As technology develops and time goes on, the use of digital marketing is increasing and it’s becoming more apparent that it’s something that businesses, both big and small need to embrace to see longevity.
Internet marketing / digital marketing is the way that people are choosing to communicate with their favourite brands and businesses and the way that people are making purchases, decisions and listening to influence – all via the internet. The increasing number of users on social media and the desire for everything to be made mobile is making it easier for people to have constant access to brands and social media networks. This gives way for users to influence what their family, friends and wider circle of friends are doing and purchasing. Word of mouth has become even more influential, via the means of social media.
Business owners are in a place where they need to be using digital marketing to have an influence and a greater chance of reaching their audience. If you’re not on social media as a business, you’re missing out on large volumes of traffic that could be potential customers.
So, what benefits does digital marketing have on a business and how can each business use it to see longevity and successful marketing results?
Cost
The cost of digital marketing is a fraction of the cost of offline marketing or physical retail stores. There are no constant outlays, property rentals or maintenance, or even the need to purchase and store stock prior to a user making a purchase. Using digital marketing and working online has provided a way for smaller business to reach potential customers that would not have been possible in the past and to target a wider audience in order to grow their business.
Research
People are researching all the time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are no limits to when a customer could be searching for your business and without the restrictions of offline cut-offs and retail outlets, this allows an online business can be ‘open’ 365 days a year. If your business is on Google and the other large search engines, if your business is on the social media channels that your specific audience is spending their time, then you’re going to have opportunity to reach more and more people as others’ discover your brand and share your products and content.
Always available
Using social media channels to display what your brand represents and who you are as a business allows users to find you at ANY time. You may only work 16 hours a week, but your social channels are working 24 hours a day for you, being the face of your business for any potential customer that comes along.
Realise the potential
That’s a powerful thought, and something that should be highlighted when thinking about digital marketing. What does your online presence say about you? Do your business profiles match up with your company core values and does the presence that comes across give a true reflection of what your business represents? It may be time to re-evaluate what your Facebook page is discussing. It may be time to stop sharing tweets that are not relevant to your business. It may be time to connect with business contacts who will help boost your business on LinkedIn. Every aspect of your online presence is your company reputation, whether that be a business profile or a personal profile. If a user likes your product, they will no doubt look you up too – what will they find?
Use social apps correctly
By successfully using online marketing to target your business, you will be in a better place to engage with customers and provide excellent customer service. Your reputation depends on your customer service! With all things digital, people expect a response instantly and apps like Messenger and WhatsApp allow customers to have that personal contact with a business. If you’re using these functions, ensure that you use them well and provide a customer service that people will want to recommend. Again, word of mouth is powerful – if someone likes your service, they will recommend you.
Measure results
The great thing about digital marketing is that everything is measurable, and everything can be accounted for. Whether that be the traffic to your website or the link clicks from your Facebook page, using the tools available, you can measure everything that you are doing within your marketing campaign. Try to get into a routine of looking at your results regularly, monthly or weekly reports are good (if you have the time) to ensure that you stay on track and in line with your targets. If something is not working, you’re able to investigate why and make changes. Similarly, you will be able to see when something is good and is providing great results.
Growing your business using online marketing is a great tool for any business and will give you the upper hand over businesses that are not using it. Everyone is searching for something online and if you’re noticeable and present online, you’ll win new clients.
Be persistent and don’t give up. Building a good customer base from social media can take time but using a marketing strategy will enable you to plan and prepare each step.
If you’d like help getting your online marketing strategy off the ground or if you’re been using social media for a while and are not seeing results, get in touch today, we want to help!
Facebook is a powerful tool. With over 2.23 billion monthly active users worldwide, Facebook has the power to reach an extremely wide audience if used correctly. The best part is that it’s free to set up a business page and start promoting your brand straight away. The only part you need to pay for is Facebook advertising (which we’ll cover shortly) but overall it is free to get started.
So how can you utilise Facebook to make it a powerful marketing tool for your business and to aid in the growth and brand awareness of your brand?
