Phones aren’t just for calls anymore. People use them to find restaurants they are close to, search deals in their area, and keep up with friends.

We explore why more businesses should be using text message marketing as part of their marketing mix in our next webinar. The webinar is TOMORROW, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, at 3 p.m. CST. Register here to learn what businesses have been successful using text message marketing and how you can leverage it for your business or organization.

NOTE: Even if you don’t know if you can make it, get registered because we only make the recording available to registrants and 9 Clouds Academy members.

Photo: Gonzalo Baeza

Here are three ways to breathe some life into your Adwords campaigns.

Where did I get this advice? From a fishing lure, a cattle auction and Ernest Hemingway, naturally.

1. Bid smarter, not harder.

Bidding at a cattle auction can be intense, fast and often agressive. Google Adwords is not.

Cool your jets. This isn’t Ebay.

Of course Google wants your money, but they’re only going to take it if you’re being useful online. You can’t win at Adwords by throwing out huge bids. It just doesn’t work that way.

A great way to bid is to let Google do it for you. You can now set your bidding preferences for mobile, location and time of day. That means that you can reach the right people with the right ads by giving the right bid to show that ad.

For example, if you want to reach people searching on mobile devices, you can automatically adjust your bids for mobile-based searches by 20%. Want to bring people to your restaurant for dinner? Tell Google Adwords to raise your bids between 5 and 8 p.m. That guy who is two blocks away from your body shop Googling for a mechanic? Grab him with a geography-based bid adjustment.

Keep in mind that you’ll need some patience to see the results from these variable bids. It takes some volume to gain useful insights.

Whew! Still with me? Great. We’ve got two more to go!

2. Optimize for conversions. (Be useful.)

I’ve caught more northern pike with the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap™ (shown at right) than any other lure because it looks and behaves exactly like a real freshwater perch.

Just think about this for a sec: The Rat-L-Trap is just like a successful Adwords ad because:

1. It stands out
2. It entices
3. It encourages action
4. It’s relevant

For both fishing and Adwords, relevancy is important. Instead of jacking up your bids, crank up your quality scores by using relevant keywords, ad text and landing pages. These are your main lures. This doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen with a few tweaks to your ads.

To get more traffic through your adwords ad at a lower price, use a relevant landing page that contains your keyword in the page title, headline, HTML and body copy. A submission form (yay new leads!) and links to other useful pages are also a plus.

Make that landing page super useful. Google measures bounce rates, so they’ll know if someone is disappointed by what they find when they click on your ad. In the case of quality scores, it’s not only about the journey (relevant keywords), but the destination (relevant landing pages).

3. Spend some time on your ad copy. 

When you sit down to write your Google ads, spend some time to think before you write. It will improve your ad’s quality score.

Write your ad copy like Ernest Hemingway wrote this famous six-word story:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

This story would make a perfect Adwords ad because it’s short, it contains the topical keyword (baby shoes) and, above all, it engages the reader with a story.

Here are some ingredients for a compelling Google Ad:

• Your keyword (Let’s not lose focus here. This helps your quality score.)
• Concise text (Remember: Baby shoes.)
• A description (What exactly are you talking about?)
• A call to action (What will the viewer get by clicking?)

Bonus tip: Stick with it.

Google changes. It adds, subtracts and reinvents things on a daily basis, and Google Adwords is no exception.

Just in 2013, for example, Google has released 19 updates for the Adwords platform. Check out your Auction insights report. Your competition may not be taking advantage of those 19 updates. You can. 

Besides checking your account on a daily basis, make sure to visit adwords.blogspot.com to stay up-to-date with their announcements.

As for the really important changes to Google Adwords, expect to hear about them here at 9clouds.com/blog.

 Image credit:

Ernest Hemingway: Lloyd Arnold/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Rat-L-Trap™: Bill Lewis Lures, http://www.rat-l-trap.com/

Cattle auction: Eric S. Swist, yourhoustonnews.com

Abby began interning with us a year ago and we are excited that she has now joined us full-time as a Digital Marketing Specialist.

