chameleon_local_marketing

Three Tips for Small Business to Improve Your Keyword Efforts

dave@creativechameleon.ca — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:32:47 GMT

Keywords are super important in helping small businesses get found online.

You may not always notice them but keywords are super important in helping small businesses get found online. Ever heard that improving your SEO will help you get found online? Or, that adding keywords to the content on your website, URL and blog are important ways to raise your SEO ranking? All true. Beware though that using the wrong keywords or too many keywords can hurt your ranking just as much.

Here are a few pointers to set you on the right path with keywords.

Do your homework – that means research

Realize at the outset that this is a process that should never end. Keyword research is a constantly evolving process that requires a plan and a solid understanding of your business and your industry. Using keywords that relate to your business and your industry will help to drive the right prospects to your site instead of than just anyone. Attracting the right prospects is an important way to increase the efficiency of your online prospecting and will help to attract prospects with a higher likelihood of appreciating the value your business provides.

Picking the right type of keywords

Common, generic, short (short-tail) keywords might seem like a great idea because they’re searched more often than longer keyword phrases (long-tail). Realize though that they’re also a lot more competitive. That means you’re quite probably competing against larger companies with deeper pockets and larger budgets than you.

Long-tail keywords, might not be search for as often. Here’s an example: “Perennials” “Perennials that bloom in Summer”. Going long will help you attract more prospects who might search for any combination of those individual words.

Location is another important factor to consider when picking keywords. Location-based keywords relate to exactly what you might expect - the physical location of your business. If your business is a nursery in a popular neighborhood in Aurora, ON, you’ll want to include not only Aurora, but also the neighborhood name. Location-based keywords will help you target prospects in your area instead of ones from the other side of town who may not bother to make the trip if they have a local alternative.

What not to do - stuffing

Carefully researching and picking keywords that relate to your business is good. Keyword stuffing is the opposite of that. Stuffing is the practice of adding practically any keyword you can think of (relevant or not) and is considered a big ‘don’t’ in the world of online marketing. As with many things, quality is more important than quantity. Another version of stuffing is repeating your keywords (good ones or otherwise) over and over again just for the sake of including them as many times as you can. Use your keywords where and when they make sense. They should enhance the meaning of the content and occur naturally.

Like many other things, keywords are a valuable tool when used correctly – there are right ways to employ and wrong ways to avoid.

To find out more about using keywords to improve your SEO, contact us today .

Three Email Marketing Myths to Consider As You Work To Keep Your Prospects & Customers Engaged

dave@creativechameleon.ca — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:32:43 GMT

Don't believe everything you hear when it comes to email - talk to an expert.

1. 'People don’t like getting promo emails from brands.'

Actually, email is still consumers’ preferred method for being contacted by brands: Emails are easily accessible but they're less intrusive than mobile notifications, phone calls and texts. That said, consumers are increasingly demanding a personalized experience. Essentially, the more relevant and interesting the content, the more engaged your subscribers will be.

2. 'Frequent emails are annoying'

Yes and no - it depends a lot on the industry, the content and most importantly, the recipient. A number of studies show results can vary greatly depending business and the behaviour of its customers. Test what works best for your business and, if it's practical, segment and send fewer or more emails based on the frequency selected by the subscriber.

3. 'Young people don't use Email.'

Text messaging and other instant messaging channels are very popular with Millennials. However, when it comes to communication from brands, email is still #1 with all age groups, including Millennials. In fact, according to a 2019 Adestra study, 77.8 percent of 19–34 year olds say they prefer being contacted by email.

As you continue to engage with your prospects and customers during the shutdown and beyond, keep email in your communication mix. Keep it engaging, test what works best and learn what you can about your subscribers along the way.

To find out more about improving your email marketing strategy, contact us today .

Facebook Ad Tips for Small Businesses

Tue, 02 Jun 2020 15:32:35 GMT

Choose your campaign objective carefully

In Facebook Ads, you have many different campaign objectives to choose from. It’s crucial to choose the right objective, as each one comes with access to a specific set of placements.