Integrate Facebook buttons onto your company website
If you have a business website as well as a Facebook page, now is the time to make them work for each other. Visitors can simply connect to Facebook with a click of a button on your website which will enable them to keep in contact with you wherever they are. If they land on your website first, it will direct them to your Facebook page where they will get more of a personal touch or information and vice versa, if they land on your Facebook page first, they can be directed to your website where they will see more of your products and company information.
Get engaging!
Once people land on your Facebook Page, you need to be with engaging with them straight away. Create posts that will entice people to comment or share with their friends. By understanding your audience, it will enable you to write content that is tailored to them, helping them to like your posts.
Engagement is your number one goal when it comes to Facebook, or any other social media channel. You need to ensure that you create eye-catching and attractive posts that will get your audience engaging with you and each other.
If you’re stuck for ideas about what to post, you could use photos or quotes, facts about you or the industry, questions or polls or even link to outside articles that reiterate your message. All posts should have the key goal in mind: engagement.
Build Trust
Your Facebook Page needs to be a place where people can feel that ‘know’ your brand. It’s a place that as engagement increases and more people comment, like or share your posts, trust is formed and from there you need to build upon that to increase loyalty. Your customers will only buy from you if they trust you. They need to feel important and that you care about their needs. Business is built on trust, whether you’re out on the high street or on an online store, a person will not purchase from somewhere they don’t trust. Therefore, build upon relationships, engage and show industry knowledge, show authority and expertise, be transparent and allow your followers (your potential customers) to see through what your business is about and stands for.
Showcase your brand/products
Your Facebook Page is another storefront for your business, therefore, you need to showcase what you have to offer. Use images that are attractive, photograph your products in a way that make your followers want to click on them to see more. Show off where you can, in a professional way, and allow people to see everything that you offer.
Posts or images can link to your website, or they can link to a Facebook store, or simply just an image to promote a product. Make your posts varied and exciting, try not to stick to the same thing all the time but mix content up and appeal to the audience that you are targeting. Don’t forget to keep branding consistent when you create your content.
Be responsive
This goes without saying – good customer service is vital for any business success. More and more people are messaging or contacting businesses through Facebook pages or social media channels rather than the conventional telephone or email approach nowadays which means that you need to be on the ball with your responses. People want instant and it’s too easy for someone to go elsewhere if they don’t get a response straight away.
Engagement may come through comments on your posts, Messenger emails or through shared posts – be sure to stay on top of your notifications in order to catch everything that is being directed at you.
Be a resource
Using a Facebook Page doesn’t mean promoting your own content 100% of the time. It’s often good to promote local events or industry knowledge to allow your readers to know that you care about what they are seeing and what they might want to read. Sharing local events can mean exposure for you as a business and will help local people discover you while at the same time you’re doing good for your community.
Industry knowledge is also a good way of keeping people up to date with latest trends or information that they may not necessarily hear about otherwise. It’s ok for people to click through to other websites – it’s your Page where they first saw the information, which they will remember.
Partner with other small businesses
Sometimes it can be good to work together in partnership with another small business to help each other with brand awareness. Allowing others’ to share your content gives your brand exposure to their customer base, and vise versa. You could do Facebook Live together to show partnership. You could do a giveaway or competition for both sets of audiences. Working together does not mean taking business away from you, it’s about creating bigger exposure for both parties.
Facebook Ads
Facebook advertising can be a daunting thought to many and the ££ signs may float in front of your eyes. However, it doesn’t have to be a costly experience if you’re on a tight budget or you’re a small business who is just exploring the Facebook Ad option. Working with a company who is experienced in setting up your campaigns will give you the better hand as they will know how to target your audience and create appealing adverts that speak directly to your customers. However if you want to venture it alone, there are tutorials that can get you started. Start off with a small budget, you can start with as little as £1 if you really want to! And build your adverts to target specific audiences and demographics, depending on what you business is about. Create images or artwork that is eye-catching and don’t use text on your images – the text can be added into the wording above the advert – your advert may not be approved if you use text on the image itself. Facebook advertising is an amazing tool that when used correctly can boost your brand awareness and reach directly to the audience that you are trying to reach which will boost your page following and hopefully in turn, boost business sales.
In all that you do on your Facebook Page, ensure that you show personality and a human side for your audience to engage with. Be the voice of your business and get personal with people. You’ll see results when you focus your efforts into your Facebook Page and you start to love and understand your followers.
