Posts in category: Marketing

Shorter is better

The Internet, coupled with the breadth of portable devices, such as smart phones and tablets, convert every person into a potential consumer. Long lost are the days where businesses had to physically find their target audience and hope their brand messages reached them. (Think like billboards or print ads.) Now, we have analytical data on narrowed-down audiences, targeted online ads, landing pages and social sites that clearly and efficiently spread messages to specific groups of people to escalate interest or understanding.

While the everyday person travels to and from work, shopping centers, events or leisurely relaxes in front of the TV in the evenings, studies show that same person’s mobile device is by their side most of the time, if not, all of the time. This person is destined to browse the Internet on their phone, and when a long article or dense product description seems too tedious of a venture to pursue, a short video is often the preferred method of education. Easily-digestible content most often wins the hearts of consumers.

These short videos are beneficial to businesses because they establish creditability for the business, enhance interest in the brand and have been proven to boost conversions. (They are also obviously less expensive to produce than longer.)

Marketing, especially online marketing, is a very fluid, active animal. It is not “one size fits all” and nothing about it is “written in stone.” Technology changes quickly, and thus, consumers’ behaviors change and the market must change accordingly. The best piece of advice I can give a business owner is to make sure you have at least one passionate marketing specialist who can keep your company up-to-date with modern marketing strategies.

No 21st century insult could be greater than a business having a lack of modern technology. A restaurant without a Yelp page? A car dealership without high-quality pictures of vehicles on its website? As a millennial, I wouldn’t even view those marketing failures as a “lack of technology” – I would just immediately discredit the business as not being trustworthy or legitimate.

To put it bluntly, if you’re not taking advantage of video marketing right now, you’re metaphorically pointing potential customers to your competitors.

Proof that video marketing can help your business:

• Approximately 100 million Internet users watch online videos every day
• People are 64% more likely to buy a product on an online retail website after watching a video about it
• Even 59% of senior executives would rather watch a video than read a whitepaper or brochure
• According to an Online Publishers Association study, 46% of Internet users who recalled viewing a video advertisement recently took some action after watching the ad

How long do you have to capture attention?

The first 10 seconds is everything.

An astonishing 20 percent of people who watch videos will close the video within the first 10 seconds. When a video reaches the 30 second mark, about 1/3 of the original viewers won’t be watching the video anymore. By one minute, 45 percent of the viewers are gone and roughly 60 percent by two minutes.

This brings up two of the most important rules about creating marketing videos:
1. The video must immediately capture people’s attention.
2. Marketing videos should be kept as short as possible.

For the video to instantaneously capture attention, the video has to be relevant to the people watching it. You should never make a marketing video just because you want to or solely because the circumstances are convenient. It should answer a pressing question, supply deeper understanding or provide a unique solution to a common problem. That is what gives the video value.

Additionally, videos need to clearly exclaim a clear and unique message, but the video must also be condensed, straightforward, intriguing or entertaining, story-focused and leaving the audience wanting more. Short videos are most effective when they are just long enough to garner attention and arouse curiosity, but short enough to leave viewers hungry to take the next step (AKA: call to action, which should be clearly pointed out in your video).

The sweet spot

The debate over the ideal online video length may never come to a close, because research has shown it depends on the video’s purpose, the audience, the platform (ex: Facebook) and the device (ex: iPhone) in which the video is being watched.

Some studies show that the video marketing so-called “sweet spot” is two minutes, while other studies reveal that the best length for an online video advertisement is only 15 seconds. A large study from 2010 revealed that social video advertisements of 15 seconds or less are shared nearly 37 percent more than video ads longer than that.

You can use Google Analytics to learn more about your website audience’s ages, devices they use to visit your website, duration they’re on your site, etc., to get a deeper understanding of what types of content they prefer.

My advice? Start by making a video as long or as short as you feel it needs to be. Experiment and analyze the results. An even better idea would be to create one video 1 to 2 minutes long and then a condensed version of 15 to 30 seconds, and see which video gets more engagement, such as shares, comments and clicks. (Or if you like this idea but don’t know how to do it,

Most effective places online to put short videos:
• Website
• Company blog
• Email marketing
• Social media sites
• Online advertising

What you might not know is that you’re ready to get your company’s social media off the ground right now. You don’t need to know every intimidating buzzword or have the magic number of followers. You can get started immediately—and even enjoy yourself in the process.

