Trendjacking: Taking Advantage of Trends on Social Media [with Examples!]

Like the name implies, trendjacking is the act of a third party applying brand content to a trending topic. The trending topic can be anything – usually it’s a hashtag, event, meme, or new slang term. It can be difficult to decide the right moment to chime in on a trend- too early and not enough people will understand it, but too late and you’ll be grouped in with the “overdone” category. You also risk being an unwanted or inorganic voice in the conversation.

Done right and tastefully, however, it can be an effective way to cut through the noise, boost your exposure, and gain a few fans. One of the most successful and earliest examples of this was Oreo’s tweet during the infamous Superbowl blackout in 2013. Their creative team whipped this up within minutes of the blackout to many people’s delight.

@Oreo on Twitter

How to Find a Trend to Hijack

The easiest way to find a trend is to check a few tools. Twitter has a trending topics section on their timeline’s sidebar and Google Trends is a free tool to see what people are searching. Twitter will sometimes compile a group of tweets on a particular trending topic to give users a rundown.

Google Trends will sometimes dedicate an entire page analyzing a popular search trend from that week or month. Both tools are customizable to see what’s trending in different regions, so you can localize your trendjacking if you need to!

how to find trending searches in google trends

Sometimes, the trend is unavoidable- unless you’re living under a rock, you’ll hear about it. For example, the Pokemon Go craze of Summer 2016 or the great Internet debate over what color #TheDress was.

Whataburger on Facebook

Saatva, Amazon

At its peak, there were over 10,000 tweets per minute about #TheDress- and clearly, most brands made sure they weren’t going to miss out.

One of the best tweets was from Adobe, who used their product to stay relevant to the conversation and end the debate once and for all.

Adobe on Twitter

Still, it’s important to make sure your team is on the pulse- not every trend will be as in your face and ubiquitous as the ones mentioned above. Other methods include following websites that track viral content such as Buzzfeed, BoredPanda, Reddit, Ranker, Uproxx, and much more.

Should My Business Tweet About This Topic?

So how do companies use social media to advertise while still aligning with their target audience? When you have found a trend you’d like to comment on, make sure you ask yourself a few questions first.

1. Is it on brand?

If your brand will totally shift its tone in order to join the conversation, reconsider publishing that post. If you are an auto shop, it makes less sense for you to tweet about #NationalPancakeDay than if you were a diner. It may also appear off brand if you’re a prestigious legacy brand and you suddenly start throwing around slang phrases, no matter how trendy or ubiquitous they are. A prime example would be House of Fraser’s #Emojinal campaign backlash, where one Twitter user called it a “masterclass on how to ruin a century-old upscale brand with one terrible social media campaign”.

This doesn’t mean that the trend has to be clearly or directly related to your brand. If you can make a connection that is extremely humorous or clever, just make sure that the post doesn’t seem forced and your brand keeps its voice. You might just strike gold and grab the attention of some new followers.

2. Have I been trendjacking too much or too recently?

It’s best to comment on trending topics sparingly. If your account is constantly churning out low quality tweets, you will lose followers or annoy them. If the tweet will not add value to your brand or encourage people to interact with you in a positive manner, don’t press send.

3. Is it timely?

The trickiest part is figuring out what lifecycle stage the trend is currently at. You want to participate while the topic is still relevant, preferably right before it peaks. After this, your tweet will seem tired.

Cision

3 Trends to Avoid Completely

There are certain topics that are in your best interest to stay away from altogether. Some of these may be obvious, but as you’ll see with each example, huge brands have made these very marketing mistakes. This is a prime example of why small businesses need social media guidance.

Contact MARION if you decide you need professional social media marketing in Austin to avoid a social media mishap!

1. Death, Tragedy, and Serious Events

Err on the side of caution and avoid paying tribute to the death of a notable person (unless they had a direct, clear, and significant impact on your industry or product- but anyone short of a founder or creator may backfire). It may seem harmless, but people will always view capitalizing on death or great misfortune as very poor taste.

Cheerios and Cinnabon both sent out ill-advised tweets about the deaths of Prince and Carrie Fisher, respectively. In both instances, they were removed not long after public displeasure.

One of the most infamous gaffes, however, goes to Kenneth Cole who published this tone-deaf tweet during some violent protests. Make sure you do your research before tweeting with a trending hashtag! Many PR nightmares could have been avoided with a simple Google search.

CNN Money

2. Problematic Hashtags

Many times, a hashtag will go viral where people will make fun of another group at their expense. Benefit Cosmetics joined in on the hashtag #MakeAMovieAFatty and doubled down when people took offense. They eventually apologized, but the damage was done.

@freshaima on Twitter

3. Easily Misinterpreted Hashtags

When Margaret Thatcher passed away in 2013, the hashtag #NowThatchersDead began trending. Many people misread the hashtag as #NowThatChersDead and began mourning the popular singer Cher (who was very much alive).

@ebananuka on Twitter

Get Expert Help from MARION!

Trendjacking provides a huge opportunity for your brand, but it must be approached with caution. By using the tips above, you can enjoy the upside with minimal risk to your brand and business.

If you need help from an experienced social media marketing agency in Houston, the experts at MARION can help. Our digital marketing agency in Houston and Austin has been helping businesses like yours grow for nearly 40 years.

To schedule a consultation with one of our strategists, contact us today!

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16 Mobile Marketing Statistics to Help Improve Your Digital Marketing

If you’re not focusing on mobile website traffic, then you’re behind the times. 60% of consumers across the globe use their mobile devices as their primary source of internet access.

Consumers today are savvier with mobile devices than ever before. It’s crucial that digital marketers and business owners alike adopt mobile website marketing into their marketing and brand development strategies.

Mobile Internet Usage vs. Desktop

It has been a long time coming, but mobile devices have finally overtaken desktop in terms of internet usage. This means one thing for digital marketers – it’s time for a mobile-first strategy.

The world is increasingly becoming mobile-centric. Everyday problems are being solved with a quick Google search from a mobile device. Users prefer the convenience of being able to access the internet while on the move. This is a luxury not afforded when using a stationary desktop computer.

Need to improve your website’s performance? Download this free eBook with 24 tips for boosting your digital marketing results!

16 Top Mobile Optimization Statistics

If you’re looking to increase the traffic to your website or place of business in 2019 and beyond you need to have a firm understanding of mobile marketing statistics.

Check out these 16 mobile marketing stats to help you improve your digital marketing.

1. 9 in 10 users who enroll in SMS loyalty programs feel they’ve gained some form of value

One great way to build loyalty with your customers is to implement SMS coupons and rewards for your business. Your customers will appreciate the personalized approach of a text and will view you in a different light compared to your competitors.

(Stat from BrickandMobile)

2. 70% of consumers delete emails almost immediately that don’t render well on mobile devices

Make sure the messages you send aren’t deleted because they weren’t optimized for mobile users. Run a few tests on a variety of mobile devices (cell phones, tablets, etc.) before sending anything out to your customers.

(Stat from Blue Hornet – now Mapp)

3. 69% of consumers are more likely to buy from companies whose mobile site helps them find answers to their questions

Consumers desire convenience more than anything else when shopping online with their mobile devices. What makes a good web page for mobile viewers?

Optimize your site for mobile and position useful data in easy-to-reach sections of your website. This is a great way to get leads for your business and increase your bottom line.

(Stat from PixelUnion)

4. SMS response rates are 8 times higher than email

While email is still a popular form of communication, text messaging has dominated the hearts and minds of consumers. Users are drawn to the convenience of reading and sending text messages on the go. To reach an even wider pool of prospects, consider adopting SMS marketing tactics.

(Stat from RetailDive)

5. Mobile advertising is expected to represent 72% of all U.S. digital ad spend by 2019

While this statistic is a straightforward and optimistic outlook for mobile advertising, you may find this next statistic to be even more interesting…

(Stat from MarketingLand)

6. 70% of users report disliking mobile ads

As ad spend is increasing, user dissatisfaction is growing. Users are tired of intrusive ads dominating their handheld screens. With dissatisfied users blocking ads at an increasing rate business owners and marketers need to pay close attention to ensure their audience is receptive to mobile advertising.

