Methods of Successful Marketing in Today’s New Age

Methods of Successful Marketing in Today’s New Age

Online marketing techniques are changing as rapidly as the technology that enables them to be possible. In the future, the businesses that will be the most successful are the ones who understand the fluid nature of the online marketing world, and know how to appropriately adjust for these changes. However, the consensus is clear that the three most important areas to concentrate your marketing techniques are mobile marketing, social media marketing, and email campaigns.

Mobile

Time and time again, we’ve stressed the increasing importance of optimizing your content for mobile consumption. This has been validated by Google’s latest algorithm update in April 2015, otherwise known as “Mobilegeddon”. The more mobile-friendly a website ranked, the higher it appeared on Google’s search result pages.  According to Salesforce’s State of Marketing Report, which surveyed over 5000 international marketers to ascertain what their top marketing priorities were, a majority of them emphasized that mobile applications were critical to creating a cohesive customer experience. Most marketers see some sort of ROI resulting from their mobile marketing investments. Mobile marketing is up 49% from the year before, finding that it contributes positively to generating leads. New businesses, especially, need to find lurking development opportunities and utilize them. Where are these opportunities? Hiding on people’s smartphones and tablets, which accounts for an increasingly larger portion of people’s time. Try advertising coupons and deals that are only available through mobile devices. Perhaps consider sending your customers welcome text-messages when they first sign up for your email subscription. Promote your social media or holiday campaigns through text message as well.

Social Media

Social media’s omnipresence in the past decade has been cemented, evidenced when you look around at people on their phones scrolling their Facebook feeds. Social media is an important enabler of a business’s success, as well as a roadway for important revenue production. An increasing number of companies are starting to develop a prominent social media arm, with a majority of companies employing more than 1 person to oversee their social media presence. Facebook and Twitter still reign supreme, but that is not to minimize the importance of other social media platforms that may be just as important, if not more so, for various companies. Other important social media stages include LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, blogging, Instagram, and Vine, depending on the nature of your business. However, don’t abuse your power. This means that the content that you chose to share shouldn’t be completely self-promotional. Customers don’t want to be inundated with anymore advertisements. Rather, they want to learn. Balance what you share on your social media platform between informational content and self-promotion. If you can make the customer care about the field that you work in, and engage with the material that you share, then you can capture both the interest and loyalty of the customer.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a technique that has been in the books for quite a few years, but shows no sign of slowing down. Email campaigns are important because it provides the consumer with continual exposure to what the company is doing. The more often a consumer is exposed to material relevant to your company, the more likely the consumer is going to fully engage with your company or product. Hiring staff who are dedicated to managing email campaigns are worth the initial investment because 92% of marketers said that that email produces ROI for the business, whether directly or indirectly. The proliferation of smartphones partially ties into the importance of successful email campaigns as well, because 50% of the time, people check their emails on their mobile devices. The template and presentation of the email is important. Companies must produce a fresh, easy to read design that will visually entice the readers. The content that goes out must be of good quality. Again, it must not all be self-promotional in nature. Infusionsoft and Anweber are two popular email providers that can help your company automate email funnels for this purpose.

 

Content Is King – How To Utilize Content Marketing

Content Is King – How To Utilize Content Marketing

The name of the content marketing game is changing thanks to increasing power by the consumer. Streaming services such as Netflix allow users to watch shows without commercials. Excess banners on the periphery of websites are getting ignored and no longer clicked. The ads that play at the beginning of certain Youtube Videos can be skipped. The conventional way of marketing is undergoing somewhat of an upheaval. Therefore, your content marketing needs to be able to adapt. Here are some pointers for how to successfully utilize content marketing.

Visual Content  – Users love visual content because it’s lightweight, easy digestible, and is appealing to the eye. Mentally, visuals are processed more quickly than text. For instance, imagine that you are sitting in a board room watching someone give another PowerPoint presentation about their latest proposal. What is more likely to catch your attention? Slides that are filled with images, or slides that the speaker directly reads from? Slides that are filled with images allow the speaker to use the pictures as a guide, instead of using words as a crutch. Try utilizing infographics which educates because they can also serve as a great vehicle for more brand recognition, which translates to more traffic and attention towards your company.

