Tag Archive for: Digital Advertising

Improving Your SEO Strategy During COVID-19

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A recent survey by Conductor revealed that due to COVID-19 and the extension of the social distancing guidelines, many marketers anticipate a decrease in their annual marketing budget, but still expect goals to remain the same. How are they expecting to reach their goals with a smaller budget? Shifting their focus to SEO. 

Regardless of the status of the economy, people are still going to be making purchases, and more people are shopping online than ever before. Why wouldn’t you want your brand top of mind when users are making buying decisions? 

Here are 4 tips to improve your SEO strategy during this uncertain time. 

1. Build Trust with Your Content 

Many brands are offering deals and promotions to customers once the pandemic has passed and the world starts to go back to normal. Forrester released a report that found that consumers are doubtful that companies will follow through on the promises they make during this time. In a time of crisis, trust is more important than ever. With so much false information and uncertainty circulating, it’s essential to separate yourself as a brand that’s reputable. 

Another Conductor study reported that consumers find brands that deliver educational content are much more trustworthy than those that don’t. Right now, consumers are looking for answers to their questions from brands they trust. This isn’t the time for salesy content. Focus on creating content that brings real value to your audience. 

2. Make Necessary Changes to Current Campaigns 

If you had any campaigns active before the situation of the world changed, make sure to perform an audit on it and make any necessary changes. Be sure to review any social posts or content pieces you had scheduled out ahead of time as well. You don’t want to come across as insensitive or tone-deaf to the situation. 

SEO is much more than just technical efforts, and this is one of them. You want to be the voice of different customers across the organization. During times like these marketers need to have a heightened awareness of customer sensitivity. Even though it’s difficult to suspend a campaign that a lot of time and resources went into creating, it could be more harmful to your brand in the long run if you keep it running. For example, Corona received harsh backlash via social media when they went through with launching their Coming Ashore Soon campaign for its new seltzer line. 

3. Constantly Manage Your Reputation 

Managing your web presence during times of crisis is another crucial element of gaining and maintaining the trust of customers. Dated or inaccurate information can confuse or even hurt your audience, making you look bad in the process. Here are some tips for managing your online reputation during this time: 

 

  • Update any online listings or hours. Review your listings on all search engines, social media, review sites, and any other platform you may be on. Make sure your listings are updated with any changed hours, service suspensions, or revised contact information for any departments or location.
  • Monitor the status of COVID-19 and respond with empathy. Even in times of crisis, consumers are talking about business online. If you don’t already have one in place, it’s crucial to implement a comprehensive review and response strategy. Adjust your response technique as needed, remembering to be as sensitive and transparent as possible during this time. Ignoring comments and reviews puts your credibility and brand trust at great risk during a time of crisis.
  • Engage with customers across all platforms. Businesses are receiving an influx of questions on all levels across all platforms. Prepare to answer these questions on Google My Business, social, and any other platform with timely and accurate information. You might even want to consider setting up a FAQ on your website or third-party directories if you’re getting many similar inquiries. 
  • Monitor the Google Search Console. Web traffic, especially organic, is a big indicator of where demand for your product or services has shifted. Spikes or declines in traffic may show you what information is most important to your audience and help you decide your response strategy. 

 

Improve Your Security Efforts 

Hackers are trying to take advantage of the current situation and those that are in need. Many are using malicious malware to promote discounts, giveaways, etc. Some hackers are even using branding of trusted companies for phishing attacks, including the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now that many people are working from home, the threat becomes even greater. From a business perspective, here’s what you can do to ensure your website’s security: 

  • Monitor log files for crawl errors. 
  • Implement Single Sign On. 
  • Implement HTTPS. 
  • Update any plugins or apps being used. 

Final Thoughts 

Everyone is looking for answers right now. If you can position yourself at the top of a Google SERP with credible information, it can have endless benefits, even after the pandemic is over. Trust is what consumers want and need right now. SEO is a needed investment to build that trust. 

At Onimod Global we understand how vital SEO can be. Search engine optimization is our core attribute and a pillar of our strategy. We develop  organic search engine optimization campaigns that deliver increases in organic traffic through an increase in natural rankings on major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. We are a trusted Google Partner and continually excel with their products. If you need assistance with SEO, or in any area of digital marketing, contact us today. 

How to Develop a Social Media Content Calendar

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Many marketers swear by the use of monthly content calendars. While there are real benefits of using content calendars, they still have their pitfalls. They require a lot of time and effort, and sometimes those things can’t easily be spared. Not only that, but working strictly off a set calendar isn’t always the solution for everyone. 

Whether or not you need a content calendar depends on a variety of factors, but if you discover a way to develop one that allows for flexibility and creativity, the benefits can be endless. 

The Pros of Using Content Calendars

Consisting Posting 

Planning your posts ahead of time ensures new content gets pushed out regularly. Having your topics picked out ahead of time saves time and allows for more than one person to manage social platforms. Regular content dispersion is important because it means you avoid the typical ups and downs in traffic and audience that come from inconsistent posting. Through a content schedule, you spread out your content throughout the month, setting yourself up as a resource to be trusted.

