Maximizing ROI from Sales and Marketing

Vistage Group 9099

Martin J. FalleMartin J. FallePresident of Face Forward Media

Former SR. VP of Fortune 500 Company LexisNexis, Lawyers.com

Member of Vistage International Atlanta

Who is Face Forward Media?

A seasoned team of 100+ professional business consultants:

•Search Engine Optimization & Search Engine Marketing Specialists•Web Designers and Developers•Social Media Campaign Specialists•Blog, Article, and Content Developers•Video Marketing Specialists•Pay-Per-Click Campaign Specialists•Reputation Management Professionals•Sales and Conversion Consultants

What do we do?We help firms make money.

•We perform an exhaustive analysis of current sales and marketing challenges.

•We find out who your competitors are and how they are beating you online.

•We build a customized, solution-oriented plan.

•We understand YOUR business, YOUR unique market, and YOUR competition before suggesting a single service.

How are we different?Accountability is Key•Our team is 100% accountable for services agreed vs. services delivered.•We track ongoing success, report activities, and plan monthly action items, ensuring organized strategy and maintaining flexibility. •We are custom in our approach, understanding the unique needs of each individual client.•We are built to be dynamic and proactive against your competition.•Our retention rate of 90% is among the highest in the industry.

What is our process?

Why is this relevant?

As a courtesy to all participants in this room, we will provide a FREE Assessment, valued at $750 – no obligation.

In 2007,

1.15 billion1.15 billionpeople were using the Internet.

Today, a whopping

2.27 billion2.27 billionpeople are using the net at an accelerated rate.

(royal.pingdom.com/2012/04/19/world-internet-population-has-doubled-in-the-last-5-years/)

How many of them How many of them can find your business online?can find your business online?

Number of years to reach Number of years to reach 50 million users50 million users

(Source – Morgan Stanley)

"Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying""Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying"

- Andy Dufresne, from “The Shawshank Redemption”

"Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying""Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying"

The # 1 activity on the Internet today is consumers gathering purchase information.Your competition is currently working to take your market share, including competitors you never knew existed.

Your competition is looking for every creative angle to direct traffic from you to them.

Questions to Ask Yourself:Questions to Ask Yourself:

•Are you getting the most from your website?

•Can your target market find you? Are they buying from you or “bouncing” off to look at your competitors?

•How are you keeping track of your competition online?

•How does a prospective client see your firm on the Internet?

Search Engine Optimization Search Engine Optimization and and

Your Company’s Online Your Company’s Online PresencePresence

Search Engine OptimizationSearch Engine OptimizationWhy is Search Engine Optimization important?

Help the right customers find your website, your products and servicesMaximize ROI from Internet marketingPromote brand awarenessCreate keyword association with what you have to offerImprove credibility and authority as a firmRank higher in the SERPS (Google, Yahoo, Bing)Drive relevant website traffic with commercial contentConvert browsers into buyers

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEOSearch Engine Marketing encompasses a variety of online marketing

techniques, but the differentiator, the “money makers” are:

Tip #1 Tip #1 – Know what keywords are important to YOUR client Do Keyword Research using Google keyword tool and Wordtracker

A balanced strategy with SEO and PPC requires the following keyword research:

1. Informed Keyword Discovery – Google keyword tool or wordtracker

2. Enough information from the client to accurately determine ROI – What is a sale, conversion or new client worth to the business?

3. Competitive ad analysis – See what ads are doing best and use as a starting point, and make more compelling

4. Testing, testing and more testing – run more than one ad group, test new keyword variations, test different ad positions

Keyword ResearchKeyword Research

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEOTip #2 Tip #2 – Pay attention to conversions and adjust

• As time goes on, make adjustments to the keyword strategy as you uncover which keywords are creating the most conversions, and then reshape the strategy to go after the best producers.

• ADAPT to what your target market is revealing to you.

• Give your customers the website they’re looking for.

Conversion OptimizationConversion OptimizationConversions can be many different things, depending on what type of website you have:

•a click to a particular page,

•a form that is filled out on your website, or

•an online purchase directly from your website.

Tracking conversions using analytic software is a major part of measuring your success as well as using that analytic data to make adjustments to keywords, site layout, and other factors to optimize your conversion ratios.

