Author Archives: WebSolvers, Inc.

Facebook Advertising – Is It Really Worth It?

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It seems like everyone is spending a crazy amount of time on these newfangled social media sites. In fact, nearly 1 in every 5 minutes spent online is spent using social media. That is a lot of time and it is only going to increase. So what does that mean for you? Well, Facebook has implemented a very advanced advertising system that is just begging for you to take advantage of it.

Social Media Examiner breaks down Facebook’s ad system which has three sales channels: Direct, Inside and Online.

  • Direct sales deals with the largest global brands, for which Facebook has dedicated account teams to manage the relationship directly with the advertiser and their agencies. These are generally referred to as managed accounts.
  • Inside sales handles the next tier of clients, who may be spending in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on Facebook. These clients will have a sales rep whom they deal with directly to buy advertising, but they don’t have quite the same level of strategic support as managed accounts.
  • Online channel. There are companies developing products on top of Facebook’s Marketing/Ads APIs to facilitate the buying process for self-serve advertisers.

If you’re willing to shell out the big bucks for advertising on Facebook, it is best to contact them directly. Otherwise head over to the Facebook ad page and get started!

Facebook makes it easy to target a specific audience. Oh, you’re interested in selling to males, ages 16-18, who live in Boston and play World of Warcraft? Well you can – with just a click of a button. The Facebook advertising platform offers the ability to target your ad to specific segments such as Location, Age, Sex, Relationship Status, Interests and more. This leads to more bang for your buck, because you are not wasting your marketing efforts on users not in your target audience.

According to comScore, after seeing an ad on Facebook from a major offline US-based retailer, fans and their friends bought 56% more frequently online from this retailer. 70% of brand campaigns also showed a return on ad spend of 3x or better. But, that information comes from a study done in conjunction with Facebook, so take those numbers with a grain of salt.

So how effective are Facebook ads? Recently released reports suggest that the ROI on Facebook ads are not as effective as  advertisers expect them to be. A recent study found that less than 1 in 20 users returns to a brand page within 30 days of having ‘liked’ it. According to a new poll from the Associated Press and CNBC, nearly 60% of Facebook users don’t click on ads or sponsored content.

General Motors, the 7th largest advertiser in the US, also pulled their paid advertising from Facebook because GM executives felt that Facebook ads had little effect on consumers’ car purchases. Sources said that Facebook doesn’t provide consistent, clear-cut metrics that prove advertising on their sites works. GM wasn’t feeling the results so they pulled ads – which has caused quite a stir amongst advertisers.

Another example shows Ajith Prasad Edassery, founder of Dollar Shower, who spent $27.51 on Facebook ads and saw the following results: 1.27million impressions, 303 clicks, and zero sales. So, while a large audience saw his ad, very few clicked it and not one user purchased anything. However, that does not mean that Facebook ads are ineffective. Adam Dion of Synergy Beads has seen a substantial increase in sales through Facebook ads. Every $50 of Facebook ads brings him between $220 and $250 of revenue per month.

Facebook is a platform built around socializing with friends and sharing information, not shopping. There is something to be said for the ineffectiveness of traditional ads on Facebook. If you’re looking to run ads on Facebook, your best bet is to drive visitors to your Facebook page and earn customers from there. In reality, 45.7% of advertisers use Facebook ads to build awareness and brand sentiment, not generate leads.

The effectiveness of Facebook ads will vary from case to case. It is best to try out the ad platform with a few different variation of ads and take it forward from there. See which one makes sense for your business. Finding your sweet spot with ads will help drive more fans to your Facebook page and more fans to your services. Just make sure to keep an eye on your results to make sure you’re getting the most from your money.

Twitter Advertising – is it Worth it?

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Hopefully by now you’ve seen our post on Facebook ads and have decided if they are right for your business. Well, Facebook isn’t the only social media site that makes it easy to advertise to users – Twitter is doing the same. In 2011, Twitter was boasting 100 million active users a day, who were tweeting near 33 billion times a day!

