How To Make Your Social Media Posts More Engaging By James Tredwell on October 4, 2019 In the fast world of social media, it is important that you know your audience and understand what they are looking for when it comes to content, entertainment, and information. Many people think that the main purpose of social media posts should be to sell. This is far from the truth. All you need to achieve is getting people to want to find out more about you and your business. Simply put; social media is a great way of building meaningful relationships with your niche. Below I will give you simple tips on what type of content will do well on each platform; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Your First Job; Stop Them Scrolling When it comes to social media users, you have to understand that people have a very short attention span. Exactly eight seconds, according to some researchers. There is also a lot of content on every platform, and you will have to grab the attention of your audience if you want them to stop scrolling. That is why video content does so well on most of the platforms. You have to get creative and have an engaging headline that will get them to stop and want to listen. Your Second Job: Entertaining People are not looking to buy anything when they are browsing social media sites. All they want to do is get inspiration, tips, and get entertained. That is what so many small and medium sized business owners get wrong. You will have to create content that is entertaining, informative, useful, and educational. Videos are great for personal branding. Giving people something to talk about and discuss, jumping on a popular topic is better than blatantly advertising your event. Your First Job; Entice Them It is important that you include a call-to-action that creates the connection. It doesn’t have to be a sales pitch; simply something about engagement. When you create “value posts”, which means that you are giving out some helpful information, you can ask questions. You can also get people to contact you. However, be careful; when you are adding a “call-to-action”, you should not ask people to like or share your content openly, as social media sites will reduce your post’s visibility. Your End Goal; Add Them To Your Sales Funnels The main purpose of social media is to add people to your sales funnels and follow up the initial contact. This doesn’t mean that you should be sending your signup links to every page possible. You will have to find a clever way of getting people to contact you and want to find out more. For example, you can mention in a comment that you have a free guide that answers their specific question. Once they are in your sales funnel, you an automatically nurture the relationship. What Content Does Well On Twitter Twitter is one of the fastest platforms out there. The lifespan of a post is just a few seconds. You will need to ensure that the first impression is the best possible. Twitter is also one of the platforms where curated content (other people’s posts and news articles) do well. At the end of the day, people want to get the best information possible as quickly as possible. If your feed is full of valuable content, they are more likely to follow you and get to see other posts. Twitter is also a hashtag-driven platform, and you will have to do your hasthag research to reach the right audience. Facebook Marketing Tips Facebook pages used to make a killing a few months back. It was when the company discovered that they were giving away too much free traffic when page visibility across the board took a hit. You really need to get a group set up. Facebook groups are still doing great, and you will need to make the most out of the engagement in the beginning. You can grow a group faster than a page, and there will be a great number of people who want to have a personal relationship with you and want to connect with you and your brand. Giving value is a must, though. Facebook groups with regular live videos and training units do really well. LinkedIn Content That Gets the Engagement LinkedIn is one of the strangest social media platforms out there, and only a few people understand how it works. The rule of thumb is that the more engagement the post gets in the first few minutes, the more chances it will have to go viral. If nobody engages with it, it will get buried. A good tip is to tag people you think will comment on your post, who might be interested in the topic or happy to give their opinion. Infographics also do great on Instagram. Pinterest Post Tips Pinterest, just like Instagram is a visual platform. People are looking for inspiration and content for their posts. The good news is that everything (including videos) you pin will link back to your original post on your website. Just like on LinkedIn, infographics do really well on Pinterest, and they have the best chance to go viral, if you are not in the design niche. Of course, if you are selling products, you will need to feature them on related boards and create collections. However, if you are in the coaching and consulting business, for example, you can still post your PowerPoint slides and your infographics and get loads of traffic. Instagram Posts and Marketing Guide It is important that you consider the demographics of Instagram. You might think that it is full of young female fashionistas, but in fact there are more young men on it than women. Nonetheless, you will need to entertain your followers and give them something to look forward to. If you shy away from IGTV and Instagram lives, you will never stand out. You will need to