On March 26, we opened up our doors to more than 50 startup, healthcare, and digital enthusiasts to host a panel on the digital future of the healthcare industry. We were fortunate to have Kyle Rolfing (Savvysherpa), KC (Optum), J.D. Blank (TreeHouse Health), and Dr. John Hitt (HCMC) on our panel to provide unique perspectives on healthcare’s present and more importantly, its potential future. Here are five key takeaways from #DigitalWayFinder:

1. Data, Data Everywhere

“We have a lot of data, but not a lot of information” #DigitalWayFinder healthcare @spyder_trap

— Kim Hecomovich (@khecomovich) March 26, 2015

One of the first questions the panel addressed was “What does the healthcare industry need to get better at?” The answer was simple: converting data into useable information. Dr. John Hitt noted that the industry has tons of data. What is doesn’t have is information. He explained that the difference is context and actionability. Data means nothing without being able to turn it into solutions. The industry must get better at turning its mounds of data into something useful.

2. Financial Glass Half-full or Half-empty?

70% of healthcare costs are personnel, 50% of their time is paperwork. Lots of room for efficiency #digitalwayfinder @spyder_trap — Celarity (@Celarity) March 26, 2015

When predicting the future of healthcare, there’s plenty of room for disagreement. While our panel often shared some of the same opinions, one area they differed was on the state of healthcare innovation financing. Kyle Rolfing took on the role of panel pessimist in that area, presenting a case from his own experience on how hard it is to fund good ideas. The industry itself has a lot of money, and has no problem spending it. Unfortunately it’s not always spent on the right things. Administrative costs eat up a lot of budget, not to mention time. Rolfing is hopeful for a future where those funds find the right audience or technology to increase the industry’s efficiency and effectiveness.

3. Is Minneapolis the New Silicon Valley?

Growth requires seeders and feeders. #DigitalWayFinder #startup

— Andy Meyer (@aloumeyer) March 26, 2015

While the Twin Cities has a wealth of talent and a bright future, the panel agreed that there is a lot of work to be done. One major roadblock to success in Minneapolis: the winter. No matter how creative and innovative the metro area is, the harsh winter months will drive away some top talent. J.D. Blank, and others on the panel, believe the way to turn that around is by having some big wins. He noted, “success builds on success.” While the Twin Cities is home to huge healthcare organizations like UnitedHealth Group, Rolfing added that it would take a technology-focused success on par with Google in the Silicon Valley to bring the area to new heights.

4. The Goal Will Be Healthy Patients

Future of healthcare is wellness not illness – #digitalwayfinder @spyder_trap — Celarity (@Celarity) March 26, 2015

Technology and innovation is transforming healthcare in many ways, but the panelists agree it need to shakes things up in the area of patient treatment if healthcare is going to be more effective. Several panelists conceded that a healthy patient isn’t always the goal of present day business decisions. In their ideal future, every decision will be made through the lens of the patient, and not shareholder value — or rather that firms would realize shareholder value can come from healthy patients. Another patient-centric theme that popped up in the discussion is that the future is in wellness, not illness. The panelists see technology and innovation leading to a more proactive approach to health.

5. Innovative Technologies Need Innovative Implementation

“It’s amazingly challenging to institute change in healthcare” ~ Dr. John Hitt (@HennepinMedical) #DigitalWayFinder

— spyder_trap (@spyder_trap) March 26, 2015

There were very few certainties expressed last Thursday about healthcare’s future, but KC stated something he felt very confident about: technology will end up disrupting the top two to three organizations in all industries, including healthcare. He cited evidence in other industries such as Uber in transportation, and Airbnb in hospitality. The patient-centric future will help drive these changes, but implementation in healthcare is never easy. Great technology alone won’t be enough to affect change; the industry will have to come up with effective ways to drive wide-acceptance.

The post The Future of Healthcare: A #DigitalWayFinder Event Recap appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.

This week’s picks are in! Check back each week for news on all things digital and tweet us @Spyder_Trap to share what you’re excited about in the world of digital marketing and technology.

1) Announcing the 2014 Local Search Ranking Factors Results

This week Moz announced the seventh annual local search ranking factors results- David Mihm shares his key takeaways including behavioral signals increasing in importance, domain authority on its way up, consistent citations from quality sources, location detection, and more.

