Marketing During a Recession

Marketing During a Recession - Brand Ranch Media

Businesses and consumers have been eyeing several slumping economic indicators throughout 2022. Navigating persistently growing inflation, higher interest rates, and a declining stock market has been difficult for many. As marketers, we are faced with inquisitions from business owners who are seeking advice on how they should approach marketing during a recession, especially when the volume of leads decreases and/or revenue decreases. In this situation, we investigate many different factors which help us determine and address the most likely causes of these decreases. Internal factors, such as an ineffective marketing message, are typically simple to resolve. External factors, such as a looming recession, can be a bit tricky.

What is a Recession?

The historical definition of a recession is when the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) declines in growth for two consecutive quarters. In the first two quarters of 2022, real GDP growth in the US was in the negative. There are other financial indicators that signal a recession including an inverted yield curve on government bonds, a rising unemployment rate, and declines in the stock market. After a quick search (yield curve, unemployment rate, and stock market) you will find that as of Q3 in 2022, the figures all indicate that the economy is in recession. However, a recession does not necessarily have to mean doom and gloom for all!

The Good and the Bad

Some businesses actually thrive during recessions and are sometimes called, “recession-proof”. Examples of these types of businesses include grocery stores, healthcare providers, discount stores, auto repair, home maintenance stores, and accountants/financial services professionals. Any business that provides goods or services that fall under the category of mandatory or non-discretionary expenses will tend to fare well during recessions. Businesses that provide goods and services considered discretionary are at greater risk as consumers are forced to delay their plans of making larger purchases or spending their income on things such as dining out, vacation travel, and entertainment.

Marketing During a Recession

In the event of a recession, many companies cut spending on special projects, technology such as electronics and software purchases, shipping, and unfortunately, workers. In addition, marketing budgets are typically cut or altered in some way. Part of our job as a marketing firm is to advise our partners on how to best allocate their marketing spend. During the COVID-induced economic recession in 2020, our overall client sales grew 26% (2020 vs 2019 sales) for all industries. For our clients in the home services industry, we saw sales growth of 300% over the previous year!

So, what do we recommend when marketing during a recession?

Create a Plan

The most important thing you can do when marketing during a recession is to already have a plan in place long before a recession hits. All businesses should create a contingency plan for external economic events that may impact the company’s bottom line. Without a plan, you could be left scrambling for a solution causing additional stress and potentially missing opportunities.

Know Your Top Performing Channels

Marketing attribution can help you distinguish your top performing marketing channels from your lower performing channels. Understanding which marketing tactics are contributing the most to sales and conversions is crucial because it can help identify where you are able to cut spending as well as how much you should cut. Cut back on underperforming channels and either shift budget to the better performing channels or keep the savings.

A caveat to temporarily cutting marketing budgets is that it can be difficult to recover market share once the economy improves. This gives your competitors an opportunity to swoop in and take what you left behind. We rarely advise a business to completely cut out a channel and we don’t suggest going “all in” on one channel. The goal is to continue to hit all the touchpoints with the right message throughout the different stages in the marketing funnel.

Personalization and Brand Trust

Customers in today’s marketing landscape want a more personalized marketing experience. The ability to understand your customer and relate to them and their needs is how you can stand out against your competitors. In addition, businesses and brands need to connect with their customers and provide them with relevant messaging. During a recession, the messaging should try to invoke feelings of sentiment and also show empathy. A “hard sell” approach is going to give off the vibe that the company doesn’t have the customer’s needs in their best interests. Brands will come across as out of touch and can lose consumer trust. The best approach is to try and think like your typical customer and craft your messaging based on that mindset.

Stay the Course

Overall, the best plan of action for marketing during a recession is to stay the course, don’t make any drastic changes, and understand that recessions eventually end. Assess if your business is recession-proof and if you can afford to keep all your marketing efforts alive. You will find benefit from going above and beyond your customer’s expectations. Providing quality customer service should already be a standard for your business and won’t cost you anything extra. Lastly, remember that most everyone is feeling financial stress. Figuring how you can help ease the stress of your customers will send a positive message and strengthen those relationships long after the recession is over.

