Impact Issue 1

KEEP IT FRESH KEEP IT MOVING

INCREASE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE

COMMUNICATING WITH PURPOSE

PERFECTING YOUR ON-PAGE SEO

I M P A C T

Take your marketing to the

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IN THIS ISSUE Curiosity. You’ve got to wonder what Odell, the chocolate lab in the picture below, is thinking about that sunflower. What the heck is this? Can I eat it? Wow, there are so many! Do they bounce like my favorite ball? For sure Odell figured it out. After all, curiosity leads to discovery!

We’re all about discovery at VistaComm. Recently, we’ve been on a relentless mission to take our clients to the next level in their marketing efforts. It has become part of our culture now, and we’ve learned a lot. In this issue, we pass our knowledge on to you. You’ll want to share it, too, with your business associates.

On the following pages, there are tips and trends to make everyone’s marketing efforts easier and more effective.

This magazine is published by VistaComm, a marketing firm that helps businesses communicate better and grow faster. With smart and successful clients coast to coast, our objective is to provide you with a collection of the most profitable and best business practices.

So, what can you expect? How about a special editorial outline tool to organize your marketing strategies and tactics for the year? We’ve got it for you beginning on page 4. In addition, lots of great ideas for telling your company’s story both in print and online. Articles on effective websites, SEO and blogging, as well as dynamic photography, infographics and video will pique your interest, and inspire you to try new marketing tactics.

Topics have been selected from VistaComm’s extensive library of solutions and profit-based experiences.

Client names and testimonials are used only when permission is granted.

For more information, visit: www.VistaComm.com

Throughout this issue, you’ll find wonderful photography by our talented creative team. They’re ready to help you elevate your marketing to the next level, and to make sure all your tactics are working as hard as they can for you.

Please provide address change to: VistaComm 1401 North C Avenue Sioux Falls, SD 57104 605.977.2100

Are YOU curious yet? Well, don’t wait another minute—READ ON—and enjoy!

Published by VistaComm and its associates, all materials within this magazine are subject to copyrights owned by VistaComm. Any reproduction of all or part of any document found in this publication is expressly prohibited, unless VistaComm or the copyright owner of the material has expressly granted its prior written consent to so reproduce, retransmit or republish the material. All other rights reserved.

PHOTO: Katie Nold

©2018 VistaComm®• All Rights Reserved.

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IMPACT AGRI-INSIGHTS MAGAZINE ISSUE 1 2017

About Odell: He moved recently from his north central South Dakota home and his field of sunflowers to Utah for training in the Labs for Liberty program. When Odell is ready, he’ll be gifted as a service dog to a deserving United States war veteran.

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CONTENTS

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7

18 4

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26 KNOW WHAT TO SAY, WHEN. An editorial calendar to get you organized.

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6

FORMULATING THE RIGHT MESSAGE. Helpful tips to get you communicating with a purpose.

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KEEP ‘EM COMING BACK. Active website content speaks for itself.

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PLANNING A NEW WEBSITE? Tried and true tips to avoid design disaster.

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MAKE FREQUENCY YOUR FRIEND. Mastering the rules of the multi-channel approach.

CASE STUDY YOU’VE 20 AGOT TO READ.

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THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY. A visually dynamic lifestyle montage.

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COMMUNITY OUTREACH. . . . . . often results in customer loyalty.

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WATCH A VIDEO, OR READ A BLOCK OF COPY? NO CONTEST—put your information in motion.

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SPRUCE UP YOUR WEBSITE. And get ready for lots of web-savvy visitors.

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THERE IT IS AGAIN—SEO Make your website work hard for you.

Sioux Automation Center’s got it goin’ on.

FOR INFOGRAPHICS. 24 ATheVOTE brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text.

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YOUR ANSWER MAY BE: BLOGGING! A good traffic jam to have.

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PLANNING

By Nancy Schmidt VistaComm Content Director

THREE TOP REASONS YOU NEED AN EDITORIAL CALENDAR Marketing and communication in today’s world is more sophisticated and complicated than ever. With web-based ads, billboards, media advertisements, social media and so on, your customers are literally bombarded with messages throughout their day.

As a result, your business cannot afford to push out redundant, lackluster content because there are too many organizations competing for your customers’ attention. If customers lose interest in your message, they may stop paying attention to you entirely.

It’s clear: Content marketing is a powerful, progressive way to persuade and influence your target market, and it isn’t going away anytime soon.

Coming up with consistently fresh and compelling content can seem like a burden. However, with the right approach, you can generate meaningful, attention-worthy content. It all starts with one task—developing an editorial calendar.

WHAT IS AN EDITORIAL CALENDAR? An editorial calendar is a valuable resource that helps you visually organize all of your upcoming content in calendar 4

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form. It ensures that your content is getting written and released according to plan. Professional publishers have been using this practice for decades, so this is not exactly a revolutionary idea. However, in today’s age of e-newsletters, blogs and social media, more businesses are publishing content and have a need for this organizing tool.

WHY DO YOU NEED AN EDITORIAL CALENDAR? REASON #1 Makes creating new content consistently seem more manageable.

Does your organization write a blog? Publish a newsletter?

Send out updates via email? Post on social media? Send out press releases? With all the new channels that exist to reach your audience, it has become more and more difficult to stay on top of everything.

