Sometimes the Answer isn't Digital

Word of mouth is stronger than a click.

Digital marketing strategy is a plan to promote a product or service using online channels, while using data, key performance indicators (KPIs) and return on investment (ROI) as key factors for success.

This means that before implementing any digital marketing campaigns, data about the target audience, such as demographics, interests and online behavior, is gathered and analyzed to create a targeted approach. KPIs are then established to measure the success of the campaign, such as website traffic, click-through rates and conversion rates. These KPIs help to determine the ROI of the campaign, which is calculated by comparing the cost of the campaign to the revenue generated.

By analyzing the data, KPIs and ROI, digital marketers can continually optimize their campaigns to achieve better results and ultimately reach their goals. This approach ensures that digital marketing efforts are focused on reaching the right audience with the right message, and that resources are being used effectively to generate the best possible ROI. Most effective for full online end-to-end experiences like ecommerce and digital brand experiences, digital stragety is key for companies who don’t engage with most users on mobile or desktop devices.

Based on the above - the biggest thing of note is that digital isn’t always the answer to strategic growth, new market capture or in cases where digital

Marketing in its traditional form involves promoting products or services through non-digital channels. This can include print advertising, billboards, television commercials, direct mail, and more. And there are several reasons why non-digital marketing might be a better option for certain businesses or situations.

Firstly, non-digital marketing can be highly effective in reaching a local audience. For example, a small business that operates in a specific neighborhood or community may find that print advertising, flyers or billboards are more effective in reaching potential customers than digital marketing channels.

Secondly, non-digital marketing can be more memorable and engaging for some audiences. A well-designed print advertisement or a creative billboard can leave a lasting impression on consumers and may be more memorable than a digital advertisement that can be easily scrolled past.

Lastly, non-digital marketing can be a better option for businesses targeting older demographics who may not be as active online or prefer more traditional methods of communication.

Overall, while digital marketing has many advantages, traditional marketing can still be an effective and valuable way to reach certain audiences and achieve specific marketing objectives. It's important to consider the target audience, business objectives and available resources when deciding which marketing approach to take.

Google Grants Canada - AdWords for Charitable Organizations

Are you a registered non-profit? Google AdWords Grants gives $10,000 of in-kind search advertising every month (that's a potential $120,000 a year!) to non-profit charitable organizations in Canada.

To qualify for the program you must:

• Hold valid charity status in as a Canadian Registered Charity, Canadian Federal Nonprofit or Canadian Provincial Nonprofit.

• Acknowledge and agree to Google’s required certifications regarding nondiscrimination and donation receipt and use.

• Have a live website with substantial content.

 A straightforward application process can provide your organization with placements at the top of Google search results. Recent changes to the program's ongoing performance criteria (more about that below) mean that management by a certified AdWords Pro is your best way to utilize the Grants program to it's fullest. 

How does it work?

Google AdWords is a system of keyword-based advertising and pay-per-click ad placement at the top of search pages. 

Keyword-based advertising appears when a search term matches the specific word or phrase, the ads listed are those that are most applicable to what a user is searching for. 

Pay-per-click refers to the advertising model where you pay a budgeted amount when a visitor clicks on your ad. As the account is funded by Google, there's no cost to the organization.

For example, if you are a children's medical charity, your keywords would be search terms that people associate with your organization (e.g. “children's charity, “childrens medical help”, “donations for children”). When your keyword matches someone’s search terms, your ad may appear at the top of the search page.. If someone clicks on the ad, they will be taken to your website.

How to get started?

AdWords account setup involves some initial exploration of your organization's website and content. Once an account is setup with applicable keywords, text ads and relevant links to your website, it's ongoing management builds a consistent flow of interested user traffic to your website. Google asks that in return for their in-kind offering, that your accounts maintain over a 5% monthly CTR (click-thru-rate) and include only keywords and ads that are closely associated with your organization.

For many nonprofits, the issues with Ad Grants comes somewhere in the setup and maintenance phase, in figuring out how to best use the allocated funds and the struggle to make AdWords truly effective. Often failing to identify keyword opportunities that drive relevant audiences and donors to websites, the Google Grants system is designed to incentivize quality AdWords strategy and campaign builds.

Google wants to see charitable organizations tracking conversions (submissions, contacts and donations) and ensure an understanding of the revenue and impact an oganizations Google Ad Grant account is generating.

Proper account management is key to optimizing and maintaining AdWords, and has the benefits of being a recurrent, predicable marketing cost. In following the guidelines and rules of the program, an organization can access what's almost a limitless digital ads budget provided and paid for by Google.

What can you use it for?

Google grants for nonprofits are excellent for events, fundraising campaigns, cause donation and better public visibility. Depending on how your website is organized and what your foundation goals are, you can increase awareness, highlight seasonal or special campaigns, promote events and highlight areas of your organization that may need more attention.

As a certified Google AdWords Partner, I love building active, successful traffic flows and helping organizations get the search recognition that makes their websites a success.

Get in touch about a new AdWords Grant PPC setup or about existing accounts that you'd like managing. 

For more information about AdWords Grants straight from Google - https://www.google.com/grants/

Instagram Business Ads

It's one of the largest visual platforms on the internet, with a billion users and ownership by Facebook. 

