WEBSITES • EMAIL MARKETING • SEO • SOCIAL MEDIA

The Content Connection

23 Jun 2015
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Key SEO Trends To Employ in 2015

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With the roll out of Google’s SEO Mobile Armageddon in April, the predictions for mobile importance in the world of SEO seemed to be right on target. So what other predictions for 2015 SEO trends should you still be working to incorporate, paying attention to, or monitoring? The following are some paths of SEO that are still smart ones to take to improve your website’s value. (Notice that we said “website’s value” – not Google ranking.)

Forget about Ranking #1 on Google.

Sure having a higher position on Google still probably matters to you and it may matter to your customers but not as much as you think it does. Forget about the rank and begin to focus on your conversions and nurturing loyal visitors instead.

Content Still Matters.

We actually need to stop saying this. It should be as natural as breathing. Your content is clearly important to your visitors and Google is just going to keep finding ways to reward websites with good content that appeals to viewers. And besides, you want to have good content, right?

No Keyword Stuffing.

This gets tricky because somewhere along the lines any discussion of keywords gets twisted. Yes, you should still know what keywords your audience uses to find your website and you should use those keywords, but you need to use them naturally. That’s it, end of the keyword story.

Visual Elements are Needed.

In the past high quality original videos, graphics and images were a good idea but not as easily quantified by the search engines. They’ve now become more than a good idea and are virtually a necessity. This is a great place to start for many websites, get some great visual elements or spruce up your old ones.

Social and SEO.

While the top four SEO techniques are definitive, this last one can still cause a little controversy. But let’s look at this logically. Social media is here to stay and it can be vital to decision making. Google wants to stay on top of what is important to the web world and there’s no way you can deny the importance of social media. These two facts together mean that you had better have some social game and be ready to play.

We of course didn’t mention mobile friendly websites as we all know that Google now very highly values this and is going out of its way to let everyone know it. It’s yesterday’s news and if you haven’t jumped on that bandwagon you better do so pretty quickly.

Stay on top of SEO trends for 2015 and beyond with Filament.

17 Jun 2015
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3 Email Marketing No-Nos (And How to Fix Them)

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In the world of email marketing today, it’s not enough to just put emails out there and hope for the best. You need to do it right. When looking at email marketing best practices, it’s often just as useful to know what not do. To help get your email marketing working smarter, stop making these three email marketing mistakes today:

No-No #1: You don’t have a plan.

You don’t want to invest your time and money willy-nilly in emails that may or may not hit their mark with your desired audience. (Chances are they won’t considering the 144 billion emails sent day in and day out.) You’ll need a plan to separate yourself from all that noise.

The Fix:

Create a plan or get help in creating one. And not just any plan, but a well researched, well thought out email marketing strategy that maps the steps to get to your end goals.

What should your plan include? A clear explanation of how you’re going to meet your objectives, developed around a defined target audience and the concrete way(s) in which your brand is different from your competitors. In order to do that you’ll need to define your brand, your target audience, your story and, last but not least, your specific goals, e.g. $X money coming in, X% conversions, etc. Then, decide on the strategies you’re going to use and why, how you’re going to use your tactics and how they’re going to work together to showcase your brand and tell your story.

It doesn’t have to be complicated to be a good plan. Simple plans can have a lot of impact—a long as they’re researched and implemented effectively.

Once you’ve created a plan, be prepared to make adjustments. The market is constantly changing, so what works changes, too. Evaluate as you go and tweak as needed.

No-No #2: You ignore the data.

Irrelevance is one of the top reasons that customers unsubscribe from emails. Luckily, you have a lot of information at your disposal to make your email marketing more relevant. You can use that data to create better emails, that is, emails that deliver the right message to the right person at the right time with the right frequency.

The Fix:

Step away from the batch-and-blast style emails. You have a general idea of who your customers are based on past purchases and information they may have freely provided to you. Use it to create customer profiles around which you customize your email content. Break up your email list into discrete groups and tailor your messages to those groups accordingly.

