After the success of our last SEO event, Creative Agency Secrets has teamed with KOR Creative to bring you Unlocked: SEO and Video Secrets!
With more customers reaching for businesses that utilise digital channels, it pays to invest in a good online strategy. SEO can help your website gain more traffic and leads, whilst video provides a visual appeal. Video and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) are two key elements to increase your search engine ranking.
Rebecca Caroe and Steve Wallace have prepared a breakfast seminar where you can learn how to attract quality traffic to your website, through SEO and Video.
You will also have the opportunity to network with local business owners while feasting on a breakfast of your choice at this exclusive CAS and KOR event!
There are a limited amount of seats, so be sure to get in quick.
Enter the code BIZDOJO2017 for a 50% discount at the checkout!
https://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/shutterstock_577535434-1.jpg6671000Creative Agency Secrets Teamhttps://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CAS_Logo_1line_RGB.jpgCreative Agency Secrets Team2017-06-24 10:02:182017-06-23 17:39:51You are invited to... UNLOCKED: SEO and Video Secrets
You want to run an event for your business promotion, but are unsure how to promote it and get attendees. This playbook of tips encourages cross-publicity from offline to online and helps to build up an email mailing list which will also help with future promotions.
Starting with a focus on Social Media
1 – Creating excellent content about your event speaker(s). This should be original so ask for an interview and video them as they talk to you.
2 – Edit their interview into 90 seconds long videos. Include a start and end “card” with the event logo and your business URL. Add sub-titles so the Facebook feed will play them and the watcher can understand. Start to publish on Facebook and LinkedIn and link to the video on other relevant channels (local newspapers, Neighbourly, Chamber of Commerce etc)
3 – Publish the video to your Website blog
4 – Make a picture of the presenter and include a quotation from their 2017 speech. Also share this on Facebook and on your blog. On the picture, always have your URL
5 – Follow the presenter’s personal blog / websites. This is so you can do curated content.
6 – Every Friday send an email to your mailing list with a link to the video you published that week. Also include links to the other articles written by the speaker(s) from your list in 5 above.
Here is a good example of a preview video from a conference
https://vimeo.com/156510830
7 – Encourage readers to add comments to the videos as you share them. What questions does this raise for you? How would you solve this? Does this match with your experience?
8 – On the website, add a prominent signup to news form either by lightbox or on the page header – explain what people get when they sign up (Fridaynews with new educational video content and links to expert articles)
9 – Also publish the newsletter on the blog every week
10 – As the event gets closer, add in more publicity for the speakers on the theme of the event itself – you can do this by asking the speaking team to allow you to interview them by Hangout or Skype video chat. Your interview should be 3 questions only.
11 – Get your video edited down to 90 seconds as in 2 above.
12 – Make a still image of the person with a quote from the video (just like above)
13 – Share on social, add to the newsletter, encourage people to comment or ask questions. Ask the speakers to also share the video onto their website and social channels.
14 – Continue weekly until you release the tickets for the event. By this time you should have a good mailing list of prospects and this will help early bird ticket sales.
The Webstock conference in Wellington each February is a very good example o this methodology – join their mailing list to see how it can be done. Note their newsletter also shares jobs and event listings which is a very nice way to enable them to stay relevant in the year between conferences.
Go rock your event… and don’t forget to video it and release the video afterwards so the people who didn’t come realise what they missed!
There will always be debate when it comes to marketing a business using digital and traditional marketing methods, and while there are no right or wrong ways when it comes to marketing a business, you’ll find a lot of business owners prefer one of the routes rather than both. Some marketers prefer traditional marketing because their target audience is local, whereas others prefer digital marketing because they’re trying to target an audience on a global scale.
Traditional and Digital Marketing ImageCredit: LinkedIn
However, both techniques are a lot more similar than people think and here are a few points that would suggest this.
Both Techniques Offer Cost-Effective Marketing Strategies
The great benefit of both techniques is that while the cost in marketing can vary a lot depending on the methods used, both techniques still offer free or very affordable marketing strategies. Take digital marketing, for example, where there are no costs involved when it comes to social media marketing unless a business wants to take advantage of one of the advertising platforms available. The same also goes for a traditional marketing method such as leaflet distribution – leaflets cost very little to print and paying someone to distribute them is affordable.
