Over 80% of marketers say that they use Facebook to help to generate leads and beef up their content strategy.

In fact, in a single year, the number of brands using Facebook to advertise their products/services has grown by about 50%. 

But how can you use social ads on Facebook to generate valuable leads?

Read this guide to find out!

How Do Social Ads Work?

Basically, Facebook ads take the guesswork out of finding your target market on social media.

After your brand provides Facebook with some information about your company, your mission, and what you sell or offer, Facebook finds users they know will be interested in what you’re all about.

Then, an ad will show up in the “news feed” of your new potential customers. These ads are a much more targeted way to get new clients than traditional digital marketing methods. You’re playing to your niche, not the whole world.

Usually, these ads will feature a special offer (like a discount or a free gift with purchase) created by your brand to entice customers. Then, the Facebook user can essentially “sign up” to get the offer. This means you’ve got a quality lead.

How To Make The Most Of These Facebook Ads

Of course, as social media users are exposed to more and more ads every day, you need to work hard to ensure that yours stand out from the competition.

Start by selecting a wider age range when you’re asked to name your target demographic.

First, doing this will these lead to more clicks to your site, which will ultimately boost your site in the Google rankings. But it will also allow you to “test out” the interest of a wider age range before you totally overhaul your marketing plan to cater to them.

You can also get more specific about the exact interests of your target market through a new Facebook ad feature called “Detailed Marketing.”

This new feature lets you set the required interests of the Facebook users who will see their products in their news feeds.

As opposed to a broader set of interests that possibly fit with your branding, you can get specific about the exact interests you know your target market has.

For example, if you’re a natural beauty company, instead of just “cosmetics,” you may be able to say something like “natural beauty products.”

Doing this won’t just increase your conversions, it will also ensure that you’re spending your advertising money the right way on social media.

You’re Ready To Get The Most Out Of Social Ads

The reality is that Facebook, and other social media platforms, are some of the most important tools when it comes to reaching new customers and keeping past ones coming back.

No matter the economic climate, your business can use digital marketing, content, and social media strategies to thrive.

Ready to get started on making this your most productive quarter ever?

Get in touch with us to learn more about the services we offer that will get you more hits, higher rankings, and unreal profits.

The post Social Ads: How to Generate Real Leads on Facebook appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Putting together a digital marketing campaign can help your business, but to maximize its benefit it should be results driven.

By being results driven, your company maintains its focus on what works best and leverages this to improve your business.

But how can you make sure your digital marketing campaign is results driven?

Let’s take a closer look at how to do this!

Set Measurable Goals

One way is by establishing measurable goals for your campaign.

In order to set these goals, you need to give your business an honest assessment of where it is now and where you want it to go.

But how do you do this? By looking at the past and the present to help you look ahead to the future.

Look at the current trends in your industry. What is working for you and your competitors?

When you consider the past, take a look at what you or your competitors have done that worked and didn’t work.

With those things in mind, set short- and long-term goals for your business.

Ask yourself how your businesses campaign can help it achieve those goals.

Regularly Evaluate Results

Pay close attention to the results of your digital marketing campaign through a reliable metrics measurement tool.

Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that measures your website’s traffic. But it isn’t just a matter of who is visiting what area of your site.

What are your customers doing when they are on your website. Are they spending more time on certain pages over others? How are certain marketing tactics you are using helping sales of your product or service?

By an in-depth analysis of your results by your business and experienced digital marketing professionals, you can recognize patterns and other trends to help you refine your campaign.

Act on Your Analysis

But an in-depth analysis isn’t enough on its own! You need to take that information and use it to your businesses advantage.

Your data will probably show you things that are working well and others that aren’t.

Knowing what to do with this information is an important part of keeping focusing on  results

A Results Driven Digital Marketing Campaign

A results driven digital marketing campaign is an important tool for your business.

But in order to maintain your focus on being results driven, you have to do a few important things.

Set measurable goals for your business by looking at trends in your industry and what has worked (and not worked) in the past.

Utilize a reliable analytics program, among other things, to see what is working and not working.

But putting this information to use is what matters in a results driven campaign.

Be sure that you refine your message so that it resonates with consumers in the best possible way.

If you are a business owner in the Portland, Oregon area considering taking your digital marketing efforts to the next level, contact us. We want to talk about your business and how we can help you!

The post How to Make Sure Your Digital Marketing Campaign is Results Driven appeared first on Midas Marketing.

There are clearly a ton of digital marketing benefits — if there weren’t, it wouldn’t have taken over traditional marketing last year to become the most popular advertising medium.