Start tracking what’s working and what’s not via conversion data, engagement data, opens, clicks, purchases, bounce rates, unsubscribes and spam complaints. Once you’ve made friends with your data, tie these metrics in to your strategies and your customer journey. This may not mean you need more data, but that you need to more closely analyze the data you have, asking the right questions in order to find out who your customers are, what they need or want, when they want it and on what device. Once you’ve exhausted the usefulness of the data you’re currently collecting, then you can look for the gaps in what you know and look for ways to capture actionable data.

No-No #3: You have silo mentality.

While marketing silos allow a company to decentralize its marketing efforts by delegating specific channels to experts in each area, it also reduces the efficiency of your communications. Instead of each channel working together, they end up competing for consumers’ attention. Rather than sharing information, disparate departments and agencies perform the same or similar tasks leading to lost resources, lost time and lost money.

The Fix:

Make email part of an omnichannel marketing strategy. Integrate your email marketing messages and strategies with your other channels—your website, blog, social media, print advertisements, radio spots, speaking engagements and wherever else you seek to make contact with your audience.

Think of email as a gateway. Use it to drive traffic to your website, your blog and your social media pages. If your company is big enough to necessitate outsourced marketing or strategies spread among different departments, make certain that each department collaborates on messaging and shares info and resources. You want to be sure that brand experience is consistent everywhere potential customers interact with you.

 

Business owners need to be informed and engaged about what works and what doesn’t with their email marketing strategies. Take ownership of building your brand, crafting a story, putting together a campaign based on what you want your customers to do, being specific about your goals, tracking and managing your conversation rates, and optimizing your campaigns.

If you don’t want to do this, get in touch with Filament and we’ll do the heavy lifting around creating the right plan for your brand, tracking the right metrics, and optimizing your email marketing to get the results you need.

Have you gotten into some bad habits with your email marketing? What are some email marketing mistakes that you’ve made in the past? How did your metrics improve? Let us know in the comments section below.

15 Jun 2015
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5 Content Marketing Trends To Act On Now

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Content marketing has become the most important marketing trend of 2015. As you evaluate your content strategies’ performance thus far this year, consider these five top content marketing trends to help you refine your strategies for the rest of the year and to guide your planning for 2016.

1. Mobile

This trend isn’t new, but it’s becoming ever more crucial. From smartphones to tablets to wearable gadgets, innovation in mobile devices is driving the marketing world. In particular, wearable tech—since it’s designed to be worn—offers brands new ways to build personal relationships with customers.

 2. Content Co-Creation

The time is now to get your staff and customers involved in content creation. Content co-creation is a great source of content for everything from product reviews to social media marketing to blog posts and should include content strategies that involve use-generated content.

3. Multimedia

Consumers want multimedia content, from videos to slideshows to podcasts. According to Twitter, posts with photos or videos are more likely to be retweeted. Plus, Animoto, a cloud-based video creation service, has reported that 58% of consumers consider companies that produce video content to be more trustworthy, and 71% of consumers say that videos leave a positive impression of a company. Add to that, Facebook and LinkedIn’s emphasis on video, and there’s no reason to not get busy with this trend with anything from animated infographics to storymonials. When you do, make sure to create a unique experience that will engage customers, as in this video by Goorin Bros. hat shop:

Check out our recent blog post on how to craft great visual content for more bright ideas.

4. Relationships

Content marketing is a relationship-building tool. It’s about creating content that engage and audience. Instead of talking about yourself, use your blog and branded publications to cover topics that your audience cares about. You can get a lot of value out of your content by engaging audiences with helpful and entertaining information. An added benefit to stepping up quality content generation is a boost in search engine ranking, but the real power of content lies in the effect it has on perception of your brand and its ability to build loyalty.

