You’ve done it. Your phone is ringing, your inbox is full, and maybe you’re even seeing more new faces in your store. But while traffic is up, business isn’t booming like you’d expect it to be. What gives? Like the old adage, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Your marketing can bring you leads, but it typically can’t close business by itself. Once leads contact you and express interest, it’s up to you. Whether you’ve got a lead response strategy in place or not, it’s always a good idea to take a second look at how you and your team handle incoming leads and make sure you’ve got game. Here are some tips and tricks you can start using today.

Strike While the Iron is HOT

You probably didn’t hear it here first. But lead response time should be fast. How fast? Lightning fast. One study concluded that the best time to respond to a lead is within five minutes of the first contact. If you don’t follow up within that five-minute window, you may miss out on closing that lead.

There are two primary reasons for this:

-They could already be seeking out your competitors. People expect to find information when they are
looking for it, not after. Remember, if you don’t answer the phone when they call, finding your competition is as easy as scrolling to the next business listing in their search engine results.
-When someone contacts you, they’re likely ready to buy or gosh-darn-close. Your best chance of closing that prospect is at the moment when they have already decided to call you, are ready to talk, and have their questions fresh in mind. If you miss that moment, they could have moved on to their next task, forgotten their questions, or even be less ready to make a decision.

How can you speed up your lead response time?

-One-man-store? Have calls and voicemails forwarded to your mobile.
-Are you staffed? If you find that a lot of phone calls are being missed because there aren’t enough hands on deck, consider hiring someone to man the phones. Or, consider adding live chat to your website so you have a way to collect information and provide helpful answers to questions that come in through chat.
-Do you have a lot of email inquiries? Create a unique email address for all of these queries and make sure this inbox is checked several times an hour by you or your team. Or, automate the process with lead management software that can make the process seamless for you.

Follow Up (More Than Once)

You’ve made a call – maybe you talked to the lead, maybe you didn’t. You sent an email – they responded or maybe they didn’t. What is your next step? Your sales process should include a clearly defined follow up loop. Follow up diligently and often. Even if you don’t reach them the first try, by the sixth attempt there is an average 90% chance of making contact. Understand your sales cycle – how long does it take for someone to make a purchase in your industry? 30 minutes? One week? 30 days? Until that time is up they are still “warm” leads and are further along your sales funnel than any non-leads. So, it is well worth an investment of your time to check back in until they tell you they are not interested. Here is a good place to start:

Here is a good place to start:

-If they didn’t answer when you called back, try again before the end of the day.
-Be sure to contact them the following day.
-Then give them some space, but don’t let a full week go by before reaching out again. They may not be “in the moment” right now, but if they haven’t made a purchase decision yet you can bet they will be very soon.
-After this point, weekly or even bi-weekly should be sufficient enough. The more personal the follow-up, the more memorable it will be.

Some of this follow up you can automate with email messages. But it is also important to reach out by phone if that is the prospect’s preferred method of contact. Lead management tools allow you to track how and when leads have been reached out to and gives you the opportunity to automate that process.

Nurture Your Leads

The path to purchase is well established. For consumers it begins with identifying a need, doing research, evaluating alternatives, and then making a decision. With the internet at their fingertips, the research and evaluation phases have dramatically shortened the amount of time it requires to do this research while also providing them with more and more options. During this window, there are opportunities for you to engage with them after initial contact. If you are not nurturing your leads, they will likely pick your competition.

So how can you nurture leads?

-Make sure they are aware of any sales or special events. Use this as an excuse to call them as you are following up! -Give them the opportunity to opt-in to email marketing. -Use retargeting to bring prospects back after they’ve visited your page.

This is Just the Beginning

Once you’ve considered and even tried some or all of these tactics, remember the job is not done! Every business and every sales cycle is unique and different, and consumer trends and behaviors are constantly changing. It takes some elbow grease and a willingness to try new things to figure out what works or what could work better. Make it a point to revisit your lead management process quarterly, and make sure you have the tools to measure the changes you’ve made.

This summer is hot! But is your business? Summer is a great time to reach out to more local prospects, so don’t let your online presence or digital marketing suffer in the heat. Instead, get your business on this summer’s hot list with these quick tricks.

