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How AI Will Streamline Businesses

By AI, Content Marketing, Marketing, Media, Professional Services

As an entirely online business, the paramount objective is to drive traffic to your website and products. Achieving optimal SEO and implementing keywords on your site is crucial, but manually integrating them can be time-consuming. Thankfully, in today’s era, there’s a multitude of AI copywriting tools at your disposal. These tools swiftly generate SEO-friendly blogs, product descriptions, and other content, all tailored to your specified keywords or discovered across the web.

This not only accelerates content creation but also unlocks opportunities for experimentation and optimization. In fact, our users often witness a 30-40% enhancement in results when conducting various split tests with programmatic advertising. The same potential for improvement applies to AI and SEO. For instance, you can run a split test with multiple CTAs and promptly identify which variations resonate better with your consumer base. Allowing AI to handle the bulk of copywriting empowers you to operate more efficiently and infuse creativity into your content.

Imagine a future where every page a customer visits on your site is dynamically tailored to their preferences. This future is not far off! More website creation tools are integrating AI systems into their designs, and soon we’ll witness entire websites being constructed in real-time when a customer clicks on an ad.

Professional Visuals

An integral aspect of compelling product descriptions is high-quality imagery. Traditionally, this necessitates hiring professional photographers, scheduling photo shoots, and potentially incurring substantial costs for all your offerings. AI image generation simplifies and expedites this process, allowing you to virtually place your product against any background in any desired style.

This capability extends beyond product photos; AI can also aid in crafting logos, color schemes, style guides, and other visual elements that elevate your marketing materials across the board. These tools enable a single graphic designer to produce the output of an entire team, resulting in significant time and cost savings as you establish your brand.

Workflow Streamlining

Time-saving stands out as the primary advantage of integrating AI into your workflow. Automating tasks accelerates processes, freeing you to address more intricate matters. Some of these tasks, no matter how minor, can be seamlessly handled by AI integrated directly into your website. For instance, automated follow-up emails can be generated and sent to customers who abandoned their shopping carts on your site, infusing a personalized touch in the retargeting phase while you focus on other priorities. The advanced AI technology employed by Genius Monkey even extends to retargeting consumers who left your competitor’s pages!

Leveraging AI to identify patterns, trends, and customer preferences provides invaluable insights into your consumer base. This empowers you to advertise more effectively today and adapt to their evolving desires and needs in the future.

Connected TV Usage Growth

By Direct To Consumer Digital Marketing, Direct-to-Consumer Brands

The surge in CTV’s popularity over recent years can largely be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. With lockdowns in place, people sought fresh entertainment options, and connected TV emerged as a straightforward solution. Notably, the U.S. Census Bureau recorded a 35% rise in electronics shopping during this period, indicating increased investments in home entertainment.

Though lockdowns have been mostly lifted worldwide, TVs remain a central fixture in our lives. On average, Americans dedicate 2-3 hours daily to TV consumption. CTVs now serve as a dominant entertainment hub in the United States, with 88% of households accessible via CTV at the start of 2022, up from a mere 50% in 2014.

Who Uses Connected TV Streaming Services?

Another noteworthy aspect is the swift adoption of CTV by younger generations. Research reveals that over 80% of CTV users fall within the age range of 25 to 54, encompassing Millennials and a substantial portion of Gen X. Gen Z viewership is anticipated to surpass Gen X soon, likely in the current year, as this emerging generation attains financial independence and increased purchasing power.

Consider this: over half of U.S. adults have either cut the cord or never subscribed to cable TV in the first place. Traditional television continues to decline, as younger generations increasingly favor the on-demand convenience offered by streaming and other CTV services.

CTV’s Enduring Relevance; What’s Next?

As CTV’s reach expands, so does the advertising market associated with it, despite the majority of streaming services providing premium ad-free options. Surprisingly, approximately 73% of consumers prefer ad-supported streaming due to rising costs. Moreover, they willingly engage with these ads, with CTV ads boasting an impressive completion rate of 97%. Considering that standard video ads typically aim for a completion rate of 70%, it becomes evident why the CTV ad market has grown so competitive: it delivers results!

What’s Next? However, securing premium ad space comes at a price, with an average effective CPM of $50-$80, some of the highest rates in the programmatic industry. This cost can be mitigated through effective strategies; for instance, reported a CPMs of nearly $48 in April 2023, which further dropped to just $39 in May. This means more consumers are exposed to the ads, and our platform users are spending less to ensure their ads reach their intended audience. Let’s delve into some best practices for CTV ads:

Maximizing CTV Ad Impact

Leverage Your Information Wisely Connected TV ads, fundamentally video ads, usually lack the option to skip. This characteristic makes CTV ads ideal for conveying more information than typical video ads. You can distribute your message more evenly throughout the ad’s duration. While it’s crucial to capture attention with a compelling and front-loaded message, you need not rush to convey your entire message within the first 5 seconds.