Diverse Content 

When you come up with content topics everyday, it’s only a matter of time before they get repetitive. You’ll most likely revert to the same topics and posting style when you’re struggling to come up with something. When you lay all content out for a month, you’ll be able to better spread out certain topics, preventing you from becoming predictable and boring. 

Better Teamwork 

If more than one person works on a blog or controls a social media account, having a content schedule is key. Assigning topics will become much easier, and you’ll be able to do it much further in advance. It will also prevent any overlap in content and make sure everyone’s on the same page. 

The Cons of Using Content Calendars

Can Restrict Creativity and Flexibility

While careful planning and deadlines are what makes content calendars work, too many restrictions can stifle creativity and eliminate flexibility. Sometimes planning your blog content ahead of time can turn out to be counterproductive when your company’s goals change, roles shift, or strategies get re-imagined. It can discourage your team to think outside of the box. It may also prevent from responding to timely or relevant topics, which can make your brand seem out-of-the-loop. 

Can Seem Disingenuous 

Along with the inability to respond to relevant topics, scheduled content may also come across as disingenuous. For example, you might have scheduled a tweet about nice weather, just as a natural disaster hits your community. So while automated posts save time, they can come across as stale because they’re written days or weeks before it’s actually published. 

More Demanding 

Content calendars are only successful if the whole marketing team is on board and uses it. All the time you spend carefully planning out when, where and what to post ends up being a waste of time, if no one is actually sticking to the schedule. A way to combat this is by making sure that the calendar is easily accessible to all team members and easy to use. Also make adhering to the calendar a priority for your marketing team and hold people accountable for the content they are responsible for.

As we said before, content calendars are not for everyone. If you have a small team or don’t publish content that often, they may be more work than they’re worth. However, they can be very beneficial to many marketing teams. 

Creating content calendars can seem daunting, but they don’t have to be. If you’ve established that this is something that would be helpful for your business, here is a process that allows you to quickly and effectively produce weekly content, that allows for flexibility and creativity. 

How to Develop a Content Calendar that Allows for Creativity

(via Marketing Land)

Identify Key Audiences 

Think of four different customers that serve as examples of types of customers that serve as examples of the types of customers you’d like to land for your company moving forward. Pinpoint each customer’s unique challenges, emotions and values, as you’ll want the content to speak to those needs.

Identify Solutions

After identifying four key audiences, think of three solutions your business can offer to these four audiences. This could include different services, products, or value propositions. Then match up each of your three solutions with each of your four audiences. 

  • Solution A for Audience 1
  • Solution B for Audience 1
  • Solution C for Audience 1
  • Solution A for Audience 2
  • And so on until you have twelve broad topics to explore

Identify Categories 

The final step is to come up with a list of four content strategies that will allow you to approach each solution/customer pairing from a variety of perspectives. Some examples include:

  • Expert Q&As
  • Step-by-step Guides
  • Industry News
  • Listicles
  • Case Studies

Combine this list of categories with your 12 solutions pairings to generate 48 unique topics for a full year of content. The first example could be: Expert Q&A that addresses Audience 1’s challenges from the perspective of what Solution A offers. Try to address each audience in one post per month. That way, each month, you will address and provide content for all four audiences. 

Marketing Land advises to keep in mind that content isn’t just supposed to be brand promotions. Your content is supposed to provide value to readers. 

Final Thoughts 

Today, almost all businesses release some form of digital content. While calendars may not be worth it for everyone, they can be very beneficial for those that need them. If you think your company could benefit from a content calendar, but don’t know where to start, consider outsourcing a digital marketing company.

At Onimod Global we create monthly content calendars for our clients. As experts in social media marketing we know how to create visibility for companies in places their customers are searching, interacting, and engaging. . Take a look at how we’ve helped others, and learn more about what we can do for you.

Tips on How to Be Productive While Working from Home

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As a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, many companies are transitioning to working remote. While working from home is a dream for many, there are many challenges that can come with it. We don’t know how long this situation will last, so it’s important to learn how to be as productive as possible while working from home. 

If you’re new to the WFH life, here are some tips on how to do it successfully. 

Create a schedule. 

Working from home presents a different set of challenges than working in an office. It’s much easier to get distracted and feel restless with having nowhere to go. Establishing a routine that replicates a normal work day, and sticking to it, can be very beneficial. Set goals for the day. What tasks do you need to complete? What needs to get started? It’s also helpful to set aside specific hours for answering emails, making calls, taking lunch, coffee breaks etc. When you have a full to-do list and stay productive, it will make the day go by much faster. The next thing you know it’s 5pm and the work day is over. 

Have a designated workspace. 

If you don’t have a home office already, try as much as possible to create a separated and designated workspace. When it comes to working at home, you want to create a boundary between work and leisure. You don’t want to turn your bed or couch into the office. It could be as simple as moving a nightstand and upright chair to the corner of a room. This can also help to create boundaries with others in your home. Whether it be roommates, partners, or children, having a designated workspace signals to others you’re ‘at work.’ This all helps you to stay concentrated and productive. 

