Leadtail - Online Marketing and Advertising Resources
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Smart Practices
Here are a few important ones:
Helpful Links
We've found some great sites, blogs, and resources for you to keep an eye on (just like we do!) Since the best marketers always want to keep informed.
Check out these links to resources:
Online advertising should be a big part of your marketing budget
Whether or not you'r new to online advertising, it's a good idea to review the many reasons why it should be a big part of your marketing budget.
More than ever, consumers use the Internet to research and select products to purchase... even if they plan to buy offline! Your advertising will prompt them to consider your products and services too.
Not only are direct competitors advertising online, but also companies that now use the Internet to target your customers. How to fight back... Make sure customers see your advertising to remind them why they like your products best.
You can reach a large audience quickly and at lower cost than many other media. And if you use search marketing, you only pay when you get results!
You can launch a simple website for a hundred dollars, and begin marketing it for another couple hundred. And it's easy to scale as you test and learn what works best.
You can launch advertising quickly... and get results almost immediately. Said another way, if you need customers tomorrow, not next month, advertising on the Internet may be the way to go!
No need to worry about wasting ad dollars on the Internet masses. Just target the neighborhood you care about with local advertising options such as the online yellow pages.
The Internet is a great channel for reaching specific audiences and market niches. You can target based on where customers live, their demographic profile, behavior, and special interests. See lots of ways!
Remember, with online advertising you still need to develop a good marketing strategy, target your audience, test, measure and improve just like with any other marketing program. And then you'll be on your way to generating results!
Getting to know your target audience
Rarely are customers just like us... but it's our job to predict what they need and when they'll need it. So put in the hard work of seeing the world through their eyes... because marketing success begins with knowing your target audience!
You need to understand your customer's purchasing behavior and answer the question: "what are my customer's pain points" Or said another way, what's causing the desire for your product and what's creating the urgency to buy now?
Create a demographic profile using age, gender, income level, etc. And find out where they live, since geographic targeting can be a good way to reach customers.
Psychographics tries to get at the lifestyles, attitudes, interests and values of your target market. It's definitely worth considering since the Internet has so many great lifestyle and interest-based sites to advertise on.
- especially as they are your best prospects for more business! Survey and listen, listen, listen to what they tell you.
- and look for patterns. For example, where a customer lives gives insight into who they are and why they buy.
- It's easier than ever to survey using email and web-based forms so definitely give this a try.
- where your customers hang out so you can hear their issues and create a dialogue (listen closely!)
- There are lots of sites and blogs about your target audience. And many provide market data for free!
- Though potentially expensive, focus groups can provide hard to find insight into customer behavior.
- Your target market will evolve... so will your understanding of who they are and what drives their buying behavior.
The better you know your target audience, the easier it'll be to reach and engage them with your marketing message... and turn them into customers!
How to figure out which ad networks to use
Did you know there are hundreds of advertising networks to choose from" Yes" hundreds! How do you figure out which ones to use for your online advertising efforts?
What's the main goal of your advertising efforts... Developing brand awareness or generating customers... Focusing on one of these goals will help you decide which ad networks to consider. Especially since ad networks are usually display (branding) or performance (generate customers) based. And how they price will tell you which is which. CPM pricing means branding, while pay per click, cost per action (CPA), and cost per lead (CPL) mean performance.
If your product has "broad" appeal then an ad network that reaches tens of millions of consumers makes sense. Otherwise, you may want to consider a "vertical" network that deeply targets your specific audience or industry of choice. Here's an easy way to think about it: major TV networks vs. cable TV? which would you want to advertise on?
Location still matters! Reach prospects wherever they are... but don't waste dollars on users that can't become customers because of where they live. Many ad networks provide geographic targeting that can narrow the world down to the country, region, or city that you care most about. Not to mention, all the ad networks (and directories) that specialize in local advertising.
Many ad networks serve large brand marketers that spend $50,000+ per month to push their message. Sound like you... If not, then shy away from those which emphasize Fortune 500 advertisers on their website or in their sales pitch. And if your budget is a lot less than $10,000, you may need to focus on performance, vertical or local ad networks. But don't worry, these can work well too!
Try not to get too caught up in an ad network's sales pitch about cutting-edge "optimization" technology or cool "behavioral" targeting methods. Instead, do what you do best test! Run your marketing campaign on a few ad networks for a month or two and see where you get the best results.
Searching our advertising database is a great place to start. Just type in "ad networks", "display ad networks", or "performance ad networks"and take it from there!
Just what is cost per action advertising?
Like most marketers, we've probably heard the term "cost per action" or seen its initials: "CPA"... but are still fuzzy on what it means. It's kind of like paid search right?
Cost per action or CPA is a type of "pay for performance" advertising you only pay if a potential customer takes a desired action. In that sense, CPA is like paid search, except the action isn't a click, it's a prospect signing up for an "offer" like a free gift card or free product trial. And you only pay when that action happens!
Some things to keep in mind:
- as many Web users "have seen it all" and you'll be asking them to do more than simply view or click an ad banner.
