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.