Now appears to be the time to start investing in a digital marketing strategy. Companies are consistently spending less of their precious dollars on old advertising methods and more on building a name for themselves online.

In fact, digital marketing is projected to consume 3/4 of industry leader’s marketing budgets by 2021!

So what makes online advertising worth such a huge investment?

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons businesses are making the shift from print, radio, and television to investing in the web — and why you should too.

5 Very Convincing Digital Marketing Benefits

Smart businesses won’t start spending money on something new without making sure it has good value first.

These proven benefits of digital marketing are some of the top reasons why there has been a shift away from traditional ads to the internet.

It’s more cost effective

Simply put, marketing costs are significantly lower for digital marketing than for old school methods.

For example, a Facebook advertisement can generate 5-30 user engagements for as little as $5.00… Whereas a magazine advertisement can run anywhere between $500 and $20,000 depending on the publication.

And you won’t even be able to tell how effective that pricey print ad was, which leads me to the next point.

It gives real time data

Figuring out how effective your advertising is, has never been easier with digital marketing strategies.

Now every time someone clicks, valuable information is collected instantly.

This data can tell you the impact your marketing strategy is having on your target audience — right away.

It can target a specific audience

In the online world, it’s way easier to hone in on your target market. Once you know who they are, you can find out where they hang out on the internet and what their interests are.

This lets you place an ad that will matter to your potential clients and shows up in the right place.

That’s much more effective than mass producing a print ad and hoping the right person reads it!

It will get shared more

When you get a flyer in the mail, where does it end up?

That’s right. The garbage.

Information on the internet has way more potential to get shared and passed on than print. In a world where 68% of people trust online opinions from other consumers, you want to take advantage of word-of-mouth…

Or should I say, word-of-share?

It will convert more clients

The end goal is to turn your target audience into customers.

Some digital marketing strategies were shown to be four times more effective than traditional methods at doing just that!

Winning clients.

Now that’s worth investing in.

Final Thoughts…

After looking into digital marketing benefits, it’s clear why online advertising is the way of the future.

Shifting marketing focus to the web can:

1. Save money
2. Give better insight with real-time data
3. Target a more specific audience
4. Get shared more
5. And convert more potential clients into actual clients

Sounds great, right?

Experience the benefits for yourself. Make the switch to digital marketing today.

The post Digital Marketing Benefits: 5 Great Reasons to Invest in Online Marketing appeared first on Midas Marketing.

The new year brings in a new wave of digital marketing ideas.

We’re talking about global marketing, mobile and voice-friendly search engine optimization (SEO), and behavior-based content marketing. Plus, much more.

We’ll talk about these and then some, including why 41% of adults and 55% of teens are using voice search even though it was created in 2002.

Read to find out!

1. Content marketing comes with a twist

Yes, it’s safe to say content marketing is still at the top of digital marketing trends. 2017 is no different in that regard.

However, there is a twist…

Level of personability

With so much content on the Internet, businesses are looking to stand out.

How?

Simple.

Narrow in on the target audience. This means instead of targeting the general user. Content will be based on users who read specific blog posts.

Or, if it’s an e-commerce site, users who view certain products.

The overall goal is to create content that increases personability between the user and business.

Distribution is key

How the content is distributed is becoming more and more impactful.

It doesn’t matter if you have the highest quality of content. If not many see it, it’s close to non-existent.

Which is why getting the word out via social media becomes an even bigger deal.

Leveraging influencer status

Influencers will post on social media about their content. And, boom!, traffic to their sites.

How is this possible?

They’ve built credibility with their audience.

So much so, that businesses are using their influencer status to promote their own products.

2. Marketing’s gone global

Thanks to social media and the interconnectedness of technology, the world is a smaller place.

This means businesses’ marketing efforts will be more effective if they go global. This makes sense since most computer and cellphone users have 24-hour access to information online.

Whether you’re in Quebec, Canada. Or Seol, South Korea.

3. Technology is wearable

With the invention of fitness-based watches and the Apple watch, we’re now seeing more and more people wearing their technology.

We can only expect this trend to continue.

Who knows?

We may soon need wearable SEO.

4. Voice search SEO

As we mentioned earlier, more teens and adults are turning to voice search.

And it makes sense.

When you’re running errands or multitasking, it’s easier to just talk into your phone. Typing in your search takes too much time.

Which is why voice-friendly SEO is becoming more popular. We’re talking about long-tail keywords taking priority. That, and common sayings.

