Healthy Data Tracking 

Websites save user data to better personalize and improve the customer experiences with first party cookies. These are small data files placed in web browsers to remember your language, layout preferences, or the contents of a shopping cart. This helps maintain a positive user experience by keeping important and relevant elements intact. There are also third parties that work with websites to insert additional tracking methods like their own cookies and web beacons such as analytics and page tagging. 

Companies use third parties to record what users read, click, and visit online. This method of collecting data is ethical if it involves giving users the ability and opportunity to opt out your company tracking using third party cookies, usually in the form of a pop-up box that contains settings and data preferences. Remember you want to have the user to have the power to control their info. If they feel you are abusing their private info it can hurt your company’s reputation and at worst get you into legal trouble. You want to give users the choice of giving you information freely. You can use subscription or contact forms, quizzes, and surveys for your company website or email marketing. Make it easy to unsubscribe from your email list if you use email mail marketing. The data you gather from these methods, should assist in your marketing and advertising plans. You don’t have to have all these methods going at once. Apply data collection methods based on your business goals.     

Unhealthy Data Tracking 

While data collection isn’t inherently bad, what you do with the data you collect is important. Sometimes data collection for advertising can veer away from its true purpose. Using ads through Google Ads and on social media platforms should have the goal of showing user the most relevant and useful ad. Track only what is relevant to help you sell your product or service. Never sell the data you collect to data brokers. Data brokers are companies that can merge anonymized online data (like from a public record) with personally identifiable information to build a detailed profile of you and sell it to other companies that don’t have your information. Avoid purchasing from brokers as well. Pause and think about how you feel when you get an email or ad from a company you never were in contact with. This can demolish any organic relationship building with potential customers. 

Researchers at the University of Washington have shown that mobile ad networks tracking capabilities could be manipulated for highly targeted surveillance. Some banks can also use data collection to determine your creditworthiness. Insurers can use data to assess your premiums. These ways of using data collection, are examples of controversial and potentially damaging ways to use data. This is causing many users to turn to private browsing and ad blocking software causing a loss of revenue of content creators. As a business make sure when you collect your data keep it safe and come up with an ad strategy that is ethical and brings value to your customer. 

We can help with healthy data collection for your website and ads. Call 248.528.3600 or visit our Google Analytics page for more info. 

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1. Establish Your Company Values 

What kind of travel experience do want your company to represent? Are you exotic and adventurous or quiet and comfortable? Does any of your products or services benefit the environment and/or include fair-trade practices? Identify what your company stands for and work with a designer or marketing agency that has designers to include visual elements and persuasive body copy that accurately portray and represent what your company stands for. 

2. Identify Your Audience’s Interest

Find out what interests your target market. Is there anything specific that a lot of people in your target demographic talk about? Ask: who, what, where, when, how, and at what time? You can gather this information through user persona profiles, social media, and competitor research. Think about how you can create content from it. Examples include a FAQ section on your website, host live Q & As on social media, a how-to video, or surveys through email marketing. Once you have built an audience continue to build off that information with Google Analytics with your Website, Google Ads, Social Ads, and interactions from other digital marketing avenues. You can use data to help inform future projects. 

3. Choose Formats Popular with Your Target Market 

Short-form video is popular with young gen z and millennials, but not every piece of content must be in this format to get views. Look at different content styles on the social media platforms you are on. For example, on Instagram carousels often get high engagement rates. Your business could create a “what to bring to ______” post. Then include branded items and include “anything we missed?” statement at the end to encourage interaction. May sure to switch post types a few times a week so existing followers don’t get bored. 

4. Create Immersive Content 

With new technologies you can create or integrate exciting digital experiences on your website and social media accounts. VR, augmented reality, and Google Maps are a few ways to this. Since you are in the travel industry, this is a great way to create sneak peeks of tours, trips, or products in use. You want to entice the client to stay and interact with what your company has to offer. If create a positive and exciting experience online, they are more likely to trust and choose you over a generic company. 

5. Create a Unique Style

With competitive research you may be tempted to recreate popular layouts and slap your logo on it. At best you could lose potential clients due to brand confusion, at worst, you are accused of plagiarism and get into legal trouble. Make sure you are adding and changing up photos, videos, motion graphics, and body copy tone of voice to create something that is identifiable uniquely to your company. Not only will you stand out from the crowd, but you will create trust with your audience.  

