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American Birding AssociationDigital Marketing Analysis

Naveen Jindal School of Management | The University of Texas at Dallas 

MKT 6321 Interactive and Digital Marketing Group 6Demin Wang; Jazmin Cabrera; Portia Ballard; Ragon Owings; Si Han

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part AExecutive Summary ....................................................... 3Market Research ........................................................... 5Marketing Strategy ......................................................... 12Web Usability ............................................................... 16Search Engine Optimization ............................................. 20Summary ............................................................... 25Display Strategy..........................................................26Social Media ............................................................ 33Mobile Strategy .........................................................37Metrics and Testing ..................................................... 43Reference.................................................................... 47Appendix .................................................................... 48

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CURRENT POSITIONEXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The American Birding Association (ABA) is the premier organization in North America dedicated to recreational birding. The association has set the standard for trans-generational pastimes such as bird identification and bird finding. The target markets of this industry are increasing as the activities of ecotourism and optics are on the rise. However, they do have a number of different competitors, such as Bird Watchers Digest, The National Audubon Society (and regional affiliates), and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (eBird). The website is currently undergoing a re-design and is expected to have a new look and feel upon completion. Over the next few years, the ABA would like to consider new strategies for increasing the awareness of it’s products and services.

OBJECTIVES• Influence membership activity. (Grow membership, retain and extend

current memberships.)• Increase awareness about the ABA’s many free resources for all birders,

and encourage non-members to support the ABA (preferably by becoming a member)

• Increase use of site to create more value for our online advertisers and sponsors.

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RECOMMENDATIONS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Although the company would like to minimize the amount of risk that they would take in their marketing efforts, they have expressed an interest in reaching different markets that they have not targeted before. Because of the preponderance of groups that are beginning to become more interested in recreation and activities rather than acquiring different goods and services, a campaign that is geared towards increasing brand awareness could prove to be beneficial. Channels that should be most targeted are memberships, magazines, logo wear and gear, and websites. The current brand and methods of branding should be taken under heavy scrutiny. The consideration of targeting a more diverse market, or developing different products does not come without significant risks. Because of these factors, the recommendation is for the ABA to begin to take certain steps to begin targeting a market that is already both mature and saturated.

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DEMOGRAPHY OF BIRDERSMARKET RESEARCH

Segments U.S. Population

Number of Birders

Participation Rate

U.S. Average -- -- 20%(Age) 55 plus 76,586 22,840 30%(Income) $50,000 to $74,999 33,850 8,432 25%(Education) College Graduate 70,740 20,089 28%(Race) White 182,872 43,323 24%

Table 1. Majority Segments of U.S. Birders Numbers and Participation Rate (by 1,000)

The following analysis results are based on the 2011 National of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation Survey:

• The Birder can be defined as an individual, must have either taken a trip one mile or more from home for the primary purpose of observing birds and/or closely observed or tried to identify birds around the home.

• Total 47 million birders (U.S.), 16 years of age and older.• The general profile for most common birders would be 53+

years old, female, above average income, high educated and white.

• Although the average birder’s participation rate of U.S. is about 20%, this rate for majority segments would be larger.

• The higher the income and education, the higher probability of a person to become a birder.

https://www.fws.gov/southeast/economicimpact/pdf/2011-birdingreport--final.pdf

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GEOGRAPHY OF BIRDERSMARKET RESEARCH

Figure Birding Participation Rates by State Residents(Population 16 years of age and older.)

• Residents of sparse populated areas were most likely to be birders

• States like Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming had high participation by birders

• There were more participants in the South (34%) The Midwest had the second highest participation at 24%. The West and Northeast had lower participation of 22% and 20%

• People usually travel out of states to watch birds. Hawaii(73%), Alaska(69%), Wyoming(69%), Maine(63%), New Hampshire(45%), Montana(40%)

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BEHAVIOR OF BIRDERSMARKET RESEARCH

Hard Core Birder• Highly dedicated• Prefers small group size• Satisfied by the experience of observing birds in

nature• Willing to spend more money on sophisticated

equipment• Smaller of the three segmentsEnthusiastic Birder• Broad-based nature lovers• Comfortable with a larger group• Satisfaction comes both from observing birds and

from social interactions • Desires a large and diverse bird list• Likes to travel at their own pace• Makes up about 50% of birding tourists

Casual Birder / Ecotourism• Birding may be an add-on to outdoor activities• Stay in areas accessible by road and close to

home• Satisfied by the superficial interaction with

nature• Makes up about 30% of birding tourists

2006 2011 Percent ChangeTotal-Birders 47,693 46,741 –2%

Around-the-home 41,821 41,346 –1%Away-from-home 19,860 17,818 –10%

Total-Days5,473,39

85,161,9

09 –6%

Around-the-home5,202,53

64,923,87

3 –5%Away-from-home 270,861 238,036 –12%

Table 2.Birder and total watching day divided by method

• Of total birders, 88% are back-yard birders and 38% are away-from home birders, willing to travel .

• Birders around the home (mean at 119 days in 2011) spent 9 times as many days watching birds as did people who traveled (mean at 13 days in 2011) more than a mile from home to bird watch.

• Birding Avidity is varied across the country, the average watching days in Mississippi is around 155 days and only 30 days for Hawaii and Alaska.

• Waterfowl like ducks and geese are mostly viewed by away-from-home birders followed by birds of prey such as eagles and hawks.

