Presented by Karen Porter UM School of Business Administration & ImpactOnlineMarketing.com Digital Marketing and Social Media Foundation Presented by Karen Porter Department of Marketing School of Business Administration The University of Montana

Course Specifics About the course Why digital marketing is important in today’s world How online marketing “works” How to manage social media without going nuts impactonlinemarketing.com/rural-digital About your instructor About YOU and why you are here Introductions Student information sheets

What is Marketing? Astute evaluation of trends and opportunities Deep insights about customer needs Knowledge of competitors, positioning & value Segmentation, targeting, and positioning Effective use of Marketing Mix – the “4 P’s”

Rules of the 4 P’s

Insights from Target Customers

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing Outbound marketing is traditional marketing Marketers identify the consumers they want to reach and then broadcast out to them Interruptive marketing One-way communication (YOU have total control) Inbound marketing lets customers find YOU They’re searching for what you have and search for YOU Two-way (or multi-way) communication Interactive in nature (you do NOT have total control) Focused on relationship building and loyalty

Before the Internet Businesses relied upon traditional media: Yellow Pages Newspapers Television Radio Magazines Telemarketing Direct Marketing Fax Marketing

Times are Changing Directories – print versions go out of date / expensive Magazines – costs up / long lead time (not timely) Newspapers – in decline / costs up / shifting readership Television – fragmentation / zipping / zapping / Hulu Radio – fragmentation / satellite options / Direct Mail – costly / low conversion / slow Telemarketing – do not call lists / intrusion factor Faxes – mass faxing less effective / easy to overlook Traditional advertising media are losing effectiveness

New Media is Online & Online Statistics are Astonishing 1 Trillion + — number of web pages in the world 200+ Billion online searches each year in U.S. alone 30 % — searches that are targeted locally (city or zip )* 20 % — total online searches done by mobile phones* 37 % — small businesses without a website* 80 % — local searches done on mobile devices = buyers* 0 % — chance to connect with consumers who are searching online if an organization doesn’t have an online presence * 2012 statistics based on U.S. data only

Why Business Owners Haven’t Embraced Digital Marketing There is too much to understand It’s too technical – I’m not a “techie” type It’s confusing It’s always changing – I can’t keep up! I don’t know where to focus my energies It’s expensive to market online It eats up too much time

Does This Describe You?

A Website is Essential But Having One isn’t Enough Websites lend credibility The business card of yesterday Is your website getting found? Know how people are searching & where your site is ranked How do you drive traffic to a website? Know what your prospective customer is doing online Is your site helping or hurting your business? Does it promote your business to best advantage? Your site should be an online HUB! Does it promote your business to best advantage?

Your Website as an Online Hub

A Website is Not Just a Website: The Need to Go Mobile More than 70% of U.S. adults now own smart phones 97% of smart phone users search online by phone <30% of all sites are mobile-friendly By end of 2014, more people will access websites by smartphones and tablets than by desktops and laptops combined! Search engine results for desktops and laptops is different than those searching with mobile devices

Being Found on Google is Vital 70% of all U.S. online searches done on Google 80% + of intl. online searches are done on Google (with a few notable exceptions – ex: China) 60% of searchers do not typically search beyond page one of search engine results Need to be FOUND in the search engines by those searching for the goods and services you offer – SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Do you know what your potential customers are searching for? – Keyword Research

Keywords are the Foundation Keywords are the search terms that people use to search for things online. Examples of different keywords: Nike running shoes Running shoes by nike Nike shoes for running What makes an “excellent” keyword – one worth optimizing? Enough search activity to drive sufficient traffic to site Not too much competition (is it possible to get on the 1st page of Google?) Tools for keyword research Google Keyword Planner MozBar (download from Moz.com – only available for Firefox & Chrome)

Using the Google Keyword Planner Must open a Google Adwords account to use the Keyword Planner (no spending necessary) Open Keyword Planner under “Tools” Enter a basic term and let the tool explore keywords Be sure to click tab that says “Keyword Ideas” Look at search volume column only (ignore competition and Adwords columns) Which words have most search volume?