At Brand Ranch Media, we have helped our clients navigate through both busy and slow seasons as well as stronger and weaker economies. We have the experience and foresight to help you reach your business goals. Give us a call at 713-309-6380 or use our contact form to start the conversation today!

2022 Marketing Goals and Resolutions

Happy New Year, folks! For many, a new year is a time for new beginnings and a chance to start things off on the right foot. A “resolution” is a firm decision to do or not to do something. Last year, we shared a few marketing goals and resolutions to practice in 2021. In today’s discussion, we will outline some new marketing initiatives that every company should definitely do in 2022.

Teach First, Sell Later

The marketing playing field is changing as are the rules of the game. Consumers don’t want to be sold a bill of goods but rather they want a more personalized experience where they can have their needs met. Brands need to take a “teach, don’t sell” approach to marketing and effectively communicate their value to the consumer. This can be effectively achieved by becoming a resource for the customer as a provider of expert knowledge related to the goods and services provided. For example, an HVAC company could create a video about tips on changing home air filters and promote it though social media and YouTube. Avoid pitching a product or service and instead, show how it benefits a customer utilizing a compelling story.

Invest in CTV and Video Content

Digital video content is becoming much more relevant with increasing usage and viewership on multiple platforms including ad-based connected TV (CTV) streaming services such as Hulu, YouTube, and Paramount+ as well as on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. In addition, video and animated ads are replacing static image display ads that show on websites and smartphone apps as users are more likely to interact with eye-catching content. Brands should invest in the creation and placement of quality video content on CTV and social media. The videos should tell a story that is relatable to the intended audience. Advertising messages must shift to storytelling in order to gain and keep the attention of an already over-stimulated viewer population. Consumers are bombarded non-stop, all day with an assortment of messaging in our hyper-digital world. To win their attention, video content must be compelling, creative, and relatable. A great example is Progressive Insurance and their latest video campaign featuring “Dr. Rick” who consults adults in their 30s and 40s on how to not become like their parents in everyday life situations.

Use First-Party Data

We’ve discussed this topic in the past and must reiterate that brands MUST start to utilize first-party data collection to use in their digital ad targeting. Six months ago, Apple updated its operating system causing the targeting abilities of advertisers to decline. In the time since, the decrease in user insights has become largely apparent. Companies must learn to utilize their contact and customer lists for different marketing goals on digital ad platforms such as search engines and social media. Retargeting customers is a great way for brands to keep reaching an audience that they know has already purchased their product or service. Companies can utilize different messaging based on the goal of each campaign whether it’s driving sales of every-day goods or the purchase of a maintenance plan on a newly purchased HVAC system.

As a full-service marketing agency, Brand Ranch Media develops and manages diverse marketing strategies that can propel your business into solid year-over-year revenue growth. Our experienced marketing experts bring diverse skillsets and understand all components of successful marketing campaigns. There is always time to adjust your marketing goals and that’s where we come in! Call us at 713-309-6380 or contact us to discuss!

2021 Marketing Goals and Resolutions

Stick a fork in 2020. It’s not only done – it’s overcooked. As we gear up to ring in the new year, marketers are reflecting on the past year, what worked, and changes to make moving forward. In our last article we discussed marketing trends that we expect to see in 2021. For today’s topic, we will set forth some marketing goals and resolutions that every advertiser should strive towards next year.

Mobile Site Speed

Google’s core algorithm update will go into effect early in 2021 with a focus on website speed as a ranking factor. Google will also index websites based solely on their mobile version. As more users turn to mobile as their device of choice when searching the internet, Google wants to make sure that they continue to provide the most relevant content that provides a great user experience. Fast mobile websites that provide great content will be rewarded with better rankings. Marketers and brands must ensure that the websites they promote provide the most optimal mobile user experience. There are many auditing tools available to help identify site speed and mobile usability issues. Doubling down on mobile, Google will also only index mobile websites. Any outdated websites that are not mobile-friendly will not be included in Google’s index and will therefore become completely obscure. Make sure that your website is fully optimized towards these very important ranking factors in 2021.

SEO or PPC?

