April 2017
Hello! This issue of the Internet Marketing Solutions Monthly Newsletter is being sent to you courtesy of Watson Marketing Solutions, LLC. It is our way of saying that you are important to us and we truly value your business. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends and neighbors. Enjoy!
Marketing Tips to Boost Growth in 2017 Now that 2016 is long gone, business owners must look towards new ways to make their companies successful in 2017. As has always been the case, marketing is the way to do this. Of course, different marketing tactics have different goals, but the primary motivation for any strategy is growth. These are just a few marketing methods to boost business growth in 2017. Utilize Customer-Generated Content Customers love to know they’re being heard, and one of the best ways to do this is share their “creations” with the world. With the majority of American adults having smartphones, they’re able to take photos at a moment’s notice. If they upload these to a company’s social media page, a great opportunity is presented for marketers to share user-generated content. User-generated content, though, isn’t just about photos, memes and videos. Some of the most valuable pieces of content created by consumers, for example, are reviews. Luckily, there are a variety of tools that marketing managers can use to share reviews right on a business’s landing page.
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Funny Bone Monthly Humor Not Stupid A boy named Johnny hung out at the local grocery store. The manager noticed that the other boys who hung out in front of the store always teased him, calling him stupid and playing tricks on him. One of their tricks was to offer Johnny his choice between a shiny nickel and a dusty old dime. Johnny always took the nickel because it was bigger and shinier. One day the store manager took Johnny off to one side. “Look, son, those boys are making fun of you. They think you don’t know the dime is worth more than the nickel. Don’t you know that?” “Yeah,” Johnny said, “but if I took the dime, they’d quit doing it!”
Marketing Tips to Boost Growth in 2017
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Focus on Customer Engagement Sharing user-generated content will certainly get someone’s attention and potentially even bring in new customers. Of course, consumers need to know that they’re worth more than what they can provide. When someone leaves a comment on social media or a review site, it’s important to engage that individual so they know they’re being heard. Whether their initial comment is positive or negative, they deserve an informed answer. When others see this engagement, they’ll start spending their money to receive the same great experience. Up the Game on Content Content marketing has taken the promotional world by storm thanks to industry giants like Google focusing on SEO. This led to countless businesses tossing up content, ranging from blogs to videos, in an effort to rank high in search results. Unfortunately, this often led to subpar content being pushed out, and consumers have finally taken notice. The content put out by a company must be helpful, informative or interesting in some way. If not, people will look elsewhere and spend their money at businesses they come to see as thought leaders. ——————————————————————————————
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3 Ways Pay-Per-Click Ads Can Help Local Businesses Local businesses should at least consider using every marketing technique at their disposal once. In the world of digital marketing, this includes pay-per-click (PPC) ads that charge budding entrepreneurs every time someone clicks on their ads. While the efficacy of PPC ads can vary by business type, industry and location, there are at least a few pay-per-click benefits that owners should consider.
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Maybe one of the biggest benefits of pay-per-click ads is the fact that they’re immediate. This is likely also why, not too long ago, 72 percent of marketers said they’d be increasing their focus on PPC advertising.
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Quote of the Month
Instead of waiting for keywords, backlinks, and engagement to drive a page up the ranking organically, businesses can immediately have their ad show up at the top. Keep in mind, that some people move right past paid ads. This means analytics should be used to test this benefit.
No Play, No Pay When a company buys a billboard or certain ads on social media, they’re charged regardless of whether they see results. This means an ineffective ad could cost a business hundreds before they realize it’s not working.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit. ~ Aristotle
With PPC ads, on the other hand, moneystrapped entrepreneurs will only pay when an interested party actually clicks on the Continue on page 4 3
Choose the Right Goal
Most experts emphasize the importance of setting goals if you want to succeed in life. But that raises the question: What’s a worthwhile goal? A goal should reflect your values, of course— what you really want to achieve, not what you should want or what other people think you should do. Whatever goal you pursue, follow this constructive advice: • Make it positive. State your objective in affirmative terms: What you will do (“Eat balanced meals every day”), not what you won’t do (“Stop eating chocolate”). Remind yourself of what you want, not what you’re denying yourself. • Take a step-by-step approach. Start with the big picture, but then determine what you have to do to get there. Break your plan down to the smallest level of detail; think of what you can do every day to get yourself a little closer to your target. Focus on things you can control: You can’t make your book a best-seller, but you can write two pages every day, so concentrate on that. • Set your sights high. Be realistic, but ambitious. There’s no glory and small value in accomplishing a goal that doesn’t require any effort. Remember that even if you don’t reach your objective, what you learn along the way will make you a better person.
3 Ways Pay-Per-Click Ads Can Help Local Businesses
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link. If they do this, half the battle is already won, and it’s the only time the business will be charged. PPC Marketing Research
Another great benefit of pay-per-click ads is the fact that they allow for marketing research. If a company wants to test out a new focused keyword, they can see how well it performs with PPC before investing in content centered on the phrase. They can also see if a new product or service will be in high demand. A marketing manager who can effectively judge PPC analytics can help a business know what’s going on before it ever happens. The benefits of pay-per-click advertising are numerous, but data-driven results are more important. If the aforementioned benefits are realized through PPC advertising, that’s great. If not, it’s time to reconsider the strategy or remove it altogether.