Influencer Marketing – Influencer marketing is no longer about the attention that a celebrity endorsement can bring to a product. Marriott, the well known hotel change, recognized that fact and launched a successful influencer marketing strategy with a non-traditional stance. David Beebe, Marriott’s Vice president of global creative and content marketing for Marriott International, said that his plan focused on content, community, and commerce, otherwise known as the 3 C’s. He has partnered with multiple people across a variety of social media platforms in order to produce content, which includes travel videos, travel vlogs, and short films. David asked the influencers to present a concept to him. The individuals that he works with are given almost complete artistic freedom to do as they want, so that the two can establish a platform of trust. For instance, in order to appeal to people wanting to highlight a loved one in their life, Marriot created a 12 episode series called Year of Surprises. This was geared towards their Marriott Rewards members, who asked people to nominate and submit someone who they felt deserved recognition and a surprise in their lives. In order to appeal to a large subscriber base, he partnered with Jack Harries, who directs a travel vlog with over 4 million subscribers on YouTube. Jack was sent to produce several short videos in countries where Marriot had a notable presence.

Utilize Social Media Strategically – Think of social media as your way to advertise your content. Say you’ve just posted a new article on your blog. Let the world know. Post it on your Facebook. Make it shareable and clickable on your Instagram profile. Let the Twitter world know. Advertise it on your Snapchat story. Social media holds an enormous amount of consumer power so don’t be afraid to tap into it. However, be careful about what you post. The goal of any content that you create should be to educate your consumers, not to advertise. Analyze your social data so you know which audiences like to see what types of content. Know what works well, what doesn’t, and adjust. Track your email conversations and social shares. Be honest if your data reveals that not everyone who shares your post is actually taking the time to read your posts. Adjust accordingly Are your Facebook posts conducive to open conversation on a public forum? Are they meaningful to your audience? Are you educating your readers about something that can help them become more engaged with your service or your product? The more you can make your product and your field matter to your audience, the more likely they will further engage in any relevant materials and conversation you hope to open to them.

Why Engaging Content Matters

Why Engaging Content Matters

You know that the first thing that customers see when they are on your web domain is the design and layout of your website. However, that doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to let your content take the backseat.  Your online presence is an important vehicle to convey your company’s stance. No matter how much subtle talking you do through your design, your content is what ultimately cements whatever message you are trying to communicate. Whether it be professional, reliable, fun, quirky, what have you, having engaging content that allows you to connect with your audience on an individual basis is of the utmost importance. Why?

It Tells a Story – When someone clicks on your website, they usually have a purpose in mind. Whether it’s to learn more about your product or a brand, you need to be able to have compelling content in order to capture their attention and make sure that it stays on you, not a competing brand. Story-telling is a way to make a personal connection between you and your customer, which draws them in. Even better if it creates a pathos, or an appeal to emotion. Stories are more than just the barebones facts. People enjoy detail. People enjoy stories that “show, not tell”. People enjoy stories that entertain, and people enjoy stories that make them cry. If you have an opportunity to tell a story through your content, do it. Because it is only when you have captured the reader’s attention, that their product and their brand will really stick in their heads.

Increases Traffic – Through the proliferation of SEO, it is easier for smaller businesses’ to get Content Corkboardtheir names “heard”, or “read”, in this case. Search engines also take into consideration “frequency”, which is how often a website is updated. The more frequently new material is added, the more points a website gets and therefore, the higher up on the search engine results it will get. Your website is your best marketing tool. Just like mainstream marketing, if you can turn potential clients into long-term clients, you will be able to establish valuable rapport and a connection with them. The more of these connections you can make, the more traffic your web page gets, which is great for both revenue, and for those clients to spread the word of your company by way of mouth or affiliate links.

