second place in

terms of introducing new products (11%) and closing sales (10%).

from: Myth-Busting Social Media Advertising

social media best practices• complete profiles• share other’s content• ask, answer, participate• use different types of

content in different channels; esp. images

• monitor analytics/metrics• create for specific personas• calendar everything; plan;

schedule• social media plan

channel changes = ads• All channels are either using or contemplating /

experimenting with paid ads; ad promotion• Dec 2013 Facebook changed the algorithm that

determines which "stories" show up on the News Feed

• Facebook’s algorithm changes caused a decline in “organic reach and organic reach percentage 44% on average, with some pages seeing declines as high as 88%.”

• “Brand Page Reach Now Often Under 3%” Business Insider

compare success of ads

• due to changes in algorithms for social channels, paid ads are performing far better than organic.

from: Myth-Busting Social Media Advertising

3x higher conversion rate

from: Myth-Busting Social Media Advertising

case study

• Teach for America– enhancing reputation, mission driven– positioning organization for recruiting & placement– creating positive PR

• Strategy – fully integrated– blog– TeacherPop separate channel for teachers w/ it’s own

social channels– organization social media separate from teachers’

teach for america Pinterest

teach for america Twitter

teach for america instagram

share, friend, participate

e-mail marketing

1:1

email

one to onecommunication

email marketing creates ROI

• Recent survey of marketing professionals, 64% “believe in the ability of email marketing”

• integrate all marketing with their email marketing/list development

• adapting email marketing to mobile devices

email marketing requirements

• email marketing platform; e.g. MailChimp or ConstantContact, Vertical Response– CAN SPAM act

• list of ppl who have opted in to your email– segments work best

• brand centric template to use for your emails• email campaign strategy

common email marketing uses

• keep in touch with prior customers• nurture relationships with potential customers• seasonal offers or specials• product updates or news• sharing helpful articles or information• bringing traffic to your website

email marketing best practices

• Establish a clear purpose of communication• Tailor content to suit your audience• Distribute regularly• Make it visually engaging• Monitor the effectiveness of your emails

– Unique Opens, CTR, Forwards, Social Share, Best customers

The Next Web

Middleton Place Example

Why is this good?

• Visually Interesting

• Relates to Seasonal Goals

• Clean, organized

• Links to website

• Social Profiles

Improvements?

• Social sharing

pay per click

pay per click knowledge

• best for businesses with online sales– direct sales – when you can ask for specific action

• ads must be placed so they intersect your customer at the right time in buying cycle/search

• buyer personas can guide campaigns• landing pages

pay per click must dos

• determine network, Google, Bing, Facebook• set budget• keyword research• word ads• refine ads, campaigns, keywords• placement, mobile? Network? Search results?• Google Adwords will help you get started

lather, rinse, repeat

• monitor• adjust• refresh• keep alert to changes• competition

Photo credit: 1950sUnlimited