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January 5, 2015

Internet Marketing Series – Website Design Trends for 2015

Internet Marketing, website advice, strawberries

Internet Marketing, your website needs to STAND OUT in all the right ways!

Website Design Trends for 2015

Another in our series of Internet Marketing blog installments ~ In the world of business-to-business and the internet, the only thing constant is change. As new technologies and trends occur, your brand has to be ready to adapt all of its channels accordingly. As you evaluate your website and prepare for a new year, consider these trends predicted for web design in 2015.

1. Websites as a complement to other channels.

In the past, a brand’s website was its primary point of contact with prospects and clients. All other platforms existed to support the website, which remained your businesses’ main source of interaction and information. The focus on the website has been diminishing gradually over the past few years, and you can expect this trend to continue in 2015. It’s time to start looking at your website as a single (but still important) part of your larger marketing strategy.

2. Emphasis on responsive design.

Every day, more and more consumers are using their mobile devices (smart phones, tablets, etc.) to view websites. With so many businesses relying on these devices, brands can no longer afford to ignore this trend. If your website takes too long to load or is difficult to navigate on a mobile device, consumers will simply leave the site and find one of your competitors. For this reason, responsive website design, which allows your website to automatically adapt to the size of the user’s screen, is a must for 2015.

3. Intriguing background images/videos.

During 2015, you can also expect to see a greater number of websites enhanced with elegant or interesting background images and videos. If you choose to take part in this trend, remember that practicality is still important. Make sure that the image or video you use for your site’s background does not slow down the site’s loading or take away from the content of the page.

4. Use of pictures instead of words.

Text will always be important for your brand’s website. However, in 2015, you can expect a shift away from plain text in favor of meaningful pictures. One of the best examples of this trend is the recent influx of infographics, which combine text and images in order to convey important or interesting information to users.

5. Scrolling.

In the past, users navigated to various pages on a website by clicking a link. Each page was designed to fit on the users’ screen or require only a limited amount of scrolling. Recently, more websites have been allowing users to reach the majority of their content by simply scrolling down a single page. This trend, which cuts down on load times and enhances experiences for mobile users, is expected to continue next year.

6. Personalized user experiences.

Prominent brands, like Amazon and Netflix, have been offering customized user interfaces for a while now, but the trend is becoming more pervasive. These interfaces allow consumers to interact with your brand on a deeper level by accessing the content that is most likely to be interesting or useful to them. Incorporating this strategy into your website design not only shows visitors that you are paying attention, but it may also boost sales.

The bottom line is that in order for your brand and company to remain fresh and compelling to prospects and customers, you’ll need to keep up-to-date with not only content but also with the design and use-ability of your site. Remember, you are competing with internet marketing savvy companies who know how to fully utilize their websites, so you’ll want to shore up your supporting cast of website assets with these great tips.

Categories : BRANDING, INTERNET MARKETING, WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

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October 14, 2014

Build Your Brand: Make or Break Your Company

We all agree that “branding” is important, but why is it important? What is it about a brand that “makes” or “breaks” an organization?

We’re talking about more than just PR here, or how well you’re able to market yourselves in your marketing materials or website. “Branding” goes beyond what you sell. It gets to the root of who you are, and what you represent as a company to your patrons or clients.

Scott Goodson really touches upon the main elements of “branding” when he says, in his Forbes article: “Brands are psychology and science brought together as a promise mark as opposed to a trademark. Products have life cycles. Brands outlive products. Brands convey a uniform quality, credibility and experience. Brands are valuable.”

So, what is branding and why are each of these aspects of branding so important to your company’s growth and success?

It’s Psychological

Branding is about connotation. How are you perceived in the marketplace: by your customers, fellow business owners, those you consider “rivals” or competition, as well as those potential prospects? One of the marks of great brand strategy is that when you ask any one (or all) of your market segments about your brand, they’;; all immediately know the brand, and (hopefully) get a (good) picture in their head about what the brand represents. How do they perceive the brand? Whether you like (or agree with) their individual perceptions is really beside the point. Branding building involves tapping into those perceptions of your company.

It’s Science

The value proposition of “branding” is real. The value of building your brand is tied to empirical studies. The perception is important, but you also need to know how that perception is affecting your business. Most brands regularly re-evaluate their brand characteristics, identity, portfolio, and positioning. It’s not a one-shot deal. Once you identify how you are perceived in you’ll have real (and actionable) data, upon which to build.

It’s Also Local

Since so much of branding is about the perceived and actual “face” of the organization (how your customers perceive you, and how that perception can get leveraged to increase your business).

Tap into your local market. So, if you’re located in Denver, Colorado, tap into the marketing services in Denver. Tap into the marketing strategy in Denver, and all of that can be accomplished by hiring a local marketing agency in Denver. A focus on branding services in Denver should ensure that you’re focusing your strategy on what your local audience is interested in, and you’re all making yourself known at the “right” local venues.

