Trusted Marketing Team 2018 Marketing predictions.

by Sara Wheelwright

2017 Marketing landscape changes & our 2018 Marketing Predictions.

We have seen so many changes for our clients as the modern marketing landscape continues to shift online and evolve at a fast pace. In this summary, I will touch on the main events and share some 2018 marketing predictions. Enjoy.

In 2017, social media and online changes seemed to be happening a mile a minute. As marketers, we are more prepared than most to deal with these changes for ourselves and for our clients, most of whom are small, local business owners. We have the time and the know-how, to work out what the changes are and how they affect our clients. You see, Facebook and Google don’t ask your permission before implementing changes, they are consumer/user-focused. In fact, the $marketing that pays their wages from companies like ours ( or yours), doesn’t overly influence their updates.

Social Media- A Seismic Shift.

Over the last decade, social media has swiftly graduated from somewhere individuals go to meet up and keep connected to friends and family, to now the ONLY marketing many businesses do!! It is also the place entrepreneurs and professionals network and where they are hired.

Studies show social media’s impact on consumer marketing decisions is staggering, so, as a business owner, or marketing professional you must take it seriously.

In 2018 you need to ask yourself this question:

Are you investing in a results-driven measurable annual social media strategy OR are you just ‘Posting and Hoping’?

If you admit to the latter, then I am pretty sure you are probably disappointed in your social success. There is overwhelming evidence (we can show you the results of our efforts for ourselves and our clients), that social media if done right, can be a goldmine. You can increase brand awareness and influence buying decisions. Quite simply, social media is a peer influencer when it comes to your ideal prospects making buying decisions. Recent studies show 71% of consumers are likely to purchase an item based on social media referrals.

See more stats below from multiple TRUSTED sources.

81% of consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by their friends’ social media posts. (Forbes)
Consumers are 71% more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals. (Hubspot)
Facebook accounts for 50% of total social referrals and 64% of total social revenue. (Business Insider)
31% of consumers say they are using social media channels to browse for new items to purchase. (Aimia)
Millennials are 1.6x more likely to use digital channels to learn about new products. (Facebook Insights)
84% of millennials say user-generated content from strangers has at least some influence on what they buy. (Gartner)
50% of consumers follow brands on social to learn about new products or services. (SproutSocial)
78% of consumers say companies’ social media posts impact their purchases. (Forbes)
Customers are 6x more likely to purchase a product if the page includes pictures from social media. (AdWeek)
Conversions increase 133% when mobile shoppers see positive reviews before buying. (Bazaarvoice)
In 2015, Facebook influenced 52% of consumers’ online and offline purchases. (DigitasLBi Commerce)
Global social commerce revenue reached $30 billion in 2015 (Statista)

The Trusted Marketing team is results driven, so if you want measurable results for your social media we can bring them! Contact Trusted in 2018. We can meet up with you and show you what we and YOU are capable of. Our team does social differently and I am confident we are the best small business social marketers in Saskatchewan. – read our reviews, see our work and more on this website.

How to get to the top of Google in 2018.

First of all, please know that my advice is for local small businesses. Small businesses are our focus here at Trusted Marketing Services. Over the last 7 years we have become experts at local SEO, by simply following all the rules OURSELVES! It doesn’t take much effort to find www.trustedsaskatoon.com in local ORGANIC searches…simply Google our categories – For example ‘best Saskatoon contractors’, ‘Saskatoon renovations’, ‘Best vets in Saskatoon’ etc.. and you will see us there. We also rank high organically in local search with this website and our services too!!

Sara’s 8 tips for SEO in 2018

You have to get your hands dirty to achieve the best rankings.

Great SEO results come from applied and focused effort over time. Think of Google rankings as the results that come from working out. You have to get off the sofa, go to the gym and work out consistently to get the results you want. If you don’t know what you should be doing to get the results you want – that’s where we come in! We do know what we are doing, and we will essentially join your team and work out for you, so you get the results you want.

The only downsides are, you have to:

Pay us to do it.
Understand results don’t happen overnight, especially in competitive local categories.
Understand that you may have to fork out for a new website, if your current one is outdated or not up to the job. Your website NEEDS to be right, or you will never be at the top of search – unless you pay ALOT to be there with Gooogle Adwords. ( more about websites later)
Be involved – we cannot do our best SEO job without YOUR involvement.

