Author: Sam Silvey

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Business eCommerce Marketing

Why Web Analytics are Crucial for a Successful Business (Video)

A strong online presence is crucial for the growth and success of your business. So how do you ensure your website is performing at its best and you are getting the best possible ROI on your digital marketing efforts? It all starts with web analytics.

Tune in to the video below as CEO of Spectruss, Sam Silvey, discusses the importance of website analytics, the key data to focus on, and how you can use it to prove a return on investment for your business.

The Best Platforms to Use

Over 55% of the top 10,000 websites in the world use Google Analytics, making it the most highly recommended data measurement platform for businesses today. Not only is Google Analytics free to use, but it also gives your company the ability to analyze in-depth details about the visitors on your website.

In addition to Google Analytics, HubSpot is another extremely useful analytics tool that manages tracking codes to collect important website user data. By bringing all your Google Analytics and HubSpot data together, you can analyze and report across the entire customer journey, ultimately allowing you to devise a successful strategy for your business.

Know the goal for your website

As mentioned in the video, the goal for your company website is to direct traffic towards your call-to-action, whether that be filling out a contact form, buying a product, or clicking a phone number. Once you have a clear call-to-action for your website, your company can then move towards maximizing conversions.

After you have identified your call-to-action for your website, you must then discern how much that conversion is worth to your company. Known as a conversion value, assigning a numerical value to specific conversions is crucial for determining their impact on your business. This gives you the clarity to optimize and make decisions based on real ROI data.

Understand your website traffic

Monitoring the traffic to and on your website helps your business better understand your online visitors, potential customers, and interactions with your site. Google Analytics is a great platform for tracking this important data, giving your business the ability to pinpoint exactly how your website is performing, and in what areas it can be improved.

In order to make your website more successful, you must first analyze how traffic navigates on your website. Tracking data from product purchases, abandoned shopping carts, bounce rates, page clicks, and session duration gives your company a clear picture of where the drop off is on your site, what content your potential customers are looking for, and where you want to spend your ad budget to drive more traffic.

Collect data from mobile, tablet and desktop

With content consumption drastically increasing on mobile phones, it’s more important than ever to ensure that your website is optimized on all devices. In fact, we are now seeing up to a 60% conversion rate take place on mobile phones. Comparing conversion data from mobile, tablet, and desktop versions is extremely important for reviewing inbound traffic and identifying the success or failure of how your website is performing across all devices.

Manage advertising spend to identify what converts best

Now that you have been collecting and analyzing data, it’s time to start advertising to drive more traffic to your website. Return on ad spend (ROAS) is one of the most important metrics for digital advertising. Essentially, ROAS answers the fundamental marketing question, “If I put X amount of money in a marketing channel, what will I get back in return?” Using the website analytics collected from your digital ads helps you to know if your ad budget is actually providing a return on investment.

If you’d like to learn more about how to make your website perform the best it can and really prove a return on investment, give us shout! We’d love to talk with you.

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Business eCommerce

What E-commerce Platform is Best for Your Business? (Video)

In this new digital age, many companies are shifting their focus towards selling products online. In order to maximize your online success, choosing the right e-commerce platform for your business is one of the most important decisions you will make.

Watch in the video below as Sam Silvey, founder and CEO of Spectruss, discusses the best solutions for building your e-commerce business.

As Sam described, there are many ways to move your business online. With so many e-commerce platforms available in today’s market, choosing the right one for your business can be challenging.

Our Experts at Spectruss Recommend:

As mentioned in the video, WooCommerce uniquely offers the capability to build on top of WordPress – which accounts for 60% of all content management systems. WooCommerce offers complete website control, source code ownership, and customization options that other platforms simply do not have. With over 3.8 million companies using the WooCommerce platform, it’s clear that this is the preferred choice.

For companies looking for a more affordable option with less barrier to entry, Shopify is the recommended platform. Shopify boasts over 500,000 active online stores, accounting for over 20% of all e-commerce websites. In addition, our experts at Spectruss can launch new websites using this platform in as little as 72 hrs (with rush delivery request). However, businesses using Shopify are limited to the platform’s themes, plugins, credit card processing system, and hosting fees. Despite the limitations, this platform remains a good option for budget-friendly businesses looking to launch a store quickly.

