Web Design, Development & Online Marketing - Serving the Central and North Texas Markets

20% increase in ad spend indicates marketing in social networking environments on the rise.

Today, eMarketer reports that 6.7% of all US Internet advertising will be toward social media networks this year.  The estimate is that social network ad spending will approach $1.7 Billion.

The increase may be coming from a gradual economic recovery and today’s marketers willingness to spend more.  It may also be because marketers realize the time their target audience is now spending on social networking sites.  Although the younger generations are heavily active in social networking sites like FaceBook, the faster growing demographic is the older generations.  Marketing where the people are means having a presence in social media.

Strong performance from online ad spending in general, and FaceBook in particular, has resulted in the increased forecast.

Facebook remains the headliners and will receive half of all social network ad spending in the US.   Twitter, which finally launched its ad business earlier this year, is incorporated into eMarketer’s forecast for the first time. While spending on the microblogging service will be low in 2010, the potential for 2011 and beyond could be dramatic if it proves that its “resonance” model of measuring advertising effectiveness works.

If your focus is outside the US,  there is an opportunity to get in early as the non US growth is even greater this year and in the near future.      eMarketer estimates just over half of social network ad spending worldwide will come from the US, but 2011 will bring a reversal in that proportion.

Companies  that are getting in to this space or wanting to enhance their presence should  consider turning to consultants and agencies who have experience helping businesses get set up properly.  Beginning with a strategic plan and setting up analytics as a way to measure activity and results will  provide valuable insight to expanding and adjusting additional social media marketing tactics going forward.

It is interesting when this question comes up early in my initial conversation with a prospect.  It is a question more common from a first timer or mom-pop type business.   Business owners who have already lived with a website for a while have a baseline experience and are more focused on what a website’s return on investment is than the cost of the project.

So, what is the cost of a professional website?  For the short answer, skip to the end.  For a better understanding, read on.

The cost of a website is like the cost of transportation

Think of it like this.  Asking “how much is a website” is like asking, “How much is transportation”?   This sounds silly but it’s quite similar.  How can you know the price of a website until you know what must be delivered to get you to your desired destination in a way that meets your requirements, timing, availability and such.   

Using the transportation analogy there are parallels when thinking of potential website investment costs.

Just like the purpose of the travel is not the travel itself,  “having a website” is not the purpose, is it?   It’s what happens once you’ve “landed” that matters.   For business owners, that purpose is normally more profit and better customer experience.

Use an advisor to get best value

A good Internet consultant or full service website developer is like a good travel agent.  She is someone who will take the time to educate you and understand the whole experience you are going for.  She has an inside view of the industry and will steer you clear of costly mistakes and advise you toward the best options.   When working in sync with a specialist you are more likely to get a more personalized solution for your budget.   Think of it as a more affordable direct flight.

It’s all about getting great value (return on investment).   The value your website project delivers to you may be:

In either case, the website project should pay for itself quickly and continue to deliver.  Do it right and you're sure to be really going places. No planes, trains or automobiles required…or black out dates restrictions. 

Answer:  If done right, the “cost” of a website will be zero.  Do nothing and you will be paying the price.

How Can You Make Money Off Website Visitors Who Find You By Mistake

I happened across a company who is seizing the opportunity to do just that.  They have set up one of their websites to earn residual income from useless visitor traffic.

It is a genius idea and probably makes the company a good bit of money.  If your company name is a common misspelling of another popular company consider doing what this company did.  I’m sure there are other ways this tactic can be applied.  Look for creative ways to make money from your website.

Here’s the story:

I was in search for a replacement for my lost Canon HD camcorder AC adapter. I could not find it through normal retail channels here in Dallas and no generic power cord will work.  Apparently Canon does this on purpose.  Smart for them, very frustrating for me…but that’s another blog topic.