In her role, she will be working with our 9 Clouds Academy and supporting our data-driven marketing strategies for our clients. She is incredibly organized and has been an integral part of the team throughout her internship.

Raised in Larchwood, Iowa, Abby just graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in journalism, a specialization in advertising, and minors in business and marketing. She covered her bases! She also recently got married so has had a whirlwind first few weeks out of school.

Welcome her on Twitter (@AbbyTeunissen) or say hello at abby@9clouds.com.

It literally took me 20 minutes to walk from the entrance to the room where I spoke about Pinterest. All the way through the aisles after aisle of beautiful cards, paper, photos, envelopes, pens and more, I kept thinking: if you could see this, you would have to buy it.

Some products are that way. You can explain what a beautiful piece of stationery looks like, but for all the words and adjectives you conjure up, it just doesn’t compare with seeing it.

With that in mind, I spoke and was able to honestly tell the attendees, there is no social media network that is better for visual businesses than Pinterest. None.

Guide to Pinterest Whitepaper

Even more, the numbers back it up:

• Over 12 million active users are on Pinterest every month in the US
• 26% of Pinterest users click through to products
• 69% of clicks end up buying the product they looked at
• 28% of Pinterest users make more than $100,000 a year
• The average value of a Pinterest order is $179

With this enormous, active and well-to-do audience, there is no better place if your product or service can be visually represented. That’s why we’re excited to announce our Guide to Pinterest. The latest free whitepaper that helps you use Pinterest effectively.

We also wanted to share a few of our favorite tips to help you start using Pinterest effectively.

Pinterest for Business

To get started with Pinterest for Business, make sure that you have a business account. This will enable analytics for your page so you can see what is working for you. You can set up a business account or convert your current personal account to a business account at: http://business.pinterest.com

The Perfect Board

On Pinterest you put your images together on boards, which are like photo albums for your images. With your board you want to think about what your community is interested in. You want to be the place where they find information they’re interested in, both about your product but more importantly about other topics they would find interesting.

For example, if you are a stationery store, you might want to have a board about choosing a wedding venue or decorating for a birthday party. Any information that helps your audience and ideally helps them do the thing (such as a party) that necessitates them working with you.

The Perfect Pin

When Pinterest users click on your pin, you want them to see a large, beautiful photo of your product or service. There are a few easy tips to make this happen.

First, use tall images, at least 354 pixels tall. This ensures that on the Pinterest board your image will be vertical which means more people will see and click on it.

Second, use high quality images at least 728 pixels wide. This ensures that when someone clicks on your image it fills the screen and gives you the most high quality and large image possible.

Finally, add a price. Pins with a price are 36% more likely to receive a click than products without a pin.

Pinterest Presentation

For those of you who could not attend the National Stationery Show, I wanted to make sure you could have a copy of the presentation:

Personal Pinterest Support

We also recently hosted a webinar on Pinterest and provide personal consulting and support for businesses looking to use Pinterest. You can access the webinar and consulting as a member of the 9 Clouds Academy. Learn how you can improve your digital literacy with personal support and online resources as a member of the Academy.

Keep It Visual

I recently looked at the board of baby clothes and toys my wife and I made on Pinterest when we found out we were pregnant. We now own 80% of those items. The more your customers can see and virtually “own” your products and services, the more likely they will be to purchase from you.

Pinterest is the perfect platform for visual businesses to showcase their products and grow their customer base. So what are you waiting for? Start pinning!

Grab your free copy:

Although change can be hard, I think this one is going to be good for marketers.

Why? Not only will this change allow you to have more control over the look of your channel, it will also ensure your content looks its best on all kinds of screens.

Responsive Design – “Dress up once. Look good everywhere.”

At 9 Clouds, we believe mobile-responsive design will be mandatory for the success of online content. The importance of mobile design shouldn’t be a surprise for any marketer. In fact, there are now more mobile phones than toothbrushes in the world. The shift to One Channel will optimize your content for whatever screen-size the viewer is using. As more and more people do their web surfing on smaller screens, One Channel ensures your content will be at its best.

