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4 Industries Benefiting From Drone Videography

Drone videography has quickly become a staple in big budget films and it’s not surprising as to why. Drone videography makes getting aerial shots quicker, easier, and cheaper than traditional methods. This isn’t just good news for Hollywood, but for other commercial industries! Commercial drone video is being used in a variety of industries in some creative ways. Learn how these 4 industries are utilizing drone videography and how you can too!

1. Real Estate

When looking at residential or commercial real estate, it can be difficult to get an accurate picture of a property from a few pictures online. Drone videography allows real estate agents and sellers to present a property in an entirely new way. Aerial shots can give potential buyers a better picture of large plots of land or the layout of a property.

2. Outdoor Attractions

If you have an outdoor attraction, such as an amusement park or nature park, there’s probably a lot to see! Drone video can give you the eye-in-the-sky shots you need to really show off what your attraction has to offer. A drone can fly above the trees or to the tops of rides, giving viewers a unique perspective.

3. Special Events

Are you looking for a unique way to promote your fair or festival? Drone videography may be the solution. Drones can cover a wide area in a short amount of time. If you have a reoccurring event, you can reuse footage for future promotions. You can even use drone videography to live stream events!

4. Farming

Farmers have been quick to adapt to the growing capabilities of drone videography. It has proved particularly useful in surveying the land, checking on the growth of otherwise inaccessible crops, and monitoring for disease. This doesn’t only save farmers time and money, it helps them be more efficient in their growing.

The commercial applications of drone videography are wide reaching and only growing as drone technology advances. For fully licensed drone videography, rely on the experts at MLT Group. Our drone videographers are certified by the FAA and Minnesota Department of Transportation to fly for commercial use.

We also provide other expert marketing services like SEO and PPC. 

Contact us at sales@mltgroup.com or (507) 281-3490 to schedule your shoot today!

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How to Write an Effective Call to Action for Your Landing Page

When writing landing page copy for or your business’ site, nothing is more important than a strong call to action. Whether you want readers to click, call, or sign up, without a strong call to action, your conversion rates will suffer.

Even if you write a brilliant piece of copy, it will be rendered useless without a good call to action. But how do you create a strong call to action?call to action

Use Command Verbs

Your call to action is all about being direct. Using strong command verbs will let your readers know exactly what you want them to do. For example, ‘buy’, ‘shop’, ‘download’, or ‘find out how’ are all concise and strong.

Reduce Risk

When a visitor finds themselves on your landing page, they’re probably not ready to sign their life away. Including language like ‘no obligation’ or ‘FREE trial’ puts the visitor at ease, making it easier for them to follow through.

Keep it Brief

The longer your call to action is, the more likely you are to lose the reader’s attention. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. “Click now to increase your site traffic today!”

Have a Deadline

It’s easy for visitors to think ‘I’ll just come back later.’ Including a deadline will encourage them to act sooner rather than later. “Limited time only!” “Sale ends soon!”

Entice Your Audience

Have you ever been to a site that immediately asks you to enter your credit card info? How likely are you to jump right in? Not very. Instead of asking your visitors to buy right away, consider enticing them first by offering a free trial, directing them to a video, or a demo. This eases them into the decision to buy and allows you the opportunity to educate them on your product or service.

Get Creative

creative call to action
okcupid’s landing page has a strong and creative call to action that perfectly reflects their services.

You never know if something will work unless you try. Don’t be afraid to have fun and get creative with your call to action. Having a unique call to action will catch more attention than something generic. You can always change it if it isn’t working. Here’s a great example from the dating app, okcupid.

By following these tips, you can write a stellar call to action for your landing page. But what about the design and hosting? For a truly killer landing page, to use in your marketing campaigns contact the web development experts at MLT Group today at sales@mltgroup.com or (507) 281-3490.