Filling the sales funnel is important for every business. In the digital-heavy marketing landscape, it can be tricky to fully understand different tactics, how they work in the sales cycle, and when they are best utilized. Depending on whether you provide B2C or B2B products or services, the sales process may be shorter (B2C) or much longer (B2B). With a shorter sales process, you might find success with more of a focus on PPC ad campaigns and less focus on SEO. You will want to still have great content on your website to help the buyer decide to purchase. In a longer sales cycle, a little more focus on SEO can help at the top of the funnel when buyers are typically in the research phase. They have a need that they must fulfill and are likely wanting to learn more about a solution to their need. At this phase, having content that can answer specific questions that a buyer might ask is very important and can take the form of branded whitepapers, case studies, or blog articles. Quality, robust content on the main product or services pages will also aid in filling the top level of the funnel. Even traditional marketing platforms such as radio and television can be used to help drive direct or branded organic traffic to a website. As buyers get closer to the point of purchase towards the bottom of the funnel, PPC campaigns can be used as a decision-centric marketing tactic designed with calls-to-action that drive potential buyers and convert them into customers. Having a diverse marketing plan will help drive buyer decisions at whatever stage they are at in the sales funnel. Be sure that your marketing plan covers each of these stages in the funnel to ensure success.

A Winning Social Strategy

Social media platform strategy planning should be approached differently in 2021 than is has been over the past few years. In the past, a lot of focus has been based on a social selling strategy where hard sales tactics try to immediately convert the buyer. Ad platforms such as Facebook have also built-in conversion-based tools that focus on driving conversions directly on Facebook so that the buyer doesn’t even have to leave to go to the seller’s website. The social sales tactic slowly saw less conversions in 2020 and moving forward, advertisers will need to shift towards social commerce tactics. Where social selling focuses on the bottom levels of the sales funnel, social commerce focuses on the top level of the funnel and is meant to generate more interest in the brand and build trust with the buyer. The average modern user of social media has grown to distrust ads and advertisers alike, always feeling as though they are being sold something. A softer approach to social advertising will help regain the trust that was lost in 2020 and should focus on top-funnel strategies.

The New Consumer

A new generation of consumers has entered the market and advertisers should pay attention. Generation Z (Gen Z) are a much different type of buyer than the older Millennials (who are now turning 40) and Generation X (who are in their mid-40s and older). What has worked when marketing to Millennials and Generation X will not work with Gen Z. Advertisers will need to adjust their strategies if they want to reach the younger consumers. It is important to note as well that 40% of the consumers in the US fit into the Gen Z category so it is unwise to leave this largely untapped consumer out of your marketing strategy. Marketers and brands should research how Gen Z thinks, how they use the many different technologies available to them, and the best ways they can reach this audience and provide value to their everyday lives. This is a huge opportunity for advertisers that they simply should not ignore.

Share some of your thoughts in the comments section. We would love to hear about your marketing resolutions for 2021. Wishing everyone a great holiday season and a very happy new year!

Google vs. Bing for US Advertisers

If you’re like everyone else (well, actually 64% of the desktop computer users in the US) then you likely utilize Google as your main search engine, whether you know it or not. Google-powered searches have been indoctrinated into our society as the “best” and “most powerful” ways to find reliable information on the internet. However, with the rise of other search engine providers, Google has experienced some market competition that they, until recently, have not really had to compete with before.

The way we search has changed since the days of Alta Vista. When people want to look things up on the internet, the phrase that might pop into their mind is, “I’ll Google it!” With the expansion and growing popularity of voice search, browsing the internet (in the traditional sense) is almost a thing of the past. All you have to do now is ask your phone questions that start off with something like, “Hey Siri…!” The default search engine for the majority of mobile devices is powered by Google. You can, however, change this option in the device settings.

Worldwide, Google still owns the market share for search engines with over 91% of users utilizing it. However, in the US, Bing controls 36% of all desktop searches! Many internet users today also don’t just stick with one search engine. Of the 126 million people utilizing Bing, about half use only Bing while the other half uses both Bing and Google. This is some very important information for SMB (Small and Medium-sized Business) advertisers to consider when deciding how to reach the largest possible audience. If a small business shows up in ad results for both Google and Bing, it will a) achieve that greater audience reach and b) might seem more relevant to the consumer. If I personally see an ad for a local company across different platforms, I think to myself, “Wow, these guys are everywhere!”

