Week 8 - MKTG 347 - Boosting Your Page

There are many ways to boost your Facebook page, and you don't have to spend any money to do so! Firstly, you want to be personable with your fans. You want to build a relationship with them and create a fan community. One way to do this is with "fan love." You can share and comment on posts that fans leave on your page. This gives your fans an engaging experience instead of them just reading what posts are on your page. The use of images can be huge for your page. Using images that capture attention will most likely lead to someone reading your post, or clicking on your blog. However, sometimes keeping it simple with text-based posts can be better. By eliminating photos, videos, and links, you give the viewer raw content and all the information is right in front of them. They do not need to open any links or windows to see what you are putting out there. This makes it easier for them to comment or even share your post.

You can also spend money to boost your page. If you choose to promote your page, you can do that with text, images, or video. You will basically be creating and running a Facebook ad. Choosing the right demographics are important. You can choose to target males, females, or both, and their age. Location is huge for local businesses, but if you are posting content from a website or a blog, you can choose different areas and see what works best for you. Selecting interests will also target people with those interests. So if your page deals with digital marking, you could select interests such as business, entrepreneurship, or social media marketing. Lastly you'll want to figure out your budget and duration of the ad. Boosting your page may be easier with ads, but try some free ways to boost your page first.

Week 7 - MKTG 347 - Facebook Marketing Guide For Beginners

First things first, who is on Facebook? Well, the minimum age requirement for a user to create a Facebook profile is 13. The most popular age group on Facebook is around 18 to 29. Generally, popularity decreases with age. However, with the many people on Facebook, a general audience can definitely be targeted. An easy way to get your idea or product out there is with Facebook pages. These are simple to make and can be easily linked with your personal account. Users can "like" the page, comment on posts, and add insight to what you are marketing. People who like the page will get notifications when a new post is made on that page, so it invites them to check it out and possibly react on that post. Unlike a personal profile, pages can be liked by anyone. This eliminates the need for mutual connections for people to find and like the page. A huge advantage to Facebook pages is that they are free. However, the downside is that it can be difficult to build a following with natural likes. You can boost your page to gain likes, but we will get into that in the next blog.

For marketing purposes, you want to have a page with a clean cover and profile photo, as well as a detailed description of what you are trying to market. Simply, the profile photo should be your logo, and your cover image can be creative or tell some sort of story. Your description lets possible fans know what you do, or what you plan to accomplish. Here, you can explain why you are different and any other details potential followers might want to know.

Week 6 - MKTG 347 - Importance of a Band Website

With all the social media platforms today, bands often wonder if a website is necessary. Through all the discussion, in the end, bands need a personal website. In a way, it acts as a central hub for all of your information and content. It also serves as an easy way for people to look up a band. For example, if a fan, promoter, record label, etc. wants more information on your band, a website is one of the first places they will look for. The band has control of the layout, so displaying tour dates, bios, contact information, and music/videos is easy.

A website lets bands also build a consistent image. Basically, the band thinks about how they want to be portrayed in not only a live setting, but with what they want to include online. This can show the style of music the band plays as well as their level of ambition. In that sense, local cover bands do not need to worry about websites as much, as they can only get so big. For bands releasing their own content and want to make it big, a website must show those intentions. 

Week 5 - MKTG 347 - Building Facebook Fans

For many offline businesses, it is important for them to promote their page in their physical content. They should invite clients or customers to check out their page on contact details, flyers, menu, brochures, business cards, and even products and materials. Emails sent to clients can also have the Facebook page attached so that it can be easily accessible.

However, for companies with online profiles, cross-promotion can help gain fans. In the age of social media, people do not have just one social profile. Firms can get their message out on several platforms to reach these people. Having a common theme can get people to check out their Facebook page to like, comment, and share content. Not everything needs to be posted, it is all about posts that are worthy of sharing. Creating a new post to inform people about new material being released is a great way to let fans know that you have something new to offer. Posting too often can come off as being annoying, so it is important for companies to effectively spread out their posts.

Week 4 - MKTG 347 - How Smaller Companies Use Facebook

Social media gives smaller companies a way to advertise what they are all about. For many companies, it is more about having a personal conversation with people. Instead of creating an ad and then leaving it on their page, they want to react to people's reactions. Commentating on reactions give the consumer a more personal connection to what they are involved with. It shows that the company cares what people think.

