Your Business Guide to Digital Marketing

ms pic 2Running a small business often means that you have to make the most of a limited budget. A crucial part of getting people to find out about your business is to craft an interesting digital marketing strategy that will catch the eye of your potential clients.

If you know anything about marketing, you have probably heard that mixing the online and offline ways of marketing is the best approach. Inbound and outbound as well as traditional and digital marketing. The secret is knowing where your clients ” hang out”.

1- Start by listing your business on platforms such as Google My Business, Yahoo! Small Business, Bing Places for Business, and Yelp.

2-Make the most of Google analytics, this will give you an in depth understanding of your website traffic.

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3-Use social media as a channel to reach your clients. Remember when posting on social media 80% of your content needs to be educational, motivational and conversational with 20% promotional. The aim here is to become the authority within your industry.

4- Make sure you use SEO optimized words in your website content. This will ensure that your clients will be more likely to find you on Google.

5- Start writing a blog at least once a month on a chosen topic. This will help greatly with your SEO as well as keep you relevant in your industry. The blog should be between 800-1000 words for maximum impact and once again don’t forget those key words. A great tool to find out which key words are trending in your Industry is a tool called Keywords everywhere, this will show you how many people are actually searching for your key words.

6- Depending on your industry, but if you have a product based business, then reaching out to influencers can have a great impact on the reach of your posts as well as your product.

7- Do you have an interesting story to tell? if so get some PR. There is a lot of power in the media and this can greatly impact your authority and credibility within your industry by getting some publicity.

Need a good Social Media or PR agency? I know one…:p Savvy Creations PR

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5 tips to Creating Stand out Copy

Five Tips to Creating Standout Copy for Your Business

Words are an easily accessible promotional tool, and fabulous copy can make a lasting impression. Poor text, on the other hand, may be detrimental to branding and drive away clients.

You want words that work. And while there are endless tips and tricks online, getting the basics right is your best bet.

What exactly are you trying to say?

I want to appear skilled and reliable, communicate a story, be memorable and entertaining, transform readers into customers… With all these thoughts swirling, it’s easy to end up with busy, messy copy that overwhelms and alienates your target market.

Sounds simple, but defining what must be conveyed is important. Be clear on your vision for your business, and from the outset only produce copy in keeping with an overall strategy. Don’t lose sight of the core message, and get those facts in upfront.

Maintain a consistent tone.

You need copy with a recognisable “voice”. Creating an impression of your business is basic branding. This is consolidated by the material you put out into the world. Humorous or serious text, references to trending topics: the style you choose shapes people’s perceptions of your company.

Think of copy as having personality. A business image will be muddled by text that changes tone. Having one person write the copy is ideal, but if the duty is shared, create a basic guideline. Include key word suggestions, general sentence length limits, and preferred word counts.

Keep it concise.

There’s always a person at any gathering who loves the sound of their own voice. Don’t be that person online. Even if you have a lot to say, tight text is best. Everyone is busy, and watching the word counts shows you respect clients enough not to waste their time.

Writers who aren’t sure what they want to say use unnecessary filler. Be authentically true to yourself, and your mission in business. Know the purpose of each piece of copy. Stay on target with every email, blog, and post to establish credibility over time.

Try not to bore people.

Business copy isn’t a school assignment. If you’re bored while writing it, chances are people will zone out reading it. Avoid sounding like you’ve bookmarked an online thesaurus. Clear, simple language is often a smarter choice. The endgame is to forge a connection.

Let your passion for your business shine through. Like a diamond in the rough, enthusiastic material can then be shaped into something dazzling. Great copy can make even a lacklustre topic seem interesting, and relevant. That is the marketing goal.

Prep, and edit.

Make sure you set aside time to think, and plan—whether a single post, or your overall strategy. The mind needs space to come up with amazing new ideas. And while prepping is important, editing is also integral to standout copy.

How many times have you seen variations of, if I’d known this would go viral, I’d have checked the spelling first? Proofreading matters. When a brand spells its own name wrong, or misspells a trending hashtag, people notice. Pause, and take a moment to scan the copy before you share.

 

social media platform

The Power of Video

The power of videos on social media for businesses is increasing exponentially. Over the years the number of users who watch videos on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube has skyrocketed. This type of content is a great opportunity for business owners to take advantage of and utilise for their own social media campaign strategy.

Users of social media watch videos for a variety of reasons such as for entertainment, educational purposes or when they are seeking further information on a product, service or brand. Today we will be discussing in further dept a variety of social media channels that facilitate the use of videos and the statistics surrounding the success of videos on each of these social media platforms.

