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Beacon Marketing: Bringing Personalized Marketing To Retail Outlets

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One of your customers is browsing your store and gets an alert on her phone. She glances at the screen and her face lights up. She looks up at the nearest employee with a huge smile on her face. The customer just received a customized alert on her phone offering a 20% discount, if she makes a purchase in your store today.

Was that a big coincidence? Nope. It was beacon marketing.

What is Beacon Marketing?

More and more consumers rely on their mobile devices to search for products and to do price comparisons. They often download their favorite brands’ apps to get special offers and other incentives. This kind of marketing takes personalized marketing to another level.

The beacons are small, battery-powered devices, that can be installed throughout any physical location. The beacons emit a special Bluetooth signal known as a BLE. Within a certain range, mobile devices can pick up the BLE signal and receive push notifications. Those notifications allow you to interact with your customers in new and different ways.

Some beacon setups currently require consumers to have the brand/store app installed to receive these notifications. However, Twitter has paired with beacon start-up, Swirl. They are developing ways of bypassing the app requirement and using Twitter instead. Instead of requiring a consumer to install an app, all that person needs to do is follow the brand on Twitter.

Does It Really Work?

Yes.

More than 50% of the top 100 brands already use beacons within their physical stores, with great success. Macy’s implemented these signaling devices throughout their chain after conducting a hugely successful trial run over a Christmas season.

The beauty of these devices is that they can be used in businesses of various sizes and in different industries. For example, casinos can engage their guests from the moment they walk through the door. If a VIP walks through the door, the casino can send a welcome and have a staff member waiting in the VIP room with the customer’s favorite drink in hand. Someone in the slots area can receive a special offer to come visit the roulette tables. Other guests can receive discount offers for dining and entertainment.

Now, the success a business has with beacon marketing depends on what value you offer to the customer. This form of marketing enhances the way your business can interact and engage with your customers. Offering tips, perks, and discounts are all effective ways to provide value to consumers.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

Brick-and-mortar stores continue to fight the pressure of online competitors. Competing on price is difficult with the overhead costs of running a physical location. To remain competitive, stores have to find new ways to differentiate themselves from the online competition.

Using beacons to interact with customers opens up new opportunities to engage consumers and entice them to make in-store purchases. That makes beacon marketing a promising channel for the long-term success of brick-and-mortar stores.

Download Our White Paper Guide To Learn How To Perfect Buyer Personas For Your Business

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8 Tips on Social Media Best Practices For Your Business

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Why are social media best practices important? Social media has become a staple in our lives and popularity rules in this environment. It has become such an addiction that teens spend over 9 hours a day going through their social media pages. Social media is a tool that both individuals and businesses can manipulate to get the audience for their causes. Social media is a great tool for attraction marketing. Most business owners nowadays practice strategies aimed at optimization of social media platforms. Content displayed on social media platforms measures the response you get from your target audience just by the likes or dislikes you get.

We want you to get the most out of your social media platforms by enforcing these social media best practices. You will learn the secrets behind engaging and maintaining a media presence with loyal followers.

Social Media Best Practices

1. Keep an active presence

We all know that if you are inactive in social media in this digital world, you are irrelevant. Be active! Engage your audience, tell them about your brand story and show them snippets of what the brand represents. Remember however, not to disclose irrelevant information about your brand. There have been cases where too much information has overwhelmed audiences. It is important to explore all the possible avenues to let the world know why your brand is cool.

2. Keep interest

Now that you have gained a loyal following, show interest in your fans! When they reach out to you, follow back and always give personal feedback. This creation of goodwill will serve only to increase your brand’s following, earn you some popularity ratings, and maybe add revenue to your purse. Remember to thank your fans for keeping up with your venture. A brand based on humility and an understanding nature is always appreciated.

3. Concise please

We all love a good post, but if it is too long we get bored in the middle. According to a statistical review conducted on the strategies of effective tweeting, shorter tweets received 17% more following than long tweets. Although other sites do not limit your word count, you should keep in mind to pass your message in the intent you aimed it for.

4. Maintain your tone

What is your preferred tone, are you more of the serious, focused kind or the more casual faithful one. What message are you trying to pass along? Who is your demographic and what tone do you need to engage in to make them pay attention? You need to make them feel like they are part of your brand and your journey. Think about it.