Are you ready to start building your business with your Facebook Page? If so, we’d love to help. If you’re new to social media marketing or have had a Facebook Page for a long time with no success, get in touch to see how we can help you make an impact and see business growth.
Are you a women in business? If so, join our Facebook Group and be supported by like-minded women who are looking to grow their business online and receive regular motivational and inspirational encouragement.
One of the main ways to sustain a healthy and growing business is to keep a steady customer base. A company doing well will typically see the 80/20 rule; 80 percent of its business coming from 20 percent of its customer base.
If you are looking to grow your business and to see it thrive well into later years, you need to start building loyalty with your customers and building relationships to keep them happy.
Communication is key
Keeping customers informed of what’s happening within your business, offers and up to date information will allow your customers to feel part of the life of your business. This could be via a number of mediums including newsletters, emails, social media or even a phone call but the fact that you are telling your customers about the latest news goes a long way.
You don’t need to be pushing sales at your customers all the time. Communications can be friendly, informative snippets along with a “how are you doing?’ every once in a while. People appreciate communication and it goes a long way in building customer relationships.
Always go above and beyond
This goes without saying in business, if you have a customer then you want to treat them right and maintain that customer for future potential sales. By going above and beyond in what you do for them at the start of their customer experience with you, they will know that you care about them and that you want their business.
It doesn’t take much to do a little extra, as Tesco’s motto says “Every Little Helps” and yes that might be in a different context but it’s the same principle – every little bit helps for your customers and you have an opportunity to show each and every client that you are there to serve them, along with wanting to provide 100% and beyond.
Be a problem solver – Be positive
It’s great when things are going well, but how do you deal with situations when they go slightly pear-shaped? How do you react with customers when they have a complaint or something to share?
As you build your business, you will come along characters that will test your patience and try to get something for nothing. But you are the face of your business and your reputation matters. Building a good reputation can take years but it only takes one or two customers to not like your practice to tear that reputation down.
Therefore, try to solve or defuse a situation rather than rise to it. Always try to show a positive attitude towards all customers, whether you like what is happening or not. You are more likely to have a positive outcome and a good response if you act in a positive manner and show professionalism.
Promote brand awareness
This is number one in a business marketing strategy but it can often be put on hold or forgotten about when other aspects of business take over. By promoting your brand and showcasing what you are about, you are building a base of followers who will get to know, love and understand who you are and what your business is about. Building a business takes trust and people need to trust your brand in order to feel comfortable buying from you. When you build on your brand awareness, they are given opportunities of seeing more and more about what you do and how you can benefit them or provide a service for what they are looking for.
Always target your brand awareness campaigns to people who are really going to want to buy from you. It’s vital to understand your target audience and to know what it is they are looking for so you can provide the solution for them. Understanding your audience will bring you closer to them and provide a way in to build relationships that build customer loyalty and longevity.
Show who you really are
It’s great to showcase your business and everything that it has to offer, it’s one step further to showcase who you are, as the business owner. People love stories and customers feel connected when they know there is a human behind all the technology. You may not feel comfortable speaking on video or promoting yourself but it will go a long way in building customer relationships and allowing customers to know the real you behind the business.
Video marketing is definitely the future. And if you’re not doing it now, you need to be very soon! It doesn’t have to be long drawn out videos, it can simply be you saying hi and and introducing yourself as the business owner. Pin a video post to the top of your social media posts so that each new customer can see the voice and face behind the company they are looking to engage with. It will go a long way – try it today!
If you’re still unsure on what impact your video marketing could have, check out these 100 video stats you should know – and see how you could integrate them into your marketing objective.
Get engaging!
We say it all the time but the key to building a loyal customer base is by engaging with them on a daily basis. This falls in with the communication point but it goes a little deeper. If you’re using social media to attract new customers and to retain your current ones too (and if you’re not using social media for business then please get in touch!), your followers are looking to engage with your business. Give them posts that they can reply to or share with their friends. Post articles that relate to their situation. Get your writing head on and create some posts or articles that really speak to the heart of your audience. When they see that you are actually speaking to them on a personal level, they will share that with their friends and family, they will recommend your business to others and they will start to love who you are which in turn leads them to be a loyal customer.
