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Month: November 2019

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Edmonton Marketing: 6 Trends for 2020

The marketing world moves faster every year, bringing new trends with each change of the calendar. If you’re part of the digital marketplace, you’re one of countless businesses competing for space in an evolving battleground. Many companies are turning to full-service digital marketing agencies to handle their online presence. We’re DM Collective, a digital marketing collective based in Calgary and serving the Alberta metro area.

How We Can Help

We specialize in services including SEO, web design, digital advertising, social media management, and developing a comprehensive online presence.

The Edmonton marketing world in 2020 is a competitive place, and every business needs a detailed strategy to stand out. DM Collective in Calgary, Alberta is ready to deliver digital marketing services for your company. Read on to discover everything you need to know about the top Edmonton marketing trends of 2020.

Edmonton Marketing: 6 Trends for 2020

Greater Advertiser Targeting

The days of putting out a large blast of ads hoping to get views on a popular social media platform are behind you thanks to advertising micro-targeting. Studies show that most people disregard ads that aren’t relevant to their interests, so companies are getting better at researching their target audience.

Once a business knows who is most likely to be interested in their product, they know where to advertise and what approach to take. One of the most effective advertising techniques is to not let your audience know they’re seeing an ad.

How It Works

People search out great content on the internet, and many of the most effective ads are designed to look like content. Sponsored articles on blogs relevant to your customer base’s interests are a great way to raise awareness and attention.

Studies show that while a majority of readers ignore ads, tailored messages and relevant content boost purchase rates to over one-third. Algorithms are making it easier to ensure your customer base only sees the ads they’re likely to act on.

Automation Is the Future

Great customer service used to mean having on-staff agents for interaction with potential and existing customers, fielding questions and responding to complaints. This was effective, but not time and cost-efficient for growing companies. That’s why many companies in the Edmonton marketing field are turning to chatbots and other automated systems.

How They Work

Chatbots are pre-programmed software with hundreds of answers to commonly asked questions for your business. Studies show that most customer service queries fall in a few categories, making it easy to process and resolve many questions without the help of a human behind the computer screen.

For questions without a response in the chatbot, the program will refer the person to call back during business hours or connect them to someone on staff.

The ideal chatbot is courteous but businesslike, cutting down on the chatter and awkwardness that can sometimes come with talking to a customer service representative. They can also be programmed in multiple languages to account for the market’s growing diversity.

The Growing Mobile Marketplace

Many older companies started their digital marketing strategy when the desktop was king and are finding themselves left behind due to an old website. Over half of customers now surf the internet and make their purchases on mobile devices, making a mobile-friendly website essential. Part of any 2020 digital marketing strategy should include making sure all parts of your website are mobile-friendly.

What It Involves

A mobile-friendly website should have easy-to-read text with buttons that are responsive and set apart from other functions. The landing page should have minimal features and guide people visually to the points you want them to focus on. This includes the purchase link and any other key content or informational links.

Many companies are also communicating more through mobile. If you have a private messaging system for customer service, many companies are using WhatsApp, WeChat, or Facebook Messenger for easy communication.

Personalization Is Key

Using algorithms to study the behavior of potential customers is a popular and occasionally controversial technique to target likely buyers. The centralization of internet use among a network of major websites owned by tech conglomerates allows companies to collect data on those customers’ search history and social media activity.

This allows major ad networks like Google, Facebook, and Twitter to create personalized advertising outputs for each of their visitors. While some platforms have courted controversy for selling user data to outside customers, the majority use this technique effectively to advertise partner products to interested parties.

How It Works

A popular example is showing advertising for attractions in a certain city after a visitor has searched for hotels in that area. Rolling out an ad campaign with Twitter or Google is worth the investment because, thanks to their algorithm, you get thousands of tailored ad campaigns.

Changes In SEO

Search engine optimization is one of the oldest techniques in digital marketing, but it’s evolved significantly since the early days that focused on keyword use. Combining search engine data with individual customer profiles allows the algorithms to boost results for websites that viewers are likely to be most interested in.

Microtargeting is a way to let more than one site get the benefit of being the top hit. Google and other search engines have become savvier at separating real search engine optimization from attempts to game the system. That’s why it’s especially important for clients in the Edmonton marketing field to have a solid strategy. Many agencies boast of their SEO strategy, but too many still rely on discredited techniques that could get your ranking penalized by Google.

Transparency and Trust

Customers are becoming savvier by the day, and one of the biggest things they’re demanding from tech companies is greater disclosure on how their data is used. It’s easy for a company to switch things up after a failed marketing pitch, but it’s less easy to rebuild trust.

