How to Build a Strong Wellness Marketing Strategy: Establish the right tools

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The establishment of tools and process is the next step to have a successful digital marketing presence. Define the tools and roles of your team to help your content marketing to flow timely and consistently.

To help your content flow timely, establish a calendar for your team. Your team needs to know your upcoming goals and plans for the practice. Calendars can also help measure your successes.

To create effective content consistently, a content management system is a necessity. This is the software that organizes your content and publishes it online.

An example of a content management system is HubSpot. It is used by thousands of businesses and they love it. “Since implementing HubSpot’s software and inbound marketing methodology, we have grown organic traffic by 450%. We’ve been able to optimize the business that comes from those visits, too; our inbound lead-to-win conversion rate continues to increase.” –LevelEleven.

Defining team roles is an important step in establishing a strong digital marketing presence. There are six roles to establish for your team.

  1. The leader: This person’s main goal is to lead and guide others on the team and keep the schedule moving.
  2. The researcher: This team member needs to have a strong understanding of Search Engine Optimization. They also keep the practice up-to-date on search algorithms, requirements for faster ranking, and ad bid managements.
  3. The writer: In order for the business to be successful, content must be written. Having a writer on your team is necessary to keep content across all platforms- website, blog, social media, etc.
  4. The coder: It is important for content to link back to your website. The website coder is responsible for this step.
  5. The data miner: A team member that is designated to this task helps manage and drive your strategy solution and provide analytics and reporting for the time
  6. The bonus:The last person is a “bonus” for the team. The 6th team member is responsible for creativity with design ideas.

It is the leader’s responsibility to keep the team on track. “Websites that are packed with good quality content have long enjoyed benefits of high search engine positions and good conversion rates (Inbound Now).” Questions to keep in mind when generating content are:

  • • Who is the target market?
  • • What is the purpose of the content?
  • • How does this attract our patients?
  • • How is the content being measured?

Have a guide in place for your team. This will help them streamline production and keep the practice consistent.

Case Study Responsive Web Design for Capital Medical Society

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We would first like to thank Capital Medical Society for giving us the opportunity to help them build a more user friendly and powerful website.

Capital Medical Society came to us with a few concerns:

  • The Doctor’s Directory was lack luster
  • Website was not mobile friendly and had very poor performance outside a desktop computer
  • A non-inviting design – It lack direction and was very plain
  • Lack of editability – Client had some access, but overall making even the smallest changes were a pain

After several discussions with Capital Medical Society talking about functionality, design and editability, we turned their old Doctor’s Directory into a powerhouse of information for their users that are looking for that perfect Doctor. We included aspects of their old website that their users loved and created a more inviting/user friendly design that promotes usability and allows for mobile responsiveness. Finally, one of Capital Medical Society’s biggest concerns was the ability to edit their content without relying on a developer. Luckily this was an easy one, we build all of our websites on CMS platforms, which allow for full editability.

We look forward to helping with future projects and continuing to build a strong relationship with them. We would like to give a big shout out to Pam Wilson, Shannon Boyle and the whole Capital Medical Society team for making this a wonderful experience.

Social Media Channels Overload for Small Businesses

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It seems new social apps pop up every day. News announced just recently a 13-year old kid has been developing a new app using video as the subject matter for young people under 21 called “Lifestage”. Similar to the way Facebook started in 2004, this new app connects people within their school. The young inventor Michael Sayman was invited to learn the social media giant as an intern.The question is how do you keep up? As a business owner, it can be confusing and quite overwhelming to decide which channels to post your content on and leverage for marketing effectively. There’s hope for those who know their target audience, or buyer personas as we call them. If however you don’t know who your primary audience is, take a step back and look at your audience. Try to place yourself on the channels where you feel they spend their time. Then focus your efforts there. Monitor them for best engagement rates and performance. If you do not see the desired results, pivot your content and refocus for better results.

Another piece of advice, you don’t have to be on all of the channels. Your efforts are better focused on a few networks with a common goal / benchmark rather than spreading yourself too thin across too many networks.