Take these points on board and use them to grow your business. Building a loyalty with your customers is so important if you want longevity in your business. Sustaining and maintaining your client base doesn’t have to be hard work but it does need dedication and commitment to see it work.
If you’re looking to reach a wider audience through social media or would like to know more about creating an effective marketing campaign, get in touch today!
Chasing a business dream requires determination and dedication – a complete focus on what you want for your life.
There are many reasons why people want to start their own business, this may be due to having a hobby they love, the desire to earn extra income, or perhaps to have the flexibility of a work-life balance. All are valid reasons and there are no right or wrong answers to starting a business and chasing your dreams as long as you are passionate and have the desire to push forward.
We hear stories all over social media about successful business owners and entrepreneurs who have created 6-figure businesses and bring their dreams to reality along with providing a security for their families through doing so.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could create the same success for your business using your dreams and passions.
Why can’t you? What’s stopping you?
Fear
Often we’re held back by the fear of the unknown, the fear of failure or even by not knowing where to start, however if you’ve got a plan or purpose in mind, following those through to completion is only a journey with the steps that you need to take to make it happen – working out the ‘how’ will come as you go along.
Many successful business owners don’t know what they’re heading for when they first start out and certainly not all of them expect them to be as successful as they turn out to be. But if you find a gap in the market and have a passion to see that gap filled, you too can be a successful business owner.
Passion
Having enthusiasm and determination is where you need to start from – finding something that really gets you excited and where you know you can make a difference.
What is it that gets you excited?
What passions do you have?
What would you like see improved or created?
Work from the bottom up. There’s no point establishing a business based on something that everyone is doing – well you can if you’re confident you can beat the competition! But why not find a niche that people haven’t tapped into yet, just waiting for someone like you to take hold of it and make something good from it?
Define your dream
What is your business idea?
What purpose would that idea have?
What do you want to achieve from it?
What is your ultimate goal with the business?
Thinking with these questions in mind will give you a base, a starting point to really get down to the bottom of what your business idea would and could accomplish. Think about the purpose of the business and how would it help or benefit others? Can you see yourself following this dreams on in five or ten years time? Is it a long term or a short term venture?
Vision
Your business idea or business plan must have vision. It must be built upon something that has an ultimate goal or target. Think around strategy and planning and what goals you would need to set in order to achieve success. Does your vision include other people, or are you planning this alone?
We live in an era where anything goes, as long as you have the funds to support your business and the motivation to succeed, you’re halfway there!
Running an online business is often easier when first starting out in business as there is so much resource available to you and opportunities for you to tap into. This could be an eCommerce store, a service based business, or simply even selling informational products. It all comes down to discipline and working hard. Putting in the time and effort and research in order to make your business a success.
Chasing your business dream can be closer than you think, all you need to do is make the decision to get started. Don’t let discouragement get in the way of what you want to do. There will be times that you’ll wonder why you’ve started and what the road ahead looks like but if you’ve got passion and determination to see it through – you’ll make it work.
Don’t procrastinate
This is the worst thing that you can do! Never put off until tomorrow what you could do today. That’s the best advice we can give you. Find your passions, discover your dreams, create a plan and off you go. It might not be plain sailing but if you put off every difficult task that comes your way, you will find it hard to succeed. Keep pushing forward, keep looking for ways to improve every aspect of your business as you move on.
What are people looking for? How can you help others? Thinking about your customers and not yourself in your business will be a turning point as from the moment you realise that it’s not about you, it’s about them, is the moment that you start to see opportunities and the right paths to follow.
Conclusion
Don’t lose sight of the visions and dreams you have. Chase your dreams. Love what you do. Create a business that can show your full colours of what you believe in and what you know you can succeed in. Believe in yourself and be confident that you have the power to create a successful business when you believe that you can.
If you’d like help getting your business started with online marketing or creating a social media strategy to help you business get off the ground, we’d love to talk with you. Get in touch for more information.
You’ve got a great business in the making and you’re looking to tell the world about your fantastic product but how do you make an IMPACT using your social media? And more importantly how do you make an impact efficiently?