Content marketing can be an overwhelming undertaking if you’re not well organized. That’s why editorial calendars are 605.977.2100

VistaComm worked closely with us to guide us step by step through our website creation and launch. And it functions so well with unique interactivity, a message center, automatic emails and everything we need to run an important part of our business—electronically!”

ABE SINES | Buyer/Logistics Coordinator Carbon Green BioEnergy | Lake Odessa, Mich.

such a valuable tool. They allow you to organize your upcoming content so the task of content management doesn’t seem so daunting.

REASON #2 Lets you strategically plan your content.

Just because your organization publishes lots of content on a regular basis doesn’t mean it’s working to grow your business. If you want to reach your goals, you must first realize that content marketing takes strategy. Pay close attention to your customers’ purchasing behavior (what they buy, when they buy it and why) and media preferences (print, digital, social, etc.). Use that information in your calendar to create and release fresh content at the most opportune times, ensuring that you are capitalizing on every opportunity to grow your business.

REASON #3 Helps you view your content in “big picture” format.

Editorial calendars give you a thousand-foot view of your content creation schedule. This allows you to define and control the way your organization creates and manages its content. That is particularly useful in assessing which channels/content get the best response—allowing you to constantly refine your content creation efforts so you can publish the best possible content through the most effective channels at just the right time.

By having your own editorial calendar, you will help ensure your marketing and communication efforts are well coordinated and that all departments are on the same page.

of businesses are using content marketing, but only 32% have a documented content strategy in place.

Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/09/b2b-content-marketing-research/

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COMMUNICATION CHANNELS THAT REQUIRE FRESH CONTENT Take these into consideration when creating your editorial calendar.

DIGITAL CHANNELS • Blog posts • Website content • Targeted email campaigns • Infographics • Video PRINT CHANNELS • Newsletters • Magazines • Direct mail campaigns • Press releases SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS • Facebook® • Twitter • Pinterest • LinkedIn™ • Google+

FOR MORE INFO Are you trying to coordinate your content and marketing efforts with your business goals? An editorial calendar helps you work smarter.

And VistaComm has just the resource tool to help you succeed.

Go to vistacomm.com/editorialcalendar for your complimentary Excel editorial calendar template.

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HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE WITH A PURPOSE? In today’s fast-paced business culture, how do you formulate the right message to send to the right people at the right time when your objective is to strengthen customer relationships and win new business? Help is here! Below, we present you with six foundational principles for communicating with a purpose.

1. HAVE A PLAN. What do you want your message to accomplish? Inform? Share an idea? Sell something? Persuade? Consider your end result. Have a vision, a goal, a purpose—and make sure you maintain that objective throughout your communication process.

2. CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE. Who are you talking to? What do you know about them? Think about age, gender, education, and profession. Where do they live? Next, determine their communication preferences—print, digital, electronic, social, or mobile. Don’t guess—ask!

3. BE CLEAR. Define your message up front, and then communicate it directly and concisely. Give your audience enough information so they understand, but avoid irrelevant data, unclear terminology, and repetition. Be clear at the start, and then maintain focus throughout your message.

4. MAKE IT REAL. Readers want to know, “What does this mean to me?” Make your communication relatable. Testimonials and case studies are invaluable in supporting your message. Tell about your customers’ challenges and provide solutions others can learn from.

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5. CREATE IMPACT.

6. KEEP IT FREQUENT.

Put visuals to work. Photography. Colors.

Graphics. Fonts. Infographics. Even white space.

Maintain high quality and relevancy to your message. Strong copy supported by strong visuals makes the biggest impact.

Send your message often, so your audience remembers you. When they’re seeking products and services you provide, be the first one they think of. Repeat your message through direct mail, website and print ads. Get in front of your audience regularly.

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CONTENT

By David Vanden Hull VistaComm Director of Sales and Inbound Marketing

KEEP IT FRESH. KEEP IT MOVING. VISTACOMM.COM

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KEEP IT FRESH, KEEP IT MOVING. There’s no denying—content marketing is here to stay! A recent survey conducted by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs generated 5,000+ responses from marketers in 25 industries in 109 countries. Of these respondents, 48% said they have a content marketing strategy.

These marketers know their audience and what will get them to read online content—blogs, web pages, social messages, etc., all optimized for search engines using keywords that trigger the search. Their ultimate goal? To generate new business by creating content the reader actually wants to consume when he wants to consume it, as opposed to interrupting the consumer as ads, emails or cold-calling often do.

Smart marketers are attracting readers with interesting articles, helpful tools and relevant information. The result? Readers are “following” them online. Soon after, they become leads. And ultimately, they become new customers. This steady traffic makes fresh, active content on their websites not only good, but critical.

Active content speaks for itself. It’s new stuff—recently added, changed, fresh. And why is this so important to the success of your business? If you keep your audience coming back to your website for more educational and inspiring content, they can learn more about you and what you offer.

94%

LinkedIn

87%

Twitter

84%

Facebook

74%

YouTube

62%

Google+ SlideShare Instagram

37%

29%

25%

Pinterest

INTERESTING:

94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content.

Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2016_B2B_Report_Final.pdf

FOR MORE INFO

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If you’re having a CONTENT CRISIS and need story ideas for your company publication or website, request a consultation from a VistaComm marketing expert to get you started.

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Content has been one of the most important reasons we have traffic to our website.

Our content works hard for us, thanks to VistaComm.”

RICHARD STINSON | Communications & Media Manager ProAg® | Amarillo, TX

Active website content is critical to your business because: IT HELPS DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE.

