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Best Facebook Ad Types for Home Services

There are multiple kinds of Facebook ad types you can use for your target audience to help you achieve the best results.

It varies from lead generation to conversion campaigns. You want to test and see what works best for your audience in order to give you the most sales or whatever your campaign objective is.

When you do find the best ad types, especially when it comes to home services, you have to know what can help produce more leads or more brand awareness. You know what audiences react best to a certain ad type and the home services you offer.

If you're unsure of the best Facebook ad types for home services, here's a guide that can help.

The Different Facebook Ad Types

The Facebook ad type you choose will depend on your objective and you're trying to accomplish overall in your business.

When it comes to home services, you want to choose the best kind that can give the best results. Here are some of the best Facebook ad types for your home services to consider for your business.

Lead Generation

When it comes to lead generation Facebook ads, the goal is to accumulate leads and then warm them up as they enter your funnel.

You want an ad that stands out and appeals to them. With lead generation, someone sees your free offer on Facebook, in which they exchange their information for the packet.

When someone gives you their information, they instantly become a lead. This is one of the best Facebook ad types for home services because can create leads for these kinds of businesses.

Home service businesses can then take the leads and put them on an email campaign or makes a sales call. However, it's important to remember that lead generation Facebook ad types don't immediately make a sale for a business, even for home service businesses.

They are designed to attract interest from potential customers who are interested in-home services like roofing.

Conversion Campaign

A conversion campaign is different from a lead generation campaign because, as the same implies, conversion campaigns are for direct sales.

These are also great for home services because they take someone from Facebook and immediately put them on your website or sales page. It encourages someone to take action immediately.

Conversion Facebook ad types are great for home services because it can encourage consumers to book appointments. The results are instantaneous.

Brand Awareness

The final Facebook ad type to consider is brand awareness.

When someone sees your Facebook, it takes them to your website and sparks awareness of your business. They know the story you are telling them.

Your brand should tell a story about your business and how you can help them. The more consumers understand this story, the more they feel an emotional connection with the story. The more they realize how you can help them.

When you have consumers who do become familiar with your business, you can retarget them with conversion Facebook ad types. This helps you take consumers through the funnel of your home service.

Consumers learn more about your business as they go through your funnel. However, none of these ad types matter if you don't have a proper funnel.

Funnel Ad Types

When it comes to funnel ad types, you should have:

  • Awareness
  • Consideration
  • Buyer's stage

A marketing or sales funnel should take someone from awareness to eventual sales. A common acronym to remember is AIDA - Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

Therefore, when you create an ad type, you have to keep in mind what kind of ad you are creating and where the audience is in the funnel.

This is why it's important to be strategic about how you create a Facebook ad type for your audience. When you do create ad types, you should have multiple custom audiences set up.

This allows you to market to different audiences who may be ready to buy or to people who may need home services. If you're having a problem with your funnel, you need to figure out where the bottleneck is in the funnel.

You need to figure out if you're ads are targeting the wrong audience, so the awareness campaign doesn't matter, or if you are trying to sell to your audience too quickly, which can result in fewer bookings and sales.

Other Facebook Ad Considerations

One of the most important Facebook ad consideration is knowing who your target market is. You want to know everything about them, especially what kind of problems they have and how you can help them.

Another consideration is updating your website. If you have a Facebook ad campaign that takes the consumer to your website, you want to make sure the website is updated. Not updating it is a common marketing mistake.

You don't want your consumers going to a competitor's site and realizing it looks so much better than yours. That's why it's important to have a website that appeals to your target market and gets them to take action.

Now You Know Everything About Facebook Ad Types

When you are trying to figure out how to market to your audience as a home service business, you need to know about the different Facebook ad types and which one is most effective. This guide can help make that clearer.

More importantly, you have to know how to create an effective sales funnel. This requires understanding your ideal market and what appeals to them. You have to know where they are in the funnel.

If you want help with creating a marketing strategy with your home service business, you can contact us here.


The Secrets to an HVAC Company Website That Converts

The HVAC market is so huge that it’s valued at a colossal $7.17 billion and expected to hit double that by 2025. Every HVAC company has a website and basically looks to attract and engage the same customers.

The question is, how do you use your website to convert more customers in such a competitive industry?

When it comes to getting more customers calling you or reaching out to you online for heating and cooling services, your website is your best asset. A thoughtfully designed website can help you convert your visitors into active customers.

In this post, we’ll give you some juicy secrets that you can use to drive traffic to your website, and even better, convert your potential customers into loyal customers.

Make Sure Your Website Is Responsive and Mobile Friendly

If there's one part of your website you should be concerned about, it's how responsive it is.

For your website design to have the ability to truly boost conversion rates, it must be consistent across different platforms. It's true that the type and amount of information that fits on small devices differ from laptops and PCs, but we cannot overstate the principle of mobile-friendly and responsive websites.

There are currently 5.20 billion mobile users across the globe, a number that’s growing at a rate of 2% per year. Your HVAC company will easily lose its market share if your website design does not consider mobile device users.

Half of the people who search for products or services online use mobile devices, and with this information in mind, you should focus on making sure your website accommodates all customers across the board.

