Pay-Per-Click Advertising

I know I promised another AR post… and that will come. But, I got a question from a reader about advertising through Facebook and other pay-per-click services and I thought such a topic deserves a full post. So, I wanted to address that question quickly.

I will start first with a caution about pay-per-click… it can be expensive and have low ROI. Next, I want to caution about advertising on Facebook ( I hope the FB police are not offended).  Everyone is on Facebook and that is good and bad. The good is lots of people can potentially see your ad. The bad is that many people ignore Facebook ads because very few look legitimate. Your ad for a reputable technology, for example, may display right next to the ad for losing belly fat by stuffing Acai Berry up your nose. You, therefore, are ‘guilty’ by association.

If you move forward with any type of pay-per-click advertising be sure to watch the returns carefully!  You may find that a lot of people click but don’t buy/register. Now, some people may tell you that  it is all about exposure and that is such a nice thought BUT it really is about dollars. That’s why business exists, right? So, if you undertake any pay-per-click be sure you have metrics in place to measure conversion from click to buy/register etc. Most importantly, don’t ever think that pay-per-click will be as valuable as organic web traffic. Do not rely on pay-per-click alone and make sure that your messages are spread out all over the place.  With that, let’s move on…

Pay-per-click advertising is all about keywords. For example, when a person searches a specific term or on Facebook when they talk about a particular term – your ad will appear if you are associated with the potential customer’s words. To be successful, you need to know which words and combination of words are most popular with potential customers. Immediately, you can probably think of about a dozen or so obvious words BUT check them out before you use them in a pay-per-click campaign to avoid wasting money. A great way to check keyword popularity is using Google AdWords.  You can sign up for an account for free and check out words even if you are not going to advertise on Google.

Next, be prepared to experiment A LOT! Add keywords the run the ad for a little while and check your metrics. Then change the words and check the metrics again. Just when you think you have found the golden ticket for perfect keywords, fads will change and new words will become the norm… This process of keyword advertising is ongoing and constant. Be sure to keep on top of it!

The advertisement itself should be short, to the point, and attention grabbing without looking like a scam.

The best way to create an ad is to start by talking to your company’s support staff, sales implementation staff, R&D staff, etc. Also, read the latest popular news and reader comments about products like yours. You will find, for example, that buyers will expose a lot of useful information (the buyer’s hot spots) if you just look for it.  Ask the sales/demo staff, are buyers most interested in - price, location, technical requirements, system features – which features, etc.? You may even find it helpful to join a sales person on the road or sit in on a few demonstrations. You need to personally ‘know’ the buyers if you want to catch their eye on the web.

Now you are thinking… so you also mentioned support staff, implementations, etc. What do they know? Oh, they know A LOT more than you think. Support staff are often the first line to receive feature requests, how-to questions, concerns/problems. This is fabulous information for advertising! You are able to get inside the customer’s head. Advertising is all about reading minds for targeting purposes.

Remember, to construct a great ad – you must know your customer better than you know your significant other. Use all your resources including support, R&D, sales, implementations people, etc. Find out what they know to create a profile for your target customer. Once you know that customer’s hot spots – what they love, what they hate, what features are most important, what are their goals, are they cost conscious, etc.. then start writing a short message that that speaks directly to that target customer. Remember, however, that your message must above all else, support your brand and be consistent with other elements in marketing.

For example, let’s say that your profile customer is cost conscious. If your product is expensive – don’t try to convince the customer that it is not expensive in an advertisement. Your marketing, including the pricing, will prove the ad a liar and hurt your brand image. If you are expensive, focus on expressing value.

Now let’s talk about word choice for the advertisement. This is a biggie! You need to remember both denotative and connotative definitions for EVERY word in the ad. Connotation in particular is a dangerous thing! For example, words can have “meanings” that are not actually realistic but to the buyer that meaning is reality. For example, in the paragraph above, I used the word value. Value seems like a harmless word, right? Maybe not. Value is often associated with generic brands like at the supermarket or the Great Value brand from Wal-Mart. Is that the picture you want to give a potential buyer? Interestingly, change the word value just a little to ‘valuable’ and now the association is expensive since most people think valuable items cost a lot of money.

If your ad includes an image – choose wisely! People are heavily influenced by feelings. Feelings can be manipulated with images and colors. Further, depending on who you are advertising to, you need to consider culture. Let’s first talk colors. Colors have connotations, too. Green, for example, is healthy, spring time, or money. Blue is relaxing, calming, or cold. Red is stop, emergency, or  passion. Now think about images. Who is your target? Don’t offend them with a poorly chosen image that plays into stereotypes or completely ignores culture.