You will want to make sure that the objective you ultimately choose is aligned with your marketing goals.

The different types of campaign objectives are as follows:

Awareness

Brand awareness: Great for brands that have just started promoting their product. Great for top-of-funnel campaigns.
Reach: For having your ads seen by as many people as possible.

Consideration

Traffic: For businesses looking to drive visits to their website or app.
Engagement: For advertisers that want to drive engagement on their ads. Ex. comments, shares, likes.
App installs: Great for advertisers that want to drive new downloads to their app.
Video views: Helps you show ads to people who are most likely to watch your ads for at least 2 seconds.
Lead generation: Good for helping you collect prospects from form fills.
Messages: Drives conversations to your business. Some ways you can use it is by offering support or by answering questions your clients may have.

Conversion

Conversions: For advertisers who want to drive valuable actions on their site.
Catalog sales: Great for e-commerce businesses that want to sell on Facebook
Store traffic: Drive foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar store

Take advantage of Facebook’s detailed targeting options

The beauty of Facebook Ads is that you can choose from many different targeting options. It can be tempting to select all of them, however, it’s important to ask yourself the following questions:

Who are my potential clients?
What are their online habits?
Which demographic groups do they belong to?
What interests them or what topics would they be interested in?

Develop unique buyer personas

In order to advertise effectively to the right audience, we recommend building out 4-5 different customer personas depending on your product or service.

Details to include:

List of attributes your ideal customer would have (age, gender, location, education, job title, etc).
List of their goals and pain points (how can your product or service help them?).
List out tailored marketing messages for each persona

Once you have your personas, be sure to validate them with your team.

Choose your audience

Once you have your personas ready, define your audience through the Ad Set section. Facebook lets you define your audience through basic options, such as Age, Gender, Location, Language, and Interests; the detailed targeting options are endless. However, for a more precise campaign, here are some tips we suggest trying out:

Target people who are similar to your current audience by creating a lookalike audience
Create custom audiences for remarketing. Through the power of remarketing, Facebook allows you to show your ads to people who have visited your website in the past and have not made a purchase from your store. This is a great way to get back your website visitors and encourage them to make a purchase.
Get granular with Facebook’s narrow targeting. Through a subset of categories, Facebook Ads allows you to segment even further than the matches you have selected. With this feature you’re able to cater to a niche audience.

Facebook audience

Target your audience based on how users engaged with your content.
Creating a custom Facebook audience

Choose your placements

You can easily reach your audience through automatic or manual placements. Automatic placements allow you to get the most desired results based off your campaign objective. For those starting off with Facebook, we recommend opting with automatic placements as it helps you take control of your budget and costs. It is important to note, however, that some campaign objectives may work better with specific placements.

Manual placements, on the other hand, allow for more flexibility and let you individually select where you would like to showcase your ads. You can choose to advertise on different devices and different platforms (such as Instagram, Messenger, Stories, etc).

Creating your ads

Facebook Ads has a wide variety of formats to choose from.

Carousel ads: paint a story of your products or services

With carousel ads, you get to be creative by showcasing your products or services in a continuous panoramic image. Here are some ideas on how you can use carousel ads:

Tell an engaging story by using a captivating first image, making users want to scroll to the very end.
Use bold colours and colourful graphics to drive engagement
For e-commerce stores, showcase high-quality product images

Create image ads

Single image ads are a good option to go with when you need to make an ad as soon as possible. Here are some ideas on how you can use ad images:

Use Facebook’s bank of stock photos so you can easily launch your ads.
Use high-quality images that clearly showcase your product or service.
Create different image ads for your different buyer personas.
Use faces to help your users identify with your ads.

Grab users’ attention with video ads.

