Reputation Management is dealing with the negative comments and other digital relics that every brand and person accumulate overtime. In this sense, although the web never forgets, its power of recall is latest content biased. There therefore lies the opportunity to either prospectively protect your Brand, Image or Reputation, or deal with negative issues that have arisen through a proper Reputation Management Strategy.
CLOSEUP Agency can implement an Online Reputation Management program to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
The Science of Online Reputation Management
Notably, the Strategies of Online Reputation Management aren't exclusively about ensuring your Brand, Image or Reputation ranks well, it’s also about making sure that detractors are not easily found by search engine visitors and do not rank highly in search engine results. Your products or services must be positioned in the best possible way, on an ongoing basis. Since consumer experiences and reviews are readily available on the web, our strategies are to ensure that negative results do not overpower interested searchers.
Ongoing Grooming to Look Your Best on the Web
Essentially online reputation management is the practice of making Brand, Imaged and Reputations look their best on the worldwide web. To accomplish this you need to control your online search results since they often contain inaccurate, misleading or outdated material with the result that visitors can be adversely influenced. Similarly, it’s important to keep private information from being made public.
CLOSEUP Agency can provide reputation analytics and ongoing reporting, as well as strategies to ensure that your Brand, Image or Reputation remains intact or the effect of detrimental content is lessened. For most clients, this is undertaken on a monthly basis, however, some clients do require daily action.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how MANAGING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Social Proof Marketing
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Web Technologies and Consumer Expectations change, and so must your website else your competition that has the fresh “In” look will benefit in part solely due to aesthetics. This is not to say that design by itself will sell your products and services, but it will serve to get consumer attention which is the very first step in sales conversion to become a customer.
CLOSEUP Agency can Redesign & Refresh your Website to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Best Place to Start is with What You've Got
Freshening up your website can start by taking your existing Content, logo, images and video into a new updated design that includes sliders, Social Proof with Facebook & Twitter feeds, blogging and mobile capabilities, and more. Key elements of today’s web 3.0 websites include elements such as:
- Well organized Slideshows with impactful Imagery
- Video channel with dedicated Playlists
- Data collection forms that are SPAM resistant for Interest, Feedback & Newsletter signup
- SEO-optimized structures & keywords
- Content Management Systems to easily add & change page content, as well as new pages
- Direct Blog integrations
Then, permanent redirection of your existing pages is necessary so that the new site automatically redirects requests for your old pages to the equivalent new pages and you don’t lose any of the valuable search engine Page Rank or ‘link juice’ that your existing site has built up.
Less is often More when it comes to New Website Designs
Less on the landing page can translate into more engagement simply by focusing the visitor on essential elements, which act almost like a funnel with link clickthroughs to more extensive information elsewhere in the site. In this regard, today carefully chosen images quickly convey what you're about, and which is why website design and creative are trending toward Slider elements above the fold in order to have the most impact.
Getting down with your website data to see What’s Really Important!
Reviewing and analyzing your traffic data can show how users are behaving on your site. Most important - what content are they clicking on the most? How long are they staying on your site? How many pages are being viewed when they visit? What is the Bounce Rate of how quickly they exit your site? What are the exit pages? All of this information helps in optimizing the user experience on your site by focusing on and delivering up the content that consumers find relevant and engaging.
Reflecting Your Passion or is it Just Me Too?
Does your website represent you and your passions? When your visitors come on your site do they get a sense and feel of your passion ... or are they seeing what the same thing everyone else saying? It really comes down to whether your audience is being truly engaged by your website? Are you drawing and holding them in? Do you have Social Proof elements that convince visitors of your popularity? Are you using video effectively to explain, convince and engage? Is your website uniquely different in look, feel and no more important than ever, functionality (such as mobile) than your competitors?
Going with the flow is not a good thing anymore. You must develop and disseminate an updated identity along with unique content, through your site, the social networks and search engines. Your website and content should clearly show what you can do for your customers. All of these elements must be considered in website redesign in order to make your marketing message truly effective.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how a Website Redesign & Refresh can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Loyalty programs are available for all small to medium sized businesses and not only reserved for large retailers. With today’s need to reach out through social media and the availability of email and autoresponder programs to assist in regular marketing outreach, there is no doubt that a loyalty program must be part of a successful marketing mix.
CLOSEUP Agency can configure a Digital Loyalty Program to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Use a Loyalty Program to Reward Ongoing Purchases, Referrals and Interactions
Loyalty programs are essentially a planned marketing effort that rewards and therefore encourages, buying behavior whether from existing customers or from those that existing customers can refer to the business. Traditionally, by presenting a loyalty card a purchaser would be entitled to a purchase discount or points that could be redeemed for future purchases. One of the oldest loyalty programs in Canada is Canadian Tire’s money, which are in effect coupons that look and trade like currency. Current trends are towards online loyalty programs, for which QR Codes are being used as a means to entice smartphone users instore to make additional purchases or move them into the store for purchases. An example is scanning the QR Code at checkout as a means of aggregating loyalty awards (see http://psfk/2012/01/html).
Loyalty Programs are Not only for Retailers
Every business should benefit from increased customer traffic – either REPEAT or REFERRAL – both of which incremental business can be encouraged through use of a Loyalty Program. For instance, you can embed coupons or other promotion in emails regularly sent to customers of a business, being a very basic but effective loyalty program. Existing customers can be encouraged to refer their friends to a business, either directly for a purchase or if they know that the friends would eventually be interested in purchasing to a medium that permits ongoing contact such as having them signup for a newsletter or join the business’ Facebook or Twitter social communities.
