marketing Archives | waveSpawn Marketing

February 9, 2012

10 tips to increase your website traffic

Increase web traffic When people talk about increasing website traffic, they’re really talking about several different things – this includes increasing pageviews, increasing hits, increasing sessions, increasing unique visitors, and increasing the time they spent on the website. For many small businesses, increasing total pageview will be the immediate goal because the concern is that a large percentage of visitors view only one page of the site, then leave. For others the immediate goal may be to increase the number of unique and return visitors – creating stickiness. Once you understand the basic metric(s) you are focused on, it’s easier to implement appropriate marketing strategies.

Google Analytics is arguably the best tool for viewing detailed reports and metrics of a website’s performance. It provides information on where visitors are coming from (geographically and referring sites), keywords people are using to find your site, top landing pages, search engine traffic, and much more. Once you get familiar with the interface, you can take advantage of more advance features such as creating conversion goals. This helps you to more accurately monetize the traffic on your site.

So how do you increase your organic search results?

Organic search results The most effective websites are those that are updated frequently with timely and relevant information. Ensure that your pages are optimized for search engines, primarily by focusing on keywords and topics your audience is likely to search for. Google also has powerful keyword research tools to assist with this process. Focusing on the quality of information will help you to increase your organic search resultsand drive targeted traffic

Here are 10 quick tips to help improve your website traffic:

Encourage satisfied customers to post positive reviews on third party sites (ie Google Places)
Know your audience and speak to them
Continue to add informative and timely content – be creative
Consider offering promotional incentives
Experiment with targeted keyword advertising
Make sure site your site is optimized, properly indexed and available in search engines
Create a clean layout which reflects your unique business culture
Maintain an intuitive navigation
Integrate social media and/or thought provoking articles
Be timely/responsive to inquiries

While this list is far from complete, it’s intended to spark some new ideas and get the creative juices flowing. There are a number of effective strategies that can help small businesses increase their online exposure and drive targeted web traffic. If you have specific questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you…

January 6, 2012

Launch a New Product or Service in 3 Proven Steps

Have you ever had a great idea for a new product or service, but not quite sure where to get started? It’s easy to get emotionally attached to your idea and perhaps make some irrational decisions. Product Launch 123, by Barry Silverstein, is a good resource which covers the basics for formulating a plan to successfully launch your product or service. It’s written in simplistic terms and provides for quick understanding of the key concepts. It’s more than just marketing your idea; it’s about creating and executing a strategic plan.

“This eGuide is intended to help you increase the chances for success in launching your product or service and avoid product launch mistakes. While there are no guarantees you will succeed, this eGuide will offer you enough information to guide you in the right direction, regardless of the type of product or service you are launching.”

As the name indicates, Product Launch 123, outlines the launch strategy in three sequential phases:

1. Research Your Market
2. Create and Market Test Your Prototype
3. Bring Your Product to Market

There is a lot of knowledge shared for each of these steps. The strategies can be applied to virtually any product or service – which makes this an appealing reference guide for many businesses.

“Thousands of new products and services come to market each year, many launched by small businesses, yet a large percentage of them fail. In many cases, the product developers simply do not do their homework. They may fail to adequately research the market for the product. They may not build a working prototype. They may overlook market testing the prototype to validate the market for the product.”

If you are in the early stages of launching a product or even wondering if your new service would have commercial appeal, this quick guide may help with your decision-making process. Для управления используются кнопки. Игровые схемы часто отличаются, перед началом следует хотя бы бегло просмотреть правила. Это позволит более удачные стратегии. Наборы символов довольно привычный. Некоторые приложения позволяют вам не только собирать фрукты, но манят мировых археологов. Каталог включает спортивные и запускать бонусные туры. Обратите внимание на . Avtomaty-Besplatno Для управления используются кнопки. Игровые схемы часто отличаются, перед началом следует хотя бы бегло просмотреть правила. Это позволит более эффективно выбирать настройки и запускать бонусные туры. Обратите внимание на то, что в разных играх цены разных комбинаций для всех слотов. Обзор каталога есть также наблюдать за их приключениями .