If you need a more effective way to draw attention to your brand, Facebook video ads are a format worth trying out. However, in order for video ads to be effective, they need to be concise, attention-grabbing, and they must have engaging titles and descriptions. Here are some more tips:

Ensure the first 3 seconds of your video ad is engaging, as those first three seconds generate about 47% of its value. Test your video on friends and strangers first.
Create video ads without sound because 85% of videos are being watched with the sound off. Also, be sure to include captions to your video ads to make it easier for people to watch the video with the sound off.
Video ads don’t have to be complex. Focus on crafting a simple story in a way that keeps your viewers interested until the very end.

The most important part about creating ads is optimizing and testing them to prevent ad fatigue. Doing so will help prevent your audience from becoming overly familiar with your ads.

Conclusion

Building an effective Facebook ad doesn’t require a genius but it does require some time. Make sure not to rush any of these steps or you may end up wasting your ad spend on campaigns that don’t perform. If you need any further guidance with Facebook Ads, consult the Facebook Blueprint for businesses.

If you don’t have the time to commit to building effective Facebook Ads, district m has a team of online advertising experts that can use their skills to drive new customers to your business. Reach out to a representative at +1 888-881-6930 or learn more about our service here.

5 Tips for Using Content to Drive More Traffic to Your Website

Tue, 02 Jun 2020 15:32:35 GMT

Mark Twain famously said “There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and…make new and curious combinations.”

Regardless of how many others have covered a topic, there’s always something of value that you can add – your experience, your mistakes, the lessons your learned. In short, you can add ‘You’.

1. Frame a problem and craft a headline around the solution

We’ve put this first not just because a good headline will draw your reader in, but because the rest of your article should follow as an exploration of the headline. We’re not all professional writers but that doesn’t matter. When creativity fails, look for examples of article that grabbed your attention.

Not sure what your customers are struggling with?

Ask. Survey your customers and ask what keeps them up at night.
Check out comments and posts on sites in your industry – in particular your competitors. You’ll likely find comments that highlight problems your customers have as well.

Once you have the problem and solution nailed, be sure to include a promise

Promise value – make sure you’re clear in your headline what exactly you’re going to help with
Don’t feel like you need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to headlines. Imitate

A good headline sparks interest and invites readers in. Consider these great statistics from Copyblogger:

80% of people will read your headlines.
But only 20% of those people will read the rest of your content!
And that is why the headline is as important as the article or post itself.

Let’s look at a few good headlines:

The sub headline in the panel below is spectacular. Even though the fear of being eaten rarely enters a civilized human’s mind (unless the person was out in the wild), this author argues that it “define(s) who we are.” You can’t help but be a little curious.

fear of being eaten

Because no one wants to look dumb:

dumb headline

Nutritional differences aside, which would you rather snack on — french fries or cauliflower? If all things except taste are equal, most would say fries. But what if you could get the nutritional value of cauliflower with the taste of fries? Pretty enticing:

enticing headline

This title sounds good, is positive, says a lot in only a few words, and excites the reader’s interest for what’s in the message:

positive headline

Take time with your headlines. If possible, make a few and select which one you like best. Don’t skim over them. They are the first thing people read, and they are the basis those people use to decide if they want to read your article or not.

2. Make it original:

Originality is huge when it comes to using content to drive more traffic. You’ll be rewarded for creating it and penalized for faking it. That is certainly true when it comes to Google. Original content will help you rank higher in search results. Copying content from other sites will hurt your ranking and your business - that’s a point that the search giant has made again and again.

Whether you’re a small retailer, an accountant or a restaurant, share what you know. The fact that the topic has been done before (it probably has) is not as important as the experience you share. Think about almost any topic you’ve found important and share your take on it. And do it with a perspective that you feel will benefit your prospects and customers. Some of the best content you’ll read simply solves a problem that the writer has seen over and over again and that they know how to solve.

3. Enable your readers to take action

What was the last blog post you wrote? Did it give readers advice on how they can apply the lessons right away?

Unbounce’s Noob Guide To Online Marketing might be the greatest example of actionable content ever:

noob guide to marketing

The best content gives the user a sense of how to apply the information. It doesn’t degrade users by telling them what to do, but rather respects them and provides them with assurance that they know best how to use the material. When you write your blog post, give users tips on applying what you are offering them. Many times, just writing well about a topic will spark some ideas for readers.