YOU WILL BE CONSIDERED AN EXPERT AUTHORITY.

Every time you post something new, it’s one more cue to search engines like Google that your site is active. In addition, the SHARE option grows your audience and traffic, too.

If they’re finding answers to their questions, they’ll think of you first.

They’ve come to know and trust you online. And when a sales opportunity arises, you’ve laid the groundwork for a great opening conversation.

FUN FACTS:

40% of U.S. companies use blogs for marketing.

Companies that blog have 55% more website visitors.

IT HELPS YOU GENERATE MORE LEADS FOR YOUR BUSINESS. A reader finds your site through a great blog you’ve posted. You propose more help or expertise through a free offer.

They click, fill out a form, send it and receive a free gift. Now YOU have their contact information!

YOU CAN POST PRODUCT RELEASES AND EVENT INFORMATION. Once you’ve built up traffic to your site, post product announcements, valuable promotions and event information, too.

After all, this constitutes new information and it stands a far better chance of getting seen where the traffic is.

GOOD TO KNOW:

Usage of visual infographics as a tactic is on the increase: 51% in 2014, to 67% in 2016.

YOUR CONTENT HAS A LONG-TERM EFFECT. You post a blog or a new piece of informational material one day and it lives—in fact, it builds, gathering more and more potential customers for you. What’s more, when you write something, you own it and can repurpose it in several ways for your own use.

WHO KNEW:

Americans are launching social apps an average of 17 times a day—or at least once every waking hour.

You know why you need to keep your website content current. Now, where do you turn to get the content? You can start with already-written information from your print or e-newsletter. Simply post these articles to your website’s blog or news section as new and relevant content.

Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2016_B2B_Report_Final.pdf

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WEB DESIGN

By Jamie O’Brien, VistaComm Vice President of Operations Burke Perry, VistaComm Senior Journalist

AVOID WEB DESIGN DISASTER

Developing a website design that’s both visually stunning and effective at meeting business objectives requires a productive collaboration between client and web design team, with both playing a vital role in the outcome. Here are ways you can improve this partnership to ensure a positive, effective outcome.

FOCUS ON PROBLEMS, NOT SOLUTIONS Yes, that sounds wrong. But, to get the most from your designer, that’s where your focus needs to be. For example, if you’re worried the color choices won’t sit well with your audience, tell your designer—along with the reason for your concern. Let the designer come up with a solution. Both you and your designer are then playing to your strengths—you are employing your knowledge of your audience, and your designer is utilizing creativity and knowledge of the medium.

53%

of website visits are abandoned if pages take longer than three seconds to load.* *DoubleClick by Google, 2016.

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REMEMBER: CENTER YOUR WEB DESIGN ON USER NEEDS AND BUSINESS OBJECTIVES Don’t get bogged down in design details. That’s the designer’s job. Instead, ask yourself two questions. How will users respond to this design? Will it meet my objectives?

ALWAYS ASK, “WHY?” When people tell you what they think of the design, always ask them why they feel the way they do. Why don’t they like the color? Why do they think the logo should be bigger?

Giving the designer more than “I just don’t like it” will help find the most appropriate solution.

RECOGNIZE YOUR PERSONAL BIAS We all have our opinion when it comes to design—a mental list of images, colors and combinations we like (or hate). At the end of the day, it’s not about whether you (or your boss) like the design. The question is, will the prospective user like it?

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ALWAYS TEST If you find yourself unsure about the design direction, test the design.

And if you love the way things are going, test the design. Testing is not time consuming or expensive. Plus, it will give you confidence—and hard evidence—that things are headed in the right direction.

IN THE DIGITAL WORLD, NOTHING IS PERMANENT Unlike print, your website can be changed at any time. If your site goes live and users don’t approve, it can be altered with relative ease.

RESIST THE URGE TO COPY There’s nothing wrong with checking out your competition. We encourage it—for inspiration. However, blindly following what other people do is usually a mistake. Design a site that reflects who you are, what you want to say, and how you plan to do business. Designing a “me-too” site just puts you behind.

CHOOSE YOUR DECISION-MAKERS WISELY

59% of consumers globally would rather engage with content that’s beautifully designed as opposed to simply designed even when short on time.*

Showing your design to too many people can muddy the decision-making process. Instead, keep the number of people involved to a select few, and make sure you thoroughly brief anyone viewing the design so they know the rationale behind what they’re seeing. One last tip: Canvas their opinions individually to avoid the dreaded “design by committee.”

FOR MORE INFO

*Adobe, 2017

If you’re looking for a talented web design team—someone to guide you through the process, look to VistaComm—it’s what we do! Contact David or Laurie at 605.977.2100.

3 CRITICAL TESTS FOR YOUR WEBSITE

By Emily Robinson, VistaComm Designer/Project Manager

1. DOES IT LOOK PROFESSIONAL? The average human attention span is now just eight seconds.

That’s how long your site has to make a first impression. So … does your website immediately come across as credible, trustworthy, inviting and solid?

2. DOES IT LOAD QUICKLY? A snazzy website design is worthless if it doesn’t load quickly. Bells and whistles can be a distraction and harm the site’s performance.

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Make sure flashy animation and video are absolutely necessary to communicate your message.

3. CAN A VISITOR FIND WHAT THEY’RE LOOKING FOR? Think of website navigation as a street map. Your visitor wants to know where to go next— it should be obvious. Keep navigation simple, make sure contact information appears on all pages, and add internal links in your text so readers can “jump” to more detail on other pages.

