As a digital marketer, your job is to promote brands and the products and services they offer to their target audiences. It’s a job you do well, and you have lots of satisfied clients, many of whom provide you with repeat business.
But have you noticed how challenging it is to promote yourself, yet you have no issue with promoting other people and brands? If you’re struggling to promote your digital marketing services, here are some simple suggestions to help you out:
The sad truth about the marketing services you provide is that thousands of other people, just like you, are also trying to promote themselves in the market. How can you make yourself stand out from the crowd?
One way is by establishing credibility and authority. Marketing experts like Stephanie Camello have noted that content marketing is crucial to marketing yourself. Creating and distributing quality content that strikes a chord with your core audience makes perfect sense.
2. Play an Active Role on Social Media
Don’t be a digital marketer that only updates their social media profiles once in a blue moon. Instead, you should play an active role and publish relevant content to your audience regularly.
Facebook and Twitter are two social media platforms worthy of your attention. You should also maintain a LinkedIn profile to help build up your professional network. As with Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn lets you publish posts to your audience. Make your content count!
3. Get Involved in Networking Events
The COVID-19 pandemic has put in-person networking events on hold, but they still occur on a virtual basis through mediums such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Despite the current health crisis, you can still get involved in local and regional networking events.
Why are networking events so crucial to promoting yourself as a digital marketer? Firstly, they help you spread awareness about your brand, and secondly, you’ll be more memorable to people than companies that constantly cold-call and email potential marketing prospects.
4. Create Some Case Studies
You will undoubtedly have a website that describes the marketing services you offer. That’s great, but what people also want to know is how your work benefited your clients. The way to achieve that is by publishing some verifiable case studies on your site.
Case studies typically describe a brand’s problem, talk about how a service like yours resolved the issue, and give verifiable proof such as statistics to illustrate or measure the success of all work carried out.
5. Apply Your Marketing Tactics to Yourself
You already know how to market brands and the right methods to achieve the best results. With that in mind, you need to apply those marketing tactics to yourself as you’re also a brand!
It might feel weird thinking of yourself as another client or in the third person. But, doing so might help you focus on the methods needed to market yourself better online.
PPC and SEO are two popular marketing strategies. Most businesses can benefit from using both, however there are times when you may want to use one type of strategy more than the other. The following guide compares both PPC and SEO to help you determine which one you should be using.
What is PPC?
Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) involves paying for an advert to display until a certain number of people have clicked on it. Such an advert could lead to your website, helping to generate more visitors and customers.
PPCadverts can be found all over the internet and can take various different forms. A few examples of types of PPC adverts include:
Paid search marketing: When searching for something on Google or Bing, you may notice that a few search listings appear as ads at the top. This is one of the most popular forms of PPC advertising.
Display adverts: These include image ads and video ads which can be found all across the internet. They are another popular form of PPC.
Social media advertising: The likes of Facebook allows users to pay in order to ‘boost’ a post. The advert will display on users Facebook walls until a number of people have viewed it. This can also be viewed as another form of PPC.
Some of the popular ad platforms include Google Ads, Facebook Advertising and Microsoft Advertising (used for Bing). You can create ad campaigns yourself using these platforms or you can seek help from advertising companies. Getting help from a professional company could help to make your campaigns more effective.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s a strategy used to help improve your rankings on search engines such as Google and Bing. This can help you to attract more visitors to your website (and potentially more customers).
While you can use PPC advertising to display your search listing as an advert at the top of the rankings, SEO can help you to rank at the top longer without the need for constant advertising. It’s a known fact that some people also tune out adverts and skip straight to the non-paid search listings.
SEO involves a variety of tactics including using keywords, improving page loading speed and building backlinks. It is often worth using a professional company to handle SEO as it can be quite complex and time-consuming.
Which is better for me: PPC or SEO?
PPC and SEO can both be used alongside each other. However, there are times when you may want to favour one over the other…
Are you looking for a quick or long-term solution?
