How to Use Local Marketing

How to use local marketing in 2015Even though the Internet has the power to connect you to a large, global audience, local marketing is crucial for personalization. Whether you target a small area or consumers in multiple geographic regions, content needs to be customized based on their unique interests.

However, marketing is becoming more challenging for many brands as consumers grow more concerned about privacy and turn off tracking in their Web browsers or pay to remove ads from mobile apps, according to Ad Age. Even though companies have more ways to reach customers than ever before, it isn’t always easy. Local marketing makes it easier for companies to connect with their target audience because it enables clearer intersections between search engine optimization, social media and mobile.

Searching Engine Optimization

How to Choose a SEO Service Provider

Top Question When Considering SEO Services

When speaking to people looking for an SEO provider, the most common question we hear from them is, “How much does it cost?”

That’s a fair question. Everyone needs to know their bottom line and how to get the best return on their investment (ROI). However, when searching for an SEO company, the cost isn’t the primary factor that you should be looking at. It’s what you will receive in return that should matter the most.

We often use the example of taking a car into a mechanic to get it serviced. If you had a relatively new Mercedes that needed it tuned up, you can either take it to a trusted and experienced mechanic or find someone off of Craigslist to do the job at a fraction of the price.

Searching Engine Optimization

How to Set Up a Pay-Per-Call Campaign to Generate Quality Inbound Leads

Drive more calls to your business with Pay Per Call AdvertisingIs Pay-per-Call Advertising Right for You?

A Pay-per-Call advertising program will have your company listed in print publications and get radio and TV air time at no upfront cost. You only pay when a prospect calls as a result of the ads, and the phone call lasts a certain amount of time. There is no upfront media buy here!

The first step is to determine if this type of advertising is a fit for your company. Pay-Per-Call is an asset to businesses that provide a service or product that can be used by a large majority of consumers or businesses. Also, this is a great marketing option if you accept inbound sales calls and are looking to increase brand awareness. Pay-Per-Call advertising can be an especially lucrative ad channel if you have a national presence.

Pay Per Call

What are the most important content marketing trends for 2015?

Content Marketing trends for 2015Content marketing is part science and part art. Different content marketing tactics serve their purpose during various stages of the sales cycle. Determining which content marketing methods to use can be an exhausting process. Additionally, some trends have lost effectiveness over time.

It’s important to consider your target audience’s interests to stand out. The annual growth rate of content is 200 percent, Forbes reported. With all the content that is flooding the Internet on a daily basis, brands need to ensure their marketing efforts are relevant and engaging. In the past, marketers could attract buyers by merely offering content, but now it needs to be meaningful to work for lead generation. Content that is highly targeted and personalized will stand out from competitors. Now that the Internet is saturated with content, potential customers are pickier about what they want to read – or better yet, share with others.

Additionally, companies will realize they need both content marketing and search engine optimization, not one or the other. Content can boost search results, but you can’t produce it without keeping SEO best practices in mind.

Content Marketing

Is Pay Per Call Marketing Right For My Business?

Pay Per Call Marketing - Get Your Customers To Call YouOn the surface, Pay-Per-Call Marketing sounds like it would be a fit for any business.  If a business only has to pay for ad-generated calls without having to pay for the ads themselves, who wouldn’t want to sign up?

While this is true to some degree, let’s look at some of the factors that contribute to a successful Pay-Per-Call campaign.

First off, just like your other marketing efforts, it’s important to know the numbers in your business.

What are your profit margins?

This is important because you need to know how much you are able to spend to acquire a lead.  For example if you sell flowers nationwide, but are only profiting $50 per order, it would be very difficult to make any money if each qualified call costs you $20 – knowing that not every qualified call or lead will turn into a sale.

