Social Media

Smart Digital Marking Methods That Can Make Your Company A Success

/ nancyrubin

Starting an online business can be a very smart venture. But if you really want to make a success of it, you have to work hard. Because setting up a business isn’t enough to make it great. You have to really work at it in order for that to happen. From creating a website with content that your customers are not only going, but also find easy to use, to coming up with effective and creative ways to make money, there’s a lot that you need to work on to ensure that your business is going to do well. And that’s often enough to put even the most determined people off.

So you know that you want your business to do well, and you know that you want to make a lot of money, but are you happy to put the work in? If so, then you’ve come to the right place. Because in order to make some money and ensure that your business can go from strength to strength, you have to focus on your marketing tactics. Whether you’re new to the world of marketing or not, here are some of the most effective digital marketing methods that can take your business to where you need it to be.

Affiliate Marketing

The first thing you’re going to want to think about using is affiliate marketing. Whether you’re a content site or a business, you can use affiliate marketing to make you a great passive income, or generate you more sales. Affiliate marketing is something that a lot of businesses swear by, so if it’s not something that you’ve already looked into, it needs to go straight to the top of your marketing methods list. It may take some work to initially set up, but once you’ve done that and your traffic is flowing, money can make itself.

Display Marketing

From here, you may also want to think about using display marketing. As a brand, you can gain a lot of traffic and sales by using this tried and tested marketing technique. And when you’re a content site, you can earn some great amounts of commission by using it. Display marketing has a lot of depth to it. As long as you’re prepared to tailor your campaigns and work with the best companies, you have the potential to earn well!

PPC

Next, up, you have PPC. Of all the different kinds of digital marketing methods, PPC is a great choice if you want to generate yourself some warm traffic. Because sometimes, traffic isn’t all that you need, you need to ensure that you’re attracting consumers that will genuinely be interested in your product to your site. And with PPC marketing, you can definitely do that, whether you do it yourself or outsource to an agency.

PPV

Then, you’ve also got a similar idea to PPC, but instead of the payment being based on a click, the payment is based on a view. So, if you hadn’t guessed already, PPV marketing is based on things like YouTube adverts. And when you think about it, there are not only millions of YouTube videos out there, but there are also millions of people watching them too. So, capitalizing on the ad space available via PPV is a great way to make money.

SEO

And of course, you’re definitely going to want to include SEO in your marketing plans too. But don’t automatically think that you have to outsource it, because you may be able to take on some of it yourself. This beginners guide to SEO, for example, will be a really worthwhile read for you. You may be able to pick up some of the basic principles yourself to then apply them to your work and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Social Media Marketing

And, of course, what good list of digital marketing methods would be complete without including social media marketing too? Because social media is so popular with both consumers and business, you have to be able to harness some of that power in your promotional strategy. You should definitely think about trial paid social options too, to see if they work for your business.

Sponsorship

And finally, there’s also sponsorship or collaborations to consider too. Whether you’re a brand looking to advertise, or a content site looking for advertisers, sponsorship can work really well if you’re matched with the right company. You may find that you benefit from more traffic as well as sales and extra income too.

 

Starting Up A Business? It’s Simple With These Tips

/ nancyrubin / 3 Comments

Dealing within your business may come as second nature to you, but for someone starting out, it can all seem too daunting. How can you start a business? Where do you begin to fathom the challenges ahead? There are, however, some basic principals that you can overcome. Getting a grip on the main fundamentals create the perfect grounding to create your business. I thought I would share these simple tips to help you if you find yourself just starting out.

bustips Sourced

Business plans are essential

Having a business plan is an essential part of starting up a business. It gives you the focus and clarity to know exactly what steps and actions you need to take. However, many overlook this part of the process and possibly don’t spend as much time on it as they should do. But, not only does a business plan guide you, it can also help if you are looking to gain an investor’s interest further down the line. Or even if you are hoping to raise funds from the start. Which brings me onto my next point.

