Digital Marketing Rocks!: Recent Episodes
TabithaNaylor.com Inc
TabithaNaylor.com Inc is a full-service marketing firm that delivers 'big agency' quality at rates that are affordable for startups and small businesses. This is our podcast. Tune-in regularly for all the cutting-edge marketing knowledge you need for your business to succeed.
When you mention chatbots, the first thing that springs to mind is effective customer service. Waiting to get service has always been irksome, but with the growth of eCommerce customers have come to expect 24/7 connectivity and assistance - hence the need for chatbots. In fact, according to a Userlike survey, customers' favorite things about chatbots is their quick response and availability outside normal working hours. Customer service aside, did you know that chatbots can benefit your business beyond improving customer satisfaction? Specifically, I want to get into how chatbots can help your business implement your sales and marketing strategy. Over 50% of executives agree that bots deliver significant return on investment and improve customer acquisition and retention 1 - Automate Lead Generation Picture landing on a website. Instead of an annoying spammy pop-up asking for your precious email address, you get a conversational chat bubble welcoming you and offering to help you find the information you need. Check out the engaging example below. Lead generation is identifying people who may be interested in buying your product, capturing their interest and engaging with them. In this initial phase of the buyer's journey, information is what they're after. Providing information on your product and pricing is straightforward and therefore perfect for automation. You don't really need the human input at this stage. But you can simulate human conversation with conversational chatbots. According to HubSpot, only 19% of customers just learning about a product or service (awareness stage) will want to speak to a sales rep. The number triples to 60% when customers have researched, have more information and built a shortlist (consideration stage). Therefore, it makes sense to use bots as a touchpoint in the customer's journey and to enhance marketing communication and to help sales teams get in touch with customers more efficiently. Automating the initial engagement with new or returning users browsing your site through chatbots will enable you to: Tailor your customer's experience on your website away from the generic towards specific information that benefits them. Personalization can include referring to returning customers by name or offering location-based deals. 80% of customers are more likely to buy from businesses with personalized experiences. Increase average time spent on your website and customer engagement. Using question prompts your chatbot can guide your customer through to the information they want without the hassle of reading walls of text or trying to navigate the website. Auto qualify your leads. Get real time data on what the user wants with basic qualifying questions and therefore transferring to the right human agent instead of a frustrating chain of handoffs or them having to repeatedly explain themselves. Achieve higher lead conversion rates. Often, lead generation forms are clunky or require an essay-worth of information before the customer can access your offer or content upgrade. Chatbots simplify this to a few buttons in a fun gamified way. Schedule, modify and cancel appointments. You'll save your sales team the time and back and forth involved in trying to manually sync calendars. Boost the number of marketing conversations. An agent can only handle three conversations at a go. Bots can handle an unlimited amount of chats and automatically send the information to your CRM software, making your marketing activities more effective. 2 - Upsell and Cross-Sell Your Customers Upselling is persuading your customer to buy an additional item to what they're purchasing or to purchase a more expensive product or service. For example: Add $150 to upgrade your tablet from 64GB to 256GB. On the other hand, cross-selling is identifying complementary products based on your customer's interests or purchases. For example: Get a stylus and bluetooth keyboard with your tablet. Chatbots can tackle both upselling and cro...
When you mention chatbots, the first thing that springs to mind is effective customer service. Waiting to get service has always been irksome, but with the growth of eCommerce customers have come to expect 24/7 connectivity and assistance - hence the need for chatbots. In fact, according to a Userlike survey, customers' favorite things about chatbots is their quick response and availability outside normal working hours. Customer service aside, did you know that chatbots can benefit your business beyond improving customer satisfaction? Specifically, I want to get into how chatbots can help your business implement your sales and marketing strategy. Over 50% of executives agree that bots deliver significant return on investment and improve customer acquisition and retention How can chatbots supplement your daily activities to reach, engage, and convert target prospects into profitable customers? 1 - Automate Lead Generation Picture landing on a website. Instead of an annoying spammy pop-up asking for your precious email address, you get a conversational chat bubble welcoming you and offering to help you find the information you need. Check out the engaging example below. Lead generation is identifying people who may be interested in buying your product, capturing their interest and engaging with them. In this initial phase of the buyer's journey, information is what they're after. Providing information on your product and pricing is straightforward and therefore perfect for automation. You don't really need the human input at this stage. But you can simulate human conversation with conversational chatbots. According to HubSpot, only 19% of customers just learning about a product or service (awareness stage) will want to speak to a sales rep. The number triples to 60% when customers have researched, have more information and built a shortlist (consideration stage). Therefore, it makes sense to use bots as a touchpoint in the customer's journey and to enhance marketing communication and to help sales teams get in touch with customers more efficiently. Automating the initial engagement with new or returning users browsing your site through chatbots will enable you to: Tailor your customer's experience on your website away from the generic towards specific information that benefits them. Personalization can include referring to returning customers by name or offering location-based deals. 80% of customers are more likely to buy from businesses with personalized experiences. Increase average time spent on your website and customer engagement. Using question prompts your chatbot can guide your customer through to the information they want without the hassle of reading walls of text or trying to navigate the website. Auto qualify your leads. Get real time data on what the user wants with basic qualifying questions and therefore transferring to the right human agent instead of a frustrating chain of handoffs or them having to repeatedly explain themselves. Achieve higher lead conversion rates. Often, lead generation forms are clunky or require an essay-worth of information before the customer can access your offer or content upgrade. Chatbots simplify this to a few buttons in a fun gamified way. Schedule, modify and cancel appointments. You'll save your sales team the time and back and forth involved in trying to manually sync calendars. Boost the number of marketing conversations. An agent can only handle three conversations at a go. Bots can handle an unlimited amount of chats and automatically send the information to your CRM software, making your marketing activities more effective. 2 - Upsell and Cross-Sell Your Customers Upselling is persuading your customer to buy an additional item to what they're purchasing or to purchase a more expensive product or service. For example: Add $150 to upgrade your tablet from 64GB to 256GB. On the other hand, cross-selling is identifying complementary products based on your customer's interests...
There is nothing easy about running your electrical business on your own. Not only are you in competition with the others in your industry, you have to think about doing everything possible for each client to be a repeat one. Your business depends on you to be effective and efficient and with the right marketing plan, you can ensure that you are out there and standing out for your clients and the world to see. There is a lot of information out there for electricians to market themselves effectively. From using the best electrician SEO company out there to knowing how to run your website, you have a lot to learn about how to stand out. With the right marketing strategy, you will find better success much faster. You'll need to have the right strategy in place if you want to be the best you can be for your audience, and in the end, your profitability will change! So, with this in mind, here's how to market yourself as an electrician. You need a good website. If you have an electrician business, then you know that you need a professional website to make it work. Not only will you miss out on a lot of customers without one, you have to remember that your customers are searching for electrical services online. If you are not online like your competitors, you will not be visible. With a website, your electrician business will stand out from the crowd and provide information on services offered that others may not be able to provide. People will always go online first before looking anywhere else for the right electrician. Put some emphasis on Local Search Engine optimization. When you create your website, you need to ensure that you have SEO keywords in place so that you can promote it in search engines. Locally, people will be looking for services that are in their area and you'll be able to provide those if you can hit the right keywords. It makes a lot of sense for you to have optimization of your websites pages for local keyword phrases. If you do this correctly, you'll be able to attract the right type of traffic to your website. Lean into social media. As an electrician who's looking to target a local audience, social media is going to be one of your biggest websites to do that from. Not only can you use Facebook and Instagram, but you can also use Twitter and LinkedIn to help. People will search for electrician businesses local to them and this means that they will look on their social media pages for recommendations from local people. If you can gain enough positive reviews and recommendations on social media, you can bet that your attraction to local people will go through the roof. Check out the competition first. What is your local competition doing differently to you? What could you do to be better? If you want to market yourself as an electrician, you need to see what your competition is doing so that you can either emulate or do better than them.
If you're like most small businesses, you're always looking for new ways to reach your target audience and promote your products or services. And with over one billion active users, Instagram is a great place to start. By taking advantage of the various features that Instagram offers for businesses, local businesses can level the playing field with larger companies. With the rise of Instagram reels, companies now have more options than ever to market their business in innovative and visually appealing ways. In this guide we will cover ten different types of Instagram reels small businesses can use to promote their business. Whether you're a restaurant looking to showcase your delicious food or a local shop wishing to attract new customers, these reels will help get the job done! 1. Behind-the-Scenes These reels show your followers what goes on behind the scenes of your business. People love getting a sneak peek at how things are made or the logistics behind running a business. This type of reel can also help humanize your brand and make you more relatable to your customers. To create a behind-the-scenes reel, simply start filming what goes on during a typical day at your business. You can show everything from the morning commute to prepping for customers to closing up shop at the end of the day. Be sure to add some fun music or interesting narration to keep things interesting! If you're not sure where to start, why not film a day in the life of one of your employees? Show off your team and what they do to make your business run smoothly. 2. Customer Testimonials Customer testimonials show happy customers while promoting your business simultaneously. When potential customers see others had a positive experience with your business, they are more likely to give you a try. To create a customer testimonial reel, simply film your customers talking about their experience with your business. Set up a camera in your store or office or send a survey to previous customers asking them to record a video testimonial. 3. Product Showcase If you're looking to endorse a new product or service, a product showcase reel will allow you to show off your product in all its glory and give potential customers a taste of what they can expect with their purchase. To create a product showcase reel, start by filming a short introduction of your product. This should include information about what it is, how it works, and why people need it. Then, film a few quick clips of your product in action. Be sure to highlight any features or benefits that make it unique! Finally, add a call-to-action at the end of your reel encouraging people to learn more or purchase your product. 4. How-To A how-to reel is a great way to show your expertise and attract new customers. If you offer a service that people might not know how to do themselves, seize this opportunity to show them how it's done! To create a how-to reel, start by choosing a topic that you're an expert in. This could be anything from making the perfect cup of coffee to how to change a tire. Then, film a short video showing people how it's done. 5. Tips and Tricks If you're looking for a way to share your valuable knowledge with the world, a tips and tricks reel is the perfect solution! In addition, this type of reel is ideal for businesses offering advice or for services people might not be familiar with. To create a tips and tricks reel, start by brainstorming a list of subjects you're an expert on. Once you've got a few ideas, film a short video on each topic. Include any tips or tricks that you think will be helpful to your viewers! Remember, the goal of a tips and tricks reel is to educate and inform your viewers - keep things clear and concise. 6. FAQ An FAQ reel addresses common questions and concerns that potential customers may have about your business. It can help put people's minds at ease and encourage them to do business with you. Start by brainstorming a list of commonly asked questions abou...
If you're like most small businesses, you're always looking for new ways to reach your target audience and promote your products or services. And with over one billion active users, Instagram is a great place to start. By taking advantage of the various features that Instagram offers for businesses, local businesses can level the playing field with larger companies. With the rise of Instagram reels, companies now have more options than ever to market their business in innovative and visually appealing ways. In this guide we will cover ten different types of Instagram reels small businesses can use to promote their business. Whether you're a restaurant looking to showcase your delicious food or a local shop wishing to attract new customers, these reels will help get the job done! 1. Behind-the-Scenes These reels show your followers what goes on behind the scenes of your business. People love getting a sneak peek at how things are made or the logistics behind running a business. This type of reel can also help humanize your brand and make you more relatable to your customers. To create a behind-the-scenes reel, simply start filming what goes on during a typical day at your business. You can show everything from the morning commute to prepping for customers to closing up shop at the end of the day. Be sure to add some fun music or interesting narration to keep things interesting! If you're not sure where to start, why not film a day in the life of one of your employees? Show off your team and what they do to make your business run smoothly. 2. Customer Testimonials Customer testimonials show happy customers while promoting your business simultaneously. When potential customers see others had a positive experience with your business, they are more likely to give you a try. To create a customer testimonial reel, simply film your customers talking about their experience with your business. Set up a camera in your store or office or send a survey to previous customers asking them to record a video testimonial. 3. Product Showcase If you're looking to endorse a new product or service, a product showcase reel will allow you to show off your product in all its glory and give potential customers a taste of what they can expect with their purchase. To create a product showcase reel, start by filming a short introduction of your product. This should include information about what it is, how it works, and why people need it. Then, film a few quick clips of your product in action. Be sure to highlight any features or benefits that make it unique! Finally, add a call-to-action at the end of your reel encouraging people to learn more or purchase your product. 4. How-To A how-to reel is a great way to show your expertise and attract new customers. If you offer a service that people might not know how to do themselves, seize this opportunity to show them how it's done! To create a how-to reel, start by choosing a topic that you're an expert in. This could be anything from making the perfect cup of coffee to how to change a tire. Then, film a short video showing people how it's done. 5. Tips and Tricks If you're looking for a way to share your valuable knowledge with the world, a tips and tricks reel is the perfect solution! In addition, this type of reel is ideal for businesses offering advice or for services people might not be familiar with. To create a tips and tricks reel, start by brainstorming a list of subjects you're an expert on. Once you've got a few ideas, film a short video on each topic. Include any tips or tricks that you think will be helpful to your viewers! Remember, the goal of a tips and tricks reel is to educate and inform your viewers - keep things clear and concise. 6. FAQ An FAQ reel addresses common questions and concerns that potential customers may have about your business. It can help put people's minds at ease and encourage them to do business with you. Start by brainstorming a list of commonly asked questions abou...
Influencer marketing is a 6.5-billion-dollar industry and the best marketing tool for businesses today. As this online marketing strategy evolves, businesses are foregoing celebrity endorsements in favor of collaborating with local influencers in their community. Here's why. Benefit 1: Increases Brand Awareness First and foremost, local influencers bring the names of businesses to the attention of people who were previously unaware of their existence. Obviously, all types of influencers do this, but local influencers are more effective and successful for businesses in specific geographic areas. Plus, local businesses can turn their favorite customers into their own personal influencers for a fairly low cost by offering small incentives, like food & drink or merchandise. Benefit 2: Improves Engagement Local influencers tend to have a deeper, more genuine connection with their followers than macro and celebrity influencers. They are more likely to know and connect with their followers on a more personal level. Influencers with 100k or fewer followers, tend to make time for thoughtful responses and engagement. According to research, influencers with 1,000 followers have the highest engagement ratio so don't count them out because the ratio of engagement to followers is more important than the number of followers! Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is considering removing 'likes' from the social media platform entirely. "We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they're getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about." This potential evolution will make engagement an even more potent tool in the world of influencers. Benefit 3: Less Expensive Contrary to what you may think, local influencers do not need to be paid thousands of dollars to endorse your business. Many people are willing to be influencers in exchange for smaller incentives. "When I post a photo for taco Tuesday, I get free queso? Please sign me up!" Giving people the opportunity to try your product and share it with their friends and family is a great way to generate repeat business. It's a win-win situation for both parties. Influencers gain credibility for their recommendation, businesses gain new customers, and both gain exposure. Benefit 4: Gives You Access to New Followers Local influencers are ideal for small businesses because the majority of their followers will live in the same area and have never heard of your brand. This means an influencer collaboration will allow you to reach a larger market of people who are close to your business but have never heard of our brand! No matter how fantastic a local pizza joint is, it's unlikely that someone will fly across the country to try it unless they're already in town. Maybe, unless they really love pizza, have a lot of spare cash, and are dying to go on a world's best pizza tour. I mean come on. Never, ever say never, right? However, if someone local is scrolling through Instagram and sees a friend raving about it, they may decide to check it out on their next date night or if visitors from out of town see rave reviews about how delicious your pizza is while searching for food on Google, they are likely to want to see for themselves. Benefit 5: Enhances Authenticity Marketing professionals have long recognized that word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective form of marketing. Local influencers do this without making it appear as if the company is bragging about itself. It's not salesy or gimmicky; it's just a person sharing something they enjoy with the people in their network. As a result, people are much more likely to respond to a sponsored post from a business page or influencer with a million followers. Benefit 6: Generates Fresh Content Giving up some control and allowing an influencer to create their own content promoting your business accomplishes two important things. It reduces the workload on marketing campaigns. Your business can provide ...
Influencer marketing is a 6.5-billion-dollar industry and the best marketing tool for businesses today. As this online marketing strategy evolves, businesses are foregoing celebrity endorsements in favor of collaborating with local influencers in their community. Here's why. Benefit 1: Increases Brand Awareness First and foremost, local influencers bring the names of businesses to the attention of people who were previously unaware of their existence. Obviously, all types of influencers do this, but local influencers are more effective and successful for businesses in specific geographic areas. Plus, local businesses can turn their favorite customers into their own personal influencers for a fairly low cost by offering small incentives, like food & drink or merchandise. Benefit 2: Improves Engagement Local influencers tend to have a deeper, more genuine connection with their followers than macro and celebrity influencers. They are more likely to know and connect with their followers on a more personal level. Influencers with 100k or fewer followers, tend to make time for thoughtful responses and engagement. According to research, influencers with 1,000 followers have the highest engagement ratio so don't count them out because the ratio of engagement to followers is more important than the number of followers! Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is considering removing 'likes' from the social media platform entirely. "We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they're getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about." This potential evolution will make engagement an even more potent tool in the world of influencers. Benefit 3: Less Expensive Contrary to what you may think, local influencers do not need to be paid thousands of dollars to endorse your business. Many people are willing to be influencers in exchange for smaller incentives. "When I post a photo for taco Tuesday, I get free queso? Please sign me up!" Giving people the opportunity to try your product and share it with their friends and family is a great way to generate repeat business. It's a win-win situation for both parties. Influencers gain credibility for their recommendation, businesses gain new customers, and both gain exposure. Benefit 4: Gives You Access to New Followers Local influencers are ideal for small businesses because the majority of their followers will live in the same area and have never heard of your brand. This means an influencer collaboration will allow you to reach a larger market of people who are close to your business but have never heard of our brand! No matter how fantastic a local pizza joint is, it's unlikely that someone will fly across the country to try it unless they're already in town. Maybe, unless they really love pizza, have a lot of spare cash, and are dying to go on a world's best pizza tour. I mean come on. Never, ever say never, right? However, if someone local is scrolling through Instagram and sees a friend raving about it, they may decide to check it out on their next date night or if visitors from out of town see rave reviews about how delicious your pizza is while searching for food on Google, they are likely to want to see for themselves. Benefit 5: Enhances Authenticity Marketing professionals have long recognized that word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective form of marketing. Local influencers do this without making it appear as if the company is bragging about itself. It's not salesy or gimmicky; it's just a person sharing something they enjoy with the people in their network. As a result, people are much more likely to respond to a sponsored post from a business page or influencer with a million followers. Benefit 6: Generates Fresh Content Giving up some control and allowing an influencer to create their own content promoting your business accomplishes two important things. It reduces the workload on marketing campaigns. Your business can provide ...
Influencer marketing is a 6.5-billion-dollar industry and the best marketing tool for businesses today. As this online marketing strategy evolves, businesses are foregoing celebrity endorsements in favor of collaborating with local influencers in their community. Here's why. Benefit 1: Increases Brand Awareness First and foremost, local influencers bring the names of businesses to the attention of people who were previously unaware of their existence. Obviously, all types of influencers do this, but local influencers are more effective and successful for businesses in specific geographic areas. Plus, local businesses can turn their favorite customers into their own personal influencers for a fairly low cost by offering small incentives, like food & drink or merchandise. Benefit 2: Improves Engagement Local influencers tend to have a deeper, more genuine connection with their followers than macro and celebrity influencers. They are more likely to know and connect with their followers on a more personal level. Influencers with 100k or fewer followers, tend to make time for thoughtful responses and engagement. According to research, influencers with 1,000 followers have the highest engagement ratio so don't count them out because the ratio of engagement to followers is more important than the number of followers! Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is considering removing 'likes' from the social media platform entirely "We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they're getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about." This potential evolution will make engagement an even more potent tool in the world of influencers. Benefit 3: Less Expensive Contrary to what you may think, local influencers do not need to be paid thousands of dollars to endorse your business. Many people are willing to be influencers in exchange for smaller incentives. "When I post a photo for taco Tuesday, I get free queso? Please sign me up!" Giving people the opportunity to try your product and share it with their friends and family is a great way to generate repeat business. It's a win-win situation for both parties. Influencers gain credibility for their recommendation, businesses gain new customers, and both gain exposure. Benefit 4: Gives You Access to New Followers Local influencers are ideal for small businesses because the majority of their followers will live in the same area and have never heard of your brand. This means an influencer collaboration will allow you to reach a larger market of people who are close to your business but have never heard of our brand! No matter how fantastic a local pizza joint is, it's unlikely that someone will fly across the country to try it unless they're already in town. Maybe, unless they really love pizza, have a lot of spare cash, and are dying to go on a world's best pizza tour. I mean come on. Never, ever say never, right? However, if someone local is scrolling through Instagram and sees a friend raving about it, they may decide to check it out on their next date night or if visitors from out of town see rave reviews about how delicious your pizza is while searching for food on Google, they are likely to want to see for themselves Benefit 5: Enhances Authenticity Marketing professionals have long recognized that word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective form of marketing. Local influencers do this without making it appear as if the company is bragging about itself. It's not salesy or gimmicky; it's just a person sharing something they enjoy with the people in their network. As a result, people are much more likely to respond to a sponsored post from a business page or influencer with a million followers. Benefit 6: Generates Fresh Content Giving up some control and allowing an influencer to create their own content promoting your business accomplishes two important things. It reduces the workload on marketing campaigns. Your business can provide gu...
Sometimes, local businesses need to think out of the proverbial box when it comes to marketing strategies to drive sales and increase brand awareness. And while widely useful, online marketing isn't always the answer to creating the connections that local businesses need to leverage sales and develop that all-important brand awareness in local communities. In contrast, offline marketing can still attract new customers who will walk through the front door of your business tomorrow and buy your products and services. In many ways, offline marketing has become an out-of-the-box way to increase brand awareness in a world where online marketing is the norm. Every local business can make use of online marketing, but offline strategies can be your "Ace in the Hole" solution that allows you to connect with new prospects and drive more sales. There are quite a few offline marketing methods that are still very effective even in today's online world, we're going to be revealing 3 of our favorites. Spread Your Message Everywhere with EDDM Every Door Direct Mail, also known is EDDM, is a unique way of thinking about direct mail marketing that benefits local businesses. With EDDM, a business can deliver mail directly to every door in a neighborhood without the need for any specific addresses or names. Most businesses will scoff at direct mail marketing today, calling it ineffective and outdated. But when is the last time they actually tried it? People are far more inundated with pop ads, email subscriptions, and banner ad displays online than with physical ads, making physical ads an effective marketing strategy. EDDM works because it laser targets your local customer base. The only thing your business needs to do is specify the carrier route and create eye-catching postcard to promote your business. EDDM is also a fraction of the cost of other direct mail campaigns and is one of those simple but effective marking strategies that drive sales to your business without too much investment or effort to see significant results. Partner with a Local Business Reaching out to other local businesses that have a similar customer base and complementary services but not in direct competition with you to form a partnership is an excellent offline marketing strategy. There are many benefits to be reaped from these strategic alliances that include strengthening both businesses' brands, accomplishing mutual sales and marketing goals, and reaching all-new audiences. This is an exciting strategy as you form an alliance with another business to create bigger and better solutions for your customers. Starting the process isn't difficult and can be done by approaching another business in your local area to get the ball rolling. Consider which business might be open to forming an alliance and expanding their own brands with an all-new marketing strategy. This could look like offering joint classes and workshops, working on new services together, developing a joint project, or simply offering unique perks like coupons and discounts. These alliances should always benefit both brands equally. For any local business, pooling resources and reaching a wider audience while remaining independent is the perfect win-win opportunity. Some examples of complementary services include: Lawn Care Services and Home Cleaning Services Flower Shop and Bakery (think wedding cakes) Auto Detailing Service and Autobody Repair Service Accounting Firm and Legal Office Finding the right partnership is going to be key in the success of this campaign. But with some effort and creative collaboration both businesses will benefit by plugging into each other's existing customer base and developing a plan for growth. Try a Little Guerrilla Marketing Spending large amounts of money on marketing is not always a viable option for small businesses. That is where guerrilla marketing steps onto the scene. Low cost, effective, and easy to execute is just a few ways to describe guerrilla marketing tac...
Sometimes, local businesses need to think out of the proverbial box when it comes to marketing strategies to drive sales and increase brand awareness. And while widely useful, online marketing isn't always the answer to creating the connections that local businesses need to leverage sales and develop that all-important brand awareness in local communities. In contrast, offline marketing can still attract new customers who will walk through the front door of your business tomorrow and buy your products and services. In many ways, offline marketing has become an out-of-the-box way to increase brand awareness in a world where online marketing is the norm. Every local business can make use of online marketing, but offline strategies can be your "Ace in the Hole" solution that allows you to connect with new prospects and drive more sales. There are quite a few offline marketing methods that are still very effective even in today's online world, we're going to be revealing 3 of our favorites. 1. Spread Your Message Everywhere with EDDM Every Door Direct Mail, also known is EDDM, is a unique way of thinking about direct mail marketing that benefits local businesses. With EDDM, a business can deliver mail directly to every door in a neighborhood without the need for any specific addresses or names. Most businesses will scoff at direct mail marketing today, calling it ineffective and outdated. But when is the last time they actually tried it? People are far more inundated with pop ads, email subscriptions, and banner ad displays online than with physical ads, making physical ads an effective marketing strategy. EDDM works because it laser targets your local customer base. The only thing your business needs to do is specify the carrier route and create eye-catching postcard to promote your business. EDDM is also a fraction of the cost of other direct mail campaigns and is one of those simple but effective marking strategies that drive sales to your business without too much investment or effort to see significant results. 2. Partner with a Local Business Reaching out to other local businesses that have a similar customer base and complementary services but not in direct competition with you to form a partnership is an excellent offline marketing strategy. There are many benefits to be reaped from these strategic alliances that include strengthening both businesses' brands, accomplishing mutual sales and marketing goals, and reaching all-new audiences. This is an exciting strategy as you form an alliance with another business to create bigger and better solutions for your customers. Starting the process isn't difficult and can be done by approaching another business in your local area to get the ball rolling. Consider which business might be open to forming an alliance and expanding their own brands with an all-new marketing strategy. This could look like offering joint classes and workshops, working on new services together, developing a joint project, or simply offering unique perks like coupons and discounts. These alliances should always benefit both brands equally. For any local business, pooling resources and reaching a wider audience while remaining independent is the perfect win-win opportunity. Some examples of complementary services include: Lawn Care Services and Home Cleaning Services Flower Shop and Bakery (think wedding cakes) Auto Detailing Service and Autobody Repair Service Accounting Firm and Legal Office Finding the right partnership is going to be key in the success of this campaign. But with some effort and creative collaboration both businesses will benefit by plugging into each other's existing customer base and developing a plan for growth. 3. Try a Little Guerrilla Marketing Spending large amounts of money on marketing is not always a viable option for small businesses. That is where guerrilla marketing steps onto the scene. Low cost, effective, and easy to execute is just a few ways to describe guerrilla mark...
Social media can sometimes feel like a shot in the dark for local business owners - believe us, we know. Although content marketing sometimes feels overwhelming, it is one of the most accessible tools for local businesses to promote products and services to an online audience. Nowadays, people are more likely than ever before to find your business through social media channels. So, before they even see your website, they're experiencing your brand on social media. Think of your content marketing as a virtual storefront for your business, giving your customers an online experience of your local storefront. But in addition to running a business, the upkeep of a virtual storefront can be just as exhausting. The time, resources, and mental willpower, to do content marketing can take up a big portion of your day, every day. But wait. There is a solution! Developing a content calendar to implement your content strategy will completely revolutionize your approach to online marketing. What is a Content Calendar? Your content includes anything from images, videos, stories, emails, blogs, and ads that you share online to build your virtual storefront. A content calendar takes all these essential elements of your engagement and transforms them into a calendar that tells you what to share, when to share it, and where you will share it for your business. A typical content calendar will assess a two to six-month overview of your content and develop a strategic implementation of the content to make your life easier. A content calendar will become a central tool in your marketing tool kit when it's done right. Attracting customers is essential to successfully operating any local business, whether you run a restaurant, pet shop, or novelty comic bookstore. A content calendar can revolutionize your content marketing, saving you time, effort, money, and willpower. Now, a content calendar may sound like a lot of time and effort that you don't have to invest at this moment. But it actually makes creating content more straightforward while increasing the effectiveness of your outreach. Why should every local business be using a content calendar? There are, of course, many benefits to local businesses creating and using content plans, so let's find out more. Square Up Your Marketing Keeping track of your marketing strategy can be exhausting on top of your day-to-day job. Emails, blogs, social media posts, and more must be cohesive to achieve positive results for your business. Creating an entire overview with a content calendar means a few things for your business. Content that is more consistent in quality and easier to produce. It is simpler to develop content that overlaps, saving you time and guesswork on effective strategies. Struggling to brainstorm ideas? Use SEMrush to spy on your competitors. The tool offers a wealth of other content-generating ideas, but sometimes it's easiest to garner inspiration from other businesses in your niche. Of course, don't go and steal their content word for word. But when you're struggling for ideas on ways you can engage the same audience there's nothing wrong with using the same strategies if they work. Get Organized and Save time Set aside one to two days to plan your content marketing content in bulk for the next 2-6 months. Once it's planned out, the rest of the time you just have to make sure you're following the same strategy making tweaks here & there when needed. A content calendar gives you a better perspective on the overall strategy you have for your business and helps you implement it with an organized approach. Automate Everything With content creation out of the way, you can use any automation tool to schedule when your social media should be posted and where it should be posted. Automation is a saving grace for a local business, which can't happen when you're trying to film a random reel every day to post at the last minute. With a good content calendar that has thought out every detail befo...
