Posts

The Right and Wrong Way to Grow Your Digital Presence

/in /by

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Digital Presence|The Right and Wrong Way to Grow Your Digital PresenceFocusing on your digital presence is a sure-fire way to grow your business, but there are a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings surrounding it. For instance, many people read outdated articles about how important advertising is, but the reality is that as the internet evolves the strategies we need to use have to change as well. So in order to demystify these problems and give you a better chance at growing your business, here are some tips on the right and wrong way to grow your digital presence.

Wrong: Focusing solely on advertising

Advertising is a great way to improve your digital presence, but there’s a single problem that makes it a terrible idea for most startups and SMEs; competition. While you could probably advertise on a similar level to larger companies, they’ll ultimately have a lot more money to spend, a larger marketing budget and ultimately more power than you. You simply don’t win when it comes down to who has more marketing power.

Right: Changing the approach depending on your budget

That’s why it’s incredibly important to change your approach depending on your budget. Smaller companies with less capital can focus on social media-based approaches. This involves joining communities, getting to know your audience and paying more attention to their needs as you try to meet them.

Wrong: Doing everything yourself to save money

There are far too many entrepreneurs and SMEs that would rather use their employees or even their own skills to try and grow their digital presence. This could include learning to design your own website, trying to use free SEO tools to get noticed on Google or even trying to manage your social media accounts alone. This is a poor approach because it takes a lot of your time and you simply don’t have the knowledge or skills required.

Right: Investing into services wisely

That’s why it’s important to partner yourself with an SEO agency, web design company or even a community manager. The idea is to always rely on specialists when possible because they’ll be capable of handling the tasks you’ve set while you can focus on striking more deals, developing new products and ultimately scaling your company. You can leave the design and technical work to specialists instead.

Wrong: Automating everything that you can

There are far too many services and tools that can help you automate tasks that really shouldn’t be automated. For instance, there are tools that will automatically update your social media pages with random bits of content, there are email templates and services that will spam emails to various accounts and there are tools to automate lead followup. This might work for larger businesses, but if you value customer interaction then there’s another option.

Right: Personalizing your content

Personalizing all of your content makes you more human and thus approachable. If you’re going to grow your digital presence then you absolutely need to write and send your own emails, curate content that you wish to display to the public and follow up on leads in person.

How to Successfully Rebrand Your Business Through Social Media

/in /by

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Rebranding| How to Successfully Rebrand Your Business Through Social MediaYour digital brand is probably the first thing potential customers see. And the chance that the first interaction they ever have with your brand is through social media are very high, considering that nearly eighty percent of the population is said to be on at least one social media network.

You may have moved your original brand identity online, but it isn’t a fit for the new digital world. Or you simply need to update your brand to stay relevant to your target demographic. Here are a few tips on how to successfully rebrand your business through social media.

Have a Plan before You Act

Rebranding is risky, because you’re putting your online reputation at risk. You could compromise the awareness you’re trying to raise if you do it wrong or choose a totally new brand that alienates your core customers.

Know exactly what your end goal is. Decide now what message you want to promote and how it helps you accomplish your goals. Select a brand that matches your new or revised company principles. Test various profiles, taglines and marketing materials to determine what your audience loves and what they hate. Create a step-by-step plan for transitioning to the new brand. Don’t rush the process, or you’re certain to make a mistake.

Stake Your Claim

Before you announce your new brand name, make certain that the domain name and social media handles you want are available. For example, make sure the Twitter handle that matches your new brand name is available before you tell people this is what you’ll be using. The best thing you can do is seize these domains and social media profiles before you do anything else. If the handle is already taken, you can get creative as you try to find a variation that works for you.

StrategyDriven's Social Media Publication Timing Whitepaper


Prepare Your Audience

Some members of your community will love the new brand, and others will hate it. Regardless of their opinions of your vision, you need to be transparent with all of your customers. Let your customers know that you’re gearing up for rebranding as it will help minimize the potential backlash. An abrupt overnight change without audience preparation will cause engagement to plummet, and that will hurt your rankings.

A slow, planned transition that is talked about with customers can actually help your company. It may improve your new brand’s recognition, because it allows you to leverage word-of-mouth marketing. One of the ways you can achieve this is by offering sneak peaks. This will pique the interest of everyone else, causing those with privileged information to generate buzz while others will tune in to see the new brand as soon as it is revealed. This is true whether you’re changing your logo, updating your social media profiles, or totally revamping the brand.

Plan for the frequently asked questions before you go live. Don’t leave people with unanswered questions. Take the time to anticipate their needs, create a list of frequently asked questions, and then give them straightforward answers. Explain to people why you’ve decided to rebrand and what the change will mean for your customers, if anything.

It is a good idea to assign someone the job of monitoring social media profiles after launch to address community questions quickly. This can avoid confusion and ensure that correct information gets out to the community. This should be done in addition to blog posts and videos introducing and promoting the new brand.

Create a Consistent New Brand

For the sake of professionalism and consistency, update all of the social media profiles on the same day. Change your domains at the same time. Don’t announce a rebrand and then wait a long time before changing your presentation. Make certain that everything from your website to paid ads to business directory entries follow the new branding scheme.

