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What are my top 5 Digital Marketing Insights from Inbound19?

My first Inbound marketing conference is a wrap!

It was a whirlwind of sessions and networking that sparked amazing learning and discussions. Over 24,000 people were in attendance at this remarkable event. I had a packed agenda filled with networking events and sessions. It was inspiring, fast paced and motivating. 

Let’s get started with insight #1.

1. Video is impactful

Video is critical to any marketing strategy. It aids consumers in the buying process, boosts organic search traffic and increases the understanding of your product/service thru an interactive and personal experience. I didn’t have the opportunity to squeeze in a session regarding video however my colleague did. You can read her very insightful post that sums up its importance: The #1 thing I learned from Inbound19

Almost every presentation I attended incorporated video. Snippets or clips that served as an ice breaker to garner audience attention and set the tone of the entire session.

Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text. (Insivia)

Key Takeaway:
Video is an effective tool for your overall digital marketing strategy. It can be an easier way to convey complex ideas in a highly creative format that is universally understood.

2. Storytelling / Authenticity is meaningful

I noticed each one of my sessions at Inbound 19 had a story. They weren’t case studies, self-promotion or client wins… they were personal stories about the presenters struggles, perspective or spark. Each of these stories then tied into the larger session topic and helped the audience dive deeper in its application. I didn’t recognize this pattern until I was back from the conference. I was out with my colleagues for lunch and I began sharing information about the sessions I attended. I began each of my discussions by re-telling the stories that amused or connected with me first. Those stories were essentially going viral thru my retelling albeit on a smaller scale.

One of the more memorable stories was by Sangram Vajre who’s session on How to Take Your Marketing from Good to Great focused on ABM (Account Based Marketing). It was a fresh perspective and he was able to engage the audience from the very beginning with a story about his son.  He was caring for his son while his wife went out of town and decided to take this role from good to GREAT:

  • Average Parenting – the status quo where they get by on TV, food and playtime
  • Good Parenting – picks it up a notch to Dad 1.0 where they play Xbox, watch movies and eat healthier snacks
  • Great Parenting – Dad 2.0 that lets his son watch ALL the Rocky movies and eat pancakes for ALL meals

He then dove deeper by discussing how to connect this parenting concept to how we work with our clients and focus our efforts step by step on creating GREAT marketing solutions.

Integrating super-personalized marketing into your strategy is a way for your business to say, ‘i’m listening. i know what you want… what you need… what you enjoy.’ The more your business shows this to a customer or prospect, the more likely they will be to connect with you and become a promoter of your business.” — Jess Marranco, Hubspot

The key takeaways from these sessions regarding storytelling and authenticity:

  • It should be entertaining
  • The story should be memorable
  • Something the audience can relate to
  • Contains nuggets of knowledge or awaken curiosity

Key Takeaway:
Focus on authentic long-term relationships thru a shared connection or idea.

3. Marketing Automation is essential

Automating our workflows and marketing tasks with seamless and timely touch points frees up time to focus on the customer experience and strategic solutions. When done correctly, it will accurately provide the right information to the right person at the right time. It can help reduce manual entry and keep your data and records accurate. This is important for:

  • Your sales team by having the confidence to act on accurate information
  • You marketing team by contacting and communicating with right people at the right time thru email drip campaigns and workflows
  • And management by increasing leads, deals and therefore revenue 
marketing_automation-wsi_connect

There are no limits to what you can automate thru proper planning. It will empower your sales team and streamline your overall processes which is a successful combination for all teams to thrive.

The marketing automation tech stack can include:

  • CMS (Content management system) or website
  • Email marketing software
  • Landing page and form builder
  • Campaign tool
  • Social media publishing tool
  • CRM (Customer relationship management)
  • Analytics tools

Key Takeaway:
Marketing automation helps to scale growth and reduce time on repetitive manual tasks.

