Archive for February, 2014

Is It Inevitable That Websites Are Doomed to Becoming Obsolete?

February 26th, 2014

During every cycle of technological growth, someone declares an aspect of our daily culture “dead.” SEO, print media, blogging – even the internet itself – they’ve all been tapped for extinction. Yet we still have newspapers to read, we still have search engines to please, and blogs now number over 152 million.

This does not, however, negate the sentiment that some of these mainstays are on their way out. If you think of death more as a transformation into something new, then print media is definitely experiencing that process. As is SEO, blogs, infographics, and even the mighty website itself.

It’s an obvious truth that websites as we know them are a thing of the past. They are evolving out of necessity, and in a sense, into utter oblivion. Why? Because that’s simply the nature of technology; it’s anything but static. And if your website is static, it’s an endangered species.

Why Websites Must Evolve or Die

Think about a typical website, say circa 2005. It’s a hub of information, yes, but a pretty flat and stagnant hub. Sites in this vain trying to compete in today’s marketplace have an insurmountable challenge. Look at dynamo apps like Flipboard and Facebook’s Paper. They are alive, by comparison; bursting with images and media, multifaceted, and far more engaging. Even the most successful blogs, updated daily, can’t compete with this kind of freshness and relevancy.

Technology is central to our lives because it flows at the pace of human evolution. Things that are static will always fall away, because life requires energy and movement. If you’re finding yourself stuck in the evolution of your business, take a look at your reliance on static pages and information. Remember that the internet in many ways mirrors the methods of our minds. It’s always firing, also sending new information. The most successful examples of online media these days matches that vibrancy.

How Social Media Breaks the Mold

Sites like Twitter and Facebook are not traditional websites because every second spent on either brings about a new experience. They are the polar opposite of static media, with streams of data and information available every nanosecond.

Furthermore, social media is insanely popular because it is highly customizable. If you were inundated with every tweet and status update, social media would cease to be relevant. Because you can choose whose information you are presented, it’s tailored to your liking, and engenders immense loyalty.

Is it any wonder why Google is fervently pushing folks to Google+? They understand the evolution taking place. We as business owners should too.

Consider a dynamic feed like Twitter’s juxtaposed with a static website. On the former, you could get lost for hours consuming fascinating details. On the latter, you’ll get the entire download in just a few minutes, and be ready to move on.

Companies that still cling to the notion that singing their own praises will amuse the masses are already finding success is fleeting. Given the choice between an ever-changing flow of excitement and a self-centric diatribe full of hard sells, it’s easy to see why social media is spelling death to the static website.

Adapting Your Online Business to the New Paradigm

If you want to think like a trendsetter, reevaluate your business with an eye to a new presence. The old way looked like this: build a website, do everything possible to make search engines rank you, launch numerous marketing campaigns, and essentially work your tail off trying to get attention. The problem is, consumers aren’t all looking for your services like this anymore.

The new game in town is found in the ever-present flow of dynamic media. If you want to compete with any sense of longevity, engage your future customers into a dialogue first. Hook them into your sphere by providing multiple channels of relevant, unique, and quality content offerings. Use social media to have a daily stream of industry-related
blasts, creative reveals, and various other ways of joining them in the daily flow. In other words, meet them where they are at, with information they actually want to consume.

Websites of yesteryear are like stop signs now. They’re always there, espousing the same information. And they’re expecting users to find them. It’s your job to find your audience, and to do so in a manner that matches their day to day behaviors. It’s your job to offer your audience things with tangible value before they become your customers.

The Good News and the Bad News

The more challenging aspect of this new stream-like way of marketing is obvious: it’s new, it’s different, and it requires more effort out of the gate. But the really, really good news is that the customers you do retain through this method are likely to remain fiercely loyal, if you provide a good product and service. Marketers in the modern age have to, in essence, romance their future customers. Once you do so with integrity, people are likely to keep coming back, because an actual relationship is formed.

In many ways, this is bringing more honesty to marketing. Since we really do have to work harder and harder to acquire new customers, we need to make darn sure we never take them for granted. Follow-through is as essential as the initial content offerings – all these pieces create the perfect company model. Balance is integral.

