Presentation on Google, Content Marketing, Social Media ROI, and Groupon

1. Recent Google Changes and the Importance
of Social Media and Content Marketing on
Customer Acquisition
Mike Merrill
Director of Marketing
@MikeDMerrill
#PAII
January 11th, 2011

2. Agenda
• Google 2011: 10 Things you Need to Know
• The Value of Content Marketing
• Social Media and ROI
• 10 Basic Ways to Improve SEO of Blogging
• What You Need to Know about Group
Deals

3. Google 2011: 10 Things You Need
To Know

4. In Google We Trust

5. Google is Facing Competition for Advertising
• In 2011, local online advertising is forecast to
grow nearly 18 percent to $16.1 billion
• Facebook Surpasses Google In “Time Spent” On
Site Domestically
• Facebook Accounts for 25% of All U.S. Pageviews
• Groupon rejects Google's $6 Billion offer
• Yelp has grown to over 29 million unique users
per month

6. In 2011, local online advertising is
forecast to grow nearly 18 percent
to $16.1 billion
#PAII via @MikeDMerrill

7. 1. New Google Place Search
Local
results
from
Google
Mostly
local
results
from
Web
• Local
Results
Now
Fill
the
page
• 7
Pack
Gone
• Relevant
Review
Sites
Included
• Scrolling
Map
on
the
Right
• Bumps
results
off
page
1
• Right
Column
Adwords
pushed
down

8. 2. New Emphasis on Organic Ranking
• All
results
for
individual
businesses
now
determined
by
organic
search
rank
• Makes
it
much
more
criHcal
for
businesses
to
increase
efforts
to
rank
higher
organically

9. 3. Third Party Directories & Publishers Impacted
Only
the
Top
Directories
will
Remain
on
Page
1

10. 4. Fully Built Out Place Page Critical

11. 5. All Customer Reviews in One Snapshot

12. 6. Google Tags – Make Your Listing Stand Out
• Yellow
markers
allow
promoHon
of
specific
aspect
of
business
• Promote
a
specific
offer
• Makes
lisHng
standout
• Adds
more
info
to
lisHng
• Do
not
affect
rank
of
lisHng
• Valid
only
on
PIN
verified
Google
Places
lisHngs
• Flat
$25
/
month

13. 7. Google Boost – Premium Place Listing

14. 8. HotPot
• Personalized
recommendaHon
engine
• Allows
Google
to
acquire
more
reviews
on
places
• UI
aimed
at
average
users

15. 9. Marissa Mayer Now Heads Location
• Leading
Exec
lead
Search
for
11
Years
• Move
Signals
Importance
of
Local
and
Mobile
Search

16. 10. Google Attempts to Purchase Groupon
• Google
recognizes
threat
of
Groupon
to
local
business
ads
• Building
sales
force
in
Tempe,
AZ
recognizing
self-­‐
service
model
for
SMBs
not
working
• Could
leverage
Place
Pages
for
deals

17. The Value of Content Marketing

18. You Need a Dynamic Web Presence to be Found
You Have: a static website & one way to be found
You Need: a fresh Web Presence & many ways to be found
Your
Sites
Local
Directories
Social
Media
Content
Sites
More Quality Content Published in More Places = More Customers

19. Quality Content Powers Your Web Presence
5 1
Business listens Business creates
and engages quality content
Housebreaking
Thanks for your Your Dog
comments.
What’s worked
for you? PUBLISH
Great
advice!
4 2
Consumers Content published
I’m going
comment, like, to try this! & indexed across
review & share the web
Me too!
Housebreaking
Your Dog
3
Consumers discover while
searching, surfing & socializing

20. More Content in More Places Gets
You More Customers!
#PAII via @MikeDMerrill

21. Web Presence Benefits
More Content. More Places. More Customers.
Business
Business
Listens
&
Creates
Engages
Content
Consumers
Content
Comment
&
Published
&
Share
Indexed
Social Search
Discovery Consumers
Discovery
Discover
Reputation
Increase your online word- Improve your reputation by owning Increase your
of-mouth through quality the shelf space on search engines discoverability on search
content that is shared and review sites when consumers engines with fresh content
across the social web. search for your name. on more sites.

