Digital Trends

The True Value of Young Eyeballs  

The True Value of Young Eyeballs

Posted by on Dec 17, 2013

It’s good to be young. The youth are cool, they create trends, they find innovative uses of technology, and most importantly they influence decisions of their parents expendable income. Marketers are constantly chasing the next big thing and often rely on teenagers/young adults to point them in the right direction. Watch most television ads and you are bound to view a product influenced by a younger generation. As you probably know, the disappearing photo-sharing app SnapchatSnapchat lets people send photos and videos that self-delete between one and 10 seconds after being viewed. is BOOMING. The company currently reports that 18.6% of all iPhone owners in the US used the app in June 2013. This is up 10.5% month-to-month and therefore the ninth most popular iPhone app in terms of usage. If 1-in-5 people in the U.S. with iPhones used the app 6 months ago, how does the app perform now? Snapchat officials say that users are now sending more snapsSnapchat's term for photos and videos shared over the network. than Facebook users are uploading photos. Business insider intelligence reports that Instagram users upload 55 million photos daily, Facebook users upload 350 million, and snapchat users send 400 million snaps daily. This number is not exactly a direct comparison because...

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How to Spread the Holiday Cheer and Increase Sales this Season  

How to Spread the Holiday Cheer and Increase Sales this Season

Posted by on Oct 29, 2013

Spreading Good Cheer Goes a Long Way in the Cluttered Holiday Shopping Market With thanksgiving falling later in the year, there will be a shorter holiday shopping season and businesses need to react to a quickly changing market. Mobile technology and greater product research is making the customer smarter, better able to find the deal, and more willing to return merchandise. People are expecting holiday deals and but are unsure when they will come in the season, most will wait for the infamous black friday to trample others at the local Walmart. One technique Toys R Us is using to combat early shopping sprees is to move it up even earlier, with a Holiday Preview occurring in September. Their messaging is directed towards shopping early for members to earn rewards they can redeem later in the season around December. “Kmart aired its first holiday ad in early September, more than 100 days before Christmas. Walmart started promoting holiday layaway even earlier, in mid-August.”  Forbes.com According to the Accenture Annual Shopping Survey “even those planning to spend more this year than last, will be hunting for deals. In fact, 62% of respondents said it will take a discount of 30% or more to persuade them to make a purchase, up...

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They’re everywhere! Tablets transition for business deployment  

They’re everywhere! Tablets transition for business deployment

Posted by on Jul 28, 2013

The age of the tablet computer has begun, as I’m sure you iPad and Google Nexus readers can attest.  As these devices find their way into the hands of excited people around the globe, their intuitive controls, ease of use, and breath of capabilities are being exalted.  While your thin slate has become a dear personal friend, you may not have considered the huge impact that same device can have on customers visiting your business. With more apps, systems and options arriving to the market every day, here are four steps to get your new interactive digital signage up and running: 1. Determine Goals  Your personal tablet might be your all-in-one device with myriad applications, but your tablet kiosk should be deployed with a specific use and result in mind.  Think about what areas of your business are most important to improve. 2. Explore Solutions and Content  Whether you want to increase efficiency, distribute information, connect with customers, or achieve something completely original, examining current solutions will guide you on the path to success.  You will need to consider hardware, the tablet of your choice and a secure enclosure, as well as functionality such as system controls, applications, and your business content. 3. Deploy and Draw Attention  Put careful thought into the placement...

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Is your SEO Strategy Strong or Weak? And would you know the difference?  

Is your SEO Strategy Strong or Weak? And would you know the difference?

Posted by on Jul 18, 2013

Small and growing businesses share a major challenge: an unlimited amount of tasks and not enough hours/staff to complete them all.   Both must prioritize and ensure that the methods they choose to market their business are efficient and providing a positive Return on Investment (ROI). It is not always easy to calculate the return from search engine optimization (SEO) since it is a long-tail strategy, but utilizing google analytics and other software to determine site traffic is a great place to start. Hiring a consultant or marketing agent allows these businesses to analyze and improve their search engine optimization without taking time away from their day-to-day tasks. Emarketer.com recently produced an article comparing B2B and B2C SEO strategies, and what these businesses found as effective and difficult tasks. These charts will help you decide what is worth doing in-house and what would be important to out-source to a professional based on difficulty.   Of course these tactics will vary in effectiveness based on the industry, but this chart should act as a solid overview of how to compare your SEO strategies, difficulties, and future outlook. A Few Helpful Hints to Take Away from these Marketing Charts Updating Website Content Google loves fresh content, and so do your readers. Producing new...

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Content Marketing: Strategic, Educational and Effective!  

Content Marketing: Strategic, Educational and Effective!

Posted by on Jun 5, 2013

Content is King While social platforms are queen, quality content is what powers these strong networks. Learning how to effectively utilize a company blog to educate your audience and move customers through the sales process is an affordable, long-tail marketing plan. The difficult part of implementing a content marketing initiative is deciding what to write about. You don’t have to chose one specific topic, like if you are a yard care company, you wouldn’t just write about the new fertilizers and lawn mowers you are using. These are topics that would be relevant to show you are using top-notch equipment and could be an effective post, but really you should be focusing on valuable tips. If you can show your company as a thought leader in the industry, not only do all of those posts you are writing help your site gain rank in search engines, but you have also shown why you are the right choice for lawn care. There are millions of topics to write about on your blog, though most importantly remember to keep a similar tone. The tone is your brand, it is your image and readers will expect that similar attitude for each new post. After deciding what to write about and how to...

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The Times they are a Changin’, Right Mark?  

The Times they are a Changin’, Right Mark?

Posted by on May 24, 2013

Capitalism. Some say it is the root of all evil, others that it is what helps a business grow and flourish. I’m not here to tell you what the system does, but I will say how facebook has changed since it’s IPO. Whether you are a consistent social media user or just using once a month, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that their are more ads across your newsfeed. The algorithm is changing, and it is not changing in favor of the users. In a free service the user is what is being sold, and the buyer are the business pages. Posts are showing up less frequently on newsfeeds and facebook is pushing it’s sponsored posts ability to increase profits. On a more positive note, these sponsored posts are a fantastic way to reach like minded users and find a targeted group to build your following. For example, one of my clients is a printing company near a large ivy league university. Every year the graduating seniors must bind their thesis and turn it in to the university. With the social ads it is possible to target only graduating seniors at that particular school and do it only during the 2 month period in which they must bind the thesis. If you really wanted to get...

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