Platforms such as SquareSpace and Wix are advertised as cheaper options, but these platforms are limited in their functionality. For example, Wix promotes itself as a free, self-build website platform – but we advise caution. The fees to unlock “premium features” that come standard on professional platforms can be significant. In addition, lower visibility and website traffic due to subpar design may cost thousands in lost revenue. According to our CEO and founder of Spectruss, “I would personally not invest in Wix or SquareSpace”.

While some may choose to cut corners with self-build websites, smaller platforms, and less secure software, this approach can create problems in the long run. Building an online presence that maximizes your ability to reach customers, grow your business, and offer a seamless user experience is critical for a return on investment and long-term success .

In short, if you are looking to start a new e-commerce site, or looking to update an existing site, Spectruss suggests building with WooCommerce or Shopify. If you need help designing and developing your e-commerce site, our experts at Spectruss are ready to help. Give us a shout at 423-800-8633 or send us an email at info@spectruss.com to schedule a free consultation.

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Business Digital Marketing

Showcase Your Business Online

Yes, we are open and we are here for your business during this difficult and uncertain time. Our heart goes out to all of the doctors and nurses working tirelessly to fight this virus, the grocery store clerks and truck drivers working overtime to keep our shelves stocked, and the many businesses who have closed their doors in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.

We believe your company can continue to prosper and your mission advance amidst this virus pandemic. During this time of social distancing, it is imperative that businesses adapt to serving their valued customers with digital options.

Now is the time to showcase your business online.

And we are here to help you do it.

If you don’t currently sell online, it’s time to start now. We can promote your products online with our flexible e-commerce platforms, giving you the ability to sell 24/7. Whether your business would benefit from platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, or Facebook Marketplace, our experienced team can provide you with online selling options that will continue sales and serve your valued customers from the comfort of their home.

During this current situation, we have seen a significant rise in digital advertising to drive sales online. If your business already sells online, it is more important than ever to implement advertising strategies that will increase your online visibility and drive traffic to your e-commerce website.

Whether your business needs an e-commerce website, digital advertising management, or council on next steps to take, our dedicated team of experts is here for you. Schedule a free consultation with us today!

Click HERE to get started!

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Design eCommerce Marketing

Spectruss Builds Custom Platform for New Medical Spa, Refine Aesthetic Studio

The Client

Refine Aesthetic Studio, an affiliate of Plastic Surgery Group, is a new premier medical spa located in downtown Chattanooga, TN. Our team at Spectruss used creative design and e-commerce web development to build a custom website for Refine Aesthetic Studio.

We also manage their digital marketing, advertising and social media platforms to help build brand awareness and increase online visibility. Other creative work includes event planning, PR, promotion and creative packaging.

Check out our work in the video below!

Web Design

Our creative team was eager to design a beautiful platform for Refine Aesthetic Studio that would readily attract clients. We thoughtfully chose color schemes, images, and layouts that would provide a visually appealing online experience and successfully portray the company’s overall brand image.

Ecommerce

We built a custom website with ecommerce capability to offer online ordering for Refine Aesthetic Studio’s skincare lines. Our goal was to create a convenient online shopping experience for clients to easily purchase their favorite skincare products. Designed to be responsive on all platforms, customers can use any device to shop on Refine Aesthetic Studio’s site.

Social Media

Social media is an effective platform for your business to gain exposure and build customer relationships. Our team managed Facebook and Instagram platforms for Refine Aesthetic Studio to build brand awareness through engaging content that showcased their services, products, and upcoming events. In just one month, Refine Aesthetic Studio saw significant social media growth.

Print

Using print materials is a great way to present potential customers with valuable information about your business in a small, portable form. Our creative team designed visually engaging literature to help build a recognizable brand and promote the offered services for Refine Aesthetic studio.

Photo + Video

From headshots to Instagram stories, we captured quality content to utilize on Refine Aesthetic Studio’s website and social media accounts. Our team will come to your business to create engaging videos and take beautiful pictures that will showcase your company brand.

Paid Advertising

Paid advertising is an excellent way to increase business growth by driving traffic towards multiple online platforms. Our team created and implemented advertising strategies to reach a specific target market and grow brand awareness for Refine Aesthetic Studio.

Event Planning

Our creative team organized events for Refine Aesthetic Studio from start to finish. We designed promotional materials, creative packaging and sent out a press release to local news outlets to help drive foot traffic to the new medical spa.

Interested to see what Spectruss can do for your business? We’d love to chat! Give us a call at 423.800.8633 or email us at info@spectruss.com.

