Online Strategies Help Grow Business

Teams of propane marketers learned in a workshop that a successful online strategy involves Web design and multiple platforms including
search engines and social media.

At the April 2015 NPGA Southeastern Convention and International Propane Expo, a topical and well-attended educational session dealt with formulating an Internet marketing plan. The workshop was titled, “Hacked! How to Build a Winning Web Strategy Without Getting Hacked.” Energy industry Web consultant Ben Gutkin of Warm Thoughts Communications (Clifton, N.J.) conducted the three-hour workshop patterned after the hit Food Network show “Chopped.” Selected participants divided into competing teams in three areas: website design and development, search engine marketing, and social media.

The scenario for the workshop was that the various teams represented a 10-MMgal. propane company in the Atlanta area, delivering propane residentially and commercially (including autogas), with a showroom selling hearth and outdoor living products, as well as appliances such as gas dryers and water heaters. The teams were tasked with using online marketing to grow the business through new customer acquisition, improved retention, and increased sales to existing customers.

• The website design teams were tasked with creating a new company website that would optimize design, navigation, content, and search engine use to implement the business strategies to the target audience.
• The search engine marketing (SEM) teams were tasked with using search engine tools such as pay-per-click (PPC), online display advertising, and review sites such as Yelp and Angie’s List to create an online marketing campaign and budget to help the company reach its growth goals.
• The social media teams were tasked with using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+ (the top five) to develop a strategy to help the company increase “social shares” (the new link-building), and build “likes” and thus domain ranking by improving quality connections and followers to help reach growth and customer retention objectives.

The website design teams considered several key design components:

1. A website needs to have a clean, professional look devoid of clutter, junk, and typos that engages people and makes them want to do business with the company.
2. Since the average viewer spends only 3.5 seconds before deciding to stay or leave a website, the site must quickly address these questions: Do you have the product I’m looking for; are you in my area; and do I want to do business with you?
3. Does the website optimize content by using “keywords” in pages, tabs, and photos?
4. Does the website make navigation easy?
5. Is company contact information clear and easy to locate? (Many websites bury contact information.)
6. Is your website mobile-friendly?

The last decade has seen a huge increase in mobile devices. Today, mobile accounts for half of all Web searches. On April 21, 2015, Google changed its algorithm to expand mobile-friendliness ranking criteria. Mobile-friendly and mobile-responsive websites will be rewarded with better positioning in Google’s search engine results, meaning more traffic from this rapidly expanding user base. Conversely, websites not mobile-optimized will see less traffic and receive a smaller piece of the mobile pie and will be forced to rely on the shrinking desktop-based audience. Website owners don’t have an option: Go mobile! You don’t want to land in the Google dungeon on page 2 or beyond.

The SEM teams considered these key factors:

1. Is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) a Good Strategy For Your Company?

PPC is an Internet advertising model used to direct traffic (potential propane customers) to specific websites (propane companies) where the advertiser (the propane company) pays the PPC operator (Google AdWords, etc.) when the ad is clicked. The PPC model lets the advertiser chart various statistics including:

• Impressions — the number of times the ad appears (no cost)

• Clicks — the number of times the ad is clicked (the advertiser pays)

• Conversions — the number of times a customer contacts the company by phone, email, or submitted form after clicking the ad.

Thus the company can calculate the cost of a new lead. For instance, if a propane company ad is clicked 200 times at a cost of $5 per click, the cost is $1000. Of the 200 clicks, if 20 people contact the company (conversion rate 10%), the cost per lead is $50 ($1000/20 = $50). A propane company trying to grow its business through new customer acquisition could use PPC as part of its online marketing.

2. Review Sites

Another area of search engine marketing that has become important in the last decade is the advent of review sites such as Yelp, Angie’s List, and Google Local Business. Review sites put the power in consumers’ hands; on average about 85% of customers read reviews for local businesses. More than 60% of users read two to six reviews before they reach any conclusions.

A propane company should strive to do good work to generate positive reviews. But it is also vital to monitor these sites frequently and respond to any negative postings immediately — don’t let a negative review go unanswered!

Today, social media platforms offer huge marketing opportunities for businesses. Statistics show that 76% of women and 72% of men use some form of social media, primarily Facebook. In the 50-64-year-old age category, 65% of people use social media, and half of the population over the age of 65 uses social media. These numbers are growing and cannot be ignored. Currently, Facebook alone receives 900 million unique monthly visitors.

The three social media teams presented outstanding campaign strategies, making it difficult for the judges to select a winner. Groups were tasked with creating a plan to increase social shares (the new link-building for websites) on the top social media platforms (Facebook “likes, shares and comments,” Twitter “followers”) and connections to boost website credibility and elevate ranking placement in search engine results. For instance, a “like” is the minimum commitment you can get from a Facebook fan. The value hierarchy goes: likes, comments, and shares, in that order. Facebook’s news feed algorithm gives 1300% more weight to a share than a like. The following are highlights of some of the teams’ innovative strategies, ideas and best practices presented:

• Facebook contests. Promoting a Facebook campaign encourages likes, comments, and shares. Teams offered various incentives in their contests. Prizes ranged from winning a Weber grill to an outdoor kitchen. One team invited friends to “comment” rather than “like” on Facebook to increase social engagement and further boost website rankings. Soliciting a “comment” for contest entry added the benefit of positive comments appearing on the company’s Facebook page. And, increasing opportunities for “shares” means additional Web links to improve search engine rankings.

One strategy included posting photos on Facebook of new installations of propane fire pits, outdoor kitchens, gas log sets, or other appealing propane-related photos.

• Twitter Hashtag contests. Team “Atlanta Propane” launched a Twitter campaign #SummerPropaneParty using the hashtags #WinAGrill, #AtlantaPropane, and #SummerPropaneParty. They invited participants to share stories of their favorite summer party. The team also created a landing page to their existing website (AtlantaPropane.com/Summer) to push prospective customers directly to the site. The page included a “Feedback” column providing an additional chance to win a free 20-lb summer grill cylinder refill by sharing their feedback. This data was captured for use in future campaigns. Statistics can easily be tracked providing useful assessment information.
• Pinterest contests. One team launched a Pinterest contest for the chance to win a Weber grill by inviting participants to “pin” photos of their favorite grilled dishes on the company’s Pinterest page. Pinterest is a great way to feature propane-related photos, such as appliances, appealing food, grills, outdoor kitchens, and warm, cozy homes. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Other social media “best practices” include:

— Schedule Facebook posts to automatically update on a Twitter account.

— Receive text notifications when a post is made on your Facebook page.

— Regularly monitor “review sites.” (Certain situations may require an immediate response — have a plan to address these situations.)

— Post appealing photos of propane-related products on Facebook to project a positive image.

— Set up a toll-free telephone number to track leads.

The efforts of the various teams were judged and critiqued by a panel of experts to determine the “winner,” although every participant “won” by learning how to succeed in Internet marketing.

Online marketing has dramatically changed in the past 10 years (and didn’t exist 20 years ago). A successful online strategy takes advantage of website design and multiple platforms including search engines and social media to grow your business. No longer an experiment, online marketing has become a science.