At our core, EMS is a marketing company. Aside from our design work, we wanted to bring your attention to some of our other important services.

Social Media Marketing Plan Development
This printed and bound marketing plan contains a comprehensive roadmap for using social media for your business.  It is a marketing plan built exclusively for you that contains complete strategy, campaigns, schedules and tracking. This plan is applicable for any company that wants to succeed in social media marketing.

Social Media Account Optimization and Customization
Customize your social media accounts in Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with branded graphics and enhancements. These accounts each offer their own options for customization and optimization to enhance the overall experience under your brand.

Google AdWords
Google AdWords continues to evolve. The current AdWords has functions and options that simply can’t be ignored. If it’s been more than one or two years since you’ve utilized this service, contact us to run a new marketing trial.

Facebook Advertising
Facebook’s advertising programs are producing solid results for many of our clients.  While it may not be a perfect fit for all, it is easy and affordable to perform a proof of concept trial to test the results. The beauty of this advertising is that you can test the waters with a small budget and no long-term commitment.

For more information about these or any of our services, call us today: 888-736-4367 or ask us questions in the comments below!

Rae Hoffman-Dolan recently reached out and offered to guest-write for the blogs of her online community. We asked Rae a series of questions about current trends in SEO, Social Media, PPC, and Linking Strategies. We’d like to thank Rae for her thoughtful answers, and invite our readers to add their thoughts in the comments below.

Question 1. With social media on the rise in usage and the validation of blogs in search engines, how important is a traditional links procurement strategy to a web site and do links from blogs count equally as links from standard web sites?

Rae: I think everyone needs to have a balanced and in depth link building strategy. There’s definitely still value in your more traditional, standard links – like directories and other low hanging fruit. But obviously, the rise of social media has added additional avenues of opportunities, like links from various social media profiles and then those profiles give you the opportunities to get even more links (think Twitter and then Twellow for an example.) As far as blog links vs. links from standard websites… If the link is in content, the platform of the site (WordPress, static HTML, ExpressionEngine, custom build CMS, whatever the case may be) doesn’t really matter. What you need to be concerned with – what makes a difference – is the authority of the linking site. That stands for in content links. As far as say, blog comment links vs. standard links, no, I don’t think they count the same. I think in very small or low competition niches, you might see them “having an impact” much more often than in your more competitive and mainstream industries. I think folks looking for link build advice will find some in depth advice in my latest edition of Link Building Pros, a yearly interview I’ve been doing for the last few years with some of the most respected link building voices in the industry.

Question 2. I realize this would differ from industry to industry and company to company, but when creating an emarketing plan, what is the current average ratio of importance between social media to SEO and pay per click advertising?

Rae: I don’t think there’s a canned answer or even close to a canned answer for that. The need for one can change based on your effectiveness with the others. I.e. a site that has strong ranks with organic SEO may not find PPC to be heavily important where as a site without those strong organic ranks may find it absolutely imperative. Social media, in my eyes, plays a strong importance in terms of branding and send signals that will help you rank better in the engines. I think a comprehensive strategy will contain all three. I totally admit to not being a PPC aficionado, so all of my affiliate sites depend strongly on organic SEO and social media efforts. And they obviously do amazingly well. It doesn’t mean they might not do even better with PPC at play – but I’ve usually stayed focused on what I have specific talent at and haven’t explored that avenue. However, recently I bought into a LLC formation service which is a true business and not an affiliate website. On that site, I definitely recognize the need for PPC to be part of its online marketing plan. So I’ve contracted my husband (a Houston PPC consultant) to do the PPC campaigns for that company (again, I stick with my specialities and hire out for whatever I need not within them.) I’d do my best to make all three a part of your strategy – and adjust the ratio of time spent on them based on the return they bring you (and or your company.)

Question 3. For companies who cannot jump in all at once, what is most important in emarketing today? If they had to choose to start one step at a time, is it social media, SEO, or pay per click?

Rae: It depends on the budget. In most cases, I would say SEO – but given as I mentioned above that it’s my area of strength – I may be biased. SEO (especially the DIY kind if you’re a small business) is cheap, but it takes a while. PPC can be expensive, especially if you don’t know your conversion rate, cost per customer and the other metrics imperative to PPC success and have to pay to learn them. But PPC is also nearly instant. I don’t think social would ever be my “all my eggs in that basket for the first few weeks” approach. But if I were? I’d be sure to check out these reports on how social media meets public relations in the new age. I think you need a balance between all aspects of your online marketing strategy. Even SEO, PPC and social doesn’t cover it all – then you have guest posting, cross promotion techniques, press releases, optimizing for local business networks (like Yelp and Google Places), CPM advertising and various other avenues you can use to promote your site.

