What are Google Ads? I don’t know, Google it! The majority of consumers find themselves doing research online before purchasing a specific product. The benefits of an optimized Google Ad campaign compared to a newspaper or Radio ad is that it can target a wider demographic and the specific target audience for your business. According to Google, “Google Ads makes it easy to show the world what’s unique about your business, so you can reach customers searching for what you offer.”
One of the advantages to Google Ads, compared to other advertising options, is Google’s flexible marketing platform. This means that it is suitable for all sizes of businesses. You can set your budget based on business type and zip code. The budget is based on how many estimated client clicks your ad will receive based on the budget you have for the ad.
One of the key factors of a Google Ad is keyword themes. When someone searches for a keyword or phrase related to your business, your ad will show up in their search. When you create your ad, you will select a few relevant keyword themes that will help increase your advertisement reach.
In order for your ad to reach the correct audience, Google lets you choose the location where your ad will appear in relation to your business. You can target potential customers from within walking distance to even the whole country. The possibilities for your Google Ad are endless.
Google Ads specifically targets and selects the potential client for you. It has something for any size of business with different budgets, goals and target audiences. This is why if you are wanting an Ad that will reach your target audience, Google Ads are the way to go. If you need help with your Google Ad, give us a call and we will get you set up for success!
If you really want to get to know your customers, walk a mile in their shoes. Not ready to lace up your sneakers for that tall task? Consider penning a persona instead. Before you start this process, please make sure the time you are spending will result in REAL value to your company or your project. We have seen an over use of personas that end up being more busy work that real research. If you are going to do this, do it right and realize that it will take some time.
Businesses can mine existing data to craft a short story about a customer to unlock new ways to present messages, products, and services to gain better leads and increased sales. Research shows that 71% of companies who have personas exceed prospect and revenue goals and 36% of companies reported shorter sales cycles. Again, exploring and using the data you’ve found is critical. We’ve seen quite a few companies go through the work of building personas and take the additional time to think the process through and apply the data to real customers.
Persona Defined
A persona is a summary or fictional story of someone who represents your target audience. It documents the specific characteristics of your best customers beyond their buying history.
How to create a persona
Using customer and product data, write a few sentences describing key aspects of a model customer’s lifestyle that add personal context to the basic demographics of age, income, education, and location.
Here are seven key components of a customer’s persona and examples for each:
How to find the data to build persona components:
After gathering the data for a customer persona, add a catchy name, brief description, and a stock photo to bring the story to life. Here’s an example using basic demographics and sample data components from above:
Mama Michelle
A single mom on the move personally and professionally.
Michelle is 38, has an estimated income between $40,000 and $55,000, has completed some college, and lives in a rural area. She is a single mom, works at a medical office, and hopes to get a promotion to gain confidence and be an example for her two kids who she transports to and from soccer and school activities. In her limited free time, Michelle checks Twitter for news; Instagram and Facebook to catch up with friends and family; and Pinterest for dinner recipes. She watches Netflix late at night while checking emails after the kids go to sleep.
The power of a persona is using the information to drive marketing and product decisions from “Mama Michelle’s” perspective. Before launching a new campaign, ad, or product line, businesses might ask:
“What would Michelle need?”
“Would Michelle see this?”
“What image or message would resonate with Michelle?”
“Will this product be accessible to Michelle at the time she needs it?”
“Could Michelle afford this?”
Poole Communications can help you dive into the data and develop personas to connect with your customers’ perspectives to make more impact with your marketing.
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Research
Research: http://www.itsma.com/importance-of-developing-effective-personas/Buyer Personas - 33 Mind-Blowing Stats - Boardview
Buyer Personas drive sales. Early adopters of Personas are showing a significant boost in ROI, and we've collected a…boardview.io
© 2021 Poole Communications
Use chatbots to grow your business. Set up a chatbot on your site or social media page, or give us a call: 800-900-3635. While not free, it may be much quicker than setting it up yourself... and we're happy to help.
There’s no denying it, marketers are diving into digital advertising - the deep end of digital advertising.
Recent surveys of business owners and ad buyers spanning multiple industries show that everyone is swimming away from traditional media like print, radio, and TV into the streaming current of digital channels.