Non-intrusive mobile ads, sponsored content, and native advertising can help get your message across to target users. Contact MARION, a marketing firm in Houston, for help with digital advertising opportunities.

(Stat from HubSpot)

7. Google drives 96% of mobile search traffic

When it comes to mobile search vs. desktop search, Google reigns supreme in both domains. The best way to increase mobile search traffic is by optimizing for Google on mobile devices.

You can do this by learning ways to reduce page load time across your site and making sure your text and buttons are large enough on mobile screens. For advanced optimization, contact an experienced SEO company in Houston.

(Stat from NetMarketShare)

8. 48% of millennials view video solely on their mobile device

If your audience is on the younger side, you should incorporate videos into your mobile marketing strategy. Starting a YouTube channel is a great way to start promoting your brand through this medium.

(Stat from Business of Apps)

9. 68% of businesses have begun integrating mobile marketing into their marketing strategy

There’s a reason all your competitors are jumping into mobile marketing. It’s a profitable investment that will make your business a lot of money. Don’t get left behind.

(Stat from Salesforce)

10. 48% of consumers turn to search engines for mobile searches

Though nearly half of consumers turn to a mobile search, 33% go directly to the site they have in mind. Producing the highest quality content possible should always be your priority, but this statistic reinforces that fact.

Good content allows your audience to find you easier. Of course, don’t forget to optimize your site for mobile queries. For more help, choose an SEO company that can produce high-quality content that performs well in organic search.

(Stat from Smart Insights)

11. 61% of users are unlikely to return to a website they had trouble accessing with mobile devices

… and 40% go to a competitor’s website instead. We can’t express how important it is to optimize your website for a flawless mobile experience. Potential customers are immediately turned off when they encounter a site that’s difficult to navigate and will turn to your competitors as a result.

(Stat from McKinsey & Company)

12. 64% of Pinterest’s referred traffic comes from tablets or smartphones

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram often get all the love whenever anyone talks about social media marketing. But, did you know that Pinterest is the most heavily used social media site by mobile users?

Businesses that target mobile users should consider paying more attention to Pinterest if they want to draw in more mobile traffic.

(Stat from Mobile Marketing Watch)

13. Users spend 80% of their social media time on mobile devices

Whether the platform is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or LinkedIn, social media has become a large part of owning a mobile device. It’s important to learn how to effectively use social media for advertisements on desktops and mobile devices to maximize your return.

(Stat from ComScore)

14. Over 50% of smartphone users immediately reach for their smartphone the moment they wake up

Most of us do this, but it can be an excellent opportunity for digital marketers. Posting early in the morning (depending on where you are in the world) will ensure that a greater number of people will see your content.

(Stat from ExpressPigeon)

15. 57% of mobile users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site

First impressions are everything. A poorly designed mobile site will make your business look unprofessional and untrustworthy. Make sure you implement aesthetically pleasing website design and SEO best practices.

(Stat from socPub)

16. 50% of mobile search is aimed at local businesses

Local businesses have traditionally been the slowest when it comes to adopting new online trends. Breaking from the pack and adopting mobile marketing will make you stand out from your competitors and attract customers that are already searching for your solutions.

(Stat from Search Engine Watch)

Incorporating Mobile Web Statistics into Your Marketing Strategy

If the above mobile marketing data is clear about one thing it’s this – mobile marketing is no longer an option; it’s a requirement. It’s safe to assume most people you’re targeting own smartphones, so dive into mobile marketing as quickly as you can.

Studying mobile web statistics can be tedious work. Why not leave it to a top marketing firm? MARION is a marketing agency that has been helping businesses like yours for nearly 40 years.

Our responsive web design in Houston and Austin is delivered by a top-notch team of professionals. We’ll ensure your site is mobile ready.

Contact MARION today to learn more!

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10 Most Effective Social Media Campaigns of All Time

A successful social media campaign isn’t easily defined. Usually, high rates of engagement and “going viral” are good indications of an effective social media marketing campaign. However, the most memorable and award-winning social media campaigns are set apart because of their creativity and innovation.

10 Best Social Media Campaigns

When executed well, these types of digital marketing campaigns can connect with channel users on a personal level and help drive signficant change! Let’s explore some effective social media campaign examples that pushed boundaries and reinvented the process.

Do you need to improve the return on your marketing investment? Download this free eBook about how to run an online marketing campaign today!

1. Disney #ShareYourEars Campaign

At the end of 2018, Disney wrapped up its third consecutive year partnering with Make-A-Wish for their #ShareYourEars social media campaign. For every photo of a person wearing Mickey Mouse ears with the hashtag #ShareYourEars, Disney pledged to donate $5 per post with a maximum of $1 million matched.

Disney Parks Blog

Why It Worked: Back in 1981, the first official Wish was granted to Frank “Bopsy” Salazar and part of his wish was to visit Disneyland. In fact, a third of all Make-A-Wish requests are granted by Disney. This modern campaign reinforces their partnership and is a sweet reference to the roots of their history together.

This successful social marketing campaign was a fun, visual, and easy way to create goodwill. Disney spurred this on by doubling the amount of money donated- bringing it to a total of $3 million raised. Anyone could take a picture and post it to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram easily.

By utilizing people’s desire to raise money for a good cause and giving them a set incentive, participants created a bevy of user-generated content and was a massive success in bringing attention to the campaign.

Disney

2. Taco Bell Jewelry Influencer Campaign

Back in 2013 when influencer marketing wasn’t as ubiquitous as it is now, Taco Bell was ahead of the curve by sending jewelry and handwritten notes to minor models and actresses known for their internet presence. They also included a gift card and an invitation to visit their test kitchens.

effective social media campaigns examples

@chrissyteigen on Instagram

Why It Worked: By using tongue-in-cheek humor and a set of “Instagrammable” objects, Taco Bell spread the word through the influencing power of Internet-famous females. Recipients included Chrissy Teigen, Jessica Lu, Acacia Brinley, Leah Cecil (Miss California 2012), Kristen Storms, and Alexa Losey. The personalized letters to each woman crafted a cheeky persona to Taco Bell’s brand.

The main conversations surrounding this stunt were sparked by the highly coveted gold rings (that spelled out “Taco Bell” in cursive). These rings ended up being so popular Taco Bell began selling them in limited quantities. It’s also birthed countless copycats on sites like Etsy, making this campaign a lasting success.

This is a great example of how to advertise effectively on social media, even if it’s not through paid ads through a popular platform.

3. Always #LikeAGirl Campaign

Always (the feminine hygiene product brand) launched the #LikeAGirl campaign with a video that challenged female stereotypes with the purpose of empowering young girls. The film showcased how the phrase “like a girl” has come to have a negative or weak connotation. They showed confident young girls redefining the phrase into a meaningful and powerful statement instead of an insult.

successful social media campaigns examples

PR Week

Why It Worked: The video encouraged viewers to participate in what it meant to do things like a girl. Social media was flooded with anecdotes, personal achievements, and encouragement to adolescent girls.

The video has amassed over 66 million views on YouTube and has won several awards. According to Design and Art Direction, 76% of viewers stated they no longer saw the phrase with a negative connotation. 2 out of 3 men who watched the short film said “they’d now think twice before using “like a girl” as an insult.

By facilitating such a strong emotional connection with a large base of their consumers and beyond, Always created a viral hashtag that inspired everyone to lift up young women.

4. Spotify Wrapped

In 2017, Spotify unveiled a quirky-looking site that gave personalized statistics garnered from your listening data. Giving a much-needed update to their Year in Music campaign, Spotify used the same visuals as their data-driven billboards.

Spotify Community Blog

Spotify Community

Bored Panda

In 2018, Premium users were given the chance to have their personal Wrapped statistics broadcasted on digital billboards at landmarks like Times Square and Piccadilly Circus.

Spotify Newsroom

Why It Worked: Having personalized numbers over pleasing graphics made screenshotting these statistics and posting them on social media a no-brainer. By compiling listening data and presenting them to users visually, Spotify started a viral conversation at the end of every year (and kicked off the next with some free advertising). Showing your friends your listening habits is a unique way to show your personality and Spotify recognized that.