PPC is much better for getting quick results. As soon as you publish your advert it will start displaying – you could start to see more visitors and customers within hours. Of course, most people aren’t this lucky and it can sometimes take a bit longer to get results (the average amount of time is about 3 months).
SEO can take a little longer to make an impact. Most people don’t see results until 4 to 6 months after starting an SEO campaign. Consequently, SEO isn’t recommended for promoting temporary deals or imminent events (PPC is better for these types of promotion). The advantage of SEO is that the effects are much longer – while a PPC ad may only display for a few weeks, an SEO-boosted webpage could continue to rank highly for years.
Are you looking to target a specific demographic?
PPC campaigns can be targeted at specific demographics. Advertising platforms allow you to set certain parameters so that they only display for certain types of consumer. This can make PPC useful for marketing a niche business.
SEO can similarly be targeted at niches but you don’t have quite as much power over your target demographic. As a more general marketing strategy, it can often be more effective – whereas PPC is not so effective at this.
How much money have you got to spend?
In the long run, PPC can often work out more expensive than SEO. This is because, in order to be effective, most companies will have multiple PPC campaigns on the go.
SEO tends to be a much better long-term investment. While many companies pay for SEO on an ongoing basis, you generally won’t have to spend as much you will on PPC to get results. Companies on a budget may want to focus on SEO more than PPC for this reason.
Email marketing has always been seen as one of the cheapest and most effective ways to reach out to customers. It doesn’t cost as much as many other forms of marketing and you can see why. Firstly, the messages are simple, they only go out to those that warrant being sent an email, such as those who sign up to a newsletter or have an account with your website. They also can be managed to only go to certain specific customers, so you are doing targeted marketing, to a small group only. Thirdly, the customizing options you have are plentiful, so you can use email marketing all year round. It's still a brilliant marketing strategy.
One of the best things about email marketing is, you get instant feedback. Using a direct data service like the type https://www.action-mailing.com/data-services, you can receive great customer feedback straight to your servers. Rather than going through a third party, these direct data services can deliver customer reports about your campaign and how effective it has been. This is excellent for changing tactics very quickly and responding to things that specific customers are doing. Maybe a customer has never responded to an email marketing campaign, but they do respond to marketing cards. They are happy to choose one out of three options in a poll or perhaps they would happily watch a video in the message. Send them more of this instead of the usual text-based email.
It's very interactive
Using interactive features is the only technique worth investing in. Have review buttons in the email, such as 5-star ratings, or 1 out of 10 bars. You can also give customers comment boxes to leave a comment about a product, or the effectiveness of your message to them. Polls and questionnaires are a long shot for new customers and or browsing consumers, but those that have been with you for a long time, would more than happily give you a few answers to questions for improving your business. It's important to also have interactive features such as selecting colors for items. Clothing brands especially benefit from this as they can showcase something like a winter scarf, in different colors in the message and if the customer selects a color they like, they can click on it and be transported to the product page.
Reaching out in bulk
No one can deny the sheer outreach potential for email marketing. You can email, literally thousands of people around the world, with the same message. You can get your messages translated and still give customers the same exact message. You can, however, reach out to just your new customers. Maybe you got 200 new customers this week. You can send welcome messages over the weekend to each one. Reaching out in bulk is perhaps the single most attractive thing about email marketing.
Email marketing is a great tool that every business owner must become adept at using. It's affordable, interactive, customizable, far-reaching and just plain awesome!
We’re all going through a very similar situation at the moment. The pandemic is making normal life difficult for everybody, and we can’t always be expected to work at maximum productivity. That being said, there may be a few ways we can maximize productivity and get the most out of this tough time.
Let’s take a look at ways to increase business productivity during the pandemic:
Focus On Creating And Sustaining A Routine
When you have a team working from home, routine can be something they struggle with. Encouraging them to keep a routine can be a huge help. Arranging a video chat can also encourage your team to get ready for the day and stick to the routine because they feel more accountable.
It can be extra challenging for those who have kids and other family members at home, so being understanding and allowing flexibility is also key. Family disruptions are to be expected. Asking for a check in at the start of the day can help you to see who is able to stick to your preferred schedule and who may need to make changes. Here are some tips to make this work:
Ask for a regular start time as much as possible.