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5 Benefits of Adding Professional Video to Your Website

When a visitor comes to your business’ website, you have about 7 seconds to capture their attention. If they are faced with nothing but a huge block of text, your chances of keeping them on your site are slim, which is the opposite of what you’d want from a successful SEO strategy. But how can you capture a visitor’s attention quickly and keep it? Adding a professional video to your site may be the answer. professional video Twin Cities MN

 

How Professional Videos Improve Your Website

 

  1. Increase Engagement: Visuals are more engaging than plain text, meaning you can hook your audience right away with a video.
  2. Easily Communicate Your Message: A video on your home page or your company blog that explains who you are, what you sell, and what you do is a quick way to introduce new visitors to your business, saving them from scrawling through text to try and find the answers themselves.
  3. Make You Memorable: People retain information better when accompanied by images. This means visitors are more likely to think of you when it comes to making a purchasing decision.
  4. Improve SEO: Having a video that is optimized for search engines will boost your site’s overall SEO. Make sure the title and tags incorporate keywords and geotargets relevant to your business. If you have multiple videos on your site, optimize them for different terms and geotargets for additional reach.
  5. Give Your Business a Face: Did you realize that the human face is powerful? People are able to better empathize with human faces than other images. Videos are a great opportunity to give your business a face. Whether it be the founder or a spokesperson, utilizing people in your video will help your audience better identify with your business and see themselves using your product or service.

Including videos on your website is a great way to get your message out there and engage your audience. Ready to step up your website with a professional video? Contact the videography experts at MLT Group! Whether you need animation, drone footage, or a commercial, we’ve got you covered. For a free quote, contact us today at (507) 281-3490 or sales@mltgroup.com.

 

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How to Respond to Online Reviews to Boost Your Business

Responding online reviews
Responding to reviews, both good and bad, can help business owners promote their business.

We’ve talked about the importance of online reviews before, but when you receive a review, what should you do? Should you respond or leave it alone? What if it’s negative? Responding to reviews requires tact and strategy. If done right, responding to reviews, even negative ones, can give your business a boost! Here, we’ll talk about the importance of responding to online reviews and how to respond to both positive and negative ones.

Why You Need to Respond to Online Reviews

It’s important to respond to both positive and negative online reviews. Responding gives your business a voice in the ongoing conversation consumers are having about your services. It also lets readers know that you’re engaged and care about what they have to say. Even if a reviewer was dissatisfied, a simple and polite response can make a world of difference. But how do you respond to reviews in a way that’s tactful and boosts your business?

How to Respond to Positive Reviews

Every business loves receiving a positive review, so responding is easy. But you can maximize this opportunity , connecting with your customers and promoting your business by remembering these key elements:

  • Remember your manners- Always thank a reviewer for taking the time to write about your business. It’s polite! “Thank you! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed your visit!”
  • Make it personal- Personalizing your response to each review shows customers that you read their reviews and care about what they have to say. To personalize a response, thank the reviewer by name and highlight specifics of their review. For example, if they appreciated your attention to detail, mention that thoroughness is something your business prides itself on. Doing this also allows you to re-emphasize the positive qualities of your business.
  • Invite them to come again- Inviting the reviewer to visit again shows that you care about their repeat business and makes them feel welcome. You can also use this as an opportunity to promote a special event or sale you have coming up. “Come see us again for our semi-annual sale starting on June 1st!”
  • Use keywords- Reviews can show up in search results, so utilize industry keywords and your business’ name when responding to a positive review so more readers will see it.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews

Receiving negative reviews hurts. However, they are a great tool for growing as a business, improving the customer experience, and even mending relationships. As expected, responding to negative reviews can be tricky, but with these tips, you can make negative reviews work for your business.