Social media provides immense potential for businesses because consumers habitually log on to it daily and are exposed to companies. It also presents huge challenges for businesses, however, because it’s an ever-changing space that is extremely noisy and crowded.

It can be difficult to keep up with evolving trends on social media, so B2B reviews and ratings firm Clutch partnered with marketing agency Smart Insights to learn the current state of social media marketing; they surveyed 344 social media marketers from around the world to determine the value of social media, the most engaging content to share, common challenges, and what social media resources businesses are investing in.

The results?

• 52 percent of social media marketers believe social media positively influences their company’s revenue and sales.
• The five most valuable social media platforms:
  • Facebook (89 percent)
  • LinkedIn (83 percent)
  • YouTube (81 percent)
  • Twitter (80 percent)
  • Instagram (56 percent)
• Nearly 80 percent of companies share mostly original content on social media.
• The most important metrics for companies are engagement (36 percent) and conversion rates (35 percent).
• Social media is more valuable to B2C (58 percent) than B2B companies (46 percent).
• The biggest challenges with social media are:
  • Not having enough human and financial resources (26 percent)
  • Lacking a formal strategy (24 percent)
  • Building a community of followers and influencers (24 percent)

If you’re still not convinced, here are six things you can try out yourself to realize that social media is a wise business move.

1. Get Attention and Build Awareness

If people don’t know about your business, they can’t become your customers. Social media boosts your visibility among potential customers, letting you reach a wide audience by using a large amount of time and effort. And it’s free to create a business profile on all the major social networks, so you have nothing to lose.

Here’s a fact: social media content gets attention.

However, it’s really easy for a consumer to become overwhelmed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms filled with noise from companies trying to promote their brands. How can a company create relevant content in such a crowded space?

In the above survey, articles, videos and images were most successful at engaging customers and breaking through that noise.

“These content types are effective in getting cut-through in newsfeeds, so it’s important to not only use them, but to invest in them so the quality is there,” Smart Insights CEO Dave Chaffey said.

This is where original content intersects with quality design. Between GIFs, memes, Facebook Live and more, a content strategy has to be carefully thought-out and executed. What message do your customers want to see, how are they going to identify with your brand, and what will get them to click on your post or comment on it to garner a conversation?

Define what you want to get out of social media to develop a social media strategy for brand awareness. Do you want new customers to discover your services? Do you hope to bring more local shoppers into your stores? By keeping your strategy specific, you can determine which social media channels are the best fit for your business.

2. Communicate Authority

Customers are increasingly savvier and more discerning about which businesses they support. Before making a decision, they’ll do a quick search to browse your website and social media.

Will they find an empty storefront or a rich source of information? Setting up robust profiles that you update frequently with relevant content will build your brand’s authority and make sure you make a positive first impression through social media, showing that your business is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and approachable.

Look for ways to demonstrate your expertise as a thought leader in your industry—like writing pieces related to your expertise or expanding on your company’s mission. By showing what your business offers and values, you will establish confidence in potential customers.

3. Show Authenticity

Customers aren’t interested in businesses that publish dry, corporate-style social media posts.

Instead, let your brand’s personality shine through in everything you share on social media. What does your brand voice sound like? How does it represent who you are? While brands need to be polite and empathetic to their audiences, it is more important to find a voice and take a stand.

Practice getting your tone just right, whether it’s casual and funny or formal and friendly. Be true to who you are, not who you think you should be. Followers want to see real people behind your social profiles. Show them.

4. Encourage Engagement

Sometimes, a seemingly simple social media post, such as one promoting a pair of shoes, can receive several likes, comments, and shares. People can even ask strangers in the feed if they have received their shoes, how long the shipping took, if they liked them, and other questions.

Social media opens the conversation for instant interaction, relationship building, and customer loyalty.

“It’s really important that companies have the right organizational structure to support social media,” said Josh Krakauer, founder and CEO of Sculpt. “A customer support team and a product development team tends to be extremely effective.”