Different Customers prefer Different Loyalty Programs
Different loyalty programs appeal to different customers and a business can use one, all or a combination of loyalty programs for maximum effect -
Type A - Membership Type Loyalty Program
Membership programs are one of the simplest ways to keep customers coming back to purchase where actions can be either points price reduction or promotion incentive based. An example of a Membership based loyalty program is Costco.
Type B - Rewards Type Loyalty Program
Rewards are gifts of perks that are in a sense “earned” depending upon the amount of purchases or actions that your customers have with you. Many gas stations use Rewards based loyalty programs as a means of encouraging repeat business.
Type C – Community Type Loyalty Programs
A business could create an actual or online community such as where a sporting goods store creates a community by sponsoring marathons and local running events. An example is the Running Room’s daily arranged running programs.
Double the Effect of any Loyalty Outreach Program
An easy way to enhance and increase the effect of an Outreach Program is to integrate it into regular outreach channels, such as through regular emails or a monthly newsletter that contains both a Call to Action to join the Loyalty Program and a coupon or other promotion to give effect to the program – a Win-Win situation. It’s clear that a loyalty program based upon regular outreach to existing customers and incentivizing these customers to purchase or refer is an effective marketing channel.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how a Digital Loyalty Program can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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It’s been said that print media isn’t relevant anymore … but that’s not quite true. MEDIA of every sort is relevant and it’s how you use it in your Marketing Campaigns that will determine success and failure. Digital media is today an important part of any marketing campaign and when it is considered within the scope of what your consumers are using to find, compare and purchase your products and services, then the relative importance of various channels can be determined. So in a sense Digital Marketing has simply extended traditional marketing into new channels, each of which has its own methods and paths to success.
CLOSEUP Agency can build a digital Marketing Campaign to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Today’s Channels Supplement Traditional Advertising and Marketing
Electronic Storefronts – Your website and what it says, has on it, whether mobile friendly, is today’s version of a business’ storefront. Your consumers will likely go to your website first before paying you a visit because it’s simply easier, faster and more likely to help them choose which business to actually do business with. Accordingly, we believe in building and designing engaging websites that not only have the ability to impress consumers immediately but also encourage ongoing communications with consumers until they become customers.
Social Media Marketing– This offshoot of the traditional referral marketing is just that, people using electronic means to discuss, comment, suggest and encourage referrals to particular products and services. There are many social channels that have specific appeal to particular demographics and means to access, whether it be Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus, YouTube, community specific channels, and more. In every case you want to be able to follow a roadmap to a successful referral strategy.
Emails and SMS – Direct contact has never been either so direct as being able to zero in on individuals, or responsive where certain messaging open rates are the highest they ever have been. Campaigns that automate and extend the sweep of the campaign mean that such programs can effectively cover 1 to 10,000 or more individuals easily, quickly and cost effectively.
Your Digital Marketing Campaign Roadmap
When we start a digital marketing campaign we first look to setting campaign goals and tracking. For instance, what are you trying to achieve through our campaign and how will we know when it’s been achieved? Then we ask about your target audience, any customer insights and targeting - basically who are we trying to reach and influence? We then devise key campaign messages and offers, looking to wow we are positioning your company, products and services, and choosing which campaign or product offers will engage and convert your audience most effectively. Choosing the optimal strategy or strategies is next as to how you will reach and engage your target audience. Finally, we determine online media mix selection and budgeting as to which media are expected to be most effective and then set the media schedule and campaign integration sequence.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how a Digital Marketing Campaign can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Virtual and Augmented Reality are advanced Web-3.0 tactics by which you can generate leads, show unique information and truly engage your customers. Essentially AR & VR overlay reality or create a new reality with information, icons, offers and more, and for which AR can be configured to be viewed and accessed by today's increasing number of smartphone users.
CLOSEUP Agency can develop AR applications to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Change Customers' Reality to Showoff Your Business
The intent of such AR & VR applications are to convince you and your mind that you're actually there, bringing experience and interaction to life. For instance smartphone users are now using their builtin phone cameras to get information about their surroundings, even translations of street signs and potentially the social profiles of passers-by. A truly cool usage is projection mapping that is being used to make 3D experiences by way of transforming buildings and other surfaces with high-tech imagery and effects - see how Augmented Reality is poised to change the world of marketing in this Mashable Article.
Finding a virtual Tim Horton's Quickly (with visual directions!)
The techno thriller Daemon by Daniel Suarez blurs the dividing line between physical and virtual realities. While this may currently seem like fantasy, businesses and marketers need to start paying attention to how real its all becoming. For instance right now there's a Tim Horton's app that lets you know the location of the closest coffee shop to where you are.
What is being created is a hybrid between computer interactivity, data, social media and how all of these channels relate to the physical world — it's a teaser for what media and communication experiences will look like in the near future. Examples include apps that let you view a building in your city and find out if there's available office space for rent in it, some that make print media such as newspapers, magazines, ads and even outdoor imagery come to life.
Want to be Different? It's time for an AR / VR Customer Experience
You can have the ability to change the experience of a physical object creatively. Infiniti and Toyota have used the technique to make their cars defy the laws of nature at private events. How about augmenting architecture and living spaces in dramatic ways so that you actually need to touch them to see if it's real or not! Check out the Starbuck's Christmas AR app below!