Need help creating effective branded content? Call 248.528.3600

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According to Google’s marketing retail guide, 40% of U.S. holiday shoppers say their holiday shopping experience has made them consider shopping much earlier for other milestones this year. This means your holiday gifts offers, specials, and other deals should be ready a couple months in advance. With consumers combining online and in-store shopping, preparing an omnichannel holiday strategy early will be critical to reaching shoppers along their purchase journeys. Have both your supply chain and digital marketing plan ready before November. 

If fact, it might be best to have new strategy right after the current holiday ends. According to the guide, June 2021 reported 31% of U.S. shoppers had already started their holiday shopping and 37% of shoppers who shopped the previous holiday season wished they had started earlier. During COVID-19 and currently, a lot of business’s supply chains had stock issues, causing over 50% of U.S. shoppers surveyed to say that they would start holiday shopping earlier to avoid an item being out of stock. This is especially important if you are an ecommerce business or a product-based company. Several suggestions from Google to include in a marketing strategy are:

• Use the Insights page in Google Ads and best sellers report to keep up with consumer demand. 
• Notify customers with promotions, sales, free and fast shipping options, and return and refund options directly to your product listings.
• Create a Business Profile and run a Local campaign to connect with local shoppers. 

If you are struggling with any of these items Miller Media can help with Google Ads and provides Google Analytics Consulting to create a marketing strategy that is successful. 

Multichannel Shopping is the Main Way People Shop

Omnichannel or multichannel shopping has led to only 4% of U.S. holiday shoppers not using digital channels for their shopping according to the retail guide. This means have a digital presence is a requirement for your business. Have a website, create social media accounts, and GoogleMyBusiness Profile for your business. If you are missing one or more of these avenues and can’t manage them yourself a digital marketing agency can help you. Also, convenience is key for people around the holidays. Minimize stress for last-minute shoppers, who rely on local and nearby stores. In Google Maps, searches for “gift shops near me” have grown globally by over 60% year over year. Make sure your on-page and off-page SEO is effective, so new or returning customers will see you first on Google’s results page. Other ways Google suggests helping shoppers see your business is with: 

• A Performance Max campaign, and through your app (if you have one) by deep linking to reach the right customers. 
• Smart Bidding for store visits or store sales. 
• Listing your products for free across Google Shopping 
• Local inventory ads and adding  Pointy  to your Business Profile to reach nearby customers by promoting available inventory. 

People Use Google for Holiday Inspiration

Google states that 43% of U.S. holiday shoppers that used Google said they did so to get gift ideas, and 64% said they did so for discovery and inspiration. This is very important for retailers. Search visibility is critical to capturing these shoppers. Include gift guides in your company’s blog. In addition, promote your products to your target audience at the right time across Google surfaces, like Search, YouTube, Gmail, and the Shopping tab. This takes SEO, website optimization, PPC, Google Ad creation, social media marketing, and other digital marketing services. All this can be overwhelming to maintain. If you are struggling to market your business while trying to run it, let the team here at Miller Media do it for you. 

Need help preparing for future holiday marketing strategies? Call 248.528.3600.

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Post and Advertise on Social Media 

Create a feed that is festive and fun. If you sell products supply gift guides. If you are a service-based company create a joyous atmosphere around your services. Contests and give aways are popular during the season because people are hoping to get a least one free gift for someone this year. Make sure the contest or give away is fun and rememberable that way the client will be encouraged to purchase something from your brand in the future. Take group photos of your company being charitable and giving back to your local community. 

Organize or Attend a Value-Added Sales Event 

Invite groups of people to your store for an exclusive sales event or attend a festival where there is a high influx of people holiday shopping. Both ways let you meet new customers and local business owners you may partner up with in the future. These person-to-person meetings allow you to create a positive experience for customers that they will remember off the holiday season, thus building brand loyalty and trust. 

Decorate Your Website 

Whether you are strictly a small online shop or a small local brick-and-mortar shop, it is fun to decorate your website. Having a holiday vide will get people in the mood and brighten their day. Add a Santa hat to your logo or any other item associated with holidays celebrated at this time. Add falling snow to your website or create a fun cursor to grab visitors’ attention. These will increase retention rates and increasing the likelihood of visitor purchasing an item. 