Like Facebook, Twitter can be a great tool to interact with your followers and gain exposure. But, the little blue bird has its own way of doing things – instead of standard ads, Twitter lets you advertise by promoting tweets, trends and accounts. SproutSocial does a fantastic job highlighting the differences:

  • Twitter Promoted Tweets - Promoted tweets appear at the top of Twitter search results pages, or near the top of a member’s Twitter timeline when they  log in. They look like regular tweets with the addition of a “Promoted” label. Promoted Tweets that appear in search results help brands reach consumers who aren’t necessarily following the brands on Twitter.
  • Twitter Promoted Trends - Promoted Trends are trending topic links that appear on the Twitter home page. These are topics that Twitter considers to be the most popular, real-time conversations on Twitter.
  • Twitter Promoted Accounts - Promoted Accounts are specific Twitter account links that appear at the top of profile search results pages and at the top of the “Who to follow” section on the Twitter home page. Brands use Promoted Accounts to raise awareness, increase followers, and connect with an audience that is likely to be interested in its tweets.

As you can see, Twitter ads work quite differently than Facebook ads – this is a result of how the platform operates and how users interact with it. Users on Twitter seem to be more receptive to ads than those on Facebook. Around 21.6% of Twitter users claim they have used a discount through a promoted tweet ad, and 21.2% have discovered new brands to follow on Twitter through promoted tweets. Twitter users feel ads are more relevant to their interests than Facebook users.

Coke saw massive success with their first promoted tweet back in 2010. The soda mogul saw over 85 million impressions and a 6% engagement rate, as opposed to the usual .02% seen from other web-based advertising. That translates to around 5 million people interacting with that ad in just a days time. For what advertisers are calling ‘relatively cheap’, Twitter seems to work extremely well in some markets.

However, not everyone has had the same success as Coke. Small business’ are having trouble breaking into the profitable Twittersphere. After spending $154 on ads, Jessica Hughes of Custom Fit Studio suspended her advertising, having gained fewer than a dozen new followers. Twitter’s ads do not seem to be as beneficial to most local businesses, although small online companies may have greater success because their lack of ‘locality’. Local businesses should instead try Facebook Ads for its specific targeting options.

While targeting locally may not be effective for business on Twitter, interacting with users directly can be.  About 67% of Twitter users said they would be more apt to make a purchase from a follower, while 51% of Facebook users said the same. You can also take into account that more than 40% of Twitter users follow at least one brand.

As with everything, only you can decide if Twitter Ads are right for you.

What is Mobile Web Design and why is it Important to Marketers?

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Looking to see your site stats? Check out MetricPulse.It is 2012. While we are still a few years away from hoverboards, the future is definitely here. Computers have already made the jump from our desks to our hands. Smartphones, tablets, 3G and wifi have changed how we use technology and it is now possible to access the internet from almost anywhere.

Mobile viewers are growing – and they’re growing fast. Between 2009 and 2011 mobile viewers increased by 1000%. That is crazy fast! As a result, almost 15% of all web traffic is now originating from mobile devices. The numbers are there and by all indication mobile viewers are going to continue to increase. Reports say that by 2015 half of the US population will have access websites through a mobile device. That means that if you have a website, odds are people are trying to visit it on their phones.

You should already have a website for your business by now, so you’re already off to a good start. But unfortunately, having a website doesn’t automatically mean mobile viewers will have a pleasant experience while visiting your website on their smartphones. Most sites do not adjust well from a traditional screen to that of a mobile device, which can be as small as 3 inches across. 57% of mobile users would not recommend a business with a bad mobile site. It is in the best interest of your company to have a mobile site that stands its own against competitors.

Users are generally looking for 3 things: Speed, Functionality and Searchability.

  • Speed: Users who access your content from their mobile devices are most likely on the move, which means that they have significantly less access to high speed internet. As a result, the size of images and content should be considered. Having a condensed mobile site with smaller images with help keep load times down.
  • Functionality: A mobile websites goals are different than that of the traditional site. For one, users navigate with their fingers, not a mouse. So, navigation needs to be simplified. Buttons need to be large and clear. Make sure that next is an appropriate size and can be read without zooming. 95% of mobile users have used their smartphone to look for information such as address, phone number, and office hours.
  • Searchability: mobile sites aren’t as instinctively easy to navigate so it is important to have a search box prominently displayed for users as well as buttons to quick links to the most popular pages. 40% of users who get lost or have a bad experience on a mobile site turned to a competitor.

Like a band-aid, a user’s mobile experience should be quick and painless. Mobile sites should be designed to direct them to the information they are looking for in the fewest steps possible. By taking taking this guide to account, and focusing on the suggestions provided, you can keep your mobile users happy and assure that your site will stand a strong chance of success.