Social channels evolve, constantly releasing new features, and this rapidly changing environment can be intimidating for some business owners.

But remember: you don’t have to do everything. Play with new ways to connect with your audience, and give yourself permission to learn as you go. One day, you could post a series of Instagram Stories to give customers a behind-the-scenes tour of your office. The next, you could host a quick Q&A session via Facebook Live video streaming. Over time, you’ll get a better idea of your followers’ preferences.

You can create engaging video content for social media with a simple setup—good lighting, a smartphone, and a tripod. Also, do a test run before you go live to make sure your internet connection or hotspot has enough speed to avoid delays and interruptions.

5. Grow Affordably

Yes, social media isn’t a place to be overly salesy, but after all, it’s a marketing channel and you need not ignore the opportunity to make sales, should it present itself. Sponsored info on timelines, videos with CTAs, cross-channel retargeting and shoppable posts are the mainstay of social media.

Marketing costs add up, and not every business can afford huge campaigns. But you can get a lot of value for your dollar with social media advertising. Your business, regardless of size or budget, has an opportunity to grow your audience and reach your objectives through ads on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Even if platforms such as Instagram are primarily geared towards engagement, there are established ways to increase sales on them.

Most businesses are data-driven, but social media isn’t a set-in-stone science. For example, you can scroll by an ad that has a picture of a huge scoop of melting chocolate ice cream topped with a mound of whipped cream. You may not think twice about it, but three days later, you may stop by Baskin-Robbins because you were craving a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Social media can contribute to the buyer’s decision-making process like that.

“Social media, unlike other kinds of advertising, can be notoriously difficult to track,” said Steve Pearson, CEO of Friendemic. “Most consumers say it takes many touch points in their customer journey before a purchase. A lot of those are undoubtedly on social media and online review sites, but customers aren’t necessarily citing those when they walk into a business as the last touchpoint that brought them in today.”

When building an ad campaign, know who you’re trying to reach and what goal you want to achieve so you don’t waste any of your budget on unhelpful advertising. Avoid overly salesy ads, and opt for content that educates or entertains (or does both at the same time).

6. Provide Support

Social platforms have successfully broken down barriers between companies and their customers. Now, instead of calling a customer service line, many people turn to Facebook or Twitter to solve problems or find information.

Develop your reputation as a responsive, caring brand by offering support through social channels:

• Create a system for tracking customer comments, questions, and complaints on social media.
• Respond as quickly as possible to questions and concerns.
• Go out of your way to be positive and helpful.
• Listen to criticism and make customers feel heard.
• Know when to resolve public conversations in private messages.

Social Media is Essential for Businesses

Social media is a crucial part of your business marketing, but it doesn’t have to be stressful to manage. Take the first step, create a profile, and start engaging with your customers.

As it continues to weave itself into the daily patterns of our lives, more consumers will go to new and upcoming social platforms for purchasing decisions. Those who have a strong social media presence and branding will increase conversion rates, while those without active social media campaigns could lose potential customers. Which company do you want to be?

Benefits of Online Marketing

The group of potential customers that are found online is a much larger group of people than you are likely to be able to attract locally. Using digital marketing, you can reach an enormous audience in a way that is both cost-effective and measurable.

Other benefits of online marketing include:

• The ability to interact with your prospects and learn exactly what they are looking for
• The ability to reach a global marketplace
• You can save money and reach more customers for less money than traditional marketing methods
• Get to know your audience and allow them to know you personally which can help to create brand loyalty
• You can track responses to your marketing efforts immediately

Are You Postponing Digital Marketing?

Why would you choose to postpone putting time and effort into digital marketing? Different small business owners may come up with a variety of reasons to avoid this form of marketing, but in the end, procrastination is still procrastination.

Small businesses sometimes believe that they don’t have the time or the money to be competitive online. They think they can only face so many challenges all at once and they are still learning the ins and outs of business in general. Many of them may prefer to take things slowly and to stick with one or two basic forms of advertising, assuming that their business will evolve as time passes.

They may even think the best strategy is simply to wait for customers to show up. Since they are a small business, they may think they only need a small number of customers.

This is not an effective approach. There is never a guarantee that your business will attract customers just by existing and even if it does, you may not attract as many customers as you need to make your business become profitable.