Communicate, communicate, communicate. 

Whether temporary or permanent, the keys to successfully working from home is clear communication with your boss and colleagues, and being aware of what’s expected from you. When you’re used to being in close proximity with your manager, communication is effortless. If you’re new to working remotely, this is now very different. Your boss might not be used to managing people virtually, so you need to find ways to break down that new communication barrier. Suggest starting the day with a phone call just so everyone is on the same page and knows what their expectations are. This doesn’t just have to be with your supervisor, either. If you’re working closely with another colleague on something make sure you both consistently communicate with one another. Whether this be done via email, phone call, or video chat, it’s important to stay in contact. 

Beware of feeling isolated. 

Loneliness can be a huge and serious issue, especially when you’re so used to talking face-to-face with a number of people a day. With the current situation, we don’t know how long companies will have to stay remote, which presents many additional problems. Usually remote workers still have the opportunity to go to public places or attend social events. Restaurants, cafes, bars etc. are open, which allows those remote workers to still have face-to-face interactions. With the COVID-19 outbreak, these opportunities aren’t there. Prolonged isolation could potentially start to impact morale and productivity. Those remote worker experts suggest trying to sustain a semblance of normalcy in unconventional ways. Consider having a virtual happy hour or dinner party. It can help everyone feel that they’re in this together and lift spirits during this difficult time. 

Take breaks. 

When you live where you work, it’s important to get out of your workspace at times during the day. You might feel pressured to overextend yourself to prove to your team you’re actually working, it’s critical to carve out break time. You’re going to get quickly burnt out if all you do is pace back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. 

Final Thoughts 

Initially, working from home can be challenging, but during this time, it’s in everyone’s best interest. Until the outbreak is under control, the benefits of working from home, outweigh the inconveniences. Remember to cut yourself some slack during this time. It’s inevitable to get distracted and off-task every once in a while. There is a lot going on and new information to take in everyday. While it is difficult, try to stay positive. We’re all in this together. 

More from Onimod Global

To catch up on the latest digital marketing news and trends, click here. To find out more about who we are and what we do, click here.

Marketing and Coronavirus: 5 Tips for Travel and Hospitality Brands

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Coronavirus is something that can no longer be ignored by marketers, as much as they might want to. Industries around the globe are starting to feel the effects, but none are getting hit as hard as one in particular: the travel and hospitality industry. 

With coronavirus recently reaching a pandemic status, travel and hospitality brands have no ability to control or avoid the situation. But they do have the ability to control how they respond, which can strongly impact their losses and how well they recover after the crisis is over. 

Here are 5 marketing tips for travel and hospitality brands during the coronavirus. 

Moderately Adjust Ad Budgets 

The crisis is forcing companies to reevaluate many aspects of their financial plans, especially those operating in B2C spaces. After all, does it make sense to buy traffic if consumers aren’t going to travel? Actually, Craig Paddock, director of search and travel at MMGY Global, a travel and hospitality marketing firm, says data indicates that consumers are still buying travel. He says their clients are only moderately reducing paid search budgets, with the exception of international paid search efforts for United States-based clients. With the recent European travel ban, it only makes sense to pause international ad campaigns all together. In terms of national travel Paddock says, “If you were to read the front page of the newspaper today you would think absolutely nobody is booking hotel rooms. We are not seeing that yet.” 

It’s also important to continue to keep brand safety in mind. While marketers don’t need to pause ads completely, they should monitor ad placement. You don’t want to be spending money on ads placed on sites dealing with the outbreak. 

Implement “Staycation” Promotions 

One audience that could continue to be business opportunities for hotel marketers are those within driving distance. Flying may no longer be appealing to those looking to take a vacation, but a trip in driving range may be. Consider creating appealing offers targeting those searching for travel opportunities locally. Paddock at MMGY Global says they have been creating “staycation” landing pages for clients that didn’t already have them.  

That being said, you don’t want to go overboard with promotional marketing. Brands must be careful that they don’t push their fantastic deals too aggressively to consumers who are not interested in traveling at the current time. 

Be Proactive and Communicate Clearly About Efforts 

As we said, it has become impossible to travel without being aware of the coronavirus. Companies should communicate proactively about the situation and precautions they’re taking to protect customers and employees. Brands obviously cannot market peoples’ concerns away, but they can market on a foundation that they’re taking meaningful action. Examples include: 

  • Creating and publishing policies related to coronavirus. 
  • Implementing new cleaning and hygienic protocol. 
  • Supplying customers with supplies and information that can help them protect themselves. 
  • Suspending any flights, services, activities, etc. that may increase customer and employee health risks. 

Be Flexible and Generous 

All companies want to minimize losses, but with this being a crisis that threatens the health of customers, brands should put people before profit. This is a factor that can strongly impact how well you recover following the outbreak. If a customer had a bad experience during this time of crisis and felt that the company only cared about maintaining revenue, the likelihood of them returning is slim. On the other hand, if they had a good experience, and felt that the company genuinely cared about their wellbeing, they could become a long-term loyal customer. 