5. KFC’s Twitter Herbs and Spices

Sometime before October 2017, KFC unfollowed everyone except 6 people named Herb and the 5 Spice Girls.

@edgette22 on Twitter

After this Easter egg joke about their famous recipe was discovered, the tweet went viral and was shared hundreds of thousands of times. KFC rewarded the man behind the tweet with a custom painting and 52 gift cards.

Why It Worked: KFC’s sneaky gag paid off by sparking an organic conversation through the discovery of their hidden joke. They attempted to continue the viral discussion by commissioning a whimsical painting of Colonel Sanders and the Twitter user behind the revelation. This social strategy was genius in its playfulness and simplicity. KFC came off as a lighthearted brand that likes to have fun with its customers.

@edgette22 on Twitter

6. Apple #ShotOniPhone Campaign

Apple’s #ShotOniPhone campaign is one of the most successful social media campaigns ever. Following a successful billboard campaign featuring photos shot on- you guessed it- iPhones, Apple encouraged social media users to share their own photos with a chance for their work to appear on a billboard. Over the past couple of years, that hashtag has taken off and Apple’s official Instagram is dedicated exclusively to pictures #ShotoniPhone.

@apple on Instagram

effective social media marketing campaigns

Daily Billboard Blog

Why It Worked: With one of the biggest pools of consumers under their belt, Apple leveraged user-generated content to celebrate their technology in creative and visual ways. Artists tend to use the hashtag to showcase their creative skills without the use of expensive or excessive equipment. In return, Apple gets to show off how easy it is to create high-quality content with their product. The hashtag #ShotoniPhone has over 6.5 million entries on Instagram alone.

#ShotoniPhone on Instagram

People with iPhones could easily submit their pictures on social media, making this a simple and authentic ongoing campaign that shows no signs of slowing down (for as long as iPhones are popular, at least).

7. Airbnb: We Are Here Facebook Live Campaign

When Airbnb first launched “Experiences” on their brand-new Trips platform in 2016, they decided to give users a first-hand look by live-streaming various Experiences over the course of 24 hours. The twist was each experience was filmed on a helmet-mounted camera, making viewers feel more like they were actually there. They showcased Venezuelan cooking in Miami, ocean activism in Cape Town, surfing in Los Angeles, performance art in Paris, street dancing in Seoul, and more.

Webby Awards

Why It Worked: Airbnb expertly included consumers in real-time and gave as good as a first-hand experience as they could. Anyone with an internet connection could view the Experiences and imagine themselves being there. The authentic nature of live streaming and on-the-ground Experiences was a natural fit. It was also a newer form of social media interaction, which was an exciting risk for Airbnb that paid off.

This is a great example of why your business needs social media marketing to grow in a meaningful and engaging way!

8. OfficeMax Elf Yourself

OfficeMax launched a website in 2006 called Elf Yourself where people could upload pictures of themselves to generate videos of dancing elves.

Viral Blog

When this marketing campaign first launched, Facebook had just opened to the public. The “viral” nature of Elf Yourself spread through email. Now, Elf Yourself has a Facebook AR filter and is shared countless times on various social platforms each year they relaunch the site.

Business Wire

The longevity of this campaign is a testament to how effective the Elf Yourself campaign is and how adaptable OfficeMax has proven themselves.

iTunes

Why It Worked: People enjoy humor and personalized content, and OfficeMax was pioneering corporate viral content with this idea. Back when it first launched, the website was gaining 200 hits per second with 8 elves created per second. Now, OfficeMax/Office Depot (merged in 2013) is constantly adapting with mobile apps and social media filters that offer easy ways to share your elves with others. Sometimes they offer coupons of up to 25% off after you share a post. This annual holiday delight has no signs of disappearing anytime soon.

9. Lonely Whale Foundation #StopSucking Campaign

The Lonely Whale Foundation launched a social media campaign challenging people to #StopSucking and cease their use of single-use plastic straws. Straws are one of the biggest polluters of oceans and other waterways. After this campaign launched, it quickly became viral thanks to celebrities like Adrian Grenier (the co-founder), Ellen Pompeo, Russell Wilson, and Emmanuelle Chiriqui. Because of these efforts, Seattle has banned plastic straws and the state of California has banned restaurants from automatically giving patrons plastic straws. Starbucks has officially banned single-use plastic straws partially due to direct efforts from the Lonely Whale Foundation.

Lonely Whale

Why It Worked: The playful humor behind the hashtag #StopSucking made a serious issue eye-catching and shareable. Lonely Whale harnessed star power and the desire to do good in order to build a conversation and draw attention to the cause with a challenge.

They offered instructions on two ways to complete the challenge, which encouraged people to participate and bring others in. Before you posted, you could generate a Challenge Code URL to track your challenge post’s influence.

Strawless Ocean

Even by using purely organic content, this campaign reached over 74 million people across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram- far beyond the non-profit bubble.

10. #StraightOuttaCompton Movie Campaign

In 2015, Beats by Dr. Dre and Universal Pictures created a website called StraightOuttaSomewhere.com to promote the biographical drama Straight Outta Compton (based on rap group N.W.A.). Visitors could create their own #StraightOutta memes and input any place and picture. This quickly made the hashtag go viral as people shared their creative and personal posts with the website soon reaping over 10.8 million visits.

Why It Worked: #StraightOuttaCompton became the number one topic on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram within 24 hours due to its highly customizable and shareable format. Several celebrities wanting to curate content for social media joined in, including Serena Williams, Bette Midler, Ryan Reynolds, LeBron James, Ava DuVernay, and Jennifer Lopez. This helped boost the meme’s popularity even further. Even Oxford University joined in on the fun.

most successful social media marketing campaigns ever

Posts ranged from clever to hilarious to personal, and there was something new yet recognizable in each one through utilizing N.W.A.’s iconic logo. By using user-generated content, the organic reach for this film reached heights that would have been unachievable without this effective social media campaign.

Contact MARION for Help Building Innovative Social Media Campaigns Today!

You’re interested in building an innovative and effective social media marketing campaign for your brand, but where do you start?

MARION is a Houston-based marketing agency that offers social media marketing in Houston and Austin. Our experts can build creative campaigns that engage your audience and drive results.

Stop paying for “marketing” and start paying for results! Contact MARION today to schedule a consultation!

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Marketing Retainer vs. Project – How Do Marketing Agency Fees Work?

If you’re in the process of choosing a marketing agency, you will eventually need to enter into a marketing fee agreement. Marketing agency fees can follow several different formats, so make sure you know what to expect from the firm you’re considering.

You can choose to pay either a monthly retainer fee or pay per project. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each fee structure will help you decide which marketing fee agreement best suits your goals.

What Is a Marketing Retainer?

A marketing retainer is a monthly agreement between your company and a marketing agency. Each month, you agree to pay the agency a certain dollar amount in exchange for their services. The scope of their monthly services will be included in your retainer agreement.

Retainers are mostly used for long-term relationships and are not specific to any particular project. Retainers give agencies time to familiarize themselves with your brand and develop and optimize effective B2C or B2B marketing strategies unique to your organization.

Just like an on-call lawyer, setting up a marketing agency retainer agreement allows you to regularly tap into a wealth of expertise you don’t possess on your own.

How Does a Marketing Retainer Agreement Work?

Your business will sign a contract with your marketing firm that agrees on a monthly budget for a pre-determined range of services performed each month. For example, if you need social media marketing services, you will pay a social media retainer to an agency that specializes in organic and paid SMM.

After you communicate your marketing goals and objectives, it’s the job of the agency to build and execute on strategies that fall within the scope of the retainer to achieve them. A further benefit is that the agency is “on call,” meaning you are well within your rights to contact your marketing firm for in-scope additions, changes, or advice at any time.

The Benefits of a Marketing Retainer

Retainers tend to be mutually beneficial for both parties. Here are a few reasons why:

Benefits for your business:

Fast service
Predictable costs
Real and ongoing value
Leveraging the skillsets of specialists

Benefits for agencies:

More focus on your brand
Solid expectations and improved service
Greater control over strategy changes to best meet your goals

Marketing retainers allow agencies to internally adjust strategies so that they can best meet your goals. This is the most important insight in this article.

