Arc 3 Communications

Should Associations Spend All of their Advertising Dollars on Facebook?

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In the recent U.S. Elections, Facebook decided to pull the plug on political advertising. During this moratorium, an issue arose when it came to what constitutes as political advertising and what is in fact simply news. News story posts that mentioned politics or issues were being blocked and placed in the same category as paid political advertising when, in fact, they weren’t. This raised the question “Is Facebook a media outlet that can decide what it wants to support and censor or are they the free platform they claim to be?”

Facebook has been called out in the past for archiving promoted news stories that cover politics or issues as political advertising. This brought push back from many journalism and news associations. It also raised the question of how much regulation can Facebook enforce on policy issues and associations it may disagree with. For example, if Facebook supports the Go Green initiative, could it eventually censor ads from associations that may represent things it deems harmful to the environment? This then causes one to ask, should associations put all their advertising assets into Facebook?

While Facebook ads can be a good way to spend association ad dollars, it is good to know your options in case policies change or they decide to censor issues important to your association. Google Ads are a viable option for reaching members and policy allies and allows you to tailor your ads to display to a specific audience or audiences. Some are shifting away from Facebook due to privacy and effectiveness issues. A recent survey by Inc. reported that 32 percent of CEO and senior-level executives surveyed said they are now getting less for their marketing dollars with Facebook than they used to, while 27 percent said they mistrust Facebook’s use of their business data.

With increasing advertising costs, noise, and fear of censorship from Facebook, it could be worth looking into alternate ways to spend your association’s marketing dollars. Putting resources into search engine optimization efforts and content marketing can be very effective means to attracting new members, and as before stated, Google Ads is another option for advertising. This isn’t to say you should completely cut Facebook advertising out of your marketing strategy if it works for your association; but it is always wise not to put all your advertising eggs in one basket.

Need help diversifying your digital strategy for your association? Contact us here.

Content Marketing Case Study: TydenBrooks Security Products Group

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TydenBrooks is the global leader in security seals and custom security solutions. Security seals are tamper-evident mechanisms used to seal cargo in transit in a way that provides tamper evidence and some level of security. These seals can help detect theft or contamination and are used on all forms of cargo shipments including by truck, rail, sea, and air. As a 147-year-old brand and the global leaders in their industry, TydenBrooks was looking to put in place a successful content marketing program that included owning the industry’s thought-leadership space as well as running successful social media, e-mail marketing, and digital ad campaigns. The end goal of this strategy would be to generate leads and increase traffic to the e-commerce website.

TydenBrooks hired Arc 3 Communications to create a content marketing program that would place them as the thought leaders in the industry. Through a combination of content, email marketing, digital ad campaigns, and SEO, Arc 3 was able to build and put into place a successful program that resulted in leads, sales, increased brand awareness and new product launches. The process began with a content audit of TydenBrooks’ existing content efforts. A strategy session was then held with the marketing and sales team to identify goals, audiences, and objectives. From there a content marketing strategic plan was created and put into play.

Content marketing strategy included website content in the form of weekly thought leadership content geared toward their target audience. The topics of these blog posts would vary by month based on vertical focus. Keywords were strategically used in each piece to drive SEO. These blog posts were then uploaded to the website, shared across social media channels. Arc 3 also created and distributed a monthly e-newsletter that ensured customers were informed of new products as well as the latest trends in cargo and supply chain security. These newsletters helped drive leads and increase traffic to the website and social media channels.

Arc 3 set up digital ad campaigns for TydenBrooks through Google Ads and LinkedIn. After conducting intensive keyword research, an extensive SEM campaign was created promoting TydenBrooks products and services. Through a combination of text and display ads that included a retargeting campaign, these campaigns earned the client strong ROI.

Content from weekly blog posts were also utilized as sponsored content geared toward the industry vertical it pertained to using LinkedIn ads. Through LinkedIn, specific industries, or even specific job titles were targeted to make sure the ads get to potential customers who are most likely to click through. These ad campaigns brought in quality leads through newsletter sign-ups.