Simplify Navigation

Given that your goal is to make sure your HVAC company website has a high conversion rate, one of the simplest things you can do is simplify navigation. You should lead your visitors through the action you want them to take in a simple manner, and they don't have to keep looking for what they need. Make sure your customers can navigate the website with a minimum number of clicks.

Every navigation label and heading should be easy to identify and understand. The last thing you want is to create a website that poses a challenge to your site visitors. Internet users have very limited patience and they can easily leave your websites out of frustration and look for your competitors.

Review your website navigation and make sure it is clear, accurate, and simple.

Magnify Your Calls to Action

The call-to-action button is one of the most essential parts of your company website because it leads customers exactly where you want them to go. It should be able to serve its purpose of leading them to take action. This means that more than anything else, it should stand out.

Use colors and a great position on your website to make it pop and hard to dismiss. It's highly imperative that you pay attention to how many call-to-action buttons you include on each of your web pages. Essentially, the effectiveness of your call-to-action will be reduced according to the number of buttons on each page.

It’s advisable to have only one call-to-action button on each page. Beyond that, it's crucial for you to make sure that every call-to-action is relevant to the content on the web page. If not, it will be just like another advert that your customers are most likely to ignore.

Have a Clear Value Proposition

Your value proposition is your unique selling point and the one thing that sets your services apart from other HVAC competitors. It's critical for you to articulate exactly what your customers can expect from you.

This value proposition needs to be short, to the point, and easy for customers to see. It will go a long way if it’s also in harmony with the style of your website design as well as the HVAC industry.

Minimize User Input

For an optimum chance to convert your visitors to customers, you should have a website design that enables your customers to get information as fast as possible. This means that you need to reduce the number of clicks and the number of steps they have to go through to reach their goal.

Even though pop-ups are effective, minimize the number of pop-ups on your website. This will reduce the number of clicks customers have to make to reach the services they want.

In addition to this, if you need your users to fill out forms for you to get customer information, make sure they are short and concise. Most users leave websites as soon as they realize they have to fill out a 10-page form to get what they need. Strive to get the most vital information only in order to get the leads and convert them to active customers.

Ensure Consistent Branding

Gaining popularity online is all about ensuring consistent branding. Your HVAC company website should carry the business logo and have the same style color and design on different web pages.

You only have a few seconds to leave a lasting impression on your website visitors. During this time they’re not judging you based on your content but rather on the layout, titles, colors, and images on your website.

The images, titles, and layout should all be consistent with your branding to minimize confusion for your website visitors. Items like the call-to-action button and contact information should appear in the same position on different web pages.

This will create predictability and eliminate jolting. The same goes for all other critical information that you want to embed in your HVAC company website.

Growing Your HVAC Company: Website Design Tips for Optimal Conversion

Your HVAC company website design has a lot to do with gaining popularity and attracting customers. These are some of the most essential things you should do to convert more users to local customers. Prepare yourself for split testing to experiment with various designs to decide which converts the most.

Apart from website design, promoting your business involves advertising and marketing. This will drive the traffic to your website for some of them to convert. You can increase the amount of traffic and conversions that you receive by working with a full-service HVAC marketing agency like Optic Marketing Group that specializes in the industry.

For marketing and advertising services, please contact us today and we’ll be more than glad to help your HVAC business.


How to Choose the Best HVAC Marketing Company

Did you know that 87% of American homes use air conditioning equipment? If you have an HVAC company, you need to boost your marketing to appeal to the remaining prospective clients. You might want to hire a marketing company as the competition is relatively high.  

The right agency will help you gain visibility and attract new customers. A business marketing company has the resources necessary to grow your HVAC company. 

Keep reading to know how to choose the best HVAC marketing company. 

Define Your Marketing Goals 

A typical digital marketing process comprises a range of strategies, platforms, and channels. You have to be clear about where you're going to choose the right digital marketing company. Once you identify your motives or marketing goals, it will be easier to filter out the identified agencies.

You can start by meeting your team to see the actions needed to achieve your goals. Draw a realistic action plan and establish the gaps that need to be filled. If your goal is to increase sales, the approach taken might be quite different from a firm seeking brand awareness.

Hiring a marketing agency blindly might not bear the results you desire. A marketing company wouldn’t know your specific needs, and a broad approach to digital marketing isn’t recommendable. 

Specialized and Experienced Team Members 

A marketing company has a team of professionals to work on your HVAC company. It is crucial to ensure that the team working on your campaigns is highly skilled and experienced. Vet a company to know if its team has members qualified in logo design, content marketing, web development, SEO, and PPC, among other services necessary in digital marketing.

Probe the team further to ensure that the team isn’t using outdated digital marketing tactics. Check a marketing company’s website to read more about the team members and their competencies. You might also want to check LinkedIn and then click the option ‘People’ to see the members working there and their qualifications. 

If the website doesn't provide adequate information about the team members, you can ask questions during the consultation phase. Ensure that you get sufficient information about every member who will be working on your project.

Similar Company Culture and Core Values 

Your ideal marketing company should have a culture and core values that compliment your HVAC company. While the primary aim of outsourcing your digital marketing is attracting customers, ensure that you work with an agency that has the right values. Working with such a company makes it easier to mesh the outsourced marketing with what your team is doing internally.

