Last winter, our Quarterly Vertical Webinar Series featured guest speakers, case studies and research on profound ways a Health Care organization’s website can drive Patient Activation. The Vertical Webinar series educates audiences on ways your organization can assimilate to an increasingly Digital World, tailoring specific information on common industry needs and context.

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On April 3oth, at 2:00 pm, we’ll broadcast our latest webinar, “Guilty By Association: Five Mistakes Associations Make While Developing Their Digital Strategy,” focusing on what types of digital strategies marketers in the Association Industry can adopt to improve Member Relationship Management (MRM).

As a primer, or an appetizer if you will, we’ve decided to preview three of the mistakes, right here, on the Bridgeline Blog. You’re about to be a smarter person than you were 10 minutes ago. Get excited.

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Mistake: Using Association Management Software (AMS) that doesn’t play nicely with third-party tools.

One of the vital conclusions of the Lehman Associates annual industry study report, entitled ”Association Management Software Use and Satisfaction“, was about something that haunts every digital strategy: Synergy between solutions.

An excerpt from the report:

Associations are adopting third-party applications to take advantage of new engagement models and to tap into specialized capabilities. This is evident in new areas such as social media and mobile services as well as enhanced capabilities for email marketing and communications, meeting management and registration, e-learning, and others. AMS providers build into their products many of these capabilities but may offer fewer options than dedicated third-party applications and are likely to upgrade them less frequently. They do have a potential advantage of automatic integration with the other functions of the AMS, but surprisingly, some are not well integrated within the vendors AMS platform.

Look, technology moves fast, often leaving organizations always playing catch up. That’s no secret. And an AMS is a system that provides Associations with basic database features to run its operations, such as member services, dues, event management, and fundraising. It’s critical software for Associations to properly harness to develop a marketing strategy, yet according to surveys from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), 24% of Associations implemented their AMS over 10 years ago.

We can say here, with general confidence, that any technology dated 10 years is either obsolete or on the brink of it. Fear not, according to that same survey, 4 out of 10 Associations are currently shopping for a new AMS. It’s important, however, to choose an AMS that can work concurrently with the rest of the tools arming your digital marketing strategy. Integration is between technologies is key.

Solution: In our Webinar, we’ll discuss paramount technologies necessary to augment a good AMS solution in order to take your Association to new heights.

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Mistake: Ignoring the use of Smart Devices in the marketplace.

LIONS! AND TIGERS! AND BEARS! OH MY!!! …. In 2013, it’s more like: TABLETS! AND SMART PHONES!! AND PCS! OH MY!!!

We’ve written about and covered the Mobile Revolution at an unhealthy obsession. Almost enough so that you could make the case we’re spearheading the movement. To review: an eBook, Infographic, and, oh yeah above is our video that we just produced. Did we mention we have a video now? HEY GUYS! LOOK WE HAVE A VIDEO NOW TOO! Check it out. Pretty cool stuff.

Anyway, it’s not overkill when the startling statistics back up the amount of attention we’re giving it. If you’re digital strategy doesn’t involve mobile then you don’t really have a digital strategy. Get on board. Remember, 685.6million smartphones worldwide were sold in 2012 - 45% increase over 2011. People don’t hope you have a mobile friendly website, they expect it. In the study entitled, “What Users Want Most From Mobile Sites Today,” Google found 72% of consumers expect brands to have a mobile-friendly website.

According to the ASAE survey, despite these trends, 93% of organizations are spending more on websites than mobile.

Solution: Well, you already know, we’re big proponents of Responsive Design, but we’ll talk at great lengths of its importance as it pertains to MRM.

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Mistake: Discounting the Importance of an Effective SEO Strategy

If Content is King, great Search Engine Optimization strategy is both the keys and the road map to the village. It’s simple, Search Engine Optimization tactics bring visitors to your virtual doorstep. Awesome SEO won’t happen over night, it takes time to develop.

Solution: There’simply not enough space here to dive in but our latest Webinar will detail basic and advanced SEO techniques and tools to drive better search engine rank.