22. What Is Quality Content?
Content created by you
Sites & Blogs Directory listings Real-time updates Photos Videos
$
Thanks
Offers Products Comments Thanks Replies
Content created by others
SHARE
WoM
Links Reviews Referrals Shares & Likes Comments

23. Where to start with content
Make a goal to:
• Post on your blog once a week
• Tweet once a day
• Post something on Facebook page once a day
• Have a complete Google Places Page with images
and a video
• Monitor your business name with Google Alerts
Don’t
Give
Up

24. What Do I Write About
Plan Your Posts in Advance
• Local Events such as festivals
• Harvest times of local fruits and vegetables and
related recipes
• Hobbies
• Customer Guest posts with their images
• New Packages offered
• Any Inn Renovations or Upgrades – images/video
• Positive reviews by guests
• Favorite local restaurants, breweries, activities

25. Social Media Measurement & ROI

26. I Know I Saw My ROI
Around Here Somewhere

27. The Equation
(Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment)
ROI=
Cost of Investment
Profit
Investment
• Cause
or
Correlation

28. What is your Financial Goal?
Increase Revenue
• Increase in new customers
• Increase in average revenue per sale
• Increase in revenue from existing customers
Reduce Costs
• Lower Cost of Customer Acquisition
• Lower Cost of Customer Service

29. Evolution of Measurement
Non Financial Non Financial Non Financial
Offsite Website Conversions
§ Clickthroughs § Unique Visitors § Contact form
§ Facebook Fans § Page Views § Inbound Calls
§ Facebook § Time on Site § Downloads
Comments § PageRank § Event
§ Twitter Followers Registrations
§ Retweets § Opt-in to email
§ YouTube Views § Subscribe to
§ YouTube Blog
Comments § Register for
§ Sentiment Online
§ Mentions Community
Ø Social § Employment
Ø Press Apps
§ In-Store Visits
§ Support Calls
§ Returns

30. Map Activity Timeline
Adapted
from
Olivier
Blanchard
at
hp://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com
Overlay non-financial and financial to activity # of
transactions, in store visits, coupon redemptions,
Revenue

31. Define Your Success Metrics
Adapted
from
Olivier
Blanchard
at
hp://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com

32. Case Study - Large 4 YR University in OK
Increase in Web Visits
Increase in Twitter followers
Increase in Revenue

33. Look for correlation by overlaying
social media metrics with financial
metrics over the same time period
#PAII via @MikeDMerrill

34. Lifetime Customer Value
What
is
the
value
of
a
new
customer?
Total • Initial
sale
Revenue • Repeat
business
• Up-­‐sell
• Referrals
Knowing
this
value
helps
you…
• Determine
how
much
to
spend
to
get
a
new
customer
• Focus
your
marketing
budget
on
the
most
cost-­‐effective
tactics
• Develop
plans
to
increase
repeat
business
Years • Create
programs
to
reward
customer
loyalty
• Offer
incentives
to
drive
referrals

35. Lifetime Customer Value - Example
Avg. sale per customer $100
Avg. repeat sales/year 6
x
$100
=
$600
Avg. years as customer 3
x
$600
=
$1,800
Special one-time purchases $100
Lifetime customer sales $1,900
Avg. value of referrals 2
x
$1,900
=
$3,800
Total lifetime customer sales $5,700
Gross profit margin 30%
Lifetime customer value $1,710
Program cost $2,500
Customers to break even 2

36. In
order
to
measure
ROI
of
marketing
investments,
you
need
to
know
Lifetime
Customer
Value
#PAII via @MikeDMerrill

37. Basic Online Metrics
Adapted
from
Paul
Gillen
at
hp://www.slideshare.net/pgillin/social-­‐
markeHng-­‐roi-­‐yes-­‐you-­‐can
Lifetime
Customer (Revenue x Longevity) x Margin
Value
New Customers
Conversion
Rate
Visits / Leads
Value of a
Visitor x Conversion Rate x LCV
Visit / Lead

38. Applying ROI to Value of a Visitor
Adapted
from
Paul
Gillen
at
hp://www.slideshare.net/pgillin/social-­‐
markeHng-­‐roi-­‐yes-­‐you-­‐can
Monthly
Visitors
10,000
Conversion
Rate
5%
LifeHme
Customer
Value
$5,000
CalculaHon
10,000
*
.05
*
$5,000
Value
of
each
visitor
$25

39. Value
of a Blog
Adapted
from
Paul
Gillen
at
hp://www.slideshare.net/pgillin/social-­‐
markeHng-­‐roi-­‐yes-­‐you-­‐can
Monthly
Search
Traffic
5,000
EsHmated
Traffic
w/Blog
6,000
Value
of
a
visitor
$25
Monthly
value
of
a
Blog
(25x1000)
$25,000
Monthly
Blog
Expense
$6,000
($25,000 – $6,000)
ROI= 316%
$6,000

40. 10 Basic Ways To Improve SEO of Blogging"

41. 1. Define 3-5 Keywords to Target
• Start
out
by
focusing
on
3-­‐5
Keywords
to
drive
impact
over
Hme
• Next
idenHfy
the
target
keyword
for
each
blog
post
• Recognize
opportuniHes
for
dominaHng
a
local
keyword
in
your
market

42. 2. Ensure Target Keyword is In Headline
Earlier in the Headline the Better!

