The Perfect Digital Marketing Recipe For Your Business Success
Executive Summary With a wide variety of options available to us, it can often be difficult to find the optimum combination of tools and techniques that will achieve the highest results in the digital marketing world. Couple this with the need to identify the best strategy for a number of different countries and cultures, and the situation can become far more complex. So what are the main tools that you should be focusing on and how can the different UK industries utilise these moving forwards? As the number of travel bookings made on mobile devices grows, establishing an effective mobile site, email and search strategies is now essential. The use of pre and post stay emails can also play an important digital role, providing vital secondary spend for hotels. The creation of engaging online content can also work to build strong relationships with potential, future guests. The retail industry can be fiercely competitive online. Therefore the need for careful allocation of advertising budget and a user-friendly website (responsive for both desktop and mobile devices) which is integrated with your email marketing platform; providing the opportunity to target otherwise lost customers with basket abandonment emails, etc. is extremely important. Finally, focusing on attracting international customers or clients, micro sites can offer an effective method of drawing visitors in and providing them with the content and information that could lead to conversion. By taking the time to research the specific countries and cultures you are trying to attract, you will ensure your chosen platforms are the correct gateways to access your new audiences. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 2
Introduction Jarrang is a digital marketing agency that works with a number of clients, spanning a multitude of sectors. We know just how hard it can be to navigate the complex world of online marketing and find the most effective recipe for the success of your business. Although the tools we choose may be the same in functionality, the way they are used can differ significantly depending on the client company and the audience they are targeting. It is for this reason that we have decided to write this ebook. In this ebook we will discuss three different sectors and how they can utilise their digital marketing tools for increased results. This approach will help readers understand the importance of understanding their online markets and find the best ways to access them now and in the future. Interesting Concepts & Statistics Only one in five online retailers are using automated email for abandoned checkout items (Digital Marketing Show 2014) Mobile generates 13% of global internet traffic (Visual.ly) The next two years will see the number of Chinese travelling internationally increase by 22% (L2ThinkTank) Around 46% of web users turn to social media for making purchases (Social Media Today) Summary A well devised digital marketing strategy combining the perfect mixture of online tools, can lead to improved visitor numbers for your site and potentially further prospects, leads or enquiries. These in turn could mean a greater number of bookings or sales in the future. In this ebook we will cover three business sectors. We will explore how businesses in each of these sectors could combine the separate ingredients to form their perfect digital marketing recipes, in order to achieve the greatest results. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 3
List Of Ingredients Website Content Creation Search Engine Marketing Email Marketing Social Media Marketing The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 4
Techniques Required However differently each industry or sector may utilise these platforms and tools, there are always going to be some methods that are applicable to all. The following points outline techniques to consider. Data collection As a prime method of communication with both previous and potential future guests, customers or clients, email provides a number of opportunities. Therefore the collection of email addresses, in order to grow your database (and your revenues) is of the upmost importance. With a variety of subscription methods available, there are now more ways than ever to entice your target audience into subscribing: Your website Including a preference centre or subscription form on your site will allow you to build a more detailed database of contacts. Offline collection Although simple, providing data collection cards that offer an incentive to be completed and returned, still remains a strong method to gain new addresses for your database. Social media Adding a sign up tab to your Facebook business page will allow you to begin merging your separate audiences into one by offering them the chance to connect with your business on both platforms. Paid Search The option to add an email sign up form to your paid ads will allow you to further increase your data capture opportunities. The image on the right shows the Jarrang Facebook sign up tab for our email marketing. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 5
Techniques Required (contd.) SEO The competition online is fierce. Therefore getting your SEO right is more important than ever. Using the most effective and relevant key phrases within your site will help you achieve a higher ranking on search engines such as Google and will lead to a larger amount of visitors to your site. Google+ Although still not one of the most popular social media sites, maintaining a presence on Google+ will help to improve your search rankings and provide searchers with as much information on you as possible - improving your chances of drawing them through to your site. The image below shows The Headland Hotel in Google search results; the area on the right of the results is the information taken from Google+ and Google Places. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 6