overcome your own misconceptions and put yourself out there. Short video articles also do really well on Instagram. You can turn your existing blog posts into engaging videos. Social media platforms change every day. Algorithms change every couple of weeks, and you have to consider your audience to make content stick and achieve your marketing goals. Automation is great, but it doesn’t replace manual engagement. Make sure that you choose a platform your audience is most likely to be present on, and focus on providing value before delivering the sales pitch. About the author: Laura Farkas runs LMNts Marketing, a full service sales funnel agency. She works hands-on with business owners to ensure that they are able to achieve success through digital marketing. She works with UK and international clients in every niche, tailoring the sales funnel service to their needs.
Tips to makes your digital marketing successful By James Tredwell on September 27, 2019 Digital marketing refers to the marketing of products or services using digital channels to promote brand. Today customers research online about product or service they are going to buy. This is why digital marketing is getting popular day by day. Businesses with poor digital marketing strategy lose their potential customers online. For successful strategy, businesses should have a plan to give their customers better than their competitors. With a well planned digital marketing strategy you can reach targeting audience in a very cost effective way. There are some tips that you can follow to make your digital marketing successful, are as follows: 1. Make your homepage visual Gone are the days when textual content was enough to share the information. To make sure your viewers absorbs information completely, visual content is necessary along with the text. The more and more you use video and images to communicate your message, the more your message becomes easy and powerful for your customers. Also, we all know our brain transmit the visual information quickly than text. No one likes to read paragraphs of text and get bored. First time user can be impatient and they take decision to stay or leave the site within 10 seconds. That is why visual communication plays important role to keep your customer connected with your site. It is easy for our brain to memorize the visual information and remembers it for a longer time. 2. Make it mobile friendly More than half of the population are browsing on their mobile devices. Everyone need information fast so with the introduction of 4G network use of smartphones has been increased. Usage of smartphones and tablets has doubled in the past few years. No matter where you go your will find countless people using their smartphones. Mobiles are handy and can be opened just in one click. Mobile responsive website can give your customer a good experience. Your reach to your customer becomes so wide with mobile friendly website and you will advantage over your competitors. 3. Focus on content High quality content can help your business to drive more traffic, conversions over time. No doubt, good quality content requires time investment and resources, web design Toronto can help to have lead in the digital world. They work on regular blogs and contents, keywords and with many other ways to generate traffic. Useful content build your brand awareness and helps to reach target buyers. You can build stronger customer relationship that encourages repeat business. A valuable content give your visitor a reason to stay on your site. A good quality content attract better SEO and give you chance to rank top on Google search. 4. Multi Channel Implementing digital marketing strategy across multiple platforms is the way to maximize opportunities to interact with your customers and build brand awareness. You will be connected with your customer on their favourite channel which will lead to more customer engagement and thus more conversions. Your brand availability on multiple channels gives a good impression in the mind of your customer that helps to build trust and repetitive business. Multi channel strategy is convenient for customers. Single channel strategy can miss a lot of opportunities to get find by your customer. It directly affects your return on investment. 5. Meet your Ends Smartly With the help of digital marketing, businesses can see number of visitors, subscribers on their website as well as can check conversion rate. Facebook ads and Google ads can speed up your reach to your right customers. There are also some paid services to generate instant high quality traffic that helps businesses to get grow fast. Traffic helps you improve your rank which leads to more traffic. You can avail available discounts available for Facebook ads and Google ads. The goal to generate traffic should reach right people. It is the good platform for all business owners for speedy results. 6. Push Notifications Push notifications are messages that pop up on the devices that are easy to open and fast giving information way. Sending push notifications for product updates and service promotions is another way to re-engage your customer and remind them about your brand. It is the unique way of alerting customers that build excitement in viewers. However, you should avoid annoying your customer with useless updates at bad timing. Conclusion Once you succeed in digital marketing, it will generate targeted traffic and increase your visibility to your audience. However, paying attention to your competitors is also necessary. What you are not offering to your customers that you r competitors do. You will get a profitable return of investment on your business for which you put so much efforts, time and money. Therefore, it is very necessary to focus on maximizing return of investment. If you don’t have online presence you can’t compete in digital world.