Social media can sometimes feel like a shot in the dark for local business owners - believe us, we know. Although content marketing sometimes feels overwhelming, it is one of the most accessible tools for local businesses to promote products and services to an online audience. Nowadays, people are more likely than ever before to find your business through social media channels. So, before they even see your website, they're experiencing your brand on social media. Think of your content marketing as a virtual storefront for your business, giving your customers an online experience of your local storefront. But in addition to running a business, the upkeep of a virtual storefront can be just as exhausting. The time, resources, and mental willpower, to do content marketing can take up a big portion of your day, every day. But wait. There is a solution! Developing a content calendar to implement your content strategy will completely revolutionize your approach to online marketing. What is a Content Calendar? Your content includes anything from images, videos, stories, emails, blogs, and ads that you share online to build your virtual storefront. A content calendar takes all these essential elements of your engagement and transforms them into a calendar that tells you what to share, when to share it, and where you will share it for your business. A typical content calendar will assess a two to six-month overview of your content and develop a strategic implementation of the content to make your life easier. A content calendar will become a central tool in your marketing tool kit when it's done right. Attracting customers is essential to successfully operating any local business, whether you run a restaurant, pet shop, or novelty comic bookstore. A content calendar can revolutionize your content marketing, saving you time, effort, money, and willpower. Now, a content calendar may sound like a lot of time and effort that you don't have to invest at this moment. But it actually makes creating content more straightforward while increasing the effectiveness of your outreach. Why should every local business be using a content calendar? There are, of course, many benefits to local businesses creating and using content plans, so let's find out more. Square Up Your Marketing Keeping track of your marketing strategy can be exhausting on top of your day-to-day job. Emails, blogs, social media posts, and more must be cohesive to achieve positive results for your business. Creating an entire overview with a content calendar means a few things for your business. Content that is more consistent in quality and easier to produce. It is simpler to develop content that overlaps, saving you time and guesswork on effective strategies. Struggling to brainstorm ideas? Use SEMrush to spy on your competitors. The tool offers a wealth of other content-generating ideas, but sometimes it's easiest to garner inspiration from other businesses in your niche. Of course, don't go and steal their content word for word. But when you're struggling for ideas on ways you can engage the same audience there's nothing wrong with using the same strategies if they work. Get Organized and Save time Set aside one to two days to plan your content marketing content in bulk for the next 2-6 months. Once it's planned out, the rest of the time you just have to make sure you're following the same strategy making tweaks here & there when needed. A content calendar gives you a better perspective on the overall strategy you have for your business and helps you implement it with an organized approach. Automate Everything With content creation out of the way, you can use any automation tool to schedule when your social media should be posted and where it should be posted. Automation is a saving grace for a local business, which can't happen when you're trying to film a random reel every day to post at the last minute. With a good content calendar that has thought out every detail befo...
Word of mouth, networking, and similar marketing efforts can bring in a lot of revenue. But they are also unreliable and unpredictable. To establish and maintain a successful business, you must be consistently finding and nurturing new leads. This may sound overwhelming. As a business without a massive marketing department, you don't have the time and manpower to develop complex systems of advertising and marketing campaigns. Where do you even begin? Start small. Begin by refining your lead generation funnel. The Lead Generation Funnel A lead generation funnel provides direction and purpose for your marketing. To bring in more leads and close more sales. It's called a funnel because the first stage captures the attention of a broad audience, and this marketing becomes more refined and detailed in the following stages. Here are the four main stages of a lead generation funnel. Stage One: Awareness Consider a new prospect who has never heard of your company or your solution before. They may not even know they need you. In this awareness stage, you are focused on introducing your company and guiding the prospect to understand what you do and why they should trust you. Stage Two: Engagement As the prospect considers making a purchase or is at least attracted to your business, they progress into the engagement stage. In this stage, you are building more rapport and your messaging becomes more focused on selling your solution to the prospect. Stage Three: Conversion A prospect who gets to this stage is ready to buy from you. In this stage, your goal is to make their purchase as easy as possible and upsell where you can. Remember prospects are busy and don't assume they understand your process. Keep it simple and lead them to the sale. Stage Four: Follow-up Your visitor's journey does not end once they have transitioned from a prospect to a customer. So, it's crucial to provide post-purchase support to your customer in order to earn referrals and positive reviews, which leads to more sales. Which is why it's important to begin the onboarding process as soon as possible to ensure that your customer feels like a priority to avoid buyer's remorse. Create an Irresistible Offer To develop a successful lead generation funnel, begin by keeping the funnel full with fresh leads. You can do this by developing a great free offer in exchange for a prospect's contact information. Which you then use in future marketing. This is how you keep your lead funnel full. A great offer begins with an irresistible hook. Identify the problem your clients want to solve. Consider what they may ask Google or research in their search to solve their problem. Then, use that search to create a valuable free download. Here are a few examples: Free Guides and eBooks such as "A Fathers Guide to Winning Custody" or "5 Essential Tips to Building Your Own Vegetable Garden at Home" Pre-recorded video training like "The Top 5 Beginner Mistakes in Investing" Whitepapers such as "Should You Invest in a Reverse Osmosis Water System?" Create an Awesome Landing Page So you have a great hook, something your audience finds value in and now it's time for you to create your landing page to generating opt-ins. This landing page should be visually attractive, easy to read, and entice your leads to enter their information in exchange for your free gift. Avoid making your landing page cheesy and cliche. Replace overused calls to action (CTAs) like "Subscribe" or "Join" with more inviting phrases like "Get the free ebook" or "Send me the deals." The sole purpose of this landing page is to get people to download that free offer. Follow up with a beautiful thank you page after the exchange to keep building the relationship. Drive Traffic to Your Landing Page Once you have your offer and landing page ready, it's time to get as many eyes as you can on that page. Organically, you can use your social media to address the problems your followers have and send them to the link in your bio as...
Word of mouth, networking, and similar marketing efforts can bring in a lot of revenue. But they are also unreliable and unpredictable. To establish and maintain a successful business, you must be consistently finding and nurturing new leads. This may sound overwhelming. As a business without a massive marketing department, you don't have the time and manpower to develop complex systems of advertising and marketing campaigns. Where do you even begin? Start small. Begin by refining your lead generation funnel. The Lead Generation Funnel A lead generation funnel provides direction and purpose for your marketing. To bring in more leads and close more sales. It's called a funnel because the first stage captures the attention of a broad audience, and this marketing becomes more refined and detailed in the following stages. Here are the four main stages of a lead generation funnel. Stage One: Awareness Consider a new prospect who has never heard of your company or your solution before. They may not even know they need you. In this awareness stage, you are focused on introducing your company and guiding the prospect to understand what you do and why they should trust you. Stage Two: Engagement As the prospect considers making a purchase or is at least attracted to your business, they progress into the engagement stage. In this stage, you are building more rapport and your messaging becomes more focused on selling your solution to the prospect. Stage Three: Conversion A prospect who gets to this stage is ready to buy from you. In this stage, your goal is to make their purchase as easy as possible and upsell where you can. Remember prospects are busy and don't assume they understand your process. Keep it simple and lead them to the sale. Stage Four: Follow-up Your visitor's journey does not end once they have transitioned from a prospect to a customer. So, it's crucial to provide post-purchase support to your customer in order to earn referrals and positive reviews, which leads to more sales. Which is why it's important to begin the onboarding process as soon as possible to ensure that your customer feels like a priority to avoid buyer's remorse. Create an Irresistible Offer To develop a successful lead generation funnel, begin by keeping the funnel full with fresh leads. You can do this by developing a great free offer in exchange for a prospect's contact information. Which you then use in future marketing. This is how you keep your lead funnel full. A great offer begins with an irresistible hook. Identify the problem your clients want to solve. Consider what they may ask Google or research in their search to solve their problem. Then, use that search to create a valuable free download. Here are a few examples: Free Guides and eBooks such as "A Fathers Guide to Winning Custody" or "5 Essential Tips to Building Your Own Vegetable Garden at Home" Pre-recorded video training like "The Top 5 Beginner Mistakes in Investing" Whitepapers such as "Should You Invest in a Reverse Osmosis Water System?" Create an Awesome Landing Page So you have a great hook, something your audience finds value in and now it's time for you to create your landing page to generating opt-ins. This landing page should be visually attractive, easy to read, and entice your leads to enter their information in exchange for your free gift. Avoid making your landing page cheesy and cliche. Replace overused calls to action (CTAs) like "Subscribe" or "Join" with more inviting phrases like "Get the free ebook" or "Send me the deals." The sole purpose of this landing page is to get people to download that free offer. Follow up with a beautiful thank you page after the exchange to keep building the relationship. Drive Traffic to Your Landing Page Once you have your offer and landing page ready, it's time to get as many eyes as you can on that page. Organically, you can use your social media to address the problems your followers have and send them to the link in your bio as...
Whether you like it or not, online reviews have become an indispensable part of the decision-making process for potential patients. Positive reviews can bolster your medical practice's reputation and instill trust in your services. And negative reviews, well, have quite the opposite effect. To help you harness the power of patient feedback, here are 15 creative ideas to collect more online Google Business reviews from your patients. 1. Send Personalized Post-Appointment Emails After each patient appointment, send a personalized follow-up email, thanking them for their visit. Politely request their feedback and provide a direct link to your Google Business review page. The goal here is to make it easy for them to share their experience. Example: "Thank You for Choosing [Your Medical Practice]! We value your opinion. Kindly take a moment to share your thoughts on Google and help others discover the quality care we offer. 2. Utilize SMS Review Requests Incorporate a convenient SMS review request system to gather patient feedback. Send a short and friendly text message to patients after their appointment, along with a link to your Google Business page. Example: "Hi [Patient's Name], we hope your recent visit to [Your Medical Practice] was satisfactory. Please share your experience with us by clicking the link below. Your feedback matters!" 3. Train Staff to Request Reviews Empower your medical staff to request reviews from satisfied patients. Instruct them to mention your Google Business page during patient check-out or discharge. It's all about encouraging your patients to share their feedback. Example: "Thank you for your kind words during your appointment. We'd love to hear your thoughts on our Google Business page so that others can benefit from your experience." 4. Offer Wi-Fi with a Review Prompt If your medical practice provides Wi-Fi access, customize the landing page to display a review prompt for patients connected to the network. This subtle reminder can boost the chances of receiving reviews. Example: "Stay Connected and Share Your Experience! Leave a Google review about your visit to [Your Medical Practice] while you enjoy our complimentary Wi-Fi." 5. Create Engaging In-Office Signage Design eye-catching posters or tabletop displays with QR codes leading directly to your Google Business page. Place these in strategic areas within your medical practice to encourage patients to review their experience. Example: "Your Feedback Matters! Scan the QR code and let us know how we're doing. We appreciate your honest opinions." 6. Host a "Review Day" Event Dedicate a specific day or week to a "Review Day" event. Offer patients small tokens of appreciation, such as branded merchandise or gift certificates to local businesses, in exchange for leaving a review. Example: "Join Us for Review Day! Leave a review during your appointment and receive a special gift as a thank-you for your valuable feedback." 7. Implement a Patient Feedback Survey Create a patient feedback survey that patients can complete either online or in-person. Include a section where patients can indicate their consent to publish their responses as a review on your Google Business Listing. Example: "We Want to Hear from You! Complete our brief survey and let us know how we can enhance your experience at [Your Medical Practice]." 8. Use Educational Videos for Review Requests Produce educational videos featuring your medical practitioners or staff, where they discuss the importance of patient feedback. Include a call-to-action for patients to leave a review. Example: "Your Opinion Can Help Others! Watch our video to learn how your review can make a difference in the lives of potential patients." 9. Partner with Local Organizations Collaborate with local organizations, such as community centers or schools, to organize health-related events. Request event attendees to leave reviews after learning about your practice's involvement. Example: "Community Health Matters...
The stats for YouTube speak for themselves: World’s second-most visited website with over 14 billion monthly visits (Hootsuite) More than 500 hours of video is uploaded every minute (Statista) 62% of Internet Users in the U.S. Access YouTube Daily (Statista) To put it simply, getting your YouTube strategy right has the power to turbocharge your sales pipeline. However, things aren’t that easy. You can’t just post any old video and expect to generate new customers right away. The truth is you need to optimize your video content for conversions. And the most effective way to do that is by making your brand presence felt throughout everything you post. In this guide, we’re going to explain how you can add more brand touchpoints into your videos without disrupting the viewing experience for watchers. Keep reading to learn how to take the ROI of your YouTube channel to the next level. 3 Core Benefits of Branding Your YouTube Videos Before explaining how you can subtly include more brand touchpoints in your videos, we want to discuss why doing so is crucial. Branding is essential to creating a business identity customers can identify with and begin to build a relationship with. When you post a YouTube video that people really enjoy, that’s a great opportunity to form a positive association between the watcher and your brand.. But they won’t do that unless they can identify your business easily within the content. Let’s look at the three core benefits strong branding adds to your YouTube marketing. 1. It Helps You to Win Subscribers Faster The goal of branding is to make your channel instantly recognizable to viewers. You want them to glance at the video and know it’s you. This is what proper branding provides. You instantly appear more professional by putting a logo on your videos and giving your channel a name. It’s almost like a cheat code. You’re no longer just a “YouTube Guy 123.” Once your channel has a distinct identity and name it becomes a ‘real thing’, one that’s much easier to recommend to people, generate media coverage and grow your subscriber base. 2. It Allows You to Capitalize When Your Content Goes Viral Imagine creating a viral video hit but not seeing any growth in your sales or subscribers. It would be soul-destroying. The only way that’s happening is if you fail to include anything that promotes your brand in the video. Branding your channels and videos means you can capitalize when your content makes it big. 3. It Raises the Production Value of Your Content If you’re to attract new subscribers and build your audience, you need your channel to look as professional as possible. You can achieve this by adding logo animations and investing in the production quality of your videos. Branding lends your content credibility and ensures viewers listen to what you have to say. If you’re putting out cheaply produced content, viewers will doubt your content and associate your brand with a lack of funding and unprofessionalism. Don’t fall into that trap! How To Add Extra Branding to Your Videos Without Disrupting The Content Now, it’s time to explore how you can introduce branding without disrupting the content. It’s important to note that you don’t want to ruin the flow of your video with branding or come across as overly self-promotional, either. Both are a quick way to lose viewers. Instead, you need to add subtle brand touchpoints to your videos and introduce your logo in ways the viewer finds acceptable. 4. Animated Intros & Outros Create branded YouTube intros and outros to slip your brand identity into a video without disrupting the content. They enable you to start and finish the content with a little reminder of who the viewer is watching and ensure the viewer associates the content with your business. Typically, you use an animated intro 10 seconds into a video after your pre-intro which introduces the topic and lets viewers know why they should stick around (a recommended YouTube best practice). Your opening co...
In today’s digital age, there are endless opportunities for businesses to market themselves online. From social media to email marketing to Google ads, the options are seemingly endless. And with so many options, it can be difficult to decide which route to take. That’s why we’ve put together a list of some of the most creative ways to master your digital marketing efforts. These ideas are sure to help you stand out from the competition and get noticed by potential customers. So let’s get started! 1. Use Google My Business to Optimize Your Local SEO If you’re a brick-and-mortar business, then local SEO should be a top priority for your marketing efforts. And one of the best ways to optimize your local SEO is by claiming and verifying your listing on Google My Business (GMB). GMB is a free platform that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google Search and Maps. By creating and verifying your GMB listing, you’re more likely to show up in relevant local searches. And once you’re ranking in those searches, make sure your listing is complete and accurate—including photos, business hours, contact information, and services offered. 2. Create a Strong Social Media Presence Social media is one of the most powerful tools in your marketing arsenal. Not only does it allow you to connect with potential customers and build relationships, but it also gives you a platform to share your brand’s story and connect with people on a deeper level. When it comes to social media, quality is more important than quantity. It’s better to have a small number of well-managed social media accounts than a large number of neglected ones. So choose the platforms that make the most sense for your business—whether that’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or something else entirely—and focus on creating engaging content that will resonate with your target audience. 3. Implement a Solid Email Marketing Strategy Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your target audience—and it’s also one of the most cost-effective methods of marketing available. That’s why it should be a part of every business’s marketing strategy. The key to email marketing success is creating targeted campaigns that resonate with your subscribers. To do this, you need to segment your list so that you can send targeted messages to different groups of people. For example, you might segment your list by location, age, or interests. Once you’ve segmented your list, you can start crafting email campaigns that are tailored to each group— increasing the chances that they’ll actually read (and convert!) from your emails. Getting Creative With Your Marketing These are just a few creative ways to market your business online. But no matter which strategies you decide to implement, always remember that quality trumps quantity every time. So focus on creating high-quality content and building strong relationships with potential customers—and you’ll be well on your way to success!
Whether you run a seasonal lobster shack off the coast of Maine or a year-round surf & turf restaurant in Hawaii, you are bound to experience a short period when your bottom line fluctuates. Sales slumps can happen because of new competition, off-season demand, or a slew of other simple problems, the thing to remember if you have to push forward. The best tool in your arsenal as a business is consistency. Stay focused on the long-term goals of your company and do your best to be proactive about any short-term slumps, and you will have a successful strategy. In the meantime, here are a few tips and tricks to keeping your sales flow moving forward even during the worst of times. Engage with Social Media Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. It offers a direct line of communication to your customers in fun, engaging, and attractive visual posts. Keep the pedal pushed down on your social media marketing to ensure your viewership and follower base do not dip into dangerously low levels. Host a social media contest with a unique Hashtag. There are currently 3.78 billion social media users globally, which is about half of the entire population. That means there are bound to be people who will appreciate your business. If you’re a grooming business. Put on a promotion for funny pet photos with the tag #myfunnypet and watch your numbers go back up as everyone from our local target market to the toy poodle owners in Siberia begins celebrating their goofy four-legged friends. Celebrate Loyalty Too often, the knee-jerk reaction to lower sales is to immediately seek new marketing channels for lead acquisition. While this isn’t a bad idea, don’t go deep into that end of the campaign pool and neglect your loyal customers. Around 65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers. That means the people helping you keep the lights on the most are the ones you’ve already built a working relationship with. Reward them with updated news, exciting early offers, and coupons to encourage them to purchase during an off-season. Streamline and Perfect A sales slump is a great time to reevaluate your business process, customer journey, and sales funnels. It gives you the ability to do some quality A-B testing and review all the touchpoints of your customer experience. You can also get a breath of fresh air long enough to poke your head up and see what your competitors are offering. This could be the chance to rebrand your company or update essential online visuals for your website, social media, and more. Think of the classic ice cream shop that closes for the winter months. When they open back up, they create a lot of buzz with new flavors or some kind of comfortable outdoor seating area that signals to customers they are strong, growing, and ready to engage. Maintain Communication It costs 5 times as much to acquire a new customer as to keep a current loyal client. The easiest way to maintain your existing customer base is to continually offer them value in the form of communication. Minor updates via email or social media show you’re still there and preparing for the next wave of orders. This is a great time to get customer feedback and develop your brand story. A compelling story with an emotional trigger alters our brain chemistry, making us more trusting and willing to engage with new ideas. Airbnb is a master class in brand storytelling. The name alone conjures images of A-Frame forest getaways built by individual hosts creating unique local places to stay for your next adventure. Attaching a high-quality story to your brand identity goes a long way to maintaining communication and loyalty with your current and on the fence customers. Market or Die A sales slump means you have fewer leads. Now is the time to engage in some quality lead magnets. These are low-cost trade-offs for encouraging higher sales that you and your team can quickly create. Consider writing a short guide for your product or service that you offer for fre...
There are few things more important than a successful marketing campaign to really make the most of your business. After all, no matter how great your business or product might be, nobody is going to care if they don’t know that it exists in the first place. The problem is that a lot of business owners tend to work on the assumption that marketing is simple or easy, which simply is not the case. The reality is that any marketing campaign will be incredibly multifaceted and complex. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that you can do to make it easier. Here are just a few ways that you can keep your marketing campaign running smoothly. Do Your Research One of the most common difficulties that a lot of business owners end up running into when it comes to their marketing is that it feels like they’re constantly fighting an uphill battle. Most of the time this is a result of not doing nearly enough research. If you don’t understand your customers, as well as the kinds of marketing that connect with them, you’re just going to end up putting in a lot of effort without ever seeing any real results out of it. Taking the time to do that extra level of research at the start really can make all the difference in the world. Keep Your Tech Working Technology is at the heart of the vast majority of modern marketing, not to mention the majority of modern business as a whole. Because of that, you need to be sure that your tech is working at all times. Any interruption to the workflow of your marketing campaign can derail the entire thing. From simple things like to making sure that any dedicated software you’re using is always working the way that it should, keeping on top of your tech means that you have one less thing to worry about. That kind of maintenance might be a little annoying but it’s far less of an annoyance than having to deal with something going wrong. Be Open To Change One of the few things that you can rely on in any business is that things probably aren’t going to stay the same for too long. Change is a natural part of business and marketing is no exception. You need to be prepared for changes in everything from the kind of direction your marketing is going to the ways in which you present that marketing. Consistency is good, but staying stuck in your ways is just going to make life harder for you and your business. The reality is that marketing simply isn’t something that you can do well if you’re not putting in the right level of time and dedication. You need to be sure that it is high on the list of your priorities wherever possible. This may mean that you need to dedicate a significant portion of your workforce to it but that’s an investment that will almost certainly pay off in the long run. Enlist the Services of an Expert Any marketing campaign can be a lot of work, whether for a product, service, or individual. There are many moving parts and things to keep track of, so it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. This is where marketing consulting firms come in. These companies are experts in the field of marketing, and they can provide invaluable assistance in making sure your campaign runs smoothly. They can help you develop and implement marketing strategies, track your progress, and troubleshoot any problems. In addition, marketing consulting firms can provide valuable insights into your target audience and how best to reach them. So consider working with a marketing consulting firm to take your marketing campaign to the next level. By doing so, you can rest assured knowing that your campaign is in good hands and is sure to succeed.
It’s no secret that content is king when it comes to online marketing. However, many business owners are still unsure of what content marketing actually is and how it can help their business. This blog will discuss where content marketing came from and how your business can benefit from it! What Exactly Is Content Marketing? In order to understand how your business can benefit from content marketing, it’s important first to understand what content marketing is. Simply put, content marketing is the creation and sharing of online material (such as blog posts, videos, etc.) that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services. This type of marketing has been around for centuries, but it wasn’t until the advent of the internet that it really took off. The reason for this is that the internet provides a vast platform for businesses to share their content with a large audience. And since content marketing doesn’t rely on traditional advertising techniques (such as interruption), it has become an increasingly popular way for businesses to reach their target audiences. How Can Content Marketing Benefit Your Business? Now that you know what content marketing is, you might be wondering how it can benefit your business. After all, if you’re not explicitly promoting your products or services, how can it help your bottom line? 1. Content Marketing Helps You Build Trust With Your Audience One of the main benefits of content marketing is that it helps you build trust with your audience. When you provide helpful and informative content, your audience will begin to see you as a credible source of information. This is especially important if you’re selling products or services, as your audience will be more likely to make a purchase from a brand they trust. 2. Content Marketing Drives Traffic to Your Website Another benefit of content marketing is that it can drive traffic to your website. If you create high-quality content that is interesting and relevant to your target audience, people will be more likely to share it with their friends and followers. This can lead to increased traffic for your website, which can ultimately lead to more sales and conversions. 3. Content Marketing Helps You Rank Higher in Search Engines One of the most important benefits of content marketing is that it can help you rank higher in search engines. When you create informative and SEO keyword content, you’re more likely to appear in the search results when people are looking for information about your business. This can lead to increased traffic and visibility for your brand, both of which are essential for driving sales and achieving success online. According to Joey Armstrong, SEO-focused content is not only the most important type of content but also the most difficult to produce. Entrepreneurs must be willing to put in the time and effort to create high-quality, keyword-rich content if they want to succeed with content marketing. 4. Content Marketing Allows You to Connect With Your Audience on a Deeper Level Finally, content marketing allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level. When you provide valuable and interesting content, you’re creating an opportunity for your audience to get to know you and your brand. This can help build relationships and loyalty over time, which is essential for any successful business. As you can see, content marketing has many benefits for businesses. If you’re not already incorporating this type of marketing into your online strategy, now is the time to start!
Marketing success depends on reaching the right audiences. If you’re looking to promote and sell products and services or raise brand awareness, targeting the ideal customer should be the focal point of your marketing strategy. If you haven’t seen improvements in sales data, or you’re struggling to generate leads, it’s wise to consider new ways to reach your target audience. Here are some steps to follow. Conduct Market Research If your marketing campaigns are falling flat or failing to reach the right people, it’s beneficial to go back to the drawing board and launch a fresh market research mission. Use surveys, online polls, interviews, focus groups and questionnaires to get ideas and suggestions and make use of feedback from customers and prospective clients. Get to know your ideal customer as well as possible and learn about what makes them tick and what motivates them to buy certain products or choose one brand over another. Use the information you collect and the data you analyze to tailor your marketing campaigns and inform decision-making. This should cover pricing strategies, design and branding concepts and marketing techniques. Identify the Best Platforms and Channels One common mistake business owners make when trying to reach new customers is using the wrong channels and platforms. There is no universal template for marketing success and you have to be able to modify and tailor your strategy to ensure that it will reach the right people and resonate with them. Use market research to identify the best ways to connect with your target audience and create high-quality leads. If you’re targeting young people aged between 16 and 30, for example, social media marketing is an excellent option. Choose apps that are popular among the target demographic and track performance to determine the most effective content types and boost engagement. Build on Effective Techniques Identifying effective marketing techniques is the first step. The next step is to build on your success and offer your customers more. If you’ve got a brilliant website or online store, for example, why not develop an app? You can provide a quicker and more efficient and convenient way to access products or services for your customers and offer additional features and perks. Smartphone, tablet and laptop users can delete Mac apps and clean up clutter to create more room for new apps from their favorite brands and companies. Apps are a fantastic marketing tool because they occupy a prime slice of real estate on phone and tablet screens and they can help you to gain a competitive advantage. Monitor Trends Consumer habits change and evolve and new trends emerge. It’s crucial for businesses and marketers to be aware of new trends and changes in customer behavior to attract new clients, improve services for existing customers and outshine the competition. Reaching the target audience is critical to the success of marketing campaigns. If your business is struggling to attract attention or create and convert leads, it’s beneficial to consider new ways to reach out to your ideal customer. Conduct market research, identify the best channels and platforms, build on effective marketing methods and keep an eye out for emerging trends.