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how Virtual and Augmented Reality Apps can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Social Media Proof or “Social Proof’ for short is the positive influence created by the presence of a group of individuals that to an outsider reduces the risk of an action – an example being the presence of a Facebook feed with number of Likes and pictures of Friends present on a website that implicitly suggests whether the website and its products and services are popular and less risky than a website without such “Social Proof”.
CLOSEUP Agency can utilize Social Proof to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Using "What Everyone Else is Doing" to Your Advantage
This fear removal technique is referred to as informational social influence – being “a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect the correct behavior for a given situation… driven by the assumption that the surrounding people possess more information about the situation.” Kind of reminds you of the spoof of coming across a person looking up at the sky, then a crowd forming doing the same thing, and finally someone asking what is everybody looking at!
People are conditioned to follow the actions of others, and when incorporated into your online digital strategy and onto your website can be an impactful of consumer behavior. When a consumer is unsure of what to do, they will often look to others for cues concerning correct behavior. Social proof often leads to public compliance (conforming to the behavior of others publicly without necessarily believing the behavior is correct) but also private acceptance (conforming out of a genuine belief that others are in fact correct). By their very nature consumers want to be and feel comfortable with others that have previously purchased your products or services and in this way a business can use perceived conformity for additional sales
Social Proof requires Social Media Outreach
Social proof is necessarily built upon a social media outreach strategy where existing and prospective consumers must be convinced to become part of your online community, and thereby lend their vote to your business. Once you establish a Social Proof beachhead of sorts, the social network outreach program must be continued as a very important element of Social Proof is an ever increasing base of “trusted” votes – imagine what would happen if repeat visitors saw not only a never increasing number of Likes, Friends, Followers etc., or even worse a dwindling number which undoubtedly would have the opposite Social Proof effect than that of increasing visitor commitment and conversions. When considered as part of an overall social media outreach strategy Social Proof becomes even more powerful when being accurate is important and others are perceived as knowledgeable. Then by including visual and referral elements of Social Proof on your website, your business is in effect saying that many others are interested in and have given your products and services their approval, and so should your website visitors!
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how Social Media Poof can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Links or linking in the digital space refers to having an actual link to or from your website to other websites or web content … Why is this important? Two reasons: links to your site can bring you additional visitors, and secondly Search Engines seriously take into account the number and quality of links pointing to your site, internal links within your site and the links within the site that point to outside content, as factors in determining how your site will rank in their search rankings.
CLOSEUP Agency can provide you with Linkign Strategies to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
What is PR - Page Rank and Why is it so Important?
Google" Page Rank for a particular website and also pages on that site, has for a long time been regarded as a key metric of the level of linking and authority that a website has achieved. You can find this value for your site at http://prchecker/ where the range is from Unranked through 10 - the number 10 being regarded as the highest value in terms of page/site quality. Essentially as part of Google's Rankign Algorithm the more and higher quality a particular website or page has, the higher it can rank in search results.
Who's the Penguin and why Did he Attack?
The "Penguin" is the name for Google's latest algorithm update in 2012 that literally demoted 100's of thousands of websites from their search results because they had "spammy" links! At one time it was though that to have hundreds if not thousands of links to a site would guarantee a higher page rank, and as a result "link farms" popped up offering lots of links in return for payment. Whether it was as a result of these links being unrelated to a website's content or that such was a payment game, Google has chosen to demote websites that have such links from their search results … and as a means of offering up better quality results in their search rankings.
Have you treated your website with a White Hat?
Understand that everything you do to your website is divided up into three classes, or hats rather. White, Black & Gray. White Hat is legitimate above the board. Black Hat is what Google is penalizing you for if Penguin busted you, and of course Gray Hat is somewhere in the middle. So it is with every algorithmic update, Google tries to punish the Black Hats. Penguin is therefore the latest algorithmic update designed to punish spammers. The algorithm update hit hard on April 24th, so take a look at the analytics to see if your website lost organic search traffic around that time, where it could have been sometime afterwards as Google rolls out updates in phases usually starting in the US and then spreading out worldwide. If you saw a drop in your organic traffic, you were probably hit.
Google states publicly what they like - unique well-structured quality content. They’ve also indicated what they don’t like and are getting better at detecting it. Let us focus your energies on the good stuff and we’ll tell you what you need to know so that Google will reward you in time!
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how a Linking Strategy can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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There is no substitute for News as a means of engaging a consumer’s interest. Everyone is always on the look out for what’s new, what’s better and what’s changed, and this natural curiousity can be tapped by a business sending prospective consumers their newsletter on a regular basis.
CLOSEUP Agency can set up a Newsletter Program to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Newsletter Construction takes time but can be Automated!
For greatest effect a newsletter should be sent on an ongoing regular basis as a means of maintaining a touchpoint with existing customers for purposes of referrals, and for prospective customers for conversion into sales. Unfortunately putting together a newsletter can be time consuming and is often left to a low priority, sometimes not getting done at all. There is a way however where a newsletter can be compiled automatically from content on your website, such as articles, events, images, videos and more, and sent on a regular basis. This automated construction and sendout capability can be configured for certain CMS (Content Management System) based websites and is a highly efficient and effective means of keeping in front of customers and prospective consumers.
It’s also possible to use the CLOSEUP Agency custom e-Newsletter service to deliver a unique, customized newsletter complete with content to your existing customers and prospects each month. In this way skilled writers combine your news with effective calls to action and graphics, to produce impactful messages that you will be able to put in front of customers and prospects on a regular basis.