5. Strategic Content Distribution

Create relevant and compelling content is only part of the job. You’ve also got to invest in strategic distribution of content that optimizes for search and mobile. For example, you might use social media marketing as an amplifier for content and extend the reach of their content with social ads on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. You can also utilize your email marketing, blog and website to distribute content. Reach out to influencers in your field to generate earned media coverage. You put all that time and effort into strategizing, planning and creating your content. Now put some emphasis on distribution.

What trends do you see popping up in 2015 and on the horizon that you think can’t be ignored? Share them in the comments section below.

If you’re ready to take the next step and create a strategy around one of the above digital marketing trends, contact Filament and we’ll help you get off to a great start.

12 Jun 2015
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Social Media Trends Today: What We Are (Really) Seeing Now

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With a show of hands, how many of us have read (O.K., more like hungrily devoured) everything we possibly can about the new social media trends today?

Keep your hands up if you’ve felt your brow begin to sweat and your hands start to quiver as you’ve scrolled from one article to the next, reading all that the experts have to say, only to feel so overwhelmed that you’d rather just call in sick… for the rest of the year.

Yeah, we thought so.

We’d like to help by offering something a bit less drastic than a request for indefinite sick leave.

See, in our ever-ambitious efforts to become bigger, better brands, we can lose sight of the foundation of what we do. We sometimes forget that less really is more while we barrel forward in our daily race toward whatever finish line the experts suggest that we strive for next.

Let’s just take a big, deep, cleansing breath and focus on our inner social media marketing child for a moment, shall we? Feel better? Good! Now let’s think about what it was like when we first began our social media brand building endeavors.

And then, let’s just throw most of that out the window and come at it from a different angle.

 

 “Marketing 101 meets Mobile 101.” 

 

According to econtentmag.com, Peggy Anne Salz, an expert in mobile search, mobile marketing, and mobile technologies, says “…that marketers whose focus includes basic customer engagement have an edge.” She also maintains that technology should not be prioritized above connecting directly with customers.

Salz says that in 2015, “Marketing 101 meets Mobile 101” is going to be the mantra on the minds of many. There’s a whole new focus coming around, and it’s all about the importance of customers’ experiences. And for good reason. For most people, technology isn’t new anymore. People have become very used to having information appear at their fingertips, and at their whim.

 

“…consumers are ahead of retailers in adopting and using mobile technologies. Today, 75% of store shoppers use their mobile devices in-store…”

 

These days, consumers are offered endless opportunities to “Hemmingway away” about their experiences with brands. And they get to do it online – where all the world’s truly their stage. Make no mistake, when a smart-phone wielding consumer rides into a store on whatever metaphorical white horse they happen be on that day, they’re going to tell the world about it.

And chances are they’re going to use their cell phones to do it. With all the “check-in” and “share everything” apps available, smart marketers make sure their social media activities are mobile-friendly!

On top of that, they create incentives for customers to connect and communicate via mobile channels, too. Every customer has the potential to sing the gospel of your brand to everyone in their network. Word of mouth – or word of mobile, as is now the case – has never been a stronger form of marketing communication.

While we all know that word of mouth has always been one of the most powerful, back-to-the-basics goals of our marketing efforts, we also have to acknowledge customers’ expectations have changed. They expect to be “wowed” when they show up at our door – whether that door is brick-and-mortar or virtual.

What this means for brands is that all the awesome, flashy, technologically-advanced social media campaigns in the world aren’t going to matter if a brand’s customers don’t have a good experience.

So, before inundating your teams with the hottest new social media trends today… Before pointing (well warranted) fingers at the causes of declining organic reach… and before giving in and relegating one platform while sprinting to catch up to the next hot, new social media hopeful… why not take a step back first.

Think about what really works for YOUR brand. Think locally first, and then globally. And more than anything – despite the siren song of the next big thing – think about your customers. Think about what they expect, where you need to be to reach them, and how to speak their language.

Once you’ve re-visited that successful path of connection with your customers, make sure you leave breadcrumbs so they know how to find you again and again.

