Category: Digital Branding

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Which is the Better E-commerce Platform

Steven on November 9, 2018

Photo credits: https://pixabay.com/en/ecommerce-shopping-credit-card-2607114/

Are you in the market for an e-commerce solution? If so, you’ll definitely love this short WooCommerce vs Shopify comparison. I also think you’ll agree creating an online store is a challenging feat. Turns out you can create an online store easily, and in this post, we help you to choose the better e-commerce platform for your needs.

We break down the post into sections such as features, pricing, and support among other things. By the end of it all, you will pick the right platform for your online store. Do you lean towards WooCommerce or Shopify? Let us know that in the comment section at the end.

Without further ado, let us weigh anchor and sail.

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Basic Overview

WooCommerce is a plugin that you install on your WordPress-based website. It allows you to add powerful e-commerce features to any WordPress site. On the other hand, Shopify is a subscription-based e-commerce service. You don’t install Shopify; you simply sign up.

WooCommerce requires that you have a WordPress site first. Shopify doesn’t require you to have a website first; it’s a cloud-hosted e-commerce platform. While WooCommerce comes with a long (and often times arduous) configuration process, creating an online store on Shopify is a breeze.

Setting up a site on WooCommerce requires that you’re familiar with web-related things, even though it’s easy stuff once you get the hang of it. Things are a bit tidier with Shopify; setting a store on the platform is akin to signing up for a blog at, say, Blogger.com, or getting an email address at Gmail.com. Well, sort of.

All the same, both platforms come with enough features to launch a highly successful online store, whether big or small. Also, allow me to mention that the e-commerce platform that you end up picking from this comparison post boils down to personal preference and, of course, your needs.

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Features

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that ships with enough features to create a basic online store. If you need more features, however, you can count on the wide range of free and premium WooCommerce add-ons.

Out of the box, WooCommerce ships with a ready-to-use cart, a checkout page, shop and a “my account” area where buyers can track orders and view their profiles. On top of that, it comes with five default methods of payment but you can add more.

Other than that, WooCommerce comes with an intuitive admin dashboard that makes managing your online store as easy as A, B, C. And thanks to a dedicated Products menu, you can sell digital and physical products on your e-store like a boss.

In terms of store design, WooCommerce is compatible with most if not all WordPress themes, such as the free BuddyBoss theme, since it’s just a plugin. There are, however, WordPress themes that are specifically made for WooCommerce. As such, designing the perfect e-commerce store is a theme or a developer away.

Shopify, too, shines in the features department what with a slew of nice e-commerce-centric features. Since it is a dedicated e-commerce service, you can expect all the features you need to build small and enterprise-level stores. You also get a free sub-domain (you can add a custom domain later) and free SSL certificate.

On top of that, Shopify comes with a good number of free and premium extensions that allow you to add some nice features to your store. Still, Shopify is incredibly easy to use no matter your experience or coding knowledge.

In the design department, Shopify features hundreds of themes. Well, the number of themes available for Shopify fades in comparison to what’s available for WooCommerce. All the same, the themes are professional and specifically designed for e-commerce.

An intuitive quick-start wizard helps you to set up either, but Shopify’s onboarding process offers you much more convenience. It takes fewer steps and effort to set up a store on Shopify, something we can’t say about WooCommerce.

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Performance and SEO

On the web, content is king. Without amazing content, you cannot expect your store to perform well money-wise and on search engines. However, the quality of your content is only one of the more than 200 SEO ranking signals.

Nowadays, page load speed is an important SEO ranking factor. Now, this is where things get tricky, with some users claiming WooCommerce outshines Shopify and/or vice versa. Well, I root for Shopify here because it has dedicated servers that guarantee great speeds and uptimes.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have WooCommerce. The page load times you’ll record on WooCommerce depends on a couple of factors, the most important being the host you choose. Go for dirt-cheap hosts at your own risk – because, come on, what kind of performance do you expect from a host that charges a $1 buck per month.

In terms of performance and SEO, Shopify outshines WooCommerce since Shopify’s engineers do a great work of maintaining the servers for you. You just focus on the business side of things, unlike WooCommerce where you are in charge of site administration among other things.

Both platforms come with great SEO-related features, but that speed thing we just mentioned can be a deal breaker for WooCommerce stores, especially if you end up with a poor host. The chances of getting poor speeds on Shopify are slim.

Photo credits: https://pixabay.com/en/ecommerce-online-shopping-e-commerce-1992280/

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Pricing

As we’ve already mentioned, WooCommerce is a free plugin. However, to add more features, you will need extensions and these don’t come cheap. Your costs can quickly rack up depending on the extensions you choose, and this applies to Shopify as well.

