What does this mobile-first shift mean for businesses?

Previously, the advances in technology have been led by business and have served a specific business need.  Now the advances are in the hands of the customer.  More devices means more activity and people use multiple different devices to meet 1 goal and there is little to no preference which device they’re using when this happens.

Consumers just want to achieve their goals and they expect the companies they are doing business with to help.

With less time and money to spend, mobile consumers will use multiple devices to learn about your business, compare your products/services and wait for the right offer before making a decision.  This needs to be top of mind when it comes to doing business. From easy-to-navigate sites and mobile-friendly emails to your message should be easy to access regardless of the device they are using.

1. It means being there.

If we want to get the customer experience right, we have to be customers – with all devices. Customers browse your website from their smartphone.  Is your website responsive, or will they have to fumble with a site designed for a larger screen? Your email is opened on a mobile device. Was your message there? Gone are the days that we sat down at a desktop computer and completed day-to-day business.  Today, this activity is a multi-device experience.

2. It means being simple.

With such a small space, getting things done can become a big effort for customers – think priorities. Focus on what’s important to both the business AND the customer.  The design will play a big role in the user experience here.  A simple, to the point message with a clutter free interface will let users know what needs to be done.  Utilizing well known icons, navigation paths and properly sized buttons (with gaps between them) will let users how to do it.

3. It means being integrated.

The starting point for your customers may not be where you think it is.  The more digital we go, the less attention span we have. This means companies cannot afford to have misconceptions about their customers.  People are going to leave.  The question is – “How do we get them back?”   You’ve sent the email reminder about a pending order, but will that link bring them in right where they left off?  Did you allow that returning customer “confirm” their information rather than enter it again? A little data can make a big impact here by continuing with the last interaction and  minimizing the number of steps in the process.

So where do you start?

Start with a plan.

Every action you take on social networks should be a part of a larger social media marketing strategy. Create a comprehensive social media plan and the rest of your social efforts will follow much more easily.

A social media strategy will help you understand  where you currently are in social media today, where you want to be tomorrow and how you’re going to get there.

Be specific about what you have and need. Create a schedule and stick to it. Stay focused on YOUR plan and if it’s working.  Keeping these things in mind will help you more effectively implement your plan and prevent you from having unrealistic expectations.

1. Determine what you have

A key part to creating a social media marketing plan is conducting a social media audit.  Your audit you should have a clear picture of every social account representing your business. Who controls them?  What purpose are they serving? Are they meeting your needs?  There are many different steps involved when doing a social media audit but at a high level you’ll create a spreadsheet of account information and owners (which may not be you), if the profile accurately represents your company and your mission and the process you’ll have for moving forward with updates and new establishing new profiles.

2. Determine what you need

With your audit, it should also be evident which accounts need to be updated and which need to be deleted altogether. It will also help you identify any missing networks that need to be created.  Remember to spend your time wisely on networks best meet your business goals.  Build new profiles with these broader goals in mind.  Refine and update existing accounts as well – and then refine again, and again whenever your goals change.

3. Develop a content strategy and calendar

Social media absolutely requires a content to support it. Creating and publishing content on a consistent basis can be a lot of work. Even if you’re planning on having someone else run your social show, you’re still the decision maker. When you’ve got a content calendar you can commit to, it will be less overwhelming and much more efficient. Having a clear mission and a content calendar you are committed will help you to prevent missteps like posting too many updates on one network and not enough on another, re-using content that performs poorly, or missing important dates. Having a content strategy will also help you create better performing posts by allowing time for appropriate research.

4. Measure progress and adjust

Tracking is important.  Social media analytics to track the success and reach of social campaigns. Record and analyze your success and failures, and then adjust your social media marketing plan in response.

The most important thing to understand about your social media plan is that it should be constantly changing. As new networks emerge, you may want to add them to your plan. As you attain goals, you may need to adjust them or find new goals for each network. This is a plan that is meant to change, so be flexible and open to these changes.

What’s wrong with traditional marketing strategies?