Establish Yourself As an Expert – Create content that is relevant to your field of interest. For instance, you are a fashion blogger. However, your content isn’t limited to just pretty outfit pictures. It delves into the history of several fashion trends, or you post articles profiling the most up and coming people in the industry. When you keep producing content like this, you are sharing your knowledge of the field with your audience. This sort of content establishes that you know what you are talking about, which is an opportunity for other, less experienced companies to look to you for more information. Customers will see you are the “go-to” source for knowledge, grounding your importance in the industry.

Information, not Advertisements – Chances are, your audience has already sat through multiple re-runs of Youtube advertisements on their favorite vlogger’s video. Or they’ve already scrolled past several ad banners on the sidelines of their frequented websites. Society is already inundated with so much advertisement that they’re probably not looking at your page because of the catchy ad-banners. Consumers don’t want any more advertisements. People want information, and they want the ability to learn for themselves, rather than have an ad convince them that a particular product needs to be learned about. The best content can achieve what advertising is supposed to accomplish.

The Importance of a Successful Online Presence

The Importance of a Successful Online Presence

Maintaining a relevant and strong online presence is of utmost importance to large and small businesses alike. Small businesses have a reputation that is either made by a successful online presence, or broken by a weak online presence. Large companies have the advantage of large-scale brand recognition as a buffer, but small business do not have that luxury. One misstep by a small business employee can mean the end of a company, which is why curating a careful online presence is important.

Domain

Many small businesses are simply content with a social media website in lieu of a web presence through a website or a blog. This was discovered after San Mateo’s Research study of 1050 business with an employee work-force of anywhere from one to forty nine people. Why? Small businesses often don’t have extensive IT and marketing resources, so they believe that using a social media medium is easier than hosting their own Web presence.  Websites like Facebook and Instagram provide easily digestible templates through which companies can convey their business’s goals and values. However, missing out on your own domain can be detrimental to your business. First off, having an online domain lends significance to your company. It provides a flocking ground and a reference point for your customers to learn more about your company. Though many small businesses fear the costs, technical learning curve, and time investment needed to start their own domains, they fail to see the long-term gains these easily overcome hurdles can make.

Establishment

online presenceThe domain can be a jumping off portal to the company’s social media accounts. It can host a blog in order to garner more customer interest in the fields relevant to the company. For example, say a small health clinic starts an internet domain. Their blog can include posts about the latest diet trends, healthy ways to lose weight, articles on mental health and sleep hygiene, etc. These posts not only add to the customer’s knowledge of relevant information, but can also indirectly garner more interest in the original business at hand. It’s a great way to differentiate yourself and make your company look professional and established from the get to, which can go far in attracting more clients. This makes it easier to take some customers away from the “big name brand companies”, and attract them to your own business.

Networking

Having a strong online presence also helps with networking . So much networking has now gone virtual. For a business to lack that platform through which so much dialogue and interactions flow is to lose out on a rich opportunity to make valuable connections. Make sure that you carefully curate what material you make visible online. Keep the topics and the conversations professional and work friendly. No one wants to see pictures of you and your buddies at the bar linked into the company’s Facebook page. However, pictures of a company luncheon or a business dinner would be fine. Email marketing is also a great way to reach people consistently, keeping their interest in your company. A strong email campaign (but not so strong that it gets regarded as spam) can do wonders for increasing company reach and visibility.

Keeping your Job

Remember, when you go your business goes. Keeping a professional online presence gives you the opportunity to grow. It also provides quite a bit of job security if your business is on an upwards trend. Whether you’re lower down or higher up on the company’s hierarchy letter, having the company do well is never a bad thing for any of the employees involved. Expanding your company’s online presence might help you start your own company down the road or it may help move you up the ladder. Maybe it will help establish your company’s standing in a larger market, which can be beneficial if you ever decide to switch career fields or companies. Either way, having a strong and visible online presence is just as important as having a strong marketing strategy. The video below is a great resource for the importance of online visibility.