The Travel Sector With the value of tourism in the UK estimated at around 115bn (Visit Britain) and with 78% of Britons using the Internet as their booking instrument of choice (Hallaminternet.com), finding the right combination of digital ingredients that will allow for the greatest results online is becoming ever more important. Key Concepts & Statistics Providing a responsive site that offers the ability to make bookings on a mobile device is essential to capturing the largest amount of customers as possible. 150,000 Chinese visitors arrived in the UK in 2011 The creation of micro sites for international guests (translated into their own language) could help to capture new markets that you may have previously missed out on. The creation of pre and post stay emails could lead to an increase in secondary spend for hotels. The Recipe: Website As the hub of all your online activity your website forms a crucial ingredient in your digital marketing recipe, providing the basis to which everything else is added. So what should your most important digital piece be offering? Responsive design With 39% of UK adults owning a smartphone (Ofcom); providing potential guests with the ability to book their stay on the move is now a must. Not only should your website be responsive for mobile devices but so should your chosen booking system - offering visitors a smooth experience from entering the site to completing their purchase. The examples to the right show how the St Moritz Hotel s website incorporates a mobile responsive design for easy use across multiple devices. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 7
The Travel Sector (contd.) International micro site 150,000 Chinese visitors arrived in the UK in 2011, spending 240 million during their stay. Combine that with the recent relaxation of UK visa rules and it becomes clear that now is the time to consider what businesses can be doing to attract this growing market. The creation of micro sites translated into the most commonly used Chinese dialects will open your site to a far wider audience and a greater number of international potential guests. Search Engine Marketing With a large amount of competition amongst travel companies online, achieving a high ranking on search engine results is becoming ever more important. So what points should we be considering when thinking about our search engine marketing efforts? Paid search As an increasingly important asset to your online marketing strategy, paid advertising (such as search ads, display network ads and video ads ) is something to seriously contemplate in order to maximise the amount of visitors you attract to your site. If you already utilise these tools, ensure that you are making the most of the ad extensions available to you in order to broaden your advertising space and to include as much information as possible for those viewing it. For example, why not add your phone number, location, reviews and even an email subscription form to make your advert stand out above the rest? In the example to the right you can see how booking.com use ad extensions in order to increase the impact of their adverts. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 8
The Travel Sector (contd.) Email Marketing Offering a way to connect with your audience on a more personal level, email can provide you with the opportunity to tailor your messages; sending content which is specifically related to the interests of each individual reader. The examples below come from The Greenbank Hotel, showing the type of content often contained within pre and post stay emails. So what should you be thinking about in relation to your email marketing efforts? Data segmentation Sending to everyone on your database each time you send could begin to alienate your subscribers. There are many ways that your database could be segmented. For example, targeting those that have previously used a hotel s corporate facilities with information of offers specifically focused on the hotel as a business venue, or identifying those that have local postcodes and providing them with restaurant or spa offers rather than overnight packages. By doing this you will ensure that your audience only receives the information most relevant to them, rather than bombarding them with everything you have to offer which could result in them unsubscribing from your future emails. Dynamic content This allows us to create one base email that can contain a variety of different content dependent on the subscriber receiving it. For example, a guest who has stayed at your hotel within the last 6 months could receive a different offer in the header of their email to someone who hasn t stayed in over a year - essentially offering a variety of different content without the need to create multiple emails every time you send. This can result in a higher conversion rate over time. Pre and post stay emails With secondary spend forming an important part of any hotel s bookings, these emails work to encourage guests to pre book facilities such as your restaurant or spa before they have even arrived for their stay, or allow you to continue the communication with your guest after they have left. Providing them with enticing offers to draw them back again in the future or simply requesting that they leave a review on TripAdvisor can result in increased revenue generation. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 9
