Advertising Question of the Week: What Is Dark Social?

It sounds sinister. Like someone lurking in a corner talking smack about you. (Popularly known as high school.)

But dark social refers to the social sharing of content that occurs outside of what web analytics programs are able to measure. And it often gets a bad rap. Especially from seasoned marketers. 

Dark Social Is Traffic That Comes from the Share of a URL 

Yet analytics tools like Google view it as direct traffic. So companies that are measuring their web traffic solely through old-school web analytics are missing key insights about how folks are really discovering their content and products.

Back in the dark ages of the internet, arriving at a site was predominantly a straight shot. If you wanted shoes, you went to Zappo’s site. If you wanted to start raising chickens or alligators (or both because you have issues), you went… to some other site. 

But now there are multiple ways one lands on a site:

Native Mobile Apps 

Mobile apps either fire up a browser instance in-app (such as Twitter), or force your current browser to open a new browser window with the URL in question in the browser. Either way, the browser goes directly to the site and looks like direct traffic to Google.

Email 

For the (perceived, at least) sake of privacy and security, most email-providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook don’t pass a referrer when a user clicks the link.

Chat 

Whether it’s web/desktop based chat, or through chat-based native mobile apps, chat clients of all kinds don’t pass referrers either, leaving Google in the dark about their true origin. 

Even texting is considered dark social.

Many estimates state that 84% of social shares are dark. And this is precisely why it falls out of favor with those of the marketing ilk who rely on analytical insights to structure their social media strategies.

As such, dark social is often given labels such as ‘challenging’,  ‘worrisome’ and ‘terrifyingly horrible’. The last one is an exaggeration. And frankly, all of these words are restrictive in their scope.  

Marketers who want to achieve success with their social media marketing are approaching dark social from a new - and necessary - angle. And it’s this:  

Dark Social Is An Opportunity

Dark social has a huge impact on traffic. It reaches unique demographics; particularly the 55+ crowd, over 40% of whom share only through dark social. Dark social is

everywhere. And we mean, everywhere. It’s especially prevalent in industries like personal finance, food and drink, travel and executive searches. 

It’s an amazing marketing opportunity in that its data gives a detailed representation of consumers’ genuine interests. Getting familiar with this information allows marketers to access a targeted audience of connections for their clients.

“How do I get the data though?” you might be asking. “Didn’t you just say that dark social can’t be measured by web analytics?”

Settle down. 

Dark Social Is Getting Integrated into Digital Marketing Tactics

So far it’s slow-going, because it’s relatively restricted. And it should be. Sharing is often private for a reason and it would be rather callous of brands to hunt for insights among private conversations between friends. Or alligator and chicken breeders. 

But there are some tactics and tools marketers are employing to tap into some of this valuable information. For instance, they’re:

• Shortening URLs for outbound links in content and emails, then tracking how many clicks those links receive.

• Making sharing easier with thoughtfully placed, sophisticated share buttons that match the quality of content. 

• Watching other social platforms by checking for a simultaneous spike in link traffic coming from sites like Reddit or Facebook.

• Using some of the newer tools that track dark social traffic origins and analyze their outcomes.

And as time marches on, the tools and tactics will become more defined and elaborate. But dark social will probably always defy algorithms. And as long as ethics are in play, there will be no way to game email or people’s instant messages or texts. 

Which, even as marketers, we see as a good thing. There really is such a thing as too much information. 

The Art of Marketing to Millennials

Ah, the millennials.  

That largest generational group in the United States. Those wacky digital natives. 

And it’s precisely that digital nativity that has rendered them a new breed of technical literati. This makes them a unique group when it comes to effective marketing efforts. Why?

In the simplest of terms:

Social Media Is the Millennial’s Lifeblood 

Therefore, it is the heartbeat of marketing to them. BUT, it’s not enough to be present. You can’t simply slap something onto Facebook or Instagram and call it a day. Millennials have different needs. They only want to associate a brand that’s as confident and rooted in its values as they are. 

So how do you go about marketing to millennials? Start with these five basic mindsets:

1. Exchange Outbound for Inbound Marketing

In other words, ditch the old-school magazine ads, direct mail campaigns and radio spots. Millennials see these as impersonal, devoid of substance and all about the bottom line. With a deep sigh and gallant roll of the eyes, they simply dismiss them. If they even notice them at all.

What they will notice is a company or business that’s dedicated to improving the lives of their customers. And how does one convey this? By more than simply listing products and services.   

Millennials want informative content. They want blog posts, videos, how-to information, even e-books and white papers. THAT’S substance.

Which brings us to mindset #2.

2. Content Is Key 

But not just any content. 

