If you run a local sports team in your area then you probably already know how difficult it can be to get new members to join. Although you may have a few people join here and there, knowing how to market your sports team successfully could be incredibly beneficial. Whether it’s buying ad space in a local magazine or hiring an agency to help you with ads, there are lots of things you can do to ensure you’re getting lots of new recruits. With that in mind, here are 5 ways to promote your local sports team:
Post Flyers In Local Neighborhoods
One of the best ways to drum up interest for your local team is to post flyers and leaflets through the doors of those that live in local neighbourhoods. Although they may have heard of you before, they may not know enough about you to make a decision as to whether or not they want to join. Make sure your flyer has lots of important information, sharing all of the benefits of joining the team. For a guide to making an effective flyer or leaflet, you can visit this site here.
Advertise At A Local School
If your sports team is a team for kids, advertising at local neighbourhood schools could be a great idea. Whether this means attending a sports day to speak to both the children and their parents or whether you hand out flyers to go into kids bookbags - you want children to be excited about joining your team.
Use Targeted Social Media Ads
If you want to reach a more targeted audience, social media advertisements can be incredibly beneficial. Whilst they can be expensive, you can set the exact parameters of who you want to see your advertisement, ensuring only those that would be interested see it. If you need help when it comes to setting them up, why not speak to a professional sports marketing agency?
Buy Space In The Local Paper
Another great way to advertise and promote your sports team is to buy space in your local paper. If you know your target audience is going to be reading the paper, paying for an advertisement may be worth it. Depending on your budget you can choose to go for a full-page spread, a single page or for half a page. If you’re on a limited budget, you may even want to consider using the classifieds. For guidance when it comes to buying advertising space in your local paper, you can visit this site here.
Advertise On Local Radio
When looking at your target audience, you may also want to consider whether or not they listen to the local radio. If you know what channels they’ll be listening to on a regular basis, it may be worth enquiring about prices for an advertising slot.
Are you looking for a new way to advertise your local sports team? What could you do to ensure maximum visibility? Let me know in the comments section below.
The glitz, the glam, the glorious design elements that make your website look like a million bucks. When contemplating a website redesign, it’s easy to focus only on those features that are appealing to the eye.
Unfortunately, redesigning a website isn’t simply an exercise in aesthetics. Sure, the purely visual elements of your newly designed website will likely get the most attention, but remember: a great website redesign also requires that you consider (and improve) what’s under the hood.
A flashy exterior doesn’t help much if the actual machine fails to function. If people can’t find your website via search, or if they can’t intuitively navigate through your site’s pages and easily understand what information those pages contain, it doesn’t really matter how beautiful it looks.
When it comes to your website redesign, form and function need to be a package deal. So while you should absolutely incorporate that new color scheme and add that big beautiful hero image to your homepage, don’t forget about what’s happening behind the scenes.
To ensure your new site will truly resonate with your target audience -- and to save yourself from some major headaches down the road -- you need SEO to be ingrained in your redesign strategy from the very beginning.
"The most common SEO mistake that I see marketers make when redesigning their websites is not involving the SEO team early in the process," says Jeff Ferguson, CEO of Fang Digital Marketing. "All too often, when we’re brought in for SEO work on a redesign, it’s often late in the process, such as when the site is being coded or even totally complete ... The advice that usually needs to be passed on at this point will most likely cost the company much more in design, coding, and more."
Laura Hogan, marketing director at OverGo Studio, takes a similar view. "If you don’t have SEO in mind from the initial strategy session, you’re going to lose what you took so much time and effort to build. Everything from the structure of your website to the meta description of your website pages is important and should be taken into consideration."
So, how exactly do you make sure SEO is incorporated into your redesign strategy from the very beginning? Here are a few items to add to the to-do list:
Do an Audit of Your Existing Site
Before you bust out the wrecking ball and start demolishing your soon-to-be-forgotten site, make sure you take the time to examine and audit your site to determine what’s working and what isn’t. Here are some key metrics you may want to consider:
Number of visits/visitors/unique visitors (monthly average)
Top performing keywords (in terms of rank, traffic, and lead generation)
Number of inbound linking domains
Total number of total pages indexed
Total number of pages that receive traffic
Armed with this knowledge of how your existing site is performing, you'll be able to make informed decisions about which of your pages should stay, which ones should go, and which ones should get revamped or reorganized during your redesign.