Even if not legally required, it’s in a company’s long-term best interest to be flexible and generous. Airlines, hotels, and tour operators, when reasonable, should consider allowing customers to cancel bookings and receive full refunds, even if originally they were not refundable. If issuing a full refund isn’t possible or appropriate, customers should be given the opportunity to cancel for a full service credit when the crisis is over.  

Actively Monitor the Situation and Manage Campaigns 

The status of coronavirus and the world is constantly changing, which means campaigns need to be managed accordingly. For example, if a city or country emerges as an epicenter of an outbreak or becomes subject of new travel restrictions, brands have to react immediately. If there are paid search efforts being targeted there, marketers have to appropriately modify or deactivate them. Because ultimately, there is nothing to be gained from marketing travel to areas that aren’t safe, or to audiences that no longer have the opportunity to travel. These efforts can help travel and hospitality brands minimize waste, while protecting customers and employees. 

Final Thoughts 

What’s best for your brand is ultimately up to you and your company. We have no way of controlling what happens globally, only how we respond. Not everyone sees budget-cutting as the answer, but it’s in any companies’ best interest to reconsider marketing strategies, especially those in the travel and hospitality industry. 

More From Onimod Global 

To catch up on the latest digital marketing news and trends, click here. To find out more about who we are and what we do, click here.

Utilizing Google’s Lead Form Extensions

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In late October of 2019 Google confirmed they were rolling out a new lead generation form extension. The goal of the extension is to help more mobile users convert and easily provide their contact information without ever leaving the SERP. “A fast, mobile-optimized experience makes form submission easy and eliminates the extra step of navigating to your mobile site lead form,” as explained by Google. The feature has been slowly rolled out to marketers in BETA over the last few months. 

What Are Google Lead Form Extensions? 

Before making a purchase, customers often want to contact your business to receive more information, but filling out forms can be difficult on mobile. Lead form extensions simplify the form fill process to generate quality leads for your business. They’re designed to attract customers with a strong call-to-action, which can be accessed after filling out the short form without leaving Search. The extension shows beneath your search ad on mobile and tablet devices. Marketers can customize the forms with their own titles, description, and which pieces of information they require from users. This could include:

  • Name 
  • Email 
  • Phone number 
  • Postal code 

If the user is signed into a Google account they’ll reach a form with already pre-populated contact details and can convert immediately. Additionally, marketers can design and upload their own background image for the lead form and customize the message shown after submission. Marketers then have the option to deliver their call-to-action in the form of a website link or direct download. Like all extensions, it may not always show and is more likely to show in top positions. Lastly, you only pay when a user clicks on the extension. 

How to Create a Lead Form Extension:

Once you’re inside a search campaign, visit the “Ads and Extensions” tab located on the left handrail. If your account has access to this beta, clicking on the blue “+” will give you this drop down, with a noted “Lead form extension” offer. When creating your lead form you first design how it will appear beneath your ad. Some of the choices you will be given include: 

 

  • Call-to-action: Google gives the options of Get Quote, Apply Now, Sign Up, Contact Us, Subscribe, Download, Book Now, or Get Offer.
  • Extension text: Here you can provide a 30 character message supplementing your call-to-action. It will appear right below the CTA on the SERP.

Next, you create the form users are directed to after clicking on the extension. Here you chose and provide:

  • The information you want to collect from users 
  • Your business name (30 characters): Shown at the top of the form.
  • A headline (30 characters): Shown immediately below the headline, serving as your primary CTA in the form. 
  • A description (200 characters): The main body of the form, allowing you to provide additional details about your offer. 
  • A link to your company’s privacy policy. 

Following the form you create a submission message. This includes a 200 character description and an optional additional call-to-action. You can then either store the leads in your ad account, or feed them directly to your CRM. It’s important to note that Google only stores your leads for 30 days, so you would have to download them frequently. 

Are Lead Form Extensions Right for Your Campaign?  

Lead form extensions are a great option, but may not be right for every campaign. They do have some limitations and aren’t available for all ad types. If your ad is for adult-oriented content, alcohol-related content, gambling-related content, politics, healthcare, or medicine it is not eligible for lead form extensions. Additionally, lead form extensions will only appear on mobile or tablet devices. If the majority of your traffic and conversions come through desktop, going through the trouble to set up lead form extensions may not be worth it. They also can only be controlled at the campaign level, not the account or ad group level. Only first-party advertisers or third-party agencies with a well-established, direct relationship with the products or services being offered, can use lead form ads. Affiliate networks or lead generation businesses will not be allowed to use the feature. Lastly, usage of the personal information you collect with lead form extensions must comply with Google’s data collection policies and local legal requirements. 

Final Thoughts 

If none of the policies or requirements present an issue with your company or campaign, then there’s no reason to not take advantage of this new feature. Capturing mobile conversions can be difficult, the lead form extension works to make that as easy as possible. At Onimod Global we are experts in SEM and as a Google Partner, we’re trusted by Google to excel with their products. If you need assistance in any area of Google Ads, we’re your team. 

Take a look at how we’ve helped other companies, and learn more about what we can do for you!