  • Understand what happened- What made this customer unhappy? Speak with your employees and try to piece together what happened or what went wrong. This will give you a better idea of how to respond and what you can do to remedy the issue. Was there a misunderstanding? Did your business drop the ball? Or was the customer in the wrong? This is something you should already be doing to improve your business and your customers’ experiences.
  • Remain calm- When responding to a negative review, it’s important to maintain a level head. Sounding angry or defensive will only reflect poorly on your business. Remaining calm shows that you are a professional and can take criticism.
  • Apologize and sympathize- Even if the customer was in the wrong, always apologize for their poor experience. This shows humility and acknowledges the reviewer’s feelings. This will also show other readers that your business cares about its customers and their experiences. “We’re sorry to hear you were dissatisfied with our services. We always try to put our customer’s satisfaction first, but it seems we’ve missed the mark.”
  • Take the conversation offline- Include your contact information and offer to resolve the issue outside of the review forum. This gives you the opportunity to make things right with the disgruntled customer and shows them that you value their patronage. It also shows readers that your business cares about its customers and takes their experiences seriously. If you are able to resolve the issue, politely ask the disgruntled customer to update their review to reflect this.
  • Don’t use keywords or your business’ name- As mentioned earlier, reviews can appear in searches. Avoid using keywords or your business’ name when responding to negative reviews so these reviews won’t be seen by other customers.

Reviews are an important part of any business. With these tips, you can maximize every opportunity to connect with your customers. Do you want more reviews for your business? Contact MLT Group at 507.281.3490 or sales@mltgroup.com and ask about our review campaign services.

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How Online Reviews Are Affecting Your Local Ranking

We all know that positive online reviews are important to your business; they build your reputation and are highly influential to consumers. But did you know that good reviews can also influence your local search ranking on Google?

Here is an example of Local Three Pack results for carpet cleaning in Rochester, MN.
Here is an example of Local Three Pack results for carpet cleaning in Rochester, MN. You can see the online reviews prominently displayed.

As far as local searches are concerned, every business wants to appear in Google’s Local Three Pack which shows the top three local search results. The Three Pack takes up prime real estate on Google’s search results, appearing before organic results and just below the paid ads. Having your business appear in Google’s Local Three Pack means that potential customers are more likely to find your services and click through to your website.

However, the Local Three Pack results are determined by more than content, relativity, and keywords. In a continuing effort to provide users with the best possible results, Google’s algorithm is rewarding businesses that have positive reviews, by helping them rank in the Local Three Pack.

How to Appear in the Local Three Pack

So how can you help your business receive positive reviews and boost your chances of appearing in the Local Three Pack?

First, make sure you’ve claimed your business on Google My Business. This way you can start directing customers to write reviews on Google.

Second, you will need to develop a strategy for encouraging your customers to write reviews of your business. Here are 3 tips for promoting positive reviews.

  1. Ask. It may sound obvious, but many businesses forget to ask their customers for reviews. Try including a prompt on receipts or in follow up emails.
  2. Learn from your existing online reviews. Learning from your existing reviews, both positive and negative is important for your business and will help promote positive reviews. Capitalizing on your businesses’ strengths while addressing its weaknesses will help you to provide a better experience for your customers, leaving them more likely to leave a positive review.
  3. Make leaving online reviews easy. Your customers aren’t likely to go out of their way to review you. Offering them a simple and direct option for leaving reviews will increase the likelihood that they will participate. Include direct links to your review profiles in emails, newsletters, and other communications to your customers.

There’s no time to lose! The experts at MLT Group can help set up and optimize your Google My Business profile and help you promote positive reviews for your business. For more information, please contact one of our professionals at 507.281.3490 or sales@mltgroup.com.

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Protect Your Business’ Online Reputation

 

Watch our latest Theo Talk about managing your online reputation.
Watch our latest Theo Talk about managing your online reputation.

You’ve worked hard to build your business and provide quality services. After all of the time and energy you’ve put into your business, it can be heartbreaking to see your business’ reputation under attack from online reviews. As our Director of Operations, Theo St. Mane, explains in our latest Theo Talk video, too many good businesses are marred by just a few negative reviews.

But how can just a few bad reviews have such a devastating impact? Imagine the last time you paid for a good or service and had a good experience. Did you feel compelled to write a positive review about it? Now imagine the last time you had a negative experience. You were probably more compelled to share the story. There is a psychological reason for this. Positive and negative experiences are processed differently in the brain. Negative experiences take more processing power, causing us to ruminate on them. This makes it more likely for consumers to share their negative experiences on review sites.

What Should You Do With Bad Reviews?