We’ve talked about the concept of repeating content before, but today, the art of repetition is taking on new importance in social media.

Social channels are getting busier and busier. The days of organic reach are all but a fond memory as brands are continuously forced to reach new heights and pull out more and more stops with their social marketing efforts. No matter what corner you stand on to shout your message to the world, there will always be someone with a “better” corner who can (afford to) shout louder.

While bigger is sometimes better, there’s no time like the present to take advantage of the incredible “trend” that is quietly and consistently making a comeback.

Real. Personal. Interaction. Don’t underestimate the power this can have on your brand’s influence.

People really do want to speak to a person when they call your customer service line.

Oh, and when they visit your websites, they’re there to see your content – not to be assaulted by flashing ads and countless videos that drag their stream rate down so low that they turn and “bounce” right off of your site without any interaction whatsoever. (With all due respect, ads are fine. Ads are expected. But manage them carefully and make sure they’re relevant to your brand, and more importantly, that they don’t impose on your customers.)

Here’s a little something that we all know by now, but we don’t fully realize the power of the knowledge we have in the palm of our pretty little hands at this very moment: Interaction is key.

The ever-elusive fruits of your organic reach efforts will never fall at the feet of your “lurkers” if you don’t reach out to them. When people see personal interactions happening, they usually want to get involved. Many brands forget about this – or simply don’t take the time to act on it – because it requires a lot of precious time and resources to create and maintain involved communities.

Not every person who Likes or follows your social media sites will interact. It’s your job to figure out how to reach them anyway.

But think about this: Why work hard to be everywhere you can be, with the goal of attracting tons of customers and contacts if you don’t plan on engaging with them?

We’re not just trying to over-simplify things – we promise! But it makes sense, doesn’t it? If you build it, they will come. But if they’re board when they get there, they’ll leave!

So, given all you do to get them there (to all your social media channels), let’s focus once again on what we can do to keep them there, and make sure they have a good time.

Regardless of how many trends you try to act on as an educated, going for the gusto social media marketer, focusing on the basics (“Marketing 101”) is what’s going to keep your customers engaged.

Oh, and about that whole “mobile” thing? We don’t really consider that a trend… It’s here to stay, and we’ll be talking a lot about that in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned!

In the meantime, we’d love to hear about your favorite old-school customer engagement tips in the comment section below!

09 Jun 2015
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SEO Trends: Best Practices for Your Best Year

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We’re halfway into 2015, so it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate your website to determine if you’re getting the results you want. If you’re still not quite hitting that bar, we’ve got some SEO trends and strategies that could get you there.

Go Mobile. How have you gone this long without a mobile optimized website? Well, you’re stretch is just about over as Google has placed a premium on mobile and it’s now time to bite the bullet and make that website mobile friendly.

Be Secure. Nobody wants the negative publicity that can ruin a company when they’re hit by hackers. Google wants to not only reward those who take measures to ensure the security of their visitors, but they want to guide web viewers to safe experiences.

STOP SPAMMING. Sorry to yell, but if you’re still using one of those SEO companies that promises to make you #1 on Google or thousands of links, you’re spamming. This is not going to hurt you in the long run – it’s going to hurt you now.

Great Content. Filament is huge on quality content – it’s what we do. And, it should be what you do too. If you have a hard time coming up with fantastic web content that is engaging, enlightening and creates a bond with your visitors; then there is absolutely nothing wrong with hiring professionals to help you write content that proves itself as an impressive return on investment (ROI) again and again.

Brand Mentions and Links. This is an area that is definitely seeing some change. While getting legitimate links in the past sometimes took some networking, some actual work and sometimes just something everyone wanted to connect to; today it’s that and more. Those back links to your website from trusted and valuable websites (please note: “trusted and valuable websites” not meaningless spam links) are still important but today even a brand mention by those companies without the accompanying hyperlink can be a plus in your favor.