To run a basic e-commerce store, though, you need about $29 bucks a month whether you choose WooCommerce or Shopify. But depending on the time commitment you put towards setting up a store, Shopify is the cheaper option in my opinion.

Besides, Shopify offers you a free 14-day trial to test the waters. You just need a paid plan to start selling. With WooCommerce, you need to find a web host, buy a domain name, set up WordPress, install SSL and then install the e-commerce plugin, before selling.

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Support

WooCommerce is open source, meaning you can get help on the support forums at WordPress.org. On top of that, you can sign up on the official WooCommerce site to get support. Shopify, on the other hand, is a commercial e-commerce solution. You get professional 24/7 support via email, chat or phone.

Final Words

Whether you go with Shopify or WooCommerce, running a successful online store is all about providing great value to your users. Endeavor to provide amazing products and user experience, and you’re golden no matter the platform you choose.

WooCommerce has a steeper learning curve compared to Shopify, but once you get used to either of the platforms, the cost, and effort required to run your store depend on the features you need. Shopify is for the entrepreneur who wants to hit the ground running. WooCommerce is perfect for the businessperson who isn’t afraid to play around with myriad settings.

Between WooCommerce and Shopify, which platform do you feel is the better option for your business? Please let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Digital Branding

5 Branding Strategies to Adopt for Vape Products

Steven on November 8, 2018

It is true that there have been speculations about vape branding; many of you would feel that marketing vape products and services would be risky. However, the truth is entirely different.

Ever since reports have come out in support of vape products, people have become more inclined towards switching from smoking to vaping. In fact, new bill has passed in favour of E cigarettes which will encourage businesses to promote vape products. It is being also claimed by NHS that vaping is 95% safer than tobacco cigarettes.

How do these ads affect people?

We all know the role of media in today’s world; people are more likely to pick things from seeing ads. According to the studies conducted by university of Kansas, watching advertisements regarding vape can stimulate one’s mind and attract a person to vape even if they have never vaped in their life.

CDC has also backed these facts claiming that expose to the advertisements about vaping products can definitely alter the brain chemistry of people making them vape. Hence, number of vape users is more likely to increase after being exposed to vape ads.

But how we market vape products?

It sounds like a tricky question, but to be honest, it is further from that. There are ways to brand vape products and spread word-of-mouth among people, like one of the best premium e liquids brand LongHornVapor did very well in its branding. Let’s talk about some of those strategies.

Creating an online presence

If you ever make a guess about someone and say they don’t use social media, you will lose that bet. It is one of the most cost effective strategies compared to conventional branding. According to Tobacco Control, it was reported that in the branding of JUUL, millions of dollars were spent online by the people in vape market. No wonder why there is so much buzz around youngsters wanting to add vaping in their lifestyle. What people see on Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms, suddenly becomes a hot commodity. Yes, we are still talking about vape products. Infusing attractive elements of hip-culture, fun and relaxing ads with a bit of sex appeal will do the trick just fine.

Sponsoring events is the game-changer

Be it a movie star, a musician or someone whose who is famous, you can sponsor an event under your company’s banner. Letting a top-performer setting the stage on fire can give the most enthralling experience to the people making them want to vape.

Some of you might think getting sponsorships might be hard because of all the fuss that has been around. At the same time, people have been realizing great things about vaping. And unlike smoking, there are absolutely no restrictions when it comes to promoting vape products in any way you want.

It all starts with the flavor

That’s right! If you are someone who is thinking about spending a huge lump of money on marketing, make sure you set your target market first. You can do that by having the right flavors in your vapestore, Flavors like Cotton-candy, Whipped Cream eJuice, Gummy bear and Candy King can attract the younger lot, while flavors like brain freeze can promise to cater adults’ needs and really increase the footfall.

According to Truth Initiative, more than 40 percent of the people only opt to vape because of the promising flavors.

Go Hollywood!

No, we don’t mean auditioning for roles in a film but fusing your vape brand with the film industry can be the name of the game. Moreover, Product Placement is one of the most sought-after branding strategies in today’s world.

It is not something risky as many have opted to showcase vaping in the movies. Johnny Depp, Kevin Spacey and even Zac Efron have been seen vaping on the big screen. When stars vape, Boom! Everyone starts doing it. That’s the magic of right product placement!

Develop an app

Thanks to Google and Apple, a digital platform has been set for you to make your own mark and let your business flourish. But why would you need an app? It’s a very reasonable question to ask.

Many people who are having problems regarding vaping, the apps can be a way to provide them guidance. Apps like Vape Boss, Vaffle and couple more have been committed to providing useful information to beginners and people who enjoy vape-culture. You can also develop something on those lines. For that, distinguishing yourself from your rivals would be the key and focusing on the needs of people is a way to go.

