Facebook. In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of both platforms to help you make an informed decision.

Understanding Facebook Ads

Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, with over 2.7 billion monthly active users. It offers various business advertising options, including sponsored posts, stories, and video ads. Facebook’s advanced targeting capabilities allow marketers to reach their ideal audience based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and location.

Pros of Facebook Ads

• Large audience: With over 2.7 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers access to a massive audience.
• Advanced targeting: Facebook’s targeting capabilities are some of the most advanced in the industry, allowing marketers to reach their ideal audience with precision.
• Wide range of ad formats: Facebook offers a variety of ad formats, including sponsored posts, stories, and video ads, to suit different marketing objectives.
• Remarketing options: Facebook allows you to retarget users who have interacted with your brand before, increasing the chances of conversion.
• Detailed analytics: Facebook provides detailed analytics that allows you to track the performance of your ads and make data-driven decisions.

Cons of Facebook Ads

• Increasing competition: With so many businesses advertising on Facebook, it’s becoming harder to stand out.
• Ad fatigue: Facebook users are exposed to a large number of ads every day, which can lead to ad fatigue and a decrease in engagement.
• Ad blockers: Some users may have installed ad blockers, making reaching your target audience harder.
• Cost: As competition increases, advertising on Facebook also increases, making it less accessible for small businesses.

Understanding TikTok Ads

TikTok is a relatively new player in advertising, but it’s quickly gaining popularity among younger generations. With over 689 million monthly active users, it offers a unique platform for businesses to reach a new audience. TikTok’s advertising options include in-feed videos, sponsored hashtags, and branded effects.

Pros of TikTok Ads

• Large audience: With over 689 million monthly active users, TikTok offers access to a growing audience.
• Low competition: As TikTok is still a relatively new platform for advertising, there is less competition than Facebook.
• Engaging content: TikTok’s short-form videos are exciting and can help increase brand awareness.
• Affordable: Advertising on TikTok is currently cheaper than Facebook.
• Younger audience: TikTok’s audience is predominantly more youthful, making it an excellent platform for businesses targeting Gen Z and Millennials.

Cons of TikTok Ads

• Limited targeting options: TikTok’s targeting options are currently more limited than Facebook’s.
• Limited ad formats: TikTok currently only offers in-feed videos, sponsored hashtags, and branded effects, limiting the variety of ad formats available.
• Limited analytics: TikTok’s analytics are currently more limited than Facebook’s, making it harder to track the performance of your ads.
• Short attention span: TikTok’s short-form videos may not suit all types of businesses or products.

Which Platform Should You Choose?

The answer to this question largely depends on your business goals, target audience, and budget. If you’re targeting an older audience or need advanced targeting options, Facebook may be the better option. However, TikTok may be better if you target Gen Z or Millennials with a limited budget.

Ultimately, the best approach is to experiment with both platforms and see which delivers the best business results. By tracking your analytics and making data-driven decisions, you can optimize your marketing strategy and reach your target audience more effectively.

Conclusion

In the battle of the ads, both Facebook and TikTok offer unique advantages and disadvantages. The key is understanding your business goals, target audience, and budget and experimenting with both platforms to see which delivers the best results. With the right approach, you can create a successful marketing strategy that helps you reach your business objectives.

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If you’re running a business, you’re probably wondering which advertising platform is better for your business – Facebook Ads or Google Ads. Both platforms are powerful advertising tools that help you reach your target audience and achieve your advertising goals. In this blog post, we’ll compare Facebook and Google Ads and help you decide which platform is better for your business.

Facebook Ads vs Google Ads: Which One Should You Use?

What Are Facebook Ads?

Facebook Ads is an advertising platform that allows you to create and run ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Audience Network. With Facebook Ads, you can target your ads to specific audiences based on their interests, demographics, behaviors, and more. You can also choose from various ad formats, including image, video, carousel, etc.

What Are Google Ads?

Google Ads is an advertising platform that allows you to create and run ads on the Google Search Network, the Google Display Network, and YouTube. With Google Ads, you can target your ads to specific keywords, locations, devices, and more. You can also choose from various ad formats, including text, image, video, and more.

Facebook Ads vs Google Ads: Pros and Cons

Facebook Ads Pros

• Large audience: Facebook has over 2.8 billion monthly active users, making it one of the largest social media platforms in the world.
• Advanced targeting options: With Facebook Ads, you can target your ads to specific audiences based on their interests, demographics, behaviors, and more.
• Cost-effective: Facebook Ads can be more cost-effective than Google Ads, especially if you’re targeting a specific niche audience.

Facebook Ads Cons

• Less intent-driven: Facebook Ads are typically used for brand awareness and engagement rather than driving conversions.
• Limited ad placement options: While Facebook Ads can appear on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Audience Network, the placement options are still somewhat limited.

Google Ads Pros

• High intent-driven: Google Ads are typically used for driving conversions and sales rather than brand awareness and engagement.
• Large audience: Google has over 3.5 billion searches per day, making it the largest search engine in the world.
• Diverse ad placement options: Google Ads can appear on the Google Search Network, the Google Display Network, and YouTube, giving you a wide range of placement options.

Google Ads Cons

• More expensive: Google Ads can be more expensive than Facebook Ads, especially if you’re targeting competitive keywords.
• Limited targeting options: While Google Ads allows you to target specific keywords, locations, devices, and more, the targeting options are still somewhat limited compared to Facebook Ads.

Facebook Ads vs Google Ads: Which One Should You Use?

So, which advertising platform should you use for your business? The answer is that it depends. Facebook Ads and Google Ads have pros and cons, and the best advertising platform for your business will depend on your advertising goals, budget, and target audience.

Facebook Ads may be your better option if you want to build brand awareness and engage with your audience. On the other hand, if you’re looking to drive conversions and sales, Google Ads may be the better option for you.

Ultimately, the best way to determine which advertising platform is better for your business is to test both platforms and see which gives you the best results. By testing both platforms, you can better understand which platform works best for your business and adjust your advertising strategy accordingly.

Conclusion

Facebook Ads and Google Ads are powerful advertising platforms that can help you reach your target audience and achieve your advertising goals. While Facebook Ads are typically used for brand awareness and engagement, Google Ads are generally used for driving conversions and sales.

Ultimately, the best advertising platform for your business will depend on your advertising goals, budget, and target audience. Testing both platforms allows you to determine which platform works best for your business and adjust your advertising strategy accordingly. So, unlock the secrets to successful advertising with Facebook and Google Ads!

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If you are an online business owner, you know the importance of effective e-commerce marketing strategies. In today’s digital marketplace, standing out from the competition can be difficult. However, you can increase your online sales and grow your business with the right marketing plan.

This article will discuss 10 proven e-commerce marketing strategies to help you achieve explosive online sales growth.

1. Create a User-Friendly Website

A user-friendly website is essential for any e-commerce business. Your website should be easy to navigate, visually appealing, and optimized for mobile devices. Make sure your website is fast and responsive, as slow loading times can lead to a high bounce rate.

2. Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Social media is a powerful tool for e-commerce marketing. Use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to promote your products and engage with your audience. Consider running social media ads to reach a larger audience and increase your online sales.

3. Invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of optimizing your website for search engines like Google. By optimizing your website for specific keywords, you can increase your visibility in search results and drive more traffic to your website. Consider hiring an SEO expert to help you develop an effective SEO strategy.

4. Offer Discounts and Promotions

Everyone loves a good deal. Offering discounts and promotions is a great way to attract new customers and increase your online sales. Consider offering free shipping, buy-one-get-one-free deals, or limited-time discounts to entice customers to purchase.

5. Leverage Email Marketing

Email marketing is a highly effective e-commerce marketing strategy. Use email to stay in touch with your customers, promote your products, and offer exclusive discounts and promotions. Make sure your emails are personalized and relevant to your audience.

6. Use Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing involves partnering with social media influencers to promote your products to their audience. This can be a highly effective way to reach a larger audience and increase your online sales. Consider partnering with influencers who align with your brand values and target audience.

7. Optimize Product Descriptions

Your product descriptions should be clear, informative, and optimized for search engines. Use high-quality images and provide detailed information about your products, including dimensions, materials, and care instructions. This will help potential customers make informed purchasing decisions.

8. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Excellent customer service is key to building a loyal customer base. Make sure you have a clear and easy-to-find contact page on your website, and respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner. Consider offering a live chat feature to provide instant support to your customers.

9. Use Retargeting Ads

Retargeting ads are a great way to reach customers who have interacted with your website. By showing targeted ads to customers who have previously visited your website, you can increase the likelihood of a sale. Consider using retargeting ads on social media platforms and Google AdWords.

10. Monitor and Analyze Your Results

Finally, it’s essential to monitor and analyze your e-commerce marketing efforts. Use tools like Google Analytics to track your website traffic, conversion rates, and other key metrics. Use this data to refine your marketing strategy and improve your online sales growth.

In conclusion, by using these 10 proven e-commerce marketing strategies, you can achieve explosive online sales growth for your business. Remember to prioritize user experience, optimize for search engines, and constantly analyze your results to refine your marketing strategy.

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Do you need help generating new leads for your business? If so, you’re not alone. Many companies need help with lead generation, but the good news is that there are proven techniques you can use to boost your results.

This blog post will cover 10 lead-generation techniques proven to work. By implementing these strategies, you can generate more leads and grow your business.

1. Content Marketing

Content marketing is a powerful way to attract new leads to your business. By creating high-quality content that provides value to your target audience, you can establish yourself as an authority in your industry and attract new leads to your website.

To get started with content marketing, you’ll need to create a content strategy that includes blog posts, videos, infographics, and other types of content that your audience will find valuable. You can then promote your content through social media, email marketing, and other channels to reach a wider audience.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). You can attract organic traffic and generate more leads by improving your website’s ranking for relevant keywords.

To optimize your website for SEO, you must conduct keyword research to identify the most relevant keywords for your business. You can then optimize your website’s content, meta tags, and other elements to improve your ranking for those keywords.

3. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a powerful way to generate leads quickly. With PPC advertising, you can create ads that target specific keywords and demographics and only pay when someone clicks on your ad.

To get started with PPC advertising, you’ll need to create an account with a platform like Google Ads or Facebook Ads. You can then create ads that target specific keywords and demographics and set a budget for your campaign.

4. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a great way to reach a wider audience and generate more leads. By creating engaging content and promoting it through social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can attract new leads to your business.

To get started with social media marketing, you’ll need to create profiles on your target audience’s social media platforms. You can then create and share content that your audience will find valuable and engage with your followers to build relationships and generate leads.

5. Email Marketing

Email marketing is a powerful way to nurture leads and convert them into customers. By creating targeted email campaigns that provide value to your subscribers, you can build trust and establish a relationship with your audience.

To get started with email marketing, you’ll need to build an email list of subscribers who have opted in to receive your emails. You can then create targeted email campaigns that provide value to your subscribers and encourage them to take action.

6. Webinars

Webinars are a great way to generate leads and establish yourself as an authority in your industry. By creating informative webinars that provide value to your audience, you can attract new leads to your business and build relationships with your existing subscribers.

To get started with webinars, you’ll need to choose a topic your audience will find valuable and create a presentation that provides actionable insights. You can then promote your webinar through email marketing, social media, and other channels to attract a wider audience.

7. Referral Marketing

Referral marketing is a powerful way to generate leads from your existing customers. By creating a referral program that incentivizes your customers to refer their friends and family to your business, you can generate new leads and grow your customer base.

To get started with referral marketing, you’ll need to create a referral program that offers rewards to customers who refer new business to you. You can then promote your referral program through email marketing, social media, and other channels to encourage your customers to participate.

8. Networking

Networking is a great way to generate leads and build relationships with other professionals in your industry. By attending industry events and connecting with other professionals, you can establish yourself as an authority in your industry and generate new leads for your business.

To start networking, you’ll need to identify relevant industry events for your business and attend them regularly. You can then connect with other professionals and build relationships that can lead to new business opportunities.

9. Direct Mail

Direct mail is a powerful way to generate leads and reach customers who may need to be more active online. By creating targeted direct mail campaigns that provide value to your audience, you can generate new leads and grow your business.

To get started with direct mail, you’ll need to create a targeted mailing list of potential customers and create a direct mail campaign that provides value to your audience. You can then send your direct mail campaign to your mailing list and track your results to see how many leads you generate.

10. Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are a powerful way to generate leads and establish trust with your audience. By encouraging your customers to leave reviews on sites like Yelp, Google, and Facebook, you can attract new leads to your business and build a positive reputation online.

To get started with customer reviews, you’ll need to encourage your customers to leave reviews on sites relevant to your business. You can then monitor your reviews and respond to negative feedback to show that you care about your customers and are committed to providing great service.

In conclusion, lead generation is essential for any business that wants to grow and succeed. By implementing these 10 proven lead-generation techniques, you can attract more leads to your business and achieve your goals.

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Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach potential customers and promote your business. With a well-planned email marketing strategy, you can build strong relationships with your audience, increase brand awareness, and boost sales.

In this blog post, we’ll share 10 killer email marketing strategies to help you take your business to the next level. We’ve got you covered, from crafting compelling subject lines to segmenting your audience!

1. Craft Compelling Subject Lines

The subject line is the first thing your subscribers see when they receive your email. It can make or break your email marketing campaign. A compelling subject line should be short, sweet, and concise. It should grab your reader’s attention and entice them to open your email.

Here are some tips for crafting compelling subject lines:

• Use numbers and statistics
• Ask a question
• Use humor
• Create a sense of urgency
• Personalize the subject line

2. Segment Your Audience

Segmenting your audience means dividing your subscribers into smaller groups based on their interests, behavior, and demographics. By segmenting your audience, you can send targeted emails more relevant to their interests.

Here are some ways to segment your audience:

• By location
• By behavior (e.g., opened/clicked on previous emails)
• By interests
• By demographics (e.g., age, gender)

3. Personalize Your Emails

Personalized emails can help you build stronger relationships with your subscribers. Adding the subscriber’s name and other personal details to the email can make them feel valued and appreciated.