 

Tips for Finding Your Ideal SEO Company

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SEO, or search engine optimization, can seem confusing, complicated, and difficult. That’s why many businesses turn to an outside SEO agency. With thousands of different agencies to choose from, it can be even more difficult to find a qualified and reliable one. When you know what to look for, it can become easier than you’d think. Here are 4 tips for finding your ideal SEO company. 

Clearly Establish Your Goals 

First, you want to be specific about your goals so you can find a company that can meet them. This should be more than just trying to get more organic traffic or rank for specific keywords. Establish exactly what you want to accomplish with SEO, whether that be to boost revenue or get more downloads or signups. No matter which company you chose, make sure you’re clear on the type of results you’re looking for and what services you need.

Their Strategies are Concrete 

SEO isn’t magic, so you should avoid any company that talks about it abstractly. There are no “secret” optimization techniques that manipulate search engines. The process of optimizing your website to drive organic traffic takes time and can be hard to understand. Those that claim to have “special insights” are misleading. Usually these “insights” include black hat SEO techniques, such as buying links and keyword stuffing. This can actually lead to search engines demoting your site because it violates terms. These techniques may drive traffic quickly, but you’ll lose rankings in the long run. Good SEO requires a deep understanding of search engines, algorithms, and following frequent updates. 

Avoid Google Lists 

Often times people will just search for which companies rank best in their area or for top SEO lists. It’s not always a good sign for a company to have outstanding organic rankings themselves. If the company has the time to constantly work on their own rankings, it may be because they aren’t doing that for others. The best agencies typically have a list of long-term clients who have and will refer other companies to the same service. It’s also important to remember that lists such as those are generally not impartial. Many of the lists are pay-to-play. The websites that post the lists require payment from the companies that they feature on them. The more they pay, the higher on the list they will be. That’s why using word-of-mouth advertising may be the best to find a qualified and trustworthy SEO company. 

Expert Employees 

Speaking with the CEO of a company is always compelling, but it doesn’t give true insight into the expertise and capabilities of an average employee. The CEO is going to be the most knowledgeable and persuasive person in the company. It’s important to speak with regular team members to evaluate the expertise of who you’ll likely be working with. Your ideal company will have equal expertise at all levels of the chain. The sales team should have a deep understanding of SEO, their strategy, be able to answer questions, etc. 

How Onimod Global Can Help 

An SEO company can have a major impact on your business and budget. At Onimod Global we understand how vital SEO can be. Search engine optimization is our core attribute and a pillar of our strategy. We develop  organic search engine optimization campaigns that deliver increases in organic traffic through an increase in natural rankings on major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. We are a trusted Google Partner and continually excel with their products. 

Take a look at how we’ve helped other companies, and learn more about what we can do for you!

The Top 3 Signs You Need to Revamp Your Digital Marketing Strategy in 2020

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In the fast-paced, highly competitive space of digital marketing, you never want to find your brand losing traction. While there are a variety of successful digital marketing strategies, it’s rare that it remains unchanged. The new year presents the perfect opportunity to evaluate your current practices, identify problem areas, and make necessary adjustments. 

With 2020 coming up next week, here are the top 3 signs you need to revamp your digital marketing strategy.  

Getting Traffic, But No Conversions

When you’re getting qualified traffic but lacking final sales, you probably need to reconsider your conversion rate optimization (CRO) initiatives. The best way to start this is by tracking on-site behavior. CRO is so valuable because it allows you to identify exactly where the fallout in the sales funnel occurs. Instead of just guessing what needs to be changed, you can now take remediation initiatives that target exactly what needs to be fixed. Areas such as content, page layout, CTA’s, shopping carts, etc should all be tracked and considered. 

Losing Rankings

SEO is vital for success in any digital marketing strategy because of all the other factors it supplements. When SEO starts to decline other key metrics, such as traffic, conversions, and revenue can follow suit. There are many reasons that can cause SEO rankings to fall, but the number one factor is search engine friendliness, or lack of, of your website. Search engines, such as Google and Bing, take into account page load time, structure, security, and usability when deciding how well a site ranks. It’s not uncommon for a site to rank well for years and drop because of a new Google update. With the popularity of mobile usage, sites that lack a responsive design have been falling in rankings. 

Keyword lists and site pages are two other factors taken into account. Keyword lists should be consistently updated to eliminate any low performing or irrelevant phrases. Site pages related to keywords should be updated accordingly as well. For best results, an SEO campaign must be cohesive and continuous. Having a strong, ongoing SEO campaign as a digital marketing strategy objective can be a large contributing factor to overall business success.

Lacking Social Success

Social media has become such a valuable tool for not only generating traffic, but conversions and revenue. Going into 2020, social media is no longer optional when it comes to successful digital marketing strategy. Business owners who have turned their back on social media or thought it wasn’t necessary must start to revisit social channels. Brands can improve their social media presence in a variety of ways. The most effective strategy is by being consistently proactive and responsive. This does mean that someone must always be listening and aware of what’s being said about your company and relevant topics online. Both positive and negative comments should be responded to. Excellent customer service can be demonstrated by addressing negative comments promptly with appropriate solutions. Guest posting, utilizing influencers, and sharing customers’ posts are additional strategies that help increase reach. 