In order any business to thrive, you need customers. But customers don’t magically flock to your business just because your open sign is lit up. You need to reach the people that are interested in what you offer. And marketing is how you accomplish that. Every business must decide how much they are going to spend on marketing. How do you determine what’s right for you? Marketing budgets vary based on a number of factors. A budget that works for one business may not work for your business. You want a marketing budget that is efficient and effective. This decision impacts more than just one line in your bookkeeping: the purpose of marketing is to get that revenue number at the top thicker every day! Marketing exists to grow your sales and increase the number of opportunities you have as a business. But how do you find your magic number? The Best Budget In a perfect world, an easy one-size-fits-all number could be given to any business creating their marketing budget. But, there’s a little more to it than that. The size of your company, type of industry, and business goals are just a few factors that can change the best budget for you. Still, there are general standards you can adopt, assess, and alter to fit the needs of your business. Your marketing budget is communicated as a percentage of your revenue. For B2B businesses, 2-5% of your revenue is the recommended amount for your marketing budget. And if you’re a B2C business, 5-10% is a good rule of thumb. This range is a good place to begin, but you can make yours more if it fits with your goals. Some experts recommend having a budget as high as 15-20% of your revenue. This may be for you if you are in a highly competitive industry or are at a point where you’re still a new business establishing your name. An Investment, Not a Loss It’s important to remember that marketing exists to make you more money. Instead of seeing your marketing budget as a loss for your business, view it as an investment. Successful marketing increases your revenue beyond the price you paid for it. That’s why results are measured as a Return on Investment, or ROI. Cutting your marketing budget to save money will often cost you more money in the end. Where to Budget Your Budget Just as important as choosing what to budget is choosing where to budget it. Where will you be marketing your business? What channels and strategies will be the most effective for you? How much money do you put into each marketing campaign? Answering these questions will require you to think about the following. Different Costs: Marketing efforts do not all operate the same. Therefore, their costs will not always correlate dollar per dollar. For example, getting a design package for your company when you’re just starting out – your logo, colors, fonts – is mostly a one-time cost. On the other hand, paying for a website includes not only a high upfront cost but also a regular cost for maintenance and hosting. It’s important to consider more than just the dollar amount spent for each marketing effort, as you’ll see next. Your Company’s Goals: You should only pursue a marketing strategy that helps you reach your specific goals. Some campaigns build your brand’s name recognition. Others educate people about your products in more depth. And others exist to stand out against specific competitors. You may find a campaign that can help you reach all of these goals. Know your goals as a company first, so you can choose the best marketing solution for you. Study Your Competitors: Understanding where your competitors are advertising can give you a good indication of where you should be too. Maybe they are finding success on a platform because that’s where your mutual audience is hanging out. You may find success on other platforms more than them, but don’t dismiss where they are doing well. Who Will Be Doing the Work: Do you have the skillset and bandwidth internally to handle things yourself? Or are you going to need to hire out? Great ...
If you’ve followed our website for a while, you have been provided with thousands of marketing insights of worth. Yet sometimes, it’s also worth looking at the minor perspectives that we may dismiss on any usual day, but that hold real value to our business. In this case, considering the marketing influences you rarely address will help you solidify your advertising package and understand how your business comes across to its audience, no matter where they may be. It’s important to make a case for your staff, and how they are your ultimate marketing asset. After all, your logo, business statement, and promotions can only go so far; it’s your staff that will ensure great customer relationships, upsell your products, and commit to the best support possible. As such, while investing in a branding package is ideal; it’s important to prioritize the training, development and empowerment of your staff members at every level. In this post, we’ll discuss five reasons for and methods to achieving exactly this. Professionalism & the Professional Package There’s a reason why some people prefer to rent out higher-star hotel rooms when they’re able, and it’s not just because the rooms provided are well-furnished and more comfortable. It’s the difference between checking in at the reception to an overworked employee who feels nothing but tired, and checking in at a front desk that warmly greets you and offers to bring your bags to the room. How your staff are dressed (smart casual is key), how they may be identifiable (such as with name badges), or how they’re assigned (one client speaking to one representative the entire time inspires trust), serves as its own form of marketing; because your staff member will embody all of your values in one fell swoop. Processing Issues & Communications Sooner or later, a client or customer will require support. When they’re given a solid and effective resolution, a respectful apology for the trouble, and a means of making the issue right or practicing autonomy to right the wrong, a customer is much more likely to return to your business. Ironically, they may be persuaded to try you again even more than if an order takes place with no issues, because you’ve proven yourself despite the struggle. So – giving staff the autonomy to resolve issues, to make reports, and to offer recompense where appropriate is key. Here they serve as your ambassadors, and your prior marketing promises are not only presented but embodied. They can more easily take care of every part of your platform when amazon web service consulting companies help structure your network in the most logical manner. Social Media Use (& Appropriate Discipline) A growing number of brands are enacting stringent social media policies for their staff. Why is this? Well, because social media can be a difficult and combative place. While your staff have a right to discuss their political leanings, to debate with others online, and to complain all day about everything if they’d like to, it can reflect on your firm if they do so with obvious connections to you. Structuring a social media policy in advance with a plan of action for a PR or security crisis, a simple guidance plan for social media use, and making certain that any personally identifying information is detached from their place of work can be helpful. The latter may be optional, but it’s still worthwhile. But where is the value for your marketing here? Well, preventing a team of possibly hundreds from harming your business via improper social media use is a victory in itself. Sometimes; no news is good news, and a team you can trust in this regard is a great asset. Upselling Upselling is a sales tactic by which a client who wishes for a given service is gently persuaded to buy more, perhaps in combination with their main purchase intent, or as a promotion your staff has the autonomy to offer. Think of a car salesman convincing a new driver to purchase a winter kit for their car. Your salespe...
Marketing strategies have evolved significantly since the field’s inception in the early 1900s. The main purpose, however, has been to promote products, attract loyal customers, and reach out to achieve higher sales. In the long run, marketing has developed. Today, most products such as SaaS products cannot be marketed using traditional means such as billboards or magazines; digital marketing is the most effective way. Building a strong online presence is the key to boosting sales, especially in the B2B industry. Applying B2B SaaS marketing and growth strategies has helped attract new leads and increase revenue. To give you an overview of some of them, here are B2B SaaS marketing and growth strategies to try in 2022. Content Growth as Part of a B2B SaaS Marketing Strategy B2B SaaS marketing and growth starts from the basics, which is creating good content for your audience. Good content should help develop your audience, which at the same time builds your brand name and increases sales. By simply using content, you have the benefit of showing your customers what you have to offer and how to solve challenges through using SaaS products. Hence, develop content that suits all your needs and those of your audience. With the right content developed by a reputable SaaS marketing company such as Rocket SaaS, you can increase your likelihood of generating leads that will aid in successfully marketing your company and boosting earnings. Offer Your Customers a Free Trial In a majority of businesses, customers dislike being pushed into making purchases; this is why it is best if you offer a free trial for your SaaS product. Once they have tried the product and feel it is worth their money, they will make a purchase. You will have a better chance of selling your services if you have a skilled and effective customer support staff who can help your customers navigate through trial products or make the right decisions. Pick the Right Vertical for B2B SaaS Marketing Choosing the proper vertical is one of the best B2B SaaS marketing strategies. Your solution may be successful in some industries, and even within those industries, one may be a little more profitable than the other due to differences in firm sizes and purchasing power. Choose a particular vertical so that you can customize your content. Most B2Bs struggle with B2B SaaS marketing and growth because they try one solution for all industries, which is ineffective. You must choose carefully and be very particular when choosing your SaaS marketing strategies. Make Use of Email Marketing When the email marketing strategy is set up properly, it produces great results, but the most crucial point to remember is to avoid sending the same email template to everyone. To achieve this, you can segment your lists into several categories depending on variables such as client purchase history, location, and so on. Dividing your lists makes it easier to send relevant emails to each group, hence, leading to more interactions. Conclusion B2B SaaS marketing is constantly growing; hence, you need to familiarize yourself with every strategy that will lead to sales growth. If you want to increase your growth in 2022, the above article provides you with reliable marketing strategies that will improve your growth if implemented in the right way.
The world of social media marketing is noisy these days. Getting your content to the people who are most likely to buy your products or use your services is akin to trying to flag down a car going 90 miles an hour on a six-lane highway — when you’re in a building on the side of the road. It’s tough going. The only way to succeed is to make sure that your social media posts stand out in a crowded playing field. You need to create content that’s compelling and irresistible if you want to grab attention from your competitors — or, let’s face it, from your followers’ friends and family. Here are some things that can help your Facebook posts and Tweets stand out in 2021. Up Your Emoji Game You might not think of emoji as professional but the bottom line is that internet users love them. Incorporating them into your social media content can help your posts stand out. Go to GetEmoji.com and you’ll find a huge bank of emoji you can copy and paste into your posts. It’s important not to overdo it. Using one to three emoji per post is the right range. A word to the wise: make sure you know what an emoji means before you use it. I’ve seen more than one example of the “tears of laughter” emoji being used to express sorrow. If you don’t know what it means, don’t use it. Add Images to Tweets While it’s common to see photographs and graphics attached to Facebook posts, visual imagery is less common on Twitter. One way to make your Tweets stand out in 2021 is to start adding images to them. You should make sure to center your photos horizontally for the best appearance. If you’re sharing more than one image, you may want to refer to this handy Adobe Express Twitter image size guide that explains how to properly size images for sharing on Twitter. Animate Your Photos You already know that visual content is hugely popular on social media. The problem is that everybody knows it, which means that most of the content you’ll see on your feed will have a photo or image attached. One way to make your photos stand out is to turn them into animated GIFs. While there are plenty of GIFs available online, your best bet is to take a few minutes to create your own. Pixaloop is a free tool that you can use to add animation to your photographs. You can choose to animate part or all of your picture. It’s easy to freeze the parts that you don’t want to animate. In addition to adding animation, you can choose from a library of video effects and overlay objects to make a memorable GIF. Post Long Form Content When you think of social media content, you probably think of short, snappy posts that take less than a minute to read. While there is certainly a time and a place for short content on social media, one way to make your posts stand out is to share long form content. Facebook is ideal for long form content because there is no limit on the number of characters you can post. You can also combine content types by pairing written content with photos, infographics, or videos. If you do decide to post long-form content, I suggest posting a TL; DR (too long, didn’t read) synopsis at the top or bottom of your content. This type of summary will help people decide whether your content is useful to them. Become a Hashtag Expert Hashtags are everywhere and you might be forgiven for believing that using as many as possible is the answer to good social media marketing. In fact, that’s not the case. Using too many hashtags can cause your posts to fade into the background. Twitter guidelines suggest using no more than two hashtags per Tweet. You can use more but they count toward your 280-character limit. Your best bet is to choose one or two hashtags that will help the people in your target audience find your Tweets. On Instagram, I’ve seen some people recommend using up to 11 hashtags per post, but I think 11 is too many. The truth is that the most effective Instagram posts have one to three hashtags. It might be tempting to get cute with hashtags but that’s not ideal for...
Part of any good marketing strategy is connecting with your audience on a human level. One of the best ways to do that is to make sure that some of your content is personalized to each and every user who sees it. Most of your content will still be relying on quality and value to make an impact because you can’t personalize each and every post you put out to every user – it’s just impossible. But there are certain aspects of your marketing that can be personalized for maximum effect. Check out these tips to make sure that you’re personalizing your content where you can, and making an impact on your audience with every opportunity you have. Personalize Email Subject Lines If you put a lot of work into your email newsletter, you’re hoping that everyone is going to read it. You want as many people to read your emails as possible, and one of the best ways to get people to read your emails is to create a great cold email subject line. But many subject lines are bland, full of meaningless stats, or other content that doesn’t engage readers. One of the best ways that you can catch somebody‘s attention is by using their name. Using someone’s name shows a level of intimacy and makes people feel like you know them. As Olivia Allen says, “No two email subscribers are exactly the same — and, sometimes, that means the emails you send them shouldn’t be, either.” Remember, there are a lot of emails competing for your audience’s attention. Use their name in the subject line and make sure your message is the one that’s standing out. Target Your Posts Targeting is a great way to personalize your social content. When you’re targeting your marketing content on social media, you’re selecting specific attributes of your audience to see the posts that you’re promoting. Even within your target audience, there’s a good chance that certain subsets of your target audience are more likely to respond to certain marketing techniques that others For example, you might have a product that appeals to both men and women, but you might have advertisements that appeal specifically to women. Making sure your ads are targetted to the correct people is a great way to make sure your marketing material hits home with the right people at the right time. if you don’t target your marketing and personalize it to certain subgroups of your target audience, it might not make a significant impact on the people who do see it. Learn About Your Audience One great way that you can apply personalization to your marketing is to make your audience feel like you want to know more about them. You know they want to know more about you – that’s why they’re following you on social media. So set up polls, ask a question, and find out who your audience is. This can be done on your newsfeed, on Facebook live, or on Instagram stories. By learning more about your audience you will eventually be able to create content that’s more tailored to their needs and desires, which will get you better engagement and results in return. The more you know about your audience, the more you can make sure that the content that you’re producing is actually personalized to their individual needs. Real Responses to Real People Make sure that you have an actual human representative responding to your customers. Whether good or bad, customer feedback should be acknowledged and responded to across all social media platforms. Whether it’s simply a quick compliment or a more serious complaint, you should always have somebody ready to reach out and respond. Don’t Use Automated Messages Some larger companies actually use automated messages to reply to customers on social media. These messages don’t really show the customers on the other end of the conversation that you care, even if they are convenient for your company. By personalizing each and every response, you’re showing your audience that you’re listening. Remember that your audience is taking the time out of their day to tell you about something that mattered...
To be successful in content marketing, you need to produce engaging content that will capture your audience’s attention. Once you have their attention, you need to find ways to distribute your content to reach as many people as possible. In this blog post, we will discuss four tips for creating and distributing engaging content. Let’s get started! Find Your Target Audience The first step in creating engaging content is to identify your target audience. Once you know who you are writing for, you can tailor your content to their specific needs and interests. For example, if you sell products or services to businesses, you must create relevant content for their industry. On the other hand, if you are targeting consumers, your content should be more general. Once you have identified your target audience, you need to find out where they consume information online. Do they read blogs? Watch videos? Are they active on social media? This will help you determine the best platform for distributing your content. Always Use Rich Media When it comes to content, quality is more important than quantity. Your audience is bombarded with information daily, so you must ensure that your content stands out from the rest. One way to do this is to use rich media, such as images, infographics, and videos. These types of content are more visually appealing and are more likely to capture your audience’s attention. Including rich media in your content makes it more shareable, which is vital for getting your content seen by as many people as possible. So don’t be afraid to add some visuals to your next piece of content! Use Clear and Concise Calls to Action Once you have captured your audience’s attention, you need to tell them what you want them to do next. This is where calls to action come in. A call to action is a statement or button that tells the reader what they should do next, such as “click here to buy now” or “download our free guide.” Calls to action should be clear and concise, so there is no confusion about what the reader should do next. Including a call to action in your content will help increase conversions by telling the reader precisely what they need to do to take advantage of your offer. Let a Reliable Agency Build Your Campaigns Creating quality content is essential, but it’s only half the battle. You also must ensure that your content is distributed to the right people at the right time. This can be a lot of work, especially if you don’t have much experience with online marketing. Fortunately, some agencies specialize in content marketing and can help you build an effective campaign from start to finish. Working with a reputable agency like linxdigital.com will save you time and energy and increase your chances of success by making sure that as many people see your content as possible. Analyze and Improve Analytics Once you have published your content, it’s important to track its performance to see what is working and what isn’t. There are a number of different metrics that you can track, such as views, clicks, shares, and comments. Take some time to analyze your analytics regularly so you can identify which pieces of content are performing well and which ones need improvement. Making small tweaks to your content based on your analytics will help ensure that your content is as successful as possible. Keep an Eye on Your Competition Finally, it’s important to keep an eye on your competition. See what kind of content they are creating and how they are distributing it. This will give you some ideas of what to do and what not to do with your own content. You can also learn a lot by seeing what works well for your competition and then adapting it to fit your own brand. By monitoring your competition, you can ensure that your content is always one step ahead. Content marketing is a great way to reach new customers and grow your business. Following these four tips, you can create engaging content that will capture your audience’s atten...
As a business owner, you want to do everything in your power to increase your conversion rates. After all, more conversions mean more money in your pocket. Not only that, but they also lead to more customers and an increase in brand awareness. This article will discuss 14 ways to boost your conversion rates to generate more revenue for your business. These strategies are easy to apply and don’t require a lot of time or expertise. So let’s get to work! 1. Use Attractive Visuals When it comes to conversion rates, appearances matter. If your website looks outdated or lacks visuals, potential customers are likely to click away without taking any action. To keep people engaged, make sure that your website is visually appealing and easy on the eyes. Use high-quality images and videos and pay attention to the overall design of your site. If you want to take things a step further, consider using animation or interactive elements on your website. Just be careful not to go overboard. 2. Make Your CTA Clear and Concise Your call-to-action (CTA) is one of the most important elements of your website. After all, it’s what tells visitors what you want them to do next. If your CTA is unclear or buried on your page, people are likely to move on without taking any action. To increase conversions, make sure that your CTA is clear, concise, and easy to find. Use actionable language that tells visitors exactly what you want them to do, and make sure the button or link is visible and easy to click on. You might also want to consider using a CTA that stands out from the rest of your page – for example, by using a different color or making it larger. 3. Keep Content Localized If you want to appeal to a local audience, make sure your content is localized. This means including things like your city or state in your headlines, using images of local landmarks, and mentioning local events. You can also use geo-targeting to show different content to people in other locations. By keeping your content local, you can make your website more relevant to the people visiting it. You may also have improved performance in local searches. 4. Use Testimonials One of the most effective tools is to show prospects that other customers have had a good experience with your product or service. In fact, over 90% of customers read testimonials before making a purchase. You can do this by using testimonials from satisfied customers on your website. Make sure to include the customer’s name, location, and photo if possible. 5. Offer Live Customer Support In today’s world, people expect to get quick assistance when they need it. If you want to increase conversions, offer live customer support on your website through a chat window or by providing a phone number. According to Zendesk, 85% of surveyed customers are satisfied with live chat support, and 91% with phone support. By offering live customer support, you can answer any questions that potential customers have and make them feel confident doing business with you. 6. Utilize Email Campaigns If you have a list of email addresses from past customers, let them know about any promotions or sales that you’re currently running. This is a great way to increase conversions because it allows you to reach out to people already interested in what you have to offer. To make things even easier, you can set up an automated email campaign that will send out messages to your list on a regular basis. 7. Make Things Simple A customer has a problem and needs a solution to their problem – That is sales simplified. When it comes to conversion rates, simplicity is key. If your website or products/services are too complicated, people will likely give up and go elsewhere. So make sure your customer can easily navigate your website to find the information they are searching for. Use straightforward language and avoid using too much technical jargon. 8. Use A/B Testing A/B testing is a hands-on tactic for increasing conversions by testing differen...
As a business owner, you want to do everything in your power to increase your conversion rates. After all, more conversions mean more money in your pocket. Not only that, but they also lead to more customers and an increase in brand awareness. This article will discuss 14 ways to boost your conversion rates to generate more revenue for your business. These strategies are easy to apply and don’t require a lot of time or expertise. So let’s get to work! 1. Use Attractive Visuals When it comes to conversion rates, appearances matter. If your website looks outdated or lacks visuals, potential customers are likely to click away without taking any action. To keep people engaged, make sure that your website is visually appealing and easy on the eyes. Use high-quality images and videos and pay attention to the overall design of your site. If you want to take things a step further, consider using animation or interactive elements on your website. Just be careful not to go overboard. 2. Make Your CTA Clear and Concise Your call-to-action (CTA) is one of the most important elements of your website. After all, it’s what tells visitors what you want them to do next. If your CTA is unclear or buried on your page, people are likely to move on without taking any action. To increase conversions, make sure that your CTA is clear, concise, and easy to find. Use actionable language that tells visitors exactly what you want them to do, and make sure the button or link is visible and easy to click on. You might also want to consider using a CTA that stands out from the rest of your page – for example, by using a different color or making it larger. 3. Keep Content Localized If you want to appeal to a local audience, make sure your content is localized. This means including things like your city or state in your headlines, using images of local landmarks, and mentioning local events. You can also use geo-targeting to show different content to people in other locations. By keeping your content local, you can make your website more relevant to the people visiting it. You may also have improved performance in local searches. 4. Use Testimonials One of the most effective tools is to show prospects that other customers have had a good experience with your product or service. In fact, over 90% of customers read testimonials before making a purchase. You can do this by using testimonials from satisfied customers on your website. Make sure to include the customer’s name, location, and photo if possible. 5. Offer Live Customer Support In today’s world, people expect to get quick assistance when they need it. If you want to increase conversions, offer live customer support on your website through a chat window or by providing a phone number. According to Zendesk, 85% of surveyed customers are satisfied with live chat support, and 91% with phone support. By offering live customer support, you can answer any questions that potential customers have and make them feel confident doing business with you. 6. Utilize Email Campaigns If you have a list of email addresses from past customers, let them know about any promotions or sales that you’re currently running. This is a great way to increase conversions because it allows you to reach out to people already interested in what you have to offer. To make things even easier, you can set up an automated email campaign that will send out messages to your list on a regular basis. 7. Make Things Simple A customer has a problem and needs a solution to their problem – That is sales simplified. When it comes to conversion rates, simplicity is key. If your website or products/services are too complicated, people will likely give up and go elsewhere. So make sure your customer can easily navigate your website to find the information they are searching for. Use straightforward language and avoid using too much technical jargon. 8. Use A/B Testing A/B testing is a hands-on tactic for increasing conversions by testing differen...
Your website is the headquarters of all your online marketing. It’s the first thing most people will find when they search for your business. Between 70% and 80% of all consumers say that they research businesses online before buying products. In addition, 38% say that they’ll navigate away from a website if it is poorly designed. It’s not a good idea to throw together a basic business website that doesn’t help you to generate new leads for your business. Your design must be user-friendly and intentional. Here are some tips to help you out. Choose the Right Domain Name It’s always surprising how many small businesses choose confusing or difficult-to-remember domain names for their business websites. Your domain name must be: Descriptive of your business Easy to type and spell (skip the dashes and weird abbreviations) Easy to remember In addition to the name itself, you should also focus on finding a domain name that’s got one of the most popular extensions. These include: .com (by far the most popular) .net .biz .org Less popular options, such as .info or .us, can confuse potential leads and make them choose a competitor over you. Leave dashes and other punctuation out of your domain name and try to keep it short – under 15 characters is ideal. However, a lot of shorter domain names aren’t available and you’re better off choosing a .com name with a longer root than a shorter name with a less-common extension. Design a Killer Home Page In many cases, your home page will be the first thing a visitor to your site sees. That means it must be clear, attractive, and easy to read and navigate. Your home page is like the cover of a book. It’s got to be welcoming and intriguing. You should have concise and compelling copy that explains who you are and what you do. You’ll also need original, meaningful images that sell your business. We’ll talk more about calls to action later, but your home page absolutely needs a clear CTA and an irresistible offer, as well. The CTA should appear above the fold for the best results. Boost Your SEO If it’s been a while since you’ve researched keywords and optimized your page, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Google changes its search algorithm constantly. There are a lot of business sites that haven’t even taken mobile optimization seriously – something that’s inexcusable considering that more than 60% of all searches are done on mobile devices. Optimizing for voice search should also be a priority. That means choosing long-tail keywords that are highly focused and specific. Make sure that the content on your website answers the most commonly asked questions about your business and products. You should also use Schema markup to ensure that it’s easy for Google, Bing, and other search engines to scan and index your site. Tell Visitors What to Do Next A lot of small business websites have only one call to action. It’s usually on the home page, but a lot of times it’s hidden deep in the website’s structure. It may be out of sight at the bottom of the page, overly complicated, or unclear. If that’s the case with your site, it’s time to ramp up your calls to action to make them obvious, easy to find, and simple to fill out. Here’s what I recommend: Include a call to action on every page Make sure your forms have the fewest possible number of fields Auto-complete fields whenever possible Tailor the CTA to the page it’s on Use strong verbs and wording that makes it clear what the user will get if they fill out your form Your call to action should not be the only way for people to get in touch with you. You may also want to include a “Contact Us” option in your header or footer and include your email address or phone number on every page, too. The point is, you want it to be easy for people to contact you. Build Multiple Landing Pages Another common mistake that local business owners make on their websites is not thinking of every page as a landing page. Including a CTA on each page is only part o...
TikTok, the latest social media craze, is a phone app that lets users record and share short videos. It’s been called the “next Vine” and is especially popular with teenagers and young adults. But what can TikTok do for your business? Here are five ways to use TikTok to grow your business. 1. Use TikTok to Reach a New Audience TikTok has over 500 million active users, so it’s a great way to reach a new audience for your business. You can use TikTok to create engaging videos that showcase your products or services, tell your brand’s story, and connect with potential customers. If the audience is not finding you as a business, then you have options. If you know how to buy TikTok likes then that will be a good starting point. We all have to start somewhere and many businesses find TikTok a difficult place to get established. This is because it has a very different kind of follower with certain expectations from posts. Even though the followers on TikTok are younger, it does not mean that they will not like your products, or have the available cash to buy them. They may want to buy them for their parents. It is well worth gaining an audience on TikTok to succeed as a business. More so, of course, if your products are aimed at the young. It may then be the first place the young may see your product to then inform their parents about how they would like it for their birthday present or before. 2. Use TikTok to Create Marketing Content TikTok is a great way to create marketing content for your business because it is geared toward creating exciting videos that an audience will appreciate once you have made them. Already they are short to be intended to be attention grabbers, but you can also ensure that they are interesting and informative to have customers coming back for more. Then hopefully buy your product too. A business must first become a trusted entity before people will be likely to buy from it. The more it is seen on TikTok, the more people start to believe it is the one everyone believes in and is buying from. 3. Use TikTok to Drive Traffic to Your Website TikTok can be a great way to drive traffic to your website. You can use TikTok to interest the masses on social media first, and then direct them to your website, with the necessary links displayed. As a platform, Tiktok is ideally suited to video promotion, which is a very attractive way to sell products. Businesses then just need to remember to mention their website details on their TikTok profile and at every opportunity. 4. Use TikTok to Increase Brand Awareness TikTok is a great way to accelerate brand awareness for your business. You can give the impression that a certain brand is trending by giving it the exposure it needs through your TikTok account. 5. Use TikTok to Boost Sales TikTok can be an excellent way to boost sales for your business. You can also use TikTok to promote your website and product through a video and links to buy. You can also use TikTok to drive traffic to your website’s online store where all the sales take place. Promotion can start elsewhere to then end up at a website. Do not just rely on SEO to get your website noticed, allow TikTok to help your business too. TikTok is an excellent way to grow your business with its millions of active users. It offers a wonderful opportunity to reach a new and global audience. It is the perfect way to generate marketing content, drive traffic to your website, increase brand awareness, and boost sales. So what are you waiting for? Open a TikTok account or do more with the one that you have.
There is no one way to market a business. In order to be successful, you need to think outside the box and come up with creative ways to reach your target audience. Traditional marketing methods are no longer as effective as they once were, so it’s essential to get creative and try something new. The following blog will discuss some of the most effective marketing tactics that you can use to promote your business. Photo by Pixabay 1. Use Social Media to Your Advantage Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to reach a large audience. If you’re not already using social media to market your business, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. There are several ways to use social media to reach potential customers. For example, you can create a Facebook page for your business and post regular updates. You can also use Twitter to share news and information about your business. If you’re not sure how to get started with social media, there are plenty of online resources that can help you get started. In addition to using social media to reach potential customers, you can also use it to connect with other businesses in your industry. This is a great way to network and build relationships. Finally, social media can be used to generate word-of-mouth marketing. If you provide excellent customer service and promote your business on social media, your customers will be more likely to tell their friends and family about your business. 2. Use Content Marketing Content marketing is another effective way to reach potential customers. Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable content to help your target audience. This can include blog posts, articles, infographics, videos, etc. The goal of content marketing is to provide value to your audience and build relationships with them. If you can create content that is helpful and informative, your audience will be more likely to remember your business when they need a product or service that you offer. To be successful with content marketing, you need to have a plan. First, you need to identify your target audience and what type of content they would find valuable. Once you know who your target audience is, you can start creating content that is relevant to them. It’s also essential to promote your content to reach as many people as possible. There are several ways to promote your content, such as social media, email marketing, and paid advertising. 3. Think about the Branding of Your Products Your branding is how customers will remember you. Therefore, you want to make sure that your branding is unique and stands out from the competition. There are several ways to achieve this, such as using unique packaging, offering custom products like a branded ccell cartridge for your vape, and having a solid online presence. If you’re not sure where to start with your branding, it’s a good idea to hire a professional marketing agency. They will be able to help you create a strong brand identity that will resonate with your target audience. Once you have a strong brand identity, it’s essential to promote it across all of your marketing channels. This includes social media, your website, email marketing, and more. By promoting your brand consistently, you’ll be able to build brand awareness and loyalty. 4. Offer Promotions and Discounts Everyone loves a good deal, so offering promotions and discounts is a great way to attract potential customers. You can offer discounts on your products or services, or you can run special promotions. For example, you could offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount. Or, you could run a contest where customers can enter to win a prize. When running promotions and discounts, it’s essential to ensure that they are relevant to your target audience. Otherwise, you won’t be able to attract the correct type of customer. In addition, you need to make sure that your promotions are well-advertised so that people are aware of them. Promote your deals th...