Why Instagram has more conversion rate than facebook By James Tredwell on September 19, 2019 Conversion Rate- A study of Facebook Vs Instagram: Can you confess something honestly? If you plan to launch a social media campaign, which platform will first come up in your mind? Facebook obviously! However, have you ever thought that Instagram is also spreading all over the market gradually? With the use of images and hashtags, this social media platform has become one of the powerful mediums to reach a large number of audiences and engage them. When beginner marketers consider launching a campaign on social media, they launch it on Facebook or Twitter. However, smart marketers study all the social media platforms for successful and integrated campaigns so that he/she can ensure an effective promotion. There is no denial of the fact that social media is a cost-effective and time-saving tool to reach the target audience. According to studies, investments in social media advertising have increased up to 32 billion dollars in 2017. It has also been predicted that in 2021, the investment can reach up to 48 billion. Don’t you think it’s pretty impressive? Apart from this result, it has been also found that Instagram has more conversion rate than Facebook. However, before you know the reason, it is better to acquire a clear idea about what a conversion rate is. Conversion Rate- Definition When you want to sell a product, you have a certain target audience. If you approach 10 customers to buy your product, you can convince only 2 to 3 customers. These two or three customers are the conversion rate of your business. In a nutshell, the definition of conversion rate is the percentage of users who take a decision and implement any desired action. There are different tools that help to find out the percentage of this conversion rate. The number of customers visits your website or business platform is calculated in a percentage to determine the conversion rate. Why Conversion Rate is Important? It is important to understand consumer behavior and actions if you want to excel in your business domain. Therefore, knowing the conversion rate is inevitable. If you see that despite putting honest and needed effort your conversion rate is low, you have to find out the route cause and work on it. Marketing and promotion are two wheels of the vehicle that you are on. You need to put these two wheels together to make your business progress in the rat race. Otherwise, it would become difficult for you to sustain in this competitive market. Social media has become one of the powerful mediums of promotion and advertisement. A remarkable number of conversion rates are ensured by promoting business in social media platforms. Various platforms have emerged in the world of digital marketing. Although Facebook is the old horse in the race, Instagram is the new potential horse that can win the race effortlessly. There are different reasons for which researchers have come to this conclusion that Instagram is more powerful than Facebook now. Let us divide the two social media platforms into three different categories. Reach: Facebook: Facebook has more active users than Instagram. According to credible reports, Facebook has 2.07 billion users (monthly). The number of active users indicates that Facebook has a greater chance of reach to the target audience. Therefore, if you want your brand to be visible to many targeted audiences, this is the one and only greater medium for you. However, with the advent of Instagram, people are now keener to use this platform with less content and more images. Instagram: This social media platform gets 800 million users per month. Although it is lesser than Facebook, still the competition is tough for sure. As Instagram has more images than contents, branding is easier, and the conversion rate increases accordingly. Instagram is the best platform if you want to go with Photo Ads and aim to guarantee a good amount of conversion rate. Instagram also has a strong and organic network reach. It has newer features and ability with hashtags and ‘suggestions for you’ section. Therefore, Instagram is more considered by the users. Engagement: Instagram: According to US reports, 70.7% of US businesses were using Instagram in 2017. In 2016, the percentage was 48. This is indeed a huge jump. What can be the reason behind such engagement of users in Instagram? Reports from Instagram show that 80% of users follow at least one business on this social media platform. One of the reasons behind this is the mobile-friendliness of the app. Instagram can only be used over a smartphone. Therefore, it has a huge range of engagement. Apart from that, businesses that are showcased on this social media are attractive with bright and eye-catchy images. These images can attract customers instantly. Facebook: Facebook engagement in different organic posts often fluctuates. You can get a specific amount of engagement in a good post; however, it is now less than Instagram. Facebook doesn’t allow you to edit your images and present it in a more attractive way. With the images posted on Instagram, users tend to show attention and ensure engagement. In case of Facebook, user’s engagement is lesser due to inorganic contents and less opportunity to edit the images. Demographics: Instagram: According to research