2) The Internet of Things: Qualcomm Buys CSR For $2.5 Billion

It’s been a big year for Bluetooth. iBeacon, Bluetooth speakers and a slew of home automation products have hit the market, allowing consumers to remain connected and tap into the Internet of Things. Wireless technology giant Qualcomm purchased CSR this week. To learn what this means for the future of the smart home technology, click here.

3) Google Adds New Features in Tag Manager

Google has enhanced Tag Manager’s capabilities by adding new APIs, more third-party templates, and a new intuitive interface.  According to Google, the new Google Tag Manager API will enable users to customize the infrastructure of their websites based on their individual needs. The new API makes it easy to manage user access in bulk and can set permissions for many users at once, or set up role-based permissions and let the API give the right level of access to the right people accordingly. More on Search Engine Watch here.

4) Seth Godin On Content

Whether you’re hunkering down to write site copy, a blog post, pitch materials, a press release, script, or anything else for that matter, there’s no way to avoid the most difficult part: The words. Read more from Seth on the subject of writing here.

5) Facebook Changes Up Ad Campaign Structure

What does this mean for advertisers? Now, you can choose targeting, placement and bid settings at the ad set level- which will help with A/B testing. Drilling down deeper to the ad set level will allow advertisers to test different creative against the same budget, audience, and placement. Companies can also create multiple ads to optimize their creative and make sure that the content is what their specific audience wants to see. Inside Facebook has more.

The post Weekly Web Picks- Vol. 30 appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.

There’s been much discussion and excitement surrounding virtual reality, but little real action taken. To date, the barrier has largely been the high cost. Big companies can play with the technology, because they can afford it. Luckily, this is no longer the case. We are particularly excited about the Oculus VR developer kit and Atheer goggles. For just a few hundred bucks, developers can start tinkering with this awesome technology. What are you getting for Christmas?

2) 2014 Search Manifesto

Check out these insights from Jim Yu of searchenginewatch.com on how what to expect, and how to prepare your SEO strategy for 2014. Solid stuff. Read more here. 

3) Facebook Likes & Shares Don’t Impact Google Rankings

A recent study confirmed that Facebook likes and shares aren’t impacting Google search rankings. In fact, it appears Google isn’t using likes to discover, index, or rank content at all. The takeaway here (from an SEO perspective) is that marketers don’t need to worry about sharing every bit of content on Facebook in hopes of ranking higher in Google. Click here to read more.

4) Users Not So Excited About Parallax

The first real study of this popular web design style suggests it’s not as mind-blowing to users as it is to the designers and web developers so bent on using it everywhere. In fact, some users even found it disorienting. A reminder to developers and designers everywhere: Don’t use a style or technology for it’s own sake. Read more here.

5) Instagram Ads

Instagram released a report this week on how their first ad clients fared with initial campaigns. Ads rolled out November 1^st for Instagram featuring Ben & Jerry’s and Levi’s. It looks like early efforts were effective. Expect to see more ads in your Instagram feeds this spring. Read full post here.

6) Shazaam Adds Auto Music & TV Recognition to iPhone App

Instead of pushing a button, this new feature allows users to keep Shazam running in the background where it will automatically recognize songs on the radio and shows on TV, even when you’re using other apps or have your phone locked. Read more here.

The post Weekly Web Picks – Vol. 6 appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.

In sync with our move, we unveiled a new brand and let everyone in the Loring Corners ‘hood know about the arachnid infestation in bold fashion!

Here’s what one of our lead project managers Travis Smith has to say about the new space:

“Loring Corners has been a great space for Spyder Trap. The building has allowed us to grow, to collaborate and to expand as individuals and as a company. We are a small company with a big space – it takes a big space to house all of the talent and potential that our teams have. I am proud to be a part of Spyder Trap and occupy a small part of our building, but have the chance to make a big impact on what we do.” – Travis

The Fawkes building at Loring Corners has been home to car showrooms, ad agencies, restaurants and so much more since it’s construction in 1911. We are looking forward to years of collaboration and awesome digital work.

Want to learn more about Spyder Trap? Click here.

The post Celebrating One Year in Loring Corners appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.

Check back for weekly news on all things digital, and by all means tweet us @Spyder_Trap to share what you’re excited about in the world of digital marketing and technology. Enjoy!