Get Visual. A picture is worth a 1000 words, and it may just be worth 1000 keywords in the digital era. Make sure your website has great quality and original videos, images and/or graphics to grab onto this little SEO nugget.

Contact Filament if you’d like to learn more about the SEO trends that could help your website or if you’d like some help creating that great content that turns visitors into loyal supporters.

03 Jun 2015
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7 Digital Content Marketing Don’ts

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While we’re sharing the top digital marketing trends to add to your strategies, we thought we’d share several content marketing practices that we avoid. It’s always helpful to look at what not to do while you’re considering what to do, so here are some great tips to help with your digital content marketing efforts.

1. Don’t publish content sporadically (or not at all).

The easiest way to slip off your customers’ radar is to fail to deliver content on a consistent basis. Conversely, the best way to generate organic leads is to create great content to drive traffic to your site. Make sure you share content regularly by creating a schedule you can stick to. And that doesn’t just apply to your business’ blog. Oh, no. It applies to social media, email… all the many ways you connect with your customer base.

2. Don’t depend too much on any one type of content.

Stay relevant and get the attention you deserve by creating a mix of different types on content, such as slidedecks, videos, webinars, e-books and infographics. Sounds overwhelming? Try repurposing content in different formats. For example, you can turn a PowerPoint presentation into SlideShare deck. Or repurpose a webinar as a Youtube video. Or use your visual content to create a Pinterest board.

In addition, you’ll want to have a strong visual content strategy in place. This strategy should include visuals that capture your target audience’s attention at faster rates since there’s a lot more content out there to compete with. Plus, you ought to include short- and long-form videos that entertain, educate and/or inspire potential customers as a way to build trust and share information about your products and services.

3. Don’t jump on every trend that comes your way.

It can be tempting to follow every trend that makes its way onto the many year-end predictions lists, but resist the urge. Instead, evaluate every trend for its worth to your business. Analyze whether or not it makes sense for your customer base. In many cases, your tried-and-tested tactics will still work the best toward meeting your business’ goals.

4. Don’t depend on a single channel or a single network.

Gone are the days when you could rely on a single network and survive online. These days you have to be everywhere at once. Consumers expect you to be online when and where they are. You can make that happen more easily by repurposing content for different networks. Review #2 above for a few great ways to go about it.

5. Don’t forget to integrate social media with your other channels.

These days, SEO relies heavily on social signals like Tweets, Facebook posts and +1s. For this reason, you must, must, must include well-placed social sharing buttons and possible a social login on your website. Websites that integrate social media see increases in both traffic to their sites and user engagement.

6. Don’t separate your content goals from your business’s goals.

You want the goals of your digital content strategies to relate to your business’s goals in a meaningful way. First, you need be clear and specific about what your goals are. What does success look like for your business? Then, align your content with your goals.

It may help to consider what content marketing does really, really well when you’re thinking but how to use it to meet your goals. Here’s a short list: build brand awareness, increase brand loyalty, educate customers, increase customer engagement and recruit talent.

7. Don’t measure the wrong metrics.

By tracking the metrics that measure the results of your content, you can determine which content brings you the results you want. Which metrics are the right metrics? That depends on your goals. However, here a few basic metrics to consider if you want to measure the ROI of your content:

  • number of social media shares
  • time spent on site
  • visitors & return visits
  • blog-related expenses
  • blog-related revenues

You can also make use of tools like Kapost’s Content Scoring, which will help you identity which types on content are worth investing in by looking at what content moves customers down your sales funnel.

There you have it. Have we missed any big ones? In your experience, what are the worst content marketing practices?

Get in touch with Filament to get help putting in place better content marketing practices for your business.

29 May 2015
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Seasonal Social Media Marketing in the Off Season

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Most of us have had the opportunity to work seasonal jobs at one point or another during our lifetime. Whether it was as a snowboard instructor at our favorite winter resort, a server at that amazing waterside restaurant, or even as a lifetime member of the retail world, there’s a special energy about seasonal business.