A great way for these companies to promote what they are selling is by using Facebook Deals. This service offers bargains and coupons to consumers who stop into physical stores via their smartphone. Facebook Deals can offer loyalty programs, premiums and other promotions.

Advertising with Facebook is something small companies should consider. Companies can target potential customers based on what they like. A budget can also be set so that no unnecessary spending occurs.

Week 3 - MKTG 347 - Music Promotion Tips With Social Media

Choosing a social media can be difficult for a band/musician. They must keep in mind that certain platforms have different kinds of audiences. Facebook is about creating a diverse community experience, Twitter is all about quick, short posts in real-time, and Pinterest is about creating themed photo boards. However, no matter what platform you choose (maybe even multiple ones), there are three elements you need to include. These are: brand image, band bio with website link, and common purpose.

People want to see consistency when it comes to an image. If you use a red and black color scheme on Facebook, do the same for all of your social media pages. Also, the banners and background should have a similar look to them. You do not want to confuse your fans with contrasting content. By keeping things similar, you will create a recognizable style with your social media.

Your band bio should also be on your website. The website should also be linked with your social media pages. If your band does not have a website, take some time to work on one. Consult with some help on creating one if you need to, because your website should be your central hub for your online presence.

(example of band website with social media links)

Finally, you need to know what your purpose is. Are you trying to sell CDs? Are you promoting new material and merch? Are you finding and building a fan base? Whatever your goals are, they need to be implemented across all your social media networking platforms.

Week 2 - MKTG 347 - Band Presence on Facebook

Facebook is known as the flagship social media format when it comes to bands. If you have a band, you probably have a Facebook for that band. In today's media world along with the expenses bands have, Facebook is great way to generate fans for your band for free (if you can market your band the right way). Sure, you can pay to boost your band page or a specific post, but there are other options.

One of the key ways bands can use Facebook is to connect with other bands. Just how opening for a bigger band can help boost your fan base, networking with other bands can work the same way. You can see if other bands would be willing to post one of your new songs or a new line of merch you just released. You may have to do the same for them, but overall it's a great, cheap way to get your band name out there.

Probably one of the best advice for bands would be to post about anything and everything. As a band, fans look up to them for not only what they create, but what they think about any topic. Think of it like this, your lyrics reflect a certain story or opinion, posts can do the same. Post something crazy or controversial. You're a band, it's what you do.

Week 1 - MKTG 347 - Know Your Audience

Digital marketing in social media is a great tool to get a product, service, event, or anything else out to the public. However, when advertising or promoting a page, it is essential to know who your audience is. What do they like? What do they have in common? How specific or broad should the message be when promoting? I run into these same questions and concerns when promoting my band page on Facebook.

We usually promote our page when we have some new material out or if we are announcing a show. With that, we have two options. We can either promote the page or the direct post. It all comes down to how important the individual post is for us. Another key point is knowing who you want to promote to. What kind of fans can we promote to that would not only like our music but might actually buy our music/merchandise and come to shows? We are a hard rock band, so for us, we want to target actual fans of that style of music. If we chose to promote to fans of a super huge rock band, we may not get the results we want because a lot of people may like a few songs by that band and may not fully like everything they offer. Instead, we target other bands fans who have a tighter following. That way, we get to the more hardcore fan of that genre.

Band Page Layout

Week 16 - MKTG 349 - Adding Phone Numbers To An Ad

First off, what are the benefits of adding a phone number to an advertisement for consumers? Well, it encourages customers to directly call your business to speak with a representative. It is even more beneficial for individuals using a smartphone, as they can simply click the call button on the ad and their device will dial the desired number. For a business, there are even more benefits for adding a phone number. It makes it easy for the customer to contact a business. Each click on a call-only ad exclusively drive calls to the business. With adding a phone number, advertisers can also choose when they want the phone number to appear so that customers do not call when the business is closed.

Adding phone numbers to ads can bring in traveling customers. People who are touring normally do not know the phone numbers of businesses, so adding a number can increase business. If a tourists is looking for a specific style of restaurant, they can input the desired quality into their computer or phone. From there, if they click the ad, they can view the website directly. If there is a phone number on the ad, they can easily call the restaurant to ask about pricing or to even make a reservation if they are using a mobile device. Overall, both parties benefit from adding phone numbers to ads, and call extensions typically increase the clickthrough rate by 4-5%.