The sooner you dive into the new paradigm, the more likely your business will thrive. Change is always inevitable, and the true success stories are those who dared to shift focus before mass consciousness caught up. There’s still time to be an early adopter – step one is evolving your dying static website

Web Interactive addresses a full range of marketing needs, including email,  content and social media marketing—creating a winning synergy that delivers  quantifiable results. Want a free no obligation consultation with our experts

Contact us today at TCC Web Interactive

A Division of the Computer Company, Inc

info@tccwebinteractive.com

(860) 635-0500

(800) 418 2358

 

 

By Tina Courtney-Brown

 

 

 

How to Market With eManagerSite on Pinterest and Instagram

February 12th, 2014

As social media continues to intersect with SEO and content marketing efforts in 2014, marketers are faced with the job of deciding which social networks to use. It can be tempting to stick with the platforms you already have a presence on, while skipping networks like Instagram and Pinterest where you may not have a profile. And you need a profile to fulfil the traditional goal of social media marketing: creating more followers and interested customers – right?

The truth is, social media has a lot more benefits for your brand than an increase in followers. Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest have different marketing opportunities than Facebook and Twitter, due to their visual element. By ignoring these visual networks, you may be limiting the scope of your marketing campaign. You’ll also be ignoring the growing role that graphics and visuals are playing in content across the web.

Michael Kors was one of the first brands to take advantage of the imagery of Instagram. Take a look at the brand’s Instagram ad that promoted its new product – this photo received 218,000 likes within a 18 hours. Whether you decide to create an account on a visual network or take advantage of marketing opportunities without a branded account, Pinterest and Instagram’s imagery can help you expand your brand’s reach.

The Big Picture

It’s not enough to focus on just one or two social networks anymore. It’s clear that Pinterest and Instagram attract unique demographics, and if you don’t work within these networks, you’ll be missing out on various opportunities. Not only does imagery matter to social media users, but images can help your brand convey a lot of creative ideas.

While Pinterest users range a little older and primarily consist of women, Instagram is more balanced between younger men and women users. If one of these audiences is a good fit for some of the customers you are trying to target, you may want to expand past your primary social media accounts.

For instance, Facebook and Twitter involve posting about what just happened or what is happening now. Pinterest, on the other hand, is ideal for future plans. This makes it a powerful platform for customers looking to discover new products, services and experiences. Instagram is similar, because its platform allows you to show off your brand’s new products that might interest users down the road.

So should your business market through Pinterest and Instagram, so you can take advantage of the visual opportunities?

Why You Shouldn’t Use It

Before you decide to enter the Pinterest and Instagram networks, strategize and make sure you have the time and resources to make your efforts worthwhile. Just because everyone else is using it, everyone is talking about it online, or your competitors are already on the network doesn’t mean you necessarily need to follow.

Your competitors aren’t always right, and even though the networks are free, you still have to dedicate time to see results. Don’t make the marketing decision because of what others are doing; instead, strategize and come up with ways you can incorporate imagery into your brand. Make sure you have the capability to create graphics and photographic content. And analyze the demographics to determine if it’s the right move for you.

Why You Should Use It

Pinterest and Instagram’s networks have valuable demographics due to their visual elements. Most women or teens use one of the platforms, and most young consumers aren’t waiting around for brands to join – they’re already sharing content from the brands that are interacting with them now.

Compared to other sources of traffic, conversion rates for Pinterest users are extremely high. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest introduces customers directly to retailers and helps brands catch users’ attention first.

There is also a large amount of sharing potential that helps increase a brand’s initial exposure. Since over 80% of pins are re-pins, it’s easy for one single pin to go viral and appear on Pinterest over and over again for weeks. This can send an immense amount of traffic to your website, making it possible to measure social media results without focusing on your number of followers.

Marketing Potential Without a Branded Account

Your presence and the number of fans isn’t the only important part of social media. You want to start a conversation about your brand that connects with every audience you want to target. This is why networks like Instagram and Pinterest have so much potential, since images can create great conversations and curiosity.

And if you move away from the traditional goal of increasing your social media followers, you can still get other valuable results such as direct traffic or content discussing your brand – and you don’t necessarily have to create an official branded account.

Here are some tactics for increasing your exposure on Pinterest and Instagram:

Focus on getting the metrics first, so you can convince your team that a profile on these social platforms would be a wise investment in the future. Measure impressions, re-pins, likes and comments to prove that the network is beneficial for your targeted demographic.

Create “printables.” These graphics are extremely popular on Pinterest, and they can be beneficial to your marketing. For example ties in with Valentine’s Day gives users a free product, while spreading the brand organically. If you’re creative, almost anything can be turned into a printable.

Use hashtags to promote your product and get users to interact with your brand. Instagram users rely heavily on hashtags to discover new content, as well as share it. This means you can give your content more reach among a large pool of users.