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ECONOMICS OF BIRDERSMARKET RESEARCH

Title NumbersBirders 46,741,000Total Expenditures $40,942,680,000 Trip-Related $14,868,424,740 Equipment $26,074,255,293Total Output $106,977,730,000 Jobs 666,000Employment Income $31,391,977,000 State Tax Revenues $6,000,203,000 Federal Tax Revenues $7,089,387,000

Birders spend money on a variety of goods and services for their trip-related and equipment-related purchases. However, The effect on the economy in excess of direct expenditures is known as the multiplier effect which would be benefits for manufacture, retailers, and government

• Trip-related expenditures include food, lodging, transportation, and other incidental expenses• Other trip-related costs such as guide

fees, pack trip or package fees, public and private land use access fees

• Equipment expenditures consist of binoculars, cameras, camping equipment, and other costs• Auxiliary equipment includes tents,

tarps, frame packs, and backpacking equipment

• Special equipment such as boats and boat accessories, campers, trucks, and cabins

• Other Items: land leasing, membership dues and contributions, magazine books and DVDs

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MAJOR KEYWORD TRENDS OF BIRDERSMARKET RESEARCH

Keyword popularity data can be downloaded on the Google trends website. There are more keywords and correlated keywords in the Appendix.• Peak times for searching

happen two times a year – around December and around May. The searching peak in May is generally broader than the peak in December. This can be explained by the spring migration of many birds.

• Of the five, ‘Birdwatching’ is the most popular keyword, and the trends of the other keywords are similar.

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COMPETITORS KEYWORDSMARKET RESEARCH

Only 4 major competitors search trend data are included with the results. Birdwatching Daily and Bird Watchers Digest both have lower search volume than aba.

• The peaks of associated keywords search are similar to the peaks of birding keywords – both occur in December and May.

• Generally, the keyword‘ABA’ is not very popular.

• eBird is the most popular of the search keywords within all of the different competitors. This correlation could be investigated.

• During the last year, the National Audubon Societies keywords ‘Birds’ and ‘Blooms’ reached similar levels. Useful insights could be obtained by studying the marketing strategies of NAS.

COMPANY ANALYSISMARKETING STRATEGY

The Porter Generic Strategies could be helpful to show the possible methods for achieving sustainable competitive advantage.ABA has product/service uniqueness• ABA is the benchmark for quality information

on bird identification and bird finding. Also ABA is an authority organization in North America.

Target market of ABA is broad• ABA targets at all the wild bird enthusiasts

and also nature lovers, educators, ornithologists and those looking to connect more with the natural world.

• ABA should make use of a differentiation strategy to improve its products and services and its brand image.

However, the ABA should also consider the focus strategy. • The majority of birders are baby boomers,

Caucasian, educated ,and from the middle or upper class.

• The younger generation of students is another segment that should be targeted.

• The ABA could create a separate campaign for these segment of birders.

Before developing the marketing plan and implementing the objectives, it is first necessary to analyze the marketing strategy not only for the ABA, but also for the different competitors in the marketplace. It is also important to understand the nature ecotourism and birding in the first place. Ansoff’s Matrix could be useful to consider the

different options for market and product development strategies. The following will summarize the optimal strategies based on the different products that the ABA offers and the markets it serves.Birding information, including bird identification, publication, news etc. • Market Penetration Strategy- ABA should use

existing products and services in conjunction with new marketing strategies to target their current segments.

Events, including regular ABA events and summer camps.

• Increase awareness of their website, products and services using market development.

• Increase visitors to their social media pages and website who are interested in ecotourism.

Community, including membership, listings etc.• Product Development- The internet has enabled

ABA to reach a more diverse target market that could benefit from the expansion of the products that they offer.

Current Offerings• Recreation related commodities, including

cameras, birding wear and gear.• E-commerce services which are new and for which

the market is expected to grow.

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SWOTMARKETING STRATEGY

Strengths• Qualifies as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3)

of the Internal Revenue Code• Company has been in existence for 48 years• Website has been in existence for 22 years• Diverse variety of goods and services offered, including

publications and magazines, birding events and trips, logo wear and gear, and membership.

• Premier organization in North America dedicated to recreational birding

• Talented and knowledgeable online marketing personnel

Weaknesses:• High debt structure, expenses

exceeding revenue• Mature market, declining profits

due to increased competition• Saturated market, cost of

reaching new participants greater that the average returns

• No concise definition of which industry is being served

• Mission may be too wide-rangingOpportunities:

• Can create multiple campaigns for a variety of different target markets

• Re-finance current short term high interest debt with longer term lower interest debt

• Optics and ecotourism (two big ad customer categories) both seem healthy and growing

• Disposable income among major demographics (i.e. retiring baby boomers) is healthy

• Significant growth time for hobbies and activities related to birding

• Technology advances allow for an extended reach to a variety of potential customers

Threats:• Optics retailers as well as tour

operators and lodges are trying to reach the same target markets

• Other entities will have the opportunity to reach markets that are currently targeted by ABA

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OBJECTIVESMARKETING STRATEGY

The general goals of the ABA can be summarized in order to better reveal a deeper meaning. The ABA wants to encourage people to enjoy recreation and ecotourism which is what they believe reflects the undeniably traditionalist aspects of their subculture and community.1. Influence membership activity. (Grow membership, retain and extend current memberships.) 2. Increase awareness about the ABA’s many free resources for all birders, and encourage non-members to support the ABA (preferably by

becoming a member)3. Increase use of site to create more value for our online advertisers and sponsorsDetails can be split into more general concepts which should be easier to understand.Branding

The requirement actually has two different meanings: increase the brand awareness and enforce the ABA brand image, which are the salience of brand equity. According to the Customer-Based Brand Equity model, the higher the level of brand equity—customer judgments and resonance—would also help to influence membership activity. Furthermore, the perfect brand is an important resource that the advertisers and sponsors want to use to leverage their own brand equity.

Detail Objects• Brand awareness (Brand recall and

recognize)• Brand image • Brand positioning • brand credibility • brand feeling • brand community • brand engagement 

Website PerformanceThe website performance can be discussed as a different topic such as number of visits and conversion rates. Increasing the website performance could increase the chance that new users clicks through and that they sign up for membership. Good customer experience ratings would be likely to increase member retention rate. Also, when the number of visitors increases, the impressions increase, which advertisers and sponsors would like to see.

