Month: June 2015

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Nashville Marketing Agency Trends

The economic trends in Nashville seem to be on the rise as of late. Nashville is a growing city, and the region is ever expanding. In fact, over the next few decades, the size of the city is set to grow to almost the size of Denver, which is a great expansion from where the city began. That growth is positive for the city and its residents. Nashville is gaining recognition far beyond the established perimeters of its musical claim to fame. With new workers flocking to the are, the job market is rising to match.

Another notable trend in Nashville is the recognition of the high quality of life it provides its residents. The city has been ranked in the Top 100 Places to Live in America, a designation that takes into consideration a multitude of factors. In order to qualify, a city must have exemplary employment statistics, education, housing, and recreation options. Nashville also ranks as one of the most affordable cities in the United States, allowing its residents to enjoy the low-crime city for a fraction of what other metropolises would cost residents.

In addition, the Today Show recognized Nashville as one of the five friendliest cities in the United States. This designation makes sense, as the low unemployment rate and generous opportunities give residents the ability to live comfortably within their means. Nashville is truly expanding, and its growth is poised to couple well with its long and storied history as a landmark of the Southern United States.

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Email Marketing Online Marketing Social Media Marketing

Santa in July: 10 Things You Should Do Now to Prepare for the Christmas Rush

Christmas Marketing Tips in July

We’ve all seen it – stores with shelves lined with holiday items weeks and sometimes months before the holiday itself. This is not an accident. Advance preparation for the holidays is important to consumers and should also be for companies.

Believe it or not, this is an effective marketing strategy, and it can be easily applied to the online platform. Not only does preemptive action give your customers the ability to avoid a hectic holiday season, some early offers can give your business the opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and avoid being overwhelmed, too.

If your organization is one that tends to see less traffic during the holidays, this can also be a crucial element in preparing to remedy that lull and orchestrate a rush of your own. Below are some tips to get your customers and your company prepared for the Christmas rush, and to become a fixture with your client base in the months to come.

1) Assess Your Client Base

This is an essential element in any client/provider relationship but can become especially useful when crafting a holiday internet marketing strategy. Take an in-depth look at your clients, their spending habits, and their past purchases or activities with your company to determine what their holiday needs may be. Then, begin taking the steps to make those habits work for your benefit.

If your clients tend to hide out during the holiday season, craft holiday marketing strategies to incentivize them to engage. If, during the holidays, customers tend to overwhelm you with business, an early start is the perfect way to make sure they leave satisfied.

2) Focus Your Blogs and Content

If you want to bring customers into your business for the holidays, it may be a good time to begin dropping hints and ideas about the season. Holiday internet marketing is most effective if executed well in advance. This gives clients and customers time to absorb the information and begin their holiday planning. Producing content that steers customers toward the benefits of preparation is a great way to get the holiday – and your organization – on their year-end radar.

3) Work Through Social Media

Social media is an ever-valuable tool for getting the word out about your business. When planning a holiday internet marketing campaign, sometimes social media can be the best way to gently remind your customers about the upcoming festivities while keeping your company on track for the season.

Surplus sales, preemptive discounts, and coupons are great ways to encourage early participation in holiday purchasing. Moreover, products that are set to roll out around the holidays can greatly benefit from social media circulation. Introducing a product with an air of scarcity will create interest in customers and allow them to spread the excitement among their peers.

4) Utilize Creative Displays

Illustrations and videos allow you to communicate your message in an engaging and entertaining way. Christmas in July is a trend for a reason, and creative displays are a good way to capitalize on this attitude. A lighthearted, yet tempting, trailer or a funny graphic may be all it takes to remind your clients about the benefits your business can offer both during the holidays and throughout the year. Also, incorporating graphics into your pre-holiday promotional campaigns will make them more memorable and likely to be shared.

5) Conduct Some Early Bird Promotions

Getting in ahead of the competition can be a great thing, and a Christmas in July promotion is a good way to outdo your competitors. Additionally, an early bird promotion can be an element of holiday internet marketing that allows you to assess your client base and gather preliminary figures on interest during the holiday season. Keep a detailed account of each respondent, their level of interest, and their holiday history to assist you in determining how much preparation is necessary for when the holidays actually arrive.

6) Organize and Introduce Your Holiday Products or Services

If you operate an inventory-based business, the summer is a great time to get a preliminary idea of your wares. Organizing your products will ease your stress when the busy season rolls around, and an early introduction could seat your products in your clients’ minds for the holidays to come.

Introducing your product or service promotions early gives your clients time to prepare and provides wiggle room for your staff to drum up interest. A product that is introduced early is given more exposure, and if that product is not available until the holiday season begins this might be a great time to reveal it and give loyal customers the opportunity to preorder.