Be flexible.
Encourage communication and honesty.
Encourage your team to set up a separate area for work and emphasize how this can help with mindset.
Send occasional reminders about routine. Encourage a healthy breakfast, physical activity, and other things that can enhance a routine and make the day better and more productive.
Not everybody will have the equipment or the right setup to work from home. If they are using low quality equipment, you’ll see productivity drop. Ask employees if they have everything they need, and let them know there’s a budget if there is anything they do need. Purchasing a new mouse, keyboard, or microphone for them could make a big difference.
Consider Using This Time As A Reset
The ripple effects of COVID-19 will likely be seen for some time. It has likely thrown you off trajectory significantly, but you can make this better by aiming to use this time as a reset. A crisis time like this can point you towards flaws that you may not have noticed before, or may have been able to ignore. You can make the changes to your infrastructure that you have been ignoring and reevaluate your business. Would you be prepared for this if something similar were to happen again? Aim to:
Streamline your meetings.
Figure out ways to manage projects remotely and stay in touch with one another.
Look at an upgraded network cabling solution to avoid downtime and ensure everything runs smoothly when you’re back at work.
Ultimately, you should use this time to prepare your business for future setbacks and success. The whole world is struggling right now, but you could experience benefits from this if you handle it correctly. How are you going to increase your business productivity during the pandemic?
Paid Media experts often reevaluate and experiment with ways to optimize processes and get the most results. After all, the world of Facebook Ads can be daunting, and you certainly don’t want to follow in the footsteps of one man who lost 600k in 4 days on his Facebook Ads. Ouch, that hits us where it hurts.
Even if you’re not an expert, there are probably (definitely) a few things you could do right now to save money on your Facebook Ads. And if you’re a human being, that is something you should want. Let’s take a look at some you can correct today:
You’re picking the wrong campaign objective
Although this may seem obvious, you’d be surprised how often this crucial element gets overlooked when launching an ad campaign. Facebook Ads campaigns break down into three main objectives, each with their own sub-objectives.
Before you get to this stage, you should have already identified your Facebook Ad’s purpose and the results you want to see. (If not, we suggest doing that now). The objective you select should fit into your overall business strategy and serve as a shorter-term tactic to achieve long term goals. Once you know your objectives, it makes writing your ad easier, since you’ve determined who and what you’re writing for.
Source: Business2Community
The three campaign types are:
Awareness: this objective is for those at the top level of your marketing funnel, who may not even know you exist. It’s also commonly used by larger brands when they have new products services.
Ad objectives for Awareness are:
Brand awareness: letting people know who you are. Where you are or what you do.
Reach: casting as wide of a net as possible, and having the most eyes viewing your ad.
Consideration: this objective would be for those in the middle of the marketing funnel, who may know you exist but need to have more information before converting into a customer. You want to guide your potential buyer to want to take action, whether through education, information, or entertainment.
Ad objectives for Consideration are:
Traffic: sending users from Facebook to a designated URL such as a landing page or official website.
Engagement: motivating those who see your ad to engage in any way through likes, shares, comments, or clicks.
App installs: driving users to an App Store where they can download your mobile app.
Video views: shows your video to those most likely to be interested and interact with the content.
Lead generation: allows you to capture data and leads directly from your ads, such as address or email.
Messages: connect users with messaging services like Facebook messenger or Instagram Direct messages.
Conversions: as you probably have guessed, this would be the ad objective for an audience towards the bottom of your marketing funnel. It’s the final step before taking action and making a purchase, download, or signing up for a subscription.
Ad objectives for Conversions are:
Conversions: Having your audience take a specific action. Download. Sign up. Purchase. To optimize this ad objective, it’s ideal if you’re having at least 15-25 conversions per week; that way, Facebook can garner enough data to advertise to the right target audience correctly.
Catalog Sales: allows you to showcase specific products from your e-commerce store and gives you tools to integrate your online store products into the user’s Facebook feed.