Don’t Neglect Linear TV Relying solely on CTV and forsaking traditional broadcasting is unwise. No single advertising avenue should bear the full weight of your strategy. Even within the television landscape, combining both CTV and traditional TV yields optimal results for several reasons:

  • Traditional TV remains the preferred medium for its audience, which often lacks access to many other digital tools.
  • Despite CTV’s rapid growth, traditional TV still commands a substantial viewership. Vizio suggests that exclusively utilizing linear or connected TV may result in missing out on up to 50% of your potential audience.

The Key to Digital Marketing; Don’t Sell, Know Your Customer

By Marketing, Media

In today’s digital advertising landscape, customers are empowered and informed. They want to make decisions based on thorough research and seek out brands that provide value and a superior customer experience. As a marketer, it’s essential to understand this shift and adapt your strategies accordingly. Instead of pushing sales-oriented content, focus on providing educational resources that empower customers to make informed choices.

To truly connect with your customers, you need to understand their needs and experiences. Don’t assume you know them better than they do. Take the time to get to know your customers on a deeper level. This knowledge will enable you to create targeted resources that address their specific pain points and offer valuable insights. From informational videos to e-books, podcasts to white papers, diversify your content formats to cater to different preferences. The more your customers learn from you, the more they will trust your brand.

Personalization is key in today’s competitive landscape. Offer a range of content and resources to cater to diverse customer preferences. Just as you wouldn’t serve only one appetizer at a party, don’t limit yourself to a single type of content. Provide a dessert table of information, spanning display ads, video clips, blogs, e-books, and user testimonials. By tracking user interactions and behaviors through robust analytics and attribution systems, you can segment your audience and tailor your educational resources to meet their specific needs.

Programmatic Advertising

Investing in programmatic advertising is crucial to stay ahead of the curve. With programmatic advertising projected to constitute a significant portion of digital display ad spending in the coming years, it’s essential to educate yourself and leverage the best programmatic systems available. Personalization, a strong user experience, and comprehensive resources have become vital in today’s marketing landscape, and our digital marketing agency is committed to helping you deliver on these fronts.

By truly knowing your customers and providing them with valuable, educational resources, you can establish trust, foster loyalty, and drive conversions. Remember, the key to making a sale is not pushing products but understanding your customers’ needs and empowering them to make informed decisions.

Amazon sales grew by 28% in 2009 during the “great recession.”

By Marketing

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2019/09/05/when-a-recession-comes-dont-stop-advertising/#547634bc4608

Forbes with some great tips for continuing to advertise during a recession. Although the natural inclination for advertisers is to cut back on advertising during a recession, those brands that maintain their ad budget and/or change their messaging can get a long-lasting boost in sales and market share.

Moving Airlines Forward

By Airline Marketing

Smarter approaches in digital media are helping reshape the airline space

Forward Media drives greater ROI by activating and mobilizing a multitude of digital advertising tactics including; improving brand awareness with digital advertising, data, media buys, and consulting opportunities. We help empower the real-time optics and performance of airline companies by driving direct bookings and lowering overall distribution costs.

Significantly Boost Direct Sales While Bringing Down Distribution Costs

Forward Media can significantly boost direct sales while bringing down distribution costs by using the latest digital technologies, media buying, marketing, and consulting tactics.

 

Working with our customers means we deliver:

  • Eye-catching and engaging design that moves the needle
  • Unexpected and elegant visuals that arrest the user’s attention
  • A/B testing and analytics to optimize performance

Paid Search in Airline Marketing Keeps Good Company

Our potential to plan and manage a broad range of travel and airline campaigns is strengthened by our close relationship and certification with Google. Our dedicated team of Google AdWords-qualified experts ensures that your initiatives remain competitive, dynamic, and aligned with your search strategy.

