Google's New Tool Helps Brick & Mortar Stores Succeed Online

Instead of brands that are based in brick-and-mortar locations finally have a reason to celebrate about ecommerce, Google's Local Inventory Ads. The ads strive to direct web traffic online consumers to local stores carrying the products they are searching for. This is a huge move in the search engine optimization world.

The tool was launched last year and so it's still somewhat new to brands but it seems to be helping them already. One brand that is experiencing benefit from this internet marketing tool is Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores.

What happens is really neat for brands; so when you search for something, for example, "Washing Machines", Google will have ads on the side or top of page, like Adwords, with ads for the product you're searching for. When you click on "Shop on Google" you are directed to a page with listings for all of the products that stores have paid to list under this section, pertaining to your search. You can see which stores are carrying your product, what their price is, and how far they are located from your location (determined by IP address).

So now stores have a bit of leverage on online stores advertising on Google. While the purchasing process of online is easier, it requires no driving or even getting dressed, the ability to immediately own a product and not paying for shipping will win every time.

Sears's spinoff company has been running these ads that utilize location and tell consumers where to find the product nearby for some time. In fact, they have seen 122 percent more visits to all of their 1,240 locations because of this service. Sears has reported a 16 percent increase on inventory ads versus their other online advertisements.

This tool works brilliantly with mobile advertising as well. Shoppers can check out where's the best place to purchase something while on the move to purchase it. It is the best search ad tool so far.

Does your business need to increase its conversions and click-through rate? Then email Integraphix about digital advertising. Our Chicago SEO firm can help your business establish a powerful presence online. 

The Power for Instagram for Food Trucks at SXSW

At SXSW Interactive, food trucks have become a bit of a staple for goers to enjoy. Food trucks have seen a resurgence in popularity across U.S. cities, especially here in Chicago as they are finally legal. At the SXSW festival, food trucks line the streets and sell their innovative recipes and twists on traditional food items, fitting with the innovative theme of the tech, music, and films at SXSW.

Every food truck promotes via social media marketing at SXSW; all of them using their Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram profiles to generate buzz. Instagram creates a great platform for food trucks to promote themselves since it is visual and mobile based. With the support of hashtags, attendees can quickly view the different foods being offered by tapping on the different hashtags.

As a Chicago SEO firm that has visited the SXSW festival in prior years, we have spoken with many attendees who tend to skip the food trucks since their lines can grow to hours long. However, the lines this year have grown even more due to the stepped up presence on Instagram and more people flocking to SXSW.

Using Instagram allows the food trucks and restaurants in the area to connect with customers, even when they are not near their locations. Yes, that is true of all digital marketing other times as well, but it has a profound effect at SXSW since attendees can quickly move to their locations at any time.

However, the social bug has not bitten every SXSW attendee when it comes to finding a cure for their growling tummies, some still use the old-fashioned nose, eyes, and tastebuds. They smell, look for visual confirmation of good scent, and taste to confirm it was worth the purchase.

Is your business in need of better social media marketing? Then email Integraphix, a SEO company in Chicago with over 25 years experience in marketing. 

Twitter's Gameplan for SXSW

Social media giant, Twitter,  plans on doing several things at the famous SXSW Interactive fest. One of their main objectives is to promote the site's video capabilities, which allows users to share easier than ever before, better advertising opportunities, and an autoplay option (possibly).

The past year, video has been on Twitter's mind and has consumed a lot of their efforts. They worked hard on launching their native video service, which impacted both social media marketing and search engine optimization efforts for brands, as well as keeping up with other social media companies. One of the events that sparked Twitter's efforts was Facebook's purchase of LiveRail in 2014, since Facebook wanted to improve their video service.

Until this year, Twitter's approach to video has been a little confusing, allowing multiple services to play video for Twitter. Now, it doesn't matter where the video was produced nor on which device, it will all be seamless and uniform. Now, with Twitter's native video platform, users can shoot and upload video directly to Twitter. Also, in efforts to create a better video experience digital marketing teams and general users, Twitter purchased SnappyTV; this allows lets media companies broadcast content quickly and sell ads with that.

Twitter is still working out an autoplay feature, allowing videos to begin playing as users scroll through their feeds. 

Connect with your customers via social media marketing and engaging video! Email Integraphix- a Chicago SEO company - about digital marketing services and advertising. 

How to Get Your Audience to Give a Hoot About Your Digital Campaign

One of the most challenging parts of creating a successful campaign for digital marketing is generating consumer engagement. When your consumers don't give a hoot, they don't engage.

So how does a brand generate engagement from its consumers with social media marketing? Answer: by making consumer feedback part of the process and be heard!

When you make the consumer part of the process, granted, it has to be for something fun/worthwhile, then you will see their interest and willingness to engage will increase.