Digital Branding

How to Write Great Emails People Will Love to Receive

Steven on October 27, 2018

Image credit: Pexels Emails are nothing new, but their role in the business world is more important than ever. In this digital age, it’s vital to include email marketing in your overall marketing strategy. Not only will this help to promote your products or service and generate leads, but it also helps to build a community of loyal customers around your brand. Writing great emails is something that every brand wants to do, but not everyone achieves it. Luckily, we’ve got you covered. From writing authentic content to covering the technical basics, we explore 8 ways you can write great emails people will love to receive.

Get the length right

First thing first: send emails that are the right length that people will love to receive. No one wants a long-winded, rambling message that takes half an hour to digest. Depending on your niche, it may be more effective for you to send out shorter emails (perhaps highlighting a single event, offer or new product) more often, or to send longer newsletter-style emails less frequently. Many email platforms offer A/B testing, which will allow you to test different options including the length of the emails you send out. You can send out two versions of the same email to a small percentage of your subscriber list, see which is more successful, and then send the winner out to your whole list. This is great for optimizing your email campaigns to ensure that they perform as well as possible.

Allow your brand’s tone of voice to shine

Email is a great tool for building and showing off your brand voice. Your brand voice is how you express your business’s personality and core values in its purest form. You need to engage with your customers and motivate them into identifying with your brand and buying your products. Align your email communications with brand imaging and tone-of-voice guidelines. This is a good way to ensure that your brand value and uniqueness is conveyed to your customers. Launching a product isn’t enough these days. It’s important to build an identity around your brand that is unique and attractive to consumers. This in turn will create a strong platform for any future products to thrive upon

Build a community

Once your business has established its voice and brand identity, your customers will start to identify with your values. This helps to build a sense of community around your brand, as like-minded customers form relationships with you and each other. Writing great emails plays a big part in growing and reflecting this sense of community. There are a few different ways to make the most of this via email. You can highlight existing success stories within your community, and connecting your customers through their experiences. This is great for putting the spotlight on product reviews and testimonials. Sending out emails with exclusive deals or information will also make your customers feel appreciated and kept in the loop. (It’s sort of like they’re all invited to a private after-party hosted by you). You can also proactively reach out to your customers and encourage people to get in touch with you via your email. This encourages customers to form a relationship with you based on communication and trust. It’s good to include all of these styles in your emails, and you can even merge them all by creating monthly newsletters. You can use email marketing software to create epic templates for your next email campaign.This will help to build your brand community, increase engagement and show recipients that they are valued as an individual.

Make use of strong images

Another important basic to cover is your use of images and other media in your emails. Including strong imagery and design is often a successful part of creating great emails that people will love to receive. Plus, it’s a brilliant way to portray your authenticity and brand voice. But it’s just as important not to use too many images in emails. This could result slow loading (which leads to customer frustration) or in a huge email file people won’t be able to open. Similarly, relying too heavily on these images for the design of the email is not a good move — it can detract from your content and dilute your main message. Again make the most of A/B testing to work out how many, and what kind of images work best for your business. This could be anything from photographs, illustrations, infographics, videos or even gifs.

Research your competitors’ strategies

You can also look to your competitors to see what kind of emails other businesses are already sending out. You can even look to the rest of your mailbox to get a sense of what makes a great email, irrelevant of the market. Some of these might be awesome and really inspire you to include similar elements in your own emails. Look at all of the elements we have covered above when analyzing emails from your competitors — from tone of voice to length. You might also find that some of your competitors’ emails might be terrible, which can help you to avoid making the same mistakes. There could also be potential you spot in emails from other niches which you could apply to your own market — perhaps ahead of your competitors. You can also find attractive content on various social media channels too — check out our post on this for more information.

Check your links

Just when you think you’re getting ready to send, make sure you check your links. It sounds obvious, but have a look at your own personal mailbox and you’ll be able to see that people are still making these mistakes every day. Take advantage of the tools built into popular email platforms which allow you to test-send emails, and check links. Ensure that you have the right tracking in place within your links too. Email offers valuable data and insight which you can use to improve your mailings, giving your subscribers more of what they love most.

Offer an exit

Finally, make sure your subscribers know they have an exit if they want it. Not only might it be a legal requirement in your jurisdiction, but it’s also important for people to know they can unsubscribe at any time. Not only does this show them the practical option is there, but it also highlights that your business takes privacy seriously. Make sure your emails include a link to your business’s privacy policy, and a clear unsubscribe link works. With the 2018 updates of the General Data Protection Regulations in Europe, and daily cyber-attacks on customer data around the world, it’s important to be serious about this. By including the right sort of content in your emails – showing authenticity and your true brand voice – you’re halfway there to writing great emails people will love to receive. Combine this with covering the basics, including length, media and links, and you’re on the path to a successful email strategy. This is a guest post by Victoria Greene: Victoria Greene is an ecommerce marketing expert and freelance writer who loves helping small businesses grow and succeed. You can read more of her work and get all the latest news on ecommerce and marketing at her blog, Victoria Ecommerce.