So like 99.9% of the human race (made that up, but probably close), I went to the web.  Since I knew the brand, I assumed I’d just type the website address directly rather in the browser rather than going through a search engine query.  Problem was, I misspelled the name.  Instead of canon.com, I typed cannon.com.

The 2 “n” company obviously gets tons of spelling-challenged visitors, like me, to their site who are looking for cameras, printers and imaging products produced by the 1 “n” company.   What they’ve done in response is brilliant, in my opinion.

Creative solution to an annoying issue:

The company may have just gone on living with the hassle of unwanted volumes of global website traffic and let those visitors just jump back to another search query.   Rather, the company provided an easy “sign-post” for those who’ve taken a wrong turn on the Internet highway.  As one of those lost shoppers, I knew immediately where to click towards my objective – maybe even before I realized I was on the wrong site.

The next page is their money-maker.

Besides having a courteous message informing you that you cannot spell, the page is filled with Google Ads for the products you ARE actually looking for.

As an Internet Consultant, I recognize that these are not just helpful links, they are Google Ad Sense ads.  The company is allowing Google to place text ads from the Google ad network on their web page.  These ads are relevant to cameras, printers and imaging – remember, these are things the company is NOT selling.

How do these lemons (non relevant traffic) turn into lemonade (cash)?

Every time the lost visitors move to this page and click on these Ad Sense ads, the company earns a portion of the ad’s click cost.  These Google sponsored ads are Pay Per Click advertising available through Google.  (Other engines have similar programs).  The advertiser gets visibility for their ad through Google network channels but only has to pay Google if someone clicks on the ad.   This company, allowing the ads to show on their web page, earns a portion of the click cost for each and every click.  Click cost for these ads are around $1-3 per click. 

I applaud the way Cannon (two “n’s”) found a way to make money off of Canon (one “n”).  The useless traffic, even though it’s not in quest of their industrial products, is now money-making traffic for them.  It also goes to show the  power of owning a good domain name.

Now I must go correct my spelling and find that AC adapter!  Happy Internet Marketing.

Is Your Website Missing the Grocery Bags?

This may be a nit picky thing from an A-type personality, but it drives me nuts at the grocery store when I have to search for bags in the produce department.  It spoils the joy of my grocery shopping experience (those who know me will laugh at that comment) when I have selected the perfect handful of apples and can’t find the darn bag dispenser anywhere close by.   Close by to me means, within 1 step.  The level of frustration is enhanced because I’m normally in a hurry.  But, isn’t everybody?

When you’ve invested in building website traffic, you want them to turn into leads and customers.  If a visitor is interested in taking the next step with your business, you don’t want to frustrate them or make it hard for them to know what to do next.   They are probably in a hurry and if the site is confusion or there are too many steps, they are likely to just jump to another website that is easier to understand.

Internet Conversion – keeping the bag within 1 step

There are a lot of factors to consider when implementing a good visitor to conversion strategy for your website.  But for simplicity here, once the visitor is persuaded and interested, you’ll want to clearly offer next step guidance so your visitor will flow easily toward your next step call-to-action.  Don’t make them search for “the bag”.  Of course this is obviously important for e-commerce sites, but it is just as important for all business and service websites who may want to build an email database or encourage a phone call inquiry in pursuit of lead acquisition.

Adjust, Measure, Repeat - for more successful conversion rates

Our recent white paper on Conversion Architecture goes into detail on experimenting and testing for conversion improvements.  But some of the on-page factors that influence flow toward action which can be critiqued include:

Depending on your business, you may want to get an Internet Consultant to interpret your analytics and make recommendations.  But don’t discount opinions of a few valued customers who may be willing to offer onsite ease of use suggestions.

With improved conversion fundamentals in place for your website, success is in the bag!

Parrot Heads remind me of Successful Internet Marketing

What is a Parrot Head?