To learn more about messaging read Share Your Message With A New Brand Strategy.

5. Know when to evoke silence

Sometimes media related war comes your way. It is crucial to identify which battles to fight and which ones to fold. You do not have to engage in all conversations involving your brand. If it’s a controversial topic that may not reflect the brand values, do not engage. Reviews have taken down businesses. Always try acting like “the gentleman” when it comes to social media.

6. Transparency helps

Honesty is the policy and the truth shall set you free. When it comes to social media, lies are a great faux pas. Remember that inclusion is important. Share live streams, create audios and videos that will help your followers stay in touch with brand your activities and updates.

7. Overshare faux pas

Please avoid being pushy or attending to the public’s frivolous whims. Remember that you cannot please everyone. Social media best practices call for precise, goal oriented messages. Posting too often mat look desperate and distracting.

8. Correct timing

Every social media platform has unspoken rules on when and how often to post. For Facebook, there is the famous, post twice a day rule depending on the number of followers. In Twitter, for maximum brand optimization, 1-5 tweets a day are efficient. If you are just looking for opinions, you can tweet till you fall. What usually matters in Instagram, is sticking to the consistency of the amounts you post. You cannot change from 10 posts a day to one in every two days and not see a drop in numbers.

All said and done, do have an interesting social media life and enjoy it to bits!

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Why HTTPS Google?

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The world is settling in the digital age, privacy and security are the growing concern to most of us. Businesses and individuals are questioning the web on the security of the websites we use to send sensitive information like bank details and credit card information. We have been using different methods of informing the users that the connection that they are using, is secure. One of the methods used was an icon that looks like a lock next to the website address. This is all about to change.

Google launched that HTTPS that would be used as a factor in ranking websites. HTTPS symbolizes HyperText Transfer Protocol. This communication protocol is a safer upgrade from the HTTP that we have been using over the last 30 years. This upgrade enables your websites to transfer information safely and faster. The HTTPS protocol was efficient but was limited in its security functions. It was vulnerable to hackers and interference from third party sites.

How it works

HTTPS Google is an upgraded version of the HTTP that we have gotten used to. Blanketed in protective layers of SSL. The SSL, standing for Secure Sockets Layer that encrypts information sent over the Internet. The function of the SSL serves the purpose of confirming that you are speaking with the right person. It also encrypts and decrypts information being carried out in between two points.

The most intriguing part of this Protocol is that anyone who is trying to intercept your messages will be unable to get the actual information that you send over. So whenever your website is protected, your information is as safe as can be.

What are the benefits for you?

You are not the only one unsure about registering your websites. Most of us are unaware of the benefits that are in store for our websites. Let us look at some of them:

  • It offers you end-to-end encryption to secure private information.
  • It increases trust and confidence in web related transactions
  • It eliminates the need of browser warnings on insecure websites.
  • It keeps your sensitive information from leaking to the wrong hands.
  • HTTPS Google secures rankings for websites that register SSL certificates.
  • It eliminates costs you incur by registering multiple sites under one SSL certificate
  • It increases conversion rates for your website giving you better rankings.

Google HTTPS identification

Google is pushing for you to get your SSL certificates. The websites still under the HTTP protocol will be labeled as not secure. As opposed to remaining neutral or showing a lock, Google has adapted that strategy to be executed in stages. Eventually, Google will change the “circle i” to a red triangle for broken web links to notify the user of the danger. That is effective as of January 31st.

What does this mean for SEO?

A lot of websites are shy from switching to HTTPS because it will affect the SEO rankings attached to your business. This is not true. HTTPS Google is transparently assuring you of its safety.  As a website owner you should take steps to ensure that your website traffic is not affected.

Learn more on how you can increase your wesite traffic through SEO.

You need to communicate with the Google team that you are moving from HTTP to HTTPS. They will direct you on the steps you need to take. HTTPS Google has offered this tips to ensure you are covered.

  • Get certificates according to your needs. Single, wild card or multi- domain certificate
  • Use the same URLs contained in secure domains
  • The bit key certificates you use should be around 2048 bits
  • Use protocol related URLs in al domains
  • Avoid blocking your HTTPS website from crawling through robots.txt.
  • Ensure to avoid non-index Meta tags being issued.
  • Use the https Google tips on Google Webmaster to figure your way around and track your migration to the last detail.