Final Thoughts

The online landscape is constantly changing, which means digital marketing strategies should always follow. Failing to do so could mean missing out on valuable business opportunities. At Onimod Global, we ensure this doesn’t happen. As experts in all areas of digital marketing, from SEO, SEM, social, and more, we develop digital synergy for your company. Digital synergy is all about having visibility in the places your customers need you. Our cross-channel digital marketing campaigns are driven by machine learning analytics and human intelligence, to accomplish just that. 

Learn more about what we do and contact us today to ensure your digital marketing strategy is the best it can be for 2020! 

Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends of 2020

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Marketing is one of the fastest-changing professions today. With that, you never want to find yourself stuck in a rut or using outdated strategy. As the end of the year approaches, it’s the perfect time to research up on the digital marketing trends to come. With that, here are our predictions for the top 5 trends in digital marketing for 2020:

Conversational Marketing 

Conversational marketing, including live chat and chat bots, will continue to be an important factor of digital marketing in 2020. AI-based technology uses instant messaging to chat in real-time with customers and site visitors. Many customers actually prefer interacting with chat bots. They are responsive 24/7, give answers promptly, accurately recall your entire buying history, and never lose patience. These virtual assistants offer outstanding customer service by meeting customers’ expectations and automating repetitive tasks. 

That doesn’t mean other conversation strategies should be forgotten. While direct messaging may take more effort, it offers a way to get more personal with customers. It’s also a way to streamline customer service and assist in sales. Through messaging apps or private messaging on social media, brands are building stronger connections with their customers. These forums offer the convenience of text with the immediacy of a phone conversation, all in an environment the user is already familiar with from talking with friends. This technique works best when you encourage users to message you by providing your handle or username, and incentivizing them with an exclusive deal or coupon code.

Mass Personalization 

Increased data collection and advancements in technology have already had a huge impact on the level of personalization that is possible between brands and consumers. Today consumers are constantly flooded with marketing messages from multiple channels to the point where they have learned to completely ignore them. Traditional advertising has lost almost all traction and companies must adapt to remain relevant. When customers have endless options for websites and social platforms, customers are looking for what’s most personal. Personalized marketing messages can forge a real connection between brands and their customers. 80% of consumers said that they’d be more likely to do business with a brand that provides a personalized experience. This doesn’t just mean changing the name of your emails to fit the person you’re addressing. Improvements in technology such as AI combined with increased data collection and insights from social media and other sources have made it possible and easy to hyper-personalize everything from content to design to product recommendations and everything in-between.

Video Marketing

Video marketing was one of the top performing tactics of 2019 and it’s only expected to increase in value in 2020. Video is by far the most popular way consumers learn about new products today, and this goes far beyond just YouTube. Video can be utilized across all social platforms, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter especially. With the growing shift to mobile, marketers don’t have to worry about reformatting long sales pages or emails. Videos can present the same information, if not more, in a format that works regardless of device. 

Video content is also a great driver of SEO. A study found that if a site includes video, it’s 50 times more likely to show up organically in search results. Since video content has been such a driver of traffic, Google detects that, and thus pushes pages that includes video higher up in the rankings. 

Here are some video marketing statistics to keep in mind when creating your marketing strategy for the coming year: 

Shoppable Posts and Social Commerce 

Social commerce refers to buying products directly through social media posts or ads, meaning users don’t have to leave the app to make a purchase. This is a trend that started on Instagram in 2019, but is quickly spreading across a variety of channels and is extremely valuable for online stores. For the longest time, online businesses were struggling to find ways to get their social media followers to visit their websites, and now they don’t even have to. At least 54% of people on social media use it to research product purchases. Shoppable posts accomplishes the long-time goal of selling directly on social media and decreases the chances of sales abandonment. 

If your business uses Shopify it’s extremely easy to create shoppable posts. Linking accounts (such as Instagram) is simple or you can install plugins (which is better for Snapchat). If you don’t have a Shopify account, you may have to create stores in additional places to qualify. Pinterest is another platform that should be considered, as it was one of the first to offer shoppable posts. 

Consumer Privacy

Over the past year data privacy has increasingly become a concern for consumers after learning of multiple security breaches on search engines and social platforms. Consumers taking ownership of their data and property rights has been a growing trend in 2019 and is expected only get stronger going into 2020. Not only are consumers’ concerns growing, but new legislation, such as EU ePrivacy, is getting passed that prohibits the practice of certain data tracking. As privacy increases in importance, traditional data tracking strategies will likely no longer be a suitable way to pursue leads and revenue. People want to know they can trust brands, and that their personal data is safe. Instead of being complacent, digital marketing teams should get strategic to reinforce their commitment to privacy so they can earn the trust of potential customers.

Final Thoughts 

The upcoming 2020 digital marketing trends utilize both human and automated intelligence. Both are being used to create more personalized experiences for consumers. No matter the trends, the goal remains the same – getting people what they want, when and where they want it. The increasing technological abilities to come in 2020 are only making that easier. 