What does this mean?

Imagine you need to improve your organic traffic, and you’d like to optimize your website for search engines. You could take the following two approaches.

Approach a marketing company for a three-month-long SEO audit that includes on-page optimization, building 10 backlinks, and publishing 50 local citations.
Approach a marketing company for a monthly SEO retainer.

In the first approach, your agency might deliver exactly what was laid out in your project agreement, but your website’s rankings and organic traffic remain unchanged. You have thrown your money away.

In the second approach, your marketing firm will consider your goals, build a strategy to reach those goals and then execute each month to achieve them. In the first month, they might focus heavily on your on-page optimization. In month two, your firm establishes all local citations and begins building links to your website. In month three, your firm continues to build links and starts to publish blog content according to a rigorous content strategy.

To your marketing agency, your account was highly-unprofitable for the first three months. However, during month four and beyond, your firm spends less time on your account but continues to blog and build links consistently each month. This allows them to recuperate the profitability of your account while achieving your goals and making you money.

Stop paying for marketing services and start paying for RESULTS! Get a free marketing consultation today, and let our experts identify growth opportunities for your business!

This is the biggest difference between a marketing retainer and project. A retainer will allocate resources to achieve your goals, while a project will provide a deliverable that you’ve requested.

What Is a Marketing Project?

A marketing project is an agreement for a one-time deliverable to be completed within a specified time-frame at a set dollar amount. Where retainer agreements are better suited for long-term relationships, projects are ideal for short term or one-time needs. For example, projects may include web design, mobile app development, logo design, or setting up a social media advertising campaign for your business.

While you could argue that most marketing agencies are designed for retainer relationships (it takes time to generate results in marketing), even marketing services can be categorized as a project if the campaign has a singular focus to achieve a specific objective.

How Does a Marketing Project Work?

Projects are well-defined in scope. Deliverables are typically needed in a short timespan (usually three months or less), and the project does not need continuous attention after it has been completed.

For example, imagine your company requires a complete redesign of your website. You would turn to an agency that specializes in website design and development and pay a set price. Due to the short-term nature of the job the project will be billed at full price.

In some retainer relationships, project work that falls outside of your retainer’s scope is billed at a discount due to the promise of a long-term relationship which guarantees a monthly stream of income for the agency. For example, MARION offers highly discounted website redesigns and graphic design work for clients that are on a monthly retainer with us.

Benefits of Marketing Projects

Projects have several benefits that affect agencies and clients in the same way. Benefits include:

Ideal for single objectives
The budget is clear-cut
Generally shorter time frames

Choosing the Correct Marketing Agency Fees to Reach Your Objectives

Frankly, the marketing agency fees you decide to pay (retainer vs. project) will depend on what needs to be accomplished. Let’s look at a few key points to help you determine which choice you should make for your business.

3 Reasons to Choose a Marketing Retainer

If you meet one of the following three criteria, you should consider entering a marketing agency retainer agreement.

1. You Require a Broad Range of Services

In many cases, retainer arrangements require a broad range of services such as digital marketing, web design, and SEO services. With some projects, it can be difficult to define the scope and duration of services needed to accomplish the job.

Therefore, the responsibility falls upon the agency’s shoulders to determine which strategies are needed to accomplish your goals and objectives.

2. Your Timeline Is Longer than Six Months

Retainers are ideal for projects that require the ongoing services of an agency for more than six months. In most cases, retainers tend to last 1 to 3 years in length. During this time, your agency will typically be expected to perform a wide range of services.

3. Need Prioritization Over Projects

Some agencies will give prioritization to clients paying an ongoing retainer as opposed to those who simply come through the door on a project by project basis. This can put project clients at a disadvantage.

At MARION, we consider this type of prioritization to be immoral and bad for customers. We value and prioritize the goals of project and retainer clients alike.

2 Reasons to Choose a Marketing Project

How much should a company spend on marketing for one-time needs? The following two situations may indicate that you should opt for a marketing project vs. a marketing retainer.

1. You Have One-time Needs

If you have a project that needs to be completed one time, then a project is the ideal choice. As mentioned previously, examples of projects include rebranding, web development, and the initial setup for a social media advertising campaign.

2. You Have Short-term Deliverables

If you have deliverables that need to be completed in the short-term with a limited budget and timeframe, then paying per project is the right choice. The moment the deliverable(s) has been turned in, the project comes to an end and thus payment is required. To start a new project, you would have to sign a new contract.

Understanding How Advertising Agencies Charge for Services

As a business owner, you have the right to know how marketing agency fees work. Understanding the differences between marketing retainers vs. projects will help you make the right choice when you require the services of a marketing agency.

With so many marketing agencies to choose from, it’s difficult to sort out the good from the bad. MARION is an award-winning marketing company that offers a wide range of services for small businesses. Whether you desire a continuous relationship or a one-off project, we can help you.

Contact MARION today to learn more about our services and schedule a consultation.

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School Marketing Ideas for Private & Charter Schools

Schools, just like small businesses, can truly benefit from effective and engaging online marketing. Similar to most small businesses, schools usually provide services in a certain locality.

Schools deal with branding and promotion, as well as the need for continuous recruitment. While a business may need to advertise to consumers, investors and partners…a school must advertise to students, parents and volunteers.

Your type of school, the age, and size of the school, as well as its growth needs, should be considered and evaluated when creating a charter or private school marketing strategy. Whether you’re a public school, private school, charter school, Montessori school, magnet school or even a specialty school, it’s important to understand which marketing and advertising objectives are the most effective.

Typically, marketing ideas for private schools and charter schools should focus on recruiting more students and qualified faculty, as well as highlighting the benefits for parents and caretakers of students at the school. This is usually achievable by highlighting the advantages of the school.

Perhaps your school is public and a great athletic school. It would be important to showcase stats, highlight videos, championship trophies, etc. It would be advantageous to highlight previous students who moved on to play at the next level (collegiately) or even professionally.

Charter schools and magnet schools have an area of educational focus where they prevail compared to other schools. This educational focus is usually the main reason for attending the school. It could be a school that focuses on healthcare and teaching the next generation of healthcare providers, or a school that teaches the performing arts to young, future entertainers.

Want to improve your school marketing effectiveness? Learn how to run an online marketing campaign by downloading your free eBook today!

Regardless of what type of school you may need to promote and advertise, the school marketing ideas below should be of assistance.

Digital Marketing Ideas For Schools

All schools, no matter the type, should engage in digital marketing. It is extremely important that your school, its location, and other pertinent information about your school are easily found online. This applies to visitors using search engines, social media or just browsing the web. If a potential student, teacher or parent is online searching for a school that offers what your school may provide, you need to be found.

School Website Development & Maintenance

The school’s website is usually the first place people will visit to gather more information about the school. It is extremely important that the website is responsive. The website visits could happen on a mobile device, tablet or desktop computer. The usability should be consistent across all devices. If you need help making this happen, leverage most web design companies can help.

Core Information about the school (admissions, curriculum, forms, etc…) should be easy to navigate to and read. Time-based content like events and photos should be displayed prominently. Other content like blog posts, press releases and news should be posted in a way that is easy to access and share.

Local SEO for Schools

marketing activities for private schools

Local search engine optimization for a school is the most important school marketing strategy that must be handled correctly. If your school is brand new and built from the ground up, Google and Bing will have no listing for the school. It will need to be created. Maybe your school was formally another school or had a recent name or location change. Updating Google My Business and Bing Places profiles will solve this issue. Keep in mind, the citations for your school are listed on hundreds of other directories also. We prefer a tool like Yext, to claim and update all your school listings on the internet.

The benefits of local SEO is getting your school listed in the Maps section of Google and other search engines. Users view the maps section to understand where the school is and the distance from home or work. Google maps are also the trigger that activates the navigation on Android mobile devices. Local SEO for your website will help users searching for your school or a similar school to find you.

Social Media Marketing for Schools

Social media marketing for private schools and charter schools is just one aspect of social usage. Social media should be used to convey messages, share news and events, provide updates and serve as a point of indirect communication.

