Whether you’ve recently launched an online business, or you’ve noticed a decline in traffic in your existing operation, how you market and promote your brand can be the difference between success and failure.
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In 2020, social media should be a key component of any marketing strategy. With billions of people using platforms like Facebook and Instagram every day, it’s vital that you create a business account and establish an online presence. To grow your online business, here is how social media marketing can help.
Increased Awareness
From the moment you put your business on social media, you have more chance of consumers finding your products or services, which in turn can help to boost traffic to your business website. To get started, you need to create a business page on popular social media platforms. This can be a great way to connect with your audience. There are easy to follow instructions to take you through the process and get your page up and running. In the initial stages, make sure that you ask friends, family, employees, and sponsors to like and share your content, as the more people who see it, the better.
Improved Search Engine Ranking
While posting on social media platforms may get your business more site traffic, you will need to put more time and effort into other strategies to make people aware of your brand. Improving your search engine ranking and using the correct SEO strategies will mean that consumers are more likely to click on your page over competitors, so whether your aim is to place higher on social media or on Google, make sure that you use targeted and relevant keywords that link with your brand.
Higher Conversion Rates
With an increase in visibility, your company will have more opportunities for conversation. Whether you post an image, blog post, or comment, you score a better chance of viewers seeing your content and wanting to find out more about your brand. Placing your brand in an atmosphere where users are likely to share and talk about your content will only boost the conversion rates on existing traffic.
To further improve your ROI, consider working with a company that specializes in digital marketing managed services. They can create a tailored marketing plan that combines digital and social media marketing to generate performance-driven results.
Better Customer Satisfaction
Your customers are the heart and soul of your online business, so it’s vital that you keep them happy. Retaining a loyal following can be achieved in various ways, such as regularly communicating with your audience. When using social media for marketing, your audience may leave comments and questions that they want answering, so being on hand around the clock to answer any queries will show that you’re dedicated to your brand. Knowing how to network and engage with your demographic will turn potential customers into dedicated followers.
Cost-Effective
One of the main benefits of using social media for marketing your online business is that it’s a much cheaper alternative when compared to other methods. While creating a business page is free, there are add-ons that you can consider, which you will need to pay for. If you need help, you may want to contact JBD social media agency who can provide guidance on what steps to take to improve your social media marketing and content.
Whether you have a social media marketing team in place or you hire outside help, there are tons of benefits that social media marketing can bring to your online business, helping to spread brand awareness and grow your company.
If you’ve ever looked up your city or county’s website, you might be appalled at some of the broken links and re-directs that have you chasing your tail in circles. On a larger scale, government websites can have you pulling out your hair as you try to navigate the maze of links and information. (Don’t even think about accessing larger government websites on a busy day!)
So, why are government websites notoriously bad? Well, for a few reasons.
The first reason is that government websites are often created and forgotten about. What that means is that when the website is created, there is often not a direct employee to update it as needed, and as things are updated in a hodge-podge manner, things become broken. Secondly, government websites are often created with one specific goal in mind, with the larger picture in mind. When more local residents begin using the website, scaling issues are brought to light.
If you’re in local government, what are some ways that you can smooth out your website to run better and offer a more intuitive interface for your county or city? Let’s look at some of the tips below.
Look into cloud-based software options
Local governments are often notorious for not upgrading to cloud-based applications, so as soon as someone is out of the office, all the information they needed is stuck on that desktop computer. This doesn’t only hold things up for residents, but for city employees as well. The clear advantage of cloud-based apps and software is that you can access the same information from any device at any time. It is often assumed that cloud-based software and applications are not secure, but when using cloud-based applications, security is inherently built-in. If the single computer with information suddenly goes kaput, you’ve lost all that information. By having automatic backups, you’re reducing the chance of losing this information.
Make it easy for residents to contact you online
Using an online software to improve the interaction of government with residents can be incredibly effective. With Acessse311’s local government software you can quickly capture details from emails and online web forms automatically from local residents. No more manual integrating means that you can spend more time actually addressing these issues instead of chasing them down. With the ability to create and assign cases to the right personnel, your time is spent doing things that actually contribute to the solution.
Use social media
If you have an outsourced website built for your local government, it is unlikely that you have an in-house employee that understands a significant amount about technology to keep it updated frequently. One option to reduce this confusion is to make sure that when your website is updated or built that it includes your city’s Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram. These are much easier to update for the average user. By doing this, you can quickly mention that there is an unexpected road closure, or mention that a parade is occurring downtown.