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To catch up on the latest digital marketing news and trends, click here. To find out more about who we are and what we do, click here!

What You Should be Excluding from Your PPC Campaigns to Utilize Your Ad Budget

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When building PPC campaigns, marketers usually focus on what should be included in targeting attributions. However, campaign exclusions are equally as important. Negative audiences, keywords, and other exclusions help to reduce wasted spend ensure people see the right messaging at the right stage of the funnel, and prevent users from being retargeted with products too many times. With targeting capabilities only getting more advanced, why not take advantage and utilize your budget to its fullest potential? 

Audiences You Should Exclude from PPC Campaigns:

Customer Support Seekers 

Users browsing customer support pages are likely existing customers looking for assistance, not shopping for more products. Nuances may apply depending on the goal of your campaign. For example, if you’re trying to upsell, existing customers looking for support may be a good target audience. If you offer premium support, you can also promote that through remarketing. In general, these are not users you want included in your campaign. You can build retargeting audiences based on URLs associated with the support section of your site to exclude them from your campaigns. 

Job Seekers 

Those looking for open job positions are likely not going to be product or service purchasers. So you don’t want to waste your budget by serving them ads for your latest promotion. Usually you  can identify these people by building a URL-based audience from your site’s career page. If you link to a third-party site for job applications, see if you can pixel that site, or track clicks to that site as a Google Analytics event to then build an audience for exclusion.

Past Converters 

These are not necessarily current customers, but have engaged in a conversion action, such as submitting a contact form or clicked on an ad in the past. Whether or not you target this audience depends on your business goal. If you have a multi-step funnel to work people up to the point of sale, then you would probably want to continue targeting this audience. If that’s the case they should still be put into their own category, as you don’t want to show them the same ad as before. This can be accomplished by tracking who as made it to your ‘Thank You’ page, then excluding that group from your original campaign. 

Current Customers

Whether or not you target this audience depends on your business goal as well. Sometimes you may want to sell current customers on additional features or new products. It’s often valuable to retarget past customers because they may be recurring revenue. Best practice would be to put past purchases into their own segment, see how they perform, and bid accordingly. Otherwise, you can create exclusions by uploading a customer match list of customer emails. If your product requires a login, you can build an audience based on people who have accessed pages that would indicate their status as a paying customer.

Additional Exclusions to Consider:

Your Own Company’s IP Address 

You always hope that your own employees aren’t clicking on your ads, but it can happen. But if even the ad doesn’t get clicked, it can still be wasting budget. Every impression counts. If Google detects your ads being seen, but not engaged, your campaign can be penalized. An impression without a click lowers your CTR, which can lower your quality score. This can then increase CPC, leading to fewer clicks and fewer leads. It’s best to be proactive and just block your company’s IP address completely, avoiding wasted ad dollars. 

Non-Business Hours 

Some may believe running ads 24/7 is how you would capture the most business, but this is not the case. It’s rare for companies to get many conversions between midnight and 6am. If your intake team isn’t capable of handling leads after hours, don’t waste your budget on clicks you can’t convert. It’s best to only run ads during business hours to ensure all calls can be answered and emails can be immediately responded to. 

Mobile Apps 

This is an issue most common among display campaigns. While you want to show your ads for mobile searches, you probably don’t want them getting shown within apps. When ads show up on game apps they’re usually either immediately ignored or clicked accidentally. Both which aren’t favorable. Now imagine what happens when a child is playing on a smartphone or tablet somewhere. Below is a screenshot of just a few placements from ONE account for the few short months a Display Campaign was active: 

Source: WordStream

At a top level look, it seems that your campaign is getting great clicks and impressions. When in reality it’s completely irrelevant traffic and wasted ad dollars. If you’re only getting a few irrelevant placements you can just exclude specific apps, otherwise you can exclude all mobile apps from your campaigns. This might be the best decision, as they can be costly clicks unlikely to convert. 

Finals Thoughts

Developing the right audience targets takes analyzation and constant A/B testing. And if your business is seasonal your audience targets may often change. It’s important to remember what you include and exclude from your campaign all depends on your campaign and business goal. 

More From Onimod Global 

At Onimod Global we’re experts in all areas of digital marketing from SEM and Web Dev to Social Media and Content Marketing.  Take a look at how we’ve helped other companies, and learn more about what we can do for you!

We Are Ten! Celebrating a Decade of Innovative Digital Solutions

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Onimod Global is officially 10 years old! We’re celebrating a decade of providing expert and innovative digital marketing solutions for our clients. Working with companies of all sizes, in many industries across the globe has given us the opportunity to develop and perfect many different digital marketing strategies. 

We’re thankful for you, our wonderful clients, for putting your trust in our expertise, and allowing us to grow and perfect your marketing business goals year after year. With an innovative vision and a lot of hard work, Onimod Global quickly became one of the Midwest’s, America’s and the Globe’s fastest-growing digital marketing & SEO companies. Now spanning across six continents, our clients come to us – and stay with us – due to our proven business goal satisfaction rate and unique consultative approach. 