Update Your Web Presence

Updating your social media pages is a quick and effective way to reach your target audience. Remember to keep posts relevant, and maybe even change things up by posting seasonal content for the summer. Another great way to update your business’s web presence is by optimizing your online reputation. Make sure you know what your customers say about your business on social media and other review sites. The last thing you want to do is to ignore negative comments about your business. One often forgotten way to enhance online presence is through updating your company’s information on listing sites such as Yelp and Google My Business. You wouldn’t want vacationers to look up your business on a listings site only to find incorrect or out of date information, would you? So keep relevant directory listings updated or partner with a digital marketing company to manage them for you.

Stand Out on Social Media

While some may think Facebook is old news, the average American spends 40 minutes on Facebook per day. This is the longest amount of time spent on any social media platform. Facebook has 1.94 billion monthly users worldwide, so there’s a large pool of prospects for you to potentially reach, and Facebook’s targeting capabilities allow you to show your ads to users based on information like their age, interests, geographic location, and more, so you know your ads are reaching the right audience.

Invest in SEO

Take your business to the next level by improving your SEO. This will allow your business to stand out among the 1.2 billion other websites on the internet. SEO, or search engine optimization, is a digital marketing technique that allows your website to attract more visitors and can result in an increased return on investment for your business. Some tips to strengthen your SEO are to:

– Have a mobile-friendly website: Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing reward websites that are easy to view and use on smartphones. This also improves user experience and makes it easier for visitors to engage with your website.
– Focus on the right keywords: Keywords are the foundation of great SEO. Read this blog post, 5 Expert Tips to Find SEO Keywords for Your Website, for more information.
– Make sure your site isn’t slow: Your website should take no more than four seconds to load; otherwise, it might be too slow, and prospects may leave your site.

Start Retargeting

This digital marketing tool keeps businesses relevant and top-of-mind for searchers and site visitors. Retargeting display ads aim to grab the attention of prospects and bring them back to your website so they convert and become your customer. Different types of retargeting include search, site, and Facebook retargeting. Keeping your business’s digital marketing strategy updated and top-of-mind is important during any time of year; however, if the summer is slower for your business, it can be the perfect time to put in some extra focus before the busy holiday season starts in a few months.

Quality Score is an often-used phrase when it comes to PPC. It sounds important, but is it really? In short, yes – Quality Score is extremely important for your PPC campaign. So what is Quality Score exactly, and how can you make sure you’re not ignoring this vital piece of your search campaign? Let’s dive in!

What is Quality Score?

Quality Score is an important component of search advertising that affects when and where your ads are displayed. Publishers use Quality Score to rate keyword performance in a PPC campaign, and optimizing them can help lower bid prices and achieve a higher ad position.

What are the Components of Quality Score?

Keywords receive an overall score on a scale of 1-10, as determined by a combination of historical performance data, ad relevancy, and landing page experience. Generally speaking, the higher the Quality Score, the more positive the experience for viewers of your ad. The individual components of Quality Score receive a rating as well, which factor into the overall score. This means a keyword needs to be well-rounded in all three areas outlined below in order to achieve a high rating. For example, a keyword with excellent relevancy, a great website, but a low clickthrough rate may receive a low overall Quality Score. Running a successful PPC campaign requires balancing many moving parts, and managing Quality Score is no different. Here’s what to look for in each component.

1. Expected Clickthrough Rate (CTR)

The CTR in your campaign is influenced by a number of factors, including device performance, which network the ad is running on, where on the page your ad displays, the search queries that triggered your ad, and so on. Google determines expected CTR through a complex algorithm that samples sections of this data and predicts the likelihood a user will click on an ad based on the keyword. This is the most difficult score to improve as advertisers are largely left in the dark regarding which factors may be hurting their score.

2. Ad Relevance

Successful ads match the searcher’s intent. Keywords that closely match the search terms used will help prevent irrelevant traffic and clicks. This goes beyond case matching – you want to make sure your ad and keywords correlate to the same point in the buying cycle, so choose your keywords wisely.

3. Landing Page Experience

When users click on an ad, they expect to be taken to a page with information relevant to their search query. For example, an ad about a current special should land to a page advertising the special. Ensuring that your keywords direct users to the most relevant page will help improve their experience and help keep bounce rate low. Likewise, slow-loading and confusing landing pages can cause users to click away.