7) Plan a Shipping Campaign

A great way to get people to engage in early purchasing is to give them incentive to do so. Planning a campaign that will get products to your clients in plenty of time for the holidays with little to no cost for shipping may be just the push they need to make their decision.

In addition, working with shippers to establish general guidelines for activity and possibly partake in promotions will save your company stress and money during the rush. The winter holidays are some of the busiest shipping times, and preparation is extremely important when dealing with distributing your wares in a timely and effective manner.

8) Craft an Email Marketing Strategy

It may behoove your company to treat holiday internet marketing as more of a marathon than a sprint. Crafting a basic outline of steps you plan to take is a good idea early on in the year, and as time passes you can fill in the outline with content and advertisements.

For example, using the summer to plan and implement a fall campaign that focuses on the holidays to come is a good first step. During the fall, remind customers of the nearness of the holidays, their hectic nature, and the savings they could take advantage of by taking immediate action.

As the holidays come closer, begin sprinkling in relevant promotions, deals, and services available. Have your marketing strategy well laid out before the holiday arrives by having defined dates, content outlines, and promotional options for your holiday campaign. This can mitigate the rush and give you a decent game plan to work from.

9) Analyze Past Holiday Seasons

By referring to past holidays and their effects on your business, you can make general predictions about what future holidays might bring. Did your business see a sharp spike during the holidays? Maybe it’s time that you prepare yourself for the rush that the winter season will bring. Was business during the holidays in decline? Analyze why that could be and start implementing strategies to correct it in future seasons.

On a smaller level, it might be a good idea to check on your client base. Which ones fell off during the past holiday seasons? Could there be a reason for this? Keep a list of those clients and put them on your radar for holiday-focused promotions. It could be that they were unaware of the products or services your company offered around the holiday. It could also be that they don’t see a need for your products during that season. Your preliminary campaigns can change their mindset and open them up to entirely new facets of your business that they can utilize.

10) Pre-write Holiday Content

Some companies choose not to modify their content, website, or web design with the seasons. These companies, however, fail to capitalize on events that drive sales and purchases throughout the year. For this reason, it is a good idea to make sure your holiday content is in order well before the season arrives.

Prewriting website content is a good place to start. Examine what will be available during that season, what face you would like to present to customers or clients, and what offers you can provide that will set you apart from the competition. Once you have these elements in hand, craft your content accordingly and leave a little wiggle room for developments that could occur over the next six months.

Prewriting holiday internet marketing campaigns is also a great idea at this juncture. With the knowledge of your organization’s holiday trends and offerings in the forefront of your mind, draft your seasonal advertisements and informational packets. This way when the bustle of the holidays does arrive, you are ahead of the curve and not caught unaware by the busy nature of the season.

Intentionally promoting yourself and using preceding seasons to construct the bulk of your holiday internet marketing material is the smart way to stay prepared. When the busy season rolls around, you want to make sure that your organization is up to the challenge and doesn’t lose business to the competition!

Active pursuit of these tips will alleviate much of the stress associated with the holiday season and create satisfied customers. Before you know it, your competition will be knocking on your door to find out how you maximized revenue, customer service, and holiday season preparation.

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Online Marketing Tips and Tricks

10 Things You Should Be Doing to Drive New Leads

For growing and established businesses alike, the ability to generate new leads is essential to keeping revenue consistent. Below are some marketing ideas that withstood the test of time and produced great turnaround for those willing to employ them.

Create Promotional Products

A classic, well-established marketing strategy gets your name on someone’s desk. Be it through a well-placed pen, calendar, or post-it stack, a little promotional material can go a long way.

Use Videos to Spread the Word

Video is one of the most accessible and memorable marketing tools out there. Anyone can create a video advertisement, and this particular form of promotion is easily shared and able to reach a very large audience.

Put Social Media to Work for You

With the prevalence of social media, it is almost a prerequisite that your company have an established presence. But, savvy businesses take this a step further. If your clients like an article or product and would like to pass it on, make it as easy as possible for them.

Make Sure Your Site’s Crucial Information is Easy to Find

When someone visits your website, be sure that they are able to easily act on their impulse to get in touch or purchase your wares.

Give Clients a Reason to Act

People tend to want what they can’t have. By setting up campaigns with limited time offers or installing sales tickers, clients are driven to act on their impulse to engage.

Create a Media Base for Your Organization

Blogs, Facebook accounts, Twitter feeds, and newsletters are all excellent ways to get your name out there and present yourself as an authority.

Engage in Networking Events

At first glance, networking may not seem like it belongs under the “marketing ideas” heading; however, engaging with other professionals is a great way to make your presence known. Furthermore, it adds to your own knowledge and customer base.

Host Webinars

A webinar in which you explain how certain facets of your industry work will not only get your name out there but will also help you be seen as a trusted entity.

