Category: Marketing

You’ve heard all sorts of hoopla about the internet, and how it affects your business, but have you taken any action? How many customers are you missing out on simply because your business isn’t listed on the world’s most popular search engine, Google? Those days are over, and your shift to promoting, and showcasing your business online starts today with Google My Business!

Introduction

At this point, you’re thinking two things.

1. What in the world is Google My Business?
2. Why in the world should I care?

Google My Business is a feature that Google offers to businesses that puts them right on the search engine map (literally) as well as Google’s organic search results, and Google+. The reason you NEED to care about Google My Business (GMB for short) is because this feature makes it unbelievably easy for customers, and clients to quickly and easily find your business no matter which device they are using.

This fantastic tool goes beyond the old simplistic features such as including your hours of operation, and your phone number. Google has made it very simple for everyone to navigate and use this feature; users can even find driving directions, or call you directly from the listing. Best part of it all? It’s FREE! The initial investment of creating, and setting up a Google My Business account can yield some amazing returns.

Setup

Alright, you’ve made it this far, let’s get your company or business listed with Google! To get started, the first order of business is to navigate Google’s new business page as shown in the picture below.

By clicking the “START NOW” button, you’ll be prompted with the following screen…

• Simple stuff, enter the name of your business

• Next, you’ll be prompted to fill this location form

• Pick your location on the map
• Users will be able to see your business location on Google Maps as well

• Name the type of business that you run (i.e – carpet cleaning, hvac, dental office, toy store, etc)

• You can add your phone number here to add a contact method
• You can also add your business address

• After you fill everything you’ll see this screen, simply hit “Continue”

• On this interface, you’re able to add and edit photos, phone numbers, hours of operation, business addresses, and virtual tours

• Once the progression bar reaches 100% then you’re fully finished with the setup process and can show off your awesome business listing
• You can make changes at any time by adding new photos, changing your location, etc

Conclusion

Google My Business setup is now complete! You can now go to sleep knowing that people who are looking for your business will find it, no matter what time of day they might be looking for it. Update this page on a semi-regular basis with new photos, and/or any major changes that may occur within your business (i.e hours of operation changing) An up-to-date, and strong online presence ensures potential customers that you’re on top of your game.

PPC mastery takes a number of years and countless mistakes along the way. From learning all of the technical terms to managing the interface itself, it takes a lot of time and dedication to reach mastery level. This article is designed to give you quick info blast on PPC mastery, and give you the few key things you need to focus on when it comes to running your campaigns.

Quick Tip #1: Run Mobile Campaigns

According to a 2015 study, more searches were conducted on mobile devices (phones and tablets alike) than from desktop computers.

It makes sense the more you think about it. Nowadays people are glued to their smart devices. No matter if they’re on a train, at work, or even at dinner with friends and family; people can’t seem to put these devices down. People feel as though their phone is an extension of themselves and their personality.

Digital advertisers can make great use of this situation, and run highly targeted ads to the most amount of people.

Be sure to test which platforms work best for your business or clients and really dive deep into what makes those platforms so attractive to the end users.

Quick Tip #2: Retargeting/Remarketing

What is remarketing?

Remarketing is a clever way of advertising to those who visited your website but didn’t perform your desired action once they got there.

Essentially, it allows you to position very targeted ads in front of a highly relevant audience.

Why is this important?

The users clicked on your ad for a reason, in one way or another your ad interested them enough to click on it

Since you know the user has interest in your site you can bring them back for a much cheaper cost-per-click

Quick Tip #3: Use Ad Extensions for AdWords Campaigns

This quick tip is Google AdWords specific and is a very important piece of your ad puzzle.

Ad extensions give you more virtual real estate by making your ad the biggest and baddest one on the search engine results page

What are ad extensions?

Ad extensions are additional pieces of information about your product, or service.

Ad extensions can send users to another part of your website, increase the visibility of your ad, increase the quality of your ads score.

Here are a few ways you can use ad extensions:

• Location (Great for local businesses)
• Sitelinks (Take users to different pages on your site)
• Call Extension (add your phone number)
• Seller ratings (showcase your high rating)

By including ad extensions, your ads will gain a lot of traction and bring your more business.

Conclusion

Those are my 3 quick tips that you can implement immediately, and see the fruits of your labor in a short time frame.

Be sure to test the following tips above, and keep track to see how they impact your campaigns.

Best of luck to you on your journey to PPC mastery!

Content marketing will always be evolving. For 2018, content still remains to be king of all marketing strategies and continue to be inexpensive compared to paid advertising. The key to having consistent success with content marketing is to look out for future trends and embrace the changes as soon as possible.