If you’re looking to market a business but you’re unsure of what route to take, consider obtaining a master in marketing online using an online MSM program, as that will give you the knowledge you need to take your business forward.
Each Marketing Strategy Can Target a Specific Demographic
With the help of social media platforms, it’s now very easy to get insight on demographics so you can target a specific age range or country, which makes digital marketing very easy. The same goes for traditional marketing methods such as leaflet distribution – you can easily target family homes or specific age ranges thanks to local/online records and user statistics.
Excellent Chance of Success
Whether you opt for the traditional marketing route, digital marketing, or even both, you can be sure that both techniques offer a brilliant chance of success if the correct marketing strategies are deployed. There is no higher chance of success rate for either technique as each offers different prospects depending on the type of business and audience you’re targeting – so taking advantage of both techniques could prove to be successful.
Techniques Can Be Used Together
The benefit of both marketing techniques is that they can be used together. If your business is new, you can always opt for a digital marketing strategy using social media to keep costs at a minimum, but there’s nothing wrong with using both techniques together as your business starts to grow. Most businesses will advertise locally using postcards and leaflets, but then they will also start a social media marketing campaign around the same time to get more exposure.
Both marketing techniques offer a variety of benefits depending on the business that implements them. However, even though they are completely different techniques in terms of the work involved in marketing, the above suggests that they are, in fact, quite similar after all.
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https://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/traditional-digital-marketing.png6341202Rebecca Caroehttps://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CAS_Logo_1line_RGB.jpgRebecca Caroe2017-06-14 12:39:112022-12-19 11:57:244 Points That Suggest Traditional and Digital Marketing Methods are Similar
Are you looking to build a loyal following among your customers? Great marketing strategies brought them to you, but now it’s your job to keep them. Marketing can only do so much and it is important to understand that there is nothing more effective than customer care when seeking to grow your market. Poor customer service is one of the leading reasons why so many consumers hop from one company to the next, and if you want to keep your current customer base while adding new customers along the way, it would pay to focus on making improvements to customer retentions skills.
Here are 3 of the most important to begin with.
1. Stop Talking and Start Listening
Sometimes it’s hard to stop talking about the products or services you are promoting because you, personally, know what they can do and how effective they are. Unfortunately, all the benefits you might be talking about may not be what the customer is looking for. Instead of giving them a sales pitch, why don’t you listen to exactly what it is they are looking for? What brought them to you may not be what they need, but by listening to them you may be able to provide them with an alternative solution. Consumers are literally fed up with high powered sales techniques and above all, they want to be heard!
2. When You MUST Talk – Give Them Something of Value
Sometimes you don’t need to say very much at all if you can point your customers in the direction of where they can find the information they are seeking.
For example, you are explaining a new electronic device your company just launched and a very important feature is the amazing circuitry on the printed circuit board or PCB. Many consumers are technologically challenged, so why not provide an extensive FAQ on your website? Give them information on exactly what a printed circuit board is and why its design is a critical element in your device. Perhaps any safeguards you’ve built in against hardware Trojans can be mentioned so they will know that you care about their security as well as making the almighty buck!
And Air New Zealand helps its customers work out what sort of holiday they prefer using a simple quiz. This groups customers into segments which will affect future messaging and content served to them. Gamifying customer segments increases engagement and helps customers to self-identify as different to the brand.
3. Improve Your Own Knowledge
It’s important at this point to know the difference between a consumer who knows little about electronics, for example, and a consumer who is market savvy. Just because they don’t know what a PCB is or how its design can impact the device you are promoting, doesn’t mean they can tell the difference between a salesman and a tech-savvy associate! If you want to retain customers, it pays to learn as much as you can about the products and/or services you offer. You never know when that one answer to an important question a customer comes back with next week is the main reason they stay with your company for future sales.
In the end, it’s all about hearing what your customers are saying so that you can give them well-informed answers to any questions which might arise. If they can believe in you, the person they are communicating with, they can believe in your company. Salesforce says that as many as 70% of customers look for that all-important connection. Do you want to retain customers you’ve sold? Listen to what they are saying! Sometimes, it’s as simple as that.