If you don’t know, Parrot Heads are the enthusiastic fans of Jimmy Buffett, the artist of favorite songs Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise. I recently was a guest at my first Jimmy Buffet concert this summer in Dallas.  Well, actually, it was much more than a concert - it was an experience.  These people line up for days in advance just to get the right parking spot so they can set up “camp” and socialize with other like minded JB fans all dressed like it was a beach-themed Halloween event.   It was clear to see they were engaged and interacting with the brand in festive fan frenzy.

So why are Parrot Heads like Internet Marketing?

Businesses of all sorts need to have fans, too.  You need passionate customers who do more than just keep coming back, but those who come back with friends and family and who broadcast their support of their experience with your brand. This is what online Social Media is made for.

How to approach Social Media

Well, just like an artist music style is not made to appeal to all people, your business social media approach cannot take a one “song” fits all approach.  You may not be able to be special to all people, but if you can be something special to some people, it can be a magical and profitable thing.  So try to identify your audience by unique personas and work your social media interactions in a way that speaks to what is relevant or fun to them. 

Facebook , Twitter, Linked In and more

New social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are some of the more common ways of interacting in conversation with your fans.  You might get started using these to ask for comments about how to improve service or announce discounts or special events.  Encourage referrals.  Start simply, but keep with it and momentum will build.

Let the fans sing your praises

Social media helps your fans recommend you and referral business is the best business.  It is advertising that comes with trust and without a price tag.

The magic with the Jimmy Buffet fans may have been enhanced by 2 days of parking lot partying and “assisted” happiness, if you get my drift, but it was a real shared “beach bum” social experience.   I was pulled in by the energy making me want to share this with others.  So, I plan to be there again next year and will bring a crowd of friends.  And, this resembles the process of social media marketing.

This month WSI will be holding a webinar on how to drive more business online with Local Search.

In case you are unfamiliar with local search, almost every major search engine now lists local results when someone searches for something.  This is most apparent when you ‘geo target’ your search.  For instance “Dallas icecream shops”

What does Local Search mean for you?

Part of almost every business’s internet marketing strategy should be a Local Search strategy.  Local searches can help you become found online when someone searches for a particular keyword, even if you don’t rank organically for this keyword.

In my example photo you will see Marble Slab Creamery appears in the local business results, but they aren’t actually listed in the natural organic rankings on the first page of Google.  This means customers are potentially finding a Marble Slab near them through just Local Search.

There’s many many factors and features of how Local Search can help enhance your online business, so come check out our August 18th Webinar “Drive More Business with Local Search”.  Make sure to enter “Patricia Jordan” as your Internet Consultant Contact.

Webinar Register: http://bit.ly/WSILocalSearchWebinar
Date/Time: August 18th, 12:00PM – 1:00PM CST

We’ll see you there!

One of the latest internet phenomenons is the super popular Groupon.com

Every day Groupon posts a new special advertising for a local company in your area for their customers to take advantage of.

For instance today's Groupon.com for Dallas is a $30 cuisine dinner for just $15 bucks. Pretty good deal actually, 50% off. And at the moment they have already sold 392 groupons.

Some quick stats on Groupon.com:

Why is this so popular and what does it mean for you?

In case haven’t noticed there’s a slight recession going on these days, but that doesn’t mean customers still don’t want to spend.  People LOVE coupons.  Hence the explosive popularity in Groupon, I mean $135million in funding just after 18 months of being in business? (I’m going to say success)

After learning from my previous post how important Facebook is to any business, a mix of discounts and coupons, along with an effective Social Media advertising campaign, can be an extremely useful tool in boosting this quarter’s profit.

If you need help devising an online marketing strategy during these tough times, contact us today to receive a FREE online marketing and website analysis for your business.  I mean seriously, it’s free why not?

It seems like just a few years ago, college students were joining Facebook every day to keep in touch with their friends, post their photos, and post their status update to the world.

Eventually Facebook opened its' user base to everyone, not just college students, including businesses, fan pages, and more.  Today Facebook would be the 3rd largest country by population, hitting 500 million users last week.