Question 4. The rise of social media has given new life to many SEO marketers. Where to do you think social media and SEO is headed?

Rae: Well, I think if an SEO needed social media to bring “life” to their SEO work, they may not have been doing it right. LOL. SEO used to be an essential blanket word for doing what it took for your website to be found online – in the days when the only way to be found online was via search engines. I think SEO has absolutely evolved and there are so many facets to being “found” online now – SEO is merely one part of it. The focus of SEO is to make your site as friendly to the search engines as possible. I do a lot of SEO audits and the core focus of them is making sure a site is using technical SEO (on page optimization, site structure, internal linking, site indexing methods – quite a bit more) to the best of their ability. Link development is now its own division in an online marketing plan in my eyes. Social media is slowly morphing into the new PR and as a “backup signal” reinforcing the efforts you implement with proper technical SEO and a proper marketing (AKA link building) campaign and proper PR efforts.

Question 5. What up and coming individuals should one be keeping an eye on for future Social Media development ideas?

Rae: Lee Odden is a definite one who “gets” SEO and the overall online marketing picture while being more of a PR and social media guy. Kristy Bolsinger is someone else I see sharing a lot of tactical and valuable information in the social media space. I’m sure there are others, but Lee and Kristy immediately pop into my head upon reading that question. I totally admit to being overly skeptical regarding “social media experts” because I think too many people claim the title with little more knowledge than how to build a Twitter account.

Question 6. Do you know the correlation that Google takes into account between likes and shares when it comes to social media optimization? Can you discuss social media optimization versus search engine optimization?

Rae: No one can definitely answer that question unless they’re a Google engineer. Just like SEO, the “secret sauce” regarding exactly how social media popularity impacts your search engine rankings is an educated guessing game. Some people will emerge with big time talent in the department of bring right (as with traditional SEO.) The posts on the topic have already started – you just need to test the theories and find out what works.

Every year websites are becoming faster, stronger and more intuitive. As a result, consumers have been reconditioned to expect more.  These 5 tips can help you meet the changing needs of consumers and maintain a competitive online presence.

1.       Put your best foot forward. You may not be able to create a brand new website, but you can make sure that your current site is as accurate and contemporary as possible.  Making simple changes like uploading new photos and rewriting the content can have a profound effect and breathe new life into your website.

2.       Be interesting. Always remember that your website is there to benefit your customers.  The information you publish should be of interest to them and go deeper than the obvious.  By having an interesting website you can develop authority, increase your readership, and most importantly—stand out from the competition.

3.       Communicate respectfully. If you’re still sending out the same email blast or newsletter as two years ago, you are probably doing your business more harm than good. Now is the time to treat your consumers like gold. They are renewable resources that deserve the utmost respect. This means that when you communicate with your clients, it should always be meaningful and add value to their lives.

4.       Be interested. Having a website is about two-way communication.  Ask your customers about what is important to them and get their feedback.  Once you understand what they want—give it to them. When you are truly interested in the opinions of your audience, it can bring the fun and meaning back to online marketing.

5.       Track effectiveness. It is critical to find out what you are doing right and what you can improve. Get feedback through word of mouth, analytics, and online comments and then honor that response by giving people more of what they like and changing the things they don’t.

It is important to remember that your business website is simply an extension of your storefront.  The customers that visit should be treated with the same respect and attention as someone walking into your store.  By integrating these human elements into your website, marketing will become more effective, more fun to manage, and a true asset to your business.

Building connections with your audience gives you the chance to show your business in a different light, and to develop the consumer trust and loyalty that is necessary for business success.  These 5 tips will allow you to foster a deeper relationship with your website audience, and help you remember that there is a real person behind each email address.

1.       Make a Plan. Before you can achieve success, you must first understand what your goals are, and figure out how to get there. Come up with ideas to help you connect with your clients that are new, fresh, and applicable to your business. Write them down. Put these ideas in a realistic schedule to help you stay on track. Start implementing them and monitor the results.

2.        Make each correspondence count. When you are conducting business online, you never know who is on the other side.  The person sending you an email could be the next best customer you’ll ever have.  Remember this each time you communicate with a current or potential client, and treat them accordingly.

3.       Be unique. When you look at website after website, they quickly begin to blend together.  Do something different. Create an online identity that makes you stand out as a unique business with something special to offer, not just another anonymous website.   Your customers are unique individuals; they should see you the same way.

4.       Be helpful. Be interested in what your client’s needs are above your own.  Provide them with information that they will find interesting, even if it won’t lead directly to a sale.  If they want information or a product that you don’t have, help them find it somewhere else.  Putting your visitor’s needs above your own, you will foster trust and consumer loyalty that can’t be bought.