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COMMUNICATION

By Burke Perry VistaComm Senior Journalist

BE GOOD AND, ABOVE ALL, BE FREQUENT Hypothetically, let’s assume you represent a very reputable company with an excellent product to sell. You have a competitor, also a solid company, with a product that is (almost, of course) as good as yours. Bright and early one morning, you’re in the office of a top prospect pitching your product. The customer is interested, but not ready to make a decision that day. You thank them for their time, leave detailed material explaining your offering, and make a note in your calendar to follow up with another visit in exactly one month. Your competition also makes a visit on the same day.

One month passes and you return to close the deal. It’s a very short visit. Turns out the competition has been there every week since the initial visit—always with something of value to add to the initial proposal. “To be honest, we sort of forgot about you,” your prospect admits.

That’s the value of frequency.

The reality is, your product may be fantastic, your message may be golden, but you’ll lose the race if you’re not in front of your prospects (and your current customers) frequently.

FREQUENCY BUILDS BRANDS One VistaComm client who clearly understands this concept is ProAg®, a leading national insurance provider. Setting the ProAg brand apart from considerable competition in the insurance marketplace is a top priority for Richard Stinson, the company’s communications and media manager.

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“One of our major communication program goals is top-ofmind brand awareness,” Richard states. “When they think of insurance, we want them to think of ProAg. Message frequency is a key part of building that awareness.”

In Richard’s business, the product offered does not necessarily distinguish the company brand, because all Approved Insurance Providers—of which ProAg is one— offer, for the most part, the same government-approved insurance products. Consequently, the “product” ProAg actively promotes is their knowledgeable, experienced and service-focused people.

“We believe our sales force in the field, and the team supporting them in our offices, truly give us the edge,” Stinson stresses. “That’s the brand story we work hard to promote.”

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®

ProAg’s multi-channel communications system spans social media, direct mail, print and digital advertising.

In the Field Keeping Business Relational As an agent for ProAg®, your Account Representative (AR) is your main point of contact. Adding support to our ARs, by strengthening ties with existing agents and building new relationships, are your local ProAg business development managers (BDM). Many of you have also met and interacted with your regional BDM. At the very least, you know their voice and face. Here, we’d like to provide you with a few more details about these BDMs you may not have uncovered in your conversations. We’ll start with our own Western Region.

The past, present and future of agricultural risk management®

Paul Lassey

®

MULTI-CHANNEL APPROACH Frequency can be created in two ways—repeating the same strong message many times, and utilizing multiple channels so the same message is received in different ways. ProAg uses both to multiply message effectiveness and reach diverse audience segments.

“The two key aspects of a successful business—first gaining, then retaining, customers—present every market with different challenges,” Stinson notes. “New and potential customers first need to be made aware of your brand to build authenticity and excitement. But once customers are passionate about your brand, they have different needs. They don’t need to be sold to, but instead need to feel rewarded and a part of the brand. The only way to achieve these often conflicting marketing goals is to communicate frequently, and through different channels.”

To facilitate their communication goals, VistaComm works with ProAg to produce a versioned, quarterly print newsletter.

ProAg is also utilizing a second-generation SmartSiteSM website from VistaComm in concert with The Content HubSM. The website puts a sharp focus on current industry news and places ProAg’s active social media presence front and center.

The single common theme and key to success across all the platforms, according to Richard, is quality content created and sourced by VistaComm.

“Content for us has been one of the most important pieces of driving traffic to our website,” Stinson states. “The Content Hub allows us to pull from various content sources, so we’ve become the one-stop shop to learn about risk management and all the news associated with it. It’s easy for us to quickly send this news through our social media channels. Our content works hard for us.”

Are you speaking to your customers and prospects as frequently as you should be? Is your message consistent and properly targeted? Is your content current, and is it working as hard as it should be for you? The answer to all of these can be yes, and we would love to tell you how to get there. Contact VistaComm at 605.977.2100 or solutions@vistacomm.com.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Let Us Protect You

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FALL 2017

WESTERN REGION

Crop Insurance Comparison Guide

With 30 years of experience in the crop insurance business, Paul understands what it takes to do his job well.

“I’m accountable, customer focused and communicate well with people,” he states. “I instill trust in people, and enjoy working with agents, farmers and employees.”

He also appreciates the working environment at ProAg, where he has worked in various positions for the past eleven-plus years. “The atmosphere is generally upbeat, and there are good people here who actually care about what they’re doing and aren’t just in it for the paycheck,” he says. “I’ve loved working for Mike Connealy and Kendall Jones. As long as you do your job, they trust you and leave you to do it.”

Paul likes to spend his free time with Darcy, his wife of 35 years, and their three children. He is also active in his church.

®

The national scene

Steve Eaton and Rob Boysen are national BDMs for ProAg. After attending the University of Minnesota as an ag business major, Steve wrote his first crop hail policy in 1970. Since then he’s worked as an agent and at the AIP level.

“The many relationships I’ve been privileged to develop over the years are what I value most,” Steve notes. “Having the opportunity to work in agriculture is also a real plus.”

Steve and his wife, JoAnn, just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. “We’ve been blessed with three children and five grandchildren,” he says. “We like to travel, particularly one-on-one camping trips with the grandkids. My parents, who are in their 90s, are also active, and I appreciate time spent with them.”