Gearing up for the busy season is filled with all kinds of fun. With everything from market trips and buying excursions, to product planning and designing displays, the days are long and the variety is exciting.

Halfway through the season, things flow more easily, everyone’s on their game, the kinks get worked out and the business is running like a fine-tuned machine. It’s still busy and hectic, but it’s usually more manageable because you’re “used” to it when you reach that half way mark.

Then comes that point in time where you become aware of the end of the season. Maybe it’s a date on the calendar, and maybe it’s the push to move product because it’s “now or never.” Whatever the case may be, you’ve got your eye on the prize… The finish line. As crazy as it sounds to the rest of the world, the end of the busy season is part of the excitement. All your hard work will have paid off and you will have earned some serious time off. It’s a good thing.

Right?

Well, sort of.

During the height of the season, your customers are (hopefully) thinking about your business all the time. But they think differently than you do – both on and off season. As much as we want to believe our customers are completely loyal and will always come back to us next year, the reality is, we have to help them come back.

You never know what new resources will come along and distract your best customers. Friends’ recommendations, competing ads and messaging, changes in lifestyles and priorities – these things influence your customers year round. And so should you!

Call it leaving breadcrumb trails, or painting pictures for your customers, if you will. Don’t give your customers the opportunity to forget about you. You have to be good at marketing in the off season, too.

How, exactly? Glad you asked!

Making sure your business stays in your customers’ thoughts even when they’re not thinking of buying from you is easier than you might think. Here are a few ideas to help build lasting relationships with your customers in the off season.

STAY OPEN ALL YEAR

Socially open, that is. Yes, yes, you definitely deserve some time off after that crazy busy season, but that doesn’t mean you should sign off socially, too.

Stay active via social media all year round. Engage your communities during the off season, and look for ways to reach new followers. Take advantage slower times to experiment with new post styles and scheduling options. Check out some new-to-you social media avenues. Commit an hour or two per week of that “extra” off season time and look for new ways of communicating. It just might pay off in spades during your next busy season.

SAY IT AGAIN, AND KEEP IT CLEAN

As hard as you work to share your content, much of it goes unnoticed. Everything from algorithm changes to daily distractions can keep your messaging from reaching your customers. Even if they do see it the first time, chances are they may soon forget about it if it only crosses their path once.

It’s well worth the time to review your content and the promotions you’ve shared over the past seasons and then put together a plan of action for repeating that content and/or promotions appropriately.

The key here is planning. Make sure repeated messaging makes sense in the current context. And, make sure it provides that “lightbulb” moment with your customers. Repeated content serves to remind and thus, enforce, your earlier messaging.

While you’re reviewing your content for repeat opportunities, take some time to clean it up! Refreshing the details in blog posts from previous seasons ensures that your content remains relevant. It will also help improve your blog’s rank. Google likes blogs that are neat and tidy – and active! If your content is refreshed on a regular basis, you’ll not only look better to your readers, but you’ll look better to Google, too. Looking good will bring many more readers right to your door.

GET PERSONAL

Don’t get stuck being too stiff. We all want a well-polished social media presence, but sometimes it pays to be a bit more off-the-cuff. There’s no better time to get a little looser with your brand love than in the off season!

People enjoy being included in behind-the-scenes activities. They love to be “in the know” about the brands they follow so they can feel like they’re on the “inside.”

Depending on your brand/business style or voice, everyday interaction is at your fingertips:

•  Buying trips: Let people in on your purchasing and market excursions. Maybe even build some buzz by offering a sneak peek at next season’s must-have gold!

•  Remodeling: Got a brick-and-mortar business? If you’re approachable and you know it, clap your hands! Then grab a paint can and get social with your off season re-do. Nitty-gritty activities garner great community attention.

•  Vacationing: People love to see photos of vacation spots. Include customers in your retreats by sharing shots of your branded items on a sandy beach at sunset… Soft selling at its finest!