Consider the financial side of things

The financial side of things is one huge hurdle to overcome at the beginning of starting up a business. You have the initial finance you need to bring a product to market or launch a company or service online. But you may also find that you struggle with cash flow when you begin to start trading. This is when websites like https://smallbusinessloans.co could help you out. You need to be able to keep a business moving forward and the financial aspect can be one of the downfalls of a new start up. So plan ahead.

Social media can be your huge advantage

Social media management and promotion is a buzz with businesses taking different approaches and strategies of how they advertise their business online. And why not? After all, it is so diverse and with a big audience you really can take advantage of social media from an advertising and marketing side of things. A decent understanding of how you can utilise these platforms will be vital to your success, websites like http://www.dummies.com could help you out.

Think of your branding and website

The branding and your website are two key facts for your business and is something that needs you time, your attention and your focus. Everything is digital these days and mostly people will head online to find the right website for their needs. However, if they do happen to stumble across your website but the branding isn’t on point then you could potentially lose that customer or client. A digital marketing agency could help with logos and branding along with web development. Lastly, you will also want to ensure that your website can be seen through the mass of websites offered in search engines. This is when search engine optimisation and the use of keywords could help improve your chances of ranking better. Thankfully, there are plenty of tutorials online to help you make a start on this yourself.

Simple Tips for Handling a Business Expansion

/ nancyrubin

Running a small business is nice, but there comes a time when every business owner wants to expand their business into something bigger and better. However, there are certain pitfalls that make it really difficult for businesses to handle their growth, especially if the growth is a rapid one. With bigger business come bigger responsibilities, and your ability to delegate them properly to competent managers. This is why it’s important to have a strong plan in place before even thinking about business expansion, and this guide will help you find out some of the best tips you can apply to your business in order to grow it successfully.

Focus on the Customers

One of the most important things when it comes to expanding a business is to understand and keep up with current market trends. If you fail to satisfy some of the basic customer demands you will never be able to grow your business beyond a certain point. This is why it’s vital to know as much as possible about their potential demands, as well as what’s trending and what your customers might be after. Whether it’s great customer service or a competitive product that can match any other out there, you need to know what to focus on.

Plan Your Marketing Campaign in Advance

No small business has ever expanded into a large one without investing heavily in advertising their brand. However, many business owners make a mistake and don’t actually factor in how the marketing itself needs to change once you start expanding, which can lead to a total crackdown of your expansion efforts. This is why it’s important to plan your marketing campaign in advance and try to cover all stages of expansion and how your campaign is going to adapt to meet the demands of an expanding business.

Running a business today means being online, which further means that investing in SEO is clearly something you should consider if you’re planning to expand. More traffic means more conversions, which will not only increase your revenue – but also boost your reputation as a brand.

Identify New Groups of Consumers

Expansion basically means moving past your existing customer base and thinking about how to attract new customer groups to become loyal to your brand. To do this, you need to diversify your products and/or services to better match the new groups you’ve identified. If you manage to do that, while also retaining your existing customer base, you’ll effectively have multiple income streams which will push your business forward. It’s always best to design new products to match what’s trending right now, so it’s important to constantly analyze the market for opportunities if you’re to get an edge over your competitors.

Get a Bigger Office

If you’re caught by surprise by your sudden expansion and you’re all of the sudden in a dire need of getting a new office, you might lose valuable time and money at a point in time when you need to be focused on the expansion. That’s why it’s crucial for you to identify when the expansion is going to happen and expand your workspace beforehand. While you might love your small, sturdy office, it’s no place to be once you start growing. Companies like Pinkjunk Rubbish & Junk Removal Company, 1800 Got Junk, Junk King, and numerous others, can get rid of the extra stuff you no longer need and save you a ton of time when moving an office.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Social media is a powerful marketing tool today, one that’s also the best marketing platform for many consumer groups out there. Be super-active on social media channels that best fit your industry. So if you’re in the business of interior design – Pinterest and Instagram might be your best bet. There are a couple of things to keep in mind when it comes to social media promotions, so pay attention.