1) Longform YouTube Takeover

YouTube announced Tuesday that more than one-third of YouTube viewership comes from users watching longform content. It turns out online viewers do have attention spans, after all. This is interesting, considering YouTube didn’t allow videos over ten minutes in length just a few years ago. Why should search marketers care? Well, we can at least agree that branded long-form content has a seat at the digital marketing table. And don’t forget, YouTube is a powerful search engine. The implications cover content strategy to search marketing.

2) In-App Google Search For Android Has Arrived

Google has stepped up its game once again to transform the Android ecosystem. You’ll soon get in-app search results when using Google search. This opens up a variety of search opportunities for advertisers and will change the rules of search marketing, as we know it. We’re excited to see how this rolls out. Click here to learn more.

Learn more about search marketing at Spyder Trap here >>

3) Yahoo! To Sell Hundreds of Unused Domain Names

(What will you do with crackers.com?)

Yahoo has announced it will sell hundreds of unused domain names in an effort to spur innovation. This domainapalooza is running for a week and offers up high buck URLs like jockeys.com, sled.com, crackers.com as well as a treasure trove of others. Put in your bids!

View the full list here.

4) Is “Hyperemployment” Real?

The Atlantic recently posted an interesting piece on the woes of all things digital. They argue that email, chat, texts, Facebook, twitter and the proliferation of data are essentially overwhelming the digital workforce to the point of exhaustion. As digital marketing enthusiasts, we happen to enjoy making the most of these tools for our clients. What are your thoughts?

5) Big Brother, Where Art Thou?

Google’s Transparency Report recently cited that government requests for user data have more than doubled over the past three years. Whether you like it or not, data will change the way we govern our country.

6) Link Building In Comment Fields; Good or Bad?

We’ve all seen it happen on blogs, YouTube and elsewhere: The ubiquitous spam comments with links to complete trash. So, is it possible to do proper link building in comment fields? Yes. The following video summarizes how to best use comment fields for link building, from a Google Webmaster perspective. Very helpful stuff.

7) The US Air Force: Protectors Of The Internet

The Air Force released a video of the Mees Solar Observatory earlier this week. Why should digital marketing professionals care? Every year more and more satellites and debris surround the earth, threatening to crash into each other and kill our precious satellite communications. These fine folks are preventing us from losing our internet. Thanks, guys.

8) Space, The Final GaGa-tier…

Lady GaGa recently announced she’ll be performing from space. God knows why. We’ll definitely be tuning in, mainly because spaceships are cool.

The post Weekly Web Picks – Vol. 1 appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.

Our Spyder Trap teams collaborated and built a list of some of our favorite websites broken down by department. From social to design to account services, here are some of our recommendations for the top, must-check websites.

Account Services Websites
Our account services team often looks through the overall digital picture. For an overall digital landscape, try these sites.
Fast Co.
Wired
The Verge
All Things Digital
Noupe

Development Websites
From iPhone or iPad apps to responsive websites, our development team can leverage your brand. Here are a few sites they check.
5by5
Type Kit Blog
CSS-Tricks
CatsWhoCode

Design Websites
Good design includes visually appealing content and layout in addition to a logical, easy-to-use framework and functionality. Our design team suggests the following:
Design Taxi
Uncrate
Design Milk
The Best Designs

Social Websites
Online marketing is about interaction and engagement. Our social media team helps build a community around your service, product or organization. From Instagram profiles to the latest Facebook changes, here are some of the websites our social team recommends.
Ad Age
Mashable
GigaOm
ReadWriteWeb

Search Websites
Search focuses on website traffic, relationships and conversions from various search engine results. To keep up on the trends, they recommend the following:
Search Engine Watch
Search Engine Land
SEO Moz Blog

Additional Websites
Too many websites, not enough time! Here are some additional websites our team would recommend visiting.
Nifty Marketing Blog
MNPR Blog
PPC Hero
Daring Fireball
eMarkerts
Quarterly Co.
Bjango
The Great Discontent
Be Square
Smashing Magazine
Trent Waldon
A Book Apart
NetTuts
The Next Web
Brain Pickings
Spring Wise
Big Think
ArsTechnica
Hongkiat

What would you add to this list? Connect with us and share your favorites! We are always searching for new information.

The post A Digital Lifestyle: Recommendations for Top Digital and Technology Websites appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.

You’ll find predictions covering web design, mobile, music, search, social and more below in our marketing and technology predictions for 2012.

While our crystal ball severely over heated from all of the predictions, there is no doubt this year will be another one full of cool technology and marketing integration.