Facebook posting is a great way to keep parents and guardians of the students up to date with the latest school events and news. Instagram is perfect for showcasing photos and videos of events and daily activities going on at the school. Twitter is used by major corporations as a vehicle for customer service. Schools could use Twitter in the same fashion by sending out timely tweets about events or changes that need to be sent quickly.

Social media marketing for a school works best when the school can create social profiles that are the same, or at least very similar to the website domain name. For example, Houston ISD has a school called, Lamar High School. The website address is lamarhs.org. The Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profiles are all, lamarhs. This makes searching, finding and sharing extremely easy.

Email Marketing for Schools

No matter how many people search Google or use social media, the inbox is still the most visited place on the internet. Email marketing for schools is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. Everyone checks their email multiple times a day. One of the huge benefits to email marketing is the fact that history will dictate when emails should be sent and on average how many users will open them. More importantly, we’ll know what times are best to send emails.

A school should have a few different email lists.

A generic, “all users” list to send out general school information every month at the same time.
An “all faculty” list to send important internal reminders
A “parents & guardians” list to send external dates, reminders, and information

These different lists should be emailed consistently at different times of the month. The generic list would be served a Monthly Newsletter. All faculty should be emailed every Morning with weekly updates. The parents and guardians could be emailed in the middle of the month with news and events.

Pay Per Click Management for Schools

Search engines like Google & Bing offer the ability to bid on keywords and phrases and have your ad shown within the search results. When someone searches for a term you’ve bid on and clicks your ad, the search engine will charge you for the click…hence the name, pay per click (PPC).

With so much competition online, getting your website listed in the search engines can be challenging and very time-consuming. PPC gives the opportunity to be listed without the wait. Google offers two networks, search and display. The search network places your school’s ads on Google and other search partners (AOL, etc…) so the ads can be seen and clicked on. The display network uses image and text ads and displays them on websites within Google’s network of websites that have display ads.

For a school, creating a remarketing campaign through Google’s Display Network is one of the best uses of marketing dollars. These campaigns allow the school to display ads to users who may have visited the website before, or at the very least, have searched the internet for terms that relate to the school.

These school marketing ideas and strategies can be used for any elementary, middle or high school that is public, private, magnet or charter. The key is to stick with it and use them constantly. Either add staffing to manage the marketing, or partner with a digital marketing agency like MARION who has the experience, skillset, and resources to do it for your school.

Contact MARION for School Marketing Ideas & Implementation

There are several time-consuming dimensions to effective traditional and digital marketing for private schools, charter schools, and Montessori schools. You may want an expert on your side that has experience with school marketing strategy.

Contact MARION today if you’re interested in improving your school marketing effectiveness.

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Using SEO Vs. Social Media Marketing for Your Business

The fight for online traffic has come down to two primary strategies — Search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing (SMM). SEO and SMM are both inbound channels, and they’re both used for content marketing purposes. So what’s the big difference between them and which should you use for your business?

SEO vs. SMM

SEO draws in traffic from search engine rankings and excels at creating awareness of your brand. On the other hand, social media marketing is all about building deeper relationships with your audience and drawing in traffic from social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (to name a few).

Though they’re both used to draw in traffic, SEO and social media marketing have their differences. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of search and social to help you decide which strategy to spend the most time on, where you should invest your marketing funds, and how to set your expectations.

1. Which Topics Perform Well?

Which topic performs the best for SMM/SEO? As you become a better marketer, you’ll be able to “sense” the best place to promote your content.

SEO

Evergreen topics that are continually useful no matter how much time has passed tend to rank well on search engines. How-to guides and other researched-based content that address common questions also tend to rank well.

Want to generate new business? Download this free eBook to learn about 26 lead generation techniques you can’t afford to overlook!

Social Media Marketing

Posts that stir up emotions such as anger, anxiety, sadness, or awe tends to get the most likes and shares overall. Trending topics also get a lot of engagement on social media platforms.

2. Which Format Performs Best?

Whether it’s text, audio, images, or videos you need to know what format of content performs best on each channel. Note that performance depends on context and what your business goals are.

SEO

Search engines love long-form text. The longer and more informative the post (with well-placed keywords) the better. On average, pages that have 1,500+ words rank well on Google and Bing. Search engines also love keyword-inclusive headlines that are long and descriptive.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is a vastly visual platform. Video and images are shared far more frequently than posts purely composed of text. Frankly, the likelihood of receiving shares and likes are exponentially higher when a visual is attached. Emotional, concise headlines will serve you well here.

Read Now: Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads – Which is Better?

3. Does SEO/SMM Convert Better?

Does one channel convert better than the other? Make sure you set marketing goals and objectives and define what a conversion looks like for your company. Put a measurement system in place so that you can assess results and make improvements.

SEO

You can only drive in so much traffic before you hit the ceiling with SEO. You will never exceed more traffic than the number of people who are searching for a specific keyword every day.

Social Media Marketing

The number of conversions you can generate on social media is practically limitless. As long as you’re running an active campaign, your conversions will continue to flow without interruption.

4. Can You Grow an Audience Faster with SEO or Social Media?

Between search and social, how long will you have to wait to see the fruits of your labor? Which of the two is faster?

SEO

When it comes to SEO slow and steady wins the race. Competing for the most valuable keywords takes time and patience. It can take a year or more before you learn how to generate business leads through your SEO efforts.

Social Media Marketing

Where SEO is slow, social media marketing is practically instantaneous. Sure, it takes time to grow an audience, but social media posts can garner likes and shares right away and start generating results instantly.

5. How Long Do Results Last?

Just like everything else for search & social, the duration of results between the two is vastly different.

SEO

SEO requires a significant upfront investment which can be scary for many business owners because the results aren’t immediate. Once a page is ranked, it has lasting effects that can span for weeks, months, or even years.

Contact MARION if you’re in need of an SEO company in Houston or Austin that can provide lasting results from organic search.

Social Media Marketing

The investment for SMM is small when compared to SEO. Traffic generation begins the moment your ad becomes live. Despite this quick response rate, the moment your effort stops, the results instantly die away.

6. How to Measure Success for Search and Social

Measuring your analytics is the only way you can determine whether your current strategy is working, but how do you go about correctly measuring search outcomes?

SEO

Reach is easy to measure for SEO, but it’s much more difficult to measure engagement. There are plenty of tools out there, such as Google Analytics, that can help you identify the number of clicks and impressions you receive for a specific key phrase.

Unfortunately, Google Analytics does not measure behavior metrics per keyword, which means you’ll never truly know which keyword led to which action on your website without using advanced analytics.

If you don’t know how to gauge your efficacy, speak with a Houston or Austin SEO company for help.

Social Media Marketing

Social engagement is simple to measure on social media, but it’s more challenging to measure reach and impressions accurately. Most social media platforms provide users with their reporting, allowing them to view analytics such as likes, shares, and comments.

Measuring reach (the total traffic of social activity) is a more difficult task when compared to the simplicity of measuring other analytics. The right tool will do the job, but specific familiar tools like Google Analytics are known to provide inaccurate results when measuring social media reach.

7. Social Media and Search Engine Optimization are Interdependent

Despite their significant differences, social media marketing and search engine optimization often rely on each other in a variety of ways. Here are a few ways SEO and SMM are connected:

SEO

One vital aspect of SEO is building relationships (a chiefly social activity) which can lead to mentions, links, and ultimately better rankings. Reaching out to bloggers and online news outlets for PR often takes place on social media. Some of the most crucial skill sets for SEO success are outreach, backlink pitching, and list building — all of which can be done through social media marketing.

Social Media Marketing

Content that ranks well has the potential to swell your social media followers who will in turn like, comment, and share your content. SEO benefits social media growth over the long term which ultimately helps to build a lasting growth strategy.

As it turns out, learning how social media helps SEO (and vice versa) can significantly boost your marketing results.

Using the Right Strategies for Your Business

Social media marketing and search engine optimization have their differences. Knowing how to incorporate the strengths of both strategies into your marketing plan will benefit your business the most.