43. 3. Include Keyword 2-3 Times in 1st Paragraph

44. 4. Include Keyword 2-3 times in Remaining Text
Target Keyword Density is less than 5.5% of all Words!

45. 5. Add a Hyperlink in Every Post to an Existing Post
Also include a Hyperlink in first Paragraph!

46. 6. Rename Image Details to Target Keyword
File name is keyword as well!

47. 7. Ideal Length is 300+ Words per Post
• Makes
it
easier
to
idenHfy
keywords
• Need
enough
copy
for
Google
to
assess
context

48. 8. Use Alt-Text Keywords in Every Hyperlink
Take the Time to Include Alt-Text with Keyword!

49. 9. Include 1 Outbound Link With Keyword in Alt-Text
Tips
Courtesy
of
Scribe
for
SEO
at
hp://scribeseo.com
• Include
one
hyperlink
for
every
120
words
of
body
content
spread
out
evenly
down
the
page.
• For
example,
500
words
of
content
should
include
5
hyperlinks
with
approximately
each
paragraph
containing
one
hyperlink.
• Be
sure
not
to
“spam”
or
“keyword
stuff”
your
content
with
a
paragraph
of
keywords
linked
to
the
same
web
page
over
and
over
again.

50. 10. Use Keyword and Relevant Tags
Tags should include target keywords and related terms in body!

51. Summary of Tips
1. Define
3-­‐5
Target
Keywords
2. Ensure
Target
Keyword
is
In
Headline
3. Include
Keyword
2-­‐3
Times
in
1st
Paragraph
4. Include
Keyword
Once
In
Each
Remaining
Paragraphs
5. Add
a
Hyperlink
in
Every
Post
to
ExisHng
Post
6. Rename
Image
Files
to
Target
Keyword
7. Ideally
300+
Words
per
Post
8. Use
Alt-­‐Text
Keywords
in
Every
Hyperlink
9. Include
a
Minimum
of
1
Outbound
Link
With
Keywords
in
Alt-­‐Text
10. Use
Keyword
and
Relevant
Tags

52. What you Need to Know about
Group Deals

53. The Group Deals Model
• Unbelievable deal emailed to millions
• Shared socially to hit minimum (Tipped)
• Receive 50% of cash collected
• Paid over 90 days typically in 3 payments
• Deal company chooses deals best for them
Don’t miss Thursday’s Session with
By the Side of the Road B&B in Harrisonburg, VA

54. Typical Deal
Emailed to Customizable
Highly millions offer details
compelling
offer
Shared with
friends
Drives
significant
new sales
Activates
at minimum
quantity

55. How it Works with Groupon
• Your offer is a voucher worth $500
• The voucher is sold for $239
• 100 vouchers at $239 sold in 72 hours
− $239 x 100 vouchers = $23,900
− You earn $11,950
− $3,984 is paid to you within 15 days
− $7,966 is paid to you (less fees)
within 90 days in two payments
Each customer may also spend
• Package Upgrade
• Room Upgrade
• Food Upgrade
• Products – Tshirts, mugs, etc

56. Upside and Downside of Group Deals
• Immediate
cash
injecHon
• Brands
your
name
in
front
of
potenHally
Upside millions
of
customers
• No
upfront
adverHsing
costs
• Brings
in
lots
of
customers
fast
–
most
new
• Brings
in
unprofitable
business
• Aracts
a
large
number
of
customers
Downside (customer
service
issues)
• Customers
are
transacHonal/cost
sensiHve
• Could
hurt
brand
if
normally
don’t
discount

57. 3 Tips When Considering a Group Deal
1. Plan
ahead
and
be
prepared
• Limit
quanHty
• Off
season
2. Get
Repeat
Business
&
Upsell
• Secure
email
address
at
check-­‐in
• Make
sure
their
stay
is
flawless
• Master
the
art
of
the
upsell
at
booking
and
check-­‐in
3. Understand
the
Financials
• Make
sure
to
cover
variable
costs
• Know
the
LifeHme
Value
of
a
Customer

58. Ways to Increase Average Revenue Per Customer
• Bundled Packages
– Snow Skiing
– Mancations
– Romantic/Valentines
– Girls Weekend
• Food Baskets Waynesville,
NC
– Wine and Cheese
– Snack Basket
– Picnic bundles
– Sweets
• Fresh local flowers in room
• Bundle Personal Training or Spa Services

59. Let s
Connect
and
Follow
Each
Other
@MikeDMerrill
@ReachCast
http://www.mikemerrill.com/linkedin
http://www.facebook.com/ReachCast
mike@mikemerrill.com
http://www.mikemerrill.com