Your Newsletter makes you a “Top of Mind Expert” with Consumers
If your customers and prospects aren't hearing from you regularly, you're not likely to be and remain "top of mind" when they have need of your goods and services. So an easy and effective way to increase your business starts with regular communication. In addition, cold calls can be annoying and sometimes highly ineffective, while delivering valuable information to your target market each month makes you no longer an unwelcome voice on the phone – you’ve become a valuable resource and partner – through a newsletter you build and strengthen relationships with prospects and clients by establishing yourself as an expert in your field.
Starting with a sign up form on your website that captures a visitors name and email, coupled with the emails of existing customers, and you now have a valuable resource for ongoing marketing and referrals. Such a permission-based targeted newsletter program is absolutely the best way to reach a target market at minimum cost. For website signups it usually helps to utilize some form of incentive such as a free report, consultation or other incentivization such as a coupon which in itself can lead to sale conversion, that when coupled with a privacy policy can be a great source of leads which can be remarketed to on an ongoing basis through your Newsletter Program or Autoresponder Program.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how a Newsletter Program can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Your website has to have a certain amount of “Street Cred “ in order to be take seriously by your target market – it must relate to your consumer audience in the words used, the sentences constructed, the level of comprehension, as well as its look & feel – or your customers will feel uncomfortable and leave.
CLOSEUP Agency can makeover Your Website Content to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Write Your Website Lingo & Elements to Encourage Trust and Purchases
The specific idioms, sentence constructions, and words related to your targets market consumers must be incorporated into your website Content so that your marketing messages are not lost in their delivery, and there's impact to what you have to say about your Brand, goods or services. In this way language and its variants don't get into the way of comprehension, which is what you need to sell your Brand, goods or services - instead of having prospective customers be distracted and focus on in the inappropriateness of the words or phrases you have chosen to convey that message.
In addition your website should have certain elements that consumers are coming to expect in order to ease their worries about doing business with you and other purchase concerns – for instance using images and videos to convey a feeling of experience and expertise go a long way towards reducing consumer risk of dealing with a new entity – and as well can position your business as the go-to expert with regard to the product and services you have available for sale.
Acting, Speaking and Looking Like a North American Website
North America's consumers speak a certain way, act a certain way and expect certain wording. This means if you're not speaking the North American language to your audience and you want to attract the North American market there will be a disconnect of sorts, with the visitor feeling consciously or unconsciously that something is not quite right - usually resulting in leaving the site without seeing of comprehending your message. This is a key reason why many websites outside of North America experience a very high bounce rate from North American visitors that felt uncomfortable with the content.
If you want People to Listen Be "One of the Guys/Girls"
As an example, while certain markets expect and require language, words and construction at a high-school level in order to make a connection with the website visitor, such a delivery would be totally inappropriate for other markets that may require either a more sophisticated language set or technical terms in order to be "one of the guys" that the target market would listen to. Remember that a fundamental aspect of marketing is to be like and to act like your target market consumer so as to reduce stress related to uncertainty or unfamiliarity. This "closeness" to the target market applies to language just as well much as it does to images, videos, message, etc.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how appropriate Website Content can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Google’s move to incorporate the results of its Google+ social network directly into search results has turned Social Network Marketing on its head – there’s now no choice as to whether to engage in Social Network Marketing as it’s do or die if your business wants to stay within top search result rankings for Google and as well Bing & Yahoo.
CLOSEUP Agency can provide you with an effective Social Network Marketing Program to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Social Media Marketing is People and now Personal Reviews!
Essentially Social Media is all about people - communicating with and engaging individuals with a common interest. A sanitized corporate voice won't be heard by the audience you're seeking to attract. CLOSEUP Agency understands the necessity of a personal touch to create a brand image for your activities that truly combines the brand message with a friendly voice. Brands use Social Media Networks to prospect for potential customers in addition to permitting their customers to interact and act as word of mouth referrals to shape and encourage customer loyalty, repeat business and public perception. But it's the individual touch that's so important - in language, tone and values - to have Social Networking work for you.
Up to just recently personal reviews were implicit in Social Network Marketing but did not have a direct effect on a website’s traffic or occupy a prominent place in marketing considerations. Facebook started the movement towards social referrals making a difference with their “Likes” which Bing & Yahoo have now incorporated indirectly into their search results. But it’s not until Google announced that it will directly incorporate Google+ Pages and Google+ Local into search results that the full impact of Social Network Marketing will be felt expectedly on a business’ bottom line. In this regard, Google and now Facebook’s focus on only real people being a part of their social networks is starting to make sense, where it is understood that Google is using the reviews of these “real people” as a form of ranking of their search results – no longer can a business simply have a website and expect good search engine result ranking, they now have to take a proactive Social Network Marketing stance or be left behind their competition!
Images & Video are the Call to Action of the Social Media World
Our experience is that while good content is ultimately what will convince prospective customers to take action, it's the picture or video that breaks through the clutter and initiates a response. At CLOSEUP Agency we reach your audience through image optimization and with video sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. In addition, there exist unique opportunities to broadcast your business message using webcasting, webinars and online radio, as a means of making the multimedia consumer experience a memorable and effective call to action throughout certain Social Media channels.