Develop Ebooks

Free ebooks are a good way to communicate your expertise and convince readers that you have something they need.

Incentivize Referrals

Coupons, discounts, and relevant prizes are all great ways to get your current customers to help you recruit future customers.

Categories
Online Marketing Tips and Tricks

Your Brand Is More Than Your Logo

Constructing a brand is about much more than securing the perfect shade for your company logo. Brands are multifaceted constructs and are among the most essential of marketing strategy tools. Knowing this, what are some ways in which you can make your brand all it can be?

Affiliate Yourself with Well-Known Entities

Birds of a feather flock together, as the saying goes, and allying yourself with established and well-regarded professionals in your area can go a long way toward building your brand’s credibility. Contribute to their sites, solicit connections, and work to establish meaningful professional bonds with recognized names. This will help bring your brand out of obscurity if it is newly established or reinforce its image if it already has a following.

Give Background to Your Brand

Everyone loves a good story, and engaging your clients – present and future – with a personal background, your company history, or your products is a great way to cement your brand in their mind. Learning about a company or professional in a relatable way draws people in and gives them a sense of trust and interest in your organization.

Be Conscientious of What You Post

As a professional, it is of the utmost importance that each update, post, or article you generate is one you can proudly stand behind. Before posting anything under your brand’s name, ask yourself if it is universal, relevant, helpful, or relatable to your target audience. If the answer is no, consider focusing the piece a bit more on the needs of your readers.

Your brand is the face the world sees, and it encompasses everything from your posts and emails to your website’s content and structure. Focusing diligently on exactly what that face communicates about you or your organization is a great way to mold your brand into the perfect marketing strategy tool.

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Tips and Tricks

Marketing Strategies Your Competitors Are Using That You Aren’t

Internet marketing is a complex system with many parts necessary for proper function. It can be difficult to get a firm grasp on every strategy, but with this list of steps you’ll definitely be able to keep up with, or even surpass, the competition.

Creating and Managing a LinkedIn Circle

LinkedIn is proving itself to be a forerunner in the internet marketing strategy world. A profile alone often gets individuals and businesses noticed professionally, but many are now creating groups in which professionals can join together to share their expertise and promote their organizations. Creating and managing such a group is a good way to connect more deeply with those in your industry – and potential clients.

Making Use of Blogs in Your Field

There are blogs for every reader these days, and luckily many have space available to showcase the work of those within their market. Many blogs reach thousands of readers, and the blog owners are great at promoting their sites to increase traffic. Getting a relevant blogger to write about your business or even using their comments section to introduce yourself to their reader base can be a great way to get your name out there and make a worthwhile professional connection.

Creating an eBook or Manual for Free Distribution

If you are an expert in your field, why not share your knowledge? Offering a free ebook, manual, or informational pamphlet that will help potential clients with their endeavors is a good way to showcase your expertise while cementing yourself in their mind as an authority on the subject.

Many internet marketing strategies hinge upon the ability to build meaningful connections. Focus on these things, and your business is sure to thank you for it.

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Categories
Email Marketing Online Marketing PPC SEO Social Media Marketing Tips and Tricks

10 Hot Internet Marketing Trends

The world of internet marketing is ever-changing. However, there are several marketing and web design trends currently dominating the advertising world.

– Mobile optimization: As websites become increasingly user-friendly on mobile devices, advertisers are upping their efforts to translate their ads to a mobile platform. Web design that allows for seamless change between devices is becoming more relevant than ever.

– Social media ad campaigns: With social media a daily part of many people’s lives, marketers realize the value of allocating resources to promoting themselves in the social sphere.

– Content marketing: Creating relevant content – sharing pertinent knowledge and quality articles in lieu of standard print-style ads – to lure a particular client or customer base is a growing part of internet marketing,

– Email advertising: While this has long been an internet marketing staple, email ads are undergoing a makeover. They are becoming more informative, personalized, and are used to reach more targeted audiences.

– The humanization of brands: Advertising is looking to move away from big corporate images, so internet marketing campaigns want to humanize both established and non- established brands by making them relatable to their target market.

– Relevancy over promotion: Buyers are increasingly disinterested in promotional lingo, leading internet marketers to focus on relevant and informative ads over sales jargon.

– Increasing use of marketing analytics: The internet provides great opportunities for seeing detailed descriptions of how clients interact with your product or company. Marketing analytics are ever on the rise, giving businesses a way to examine and hone their sales efforts.

– Highly personalized content: Working toward 1-to-1 marketing, personalized content examines the habits of the potential buyer and provides them with information on products that may be relevant to consumer needs or desires.

– Videos: No longer relegated to certain streaming websites, video ads are seen more frequently throughout the internet. It’s an accessible and versatile mode of content that allows advertisers to communicate their message in a memorable way.