4. Email Marketing is alive

Over the years I am sure you have heard that email marketing is dead. It would appear that number of emails that reach an already cluttered inbox are usually never opened, are deleted or marked as spam. However did you know: 

Email marketing drives more conversions than any other marketing channel, including search and social” – Campaign Monitor

I attended a fascinating session showcasing how to build a list of engaged subscribers thru A/B testing, welcome emails, personalization and focused relevant content. The main question to ask is: Why Should Anyone Care?  The main point many marketers and business owners miss with email marketing is if you are providing value thru the content in your newsletters and segmenting your lists based on answering the main question then your email newsletters WILL be impactful.

Key Takeaway:
Refine your email marketing strategy and focus on answering the main question: Why Should Anyone Care?

5. Accessibility is for everyone

We recently launched a new ADA Compliant service at WSI Connect so I was excited to attend the session called: Accessible Marketing Is Modern Marketing: Building Accessibility In Instead of Opting Out by Christi Olson from Microsoft. She specifically focused on Inclusive Design principles and how to apply them across digital media.

If you aren’t building accessibility into your products, website, or marketing campaigns, it’s like saying to one in five customers, “I don’t want your business.””

ADA-Accessibility_WSI_Connect_Digital_Marketing

Christi took a deep dive into understanding how implementing this across your customers experiences. Below is a high level overview of the top 10 areas to focus on:

  1. Content Writing and Structure
  2. URL and link text and descriptions
  3. Text readability
  4. Accessible fonts
  5. Images and video
  6. Color contrast and shapes
  7. Keyboard navigation
  8. Contact information
  9. Call to action buttons
  10. Event space and registration

Key Takeaway: 
Focusing on accessibility and inclusive design as part of your overall strategy and design instead of an afterthought.

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Part 3 – Tips for Increasing Enrollment at your Montessori School

This is part three of our three-part series: Tips for increasing enrollment at your Montessori school. The final installment looks at using marketing strategies to answer prospective parents’ questions—the critical first step in attracting new students.

The strategies in Part 3 focus on educating parents. Because Montessori differs from the standard techniques used by public schools, it is important to thoroughly understand and respond to the questions and concerns that parents unfamiliar with Montessori will have about the Montessori Method.

Before we delve into each strategy, let’s think about one of the most common questions.

How is Montessori different than the standard education system?

If your website doesn’t clearly answer this question, parents may never give your school a second look. Although entire books have been written on the subject, the following four key strategies can guide your content decisions ensuring your site answers how the Montessori Method is uniquely different.

The following strategies help each other grow over time.  They aren’t meant to simply be completed in sequential order, rather they should all grow together over time.

Click on any topic below to be taken to that section.

Part 1: The Essentials 

  • Your Website
  • Google Search
  • Reputation Management

Part 2: Increase Exposure

  • Facebook Promotions – Schedule a Tour
  • Facebook Promotions – Open House
  • Facebook Remarketing

Part 3: Market To Your Audience

  • Content Marketing
  • Video Storytelling
  • Email Newsletter
  • Building a Database
  • Google Remarketing

Part 3: Market To Your Audience

Content Marketing

All website content should be directed to a specific audience. In this case, your audience is prospective parents. That means blog posts, whitepapers, eBooks, videos, podcasts, Infographics, etc. should be created with that audience in mind.

Blog posts form the foundation for content marketing.  There is an endless amount of content that can be created.  We work with our clients to create an editorial calendar to publish quality posts on a schedule designed to increase reader interest. Here are a few examples of posts that help answer the central question, How is Montessori different…?:

  • Deciding Which Montessori Preschool is Right For You
  • Why Students Should Teach and Teachers Guide
  • A Montessori Teacher’s Role in the Classroom
  • A Parent’s Role in a Montessori Environment
  • A Typical Day in a Montessori School

Use content in as many ways as possible.  Some of the subjects are closely related and can be combined into whitepapers or eBooks.  For example, your school could publish a Montessori Parent’s Guide and include all of the above posts. Other examples of repurposing content include using statistics to develop an Infographic or using content as outlines for videos, webinars, or podcasts.