Rob was working at Farm Credit Bank of Omaha when he made the connection with crop insurance. “The crop insurance group reported through me at the bank,” he recalls. “Through the years, I’ve worked in various aspects of the business, including helping a couple of now-successful agencies get into the crop insurance business.”

A graduate of Iowa State University, Rob has enjoyed working with agents and farmers throughout his career.

When he’s not in the office, he likes to ski and spend time with his wife of 40 years, Jacquie, their three children and two grandchildren.

ProAg is an equal opportunity provider. A member of the Tokio Marine HCC group of companies.

WWW.PROAG.COM

BASIC RULES OF MULTI-CHANNEL MASTERY RULE 1: NOT ALL CHANNELS ARE CREATED EQUAL. To reach a diverse set of demographics, you need to be on multiple channels. Your business base is diverse, and you need to be as well.

RULE 2: MATCH YOUR MESSAGE TO YOUR MEDIUM. Your brand story should be consistent, but your storytelling style will vary by channel.

RULE 3: TIMING IS EVERYTHING. Not everyone keeps your business hours.

Sometimes the best times to communicate are when others are quiet.

RULE 4: MODERATION, PLEASE. When you drink out of a hose, you don’t want it to be hooked up to a fire hydrant! This is particularly true with multi-channel communication. Some channels require a large volume of information to be heard, while other channels value smaller volumes of quality content. Know your brand, know your audience and know your channels.

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PHOTO: Jane Wooldridge

PHOTO: Maria Walz

PHOTO: Emily Robinson

PHOTO: Burke Perry

PHOTO: Katie Nold

PHOTO: Justin Brenner

PHOTO: David Vanden Hull

PHOTO: Talisa Wager

If you hear a piece of information, you’ll remember 10% of it 3 days later. Add a picture—you’ll remember

PHOTO: Eric Raasch PHOTO: Aaron Scott

Source: brainrules.net/vision

Always keep photos interesting and current—both in your print publications and on your website. Get a good DIGITAL CAMERA and keep it handy. Cell phones will not give you the quality you need.

Of course, action shots are always preferred over posed headshots. Consider a nice mix of indoor and outdoor shots. Always remember you’re after the GOOD story— in pictures, too.

6 TIPS FOR EYE-CATCHING PHOTOS

PHOTO: Jon Oppold

PHOTO: Connie Smith

65%

1. Fill the frame 2. Remove distracting elements.

3. Always focus on the eyes.

4. Watch the weather.

5. Shoot around sunrise or sunset.

6. Change your shooting angle.

VIDEO

By Jane Wooldridge VistaComm Journalist

PUT YOUR STORY IN MOTION!

Remember when you first saw someone watching video on a smartphone? It was a novelty—like something out of “The Jetsons.” Now, less than 10 years later, we’re watching video on phones, tablets and even watches.

And it’s not just video entertainment. Be sure to read the Siouxland Ethanol case study on pages 22-23 to learn how video was such a powerful element in their website design. Clearly, it’s time to expand and enhance your marketing plan to incorporate the use of video.

6 WAYS TO USE VIDEO IN MARKETING COMMUNICATION

I found the folks at VistaComm great to work with in building americanethanolracing. com! Our NASCAR story can only be told appropriately through effective visual communication and VistaComm delivered— actually over-delivered.”

RYAN WELSH | Director of Sales & Marketing Growth Energy | Washington, DC

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1. Corporate video.

Video is a great way to showcase your company’s vision and purpose to potential customers and employees, connecting them to your brand.

4. Customer testimonials.

Record a customer sharing good results from your products or services. Have the customer focus on the product’s features and benefits that make his life easier.

2. Product or service demo.

This works particularly well for products or services that are hard to explain. A video can make the point faster than a long article about the topic.

5. Promotions and incentives.

Video is a great way to feature limited offers and specials. Post on your website or Facebook page, or share via email.

3. Safety guidelines or demos.

Video is the perfect way to “show and tell” your customers about product assembly and maintenance, as well as safe usage of the goods you are selling.

6. Events and community involvement.

Showcase your company’s community support with videos of scholarship presentations or school activity sponsorships.

evie o r step step pro ess to elp o reate o r first video Contact David, Laurie or Maria at 605.977.2100.

605.977.2100

Elevate your marketing.

Tell your story. Engage your audience. Build your brand.

Brand Development and Strategy • • • •

Discovery and assessment sessions Brand development and design Strategic planning Corporate goal setting

Content • • • • • • •

Newsletters (print & digital) Magazines Visuals: photo journalism, infographics Web and blog content Video Corporate communications Ag newsroom services

Creative • • • • • • •

Logo/brand development Direct mail marketing Advertising Sales literature Annual reports Corporate communication materials Commemorative/special publications

Digital, Web & Mobile Solutions • • • • • •

Since 1997 vistacomm.com | 605.977.2100

Web design Website/conversion optimization Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Heat mapping Pay-Per-Click (PPC)/Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Social media management

SEO

PERFECTING ON-PAGE

By Maria Walz VistaComm CEO

When you sit down at your computer to find information on a particular topic, you go to one of many search engines—Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.—and type into a box words or phrases you hope will connect you to the information you want. You receive particular results because they relate to the words you typed in that box.

These keywords took you to the information you were looking for.

