The summer is full of events and activities that will keep families busy and consumers spending! From BBQ’s to baseball to summer vacations – you name it – consumers will spend to ensure they make a splash this summer.  What you need to ask yourself is if you prepared a promotional plan to target consumers this summer. What about the remainder of the year? If not, you are likely to miss out on added revenues. The good news is that there is still time to create one.

Smart marketers use a promotional calendar to plan out their strategy for the year based on key events and holidays. This provides them an overarching marketing strategy and an at-a-glance look at what is coming down the pipeline.  This strategy is essential in order to get the greatest return on a PPC campaign like VSW FeatureLink.

Here are a few key tips to get you started:

• Create your own promotional calendar by looking up dates and placing them in a free calendar (e.g. Google Calendar); make sure to include only those that are most applicable to your business.

• Get organized by creating an Excel document that lists key dates, featured product messages, and promotional platforms.

• Don’t forget about the “obscure” holidays like:  Flag Day (June 14), National Chocolate Pudding Day (June 26), National Hot Dog Month (July), Parents Day (July 22), Family Fun Month (August), National Aviation Day (August 19) and more!

• Consider special promotions that apply both regionally and locally, like state fairs and local festivals.

Once you have honed in on what holidays and special celebrations make the most sense for you, the trick is to craft a promotional message for each and every one. Think about a push-and-pull strategy when crafting your message. For example, email your existing clientele and let them know you are celebrating “Family Fun” month by showing your support and offering them a discount on your product that will be sure to deliver fun for the entire family. Infuse the same key message into your PPC campaign that will run on vertical content networks. Customers will feel special, and businesses will get more revenue – thus keeping the momentum and relevance for your business the entire month long.

The rate at which the digital landscape is changing is keeping business owners on their toes. Gone are the days when marketers could rely solely on traditional advertising outlets: on-air, radio, mailers and standard display ads. Today, the digital advertising universe provides a plethora of outlets to reach consumers but it requires that marketers take time to think about which efforts make the most sense for their business. Successful advertisers have adapted their strategies to be smarter and more focused in the digital space, with efforts like social media, advanced targeting, and mobile marketing.

5 Marketing Tools to Positively Impact Your Business:

Instagram: This image-based social platform is what everyone is buzzing about and for good reason. It is one of the fastest growing social platforms since Facebook. In less than one year Instagram has over 10 million users. It presents new and interesting ways to connect to your consumers. A few tips: post interesting and artistic product photos !important; get creative with it – create a theme for the week so you can draw users in by touching upon passion points. Most importantly engage with the community: comment and repost. All these will help create brand affinity over time.

Paid Search: Many advertisers are already using paid search to advertise their products and services, but with the recent advances in technology it is time to consider upgrading your paid search marketing efforts. Standard paid search efforts won’t cut it if you want to move consumers down the consumer purchasing funnel. In order to reach consumers you need to employ a paid search program that utilizes cutting edge technology, like VSW FeatureLink™, which has the ability to target consumers where it matters most. You can maximize your potential by leveraging a paid search program that uses semantic ad matching technology which will ensure that your product is shown at the right time to the right eyes. Don’t wait to optimize your paid search efforts !important; utilize a best of breed paid search platform to get the biggest bang for your buck!

Facebook & Twitter: These social gorillas are still a driving force that advertisers cannot afford to ignore, and it is essential to understand how best to use these to grow your business. Facebook can be a great tool for building a community and getting consumers through the front door, but if you want to keep them coming, you can’t stop there. This is where Twitter can complement your efforts. Twitter is an excellent communication vehicle that should be leveraged to build an ongoing dialogue with your consumers to build loyalty over time. Remember not to hit consumers over the head with overt product messaging on these platforms. Rather, seek to provide them with interesting tips and tricks to generate interest and build trust.

Smart Phones and Mobile Devices: It is no secret that mobile web traffic is on the rise, according to Search Engine Watch, 63 percent of all smartphone Internet access is done via the mobile network. More and more consumers are finding what they want through their mobile devices, therefore you cannot afford to forgo a mobile presence. A whole new world of advertising possibilities is opening up and changing the way that businesses connect with consumers on the go. How can you take advantage of this new platform? Ensure that your business has a mobile friendly site: avoid using flash, create a concise message for mobile search, make sure your business is listed in location-based search apps, and be sure to highlight special promotions that you are having.

Remember that it is essential to develop your core product/service attributes and your core marketing message before diving head first into any of these methods. To grow your consumer base you need to build your brand, extend your reach, and promote your business through a variety of digital marketing channels.

Vertical Search Works provides an effective cost per click (CPC) advertising model aimed at connecting advertisers with targeted online users, and in turn, increasing ad budget return-on-investment (ROI). Vertical Search Works also offers a simple, complimentary publishing tool to online publishers, allowing them to grow the visibility of their content and develop their incremental revenue in the process. To create an online advertising network with such benefits for both advertisers and publishers, Vertical Search Works invested $85 million dollars to date on patent-pending technology that uses semantic search capabilities. The search interprets information similar to the way that humans do: by examining the context of words and reacting accordingly. Below, the executive staff behind Vertical Search Works lists a few helpful suggestions in creating VSW FeatureLink™ ads for placement by the company.

Writing an Ad Title
When creating a title for a VSW FeatureLink™ ad, consider keywords that best let the consumer know what the product, service, or brand is. Place these keywords in the beginning of the title so the reader can quickly discern the focus of the advertisement. When adding offers in the title, make them concrete statements (for instance, “Only $10.99” or “Lifetime Warranty”). Only use strong, meaningful, descriptive adjectives associated with keywords, such as quality or excellence.

Developing a Description
The VSW FeatureLink™ ad description serves as a central element to the overall advertisement, tying together the image and the title. The description should contain a quick summary of the company, service, or product with definitive, factual offers and benefits listed therein. Examples include the statements “Free Shipping” or “Save Up to 10% with Us.” Also, integrate a command to the reader in this part of the ad. For instance, the statements “Purchase Now” and “Receive a Free Quote” tell the consumer exactly where to go from there.

Double-check the spelling and grammar of all text you create for a VSW FeatureLink™ ad before submitting. Learn more by visiting http://www.verticalsearchworks.com.

Online advertising network Vertical Search Works stands apart from its competitors in its ability to create visually attractive advertisements and place them on websites that appeal to large targeted audiences. Vertical Search Works employs its patent-pending Semantic Ad Matching Technology to help marketers and advertisers achieve premium placement, and in turn, reach their ideal consumer groups. Semantic Ad Matching Technology uses semantic searches, allowing it to match relevant ads with people searching for specific subjects. To best help its advertisers in creating their own VSW FeatureLink™ ads, Vertical Search Works offers a few suggestions on ad development below.

Selecting a Destination URL
Choosing the right landing page to link to an advertisement can often mean the difference between further sparking a customer’s attention or losing that customer’s interest altogether. The best way to achieve the former is to link directly to the product or service you are advertising. Connect users to rich text pages versus rich media pages to avoid overwhelming them. For branding, try linking to a company home page. However, stay away from sending the consumer to generic pages like the About Us or Contact Us areas of a website.

Choosing a VSW FeatureLink™ Image
The image that the consumer sees visually in the ad should send a clear message regarding the product, service, or brand you are marketing. The VSW FeatureLink™ technology allows for a 70 x 70 pixel image. Select a picture or graphic that relates well to the destination URL, or use a company logo to better promote a brand.