Last week, in my monthly industry update (email me if you’re not on the list), I shared some ideas for businesses and organizations looking for advertising and marketing suggestions as they navigate downtown construction. city this summer and next.
This information is not just for companies that sell products online; in fact, this information is especially important if you don’t sell online. It has never been more important for traditional companies to strengthen their digital presence; while word of mouth remains the primary driver of almost all new business, digital tools are close behind.
I know some of this will sound like industry jargon, don’t worry, but if there’s anything you’re interested in learning more about, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Remember to go after the low-hanging fruit; keep my office, the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Sheridan Association up to date on news and events. Check the community calendar. Check that your listings on all local websites are correct. Make sure your business is listed travelwyoming.com. Refine your ad campaigns with your local partners. And please make sure your Google listing is up to date.
Many people think that digital advertising is only posted on Facebook or other social media channels, but it is much more involved. There are many powerful digital tools that can help you reach a very targeted audience very affordably; I will summarize a few.
Reach key target audiences through guaranteed views from the world’s second largest web domain and expand awareness. You can bring all the clips you have into your Google Ads dashboard and deliver them to basically anywhere on the web.
Google uses a machine learning model to determine the optimal mix of assets for each ad slot based on predictions made from the site’s performance history. This is incredibly easy to do if you’re not already doing it; A few hours learning how to run ads through Google Prospecting could yield amazing results if you target customers arriving in our region. All you have to do is geo-target the gateway communities, and even Sheridan himself. Responsive ad creation and standard banner ads are easy to create and implement.
Geofencing capabilities can continue to drive local awareness once visitors are in the state. It’s a great way to get people moving once you’re in the state and a way to connect with past visitors who have been to a specific location or event. Again, there are ways to do many of these things directly from your Google Ads dashboard. This gives you full control and flexibility to change your campaigns as the high street construction areas move. If you don’t feel comfortable taking this on or it seems confusing, there are many media companies in town that can help.
Consider a Google retargeting campaign. If you don’t have a Google Ads account, get one – it’s free to sign up and learn more about all the tools Google has to offer. For a few hundred dollars a week, it’s possible to draw a circle around Sheridan and post ads on almost every phone that searches Sheridan for your business.
META (FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM) PROSPECTING AND REMARKETING
Leverage meta prospecting to build awareness in key target markets and drive relevant traffic directly to partner sites. You can do this through the Meta ads campaign portal. Use Meta Remarketing to connect with those consumers who already know about Wyoming and drive them further down the funnel. Our photo archive includes thousands of images of local businesses that we use to do just that.
If you’re not actively managing your SEO, this is something you need to look at. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the foundation of every website and should be the foundation of every good marketing plan. SEO is often undervalued and misunderstood simply as a suggestion tool to move pages a little higher in search results. It’s actually a treasure trove of data and information that can help website owners track their own site and provide key insights into competitor performance. Before you spend money directing paid media to your website, it’s critical to make sure you have a good handle on your SEO efforts. A few things to consider when looking at search engine optimization: Does your website show up on Google? Are you giving users high-quality content? Is the content fast and easy to access on all devices? Is your website secure?
Promote your branded video message to provide potential visitors with a full-screen ad experience during live streaming or TV app activity. Advertising on television platforms is still cost prohibitive for small businesses, but for major events or activities it can be a worthy addition to a marketing mix.
DESTINATION OPTIMIZATION EDUCATIONAL SESSION
On May 16, we held this education session in collaboration with the state. My team spent many hours on this up front updating over 200 local visitor-facing businesses through various channels, including our website, the Wyoming Office of Tourism website and more. I have the recording of this session available for anyone to review. It’s full of great tips and examples on how to easily optimize your Google listings, all for free.
We incorporate everything I’ve mentioned here into our annual campaign activations at Sheridan County Travel & Tourism, both nationally and internationally, but there’s no reason local businesses can’t use any or all of these tools on a different scale to generate important results. .
Shawn Parker is Sheridan County’s executive director of travel and tourism.
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