That’s why the most effective digital marketing companies are being more upfront with their strategy and how they approach customers. Having a full-service digital marketing agency like DM Collective handling your strategy is a good move because you have experts in digital ethics at your disposal.

How It Works

When you work with us, you get access to a full suite of the top statistical tools and you have the authority to decide what is released to the public. Greater communication with the public about your marketing strategy makes it easy to establish your core values with the customer and open yourself up to constructive suggestions.

Let DM Collective Conquer the Edmonton Marketing Field for Your Company

Staying current in the fast-paced world of Edmonton marketing is critical to keeping ahead of your competition. No matter what field of business you’re in, you’re competing for a slot in the crowded digital marketplace and one smart move can send you to the head of the pack. That’s why many top businesses are turning to the experts in the field.

Contact us at DM Collective in Calgary, Alberta today. We’re serving clients in the Alberta metro area and beyond with full-service digital marketing support, including one-on-one consulting and a centralized dashboard for all your functions.

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4 Signs It’s Time to Rethink Your Online Reputation Management Strategy

Your online reputation determines how you’re viewed by consumers and can make a big difference to your bottom line. To keep brand equity high, you have to protect your reputation from emerging threats, act quickly to resolve a crisis, and (should the worst happen) have a plan in place to rebuild your online reputation. The question? Is your online reputation management strategy working for you?

4 Signs Your Online Reputation Management Strategy Needs to Change

You Aren’t Actively Working on Social Media

If your reputation management strategy doesn’t include a proactive investment in social media, it’s time to rethink. It’s not enough to just manage bad reviews and remain passive. It’s definitely important to monitor sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor for local Calgary reviews that reference your company; but social media gives you the opportunity to go a step beyond simply responding.

These are platforms where you can control how you’re viewed by controlling what you post. Wendy’s is a great example of a brand that has embraced a particular social media presence on Twitter and run with it. Competitors got in too late and have found themselves dragging behind. They don’t have the same strong, easily defined presence on Twitter, and they often end up simply mimicking what Wendy’s is doing (and looking a little sad in the process).

You Aren’t Aggressively Monitoring Your Reputation

There’s more to reputation management than just looking for bad reviews, though these are certainly important to find and address. You also need to be proactive about blog posts, negative links on sites that search engines find spammy, and negative returns when someone searches for you online.

Many people will have their first experience with you via Google search results, so it’s not just important that your own website rank highly: you also need to get rid of negative third-party references that might pop up. Don’t dismiss these just because they’re from a third party. They can strongly influence how people feel about you.

You Don’t Have a Response Plan

A negative review is going to come. You can bet your money on this. You can monitor all you like, but what happens when you find a problem? Are you waiting until you find an issue before you decide how to respond?

Everything goes much more smoothly when you have a plan. Think through some of the important questions before a crisis happens. For example, who responds to negative comments in your company? How do you decide which comments merit a response and which do not? What Calgary, Canadian, or world issues (if any) do you want to take a public stand on, and who is responsible for making those decisions?

You Don’t Respond Quickly

Speed is of the essence when you’re trying to manage a bad situation. When someone complains about you online, it’s only a matter of moments before their closest friends and followers respond. Give it an hour or two and the issue may have gone at least locally viral.

Most people complain because they’re having a moment of anger or frustration and need to let it out. If you respond quickly, with professionalism and sympathy, you have an excellent chance of turning a negative interaction into a positive one. At the least, you’ll say something important about who you are by noticing and responding with restraint. The complainer might not notice, but others will, and that can only help you.

Turn Your Online Reputation Management Strategy Around

Your reputation means everything. If it’s time to rethink your strategy, call Digital Marketing Collective today and get local Calgary marketing professionals on your side.

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4 Amazing Things About Company Online Reputation Management You May Not Have Known

Nearly everyone is aware of online reputations and how valuable they are; but company online reputation management needs to go far beyond the basics. Read on for a few amazing things you might not have known about how important online reputation management is.

Everyone Needs It

Company online reputation management isn’t just for local Calgary companies or small-time institutions. Everyone, from the biggest Fortune 500 companies to the smallest local plumbing service provider, has to keep an eye on their online professional history.

Online reputation is mostly about managing your company’s digital presence. Depending on the situation, you may need to deal with old personal information about someone integral to the company, a bad review, or even issues that seem to have nothing to do with your business. It doesn’t matter if this information is obsolete and irrelevant: if it’s online and linked to your company, you need to stay on top of it.

You Might Not Be Doing Enough Company Online Reputation Management

If you think you’re safe because you don’t put out photos of yourself or your employees, your view is shortsighted. You shouldn’t think of the digital space as just a negative to manage and avoid. It’s also a positive to embrace.

The Internet can work for you, and by embracing what it has to offer and taking proactive charge of your online reputation, you can build your own reputation and get ahead of negative reviews.

