Paralysis by Data Analysis

Paralysis by Data Analysis

We are currently being overrun with data and data companies. You can buy IP targeted lists of 27 year olds who can get dental insurance at work but have chosen not to. You also can monitor every aspect of that group who saw an ad. While data is great, more often than not we hear business owners tell us it's confusing. They also have no idea how it helps their business. Unfortunately the digital marketing space is full of companies all too happy to shove a report in their clients' faces. Then explain nothing, leave an invoice and say "you're welcome." Data and reports are great but if not properly explained or tied into a business purpose, it's not helping anyone. Analytics ToolsOne of the best tools in the game today is Google Analytics. This tool is free and ties into the backend of your website. It can tell you almost anything you could possibly want to know about the traffic on...
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Mobile Advertising in 2020

Mobile Advertising in 2020

Almost everyone reading this owns a cell phone, and there is a rather large probability that you are reading it on that phone. According to a recent study 77% of people in the US own a smartphone which has more than doubled in the last 8 years (35% in 2011). While these devices have taken over the world, and many of our lives, something else in the world of mobile advertising has begun happening too. It comes as no surprise that advertising strategy tends to follow consumer behavior. So as the ownership of smartphones has exploded the mobile advertising phenomenon has grown right along with it. So as we spend more and more of our time looking into our screens the images that we consume have become advertising, not content we want, at a higher pace year over year. We have seen traditional static banner ads come and for the most part go. Video advertising on mobile devices is growing at a similar trend-line on desktop....
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Marketing During the time of COVID

Marketing During the time of COVID

Marketing and advertising in 2020 was supposed to be fun, we got new tools to play with from Google Ads, Content Marketing took another major step forward, SEO black hats got hammered again from the search engine gods. Then COVID came and we were all introduced to the terms "social distancing" and "flattening the curve". All in one shot, tens of millions of people around the world are unemployed and facing a type of desperation and poverty without any drastic help from their governments. All of a sudden conversion zones and WordPress's new version of the Gutenberg editor didn't matter at all. While retail stores and most businesses are taking a big hit, marketing and communications are still incredibly important. Certainly budgets are slashed and a lot of businesses aren't going to make it out of this recession, it is still vital that you communicate your message to the market if you are still in business or if you...
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SMS Marketing in 2020

SMS Marketing in 2020

Short Message Service (SMS) is the most common type of text messaging in the world today. SMS Marketing is utilizing the messaging services most people use as a way to get your brands information / offers in front of your target audience. This medium has been used for quite a while, but as is the case with most digital marketing, it has never been more accurate and data driven than today. There are certainly some drawbacks to Text or SMS marketing but some clear advantages as well. Let's explore both: Pros Engagement (the majority of people open every text they receive)Tracking (most major SMS marketing services can tell if your messages are read or not, how many times and if any call to action in the message has been performed)Cost (there is a relatively low point of entry) CONS Creative (with only 160 characters per SMS message there isn't a lot of opportunity to let your creatives really explore)Spam (it is relatively easy for...
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SEM vs Display Advertising in 2020

SEM vs Display Advertising in 2020

Where’s the best place to spend marketing and advertising dollars? In the world of paid digital advertising, two of the biggest players are search engine marketing (SEM) and display marketing. On the surface, search engine marketing (SEM) programs like Google AdWords might seem like the best channel to maximize return on investment (ROI). “US marketers will spend more than $103 billion on search, display, social media, and email marketing by 2019—but search will remain the largest share of interactive spend (about 44%).” Why are marketers spending so much on search? Because search spending works. However, let’s not overlook another important aforementioned piece of that $103 billion pie: display marketing. (Think banner ads.) So what’s the best strategy for your next effective paid digital advertising and marketing campaign? By pairing display marketing with an effective search engine marketing strategy, you’ll be able to reach more prospects and customers—but to see real ROI, the trick is knowing how and when to use display marketing. Here’s our rundown...
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