Forget about trying to grab their attention with viral videos of

bathing rodents or frat parties gone wrong (i.e. most of them). They’re not 3-year-olds. They want authentic content. Trustworthy content. Blog posts and videos that speak to them. They also favor relevant and authentic opinions from real users. 

Millennials’ buying behaviors and attitudes are largely inspired by people they know in person or online. Not hugely different from the “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality that has driven the baby boomers and Gen Xers. 

But where millennials differ is in their being inspired by strangers who share their interests on social networks. They carry these “influencers” with them on their smartphones everywhere they go.

In fact, over 80% of millennials say user-generated content has at least some influence on what they buy, while over 70% say it’s important to read the opinions of others before making a purchase. 

So take the necessary time to spruce up your content. After all, it’s what they’re going to be tweeting, snapping, sharing, liking, pinning, forwarding, commenting on or whatever new social media verb was birthed an hour ago. 

3. Speak The Language of Millennials

While creating content, remember that millennials are very much about solving problems - problems created by those generations before them. 

Do the research. See what’s making millennials tick. Or whatever the digital version of “ticking” is. But be cautious about getting too political or too opinionated. You want to draw them in and spark their interest - not scare them away with scary rants.

4. Invest in Multiple Platforms

Multitasking is a way of life for millennials.  

They’re scrolling and opening tabs and switching from one window to the next. They’re also switching between devices  - going from tablets to phones to smart TVs and then back again. 

With millennials being synced across so many devices, it’s nearly impossible to get their undivided attention. But with social media as tool, this can work to the benefit of strategic ad campaigns. 

If you divide your brand’s ad investment into multiple platforms, you’re going to have some serious reach across many channels. Plus, you have the advantage of posting in real-time. So let’s say, for example, you create some ad content that’s relevant to a popular TV show. You can leverage it by promoting it in real-time across ALL of those social channels to target that specific audience during the broadcast.

Not too shabby.

5. Offer An Experience

Unlike their crankier and more independent Xer predecessors, millennials embrace the collective experience. They love being part of something. In fact, they like it so much that FOMO (fear of missing out) was born.

That being said, Millennials are thrilled when a brand creates an experience for their audience. 

For example, when Budweiser got wind of the fact that nearly every Millennial had seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, they ran with it. Playing on the nostalgia of that movie, they created a challenge to find the “golden beer can.” Millennials would buy a case of beer, in hopes that they’d get that golden can and win a prize. But even if they didn’t, they still ended up with a case of beer. So it was a win either way. 

(Though some would argue that a case of Bud wasn’t nearly the “win” that a chocolate bar would have been. But you get the point.)

Give Millennials A Story, Not Spin

That’s essentially it.

Millennials are far more receptive to brand storytelling than they are to straightforward advertising. This is important to remember because  millennials tend to exhibit early adoption

tendencies and then remain loyal to brands they trust.

So rather than crafting ads they’re expected to witness, make them part of your brand’s conversation instead. Address them directly through social media to spark a connection. And take the time to win their trust. It’s a worthwhile venture. 

At least as much as searching for a golden can.  

Design vs Art | The Real Role of Web Designers

Art and Design Are as Comparable as Apples and Oranges

Have you ever gone to a website and been just blown away by the imagery? Did it wow you in all of its feature rich glory? Were you so taken by it that you destroyed your laptop trying to nail it to the wall? (We hope not.)

So then surely you remember what that website was advertising or promoting, right?

There’s a good chance that you said no. And if you did, then the website designer failed. At least in terms of designing a website.

According to Mark O’Brien at printmag.com, “designing a website with the primary goal of demonstrating creativity is akin to an architect designing a demo house with the sole intent of showing how many different styles she can design.”

We can imagine that end product would be an amazing house - the likes of which would make excellent fodder for a tome on the psychology of Dr. Seuss. But it wouldn’t be a very livable dwelling. A design fail.

Here’s the deal.

Design is not art.

Even if a designer went to an “art school” to get his or her degree - which many of them did. Design is neither better nor worse than art. It simply ISN’T art. So what’s the difference? Graphic designer Alex Trochut put it this way:

•    Design is solving a problem. Art is raising a question.

•    Design is conclusive. Art is an open debate.

•    Design is the mind looking for solutions. Art is the voice of the soul.

•    Design needs a collective acceptance. Art only needs an inner approval.

•    Design is an act of empathy. Art is an act of freedom.

In a nutshell, design focuses on problem-solving and functionality. This is an important distinction. And it’s one we fully comprehend at LeDuc Creative.

Our designers approach web design with some key questions in mind:

•        What problem am I solving for the client?

•        How will the typical site user respond to the way I arrange the elements of the design?