Store traffic: meant for brick and mortar stores that rely on foot traffic for sales. Think establishments like a hair salon, restaurant, or local boutique.
You’re not using audience targeting correctly
The targeting feature of Facebook Ads ensures that you have influence over matching the right ad with the right person. Some people may “target overkill,” which leads to a tiny pool of Facebook users who may see your ad. Some may use “lazy targeting” and follow a “set it and forget it” approach. Both of these leave room for improvement.
Neither specific nor broad targeting is more superior; the critical element is relevance to the user. We’ve all been the victim of a mistargeted ad and wondered, “why am I seeing this right now?” That does not make for positive brand sentiment.
When it comes to components of detailed targeting, Facebook Ads allows you to choose from a lot of options., but they all fall under the following:
Demographics: under this category, you can target users’ age, location, languages, education, gender, and even relationship status. What industry does your potential buyer work in? What is their income range? What life events are they experiencing? All of these need to be considered when considering your demographics targeting.
Interests: exceptionally useful in placing your ads in front of those who will want to see it. You can select interests based on industries, like finance or medical. You can target based on family relationships such as parents or dating. And, you can target based on activities like sports, technology, and fashion.
Behaviors: this allows you to reach people based on purchase behavior or purchase intent and includes behaviors like device usage. These behaviors could be how charitable a person is, their job role, residential profiles, and even how much they travel.
You can use a layered approach when it comes to these audience targets to achieve the maximum return on your ad. Facebook provides an audience size tool (below) that shows how broad or narrow your target approach is. It might take some trial and error for a beginner, which is why it’s always good to do your research or hire the experts.
Although Facebook Ads strategy can be scientific and experimental by nature, your ad’s creative aspect has a massive impact on its success. When we say creative, we mean the imagery, text, placement, colors, headlines, videos, CTA’s – all of it.
It’s important to note that creating the right ad will require testing different versions to see which resonate and perform the best. A simple A/B test of varying headlines or images combinations can provide valuable insight and save valuable dollars.
There are some best practices when it comes to creating your ad that is best to follow closely:
Use high-resolution images (FYI best size guide on FB. Image 1:1, video 4:5 or 1:1, story 9:16.)
Show your product clearly.
Avoid too much image text: let the creative aspect of the adconvey messaging and don’t overstuff ads with text as it fails to gather attention.
To use multiple images or showcase various products, test multiple formats as different formats work for different products, such as Facebook carousel ads.
Preview your ads using Facebook Creative Hub; this will give you a good indication of how users will see your ad on a desktop or mobile.
Have the ad copy reflect what is being shown in the image, make it easy for viewers to connect the dots.
Have one clear, prominent call to action, whether it’s “Sign up now” or “Buy one today!”
Use simple language that’s easy to understand. Remember that your ad is one of many in a sea of infinite scroll, and you have your audiences’ attention for a very limited time.
Let’s take a look at some great and not-so-great Facebook ad examples:
Source: Facebook
Why this works:
The image chosen is meant to catch a user’s eye.
The text relates directly to the ad, making the connection an easy one to make
The copy leads with value and gets right to the point; “Stop Counting Calories and Take Inches Off.”
It’s clear what the user should do: take part in the 30-day challenge.
Great use of social proof and high engagement
Source: Facebook
Why this doesn’t work:
Although there’s a catalog of images, none of them are particularly engaging or stand out.
The headline is generic and isn’t clear on what action they want the audience to take
The image text is basic and lacking much creativity. “Deer Lamp” isn’t all that enticing.
The social proof is evidence of an unengaging ad that isn’t catching people’s attention.
Remember that your ad should be telling a story about who you are and what you offer in a cohesive, obvious way. There should be a flow between what the user reads and what they see, and it should be clear what you want them to do.
You’re not using Facebook Pixel (properly)
Here’s a crash course on Facebook Pixel 101: the Pixel is a piece of code that you can place on your website to analyze the actions users are taking. It’s a great analytics tool that provides some invaluable insights into your own specific consumer’s behavior.
