Small Businesses Strategies for Internet Advertising

Here at Executionists, we work with just about any type of business you can think of (large or small). Many of the larger companies or corporations tend to have a set marketing plan or strategy dictated by their “in-house” marketing departments, or outsourced marketing companies. In these cases, we tend to cater and customize our creative web solutions to expound on their existing formats. Most of our clients in the Small Business sector seem to have a broad scope as to what they are trying to accomplish via the internet, but are confused by the complexity and various options of strategic internet advertising. Lot’s of our small business clients spend an enormous amount of time (and money) on the aesthetics and presentation of their sites, but then have a hard time grasping marketing ideas to reach out to their prospective client base. Here at Executionists, we pride ourselves in assisting small businesses with web solutions beyond what we refer to as “Phase I”.

Example: You’ve signed off on the website we’ve created for you. We’ve completed all the navigation and aesthetic revisions, all of your content is uploaded, interactive forms completed, etc. The client’s website is finally “Live”. Congrats; you’ve completed “Phase I”. Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves. This is when strategic internet marketing & advertising comes to play. Welcome to “Phase II”. How are you spreading the word about your company and it’s fabulous new site? One of my favorite marketing strategist wrote “Without online advertising strategies, your site will be like the proverbial tree in the forest, falling with no one to hear”. Unfortunately, this is true. However, Internet advertising can help you reach millions of people at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing techniques.

Before you panic in frustration, let us help you with “Phase II”. The first thing that any business owner should factor in as a fixed business expense is an advertising budget. Just because you don’t have the funding for a large campaign doesn’t mean you should not have a campaign at all. There are many online advertising options that are inexpensive and effective. “But where should I place my ads?” is the next question we get often. Depending on the type of service or product you sell, research and buy ads on sites that offer complementary products or services that tie in with what you sell. In addition to complementary sites, General Interest web sites would be the best place to start an online campaign.

Three of the most popular online advertising strategies are Link Exchanges, Newsletter advertising and Budgeted advertising (this also goes into SEOs, but we’ll save those details for another day). Here are the definitions and strategies of these online strategies:

1) Link exchanges can be great, especially if your advertising budget is limited (or nonexistent). Find merchants that sell complementary products, and offer to trade text links or ads with them. If you’re just starting out and your site doesn’t get a lot of traffic, you may not get a one-to-one trade. Prepare yourself to make concessions, at least until you have a track record and traffic to point to. That said, most companies won’t turn down an opportunity for more exposure, so you’ll probably find a few willing to exchange links with you.

2) Newsletter advertising is a great way to reach select groups of consumers. For example, if you sell health products, you could advertise in a newsletter that offers health tips and advice. Because newsletter advertising is targeted, it can be expensive. If your budget is tight, you can always start your own newsletter campaign. Constant Contact e-newsletter sites are helpful as well.

3) Budgeted advertising, such as “GoogleAdWords”, provides a purchased a set of keywords, your option to set a limit on how much you want to spend, and have your ad display until that limit is reached. This is a positive way to track your campaign success.

Once you’ve mastered these techniques (and if your marketing budget allows it) try reaching out to popular news services, Web-based email providers, and other sites that reach a large segment of the population. While this can prove very expensive, in return, you have the potential of reaching millions of new customers. No matter which road you decide to take, give serious thought to your “creative (the actual ad itself)”. Whether it’s just a text link, or whether it’s a complete banner-ad campaign, the “creative” can make or break your advertising initiative. Try several variations, track them, and see which ones perform best. This is just the beginning of your online advertising strategies and marketing solutions. As stated earlier, your online presence should extend past just being “online”.

Take your business beyond “Phase I”. We are here to help and ready to “execute” the next phases of your web solutions.

Until next time…..
Damon R. Howard
Marketing Operations Consultant
Executionists, Inc.

www.executionists.com

“We Get Web Done”

Brand Extension: Big Brother in the Web Marketing Family

Web presence is pretty much business standard nowadays, regardless of the size a company. From “Mom & Pop” boutiques to large Corporations, public information about your company and it’s products/services should be readily accessible via the internet. As this is common knowledge, most businesses establish some type of web presence, but tend to get lost in the competitive internet marketplace. How do you stand out amongst the rest in addition to building “the perfect” website? How well are you marketing your brand? In order to wrap your head around the various combinations of internet marketing, let’s take a basic look at the Web Marketing Family.