Social Networking Used to Your Strategic Advantage
Everyone knows about Facebook and Twitter - but not everyone knows how to utilize these channels and other social media to cause prospective consumers to take action. Using Social Networks to your advantage in building a brand new network of your own means having a strategy from setup in specific social networks, to content aggregation and repurposing, use of analytics and management of your streams, all in order to maximize the impact of your Social Media campaigns. CLOSEUP Agency can get you up and running in Social Media Marketing and as well provide complete campaign management of your online presence, using bespoke software to help you to simplify your postings, with reporting and analytics to measure the effectiveness of the campaign.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how Social Media Marketing campaigns can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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You have no choice nowadays but to listen to what consumers are saying about your business, products and services on the web – it’s almost like a broadcast to anyone that wants to listen – where these mentions, reviews and discussions should be identified as early as possible and appropriate action taken before it’s too late.
CLOSEUP Agency can put in place Social Intelligence monitoring to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
It all starts with Social Media Monitoring
The social web is too big for anyone person to monitor what is being said about your business, brand, products or services, which is why Social Media Monitoring is designed to literally scrape the web for mentions about your business and alert you so that you can take action, both in a positive and if necessary negative way. For instance, if a consumer blogged about a great experience they had at your store, with your product or as a result of your service, you would want to incorporate their comments as third party validations into your website as a part of your Social Proof – no better testimonial than one that emanates from a third party channel! On the otherhand, if consumers are complaining about your products or services, you should be able to be alerted so as to take action to deal with the situation, such as by way of a reply that you are taking consumer opinion seriously or otherwise dealing with negative comments that are being made available to everyone on the web.
There are Opportunities in what Consumers are Saying about Your Competition
So it’s not only your own brand that you should monitor, rather the negatives and positives expressed about your competitors and the product/service vertical as a whole will show opportunities that your business can meet that are being unmet elsewhere, and in this way by solving voiced consumer problems you will have developed market opportunities before your competition knows about them and/or reacts. Additionally, consumers will often not voice their concerns about a business directly to that business, for any number of reasons, but will feel free to do so in a social network setting. Social media monitoring, analytics and engagement tools therefore help businesses to identify opportunities and potential crises, while at the same time finding new and innovative ways to enhance customer relationships and better service consumers.
Once you see what is being Said about Your Business, You Must React
The companion to Social Monitoring is Social Outreach based on the gathered intelligence. There are both direct and indirect response mechanisms that should be put in place with deal with consumer conversations about a business, where the direct channels must permit a business to quickly and substantively respond to consumer enquiries, concerns and pending crises. Indirect responses can be by way of consumer engagement campaigns, whether at the social network level and/or on your website, or preferably both.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how Social Intelligence Monitoring can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Your SEO must be target market researched -too many times we've been brought in to a site that's been "Search Engine Optimized" only to find that the keywords utilized either have nothing to do with the site's target market, are uncompetitive or not current to what the world is really searching for – in order to be truly effective!
CLOSEUP Agency uses target market SEO to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Target Market SEO starts with a Research based Optimization Program
Sometimes you think that a search word or phrase is perfect for your business – but in order to make it work you have to consider first whether your consumers are actually using it in their searches, second the scope of the market in terms of how many searches are actually being done with that phrase, and finally the level of the competition for that phrase in terms of the number of search engine results. Only then can you determine a proper SEO keyword optimization strategy that will be effective. A summary of considerations in SEO keyword choices include the following -
- Research on keyword traffic specific to your target market
- Research on keyword competitiveness, in how hard is it to rank on the 1st page for that search term
- Research on what the competition is doing and just as importantly what it’s not doing that can show missed opportunities
- Research on appropriate keyword search channels, including Google, Bing & Yahoo, but also Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn that have their own internal search engines and optimizations
Research & Strategy – we use a range of tools to identify the best keyword strategy for your site. For instance, is your business seasonal or related to seasonal volume changes in keywords? Are certain products or services to be prioritized for traffic? Business considerations such as these underpin our recommendations for appropriate keyword strategies.
Strategic Validation & Competitor Analysis – Are your keywords targeting the right markets and demographics? What strategies are your competition using? Where could your site get the best return? These are the types of questions we can help you answer.
Design & Build Analysis – If you are designing, redesigning or redeveloping your website and are looking for confirmation of whether it will be SEO-friendly, we review template and accessibility analysis - key elements of the site architectures. As well CMS (Content Management Systems) can be suggested as search engine friendly alternatives for best-practice execution.
Content Optimization – So very important for ongoing SEO and keyword placement, we theme optimize your website content consistent with Google’s latest algorithm considerations and your target market keywords either as part of an SEO set-up or as an ongoing activity
Link Building – High quality white hat link building should be part of your keyword strategy to reinforce keyword relevancy. We identify the nature and types of links that will generate the best return for your site, both in terms of building traffic and increasing Page Rank.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how an SEO program can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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QR stands for "Quick Response" codes and which are also known as "2D" Barcodes, are those square shaped graphic images that can be scanned by smartphones – upon scanning the codes send instructions the phone go to a website, dial a number or other automated function – making these Codes a great user convenience and a great marketing opportunity.
CLOSEUP Agency can provide a QR Code campaign to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
QR Codes are Becoming Increasing Popular
There are now more smartphones than desktop PCs! This means that the QR Code is becoming increasingly popular as a timesaving device that can take a user to a Brand's website, send an opt-in text message or take the user to a data collection form, all as a quick and easy means to market to prospective consumers.