– Less filler ads: Ads that mainly serve to set the product in a buyer’s mind are on the decline. Instead of banners with brightly flashing colors offering obscure products or services, internet marketing is moving toward strong content-driven advertisements to draw in consumers.

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Sources:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/11/24/top-7-online-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2015/

http://www.inboundnow.com/10-online-marketing-trends-predictions-2015/

Categories
Online Marketing Tips and Tricks Web Development

Top 10 Tools You Didn’t Know WordPress Offered

There are certain things every online vendor needs. Following are the top 10 tools that Wordpress offers to make online sales a piece of cake, and you may not have heard of them.

1) WooCommerce: This plugin allows users to change their sites into full-fledged ecommerce destinations. It is a fully customizable download, working with every Wordpress theme and hosting almost every feature a vendor might need on their site.

2) Cart66: Cart66 boasts some impressive features. It is geared toward sites that utilize a premium membership function, and the platform allows for easy recurring payments for both digital and physical sales.

3) Easy Digital Downloads: As the name suggests, this plugin aims to make the purchase and download of digital material as easy as possible. Its features include allowing bundle purchases, a sophisticated cart system, and allowing users to access their payment history.

4) Table Rate Shipping: This WordPress selling tool gives users the ability to customize their shipping needs. It can create shipping zones, generate shipping rates based on the features of the package, and allow users to choose from a variety of shipping options.

5) SocialCoupon: To encourage customers to promote your goods, you may want to look into this plugin. It offers discounts and coupons to shoppers who share, like, or otherwise reference your page.

6) WooCommerce SEO: SEO is complicated, but this product makes getting your page noticed a little easier. It takes some of the guesswork out of SEO by assisting with labelling, URLs, and template design.

7) Product Countdown: Establishing an air of scarcity is a well-known marketing tactic, and this plugin does just that. A ticker reminding shoppers how long they have to purchase can help them go from prospective buyers to satisfied customers.

8) KissMetrics: This handy WordPress selling tool allows users to track who has visited, shared, and engaged with their site.

9) Currency Converter: The internet is a global platform, so a currency converter is the perfect thing to keep your sales strong, no matter where your customers reside.

10) Social Login and Checkout Plugin: An easy transaction is a happy one, and this plugin allows your customers to use their social media accounts to checkout with few questions and little effort.

If you are looking for a WordPress developer in Nashville, please contact us. Our knowledgeable staff is happy to answer your questions. If you found this post useful please review the author here.

Categories
Online Marketing Tips and Tricks

Website Audit

10 Must-Have Tools For Effective Lead Generation

Website auditing tools help to analyze data in an efficient and very real way to make your data tell a story. Other tools include ad services, which allow you to generate leads from other corners of the web. Here are the top ten web tools for lead generation and what they mean to your website.

Unbounce – An effective way to test your landing pages, e-mails, advertisements, and more, Unbounce will A/B test this content and report conversion rates. A/B testing a landing page can generate up to 40% more leads. Unbounce offers efficient website auditing that gets your conversion-focused page online in minutes.

LinkedIn Advertising – This allows you to hand-tailor ads to specific, relevant pages. You can reach out to your target audience by marketing based on job title, function, industry, geography, etc. Include high-quality content and an easy to find CTA, and you have a great way to generate PPC leads.

FaceBook Ads – Similar to LinkedIn advertising, Facebook ads allow you to target specific audiences and personalize content. This tool is better suited for B2C products.

Turnstile – Turnstile captures e-mails by integrating a sign-up box into video content. If you regularly host compelling videos, use Turnstile to capture viewers and their e-mail addresses.

PadiAct– PadiAct is another website auditing tool that watches visitor behavior and compares it to other visitors’ history. Based on this algorithm, PadiAct estimates a number of e-mail leads that you should be generating on a monthly basis. It allows you to target new users based on behavior and test which e-mail pop-ups work best.

Qoura – Qoura is a Q&A website that allows knowledgeable professionals within their industry to answer user-generated questions. Providing thoughtful answers will increase your reputation and awareness of your brand.

HubSpot’s Marketing Grader – Hubspot is a quick way to test your site’s lead generating capabilities. Simply enter your site address and it will tell you what does and doesn’t work within your site, including your blog, SEO, and social media effectiveness.

Premise – Premise is another way to build and test landing pages, but it is strictly for WordPress sites. It builds and tests the page and also provides tips on optimization, copywriting, and content strategies.

Google Adwords – Adwords tests and helps you find keywords that work for your SEO strategy. It also can help improve mobile ads, though you cannot customize them to a target audience.

Google analytics – Google analytics is a robust web tool that tests just about everything your site has to offer. With a little customization, you can set GA to analyze each and every lead that your site generates, including conversion rates and assign goals. You even get comprehensive reports on how your campaigns are performing.