•  Answering emails: Even daily duties can be fun when shared. Post pics of things you do to keep the business running – you’ll be amazed at how interested your customers are in what happens behind the scenes.

•  Silly pet tricks: It’s true. Posting pet pictures, while not appropriate for every business, is one of the best ways to get some extra attention on social media. Give your office dog or shop cat some props once in a while – people will love it.

•  How you use your own merchandise: What better marketing could you possibly offer than showing your customers how you use your own products?

CURATE

It’s often hard to find the time to research your information and come up with ideas for great content. But creating drafts and information outlines based on what you know about your customers and when they’re interested in your products is easier if you curate consistently – especially in the off season.

Not only will you be able to keep the content wheels turning, but you’ll probably find lots of things to share with your customers in the process. Off season sharing keeps your brand in front of them in a non-selling way. Who knows – you might even find ideas for your next big promo by combing through articles while sitting on that beach. (It could happen!)

MAKE AN OFFER

People expect opportunities to buy just prior to, and during, the height of the season. But what about unexpected offers that provide win/win solutions outside of the season? It may take a little extra research to cover all your bases, but offering a “buy now” promo in the off season may a good bet.

  • Offer custom ordering solutions so that specialty merchandise is ready for your customers right when they want it at the beginning of the season.
  • Consider financing options for high ticket items that are purchased in the off season.
  • Discounts are always good, too! You could even sweeten off season deals by offering custom delivery options for large items that people really want, but might not want to store in their own homes before the season starts.
  • Speaking of deals, don’t forget those customers who will happily take last year’s models off your hands at a nice price!

See? With a little thought and creativity, there’s no end to brand- and relationship-building opportunities – even in the off season.

Every business is different. Sometimes things work once, but not the next time. Sometimes results far exceed expectations, and other times, great ideas fizzle faster than you can snap your fingers.

What are your favorite ways of coming up with promotional ideas in the off season?

Which methods of marketing in the off season have worked best for you, and why?

Let us know if the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

26 May 2015
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Measuring Seasonal SEO Productivity (ROI)

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While we’ve covered seasonal SEO in the past, and the importance of promoting seasonal features via updates on your website, etc., have we haven’t yet looked at measuring seasonal SEO.

While marketing to your seasonal crowd to make the most of the advantages you have in the market is a fantastic idea, you can create even more advantageous marketing opportunities by using analytics. Seasonal analytics dive deeper into your marketing efforts to give you solid data. That focused data can help you tailor and adjust your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts in the future. On a larger scale, analytics can also give you an indication as to what your seasonality might be and what products are affected.

So what are analytics? Basically, analytics take data from your website and compare it to the same data from different time periods to give you a mathematical outline of your website’s business, traffic and performance. Google Analytics is a free service and you can customize it and gather as much or as little data as you want and of course you can always hire an outside firm to collect and interpret that data for you. Whether you want to track basic data like how much traffic your website gets month after month, or you want to dive deeply into the analytics pool – it’s all up to you.

It’s important to start with a base first. Determine what metrics you’re going to track and what information they can provide. If you’re going to track a seasonal ad campaign, it’s good to look at data from that season in prior campaigns so you have comparative information. You may discover that certain products were not doing as well as expected, or, you may find that an earlier campaign was brilliant and you need to do more of them just like that one. All of this can be determined by doing seasonal SEO and can translate to a dynamic return on investment (ROI).

Since every business is different it’s impossible to provide overarching insights on what to look for in your seasonal SEO or how to process your analytical data. But, there are some tips we can give you to get you started and to help you to begin thinking about what matters most to your business.

