Sometimes the issue is the cost of shipping, which online businesses are increasingly being forced to absorb. More often it is that they can’t keep pace with social media.
“Just spitting out the same duplicate content on all of your social channels just doesn’t do it anymore,” Bucciachio said.
He recommends a quality over quantity approach. “Instead of taking five minutes every day, take a half an hour and post once a week,” he said.
“The engagement you’re going to get with that one post is way more than with the 10 posts that took you 30 seconds to do that aren’t engaging at all.”
Meanwhile, the number one issue that clients bring to Dunham Group, a Hamilton-based web design firm, is how to get their businesses to show up in online searches.
“Search engine ranking doesn’t have to cost a lot, which is good news for small startups,” said co-founder John Janisse, but the bad news is new websites automatically rank lower than older, more established sites. Social media and pay-per-click is a way to magnify is a way to improve visibility, he added.
To get a real-time read on how companies across the city are coping with digital shifts and speed bumps, we asked a wide selection of Hamilton web marketing firms for the top three issues raised by new clients.
Here’s what they said:
1. Better web visibility for generating leads and conversations.
2. Building an online store or upgrading the payment gateway.
3. Better mobile results.
1. Seeking a customized website that isn’t a template built in two hours.
2. Help with web hosting, domain names, site upkeep and security to allow them to focus on their business.
3. Good ranking on Google.
1. How to consolidate online properties to show how related companies are linked.
2. How to position online through a revamped brand image.
3. Improve conversions on websites.
1. Their site might be pretty but it is not functional.
2. Search engine optimization.
3. Site map and development of proper wireframe to account for every detail.
1. Seeking growth but unsure how to make that happen.
2. Seeking a new way to connect with customers through an application that helps them better manage their business.
3. Optimize a critical aspect of their business through automation.
1. Looking for development on responsive design.
2. Seeking a Google certified partner.
3. Shopping for a provider that is small enough to provide focused attention but big enough to support business growth.
1. Not happy with their existing web person.
2. They received extremely high quotes.
3. An outdated website that is not responsive/mobile friendly.
1. Misinformation — they have been told about or sold on certain strategies in a way that confuses them or points them in the wrong direction.
2. Don’t know what will work best for their business, or how to implement.
3. Manpower — most businesses don’t have an infrastructure in place to act on a digital marketing strategy, so they just hope it goes away.
1. New projects and/or advice on where and how to start (consultation).
2. Website old and stagnant. No knowledge or time to update, upgrade, integrate into social media, SEO, etc.
3. Locked out or broken site (offline) — with no response from original builder.
At Jet Propelled, staff is on the lookout for a bigger, lurking issue.
“There are people that approach us for a marketing plan and we discover they don’t even have a business plan,” explained Brad Dean, founder of the Hamilton-based marketing and communications agency.
Empathy is the key because “marketing at its core is the study of human behaviour,” he added. He credits a Conservatory of Music education and his experience as a band member with touring rap-metal outfit Project Wyze for giving him better insights into behaviour, because he was “literally meeting thousands of people every day.”
The company also expects its clients to have a conscience. “The common denominator of Jet Propelled is to only support companies that are contributing to a net positive in the world,” Dean said. That could include donating time or resources to a local community organization.
So, what about Great Canadian Gifts? Would being ambassadors for all things Canuck qualify them for help from Jet Propelled?
No dice, said owner Glen Miller. “We’re done.”