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iManila joins Google Learning Sessions 101

“Be there, be seen, be relevant”

 

Such were the words spoken by Google PH’s Agency Acceleration Specialist, Berns Bachar in the recently concluded Google Learning Session 101 at the Google Headquarters in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig last October 18, 2019.

The Google session was attended by various representatives from digital marketing agencies, and brand specialists from different companies in the Metro who were looking to learn more about Google’s Search and Display Ads, and YouTube Ads. Google PH’s training highlighted the importance of creating digital campaigns for the success of one’s business.  “One of the most effective ways to spread brand awareness is via Search ads,” Bachar said.

 

*Photo and figures by TechCrunch

 

Search Ads are intent-based campaigns where ads appear when users search for a particular item or brand through different keywords.

Basing on Google’s monthly search record, the search platform receives over 2.5-billion searches per month in the Philippines alone and 3.5-billion daily searches worldwide. Google’s search engine market is valued at 94% of all searches and outranks other search engines in most, if not all, countries in the world. A total of 70% of these searches take place in mobile devices while only 30% on desktop and tablet devices.

According to Google, their search platform is an arena where brands fight over to outrank competitors and get everyone’s attention. So Google warns, if you aren’t there, your competition will be!

YouTube ads, on the other hand, are not intent-based like search ads, hence, they only appear to users who are viewing videos relating to the brand. For the record, YouTube has more than 1.5-billion monthly active users, second to Facebook which has more than 2-billion active users monthly. Though outnumbered by Facebook, 90% of digital users globally consider YouTube as their primary destination and 70% of consumers go to YouTube before buying a product.

 

*Photo and figures by TechCrunch

 

According to another speaker, Andre Visenio, Google PH’s Agency Business Lead, there are four unique approaches that you may apply to your future YouTube ads:

“Attract, Brand, Connect and Direct”.

Attract is basically for a bumper or 6-seconder video ads. The video must start with a bang, run in the middle subtly and end it with another bang. To power your video ad, it must have good audio and sound effects, eye-catching visuals and a relatable storyline. Brand, however, is more of highlighting the brand; Connect is provoking an emotional connection, sometimes funny and mostly heart-touching video ads. While direct is like the word itself, ads that are direct with clear messaging.

Compared to other social media platforms, YouTube users tend to spend more time on the platform. On mobile specifically, YouTube reports the average session time as more than 40 minutes. This is great for small businesses looking to drive more attention to their ads.

 

*Photo by Sapling

 

The latter part of the training discusses the perks of creating a display campaign for businesses. According to Bachar, who previously discussed about search ads, “Consumers in a browsing mindset are more receptive to learning about brands.”

Unlike search campaigns that are intent-based, display ads are more passive as they only show up while skimming through websites to shop, watch videos or read articles. Display ads appear in Google Display Network (GDN) platforms such as Chrome, YouTube, Gmail, Google Map, and Google Play. In a report by Google, users spend 10 hours a day online, in which 42% of all users go to social media and the remaining 58% spend their time online outside of social media, doing either online shopping or reading articles. As for people who visit the website, 10% of them read news, 25% watch videos, 25% are shopping and researching, while 40% are playing games.

The era has come where brands would raise their fists and fight off other brands to step up and capture their target markets. Search, Display and YouTube campaigns are great ways to start in building your brand.

 

“People expect your brands to be present online, especially on the web. Take this opportunity to boost your brand on a bigger and wider market. Advise your clients, friends or families who sell their products offline to switch to digital now,” Bachar said.

 

Unsure of how you’re going to maximize these digital opportunities? We can help you! Send us an email at [email protected]! #iManila #GooglePartner #DigitalMarketing

 

Getting to Know More About WordPress

Developing a website can be intimidating for people who are unfamiliar with the world of web development. There’s a common notion that web development is complex, hard to understand, and only for computer geeks. That might be true in the olden days, but as we progressed further in technology, people have developed easier ways to create things on the internet. And this is what the team behind WordPress has done –they’ve created a pro website builder that allows for a more convenient and less complicated way to build a website.

Introduced in 2003, WordPress has become the most popular website builder or Content Management System (CMS), if you want to get technical. WordPress comprises about 30% of the websites on the internet.

So what exactly makes WordPress so popular and why do most web developers prefer this platform above others? 