 

Here’s how we do it:

  • Keep one step ahead of any updates and developments in display results
  • Continually oversee and fine-tune results according to the plan
  • Consolidate all ads (GDN, Gmail, YouTube, etc.) with paid search approaches
  • Approach from a mobile-first perspective, making sure that results are driven and optimized for both mobile-desktop and mobile devices

We Take You Further Than the Rest

Forward Media drives greater ROI by activating and mobilizing a multitude of digital products, data, media buys, and consulting opportunities. We help empower the real-time optics and performance of airline companies by driving direct bookings and lowering overall distribution costs. Looking for the best placement on search pages? Interested in fresh and valuable content? Looking to ensure that front- and back-end improvements are being made? You’ve come to the right place. Forward Media’s search insights and strategies align with your search optimization, marketing, and site analytics in a way that balances campaigns.

Mortgage Lead Generation

By Financial Services Lead Generation

Digital Marketing: Effective Strategy for Lenders

In today’s financially unsure world, banks and other lenders need to focus on using digital marketing in the most strategic ways possible. The constant advancement of technology means that lenders always need a new plan for their video advertising and digital media.

Mobile Technology Is Everything

Many consumers are completely reliant on their mobile devices these days. So, lenders really need to make it a priority to cater to that shift in the norm. Even if a website redesign is needed, lenders have to provide something that allows consumers to get and provide the data they need to manage their finances using a mobile device. An effective app enables delivery of direct-to-consumer ads. It also gives consumers the convenience of being able to check their balances, transfer money between accounts, and perform other routine banking tasks. They don’t want to have to go to a bank branch to complete these actions.

A Personal Connection Is a Necessity

When a lender can establish a personal connection with each of their customers, they have the power to communicate with them in ways that drive business. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure their website caters to the needs and wants of customers. Appealing to a customer’s sensible side helps to build a connection that helps them feel they are more than just dollar signs to the lender.

A personalized campaign for each of a lender’s customers increases engagement and customer satisfaction. Using marketing automation, specific emails can be sent to the consumers that need or want something the lender can provide them with. Consumer loyalty is easier for lenders to build when they target individuals based on their preferences. This approach also eliminates the
need to create broad campaigns designed to attract the same consumers.

Personalized content is the key to forming long-lasting professional relationships. Marketing automation allows a lender to determine how each of their customers uses their website. Data analytics will show a consumer’s habits and preferences. This information can be used to create ads that target specific consumers and acknowledges the ways they prefer to use the site.

Targeting Specific Groups of Consumers

Securing a top spot in an organic web search is one of the most powerful ways lenders can drive business. It means that consumers will click on their site before anyone else’s. Pay per click advertising help marketers gain this coveted position in search engine results. This allows lenders to use pragmatic advertising to target consumers with the specific services they need to manage their money. By doing so, they make consumers more open to the idea of paying
attention to ads, leading them to use a particular lender.

One means of targeting a specific set of consumers is localizing advertising. Whether a lender is limited to one state or has a broader reach, they can connect with consumers in a way that addresses their needs directly. Different consumers have different needs depending on where they live. Using local SEO marketing gives financiers an edge over competitors who may not do that.

One of the best ways to employ SEO marketing on a local level is to ensure each of a lender’s locations are represented on the site. Consumers should be able to click on the page to view their local branch. When the website includes a page for each location, it helps a lender appear higher in the results, and this boosts the effectiveness of search engine marketing.

A location’s page should include obvious data, such as the address and phone number of the branch, as well as directions for getting there. The better optimized this type of content is, the higher a conversion rate lender will see.

Another way to build a strong local presence for SEO purposes is to ensure a lender’s site includes consumer reviews. These reviews should come from social media sites such as Facebook. Google also has a section for consumer reviews; a review on Google guarantees that a lender will appear higher in the search engine’s results.

Whether it is in a review from a consumer or information on the services a lender offers, the optimum keywords need to be used to fuel PPC advertising. By determining the search terms consumers most commonly use to find a lender, it is possible to secure the highest possible rankings in Internet searches. Search engines are used by 93 percent of those seeking a lender in the area. Failure to appear in the results of an online search severely limits lenders. It means they will only get business from the 7 percent that are not using the Internet to find a lender that’s appropriate for them.

Monitor Social Media Use by Consumers

Social media serves as more than just a way to gather consumer reviews. When it comes to Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, lenders must ensure that their social media branding is always relevant. Most lenders’ customers, especially the younger demographics, already use social media sites significantly. As a result, any lender that does not have a social media presence is missing countless opportunities to target and interact with consumers.

The most important aspect of social media for lenders is who is using what. Many consumers limit themselves to only one or two social media sites. Lenders have to first determine which ones are used by the consumers they want to target.