The agency will be an extension of your company. If you choose a marketing company that doesn’t regard your values, conflicts are likely to ensue. Check out the phrases and words an agency uses to establish if it’s the right fit. Do they align with what you believe in? 

A Marketing Company That Offers a Range of Services 

Digital marketing is quite comprehensive. You need to know the marketing services your HVAC company needs. If you're outsourcing, you need to consider services such as public relations, social media marketing, content marketing, and SEO, among others.

A marketing agency should be familiar with the best social media for business. It should also know how to go about Google marketing from SEO to PPC. You'll need to work with a company that can utilize a range of marketing tools seamlessly.

With digital marketing, one tool is hardly enough to get your desired results. Choosing a company that has different services will help in scaling your marketing agency.  

Prioritize Transparency 

Your identified digital marketing agency should be transparent. If a marketing company doesn't have a business address, service page, customer testimonials, contact information, or a functional website, that's a red flag, you don't want to ignore. Avoid engaging further with such a company as it's not transparent enough.  

Transparency is a mark of professionalism. If a company isn't being upfront with its dealings, there's no point in further engagement. The chances are that you'll be dealing with a team that doesn't have the competency to offer professional business marketing.

It would be best if you also were wary of a marketing company that guarantees your SEO success. Avoid such a company since the promise is unfounded. With SEO, even the most competent marketing agency can't guarantee you result within a specific period.

Reviews and References 

About 91% of consumers between 18 and 34 trust online reviews the same way they trust personal recommendations. You can check reviews and references to know what past customers are saying about your identified marketing company. The reviews will be a great way to see the success rates of an agency.

The reviews help establish a company's credibility. Take note of the customer's negative reviews as they can show you some of the company's shortcomings. However, you might want to research more about the company as not all reviews are genuine. 

An Agency That’s Easy to Get in Touch  

Your identified digital marketing agency should make it easy for prospective customers to get in touch. The website ought to be easy to navigate through. Their contact information should be a click away on all pages.

Avoid companies that make everything complex. If you're struggling to get the contact button or understand the pages, consider an alternative. Digital marketing is hard enough; the last thing you need is a marketing company that is hard to contact.

The Right Marketing Company Is a Resource for Your HVAC Business

The success of any business depends highly on the marketing efforts. It would help to employ a marketing company to boost your success. The choice of a marketer for your HVAC business matters. 

You can start your search online as you vet each of your identified marketers. The right marketing company will grow your HVAC business a notch higher. Conversely, a marketing agency's wrong choice can jeopardize your whole business.

Do you want to grow your HVAC business with the right marketing strategy? Optic Marketing Group is your ideal partner in HVAC marketing. Contact us today for a range of marketing services.


8 Tips on Successful Marketing Automation for HVAC Companies

Depending on your industry, marketing can represent up to 40 percent of your budget. If you’re in a competitive industry, like HVAC, then you may end up spending more to compete effectively.

Two of the biggest parts of your marketing budget are likely personnel and tech tools. The more complex your marketing plans, the more time your staff members may need to carry them out. Investing in the right tools can help, but they can also run up the bill.

Marketing automation can help you streamline your costs and create more effective campaigns. Of course, to be successful, you need to make sure you’re automating the right way. These tips can help you automate your HVAC company marketing with ease.

1. Start with Strategy

The first step is to make marketing automation part of your digital marketing strategy. If you don’t already have a digital marketing strategy in place, it’s time to create one.

Why do you need to think about automation as part of your overall strategy? There are many options for automating, and HVAC businesses run the risk of adding automation piecemeal. When that happens, you might spend on a particular tool or automate tasks that you would have been better off handling in person.

Thinking about automation as part of your strategy ensures you leverage it effectively. That means it becomes a key part of every marketing campaign, instead of something you tacked on at the end.

With an automation strategy, you can use the right tools to achieve your goals. You can automate particular tasks and drive your strategy forward. It also helps you outline a budget and measure goals.

2. Build and Segment Contact Lists

Automation started with email marketing. Email marketing is a powerful tool, but it can be tricky to leverage the right way. This is especially true for HVAC businesses and other home services companies.

You may have some customers who are individual homeowners. Others may operate B&Bs or commercial rentals. Yet others are commercial customers.

All have different needs. You need to put effort into the messages and deals you send via email, as well as when you reach out. Miss a key touch point and you might lose the sale.

If you’re using email lists, then think about using tools to help you segment them. You can divvy everyone up into many groups to receive the right offers at the right time.

Also be sure to build your lists, rather than buying them. There are tools to help you collect the information you’ll need. Building your list will give you more room for personalization.

3. Choose Marketing Automation Software Carefully

There are tons of marketing automation solutions out there. They can help you with everything from social media to nurturing leads.

You’ll want to think about the tools you want to adopt. If you use Facebook ads to generate leads, then automating campaigns might make sense. It can save you time and help you manage your ad spend more effectively.

A lead-nurturing tool might also be a smart choice. Once you’ve generated the lead from your Facebook ad, this tool can help people move through the customer journey. When they’re ready, your sales team will have a warm lead to follow up on.

