Why to Outsource Your Marketing in 2016?

Everyday you are pulled in a thousand different directions. It is impossible for you to build a successful business while you wear so many hats. Should you consider outsourcing your marketing in 2016 so you can focus on other aspects of your business? READ MORE to find out some benefits to letting the experts execute your marketing next year. 

Is growing your business’ marketing reach one of your 2016 business goals? It should be! Marketing is the driving factor that supports lead acquisition, sales and customer service to help you grow your business. Your initial gut feeling may be to execute your business’s marketing yourself. However, in this blog, you will find why it is cheaper AND smarter to outsource your marketing to a professional.

Similar to fellow Business Warrior Tammy Stifel’s blog “Have you ever had this great idea, ‘it is easier and cheaper to do the bookkeeping myself’?”, by spending your time to market your own business, you are wasting MORE time (and time is money) learning the marketing industry’s best practices and executing them yourself. As a business owner, your expertise is better spent managing your business and leading your team. Hand your marketing to an outsourced partner who can provide years of experience and an outside, strategic perspective.

Even if a company has its own marketing department, a relationship with a marketing agency frees up in-house personnel for certain responsibilities, so they can play into their own strengths. If an organization does not maintain its own marketing staff, outsourcing can provide a full-fledged marketing strategy, support and deliverables, while allowing the business to focus on its core competencies.

Here are more common reasons more businesses are choosing to outsource their marketing:

1. Media and discipline neutrality: As a business owner, you are bombarded with media reps trying to solicit sales for their advertising mediums. Because these reps exist to sell their services, they will not give you unbiased marketing advice. An outsourced team has a different objective: to identify and deploy the proper media mix based on a strategic analysis of your company’s goals, market position and budget.
2. Reduced overhead: Outsourcing marketing is on average cheaper than hiring another in-house employee. You can also avoid or reduce the cost of additional office space, computers, vendor relationships and access to credit that is sometimes required when marketing projects are handled in-house.
3. An outside perspective: This advantage is invaluable. Outside the company culture and office politics, an outsourced marketing agency can supply an objective viewpoint that is difficult for any company’s executives to consistently maintain.
4. Maintaining momentum: Every company experiences business fluctuations. When economic factors mandate staff reductions, or when key people leave to pursue other opportunities, crucial projects can become stalled for lack of time, attention and resource deployment. Through outsourcing, marketing initiatives will still be implemented, no matter what changes take place internally.
5. One invoice per month, instead of many: Need I say more?

Increase your marketing in 2016 without taking on more work through outsourcing. Before deciding on an outsourcing firm, check out this blog for guidelines on how to choose your marketing partner.

Do You Want To Make Front Page News?

Public relations is often a second thought in the grand scheme of your marketing plan, but when used strategically it can make a lasting impact on your business.

In the industry, public relations is defined as earned media. Unlike advertising, which you pay for, public relations doesn’t cost a penny! Instead, it gets its traction by hooking the media with a juicy story. Through the power of a solid media relations strategy, your business can make front page news!

A press release is the most common form of communication between a business and a media outlet. Journalists are very receptive to press releases, especially when a great story falls into their lap! In turn, your business gets priceless media coverage that acts similarly as a word-of-mouth endorsement from the news outlet!

The point of public relations is to build relationships with the media. That means getting in front of their face regularly over anything and everything that is newsworthy! Below are a couple subjects we suggest utilizing for press-worthy content (but of course, we believe anything can be newsworthy if you spin it the right way):

• Milestone year for your organization
• Promoting an upcoming event
• Commenting on a topic currently in the news
• Sharing how your organization celebrates a national observance
• Bragging about an award you won
• A special interest story regarding your organization

It’s not enough to have a compelling story. The way you pitch the story to the reporter is half the battle! Find a media contact that has covered a similar story or is the editor of the section that your story would be categorized in. Compose an email explaining why their readers or viewers would find your story interesting. Create a subject line that is eye catching and a bit ambiguous to entice them to open your email!

Lastly, follow up with your media contacts if you haven’t heard back from them. This is the way you take control over whether your story is published. Call your media contact asking if they have received your press release and if they have any information on your story. More often than not, your press release got lost in his or her inbox. By having a conversation with the media personnel, you have more time to pitch your idea to them and persuade them to run your story. Speaking with them will also build rapport with the press, which is vital for creating a relationship with them.