There is power in referencing other credible sources in your posts and content. For examples, see the Appendix below for some excellent videos that give voice to the merits of a Montessori education.

The goal of content marketing is to attract an audience.  Consider topics that have a broader appeal such as

  • Fall Activities to Teach your Children about Nature
  • Building Fine Motor Skills in Preschool
  • Fun Activities to get your Elementary Student Interested in Writing.

It’s important to include relevant graphics as a part of your content marketing strategy.  Blog articles with graphics typically receive more views.  We connect with pictures much more quickly than we do with text.  The lead photo used in your content should visually convey the theme.  Graphics used within your content should support or visually translate the information presented.

“Vision trumps all other senses” – John Medina, Brain Rules
Lead Photos - Part 3 - Tips for Increasing Enrollment Montessori - WSI Connect

Video Storytelling

We’ve recommended to many of our Montessori clients that they work with a professional videographer to produce a video that showcases their schools, teachers, and unique differentiators.  For prospective parents, seeing is believing. Video can instantly bring your school’s culture to life and establish its credibility.

While you can create your own video content to share on social media, having at least one high-quality, professional video on your website immediately sets you apart from your competition.

You can get started by repurposing your blog posts for a video series.  Each blog topic could be used to create 3-5 minute videos that are helpful to parents while establishing you as an expert in the area of education.

“In a 2018 HubSpot survey, 54% of consumers wanted to see more video content from a brand or business they support.”

For ideas, see the Appendix below for videos that do a good job of promoting the Montessori Method.

Email Marketing

The power of email marketing is that you own it and have complete control.  You decide what content to send out, who should receive that content, and how it can be customized or segmented. You don’t have to depend on search engines or social media sites to deliver your message.

Any content you’ve created can be used for an email newsletter.   Always consider your audience when creating the email message.

Are you sending the newsletter to a list of prospective parents or to parents of enrolled students?  If the former, you may want to craft an opening message that is welcoming and invites them to learn more about the Montessori method. Just be sure to include content in your newsletter that supports your opening message.

If you are sending your email newsletter to parents that already have children enrolled at your school, you will want to make sure your message continues to invite them to engage while keeping them updated on school events.

Be sure to review all newsletter content through your audience’s eyes and consider

  • Is it valuable information?
  • Is it relevant?

EVERY newsletter must contain relevant and valuable information. Think about your own experience. How often have you hit unsubscribe when a newsletter contains low-quality or irrelevant content?

“Using the word “video” in an email subject line boosts open rates by 19% and clickthrough rates by 65%.” -Hubspot

Building a Database

Building a database is the process of capturing names and email addresses so that you can proactively reach out to prospective parents.  Every time you interact with someone, it’s important to think about how you will continue to interact with them in the future.

To begin, request email addresses from every new parent you meet.

CTAs - Part 3 - Tips for Increasing Enrollment Montessori - WSI Connect

Your content should also aide in collecting this information by utilizing customized calls-to-actions. Whitepapers and eBooks should always require an email address before they can be downloaded.  Videos should encourage viewers to subscribe and sign up for an email newsletter.

Google Remarketing

Google remarketing allows you to display ads on other websites, to people who have previously visited your website. This is extremely powerful because the parents who have previously visited your website are qualified — they already have a level of interest in your school.

Case Study: Montessori School of Flagstaff. The image below is a screenshot of the Arizona Daily Sun, a popular news website. We created the banner ad just below the menu for Montessori School of Flagstaff to help promote a school tour. The ad is only displayed to people who have previously visited the website, and the budget is only spent if the ad is clicked.

Increase Enrollment Montessori - Remarketing Example - WSI Connect

When parents are searching for a new school, they will often visit multiple websites. By utilizing Google remarketing, we have the opportunity to continue to market to them even after they’ve left the website.

This is very valuable even if they don’t click on the ad because it creates additional brand impressions. The more often we see a brand, the more likely we will remember it. We tend to trust brands that we recognize.

Because we are only showing these ads to a highly targeted audience, it becomes a very cost-effective way to build brand recognition.