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Events Marketing

Why Brands Should Embrace Experiential Marketing

In today’s world, it’s harder than ever to get the attention of consumers. Brands are always looking for new ways to stand out against all the noise and truly engage their customers. An increasing amount of businesses are turning to experiential marketing, which offers immersive, memorable campaigns that help deliver a brand’s message without distractions.

So, What Exactly is Experiential Marketing?

Experiential marketing has been a buzzword over recent years and is gaining increasing momentum in the marketing world. This powerful campaign strategy brings a whole new light to the way consumers experience a brand.

Experiential marketing focuses on direct engagement with consumers by using creative interactions to leave a lasting impression. These experiences could include a live event or a pop-up installation. Its central focus is to provide consumers with a live, engaging experience.

Many brands have found huge success in experiential marketing. Check out some great examples of successful campaigns below.

JetBlue- The Icebreaker

Who doesn’t want to take a trip to the beach in the middle of freezing cold winter? JetBlue airlines used this opportunity to promote their new direct flights from New York to Palm Springs in a very clever way. They put various summer-themed prizes such as beach attire, golf clubs, and free tickets to Palm Springs inside a huge block of ice and told passing New Yorkers that anything was up for grabs.

A social media campaign was launched along with this unique experiential strategy, resulting in a huge success for JetBlue. Everyone loves free stuff, right? Giving away prizes in a unique, creative way gave consumers an engaging experience they wouldn’t forget.

Gatorade Combine

The Gatorade brand is widely known for its close association with professional sports. To create an engaging experience for consumers, Gatorade used experiential marketing strategies to test individual athletic abilities in the form of a combine. A combine is an examination of athletic skills that athletes must complete before going to the professional league. Gatorade worked with a number of companies such as Xbox, Kinect, and Sparta Science to create electronic stations that executed interactive combine tests for each participant.

The results for the Gatorade combine tests provided accurate information for consumers, giving them data and knowledge to apply to other areas of life whether it be workout routines or dieting. Experiential marketing proves extremely impactful to consumers when it not only offers entertainment but also valuable information.

Red Bull- Stratos

The whole world held its breath when Redbull performed a record-breaking, supersonic skydiving jump. Known for its bold actions and involvement in extreme sports, Redbull decided to take its marketing strategy to new heights – – 24 miles about the earth’s surface to be exact! Redbull developed an experiential marketing campaign known as “Stratos” and partnered with Felix Baumgartner, a skydiver from Austria, to accomplish this incredible stunt.

Redbull streamed this event on YouTube and received over 8 million views (the highest viewing traffic of any live stream broadcasted on Youtube!) Don’t be afraid to think big and push the limits with your marketing strategies. Leave a lasting impression on your consumers by using the power of suspense and giving your audience something new to experience.

Categories
Design Marketing

Email Design Trends for 2020

We’ve entered into a new decade of email design.

It’s important that we adapt our email strategies to appeal to new audiences and keep ahead of the competition. Check out the trending 2020 email designs below that will be sure to spark new interest and grab the attention of your readers!

Design for Dark Mode


We’ve all heard about Dark Mode. This new feature on digital devices displays copy on a dark background and a light foreground. This setting is gaining huge popularity and is a solution for those with light sensitivity. More people are using dark color schemes as the default setting on their digital devices and find bright designs to be a jarring experience.

Designers should start using darker background colors in their email designs to stand out against the many bright-colored email campaigns we saw in 2019.

Use Minimalistic Design

The power of minimalism is in the beauty of simplicity. Inboxes can get quickly jam-packed with emails, so cut through the noise with an easy-to-read design using plenty of negative space. By simplifying the content and making it easily digestible, you provide a clear call to action for the reader.

Minimalistic design in emails has been gaining attention over the last year and is expected to continue to soar in 2020.

Apply 3D Visuals

Designers are getting more creative with their use of visuals in emails. 3D visuals have already begun to gain popularity with big brands because it delivers imagery that is more realistic and intriguing. In contrast to traditional flat imagery, 3D visuals bring products to life and spotlight key messages.

Using 3D imagery in email campaigns brings a wow factor to the table and is expected to continue to gain major traction in 2020.

Ditch the Columns

Switch it up and don’t be so boring! So many emails follow the typical column layout which starts with the email header at the top followed by the product image, description, and so forth.

This year, think beyond the conventional email layout and start using broken grids in your designs to create a more engaging experience for your subscribers.