Why do Google algorithm changes matter?

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The Google algorithms are computer processes and formulas that look through thousands, if not millions, of webpages for a typical search and find the most helpful information for the user. Today’s Google algorithms rely on more than 200 unique signals or “clues” that make it possible to guess what the user might be searching for. These signals come in a wide variety, such as the terms on a website, the freshness of content, a user’s specific region and PageRank.

Let’s dive a bit deeper and define what PageRank is exactly. PageRank is one of Google’s algorithm’s/tools used to ensure that their users are receiving the most insightful, useful and meaningful content. PageRank is broken up into a few different sections: system features, related work, system anatomy, results and performance as well as conclusions. Within each of these sections they are broken down even further but that is a very complex and very long discussion.

Why does this matter to my website?

The reason Google’s algorithms matter to your website and ultimately to your buyers is because these algorithms are the reason and the way your buyers first come in contact with your website while they are in the discovery phase of their buyer’s journey. The discovery phase of a buyer’s journey is when they have an issue but do not quite know what the solution to it may be. The reason they are searching the web is to find a solution or information about their problem. Wouldn’t you like to be the solution to their problem? Turn these strangers towards your company and ultimately into promoters of your company.

Let’s take a moment to be very clear, Google does not care about your website specifically, they care about making sure their users receive the most valuable content they can provide.

Penguin 4.0

With the latest version of Google’s Penguin algorithm it is even more crucial to stay on top of your website. Google’s data is refreshed in real time with the latest Penguin release, so changes will be visible much faster; typically taking effect shortly after a recrawl and reindex is completed. With all these changes it is imperative that your marketing team stays on top of these changes and is ensuring that they are hitting the key points that effect your PageRank.

How we can help.

If by the end of this article you have learned something or now have a question in the back of your mind, whether your marketing team is keeping up with these updates and ensuring your content is presenting the most insightful, useful, meaning and freshest content, contact us today. We would love to talk to you more about your buyer’s journey, growth driven design and ultimately how we can help your business reach your buyers.

Google is going to a mobile first index soon!

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With the numbers of mobile users’ sky rocketing out of the atmosphere, it’s no surprise to anyone that mobile searches have surpassed desktop and at this point we do not think there is any turning back. With today’s world needing information instantaneously, a desktop just does not do and a laptop is a bit annoying to lug around with you. This is exactly where mobile devices and even tablets come into play. These devices allow the consumer to get the information they want, at the moment and it allows brands’ opportunities to be ‘near’ their mobile users. Per a recent Pew Research report, 46% of respondents said they could not live without their smartphones.

Micro-Moments

Google has coined a new term: ‘micro-moments’. Micro-moments are essentially a question or questions that a consumer has in an instant and wants to answer within that same instance. These moments are broken down into 3 stages: Immediate Action, Demand for relevance, Loyal to needs. Let’s define each of these per Google.

Immediate action – Smartphones allow us to act on any impulse at any time. We take immediate action whenever we want to learn, find, do or buy something.

Demand for relevance – When we act on our needs in-the-moment, our expectations are high and our patience is low. This makes the quality, relevance, and usefulness of marketing more important than ever.

Loyal to needs – Our preferences and purchases are shaped in these micro-moments. Ultimately, the brands that do the best job of addressing our needs in each moment will win.

As you can see these micro-moments are a make or break chance for your company to gain a loyal customer who will in return become a promoter of your company, so long as you continue to treat them with quality, relevant and useful content.

What you can do.

Identify a set of key moments in a buyer’s journey that you want to win or can’t afford to lose. Examine these moments of your buyer’s journey when they want to find inspiration, learn about your product, make a quick purchase or anything in between. For each of these moments put yourself in your buyer’s shoes. Ask yourself, “What would make this faster and easier? What content and features would be the most helpful?” Ensure your buyer’s journey is optimized across the board and that there are no hiccups along the way. You can never afford to under-serve your buyers, while every moment may not yet be directly measurable, you cannot allow anything to fall through the cracks.

What Google is doing?