Lastly, if you decide to go ahead with Facebook ads be sure your company has a Facebook page. Potential customers will look you up to see if you are legit even without clicking on the ad. You may do well to encourage your current customers to follow you on Facebook and to help populate the page so the company’s legitimacy is established. Plus, if current customers follow you - their friends (other potential customers) will see that and maybe check your page out. Make sure your Facebook page, like all other marketing, supports the ad… or the ad supports the other marketing (whichever way you want to say it).

Well. I hope that helps. Thank you for the question. It always helps to get ideas for postings and I certainly hope it helps your marketing! Let me know if you have other questions. Perhaps, I will do a post on using B2B and partnerships to improve sales, that may be of interest to you as well.

Advertising on a Small Budget

In my last post, I talked about social media advertising. I cannot stress enough about the value of social media. First, social media is free (except time dedicated). For a business or person on a tight budget, this is a great way to spread a message. My blog is a great example! I started posting just a few months ago and “advertised” it on various social media outlets. I didn’t spend too much time on social media advertising – just a little, actually. Now with just a little work, I get hundreds of views per day (even when I am remiss with posting new content as I have been lately). A few hundred people is not a huge number, but it is commensurate with the effort I put in to social media. That says a lot considering how little effort I put in! So, for the first tip on advertising on a budget, read my last post on social media!

The next BIG idea is pretty obvious... Get the biggest bang for your buck! Advertisers want to make sure that they are telling as many people about their brand as possible for the lowest cost. I found a great way to do this is getting ad space on popular blogs (No, I am not trying to sell anything. I do not have advertisements on my blog and don’t intend on adding them any time soon…unless I miraculously get gazillions of readers and cannot resist the temptation to get rich quick).  In general, I found that blogs, even those with very high readership, cost significantly less than other types of advertising.

When choosing a blog on which to advertise, make sure that the blog’s target audience is the same as your target audience (obviously). Also, be sure to ask them to provide statistics on how many page views they get per month. You don’t want to waste money on any ad space that does not attract plenty of readers. Most importantly, do not under estimate the value of a good graphical advertisement. Consumers are experts in spotting professional-looking ads versus something you made in MS Paint. I will write a separate post with hints about creating a good advertisement.

I have also found that a great, affordable way to “advertise” are by keeping updated profiles on rating and review sites like Yelp, City-Search, and Capterra. Remember, these kinds of sites allow customers to give their opinions on your business and service. That can be tricky… who knows what axes people have to grind. The tip here is to make customer relationship management a priority. Remember, when you interact with customers, they can either help you or hurt you. Today, people are heavily dependent on reviews before making purchases. In every interaction, remember that! If you make customer relationship management a priority, rating and review tools are very valuable to your marketing campaign.

Another great way to advertise inexpensively is the almighty press release. WOW, can these spread fast! You may be shocked (or maybe you already know) to find how many news media and bloggers will pick up your press release and ‘advertise’ your business. Be sure you have something useful to say or you run the risk of being ignored. But, if you can, issue press releases frequently. A business can generally distribute a press release for a few hundred dollars if the business tightly controls the word count. So, the important thing here is to make every word count and say something useful – even if it is not massively important.

For example, let’s say you don’t have any earth-shattering news…make some - as long as it is useful. You will guess from my former posts, I believe strongly in the value of marketing with educational materials in order to build a brand reputation and strengthen relationships with customers. So, perhaps you can add new educational material to your website and send a press release to announce it. You will need to come up with an attention grabbing headline and make sure the content of the press release brags the benefits of your materials without giving too much away (you want to leave them wanting more so they will come to your website).

Still, there is more you can do to "advertise" inexpensively, but since this article is getting long now, I will be brief with the remaining ideas…

*Have you written an e-zine article lately? Yes, people really do read those things. This is another way you show your business’ expertise. Again, the important thing is to write an informative article that leaves them wanting more! The goal is to attract people to your website or to call you for more information. 

 
*Do you have active profiles on business information and networking sites like Manta and BizNik? 

*Do you network? I don’t mean online. I mean in person. Do you go to local events that support your business goals? If you don’t, you should! If you are not sure where these networking events are, check out MeetUp and see what is available. 

*Try submitting an editorial or column to a news site. Often, editors are looking for good, free content. Make sure the article is timely, interesting, useful, educational, and/or a valuable opinion. The news will not run an advertisement for free, so don’t try to trick them with an incognito ad. Instead, talk about a recent event that aligns with your business expertise and let the “advertisement” be nothing more than your name, company, and position (the byline). If you want to sneak in some ‘low level’ gorilla marketing techniques – make the column controversial… just be careful with controversy – it can backfire and damage a brand’s reputation.