Migrating from HTTP to HTTPS will secure your website a place in this world that is constantly under pressure to develop and advance.

25 Website Must Haves For Driving Traffic, Leads & Sales

Senior Living Tips for Facebook Advertising

Senior Living Marketing Tips for Facebook Advertising

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Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world today with over 1 billion active users. The platform is ideal advertising space for all types of businesses and organizations and senior living is no exception.

The following are useful tips on how to create strong Facebook advertising for Senior Living Marketing.

1. Develop Your Buyer Personas

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers. Creating buyer personas is one of the keys to having an effective marketing campaign. It helps you to clearly define what message will resonate with your audience in your advertising. Know who your personas are and you will better understand how to talk to them. As a result, you will be able to attract the most valuable visitors, leads, and customers to your community.

To Understand More About Establishing Your Buyer Personas, See Our Article Why Buyer Personas Are So Important.

2. Target Your Advertising

Now that you have developed your buyer persona’s you can use that information to directly target those types of people within Facebook. Not only can you run ads targeted by location and demographics within Facebook, you can also target by Behavior and Interests. For example, if your community is next to a golf course, you can run ads towards seniors who are retired and are interested in golf. This way you can focus your messaging to meet the audience where they are at today.

3. Show Off Your Brand’s Personality

Make sure when you are advertising on Facebook that you stay true to your brand and show-off your brand’s personality. Is your community about the activity? Show your residents being active? Are you near a college? Highlight this fact in your posts. Think about what will resonate with your audience and how you can make them feel comfortable and excited to visit your community.

4. Have Good Calls to Action

The Call-To-Action is the Most Important Element of your Facebook Ad. It is how you convince people to take the next step towards learning about your community. If you have a good image, it will draw people’s attention, but the CTA is where people will make their decision to actually stop and click. You want to make sure your CTA’s are as strong as possible and test to see what resonates with your audience.

5. Change Your Ad By Device

Facebook ads look different depending on what device you are browsing Facebook on. You want to make sure that your ads look their best on any device. Desktop ads should have a longer copy and link descriptions. Mobile ads should be shorter. Be sure to change up your artwork to match the medium it is being delivered in.

Seniors are becoming savvier when it comes to social media. They are looking to understand more about your community and what you have to offer. By thinking about your audience and what they care about and combining it with your own brand’s personality, you will be sure to do well with your Facebook advertising.

Learn To Use Social Media To Find New Leads

Four Things You Can Learn About Real Estate Marketing From Bon Jovi

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Being an exec in an advertising agency can sometimes be a curse. When you go home at night you can’t just “shut it off”… you see marketing and branding everywhere. But on the positive side, that means inspiration can come from just about anywhere at any time. I’m an avid music lover and concertgoer and as all my colleagues know, my favorite band is Bon Jovi. So out of professional curiosity and personal interest, I follow the band’s marketing efforts and they’re doing a lot of things right. Here are four things I learned from Bon Jovi that you can apply to your real estate marketing.

Know Your Target Audience

Early on, way back in the ‘80s, Bon Jovi realized it appealed more to women than the typical male dominated rock crowd. Jon’s good looks and power ballads made the ladies swoon. Fast forward to today and of the thousands of fans at a Bon Jovi concert, most are women. A smart marketer, Jon capitalized on his popularity with the female audience almost from the start. He knows his best…assets…and how to use them.

How is this relevant to real estate marketing? You need to know who your target audience is and how to connect with them. Like for Bon Jovi, the target audience for most homebuilders is women age 35 to 54. They tend to be the ones out looking for a new home initially. So ask yourself—are you advertising where they are? For instance, a significant percentage of “soccer moms” are on Facebook, bragging about their kids and sharing family photos. Buying paid advertising on this social medium gives you the opportunity to pinpoint exactly who you want to reach. And make sure your message resonates with your audience, as well. Talk about what is important and enticing to them, not what is important to you.

Embrace Technology

In the ‘80s at the start of Bon Jovi’s mega popularity, music videos were the new thing. The band embraced this visual medium, giving viewers at home a glimpse of their stage presence and highlighting Jon’s charisma. Being a staple on MTV contributed to the group’s early success. Now, you can follow Bon Jovi on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and see their videos on Tidal, YouTube and Vevo. You can even download the Bon Jovi app to stay up-to-date on all things Jovi related.