Detail Objects:• traffic • conversion• Bounce Rate• Keyword ranking• Media consumption• Transaction / goal conversion

Product PerformanceFor ABA, the products includes four major types: birding information, events, community and physical commodities. Product is the core of a company and the salience of brand and web performance. Some of ABA products are internet based, such as birding news and ABA blog, which are the reason for registering members and members that return to the ABA website. The product is also the inducement for sponsors. For example, the gear sales on ABA would attract the birding product manufactures and retailers.

Detail Objects:• Improve the existing product/services• Develop new product / services• Extend to new market segment

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DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICSMARKETING STRATEGY

Strategies ObjectivesFocus

Strategy Differentiation

Market

PenetrationProduct

DevelopmentBrandin

gWebsite Perform

Product Perform

Web Usability Analysis ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓Search Engine Optimization ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Pay-Per-Click Campaigns ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Social Media Marketing ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Mobile Marketing ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

How does the digital marketing campaign align with the client's business?

The following reports will discuss these topics one by one

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UX ANALYSISWEB USABILITY

The purpose of this report is to use different metrics and studies to determine the most expeditious and effective ways to ensure the highest levels of usability and best practices for the ABA website. The ABA site has links to different publications and member areas on their home page as well as hosting a number of advertisers. It is clear that one of the primary objectives of the website is to target a market that consists of bird enthusiasts and those that are looking to get more connected with nature.

Overall, the site already fulfills many of the goals and objectives of the members of the board of the ABA. Also, it seems that in its current state that the site reflects the basic needs of its clients and visitors. However, there are still a number of other issues. Best practice is to create a hierarchy of information that facilitates ease of use and navigation for the association's visitors and clients. To facilitate this, it is suggested that several variations be made to the architecture of the website. These variants include:• Organizing the information hierarchy of the landing pages so

that the more important information is above the fold.• Defining a navigational format that is consistent throughout

the website.• Designing the webpage responsively so that it displays

correctly in any size browser.

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TESTINGWEB USABILITY

The report is based partially on findings from a usability testing from a panel of 10 random subjects (see Appendix). An independent review was also performed using criteria that was provided specifically for this project. The report is based primarily on web functionality, branding, content, and navigation. Many of the recipients provided similar results, although there were also a number of differences. This information indicates that a number of factors should be evaluated concerning the dynamics of the website. Issues concerning the sites navigation affect it’s SEO rankings which in turn impact how much traffic it gets from users searching for their products and services on the web. Key Areas that Need Improvement• The font size used on the homepage is too small, the

font color is too light, or medium text color against a medium background color.

• No clear link to company mission or “about us” menu not informative enough.

• Many people found it difficult to find different items or did not know that the website sold items.

• No “contact us” link on every page or the link button is too small.

• Eight participants in the survey couldn’t find the search box at all.

• Too many links at the top, or too cluttered above the fold.

• Sitemap is not easily locatable on any of the web pages.

Decreased Traffic• The traffic to ABA.org has decreased compared to

the traffic to other sites. • Many times when people can’t find the information

they are looking for on a website they go somewhere else.

Other reasons:• Unpredictable reasons such as seasonality or

search trend change.• Website does not contain not enough topical

relevance between different pages.• Website has indexing issues, does not having a

sufficient sitemap, or has other crawling errors.

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TESTINGWEB USABILITY

Recommendations• All pages should be designed with a clear hierarchy of information.• Colors, typography and line spacing should be used to effectively

augment legibility and readability of the content.• Create Landing pages that are contextually relevant to keywords

and that include strong calls to action.• Develop drop down menus using styling that is consistent with the

rest of the web site.• Ensure that indexing is not impeded by drop down menus that

have too many links.• A significant amount of content should be removed from the

homepage and positioned on other appropriate pages within the website.

• Each page should have a footer that contains relevant and helpful information.

Positive Findings• Some users reported that for the most part the site uses

contrast well, and has a good combination of colors. • Most participants felt that the ‘About Us’ link had a variety of

different pages of information which were able to answer their questions.

• Some said that they thought that the process of adding an item to a cart and the process of check out was smooth and professional.

https://www.totera.com/about

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NAVIGATION & MOBILEWEB USABILITY

Navigation and LinksVisitors have a tendency to stay longer and return to sites that are well architected in terms of navigation and links. Information can only be found on the web if it is well indexed by search engine spiders. The use of well-constructed and distinctive section headers can improve usability and search engine rankings as well. Adhering to this and other best practices decreases bounce rates and encourages visitors to return to the website.Other standard designs strategies should include:

Responsive DesignResponsive web design has become more important, especially since mobile traffic now accounts for more than half of total internet traffic. Because of this, website owners are now being forced to make decisions about whether or not to re-design their websites responsively. Not re-designing could have a variety of implications for ABA, such as:

ABA home page

ABA Exchange page

• Not being able to navigate between different devices comfortably.• Lack of functionality could cause users not to return the site.• ABA might have no other choice but to create a separate site for mobile.

• Breadcrumbs that backtrack to all pages that were already visited.• Http links that open in the same window, and non-http links that open in a

new tab.• Links that contain keywords that are relevant to the page that they link to.• Three or fewer clicks should be required to reach every page within the

site.

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BEST PRACTICESWEB USABILITY

Best PracticesThe ABA.org website is a significant source of information for the birding community and also for the general public. Regular users of the site are likely to be familiar with its link structure and navigability. However, the site should be designed for all types of users. Pages should adhere to the following conventions:

• Visitors should be able to find what they are looking for within a short period of time.

• Pages should be relevant, engaging and include concise content that is easy to understand.

• Each page should have a search box that is readily visible, above the fold, and that allows for refinement of search terms

• Merchandise items that are out of stock should remain on the relevant merchandise results page.

• Images should be evaluated for sizing capability, and in the case of pixilation should be replaced.

• Links to CMS and informational and historical data should be readily available and easy to find.