Here are some ways to personalize your emails:

• Use the subscriber’s name
• Mention their previous purchases or interests
• Send birthday or anniversary emails
• Use dynamic content to show different products based on their behavior

4. Use Visuals

Visuals can make your emails more engaging and memorable. They can help you convey your message more effectively and make your emails stand out.

Here are some ways to use visuals in your emails:

• Add images or videos
• Use infographics to showcase statistics
• Use GIFs to add a touch of humor

5. Make Your Emails Mobile-Friendly

More than half of all emails are opened on mobile devices. If your emails are not optimized for mobile, you could miss out on potential customers.

Here are some tips for making your emails mobile-friendly:

• Use a responsive email template
• Keep your subject lines short
• Use a single-column layout
• Use large font sizes
• Add a clear call to action

6. A/B Test Your Emails

A/B testing involves sending two versions of your email to a small group of subscribers and measuring which one performs better. By A/B testing your emails, you can optimize your email marketing strategy and improve your conversion rates.

Here are some elements you can A/B test:

• Subject lines
• Call-to-action buttons
• Images
• Layout
• Personalization

7. Provide Value

Your subscribers receive dozens of emails every day. To stand out from the crowd, you need to provide value in every email you send. Your emails should offer something useful or interesting to your subscribers.

Here are some ways to provide value in your emails:

• Share industry insights or news
• Offer exclusive discounts or promotions
• Provide helpful tips or tutorials
• Send personalized recommendations based on their behavior

8. Use Social Proof

Social proof is a powerful tool that can help you build trust with your subscribers. By showing that other people trust and use your products or services, you can convince your subscribers to do the same.

Here are some ways to use social proof in your emails:

• Add customer reviews or testimonials
• Show social media shares or likes
• Mention awards or recognitions your business has received

9. Keep Your Emails Simple

Your emails should be easy to read and understand. They should have a clear message and a single call to action. If your emails are too complex or confusing, subscribers may lose interest or unsubscribe.

Here are some tips for keeping your emails simple:

• Use short paragraphs and sentences
• Use bullet points to highlight key information
• Avoid using jargon or technical terms
• Use a clear and concise call-to-action

10. Measure Your Results

Measuring your email marketing results is crucial to improving your strategy and achieving your goals. You can identify what works and what doesn’t by tracking your open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.

Here are some metrics you should track:

• Open rates
• Click-through rates
• Conversion rates
• Bounce rates
• Unsubscribe rates

In conclusion, email marketing can be a powerful tool for boosting your business. Following these 10 killer email marketing strategies, you can create compelling emails that resonate with your audience and drive results. Remember to continuously test, optimize, and measure your results to improve your email marketing strategy.

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The landscape of content marketing is constantly evolving. To stay ahead of the game and remain competitive, it is important to keep an eye on emerging trends and adapt your strategies accordingly. This blog post will explore 10 content marketing trends to watch.

Trend 1: Video Content Continues to Reign Supreme

Video content has been on the rise for years and shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, video content will be estimated to make up 80% of all internet traffic. This means businesses need to prioritize video content in their marketing strategies to stay relevant.

Trend 2: Personalization Becomes the Norm

Consumers expect personalized content that speaks directly to their needs and interests as they become increasingly savvy. Personalization will no longer be a nice-to-have but a must-have. Businesses can create targeted content that resonates with their audience by leveraging data and analytics.

Trend 3: Artificial Intelligence Takes Center Stage

Artificial intelligence (AI) has already made waves in the content marketing world, but it will become even more prevalent. AI will play an increasingly important role in delivering personalized content at scale, from chatbots to customized recommendations.

Trend 4: Interactive Content Captivates Audiences

Interactive content, such as quizzes, polls, and surveys, has increased engagement and driven conversions. We can expect more businesses to leverage interactive content to capture and retain their audiences’ attention.

Trend 5: Voice Search Changes the Game

With the rise of smart speakers and voice assistants, voice search is poised to become a major player in the content marketing landscape. Businesses will need to optimize their content for voice search to remain visible and competitive.

Trend 6: Influencer Marketing Continues to Evolve

Influencer marketing has been around for years, we can expect it to evolve in new and exciting ways. From nano-influencers to virtual influencers, businesses must stay on top of the latest trends in influencer marketing to leverage this strategy effectively.

Trend 7: User-Generated Content Takes Center Stage

User-generated content (UGC) has proven to be a powerful tool for building audience trust and engagement. We can expect more businesses to leverage UGC in their content marketing strategies to create authentic, relatable content.

Trend 8: Augmented Reality Becomes Mainstream

Augmented reality (AR) has already made a splash in industries like gaming and entertainment,  it will become more mainstream in the content marketing world. From virtual try-ons to immersive brand experiences, businesses must embrace AR to stay ahead of the game.

Trend 9: Long-Form Content Makes a Comeback

While short-form content has been the norm for years,  we can expect to see a resurgence in long-form content. From in-depth blog posts to comprehensive guides, businesses will need to prioritize quality over quantity to capture and retain their audiences’ attention.

Trend 10: Sustainability Takes Center Stage

As consumers become increasingly environmentally conscious, sustainability will become a key consideration in content marketing. Businesses prioritizing sustainable practices and messaging will be better positioned to connect with their audiences and build long-term brand loyalty.

In conclusion, by staying on top of emerging trends and adapting your strategies accordingly, you can stay ahead of the game and remain competitive in an ever-changing landscape.

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Digital marketing is constantly evolving, and keeping up with the latest trends and strategies can be challenging. However, staying ahead of the curve is essential to remain competitive in today’s ever-changing business landscape. This blog will explore ten game-changing digital marketing strategies you can’t afford to ignore in 2023 and beyond.

Strategy 1: Personalization

Personalization is the key to creating a unique and memorable customer experience. By leveraging customer data and using AI-powered tools, you can tailor your marketing messages to each customer’s needs and preferences. This approach can help you increase customer engagement and loyalty while boosting conversion rates.

Strategy 2: Voice Search Optimization

As more and more people use voice assistants like Alexa and Google Home, optimizing your content for voice search is becoming increasingly important. This means incorporating conversational keywords and phrases into your content and ensuring your website is mobile-friendly and fast-loading.

Strategy 3: Video Marketing

Video marketing has exploded in popularity in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. Creating engaging videos showcasing your products or services can capture your audience’s attention and drive more traffic to your website. You can also use video to tell your brand’s story and build a stronger emotional connection with your customers.

Strategy 4: Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a powerful way to reach new audiences and build customer trust. By partnering with influencers in your industry, you can tap into their established networks and leverage their credibility to promote your brand. This approach can help you increase your reach and drive more conversions.

Strategy 5: Chatbots

Chatbots are becoming increasingly sophisticated and can now handle various customer service and marketing tasks. Using chatbots on your website or social media channels can provide instant support to your customers and streamline your marketing processes. This can help you save time and money while improving your customer experience.

Strategy 6: Social Media Stories

Social media stories are short, brief pieces of content that disappear after 24 hours. However, they can be an incredibly effective way to engage your audience and build your brand. Creating compelling stories showcasing your products or services can capture your audience’s attention and drive more traffic to your website.

Strategy 7: User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is any content created by your customers and shared online. You can increase your brand’s reach and build social proof by encouraging your customers to create and share UGC. This approach can also help you improve your SEO by generating more backlinks to your website.

Strategy 8: Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that overlays digital content onto the real world. By using AR in your marketing campaigns, you can create immersive experiences that engage your audience and showcase your products or services. This approach can help you stand out from your competitors and drive more conversions.

Strategy 9: Micro-Moments

Micro-moments are brief, intent-driven moments when a person reaches for their mobile device to take action on a need or want. Understanding your customers’ micro-moments and tailoring your marketing messages to them can improve your relevance and drive more conversions. This approach requires a deep understanding of your customer’s needs and preferences and the ability to deliver personalized messages in real-time.

Strategy 10: Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly sophisticated and can now be used to automate many marketing tasks. By using AI-powered tools, you can optimize your marketing campaigns, personalize your messages, and improve your ROI. This approach can help you save time and money while delivering more targeted and effective marketing messages.

In conclusion, the digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving, and staying ahead of the curve is essential to remain competitive. By leveraging these ten game-changing digital marketing strategies, you can improve your customer experience, increase your reach, and drive more conversions. However, it’s important to remember that no single strategy will work for every business. You’ll need to experiment, test, and iterate to find the right mix of strategies that work for your unique needs and goals.

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Online advertising has become an essential part of any successful business strategy. With the increasing number of people using the internet, it’s important to know the most effective techniques for online advertising. This blog post will explore ten proven online advertising techniques that can skyrocket your business growth.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This technique involves optimizing your website’s content, structure, and coding to ensure it’s easy for search engines to crawl and index. By ranking higher in SERPs, you can attract more organic traffic to your website, leading to more leads and sales.

2. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

PPC advertising is a form of online advertising where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on one of their ads. This technique allows businesses to target specific keywords and demographics to reach their ideal audience. By using PPC advertising, businesses can increase their visibility and drive more traffic to their website.

3. Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising is a form of online advertising that involves placing ads on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This technique allows businesses to target specific demographics based on interests, behaviors, and location. By using social media advertising, businesses can increase their brand awareness and engagement with their target audience.

4. Content Marketing

Content marketing creates and shares valuable content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. This technique involves creating blog posts, videos, infographics, and other relevant and informative content for your target audience. By using content marketing, businesses can establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry and attract more organic traffic to their websites.

5. Email Marketing

Email marketing is a form of online marketing that involves sending promotional emails to a list of subscribers. This technique allows businesses to nurture leads and build relationships with their audience. By using email marketing, businesses can increase their sales and customer loyalty.

6. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a form of online advertising that involves partnering with influencers to promote your products or services. This technique allows businesses to reach a larger audience and increase brand awareness. By using influencer marketing, businesses can leverage the credibility and trust influencers have built with their followers.

7. Retargeting

Retargeting is a form of online advertising that targets users who have previously visited your website. This technique involves placing a tracking pixel on your website, which allows you to retarget users with ads as they browse the internet. By using retargeting, businesses can increase their conversion rates and maximize their ROI.

8. Video Advertising

Video advertising is a form of online advertising that involves creating video ads to promote your products or services. This technique allows businesses to engage their audience with visually appealing content. By using video advertising, businesses can increase their brand awareness and drive more traffic to their website.

9. Mobile Advertising

Mobile advertising is a form of online advertising that targets users on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This technique allows businesses to reach on-the-go users and increase their brand awareness. By using mobile advertising, businesses can optimize their ads for mobile devices and improve their overall user experience.

10. Native Advertising

Native advertising is a form of online advertising that blends in with the content of the website or app it’s displayed on. This technique allows businesses to promote their products or services non-intrusively. By using native advertising, businesses can increase their visibility and improve their user experience.

In conclusion, online advertising is essential to any successful business strategy. By using these ten proven online advertising techniques, businesses can increase their brand awareness, drive more traffic to their website, and ultimately, skyrocket their business growth.

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Do you need help to increase your sales and boost your revenue? Look no further! This blog post will discuss tried and tested strategies to help you grow your sales and revenue.

1. Know Your Target Audience

The first step in increasing your sales is to know your target audience. Who are they? What are their needs and wants? What motivates them to make a purchase? By understanding your target audience, you can tailor your marketing efforts and product offerings to meet their needs better.

2. Improve Your Website

Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business. Make sure your website is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and provides all the necessary information customers need to make a purchase. Consider adding customer reviews and testimonials to build trust and credibility.

3. Offer Discounts and Promotions

Offering discounts and promotions can be an effective way to increase sales. Consider offering a discount on a customer’s first purchase or a promotion for a limited time. This can incentivize potential customers to make a purchase and can also encourage repeat business.

4. Utilize Social Media

Social media can be a powerful tool for increasing sales. Use social media platforms to engage with potential customers, promote your products, and build brand awareness. Consider running social media ads to target specific audiences and increase visibility.

5. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Providing excellent customer service can help build customer loyalty and increase sales. Make sure to respond promptly to customer inquiries and concerns and go above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction. This can encourage repeat business and positive word-of-mouth marketing.

6. Analyze Your Data

Analyze your sales data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement. Use tools like Google Analytics to track website traffic and customer behavior. This can help you make informed decisions about your marketing and sales strategies.

In conclusion, increasing sales and revenue requires a multifaceted approach. By knowing your target audience, improving your website, offering discounts and promotions, utilizing social media, providing excellent customer service, and analyzing your data, you can build a strong foundation for success. Implement these strategies today and watch your sales soar!

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Unlocking the Secrets: A Comprehensive Guide to Crafting Your Online Course in 10 Detailed Steps

Are you passionate about sharing your expertise and knowledge with a broader audience? Creating an online course offers an excellent avenue to do just that. As the demand for e-learning continues to surge, individuals increasingly turn to online courses to acquire new skills or propel their careers forward. This guide will delve into a detailed, step-by-step process to help craft a compelling online course that resonates with your audience.

Step 1: Choose your topic and target audience

Begin your online course creation journey by selecting a topic that aligns with your expertise and resonates with your passion. Whether it’s culinary arts, coding, or marketing, your chosen subject should reflect your proficiency. Furthermore, identifying your target audience is crucial. Understanding their needs, pain points, and learning preferences will enable you to tailor your course content effectively.

Step 2: Conduct thorough market research

Extend your preparation by delving into market research. Explore similar courses in your chosen niche to identify gaps and opportunities. This step ensures that your course stands out and offers unique value to your audience.

Step 3: Develop a comprehensive course outline

Create a detailed course outline once you’ve chosen your topic and conducted market research. Break down your subject matter into digestible sections or modules, each with a clearly defined learning objective that builds upon the previous one. This approach enhances the overall structure and coherence of your course.

Step 4: Choose your course format and platform

Diversify your understanding of the e-learning landscape by exploring different course formats and platforms. Each format has strengths, whether video, audio, text-based, or interactive content. Similarly, platforms like Udemy, Teachable, and Coursera offer distinct advantages. Tailor your choices based on your target audience’s preferences and course content.

Step 5: Create your course content

With your chosen outline, format, and platform, it’s time to dive into content creation. Whether you’re recording videos, crafting text-based lessons, or designing interactive exercises, keep your audience engaged and motivated. Incorporate elements that align with diverse learning styles, ensuring a rich and comprehensive learning experience.