Digital Branding

How to find the attractive content over YouTube, Reddit, Quora, and other social media channels

Steven on October 21, 2018

To get the good ideas from the content shared on the various social media channels, one must put some efforts. As this is a big challenge for us to post the irresistible content over the social media accounts every now and then. We need to have the attractive content over the posts and blogs, the webinars, in our workshops, and the webinars. So, we must think of the ways through which we can dig up the attractive content for our audience and their increased engagement.

This article may help you in finding the irresistible content that is being shared on the social media channels like YouTube, Quora, Reddit, or any other communities. The formula that will help you to find the attractive content can be used on several social media channels but here we will try on some of these sites.

The formula to find the best content on social media sites

First, think about the topic you are going to make the content about. You must decide about the area of interest so that you can get the required data. So basically, at first step, you will have to think of an interesting topic that is popular or going viral.

After that, determine that how much effort and struggle is being put by the content sharing person. You can question that how they do it and you will get the answer of it for the topic you have selected.

After this step, the next step is to get every possible information about the area of your interest or the problem you are going to make content about. You need to have whole information about the problem as well as the solutions to that problem. That is how you are going to cover the whole topic.

Now after getting a whole set of information about the topic, you are good to go and start creating the content. This content must be based on the data you have collected while your research.

The final step is to share the content with the audience.

Reddit is a very powerful website and it can be used as a mean of content inspiration. This means that you can get the inspiration about the topic or area of your interest through this networking social media site.

YouTube is also a well-known social media site that is used by many users of the Internet on daily basis for watching and sharing the videos. YouTube can help you in a better way to discover the required content over the topic as it can serve as the search engine for you at its best.

Instagram: There are many small businesses related to fashion and beauty. The pages are followed by millions of Instagram followers and they buy/sell there. So it is another source where you can find content to post on your pages.

buy instagram likes

Other online communities to help finding the required content; there are several social media sites and networks that are also be beneficial for you to get the information about the problem you are going to cover in your content and find the solution to this problem. This formula can be applied on all these sites for finding and sharing the irresistible content with the audience.

Digital Branding

4 Ways to Use Social Media for SEO – Think On It

Steven on October 21, 2018

‘Rome wasn’t built in a day,’ a common proverb which we usually know, isn’t it? This particularly fits with the rules and practices of SEO. With the ever-changing technology, science and art of SEO keep on changing with more new and innovative techniques. Understanding the complex algorithmic system of Google search engine and designing the SEO strategies particularly is quite a daunting task. In this complex online environment where there is cut-throat competition, SEO analysts think upon it again and again.

Every SEO focuses on organic traffic drive combined with enhanced Google search ranking. Basically, we know that focusing on the content and link of the website is the ultimate work performed by the experts. Of course, it is but it there are other facets as well which the business owner should especially not ignore. Social media is like a honey that attracts folds of users towards it. When the website optimisation is genuinely done in accordance with social media networking, it is obvious to have a positive result from it.

Photo credits: https://pixabay.com/en/icon-polaroid-blogger-rss-tumblr-2486501/

4 Ways Social Media Would Really Benefit SEO

At a very basic point, it is important to know that social media is not an ideal factor considered by Google in a search engine ranking index. With the better goals of social media marketing, it perfectly helps the consumers to approach your website and keeping them engaged in it. But how social media can enhance search engine optimisation, isn’t it? Let’s focus on the correlation of the social media signals and search visibility.

Get Organic Followers

As there are many links in the world of SEO, similarly there are lots of users and followers in social media. A number is not the only sole factor but the quality of followers is equally an important point. Many websites just buy the number of followers which is not an ideal solution. Rather one should enhance one’s social media presence together with encouraging the users to follow your page. While providing good and appealing content, it would genuinely attract a vast number of users.

Users love the discount factor as well as the VIP offers provided by the websites. This would be a better alternative that would lead to an increased number of followers. Good social media presence and visibility surely lead to an increased number of followers. Increased followers means maximum traffic drive and quality traffic drive means greater ROI.

Social Media – A Better External Link Building Source

When you have an increased number of followers, your potential share in an online platform consequently increases. When there are maximum numbers of followers, it provides better opportunities for the people and they visit your link and content. Thus, companies should basically focus on content creation. It should be fun and engaging, useful and appropriate, properly arranged and entertaining as well. Apart from these factors, it must be share-worthy.