5. Mobile marketing

Google research shows that out of smartphone users who conducted a mobile search, over three-quarters visited that store within 24 hours.

And 28% of those purchased a product or service.

So, mobile marketing is here to stay. And it’s only increasing.

And, with that, mobile SEO.

Yes, Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites when it comes to mobile searches.

Want more digital marketing ideas?

Want to know how to jumpstart your digital marketing or revise it for 2017? Contact us!

And don’t forget to check out our blog to get up-to-date information about WordPress development, web design, SEO, and more digital marketing ideas.

The post 5 Awesome Digital Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Business Online appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Digital Marketing for Dentists: Is it Really Necessary?

Not too long ago, choosing a dentist was an simple process. People would ask their friends for recommendations or would check with their families and picked based on instinct. Today, the tech revolution has taken the guesswork out of finding the right dentist for their needs and budget. Digital marketing for dentists is more important now than ever before.

Unlike a few years ago, when the only sources they could trust were their friends and families, people now have access to a wealth of information right at their fingertips. They can use search engines like Google to look for dentists in their area, read reviews on Yelp or use social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube to seek medical answers. In fact, 40% of consumers say that the information they find online affects their health decisions. 93% of them claim that it’s more convenient to find answers online than to call a dentist’s office.

Digital marketing for dentists has become more important than ever before. This change in how consumers research and shop their services can mean either bad news or good news.  It all depends on how you react to the new rules of engagement. If you’re accustomed to getting new patients from referrals, it might be hard to adapt. Now that patients are flocking to the internet, dentists who don’t market themselves online will be at a real disadvantage. If your online presence is weak, you will get lost in a sea of dentists who understand that if they want to grow their practice, they need to conquer the digital world.

Because we know how overwhelming online marketing for dentists can be, we’ve put together this step-by-step guide to help you promote your practice.

Let’s dive in!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) For Dentists.

In the past, people would have to visit their dentists for practically everything. Since they didn’t have access to specialized information, the only solution was to jump in their cars, drive to the dentist’s office and ask them about their medical issues. These days, due to the wealth of information online, people don’t necessarily have to book an appointment for a simple diagnostic.

Even when it comes to finding a dentist, people often turn to Google before they turn to friends and family recommendations or direct mail ads. So, if you want potential patients to find your business, you need a search engine optimization strategy.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Make Sure Your Website Contains NAP Information

The first thing you need to do is to check if your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) appear on the homepage of your website and preferably at the bottom of every page. Make sure the information is text and not an image. Google’s spiders cannot read images.

• Search Google for “Dentist + City/Zip Code.”

Pretend you’re a potential patient looking for a dentist in your area. Go to Google and enter the search term “Dentist” and your city or zip code (example: “dentist in Portland”) By analyzing the search results, you will get a better understanding of where your business is situated.

• Research Keyword Ideas

Most dentists think of the main keywords that are related to their business and use them to optimize their websites. But search habits can vary, and not everybody uses the same word or phrases.

For example, you might think that when people are looking for dental services, they type in “dentist in Portland, Oregon” or “dental office in Portland.” But what about variations of your main services? For instance, some people might search terms such as “dental implants” or “teeth whitening,” while others might search for more broad keywords like “dentist near me” or “dental care.”

To get a comprehensive list of keywords, go to Google’s Keyword Planner, type a keyword phrase (e.g.: “dental services”) and carefully examine the suggested ideas and ad groups.

If you are struggling to think of more keywords people might be searching for your dental practice, use Google Autocomplete. This tool is based on actual searches performed by users, so it can give you a valuable insight into what people are searching for on a particular subject.

Open Google and type in keywords like dental, toothache, root canal, implant, and so on. See what results you get.

Google Related Searches is another tool you can use to get related queries people might have used. Go to Google.com, type in your keywords and look at the related search terms suggested at the bottom of search results.

• Make a List of Relevant Keywords

After you’ve carefully researched all possibilities, it’s time to create a list of keywords that are truly relevant. Go through the list and remove everything that seems unrelated. Use keyword research tools to get valuable insights about how well your keywords will perform.

• Check for Both Head and Long Tail Keywords

Head keywords are typically just one to three words long and are very generic (example: “dentist”). Long-tail keywords, on the other hand, are made up of 3 or 5 words and are more specific (example: “affordable dentist in Portland, OR”). As a result, long-tails aren’t very competitive, but they can rank you higher than head terms.