It tracks things like time on page, page views, page depth, and add to cart functions. There are 3 main ways to take advantage of this tool:
Target to the right audience: the Pixel will give you information about those who’ve visited your site, allowing you to remarketing to them on the Facebook platform.
Increase sales: well, this seems like a no-brainer. With your Pixel information, you can set automatic bidding strategies that reach people more likely to take the desired action.
Measure your ROI: the information provided from the Pixel gives specific data into which ads are high-performing, where to make adjustments, and how effectively your ads are driving action.
Source: Facebook
The Pixel transgression made by businesses is often they are either not using it or not using it to its full potential. Facebook makes it very easy, too. You can view all of your Pixel data right inside your ad manager and make adjustments based on the data you see.
The pixel gives you information on how customers are interacting with your business off of the Facebook platform, so you can create strategies to have them engage with your business on the platform, through your ads. You should be consulting this data to guide strategic decisions like audiences to target or even your website’s flow.
You’re not optimizing ad scheduling
As we know by now, you can set your ads’ schedule of when they are shown. You can choose the time of day, or day of the week, based on your offer and relevancy.
Source: Facebook
Sure, it seems obvious to run your ads during weekends or evenings, where you assume most people might be online. Still, we’ve found the way to create your ad schedule is to analyze your specific customer data (like the stuff you get from Facebook Pixel). Once you’ve done that, it’s essential to look at your ad intent: what am I trying to get them to do? What time of day, or day of the week, are people taking this action?
Combining Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and Facebook Analytics, you can determine more than when your audience is online, but when they are taking these specific actions. You can see when they are subscribing or signing up, and when they are buying.
It’s best to analyze this data to create a custom ad schedule, specific to each ad. Now, we know this can seem a bit overwhelming. Check out what happened when we teamed The Maple Guild to implement a Facebook ad strategy that increased their revenue by 300%, and their purchases by 200%.
Take it from us, working with Facebook Ads is a never ending lesson, as there are always ways to improve and optimize your efforts to maximize your results. We’ve run thousands of ad campaigns for all kinds of businesses and have used that expertise to help you save more money on your Facebook ads.
2020 has been a difficult year for most businesses. Consumers have less disposable income due to the impact of the coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic, which means people are less willing to part with their cash in exchange for non essential, luxury items. The good news? There are still people out there buying and you could make a success of new products that you want to bring onto the market. The difficulty? You’re going to have to work harder than ever to make your sales and generate a profit. But take this as a challenge. You could make a huge success of your business, you just need to make the right decisions and take the right actions. Here are just a few things you need to do to get your new product onto the market as quickly and successfully as possible!
Identifying a Gap in the Market
First, you need to identify a gap in the market for a product that is going to sell right now. See what areas are making profits. See what things people are buying. Consider what things people are going to want to buy in the foreseeable future. Following trends can see you experience success. Being ahead of the curve can see you make even more profits. So, spend time researching and analysing the marketplace before speeding ahead with any decision making.
Product Development and Market Research
Next, you need to develop your product. Look into it. See how you’d make it. Try having a prototype made up with prototyping specialists. Conduct some market research to determine whether people are interested in it and whether people would be willing to spend money on it in the current marketplace. Determine how much people would be willing to spend on it right now and whether there’s room for a good profit margin. This will all help you to determine whether the product is worth bringing to life or not.
Manufacturing
If you get the go ahead, manufacturing will be extremely important. Manufacturing is the process of taking raw materials and putting them together to create your end product. You can do this in-house by investing in all of the machinery and equipment you need to create your products in bulk and by hiring staff to operate the machinery and equipment. Alternatively, you can shift the responsibility to someone else and outsource your manufacturing. You’ll simply put in an order and receive the end product. Both are great options, but the majority of businesses (particularly small businesses) opt for the latter.
As you can see, it is possible to bring new products to the market this year. You just need to put a fair amount of work into determining whether there’s currently a market for your products and whether you can make profits with them in the current economic climate. The above advice and steps should get you started out in the right direction. You never know – you might experience a whole lot of success!