Instagram's business advertising is also some of the most user-friendly, visually appealing and adaptive of any platform. Where ads are simple images, video stories, carousels or any combination of those media - it allows brands to tell stories and approach users in an environment that rewards simplicity and clear storytelling. 

Who's on Instagram.
Not surprising is that Instagram users tend to be younger than the average population - and skew slightly female (51%). Using Facebook's powerful user database, it's possible to identify groups by gender, age, location, interests, and targeted lookalikes - with extensive cross-targeting capabilities.

• 90% Instagram users follow at least one brand

• Average users spend 53 minutes per day on the platform

• 83% of Instagram users discover new products and services

What you can do.
Instagram creates a visual story, using its scrolling feed and three picture wide profile formats to present a flow of images with minimal text and maximum image focus. Users follow accounts, allowing posts to show up in their scrolling home feed and producing beautiful square tile mosaics in user profiles. Some are a carefully curated colour profile, reflecting brands and giving the impression of a pink or green tinted wonderland. 

Others are riots of colour, with accounts like restaurants and fashion houses showcasing a kaleidoscope of vibrant and eye-catching images just waiting to be 'liked' with a simple tap of the heart icon. The use of #hastags allows images to be sorted and tracked. Groupings like #houseplantgang and #OOTD give users access to all images tagged. 

Image Source: Instagram

What it costs.
An Instagram account is free and a link to a Facebook business page allows access to a profile's basic analytics and data reporting. Adding content is easy and promoted posts are added into accounts just like regular content. The selected content is "Promoted" and you can select your budget, audience preferences and whether wish to pay for CPCs (cost-per-click) or CPMs (cost per 1000 impressions).

Ad spend depends on industry and target audience, but the average CPCs on the platform are reported to average $0.70 to $0.80. Budgets are easily limited to a max spend and length of ad run, so there is little risk of overspend. 

Businesses and brand with an existing account can begin to advertise with budgets as small as $3 a day, adding a few hundred views to posts with larger spends resulting in a much larger pool of views. 

Instagram ads and eCommerce. 
For a long time, the biggest drawback with ads was linking. Since you can’t place clickable links in organic posts, brands have had to direct Instagram follows to links in their bios - and rely on users to seek out products and navigate sites. 

Not anymore! Instagram has rolled out a way to link products with a shopping tag, showing a price and allowing users to click through to purchase. It's limited to a number of countries (full list here), and your business profile must be connected to a Facebook business product catalogue. This can be created and managed in Facebook Business Manager, or through Shopify/BigCommerce platforms.

• After seeing a product or service on Instagram, 79% searched for more information

• 37% visited the retail store

• 46% made a purchase

Key to success with Instagram ads is strategy - using the three key elements: visual images, appropriate messaging, and proper audience targeting.

With third-party tools like Hootsuite, it's even possible to pre-plan and schedule your posting so that it's not a daily chore or often forgotten task. 

If you're looking for help getting started on Instagram or need to kickstart a successful ads strategy - I'm happy to chat!

**updated February 2020 

Google Ads

As a certified Google Ads Partner, I love building active, successful traffic flows and helping organizations get the search recognition that makes their websites a success.

Google Ads is the simplest way to ensure that you're top of page in search results and with the help of an Certified Partner (that's me) you can optimize spend, drive quality traffic to your site and be sure that people searching for your business or services are seeing your name first. 

With no minimum spend and controlled budgeting, Ads is an easy way to boost a new business website, promote a new service or simply ensure that when your target audience uses Google to search, you appear first. From restaurants and storefronts to hotels and hair salons, everyone can benefit from pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. 

Getting started with Google Ads is easy.
You'll need a group of keywords that apply to your business, a page on your website that's most relevant to those terms (it might be your homepage, or a services landing page), a handful of short ads that promote your business and a credit card for billing. 

Ongoing management for maximum impact.
While setup is straightforward, growing and maintaining your Ads can prove challenging. To ensure that you're getting the best traffic for an affordable cost-per-click (CPC), there's a need to assess and update your account, based on the data it provides. A Google Ads Manager is the ideal way to ensure that your account is capturing proper traffic, with appropriate budgets, goal benchmarks for ROI and analytics tracking. 

Google Ads is a paid avenue for immediate search results in a short time period. 

Existing companies and organizations can:
+ Appear top of search while SEO improvement work happens on your site.
+ Advertise new services, locations or offerings as they launch.
+ Reach new audiences and markets with specials and offers.

New companies and organizations can:
+ Promote a new website at the top of search pages while it is still being integrated into Google's organic search crawl.

I love building active, successful traffic flows and helping organizations get the search recognition that makes their websites a success. Whether building from scratch or managing an existing account, affordable and quality traffic to a site is always my goal. While I personally love to spend time understanding and improving accounts, not everyone enjoys it like I do - so I offer both Ads management services and training, where I'll support a new setup and several months of review while educating a client about the finer points of the s platform. 

For more information or to setup an account visit the Google Ads portal. 

Are you a registered non-profit?

Google Grants gives $10,000 USD of in-kind search advertising every month (that's a potential $120,000 a year!) to non-profit charitable organizations in Canada. There's more information about that here.