Online display ads have become increasingly popular as a part of large online marketing campaigns because their flashy eye catching design can attract customer attention. With Google AdWords and AdSense usage on the rise Google created a way to create display ads quickly without any design experience- making display ads more accessible to businesses with smaller marketing budgets.

Once you have an AdWords account set up and you have created your campaign(s) you can easily create display ads as well.
Follow the steps below to create online display ads for your business:

1. Sign into your AdWords account
2. Select one of your campaigns
3. Pick the ad group you want
4. Click on the “display ad builder” link
5. Select the template you would like to use
   Remember when selecting the template that layout is the most important thing to evaluate. You can change the colors later but the layouts and actions (flashing, moving text, etc.) are fixed. Think about which layout will best convey the message you will be sending. Some templates place more emphasis on the image and some on the message.
6. Customize the template
   You will be asked for everything you would enter for a regular text ad with the addition of color selection, click text, and an image. When uploading an image remember that depending on its placement it can be a logo or say, an image of customers using your product. Get creative! As you are customizing your template feel free to try many different combinations of colors and text and images. The ad in progress will stay visible on the page even as you navigate around to different fields and options- making it easier for you to get the perfect look.
7. Pick your bidding strategy
   • Manual CPC (cost per click) bidding
   • Calculated CPA (cost per acquisition) Conversion Optimizer
   • No bid Budget Optimizer
8. Marvel at your newly created ad

Tips to Remember:

• Once you have created your ad you will not be able to make changes to the size of the ad- size selection is done at the beginning. If you chose to have the ad created in several sizes, any changes will be made to all of the ad sizes- there is no way modify each size individually unless you create them each separately.
• You can use the “Display Likelihood” feature to get predictions on how your ad will perform. It will rank your ad and give you back a determination on the likelihood of your ad performing well that ranges from “Long Shot” to “Excellent.”
• You must have full legal rights or an authorization to use any images that you place in your display ad or you are violating Google’s advertising policies. Make sure that you can legally distribute anything you are using.

For more information visit: Google Display Ads 101

-Kate Pierce eCommerce Specialist

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Networking is a very important tool for all business owners so before you go to that next networking opportunity make sure you are prepared! Here are some tips from a popular blog as well as some that we have complied ourselves:

Before

• Bring a LOT of Business Cards
  Don’t get caught in the trap of only having one business card for each attendee. Situations may arise where you meet someone and they want to have several of your business cards to pass along to colleagues. Make sure you always have plenty to give out; business cards are small and travel well so there’s no excuse for bringing too few.
• Know What You Do
  This may sound ridiculous but you should practice introducing yourself so that you will know what to say when the time comes. Work on honing down your bio to just a few sentences. Include your name, the name of your business, your title, and a brief description of what your actual job functions are. Owners or founders of businesses vary greatly in the level of involvement that they have in the company- figure out which hats that you wear are important enough to justify mentioning them. Go through it a few times and make sure that if you were the one listening you wouldn’t get bored and start looking for the closest exit.
• Know Where You Are Going
  You’ve introduced yourself and your business. Now what? The person or people you are speaking to may wonder what it all means- where are you going? Have an idea of where you see yourself and your business in the next one, five, or ten years. This may help open up business opportunities for you as you network.

During

• Look Professional
  Your number one priority at a networking event is to make a good impression. Make sure that your appearance is polished and professional looking- from your clothes to your hygiene to your materials.
• Listen and Learn
  Don’t just push your agenda- keep an ear open for new technologies, ideas, and contacts. Find out who the most influential people are and make sure that you’re open to hearing what they have to say. Use the event as a learning experience.
• Keep Notes
  Make sure to jot down quick notes on the back of business cards after you meet someone. Include an idea of what you talked about, something that you learned, a joke that they made, what they were wearing, etc.- anything that will help you remember who they are later.
• Make the Rounds
  Networking is a numbers game so you should try to speak with as many people as you can. Your aim shouldn’t be to dart around the room collecting business cards as possible without any real interaction, but you shouldn’t spend all of your time with one or two people either. Find a balance between making a personal connection with everyone you meet and also working the room.