4. Add Chat to Your Marketing Efforts

Chat is an important tool for automation these days. If you don’t already have a chatbot on your website, it might be time to invest in one. You might also think about adding a chatbot to your Facebook marketing efforts, if that’s a channel you use.

Why is chat so important? It gives your customers access to assistance at all hours. When someone’s HVAC system goes down before you open, they can start troubleshooting right away.

That may sound more like automating customer service or sales. People may be looking into systems after your marketing team has gone home for the day, though. The chatbot can help them discover more about the solutions and services you offer.

It can even lead them to get in touch or book an appointment with you.

5. Focus on Dynamic Content

Content should be another piece to focus your automation efforts. As noted, different HVAC clients have different needs. You don’t want to send everyone the same email, and you don’t want to show them the same ads either.

They’re also not interested in the same blog posts or white papers, because they don’t have the same concerns. One person may be incredibly price sensitive, while another is looking to get away from a company that’s delivered bad service.

Dynamic content shifts and changes according to customer preferences and persona. Automation can help you deliver the right content to leads at the right time.

6. Use an Agile Approach to Automation for Marketing

If you want to get all the benefits of marketing automation, then you’ll want to adopt an agile approach. What does that mean for HVAC companies?

It means being platform agnostic. One tool may work for your Facebook marketing, but if it’s not supporting your email efforts, then it’s time to look for alternatives.

If you’re not sure if the tools you’re using are delivering results, then you can talk to a marketing agency. Their team can help you find the right tools and even change between them as your marketing needs change.

7. Remember to Measure

Metrics are one of the reasons digital marketing tools are so powerful. There’s so much data out there, which can provide deeper insights into how your campaigns are performing.

Think back to your automation strategy. What did you want to accomplish? Maybe it was freeing up time, or maybe it was moving customers along via a drip campaign or lead nurturing.

No matter the goal, you’ll need to measure the right metrics to ensure you’re achieving it. Your marketing agency partners can help here too. With the right metrics, you can see how well automation is working for your HVAC marketing.

8. Remember to Keep a Human Touch

Finally, remember that marketing is all about customer relationships. Showing customers dynamic content or nurturing a lead through the funnel is great. Yet your customers will still expect a human touch.

Focus on making your automation less robotic and you’ll see better results. Also use automation strategically to free up your team’s time. With marketing automation, you can take customers through the buyer’s journey hands-free until it’s time for your team to make the service call and close the sale.

Automate Marketing Success for Your Business

Marketing automation is powerful, but HVAC companies need to use it the right way. Following these tips can help you incorporate the right technology to support your marketing goals.

Ready to see what automation can do for your sales? Get in touch with Optic Marketing Group to get started with marketing automation now. Smarter marketing campaigns could be just a few clicks away.


family holding presents

Holiday Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

The Winter season is fast approaching and with that comes the need for homeowners and business owners to tend to their HVAC systems. Your HVAC service is just the kind of company to fit their needs!

The trick is to get yourself out in front of your target market. Believe it or not, your marketing tactics should change with the seasons. There are some alterations to make during the holiday season. 

Presenting your home services is all about advertising in the right way. See below for several holiday marketing tips you can follow to market your HVAC company to your target market.

1. Out With the Old

Much like a child on Christmas day, there are some outdated digital marketing strategies that you need to toss out to make room for the "new toys".

There's no better time to audit your marketing plan than the holiday season. It's a time for you to review the year you've had and make adjustments as necessary. What marketing tactics are you depending on that are killing your ROI?

For example, you might still be depending on organic social media marketing alone for your HVAC company. That no longer exists. If you're looking for results on social media, you need to generate an advertising campaign or throw some money behind the organic posts to promote them. Social media platforms are far too congested to simply post without any budget to back them up.

Even the most successful companies find time to take a hard look in the mirror and change their marketing plan. That starts by tossing out what no longer works to find new ways of doing things.

By throwing out useless tactics, you can make way for such things as marketing automation or funnel ads.

2. Get Festive with Each Holiday

People want to work with personable HVAC businesses. They want to find someone that they can envision themselves building a business relationship with.

The holidays are a great way to show off the personal side of your brand. You aren't just a stick-to-the-script type of company, you're in the business of helping people with their HVAC issues and having fun while doing it.

The best part is that each holiday allows you to show off a different side of your company's personality.

For example, Thanksgiving is a time to (as the name would imply) give thanks and show appreciation for your staff, your clients, and so forth. Christmas is a great time to spread holiday cheer to all to hear... you get the idea!

3. Incorporate More Video Content

Video content is the here-and-now of content marketing. It allows you to be more interactive with your clients and attract your clients to your brand. It also helps ensure that more of your followers/viewers retain the information that you give them.

So, for example, if you're running a promotion for a free in-home check-up during the Christmas season, you can run a video to announce the offer. 

Your clients will remember how to redeem the in-home visit, what they need to look out for, common HVAC issues during the holiday season, and so on.

Better yet, video content can be used on every digital platform you have. You can place customer testimony videos on your website, how-to videos on your Youtube page, live streaming videos on your social media platforms, and so on.