Using MozBar Download this toolbar from Moz.com Places blue and pink bars under search results These tell you the importance of the website / webpage DA = Domain authority (importance of the website) PA = Page authority (importance of the page being ranked) Enter promising keywords into Google (one at a time) Count the number of results that have BOTH the DA and PA scores at or lower than 40 If you get two or more meeting that criteria, there is a possibility of getting to the first page of Google

Using MozBar – Sample Results

Website Not Getting Found? Was the site developed strategically? Were goals clearly defined on the front end? Was keyword research done first to drive how and where those words are optimized on the site? Did development include these 3 key elements? Solid coding (the site functions as it should) Strong design (attractive, credible & user-friendly) Strategic marketing (solid SEO, marketing strategy done on front-end and incorporated with ongoing online marketing strategies) Are you using best practices of SEO? On-page optimization – is it done strategically by someone knowledgeable? Links coming into the website (quality counts more than quantity) User engagement – are visitors finding value in your site? See trends in Google Analytics

Keywords – Not Just for Websites Examples of Keywords/SEO on Social Sites (Quick tips for getting found and ranked for keywords) Facebook – keywords vital in short and long page descriptions Linkedin – keyword use in summary and profile is how others will find you for your skills and expertise YouTube – keyword use in channel name, video name, and video description is critical to coming up in YouTube search (and in Google search)

Social Media – The Why Why do we use social media?

Why Do We Use Social Media Why do we use social media? Helps you deliver better customer service Helps drive brand building & differentiation Helps you to manage your reputation Helps increase trust in your business or brand Allows you to obtain real customer insights Is a great way to promote your content Helps keep customers engaged with you Drives visitors to your website

Why We Don’t (Or Don’t Regularly) Just one more things small business owners need to worry about / take care of Not sure which social media to use It’s confusing It changes all the time It takes too much time It’s easy to get distracted It doesn’t seem to work

Why Social Media Isn’t Working Posts are self-serving Posting impersonal content that doesn’t relate Post erratically and / or infrequently Using the “wrong” social media Trying to post on too many social networks and it becomes hard to keep up Expecting the moon from social media!

The #1 Best Practice of Social Media Know your target market! What social media are THEY using? Where are they most likely to follow your business? What do they want to know about your business? What do they want to know that is related? Question: Is (are) the social media you are using now the BEST fit for reaching your target market?

Top Social Media in 2014 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Google + Instagram

Facebook 2014 Largest social network with 1.2 Billion users 54% male / 46% female; average user age is 41 Posts with photos or video get most interaction Internal scheduling tool works best: Facebook Ads are “hot”! Reach of posts continues to fall Great “effectiveness measurement” tool: Likealyzer.com

Twitter 2014 Vibrant social network with 560 users Limits posts to 140 characters (recommended <120) Hashtags (#) started with Twitter Heavily used to follow news, celebrities, trending topics 55% female / 45% male; 70% some college Skews younger than Facebook Difficult to build a “local” audience

LinkedIn 2014 Primarily a business network with 240 users Excellent B2B platform for businesses / consultants, etc 79% of users are age 35 or older LinkedIn updates tend to be best read Company pages can/should be developed Thousands of active groups for relevant participation

Google High growth, 400 million users (many “forced” by Google) Heavily skewed toward males; more educated Tech was early emphasis / focus now much broader Google known to “reward” Google+ users No internal pre-scheduling of posts is currently avail. / must use external tool such as Buffer or Sprout Social

Pinterest million users 68% female / 32% male; females 5x likelier to be active Heavy emphasis on décor, babies, fashion, recipes, and weddings Visual in nature – best for visual products/services Need to verify account to access analytics

Instagram million active users Owned by Facebook Users skew much younger – teens through 20s Focuses on photos and 15 second videos Photos & videos can be shared on other networks Just staring to be used by brands / businesses

Social Media KISS – F.O.C.U.S. Focus – on 1-2 targeted social media platforms Make sure those you select match your target audience. One in four “rule” Calendar – plan monthly / quarterly in advance Utility – use tools to make posting easier Social – create content that is “share-worthy”

“Share-worthy” is KEY Share-worthy is NOT:

Share-worthy Content Is NOT: Pitch, pitch, pitch Obviously self-serving all the time One-sided communication IS: Interactive – two way communication Involves your customers, fans, etc. Engaging!

Four Types of Content Informing Storytelling (most important) Product / service reminders (i.e. “selling”) General (but related) content

Informing Content What’s new in your business New products New services New staff Updates special events Sales and promotions Special events – grand opening, holiday celebration, etc. Other “announcement” type information Awards Media coverage Etc.