It is important to have a balanced keywords strategy, so you should check for both head terms and long-tail terms. Although long-tail keywords don’t receive high search volumes, they are less competitive and, thus, convert better. Additionally, keeping a regular blog is a great way to improve ranking for long-tail keywords as you can build your blog strategy around specific terms!

• Use the Keywords in the Right Places

Now that you have a list of relevant keywords, it’s important to place them properly.

Website Backend: The critical places you need to put your keywords on your website backend are: the page title, meta description, meta keywords, alt tags for images, and the URL itself.

Website Frontend: The most important places you need to put your keywords on your website frontend are: page heading, subheads, main body, and image captions.

Search engines are becoming more “human” every day, so the best search strategy you can do is have a comprehensive website with a lot of useful information related to your key search terms.

• Avoid Keyword Stuffing

One of the biggest SEO mistakes you could make is using too many keywords. For example, don’t just throw everything you have on the homepage (dental services, dental implants, emergency dentist, toothache services, etc.) That will only confuse Google, and it won’t be able to identify what the page is about. Instead, create different landing pages that target a specific keyword. For example, create a specific page for “Dental Implants” where you can use keywords related to implants.

Now that we’ve covered the basics of SEO, it’s time to move to social media promotion.

Facebook Ads for Dentists

With 1.86 billion active users and the possibility to accurately target potential patients without draining your budget, Facebook advertising can generate significant business for your dental practice.

Why Facebook and not other social media networks?

Think about it this way. First of all, most of your audience is probably already on Facebook. The average American spends around 40 minutes a day on Facebook. Secondly, Facebook advertising provides extensive targeting options that include multiple variables, such as location, gender, age, demographics, behavior, and so on. You can use these factors to put your dental practice in front of specific, often motivated, potential patients.

Here’s how to increase your chances of getting more patients through Facebook ads:

• Write Compelling Headlines

One of the reasons people use Facebook is to unwind. Presenting them with your ads without being disruptive or intrusive can be a challenge. When your headline looks the same as your competitors’, people will ignore it. Spend enough time on your headline to ensure it communicates your message quickly and effectively. Use physiological triggers like curiosity, anticipation, or social proof to grab their attention. Don’t be afraid to be fun and conversational too!

• Make Your Ads Relevant

Relevancy is a crucial element when it comes to Facebook advertising for dentists. If your ads don’t target your audience needs effectively, then you are just wasting time and money.

• Make Them Visually Appealing

The human brain can process images 60,000 faster than text, so it should come as no surprise that visual ads get more engagement than text. Make sure to use compelling images that are relevant to your business. Most importantly, stay away from stock imagery if it looks too cliche.

• Include a Compelling Value Proposition

Tell your prospective patients why you are better than your competition. Describe how your services can solve their problems and improve their lives and explain the specific benefits they can expect.

• Include a Strong Call To Action & Offer
  

When writing your CTA, make sure to keep things simple and straightforward. Don’t make potential patients guess what they should do next – tell it to them in an easy-to-understand language. If possible, present new patients with an offer for coming in the door.

• Test Multiple Versions of the Ad

Test the headline, the ad text, the call-to-action, and so on. Make time to create multiple versions of the same ad and then test each one. Test different headlines with different ad texts, different call-to-actions and so on.

Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) for Dentists

Before potential patients can find you on Google or like you on Facebook, they have to know that you exist. You can use SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing to grow organically and slowly get at the top of everybody’s mind. However, that takes time. In fact, it might take between three to six months to see any results from your SEO efforts. If you’re a small dental office struggling to stay afloat, you can’t afford to wait that long to increase your ranking and drive traffic to your website.

That is where Google AdWords comes into play.

Here’s what you need to know to get the most out of PPC:

• Set Specific Goals

The first step to any PPC campaign is to set measurable goals. Write down the results you are expecting to get and how much effort you are willing to invest. Example: “I will spend $500 on PPC advertising, and I will get 20% new leads in three months.”

It helps to have a good idea of your conversion rates and lifetime customer values before you engage in PPC advertising. That way you can easily know how well your campaign is performing, and if the ad spend is sustainable.

• Build a Comprehensive Keyword List

Research both your industry and your competition to come up with a list of keywords and key phrases that are relevant to your potential patients. Use the Keyword Planner to discover keywords you might not have considered.

• Select Your Target Audience

If you aren’t careful when targeting your ads, you might serve them to searchers who aren’t interested in your services. Best case scenario, they will ignore your ads; worse case scenario, they will click on them and then bounce without converting, costing you money.