- since the flip side of CPA is that ad networks promote your offer but only make money if your offer generates results.
- than paying for clicks... potentially a lot more! Ad networks can help you figure out what you'll need to pay for actions. Run the numbers to make sure the return on investment works.
- Once an ad network takes your offer, it still has to distribute the offer to its network of "affiliates"which can take time.
(there are lots!) Not sure if they do cost per action advertising Just look on their website to see if they refer to their "affiliate network" or mention CPA as one of their pricing methods.
And then create a compelling offer based on your product or service.
for a month or two to see how many users will actually take action. And re-run the numbers to confirm the ROI still works.
to find out where your offer works best.
you can make quick changes to your offer or budget as needed.
Cost per action advertising is a great way to generate customers so you should definitely consider it for your marketing mix. To get started, just type in "CPA ad networks" in our search box... and take it from there!
Are your ad dollars ready for social networking?
We're all members of one of the many social networking sites, right How can we not be if we like to meet people, share music, or just pass the time commenting on videos, recipes, or interesting news.
As a matter of fact, some statistics suggests that 2 out of 3 people now use a social networking site! Just keep in mind, when advertising to these new community sites... the old rules may no longer apply.
It's not about generating clicks... so be patient and don't look for immediate results from your ad campaign since the most effective element of social networking is word of mouth.
The social networking site's content is created by users and recommendations are made by users. This means you won't be able to control what content or user your brand is associated with.
Users are not real happy with all the ads bombarding their favorite social network site and this means response rates will be well below the Internet's average.
Ads that have the most promise with this audience are highly interactive such as videos, and especially relevant such as dating or music. Just remember, this community is used to seeing things "play" before their eyes.
And make sure to do a company profile along with your ad campaign... it's the perfect "landing page" for this audience.
No matter how you decide to advertise, make sure and use the language of the community in your ads. Speak their language and you'll have a better chance of connecting and getting your message across.
Social networks are about creating and nurturing relationships. By focusing on long-term goals and developing customer relationships, social networking sites can definitely offer you a path to reaching new customers.
Sending paid traffic to your homepage may not be a good strategy
Ad campaigns driving Web traffic to your homepage... It's time to revisit that strategy.
You've got customers and prospects landing on your home page. Customers trust you, know how to navigate your site, and are open to discovering something new along the way. Prospects don't know you, are very impatient, and have one specific purpose in mind. Sound the same... not really. You've also got home page users that want to learn about your company, find a job, or need help with a problem. Remember, without a focus on prospects, it's hard to turn them into customers.
Your homepage reflects that great tradition of democracy... everybody gets a say! Marketing, sales, editorial, technology, and let's not forget the CEO, each have an opinion on what the home page should look like and how it can serve their (often conflicting) interests. So don't be surprised if the conversion numbers aren't what you hoped for.
Most visitors are thinking: "just passing through", when they land on a home page. That's why good navigation is a rule of home page design. Of course, the rule of landing pages is "conversion". Having your home page as your landing page means that prospects may be tempted to navigate to a place where it's much harder to convert them into customers.
Blinking ads, breaking news stories, and featured products for sale not to mention some person talking in a video! How will your prospects know where to click Your home page can be like an unfamiliar mall during the Christmas shopping season when you have one last present to find. Do you really want potential customers feeling like that?
Your home page serves multiple audiences and purposes, so it can be hard to optimize as there are lots of trade-offs to consider. Too many when compared to a landing page that has only one goal in mind: get the prospect to order the product, fill out the form, download the white paper, or whatever action you want your prospects to take.
Instead of using your homepage, consider creating a landing page customized for your ad campaign, target audience, specific offer you get the idea! Landing pages are easy to set up and optimize, especially, compared to your homepage!
Getting the number one paid search ranking may not be the best strategy
We've been led to believe that being number one is what it's all about. But sometimes that isn't the best strategy... especially when we're talking about paid search rankings. Don't agree... Read on. Agree but not sure what else to do? Read on.
Many marketers are bidding for the number one ranking for your favorite keywords. So what happens when there are lots of bidders and only one number one spot? You end up paying too much! Especially, when compared to the cost of the number three, four, or five ranking.
There's no question that you'll get the most traffic. But, surprisingly, you'll get fewer conversions. The reason is simple: everyone clicks on the first position to figure out what they really should be clicking on. And you end up paying for every wasted click... making the number one ranking much less effective.
For many popular keywords, especially those that define product categories (e.g., digital camera), you'll be competing against the marketing budget of a Fortune 500 company. You might as well consider these keywords unavailable since they are beyond costly.
Here are 4 things to think about:
They'll get lots of traffic plus you'll generate truly valuable clicks. Why? Because, there's a better chance that people clicking on these rankings are researching a purchase or shopping around for the best buy. Did we mention that these positions cost a lot less than the number one spot?
If you're not focused on the number one ranking... what should you focus on... Profits! Figure out how many clicks it takes to generate an order, and what your profit per order is. Then calculate your profit per click and compare against your cost per click. Just make your keyword strategy about maximizing profits... and everything else will start to become clear.