FACEBOOK

There is no denying it that we all have a secret guilty pleasure of watching ridiculous videos of cats doing silly things, people scaring people and ASMR videos of dogs testing out various foods. We love to be entertained and humoured on our Facebook newsfeeds which explains how users are 135% more attracted to videos than photos on Facebook.

People prefer video content above any other type of content online. It is also quite important to note that 85% of videos are viewed by users with the volume off as they are either on the bus, train or in a public place where they can’t watch with volume. This means as a business it is important to have subtitles for all of the videos posted to convey the message across to all users including those who can’t watch with volume.

Facebook has th4 largest audience of any other social media platform with 2.07 billion active users on a monthly basis. Every day 100 million hours of video are watched on this social media giant which explores the success of video content. It is important for business owners to upload videos directly to Facebook as this gives you better analytics and increases the visibility to users in their feed. Another tip is giving users a call to action so that after they have watched the video, they have something to act on.

 

facebook video

YOUTUBE

This platform is consumed by video more than another other social media platform. On this platform, more than 1 billion hours of video are watched daily by active users. This platform is highly effective and successful for marketers and brands. The utilisation of social media influencers on this channel are vital to the success of brands who are seeking a successful social media campaign.

YouTube forms a very organic and trustworthy platform for consumers who are seeking information surrounding a product, service or brand. Marketers found that out of 87 percent who have posted video content on YouTube, 80 per cent found it to be an effective strategy. Videos on YouTube are watched in 88 countries in 76 languages which forms an ethnically diverse and large number of users that can be easily accessed through utilising this video-driven social media platform.

 

youtube video

INSTAGRAM

The rise of videos on Instagram stems from the success of Instagram stories, and lives. The utilisation of an Instagram story enables a quick post of a video or photo that only lasts 24 hours on a user’s profile page. The introduction of live stories on Instagram has boosted the video content on Instagram drastically as the length of live streams can be hours long.

The recent introduction of Instagram TV has been highly successful with users who are seeking more information and longer videos. Instagram is a great platform for video content to be posted as people use Instagram to seek out information through visually grazing over content without having to read anything. It is the top social media network for engagement regarding user participation and reach. This could be the result of its simplistic and visual nature which is visually appealing on mobile as well.

Instagram is home to 500 million daily users who post 250 million stories on the daily. In terms of business marketing, it is also highly successful with 88 percent of marketers finding video content posted to the platform it to be an effective strategy. A tip for utilising Instagram effectively is keeping it simple as over complicating it can lead to user confusion. Also, think about varying your theme as some businesses tend to find a theme and stay with it which becomes repetitive and boring.

Lastly, maintain focus and be single-minded when it comes to the idea surrounding your video.

 

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social media campaign

3 Top Tips for a Successful Social Media Campaign

  1. Consistency

consistency

Consistency is Key. Whether it be exercising, dieting, or posting on your business’ social media channels… consistency is the most important aspect for a successful social media campaign. What do I mean by consistency? One aspect is the amount of posts uploaded to each social media channel per week. Some social media channels that are highly successful regarding engagement levels and reach are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. SO MANY OPTIONS!

I know you are probably overwhelmed but it is important to master a couple of channels as opposed to half-heartedly utilising all channels. I know by now you are probably thinking… how many posts per week? I suggest starting with 3-5 posts a week on each channel to capture and engage your desired target audience. A problem that some businesses face when utilising their social media channels is OVERPOSTING… don’t be that page. Overposting can lead to frustration and anger from your followers which can drive them away by unfollowing the business’ page. I personally would classify over posting as 3-4 posts a day!

 

  1. Congruency

congruency

Congruency is King. Congruency is my second top tip for a successful social media campaign. Congruency is when all social media channels convey a similar key message or strategy to a desired target audience or following. Congruency is all about telling a similar story on all of your social media channels, from Facebook to Instagram, and all the others in between… you name it, all of them must be congruent!

The importance of having a sense of congruency amongst a social media campaign is to reduce confusion and misunderstanding from followers of your socials. Storytelling is the main purpose and aim of a social media campaign. Congruency involves presenting different parts of a story that complement each other to piece together a final key message. A variety of large organisations utilise storytelling in promotional materials such as television advertisements and social media to further engage target audiences. The target audiences like myself become heavily attached and interested in some stories told by organisations (*cough* Rhonda and Ketut from AMMI insurance *cough*).

No, but seriously… the Rhonda and Ketut campaign was highly successful in increases brand awareness due to viewers genuine interest and attachment to the love story being told about the two actors.

 

  1. Clarity

clarity

Kudos to Clarity. Clarity is the last top tip I have for businesses utilising social media channels to promote their products or services on offer. It is highly important to have a clear and concise social media strategy that is easy for consumers to understand. Complex and unclear social media campaigns can lead to confusion which ultimately leaves to a business’ failure.