According to eMarketer.com, digital advertising accounts for 54% of ad budgets. That's nearly $130 billion in the United States alone. That figure is expected to grow to 67% by 2023.
Notably, this marks the first time marketers are spending more on digital advertising than traditional options. Take a look at the figures:
While print and radio were the first to feel the drowning effects of digital, television is also getting swept up by the growing digital tide. Even Google and Facebook are watching their backs as reports indicate Amazon is swimming into their territory with rapid speed.
Clikz Marketing Technology Transformation and Marin Software took a deeper dive into the specific digital advertising channels used; which shows paid search and paid social accounting for nearly 60% of advertising spending.
Source: Marin Software
As marketers dive into digital advertising and ride digital tidal wave, video will be their best surfboard.
Emarketer.com shares that video will continue to drive the growth of digital advertising spending, particularly in social media and through the use of Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms like Hulu and Roku.
A Forbes.com article shared a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau indicated that 41% of United States consumers over the age of 13 watch online and streaming videos daily.
The report also shared that 75% of digital video viewers are willing to watch advertising in exchange for content. Not only will they watch the ad, online viewers pay more attention to video messages and prefer to learn about new products through video.
Impact Learning Center and Wyzowl also provide compelling digital video statistics:
As marketers are swimming in the deep end of digital advertising ocean, it may be comforting to know they all have a familiar lifeboat.
Good storytelling remains at the heart of any campaign. Without it, consumers won’t get on board with a product or brand, no matter how often they see it on their channel of choice.
Finally, if marketers stick with good stories and surf all channels with video, they can ride the wave of digital marketing to success.
Thinking of diving into digital advertising? Need help with your story or social media? Give Poole Communications a call. We can help provide strategies and tips to get the most from your digital advertising. 800-900-3635
When you're done go to our Insights and pick up some quick tips for your business. Subscribe to our newsletter to be sent regular tools and tips.
© 2019 Poole Communications
Just when you think you have the current social media scene figured out, a new platform, updated feature and enhanced algorithm makes you feel like you are in the dark again. Instead of searching around the social world with two hands and a flashlight, try using five W’s and an H. Find out the Who, What, Why, When and Where of each of the six significant social channels’ key audiences and How you can create content to make an impact with them. Search no more. Here’s the current social media scene.
Who: Two billion users are active on the platform each month, with Generation X and Millennials leading the way according to the Spredfast Social Media Audience Guide.
What: According to the same research, Facebook is the best platform to grow a small business and is most useful to retail, media, financial services, and healthcare industries.
Why: The audiences on Facebook go there to discover new products. In fact, 30% of retail shoppers who recently made a purchase discovered a new product on Facebook.
When: On average, the Spredfast guide says that users hang out on Facebook 35 minutes per day and Sprout Social shared that by far Wednesday is the best day to post on the platform. Specifically, businesses should make their move at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on hump day.
Where: More Facebook users view content on mobile devices than they do a desktop.
How: Based on Spredfast and Sprout Social research on the 5 W’s covered above, businesses can reach Facebook’s key audience base by launching new products on the site through images, videos, concise descriptions and links to buy within the same post.
Who: Of the 800 million monthly active users on the platform, ladies and teens comprise the majority of the Instagram crowd according to Spredfast’s research. Females between the ages of 18 to 29 make up the largest demographic and 53 percent of teens use the platform to learn about new products.
What: Retail, sports and automotive businesses can find their niche with Instagram.
When: According to Sprout Social, the best times to post on Instagram are Wednesday at 11 a.m. and Friday between 10 and 11 a.m.
Where: Most users view Instagram on mobile devices.
Why: This highly visual platform is the place audiences look to learn about new products, follow brands, and check in with influencers to see what they are saying, learning, doing, wearing and buying.
How: Announce new products, show influential people in your industry and community using and talking about those products. Better yet, become an influencer in your industry by sharing how your products and services make their lives better.
Who: There are 317 million active users tweeting, and the majority of them are men.
What: Best platform for sports, media, financial services and healthcare industries, but not the place for retail.
When: Businesses will have the best results by tweeting on Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 a.m. according to Sprout Social.
Where: Contrasting with its social cousins Facebook and Instagram, Twitter faithful tend to check the site on desktop devices more than they do on mobile screens.
