decoding digital week 3: launching and marketing the business

Decoding Digital

Week Three: Launching and marketing the business

1www.symphony3.com

How to engage with us by webinar

We want you to get the most out of the program by asking questions, giving your feedback, telling us your stories and participating in opinion polls.

• Question box

• Polls

• Twitter

– We will be answering questions during the session on Twitter. Contact us directly at

@Symphony3Think and/or use the hashtag #DigitalVic

www.symphony3.com 2

Webinar Schedule

Week 1: Developing a digital strategy (Tuesday 3rd February)

Week 2: Design & implementation (Tuesday 10th February)

Week 3: Launching and marketing the business (Tuesday 17th February)

Hangout this Thursday 12:30pm – Hands on with Twitter!

Week 4: Evaluation and continuous improvement (Tuesday 24th February)

www.symphony3.com 3

Last Week

• We looked at the process of building an online eCommerce website

• Developed a website brief

• Learned how to choose an agency and a CMS

• Looked at design requirements and trends

• Looked at the front and back-end of Business Catalyst

www.symphony3.com 4

Our focus today

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

– How do you get yourself found by customers on Google?

• Content Marketing

– How do we create online content that will build our brand awareness, engage and support

audiences and help convert sales?

• Social Media

– How do we use social media to amplify our content?

– How do we use social media to support and engage existing stakeholders?

All of these activities are interrelated – remember we need an overall digital strategy

www.symphony3.com 5

Taking processes online

http://www.buaconsulting.com/



Cloud services to consider

• XERO accounting or Saasu.com

• Google Apps – email, calendar, hangouts, documents

• Customer Relationship Management System –Salesforce, SugarCRM

• Evernote

• Dropbox or Box.com or Basecamp

• Gotomeeting.com or Skype.com or Viber (overseas)

• Shoebox

• Workflowmax,

• Paypal – for online payments

• Content Management Systems

www.symphony3.com 7

Sources of website traffic

• Organic

– Traffic from search engines (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo etc)

• Paid

– Traffic that comes from paid online advertising (e.g. Google AdWords)

• Referral

– Traffic that is linked to the website from other online sites (e.g. a link to our product from a

blog)

• Social

– Traffic that comes from social media sources (e.g. Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter etc)

• Direct

– Traffic that comes directly to the site without a referrer (e.g. type URL into search bar, click on

site in browser bookmarks, copy and paste URL etc)

• Email

– Traffic derived from a link in an email client (e.g. email newsletter, email referral)

www.symphony3.com 8

The customer journey is not linear

www.symphony3.com 9

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/tools/customer-journey-to-online-purchase.html

Different channels will contribute to different parts of the customer journey at different times

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/tools/customer-journey-to-online-purchase.html

Organic - What is SEO?

• SEO = Search Engine Optimisation

• SEO is the process of improving a websites’ or web pages’ visibility on search engines like Google.

• Ranking higher in organic (or “natural”) search results makes your website more visible to potential customers and searchers looking for your products, brand or service.

www.symphony3.com 10

Positioning is important!!

Above the red fold – 100 % viewed. Drops to 50% - 20% below the fold.

Positioning is important!!

Appear on Page 1 – More traffic = More leads!Appear on Page 2 – Less traffic = Less or no leads!

Why high ranking matters

11

SEO Factors

There are a number of factors that affect your rankings on search Engines like Google. However, these can be classified into three broad areas:

1. Content Layout & Optimisation

2. Crawlability (Can Google’s spider access my website?)

3. Backlinks (Social Media Shares, Links from high quality sites etc.)


SEO process: Content

Ensure you focus on a topic and the quality of the content. While keywords are still

important, use a set of keyword variations as opposed to just 1 or 2. Choose a topic that

showcases your expertise and ensure your website’s product, service or blog page caters

to that.

• Why does the Apple fruit not show up when I search for “Apple” on Google? or Why does the skin

care brand Dove show up when I search for Dove.



Creating the right type of content is important for SEO performance

Use Google’s keyword planner tool to get ideas for keywords phrases and topics to target. Remember – you need to have an account with Google. -https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner

More information - https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2999770?hl=en-AU


Don’t forget to choose “show only closely related ideas”.

https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner

https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2999770?hl=en-AU

OzCrafters: Content




Page content tips

• Include keywords

• Include meta tags

• Have a clear page heading

• Add clear sub-headings

• Break up content in bullet points or numbers

• Use images

• Use video

• Make it shareable (share icons)

• Answer the questions that matter to your customers!


Include Meta tags on all pages of your website. There are major meta tags on a page:

– Title tags

– Description tags

• They are important because it is the first things users see. They also help Google understand

what the page is about.


Title Tag

Description Tag

SEO process: Crawlability

Below are some key steps to ensure your website is search engine friendly and you have the best chances of being found on Google

1. Add Google Webmasters tools to see how your website appears to Google. It should take no more than 5 minutes and can show you if your site is accessible to Google or not!

More information here - https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/34592?hl=en


https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/34592?hl=en


Make sure your website has a clean URL structure. Most new websites have this enabled by default. However, if your on an old website consider upgrading or ask your developer to clear up the URL Structure.

www.symphony3.com 19SOURCE: ENVATO STUDIO


Create an XML sitemap for your website and submit it to Google.