Originally created in Japan to track automobile parts, QR Codes are truly a marketer's dream. They are becoming commonplace on art, billboards, buildings, buses, art, magazines, real estate signs and more - partly because of their ease of use and the explosion in smartphones. Current technologies make scanning the code in realtime quick and easy, allowing the embedded action to be initiated automatically.
Business Branding Opportunities with QR Codes
The way QR codes work is by storing information in a two dimensional image. Certain common images can hold up to 7,089 characters and as QR Codes are fault tolerant, they can be damaged and missing a portion of the code due to damage or wear and still be readable, there exists an opportunity to include graphics or colors into the codes for creative and marketing attention. For instance Brands can place their logos in the QR code. Additionally, since use of QR Codes can be tracked, marketers can be informed of when, where and potentially who uses a QR Code as a means of campaign testing and optimization.
Use QR Codes in conjunction with Your Mobile Website
Since the QR Code user is mobile, using their smartphone to scan and get information, the information they receive whether it be a form, text, video or other, should be in a mobile friendly format to render and show perfectly on a mobile device. What this means in practical terms is that directing a QR code to a regular website will likely have a low ROI due to the need to enlarge, scroll and find information, whereas a Mobile-friendly optimized website could present your marketing message in the best way for the smartphone user. As well mobile friendly websites are designed to download quickly, give the slightly slower speeds of the mobile web and be coded in a manner that user can view animations, images and videos on their devices. QR Code campaigns therefore go hand in hand with mobile-friendly optimized websites and should be used together for maximum benefit and impact.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how QR Codes can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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A tried and true means of getting the message out to media outlets and connections is through a Press Release, which also today doubles as web based content that can often by searched and indexed by the major Search Engines for a twofold benefit.
CLOSEUP Agency can compile a Press Release to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Press Releases now include Photo, Videos and Website information
A press release, news release, media release or video release is directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something newsworthy. Usually they are emailed or submitted through a distribution system to assignment editors at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, and/or television networks – can be targeted on a regional, national or vertical basis - for maximum effect. Release distribution websites have changed the way press releases are submitted thereby making news distribution more affordable and offering a level playing field for smaller businesses. These distribution sites are a repository of press releases and also provide for the release to be searchable via major search engines.
Drafting PR to be Noticed and Picked Up
The aim of a press release is to attract favorable media attention and provide publicity for businesses, products, services or events related. The press release must therefore necessarily provide reporters with information containing sufficient basics required to develop a news story. Announcements are commonly the subject of a press release such as scheduled events, promotions, awards, new products or services, accomplishments, etc. In every instance the Press Release must be properly drafted so as to first get the media’s attention, and next to provide a sufficient story that the reporter will take it and run with it or make further enquiries as to how the story could be fleshed out.
As the internet has developed, press release writing styles have evolved. Today editors of many media outlets often lack the staff to convert traditional press release prose into more readable, print-ready copy. As a result Press Releases must therefore be written as finished articles which deliver more than just the bare facts. A stylish, journalistic format coupled with a provocative storyline containing notable quotes can help to ensure wider distribution.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how Press Releases can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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There is shift to visual storytelling in today’s digital marketing campaigns which is consistent with how various social media channels encourage engagement (see Facebook’s Timeline). This paradigm shift presents new opportunities and challenges for marketers. Pictures and videos are attracting attention, being able to express emotions or ideas and consumers find it easier and quicker to identify with them. Accordingly you need pictures and videos that create a cohesive consumer experience and encourage a deeper relationship with your business.
CLOSEUP Agency can arrange Photo and Video Shoots to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Photos Generate 200% Higher Interaction Rate Takeaways
A recent study on Facebook interaction determined that photos have the highest interaction rate. Photos, and closely followed by videos, generate the highest interaction rate as they draw a consumer in visually, are easily digestible and can elicit an emotional response quickly. Using photos and videos can therefore easily increase interaction rates with your consumers.
Using Photos and Videos to Encourage Trust and One-on-One Messages
By someone seeing themselves, whether by existing or desired characteristic, in an image or video on your site, you have taken that first step in cognitive association that reduces the perceived risk a consumer has in dealing with you. In this sense, if what they see is images containing people like them enjoying or taking part in your products and services, on a very fundamental level there will be an enhanced level of comfort very similar to that encouraged by Social Proof. Images should be utilized then not only to showcase your products and services, where truly one image can often been worth a thousand words of text, but also as an associative device to convince consumers to trust and engage with your business.
Videos add to the consumer experience by involving animation that can truly focus a consumer’s attention like no other medium. It’s almost like a one on one experience where the video can act as a business’ spokesperson or sales person in communicating the business message, Call to Action and unique selling propositions directly to a consumer.
Adding Value to the Consumer Experience through Images and Video
Often consumers are not immediately ready to buy and are simply looking for businesses that offer what they will eventually need or what they eventually want to purchase. Images and video are invaluable in this situation in making your business appear authoritative and the go to expert for future buying decisions. Whether you use “How To” or explanation videos and pictures, you are saying to the consumer visiting your website or seeing your presentation, that you know what you are doing, are capable of being transparent about it and with a Call to Action embedded in the image or video, encouraging the consumer to take the next step to call, get information or purchase from you.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how Photo and Video Shoots can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Google just announced that it’s converting all its Business Local listings to Google+ Pages – which means that these Pages will made available in search results and will in part be ranked by the Consumer reviews of the particular business. There is no better time to take control of your business brand before someone else uses Google’s changes to outrank you!