• Pages that can be viewed comfortably on a number of different devices with different sized screens.

Images should display for out of stock items

Example of pixilation and poor resolution

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SEO STRATEGYSEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

TrafficAccording to Alexa.com, the traffic to the ABA.org site peaks in April and May. This trend indicates that ABA website is highly correlated with springtime migration. This also equates to a number of SEO advantages for the ABA.• During the bird migration season, around December or May, ABA should

focus on high rates of birding activity. For example, ABA should optimize its keywords and birding information content and for the most common birds observed during that season.

• During the other times, ABA ‘s focus should be on general birding or other birding related activity. For example, ABA could increase the frequency of keywords to target general birding events and education or birding gear and optics. Another alternative would be to optimize keywords based on analytics.

Traffic Sources According to the search traffic percentage chart around 20% of ABA visitors come from search engines, and 8% come from other birding related websites . Around 5% of visitors come from social media sites such as facebook.com• Organic search results provide the largest number of visitors to the ABA

site and should be optimized and tested using benchmarks.• Second priority should be to create more related content for their social

media sites which accounts for around 15 percent of their traffic. • Other techniques could be used to assist search engine spiders to locate

and index files so that ABA’s SEO rankings might increase.• These strategies could also influence the rankings for direct and

advertising traffic.

Alexa Traffic Ranks

Search Traffic Percentage

https://clicky.com/stats/?site_id=32020&date=2016-10-14

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SERP ANALYSISSEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

The search engine result page for ‘American birding association’ ranks well. • The structured data zone looks

good and aba has an established google+ site.

• Top 3 of 4 organic results are ABA related websites: the aba home page, Facebook and Wikipedia.

• The structured Data Testing Tool, that is used to test the html code, has good results also.

• However, the site does not contain any rich snippets concerning the contents or events of the aba site.

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KEYWORDS ANALYSISSEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Current Keyword cloudThe details of the keyword cloud can be seen on the left hand side of the page (also see Appendix) . The most common keyword in the keyword cloud is birding. As you can see in the figure (bottom left), the Google SERP results for the keyword ‘birding’ are excellent. However, the most of other results have little or no affiliation with the ABA website. The consensus is that ABA is not using a wide enough range of keywords and phrases to begin targeting an alternative audience. Searches related to their goods and services or to ecotourism result in SERP’s that do not contain the ABA website at all.Generate New KeywordsWhen people search, they tend to do it using different approaches. ABA needs to choose new keywords based on the same logic. Choosing to use a variety of more specific short tail keywords and long tail phrases is more likely to generate less traffic and more conversions.

Ineffective Short Tail Key Phrases• How to find birds, what particular birds look like, when and where to watch birds• Bird finding, bird identify, birding travel advice, birding news, bird image, birding trip

guideMore Effective Long Tail Keywords• Blue bird in Texas, red bird in Oklahoma, exotic birds of Hawaii, ecotourism in Arizona

It’s important to know that the popular keywords change all the time. ABA has to deploy new keywords using the strategies have been mentioned in previous slides.

Keywords ToolThere are some SEO tools on the market can analyze your website and will that generate the most popular keywords. (There are results from Google Adwords in the Appendix). However, there are many important key words that computers cannot generate because they might be related to a niche segment of your website. Birder exchange and blog are two important functions of aba.org. ABA should develop more relevant keywords that would have the potential bring more visitors to other less popular pages of their site.

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LINKS & LOCALIZATIONSEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Site Page1 nytimes.com http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/us/a-tempest-over-the-duck-stamp-could-an-oriole-help-raise-more-money.ht

ml2 sourceforge.net http://noahhodosy.sourceforge.net/afeytwerjoisseiz85.html3 secureserver.net http://ip-173-201-142-193.ip.secureserver.net/Alexa/Alexa_31.html4 meetup.com http://www.meetup.com/ABAHQ-Local-Events/4 constantcontact.com http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs063/1100412089050/archive/1109062121690.html

TOP 5 sites that link to ABA

LinkA total of 1097 sites link to ABA. The top 5 sites are listed below. We can divide them into three major categories:• Free directories

• secureserver.net• sourceforge.net

• Third parties• Nytimes.com

• Social media• ABA has pages on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

All the content on Facebook and Twitter have links to aba.org which is considered a good thing. However, the number of reposts and followers are somewhat limited. YouTube video has a good review volume but they have no outgoing link to ABA.

Search engines use links to target the website, and also the number of links is an important factor for page ranking. Good content and social media affiliation could create many different links to the website that is being analyzed. Furthermore, content and localization themselves are also factors for that the search engine spider uses for determining the page rank in the SERP. Content is King

ABA should create the fresh content concerning the following, which has more an increased chance of a greater number of reposts by other platforms.• “Birding 101”• “How to meet new friends through various outdoor

hobbies”• Top 5 things every birder must know

Localization Although most of ABA products are digital and have minimal localization potential, their events can be listed locally. ABA could also create event pages on various SEO Friendly Databases. The site should analyze the URL’s for their pages and optimize them with descriptive names.• Eventful.com• Eventbrite.com• Local city event pages i.e. dallasobserver.org

5 IMPORTANT SEO DETAILSSEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

There are some IT side SEO issue, which affect the loading speed, can be view at: http://seositecheckup.com/seo-audit/aba.org

Mobile responsiveness • Problem• According to the

Google Webmaster Tools – The aba.org is not mobile-friendly. Mobile friendly pages can achieve higher mobile rankings on search engines

• Main Problems - • Users have to

pinch and zoom• Too much text on

the page• Mobile viewport

not set• Solution• Have fewer words

on the mobile pages

• Set mobile viewport

Sitemap

• Problem• The site lacks a

sitemap file. Sitemaps can help robots index your content more thoroughly and quickly.