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https://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/3-Ways-to-Improve-Customer-Retention.jpg9001350Sudip Mutthttps://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CAS_Logo_1line_RGB.jpgSudip Mutt2017-06-10 10:49:552019-11-14 04:03:203 Ways to Improve Customer Retention
Working with a client who makes animated explainer videos – Case Study of how to grow referrals. We discuss three ways they can get more referral business.
Image by NWeSource
1.Innovations in your specialism
Every market changes over time – fads pass, new ideas surface. So write about what’s happening in your market. Consider writing about styles, techniques, innovations to be added onto an explainer video (if that’s your business). So which new styles are coming about? Where did each one come from – background and timeline of the evolution.
In the writing analyse the change, what are the component parts, which elements stand out. You could add in new uses for explainer videos – for example in a PitchPack video brochure.
The goal:
Give the reader the education and tools to make an analysis themselves of whether their archive of explainer videos is getting dated
Show your opinion as a market leader on what’s good, what’s new and what’s to be avoided
Create content which you can share with past clients and encourage them to update their videos and re-buy from you. [This is referring back to prior clients, not new ones.]
2. Create a Call list
You need to speak to people if you sell in Business to Business (B2B). The best way to start a dialogue is with Open Questions. These encourage a longer response from the other person and give you insight into their views on a topic. Any insight enables you to position your services as a solution to issues they raise.
Here’s an example of a call prompt (not really a script).
“Hello, Rebecca. I sent you our article about new styles in explainer videos. I just wanted to get your opinion on it. What did you think?”
Can you imagine how the call will develop into a discussion?
Yes, so can I.
Whether you get a new job immediately or not, you stand a good chance of doing some good things
Checking your contact database is still current – add new names in if you can
Finding out the current situation in the client business with regard to your service offering
Reminding them that you exist and have been trusted with work in the past
Updating your CRM with lead status (cold, warm, hot)
Possibly opening new opportunities for new business.
Create this call list from a list of all your clients from the past 3 years (more if you’ve been in business longer). Also add to the list from your Linked In connections and those from your co-workers. Goal to have 100 people on the list to call.
Plan on making 3 calls per week, per person in your team. Yes, new business development requires discipline and is hard. We can teach you how…
3. Getting Referrals
Start to build a referral marketing engine into your daily project work as well. We find what works best is to connect with them early in the project.
Start with a “Happy call” when you ring asking for feedback on how the job is going.
Then build on this with a similar call just after the project has been delivered. Remind them of what they said on the earlier call. This is the moment to ask for a testimonial for the project team.
After getting this, I usually wrap up by asking
Do you know anyone else who might like to meet us?
My goal is to get two names of people as an introduction. My big tip to make this successful is to ask the question and then to stay silent until the other person has come up with a name…. stay silent as they “ummm” and say “maybe”, “well”, “I’m not sure” and still stay silent and they will 80% of the time come up with a name. If they firmly say no, you can prompt with – maybe a co-worker in a different team or maybe someone from your previous job and see if that can deliver a name.
How to use the introduction….. write an email to BOTH people. This is my template email that works.
Subject: NAME OF THE INTRODUCER
Hi Alex,
Our AGENCY NAME has just completed a job for INTRODUCER and s/he suggested you as someone who might like to get to know us.
We completed an explainer video (link) for INTRODUCER.
I took a look at your website and [something helpful here which they can use immediately].
Looking forward to connecting.
Lots of love from Rebecca (only joking… use an appropriate sign off).
I always cc the introducer in this message so they know what I said.
In the email you could tell them about the customer satisfaction scores or Net Promoter Score which your team has acquired over time. Or link to TrustPilot Reviews or your Google My Business Review score.
The follow up call is just a friendly get to know you call. No selling. But if you feel it’s gone well you can follow up with an email linking to a helpful resource from your website. Here’s one I use frequently.
This is an example of the type of helpful marketing tips which Creative Agency Secrets writes in our newsletter and blog.We want to enable you to buy web services as an informed consumer (and we don’t build websites, we help our clients to use them actively to win new client business).
Cute eh?
Then you have to put them onto a stay-in-touch programme or ask if they will allow you to stay in touch with a newsletter subscription. Either way, one call won’t win you business but a dedicated process to provide utility (usefulness) to them, will ensure you are remembered and they take your calls in future.