It's important to diversify the content in your marketing plan. Some clients are more receptive to videos. Others are more receptive to blog articles. It takes a healthy dose of many different components to find the perfect balance during this season. That’s why it’s best to work with a full-service marketing agency who knows how to brand your business across all platforms.

4. Push More Giveaways

You might think "We're an HVAC company, what do we have to give away?". It's that kind of thinking that prevents more HVAC services from connecting with their clients on a higher level.

There are several things you can give away to your followers and clients. You could give away Starbucks gift cards, promo items, swag with your company logo on it, coupons on your service, tumblers, gift baskets, and so much more.

Customers love free things. So much so, that they're willing to do almost anything you ask of them (within reason) to put their name in the hat.

Nothing says "holiday spirit" like free giveaways! Simply advertise the items you're giving away, set the guidelines of the contest (tagging three friends, leaving a comment, etc.), and set the date and time when the contest ends.

5. Plan Around the Holidays

Most importantly, you want to make sure you account for all the holidays that are upcoming. There are a lot of holidays in the last two months of the year, so be sure to consider them all.

Circle your calendar for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve/Day.

First, you need to plan for giving your staff time off for the necessary holidays if you haven't done so already. 

These dates can also help you heighten your marketing and gear up for all of those holidays. You can think of things like social media posts, marketing ads, and so on based on the holidays that are coming up quickly.

Use These Marketing Tips to Your Advantage

Now that you have seen several amazing marketing tips you can use to spread holiday cheer and make your brand more personable, it's important to use that to your advantage!

Be sure to read this article to learn more about how to make social media posts convert into revenue for your HVAC company's marketing plan.

For more inquiries on Optic Marketing Group and our services, be sure to reach out via phone at (844)-700-4781 and we will be happy to assist you further.

 


Male technician repairing air conditioner safety uniform indoors.

How To Grow Your HVAC Business with Full-Service Marketing

Do you have a marketing and advertising plan in place to promote your HVAC business? If you want to grow your customer base and boost your profits this year, you should.

Having a full-service marketing strategy may be just what you need to take your HVAC company to the next level this year. Keep reading for some techniques you should consider adding to your marketing plan to watch your company grow.

Invest in a Top-Notch Website

In order to make the most of any of your digital marketing efforts, you'll want to first make sure you have a top-notch website to grow your traffic and convert website visitors into customers. Your website should have a modern and updated design that allows for great user experience. You should make sure your site is professional and visually appealing to reflect your HVAC company.

A great website will help you appear trustworthy to site visitors, allowing them to feel that they can trust your services and products. You should make sure your site is reliable with fast loading pages. It should also be mobile friendly to maximize leads.

Optimizing your site for search engines can help you rank competitively for those searching for your HVAC products or services. You should also make sure it's easy for website visitors to find the information they are looking for on your site. Make sure your services and products are clearly outlined and that prices are easy for customers to locate.

Consider including customer reviews and testimonials on your site to build your brand trust. This can help you stand apart from your competitors using social proof. It will let potential customers know what they can expect when working with you, which can help to boost conversions.

Utilize Social Media Marketing

Are you using social media to promote your HVAC company? If not, you should be. This is a great way to build customer loyalty by engaging with your current customers and getting in front of new ones.

This can help you build brand awareness, letting those in your area know about your products and services. This is also a great way to promote any promotions or new services you are offering with your customer base. Creating a relationship with your audience can help you retain your current clients while earning new ones.

This is also a great way to show audiences that you provide great customer service. To do so, keep up with engagement by watching your direct messages, comments, and interactions. Responding to your followers shows that you care about them and are there to offer them answers to any questions, comments, and concerns.

Post helpful content on your platforms to keep your audiences engaged. A great way to keep your followers is to provide them with benefits. Posting this kind of content along with your promotional content will help to vary your posts so that your profile is authentic and not too salesy.

Provide value to your followers by posting helpful content such as how to spot problems with their HVAC system. Unique, high-quality, and helpful content will help you get some traction and engagement. This is highly shareable content that can help you grow your audience while also establishing you as an expert in your field to build brand authority.

Pursue PPC Advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a great method for attracting high-value leads online. This ad type offers a sustainable return on investment, as you only pay for an ad when someone clicks it. You can set a daily budget to make sure you don't exceed it.

You can run these ads on search engines like Google and Bing, as well as social media platforms. To optimize this ad type, you will want to do some research to target the right audiences. Consider working to target those in your area that are searching for keywords related to your HVAC products and services.

Create a Full-Spectrum Marketing Plan for Your HVAC Business

Creating a full-spectrum marketing plan can be a great way to utilize tons of tools to take your HVAC business to the next level this year. The above marketing methods are just some of the tools you can add to your marketing strategy to reach new audiences and retain your current customer.

Are you looking for digital marketing professionals that can help you create an effective, full-spectrum marketing plan for your HVAC company? Contact us today to get started!


hand with digital marketing icons above it

5 Outdated Digital Marketing Tactics to Stop Using Immediately (and What to Do Instead!)

Are you wondering if you're up to date on the latest and greatest digital marketing tactics? In an industry that's constantly changing, it can be hard to keep up. 