  • Always Reply to Comments – There’s nothing users hate more than their comment staying unnoticed, so have someone vigorously answer everything that needs answering on your channels.
  • Deal with Negative Feedback in Private – If a customer had a bad experience with your service or a product, the last thing you want is to start a discussion for all the public to see. It’s bad for business, so always try to contact the user privately and settle things over there.
  • Fresh Content – Try to actively post fresh content, as that’s one of the best ways to get you traffic and conversions, as well as affect your SEO efforts.

Conclusion

Many businesses in the past decade failed for the sole reason of being unprepared for their expansion. Every small business owner wants their business to expand, so the more you’re ready for it – the better chances you’ll have to stay ahead of the game. By following these tips you’ll have a greater understanding of what awaits you and how to tackle it if you wish to successfully grow your business.

Guest author, Chloe Smith, is a cycling enthusiast, business consultant, and a part-time writer always willing to share tidbits of advice. She believes that passion, courage and, above all, knowledge breed success.

Leading A Promotional Marketing Charge For Your Business

/ nancyrubin

If you have sat behind your desk at your business and wondered why you can’t get your feet off the ground of perhaps, it’s time for an evolution; a promotional campaign is what you need to lead. It’s kind of like going into battle because you’re charging against the market and forcing them to notice you. A business that is determined expand or give a new product or service, a boost into the atmosphere, must be ready to campaign hard. You’ll need both online and real-world skills to accomplish your goals because market reach depends on being able to anticipate what customers are thinking and doing. Keep in mind that a successful campaign is only achieved if you’re fully prepared, so expect the unexpected. promo1

Photo by – Christopher Blizzard

Join the message and objectives

Your mindset should be to set the battle formations in your business and assign certain tasks to the key people in a meeting. Assess the marketing communications opportunities, by various different avenues you can explore with your marketing team. It’s important to realize the first step is to examine and understand the complex nature of consumers in your field. If there is a major giant that the consumers are veering toward, you’ve got to be able to and willing to, take some of their customers away. This is the beauty of small and medium sized businesses because they can fight with giants and come out on top if they have the right plan. Who is this message going to be going out to, will it be a certain buyer bracket, i.e., class of people? How will the current users feel if you suddenly went in another direction? Your current customer base should be catered for together with the new audience you’re reaching to, so you don’t lose the revenue you have already secured over time.

promo2 Credit – Pixabay

Develop the message

The promotions message you’ll be giving out to potential customers has got to be well thought through with all the marketing, communication and bulk the employees, all reading from the same page. It will take time to forge, but once you sit down with all the relevant staff, and focus on the content of the promotion, ideas will soon start to fly. Focus on the appeal of the new product or service, the structure of the team with regards to the different parts they will promote. The format should be such, that the online specialist team, deals with consumers that are mainly online shoppers and therefore much more likely to be better educated on the subjects they research and the things they buy. Those who shop in person, are most likely going to be of the older generation, who want to know the difference of function between your brand and the next best thing on the market. Keep in mind that promotional campaigns that have the best results are those that have an execution plan.

promo3 Source – Andrew Hendo

Go out and promote

Consumers want to have something to latch onto, something that they feel is relatable or at the very least, a figure of some sort. You could rent a mascot or a large prop to get customers to pay attention to you when you’re marketing in the real world. Together with the team of marketers, you can run promotional campaigns at places where you know there will be a large population. You can go to musical events, food festivals, seasonal parties, etc., and have your employees talk to customers one on one. If you can rent a large figure or make mascot statue that stands out like a beacon, you may find that people are attracted to come toward your booth or stands. But seeming as your budget is already tight, you may not have the funds to rent out such large figures for long, so look to find the best interest rate for an installment loan. However long your campaign is, you can have certain items paid for by the loan, so you use your money, to make money. Installment loans are great for people who run businesses because you can use the money you don’t have to go out and make more than enough money to pay the loan back. Some installment loans can give you up to $2,000, and others may supply you with $5,000. Use this money wisely, to secure places at events, and pay for the equipment and memorabilia.

