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©2018 JB Media Institute LLC

Welcome to

#d2cc2d

Sarah Benoit

Co-founder and Lead Instructorof the JB Media Institute


#d2cc2d

Justin Belleme

Founder, Director of Strategy of JB Media Group and Co-founder of the JB Media Institute


Critical Questions to Ask Your Vendors or Marketing Team


Justin Belleme - JB Media Founder and Director of StrategyJuly 24, 2018


Question Categories

1. SEO2. Social Media3. Google AdWords4. PR5. Email Marketing


SEO Questions

1. What is the overall strategy?2. What is the plan for new content?3. How are we building new links?4. Are site speed, time on site, and CTR being considered and

issues addressed?

SEO: What is the overall strategy?

Strategy should include plans for:● HTML formatting● Meta data, and structured data● Optimization of existing content● New content development● Measures to improve site authority such as link building

If your SEO team cannot provide a quick (within 24 hour) response to your strategy question, you may have an issue. Unfortunately, it is fairly common for vendors and even internal teams to hide behind the confusing and technical nature of SEO work.


SEO: What is the plan for new content?

● Your SEO team should provide a plan for creating new optimized content and should offer SEO editing for any new content your team writes.

● There should also be a plan to improve existing content.● All content sections of the website should be kept up-to-date on the

latest SEO best practices.

If creating and adding new optimized content is not part of the strategy, this is a big red flag. In some cases, for very large websites, a viable SEO strategy is to focus on optimizing existing content.


SEO: How are web building new links?● Reputable SEO teams should know the importance of links and be able to

suggest ways to earn new high quality links.● Links can come from:

○ PR○ Partnerships marketing○ Direct outreach○ All of these approaches should be discussed and considered

One big red flag for link building is any strategy that suggests buying links. Strategies that revolve around automated link building should also be avoided. Both of these strategies violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.


SEO: Are site speed, time on site, and CTR being considered?

Technical SEO is the other area that your SEO team should have a strategy to address.

Your initial SEO audit and or strategy should address:

● Site speed● Usability● Existing content optimization including metadata● Internal linking

Some technical improvements are easy while others may involve programming costs or even a full website redesign. In some cases, these costs and site changes are necessary to see improvements in SEO. Ignoring technical SEO can have serious consequences.


Social Media Questions

1. What is the content strategy?2. Which platforms are the priority?3. How frequently will posts be published?4. What is the paid advertising strategy?


Social: What is the content strategy?● Professional social media managers will build a content strategy before

taking over account management. ● Achieving goals such as increased website traffic via social media marketing

is difficult without a written strategy.● Strategy will help ensure variation in content themes, formats, and sources,

which improve engagement and results.

Many amateur or inexperienced social media managers simply create content as needed. Be aware that content without a strategy is unlikely to show any significant results.


Social: Which platforms are the priority?● Solid social media strategy prioritizes where your audience spends the most

time rather than the "newest" or most trendy social media platforms.● Also, if your social media strategy is too broad and does not allow resources

to be focused on building both a following and engagement in the same channel, results are likely to disappoint.

● Current B2C: If your social media strategy does not prioritize Facebook and Instagram, that is a red flag.

● Current B2B: If your social media strategy does not consider LinkedIn then you may have an issue.


Social: How frequently will posts be published?● It is a red flag if your social media team suggests posting much more or less

frequently than 1-2 times per day.● Posting too often is a waste of resources and will cause your best content to

be buried quickly behind other content.● Posting too infrequently makes it very hard to build engagement and

momentum and also makes your accounts less interesting.● For most platforms 3-7 posts per week is ideal.● You can post more frequently during live events.


Social: What is the paid advertising strategy?● Social media advertising, especially Facebook, should now be part of nearly all

businesses marketing budgets.● For B2B businesses LinkedIn often replaces Facebook at the most important social

network for advertising.● Pinterest and Instagram advertising are increasingly valuable for many businesses.● At least 10-25% of your budget should be used for social media advertising.● Ignoring Facebook advertising or relying simply on native content will significantly

curtail your ability to reach potential customers

Advertising on Facebook is more complex than you may think. A sound strategy includes building the page via likes ads, driving traffic and engagement via boosted posts and website traffic ads, and promoting events via boosted event pages.


Google Ad Questions

1. What are the main campaigns and ad groups?2. What are the top keywords receiving clicks?3. What is the average CPC?4. What are the key CTAs and conversions?5. How are we approaching Display and Video ads?


Ads: What are the campaigns and ad groups?

Your AdWords team should be able to quickly deliver a list of ad groups and campaigns that line up logically with your overall promotional goals and other marketing priorities. ● Look out for accounts with only one campaign or with lots of campaigns

with only one ad group in each.● Complex accounts may have many more, but there should be at least 3-5

campaigns with 2-3 ad groups in each one.

Red Flag: Campaigns and ad groups create structure within your account. Be concerned if you notice wildly different topics within the same ad group.


Ads: What are the top keywords receiving clicks?