Interest piqued? We thought so. Find out more about these topics — and more!! — by registering for our latest webinar today.

Google is the most common way current and prospective patients find more information about your practice. Ask yourself the following question: Do you know what’s in the first page of your search results?

Not sure? Don’t think it’s a big deal? Consider this: Research shows that less than 10 percent of searchers look beyond the first page.

If you’re not ranking well enough to appear on these results, don’ t worry — we’re here to help!

Software Advice, a firm that reviews medical software and provides business advice for physicians on their profitable practice blog, recently published an article on how physicians can improve rank. Here are a few of their tips to consider when developing an online reputation management strategy to help own the first page of Google:

1. Find Blog Topics – Blogging helps your search ranking immensely. Blog posts should be compelling and well-written. The first step is finding content that people want to read. Since a physician’s audience is typically made up of current and potential patients, the content should be engaging, educational, and most importantly, easy to understand.

Think of your blog as that same conversation you have with a patient during a preliminary check-up. Maybe start by blogging about frequently asked questions or the best preventative measures for patients.

2. Edit Your Work – Google can penalize a website for poorly written content. No matter how good you are at writing, have a second set of eyes look over your work to ensure the ideas make sense and are easy to understand.

Ask a colleague who is familiar with the material to edit the content, and then someone else who’s unfamiliar with the subject for a second perspective. This ensures you’re getting your point across both from a perspective of authority, but also catering to visitors who may not understand the complexities of the medical field.

3. Avoid Repetition – People do not want to keep reading the same things, so keep the topics focused but specific to the different areas of healthcare you offer services for. Also, if you are listed on different websites, write a different bio for each one and focus on what you do for each organization.

4. Share Your Content – Spread the word about your new content. When you first begin writing, be sure to promote your content to individuals that will enjoy it. Additionally, ask friends, family, patients and colleagues to share your work with their connections and social media channels.  The more content you produce and the more regularly you send it out, the easier it will be to build a following.

5. Ask Others to Share Your Content – When others link to your content, it’s like a high-five in the eyes of Google. Ask affiliates, medical associations, colleagues and other credible sources to link to your material. It will further demonstrate authority to Google and will assist in building a larger following for others to read your material.

6. Be Relevant and Avoid Spam - Share your content on websites that are relevant to your material. If a website seems “spammy” and you suspect its owners are participating in suspicious activity, stay clear of that website. A mention on a relevant website, such as a top association in your specialty, will increase your credibility in the eyes of both readers and Google.

Building your online reputation is an ongoing process. But if you take action with these tips, you will begin to see improvements. Monitor your progress and check your Google searches weekly. By taking control of what people see about you online, you are securing your success for the new year and beyond.

We’ve already previewed our killer eBook, “7 Reasons to Consider Responsive Design for Your Company’s Next Generation Website,” on the blog last month. But guys, mobile is VITAL to your eCommerce success: A recent study showed that 20% of all eCommerce traffic came from a mobile device. Time to get on board!

And hey, because we understand everyone learns differently, we put together this fantastic Infographic with selected highlights from the eBook. Consider yourself visually stimulized! Enjoy!

To learn more about Responsive Design download the FREE eBook and visit our website to find out how we can help you take your web presence into the mobile era.

After three days of breakout sessions and round tables at the International Franchise Association (IFA) convention, it became very apparent that social media and web marketing are still hot topics in the franchise world. Most industries value these facets too, but, unlike healthcare or high tech verticals, a company isn’t turning over its branding and messaging like a franchise concept does.

The brand promise is the most critical component to the success of a franchisor and franchisee, which is why so much focus is put on brand compliance. Whether the handbook calls for uniform standards, signage requirements, or logo usage, it is all very clear: present your brand in a consistent way that continues to deliver on the expectations that have been set for the customer.

It’s all about the franchise brand promise.

But what is it about online marketing that makes it so hard to deliver on the brand promise and attract eyeballs? Isn’t it just another marketing channel? From session to session, it seems that, despite online marketing as mainstream channel for more than 15 years now, franchisors have not put the same effort into online brand compliance as they do elsewhere. This leads to some franchisees “going rogue” and starting their own online presence.