It takes expertise to leverage social media and SEO for your business successfully. That’s where we come into the picture. MARION is a full-service marketing firm that excels in growing small businesses through strategic SEO improvements and social media marketing. We’ll develop sound strategies that will drive traffic where you need it, allowing you to focus on what’s most important — running your business.

Contact MARION today for more information about how our SEO and social media marketing in Austin and Houston can significantly improve your marketing results.

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Top Podcasts for Houston and Austin Business Owners

Let’s be honest, traffic in Houston and Austin can be a bear.

You live in Katy and work downtown Houston?

Sitting in traffic on I-35 at 7:30 in the morning?

You spend so much time stuck in traffic, you might as well put that time to good use. Exercise your brain and make your business, and life, better.

This is where podcasts come in handy. As technology has improved, more creators and producers have jumped into the podcasting space. Along the way, podcasts have gotten better.

More informative. More niche. Better production. You get the idea.

Here are our top business, marketing, and local podcasts to listen to on your long Houston or Austin commute — or while you go on a jog, ride your bike, whatever. Maximize your time and fuel your brain with these top picks from the MARION Marketing Agency.

Top Business Podcasts

HBR IdeaCast – Harvard Business Review has had their long running IdeaCast, and it’s one of my absolute favorites. Sarah Green interviews top executives from large business and industry giants on a range of topics. It’s well produced and highly informative.

Inside LaunchStreet – A podcast on innovation with Tamara Kleinberg. Ensuring that your business is growing and innovating, whether through product, service, or culture, is a sure-fire way to get to the top of your industry.

Outside In – I love the approach of this podcast because it gets at the heart of how business can attract customers in this day and age. Put your customers first! Interviews with leaders from business, media, and academia discuss how consumers are changing and how businesses need to create a customer-inspired organization.

Business Wars – As the name suggests, in business there are sometimes winners and losers. Big brands battle each other for customers, dollars, and brand attention. David Brown hosts this amazing podcast with insights into what drives leaders, investors, and executives to new heights – or to ruin.

How I Built This – Guy Raz weaves great stories that take you through the journeys of some of the biggest innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists. This is how you turn a company or a brand into a movement.

Best Startup Podcasts

Mixergy – In this startup and tech podcast, Andrew Warner interviews founders who have built successful companies. Guests can expect Warner to ask hard hitting questions about mistakes and revenue and does an amazing job of pulling back the curtain.

StartUp – From Gimlet Media, who puts out amazingly produced podcasts, comes a comprehensive look at what it’s “really like” to launch and run a startup. This is binge worthy.

Entrepreneur on Fire – With thousands of interviews from large and small companies alike, John Lee Dumas delivers the goods. If you’re looking for inspiration and strategies on getting your company to the next level this podcast is for you.

Masters of Scale – Want to learn how companies grow from zero to billions? This podcast, hosted by Reid Hoffman, has you covered. One of the things I love about this podcast is their commitment to a 50-50 gender balance for guests. We need to hear more from women who are doing amazing things and how they did it.

The Pitch – Another entry for Gimlet Media, and they do not disappoint. If you need funding for your next growth stage, this is where you get the insights to land your next seed round. The information is powerful and candid. I’m always amazed with this podcast.

Top Marketing Podcasts

Marketing Over Coffee – I start my day with coffee. And marketing. You should as well. John Wall and Christopher Penn discuss what’s new and trending in the marketing industry. You’ll be informed and inspired.

Duct Tape Marketing – You want your brand to be sticky. John Jantsch delivers interviews with thought leaders, experts, and authors on marketing and branding topics where they share their stories, tactics, and marketing secrets. This is on my must-listen to feed.

I Love Marketing – From the brilliant minds of Dean Jackson and Joe Polish, this podcast has been running steady for over 15 years! Was podcasting even a thing back then? It was, and they were. Marketing ideas from direct mail, lead generation, getting referrals, marketing psychology and more.

The GaryVee Audio Experience – If you’ve been around video and podcast space long enough, you’ve run into any one of Gary Vaynerchuk’s many content pieces. From marketing, branding, social media, to business and hustle he covers it all. He’s passionate and thrilling.

Social Pros Podcast – Social media marketing is still something that many business owners have trouble understanding. Jay Baer and Adam Brown break it down by interviewing real people doing real work in social media.

Top Houston Podcasts

#TwitterSmarter Podcast – Host Madalyn Sklar interviews social media powerhouses on working smarter, not harder, in social media marketing. From tools and software, to tips and tricks, you’ll be an influencer in no time.

No Permission Needed – Ozeal interviews remarkable minds in business and self-development. This uplifting podcast will find you inspired and educated. This is the boost you need to get through the week.

The H – Luke Brawner interviews Houstonians. It’s a mixed bag that gives insight into what it’s like to live and thrive in Houston. With two seasons in the books, I’m looking forward to seeing this podcast grow an audience and thrive.

Working Wisdom – From C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, this podcast focuses on work, life, and everything in between. You’ll find inspirational and practical tips on work/life balance and more.

Shrimp Tank – Admittedly, this was a new discovery for me as I was researching Houston based podcasts. Roundtable style interviews with business owners, many of whom are based in Houston, TX. I’m diggin’ the local love.

Top Austin, TX Podcasts

I Love You So Much – Looking for great things to do in this amazing city? This is your audible journey into Austin’s pop-culture and lifestyle. You’ll discover great gems that help you get the most out of being an Austinite.

The Feedbak – Navigating the ever-changing Austin scene can be daunting. A city that is growing this fast means you need a guide. This podcast is your guide to live music, festivals, and other entertainment options.

I Love Queso So Much – I cannot stress the importance of this podcast. It is life. Because queso is life. Their goal is to review every queso in Austin, one podcast at a time. May the gods bless them on their noble journey.

No Agenda – Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak have been doing this longer than anyone in the podcast game. They are podcast gods. It’s not for everyone, but everyone should try a few episodes.

Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do – Thom Singer interviews business owners on various topics from goal setting, marketing, sales, networking and more. It’s a smorgasbord of inspiration and information designed to help you get unstuck.

Did we miss one of your favorites that deserves to be on the list of best podcasts to listen to? Leave a comment or shoot me an email.

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Automotive Digital Marketing That Brings In Buyers

Is your company an automotive dealership that sells cars, trucks, vans and SUVs? Perhaps your dealership sells tractors, mowers and farm equipment. Even if you sell jet skis, 4 wheelers, ATVs and other off road vehicles, these automotive dealer marketing strategies can be used by your marketing staff to improve the overall amount of online leads and foot traffic your dealership receives.

Car Dealer Marketing Services

Every automotive dealer must participate in various forms of marketing to acquire new leads, and ultimately, buyers. Most dealerships typically use a combination of traditional marketing tactics like TV commercials, radio advertisements, magazine advertisements, direct mail campaigns and even billboards. While these options have worked in the past and continue to work today, they aren’t as effective as they once were.

Radio and television usage in its current state is declining rapidly. Variety say’s that, “40% of all consumers in the U.S. by 2020 will show little interest in traditional media, having grown up in an on-demand digital environment.”

With that being the case, it is very important to transition your auto dealer advertising dollars into a digital marketing strategy that works for your dealership…and by “works”, we mean generate sales. If resources allow, continue your traditional marketing efforts. Be sure to be strategic and leverage whatever advanced targeting may be accessible. However, if you’re looking to find this newer generation of buyers, a proper digital marketing strategy for dealerships will be necessary.

Car Dealer Website

In order for the auto dealer digital marketing to be effective, you must have a responsive web design with a great user experience. Page loading speed is extremely important. High quality vehicle images are imperative to the success of any car dealer advertising. Include well written vehicle descriptions (consider re-writing the descriptions provided by the manufacturer) on the vehicle pages.