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https://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/referral-NWeSource.png420596Rebecca Caroehttps://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CAS_Logo_1line_RGB.jpgRebecca Caroe2017-06-08 17:13:202022-12-19 11:57:24Case Study: Three ways to increase referrals
Online reviews are a cornerstone of how consumers make decisions whether to buy a product or not.If you see a product that you want, you will read through the reviews to make sure that you are going to be getting what you need from the product.If the product website does not have reviews, the odds are good that you are searching online for one that does have them.But what if you are the business that is getting reviewed?There is a certain level of expectation that you are not going to have 100% positive reviews, right?Here we discuss some ways that you can handle negative reviews online.
The Site Does Not Matter
It does not matter if the review was posted on a very well-known site or one that you might have never heard of, people will find it online.That means you have to take all of them seriously and get a plan in order so that you can defend your business against them.The first time that you see a negative online review about your business you are probably wishing that you had an online public relations degree.Build a plan and stick to it and then reviews will eventually get taken care of on all the sites they are posted to.
Contact the Review Site First
Depending on the review site where you found the negative review, you might be able to contact them about it.Take a minute and search through the site to see if you can find contact information relevant to your review and how to handle it properly.If you think the review was added by a competitor, you may have a leg to stand on to get it removed, but the process will have to be fool proof.
Join In and Engage The Reviewer
If the website that you find the negative reviews on allows you to respond to them, take a minute and do just that.Being able to explain the situation to them and possibly clear up the reasons they left the review is the first step to repairing your reputation.There is not really any need to hire a public relations expert for this, but an intern working towards an online masters in public relations might not be a bad place to start looking for help.
Always Encourage Positive Reviews from Customers
In many cases, and to keep things fair, you might find that negative reviews are not going to disappear from the internet.If that is the case, you can combat them by asking your future customers to leave positive reviews if they are satisfied with your business.There is nothing wrong with asking for some help if they are truly happy with your services.Over time, this will push the negative reviews and bring your overall average rating up, helping your business.
Take a minute to take a look at your business and if there is anything that might cause a negative review.There could be a few easy fixes that you can do to keep the negative reviews to a minimum.Good luck!
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https://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/deal-with-negative-reviews.png8841280Rebecca Caroehttps://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CAS_Logo_1line_RGB.jpgRebecca Caroe2017-06-05 10:00:002017-06-28 17:01:16How to Deal with Negative Online Reviews
Every good business owner and marketer knows that standing out from the crowd is important when it comes to attracting the interest of potential customers. However, when millions of companies around the world are all competing for the top spots and the most customers, standing out from the crowd can often feel impossible. Yet, some companies manage to do it, so it’s entirely possible to get both existing and potential customers to take notice of you, rather than your competition. Here are some of the best ways to encourage this.
#1. Novelty Marketing Methods:
When it comes to marketing efforts, today’s customers are used to it. Nobody is going to be wowed by Facebook banner ads, website pop-ups or being added to an email marketing list – it’s all fairly standard today, and being bombarded with advertisements has become the norm for anybody opening up their laptop or picking up their smartphone to go online. So, think outside of the box when it comes to marketing. Old-fashioned methods such as sending postcards, for example, are rarely used today. Therefore, you have an opportunity to take advantage of the gap and stand out from the crowd. Check out these great postcard design ideas for inspiration.
#2. Become an Authority:
Becoming an online ‘authority’ is trickier than it may sound, especially today when the web is filled with new content on an hourly basis. Standing out in your niche is even more difficult when you lack in knowledge, however, as your customers will expect brands to be knowledgeable about not just their own products and/or services, but also about the niche itself. Today, brands must be prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to providing their customers with information. Your audience will expect informational posts, videos, graphics, and a high level of customer engagement from your team to help them with any industry-related queries. Provide this through a highly-interactive, authority business blog or social media profile.
#3. Connect with the Audience:
The days of marketing being all about how great a product is and why you should spend your money on it are quickly dying out. Today, customers aren’t as bothered when it comes to learning about a product; the amount of competition available means that they can probably buy it or something similar elsewhere. When it comes to price, they know that a quick Google search will likely give them all the information that they need on where to find the best deals. So, what are they looking for in a brand? Today, customers want to shop with brands that they feel relate to them on a more personal, individual level. A strong level of customer service, prioritizing the online user experience and offering additional support, advice and information to your customers to help provide solutions to their industry-related problems all come under your brand’s ‘voice’, to connect with your audience on a human level.