TydenBrooks now owns the thought-leadership space for their industry, further cementing their place as the global leaders. Its extensive archive of evergreen content that includes blog posts, case studies, and infographics is a resource for everyone in their industry. TydenBrooks content journey has not only resulted in an increase in leads generated and traffic to the website, but ultimately an increase in sales and revenue.

Website Development Case Study: North Carolina Aggregates Association

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The North Carolina Aggregates Association (NCAA) is the leading advocate for the aggregate industry in the state of North Carolina. It is a non-profit, member-driven association that has both producer and associate members. The mission of the NCAA is “promoting the environmentally sound, responsible and economically viable extraction of crushed stone, sand and gravel for use in all types of construction for public benefit and for positive statewide economic development.” North Carolina is one of the largest crushed stone producers in the United States.

The NCAA is a non-profit trade association incorporated in 1964. During the past 60 years, consumption of aggregates per capita has increased from 3.5 metric tons per year to over 10 tons annually. Companies engaged in the production and/or sale of crushed stone, sand and gravel in North Carolina make up the association. Environmental programs in legislation; marketing and public relations; technical specifications, safety and health, air, and water quality; mining and reclamation; transportation and research are all services offered to member companies, specifiers, and users of aggregate products.

With the aggregate industry experiencing renewed optimism,  the NCAA wanted to reflect this by updating their communications with a redesigned website. They wanted the new site to be mobile friendly and present content to their members in a way that made information easy to find while being aesthetically pleasing as well. Arc 3 Communications worked hand in hand with NCAA to create a website that represented their brand and gave them a strong new visual identity. Many features such as a slider of member logos, an interactive calendar of events, easy to navigate menu, and membership sign-up were incorporated to create a successful and informative user experience.

The North Carolina Aggregates Association’s new website resulted in substantial growth in unique visitors and page views to the site. NCAA’s website has provided a new strong visual brand identity for the association that stands out and represents them well. Most importantly, NCAA’s new website has resulted in an increase in member engagement, greater awareness about the aggregate industry among key partners, state legislators, and civic leaders; and more associate membership leads.

How to Tell the Difference Between Real and Fake News Online (Infographic)

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In this day and age of unlimited information at our fingertips, readers need to take time and do a little research to verify the news they are reading and sharing with others is, in fact, real news from a credible source. Below are a few steps you can take to make sure the information you are receiving and sending is reliable and true.

Why Advocacy at the Local Level is Crucial to Your Association’s Success

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Local government is very important to associations when it comes to the municipalities in which their industry members have a presence. Legislation that affects economic development, employment, operations, taxes, and more are decided at the local level. There is often important legislation that impacts how an industry can operate within a municipality in which it is located, and these can either benefit or hinder the marketplace for their industry and their members’ success.

When it comes to advocacy and policy issues, many think the most important action takes place at the state and federal levels. This is not always the case; some of the most important and influential work happens at the local level; in fact, many are saying in the age of COVID 19 that local is becoming the new state. The municipal and county level is often the starting point for policy ideas and from there they then expand to the state and federal levels. To be successful, your advocacy efforts must be comprehensive, and include strategies for the local level as well as for the state and federal levels.

Associations have started to shift advocacy resources and efforts to the local level to keep track of the issues important to them and their members. Whether it is a local ordinance that supports an association’s goals or threatens them, it is important to have strategies in place to either fight or support local legislation.

Writing letters, calling, and scheduling meetings with your local elected officials are a few grassroots level things you can do to advocate. Even in the age of COVID-19, you can still make a big impact by setting up Zoom meetings with a Mayor or City Councilman to discuss matters that are important to your association.

Grassroots efforts are very important for any association. Making sure you stay in the loop regarding local ordinances and issues that may affect your members is vital to keeping members happy and making sure your industry is successful in the municipalities it operates in. State and federal level advocacy garners headlines and attention, but the local level is closest to the people and where the most impact can occur. With many issues beginning at the local level, it is imperative to have a strong comprehensive strategy and action plan.