Here are our 3 Content Marketing trends for 2018:

1. Content Production: Producing content is a very inexpensive way to acquire new customers. Google, Facebook, and Apple are investing thousands of dollars in original content for a reason. Small business owners like yourself should do the same for the same reason. Having high-quality content posted on a consistent basis will help to grow an audience and provide you with free leads in the long term.
2. Video Marketing: Although having well-written content is excellent and should continue to be implemented, the future of content marketing is video. I believe all marketers can agree that video marketing will be dominant for many years to come. When you can combine video with your content marketing strategy it will give you the best chance of gaining new customers.  Besides video, companies can do live streaming. If your business is having a special event, it would be awesome to have a live feed for your customers if they couldn’t attend to it.
3. User-Generated Content: User-generated content, especially on social media platforms, acts as proof that a business’ goods and services are what they say they are. People who are on platforms like Instagram can trust the individual promoting the product and would be very interested in learning more about it and how it can also benefit them. Testimonials also serve a similar purpose and can be posted on your website for display.

Conclusion

With the emergence of smartphone devices, social media marketing will be playing a major role online for many years to come. Now with over 2 billion people using Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites, it’s becoming easier for businesses to gain a huge, loyal following.

Here are the 6 advantages of social media marketing for your business:

1. Brand Exposure: If your customers have purchased your products and services and it has benefited them, the natural thing for them to do is to tell their family and friends. When they share your products and services through social media, their recommendations can spread like wildfire, having your brand exposed to a vast number of people.
2. More Traffic: Without traffic, your business will struggle and traffic is extremely crucial if want to sell your goods and services and pursue a large following. On social media, it is always best to talk to your customers and encourage them to visit your website. Another idea would be to send them a free eBook or gift to subscribe to your newsletter. This can help you gain more traffic as well.
3. Very Affordable: One of the advantages of using social media marketing is that doesn’t cost much compared to other ways of advertising. On Facebook, you can start with 5 dollars a day for a post you would like to boost and scale the bid once you see activity. Very affordable for those who have a low budget.
4. Increased Brand Loyalty: There are times where things in your business don’t go according to plan. Someone may have ordered a product and it’s taking too long to be delivered. They may have complained through social media about the long delay of delivering the product and you can respond to them stating that you’re sorry for the long wait and can offer them a free gift in addition to their order and have it delivered on time. This is an excellent way to have your customers feel confident in your brand and would want to continue doing business with you. This is brand loyalty at its finest.
5. Customers are happy: Like we previously mentioned, once you gain the confidence and trust of your customers, they will always be happy and continue to do business with you. Whenever your customers are happy, they will share the good news with their friends and family that they should buy goods and services from you for interacting with them and treating them with respect.
6. Having an insight into the marketplace: On social media sites like Facebook, it’s easy to get an insight of your marketplace. When you can narrow it down to demographics, age, work history and the like, you can target your message to that audience, without having to go through a lengthy research of who your buyer persona is.

We are over halfway through the year, and today we would like to talk about the SEO strategies for 2018 that businesses would need to watch for and implement.

When it comes to SEO, the strategies used today are tweaked and changed consistently. Even when one approach has worked in the past, it can be completely inefficient in the future. However, some strategies have been improved. Let us explain what these SEO trends are that we need to look out for:

1. Using Voice Search: Voice search is becoming the most popular way for users to search the web. Every day millions of people ask their phone for the answers to their problems. How do you get everyone’s phone to respond with your answer? This is the million dollar question that we have the answer too. Simply put, you must provide the best answer. In-depth, you must give more details, in a fast and easily understood manner. Not only should you answer the question but you should answer any questions that may arise. So if the question is, how do I tie my shoes? You should provide multiple ways to tie your shoes, provide images or videos to support it, and answer questions such as, how do I tie my shoes when I can’t see or how where do I buy new shoe strings. Providing links to answer these questions is better than having a user go back to Google to search more.
2. Think Mobile: Although using laptops, at this time, is never going out of style, almost everyone today owns a mobile device. How could this information help with SEO? Simple. Let’s say someone wants to call a plumbing service. All they would have to do is search for a plumbing service on their smartphone and call the number. With Voice Search and Call Only Extensions, it is easier for customers to contact your business on a mobile device. Also, make sure that your website is mobile-responsive. To test your website’s mobile responsiveness, you can add in your domain URL in the Mobile-Friendly Test tool from Google and find out your results.
3. Create Video Content:  Youtube is the world’s second largest search engine. This means that your potential customers will be looking for your products and services through video content. When you combine long, quality content with engaging videos, you will begin to reach more people on both platforms which will then typically lead to more conversions.
4. Writing In-Depth Content: Gone are the days where you could write thin, keyword-stuffed content and ranked on the first page of Google. In 2018, high-quality, relevant content remains and is still king. Well-written articles with infographics, images, and video to help solve your customer’s problems will always reign supreme. When a website has long, quality content, the searcher that’s looking for a solution to their problem will have everything they need in one area.

