Why Automating Your Digital Marketing is The Way Forward

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Digital marketing is vital to your business, but do you ever find yourself living your life in reaction to social media notifications or emails?

The digitally connected world we live in, can be incredibly harmful to living a balanced and successful life; particularly in terms of our emotional wellbeing and social lives.  One of the best ways to ensure a more balanced life, is to automate your digital marketing by creating a network of automated process, systems, and apps to automatically take care of marketing tasks such as following up on emails, posting to facebook, and so on.

This will not only free up physical time, it will give you peace of mind, and a sense of certainty that things are being taken care of.  Essentially, it will allow you the time you need to be calm, focused, and responsive rather than reactive; contributing to a more stress free working environment.

Tim Ferris in his New York Times Bestselling Book, The Four Hour Workweek talks about the importance of automation in our work lives so that we can focus on managing our business in the sense of working ‘on’ the business rather than working ‘in’ the business.  Whilst Tim, along with several other millennial productivity experts urge us to go one step further and outsource our tasks to a virtual assistant; ideally someone living in India or Asia on the basis of cost – this article looks at automation as it relates to technological systems.

In this article we’re going to look at automating a number of the most time consuming digital tasks the majority of business owners contend with; things such as being inundated by emails, following up on sales leads, keeping our files organised, and managing our social media presence.

1. EMAIL MARKETING

There are plenty of time-starved business owners frantically sending out an email to a customer thanking them for their order and letting them know when it will be shipped.  The key point with automation is that it frees your time to be working ‘on’ the business at a strategic level rather than ‘in’ the business where you are wasting your time doing the same job as a low-level employee.  You could use something like mailchimp in order to start automating your emails at very low cost.

2.  FILE TRANSFER

If you’ve ever accidentally spilled a glass of water on your laptop, lost your phone, or had the despair of hard drive failure you’ll have most likely heard the words “did you back-up your files” and if you didn’t, this is the point where you begin to feel overwhelmed by a sense of frustration and kicking yourself.  That said, keeping on track of backing up your files can be time consuming, which is why automating your file transfer can make your life a lot easier and offer a sense of security and certainty that allows you to relax.

3. MARKETING FUNNELS

Your marketing funnel is made up of several stages through which browsers (who will hopefully go on to become customers) move from first awareness of your brand or website through to making a purchase.  A marketing funnel is essentially the process of converting a visitor or browser into a paying customer, and sites such as Clickfunnels can automate this process in a very efficient and visually engaging way.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Managing your social media marketing campaigns can be extremely time consuming.  Many business owners consider hiring a virtual assistant in order to manage this time consuming task though there there are several free apps such as hootsuite and buffer that can help you automate this task.

How To Start Your Own Website

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, How To Start Your Own Website data-lazy-srcset=

Over the past few years, Internet technological innovations have made it much easier for anyone to create their own website. But as easy as the process has become, most people still do not understand the correct way to get a website started. There are plenty of templates and website builders you can use to create a professional looking website, but those initial steps in starting the site can be confusing for new website owners.

Make A List Of Domain Names

The first step in starting your website is to figure out a concise title that best represents your business, and you do that with old fashioned pen and paper. If your company is called the ABC Corporation, then an address such as ABCCorporation.com would obviously be appropriate. But what if that address is taken? Would your business be better represented by something other than a .com website? You need to make a list of 10 or more website addresses that would fit your business and be easy for your customers to find.

Find A Web Hosting Company

A web hosting company will sell you your domain name and host your website as well. It is easier to get your domain name and hosting through the same company because then you would only need to go to one source for support. There is a wide variety of hosting companies to choose from, so take your time and find the company that you feel most comfortable with. You can even call the support phone number for the companies you are considering to determine which company offers the kind of support that you feel you will need.

Find The Domain Name That Is Available

Once you have chosen your web hosting company, it is time to get out your list of potential domain names and check available domain names. The best way to get the right domain name is to prioritize the list you have created and buy the first name that is available. Your web host may recommend that you buy more than just the .com extension to protect your domain name, and that is not a bad idea. When your company becomes successful as a .com, your competition could buy the .net address and cause problems for your business. To protect yourself, you should buy as many of the popular extensions as possible.