CLOSEUP Agency can utilize Social Proof to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Local Businesses must now be more social – especially on Google+ Local
Google+ Local is set to change the game. The practices of setting up and optimizing your business information and then simply leaving it along has become a thing of the past. You must plan now to begin developing your social media presence on Google+ and elsewhere since Bing/Yahoo similarly use Facebook information by performing Social Listening and Social Media Campaigns. Start working on it now to get ahead of your competition, and to maintain and improve your position in local search rankings.
Your Brand is Already Online when Consumers Talk - Take Control!
More and more today's Branding is online, and through multiple channels. For instance while your website is often the starting point for digital Brand development, you have to take into account and control what people are saying about your brand in parallel digital channels of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Yelp, Foursquare, LinkedIn and more. This can be an overwhelming job for those not prepared and who don't understand how these digital spaces interact and intertwine. On the otherhand, multiple channel Branding offers the incredible opportunity to be in front of potential consumers wherever they might be, and whatever digital channel they prefer, as well as being able to take preventative and prospective steps to build and protect the Brand in the digital frontier.
Must have Consistency Across Multiple Channels in Message and Actions
We've found that consistency is the key to Branding across multiple digital channels - consistency in placement, consistency in interaction, consistency in look & feel, and consistency in the message although different terminology is utilized depending upon the channel chosen. This aspect of a Brand's marketing cannot be underestimated both in the power to expand the Brand's reach and footprint, but also from the perspective of being attuned to and reacting to negative Brand interactions. Essentially, you have to be there in the digital cloud to tell, listen and respond to existing and prospective consumers.
Our NBC "Love In The Wild" Branding Adventure
For the NBC adventure dating series shot in Costa Rica, we pioneered a fan site with close integration into Social Media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. The results were extraordinary in development of Brand presence and increased traffic over the period that the series was released, and ongoing interaction even months after the series climax. Direct interactions with the participants, their fans and NBC wove the Branding into a concentric portal for growing a community. This community building around this Brand showed the stickiness prospective consumers have for what is perceived as Brand with wide presence which translated directly into its increased Star Power!
Contact CLOSEUP Agency expand your Brand's online presence and Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Mobile marketing opportunities are here! There is no more a convenient tool than a mobile phone that’s with consumers 24/7 and therefore it can’t be any surprise that online searches are now greater than from desktop PC’s !
CLOSEUP Agency makes Mobile Marketing campaigns to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
The Next Stage of the Web is Mobile and it's Already Here!
At the start of 2012 there were over 25.8 million mobile phone subscribers in Canada (CWTA stats)- of this number nearly half (48%) of mobile phone users between 18 and 34 years old had a smartphone (data taken from the 2011 Cell Phone Consumer Attitudes Study – Quorus Consulting Group).
According to Google's research, more consumers use a mobile phone than use a computer (see report) and the mobile internet is today’s main driver of growth in time spent online. Rapid consumer adoption is creating opportunities and requirements for businesses to engage with mobile consumers. Gaining deep insight into mobile search & usage patterns provides the base and starting point of offering your products and services, as well as information satisfying true customer demands.
How to Take Advantage of These Mobile Opportunities
To attract mobile visitors to your website you have to have a number of elements that work together. First is a mobile-friendly optimized website that shows well on mobile devices including phones and tablets. Google has a special mobile-bot that is designed to index mobile websites, being those websites that offer a truly mobile optimized experience – this means that while many of today’s website can be viewed on mobile devices, they are not mobile friendly optimized in terms of being able to be viewed easily on a mobile phone without enlarging or scrolling or squinting. Next is to utilize trendy technologies that are hot today such as QR Codes and SMS texted promotions to direct traffic to the website. According to a MSN study 29% of mobile users are open to scanning a mobile code in order to get access to coupons. Finally, is to utilize location centric campaigns such as coupons and other promotions that can be sent to mobile devices and immediately redeemed by consumers on the move.
Mobile is inextricably linked with Social Networks
The MSN study shows that 91% of mobile access is to socialize – this statistic becomes even more important in your website marketing when you consider Google’s use of their Google+ social network which now under Google+ Local will have a check-in and reviews capability as a means of ordering search results for both mobile and PC searches. Already over 1/3 of Facebook’s users use mobile Facebook to keep in touch with each other. So both from the perspective of SEO and Social Network Marketing, your business Mobile Marketing strategy will become ever more important to execute and execute well.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how Mobile Marketing Campaigns can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Optimization for the mobile web does not mean that a website can simply be seen on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet, rather that the user experience is configured specifically for mobile devices. This means that your website content can be viewed easily without enlargement, side to side scrolling and that the images and videos are mobile device compatible, so that the mobile user experience is easy, clear and engaging, thus avoiding early departure for a competitor’s mobile website.
CLOSEUP Agency can build Mobile Friendly optimized websites to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Smartphones are Now Outselling desktop PC’s so Your Website Must be Mobile
According to a Microsoft Mobile study already in 2011 more than 50% of all “local” searches were done from a mobile device. Just as important is where these searches were done – they found that 86% of mobile users were watching TV while using a mobile phone – the mobile device is convenient and consumer convenience ultimately is a game changer. A Google Mobile study (at http:/google/events/thinkmobile2011/html) similarly found that mobile searches quadrupled in 2011 and that for many items one in seven searches are now from mobile devices. In addition Google mobile statistics showed:
• 1 in 3 mobile searches are local.
• After looking up a local business on their smartphone, 61% of users called the business and 59% visited the business.
