PPB August 2021

compiled by Danielle Renda Is ‘Promo’ The Best Search Term To Use? Do you notice a difference in website traffic and sales when you use terms such as “marketing” and “advertising” versus “promotional products” to advertise your business? Q A Distributor Asks: How do you advertise your business? I feel like most people aren’t familiar with the term “promotional products.” Do you find the term “marketing” more fitting? I’m just trying to get this part of my business a little more attention. It really depends on your audience. If you look at Google Trends, the term “promotional products” is used a lot more in Kansas than in California. So, what do they call it in California? “Swag?” “Merch?” Or, they might be more specific with the item they’re looking for such as a “pen with a logo on it.” The term “promotional product” is still the best, broadest term to use, but tying it into “marketing” is really smart; it’s part of a business’s marketing toolkit. Then again, the term “advertising” might work better for some markets. It really depends on which term your clients use more: marketing or advertising, or something else. Are you looking into this for website SEO purposes? Self-promo? Ads? For the SEO portion, are you open to getting a professional audit? It might help you home in on the keywords and create some content that will get your target audience to your site. Check out Action Marketing; they do SEO/content marketing specific to our industry. Promo For the self-promo, what you call it is less important than what the message conveys. There have been a lot of discussions [on the Promotional Products Professionals Facebook page] about self-promo messaging. Check out what Whitestone Branding has done—they make some clever self-promo kits. STACEY GLUCHMAN Web and Digital Marketing Manager Warwick Publishing Company Hampshire, Illinois PPAI 114154, S7 Promotional products is a widely used term for buyers searching online, along with “swag” and “merchandise.” “Marketing” is often used to refer to online marketing. You can find information on the resources section of our website about how to market your business online. GLORIA LAFONT President Action Marketing Fort Lauderdale, Florida actionmarketingco.com 10 | AUGUST 2021 | INNOVATE