• Solution• Create a sitemap

Keywords in URL and Page

Titles• Problem• The page urls and

page titles should be more descriptive and contain more birding keywords

• Solution• Examples: • Change URL

http://events.aba.org/ to http://birdingevents.aba.org/

• Change URL http://www.aba.org/join/ to http://www.aba.org/joinamericanbirdingassociation/

• Change Page Title “ABA Events” to “American Birding Association Events”

Flash

• Problem• The website

contains flash objects. Flash is an outdated technology that is used to deliver rich multimedia content. Flash content does not work well on mobile devices, and is difficult for search engine crawlers to interpret.

• Solution• Removing the

flash objects can help increase your search engine rankings.

Image Alt Text

• Problem• The webpage has

29 'img' tags and 17 of them are missing the required 'alt' attribute.

• Solution• Add relevant alt

tags to the images such as:

• “birding association” “fun outdoor activities for teens” “bird watching events in Virginia”

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SUMMARY

At the current time there are many avid birders within the different segments of ecotourists. There are also other segments that might be interested in the offerings if only the ABA was able to extend its reach through market development. Such efforts should include:• Tourists likely to be looking for new experiences while travelling.• Visitors to the site that don’t convert, but that are likely to be reached through re-targeting.• Frequency caps in order to avoid the over targeting of potential customers.• Enhanced social media and mobile campaigns to enable increased brand awareness and positive

sentiment.The ABA might be able to effectively reach its target audience by:• Discovering what sorts of things the birding population is wanting to accomplish.• Evaluating the products and services offered by the competition.• Evaluating current platforms being used for marketing.• Determining cost to the firm, value for the firm, and marginal utility for the consumer.

ABA should make it their priority to make available the products and services that are necessary and sufficient for sustainable and safe recreational activities. This type of strategy involves a campaign that promotes the benefits of sustainable practices, including:• Reasonable access to appropriate habitats including preserves and parks.• Good infrastructure for birding activities including lodging and shopping facilities within proximity.• Up to date information and birding guides and tours.

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CAMPAIGN SETUPPPC ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Goal: Increase Awareness of the ABA Brand and Increase

Membership

Campaign 1Reach Young and Casual

Birders(New Members)

Search and Display Network Campaign Settings

Limit ad display to individuals ages 16-44

Searching on mobile or tablet during the hours of 8pm – 11:30

pm

Ad GroupKeywords

See Slide 5 and 6

Campaign 2Reach Enthusiastic Birders(New Members and Retain

Current Members)

Search and Display Network Campaign Settings

Limit ad display to individuals ages 45-55

Searching on tablet or PC during the hours of 6am – 11am and 3pm

– 8 pm

Ad GroupKeywords

See Slide 5 and 7

Campaign 3Reach Hard Core Birders

(New Members and Retain Current Members)

Search and Display Network Campaign Settings

Limit ad display to individuals ages 55+

Annual Income of $50K +Searching on PC during the hours of 6am – 11 am and 3pm – 8 pm

Ad GroupKeywords

See Slide 5 and 8

Goals: 1. Grow membership, retain and extend current

memberships2. Increase awareness of ABA’s online resources

for birders Target Segments

Hard Core Birder

EnthusiasticBirder

Casual Birder

Recommendations: 1. Create PPC ads in search and display

network.2. Ads should communicate message

targeted to each segment.

Before we can obtain new members, we need to create awareness and interest.

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SEARCH AND DISPLAY NETWORK ADS FOR CAMPAIGN 1

PPC ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Comparative AnalysisAds from Audubon when keywords “birding for beginners” and “how to start bird watching” were entered:

Recommended Ads Discover Beauty In Your Backyard.

Learn How

Landing Page: Young Birders Blog

Recommendation: ABA needs to create content to attract new and young birders. During search for “birding for beginners” and “how to start bird watching”, ABA was not visible in results. The ABA Blog and Young Birder Blog needs to include more content to help new birders gain experience with bird watching and bird spotting equipment and in return attract more visitors to the ABA website and improve search results rank.

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/?gallery_image=yellow-warblerhttp://www.audubon.org/sites/default/files/styles/hero_image/public/camillacerea_nicklund-1.jpg?itok=2WzW2yah

Birding: Discover Nature’s Own Tweets From Your Backyard.Learn More

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SEARCH AND DISPLAY NETWORK ADS FOR CAMPAIGN 2

PPC ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Photo of bird: http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/?gallery_image=more-color-blast

Protect The Birds You Love. Become a Member of the American Birding Association.

Join Today

https://www2.aba.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=648

Landing Page

Landing Page

Photo of Vanguard Spotting Scope: http://blog.aba.org/2016/11/vanguard-spotting-scope.html

Get Closer To Nature.

Become a new member or renew your membership by Nov. 30 for a chance to win a Vanguard Endeavor Spotting Scope. Join

Today

Photo of bird: http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/?gallery_image=red-bellied-woodpecker

29

SEARCH AND DISPLAY NETWORK ADS FOR CAMPAIGN 3

PPC ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

http://www.nature.org/cs/groups/webcontent/@photopublic/documents/media/mad-island-marsh-birders-600-1.jpg

https://www2.aba.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=648

Landing Page

Landing Page

Add To Your Expertise. Become a Member of the American Birding Association.

Join Today

Landing Page

http://bg.aba.org/i/753549-nov-2016/08

Photo of Bird: http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/?gallery_image=yellow-warbler

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CAMPAIGN SETUPPPC ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Goal: Maximize Website for Sponsors and

Advertisers

Campaign 4For Sponsors and

Advertisers

Search Network

Ad Group for Birders In Need of Gear

KeywordsSpecialized bird

watching gear/equipment

Best binoculars/cameras/

spotting scopes

Ad Group for Birders Seeking Tour

KeywordsBest Bird Viewing Places

Small group bird tour

Campaign 4 KeywordsFocus: Highlight Current Sponsors/Advertisers and Attract New Partnerships• Advanced birding gear• Specialized birding watching gear• Best binoculars for bird watching• Best cameras for bird photography• Best spotting scopes for bird

watching• GPS technology for birding• Best bird viewing places • Bird tour guide• Worldwide bird tours• Small group bird tour

Goal: Increase use of site to create more value for ABA’s online advertisers and sponsors

Target Segments:1. Birders in seeking gear

• Binoculars• Digital Cameras• Spotting Scopes• Outerwear• GPS technology

2. Birders seeking tours • Field Guides• North American Tours

Recommendation: Advertise in the Search Network first to drive traffic to ABA website. After reader has visited the ABA website, they can opt to visit the sponsor/vendor site from the ad displayed, or product/service mentioned, on the blog article or magazine.