 

Pinterest – What is it and can it benefit my business?

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Pinterest. Odds are you’ve heard the name recently (most likely from your wife or technology addicted daughter), but you’re not quite sure what it is. “A digital pinboard? With pictures? Well that is just great, but why should I care?”. Well, I’ll tell you exactly why you should care about Pinterest and what it could mean for your business.

What is it?
Pinterest is a social network that allows users to visually share their interests by pinning images and links on a digital pinboard. Pins consists of images or videos that link to a source location. Users create a Pinboard which consist of multiple pins, usually of the same theme. Users can upload pins directly, or pin things the find on the internet using Pinterest bookmarklet, Pin-It button, or URL.

Let’s simplify it a bit. The main focus of Pinterest is the sharing of quality photos. Users can re-pin a photo they like on their own boards and broadcast that to their followers. Basically, it is a social network for visual collectors.

How does it benefit my business?
Pinerest can be beneficial to your business in many ways. It is all about how you use it. The possibilities Pinterest can provide are promising, especially for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and shops.

Any business that relies on website traffic to increase sales should consider investing some time into Pinterest. Early research indicates that Pinterest may be more effective at driving traffic than other social media sites. According to Shareaholic, Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Google Plus, LinkedIn and YouTube combined and also managed to beat out Twitter. 90% of Pinterest’s user base are women between the ages of 25 to 34. While men may be jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon soon enough, right now the ladies are leading the way. This presents a very clear demographic of who is spending time on Pinterest, and who your content should be targeting. Just by scanning the numbers, if your customers are on Pinterest you should be too.

You can think of Pinterest as a marketplace that lets your customers advertise for you. Posting a photo of a product allows users to like, comment, and re-pin that photo onto their own boards for their followers to see. This drives more visitors to your website where you can sell them the product directly.

Pinterest, like all social media, may not be right for you. If you work with any form of e-commerce than Pinterest is right up your alley. It gives you a platform to display and advertise your products in a way that lets users interact and share them. It is also great for discounts and sales. If your business doesn’t translate well into images or videos, Pinterest could still work for you, but you’ll have to get more creative. As with all social media Pinterest should focus on engaging followers and building relationships with them.

Walk Me Through It
Lets break it down into a real world example. Let’s say you work at Toms and you’re in charge of marketing their new line of wedding shoes. You take an awesome, sharable, interesting picture and pin it to the Tom’s Wedding board. When a user clicks the photo it links them to the Tom’s Wedding catalog on the Toms website. Users who come across the photo can re-pin it on their own boards like “My Style” or “Wedding Ideas” for their followers to see.

Because users follow boards that they’re interested in, a photo is automatically exposed to an audience that cares about that specific content. Photos of wedding dresses won’t end up on a tech-nerd’s Pinterest board. So, the photo of your product is reaching an users who would actually be interested in buying the promoted product. By simple posting an interesting photo of wedding shoes, Tom’s has advertised their new wedding line directly to their target audience.

Why does it matter?
Pinterest will give you unparalleled access into the mind of your consumer. By visiting fans pages you can easily identify buyer personas and create a more detailed map of your consumers. This insight is valuable in creating marketing campaigns, advertisements and future products.

Pinterest is pioneering a new an innovative way for companies to sell and advertise their products by focusing on products visual appeal through well done photography.

It is not just about promoting products that you think a user might want, but also why they would want the products and how they function in their daily lives.

Who is doing it right?
Etsy - Sitting comfortably with 102,000+ followers, Etsy has it figured out. Sticking to the theme of the website, Etsy’s pinboards consist mostly of homemade goods, vintage clothing and DIY projects. Other boards promote how their products can spice up your daily life. This is not only showing what users what they need, but also why they need it and what it can do for them.

Example: Users look through Etsy’s ‘Cool Spaces’ board to find ideas for decorating a new apartment. An image of an innovative bookshelf shows the price and links directly to the store when clicked. Simple!