Identify (and Include) Commonly Used Keywords
It’s a new era for SEO, an era where you can no longer keyword-stuff your way to search ranking success. Nowadays, if Google finds out that you are blatantly overusing (or hiding) keywords on your site, your credibility (and rankings) could take a serious hit.
However, this doesn’t mean that keywords are totally irrelevant. In fact, if you’re doing what Google wants you to do (creating high-quality content), keywords will work there way naturally into your website’s pages. To quote from Google directly:
“In creating a helpful, information-rich site, write pages that clearly and accurately describe your topic. Think about the words users would type to find your pages and include those words on your site.”
Consider Your URL Structure
If your site is littered with lengthy, indecipherable URLs that don’t align well with the actual content of your site pages, restructuring your URLs should definitely be a priority during your next website redesign.
Wondering where SEO comes into play here? Just like the searchers themselves, search engines prefer URLs that make it easy to understand what your page content is all about.
A general rule to follow when creating your new URLs: use dashes (-) between words instead of underscores (_). Google treats dashes as separators, which means it can return results when you search for a single word that appears in a URL and when you search for a group of words that appears in a URL. This means that Google sees the individual words in the URL inbound-marketing-tips.com, which means the website could show up in searches for terms like "inbound tips," "inbound marketing tips," "marketing tips," etc.
In contrast, Google treats underscore as connectors, which means it will only return results when you search for a group of connected words that appears in a URL. So Google reads the URL inbound_marketing_tips.com as inboundmarketingtips.com, which changes how often the site appears in search results.
The bottom line: Using dashes creates more opportunities for your pages to be discovered.
Opt for a Responsive Solution
As Google’s preferred configuration for mobile-optimized websites, responsive design is your best option for delivering a great search and browsing experience to mobile users.
With responsive design, all of your website’s URLs are the same across all devices, and they all serve up the same HTML code. This isn’t the case with other mobile configurations, like setting up a separate, mobile-only site (which requires a different set of URLs) or implementing dynamic serving (which uses the same URLs but serves up different HTML).
With responsive design, the only thing that changes across devices is the styling (which is controlled by CSS). This configuration makes it easier for Google to crawl your pages and retrieve your content.
Have any website redesign and SEO tips you'd like to share? Sound off in the comments section below!
Erik was a Sr. Content Strategist and launched HubSpot’s first-ever Medium publication, ReadThink (now ThinkGrowth.org). Erik is now taking a break from the tech/marketing world to tackle some passion projects.
There is a great deal of merit that surrounds rebranding. A proper rebranding strategy can reinvigorate a company, it can resurrect it, give it new life. With the appropriate rebranding, you will be able to, in a way, start from the beginning, but a stronger foundation. Logistics, contacts, networks, staff, you will practically keep all, if not most, of everything you have, while still being able to try out new things.
However, there are many instances of a company rebranding too soon, or for no good reason, and then getting into trouble. From BP oil setting up a condescending rebrand and campaign to the money Gap wasted on flip-flopping with their own logo. Rebranding is an expensive and complicated procedure, and if you do it too soon, or too hard, or too often, you will just end up losing money and time. So, below you can find our top tips on how to figure out whether you need a rebrand done or not.
Your mission, and peoples' perceptions
Branding isn’t just about looking cool. It’s also not about trends, about colors, fonts, about an obsession with design. Your brand isn’t even really your logo. What it is, is a message. These are all elements that are supposed to communicate your message, they are channels that remind people that the service they are using, and the product they are buying, is made by you.
Now, the main issue here is figuring out your mission. Namely, in order to have your rebrand be effective, you must at all times be certain what your mission is, what your company stands for. Otherwise, you won’t really achieve much with your branding efforts. So, figure out what you want to communicate through your brand, how you want people to look at you and your company. And if you are unsatisfied with how they perceive you now, then it’s time to change. Now, the reason behind your dissatisfaction can vary. This can be anything from perhaps mistakes that have been made, or perhaps your competitors ruining the entire reputation of the industry, right down to simply propaganda or bad luck. Whatever the reason it happened, it’s now up to you to just change things up.
