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How to Promote Your Plumbing Business with Digital Advertising

My water heater broke and being one of the least handyman-type guys I know, I can't fix it myself. That means I need to call a plumbing company to come to my rescue before my garage turns into a swimming pool (which, in theory, would be nice to have too). The question is, who do I call? Why do...

What Digital Products Work Best for Colleges and Universities?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen a surge in spending for colleges and universities.  At first, a lot of campuses started to promote their online classes.  Since then, online classes are still a topic for discussion.  But now, we also see an increase in the promotion of specific schools or programs at each college. From English as a Second Language...

How can I use Social Media Stories to promote my business?

Storytelling, one of society’s greatest tools in sharing the narrative that you want people to understand, has changed a lot since the days of fireside chats and Shakespearean stages.    If fact, stories in general have, in my opinion, been lost unless they are written in the pages of books. While the art of storytelling has reemerged over the last 6...

Facebook is making more Chhhhhhanges

Facebook has made a whole slew of new updates. Lucky for you, Vici is giving you the latest and greatest information and how this can impact campaigns and Facebook moving forward. First things first, Facebook and connected entities like Instgram and WhatsApp, announced they will now be known as part of the Meta brand.         What exactly does this mean? Meta or...

How To Use Digital Ads To Target Travelers For Tourism & Travel Businesses

I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. (Did you just reread that so you can sing it?)  OK, I’m not currently taking a trip, though that sounds amazing right now, but a lot of people are. It’s no wonder that people who were homebound for a majority of 2020, had a lot of time...

How Can Auto Dealers Use Advanced Digital Advertising?

Before we go full throttle into all the different ways in which auto dealers can utilize digital ads to drive traffic into their dealerships and increase sales, I couldn’t resist throwing in some fun puns to start us off. There is no denying that the automotive vertical is one that is fueling the advertising industry. It seems like no...

What to expect for advertising budgets and products in 2021?

2020 has come to end.  How can we possibly know what to expect to happen in 2021?!   I’m no psychic and don’t claim to be.  But, I did attend a webinar that Borrell Associates hosted last month, and here are some of my key takeaways from their study.   Retail sales in 2020 have out performed the last 4 years.  Now, that...

Need New Business Leads? Let’s Talk Facebook Lead Ads.

With the state of our world and everything going online business leads become more and more important daily. Most businesses would tell you however, getting consumers to do what we want them to do online, can be challenging. Think about it; we are busy humans. Now more than ever. We are working remotely, doing school remotely, shopping remotely, managing...

What are Social Mirror Ads?

It can be difficult to decide which social media channels to advertise on. Are you good on Facebook and Instagram or do you need to be on TikTok and Snapchat as well? What about LinkedIn and Pinterest or is that spreading the budget and audience too thin? How do you do all the things? Enter Social Mirror Ads! (Click on...

How Do You Target Your Advertising During the Holidays?

Oh Quaren-tree, Oh Quaran-tree… what will this holiday season be? Pivot left. Pivot right.  How many more times can we pivot this year?  For some of us, we have already been pioneers in curbside pickup and same day delivery.  While we do not know exactly what holiday shopping is going to look like this year, we can be sure that...

Are your digital political ads ready to go?

If you are talking to any clients or prospects about running digital ads for political, especially on Facebook or Instagram, it is time to close the sale and start executing. Facebook has released some new information about political advertising, and the restrictions are tighter than ever.  I’m highlighting Facebook as a product because political ads on the platform are so...

Are there digital ad dollars available from the government?

Besides political dollars, there are other opportunities to find digital dollars within the government.  This year, the biggest contributor of that is the US Census.  The 2020 Census is the largest collection of statistical information on everyone living in the Unites States and is required by the U.S. Constitution.  The reason why it’s such an important process is because...

What are Car Dealerships Doing Amid COVID-19?

COVID-19 continues to keep people at home. Businesses are closing operations, people are getting laid off or furloughed, and industries are learning to pivot their business models. This is also true for the automotive industry. There is now a lot of focus on their service departments, since this has been deemed essential. We have also seen a widespread shift...