In some ways this is good. You want owners taking control of their local marketing efforts to connect with their customers. But in other ways the initiative can go awry in a hurry. Owners task their 15-year-old kid to build them a website which does not resemble anything close to brand standards (yikes!).

Look, at the end of the day, online marketing needs the same amount of oversight given to other marketing channels. The difference now is that a franchisor can truly empower owners with the tools to make their franchisees successful, whether they do the work or not.

Without further ado, here are some best practices for helping franchisees get found online and converting web traffic into customers.

1. Take Ownership of the Brand – Some brands allow franchisees to have their own social media presences. This is fine, but those brands need to have admin rights to the accounts. If your franchisee won’t allow that, you can have the account shut down for trademark infringement. Don’t allow someone to damage your brand.
2. Market Locally – More than 50% of searches occur from mobile devices and a third of all searches have local qualifiers. This means that your franchisees web listings need to show up for relevant searches, and not the brand’s homepage. In an effort to effectively move visitors through the funnel of search to engagement to customer, the digital experience must eliminate all the hurdles. Sending someone to a location finder instead of the proper local listing is asking for them to essentially search again. Local search optimization goes a long way in helping get your potential customers moving towards a purchase.
3. Control the Experience – Just as local search needs to drive site visitors to the right location, it also has to deliver the best user experience. The debate about mobile-optimized sites is long dead. Today websites need to deliver high usability, whether they are being accessed on a full size screen, tablet, or mobile device. Responsive design is the best option to meet these standards, as it allows flexibility between devices with forward reaching upgrade capabilities.
4. Leverage Your Authority – To paraphrase Lincoln, “A house divided against itself cannot be found”. If every franchisee has their own URL, then none of them will benefit from the combined SEO authority of the brand. Inbound links are the primary factor determining a URL’s relative “search authority”. If all the inbound links are directed to one URL, for your brand, while each franchisee has a section of the website, everyone wins.
5. Empower Your Franchisees – Once your brand compliance is in place, give franchisees the ability to update and expand their location listings with a content management system. Whether it’s special hours or a focus on a particular service or offering, don’t force your franchisees to have cookie cutter web listings. They have the ability to promote locally through other channels, allow them the same opportunity on the biggest channel of that exists … The Internet.

Don’t be scared of the Internet for marketing – embrace it. With the way that web search is becoming the first tool that many consumers use to find products and services, it is critical that your franchisees have a chance to get found. Instead of telling them no, give franchise owners the tools they need to be succesful.

Look, we talk about trends, what to do in order to prepare, technology to consider, technology to dismiss — all of it, really. There is no bigger trend than mobile devices ascent in the marketplace — absolutely none — and as a marketer in the digital age, you need to consider how to deal with mCommerce’s impact on your business.

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We concede there is no magic bullet, but our latest eBook, “7 Reasons to Consider Responsive Design for Your Company’s Next Generation Website,” uses in depth statistics, research data, and insights from prestigious names in the enterprise Content Management System space to explore the advantages of Responsive Design, a mobile-friendly approach which enables websites to detect the size of a visitor’s viewing screen and trigger content to automatically adjust to fit the screen accordingly.

So, indulge us a tad, and let’s briefly discuss seven reasons why you should download this FREE eBook. (Get it? Because the eBook gives seven reasons to consider responsive design? Good? Good.)

1. Get Smart

OK, OK — we concede “Knowledge is power” is a hackneyed, overused axiom, but it’s also extremely profound. You can agree or disagree with the premise but hey, numbers don’t lie (excuse the cliches – it’s Monday morning, just go with it), and there are plenty of statistics from studies and surveys and reported commerce results that state mobile’s case for itself.