The Travel Sector (contd.) Social Media Marketing & Content Creation Social media is one of the most powerful online tools and can be a strong asset to any business or hotel. Get your strategy right and you can build relationships with your guests before, after or even during their stay. When focusing on your social media, consider these points: Get blogging Published on your website, blogs can offer visitors an insight into your business, life at the hotel for example. This helps potential customers or guests to relate on a more personal level that could entice them into using your business in the future. Be visual As a travel business or destination, engaging imagery should be readily available. Visual media is one of the most popular forms of content on social networks. It should therefore be used often to encourage engagement with your audience. Remember whom you are talking to Social media offers a more relaxed environment for communication. However, your pages should still represent your brand and chosen tone of voice in order to maintain the standards it is known for by your customers. Share your content Social media platforms provide the perfect place to share content you have created for other marketing purposes. Whether it is a video, blog or email, posting content on your business pages will help with engagement and may work to merge your audiences from your separate digital marketing efforts. Key Concepts to Take Away Booking on the move Ensure mobile users can navigate your site and make a booking just as easily as those using the desktop version. This will lead to a greater number of conversions. Open your site up to new markets Consider the introduction of new micro sites in order to increase your chances of attracting international guests. Optimise your paid search efforts Include the most relevant and effective ad extensions in order to provide a more interesting and user friendly advert. Generate secondary spend before your guests have arrived at the hotel with the use of pre stay emails. Increase the chance of follow up bookings with post stay emails. Building strong relationships Use your social media channels to communicate with guests before, during and after their stay. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 10
The Retail Sector With 18.3% of overall retail sales having taken place online during October this year (British Retail Consortium 2013), competition in the digital marketing arena is strong. Therefore, investing time up front in order to attract the right visitors to your site is key. Key Concepts & Statistics Retailers spend more on paid search than almost any other industry. With this high competition it is imperative to get the most from your budget. Abandoned purchases cost UK retailers 1 billion in 2011 (Econsultancy) making basket abandonment emails a key ingredient in your digital marketing recipe. Combining your separate digital marketing efforts can lead to greater results. The Recipe: Website With online sales growing at approximately 10 times the rate of brick and mortar stores (Forbes, 2013), getting your website right is essential in the retail sector. When forming the base ingredient for your online marketing recipe there are a few important factors that must be considered: It s time to go mobile 15% of online retail sales will be made on a mobile device this year (emarketer), making it imperative that your site is responsive for the majority of devices. The example to the right shows the desktop and mobile sites for the fashion brand ASOS. The mobile site has been stripped back for easier navigation and usability, allowing customers to easily find what they are looking for and make a purchase. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 11
The Retail Sector (contd.) Is your site working alone? Integration forms a huge part of any retail website, not only with your chosen ecommerce system, but also with other ingredients in your digital marketing recipe, such as your email marketing system. Bringing these ingredients together will provide you with the ability to set up basket abandonment emails for example, which could potentially lead to further generation of revenue. Search Engine Marketing Online retail can be fiercely competitive when it comes to achieving the top spot on search engines such as Google and Bing, which means getting your strategy right is more important than ever. The image above shows an example of an integrated form. This form is used to capture email addresses for future digital marketing. Paid search With retailers spending more on paid search than almost any other industry, allocating your budget carefully is essential. Constantly measuring and reviewing the performance of your ads will allow you to make better decisions in the future, thus potentially achieving higher results. Moving on to the addition of any suitable ad extensions, offering searchers links to specific product areas on your site and even an email subscription form within your advert, will offer a higher quality user experience when clicking through on your advertisements. For example, the image above shows an H&M paid advert, which has chosen ad extensions focused on gift selections. This could have been tailored for the run up to Christmas. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 12