Bing is a Microsoft product. Many large corporations and large office environments utilize Microsoft desktop computers for their workforce. In fact, 75% of business computers are a PC. As a security measure, IT departments typically do not allow their users to add or remove programs without official approval. Some even limit the types of website content their users access online. These office computers are typically powered by the Windows operating system that uses Bing as its default search engine. So, a small business could potentially reach more business professionals through advertising on Bing. Industries that tend to do well with Bing advertising include healthcare, general B2B, and finance.

What kind of ads perform better on Bing?

The demographic profile of the average Bing users also differs from that of Google and other search engines. Bing users tend to be a little older on average, at age 45. They are also more educated with half that have a college degree and almost 1 in 5 with an advanced degree. A third of Bing users have a higher household income of more than $100k – meaning more buying power than users of other search engines.

Finally, since there are fewer advertisers on Bing than Google (500,000 vs. tens of millions) the ad costs are much lower on Bing than Google. Bing ads also tend to have better click-through-rates and a lower cost to acquire a new customer. This is great news for small, local businesses who want to take advantage of Bing’s network in addition to Google Ads and Social Media advertising. A Bing Ads campaign is a great addition to your marketing strategy, and you won’t have to spend the same amount as you would for Google in order to achieve results.

We love working with our clients every day and it’s exciting to be part of their successes. If you would like to speak with one of our experienced marketing professionals about your business goals, give us a call at 713-309-6380 or shoot us a message via our contact form!

Sources: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/11/19/who-uses-bing-anyway

Facebook Shops: What it Means for Small Businesses

Small, family-owned businesses have been the lifeblood of the United States supplying goods to its citizens and visitors since the first colonial days. Larger department stores did not start to become popular until the mid-1800s and mega-stores like Wal-Mart came about in the mid Twentieth century. Many of the smaller mom and pop retailers were forced to close as they just could not compete with the lower prices and the variety of inventory that their newly opened counterparts offered. Technology has helped to somewhat level the retail playing field. Along with the invention of the internet, development of do-it-yourself websites has enabled smaller, budget conscious stores to create websites with eCommerce capabilities allowing customers to purchase products online.

What about shops or small farmers or artisans with no online presence? Many of the vendors at the Houston Rodeo, which was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic, depend on the rodeo venue to sell their goods and do not have websites that would help to offset any losses incurred due to the unexpected closure. Facebook to the rescue!

In late May of 2020, Facebook announced the launch of Facebook Shops which is a tool to help shoppers buy products online as well as provide sellers a way to sell their products. According to Facebook, the Shops feature makes it easy for all small (and not-so-small) merchandisers to sell products directly through their Facebook and Instagram accounts. For a small transaction fee, shoppers will be able to use electronic payment methods as well. Utilizing all the different messaging options that Facebook provides, shop owners will be able to chat directly with customers to help drive sales. For page owners that also have an eCommerce website, Facebook is working with eCommerce website platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce that will integrate product catalogs with Facebook Shops so that you won’t have to enter products manually on Facebook or Instagram.

Facebook shops will be a great way for customers to find the types of shops that they may be interested in. Facebook will make shop suggestions to users who are likely to have an interest in shop merchandise based on the users’ profile. For example, if Jane Smith has an interest in boutique clothing, Facebook might show her recommendations for different boutiques that have a Facebook Shop. The shop owners will also be able to take advantage of Facebook Ads to better target their potential customers. Advertising on Facebook is a relatively inexpensive way to reach your target audience and is much cheaper than other digital platforms, radio, TV, Streaming providers, and print.

Facebook Shops should prove to be very beneficial for retailers with smaller budgets. For a more technically inclined shop owner, set up could take some time but there are articles online that describe the step-by-step process. If you have questions and need assistance setting up and managing your own Facebook Shop, our experts at Brand Ranch Media are here to help. Give us a call at 713-309-6380 or reach out to us via website contact form.