Step 6: Optimize for user engagement

Elevate your course content by optimizing it for maximum user engagement. Integrate quizzes, discussions, and interactive elements to foster a dynamic learning environment. This step ensures that your audience remains actively involved throughout the course.

Step 7: Implement multimedia elements

Enhance the richness of your course by incorporating multimedia elements. Multimedia adds depth and variety to the learning experience from high-quality visuals to supplementary resources.

Step 8: Quality assurance and testing

Before launching your course, conduct thorough quality assurance and testing. Ensure that all elements function seamlessly and the content is error-free. This step guarantees a positive learning experience for your audience.

Step 9: Develop a robust marketing strategy

Invest time in developing a robust marketing strategy as you approach the launch phase. Set a launch date, determine a competitive price point, and create promotional materials, such as preview videos or free trials, to generate interest.

Step 10: Launch and promote your course

The final step involves the actual launch of your course. Execute your marketing strategy, monitor the response, and be prepared to adapt based on user feedback. Leverage social media, email marketing, and other channels to promote and refine your course continually.

Embarking on the journey to create your online course is an exciting endeavor that allows you to share your expertise and passion with a global audience. By following these ten detailed steps, you can craft a course that is not only engaging and informative but also tailored to the needs and preferences of your target audience.

So, why wait? Start your online course creation today and unlock the secrets to a successful educational venture!

The post Unleash Your Expertise: A Comprehensive Guide to Craft and Create Online Courses appeared first on Done For You.

Unlocking the Secrets to High Ticket Sales: Strategies for Boosting Your Revenue Stream

Are you tired of struggling to make sales? Do you wish you could increase your revenue stream? If so, you’re not alone. Many people need help with sales, especially regarding high-ticket items. However, with the right strategies, you can unlock the secrets to high ticket sales and boost your revenue stream. This blog post will explore the best strategy for increasing high-ticket sales.

What Are High-Ticket Sales?

Before we dive into the strategies, let’s clarify what we mean by “high ticket sales.” High ticket sales refer to products or services priced at a premium, typically over $1,000. These products or services require a significant investment from the buyer and often involve a longer sales cycle.

Why Are High-Ticket Sales Important?

High ticket sales are essential for a few reasons. First, they can significantly increase your revenue stream. Selling just a few high-ticket items can generate more revenue than many low-ticket items. Second, high ticket sales can help establish your brand as a premium provider of products or services. Finally, high ticket sales can lead to long-term client relationships, as they are more invested in your product or service.

Strategies for Boosting Your High-Ticket Sales

Now that we understand the importance of high ticket sales let’s explore some strategies for boosting them.

1. Know Your Customer

Knowing your customers is the first step to boosting your high-ticket sales. Who are they? What are their pain points? What motivates them to make a purchase? Understanding your customer will help you tailor your sales pitch to their needs and increase the chances of closing the sale.

2. Build Relationships

High ticket sales often involve a longer sales cycle, so you must build relationships with potential clients. This involves nurturing them with valuable content, answering their questions, and providing exceptional customer service. Building relationships will help establish trust and increase the chances of closing the sale.

3. Provide Value

When selling high-ticket items, providing value to your potential clients is important. This means demonstrating how your product or service will solve their problems or meet their needs. Providing value will help establish your brand as a premium provider and increase the chances of closing the sale.

4. Use Social Proof

Social proof refers to the idea that people are more likely to purchase if they see others doing it. When selling high-ticket items, it’s important to use social proof to demonstrate that others have purchased and benefited from your product or service. This can include testimonials, case studies, or social media posts.

5. Use Scarcity

Scarcity refers to the idea that people are more likely to purchase if they believe the product or service is in limited supply. When selling high-ticket items, it’s important to use scarcity to create a sense of urgency. This can include limited-time offers or a limited number of products or services available.

Conclusion

High ticket sales can be challenging, but with the right strategies, you can boost your revenue stream and establish your brand as a premium provider of products or services. By knowing your customers, building relationships, providing value, using social proof, and using scarcity, you can unlock the secrets to high-ticket sales. So what are you waiting for? Start implementing these strategies today and watch your high ticket sales soar!

The post High Ticket Sales Mastery: Elevate Your Revenue with Strategic Selling Tactics appeared first on Done For You.

In today’s digital age, online advertising has become necessary for businesses of all sizes. With the vast number of platforms available, it can be overwhelming to determine where to allocate your advertising budget. This blog post will discuss the top platforms to advertise on for maximum impact and how to make the most of your advertising dollars.5

Why Advertise Online?

Before we dive into the top platforms, let’s first discuss why advertising online is important.

First and foremost, advertising online allows you to reach a larger audience. With over 4.6 billion active internet users, the potential for exposure is massive. Additionally, online advertising allows targeting specific demographics and interests, allowing for more efficient and effective marketing.

Top Platforms for Advertising Online

Google Ads: Formerly known as Google AdWords, it is the most widely used platform for online advertising. With Google Ads, your ads appear at the top of search results for relevant keywords. The platform also offers the ability to display ads on websites within the Google Display Network.

To make the most of your Google Ads campaign, it’s crucial to conduct thorough keyword research and continually monitor and adjust your budget and ad performance.

Facebook Ads: With over 2.7 billion active users, Facebook Ads offers a massive audience for businesses to advertise to. The platform allows highly targeted ads based on demographics, interests, behaviors, etc.

In addition to targeting options, Facebook Ads offers a variety of ad formats, including image ads, video ads, carousel ads, and more. It’s important to test different ad formats and messaging to determine what resonates with your audience.

LinkedIn Ads: For B2B companies, LinkedIn Ads is a valuable platform for advertising. With over 700 million professionals on the platform, LinkedIn offers a highly targeted audience for businesses.

LinkedIn Ads offers a variety of ad formats, including sponsored content, sponsored InMail, and display ads. It’s important to tailor your messaging and targeting options to appeal to the professional audience on the platform.

Instagram Ads: With over 1 billion active users, Instagram Ads offers a highly engaged audience for businesses to advertise to. The platform provides a variety of ad formats, including image ads, video ads, carousel ads, and more.

To make the most of your Instagram Ads campaign, it’s important to create visually appealing content and utilize relevant hashtags to reach your target audience.

Making the Most of Your Online Advertising Budget

Now that we’ve discussed the top platforms for advertising online let’s talk about how to make the most of your advertising budget.

First and foremost, it’s important to set clear goals for your campaign and continually monitor and adjust your performance to ensure you’re on track to meet those goals. It’s also crucial to conduct thorough research on your target audience and tailor your messaging and targeting options to appeal to them.

Additionally, it’s important to test different ad formats, messaging, and targeting options to determine what resonates with your audience. By continually testing and optimizing your campaigns, you can maximize your reach and impact while minimizing your advertising spend.

Conclusion

Advertising online offers a massive potential audience for businesses to reach. By utilizing the top platforms and making the most of your advertising budget, you can maximize your reach and impact. Remember to continually test and optimize your campaigns to ensure you’re reaching your target audience effectively.

The post Boost Your Business: Top 10 Platforms to Advertise Online and Reach Your Target Audience Now! appeared first on Done For You.

In today’s digital age, online advertising has become a crucial component of any successful marketing strategy. With so many different methods available, it can be challenging to determine which one is best suited for your business. In this article, we’ll compare some of the most popular online advertising methods to help you make an informed decision.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

PPC advertising is a popular model where advertisers pay publishers each time their ad is clicked. The most well-known PPC platform is Google Ads, which allows advertisers to bid on specific keywords relevant to their business. When a user searches for one of these keywords, the ad appears at the top of the search results, increasing the likelihood of clicks and conversions.

PPC advertising is an effective method for businesses with a clear understanding of their target audience and the specific keywords they want to target. It can also be a cost-effective method, as advertisers only pay when someone clicks on their ad.

Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising involves placing ads on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. With the vast number of users on these platforms, social media advertising can be an effective way to reach a large audience quickly.

One of the benefits of social media advertising is the ability to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. For example, a clothing retailer could target women aged 18-34 interested in fashion. This level of targeting ensures that the ad is seen by people most likely to be interested in the product.

Display Advertising

Display advertising involves placing banner ads on websites, mobile apps, and social media platforms. These ads can be static or animated and include images, videos, and interactive elements.

One of the benefits of display advertising is the ability to reach a large number of people quickly. However, click-through rates for display ads tend to be lower than other methods, and there is a risk of ad fatigue if the same ad is displayed repeatedly.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO involves optimizing a website’s content and structure to improve its ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher a website ranks, the more likely it is to be seen by users searching for relevant keywords.

SEO is a long-term strategy that requires time and effort to see results. However, once a website ranks for relevant keywords, it can provide a steady stream of organic traffic and conversions.

Which Method is Best for Your Business?

The best online advertising method for your business depends on several factors, including your budget, target audience, and marketing goals. For example, if you have a limited budget and a clear understanding of your target audience, PPC advertising may be the best option. If you’re looking to reach a large audience quickly and have a more visual product, display advertising may be the better choice.

Ultimately, it’s essential to experiment with different methods and track your results to determine which one is most effective for your business. By focusing on your target audience and marketing goals, you can develop a successful online advertising strategy that drives traffic, conversions, and revenue.

The post Choosing the Right Online Advertising: Your Ultimate Decision-Making Guide appeared first on Done For You.

If you’re looking for a new way to reach potential customers, LinkedIn Ads may be the solution you need. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, with over 750 million members worldwide, and is a powerful tool for businesses looking to grow their audience and increase their ROI. In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of LinkedIn Ads and how they can help you maximize your reach and ROI.

What Are LinkedIn Ads?

LinkedIn Ads are a form of paid advertising that allows businesses to target specific audiences on the LinkedIn platform. LinkedIn offers a range of ad formats, including sponsored content, sponsored InMail, display ads, and dynamic ads. These ads can be targeted based on various criteria, including job title, company size, industry, and location.

Why Use Them?

There are several reasons why businesses should consider using LinkedIn Ads to reach potential customers:

1. Targeted Advertising

LinkedIn Ads allow businesses to target specific audiences based on their job title, company size, industry, and location. This targeting ensures that your ads are seen by the people most likely to be interested in your products or services, increasing the chances of conversion.

2. Increased ROI

LinkedIn Ads can provide a higher ROI than other forms of advertising. According to LinkedIn, businesses see an average 6.1x return on ad spend. This is due to the targeted nature of the ads, which ensures that businesses are reaching the right people with their message.

3. Brand Awareness

LinkedIn Ads can also be used to increase brand awareness. Sponsored content and display ads can showcase your products or services to a broader audience, while sponsored InMail can send personalized messages directly to potential customers.

Get Started

1. Set Up a LinkedIn Campaign Manager Account

First, set up a LinkedIn Campaign Manager account. This will allow you to create and manage your ads and track results.

2. Choose Your Ad Format

Once you’ve set up your account, you’ll need to choose your ad format. LinkedIn offers a range of ad formats, including sponsored content, sponsored InMail, display ads, and dynamic ads. Choose the format that best suits your goals and budget.

3. Define Your Target Audience

Next, you’ll need to define your target audience. Use the targeting options available in LinkedIn Campaign Manager to narrow down your audience based on job title, company size, industry, and location.

4. Set Your Budget and Bidding Strategy

Set your budget and bidding strategy for your LinkedIn Ads. LinkedIn offers cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-impression (CPM) bidding options. Choose the option that best suits your goals and budget.

5. Create Your Ad

Finally, create your ad and follow the content and design guidelines to ensure that your ad is effective and compliant.

Conclusion

LinkedIn Ads are a powerful tool for businesses looking to reach potential customers and maximize their ROI. Businesses can increase their brand awareness and drive conversions by targeting specific audiences and using a range of ad formats. If you’re looking for a new way to reach potential customers, consider using these as part of your marketing strategy.

The post Maximizing Your Reach and ROI: The Power of LinkedIn Ads for Business Growth appeared first on Done For You.

Having a solid online presence is crucial for the success of any business. With the ever-increasing popularity of e-commerce, it is essential to have a reliable e-commerce agency to help you achieve your online business goals.

Let’s discuss the importance of potentially hiring an agency and how our expert services can help your business thrive.

Why You Need an E-commerce Agency

Running an e-commerce business can be challenging, especially if you have little experience in online marketing and sales. This is where an e-commerce agency comes in. An e-commerce agency is a team of experts specializing in creating and managing online stores. They can help you with everything from website design and development to digital marketing and customer service.

Benefits of Hiring an E-commerce Agency

There are several benefits of hiring an agency for your business. Firstly, they can help you save time and money by handling all your online business needs. This means you can focus on other essential aspects of your business, such as product development and customer service.

Secondly, e-commerce agencies have the expertise and experience to create effective online marketing campaigns that can increase your website traffic and sales. They can also help you optimize your website for search engines, making it easier for potential customers to find you online.

Lastly, agencies can provide valuable insights and analytics to help you make informed business decisions. Analyzing your website traffic and sales data can help you identify areas for improvement and optimize your online business strategy for maximum success.

Our Expert Agency Services

At Done For You, we offer a wide range of expert e-commerce agency services to help your business thrive online. We work closely with our clients to develop customized e-commerce solutions that meet their unique business needs.

Our website design and development services include everything from creating a visually appealing and user-friendly website to optimizing it for search engines and mobile devices. We also offer digital marketing services such as social media marketing, email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising to help you reach your target audience and increase your online sales.

A reliable agency is essential for the success of your online business. With our expert services, you can revamp your online business strategy and take your e-commerce business to the next level. 

Contact us today to learn more about our e-commerce services and how we can help your business thrive online. Click here to set up a call!

The post Unleash Your E-commerce Potential: Discover the Benefits of an Agency Partner appeared first on Done For You.

In today’s fiercely competitive business landscape, where companies are constantly battling for attention in an overcrowded market, the significance of creative advertising cannot be overstated. In this blog post, we will explore the power of creative advertising and provide tips on unleashing its potential.

What is Creative Advertising?

