Directing Traffic:: Orchestrate Your Digital Marketing Efforts

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Have you ever sat and watched a police officer direct traffic? Although we may become a bit impatient with them while they do their job, our part in the matter is relatively easy. All we have to do is watch and act in the way they tell us to. They on the other hand, have to pay attention to what is going on in each lane; know who needs to turn; who is going straight; and pay close enough attention to keep traffic flowing and not get hit in the process. If they do their job well, they are met with a successfully executed flow of traffic.

I feel that digital marketing is similar in this way. Customers are like the sea of cars at that busy intersection. Some are going to go straight. Some will turn left, but they are all watching and acting in the way we ask them to. As a marketer, we have to give them that direction, because if we don’t, chaos will ensue.

In order to successfully orchestrate and direct your digital marketing efforts, you first have to ask yourself what it is that you want people to do? Do you want them to sign up for your new service, buy a new product, read your blog, or join you on a social media network?

Make that your target goal and work backward. How do you get there? What digital channels do you have available to you? Take stock of each one and its specific needs. You will need to tailor your approach on each channel, according to the strategy that works for you there.

Directing with your Digital Media

It may be helpful to create a flow chart or mind map to help you visualize your strategy. You may have a mobile app, email lists, a website and a couple of social media accounts like Twitter and Instagram. Let’s just say that your goal is to create awareness and sales for a new product.

In this example, we will pretend that you have had great success in the past with give away contests on Instagram, but not on Twitter. Your email marketing efforts have seen a high click-through rate to your website, but not a lot of conversions into sales. Your mobile app allows for sales, but so far it has only been downloaded by a few customers.

You have two direct ways that the product can be purchased: your website and on your mobile app. You need to direct traffic to these two using the other channels that you have available.

Since you have established a working strategy with contests on Instagram, you can use a contest and give away to highlight your new product. Include the link to download the app in your bio. Downloading the app and creating a new account can be one way to enter.

Use your email lists to announce the contest that is being promoted on Instagram as a way to direct them and potentially follow you on that network. Use this email to make them aware that they may be missing out on something if they are not following you on Instagram.

Later, when the contest is over and the prize has been awarded, you can see if the recipient would be willing to provide feedback about the product. If it is favorable (hopefully it is) use it as a product testimonial in another email campaign promoting the product.

On your website, you can create a landing page that is dedicated only to the sale of the new product. This is the page that any links in your email marketing campaign and social media accounts should use when promoting the product directly.

Directing with your Design

Yep, you read that right! You can direct traffic with the design of the media. Our eyes naturally move from the top of a page to the bottom, and from left to right when reading. When placing elements like text and images, keep this in mind. Place the things that have the most importance or impact, in the beginning of that route. You can also use this to somewhat dictate what a viewer sees/reads first and in what order.

If you want something to catch their attention, use color. Color can help to evoke certain emotions and feelings and call attention to something. I wish I could say that there is a magic color that will make people buy all of your products, but I can’t. However, I have found that a contrasting color to the overall color scheme of the site tends to work well. Just make sure the color is not obnoxious or that your use of color is not obnoxious. Hint: It helps a lot if it is readable.

Speaking of color, I’m sure you have heard the term “white space.” Some people hate it; some people love it. I’m one that loves it. In general, I like really clean design. Design that is uncluttered and one that feels like it can breathe and not have an asthma attack. White space helps to direct traffic. Your eye is drawn to the areas that have content, when there is a lot of area or space that is empty (white space) surrounding it. It makes it easier for you to focus on what the designer, marketer, business, etc. wants you to focus on. Use this to your advantage in your design.

By utilizing the digital channels that you have, you can direct traffic to where you want it and reach the goals that you set. Once they get to where you are leading them, use your design to help further direct them to the action you want them to commit.

 

 

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Social Media Icons:: Are You Using the Correct One?

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Yesterday I received a marketing email from an eyeglass company that proclaimed, “Join the Conversation.”  This was followed by three social media icons for Facebook, Twitter and Google+.  All three icons were antiquated.  Completely outdated.

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My response to their invitation to join the conversation was in the form of a question.  “About what?  The plastic owl frame glasses I wore in the ‘80’s?”  As a marketer, I appreciated the use of email marketing as a follow-up to an order I had placed and received.  I appreciated that they were using this follow-up email as a way to keep me connected to them by joining them on their social media networks.

As a marketer, I hated their use of old and outdated social media icons.  I understand that the social media platforms are constantly making changes and refreshing their look, but these particular icons are probably circa 2012.  It is now 2014.

Using outdated social media icons gives the message that you might not quite grasp how to use the social media networks that you are on.  After all, if you were using them regularly, you would notice that’s not what the current icon looks like.  It dates you and makes you look like the parent that wants his kids to think he’s cool and “with the times.”  It’s also a pet peeve of mine to see, especially when larger brands like this eyeglass company commit this crime.

So, to keep you from committing this travesty, here are some resources to find free or low cost icons that you can use in your marketing materials.

Icon Resources:

…and in case you do not have a clue of what the latest iteration of each social media icon looks like, here are some links to brand asset guidelines for the most popular ones.

Social Media Brand Asset Guidelines:

 

 

 

 

 

How to Rebrand Yourself: The Miley Cyrus Way. Another Installment on @eZangaInc by Me.

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Where has summer gone?  It’s already August!

Back to the topic at hand.  It’s a new month and that means another new post written for the eZanga blog.  I have to admit that I have been having a lot of fun writing for them and the title of this post might just prove that.  This month’s title:  How to Rebrand Yourself – The Miley Cyrus Way.  Before you roll your eyes and start groaning, take a peek and hear me out.  I promise it’s not a post about twerking.  In fact, I think I only make use of that word once in the article…or twice.