Categories
Business Marketing

5 Tips for a Successful Black Friday

The holiday season is here and businesses everywhere are gearing up for the busiest shopping day of the year- Black Friday. Over 74 million Americans shop on Black Friday (if they were to form a country, it would be the 20th most populous on Earth!) Is your business ready?!

With so many stores offering huge deals on Black Friday, it can be difficult to stand out against all the noise. However, incorporating a few simple strategies can help your business provide an excellent Black Friday experience and leave a lasting impression on your customers.

Staff well

The crowds….the lines. We all know what this national shopping day is like. Make sure you have plenty of staff to get your customers through the checkout lines quickly. If your store is understaffed, it will be a very long and frustrating day. Black Friday shoppers are expecting lines, but your store can offer a refreshing experience by being extra organized and efficient.

Make it fun

Black Friday is a long and busy day for your staff, so make it fun by bringing in lots of snacks and goodies for the break room. You can even offer contests and prizes for meeting goals at the end of the day. Making it fun for your employees will help to create a positive atmosphere which will translate to a great customer experience with your store.

Keep your store looking extra special

According to a recent study, foot traffic to big box stores is expected to increase by 34% this year. Many small and medium retailers located near these stores could expect a spike in traffic as well. It is important for your businesses to prepare for this additional traffic by making sure your store looks in tip-top shape. Bringing out your latest merchandise, sprucing up your window displays and keeping things in order throughout the big day will be sure to leave a great impression on your customers.

Don’t try to compete with the big box stores

Let’s face it, the retail giants will always be able to offer bigger and better deals on Black Friday. Trying to compete with the big stores will only hurt your business by eating up all your margins. Instead, your business needs to focus on what those box stores can’t offer- a personal experience. As a smaller business, putting community and family values first is essential for generating loyal customer relationships. So, don’t bother opening on Thanksgiving because your customers will appreciate your businesses more for staying closed on the holiday.

Offer coupons with future dates

With the influx of traffic to your store on Black Friday, it is important to implement a strategy to encourage those shoppers to keep coming back. A great way to do this is by handing out coupons to customers at checkout. Be sure that those coupons are dated for a week or two in the future. This will bring shoppers back to your store during a less rushed time and could lead to long-term customer relationships.

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Business Digital Marketing

5 Quick Tips for Mobile-Friendly Email Campaigns

If your emails aren’t mobile-friendly, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity to engage your subscribers and drive conversions. A recent study shows that 67% of all emails are now opened on mobile devices. In order to grab the attention of the modern day consumer, it is imperative to tailor your emails for smaller screens and scrolling fingers. Check out these key tips to ensure your emails are optimized for mobile viewers.

1. Short Subject Lines

47% of email recipients decide whether to open an email based on the subject line alone. If the subject is too long, it can get cut off on a mobile screen and disrupt the opportunity to connect with your reader. A mobile device only shows 25-30 characters of an email subject line, so it is imperative to be concise with your wording.

2. Single Column Layout

On a mobile device, multiple columns in an email often look too busy and can be confusing for the reader. Using a single column template will simplify your design and highlight your important content. It also makes the email easily scrollable, keeping your call-to-action in direct line of sight.

3. One Clear Call to Action

Emails that contain a single call to action (CTA) can increase clicks 371% and conversions 1,617%. To receive the maximum amount of clicks on a mobile device, it is important to keep a CTA to 2-4 words, use a higher contrast button color, place CTA towards the top of the email, and size the button to at least 44 x 44 pixels.

4. Concise Copy

Too much copy in an email can be overwhelming and boring to look at, especially on a mobile device. Use bulleted lists and short paragraphs to create easily scannable content for the reader. It is also important to increase the size the text to avoid people needing to zoom in to read the information.

5. Space to Click

Mobile screens get crowded quickly. If you stack links and CTA’s too close together without leaving enough space around them, recipients can accidentally click the wrong link. To keep this from happening, make sure to leave plenty of room to click, keep links to a minimum, and avoid stacking them.

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Business Digital Marketing

Boost Your Sales During the Holiday Season

The holiday season from November to the end of December is the most lucrative time of year for retailers. Is your business ready for the shopping frenzy? With the holidays quickly approaching, now is the time to formulate your marketing strategies to attract customers and generate those sales! Check out these marketing tips below to see how your business can maximize its sales during the holiday season.