•        How can I ensure that the viewer will have a positive response?

•        Who is the website’s target audience?

•        What are the technical parameters and strategic nuances of the assignment?

•        How can I make this a highly usable site where people will stick around?

•        Will my hands shake too much if I opt for that sixth cup of coffee?

Effective designers are first and foremost problem-solvers.

The 87-year-old graphic design legend Milton Glaser gave the best definition of the practice of design when he said, “design is the process of going from an existing condition to a preferred one.” Well said, Milt.

Successful designers have the inherent understanding that to design is to make people’s lives better in ways they don’t necessarily see or appreciate, but without which they would be lost.

Simply put, designers use their mathematical left brains to create work that resembles something from their artistic right brains.

Or they’re sorcerers. That’s a possibility too.

Either way, the fearless designers at LeDuc Creative love to get to the bare bones of what makes a design work well. Long before they get geeked about colors, images and fonts, they start with an overview of the client’s goals.

So if it’s successful website design you want, turn to LeDuc Creative.

Whether your focus is on incentivizing buyers, making checkout easier, having a mobile ready design, up selling users on related products, re-marketing to past visitors who haven’t yet purchased or any other number of goals you envision, the designers at LeDuc Creative can help you realize those goals. (And if you’ve got any luck, they’ll teach you to ballroom dance. Bad luck, that is.)

At LeDuc Creative, we know that the main difference between art and design is that art asks questions, while design answers them.

Our website designers have answers and solutions for you.

So our question is, how can we help?

5 Ways To Think Like A Marketer to Benefit Your Company

Many people don’t want to do the marketing for their business. They REALLY don’t want to. They just plain don’t like it. So they turn to a marketing/ad agency for what they deem to be drudgery.

But when a company with faltering sales and shaky numbers seeks out marketing/ad agencies with the request to “fix it and make it go,” a marketing specialist can start to feel like a doctor trying to help a diabetic who insists on eating fudge during every office visit.

Not to say that marketers are doctors. (I’ll dispense of the spin doctors jokes here.)

Even with the expertise of a marketing firm developing the full-scale broad-based creative strategies for the brand - not to mention all of the blogging, tweeting, YouTubing and whatnot - business owners and salespeople would do well to think like marketers too.

See, these days customers can find out all about a product or service without ever having to talk to a salesperson. Ever. And from the comfort of their home. So if sales reps are to stay relevant, they have to change up their game a bit.

“The sales person has to get involved earlier in the buyer’s journey,” says Jantsch, author of the book Duct Tape Selling: Think Like a Marketer – Sell Like a Superstar. “They need to become an authority so they’re looked at as an expert. They’re not going to get invited to the party otherwise, because the buyer is now making a great deal of decisions even before marketing hands the lead over to sales.” As Jantsh says, “That’s where the current disconnect is. We’ve got all this information and we’re drowning in it, and we need someone to make it valuable to me and my situation [as a buyer].”

So does that mean salespeople should ditch Willy Loman and strive for Don Draper? Absolutely not.

It simply means that salespeople and business owners would do well to adopt a marketing mindset.

So what does a marketing mindset entail exactly? It starts by simply asking yourself how you can build awareness among customers regarding your products and services. And there are more than a few ways to do this:

1. Know your product or service… completely. 

This should be obvious, yet how many times have you, as a customer, walked away from a purchase because the person helping couldn’t answer a few basic questions about the product or service?

Though Willy Loman lacked the necessary attributes to be a great salesman, he did the know the product inside and out. The marketing playbook places tremendous value on building reputation as an authority. Salespeople would be wise to learn this play.

2. Know your prospects.

There’s a ton of information out there. And we all have access to it. ALL of us.

“But the person who tells me 10 things I should be reading is the one I’m going to listen to,” Jantsh says. “If you can produce, share, or curate content that will make my life easier and give me a leg up on being more effective or efficient, I’m going to look at you as somebody of value.”

Be sure to do the extra reading on their industry. Check out the trade journals and their community papers. Clip out articles you think would be interesting to a prospect.

3. Show up and start speaking.

This doesn’t mean just chatting up those prospects. We’re talking on a broader scale here. Giving talks at conventions, expos, seminars or being on a panel gives you street cred as an authority in your field. Hone your speaking skills and observe speakers who stand out in your field.

Plus, if you’re given the opportunity to speak alongside someone who is already well known, grab it. There will already be a bigger audience, and you may be able to offer a different perspective on whatever the topic.

4. Know your competition.

Of course you want to see what they’re doing well. That’s valuable information. But what’s equally valuable, if not more, is to observe what the competition is doing poorly. If you can begin to see the competition’s weak spot as the place where a client’s needs are not being met, then you can ask yourself what you can do to step in and meet those needs?

