Secrets of New Media Marketing

In the era of New Media, we get asked a lot of questions. New Media is described as “electronic communications that are made possible through the use of computer technology.” It is important to remember that, when compared to other forms of media, personal computing is relatively new.  The marketing definition of New Media is especially fickle and seems to change daily, or every time Google updates their algorithm. So, in order to assist our audience, we thought we would host our own little Q&A with CRM software reviewer and analyst, Ashley Verrill to help lay the groundwork.

Why do you think businesses need a buyer persona?

Creating buyer personas is crucial for ensuring that you draw in the most relevant traffic possible – people who might actually buy something from you – then keep those site visitors on your page once they’re there. Monetizing website traffic isn’t a game that’s won through volume. It’s more about the likelihood that each person would actually become a customer one day. Buyer personas enable you to create content specifically designed to attract your ideal site visitor because they are based on statistics about your real customers. These personas should include demographic information; as well as your ideal customer’s daily challenges, goals, aspirations, hobbies, and details about their buyer motivations. These personas keep visitors on-site by only offering them relevant content once they get there.

How does online video fit into the equation?

A couple ways. The content of the video should respond to questions and topics your ideal customers are interested in. A good way to figure this out is to find places where your ideal customer gathers. Research other blogs that align with your demographic. Find articles that are shared and commented on the most. Then dig into the comments and see what questions get asked over and over again. Videos are also great for featuring influences that align with your demographic. They’re successful because they require a small amount of time from the influencer, yet still provide really interesting, actionable information. Having that person’s name attached to your content adds credibility, and you can ask that person to share the video once it’s up.

How do you feel about the future of SEO practices with the advent of mobile platforms, social media, and location services?

I see these factors impacting the amount and granularity of data that Google and other search platforms can use to determine your website’s rankings. You asked about mobile. People increasingly expect responsive design when they visit your website on a smartphone or tablet. If they don’t get this, they are more apt to bounce off your site. Over time, this could really impact your bounce rates overall since more and more web browsing happens on mobile. Bounce rates are a really important engagement metric for SEO. As far as social media, no one knows the exact extent to which social signals impact your rankings, but we do know it’s becoming more important. Not just that you have social media profiles, but that people are actually re-sharing or commenting on your posts. Location services again speaks to the granularity of data. If your company provides landscaping services in Austin, Texas, but Google detects that 90 percent of your web traffic comes from people in different parts of the world, that’s going to look really weird. In addition to positive engagement metrics such as click throughs and bounce rates, the relevancy of traffic will always be really important.

How is social media integration shaping web design?

Companies are getting really strategic about where they place social sharing buttons, and how those social sharing buttons work. They might have a set of buttons for sharing that specific page, another set for the author, and another set for the whole website — all on the same page. Additionally, the website manager might want to customize how the update appears depending on which platform the person clicks on. So, the share button for Twitter will have a different message than the share button for Facebook or Google+. This can get really complicated, and technology developers know this. There’s a slew of new companies developing products specifically for integrating social into your web design. AddThis, for example, is one of the bigger ones.

Ashley Verrill is a Market Analyst at Software Advice as well the Managing Editor for the Customer Service Investigator blog. She has spent the last seven years reporting and writing business news and strategy features, including articles for GigaOM and CIO.com. Her work has also been cited in a myriad of publications including Forbes, the New York Times and Inc.

Thanks Ashley!