Creative advertising is designing and executing advertising campaigns in a highly imaginative, unconventional, and innovative manner. It is a strategic approach that uses creativity, artistic elements, and out-of-the-box thinking to capture the audience’s attention, engage their emotions, and leave a lasting impression. Creative advertising aims to break through the clutter of traditional advertising and stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Critical characteristics of creative advertising include:

1. Emotion: It often appeals to emotions, aiming to create a solid emotional connection between the audience and the brand or product. This can be achieved through humor, inspiration, empathy, or storytelling.
2. Visual Impact: Visual elements, such as striking imagery, innovative design, and compelling visuals, play a significant role in creative advertising. Eye-catching visuals are used to draw the viewer’s attention.
3. Storytelling: Many creative advertisements tell a story or narrative beyond the advertised product or service. These stories can resonate with the audience on a deeper level.
4. Engagement: Creative advertising seeks to engage the audience actively, encouraging them to interact with or share the ad with others.
5. Memorability: Creative ads are designed to be memorable, leaving a lasting impression in viewers’ minds. This memorability often leads to increased brand recall. I’m sure almost everyone can think of an ad that stood out to them and could be remembered forever. 
6. Innovation: Advertising often leverages new and innovative technologies or platforms, such as social media, virtual reality, or interactive experiences, to deliver its message uniquely.
7. Consistency with Brand Identity: While creative advertising may break conventions, it should still align with the brand’s identity and values. Creativity must support and enhance the brand’s image.

Creative advertising can be found across various mediums, including print, television, radio, online platforms, and outdoor advertising. It is particularly effective in capturing the attention of modern consumers who are exposed to a constant stream of advertisements and content. 

Creative advertising can differentiate a brand, increase brand awareness, and drive consumer engagement and loyalty when done successfully.

Why is Creative Advertising Important?

It can take a lot of work in a crowded market to get noticed. Consumers are bombarded with countless advertisements daily, and it takes something extraordinary to stand out. This is where creative advertising comes in.

Creative advertising can help you to differentiate your brand from your competitors. It can help you to build a strong brand identity and create a lasting impression on your target audience. It can also be a cost-effective way to reach a larger audience, as creative advertisements are more likely to be shared and discussed on social media.

Tips for Unleashing the Power of Creative Advertising

1. Know Your Audience: You must clearly understand your target audience before brainstorming ideas. What are their interests? What are their pain points? What kind of messaging will resonate with them?
2. Be Original: The key to creative advertising is to be original. Avoid copying what your competitors are doing; instead, think outside the box. Consider using humor, emotion, or a unique visual style to capture your audience’s attention.
3. Keep it Simple: While creativity is essential, it’s also necessary to keep your message simple and easy to understand. Please don’t use jargon or complicated language; focus on communicating your message clearly and concisely.
4. Use the Right Medium: Different types of advertisements work better in different mediums. For example, a television commercial may be more effective for reaching a mass audience, while a social media campaign may be better for targeting a specific demographic. Please look at each medium’s strengths and weaknesses and choose the one that works best for your campaign.
5. Test and Refine: Once you’ve launched your creative advertising campaign, monitoring its effectiveness and making adjustments as needed is essential. Use analytics tools to track engagement and conversion rates, and be willing to change your campaign if it’s not performing as well as you had hoped.

Creative advertising can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to stand out in a crowded market. By diligently embracing these strategies and unleashing the potential of advertising, you embark on a transformative journey that propels your business beyond the boundaries of convention. 

In a world where competition is constant, creativity becomes your most formidable ally, leading you to stand out, redefine industry standards, and realize enduring success. Embrace your creativity with unwavering confidence, for within it lies the key to setting your business apart and achieving unparalleled heights in your pursuit of marketing excellence.

By following these tips and unleashing the power of your creativity, you can create a memorable and effective advertising campaign that will help you achieve your marketing goals.

Can you handle this part of the business on your own?

The post Unleashing the Power of Creative Advertising: How to Stand Out in a Crowded Market appeared first on Done For You.

If you’re looking for a way to get your brand in front of a large audience without breaking the bank, cost-per-thousand (CPM) advertising might be the answer. This kind of advertising is a digital marketing strategy that allows you to pay for ad views instead of clicks, making it a cost-effective way to reach a broad audience.

This blog post will explore tips and strategies for maximizing ROI with CPM advertising.

What is CPM Advertising?

This is a popular model where you pay for every thousand impressions your ad receives. Images refer to the number of times your ad is displayed on a website. CPM advertising is commonly used for display ads, the banner ads you see on websites.

Why Use CPM Advertising?

CPM advertising is a cost-effective way to get your brand in front of a large audience. Unlike pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, where you pay for every click on your ad, CPM advertising allows you to pay for ad views. This means you can reach a wider audience without breaking the bank.

Tips for Maximizing Your ROI with CPM Advertising

1. Target Your Audience

One of the most important things you can do to maximize your ROI with advertising is to target your audience. The more targeted your audience, the more likely they are to engage with your ad.

2. Use Eye-Catching Creatives

Another critical factor in maximizing your ROI with CPM advertising is to use eye-catching creatives. You’ll need to stand out and grab your target audience’s attention.

3. Optimize Your Landing Page

Once you’ve captured the attention of your target audience, it’s essential to keep them engaged. One way to do this is to optimize your landing page. Your landing page should be relevant to your ad and give you a clear call to action.

4. Monitor Your Campaigns

Finally, monitoring your campaigns frequently to ensure you’re getting the most out of your CPM advertising is crucial. You should monitor your ad performance and make adjustments as needed to maximize your ROI

CPM advertising is a cost-effective way to get your brand in front of a large audience. So, try it and see how it can benefit your business, or let us know if you need help!

The post Elevate Your Marketing Game: Maximizing ROI with CPM Advertising appeared first on Done For You.

If a million people swear by a brand, you’ll swing towards that brand sometimes even without thinking much.

The more popular a company stock is, which means more people have positive expectations, the more likely the price is to increase — and you’ll invest in it anyway.

See what’s happening there?

It’s called social proof — it is powerful but overlooked despite the fact that we all know intuitively how effective it is.

According to studies, nearly 70% of consumers look for online reviews or some sort of validation before they make purchases. Product reviews left by other customers are at least 12 times more trustworthy than product copy or advertisements.

Are you ignoring the power of social proof?

Your ads are probably not suffering from low-quality design, less powerful copy, or bad execution. It just so happens that you are completely ignoring the power of social proof and you are just as likely not using it for your ad campaigns.

If you are trying to make your gorgeous-looking Facebook ad or purposefully-written Google ad stand out all by itself in isolation and you’ll realize that it’s incredibly hard to do.

Now, social proof applies everywhere — from websites to landing pages; from funnels to ads; from general copywriting to ad copy.

Specifically for your paid ads, social proof goes a long way to help you squeeze more from your ad campaigns.

Sprinkle some social proof on the ad though and you’ll be able to make your ads work that much harder and your ad campaigns will turn fruitful.

Types of social proof for advertising

There are various types of social proof you can use for your ads, landing pages, and funnels — depending on your business. Here are some of them:

• Customer testimonials — applies to almost every business out there.
• Certifications
• Logos of previous & existing clients
• Associations with other organizations, such as governing bodies, communities, etc.
• Expert or celebrity endorsements
• Proof that a few others recently purchased items
• Real-time statistics that show how many people are viewing or buying something. These are popular with travel websites, hotel booking, airline websites, etc.

Now that you know what kind of social proof you could use, here’s how to make your ads work harder, social proof in tow:

Adapt and use social proof, depending on ad formats

How you use social proof will depend on the ad type and the platform you are creating. Google ads restrict the number of characters you can use within your ad. Using customer testimonials might not work for the actual Google ads.

You could have used Google’s review extensions (but Google is sunsetting the feature soon) and that would make for a great addition as social proof.

Let’s assume that you are going to use Google ads. You can still add social proof to your Google Ad in the following ways:

• Use sitelink extensions pointing to a dedicated page on your website full of customer testimonials
• Use the callout extensions to add a small phrase from an actual customer testimonial.

Just be sure not to overdo the promises or the claims you make. You know? Things like “The Absolute Best CRM in the world” or “Lose 140 kilos in 10 Days” — Google won’t allow that.

As for using banner ads, Facebook ads, etc., using social proof is a lot easier with these platforms.

Use customer testimonials as ad copy

Use customer testimonials in your ads. Then, test this ad performance against your regular ads.

For instance, if you were creating a Facebook ad, you could create an ad with just the face of the customer and what they think about your business.

Image Credits: Adespresso

By doing this, you are using social proof in your ad and you’ll also end up using a picture of a real person (which helps boost click-through rate).

You can use customer testimonials as ad copy in a few ads and then test these ads against the regular ads that you run. You can also experiment with short video testimonials against simple image ads.

Promote customer stories

Image credits: Adroll

Insight #1: We humans love stories. If you can weave in your products or services within the story, you have a double-barrel shotgun.

Insight #2: Promoting your stories will ensure that the retention, engagement, and click-through rates are higher, especially for ads.

Insight #3: Using visual medium to narrate stories takes your game up several notches higher.

With the three insights above, you can clearly see why using customer stories as “ads” (as against regular ads that make an offer) can be a lot more engaging. You are not only getting eyeballs, engagement, and clicks on your ads but you’ll also be able to make your ads “sticky”.

Using stories to get results for your business is now all the more easy with Youtube’s Trueview ads, Instagram stories, and Facebook stories already available for you to tap into.

Need help with your ad campaigns, sales funnels, and landing pages? Do you want to ensure a better ROI for your ad campaigns? Fill out this form now and we’ll get back to you.

The post How And Why Adding Social Proof To Ad Campaigns Boosts Your ROI appeared first on Done For You.

“Google Ads is a monster — whether or not it works for you, depends on you”

The monstrous complexity of Google Ads interface is no news for you. Maybe you logged in and logged out? Maybe you tried to dabble with it? Heck, you might have managed to launch a campaign or two on Google too?

The Google Ads application is just like Photoshop — the complexity never ends. For most users, that complexity isn’t even required. But the software is kept the way it is so that users of all experience profiles can use either of those.

We’ve covered a lot on Google Ads for a while now. Here are a few posts, for your reference:

How to Start & Run Your Campaigns On Google Ads
Lesser known features of Google Ads To Get You More Results For Less
Mandatory Reports Within Google Ads To Help Maximize Your ROI
How Now to Drain Your Google Ads Budget

Before you go deep into Google Ads and start working on your campaigns, there are a few things you should do:

You’ve got some numbers to crack first

You don’t just log into your Google Ads campaign manager and launch campaigns. That’s just not how it’s done.

Before you go anywhere near Google Ads, you’ll have to calculate a few numbers.

This depends on your business, products, services, and your pricing. But let’s take a dig at it:

Make certain calculations (since each digital channel has variable conversion rates). For instance, incoming phone calls convert higher than leads generated on landing pages. Or email converts better than social. Or Facebook Messenger converts better than email.

• What price point do your products or service sell for?
• What’s the profit margin on each product you sell?
• What’s the average lifetime Value of every customer you get?
• What is each lead generated on my landing page worth? If you have multiple products at multiple price points, calculate an average lead value for each.
• What is each incoming phone call worth?
• What’s each chat (followed by email capture, and then meeting booked) on your live chat software worth?
• What’s the maximum I can spend on generating a lead (across the above channels)?
• If I spend X, how many leads do I generate to create Y revenue, and hence Z profits?

Once we have all the information we need for your business, you can plan our campaigns better, spend only what we need to, and do what we can to generate leads, phone calls, shopping sessions, etc.

Set up your campaigns right

We’ve written about how to set up your Google Ad campaigns right earlier.

Whatever you do with your Google Ads campaigns, don’t use the defaults. It applies to everything from choosing your locations, excluding locations, rotating ads, applying budgets (CPC, for instance), and how you add your keywords for your campaigns.

As a ready reckoned, here’s what you should typically do while setting up your campaigns:

• Start with the lowest possible budget (just enough to move the needle)
• Instead of choosing an entire country (such as the United States), choose only major cities.
• Choose “People Living In…” your [Chosen Location] and not the default “People Interested In…”
• Always create your Ads in pairs (for split testing).
• Depending on your business, make good use of day parting ( the ability to show your ads during particular days of the week or hours of the day)
• Since you are split testing your ads, don’t choose the default “Show the best ad….”. Instead, “choose to rotate ads evenly…”

There are many default Google Ads settings that you should be careful about [that makes it a completely new post for later]

Use extensions

We cannot stress the importance of using ad extensions while launching your Google Ad campaigns.

While it’s the easiest thing to do to maximize the impact of your ads, it’s also the most neglected. More than 70% of the Google ad accounts we see here at DoneForYou don’t have extensions.

That’s literally throwing money out into the drain.

Look at the Google ad above.

Do you see how those extra links give more juice for your ad? Do you realize that just by using extensions, you are able to increase the real estate your ad takes up on the Google search results page?

Ad extensions let your ad take up more space, look bigger, provide more context to your ads, and they don’t cost you a dime more.

Track Your Inbound Calls

Say you did pay attention and use your “call extension” on Google ads. So, what exactly happens when you include the call extension on Google Ads?

Some of your potential customers could look at the number and place a phone call.

With thousands of potential customers seeing that number and placing phone calls, how do you track those phone calls and attribute conversions to those?

Most businesses don’t.

Did you know that the humble mobile search alone drove approximately 73 billion phone calls in the year 2018?

Now, that number will only get bigger as we go by.
But then, it’s shocking to see just how many businesses don’t track their incoming phone calls. According to BIA Kelsey research, around $64.6 billion is being spent on localized ads that are meant to generate phone calls for businesses.

With over 150+ billion being spent on local advertising in the United States, about 12.6 % of that spending is on pure-play mobile ad spend.

Put your phone numbers on your website, your Google Ads (and also on Facebook ads). Then, use a good phone call tracking software to track incoming calls along with all sorts of other caller data such as the name of callers, duration of calls, the source of calls, and more.

Make no excuses with email (and marketing automation)

Email gets you an ROI of 4800%. Just stop there and think about it.

Email Marketing automation isn’t complicated at all — it might look like it is, but it isn’t. You don’t have to be a tech genius to figure out and use marketing automation for your business.