• 79% of smartphone users use their smartphones to help with shopping
• 71% of smartphone users that see TV, press or online ads, do a mobile search for more information.
• 79% of large online advertisers still do not have a mobile optimized site.
Current Opportunities for Businesses that go Mobile Friendly
The research shows that while the trend is toward mobile searches on the web, most businesses are behind the trend in not having mobile friendly optimized websites. This means that there is indeed opportunities for first mover businesses to capitalize on this new consumer trend by offering a better mobile experience than available from the competition. In addition, Google announced the existence of a special mobile bot or search indexer in early 2012, that is specifically looking for websites that are mobile optimized to include in its search rankings. By being mobile optimized your business can look toward more favourable treatment by the world’s largest search engine – a win-win for the business, consumers and search engines.
Going Mobile can be Easy by using Existing Website Content
It’s possible to simply repurpose your existing website content for optimal mobile consumption if the website is built on a CMS (content management system), else a separate mobile website may be required. In either case you want to make sure that the most important elements of your website including mobile capable data collection forms, coupons that are mobile capable and telephone numbers that can simply be clicked to call, in order that the consumer can take immediate action while on the go upon visiting your mobile website.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how Mobile Website Optimization can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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The quality of a Sales Presentation often determines whether a prospect buys from You or Your competitions. Unfortunately most presentations lack the excitement and clarity of a Call to Action sufficient to motivate consumers to make buying decisions. You want a presentation that will help you motivate buyers.
CLOSEUP Agency can build a digital Sales Presentation to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
What CLOSEUP Agency can do for Your Business Presentations
First, We make a Presentation Relevant … to your target consumer. This may require more than one presentation since the discussion of your product or service must be adapted to each type of customer you are seeking to attract and sell to – portions of the Presentation will be consistent throughout - but it will be modified to include specific points that are unique to particular customers describing how the key slides relate to their situation and show exactly how your product or service solves their specific problem.
Second, We Create a Connection between your product/service and the consumer. We focus on the benefits of your products and services, not the features. The presentation is about telling customers what they will get by using your product or service versus your competitors within the context of their specific problem.
Third, We Get to Your Point. Today’s consumers are far too accustomed to tuning out to long-winded presentations. We showcase your key points are and make them quickly for highest engagement and recall.
Fourth, We Are Animated. Boring and unimaginative describe most sales presentations – so if you really want to stand out from the crowd you musty demonstrate enthusiasm and energy in the presentation.
Fifth, We Use Showmanship. Consider the impact of the showing how something will happen approach compared to the typical approach of saying something like, “We can help make it happen.” This is the key difference in incorporating some form of showmanship into your presentation.
We use the Steve Jobs Presentation Philosophy
Make Impactful Presentations, Make it about the Consumer and Make it Short – these are the essences of crafting a presentation that sells and was one of the hallmarks of that great presenter Steve Jobs. He suggested turning case studies into stories that your customers can associate with, and relate to as he said in his first short story, “You can only connect the dots by looking back.”
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how a digital Sales Presentation can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Your website should not be looked at as simply living by itself, rather it should be viewed as the centre piece of a web based solar system. What this means is that having a website without a Web Strategy designed to Increase Website Traffic means that your website will have few if any visitors.
CLOSEUP Agency increases Website Traffic to Increase Your Business in Cambridge, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, London, Woodstock, Windsor, Hamilton and Niagara areas.
Increasing Website Traffic Starts with Choice of Web Technologies and a Story
When you realize that the web is actually made up of many different traffic channels such as search engines, directory links, banner advertising, social media referrals, social bookmarkting, and more, then it becomes clear that directing traffic to a website requires a plan to attract this traffic. Even if only search engine traffic is to be used, how the website and its constituent parts of images, content, meta-descriptions and more have to be treated, are all considerations when putting together your business web strategy – in choosing what we refer to as appropriate web technologies.
However, the web is often looked at as only a matter of web technology, and while there should be a fundamental digital architecture that forms the basis of being searchable and linkable, the technologies must be designed to do what the web is really about - that is telling a Digital Story. Stories have been passed down through the ages, whether by word of mouth or in print, and have educated us, convinced us and caused us to take action. This concept of Digital Storytelling applies even more so now - it's the stories, the experiences, and the ability to engage that presents the true promise of digital – especially when the world’s greatest search engines are focusing their efforts on ranking websites with the most compelling, up to date and popular stories.
Your Web Strategy will then show You how to increase Your Website Traffic
Story telling in ways to educate, convince and cause consumers to take action through engaging content, social media referrals and channels that connect to target markets, are some key elements of what will become your Web Strategy, which among other things should take into account the following aspects of effective web marketing:
#1 - Having a Digital Presence in the Channels utilized by target markets
#2 - Engaging those Channel Members in such a way as to Educate, Convince and Take Action
#3 - Using Digital Delivery methods that offer value to target markets and in turn allow you to track engagements, ROI, and remarket on a permission basis.
To accomplish these goals you need creative concepts and design direction - that in turn is supported by copywriting, content development, and rich media design and development – all part of a cohesive Web Strategy. In this way you will develop content that builds an emotional and meaningful connection with audiences, a cohesiveness Brand message across channels, and increased Digital Traffic to your business and value proposition.
Contact CLOSEUP Agency to see how to craft a Web Strategy to increase Website Traffic that can Increase Your Business - Call CLOSEUP Agency at (226) 444-9718
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Linking Strategies & Campaigns
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