Your website needs to have prominent access to the main call to actions that convert visitors into buyers like:

Inventory Search – When the website receives visitors, hopefully they will be in one of two different scenarios. Ideally, they are looking for a vehicle to purchase quickly or have a specific vehicle they want, and they believe you carry it. Either way, upon visiting the website, they’ll want to the search your inventory.
Virtual Demonstration – Include any videos (likely provided by manufacturer) that show the vehicle in use. This type of media helps push users along the sales path.
Credit Application – Make sure it’s available to submit online with quick approval or disapproval. This is usually the first step towards making the purchase official.
Schedule A Test Drive – Once the user has found the vehicle they want, and been approved, you want to get them into your dealership as soon as possible. Depending on resources and location, you may offer a ride to expedite their arrival to your location.

Once you have the core foundation of the website in place, launch it. Over time, consistently add your vehicles, dealership content and the proper CTAs. With testing and data-driven web design, you can make the adjustments and allow the growth of your company to drive the design of the website.

Add Google Analytics to effectively track where website visitors are coming from and how they engage with your website. Within Analytics, create audiences based on website visitors and the pages they visit. This will be important later. Don’t forget to include backend marketing automation. We prefer Hubspot — It integrates seamlessly with WordPress, and creates the opportunity to enhance your customer relations and marketing.

Now, you have a new car dealer website and the tools in place to convert website visitors into online leads and foot traffic. What kind of automotive digital marketing can be used to generate traffic to your new website?

Car Dealer SEO

Most small dealerships are in a certain area and generally serve the people in that community. Bigger dealerships tend to be more accessible and attract buyers from further distances. Dealerships that sell new cars typically have marketing support from the manufacturers of those cars.

There are franchise dealerships, like CarMax, that will deliver vehicles to the location of the buyer’s choice. Newer companies, like Carvana, allow you to purchase a car online and have it delivered or pick up at a designated location. Luxury dealerships, like BMW, provide rides to the dealership.

Regardless of the size, all dealerships want to be found online to showcase their inventory, and ultimately, sell cars. With so many options for purchasing a vehicle and an enormous amount of competition, how does a car dealership optimize their website to be competitive?

SEO for a dealership needs to be executed differently from most small businesses. Normally, one could write high quality content, build high authoritative backlinks, showcase expertise in a certain area, and that would be enough to generate decent online traffic. However, for a dealership this just the beginning. Auto dealer marketing requires implementing local SEO best practices and strategic social media marketing.

Local SEO for any company involves claiming and optimizing directory profiles like Google My Business. There are hundreds of different directories available and, your company’s information must be consistent across them. It’s a tedious process when done manually. Find a YEXT certified company (like MARION) to manage correcting your local listings. Once these listings are claimed and updated with the correct business information, you can begin to market your cars, trucks, vans, tractors, mowers, or whatever type of dealership you have, within those directories.

**Check the accuracy of your local listings here**

Add the images, descriptions and prices of the vehicles to each directory. Also include the offer you are promoting. Consistent updates across all profiles with this information will bolster the traffic received from the internet. This will require consistent management depending on how fast your vehicles sell. Repurpose the same images, prices, descriptions and links to your website on your social media platforms.

If you don’t have the bandwidth to manage your own search engine optimization efforts, consider partnering with reputable SEO companies in your area.

Car Dealer PPC

Paid search strategies for a dealership should be used to support the SEO and Social Media strategies that are in place. Remember the “audiences” we established earlier in Google Analytics? Using Google Ads, we can create promotions that target those audiences specifically. For example, your dealership has GMC Yukon for sale on your website. That website page gets found in a search by someone looking for a used GMC Yukon. Once the user visited the webpage, they were added to the “audience” we created. You create advertisements for a GMC Yukon that only display to that audience, so once the user has left your website, the ads will display to them. This strategy is called remarketing and is proven to be extremely effective. This can be done across websites that are in Google’s Display Network.

Facebook and Instagram offer similar retargeting options. Once the visitor leaves your website and begins swiping through their social media channels, your GMC Yukon ads will be displayed.

All of the platforms will charge you when someone clicks on the ads. Pay-per-click advertising is usually more targeted and costs less.

Review Your Current Auto Dealer Marketing Services

There are dealer marketing services that include an array of digital and traditional marketing strategies. Which techniques you use will depend on the size of your dealership and the frequency at which you sell vehicles. It also depends on resources and how fast you want to grow the dealership.

Billboards, direct mail and commercials can help market a dealership. An aggressive digital marketing strategy for an auto dealer can prove to generate leads and potential buyers online. Any traditional marketing should be used to support the digital efforts.

If you represent a dealership and are looking for digital marketing techniques, try the strategies mentioned above for about six months and review your results. Or, you can leverage the expertise and resources of a marketing agency to see faster results.

Contact MARION today for an analysis of your current automotive marketing strategy.

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Social Media Hashtag Dos and Don’ts for Businesses

A coworker of mine here at MARION recently gave me a # symbol cookie cutter. She said she saw it at the store and just had to get it for me.

11 years ago, I’d think “what am I supposed to do with a number sign cookie cutter?” But now… everything has changed.

It’s not just a number sign anymore. We are in the age of the hashtag, my friends.

Through the rise of social media, this once seemingly unimportant character has become a major tool for both people and business alike to engage on social media and get their content noticed.

So how did this whole hashtag thing start anyway?

One fateful day, August 23, 2007 to be exact, the hashtag was born. Designer Chris Messina tweeted to his followers to ask how they felt about using the number sign to group conversations on the platform. And as they say, the rest was history.

Over the next few years, other social platforms began adopting the hashtag— Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn. Flash forward to today and the hashtag is everywhere, even the cookie cutter aisle.

But the hashtag is so much more than just a pop culture phenomenon — it’s a powerful tool to drive social success.

Hashtags are likely the most popular means of categorizing content on social media. They make your content more discoverable, allow you to find relevant content from others and engage with users based on a common theme. In fact, tweets with hashtags get two times more engagement than those without and Instagram posts get 12.6% more engagement. The stats don’t lie folks!

But of course, in order to see these kinds of results, you must be using the hashtag correctly. Today, I’ll share the dos and don’ts of hashtagging for businesses that you need to know.

Do: adjust your tags based on the platform

Yes, hashtags are everywhere these days, but the way they should be used still varies based on the platform.

Take these graphs for example.

Source: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/how-to-use-hashtags/

Note how the number of hashtags used on each post performs differently based on the social platform. While adding nine hashtags on Instagram can get your post some seriously strong engagement, the same amount of tags performs horribly on Twitter and Facebook.

Different platforms also use hashtags in different ways. On Twitter, hashtags are a way to find and participate in conversations.

Instagram uses hashtags to compile all photos with the same tag into one stream, allowing your pictures to be discovered by a broad audience and giving you the chance to explore new profiles. You can even follow hashtags on Instagram to stay in the know.

Facebook is a little different. Unlike Instagram and Twitter, where people tend to keep their profiles public, Facebook users often keep their profiles private, making their hashtags undiscoverable. This is why most hashtagging on the platform is done by brands and influencers.

LinkedIn, a late adopter of hashtags, has recently given hashtags a larger presence on its site, in hopes of improving feed relevancy. It now shows posts at the top of users’ feeds containing hashtags that they have followed and expressed interest in.

Do: take the time to do your research

Social media is an investment of your time and money. If your content is not reaching consumers, you’re just posting for posting’s sake — which is basically pointless.

It is well worth the time and effort to do some thorough research now to find the right hashtags for your business, so you can reap the rewards later.

To get started, look at the hashtags that influencers and your competition are using. This is a great starting place for understanding what’s trending in your industry.

You’ll then want to use a number of different free online tools to discover related hashtags and research the popularity of tags you are considering. I recommend checking out this great free guide from Hootsuite for more info and specific platform suggestions.

Don’t: spam your audience

Just because you can put 30 hashtags in your post, doesn’t mean you should.

Hashtag stuffing is not best practice. It’s tacky and honestly, it just makes your brand look desperate. While it may get you some followers, they won’t be the right kind, as they’ll likely be spammers or people just looking to be followed back.

Always focus on being specific, and only including hashtags that truly relate to your post and the conversation.

Don’t: make punctuation or capitalization errors

When using multiword hashtags, capitalize each word in the tag to make it easy to read. For example: #NationalCheeseDay (yum.)