Different generations of consumers are using different social media sites. Facebook is mainly used by the older generations, while those considered millennials split their time between Facebook and Instagram. Whichever social media channels a lender chooses to use, they can help that lender connect with their local consumers by sharing regional videos and photos. These are the tools that consumers are most interested. Providing a video or photo is an effective way for a lender to keep their special media pages in the spotlight. This increased activity helps them effectively market themselves in today’s digital playground.

Aside from the use of photos and videos to drive consumer interest, social media is also an effective platform for tightly focused ads. These ads are meant to cement a particular lender in the eyes of consumers.

Putting a Blog to Work

Maintaining an effective website and up-to-date social media sites is a priority that should not be overlooked or dismissed. Yet lenders can also strengthen their digital marketing efforts by putting a blog to work for them.

Keeping a blog that consumers can read, share, and comment on helps lenders connect with consumers in an interactive environment that puts their needs first. Consumers can use the blog to have their question answered, which also serves to assist other consumers.

For lenders, it means less time is spent repeatedly addressing the same questions. And for their company, it increases the likelihood of getting a positive ROI. Tracking a lender’s ROI is a complicated process that professional service firms often oversee.

Tracking Online Leads

Tracking online leads is a powerful way for lenders to leverage their digital marketing strategies. The more detailed this process is, the easier it is for lenders to identify the most effective way to connect with consumers. Many will enter information into a lender’s website while they are visiting it. Even if they don’t, lenders still retain some data about each consumer visit to their site. They will be able to tell which links a visitor clicked on. They can also tell where a particular consumer is from. This information can be used to build personal profiles that can help increase business.

Doing this serves two purposes: to connect with consumers who already know which services they are seeking, and to determine which pages within a lender’s website visitors are viewing the most.

The Power of Tracking Online Performance

Digital marketing works best when lenders pay close attention to their KPI. It enables the lender to determine if the marketing strategies they are using are working as intended.

By using a lender’s KPI to determine the conversion rate, they can focus on the areas of their marketing that need improvement. One of the ways they can help themselves is by measuring leading indicators. How well the economy is doing at any given time affects what consumers seek from their lender. Tracking the amount of time a consumer spends on a lender’s website gives the lender an idea of how they can help that individual consumer. The tracking system can determine if they are visiting a site briefly, or if their browsing session lasts a significant amount of time.

Strengthening Advertising Techniques

Full funnel digital media is a five-stage process. Each stage of that process is equally important in building a lender’s advertising power. It starts with the initial exposure that every lender needs in order to succeed. Developing a strategy for exposure requires lenders to focus on SEO and content marketing. Combined with PPC, this aids in the creation of a digital funnel that supports future success.

The second stage in the process is discovery. Motivating consumers to visit the lender’s web site leads to the task of retaining them. One way to do this is to suggest specific recommendations for each site visitor, based on the services they need.

The third stage of the process is consideration. The use of influence strategies induces consumers to choose the products that will help them the most, even if they don’t realize it consciously. The fourth step in the process is conversion. Getting consumers to utilize the paid services a lender offers builds trust and loyalty.

The fifth and final step in the process is to build customer relationships. The more value a lender can offer a customer, the more likely they are to keep using the services of that lender. Showing a customer that they will receive services that the competitors don’t provide, or don’t provide as well, builds a long-lasting relationship that lenders can count on.

Conclusion

Effective digital marketing is crucial to the success of any lender. Forward Media is poised to offer these services, assisting lenders with performance marketing and display advertising.

The right strategy can make a company, while the wrong one can break them. In today’s world, competition is cutthroat in every industry, and the financial industry is no exception. That means digital marketing has taken on a life of its own. Making use of the latest technology, lenders can connect with consumers like they never could before.

Moving Cybersecurity Forward

By Technology

Cybersecurity is paramount in today’s businesses

Forward Media understands that businesses today are actively seeking cybersecurity partners. We aim to connect our clients with this extremely active category and insert them into the conversation. We use digital media to drive awareness of the issues and develop comprehensive lead generation programs for our clients in the space.

It’s a Complex Category That Demands Clarity and Authority

Forward Media understands that choosing a cybersecurity partner means understanding the complexity of the issues and the risk profile at hand. Our lead generation programs pinpoint potential customers and engage them in the process of choosing a company to assist in decisive and clear ways. We use full-funnel digital media campaigns to assist customers in their research and decision-making processes.

Simple Choices in a Rapidly Expanding Category Are Crucial to Better Decision-Making

As companies explore the topic of cybersecurity, it is important that we design digital media campaigns that assist them in simplifying their choices, especially considering the complexity of the category. Forward Media develops campaigns that ensure our clients’ brands are easy to understand and fully able to drive and influence the purchase decision.