Pay special attention to the targeting process. Target attributes like the geographic location; make sure it’s within driving distance from your dental office. Target the specific types of audiences based on age groups or income. Target the devices they are using and use other smart targeting strategies.

• Use Negative Keywords

One of the best features of Google AdWords is that it allows you to use negative keywords to let the search engine know which keywords it should exclude from searches. For instance, if you provide luxury dental services, you don’t want your ads to show up for “cheap dental services” or “affordable dental care.” So, you should add “cheap” and “affordable” as negative keywords.

• Test

A/B testing, or split testing, is a great way of measuring the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns. By creating a second version of your best performing ads, we can determine whether changing the ad text, the image, or the call to action can result in higher click-through rates or conversions.

Content Marketing for Dentists

Few dentists can take content marketing seriously. They can’t understand how posting a few articles every week or month can help them get patients.

But, here’s the thing: companies who blog regularly get up to 97% more links on their website than those who don’t (great for SEO). More than that, those who focus on blogging are 13 times more likely to enjoy positive ROI.

Here are other ways content marketing can help your dental practice grow:

• Content Marketing Can Help You Nurture Relationships with Your Prospects: Content marketing is a great way to target different audience segments and guide them through the sales funnel. Through how-to posts, FAQ pages, and infographics, you can answer their questions and motivate them to move to the next stage of the funnel.

• Content Marketing Can Establish You As an Industry Leader: Once you’ve proven your expertise as a trusted and reputable dentist, you can become the go-to source people turn to when they have a question. The authority you gain as an industry leader can make potential patients more likely to choose you over the competition, thus increasing your bottom line.
• Content Marketing Can Help You Rank in Search for Keywords: If you write a blog post on a specific search term and you have a good SEO strategy in place, there’s a good chance that post will rank well in Google and other search engines for that term.

Conclusion

The way people search and purchase dental services has changed. If not too long ago you could rely on referrals to grow your patient list, nowadays people use search engines, social media, and review sites to look for dental services. If you want to remain relevant in this digitally-driven age, you need to go where your customers are. Digital marketing for dentists is no longer negotiable for practices looking to grow.

Although online marketing is an effective way of increasing your practice, it requires your full attention. To keep your current patients engaged and attract prospective ones, you need strong SEO efforts, active social media profiles, and effective PPC strategies. And don’t forget, your dental website design is important too!

If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of time and effort you need to invest in putting your dental practice in front of the right people, then we can help you. Contact us today for more information on how we can collaborate to help you use online marketing to grow a successful dental practice – we have specific experience with digital marketing for dentists, just like the one above!

The post Digital Marketing for Dentists: A Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Internet marketing is crucial in today’s business world. Every homebuilder wants to compete effectively and stay ahead of the game in the industry, so embracing these new marketing techniques is non-negotiable. Generating leads online and starting discussions with potential buyers through digital mediums is increasing every year, and ROI off marketing spends is becoming better and better along with it.

This process starts because someone who wants to build a house or construct a new commercial building will probably search for local construction companies online in the initial discovery phase of their journey. That’s where search engine optimization comes into play. Search engine optimization or SEO for homebuilders is crucial because most people turn to the internet to find solutions to their needs, even building a home.

You may see the importance of online marketing, but why exactly do you need it as a home builder?

Home Builder Marketing: Digital Marketing to Reach More Buyers

Helps you know exactly what you want

Having a marketing system in place will help you understand that you need to have an SEO strategy to rank well in online search, a strong social media presence to start conversations, and a strong, lead-generating website to measure ROI. Having a blog and making videos are crucial too and support all of the aforementioned activities. The main thing that a building company must do is to create a website that will clearly focus on the services that they provide. This will serve as the conversion piece of your marketing efforts, turning your browsers into leads.

To give you direction and focus

A marketing system will give you direction and focus once you understand that people need to see the type of work that was completed by your company. Finished structures should be showcased in pictures or videos. A homebuilding company should use real-life examples of houses that they built or neighborhoods that they have designed. This way potential clients can get a good idea about the kind of home they will get if they decide to go with your particular company. It also gives you a chance to show off your best work, or the kind of work you are looking to secure.

To stand out from the crowd

Since the era of the digital marketing is in full effect, many businesses already have a digital presence in place. Any homebuilder with an online presence should make sure that they brand themselves with a great logo, slogan, and catchphrase. Having a personable brand will make you stand out from the competition and build relational equity right form the start.

