Showing posts tagged with: honolulu

December 7, 2018

Hey Google, Why Should We Optimize Our Web Site For Voice Search?

Hey Google, Why Should We Optimize Our Web Site For Voice Search?

Voice searching technology is changing the way we browse and shop on the internet. We can look up almost anything on the web just by saying, “Hey Google…” or “Hey Siri…” We can even turn on the lights, send texts, play music, and plan our day with a quick verbal request.
Google_voice_search_trend

Image Source: KPCB/Mary Meeker’s Annual 2016 Internet Report

As voice searching continues to gain popularity among all age groups, businesses must rethink their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies and how they write their web page content.

So, how can we incorporate voice searching in our SEO strategy?

1. Add Schema Markup To Your Site

Search engine algorithms are based on multiple factors that relate to your web site’s content. This is why in addition to producing quality content, it’s essential to incorporate keywords and metadata into your site.

A schema markup is essentially like metadata, which is a set of code that helps search engines organize and classify your website’s content and enables search enhancements. You can use schema markups to optimize information that voice search users will be looking for, like contact information, operational times, directions, and so on.

It may seem daunting for those who are not familiar with coding, but this is an important tactic to use. If you need assistance on any of your web-based needs, give Team Vision Marketing a call. We have extensive experience designing web sites and developing innovative digital and SEO programs for our clients. Check out our web design and marketing work in our portfolio.

2. Use Long Tail Keywords and Keep Your Content Conversational

It requires less effort to say a complete sentence than typing out one, which is why voice searches tend to be longer and more conversational than traditional search engine phrases. Thus, brands should be writing content in a natural speaking voice that includes long tail keywords, which are search phrases that are three to five words long. It might also be worthwhile to test bids on long tail keywords. For example, Team Vision would bid on keywords like “Top Hawaii Marketing Agency” or “Hawaii Advertising Agency”.

Tip: Use Google Search Console to see what voice searches you’re currently showing up on and brainstorm more voice searches your web site can relate to.

3. Anticipate For Specific and Stronger Intent

Along with general inquiries, voice search users can have stronger purchasing intent. So, it might be ideal to test full question keywords or answer questions, like “Where is the closest cafe?”.

The type of question can indicate the degree of desire. As explained on Moz.com, questions that begin with “Who” or “What” reveal interest, while questions that begin with “When” or “Where” shows more intent on an action.

How_voice_search_will_Change_Digital_Marketing_For_The_Better

Image Source: “How Voice Search Will Chance Digital Marketing – For the Better”

This also means that voice searches can have more specific inquiries, such as “Hey Google, search for mid-century furniture near me.” This is good news for brands that target a more niche audience or sell a specific product.

Take our client, Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii’s, newest residential real estate neighborhood, as an example. Their target audience for this community is people already living in or wanting to move to Waipahu, Hawaii. Thus, long tail keyword phrases like “Waipahu Real Estate” will be more valuable than just “Real Estate.”

4. Claim Your Business On Google

Although your business should already have done this, it has become even more essential to claim your business on Google, now that more local or “near me” inquiries are made on voice searches – as seen in the graph below.

“Near Me” Voice Search Usage

Near_Me_Voice_Searches_Growth

Image Source: Google Trends “Near Me” Report

Claiming the business gives you the ability to list what category it falls under, give some details about your products/services, and input the correct contact information. This will help your customers find your business easier during searches, provide accurate information, and it can help increase your ranking on the search engine results page (SERP).

5. Make Your Web Site Mobile Friendly

It’s imperative and highly recommended that your web site is converted to be responsive on all devices. Due to the fact that a majority of Google searches, including voice searches, are made on mobile, Google factors a web page’s mobile format into its search engine ranking algorithm.

It also provides your audience with a seamless and more enjoyable web experience. When a site is mobile friendly, the web site automatically formats the content to fit within the width of the screen, making it more aesthetically pleasing, easier to work with, and it keeps your bounce rates lower.