Greater Control – “Your content is a unique snowflake.”

Our most recent webinar on Pinterest instructed that all of your pins don’t have to be and shouldn’t be of your products or services. The same can now be said for your YouTube channel with the One Channel theme.

You can customize sections on your channel that feature your content but can also include other’s content. Feature videos from other creators that are relevant to your product or service. This will allow you to bring more personality to your YouTube channel.

Tailor Content By Subscriber Status – “Make your first impression count.”

The One Channel theme features a trailer video that only appears to non-subscribers. This will allow you to tailor a video to non-subscribers; really sell the value of your channel. Before subscribers and non-subscribers saw the same layout and videos. Now you’ll have a chance to turn those non-subscribers into fans with content just for them.

Hub and Spoke

One Channel has been in testing and private beta and YouTube says it’s noticed a 20% page view increase on channels that have already opted in. More page views, means more prospects coming into the top of your funnel.

Make sure your content has the ability to convert these prospects into leads. We often talk about the “hub and spoke” at 9 Clouds. YouTube is a spoke, so make sure your video descriptions link back to your website, which is your hub.

In addition, make sure your video content has clear calls to action. Even with this improved theme, if your content isn’t great and actionable, the theme won’t save it.

One Channel Webinar

Want to learn how to make the most of YouTube and the new One Channel theme? Register for our upcoming webinar. It’s this Friday, June 7, at 1 p.m. CST. We’ll talk about the shift to One Channel and get into more detail about what it means for marketers and examples of how you can make the most of it.

Register for our YouTube One Channel webinar today:

Sources:

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/17/youtube-one-channel-redesign/

http://www.youtube.com/onechannel#your-channel-is-unique

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/newswire/2013/march-2013–top-education—career-sites-and-u-s-web-brands.html

Photos:

webtreats

herinbc

Back then, I created my account, started following some friends, and then became instantly overwhelmed by the sheer visual volume of pins. I will probably never be able to bake all those delicious-looking pastries nor nail together that beautiful bench made of wooden pallets, but I admire the people who do take the time to pursue their pins.

Pinners are not only thrifty and crafty, they’re also shoppers. According to a recent report, twenty percent of Pinterest’s 12 million U.S. users have converted to buy something through a pin. That’s one in five!

In addition, this visual scrapbook-style site is second only to Facebook in referring people to websites.

But as any good entrepreneur, digital marketing pro, or business owner knows: traffic doesn’t matter unless people are buying. When businesses use it the right way, Pinterest converts. In fact, 69% of online consumers who visit Pinterest have found an item they’ve purchased (or wanted to purchase) as opposed to just 40% on Facebook. That’s two out of three.

So, then the question becomes: How do you get your followers to become customers? That’s exactly what we at 9 Clouds want to answer.

Register for our next webinar, How to Use Pinterest to Generate Leads and Sales Online. We’ll talk about using Pinterest to both refer potential customers to your website and convert them to sales. The webinar is scheduled for next Wednesday, May 22 at 1 p.m. CST.

Sources:

http://www.copyblogger.com/pinterest-2013/

http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/62189-stats-who-uses-pinterest-and-why-is-it-important-for-marketers

Photo: stevendepolo

But then what?

After the glow of an event, it’s easy to forget what you learned, avoid implementing the latest technology, and lose the inspiration during the day-to-day of the office.

At Big Omaha this year, or whatever your next conference may be, make a pact to change that. This is the conference that you will win! Here’s how:

Pre-Conference

1. Set a Realistic Goal

Before you can win, you have to know what you want to achieve. Make it realistic and quantifiable. I like to narrow in to the number of people I want to talk with and types of information I want to learn. This year for example, it’s meet three new people who could partner with our forthcoming 9 Clouds Academy and gain one new insight into leading our team and one new insight into launching a product.

Everything else is a bonus. I know I will meet many more people, but at the very least, I can go home knowing I met my goal and found value at the conference.