With the kind of technology available for business of all sizes, your excuses are no longer valid. There are all sorts of marketing tools (that’ll make up the most of your marketing stack), there are specialist agencies that can help you with it all, or there are specific solutions even for agencies, large businesses, and enterprises.

Marketing automation helps take your hands off a few aspects (where possible).

Embrace text messaging

In the rush of everything digital, we all conveniently forgot about the humble SMS. Your potential audience could miss your push notification messages, emails, social updates, the latest blog post, and pretty much everything else you throw at them.

Chances are that they won’t miss reading their SMS messages. Some companies like Skipio claim a whopping 98% open and read rates for SMS messages.

Wishpond has an infographic that shows you just how effective SMS can be as a channel and explains over 25 different marketing automation use cases just by using SMS.

You could use this channel well if you take care not to come across as spammy and shady. Not every SMS message you send should be a pitch.

Instead, use SMS as a channel but use email marketing best practices such as meaningful engagement, asking questions, and providing value.

Get professional help

Google and Facebook want you to truly believe that rolling out an ad is incredibly easy, and it is. There’s no denying just how powerful these platforms are (under the hood) while making it seem so easy to launch a campaign.

If you aren’t too careful, you’ll only end up spending your money for nothing.

Google Ads management is a full-time job — it takes a lot more than you think and it’s not for the faint-hearted. There’s the right way to setup campaigns (above), an effective way to use keywords, arrange your ad groups, managing budgets, and more.

Plus, there are landing pages, funnels, email marketing automation, split testing, optimization, and tweaking your campaigns continuously.

Don’t try it at home.

Looking for help with your paid marketing campaigns, landing page funnels, ads management, and your digital marketing strategy? Fill out this form now and allow us to help you out.

The post Google Ads Management: No-Brainer Steps You Should Take (Right Now) appeared first on Done For You.

While it’s that powerful, most businesses don’t use Google AdWords to its potential.

In fact, because of false starts and being uninformed, most small business owners tend to get excited with the possibilities, launch right away, and end up draining their complete budgets in less than a few hours of launching their campaigns with nothing much to show for it.

Meanwhile, your aim is to squeeze the most out of your PPC ad spend.

Google is a business like any other, and their default settings are built to make “them” money, not you.

To succeed with Google AdWords, you’d need strategy, due diligence, and attention to detail. There are rules for Google AdWords that you just have to follow.

Above all, you’d have to make sure that you don’t end up spending money on Google AdWords for nothing.

Here’s how to be absolutely sure that you aren’t going to waste your money on unnecessary clicks and false starts:

No offers? No campaigns

There are a lot of businesses just like yours (your competition) and they are all out there trying to woo the same kind of customer — you know? The customer who can pay.

You might have a USP, your products might be the best out there, and you could truly be the best solution for your customers’ problems.

There’s only one problem: your customer doesn’t know you yet. To get your customers through the door, you need to make an offer (and it doesn’t have to be a discount).

Your offers will give your customer a reason to consider your products or services. Google ads are fickle affairs and launching campaigns without an offer doesn’t give your customer any incentive to click, to sign up, to consider, or to think about why you are the best at what you do.

Say no to Google’s campaign managers

Did you ever get a call from Google’s offices volunteering to help you run and manage your campaigns?

There’s only one good reason why you should let these Google AdWords’ campaign managers handle your account for you: when you truly don’t have the time or resources to do so or when you have an unlimited budget to spend.

In most cases, we’d never entertain these campaign managers for the simple reason that they had never spent any of their own money to run their campaigns.

People who don’t learn by spending their own money or putting their own skin in the game don’t know a thing about running paid campaigns. Period.

Campaigns are flush tanks without sales funnels

Paid advertising (Google or otherwise) makes you believe that it’s incredibly easy to launch a campaign, and it really is.

But if you just went ahead and launched campaigns the way you are made to believe, you’ll spend your budget in less than an hour – flat out.

You’d need sales funnels — the complete setup from ads making a specific offer (see above) to landing pages, and from landing pages to email marketing automation. Without sales funnels, your campaigns are guaranteed to fail

Learn what sales funnels are and why you need them. If you need help building sales funnels, just schedule a call with us and we’ll take it from there.

AdWords Express is for the lazy folks

AdWords Express (a simpler version of Google AdWords) lets your ad show up with just a few clicks; no need to mess with ad groups, multiple ads, landing pages, and all that jazz.

For an absolute newbie, AdWords Express makes it just as simple as popping open a soda bottle. It’s easy, quick, effortless, and an absolute cakewalk.

But a good campaign is not a cakewalk.

AdWords Express doesn’t let you control anything. You can’t determine how your ad should show, what keyword combinations should trigger your ads, and any of that deep stuff, like testing Ads, landing pages, A/B testing, and more.

If you want good results — like really good results — don’t touch AdWords Express.

Don’t touch Google’s defaults

Google’s defaults are built to make Google money.

Drop a keyword without modifying or controlling how or when it’s shown and you are in for trouble. That’s because your keywords will start showing up for absolutely every instance of your keyword being used. That’s why your ad budgets drain so fast.

In another instance, the way Google works is to show your most popular ad more often than others (and that’s a default setting).

If you let Google do this, how will you control and test your ads? For good A/B testing practices, you’d need to have two ads show up equally (with almost equal impressions). With such a setup you are able to distribute traffic equally to both the ads.

The right option to choose (instead of default) is “Rotate all ads equally.” This option will make Google show all your ads equally so you have the ability to split test your ads.

How do you think you are draining your Google AdWords’ budget? If you are draining your Google AdWords budget faster than you can read this line, it’s time to get on a scheduled call with us.

The post How To Not Drain Your Google AdWords Budget appeared first on Done For You.

“Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.” – William Bernbach

Advertising a SaaS company, as easy as it might sound to some marketers, is a hugely cumbersome process. To make advertising work for your business you need to take care of so many things; Best practices in your industry, branding, media buying, action plans, campaign monitoring, ROI calculation and what not.

The toughest part is that you need to keep coming up with new, creative ideas on a constant basis to be on top of the changing market trends. In fact, according to the 2016 Digital Trends Report by Adobe – “more than 76% of the people believe that marketing has changed more in the past couple of years than it did over the previous fifty.”

With so much volatility floating around, it becomes inevitable for a SaaS business to make mistakes while planning or executing an advertising campaign.

If you are running a SaaS business, you need to avoid certain basic advertising mistakes that are typical to tech companies. What are those mistakes, and how do you avoid them?

Going with the ‘one size fits all’ approach

Multiple marketing channels plus same ad-campaign equals failure! That’s the story of almost every marketer’s life.

When it comes to advertising a SaaS business across different channels, the ‘one size fits all’ approach won’t work. That is because –and that’s a basic marketing principle– the advertising message needs to be adapted to serve different mediums.

In other words, you need to optimized your SaaS advertising strategies to fit:

• the typical features of each marketing channel
• the profile of the typical customers on each channel

If your marketing strategy worked on one platform it does not mean it will have the same impact on other mediums as well.

Ignoring familiarity bias

It makes sense for a SaaS business to look at the returns it gets from the money it spends on advertising.

Now, there are two ways to look at it – returns in the short run and returns in the longer run.

Some SaaS businesses fall into the trap of looking at the immediate returns, therefore, they don’t focus on creating campaigns that will either expand brand awareness or take the sales cycle into account.

What this means is that not every advertising campaign needs to have immediate conversions as a goal. Sometimes you want to have more people notice your brand, and create interest and curiosity. Other times, you do want prospects to convert, but you have to acknowledge the fact that people don’t always purchase a SaaS plan immediately; it might take them weeks or months to decide.

In order to get the maximum returns from each marketing campaign, you need to clarify your goals and expected results. If you are a SaaS startup, then you might want to create a strategic plan to spread the word about your brand. After building awareness about your business and getting the first sign-ups and paying customers, then you can use the power of familiarity bias to convert more customers through your SaaS campaigns.

In psychology, familiarity bias (heuristics) refers to the phenomenon where people opt for the more familiar options, even though these often result in less favorable outcomes than available alternatives.

Relying too much on organic traffic

Paid marketing has become the go-to option for growth marketers. With so many SaaS startups seeing the light of day, each founder wants a slice of the user base pie as quickly as possible to validate the product/market fit.

With competition soaring high in SaaS industry, you need to blend organic efforts with paid marketing in order to survive. This is quite evident from the statistics as well – nearly 70% of the CMOs suggest that they are ready to increase their spending on digital advertising. (Gartner)

If you were thinking about mastering only the organic part and leaving paid advertising for later, then it is time to change your SaaS marketing strategy.

Not leveraging the power of social proof

In an online world marred by hackers and spammers, social proof could be the savior for your business.

Close to one-third of people online look for user reviews before making a purchase. This clearly puts the value of user-generated content into the limelight.

Therefore, the advertising strategy for your SaaS company shouldn’t be limited to the content YOU create; you should have a plan for leveraging user-generated content as well.

Trust plays a massive role in getting consumers to buy a SaaS product, or any product whatsoever. To gain trust you need to be able to generate as many genuine reviews as possible for your brand.

Ask satisfied customers for a review, and share that review on your website at a prominent place. Maybe some customers are willing to shoot a quick video review? That would be even better, because you could post that review on your YouTube channel and on Facebook.

Overlooking customer retention

The probability of a reselling to an existing customer is 60-70% higher than roping in a new customer. As a matter of fact, studies reveal that 80% of your future profit will be generated from 20% of your existing customers.

Still, a lot of SaaS businesses tend to make the mistake of neglecting customers while they’re trying too hard to acquire new ones.

To reduce churn rate, you need to keep users involved. Rather than just building all your marketing campaigns around new customers, planning your advertising efforts in a way that they attend to existing customers as well must be on your radar.

Announcements, case studies, new features, benefits of your SaaS tool are some examples of content you can build to entice existing users to stick around. SaaS users want to see that you are actively improving your product, and that your customer support team is responding fast to inquiries.

Not protecting your marketing budget

Click fraud and ad fraud have become a massive problem, and many businesses are still unaware of how this problem can affect their advertising campaigns.

What click fraud means is that the traffic you’re getting from your campaign might not be real. This can ruin your marketing campaign and drain your budget completely. Read this article we wrote about sources of targeted traffic; it will help you get answers as to what you need to know when buying traffic.

To ensure success of your SaaS advertising efforts, you need to be cautious and smart about click fraud. There are plenty of tools out there that can help you stay protected against click fraud; and the best way to stay safe is to advertise through safe media like Facebook and Google.

As they say: prevention is better than cure. Invest in reliable traffic sources from the get-go to achieve the best ROI from your marketing.

Not creating a sales funnel

Not having a sales funnel is one of the top mistakes that SaaS businesses tend to make. Marketing is all about strategizing for the long-term and acting step by step to achieve your goals.

This is where the concept of sales funnels comes into the picture. By using a sequential approach to creating an orchestrated inflow of customers, who are then nurtured throughout their buyer’s journey, you can eventually succeed in your marketing goals.

Harmonizing your CTAs, connecting them to your content and then finally leveraging them to entice the buyer into your sales funnel can help your business grow at a much faster speed.

So, leverage the power of a sales funnel in order to make your marketing strategies work.

Conclusion

We have listed the top mistakes that marketers and businesses are making when promoting their SaaS services.

Advertising to grow your user base is all about amalgamating different tactics and sewing them together in one thread to drive sign-ups.

It is okay to make mistakes, but you need to learn from them and never repeat them. When advertising your SaaS company you also need to learn from the mistakes that others are making.

Need help with creating an effective inbound strategy for your SaaS business? Here at DoneForYou.com, we have helped dozens of cloud-based companies, software startups and SaaS platforms to market to their target audience, acquire more leads and grow their business. How do we do that? By devising and building customized sales funnels that work! Download our Funnel Factor report to learn more, or schedule a free strategy session call to discuss your needs with one of our marketing and sales experts.

The post Advertising Mistakes SaaS Companies Make All Too Often appeared first on Done For You.

This single figure is more than sufficient to explain that businesses are not shy toward spending on paid advertising.

When it comes to paid advertising, there is a lot that you need to consider. This is exactly what we are going to discuss in this post here. We are going to talk about some of the key metrics that you as a business owner ought to measure while promoting and advertising your business.

So, without beating too much around the bush, let us get straight away to the point and take a look at those metrics that we are talking about.

Reach and Impression

These are the two lifelines of any ad campaign. If you are not versed with the terms, “reach” is basically the number of unique users who saw the advertisement and “impressions” is the number of times your ad was shown on any network.

Based on which network you are targeting, you probably need to analyze these two factors. This can prove to be the best way to get an idea of the success of your campaign.

The higher the reach, the better it is for your business. So, if you think that you are not able to get the expected reach from one creative or ad-content you can easily switch and try something else.

Number of Clicks

Once the viewer has seen your creative, you want him or her to take action. This action is always in the form of a click based on what you are showing them.

Whether it is taking them to your website or any resource (more often than not it is the website) the number of clicks on the advertisement can be a great judge of whether you are able to achieve the desired results or not.

Therefore, the second important factor to trace when running an advertising campaign has to be the number of clicks you receive on the ad.

Click Through Rate (CTR)

This is the measure of the total number of clicks on the ad divided by the total number of impressions.

In simpler words, this paints a clear picture of the total number of people who actually took action after watching the ad.

This can be the direct measure of success of your ad campaign, as you can easily get to know whether you were able to get the users to perform the desired action or not.

Cost Per Click (CPC)

This metric is important, as it helps you figure out if you are overspending on marketing and advertising.

To get an estimated CPC, you can use a simple formula – the total cost of all the advertising efforts that you are putting in divided by the number of clicks over a certain fixed time period.

Based on what you get at the end of this calculation will give you a clear idea on how much you are spending, and the results that you are getting out of the spent money. This can be crucial in setting up the budget and taking care of the financial aspect of your business.

Don’t ignore this metric, since costs can easily get out of hand.

Lead Conversion Rate (LCR)

There are two types of visitors that will come to your website after clicking an advertisement.

The first would be just to browse through the offer. The second would be the ones who are actually interested in buying something and are actively looking for it.

In short, you cannot expect every click to convert into a lead.

This is where tracking the LCR becomes quite important. By knowing how many people have actually been converted into leads from your advertising, you can eventually determine the efficiency of your campaign.