Your AdWords team will be willing and able to share a list of the keywords that have received the most clicks and impressions over the last 30 days upon request.

This list should be logical search phrases that potential customers/clients/donors use to look up information relevant to your products, services, or brand.


Ads: What is the average CPC?

● Average cost per click (CPC) is very industry dependent.● In most industries the average is between $0.50 - $3.00 per click for

Google Ads.● Having a CPC that is too high will waste a lot of resources and will make it

very hard to achieve a positive return on investment (ROI).● Industry benchmarks: Search Wordstream CPC Benchmarks

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/google-adwords-industry-benchmarks




Ads: What are CTAs and conversions?

One big red flag for AdWords is not having any conversions tracked. It is actually fairly common because CTAs and trackable conversions can be somewhat difficult for some businesses and websites to set up.

● Without conversion tracking, you cannot see how your campaigns perform against your goals.

● With conversion tracking, you can spend more on converting keywords and learn more about your potential customers’ intent when searching.


Ads: How are you approaching video and display?

Display and video ads should be strongly considered for your advertising strategy.

If these are not part of your current strategy then we suggest talking to your advertising team about adding these strategies to the plan.

Recent changes to targeting options are making these strategies increasingly relevant.


PR Questions

1. What are the goals and measurable outcomes?2. What outlets/publications are we targeting?3. What is their track record with these publications? Do they

have existing contacts?


PR: What are the goals and outcomes?● PR efforts can be hard to track.● Outreach takes a lot of effort and sometimes comes up empty.● Having clear goals keeps your PR team on track and on task.

Goals can be set for efforts including:● Number of pitches and outlets contacted● Number of visits from journalists ● Total stories written

Final Note: PR outreach conducted without the necessary research or appropriate planning is unlikely to succeed.


PR: Who are we targeting?

● Your PR team should be willing and able to provide a list of the targeted publications before any outreach begins.

● This should include a mix of achievable outlets and some aspirations or stretch media outlets.


PR: Do exiting relationships exist with the target publications?

● PR is all about building and maintaining relationships.● Good PR firms will have relationships with at least 50% of the target

publications and a clear plan to make relationships with the others.○ A PR team with strong connections on one part of the country may

not be able to get results in another, particularly not quickly.● It’s wise for the strategy to include both attending events where these

media outlets will be in attendance and direct outreach.


Email Marketing Questions

1. What is the overall strategy?2. What is the goal open rate?3. What are goal click rates?4. How are we growing the emails list?


Email: What is the overall strategy?● Most organizations focus on 1-2 email campaigns per month.● The strategy should include distributing new content and events originally

published on the website.● This approach keeps the focus on the website where the visitor interaction

and engagement takes place.

It is an issue if a lot of time and resources are used to create new content for the email newsletter each month. It is acceptable to create custom content for special promotions and seasonal campaigns for the email newsletter. These could also be housed on campaign or promotion landing pages within the website to cut down on duplicated efforts.


Email: What is the goal open rate?● One of the main success metrics for email marketing campaigns the Open Rate.● Your team should know the Open Rate & have a strategy to increase it over time.● Some ways to increase Open Rate include:

○ A/B testing of subject lines to see which performs better○ Segmenting out users who have not been active for several months○ Optimizing emails to load quickly, offer max. value, & work well on all

devices

Here are some benchmarks for different list sizes:● 15% for lists under 10,000 names● 12.5% for lists between 10,000 - 50,000 names● 10% for lists over 50,000 names


Email: What is the goal click rate?It is challenging to benchmark Click Rates because different email formats and different industries all have different Click Rates.

Email template design and layout play a large role in Click Rate.

Emails with complex layouts, or where the links are hard to find or hard to click on a mobile phone, will have a much lower Click Rate.

To learn more about email Open Rate and Click Rate benchmarks we suggest exploring this article from Mailchimp.


https://mailchimp.com/resources/research/email-marketing-benchmarks/

Email: How are we growing the email list?Growing an email list requires a combination of tactics, many of which involve other marketing channels or strategies to execute properly.

These strategies include:● Designing strong calls to action for email list sign up into the website ● Running contests that require an email to enter● Creating downloadable resources that require an email address

An email strategy carried out in a vacuum is a red flag. Cooperation and communication across graphic design, email, website design, and social media is necessary in order for email marketing efforts to yield results.


Thank you!


Questions?

Email me: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Break Time

~ 20 minutes ~ ©2018 JB Media Institute LLC

Digital Drop-in Aug. 8th (Free)

JB Media Institute July Cohort July 24th ($799 1st payment then $79/month)

All Access Cohort Peer Coaching Group still accepting new members - next group meeting is Aug. 15, 2018 ($500/month)

https://www.jbmediagroupllc.com/free-webinar/

https://www.jbmediagroupllc.com/online-jb-media-institute/

The Five Biggest Changesin Digital Marketing in 2018


Digital Marketing is ALWAYSchanging!

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." — Socrates

Conversation - the Path to Facebook Success

The only way people who don’t know your brand see your content on Facebook is if the people who are already aware or connected to you engage with the content first.