Why Does Quality Score Matter?

In order to improve ad rank, advertisers are faced with a choice: increase your maximum cost-per-click (CPC) or improve your Quality Scores. As CPCs continue to rise, advertisers must utilize every tool at their disposal to maintain an optimal Ad Rank or risk succumbing to climbing bid prices in order to compete in their target market. Even if budget is not an issue, disregarding Quality Score can negatively impact a campaign as subpar Quality Scores can cause ads and keywords to become disapproved or restricted.

Market to known individuals instead of unknown personas. For years, this has been what brands hoped for—but couldn’t achieve—from their digital marketing. Now we’re finally at the point where aspiration is becoming reality. It’s not just about doing “good” programmatic, or email or search. It’s about mastering highly targeted, effective, personalized marketing, driven by insights that are informed by a robust customer database. It’s about delivering those messages throughout the customer life cycle and across the entire spectrum of media and channels. It’s about applying the same level of intelligence to creating an inbound experience that we have been using to create outbound experiences for years. It’s people-based marketing.

Delight through meaningful experiences

The objective of people-based marketing, in a nutshell, is to develop lasting and valuable relationships with customers by creating consistent, meaningful, personalized experiences that delight them at every turn. So let’s say you’ve identified David Williams as a target for a specific offer. When I visit your website, I should see the same offer that you emailed to me, or that you served up on my Facebook feed or in the display ad that drove me to your site in the first place. In outbound, your focus is on the targeting. In inbound, your focus is on real-time decisioning. Personalization is what crosses both so they work in concert to orchestrate journeys that will optimize the value of your relationship with me. This is a simple concept that can be challenging to execute. Many companies find success with one tactic and pour their resources into that channel or medium. For example, they may have an engaging website, but if they’re not optimizing the media to drive traffic to the site, it’s not performing to its full potential. Instead, they need to use the same core base of intelligence in every inbound, outbound, online and offline interaction, over time. This seamless experience is only possible if you integrate campaign tactics and the data that informs them. How do you make it happen?

The people-based marketing trifecta

There are three imperatives for success in activating your people-based marketing strategy, each informed by a 360-degree view of the customer. I call it the trifecta of people-based marketing: 1. Make your advertising more addressable: Create campaigns that capitalize on the opportunities that today’s media platforms provide for targeting customers one-to-one, efficiently and at scale. 2. Make your experiences more personal: Manage inbound channel interactions, using the decisioning power of cutting-edge technology to deliver moments that are more personally meaningful to the customer. 3. Manage your customer relationships over time: Link inbound and outbound customer experiences over time, using modern CRM and loyalty programs to understand lifetime customer value and optimize marketing investment. Success in people-based marketing requires understanding these imperatives, embracing their call and persisting in every effort to make them a reality. I am convinced that those who do will win, with customer loyalty, shareholder value and competitive advantage as the rewards.

Originally posted by David Williams on AdWeek.com

Are you looking for a hyperlocal way to target new and potential customers for your business? Geofencing is an effective way to reach smartphone users when they’re near your business (or your competitor’s business) through location-based mobile ads. If you’re ready to get started with geofencing for your local business, here are a few tips to help you create and maintain an effective strategy for your business.

Know Your Target Client

Geofencing is designed to target a certain geographic area; therefore, you should know who your target client is and where they spend their time. Your goal is to get the right information in front of the right audience at the right time. Typical smartphone users are checking their phones 150 times per day. By understanding how your client shops and uses their mobile phone, you can send them more relevant content and get more out of your geofencing campaign.

Start With One GeoFence

Rather than establishing a geofence around your business, your parking lot, and the shop across the street, start with creating one large geofence encompassing all three areas. This way, you won’t let potential customers fall through the cracks. When you begin geofencing for the first time, start with creating a geofence around your business and track the results. Once you’ve placed your first geofence, you may want to start expanding to other locations. You can even think a little outside of the box by placing geofences near your competitors or complementary businesses. If you have multiple geofence locations, providing customized messages for each location is key. If you have more than one location for your business, you wouldn’t want to send someone a message saying you are hosting an event and have them show up to the wrong location.