Quality of the content should be good. Sentence formation should not be in a high-level language rather it should be decent and easily understandable. When you create high-quality content, it would not only attract genuine consumers but also let other websites to reference your link. Through Twitter Ads or Facebook targeting, one can duly take advantage of the content promotion.

Better Brand Image

Just sharing any content is not desirable. Post such contents that would connect the users with your website. It should particularly reveal the missions and objectives of the company and how it would benefit the consumers. When the core values are not stated well, it can somehow hinder the quality of traffic drive. Over promotional content is also not required. The SEO experts should engage in such exciting pictures or memes that would connect the users while they scroll down. It should at once grab the attention of the followers.

Ads should be posted in such a way that it targets the users. At an initial phase, many consumers might not click your ad and are beneficial too. This is because you may know well about who are the potential followers of your brand. When your brand recognition is bigger, more users would know about it thereby increasing the share of clicks. When you get more clicks on Google especially from the audience of social media, the site would rank better and better.

Engage Locally

How you engage with the local community is the most essential factor that search engines look forward. Engaging with the local community through social media is not just a better idea rather it has become a necessity. For this, it is important to update the accounts especially to involve it in the local event. In case you are operating with the local business, let the users know it online. It can be best done if you encourage them while posting and commenting on the social channel.

Merely having the social media account is not enough, it is equally important to use it and update it on regular basis for maximum traffic drive. There are certain elements that should be changed on a regular basis so that the users might find something new about the brand every time when they scroll down. Though social media is not the direct ranking factor yet it ignoring it can prove to be the worst mistake. The success of the online business greatly depends upon the strategies that you plan. Prioritizing all the opportunities and elements related to online marketing is really important.

Explore the advantages of social media marketing and get assured result from it. However, it is important for the site owner to remain updated with all forms of changes taking place in the local community. Your participation towards the collection of facts and figures is important for planning a better marketing strategy.

Sometimes, SEO rules look like the writings that are written on sand which wash away with the very wave of the storm. For an online business, accommodating with such changes is pretty important. Consulting right and appropriate Sydney’s favourite company would really help you out.

Digital Branding

6 Things You Can Expect from Seasoned SEO Experts

Steven on October 21, 2018

There is an ever-increasing competition for top organic search ranks in every industry. Every business wants to be in the top position, and they are budgeting and doing everything possible to ensure that they succeed. For you to boost your visibility in the organic SERPs, you need to work with a dedicated SEO agency. Running a successful SEO campaign for your business is a full-time job that needs experience and the knowledge of experts who are conversant with the ever-changing algorithm updates and data refreshes. Here are 6 things you should expect from SEO professionals.

SEO Strategy Development

Starting an SEO campaign requires a lot of planning. There are countless minor details that you need to be handled before starting any work. A good SEO company will come up with SEO strategies that are in line with your business goals and objectives. Professionals will outline keyword research, conversion funnel creation, lead nurturing campaigns, landing page design and development, and many more. Search Engine Optimization involves more than just attracting traffic and leads to your website. A good company will plan on ways of converting and monetizing this traffic first. Development of SEO strategies will depend on various factors, such as business type, business goals, and your competition.

Content Creation

For an aggressive SEO campaign, you will have to publish a lot of high quality and engaging content. Your SEO agency should be in charge of creating exciting and relevant content for your business website. This should include blogs, which are a great way of interacting with your customers and getting invaluable feedback. Since Google and other search engines require websites to be useful and attractive to visitors, professional SEO services will ensure that your visitors are impressed and that they stay on your website longer. Since quality content is high on Google’s priority list, your SEO company should ensure that your website oozes quality from the moment visitors click on your landing page.

Photo credits: https://pixabay.com/en/online-marketing-internet-marketing-1246457/

On-Page Optimization

The on-page optimization of your website plays an important role in your overall visibility. If on-page optimization is off in any way, it can affect the potential of your organic reach. A good Kotton Grammer Miami SEO expert will ensure that your on-page optimization is perfect before they begin any off-site work. Professionals will also ensure that every blog post and new page published on your business website undergoes an on-page audit. This is important because many businesses tend to ignore their on-page optimization and these minor adjustments may negatively affect their rankings on the search engines.

SEO/ Link Audit

To maintain a strong ranking on the search engines, it is important to audit your link profile. Most times, low-quality scraper websites will pick up content containing a link to your business website. These spammy links can negatively affect your SEO efforts. Therefore, having a dedicated SEO agency that constantly removes low-quality links that do not benefit your SEO campaigns is important.