The basic family tree of Web Marketing comprises of these members: Corporate Domain, Search Marketing, Syndicated Web Marketing, Brand Extension, Community and Social Media Marketing, Virtual Worlds, Related Mediums, and lastly, Experimental Methods. These internet marketing strategies are all equally important and should be used to compliment your current online efforts. One of the “family members” that I tend to focus on is Brand Extension. The Brand Extension strategy is simple; wherever your market is, you should have brand placement. I’m sure this marketing strategy has been applied to your business in other physical forms, but it is also strongly applicable to your online presence. The basic forms of brand extension consists of the following: Web Advertising, Contextual Advertising, Sponsorship/Cross Branding, Social Advertisements, Widget Advertising and Affiliate Marketing. Check out the detailed info on these forms of brand extension below.

Web Advertising
I’m sure you’re all familiar with the banner, tile, or skyscraper advertising (IAB) model on websites. This age old strategy simply suggests that if there are eyeballs your brand should ‘impress’ upon the users. Click through rates are typically in the 1% or lower rate, sometimes success is measured by brand impressions, (visitation by traffic). These ads are static and do not change even if the content on the webpage changes.

Contextual Advertising
These targeted ads will be served up on the webpage depending on the content that’s on the page. This is a more ‘intelligent’ and therefore more relevant than Web Advertising, which may not be targeted at specific content. This form of advertising can be text, images, media or other form and are common on websites, blogs, and are now appearing on web based emails sites. (Submitted by David Berkowitz: Feb 13th. 2007)

Sponsorship and /Cross Branding
This is a method of promoting your brand with the right audience in which the property is rewarded for integrating your brand. This can occur on content sites, shows, media properties, blogs, podcasts, and just about everything else. This is expected to increase in 2007.

Social Advertisements
Having just appeared this year from Facebook, it uses contextual information from users who have become “Fans” of a brand, then ads are severed to their network, in an endorsement. This has been highly controversial, and the return on investment is not yet known.

Widget Advertising
Having just appeared this year from on containers like Facebook, Bebo, LinkedIn, and Friendster, widgets have proliferated at an amazing growth rate. Expect advertising networks to form over the next year, where a brand can purchase space on any number of widgets across different social networks and communities, groups such as: RockYou, Slide, Widgetbox, and Watercooler to start with. See all posts tagged Widget Strategy.

Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing programs compensate partners and alliances that bring referrals, leads, or sales. While it overlaps with other forms of web marketing, the goal is to provide the right content or products to the target demographic. Examples of this include placement on comparison shopping sites, loyalty sites, and product review sites.

As you can see, Brand Extension plays a very important role in the Web Marketing Family. These forms should be used in conjunction w/ the other Web Marketing family members to make a successful campaign for your business. Stay tuned for more information on the other web marketing “siblings”.

Damon R. Howard

Marketing Operations Consultant

Executionists, Inc.

Who’s Tired of Hitting on Paris Hilton?

In the months following Paris Hilton’s recent legal issues and her reaction to them, I would like to think that public interest in her has waned, and unless she releases another sex video or gets a tattoo of her dog on her back, it will continue to do so.

However, google “Paris Hilton” and you get 64,000,000 hits. She shows up everywhere: fan websites, news websites, international websites, blogs…

Does Paris have an online image consultant? If not, now would be the perfect time to hire one. Paris would probably need a whole staff of image consultants, scouring the web for the most popular and agregious articles, working with the site owners to mitigate the bad and promote the good.

What is the good, you say? Well, that’s for Paris’ marketing team to spin. Perhaps it’s her supervising the diets of fat kids at sleep-away camp or helping five year-olds win beauty pageants.

And online marketing is one of the places that we can help. We work with our clients to design and develop branded sites that promote their business via attractive imagery, compelling messaging and flexible promotions. By adding SEO (Search Engine Optimization – see our previous post, Get Aggressive on the Web) and tailoring the site to highlight the uniqueness and necessity of a product or service, we shape a positive, attractive image for a company or individual.

At any rate, an online makeover may be the best strategy for Paris at the moment. So that even if we hit on her less, at least those hits will improve our perception of her before she plunges into obscurity.

eCommerce Checklist

ECOMMERCE CHECKLIST:
Everything you ever wanted to know about eCommerce and way more.

Step 1 | Domain Name

• Domain Name Registration – www.yourdomain.com, etc.