Keep Messages Simple & To-The-Point

Geofence messages need to be short and concise. Typically, you are given roughly 100 characters per message which means that your messages don’t need to be too detailed. Simply provide the main message you wish to get across. However, it is not very enticing for customers to receive a message that is just a statement. Include a call to action in your message to encourage clients to “tap here for more.” This gives them a reason to learn more about your business. Remember that consumers can enter your geofence at any time, even when you do not have an event or promotion. You should always plan ahead and have a generic message during these times so that you are constantly reaching out and making your business known to potential customers.

If you are familiar with any form of digital advertising, you are most likely aware that some of the terms and acronyms can be a bit overwhelming, and display advertising is no exception. Here are some jargon-free definitions of the more common display advertising terms.

Display Advertising: A form of digital advertising where your ads are shown on various websites, like a local news site or shopping site, typically in a banner form.
Above the Fold: This term is actually derived from the print advertising industry. It describes the area of a web page that is visible before the website visitor scrolls down the page. Note: There is no set pixel size for the fold; it will vary depending on the visitor’s screen size and resolution.
Behavioral Targeting: This category of targeting comes from existing data gathered over long periods of time and large categories of sites and volumes of users. This type of targeting is specific and effective and uses existing knowledge to target the right users online.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page, triggering only a single request to the Analytics server.
Call to Action: An option often embedded in advertising that explains how to respond to an opt-in for a particular promotion or mobile initiative. For example, a button on your display ad that tells prospects to “Call Now!”
Click through Rate: The number of times a click is made on a banner divided by the total number of impressions (CTR formula = number of users who clicked on ad/number of times the ad was delivered).
Conversion: When launching a campaign, advertisers select a specific action or set of actions they want audiences to take. Each time an audience member takes this action it is counted as a conversion. Conversions include actions such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase on a website.
Cookies: Cookies are small files that are stored on a user’s computer designed to hold a small amount of data specific to a particular client and website and can be accessed either by the web server or the client computer. This allows the server to deliver a page tailored to a particular user, or the page itself can contain some script that recognizes the data in the cookie and can then carry information from one visit to the website (or related site) to the next.
Lead: A potential customer. A lead is someone who has given you his or her contact information, often by signing up for a newsletter or filling out a form to download content.
Lookalike Audience: A set audience you can target that is similar to your existing customers, which can help improve conversion rates.
Retargeting: A form of marketing used to find previous website visitors by using display banner ads to lead visitors back to the website. This allows marketers to target users who have already been to your site and have experience with your brand or service.
Impression: An impression is “served” every time one visitor sees a single advertisement. So, if there are four ads on a page, there are four ad impressions recorded each time someone views the page.
Pixel: Refers to the tracking script that collects cookies of the user’s browser so that the user can be tracked and retargeted with banner ads.
Optimization: A method of improving campaign performance through automated and/or semi-automated means.
CPM (cost-per-milli): From the Latin meaning one thousand. Literally, the amount paid for every 1,000 qualifying impressions served.
CPC (cost-per-click): Yes, you guessed it – this would be the amount paid every time someone clicks on an advertisement.
CPA (cost-per-action) or CPL (cost-per-lead): “Action” or “Lead” can be used interchangeably and mean exactly that; some type of action or lead resulted from the display of the ad such as a sale or registration obtained.
Banner/Leaderboard, Rectangle, Tower/Skyscraper: These terms refer to standard ad units. Banner (728X90), Rectangle (300X250) and Tower (160X600).
While understanding some of the terminology used in display advertising can be mind-boggling, learning some of these definitions can help you understand the industry and the reports you may receive from your digital marketing company. This way, you will be better prepared for any encounter when a piece of jargon is dropped on you.

One of the fundamental premises of marketing automation is email engagement. And as modern marketers, we are under serious pressure for our emails to perform — they must drive engagement, conversions, and most importantly, revenue.
But with the sophistication of the various tools at our fingertips and an overcrowded work desk, it’s easy to overlook the fundamentals of email performance. Below is a checklist of 12 tips and techniques to inspire new email marketers and remind seasoned professionals about the key best practices.

1. Humanize your communications

Emails sent from a person (e.g., “Mary Wallace”) engage far better than emails sent from a company (e.g. “Wallace Consulting”) — unless, of course, you are a well-known and recognized brand like Banana Republic.