2. Know Who’s There

Before the event, find out who is attending and then decide who you most want to meet or speak with. You can search the Twitter hashtag to see who is talking about the conference before it starts. You can check Lanyrd to find out who’s registered. Better yet, the conference may have a pre-conference website with a list of attendees. In Big Omaha’s case, BigOmahWho connects you to the faces of your conference mates ahead of time.

3. Find the Gear, Apps and Story

You don’t want to be at the conference missing that essential cord or business card. Make sure you have what you need. Our checklist includes:

• Business cards – Old-school still works
• Up-to-date bios on your social media profiles
• A solid 10 second elevator pitch – Why do you do what you do?
• Mophie – An extra charge for your phone if your tweets start draining your battery
• CardMunch - Take a photo of the business cards you get and you’ll automatically connect to the contacts on LinkedIn. No more losing important business cards
• Dwolla - Send or receive money. If you find a new customer or just want to buy someone lunch, you can quickly do so from your phone
• A Twitter account and search for the conference hashtag

During the Conference

4. Welcome Serendipity

At the conference, it’s important to reach out your hand and say hello. Start conversations or join conversations whenever you can because the more people you talk to, the more likely you’ll run in to someone who can help your business.

When those conversations start, or when you find one of the people you wanted to talk with, focus on that. Sure you might miss part of a session or lunch, but that conversation is what matters. That is why you are here.

Better yet, if there is someone you really want to speak with and have some one-on-one time with, schedule a talk with them during a session. It will be quieter and easier to focus. Remember in my case I only have to learn a few things, so if I miss a session I can still win.

To encourage serendipity, make sure to grab a copy of the Big Omaha infographic from infographic design company Lemonly. That will help you identify trends and know who’s around you!

5. Ask How You Can Help

Most people won’t be customers, some might be partners, but everyone there knows someone who could be your customer or partner. Instead of looking at all the attendees as targets, ask people you speak with how you can help. You will build trust and most likely they’ll ask how they can help you as well. That’s when you can ask them to introduce you to anyone they know who needs what you do.

6. Ask Questions

I’m also stunned at how few people stand up to the microphone to ask a question. It’s a chance to not only have a one-on-one conversation with the speakers, but also to introduce yourself to the entire conference. Say your name, your company, and what you do, and then ask an insightful question. You’ll be amazed at how many people will remember you.

After the Conference

7. Follow-up

The follow-up is the most important and most forgotten part of the conference. Go through the cards you took photos of on CardMunch and write people back. I recommend five handwritten notes to the five people that either most inspired you or that you have the best chance of working with. You’ll help them remember you from the sea of people they met at the conference and help you take action on that relationship instead of adding them to your thousands of online contacts.

8. Did I Mention Follow-Up?

9. Write a Roundup for Yourself or Others

In the days following the conference, continue to follow the hashtag on Twitter as many people will rehash the conference and write follow-up posts. Do it yourself. You don’t even have to post it on a blog, but if you can write your two or three biggest takeaways, you are telling the world (and yourself) what you should implement immediately after the conference.

The accountability from saying what you learned and how you will use it will help you make a change based on your new knowledge and might even help others who weren’t at the conference, like your colleagues or employees, benefit from your insight and inspiration.

Plus there’s a good chance your post will be shared and more people will find you after the conference. I mean, you’re reading this now aren’t you?

 10. Calculate Your ROI

As a data-based marketing company, we love analytics and tracking everything we do. After the conference, think through the relationships you created, the ideas you generated and the ways you will change your business based on the conference. What was the value to you for all of that?

I know when I go to Big Omaha, I find that just meeting people in the region and around the country that help answer my questions and share what I’m doing is worth the price of admission. Pile on the new ideas and information and I have a very positive ROI for both myself and 9 Clouds. If you find otherwise, then maybe there are other conferences that will better fit your needs next year.