Week 15 - MKTG 349 - Shopping Campaigns

Before you select what campaign you want to use, you need to think of what your goals are. There are several types of campaigns that include: search network with display select, search network only, display network only, shopping, and video. If you are a retailer, you may want to consider shopping campaigns. Traditional ads are just text based which try to make possible customers click on the ad. With a shopping ad, you can promote more than just a click, you can engage and show the consumer what you have to offer. The shopping ad can show a photo of the product, the title of the product, its price, store name, and more. This type of ad is strong because it gives consumers a sense of the product before they even click on the ad.

Benefits include:

More traffic: business see higher clickthrough rates with Shopping ads. This is due to the ad being more descriptive than a traditional text ad.

Better qualified leads: shoppers will click on this ad if they are truly interested in the product. It is like window shopping, consumers know what they are getting into before they are redirected to another page.

In addition, Shopping ads can appear on Google Shopping, Google Search, and partner websites such as YouTube and Image Search.

Week 9 - MKTG - Overview of Search Advertising

Google alone sees over 100 billion searches each month. Why? Because when people want or need something, it is becoming an instinct to turn to search engines. People search when they want to know something, when they want to go somewhere, when they want to do something, and more. every search represents an opportunity for marketers looking to influence the decisions of the consumer. This type of advertising uses a pay-per-click format in which advertisers pay for each user that clicks on their ad. You can also bid on keywords that relate to what you are offering to get a better ad position.

If you want to be successful with you ads, you need to conduct some type of research so you know who your target market is and what they are searching. Knowing what the consumer wants and how they go about searching for it is huge in terms of getting your brand out there. Some of my older posts go into more detail about this, but this is an overview to get ready to take the Search Advertising exam for Google Adwords.

Week 8 - MKGT 349 - AdWords Fundamentals Exam Tips

So you are having trouble passing the Fundamentals exam for AdWords. Don't worry, you are not alone. Personally, it took me 3 attempts to pass it. Well, my first attempt I took it without studying or having any background with working in AdWords so I wouldn't really count that. But in all honesty, it is going to take time to study for the exam. It will not be uncommon for you to study at least 8 hours a week in preparation for the exam. For me, a big help was to actually work with AdWords through a Google Grant at my school, I am more of a hands on learner so that experience and background really helped me with the certification. If you cannot get access to this, the exam study guides will do fine. You just have to be prepared with reading the same components over and over again. There are some good videos out there that I have linked in one of my older blogs that can help, but you are going to want to read through the following study guides:

• Introduction to AdWords
• Campaign Management
• Measurement and Optimization
• AdWords Fundamentals PDF Download-Help With Offline Studying

Another tip I have for you is to take the test multiple times, the more you are familiar with the questions, the more you know what you need to study. If you always seem to struggle with certain questions, you can go to the study guides and individually pick out what you need to study. 

Week 7 - MKTG 349 - Campaign Optimization

So you created a campaign for your website using Google AdWords and you notice that the campaign is not meeting your expectations. What do you do now? You may have to make some minor changes that can boost your campaign in a big way. This is known as optimization. The first step is to use a landing page that best represents your ad. Your ad should display or explain to the customer exactly what your webpage contains. If a customer finds that your webpage does not contain exactly what your ad shows or states, then they are more likely to leave your site. This may not only loose you that customer, but possibly future customers if they recommend to others to not use your website. If an ad states that you are offering a discount or sale, then your landing page should demonstrate that promotion.

For an example, let's search "baseball bats" and see if an ad effectively demonstrates what a customer will find on the landing page.

Ad

Landing Page (click to view)

Looking at the ad, we see some keywords that we expect to find in the webpage. These include: "free shipping," "free returns," "24/7 customer service."  Now notice the first thing a customer will see at the top of the page is that there is free shipping everyday. For many customers, free shipping is going to catch their attention and give them a good reason to do business with this company. In to top right, there is a link for returns for customers that already bought a product but need to send it back. Customer service is a big deal for many consumers, and in several areas on the landing page, there are different ways for which a customer can contact the company with any questions or issues. On many websites, a customer may have to go through several pages to find this information. For them to have all of this on their landing page makes them seem like a company someone would want to do business with.