 Celebrate Small Business Saturday

Across your social media use #smallbusinesssaturday to promote your business. Many towns have various promotions such as special events, advertising gimmicks, and public relations initiatives to take advantage of. While this year it was on November 26^th, some locations celebrate this year-round. Use Saturday during holidays to promote your most popular sales item and be on the lookout for holiday specials you can offer based on your local Saturday activities. Don’t forget to update your Google Business profile with holiday hours and events. 

It is not too late to start holiday marketing. Call 248.528.3600.

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1. Ask what your target audience is doing around the holidays

According to data.ai, studies show mobile app usage and mobile shopping go up in November and December. Consumers are also looking for deals for gifts and holiday supplies. Create mobile-friendly web and ad content that helps your target audience find what they are looking for. Special discounts are often offered to help draw in consumers that need to spend for a lot of people in their lives. Check and secure your supply and delivery chain. Consumers are usually stressed and are looking for items that arrive quickly. Include call-to-actions that encourage urgency, especially if you are limited in supply or time. 

2. Adjust your normal social media content calendar 

Make sure you increase the frequency of your posts leading up to the holiday. Try to avoid posting the day before or the day of. People are usually finish shopping the week of and last-minute shoppers usually grab whatever closest. Remember that not all social media posts have to be direct sales. Some quick ideas are: 

• How to use video
• Customer testimonials
• Suggested gift post 
• Showcase bestsellers
• Live video asking what audiences are doing for the holidays 

3.  Keep in mind your employees’ time off

Whether you are open the day of the holiday or closed, employees are going to take time off on or around the time of the holiday to relax and be with their friends and/or family. Keep this in mind when you are creating your ads. You want to have enough breathing room for consumers to see and buy and for employees to register the purchase and do their jobs. Make your content in advance, especially if it evolves employee interaction. You want to be courteous of employee’s time because they are the one keeping your products or services moving. If possible, include ai or a social media manager that had access to software that automatically posts in advance. 

4. Keep in mind of other winter holidays besides the major ones

This is especially important is you are an international business. If you’re not selling something that is directly tied to major holiday or there is intersection of holidays that your target audience may celebrate, create content acknowledging different holidays. For example, you can create content based on Hanukkah or Kwanzaa in addition to Christmas. It can be blog post or a social media post. If there are too many holidays during the winter month and you are having trouble incorporating them in an authentic way, then just stick to “happy holidays” posts, blog articles and ads. 

5. Include sales-enablement collateral into your holiday content

This is important for b2b buyers. Web landing pages, case studies, client testimonials, and other sales aids content are still needed during the holidays. One would argue even more so due to other business’ fiscal year ending. Other businesses are deciding what to do with end of the year budgets and upcoming ones. Gather whatever content you can that make your business look like they have a smooth and positive experience. Exchange internal and team holiday news. LinkedIn is a great platform to highlight these items.

Need help preparing a marketing plan for the holidays? Call 248.528.3600.

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How do I create a Google Business Profile? 

You can create your profile through Google Search and Maps. First, sign into your business’s Google Account. Then go to “create a profile”. Next up, you enter the name of your business or select your business from the list of suggested businesses as you type. After that search for your business category. Once that is done, click “Next” and enter whether you have a location customers can visit. Follow that task up with entering the service area of your business, phone number, and website URL. After that you should be finished and all that is left is to choose a verification option. For more details visit Google’s Support Page or contact us, we’d be happy to help in addition to any Google related services. 

Bonuses to Have that Help Your Business  

Google Business Profile lets you select various attributes to let customers know special details about your business. These attributes also appear on your products in the Shopping tab when you add then to your Merchant Center account. Examples of attributes are women led business, black-owned business, LGBTQ+ friendly, etc. 

Performance Max campaigns help bring buyers to your stores by promoting your locations to shoppers when they are browsing on Google Maps, Search, YouTube, and the Google Display Network. This advertising strategy formally known as local campaign can help drive foot traffic by sharing store openings, special in-store promotions, updated business hours, and specific products that are available in nearby stores. Pair this with local inventory ads. Local inventory ads let potential clients know whether the products they’re looking for are available before coming into stores. You can showcase products that are available in your nearby stores on Google Search and highlight your fulfillment options like curbside pickup, pickup today, and pickup later. 

