How do we keep track of our digital marketing efforts and what is working well?
After learning the right strategies in growing your professional services business and standing out from the competition on Episode 14 and 15 of our Marketing of the Minds series, it is about time you start tracking all these efforts. Tracking in the digital marketing world is paramount. If you are putting in effort, resources and money you should be able to see your ROI (return on investment). You need to know that your efforts are paying off. There are a few things to implement into your strategy in order to make everything trackable. Then you will be able to see where your money was spent and where it was returned.
Social media has built in data collectors which you can use to make ad targeting possible.
Collecting data from your tracking is important because it eliminates the personal decision making based on emotion or how someone feels things are going. A lot of times the way someone feels is different than what is actually happening. Data collected gives facts, instead of hunches!
Here are some great tools to implement so that you can track your efforts.
Google Analytics is a must. If you haven’t set it up yet, what are you waiting for? Setting up a google analytics account and activating it for your website is an easy way to get simple data. But make sure you dive deeper into the settings. You can set up conversion goals and track phone calls and also help define your audience with audience definitions.
Google search console can work hand in hand with Google Analytics. It helps you understand how your website performs. Find out things like where your visitors are coming from, how many visits and impressions each person has. You can also find out what you are showing for in search results. Want to know where the people visiting your site are located or when they are doing their search? All of this can be tracked through Google Search Console!
Did you know there’s simple things you can do to help those resources dive deeper into the data? One of them is using UTM codes. If you aren’t already familiar with what a UTM code is, it is a little bit more data added onto the end of your URL that helps analyze things like the source, campaign and specific ID associated with that ad. Then when someone clicks on the link, you know exactly where they originated or how they found you. It makes sorting data easy.
A few places that you would use a UTM code is when you are link building, posting on your social media channels or creating ads on either Google or social platforms. Then you can easily break down where your traffic is coming from and what content is performing well.
Most social media platforms automatically add tracking pixels to the links. This helps know how effective a campaign was and how social media is helping to complete a specific objective.
Google Tag Manager is not critical but it is really helpful. It’s convenient and offers so much flexibility in how you use it.
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Now that you have all of your resources set up and working, the most important thing you need to do is create a call to action in all of your content. If you are creating social media posts, ads, or Google My Business posts you need to make sure to create some sort of action that you want your potential customer to do. This is basically the idea behind conversion rate optimization which we have discussed on another blog.
Examples of a call to action would be:
- Give us a call
- Click here
- Download this freebie
- Visit our location or website
- Subscribe to our email list
- Fill out this form
- Schedule an appointment
Without giving the reader some sort of call to action, you are risking them reading all of your information and then walking away. Give them direction on what it is you want them to do next. Giving a specific call to action triggers them to act. This also gives a way to measure the effectiveness of your post. You can collect data based on how many people complete your call to action.
What can we do to get more testimonials from customers? What if they are hesitant to provide a video review?
We have talked about E.A.T. before, but it is important enough to talk about again.
- Expertise
- Authority
- Trustworthiness
You need to become “EAT” to your customer. This will help create brand awareness and help you become better known in the area.
One great way to become EAT is by utilizing the power of video; don’t underestimate its power. When you use video of yourself, you let people see who you are and the passion that you have about your business. You exude confidence that you can share information about your business and topics related to it.
In 2020, 80% of all the bandwidth of internet usage was video. That shows how important it is for your potential customers.
A great way to get started with video is to answer some of your FAQs. You can make them short and quick videos but give some great detail.
One example for a dentist: “Hey, I know we talked about it a lot, but here’s a quick instruction on how to brush your teeth.”
Now, you assume everybody knows this type of thing, but it gets a lot of attention. It seems to work and people are like, “Hey, this guy from this dental company is giving me some good instruction.”
Talk about what makes you different from others that you might compete with. Regardless of whether it’s a local or national competitor, you might say “This is what you can typically expect from someone else, and this is how we would handle it”. Do these things on a video and then post it all over the place. Share it on Youtube, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram and any other place where you can get in front of your audience.
Quoting Gary Vee,
“Produce content and post it on social media every single day”
Become the source your audience looks forward to seeing and gaining knowledge from. If you are not sure what to create, here’s a 3 part process to get you started.
- Identify a problem or issue that your audience might face
- Talk about what your solution is to that problem. Identify and share your proven process or your experience or what you’ve done that resolves the issue.
- Paint the picture for people about what the end result looks like once people have used you to fix the problem.
Once you have started creating video for your audience, they might feel more comfortable creating a video testimonial for you. If they are nervous about being on video, there are a few great solutions to use instead.
Have them submit a picture of themselves, their kids, their family etc and put that on your website or social media channels and showcase them as a happy, satisfied customer.
Get permission to use their name or their first initial/last name and maybe even their location.
Interview them over the phone. Call them up and say “Hey we appreciate your most recent visit and we’re always looking for some feedback. How do you feel like your visit went?” This is a great time to record the call, transcribe it and turn it into a testimonial that you can use on your website or other places. Ask them specific questions so that they don’t have to come up with the words for the testimonial on their own.
These are the Big 4 for reviews
- Video
- Pictures
- Written word
- Audio
What can we do to promote a new office opening up soon?
The best thing to do is start early. Create a 30 day, 60 day and 90 day game plan. There are 7 main things that come to mind to get the word spread about a Grand Opening and some should be done close to the event, and others can be done far in advance.
Update your website
One of the places you will get the most engagement and you have control over the message is on your own website. Here you can update with information about the new location, pictures, video and writing about the area. Include things like what makes this such a great location, why you are expanding and how this is a great addition to the locations you already have.
Update or add a new location in Google My Business
Did you know that Google My Business is what controls the Google maps listings? If you update your profile then your new location will start showing up in Google searches. About 84% of people will use the local listings above the organic when looking for a local business. One of the best things you can do for your business is to fill out your Google My Business profile to completion. If there is a spot for information, fill it in. Lots of information is not a bad thing. Details are good and only help you show up more in searches.
Search Marketing
Doing things like writing blog content, building links, updating your information in various other directories, utilizing SEO and pay-per-click are all great ways to help your new location get recognized.
Online directories
Online directories started to have less of an impact a while ago because they were over used. Recently they have started to become more favorable in the search engine’s eyes which means you can get your business noticed if you are using an online directory. A few to look into are
- Moz Local
- Yext
- Bright local
- White spark
Social Media
Adding your new location to your social media profile is a great way for your existing followers to learn about your Grand Opening. After you have updated the profile, announce it on your social channels. A few post ideas include:
- Create an event for the Grand Opening
- Announce new employees and share their bios
- Have an open house
- Host giveaways/promotions
Social Media Ads
Utilize the power of social media advertising to let people know about the exciting news of your new location. Create ads on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
Utilize your Email List
If you already have an existing email list for your other locations, send out an email campaign announcing the new office and all the information that entails. Opening date, location, specials and anything else the customers need to know. Tips to get the most traction from your email:
- Utilize video in your email. There’s a 56% better open rate when the word “video” is used in the subject line.
- Give a call to action. They need a reason to not just delete the email and forget about it.
- Include a coupon that they can show during the Grand Opening or the first week etc.
Make sure to build the anticipation weeks and months prior to opening. Remember that every post and email doesn’t get read by everyone so the more times you share the information, the more likely you are to reach new people.
We have a lot of really helpful information that we’d like to share with you. All you need to do is reach out.