Traditional Media and HVAC, Better Together

With homeowners and business managers often taking indoor comfort for granted until there is a problem, it is easy to fall into the trap and focus solely on the time when consumers NEED a new unit. Some believe that is the best time to target and influence a consumer to use your services to fix their problem. But it isn’t always that simple… That consumer’s moment of need (the narrow bottom of the marketing funnel just before the time of purchase) is also when your HVAC competition is most aggressive. This late in the game may be the hardest time to set your company, brand’s services and equipment apart!

In this portion of our series on HVAC marketing, we want to talk about Traditional Media, its use, and its impact on brand awareness and recognition, which can be crucial for growth and ROI across multiple marketing channels! Let’s discuss TV/Cable, Print, Radio, and Billboard Marketing’s role in your overall plan media strategy and how, when combined, they can have a huge impact on your campaign performance.

When a consumer is looking at potentially spending thousands of dollars on their home comfort, which they probably hadn’t anticipated, who are they going to call for help? With a substantial investment on the line, you need to not only have a strong offer to get their attention, you need to differentiate your HVAC brand from the competition, and that can be incredibly difficult to do!

So, how do you get this brand recognition and separate yourself from your competition? Traditional Media… Telling your story, defining who you are (or want to be), and showcasing what your brand and company stands for (and excels in) is where traditional media shines. Traditional media provides the opportunity not just to activate customers with a strong offer; it allows you to introduce your brand with a style and personality in a memorable way, while differentiating yourself from the competition, to leave a strong lasting impression! Traditionally, there are many ways to reach consumers, so in this portion of our HVAC Marketing series, we will look at TV/Cable, Print, Radio, and Billboard Marketing.

Broadcast Television can have a very strong influence on consumers, but it also has a reputation as one of the most expensive media! Audience sizes are healthy and understanding them by using recent Nielsen ratings is absolutely crucial to selecting the best stations and shows to reach your target audience in a cost-effective manner.

Success through Broadcast TV is also tied to how successfully you can create an ad that stands out and resonates with your audience. If you can make your ad memorable, heartwarming, and funny, then your brand will be remembered very quickly. When you have your brand message nailed down, and its easily recognizable, you can then look at shorter ad durations at less expense.

Often you can get sponsorship through local programing to reach your audience as well. Local talk shows and news sponsorships can quickly get you a spike in credibility with your local consumers.

Dynamic TV ads also work well in the digital space, so planning and producing the ad in social media formats can allow your TV ad to work well on many screen sizes and across platforms. TV ads that have the best impact in traditional media also boost the performance of other aspects of a campaign, such as search engine marketing. A solid media plan and dynamic broadcast ad can prove to be one of the best ways to drive brand recognition, recall and influence consumer action!

Zoned Cable Television has continually proven to be an effective medium to reach and activate the target audience based on demographics and consumer behavior data. Cable TV ads can be targeted to only the service areas where you want to grow your business as well. Those who are concerned with “audience shrinkage” can often augment their buy with additional reach through OTT ads served on smart devices where people are streaming content as well.

In a world where the intelligent use of data can make all the difference, set-top box data allows us to show your ads to people who:

Live in the geography you want to service (not clear across Houston)
Are in your target demographic (Homeowners, ages x-x, with a household income > $ XXX k)
Show interest based on their consumer data and viewing behavior

Print ads are often overlooked in today’s marketing plans, but they can be a strong influencer of your consumers. When used correctly, print can prove itself with a very healthy ROI! If you are thinking about newspapers, I’m afraid Houston just isn’t the market with the best return on your print dollar. Readership is continually down, split between local papers and the big boy in the market. The newspapers often try to tie print back into the digital landscape of their branded websites, but those newspaper websites are often overcluttered with ads… easy to get lost and frustrated with.

Don’t overlook one of this nations’ oldest uses of print, the mail. Highly targeted mail to your best potential and existing customers who have been utilizing your maintenance plans still works. Defining and narrowing down your target audience to the attributes that best describe your customers and potential customers makes sense. Maybe that’s targeting geographically in an area you do the most business, the area where you have the biggest jobs and tickets, or maybe it’s based-on income levels, home values, demographics, etc.