*Lastly and perhaps most importantly… Google search your name and your company name. Find out where you have been mentioned in any context. Go to those sites and see how you and your company are being represented. If there is an option, create a profile and add information about your company. The important thing is to get your company name out there - everywhere!

Tips on Launching an Effective Social Media Marketing Campaign

Today, I wanted to focus on how a small business can build a brand while driving traffic to their website for relatively low cost (even free) with good ROI. This article will discuss the ins and outs of social media marketing. Before we start, let me preface with the fact that social media marketing is time consuming. It can be a very effective, affordable means of advertising – but it will require a dedicated investment of time to be effective. As you read the article, you will see what I mean.

First and foremost, you must have a good website or no marketing in the world will help. A good website includes elements of good user interface design that is attractive, functional, and easy to navigate. Text is a very important factor in a good website for two reasons. First, text is part of the way search engines like Google and Yahoo catalogue your website. Search engines ignore pictures and Flash components. So if your website is completely designed in Flash, you are in trouble!

Secondly, people who visit your website depend strongly on text to understand what your site is all about. A well written, well organized website makes your business seem more professional and expresses the purpose of the business. In addition to this, useful, educational text on your website can bring in traffic.  People like things that are free. While you cannot necessarily give products and services away for free, you can give free information about topics that support your brand’s image. Not only do websites with educational content attract more traffic they also attract more business as the useful, free content builds a relationship and sense of trust with potential customers.  

A blog is a great way to do this. Make sure that your blog is attractive, has good strong, useful text and lots of catchy pictures (you’ll know why good pictures are important in a minute). The educational content should be relevant to current themes of interest in your industry. If you don’t know what current interests are – read the news, other blogs, etc. to find out. Never copy or steal someone else’s ideas. If you are planning to build on someone else’s article (commentary style), be sure to attribute the original idea to that other person and link back to the original article.

Most importantly remember your mom’s advice: “if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.  There are great rewards associated with saying nice things about other people and other businesses that complement (but don’t compete or undermine) your business and brand image. For example, you may find that your comments about another business result in that business linking back to your website or blog to “return the favor”.

While it is perfectly alright to disagree with someone else’s ideas, it must be done politely with an acknowledgment of the original idea’s validity even though your thoughts differ in a certain way. If you have absolutely nothing nice to say – say nothing at all. Negativity or bad mouthing another (even if it is a competitor) is unprofessional and just plain old bad business that WILL damage your reputation.

Once you are providing useful, brand supporting educational text – brag about it! Promote your website’s educational content with free tools like Twitter, Pinterest, Stumble Upon, Google Plus, Linkedin, and Facebook. Every time you post a new piece of educational content, post an update on all of the above sites. Also, be sure to add your blog feed to your Linked In profile.  For the sake of Pinterest, make sure you have eye-catching images on your site that you can pin. Remember, don’t steal images or pictures off the internet at random – you will get caught and you will make someone angry. We are trying to build a positive brand, not alienate people. With a little effort, there are plenty of free images you can use.

Next, you will need to follow other people on the sites referenced above. There is an unwritten rule, that you must “return the favor”. When someone follows you, follow them back UNLESS their content could be damaging to your site or brand image. Also, when another business follows you, check out their website – perhaps you will find that you can write something nice about them as a extra relationship-building thank you for following me. If you do write about them, tell them so in a quick email to their marketing/sales department (they might just link back to your article).

Another way to build traffic is to comment on other blogs and Linked In group discussions, but here I will caution you to play by the rules!!!!! DO NOT SPAM. In most cases you will be required to either comment as anonymous or register for a profile; always opt for the later and proudly make your name known. Be sure add your website link in your profile. Take the time to read other articles and comments then give your opinion on the topic in a polite, professional manner. Do not just add a comment like “nice article so check me out at  i_am_a_spammer.com” – really comment with a thoughtful opinions or experiences related to the article.

Again, you do not have to agree – but if you disagree, do it politely and professionally supporting your opinion with facts/experiences. Those readers who agree with your thoughts will naturally want to know more about you, click on your name, and end up at your website. Readers who choose to actively pursue your site by following the link in your profile are more likely to become good connections. Further, playing by the rules (not spamming or adding junk comments) will develop your positive brand image as a good business person who respects others 'property' while making your name more widely known.

So, I think that’s enough for just now. I will post another article with more affordable advertising ideas shortly.  In closing, I will remind social media marketing can generate a positive ROI if you follow the rules. However, it will take time and dedication – Rome wasn’t built in a day. The industry research, blog and discussion comments, tweeting, pinning, linking, writing, replying to comments, etc. required to successfully grow a social media marketing campaign is time consuming. Depending on your aspirations for growth and brand development, this may be a full-time job. Considering how big and important this is, you may consider hiring a person or company who knows how to do it right. 

