MOVING YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE TO MAXIMIZE ROI By Shelby Landeck Manager of Client Relations, Income Access
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW Why going online is important And what your business can achieve online Defining your online objec?ve(s) Crea?ng your online strategy Outlining your online tac?cal strategy choices And evalua?ng their pros and cons PloEng your online strategy?meframe
WHAT MAKES ONLINE IMPORTANT? The online business world is fascina?ng because it touches on ideas that are not available offline. It works out problems that could otherwise not be solved. Most importantly, it can posi?vely impact your business by offering brand new opportuni?es. Have you ever asked yourself any of the following? How can I
WHAT MAKES ONLINE IMPORTANT? see a return on my investments? increase my brand and/or company s exposure? create a personality for my brand? offer my customers improved customer service? become brand aware, for myself and clients? increase my company s transparency? How can I show my clients what my company is doing in our marketplace? build and develop client rela?onships? share with my clients, and vice versa? increase my market share? The answer to all of these ques0ons can be found online!
WHAT MAKES ONLINE IMPORTANT? Sta?s?cal support on business growth in the online gambling sector: In 2003, the online gambling market had a $7.4 billion profit margin In 2012, a $35.8 billion profit margin (Sta?sta) Since 2003, annual online gambling growth has averaged 23% (Gambling City) Online casino industry expected to grow by 79% by 2014 (IGB Affiliate) 1% of the world par?cipates in online gambling every year (Gambling City) 75% of the world has access to mobile phones (Mashable) 43% of online gamblers are women (Gambling City)
WHAT ONLINE BUSINESS CAN ACHIEVE Site Acquire Players Measure and Benchmark Convert Online Acquisitions to Offline Revenue and Vice Versa
WHAT CAN YOU ACCOMPLISH IN ONLINE BUSINESS? By crea?ng a website geared towards gambling, and abrac?ng users in crea?ng a steady player- base, you can measure the results of your online strategy, and benchmark your performance. In doing so, with?me, you will be able to guide your online player acquisi?ons, geeng them to convert their online presence (or traffic) into offline revenue. This is called a player lifecycle. In this par?cular strategy, we ve created a perpetual lifecycle with no beginning or ending, as the online acquisi?ons move to offline, and the offline move into online. The end result: a constant, con?nuous flow of revenue, due to the fact that the player s lifecycle never ends.
WHAT IS YOUR OBJECTIVE(S) IN GOING ONLINE? What are you looking to accomplish? You want to: Increase revenue Integrate your offline and online marke?ng strategies Covert offline traffic into online, and vice versa Grow, develop, and expose your brand Create beber brand recogni?on Beber posi?on your company, within the industry
CHOOSING YOUR ONLINE STRATEGY Based on your objec?ve(s), as previously outlined, you can now start crea?ng your online strategy around this choice(s). In order to do this, you need to: Consider your goals These are long- term They tell you where you want to go Be specific and realis?c Make sure your goals are always in line with your online mission They help you improve your company s overall effec?veness
CHOOSING YOUR ONLINE STRATEGY Consider your objec?ves These are short- term They tell you how to get there, they guide you These are the steps you take to achieve your goals Consider your resources and budget Do you have the resources available? What is your budget? You have to ask yourself who s responsible? o i.e., who will take charge of this project/transi?on? Who will be the point of contact?
WHAT ARE YOUR TACTICAL CHOICES? Based on your goals, objeckves, and budget (answered above), you now have the foundakon for your online markekng strategy but how will you execute it? In order to perform this online transi?on, the following tac?cs, or marke?ng channels, need to be implemented: Player website SEO PPC Media Buys Email Marke?ng Affiliate/Performance Marke?ng Social Media Blogs, Forums, Videos, Twiber, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram/Flickr Each of the above tac?cs has pros and cons. Depending on your strategy, some of these tac?cs will be more valuable.