Back in April, the 21st to be exact Google released an algorithm update that impacted mobile search results worldwide for mobile searchers. This update improved rankings for sites that provided a mobile-friendly experience to searchers on mobile devices, and, by association, demoted sites that did not. Well, Google is at it again and they are not joking around this time. Googler Gary Illyes announce at Pubcon that Google will be switching from a desktop index to a mobile index. This is a huge change. Google has always used a desktop version of a page for ranking, even when serving results to users on a mobile device. Big note, this mobile first index is not currently live. This is currently a pre-announcement/pre-warning to all site owners to get prepared for the upcoming changes.

Why Google why?

It’s simple with all research pointing towards a mobile first world it only makes sense to make this change. Now this is not something Google is coming out of left field about, Gary Illyes hinted at having been in testing for a little over a year now. Since mobile searches continue to sky rocket – this move is not a surprise.

How much time do I have, Doc?

Unfortunately, Gary Illyes did say that he will not give firm dates for this because dates can change. He did say though that Google will be announcing it with a blog post, which will include details about when the mobile first index is to take effect. It is also worth mentioning that Google has given site owners plenty of notice about these changes, such as when they made the plan to add a mobile friendly ranking boost. Now is the time to take your buyer’s journey and mobile experience seriously. With the current trends and Google moving forward with a mobile-first index it is not the time to sit idly by, it is the time to schedule your free consultation and see how we can help your business and your buyer’s journey improve.

What is Whitespace and How can it Help?

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What is Whitespace?

Whitespace is one of the most overlooked aspects of design and it is often pushed to the side for the sake of fitting as much information as possible into the space provided, whether that is digital or print. It does not always have to be white, that is why some designers call this space “negative space,” which just means “space left blank.”

Whitespace is divided into two categories:

  • Active Whitespace: the space that was left white on purpose to drive home a message or create emphasis on a design element.
  • Passive Whitespace: the space that was left white naturally while making the layout of the design.

 

How Can Whitespace Help Your Design?

 

1. Whitespace Improves Readability

We have all seen designs that look too busy, this often clutter look makes it hard for us to understand the message quickly and easily. This is usually because of the lack of Whitespace. These designs aren’t necessarily bad, the designer may have done this on purpose, but if you’re ever wanting people to quickly and easily read and understand your message, you may want to increase the Whitespace.

 

2. Creates Professional and Sophisticated Designs

Take into considerations some of the world’s most recognizable brands, such as Apple or Google. All these brands share a very similar design aspect: simple, clean, and lots of Whitespace. Let’s look at Apple’s website, both of these are great examples of how Whitespace can portray a professional and sophisticated personality about the Apple brand.

 

3. Creates Emphasis on Your Product

Looking back at Apple’s website again, you are immediately drawn to the center of the page where you see their newest product. Having a large amount of Whitespace around the focal point of the design helps the reader quickly find what you are trying to convey and often makes it much more impactful. Don’t forget, as Dictionary.com said, “Whitespace is as effective in a layout as type.”

 

Are Your Users Getting the Message?

These are just a few major impacts that Whitespace can have on your buyers. It is getting more and more difficult in today’s online world to make your business stand out and draw buyers in. Having the right amount of Whitespace can help, so take a look at your web design and ask, is this getting the message to my buyers? Is it portraying the professional feel that it should? Is my product or brand standing out or falling behind my competitors? If you are unsure about any of these or answered no, contact us for a free consultation to see how we can help make sure your brand is making waves.

Flash Is Dead

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Have you ever visited a website, either on your mobile device or on your desktop and get an error asking you to install Adobe Flash? Most people have and it is extremely frustrating.

While the web industry has been slowly phasing out support for Flash over past few years, Adobe announced on July 24th that the once internet standard will be phased out entirely in favor of more open current standards like HTML5. All support for Flash will end by 2020. That seems like a long way off but in the internet and technology world it is right around the corner.