2. The Mobile Revolution Is Real

According to Business insider, manufacturers shipped 685.6 million smartphones worldwide in 2012 (over 45% increase from 2011′s shipments). This was fueled, in large part, by a strong fourth quarter that saw 218.3 million shipments (up 46% in that same period in 2011). Meanwhile, by comparison, manufacturers in the floundering personal computer market shipped roughly 90 million PCs in the fourth quarter, a 6 percent decline in PC unit shipments compared to the same quarter a year prior. For the first time in over a decade, PC sales were lower than the previous year

3. Yeah, guys — We’re not kidding, It’s Real & A Major Part of eCommerce

The numbers about the growth of smart devices in the marketplace are astonishing. There’s not arguing that, but you care about the transactional nature of the technology. Consumers are using smart phones and tablets to make purchases. According to Bank of America, retail revenue from mobile commerce in European and U.S. markets jumped from $15 billion in 2011 to nearly $26 billion in 2012 (71% increase). That number is expected to reach $67 billion by 2015.

4. They Said It … Not Us

Business Insider, Bank of America, Mashable, Gartner, Google — the list goes on and on (and on). We provide editorial guidance and a narrative, but you’re getting the information about the Mobile Takeover and Responsive Design from industry experts and trusted names.

5. eCommerce is Essential

Future-proofing your web properties is always ideal. And listen, you’ve been hearing about the significance of eCommerce since like, what, 1998? eCommerce matters, and mobile is just as paramount to your business success. Mobile has to be considered as part of your long-term needs.

6.  Take Action — We Can Help

Yes, we do Responsive Design. And we do it well, ask Triumph Motorcycles.

7. It’s Free! No cost! Hey Did We Mention It’s Free!

The only cost to this piece is your time. And honestly, plowing through the material won’t even cost you much of that, either. The eBook itself informative and prolific in its research, but ultimately an easy, concise read; featuring digestible graphics to help understand and remember statistics.

Any franchise that can’t be found on Google doesn’t exist.

Or so it seems.  When was the last time you’ve seen someone pick up the giant Yellow Pages book?  If your customers can’t find you via their mobile phone while on the go or in a few seconds from their home computer, then they will wind up at your competitor’s front door.

For franchisees, the need for a solid location based marketing strategy is a must for three huge reasons.

1. Local results always appear first.

Go ahead and type your favorite local business into a Google search.  What do you find?  Chances are, the first thing you’ll see that business’s nearest location (along with address and phone number) at the top of the screen. When your potential customer is performing a search, Google will always take a look at their IP address and return the most relevant results based on their location FIRST.  The first position on Google can result in an uptick in traffic that can be as high as 30-40%.  If you’re a franchisee that’s catering to a local community or operating in a competitive market, then that boost can mean big things for your bottom line.  So, those few minutes spent to create an accurate Google Plus listing will be well worth it almost immediately.

2. Word of mouth (even online) reigns supreme.

Word of mouth recommendations go a long way when it comes to increasing foot traffic at your franchise – word of mouth recommendations online are just as important.  Let’s say your potential customer is new to your city and searching for a great place to eat near the office.  Those local restaurants with online listings and a number of positive reviews will not only get listed first in Google, but they will definitely encourage that potential customer to walk through the door.   Let your customers know you’re on Yelp and Google with signage at your location or mention it on your sales receipts.  You’d be surprised how just a few rave reviews on the web can translate into new faces in your store.

3. Ensure consistency for your brand.

Even if you have just one franchise location, chances are you’ll have several different local listings out there on the web – from Google, to Yahoo!, to Bing and others. Are you listed on one as “Joe’s Café” and in another as “Joe’s Café and Catering”? You’ll also want to ensure your keywords are consistent across all pages so that you continue to hammer home for the search engines what keywords belong with your brand.   As always, be sure to check your spelling in your listings, and check it again.  Details play a huge role when it comes to local marketing so you want to be certain that all of your business particulars are correct before you press the submit button.  

Having a killer local search strategy in place should be the first step for franchisees looking to drum up new business.  What has worked well in your local search strategy?

Want to learn more about how to take advantage of Local Search? Download our eBook, Optimizing for Local Search.

Sherri Starcher is a regular contributor to Franchwire,  the source for daily news, advice, and analysis from around the franchise world.   Sherri is recently relocated from the Philadelphia area, and a food lover and franchise aficionado.  Visit Franchwire.com, and for regular franchise updates follow Franchwire on Twitter .