Until the web came along ad agencies followed a typical path to delivering a strategy:

1. Developed a creative strategy to brand and position a company
2. Locate a media outlet with which to distribute the campaign. After taking a fee off the top, the client pays that agency to select to the best outlet to publicize their services or product

This approach assumes that the strategy approach will work.  Can you really be that sure with a single option approach? There is also the assumption  that the choice of media channels will succeed. Are you positive that channel was selected based on sales objective and not the relationship?  The media sources in this traditional methodology are strictly one-way outlets—print and television ads, billboards, and the like. These forms of media don’t reveal whether a marketing technique is actually effective or just a waste of money.

How does digital improve marketing strategies?

Beyond the sheer volume of the consumers on the web, digital marketing companies provide clients with extremely valuable information about how effectively your campaign has attracted consumers, who these consumers are, and if this attention has directly resulted in an increase in sales.

Two-way media has changed the face of consumer marketing, businesses now have the ability to be a dynamic in there response to the marketplace and their customers by with digital media and real data at the core of the decision making.

Within the past few years,  social networks have provided a wealth of information to companies regarding consumer preferences and feedback.     Studies have revealed that product referral and reliability is by far more important to consumers than advertising appeal. The opportunity for businesses to interact so closely with consumers has provided a window for companies to find out what consumers want and then give it to them.

Prove it you say?

As opposed to the old model wherein an advertising agency devises a slogan and tells you what they think you should think, digital marketing companies do a couple of things differently.

1. Digital media allows businesses to create, customize, and dynamically adapt product branding based on analytic data gathered from each specific client
2. Real time analytic data provides information that ensures that the placement and branding of each product is aligned with a distinct target audience

Gathered data that has been interpreted into usable information is at the core of the digital business strategy.

We turn to the internet for shopping, research, business and socializing; it’s no great surprise that advertising in this arena will achieve the most exposure for your business.

So why don’t customers read your email?

You’ve got great images.
Great. Images improve the experience but to see those, customers first have to click “display images”.  It’s a busy world. Most people don’t click that display button until they’re sure it’s going to be worth it.

You’ve got great copy.
Even better.  An inciting offer and clear call to action is of monumental importance. Once an email is opened the content of your email will either have your customers looking forward to the next email or looking for the unsubscribe link.

You’ve got a standard subject line.
Umm.  It could be as simple as your subject line. Does it says something akin to “news”?  Does it looks like something the sending software automatically populated? Is the subject line is the same every week?  These examples are a far cry from the subject line rule of thumb: make your customers want to read your email.  One simple change could dramatically increase email opens.

Why is the email subject so important?

The subject line is your glimmering opportunity. Your subscribers (whether current customers or prospective buyers) have given you permission to put your business in their inbox. It is the one place most people have a constant connection – at their desk or right in the palm of their hand via tablets and cell phones.  Luck favors the prepared so don’t waste the chance.

Emails that are opened are those that make customers immediately interested.

It’s there, in the subject line, that the interaction begins.  It’s there that you’ve either generated curiosity or have been dismissed.  Customers that don’t know what you’re sending will ignore your email. Don’t let it be over before it begins.

Simply put, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of taking a web page built by humans & making it easily consumable for both other humans and search engines.  Search engines like Google® use a methodical, automated computer program that scans web pages.  These Web crawlers, (or spider, ant, automatic indexer, bot, web robot – whatever you want to call them) use complex algorithms to process data, calculate page rank and determine site quality.

And why is that important to your business again?

A majority of economic activity both ONLINE AND OFFLINE begins with an Internet Search:

• 1st few results get most visibility & traffic
• Top listing instills trust in a company’s site
• So much traffic to so few listings means financial incentives for search ranking

Now the real question,

How do I optimize my site and improve my my search engine rankings?

Tactics vary based on your business, your target audience, your marketing strategy and a host of other variable, but there are a few basics to keep in mind.

1. Refine your Content

Make sure your site is easy to use. This can influence your link building ability and popularity and, thus, your ranking. Remember, SEO will be useless if customers don’t know what to do when they get there. Make sure your call to action is clear and present.

2. Leverage your Community

Content should be highly relevant to the search term that landed the user there.  When link building, think quality, not quantity. One single, good, authoritative link can do a lot more for you than a dozen poor quality links, which can actually hurt you. Also, understand that social marketing. It IS part of SEO. The more you understand about sites like, Yelp, Facebook, Google+ etc., the better you will be able to compete in search.

3. Measure your Success

Site Tracking helps identify keywords that customers are searching & refine content to match.