Flash was once king of video and rich interactions, this final decision to end development and support comes as a result of a few big issues. There were no standards for Flash development, as a result lots of poorly developed Flash gave users poor experience. As Apple embraced the early iphone poor experience was not acceptable and so they refused to support Flash on iOS. Finally Adobe failed to adequately maintain the security of Flash for users, dooming it to be blocked by default on most all modern browsers.

What this means to business and site owners is that it is time to begin transitioning to safer, more standard solutions for rich interaction and video. Curiosity is always looking towards the future and using the best technology. We’re here to help you replace Flash elements on your site with current, standards driven solutions.. We have a deep experience with the latest techniques in HTML5 animation, interaction and video playback,  allowing us to recreate what in the past could only be found in Flash. A big added benefit is that by using web standard solutions, the old concern of “Will my site be viewable?” becomes a thing of the past. Just like Flash.

It is also worth mentioning that updating your website shouldn’t be exclusive to those that still leverage Flash. Updating your site can help boost your search engine rankings and increase traffic. It just so happens this is also something we specialize in and would be happy to assist with. Contact us today to see what we can do for you.

Our hats off to Flash, an innovator in its’ day, now headed toward a well earned retirement.

How do local listings affect my business?

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Before we can answer how a local listing affects your business, we first need to look at what exactly a local listing is, what it includes and what types there are.

A local listing is exactly that: a listing of businesses, normally within a directory, that points to a business by a few different variables, whether it be the business name, the business address, the type of business and/or social media presence within a certain area or city. This is taken a step further when it comes to Google. Google will gather the information from several different business directories to compile their own listing of your business, unless you have claimed your business with them.

 

It is highly recommended that you do this quickly, if you have not done so already. Having incorrect and/or outdated information can be devastating to your business. Imagine someone is looking for your business and finds out that you are already closed, when in actuality this is untrue or they go to the address shown, to only end up at an incorrect address.

What a local listing includes?

There are a few key areas that you want to make sure are 100% accurate. This includes the following: Your Business Title, Links and Citations, Categories, Reviews and Ratings, Photos and Videos, Social Factors and Other Attributes.

Your Business Title – This is one of the most critical  factors for ranking well in local search engines. Having a title that is consistent with an accurate business name is extremely important.

Links and Citations – Search engines find out about your business in two primary ways.  The first being crawling links that are inbound to your website and tracking sites where those links appeared.  The second is tracking citations of your business and where those citations came from.

What is a citation? Let’s take a quick pause to define what a citation is, so that there is no confusion. A citation is a ‘mention’ of your business name on websites other than your own. These ‘mentions’ should include the same information that a regular business listing does, i.e. the business address, the type of business and a phone number.

Categories – Many local directories allow you to choose between two to five categories that identify what your business is about. Search engines like Google will then use these categories to help decide which businesses to show for searches. Search engines will NOT show a business that is uncategorized – or even worse, incorrectly categorized – for sets of keywords. This is especially true for high demand keywords or phrases that already have several businesses associated within a category. This is exactly why having consistent and correct information about your business throughout is essential.

Reviews and Ratings – Reviews and ratings are powerful persuasion tools for customers that are on the fence about purchasing a product or service from your business. While a negative review can encourage a potential customer to hit the ‘back’ button, a great review can encourage a customer to pick up the phone and call you!

Photos and Videos – Having photos and videos help entice a potential customer into clicking on your business listing. This means taking the time to pick out the proper photos and videos you plan on showing to your potential customers; do not just put something up for the sake of putting something up. These photos and videos can be anything but putting up projects that your company has worked on, products you offer, your team and/or your office itself will lead to more clicks and more recognition.

Social Factors – The social component of local SEO is growing stronger with each passing year, and learning to participate in the social platforms your customers prefer is a fantastic way to further build your relationships. You can also interact with reviewers in a similar manner to Twitter and Facebook. Reviews are a key component to a business’s survival. Certain forms of social media activity appear to influence overall search engine rankings.  Their direct influence is unknown, but it is safe to say having a social media presence is important.

SIDENOTE. Not all reviews are created equal but having reviews is better than having none. There is an art to answering negative reviews to spin them into a positive outcome.  There is more to it but that would take another article.