Quality link building

Links are the way that readers move on the internet from your website to another, or to different pages on the same website. Bad link construction will definitely send your page to the lowest position of search results. Even though links are not the only important factor in Search Engine rankings, they will affect your ranking. A seasoned SEO company will ensure that your links are created attentively and carefully. This is because good link construction will offer a major boost to your organic search engine rankings.

Analytics and Metrics

Your data and analytics must be constantly analyzed as it will give direction to your future SEO campaigns. This is not something that can just be looked at once in a month. Analytics and metrics are a full-time job just like other components of your SEO marketing. Seasoned SEO professionals will use data and analytics to determine the content that is currently performing best in the searches, and the content that offers the highest number of conversions. They will also determine what should be done to eliminate the things that are not working.

The main objective of hiring an SEO agency is to ensure that your website is optimized for both Search engine robots and readers, as well as to get a higher ranking on the SERPS. However, you should remember that getting the first spot is not as difficult as maintaining it, and this is why you need professional help. The right company will handle all the aforementioned areas and many more to ensure that your website has constant traffic and conversions.

Digital Branding

15 Sneaky Ways to Build Brand Awareness

Steven on October 18, 2018

Building brand awareness is critical for any business in order to build a strong customer base and drive leads, sales and ultimately bring business success. However in the modern commercial landscape with so many brands competing for attention, how do you stand out?

Here are the sneaky techniques brands use to build awareness without consumers realizing they are doing it, which you can apply to your business, no matter how big or small!

1. Create a Brand Identity

If you want to build more brand awareness, it is essential to have a strong, recognizable brand. Think about your brand’s identity and what makes it unique. Be sure to promote this in order to stand out. Have a clearly defined messaging strategy and style guide for your brand. Have an approved set of logos, letterhead, font, and colors and use them with rigorous consistency – this is crucial for brand recognition.

2. Link building

Link building involves attaining links to your site from established, authoritative sites. Generating these links essentially comes down to creating quality, useful content which sites will want to share, as well as outreach to relevant sites to build links. Local link building, in particular, can greatly improve your local SEO, improving brand awareness through search engine results, as well as driving organic traffic to your site.

3. Hold Contests on Social Media

Running contests on social media is a great way to increase your brand’s visibility to new users. There are many ways to do this and it is best to be creative and as original as possible. Just make sure your contest format encourages users to share the link with their network (for example to get more votes for their contest entry).

4. Use Facebook Advertising

With over 2 billion users on Facebook worldwide, Facebook can help you reach a greater audience and build your brand awareness. Organic reach will only get you so far (especially with the Facebook’s current algorithms), but you can bolster this with paid advertising. Facebook ads are relatively inexpensive and can be targeted to a specific audience to a staggering level of detail.

5. Get Users to Promote You on Social Media

You can even put your followers to work and have them promote you on social media. Run a campaign which encourages users to post a picture or similar to a particular hashtag, and you will instantly increase your brand’s organic reach. A great example of this is ASOS’ #AsSeenOnMe campaign, in which the brand has users post and tag photos of themselves wearing their favorite ASOS outfits.

6. Let Your Personality Shine Through

Social media can be a great platform to connect with your audience on a more personal level and show a different, more playful side of your brand. Some brands have even built a reputation for having distinctly entertaining social media channels – such as US brand Wendy’s, which is famous for the quips on its Twitter account.

7. Work With Influencers

In the past couple of years, we have seen the rise of the social media influencer. Influencers are powerful because they play off one of the basic tenants of marketing: consumers are most likely to use your business if referred by a friend. Because influencers form quasi-personal relationships with their followers, if they recommend a product it is almost as if a friend is recommending it. Identify influencers appropriate to your niche, and reach out to them to suggest partnerships.

8. Sponsor Local Organisations

To build brand awareness on a local level, you can sponsor local charities, events or sporting clubs. Not only is this a chance to support your local community, but in return they will display your brand, giving you an opportunity to not only promote your business but to do so in a way which shows your altruistic nature.

9. Create Branded Packaging

This is a technique used by some of the world’s biggest brands: when the customer’s shipment arrives, it is wrapped in specially designed branded packaging. This builds the emotional connection the customer has to the brand, as it makes the product feel like a gift from the company itself. Any small or medium business which ships products to its customers can apply this strategy by having custom branded packing made up for shipping.

10. Set Up Referral Programs

Reaching new audiences through word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways to build your brand. Other than providing excellent products and services, you can encourage this by creating referral programs. As part of a referral program, encourage your existing customers to refer you to their friends and contacts by offering them a free product, service or subscription in return.

11. Create Your Own Infographics

Infographics are a highly popular, shareable form of content. Create engaging and interesting infographics which feature your brand’s logo and website. Do this well and your infographic will be shared across social media, reaching thousands of users along with your branding.

