College Station

A new year is a great time for evaluation of current strategies and practices in many areas of our lives. If you’re part of a small business or organization, take some time over the next few weeks to think about your marketing strategy goals to ensure that you’re ready to start the new year.

Today, as always, the primary role of marketing is to attract visitors, convert them into potential leads, assist sales personnel in closing them as clients, and keep them coming back. But in our current landscape, customers are moving away from consuming traditional media and are depending more on the digital world. And so, we must ensure that we’re utilizing the most impactful online marketing technology to reach our customers where it really matters. While there are many tools in the digital marketing landscape, we’ve narrowed it down to 7 fundamental ones for your 2019 marketing strategy.

None of us need any reminders that the holiday season is upon us – and that means increases in consumer spending. Experts expect consumer spending during the holiday season (roughly Halloween through New Year’s Day) to increase by nearly 5% in 2018 with e-commerce spending expected to increase about 14% over the holiday period in 2017.

Congratulations! You’ve opened a brand-new business. You did the market research, planned a grand-opening campaign and even created a website and a social media page for the customers you want to reach. Now, it’s time to sit back and wait for your clients to find you. Or, perhaps, you’re a seasoned veteran of your business and you’ve just opened your tenth location in a new city. People know your name, know your products, your brand, and you already have a faithful following on the social media page you created as well as your business website. Regardless of your position along this spectrum, there’s a startling statistic all business owners and operators should know. With the introduction of the internet as a place for customers/clients to search and seek out new businesses, there is an added incidence of misinformation (or incorrect information) and therefore missed opportunities for businesses.

Even in the digital age, direct mail remains a key component to any marketing strategy, and, in some instances, can even be more effective. Direct mail marketing uses a mail service (such as the US Postal Service) to deliver some form of promotional piece of printed material directly to your target audience, including catalogs, brochures, sales ads, postcards, and newsletters.

Just when you thought Google couldn’t possibly come up with any other ways to be a part of your life, there’s Project Beacon! Although it’s been around for a little while, it’s only recently begun to be noticed and talked about. The rationale behind this new product goes something like this: Google knows that our cell phones have now become such an integral part of daily life that we turn to them many times each day. And, one of the things we look for is location information about somewhere we want to go, how to get there, and what other folks think about that location.

Our most recent blog post, “Which Social Media Platforms are Right for YOUR Business,” focused on helping your business or organization evaluate the top social media platforms and decide which one(s) are best for your clients (and potential clients) and markets. This blog will focus on Instagram and how to use it effectively to promote growth of your brand and/or business or organization.

Social Media has changed the way that businesses communicate with and market to existing and potential customers. Once considered an “add-on” or “extra” thing for businesses if time and financial resources allowed, that model is largely outdated. Social media usage is now a necessity to ensure a business or organization is at the forefront of its target market.

A digital presence with a search-engine-friendly website is an essential part of a digital marketing plan for any thriving business or organization. Potential customers or patrons are searching for you! In today’s business world, a digital presence acts like the “yellow pages” of previous times. However, “once and done” is not the best mantra for your digital presence.