TACTICAL CHOICE: PLAYER WEBSITE, OR MICROSITE Player websites are mini- sites (hence the micro ) with the purpose of gathering and guiding online traffic. They will be gambling themed to appeal to your target audience; this will be the sole theme of the site, which is why it s a microsite. Pros: Useful in targe?ng and engaging with a par?cular niche (i.e., specific gambling ver?cal) Poker, casino, slots, bingo, etc. Heightened search results on SERPs due to centralized, specific focus Increase Call to Ac?on efficiency Cons: Targets small audience segment Requires heavy maintenance
TACTICAL CHOICE: SEO Search Engine Op?miza?on (SEO) is the use of various techniques to improve a website s ranking on search engines, ul?mately to abract more visitors. Pros: Low cost The financial investment for SEO is low, other than?me Permanence Cons: SEO results, once gained, have long- las?ng effects Requires con?nuous maintenance Time consuming Vulnerability to changes made in search engine algorithms
TACTICAL CHOICE: PPC Pay per click (PPC) is an adver?sing model, or online campaign, wherein a website pays a set amount (bid price) whenever someone clicks on their ad. Pros: Speed Ad campaigns can be employed quickly Measurable Results can be analyzed for op?miza?on Lucra?ve Cons: Using the right keywords can be rewards Temporary benefits Can be costly
TACTICAL CHOICE: MEDIA BUYS A media buy is the purchase of adver?sing in a media venue, such as a newspaper, TV, radio, video, or website (banner ad). Pros: Targeted You can direct your media buys at your niche market Traffic Having media on the right venue can generate traffic Brand Awareness Cons: Your presence in different venues helps promote your brand Can be costly ROI based on loca?on
TACTICAL CHOICE: EMAIL MARKETING Email marke?ng involves sending your affiliates a direct, personalized communica?on, with their specific needs in mind. Pros: Simple Emails are easy to do Valuable Sending relevant communica?ons produce solid responses Low Cost Cons: There is very lible investment required Can be considered SPAM if not properly operated Blacklis?ng
TACTICAL CHOICE: AFFILIATE/PERFORMANCE MARKETING Performance marke?ng is a business partnership between merchants and affiliates. Pros: Acquisi?on Reten?on Payment based on performance Cons: Needs support Needs transparency Needs repor?ng
TACTICAL CHOICE: SOCIAL MEDIA - BLOGS Pros: Develop personality: put forward views and philosophies Develop brand and authority Build rela?onship, trust Ability to communicate about product and services that cannot be tradi?onally explained in web Cons: Can be?me consuming, especially for novice writers Communica?ons can sound too much like a sales pitch Nega?ve comments Always respond/address nega?ve comments, to minimize damage and secure rela?onship
TACTICAL CHOICE: SOCIAL MEDIA - FORUMS (i.e. discussion boards, message boards) Pros: Popular medium for affiliates Ideal place to share industry exper?se/knowledge Good source for increasing credibility Cons: Requires a high level of modera?on; maintenance requires?me investment Nega?ve comments unfounded
TACTICAL CHOICE: SOCIAL MEDIA - VIDEOS Pros: Popular medium As of October 2009, YouTube reached 1 billion views a day Easy- to- view Control branding and marke?ng message Cons: Searchability of video not as sophis?cated as wriben social media Can be a costly investment if you don t have resources Development Edi?ng hos?ng
TACTICAL CHOICE: SOCIAL MEDIA - TWITTER Pros: Immediate, convenient Quick snippets of informa?on: micro- blogging Anyone can do it! Ideal for reaching target market with limited?me Very compa?ble with mobile phones Live announcements from events, conferences Post to other great links of interest Google and Microsot inked a deal with Twiber, making tweets available in search engines real-?me results
TACTICAL CHOICE: SOCIAL MEDIA - TWITTER Cons: Flooding followers with too many tweets may have a nega?ve effect Find a careful balance: regular updates VS. over sending Too short to be meaningful Modera?ng followers and following back Monitoring tweets about your brand made by followers Twitstorm of bad informa?on: half- truths, rumours, hoaxes Hai? crisis: rumors spread that UPS was providing free shipping to Hai? and that American Airlines was flying doctors and nurses for free. These tall tales overshadowed bona fide relief efforts and caused PR nightmare.