WHY KEYWORDS ARE IMPORTANT TO YOUR BUSINESS Now, let’s take a different direction. You are no longer searching. Instead, your company—or what you offer— is being searched for. It’s very important to your business success that searchers can find you. By using the right keywords in your website content, you ensure that potential customers connect with you when they start looking. It’s that simple.

81%

of people perform some type of online search before making a major purchase.* *Pat Ahern, JUNTO, 2017

There are advantages to being a franchise, but when it comes to getting the most out of my website, I need LOCAL resources! From day one, the VistaComm digital team educated me about SEO, web analytics, heat mapping and more—in a language I could understand and appreciate. I’m really looking forward to a steady stream of new customers from website leads that are solid and more regulated throughout the month.

KACIE CAWTHORNE | Office Manager/Marketing One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning®, Harrisburg, SD

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TO OPTIMIZE MEANS TO IMPROVE, ENHANCE, ELEVATE OR BOOST Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is becoming a little clearer now, right? It’s simply using the BEST keywords in the RIGHT PLACES so search engines will automatically move your site to the top of the list, so the online user will click you first! You’re optimizing—and here are 10 easy and practical on-page SEO rules to follow: Choose a rich, target keyword.

Use a short URL, one that includes your target keyword.

Start your title with your keyword.

Add modifiers—best, valuable, top—to your target keyword.

Use header tags and include your target keyword in at least one of your subheads.

6. Use outbound links to related pages on other websites.

7. Insert 2-3 internal links to other areas of your website.

8. Increase your page speed—visitors don’t like to wait.

9. Keep content short and engaging.

10. Use video, great images and infographics to engage the visitor and increase the time they spend on your site.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

In 2018, the average firm is expected to allocate

41%

of their marketing budget to online. This rate is expected to grow to 45% by 2020. Search engine marketing will capture the largest share of online spend with online display (banner ads, online video, etc.) taking the second largest share.*

*https://www.webstrategiesinc.com/blog/howmuch-budget-for-online-marketing-in-2014

FOR MORE INFO Want to read more about this topic and others related to growing your business online? Visit VistaComm.com/Optimize to get your personal copy of our e-book — Website Know-How: Grow Your Business with a Hard-Working Website.

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CASE STUDY

ANALYTICS

By Laurie Hoffman VistaComm Vice President of Client Services

From a GOOD GUESS to

MEASURABLE RESULTS A Digital Marketing Case Study

THE CLIENT Established in 1961, Sioux Automation Center, Inc. (SAC), is based in Sioux Center, Iowa. They are a global leader in equipment manufacturing.

THE SITUATION When conversations began between SAC and VistaComm, SAC was spending a substantial amount of money on digital marketing and getting no usable reporting, feedback or conversion details. In fact, they had a number of legitimate questions about what they should expect from their digital marketing dollars.

THE PROCESS VistaComm’s digital marketing specialists demonstrated the value of services that could help SAC improve results, track with greater detail and contribute conversions to specific keywords used in their marketing content.

1,757 LEADS

1500

1,267

The solution for SAC involved several important steps, the most impactful being: • Properly configured analytics • Reconstruction of Google AdWords™ with call and conversion tracking • Systematic recording of live visitor behaviors, with the goal of reducing the number of clicks required to access information

THE RESULTS SAC can now effectively manage and track goals and objectives, making better use of advertising dollars.

So, how do the numbers look? In the first four weeks following revisions, SAC tracked 397 responses in the form of phone calls, submitted forms or website visits of five minutes or more. Responses continued to increase through week 16, totaling 1,757 new leads.

397

0

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1 wk

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THE SOLUTION

And SAC’s partnership with VistaComm doesn’t stop there. Monthly review sessions are held to discuss outcomes and manage SAC’s digital marketing strategy based on conversions and actual data.

1000

500

To assist SAC decision makers in better understanding a complicated topic, scenarios from SAC’s own existing website were used via screen share techniques to demonstrate. These scenarios were supported by a wealth of analytical information.

2 wks

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4 wks

10 wks

16 wks

605.977.2100

MAYBE YOU SHOULD BUY A BASEBALL TEAM

By Jane Woolridge VistaComm Journalist

CUSTOMER LOYALTY = COMMUNITY OUTREACH Well, maybe not BUY a team, but consider SPONSORING a local club. Think about it. Community involvement has always been a cornerstone of the successful business model. And now, with the trend toward fewer large companies serving more communities, it’s important to establish a spirit of goodwill that stretches across your entire service area.

Here are some ways you can showcase your dedication to community involvement. Think about how you can extend community outreach activities to include any newly acquired businesses or locations. This will foster loyalty among your customers in these communities.

• Establish school education programs focusing on items such as safety or special tricks of your trade.

• If your business is retail, start a special promotion. For example, “1% Wednesday.” Your business donates 1% of its gross sales on a specific day or maybe a weekend each month to benefit a nonprofit organization. The beneficiary could rotate to include school organizations, food banks and other specific local needs.

• Make scholarships available to all high school students throughout your area.

• If you are a service organization and have several locations, invite customers to meet the employees and staff of your organization during lunch or an informal reception at your place of business. One company we know sets up a barbecue grill outside their store and hosts “Back-to-School Lunches” for camaraderie and convenience during the August shopping season.

FOR MORE INFO VISTACOMM.COM

• Support local student organizations in all area high schools.

• Sponsor local events such as parades, festivals and sporting events.

• Adopt a highway in your area.

