Your brochure copy will not do

Many businesses mistakenly assume that writing copy for the web follows the same principles as other communications copywriting. Well BIG no! The content on your brochures and shareholder reports will not do the trick, and taking the easy road of wacking up the copy you have on hand equals fail.

You’ve got a maximum of seven seconds to engage users before they click the back button or the little cross at the top right. They scan read, looking for clues that they’re on the right page. Time is the most important resource to a web user and they want results fast. Whether the user stays on the page and reads on is up to the techniques in the copy.

You want compelling website copy that ranks

Whether your customers read every line on a web page or not is irrelevant because search engines do, and even Google likes things to makes sense. It takes skill to balance the information needs of the customer with optimisation techniques.

Your website content is crucial to capturing customers’ attention, getting the right message through, achieving marketing goals and ranking in Google. It’s not something you want to get wrong.

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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These days most businesses know that they need to be visible in one way or another on Google. Well, basically SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) helps you to get found in Google by optimising your website for specific keywords and search terms that your customers will use to find you.

I call SEO the king of online marketing because a website visible in search results rules the marketing kingdom. Likewise if your website is not visible in Google, it won’t be found by customers who are searching for your products or services and therefore won’t generate results.

• Australians perform around 10 billion Google searches per month in Australia
• 92 percent of customers research online before they buy
• 89 percent of searches in Australia are through Google
• 82 percent of search users contact businesses offline, e.g. via phone
• 66 percent of Australians use Google to find local businesses

Google is a burgeoning marketplace directing profitable returns for businesses everyday!

Google, Where Words Are the Key

Intelligent, expertly implemented search engine marketing strategies will attract traffic to your website via Google and other search engines. Traffic comes via keyword searches relevant to your industry, product, service or brand. The best keywords are determined by research and analysis that explores the broader environment affecting your business, including customers and competitors.

Amongst a host of things SEO involves optimising all web content for search engines, coding and linking. Google considers around 200 on-page factors as well as 200 off-page factors in ranking a website. Some people think that the site’s meta-data is the only element, but this is not the case and in fact is only a minor factor. SEO is a broad, technical and involved process. Even design and structure play a role in search engine optimisation.

Implementing and Maintaining SEO Strategies

Ongoing maintenance is an important element of SEO and regular reviews, monitoring and updating of SEO technology are required to ensure your website stays on top.

For all these reasons, it is best to outsource your SEO, but be careful as there are many unscrupulous SEO companies out there that will not only rip you off, but also can get you black-listed by Google for using black-hat SEO tricks.

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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Australia is several years behind the US and UK in eCommerce and a lack of local big brand retailers selling online is shifting consumer spending overseas. It’s time for Australian retailers to complement offline places of purchase with online stores.

Bricks and mortar businesses are also facing the reality that if they don’t offer their customers the option of researching and purchasing their products online as an alternative to visiting their store, it is likely that they are will lose sales and revenue to their local competitors.

eCommerce is a strategy for growth

Market expansion and diversification are recognised growth strategies. Growth in online markets via a consumer movement towards shopping online is an opportunity for businesses. If increasing your business revenue or profits is a priority, building an e-Commerce online store may be the answer.

How does an online store work?

An online store displayed as a catalogue with images and product descriptions facilitates online sales and transactions. Products can be added to a shopping cart and payments via credit card or PayPal accepted at the check-out.

A flexible and scalable eCommerce online store will offer a range of features, such as:

• Search functionality, product and catalogue browsing
• Category grouping of catalogue, plus ability to separate product attributes
• Detailed individual product descriptions
• Zoom functionality on products
• Ability to set up and manage price promotions
• Ability to integrate the online store with an email marketing or newsletter program
• Accepts PayPal and major credit cards
• Ability to integrate Google Analytics reporting
• Easy content management
• Control multiple online stores from one centralised administration
• Set and assign administration permissions and roles for unique users
• Ability to create customer groups
• 100% search engine friendly
• Advanced and customised reports
• Tools for marketing promotions
• Easy order management
• Tools for customer service

Getting traffic to your online store

You will need to look at ways to promote your online store. It is never a case of ‘build it and they will come’ with eCommerce. Firstly, search engine marketing - the store should be well optimised for search engines. Secondly consider pay-per-click advertising such as Google Adwords and Facebook Ads. Don’t discount offline marketing methods and traditional advertising either as integrated marketing campaigns have a very high success rate, especially when they have strong call-to-action and a pathway to conversion, such as a check-out.