A branding agency like BrandLume could help you set things up so that it all transforms on the same day. They offer a variety of branding services and will provide clear timelines of what to expect at every stage of the rebranding process. They will do as much or as little as you need them to do so that the project fits your budget as well as your deadlines. And they don’t lock you into long-term contracts, either, though they can handle the social media reaction to your rebranding effort for you as long as you need them to.

Have all of your employees update their biographies too, so that customers know that they’re talking to the right person when seeking help or information. Ensure that everyone is speaking in the new company’s “tone” and following your new branding guide.

Stick with It

When you’ve committed to a new brand, stick with it. Don’t revert back to old posts with the obsolete branding because they generated a lot of activity. Don’t announce a rebranding only to change your mind later.

Avoid vanity engagement at all costs. Stick to your plan, monitor engagement throughout the transition, and address problems as they arise without deviating from the overall plan. Wavering will end up eroding trust in the brand. Be aware of the negative comments and possible loss of some clients. Be consistent in your brand’s new aesthetic, voice and content so that your numbers will start to grow again.

Continue engagement with your followers, too. This increases the odds they’ll stay on board after the rebranding. Keeping up the engagement will also increase the odds newly acquired followers will remain connected to the brand. This could also be a commitment to your new brand, and a focus on building a closer interaction with your core base.

Rebranding can hurt your brand when done incorrectly. However, when done right, it will help your business succeed on social media, give your company a second life, and boost awareness and recognition. Make sure that you take all these points into consideration and also consider working with professionals if you need help.

Master These Vital Aspects To Digital Marketing

/in /by

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | Master These Vital Aspects To Digital Marketing | Digital MarketingYou really can’t expect your business to get far at all without a good, strong focus on digital marketing. Any digital marketing campaign you have will need to have a lot of focus and drive behind it, and generally you will find that it is important to make sure you are putting whatever effort into it you are able to. Digital marketing will prove to be an essential aspect to running your business and ensuring that it remains popular and continues to grow. But what do you need to think about in order to make sure that you are approaching it in the right way? In this article, we will look at just a few of the essential things that you need to do as part of your digital marketing campaign. As long as you are focused on these, you will be moving in the right direction.

You really can’t expect to get anywhere at all without a decent website, and in fact it is worth putting a good amount of your energy into this before you do anything else for your marketing efforts. The website is where it all comes back to, and as long as you are happy with that you will find that you are going to have much more success with your marketing overall. A good website needs professional designers to ensure that it is operating properly and working as well as possible. Fortunately, these days it is easy enough to find affordable web design which is going to work out well for you, so you should be able to do just that. With a website which you are happy with, you can then start to look at some of the other vital elements to digital marketing.

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Digital Marketing |Master These Vital Aspects To Digital MarketingSocial Media

You will find it is essential to have a good grasp of social media if you are to market your business online successfully, so make sure that you are looking into this as early on as you can. You will want to start building a following on Twitter, Facebook and the rest as soon as possible, and it’s important in particular to focus on actually having decent conversations with people on those platforms. If you do that, and develop a branded voice in doing so, you will find that people are much more likely to respond positively, and this will have the kind of effect that you are hoping to have for your digital marketing. Social media is incredibly powerful, so make sure that you are thinking about this.

PPC

Finally, it’s important to remember too that there are some ways of approaching digital marketing which have a more traditional advertising feel to them, and one in particular you might want to focus on is Pay-Per-Click advertising. This is essentially where you have a banner on websites which people click on to get through to your website or a particular call to action, and it is amazing how effective this kind of method can be. Be sure to make use of it, and you will find that your business has much more chance of success.

Take Advantage of These 7 Marketing Tips and Grow Your Business in 2019

/in /by

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Marketing|Take Advantage of These 7 Marketing Tips and Grow Your Business in 2019When money is tight, marketing is often the first area where cuts are made, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on promoting your business completely. There are many ways you can market your business on a limited budget. Traditional advertising techniques can be very expensive, and nowadays they’re not all that effective. Thankfully, technology has come to the rescue, much like many other areas of our lives. Digital tools are available to help you market your small business on a shoestring budget.

Utilize Social Media

Do you realize how many people use social media? According to the latest research it’s estimated that there will be almost 3 billion social media users around the globe in 2019. That’s a huge audience you’re not able to talk to if you’re not yet using social media. The most popular social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. Each of these platforms has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each offers its own unique way of engagement. It would be impossible to master them all at once so choose a few you like and try to master those first. Your choice of platform also depends on the ones your target audience is using.

Content is King

All your potential customers are going to love good quality content, and so is Google and other popular search engines. Publishing content on your website and social media pages is a very effective way to share information. Try your hand at blogging, creating videos, hosting podcasts, designing infographics or submitting articles to online authority sites. It’s a great way of getting free traffic and improving your authority as an expert. If there are complementary websites, you could offer to be a guest blogger or be interviewed on one of their podcasts.

