You’ll find when you work with us that one of the first things we’ll do is gather data. We want to know what’s working now, and what’s proving to be a waste of money. We will use this data to find the path ahead and to provide the most relevant and accurate suggestions for your hard earned dollar.

We also pinpoint your potential customer. You’ll hear us talking again and again about who your customer is. We’ll be marketing directly to those customers, both current and potential. Your customers determine the venues we choose to market your company. Your customer, in fact, is king and queen of almost all of the decisions we make – even down to the color of your logo.

The most important thing for you to know about marketing your product in the many available venues is that the whole is greater than the parts. The aggregate solution for you is almost guaranteed to be a highly custom mix of marketing venues.

When we build your brand, we build it like no other.

You’ll find that when we build your brand, it is uniquely yours in look, feel, voice and in choice of venues.

So if you are looking for a cookie-cutter type website, we may not be the choice for you – but if you want to stand out above your competitors, and get the customers you know you can impress – then we are looking to help you build your brand. Call us today at 775.322.3663, or fill out our request form for more information. We look forward to hearing about your brand and your customers.

If you have had your website for longer than a few years (or if your website developer used old school coding), you might be using an outdated website.  This means that, like everything else in the technology world, you have what amounts to the first iPhone created, rather than the new, fancy, updated functionality of the iPhone 4S.

Why should you care?

1. Security

We all hear about computer viruses and how they usually are generated online and then somehow end up downloaded onto your computers desktop or laptop, wreaking havoc and costly repair bills.  If you are a business, you are even more of a target for these hackers. You want to protect your customers (even more so if they are buying off your site itself), and your business from these threats. Each time a content management system is updated, much like your operating system on your computer, it almost always comes with an update for security reasons. These include patches where they have found holes or back doors into the system – meaning your website.  It is important to keep up on these updates, but sometimes they can be confusing or cause other issues on the website – that is why it is extremely important to have someone maintaining your website and updating the firewalls and security settings on your platforms to keep you and your customers safe.

2. Search Results

If you want to be found, read on.

Online activity has evolved, it has become more social, and more and more websites are being published daily. This means that the little search engines we talk about, like Google, have more and more information to ‘crawl’ and find.  If your website is not updated regularly, it can lose search ranking just because nothing on it is considered relevant due to time stamping and refreshing of the content.  Having fantastic content is great – but only useful if your target audience can find you.

3. Reduce glitches on your website

As stated earlier, the codes used to write and develop websites are technology driven, so they are not static, but dynamic in nature. As more websites are created and the way we as users engage with those websites changes, there are different things that need to be updated on your website to keep it working at it’s best. In the last few years, great leaps have been made with CSS3 and HTML5 which means that the coding on your website (although unseen by most) can be set out in a more simple manner to alleviate the bugs that earlier coding work arounds might be causing.

Besides that – these new coding versions have made it so that the website can be laid out in new and aesthetically pleasing ways so that you have a site that people enjoy looking at, rather than come away feeling that they need to visit the opthalmologist.

4. Increase Functionality

So maybe you love your website design and maybe you haven’t had any issues with glitches. Maybe you are also super socially savvy and have installed a blog to work around the time stamps (a great idea – good for you!).  Does your website allow you to post a podcast? Does it have social buttons (the ones that link to your company profiles on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn – if you don’t have these profiles, click here – we can help)? Do you have the ability to easily embed a YouTube video onto your website? Do you have a blog installed? Do you have the ability to share to social media from your blog?  There are lots of new functionality items that can be added to your website now, that were never imagined before.

If you aren’t sure if you need a coding update, call us – we’d love to peek behind your website’s curtain and tell you how the insides are working, or where improvements can be made.  Contact us at 775-322-3663 today!

Is your company website boring even to you? People are more and more obsessed with flashy, bright, shiny objects and websites are no different. Yes, you will need to have killer content on your website that is easy to understand and explains your product or services in a way that will make anyone want to buy it, but first – you have to get their attention – and in a positive way.

A Website is an Experience

As you browse through a site, you experience layout, colors, fonts, photographs, and content until you begin to feel a certain way. Of course, when it comes to your customers, you want that ‘certain way’ to be a positive one, one that converts to sales. Creating those positive experiences through design is what our team does best.

Remodelling: Ideas and Considerations

If you were to think about your website as the large billboard that everyone will see as they sit in a movie theatre and wait for their film to start – what would you want them to see?  I use the theatre example because, in this instance, you have a somewhat captive audience and the time frame is relatively lengthy.  Your website IS a marketing piece and it should fit with your branding as well as your vision and mission for the company.

However, you want more than a brochure or a static, unchanging picture as your website – you want to engage the audience and make them feel that you are right there with them.  This can be done with a custom layout that makes finding information for your users simple and almost automatic, it can be done with content that makes them feel instantly at home and trusting, it can be done with colors that evoke the emotional response you ultimately want your customers to have, and it can be done with images, videos, and sharing options where they can find out what their friends think of your product or service, and inform the rest of their friends of their opinions about you as well.