Retail businesses listen up

The reality is that retail business in Australia is struggling and has been for some time. Businesses that seek out innovative ways to buck the trend will win in the end.

Online stores are not the enemy of retail. They are the life raft.

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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The drain of social media on marketing resources has led to the creation of a new industry to service demand and take the load off businesses.

Social Media Virtual Assistants

Many businesses are getting positive marketing results and profitable returns by outsourcing the day-to-day coordination of their social media and content marketing to a virtual assistant, as well as improving their businesses internal efficiency.

What’s involved in the day-to-day coordination of social media marketing?

• Writing and posting articles to the company’s blog and social media sites
• Sharing content across a variety of social networks
• Sourcing and sharing rich media content
• Updating the company’s profile and keeping customers informed of important or interesting developments
• Responding to comments, invites, private messages and inquiries within an appropriate time-frame
• Moderating comments and discussion in the company’s social media space
• Stimulating discussion and maintaining interest in the company’s social media space
• Commenting on similar blogs and placing links back the company’s blog for added influence and exposure
• Running ad-hoc campaigns and special promotions
• Managing social media advertising creative, placement and budgets
• Monitoring and measuring campaign performance via analytics and against KPIs
• Managing the company’s online reputation
• Staying abreast of social media trends and adjusting social media strategies and campaigns accordingly

Outsourcing any or all of the day-to-day tasks of social media marketing to an assistant can free up resources and help you tap into a range of benefits.

What are the Benefits of Social Media Marketing?

A properly planned and executed social media strategy can:

• Strengthen customer relationships
• Encourage engagement, interaction and one-on-one dialogue with customers
• Build brand loyalty and top-of-mind brand awareness
• Attract valuable customer feedback and market research data
• Capture inquiries and leads
• Drive more traffic to your website or online store
• Reduce costs via efficient customer service systems
• Boost revenue via highly targeted promotions
• Develop industry networks and partnerships
• Open doors to new business opportunities
• Assist with market growth and diversification
• Increase visibility in search engines
• Create competitive advantage

Social media is a great way to market your business. What you don’t want is for it to be another chore in your long list of to-dos. What you do want is to maximise the marketing potential of a good digital marketing strategy which includes social media.

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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73% of all online activity is related to local content
82% of local search users contact businesses offline via phone or walk-in
66% of Australians use local search to find local businesses

So Google developed Google Maps, a free location based map service that allows Google users to search for a street, suburb or postcode and get directions to places. The service returns a map of the area and its major landmarks such as schools, parks and public transport.

But there’s more to Google Maps than meets the eye…

Google Maps is also a service for finding local businesses and stores. Known as Google Places, people can use keywords to search for a type of product, service, business or industry in a particular area or location; for example, a plumber near Moorabbin, restaurant on Chapel St, or marketing company in Melbourne.

Who do customers find when they search Google Maps for local businesses?

If you go to Google Maps and search for your business name you may find you already have a listing. This is because Sensis provided Google with data for Australian businesses; however, much of the data is old, mistaken or incorrect, including telephone numbers and addresses. Worse still competitors have been known to claim listings that don’t belong to them. You could be losing customers!

Time to stake your claim

If you are a business with a legitimate street address, a listing in Google Maps is free, so even small businesses can have a listing in Google and appear in search engine results. Better still, when you search for something local in Google, for example: “marketing company Melbourne”, Google Places listings are seen at the top of the main results page along with a map, contact details and pinpointed location.