Enjoy Big O (or your next conference)

Share your tips in the comments to help everyone get the most from Big Omaha or the next conference they attend. Of course, find one of the 9 Clouds team members like (Sarah, John Nelson or me) in Omaha and say hi! I hope we make your list of people to talk to!

Images: Oxidedesign, BigOmaWho, Dwolla, Lemon.ly, Silicon Prairie News

Fortunately, the increasing power of technology is not just providing entertainment. Mobile technology is now changing personal choices and overall wellness. 83% of Americans now have mobile devices with 31% of Americans using mobile phones for health information according to research from the Pew Research Center released in November 2012. Understanding the potential of this ubiquitous technology is now essential to improve healthcare.

Four Eras of Technical Change

There are four broad technological trends that have transformed the healthcare industry (and other industries as well). Today we find numerous mobile apps that represent these major technical shifts.

1. Development

Initially technology helped us share information. We created websites, apps and databases. Facts that were once hidden in a library could now be easily accessed. As the information became too great to sift through, entire companies were created, like Google, to help us find the information we wanted.

For healthcare, this meant we now had the ability to find information about diagnoses, research background information, and statistics about providers and facilities and read about new exercises, diets, and lifestyle choices that could improve our health.

While groundbreaking in its own right, this era kept people alone, reading, and learning on their own. Thus the second era was the natural next step.

2. Social

The social era connected readers, patients, and individuals with one another. No longer could someone just be skilled at development to make a world-changing company. They had to have social skills, be able to communicate with other people, and convince them to share their idea or help improve it. Social networks emerged and increasingly recommendations and ideas were shared and received only if our friends or connections told us about them.

For healthcare this opened up the door to patients sharing information, tips, and encouragement. APew Research study found that 34% of Americans share health indicators, meaning they are watching their weight, how many miles they run a day, their blood pressure, etc. and are making it public for other people to monitor. Amazingly 24% of Americans actually follow someone else’s health indicators!

We are truly social beings interested in what other people are doing and taking action based on peer pressure, positive or negative, and recommendations from people we trust.

3. Internet of Things

The current era in technology is taking this desire to track and share to a whole new level by creating relationships with things. We had access to the world’s information from the development stage of technology and were able to talk about it with friends in the social era. Now we are gathering information from the objects around us to tell us more about how we live and to help us improve and control our lives.

The opportunities for healthcare are tremendous when we can personally monitor our world. Knowing how often you exercise because your shoe measures it and automatically shares it with your connections is an example that already exists. The smart thermostat called the Nest, shown here is another example that my dad is already taking advantage of.

Increasingly however, more intricate uses are emerging such as embedding internal monitors in the heart to share information on if there are blockages, installing lights that can change color to improve your mood, and using refrigerators that can tell you if you have enough healthy food on hand.

Gathering data from our individual lives and providing healthcare professionals with this personal and accurate data can transform care and ensure that health issues are prevented before they become bigger problems.

4. Collaboration

The next era for the Internet of Things is to make it collaborative. Currently our devices are beginning to track and monitor our habits and share that information out to the world. However, the people who could help us take action on that data, such as health professionals, wellness coaches, personal trainers, etc., don’t receive it.

We are essentially left holding a wealth of information but no one is telling us what to do with it.

New trends emerging are pointing to a collaboration age of technology where you not only collect personal data and share it publically, but also choose to share it privately with key individuals. Those professionals can then offer advice, support, and tell you when more urgent care or lifestyle changes are needed.

In the marketing world, we already customize websites, emails, and advertisements based on an individuals behavior. If you like golf, the Target website will show you golf products when you visit. If you purchased a book on Amazon, they’ll be recommending the sequel to you the next time you stop by.

Our healthcare however has yet to reach this level of sophistication. Diagnoses and treatments are based on a single test in a single moment in time and what the patient tells the provider. It is now possible to create a unique diagnosis and treatment based on an individual’s lifestyle. If you know their routines and what is possible, you can provide a workout plan, treatment delivery, or other health interventions that will actually be implemented by the patient.

