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

Creating, finding and sharing compelling content can prove to your customer that your business knows its jurisdiction, is a thought leader in its field and wants to help them keep current on important developments. Businesses are placing a greater emphasis on content marketing’s ability to add value for current and potential clients.

Because we are surrounded and bombarded with content from social media, it hasn’t made life easier on content production.  According to Facebook, 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news blogs etc) are shared each month on the social network, with no sign of slowing down. This can be overwhelming for your business because you want to make sure your content is being seen.

In an article on emarketer.com it quotes:
“Content curation is not a low-touch activity, and according to HiveFire the greatest challenges are creating content that is original and compelling, and finding the time to do so. It was much less of a challenge to find quality content from third parties, but still, nearly half of marketers reported that was difficult as well”.http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008327

Right now it seems that content curation, and curation platforms are going to be an area of growth on the web because it’s easier to search for good content and share it then to create it. One of the single most valuable roles you can play in this uproar of content is to be the one who lends sanity to finding and sharing only the best of the best.

Would your attitude about internet marketing interruptions change if you were paid every time you viewed a commercial or mobile advertisement?

One creative company has made a business out of exchanging ads for airtime. With mobile phone airtime minutes being as (or more) valuable as currency, people will be actively willing to watch mobile ads in exchange for adding airtime. The human ties to mobile communication are astounding. In developing countries, people spend 10% of their annual income on purchased airtime.

There are other humanitarian benefits weaved into this company’s mobile application. Here are some highlights from a recent Mashable post:

Advertisers and marketers looking for a way to survey consumers or run branded campaigns in developing countries are limited in their abilities to reach these audiences. Txteagle seeks to change that and boasts a database of more than 2.1 billion prepaid mobile subscribers across 220 operators in 80 countries. It can use the mobile phone to serve as conduit between advertiser and consumer. The startup uses airtime compensation to sugarcoat its survey and campaign solicitation attempts. Txteagle founder Nathan Eagle says this is because airtime is equivalent to — if not greater than — cash in these countries. Ten percent of an individual’s annual income in emerging markets is spent on purchasing prepaid airtime, Eagle says.

The opportunities for new business creation and creative marketing for old brand companies is only limited by imagination. Come to WSI to learn about what is happening with mobile marketing and advertising. This is not just for big business. There are some turnkey tools to get you started even if you are a small company seeking to reach mobile users in your neighborhood.

WSI Internet Consultants, with our local and global presence, are in tune with emerging opportunities in the mobile space and can help you evaluate it as a marketing option. Go to our site for our latest white paper on Mobile Marketing.

1. Creating Your Own Videos

Professional Production vs. Do it Yourself Using a production company to create your video can be very expensive. In fact, a recent study by Visible Gains found that lower quality, authentic videos can generate a better response from users. Creating something that feels transparent and can appear more honest and calming than something done by a professional studio. However, this may not be the best alternative for every business. For those unfamiliar with technology, the idea of creating your own video may seem daunting. However, it’s not as challenging as you would think. Video cameras such as the Flip HD and Kodak ZI8 are two cameras that are extremely easy to use and affordable. Just point and shoot to begin creating your content, although you may want to prepare with a script.

Topics for Videos

Just like any other content you’ve produced, you’ve got to produce something that has inherent value to it. When creating a video, think of what your target customers would be interested in reading. Finding something to promote that is unique about your company and is a differentiator will better hold the attention of your users.

Click Here for our Video Marketing White Paper

2. Improving Website Conversion

One of the most advantageous ways to use video is increasing your website conversion rates.

Thirty-Second Intro

First impressions are crucial. Your ‘thirty-second pitch’ is an effective way to entice visitors to perform an action such as providing an email address, clicking through to the next page, or even making a purchase decision.

Video Testimonials

Nothing speaks to your business’ credibility and quality like testimonials from other satisfied customers ‐integrating video testimonies in places where an action is required. This may include forms or check out pages or even an up‐sell or cross‐sell in the checkout process.

3. Search Engines

How Do I Get Indexed?

One of the big problems with getting videos indexed is that search engine spiders cannot parse what’s being said within your videos. However, there are some important things you can do to make sure your videos are found by search engines and are being indexed appropriately:

Titles – Make sure your title is catchy. Consider if your title is interesting or if it may be viral. Include your keywords just as you would for web page optimization.

How Can I Rank?