Creating and maintaining a marketing checklist is one of the most important things you can do as a business owner. It’s easy to get caught up in your business’s day-to-day operations, but you must keep your marketing efforts top of mind. Marketing is an ongoing process that requires consistent attention to stay effective and reach your audience. You’re in luck if you’re looking for ways to grow your business using a mailing list! There are many benefits to using a mailing list as part of your marketing strategy, including. You Can Build Better Relationships via Emails One of the most significant benefits of using a mailing list is that it provides a constant way to stay in touch with your customers. When someone signs up to receive your emails, you have an excellent opportunity to build stronger relationships with your customers. You can use these emails to engage with your customers, ask for feedback on your products and services, or simply provide more information about your business. If you provide value to your customers via email, they’ll be more likely to trust you and be more likely to buy from you again in the future. You Can Spread the Word about New Products or Services Quickly If you introduce a new product or service or have an upcoming special event, you can quickly spread the word to your entire mailing list with just a few clicks. By emailing your entire mailing list, you can reach a large group of people all at once. You can include a short message in your email with a link to a webpage where you can provide more information on the new product or event. This can be a great way to quickly get the word out to your customers and boost traffic to your website. It’s a Great Way to Get More Traffic to Your Website If you have a website, using a mailing list can be a great way to get more traffic to it from your customers. By using custom mailing lists, you can provide links to your website and any other web pages that might be valuable for your customers, like your store or contact information. Just be sure to use bulk email verification if you are buying lists from 3rd parties, or scraping information directly from the web. You can also use email marketing services to create an opt-in box on your website. Visitors who click on this box are automatically added to your mailing list, which means you can quickly grow your mailing list with no extra effort. This one-click way to join your mailing list can be a great way to get more traffic and leads to your website, especially if your website is brand new or doesn’t have a lot of traffic yet. Emails Can Help You Build Trust and Authority Another great benefit of using a mailing list is that it can help you build trust and authority in your industry. If you send consistent emails to your subscribers, you can use these emails to provide valuable information that your customers would like to read. For example, if you’re a financial advisor, you can send weekly or daily emails that include tips on managing your finances, investing, and saving money. You can also send emails that respond to your subscribers’ questions. By consistently sending emails over several months or years, you can build trust in your industry and help your customers feel more comfortable seeking financial advice. Bottom Line: It’s Worth the Effort! There are many benefits to using a mailing list, which is why we recommend it for almost every business. Email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your customers, spread the word about new products or services, and build trust and authority in your industry. If you have an email marketing campaign in place, you can use this as an opportunity to grow your mailing list, which can help you reach even more customers in the future.
There are numerous ways to promote your business online, and video marketing is one of the most well-known methods. Video marketing can benefit firms that want to convey a message to a broader audience more efficiently. This can be achieved by creating a company, product, or even advertising videos. However, why should you choose video marketing when there are other options? Well, video marketing has a number of advantages that makes it worthy of your time and money as a business owner. Improved Conversions One of the reasons why video marketing is an excellent option for your business is because it can improve conversions. If your goal is increasing the sales of your business, then it’s essential that customers can easily find what they need online. This means that you should create content that’s easy and quick to consume. If you create a video, then you can tell your story in a fun way that’s easy to digest. This will help customers understand your business and determine the various benefits they can enjoy if they opt for your business. Videos are also great for providing helpful information about products or services. You can use this content to answer common questions or address people’s concerns before making purchases. Better Engagement Engagement is key to any business. Videos can be an excellent way to engage customers with your brand because they’re more likely to watch and share them. For example, if you make a video about how to use one of your products, people who watch the video may want to share it with other friends or family members who are interested in similar products. This can help increase exposure for your brand and attract new customers, especially if you are using videos on social media. When people see a video, they’ll often stop scrolling and watch it. This gives you the opportunity to share your message with them, which can lead to increased engagement and sales. Relatively Low Cost You can create videos at a lower cost than you would for other forms of marketing. For example, it is possible to create an animated explainer video on your own by using free online tools like VEED and Canva. Just remember that higher-quality content will provide better results. The cost of video marketing is affordable, so it’s a great way to promote your brand without overspending. Plus, there are many ways to get started with little or no money at all. For example, if you have a smartphone and a few minutes of time each day, you can create videos that showcase your products or services by showing them in action. Video Breaks Through the Clutter In terms of marketing, we can easily say that video is the KING. In fact, the most popular websites today — including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube — are all driven by videos. But why? The answer is simple: Videos engage viewers more than other types of content. They combine audio and visuals to create an experience that engages viewers’ emotions and makes them want more. Additionally, videos have a longer shelf-life than other forms of content. And since they’re easy to share across social media platforms, they can go viral. As stated in HubSpot’s 2022 State of Inbound Marketing report, videos encourage responses. This type of content generates more responses from viewers compared to other forms of content such as blogs or infographics. They also outperform different types of content to drive traffic back to your site. Video Is a More Creative Option While you can use video for product announcements, behind-the-scenes looks, and other types of informational content, you also have the option to share creative videos with your audience. You can do it through animated explainer videos that help viewers understand complex topics in a fun way. For example, video marketing allows you to tell stories authentically and compellingly. You can create videos that showcase your products or services by showing them in action — and then share these videos on social media platforms like F...
Whether you’re a Star Wars fan or not, you’ve probably heard the term Jedi Mind Trick. Maybe you’ve wished it were a real thing that you could harness – for good, of course – and use in your marketing. I’ve got great news for you. While the Jedi aren’t real, it is possible to use mind tricks – also known as cognitive biases – to get people to engage with your content and buy your products. All you need is an understanding of how the human brain works. What Are Cognitive Biases? A cognitive bias is an innate flaw in reasoning. What’s useful about cognitive biases is that they are something we all share. We are all susceptible to them and that’s what makes them effective for marketing. What’s especially interesting about cognitive biases is that they can work on us even if we understand what they are and are on guard against them. It is possible to avoid them, but it takes work and a real commitment to seeking out alternate points of view to do so. There’s a field of marketing known as neuromarketing that is designed to use psychology to “hack” buyers’ brains. Keep reading to learn about some of the cognitive biases that can be useful in marketing and tips on how to use them to grow your audience. The Bandwagon Effect The Bandwagon Effect has historical roots. Originally, the bandwagon was a parade float where a band played, and spectators would be encouraged to jump on the bandwagon. The implication was that the people on the bandwagon were having more fun than those who were on the sidelines. Over time, the term became useful to describe the behavior in voters in the waning days of a political campaign, when people who were on the fence decided to vote for the person who seemed likely to win. A similar thing happens when a professional sports team is on the road to a championship and suddenly, people who never cared about them become avid fans. You can harness the bandwagon effect by highlighting the popularity of your company or its products and services. Some ways to do that include touting the number of people who have visited your site, the number of downloads, or using a slide-in that announces each sale that you make. That last one is often used on landing pages and it’s extremely effective. The Reciprocity Bias We have all experienced reciprocity bias. It’s what happens at the holidays when someone gives you a gift and, even if you’ve never exchanged gifts with the person in question, you feel a need to give them something in return. When someone gives you something, you want to give back. In marketing, there are many ways to trigger the reciprocity bias. One popular method is to create a lead magnet that you give away for free in return for a visitor’s email address. Another way to use reciprocity to build your audience is to give away a free sample of your product. Samples are inexpensive and don’t cost much to provide but they trigger a desire in the recipient to make up for the fact that you gave them something for free. The easiest way for them to do that is to buy your product. You can use this bias with services as well. Many online software providers give away a free trial to get people to buy a subscription. The Scarcity Effect The scarcity effect is something people talk about every day. You’ve heard of FOMO! It’s the fear of missing out and it’s one of the most powerful cognitive biases to use in marketing. When people know something isn’t going to be around for long – or it’s available in limited numbers – they are more likely to buy it than they would be if they believed there was an unlimited supply. We have all done it. Even when there’s something we might not love, we start to wonder whether we’ll want it in the future and imagine how sad we’ll be that we didn’t take the opportunity to get it when we could. You can use scarcity in your marketing in a variety of ways. A limited-time offer is a great way to introduce a sense of urgency to a deal. The same is true of a limited edition product. A lot of s...
Whether you’re a Star Wars fan or not, you’ve probably heard the term Jedi Mind Trick. Maybe you’ve wished it were a real thing that you could harness – for good, of course – and use in your marketing. I’ve got great news for you. While the Jedi aren’t real, it is possible to use mind tricks – also known as cognitive biases – to get people to engage with your content and buy your products. All you need is an understanding of how the human brain works. What Are Cognitive Biases? A cognitive bias is an innate flaw in reasoning. What’s useful about cognitive biases is that they are something we all share. We are all susceptible to them and that’s what makes them effective for marketing. What’s especially interesting about cognitive biases is that they can work on us even if we understand what they are and are on guard against them. It is possible to avoid them, but it takes work and a real commitment to seeking out alternate points of view to do so. There’s a field of marketing known as neuromarketing that is designed to use psychology to “hack” buyers’ brains. Keep reading to learn about some of the cognitive biases that can be useful in marketing and tips on how to use them to grow your audience. The Bandwagon Effect The Bandwagon Effect has historical roots. Originally, the bandwagon was a parade float where a band played, and spectators would be encouraged to jump on the bandwagon. The implication was that the people on the bandwagon were having more fun than those who were on the sidelines. Over time, the term became useful to describe the behavior in voters in the waning days of a political campaign, when people who were on the fence decided to vote for the person who seemed likely to win. A similar thing happens when a professional sports team is on the road to a championship and suddenly, people who never cared about them become avid fans. You can harness the bandwagon effect by highlighting the popularity of your company or its products and services. Some ways to do that include touting the number of people who have visited your site, the number of downloads, or using a slide-in that announces each sale that you make. That last one is often used on landing pages and it’s extremely effective. The Reciprocity Bias We have all experienced reciprocity bias. It’s what happens at the holidays when someone gives you a gift and, even if you’ve never exchanged gifts with the person in question, you feel a need to give them something in return. When someone gives you something, you want to give back. In marketing, there are many ways to trigger the reciprocity bias. One popular method is to create a lead magnet that you give away for free in return for a visitor’s email address. Another way to use reciprocity to build your audience is to give away a free sample of your product. Samples are inexpensive and don’t cost much to provide but they trigger a desire in the recipient to make up for the fact that you gave them something for free. The easiest way for them to do that is to buy your product. You can use this bias with services as well. Many online software providers give away a free trial to get people to buy a subscription. The Scarcity Effect The scarcity effect is something people talk about every day. You’ve heard of FOMO! It’s the fear of missing out and it’s one of the most powerful cognitive biases to use in marketing. When people know something isn’t going to be around for long – or it’s available in limited numbers – they are more likely to buy it than they would be if they believed there was an unlimited supply. We have all done it. Even when there’s something we might not love, we start to wonder whether we’ll want it in the future and imagine how sad we’ll be that we didn’t take the opportunity to get it when we could. You can use scarcity in your marketing in a variety of ways. A limited-time offer is a great way to introduce a sense of urgency to a deal. The same is true of a limited edition product. A lot of s...
Pay-Per-Click advertising, or PPC, is one of those marketing techniques that work, however many people scratch their heads at the exact reason why. The fact is that “paid” advertisements are often completely overlooked; however companies are earning thousands of dollars in revenue from customers who are navigated to their page by these very PPC ads. So what is the motivation behind this migration? The following reasons are some of the top motivators that encourage customers to click on a PPC ad. Indirect Attention In many cases a PPC advertisement catches the attention of viewers due to the fact that it is something that interests them. This can be while consumers are reading a news article or e-magazine or an ad that is only relatively related to their initial inquiry. However, because the ad is interesting, they click anyway. This is why targeting niches that may are relevant to your product is so important. It provides an avenue for consumers who are already interested in what you are offering. Relevancy The fact is that if the PPC that pops up is most relevant to their search, chances are they will click it. If you include a picture with your ad, this can be even more beneficial to your click potential. The most prevalent PPC Company, Google, provides a quality score system that makes the system work for both advertisers and consumers. They only provide the best matches for the given keywords. This means that the ads that are provided are likely to get clicked due to their relevance of the search in question. Is It an Ad? One of the main reasons that PPC advertisements are so successful is the fact that Internet searchers do not realize that it is an ad. There are many users that are unable to distinguish between organic search engine results and paid advertisements. After all, they would not have searched for anything if they did not want to find results. If your ad matches their inquiry best, chances are it will get clicked. The fact is that PPC advertising can be beneficial no matter the size of your business. Some of the main reasons that this advertising and marketing campaign is so successful are due to the following reasons: You can measure the success of your campaign. If it isn’t working you can change your technique, or discontinue it completely. It can work for you. The flexibility of PPC makes it appealing to many different types of businesses. Provides faster results than traditional SEO methods. It provides conversions for your site you may not have had access to before. Chances are your direct competition has already invested in PPC. Learning effective PPC methods can be difficult; however once you get the hand of it you will see huge returns on your investment. Instead of having to wait around to show up at the top of search engine results, it will be there instantly.
If you truly want to see your social media marketing campaign take off, you need to learn how to share. When you can increase the number of shares that your content and sites receive through social media, you will substantial growth in traffic, as well as conversions. Not only will the ability for visitors to share your content receive more traffic, you will also increase your rank in search engines. With so many appealing benefits why wouldn’t you learn to share? Use the following strategies to ensure that the share buttons on your content are visible, available, and enticing to your visitors. How do you accomplish this? Use the following tips: Ask Nicely You may underestimate this tip. However, the fact is that chances are your visitors will not automatically think “I want to share this.” You have to encourage them to do so. Simply place the phrase “please retweet” or “please share.” This will prompt visitors to act. Also, ensure you are offering useful information; otherwise even asking nicely may not work. Make Sharing Obvious If your visitors have to search for your share buttons, chances are you will have limited shares. Instead, make sure they are visible on your page to ensure that you receive superior clicks. There are even website design techniques you can use to ensure that your social media buttons travel up and down the page as visitors do. Make Sharing Appealing You need to ensure that the share buttons are visible, but more importantly attractive and enticing to your visitors. In most cases a person will not want to be the first one to share your information. Therefore, you should take time to share it yourself and get some of your friends and family to do so, as well. This will make the share option much more appealing to your visitors. Build a Brand that is Worth Sharing There are certain names and brands that when you see them you think “Now that is something I need to read and share.” This is because they have established themselves as an Internet authority. While it may take work, you can achieve this, too. Step 1: Only provide valuable, researched and quality information on your posts. Step 2: Frequent other blogs. Make posts, start conversations and build relationships. Pretty soon you will have readers who want more of what you have to say. Step 3: Make yourself accessible. This may mean going out, speaking about what you have to offer and become a person, not just a website. People like to follow people, not computers. Step 4: Only focus on one social media site at a time. While it may be tempting to jump in and try to grow all of your social media sites, you should focus on one at a time, to ensure you grow it to the optimum potential. When it comes to sharing the information you post, this can be a powerful tool to grow your business. However, to get your visitors enticed and encouraged to do this, ask, do it yourself, and make it visible and appealing. This will help grow your traffic, and your bottom line.
You have decided to launch a website for a product or service that your business is currently providing, only to realize that a mere description of the product (or service) and some hyperlinks are not sufficient enough to warrant success in reaching your target audience. Your website suffers from low visitor count and as a consequence, your profit and sales do not reach their true potential. The reason for this is that you are not properly taking advantage of the greatest marketing tool out there; the Internet. What is required for a business website to be successful? Here is where content writing comes into the equation. Content writing is writing with the purpose of reaching specific target audiences in order to: a) inform readers about a specific product or service offered by your business, b) promote your product or service in any way conceivable; For example, content writing could suggest possible usage of a product outside its “normal” perceived or advertised uses, and most importantly c) to ultimately sway the reader towards making a purchase. Good content writing or its absence thereof can make or break an online business. In order to achieve said goals, content writing needs to be creative, fresh, engaging and informative. Content however, need not be directly limited to your product. It can be content that is indirectly relevant to your business yet relevant enough to guarantee visitation to your website. A high visitor count does not only guarantee high target-audience accessibility and readability, it also comes with many other benefits. Other successful online businesses might want to affiliate with your business and could bring even more readers to your website, or online ad agencies would want to place advertisements on your website for a fee, thus making your whole online venture even more profitable. A website needs to be constantly active and “alive”, meaning that it must be updated with new and relevant content on a frequent basis to draw in more potential readers/customers and keep old customers visiting. A business must not solely focus on new customers alone, because the truth of the matter is that a satisfied and engaged customer is a returning customer. Another important thing to know about successful content writing, is how to choose and include the most sought out search-engine keywords into your content according to keyword density and other relevant factors. This will enable your content to appear in the search results of a user searching Google, or any other search engine of their preference for something that is relevant to the product or service you are selling. Relevance is key to success. If your business is following an Integrated Marketing Communications approach and strategy, it is a wise tactic to coordinate your website’s content with the Advertising, PR and Social Media marketing departments. These techniques and management of IMC, can be quite successful if all of the departments responsible for promoting your product work in unison and harmony.
There is no doubt that as a business owner you want as much attention and exposure as possible. While there are many avenues to explore, some can be quite costly. However, PPC, or pay per click advertising is an effective way to generate new visitors to your site and turn them into loyal customers. There are several options when it comes to PPC ads. Some of the most popular platforms include MSN, Yahoo!, and Google, however utilizing a combination of these sources will provide optimum results. Each time someone searches for a certain keyword your ad will be displayed, encouraging more clicks, more traffic, and more conversions. Immediate Benefits of PPC Pay per click advertising offers immediate, as well as long-term benefits. Knowing what to expect immediately may help you understand the value in this method of reaching new customers. First of all, the process to setup PPC advertisements is quick, much quicker than traditional methods of advertising. Also, unlike the popular SEO methods (which are valuable in themselves) the results you receive from PPC advertisements are noticed immediately. You will see an increase in traffic the same day, which allows you to tweak, change, or modify the campaign in order to optimized results. Unlimited Potential Did you know that Google estimates that approximately 90 million Internet searches are conducted through their server alone on a daily basis? Each time a search is performed, this is a potential customer for you to grab. PPC advertisements are the perfect way to ensure your business is visible and available when a search is conducted. Great Value One of the most appealing aspects of a PPC marketing campaign is the fact that you only have to pay for the placement of the ad when a customer actually clicks it. You are not simply paying for brand awareness, instead you are paying for real live people who are interested in what you are offering on your advert. You can find services that offer a price of ten cents per click, however if it creates a new customer this ten cent investment has really paid off. Create a Realistic Budget Although the cost is minimal for using PPC advertisements, most businesses still have a budget to maintain. As a result, you can use convenient budgeting features that allow you to establish how much you want to spend each day. However, if you hit this limit, you may miss out on customers, so you should consider carefully if this is a good idea. Keyword Control Since your ad is displayed when certain keywords are entered, you are only reaching those people who are truly interested in what you are offering. You can always change your keywords later to include other niches, however this gives you control of who will view the advertisement you have created. This also provides a better chance to turn a PPC click into a new customer. PPC advertisements are a perfect option for both small and big businesses that are trying to increase their visibility. Additionally, you can use this method without blowing your budget.
A great marketing plan utilizes all the important traffic directing elements. Even if you have implemented paid ads, featured SEO content, and established a strong social media presence, you may not be seeing the conversion that you desire. Traffic to your site is likely strong, however, the actual numbers you are experiencing are not increasing. Now is not the time to give up. Instead you need to evaluate the strength of your landing page. Believe it or not, this can make or break your entire marketing campaign. Just because someone is clicking the ad you have strategically placed, if they are not landing on an appealing page, their attention will be quickly diverted elsewhere. Therefore it is time to create a landing page that will turn traffic into conversions. Creating a superior landing page takes work, however well worth the investment of time and effort. Create an ABC Call to Action What is ABC? This is a marketing slogan used in all types of sales: Always Be Closing. This should be the goal of your landing page. Your call to action needs to prompt visitors to act. For example: Act Now, Sign Up, Watch This, etc. Keep in mind that you should only have ONE call to action on your landing page. This will be what you want them to do that will further encourage them to purchase, inquire, or come back. Having multiple calls to action will only be distracting and dilute the effectiveness of your main objective. Design Strategy and Implementation The fact is that the way you set your page up will impact a visitors conversion chances as well. Choose appealing colors, sizes and placements that will encourage not demand. Additionally, when you are designing your landing page you should follow these guidelines: Your call to action needs to be the attention grabber on the page. Visitors should not have to guess what they should do next. Include visual helpers. This can be arrows, or other noticeable graphics. If your content is long, you should include the call to action in various locations on the landing page. Provide an Incentive You can provide incentives for your visitor’s action on the call to action. This can be in the form of coupons or discounts, free products, free trial, informative whitepaper, or any other gift of “free” item that would be appealing to your specific visitor. You need to ensure that the offer is “too good to refuse.” This will provide a higher number of conversions, thus making your call to action more effective. You should also place a deadline on the offer. This will provide that sense of urgency that will spur a visitor to act now or miss out. This is highly effective, especially when it is a more than generous incentive. The Simpler the Better Do not give your visitors too many choices. When you have only one or two choices, chances are you will also have more conversions. Your landing page should emphasize what action you want a visitor to take. Avoid including information that can be added elsewhere on the site. For example, providing company history, feedback, or even navigation bars on the landing page can be distracting and eliminate the prominence of your call to action. Your landing page is your chance to convert your visitors. You need to grab, and keep their attention so that they are spurred to act how you desire. Using the tips here you will find that your conversion rate is substantially improved.
Today, the methods of drumming up Internet business have completely changed. While outbound marketing, such as cold calls, seminars, trade shows and unsolicited emails are still widely used, their effects are not felt as strongly as in the past. This is mainly due to the fact that consumers are bombarded with literally thousands of outbound marketing techniques on a daily basis. As a result, they are constantly finding new ways to ignore the message and completely tune it out, thus negating any effects of outbound marketing techniques. The fact is that using outbound marketing techniques today is almost as pointless as searching for that elusive needle in the haystack. There is another reason for the poor results of outbound marketing techniques. The cost of searching for information, a product or even an idea is much less expensive through the World Wide Web. The cost of attending a seminar or trade show can be high, whereas a quick search on the internet can provide the needed information at virtually no charge. Additionally, with the introduction of webinars and online workshops, your target audience will likely see no point to travel in order to access information that is readily available from their living room. If outbound marketing techniques are becoming ineffective, how can you drive new customers to your business? Simply implement the techniques of inbound marketing. Once you learn the process and methods of this technique it will actually make much more sense. Instead of hoping that someone will respond to a commercial or ad, create your website to “get found.” This means that you need to create a website that is essentially a “hub” for your specific niche. This will ensure that you attract visitors due to search engines, social media and the blogosphere. The fact is however, that most marketers today still focus the majority of their efforts on outbound marketing. The simple fact is that consumers do not access information, products or services the way they did even a decade ago. This has become an instant gratification society. Consumers want what they want, when they want it. This means that a consumer searching for a service or product that you offer wants to be able to put in the one word that is relevant to what they are searching for and instantly be taken to you. The only way that this will happen is if you have created your site to draw these people in. This is done through SEO optimization, a strong social media presence, providing worthwhile content and focusing on your inbound marketing strategies. While outbound marketing is not going anywhere anytime soon, businesses should seriously consider putting more time, effort and money into inbound marketing strategies. These strategies are definitely a way to achieve long term results that provide consumers what they want as well as give them the ability to find you instead of you having to search for someone who may be interested in what you have to offer. This is the transformation from the interruption of outbound marketing to the permission of inbound strategies, which can also transform the results you see with your marketing strategy.
The marketing budget of most non-profit organizations is quite limited, and with that in mind, it is important to tackle as much of the marketing tasks as possible through low cost avenues. Social media is one of those avenues, it is a tool that must be explored and mastered. With that in mind, we will cover some important tips for using social media in your next marketing campaign. Who is your target audience? You must first identify them and then establish some objectives. What are you trying to get out of the target audience and how will you use tools to help you do this? You must have answers to these questions before you start to reach out through social media. Twitter is a good social media tool. Customize your account and ensure that your background picture reflects the objective of your organization. List the Twitter handles and profiles of people in your organization on your Twitter home page. This will help people to connect more easily with several of your key people. Use Facebook to create a fan page and allow your fans to interact with you by allowing them to post on your page. You can add interest by creating events on your fan page and everyone who is a fan of your page will receive a notification. Be approachable on your fan page – start a discussion by asking a question and be around to participate in the responses that people leave. Create some interesting videos and upload them to Youtube. Try to make the video compelling and add humor if it is appropriate. People do not want to watch sad videos, but they will certainly share good videos or videos that make them laugh or smile. Submit your best blog posts and news articles to key social news sites. People tend to react to good pieces by voting them up, and sharing the content with others. If your content is interesting, there is no shortage of ways that people will share it through various social media avenues. Blog posts should always have a list of sharing buttons, especially Facebook and Twitter. Most non-profit organizations do not immediately draw attention to themselves through social media. It is important to really think about unique ways to make your campaign interesting. Social media is a way to get the word out and your campaign in front of people instantly. With the use of social media, non-profits do not have to wait for mail to reach people via the postal service and they don’t have to spend money on postage. Social media allows non-profits to communicate constantly with people. All it takes to get the attention of people is to send them a notification or a message. People who are interested in your cause will sign up to receive updates, and you can allow them to share your content by making it simple for them with social sharing buttons. http://www.slideshare.net/chadnorman/50-social-media-tactics-to-help-nonprofits-meet-their-mission
We live in a fast paced society – and it shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. This presents a unique set of challenges, since your target audience is being bombarded with advertising and marketing messages now more than ever. At times, it may literally seem impossible to stand out. Thankfully, there IS a way and it’s much easier than you may think. How? Video marketing.. Video marketing provides you with a channel to “talk” to your target audience directly and presently is showing some of the highest conversion rates out of any type of online marketing. When it comes to online video marketing, however, understanding andutilizing it in a way that delivers the best results can be a challenge. Here’s a high level primer: Know Your Target Audience Understand your target audience. A busy mom isn’t going to have time to watch anything more than 20 or 30 seconds. An executive level professional isn’t going to be interested in seeing something that includes stick figures and cartoons. You have to build the persona of your ideal target – and then build your video around it. Organization and SEO The success of online video marketing is due in large part, to effective organization. It should be created in a way that is both clear and direct. This will help you in your SEO campaigns as well. Visitors should be able to find your video with a simple keyword search. This approach allows your website visitors to find the content that meets their specific needs in the shortest amount of time possible. Consistency Is Key Often overlooked is the power of branding. It can take someone up to 7 times of seeing something before he (or she) starts associating it with your brand. As such, brand consistency is a critical piece of the video marketing pie. Sure, it’s more “new-age” media. But that doesn’t mean you should overlook the fact that it too needs to maintain your brand’s consistency. This goes for all your marketing efforts, however. Whether it’s social media or a video, developing a unique voice for your brand will define how successful – or unsuccessful – your marketing efforts will be. Data analysis and feedback reviews Data analysis includes not just how many hits each video receives but also how long viewers stick with each video, and which types of content performs best. Understanding the effectiveness of your video is critical for ongoing content development. The additionalviewer engagement data is valuable for defining and segmenting customer reviews which, in turn, will help you in everything from marketing and sales efforts to product development strategy. Whether your videos show how products work, entertain the world or show how much everyone loves your company, they should always infuse your digital story with the energy it needs to rise above the ‘noise.’ As discussed above, knowing your audience, perfect organization and SEO – coupled with consistency and feedback analysis – will help you to keep your video marketing project moving forward. If you still need a helping hand from a team of professionals on the subject, we are always here to help!