Your Customers Are Online

If you have been avoiding digital marketing, is it because you think you are simply not ready? Do you think you just need some time to get established and then you will figure out the digital marketing angle?

The problem with this approach is that your customers and potential customers are already online. Right now. Today. There’s a good chance they might already be looking for a business like yours, but if they can’t find you easily, they are probably going to choose someone else.

This is how people do business today. When someone has an interest in your business, whether it is in your niche in general or if they are curious about your brand, the first thing they are going to do is research online and see what they can find out about you.

They expect to find you there with a website and a social media presence. They may be looking for reviews so they can learn what other people are saying about your company and whether it is a good place to do business.

If a potential customer can’t find you online, they may conclude that your business doesn’t appear to be legitimate. There is a very good chance that a lot of these prospects may decide not to take your business seriously and they will quickly head somewhere else.

Once they have made that decision, they probably won’t be back.

Your Competitors Are Online

For your business to be successful, you need to pay attention to what your competitors are doing and learn from it.Think of your competitors not just as someone that you are planning to beat, but as people who have something to teach you.

When you look at what your competitors are doing, you will get some idea of what is working and what isn’t working. Most likely, whatever type of business you are in, your competitors have established a web presence. What kind of content are they using? Are they blogging, or are they using a lot of graphics and videos?

How do they communicate their brand and what makes them unique? How well do they engage with the audience? Do you think you can do better? You can’t if you don’t participate in competing in the digital world.

If your prospects begin to search for a business similar to yours and are able to find your competitors’ website but not yours, your business is not even in the running. Your prospects can’t choose you if they don’t know about you. In this scenario, your competitors have just raced ahead of you regardless of whether they have an effective website or a clear message.

Be Accessible to Your Customers

It’s clear that in today’s digital world, the first place the average consumer looks for what they want is online. Whatever product or service they are looking for, they will most likely start their search with Google. If you have no online presence at all, you won’t be found, and you can’t compete.

If you have an online presence but your competitors are easier to find and are found first, you still might not be found at all. Besides creating a website, learning search engine optimization is a strategy that can help you move ahead of your competitors just by being the first name that a prospect finds in a Google search with keywords that can lead them to your business.

Simple questions that your prospects may want quick answers to should be easily discoverable online, such as where you are located, what your hours are and what you specialize in. By looking at your website and your competitors’ websites side by side, your prospects should be able to compare hours, prices, special offers and more.

This is why it’s imperative for you to know what your competitors are up to. Your prospects are already checking both you and your competitors out. They are already comparing you against each other. What are they finding out?

Let Customers Come to You

Think of digital marketing as a way to make yourself accessible to the people you are trying to reach in order to offer your products and services. The scope of your business can reach well beyond your walls. You are able to attract a much larger audience than you possibly could by just catering to local prospects.

By creating a web presence, your business is open for business even when it’s closed. You can create an atmosphere in which your customers can come to you anytime day or night.

At their convenience, customers and prospects can send you emails with questions, make purchases and browse your inventory.Potential customers who have no way to physically come to you can still do business with you, whether they are limited by disability, transportation or simply living too far away.

Get to Know Your Target Audience

Digital marketing allows you to engage with your prospects. You can gradually get to know them and what they are hoping to find.On social media or on a blog you can start a conversation. Run a survey or try to get to know them. Pay attention to their comments or their responses to surveys.

By interacting with people digitally, you can start to get to know what they are looking for. Where is their pain? What is keeping them up at night? What solutions can you offer to them? Instead of trying to guess, digital marketing allows you tools and methods for finding out who your customers really are.

In this way, you start to build a relationship with your customers. You become much more than a business. You become a trusted partner. People are much more likely to buy from businesses that they have already bought from.

Few forms of advertising are as cost-effective as digital marketing. Small businesses frequently try to get as much as possible done on a small budget. Many forms of digital marketing allow you to communicate your brand and reach a wide target audience even when your budget is very tight.

Compared to advertising on TV, radio or through direct mail, digital marketing costs considerably less and reaches a much wider audience at the same time. Using digital marketing to promote your small business will help you to have a much better chance of business success.