Now, there is however a slight caveat to this point. Namely, it depends on who has actually started looking at your brand differently. Random tabloid journalists, celebrities without any clout in your market, or your target audience and industry experts? And on that note…
When your target audience changes
You, of course, rely on your target audience, there are no ifs, ands, or buts about that. They are, in fact, the people who buy your products, who pay for your services. So, if your target audience changes in any way, you need to make changes as well. As you evolve, so does your target audience.
Now, the reasons behind the change can vary. Perhaps your original audience just became older. YOU may have targeted teenagers and, as time went on, they grew up. This leaves you with choosing one of two things. You can either focus on teenagers continually, preparing your products and marketing efforts for new generations, or you can change things up and stick to your core audience.
When you change your focus
The second issue is not so much your audience changing, as you yourself wanting to change. This can be anything, from branching out, to changing your own products and services. Perhaps you are not inspired anymore with the line of work you are currently doing. Or maybe you want to dip your toes in other waters. Maybe you want to try targeting a new demographic, like people over 45, for example, instead of just sticking to young adults. Maybe you prefer targeting another country, and so need to tailor your marketing efforts in that direction.
This is much harder than it sounds, though. You need to get the right marketing team, get your research done, and actually do all the logistical work that leads to a rebrand. Of course, you can delegate. So, you can, for example, hire the services of a good company, like getting some Orion Creative graphic designers to help you out, and focus on other things. You will spend less time on trivial things, and more time on leading the company or your team.
The times they are a changing
The entire point of having a brand is to communicate your message, as we’ve mentioned. However, if you want to get your business noticed, in a positive way, you need to do the work and change things up when needed. Perhaps your logo is now considered old fashioned. Perhaps your slogan can now be interpreted as outdated, or even offensive. Whether people are becoming more sensitive, or perhaps more aware, it doesn’t matter. For example, the Washington redskins’ name controversy is an excellent example. People have become more self-aware, and a bit more mindful of how certain words are used nowadays. As the term “redskin” is now considered more universally offensive, the team’s manages now have to deal with this issue.
On a simpler note, perhaps your logo is now ugly. A detailed and artistic representation of your company is now seen as gaudy, and minimalism is taking over. An excellent example is comparing Apple’s old logo, with its modern one. The old logo represented Isaac Newton sitting below a tree. The new one is a simple, 2D apple. And we all know which one reminds us of which.
Conclusion
So, proper rebranding can be a godsend. It can reinvigorate your company, push you forward towards new avenues and markets. It can save a company from the brink of collapse, but also make a successful business even stronger. The point here, however, is that it’s not that easy. It requires a lot of work, time, and dedication. For this reason, you need to think long and hard on whether you need to do a rebrand or not. Figure out if its time for a change, check your market, think about what your new goals are, and act accordingly.
Many businesses would agree that customer service is extremely important, and determines the growth of their business. You might think that customer service is pretty straight forward, but the truth is that customer service trends change year on year, so you need to be committed to staying up to date. Tools, systems, and processes all help to convert your strategies into customer satisfaction - here, we’ll talk about how you can provide better customer service for 2019.
The success of your business is always determined by the experience of your end users. User experience is extremely important if you want to grow your business and have people continue to visit your site. A massive 88% of people would not return to a business website after a bad experience. Case studies have shown that a UX design could boost conversion rates by up to 400%!
Focusing on providing a great user experience directly correlates with customer service. You are meeting their needs without hassle, and ensuring your site is a joy to use. Something you might want to look into to make this happen is a Managed IT service. This can reduce downtime, keep your customer’s information safe, and have many other benefits on how you run your business.
Customer Health Monitoring
Customer health monitoring allows companies to become seriously proactive. It’s no use waiting around for customers to contact you. Monitoring interactions every customer has and assessing the sentiment behind them can let customers know about problems before they even notice. This will make the difference between a good customer service experience and a great one.