No matter how well your business operates, bad reviews happen, which is why it’s important to have a plan for how to handle them. First, deleting isn’t the answer. Most review sites such as Yelp and Google Business won’t allow businesses to delete reviews unless they can prove the review is false or attempting to inflict undue damages. If they did, these sites would lose all credibility. But if you can’t delete a bad review, what can you do?

  • Research the complaint– Who is the customer? Is their complaint valid? What were the circumstances surrounding their experience? This is information that will be helpful for understanding the complaint and how to respond.
  • Respond to the complaint– Sharing your side if the story can help repair your relationship with the dissatisfied customer and improve your image with potential customers reading the review. In responding make sure you sound reasonable and professional. The quality of your response can completely neutralize a negative review in the eyes of other consumers.

How to Receive Positive Reviews

If consumers are more likely to share negative reviews, how do you get consumers to share positive experiences about your business?

  • Make it easy – Include links to your business’ review profiles on your website, social media, emails, and newsletters. Customers aren’t going to spend time looking for your business on these sites, but if you make it easy for them they may take a few moments to leave a positive review.
  • Give incentives– Customers are more likely to leave reviews if they have some incentive. It is important, however, that you are not seen as paying for reviews or paying for good reviews. Monthly giveaways and other chances to win prizes are proven strategies for encouraging reviews.
  • Ask– It seems so obvious, but many businesses fail to ask their customers to write reviews. Make it part of your daily work practice for you and your employees to solicit reviews from customers.

Your business’ reputation is invaluable so make sure you protect it. To find out how MLT Group can help your business with its online reputation and SEO, contact one of our professionals at sales@mltgroup.com or 507.281.3490. Also, watch our latest Theo Talk video about managing your business’ online reputation here.

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How to Bounce Back from Bad Reviews

There’s no denying how bad it feels when you receive a negative online review. It’s easy to write off a bad review as just an over critical or cranky customer that doesn’t deserve your attention but with 67% of consumers making their decisions based on online FrownyFacereviews, it’s not wise to ignore them. Here are a few tips on how to learn from bad reviews and to bounce back with grace to be better than ever.

Don’t Delete Them 

Most review and rating sites such as Yelp! will not remove negative reviews unless the business owner is able to prove that they are false or malicious. If they did, how could consumers be expected to trust reviews at all? Besides, leaving up negative reviews offers you opportunities to show potential customers how professionally you react to customer concerns.

Research the Complaint

If you can, look up the unhappy customer in your records. What project was done for them? When? Who was involved? Also, talk to your employees and get their side of the story. Did the customer appear unhappy and if so how did the staff work to correct the issue? This is all information you will want to know when addressing a bad review. However, this sometimes this isn’t possible as some review sites allow reviews to be posted anonymously.

Respond

Responding to a negative review is the perfect chance to not only possibly reconcile with a disgruntled customer, but to share your side of the story. While responding privately is an option, it is usually best to respond publicly so that other potential customers can see the response that balances the complaint. Providing a humble, reconciliatory and constructive response makes you look like the company consumers want to do business with.

Learn From It

While negative reviews sting, they are a great opportunity to better your product or services. Was there an issue with scheduling appointments? Ask yourself how you could make the process more efficient. Was there a miscommunication with an employee? Ask yourself how this can be prevented in the future.

The truth is that even if you do everything perfectly, your business will get bad reviews. But rather than ignoring them, make them work for your business. Maybe you’ll be able to turn that frown upside down.

For more information on digital marketing and website design, give us a call at 507-281-390.

 

 

 

 

 

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Your Website: Stock Images vs. Local Photos

Which photo types are the best for your business’ website?

Though stock photos can be tastefully used, at MLT Group we always encourage our clients to use photos unique to their business. Initially, stock images may seem like the best choice: they are sometimes cheaper, more readily available, and usually high quality. Sounds perfect, right? Before you decide, consider the benefits of having a photo shoot unique to your business and operations.

1) Photos look more natural and are relevant to your business.

2) Unique photos reinforce that you are a local business.

3) You legally own the photos used on your website.