How Well Does Digital Advertising Work For The Beauty Industry?

Gorgeously! I am a self-proclaimed beauty junkie, and there is no better place to get a product fix than the internet. My journeys to beauty product conversions are both intentional and accidental. For example, around Halloween I needed ideas for a costume. In about an hour I went from Pinterest for inspirations, to Googling “bride of Frankenstein makeup...

How can I use video in Digital Advertising?

With Advertisers increasing their digital video advertising budgets an average of 25% , it may be tough to decipher which video products they’re using as part of their marketing mix.  For instance, in Mobile video alone in 2018, brands spent over $30 billion in mobile video alone. So how do you know if what you’re doing is going to...

Facebook Event: AI in Action

On Halloween Eve I stepped into the Los Angeles Facebook offices for an agency event called “AI in Action” a training focused on how using Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the Facebook platform can help enhance the overall performance of campaigns.  Their office was highly secure (three checkpoints with a government ID to get in) but once inside I was...

What Digital Advertising Products Should Casinos Use?

With 465 commercial casinos throughout the United States, according to Statista , there’s bound to be one near you, and maybe in your market.  As we’ve seen for years, Casinos market heavily.  It’s not about whether or not they have marketing dollars, but how can you secure your share of those dollars digitally?  What products are good for them? There...

Digital Advertising Trends

Election season is basically upon us, and we know that every election year, there are so many changes within the economy.  What businesses are going to spend what, and where are they going to spend it? Before we look at 2020, let’s take a quick look at how 2019 digital ad spending will most likely end.  Here’s a quick chart...

What techniques are most popular for Professional Services?

According to a survey by BIA’s Local Advertising Forecast, the professional service industries will spend $2.5 Billion on mobile ads in 2019.  These industries include law firms and legal businesses along with engineering, architects and computer/technology services.  These are the industries that will spend the most. Other industries within this vertical include accounting (CPAs), advertising agencies, photography services, and...

Is Facebook Listening In On Me Through My Phone?

How many of us have felt like Facebook is listening to our phone conversations? I swear I just mentioned these new Kendra Scott earrings to my friend and now I’m seeing them in my newsfeed? Disturbing! Right? Or is it just effective? It is absolutely unnerving. You feel like you just mentioned to a friend, or even just thought about an item and...

What social platform is gaining popularity?

Instagram. According to latest research, people are embracing Instagram and its popularity is growing. So who is using it the most? Starting at the top we have an overall number of 37% of US adults (beating out Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat and Twitter). The strongest numbers for Instagram are in the 18-24 range, however, it is important to note...

Do Credit Unions Utilize Digital Advertising?

In short, the answer is yes!  But, to get a good look at what works and what doesn’t, let’s take a deeper dive into how much they are spending, and what they are spending that money on. According to TheFinancialBrand.com, Credit Unions spend between $9.92 – $14.83 per member on advertising.  Now, that number can vary depending on the size of the Credit...

Social Media: When should you DIY and when should you enlist a digital expert?

There are absolutely times in life it is more cost effective to “Do it yourself.”  Before I take on a DIY project, I try to consider if I have three T’s, meaning do I have the tools, the training and the time. If all signs point to yes, I go for it! All three must be in place...

How-To-Guide On Understanding Your Facebook Insights And Analytics

Most small businesses have a business Facebook Page but are you understanding the wealth of information you can get from Facebook about people who interact with your Page? This is our step-by-step guide to walk you through some of the most valuable information you might be interested in learning. Facebook calls their analytics “Insights” and you can access...

How do I target a specific audience on Facebook? (Example)

When developing your marketing strategy, it is important to make sure to identify your core audience. Targeting too broad, yields a lot of waste, narrowing in too thin, may exclude some ideal prospects. A happy medium of targeting is usually the best place to start. Targeting is critical. Ads relevant to your audience mean they are more likely to become your customers. Facebook...

What Are Top Digital Advertising Industries For 2019? (Example)

As 2019 approaches, it’s imperative that we understand what’s working and continue to add fuel to the fire. Following up to our last blog about preparing for next year, we wanted to share with you some of the top industries spending money in Digital Marketng. Breweries. Breweries are popping up all over the country. Their individual spin on some classic...