Cost Per Lead (CPL)

While CPC gives you a good idea about the success of your ad campaign, CPL is the one factor that helps you determine the actual return on investment (ROI).

Plus, it can be the best way to determine the effectiveness of different ad platforms. For instance, CPL for different platforms like Facebook, Google, Twitter etc., will be different.

You can compare them to determine which is bringing the best ROI and hence make the decision about where to increase specific efforts to get the best results.

Lead to Close Ratio (LCR)

It all boils to this single factor in the end. You might be getting hundreds of leads from your advertising campaign, but until they are getting converted into paying customers it is of no use.

This is the reason LCR becomes the most vital metric to measure when you advertise your business.

Lead to Close Ratio gives you a clear indication on whether the campaign is performing the way you intended it to perform or not.

After all, the ultimate goal for every business is to make more money by investing some of the money they’ve already made. That is why this metric is so important to pay attention to.

Conclusion

This last point sums up our long list of metrics that you need to keep a close eye on when determining the success of marketing and advertising campaigns.

Remember, you can run the most innovative and creative advertising campaign ever… But so long as you don’t have the numbers to judge the performance of that campaign it is of no use for your business. If you don’t know why you are failing, it will be far more difficult to succeed.

After all, there is no point in putting efforts into something without a plan, and without knowing the direction in which those efforts are headed.

So if you are planning to run an advertising campaign, the best thing to do is make sure you keep a close eye on these metrics and keep evolving your campaign based on what you see in these numbers.

Success will come once you utilize the data determined using these metrics and optimize your ad campaigns accordingly.

The post Crucial Metrics To Measure When You Advertise In 2018 appeared first on Done For You.

If you run a business, then you will have certainly heard about the power of influencer marketing, and the great ROI it brings along.

Wouldn’t it be really amazing if you could become an influencer yourself?

After all, why pay someone else to market your business, when you can influence other people’s decision with your subject matter expertise?

But how do you do it?

This post will help you get the answer to this pivotal question.

Let’s take a look at how you can become an influencer in your industry.

1. Find your feet

You cannot just go around blabbering stuff on random topics.

To become an influencer in your industry you need to, first and foremost, identify a target niche.

Once you have that figured out, it becomes easy to create content targeting that specific niche. Remember, you cannot have everyone as your target audience.

The secret to becoming a successful influencer in today’s world lies in finding yourself a niche where people can recognize and connect to what you are saying.

So, find your feet in a niche by identifying the audience you want to target and then move forward to the next step – creating powerful content!

2. Make noise

Now you have it figured out which niche to target. What next?

CONTENT!!!

This is the one-word answer to your question.

Make your presence felt in the niche that you have chosen – the best way to do this is by creating and distributing a lot of free, useful and compelling content so that people cannot ignore your presence.

Look at all the influencers out there in their respective niches, and you will see that they all have one thing in common – powerful content.

They are the masters when it comes to creating engaging content.

In order to reach at a level where people can identify you and your brand, you need to take a few pages from their book and create content that shows your expertise on the subject matter.

3. Invest time

Stop spending your time, start investing it – this is the rule of thumb for influencer marketing.

As an influencer, you need to make the most of whatever time you have in hand.

Start by investing your time in reading as much as possible about your specific niche whenever you can.

Read not only about your niche, but also about things related to your industry – you can read books, online articles, and whatever else you can find that is relevant.

Reading will help you become well versed with the knowledge that you could not have otherwise gained.

It is better to know and learn from others’ mistakes, than to make them on your own.

Reading is as close as you can get to practical knowledge – so make sure you invest ample time reading content related to your niche.

And it does not end with just reading, quite the contrary. Implement the knowledge you have gained by reading, share it with people in your niche to establish your expertise, encouraging them to gravitate towards you for future information.

Remember – the smartest person in the class always used to get the most attention during studying time? Think of the niche as your class, and to become an influencer you have to become the smartest one in the class by showcasing your knowledge – as simple as that!

4. Use the power of connecting

We live in a connected world. As cliché as it might sound, the fact of the matter is that influencing is all about connecting with people.

As the saying goes:

influence is our inner ability to lift people up to our perspectives.

– Unknown

To become an influencer, connect with people already powerful in the industry.

Participate in events, forums, and meetups, and wherever you can find an audience from your niche, get involved.

Make full use of social media to showcase your knowledge and connect with people – offer them help to solve their problems, give expert advice and use the power of connectivity to your advantage.

This is how you can make them recognize your brand amidst all the noise that’s already spread in the market.

Remember – people look for real human advice. They don’t want another chatbot or reading manual to solve their problem.

Social media and the power of connecting give you a great opportunity to provide people the human touch they are searching for.

Based on the knowledge you have acquired through investing your time, give them expert advice which actually solves their problem. Through this, you can easily become the influencer you yearn to become.

5. Don’t rush

Most important of all – instill the virtue of patience into your personality.

Influencers are not made overnight.

As the famous quote by Lionel Messi goes:

It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.

You cannot become great by doing something once in a while.

Patience, persistence, and perseverance are the three characteristics that differentiate great people from ordinary ones.

Anyone can create something good once in a while, but only those who produce great content and offer exceptional advice every time have an impact on their industry.

The choice is entirely yours – whether you want to be remembered as a one-hit wonder or become someone who is looked upon with respect in their community!

Final words

Remember, focus and persistence are the keys to becoming an influencer; everything else comes at later stages.

If you have the confidence, the knowledge, and the power to keep coming up with something useful for the audience in your niche, with time you will start getting noticed and grow in stature as a subject matter expert.

Once you start getting noticed, this is when you know you are moving in the right direction towards your aspirations of becoming an influencer.

There are plenty of influencer success stories floating around in the market. Wouldn’t it be great if you could also become part of that list?

Go ahead and practice the steps mentioned here and you can start to climb the ladder of influencer marketing without any struggle!

Good luck and all the best to you!

The post How To Become An Influencer In Your Industry appeared first on Done For You.

Also, the best idea is to come up only with some little changes. You don’t want those changes to be way too significant. So, things like adjusting the sending time, modifying the content a little bit or choosing the subject line can be extremely important and valuable for the A/B test.

Why do you need email A/B testing?

The reason is simple; you just can’t know how your audience will react to your campaign.

Sure, you can conduct a few studies beforehand, but the idea is still the same, results can vary. The only way to get amazing results is to opt for A/B testing.

As you can imagine, no two A/B tests are equal. Some of them are more comprehensive; others tend to be lengthy and so on. There’s no need to create multiple A/B tests that are identical to one another.

The idea is to come up with various types of tests that will make it clear how customers react and what they expect from you.

Identify the campaign goal.

Each campaign type will come with some unique requirements and benefits. Some of these campaigns are focused specifically on driving traffic to your site, in which case you have to focus on clicks. With some campaigns we want to accomplish a higher open rate, while with others we want to focus on generating direct sales.

The waiting time can differ based on each one of the winning metrics you want to focus on. According to MailChimp, the best waiting time for around 80% accuracy in the case of clicks is around 1 hour. For opens is 2 hours and for revenue focused emails is 12 hours.

But that doesn’t mean it will be the ultimate waiting time. Each business has a variety of clients. They pertain to various industries, work at different times and don’t care about being online all the time. In this case, you have to figure out what campaign goal works for you and how you need to adapt it based on the company specifics.

Also, some CEOs who focus on revenue and don’t care about testing will just use software to define this. And while A/B Testing software is pretty good, it can’t bring you the desired results. That’s why you need to put your knowledge and attention to work. Fulfilling this will be quite a challenge for a lot of people, but then again it will also be worth it.

Is a higher waiting time the best option?

It comes down to what metric you are focused on. But yes, if you wait a bit more, you may be able to get information that is a bit more comprehensive. A lot more people will open up the email, which means you have more accuracy and data to go through.

On the other hand, you don’t want the A/B Testing to last for a very long time. This is a test, not a full-fledged campaign. So, the focus has to be on identifying metrics as quickly as possible. Then, you will adjust the campaign and see which one works for you.

Criteria you have to focus on for A/B testing.

First, you need to take into account the size of that sample and the representativeness of it. Then you have the test period and the devices that you are testing. You also need to consider things like the statistical confidence level of that sample too.

The confidence level shows how certain readers are when they act on your desired system. The sample size is all about seeing how much the conversion rate will be affected based on the sample size, baseline conversion rate, and the detectable effects.

Business representativeness includes things like traffic sources and business cycles too, among others. The devices used for that test and timing can also be an important factor that you need to take into consideration. Again, patience is key, so you have to consider that.

Understanding the A/B test hypotheses.

You have two components here, the null hypothesis and the alternate hypothesis. The null one states the status quo so that you will get a null result. The alternate one is designed to challenge the null hypothesis, and it will show if there are variations and if those particular variations will bring in a much better conversion rate when compared to the original.

Here you have to take into account things like the P-Value, which is a statistical measure designed to figure out if the null hypothesis is correct or not. In case this P-Value is less than .05 or equal to that shows that the results shouldn’t be dismissed due to sampling error.

So, how much time should you wait?

That’s up to the type of metric you follow. Ideally, you should wait at least two hours if you want to find the right campaign for opens, one hour for finding out the winning idea when it comes to targeting clicks and twelve hours if you want to see which one delivers the utmost revenue.

The idea here is to be fair and to bring in front a great, professional approach. Who knows, maybe the A/B test that you don’t trust will end up being the winner. That’s why A/B test exists, to show you facts and to bring you a great insight into the reality of your customer’s needs and choices.

Set up your A/B test and then try to experiment as much as possible.

Trying out various ideas and approaches will work well here. Don’t rush, instead take your time and you will be quite impressed with the unique range of benefits that would be delivered. Once you have all the metrics in place, identify which ones work best for you.

Of course, you can try to pick two of the best tests and then run them again. You should always try to opt for A/B testing, as it’s quite helpful for your business and it does offer a lot of important information for your business!

The post How Long Should You Run Email A/B Tests? appeared first on Done For You.

Before you start putting together an effective online marketing strategy, you need to know the following:

• What is an online marketing channel?
• What different marketing channels exist on the Internet?
• What media do most marketers and business owners prefer?
• Which channels will bring in the highest ROI for your online business?
• What is the best way to choose your channels?

We’ll try to answer all of these questions and give you a checklist of the factors you need to consider before you make a strategic decision.

What is an online marketing channel?

For many of you, the word ‘channel’ may bring images of a waterway. You may think of Mark Twain’s lucid portrayal of the ever-changing channel of the Mississippi River in Huckleberry Finn. Or you might imagine the English Channel—the natural body of water between southern England and northern France.

But what are marketing channels?

A marketing channel is the means or method through which a message is delivered to a specific audience.

Online marketing channel definition

Now, let’s define what an online marketing channel is:

An online marketing channel consists of all elements that are necessary to communicate your brand message (i.e. advertising and promotion) from the point of production (your company) to the point of consumption (your customers).

Online marketing channels may also be called new media or advertising channels. These terms refer to the internet communication vehicles discussed in this article.

Types of marketing channels for your online business

Let’s leave theory aside and talk about specific online marketing channels.

Almost all online marketing channels or media can be classified into Owned, Paid, and Earned Media.

Owned channels

Owned channels or owned media are your property. You have the ownership, and you are in direct control of the medium. Examples of owned online marketing channels are:

• Your website and your blog
• Email marketing
• Social media
• Webinars

You can influence how your business is represented and what goes where on these spaces or accounts.

Paid channels

Paid media are essentially ad placements that you pay for. Again, you control the content your audience will see but don’t own the medium through which it is displayed.

Examples of paid online marketing channels are:

• Paid search or PPC (Pay Per Click)
• Retargeting / Remarketing
• Affiliate marketing

Earned channels

Earned media are free to use. Still, you don’t have complete control over them. It is offered at the sole discretion of a third party.

Some examples of earned advertising channels on the Internet are:

• Word-of-mouth (WOM)
• Reviews and posts about your business on other sites
• Testimonials

Why is the choice of online marketing channels important?

Think of owned, paid, and earned media like a tripod. Each of the three elements is an integral part of the whole. All three contribute to a complete online marketing strategy.

Furthermore, there are several reasons why every online business should use a mixture of these channels to get their message across to their target audience.

First off, every company needs a way to find buyers for their products. The online marketing channels provide the perfect medium to identify, reach, and sell to potential buyers.

Nowadays, marketing through offline funnels is not enough. It might generate a good income for your business, but there’s still so much more potential to reach a wider audience online.

Also, using one online medium only is not enough in most cases. The competition is fierce. Having only a website that presents your team, products, and contact information won’t help you reach your marketing goals. A website with static content is a somewhat passive type of marketing because you put your content out there and expect people to find you. With all the competition, you’ll be too lucky if Google ranks your site on the first page of search results.

What you need to do instead is understand the importance of using the right mix of online marketing channels to grow your business. While all of this sounds good, it’s common to see enterprises marketing their products without a plan. If you dive into online marketing channels without a plan, you will waste resources and leave your business success to luck.

Deep dive into the most effective online marketing channels

Now, let’s dive into the most effective online marketing channels that fall under the three categories, namely owned, paid, and earned media, that we previously discussed.

Website and Blog

Your website and blog form the foundation of your online identity. But it’s not just that. A website with a blog can be your business’s most important online marketing channel. To make the most out of the website, marketers use techniques like SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) to attract their ideal customer avatars and optimize the processes of converting them into paying customers.

Optimizing your website for SEO and CRO involves tactics like keyword research, link building, on-page SEO, content marketing, landing page creation, A/B testing, click-through rate (CTR) tracking and improvement, optimization to reduce cart abandonment, etc. These are just a few examples of what website owners and marketers spend their time on to make the best out of their websites.

Email Marketing

Email marketing falls under “owned media” because you have complete control of your brand image, content, and processes when you do email marketing. Most businesses use third-party email marketing platforms to host their accounts and databases. With email marketing, you collect email addresses from prospects and then deliver your messages with the sole aim of converting these prospects into customers.

You might find yourself working on newsletters, autoresponder series, lead nurturing campaigns, launches, and other tasks when using email marketing as an online marketing channel.