Make 2016 the year of the press release. Form a bond with local press by pitching them a story once a month. By forming a strong relationship with the media, they will see you as a thought leader in your industry and will reach out to you for more stories.

Don’t Delay: Time To Spend Your Co-Op Dollars NOW

Would you believe it if I told you that you are missing out on the chance to market your business for FREE? It’s true. Let me tell you what you could be missing out on!

Retailers, have you taken advantage of your co-op dollars for the year yet? Cooperative advertising is an agreement between a manufacturer and a retailer to share advertising costs. Most manufacturers offer some sort of compensation and often all you have to do is ask! Co-Op marketing is mutually beneficial, bringing awareness to your company and the manufacturer’s specific products. In most cases, time is running out before the next fiscal co-op year. And, most co-op agreements state that the advertising has to be placed and completed before the end of the year! Don’t leave money on the table, so plan your spending today!

Co-op policies differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Typically, they will underwrite for 30-50% of retailer advertising costs, though contributions from 75-100% aren’t uncommon. A manufacturer’s contribution to your advertising campaign can range from a large amount of money to promotional gimmicks and point-of-purchase displays.

Wondering how to get the most out of your co-op dollars? Check out these tips from Entrepreneur’s Small Business Encyclopedia:

• Keep careful records of how much you’ve purchased from each supplier.
• If you try something unusual, get prior approval from each vendor before proceeding.
• If you’re preparing your own ads, work with an advertising professional to prepare an ad you think will appeal to the manufacturer. Keep in mind the image the manufacturers present in its corporate ads.
• Make sure your company’s name stands out in the ad. Your goal is not so much to sell the supplier’s product but to get customers to your business.
• If a manufacturer has no established co-op program in place, pitch your ad campaign to the vendor anyway.
• Expect vendors to help out; after all, you’re bringing them business. If your vendor doesn’t offer co-op advertising money, you should look for another vendor who does.
• Be sure to follow up. Money goes only to those who submit claims.

At TRIO, we have executed numerous marketing campaigns for clients, that are refunded 100% by the manufacturer! Why not spend FREE money to market your business? Most of the time, it is a “use it or lose it” scenario, so happy spending!

Is Your SEO Just So-So? Here Are 3 Easy Ways To Boost Your Site’s Visibility.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential for making your business’s presence known to the 85% of Americans who are regular Internet users. Appearing on the first page of Google when someone types in your business or industry is more important than ever. People turn to the Internet as a resource for researching and contacting businesses over using a phone book or Yellow Pages. Google has created algorithms to determine what websites are relevant to the searcher and what websites are not.

SEO involves following industry best-practices that correspond with the criteria search engine robots look for in a credible site. I could write a novel covering all the tricks-of-the-trade that the Google bots enforces to score highly in its favor… but then I’d have to re-write it all again next month! Google’s algorithms are constantly changing to keep marketers on their toes prevent spammers from cheating the system. Google praises those who do their research and understand how to optimize their web pages to fit their quality guidelines, and punishes those who abuse it.

We have found that many of our clients use SEO in one of two ways: either as an afterthought or complete overkill. Both are major pitfalls in the practice. By forgoing SEO tactics, you are missing a valuable opportunity to increase your organic search engine ranking free of charge. By implementing SEO overkill, loading your text with keywords, hiding texts or links on your page, and using sneaky tactics to trick the Google bots, it actually negatively affects your search engine ranking.

Here are a few easy ways to creatively increase your SEO:

1. Infographics: Infographics are designed to be shared, and often go viral on visual mediums like blogs and social media. And though Google cannot read images, your target market will! By linking the infographic back to your website, you will increase the number of inbound links that count toward your website’s relevancy score. With a pretty design and interesting text, and boosting publicity of the image through social media and your own blog, your infographic will be SEO gold.

1. Have a Facebook and Twitter Presence: In the past, Google used to derive SEO benefits from having an active Google+ page. However, after many failed attempts to make Google+ more relevant to consumers and businesses, Google is putting more emphasis on social signals from Facebook and Twitter. Since the social medium platforms have such a strong credibility as websites, your business’s webpage linked to a business profile on these sites will boost your SEO.