For help with your association’s advocacy efforts, contact us at https://arc3communications.com/contact-us/.

How to Increase Association Members’ Value with a Strong Content Strategy

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Content strategy is vital for your trade association, not only to bring in new members, but also to provide your current members with value for their membership. Just like other aspects of your organization, having a detailed and planned content strategy allows you to develop and put out content in a way that will draw the attention of your audience; attract new members; and provide your current members with valuable resources and information. Creating and releasing content without a strategy makes it difficult to track success; and also makes it difficult for your members to follow your content schedule, or lack thereof.

Below we will discuss ways to put together a content strategy that will allow you to test methods and see results. This will help you plan, create, and track your content marketing efforts and make tweaks where needed to reach your goals.

Planning and Goal Setting

First things first, you have to work with your team to pinpoint the ultimate goals you are trying to reach with your trade association’s content marketing efforts. Whether you are trying to bring in new members, raise awareness, provide value, promote an event, or a mixture of things; having them laid out allows you to plan your content efforts with these goals in mind. This lends purpose to your content creation and distribution strategy, instead of just posting content to get it out there.

Part of this process is identifying your audience. Consider the age range, background, profession, industry, and any other contributing factors that may affect the type of content you produce. These attributes may also influence the channels you choose to use to distribute your content. Researching information such as this Pew Research Center study on social media use and demographics, can help you decide the appropriate channels to reach your specific audience.

Content Types and the Popularity of Video  

When it comes to the types of content you create and distribute, you may need to experiment to
find out what works for your audience. While blogs and e-newsletters are good staples of content marketing for everyone to have, other content forms such as infographics, videos, photos, live-streams, webinars and more can help diversify and give your content strategy what it needs to cut through the noise. With so much content competing for your audience’s attention, the more you can stand out and draw members’ attention to you, the better. You may have to test multiple content types to gauge what gets the best results.

One of the most popular content forms now is video. According to Small Business Trends, 93% of marketers say video has brought new customers. With current video recording technology, it is possible to make professional looking videos straight from your cellphone. There are a number of different ways you can take advantage of video such as vlogs, behind-the-scenes, interviews, Q&A sessions, how-to videos, and many more. No matter the content path you choose to take, video is a good choice to have on your list.

Content Schedules, Calendars, and Consistency

As you create content, it is important to create a schedule for releases and posts. A good tip is to create and implement a content calendar that keeps track of what content is being posted, on what channel, and on what day. This helps you further strategize by allowing you to plan in advance what content you’d like to share. For example, if you have an upcoming virtual event, you will want to plan content regarding that event strategically leading up to it in order to recruit attendees.

Content buckets are a helpful strategy for organizing your content. Content buckets (remove link) refer to sharing certain subject matter on specific days of the week and can also be planned and tracked through your content calendar. For example, you can decide to always share association news on Monday’s, employee stories on Tuesday’s, industry how-to videos on Wednesday’s and so on. This way your audience will know when to look for the content that is most important to them. Your content buckets can also be tested and changed depending on performance. Always try to have a reason behind your strategic decisions to get the most ROI for your content efforts.

Consistency is key to a successful content strategy. As a trade association, you want your members to get as much value for their membership as possible. You also want potential new members to see that you are the leading authority for your association’s industry. In order for this to be possible, you have to consistently provide new and quality content on a regular basis. If you have an active blog that you post to once a week, try to find what day and time gets the highest traffic, and consistently post your new blog every week on that day and at that time. Again, this allows your members and the rest of your audience to know when to check back for new content.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

When it comes to content strategy for your trade association, there is not a one size fits all strategy that works for everyone.  If you need help creating and implementing a content strategy that works for your association and would like to learn about our content marketing services, contact us here.