Why: Audiences head to the platform to get scores, news, reviews, deals and ideas.
How: Post coupons and news about your business and link to your website. When they have more time, they may switch to your Instagram and Facebook feeds to buy your products
Who: LinkedIn is the place to reach other businesses, business owners and professionals. The largest demographic on the platform is between the ages of 25 to 34.
What: A key industry served well by this professional platform is financial services. It’s also the place for business to business marketing and not so much for retail traffic.
When: According to Sprout Social, the best times to post are Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to10 a.m. and at 12 p.m.
Where: Given its professional niche, more users check the platform at home or work, which means their use is on desktop rather than a mobile device.
Why: The audience links in to make job searches, research companies and network.
How: Connect with this platform’s users by posting open positions and sharing research on your product or service. While you are at it, link up with like-minded businesses or research your competition.
Who: This is the space to connect with the guys. Males between the ages of 35 to 44 are the largest user group. Another fun fact Spredfast found is that YouTube’s channels reach more 18-49 year olds than any cable network in the United States. YouTube is second only to Facebook in monthly active users boasting a healthy 1 billion each month.
What: Industries related to media, sports and automotive sectors are served well by this platform.
When: YouTube’s myriad channels draw in users an average of 40 minutes a day.
Where: People are tuning into watch on mobile devices more than desktop computers.
Why: Tubers hang out on the site to interact with brands and follow content creators.
How: Businesses can publish video content showing the benefits and uses of products and services to directly engage with audiences and push them to a website to convert into sales.
Who: The ladies love Snapchat.
What: Retail, media, and sports sectors should snap away with this platform’s audiences.
When: The ladies (and others) open the app 25 times each day.
Where: Snapchat only lives on mobile devices.
Why: Snappers use the platform for its privacy - they control how long and who sees their posts - and of course for the pretty filters and lenses.
How: Use filters for your business and create quick and fun content that is lighthearted and hip. If you want more tips, follow Snoop Dog and Spencer Pratt, they seem to have it all figured out and have the largest following.
Need more help with the current social media scene? Need a strategy or ideas for posts? Give Poole Communications a call. We can help. 800-900-3635.
Sources:
https://assets.khoros.com/content/tipsheets/2018-Social-Media-Demographics-Spredfast.pdf
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/#times-fb
When you're done go to our Insights and pick up some quick tips for your business. Subscribe to our newsletter to be sent regular tools and tips.
© 2019 Poole Communications
Lots of social media buzz but still no business? Everyone’s talking about your latest ad campaign. They’d better, you spent a lot of time, money, and energy creating it. You agonized over every word. Sorted through dozens of visuals. Finally, it all came together perfectly and now your biz has the buzz of your dreams.
But now the buzz is fizzling out and all the hype didn’t translate into actual biz.
Instead of asking WTF (Why the Fizzle?), you should be thinking CTA (Call-To-Action).
Unless you are content with the warm and fizzles, insert a specific call-to-action on every ad within a campaign regardless of marketing channel.
CTAs compel the customer to do something that indicates their interest or need. Ask them to click, download, subscribe, like, take the quiz, share, learn more, get started, and then provide meaningful content when they answer the call to take action.
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And, most importantly CTAs are EXPECTED. Consumers are barraged by hundreds of ads a day. Everyone loves a good cat video, but at the end of the day people have less time and more choices.
Educate them on how to make the best choice by offering ideas, tips, discounts, solutions, and ways to make life easier.
The CTA game takes thought, trial and error, and a healthy dose of patience. It is not enough to add an arrow and “click here” to visit your website. (P.S. They need to know what to do when they get there!)
Think about the buyer’s journey and create links to content for each stage of the process – from awareness and research to prioritizing and purchasing.
Finally, businesses who develop CTAs that connect and communicate value will convert customers and confirm that all the buzz will translate into real biz.
Lots of social media buzz but still no business? Need some help, give us a call at 800-900-3635 and we'll turn your fizz into biz.
When you're done go to our Insights and pick up some quick tips for your business. Subscribe to our newsletter to be sent regular tools and tips.
© 2019 Poole Communications
When fishermen find a honey hole, their smiles are big and their mouths are shut. But when they catch the big one, it’s all about the show and tell. Social media is the new word-of-mouth honey hole; so let's use it to your best advantage.