2. Stay away from average-length subject lines

A key driver of email open rates, subject lines perform best when either long or short. Subject lines that are 60 to 70 characters drive neither open rates nor click-through engagements. Research shows that subject lines over 70 characters increase click-to-open rates, while those under 50 characters increase open rates.

3. Keep your subject line on topic

Great subject lines can drive opens, but if they are not relevant to the content of the email, an engagement opportunity has been lost. Even worse, an off-topic subject line could move a recipient to mark your email as spam.

4. Be concise with copy

Don’t overload your emails with endless walls of text. Given the average read time for an email is 11 seconds, you’ll lose your reader if you overload them with copy. Instead, create short, concise emails that whet the appetite of the reader and focus on one topic. Include all the details on the landing page that the reader will see after they click.

5. Focus on benefits

Features and functions don’t engage. Benefits do. Stuff your email with the amazing benefits that can be realized by using your widget instead of the boring features and functions. Craft the message so it directly impacts the prospect to encourage engagement and action.

6. Consider your call-to-action placement

Call-to-action buttons belong above the fold — not hanging out all alone at the bottom. Don’t be afraid to have multiple call-to-action buttons, but ensure that at least one is above the fold.
Should all call-to-action buttons go to one destination, or should the reader have choices? Not too long ago, I would have said one location. But with the increased sophistication of today’s email reader, I’ve seen communications using various target locations outperform a single target location.

7. Front-load links

Link the first few words of the first sentence of the first paragraph. That’s where the eye lands when the email is opened initially. Having that as a hot link increases email clicks.

8. Make your call-to-action copy interesting

Use resonating benefit-based content in your call-to-action buttons. Generic words like “Download,” “Submit” and “Click here” are less likely to generate any meaningful lift. Instead, use copy like “Join the Fun” or “Enjoy the Benefits Now.”

9. Accuracy trumps personalization

Personalization is great, but starting your emails with “Dear [Recipient Name]” can backfire if your email subscriber database isn’t accurate. Consider just using “Hi” and skipping the contact’s name unless you’re 100 percent certain that your contact names are accurate and formatted correctly. There’s no bigger turnoff than an email that starts with a mistyped name like “Dear wallacemaryl.”

10. Create a responsive, easy-to-read layout

Design your emails so that they are easy to read in any environment: mobile, desktop or tablet. Use large fonts in a one-column layout to increase legibility. Litmus goes as far as to recommend limiting email width to 550px.

11. Use color wisely

Color helps draw the eye where you want it, but that doesn’t mean you should use five different competing colors throughout your email to highlight the various sections. Nor does it mean that a specific color will increase conversions if added to a call-to-action button. Instead, use a single bright color that is part of the email’s color palette to make the call-to-action “pop.”

12. Utilize high-quality images

Images engage email readers. Use clear, appropriately-sized images that support the email copy. Faces of engaged and happy customers (or even the sales person) also work well — eye-tracking studies show that people are drawn to facial features when looking at images.

Originally published by Mary Wallace on MarketingLand.com

Social media engagement is essential to meeting your online presence goals. Developing an interactive online community spreads brand awareness, strengthens customer loyalty, and increases your consumer following. Once you are clear on your social media goals, you can select tactics that drive interaction to your business. To get you started, here are 13 easy ways to boost engagement across your social media channels.

1. Share Quality Content

Users do not follower advertisers, they follow people. Think about meeting your customers in your off-hours to socialize. What would you talk about with them? A bit about your industry in general, a funny joke you love, questions about their opinions, right? That’s exactly how successful social media efforts work. Share content about your industry, the day-to-day operations, and events in the community you share with your customers.

2. Tailor Content to the Social Media

Every channel is different. A post perfect for LinkedIn may flunk on Facebook. Think about why people use each of these sites and tailor the content to best serve that audience.

3. Make Your Posts Actionable

Post questions. End your posts with a call to action. Ask for feedback. Actionable posts encourage deeper engagement with your social media channel and your business, so think through ways to create social media posts that encourage commenting, sharing, and reactions.

4. Time Your Posts

Different social media channels have different peak user times and days. Posting during this time increases the chances of being seen and engaged with by more people.