  • Get baseline data and information before you begin any SEO; see what areas need work and what ones are succeeding.
  • Know when your season is. Not just the exact date (if there is one) but how long in advance people start preparing and making purchases and, if applicable, how long after the event they’re still making purchases. (i.e., Black Friday and after Christmas blow out sales, etc.)
  • Study what your competition is doing. You don’t need to target one competitor or even spend a lot of time analyzing their approach, but understand the market and decide if you’re giving your audience what they want. Is your competition doing it better? Find out why.
  • Pick a target. It’s best to start small and really get a handle on what is important to you and your audience. Once you start collecting and understanding a solid “base” of data, then branch out.

In the long run, it’s your return on investment that matters most. By focusing on measuring seasonal SEO, you can make smart decisions that help you make successful investments. Contact Filament to learn more!

20 May 2015
Sticky Post By Posted in EMAIL MARKETING With No Comments Permalink

5 Seasonal Email Ideas to Keep Your Customers Clicking

Sticky Post By On May 20, 2015 With No Comments

We wrote recently about what not to do with your seasonal email campaigns, so we thought we’d share a few pro-active tips for what to do. Keep these 5 ideas in mind as you’re setting the strategy for your upcoming seasonal emails.

Get your timing right.

For holiday-based emails, make sure you’re sending emails far enough in advance. Yes, there are plenty of people who may have left their gift buying until the last minute. However, recent research by Yesmail Interactive has shown that customers are less likely to open themed campaigns during the last week leading up to the holiday. In fact, they noted that 44% of marketers wait too long to send holiday-related emails. Emails sent the week right before the holiday see the lowest open rate. “For the top 50 retailers, emails sent two weeks before a holiday were opened at a rate of 16.4%, compared to 14.9% for those sent in the week leading up to the holiday. Keep that in mind for Father’s Day.

Have fun & be creative.

Showing your creativity lets you stand out from your competitors and showcase your brand. A good way to do this is to create an email campaign around a non-traditional holiday, such as National Pancake Day, National Pet Month and May the Fourth, as in this example from a recent Target email.

Subject Line: May the 4th be with you.

Target May the Fourth

Personalize it.

Subscribers receive hundreds of marketing emails through the fall and winter holidays. They get promotions thrown at them left and right. It’s easy to get lost in the clutter. A great way to stand out is by using personalization, for example, by putting the subscriber’s name in the subject line. If possible, personalize your holiday emails beyond your subscribers’ names by using the data you have, such as gender, shopping department preferences, age, family size, income, product preference and average order value.

Use behavioral triggers.

Behavioral trigger marketing has the capacity to greatly improve your customer’s experience, which turn gives you a great ROI. Some of the behaviors you might look at include abandoned search activity, abandoned shopping carts, languishing wish lists, previous purchases, content viewed on the site and downloaded content. When it comes to seasonal emails, this kind of remarketing offers a means to send personalized, targeted and relevant emails to your customers. Perhaps you create a birthday email with a promo code that says “get yourself something you’ve been wanting” populated with a few top-rated items from their wish list. Take a look at your average order value and, for the promo, introduce a minimum order value just above your current average as a way to stimulate a short-term increase in average basket value. Clearly, spell out your offers in plain language—don’t hide it in the fine print. Or consider creating a holiday-themed message for automated emails as part of your cart abandonment program.

Build segments.

Segmentation is super important at any time of year. MailChimp has reported that segmented email campaigns get 14.72% more opens and 62.84% more clicks than non-segmented campaigns. Applying this practice to your seasonal emails gives you a lot of bang for your buck, whether they’re weather related or holiday related. There are many ways to slice and dice your email list, so if you’re new to building segments, check out our list of 14 ways to define and refine your segmentation strategy to help you get started. Segmentation is key for delivering the right message to the right customer at the right time. It not only improves conversion rates but is also a great way to connect with your customers and build your brand.

Beyond these 5 tips, you’ll want to keep in mind what worked and what didn’t in past campaigns. Test your subject lines, your CTAs, your button colors, your body copy length and more. Track the results and make changes based on what you see.

Need some fresh ideas for your email marketing? Get in touch with Filament to create a smart seasonal email marketing campaign for your business.

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