2. Social Media Matters

Can we say absolutely 100% that social metrics have a direct impact on search engine rankings? No, because Google and the others won’t share that. However, if we look at how much more social appears in search this year, it’s clear it DOES have an impact on local rankings. Also, all SEO ranking tools seem to include social performance as part of the final ranking score (fan numbers, social activity and social reviews). What we know is that social media and SEO should be working together. Social tends to be in the top 3 sources of website traffic for ourselves, and our clients, so if someone is ‘doing your SEO ‘ for you, they better be involved in your social media!

That leads us nicely on to number 3.

3. Quality Relevant Local Website Traffic=More sales and better SEO!

Quality local website traffic is an outcome of providing the right content and experience for your ideal prospect/web visitors. If you are a small local business in Saskatchewan, chances are your customers are also from Saskatchewan, so that’s where the majority of your web visits should be coming from. So, are they?

Most of our clients are targetting people in the city they are located in (and surrounding areas). So that is where their marketing efforts should be focused. Social media and online advertising settings should reflect that. In addition, the content of social posts should be LOCAL, engaging content that drives back quality leads to your website. If you have a company doing your social media that is putting a link to articles that take your paid prospects back to someone else website- then they aren’t doing you, your business or your SEO any good at all!! Time to call us!

4. Google Analytics – Stop throwing marketing darts in the dark!

YOU MUST have Google Analytics on your website, so you can see your website data. If you don’t know if you do, stop reading this article right now! Immediately send an email to your web developer and make sure you have Google Analytics (it’s quick to add). If you don’t- get it added now! Then, ask them to add you on to view the data ( you will need a Gmail ). They should be able to help you find the right areas to view, or, you can call us here at Trusted and we can walk you through it.

5. A few Website MUST’s for 2018 SEO

MUST be a responsive design – your website should look good and perform well on all devices.
HTTPS – If you don’t have one, buy an SSL for your website – it is a security certificate, and means your site is more secure ( safe)- Go Daddy sells them for about $80/ year.
User-friendly navigation – Your website is not for you, or your team, your website is for your prospects. If they cant find their way around they will get frustrated and they will leave! This, in turn, will affect your SEO. SIMPLE NAVIGATION IS BEST – also make sure to keep away from your industry jargon – if your website doesn’t pass the Grandma test (she can find her way around it ) then fix it asap!
SPEED Matters – If your site is slow you will never get to the top. Don’t know / not sure? Check out the speed of your website with Google developers test site here.If it is slow, there are things you or our web developer can do – compress images, increase hosting size and other easy changes. These improvements should make your site more efficient and load faster. If you have flash GET RID OF IT. If your site is more than 2-3 years old, you may want to consider getting a new, updated, faster website.
Website Updates – Ensure you have the latest versions of themes, WordPress, plugins etc.. or you are open to security issues. This also downgrades your website in the eyes of Google.

6. Blog

Just do it, just like I am doing right now! It helps your SEO, your reputation AND gives you great relevant content for your social media!

7. Reviews matter – Google favours highly-rated sites

When we sit down with our client to discuss the idea of adding reviews to their marketing strategy, these are the most persuasive stats to support our position

90% of consumers read reviews before visiting a business
31% of customers are likely to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews
Reviews can boost your results by using fresh user-generated content
72% of consumers will take action only after reading a positive review.
Google takes into consideration the rating of sites, favouring those having the highest ratings. It’s your social proof and online authority that reviews can boost, which means that it’s not just about adding reviews to your site, you should also focus on how to improve them.

In addition, you want to have REGULAR reviews – just getting 10 reviews in a blitz with ex/ current clients once is ok, but Google prefers to see regular reviews – so make it part of something you do!! Think of a ‘ virtual 3-month sands of time’ turning over each time you get a review- if you don’t get another 1 in 3 months the ‘ SEO point’ you scored for that review actually matters less.

We have software and ideas that can help, see more here and contact us in 2018 to sit down if you want help generating regular reviews.

8. HIRE TRUSTED

We wrote this article, we know what we are doing and we get results. If you want to get to the top of Google in your local market, we can help you. We will also help you understand WHAT we are doing and WHY. We take pride in demystifying SEO for our clients. Once they know why we do what we do, and they see the results that come from it, they feel much better about our services. We are the local marketing agency you can trust in Saskatchewan.