Over the last 10 years we have learned a lot about the changing face of digital marketing, but these are our core digital strategies we wanted to share with you. 

 

Our Core Digital Strategies:

SEO

Search Engine Optimization has always been our core attribute and the pillar of our digital marketing strategy. SEO has become vital in achieving long-term visibility for websites, especially with the continued expansion of new internet and search engine users. We’ve learned how to develop search engine optimization campaigns that drive organic traffic through increasing natural rankings across all major search engines, such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. We accomplish this in a variety of ways. Some of our best practices include improving website crawlability and indexability, developing high quality content, and implementing proper metrics. 

Crawlability describes the search engine’s ability to access and crawl content on a page. Indexability refers to the search engine’s ability to analyze and add a page to its index. While these two elements are not mutually exclusive, it is extremely beneficial to have both for a site. If there is an issue with either, it prohibits search engines from analyzing and adding pages to their indexes. This ultimately makes it more difficult for your site to come up in search results. Our strategy starts with making sure that is not the case. We make sure there are no dead or broken links and that a site’s robot.txt file is properly updated. Following fixing all technical issues we start focusing on content optimization. Rankings continue to improve when quality content is consistently added to the site. This includes practices such as dropping relevant keywords into appropriate site places, using video and images when possible, and blog sharing. 

While these elements are extremely important, consistently measuring success is just as, if not more important. How will you know if your efforts are effective if you never check your progress? Measuring SEO success goes further than just tracking traffic and conversions. Time on page, pages per visit, bounce rate, scroll depth, and backlinks are all data points that give valuable insight to SEO performance.

SEM

Paid advertising across all search engines and social media platforms has become one of our specialties. Over our 10 years of SEM work we have become a trusted Google Partner, meaning we are a digital marketing company that is trusted by Google and excel with their products. We have learned to optimize our SEM strategy in a number of ways. A few of these include utilizing keywords and negative keywords, landing pages, and A/B testing all efforts. 

Finding relevant keywords and correct match type is essential for any paid search campaign. Irrelevant or low search volume keywords can result in a low quality score, which can prevent your ads from getting shown in search results. Generally, we suggest using on optimization for conversion match type, but it can differ depending on the campaign’s objective. Finding effective keywords takes a lot of trial and error. You want to use as many words or phrases as possible that align with what users are actually searching for. The use of negative keywords is important as well. You don’t want your ads firing for searches that are completely irrelevant to your services. We consistently watch the searches our ads fire for, ensuring we don’t waste budget on something that will never turn into a real customer or lead. 

Landing pages are something we suggest almost 100% of the time. Sending PPC traffic to a homepage can be a huge mistake. We believe that every search request is an opportunity and users are always looking for immediate solutions. If a user has already went as far as to click on your ad, make it easy as possible for them to actually convert. Sending them to your homepage means they will have to spend even more time searching through your site for what they actually want. If they don’t immediately find it, they’ll likely bounce and search elsewhere.

A/B testing is something that is widely underutilized when it comes to all aspects of websites and campaigns. You never really know how something is performing if it has nothing else to be compared to. We try to create different variations of ads and landing pages with various headings, keywords, body copy, placements, etc. To get clear results from tests it’s important to remember to only change one factor at a time and let it run long enough to gain accurate results. 

Social 

Mobile and social media have now established themselves as indispensable parts of the marketing mix. We utilize social media marketing to create social synergy for our clients. Social synergy is all about having visibility in the social spaces your consumers are searching, interacting, and engaging. The reason creating social positioning is so crucial is because it is now a great driver of leads and sales. An integrated social media platform can enhance marketing campaign effectiveness, help improve brand building across the enterprise, and make a real impact on sales and the bottom line. Integrated social capability brings another great benefit by keeping the enterprise updated with the latest innovations in social media. Sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are constantly innovating and updating their collaboration tools, content-sharing formats, etc. With integrating social capability, customers don’t need to change business functions in sales or marketing to catch up with these changes.

We help our clients leverage the power of their content to elevate their audience and customer base in dramatic ways. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. For content to be effective it must be consistent and high quality. We create and stick to monthly content calendars that guide our blog and post topics, which tags are used, where everything is shared, etc. Not only should the content you’re sharing be consistent, but it should have a purpose. Content should be based on questions potential customers might search for. The more direct and detailed the answer is, the better it will rank. It should also be actionable. Inform your audience about specific steps to take or resources they need to carry out the advice you’re giving. Content should always include a clear and a strong CTA, because the end goal is driving sales. In today’s much-hyped world of social media marketing, integrated social capability can make a direct and positive impact on the business.

What We Do Best 

We have a lot of digital strategies and solutions, expanding further than just SEO, SEM, and Social. But what we really do best is being our clients’ true marketing partner. Onimod Global can power entire corporate marketing departments or simply provide custom solutions for local businesses. We’re here for our clients 24 hours a day and live for the moment they’re in a pinch and need our help. We excel in customer service and serving as our clients consultative marketing team, delivering custom digital solutions client by client. 

Again, thank you to all our clients over the last 10 years, as without you, we would not be where we are today. 

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