For many people, there are no two words more intimidating than “quantitative analysis”. However, in any and all industries, measuring how well your business is doing is essential to understanding consumer interest and how that interest will help your business grow. Within the digital industry, the most obvious and useful tool to measure is your online presence, particularly your website. Regardless of your excitement about data, there are several metrics good digital marketers track on at least a weekly basis to gauge interest and measure potential growth. Programs like HubSpotand Google Analytics offer businesses specific packages to break down these measurements. These programs [...]

There is not a singular model of success when it comes to effective, innovative online marketing campaigns. We discuss a lot of tactics for optimizing and measuring site traffic and lead conversion, but in action, implementation of these strategies can look very different. Consider some award-winning, creativity-packed online campaigns (yes, you’ve probably heard of most of them) and how they took the textbook teachings of online marketing and made them their own.   The Campaign: Save the Children’s Picture Project (Webby Awards People’s Voice Winner 2011, Email Marketing; Webby Awards Nominee 2011, Rich Media: Non-Profit/Educational) Why it’s so good: Picture Project aims to [...]

    It’s the most wonderful time of the year (football season).  There are few things that I appreciate more than a good football game and a great online marketing campaign.  Could two things be more different?  If they were, this would be a very short blog post so I believe you know my answer.   Here are five things that we marketers can learn from football coaches when creating and implementing a successful online marketing campaign.   Start with a plan.  Football coaches have it easy here because they know where they want to go—they want a win.  Marketers should think [...]

Not all leads are created equal. The process of determining whether a lead has the potential to become a sales prospect is known as “qualifying” the lead. Adding qualifying questions to forms is one of the first steps a business should take when seeking to optimize its lead management system. Forms allow you to qualify leads as prospects engage with your site’s content. While shorter forms are better when it comes to converting visitors into leads, if you are a business, you are probably more interested in maximizing your conversion rate from leads to customers. Beyond basic contact info, adding a [...]

A Facebook page is only as effective as the effort that you put into it. Creating a Facebook page but failing to actively engage with potential customers is like paying for a television advertisement but showing it only at 3 am. Quite simply, if your Facebook page is not active, no one will see it. To get you started, we have listed 10 easy ways to get active in the Facebook community and to attract even more viewers and potential customers to your page. Hold a contest. Everyone loves to win free stuff right? Run a special Facebook promotion with [...]

  Simply put, a call-to-action is a tool that encourages viewers to actively engage with your business and eventually become clients. By creating calls-to-action and placing them around your website, you will provide multiple opportunities to take action- to download your content, sign up for your service, or purchase your product. Each call-to-action should link to a specifically designed landing page, making it easy for viewers to follow through on their impulse to act. Most often, call-to-actions take the form of simply designed buttons, employing concise, urgent language to encourage readers to move forward with the offer. For example, you could urge [...]

   After successfully generating leads,  it’s important to know what to do  with them. Lead nurturing campaigns  through email can act as more than  just communication with potential  clients: they can greatly improve  their chances of becoming  customers and choosing your  business over competitors.  Campaigns vary in purpose based on  the current status of your lead.  First, you may start by welcoming  new subscribers. Next, you may  educate them on your company and what it offers. Lastly, you may accelerate the decision-making process. Regardless of the goal, five steps can ensure that your leads feel comfortable   moving forward in the [...]

    You’ve carefully crafted your online message, you’ve filled your  website, blog, and social media sites with creative, interesting, and informative content. All of these things are wonderful first steps, and will generate substantial online traffic for your business but your job doesn’t stop there. The next step is converting that virtual viewership into more tangible business leads. You don’t just want people to look at your content, you want them to engage with your company and become potential buyers or clients. Here are five easy and effective ways to make sure that you convert web traffic to leads: 1. [...]

  With the sheer amount of tweets that bombard a business during the day, it can be difficult to manage a Twitter account and realize what is useful. That’s where Twitter tools step in: tools that a business can use to optimize its use of Twitter from social media management to social media measurements.   ManageFlitter: ManageFlitter is a contact management tool that allows the user to clean up their followers list, discern inactive accounts being followed, and get rise of users who are not following in return. The business will gain a handle of control over their contacts.   Twellow: The [...]

  So you’ve created a Facebook page for your business, you’ve filled in your profile information, and maybe you even have a few “likes”. Those are all great first steps, but where do you go from there? (If you have not created a Facebook page for your business, check out this how-to guide.) Facebook should be a key part of your business’s social media strategy, and your engagment with Facebook should extend far beyond merely creating a page. We’ve laid out a 6-step plan for utilizing and improving your business’ presence on Facebook. Explore these tips and find out how Facebook can [...]