5. Network.

This doesn’t mean you have to go into every client meeting (or even basic human interaction) seething to close the deal Glengarry Glen Ross style. It’s more a reminder that every conversation you have is an effort to build new relationships or strengthen current ones.

The bottom line? In business, pretty much everything is marketing - right down to what pair of shoes you wear. It all affects to the profitability of your company. So why not ensure your company’s longevity by thinking like a marketer?

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Let’s Talk Turkey about 2016. Part One - SEO.

Thanksgiving is almost here and the December holidays are just around the corner.

The year is drawing to an end and we’re inching ever closer toward the beginning of 2017.

Though this is not a startling realization, it did get us thinking about the year that was 2016 at LeDuc Creative.

Because we always have one foot (or some other singular body part) in advertising, we couldn’t help but think about the changes we experienced this past year. Good changes. Changes that made us a better agency. We also thought about fuzzy things like ducklings, which are cute but ultimately irrelevant to this post.

At any rate, when John LeDuc first ventured into running an ad business over 35 years ago, things were a lot different.

The internet was in its packet switching infancy and a couple of years away from being an actual usable thing. It would be quite some time before it would reach adulthood. (Of course, with all of the infantile behavior on the internet, one could argue it still hasn’t.)

The world of advertising then was of the traditional print/broadcast/billboard ilk. It obviously wasn’t called traditional then. After all, we’re talking about a time when direct mail was considered cutting edge. Which is a little hilarious.

But here we are 35 years later and our battle cry at LeDuc Creative is, “We’re not new to this.”

We call it a battle cry because although we have vast experience in traditional advertising, we know there’s a certain fierceness required to survive in the current and constantly changing landscape of today’s marketing and advertising. And we vow to stay out ahead of it - for our clients and for ourselves.

At LeDuc Creative, we must always consider what tactical moves to make in order to be holistic in our approach to get success for our clients.

So the first move we made in 2016 was focusing on SEO.

SEO is the name of the game these days. And the game is getting our clients results. In case you didn’t already know, SEO stands for search engine optimization and though that may sound like some Star-Trekian acronym for achieving warp speed, it’s really pretty simple. SEO is basically a measurable, repeatable process that is used to signal search engines that certain pages are worthy of being shown in Google’s index.

And Google’s where it’s at, y’all.

That’s why this year we added a certified Google AdWords Expert to the team.

We call her our superstar. And not because she’s shaped like a star. (She isn’t.) But because her expertise adds so much to creating powerful and effective SEO.

Google works from an algorithm that gives websites scores based on the quality of the site, how many sites link to it and how trustworthy it is. And our superstar expert helps us create SEO savvy content that is relevant and gives our clients’ sites a higher score. A higher score means higher billing on a search. And higher billing means more visibility.

Some of her other superstar duties include:

•        Conducting keyword research to create a list of keyword phrases on which the client bids

•        Creating Adwords Ads that will run on Google Search, Google Display Partners sites (if desired) and on mobile devices (if desired)

•        Testing different ads using various headlines and ad copy

•        Managing bids

•        Revealing what keywords were entered into Google Search that resulted in an ad being displayed

•        Telling clients how many times visitors clicked on an ad, which ad was clicked on, and which keyword got the ad displayed

•        Working with clients to create targeted landing pages for each of their Adwords Ad Groups

•        Keeping John LeDuc in line

Okay, that last one isn’t really a part of her AdWords duties, although she does it well. Still, through her tireless efforts with SEO and AdWords, LeDuc Creative was able to generate more leads for our clients. A lot more leads.

And in the case of Feed Lease Corporation, those leads came at an exponential rate, accounting for some pretty happy guys over there. And when they’re happy, we’re happy.

Yep. Getting on board the SEO train was definitely a game changer. But we didn’t stop there.

There were two other areas where making changes really benefitted our clients.  One of them was also forward thinking, but the other one - not so much.  And this is a good thing.

Wanna know how we upped the ante on website design in 2016? Stay tuned. 

At LeDuc Creative, Gratitude Is Our Jam Year Round

At LeDuc Creative, Gratitude Is Our Jam Year Round

“I feel a very unusual sensation - if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude.”

                     -Benjamin Disraeli

Yep. It’s November. That means less daylight and more carbs. And with Thanksgiving around the corner, that means, well, even more carbs. But November has also become the traditional time for “giving thanks.”

Be that as it may, we’re grateful every day of the year for our clients. So then why are we mentioning it now? Well, we’re not completely immune to the cliché.