One question that keeps cropping up time and time again has to do with customer loyalty programs. Do these programs really work? Are they worth the cost? How can they help a business to move to the next level? It is important to weigh the benefits against the cost of the implementation of any loyalty program. It is equally important to continue to measure the results of a loyalty program to see what kinds of results are being achieved. Loyalty programs can encourage brand loyalty. They are a way to convince consumers to choose your product over your competitor’s product for a certain reward. By rewarding your customers for purchasing your product, you can instill hard core loyalty to your brand. This kind of loyalty is long lasting and far reaching. It can also help your customers to share with their friends and family by letting them know about your loyalty program. As your customer base expands and sales increase, the cost of the loyalty program can be absorbed better, improved more, and written off as an expense in the cost of doing business. Customers who join a loyalty program have a sense of belonging in an exclusive club. This can help to increase sales and reduce “price sensitivity” when your brand has a loyal following. This means that your business can adjust your prices upward and expect to retain the same customer base due to its involvement in your loyalty program. It is important to ensure that rewards are attainable and that you start off your customers with a certain base benefit that makes them feel that the “next level” is achievable. A loyalty program can give one business an advantage over their competitors. Customers are more likely to choose one company over another if they have a good and interesting loyalty program. Locking in a customer with an accumulating benefit tends to be the common approach for a loyalty program. In other words, the consumer must make a commitment to a certain brand and continue to purchase from them to get their reward in the long run. Businesses can encourage more spending by the customer by promoting add ons. If a consumer purchases up to a certain level, they gain a certain benefit. If they spend an additional amount, they automatically reach the next level and reap more benefits. Each business needs to decide several things. First, is the program affordable for them to implement and maintain? Does the loyalty program offer enough benefits that people will want to continue with the program and become dedicated to it (a loyal customer). The loyalty program can be a double edged sword in that it limits the customer base of a business. Once a loyalty program is in place, it is up to the business to continue to weigh its benefits. Loyalty programs do work, but they can be a lot of work for the business owner to implement and maintain. You need to ensure that the program is worthwhile and gives both the business and the customer some kind of a mutual benefit. http://www.kerchingretail.com/rewards-programs-and-loyalty-programs-do-they-work
Video is everywhere and most people have seen have seen a video online if they have searched for information online about virtually any topic. Video is an important part of online content and many websites are using it on a regular basis to present ideas and information in a way that people find easier to consume. Is video marketing the wave of the future? Video presents ideas in a way that makes it easy for people to visualize what you want them to know. With many sites available to upload video, it is simple for a business to create interesting videos that can easily be shared across the internet. Here are some reasons why video is an emerging marketing tool. Everyone is connected to the internet most of the day, with some type of device, whether it be a smart phone, a computer, a netbook, a laptop, a tablet or an iPad, people are viewing more video more often. Short videos of a few minutes are a good way to convey an important message to these video consumers who have extremely short attention spans. Video can be produced by anyone with many different types of devices and it is extremely low cost to do so. Devices that were once extremely expensive are now affordable for most people and it does not cost very much money to obtain the equipment needed to produce a high quality video. Short clips can be created to garner interest. People watch these short clips and are then interested in clicking on links embedded in the video or under the video to visit a website where they can see more video and be presented with a businesses’ product. One great tactic is to create a storyline with a series of short clips. If you can grab people’s interest, they are likely to subscribe to your mailing list for updated video clips. It is simple to get your message out there. From beginning to end, videos can be created with a small investment of time and money, and they can be put out in front of an audience in a very short time. It is every videographer’s dream for their video to go “viral”, meaning that millions of people will see their video and share it with others. Video is useful to explain concepts and show people things. You can demonstrate a product or give a “how to” that is useful and will be shared amongst your niche audience. The more useful the video, the more likely it is to be shared amongst users who are interested in your niche product and market. Once you have produced and posted a video, it can easily be shared by people simply by the act of them sharing a link with one another through email discussion and social media channels. If you have not considered video marketing, it is definitely something that deserves your time and effort. Many people do not feel comfortable producing their own video, but it is completely affordable and cost effective to hire people to produce videos for your next campaign. http://www.fastcompany.com/1843289/why-short-form-video-future-marketing
Gone are the days when print ads and television commercials were the only types of marketing and advertising options available to a business owner. The internet has opened up an entirely new channel of marketing that is effective AND cost-efficient, for even the smallest of businesses. Internet marketing first emerged on the scene in 1994 and has evolved at a mind-blowing pace ever since. Banner ads, content marketing, pay per click advertising (PPC), email marketing and now social media marketing (SMM) are all big traffic drivers to business websites. As is the case with offline marketing, with online marketing, the more eyes that see the products and services your business is selling, the more likely you are to make more sales. While PPC and SMM can be huge traffic drivers, there is something else that has the power to trump both them combined: search engine optimization (SEO). What is SEO? SEO aims to increase the volume of traffic to a specific website by raising its rank in search engine results. Why is this important? Because people turn to search engines to look for information. Perhaps someone is looking for a solution about how to rid their home of pesky bugs. Or they’ve just locked themselves out of their house and need a locksmith. Or need an emergency tow. Or are looking for a new restaurant to try out. The bottom line is that people increasingly rely on search engines to help them find the information they need, quickly and easily. THIS is precisely why it’s so important for your businesses’ website to rank high. Why Taking Advantage of Professional SEO Services is a Smart Choice Many business owners try their hand at SEO to try and save on marketing costs. The problem with this approach is that SEO is complex and constantly evolving. What may be a good SEO strategy today may not be a great one tomorrow. What’s worse, it could end up hurting more than it helps – and in some cases, can even get you blacklisted, which means major search engines like Google and Yahoo will NEVER show your website in their search results. Can you REALLY afford that type of loss? If not, continue reading on. Good SEO experts will take a holistic approach to your SEO needs. Before they actually start optimizing your site, they will first study your business so they can determine the best ways to reach your target market. This will involve an in depth assessment of keywords that your targeted audience is using to search for businesses like yours. Aside from this, they will also assess your website to see if the layout is user-friendly and if your content is relevant. If not, most will make the necessary changes to ensure the success of your SEO campaign. Since SEO experts are knowledgeable in their field, they make it a point to stay in-the-know when it comes to search engine algorithm changes. This ensures that they are able to quickly and easily make necessary adjustments to their strategies, when needed. A Word of Caution It’s important to steer clear of companies that employ Black Hat SEO methods. These types of SEO professionals will promise quick results in terms of search engine ranking; however, they will also put your website at risk of being banned because of illegal practices. Essentially, they expose loopholes in the algorithms. Unfortunately, these loopholes never last for very long, and if it’s discovered that your website took advantage of them, the likelihood is that your site will be de-indexed and it’ll never show up in the search engines again. For this reason, make it a point to ask probing questions regarding SEO methods utilized by a certain firm BEFORE deciding to hire. If you’re interested in learning more about what you need to know before hiring an SEO professional, make sure to check out our resources, which can be found here.
ANSWER: Set business / marketing / campaign objectives. And align all efforts in meeting those goals.
ANSWER: Building the first base of followers from scratch will usually take a lot of investment, specially on online media. You can’t just come up with a number on the top your head. Define exactly how much you’re willing to invest to acquire a member, fan, or follower.
ANSWER: You can measure the success of a social media campaign by defining what your business or marketing goals are and you can design the digital (social) strategy to achieve those goals. Whether it is an increase in sales, database building, foot traffic, or simply awareness. Constant measurement and metrics at every phase of the campaign is very crucial. In the absence of any data from previous campaigns, it would be best to be conservative and roll the dice to establish benchmarks.
So you’ve done your research. You’ve weighed the pros and cons. And you’ve FINALLY decided to jump on the social media marketing bandwagon. Now what? It’s likely that you’ll spend countless hours trying to bone up on best practices and likely throw your hands up in frustration at some point since everything you’re reading seems to contradict itself. Don’t give up hope though! Social media marketing isn’t rocket science and a lot of it really boils down to common sense. That’s not to say that there aren’t things you can do to stack the odds of success in your favor, particularly as it relates to Facebook. A comScore report released in 2011 found that brands that posted an average of seven times per week on Facebook reached a mere 16% of their fan bases. Facebook has never revealed exactly how an individual or business can gain greater reach, even though the company did release an ad product called Reach Generator. The good news is that you CAN expand your Facebook reach easily. if you arm yourself with the right knowledge. Undestand the EdgeRank Trifecta EdgeRank is an algorithm Facebook uses to determine screen-worthy content for users. It multiplies three factors – weight, affinity and time – to determine the value of your content. The affinity score is based on how many times a fan has engaged with your brand content before (page visits). Weight is simply popularity, measured by likes and comments, while time is a factor of the decay of your content. Once you understand how the EdgeRank algorithm works, you can expand your reach and audience. Here’s how: 1. Know Your Brand’s Audience What content do your fans respond to? When do they want that kind of content? How do they want it? These are the 3 main pillar questions you should use to determine the kind of content you’re posting, as well as how to dispense it to your fans and potential fans. Take time to evaluate the historical consumption patterns using Facebook insights in order to determine whether they consume your content on mobile devices, only at work or if they are only responding to a specific type of content. Remember, catering specifically to the needs of your audience with regard to the EdgeRank trifecta will result in more engagement, which increases the chances of it appearing in their Facebook news feeds. 2. Be Brief, Topical and Not Hard to Get Studies have shown over and over again that succinct posts perform better than lengthy content. The latter goes unread and discourages users from liking and sharing it. Always make your content short and easily digestible. This makes it easy for your fans to consume and interact with it. Equally important is to ensure your posts are timely. These types of posts are proven to increase excitement, cause spikes in engagement and catalyze engagement among your fans. Such a strategy will expand your reach while simultaneously allowing you to keep an eye on relevant events that are exciting for your community of fans. Avoid being coy when it comes to your calls-to-action on Facebook. Ask your fans to comment, like or share your post. These three actions initiate further reach on Facebook. You will be surprised just how much your fan base will grow since your posts will end up in the news feeds of your fan’s friends. Remember, fans want engagement and sometimes all they need is just an invitation. 3. Partake in the Engagement Fans want to know that their favorite brand is listening to them too. Many social media managers overlook this and end up getting a cold reception from their own fans. Make time to answer questions your fans ask in the comments section. Sometimes a simple “thank you” will do. Tag your fans in the comments so they are notified whenever you give them special attention. When they like your comment, it continues the conversation, which boosts your visibility. While following the aforementioned tips will increase your brand visibility and reach on Facebook, the key takeaway is this: it’s imperative that y...
Social media has become one of the best ways to connect with people throughout the world. It is truly one of the only platforms that allows for both individuals and businesses to easily connect with people with a click of a button. Although social media platforms were initially used to connect individuals on a personal level, many businesses and organizations have come to realize the power of social media on their ability to connect with their customer base and market their products successfully. Because social media platforms are so prominent, it is essential that all types of businesses, no matter how big or small, have some form of social media presence. In many ways, not having a social media presence on the Internet limits the ability of a business to connect to their customer base on a widespread level. This is particularly true for small to medium-sized businesses that are searching for effective ways to market their services to the general public. Affordability is one of the main reasons why small and medium-sized businesses should definitely consider incorporating social media into their marketing strategies. Social media is one of the few marketing platforms that is actually free for everyone to use. Such social media websites as Twitter and Facebook are readily available to the public, and anyone can open up an account for free. This is definitely something that small and medium-sized businesses should take advantage of in order to increase their Internet exposure and customer base. One of the biggest concerns with both small and medium-sized businesses is their marketing budget. Unlike larger businesses, small and medium-sized companies usually don’t have the larger marketing budgets which will allow them to connect to the general public in a variety of ways. Thus, social media provides small and medium-sized businesses with a marketing advantage that is quite affordable. The ability to network successfully is another reason why small and medium-size businesses should definitely consider obtaining a social media presence. Social media has definitely changed the way people connect with each other. No longer is it necessary for people to personally know each other in order to form relationships. Social media makes it more acceptable for people to reach out to others that have similar interests or resources they would like to share. This is definitely something that small and medium-sized businesses can take advantage of when marketing their services. Numerous businesses have been able to expand their own companies by forming relationships with other companies that they have connected with through social media platforms. Finally, the interconnectedness of the various social media platforms makes them perfect for marketing. While there are numerous types of marketing techniques available to help small and medium-sized businesses promote their products and services, many social media platforms are designed to work together in order to increase connectivity. For example, a business that wants to connect with both Facebook and Twitter followers simultaneously can do so without having to post to both platforms separately. Each of these social media platforms allows the user to create one post that can be shared across various social media platforms. This is an excellent marketing strategy that can help small and medium-sized businesses connect to a greater number of individuals that use an assortment of social media websites. In all, the necessity of possessing a social media presence for businesses cannot be underestimated. The ability to use various social media platforms to connect to a large number of people with little effort and without breaking the bank is definitely something that most small and medium-sized businesses can definitely appreciate.
You have a perfect plan for a business website and are ready to implement it. You hire the best developer around and soon enough, your website is live. A few months down the road, you start getting hits on your site. Exciting! The numbers start growing because you have invested a lot of time and money in SEO and other marketing options, but soon you realize there is something that’s just not right – conversions are horrid! You did everything the so-called gurus recommended, so what could be so wrong? You forgot to give your landing pages the ‘magic’ they need. Here’s what you REALLY need to know about crafting killer landing pages: Landing Page or Home Page? Make no mistake about it, a landing page is NOT the home page of your business. While your home page tells someone something about your business, landing pages should be very specific. Look at them as ‘pages on a mission’ – a mission to convert page visitors into customers. Each landing page should be specially designed and optimized to persuade site visitors to act in some way, which could be to purchase a product you are selling, sign up for your newsletters or something else that will be of benefit to your business. So there you have it, the first principle for designing landing pages: make the home page for information about your businesses and spare landing pages for convincing them to do something. But how do you optimize landing pages to be of high impact? Enhance User Experience Before you sit down to write a landing page, ask yourself two questions: What do I want my visitors to do? How do I want them to remember my website? It is all about carefully carving your goals into landing pages; and by ‘carefully’ we mean both architecturally structuring the landing page and presenting information or content in a way that will increase the chances of converting your visitors. We’ll cover more on content below, but right now, let’s focus more on the structure of the landing pages. Think of organization and segmentation as a way to attract more conversions. You want to help your visitors ‘place themselves in buckets’ you’ve set up for them, so organize the content in a way that will make it easy to find what is relevant to them. It goes without saying, your site should be clean – but that alone doesn’t cut it. Work on the navigation so that everything a visitor wants is either right in front of them or just one click away. Don’t forget to have the call-to-action button right there too! What to Write Nothing will make much sense without content that is carefully thought out. Therefore, you need to write a high-impact pitch on your landing pages. It starts with a clear but spellbinding heading, followed by a sales pitch that will make the visitor do one or more of the following: Purchase Give permission for you to make a follow up Give you feedback Click or visit a page you intend them to Share with a friend or someone else. Once you achieve that, you’ll have it right – an effective landing page for your business. You might want to do some testing on your landing pages though until you get something that works perfect for you. This may include changing template styles and layouts, buttons, messaging. The bottom line is: landing pages should NEVER go wrong.
Putting up a website is only the first step to taking your business to the next level. With hundreds of websites sprouting up on the internet these days, how can you be sure that yours will be seen by your target market? The most recommended way to ensure the success of your business, be it online or offline, is by having an effective marketing strategy for your website. So just what makes an effective marketing strategy? Here are a few useful tips you can use: 1. Update your website’s layout and content. First, you need to make sure that the look and feel of your website suits the niche of your business. Say, for example, you run an online retail store that carries clothing apparel for teenage girls. Make sure that the design of your website has a light and playful touch. Use pastel colors as the background and make it a point to provide appealing graphics. A dull and business-like website design will give teenage girls the impression that you only sell boring clothes even before they actually browsed through your selections –not good! Another thing that you should give focus on is your website’s content. Just because you’re running an online clothing retail store does not mean that your site shouldn’t contain any useful information. Integrate a blog into your site and fill it up with posts about fashion tips and trends. The best way to decide on what types of content to include into your site, as well as its design, is by studying your target market. Additionally, make sure that the layout of your site is simple so visitors won’t have trouble navigating around the platform. 2. Take advantage of social networking sites. Social media marketing is a very powerful tool which can only be facilitated through social networking sites. Create an account for your business on websites like Twitter and Facebook. These platforms will serve as excellent venues to communicate and interact with your target market on a personal level. It is also through these sites that you can disseminate important announcements such as sales, the launch of new products, and promotions. Additionally, most consumers today find it easier to share information about a certain product or service that they enjoyed when the company has a presence in a social networking site. Make sure that you are active in these sites by always answering inquiries and showing your appreciation when previous customers express their satisfaction. In the same way, you should also make it a point to address grievances voiced through these sites. This will make visitors feel that they will never be on the short end of the deal should they decide to do business with you. 3. Marketing not your cup of tea? Hire a professional! If you feel that your time would be better spent focusing on other aspects of running your business, hire a professional to market your site for you. There are a lot of internet marketing firms (and more popping up daily), so there certainly won’t be a shortage of companies to fulfill your needs. First however, it is important that you look into the portfolio of the company you are thinking of hiring. How many websites do they have under their wing? What type of marketing campaigns have they been able to develop after the website is live? Obtain this information on the front-end and then set up a time to actually discuss your needs in further detail. This will give you a better sense of the company as a whole. You can gauge your comfort level with areas of expertise, how questions are answered, etc. These are all extremely important as it relates to marketing your business. Only once you’ve gone through these steps should you then begin discussions as far as rates and contracts. A word to the wise: don’t jump the gun or you could end up sinking your hard earned money into campaigns that deliver no value. If you’re interested in jump starting your marketing efforts, contact us today for a free consultation.
The concept of aggressive marketing is hard to define, but it is easy to recognize. This is because it is the kind of marketing that knowingly exceeds certain limits and it goes as far as using obvious discrimination based on race, sex and religion. The final purpose seems to be more important than the actual message for many companies that resort to such strategies. However, studies have shown that this particular marketing strategy does not bring a significant increase in sales. A beautiful woman who appears in a commercial for male products attracts their attention immediately. This is definitely an advantage for the product in question, but the problems appear when the woman from the commercial is presented in a degrading position. Usually, women are characterized as completely useless when it comes to technical issues and more often, their image is reduced to pleasing the man. Such marketing campaigns end up promoting women as handmaiden of men. However, those who come up with this kind of ideas ignore the fact that women are the ones who often buy products for their partners. On the other hand, men are also presented in a negative light when it comes to promoting products for women. There are many advertisements where men appear as terrible cooks or as terrible parents who can not take care of their children. In addition, the aggressive marketing strategies extend to certain ethnic groups and religions. Scorning such minority groups can be taken as a direct offense. This type of marketing might manage to attract the attention of the public, but this does not necessarily mean it leads to higher sales. A study undertaken in the U.S. on consumer behavior has shown that a commercial that creates negative emotions, such as disgust, fear or anger, will most probably push away the consumers. This happens because every person wants to avoid the sources of negative emotions. It is a perfectly normal way of self protection. The same study has shown that people are much more receptive to an advertising message when it is sent in the context of a happy family, a mother with her children or a group of friends. The consumer’s availability for receiving commercial messages is increased when the messages contain positive emotions. Moreover, people seem to be responsive to new products. The human brain is eager to learn new things whenever it gets the chance. The learning process produces a special substance called dopamine. This substance is also produced when the human brain is stimulated with images of food or images with sexual content. In conclusion, the usage of aggressive marketing strategies might not get you when you want to go. There are so many aspects of life that can make people feel good, so why would anyone take the risk of making them feel bad? You can address directly and successfully to your target customers without having to compare and highlight someone else’s flaws. At the end of the day, this aggressive promotion does not worth the effort.
Surveys have shown that 95% of text messages sent are read within just a few minutes of receipt while about 30% of consumers with mobile phones interact with brands via text messages. As marketing continues to become a highly dynamic area for many businesses, whether startups or established, innovative promotional strategies continue to prove to be suitable for the modern business environment in which competition only grows stiffer. Text messaging was originally intended for normal communication, but today, it has emerged as one of the most effective marketing techniques. Is it really the marketing option with a future? The mobile market grows larger by the day, with over 7 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide (according to statistics by the International Telecommunication Union). This presents a tremendous amount of opportunity to marketers looking for new avenues of connecting with this ever growing list of mobile phone subscribers. Geo location and mobile tagging have come up to help discern the behavior of the mobile consumer in order to deliver more relevant marketing content to them. By the end of 2012, about 1.08 billion of the mobile phones that were in use were smartphones. About 3.05 million of these devices were SMS-enabled. The number, no doubt, has leaped significantly since then. Simple observations indicate that the way in which people use mobile phones (especially smartphones) continues to open up new possibilities. Today, there are millions of apps on various app stores. These range from those that can turn a simple smartphone into a ruler to those that will turn the devices into advertisement boards. Finding out just how much people have come to rely on their phones is amazing in and of itself. According to a July 2012 study by Pew Internet and American Life Project, about 86% of mobile internet users use their mobile devices while watching TV. Long gone are the days when coupons could only be found in printed newspapers. Today, text message marketing has made coupons and coupon codes to be taken by storm among all ranges of consumers with access to mobile phones. Taco Bell ran a campaign of its own dubbed RefreshIt that ended up proving that consumers can be hooked to a brand even while on the move, thanks to the use of text message subscriptions to access coupon codes on various products and service promotions. The aim of marketing is to expose existing and prospective customers to your product, cause or service. Text message marketing presents an opportunity to keep customers engaged to a brand they like without having them tethered, a practice that has proven to swell sales for many companies. Email marketing, television commercials and many other traditional and semi-traditional marketing techniques are still popular, but their future cannot be compared to that of text message marketing. especially with projections showing that mobile internet usage is expected to overtake desktop internet usage by 2014.
ANSWER: Of course it is effective. but it has to be done right, in line with your marketing goals. Having online presence should not just entail having an account for your business on the top social media sites. The operative word being social, all your social media marketing efforts should involve engagement with the right people – relevant experts and your target market. For my business, of course Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ works wonders for me because my target audience is there.
ANSWER: Having a single person dedicated to social media is better than having no one at all, especially since all businesses – big or small, are present online. But you have to make sure that the person in charge would be very knowledgeable with social media – not just able to maintain his or her own personal accounts. He or she should also be able to track the analytics that would come with each social media site for check and balance with all the efforts. He or she should also be knowledgeable with all the relevant keywords that should be integrated with the content. That person should definitely be well versed with the company’s goals and vision. Everything that he or she would do should be in line and lead or even surpass the goal. As things continue to ramp up and it becomes too much for a single person to handle, that’s when it’s time to bring in more help.
Mobile marketing,a newer kid on the block, isturning the marketing world on its head. It allows businesses to use Internet based solutions to reach customers and prospective customers who are using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The technology is easy to use, has a very wide reach and is relatively inexpensive in comparison to other widespread marketing methods, like PPC. Studies previously conducted indicate that permission based marketing using any technique offers a higher return on investment.Mobile marketing presents a new sphere where competition is being fronted. By taking advantage of this technology, you can give your business a competitive edge. Why? Consider this. In the US alone, there are over 327 million mobile phones in use. Out of this number, more than 40% of all mobile phones are owned by people who are above the age of 18. You do the math. What’s more, most are smartphones. By the end of 2012, more than 41% of emails were read by their recipients using smartphones and tablets. It’s projected that by the end of 2013,the number of emails opened using these mobile devices will far surpass the number of email messages that are opened using the PC.It’s pretty easy to see how and why mobile should be a part of your marketing strategy moving forward. Benefits of Mobile Marketing It gives you the ability to create targeted marketing campaigns. It increases your businesses ability to penetrate new markets. You can easily tie mobile marketing into other marketing methods for a more comprehensive effect. You can create promotion and loyalty reward campaigns in less than 24 hours. You get fast responses from your contacts. You get campaigns reports as and when you want them. If you’re thinking about jumping into mobile marketing, it’s important that you partner with an organization that can align your goals with a solid mobile marketing strategy. The company you choose to work with should create an effective strategy that is specifically tailored to address your organizational needs. The goal should be to develop an effective working strategy that is also cost efficient. Once developed and the deployed, the campaign will need to be tracked, monitored and continuously optimized for maximum ROI. Unfortunately marketing is unforgiving and there is no room for a mistake. A mistake can put you out of business, which is why it’s advisable to have a professional mobile marketing pro do the work for you. A legitimate professional will make sure you don’t get in trouble for sending unsolicited messages by devising a strategy to help you obtain the consent of those who are in your contact list so that you remain in compliance.
As for 2010, there were over 100 million blogs on the internet (just imagine what that number is today).That translates into 50,000 new blogs popping up PER DAY. If you stop to think about how mind-blowing that number really is, you may find yourself wondering who in the heck would actually read your blog, if you were to jump on the blogging bandwagon. Of course, these doubts last only until you find that your competitors are having a grand time entertaining clients on social media and then leading them gently but surely to their websites. Trust me, you’re not the only one becoming mindful about the power of blogging. A great number of entrepreneurs and corporations are now convinced they should start a blog now before they are buried by the loud and widespread online presence of their competitors. Ok, so it’s settled, you NEED to start a blog. Now what? Ahhh, the question of who’s going to write your blog. The answer seems to be obvious. You want it to written by you, of course. But before you jump in headfirst, keep in mind that good blogging is not just happily typing your thoughts for the day or posting a couple of impressive photos or videos. A blog is like having a nice kiosk outside your business that attracts pedestrians, engages them and then calls them to come inside, where the real action is. Would you, as a manager or store owner, have the time for this stuff? Probably not.You would rather spend your precious time strategizing, leading, and solving your business’ top concerns. The good news is you don’t have to feel guilty about not writing. The well-researched, wonderfully written post that you recently read from your top rival need not come from the one who built the business from the ground up or the top marketing officer. And for good reason. You’ve read it before: focus on your core tasks; delegate the rest. If you’re still not convinced, consider these top two benefits you can get from outsourcing blog writing. That is, if you hire the right blogger or team. You get quality content Nobody dares to refute that quality content is still king. Every post must be timely, informative, relevant, interesting, and entertaining. Yes, it should also be appealing to the mind, eyes and ears. Readers look for content; search engines have become so smart look they look for the same thing. You may have what it takes to deliver this, but do you have the time? Even if you have the time, given all the higher priorities, you may not get beyond three months of blog life (sadly, most bloggers quit at this time.) Let someone write it for you to be able to sustain it. You need someone who can research, with the perspective of an outsider looking in, and present it in the language of the target reader. People who write quality blog posts for a living usually have enough experience to give voice to the message you want to deliver. They know where to find the right info, how to package it into a nice article or post, and keep doing so regularly. You get the traffic that you need The mission of driving traffic to your website makes blog writing different from writing for your local newspaper. Blog writers do not only “write” in the traditional sense of the word, they also write for the search engines with the best tricks and secrets of the trade (called SEO). Because blogging is quite dependent on technology and trends, blog writing services must ideally include brainstorming about the target market (plus its needs and interests), submitting to directories, and monitoring results. Why? The purpose of your blog, first and foremost, is to engage your end readers. In a nutshell, you could be wasting more time and losing more money while waiting for another month or quarter to launch your blog. Now is the time you do it. Let the best do it for you.
What are some of your blog reading pet peeves? I know what mine are. A blog that is scattered and confusing – not READABLE. A blog that doesn’t deliver on its’ promises – not RELATABLE. A blog that covers the same information as 50 other blogs – not RELEVANT. You got it. You have just learned the 3 R’s of blog writing.
1 – READABLE
Creating readable content seems elementary, but it can prove to be rather difficult for even the best writers. You are the expert for your blog. You know the topics inside and out. You know the industry. You know the keywords. You want to share your knowledge. But keep in mind that being the expert doesn’t mean you have to be a know-it-all. By keeping your content clear and concise, you are appealing to a broader audience. A beginner to your subject can read your blog without feeling completely overwhelmed and out of their element. An advanced reader can still find resources within your posts to continue to learn more. Before publishing each article, do a thorough review of your post. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Read the article out loud to yourself to ‘hear’ it as your reader does. Unless writing on a very technical subject, keep your wording fairly simple and to the point. Edit ruthlessly, removing words that really don’t add to the post.
2 – RELATABLE
What does relatable content look like? It is engaging, thought-provoking, and provokes a response in the reader. That’s a lot to accomplish in a short amount of space. Doing it well is not always easy. Finding your own voice is important in building a blog that is relatable. It can be helpful to review other blogs and assess what it is about them that appeals to you. Then consider how you can add your own personality to your areas of knowledge and expertise. Do you have a great sense of humor? Do you have the ability to draw people in? Are you good at creating empathy? What attributes do you love about yourself?