The online world has changed rapidly in the last decade, especially for businesses having the ability to reach millions of customers practically for free.  Here some interesting stats you might not have seen.

• Coca Cola - 8,702,146 fans
• Lady Gaga - 13,740,529fans
• Ben and Jerry’s - 1,377,491fans
• Starbucks - 11,084,778 fans

While these are big name brands, the same is true for any size of company.  Customers like to be involved with companies and brands online because it gives them the sense of being a part of it all.  Not to mention if they want to complain about a product or service, they can post it on their Facebook wall for the world to see!

From an internet marketing standpoint this is one of the most powerful tools a company has access to.  Online brand management has become crucial to every business.  Whether you like it or not your customers do talk about you online, positive and negative.  Brand reputation is essential whether offline or online.  How many times have you looked up company reviews online before deciding who to go with?  This is no different for your own company! So why not be at the forefront of your brand online on second most popular website in the world?

And not to mention having the ability to reach your customers every day of their lives during one of their favorite activities of the day!

If your not sure on how to devise your business's social media strategy request our 60+ page Social Media Strategy Kit to help educate you and your staff on your companies social media policies, brand management, measuring social media, and more.

Today we have an exciting look at PR and Social Media presented during today’s webinar with a fellow WSI Consultant from the UK, Tracy Spence.

Today Tracy will be discussing how your company can develop public relations and social media strategies to enhance your online marketing.  First thing that comes to mind for most is “Well how much is this going to cost?” And in today’s economy, it’s a more valid question than ever.  Tracy will be diving into how to run these campaigns effectively on a ‘shoe string’ budget.

The Real Point of Today’s Webinar?

A  few social media methods will be discussed that can be used to build your brand and business's online reputation affordably. You will learn how to integrate an effective offline and online PR strategy alongside your social media and internet marketing campaigns.

If you haven’t done so already, download our free White Paper to go along with this month’s Webinar: http://bit.ly/9EcjOd

And if you haven’t already registered, check out http://bit.ly/a94RzR to get signed up and make sureto put “Patricia Jordan” as the Internet Consultant name during the registration.

We’ll see you there!

WSIwebSMART.com reveals the 5 pillars of successful website marketing that are often overlooked by even the biggest agency “experts”.  The new website allows small and medium sized businesses to tap into the global expertise of top  Internet Consultants and get help applying current best practices of Digital Marketing, Internet Advertising and website development.   http://www.WSIwebSMART.com

Dallas, TX   July 26, 2010 -  Patricia Jordan-Hinojos, a Dallas internet marketing expert says, “It’s time businesses, large and small, have a simple way to think more strategically about their websites and online marketing.  When S.M.A.R.T. principals are applied, significant money can be saved and results are achieved faster. We’re launching this site and other interactive resources to make this an affordable reality for small business.”

WSI Web SMART helps businesses, large and small, consider five areas when deciding on Internet marketing options, choosing an Internet Consultant or investing in website enhancements. These are easily remembered by the acronym S.M.A.R.T.

Valuable whitepapers are available for free download off the new website on some of the hottest topics in “S.M.A.R.T.” Internet marketing and website development.  These are written in layman’s terms so the tactics can be adopted easily.  New white papers are added monthly. For a direct access to these, go to White Papers and Webinar page at http://wsiwebsmart.com/White-Papers.html

Patricia Jordan-Hinojos has been helping small and medium businesses with their online marketing and web presence since opening the Dallas area (Plano, TX) office location in 2003.   In 2009, her peers recognized Patricia as a top 25 revenue consultant world wide and top ten in the USA.  Patricia has been a featured speaker at WSI’s Global Excellence & Innovation conference in Las Vegas speaking on how to leverage the WSI resources for better profitability.  

See examples, case studies, and videos of successes with local and national companies and get more information   at www.WSIwebSMART.com  or contact us at 972-208-0926.

Contact:

Patricia Jordan-Hinojos
972-208-0926