It’s Almost Impossible to Erase a Bad Review

One of the first things people ask when they see a negative review is: “how can we erase it?” The glorious, and terrible, thing about the Internet is that you can only rarely erase anything. The Internet is a positive, free space where everyone’s views and opinions can be expressed. Even going after someone with a lawsuit is unlikely to work: in fact, it might very well backfire.

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do, however. The good news is that once you’ve buried bad publicity far enough that it disappears off the first page of a Google search, it is, for all intents and purposes, gone. Online reputation management can make that happen.

Reactive Is Not Enough

Many companies think they’ve done enough when they respond quickly to bad publicity. While that’s important, it’s the proactive reputation management that makes the biggest difference. For one thing, it costs a lot less to prevent problems than to erase them. For another, prevention and a proactive online presence solidify your brand equity and say something significant about who you are what you value.

The law is still working out what is in the “public domain,” who has access to that information, and what to do now that anyone can easily access nearly any information online and say anything they want. In the meantime, online reputation management can broadcast the values you want associated with your brand instead of leaving you to desperately react when something happens.

You Can Build Trust: Even With People You’ve Never Met

Decades ago, the only way to build trust was to interact personally with consumers and trust that they would talk to their friends and family about you. Now it’s possible to do so much more. Instead of hoping that satisfied customers might talk about you, you can talk about yourself.

You have to do this the right way, of course; but assuming you do, online reputation management gives you the power to get your own message out there instead of crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

Grab Control of Your Online Reputation

Your online reputation isn’t out of your hands. You can stay in control with the right digital media marketing company on your side. Check out Digital Marketing Collective today and see the benefits of working with a local Calgary area digital marketer committed to making your online brand all it can be.

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The 5 Most Common Mistakes People Make in Choosing Local Digital Marketing Agencies

Growing your business in the digital age means partnering with the right marketing company. You need to work with local digital marketing agencies who understand the Calgary area, how to appeal to your target demographic, and what local events and life rhythms will affect your business. At the same time, you don’t want to make a mistake in choosing a partner.

5 Mistakes People Make When Choosing Local Digital Marketing Agencies

Going Local Just for the Sake of Local

You should be choosing a local company, but you shouldn’t choose one only because they’re local. With local digital marketing agencies you get easy face-to-face interactions and prioritised help, and you never have to worry about being farmed out to people on the other side of the globe with no idea of the challenges your operation faces.

But being local isn’t enough. You still need to consider a company’s marketing skill, whether or not they can offer you full service or only work with one aspect of digital marketing, and their ability to work well with your people.

Failing to Do Your Research

Look at case studies. Consider Google ratings. Ask the hard questions about the process they’ll use, how they communicate, what they do when something doesn’t seem to work, and what metrics they’ll be using to track results.

It should go without saying, but don’t forget to check out the company’s website and blog as well as their social media presence. If they’re not doing an effective job at marketing themselves, will they be able to market you?

Falling for Pie-in-the-Sky Offers

Your great-great-grandmother probably said this, and it’s very true: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Great digital marketing companies become the best by hard work. They master the key fundamentals, keep up on the latest changes, and put enormous effort into strategy and execution. They’re experts at what they do: just like you.

If a digital marketing company is advertising some kind of secret, proprietary tactic guaranteed to get you instant results, that’s your cue to look elsewhere. A digital marketing company should be able to explain clearly what they’re going to do without prevaricating, making wild promises, or talking in meaningless generalities.

Looking at Only One Measure of Success

Effective digital marketing is about more than just SEO. It’s also email marketing, quality content and blogging, search and display advertising, web development, producing quality videos, social media management, and taking advantage of mobile marketing. Digital marketing has many complicated, inter-connected fields, and your digital marketing partner has to be able to help you with all of them.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you’ve got one thing nailed that you just need an expert to help you with one or two things. Look for a marketing partner with expertise in all areas of online marketing. Your whole marketing effort needs to be tightly integrated. Messages, videos, email offers, ads, and announcements should all be coordinated, themed, timed and released at the perfect moment.

Making It All About Money

It needs to be said: effective digital marketing isn’t cheap. It takes serious effort, concentrated attention, and learned expertise. Just as in your industry, none of that comes without effort. In some ways, you will always get what you pay for.

At the same time, the most expensive agency isn’t necessarily the best, either. To find the right agency, you have to prioritise something other than money. Take budget into account, but not at the expense of expertise, skill, and strategy.

Make the Right Choice

Work with your local Calgary-area digital marketing experts; experts with a variety of expertise in all aspects of digital marketing. Reach out to Digital Marketing Collective and get Calgary’s premier digital marketing company to work for you today.

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