The local-branding feel goes far beyond just working with and focusing on the needs of your local market. If you’re aware of the psychological and scientific aspects of your branding, you’ll already have a loyal following. They know what you represent, and they will (hopefully) tell everyone they know about the brand. Even huge, national and international organizations started with the “local,'” and it’s often that staying-true-to-the-company-roots that is a mainstay of brand building.

It’s A Promise.

The idea of “authenticity” or a “promise” may seem almost oxymoronical to the business (or corporate) culture. After all, “it’s just business” has long been a phrase we’ve heard in connection with many of the decisions that companies make, particularly when those decisions are difficult (and based on economic necessity). Business is not supposed to be personal, right?

Along with the local connection, your clients want to feel that they can trust you. You want them to feel so loyal to your company that they would recommend your products and services to their grandmother, and feel good about doing it.

Branding is important because it’s about what you represent, how you are perceived in the marketplace, and how you can build your image–to effectively build an even-larger base of loyal customers.

Let us help you build your brand and branding efforts. Contact DBC Digital today.

Categories : BRANDING

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September 9, 2014

Banner Marketing -Curing Banner Blindness: Keeping Your Brand Fresh

For most brands that advertise online, banners are a staple. Not only is this campaign type inexpensive, but it’s supported by a wide range of display networks and marketing solutions. Because it’s been around for years, we also have tons of research that confirms the value of banner advertising as a digital strategy.

When it comes to banner advertising, though, brands have to be wary of inducing consumer blindness to the ads. “Banner blindness” is a real development that occurs when online consumers become used to seeing banner ads in particular places on a website. Their minds begin to recognize that space not as part of the website, but as an ad to be ignored. This has a significant negative affect on the banner’s performance–not just in terms of tangible clicks and engagement, but also regarding the brand awareness generated by such campaigns.

Fortunately, banner blindness is curable. Here are some tips brands can use to maximize consumer engagement with their banner campaigns.

Switch Up Ad Placement

All too often, banner ads show up in familiar places: the top and bottom of a web page, and along the right-hand site, for example. This practice has been in place for years, and that has contributed to the banner blindness effect. Consumers have developed a sense for where banner ads will be placed, and sometimes they write off content as being an advertisement even before they stop to look at the content itself.

One easy way to change that: changing the placement of ads. With a little creativity, brands can move outside of the box and start surprising consumers with banner ads in new locations. Whether this involves placing banners within text or other content, or even setting up welcome page interstitials that display a banner ad shortly before referring to the desired Web page.

Once these new placements are in place, campaign analytics can be used to track their success. Brands can see which strategies pan out, and which fall short of their goals.

Integrate Multiple Versions of Your Ad

The same ad, time and again, will quickly fade from consumer consciousness. For that reason, it makes little sense to hold down an ad space for too long. At some point, you’re simply going to see diminishing returns–fewer views, fewer clicks, less revenues to justify your spending.

One way to stretch out the value of those ad spaces is to run a campaign with multiple versions of a single ad. Try different selling points and see which ones get the greatest return from users. You might discover a surprise top-performer, which can help you build smarter campaigns going forward.

Don’t Get Stuck on One Design, Color Scheme

Multiple versions of an ad are one thing, but it’s also smart to craft entirely different ads that stand apart from other ad content. While branded logos offer important brand consistency, the primary features of a banner ad: the dominant colors and the design, for example–can and should be altered over time. A single ad only has so long of a life expectancy, and familiar design and color elements will only contribute to banner blindness.

Switching up a primarily blue ad and going with a hot pink scheme, for example, will stand out on a Web page and attract consumer eyes. That attention is what will ultimately deliver a strong ROI for your your banners, so freshness of content is of utmost importance. Keep in mind, too, that you aren’t just competing with your own ad content–you want to stand out against the ads published by other brands, too.

If you’re ready to step up your banner ad game, contact DBC Digital today.

Greg Sherwood is CEO of DBC Digital, a marketing agency based in Denver, Colorado. With over 30 years of marketing experience with traditional and inbound (internet) marketing, Greg helps mid-sized businesses get a better return on their marketing dollars.

You can reach Greg at (303) 357-5757 or at dbc@dbcdigital.com

Categories : BRANDING, INTERNET MARKETING, WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

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July 22, 2014

Four Reasons to Advertise on Display Networks

You might not realize it while browsing the Internet, but much of the advertising displayed across the Web comes directly from a display advertising network. These networks establish ad spaces across a wide range of websites, and then sell these ad spaces to brands looking for the right advertising opportunity. It’s similar to how billboards are set up across the country, except display ads are much more numerous, easy to afford, and quick to set up.

But because there are so many low-cost and free marketing options available online, many small businesses are reluctant to shell out cash on paid advertising. They don’t see the benefits of investing in display advertising, in part because this system can seem complex from the outside. In reality, though, display advertising is simple to set up and manage, and its unique features allow for efficient spending that save companies money in the long run. Here are four key reasons to spend on a display network.