Don’t put your hashtag in all caps, unless it’s an acronym. This makes it feel like your shouting, which is a no no. Also, don’t try to use any punctuation in your hashtag. It breaks up the tag, making it ineffective. For example, if you tried to tag #It’sPartyTime, it would actually tag the word“#It” and “‘spartytime” would be written as plain text.

Well, there you have it — how to use hashtags for your business the right way. If you don’t have the bandwidth to manage your company’s social media presence, feel free to contact MARION for a free consultation on social media marketing services for your business.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and get to #ing!

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5 Best Practices for Social Media Crisis Communication and Management

There are more than two billion active registered users worldwide on Facebook. Twitter has more than 300 million active users. In addition, there are nearly 500 niche social media sites aimed at groups as diverse as book lovers and quilting enthusiasts. Clearly, every corner of the web has a place within social media.

However, with the ability to reach many more potential customers and readers than ever before comes the potential for damage to your company image, and even your company’s existence. A post on one of your social media accounts after a crisis is delicate and powerful. Unanswered, such a post can cause your company’s brand image to take a serious hit. While there is little you can do to prevent the occasional negative post about a small service issue, you can and should have a social media communication plan in place to mitigate the damage from a major incident.

5 Steps for Social Media Crisis Communication

Social media and crisis communication go hand in hand because of the audience involvement on social platforms. Over the years, social media has transformed from a separate medium for sharing content to a personal extension of a user’s identity. For this reason, company feedback on social media platforms is nearly as strong as word of mouth about your business. Thus, using social media for crisis communication is one of the most impactful ways to represent your brand when it counts.

At the MARION marketing company in Houston, we’ve discovered these five tips after offering Houston social media marketing services for years.

1. Be listening

The worst thing you can do in the event of a social media crisis is to ignore the situation. Whatever the truth of the issue, ignoring a negative situation, even until you can gather all of the information, makes it appear that your company doesn’t care. However, you can’t react to something you don’t see. That’s why it’s important to have someone monitoring your social media pages regularly for anything that needs a response. If you don’t have the time or workers to do this type of monitoring, there is software available to scan your social media profiles for you.

2. Acknowledge the situation

The first step after you realize your company has a crisis situation is to acknowledge it. For instance, if a customer had a bad experience with a sales rep, or if you ran out of inventory during a promotion, it’s essential to address the situation. Even if it’s only to say that you are gathering the facts and will post more when you have further information, acknowledging your customer’s issue is important.

3. Apologize if appropriate

When your company has made a mistake, the best thing you can do is to admit it. American culture is one of forgiveness. Our society hates a cover-up, but will embrace remorse if genuine.

4. Encourage comments

This may not seem like the best plan, but it’s better to let readers and customers vent on your social media pages, where you can directly respond to their qualms. The alternative is to let them bad-mouth your company or spread misinformation to their friends, coworkers and neighbors – you don’t want that.

5. Social media should be only part of your crisis management plan

While approximately 70 percent of Americans use Facebook, only about 2.6 percent of your readers see any given page, according to a study by Pew Research. That means if you rely solely (or even primarily) on social media for your crisis communications, you’re missing the bulk of your audience.

Social Media Crisis Management Best Practices

using social media for crisis communication

Social media crisis management, like other types of crisis management, requires that you maintain a calm, impartial attitude that isn’t likely to inflame or upset people reading the post. It’s also important to put all the information about the crisis in one place, such as a separate page on your Facebook portal. You can then reference it from your news feed, but your readers won’t have to go back and forth repeatedly and risk missing a crucial part of the report.

Advantages of Using Social Media in Crisis Communications

Social media can also be very useful for communicating with your customers in the event of a crisis. This can be a location or warehouse shutting down due to weather or a natural disaster. It could also be a principal of your company being charged with a crime or allegations of things like food poisoning in a restaurant or embezzlement in a bank.

Social media allows you to quickly reach many people without spending a lot of money. It also lets you easily monitor the reaction to your crisis management campaign and track the progress to recovery.

Disadvantages of Using Social Media During a Crisis

While there are decided advantages to using social media in crisis communications, there are a few downsides. Chief among these is the push to address a problem before all of the facts and information have been gathered and verified. This can lead to putting out misinformation that is nearly impossible to rein in after the fact. In addition, only about two-thirds of the American public uses social media and, of those, a much smaller percentage accesses their accounts daily.

You’ll also need a staff person to monitor social media posts and comments in real time, as social media reaction can rapidly get out of control if you don’t respond to comments and posts quickly.

In short, an effective social media marketing campaign can be a very useful tool in quickly dealing with a crisis situation. However, it’s important to know this medium’s limitations and vulnerabilities so that it becomes a positive tool, not a negative one.

To learn more about creating an effective social media crisis communication plan or for a quote on ongoing digital marketing services, contact MARION today.

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Category: Marketing Campaigns

How to Find a Trend to Hijack

Should My Business Tweet About This Topic?

1. Is it on brand?

2. Have I been trendjacking too much or too recently?

3. Is it timely?

3 Trends to Avoid Completely

1. Death, Tragedy, and Serious Events

2. Problematic Hashtags

3. Easily Misinterpreted Hashtags

Get Expert Help from MARION!

Mobile Internet Usage vs. Desktop

16 Top Mobile Optimization Statistics

1. 9 in 10 users who enroll in SMS loyalty programs feel they’ve gained some form of value

2. 70% of consumers delete emails almost immediately that don’t render well on mobile devices

3. 69% of consumers are more likely to buy from companies whose mobile site helps them find answers to their questions

4. SMS response rates are 8 times higher than email

5. Mobile advertising is expected to represent 72% of all U.S. digital ad spend by 2019

6. 70% of users report disliking mobile ads

7. Google drives 96% of mobile search traffic

8. 48% of millennials view video solely on their mobile device

9. 68% of businesses have begun integrating mobile marketing into their marketing strategy

10. 48% of consumers turn to search engines for mobile searches

11. 61% of users are unlikely to return to a website they had trouble accessing with mobile devices

12. 64% of Pinterest’s referred traffic comes from tablets or smartphones

13. Users spend 80% of their social media time on mobile devices

14. Over 50% of smartphone users immediately reach for their smartphone the moment they wake up

15. 57% of mobile users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site

16. 50% of mobile search is aimed at local businesses

Incorporating Mobile Web Statistics into Your Marketing Strategy

10 Best Social Media Campaigns

1. Disney #ShareYourEars Campaign

2. Taco Bell Jewelry Influencer Campaign

3. Always #LikeAGirl Campaign

4. Spotify Wrapped

5. KFC’s Twitter Herbs and Spices

6. Apple #ShotOniPhone Campaign

7. Airbnb: We Are Here Facebook Live Campaign

8. OfficeMax Elf Yourself

9. Lonely Whale Foundation #StopSucking Campaign

10. #StraightOuttaCompton Movie Campaign

Contact MARION for Help Building Innovative Social Media Campaigns Today!

What Is a Marketing Retainer?

How Does a Marketing Retainer Agreement Work?

The Benefits of a Marketing Retainer

What Is a Marketing Project?

How Does a Marketing Project Work?

Benefits of Marketing Projects

Choosing the Correct Marketing Agency Fees to Reach Your Objectives

3 Reasons to Choose a Marketing Retainer

1. You Require a Broad Range of Services

2. Your Timeline Is Longer than Six Months

3. Need Prioritization Over Projects

2 Reasons to Choose a Marketing Project

1. You Have One-time Needs

2. You Have Short-term Deliverables

Understanding How Advertising Agencies Charge for Services

Digital Marketing Ideas For Schools

School Website Development & Maintenance

Local SEO for Schools

Social Media Marketing for Schools

Email Marketing for Schools

Pay Per Click Management for Schools

Contact MARION for School Marketing Ideas & Implementation

SEO vs. SMM

1. Which Topics Perform Well?

SEO

Social Media Marketing

2. Which Format Performs Best?

SEO

Social Media Marketing

3. Does SEO/SMM Convert Better?

SEO

Social Media Marketing

4. Can You Grow an Audience Faster with SEO or Social Media?

SEO

Social Media Marketing

5. How Long Do Results Last?

SEO

Social Media Marketing