1. Optimize Your Mobile Site: Regardless if someone is looking at your site on a desktop or mobile device, if your site does not have a mobile component to it, your SEO is hurting bad. Depending on what platform your site is built out of, adding a mobile site is as easy as flipping a switch. Check out this tool to see if your site is mobile-friendly.

Your SEO will not improve overnight. It is a lengthy process with worthwhile results. If you’re SEO is not where you’d like it to be, you’re in luck! TRIO has hired a Digital Marketing Specialist, Brady Grimm. Reach out to us with your digital marketing needs, we’ll help you find a solution.

Digital Marketing: Strategy Is Key

Navigating the world of digital marketing can be a tricky and expensive journey. Get the best bang for your Google Adwords buck by following these simple tips. 

Digital marketing is the new black. It’s a trendy and effective marketing tactic that isn’t going away! Have you added a digital strategy to your marketing mix?

This marketing method encompasses many aspects and mediums online. In this article, we are going to specifically focus on Google. Google processes over 40,000 search queries every second (and yes, I just contributed to the statistic by Googling that statistic). For businesses, search engines are a gold mine in reaching potential and current customers seeking out your specific product and service. Digital marketing make it easier to connect an already-interested target market directly to your website!

Digital marketing is pricy, and if you aren’t smart about your strategy it is easy to throw money down the drain. You will not see the rate of return you are looking for on Google if you are targeting your ad towards the wrong people (or are blindly running ads with no strategy at all). Relevancy is the most important quality to your campaign. To reach qualified leads, understand your customers and tailor your strategy to reach them!

Here are four tips to a successful digital marketing strategy:

1. Think like your customers
   While strategizing your digital marketing campaign, you need to take off your cap of industry knowledge. One major pitfall of digital marketing is the industry jargon one chooses as a keyword that the average consumer does not use. For example, one of our clients is an appliance repair company. Instead of using the term “appliance repair,” we targeted consumers by using search terms like “broken fridge” and “oven repair Des Moines.” We recommend to even include common misspellings of your products and services!
2. What’s your end goal?
   Your digital marketing strategy should support your business goals, similar to your other marketing tactics. Cater your online advertising to instill awareness of your organization, educate your consumers, and evoke action from those who see the ad. Remember that digital marketing’s main goal is to direct traffic to a specific page on your website. From there, it is up to your website to retain their attention.
3. Beware the tunnel vision
   Some consumers naturally ignore the ads that appear on a digital search, and veer directly to the organic search. By now, we all know where the ads end and the regular content starts. While paid digital marketing is important, following SEO practices are essential for to being found on the Internet.When creating Google Ads, use phrases that will entice consumers who usually skim past the ads to stop and click. Offering deals or discounts in the copy of your ad is a great way to capture an audience who is searching for your particular product or service.

4. Make things as easy as possible for your customers
   Google Adwords offers many plugins to make accessing your site convenient. For example, you can add a “call button” to your ad for mobile users to contact your business at the click of a button. You can list links to different pages depending on your searcher’s final destination. You can even show Yelp reviews on your ad, giving your customers all the more reason to go with your product or service as opposed to your competitors.

When it comes to digital marketing, create your strategy through a consumer’s mind. How do they shop online? What do they search for to find your product or service? How can we make our Google Ad the most convenient for our customer? Ask yourself these questions keeping the four tips covered above in mind, and you will create a successful digital marketing campaign.

Gear Up Your Marketing For Summer

Summer is finally here! We’re gearing up for longer days and warmer weather. Unfortunately, in the world of marketing, summer is not the time to take a vacation. Instead, it is vital to revamp your marketing efforts to reach consumers differently this time of year.

Why do we need to change our marketing for summer? Because consumers change their behavior during these months. The average consumer spends more time outdoors, takes vacations and spends more time with their families. We have a huge opportunity to reach our consumer in places we do not have any other season!

Here’s a glimpse of how to shift your marketing into summer mode:

Research what festivals will be in your town 
Summer is festival season. Whether your town has an annual concert, carnival, or any other sort of celebration, there will be marketing opportunities. Find the event that best suits your target audience. You’ll have the opportunity to market to them directly at the festival through a booth or sponsorship position.Gain contacts through the exchange of collateral swag. During a hot outdoor festival, handing out paper fans with your logo on it is both inexpensive and a way to get your name out during the event. Be sure to follow up with the contacts you make at these events, thanking them for stopping by your booth and adding them to your database of leads to market to all year long.