As the trend toward business mergers continues, connecting with customers across a broad trade area will become a natural part of operations. By starting as soon as possible after restructuring, you can set the groundwork for positive communciation and acceptance from all your customers—old and new.

Want help communicating the details of a merger? Call VistaComm at 605.977.2100.

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ONLINE SOLUTIONS

By Darcy Maulsby VistaComm Staff Journalist

MODERNIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR

MAXIMUM IMPACT A Case Study

We’ve all seen business locations that desperately need a fresh coat of paint and spruced-up landscaping. You often try to avoid these places, right? Now, think about your website.

What impression does your digital storefront present? The management team and board of directors of Siouxland Ethanol in Jackson, Nebraska, recently took this question to heart with great results.

visual—began. As the journalist assigned to the project, I traveled to Siouxland Ethanol to interview key team members and gather information I later used to write content for the site.

THE CHALLENGE

Photography included portraits of the management team and board members, and a new angle, as well. At Siouxland Ethanol’s request, I boarded a chartered plane to shoot aerial photos of Siouxland Ethanol’s plant.

Presenting a modern, professional image online is important to Siouxland Ethanol, whose leaders want to connect with a diverse audience ranging from potential investors to lawmakers.

“We decided our website was outdated and not user-friendly for our customers and viewers,” said Nick Bowdish, president and CEO. “That’s when we turned to VistaComm.”

THE SOLUTION For starters, the VistaComm team listened to the Siouxland Ethanol team’s concerns and goals for their new site. After an in-depth planning session, we proposed solutions tailored to Siouxland Ethanol’s unique needs, including website design, content writing services, photography and creative marketing solutions.

Next, content development for the site—both written and

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To complement the images, Siouxland Ethanol wanted a few short, professionally-produced videos to help tell Siouxland Ethanol’s story and personalize the information. You can see for yourself how much these videos added to the company’s site. Go to VistaComm.com/siouxland-ethanol.

THE RESULTS From all the content I provided, the VistaComm technology team provided solutions to create just the website Siouxland Ethanol desired: • Modern, uncluttered design • Streamlined navigation • Easy-to-read fonts • Eye-catching photography • Professional-quality video • Responsive on all devices • Simple to update—internally

605.977.2100

Marketing made measurable

VistaComm grows your business with data-driven strategies that prove your marketing is working.

We can measure your success and you can measure ours!

VistaComm was very knowledgeable and full of great ideas to revamp our website. They also considered our wants and needs for the site.”

NICK BOWDISH | President & CEO Siouxland Ethanol LLC | Jackson, Neb.

What we do: • • • • •

Today’s web-savvy customers rely on companies’ online presence to give them an idea of what these businesses have to offer. As technology evolves, every website needs to be revamped periodically to make it more effective.

An outdated website isn’t just a minor hitch. It can make your company look unprofessional or unreliable. If it’s difficult to use, it can annoy your visitors, or even encourage potential customers to call your competitor instead.

Facebook marketing Google AdWords Remarketing Search engine optimization Conversion optimization

Actually, there isn’t enough room to list all the digital marketing services we provide.

Call today to set up a FREE consultation to learn exactly what VistaComm will do for you.

FOR MORE INFO Do you have a use for drone-produced videos or aerial imagery on your website? We can help! Call David, Laurie or Maria at 605.977.2100.

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vistacomm.com | 605.977.2100

INFOGRAPHICS

By Jane Wooldridge VistaComm Journalist

4 EASY TIPS FOR USING INFOGRAPHICS Simply put, using an infographic is a visual means of taking data or information, organizing it, and then making it visually appealing— often using graphs, visual elements and charts. This way, your reader does not have to plow through a mountain of text to get to your point.

Think of it as “visual shorthand”—allowing you to communicate complex information in a visual format that’s easy to follow. Here are four easy ways to make infographics work for you: 1. DITCH THE PARAGRAPHS. Try to make each point with one picture or one sentence. If your idea is too complicated to break down, consider making a series of infographics on the different facets of your subject.

3. USE ICONS TO TELL THE STORY. In place of words, use simple images to get your point across—with one icon per point.

4. THINK VISUALLY.

2. MAKE IT MOVE. Walk your reader through a story and show how things are connected.

Challenge yourself to communicate with visuals, not words.

If you’re intrigued by the idea of using more infographics in your communication, but don’t have a designer on staff, consider enlisting the help of VistaComm. Our designers can help bring your story to life.

1. Resource: hubspot.com/marketing/visual.

2. Resource: neomam.com/interactive.

3. Resource: Mind Tools, 1998.

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VistaComm delivered to Mark VII a high quality newsletter that represents our company well and meets our needs of wanting to keep our carwash owner/operators up-to-date on our most current products and services.�

LUKE SCHOENBECK | Marketing Communications Specialist Mark VII | Arvada, Colorado

The brain processes visual information 60,000 TIMES FASTER than the time it takes for the brain to decode text.1

Infographics are liked and shared on social media 3X more than any other type of content.1

Researchers found that COLORED VISUALS increase people’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80%.1

Content with relevant images gets 94% MORE VIEWS than content without relevant images.1

People following directions with text and illustrations do 323% BETTER than people following directions without illustrations.1

70% of all your sensory receptors are in your eyes.2

We can get the sense of a visual scene in 1/10 OF A SECOND.1

About 65% OF THE POPULATION are visual learners, and visual content can improve learning up to 400%.3

FOR MORE INFO VISTACOMM.COM

Learn more about infographics and other helpful marketing tools by following our BLOG at VistaComm.com.