2012 Staff Predictions

TABLET: I think we’ll see the integration of tablet PCs with more mediums.  For example in the same way Nintendo’s Wii is introducing a controller that resembles a Tablet PC, I wouldn’t be surprised to see things like cable companies adopt this theme to improve their TV / Video On Demand user experiences.
Joe Barhorst – Developer

INTEGRATION: Social, Digital & Mainstream Marketing collaboration.  Example being a Coke ad synced across platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and others.
Erin Moore – Project Manager

GOOGLE +: Since Google just introduced Search plus Your World, I see either a strong exodus from Facebook and Twitter to Google+ profiles, or many people being turned off by the new search and using Bing.
Alicia Neubauer – Social Media Intern

SEARCH & SOCIAL: Search engines will be pushing information from social networks towards the top of the search results.  This continues to emphasize a huge need for tools and apps to help combine and organize multiple social network platforms.
Travis Neiderhiser – Developer

WEB DESIGN: Responsive web design is going to be the major trend when designing/developing websites to suit multiple different devices.  I feel that companies will find this a huge advantage of having one website conform to any device without having to load content multiple different ways or for that matter having multiple budgets to support the design & build of different websites for their company.
Jeff Wagner – Creative Director

MUSIC: Technology focused on music sharing will engage music fanatics and freaks even more than the Spotifys of today. I’d love to see a solution connect the creators to the listeners on a tighter level.
Becca Tollefson – Project Manager

TV: I foresee interactive TV’s being the center of our media universe and this will gain even more traction in 2012. No longer will be the days of a central media server rather all media content will be streamed from a central source such as a TV to a more local device such as a computer, iPad or mobile.
Mike Rynchek – President

SOCIAL: The never-ending online social network and media coverage realms have continued to boom as we move forward in the age of technology. More companies begin to realize that connecting with the client and customer on a deeper level is more important than knowing “what’s hot” for the moment.
Lisa Ostrander – Executive Assistant

APPS: The app-centric approach to technology will increase and even spill over to the wider technology sphere.  This means increasingly specific apps that interact with other apps.  It also means a cohesive experience between devices.  As marketers and developers, it’s our job to sell an experience, not just any one app or site, and now more than ever it’ll be our job to make sure that is simple, cohesive, and engaging in an environment in the midst of dramatic transition.
Perry Govier – Developer

VOICE RECOGNITION: The integration of voice recognition technology, like Siri, into our daily routine. This technology will be used in everything from apps to make our lives easier, to selecting entertainment choices, to finding information faster and easier.
Jennie Eukel – Project Manager

MOBILE: 70% of Americans will own a smartphone (44% now).
Barb Vanags – VP of Finance & HR

VOICE RECOGNITION: More hands free technology on all devices. Apple always starts a trend, so I know we’ll see more devices with voice recognition like Siri.   I want my phone to know what I want to read and read it to me so I can drive and hear the stories I want.
Liz Tunheim – Social Media Manager

SOCIAL: Pinterest and its booming growth is going to find a beautiful way to deliver extremely relevant ads to you. Ads you, as a user, are happy to see because they will be integrated with the boards and pins of those you follow. These new “AdPins” will match the look and category of those items/products/yards/homes/quotes you would normally see on the boards you follow.
Jamie Lee Jacobsen – Lead Project Manager

FACIAL & VOICE RECOGNITION: Facial recognition software will allow for customized public display advertising based on age, gender, and other visible demographic metrics.  Also, this will become reality.
Tracy Henry – Search Marketing Associate

GAMIFICATION: There will be a bigger push towards “active interaction” through devices such as Wii and Kinect, which could influence everything from how we interact with games and movies to how we control our computers, or a presentation.
Travis Manick – Developer

MOBILE: Mobile devices will become as powerful as high end laptops. A user will have the ability to plug their phone into a screen and use it as a computer.
Ben Olsem – Designer

MOBILE: Consumers more and more are looking to utilize their smart phones (check-ins, deals, payments, etc.) and brands still know this. Last year was another large year in mobile adoption, but this year I think will be defined by consumers maximizing their mobile to better navigate all aspects of their lives (health, finance, social, etc.).
Nick Bryant – Senior Account Executive

SEARCH: Changes to search engine results and rankings continue to become more frequent at Google. Local, mobile, social and personalized results are all morphing at a rapid rate as Google mashes it’s technology and data across a massive audience.  Will it all be for the good of search or just the good of Google?
My prediction – Aaron Weiche

What will actually take hold in 2012? We might see all of these or just a few, but it’s easy to see that our industry is busting with innovation, growth and opportunity. No doubt this year will be another exciting one.