Make Your Cyber 5 Strategy Part of a Bigger Game Plan

Those extremely important shopping days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday are referred to as the “Cyber 5”. A common misconception is to get your ad campaigns up and running just in time for Black Friday. While it is crucial to recognize the Cyber 5 as huge shopping days, implementing a more comprehensive advertising approach will result in a more consistent and effective campaign. In 2018, marketers devoted 19% of their search budgets to Cyber 5 spending, but those days make up for just 9% of holiday shopping. This year, more businesses are looking to adopt a strategy that encompasses the Cyber 5 as well as the whole extended holiday season. This results in catching the attention of both the October early-bird shoppers and the last minute shoppers.

Optimize for Mobile Use

A growing number of consumers are visiting websites from mobile devices.
Your business must be optimized for mobile use if you want customers to find your store and stay to shop. A responsive web design is crucial for grabbing the attention of consumers and will result in greater engagement and higher sales numbers. The National Retail Federation projects 105 billion in online sales this holiday season with an estimated 127 million shoppers predicted to shop on Cyber Monday. Of these Cyber Monday shoppers, 25 million said they would specifically use their mobile devices for purchases.

Take Advantage of In-Channel Buying

Consumers are more connected than ever before. A recent study found that 64% of customers are using multiple channels to complete a single transaction. This translates to many touchpoint across numerous different platforms. In 2018, holiday traffic to digital sites from social media channels grew by 22% year over year. This year, even more shoppers are expected to be buying in-channel. This means that retailers should be ready to push their brand where the consumers already are, such as social media platforms.

Royal Highnies’ Holiday Success

Royal Highnies is a growing luxury loungewear and undergarment retailer. From boxer shorts to lounge pants, to tee shirts and more, Royal Highnies provides ultimate comfort for the whole family.

During the 2017 holiday season, Royal Highnies wanted to boost its online advertising in order to attract more consumers to the brand. This is where Spectruss came in. Our team worked with Royal Highnies to implement digital marketing strategies that would result in a huge ROI.

First, we conducted detailed market research to identify a specific target market for Royal Hignies. Based off this audience, we did rigorous keyword research to ensure their brand would be seen by the right consumers.

Once we defined a specific customer base, we developed a digital marketing plan that included creative email campaigns, shopping ad campaigns, display ads, social media ad campaigns and fresh graphics.

This campaign utilized new approaches and creative materials designed specifically to reach Royal Highnies’ target market. The end result? Royal Highnies saw a 25% increase in online sales and a 10% increase in wholesale sales.

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Uncategorized

Recession Proof Your Business

We’ve all seen the headlines, and some of us have already felt it. A recession is looming. The R word can send chills down a business owner’s, and even employees’, spine. Luckily, there’s good news. We know how to beat a recession. On top of that, we know how to make your company beat your competitors in a recession. Here’s how:

First, a company should see a recession as an opportunity to beat your competition, not to run and hide. For instance, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut took advantage of McDonald’s choosing to drop their advertising budget during the 1990-91 recession. The result was Pizza Hut growing 61%, Taco Bell 40% and McDonald’s declined 28%. Pretty astonishing numbers, right!?

Second, a recession is a great time to trim the extra fat and lower your recurring overhead. Payroll is the largest recurring line item cost for each business, and if things slow down during a recession, you could be stuck with an uncomfortable amount of payroll. At the same time, those large agencies that you have been using for your campaigns and technical aspects of marketing, charge huge numbers based on their large overhead. This is where smaller, more nimble agencies, such as Spectruss, have an upper hand. Not only do we thrive in the digital realm, but we also have all of the capabilities in-house to act as your entire marketing department. This lowers your costs, and allows you to easily scale up or down with us, even on a month-to-month basis. 

Third, have a team that is constantly watching the data. There will be a lot of opportunity that will open up during a recession, including areas of advertising with less saturation, lower costs per click, and adjusted sales pitches that really resonate. Having the ability to track all of this data, monitor it daily and adjust in real time will produce the largest return on your investment. 

Attacking advertising and marketing with a digital first approach has helped Spectruss grow over the last 8+ years. We have grown to bring all technical aspects of marketing and advertising in-house, thus strengthening the client’s brand identity and lowering their overall cost. We can either act as your out-of-house marketing department taking lead from your in-house CMO, or even help you build strategy as your Virtual CMO. In short, Spectruss makes your business recession proof. 

Give us a shout today to setup a free consultation with Founder Sam Silvey.