12. Brand Your Vehicles

If your business has vehicles – cars, delivery vans etc – make sure these are branded with logos and signage. Doing so creates free advertising as the vehicles drive around. Even if you do not have official vehicles, do this with your own car and ask your staff to do the same.

13. Distribute Bumper Stickers

Bumper stickers are a similar concept but on a simpler level. Have colorful, visually appealing bumper stickers made out and distribute them to your customers, visitors, other businesses, and anyone else you can think of! You can apply a similar concept for other types of stickers which people may put on their laptops, water bottles or elsewhere.

14. Create Branded Merchandise

Another way to get the wider population to advertise your business for you is through merchandise which displays your brand’s logo. The possibilities here are practically endless: t-shirts, caps, re-usable water bottles, key-rings, pens: the list goes on. Depending on your business, you may sell this merchandise at a reasonable cost or give them out to customers (or the general public) as a free promotion. This not only makes your brand visible to the person who receives the freebie, but also to anyone else they come into contact with.

15. Don’t Be Afraid To Be Controversial

Although it may not be suitable for every brand, creating controversy can be one of the most effective ways to build brand awareness. Look at Nike’s recent ad campaign featuring controversial athlete Colin Kaepernick. On the one hand, this sparked a raft of negative reactions and even boycotts from one section of the US community, while on the other, the brand has stated the campaign has driven record engagement and leads for the company.

About the author

Tom Buckland is a digital marketing consultant specializing in technical SEO & Amazon Marketing. He’s the founder of HQ SEO in the UK and loves helping businesses profit through smart digital marketing strategies.

Digital Branding Local Branding

In The Eye Of The Beholder

Steven on October 16, 2018

Is there ever a wrong time to take a photo? Every moment in life offers a chance to take an amazing picture. No matter the expression during the snap of a photo, pictures give people a chance to imagine their own storyline. Every feeling gives you a glimpse of a different moment that can be captured.

How can the color of your skin complexion dictate the best lighting choices for beautiful portraits? Various types of positions create different shades of light. Imagine sitting in front of a bay window ten minutes after sunset. Outside, the street lamp light shines into your window brightly. If you position your head right in front of the lamp post light, you could create the illusion of morning dawn during dusk.

Rays of light shining through windows are fun to use with your imagination. They help create silhouettes and sepia-like coloring for your photographs. The look of eyes in a picture carries a fusion of energy cold or warm. Overhead lights in a dark room can help you highlight separate distinctive features from your face.

Creating a picture that revolves around your eyes being the center of attention may not be so difficult to achieve. I would find a pitch dark black room with light shining through the window. Stand in the dark until you can’t be seen then gradually ease your face into the edge of the light, just enough until your eyes show. It might look spooky but now you’ve given life to a dark silhouette of yourself.

During a photography shoot, every picture isn’t meant to be joyful or sad. Some can harbor aggression in your facial expressions to get your point across. Our clothes often capture the mood of some photos in an interesting way. If your wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, this could indicate a warm laid back Saturday morning watching your favorite TV shows. An unbuttoned collar on a dress shirt and tie with rolled up sleeves could indicate days worth of work done.

Pictures definitely rely on your choice of personality. Whenever photography takes place, there are some basic lighting positioning such as key light, backlight, and full light.

Using indoor lighting is cool, but there is something to love about the natural light outside. Natural light gives a sense of fresh energy to the field of captured moments.

Although most picture subjects may absorb the natural light better, natural light can be a little more tricky in developing epic photos. Freelance shots are more ideal for natural light is that the sun may rotate to a different position or clouds may cause unwanted shade at times. Each picture can remain unique by applying the same method of photography.

Using indirect natural light can help achieve some of the most defining pictures during your photo shoot. The terminology used for this style is called front-lit. If you are looking to control the shadows from behind, back-lit might be more situational as it hits your subject from behind.

Epic photos are a gift to share with your loved ones. Potential employers might require your modeling services. Storing the collection of photos you accumulate should be easy for people to access. Look into creating a portfolio of your photos by using portfolio templates. By doing so, you can share your photos with anyone, anytime.

If you find yourself uncomfortable with social media platforms, keeping a flash drive of your work on your key ring leaves you prepared for the unexpected. You never know when someone might say do you have any work I can see. Modeling and photography have complimented each other for ages any many more to come. The two are therapeutic for some and an outlet of expression for others.

Remembering the creative use of camera angles rely on your personality. Each photo you take as a model revolves around the amount of energy you project in your photos. The old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words, rules the world of modeling and photography today. Using body language, eye contact, and different fields of energy, will always help your photogenic expressions.