If you create a strong offer with a call to action that speaks to your audience when they need your services, they will respond. A nice postcard with a strong offer is going to get looked at as it is pulled out of the mailbox, likely again as the mail is sorted inside, and possibly saved on the counter, fridge, in a wallet or purse for use when the offer is relevant to the consumer’s needs.

Spring checkup reminders are very helpful. While it may seem that focusing money on low return services like seasonal inspections could be a mistake, this can be crucial to getting your business card in the door and saved with consumers who aren’t in need of a new unit just yet. Once you are called in to perform an inspection, you have the opportunity for your brand and your tech team to build a great relationship with the homeowner. If you have that existing relationship, when the new unit offer is right and the need arises, it’s much easier to be the one the homeowner calls for the new unit.

Billboard Advertising can reach a large audience with a relatively low cost compared to other broadcast mediums and can be an excellent tool to build brand awareness and vastly increase the visibility of your business. The simple fact that billboards cannot be avoided as people sit in traffic and commute to work around Houston is an advantage you should consider. Many people tend to take the same “regular route” which means the chances are good they will see your billboard multiple times. This increased frequency makes your brand and message inherently more familiar and helps increase brand recall and successful conversions across multiple media.

Billboards can also be strategically leased in prime real-estate locations relative to your audience, with high traffic volume (according to TxDot data). This means the people you want to reach based on their location will always be looking at your message when commuting.

By designing a billboard to match the messaging, look and feel of other portions of your campaign, your target audience will more quickly reach the message frequency required for not just brand awareness, but long-term recall and activation as well.

Radio is great media to reach the Houston area audience! The reach potential is unparalleled, and if you can create a fresh and memorable ad you should expect a spike in brand awareness, brand recognition, as well as a positive impact to your organic website traffic and calls. If you are only targeting a small portion of the Houston area, then more localized media may be a more efficient platform for your goals. But, if you’re targeting consumers across the Houston market, radio ads are one of the best ways to excel and reach them!

Radio ads can be very powerful. The music and message can tell a story and conjure emotional ties with a consumer’s subconscious! Above and beyond branding messaging, ads that use a strong call to action can also create a strong logical reason for the consumer to use your services.

Often you can utilize a trusted radio personality to endorse your brand or message. These personalities lend their credibility and likeability to you, and these types of ads are often able to run at the end of segment, before other recorded spots run, which helps get your message to consumers before they potentially change the channel. There is also the potential of sponsoring segments of program, such as financial news, sports updates, or local traffic!

When we think about radio in the context of driving, pairing radio with billboards allows a brand to put a visual image with the story being told through car speakers. Together they are an even more powerful combination to impact and influence your target audience.

Thinking back to the moment of need scenario… With a recognizable brand image, you are putting yourself ahead of the competition before the consumer even sees your offers! Consumers are more likely to seek you out by name, organically, and never even see or consider your competitors. If they don’t seek you out by name, and they remember your brand when looking through search results, the consumer is more likely to click on your recognized name. If you’re running SEM or Display ads, you’re likely going to see better performance from them as well.

This overlapping brand success, driven by brand recognition, is best achieved at scale with Traditional Media. The best news is this success isn’t a 1+1=2 scenario, it becomes a 1+1=3,4 or 5 scenario.

Brand Ranch Media does an excellent job getting our clients the most efficient traditional media buys, including Radio, TV, and Print. We have a proven track record of making our client’s campaigns function efficiently across multiple traditional and digital media, with a uniform campaign look and feel that drives success in measurable and trackable ways! What are your goals? With an easy conversation we can often determine ways to measure and attain your goals with a media campaign that’s custom designed to utilize the best aspects of a variety of media. Reach, recognition, activation…. If you don’t feel like you have a 100%, locked in plan for your business growth and success moving into the future, then maybe it’s time to give us a call and see what we can offer you. For more information, feel free to contact us at 713-309-6380 or send us an email to grow@brandranchmedia.com.

Google Political Ad Policy

In the wake of the recent elections in the U.K. and upcoming US elections in 2020, Google announced that they are making some updates to their political ads policy. The changes reflect Google’s intent to provide the most relevant information, specifically pertaining to elections and candidates. Let’s take a dive into how some of these policy updates will affect the paid ads that we see this election season.