Video content is a medium that often times earns many links and carries a considerable amount of link juice. Despite its authority over other media, expecting to rank for shorter competitive keywords still may be very difficult. Consider going after longer keywords (long tail keywords) for less competitive search engine results pages (SERP).

Allow Embedding ‐ Allowing people to embed your video will produce more links back to your Website, along with disseminating your content quickly and further than you would be able to do otherwise.

4. Marketing Your Videos

Email Marketing

Using video in your email marketing can have a dramatic effect on the way you spread your message to your prospects and clients. Engaging with video has been proven to extend the amount of time viewers spend reading your emails.

Blog

Using video in your blogs is fast becoming one of the most popular prefer video to text more often than not. Just be sure to keep (around two minutes) or you’ll begin to lose your audience.

For more ideas on Marketing your Videos Click Here

5. YouTube Channel Design

Youtube is the largest video network on the Internet. If you’re producing video it’s a good idea to be sure that you have your own YouTube channel. YouTube channels archive all of your videos for users to be able to watch. Additionally you can customize the look and feel of your channel to be unique and representative of your business.

For further reading on Video Marketing Click Here.

Still Overwhelmed with Video Marketing? Contact your WSI Consultant Patricia Jordan.

Voting at the Polls may be today, but consumer voting for/against your business occurs daily (and nightly) online.  Pay attention business owners, or be defeated.

Online Marketing can be a lot like today’s nasty political campaigns.

Do you know how your constituents’ (customer/prospects) opinions of you are being influenced beyond your control by reviews and comments online?  Do you have a plan actively working right now that promotes an accurate and positive reputation about your business?

Why Should You Care Now? What is the Influence of Online Reviews?

Data shows that 92% of people read reviews and of those, 89% are influence to buy (or NOT to buy) because of them.   That is huge.  (Request the article summarizing this data in more detail.)

Take Control and the Truth will Save You.

Ok, a little melodramatic, but if you are not controlling the truthful reputation of your business online, you are vulnerable to losing business due to a single poor or bad review.  No business is perfect and everyone has to do right to customers who’ve not had the best experience.  But if one customer bad experience gets posted in a local review site….ouch, it is likely to be syndicated across the Internet for all to see over and over again.

Reviews:  Good, Real….and Real Good!

The same is true for positive reviews.  So, actively promoting the acquisition and syndication of good reviews is a critical element in the mix of your online marketing.

What is the Best Approach for Small Business?

There are several ways to go about this.  Some can be costly and time consuming.  WSI recommends small business clients use tools!  Why do things manually when you can do it better by leveraging technology and achieve greater results? 

WSI has a new solution available that will help you take control by proactively working your online reviews.  Our system will help you:

Real Results:

Positive reviews can drive a 20% gain in on site conversions (or more)!
Ask for a demo and case studies for businesses similar to your.

Customer Lobby,  WSI’s latest addition to the WSI eMarketplace.
Call toll free 866-216-4256 or in Dallas metro  972-208-0926

30% increase in Local Online advertising.  Is your business adapting?

The shift to online is not surprising to us as Internet Marketing Consultants.  We see clients moving their ad and marketing efforts online due to the speed, control and tracking benefits. Some are making the move faster than others, but all are finding some or all of these to be true from their online marketing:

Kind of sounds like the perfect sales person, right?  So it is…or can be if done right.

Advertisers can be frustrated with cost and performance of traditional advertising.  How wasteful is it?
We did a study with one of our contractor client’s print directory ad by tracking and recording phone calls it delivered.  It was proved they got more calls from companies wanting to sell THEM something than they did from prospects looking to buy the product they were marketing.  100% to zero!  That’s horrible!

Most situations are not that drastic, and maybe you are finding some success with traditional marketing.  We don’t suggest going 100% digital.  But times, and channels, are changing so we recommend you consider shifting some of your ad spend before the end of the year or for next year and test it out.  The data will speak loud and clear.

WSI’s unique position is that we can craft an online marketing mix that is custom fit to your needs.  Businesses are overwhelmed with sales pitches and claims about digital marketing from businesses that focus on just one element or a cookie-cutter package.  You might be over sold or undersold.  Either way is a set up for failure.

If you need help, we can help you select some of the best options available and recommend a success template based on our experience with similar companies and set up the analytics that will undeniably prove return-on-investment.

Digital marketing is for Local Businesses wanting to stay in business…..like YOUR business!   Call for a chat today.