Mike Maloney introduced Sarah Whitfield, immediate account manager, and Kiesha Doss, director of agency publications for Flypaper, Internet marketing consultants formerly known as 121 Digital, at the Feb. 22 CAPC workshop. Doss spoke to commissioners and others at a workshop in the auditorium last summer about what a digital marketing consultant does, and commissioners wanted another opportunity to ask questions.
The CAPC pays Flypaper $100,000 per year for marketing services, and Finance Director Rick Bright said Flypaper does an amazing job.
Doss said there are various ways to reach specific people, and one way is precision targeting. She and her team can focus on a particular niche such as biking in the Ozarks, and anyone who searches that might see a Eureka Springs ad. She guarantees 25,000 views a month regardless of how many impressions it takes. To qualify as a view, a viewer must watch at least 10 seconds of a 15-second video.
She sends out quarterly e-mail blasts for Eureka Springs, and in April it will be all about the May Festival of the Arts. She said she would send ads to those who have gone to similar festivals, participated in festivals, or even looked up festivals.
Native marketing is the term for ad content presented as an article. Doss said they tried it last year and it was successful, so this year they will expand.
She mentioned click-throughs several times during the discussion because the average click-through rate for ads is .8 percent. Response to the Eureka Springs Blues Weekend, for example, was seven percent.
“Once they look up Eureka Springs, they are hooked, and we’ll target them,” she said. “If you are being shown an ad, you’re seeing it for a reason.”
Maloney explained they worked together on an ad campaign directed at people who looked up Branson. Doss sent potential tourists Eureka Springs ads ahead of time, and Maloney said the strategy was effective.
Doss remarked digital marketing works for the CAPC because “the Internet is where people find stuff.”
I hope the paper was paraphrasing Mr. Maloney, where he made the statement about, ‘the Internet is where people find stuff’. I thought “accountability” was something more the reason, rather than such an absolutely nothing statement as this. I just expect more from someone n his position with the city. Thank you.