Publish AdsFor Bird Watching Gear• Adults ages 25-44• Searching in mobile or tablet during the

hours of 6am – 8am, 7pm – 11pmPublish AdsFor Bird Tours• Adults ages 45-55+• Searching in PC or mobile during the

hours of 6am – 11am, 3pm – 8pm

31

SEARCH AND DISPLAY NETWORK ADS FOR CAMPAIGN 4

PPC ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation:For this PPC campaign to be successful, ABA needs to create landing pages that are organized and contain a clear call to action.

Recommendation:Add more content to the blog highlighting current sponsor/advertiser products like Audubon did on this blog post: http://www.audubon.org/news/the-audubon-guide-birding-gear. The post mentioned many products without the need of cluttered banner and display ads.

Recommendation:Highlight the Birder’s Guide magazine on the homepage. Currently it is hard to find because of all the clutter. The magazine is visually appealing and is a great channel for advertisers. Current link on homepage directs you to the March 2016 issue and in order to find the Nov. 2016 issue, one must click several pages to access it.

32

SEARCH AND DISPLAY NETWORK ADS FOR CAMPAIGN 4

PPC ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

http://bg.aba.org/i/649554-mar-2016

Recommendation:For tour advertisers, ABA needs to highlight their Travel Magazine Issues on the homepage and feature some of the content on the ABA blog to increase visibility for the advertisers/sponsors. The magazine has great visuals and it is being underutilized.

33

OBJECTIVESOCIAL MEDIA

The ABA’s primary source of revenue is generated from memberships, periodicals and recreational gear, optics and ecotourism.

Recommendations: • Continue use of Facebook and YouTube and post

fresh content that is visually appealing as well as resourceful for birders.

• Create a Pinterest account to create an interest in young birders.

Social media channels should:• Enhance visual appeal for promotions and for

content above the fold on their social media sites.• Increase user engagement that help build brand

reputation and facilitate increased participation with their sites.

• Attract opinion leaders and brand evangelists.

Ad placed by ABA is bland and uninteresting.

Ad placed by B&B uses a rich visual background.

IMPROVE VISUALS!

34

SOCIAL MEDIA

Yearly• User-generated contest – Birders upload a YouTube video

of their favorite bird and in the description they must state “This is a contest sponsored by the American Birding Association.” The videos with the most views wins a $50 gift card to aba.org

Monthly• Birding destination of the month video• ABA 101 – A perk or benefit of joining the ABA• ABA member testimonials

Weekly• Bird of the month video• “How to” Example: “How to quickly determine the origin

of a bird”

Before and after each camp/event• Videos advertisements of upcoming birding events• Video recaps of birding event/camps• Tip: Utilize birding keywords in the description and tags to

increase SEO rankings

Cornell Lab uses aesthetically pleasing images on their YouTube landing page.

https://www.youtube.com/user/LabofOrnithology

SOCIAL MEDIA

35

Birding 101 Tips/Tricks

Birding For Kids Birding Clothing and Gear

Perks of Joining the ABA

Exotic Birds

Exotic Birds Top Birding Destinations

Birding Events/Camps

Create the above Pinterest albumsWeekly

• Upload 3 photos to each albumMonthly

• Host a contest in which members create a board and “pin” 5 items from a certain category to his/her board. (The fastest 15 posters win a $20 gift card to aba.org). Examples:• January: Pin 5 items found on the ABA Accessories

page• February: Pin 5 items found on the ABA Jewelry or

Gift Packages page

36

CONTENT GEMSSOCIAL MEDIA

Continue current 3-7 Facebook postings, and add the following:

Post Weekly• A Perk or benefit of joining the ABA• A secret Birding tip/trick• A #hashtag post related to a Facebook trending topic• “Name this bird” Bird Photo quiz (as a multiple choice poll

question through the FB admin functionality)• An interesting article from Content Gems (keyword: birding)

Examples found on Content Gems: • “Snow Birds: 10 Birds to Look for in Winter” Curate by

stating: “Wow, these are gorgeous winter birds. #7 is especially beautiful”

• “Birding In Andalucia” Curate by stating: “Has anyone ever been birding in Andalucía? It’s an amazing destination for birding.

Post Monthly• Bird of the month• “Must have birding gear” with a product link to an item from the

aba.org store• Ask page members to post a photo of their favorite bird• Poll Question: “What type of birder are you? –Hardcore,

enthusiastic, or casual ”Are you the type of birder that likes X,Y,or,Z”

Post Yearly• Ask page members to post a photo of their favorite

bird and explain why they love it• Top Birding Trends to look for in 2017,2018

Name this bird.Take our bird photo quiz today and test your bird knowledge.

Post: This little camera is changing the way we bird.

Photo should link to Birding magazine article: http://bg.aba.org/i/753549-nov-2016.

37

MOBILE WEBSITEMOBILE

Responsive design is the core of mobile marketing and should be the first consideration before launching other mobile campaigns. The ABA should make sure its website can be viewed comfortably for all kinds of devices with different sized screens. • At the current time the ABA.org website

does not implement responsive design.• If the ABA does not re-design design their

website responsively, then they should re-design their mobile only site. (See left image)

• The content of navigation bar for mobile website is limited and should contain the most important content.