6. Optimize Your FAQS Page

Since questions are more likely to be voice search phrases, optimizing your FAQ page would be worth your while. FAQs pages are another opportunity for businesses to add in more searchable long tail keywords, which can make your web site more attractive for voice search results.

Team Vision recommends researching what common questions your audience might ask in a voice search that relates to your business and title your FAQs exactly like that. For example, a possible voice search question and FAQ for Team Vision could be: “What is a full-service marketing agency?”.

Tip: As previously mentioned, keep in mind that voice searches are more conversational, so adopt a casual tone for the FAQ title and content.

7. Update Web Content for Google Quick Answers

In 2014, Google created Quick Answers, a more convenient method of pulling up content relevant to certain inquiries, like “how to…” or “what is…” searches, from specific web sites. This Quick Answers box is featured above the first organic result of the SERP and includes the link to the page. See an example below.

Google_Quick_Answer_Example

Web pages featured in the Quick Answers box are determined by the web page’s SEO, quality, data structure, and relevance to the search inquiry.

How does this relate to voice search? Voice searches tend to be direct questions. Google will favor citing high-quality pages that are also optimized with long tail keywords.

Voice-activated technology will continue to change the way we surf and shop online. It’s a self-learning AI technology that will inevitably become more and more sophisticated, so businesses need to constantly update and adapt their digital marketing and SEO strategies.

Don’t stress about it! Team Vision can help you with all your online marketing and SEO needs. Over the years, we have developed hundreds of successful SEO and online marketing programs and created many  responsive web site designs for clients across Hawai’i. Just give us a call at (808) 536-0416, or use our website inquiry form at www.www.teamvision.com/contact.

Hear from Harry A. Saunders, President of Castle & Cooke Hawaii, on his 20 years of experience working with Team Vision.

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July 3, 2018

Busting Social Media Marketing Myths #2

Busting Social Media Marketing Myths #2

Welcome to part two of Busting Social Media Marketing Myths. Although social media marketing has been an essential tool for marketers for years, some businesses still believe in the misconceptions surrounding it. Thus, they miss out on having a presence on social media or go about it the wrong way. We feel it’s our responsibility to dispel some of these common myths and help steer your business down the right path.

Make sure to read Busting Social Media Marketing Myths #1 for more busts on social media marketing myths.

Myth: Influencers will help boost sales

Team Vision Marketing recognizes the power behind social media influencers and their benefit as a spokesperson or promotion vehicle. But, you’ll be wasting your money if you use influencers solely to increase your sales. It’s tricky for brands to track how influencers are making them money. Also, influencer marketing can be expensive, so it’s hard to tell if your money is being well spent. According to Market Week, 38% of marketers are not sure if influencer activity actually drives sales and 86% are unsure how influencers calculate their fees, according to a survey of 200 marketers conducted by Rakuten Marketing.

Instead, we want our clients to view these unique partnerships as brand promotions. Partnering with an influencer can help your brand gain credibility, reach, and awareness. According to ShaneBarker.com, 77% of marketers use influencers to drive up engagement, 89% use influencers to create more authentic content for their brand. Influencers can also help drive traffic to your website and introduce your brand to new markets. 56% of marketers use influencers to drive traffic to their website and 43% use influencers to reach younger markets.

However, influencer marketing isn’t for every brand. Collaborations with influencers need to make sense and businesses need to be selective about who they hire. Do they reach your target market? Are they reliable? What other brands do they do collaborations with? What type of content do they post? Brands also need to realize that no matter how popular an influencer is, not all of their followers are going to fully trust their sponsored content.