Determine the effectiveness

It can be rather strange to want to sum up your campaign so early after it finishes. Much like the war generals of old, you may want instant gratification. However, the only true way to examine how effective your promotional campaign was, is to look at the numbers. The sales figures won’t lie and will show what products and services have jumped popularity. Perform a situation analysis and start the internal cogs of your business moving to be able to cope with the increased demand like you should have already planned. You’ll need to gather further information to give your increase in profits a solid justification. Encourage your customers to leave reviews and comments about your business, and you may start to recognize a pattern, which correlates with the tactics of the campaign. By these figures and stats, you’ll be able to answer the question of whether or not you hit your target market. Certain advertising messages will have stuck with the audience, which if proven, you can use in future campaigns so psychologically, you’re familiar with the consumers.

A well-run promotional campaign will pull out all the stops. Very rarely are such campaigns done every year, and there may be a prolonged lull before the next time you get to connect directly, with such a large amount of people. Buy the necessary equipment and materials you need to resonate with customers and leave a lasting impression, but also designate the right members of your team to run specific parts of the promotion. Take the time to develop your message, and once you have a picture of what you want to achieve, stick to your objectives and aim straight for your goals.

Dos and Don’ts of Using Social Media for Customer Service

/ nancyrubin

Using social media for customer service makes sense for businesses and customers alike. J.D. Power published data showing  more than two-thirds of all customers who contacted a company via a social network did so for customer service. It is no surprise that companies have learned the benefits that come with a public display of customer service excellence.

Despite the attractiveness of leveraging social media as a customer service channel,  companies that have tried often deliver disappointing results. As an example, another study reveals that more than one-third of consumers who have tried to use social media to get help were disappointed.

Unlike traditional situations where customers privately interact with companies via either telephone or in-person visits, social media dialog occurs in public for everyone to see. Although this can present valuable opportunities, they may also lead to damaging negative publicity. Read the following dos and don’ts for great social media customer service.

DO

1. Respond quickly

Customers want immediate results. In response, you offer expedited shipping options, same day shipping and similar perks that compress the gap between order placement and fulfillment. Why stop there? Customers also want to receive prompt replies to their inquiries.

Did you know more than 40% of customers want to receive a response within one hour of contacting you? In fact, one third of your customers want to receive a response in 30 minutes. Even if you need more time to achieve a final resolution, a quick response to customer contacts to achieve a high level of satisfaction.

2. Be Polite and Empathetic

While online, people often speak more candidly than they might in face-to-face conversations. When an irate customer rants all over social media about a problem, you understandably might want to fire back in a similar manner. Don’t. Always use a respectful and empathetic tone when using social media for customer service.

When others see you and your team maintain a professional attitude under pressure, they will have confidence in your commitment to them. When an irate customer speaks via social media, accept their concerns as valid and guide them to possible resolutions.

A customer first attitude will make it much easier to find a mutually satisfactory resolutions. When this happens, your brand will shine.

3. Add a Personal Touch

Get personal with your customers, prospects and leads and you will endear them to you, your company and your brand. People want to feel important and valued, and allow that desire to guide their buying choices. Use names and personal details while interacting with customers and you will build long-lasting, profitable relationships.

With its Happiness Heroes initiative, Buffer sets a standard that every firm can follow. The brand’s cheery customer service specialists always sign their messages with their first names, helping to humanize the brand. As a result, the company has built a reputation as being friendly and helpful, leading to loyal customers who freely promote the brand.

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Another way to add a personal touch to your social media customer service effort is to write well. When you and your team take the time to properly spell words and construct grammatically correct sentences, you appear professional and communicate that you value your audience.

4. Admit You Made a Mistake

Sometimes your company will make a mistake and do something wrong. Win the hearts of the social media world by admitting the problem and apologizing. When you interact this way, you connect with customers who understand that “stuff happens.”

Rather than ignoring complaints or playing a blame game, take responsibility for mistakes that your company has made, take steps to make sure they never recur, and then take steps to make things right. When you take an open, honest and transparent approach, your customer service effort on social media will earn a solid reputation for your firm that will translate into sales revenue and profits.