Do you have a prediction or comment to share on technology and marketing for this year?  Drop your comments below.

The post Marketing & Technology Predictions For 2012 appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.

Be sure to check back on Wednesday each week for the newest installment of Web Wisdom Wednesdays. You can also view our past episodes of Web Wisdom Wednesdays on our YouTube channel.

The post Web Wisdom Wednesday – Facebook Fan Page Analytics appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.

Jason Douglas

Spyder Trap Online Marketing

I have had many conversations with prospects and new clients revolving around the same few questions. If you are someone who is new to the concept of using PPC for their business, or a business who has been burned by bad service or under-performing campaigns, asking the questions I listed below will help ease your confusion. Here are the top five I encounter and am always prepared to address in any type of meeting:

• What is the first step to give you control of your account?

This is a common question is one I usually get from prospects or new clients who are already dealing with an agency. The process can be as simple as sharing the login information. The first step to this is changing the password to prevent any nefarious activity from anyone who was managing the account. It is very important to also document all measurable metrics and benchmark where the campaigns currently are, which allows for the new agency to continuously measure against each of these metrics to gauge success.

• What kind of reporting will you provide?

Every agency has a different way to report to the client on successes and shortcomings. I have seen updates shared in a simple email through bullets. I have also seen client reports as long as twenty pages. Which are more effective? That depends on what you‘re measuring and what the objectives are for the campaigns. Clients may like large reports, but is that what is best for the client? I like to provide all important metrics along with a recap, analysis, and recommendations which I will implement in the following reporting period.

• Will I have access to my accounts?

This seems to be a no-brainer to myself. Being that this is one of the most common questions asked, it means that clients have not had access to their own accounts in the past. Why wouldn‘t an agency give access to the client? What is the agency trying to hide? We always give access to our clients, with the caveat of them not changing anything within the accounts. If a client makes changes to their PPC campaign that the agency is unaware of, that may skew the strategy we are implementing and significantly impact the results of the campaign.

• What is the communication process?
  

This is dependent on the client‘s schedule. Often, the reason a client is seeking an agency is because they lack the time internally to manage the account effectively. If this is the case, a monthly call or meeting suffices along with email updates when necessary. If the client claims a lack of knowledge about PPC, but has the desire to learn and be hands-on in the process, a bi-weekly call or meeting along with email updates usually works.

• How can we be sure that you are exhausting all opportunities for us?
  

Unfortunately, when pursuing a new account, often times the opportunity is there because they are unhappy with the service received from their current agency. This is where we explain why we are different and how we are going to prove that. Business, especially now, is all about the relationship, and building, maintaining, and nurturing that relationship. Every client for me is not another transaction; they are not faceless. We do the best work possible not just because that‘s what we‘re paid to do, but because we enjoy the people we work with on the client side; we appreciate the product or service they provide and the value that it provides to their consumers.

As a company looking for PPC help, these five questions will help the conversation greatly, and should help you make a decision on which agency to go with. If you‘re interested in starting that conversation, please contact us. Are there other questions you‘ve come across with regard to beginning a Sponsored Search campaign?   Any stories you‘d like to share?

The post Top five questions to ask when beginning a Sponsored Search (PPC) campaign appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.

News has just been released that Facebook is rolling out its new Ad Conversion tool for Facebook advertisers to track not only how ads are performing, but also to “track activity that happens on your [the advertiser’s] Web site as a result of someone on Facebook seeing or clicking your Facebook Ad.”

Sound familiar? If you answered “yes,” you’re correct!

This is all-too-similar to Google Analytics and AdWords. By allowing advertisers to assign specific values to actions on their Web sites, advertisers can get a deeper understanding of a user’s involvement with a particular ad, optimize ads more effectively and determine ROI more effectively.

Currently the tool is in Beta form, but will steadily be rolled out to everyone. This is huge for Facebook, as this will allow it to compete more toe-to-toe with Google in the multi-billion dollar online advertising market.

How do you think this will affect Google?

The post Facebook Ads: Taking on Google AdWords and Analytics with Conversion Tracking appeared first on Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog.