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Four trends that will impact your brand
Ever wish you had a crystal ball to know how to position your business
for the future? Here are four trends from MarketingProfs
that impact your brand's future.
Customers are creators. "Customization"
has long been a buzzword on the Web, where Nike.com allows consumers
to construct their own shoes and view them from five angles. How
can you allow your customers to have more control over their experience
of your brand?
Everyone's a cynic. People are very cynical about
brand promises. Deliver on yours consistently to build trust. Use
third-party testimonials to build credibility.
Don't waste time. A variety of polls show that
people value time more than money. Your brand will thrive when it
allows customers to get what they want, when they want it. Bonus
points if you help customers save time.
360† channel experience. Media are converging.
Phone, TV, web, and radio are morphing into a seamless information
system where customers can interact with your brand anytime, anywhere.
Prep for the future like JC Penney: Enter your zip code on jcpenney.com
and download coupons for your local store; browse a catalogue in
print or online; purchase or return any item through any channel.
Businesses who still think of their website as separate from their
print campaigns or who haven't considered a wireless future are
already falling behind.
Want web traffic? Keep it fresh
Many businesses are rightly concerned with ranking high in search
engine results for keywords related to their offerings. But too
many businesses think that if they just build a website, high rankings
will come.
Over 100 factors influence how Google decides to rank your site;
fresh content is near the top. The "googlebot" is a program
that automatically spiders your website on a regular basis, noting
what pages are included and what topics they cover. It then updates
Google's database of over 8 billion web pages.
But guess what? The googlebot also notes how old your pages are,
how frequently they're changed, and how frequently you add new pages
or content. If the refresh rate is slow, the googlebot visits your
site less frequently, and your rankings can drop.
The googlebot loves sites that serve fresh, relevant content.
At the very least, your site should stay up-to-date with regular
simple press releases, product update announcements, or coupons
and specials. Even 15 minutes once a month to update your site will
help keep it fresh and in the googlebot's sights.
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