Whenever you consider online marketing as a homebuilder, be sure to keep your company relevant. You should make sure that you’re using the latest internet strategies and marketing techniques for younger buyers, who are entering the market and use the internet as an integral part of all major purchasing decisions.

Conclusion

Homebuilding companies that want to stay relevant in the market should have a marketing system in place to help them attract new clients. It’s undoubted that those looking to build a house will certainly search online for reputable companies that can assist them with the building. Digital marketing for homebuilders is something that every construction company should be doing, plain and simple.

If you are a homebuilder and need help with your digital marketing, we have experience in this specific industry and can help your business grow. For further reading, download our free homebuilder marketing guide below:

The post Home Builder Marketing: Building a Digital Marketing Strategy appeared first on Midas Marketing.

In the old days, only the biggest, most well-funded homebuilders could afford to advertise on TV, radio and various prestigious print outlets. This meant that small homebuilders, or those who were just starting out, had an incredibly difficult time garnering any kind of brand recognition. Essentially, they were being choked out of the market by the big companies.

Today, however, the marketing atmosphere has completely changed. Thanks to the internet and SEO for homebuilders, small homebuilders can now level the playing field, and in many cases, out-market the big companies. Here are some successful online marketing ideas small homebuilders can use to compete with the big companies.

Online Marketing for Home Builders

Build and optimize a world class website

If you do not have a website for your business in this day and age, you are at a significant disadvantage. Over 90%% of your potential clients are going online to look for builders they can hire to construct their luxury custom homes. The very first thing you can do as a small homebuilder is to have a professional, responsive website designed for your brand. This website should:

• Be well designed and responsive
• Be full of high quality and relevant content
• Showcase your skills and expertise
• Be a gateway for you to fluidly communicate with your clients
• Easy to navigate and find

Become a resource for your clients

Most companies are so focused on promoting their agenda that they forget to listen to their clients. As a small homebuilder, one of the best ways to ensure that people know who you are is to become an invaluable resource to them.

This can be done through:

• Being active on home builder forums where clients go to ask construction related questions
• Be friendly with most building material suppliers so you know who you can recommend should any of your potential clients ask
• Hold community outreach programs to try and show people good homebuilding practices to build trust and rapport
• Have a blog that gives practical advice on homebuilding related topics

Once people start associating your brand with practical and useful information as well as homebuilding based solutions, you’re only one step away from their hiring you to build their next home.

Be active on social media

When it comes to digital marketing for home builders, you simply cannot ignore social media. From Facebook to Twitter, LinkedIn and even Instagram, you simply must find ways to connect with your audience. You can start thought-provoking discussions on Facebook to increase user engagement; you can post beautiful pictures of finished houses on Instagram, and you can give professional advice on LinkedIn. You can also use social media as an avenue to resolve any client complaints or answer any pertinent questions.

Showcase customer case studies

One of the best ways to rank in Google for homebuilders and get your brand associated with professionalism and expertise is to showcase various case studies. These have to be successful projects that your company has undertaken. Give people a clear picture from start to finish. This way, they become familiar with your process and start seeing you as a development partner instead of just another company. The best thing about this is that it will give your potential clients an opportunity to visualize themselves as the home buyer in question. They will start thinking about building their own homes, and they will start seeing you as their home builder of choice.

Today, various online marketing methods have made it exceptionally easy for small homebuilders to compete with the big companies. Now the playing field is leveled! For further reading, download our free homebuilder marketing guide below:

The post How Small Home Builders Can Use Online Marketing to Grow appeared first on Midas Marketing.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Website with Adwords

When it comes to driving traffic to your website, Google AdWords offers businesses a great opportunity to increase exposure, develop leads and drive sales. However, your campaign needs to be paired with an effective, focused strategy or you will quickly burn through your marketing budget without seeing any results. Here are a few tips that will help you drive traffic to your website effectively using Google Adwords

Start With A Good Budget
There is a tendency among small businesses and start-ups to go in with a limited budget to try their hand with Google AdWords. While financial limitations are very real, we recommend not diving into Adwords until you can afford to spend enough money to learn what works for your business, and what doesn’t. Spending $100 and hoping for the best usually doesn’t work out too well as you have just begun to explore your niche opportunities. Investing $250-$500 over three months and tweaking your campaigns each week is a different story. A good start-up spend depends entirely on the nature of your business, but just make sure you know your numbers (value of a good lead for your business, LTV of a customer, etc.) before you start spending too much.