By figuring out ways your business can create content that can be shared on Pinterest and Instagram, you can easily extend your brand’s reach – while generating exposure and site traffic – without even having an account.

eManagerSite addresses a full range of marketing needs, including email, content and social media marketing—creating a winning synergy that delivers quantifiable results. Want a free no obligation consultation with our experts

Contact us today at eManagerSite

A Division of the Computer Company, Inc

info@tccwebinteractive.com

(860) 635-0500

(800) 418 2358

 

Unlock the Power of Your Email Marketing With eManagerSite

February 4th, 2014

Email is an incredibly powerful marketing channel.  According to new research email marketing is 40 times more effective at attracting new business than Facebook and Twitter combined.  This statistic may strike you as surprising—considering all the industry hullabaloo surrounding social media.  Prospects who land on your website through emai marketing are more likely to convert to clients than those who arrive via social media, and email subscribers spend significantly more than social media prospects once they make a buying decision.

However, these email marketing trends may not continue in the long run, citing a decline in the rate that people check their email—20% between 2008 and 2013.  The change is attributed to the increasing number of ways to communicate, largely a wide variety of social media channels.  Although email still has a distinct marketing advantage over social media,  the gap will likely shrink, as Facebook, Twitter and other social networks mature and work to enhance engagement.  Act now to realize the full potential of your email marketing.

What is important to realize though is that social media, content and email marketing can effectively work in harmony and create a winning synergy as part of a strategic inbound marketing plan.  Social media can be used to capture new addresses for your email marketing database; social icons and social sharing buttons on your blog can incite greater content curation.  Social sharing prompts embedded in your email content can increase its reach, enhance engagement and boost lead generation.  The ways that inbound marketing can optimize social media, content and email marketing go on and on…For now, let us focus on optimizing your email marketing.  To unlock the power of email marketing, commit yourself to ongoing learning and best practices.

Make a Winning First Impression

Your subject line needs to be information-rich and captivating and pack a punch.  Many of your prospects will read your email on the go, so your subject line needs to be concise.  Mobile devices display a limited number of characters in the subject line, so make your email titles short and sweet with your value proposition featured prominently.  Your first line of email text is used to generate a message preview, so be sure not to waste this precious space.  Get to the point quickly; use fonts like Verdana that are easy on the eyes, and keep the font size at 16 pixels or more.

Never send email with an unclear “from field.”  Due to prolific spamming, people are very protective of their email inboxes.  When they feel spammed or violated, email recipients are quick to unsubscribe from mailing lists. Therefore, it is critical to establish a level of familiarity and trust from the start by making it easy to understand who you are and why you landed in their inbox.  Receiving an email newsletter, which you did not sign up for feels like an invasion of privacy.   Be courteous and smart; build your email database organically with an opt-in form on your website.

It may be most effective to use a company name, a personal name—like the name of the recipient’s account manager or the business owner—or a combination of the two in your from field.  Experiment to determine the way that works best for your brand.  Finally, always include an actual email address, which the recipient can reply to—proving that you are a real human being.  Follow these guidelines to increase the number of eyes that actually see your clever email marketing.  You cannot convert email prospects, if your emails get deleted or end up in the dreaded spam folder.

Your Prospects Are Unique; Do Not Send One-Size-Fits-All Emails

Create a friendly tone right off the bat by addressing your prospects by their first names.  Do not assume that everyone on your email list has the same interests; it will make your content less engaging and relevant to your individual email subscribers.  Provide options, and take the time to custom-tailor your email content to the unique interests of your subscribers.

Inquire about their likes and burning questions, when they opt in so that you can effectively segment your email lists.  With email segmentation, you can strategically target your message—sending out different emails based on the content that prospects view and download on your website, the information they provide via your call to action, the comments they make about your content, stated interests, industry, job title, location and  other relevant data.

Do Not Become a Nuisance

If you create winning email marketing, you will see a net increase in lead generation and sales with each round of emails in the short run.  Although it may be tempting, refrain from emailing too often—thus wearing out your goodwill.  Scheduling an extra email for a good reason on occasion  is acceptable.  However, when new emails are added to the mix too rapidly, your boosts in sales could level off, stop or even reverse over time.  Keep an eye your email engagement metrics, and take care not to become a pest.

Using inbound marketing to build an opt-in email database can dramatically increase the efficacy of your email marketing.  Prospects who opt in and really want to hear from you are far more likely to appreciate your email content and click through it than those unfamiliar with your brand.

Web Interactive addresses a full range of marketing needs, including email, content and social media marketing—creating a winning synergy that delivers quantifiable results.  Want a free no obligation consultation with our experts

Contact us today at

TCC Web Interactive
A Division of the Computer Company, Inc
info@tccwebinteractive.com
(860) 635-0500

(800) 418 2358

 

 

 

 

Author: Monica Romeri