It’s free and available for everyone

Yup, you read it right. You can create your own website for FREE on WordPress. For anyone who is just starting to create their digital presence, this should be a helpful factor. You can create your free websites at wordpress.com where you can enjoy a limited number of free templates and plug-ins. For beginners, this is the best way to practice your web development skills. Take note that if you’re using the free version, you don’t entirely own your website meaning, your URL will look something like this: yourwebsitename.wordpress.com. However, if you are looking to explore more, then the best option is to create your own website through wordpress.org. Here you can have your own domain, enjoy 11,000+ templates and plug-ins. 

It’s user-friendly

No need to be intimidated! With WordPress, you don’t have to be a web developer to create your own website. All you have to do is be familiar with the tools and you’re good to go. Plus, WordPress has a ton of plug-ins that need not require coding. Some would prefer to initially have their websites done by a developer then have that developer train them to do future updates on their website. 

It’s SEO-friendly

SEO is essential to any website as this is a factor for driving organic traffic to your website. WordPress is one of the best platforms to apply a well-thought-out SEO campaign. 

It’s not just for blogging

There’s a notion that WordPress websites are only for blogging. While some websites are for personal use amongst others, businesses now have also expanded their channels to digital, specifically through websites. For brands, a website’s purpose is to build and strengthen its brand awareness. While an e-commerce website is the core of any e-commerce business. 

With all the digital advancements nowadays, everything that used to be complex and difficult is now reduced to a simple drag and drop. This is what WordPress websites can give you an easy-to-manage website that can help your business grow. 

If you’re looking into creating a website of your own, but find yourself needing some help, iManila houses the best web developers in the market who can help you create, manage, and launch your website in the digital space. Don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or call us at 490-0000 so we can talk about how we can help you. 

Visit www.imanila.ph for more information.

Is your business ready for the Holidays?

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year! Aside from the holly and jolly Christmas carols and festive lights on the streets, Christmas shopping and gift giving are one of the highlights of this season.

Filipinos love Christmas. As a matter of fact, as early as September, Google searches surge for inquiries related to Christmas – from shopping for decorations to special gift finds. It’s not a surprise that Christmas shoppers are now flocking the stores this early to buy gifts for their loved ones hoping to avail of the early season offers and most especially, to avoid the shopping and traffic rush when December comes in. Luckily, the good news for shoppers today is that they can now enjoy a more convenient way to shop this season with the rise of various eCommerce and online shopping channels.

This actually brings in a great opportunity for businesses to take advantage of the increasing demand and the peak of consumers’ shopping behavior every year. In 2018, 26% of the Filipino population have bought at least one (1) item online as their Christmas gift. This is equivalent to more than 27 million people and guess what – this number is expected to grow even higher this year! (Google, 2019)

Kantar TNS has also concluded a study which finds that in 2018, 52% of Filipinos have searched online about food groceries while 80% have searched about consumer electronics. And an even greater 81% have searched for air travel. The Holiday season offers businesses the most active consumers that are ready to convert with the added capacity to do so. With this great boost in online shopping, it’s important that your brand is visible online and that your products stand out amongst your competitors.

To help you out, here are some tips to capture the hearts of your target market this Yuletide season. We made a list, so check it twice!

Reach more people through Search and Display Ads

Christmas gifts, recipes, carols, and decorations – are just some of the possible seasonal keywords that you need to invest in. Apparel and footwear, as well as food beverages, are always projected to lead the influx of search queries this season. Make sure to appear on all possible related keywords to your products and own the SERP through Search Ads. Accompanying some Display campaigns along your Search campaign can also help in boosting brand awareness and recognition.

Create an impact through Video Ads

You’ve seen a lot of Christmas advertisements on television that have gone viral for its heartfelt and emotional approaches. With Video Ads, you can also definitely achieve this! Aside from being more cost-effective than television ads, you can also create a more targeted strategy and have more meaningful metrics to measure your success. The key to creating a story right now that can be impactful to your audience is by making the most out of the existing status quo by giving twists and turns. Focusing on the relevance and relatability of your story to your viewers is ideal especially if you want to inspire and educate them to buy your products.

Explore opportunities in Shopping Ads

The eCommerce industry in the Philippines is said to become a $25 billion market by 2025. Aside from the usual online stores like Lazada and Shopee, you can also explore the benefits of having your own eCommerce website and advertise your products through Shopping Ads. Preparing bigger budgets for large moments like 9.9, 10.10, 11.11, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday is also recommended as you can go with the trend that pushes people to buy more. Shopping ads are very visual and product based which is generally ideal for F&B, clothing, and consumer electronics industries. There is also no need for keywords targeting as the structure of your feed (product listings) will be crawled by Google and will be automatically determine if one of your products is relevant to a certain search query.