Offer Free or Discounted Products or Services

A great way to draw in new customers is to offer something for free or at a discount. Grocery stores have been doing it for many years, and they call them lost leaders. Offering something such as bread at a really low price might lose money on that particular line, but it’s bringing in customers who are likely to spend money in other areas. Free trials or free software apps are more ways to attract prospective customers. Giving them the opportunity to try something for free is very useful.

Ask Customers for Reviews

If you’re a little unsure about the relevance of customer feedback, it might interest you to learn that as many as 54% of people visit a website after reading positive reviews and 84% of people trust reviews as much as a personal recommendation. Reviews can carry a lot of weight because they build trust and credibility for your business. Make sure you find space for them on your website because they also improve your search engine ranking.

Look After Your Loyal Customers

One of the keys to business success is your customers, so it’s vital you look after them and encourage them to stay loyal. Nurturing your loyal customers is also more cost effective than trying to attract new ones. You can keep them loyal in a number of different ways. For example, communicate with them regularly on social media, via your blogs or e-news. Providing follow-up after a sale is made is also important. Remember, if you make a promise to follow through, don’t be afraid to go the extra mile and exceed your customer’s expectations. You might not always want to hear what your customers have to say about your business, but even the most negative comments have value. They should be seen as an opportunity to improve services and customer experience.

Set Marketing Goals and Budget

You can promote your business without considering what you want from your efforts, but it’s much more effective to set marketing goals. Having SMART goals is going to help you develop the best strategies for growing your business. To be classed as SMART goals they have to be:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Relevant
  • Time-Based

As well as setting your business marketing goals you also need to set aside some money for your marketing efforts. Your budget needs to include website development and maintenance, SEO strategy, branding, promotional material, advertising, sponsorships and perhaps marketing staff.

Make Personal Branding Work for Your Business

One of the most valuable assets your business will ever own is your brand. Think Coca Cola, Amazon, Nike and you’ll appreciate what we mean. A survey undertaken by Nielson found out that 59% of customers prefer to buy from familiar brands. You’re probably wondering how you go about building your brand. It’s more than having a cool logo or advertising in the right location. Building your brand is more of a process you have to go through, but the result is a long-term relationship with your customers.

First, you have to define your target audience. Are they single moms, tech-savvy millennials, college students, a busy housewife, or professional executives, for example? Once you’ve identified your audience you can work on creating a brand, they understand and can relate to. Other branding aspects you need to consider include, establishing a brand mission statement, researching what others in your industry are doing, outlining the qualities and benefits your brand offers, forming your brand voice, building a brand message and elevator pitch. One final feature you need to look at is your domain name and extension. The name of your website should be informative, clear and concise if you want to know more about the benefits of choosing the right domain name look here for more details.

Hopefully, now you realize that marketing your business is something you can do even when your budget is limited. All that’s required is some effort on your part and some creative thinking. The marketing tips that have been shared above are just the tip of the iceberg but think of them as ideas to get the ball rolling.

Viral Marketing: What Is It and How Can You Use It?

/in , /by

Digital marketing grew rapidly these past few years. There are more instruments to use and campaigns to run today, allowing businesses – from small businesses to giant enterprises – to achieve their marketing objectives in an efficient and measurable way.

While content marketing and social media are very popular, more businesses are turning to viral marketing as a way to generate buzz and attract a bigger audience. What is viral marketing and how can you use it? We are going to answer those questions in this article.

What is Viral Marketing?

Viral marketing is a type of marketing campaign that utilizes existing websites and networks of users to deliver key marketing messages to a wider audience. By targeting key users on different platforms, the same marketing messages can reach a vast number of viewers in a relatively short amount of time.

Viral marketing differs from conventional content or social media marketing in one particular way: this type of campaign relies on the content of the campaign to be interesting enough for it to go viral. When the campaign is configured properly, a simple marketing message can get thousands of shares and re-shares across multiple platforms.

In most cases, viral marketing uses video content. Audio-visual contents work better in attracting user engagement and persuading the audience to share the content with more people. At the same time, video content adds that extra dimension for a bigger chance of going viral.

How Can You Do Viral Marketing?

From the definition of viral marketing itself, it is easy to see the elements you need to prepare for a successful viral marketing campaign. For starters, you need to determine the platforms you want to target for the campaign. Aside from popular social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, we also have sites that specialize in viral and funny content such as apextribune.com.

Understanding the platforms you’ll be using and the audience you want to target is important. The insights will help you tailor your content perfectly; once again, the goal of fine-tuning the message is to increase its chances of going viral once viewers start seeing it.

Once the campaign is carefully formulated, you can start executing the plan and let the audience to the rest. Keep in mind that not all content will go viral upon impact. That brings us to the next part of this article: how to go viral.

How to Go Viral

There is no definitive secret or recipe to going viral. The biggest challenge of viral marketing is getting the campaign accepted by the audience the right way. Only then will you see the impact of the campaign amplified to new heights.

That said, you can take steps to increase the chances of your campaign going viral. Adding gamification, understanding the audience’s taste and preferences, and using content that relates well to the target viewers are some of the tips you can use to get started. Do it right and viral marketing can catapult your brand and your products or services like no other digital marketing instrument.