5. Use Hashtags

Hashtags help people discover your business. Users following a hashtag that you use will be able to find your post and engage in your conversation. Pick several hashtags related to your business and location then include them at the end of your posts.

6. Join Conversations Relevant to Your Business

Social media conversations are two-way streets, so engage your followers and potential audience members. Follow the hashtags you selected and check in on those regularly. When you see relevant conversations, comment, react, follow and share.

7. Highlight Your Company Culture

Include the side of your business that customers do not get see, whether it is a forthcoming service, a picture from an office outing, or a feature post from an employee.

8. Ask for Feedback

Ask your followers for their thoughts on services they would like, the quality of their last experience, or the value of a promotion. This is an easy way to build excitement, connect with your consumer base, and get ahead of potential service issues.

9. Humor Travels

Include good-natured jokes in your content mix. Humorous posts get higher rates of attention and engagement compared to other types of content.

10. So Do Visuals

A picture is truly worth a thousand words. Image-driven content is another high performer for boosting engagement.

11. Identify & Engage with Influencers

Influencers are individuals on a social media channel that influence the behavior or opinions of a large group of people. Since they have a more influential network, the content they engage with moves farther and faster around the web. Look for people who have a larger following and high levels of positive engagement on their posts. Support their social media efforts or offer them incentives such as promos, samples, or tours. Keep in mind that they will share their honest feedback with their audience. Built on honesty and mutual respect, influencer relationships boost your brand’s awareness, reach, followers, and expertise.

12. Gamify

Make social media a game. Contests, giveaways and competitions are a fun way to get people to share and invite others to follow you. Get creative and keep the energy going when pushing gamification.

13. Hold Q & A Sessions

Holding a question and answers session positions your company as an industry expert. Be sure to announce and promote the Q & A session ahead of time to get the biggest draw. There are many ways to drive social media engagement, but you do not need to take advantage of every tactic. Choosing a few simple ways to meet your goals strengthens your social media presence and drives results to your business.

It’s no secret that in-store traffic is valuable for most businesses. In fact, while the average website conversion rate is 2.35% across industries, for in-store traffic the average conversion rate is 33%. That is to say – if you can move that website visitor to knock on your door, there is roughly a 1 in 3 chance they will make a purchase. So how can you make that happen?

Here are six ways you can use digital marketing to drive in-person visits to your business location:

1. Optimize Your Website

Did you know that your user’s experience begins before a prospect even visits your page? User experience begins wherever on the web prospects find you. Everyday consumers turn to search engines like Google to find answers to what they are looking for. Some experts say that as much as 30% of all searches queries have local intent.

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, uses a knowledge of search engines and how they work to update and tweak your website to make sure you are easier to find in the search engine results pages. A secondary impact of a well-optimized site is a better user experience on your page. This is because when determining your page rank (where you land on the search results page), search engines account for everything from navigation, to page load times, fresh relevant content, images, media, and more. In addition to a strong SEO strategy, a few things to consider for your website that can help increase in-store visits:

– Online appointment scheduling – Appointments can be scheduled after-hours!
– Calls to action – Make it clear what the next steps are. Ex: Visit us today!
– Print-at-home and mobile coupons – That can only be redeemed in-store

2. Take Advantage of Paid Search

For searches with high commercial intent, paid listings still reign supreme. They receive preferred placement at the top of the search engine results page across Google, Yahoo, and Bing. We’ve already talked about local intent and how important it is to rank for these searches. How can you optimize your PPC campaign to be competitive for these searches and increase in-store visits?

Here are a few things to consider:

– Be sure you are targeting all relevant geos
– Make sure all relevant geos are included in your keyword list
– Check your keyword list for “near me” keywords
– Utilize ad scheduling to bid more aggressively during business hours
– Consider optimizing for mobile users

3. Get Smart About Social

Social media marketing yields hard-to-measure results. And with all the other aspects of your business that need to be managed, Twitter or Facebook may be last on your list. However, if you are not taking advantage of social media at all, you could be missing out on opportunities to drive in-store visits.