There needs to be a good understanding on what you can afford to Pay-Per-Call based on your conversion rates.  This brings us to our next point:

Pay Per Call

Affiliate Marketing 101: Establishing Your Commission Payout

How To Calculate Affiliate Marketing Commission

If you’ve decided to build a strong affiliate team and program for your business, one of the first things you will have to figure out before approaching potential affiliates is your commission payout. Determining your commission payout is critical in developing a strong affiliate program; go too low and you will not attract affiliates or go too high and you’ll be spending your finances ineffectively.

I recommend joining affiliate networks and look at a variety of programs related to yours. Sites like Commission Junction, Share A Sale and LinkShare all provide affiliate management services (more on that in a future post). These sites list affiliate programs by industry or you can do a keyword search to find similar business and services to yours. You will be able to find information on the payout rate and the success of the affiliate program to get an idea of what commission your competitors are setting.

Now that you know what range your commission needs to be you need to determine if you can afford to deliver a competitive commission. Do you have the profit margin to give up 10-25% of each sale? Can you afford to pay $10 a lead? These and the following are important questions you need answers to before moving forward.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing 101 – What is an Affiliate?

Affiliates may be somewhat of a mystery to many businesses as they are not often talked about when devising a marketing plan. But having a team of great affiliates can be a major asset when trying to grow your business.

Affiliates are like a commission-only sales force; you only compensate them when they generate a pre-determined desired action. For example, the action is typically when a new lead is generated or when a sale is made. This relationship is simple: you need new customers and affiliates can deliver them. You do not need to have a huge marketing budget to be successful when you have great affiliates doing the work for you.

Affiliate Marketing

Lead Generation with Email Marketing – Tips for 2015

Email marketing tips for 2015Even though it’s been around for a while, email marketing is still one of the best ways to attract new customers and build strong relationships with clients. Many marketers have moved on to other digital tactics, but email is a tried and true technique that drives results and offers a high return on investment. Like many other marketing channels, email has changed over time. Here are some ways that emails will likely be used in 2015 for lead generation:

1. Mobile responsive messages will be mandatory

Mobile website traffic surged in 2014. More people are using their smartphones to check email, search the Web and browse their social networks than ever before. Not accommodating mobile users is a crucial error for any marketer, even in the business-to-business sector. Subscribers expect to be able to easily view emails from any device. Poorly designed mobile emails take a long time to load, and it may be difficult for users to click through to your website. Responsive emails can ensure all device users are able to view the message.

Email Marketing

How Pay Per Call can Pump Up the Gym Industry

Pay Per Call Advertising for Franchise Gyms

In North America there are many franchise gyms (Steve Nash Fitness, Gold’s Gym) in every city. Some have a North American presence, while others may only have a local reach. Excluding the single mom and pop fitness centers, most franchise gyms have multiple locations to provide customers a convenient location to attend.

Franchise gyms typically convert the best once a customer has tried their service. Franchise gyms will often go as far as offering free trials to the gym, a free session with a personal trainer and discounted memberships to get customers through the door.

As it stands, most gyms who offer promos ask people to go online or to sign up. This leaves the onus on the customer to take action. Even if they did go online and get their free trial pass there is still a good chance that they never even use it.

So how can we get people to not only take the first step in signing up for the offer but actually come through the door? The answer is in Pay Per Call Marketing!

Pay Per Call

7 Tips for Business-to-Consumer Lead Generation

7 tips for B2C lead generationLead generation receives a lot of attention in the business-to-business community, but what about B2C? Consumer-facing companies need a consistent stream of leads to maintain revenue growth. Unlike in B2B marketing, businesses have less time to build the relationship with prospects. Marketers need to find new ways to create opportunities to acquire customers, according to MarketingProfs. Here are some tips to maximize your lead generation efforts:

1. Confirm interest with email

It’s a waste of time and your marketing budget to pursue leads who aren’t interested in your products or service. When potential customers subscribe to your email list, it may be a good idea to follow up with a confirmation message that asks them to take another action such as clicking a link. People who are willing to do this tend to be more profitable to your business because they are more engaged. Leads who don’t respond after multiple confirmation messages are unlikely to provide as much value.

Promote & Reach