Measuring the impact your online ads can be done with Google’s Smart Bidding. This part of measuring in-store visits is vital for meeting your business goals. Use “Smart Bidding for store visits” or “Smart Bidding for store sales” to maximize total sales. Bid the right amount to attract the right customers. It does not matter whether they end up purchasing online or in your store. This is an important tool for helping increase sales and ensure you continue to be a business. 

Need help with using Google Business Profile or Google Ads? Call 248.528.3600.

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1. Photos of current staff member(s).

2. Photos of a new team member.

3. Photo of owner or boss interacting with the business.

4. Photo of new products being unboxed or stocked.

5. Photos of satisfied customers (with legal and proper consent).

6. Photo of an office pet or mascot. 

7. Photo of a holiday gathering or charity event.

8. Photo of staff members in action (meeting, helping customers, stocking shelves, etc.).

9. Short video of a happy customer’s testimonial.  

10. Photo of new equipment. 

11. Photo of staff working on location (especially if it is out in the field).

12. Photo of “behind the scenes” or “how it is made”. 

13. Memes made from your own pictures.

14. Short video of company birthday or employee birthday.

15. Video announcement of a promotion, product, or special.

16. Video tour of the business or areas you serve.  

17. Video/podcast with some helpful industry advice for the customer. 

18. Video supporting a local cause or volunteered event.

19. Video showing off use new products or services (30 seconds to a minute).

20. Video of the owner talking about the mission of the company.

21. Video/podcast interview with team members.

22. Assemble product or service photos into a collage. 

Create a content strategy for your business. Call 248.528.3600.

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Review Snippet 

Recipe Snippet

Music Snippet 

Product Markup Snippet 

Movie Snippet

Events Snippet 

Use Structured Data to Get Rich Snippets

Structured data is a type of standardized code format that communicates information about your business’s web page content to search engines. It must contain two important factors to be successful: Schema and the format. Schema is the vocabulary that tells the search engine about the entity elements on your page and the format is the type of markup code that communicates schema to the search engine. These formats are JSON-LD, microdata, and RDFa with JSON-LD favored by Google. An example of creating structured data for a Rich Snippet would be:

Say you have a recipe for chocolate chip cookies on your bakery’s website. You could add structured data for the recipe:

• Cooking duration
• Nutritional information
• Ingredients
• Instructions, etc. 

Schema.org is a site dedicated to the universal vocabulary for structured data. You can use the website to help you write and test your structured data snippets, regardless of format. Additional tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper can generate the markup code instead of writing it from scratch and Google’s Rich Results Test tool to see which rich results Google generates from your markup code.

Need help adding Rich Snippets to your website’s code? Call 248.528.3600.

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1. Why are you rebranding? 

You could be in one of the situations mentioned above or there might be other reason you want to rebrand you company. Here are some common reasons companies rebrand:

• Branch Out Internationally
• New Mission or Main Goal for the Company
• Internal and external brand are not aligned 
• New Owner
• Product or Services has changed 
• Your target changed age or interest
• Name change 
• Tech industry change (how brand in consumed)
• Scandal repair 

2. What is your brand’s goal?

How do you want to reposition yourself in the market? Everyone wants to increase sales but be specific in your goal. Do you want the rebrand to focus on attracting a certain demographic to a certain product or service? For example, you are a clothing company who previous sold casual cloths for the public, but now you want to upgrade to sell luxury lounge wear for specially women. You will have to research and create goals around attracting middle-to-upper class women who enjoy lounge wear. 

3. Is your current brand outdated? 

This is more of a problem for companies that have been around for a long time, but small companies can also fall for outdated graphics if they don’t have an internal marketing team. Print used to be the primary source of advertising, so a lot of old logos can be geared towards fitting those standards. Also, old computer graphics and websites from the early day of internet may still be in use if you don’t have anyone maintaining your website. This can cost you clients due to them thinking you are not around anymore or worse your old website can be a security risk due to hacking of old PHP code. Updating you brand can create trust among new and existing clients. It will also indicate that you are up to date with current standards of your industry and technology.