Digital Campaigns Are Bridging the Gap Between Fear and Knowledge

Our digital media campaigns fully acknowledge that cybersecurity requires the ability to move clients from an overall sense of fear of the cyber risks inherent in today’s world toward partners who can solve this problem. The role of the digital campaign is to emphasize the solutions our clients provide with a strong sense of confidence.

We Take You Further Than the Rest

Forward Media drives greater ROI by activating and mobilizing a multitude of digital products, data, media buys, and consulting opportunities. We help empower the real-time optics and performance of cybersecurity companies by driving greater leads and lowering overall marketing costs. Our search insights and strategies align with your search optimization, marketing, and site analytics in a way that balances campaigns.

Moving Insurance Forward

By Insurance Marketing

Digital experience and connecting with consumers directly are changing the game

Forward Media is helping our insurance clients find and engage with their customers online. Our data, insights, and digital media tools allow us to pinpoint potential customers, build awareness, and connect with them during their purchase decision-making process.

Encouraging Consumers to Consider Insurance and Creating Awareness of the Benefits of Coverage

Forward Media is focused on using digital media to connect with customers during certain life events that drive their purchase intent. Whether those events are having children, changes to their financial situation, becoming a homeowner, or other important life changes, we embrace data to connect the right customer with the right message.

Boosting Lead Generation by Effectively Implementing Full-Funnel Digital Media Campaigns

Forward Media creates full-funnel omnichannel campaigns that tie together with insurance customers’ life events. Effective digital media fully understands their path to purchase and creates moving moments of interaction that drive purchase consideration and insurance selection. An understanding of timing, the role of valuable content, and the importance of the right media channels are crucial to success.

Creating a Sense of Urgency Around Decision-Making for Insurance Customers Is Paramount

We understand the need for insurance companies to create a sense of timeliness as they connect with their customers. Efficient lead generation and customer interactions require a deep understanding of why insurance is important. We know that insurance customers are more than ready to connect digitally, and it’s our goal to turn this bias into sales.

Moving Professional Services Forward

By Professional Services

Digital media is transforming how professional services connect with clients

Forward Media recognizes the massive transformation professional services firms are undergoing as they move from traditional offline marketing techniques to digital connection points. Our clients are rapidly adding to their marketing mix in transformative ways, whether through online publications, digital webinars, videos, or online conferences. We design and implement digital media strategies to drive online traffic and engage both current and potential customers with these new digital tools.

Understanding the Power and Reach of Digital to Expand Your Market Reach

Connecting our professional services clients through sophisticated premium digital media enables us to find and expand your client pool regardless of geography. Our strength is in our ability to connect your expertise to your potential clients in a way that is scalable and measurable. We target your prospect, engage them, and increase the scale of your available client pool through advanced digital media.

Reach Your Target Audience Where They Are When They Need You

Forward Media has the ability to segment your prospective customer base, understand their online behavior, and engage them as they search for your expert services. Your clients and prospective clients are actively searching for you online. We design digital campaigns to ensure you are placed correctly in front of your competitors with well-placed digital assets as your clients conduct their primary research.

Your Differentiators and Market Positioning Create Success

Forward Media understands that a well-executed digital media campaign has the ability to influence your current and prospective customers both in the short term and in the long term. We are laser focused on setting you apart from your competitors in a way that strengthens your position as an expert and commands their attention. We use digital media to drive key messages that resonate with your customers and a cohesive and compelling market position.

Moving Education Forward

By Education Marketing Services

Educators and students are digital natives

Forward Media understands that the education market is very advanced. The market demands that we fully embrace the digital generation with media that connects with them in a modern and savvy way. Students are embracing the digital transformation in education in a way that demands we design digital media campaigns that show a full understanding of this market. Our goal is to connect with students where they are, on the device that works for them, and in a way that informs and engages them.

There Is an Extraordinary Opportunity to Connect in the Digital World

Students’ digital habits allow us to connect with them in an extraordinary way. They are ready and willing to consume digital advertising as long as it informs, entertains, and drives value to their desire to choose the best path forward for themselves. It’s a digital market that opens emails, happily consumes advertising, and actively searches for educational institutions that can change their future.

We Keep It Focused and Real

Forward Media knows that when marketing to students and educators, it is especially important to keep campaigns focused. Tailoring digital media campaigns to the most targeted of target audiences is absolutely crucial in driving ROI for any spend. We design digital media campaigns that are laser focused on the exact audience segment for a precise educational experience, thus driving improved deliverability, message relevance, and campaign performance.