Buy Your Domain

Once you have decided which domain names you want to buy, it is time to make the purchase. It may take a day or two for your website to show up on the Internet, but it is worth the wait. Once your site is active, it is time to establish your online presence and grow your business.

It is easy for marketing experts to tell you to buy a domain and start your website, but most people who are new to owning a website are not sure what it means to choose a domain. With some practical advice, any business owner can take the necessary steps to choose the perfect domain name and get their business online quickly.

How to Make Your Business Stand Out in a Competitive Market

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Every business owner wants to stand out from the crowd and outshine their competitors. But, business is booming, and with so many people out there offering similar products and services, how do you show your customers that you deserve their business?

Your business wants to shine; you just need the spotlight. Here are a few tips to stand out from the competition in a competitive market.

1. Creativity

Though it might seem obvious, many businesses fail to fully capitalize on their most creative and unique elements, especially when it comes to marketing themselves.

To stand out among the masses, you need to show your customers that there is something unique about your business that deserves their time and attention.

It may seem risky to adopt marketing strategies that stray from the industry norms, but as a business owner, you probably understand that risk comes with the territory. Playing it safe and sticking to messaging and branding that conforms to everybody else just places your business and your reputation right in line with the rest.

Instead, exercise your creativity through your marketing. After all, the quality of your products or services speaks for themselves. You just need to get customers in the door to show them what you have to offer.

2. Strategy

No amount of marketing will be effective if you don’t implement it with a well-researched and well thought out strategy. Even a multimillion-dollar marketing budget, if poorly executed, won’t help you stand out from your competition.

You need to conduct thorough research, know your target audience, and create campaigns that make maximum use of every marketing dollar.

In the digital age, visibility is critical to success. With virtually everyone turning to a screen to research products and services and ultimately deciding who to do business with, ensuring that you have a strategy to maximize your visibility on search engines is essential to growth and success. By making use of DC SEO, you can get that spotlight your business deserves and shine brighter than the competition.

3. Quality

No amount of visibility and consumer engagement will repair a bad business. Even if every one of your target customers knows your name, it amounts nothing if you are unable to serve their needs adequately.

Consumers today are conducting more product research than ever before, and with the prevalence of social media and online reviews, they have the information at their disposal to make well-informed purchase decisions.

This problem is compounded in a competitive market. People are aware that they have many options, and have the privilege to be selective about where they spend their hard-earned money.

If you take pride in your business and have a product or service that you can stand behind, then you have the foundation to grow your business into an industry leader. All you need to do is market yourself creatively, and get your name out there. The rest will follow.

How to Move Your Business Forward

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For any business, there can be times when your market starts to slow down. There could be a number of reasons why this happens, but the important thing is what you do as a business to keep your company moving forward. If you are a new business, it can be a scary experience, especially if this is the first time and you haven’t put a strategy in place. However, here are a few ideas that can help you to focus on the important things and encourage you to keep going.

Fight Your Fear

Seeing the market slow down can be a worrying time for any company. You want to do things to try and boost your exposure, but you are wary of doing something that will cost money. While being cautious is a good thing, you need to weigh up your options and see where your opportunities are. Instead of becoming too fearful, try to analyze things objectively and decide the best way forward. If you find trying to be objective difficult to do, ask a friend in business to take a look for you.

Do Your Research

Before you can start to do something about your company growth, you need to know what areas you have to target. That is why you need to do your research not just on your customers, but also on your competitors. You should also be thinking about what has caused the slowdown in your market. Is it anything that you can work against? Is there a way that you can use it to your advantage? See where your competitors are going and see if there is an area they aren’t currently occupying. That might be the angle you need to start your company moving forward again.

Researching your customer’s feelings are also a good way to see what’s changed. Send out a survey on your social media accounts or try to email your existing customers. Their feedback could be the key to finding out which way to go.

Look Within Your Company

At these times, it can be a good thing to take a look at your operation to see if anything can be changed or improved. Assess and decide if there are any processes that can be managed in a better way or if there are members of staff who would be more efficient in other areas. It doesn’t mean you have to release any staff; it just gives you the opportunity to take stock of the company. It can also be a good time to look ahead and see if there are any ways you can save money, just in case things don’t improve. Look at your suppliers – are there any that could renegotiate their arrangements? Are there any contracts that are losing your company money? If there are, you might have to consider stopping them and putting your resources elsewhere. It also means that if you manage to save a little money without losing staff, you can then reinvest that money in marketing.