Your Website is the First Touch

Your website is the first touch you have on your customer; it is extremely important for it to be a positive experience and that it entices your target audience to take that next step and contact you.  Ultimately we have websites to initiate a customer relationship and to sell something, whether it is advice or kitchen spoons, we are all in a business to make some kind of money – whether sales or donations for a non-profit to support a meaningful cause, the desired result is the same. As you have probably heard in business, it takes money to make money. Designing your website is not free – but if it is done correctly, it IS worth it.

Think about it – if you wouldn’t stay on your company website for more than 2 minutes, then why would anyone else?  You have a lot of competition in the online world, so make yourself stand out. If you need ideas or a quote, check out our web portfolio or call us at 775.322.3663 or 800.233.0239

One of the main things, here, is to understand how users reach your site. Meaning, what terms they type in to find your website. Reviewing this information for your site and then comparing the keywords that are found on your site by search engines, like Google, can help you see if you are on the right track with getting found. It is important to see how the content you are writing on your website matches up with the words that people are searching on the internet in order to find your site.  If these two areas are not matching up then you need to adjust your keywords on your site and in your content to match the words or phrases that people are using to search for you or your product in order to be found.

Do you know your keywords?

Often people and businesses have self-proclaimed SEO experts set up their search engine optimization, which is fine, as long as it is being done correctly.  It is important to understand what the keywords are on your website and why these words were chosen.  Don’t be afraid to ask for the reasoning behind the keywords and the list of keywords that are being used for each page of your website. This is information that belongs to your website – not the website designer or developer.  You have a right to know what is on your site and how it is being accessed.  If you aren’t sure what is on your current site, and would like to know how your SEO is ranking, feel free to call Integris Marketing today at 775.322.3663 or, for a Free Website Assessment, click here.

When you use a search engine, like Google, you are looking for the match to the keywords you type in that are most relevant.  This means they may have a local aspect if you are searching for restaraunts or movie theatres, as well as a date.  Most of the time when we search for something, we want the most up to date results. If we are asking about information on movie times, we want them in a chronological order – with the most recent events first.

The Google Algorithm

Google is not only aware of this need, but they have worked out several updates to their algorithm that will impact the results returned based on the data stored about the pages – including dates.  So what does this mean and why do you care?

A Common Problem

Here at Integris Marketing, we have several inquiries each week about how to show up at the top of the search engine results page.  There are several things that can help, but we found this blog from Entrepreneur.com that covers an online strategy which we often promote ourselves as a continuing solution for keeping your website up to date and in the recent search engine results – a blog.

The Solution

Having a blog ensures that your website will be considered ‘updated’ each time you create and publish a post.  This won’t solve all your problems, because it is important to have highly searched and relevant keywords set up in the meta fields for each of your website pages, but that is simple SEO and is fairly static.  The solution with blogs is that Google will notice that you are updating and posting new information on your site, and as the blog describes, those that are not posting new content on their website will be left off the search engine results pages more and more in the future.

Additional Benefits of Blogging

This will not only give you the benefits of updating your website each time you post something, but it can also increase the engagement of your audience. You want to gain more customers, but with a good blog you can also build brand loyal customers, who trust you for pertinent information.  Blogging can be easy and is often free, depending on the platform you use, so don’t delay – start your blog today!

If you would like customized help with setting up a blog and even finding content for your blog, please contact us today at 775.322.3663 or toll free at 1.800.233.0239!

LINK: http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/220662 blog post about increased need for blogs on websites in order to be found by search engines

There is a lot of debate about Healthcare in the social sphere due to HIPPA laws and people worried about preserving their privacy. However, to us, Healthcare and social platforms are a win-win due to the basic need for humans to congregate when times are tough.

We need each other on a basic level to understand and validate the tough times and to celebrate our successes.  It is increasingly important for people to feel connected – and if social platforms can help someone who feels horrible due to their health, feel support (without having to travel, get dressed up, or worry about how they look, or if they will feel ok once they get somewhere), then it is definitely worth having.

It should be easy enough to create an opt-in type situation where those who feel strongly that they don’t want to be involved in an online support structure, don’t have any of their information shared (as in their diagnosis in order to be in a specific targeted group for that condition).  This would keep everyone protected while still allowing the support network to work for those who wish to participate.

What do you think about Privacy in Healthcare and the ability for Social Platforms to reach beyond for those who may be home bound?

It sounds obvious, but many businesses are still dragging their feet when it comes to jumping into the online arena. In marketing, we know how important it is to be an early adopter of technology in order to get ahead in an industry. However, convincing other departments can be a hard sell. Especially when no one can agree to what should be expected and how to measure the return. The kicker is, right now, you could be doing it for just the time you spend – and it could end up being the difference between you and ‘the other guy’.