• Currently only the membership and the events button are shown within the blue bar. (See right image)

38

MOBILE DISPLAYMOBILE

Recommendation: ABA should use make use of display ads to create impressions for their mobile website. They should choose to use premium or blind networks because they are less expensive.

• Most mobile display companies have access to the same inventory.

• The major vendors are Buzzcity, AdMob, Millinial Media, Jumptap etc.

• Mobile banner sizing is a consideration because of different screen sizes.

• A good landing page should help to increase the conversion rate.

• There must be ‘calls to action’ placed above the fold that the users don’t have to scroll or zoom to use.

39

QR CODEMOBILE

Recommendation: ABA should adopt a QR code strategy

• QR Code is a convenient way to engage with customers. Using the code is easy and in most cases it only requires downloading a app to be able to scan it with a mobile phone.

• QR codes do not require typing in the URL and it makes it easier for the company to track customers.

• QR codes are easy to place on a significant number of pages. ABA must make it clear what benefit scanning the code will provide the customer. (see right image)

• Aba can place QR code on several products, including their magazine, news, event billboards and the product they sell.

• Using incentives for scanning the code, such as offers, coupons, etc., can increase engagement.

40

APPMOBILE

As customers return to the ABA site and begin to bond with the brand, search-based activities lose traction in favor of Native Mobile Apps. These apps offer a higher degree of usability and customization.

• Apps are available offline and can make use of phone features like location services, camera, etc.

• ABA can include articles of publications, events function and membership content on the app.

• Phone function such as notifications can remind users to do things even if they are offline.

• Other advantages include access to the phones camera and GPS, native map functionality, and background location awareness.

http://blog.readz.com/mobile-web-and-native-apps-whats-difference/

41

SMS MARKETINGMOBILE

Opt outRate notificationKeyword

To website

Promotions

• Pre marketing: Make sure that the text messages are targeted to the right group of people. The success rate of sending the texts should be over 90%. Pay attention to the timeliness for the release messages and guarantee that the backstage platform is safe and solid.

• Should select different campaigns for different segments with different offers and services. The campaigns should be optimized to maximize the conversion rate.

• After sending the texts: monitor the behavior of all the users and analyze the KPI’s and help to make further marketing activities more actionable.

42

GAMINGMOBILE

• 61% of people use their mobile phone for games. Games can reach more people than the website and apps.

• Attract young birders.• This bird guessing game can

be used on a smart phone, a tablet or even a wearable device.

• Gaming strategies can increase brand awareness and are educational and fun. There is no age limit and the creation of competition among the users creates a virtual users’ society.

43

OBJECTIVEDATA ANALYTICS

Once the ABA’s mission and goals have been established and they have selected which platforms to use for their campaigns, they are then faced with the challenge of defining KPI’s. The object is to select enough metrics to effectively measure their marketing efforts. These can be measured in a number of different ways, including:

• Determining the steps that customers took before making a decision to convert.

• Determining which calls to action generate the largest number of customers.

• Determining the number of new visitors as opposed to repeat visitors.

• Segmenting which platforms generate the most traffic and which generate the least traffic.

• Measuring the profitability of overall marketing efforts.

• Calculating the retention rate and overall value of customers.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/online/which-digital-marketing-tactics-are-perceived-to-be-the-most-effective-and-difficult-66370/attachment/ascend2-effective-difficult-digital-marketing-tactics-mar2016/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/15/10-online-marketing-metrics-you-need-to-be-measuring/#17a26b76355f

Effective and Difficult Marketing Tactics

44

ANALYSISDATA ANALYTICS

ABA requires a marketing mix that will help them to effectively reach their target market . Currently they are only utilizing some of the resources that are available to them. They should have in place metrics that help them understand how the platforms that they are using measure up against themselves. Gathering data in a manner that allows for analysts to see the bigger picture includes:

• The use of specific KPI’s to facilitate their understanding of customer behaviors and sentiments .

• Refining metrics to enable the increased understanding of how and why customers exit the conversion process.

• Making adjustments that allow for the integration of marketing channels.

• To look at trends and patterns over different time periods and investigate anomalies.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/uncategorized/4-in-10-global-marketers-reallocating-budgets-to-digital-27493/attachment/soda-digital-marketing-budget-growth-mar2013/

https://www.redandyellow.co.za/wp-content/uploads/18-Data-Analytics_Quirk-Textbook-5.pdf

45

METRICSDATA ANALYTICS

The ABA’s digital marketing campaign should place an emphasis on its social media and mobile channels. Also display ads should be refined in order to increase CTR. The ABA should be able to use these tactics to lower marketing costs, increase brand awareness, and to increase conversions their site and also for affiliated endeavors such as the sale of optics and gear. Specific success metrics should be used to reinforce these goals, including:• Bounce Rate and the length of the time that

visitors stay on the website.• Cost per conversion so that marketing dollars can

be allocated in a efficient manner.• Donor retention rate including number of donations

per household and gift amount.• Levels of engagement for social media campaigns

and sentiment analysis.• Number of mobile downloads and installations.• CTR to the ABA.org landing pages and what link or

ad caused them to click.

Percentage Increase in Revenue Because of

Analytics

http://vitalsignsmktg.com/regalix-examines-state-of-b2b-marketing-metrics-analytics-in-2015/

46

TESTINGDATA ANALYTICS

In terms of testing the ABA should use a mixture of A/B and multivariate testing. For example, the ABA has seen a decrease in the number of new memberships, a situation that could be attributed to a number of different factors. To determine the cause, ABA could perform testing using different versions of the same interface, or they could try multiple variations on a single interface. Other aspects of marketing efforts include:• The ability to be able to find out more about

customer sentiments and intentions.• Defining new segments and testing each

segment using different metrics.• Testing the timing for the delivery of campaign

messages to make sure that they are delivered at optimal times.

• The creation of micro campaigns to test niche keywords and inventive display ads.