Healthcare Marketing

As technology evolves and HIT demand drives more and more people to start their own businesses, i thought it would be nice to talk about advertising for small businesses. Over the years I have worked with many small healthcare businesses and found that advertising is a huge challenge for small business. The reason for this is simple, advertising is expensive. Still, there are ways to affordable ways to advertise.

Now, I am going to start this post by saying something shocking – but don’t be turned off…wait and here me out. Here is the shocking statement: Contrary to  popular opinion, services like Google Ad Words alone are not likely to produce a return on investment. This is not to imply that you can ignore Google Ad Words, but rather to say that Ad Words ALONE will not work and investment in Ad Words when finances are limited can be disastrous.

First, I will give a brief blurb on Ad Words for those not familiar. Search engines, like Google, have advertisements at the top and sides of the page. These ads are produced based on the words a person searches compared to the advertisement’s purchased keywords. For example, if I search the word ‘tomato’, at the top and sides of the search page, I will see advertisements for businesses who have ‘purchased’ the word ‘tomato’. Each time a person clicks on one of those advertisements, the business that advertised by purchasing the word ‘tomato’  is charged for the word’s use.

So, if people are clicking on an advertised term, one can assume that the person wants that item. Why would that be disastrous? There is one single reason and it is return on investment (ROI). Let’s say a click on your advertisement costs $0.50. Over the course of a month, 1,000 people click on your ad. That will cost you $500. Your tomatoes sell for $0.50 each. Of that 1000 people, only 1 person bought a single tomato. So, your revenue was $0.50 and your advertising cost was $500… where is the ROI?

It can be argued at this point that getting your name out there - in front of the consumer - is worth that loss of $499.50 in the long run. Unfortunately, for a small business this absence of immediate RIO is the primary reason why the marketing/advertising budget is the first thing cut when finances are tight. So, there has got to be a better way and there is.

First, let’s think about why only 1 person out of 1,000 bought tomatoes from you.  There are a lot of possible reasons but two reasons stand out as things you can control and I will discuss both at length in two posts (to keep this from getting too long). The first possible reason is that your website is terrible. The second reason is your brand recognition which I will explain in this post and give tips for improving it in another post.

Let’s start with your terrible website. A terrible website can be defined in two ways. One is a website that is confusing. There are ‘rules’ for good user interface (UI) design. If your website breaks the rules and people cannot find what they want –they will not buy from you. If you don’t know the rules, you can research that but before you rush off to do that finish reading here first. 

The next thing about terrible websites are ugly, homegrown, unprofessional websites.  In many ways an ugly website is WORSE than breaking good UI design rules. If your website it ugly, people will leave the site immediately and your reputation will sink. It does not matter how good a business you have, how affordable your prices, how fabulous your service, etc…if your site is ugly – you lose business. 

Face it, most people like shiny objects – attractive websites, modern websites, innovative-looking websites will take your business away. Don’t depend on your own judgment about your website – you are bias. It is like children’s artwork – to a parent, that piece of artwork hanging on the fridge is comparable to any Van Gogh. To everyone else, it’s just ugly. The best investment a small business will EVER make is in professional web design.

Now, understand professional web design is not a homegrown thing done by a relative who claims to know something about it. You need to hire a consultant who is wholly objective. Interview a LOT of companies or independent designers before choosing who will do your website. The person/company  you choose should understand good user interface design, user experience, and search engine optimization (SEO, search engine optimization is the art of designing a website so search engines can effectively catalogue your contents and product web search results).  

Do your research on these terms before interviewing – understand the topics so you are not deceived by someone who claims to know more than they do. Then spend quality time reviewing the designer’s portfolio. Ask a lot of questions. You can also ask many designers to create a sample page for your website so you can see what they are capable of. Keep in mind many designers will charge for such custom samples (as a precaution). Above all else, don’t be cheap in website design! Spend the money on your site and hold off on the expense of Ad Words for a bit. Once you have a good website, you can start driving traffic for free or relatively inexpensively.

The next reason you only sold one tomato may be your brand image. As a small business, how can customers know you are reputable? Who are you? Before Ad Words can have a positive impact on your sales, you need to build your brand. A brand is the combination of your name, what you do, how you do it, what you stand for, etc. Before people will trust to buy from you, they need to know your brand or at least not be afraid of it. Your website is a major part of your brand, make sure it is professional-looking! Additionally, branding activities can be used to generate website traffic. That, however, is the subject of the next post.