After

• Expand Your Notes
  Consolidate and elaborate on the notes you jotted down during the event as soon as it is over. The quicker you expand on these notes the more you’ll remember about each person. Make sure you have enough to remember each person so that if you get to meet him/her again you’ll be prepared.
• Follow Up
  Send a letter, note or email to each contact you made at the event. A personal handwritten card is the best option if you want to stand out and be remembered.
• Get Additional Contact Information
  In your correspondence after the event, encourage the people you networked with you provide you with their full contact information- their LinkedIn profile, Twitter user name, etc. so that you can stay in touch easily.
• Share Your Experience
  Blog, Twitter, or post in forums about your positive experience at the event- it’s a great way to let your thoughts become a topic of discussion, meeting place for fellow participants, or source of information on the event. Event organizers are eager to share positive feedback on their events, which can quickly generate a buzz about you and your company.

-Kate Pierce eCommerce Specialist

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Off the beaten path in Marietta, Georgia, is John Drummond’s 3,200 square-foot banjo store, with more than 600 banjos in stock. John has banjos for every type of bluegrass fan, from first-timers to professionals. His vast inventory and true love for the music has drawn visitors from all over the world.  Launched online in 2003, Banjo.com quickly became a recognized leader in the bluegrass music industry.  John was able to expand his product line to serve the needs of all bluegrass musicians.  “We discovered that most banjo players also play other instruments,” John explains, “so we added the full line of bluegrass instruments (banjos, fiddles, bass fiddles, dulcimers, dobros, guitars, mandolins and harmonicas) as well as related accessories and training materials.”

Initially, Banjo.com was hosted by Crystaltech, using the Australian-based shopping cart VP-ASP.  Eventually technical issues plagued the site causing them to lose business and in 2008, John began searching for another provider. “I shopped around,” he said, “and Volusion had the most credible, and most affordable, solution.  They were able to migrate us to their platform faster than anyone else could.”  John did not have the time to move his site over himself, so he hired Volusion’s Professional Services Team. He recalls, “I was delighted with the outcome. We desperately needed to move away from our old site, and it was completed with focus and precision. It all worked when we went live. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

Since coming to Volusion, Banjo.com has enjoyed greater reliability and success than ever before. John tells us, “Compared to what we came from, Volusion is a major leap into leading-edge technology.  It offers new functionality that we just didn’t have a year ago.  I used to submit a request to our developer, and if it was critical, he’d drop everything to get it fixed.  If it was a standard to-do item, he would complete it as he could. The list grew and things weren’t getting done. When I asked Volusion for help with small projects, they were each completed a couple of days after I submitted them. Wow!  I was not used to that level of service.”

Ready to get started with Volusion? Try it today for free!

-Kate Pierce eCommerce Specialist

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Social media is huge these days- individuals are flocking to social media sites and now an increasing number of businesses are getting on board as well. So, what is social media? Wikipedia defines social media as “Information content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships.”

Marketers Increase Social Media Spending
According to eMarketer a study conducted by the Aberdeen Group revealed that 63% of companies plan to increase their social media marketing budgets for 2009. More specifically, 26% of businesses plan to increase their budget by 1-10%, 16% of businesses by 11-25% and 21% of businesses by more than 25%. In fact, worldwide social media advertising spend increased by 46.7% in 2008 and is expected to increase an additional 17.3% this year to $2.35 billion.