conducted by Pew Research, it has been found that more females use Instagram than men. Therefore, businesses of jewelry, garments, Female bags, watches are more found on this social media platform. As Instagram is mostly used by teenagers, the conversion rate is high for these businesses. With the use of hashtags, audience engagement is higher. As a result, the conversion rate of Instagram is also increasing day by day. Facebook: In case of Facebook, the user base is huge. Starting from the age of 10 to 60, Facebook has users of different age groups. However, if the users are mostly aged, then they may not be that much active to look or read any post in detail. Therefore, the conversion rate decreases with the user base. Apart from that, there are also other reasons for which Instagram gets more conversion rates than Facebook. Facebook Vs Instagram- Price: Facebook: Advertising in Social media isn’t free. However, different platforms have a different sets of rules. The rate of advertising on Facebook depends on different factors like ad type, goal, the industry, and the competition as well. If you have a larger audience base, your cost will be higher accordingly. You need to bid the amount you are ready to invest for a click, video view or download and installation. The costs vary from industry to industry. It is often found that Facebook ads become unaffordable for the company if it is not a big one. Instagram: Instagram’s CPC or cost per click is lower than Facebook. The main benefit is, it has a different set of pay for different countries. The social media platform gives the opportunity to spend according to the country you belong to. That is why; the acceptability rate of Instagram is more to the businessmen. They tend to promote their business via Instagram. As the posts reach more customers or target audience, it ensures more conversion rate. Wrapping it up: After reading this post, a question can come up in your mind as should you run your social media content in both the platforms? Why not? Both social media platforms can give you a satisfactory amount of ROI. Therefore, it is always wise to use both platforms. However, you need to follow certain tricks and understand which ad will bring in more customers via which platform. You need to set certain strategies based on your target audience. As Instagram has more young users, you can ensure more conversion rates from Instagram if your target audience is Gen Y. On the other hand, for attracting the old generation, Facebook is an inevitable platform. Decide accordingly and run your campaign intelligently. Good luck with your business!
Why Is Digital Marketing Important In Today’s Scenario By James Tredwell on September 19, 2019 When a small enterprise launches into the market, it’s first goal is to get their first group of customers. This can be done by the traditional methods of advertising like, print ads, magazines and papers, coupon mailers or even hoardings on the side of the road. They may assume that since they have a good product and service, it is only a matter of time the customers come through the door. The traditional techniques will definitely work but there is something better and more effective to boost your business. In this modern era, a large scale of marketplace exists online. While print ads and hoarding will only reach a group of people in a targeted area, the online strategy will target the national or global audience according to your business. No small startups should overlook this vast marketplace and you can take the help of Digital marketing agency. Advantages of Digital Marketing Digital marketing attracts a large number of customers than you will likely ever find locally. Digital marketing reaches a global audience in a way that is cost effective and measurable. It let’s you get familiarise and interact with your prospect customers and know what they are looking for. With digital marketing tools which are easily available online, you can also measure the growth of your business. Procrastinating Digital Marketing? Don’t procrastinate. Small business owners might think that they don’t have the money and time for being competitive online. Similarly, there are a number of reasons why small businesses may delay in digital marketing. Startups may assume that they do not need a large number of customers so they use the traditional methods of advertising. They like to stick with the basic and minimal tasks as they think that there is only so much they can face all at once. Waiting for customers to magically appear just because a company exists isn’t such a good idea. This is not an effective approach. This is where you approach a digital marketing agency. Online Pool of Customers Why do you keep postponing digital marketing? Do you think that you are not ready and are waiting for the right time? Then this is a wrong approach. Your potential customers are always online, they are online right now. Today. There is a chance that they might be looking for a business like yours but because you are not there, they might just choose someone else. This is how this works. When someone is genuinely interested or curious about your business, the step they follow is to research online and see what they can find about you. They expect to find you with a website and on social media somewhere. The purpose behind their research is to see how others have reviewed your business and whether it’s a good company to do business with. If the customers don’t find you online, they will automatically assume that your business isn’t legitimate. It is very likely that they won’t consider