This Holiday season, don’t miss out on valuable consumers that can totally scale up your revenue! Invest in paid advertising and make your brand standout in this season of giving!

Need assistance on your paid advertising campaigns? Talk to us! iManila is a full-service digital and a Google Partner agency that offers web development and digital marketing strategies to help more businesses grow! Contact us at (02) 490 0000 or email us at [email protected]!

How Can Social Media Help My Business?

Being on social media has practically been the norm for everyone. Whether you’re going to work, having your lunch, or just taking a 5-minute break from work, social media is a habit that people cannot seem to let go. Different Social media platforms have become rampant in the last five to eights years that people are so accustomed to getting information and news through it rather than the traditional method of newspaper and television. With this in mind, it’s hard to deny that businesses nowadays are starting to invest more and more on building their online identity through social media.

But what exactly does social media provide to businesses? Why is it that many of these big brands are so eager to be successful online? If you’re curious to find answers on why your business should invest in social media, we’ve outlined here for you some benefits that you should consider.

Social Media Provides Online Identity Support

The online space is very wide. Social media is just a fraction of what the online world is all about. Obviously, websites are probably the number one investment that a business should consider to have that online identity. However, a website alone will not cut it and it’s no longer enough to just have a website. In fact, more and more brands are using social media to support their websites, which is especially why it’s better to support your online efforts with a social media calendar as well. Having your own social media page, especially on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn is a great anchor to boost your online identity. With so many people using these platforms as their source of information and lifestyle display, there’s no doubt that your business will reach as many people as possible and gain the sales that you’re hoping for.

Let the online world know about your branding and identity by posting relevant content. Make sure that you’re voicing out your identity with direct and creative captions. Don’t forget to be cohesive and in-sync with regards to your overall look on all of your social media profiles.

Social Media Produces a Wider Audience Reach

As mentioned, social media attracts a lot of people. It can be considered as a hub or a place where people gather to share thoughts and ideas. With over a billion monthly users, social media is your go-to place to promote your business online. Make sure you’re setting up the right ads and targeting the right people in order to reach more relevant customers for your brand. Remember to capitalize every online opportunity in order to boost your business identity online through social media.

Social Media Generates an Increase in ROI

Lastly, every businesses’ main goal is to have that increase in their ROI. As long as you have a solid foundation on your social media profiles, and that all of your communications plans are in-sync with each of them, you can expect your ROI to rise in no time. It’s only just a matter of time and on whether or not your services or products targeting the right market.

Looking to start your online journey through social media? iManila is here to help! With over 23 years of experience in the IT industry, we’ve helped countless clients establish their identity online. For more information, contact us at (02) 490-0000 or leave us a message at https://imanila.ph/lets-talk/.

What Makes a Good Website Design?

Good website design will never go out of trend. It’s not just about using beautiful graphics and a good color palette that matches your brand – a properly designed website should most importantly be functional. 

Form + Function

Structure, graphics, and layout are all essential parts of a website’s design. These things make up the website’s “form”, and what a visitor usually sees upon first glance of a website.  

Elements of the  “form” aspect of a website are always made with a purpose. The main purpose should always be about considering the user. The first few things that a good website designer should look into is how to make your website user-friendly, and make it easier for users to navigate around your website. This means that all graphics, photos, contents and the overall layout of the website should appeal to your consumer’s online behavior and preferences. 

Function, on the other hand, is how the elements of the form operate. When the form operates according to its predetermined function, only then can we truly say that we have a great design!

Why does this all matter?

Good website design will always make you win customers online. Why? Users, consumers, buyers, customers just simply benefit from it. Having a greatly designed website not only allows visitors to get the information they need, but it also allows them to easily find what they’re looking for. Websites with a great design and user interface attract online visitors to keep coming back for more. Not only does a great website increase a company’s reputation online but it also sustains a good user base, which increases your website’s visibility and ranking on search engines. In short, having a great website can not only change a consumer’s mind about your brand, but it also pumps up your online visibility organically in search engines. 

As a final note – a new and well-designed website is not just something your company can be proud of, but especially in this day and age filled with so many distractions – now more than ever you need a website that will be able to catch AND keep your consumers’ attention! 