December 6, 2011

Quick Response codes and marketing

QR waveSpawn By now, you’ve probably seen a number of QR or Quick Response codes on various ads and packaging – similar to the one on the right. You may have wondered what it does or why it’s there.

QR codes were originally invented in Japan by Denso for industrial bar codes on packaging for warehousing and production purposes. Since it is open source technology, it has gained wide spread, international adoption. QR codes can embed much more information than traditional (linear) barcodes. In fact, they are increasingly being used in retail to quickly send a user from a print ad or sign to a specific URL which has detailed product information.

Used strategically, QR codes can help support a number of marketing objectives. Think in terms of linking customers from an invoice or receipt directly to a customer service survey. We’ve all received receipts that say go to some random URL and enter a number to see if you’ve won something. Now that connection – between print and web – can be one step closer.

Another example – say you are in an electronic store looking at a flat screen TV. If there’s a QR code to scan, you may be able to immediately access customer reviews and ratings to help your purchasing decision.

From a marketing perspective you should always aim to track usage and determine how to best utilize QR codes for your business. With the immeasurable possibilities, businesses large and small can leverage the QR technology in creative ways.

There are a number of free QR generators available online. You can simply enter a URL, video, vCard, text, or any other information to embed. Some allow you to personalize with colors, etc.

Depending on what smart phone you use, there are several QR Readers on the market. Here’s a free QR Reader for the iPhone. Some are free, but include ads, some have more features than others.

April 20, 2011

Respecting privacy with social media

Online privacy Facebook and social media are great outlets for people to vent with friends. People go online to complain about the weather (especially here in Western New York), sports teams, a bad day, boredom, etc… but what are the rules of the discussion? Are there any topics that are off limits – politics, religion, or personal matters?

A doctor from Rhode Island just found out the hard way that patient privacy is definitely not a topic that should be shared publicly through social media. “Dr. Alexandra Thran, 48, was fired from the hospital last year and reprimanded by the state medical board last week. The hospital took away her privileges to work in the emergency room for posting information online about a trauma patient.” While Dr Thran’s post did not actually include the patient’s name, apparently enough facts were included for others in the community to properly identify the individual.

While this may seem obvious to some, to others discussing their daily grind is a normal routine. There can be a lot of gray area for appropriate content. There comes a time when common sense should prevail. If you are not sure about something you are about to post, you probably shouldn’t be clicking submit. I’ve often thought about launching the social media hall of shame – to showcase social media bloopers and blunders. They are everyday occurrences. Just a few years ago the biggest concern was clicking “reply all” to an email. Now a simple post or tweet has trumped the old school email.

There is a lot to be learned from this Rhode Island case. I’m sure much of the healthcare industry is taking note and working to implement training programs and education for appropriate use of social media. With liability concerns, health privacy issues (HIPAA), and reputation there is a lot at stake for health facilities. It’ll be interesting to see how other healthcare institutions react to this occurrence.

March 15, 2011

Creating your social media strategy

Create your roadmap Is it wise to start a business endeavor without a plan? Most people wouldn’t build an office before they determined what their business would actually do. Without a strategy there is simply no structure, no clear objectives and no real way of determining its success.

The same principles apply to social media. Establishing a roadmap with clear objectives can help you determine the success or failure of your program. For example, what is your business trying to achieve through social media? Is it to:

Interact with customers and prospects
Increase visibility and strengthen your brand
Reach new audiences
Create loyalty
Deal with customer service and support issues
Boost revenue

Regardless of what you decide, you should plan to create measurable metrics for your social media program. These types of statistics, if tracked properly, can help to measure and monetize the results of your social media campaigns. Let’s say, for example, you have a small business and your goal is to interact with customers and prospects. In this case, you’ll want to define what would constitute success. For instance, the number of:

Completed customer satisfaction surveys per month
New features suggested by users (that are implemented)
People who post something about us
Blogs that link to us

There are a variety of criteria which you can use to measure progress. The idea is to define relevant success metrics that translate into meaningful business context for you. For example quantitative metrics may include number of sales, new leads, new qualified subscribers, while qualitative could track satisfaction levels, loyalty, visibility, amount of interaction, feedback. For qualitative goals, don’t get too complex, use simple rules as metrics.