Did these tips help? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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https://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/stand-out-marketing-tips.jpg14401920Rebecca Caroehttps://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CAS_Logo_1line_RGB.jpgRebecca Caroe2017-05-31 10:00:002022-12-19 11:57:233 Marketing Tips to Stand Out to Your Customers
How can you increase customer engagement through live chat on your website?
Creative Agency Secrets live chat icon
A question I received and I thought the answers given were intriguing. Because after the obvious answers, yes it should engage – because people talking to people, if done respectfully, should successfully answer questions and possibly transact sales. But the risk here is for marketers to try to create inappropriate outcome measures like ‘engagement’ from customer service activities.
More people on the site should chat with the live chat representatives. These are real people. Don’t even think of trying to use bots. It undermines your brand – unless that’s what your brand values are – robotic.
Use more than one chat option
I would also recommend adding Facebook Messenger as a second live chat option. So many people use it in their private lives, it can be used to build trust with your brand in a medium the customer is already familiar with.
We have a mantra to “Write once: Use Three Times”. And chat is a great source of content for marketing.
We recommend using the chat interactions as source material for your content marketing. Every question should become an FAQ answer. And a blog post. And part of your product descriptions, and and and.
Did you know that you can also build a mailing list using the Facebook pixel from your Messenger interactions?
Using this, you can do push messaging using FB straight into Messenger which is an awesome replacement for email marketing. Particularly as many lists are suffering high unsubscribe rates from customers with over-loaded inboxes.
Happy to discuss further if you need.
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https://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/WE-answer.png358674Rebecca Caroehttps://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CAS_Logo_1line_RGB.jpgRebecca Caroe2017-05-24 10:49:392020-01-24 01:45:00Increase customer engagement through live chat
May I show you a little insider secret from the world of web marketing? It’s called a website rank check tool. It shows you a score out of 100 for how well your website is built, secured and how well it delivers marketing engagement.
My favourite one is the WooRank tool – I have it installed in the toolbar of my Chrome browser. But you can use this website or the HubSpot Website Grader Tool does a similar job – but from behind a registration paywall.
We use this when testing SEO on a website for clients. But you can do it yourself – we’ll show you how.
A case study Central Flowers
WooRank Website Test Tool
I read a lot of newsletters and when I got one from a printer and web design company, I clicked through to their gushing review of their team’s work building a website for their customer. So I decided to do an independent check on the website. It scored 52.3/100. Hardly a rip-roaring success for a new site.
You can see the result here and it demonstrates two things
The web team are only designing for HUMAN visitors, not SEARCH ROBOTS
The client is not expert in hiring and buying expertise.
First things first. The web team should know about these issues
Headings should be in a hierarchy (they choose to only use H1)
Three image Alt attributes missing (so search engines can’t index the image and link back)
No anchor text in several external links (except the one going to the web design company)
No language declared (so the search engines know it’s English)
No blog – so the web rankings won’t become good because the site won’t get regularly updated (this is a failure of marketing strategy more than web design)
Secure (SSL) website but registered to a different domain (a property management company)
These are hygiene factors. They show up the lack of quality control by both the developers and to a lesser extent by the client.
The #1 mistake business owners make when buying a new website
The mistake is to buy a pretty design layout. This is made by a designer.
What you need for an effective website is web development made by a web developer as well. This sets up the effective tools and structures which humans cannot see from a website front end. But robots and web search engines CAN see. And now you can too.
Go and test your website using the Hubspot or WooRank tools now. And send me the results.
Book in a 20 minute call and we will tell you what can be easily improved and how you can do it yourself (yes, really – most of these improvements do not require web development expertise, only editing in your CMS).
Or just buy the book.
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https://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/central-Flowers-woorank.png6222118Rebecca Caroehttps://creativeagencysecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CAS_Logo_1line_RGB.jpgRebecca Caroe2017-05-23 13:30:182020-01-24 01:45:01How to test your website is working effectively