““The Elephant in the RoomThe Elephant in the Room””

““The Elephant in the RoomThe Elephant in the Room””Conversion optimization is the process of ensuring that your web site and overall SEM strategy is fundamentally sound, and consistently generating increased targeted traffic to your website, resulting in best chance for a qualified sales or leads. This is accomplished by the following:

1. SEM Best Practices

2. Clear Call to Action (CTA)

3. Always offer an incentive

4. Test and adjust

Your website needs to work 24/7, educating, qualifying, and filtering prospects so the lead that arrives is the RIGHT lead for your business.

Implement sound Search Engine Optimization and Marketing tactics and a strong Call-To-Action.

Make sure the user experience is convenient and maximizes visitor engagement and participation.

What happens after a visitor fills out a form on your site? What is the follow up process to secure the sale of that prospect?

Conversion OptimizationConversion Optimization

There should be a direct correlation between your online marketing strategy and your sales team.

The sales force is an organization’s most valuable marketing resource.

Implementing the right sales process, carefully adjusting it as market conditions change, requires a thorough understanding of customer needs and potential.

In order to take full advantage of your online marketing efforts and convert traffic into sales, your team must be armed with the proper tools and structure to get the sale.

Conversion OptimizationConversion Optimization

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEOTip #3 Tip #3 – Make sure your call-to-action is highly visible on

your website – without scrolling!

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEOTip #3 Tip #3 – Make sure your call-to-action is highly visible on

your website – without scrolling.

??

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEOTip #4 Tip #4 – Leverage social media and video to drive traffic

to your site

Tip #5 Tip #5 – Create Backlinks with optimized anchor text Backlinks are links that are directed towards your website and can

indicate the popularity or importance of that website.

Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink and can determine the ranking that the page will receive by search engines.

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEO

There is no anchor text on the homepage of GrowthForce.com!

Keywords like “Outsourced Bookkeeping” should link to a page that talks about your bookkeeping services.

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEOTip #5 Tip #5 – Create Backlinks with optimized anchor text

Tip #6Tip #6 – Optimize your heading tags and image alt tags.H1 or Heading Tag – Improve Search Engine Placement by putting

keywords in your H-tags and image Alt tags. It is usually a good practice to make sure the words in your tags also appear several times on the page, in your meta descriptions, and somewhere in the Title.

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEO

Tip #7Tip #7 – Optimize meta descriptions.

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEO

A Meta Description is intended to be a brief and concise summary of your page's content.

=

No meta description =

Tip #8 Tip #8 – Optimize page title descriptions with keywords; make sure they are not company-centric, i.e. “Company Homepage,” “Company Products”

NO.

Yes.

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEO

Tip #9Tip #9 – Start blogging! Create original content that can be optimized for search engines.If you can optimize a document and that document gets indexed,

categorized, and ranked by a search engine, it’s part of SEM.

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEO

Arm Yourself with the Basics of SEOArm Yourself with the Basics of SEOTip #10 Tip #10 – Optimize and integrate your content!

Blogging and SEOBlogging and SEO 38% of bloggers post brand or product reviews

Websites with blogs attract 55% more visitors

97% more inbound links

434% more indexed pages

4 Keys to Good Content:1. Provide original content or information, original reporting, research or analysis.2. Content needs quality control.3. Content should provide complete and comprehensive coverage of the topic.4. The content should be something you'd want to share, recommend or bookmark.

Search engines are starting to factor in social signals like Google's "+1" and Facebook likes for Bing. Only 1% of B2B marketing folks say that the impact of social signals has been negative, whereas 44% say it's positive.

The effect on sales is impressive, with 60% of business decision makers cited as making product decisions based on "branded content."

57% of marketers say that new customers have come in via company blogs.

Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/10/infographic-why-content-is-kin.php

Optimizing BlogsOptimizing Blogs

Blogging and SEO Best PracticesBlogging and SEO Best Practices Post regularly Optimal length, at least 250 words Specific, relevant, targeted topics; one topic per post Compelling content; engage readers Use keywords, key phrases Avoid duplicate content Link from homepage Give your company a face – post image of blog author Clean formatting, images; easy to read Integrate with social media: Twitter, Facebook,

YouTube

Engage Your Target Engage Your Target Market with an Market with an

Optimized Social Media Optimized Social Media Marketing CampaignMarketing Campaign

Why is Social Media Why is Social Media important?important?- Connect with and engage target audience

- Build company credibility & personality

- Company updates, news, reviews, experiences

- Maximize online presence; unlimited exposure potential

- Interact with your customers; receive feedback

- Enjoy boosted Search Engine rankings from strong social signals and increased activity

Facebook Optimization TipsFacebook Optimization TipsOptimizing your company Facebook page is just as important as optimizing your website. Ensure your company is represented professionally and be sure to monitor your reputation online.56% of consumers said they are more likely to recommend a brand to a friend after becoming a fan on Facebook 51% of consumers said they are more likely to buy a product since becoming a fan on FacebookMake sure your customers can find you!