Myth: It’s all about likes and followers

Many people mistake follower growth and likes as metrics for success. Don’t get us wrong, being popular on social media is great, but the metric a brand should be paying attention to is engagement. Engagement measures all the likes, comments, and retweets/shares of a post and this metric tells you how engaged your followers are. The key point to take away from this myth busting is quality over quantity. A lot of likes are still good, but the quality of the comments and the number of retweets/shares determine the quality of the post. We recommend analyzing the insights of your posts and asking your audience to weigh in on what type of content they want to see more of.

Myth: I can be my own social media manager! It’s easy!

Managing business social media accounts is not as easy as some might think. It’s not like managing your personal account. As we said in our Busting Social Media Marketing Myths – #1 blog post, it takes a lot of time and money to maintain and upkeep your brand’s social media presence, which means that you are spending less time on your primary business responsibilities. Among other things, these are some of the requirements of maintaining your brand’s social media presence:

  • Create a social media marketing plan
  • Create a content calendar
  • Create social media campaigns
  • Develop and design content
  • Copy writing
  • Schedule posts
  • Continuously engage in posting, liking and commenting on all social media networks
  • Review and respond to customer questions/comments
  • Analyze and evaluate report data, make appropriate adjustments to your campaign and content strategies

This is why successful companies on social media either have an in-house social media manager or hire a social media marketing agency to handle their accounts.

Myth: I can just post one kind of content every time.

If you scroll through other successful social media profiles, you will see how wrong this myth is. The diversity of content is key to keeping your feed feeling fresh to your followers and for attracting new leads. Your content needs to add value and connect to your followers’ lives. Plus, your brand’s posts are competing with posts from thousands of other brands, so you need to stand out.

To get some ideas on what types of content to post, read our “Social Media Marketing – Tips” blog post

See screenshots of Team Vision Marketing’s and Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii’s Instagram feeds as an example of providing a diverse array of posts. Both have a strong mixture of stories, videos, graphics, and photos.

Castle & Cooke, Social media marketing, social media feed, instagram, instagram feed, content marketing, social media marketing tips, marketing tips
Team Vision Marketing, Instagram Feed, Instagram, Social media marketing, social media marketing tips, marketing tips, marketing myths

If you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to keep up with managing your business’s social media, give Team Vision Marketing a call and let us help you out.  In the meantime, check out some of our social media programs and promotions on our web site portfolio at www.www.teamvision.com/portfolio/#social-media.

Phone: (808) 536-0416

Email: info@www.teamvision.com

 

Enjoy this article? Let us know below or share it!

Read More Team Vision Blog Posts on Social Media:

“Busting Social Media Marketing Myths #1”

“Social Media Marketing During Events – Tips”

“Social Media Marketing Tips”

Hear from Harry A. Saunders, President of Castle & Cooke Hawaii, on his experience working with Team Vision.

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Contact Us for Help with Your Social Media Marketing

Call Us Today at (808) 536-0416.

Sources:

https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/08/30/roi-look-like-world-influencer-marketing/

https://www.adweek.com/digital/paul-johnson-lumanu-guest-post-wasting-money-on-influencer-marketing/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2017/12/21/why-influencer-marketing-is-essential-for-any-business-looking-to-grow/#691081867d48

https://medium.com/@JBBC/17-common-social-media-marketing-myths-and-how-to-bust-them-ce70a70b8674

https://shanebarker.com/blog/influencer-marketing-tactics-amplify-boost-brand-presence/

June 19, 2018

Busting Social Media Marketing Myths #1

Accidentally landed on our Hawaii Marketing Tips blog while searching for Team Vision Marketing? Please visit our homepage, creative portfolio or client video testimonials. If you’re interested in learning more about the truth behind common social media myths, please continue reading below.

Busting Social Media Myths #1

Social media marketing has been around for years now, but some businesses still believe in old misconceptions surrounding it. Thus, they miss out on having a presence on social media or go about it the wrong way. As a leader in this field, we’d like to take this opportunity to dispel some common myths around social media marketing and help steer your business in the right direction.  