DON’T

1. Let the Issue Linger for Too Long

In the hope that problems disappear, some people will either ignore or delete negative social media comments. Never let an uncomfortable situation cause you to run and hide. Doing so sends the wrong message to the public. In spite of the discomfort or embarrassment you feel when something goes wrong, you must promptly and positively respond to inspire confidence of the community of social media users.

Of course, every prompt response might not result in a positive result. In fact, some conversations involving complex issues can seem to drag on forever. In such circumstances, consider inviting customers to an offline channel where you can work together without exposing the extended saga to the world.

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In fact, after two interactions in public, moving to a private message other than social media might help create a positive customer experience and promote the reputation of your brand. By limiting the “dirty laundry” on your social media profiles you do yourself a favor while offering improved opportunities to affected customers.

2. Neglect Customer Feedback

Your exposure to the social media community gives you access to almost unlimited feedback streams that include both suggestions and criticisms. All such information comes to you free, at no cost, so make sure you and your team pays attention to it.

Some companies fail to spend the time or attention necessary to digest all the feedback left for them on social media, but they do so to their detriment. Even more so, businesses that acknowledge feedback and fail to act upon it hurt themselves. Act upon the information you receive via social media, even when it seems negative. Use it to improve your business.

3. Send Them to Another Channel

You’ve already learned about the damaging effect prolonged discussions can have on your brand. Aside from that, you need to accommodate your customers on the same channel that they choose to initiate contact. For example, if someone reaches out to you on Facebook, don’t immediately tell them to call your customer service telephone number.

Customers have a reason for contacting you via social media, so you should accommodate them on their preferred channel as long as possible.

4. Rely on Canned Responses

Automation has snagged many headlines in the marketing and tech world, but sometimes automation can cause major turnoffs. When you use social media for customer service, give your audience the luxury of interacting with a human being. If you lack the time to respond to comments, enlist the help of your staff. When your staff lacks the time, consider employing some remote workers to engage your customers.

Canned responses give your brand an inhuman, austere character and can quickly lead customers to wonder whether they will ever receive the attention they crave. A seemingly countless number of brands have tried to cut corners with automated responses and they have paid the price. Learn the lesson and rely on human, personal interactions instead.

Social media has forever changed the online landscape. Through it people interact with friends and their favorite brands. In contrast with companies that have made mistakes, learn from the above dos and don’ts to give your brand an edge over your competitors, and your firm a promising and profitable future.

Author byline:

Eric Gordon is an independent business development and marketing specialist for SMEs. He loves sharing his insights and experience to assist business owners in growing their revenues. You can find Eric on Twitter @ericdavidgordon

How to Get Started With Digital Marketing

/ nancyrubin

The digital marketing industry is constantly changing and evolving. Nowadays, it is a competitive challenge to impress the viewers and meet their ever growing expectations. However, choosing a career in digital marketing is quite exciting and profitable. The demand for skilled digital marketers is high, due to the competitive market and a need for businesses to stand out in the crowd.

Moreover, becoming a digital marketer is difficult enough and finding a suitable job will require both wit and skill, alongside determination. As same as customers have to be impressed by marketing efforts, so do the employers need to be impressed by marketers that are looking for employment. Here are a few tips on how to get started with digital marketing.

Work on Yourself

As mentioned, digital marketing industry is constantly changing and shifting directions. What was a big hit today may as well be a thing of the past tomorrow. That is why it is important that you work on yourself and improve your knowledge and skills regularly.

Whether you graduated from marketing school or you are self taught, having something more to add to your portfolio may be beneficial in finding good employment. Additional certification or a degree in some marketing course can help you out, but it may not be necessary. Some employers like to read your biography, while some prefer to see what you can do.

Furthermore, you should always make time to update your knowledge and learn about the industry’s news by reading posts from websites that are on top of the marketing industry such as The Moz, HubSpot etc. The key for growing in digital marketing is by staying updated at all times.

Build your Online Presence

The best way to convince employers that you can build their company’s online presence is by building your own first. After all, the best way to get noticed and show your potential before employers start testing you out is by having some successful personal projects.