Facebook is a great place to start – it hosts a wide demographic of users in every geography and is relatively simple to use. You don’t need to post daily to be successful, but you do need to have a presence. Here are a few easy ways to encourage in-person visits using Facebook:

– Optimize your profile
– Make certain your business information is accurate (including location address and hours)
– Showcase positive customer experiences
– Promote sales or store events with Facebook Ads
– Share pictures of goods and/or services

4. Harness the Power of Mobile

With the advent of the smartphone, today’s world is smaller than ever. We are always connected; even while we dream. A recent study found that 71% of people sleep with their smartphones. You can take advantage of the amount of screen time prospects spend on their phones and tablets with mobile advertising. Geofencing is a cost-effective way to get in front of your local prospects while they are on the go. Whether you want to target a radius around your store, or even target local competitors directly, your brand can appear on the screen of users just steps from your door. And it presents you with another perfect opportunity to entice them with coupons or specials.

5. Don’t Forget Current Customers

When putting together a marketing plan designed to drive in-person visits, you cannot neglect your loyal customers. Returning customers are the most valuable segment of your business. They keep coming back to use your services time and again – increasing their lifetime value. And they also become brand ambassadors and influencers, recommending you to family, friends, and colleagues. Because returning site visitors are often already customers, retargeting is a great way to get in front of them again. Tailor your message for these ads to your repeat customers. Make sure it is seasonally appropriate and related to goods or services they may need in the near term. And don’t forget a call to action!

6. Claim Your Local Listings

Prospects often turn to the internet for directions and general business information. These are common searches before an in-store visit takes place. While your business information may be front and center on your web page, a prospect might not look any further than your map listing. Don’t make your customers and prospects jump through hoops to get to you. Remember your competition is at every turn trying to distract them. Loyal customers are less susceptible, but first-timers can be easily deterred by something as simple as not finding your store location the moment they need it. Make sure that you have claimed and verified your local listings. Focus on big hitters like Google My Business or Yelp. But don’t forget industry-specific listings such as Angie’s List, Home Advisor, ZocDoc, or Apartment Finder.

Website traffic is important – and should still be a metric that you consider when evaluating the effectiveness of your marketing strategy. But in many industries, conversions or purchases are still made offline. That means if you focus your marketing on driving website traffic, you might not get the results you need. By taking advantage of the strategies listed here, you can drive more in-store traffic and watch your business grow.

Originally posted by Sara Neal on ReachLocal.com

When you think of display advertising, you probably only really think about the banner ads you see when you visit a website. But in reality, display advertising comes in many different formats and places online. And, it can really boost your existing marketing efforts by raising awareness for your business in your local area, driving visits to your website or physical store, and helping you increase online conversions like calls and form fills.

Here are three types of display advertising solutions that can help you reach the right consumers no matter where they’re spending time online (or on their phones).

Retargeting

Have you ever visited a website online and then seen that same brand’s advertising on other websites or in apps you visit? Retargeting is a powerful form of display advertising that allows you to target specific customers who have already shown interest in your products and services, usually by visiting your website or even by simply searching for your business keywords on a search engine. Besides increasing brand awareness, retargeting can bring visitors back to your website, encouraging them to contact you and driving more leads for your business. One study found that site visitors who are retargeted with display ads are 70% more likely to return to a website and convert than site visitors who aren’t retargeted.

You can also retarget your website visitors when they’re using Facebook, whether they’re on the desktop site, mobile site, or mobile app. People spend about 50 minutes per day on average on Facebook so the ability to target your interested users with your ads there can be a huge win.

Mobile Geofencing

Geofencing allows you to target mobile consumers with ads on their smartphones, based on their proximity to a specified location. You can use geofencing to create a “fence” around a location like your business address or service area, your competitors’ business, or any other relevant businesses, or event. The goal of geofencing is to increase brand awareness with local consumers and drive in-person visits or service appointments. Consumers are constantly using their smartphones to search for nearby businesses, so geofencing provides an opportunity to reach them right through their phones.

Pure Display Advertising

We’ve talked about a few types of display advertising solutions that are effective, but it’s important not to forget about general awareness advertising. Banner advertising works to get your business name and message in front of as many people as possible across the web, acting similarly to a billboard on the highway. Because banner ads work to improve brand awareness, businesses can experience a bump in business name searches or latent conversions that lift their other advertising results and website visits.

Display advertising, whether on the web, mobile, or Facebook, is an effective form of digital marketing that complements search advertising.

Originally posted by Stephanie Heitman on ReachLocal.com