First off, we should mention that these updates are in no way designed to favor any one political party but rather are intended to eliminate what Google calls “deep fakes,” misleading claims about the census, or ads and website destinations that clearly provide false information, potentially causing distrust in the voting process. Essentially, Google wants to ensure they are not providing false and misleading content on their platform which is what they strive to do in their search algorithm.

Political advertisers are still able to utilize the different ad formats: Search, Display, and YouTube. The updates, however, will eliminate targeting based on public voter records and political affiliations. Instead, they will allow targeting by age, gender, and postal code locations. Advertisers will also be able to target contextually which will allow them to target specific issues. Google’s goal here is to better align with other sources of traditional media like TV, radio, and print. They also want ads to target more of the masses so it can generate public dialogue.

Finally, Google wants to be more transparent in the way they provide political ad information. They are going to provide “transparency reports” that will provide the public with information such as who paid for the ad, the content of the ad, how many people saw the ad and so forth. They are also going to include state-level election data in these reports and include all ads in their search results network.

If you or someone you know would like to discuss your political digital ad strategy, please feel free to contact us or call us at 713-309-6380.

Google Reviews: How to Get More and Why They are Important

People looking for goods and services have become accustomed to reading online reviews of a business before making purchase decisions. A whopping 97% of customers look to reviews before buying while 85% of those are looking more closely at the negative reviews. It only takes one bad review to drive business away. Reviews are also on the list of Google’s Search Ranking Factors in 2019. Google is more likely to show businesses in search results with more, as well as higher reviews. All of these factors combine to make online reviews all the more important.

So how do you collect more reviews from your customers? There are many different ways of obtaining more reviews. There are processes that you may consider implementing in order to boost your brand’s reputation. At the end of the day, one good review could be the difference between earning a customer’s business or losing out altogether.

Provide Great Service

Providing great customer service might be a no-brainer but you might be surprised to find that the customer experience needs to surpass expectations at every single interaction and an upset customer is far more likely to write a review in order to tarnish a brand. Team members need to be on the same page so that when and if they do interact with the customer, they do their independent job function to the best of their ability and to the customer’s satisfaction.

Ask!

Why not just ask for a review? If you know that your team has provided great service and the customer is happy, they are likely willing to write a good review. They just may need a little guidance. It is 100% acceptable to request this of a satisfied customer. It also benefits you as the business owner.

Collect in the Field

Let’s say you have a business where service is provided at the home of the customer. Train your service technicians to collect reviews onsite. Give them a script to follow when asking for an online review. Offer incentives to customers that leave good reviews.

Utilize a Custom Review Link

Simply posting reviews on your website isn’t going to satisfy search engines or potential customers searching for reviews. Many times, Google reviews are shown in search results. You can create a custom link for customers to write reviews and it will go straight to your Google My Business page. Place this link on your website or send out in an email.

Interact and Respond

If someone writes a review, interact with them. Respond to their feedback directly no matter whether the review is good or bad…especially if bad! Often times, a customer is willing to remove their bad review if they feel that you have done everything to rectify the issue. This is the only way to remove bad reviews and is well worth the effort. For a good review, simply respond with a “Thanks, we appreciate your business!”

If you or someone you know needs help with collecting reviews and review management, contact us or give us a call at 713-309-6380. Brand Ranch Media is a full-service advertising agency. We would love to help you achieve all of your marketing goals!

How Does SEO Help CTR?

SEO and Click-Through-Rates

“Content is King.” “Keyword strings.” “Metadata.” “CTR.” These are phrases that SEOs use to describe various concepts in the world of Search Engine Optimization. But what does this all mean and how do they relate to each other? In other words, how can your SEO content and technical aspects help to improve CTR (click-through-rate)?

Content is King

At one point in time we have all probably heard this phrase used when talking about SEO. The short version of the meaning is that we should always be updating our web content, whether it is through blogging or through the addition of page content, with the intent of improving website rankings on SERPs (search engine results pages). When writing said content it is important to think about the reader’s interests and write content that will benefit them in some way.