To learn how to modernize your marketing strategy for best results, keep reading. In this guide, we'll let you know what digital marketing methods are outdated, as well as what you can be doing instead to take your business to the next level by staying ahead of competitors. 

1. Content Quantity Over Quality

Just a few years ago, content quantity was of most importance in the eyes of many marketers. While creating consistent content is still a must, it's the quality of your content you should be focusing on. Rather than producing tons of average content to generate leads to your site, focus on creating the right content in a quality fashion. 

To create quality content make sure it is trustworthy, and that it establishes your authority in your industry. Your content should not just be well written and researched, it should provide a benefit to online visitors. Providing value to your audience doesn't just boost your search engine rank, it also improves your brand authority which can help you gain more trusted customers. 

2. Organic Social Media Marketing 

If you've noticed that you haven't gotten as much social media traffic as you used to, it may be because you're still relying on organic engagement. That's because, in 2018, sites like Facebook changed their algorithms, putting posts from the user's friends ahead of those by businesses to boost the social goal of these platforms. Now, businesses need to put marketing dollars toward advertisements to optimize their social media marketing efforts. 

Luckily, this form of advertising is still affordable in comparison to other ad types. Boosting a social media post or creating an advertising campaign can cost you as little as $5 a day and can be a great return on investment.

Figure out what your social media marketing goal is and put your budget on these channels towards these goals. For example, if you want to get more leads to your website, use tools such as Facebook's Website Conversion Ads. You can also use Brand Awareness Ads to reach your target customer or Local Awareness Ads to target potential customers in your area. 

3. Keeping an Outdated Website 

If you're putting effort and marketing dollars towards your digital marketing methods but your website is outdated, your efforts are somewhat pointless. An outdated website can deter all those website visitors you've been trying so hard to get. If you're keeping your outdated website in hopes to save money, investing in new website design is an investment that will seriously pay off. 

An updated, visually appealing site that is user friendly will help you build trust with website visitors, allowing them to feel good about making a purchase with you. If you have an eCommerce site, you want to make sure your checkout page is secure to let customers feel that their information is safe with you. You should work to keep all the information on your website, such as your location and hours, updated to make sure you're giving your site visitors accurate information. 

Update your site regularly, by adding products, content such as blog posts, or creating new pages to keep your website fresh while also ranking competitively on search engines. 

4. Winging It 

Do you have a digital marketing plan in place or do you just wing it and hope for the best? Without creating a plan and strategy, you may be throwing valuable time and money down the drain. To make the most of your marketing efforts, you need to be prepared. 

To make a successful digital marketing plan, start by doing some market research. You should also create a buyer persona based on your ideal customer and map out your customer journey or sale cycle. You need to know as much about your customer as possible to successfully target them online. 

Your buyer persona should be unique to your business. Narrow down demographics, such as age, gender, and location, as well as details such as your ideal customer's interests, wants and needs. This will help you create content that will appeal to groups that are more likely to be interested in your products or services. 

Not only will this make targeting your ads a breeze, but it will also help you when figuring out what content and platform types you will use to reach this particular buyer. 

5. Blogging Without Promotion 

If you've created a blog to improve your search engine ranking but you haven't been promoting these blog posts, there is a good chance not many people have seen them. If you're taking the time to write these blogs, or are paying professionals to do so, you should work to promote them. Market your blog by sharing your posts to your social media platforms, or deliver them to your customers in your email newsletters. 

Let your customer know where they can find this informative content on your site. Sharing educational content with your audiences can help to establish you as an authority in your field. This can boost your brand authority. 

Digital Marketing Tactics You Should Update 

To make the most of your marketing efforts, make sure you've updated your digital marketing tactics for the best results. With digital marketing, it's out with the old and in with the new. Stay on top of the latest trends to stay competitive in your industry. 

Are you looking for professionals who can help you stay on top of the best digital marketing tactics? Contact us today to get started. 


connected tv advertising

This Is What You Need to Know About Connected TV Advertising

Did you know that 80% of the U.S. population, or 260 million people, have at least one connected TV device in their home? As a business owner, this can be a great way to get the word out about your company, driving leads, and sales.

But what exactly is connected TV? For many, this is a new term that's a little confusing.

Don't fret. In this post, we'll outline everything you need to know about connected TV advertising and how it can benefit your business. Keep reading to learn more.

What Is Connected TV?

Let's start with the basics. What is connected TV?

Here's a good definition: connected TV (otherwise known as CTV) is television-style content that's streamed over the internet instead of a cable or satellite service.

As you probably know, cable and satellite TV subscriptions have been declining for a few years now. On the other hand, CTV usage is going up.

Say hello to an amazing advertising opportunity.

Connected TV Advertising Explained

Now let's talk through connected TV advertising: what exactly is it?

Basically, advertising on CTV means you're purchasing video ad space that displays on internet-powered streaming devices and apps.

For example, say someone is watching Hulu on their iPad. One example of a connected TV ad is the commercial that comes up during a break on the show.

The best part about CTV is that it takes traditional TV advertising and takes it to the next level. Because it's internet-based, you have access to the same precise targeting methods available on other digital channels. It's a win-win.

