Online Marketing Strategies & Trends Kristin Rapinac, President, AF Sacramento
So what exactly is online marketing?
Online marketing is any form of marketing products or services that involves the internet. Ø Websites
Ø Search Engines
Ø Social Media
Ø Email
Ø Texting
Ø Online ads
Websites Your website is the online face of your organization
Websites Trends
Ø Clear calls to action: Classes, Events, Membership
Ø Specialized landing pages for core services
Ø Long-scrolling vertical websites, fewer pages
Ø Slide shows are out – full-width images & video are in
Ø Animation is fun, but use sparingly
Ø Pop-up windows highly effective for capturing leads
Websites Responsive websites
Websites Responsive websites
Ø On a responsive website, elements of a web page are automatically rearranged based on size of the screen
Ø 63% of all website traffic is mobile – and rising
Ø Google penalizes non-responsive websites in search results
Ø But: many use both mobile and desktop
Websites SSL certificates
Websites Why use SSL?
Ø SSL encrypts traffic between website and browser
Ø Must for accepting credit cards
Ø Users will trust your site if they see the green padlock
Ø Improves SEO and makes your site faster
Ø Check with your webhost or Let‘s Encrypt
SEO
SEO What is this SEO stuff all about?
Ø Search Engine Optimization: optimizing your website to rank higher on search engine result pages (SERP)
Ø 95% of all users on Google search click on the first page of a search result, with 33% those users clicking on the first result
Ø Good SEO will increase the amount of organic (free) traffic to your website
SEO Picking your keywords
Ø Goal is to pick popular words and phrases people enter into search engines Ø Learn French, French classes, French for kids
Ø SEO helps Google figure out which keyword(s) to use to rank each page on your website
Ø How do you choose keywords? Ø Experiment on Google
Ø Look at your Google Analytics organic search terms
Ø Keyword planning tools: Google Ads
SEO Keyword placement
Ø Page title
Ø Headings (H1)
Ø 1-2 to more times on page
Ø Don’t overdo keywords – Google will penalize for keyword stuffing. Use synonyms
Ø Title tag (up to 60 characters)
Ø Meta description snippet (up to130 characters)
Ø Meta tags (up to 10 keyword phrases)
Ø Wordpess SEO plugin: Yoast SEO
SEO Other ways to improve SEO
Ø Backlinks from other reputable websites
Ø External links to reputable websites
Ø Internal links
Ø Content marketing Ø Producing original, high-quality educational content
Ø Intent is to promote trust, and establish your organization as an expert – not to sell right away
Ø Examples: blog articles, e-papers, info graphics, videos, webinars
Ø Focus on specific keyword
SEO Analyze that!
Ø Use Google Analytics to review your website statistics
Ø Compare: Ø Site visits
Ø Time on site
Ø Referrals
Ø Landing pages
Ø Navigation
Ø Organic search keywords
Ø Mobile stats
Search Engine Marketing Google Ad Grants
Ø Qualifying nonprofits can sign up through Google Grants for Nonprofits
Ø Need to be registered with Tech Soup
Ø Up to $10,000 worth of in-kind Google Ads per month
Ø Create targeted campaigns with keywords to promote classes, events, etc.
Ø Ads show up on Google Search pages (below paying advertisers)
Search Engine Marketing Google Maps & Yelp
Social Media
Social Media Social media channels
Ø Facebook: 2+ billion monthly active users
Ø YouTube: 1.9 billion monthly active users
Ø Instagram: 800 million monthly active users
Ø Twitter: 330 million monthly active users
Ø LinkedIn: 500 million members
Ø Pinterest: 200 million monthly active users
Ø Snapchat: 178 million daily active users
Social Media Best practices
Ø Figure out where your prospects hang out
Ø Focus on one or two channels (Facebook, Instagram)
Ø Changing algorithms: Create a mix of content that prioritizes engagement
Ø Use tools to streamline your social media management
Ø Canva (images), Hootsuite (post scheduling)
Social Media What’s trending
Ø Video
Ø Live streaming
Ø Stories
Ø Events
Ø Fundraising
Ø FB Messenger
Ø Chatbots
Social Media Facebook Promoted Posts
Ø Pay to promote posts on new class sessions, events, fundraising campaigns
Ø Pick your budget, length of campaign
Ø Targeting options Ø Location, Gender, Age, Interests, People who like your
page + friends
Email Marketing
Email Marketing
Ø Email marketing is the most effective way to reach your customers and best prospects
Ø RO1 4x that of other marketing methods (Statista)
Ø More and more competition in people’s inboxes means you need to fight for the attention of your users
Email Marketing Email Trends
Ø Mobile-friendly design
Ø Personalization
Ø Segmenting & customization Ø Ex: Adult classes, kids classes, events, volunteers, donors
Ø Automated emails (welcome series)
Ø A/B testing with subject line
Ø Customized “from” field
Ø Build your list with pop-up email sign-ups
Email Marketing How many? How often?
Ø 78% of consumers unsubscribe from emails because they are getting too many emails. (HubSpot)
Ø Email open rate about 24% - declining
Ø Shorter, more frequent emails better than long newsletters
Ø Most important is that you have relevant content
SMS Marketing Text messaging
Ø SMS marketing: 82% open rate
Ø More immediate than emails, social media
Ø Use for emergency alerts, reminders (classes, events), announcements, giving campaigns
Ø Need opt-in
Ø Low-cost providers: Ø EZ Texting, Simple Texting, Expert Texting
Questions & Discussion
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