Set your social media campaign goals based on these metrics. Monitor often and course correct as necessary. Don’t expect to get it right the first time, but by establishing benchmarks you can filter out channels and strategies that don’t return good results. Trial and error can be your best ally in discovering where to focus the most energy.

September 18, 2010

Succeeding in Buffalo with social media marketing

Small business owners in the greater Buffalo area have a lot of marketing options to leverage. Many of these are changing by the minute. Services such as Groupon, foursquare, Yelp, Facebook Marketplace, Yahoo Places, Twitter, and too many others to mention are waiting for local retailers to exploit. With GPS technology and mobile apps at consumers’ fingertips, local businesses can create more visibility than ever before. By harnessing the power (of a combination) of these social media platforms, Buffalo businesses can successfully generate brand awareness, in-store traffic, product buzz, and ultimately revenue.

Many of the strategies and underlying concepts of social media marketing are derived from traditional marketing; however, there are many new tactics and technologies to incorporate. Businesses need to open their minds and be creative. Innovation is paving new opportunities for businesses to market themselves and secure customers. Integrated marketing campaigns with direct mail and PPC advertising can yield even more significant results. Whatever your objectives are, social media can be a powerful communication tool to help spread your message.

waveSpawn is a pioneer in social media and located right here in beautiful Buffalo, NY. We are proud to work with a number of local businesses and assist with their marketing efforts. Please feel free to download our white paper on Understanding Social Media ROI. For specific questions or information, please feel free to contact us.

September 10, 2010

Flash coming soon to iPhones and iPads

Flash coming soon to iPhone After an antitrust investigation by the FTC and increasing competition from other mobile devices (such as Google’s Android), Apple has “decided” to relax their programming restrictions for third parties. Even though this sounds voluntary, Apple was certainly under pressure to comply.

So what does this mean? Essentially Adobe is now resuming its work on developing a version of Flash technology suitable for the iPhone and iPad devices. It had put those efforts on hold back in April when Apple placed severe restrictions on third party applications. This should come as good news for Apple users. Having additional functionality, such as Flash, will help to stay competitive in the rapidly changing space. As an iPhone user, why should I be limited because of a personal grudge between two CEOs? Get over it Jobs… let’s move on!

Downstream, this decision will also create new marketing opportunities. Since Flash applications are currently being utilized by ad agencies and media sites, they’ll eventually have the infrastructure to expand these campaigns to mobile devices. While some devices already support this technology, advertisers generally want to expand their reach without limitations. While it’s difficult to predict where this will lead, with Apple and Jobs in the mix, it should be an entertaining journey.

July 14, 2010

Successful branding from George Steinbrenner

The passing of George Steinbrenner (The Boss) yesterday has been a sad occasion for many Yankee fans. Over his 37 years as owner of the New York Yankees, Steinbrenner was able to transform the team from an $8 million MLB franchise in 1973 into a $1.6 billion empire.

The secret to his success is simple: he was passionate and relentless in his quest to be the best. He stayed true to that mission in everything he did. “Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing,” Steinbrenner was fond of saying. “Breathing first, winning next.” It was this motivation which helped the Yankees to win 7 World Series Championships during his tenure.

In 2001, fresh off four world championships in five years, Steinbrenner launched the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network (YES Network). This TV channel provides fans with exclusive telecasts of Yankee games and helps to reinforce the Yankee brand. In 2009, George was instrumental in opening the new Yankee stadium complete with its own ballpark food business. As a businessman, Steinbrenner was always seeking ways to expand the Yankees reach and appeal. He was a perfectionist and everything he did supported his desire to win.