Conclusion

Incorporating content marketing, video storytelling,  email marketing, and building a database are effective strategies to attract prospective parents to your Montessori school.  Every parent who is researching schools is looking for one or more key differences in education that will help their child succeed.

Contact us today for help determining if your website and content strategies are helping increase enrollment at your Montessori school.

Appendix
Informative Videos to Help Educate Prospective Parents

These videos are great for parents that want a basic understanding of how Montessori is unique.  How it fosters a love for learning, creativity and critical thinking.

Here’s an example of one of the most famous presentations about education and the need for fostering creativity. While it’s not Montessori specific, it’s directly in line with the principles of Montessori and could used to make a case for the Montessori Method.

Stephan Curry is one of the most well liked and well-respected athletes across all professional sports.  This video does a great job of showcasing what Montessori means to him and how it played a role in his success and character development.

Here are some compelling explanations of Montessori from the TED stage

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Does Email Marketing still work?

Does Email Marketing Still Work - WSI ConnectI think it was about a decade ago that I first read an article boldly proclaiming that email marketing was dead!  I laughed at the time as I could plainly see from our internal metrics that email marketing was still highly effective.  Year after year new technologies try to make the elimination of email marketing their claim to fame.  Yet, year after year email marketing continues to produce a better ROI than just about any other marketing strategy.

Why is email marketing so effective?

It is still the best way to put your message in front of your target audience.  You don’t have to wait for them to Google the types of products or services that you offer and you don’t have to hope that they will notice your Facebook campaign.  Email marketing delivers the content directly to them.

It’s a great way to build awareness and nurture prospects.  It can be leveraged to educate them about industry trends, solutions to problems, and how your products and services can help them meet their needs and wants.

Why does email marketing have such a good ROI?

It’s relatively low cost.  We actually utilize the free version provided by MailChimp for a number of our clients.  Their only costs are content development and building out email lists.

What are the key elements of a successful email marketing campaign?

There are two critical components to an effective email marketing campaign: Provide high quality content and build a great list.

Creating high quality content.

One of the best newsletters that I subscribe to is produced by a business consulting firm.  Each week I receive 2-3 emails from them and I learn something useful in each email that I read.  That’s the key.  I learn something that I can apply to the growth of my business; therefore the content is very valuable to me.  After receiving six months of valuable information from them, I decided to utilize their services.  By giving away valuable information, the consulting firm was able to establish themselves as industry experts and convert me into a client.

Building a list.

There are ton of different ways to build an email list.  Here are a few examples:

  • Good old fashion networking. If you exchange business cards with another professional you have their email address.  I recommend sending them a personalized email before you add them to any email marketing campaign.
  • Gated content. Create an eBook or whitepaper, setup a landing page, and give it away in exchange for an email address.
  • Mine your LinkedIn contacts. Most people make their email addresses available to their 1st degree connections.  I still recommend a personalized email beforehand.
  • Experiment with lightboxes. We use SumoMe on a couple of the websites that we support.  This provides an easy way for readers to add their email to the subscriber list.
    Email marketing strategy example
  • Add a signup CTA to your website. You probably have prospects and clients that value your expertise. Adding a call-to-action (CTA) is another way to make it easy for them to subscribe.

Tips for Email Campaigns

Present your email using the same tactics as you use for blogs or social media. Open with interesting, engaging content, and funnel readers through to your company’s landing pages. Some helpful content tips to keep in mind are:

  • Think Mobile – Most of your customers are perusing email on their phones today, so design your emails to be mobile friendly.
  • Present Small Bites – Separate content using headlines, subheads, and bullet points. Give your readers information that can be quickly scanned and absorbed.
  • Make it Personal – Email is a personal form of media, so cater your campaigns to be as personalized as possible.
  • Avoid Spam – Set up a regular contact routine, but don’t flood your contacts with advertisements and products. You want your readers to look forward to hearing from you, so be consistent and courteous.
  • Unsubscribe link – Make it easy to unsubscribe.  Small or hidden unsubscribe links are very annoying.