3 – RELEVANT
As you begin writing about a topic, it’s a good idea to review other blogs to see how topics that interest you have already been covered. Feeling that you are an expert on your topic is wonderful, as long as you are open to learning from other experts as well. Rather than seeing blogs that are similar to yours as competition, consider that they are part of your community. By building on that community, you are able to access an audience that is looking for how you can help them, create relationships with other experts, and share your knowledge. As you begin to build on this community and review other blogs, consider how you can freshen up or create your own spin on topics. What do you have to offer your readers that is different from the 50 other articles out there on the same topic? Do you have a story to tell that makes the information personal? So as you begin your next blog post, consider the 3 R’s. Is your post READABLE? Is it RELATABLE? Why is it RELEVANT?
Have you ever been drawn into a reading someone’s blog by a great title, only to leave disappointed that you didn’t get what you thought you were going to? I bet you don’t consistently return to that blog, do you? Writing a blog is a fun way to grow your business. Writing a blog that is engaging and effective is also a lot of work. A great blog writer accomplishes some important things, without you even realizing they have done it. So what are their tricks? KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE The first part to knowing your audience is determining what you have to offer them. Ask yourself some questions. What is your area of expertise? What are you passionate about? Once you have defined your area of expertise, break the topic into categories. This will give you an excellent starting point for topic ideas. Stay focused by plotting your topics for blog posts for the upcoming calendar year. This can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed or lost in a sea of ideas as you begin to write your blog. The second part of knowing your audience is figuring out who this information would appeal to. Who do you want to reach? What does your audience want or need? Spend a little time creating a reader in your mind. As you sit down to write, create your content for your imaginary reader. How does your content fill a want or a need? Have you summoned an emotional response in the reader? Does your content inspire the reader to respond or act on the information you are presenting? MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY WORD As you create a following for your blog, realize that your readers have given you their time. Don’t waste it. Keep blog posts clear, concise, and easy to read. Drawing readers in with a great title is important, but writing quality content is what keeps them coming back for more. Begin writing each blog post with a keyword in mind. What does this article focus on? Then use that keyword in the title and throughout the post – without irritating your reader. If you are forcing keywords for higher SEO rankings, your reader knows it. If it sounds awkward to you, it will sound awkward to your reader. Know what the goal of your post is prior to writing it. Are you writing a how-to, looking to entertain or provide information, or showing how your product/service can make life easier? When you have finished your post, review it to see if you have accomplished your goal. GETTING THE MOST OUT OF EACH POST You have worked hard to understand your audience. You have worked hard on creating an outstanding blog post. So here are a few final things to consider before you hit publish. Have you thoroughly edited? Have you provided links to related topics? (Links can be to another page on your blog or to other supporting information entirely.) Have you added some relevant images? Once you feel your content is clear and concise, readable, and accomplishes your original goal, hit PUBLISH. Pat yourself on the back, but don’t get too comfortable yet. AFTER HITTING PUBLISH Whew, that was a lot of work. But don’t forget the final step in creating a great blog – SHARING. Promote your work in order to create the buzz. There are a variety of ways to create visibility for your blog. Promote your work on social media platforms Provide social connections with social media widgets on your blog Build relationships with other bloggers Provide your services for a guest blog Use blog syndication to spread your posts Building relationships is imperative to building a great blog. Acknowledge your readers, invite their comments, and provide content that they want to share with others in their life. If you do the hard work behind the scenes, your readers will gladly do the sharing for you.
You might have several social media campaigns in place, but have you ever wondered how effective they really are? It is highly likely that you currently have multiple social media campaigns that require a lot of your time and money, but how do you determine when it is time to pull the plug on a social media campaign or if you just need to improve it? Activity A good social media campaign should coincide with activity on your social media page. Followers should be talking about you, your products or your business. If there is a clear lack of these things on a specific social media platform, it is time to evaluate its usefulness. In order to evaluate this activity, it is necessary to check the number of likes, shares, retweets or any other follower activity that could be an indication of success or failure. If you social media page fails to engage your target group, it could be bad advertising for your company and a waste of your valuable time. Valuable Traffic Another way to evaluate the effectiveness of your social media page, is by monitoring the traffic you get on your website, more specifically the traffic you receive through your social media page. Traffic is not the only thing though, valuable traffic is what you need to look for. Have potential clients from your social media page actually bought your service and/or product? Have they subscribed to your newsletter? No matter the goal, buying and interesting customers is the ultimate goal of any business that goes on social media. Is your platform suited for your target group? It is possible that you have an excellent social media page, but are not getting any customers. The reason for that is usually a lack of interest in your product or service, which could point to the fact that your desired target group is not present on the social media platform you are currently using. If this is the case, you might want to switch to a platform suited for your target group. Each social media platform has its own age group, including people with very specific interests. Even though Facebook has the largest pool of target groups, there are some exceptions. If you wish to speak to a younger generation, it might be a good idea to expand to Instagram as well. If your aim is focussed on attracting valuable business contacts, then LinkedIn will cater to your needs. Doing some research on the social media platforms and the specific target groups that use this platform will make a huge difference. It also means that you can focus on a specific social media platform, saving you loads of time since you won’t have to mess around with multiple accounts on various social media platforms. Use Content That Engages People You may have an account of various social media platforms, but are you publishing content that your target group finds interesting? Plain text is no longer a good idea, because the majority of internet users like visuals, including images and videos. Videos are becoming increasingly more popular, so it is worth jumping on that bandwagon. Some companies will find it hard to create a video, especially when you’re in a profession that isn’t that creative. If this is the case, you can always showcase you professionalism or even the facilities you have at your disposal for the execution of your profession. No matter what you choose, ensure that it will interest potential clients. If you have a creative profession, for example graphic designer or interior designer, images will be your new best friend. Join a social media platform that focusses on the use of images, for example Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr. Post some photos of your most impressive work to date and notice how much exposure your business will get. Set Clear Goals When you’re on social media, your goals can become unclear fairly quickly. There are so many things to take advantage of, from advertisements to getting a large amount of followers. Setting some goals in advance will help you stay on track. Informed choices ca...
2015 is going to be a successful year for many starting business owners, so what better way to start than creating a kick-ass marketing strategy for the new year. Before you start creating your marketing strategy, the most important thing is to research your target group. What type of people will be interested in your product or service? The answer to this question will be an important building block and the foundation of your future marketing strategy. The best way to execute your marketing strategy is by finding places where your target group is very present in. This could be a social media platform, forum or even certain events. For example, if you are in the luxury car business, you may need to consider networking with people who can actually afford these cars. The same goes for smaller products of course, for example quilting materials. Find forums and communities with hundreds of quilting lovers and get your ideas straight from the source! A good marketing strategy means nothing with a budget plan. Ensure that your marketing strategy for 2015 has a clear budget appropriation and do not work out which advertisements will be the most profitable to you.
The 4th Quarter is upon us, which for many businesses means laying out the plan for the upcoming year’s finances. Rather than stressing about how to make it all come together, try a new approach this year. Look beyond the budget line items and build your success on a creative plan. Here are some helpful tips to ensuring that your marketing team has the budget it needs to do your job well and produce successful results for 2014. Goals Produce Results It’s hard to convince your boss that the expenses you’ve laid out are going to produce results if you aren’t sure what the goals are to begin with. Ask questions about where the business is headed in the coming year. What are the year’s sales goals? What are the goals for new sales versus customer retention? What expectations/changes are expected for the marketing department? Team Building Broaden your horizons when it comes to team building. As you create your budget, get the sales team on board with you by helping them understand that an effective marketing budget will make their lives easier as well. A united front between marketing and sales will make it easier for you to defend why certain expenses may be crucial to a successful budget. Spending Money to Make Money The old phrase, “You gotta spend money to make money,“ is not a new concept, but it may be helpful in proving why cuts to your budget would be harmful in the long run. Clearly lay out in your proposed budget how the expenditures will affect projected revenue. It can be beneficial to higher-ups who don’t realize the significance of certain expenditures to see within your budget how certain cuts would affect revenue. Don’t Lay All Your Cards on the Table Marketing is a fluid entity, always changing and evolving. Especially in today’s fast-paced internet marketing world, it is not always easy to see how your marketing plan may change throughout the course of the year. Lay out in your budget that there are certain areas that will need to be re-assessed throughout the year. By indicating that success in certain areas would justify an increase in budgeted amounts, you can tie your marketing plan to a profitable performance. By creating an effective strategy and utilizing a new approach to your budget-building ideas this year, the stress of formulating a marketing budget can be greatly minimized.
In an ever-changing marketing world, the word ‘Clout’ should mean something to a growing business. Clout means power and influence. As a business, having the power TO influence is what building an effective marketing campaign is all about. So how do you determine if your marketing campaign is doing what it should? You can begin by finding out your ‘Klout’ score. What is Klout? Klout, a company founded in 2009, analyzes your individual or company data from social media platforms in order to help you determine how much influence you have within your social networks. Klout assigns each user a score, between one and 100. It is proposed that the higher you score with Klout, the more influence you have in your social media presence. Social Media Doesn’t Matter That Much, Does It? Yes, it does. One of the most effective tools for growing a business is worth of mouth. In fact, it is one of the leading reasons consumers give for purchasing a product or investing in a service. Social media matters more than ever to a growing business, because it can give your business credibility, generate great reviews, and spread awareness. I Don’t Have Time For Social Media? Social media is about creating connections and building relationships. Creating an effective social media marketing plan can seem overwhelming with the addition of more and more social media outlets. So how do you begin to narrow down where to place your efforts? Begin by working smarter, not harder. Centralize your social media marketing efforts in one place. There are a wide variety of programs that allow you to create a branding campaign for your social media outlets in one location. Some examples of this would be HootSuite, Sprout Social, or Shoutlet. How Do I Know What To Say? Creating effective and meaningful social content is a lot easier than you might realize. When creating social media content, go back to your ABC’s. Use an AUTHENTIC voice. No one wants be blasted with your marketing prowess. They want to connect. Find your own voice and use it to build that connection. Build your BRAND. Branding consistently across your social media platforms helps your followers to understand who they are interacting with. COMMUNICATE CONSISTENTLY. Followers want to know what to expect. They want to feel acknowledged in their efforts to interact with you. Following up on comments and questions allows that engagement to happen. It doesn’t pay to build a platform for your business, and then ignore your customers. Social media can be great for your marketing toolkit, engaging for your customers and cost-effective for your business. By using tools available to you to evaluate your effectiveness in using social media, you can begin to take some of the fear out of whether or not you are ‘doing it right.’ So how much ‘Klout’ does your business have?
If you’re a startup founder, small business owner or are thinking about starting your own business (or know of someone who falls into one of these categories), you NEED Successful Startup 101 magazine. It’s packed full of advice on everything from planning to marketing and everything in between. AND, for a limited time, you can take advantage of a FREE trial subscription. Yep, free advice from leading experts in their respective fields. So what are you waiting for? Download your copy today!
The days of readers and search engines tolerating poorly written, SEO-stuffed content are gone. When a reader happens across a website in their search for useful information, they are more than mildly annoyed to stumble across the page filled with keywords that are misplaced and inaccurately portray the website. To the delight of users, search engines are getting the message and advancing the methods used to not only recognize keywords but to put them into a context. How cool is that? What does this mean to the Everyday Joe searching for information on snakes? It means that he will actually get results that have interpreted the website and analyzed that it does contain content on snakes, slimy, cold-blooded venomous slithering snakes. It also means that the search engines are in the process of creating a system that allows the Everyday Copywriter to actually write quality content that is informative and helpful. The days of being focused on how to stuff the necessary keywords into copy that will get the highest ranking with the search engines are coming to an end. We’re not there quite yet, but we are headed in the right direction. What has changed? The old idea was that you had to use a keyword in your content several times throughout your page in order to appear on a search engine results page (SERP), such as Google. Say you are writing an article on Diamondback Rattlesnakes. If someone was searching for information on Arizona baseball teams or military firearms, your page would show up in the results. The SERP’s formula was not able to distinguish between what the searcher wanted versus what your page was about. It was only going on the keyword. The fascinating advances in SERP is that the formulas have the ability to recognize CONTENT and not just the keywords. By writing a clear, concise article that conveys the idea of a Diamondback Rattlesnake, through a sentence such as “slithering, venomous species capable of causing fatality,” the SERP is able to take the context of the sentence and return likely results. Perfect results? Not yet. But far more advanced than ever before. So what does this mean to content writers? The beauty of this advancement is that as more quality content is written, SERP formulas will begin to recognize the content as a whole, and not by its individual parts (keywords). It means that while keywords still play a part in the game, they will no longer have to be the sole focus. You will be able to create content that will appeal to your intended audience. Your materials will be more accurately found. And you will be able to get back to creating quality content.
Whether youâre a real estate agent, a local restaurant or a contractor, if your business serves a specific locale, marketing is important. If you want to grow your customer base, you donât have to use expensive marketing channels like radio, you can use digital marketing and social media to increase your visibility. There are a few effective strategies that can help you get more ROI out of your marketing dollars, and they arenât that difficult to implement. Here are a few ways to market your local business more effectively. Search Engine Optimization Whatever service you provide in your town, peopleâs search for your business starts online. Whether someone is looking for a Mexican restaurant in Arizona, a print shop in Albany, or a real estate agent in San Diego, the majority of your customers are going to do a Google search to find you, and search engine optimization is how you can increase your visibility there. According to a car locksmith in Chicago, âSEO has been very pivotal to the growth of our customer base, and itâs how many new people find us. It has allowed us to help more people.â In order to do SEO at a high level, you really need a great strategy. It all starts with the keywords you target. Using a keyword research tool, you can find out what people in your town are searching for in relation to your service, and then you have to create a really great website where you have content that has those keywords. SEO is a long term investment, and not a quick thing, but if you do the work and do it correctly, it will definitely pay off. If you want faster results, you can do PPC where you can pay the search engine to advertise, and your search results will come up right at the top of the Google result. Play Up Your Referrals The second way people are going to find out about a local business is from their friends and family. Word of mouth is going to play a big role in your ability to get new customers. The question is, how do you increase the likelihood of someone recommending your business to their loved ones, peers and colleagues? First, you have to provide a really good service, a service that people will never forget. Once youâve done that, itâs easier to ask for their referrals. Secondly, you have to stay top of mind through marketing, so make sure you have a strong social media presence, that youâre active in your community, and use an email newsletter to stay in touch. That way, people are going to remember you, and when someone is looking for someone who does what you do, youâll be the first person they think of and mention. Remarketing If you want your digital marketing strategies to be more effective without spending a lot of money, remarketing is how to do it. For example, if someone has gone on your website, or watched some of your content, you can make sure your online presence follows them around the internet. If people have already seen your content, you might as well market to them again. Set Up a Google My Business Profile Google My Business is how you can make your business more visible on the worldâs most powerful search engine. When people look for you online, this profile will appear and become the first thing they see. To get the most out of your Google Business page, treat it like a website, and upload content and photos to it. That will actually help you rank better, and give people another way to get into your world. Increase Your Reviews Online reviews are how businesses build up their credibility, and increasing those reviews is one of the smartest things you can do. If you have customers and clients who love what you do, ask them to give you a review. You can even incentivize them to give you a review by giving them a gift card, or if your business is food-based, a free meal. If you really invest time and effort into your reviews, you will start to bring in business just from that. When your business is very specific to a local area, you have to make yourself a prominent part of that place,...
An effective business marketing strategy helps to create more leads, grow your brandâs customer base, and generate more sales. These areas of your business are essential for greater success. If you feel that your current marketing strategy isnât helping your business perform how it should, then here are some ways to improve. Digital Marketing Technology â Free photo on Pixabay Audits and Assessments Regular audits and assessments of your businessâs marketing will show what is and isnât effective. For instance, you might be putting a lot of effort into your Twitter content and not enough into your blog content. However, from assessments, you might realize that your blog attracts more customers. Therefore, you should spend more time and effort on the area that gains the most traction as this will help your marketing be more purposeful and effective for your businessâs success. When you perform regular assessments, you will soon discover how to improve your marketing in order to generate more sales and adapt to the constantly changing conditions of your audience. You can read this article to find out how to find out which marketing actions are working seamlessly and which approaches they need to improve. Use More Vibrant Content The vibrancy and more color in your marketing content are useful to attract more customers. Using plain text and dull images wonât draw a customerâs attention to your content. Instead, they will stop on posts and content that looks more attractive. Therefore, make sure to use vibrancy in your content. Using multimedia will help your content look more visually appealing, which is useful for higher engagement. Evaluate Your Communication A huge part of great marketing is good communication. Should you post on social media accounts, your customers will likely engage with the content through comments. If you do not respond to their comments, then it will delay or decrease the reputation of your business. A simple comment back can show that you want to engage with the customer and build a relationship with them. Evaluate your communication and see how much communication is going on between yourself and your customers. If it is minimal, then make sure to get involved in more customer conversations through your marketing to increase your brandâs reputation and build more loyal relationships. Target the Right Audience An effective marketing strategy is one that targets the right audience. You might be sharing content that isnât reaching the right people, which will result in poor results. You will want to target the right audience so that you can generate more sales. To target the right audience you first need to know exactly who they are. You can do this by: Studying who engages with your business the most Ask customers to create accounts and fill out personal details Study similar businesses and see who they target. Targeting the right audience is easier than ever thanks to paid promotions on social media. You can pay to promote your content to the exact people that you want to target. This will funnel your content and make sure that it reaches the right people, which will offer maximum results.
Because of the nature of business, it is common for companies to experience various problems. The risk might be exciting at times, but it can also be quite harmful in the long run. Some of the crises are not the fault of the business owners, either. Consider the case of Coronavirus and the devastation it caused to firms in the leisure, travel, and entertainment industry. No matter what you do, your company may be confronted with challenging circumstances during which it may or may not be able to continue operating. It is possible to cope with these problems in a variety of ways, some of which will differ based on the industry and disposition; but, they will at the very least provide you with something to think about and assist you in shifting your mentality to one of company survival. Of course, online reputation management companies are well versed in dealing with these sorts of situations, but here, we shall look at how to market your way out of mayhem. Pixabay CC0 License Concentrate on Your Website Your website serves the same purpose as your storefront. It must be visually appealing to entice others to come and see it. Getting someone to visit your site is difficult enough, and it frequently necessitates a significant amount of effort and consideration, with particular attention paid to search engine optimization. However, once they arrive, you must make sure that everything is properly laid out and simple to follow along with. Do not squeeze too much information into one space. Keep your product pages well defined, keep your blog distinct from the rest of your website. People interested in learning more about your company and what you do would benefit from a well-written about page, and a contact page is always required for accountability. Customers get confidence when they know they can return their purchases if they are purchasing things from you. Engage with Influencers When faced with a public relations disaster, you must use every asset at your disposal to preserve your brandâand today, this includes putting in place an influencer plan. Crisis preparations must be multi-faceted. Identifying your most significant influencers and having a plan in place to activate them during a crisis can assist you in dealing with rapidly changing events. There are countless options to interact, ranging from partnering with the media to using well-known personalities to help your initiatives gain traction. Get Social Whether it is a Twitter chat or a local virtual networking event, networking with others will help you become more visible in your industry and the larger business world. In addition, sharing your knowledge with others is an excellent method to position yourself as an authority in your profession, ensuring that the next time someone requires assistance or even your product, you are the first person they contact! Do not limit yourself to fellow business owners, either â journalists are constantly seeking opportunities to speak with small business owners, particularly in these difficult economic times. Getting featured can help you reach a wider audience, whether you share your startup story or provide a professional opinion for an article. When it comes to business, there are numerous possibilities for things to go wrong. It may be anything from marketing mistakes to defective products. Therefore, it is critical to have the information, skills, and assistance necessary to defend the brand and reputation you have worked so hard to establish.
Colors are a powerful tool for marketers. They can evoke certain emotions, attract attention, and influence buying decisions. One of the critical aspects marketers need to consider is choosing a color that will resonate with their target market. For example, many companies use blue because itâs viewed as trustworthy and dependable by both male and female consumers â especially since studies have shown that people are more likely to purchase something if they feel connected or familiar with it. In addition, blue is often associated with cleanliness and order, making it a safe choice for companies looking to convey these qualities. Colorful logos are everywhere in the marketing industry. From television advertisements to billboards, a companyâs logo design is one of its most prevalent forms of branding that can negatively affect an audience member. If you look at Apple and Google, for example, these companiesâ logos are generally considered unoffensive and straightforward. Colors play a vital role in marketing. Logo colors, package design, and product color can affect how potential customers feel about the company or brand. Logo colors, in particular, are an essential part of marketing as they help create the brandâs identity. Logo color can convey a wide range of messages and emotions. Logo colors can affect how we feel and what the brand creates feeling. Logo color schemes should be carefully chosen as they send a message to potential customers about your business or product. The importance of colors in marketing cannot be underestimated. They play an essential role in creating a positive image for your company and getting the right message across to potential customers. Be sure to look at a Logo Color Guide when making the final decision on your logo. Infographic designed by: Logo Color Guide
Marketing, like everything else in the business world, is going digital. For some, this heralds a period of adjustment. Customers are becoming increasingly cynical about traditional advertising, with one survey finding that 63% of respondents are more annoyed than intrigued by generic advertisements. So, what is a marketer or business owner to do? If the world is going digital, then you should go one step further. Artificial intelligence marketing software is this next step. By using artificial intelligence (or AI), you can save time and money on marketing and get your brand out there What Is Artificial Intelligence? In short, AI is intelligence displayed by computers and machines, rather than by humans. Specifically, it is designed to emulate the problem-solving and decision-making abilities of humans. While it sounds like something out of science fiction, AI is used in all sorts of fields, including marketing. One of the more interesting abilities of AI involves machine learning, which is where the computer constantly improves itself. This means that the sooner you utilize it, the more effective it will become in the long run. How You Can Use AI One of the upsides of AI is that a machine doesnât sleep, get sick, or get distracted by other things. This means that you can use it to automate processes that would otherwise occupy you or an employee for hours or even days, freeing you up for other work. For example, the right software can eliminate the need for manual data entry. Data is king, and computers and data go hand in hand. AI can collect data from your e-Commerce site and even use it to draw certain conclusions. All of this data can be used to inform marketing strategies or to create contacts with potential customers. If there are issues with your service or your site, it will be flagged up and you can deal with it. Once you know what works and what doesnât, marketing becomes far less daunting than it once was. Social Media Marketing However, AI can be even more directly involved with your customers. One of the more recent developments in AI is the ability to hold conversations with humans. This is known as a âbot. Depending on how well programmed it is, the person on the other end might not even be able to tell the difference between a human customer service provider and an AI-controlled computer program. AI-powered chatbots are a common part of customer service, but they can also be utilized in marketing. Social media marketing is a huge marketing tool, as it allows companies to directly connect with customers in a seemingly organic way. Rather than throwing advertisements into peopleâs faces, social media allows brands to have a personality. AI can be programmed to reflect your brand and to control your social media profile, creating posts and engaging with potential customers. Customers, in turn, might repost messages that they find interesting, bringing more awareness to the brand. By utilizing AI to its fullest potential, you can revolutionize your marketing.
Letâs face it: thereâs no exact science to marketing. If there was, marketers would see impressive ROI with every campaign launched. Unfortunately, thatâs not reality, as there are far too many variables that come into playthat can affect the outcome. From geographic area and value propositions to target audience and strategies utilized, what works well for one company may fail miserably for another. The good news is that itâs not all doom and gloom, and success isnât as impossible as it may seem at times. While we donât have a crystal ball that can predict what the future holds in store, we DO pride ourselves in keeping our thumb on the pulse of whatâs happening in the industry, and have put together a short list of digital marketing trends you will not want to ignore in the coming weeks and months. So, without further ado, letâs get started! TREND 1:Interactive Content Donât get us wrong, static content â like blog articles, videos, and podcasts â isnât going anywhere any time soon. But both B2B and B2C buyers are looking for more, and engagement is the name of the game. Interactive content provides a way to engage customers, while simultaneously offering value. Some of the most popular types of interactive content include: Calculators Games Interactive Videos Polls Questionnaires Quizzes So, why will interactive content continue to grow in popularity? For starters,itâs fun. Interactive content makes people feel more engaged with your brand, as well as your products and services. Second, the data you collect â whether itâs in the form of quiz responses or information entered in a calculator â will help you learn about your audience. This information can then be used to fine-tune your marketing. TREND 2: Optimizing for Voice Search If you still havenât optimized for voice search, youâre doing yourself and your company a HUGE disservice. Why? Because 40% of all Internet users in the United States have used voice search at some point or another, and those numbers are only going to continue to increase. (link to source article:). Amazonâs Alexa, Appleâs Siri and Googleâs Assistant are fueling an impressive uptick in the popularity of voice search,and if you donât hop on this train soon, you run the risk of rendering yourself obsolete. The most straightforward way to optimize for voice search to ensure that the content on your website is both conversational and accessible, regardless of whether your target audience consists of consumers or businesses. So, with that being said, trywriting your content around common questions and responses. By using questions in your blog headings, as well as having a robust FAQ on your website, it will be easier for people to find you using voice search. TREND 3: Repurposing Old Content Your business has a whole back catalog of old content. Be it on your socials or on your websiteâs blog, if your business has been around for a while, then itâs highly likely that youâre going to have older pieces of content. Rather than letting that potentially useful content waste away, a growing trend in digital marketing is to recycle that content and repurpose it into something that can be used to attract users. For example, if you have an old guide to SEO on your website that was created a few years ago, you can update that guide and republish it so that itâs relevant to the current day. Or, another thing you can do with this content is to turn it into another form of media. As videos, images, and podcasts are becoming more popular ways to share content, perhaps this article can be transformed into a video script or edited into a highly shareable infographic. Repurposing content in this way is a great method to add life to posts that have stopped attracting users and can be a simple way to help boost your marketing efforts. When using old content, you need to first make sure that itâs up to scratch and is of good quality. For this, you need good proofing software to ensure that you donât miss any glaring mi...
Everybody wants to see their page hit the number one spot for their target keywords. In reality, even the best digital marketing agencies in the world canât guarantee that will happen any of the time, let alone all of the time. On the other hand, your pages should be able to achieve consistently decent rankings. If theyâre not, here are some points you should check. Has Your Page Actually Been Indexed? Fire up your choice of search engine and look for âsite: yourdomainâ. This will show you a list of the pages which have been indexed. A page will only show up in searches if itâs on this list. If a page isnât on this list, then the first point to check is when it was created. Sadly, there is no rule about how long the search engines need to index content. As a rule of thumb, however, you should expect a page to be indexed within about 6 weeks. After this, check if you have accidentally flagged the page not to be indexed. If so, then remove the flag. Then double-check to make sure that the page you want to be indexed can be reached by a direct path from your home screen. Itâs absolutely fine if this path involves multiple clicks but it needs to be there. Once youâre happy about both these points, try requesting your page to be indexed. Keep in mind that this is a request, not an instruction. The search engines do not guarantee to index every page on the internet. In general, however, they will at least check a page if you actively request it. You may, however, still need to wait a while for them to do it. Is Your Technical SEO Up to Standard? Technical SEO is basically what determines the usability of a website. There are numerous elements to it. In the context of page-ranking, however, three stand out in particular. These are security, page-load speed and crawler-friendliness. Security and page-load speed are both largely determined by a combination of your web design and your hosting. Crawler-friendliness is largely determined by your web design and your use of formatting. For example, have you provided meta descriptions, do you use headings appropriately, are there alt tags for images If your technical SEO is below standard then you will almost certainly struggle to get your content to rank, no matter how good it is. Are You Using the Right Strategy? If everything so far has come up clean but youâre still struggling to get traction, then you need to rethink your approach. This can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially if youâve invested a lot of time and effort into creating your content. It is, however, better to acknowledge reality and go back to the drawing board early than to try to struggle on and hope things improve. The harsh truth of the matter is that hope is not a strategy and strategy is what you need to find a way forward that works for you. On the plus side, thereâs a very strong chance you wonât need to start again from scratch. You may just need to fine-tune what you already have to make it more effective.