Here are some of the most common devices that can handle CTV content:

  • Desktop computers
  • Laptops
  • Tablets
  • Smart TVs
  • Amazon Fire Sticks
  • Apple TVs
  • Playstations
  • X-Boxes

And that's just some of them. Each year, more and more devices are capable of streaming connected TV content, expanding your potential reach from an advertising perspective.

How Connected TV Advertising Works

At the core of CTV advertising is automated software. These programs will send out our ads to viewers as they're watching CTV, all while gathering and tracking data.

Say goodbye to the days of airing a TV commercial with no real idea of how it performed or who saw it. With connected TV, you can understand how your ad performs.

Here's a breakdown of the process.

First, you create an ad that markets your product or service. Make sure it's engaging and attention-grabbing.

You then decide on the characteristics of your preferred audience, which could include age, gender, location, interests, device type, and more. The software will then find people who fall into those categories and show your ad to them. As the ad is viewed, important metrics are captured, like reach and frequency which will help you understand performance.

It's also important to understand that your ad can run at different times during the program. Pre-roll ads come on before the main content begins streaming. Mid-roll show throughout the show.

Typically, mid-roll is seen as more popular and competitive, making it more expensive.

What are the Benefits of Connected TV Advertising?

Now let's talk about the benefits of using CTV to market your company. What are they?

It's Huge with Millennials

If you're going after millennials in your marketing, then CTV is a no-brainer. It's super popular with them.

In fact, in the U.S., millennials are 67% more likely to be in connected TV-only households. This means that you'd have an incredible opportunity to get your message in front of this age group.

You Can't Skip Them

In today's digital landscape, skippable video ads are a common thing. Youtube, for example, often allows viewers to skip through ads they aren't interested in.

One of the benefits of CTV ads is that viewers can't skip them. They must be watched all the way, which means you're able to convey your full message.

And thanks to its targeting capabilities, your message will get sent to the right people at the right time, in its entirety. What's not to like?

It's More Affordable than Traditional TV Advertising

Another great benefit is that CTV is usually more affordable than traditional TV ads. This is because you can more precisely target your ads to people who are interested.

With regular TV ads, you'd have to spend a lot more money to achieve the same impact per viewer. In other words, you have to get your commercial in front of more eyes to have the same impact with normal TV ads. And this adds up.

CTV is Growing

Last but not least, connected TV is continuing to grow. More and more entertainment is being created for connected formats and people are using it more and more as well.

For example, let's think of all of the CTV options available these days:

  • Netflix
  • Hulu
  • Amazon Prime
  • CBS on Demand
  • NBC's streaming service
  • Disney+
  • ESPN and other sport streaming packages
  • And many more!

Plus, this trend will continue to grow. So why not get in now?

Connected TV Advertising: Next Steps

There you have it: the ins and outs of connected TV advertising. We've gone over what it is, how it works, and the main benefits.

What's left is for you to make a decision. Is this advertising format a good fit for your brand?

If so, great. Let's get working. We'd love to help make your vision a reality.

Get in contact with our team today for more information. We can't wait to help!


Paper with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on a table

A Business Owner's Guide to ADA Compliance

At least 54% of online users live with a disability. Not every single users' disability relates to web compliance. You still need ADA compliance for your business website.

But what does an ADA compliant website look like? And how can you ensure you meet every standard for your website?

Read the guide below to learn all about implementing accessibility compliance into your website.

A Guide to ADA Website Compliance

Web accessibility is one of the more modern accommodations established by the ADA. The ADA itself only formed in 1990. Making sure policies are updated to accommodate disabilities in every type of user experience is difficult. This makes it a challenge to uphold ADA requirements for websites.

What Is ADA Compliance?

As of 2018, the Department of Justice mandated ADA compliance for accommodation on public websites. Historically, accommodations only applied to physical public locations.

ADA compliance for websites mostly comes from the DOJ's interpretation of Title III. It requires that "the goods, services, privileges, or activities provided by places of public accommodation be equally accessible to people with disabilities." Specifically, it protects from discrimination relative to:

  • Public accommodations
  • Commercial facilities
  • Transportation
  • State and local government
  • Telecommunications
  • Employment

The use of online space is progressively increasing. This makes it important to include persons of all abilities for more than legal reasons.

This process is not something you want to rush. It is an involved process you should invest time and resources into as a caring business owner.

Why Do I Care as a Business Owner?

As a business owner, there are several benefits to including accessibility compliance in your website's design. Unfortunately, many sites are noncompliant. Beyond ease of use for the disabled community, ADA compliance benefits all end-users. 

  • You'll get exposure to new demographics, which means more clients!
  • Your SEO strategy will be optimized on an ADA compliant website.
  • You significantly decrease your risk of a lawsuit from noncompliance.
  • Corporate diversity naturally increases in unexpected ways.

These benefits are not even the main reason to implement web accessibility on your website. They are certainly good incentives. Your primary reason for compliance should be about doing the moral and ethical thing for your clients.

What Is the Difference Between ADA vs. 508 Compliance vs. WCAG?