Do Video Ads Work For Small Businesses?

Video.  Is it worth the investment to have a video created and include it in your digital marketing?  The answer is yes. In almost every aspect of Digital Marketing, we have seen not only an increase in using video, but an increase in the interaction with digital ads created by businesses. (photo credit: Ad Week) According to SingleGrain: 70% of consumers say...

Are teenagers leaving Facebook? Should that impact your Ad Spend?

My 14-year-old son refers to Facebook as “Snapchat for Old People” yet he still knows every time I post something on Facebook. Teenagers would like us to believe that Snapchat is life, but is that actually true, and more importantly does it matter for your advertising dollars? According to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, today, roughly half (51%) of...

Digital Ad Spend Surpasses 50% of Total Ad Spending in the U.S.

Earlier this year, eMarketer, Marketing-Interactive, and CNBC  all predicted that digital ad spend would surpass 50% of advertising dollars in the U.S.  Turns out they were right. Currently, according to MAGNA, digital ad spend in the U.S. will surpass 51%, 51.5% to be exact.  That equates to about $160 billion dollars!  That’s a lot of money! Leading the digital ad spend...

Christmas In October?

Most people frown at the thought of thinking about the holiday season now and prefer to wait until after Halloween and Thanksgiving. It makes us cringe when we walk into a home decor or craft store and it is already filled with Christmas trees, lights and aisles of gift wrap and bows in September or even October. BUT, with the...

How Are Google And Facebook New Policies Impacting The Running Of Political Ads?

Another step closer to elections, and major exchanges Google and Facebook are flexing their muscles when it comes to the approval process of ads.  Back in June,  Vici reported the sweeping changes on Facebook that required ad buyers to be authorized to run political content.  This requires any individual who is buying a campaign to submit a U.S drivers...

IRS Contributes 3rd Party Income Data to Facebook (Example)

As we know, Facebook has been under scrutiny when it comes to their targeting capabilities and what they can/cannot do. Earlier this year, we learned that Facebook was removing many 3rd party categories from their targeting offerings and that they would take effect October 1st, 2018 (link here: https://vicimediainc.com/why-i-love-facebook-collection-ads/). This impacted many categories, including automotive, charitable donations, financial, job role,...

How Does Back to School Impact Automotive Advertising?

They’re making a list and checking it twice. But, it’s not to see who’s naughty or nice. Parents are checking to make sure that a car is now on their Back-to-School list. According to Nielsen Scarborough 22% of households with a child in college are also planning on buying a new or used car during the upcoming year. What does...

New Facebook Feature Great For Prospecting

Facebook has launched a new feature called Info and Ads. This push from Facebook is another step towards their goal of digital transparency that they released late last year. To access this feature, go to Facebook and visit any business Facebook profile page from a computer.  On the left-hand side navigation, underneath the profile image you will see many options like...

Facebook Changes the Rules for the Advertising of Addiction Treatment Centers

On Thursday, August 9, 2018, Facebook made a move to increase transparency of where ads are coming from, cracking down in the medical category of addiction treatment centers.  This comes after the announcement earlier this year that all digital media buyers managing political campaigns go through an authorization process providing a US driver’s license or US passport, a...

How To Do A Video Ad Campaign

In today’s fast paced world video is climbing up the marketing ladder, and it is not just for the big dogs anymore, everyone is playing. 87% of online marketers are using video content and it continues to grow! Recent statistics show that one-third of online activity is spent watching video and half of all video content online is viewed...

The Rules for Political Advertising on Facebook Have Changed

From Russia, with Love? Recently both Facebook and advertisers are scratching their heads on how to handle US political advertising, given the allegations that Russians may have meddled with the previous presidential election with large amounts of paid propaganda sweeping our feeds.  Over the last several weeks Facebook has swiftly responded with added security measures for all political advertising...

Why I Love Facebook Collection Ads

Facebook has been in the news lately, for some not so popular things, mainly the Facebook data breach impacting over 50 million user’s data. They reacted quickly to the news, publicly declaring that starting October 1, they will no longer be offering 3rd party targeting categories to advertisers.  Moving forward, they will only be allowing advertisers to buy categories...