Whatâs the best way to expand your business successfully? Your business has settled, you started with online reputation management services. Your bank manager is happy to see you, so whatâs the next step? Invest in a good marketing plan. Now more than ever, savvy entrepreneurs are looking for new ways to market their products and services. There is a plethora of information on how best to harness technology-based tools and advertising platforms around today. To learn more about successful eCommerce marketing tips, look no further than companies that have had enormous success with online sales â such as Google, Amazon, and eBay. Here are just a few things you can do to improve your companyâs online presence: Pay Attention to the Competition â Make sure youâre keeping up with whatâs going on in your industry by visiting relevant websites and blogs. Learning what the competition is doing to stay competitive will help you formulate your strategy. You may even discover that some of your competitors are doing both right and wrong things that you can take advantage of. Research Successful Business Models â If youâre not sure where to start with developing an online marketing plan, check out which companies are currently making waves in the industry â especially those who are similar to yours. Try cutting out newspaper or magazine clippings about brands you admire or would like to emulate, then place them on a board dedicated to your companyâs future. Look for patterns among their successes and failures that you could put into practice for yourself. Build Customer Personas â Knowing who makes up your target market is pivotal for marketing your business. To truly understand whoâs willing to pay for your product or service, you need to know exactly what theyâre looking for â and what sorts of ads or search criteria they engage with. By building customer personas, you can begin to craft the perfect message that will appeal directly to them. Establish KPIs â This is short for key performance indicators. Think of these as the metrics youâll use to measure progress in your eCommerce marketing strategy; examples might be website traffic, conversion rates, or the number of newsletter subscribers. Google has maximized results from their AdWords campaigns by using specific cost-per-click (CPC) goals based on industry averages. Once you identify which aspects are essential to your company, you can use them as benchmarks to improve or maintain. Start Blogging â You donât have to be a professional writer to contribute content for your blog; all you need is desire and conviction. The more visible, purposeful, and engaging your blog posts are, the more likely people will be to read them and share them with others â thus improving traffic and visibility of your website. As an active blogger, make sure that you get feedback from customers about what they like (and what they donât), then incorporate these insights into future posts. Best Practices With millions of websites online today, it can feel challenging to get noticed by consumers looking for the products and services you offer. Keeping up with industry trends, developing customer personas, and tracking key metrics are just a few online marketing best practices that could help you get ahead of the curve in your business.
Adults across the United States own cell phones and have access to applications that help them get through their days. According to phone use statistics, texting has surpassed voice calls as the most popular data service. Businesses that wish to remain in contact with their consumers may profit from sharing sales information through text texts. Many companies that depend on appointments use text messaging to send reminders in order to prevent and decrease no-shows. It is these appointment texts that have really changed the way that many businesses are able to work and improved their profitability at the same time as enhancing their reputation with their customers. After all, weâre all so busy in our everyday lives that a reminder of an appointment will often be very useful indeed. The question though, is that, as technology changes and advances, is the SMS appointment reminder system the best one for your business? It has pros and cons and isnât always going to be the best option. The good news is that you can still remind people about their appointments â or even get in touch with employees in the same way â using other methods. These include emails and phone calls. Yet just as with SMS reminders, these too will have advantages and disadvantages associated with them. Working out which type of reminder system is the best one for your business and your customers is crucial so you can start making the most of what technology has to offer. Take a look at this infographic to get a better idea of what the pros and cons of each system are. Infographic Designed By Call Reminders vs Text Reminders Vs Email Reminders
Marketing is essential to getting your business out there and in front of consumers. However, itâs not as easy as saying you want to start marketing more or better. You need an approach and plan that works and will get you noticed. It takes paying careful attention to the details and making sure youâre following through in the right areas. Learn more about four steps to an even better marketing approach that will help you come out on top and increase your customer base and sales. 1. Define Your Goals & Target Audience One step to an even better marketing approach is to sit down and define your goals and target audience. Donât begin any messaging or contacting people until you have this sorted out. Take a look at your current branding and online footprint and figure out where youâre missing the mark and can be improving. Map out your strategy for the year that includes clear goals and objectives. Make sure it aligns with your current business plan and that you have details in place about how youâll get from one step to the next. 2. Establish the Right Team Itâll be challenging to handle all the marketing tasks that need to get done yourself. Therefore, you must establish the right team. It might include hiring extra staff who specialize in marketing and social media and working with experts such as WebX360 that can help with other initiatives such as launching a professional website and improving your SEO. Everyone needs to be on the same page and working toward the goals that are defined. Assign roles and responsibilities and make sure each part of your marketing approach is covered. 3. Plan Ahead Another step to an even better marketing approach is to take the time to plan ahead and prepare for the future. You must organize your marketing priorities and set dates about when you want to achieve which to-dos by. Itâs wise to plan your marketing campaigns and content calendars out for the year so it makes sense and youâre including all the right information and topics you want to touch on. Create and follow a budget as well that will help you stay effective and efficient with your marketing. It may include influencers or collaborative brand partnerships that you need to reach out to and secure. 4. Measure Results & Make Adjustments Finally, you can have an even better marketing approach by measuring your results. You need to know whatâs working, and whatâs a waste of your money and not getting you the outcomes you desire. You must not only evaluate the situation and each area but then also be willing to make adjustments based on what youâre seeing and any mistakes youâre making and want to avoid. Take stock of new trends and make modifications as you go so youâre staying up to speed with the latest and greatest strategies and methods. Be willing to experiment here and there to see what works best and then stick with whatâs helping you not only bring in more leads but also create more conversions.
In three little words, Nike was able to build a seemingly omnipresent marketing campaign. âJust do it,â has become its defining phrase, one that leads the brain to immediately think of what the brand looks like, from its colors to its typeface. It was in fact, not just the words alone that did the trick, as with most good marketing campaigns, a great deal of research, time, effort and expertise helped along the way. In order to make sure you build a better marketing campaign for your next effort, here are some tips you might want to consider. Get with the Times Marketing should not exist in a vacuum, and since society is consistently evolving, so too should businesses who wish to present a modern and relevant brand to the world. This means laying your finger on the pulse of today, while keeping a keen eye on the world of tomorrow. Socially conscious consumers and corporate responsibility are understandably becoming mainstays of business, so using this to your advantage and incorporating themes of transparency and awareness into your campaign is important. SEO Is Still a Must Digital marketing can be one of the most valuable allies of any business wanting to tap into a wealth of opportunity in the online realm. Keeping up with SEO is still a must, as your competitors will likely be doing the same, and making sure your brand appears before theirs on the search engine rankings can give you a huge advantage. If you needed some help from the experts in this department, you could take a look at www.clickintelligence.co for some greater insight into how the professionals deliver results through an effective digital marketing campaign. Understand Your Competitors Finding out as much as possible about your competitors can help you better understand your own position in the current market, and what you need to do with your own campaign that proves to be different (and better). By understanding your competitors, their agenda, target audience and successes, you can start to build your own marketing campaign in a totally unique direction, one that hopefully manages to emphasize the reason why your products and services are the ones worth turning to. Utilizing the Relevant Channels If you are trying to reach your target audience through TikTok, but your target audience prefers Instagram, there is little chance you are optimizing your marketing efforts. Accessing your target audience through their preferred channel is vital if you aim to put your resources to the best use possible. This requires you to define your demographic as best you can, as this can help you decide on which approach is best to take. A multichannel approach is generally best if you can afford to spare the time and money, but even then, it is important to figure out how effective each channel will be in terms of your reach. In doing so, you might be able to save yourself some money that would be more effective in other areas, such as paying for higher quality content, extending the length of your campaign or sponsored advertisements.
Want to beat your competitors and drive sales? Then youâve got to up your marketing game. To help you turn heads and boost conversions, check out these marketing trends for this year. 1. Social Commerce Social commerce allows customers to buy your products by clicking on social media posts. The idea is to offer a fast and convenient shopping experience. Social commerce can help to boost sales, and engage customers. You can include social commerce as part of interactive content. According to Insider, âUS retail social commerce sales will rise by 34.8% to $36.09 billion in 2021.â As your competitors start to jump on the bandwagon, you canât afford not to. 2. In-Store Experiences Throughout the pandemic many people missed shopping in person. To improve your marketing, focus on creating unique in-store experiences. Consumers like the opportunity to take a selfie, so ensure that you create plenty of Instagram worthy spots throughout your store. Quirky in-store experiences might include one-off events, augmented reality, pop-up booths or workshops. There are so many ways to get creative with your in-store experiences. Focusing on experiences is one of the best marketing tips youâll get this year! 3. Live Stories Hubspot recently reported that, âone-third of the platformâs most-viewed Stories are from businesses.â Itâs not just Instagram where brands can showcase their Stories, LinkedIn recently added a Stories feature of its own. Stories are like slide shows which feature either videos or images. The Story lasts just 10 seconds per page, and is usually only available for 24 hours. Brands are using Stories to draw attention to industry topics, or to show content about their brand and products. 4. User Generated Content Your users will already be making their own content about your brand. Customers like to make videos or take photos of themselves as they use your brand products. This content works exceptionally well for marketing purposes. User generated content is authentic and itâs often engaging and fun. With the help of UGC you can humanize your company, and engage with your customers. Only use UGC content that conforms to your brand values. Itâs important that you remain consistent across all channels, your website and your apps. 5. Event Marketing Events give you the opportunity to meet your customers in the flesh, and establish real connections. Event based marketing allows you to engage new consumers, improve your social campaigns, and offer innovative experiences. Virtual events platforms offer tools for live interaction such as surveys, polls, 1on1 chats with hosts, you can check out Everytale for such a service. Putting on a great event takes lots of planning, so itâs best to start getting organized well in advance. Great events should focus on personalized customer experiences, to make a real impression on your attendees. Remember not all marketing has to happen online, people are ready to get back out there and experience the world. What that means is, events are all the rage! Digital billboards are another great way to promote your company in the real world. To learn more, check out Allvision Billboards. All your strategies should be focused on your consumers. Keep referring to your customer values, to help you develop the right strategies.
Search engine optimization is no doubt one of the most important elements of a successful website. However, when it comes to the various different SEO strategies, you may have noticed that things can change depending on the size of your business and your budget. When you have a larger budget, you have more options that can improve your SEO so you can rank a lot higher. Of course, this doesnât mean that more money means a higher search ranking, but it certainly does help when you want to push for that coveted top spot on a Google search. So instead of an SEO article for small businesses and startups, weâll be taking a look at some of the more expensive and time-consuming strategies that will help you rank higher on search engines. Optimizing for Different Languages It can be expensive and time-consuming to offer your website content in a number of different languages. However, multilingual website SEO can be extremely effective when used correctly. If you know that youâre appealing to multiple different countries or audiences that speak different languages, then it can help a lot to optimize your website for different languages. The cheapest way to do this would be to use an automatic translation feature, but these are inaccurate since they rely on machine translation. However, having invested in niche or targeted SEO Copywriting to create effective content for your website, using automatic translations will only be detrimental in the long run and alienate people who do not speak your native language. So if you want to reach a much wider audience or want to commit to being a truly international business, then youâll want to look at optimizing your website for multiple languages. Itâs time-consuming and requires the help of translators every time you update your website, but itâs worth the extra traffic from different audiences. Using Entirely New and Original Images When it comes to attaching images and photographs to your blog posts and product pages, itâs really common for people to use things that are already available. For example, you might use a free stock image website or you might look for royalty-free images on Google. However, if you really want to stand out and add unique content to the internet, then you should be looking to hire someone to take original photographs or create unique images for you. For instance, if youâre selling a product then youâll want to use original images that youâve taken yourself. It takes time to set up a little photo area and you might need a good camera to take high-quality pictures, but youâll set yourself apart from the competition with completely original images of different products. If youâre dropshipping or selling things that your competitors also offer, then this can definitely help you gain the upper hand. Search engine optimization can be as cheap or as expensive as you want. But if you want to really stand out and make sure that youâre firmly in the top three of a Google search result, then youâll have to put in the work and money to utilize many different strategies. If not, then youâll quickly fall behind competitors that are offering more unique content and securing more page views.
Many people use blogging as a way of voicing their own experiences, some use it as a teaching platform and some use it to escape daily life. When you start creating a blog you will have already decided on the niche you want to write about. Who your target audience is and what makes your blog unique. These steps are so important because it will be the difference between someone choosing to read your blog over someone elseâs. There are many hints and tips helping you to build your blog views, however, have you ever thought about turning your blog into a money-making opportunity? Turning your blog into an income? Here are some tips that can help you do just that. Pexels- CC0 License Advertisements Many blog platforms allow you to advertise on your blog. There are add-ons and plug-ins that you can install that will pay you for your audienceâs views and clicks. Some of these add-ons will allow you to choose the adverts that your viewers are seeing. This is to make it relevant to your content. However, others will automatically optimize ads based on where the traffic to your blog is coming from. Advertisements can come in different formats on blogs, such as; banners, pop-ups and videos. So you must choose the right type to compliment the image you are portraying. There are many companies out there that pay you to put their advertisements on your blogs. These can pay very well in return. One option is to use a mobile video player, a service that allows you to have more autonomy over the ads your site plays. In return, you are typically paid by click or per purchase from your link. Pexels-CC0 License Affiliate Marketing Affiliate marketing is something that you see everywhere nowadays and there is a real reason for it. It is quick, easy and it makes money. Many bloggers and influencers use affiliate marketing in a multitude of ways. Someone writes sponsored posts specifically talking about individual products they have tested. Others use affiliate programs for online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. They pay differently, a sponsored post will have a payout with a small amount per purchase, whereas product links to marketplaces get paid per click and per purchase. The amount you get paid per purchase depends on the product and its price. A good way to start experimenting with affiliate marketing is to choose products that you have used in the past. Examples that you may use are: Creating a book list and reviewing books you have read Reviewing cleaning products that you use at home and explaining why others might want to use them too Once you have your affiliate links, the more traffic you can drive to them the more money you will earn. So, increase your target audience by posting these links on social media. Share them with family members and friends. If they use the same products as you, why not earn from them buying it anyway?
The CBD market is growing quickly, and there are numerous small businesses that have popped up to take advantage of the growing demand. Even though there is an opportunity to build a business from the ground up while helping a lot of people, this is a competitive area. Direct mail marketing can help you set yourself and your business apart. How does this work? What Is CBD? Cannabidiol â often abbreviated CBD â is a popular compound that is extracted from the flowering tops, leaves, and resin of two strains of the cannabis plant: industrial hemp and marijuana. CBD belongs to a larger class of compounds called cannabinoids that are found in abundance in the cannabis plant. There are around 113 known active cannabinoids on the plant; THC is the most prevalent, with CBD right behind it. Unlike THC which, when ingested or smoked, is known for delivering the âhighâ feeling usually associated with marijuana, CBD doesnât produce a sense of euphoria, hallucination or psychoactivity when consumed. The marijuana plant has plenty of THC â or Tetrahydrocannabinol; it is also a decent source of cannabidiol. Why Has CBD Become So Popular? Why are millions of consumers indulging in CBD products these days? It has many natural benefits as seen below: CBD Is Not Psychoactive.This is the main reason that makes CBD be perceived as more acceptable and safer than other cannabis products. As already mentioned, unlike THC, CBD doesnât have any psychoactive effects when vaped, smoked, ingested, or applied to the skin. In short, anyone can use it without the risk of getting high, which is a big plus. Itâs Legal. Perhaps the most defining reason why CBD has enjoyed a popularity wave is that the sale of CBD products became completely legal after passage of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (aka Farm Bill 2018). You cannot say the same about other cannabis products in the US, such as marijuana, which has yet to be legalized in most US states. Itâs an Effective Alternative Treatment.There are hundreds of scientific research studies and reviews showing that CBD is indeed effective in addressing a wide array of conditions related to depression, anxiety, and pain. Here are some demonstrated CBD benefits: CBD oil fights pain. Studies have shown that CBD is a promising alternative treatment for the pain associated with several conditions: migraines, Multiple Sclerosis, muscle spasms, arthritis, lupus, digestive problems, cancers, and much more. CBD oil soothes depression. CBD has been found to increase the levels of happy-feel hormones such as serotonin. These biochemicals promote calmness and deactivate the compounds responsible for sadness, hopelessness, and other symptoms of depression. CBD oil helps with cancer pain relief. CBD has shown great potential for alleviating pain related to cancer and cancer treatments, for example: chemotherapy. If you want more reasons, scientists and researchers have carried out studies that seem to suggest CBD can be a potential treatment for many cognitive decline and brain-related conditions such as: Huntingtonâs Disease, Alzheimerâs Disease, PTSD, bipolar disorders, Parkinsonâs Disease, Lou Gehrigâs disease (ALS), and more. The Benefits of Direct Mail Marketing There are numerous benefits of direct mail for CBD. While you still need to use digital marketing, there are a lot of regulations that surround internet marketing (including social media) that you will not have to deal with if you use direct mail marketing. In addition, you can use direct mail marketing to build a strong, personal relationship with your prospects. There is still something special about holding a firm, sturdy piece of mail in your hands. You can put pictures and text on both sides to make sure your prospects see it. 1. Build Targeted Lists Using Analytics â To get the most out of direct mail marketing, you can also build targeted lists using analytics. You can divide your mailing lists based on age, gender, occupation, socioeconomic status, ...
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a marketing term thatâs thrown around quite often. Thatâs because of how essential it can be to your companyâs advertising strategy. Best described as the act of optimizing your website content for search engine rankings, it almost guarantees visibility for your company. While this might seem complicated, there are some areas that are simpler than others. Though you could hire a personal assistant like Dave Conklin to do it for you, you could also do it yourself.There are a few SEO measures, specifically, that you can look after. SEO Tips You Can Do Yourself Keyword Research You wonât be able to implement SEO practices on your website unless you know what you want to rank for. In many cases, companies use industry jargon when setting up their website. Thatâs shown especially true in the text of the site, which is where youâll do most of your optimization. But, you need to ask; is this what potential customers are searching for? What are they going to type into Google when searching for a company like yours? Is that reflected in the content on your website? Youâll need to determine the answer to each of these questions. Keyword research is the way to do that. There can be several ways to go about this, each of which are quite effective. Failing to go about it, however, means that any SEO you do could be ineffective. Though this could be slow and painstaking, it will make a significant difference when you implement any other measures in the future. Title Tags Sometimes, a minor tweak to your websiteâs pages can make a significant difference. Armed with your keyword research, you can adjust the title tags across your website. You should do this for all of the pages you want to rank well. You can do something similar with the âHeadingsâ tag inside your content. These changes will let search engines read through and categorize your content much more effectively. As a result, you should see a boost in your SEO. While this could take time, depending on when search engines index, you should see an increase in your rankings over time. Knowing Your Competition Itâs often recommended that you check out what your competitors are doing. That doesnât exactly mean the companies that sell products or services just like yours. Instead, itâs the ones that rank well on Google and other search engines. Search for terms that best describe your business and identify who comes up the most. This will give you ideas for content that could rank well online. While youâll have to create content to a better standard and ensure itâs well optimized, it can be an effective strategy. That doesnât mean copying your competitors wholesale, however. Instead, you should adapt their ideas and develop your own content. Wrapping Up SEO as a whole can be quite complicated. As a result, you can often find yourself overwhelmed by trying to cover it. Thatâs especially true if youâre juggling your other marketing strategies and other business operations. Often, outsourcing parts of your marketing can be recommended. Not only will it free up your time to work on other things, but itâll be more affordable than youâd think.
If you want your business to thrive and grow, you need to work on your marketing strategy. It does not matter if the products or services you supply are literally the best in the world, if your marketing is poor, the message simply will not get through to your potential customers. Great marketing has the power to reinvigorate your company and turn zero sales into potentially a million sales. Who could argue with that? So letâs have a little think about ways to create that winning marketing strategy: Know Thy Customer Maybe it is the perfect time to go back to basics. Sit down and work out just what kinds of people your prime customer base consists of. If you donât know the customer how can you create targeted advertisements? Look back over your history and get a feel for the people you have previously engaged with. Think about any comments or feedback you have received and perhaps build a picture of that apex customer. Ensure you imagine the way they speak, the things that interest them, what they do for entertainment, etc. Doing all this research will help you narrow down your marketing material, ensuring you connect with who matters. Branding It might just be time for you to think about rebranding. Your brand and logo is a fundamental aspect of the companyâs appearance. It offers customers some insight into your core values, and it should be eye-popping, but this may have to be more subtle as it had to be appropriate for the kind of business you run. Due to the importance of the brand why not engage branding services to help you. Your Website Your company website is in effect your shop window, so donât ignore its importance. It is where people go to get a feel for your company and the type of values you live by. Therefore, a good website can help you gain the trust of your target customer. You need your site to have your contact details easily visible, for starters. You need to have no broken links and a lot of good quality information with the appropriate images. Ensure that the site is accessible, easy to read, and coherent. Above all, it needs to answer the questions visitors are there for. Another thing with the websites that you can load it with the correct metadata to raise its SEO. A blog also helps keep things up to date and relevant too. Social Media This is the year 2021, and if you do not have a presence on social media it is about time you create one. You may need to work pit a separate strategy for each platform, but it is well worth it. Its results can be far-reaching free advertising. It would help your social media profile if you created little stories to tell â such as a day in the factory or something similar. Let people see inside. This is a great way to achieve transparency. Also, you are free to engage with individuals who want to communicate with you in a way unheard of before.
Youâre running marketing campaigns, yet nobody seems to notice your business. Itâs almost like youâre in a movie, and you are invisible to all the consumers out there. That doesnât sound like the best movie plot ever invented, and itâs also not the case. You arenât invisible, itâs just that people arenât noticing you for one of many reasons. Below, youâll find out why people are either not turning towards your business or noticing you but ignoring you. Youâre Using the Wrong Type of Marketing First and foremost, how are you marketing your business? Are you investing in lots of traditional forms of marketing, like print advertising, TV ads, and so on. If this is the case, the problem might be that you are investing in these things. A traditional approach doesnât work for everyone, and it might not work for you. Instead, switching to digital marketing could help you become more visible. The opposite can sometimes be true; if all your efforts are digital, and youâre still not being noticed, maybe you need to switch to more traditional approaches? Ultimately, it all comes down to one thing, which will be discussed in the next point! Youâre Not Targeting the Right People If you are using the wrong type of marketing, the chances are youâre not paying attention to your target audience. Who are the people on this planet that will be interested in your business? You must create customer personas to understand the demographic behind your ideal customers. This lets you know what they are like, what their interests are, and how they are likely to interact with your business. From here, you can choose marketing techniques that target these people. Effectively, you are making it more likely that they will see you. What tends to happen is you market to nobody in particular, and no one will turn your way. Someone might see your marketing material, but they have zero interest in your business, so they ignore it without making an interaction. Your Timings Are All Wrong Marketing is all about timing things perfectly. As a very random example to express this point, imagine your business sells Christmas decorations. Now, imagine you start marketing your business in April. Do you think anyone will pay attention to you? No, because it is nowhere near Christmas. Instead, you should start your campaign in the fall, where the Christmas spirit is starting to heat up. On a more specific level, the timing of things like social media posts or adverts are also crucial. Again, it goes back to understanding your target audience â when are they most likely to be active? If they are active between 5-10 pm and inactive between 7 am-4 pm, when is the best time to put up a social media post? If you stick one up at 10 am, none of your audience is around to see it. Get the timings right, and more people will notice your business. Mostly, a lack of visibility isnât down to a lack of marketing, but a lack of knowledge in how to market your business. Donât fall into the trap of thinking that any marketing is helpful â you need to know what techniques to use, who to target, and when to time everything!
If the pandemic has taught businesses anything after the pandemic, itâs that the online world is where itâs all happening. Popping into town to speak to a consultant about anything is completely off the table when you can head online and look for one perhaps even easier than getting up would afford you. But, the lack of mobility involved in purchasing services nowadays is not exclusively to do with the pandemic. Yes, the fact of having to find, put on, and keep on a mask is a factor, however the online world has taken the world by storm for many years before that. It is only with the introduction of physically not being able to do our usual routines that has caused more people to look online. So, the question is, how on earth do I get my business back on track, or, indeed, on any sort of track, without having the physicality of handouts, leaflets, and fliers as the sole marketing strategy for your business? Answer: follow the trend and move online. Revamp Your Website Because we are no longer sitting in offices with window displays to draw people in, on this occasion you and your business need to follow the trend and build a website so strong that your clients are practically drawn in from the moment they see your website name and logo. If you already have a website, great! But, donât assume the âit will doâ attitude, because the website really is the be all and end all for your business. On average, prospective clients spend around 45 seconds on your website. Wow. Tough crowd. But, that is what the digital age has come to. So, you must conform. You want to make the site as user-friendly as possible, and scroll worthy. To do this, you need pictures, varied fonts, colours that suit your brand. Really try to make this site a representation of what you offer, and what you are all about. Your tone of voice should be seen through this website, and not just through the words. Keeping Your Website Up-to-Date Itâs no good if your website is old-fashioned and in need of a serious makeover, let alone not fully equipped for the new digital age. We suggest ensuring your website is fully loaded up with all of the things a mobile would need to use it. This includes making your site mobile-friendly, so a prospective client is not using those 45 seconds just scrolling endlessly to the left to see all of the writing on the screen. This really would be a bad use of time. Now, especially during the pandemic, mobile usage has increased dramatically. Henceforth, you need to make sure your website looks good from a mobileâs perspective. Because, more times than not, people are looking at it from a mobile and not a laptop or desktop. If you are struggling with this, or, indeed, marketing in general, check out Joey Armstrong for some extra tips. Photo by Firmbee from Pixabay Conclusion So, as we are entering deeper and deeper into the digital age, our businesses and ways of life have too. Whether we like it or not, we must change our patterns in order to gain more clients. So, in terms of marketing, this means seeing your business from a fresh and new perspective.
Since their launch in August 2016, the interactive, real-time nature of video, image, and music-based Instagram stories has become a mainstay of social media campaigns with staying power, heralding an age where brands can enjoy the benefits of more time-consuming content like video in true low-fi, fly on the wall style. Now, as stories soar onto Facebook as well, brands looking to find any form of success on social media need to think about the stories theyâre telling, and the bestsellers that they need to beat, or at least learn from, to find success here. With 400 million users making Instagram stories even more popular than runaway successes like Snapchat, there are luckily already plenty of brands writing the right narrative to get themselves seen here, and any one of them could prove the perfect role model. Whether youâre new to the world of Instagram or are simply struggling to write a narrative that your followers feel invested in, weâre going to consider some companies that are quite literally taking their stories by storm right now. 1. Converse Converse has always made its name by appealing to the alternative masses, making the uncool cool, and harvesting a cult following thatâs taken it from strength to strength since its launch way back in the early 1900s. Now, these iconic baseball-style trainers are yet again leaning on their iconic cult standing by creating a social media presence worth following. On Instagram especially, the brand is using the media options available to its full advantage by uniquely realizing that stories are no standalone thing. Rather, Converse picked up early on to the fact that real success here means writing an ongoing series that connects feed to story for seamless, free-flowing traffic that goes both ways. This is a strategy that Converse launched with the release of their x Golf Fleur, feeding into the repetition mindset that, most definitely, worked out pretty well in this instance. 2. Glossier Unsurprisingly for a brand that was literally born out of social media, Glossier is also bossing it on the stories front, and it does so by understanding its following so well that it comes across like a friend giving advice. Instead of 2D story uploads, Glossier takes things to the next level with interactive, audience-focused story uploads that include Q&As, link-offs to interesting articles, and polls to get the audience involved. Taking the full media offerings of modern-day stories by the horns, Glossier also provides a rich media journey by taking the time to add music to Instagram story uploads through their playlists and more. When alternated with the brandâs feature products or information on pop-up shops, these rich stories provide a reliable and comfortable shoulder for customers who are way more likely to buy down the line. 3. Twitter Unsplash Image: CC0 License We all know that the age of competitive advantage is nigh, with every brand now better able to watch and track their competition online without any risk of discovery. This has heralded an age where trends move faster than light as brands always try to one-up each other, but Twitter has boldly taken the competitive bull by the horns where its story uploads are concerned. Far from watching Instagram from the shadows, Twitter has swaggered right into stories by sharing highlights from its main feed in true âthis is where the ârealâ stories are,â style. Bold, perhaps, but swipe-up links attached to each of Twitterâs highlight uploads have seen them converting a fair amount of traffic away from their closest competitor by using the very advantages that competitor puts on the table. Itâs bold, itâs cheeky and, more importantly, itâs working out pretty well for them. 4. Everlane Itâs difficult to find a better example of the benefits of social media than is evidenced in Everlaneâs story uploads. This digital-first apparel brand made its name on Snapchat, so its skill in the video format should be no surprise, but this expertise i...