• Modifying the allocation of budget to include different types of marketing efforts.

Methods for Improving Conversion Rates

https://econsultancy.com/blog/64210-what-is-conversion-rate-optimisation-cro-and-why-do-you-need-it/111

47

REFERENCES

Bibliography

“Birding hobby soars in popularity across North America”, <http://globalnews.ca/news /1978047/birding-hobby-soars-in-popularity-across-north-america/>

“Birding in the United States”: A Demographic and Economic Analysis, last modified December 2013, <https://www.fws.gov/southeast/economicimpact/pdf/2011-birdingreport--final.pdf>

“Find Website Traffic Statistics”, <http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/aba.org>

“Guided Birding Tours”: an examination of the market, important tour parameters, and participant demographics,

<http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/newtown_square/publications/technical_reports/pdfs/2004/317papers/che317.pdf>

“Market Analysis of Bird-Based Tourism”: , last modified 07/16/2015, <http://www.responsibletravel.org/resources/documents/birdstudyreport_71615.pdf>

“SeoSiteCheckup ”, <http://seositecheckup.com/seo-audit/aba.org> “Trends: Birding Ranks 15th Most Popular Recreational Activity”, Last modified May 19, 2013,

<http://naturetravelnetwork.com/trends-birding-ranks-15th-most-popular-recreational-activity/>

“What is World Migratory Bird Day?”, Last modified May 10, 2016, <http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/about>

48

A. KEYWORDS OF BIRDERSAPPENDIX

Most Correlate Keywords Birding

Bird Watching bird identification birder birding news bird list

1# bird list yogurt makerflower

identification energy fair united water christmas bird count2# christmas bird atlas pasta jointer mcdermid suez water birding

3#christmas bird

countwheat

intolerance animal track ifls scott honda christmas bird4# silk yarn bread baking transplanting alliance bible church just kidding around exchange programs5# aconitum roasting gladiolus bulbs glacier creek liebich winter solstice

6# incineratingwheat allergy

symptomsbeetle

identification hydronic heat art on the green ibird7# merlin bird chard recipes highland cattle catkins marge simpson rule 34 dryas8# ibird how to roast butter dish trailbreaker diamond court silk yarn

9#exchange programs

gluten content jointers n60 compsych provider led track lighting

10# lace knitting caster sugar garlic bulbs sun golden woodings title nine sports

49

B. KEYWORDS BY ADWORDSAPPENDIX

Keywords Google Popularity Google Search Volume

birds 1220000 639,000,000birds pictures 49500 77,100,000bird sounds 40500 65,500,000bird calls 27100 85,900,000pictures of birds 27100 1,110,000,000bird song 22200 82,300,000bird identification 18100 56,700,000british birds 14800 65,000,000birdwatching 14800 7,180,000birding 12100 15,000,000bird identifier 9900 6,200,000birds of north america 9900 24,600,000bird identification apps 8100 496,000audubon birds 5400 3,280,000backyard birds 4400 12,500,000identify birds 3600 62,400,000bird finder 1600 20,800,000

50

C. UX FEEDBACK SURVEY

APPENDIX

The feedback survey was performed entirely online using participants from a third party usability website. All of the participants were from the United States.

Questions posed to survey panel of 10 random users1. How do the text, font, colors and background contrast contribute to the readability of the page?2. What aspects of the website helped you best understand its purpose and mission?3. When finding an item (such as books, coffee and tourist gear) adding it to the cart and then

checking out (without actually buying anything), what did you like about the process and what slowed you down?

4. Is the contact us information easy to find and complete (with hours/days of operation)?5. Is the search box easy to find and on the top of every page, and does it return relevant results?6. Is the important content towards the top of the page, or do you have to scroll down to access it?

Source:http://www.feedbackarmy.com/get_feedback.slp?url=http://www.aba.org/&code=936c1035f99790e3e5d1679d300aa272

51

KEYWORDS FOR AD GROUPSAPPENDIX

Campaign 1Focus: Attract Young Birders and New Members• How to start birding• How to begin birding• Birding for beginners• What is birding• Enjoy bird watching• Watch birds in natural habitat• Discover bird watching• How to identify birds• How to become a bird watcher• How to become a birder• Bird watching as a hobby• Start new hobby bird watching• How to start bird watching in

backyard• Advice for new bird watchers• Advice to start birding• Tips on how to start birding• Bird watching tips and tricks

Campaign 2Focus: Attract Enthusiastic Birders for New Membership and Retain Current Members• Equipment to photograph birds• Large group birding tours• Birding tours of North

America• Binoculars for bird watching• Camera for bird photographs• Birding gear recommendations• Bird watching gear• Group bird watching• Group birding tours• Explore bird events• Large birding events• Large birding festivals• Birding association

membership benefit

Campaign 3Focus: Attract Hard Core Birders for New Membership and Retain Current Members Older than 55 years of age• Equipment to photograph birds• Birding tours of North America• Best binoculars for bird watching• Best camera for bird

photographs• Gear for expert birders• Bird watching gear• Advanced birding optics • Birding books for experts• North American birding tours• Small group bird excursions• Birding expert advice• Avid birder advice• Birding gear reviews• Photographs of rare birds• Exclusive rare bird spotting• Birding association

membership benefit

52

APPENDIX

53

Current Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest Analysis

FACEBOOK• 17,065 likes• 592 photos posted by other people• 4 photo albums: Timeline Photos, Cover

Photos, Profile Photos, Mobile Uploads• No “Bird” titled or keyword specific photo

albums• 394 reviews 4.7 Rating• 3 videos• Only 4 Past Events created• “Flight Calls Signup” tab is empty• Frequency: 3-7 Posts weekly

YOUTUBE• No recent videos posted• Most recent video was Jan 6,

2014

PINTEREST• No Pinterest Account

APPENDIX

54

APPENDIX

55

APPENDIX

Causal Forecast