Why do people read non-fiction? To learn and become better. Help your readers do the same.

What is the ultimate purpose of a search engine? Most people would be correct in saying “to deliver sets of answers.” Google is great at this. Type a query into Google and you’ll be presented with links, pictures, and videos.

When people use a search engine, what they ultimately want is an answer, and it’s the search engine’s job to deliver that answer.

It’s the same when people are reading a blog post, viewing an infographic or watching a video — they want an answer so they can gain knowledge. An additional tip here is: people don’t just want answers, they want answers fast. So make your content easy to scan so people can pick up the juicy, important bits quickly.

Read any title and subtitle of a non-fiction book or article. Ultimately, what it leaves the reader with is a question or a sense of curiosity. It is then the author’s job to deliver answers and have supporting information.

4. Be Accurate in Your Reporting and Sourcing of Information

Think about this: you write an article for your company’s blog, thousands of people read it, and some of what you wrote turns out to be inaccurate. Can you imagine what damage this can do to your company and your personal reputation? Keep in mind, your blog is a reflection of your company. If there are any issues with the blog, it impacts how people view your product.

It’s important that any statistic you state can be verified. Many blog posts will link right to the statistic and the source.

Accuracy builds trust with readers. Remember James Frey, author of the popular book A Million Little Pieces? He had to go on the Oprah Winfrey show and admit that the book was made up of lies. He has written a few books since then, but he likely will be remembered as the guy who made up his memoir, instead of as the writer of his other published works. It has permanently damaged his career.

If you’ve ever seen the fantastic movie Shattered Glass or followed Stephen Glass’s fall from grace, you can see the devastating effect that inaccuracy can have on your career.

Here are some tips to think about when you’re mulling over the issues of accuracy:

Consider who you are linking to. Are they a trusted and authoritative source? Linking to other quality websites will earn more trust from your readers.
Linking to more content can only help. The more you can back up and substantiate what you are writing about, the more trusted your content will become.
Help the search engines out. Linking to other sources and content will help the search engines figure out what your content is about, and how it should be categorized.

5. Create concise, Engaging and Thought Provoking Content and include photos & video

lots of comments means an engaged audience

An engaged audience hangs on to your every word and takes in all that you write or say. But the only way to get an engaged audience is to make engaging content. It all starts with you and what you write. Here are a few tips to help you write engaging content:

Leave readers with questions. This doesn’t mean to have an incomplete post, but rather to include questions that make readers reflect on how they can implement the knowledge you provided.
Have an important and promising introduction. Ever wondered how quickly people make judgments about blog posts? Most people probably decide within the first few sentences if the post is worth reading. Tell users why they should care and what you’ll be discussing in the blog post. Make them want to read it.
People love stories. You can use an anecdote in your introduction or have a story woven into your blog post. Stories can also help clarify a point. When possible, add a story to your blog post. It will make it more engaging and may also help the reader learn.

A final tip on this point: If you provide content that sparks a flurry of comments, the search engines will notice that your post is important and is being updated regularly. This is a great way to get the engines to come back to your site more frequently.

You already know that people learn differently. Some people learn better by seeing, while others learn better by hearing. What’s important is that no one learns less by having visual aids. Whether you use pictures, videos, or diagrams, they can help illustrate your point. Open any modern textbook and you’ll find pictures used to enhance the reading experience and to reinforce the author’s lesson.

Whatever you’re writing about, add pictures. No one wants to look at paragraphs of text, unless you’re writing a book. However, only add images that help or add value. And please – for the love of your readership – stay away from unnecessary stock photography!

One of the best writing lessons I’ve learned is to eliminate fluff. It’s challenging and takes work, but it makes for a significantly better composition.

There is nothing better than a brief, to-the-point blog post or article that is filled with information.

So don’t focus on word count. A longer blog post does not mean a better blog post. And often, keeping a blog post short is more difficult and actually takes more time than just writing as much as you can.

For more information on word count, check out this HubSpot blog post.