Need help? iManila has delivered more than 5,000 web and digital marketing projects since its inception back in 1996. Drop us a message at [email protected]!

iManila has earned its Google Search Specialization!

Last March 2019, iManila officially became a Google Partner. As a Google Partner, it not only allowed us to step up in our skills and expertise in running paid ads, but it has also pushed us to go for new milestones. With this, we’re happy to announce that just last month, we earned our Google Search Specialization!

This specialization comes at the right time for us as we continue to prove that as a digital agency, we’re well trained and equipped to help our clients become visible and relevant on the Google Search Network.

How can this benefit your company?

By partnering with a certified Google Partner agency like iManila who specializes in Google Search, you’re assured that the people working with you are experts in the field and can effectively run well-crafted Search Ads campaigns.

iManila is committed to continuously innovating and improving the digital marketing skills and expertise needed to help our clients reach their goals. This badge is just one of the many testimonies to that commitment.

If you’re looking for an agency to help you manage and run data-driven Google Ad campaigns, get in touch with us! Drop us an email at [email protected] or call us at +632 490 0000.

#GoogleAds #PaidAds #PayPerClick #DigitalAgency

Philippine Retail Industry in the Digital Era

In this day and age of technology and automation, the Philippine retail industry has a big task to move towards a new chapter. The 26th National Retail Conference and Stores Asia Expo 2019 held last August 15-16 in the SMX Convention Center centered on the theme Retail: Reimagined, focusing on the topic of digitalization and modern marketing as the future of the industry.

The conference hosted talks from several local and international experts in the retail industry, who spoke openly not just about the newest trends in the market, but how to survive amid the newest consumers, the Generation Z buyers in the next five to ten years.

While many retailers are still focused on trying to capture the attention of its millennial buyers, the 26th NRCE brought to light the importance to prepare for an even bigger generation – the Gen Z consumers, who will eventually consist of more than 30% of consumers in a matter of five years. These consumers are expected to have an even shorter attention span than the millennials and will demand more active engagement thru visually appealing content that will catch their eyes.

With this in mind, is your business ready for the future consumers?

Designing experience and building trust among your target market are just two of the things that should be remembered in this digital era. With the Internet and social media well within reach, businesses can easily take advantage of reaching out to their target market right at this very moment – allowing your products the visibility it needs to stay at the top of mind of your consumers.

According to a featured article of Ms. Tiffany Lung, a Retail Analyst and one of the guest speakers during the 26th NRCE, “Staying current and relevant in a fast-paced industry like retail is by no means an easy task. Retailers have to be agile, proactive, and quick on their feet in order to retain their market position amongst the competitive field, and at the same time adapt to an omnichannel consumer”.

And what’s the best way to adapt to the omnichannel consumer?

Simple.

Go digital.

The millennial generation and future Gen Z consumers are two of the most active generations online. Going digital will not just allow your brand visibility to these markets, but starting your online campaigns now will allow more time to build online engagement and relationships with your future consumers. At the same time, starting now will buy you time to create brand recall to your future buyers.

Going digital is easy. Start by creating a website then expand your online presence by being active on social media and starting digital paid advertising. Don’t be afraid to try new things for your business. Digital has worked wonders for old and new businesses alike. Why not give it a try?

Looking to take the digital leap? Let iManila help! Contact us at (02) 490 0000 or drop us an email at [email protected]!

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imanila team nrce 2019

The iManila team during the 26th National Retail Conference and Stores Asia Expo 2019.

The National Retail Conference and Expo is an annual two-day event managed by the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) and dubbed as the BIGGEST and MOST IMPORTANT Retail Industry Event in the Philippines. Among the big brands who participated in this event are PLDT, Globe, Bench, Wilcon Depot, The SM Store, and Megaworld Lifestyle Malls. iManila is grateful to be an exhibitor and the Official Social Media Partner for this momentous event where the country’s top retailers converge.

A Guide to Consumer Experience Online

Up until a few years back, it would take a while before a shopper made a decision on which brand to buy along the aisles of a grocery store or supermarket. But as the years went by, technology gifted us with exciting innovations. Mobile phones became more powerful than ever. From having a mobile phone with the singular functionality of doing voice calls, the mobile phone developed into an all-in-one device that more or less had the same capabilities as a personal computer. It became faster and more efficient and allowed people to have technology readily available in their pockets.

This advancement in technology has, in response, led to changes in behavior. Research shows that the current global population spent an average of 6 hours and 42 minutes online. Currently, in the Philippines, the average time being spent online is 10 hours and 2 minutes. This actually makes us one of the countries with the longest Internet activity. In which, various businesses, like you, can take advantage of.