Myth: Social Media only reaches Millennials and Gen Z
Rise in Social Media Use by Age Groups

Source: Pew Research Center

Adaption of Technology & Social Media by Age Groups
Total myth! Although there are more Gen X, Millenials and Gen Z on social media, older generations are adapting to using technology and becoming more proactive on social media. In fact, their usage on social media is on the rise, as you can see in the graphs above provided by Pew Research Center.

Percent of Adults that Use Social Media
By looking at the table above, provided by Pew Research Center, you can see that there is a strong social media presence in the 50-64 and 65+ age groups, especially on Facebook.

Myth: I have to be on all Social Media networks

Not true at all. Although it may sound smart to cover all your bases, you should really only use the networks that work for your brand’s needs. This is because not every platform is equal attracts the same type of audience. For example, Facebook is more community based, while Twitter is more known for its breaking news content. It is very important to first define your social media marketing objectives and then pick the right social media channels and content strategy to help you achieve them.

Myth: Any young person who is good at social media can successfully run my business accounts

Age and popularity on personal social media accounts doesn’t necessarily translate into a person having the expertise to manage a brand on business accounts.  Whoever manages your brand’s accounts has to not only “get” how to work the apps, but, among other things, be able to build and maintain a brand on them in engaging ways. Your best option is to work with a company that has a strong background in marketing, building brands, and that has managed social media accounts for some major brands in your market. They should also have access to a team of social media managers, copywriters, and graphic designers.

Myth: Social Media is Free Marketing for Businesses

This is only partially true. Setting up a profile and posting content is free, but this isn’t enough to have a successful social media presence. Most successful business on social media either have an experienced in-house social media manager, or hire a social media marketing agency to oversee their accounts, develop engaging content, field customer questions, and continuously engage in posting, liking and commenting on other social media profiles related to the business’s brand.

You will likely need to invest money and/or spend a lot of your own time building and maintaining quality social media channels. And let’s face it, time is money, so managing your own social media channels means you are pulling yourself away from your core business responsibilities. This is especially true now that the algorithms of social media feeds are favoring friends over businesses. This means that your business posts are less likely to appear on your Followers’ feeds and your organic reach is going to decrease as a result. After Facebook’s algorithm update in 2016, organic reach on posts dropped 52%. According to HootSuite, Instagram’s non-chronological algorithm update makes users miss 70% of the content in their feeds.  Social media channels are pushing harder than ever on paid reach, which means you have to buy ads or boost posts in order for them to reach a substantial audience. If you have a current Facebook page, chances are you have seen your Reach and Likes per post drop substantially over the past couple years. It’s becoming a “pay to play” game.

We also recommend hiring a creative team to design graphics that capture the true essence of your brand or promotion, like the Instagram ads below, which we created for Honua Kai Resort & Spa’s Suite Summer Escape promotion. Having an aesthetic feed is vital for attracting new followers, likes, and link clicks.

Honua Kai, Honua Kai Resort & Spa, social media, social media marketing, instagram, instagram ad, facebook ads
Maui social media marketing, maui marketing, luxury resort, Honua Kai, Team Vision Marketing, instagram ad, facebook ads

You should also consider investing in analytic tools to gain insightful information about your customer profile and to track important data.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to keep up with the management of your businesses social media accounts, give Team Vision Marketing a call and let us help you out.   In the meantime, check out some of our social media programs and promotions on our web site portfolio at www.www.teamvision.com/portfolio/#social-media.

Web: www.www.teamvision.com

Phone: (808) 536-0416

Email: info@www.teamvision.com

Hear from Dolly Moreno, Director of Sales & Marketing at Honua Kai Resort & Spa Maui, on her experience working with Team Vision Marketing.

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Contact Us for Help with Your Social Media Marketing

Call Us Today at (808) 536-0416.

Sources:

https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-algorithm/

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/facebook-organic-reach/

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/02/millennials-stand-out-for-their-technology-use-but-older-generations-also-embrace-digital-life/

http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/

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