Step 2 | Products – Ecommerce Solutions / Smart Web Site Design

• Product Keywords, Title and Descriptions:
  • Good product descriptions and titles are vital to be successful at eCommerce. Generally, you will need a Product Name, SKU, Description, Key Words for search, Weight, Height and Length

• Size and Variations:
  • For example, the Size group could contain: “small, “medium”, “large” and another group called Color: “large” or “red”, “blue” and “green”.

• Product Categories:
  • For example, > Toys > Babies > Bath Toys. Better organization enables people to find what they are looking for faster!!

• Product Images:
  • A thumbnail and a large version of each product are a good idea. Sizes are unimportant as long as you remain consistent – catalogs look more uniform that way. Resolution on large images is important, we recommend 72 dpi. Some shopping carts allow up to four images per product for the larger, detailed pages.

• Pricing Information:
  • Be sure to include base price, B2B price, volume pricing, static pricing, prices of various options, costs, etc.

Step 3 | Payment Methods – Ecommerce Solutions

• Merchant Account
  • This will be necessary for any credit card authorizations online or Brick and Mortar stores.
• Payment Gateway Provider:
  • If you want real-time online authorizations, you’re going to need this. Internet Protocol (IP) payment gateway services that enable merchants to authorize, settle and manage credit card or electronic check transactions anytime, anywhere are handy. For example: Paypal, Verisign, Authorize.Net
• Business Bank Account:
  • Simply put, it’s a necessity for any business.

Step 4 | Currency – Ecommerce Solutions
Take a minute to ask yourself:

• What currencies do you need to support?
• Does your merchant account / payment gateway provide support your required currencies?

Step 5 | Taxes – Ecommerce Solutions
We know you wouldn’t want to overlook the tax policy for purchases:

• What state / country will operations be based out of? Does the company have more than 1 “node” (an office, warehouse, or distribution center)? If yes, where?
• What is the sales tax rate (or VAT if you are in Europe) in your state or country?

Step 6 | Shipping – Ecommerce Solutions
It’s a good idea to consider shipment possibilities and which would serve your company and customers the best:

• Package tracking via UPS, FedEx or USPS.
• What carriers will you use? USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.
• How will you charge for shipping? By value, by weight, a fixed rate based or a formula?
• Will you allow international shipment? If so, how much will you charge? Will the customer be responsible for paying customs charges (we recommend that they do)?

Step 7 | Technology Requirements – Ecommerce Solutions
When building an eCommerce website, these are some important decisions you will need to make.

• Do you have any technology requirements as far as a programming languages (Cold Fusion, PHP, ASP), operating platforms (Unix vs. Windows), or database platform (MS Access vs. MySQL vs. MS SQL)?
• Do you have/need your own dedicated server, or do you need a hosting provider?
• Do you have adequate space for your product catalog images?

Step 8 | User Experience – Ecommerce Solutions
These are some other questions you’ll need to answer before you launch into your design and development process:

• Will you want your customers to have the ability to register with a username and password so that customers can view previous order history and track orders?
• Will your site require a search engine for finding products, articles, etc?
• Will you have a newsletter for users to subscribe to? Will they be able to manage their own subscriptions? Will it be HTML formatted?
• Will you have sales and specials?
• Will you have auctions?
• Will you offer discounts or promotions?
• Will you have affiliates?

If you contact us, we can give you a free personalized consultation and make some great, inexpensive recommendations based on our years of experience!

www.executionists.com
rparr@executionists.com
(310) 754-3807

Professional Approach to Web Development

DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY

Step 1 | Client Needs Assessment

By meeting with you, we define the primary goals and project schedule, identify the
target audience, and tailor the design solution to your industry.

• Understand who will use the Web site (Target Audience)
• Understand what Web technologies you will require
• Identify content
• Produce project schedule

Step 2 | Research and Discovery

We gather all available data content from you, such as company profiles, product descriptions, or in-house publications and brochures. Thereafter, we research the Internet and all other relevant information sources to familiarize ourselves with your
industry and your competition. We also spend time researching the competition, both online and offline.

• Identify the tasks users need to complete
• Consider the processes required to support Web site features and functions
• Develop technical scope and sitemap

Step 3 | Design Concept

During this stage, we begin the process of developing the site’s look and feel, the flow of content throughout the site, the logical organization of the site’s information, and its functionality. These concepts are presented to you for your evaluation and approval.