The Retail Sector (contd.) Email Marketing Email provides a method of direct communication with your customers that allows you to target them with specific content depending on the personal information they have given to you. Targeting Collecting information from those that purchase items from your online store will provide you with the opportunity to target individuals with offers and products best suited to them. Using features such as dynamic content make it possible to build one email whilst catering for a number of different content variations. Basket abandonment emails It is estimated that abandoned purchases cost UK retailers 1 billion in 2011 (Econsultancy). Basket abandonment emails provide a second chance for customers to make their purchases and reduce the amount of revenue lost by the retail industry, making them a tool that should be seriously considered. Outside key buying times With mobile site visits tending to occur more during off peak hours (31% between 8pm and 4am), scheduling mobile optimised emails to send during these hours could lead to further visits and potential purchases. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 13
The Retail Sector (contd.) Social Media Marketing & Content Creation As the power of social media continues to grow, it offers retailers the opportunity to build strong relationships with their customers, improving the chances of repeat visits and a stronger online reputation in the future. The Main Points to Consider for Your Social Media Efforts: Customer service Social media offers a more relaxed environment in which to communicate with your customers. It provides the opportunity to keep track of what is being said about your company and products. Social media platforms offer the perfect place to deal with customer feedback in a friendly and quick fashion. Keep it engaging Content such as blogs, images and videos as well as offers, promotions and prize draws, encourage engagement with your company and will work to retain the attention of your audience. This content also has the potential to go viral which could result in it attracting new customers in the future. Combine forces Integrating Pinterest boards and pins into email and driving subscribers to their Pinterest page led to a 70% higher average open rate for Sony (Econsultancy), proving that combining your separate online marketing tools can lead to higher results. Consider how your email and social media efforts could work together in order to achieve your goals. Key Concepts to Take Away Get responsive The number of customers making purchases on a mobile device is increasing rapidly. You need to ensure that your site can be accessed by your customers on the move. Integration is key Engineering your email marketing and website to work together can open further possibilities. Basket abandonment emails can generate further revenue generation in the future. Test for success Constantly review the results of your paid search campaigns to allow for optimised budget allocation. Combine your efforts Consider how the different channels such as email marketing and social media can work together to achieve higher results. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 14
International Marketing Marketing to a variety of international audiences can seem a complicated strategy to handle. However, with the use of certain digital marketing tools used in the right way, it is possible to access the target groups you desire and gain the results required for success. Key Concepts & Statistics Not all countries focus on Google as their first choice of search engine. For example, China s preferred site is Baidu. This is something that should be considered when creating international search campaigns. 9 out of 10 European Internet users prefer to browse in their own language (Search Engine Watch), therefore creating multi-lingual content is imperative. Translation should always be carried out by a professional and not by an online application (such as Google translate) to avoid mistakes being made, which could result in damage to your online reputation. Recipe: Website With the majority of online tools working tirelessly to direct new and returning visitors to your website, it is important to ensure those visitors are offered a high quality user experience. Language, content and design are especially important. As a British company looking to capture international audiences, it is beneficial to provide a variety of micro sites attached to your primary English language version. These sites can be identical in layout and design, (although you may wish to take some time to consider the differences in style preferences from country to country), but offer content in the chosen language of those you wish to target. When considering this option, also take the time to ensure that the information and examples you are providing are applicable to those who will be reading them and that the imagery chosen is relevant to the countries and cultures you are communicating with. The examples above show both the main UK version of the Jarrang site, as well as the Chinese version. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 15
International Marketing (contd.) Search Engine Marketing The technical side of your search campaigns remains essentially the same when marketing to the UK or abroad, but with some additional aspects to factor in. Google continues to be the dominant search engine around the world. However, not all countries focus so heavily on this site. In China for example, users favour the likes of Baidu and SO.com. This means that your SEO and paid search efforts should be optimised and present on a range of search engines, depending on the geographic location of your target market. Aside from the translation of your adverts, you may also need to pay attention to the content you are directing them to. You need to ensure that the landing page content is relevant and will be understood in the context it was written. For example, a word or phrase used in the UK could have a different cultural interpretation elsewhere. Email Marketing Allowing you to connect with your different target markets in a more direct and personal way, email marketing can provide the perfect way to begin building strong relationships with your international subscribers. When