Week 6 - MKTG 349 - Ad Performance Update

It all starts with keywords. I ended up deleting keywords that were not performing well just to clean up my ad group a bit. I saw an increase in clicks over the week, netting around a 20% increase in clicks overall. However, I still am not fully satisfied with this, so I need to find another way to increase my traffic. What I chose to do was to make another ad. I can collectively use information from both ads to figure out what is actually working. I chose to create an ad for a different tiger because I did not want my ads to compete against one another. All of these actions are intended to further my knowledge with Google AdWords and how to optimize a campaign.

New Ad

For this ad, the only keywords I used were the ones that were getting results. This way, I can easily compare not only the keywords, but the ad itself. People may be more likely click on an ad that speaks to them, meaning that if what the ad says satisfies what they are looking for or interested in, then they would be more likely to click on it. In just two days and on a tight budget, the new ad has already been clicked on six times. It has netted more clicks than my original ad in that same time frame.

Week 5 - MKTG 349 - Campaign Performance

I have recently been working with my ad for The National Tiger Sanctuary in order to generate more clicks. First, I went through my keywords and deleted the ones that were not generating anything. Then I wanted to compare my keywords to my colleagues. I looked at their ads and saw what was working and what was not. Sometimes knowing what keywords not to use is just as important as knowing which ones to use. 

Here are my current keywords

I have had some of these running for just a couple days now and they are doing well. Within the next week I should see in increase in clicks and overall impressions. As you can see, I may also decide to delete some keywords if they continue not to get results. I will give them a few more days before making that change. 

Good keywords do not only make the difference in generating clicks, the ad itself must look good enough for people to want to click on it. Overall, my ad has been doing well, but not exceeding my expectations, so depending on how it does within the next week, I might run another ad to compare my strategies.

(current ad)

Week 4 - MKTG 349 - Keyword Planner Exploration

This week, I have been trying to optimize my advertisement with Google AdWords. I am currently running an ad for the National Tiger Sanctuary, specifically, Kora the tiger. I am attempting to bring in more traffic to their website and one tool I am using is Keyword Planner. By using this, I can simply input a keyword and get feedback as to how many times that has been searched as well as how many times per month. This too is effective because it gives you a sense of what keywords you want to use as well as estimates what your bid should be.

(Click image to view)

Budgeting is important when it comes to AdWords. You do not want to spend more per click then you have to. To do this, as advertisers we must think like the customer and how they search what we are selling. Out keywords can be general to attract a big population, or it can be very specific to try to target selected consumers. For my ad, "tiger" has been the best keyword so far for generating clicks. The monthly searches average 1.5 million and it has a fairly low competition rating. Going forward, this is an excellent tool to use to help optimize you ad.

Week 3 - MKTG349 - AdWords Fundamentals

Recently, I took my first attempt at passing AdWords Fundamentals and working on my certification with AdWords. Going into the exam, I thought that it may be easier than expected. But what did I know? Until taking this class, I never heard of Google AdWords or how I can use it. Basically, I went in blind during the exam. Overall, I did not get a great score, but it was definitely better than what I thought I might earn based on my little knowledge of AdWords. 

Going into the future, I am ready to study and put the effort in to receive at least 80 out of 100 on the test. To accomplish this, a key tool that I will use has to be the exam study guides given by Google. There are three main sections for the study guide. They include: introduction to AdWords, campaign management, and measurement and optimization. Additionally, there are several videos on YouTube that can help study as well.

Check out these links for exam prep videos:

·         AdWords Certification Fundamentals Exam Prep

·         Refresher Hangout: AdWords Fundamentals

Week 2 - MKTG349 - Google Adwords

This week in class, we learned how to use Google AdWords. A main thing to remember when using AdWords is editorial techniques. These will not only improve your legitimacy as a business/service, but will also lead to more clicks. The first thing to keep in mind is the ads text. Ads cannot contain all caps, more than one punctuation in a row, or excessive use. Additionally, ads should not contain symbols or random capital letters within words.

Why are these important? For one, ads should draw people to want to see what you have to offer, and if you are unprofessional in your ads, it will show when you are not seeing the traffic you want to generate with your ads. It is important to remember that simplicity is sometimes best when creating an ad.