If a customer cannot understand what is being presented to them, they are not going to purchase or enquire about your business. Clarity is all about being coherent and helping people understand a key message in a simplistic way. A clear social media campaign enables a successful outcome as target audiences have identified and understood the key messages being communicated.

mastering content marketing

Savvy Tips for Mastering Content Marketing

Social media is now one of the best ways to market yourself and your business. In the last year alone, over 336 million new users joined social media, this works out as more than 1 million people joining social media every day. So, why is it so important to master your content marketing techniques? Creating the right content is the ultimate way to reach out to your target market and identify a wider audience who may be interested in your products, services or collaboration.

Why is content so important?

You must have the right content going out onto your social media platforms so that people are learning about your company. From this, potential customers will gain an understanding of what you have to offer. As this relationship builds up over time, this person will become more and more engaged with the business and this will lead to generating more leads, brand growth and sales.

How can you tell if this relationship has built up?

If your content is doing well, you’ll see that potential customers are directly engaging with your content. This could be through something as simple as liking a post or leaving a comment. You will see the level of engagements start to develop through direct website clicks. This is definitely one of the most important engagements which demonstrate that people are showing a direct interest.

How can I choose the best content?

Mastering content marketing can be difficult at first. It’s important to ensure that you are trying new things and different styles as part of a trial and error process. There is no right or wrong approach to take with social media, but after some time, you’ll definitely come to see that some things work better than others for your brand. To generate a variety of leads, you can use different content styles. A popular one is infographics or short videos. These are a great way of communicating a message in a quick and easy way whilst avoiding long captions. On social media, people are drawn to watching a short clip or having a look at a visually appealing infographic to obtain the information they’re interested in.

When creating your content, it’s best to avoid having a ‘sales, sales, sales’ approach! However, it’s important to embed your website link or a link to blog posts in content. Regularly uploading blog content to your website not only gives you a variety of things to post about but it also gives you the opportunity to generate direct website traffic without having to give a direct call to action.

Instagram is becoming bigger and bigger. There are so many different ways that you can use this as a platform and provide a wide variety of content styles aside from posting. Instagram stories are a new thing. You can generate more leads through regularly uploading stories. In these stories, you can embed various techniques, for example, find out more about your audience by using Instagram polls. You can also promote that you will be running a live Q&A time on your Instagram story. This will generate leads from people who have a direct enquiry in an engaging way.

Make your website SEO friendly

The Importance of Renewing Website Content for SEO Purposes

If your website or business webpage is outdated and has not been tweaked or improved in a while, you should know that the SEO of your website is taking a hit. Here is why you should look renewing your website content for SEO so that it continues to perform well in SERPs.

Algorithm Updates

Search engines are constantly updating their algorithms and refreshing search indexes to provide better functionality to users. The list of results that show up when a keyword is entered is getting more and more targeted so that only relevant content is shown to a user.

As a website or business owner, you want to reach the appropriate target audience so that chances of making a sale increase. For this, you must revamp your content to make it more SEO-friendly.

Content Marketing

If you want to market your content successfully, making it SEO friendly is the only way you can do it. By revamping your website content you can ensure that you keep up-to-date with the latest trends in content marketing. Through keyword research, organic keyword placement, and the right use of meta tags, you can keep your website on the first page of search results.

The world of SEO is constantly evolving with new algorithm changes and search engines becoming smarter. Gone are the days when marketers could use black hat techniques or game the system to make any piece of content rank. Now, in the environment like it is today, if you don’t stay on top of the latest trends, you’ll most probably be left behind. You need to keep your content updated and relevant. Last but not the least, you should make use of analytics to measure and drive the most value for your content.

How to Differentiate Between Writing for Digital and Print

When was the last time you read a magazine? Did you get that nostalgic feeling because it’s something you don’t often do anymore? With the digital world evolving we can now read the same content online, for free. Even though both types of writing aim to engage and educate the reader they require different skills to execute the final result. Let’s talk about 4 important differences we should understand between writing content for print and digital.

Structure

When writing for print it is more important to follow a structure for your content. Print readers enjoy a more structured pattern when reading – introduction, main body and conclusion. When reading content that is print-based we are more likely to read word for word whereas when we read online we tend to scan and look for keywords. When creating content for digital platforms a different structural approach needs to be taken – shorter paragraphs, subheadings, bullet points and lists. This approach to structure makes it more visually appealing and allow readers to scan.

 

writing for print

Length

When it comes to length online content is often a lot shorter than print. With this in mind, would you read a 10-page article online? Most people would say no. For the simple reason, that reading online can cause visual fatigue and readers can often lose interest. Statistics also show that reading on a screen can slow down reading speed by 30%. Taking this into account it is important to be able to adapt and adjust your writing style and length based on the platform you are writing for. If you want to create an online piece that is quite lengthy, it might be a good idea to break it up into sections or series.