From Insight to Action―Adding Value at All Times

There is no category of digital marketing where adding value at all times is more important. Forward Media achieves this by understanding each unique audience segment’s behavior, personalizing campaign targeting, standing out, and always designing the campaign through the eyes of the recipient. We consider the user experience and the power of full-channel digital strategies at all times to be paramount to campaign success with this sophisticated market.

Moving Direct-to-Consumer Brands Forward

By Direct-to-Consumer Brands

Delivering powerful new opportunities for brands to connect directly

Forward Media specializes in the use of digital media that empowers brands to connect with their end customers directly and in a meaningful way. Our direct-to-consumer practice enables our clients to expand their market, reach out to customers directly, and sell goods more profitably.

Opening and Strengthening the Direct Channel

Whether you are an established brand that offers products through retailers and third-party channels or you are an ecommerce brand, digital media empowers you to expand your market and open new channels of revenue. Traditional marketing and physical stores are now augmented by digital tools, digital media, analytics, and powerful omnichannel strategies.

From Then to Now: The Digital Road Ahead

Forward Media works within the new world order. Gone is the day when you simply made a product, advertised, found a retail partner to sell your goods, and shared the margin with the retailer. Now, we work to empower brands in the new world order. One that moves from a product to building an online presence, investing in a robust ecommerce platform, selling directly to customers, looking for ongoing repeatable revenue, and maintaining control over every aspect of your pricing.

Digital Media Is Complex

Forward Media is here to partner with you to decipher and design powerful ROI-positive digital media campaigns within the increasingly complex and yet ironically consolidated media environment. We know how to execute on full-channel campaigns where measurement is key and results are mandatory. We understand how to reach your target, personalize your value proposition, inspire loyalty, and, most importantly, access the digital media environment of your customer.

Airline Digital Marketing – Increase Bookings

By Airline Marketing

The digital communications age arrived swiftly and with high intensity

There is no aspect of life untouched by digital communications from email reminders to virtual doctor’s visits. The change in the way we communicate has brought on a new sense of connectivity. Social media and digital communications have also deepened the divide between interpersonal relationships, relational buying, and brand loyalty. The airline industry saw this change and quickly adapted to the needs of consumers to survive this shift.

Becoming Social

By Social

Airline carriers created social media accounts and began advertising to and interacting with their customers consistently by carefully crafting their message and brand

As customers Tweeted about their experiences, airline carriers began to respond publicly and directly to customers to better understand travelers needs and concerns. This direct communication between the airline and traveler led to the feeling of being heard and respected by those able to create and implement change. Publicly airing grievances and celebrating triumphs allows an airline to appear transparent and engaged with the purpose of travel for their clients. This instant snapshot of the customer’s experience is broadcast via social media to potential customers traditional marketing may not reach. Expertise in social media marketing is needed to maintain a healthy balance of sharing great experiences and the acknowledgment of experiences that were less than optimal. Forward Media has the expertise as professional social and digital marketers to strike and maintain that critical balance.

Removing The Middle Man

By Airline Marketing

Prior to the airline industry moving into digital media marketing, they relied on the third-party agent to help drive customers to airline booking sites. Third-party bookers ranged from large websites to stay at home moms working as independent travel agents

The number of third-party bookers has increased dramatically over the last ten years. Commercials promising the lowest rate and the option to add a hotel and car rental to their itinerary inundate travelers. Third-party booking agents offer the opportunity to bundle travel needs into one transaction. Often this bundle effect reduces the consumer’s ability to choose a brand with whom they are familiar and loyal. Instead, the third-party will steer the customer to the lowest initial price, opting for the upsell at a later time. To do this, the third-party booking agent will present a low-cost ticket to entice an immediate booking. The customer has the option to pay for the additional cost for seat selection and baggage shortly before the date of departure. While third-party booking agents fill seats, they neglect the value of brand loyalty and brand building.

These sites thrive on the upsell. As such, advertising moved from the experience of flying with a specific airline to a Frankenstein mash-up of multiple airline carriers to get the best price for a trip all the while, pushing customers toward credit cards linked to their sites, hotel, and rental car add-ons.

Third-party booking agents fill a need for consumers solely focused on monetary cost. However, a majority of consumers are willing to delay the gratification of saving a dollar up front for long term rewards if they can forecast a payoff.