Improvement doesn’t have to be hard
The government may move slowly, but with these easy tips, you can change how your residents view your website. Problems may be able to be fixed more quickly, all because of a functional government website.
With social media sites such as TikTok taking off and more than 1 billion hours of YouTube being watched each day, there’s never been a better time to use video in your marketing. Whether you choose to hire a video production company or to create videos yourself, there’s money to be made by harnessing the power of video. Here are four tips to help you incorporate video into your marketing.
Focus on entertainment and not sales
The vast majority of video content consumed online is not sales-focused, but entertainment-focused, however, that doesn’t mean that it won’t help to boost your sales. If you want people to view your video and not to skip it, then it needs to provide them with value, and very few people find value in being overtly sold-to. The most successful marketing videos tend to focus on stories rather than sales, teaching their target audience about their company history, values or ethos, rather than pushing their products. By focusing on telling your brand story, you can improve your brand image and increase your visibility within your target market.
It’s all about the first few seconds
We see so much content every day that our attention span is now less than 10 seconds. This means that you have very little time to grasp the attention of your target audience and so what you put in the first few seconds of your marketing videos is what really counts. To make sure that your audience sticks around for the rest of your video, create a captivating ‘hook’ and make use of informative and engaging thumbnails for your videos which entice people to click on them.
Include captions
A lot of video content is consumed in environments where a person’s sound will be switched off, and so it’s important to include captions so that you can still educate your viewers. Approximately 85% of video content played on Facebook is played with the sound off, so it really is important to make your videos captivating with and without sound effects. The key to making captions captivating is to ensure that they are easily readable, and perhaps animated in some way to help keep the attention of your viewers.
Tailor your videos depending on where you post them
Video content is consumed differently across different social media platforms. YouTube videos can generally be any length, but videos posted to social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter perform better at certain durations. For example, although you can post videos of up to 60 seconds on Instagram, 30-second videos tend to get more views and interactions. On Facebook, videos that are 60 seconds or less tend to get the most attention, and on Twitter, this drops to 45 seconds. By tailoring the length of your videos by the platforms you use, you can ensure to get the most out of your video content.
So there you have it - four simple tips to help you incorporate video into your marketing strategy. Have you tried video marketing before? Let me know how it worked for you in the comments.
What is likely to be the first thing you do when looking for a restaurant, mechanic, or beautician? You check their website. No matter whether the outlet you are interested in belongs to an international chain or is a local business, you want to know whether they are still open after your work shift or you should not bother driving there. However, small businesses have a limited budget to spend in marketing efforts, especially during these uncertain times. On the other hand, some benefits of having a website for your small business should not be ignored.
That's How Potential Customers Find Your Business.
Today's users and customers use the internet as a faster, more responsive, and immediately efficient phone book. In the past, if you could not find a business on the phone book, you will skip to the next one that offers similar services, but you can get in contact with - and that's your competition. If anybody in your area has a website, you will need to make sure that your business is as visible as theirs. If they don't, well, there is nothing outrageous in being the first one.
Including a Blog Helps You Build Relationships With Your Customers.
A couple of landing pages and contact forms might just be enough to encourage potential customers towards your business. However, before or after the purchase, such pages might not be particularly useful in keeping the engagement levels high. Instead, implementing a blog and regularly publishing relevant content allows you to supply answers to the most common questions and issues your audience might be experiencing.
When writing a blog for your business's website, you can craft a marketing strategy by yourself, but you should be aware of what are the most common blogging mistakes to avoid them. If you feel like this might be too overwhelming for you, asking for a consultation offered by an SEO or digital marketing professional can guide you through the right path.
And So Does a Newsletter!
Alongside regular blog posts, investing in a newsletter, and crafting the perfect call to action allows you to generate new leads and retain more data about your audience than ever. However, newsletters are also essential to keep in touch with your target market throughout the year. Therefore, you can check in with them in the periods in between purchases or when you are about to launch or update a new product or service.
Instead of having to find new customers who are interested in your latest creation, most of your audience will get to know about offers, discounts, giveaways, and new launches. Don't forget that in periods in which your business can't operate as usual - like in the case of the current restrictions - a newsletter can help you communicate to your customer opening hours and safety measures implemented.
Create the First Point of Contact
Undoubtedly, websites are the first point of contact for a customer who is looking for your address or contact details. If it does reflect the value proposition, theme, and mission of your brand, your website offers an ideal peek into the experience that your customer is about to have.