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BLOGGING

By Justin Brenner VistaComm Digital Marketing Director

A TRAFFIC JAM

COULD BE A GOOD THING— ON YOUR WEBSITE Just make sure all that traffic is MOVING Research shows that when business owners are asked what they’d like most, they respond first: More customers. Following in close second: Drive more traffic to my website.

Both are closely related. Actually, the result of driving more traffic to your website is more customers—the number one “want.”

WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?

164 million blogs

There are 164 million blogs but 71% of these get fewer than 5,000 visitors per month*. What’s the problem?

The first step in marketing is to KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. Who are you talking to? What makes them tick? What do they care about? Who are their friends and business associates?

GIVE YOUR AUDIENCE “GOOD STUFF” Did you know that of the 164 million online blogs today, 71% get fewer than 5,000 visitors per month? The problem is CONTENT. If you’re not putting information out there that your audience cares about and wants to read, they’ll just click on by.

So, what’s good content? It’s news, data, statistics and facts that position you as an expert in your field—someone people want to buy from. It’s reliable information that generates online traffic, leads and sales. It’s the right content that readers want to share with their business associates. If you have all this, guess what happens next? Your website traffic grows because of all these new visitors. WIN!

* http://backlinko.com/increase-website-traffic, 2016 26

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Once you know your audience and the information they’re looking for, dive in and start creating great content that positions you as the expert. Here’s how: START BLOGGING AND NEVER STOP Blogging works. Wordstream.com recently ran an experiment and increased their blogging from twice per week to over 10 posts per week. The result was a 300% increase in traffic in just two months. Get EVERYONE at your company writing blogs and supplying content ideas.

VARY THE LENGTH AND FORMAT OF YOUR CONTENT

thing that’s new at your business. Email today must be targeted and relevant.

MAKE SURE YOUR SITE IS RESPONSIVE Today, mobile-friendly sites are a necessity.

Make sure your visitors can access your site from whatever device they’re holding in their hands.

RESEARCH YOUR COMPETITION

There’s no secret recipe for online content. Mix it up. Try different lengths and formats to appeal to different readers. Use video, infographics, news posts, graphs and data, shorter and longer pieces to keep your readers attentive and coming back.

Find out what people are reading (and talking about), and emulate that type of content. Software can give you an at-a-glance view of which content is most popular with readers. Find out what your competition is putting out there, too.

GRAB ‘EM WITH YOUR HEADLINES

MAKE SURE YOUR SITE IS FAST

Without a great headline, even the best blog post will go unread. Master the art of headline writing.

This cannot be emphasized enough. If your site takes forever to load, your reader will move on. The faster, the better. Technically optimize your site by checking image file sizes, structure of your pages and more.

OPTIMIZE, OPTIMIZE SEO is not dead. Optimizing your content for search engines is still valuable. Are you creating internal links to new content? Optimizing for on-page SEO doesn’t have to take a lot of time, and it could help boost traffic to your site. Another article on pages 18-19 outlines the importance of on-page SEO.

DON’T FORGET EMAIL Good ol’ email. Traditional, yes, but still powerful.

You might be surprised that even a simple email blast can cause an uptick in your traffic. Word of caution: Avoid relentless emails about every single

FOR MORE INFO

VISTACOMM.COM

EXAMINE YOUR ANALYTICS DATA Google Analytics is an invaluable source of data for any company with a website. And you really DO need it. Google Analytics will identify your most popular pages, visitor demographics, when and where your site traffic is coming from, and more.

Pay attention to what it’s telling you and make adjustments.

OK now, everyone in your company is BLOGGING! You need a way to keep all that wonderful content organized. Don’t forget to download VistaComm’s easy-to-use EDITORIAL CALENDAR at VistaComm.com/ editorial-calendar.

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1401 North C Avenue Sioux Falls, SD 57104 www.VistaComm.com

THINK PRINT MARKETING IS DEAD?

THINK AGAIN!

If anyone tells you print marketing is dead, don’t believe a word of it. Here’s the real story: Science is revealing that ink on paper creates a deeper impression in the human brain than something non-physical, like a digital message. A recent article in Target Marketing explains this phenomenon of “your brain on print.”

According to a study from the Center for Experimental Consumer Psychology at Bangor University in Wales, the physical nature of print elicits an emotional connection in people.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers found that content delivered in paper form is more stimulating than content delivered in virtual or digital form. Apparently, our brains perceive printed items as more genuine—and engaging.

The Data & Marketing Association (DMA) concurs that “print marketing is not dead,” but goes on to agree that print has declined in volume over the past 10 years. However, the DMA reveals, more marketers are adding mail to their array of integrated marketing tactics, because the engagement is growing as the mail clutter declines. Personalization and relevance is key, they say. ROI remains strong when direct mail is delivered to a well-targeted audience.

So what is the answer? The experts tend to agree: Marketers can increase their response rates when mailings are paired with digital intelligence—browsing behavior and sophisticated modeling based on preferences make print marketing extra timely and relevant.

Current research is proof that—in business—direct mail, including newsletters and magazines, is holding its own as a predominant means of communication.

Customer response rates (to print marketing) increased by an impressive 43% in 2017, but prospect response rates more than doubled—reporting an astounding 190% increase.* *Source The Data & Marketing Association

And there you have it! Mix your print and digital marketing tactics for your best return this year.