A good example would be to start your personal website and support it with a blog. You can pick a topic or a niche to write about or simply write about yourself. Your blog will be your pet project, so make sure you develop it well and implement different strategies to drive traffic to it. You may as well test out your SEO skills on your blog.

For instance, make sure you have fast website speed, because it is a well known fact that viewers have zero tolerance for slow loading pages and sluggish blogs. Besides, site speed affects rankings and it is one of the most important aspects of SEO. Use your skills to increase your website visibility and popularity enough to impress anyone, so when employers ask what have you got to show, you will have an ace up sour sleeve.

Learn Different Skills

In the world of digital marketing today, marketers who possess knowledge and skill in several different areas of expertise are highly sought after. However, this does not mean you have to be an expert in all aspects of digital marketing, but it is valuable to know at least the basics for all and have expertise in at least one or two.

For instance, your specialty is content marketing and SEO but you know your way around social media marketing, content writing, e-mail marketing and so on. These types of skills or variety of skills, usually referred to as T-shaped marketer by The Moz, will increase your chances of landing a good job or making a profitable career in digital marketing. You are probably already familiar with different digital marketing strategies, so don’t hesitate to hone your other skills and improve your knowledge. After all, they will be very useful to you in both landing a good job and building a name for yourself.

As digital marketing industry is improving and growing, so should digital marketers. Staying informed and updated on the latest industry news will help you keep up and not miss out on anything important. Remember, if you are looking for a good employment you should have skills to back you up.

Oscar is a writer from Sydney and one of the editors at Bizzmarkblog. He enjoys conducting research in the vast fields of business and marketing and writing about the useful insights he gathers on a daily basis. Follow Oscar on Twitter.to stay updated with his latest posts.

5 Ways to Market Your Business Online

/ nancyrubin / 3 Comments

With technology only improving, businesses and consumers are becoming closer than ever before. Social media is more prevalent in society than in the past, and small businesses everywhere are embracing the new ways to market their services using online tools to help promote further customer reach. Here is a list of 5 ways to help market your business online:

onlinemarketing1

  • Facebook

Facebook is a great way of advertising and raising awareness of your product. By creating a page for a business and adding its location you are opening up the possibility of having customers digitally check themselves into your venue. Customers are then able to engage and review a businesses services and share this with their social network. It is important to remember to reply to comments to continue to build the rapport between business and consumer. Facebook also offers paid advertising and marketing campaigns through their business portal

  • Twitter

Twitter is another way of attracting customers, although it does take longer to build a large network on Twitter. The key to a successful Twitter is to always engage in relevant posts, follow any relevant profiles and be smart while still being funny. Engagements are what build your followers on Twitter. If you’re worried about having the time of running your social networks, organisations out there to provide social media help to develop a content marketing strategy that will help build your online growth.

  • Website

Having a website allows you a stronger online presence, and gives businesses the opportunity to display a list of the services available to customers. A website is also a great way of sharing the products, events, sales and opening times. Services such as WordPress are simple website builders. For a low cost it is possible to buy your own domain from these sites, with the option of an email address attached.

  • Emails

In the modern world email is the best form of contact for most customers. Whether you sign up for a free email service or get one through a website, email is a great way of responding to customers enquiries in a professional manner. Customers respond positively to speedy responses from businesses. Through having a registered email address assigned to your business, you can provide subscription services directly to customers, providing them with the option of being notified of sales or further events.

  • Coupons Vouchers

Everyone loves to think they’re getting a good deal. Sharing coupon vouchers through your social platforms will drive business and grow the customer base. New companies that have provided new customer discounts or free delivery have been successful in entering the market in major cities across the globe. Through having a campaign offering free services or VIP sales to clients, for things such as signing up to your email subscription service, discounts on their birthdays, free delivery or new customer discounts, consumers are urged to try a product for the first time.

It is important to not to put all your eggs within one basket, and be able to see the broader picture. One method of marketing may work better for you than another, however the important thing to remember is that all this does not have to be done alone. Consulting with services that provide provide social media help can alleviate some of the stress that can be added when struggling between traditional face to face services and online services allowing the balance to be achieved within the business.