4. What marketing strategies will help support a rebrand? 

Speaking of digital and print marketing, what avenues will you new graphics appear on? Think about all the place your brand needs to be represented on. Common marketing materials are: 

• Social Media Ads + Profiles
• Website 
• Google Ads 
• Google My Business Profile
• Business Cards
• Letterheads
• Outdoor + Indoor Signage 
• Clothing
• Tradeshow Banners
• Product Packaging 
• Photography or Illustrations

5. How long will a rebrand take?

Depending on how much research needs to be done rebrands take a long time. It evolves a lot of research of human behavior and interests as well as designing of different marketing materials. If you are losing salesand need change right away go ahead and rebrand. It is more of a guaranty that success will occur and leads to fast results. If you are doing good, but pivoting to a different demographic, maybe slow down and stay in the research phase a little longer before rebranding your marketing material. You may discover that a rebrand is not needed or that you could start a separate business. 

6. How much should your budget be? 

If you do the marketing research yourself and create graphics in a free generator it should cost, you next to nothing. However, this might not be good thing. Maintaining your brand may turn out difficult as you need more graphics to continue advertising. That also may deter you from more important task related to running your business. An effective rebrand done by a digital marketing agency starts at $30,000. If you’re a small business this may seem high, and you may get away with upgrading your logo for $2,000 and having your internal marketing team do the rest but consider saving for more advanced services in the future. 

Ready to rebrand your company? Call 248.528.3600.

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Perfect for a quick website audit, Grow My Store gives a comprehensive report on your website. That report includes competitive benchmarking, recommendations, and tailored insights to help you optimize your customer/user experience. You should also check out Test My Site for developer-friendly tips on boosting site speed. It is important to have a fast-loading website to decrease bounce rate. Any corrections suggested may require you to hire a professional web agency for help. 

Do you have an app version of your company’s website? App campaigns help reach mobile shoppers and encourages them to make a purchase, or take action, for example, installing the app itself. Embedding deep links provides better mobile experiences by taking your app users from your ads directly to the corresponding app page of your app. This is key to the customer journey and the path to purchase. It makes it easier for them to complete their desired action, which is essential for good user experience.

Showcase Product Information Across Google

On Google, the Shopping tab helps to showcase your products across many places where customers turn to shop and directly integrates your product within an ad experience. You can increase your exposure at no cost by listing your products on Merchant Center or directly through your e-commerce platform such as WooCommerce for WordPress websites. 

With video increasing popularity, you now can include an interactive product feed directly within the ad unit to turn viewers into customers. Think of the product feed  as a way to turn your ad into a digital storefront. Well design ads that display your company’s brand properly will attract new customers and flag down existing customers to your product or service. Create a seamless path to purchase between brand awareness and the call-to-action.

Increase your click-through rates and conversions by adding information about promotions, sales, free and fast shipping options, and return and refund options directly to your product listing. Shoppers are constantly on the hunt for good deals and want to know all relevant information up front, so it is best to have these pieces of information clearly visible.  

Engage New Customers

Customers shop across multiple Google surfaces every day. Google avenues are Search, Discover, YouTube, Maps, and the Shopping tab. To grow your online sales, it’s important to know which ad campaigns are right for your target market. Reach the right person and convert them into a loyal customer with Google Ads.

Back in April, Smart Shopping and Local campaigns gained an upgrade to Performance Max campaigns. Performance Max campaigns allow you to promote your products or services across all of Google’s advertising channels and inventory by creating one easy-to-manage campaign. This should be less stressful for small businesses due to fact they now can focus on one area of Google analytics instead of multiple analytics for separate campaigns. With new ways to discover, research, and purchase, customers are engaging across an ever-growing number of channels, and it is important to appear on most of them. 

As mentioned earlier videos are big in advertising right now. A Video action campaign is a simple, cost-effective way to drive more conversions on and off your company’s YouTube channel. This campaign helps you drive engagement with your video ads by scaling them across the YouTube Home feed, watch pages, connected TV, and more with a clear call-to-action button. These are perfect for businesses that require demonstration of their product or service.  

Inspired to start a Google Ad Campaign? Call 248.528.3600.

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