• Prototype Delivered
• Web Site Organization
• Color Schemes and Menu

Step 4 | Development

With your approval of the Design Concept, we develop the site in full using approved graphics, content, navigation, database design, etc. Of course, one of the questions asked by new clients is “how long will it take to create my site?” The answer is, “it depends.” Specifically, each client’s needs are different, and many needs present unique challenges that may require more time than anticipated.

• Client staging site and status
• Web server is setup and configured
• Databases modeled and pre-populated
• Domains are transferred and email accounts are setup

Step 5 | Testing & Launch

We test your web site to ensure it is cross-browser compatible and to evaluate its performance. This is the time when we may modify the site for performance gains. Thereafter, we transfer the web site to a web server for the public’s access.

• Web sites are tested at various stages of the development process
• Review of Web page content, functionality and graphic consistency
• Usability testing – measure how well the Web page allows a user to accomplish goals

Step 6 | Promotion

Your development plan may include forms of pre-production, offline promotion to generate interest in the launch of your site. Online promotion takes place after the site has been placed on the web server.

• Content optimization
• Code and meta tag optimization
• Search engine submissions and registrations
• Web statistics analysis
• Email Broadcasting

Step 7 | Post Production

After the web site is fully functional, we provide complete support to our clients, including evaluation, training for site management, upgrades with the latest technologies, and any required updates.

• Determine who is responsible for updates to the Web page
• Limit the ability of certain users to update the Web page
• Re-evaluate goals based upon business objectives

7 Tips for An Effective Online Business

These seven important tips are based on many years of online development experience for over 70 clients, ranging from promotional, entertainment, community, commerce, and business websites.

1) Avoid “cookie cutter” solutions.
When contemplating taking the easy way out, be certain to ask yourself:

• Will this generic design sell my specific product and/or services?
• Does this design provide adequate promotional areas?
• Is this design consistent with my brand?
• Who will maintain and make updates to the site?
• Can I trust this company and their support and hosting services?

A site designed by an experienced person who understands your business goals and can proactively help you to maximize your online opportunities is invaluable.

2) Drive your customer to the goal
Your website must be designed around your business goals.

For example if one of your business goals is to build an email list of prospective clients then you must motivate site visitors to sign up from the first page. The email signup should be repeated throughout the site, and designed to entice your target customer.

If one of your goals is to sell a product, then don’t bury it 2 or more pages into the site. Bring it to the home page and design it’s presentation to be attractive to your online customers.

3) Offer free stuff
Something of perceived value can be used to drive visitors to your site, and motivate them to purchase products and services. Some things that you could offer on your website:
• Download a newspaper or article on your field of expertise
• Download coupons or certificates for products/services
• Free consultations, assessments and workshops
• Promotional merchandise (samples, T-shirts, caps, etc.)
• Entry into a contest or drawing

4) Seek out relationships with complimentary Websites
Broaden your marketing punch by forming co-marketing efforts with appropriate websites. A good way to start is to make a list of businesses that attract your target customer. Find ones that you think would benefit from a partnership with you and vice-versa. Contact them and see if they are interested in:

• A cobranded email campaign
• A banner exchange with your Website
• A cobranded, printed mail campaign
• A cobranded promotion
• A referral program

If you can create just 3 relationships with complimentary businesses you could triple the number of potential customers.

5) Emphasize your differences
Think about what makes your business different from the others, for example:
• Local service
• Experience/Knowledge
• Low prices
• A specific focus

Capitalize on these differences and make sure your Website reflects it. One of my clients developed a unique tool for his profession. He buried it within the site, making difficult for clients to find it. I encouraged him to bring it to the forefront because that is his unique value that he brings to potential customers.

6) Learn from the competition
Know saying “keep your enemies closer than your friends”? Don’t recreate the wheel! Take a day to review what your competition is up to. Create a list of what they are doing well and what they are doing poorly. Use this knowledge to improve your site!

7) Build a targeted email list
Most of the people who visit your Website are potential customers. Motivate online visitors and offline prospects to give you their email address. This list is gold if handled correctly.

Use the list on a regular basis to send promotional newsletters or other ‘valuable’ messages to. This will keep your businesses name in your customers minds, so when they’re ready to make a decision, your business will benefit.

These 7 tips are some of the most vital factors in online business success.

Remember that with so many businesses online, and so many customers/clients going to the internet to make a decision, it’s the online business that is strategically designed that has the advantage.

If you would like further details on any of these tips or a free evaluation of your current media, email us at rparr@executionist.com, or call 310-435-7452.