Benefits of Google Places for Local Business Marketing

• Target local customers ready to buy
• Be found in search results
• Be found on Google for Mobile
• Be found in Google Maps
• Promote your business and products
• Advertise special events, such as promotions, sales, discounts and offers for free
• Generates new customers
• One off set-up fee, no ongoing charges
• Save on advertising costs
• No website is needed for top positions in Google Web!

Places is a brilliant Google marketing option for your local business, especially small businesses and stores. Unless you have the marketing budget for an expensive website it’s virtually impossible to compete with bigger businesses for rankings in Google. But Google Places gets you around that problem.

With a little optimisation your Google Places listing can appear in these top few results above even the largest of companies and directories, which is prime marketing real estate for businesses competing for visibility in first page rankings.

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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Customer responsiveness to mass media advertising is traditionally monitored by qualitative techniques which attempt to measure psychological response in terms of branding and awareness, and/or quantitative techniques, such as revenue or percentage change in sales, known as ‘advertising elasticity’.

Given the indirect nature of print, radio, TV and outdoor, the huge number of variants that may influence purchasing at any given time, and the ‘carry-over effect’ of advertising to subsequent sales periods, accurately attributing sales as a given result of any specific advert or campaign is a major challenge.

Some advertisers attempt to overcome this obstacle by incorporating more measurable direct marketing, such as a coupons or codes, limited offers, price promotions or smart numbers.

A key driver in the shift of advertising budgets from traditional mass media to the internet is the enhanced tracking and measurement capabilities of online media channels, resulting in more targeted communications, greater accuracy in identifying lead sources and better advertising accountability

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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Combine PR, social media marketing, branding and search engine marketing and you’ve got content marketing.

Content marketing is an effective technique for building brand or campaign awareness and enhancing reputation and credibility via digital marketing. By creating and sharing helpful content online you can become more visible on the web, increase your value proposition and create a loyal audience.

#1 Rule

To be successful with content marketing you must observe one simple rule – the purpose is engagement, so it’s about the interests and needs of your audience. Make sure that web content adds value for them. Organisation’s that make it a sales-pitch or sermon tend to fail; a subtle approach is recommended. Content marketing is a method of relationship (social) marketing, and success hinges on being useful, helpful, generous and of service. Successful content marketing that attracts, converts and retains, solves problems, delivers relevant knowledge and is thought leading.

Implementing a content marketing plan:

• Goals. Clarify what you are aiming for.
• Audience personas. Who are you trying to reach? What characteristics does your audience have?
• Keywords. Map keywords to content so there’s accountability for search outcomes.
• Editorial plan. Create an editorial calendar for content creation, optimisation, promotion and measurement.
• Search Engine Optimisation. SEO should be part of the content creation and publishing process.
• Integration. Create content for on and off the web to extend reach and engage customers in multiple environments.
• Social Networks. Connect with others, socialise and grow communities that extend reach.
• Promote. Make it part of the editorial plan to promote content on social networks and off-site.
• Measure and refine. Track what’s working and what’s not, testing and making improvements.

Types of content that can be included in the digital marketing plan:

• Articles
• Electronic Presentations
• Blog Posts
• Social media posts and comments
• Press Releases
• Flyers
• Brochures
• Case Studies
• Email Newsletters
• Images
• Videos
• Webinars
• E-books
• White Papers

Adding a good content strategy to your digital marketing plan is a big step in the right direction

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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A blog (web log) is a type of website that is used by individuals, businesses and organisations for publishing up-to-date content and commentary on particular topic such as news, tips and advice, articles, opinion pieces, etc. A typical blog combines text, images, video and links to other blogs.

Blog can also be used as a verb, i.e. blogging, meaning to add content to a blog.

Blogs are updated regularly, unlike content on a website’s main pages which is static. Blog posts are displayed in reverse chronological order on the blog’s main page. Posts are also sorted by categories and tags (keywords), and archived by month/year. A blog is different to a Forum, which is based on Questions & Answers and useful for customer support and discussion.