Consumer Trends

By Direct To Consumer Digital Marketing

Today’s travelers are looking for a personalized and unique experience they can share via social media

Savvy marketers understand the aspect of fear of missing out that drives consumers to spend more to gain that experience. Airlines are catching on to these consumer trends and are offering rewards programs that yield those unique experiences or financial savings in exchange for loyalty. Customers and loyalty members, in turn, share these unique experiences on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook. Capturing and translating likes and shares into data allows airlines to determine what perks are working well for them regarding the customer experience and customer satisfaction that would be lost otherwise. When a customer genuinely shares a positive experience via social media, the reach is vast and often unmeasurable.

Communicating In The Digital Age

By Airline Marketing

The airline industry has foraged into the digital age with new marketing techniques that include direct to consumer advertising, social media buying, and search engine optimization

These methods allow airlines to advertise without a sales tone. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google collect data based on the consumer’s likes, clicks, searches, online purchases, and social media connections.

Why Does It Work?

By Social

The average person with an internet connection will spend more than 2 hours on social and messaging platforms daily, according to Digital Information World

Hours spent consuming digital media are spread throughout the day. The segmentation of time spent using social media allows for multiple opportunities to market to consumers directly. Full funnel digital marketing incorporates ads, clicks, likes, and emails to optimize marketing for individuals. Full funnel marketing provides the opportunity to create campaigns that nurture customers from the initial contact with the airline to the point of purchase and further reinforce their purchase with follow up communications. These points of contact beyond purchase build brand loyalty for airline carriers. The balance of a successful full funnel strategy is difficult to maintain without expertise. Forward Media has the media buying, analytics, and content management expertise to craft the perfectly balanced full funnel marketing strategy for your airline.

Connecting Trust And Travel

By Social

As the popularity of digital marketing grows, consumers utilize social media for more than cute cat videos

A recent Pew Research study found, more than forty percent of Social media users, rely on social media as their primary source of news. These social media users find social media content to be trustworthy and reliable. An unshakeable level of trust and the more than 80 times a day people touch their phones, translates to dollars and cents.

Each time a consumer connects with social media, there is an opportunity to share what makes an airline carrier different and more valuable than the next. Social media consumers look to craft an image. They carefully curate photographs and content to project the idea of a lifestyle. A professional digital marketing firm such as Foward Media will customize a targeted plan to attract the correct audience and customer to fit the airline’s brand. Potential customers will determine if they are the right customer for the airline and book directly with the airline avoiding the middle man.

Messaging Is Key

By Analytics

Critical components of marketing remain the adage of knowing your audience is more critical than ever

The adage of knowing your audience is more critical than ever. The average attention span of an adult is eight seconds. Adults spend, on average, eight seconds to determine if something is worth investing their time. Once they have their attention, information must be targeted to the consumer’s specific needs, whether it is the lowest rate, comfort during the travel or reliability of the airline. Sending the right message to the wrong people is just as ineffective as not sending a message at all. The advantage of digital marketing is the ability to harvest details about potential consumers without interrupting their natural usage of digital platforms.

Well placed banners, surveys, and ads embed brand recognition subconsciously. Determining how to spend digital media buying dollars can be difficult. Experienced digital marketing teams like Forward Media, use data analytics to determine where and when to spend marketing dollars for the best return on investment. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow for direct to consumer advertising and have the ability to encourage a direct response from the consumer. Airlines can post flash sales or the opportunity to experience upgrades and improvements to airline carriers. These posts and banners lead to direct booking on airline websites.

Reaching Further Than A Phone

By Content Marketing

Digital marketing is not limited to, social media

Rating trends show more consumers are cutting the cord and opting to piece their television entertainment together across streaming services, like Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube. Consumers that prefer streaming services feel they can tailor content to their likes and dislikes. The tailoring of content means streaming services are suited to use targeted performance marketing directed toward specific viewers based on viewing habits that are indicative of various socioeconomic and educational status. The use of keywords in advertising on these platforms lead to higher conversion rates from initial contact to direct booking.

Trust The Professionals

By Search

Professional digital marketers understand the value of search engine optimization and can unlock the hidden potential to drive traffic to your direct booking site by linking words and phrases consumers search for via the internet

For example, if a consumer initiates a search for the words cabin space or legroom, the proper use of SEO will push the airline’s site to that consumer and highlight phrases regarding legroom and cabin space. Search responses give the consumer the feeling that they are doing their due diligence and comparison shopping in the most effective way. Forward Media has the experience and expertise to craft a specific social media and digital media marketing plan to drive a significant increase in direct bookings for airlines.

How Professional Services Firms are Using Digital Marketing to Connect with the Market

By Media

Over the past decade, digital media has changed how potential clients engage with professional services firms like accounting firms, consulting firms, and even legal firms

Potential clients now have many ways to discover these firms as well as vet these companies before making a commitment. As a result, an increasing number of firms have been investing heavily into digital marketing to connect with their market.

