Category: VIA Idea

The power of search engine marketing has recently reached another level with Expanded Text Ads in Google AdWords. According to Google’s AdWords blog, it’s the biggest change to text ads since AdWords launched 15 years ago. Earlier this year, Google removed right-hand side text ads to maintain a consistent user experience across all devices. This mobile-first mindset was the driving force behind Expanded Text Ads and we’re here to explain the new features.

Expanded Ads, Bigger Opportunities

Expanded Text Ads are available with two headlines (30 characters each) and one long description line (80 characters), which makes them nearly twice as big as standard text ads. No matter the device, desktop or mobile, the new ads will wrap accordingly. Longer headlines and descriptions are the perfect opportunities to increase visibility on the search results page, which can result in more people clicking on your ad. According to early reports, click-through-rates (CTR) have seen increases by as much as 20 percent.

In addition to more ad copy space, there are two path fields available to supplement the display URL. Your landing page will remain the final URL, but now you will have the opportunity to add two paths (15 characters each) to customize the display URL. For example, your landing page for a new product could be company.com/new/product, but in your new expanded text ad, the URL can be displayed as company.com/NewProduct/FreeShipping. The new path fields provide an opportunity to highlight services or products and potentially reach more customers.

 

VIA Marketing was recently awarded the 2016 APEX Award of Excellence.

The 2016 APEX Award of Excellence for Campaigns, Programs and Plans in Marketing and Communications was recently awarded to the team at VIA Marketing. The award recognized the outstanding logo design and creative development of a stationery system for GIDE, a business consultancy based in St. John, IN.

“The logo, letterhead and business cards that we designed for GIDE are imaginative, eye-catching and effective. Our team appreciates the relationship we have with the team at GIDE and we look forward to more exciting projects with them in the future,” says Julie Olthoff, president, VIA Marketing. Continue reading “VIA Marketing Receives Award for Publication Excellence”

Pronunciation: \ˈfō-(ˌ)mō\

Definition of FOMO: noun, informal: fear of missing out : fear of not being included in something (such as an interesting or enjoyable activity) that others are experiencing; a sort of social anxiety that occurs when one is concerned with missing a social interaction, experience of value, talk-worthy event, or monetary gain.

This April, Merriam-Webster announced the latest additions to the company’s unabridged dictionary. Among the 2,000 entries this year is FOMO, the acronym for the “fear of missing out.” As a species, we are prone to the anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, which is often heightened by posts seen on Facebook or Twitter. Could your marketing plan be suffering from FOMO too?

According to the latest data from the Grant Thornton International Business Report, a survey taken in 36 countries of more than 2,500 business leaders, more businesses are driven by the FEAR OF MISSING OUT than by a positive desire for growth when expanding.

When it comes to making a marketing plan, business owners can sometimes forget the essence of human behavior. Essentially, we forget that we are marketing to other humans. Our goal should be to start a conversation, attracting our consumers on a deeper level and putting the consumer at the heart of it all.

You believe the more ground you cover, the more you can achieve.

When we choose how we market our products or services, we can sometimes focus too much on statistics and only look at the quantity of people on each marketing channel. We lose the vision of how people are actually interacting on each channel. Just because certain channels are more predominant than others, doesn’t necessarily mean they are the correct channels for your product. Don’t let your “image” get the best of you in having a successful marketing plan.

Target better, tighter.

Understand your business and the problems that you solve. Once you have a good idea what this looks like, you can see who is most likely to benefit from your services or products. Try grouping your audience by location and market sector. Define them in as many relevant ways as possible: Where do they live? What is their income? Are they other businesses, maybe manufacturers? Are they golfers? mothers? Without limiting the market it would be impossible to know where to start.

Now, take a look at your particular areas of expertise: Do you have exclusive capabilities or knowledge? What about you is unique to provide a service or product?

Know who your audience is and study their behavior—they may not be engaging with the most popular channels. You should pick a strategy that is the most appealing to your audience. We live in the world of niche and our audiences are no longer captives of traditional marketing channels such as television and radio. For instance, the web is fantastic at delivering a personalized, more effective strategy through tactics such as targeted email blasts and paid digital ads to your specific demographics.

Here at VIA Marketing,
we can help answer these questions and tell your story. For a targeted marketing plan that details your special place in the market and delivers your ideal audience, please contact us…and avoid FOMO today.