How to Hold Successful Virtual Meetings with Your Legislators

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Lobbying is a key aspect of any state’s legislative session. Traditionally, lobbying and advocacy involved going to the state capitol and forming and maintaining relationships in the attempts to persuade to have a bill passed or killed.  This has changed drastically since the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year. Many state capitol’s have put in place limitations and restrictions to meet safety requirements during the legislative session. Many of the traditional ways to meet with lawmakers such as legislative receptions and special days at the Capitol have been taken off the table, leaving many lobbyists and citizens lost as how to participate in the legislative session.

Many new communication techniques have come into play since COVID-19 reared its ugly head. One is familiar to many, the virtual meeting. Zoom has become a commonplace in the daily life of many people. From business meetings to family visits, Zoom has been utilized to connect people during a time of social distancing and shutdowns. This includes communicating with legislators, and when doing so, you should know how to conduct the meeting.

Below are some tips and tricks for having successful Zoom calls with legislators during the legislative session and how to present yourself and make a lasting impression.

  1. Familiarize Yourself with the Virtual Meeting Software

If you are a frequent user of Zoom or Microsoft Teams you may be well versed in all the features and functions of the platforms; but if you are not, take time to learn before your meeting. The respective software websites and YouTube how to videos are great resources to ensure you know how the program works and the many features that it has. Be sure to know where the mute button, share screen button, chat button, and other items are located and how they work. Also be sure to understand how to join into a chat and how to make sure your microphone and audio is set upon entering a meeting. This way if you find yourself muted, you will know how to unmute quickly without keeping your legislator waiting while you try to figure it out.

  1. Keep Virtual Meeting Software Up to Date

A big item when using virtual meeting software, whether you use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or any other form, is making sure you keep the software up to date. Check an hour ahead of your meeting time to make sure there are no last-minute updates that need to be made. You do not want the time to come around for your important call with a legislator only to be late because you had to spend time updating the software.

  1. Do a Visual and a Sound Check

It is important to login early to perform a visual and sound check to make sure your camera and microphone are working properly. There is a test feature on most virtual meeting software that allows you to record a short clip and play it back so you can hear how you sound to the other party. This will help you adjust levels as needed so you are not too loud or too quiet during a meeting. There is also the ability to test your camera and make sure you do not have any unwanted filters or backgrounds activated and that your lighting and positioning are ideal. Doing this before every meeting is a good idea in case there are any issues that need to be resolved prior to your meeting time.

  1. Avoid Silly Filters

A video went viral recently of a lawyer meeting with a judge on zoom and he had a cat filter turned on that made him appear in the meeting as a talking cat. While the video was amusing to those watching, this kind of mishap could cost you your credibility with a lawmaker. This is why it is best not to mess with these sorts of filters on a professional account that you use to conduct meetings. If you are unaware of how to deactivate these filters, it is best to not mess around with them at all, as once activated, they will remain activated on all future meetings until they are disabled manually.

  1. Use Backgrounds Wisely

Virtual backgrounds can be useful for helping to provide a more professional feel if you are calling from a home bedroom for example. Virtual backgrounds are images that can be downloaded and used to replace your actual background in a video call. It is wise to test these out before the call to make sure they work visually and don’t cause any hiccups or distractions. Sometimes, depending on the device you are using for the meeting, virtual backgrounds can glitch or not work at all. This is why it is always important to test anything you plan on using during the meeting, beforehand.

  1. Technical Issues Will Arise, Don’t Panic

Just like with all technology, it will work perfectly until you need it to. There are apt to be issues that are out of anyone’s control such as disconnects, lags, and other technical issues. Do not panic, do your best to ride out the issue and if you get disconnected, attempt to rejoin the conversation. If it gets to a point where the meeting is completely dropped, email or call your representative, apologize and see if he or she is willing to retry the meeting. If worse comes to worse, see if you can complete the meeting over the phone and apologize for any inconvenience. Again, things happen so don’t panic, do your best to resolve the situation and continue the meeting as best you can.