Readers have the option to leave comments, which can be either published automatically or moderated by the blog’s administrator. Blogs are intended to be engaging and interactive, and can create communities of like-minded people with similar interests or needs.

Followers can subscribe to a blog for updates via email or RSS feed (content syndication).

Types of Blogs

1. Personal blogs are used by individuals to share personal commentary, such as their thoughts, opinions, sentiments and experiences – similar to an online diary.
2. Microblogs, such as Twitter, are designed for instant efficient communication and allow microbloggers to share personal commentary in real time.
3. Corporate blogs are used by businesses for marketing communications or public relations purposes.
4. Topical blogs focus on a particular subject.

Why should a business blog?

Blogging is an effective way to create awareness, enhance reputation, build reputation and become more visible on the web. By sharing helpful information, news, tips and advice, you can, increase your value proposition and build a loyal audience.

#1 Rule

The purpose is engagement, so the interests and needs of your audience comes first; make sure that web content adds value for them. Organisation’s that make blog posts a sales-pitch or sermon, tend to fail. A subtle approach is recommended.

Success hinges on being relevant, useful, helpful and of service. Be generous. Successful content marketingthat attracts, converts and retains customers, solves problems, delivers relevant knowledge and is thought leading

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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There are a variety of reasons why blogging fits positively into a marketing plan.

1. Firstly, blogging builds a community. Blogs and social media are high engagement mediums that allow for dialogue between an organisation and its audience. The fact they can comment and share their thoughts means they feel less like passive recipients of a marketing message, sales pitch or sermon.

2. Blog content is usually helpful and aimed at adding value for the audience, which helps to build loyalty through the ‘principle of reciprocity’ (because you do something for me, I feel compelled to do something for you in return).

3. A blog is a great way to create an impression. Your opinion can position you as a thought leader and help establish authority on your subject. People are drawn to organisation’s that demonstrate knowledge and competence.

4. Well organised and written blogs convey that the organisation cares about their audience enough to provide an important information resource.

5. Blogs are a great way to collect feedback or valuable market research. A blog can provide insights into the thinking, preferences and needs of your audience. Information could inform future strategies.

6. Data collected via registrations and subscriptions can be used for future marketing activities.

7. Another big plus for blogging is the contribution it makes to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Your blog posts provide valuable inbound links and keyword rich content that can boost search engine rankings and visibility.

8. Finally, a blog on a website that auto-feeds posts to social media marketing, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, delivers fresh, interesting content to fans and followers and is a valuable source of referral traffic to websites

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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Traditional media (unidirectional broadcasting) is often poorly targeted with the same message viewed multiple times by both relevant and non-relevant consumers.  Plus its one-way nature, the difficulties it poses for measuring advertising and its inability to drive direct response are its main limitations, and what is essentially driving marketers away from traditional advertising.

In contrast, for many of the online channels including websites, search marketing and social media, consumers actively participate in communications by seeking out sources of information to satisfy specific queries. Email marketing and digital display advertising can help drive consumers to the source. Micro-segments and niche markets can be reached via highly targeted campaigns and tailored messages – known as mass-customisation. Direct response elements, such as forums and feedback, contact and registration forms, enable a two-way dialogue.

In this respect, internet advertising is more effective at motivating action and facilitating participation. This interactivity serves as a major strength for online media, allowing for the development and sustaining of long term relationships with customers and the collection of intelligence to assist with future marketing strategies.  Media selection is also unconstrained with a plethora of channels to choose from.

However, traditional media advertising can counteract some of its weaknesses by adopting some of the principles of internet marketing. Elements such as smart numbers, landing pages and coupons can be built into offline campaigns. Doing so, facilitates direct response and can also assist with measurement.

Offline and online media are distinct, but this is not to say that they must be used independently. Providing the advertising message is clear and consistent, and different channels are logically connected, integrating traditional media and the internet may produce the best results.

Example of a successful Integrated Multi-channel Marketing Campaign:

Melissa How is a Melbourne based Marketing Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing and Internet Marketing Strategies.

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