Headlines

Headlines are designed to catch your audience’s attention. When we see headlines in content for print they are generally short, eye-catching and written in large font. Print platforms often accompany their headlines with images or subheadings that add context about the written piece. When we look at headlines for online platforms we don’t often see them in a larger font and the headlines are generally longer because images are not always used to add depth and context. For online purposes, the headlines should highlight keywords and phrases to entice attention from readers and help with SEO. See more about copywriting here: Melbourne copywriter

 

copywriting headline

Search Engine Optimisation

One major difference between print and online content is the use of SEO. When creating online content, it is extremely important to keep SEO in mind. SEO aims to increase the visibility of your content – allowing it to reach a wider audience range. Using keywords and phrases will help increase your SEO so that when people are searching for the keywords and phrases related to your written piece, the chances of your story appearing in search engine results is higher. If the link to your piece of work is on the first page of the search results in Google – there is a greater chance of increasing traffic and views to your online destination.

Next time you create written content – whether it be online or print you now have these tips to help you adjust your writing to your choice of platform. Both platforms share the common factor of creating engaging, educational and useful content for your target audience.

content for website

Why Content Is Critical For Your Website & How To Update It

Keeping content on your website can become time-consuming, but there are so many reasons why it is so important to keep your online presence active! The online presence you create for your business is crucial as it is usually the first place visitors go when they want to find out more about you. Most people think that having a website that is functional, informative and user-friendly is all they need. Well, it’s time to turn that thought around, because there are so many benefits that come with updating your website content. I will give you some tips and tricks about how to keep your website content fresh and engaging and why it is so important to keep your online presence active.

Helps to boost SEO and traffic to your website

Do you ever visit a website and the most recent post was from 2016? The first thing that comes to mind is ‘they obviously don’t use their website anymore’, so naturally the first thing we might do is close the browser and continue to the next website. Well, let me tell you this. Keeping your content on your website active regularly will help boost your traffic and visitors to your website. Search engines scan regularly and can tell when content is being updated frequently- this gives you a higher chance of your website appearing in the top search results and increases your SEO. We all know that no one visits the second page of google.

 

content seo

Know your target market and audience

It’s Friday morning and you’re scrolling through social media, everyone is posting ‘Happy Friday’, ‘FriYAY’, ‘Friday Feels’ posts even if it has nothing to do with their business. I get it, we all love the weekend and it is a nice friendly post but surely there is something more relevant we can post about? Am I right? This is why the content you are posting should be fresh and engaging- straight to the point and matches with the online presence of your brand. You wouldn’t find ‘Rihanna’s top 5 beauty hacks’ on a website that posts blogs about travelling. Keep it relevant to your target market and audience.

Get creative

The content on your website doesn’t always have to be the same old thing. Change it up a bit. If you’re always posting long blogs try a shorter blog with some images for a change. This will not only make it more fun for you but makes it more fun and engaging for website visitors. Get creative and think out of the box. There are so many ways you can change up the way you present the content on your website. Instead of the usually written testimonial or customer review try one in a video format. Think about it from a visitors’ perspective- if you were a visitor to your website what would you like to see? Content that all have the same style? Or the same content presented in different, creative and engaging styles? I think most of us would choose answer 2. So go on, get creative!

video content

Contact details and services

This is a simple one that we can forget about from time to time. Make sure your email and contact numbers are always kept up to date. Also, if you have a price list, a list of services or opening hours make sure that those are always updated. Simply done!

Keeping your website content update shouldn’t be a chore when you think about the outcomes! If you follow these simple steps of keeping your online presence active, your traffic and engagement should increase over time.

How Do You Manage Multiple Social Media Accounts? Best Time Saving Tools and Strategies

Social media has become something that we cannot do without. Whether you are opening a personal or business social media account, it has become almost necessary to have not just one, but multiple accounts. This is because different platforms offer different types of features and audiences. So in order to keep up, we end up creating a couple of accounts on social media.

There are various advantages of having multiple social media accounts. For one, it helps to increase your online presence, which is very important especially for businesses because they can offer online support as well as advertise efficiently. This is why social media management is important.

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Instagram Cover

Getting Started with Instagram for Your Business

Instagram has become the best place for online marketing, and it is the biggest competition to other social media platforms like Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook. This is why any business has a great chance of increasing its customers when they use Instagram; because social media presence allows more people to learn about your business.

Instagram has a lot of great tools that can be used to advertise. You can create a business profile which will be separate from your personal account, you can post your products in a variety of ways, and you can also collaborate with other businesses to collectively increase your following. Here are some tips that will help you to get started on Instagram for your business.

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