In business, everyone has access to the honey hole of social media, and the fish swimming in it are free for the taking if you have the right bait. Reel in your own word-of-mouth marketers ready to show and tell tales from your business with the following lures:
Show Others With Their Trophy Fish
Everyone has happy customers, but if you don’t show them off, you might lose the next big one. How can you catch more fish if they can’t see what they are missing?
Lure: Post a smiling customer holding one of the last products on the shelf along with a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out ) message like, “Sam got one of the last She-Shed lock openers! Stop by today to get yours and find out what the wife has inside that place.”
Give Them a Secret to Share
Your social channels should be chock full of exclusive visuals and crave-able content. Everyone is searching for a new honey hole, so make your channel the next secret to share.
Lure: Post behind-the-scenes pictures of new product being delivered, share a new trend from one of the “coasts,” or snap a shot of your team prepping a new service to save customers’ time and money.
Find Your Big Mouths
Pay attention to your followers. It’s likely you have loyalists who like your posts, comment, and share information. They can influence hundreds more, so lure them in with your best bait.
Lure: Give them a free sample or service and ask them to take a picture or share the experience on social media. Follow up by inviting them to a VIP referral club that offers a big discount if they bring fresh fish to your pond.
Open Your Mouth
If you don’t open your own mouth to engage with your following, they might get away. Worse yet, if your fish flip and spew bad information, you need to dive in to rescue your reputation.
Lure: Comment on a recent customer’s post and include a specific detail about your encounter with them. Follow up offline to see how the product is working. Also, be sure to engage immediately with bad reviews and negative comments. Thank customers for bringing the issue to your attention and ask if you can connect privately to find a solution.
Release the power of your customers’ word-of-mouth on social media and watch the flow of free marketing and new fish swim your way.
Need help with your social media posts or planning, give us a call at 800-900-3635 or email us at: info@poolecommunications.com
When you're done go to our Insights and pick up some quick tips for your business. Subscribe to our newsletter to be sent regular tools and tips.
© 2019 Poole Communications
The back and forth between a business and customer on social media can sometimes feel like the old school method of passing notes in a classroom. Do you like our new spring clothing line? Check yes or no. If you like it, please share it with Susie in the next row. Of course, it’s important to get likes and shares on social media, but savvy business owners might want to seek something more than a classroom crush.
To build a lasting relationship with a customer you need to engage in more meaningful conversations. In dating terms, you need to put a ring on it. Take the time to engage with your audience on social media. Pay attention to what they need, when they need it, and why.
Create polls to obtain information from customers
Rank their favorite product.
Rank the various ways they use the product.
Vote for the time of day/year they use the product most.
Rank why they use the product – give three options and an open comment box.
and provide a discount or valuable item to the winner.
Most creative or best photo/video of customers using the product.
The best success story of how a service helped them.
Most loyal or longest-standing customer.
All businesses will have loyal customers who consistently like, share, and comment on your platforms. So, thank them for sharing, give them a head’s up on sales and offer advice on making the most of the product. Then, take a few minutes to look at their personal pages to get more of a feel for their lifestyle, needs, and friends.
If someone sends a message or posts a comment, respond as fast as possible. Because many customers view social media the same as an in-person encounter, treat social interactions in the same way.
Pose open-ended questions about your product or service on social accounts. What do you like best about our business? What do we not offer that you would use?
These tips will have you well on your way to walking down the social aisle with customers. Still, you should be ready for those members of the congregation who just can’t seem to hold their peace. View negative comments as opportunities rather than irritants to be ignored. Everyone sees the negative comments and a lot may ride on how and if you choose to react.
1. Thank them for the comment, acknowledge the issue, and apologize.
2. Ask what you can do to make it right.
3. Offer what you can to make it right, plus a little extra.
4. If you cannot make it right, tell them how you will work to make it better in the future.
However, there may be cases when a courteous approach isn’t effective. For those situations, a general statement acknowledging the issue and an offer to resolve it offline with an email or phone call may be a good compromise.
Finally, like any relationship, staying engaged takes time and effort and a willingness to learn from the good and bad comments.
Visit our Insights and pick up some quick tips for your business. Subscribe to our newsletter to be sent regular tools and tips.