5.       Encourage ratings and reviews. We live in a day and age where what other people think is more important that what you say.  Give your customers the opportunity to rate and review their transactions, and provide your website visitors with the third party information they are looking for.

The key to building connections online is to remember that your audience is first and foremost human.  Although we often measure success by clicks, conversions, and ROI, don’t forget that there are real customers behind the statistics and they are what really matters.

Marketing Insights from the High Seas

It’s October, 2008, I am officially on vacation. Ten exclusive nights on a cruise ship bound for the Mexican Riviera with nothing much to do other than catch the warm Pacific Ocean breezes, swim, eat, read, relax… and …somehow figure out a way to save my client base from an ill-fated economic collapse.

There was never a better week to unplug. After two years without vacation, I knew I had earned this precious time away, and nothing was going to ruin it!

The week of my holiday departure was unique in that the economic sky was falling on both Main Street & Wall Street. The news was ablaze with global business turmoil and a determined downward spiraling DOW.

The majority of my clients were in the throes of drastically declining sales and interest generated from search engines. Nothing could have shielded them from this meltdown. Retailers, e-commerce companies, home builders, financial companies, health beauty & lifestyle services, were all being decimated by a sharp decline in historic and valuable search productivity. I saw it coming like a landslide, I had no choice but to face it head on – my clients were expecting a remedy.

I needed to enjoy my vacation; I had worked far too hard, for far too long to not soak up every minute. This time off did not however, exonerate me from having to find the answers to my clients’ woes once I stepped back onto land – they were all expecting new action plans, strategy, answers, and most importantly… business. And they needed answers fast.

I had no choice but to accept the fact that that the best thing I could do was to use this time to unplug, regenerate, and to gain a different perspective on the problem.  I needed a global remedy that could be plugged into my entire client base equally. Increasing pay per click, re-tooling print ads, or deploying hasty site changes was not going to solve anything.

For the next eight days and nights, I blissfully unplugged, no laptop, no cell phone, no newspapers, no e-mail. In my 13-year career working online, I had never completely unplugged like this – the best I’d been able to do was escape for a few days.

It was impossible to avoid what was happening in the news from passing TV screens in on-ship bars and through the rumblings of people talking pool-side, but I just couldn’t muster the energy to apply the bad news to my business or clients.  A weird form of “business paralysis” came over me; I could not even muster a cohesive business thought for eight days. When I tried to dedicate time in my mind, I couldn’t hold onto a thought for more than a few seconds before I moved onto something more pleasurable. Mai Tai’s and the pool-side BBQ, sandwiched between napping was roughly the extent of my focus for nine blissful days.

It was on the very last night of this cruise that I had to emotionally ready myself for stepping back into the real world. It was 7:30 PM and in approximately 12 hours, my real life would begin again.

My wife and I were just sitting down to our final cruise dinner when she asked me “have you had any thoughts about how you are going to help all of our clients?” I simply replied “no, but let me think on that for a minute.”

I remember putting down my fork. I had to concentrate in order to wrap my head around the enormity. How was I going to solve everybody’s problems after being completely void of thought for nearly 10 straight days?  Was it avoidance, was it fear, was it insurmountable?

At that moment the most amazing thing happened. As I sat staring blankly into my plate, in the blink of an eye, data came streaming into my head. It poured in faster than I could process, gigabytes of information, strategy, concepts, imagery, and answers to questions that had not even been asked yet. Like a film reel unraveling in a breeze, the answers to my clients’ woes had been downloaded into my head. Download complete, files sorted, marketing machine gun locked and loaded.

I looked at my wife and said “I think I just figured it out. The answer is simply & universally – engage the reader and develop a deeper connection – or die trying.”  Somehow the answers to all of our clients’ needs were right in front of me. The solution now relied on my firm’s ability to help them do a better job of engaging their site prospects, developing a stronger and more succinct connection than their competitors.

As I thought to myself about each of my clients and their individuality within their industries, I knew that they all have one thing in common – each of them are special, and no other competitor can emulate them. If we can get our clients to show their site visitors/prospects that they are different and do so in the first 15 seconds of a person entering their site, their essence and distinct message will be delivered effectively regardless of industry.

It has been six months since my cruise holiday. I leaned many valuable lessons on that trip that have since helped my clients stabilize their businesses. This is what I learned:

1. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Sometimes it is necessary to entirely pull oneself from the game to get a new perspective. We live and market in a world where we seldom unplug entirely and that can be a detriment.
2. In times when the economic going is rough, one can never go wrong with using our client’s individual character, personality and attributes to help foster a strong personal connection. People buy from people.
3. Mai Tai’s may have medicinal marketing properties.