Focus on the Ad
Google Ads doesn’t give you much space to write the copy associated with your ad. You need to be punctual and enticing. Checking out a list of the most powerful marketing words is a good idea before you start writing your ad copy. Also consider the landing page for your ad—do you just want to drive traffic generally to your homepage, or can you segment your ads for your different customer types and send them each to a more specific, valuable section of your website? Do you have a PDF or an eBook they can download to learn more about your products and services, enabling you to capture them as a lead even if they don’t buy right away?

When it comes to writing copy, use strong, powerful words that will make your ad stand out and inspire viewers to click.

Broaden Your Keywords
Most businesses that are starting out with Google AdWords often face a tough dilemma. If they choose exact keywords they’d like to target, they tend to see little traffic due to low search volume. But bidding on more generic keywords often drives irrelevant traffic, which doesn’t help either. To solve this challenge, there’s no easy fix. You just have to experiment with both short and long-tail keywords until you find the right mix of traffic.

Targeting Larger Geographical Area
All good Google Ads should focus on a geography where your potential customers are. If you are an online retailer, try running ads in areas of the country where you have the greatest brand recognition, need for your product, or some other differentiating factors. If you’re a local business, spend a good amount of time considering your local range of customers. For instance, if you are a florist your customer pool may be restricted to five square miles, but if you customize vehicles you may attract customers up to 50 miles away.

These are few things that can go a long way to drive traffic to your website with Adwords and help you generate highly qualified leads to convert into sales!

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How to Drive Traffic to Your Website

Digital marketing has upped the ante in today’s competitive market. Whether you are a start-up or an established business you need to create a strong digital footprint to succeed. But it doesn’t stop with creating a website, which is actually just the start of this process. You need to constantly work to bring eyes to your website. This will help you deliver your message and open an interactive channel of communication with your customers. Here are a few pointers that will show you how to drive traffic to your website:

• Optimize The Site – There isn’t any alternative to optimizing your website. Search Engine Optimization is the most proven technique to drive in highly targeted traffic to your website. Most businesses, especially the smaller ones, get bulk of the traffic through organic search so it’s important to identify your target audience, study their search habits and capitalize on it. This is done by using relevant search terms and phrases in your website content in order to sync your business with the appropriate questions that people are typing into search engines.

• Start a Blog – If you have been wondering why your competitors have taken to blogging, a primary goal is simply to drive more traffic to their website. Blogs enable you to post unique content on your site on a regular basis which attracts search engine crawlers. It is also one of the best ways to stamp your authority over the products and services you are dealing in and earn the trust of your customers. You will also be able interact with your potential customers intensely and encourage them to visit your website time and again by posting fresh insights related to your business on a regular basis.

A personal trainer who blogs regularly will not only maintain authority and trust with existing clients, but will gain new ones through up-to-date, informative content to share with new leads, whether they are referral-based or from online searching on a particular topic the trainer has researched.

• Social Media Marketing – Social media offers you a unique opportunity to interact with your customers and increase traffic to your website. Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks have become part of our daily lives and successful social marketing empowers you to market your website, products and services in an engaging manner. If you haven’t taken social media marketing seriously, you are missing out on a huge share of traffic and opportunity for revenue and profit.

• Print Marketing – While we all go crazy about digital marketing, most of us miss the power of promoting a brand through print marketing. This medium has been the backbone of marketing industry for ages and can perfectly complement your digital marketing campaign. An eye-catching flyer or an inspiring business card can easily drive in quality traffic to your website–just make sure you specify the URL or landing page on the promotional piece. Setting a unique URL for brochures and flyers can also help you track if they are working or not.

These few tips will help you learn how to drive traffic to your website and establish a strong brand presence. In the competitive world of digital marketing you should leave no stone unturned. If you are a new business, there’s even more you can do to make sure you are getting quality traffic. Once traffic is coming to your site, make sure you have high converting strategies in place to turn visitors into customers. B2B websites have their own set of rules for high conversion techniques as well.

Thanks for reading, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions!

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Marketing with Hashtags

The hashtag (#) is a powerful symbol in social media—and knowing how and when to use it can help you deliver wildly successful hashtag marketing campaigns by gaining followers and converting them into customers, subscribers and brand ambassadors. On Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms, the hashtag allows a user to join conversations, weigh in on current events, express solidarity with others, and gain new customers with carefully placed phrases that are highlighted by the “#” symbol. Let’s take a look.

The Origin of the Hashtag

The “hash mark” or “pound sign” is also called a “number sign.” Its early use in the realm of technology occurred in the 1970s by programmers who wanted to draw attention to a specific line of code. Fast-forward to 2007, when Twitter user Chris Messina (@FactoryJoe on Twitter) proposed the hashtag for groups. The rest, you might say, is #history.