Storytelling Content Stories about your customers Stories about you – personalize the business owner / managers of the business Stories about staff and why they work for you Schedule: as often as possible – will need to encourage participation!

Product & Service Reminders Product / service highlights Subtle “selling” of a product your carry or service you offer Present as problems to solutions when you can Do NOT make it a strong sales pitch Soft-selling in social media works much better

General Related Content Fun, FYI-type information that is relevant to your products / services Cartoons Memes Photos sent in my customers, Etc. Fun, FYI-type info that is universally appealing (quotes and related)

What Does All This Mean for Biz? Marketing strategy needs to marry online and offline marketing initiatives Know specifically the words your customers are using to search – them use those words online Use online findings to market offline Use media that is right for your business Know what’s already working for you - continue using what works and eliminate what’s not

What Does All This Mean for Biz? Know your “conversion funnel” statistics – having the ability to measure gives you power Develop a STRATEGY (don’t just try a hodge-podge of ideas hoping something will work) Measure and tweak what’s working and then “rinse and repeat” to improve your results Do NOT try to do everything – start by doing several things really well and you’ll have better success Add more things as you succeed with initial efforts continued

More About Facebook Facebook has changed – for better and for worse! Your posts do NOT reach all of your fans Average 6-10% of total fans Lower results if not good engagement Better results if fans are engaged with your posts Excellent metrics can help you improve Insights Likealyzer.com

You Need a Facebook Strategy Identify your objectives Increase sales? Promote products or events? Build brand awareness & loyalty? Identify your target audience Know everything you can about your TA Option: Use info to craft a Facebook ad campaign: To build fans for your page To target with specific messaging To ensure your entire fan base sees a specific post

Facebook Strategy – cont. How will you reach your audience? (examples) Daily posts Facebook ad campaign YouTube video contest on your Facebook page Build a list from your Facebook page How will you track & measure each strategy? If your strategy worked, then repeat it! If it didn’t work, make a change & try again

Your First FB Impression – Cover Photo and Profile Photo Cover Photo – 851x315 Use to position your business / organization Reinforce branding Make visually appealing Change this out periodically Profile Photo – 180x180 Key branding element – use logo if possible Appears beside every post that goes into newsfeed Make sure it works when shrunk down to avatar size Cover photo and profile photo work well together

Building Your Fan Base Send invitations to FB friends Invite friends, family, existing customers Have others (staff, etc.) do the same Consider FB right columns ads to grow fan base Gateways – must Like page to access something Grow Likes with contests or events Encourage viralability

Engaging Your Fan Base Post frequently Several times per week is best More than once per day even better (if warranted) Always LIKE comments Always Comment on Posts to your page LIKE related pages Comment (when and where appropriate on those pages) Ask questions to encourage engagement Run contests / sweepstakes to increase interaction Be sure to read FB terms and conditions and adhere!

Measuring Results – Using Insights Total Likes Number of unique people (friends of fans) who liked your page Gender, age, visitor’s city & country of origin Post performance When your Fans are online Lots more!

Insights Examples From Insights Overview

Insights Examples From Insights Overview

Insights Examples From Posts Tab (When Fans Are Online)

Insights Examples From People Tab

Monitoring Page Performance Use: Can be used to monitor any FB page Provides an overall score vs. similar pages Looks at engagement Tells you where you are doing well Give suggestions as to how to improve your page Easy-to-use Suggested use: once per week (at LEAST once/month)

Likealyzer Example

Karen Porter (406)

TeeSpring.com – Idea for Revenue Crowd-funding shirts Teeshirts only print if minimum quantity met No upfront cost Campaign runs 1 -3 weeks – you make profit at end Easy to set up campaign: Use built in designer to “build” your shirt Select from different shirt styles (short sleeve, long sleeve, tank top, hoodies, etc.) and colors Price is based on type of shirts, type of design (number of colors) and quantity printed Profit based on how you price and number sold Profits paid out by PayPal about 14 days after campaign closes

TeeSpring Example

TeeSpring Sales Funnel Enter to win ad to targeted FB audience (wine lovers) Collect addresses from entrants Send entrants to thank you page with plug to buy now Follow-up series (automated through Aweber) Plug t-shirt again – bonus w/ purchase (5 Wine Drinking Mistakes) Promote (later) Exploring Wine eguide to wine ($7 price point) Promote (later) Wine Explorers membership ($4.95/month)

TeeSpring Example (cont)