Not having a website might suggest that your business is not particularly up-to-date, innovative, or clear in intent. Additionally, if you let the first point of contact be when the customer walks into your physical shop, this might not always go as planned! And first impressions are often everlasting! In this case, a well-crafted website allows you to create the ideal first impression you always want to leave in a new customer.
If you are the owner of an established small or local business, your customer base might derive from decades of word-of-mouth marketing and entire generations engaging in your services. However, if you are a new business, you will have to generate trust and get your customers to know that you have the expertise, attitude, and knowledge to perform the best job. A website can do precisely that.
Your business' site will have testimonials, reviews, social media handles' links, and call to actions. Your customer can explore your business, experience, and portfolio at its own pace, and make an even more informed decision. Aside from increasing the number of customers for your business, they might also be willing to pay more for the same product!
It's a Marketing Channel You Can't Ignore
With an endless range of marketing media out there, it can seem impossible to pick the best one for your needs. However, just by having a website, you can combine several digital marketing branches, such as SEO and video marketing, in one platform. While you might need the help of a professional agency or expert to craft a strategy that can truly get your business off the ground, websites are also reasonably easy to handle by yourself.
You Can Leverage Data to Create Better Services
Past and potential customers commenting, subscribing, and generally taking action on your website offer you a data set you can start plotting. Whether this about your marketing campaign, expectations not met, or a particular aspect of your product that does not work as well, it is all valuable feedback. Through such input, you can craft better products, strategies, and services that truly reflect your users' needs.
It Is the Starting Point to Build an eCommerce Business.
The current pandemic and ensuing lockdown and social distancing measures have made clear that remote working, delivery options, and touchless services are here to stay. While your small business already works locally, you might not be able to reach an audience that, while interested, might be located away from you.
However, today, not starting to think about an eCommerce option might decrease your business's level of competitiveness, especially if you look at other companies in the same sector. You can still opt to keep your local outlet open as usual, but generating income streams through an online eCommerce store allows you to benefit from a visibility level that you would not have otherwise.
For companies that have always only worked with full-time employees, a move to a more flexible approach to labor requires a mental shift. It has long been a major sticking point that if the workers were not present in the office, the employer couldn’t be assured that they were putting in the work.
Nevertheless, more companies are opening up to the idea of using flexible labor such as freelancers, short-term contract workers, and remote workers. Here are four reasons to take it more seriously now.
The World is Less Predictable Than Ever
If the recent months have taught us anything it’s that predicting the future is no longer possible with any degree of accuracy. The business world isn’t stoic or slow-moving any longer – all companies must adapt to this different reality.
With the possibility of further national health issues in the future, being flexible in business operations is essential. Revenue can climb (or fall) at much faster rates than before. The need to be fluid and adaptable is more necessary than ever.
Get New Projects Up and Running Quicker
When the company is diving into a new project where only some of the existing employees have any experience in that area, it creates a dilemma.
Recruiting several full-time workers before work can truly begin in earnest will require weeks or months to find appropriately qualified people. Meanwhile, the project doesn’t move forward and the risk is that competitors will steal a march on your business.
Instead, consider using freelancers to take on specific tasks to get the ball rolling on the new project. Start with research tasks and building out the systems that’ll be necessary for a larger team to proceed. This will save time when the employee recruitment phase is complete.
Is One Freelancer as Good as Another?
Finding effective freelancers is hit and miss. This is what puts companies off trying them out.
However, there are now solutions to this difficulty. One is a database of freelancer marketing specialists who can provide a range of services in the digital realm from project management to web development to media buying to strategic development. Just looking in one state alone, there’s plenty of qualified Minneapolis freelancers available for marketing purposes, and they’re capable of working nationwide too.
It’s also possible to ask around for recommendations about people who have worked for your peers. Because they only need them for occasional tasks, they’re not worried about you poaching their staff, so the suggestions come much easier.
Tap the National Talent Pool
As an employee in one city, your local talent pool for employees is restricted to the city and surrounding catchment areas. Depending on the industry focus in the city and the limit of the talent present, it might be difficult to find the people with the requisite skills.
When looking farther afield and accepting remote workers or freelancers, it’s not necessary to headhunt someone and have them relocate across the country. Instead, they’re available, usually immediately, with the skills required without any fuss.
For companies that were previously unwilling to work with people outside of the employer-employee construct, it’s a real eye-opener to see the wealth of options that the wider labor market offers. It also allows for greater flexibility to scale labor up and down as the economy indicates, to manage costs appropriately.
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