Need help setting up your Pay-Per-Click Campaign? We can help! Call Rod Today— 757-525-3447 4
3 Ways Local Businesses Can Reduce Marketing Costs in 2017
Hello! Welcome to our first edition of The Small Business Marketing Minute. If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ve probably notice a difference in format. There are so many important topics to discuss, we decide to add new components and rotate them. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends and neighbors and share your personal journey also. Enjoy!
Quote of the Month
Marketing costs are one of the most prohibitive yet essential aspects of running a company. In fact, some studies show that the average spent on social media marketing alone is between $4,000 and $7,000 a month. Many budding entrepreneurs are looking to reduce marketing costs in 2017, but it needs to be done without sacrificing reach. Fortunately, there are a few ways to accomplish this. Focus on Inbound Marketing Outbound marketing, which occurs when businesses advertise “at” their customers, can be especially costly. These methods include paid ads that merely try to convince consumers to come by. Inbound marketing, on the other hand, attempts to increase the likelihood of a consumer finding their way to the company. This includes informative articles and climbing search rankings organically. While outbound marketing has its place, inbound marketing often proves more efficient. Focus on What’s Working Already
It’s important to come up with new and novel ways to market a company. If something is already working great, it shouldn’t be left behind. If a certain type of Facebook ad worked great once, for instance, run it again. If a piece of content does especially well, share it again, update it periodically and even repurpose it into new content.
Consider Outsourcing One of the biggest causes of overspending is making mistakes. A business owner can go through trial and error to see what works, but they’ll often spend large amounts of money just testing the waters. Professional marketing managers handle this type of thing for a living. This means outsourcing to experts increases the likelihood that the right marketing strategies will be used the first time around. This can save plenty of money over taking blind shots in the dark. Saving money on marketing in 2017 isn’t a simple or one-size-fits-all solution. It will take plenty of hard work, but the money saved at the end of the year will have been well worth it.
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Simple Methods To Get Healthy
You do not have to revamp your whole routine in order to be healthier, a mistaken thought that often defeats many people who would like to get healthier before they have even begun. The truth is that a few small changes that are easy to make can result in enormous health benefits over time. One good tip is to start your day with a drink of lemon water. Just squeeze some lemon into a big glass of water and drink it; it sounds incredibly easy, but this simple act can help to encourage digestion and give a boost to your immune system due to the vitamin C in the lemon. Most people snack when they feel hungry, but sadly the easiest snacks to just pick up and eat are often the unhealthy choices. It is a good idea to do some preparation work for those hungry moments ahead of time by having something healthy like fresh fruits and vegetables at eye level in the fridge and leave the less healthy options out of sight and for special occasions only. Unsweetened dark chocolate is good for you! Not only does it have fewer calories but it also comes with a higher concentration of flavanols, which dilate blood vessels, enabling more blood and oxygen to reach your brain and actually increase alertness.
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April 2017 — Word Search Puzzle
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Watson Marketing Solutions, LLC P.O. Box 9372 Norfolk, VA 23505 757-525-3447 http://WatsonMarketingSolutions.com Helping Businesses generate leads on the Internet & turn those leads into increased profits!
A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER TO INFORM AND ENTERTAIN OUR FRIENDS & CLIENTS
APRIL 2017
APRIL 2017 Promotional Ideas—Daily Holidays & Wacky Days: 1 April Fool's Day 2 Reconciliation Day 5 Go for Broke Day 7 National Beer Day 10 Golfer's Day 10 National Siblings Day 14 International Moment of Laughter Day 14 Reach as High as You Can Day 15-30 WMS SPRING BREAK SALE – APRIL 15-30, 2017 15 Husband Appreciation Day
16 Easter Date 17 Patriot's Day 18 International (Multi-Tasking) Juggler's Day 20 Volunteer Recognition Day 22 National Jelly Bean Day 23 Take a Chance Day 26 Administrative Professionals Day 27 Take Your Daughter to Work Day 27 Tell a Story Day 30 National Honesty Day
Upcoming Events Online ‘No Pitch’ Internet Marketing Educational Series
From the desk of Rod Watson
Hello Everyone, I
I hope this newsletter finds you well. Spring has arrived and the weather in Virginia is as inconsistent as always. You the saying, ’If your don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes”.
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Are negative online reviews costing you sales?
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Hidden Profits: How to Use Follow Up Marketing to Uncover Increased Profits at Your Business
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Ignite Explosive Business Growth at Your Business
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“Send and Receive: How Email Can Help Your Business Grow Bigger and Better—Faster”
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The Top 10 Strategies for Marketing Your Business on LinkedIn
Fortunately, the weather has been very nice while we were outside at Jessica’s Field Hockey games. She scored 5 To Register for this FREE Training, visit: goals last week in a 7-1 win and 3 goals this week in a 4 http://watsonmarketingsolutions.com/calendar -1 win. Andrew is enjoying College Life and getting good grades. Becky’s business has lots of momentum and new Look for the Launch of a new weekly episode of the HamptonRoadsBusinessJournal.com Podcast every exciting events coming one after the other. Last month, I mentioned our new program designing and Tuesday. We will interview local and national business owners and entrepreneurs. Need an easy way to find it? installing Social Media Covers. We have received an awesome response and great results. Let me know if you’re Just go to iTunes and search ‘HRBJ’ or interested in the BETA program before the price goes up. Keep working hard and remember: If you need help with your Internet Marketing, give us a call at 757-5253447! ENJOY! Rod COPYRIGHT 2017
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