A New Outlook For 2018
We interrupt our regularly scheduled series to discuss a new year, hopefully on full of marketing innovation and interaction among the many great brands that make up our city.
As of recent, we have seen the "Wild West" of the internet transform with the FCC and their decision regarding net neutrality. While others have already written in favor or against these rulings, this post will be a discussion of a new outlook on 2018 that might convince us of the ways local business ought to operate in the digital marketing realm.
For those of us who have made a living in digital marketing, of all kinds, white hat and black hat, and those caught in between, now is a defining time. Some SEO and marketing types really define the above meme, but now is a time for us to band together instead of hoping that others will fall victim to failure or become outdated by the newest Google algorithm. The Wild West of the Internet served many and made them money, however there's more to earning a thriving business than simply knowing the latest tips and tricks. Just see the recent arrest of the man posing as the Nigerian Prince. Sooner or later these ancient SEO techniques will go belly up. We should want all t the true innovators can rise to the top.
The playing field should be as level as possible and the FCC has left us no choice but to work together in lieu of what they see fit.
So here's a couple of ways we can start getting along this next year:
Holiday Business Hours!
Let's say I was trying to drive to over to Wyoming to visit one of my favorite breweries for the New Year (let's just pretend (but seriously this happened)). Whomever is running their Google business account has been ignoring their hours updates for the holidays. This means that when I search for the business in questions hours for the holiday, I simply get something like this;
The hours may differ message means that someone hasn't updated the hours for the specific holiday. This is pretty important long-hanging fruit for the average marketer to overlook, but is increasingly important in the smart phone age.
Social Media's Value
This is becoming an increasingly important way for business to interact. I predict the more sales will move toward simple Facebook, Twitter, or Forum interaction than ever before. Although it is difficult to predict just how expensive Adwords, or Facebook ads may become in the new year, we can rely on the online interactions of brands to judge their helpfulness and reliability. We can only implore other business's in the Treasure Valley to extend customer service to the World Wide Web.
Here's a cheers to the new year, and a resolution from us here at Off The Vine: We'd like to use this space to further educate and share with our fellow marketers in Boise, Idaho or wherever you may be!