ADA compliance is based on civil rights law that prohibits discrimination. This includes public spaces of online interaction. 508 compliance is a federal law for the use of information and communications technology by governmental bodies to include persons with disabilities. WCAG is a set of guidelines set by the ISO.

ADA Compliance

ADA compliance requires general terms of accessibility. Its policies directly affect state and local governments, nonprofit agencies, and businesses. Some critical items to address:

  • Your website needs to have complete keyboard functionality.
  • Any form fields need coded labels that a screen reader will voice aloud.
  • Your alt text for anchors and external links has to be descriptive.
  • Content headings should be adequately nested. This prevents interrupting user experience (e.g., taking users to the wrong landing page or section.)

The terms of ADA compliance have set financial consequences for the private and public sectors. Fines increase for repeat offenses, and federally funded projects can even be revoked. WCAG guidelines can help you build an ADA compliant website, as well as a plugin or web design service.

508 Compliance

508 compliance is a section of the Rehabilitation Act. It focuses on the use of information and communications technology between federal agencies and departments.

It applies to these federal bodies. It also applies to people who use resources provided by federal entities (e.g., citizens or employees).  Examples of such technologies include:

  • Call centers (e.g., telephones)
  • Websites
  • Software

Its consequences entail formal complaints or civil lawsuits. Following 508 compliance can be done by turning to WCAG for guidelines. You can also consult a web design agency that specializes in this form of accessibility compliance.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Focusing on web accessibility for any device, WCAG works as a guideline for web developers to concentrate on accessible content. WCAG is a reference point for ADA compliance and 508 compliance. It uses four principles to set accessibility compliance standards.

  1. Perception: alt-text, captions, multiformat content with assistive tech, visual and audible content 
  2. Operation: keyboard functionality, navigation aid, reasonable caption timing
  3. Understanding: legible text, predictable content, mistake correction and aid
  4. Robust: compatibility with current and future tools

These principles are measured with success criteria on three levels, A, AA, and AAA. The success criteria determine how accessible a website is under WCAG.

Why Do I Need to Hire a Web Design Agency for ADA Compliance?

You might be asking why you need to hire a web design agency for accessibility compliance for when you can just reference WCAG. Although an excellent reference for general accessibility compliance, with so many regulations, it's easy to overlook a single detail. It is also an overwhelming, technical process that requires a certain level of expertise.

It's also quite challenging to alter the coding settings, which impact your compliance. For example, see this video in adjusting the contrast on one single header. There are several website features to include in for an ADA compliant website. 

Where to Turn for Accessibility Testing Design

Now that you know the ins and outs of ADA compliance, it's time to consider your options. There are several web design agencies for you to find. You need a full service marketing agency experienced in accessible web design services.

Optic Marketing Group can audit your current site or build you an entirely new website to support ADA compliance guidelines. After we have completed a site audit for accessibility, we'll walk you through the necessary steps. Contact us today so we can discuss optimizing your business to the best possible standards for accessible user experience.

 


red phone

Customer Service - Call Handling Tips

Customer Service - Call Handling Tips

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” Alexander Graham Bell

Do you want to know how to handle and run client calls efficiently and effectively? Here are 5 tips and best practices our Client Service Team follows in order to exceed client expectations and customer service.

  1. Schedule the Call.

Connect and schedule the meeting ahead of time. Ensure the meeting invite is accepted and the proper people are on the call. Scheduling a call with the wrong business contact or scheduling a different date that the client agreed upon can cause havoc and be a huge waste of time. At Optic Marketing Group, we love to schedule client meetings at least once a month to see how business is going, what is happening internally in the client’s business, and talk about what’s happening in their industry.

  1. Be Prepared.

Prepare, prepare, and prepare!! Take the time to create your agenda, outline the items you want to discuss on the call. Review reporting, internal questions your team may need you to verify ahead of time will make you be a lot more comfortable and calm on your call. We practice and preach being 100% being transparent with our clients, if you have any negative feedback or results, you’re able to collect your thoughts ahead of time to deliver the information efficiently, concisely and with a solution. Review the client’s contract, ensure you have a clear understanding of what the client’s goals are and what your team has done to get closer to that goal.

  1. Read the “Room”.

If you are able to have an in-person meeting with your client, read everyone’s body language. Body language speaks volumes and will enable you to anticipate any uncomfortable nuances that your client may not express. If you cannot have an in-person meeting and are just doing an online meeting, pick up on the tone and hesitations in answers. Understanding the small “silences” allows you to be able to maneuver the conversation to ensure everyone is comfortable with the conversation and the solutions presented.

  1. If You Don’t Know, Do Not Fake It.

You don’t know what you don’t know, be okay with saying, “I need to check with the team on that for you, I am not sure.” You would rather confirm the answer with your team rather than putting your foot in your mouth and giving empty promises!

 

  1. Use Your Time Wisely.

Your client does not have all day to speak to you, so make sure you’re asking the proper questions. Prioritize the items you need to review and be flexible to adapt in case your client comes in with a left-field question or concern.

Regularly scheduled conversations with your clients provide much-needed updates on both sides. As a full-service marketing agency, we want to ensure our campaigns are aligned with the client’s goals and objectives. We understand that sometimes those client goals and objectives shift, so we adapt and have that open dialogue.