It all begins with the planning. Having a good marketing strategy will help you be efficient and effective in your social media campaigns and will give you clear direction on where you’re heading and what you need to be doing to get great results.
Having an impact with your social media doesn’t need to be a tricky task and actually it can be quite enjoyable when you get into the swing of how to be effective.
With literally millions of people using social media on a daily basis, the world is more connected today than it ever has been. Information and content is readily available and everything is at the fingertips of the consumer. So how in a world full of competition and no boundaries do we as business owners reach the audience that we are seeking to find?
There is such power in social media and the influence that it has on our everyday lives. Without realising, people are engaging and creating opportunities that we often are not even aware that we have become part of, by either clicking on a Facebook post or watching a video on YouTube, everything is there at the click of a button, content ready whenever we need it.
Be known
Also as we’ve said before, once your business raises its brand awareness it will be recognised by more people and the engagement through your social media channels will increase. This will help push your business forward and you’ll see better results when you gain more engagement – whatever medium or channel you are using. The more people who know and hear about your brand, the more people will want to engage with you.
What can you do to make an impact?
Firstly, you need to research your audience and be completely clear on who you are speaking to and reaching out to. There is absolutely no point in creating content for people who are not interested in it. Therefore researching who you’re trying to market to will make your content more appealing to those it reaches.
Who is your audience?
What are they seeking?
When do they like to engage most?
Where can you find them online?
Why do they want to engage with you?
Answering these questions in depth will help with your social media strategy and give you guidelines on who and why you are reaching out to your audience.
Make a plan
Once you’re CLEAR on these answers, you can start to plan your strategy. Stay focused on the target market and don’t steer away from these just because it’s nice to do something different. You’ve established who you’re speaking to, so you need to make it as tailored to them as much as possible.
What type of content do they want to see or hear? Which platforms are they most likely to engage on? What do you offer that’s different from other brands? Why should they connect with you?
Within your plan, you need to be clear that you understand your own brand identity and know exactly what it is that is YOUR unique selling point. You’ve seen a need in the market, you’ve gone out there are created a business to fill a gap – so why should people buy from you? Use THAT to connect and engage with people.
Create impacting content
Now you’ve established your who’s and why’s, it’s time to put your content together. In order for you to be noticed and stand out from the crowd, you need to ensure that your content is unique and personal to your brand. Sharing content that a hundred other people are sharing has its place but to really engage and connect with your potential customers, you need to offer something that is authentic to your brand. Something that they know they can only get from you.
Make your content eye-catching and appealing
You may have lots that you want to explain or tell your audience but how can you make that appealing?
Perhaps create a series of images with quotes over a period of time – this could tell a story or share the behind the scenes story of your business.
You could take your product out on the streets and photograph it out and about! Take your product to the school playground, take it to the beach, let people see and touch your products – what images can you make with these scenarios that make it look interesting and attractive? This may sound silly but doing this will make your business unique. It will allow people to see it in different settings and where they would least expect it – making it memorable and eye-catching. People will talk about it, if people like what they see, they will share your content. Creating engagement is key to your marketing campaigns.
Be organised
Your social media marketing needs to be organised and intentional. Creating a plan that is only half thought out could have a negative impact on your business, which is not the path you want to go down. Whether you are a small business or a large organisation, creating a social media plan that you adhere to and follow will have a positive impact on your marketing. Making sure you do everything with purpose and thought and working with all the data available to you will make your efforts efficient and with impact
Don’t let your social media take over your life though! There is much to be said for taking time away from you mobile device and enjoying the other parts of your business! Attending networking events, speaking to people you meet and sharing business cards is all great ways to market your business. But don’t forget that when you make an impact on someone and they like what they hear, they will look you up online and therefore your branding and social media profiles need to reflect everything you’ve told them about your business. Your social media profiles and any online presence you have needs to reflect what your business offers and the values that it is about. Keeping on top of your online marketing can take a lot of work but ensure that you prioritise and take time for you. Your health and well-being is also important as it will have an impact on how your business looks if you lack time and energy.
If you’re looking for an extra pair of hands to help you with your online marketing strategy or just to ease the workload, we’d love to help! Get in touch today for a friendly, no obligation chat.
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