Blogging can be a lot of fun as a personal hobby, but it can also expand into a well-paying job with the right approach. Whatever your reasons for wanting to start a blog, weâve put together some key points that you should keep in mind before you decide to invest your time into it. What Do You Want to Talk About? All blogs need some kind of purpose or subject, even if that subject is just your personal thoughts. You could make the blog completely about you, but you could also relate it to a hobby or passion that you have. How Will You Host It? A blog host is important to consider because itâs where all of your content is going to be kept. There are some free blog hosts to consider, but weâd suggest paying for a service if youâre serious about getting your blog out there. Do You Have the Means to Make More Content? While most blogs are perfectly fine with just text, some of them benefit from having images, videos, and sometimes even audio. Just remember that you canât take other peopleâs content on the internet and place it on your blog. Youâll need to have a way to take your own pictures and edit videos to place on your blog as content. Pick the Right Domain and Blog Name Blogs usually need a name and they always need a domain. Below, weâve included a helpful infographic to help you with picking the right domain for your blog. Infographic from: FirstSiteGuide.com
The digital landscape is constantly evolving,and audio content is growing in popularity at a staggering rate.In fact, according to recent reports, an average of 193 million â or 68% US population â listens to podcasts and audiobooks on a monthly basis. Why? Because itâs so easy to interact with and consume. At the end of the day, your target audience is busy, and might not have the time to read a blog article or watch a video. Plus, the rise of voice-recognition technology has made it easier than ever to listen to things, as opposed to having to sit down and focus on reading something or watching it. As such, creating audio content should be an integral part of any multi-faceted marketing strategy. Hereâs how to successfully use audio content to generate leads, and hopefully, convert them into sales. 4 Ways to Attract More Leads Using Audio Content 1. Create Branded Podcasts The number of podcasts â and podcast listeners â has grown exponentially, as has podcast revenue. Experts predict that podcast ad revenue is likely to hit $354 million in 2021. One of the biggest misconceptions about podcasts is that celebrities host them for people who are bored while commuting or doing mundane activities. In reality, however, there are plenty of business-focused podcasts that talk about recent industry trends AND share valuable information. Another thing that deters many people from producing podcasts is their perception that they donât have enough time, or simply lack creative ideas. In reality, however, podcasts â much like bloggingâare great for inbound marketing purposes, since they can be used as an entry point for people to engage with your brand and then move along the buyerâs journey. Plenty of savvy business owners tune into podcasts to learn new concepts and ideas that can help them scale and grow. For example, letâs say that youâre a business coach. You could easily talk about topics like time management, leadership skills, and financial projections. 2. Get Active on Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces are both pretty similar to podcasts: the main difference is that content is streamed live and canât be recorded for playback. If you are a marketer or business owner, these platforms present a huge opportunity to showcase your skill set and expertise on a worldwide stage. Be sure to optimize your bio to build a strong network, connect with like-minded people, and most importantly, drop âknowledge bombsâ to spike your following. Once youâve done so, build unique marketing funnels for yourself, and then use these spaces as lead generation tools. One great way to generate leads on these spaces is to announce company news, chat about your business decisions, and inform people how the recent announcement is valuable to them. By doing so, you will further develop a personal brand and have meaningful conversations with your audience. This, in turn, will result in genuine feedback, ideas and suggestions. 3. Embrace Facebook Live Audio Facebook is also jumping on the audio bandwagon. The company recently announced that it was launching a platform where users can engage in real-time conversations. Similar to Facebook Live, which focuses on video, the Live Audio feature will give users the ability to share their stories through audio alone. SMBâs will now be able to engage with their audiences personally and allow them to ask questions on a real-time basis. Offering this type of unique experience can help companies build better brand value and convert a greater number of prospects into potential customers since they will feel that these companies are more âin-tuneâ with their wants and needs. 4. Use Audio Advertisements Companies are spending a massive amount on audio ads. Spotify Ads, for example. Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider using audio advertisements: Ad recall rates are better than most other forms of advertising (meaning people are more likely to remember your ad). Peopleare more likel...
Digital marketing is about helping businesses connect with new customers and retaining existing ones, it doesnât by utilizing the latest technologies and trends to appeal to customers and to create user-friendly services. Naturally, the payment process is a central feature of this endeavor and itâs an aspect of marketing that is changing. If you thought that digital wallets were new then you havenât heard of social media payment yet, or the advantages of positive data analytics â read on for more information. Mobile Mindsets Undoubtedly Generation Z â those presently aged between 6 and 24 â are a huge target market and probably the most significant target market for digital products. So the fact that they spend 15.4 hours per week on average attached to their smartphones is noteworthy. If companies are not optimizing their payments systems for mobile devices, now they are minimizing their potential for significant growth. All aspects of a business Digital marketing strategy must be designed for mobile. Digital Wallets A digital wallet is a digital payment tool such as an app that allows users to store debit and credit card information and to buy things securely online and in stores. It is an extremely convenient payment process and popular with younger generations. In terms of marketing, it makes sense to have a spread of payment options since some generations are picky about payment processes, but digital wallets are still very secure and more secure than traditional processes in many cases. Card on File Payments No marketing strategy is complete without some analytics working in the background and when it comes to payment processes card-on-file information can be used to improve customer experience and to make digital transactions more secure. These card on file payments let you store customersâ debit and credit card information on purchase to make it easier for them to buy from you again and to make recurring payments for subscriptions. It also gives you the chance to add value to the customerâs experience in various ways. Data Analytics Modern payment processes also use artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI+MI) to analyze customer data and spending behaviur. With this information, better marketing strategies can be formulated that are more relevant and targeted. But marketing isnât the only place where AI and MI are useful in the payment processes industry. They have also proved to be powerful in relation to fraud detection and digital security. Itâs clear data Analytics will have a central role to play in the future of payment processing. Payment Processing The nature of digital payments is changing quickly as online security improves and digital technology continues to innovate. It, not only apps and operating systems that facilitate digital payments today, but it is also social media and messaging services. This trend is set to continue and diversify as companies start to see the potential of integrated payment models and build them into their products. Soon you wonât have to go into your wallet or onto your phone at all to pay for gas at a service station or coffee at a drive-through.
If your businessâ website doesnât show up on the first page of Google, Yahoo, or Bing search results, your potential clients or customers might not even know you exist. Increasing search engine visibility can be essential in getting more visits to the site, leading to better brand awareness and more sales. The problem comes when you donât have the technical expertise and time to improve the search engine ranking of your site, but that can be resolved by hiring an SEO consulting company with a team of experts to get the job done right. Of course, choosing which SEO consulting company isnât exactly an easy task. Itâs not something that should be taken lightly, requiring time and effort to choose one that will give you the best possible return on your investment. That means youâll want to ask plenty of questions, including these when considering potential companies. Does your company always adhere to webmaster guidelines set by the search engines? Itâs critical that the SEO consultant company staffs experts who always abide by the search enginesâ publicly posted webmaster best practices, such as Google outlines here. Google highlights that using illicit practices can lead to a site being removed entirely from the Google index or negatively affected by manual spam or algorithmic action, resulting in a dismally low ranking. There are a dozen common SEO tricks that are specifically prohibited, such as spammy content and bogus links. Can you guarantee that youâll get my site on the first page of search results? While you might think the answer should be yes, the reality is, any company that promises a specific traffic level or ranking isnât being truthful, theyâre either doing something shady or outright lying. The best answer is something like, âWeâre confident based on our past work that we can help you achieve your business goals, but itâs never something that can be guaranteed.â The agency should also work with you to forecast general scenarios based on strategy, your competition, and your budget. Has your company worked with businesses like mine? One of the simplest ways to determine whether or not an SEO consulting company can handle your needs is to ask for returns that can be demonstrated in the same niche. The best answers to that question are either âYes, and here are some examples,â or âNo, but we have worked with organizations in similar situations, hereâs how.â If they havenât done either, that shouldnât necessarily disqualify them right away, you simply want to find out if your business is a fit with their company. However, if youâre in a niche with strict legal requirements that can be tricky such as law or pharmaceuticals that must be aware of governmental restrictions, the company will need time to learn whatâs acceptable and what isnât. How has SEO evolved over the years? This question is incredibly important because any good SEO consulting agency should be current on SEO strategies and how theyâve evolved. They should know all about the timelines of key changes to search on Google and their names. Being able to explain how the changes have impacted the way SEO is done in a way that you can understand is also essential. Simply telling you that they watch videos and read industry blogs doesnât really tell you anything.
If you are new to marketing, you might be finding it difficult to digest all there is to know about this industry. With digital marketing moving at lightning speed, it can be overwhelming to try and keep up with the newest trends and skills you should be acquiring. As a marketing professional or small business owner, it is easy to make mistakes. Youâre only human, and that means youâre never going to be perfect in your career! In todayâs post we will explore five common marketing mistakes that newbies make, and how to avoid them in your career. Mistake #1: spending little or no time designing your website In todayâs world, anyone can have their own website for a small amount of money and a little time spent. However, not everyone can make their website search engine optimised, engaging, user friendly and customer focused. Due to the fact it is easy to get a website nowadays, many small business owners donât invest much money or time on their website. This is a big mistake, because not only is your website the first interaction most of your customers will have with your company, but it is also the easiest way to bring new customers to your brand. To avoid the fate of having a dead-end website with few visitors, make sure you invest in professional web design advice, and fill your website with content that is SEO friendly and engaging for your customers to read. Mistake #2: appealing to a very narrow audience Your business and products might not be appealing to each and every person, but that doesnât mean you should shut your doors to a wider customer base. Even niche businesses are able to pull in a wide range of customers by being open, friendly and approachable in both their online and in-person customer service. The trick is to make your potential customers feel as if they need your products, even if they had never considered them before. With this attitude, you can start exploring how to make your products or services more widely accessible and appealing, eradicating the common mistake of playing only to a niche audience. In addition to bringing more customers into the fold, you can also use this tactic for your B2B marketing too. You might find that by expanding your marketing not just to customers but to other businesses too, you can make your company more appealing overall. Mistake #3: ignoring social media trends Social media is king in todayâs marketing world, whether you like it or not. Even if you prefer old fashioned marketing techniques like billboards and signage â both of which are great tools if combined with digital marketing techniques â you need to be up on current social media trends. It is of paramount importance that your business follows and involves itself in social media trends, such as dance challenges on TikTok, trending hashtags and Reels on Instagram. If you arenât sure about how to get involved in these trends, you should hire a freelance social media manager to give you advice on following these trends and using them to build your platform. Ignoring social media trends is a surefire way to come across as out of touch as a business. Appealing to a younger customer base who are more likely to shop online and shop through social media is a vital part of marketing in 2021. People of all ages use social media nowadays; it is a free tool that you can and should use to up your marketing game! Mistake #4: assuming your customers will always be loyal Repeat customers are an essential asset to any growing business. Acquiring new customers is an important part of your operations, but retaining your customers is even more crucial. Repeat customers are a powerful marketing tool in themselves when it comes to bringing in new customers; there is nothing more effective than recommendations from those they trust! One huge mistake any business leader can make is to assume that their customers will stay loyal. Loyalty is earned, not automatically given; even repeat customers need to be incentivised. Successful co...
People purchasing from other people. Face to face marketing has been put on hold for some time, but as the world returns to a somewhat normal state of affairs, it will become important again. Perhaps the best place to market your brand to people is at a business expo. This is where you will meet an international array of customers. Youâll also be meeting some of the customers that would like to know more about your brand, what your future products will look like, etc. So making the first impression is very crucial to your image and brandâs acceptance. The media will be there and everyone will be taking photos and videos with your employees. A Marketing Message At a business expo, marketing your message needs to be done in a number of ways. It has to be central to your brand, it has to be consistent with your previous messaging and it must tell visitors something new. Your stand needs to have a banner that hangs over the top, with this message so it is clearly read by all. It should communicate who you are, what your brand is about and what you want to do for the customer. For example, if you are a shoe company, you need to have your name in the message, what kind of shoes you make and how you can help customers. Something like, âNike continues to make trainers so you can keep running and stay fit.â is what you should be after. Great Visuals pixabay Your stand needs to look appealing to customers as they walk by. This is why backlit displays are so loved by expo veterans. They provide great, clear graphics that can come in either an image, text overlay, infographics, charts, and more. Their backlit displays are constructed from high-quality aluminum extrusion light-boxes that use tension fabric graphics. The LED lights are scalable so you can light up different areas of the stand, to show more importance to one area. It may also help you to light your stand better in terms of your position in the expo hall. If you are put in a dark corner, these scalable lights can really get you out of a tough spot. Publicity Opportunist While you are at the expo, take full advantage of social media and get as much publicity as you possibly can. Post photos, videos, and interviews all day long. You should also plan blog posts and newsletters purely for this event. So if you are showcasing a service, release a blog post about that service on the same day. Shoot emails to your customers about what youâre doing at the expo, including photos taken on the day. Hold a contest of some sort if you can, choosing a winner at the end of the day, so you keep people watching along and keeping up with your social media feeds. Expos are brilliant opportunities to market your brand in the most exciting ways possible. Marketing face to face is valuable because you get to meet your customers in the real world. Make a good first impression!
Search engine optimization, or the art of making sure your website will rank high in search engine results, is a mandatory part of every marketing strategy. Search engines such as Google or Bing will ensure your website can be found organically, ensuring your digital presence can grow naturally. Unlike advertising, SEO relies entirely on clean strategies, such as learning your data analytics and creating an informative and relevant blog. You can also reach out to professionals to support your SEO effort, such as an SEO agency that can tailor your activity to meet the latest algorithm changes. Copywriting services will also be a game-changer for small businesses. It can be tricky for a small team to make time to curate a blog, so itâs a good idea to leave it to a professional SEO writer. But boosting your SEO rankings doesnât only involve on-site work. Thereâs a lot you can do online and offline that will also boost your rankings. Here is an example of some of the hardest-working non-SEO activities that have positive SEO results. Make Your Brand Name Visible Ranking algorithms monitor the popularity of a brand. Popular brands are more likely to appear high in the rankings because search engines react to search volumes. Therefore, getting your brand on every mouth (and keyboard) will help boost your position in SERPs. Something as simple as branded vehicle wraps should be designed for brand awareness and customer acquisition. However, they also have a positive influence on SEO as people who see the vehicle in town will be searching online for the brand name or the catchphrase. Ultimately, not everyone will remember the URL or phone number theyâve seen in traffic. But they are likely to remember enough to google it at a later point. A banner campaign will also have a similar effect on local SEO. Boosting branded keyword search encourage search engines to bring your website higher in the results. Share Your Message with Other Experts Informative content is a great thing. But with over a billion blogs on the web, itâs tough to stand out against the competition. Yet, you can become a guest expert on other platforms. Guest blogging is popular. But the truth is that competition is still intense, even when you publish on another blog. Itâs worth considering platforms that receive less competition. As of April 2021, there are approximately 2 million podcasts and around 850,000 active podcasts where you could appear as a guest. Getting booked as a guest on a podcast allows you to promote your expertise and get your brand out there. As most podcasts include a short bio of the guest, youâll also share your website URL. But even if listeners donât check the bio, theyâre likely to search online to find out more about you. The same principle also applies to vlogs, with over 31 million YouTube channels. Compared to blogs, itâs a less competitive environment. Plan a Giveaway Event Everybody wants to win a free gift. Running a competition on your social media profiles or directly in your venue will create a buzz of activities. Competitions serve a dual purpose. They drive brand awareness and also increase customer acquisition. But competition is also something people talk about and recommend. Online users are likely to hear or read about the competition and check your brand before entering. This will boost your rankings dramatically. Branded keywords, social media referrals, blog backlinks, thereâs so much competition activities can do for SEO. Tell Your Instagram Story Unsplash â CC0 License Social media content naturally extends your SEO activities. Social media signals contribute to ranking, as the Google algorithm recognizes signals such as the number of tweets, Facebook shares, mentions on sites such as Reddit, Tumblr, etc. Additionally, social media activities enable backlink building. But, social media also increase brand awareness and brand search. Instagram stories are among the most popular tools to get noticed and create a buzz aro...
Are you thinking about using social media as a key part of your marketing campaign? You should be because most experts agree that social media has a massive level of potential. You just need to make sure that you are using it the right way. Here are some key lessons that you should learn sooner rather than later. Use a Style Guide Regardless of whether you choose to use an in-house marketing team, freelancers, or an outsourcing solution, a style guide will provide a significant advantage. The right style guide will tell any employees or people on a contract exactly the type of content that you want to be published and promoted across different social media networks. But thatâs just the beginning. A style guide can also ensure that employees know how to interact with different clients and customers as well as engage them online. This is important as without the right style guide crucial mistakes can be made. A basic example of this would be marketers going too far with jovial content. Humorous content can be great for shares but you need to make sure that they are not being too offensive. Use Influencers You should also make sure that you are connecting with different Pexels CCO License. Influencers are always going to be a powerful ally in the marketing world. The big benefit of influencers is that they can help you connect more to your target audience and ensure that your brand is gaining the right level of attention. Attracting interest from influencers will usually just be a case of ensuring that you do take the time to reach out to them directly and connect with them through social media. If you do this, then make sure that you pitch a relationship that is going to be mutually beneficial rather than one-sided. Choose the Right Name Even if you are a small business, you shouldnât use your personal name to market your company through social media. However, you might want to use the followers that you have already obtained on your personal accounts like Instagram. You can do this quite simply by changing your Instagram name. Changing your name will ensure that you keep your existing followers while transforming your business account into one that is a basis for professional levels of engagement. If you research how to change Instagram name details then youâll find that this isnât difficult at all. However, do be aware that this is only one of the steps that you will need to take. You will also need to make sure that any content that isnât appropriate for your brand is effectively removed. You might lose some followers but you will be in a stronger position to find more that are going to be interested in using your products and investing in your services. Connect Different Networks You should also make sure that you are taking steps to ensure that different networks are connected. One of the ways that you can do this is by posting and sharing links to your other accounts. However, make sure that you are still following the eighty, twenty rule here. This essentially means that only 20% of the content and posts you create should be purely promotion. The rest should be based on providing real value to your target audience. Hashtags Are Crucial Pexels CCO License Various studies have examined the use of hashtags and the impact that they have on the habits of users online. The message is clear. If you use hashtags then you will immediately increase the chances of your content being shared by different users. Donât forget, hashtags will make your content more visible and easier to share for users so itâs always going to have this type of impact. However, you do need to make sure that you are using the right hashtags. Random hashtags are never going to have the same impact as a well-thought-out campaign. You should also try to avoid adding too many hashtags to a post as this can make your content look like spam. This is something that you need to avoid. We hope this helps you understand some of the steps that you can take to guara...
Following the devastating effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, many industries were left with no alternative than to start marketing online. In many instances, these companies saw the potential the digital market has for them. According to statistics, 60% of business closures were due to the coronavirus, and in many of those cases, it was businesses who didnât utilize the various effective digital marketing strategies. In 2021 itâs almost unthinkable that companies still donât use the incredible opportunities within their marketing campaigns. Many didnât know this, but the Google search engine receives more than three billion searches per day. This means there are more than three billion opportunities for your business to make money; you simply need to capture your audience and show them what you have to offer. In this article, weâll look at four simple digital marketing tips to promote your business. 1. Google Ads Google ads is a platform provided by the most popular search engine on the web; you can bid specific amounts for specific keywords on this platform. The company that bets the most for a searched keyword will place first on the google ads reflected at the top of the search results page. This marketing strategy uses a PPC (Pay Per Click) for accruing charges on your Google Ads budget. Itâs a great way of marketing and seeing immediate results in your website traffic; the only negative is that when your industry is competitive online, you might end up spending significant amounts on clicks referred to your site. 2. Search Engine Optimization Search engine optimization, SEO in short, is increasing the quantity and quality of website traffic through the organic search results page. Google developed software specifically designed to place the most relevant websites to searches it receives on its platform. Using search engine optimization and keywords, you ensure you are relevant when your consumers search for you online. Your ranking will also be determined by your website visitors as well as the responsiveness of the platform. 3. Email Marketing By using this means of marketing, you combine an effort to retarget successful customers and target customers who have previously shown interest in your products. Some might think itâs useless, but in most cases, some percentage of impressions does convert to sales. One negative to this means of marketing is the ability for consumers to sign up using their temp mail which terminates after they successfully logged into your platform. When youâre marketing to a load of inactive mail addresses, youâre wasting your time and money. 4. Social Media Campaigns You can also use social media marketing; this means of marketing is ideal for brand exposure and getting the max amount of impressions possible. Itâs somewhat cheaper and also gives you a wide range of audiences to target. These marketing strategies are done with sponsored promotions on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. These marketing strategies will ensure you get the exposure you need to start selling your products on your online platform. Your marketing will be one of the essential aspects when it comes to the marketing of your business.
SEO is a vital practice that companies must adhere to if they hope to be reached in an organic fashion online. Thankfully, Google and other search engines, as well as the companies that comprise the best SEO-formatted and friendly techniques, work in tandem to make SEO the most authentic, worthwhile marketing approach out there. Rather than curating an advertisement designed to give your brand a good image, or convincing people why they should buy your product or service, SEO tends to rely on clean habits that helps your own pages rank more naturally. In other words, everything that the end web user sees is more often a result of value being given to them, rather than slick demands being made of them to begin with. However, even with this noble approach, many businesses can fail to optimize their SEO without spinning their wheels. This can be tough for any firm to face, and so it pays to identify the problem and try to utilize more competent solutions going forward. In this article, weâll discuss how you can make that a possibility going forward: Use Professional Services Professional services that research the Google content algorithm all day and learn methods to effectively make use of it are worth their weight in gold. Using the best SEO firm to help manage your content, provide a link building strategy to raise your rankings and authoritative online stature, as well as providing tools such as bloggers outreach or niche article edits is key. This can help you commit to your best SEO strategy and focus on curating content in that light. This is a full time job, and so having an outsourced firm to help you with this can save you plenty of time without you needing to sacrifice your productivity. Furthermore, great SEO practice is something that has to be learned and is changing all the time, so itâs quite essential that we use attentive firms to educate us in line with the best possible strategy. Curate a Worthwhile, Educational Blog Itâs good to curate educational content yourself, because that adds a value proposition to anyone who comes to visit your website. Furthermore, this content may be referred to in the future, which allows you to naturally develop a link building strategy without directly influencing it. A great, educational blog, written by your staff members and approved by your firm, can help people get much more involved with what it is you do, and even begin to see you as something of a voice worth paying attention to in the industry. It might be that you share your views on how the industry could become more sustainable, or advise for people looking to use your product. The more content you have out there, the better, and this can also benefit from: Outsourced Copywritten Content Technical and standard copywriters are out there to aid you and serve as a vital component of your SEO strategy. So much so, in fact, that many SEO firms hire copywriters to help them fulfill their content quotes with the aim of providing worthwhile articles and even web page content. This helps you ensure that at every level of your online presence, you come across as a professional, worthwhile, interesting and well-developed firm. Google will influence your search ranking based on how informative your content is, how well itâs written, if keywords are intelligently applied to the content, and if it makes use of proper grammar and spelling. No matter if youâre investing in a landing page you actually wish for people to see, or if youâre simply trying to give your âmeet the teamâ page a little more content, copywriters or ancillary copywriting services are very worthwhile. Keep Track of Your Data Keeping track of your data analytics will aid you in ensuring your SEO is properly managed and developed. From finding your search ranking statistics to seeing how your traffic improves once using your web page as part of a blogging outreach strategy, keeping an eye on the metrics will help you measure results. Remember, though, that SEO a...
When did you last read through reams of text when browsing a website? When did you last read from cover to cover a brochure that was primarily text-based? Chances are, you probably didnât spend a lot of time finding out what the particular business had to offer, and that is for two very good reasons. 1. Youâre a busy person and you donât have time to spend a long time reading. And. 2. Reading a lot of text can sometimes feel like a chore. Of course, even if you did read the text in front of you, you may not have remembered what was said anyway. This is because 80% of people remember what they see as opposed to what they read, according to data, so the same might be true for you. Hence the importance of visuals in your marketing strategy. Not everybody will have time to read through the text you present to them, which is why graphic design is important for both your online and your offline marketing. And if they can receive the information they need through a few custom illustrations, they arenât going to forget your brand message in a hurry. When it comes to your marketing, itâs important to remember other aspects of marketing too. We are thinking of your logo and the design of your website, as examples. You need to create an excellent first impression with both, which is why you donât want to be negligent when it comes to their visual appeal. When something has been thoughtfully designed, you are guaranteed to stand out from those competitors who havenât put a lot of thought into their visual marketing. So, to grab the attention of your potential customers, and to ensure your messaging and brand images arenât forgotten, pay attention to visuals in your marketing strategy. You can do this through your in-house team if you have experts on your side, or you can outsource to a graphic design agency. The following infographic compares two popular agencies, Dark Roast and Design Pickle, so consider their services if you do decide to hire another firm. Infographic designed by Design Pickle vs Darkroast
Success is for most businesses the ultimate goal. However, how you get there will look different for every organization. Unfortunately, many hurdles can get in the way of your company achieving its goals. Although there are some smart strategies you can use to ensure that you stay on track. Read on to find out what they are. Address the Journey, As Well As the Destination When it comes to reaching your business goals, it is just as important to focus on the journey of how you will achieve them as it is on the goal itself. Indeed, this is often referred to as the process of strategy execution â that is how you will go about reaching the goals you have set. Of course, it often feels a lot easier to define your goals than to work out how you will successfully complete them. After all, itâs easier to decide that you will run a marathon, than to work out the specific strategy you will use to ensure you can complete all 26 miles. Indeed, the reason why strategy execution is challenging is that it requires long-term commitment and action and that rarely can be achieved overnight. However, with the proper focus and understanding of how you will approach the journey itself, you will have much more of a chance to successfully complete your final goal. Allow Your Team Enough Agency to Actually Achieve the Goal They say there is no âIâ in âteamâ and as itâs very likely that you will require the hard work and dedication of your entire crew to achieve your business goals, itâs important to make sure they are empowered to work towards them. What this means is you need to drop the micromanaging and trust your managers to lead, and to offer each member of their team the responsibility for their own work. Yes, this means allowing individuals to have autonomy in the way that they do things and decisions that need to be made. However, if you have done the work in educating them on your strategy they should have what they need to do things while staying in line with the ultimate goal. Build on Small Success Another great way of staying on track with your business goals is to set small objectives, and then encourage your team to surpass them. Indeed, there is some powerful psychology at work here because concerning longer-term motivation, seeing some success first is much more likely to keep everyone enthused. Of course, it is important to note that this strategy can backfire in some situations if itâs not managed correctly. After all, once the initial goal has been completed some people may feel like itâs OK to give up. However, with the positivity you will have already accrued, and by aligning goals to employeesâ values and sources of instinct motivation you should be able to overcome this. Then the goal-setting becomes more of a launchpad for further success than the be-all and end-all of what you are doing.
Whether youâre a business owner looking to market your products online or an individual looking to build up a following, there are a few things that will make your marketing journey a little easier, so letâs take a look at them right now. 1. Using Video It seems insane that so many businesses, organizations, and individuals are still so hesitant to use video in their marketing campaigns when so much of what people do on the internet centers around watching video clips. In fact, in 2019 alone, the amount of traffic the average website received via video content almost doubled, and that was 2 years ago! Itâs pretty safe to say that video is even more popular, and profitable now. Video marketing works so quell because it is easy to digest, gives a visual representation of products and services, so people can see what they are getting, and it takes less effort to consume than text. So, if you do nothing else, start making professional marketing videos today and make things easy for yourself. 2. Working with Niche Marketing Agencies Pexels â CCO Licence If working with a marketing agency is something you want to do, instead of wasting your money on a generalized marketing company, choose one in your niche; one that knows your products and services, not to mention the market youâre targeting, inside and out. There are countless niche marketing agencies from this great Kickstarter marketing agency for those of you looking to crowdfund your ideas to medical marketing agencies for healthcare companies, and they are more effective because they know your market. Work with them and your campaigns are sure to be more fruitful. 3. Keep It Real One of the simplest marketing hacks pretty much anyone can employ is to keep it real and be more authentic. Keep the jargon and the trying too hard to a minimum and just speak to your customers on their level. Theyâre more likely to trust you when it doesnât feel like youâre going in for the hard sell, and when they can see who you are and what youâre about, theyâre more likely to form a connection with you and/or your brand. 4. Keep an Eye on the Data If youâre running a marketing campaign, but youâre NOT monitoring the data on a regular basis, youâre making things harder for yourself than they need to be. Not only will you not be able to identify what youâre doing right so you can keep doing more of the same, but you also wonât be able to identify where youâre going wrong, which means you could be spending a huge amount of time and money on a worthless campaign. The data matters, so make sure you donât neglect it. 5. Listen to Your Customers Your customers are the people you are trying to reach, so listen to them. It really is that simple. Ask them for feedback and suggestions and act on them and your marketing efforts will benefit massively as a result. Hereâs to a happy marketing life!