So, does email marketing still work?

Absolutely! Email marketing is considered an important part of any robust online marketing campaign. Your company should still consider other well-established marketing strategies, such as blogs and branded websites; however, email is an affordable way to reach more people with minimal expense. For the best results, turn your online marketing campaign over to a company experienced in the field, able to assist you with keyword strategies and reaching target audiences.

Feel free to reach out if you need help developing a highly effective email marketing campaign.

The Conco Companies Retain WSI for a Fourth Year of Comprehensive Digital Marketing Services

The Conco Companies are one of the USA’s largest commercial concrete contractors, and holders of the Guinness World Book of Records record for the largest continuous concrete mat pour, on the Wilshire Grand in LA scheduled to be completed in 2017.

WSI is one of the largest digital marketing agencies in the world, with over 1,000 offices in 81 countries.

Given the strength of our respective organizations it is only fitting that WSI and Conco have agreed to strengthen a mutually beneficial partnership that has dramatically improved Conco’s online presence and lead generation. First initiated in July 2013, the engagement initially focused solely on SEO, and has since blossomed into a comprehensive digital marketing service offering including: SEO, web development, e-mail marketing, social media marketing, PPC and mobile app development.

Over the last 12 month’s WSI has created a new responsive site leading to 23% growth in mobile traffic, added 49 pages of content to the site, created a new micro site for the Denver market, with a white paper lead capture feature, optimized the site for dozens of SEO terms and doubled nearly every social media metric.

Moving forward, WSI will continue to optimize Conco’s web presence through an increased focus on lead capture, an integrated concrete pump truck rental drive, a regional focus on the LA market, and some opportunistic SEO. The LA Section of the site has been expanded to encompass the following pages:

Some of the notable projects that Conco has been involved with recently include the following:

970 Denny Way located in the South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle, Washington

The redevelopment project is from the Holland Partner Group and is a blend of both modern and classic styles. Holland Construction is serving as the general contractor and the Seattle-based architectural firm of Weber Thompson designed the contemporary style building.

Conco successfully completed part of our concrete services when our crews poured 4,900 cubic yards of concrete last month to form the 15,300 square foot mat foundation. In addition to the concrete, the foundation required 1.3 million pounds of rebar. The pour was done over approximately 15 hours and the concrete was supplied by CalPortland.

350 Bush Street, San Francisco

The Conco Companies are providing concrete services for a new office building in downtown San Francisco located at 350 Bush Street. The new 20-story high-rise will have 18 floors of office space, one lobby level, and a roof terrace as well as a two-level subgrade parking structure. In addition as the office tower will incorporate the San Francisco Mining Exchange, a historic landmark, as its primary entrance, the project also includes the “Historic Renovation of San Francisco Mining Exchange Building.”

The Mark at 5th & Columbia Project

The Conco Companies are providing concrete services for The Mark, a 48-story high-rise tower in Seattle, WA that will consist of 528,000 sq. ft. of Class A+ office space, as well as a luxurious 189-room SLS hotel and spa. Conveniently located in the city’s central business district, the stunning beautifully designed tower will incorporate a wide range of “green” building features such as rain water management, photovoltaic glass and light pollution reduction. Scheduled for completion in April, 2017, the tower will bring to the area first-class office space that is highly divisible and offers 9’ 6” windows for natural light and spectacular views.

Conco and WSI are looking forward to a mutually beneficial relationship for many years to come.

Email Marketing: An Underrated Tactic

Unlock the Power of Permission-Based Outreach through Email Marketing

Amidst the furious growth of the technology that we use in our everyday lives, a common complaint is that all the gadgetry is decreasing the amount of face-to-face human contact (and thus ruining, or places less importance on, personal relationships). But what about the parents who can now video-chat with their sons and daughters who have moved across the country – or even across the ocean – to attend school? Or how about our ability to keep in regular contact with friends and family who live in different parts of the word? It’s also now much easier to find and get in touch with old friends through email and social networks.