your business and move on. Your Competitors are Online, Working Hard Observe your competitors and study what they are doing. Competitors are people who you have to beat but you also have to learn a lot to learn from them. When you observe what your competitors are doing, you will get some idea of what is working and what isn’t. Ask yourself questions like, what content they are using? Are they blogging or posting videos? How are they interacting with their prospects? How do they promote their brand and what makes them different than others and you? Do you think you can compete them? You can’t if you don’t compete in the digital world. Your prospective customers won’t choose you if they can’t find you and will walk straight to your competitor. It won’t matter that the competitor has no good strategy. You lost your prospects because they don’t know about you. For your customers to find you, you need to be accessible to them on social media. Create your presence online with the help of search engine optimisation strategy which will help you exceed your competitors when your prospects search for you on Google. Only a few forms of advertising is as cost effective as digital marketing, if you don’t have a social presence then you should do it now. There is no need to wait, you can learn what to do from your competitors and eventually have your own brand loyalty.
Three Resources to Better Manage Your Business’ Social Media Accounts By James Tredwell on September 13, 2019 Social media is an important component of effective digital marketing strategies, but it can be easy for small businesses to become overwhelmed with the burdens of content creation. This article presents three options for businesses to manage their social media accounts: 1. In-house employees and social media software 2. Influencers 3. Agencies Each option presents benefits as well as challenges, depending on the specific needs of the small businesses. 1.In-House Employees and Social Media Software Enable Easier Management of Content Nearly all small businesses (89%) that use social media manage a Facebook account for their business. Facebook remains the most popular social media platform, engaging more than 2 billion monthly users. This expansive audience contributes to small business’ preference for the platform. The casual environment requires an active social media marketing strategy to optimize the platform. Social media marketing requires minimal time and financial investment upfront. Platforms are customizable and offer integrated, and sometimes free tools to analyze content such as Facebook Analytics. Facebook Analytics is free, which enables businesses of any size to measure their pages’ performances. With user-friendly and simple interfaces, social media platforms are accessible and affordable channels for small businesses to market their products and services. Social media management software enables most small businesses to manage digital marketing efforts internally. Hootsuite, for example, helps small businesses manage their social media. The software enables teams to: ● Schedule posts across platforms ● Track engagement and posts ● Direct and organize campaigns and content The platform also provides a dashboard where users can view and engage all posts across all social media accounts. Buffer offers similar services to Hootsuite. The software helps small businesses to manage multiple social media profiles. With the platform users can collaboratively draft, schedule, and review content. Buffer also allows users to schedule content in app. For example, businesses using Instagram can plan and schedule content through the app. The tool also enables users to schedule a first comment to coincide with the post. Buffer helps businesses measure social media performance and generate reports. Over half of small businesses (56%) dedicate in-house resources to manage their social media accounts in-house according to a Clutch survey. Business employees can direct social media campaigns effectively. Employees best understand the brand, which provides valuable authenticity when engaging with consumers online. Increasing spending does not necessitate increased efficacy of digital marketing efforts. For example, social media posts with visuals produce 180% greater engagement according to a Search Engine Journal study. Visually appealing and well-designed photos are more likely to grab the attention of social media users. However, not all in-house teams are skilled graphic designers or photographers. Employees may find themselves strapped for time when managing multiple social media accounts. In 2019, customers expect quick responses from brands. As networks, social media platforms offer opportunities for brands to be in conversation with their audiences. Users expect responses to social media messages within four hours. Typically, brands respond to product questions and concerns on social media within 10 hours according to SproutSocial research. Limited in-house resources can result in lost engagement opportunities. Relying on an in-house team to direct social media marketing efforts can create deficits in a small business’s online presence. An effective social media marketing strategy is essential to the success of small businesses in the digital age. While cost-effective, depending exclusively on in-house resources to manage social media marketing presents limitations to building a robust online presence. 