According to many, virtual meetings are here to stay. While lobbying and advocacy are most effective face-to-face, many legislators may take to virtual meetings as they can be more convenient, and they can fit more into a day. This isn’t to say you should not try to schedule in person meetings in the post-pandemic world, just be aware that lawmakers may prefer this method far into the future.

Need help designing a Zoom background for your organization or brushing up on your virtual advocacy messaging, content and presentation skills? Contact us here.

How to Get Your Trade Association’s Content in Google’s Search Position Zero

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In recent years, Google has been trying to find ways to get people the answers they are looking for without having to leave the Google search engine results page (SERP). One way they use to achieve this is the featured snippet. These can appear with traditional Google searches or voice searches which are growing in popularity. Featured snippets are boxes of text that answer a query and appear above the coveted top three results on the SERP. This has come to be known as “position zero”. These featured snippets pull the answer to the query from a content piece on a website and post the “snippet” along with a link to the full piece in a box at the top of the page. This allows people to get the answers they are looking for quickly without having to go to any website, but if they wish to know more, they can follow the link to the full piece.

While there is no exact science to getting your association’s content into featured snippets, there are things you can do to greatly improve your chances.

Understanding What a Featured Snippet Is

Before you can begin to think about trying to earn a featured snippet, you should know a few things about them. Featured snippets are usually answers to who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. Google ranks websites and content based on the reputation and factualness of the content and from there pulls answers to feature in the snippet. For example:

If you search “Why join a trade association?”

You will see this featured snippet appeared at the top of the page. This particular snippet was pulled from www.americanbusinessmag.com and features a basic answer to the question “Why Join a Trade Association?”. It also gives the user the chance to follow the link to learn more, thus increasing chances of someone visiting your website.

Snippets can appear in different forms including paragraph snippets like the one above, numbered or bulleted lists, and tables. Which snippet type that your content is featured in will depend on the type of content you create.

How to “Own” the Featured Snippet

As previously stated, there is not an exact science to winning the featured snippet, but there are steps you can take with your association’s content to increase your chances.

  1. Find out what people want to know

For this first step, you really have to think like your audience; this could be existing members or potential members. Think of the questions you receive and try to focus strong content around answering those questions. Again, featured snippets are answers to who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. Keep this in mind when brainstorming potential audience questions. A good resource for finding what people are asking is www.answerthepublic.comwhere you can search specific terms and see what people are searching for regarding that term.

We searched “trade associations” and you can see a part of the wheel we got as a result. This image includes the who and how results. One popular question is “what do trade associations do?” so that may be a good topic for content for you to focus on.

  1. Research Snippets in Your Industry

A good way to find opportunities for snippets for your association is to go to Google and begin typing the questions that you came up with. This will allow you to see if there are existing snippets or if there is an open opportunity for you to own the snippet. Even if there are existing snippets, if you tailor you content right, you can still take control of that snippet. Also be sure to pay attention to the “People also ask” section that appears further down the SERP. Below is the “People also ask” box that appears when we entered the question “What is a trade association?”

This section also pulls from existing content online so there is also potential to have your content featured as an answer here as well.

  1. Strong Website, Strong Content, Strong SEO

One of the most important factors in having your association’s content chosen for the featured snippet is making sure your website is optimized, easy to navigate, and functioning well. This is one of the first things Google looks at when determining whether your page should appear on the first page of the SERP or in the featured snippet. If your website is slow and not user friendly by Google’s terms, even if your content is outstanding, you may be overlooked when it comes to the featured snippet. Not only that, but your website will get pushed further back on the SERP making it hard to find and less likely to be visited.

Also, devoting time to keyword research and using popular keywords in your content will help not only win the featured snippet, but also rank you higher on the Google SERP. Using backlinks, cross-linking, and releasing content consistently and regularly can also go far to increase your ranking and raising you up on the search engine results page (SERP).

You Can Do It

It takes work, but you can earn the featured snippets and even improve your position on Google’s search engine results page at the same time. There are many other factors that improve your chances for securing snippets and improving your SEO. If you would like further information or help with your association’s website or content marketing, contact us here.

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