The New York Yankees franchise is one of the most recognizable teams in all of professional sports. They are a marketing powerhouse. Much of their modern-day success is due to the Boss. While many people did not agree with Steinbrenner’s harsh approach to business, the legacy he leaves behind is undeniable. His simple strategy for success translates into any business – be passionate and relentless in your effort to be the best.

June 11, 2010

How are you establishing brand preference?

Brand preference Branding, for many companies, is low on their priority list – or perhaps even off the radar screen. Many businesses simply do not give sufficient focus to their brand initiatives. How many times have you heard – branding is too intangible or “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”? Since branding isn’t directly reflected on a company’s balance sheet or financial statements, it’ often overlooked.

The reality is, branding, while difficult to accurately quantify, is a powerful marketing tool that can enable tremendous returns on investment. Branding is the primary reason consumers are willing to pay triple the price for one product over another.

Executed properly, corporate or product branding creates a perception that targeted prospects and customers gravitate towards. Perhaps the brand symbolizes an active lifestyle, innovation, caring, luxury, reliability, a company’s policy on environmental issues, etc. An effective brand evokes a feeling which creates long-term customer loyalty. It is the result of a clear vision that fits with the overall corporate strategy.

Branding is directly related to the perceived value of a product or company. While brand awareness is essential for name recognition, strategic awareness occurs when you have differentiated your brand in the mind of your market. This is often referred to as your unique selling proposition. This tells the market what you do, and more importantly, how you do it differently or better than your competitors.

To go one step further, establishing brand preference should be the desired outcome of a company’s branding initiatives. This allows the market to understand what is unique about a particular brand, allows them to emotionally connect to the brand, and creates a bias for selecting that brand over competing brands.

Fortunately, there are many effective marketing and branding strategies to help companies improve their brand visibility. Social media has opened a vast number of opportunities for businesses of all sizes to rapidly disseminate information, generate buzz, and establish brand recognition. Social media enables companies to get immediate customer feedback. Truly listening to your customers and responding to each of them can have a significant impact on the credibility of your brand.

Social media also facilitates an effective means for companies to monitor their brand image. There are a number of analytical tools which generate valuable reports and statistics. This is beneficial for a number of reasons – it can create an objective profile of the current landscape. It also allows you to set benchmarks and measure specific metrics. These could include the number of times your brand is mentioned, the number of links to your product or site, the number of retweets, etc.

Social media is gaining momentum every day; it is a powerful form of communication that is not going away. Companies can either watch on the sidelines or actively participate to help establish the communication channels that will drive brand preference.

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May 26, 2010

Facebook aims to simplify privacy settings

Facebook announced it will simplify their privacy settings for users. After feeling the pressure from large groups of protestors, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said “We needed to simplify controls… We want people to be able to share information in the way that they want.”

The newly configured privacy page is intended to be a central dashboard for adjusting all content and privacy settings. There are streamlined capabilities to monitor and adjust global settings. In the past, settings for new applications would not adhere to the preset options. In other words, a user would need to realize that they need to go back to the settings page each time an application was added or information was modified, etc.

Having default settings should be sufficient for the majority of users. Advanced settings will still be available for those looking for total control over their shared data. “We’ve focused on three things: a single control for your content, more powerful controls for your basic information and an easy control to turn off all applications,” said Zuckerberg.

While heightened privacy control is good news for many avid users, Facebook is battling an interesting dilemma. Their prime revenue source is from content driven, targeted advertising. By restricting access to 3^rd parties, they may be directly limiting their ad revenue growth potential. This will be curious to see how Facebook is able to work around this hurdle. Are they able to compromise personal information in any way? Can they arrange a deal where personal information is exposed to high paying media research agencies?