Have a Strategy

Once you have done your research, you should be able to think about how you are going to keep your company growing. Why have your customers stopped using your company? Is it the same for your competitors? If your competitors are doing better than you currently, then try to see why that is, what are they offering that your business is not? It may be a simple thing that you can do which will start to grow your customers again, or perhaps you can offer a different service where you see a demand. Try to devise a strategy that can be adjusted to suit a variety of conditions. For example, set limits on the amount you spend on bonuses or overseas trips, these can be raised or lowered depending on how well the company is achieving.

Consider New Approaches

Part of your review of your company may have shown that you need to think about offering a new approach to your customers. If you have always dealt with them in person, then maybe offering an online service would entice them back. Perhaps you need to offer some new additional services that have become popular with other companies. For example, if you are a law firm, then maybe using a Practical Planning System estate program to help people with their will and power of attorney will attract some additional clients. Perhaps you can take advantage of new technology to do more interviews and meetings via video conference instead of traveling to them. Not only will it save you money, but it will also enable you to arrange meetings quickly and increase your productivity.

Change Your Marketing Strategy

Another way that you may be able to get the jump on your competitors is to refocus your marketing strategy. There may be nothing wrong with what you are currently doing, though by adjusting it to other areas, you may increase your reach and obtain more leads.

Take a look and see if there are any areas that you are not currently advertising. It could be that you have never placed an ad on television before, but it might be a good idea, especially locally. This is where you need to be brave and think about the long-term benefits of advertising. Try a limited run, to begin with, and see how many new leads it generates.

Another good idea is to email your old clients and see if they need your services. It might seem unlikely, but there may be people that have been putting something off until the time was right. Your email might be the nudge they need to get it done.

It can be easy to think the worst and try to downsize your company when the market begins to slow down. Though that can be a good way to save money, it doesn’t help attract new customers and drive the market once again. If you begin to panic, it’s important to think about all the things you haven’t done yet and give them a try, but be decisive, because the sooner you get moving, the quicker you will see the results.

What Can E-commerce Stores Learn from Amazon?

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There are quite a few different things that just about all e-commerce stores can learn from Amazon. If you own an online store and want to increase its profitability, you will need to take a close look at all of the things that this internet retailer giant does right. It can be difficult making it in this world unless you really know what you are doing.

In this article, you’ll get some insight into how you can improve your internet-based business by following some simple but effective tips. Amazon has set the standard for e-commerce, and there are numerous reasons for that.

A Customized Experience

One of the revolutionary things that Amazon did as an online retailer is to personalize each customer’s shopping experience. You can clearly see this when you look at the “Related to Item’s You’ve Viewed” section and others. When you create a more custom shopping experience for each person who visits your website, they are far more likely to keep coming back.

On-Site Reviews

Another great way to increase the likelihood of people buying from your online store is to include a section for customers to post reviews of the products they have purchased. This is something that really helped Amazon a lot, and it will really help the people who visit your site decide which products to buy. These days most people read customer reviews before purchasing an item online, so you will want to seriously consider doing this.

Stay Current with Business News

As successful as Amazon is, they are still always trying to figure out how to become better as a company. It is important that you stay current with business news on a daily basis so that you can make the right decisions for your business. There are many different websites to visit for business news, including Apex Beats.

Learn the Art of Promotion

Amazon is really good about promoting themselves and, more specifically, the deals they offer customers. Almost everyone knows about Amazon Prime and it’s because they generate a ton of buzz for it. If there are certain things that you can offer your customers to save them money, you will need to make sure they know about it.

Make Searching for Products Easier

It should be the goal of any online merchant to make searching for products as easy as possible for those who visit their site. The last thing you want is for your customers to have difficulty locating what they want because they’ll likely get frustrated and go somewhere else. Amazon makes doing this incredibly simple and easy, so you will want to follow suit and do the same.

While it may seem like it’s nearly impossible to succeed as an online merchant sometimes, there are quite a few things that you can do to increase your chances of making it. Every single e-commerce business owner should take a close look at Amazon to see what they are doing right because there are a lot of them.