Marketing can be extremely expensive – think Super Bowl Commercial – because it has a ginormous viewer base. Compared to Facebook though – it has nothing. You don’t get repeat exposure during the Super Bowl, you don’t get engagement from an outgoing broadcast either. So why wouldn’t you want to jump on board and learn this social media thing now, and know that you are going to be in the lead because your competitors aren’t even thinking about getting social?

“Marketing doesn’t guarantee that people will want to buy your products or services. It only guarantees that people will have a chance to see your message,” says Jamillah.

2 Universal Tips from her post:

1. Be friendly, sincere, and helpful.
2. Make your story matter to your community.

Don’t be afraid to jump into the Social Media waters, do it now – while no one is watching. Be the leader in your industry, in your area, in your field. It will pay off down the line, and the initial investment is minimal.

Society has repeatedly stereotyped women as the emotional sex and men as the logical sex, but in real life things are never so succinctly divided. However, much research has gone into finding messages that reach women in particular and how to tap into their emotions in order to make the sale. Studies show that women will be engaged more by how a product/service will support their family & relationships (whereas men will connect more with how a product/service gets to a desired end result, and how well it does that), so stories/anecdotes will be more engaging for women (rather than performance stats). Also, how a product/service will help a woman be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, etc., will speak to women more than men (again, the “relationship” piece). This is a gross generalization, of course, but there’s a lot out there that’s been expanded since brain research has shown some clear gender differences. For instance, look at this excerpt from a blog we enjoy(One Woman Marketing):

Women make up just half the population, but they make over 80% of all household purchases. And they’re not just shopping for stereotypically feminine products such as clothing and cosmetics. Women also make:

• 65% of new car purchases
•  91% of travel purchases
• 57% of electronics purchases
• 63% of all purchases made online

Despite their consumer power, most women feel that marketers and advertisers just don’t get them. (91% of women, according to one recent study.)

Angela Shupe’s blog post discusses how consultants Sandie Glass and Laura Wolfram head up a consultants group run by women in order to provide solutions to marketers looking to reach their female audience.

What do you think? Do you have to be a woman in order to reach a woman?  Share your comments with us below!

Social media has one LAW that should NEVER be broken.

You may think you know what it is – and maybe you are right. Social media is about CONVERSATIONS – if you are shutting down conversations, you are breaking the LAW!

The point is not to push your opinion on others, but to provide a place where everyone can express their opinions.  It is our job to promote a discussion where all sides are safe to express themselves.  Catherine Lockey from Cyclone Marketing brings up this same idea in regard to Linkedin.  Her blog post, “Are you the King of Linkedin?”  talks about 6 surefire ways to alienate your connections by trying to be in charge of the discussion; I have listed them below.

1. The Know It All
2. Arrogance
3. Yes Man / Woman
4. Group Control Freak (Bully)
5. Spammer
6. Innovative Entrepreneurial Expert

We believe these types of behaviors all lead to the same place – controlling and quashing the conversation – and they should be avoided on all social media platforms in order to be truly successful in online communities.

Remember, the online community has a long memory and although they can be very forgiving of honest mistakes, they are NOT going to forget a mistake of this caliber.  You have chosen to be online and social in order to share your opinions and thoughts – allow others the freedom and respect to do the same – whether they agree with you, or not, doesn’t matter.  Instead, try to facilitate the conversation in a safe place (like your Facebook fan page or in your Linkedin group), and the online community will remember and respect you because of your willingness to listen.

Have you had an experience (good or bad) where someone was trying to control the conversation or push their agenda? Share it with us on Facebook!

Bryan discusses ways to use social media for Data Collection and building your database with more information than was ever available to marketers prior to social media platforms – the ease of users or fans or followers to ‘sign-in’ to your site with their platform credentials allows for more information to be had by you on their behaviors, demographics, and interests than ever before.

Lead management is more efficient and better aligned between sales and marketing departments in this new world of social technology. Apps are available (often for free) to compile data and use it to make decisions about buyer interest. Marketing efforts toward specific demographics are also easily analyzed, which leads to faster decision making abilities within your company.

Engagement covers two of the sections Bryan writes about, “Cross-Channel Campaign Management” and Social Marketing. Engagement is definitely a new field for business-to-business marketing, many top B2B companies are still not on board with the idea of using social media for marketing and staunchly express that it only makes sense for B2C businesses.

Hopefully, these businesses will realize they’re mistaken before the early adopters in their industries run away with their share of the market. The truth of the matter is that all businesses can benefit from social media marketing because all businesses are run by PEOPLE and all products and services are bought by PEOPLE – whether for a company purpose or a personal one, people are always the deciding factor.

If you are a B2B company that wants to take the lead in your industry and begin utilizing the amazing social tools of our time for marketing purposes, please let us know!

We love talking about how social media can help you be more successful and how we can help you get there. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.