4) No other business will have the same photos that you do.

5) You can garner trust from customers by using local photos.

Imagine a customer checks out your website before visiting your business, then walks in to find the same person on the home page greeting customers at the door. Your local branding and recognition is immediately reinforced by your digital presence!

At MLT Group, we provide a full range of services to help you make your new website look fantastic. From web design and development to photography and video services, we can help you with all of your digital and traditional marketing needs. For more information, please contact jeff@mltgroup.com or call our office at 507.281.3490.

 

 

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MLT Group Tapes at John Marshall High School

Digital Marketing and Video Production in Rochester by MLT Group

Earlier this week, MLT Group helped with the production of a video promotion for John Marshall High School’s Spirit of Service Project. This Friday, April 11th and Saturday, April 12th in the John Marshall High School parking lot, you can donate your old but usable clothing, outerwear, and shoes. This donation will help raise money for the Warrior Canine Connection, which is an organization that provides care and training for service dogs for our country’s wounded veterans.

MLT Group was ecstatic to be a part of the filming, especially because we were able to visit with former intern, Grace Dokken. Check out the picture to the left with videographer Mike Pruett, student interviewers Grace and Haron Arama with US Army Staff Sergeant Patrick Zeigler and his service dog Ranger sitting to the right.

MLT Group provides video production in Rochester, MN for a variety of different events and organizations. We offer an entire host of creative solutions, including  web design, SEO, and digital marketing in Southeast Minnesota, Minneapolis, and throughout the US. Call us today for all of your media production needs or digital marketing services.

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Hummingbirds, Penguins, and Pandas? Decoding the Google SEO Zoo

MLT Group provides web development, search engine optimization, and digital marketing in Rochester,MN and throughout the United States

If you pay attention to recent Google news, you may have heard the phrases Google Hummingbird, Google Penguin, and Google Panda. Of course, this sounds like very strange terminology when thinking about one of the largest information technology companies in the world. As Google would have it, these terms do not mean what they appear. Google has not taken a single hummingbird, penguin, and panda under its roof, though that would be an interesting sight to see! When you encounter strange “tech-talk” like this, MLT Group – Creative Solutions provides the answers to your questions regarding Google, SEO, and digital marketing in Rochester, Minneapolis, and throughout the United States.

Many websites compete for recognition and rankings on Google, and Google needs to respond to the competition. At Google, more weight is put on the quality of your website and the great content you publish, rather than the number of “tricks” you can pull to show up on the top of Google’s search rankings. Though the average person may be a step behind Google’s geniuses, those competing on the web have figured out tips, tricks, and solutions to achieving high rankings on Google, which is commonly phrased as Search Engine Optimization, or “SEO.” When too many people figure out the tricks, Google puts out a new algorithm, which changes the game and eliminates any quick tricks you many have uncovered to gain high search engine rankings. (These quick tricks that Google responds to are commonly referred to as Black Hat SEO, something that Google penalizes.) Each new algorithm has a specific name, with the past three being Google Panda, Google Penguin, and Google Hummingbird, the most recent algorithm change.

When new algorithm changes are implemented, Google raises the stakes. Websites are now required to have better content, better quality design, and user-friendly features. Though it can be frustrating when these algorithms kick in, the result is quite favorable – better websites, better user experiences, and the push to be smarter, wiser, and more intentional on the web. Rather than being confused about these algorithms, MLT Group provides solutions for your company and website – we handle the competition so you don’t have to. Digital marketing and SEO are constantly changing, and we must adapt to Google’s standards. Our web experts and SEO specialists are committed to staying informed and “in the know” with all of Google’s adaptations, which means you don’t have to do the grueling research and hard work! You can keep your focus on your customers, and we’ll keep our focus on you, your website, and the Google atmosphere.

MLT Group – Creative Solutions provides digital marketing, web development, and SEO in Rochester, MN and nearby communities, as well as across the US. Every time a new animal is added to the Google Zoo, the SEO Zookeepers at MLT Group are on top of it. For your Rochester and Minneapolis website solutions, contact MLT Group today!