Let's look at one fantastic example of "making the consumer part of the process" from Lay's, the beloved brand from Frito-Lay. The past few years, Lay's has run the digital marketing campaign called, "Do Us a Flavor"; the highly-orchestrated creative internet marketing campaign has allowed consumers to submit their ideas for a great (or, rather terrible) potato chip flavor. The four best ideas (determined by user votes) are turned into flavors. From there, consumers purchase the chips and give their feedback; the winning flavor from that group is then turned into a real flavor and available for mass purchase for one year.

How wonderful is that? Not only is the consumer a vital part of the campaign, and more than just a purchaser, but the point of the campaign is worthwhile and fun! It matters that your campaign is worthwhile, otherwise, you still won't get any engagement. It is a delicate balance.

Does your business desire better engagement with its audience? Then email Integraphix - a Chicago SEO company - about how to create a campaign that makes consumers want to engage and can generate worthwhile ROI! 

The Art of Going Viral with Video ft. President Obama

This past Sunday, Feb. 15, was the deadline for people to sign up for healthcare coverage. While this is a priority for many people across the country, millennials have been elusive and have proven to be a hard demographic to appeal to with this message.

President Obama wanted everyone, especially millennials, to sign up for healthcare coverage. There are two great ways to connect with this powerful demographic: social media marketing and viral videos; so, to connect with Millennials, the President utilized those mediums, especially the video part. Obama and Buzzfeed Motion Pictures created a video to promote Healthcare.gov. 

The results that speak of the video's success are still being calculated; however, the popularity of the video is tremendous, having been watched 15 million times in its first eight hours. By the end of last night, the video surpassed 42 million views.

In the video, we see President Obama doing American-Millennial things like taking a selfie on his iPhone with a selfie-stick, blaming Obama for something (you know the sarcastic phrase, "Thanks, Obama."). However, the point of the video is hidden in his speech practice that is done in front of the mirror.

Obama is no shy person to social media, using it heavily in both Presidential campaigns and for other efforts, such as his Reddit AMA, chats with YouTube stars, and other creative projects.

Does your business need to reach a difficult demographic with its marketing? Does your business want to improve its social media presence? Then email Integraphix and our Chicago creative marketing team can help you strategize! 

YouTube is on the Radar for FOUR Startups

Is change in the air? Or, rather, on your computer screen? YouTube, the world's most popular video platform & an emerging influencer in search engine optimization rankings (it's owned by Google, hence the reason), could be challenged by four different startups.

So what are these "Davids" who are looking to take down "Goliath"?

1. Victorious. Founded by Sam Rogoway, Michael Todd, and Bing Chen, this mobile-first platform allows creators have a house for their content, including their own apps. You can also interact with other users and fans as well as show off the content. This platform makes money by having in-app purchases, e-commerce, and standard ad formats. 
2. 5by. Founded by Greg Isenberg, the mobile app recommends content to users (the content is divided by categories) due to the ratings they give on previously watched videos. Users of the app can share and chat about videos with other users, privately. The app makes money by brand sponsorships and highlighted videos. It has since been bought by Stumbleupon. 
3. Vessel. Founded by Jason Kilar and Richard Tom, former execs from Hulu. This app hosts premium shows from publishers and creators. Those who use the service get dibs on first-look content. The company makes money from subscriptions and brands can purchase 5-second pre-roll for videos. 
4. Pluto TV. Founded by Nick Grouf, Tom Ryan, and Ilya Pozin, the platform operates much like linear TV. It curates videos from many publishers and puts them into 100+ channels for viewers; viewers see their choices in an easy-to-use guide. This platform makes money from pop-up ads and interstitial videos. 

The internet changes constantly; one day, some company will be top dog and another day, a new guy on the scene is making a name for itself. This is why it is so important to be ranked on Google search results-- your website can be lost in the depths of the websites if it is not being promoted. Does you website have SEO services? 

Email Integraphix and see how our Chicago SEO company can help your site be noticed on the web. 

Who Won the Social Media Battle Between Facebook & Twitter During the Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl on Sunday night attracted record viewers and was the most mentioned Super Bowl in history. Not to mention its popularity on Twitter but it was also a huge hit with Facebook as well. According to Facebook, 65 million people engaged in conversation.

The game was a terrific background for the two social media giants as they tried to get into good relationships with marketers. Twitter has already been a terrific platform for brands who wanted to join conversations; despite having fewer users, Twitter was actually the better place to discuss the game and its infamous ads than Facebook was.

Between the two, Twitter is the more popular place for live social commentary. However, Facebook has made some progress in being a go-to place for discussions like Twitter has. Facebook features trending topics, like Twitter, and they even setup a a hub for Super Bowl conversations. Both platforms have their pros and cons.