The effect of advancements in personal communication methods and devices is merely a matter of perspective. Sure, the way email is sometimes favored over a face-to-face conversation to save the 10 minutes it’d take to walk to a different floor of the office is an example of depersonalization. But using Google hangouts to hold a meeting with people from London, New York and Los Angeles offices adds a level of personalization that was previously impossible.

Technology and communication both play a huge role in marketing, but the truth is, up until a decade ago, most marketing messages consisted of companies speaking at consumers about their products and services. It was disruptive, pushy, and impersonal in every way. So despite appearances and arguments to the contrary, tactics like social media and email marketing, coupled with the new notion of engaging with customers, are actually shifting marketing in a much more personal direction.

The age of the inbox and the effectiveness of email marketing

Most businesses depend on two critical aspects to thrive: lead generation and customer retention. Without customers, your business can’t operate, but nor can you survive if you don’t keep your current customers happy and willing to give you recurring revenue and referrals. Fortunately, email marketing can help with both your lead generation and customer retention efforts, which is why it’s an effective tactic for businesses of all industries.

If you’re convinced, you’re probably wondering how and where to start with email marketing. Since you can’t engage with anybody until you have a list of contacts, you need to start by building up an email database!

Here are five ways you can begin to generate a list of email contacts:

  • Ask for it: ask and you shall receive! You won’t be able to engage without any email addresses, but you’d be surprised by how easily people will give theirs up if you just ask for it. Whether in a physical store or on a website, people are accustomed to being asked for their email address, so don’t worry about scaring anybody away.
  • Remind them to subscribe: sometimes people need a little extra encouragement, so don’t be shy to put buttons calling for users to subscribe to your communications everywhere you can. On your homepage, in your blog posts, on social media feeds, in your email signature and even on your contact us page. The more you ask, the better chance they’ll convert.
  • Provide incentive: if you’re having trouble generating a list of email addresses, consider adding some incentive for those who give you their information. Offering promotions, discounts, or valuable information via a whitepaper or webinar in exchange for email addresses will be more successful.
  • Run a contest: similarly to providing incentive, you could also run a contest and raffle off a product, service, or just a popular item like an iPad. All you need to do is have people submit ballots that include their email address – if your prize is good enough, you’re sure to generate a decent list of contacts.
  • Friend referral: once you do start sending out communications, a great way to grow your database is to get subscribers to ‘Forward to a Friend.’ Put a ‘Forward to a Friend’ link in all of your newsletters and drive subscribers to a page where they can type in their friends’ information and you’ll instantly add to your list of contacts!

Tips for More Effective Email Campaigns

How to Increase Conversions

In the end, email campaigns are judged on the results they achieve – so in other words, on conversions. The kind of responses and the rate at which your defined goals are completed will ultimately determine the success of your email marketing strategy.

Here are a few tips and trick for increasing your email marketing conversions:

  • Stay relevant and interesting: the thing about email marketing is that since people get so many emails, only the best get read. Think about your inbox – do you read every email you get? Probably not. This doesn’t mean that email marketing isn’t effective – not everybody has to open your emails for them to be successful – but it does mean that you have to be both creative and strategic with your campaigns. Stay current, relevant and interesting.
  • Include product recommendations and reviews: if you’re properly maintaining your consumer database, then you’ll have information on what your customers are most interested in. Use this information to your advantage by basing your communications around certain products and personalize the experience for the reader so they’re more likely to take action.
  • Offer a guarantee policy: unfortunately, many people are still wary of purchasing products online, so ease their mind with a worry-free money back guarantee. This leaves them with no qualms about buying your products and services through an email.
  • Include freebies: the loyalty and trust of your online customers is critical for the success of your future campaigns. Consider rewarding your faithful subscribers with a free product or sample every once in a while, just to let them know you appreciate their business. It’ll go a long way.

These are only some of the many strategies and techniques for running effective email marketing campaigns and ensuring great return on investment. Contact WSI Connect for more information or guidance on how to unlock the power of email marketing.