Quick Tips

  • If your business doesn’t naturally photograph well (like us bloggers for example) there are still ways to take advantage of Pinterest. Every site has some form of visual assets that they can utilize into interesting pins – you just have to get creative! Try using Infographics, charts or other data visualizations to get a point across, or create a stimulating title card or poster for blog posts. Still stumped? Think outside the box. Snap some photos of the office environment, people you work with and customers.
  • Hire a photographer. The real success with Pinterest lies with having the most interesting and appealing photographs. Nothing can hold you back more than sloppy photography. Strive to create something eye-catching – it will help your content spread faster.
  • Create pin-boards that don’t focus on advertising your specific products, but related to what you do in your day-to-day business. Show what you represent, what you enjoy, and who you are. Add some life into your Pinterest – let it take on a personality. Remember, social media should be about engaging fans first and selling your products second.
  • Pinterest eloquently displays the price of a product if you note it in the description.

 

WebSolvers Snags Rich Wahl To Further Fuel Its Growth

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Industry Veteran Rich Wahl Returns to Central Florida to Join Forward-Thinking Marketing and Communications Agency

Rich Wahl, Principal of Innovation and Development

Rich Wahl, Principal of Innovation and Development

Orlando, Fla. (October 11, 2012)—He’s back. Ad agency veteran and marketing industry leader Rich Wahl is returning to his roots in Orlando to join WebSolvers, a digitally dominant design, marketing, branding and communications agency headquartered in Baldwin Park. Wahl will be the Principal, Innovation and Development, leading the charge with agency operations, development and client management.

Wahl, who co-founded and served as president and chief operating officer of Push for more than 14 years, joined The Duffy Agency in 2010, with its headquarters in Malmö, Sweden. He led the company’s United States operations as managing partner in Boston. Rich’s experience with the international agency provided connections with such brands as the United Nations, the Boston Globe, Schneider Electric, Reckitt Benckiser, Almirall, Textappeal and Jones & Bartlett Learning.

While Wahl was building business for the Duffy Agency in the Northeast, Central Florida-based WebSolvers was busy growing its business as well. In fact, in the face of a bleak economy, WebSolvers grew by nearly 30 percent in 2012, bucking the trend of the vast majority of agencies whose revenues have remained flat at best, and down in a more likely scenario.

“We’re narrowly focused on helping our clients find and win new customers. The addition of Kelly Lafferman to our firm late last year has helped to widen our expertise dramatically. Combining her capabilities in brand marketing and communications strategy with our 17 year track record in interactive communications has really resonated with clients.”, said Matt Certo, CEO and Principal of WebSolvers. “As we have moved forward on this path, the opportunity to add Rich Wahl to our group was a natural fit. I have admired Rich’s talents and abilities for years and been particularly impressed by his track record of client and agency growth. His experience with brands such as Walt Disney World®, Orlando Health and the United Nations will bring added strategic perspective and tactical experience to the growing client roster at WebSolvers. His passion, imagination and relentlessness have become his trademark for success. I think our agency and clients stand to benefit a great deal by his presence.”

Wahl, a graduate of the University of Florida, always knew he wanted to be a leader in the advertising industry. He began his career with Vergason•Sojourner•Johns. Following a three-year stint at VSJ, Wahl founded his first agency, Gregory & Wahl, which later became Wahl & Company.

In 1996, Wahl teamed up with two other ad industry leaders to found Push, where he was instrumental building and managing the company over a 14-year period. At Push, Wahl helped to obtain and retain a client roster that included The Walt Disney World® Resort, Disneyland® Resort, Visit Orlando, AT&T Wireless, Florida Citrus Sports, The Orlando Sentinel, The Kessler Collection, Orlando Health, Pointe*Orlando, Middleton Lawn & Pest Control, CHEP Americas, Smokey Bones Bar & Grill, The Melting Pot, Tijuana Flats, Earl of Sandwich, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Lake Nona.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Matt, Kelly and me. I have always been impressed with Matt’s industry-leading business approach and the company’s 17-years of success. Kelly and I actually went to high school together and she was my client at one point. The three of us have a unique synergy and share the same passions for success and innovation. I am really looking forward to working with WebSolvers’ diverse client mix.” -Rich Wahl

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About WebSolvers
WebSolvers is a digital marketing agency based in Orlando, Fla. In true entrepreneurial spirit, Matt Certo founded the company in his Rollins College dorm room at the age of 19. With the support and partnership of Sam Certo, Steinmetz Professor of Management at the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, Matt Certo launched the original Website for Rollins College. WebSolvers helps organizations find and win customers through Web development, mobile app creation, branding, social media marketing, search marketing as well as traditional marketing services.