Hashtags and Trending

Twitter hashtags have taken on a life of their own—serving as bookmarks that anyone can use to find a set of tweets about a specific topic. On any given day (or at any given hour), topics that get a very large number of tweets—usually with a hashtag—rise above the millions of tweets to the coveted “trending” spot on Twitter’s home page. Some examples of topics that reach the trending spot include holidays (#HappyNewYear) and sporting events (#WorldCup). Current events—both local and on a worldwide scale—often rise quickly and are assigned one or more hashtags. The least predictable hashtags can gain momentum quickly. A famous example is #TheDress, a conversation about a picture of a dress. Yes, it sounds unlikely, but #TheDress got more than 10 million tweets!

The Hashtag as a Bookmark

On Twitter and other social media platforms, the hashtag is used as a bookmark—it sets off a word or phrase (typically with no spaces) to make it easy to find in a search. For example, on Instagram, the hashtag #BeautifulSunset is attached to photos of sunsets… and that includes not only pictures of the sun going down, but also images of products, foods, and poetry reminiscent of a sunset. Let’s say a user is buying a t-shirt for her best friend who loves sunsets. She might search Instagram for #BeautifulSunset #T-shirt. Are you beginning to see the possibilities for how you can turn hashtags into dollars?

The Hashtag on Facebook

One in six people worldwide use Facebook, making it rich with opportunity. Using a hashtag to identify your goods or services is one way to draw customers to your page, but let’s see if we can get a bit more creative. If you have written a book, you could try to promote it with a hashtag plus the name of your book: #MyBook. But, unless you’re already on the bestseller list, how will people know to search for #MyBook? If your book is about marketing, you can apply the phrase #marketing in a post like this: “I’ll be signing #MyBook about #marketing in the modern era and I hope you’ll join me.” Now, people who are looking for books about marketing are more likely to find your book than before you applied the hashtag. Taking it to the next step, add the name of the bookstore, with a hashtag, and you’ll draw in people who are looking for news and events related to that bookstore: “Are you fascinated by #marketing in the modern era? Join us at #LocalBookStore this Friday, where I’ll present #MyBook!” While you’re on Facebook, search for people interested in #marketingbooks and post to their pages! You can also search for #Top10Books and #MyReadingList.

The Hashtag Across Social Media
Once you have a clear idea about how hashtags are used, you can promote your product or service with savvy. How to do this effectively? Simple–follow, engage and entertain.

Follow. If your product is health-oriented—for example, an exercise machine, or a smoothie maker—search for related tags: #healthyliving, #NewYearsResolution, #exercise, #greenliving, etc. Following is a great way to learn about what is trending in your field.

Engage. If the associated content (tweets on Twitter, posts on Facebook or photos and comments on Instagram) indicates interest in the same things that your potential customers would find worthwhile, follow the user! Repost, like, retweet, and “pin” on your Pinterest boards. Engaging on social media is fun and easy, and it’s free. It’s like going to a conference of like-minded people, without the travel costs.

 Entertain. People love to laugh. Many people like quotes that they can share with their friends and followers. People are looking for a tip or “hack” to make their day-to-day lives easier.   And who doesn’t like a picture of a puppy? Make sure that, along with using the hashtag to highlight your product, you also provide some fun to keep your audience coming back to see what you’re sharing.

A Note About When Not to Use a Hashtag

Remember that not all hashtags are the right ones to use when promoting your business. Large and small businesses have come under fire for “hijacking” a hashtag under the worst circumstances–a national disaster, political unrest or other types of bad news. Likewise, if a hashtag is trending but has nothing to do with your brand, move along, and preserve your brand’s integrity.

Hashtag in Real Life

The hashtag is now used not only in social media but also in major media campaigns, like sporting goods chain REI, who advertised its #OptOut campaign in traditional print media, using a hashtag. In less than ten years, the hashtag has changed the marketing landscape significantly. To make it matter for you and your business, track the effectiveness of various terms to which you attach the #. Tracking tools and analytics are available—some are even free or low-cost. You can find them, of course, by searching for #hashtagtracking.

When you’re just getting started, a great way to measure the effectiveness of the hashtag is to see how often it is shared, re-tweeted, posted or pinned. And keep trying, because when it comes to knowing how to run successful hashtag marketing campaigns, #YouCanDoIt.

Midas Marketing is a digital marketing and web development company in Portland, OR

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