About USdigital

Apprentice fever has hit our TV screens again and is likely to dominate office chat in the weeks to come. In this series candidates are competing for an investment in their own business rather than a 6 figure salary as Lord Sugar aims to show that despite the current economic situation there is still the opportunity to make money.

A strong online presence is key to any new or young business. USdigital have recognised this with their new start-up business website and online advertising packages. Ranging from small brochure websites to spread the reach and awareness of a business to e-commerce websites showcasing a range of products, USdigital can create the bespoke solution for all requirements.

It doesn’t just stop at websites. Here at USdigital we understand the importance of being on the first page of search engine listings for phrases key to the success of the website as well as utilising pay per click advertising opportunities.

For no obligation advice on how USdigital can help you please contact one of our team who are always happy to use their enthusiasm for all things digital to help you.

The internet is by far one of the largest marketing tools open to companies of all types and sizes. The expectancy of companies and organisations to have a website is so great that it’s a shock if they don’t have one.

This large volume means that for some time it has no longer been good enough to simply have a website. With the majority of users preferring search engines to find what they want, failure to manage your online presence such as where it appears in their rankings results in losses to competitors.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay per click advertising (PPC) create opportunities to stand out in crowded market places and direct traffic to your website. An effective combination of SEO and PPC creates and/or improves online brand awareness with this also being reflected on the high street and in commercial centres.

SEO is considered the more common tool for improving search engine listings but PPC allows keyword effectiveness to be analysed so the most effective combination of SEO and PPC can be selected.

Controlling your site’s online presence isn’t just about climbing the rankings to the top listings. Already a reputable leader in your market place? Social networking allows a huge scope for freedom of speech. If a site isn’t optimised there is a risk of other people’s views on your company being more visible than how you portray yourself.

Is your site doing all it can for you?  

The foundations of any company’s business model, irrespective of their size or sector, are formed by their corporate identity and brand positioning. This is somewhat common knowledge but of increasing importance as marketing budgets are tightened.

Establishing a strong, well known identity is not an easy task but the gains of successfully doing so are prosperous. Recent weeks have seen Apple overtake Microsoft as the most valuable technology producing company thanks to its extensive profits.

Effective communication of Apple’s identity and product lines means very few would fail to recognise their logo, associate them as a leader of ground breaking home and office technology or name any of its products. Mass enthusiasm surrounds Apple’s identity as consumers aim to get their hands on the technology and suppliers compete to sell it. 

The question that dominates in the current economic climate is where do you prioritise your marketing communications spending to raise the profile of your organisation? An especially tough decision when tight budgets increase the pressure for clearly visible results.  

Such budget management is even more difficult with specialised communication agencies competing for a large share. Full service agencies offer an attractive means of consolidating marketing, advertising and public relations under one roof with many also having a digital arm to coincide with the expanding opportunities offered by interactive media thus offering multi platform reach.

Using such agencies allows all areas of your marketing strategy to be easily co-ordinated to communicate consistent, clear and direct messages. These are key to any branding campaign as the profiles and values expressed build a relationship between the audience and your corporate, product and/or service identity; an awareness that encourages future business.

The communication of success stories and strong products and/or services through PR, advertising and marketing alongside an establishing identity further enhances brand strength. A strength which continues to grow as awareness of your brand does, opening more opportunities for future business and expansion.

Such growth reflects the need for the continuous management of your identity and brand positioning. Once established, they need to prosper through regular up to date communication rather than fade into the background if they are to be successful.  

This is as time consuming as it sounds but it is essential. Again a full service agency can be of great use here as they can tailor and progress communication activity across all areas with this purpose in mind.  

Although just the roots of marketing activity, it offers the foundations from which future campaigns can be built. Once established, corporate identity is further enhanced by all positive future communication increasing business opportunities and therefore providing significant returns on investments in it. 

Unsworth Sugden’s advertising division and digital marketing division, US Digital, have combined their specialities to great effect for the Woodland Trust. Their knowledge of advertising and the importance of utilising a strong online presence has allowed the Woodland Trust to find the right candidates for numerous positions.

Thanks to an effective combination of print, website design and website development, the Woodland Trust was inundated with strong, high quality applicants. This proves the internet has not yet completely outdated print and that the qualities of both can be used to great affect.

USdigital has recently created three Flash animations for the new website of leading regional chartered accountants, Newby Castleman, as part of a re-brand exercise.

The Leicester-based firm approached us to create two animations based on the straplines, “Forward Thinking Advice” and “Leading the Way - Personally“, plus a third for its careers page.

As well as being used online, the animations also feature on a big information screen located in the client’s reception.

This month Experian released a new report entitled ‘Engaging online with the Empowered Consumer’ which looks at how effectively businesses are using their website and e-channels to market to their customers.

Essentially the report found that many retailer and e-commerce businesses are not doing everything they could to nurture and grow their customerbase.

Using the home shopping sector as an example, Experian’s analysis reveals the harsh reality of customer engagement:

- 45% of customers are single purchasers, with figures rising as high as 75% in some cases.

- 60-70% of ‘best’ customers have not purchased in the last 12 months, signifying that companies are taking one or two seasons to recognise that high value customers have lapsed.

- 30% of customers generate nearly 70% of revenues.

The moral of all this, is to make sure your valuable existing and previous customers don’t forget about you! How can this be achieved? Well, if you’ve built up a database of customers’ email addresses who have either opted in to receive information from yourself, or indeed previously used your services or bought from your e-commerce store, you can gently remind them of your wonderful products and services through well placed e-newsletters.

The way to keep your subscribers paying attention to your unashamed marketing is to offer incentives along with the pushing of products. Promo codes on e-newsletters for certain products shows the receiver it’s worth keeping on the mailing list.As an perhaps coming up to Mother’s Day, your e-newsletter could suggest suitable gifts for the number one woman in your life.

Unfortunately in these times, one of the cut backs companies make is on their advertising spend. Traditional advertising through newspapers, magazines, TV and radio are all seeing a reduction in spend, with things only picking up slightly into 2010.

But online advertising is actually on the increase, with figures for 2009 expected to be between 8% and 10% in positive growth.

One of the benefits of online advertising is its pay-as-you-go approach.
With Google adwords, setting daily limits to your click-throughs, and also having the ability to pause or pull the plug in an instant allows for careful spending.
With traditional advertising, much larger fees need to be called on in one, pre-campaign, lump sum.

Another positive to online advertising is the ability to track where click-throughs have come from, using something like Google Analytics. Understanding exactly who your customerbase is key to your success as a business.