Test lots of keywords. Try targeting keywords for people who are in research mode, and some for shoppers. Also, test different offers and copy in your keyword ads. And try out both Google and Yahoo...and maybe even a few smaller search engines. Test search versus contextual based ad placements. You get the idea!
Natural search is what the search engines were made for... so update your website to make sure your favorite keywords show up often. And have a good site map to make it easy for search engine "spiders" to access your site, and understand what you're all about. You'll improve your ranking and Web traffic... and you won't have to pay for a single click!
Good search practices will get you results. But as you can see, it's really not about being number one it's about getting the most bang for your search engine buck!
Was your ad campaign a success?
How do we know if an ad campaign was a success (or not) The answer should be obvious, but in reality this may not be the case.
You're probably trying to achieve a number of goals with your ad campaign such as: Web sales, offline sales, new leads, and brand awareness. Instead, just focus on one goal, otherwise success can be hard to measure let alone achieve.
Set your ad campaign objectives with that one goal in mind. But not squishy objectives. For example, "increase" is okay but "increase 20%" is better. Even better is: increase the daily traffic coming from Yahoo search marketing by 20% over the next 30-days. You get the idea! Make your objectives specific so they can be measurable.
Let's say you want to increase brand awareness by 10% for people living in Portland. How will you measure this Web site surveys, phone polls, change in Web traffic... And what will be the "baseline" that you measure against... Think this through before your ad campaign begins so you know what you're measuring against.
Make sure you have access to all the results data. For example, if you need the sales team to provide info on how many leads converted into orders, then confirm in advance that they'll collect this data and send it to you when you need it.
Did your ad campaign really "blow doors off" or is it just that time of year Measure your results against the right time periods, and use trends and averages to adjust for big data swings. Factor in "seasonality" when defining your objectives and what you'll measure against.
How do you measure a campaign's success if you've just discovered a broken link on the landing page and no one knows when the problem started " Sound familiar" Check reports daily and investigate anything that looks like a problem.
Do this homework in advance, and you'll spend less time wondering how your ad campaign performed, and more time making your next campaign a big success!
Make testing your online ads easy and effective
We all make excuses for not testing our online advertising... especially, if the campaign results are not what we hoped for. But the truth is: there's no good excuse for not testing since it's the only way to discover which ad will get the best results... before you've committed your marketing budget!
How will you judge the success of your ad campaign"Click-through rate" Conversions... And what results are you looking for? Decide before you start testing.
Is it the offer, the copy, or the graphics Remember, ambiguity is the enemy of testing! Keep it simple by testing one "element" at a time, and make sure the only difference between the test ads is that one element.
Unless you've done lots of testing with a particular ad, don't just look for incremental improvement focus on getting big results! For example, why test the impact of tweaking a word when a different offer could double your results
Test different versions of your online ad against the same audience over the same time periods. For example, test ads against the same search engine or ad network so that everything is "apples to apples".
A month is a good place to start? anything less and you may have a hard time figuring out whether the results were "significant". Or worse, you could jump to the wrong conclusion! And when in doubt, run the test longer.
See if the results show a meaningful difference between the ads you're testing. But remember the "winning" ad still needs to meet your goals; otherwise, you should consider testing another idea.
Even when your test is done and your best performing ad is running keep coming up with new ideas to test against so that you're always improving your results!
Testing is an easy, objective way to determine what ad campaigns will work best with your audience. So no more excuses? :<)
Online Marketing and Advertising
News, articles, and commentary on online marketing
www.clickz.com
Articles, research, and case studies on what works in Internet marketing
www.marketingsherpa.com
Online marketing and advertising news, articles, and whitepapers
www.marketingvox.com
News, rumors, and commentary on online marketing and advertising
www.marketingpilgrim.com
Advertising and media related news, articles, blogs, and resources
http://publications.mediapost.com/
News, analysis, and commentary for business to business online marketers
www.btobonline.com
News, analysis, and commentary on people, events, and trends of the advertising and marketing industry
www.adage.com
Market research, analysis, and trends on e-business and online marketing
www.emarketer.com
Direct Marketing
Email marketing best practices blog
www.b2bemailmarketing.com
Ideas, advice, and commentary on email marketing
www.email-marketing-reports.com
Advice, tips, and observations on email marketing
http://blogs.mediapost.com/email_insider/
Ideas, tips, and advice on business to business (B2B) lead generation
www.blog.startwithalead.com
Advice, tips, and observations on lead generation
http://blogs.mediapost.com/performance_insider/
Lead generation news, opinions, and lead buying tips
www.leadcritic.com
Industry Associations
Industry associations are a great resource for best practices, guidelines, articles, and event information. You should definitely check them out!
Online advertising standards, guidelines, and best practices
www.iab.net
Non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry
www.sempo.org
Trade association for direct marketing tools and techniques
www.the-dma.org
Association for business to business marketing
www.marketing.org
Professional association for marketers
www.marketingpower.com
Industry resources and best practices for Web analytics
http://www.webanalyticsassociation.org/
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