TACTICAL CHOICE: SOCIAL MEDIA - FACEBOOK Pros: Huge number of users Mul?media Tight community More personal Stronger rela?onship Iden?fy and target poten?al affiliates and consumers based on profile A business does not need thousands of FB fans to be successful; most have less than 500 Cons: How much of yourself do you expose? Although you don t need thousands of fans, you do need some Having no fans can reflect poorly on your brand
TACTICAL CHOICE: SOCIAL MEDIA - LINKEDIN Pros: Professional network Create new connec?ons through ini?al contact Cons: Too many groups used to push agenda, without meaningful content Spam
TACTICAL CHOICE: SOCIAL MEDIA - INSTAGRAM Pros: Opportunity to get personal! Cons: Possible manipula?on of pictures
ONLINE STRATEGY ACTION STEPS Now with your online strategy in place, let s look at the ac?on steps needed to set it up. The following are recommenda?ons, made on a month- by- month basis, over the ini?al five months of your transi?oned online strategy. These ac?on steps will outline the bases that your company will need to incorporate in order to make a smooth and profitable transi?on online.
ONLINE STRATEGY ACTION STEPS: MICROSITES Microsites Develop strategy Design microsite Code microsite SEO (ini?al and ongoing) Drat content Refresh SEO content Social media Microsite RetenKon Strategy Develop engagement strategy Develop promo?onal calendar Op?mize partnerships and deals Segment customer database into targeted groups Design email and newsleber templates Develop content for mailers
ONLINE STRATEGY ACTION STEPS: EMAIL MARKETING Email MarkeKng Develop strategy Iden?fy key segments Iden?fy poten?al partners Nego?ate commission deals Create targeted landing pages Design email templates Develop content for mailers Retail/AccommodaKon Develop strategy Iden?fy key segments Iden?fy poten?al partners Create targeted landing pages Design email templates Develop content for mailers
ONLINE STRATEGY ACTION STEPS: AFFILIATE/ PERFORMANCE MARKETING Affiliate/Performance MarkeKng Blogs Press releases and community par?cipa?on Ini?al recruitment outreach Finalize affiliate deals and exposure Develop and maintain social media tools for affiliate/performance program Affiliate management recruitment Affiliate/Performance Site Maintenance Refresh headings Refresh SEO strategy Refresh SEO content Backlink improvement Monthly repor?ng
ONLINE STRATEGY ACTION STEPS: AFFILIATE/ PERFORMANCE MARKETING Banners and Landing Pages (for affiliate/performance program) Develop strategy for banners and landing pages Drat content for banners and landing pages Design and code banner ads Design and code landing page
ONLINE STRATEGY ACTION STEPS: ORGANIC CHANNEL Free Play Site Refresh headings Refresh SEO strategy Refresh content Backlink improvement Monthly repor?ng Social media Real Money Site Refresh headings Refresh SEO strategy Refresh content Backlink improvement Monthly repor?ng Social media
TAKEAWAY POINTS What should you take away from this seminar? We ve accomplished the following: Learnt the value in transi?oning your business online Iden?fied your business specific online objec?ves, and: How these objec?ves can be used to achieve your company s goals for profitability Acquired knowledge of possible online strategies your business can incorporate to make a successful online transi?on Studied the marke?ng channel tac?cs that can be used to create your company s specific strategy Created an ac?on plan that can actualize your transi?on and most importantly maximize your ROI
ABOUT SHELBY Manager of Client Rela?ons, Sotware Services, Shelby Landeck strives to unify the goals of her clients with those of her team. She does this by giving team members the confidence needed to solve strategic business problems for the company s partners. Shelby acts as the contact point for all company rela?onships. She also assists and corroborates with the Account Managers in gaining a broader understanding of specific client needs. While client- facing, Shelby enjoys working with new team members. Sharing her vast knowledge of the igaming industry is one of her most valuable assets. She also enjoys explaining the industry through the use of Income Access sotware. She uses the technology to develop a greater understanding for her clients and team. Devoted to the company s team dynamic, Shelby spearheads numerous ini?a?ves that facilitate concise internal and external communica?on. These efforts all work towards one end goal; ensuring that her team provides the best service possible.
ABOUT INCOME ACCESS Income Access is a leading digital marke?ng company that specializes in supplying integrated, mul?- faceted tracking and analy?cal sotware for the igaming, lobery, and financial trading industries, providing in- depth business intelligence on the performance of marke?ng campaigns.
Thank You 2020 University Suite 2330 Montreal, Quebec H3A 2A5 www.incomeaccess.com hello@incomeaccess.com facebook.com/incomeaccess twi]er.com/incomeaccess