As a marketer, you have a variety of new technologies and media vehicles available to you that your ‘80s self couldn’t even imagine. Use them. Bring your homes to life with virtual reality. Showcase your models with 360-degree video. Capture the magnitude of your neighborhoods with drone footage. Post and share photos on Instagram. Pin decorating ideas on Pinterest boards. Be creative. Today’s real estate marketing tools go way beyond still shots of model homes and allow you to emotionally connect with home shoppers in ways you never could before.

Stay Relevant

Bon Jovi’s fans have aged along with the group. While the band still plays the classic hits in concert, they churn out new “albums” and songs that reflect the times and attitudes of today’s listeners. They rely what they know works but continue to change to stay current with what’s trending. Lyrics that related to teenagers in the ‘80s won’t resonate with middle-aged housewives now.

For real estate marketing, be open to new ideas and avenues to get your message out. Print media—newspapers, direct mail, inserts—still have a place but mobile and social are where you need to be to be seen. The online world brings creative challenges. You only have a few seconds to make an impact and viewers are bombarded with competing images all over the screen. Don’t try to give all the details in a small space. Entice the viewer to click to learn more. Then grab and keep their attention with an engaging, user-friendly website. Your home designs are different than they were 30 years ago. You’re advertising efforts should be, too.

Your Brand Has Value Beyond The Home

Bon Jovi branding now extends well beyond the music business. Several categories—from a male clothing line to pasta sauce, a football franchise to charity endeavors—have emerged that capitalize on the popularity of the group’s namesake and front man. They are not all directly tied to Bon Jovi the band’s brand, but they are indirectly associated with the Jovi name and therefore are recognizable with consumers in the target audience.

In real estate marketing, this often occurs with mortgage companies that are associated with national homebuilder and carry a similar moniker. It also can occur with sub categories of your company, such as remodeling or commercial arm. What’s most important to remember is that you want all branding associated with your core brand to portray the same level of quality and values.

As a Chicago-area advertising agency, Stevens & Tate consults with not only real estate companies but also businesses in a variety of industries to develop marketing strategies that can propel their growth. If you are considering an agency review, visit www.stevens-tate.com to view recent work or call (630) 627-5200 to see if Stevens & Tate is a fit for your new agency partner.

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Benefits of SEO: How Optimizing Your Website Will Lead To Greater Results in 2017

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By now, most marketers recognize that SEO is an important part of doing business online. To put it simply, if your website isn’t properly optimized, you are missing out. There are many reasons why you should start an SEO program if you haven’t already. SEO is a part of attraction marketing. Here are six of the top benefits of SEO.

More Website Traffic

Top positions in the search engines result pages lead to a lot more clicks, so ranking near the top can significantly increase the traffic coming to your website. According to research from Advanced Web Ranking, the top search result gets 30.1 percent of the clicks and over 50 percent of the clicks go to the top three results. Read more

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Learn To Generate More Leads With Hubspot’s State of Inbound 2016 Report

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Converting visitors into leads is the biggest challenge for marketers, according to HubSpot’s State of Inbound 2016 report. With 78 percent of marketers saying generating leads is their top challenge, the competition is

Here are a few key lead generation strategies based on the data found in HubSpot’s State of Inbound 2016 report. Read more

Creating A Brand To Become President

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Whether you are a fan of politics or prefer to stay on the side lines, the race for the presidency has always been about strategy and timing. This election has broken many barriers, but one thing for certain is that both candidates have established a presidential brand. Read more

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Why People Unsubscribe From Your Emails, And What To Do About It

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Emails are an important part of any b2b marketing program, and are still one of the best ways to get your content in front of prospects and leads. In fact, according to HubSpot’s State of Inbound 2016 report, 29 percent of salespeople said that email is their most effective channel for connecting with prospects. One area where marketers often struggle with their email marketing campaigns is failing to retain their subscribers. Here are five reasons people commonly unsubscribe from your emails and a few tactics for keeping them on your list and engaging with your brand. Read more

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FDA Nutrition Label Changes Impact Food Packaging Design

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On May 20th, 2016 the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued new rules for nutrition labels and packaged foods. So how does this affect private label packaging or food packaging design in general? It’s been 20 years since any major revision has been made and to my assessment, a much needed one.

The purpose of this blog is to discuss the design only and not the new laws that revolve around the change including new line items and removal of some items.

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