If your own fans do not engage, no new people will be reached and have the chance to engage.


1

Facebook News Feed Changes

On Jan. 11, 2018 Facebook said the latest update would “prioritize posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people.”

The new algorithm works to understand, identify, and display posts that generate back-and-forth discussion in the comments and shares.


https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/01/news-feed-fyi-bringing-people-closer-together/


EXAMPLE 1References a popular and trending story

2 Comments 7 Shares 4 Reactions

Simple graphic


EXAMPLE 2Makes a strong statement about the store’s values


Iconic image


EXAMPLE 3Reflects audience values


Great use of humor

PRO TIPResponding to comments and tagging others is more valuable than ever. If you have time respond thoughtfully and encourage back and forth conversations.


PRO TIP

Posts seeking advice or asking for recommendations that spark conversations can be prioritized in the news feed.


PRO TIP

Run Facebook ad campaigns that target your own fans and give them a reason to engage with your page content. Find out what gets them talking and sharing.


According to Facebook, 78% of their users are already watching live stream videos.

Users spend 3X more time watching them and comment 10X more during live videos.


2 Live Video Is more Popularthan Ever

PRO TIP

Go live for a minimum of 10 minutes and have a clear purpose for the live stream.


PRO TIPTest out different styles of live content like event

coverage, thought leadership, interviews, documentary, etc. Discover what resonates with your audience.


PRO TIP

Make live streams about topics that are more specific. Avoid sharing information that is too broad and long-winded. It must be relevant.



3● Promote a post● Image & video

ads ● Carousel ads ● Stories ads

Learn more

Instagram Advertising - Straight from the App

https://business.instagram.com/advertising/

PRO TIPThink about targeting your Instagram audience with more specific ads created just for them.

“Our aim is to make any advertisements you see feel as natural to Instagram as photos and videos many of you already enjoy from your favorite brands.”


PRO TIP

Create regularly scheduled Stories where you share ideas, experiences, results, etc. Announce the dates in advance and invite people via Promotions.


PRO TIP

Use specific filters or effects regularly to create brand consistency. Make your Instagram content recognizable.



EXAMPLES


4 Search Intent - The Heart of Effective SEO

Search intent is the reason any single person looks for a particular location, query, topic, product, or answer on their mobile device or computer.

Search intent relates directly to keyword intent - the reason someone chose a specific phrase or term.


Types of IntentTransactional/Commercial (DO): The person wants to get to a website where there will be more interaction, e.g. buying something, downloading something, signing up or registering etc.

Informational or Investigative (KNOW): This is when the person is looking for a specific bit of information.

Navigational (GO): The person is looking to reach a particular website. There's only one likely destination that they're looking to reach.

https://moz.com/blog/revisiting-navigational-informational-transactional-search-post-pagerank

https://moz.com/blog/revisiting-navigational-informational-transactional-search-post-pagerank

PRO TIPIf you have pages you want to rank, identify and understand the purpose of each page - optimize using keyword terms that reflect why someone visits the page.


PRO TIPReview your top website pages in Analytics and prioritize editing for intent to pages that are popular and already attract traffic. Make the pages more conversion oriented.


PRO TIPRun Google Adwords campaigns and track which keyword terms drove higher conversions. Prioritize these terms in your organic SEO knowing they are more likely drive results.



5 Google Adwords - A WholeNew Look

● The new UI is simpler and more mobile-friendly. ● Life Event Targeting comes to Youtube and Gmail ads.

Life events include: graduation, marriage, and moving.● Google Adwords becomes Google Ads. Google Ads is

going to focus on making multi-channel advertising simple and connecting everything from search to display to video for a more seamless experience.

PRO TIP

Already doing social media ads with video? Consider doing video ads on Youtube in 2018.


PRO TIP

If you are a non-profit using Google Grants make sure you

have reviewed all of their new requirements and make sure you meet their click through rate (CTR) standards.

https://support.google.com/grants/answer/117827?hl=en


https://support.google.com/grants/answer/117827?hl=en

PRO TIP

Don’t just think about ads you can create, think

about ad campaigns you can run. Define success by focusing on specific goals and objectives.


Don’t Go It Alone!

Digital Drop-in Aug. 8th (Free)

JB Media Institute July Cohort July 24th ($799 1st payment then $79/month)

All Access Cohort Peer Coaching Group still accepting new members - next group meeting is Aug. 15, 2018 ($500/month)


https://www.jbmediagroupllc.com/free-webinar/

https://www.jbmediagroupllc.com/online-jb-media-institute/

Special Discounts


$500/month now $400/month!

$799 for month 1 now $599!

Join our July 2018 online cohort this week and get $200 off your first payment.

Join our All Access Cohort peer mentoring group by August 1 and get $100 off a month for your first 3 months.

Thank you!


Justin: [email protected]

Sarah: [email protected]

“You do amazing things. More people should know.”

www.jbmediagroupllc.com/summer-bootcamp-2018/



https://www.jbmediagroupllc.com/summer-bootcamp-2018/

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