What does Facebook’s latest announcement mean for businesses?

Facebook announced on January 11th that they are doing some further “tinkering” with their algorithm which has implications for businesses that post organically to their Facebook Business Page. While this has made big news in the last week – it really isn’t anything new, it’s a continuation of changes that started two years ago as we talked about in...

What are small business marketing resolutions for 2018?

As this year closes and a new one begins, small business owners are seeking strategies that can help them remain competitive and relevant.  They are analyzing past tactics and campaigns and determining where and how to spend their marketing dollars. Digital is absolutely a significant part of marketing budgets and in a multifaceted landscape, Small Business Owners are looking for...

What Are The Best Digital Advertising Products For Local Political Campaigns?

According to Ad Age, there is a broad trend being played out across the advertising landscape. Using data to target audience segments and make smarter media buys in digital. Political numbers absolutely reflect that as digital is replacing traditional ad spend in this vertical. Politicians are assigning ad budgets for digital. And, online digital advertising is not covered by the...

Using Digital Advertising To Recruit Your Next Great Hire

Update: Facebook shuttered Jobs on Facebook (February 2023) and Instant Articles (April 2023) Finding the right employee is never an easy task, especially if you’re looking for someone that is qualified.  With so many different job boards out there, from Monster and CareerBuilder to all of the ones that have popped up like ZipRecruiter and even the local job boards...

Want people to show up to your event? Try an “Event Response” Ad

I worked a bunch of odd gigs in college to get extra money (for beer).  One of my favorite was being hired as a "brand ambassador" which meant I was promoting the sponsor's event by passing out flyers or putting postcards underneath windshield wipers.   But gone are the days of brands relying on gum chewing teenagers to help get...

Online Products for Offline Buyers

There are many media buyers out there that are devouring as much information as they can about digital advertising, given that the marketing landscape has changed so drastically.  A media mix used to include placing a television, radio, direct mail, newspaper, phone book, or a billboard buy.   Now with the introduction of a countless number of digital products that...

To Boost Or Not To Boost?

By now you’ve probably heard or realized that spending a lot of time posting organically to your Facebook page and trying to generate “likes” is no longer going to help spread your organic reach onto customers’ Facebook pages. Facebook defines organic reach as "how many people you can reach for free on Facebook by posting to your Business Page." It...

How to Improve Local Marketing? Use Facebook Local Awareness Ads

In an effort to help local businesses connect with people in their area, Facebook launched Local Awareness mobile ads. Local Awareness ads are a great way to find new customers by showing ads to people who are around your business location. These ads are great for bringing customers through your door because of their call to action features. You...

Reaching Moms with Digital Marketing

Of the 80 million millennials in the U.S., one-quarter are now parents. Statistics also show that 83% of new moms are millennials.  According to a recent report from Nielsen, some 39% of women aged 18-49 in the US have a child under the age of 12, including 46% of women aged 35-49. Why does this matter to marketers? Because millennial women tend to...

Top 5 Reasons You Should Be Using Facebook For Advertising

For small businesses, posting on Facebook just isn’t enough anymore. On average, only 2% of your fans will see one of your posts on their Facebook page (socialbakers.com).  Many businesses have heard about the importance of using Facebook to grow their business – but they are not sure where to start.  Do your clients still need convincing? Here are...

Facebook Still King Of All Media

What’s the #1 social network among people 18-29 years old? Instagram? Twitter? Nope, Facebook. The common misconception is that millennials – especially young millennials and Gen Z, no longer use Facebook. Actually, 88% of online users aged 18-29 use Facebook, making that demographic Facebook’s largest. And while Facebook’s percentage of older adults is growing, interestingly it is not coming...

How Does Facebook Know What Ads to Show You? (Example)

The way Facebook determines what ads to show you is based a lot around the information you provide by your online activity. By using things such as your age, location, page likes, app use, and even data from the mobile websites you browse, Facebook profiles you into categories that advertisers can then use to target ads to you on...