2. Influencer Marketing Offers Affordable Options to Expand Your Reach Influencers are a growing resource for small businesses with limited budgets. The increasing presence of high-impact social media users provide a less expensive option for small businesses to grow brand awareness and trust. Influencers are an affordable alternative for businesses wary of engaging a digital marketing agency to manage their social media accounts. Smaller influencers may work with a small business on the grounds of a product trade. Larger influencers with 500,000 to more than 1 million followers may charge a fee between $5,000–$10,000 per post. Measurement is the greatest challenge for marketers when using influencers. Nearly 80% of marketers state that identifying the return on investment when using influencers as their greatest difficulty when using this channel according to a Digiday survey. Differences in expected outcomes contribute to this challenge. Influencer marketing is designed to expand the reach and awareness of a brand rather than generating sales. Small businesses should consider their goals prior to hiring an influencer. It is critical for businesses to research an influencer, their audience, and fees. Social media influencers are recognized on social media platforms. An influencer will post content about a certain topic such as health, travel or fashion. Generally, an influencer will focus on one platform such as Twitter or Facebook. Businesses should find an influencer recognized online for their expertise in the services or products your small business provides. An influencer should fit your business’s brand image. This ensures your content is reaching the right audience. Businesses should also consider which platform is most effective for promoting their services or products. It is important to have an established influencer promote content that is not only compatible with the platform but also your brand. For example, Instagram supports visual content, which is effective for retail businesses but may not provide as much benefit more traditional businesses such as finance. After finding a compatible influencer, businesses can determine the type of content an influencer will promote. The right influencer should have a lifestyle that fits your small business’s brand and maybe used your products or services previously. Whether or not an influencer is a good fit for your business also depends on budget. For small businesses with limited budgets, micro-influencers tend to be the most affordable option. Partnering with the right influencer can expand a small business’s reach and audience, making the investment in the out-of house resource worthwhile. 3. Hiring an Agency Engages Valuable Expertise to Effectively Manage Social Media Platforms An agency can help businesses with a range of services including paid marketing, audience building, and campaign optimization. Whether to outsource your social media marketing efforts is an important first consideration. A digital presence is a necessity to grow any business. While building a website is an important first step, businesses need to foster engagement. Small businesses without the capacity to create and manage social media content efficiently will not derive much value from a digital presence. Businesses without expertise in digital marketing often lack insight into optimizing a digital presence. Agencies and digital consultants can help small businesses manage content and implement a social media marketing strategy. Small businesses should assess what to do with your small business’s social media accounts and how to approach social media marketing. Agencies offer valuable expertise to small businesses in need of guidance. While the potential ROI is high, outsourcing social media marketing to an agency is expensive. Prior to hiring an agency, small businesses should assess their budget. Consider the strengths of your in-house marketing resources to find an agency that will fill any gaps in your social media marketing strategy. Small businesses should seek a partner that will provide the best value rather than the best price. Choosing an agency because they are the least expensive could result in long-term damage to your online presence. Establishing communication is essential to an effective partnership. Small businesses should search for a transparent agency. Client lists, case studies, and an in-depth “About Page” on a digital marketing agency’s website are indications of a transparent partner. These resources provide insight into an agency’s prior projects, which are critical to making an informed hiring decision. They also exhibit an agency’s specialization, which should align with your goals. Small businesses should choose a partner that has worked with companies in similar industries. They also demonstrate whether an agency is up to date with digital trends. Agencies offer valuable expertise that when aligned with your industry, budget, and goals can support your small business’s growth. Choose Resources According to Your Small Business’s Needs Social media marketing is a necessity for small business expansion. While in-house resources help communicate authenticity to build trust in consumers, agencies can supplement knowledge and resource gaps necessary for optimizing social media accounts. Although influencer marketing continues to grow in popularity, not one influencer fits all small business needs. With a diversity of resources available to engage social media effectively, small businesses have plenty of options to support their growth. Kate Russell is a Content & Editorial Associate for Clutch, an Inc. 1000 fasting-growing private companies. She processes, curates, and creates content to help B2B buyers find the top services for their needs.