Head on over to eZanga and check it out:  http://colleeneakns.me/1snNqsU

 

 

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Looking for Stock Photography? Try Solid Stock Art

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About a year ago, I was digitally approached by Taylor Hinton, CEO of Solid Stock Art, to try out his new stock photography site. Because I love supporting small businesses and start-ups (we have to stick together!), I obliged. Even though they were fairly new to the stock photography industry, I found that they had a pretty decent library of images and vector illustrations.

The biggest draw for using Solid Stock Art is their licensing. For designers, marketing and PR agencies and anyone else that uses stock photography for marketing campaigns, licenses can be a sticky area and a general pain point. In general, if you did not shoot a photo yourself, you are not the owner. Even if you did shoot the photo yourself, if there are people, buildings, branded items, etc. in the photo that you do not own, you may be restricted from using the photo. Most photography you see used in advertisements is licensed. Images are licensed for use and you usually pay for that license. So when you purchase a stock photography image, you are really buying a license to use that photo. You still do not actually own the photo, just a license to use it.

What some people do not know is that licenses usually come with restrictions. You may be restricted from using the image for commercial purposes (example: editorial photos) or you may be limited in the number of times the image can be reproduced and viewed (example: print materials). If you do not already know this or where to look to find this information on the stock photography company’s website, you will probably end up violating the license agreement for the image you purchase.

Solid Stock Art offers one license for all of their images and it is unlimited. Unlimited views, prints and reuse. They have a deep understanding of licensing because the founder, Taylor (I mentioned him earlier) was a stock photography artist/supplier AND found himself caught up in a legal battle for unknowingly violating a license agreement at his day job. That experience lead him to create Solid Stock Art.

So if you want to feel safe and secure in the images you are purchasing, try checking out Solid Stock Art. No fine print to read or searching through their site to find out what and “extended license” means. They have a great library, are nice people and I have found the customer service to be excellent. One time when I was looking for some images for a picky client, Taylor did just about everything he could to try to help me find the right image and add to their library. I thought that was pretty awesome.

Because he is awesome and wants you to see how awesome (have I said that too many times?) Solid Stock Art is, he has given me a coupon code to pass on to you. Use the coupon code “eakin” at check out to receive 25% off your purchase.

 

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…and because I am the honest individual that I am, I must tell you that clicking the Solid Stock Art link in this post and making a purchase will earn me a small commission to buy images. My opinion on Solid Stock Art is real and honest. 🙂

What Not to Do in Your Email Pitch :: An Open Letter to “Alex”

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With the digital marketing landscape shifting the focus more on email marketing, I seem to have been getting more and more email pitches.  Some of them are from spammers and some are legitimate.  Some make me laugh.  Some make me cringe.  Some get my attention, but most end up in the trash or flagged as spam.  My biggest pet peeve is receiving an email that is generically addressed “hi.”  I think it is fairly easy to figure out my name…the domain and name of my business is Colleen Eakins.

Last week I was reading about how writing better email pitches helped Ryan Luedecke increase the revenue of Sumo Jerky and then I received the following pitch from a possible spammer named Alex:

Hi,

My name is Alex and I am an Online Strategist.

I’ve been tracking the success of your website while doing some research on your industry—I’m impressed with your company, but there are some real opportunities for growth that you currently are missing.

Are you interested in several proven strategies to use content and social media to drive relevant traffic to your site? In 20 minutes I can show you how to fuel your brand and generate more revenue from search engines and social networks.

This is a $500 value free of charge.

I’d like to follow up about this with a quick phone call. Can I call you this week to discuss your campaign?

Thank you
Best regards,

Alex

This guy could have really learned something if he had read about Ryan’s methods!  I started to trash it after reading the “hi” greeting, but I then I thought I would write “Alex” back.  Here is my reply:

Hi Alex,

I don’t typically respond to cold generic pitches because they tend to beguile the message they contain.  I actually find it offensive and usually mark them as spam and trash them.

You sent me a generic pitch, but I will send you a customized response.  If you really were “tracking the success of [my] website,” you would have at least addressed the email to me by name.  After all, you are sending the email to a “name” at my domain name dot come…also my actual name.  A quick Google search could have confirmed that for you.

A quick search and read of my site to include my blog would have also kept you from wasting your time since these proven “strategies to use content and social media to drive relevant traffic to [my] site” are what I am already doing.  I have even written a few blog posts on your “proven strategies.”

Just some friendly advice:  The above extra steps will help your pitch go over better and net you more conversions.  Also think about expanding your sentence, “but there are some real opportunities for growth that you currently are missing,” to point out a few actual points.  You do not have to list all of them but some bullet points work well to pique a potential client’s interest.

You have to let the potential client know WIIFM and acronym for “what’s in it for me?”  Telling me your service has a $500 value does not do that.  What will this value bring me?  It’s like handing me a mystery box and telling me it’s worth $500.  $500 of what?  Fish roe? Snake skin?  I have no use or interest in either.

I know you have probably sent hundreds of these types of emails out and making them generic and automating a response as a follow-up makes your life easier.  However, it can’t be good for your sales conversions.  As an “online strategist” you must know that is pretty important, right?

Best of luck to you!

Colleen

After I was done writing, I decided not to send the email.  After all if he is a spammer, I do not want to provide validation to his list that my email is a working one.  So instead, I decided to write about it and post it here.  For more tips on how to successfully write a cold email pitch, check out Ryan Luedecke’s post, “How I grew Sumo Jerky to $10,000 a month.”

 

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