Artificial Intelligence
Good news - AI is becoming much less artificial. Modern software means that the true power of AI can be leveraged, and that they aren't just a basic ploy to lure customers in. They will aid human agents in working smarter and more efficiently, rather than becoming a real replacement.
Things like sentiment analysis, predictive chat, and distress scoring are all examples of what AI can do alongside a human customer service rep.
Ticket Deflection Solutions
Deflecting tickets will increase in priority. Customer service teams are trying out new solutions that should reduce the amount of routine interactions that they process. Customers will easily be able to answer their own issues without needing to submit a ticket, as real time solutions like suggested links can be given in live chat based on what the customer has written about the problem.
Personalization
Personalization is something companies have been doing for a while, but many of them do not go as in depth as they could. However, personalization is now being applied at the entire company level by many companies. Customer service teams now have direct visibility into company accounts, and this means that they can add information including things like customer size, languages that they speak, hours and holidays, preferred service method, and more. Agents can see this and are able to further personalize the service provided to them. Personalized offers and services will help to develop loyalty, and add value to the customer. Their experience will be so much better as they feel more understood and valued by the company. You will understand your customer’s interests, use their name when speaking to them, and know what they need inside out. When they get a great personalized service like this, they are more likely to come back to you, as well as recommend you to friends and family.
Mobile First
Of course, mobile isn't going away anytime soon. It can transform your entire business if used correctly. Always think mobile first and you will ensure you are reaching your entire market. Many people will use a mobile device to search or get help before a PC, so think about how you can help people who are contacting you on their phones. Not only that, they should be able to browse your offerings without having to scroll and pinch until their fingers are sore. Simple things like this will make all the difference to the customer experience.
Customer Success
Customer service is not just about giving scripted responses. It’s about doing everything a business possibly can to ensure a customer feels like they have been successful with that business. Customer success is the key phrase that all representatives should be keeping in mind. A more customer focused business can lead to reduced churn and more positive third-party feedback.
Customer service is ever evolving. Incorporate these methods in 2019 and you will notice great results!
Struggling to make an impact on your target audience? It can definitely be an uphill battle. It might feel as if you’ll never be heard over the loud racket of your bigger competitors. However, we’re going to look at some ways in which your business could start to turn heads.
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Improve your digital marketing strategy.
One of the most important aspects of advertising a business in the modern world is digital marketing. You probably know this already, but you might be struggling to make an impact online. The traditional business world might have been competitive, but the online business world takes things to another level. What does it take to get people to notice you on the internet? Well, you need great content so your company’s website and social media pages rank well online. Perhaps you even have a YouTube page that you use to share videos of your goods and services. You might want to do some research to figure out how to rank YouTube videos on Google. That would definitely help your business to rank its videos highly on search result pages. SEO might seem overwhelming, but there are lots of online resources that can help you.
Encourage your customers to spread the word.
You also need to use your existing customer base if you want to make an impact on your target audience. You can only advertise your business so much. If potential clients don’t want to hear it, then it might be time for a new tactic. Instead of shoving adverts in the faces of consumers, you should present them with impressive reviews. But it’s not always easy to get your customers to spread the word. Even if they like your products and services, they might not want to spend their time leaving reviews for you online. After all, they’d be doing you a favour.
That’s why you need to give your clients an incentive to spread the word. They part with their money for the high-quality goods and services you provide. What are you going to provide if they tell their friends and family about your business? Perhaps you could start a referral scheme. If customers get discounts and freebies for referring your company to their friends and family members, then they’ll definitely be much more likely to do so. You could even consider running a competition; people could gain entry by sharing a post of yours on social media. That’d be a good way to spread the word. Sometimes, you just have to catch the attention of your existing customer base to get them to draw in other potential customers in the market.
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Research them.
If you want to make an impact on your target audience, then you need to research them. Market research is absolutely essential to understanding your demographic. This might sound like an obvious piece of advice, but it’s obviously a fact that some businesses take on board more than others. If you want your company to deliver a product which sets it apart from other brands in the marketplace, then you need to figure out what consumers are missing. What’s wrong with the industry? What could be improved? If you can answer those questions, then your company is going to stand out from the crowd.