Keyword Strings

Anybody who writes copy for websites should know that keyword strings are very important and can help drive the right kind of traffic to your site. Once again, we want to think about who our main audience will be and try to understand their search behavior. For example, if Company ABC sells athletic shoes they will most likely want to include “athletic shoes” in their page copy. They might also consider being more specific with their keyword strings and include phrases such as “basketball shoes” or “tennis shoes”.

Metadata

On the backend side, an SEO must think about multiple types of metadata including page titles and meta- descriptions. The page title and meta-description should also include the most specific keyword string related to that particular page on the website. The title and description will then be included on the results pages as shown below.

CTR (Click-through-rate)

Finally, we come to the CTR. When a user sees the results of their search they are most likely to click on a website with the most relevant title and description to their query, in this case “basketball shoes”. The CTR is the number of clicks the site receives divided by the number of times the results were shown in SERPs (impressions). If all things are in place (the way they should be) then your site will have a higher CTR. This is why having good SEO on your website is so important.

To learn more about how Brand Ranch Media can help with SEO for your website, please visit our Search Engine Optimization page.

Are Local Advertisers Wasting Money on Broadcast Media?

We’ve all heard the old adage, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Unfortunately, in the world of marketing and advertising this is far from the truth.

Are Local Advertisers Wasting Money on Broadcast Media?

Many times, local businesses make advertising decisions based on what ads they are personally exposed to, or on what their competition is doing. A lot of business owners will see TV ads on the morning news or hear their competition on the radio and say to themselves, “I need to get on TV and radio too…. it’s obviously working for them.” The business owner’s perception of effective advertising could be based solely on their own biased opinion and may not take any other factors into account.

Sure, broadcast advertising, whether TV or radio, can be an extremely effective tool ~ if done correctly and for the right type of businesses. There are many factors that can affect the return on investment (ROI) of any broadcast campaign:

Is the campaign scalable? – Do you have the resources (city coverage or # of locations) to capitalize on a mass market campaign? If your buying broadcast radio in Houston, Texas and your business is a single-location, brick and mortar store in Pasadena, Texas… I’d imagine you are casting too large of a net and diminishing any potential for a solid ROI. Scalability gives the advertiser a higher yielding ROI as their business grows and expands.
Is there a proper call-to-action? – Many advertisers think that a call-to-action needs to be some cheesy special or gimmick. It doesn’t. An effective call-to-action is simply providing a quick, easy way for your potential prospects to become leads and to get them into the sales funnel. For example, the call to action could be to “like” your social media page or to go to your website to sign up for a newsletter, etc. The goal here is to create an audience to engage and build credibility with. Of course, it is much easier to lure in prospects when there’s an incredible offer, but not every business is in retail and not every ad campaign needs a “blowout sale.” The bottom line is that all prospects need to have the ability to easily fall into the sales funnel and there needs to be a system in place to collect such data and follow the prospects through the sales cycle. If these measures are not in place, you can kiss your ROI goodbye.
Where are you sending the prospects to? – If you are inviting people to visit your website, will they be impressed with your site once they arrive? Will it give them confidence in your brand and make them comfortable spending their money with you? Is there a system in place to track them and collect data on your visitors (such as web analytics) and get them to easily buy or enter their information into a lead funnel? If not, you are probably better off getting the website taken care of first. It takes a lot of effort to get prospects to your site and first impressions count. One bad prospect experience can cost more to your business in the long-run than any short-term gains you’ll get from getting new visitors that are unimpressed. Reputation and referrals count.

Don’t get us wrong. We love broadcast advertising and our clients have great success with it! However, don’t put the cart before the horse. If you are looking at broadcast advertising mediums to grow your business, take a step back and look at your goals for the campaign and see how this will be accomplished. Are Local Advertisers Wasting Money on Broadcast Media? No customer is going to do business with you simply because you ran an ad. Many times, local businesses fail in their marketing efforts because of this mindset.

Sometimes, broadcast advertising fits into the equation, but many times there are more cost-effective solutions to growing smaller businesses who have less of an established footprint that, when done right, can lead to more established broadcast campaigns in the future.