Marketers Organize Social Media Strategy
Marketers are not simply throwing money at social media marketing; they are also investing in company-wide social media strategy. Here are four vital social media strategies:

1. Define social media benchmarks and goals
   It is easy to get sucked into social media and lose your way as a brand or end up wasting valuable time. Figure out what you want out of social media and take the steps necessary to accomplish it. Your goal may be to open communications with current customers, or expand your national or global influence, or spread word about promotional offerings; but no matter which goal your company has there are a number of ways to get sidetracked and losing focus can be detrimental to your business. Once you have a solid goal create set benchmarks to measure your efforts.
2. Track social media ROI
   Social media marketing takes work- it is not something that just happens. Make sure that you are tracking ROI so that you know if all of the time and work you are putting into each of your social media avenues is actually benefiting your company. While some effects of social media are not easy to track (ex. brand perception, customer satisfaction, etc.) you need to make sure you are evaluating whether or not social media is really benefiting your company’s bottom line.
3. Establish a way to drive brand recognition and positive word of mouth
   No matter what your social media goals are you need to be aware of how brand recognition and word of mouth can be affected by your actions. Social media sites and tools like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg, etc. are public areas. Remember that anything your company says can be viewed by users all over the world- so choose your words wisely.
4. Create a broad organizational focus on social media
   Social media is not just the business of your marketing department- everyone should be aware of your company’s social media efforts. Not only does each employee have his or her own social network that they can potentially leverage, each employee has their own interests and insights that they can bring to your social media marketing. Remember, your marketing department or CMO probably does not represent every facet of your brand or your audience.

Please follow Volusion on Twitter!

Helpful Links:
More social media articles by Volusion
Volusion’s Social Store Builder

-Kate Pierce eCommerce Specialist

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US Internet users viewed 14.8 million videos online in the month of January alone- a 4% rise over the previous month according to ComScore. Increased YouTube usage is considered to be the driving factor in this growth. In January 100.9 million viewers watched YouTube videos- marking the first time the video giant surpassed 100 million viewers. The shocking part is not that Internet users are watching videos online- it is how many videos they are actually watching. While a reported 76.8% of US Internet users watched online videos an astounding 147 million users watched an average of 101 videos per person. In fact, the average US Internet user watched almost 6 hours of videos online in the month of January. Videos seem to be popping up everywhere- sure the same old weird pet tricks are still out there but there are more music videos, popular television shows, and personal videos on the Internet than ever before. Businesses are using videos more and more as well, to introduce their brand, to showcase product features, as training material, etc. Even small businesses have started jumping on the video bandwagon.

So what can your business do to keep up with the online video trend? Try incorporating videos into your business plan. You can post videos to YouTube, put them on your website, make promotional dvd’s to give to customers or handout at exhibitions, spice up your Facebook or MySpace business page, etc. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the thought of trying to make a video and get scared off. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Figure out What You Want to Say
   This seems like an obvious point but it is very important- do not start planning the logistics of your video or start shooting until you are clear on the message that you will be conveying. The message of the video will probably be closely tied to where it will be used so you may want to put some serious thought into that as well.
2. Be Real- Be Yourself
   Show people what your brand is all about- set the video in a natural location for the products or services that you are selling and have your actions and look be representative of the brand you want to convey. If you are not particularly representative of your brand find someone who is- a friend, employee, relative, child, etc. and recruit their help.
3. Remember You Do Not Need Advanced Equipment
   You do not necessarily need an advanced video camera to film your video- you can always rent a video camera or even just use a computer webcam or cell phone.
4. Always Use a Strategic Title
   Make the title something that is relevant to both your company and also the video contents so that it can be found by online searchers. For example, use “Applying Discount and Promotions with your Volusion Store” not just “Volusion video.”
5. Display the URL
   Make sure that you post the URL for the video so that anyone who wants to view the video later knows where to find it. You can either post the URL on a page such as your website or Facebook or MySpace page or put it in the video itself (often times this works best at the end of the video).
6. Share the Video
   Once you have made and posted the video make sure you tell people about it. Make sure that your current customers, friends, colleagues, employees, family, and prospects all know that you have made a video. You can email a link to the video, blog about it, post about it in various social medias like Twitter- just get the word out there. Once people know about the video it will spread on its own, but in the beginning you will have to get the ball rolling.

Helpful links:
Free platform to distribute videos to multiple sites
YouTube Help Forums

-Kate Pierce eCommerce Specialist

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