12 Apps Changing Healthcare

Numerous apps have been created based on each era of technology. They are pushing the boundaries of healthcare and opening the door to moving from development to social to the internet of things to collaboration. Here are a few you should know about.

Development

A host of apps provide access to a large swath of data.

Epicurious is a handbook with every recipe you’ll ever need. Special diet or trying to lose weight? Find the food to purchase and how to prepare it in this easy-to-use cooking app.

Fooducate is your partner when shopping for health. Get comparisons of nutritional value and educate yourself on what’s best to eat.

Taber’s Medical Dictionary allows you to hold the entirety of medical knowledge in your hand. Don’t worry, if you need to flatten leaves you can still use your old desktop computer.

Social

Get healthy with support, and pressure, of your friends.

Lift helps you keep track of your goals and connect with other people trying to achieve the same goals. Get encouragement and create habits by measuring activities on a daily basis.

Don’t have someone to run with? Yog lets you start a run with other friends or strangers who are running at the same time. Share the experience and encourage other runners to keep going.

Encouragement might not be enough for some. That’s why there’s GymPact. Earn money by checking in at the gym and pay your friends money when you don’t work out.

Internet of Things

Connect objects around you with healthcare using these apps.

What is a better incentive to exercise than being chased by Zombies? Zombies, Run! makes your workout a game. By setting a homebase, your neighborhood transforms into a video game where you avoid creatures of the night.

The Eatery helps you identify trends in your eating habits and enables the community of Eatery users to rate food that is both healthy and makes you feel good.

Nike+ takes running up a notch by adding cheers from your friends who can support (virtually) you while you’re running. The app will also pick the right music to help you keep a steady pace and achieve your fitness goals.

Collaboration

These apps go beyond the Internet of Things and help you collaborate with health care providers based on your personal data.

23 and Me provides personal genetic testing but also has an app that asks you basic questions and compares your answers with their database of genetic results. Are you genetically predisposed to sleep in?

Ginger.io takes data collection and makes it actionable for researchers, patients, and doctors. Share your results with healthcare providers so you can live a better life based on your personal data.

With STD Triage, you can take a photo of your genitalia and send it in to a panel of dermatologists who can tell you if you should seek medical attention for a potential STD. No more worries about being discreet. Get the answers right from your phone.

What healthcare apps have you seen?

At the recent SDHIMSS Spring HIT Forum, I had the opportunity to speak about healthcare and mobile apps. In addition to the apps I mentioned, the audience mentioned some other great ones including Couch25K.

What other apps should healthcare professionals know about? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

The future of healthcare and technology

As you can tell, technology is a fast moving field that effects not only healthcare, but industries of all kinds. As we move from the internet of things towards collaboration, think personally about how technology can help you live the life you want to live and professionally how technology can help you as a healthcare provider improve the lives of your patients in a way that fits their lifestyle.

Knowledge truly is power and never before have we had the power to know how to live healthy lives…or how funny cats can be.

Stay up-to-date

Make sure you stay up-to-date by subscribing to our newsletter.We’ll email you once a week with the posts and information you should know about.

Come join our band of digital homesteaders as we change the world from wherever you are.

In our digital age, any photos, videos or messages we post can easily be copied, reused or taken out of context. For children especially, it is important to teach them safe internet practices and be active in helping them understand what should and shouldn’t be posted online. Teaching them of course requires us to think through the issues ourselves. What are we comfortable sharing online?

In this webinar, Rachel Peterson, a children’s right activist in Norway discusses how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides a framework to help parents and organizations decide what should and shouldn’t be online.

View the recording of the webinar here.

Photo: SEOPlanter

To build on the whitepaper, we co-hosted a webinar with Michelle on Wednesday where she talks about why she is so passionate about stories and why businesses and organizations should be as well. The story she tells in the webinar about 3M and the little box of chocolates is very powerful. She has great insight into how stories impact the relationship a business has with its customers and great tips on how to get started with a business story.

You can view her slides here or watch the full webinar here.

Keep your eye out for our next webinar by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Photo: Jian Awe