Conclusion

We hope that we’ve helped to understand some of the top SEO strategies for 2018. Using these four strategies should help to boost your websites search engines results, giving your site a higher ranking.

When it comes to designing your website, you shouldn’t feel embarrassed. Not everyone is born with a super creative mind. To be a top-notch web designer, it is a must to practice this skill on a daily basis. Having said that, what if you, as non-designer, can design a site that looks beautiful and elegant compared to well-talented web designers? Well, guess what, you can. Just follow some of the tips below.

Here, we will give you great web design tips even if you don’t have a creative bone in your body:

• Build Your Brand Identity: It all starts with your brand. The questions you need to ask yourself are, what does your brand name represent? What makes you as brand stand above your competition? When you find the answers to your questions about your brand, you start to picture images of what your brand identity should look like.
• Keep it Simple: Web design doesn’t have to be complicated. Far from it. Realize that using web design that leans towards the minimal end of the spectrum is usually the best approach. You always want your design to be simple, elegant and easy on the eyes.
• Learn Color Theory: Like we mentioned about your brand identity, you will have visuals that will pop into your mind. What are certain colors that will fit with your personality and brand image? You may have favorite colors that may resonate with your website that will have it looking very professional. Please try not to use all the colors of the rainbow for your web design. Use a few colors and again, keep it minimal.
• Use Proper Photography: Make sure that you are choosing the right quality images for your website. In addition, make sure that you are careful of using copyrighted photos. In most cases, it is best to use your own pictures to design your website, so you don’t get into legal problems.
• Be Consistent With Your Web Design: Everything from your website must be consistent at all times from your images, to the fonts, to the color schemes, and to your content. Every element must fit together when someone navigates through your pages.

Conclusion

Even though you may be a non-designer, use these web design tips for your website, which help you build your website like the professionals.

I’m sure many us can remember a time in our lives where someone said something negative about us. It certainly doesn’t feel good when knowing the things that were said negatively about us were not true and we had to handle the situation by proving to others that the rumors were false. When it comes to promoting your business online, there are others out there that wish to put your company in danger and at risk of losing revenue, and above all, your reputation. With the emergence of social media platforms, it most certainly makes it easy for companies to have a target on their backs. Having said that, here’s the question:

What is Reputation Management and how it can help your company alleviate any bad press online?

Reputation management is a technique that incorporates marketing efforts and campaigns to bury negative reviews, information or search results and promote content that positively shows the desired image of a company.

Here’s how Reputation Management can manage your online presence:

• Increase Sales and Revenue: The internet is the primary spot for individuals to connect to when they are searching for answers to their problems. It is the best place to search and research for all kinds of topics. One of the best ways to use Reputation Management and increase your sales and revenue is to directly engage with customers through the means of social media and your website. Of course, this should be done in a positive light and you must be transparent so your customers can continue to trust you. The company who is implementing Reputation Management should make sure they find a reputable person or marketing company to take over this role.
• Build Credibility: Like we mentioned previously, gaining your customer’s trust is of the utmost importance for a business to survive online. Whether you’re in the B2C or B2B market, the internet gives your customers a voice to say whatever is on their mind online if they aren’t happy with your service or your product. One negative comment about your brand will spread much faster than a positive one. Once you have a reputation management strategy in place to alleviate negative reviews, it helps you build your credibility as a brand that deeply cares about its customers and wants to improve your services and products.
• Build a Brand Image: With Reputation Management, you can definitely build a better brand image for your company. Once you or a marketing agency can monitor the responses that are being put out by bad press comments, any attacks can be dealt with swiftly. This can be done by publishing a social media post, where positive dialogue can begin to build your brand’s image moving forward.

Conclusion

Building credibility and brand image are paramount. In the end, businesses make mistakes and it is their duty to have their loyal customers trust them again and continue to service them in the most ethical way. This is the power of Reputation Management.

Finding the proper Marketing and Advertising Strategy

In order to understand what types of marketing or advertising methods and practices are the best fit for your particular organization, you have to first understand and identify a few key facts. First, what is the mission and intended outcome of your marketing and advertising efforts? If your company is interested in expanding your brand within your existing customer base, introducing a new product line, business line, or maybe a new business segment; your marketing strategy might differ from that of a company interested in a quick lead generation. Additionally, it is extremely critical to understand your customer and industry demographics before you commence the planning for your Marketing and Advertising Strategy (Age, income, geography, interests) the competitiveness of your industry and targeted geographic area. Certain markets may provide a quicker result with marketing efforts than others. For more information on Determining Your Budget, click here.