Email is arguably the second most crucial marketing channel after your website and blog. It is often said that for every 1$ you spend on email marketing, you get $30 to $40 back —more details further down this article.

Social Media

Social media as a marketing channel refers to your accounts, pages, or profiles on social networks in which you market your business. SMM (Social Media Marketing) is the art and “science” of leveraging social media to earn visibility traffic. Almost every company today that has an online presence utilizes at least one social network to get its message across to a  larger audience.

Some examples of actions you might perform on social media channels are posting in a Facebook group, updating your Facebook pages, publishing an article on LinkedIn, or doing Twitter marketing, and all these are just the tip of the iceberg.

Social media usually comes right after email marketing when marketers are asked what online marketing channel has the highest ROI.

Webinars

Webinars have become a marketing channel in recent years due to an explosion in the need for demand generation via video. It’s now a mature but reliable marketing technology that “just works” when attracting leads, pitching your offer, and increasing sales. These days, some businesses base most of their lead-generation efforts on sales webinars and webinar funnels.

Suppose you decide to use webinars as an online marketing channel. In that case, you might be involved in activities like building a registration page, rehearsing your webinar script, and pitching during the webinar.

All that’s left for you to do is set it up in your autoresponder!  Or, if you’d like it completely done for you, you can tell us about your project here!

Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)

Now, let’s move on to paid channels. In a recent article about the pillars of an online marketing strategy, we explained exactly what falls under PPC, SEM, display advertising, network advertising, and all types of paid advertising. For simplicity and as an example of paid advertising in general, we will only refer to PPC in this post.

PPC is an online marketing channel where advertisers bid for placement at a search engine to earn visibility and traffic when users enter relevant queries into search engines. Advertisers are only charged when users click on their ad, hence the name “pay-per-click.”

When marketers use PPC advertising, they spend their time on tasks like adding relevant keywords to Google Adwords or adding copy to Bing Ads.

Retargeting / Remarketing

Retargeting, also known as remarketing, is about displaying ads to people who have recently visited your site but haven’t performed a planned action, like subscribing to your newsletter or adding a product to the cart.

It is a powerful marketing channel that contributes to conversion optimization. It’s a marketing tool that works with other marketing channels as part of your larger digital strategy. Remarketing works best when you are already sending paid traffic to your website via PPC or other paid marketing channels.

Retargeting is effective because retargeted customers are much more likely to click on your ad since they have recently demonstrated interest, compared to internet users who haven’t interacted with your brand before.
When trying to convert random visitors into leads, retargeting can give you a second chance; with retargeting ads, you can bring visitors back to your site and keep your message fresh on top of their minds.

When preparing for retargeting campaigns, you’d create display ads in AdWords or set up your site’s Google tracking.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is another paid channel incentivizing marketers or site owners to promote your product. The incentive is a commission, a percentage of the revenue they drive to your business.

Companies that use affiliate marketing to promote their products use in-house tools to manage their affiliate programs or third-party platforms like ShareASale and Commission Junction.

Word Of Mouth

WOM refers to organic marketing, which doesn’t cost you a penny. It’s all about people talking about your company and your products. Word-of-mouth is one of the most trusted online marketing channels because it involves a direct recommendation from one customer to another.

When WOM goes wild, your brand is the first thing that comes to mind when shopping for similar goods. This can swing either way; while positive WOM is what you’d be looking to achieve, negative WOM can also be as influential on a potential customer’s purchase decision.

We’re talking about viral content when you choose to affect online WOM. In this case, your goal is to generate content worth sharing so that you influence how people spread the word about your brand and ultimately earn more traffic back to your offers. With viral campaigns, you’d look at linkbait production, guerilla marketing, viral video creation, etc.

Posts about you on other sites

Often, good products will receive online reviews. These reviews might appear on specialized product review sites or other blogs. If you have a good product, bloggers, and YouTubers will likely discuss it and share their customer experience with their audience. Sometimes, they might be affiliated with your brand and receive a commission for every customer they refer to your company.

Posts and reviews on other sites make an essential marketing channel because most people look for reviews and feature comparisons before they make a buying decision.

Accordingly, acquiring more reviews should be an integral part of your online PR efforts. And this point takes us to the last earned marketing channel, which is…

Testimonials

When pleased with your product and customer service, your customers will happily give you a testimonial. Customer testimonials should be on your website, landing pages, and sales emails.

When potential buyers evaluate different offers, they usually do all of the following: look for reviews, look at what bloggers and influencers say about you, and finally, examine customer testimonies. The impact of earned media is vast.

Therefore, make it a priority to ask happy customers for a testimonial and publish them in a prominent location on your site and other owned media.

How to choose the right online marketing channel for your business

In our opinion, the right approach is to adopt a multichannel strategy. Relying on one online marketing channel only is not likely to bring the desired business results. Let’s see how you can evaluate the channels and choose the right one for your business.

Target audience

To that end, you must consider who you want to market your business to. In other words, you need to define your target audience.

Type of business

Your choice of suitable online media depends on your business type and who you want to serve. Do you have an e-shop selling consumer goods? Do you sell a B2B digital product to small businesses? Or do you sell a training course that is meant for individuals?

Is your product targeted at fathers, executives, women, or children? Is your product innovative or a commodity? Knowing your industry and customer avatar is imperative to deciding which online marketing channels to invest your resources.

Survey customers

Do you have existing customers? Conduct a short survey using the proper tools to uncover your actual customers. Use quizzes, emails, and surveys to learn more about their needs and challenges.

Where are your customers?

Be aware of where your customers hang out online. This information could help you determine whether to use those online marketing channels to reach potential customers. Are they on Facebook or LinkedIn?

Are they blogging? Are they buying from Amazon? Connect the dots to paint a picture of your online marketing strategy and decide on the vehicles you want to market your products.

Targeting options

Moreover, you may want to look at the different targeting options in paid advertising channels. Can you target your audience using keywords only? Do you have the ability to show your ads to those who are already engaged with your brand?

Can you target specific demographics? Can you upload your lead database and target those people only? Targeting looks different in AdWords, LinkedIn Ads, and Facebook Ads. Other platforms offer different options, so keep that in mind.

Stage of your business

Then, it would help if you considered the stage of your business. Are you just starting up? Are you an established business in the growth stage? Have you reached a plateau? Any existing data from previous online marketing campaigns will give you valuable information about how effective each channel is for your business.

Budget

It wouldn’t do you any good to choose an effective online marketing channel when you can’t afford it. Look at your budget and other resources. A common question is, “How much does PPC cost?” There’s no definite answer because you pay a price per click. Still, you can’t estimate the total cost without considering factors like your goal in terms of revenue, the keywords you want to target, the projected CPC for different keywords, and so on.

Also, the advertising platform plays a role when determining your total cost. For instance, as a rule of thumb, CPC for the same keyword is higher in AdWords than Bing Ads.

Other resources

What other non-financial resources do you have? Think of team know-how, talents, and business culture that affect your choice of marketing channels.

For example, do you have the resources to create epic content? Or who from your staff comes to mind when you think of a webinar host? Do you have tech hurdles preventing you from making an efficient email marketing workflow? What would you need to outsource?

Competitor intelligence

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Look around and see how your competitors promote their products. What channels do they use? What seems to be working for others? Competitor intelligence is always an excellent means to generate ideas.

Business goals

Don’t forget to focus on your goals when devising a strategy and making essential marketing decisions. Your choice of the perfect marketing channel will depend on the top priorities you want to achieve for your business.

Is brand awareness your goal? Is it to create a market for a new product? Do you have sales goals you must accomplish by drawing a clear market segment to your site? Your marketing goals will strongly affect your choice of online channels.

But wait… Which marketing channel has the best ROI?

Okay… We’ve discussed several factors you need to consider when putting together a list of online channels that you will use in marketing. But…when you’re on a limited budget, you might want to ask, “Which online marketing channels have the biggest impact on ROI?” Ultimately, if you have to pick one or two channels along with your site or blog, you need to know which channel will most likely produce the highest ROI.

So, is there an objective answer to the question, “Which online marketing channel is most effective?” Let’s see if there’s proof on the web…

What do the famous think?

Andrew Chen of Uber talks about the marketing channels best for a startup company looking to grow. These channels are scalable, and they are:

• Paid acquisition
• Virality
• SEO
• Sales
• Other (rare and situational opportunities for growth, like a partnership with a corporation)

Boris Wertz, the founder of Version One Ventures, narrows it down to two levers that allow high growth:

• Paid acquisition coupled with a high Customer Life Time Value (CLTV) because high CLTV gives you the freedom to spend significant money on customer acquisition.
• Virality, because that lets you amass users cheaply or even without spending any money at all on paid acquisition.

Rand Fishkin of MOZ uses his own opinions and experiences to produce a ranking of different online marketing channels from high to low ROI combined with effort and cost to achieve that ROI

Effective marketing channels for retailers

Brilliant Insights published a benchmark of the most successful acquisition channels for retail.

The data from US e-commerce sites shows that nearly 40% of e-commerce traffic comes from organic search, while paid search and email marketing account for 25% each. Of course, those numbers don’t prove that the above channels have the highest ROI, but they indicate what works best for the top US retailers.

The same source, Smart Insights, examines how e-commerce purchases are attributed to different channels. They conclude that organic (22% of assets), email marketing (20%), and CPC (19%) are the online marketing channels driving most purchases.

Email marketing has a fantastic ROI

In a classic survey (updated in 2017), DMA asked the participants who could calculate the return on email marketing, “How much is the approximate return you get back for every pound spent on email marketing?” The answers revealed that the average ROI is £30.01. Because email works so well, it is probably unsurprising that marketers reported sending over four emails per month.

Website, Email, Social media, and SEO are the channels that stand out

Another survey published by Ascend2 reveals which online marketing channels are worth your attention. Marketers say these are the most lucrative and engaging channels that could give you the best results.

• Website – 63%
• Email marketing – 52%
• Social media – 49%
• SEO – 31%
• Paid search – 29%
• Mobile – 28%
• Display ads – 24%

But what are the most challenging online marketing channels to execute? Here are the responses:

• Website – 40%
• Social media – 40%
• SEO – 39%
• Email marketing – 36%
• Mobile – 34%
• Paid search – 30%
• Display ads – 29%

A Vocus digital marketing survey asked small business owners which digital marketing channel is most effective.

Here’s how the top online marketing channels ranked:

• Website – 33.9%
• Social media – 24.9%
• Email marketing – 19.6%
• SEO – 16.2%

Webinars

Now, how about webinars? We know webinars bring consistent marketing ROI for nearly any business, but let’s look at some stats supporting that claim.

The Content Marketing Institute reported that 64% of marketers consider webinars “very effective” or “effective.”

ReadyTalk, a webinar platform, was conducted with their clients, and they found that between 20% and 40% of webinar attendees turned into qualified leads.

A study from the Content Marketing Institute found that marketers rate webinars in the top 5 in terms of the most effective tactics they use.

But how do you get people to register for your webinar? The answer is to let people know about your webinar via other marketing channels. This source reports that on a scale of 1 to 5, email marketing ranked 4.46 and was the top tool for promotion. Scoring 2.77 out of 5, social media was the second most widely used promotional tool for webinars.

How can you tell which option is best for your business?

As a business owner or marketer, you’re constantly looking for new ways to attract customers, but not everything is black and white regarding effective online marketing channels.

You don’t need to get blinded by those survey answers. Keep an eye on trends and emerging channels that might be an opportunity for your business growth. Listen to your entrepreneurial intuition, and start with what you believe would work best for your business. Choose the online marketing channel that makes more sense, try, evaluate, and revisit.

Here’s a summary of the digital marketing channels we discussed in this article and a checklist of the essential variables you must examine before deciding.

• Owned channels
  • Your website and your blog
  • Email marketing
  • Social media
  • Webinars
• Paid channels
  • Paid search or PPC
  • Retargeting / Remarketing
  • Affiliate marketing
• Earned channels
  • Word-of-mouth
  • Reviews and posts about your business on other sites
  • Testimonials

Conclusion

Now, at this point, and with the help of the digital marketing channel checklist, you should be able to identify some candidates who would make good online marketing channels to put them to the test. Generally, SEO, email marketing, and social media can give you a good start.

If you’re a startup or any new business, these three channels provide the perfect opportunity to establish an awareness of your products and services and gain your first customers.

You don’t need to be everywhere, though, if you don’t have the resources to support an omnichannel strategy. Go with as many different media as you can handle. It’s preferable to focus on two or three media instead of trying to be good at everything.

Start small and focused, then use cross-channel leverage and scale as you see results from your chosen online marketing channels.

The post The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Online Marketing Channels for Your Business (Avoid Costly Mistakes) appeared first on Done For You.

Taking into account all pillars of online marketing can help you reap the benefits of a 360-degree digital strategy.

• Take advantage of all digital channels.
• Reach a wider audience.
• Get to run experiments and optimize for the tactics that serve you best.
• Have more opportunities for revenue and income.
• Take into account the entire customer journey through the sales funnel, from discovery to purchase.
• Communicate a consistent message across all marketing channels.
• Capitalize on your staff’s creativity.

A well-rounded online marketing strategy includes SEO, SEM, content marketing, social media marketing, PPC, online reputation management, influencer marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing and affiliate marketing.

Let’s briefly talk about each of these pillars (in no particular order) so that you get a grasp of what they’re all about and how they contribute to your online marketing strategy.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is an essential part of your online marketing strategy.

Search Engine Land defines SEO as the process of getting web traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural” search results on search engines. SEO is basically a set of techniques and tools that help your site get visitors from Google.

It is divided into on-page SEO and off-page SEO.

Simply put, on-page SEO has to do with your site’s structure, content, and code optimization.

Off-page SEO involves techniques that result in building links that point back to your site as well as social signals.

SEO efforts involve keyword-optimized content that gets ranked on Google for particular search queries. When a user performs a search, your webpage will appear in the search results and get clicked.

2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

As HubSpot explains it, SEM is considered internet marketing that increases a site’s visibility through organic search engines results and advertising. SEM includes SEO as well as other search marketing tactics.

Sometimes, marketers separate SEO from SEM, with the latter referring to paid search engine marketing only. The following image demonstrates this approach.