Tip #1: Optimize your Cover Photo Tip #1: Optimize your Cover Photo and Profile Pictureand Profile PictureYour company’s cover photo takes up the most real estate on the Facebook timeline. It should tell your fans who you are and what you do, without any call-to-action, contact information, or marketing lingo. Best practice is to use your company Logo as your Profile Picture to promote brand recognition.

Tip #2: Optimize the “About” pageTip #2: Optimize the “About” pageBe sure to completely and accurately fill out ALL Basic information and Contact information in the “About” page. Use keywords and phrases and links to your website and other social media accounts.

Tip #3: Customize TabsTip #3: Customize TabsIt is against Facebook rules and regulations to put any sort of marketing or call-to-action in the Cover Photo, but you can load up your Tabs with anything you want. Engage your fans with an eye-catching assortment of customized tabs. Each tab should lead to a customized landing page, which should link back to your company website.

Yes.

Facebook users are very visual. The social network knows this and has made adjustments to the interface accordingly. Since Timeline rolled out, photos, Pins, and Highlights take up the most space on news feeds and pages. Use this to your advantage!

Tip #4: Use Pins, Highlights, and PhotosTip #4: Use Pins, Highlights, and Photos

Tip #5: Engage your fans!Tip #5: Engage your fans!With any social media platform, the goal is CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT. Encourage your fans to interact with your company by Liking, Commenting, and Sharing your brand. Ask questions, hold contests, share customer photos.

Keep your Facebook page up-to-date and monitor it closely for customer feedback.

Post regularly, with relevant material that your fans are interested in.

Promote special offers, company events, testimonials, contests, and more!

Integrate Facebook with your website and other social networks for maximum exposure.

Enjoy boosted search rankings due to active social signals to Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

Embed the Facebook “Like” button on your company website and blogs

TwitterTwitter

Social networking and microblogging

Stay in touch and get live updates

140-character posts, “tweets”

500 million active users175 million Tweets per day460,000 new Twitter accounts created everyday33% of users follow a brand

67% of brand followers will purchase that specific brand

Dell reported over $3M in revenue in 2007 due to Twitter posts

Twitter OptimizationTwitter Optimization Your Twitter profile, though brief, should be optimized with keywords and

branded with your company color scheme and logo. Contact information or promotions may be included in the background

image, but must be left-justified in order to be seen on most computer screens.

Make sure your location and company website are included in the profile description.

TwitterTwitter#hash tags

#’s are used before relevant keywords in a Tweet to categorize them for Twitter Search – use Hashtags with keywords in your Tweets and Profile Description to be found for specific terms

@mentions and @replies A @ comes before any username on Twitter, use it to target certain

users by adding @theirusername to a Tweet; they will get a notification with your Tweet

TwitterTwitterReTweets

RT helps you and others quickly share a Tweet with your followers

Verified Accounts Any account with a Verified Badge is authentically established by

Twitter so users can trust that well-known accounts are legitimate

Promoted Tweets Tweets purchased by advertisers who want to reach a wider

group of users or to spark engagement from existing followers

Integrate Facebook, Linkedin, and other social applications, but DO NOT rely on them for automated posts – vary your Tweets for optimal engagement

Embed the button on your website and blogs

Google+Google+ Having a Google+ company page is necessary for

improved rankings on the Google search engine. Google ranks its own content higher; this includes pages

in their social network. Having an updated, optimized Google+ page can help

increase your search engine rank up to 14 positions. Generate “+1”s on your website to build credibility and

boost rankings further. (+1 is like a vote for your website) Get found locally with the Google+ Local search engine,

which is directly tied to verified Google Local listings, another credibility factor.

Google+ OptimizationGoogle+ OptimizationLike Facebook, your Google+ cover photo and profile picture should accurately depict who you are and what you do.

Google+ OptimizationGoogle+ Optimization

Optimize your “About” tab with anchor text and keywords, links back to your website, completed & verified contact information, and recommended links to other social networks.

Google+ OptimizationGoogle+ OptimizationUpload photos and videos to your page, and optimize them with keywords and links.