Human Attention Span Is Getting Shorter Than Ever

In a study made by Microsoft two years back, it was revealed that the average human attention span is at eight-seconds, making it shorter than the attention span of a goldfish at nine (9) seconds. This only means that your message and idea should come out clearly to viewers in eight seconds or less!

New statistics from Google also revealed that you only have six (6) to eight (8) seconds to get online audiences’ attention. Whether we like it or not, the realities of user experience all happen within an average moment of 8 seconds – what Google calls micro-moments.

What are micro-moments?

Micro-moments are the collective activities and experiences of people online. It is the usual things we look at or search for online. And usually, these moments are so short, menial, and unnoticeable – and yet collectively an indication of our total online experience.

When we search for something and can’t seem to find it in a snap of a finger, ultimately we shift to different search terms or a different application or browser just find what we need to know NOW. This is a perfect example of micro-moments.

New Consumer Reality

Micro-moments are the new consumer reality. Consumers rely on their smartphones to make pre-purchase validations even before making an actual purchase whether it be online or offline.

In between those micro-moments online, within those quick tapping of their phones, and impatient waiting for seconds, a business has to be there with them – a brand has to be able to show them the things they need to get quickly.

Do you need to adapt to this new reality?

The quick answer: YES! The economy of mobile and consumer experience requires businesses to always be on their toes especially when it comes to improving their customer’s purchase journey and experience.

Why? Because in this day and age, consumer experience is one of the most shared experiences online. Great experiences spread like a heart-warming story – the type people will love. Bad experiences, on the other hand, spread like a wild-fire that turn everything in its path into ashes. In short, customer experiences shared online about your brand can either make or break your business.

These experiences are the online consumer micro-moments that brands and businesses should give importance to. These moments sandwiched in eight (8) seconds have gained the power to change the course of how some leaders run their businesses.

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Are you ready to change the way you run your business? Let iManila help you make consumer-based strategies to enhance your business’s marketing. Learn more about our digital marketing services by clicking the link below.

imanila.ph/digital-marketing

How much is your peace of mind?

It was a hectic Monday, and your office is in chaos preparing for the weekly management meeting– when suddenly a noisy commotion grows in a corner as your employees are starting to break in panic.

“No inbound leads have come in!” an assistant, cried in.

Everyone’s on their toes trying to find out why, only to realize that the culprit is your server, as it crashed and failed to load your website, thus making it inaccessible for a couple of hours now, and still counting.

The sad thing is, this is the third time that this has happened just this month alone, and it’s starting to take a toll on your revenue.

What to do?

This scenario is probably one of the main stressors for most companies relying on their online channels to generate business.

The one-million-dollar question here is, “is it worth it to get stressed over this kind of issue time and time again?”

Our answer is NO.

You can always rely on reputable companies who can do it for you.

As one of the most trusted full-service digital marketing agencies in the country, iManila is the go-to provider of brands and companies here and abroad for the following services:

Hosting

Our hosting solutions are engineered for powerful and reliable performance online. From shared and dedicated hosting to SSL certificates and web security and backup, you can count on our solutions to provide 99.5% uptime and availability.

Web Design and Development

Our mission is to turn beautiful designs into useful and functional websites that represent your business in the best way possible. With a pool of expert designers and developers, we are very much capable of producing well-designed and functional websites from informational websites, to e-commerce sites with various functionalities.

Web System and Applications Development

A website is not just the only thing that businesses need these days. Reach your market through web and mobile applications by transforming your business to carry out automated processes and operations to improve productivity and profit.

Digital Marketing

Today’s online information age is unstoppable and is accelerating faster than anyone can anticipate. With social media networks and search engines rising as key getaways of the information highway, marketers are rapidly shifting from offline to online to reach their customers.

With the combination of both organic effort and paid advertising, you can surely interact with your audience in real-time. To add, digital marketing provides measurable results which can surely empower you to make wise business decisions when it comes to optimizing your campaigns and achieving your company’s goals.

Tech Support Services  

Get 24/7 support from our fully-equipped, highly-knowledgeable technical staff! With over a million man-hours of experience, our technical support specialists can solve and troubleshoot all hardware and software issues of your business.

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Let iManila give you the peace of mind that you need. To know more about our services, call us at +632 4900000 or send us an email at [email protected].