3. Content marketing

Content marketing is a strategic online marketing approach focused on producing and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. (Source: Content Marketing Institute)

Content marketing includes all types of content, such as text, image, video, voice across all channels (blog, social media, YouTube, podcasting etc.)  In your content marketing pieces, you’d have content upgrades to collect leads.

Often content marketing is the most time-consuming online marketing method. With the use of effective content marketing tools, like Curately, you can create fresh content in minutes.

4. Social media marketing

Social media marketing is all about interaction and promotion via various social media networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter (to name just a few). .

With social media, marketing businesses are able to engage with their audience on third-party platforms that they hang out.

Social media marketing helps get the word out about your products and business. But even more important than the exposure, it allows you to grow lasting relationships with your target audience.

The best part is that it’s free. It doesn’t take a huge budget to be present in the most popular online hangouts, like Facebook and Instagram.

5. Paid advertising

When it comes to an online marketing strategy, paid advertising can be distinguished between pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, network adverting, and social media advertising.

WordStream explains that PPC is an online advertising model in which advertisers can display ads for their goods or services when users–people searching for things online–enter relevant queries into search engines. Advertisers are only charged when a user actually clicks on their ad, hence the name “pay-per-click.”

Due to the nature of keywords and the role they play in paid search, pay-per-click advertising can also be referred to as keyword advertising.

If you’re wondering how PPC is different from SEM, let us explain. PPC and SEM are both concerned with promotion via search engines. PPC advertising specifically relates to the ads you see at the top of a search results page, while SEM is a much broader umbrella term covering different sorts of promotion through search engines, including SEO.

Network advertising may refer to other networks that are not related to search engines. For example, an advertising network might place your banner on a publisher’s site and charge you a price per click.

Social media advertising is quite different. Although the pricing model (pay-per-click) can be the same, the advertising channel changes. Facebook ads are the most typical example of paid advertising on social media. There’s also Twitter Ads, LinkedIn Ads and so on.

6. Online reputation management

Online reputation management includes word-of-mouth marketing over the internet. It is a basic pillar of your online marketing strategy.

Online reputation management is the craft of creating a positive perception of your brand on the internet, one that falls in line with your business goals.

Online reputation management is closely related to some of the other pillars of online marketing, such as content marketing, social media, and SEO.

A bad reputation can stick like glue. Businesses manage online reputation by attracting positive reviews and removing negative search engine results. Online reputation management also involves how you deal with the aftermath when something goes sideways.

7. Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is a type of online marketing strategy that focuses on using key leaders to drive your brand’s message to the larger market. Rather than marketing directly to a large group of consumers, you instead inspire/ hire/pay influencers to get out the word for you. (Source: TapInfluence)

Utilizing influencer marketing drives brand awareness and cultivates an audience over time. Businesses that do influencer marketing enjoy benefits like improved word-of-mouth advertising, increased number of experts talking about their brand and social proof.

8. Email marketing

Email marketing is a method of reaching leads or customers directly via commercial email. In a typical business case scenario, an organization builds a mailing list to reach established and prospective customers.

An email list may be coupled with a marketing database that allows for personalization, web data integration and precise targeting. (Source: Techopedia)

Most businesses use one of the best email marketing platforms that are managed by email marketing companies, instead of using their own hosted email marketing software.

Email marketing is considered to be one of the most budget-friendly ways to reach your audience. It is reported that for every dollar spent on email marketing, an average of $44 dollar return on investment is realized. (Source: Campaign Monitor, 2016)

9. Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is a multi-channel, digital marketing strategy aimed at reaching a target audience on their smartphones, tablets, and/or other mobile devices, via websites, email, SMS and MMS, social media, and apps. (Source: Marketo)

As with any online marketing strategy effort, every business needs to develop a unique mobile advertising strategy based on the niche and ideal customer. Mobile marketing is all about customization and personalization of the user experience with the use of the ever-changing technology.

10. Affiliate Marketing

Last but not least and according to Wikipedia, affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.

The affiliate marketing model is applicable to any type of business to increase sales and pay commissions to partners who refer sales. Where does affiliate marketing fit into your online marketing strategy? Although either product- or service-based organizations can have affiliates, typically affiliate programs are used by service or software businesses.

Your online marketing strategy demystified

Devising an online marketing strategy is not an easy endeavor. Marketing is a complex discipline and one that demands unique solutions for every organization. It is impossible to explain everything about the 10 pillars of digital marketing in one post. But it’s important to stress the following point.

Since you’ve come thus far in the article, you must have recognized that the 10 pillars of online marketing form a complex web. Each pillar is interconnected to others because it involves utilizing common avenues (e.g. Google search) or the same sort of content (e.g. video).

Just as an example, when doing content marketing as part of your online marketing strategy, you publish content on your blog. The same goes for SEO. With SEO, keyword-optimized content needs to be published on your site. So, the venue is the same AND the type of content is identical (blog post).

The goals though might be quite different. For instance, the goal of an SEO post will probably be to achieve high rankings in Google search results. A post published as part of your content marketing strategy might serve as an entry point for top-of-funnel traffic that is generated from PPC campaigns.

It is important to plan out your online marketing strategy with that complexity in mind. Make sure you

• make a plan on how you are going to use each pillar,
• keep consistency across different channels and
• take actions that are complementary and help you fulfill your online marketing strategy.

Some of these strategies are more leveraged than others, especially early on, and we’d be happy to help you put an Action Plan together on getting launched.  Click here to schedule a call with us!

The post 10 Pillars Of An Online Marketing Strategy appeared first on Done For You.

Can you just sit down there and wait for the traffic to come? Of course not. You need to obviously employ some strategies so that traffic pours in to your website, and fulfils the ultimate motive behind you creating it.

The question is – how to achieve that?

In this post we are going to talk about seven surefire ways that will help you get traffic to your website – quickly.

Without wasting too much time, let us jump to the first point –

Optimize your website for search engines

Google is the biggest source of traffic for your website. Therefore, getting your site ranked on top of the search results is something you need to work on. Using state of the art on-page and off-page search engine optimization techniques can get your website to the top of Google and you can start getting serious traffic for the keyword phrases that people search…

From creating internal links to new content to updating meta descriptions and what not – you need to shift your entire focus towards Google for a while and wait for the magic to happen.

Get on with your social media game

A layman might look at Facebook as a means of entertainment, but in the eyes of an online marketer, social media is a lot more than that. Channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are a goldmine for business; where they can easily get traffic and qualified leads as well.

So, in order to get your website to perform well in terms of traffic, you need to speed up your social media game. Build a community by sharing engaging content. Use paid advertising to funnel traffic to your website. Once you have community, you can easily engage with them and introduce them to your brand.

Find opportunities to guest blog

One of the easiest and the smartest way to get quick traffic on your website is guest blogging. Rather than waiting for things to happen on their own, you can simply place your content in a place where there is already a lot of traffic. This will not only bring your brand into the limelight…  It’ll also increase the chances of you getting more traffic from the place you posted the content AND Google!

In order to get some amazing opportunities to guest blog all you need is quality content with genuine links and that’s about it. You can easily put your website in front of an already established community and get more traffic flooding towards your website.

Rope in influencers to vouch for you

Somewhat similar to guest blogging, online influencers are also a channel where you already have a wide pool of people coming in daily.  If you can get an influencer to vouch for you or your new website, chances of the traffic hitting your site skyrock.

If you are wondering how to find influencers or how to approach them, social media is the most powerful way to do so. Follow and connect with them using social channels and build a relationship by sharing their content. Once they know who you are, you can eventually ask them to share your content as well (being respectful of course). It might take a little more time than the strategies mentioned above, but the results are going to be overwhelming.

Don’t forget about paid marketing

One sure way to get more traffic to your website is my using paid advertising. Paid advertising ensures that you get an upfront stream of genuine traffic. The traffic, however, will only continue to flow as long as you are investing money. Once you stop paying for traffic – it stops.

At DFY, we prefer paid traffic because it’s something that can’t be taken away from you (ie. Google’s algorithm updates) and you can build a strong foundation under your business that’s predictable and scalable.  There are lots of ways to get free traffic, like what’s mentioned above, but they all take time…

So, it depends on the investment that you want to make – time or money.  One of two will be needed to grow your business online.

Email marketing is still alive

It has become a popular adage that emails marketing is dead. The reality, however, is otherwise. Email marketing is very much alive. In fact, it is one of the easiest and most preferred way for marketers to get more traffic to their website…  When you have a list, you simply email your subscribers and boom – traffic!

A well-targeted and well-designed email marketing campaign can work wonders to get your website traffic up instantly. With simple things like creating personalized email campaigns, utilizing the power of creative and engaging content, you can convert those subscribers into paid customers quickly.

Need help with creating powerful email marketing campaigns? Check out this Ultimate Lead Generation Template.

Don’t overlook the power of word-of-mouth

Last but not the least, use “word of mouth” marketing. I know that might sound a little ridiculous as we’re talking about free traffic and paid traffic strategies, but how many times have you told a friend about a cool website you just found or shared a link through Messenger with a friend?

How can you employ WOM marketing? By blending in the power of digital marketing with promotions and offers.

Run campaigns and giveaways. Create a referral program. Leverage the power of community building to get folks engaged with your website. Once you achieve this, you can get a continuous flow people, bringing great traffic that you can build lists with and get sales from.

Those were some of the easiest ways you can get high quality, quick traffic to your website. Some of the strategies are quicker than others, but if implemented correctly, they can prove to be effective for long time.

So, what are you waiting for? If you have created a website and are looking for ways to promote it, get started with one or two of the strategies above!  Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t!

The post 7 Surefire Ways to Get Traffic for Your Website Quickly! appeared first on Done For You.

But did you know that 9% of the total digital spending and a total 18% of the entire global mobile spending comes from Facebook?

This makes Facebook ads a really big thing!

And, why not? With close to 40 minutes per day from an average user, chances of getting people to click on your ad shown on Facebook are much higher than any other platform.

The one question, however, that keeps even the best of the Facebook marketers in doldrums is – how to maximize the click through rates?

The first step in this direction is to get more people to view and click your ads.

In this post we are going to talk about some of the basic things about Facebook Ads that you should know in order to master this art.

Let us take a look at those four things you ought to know, but you don’t –

1. The only difference between winning and losing – targeting!

With millions of people logging into the app on daily basis, if you don’t narrow down your audience, your ad spend will continue leaking, without any results.

That’s why the first thing you need to do is optimize your target audience to a point where it only gets displayed to the most relevant prospects.

And, there are plenty of options in Facebook for you to achieve this.

Not only can you define the budget, audience and interests, but you can even define the radius in which you want your advertisement to be shown geographically.

And, to go along with the demographics you can pick age group, gender, languages, as well specify an audience with specific interests (like those who drive a Mercedes!).

BTW, if you want to learn the art of how to engage audience, we’ve got an exciting freebie for you! Click here for more.

2. Make it pop

Obliviously visual content is the life of Facebook ads. But, how to make the ads more impactful?

Or, in simpler words, how do you make the ads more clickable?

The secret lies in contrast – do exactly the opposite of what others are doing.

Apply the minimalistic approach. Keep it clean and simple, with colors that make your ad pop.

Don’t forget to add people to your ad images. For example, a great way is to add a smiling person in the image or something that is a bit more dramatic than a simple product shot.

This creates an emotional impact on the viewers. It creates trust.

Whenever we set up campaigns for our clients, we start with at least 5 different images in the campaign, with a few ad text variations.  We’re trying to establish a control or a baseline in the ad campaign, as opposed to being solely invested in one or two images…  If you’d like to jump on a phone and figure out if ad management might be right for you, schedule a call with us here…

Don’t get tied to the images used because, chances are, they won’t be the winners anyway!

3. 8 out of 10 people will read just the headline

Though average time spent per user daily on Facebook is close to 40 minutes, it is also a fact that attention span of users is much lower.

In fact, according to reports, 8 out of 10 people read just the headline of a post, and only 2 people go through the post in its entirety.

To engage as many users as possible, follow this rule of thumb…  Less is more!

Though marketing experts like Jeff Bullas recommend posts up to 80 characters, according to online marketing expert Neil Patel, ads which are shorter than 80 characters perform even better.

As a matter of fact, Neil says that ads less than 40 characters in length perform the best.

So, to make your ads hit the bulls eye – focus on making them specific.

Less distracted people mean higher clickthroughs!

4. Most ads are losers

We talked about this in Point #2 above, but if you expect your first Facebook ad campaign to bring great ROIs, you need to drag yourself back to reality.

The reality is that your first try ad advertising probably won’t bring great results. As a matter of fact, marketers who are able to break-even in the first campaign consider themselves lucky!

But, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Iterations of your ad campaign help you analyze the purpose of your offer, the market your targeting, and why they’ll choose your products or services over your competitors.

Why are you running Facebook ads? Are you looking for leads?  Or, maybe you’re going right after sales?  Perhaps you need webinar registrations?  Every campaign is different, but if you don’t know what you’re setting out to do, you will never be able to measure the ROI from your Facebook campaign.

Think of your initial attempts at Facebook Ads as split tests so you know what works and what doesn’t as it relates to achieving the one specific goal you have set for your ad campaign.

You can split test the image, the content as well the targeting options… You can open up devices and platforms like Facebook Sidebar Ads, Instagram Ads, Messenger Ads and Audience Network…  Or you can pull that stuff off to target more effectively!

It’s fairly easy, and can easily bring down the cost per conversion if you are able to crack the code!

Conclusion

Facebook presents virtual endless opportunities for marketers.

With the right strategies you can easily achieve higher conversions using Facebook ads.

It is quite easy to get baffled on the way to making a great Facebook ad campaign if you are not diligent or you have trouble understanding what you’re looking at… But the four things listed above will surely help you make fewer mistakes than you would have made otherwise!

Go ahead and give these tips a try to create a power packed Facebook ad campaign that can reap great ROIs for you!

If you’d like to jump on the phone with us and review your campaigns specifically, make sure to schedule a call here…  We’ll take a look at it and figure out what we can do to increase your conversion!

The post 4 Things You Didn’t Know About Facebook Ads (But Should!) appeared first on Done For You.