Google+ Best PracticesGoogle+ Best Practices Post regularly to keep your profile up-to-date. Add people and similar companies to your Circles to build your

network. +1 and Comment on others’ posts to expand your brand into their

networks and improve exposure Optimize posts by sharing them in Google+ keyword streams

Embed the +1 button on your company website and blogs

LinkedInLinkedIn Largest professional network on the Internet 161 million professional members 50% of LinkedIn users have a Bachelor’s degree or higher 2 million companies on LinkedIn Most represented industries are hi-tech, finance, and

manufacturing View users visiting your company profile, who is following

your page, the industry, careers, promotions, etc. with analytics.

LinkedIn OptimizationLinkedIn OptimizationEnsure your Company Overview is optimized with keywords, especially in the “Specialties” section. Also, be sure your company logo is clear and recognizable. Fill in your contact information and company location to make sure your customers can find you.

LinkedIn OptimizationLinkedIn OptimizationIf you do not have a Products or Services page – GET ONE. This is where you showcase your company’s offerings. Enhance product listings with photos, videos, promotions, and recommendations. Promote your brand with eye-catching Spotlight photo sliders.

LinkedIn Best PracticesLinkedIn Best Practices

The Power ofThe Power ofOnline Video MarketingOnline Video Marketing

Online Video MarketingOnline Video Marketing 3 billion videos viewed online everyday By 2013, 90% of web traffic will be video A website with video is 53x more likely to appear on the

first page of Google search results than a website without video

60% of Senior Executives prefer to view video over text Over 40% of consumers watch online videos on at least

a weekly basis; over 70% at least monthly Visitors who view product videos are 85% more likely to

buy than those who do not

Having a professional spokes person welcoming visitors to your website not only promotes credibility and a professional image, but it also gives you the opportunity to educate and guide potential customers to your desired call-to-action.

This is a great way to increase conversions, all while providing your visitors with a warm and friendly human touch; something that is lacking in many websites today.

Online video promotes increased visitor activity, engagement and page views. These are all healthy user behaviors that produce higher conversion ratios and ultimately more sales and increased lead generation.

Online Video MarketingOnline Video Marketing

Combat short attention spans and the desire for instant gratification in this high-speed world with a short, impactful message that is visually and emotionally stimulating enough to drive your consumer to act in as little as 60 seconds or less.

Video is a “must-have” if you are looking to generate more traffic, increase time spent on your website, and improve conversion rates.

Online Video MarketingOnline Video Marketing

Why is video so effective?Why is video so effective?

Why is video so effective?Why is video so effective?

Online Video SEOOnline Video SEOVideo marketing is one of the strongest contributing factors to your online presence.

Make sure your company videos are achieving maximum visibility with proper optimization.

EVERY business should apply SEO tactics to their video marketing strategy, just as they would to their website.

- 39% of consumers find online video via search engines like Google

- They often search for the same keywords, but add “video” to the query

- YouTube is the second largest search engine, (owned by the largest, Google)

Online Video SEOOnline Video SEOSEO Effect of Video on your website

In 2013 over 90% of Internet traffic will be video based

Another source for inbound links and traffic Sharing through social media and blogs

Improved page ranking 53x more likely to show up on first page of search engine

results Improved overall web presence What does this mean?

Your customers will be able to find you!

Types of Online VideoTypes of Online VideoSizzle Reel

30-60 seconds Motion Graphics, highlight keywords/phrases/concepts Similar to a PowerPoint presentation Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzYAS1RBlTE&hd=1

Webmercial 30-60 seconds Optional Voice-over Example: Promotional product/service video; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6MHVK32oSg&hd=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnsEeS50dro&hd=1

Premium Video 1-2 minutes “Talking Head,” or visual spokesperson Example: Homepage/Welcome video;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogj3iP6lRHU&hd=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inOvXIP2GlI

Cardinal Sins of Cardinal Sins of BadBad SEO Firms… SEO Firms…1. If your SEO firm is ignoring the basics, and it is exposed

in the reports I am handing out…Get Out Fast!

2. If an SEO firm promises "guaranteed #1 results on Google”…Be Wary of Black Hat Tactics

3. If the SEO firm does not explain the analytics on a monthly basis…Go to a firm that makes this a priority

4. If the SEO firm is not accountable to your strategic goals and ROI…Make a Change

5. If the SEO firm uses “black hat” tactics, that can get you banned…Go to a “white hat” firm

Select a firm that:Select a firm that: Gives an exhaustive business analysis Performs advanced keyword research Provides a review of your site content/structure Offers SEO training Has expertise in specific markets and geographies Offers technical advice on website development Develops content Has expertise in Sales and Conversion consulting Manages online business development campaigns GUARANTEES ACCOUNTABILITY!