creating your international email marketing strategy, take the following points into consideration: Data segmentation Splitting your database by the geographic locations of your subscribers and by the content they are most interested in will enable you to keep your emails relevant for each reader. This personal subscriber information can be obtained through a preference centre or from the information collected from previous customers. This personalised approach could improve the click-through and conversion results these campaigns return. Translation It may seem an obvious point to make, however translating emails and other content into the languages of the destinations you are sending to is vital. Not only should you be thinking about the different countries as separate entities, but also the more specific areas you are focusing on and what the local dialects are for those regions. Remember, translation should always be carried out by a professional and not using an online application (such as Google translate). Sending out material that is incorrect could be harmful to your brand and on-going reputation in the international market. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 16
International Marketing (contd.) Social Media Marketing and Content Creation With social media sites accessed and utilised around much of the globe, it can provide a strong tool in your bid to communicate with a wider audience. However, not all countries follow the same preferences that we do here in the UK. So what should you be considering when creating your international social media strategy? Do your research Once you have chosen the specific audiences you wish to target, you will need to ensure the social media channels you use are relevant to those you are trying to attract. For example, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are currently banned in Mainland China (favouring local alternatives instead). Therefore attempting to create a presence on one of these sites that is focused on communicating with those residing in that area will not yield any real results. Investing time in researching where your efforts are best placed for each country will lead to higher return on investment in the future. Provide content for all With 9 out of 10 European Internet users preferring to browse in their own language (Search Engine Watch), creating multi-lingual content for your social media channels is imperative. However, the decision whether to offer a variety of content on one page or to separate your audiences with different pages for each country is up to you, with time and resources often playing a large part in this decision. The examples, to the left show how Coca Cola Zero has created different pages for The UK and Spain. Key Concepts to Take Away Keep it relevant Whether you are directing new visitors through to a micro site, your social media channels or sending them an email, consider how your target markets will relate to your design, content and imagery. Getting these right could lead to a higher conversion rate in the future. Research is key Knowing your audience s online preferences (whether that is search engines, social media or websites), will allow you to better allocate your time and budgets effectively. Invest time at the beginning Finding the right recipe of digital marketing ingredients that work best for the separate audiences you are targeting will mean greater results over time. The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 17
Summary With so many digital marketing channels available to us it is important to find the right set of ingredients that will contribute to the tastiest online recipe. It s also vital to decide how each of these ingredients can best be utilised in order to provide the best outcome. Taking the time to continually test and analyse the results you are achieving will allow you to better understand what tools and techniques will help to reach your goals in the future. The Main Points to Take Away From This ebook As mobile usage continues to grow, it is now more important than ever to offer a responsive website design that is accessible by the majority of devices. Ensuring you have researched and included strong keywords throughout your online content will help to increase your search engine ranking. The addition of ad extensions on your paid adverts can improve user experience, increase the space you dominate in search results and can potentially help to achieve a higher return on investment. Creating dynamic emails for your segmented database will allow you to target subscribers with the most relevant information, which could increase the results your campaigns achieve. Pre and post stay emails (for the travel industry) and basket abandonment emails (for the retail industry) are valuable tools that, when used correctly, can generate further revenue for your business. Social media is a powerful asset in any digital marketing strategy and should be used to build strong relationships with your customers or clients. When targeting international audiences, time must be invested in professional translation, relevant content and an appropriate micro site if possible. The Next Steps Finding the optimum recipe of digital marketing ingredients and applying the right techniques can be the key to achieving a very tasty digital marketing strategy. At Jarrang we work with our clients to increase revenue whilst reducing costs. We assess each business needs and apply a unique strategy to help achieve their targets. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your digital marketing needs and how we can help. Contact us on 0845 458 0875 Or email us contact@jarrang.com The perfect digital marketing recipe for your business success ebook 18