Extend Your Reach

Display networks are massive. The largest is the Google Display Network, which places ads on more than two million websites and reaches more than 90 percent of global Internet users. And many other display networks offer similar returns, giving you great options for accessing a massive consumer base.

While it’s unlikely that you necessarily want to advertise to all of those Internet users, having the option is important. A high-volume audience is an asset that can be utilized several different ways. In this sense, display ads function similar to traditional advertising: the larger the potential audience, the greater the value.

Refine Your Audience

Here’s where display networks differ dramatically from traditional advertising. When you pay for a billboard space, you pay for all of the people who will see the ad. Many of those individuals will never become your customer, but you still have to pay for them. The result is high-volume, low-efficiency advertising that often doesn’t bring in enough value to justify the cost.

On a display network, you can cut the fat on these low-value consumers by using targeting filters. All major display networks offers simple ways to pare down the audience your ads will be exposed to. In other words, you can set your filters to only display ads to your most valued target audience. This refined audience will be much more likely to respond to your advertising, and you’ll get higher returns per-view than traditional ads can provide.

Track Your Results

No matter how well-developed your campaign is, it won’t be perfect right from the outset. Making adjustments over time is critical to maximizing the value of a display network campaign, and these networks offer great tools to do this. You can check in daily to view reports of your ad performance, and with this feedback you can identify areas for improvement. Whether it’s the ads themselves or a particular targeting filter you’re using, you can tweak the campaign over time as you work toward even better returns.

Optimize Your Spending

As you optimize your targeting and improve your results, you’re also improving the economy of your spending. Your campaign will get smarter and more effective at targeting the most valuable consumers on the Internet, and each dollar you spend will bring in more revenues in return. This high return both justifies your display network campaign and gives you extra funds to expanding your digital marketing efforts.

A well-executed display ad campaign can bring in great revenues while expanding brand visibility and reach. To start building a successful digital strategy, contact DBC Digital today.

You can reach Greg at (303) 357-5757 or at dbc@dbcdigital.com

Categories : BRANDING, INTERNET MARKETING, PPC ADVERTISING

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July 8, 2014

Hyperlocal Targeting: Why Inbound Marketing Applies to Everyone

While many businesses are flocking to the Internet to increase their presence and claim a piece of that infinite online commerce pie, there are still plenty of resistors to the movement. Most of those businesses and professionals aren’t doing so just to be stubborn: They genuinely fail to see the benefit of building a digital presence, and this usually ties back to how they generate a consumer base in the first place.

Business professionals like plumbers, handymen, local construction workers, dentists and even restaurants can struggle to see the value offered online. To them, a global audience is irrelevant; they are concerned with the consumer base in their immediate area, and they choose to focus on more direct ways to reach that audience. For a long time, this was a defensible strategy. But hyperlocal targeting online has created new opportunities that change the way consumers are reached. Instead of promoting your wares to the world at large, you can choose to focus on an extremely refined audience–including only those customers in your local area. Here’s a quick look at how it works.

The New Digital Frontier: Getting Small with Your Targeting

Every online user carries around identifying information that marketers use to target consumers. Location is an easy piece of information, and it’s getting more and more accessible thanks to mobile devices that feature location services.

When you run a marketing campaign online–whether it’s through social media, search advertising or other strategies–you can easily refine your targeting considerations to only display ads to consumers within certain geographic areas. This could be as broad as your country or state, or as narrow as cities, zip codes and even a pre-set area you have essentially drawn out on a map. In doing so, you achieve the same type of targeting that businesses have always preferred: local, relevant marketing that doesn’t waste ad dollars and unlikely consumers.

Building a Local Brand Online

These days, local branding is more than just having a physical store in your community. Online, businesses can easily cultivate their brand and build digital assets that will preserve its viability well into the future. Email campaigns are just one way to keep up with consumers who are in the area but may not see you often, if at all. These emails also remind those customers of your business, keeping your brand top-of-mind for when they need your products and services.

Meanwhile, hyperlocal reporting–which has come to rise through community blogs and the endurance of local newspapers–can serve as a valuable way of gaining free publicity and arranging ad partnerships.

Improving Real-Life Relationships Through a Digital Interface

Because of its high levels of engagement and its ease of use, social media has become a no-brainer for any business. On Facebook, for example, business pages have come to replace Yellow Pages business listings to a great extent. It’s easy to find a business’s information, including its location, hours of operation, contact info, even online ratings and customer reviews, all in one convenient place. Many local businesses also use social media to deliver promotions to followers on short notice.

Meanwhile, social media helps nurture customer relationships, which are vitally important to small businesses. Having a small, local consumer base can actually be a bonus on social media because it ensures you will have time to give every consumer they attention they want and need. And, you’ll be able to easily manage this without hiring extra help, if you are marketing on a limited budget.

Even the most local of businesses now have every reason to invest in online marketing. To get started, contact DBC Digital today.

Categories : BRANDING, INTERNET MARKETING

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