Seamless Shopping Experience

The trend of potential customers not wanting to see blatant advertising is clear in today’s marketing world, so the strategy has adapted. Paid promotions created by ordinary users tend to fare well with the audience, especially when they appear more organic. This trend is evident in native ads placed on the sides of websites, where the ad’s topic aligns with the page’s content. It can also be seen in videos on TikTok that have direct links to the TikTok shops. These integrated ads help get your products and services in front of your customers without annoying them. With the help of direct links to product pages, this form of advertising has become enticing and efficient.  

AI-Assisted Marketing

AI has exploded in recent years, going from something few had access to, and now AI is incorporated into everyday tools like search engine platforms. According to WSI World, even powerful search engines like Google and Bing have, “retained relevance by incorporating generative AI elements into their platforms rather than being displaced by new AI-driven search mechanisms.” AI is here to stay, don’t let your company fall behind others in your industry because you don’t adapt. Be the company that knows how to use AI properly so you aren’t beaten by a company that relies on AI. It will help your business streamline processes, interpret data quickly, and make other parts of your marketing process more effective. It is a tool, and like any tool, it’s possible to master it for the best possible use for your scenario. If you want to learn how to use AI as a tool to bridge the gap between marketing and sales, follow the link here. 

Personalized Experiences

How can a brand create customized experiences for the masses? Take a look at Spotify Wrapped. Spotify creates a personalized slideshow of information, tailored to the person it is being presented to, including their top artist and song, as well as the genres they listened to in the last year. This is a personalized experience. It’s something you, as a company, can give to your customers so they can feel heard by the company they invest their time and money into. Plus, in the case of Spotify, it’s possible your customers can give your brand some free publicity by sharing their results and comparing them with other customers of yours. It creates a sense of individuality for the customer, a community for your customer base, and FOMO for potential clients.

Video Content Advantage

With the rise of short-form video content, static images and photos have fallen to the wayside when it comes to grabbing an audience’s attention. YouTube is the second most-used search engine in the world, TikTok is the #1 entertainment app on the App Store, and reels on Instagram and Facebook outperform their photo counterparts in both organic content and paid advertisements. With video, you’re able to share more information in an easier-to-understand format with engaging graphics and audio. Leverage all the pieces of the puzzle to your advantage when creating content and crafting enticing videos for your company to share. 

Why the AD Leaf. 

The AD Leaf® is more than just a marketing agency; we’re a team of specialists who stay ahead of the curve in every area of the industry. Whether it’s video production, personalized customer journeys, seamless e-commerce strategies, or AI-assisted marketing, our departments are constantly collaborating and staying informed on the latest trends and tools. Our creative team, email marketers, social media managers, and SEO & PPC experts are all focused on one goal: helping your business grow through strategies that work. When you partner with The AD Leaf®, you’re gaining a team that’s not only skilled but also fully invested in your success.

E: info@theadleaf.com | P: 321.255.0900

Summer time brings lots of fun at the beach, pool parties, barbeques, and fun gatherings.  It also can be a time for sales slowdowns for many businesses.  Depending on your business model, industry, product and or service, your sales can lower drastically during the summer months.  This drastic reduction in sales can lower profitability, cause you to lay off staff, and be enough of a downturn to instill worry about your business potentially affecting your quality of life.

This thought our idea does not have to be the reality for your business.  While these trends are cyclical in many business models, there are tactics and processes you can employ to mitigate or lessen the effects of the summer sale slow down.

Because most millennials are enjoying summer break, parents are taking vacations while their children are off from school, and many people in general tend to enjoy more time off during the summer months.  This is a great opportunity for your company to redesign and execute a well-developed Social Media Marketing strategy for your company.

With more users (your customers) reviewing social media during the summer months at a more frequent pace, a well-developed Social Media Marketing program will ensure your brand, your products, and your services are or remain at the forefront of your intended audience.  You will have more opportunities to present your business to your customers in the summer months.

Consumers still purchase in the summer months, however, consumers will purchase from those brands that resonate with them and appeal to their needs and desires.  If you are nowhere to be found, if you are not interacting with your potential customers, and if you are not at the forefront of their attention when they are using the public and digital mediums, your sales will drop alongside of the rest of the businesses who realize a drastic sales slowdown during the summer months.

E: info@theadleaf.com | P: 321.255.0900 | Skype: Chris.Delarue