Plan your own event
If your town does not have an event that targets your specific market, why not start one? Team up with similar businesses in your industry to organize an event and invite your contacts and the public to it. Making an event family-friendly is perfect for the summer months when kids are out of school and parents are looking for events to fill their calendars.Host the event at your facility or find a space in the community that would draw a large amount of people. Having entertainment, such as live music, food vendors and contests will sweeten the pot against other summer events that are fighting to gain patronage of your target market.

Send out press releases relevant to summer topics
What is most relevant to your industry in the summer? Are there specific safety hazards that are emphasized when the weather gets warm? Do you have any products that can be used outside more or useful while traveling? These are just a few topics to think about when creating summer press releases. The more relevant the release is to summer, the higher chances it will be picked up by the media and possibly published in the magazines you read by the pool!

Consider outdoor advertising
In the midst of traveling and spending time outdoors, it is easy for your traditional marketing efforts to be ignored. Tailor your marketing to popular outdoor places in your community.Get creative! There’s more to outdoor marketing than billboards and bus benches. It could be as simple as driving your company’s van around the park, decorating the display window on your store front in a summery way, or finding some other creative way to catch the eye of consumers.

Create direct mail pieces that will stick out from the rest of the summer junk mail
As a consumer, you may notice the influx of mail that makes its way to your mailbox this time of year. We tend to sift through it quickly, looking for personalized event invitations for graduation parties, family gatherings and neighborhood bbqs. Does your marketing stand a chance? The secret is to make your advertising look personal. Mimic the weight and style of traditional summer invitations to gain more traction with a direct mail campaign. We have a client that sent a direct mail piece out for an open house that resembled the same look and feel as a high school graduation invite!

By putting in the extra effort to summer-ize your marketing, you will be able to reach customers where those who stick to the traditional every-day tactics fall short. Don’t let this list limit you! Thinking outside-the-box is a great way to attract the summer crowd.

7 Ways To Create The Perfect E-Newsletter Subject Line – Part 2

Welcome back! If you recall in last months blog we touched on several ways create the perfect email subject line…all while engaging your audience to want to open your email! We weren’t quite finished last month…so here’s 4 more tips for ‘ya!

1. Add a listPeople love lists. This blog is a continuation of a list – point proven! They’re easy to read and can be skimmed while still receiving the main take-away. By using a list in your subject line, it tells subscribers that your content is well organized and easily digestible.Example from my inbox from Greatist: “9 Amazing Bacon Recipes”Who doesn’t love bacon? By looking at this email subject, subscribers know exactly what they’re going to get – 9 bacon recipes formatted in a clear and organized fashion. Knowing this will be a quick read with interesting content will further prompt recipients to open it.
2. Make an announcementIf you have something new and exciting to share about your business or organization, share it in an e-newsletter and convey your enthusiasm through the subject line. Make your subscribers feel as though they are gaining exclusive first knowledge of what is happening, so they will want to open your e-newsletters to be in-the-know.Example from my inbox from Caribou Coffee: “It’s here! It’s here!”What’s here? It’s impossible NOT to ask that question after seeing this subject line. It’s that time of year again for spring beverages – knowledge that is first shared exclusively to newsletter subscribers.
3. Be uniqueStray away from what’s common and boring. Know your audience well enough to guess what other organizations, companies and brands they follow. Take a look at how your industry-mates craft their email subject lines, and don’t do that!Example from my inbox from Ann Taylor: “Emily, The Time Is NOW…”Ann Taylor got personal, addressing every subscriber by their first name. Think outside the box, finding small ways to connect with your consumers that will set you apart!
4. Say something unexpectedCreating shock factor is a useful way to get your email noticed. By adding humor, a little-known fact about your industry, or a startling statistic, you will catch your subscriber off guard while they are scrolling through their inbox.Example from my inbox from Urban Outfitters: “Meet us for brunch?”You wouldn’t expect that a clothing company would want to grab a meal with you. Of course, the email was actually selling outfits to wear to a brunch-like setting, but the randomness of the title is enough to make a subscriber open the email to see what it’s all about.

With these tips in mind, you will be able to stand out amongst the hundreds of other e-newsletters the average consumer follows. For more questions on subject line etiquette or e-newsletter help, contact TRIO!