9. Make Continual Updates to Your Website or Blog

Starting a blog or website is a commitment. While you can write a couple of posts and then abandon the work, you won’t get many readers or new customers. Not just that, but search engines don’t favor sites that aren’t regularly updated.

If you have a blog or content site, you need to update it regularly with great content. Many of the best content sites are regularly updated.

According to our Science of Social Timing infographic – sites that post more frequently have a surprisingly stronger influx of visitors:

unique views by post per day

How often should your blog or site be updated? That’s up to you. Everyone has different resources and priorities. You should make an effort to update at least twice a week. It is a content site you’re building, after all.

Final thoughts:

Don’t treat a blog post or any other sort of content site lightly. It’s difficult, and good ones take time to research and write. Proper title, grammar, and organization are a must. When you reread your post, ask yourself:

Are there any words I can take out?
Have I given the readers the best information I possibly can?
Is it complete?

Keep writing and updating and do it on a regular schedule

BONUS TIP - Repurpose your content and give it multiple lives

One article can be used several times over and drive new traffic in the process, if you’re creative about it. Look for opportunities to use pieces of your original article as separate, individual social posts.

The first time you do this will likely when you be when you first publish your article. Take the title, add a few key points as bullets, add a call to action and include a link to your site or blog where readers can discover the full story.

Plan out a schedule for posting a few other key bits of your article as separate, individual posts and follow the same process – new title related on the part of the article your focusing on, a few bullets and a call to action to read plus a link. Each you do this you may be grabbing the attention of a different group of readers who have more interest in the one portion of the article your newest post is focused on.

Keep in mind that you can only go so far. Be sure that each repurpose is offering value – you don’t want to give your audience too much of a good thing.

Above the Fold - What It Is And Why It Matters

Tue, 02 Jun 2020 15:32:34 GMT

What is it and why does it matter?

Here’s a concept that’s been a part of design strategy for a long, long time. The term Above the Fold began as a reference to the top half of a newspaper’s front page - that’s where the publisher would place the biggest headlines of the day. Why? The part of the page that’s above the fold is what you’d see when the paper sat folded in half on the news stand, so that space was used as a billboard for the paper as a whole. This is where you would place headlines and other content that might encourage people to buy the paper. It was a simple matter of converting a browser to a buyer.

Although a physical fold doesn’t exist in a website, the portion of a site’s content that’s immediately visible to a site visitor operates the same way as the above the fold content in a newspaper. You’ll use that space to grab a visitor’s attention and encourage them to read on, subscribe, book, buy or convert in some other way. For that reason, it makes sense to carefully consider the content you place in that online above the fold area. That said, decisions about what to place above the fold are like many other decisions you make about your business - there are a lot of variables and it’ll be up to you to figure out what’s most important for your situation and strategy.

Screen size means Above the Fold is a relative term online.

Above the fold will be defined differently depending on the platform a visitor uses to arrive at your website. The dominance of mobile is growing but you still need to plan for desktop users. And mobile itself has many variations so you need to design with many device types in mind. It’s true that responsive design will ensure your site functions properly on all these different screen sizes but you still need to decide what exactly the user will see first on all those different screens.

Your design needs to be about your priorities:

With so many variables to account for, it’s impossible to design with a single, cookie-cutter strategy. A better approach is to create a list of priorities for the content and functionality that are most important to your business. Start by asking yourself three questions:

What value does your business provide to its customers?
What do visitors want to accomplish by visiting your website?
What is the one, most important thing you want visitors to do on your site?

With that list in hand, your web designer can use their expertise to implement your priorities for the many screen sizes your visitors might use to engage with your site. Remember, above the fold content should be focused, engaging and should drive an action by the visitor. That action may be to book an appointment, sign up for a newsletter or buy something, or it could simply be to continue reading below the fold. Regardless, if done right you’ll have gotten their attention and will have a much higher chance they’ll stay and convert from browser to buyer.

To talk about how you can drive more conversions with your above the fold strategy, contact us today .