Other Attributes – It is vital to list your complete contact information on your website in a format that search engines can read. This is a simple step that most businesses seem to overlook. Providing your contact information in a format such as an image, a flash player or any other non-text format that search engines cannot crawl will affect your search rankings.

Lastly, keeping up with changes to policies, the latest opportunities for promotion and what your competition is doing on major search engines and local listings are all good ways to ensure that your business is doing everything it can to be current and visible in the local search.

How does your local business listing stack up? If you would like to learn more on how we can help with your local listings please feel free to request a local directory analysis below. We look forward to working with you.

Time For A Check-Up: 5 Elements All Sites Need

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A business website is often overlooked or forgotten about. Most businesses forget to update them and the website is put on the back burner. It’s very important that your website be updated regularly and reflect your business’s current state and brand image. Here are 5 Elements your site needs – and if it doesn’t meet these 5 elements  it may be time to renew your website and bring it up-to-speed.

  1. Strong Brand– Having a consistent brand can set you apart from your competitors. Sending the same message to your clients will increase memorability and make sure your company is always your company. Your website is like an extension of your business. Think of it as your virtual office. When a visitor ‘stops by’ will they know they are at your business or does your website look like an outdated version of your business? Look at your site and make sure your colors, fonts, and imagery match the message you want to send.
  2. Content– Like we said above, this is your virtual office. Is your potential customer going to find the information they need while visiting your site? Furthermore, is the content relevant? The customer is looking for information and the information needs to answer the question “How does this apply to me?” Having the content up front is great but having them move deeper into your site is better. Strike a balance that gives them enough information but keeps them moving.
  3. Navigation– Your site’s navigation (also known as a nav bar) is usually at the top of your site. This is how your customers will navigate through your site and it should be simple and easy to use. It’s tempting to place all your pages in the top level of the navigation bar but this causes issues of a content overload and mobile responsive nightmares. It’s a good idea to group like-topic pages in drop downs to help the user identify where they want to go and then dive deeper.
  4. Call to Action– Call to Actions (also known as CTAs) are the buttons or links that grab attention and moves the customer deeper into the site. An example of this would be the button under the home page’s About section urging the customer to “Learn More.” Not having these in crucial locations can leave the customer stranded and ditch your site. Remember – it’s all about keeping them moving.
  5. Mobile Responsive– Not having a mobile responsive site is a website-killer. This is important because 55% of web traffic is from mobile devices and tablets.  Google now ranks websites based on whether they are mobile responsive or not [LINK TO MOBILE FIRST POST].

So, how does your website stack up against the 5 elements needed? Does your website need improvement? Acting now instead of waiting can help boost your site visits and increase customer conversions. This might be a big undertaking for most businesses but we are here to help. We are one of the area’s leading marketing and digital design firms and are experts on these subjects. Contact us today to see how we can help grow your website into the powerful resource is should be for your business.

Curiosity Becomes a Silver HubSpot Certified Agency Partner

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We are happy to announce that we are now a Silver Level HubSpot Certified Agency Partner. HubSpot, the world’s leading inbound marketing and sales platform, works hand-in-hand with Agency Partners to grow their clients’ businesses through inbound software, services, automation, and support.

Our Channel Rep was nice enough to give us a testimonial as well. Oscar Zamorano said, “We have been thrilled to work with Curiosity as a HubSpot Partner. Their savvy, sophisticated, and innovative approach to inbound makes them a company that businesses everywhere can learn from. Watching them transform their agency and their clients with inbound has been a rewarding experience!”

Over the past 2 years, we have grown businesses by incorporating inbound strategies to attract, engage, and delight customers. Our mission is to continue helping companies and people harness technology for effective marketing, to collaborate and ask insightful questions, to create excellent stories that connect brands with the world, and to improve ourselves and our clients through continual learning, exploration, and teaching.

If you would like to learn more about Inbound Marketing and the approach we use. Schedule a free consultation. We would love to explain the process that works for us and our clients.