Marketers, such as our Chicago SEO company marketing team, engage differently on Facebook than they do on Twitter. Here's a list of comparisons between the two & how they performed on Sunday night (with things related to the Super Bowl).

• Facebook had 265 million posts, comments, & likes. 
• Twitter had 36 million tweets & 2.6 billion impressions. 25 million more tweets than last year. 
• Both were buzzing with chatter when the Patriots sealed the win with the interception. Facebook had 1.36 million comments per minute. 
• Twitter had 395,000 tweets per minute talking about the interception. 
• The halftime show had 3 million tweets; Facebook had 1 million people per minute discuss the show. 
• Half the Super Bowl ads featured hashtags, Facebook was only mentioned 4 times. 
• Top 3 performing moments on Facebook were the win, halftime show, and the 3rd quarter touchdown for the Seahawks to take the lead. 
• Top 3 performing tweets on Twitter were the final interception, the victory, and the final moments of the halftime show. 

Social media marketing is a big deal for days and moments like the Super Bowl. It is a big topic for people to comment on and give their input, don't let your brand miss out. Does your brand need great digital marketing? Then email Integraphix and see how our Chicago SEO company can help your business capitalize on big moments, or, simply have a presence on the web! 

Is It Time to Update Your Site's Content

When was the last time you changed your site's content? Even if it was just a page or two's worth? If you cannot answer this question, or without a long pause to think, then it is likely time to produce fresh content for your site.

Search engines and humans alike prefer to see fresh content vs. the same, stagnant content on your site. A site that sits with the same content on it for a year or more is a site that will struggle to truly succeed at search engine optimization.

Refresh the existing content now and then and make sure to generate new content a couple times a month, such as a blog, news, updates, etc. This is why an internal blog is great for SEO, search engines like to see that fresh content. Also, you can use this opportunity for images and more substance for search engine crawlers to index and grab when someone does an internet search related to your business.

Do you need this done, have questions, or require internet marketing services? Then contact Integraphix, a Chicago SEO company.

Notice Anything Different About Google's Logo on MLK Jr. Day?

If you have gone on Google today, then you should have noticed something special going on with its logo, it is a special edition logo in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Today, you will find the latest, and one of the coolest, Google Doodles for the holiday. It is Martin Luther King Jr. arm-in-arm with some fellow civil rights activists with an American flag and silhouettes in the background.

The idea that Google creates special page designs for holidays is nothing new; we even see them create special logos for birthdays, movements, etc. It is smart digital marketing from the search engine giant.

The doodle, or logo, was designed by Ekua Holmes, who has a unique style for her art. Her art features news clippings, photos, intriguing colors that all contribute to making powerful messages in her art.

Does your brand need to have impressive presence online? Then try online marketing. If you want to be found on Google search results, then consider search engine marketing such as search engine optimization.

Contact Integraphix to find out how we can help your business get seen on the internet.

Twitter to Launch Autoplay Video Feature, a Win for Social Media Advertising

Social media giant will be giving us a late Christmas gift this year, however, the wait was worth it: autoplay video! This is a great day for social media marketing as well as search engine optimization since both are often tied together.

The last year, Twitter has been working out how it would construct its built-in video system, if it decided to implement it. This new feature would give Twitter users and digital marketers a way to create great footage within the app. If you attended the CES 2015, then you likely saw this being shown. 

In a previous blog (seen here), we talked about this being in Twitter's plans and the possibility that the videos would play when users scrolled over them. This is the setup that Facebook has and it has shown to be a lucrative and efficient way for some good ROI that both consumers and brands love.

Video has proven that it is great for social sharing and is being embraced by many companies, including search giants Yahoo & Google, as well as social media giants Facebook, Snapchat, and Pinterest.

Twitter is not newbie to the video scene, they own Vine and have implemented other cool formats like GIF support in recent years. Twitter's new video feature will operate differently than what we see elsewhere. 

How will it be different?

• 6 seconds to impress- Viewers will get a 6 second preview of the video, enticing them to click and watch the full thing. However, this is not limited to the first 6 seconds of the video, so digital marketing agencies must choose their 6 seconds wisely. 
• No sound at the start- The autoplay will not have sound until the viewer clicks to watch the rest of the video (we see this with Facebook's autoplay feature). Of course, this means that advertisers will not pay until consumers click. 
• There will be a good length of time- Videos will be given the option to run up to 10 minutes. Of course, any one of our Chicago SEO specialists will tell you that the average user only watches for about 30 seconds. 

Does your business want to have a better presence on social media? Then contact Integraphix-- a Chicago SEO firm with extensive, proven success with social media. We can help you build videos that will delight the Twittersphere.