Social Media Trends in 2015

Social Media Trends in 2015

Social media is becoming an increasingly important staple in the lives of millions of people around the world. It has the power to unite, to inform, and to connect companies with other companies, companies with their consumers, and people with other everyday people. However, just like how it’s impossible to predict the weather a week ahead of time, predicting what social media platforms will be in vogue can be a difficult endeavor. Xanga, Myspace, and now Google+  have enjoyed their heydays and are now melting into obscurity. That’s not to say that their fate is what all other social media platforms have to look forward to. Here are several social media patterns that are currently trending in 2015.

Social Media’s Increasing Importance in Marketing Strategies

shutterstock_218622694 (1)As businesses are increasingly learning the value of social media in terms of their content marketing, they are just beginning to comprehend the role that it plays in terms of distributing their content. Content strategy is the hot new concept that everyone wants to get behind. It has become the focus of many an online marketer. However, this concept is easy to comprehend but difficult to execute successfully. It’s important for a marketer to understand that an effective distribution strategy is just as important, if not more so, than the content that they’re trying to sell. Social media outlets is one of the best way to be able to share your content with relevant communities, reach out to influential people and audiences, and to create a long lasting relationship with your customers.

Facebook, Facebook, Facebook.

shutterstock_147311912Facebook’s behemoth internet presence is felt, not only by the average high-schooler scrolling through their feed, but also by marketing companies looking to advertise their products. More than 90% of marketers have a social media presence on Facebook, and it seems that there are only upwards trends predicted in that field. Facebook is a venue that keeps on increasing, and marketing trends parrot that as well. More than 60% of marketers reported that they have increased their Facebook activity in the past year. The fact that Facebook has one of the highest engagement rates, as well as the most amount of user traffic of any social media platform, it’s clear that this is one trend that almost everyone is on the bandwagon for.

Instagram

shutterstock_275052920Image based social media marketing is making its mark and Instagram is sitting pretty on its dollar-bill adorned throne. It boasts over 300 million active users monthly and shows no sign of slowing down. Not only does it dominate the purely image-based social media field, it’s making its impact on the micro-video field as well. Instagram and Vine are locked into a tight race with both offering micro-video spaces for its users, and both have done a great job at differentiating themselves from each other. However, given Instagram’s greater variability, its popularity will probably surpass Vine’s. With the advent of in-feed video advertising, marketers now can begin their foray into this new market.

The Marriage of Social Media and Your Wallet

shutterstock_252728515 (1)Sales through social media are on the rise. In recent years, marketers have been frustratingly thinking of more techniques that will facilitate customers to make the jump from seeing their content on social media to making their way over to their website and purchasing the advertised good. For a while, Facebook was testing their Buy button with several outside merchants. Recently, it’s opened up to retailers through Shopify’s ecommerce platform, which is a giant leap forward for speed-shopping. Facebook’s recent move is similar to Pintrest’s “Buyable Pins” move, which allows users to purchase items that they are interested in with minimal effort.

Podcasts – the new hybrid

shutterstock_183926069Podcasts blur the line between social media, education, and content. It’s content is sometimes reminiscent of NPR and E! News, but other times, it veers more on the social side of the spectrum because it allows the host to intimately communicate and interact with its audience, creating a leeway for the role of certain brands to permeate his or her listener’s lives. Podcast pages can be subscribed to, liked, and shared, which is similar to how many other social media platforms operate. The personality of the host enables followers to develop personal connections with him or her, much like how actors and actresses become fondly-spoken of household names.

Come Get Your Google Business View Photos…

businessview1We are happy to announce that we have added to the team. Brian Berkowitz, a Google Certified Photographer, is now partnering with us to provide Google Business View to our clients.

To learn more about our Google Business View services, please visit it’s dedicated page by Clicking Here

This cool new technology allows your customers to take a deep look inside your business. Google has performed various case studies to prove that having this powerful feature by your side will increase business.

See a wonderful example of Google Business View Below:


To learn more about our Google Business View services, please visit it’s dedicated page by Clicking Here