But November is also the time our clients consider their marketing plan for 2017. Over the decades we’ve acquired a lot of great clients and are thankful when they make the decision to stay with us year after year. And since we’ve been at this for over 35 years that means some of our clients have been with us a long long time. Like, the lifetime of a cockatiel.

We’re not new to this.

Our creative and administrative endeavors run the gamut from traditional print, billboard and broadcast platforms, through the most current digital and social media marketing. And we have clients in a wide range of industries.

One of our longest standing clients is Feed Lease Corporation, who’ve been a part of us since the beginning. The experts at Feed Lease have been designing and building premium quality, high performance automated press feeding systems and equipment since 1969.

In the early days, most of our work with Feed Lease was in the form of product catalogs and flyers, as this was the advertising du jour for manufacturing businesses at that time. But times they were a changin’. The climate of advertising was beginning to shift. As their company grew, their marketing needs began to change. So we developed print ads that would work in conjunction with the newly-formed internet. The result was potential customers both calling and opting for the email contact list and a subsequent spike in web traffic. In the mean time, they developed more of a presence as keynote speakers for PrecisionMetalforming Association events.

As the years passed, we knew that if Feed Lease was going to continue with its success, they needed more than just a presence on their website and at their industry events. We needed to boost their presence in the newest platform - that of social media. So we did. By incorporating our expert design, knowledge of applicable social media platforms and utilizing our in-house Google AdWords writing expert and management team to contribute fresh and relevant content, we were able to significantly build and strengthen their brand, drive conversions and increase their presence.

All of that equals more business.

We remain grateful to Feed Lease and to all of our clients for recognizing us as the agile and forward thinking marketing and advertising agency that we are. And yeah. While we embrace traditional advertising and still use it where needed, we know that the innovation needed to drive a company’s success comes from staying current and keeping an eye on the future.

As you look ahead to your 2017 marketing plan, see how we can make your life easier and help your company grow. For us, 2017 means the addition of new services, new information and a new website  - all of which will contribute to a bright intellectual thought process. We’d love to include you on our list of clients for whom we’re grateful.

Happy a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

So… What’s The Plan? It's Time to Craft Your Marketing Strategy for 2017.

So… What’s The Plan?

There are those who say life is what happens while you’re busy planning. The idea being that we need to play more and plan less.

That’s a nice thought, but not terribly effective when it comes to running a business.

At LeDuc Creative Company, we understand the importance of solid planning in order to achieve success. In fact, we come together as a group every Thursday at noon to have a little lunch, talk strategy and make a plan for the coming week or quarter.

And then - and this is the important part - we execute that plan. Because even the best laid plan is nothing without action.

As we head toward the autumn of 2016, we’re taking a good hard look at analytics, strategy and planning for 2017. For our agency, sure. But even more so for our clients. After all, they rely on us for their bread and butter (assuming they’re not gluten free or lactose intolerant) so it’s vital we analyze and plan for every aspect of advertising we do for them.

Our team is currently working with each client to create a strategy based on their individual needs. We believe that now is the time to analyze and put into action their plan not only for the remainder of this year, but well into 2017.

We’ve been recently inspired by one of our own clients, Mark Van Sumeren,  the Managing Director at Health Industry Advisor.

Mark published a book entitled A "Trip" To Strategic Leadership: A Heavy-Handed CEO's Journey of Self-Discovery and the Principles of Strategy and it has been a valuable resource for us in our own strategizing.

Through the character of Bill Ellis, a fictional character who’s all too real, he tells the story of a frustrated CEO who is well aware that for all of his strategizing, something is terribly amiss and his company is failing. The book follows his journey toward saving his company.  

Van Sumeren says, “My purpose is to convey several principles of strategic leadership, as well as an accelerated process of strategy formulation. These lessons are equally applicable to public and private companies, charitable and for-profit organizations, and large and small enterprises.”

In this new climate of advertising, there are far more avenues and options for marketing and advertising than ever before.

Recently, Proctor & Gamble reviewed their own marketing plan and realized that despite all of the hype, advertising on Facebook was not as effective in generating business as they’d anticipated. As a result, they cut back their spending in that area and made several significant changes in their online advertising strategies.

Are they using this extra money to engineer the direct piping of cleaning products into homes? Or having them delivered by special Proctor & Gamble drones? Who knows.

Whatever the case, when working to achieve the best results for our own clients, we want to be sure we’ve left no stone unturned.

Whether that’s social media, SEO, traditional marketing or any other of a myriad of marketing venues. We’ll even do sky writing, if that’s what’ll give you the most bang for your buck (which is unlikely).

So what’s your strategy for the rest of this year? We’d love to hear about it… and offer you our input.