Digital Branding

SEO and Why It’s Crucial to Take Care of It for Your Business

Steven on October 16, 2018

It has been more than two decades since the term “search engine optimization” (SEO) first got its start that one would expect for it to be as ubiquitous as Google and smartphones by now. Unfortunately, SEO still isn’t that popular – at least not yet. It doesn’t mean, though, that you shouldn’t use it, most especially if you have a business whose lifespan depends on the number of customers buying from you.

If you are not aware of how important SEO is, the following reasons why it’s crucial to take care of SEO for your business should help you educate yourself further about it:

1. Businesses using SEO are more likely to attract potential customers.

Three out of every four Internet users don’t bother checking a search engine’s other pages of search results aside from the first one. That’s why some businesses set aside a specific budget to ensure that everything they do online is in line with SEO best practices. After all, a business that shows up in a search engine’s first page of search results has a higher chance to be checked out by a potential customer than a competitor who’s in the fifth page of the search results.

As you’re running a business yourself, you’ll want to make sure as well that you become included in page one of a search engine’s search results so that you can get potential customers. It shouldn’t be just a one-time thing though. Aim to be in a search engine’s first page of search results as consistently as you can.

2. Businesses using SEO are more likely to attract more substantial revenue.

A spot in a search engine’s first page of search results would most likely attract more potential customers towards your business than if you were in another page. The bad news is that your website’s visitors may check you out but leave without buying anything. The good news is that other potential customers who found you online may purchase something from you, which is a favorable and profitable outcome that you’ll want to experience more often by taking care of your business’s SEO.

3. Businesses using SEO are more likely to become well-known.

Aside from attracting potential customers and profit, running your business with SEO in mind would gain you more publicity than if you didn’t consider using it at all. The average person usually sees websites included in a search engine’s first page of search results as popular and thus trustworthy. No wonder then that several other businesses want a place in page one of a search engine’s search results as they also want to gain the attention and trust of whoever they’re targeting.

SEO has been around for years, but some businesses still don’t know anything about it. Or even if they’re familiar with it, they’re hesitant to try it. As someone who runs a business, you’ll want to get a lot of online traffic, especially as people would most likely find out about you through the Internet rather than through traditional means of advertising. However, having an Internet presence for your business isn’t enough. You should also take care of its SEO as the above-listed discussion presented. If you’ve made it to this last sentence of the article and yet you’re still clueless about it, you should read HigherVisibility’s SEO guide for a clearer idea of its importance for your business.

Digital Branding

How to Do SEO for Your Site with Keyword Research Tools

Steven on October 15, 2018

Search Engine Optimization of a website always centralized around the keyword and has been the important element. Since ages, a lot many changes have made and with this evolutionary component of SEO, choosing the right set of keywords for the content building has become a necessity. You have to make your ways through these keywords in order to increase the rank. You need to start monitoring the progress of site based on keyword precision. As per the expert belief, the usage of keyword has become complicated due to some reasons like:

Now the search query in Google focuses on the semantic part of the content from the user context rather than querying up the word by word typed in information. It has become tough to optimize each and every word of the specific set of keywords.
No proper information can precisely determine the information about the ranking. Google has stopped providing the information, and some third party is now offering information about the rankings.
The rankings have become volatile and are meddling the potential consistency of keywords. Google makes changes due to which there is a constant optimization from the competitor alongside your strategy.

Photo credits: https://pixabay.com/en/seo-sem-marketing-optimization-web-758264/

No matter what, the keywords are still a very important element of the SEO and other marketing strategies. The keywords provide an insight into the user patterns followed for search which helps in guiding the topic and builds the focus on marketing strategy. You can obtain the metrics using tools that can let you know about your website performance. There are many steps by step streamlined way which can tell you how to work on your keyword Research for Search Engine Optimization. You can check keyword inspector.com to find out more. You have to keep in mind about the targeted audience while working on keyword Research using the following tools

SEMRush: This is a paid tool with some limited free options. It is very valuable for conducting Search Engine Optimization of the site which is not only restricted to Keyword. You can get information about the complete site by entering the domain name and also get information about the ranking. If you are planning of outdoing some of your competitors, this information is helpful. If your sole purpose is to work on ranking, then this tool is best.
SpyFu: This tool’s prime focus is on the competition which is needed if you already are a level down from your competitor. Instead of finding the detail about yours, try to find out about competitor domain. By doing so, you can evaluate the focus and strength of your competitor’s keyword relativeness with the content. You will get the understanding of how to choose a keyword for prime target and in the end; you will be winding an excellent strategy for optimizing the site.

Conclusion

It is very important to have a strong SEO for your site and strategy for the keyword order to beat the competition. With the help of tools, you might be able to achieve your goal.