– A sitemap is a directory of the pages on your website.

– This allows Google to go through your whole site and not miss out on any pages.

– Visit http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/


http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/

SEO Process: Crawlability

Submit your site to Google to ensure that all your website pages are found. Re-submit your site here - https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/submit-url

– Note: Only submit your site when there are major changes to the site and you want Google

to know about it fast. Adding a new web page, updating content is not considered as major

updates. If your website is already on Google then you do not need to do this – just add

webmaster tools.


https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/submit-url

• Backlinks are hyperlinks created on

another site or social media that

links back to a page on your

website.

• Google’s algorithm will find your

website page more important if a

number of high quality websites are

referencing (or linking back to) your

website.

• For example, if you got a link from

Sydney Morning Herald or an article

in The Age linking back to you site

talking about your services.


SEO Process: Backlinks


How: Open Site Explorer

Visit http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/

http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/

Backlinks Dos and Don’ts

DO

• Have a plan from where you can link back. For example, upcoming conferences, industry associations.

• Add links back to your website on social media posts

• Optimise your hyperlink text & avoid click here and read more

• Create content that is people want to share or link to e.g. infographics

• Include keywords in your links and URLs.


DON’T

• Buy links

• Link from your website back to your website – Yes. People do this!

• Participate in link schemes (I will link to you if you link to me).

• Avoid outsourcing backlinks – focus on creating quality content.

Five biggest changes to SEO

• Mobile – A mobile ranking algorithm is near launch that will penalise websites with critical mobile issues. (Even the text mobile-friendly shows next to a site when you search Google on your mobile).

• Google My Business – This adaption of Google Places will affect the way your physical location shows up on Google

• SSL Security – Using https:// instead of http:// on your website domain indicates your site is secure.

• Local Search – Google will emphasise local results on all searches.

• Video – Google will assign more weighting to on-page videos


What is a content marketing?

• Textbook: “Content marketing is any marketing that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire and retain customers.”

• Essentially we are:

– Building trust and credibility

– Adding value to customers and potential customers

– Attracting traffic back to our website

– Building social credibility

• Content can cater to different parts of the customer journey

• Content is a vital component of SEO


Content Example

Joe wants to know which timbers are enviro friendly for Australian-made

furniture to inform a potential

purchase decision

He Googles: “eco-friendly

furniture timbers

australia”

He comes across

OzCrafters’ blog – “top 3 eco-friendly australiantimbers”

Joe clicks through to OzCrafters’

product listing and browses Dining Tables

He calls the workshop to talk about a

custom maple table with Frank

Joe shares the article

with his friend Liz on

Facebook


What makes good content?

Source: www.vantagemarketing.com.au


The top 5 question test

One way to start with your content is to ask yourself:

What are the top 5 things my customers want to know?

i.e. What are the top 5 things I’m asked by customers?

TELL THEM

• There are no secrets on the internet – if you don’t tell them, someone else will.

• Good content builds credibility and trust with the customer and helps you get found when they are searching for a solution.

• Providing useful and relevant information to your customer will help:

– Reduce perceived risks

– Build trust

– Bring more traffic and enquiries from your website


Content Research

• Buzzsumo helps you research

– Which content has been successful around given topics

– Who are the key influencers around a given topic

• Use this information to provide an indication of what people find useful in your field

www.buzzsumo.com


Content Research


Storytelling

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34274/7-Lessons-From-the-World-s-Most-Captivating-Presenters-SlideShare.aspx


http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34274/7-Lessons-From-the-World-s-Most-Captivating-Presenters-SlideShare.aspx

Imagery & Video


Evergreen Content


OzCrafters: Content Plan

• Studies have shown that simply documenting a content plan increases its effectiveness

• Set due dates, and ensure there is a proofing process (even if it is a third party objective opinion)

• Stick to your deadlines

• Start with a realistic frequency goal e.g. once a fortnight


How to approach social media?


Choosing social media tools

• Your customer personas and customer journey will guide your social media choices

• Think about where your customers are and how they interact with social media

• Focus your energy on your target market

• Your content strategy and interaction with stakeholders will form the basis of your social activity


OzCrafters: Revisiting Claire Smith

Claire:

• Browses Pinterest and uses hashtags to find home and garden ideas

• Follows her favourite retailers on Instagram

• Stays in touch with friends on Facebook – occasionally shares information and ideas

OzCrafters:

• Upload finished products and home ideas to Pinterest with researched hashtags

• Regularly post content to Instagram

• Share blog content and respond to customers on Facebook


Yammer (Internal)


Twitter (Listen)


Facebook (Talk)

• Provide more personal, detailed information about products

• Create a story


YouTube (Support)


Pinterest (Engage)


Hangout this Thursday – Twitter

• This Thursday, 12:30pm

• Hands on with Twitter

• Send us your questions

– LinkedIn Group

– Twitter (#DigitalVic)

– Facebook (facebook.com/symphony3)


Summary

• SEO is an important process that will involve

– Your site’s structure and content

– An effective content strategy

– Crawlability

– Backlinks and effective use of social media

• Social media should flow on from your customer journey

• Social media is not a one-way dialogue

• Social media should help you

– Communicate internally

– Listen

– Talk

– Support

– Engage and Energise