And you’ll find the answers to those questions from research. Researching the competition is a good start; it’ll highlight what is or isn’t working for other businesses in the industry. But the goal isn’t to copy other successful corporations in your particular marketplace. If you follow in the footsteps of others, then you’ll struggle to differentiate your company from your rivals. You need to get to know your target audience better than your competitors know them. Talk to existing and potential customers. Invite feedback online. Ask them what changes they desire. That’s how you’ll start to spot issues which exist in the industry. In turn, you’ll be able to develop solutions which fill gaps in the market. And that’s when the target audience will start to notice you. That’s when you’ll start to make an impact on them.
Invest in yourself.
You also need to invest in yourself if you want to make an impact on your target audience. It’s a competitive marketplace, as we’ve discussed throughout this article. If your competitors are constantly growing, then you need to do the same. This is crucial if you want to ensure that you keep appealing to the target market. Otherwise, they’ll lose interest and flock to your rivals. Just make sure you invest well. Cut down wasteful spending, firstly. You could move from paper to digital means to save money, for example. Additionally, you need to make your investments count. If you want to increase productivity, then outsource instead of constantly hiring new workers. It’ll save you time and money.
Aspirant Graphic Designers are not required to have a professional degree to create astonishing designs. What matters the most is a great mind to work as a graphic designer and some technical knowledge. Thus, it does not matter whether you have a professional degree or not. Here are some tips if one wishes to work as a graphic designer.
Add Flavour through the Color Palette
Colors have a major role in enhancing the design. Using different color patterns as per the requirement can have a positive impact on the audience. You can choose a color palette of your own choice by using Color Hunt and Colors. They allow you to choose your color palette just by adding the hex code for the colors required. These sites are popular among Graphic Designers in Chennai.
Don't get entangled with the Fonts.
Making a design understandable for the audience is the main objective as a designer. Using various fonts in a single design can extract beauty and aesthetics from it. You can go for one or two typefaces, which makes it pleasing to the eye of the audience and can be understood easily. Messing up with different fonts for different content can pose a threat to the design.
Use Your Creativity
Being a designer requires innate creativity. Thus, bring out all your creativity to your design and at the same time keeping a distance from trending design patterns. Furthermore, explore all the design tools and options available with you at a given time. All of this can be achieved by using good color patterns, having a simple approach to the text and majorly as per your style rather than having a look at others.
The Composition as a Focal Point
Any design or image is created to reveal a story behind it. Arrange your content as well as images used in the graphic design to allow the audience to have a clear look at it. The composition can be altered using different elements of graphic design like the proper placing of text, using colors to add warmth and adding large text.
Stick to simplicity
Simplicity in designing terms means using basic elements and not creating a mess by adding irrelevant matter. Non-designers often fear of leaving blank spaces which forces them to add irrelevant content.
In fact, leaving some white space can enhance the beauty of the design. Mobile companies follow this pattern while crafting banners for advertising. Graphic Designers in Chennai focus on using blank space to enrich their company’s design. Rather, they are specially taught about the worth of having blank space in graphic design. This way, attention is mostly on the generated content.
Contrast: A Key to Every Lock
Contrast is an unavoidable element in graphic design. It creates an indelible impact over the audience for it reflects either positive or negative theme behind the design. Contrasting designs can be generated using filters or following basic color patterns, like a bright background is followed by dark font or using Canva and Moose to add contrast.
Have Symmetry to the Design
Symmetrical work is often pleasing to see and is a great option to adorn your graphic design. You can adjust the elements in the design in a symmetrical pattern. It brings balance to the elements laid out in the design.
Ensure Consistency with the Images
While creating a graphic, it is required to be consistent with the quality frames, colors, and proportions used. It ensures that the theme behind the design is highlighted.
Hermit Chawla is a Marketing Manager at Sprak Design. He would love to share thoughts on Top Graphic Design, Lifestyle Design, Branding Firm, Exhibition design etc..