Their efforts have allowed them to establish a strong online brand presence, manage their online reputation, generate valuable leads from digital channels, and reach a larger audience. But what kind of digital marketing strategies are these firms using? You’ll be surprised to learn how many options are available to professional services firms and how multi-faceted their approach to digital marketing actually is.

A Strong Focus on Using Multiple Digital Media Channels

By Media

One thing that’s apparent with firms that are having success with digital marketing is the fact that they’re focusing on multiple digital media channels

It’s very common for firms to focus on one aspect of digital marketing such as social media or SEO. But very few are utilizing all of the channels that are available to them. This is what is causing them to fall behind their competitors.

A full digital marketing strategy may include ads on third party review sites, marketing on video sites like YouTube, using pay per click advertising platforms like Google and Bing, propagating relevant content to multiple channels, managing regular email marketing campaigns, and more. Committing to a full scale digital marketing strategy results in a strong online presence, increase in brand equity, and multiple sources of leads.

It Often Starts with Search Engine Marketing via SEO

By SEO

Targeting the right audiences in the search engines is often the first step in building a digital marketing campaign

There are two main reasons why this is the case. First, professional services firms can target the exact search terms that their target audiences are looking for in Google. As a result, a successful SEO campaign can result in a channel that continuously generates high quality leads for the firm.

Second, most people often start with the search engines to find information relevant to their interests or problems. As a result, they tend to trust the top results in the search engines without giving it much though. Getting the company website to the top rankings means that firms will be able to leverage the trust and credibility the users place on the search results. Getting multiple top positions also translates into increased visibility and branding.

Adding Pay Per Click to the Bigger Search Engine Marketing Strategy

By SEO

It’s important to mention that SEO does come with its own list of challenges

It can take several months for a campaign to start generating results and changing algorithms can affect rankings. This means that firms need to treat SEO as an ongoing strategy they need to manage and grow. So in order to supplement their search engine marketing strategy, many professional services firms also opt to use pay per click (PPC) advertising as well.

Both Google and Bing have their own PPC ad platforms. As the name suggests, pay per click advertising is an ad format that charges advertisers on a click basis when users click on their ads. These ads are placed on the top results of the search engines as well as on the pages of many partner sites. It may seem redundant to run both a SEO and PPC campaign but many firms choose to do both because it increases the chances of their prospects clicking onto their site.

Using Social Media to Engage Large Audiences, Build Relationships, and Retain Customers

By Social

Social media has also become an important channel for many firms as well

While social media is often seen as a channel that doesn’t work for B2B companies, it can still be an effective channel if you target the right audience and your marketing campaigns are executed properly. It’s also important to make sure that the right social media platforms are being used.

For example, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter works better for B2B companies than Instagram and Pinterst. Legal firms can use Facebook to appeal to personal injury clients while using LinkedIn to try to reach their professional clientele. Consulting firms can share valuable content on Twitter and LinkedIn in order to attract businesses that can use their services.

The whole point of social media is to reach audiences with your content. And by continuing to deliver great content, you will to build engaged followers and strong relationships. It also serves as an additional channel you can use (other than email) to engage existing clients so that they come back for repeat business.

Another important thing you shouldn’t overlook with social media is the opportunity to network with other businesses. LinkedIn is a great platform to start a conversation with related firms, companies, and working professionals that can help further your business goals.

Expanding Reach with Social Ads and Display Advertising

By Social

Professional services firms are also investing into social ad campaigns to increase their reach and target their best prospects

Every major social media company has an advertising platform from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, to Pinterest. The best part about advertising on these platforms is the fact that they offer very advanced targeting options to target the most qualified prospects.

This allows firms to create ad campaigns that generate high quality leads for a relatively low ad spend. These ad campaigns are far more cost effective than traditional media channels like direct mail, radio, newspapers, and TV. In addition, you also get in-depth analytics on the performance of your ads. This allows you to easily optimize them and get an even better return on your ad spend.

Some firms expand their campaigns to programmatic advertising platforms and various display advertising channels. One example is the native ad platform called Yahoo Gemini. It allows advertisers to run small ads on publishing sites that land on the advertiser’s advertorials. Another good platform is Media.net, which allows you to run display ads, mobile ads, and targeted local ads.

These ad platforms serve ads similarly to the classic direct response newspaper classified ads format. However, you get improved audience targeting options, better control over your budget, and the ability to reach a mass audience.