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Digital Branding

7 search engine optimisation best practices in 2019

Whether you’re new to online marketing or a well-seasoned veteran, you know that finding the best SEO strategies can be somewhat overwhelming. Experts are always sharing new tips and tricks that business owners should focus on. Also, Google has 200 factors that they consider when ranking a website and its algorithm is always changing. This is enough to make your head spin.

But what if there was a way that you could ensure that your website achieves high rankings without having to be an SEO guru or a Google developer? Well, there is. Instead of chasing down all of the latest tactics, simply put most of your focus on best practices. Below are 7 search engine optimization best practices that you should follow in 2019.

1. Focus On Speed

There are a lot of things that you can take shortcuts when it comes to SEO. However, speed isn’t one of them. It’s estimated that the average user has an attention span of a goldfish. What this means is that people aren’t willing to wait around for sites to load. The quicker your website loads, the more traffic you can expect.

Ideally, your site should load within less than 3 seconds. So get rid of the elements that slow it down. Deactivate any plugins that you’re not using. Clear away the clutter in your sidebar. Only use widgets when absolutely necessary.

2. Focus On Giving Links

A lot of business owners are afraid to link to relevant sites. They assume that these more authoritative websites will only take away their audience when in actuality, it does just the opposite. You see, whenever you link to a valuable site it makes your site seem more valuable. In fact, people will consider your site to be a resource and will begin to rely on you for quality information.

Perhaps the best part about linking to other websites is that other websites will be willing to link to yours as well. Create content that directs your readers to valuable information. Let the website owner know that you’ve just linked to them. Once they notice that you create helpful content, there’s a good chance that they will share your content with their readers. The key is to only link to quality content.

3. Focus On Getting Links

Not only should you be giving links, but you should be getting them as well. Search engine rankings revolve around inbound links. Whenever you get the right combination of dofollow and nofollow links, your link profile will be natural and Google will reward you for it. As long your content is high in quality, you can expect people to naturally link to your website.

4. Focus On Quality Content

No matter how fast your website is or how many links you build, you’ll never succeed at SEO if you aren’t creating quality content. Unfortunately, a lot of business owners put more focus on the keywords that they use than the actual value of their post. Not only does this hurt their brand, but also their traffic because they often neglect long-tail keywords.

The key to creating content that is well-optimized is to write for humans, not search engines. After all, humans are the ones who buy your products and share your content with their networks, not the search engines. When you’re passionate about your niche, it will be evident in the content.

5. Focus On Unique Meta Descriptions

Typically, meta descriptions are the first thing that people notice when they see your listing in Google. However, they’re often overlooked when it comes to search engine optimization. Even worse, website owners will use the same description for every page. Google hates duplicate descriptions. In fact, it’s a great way to get penalized. So make sure that you take the time to write descriptions that are relevant to that specific page.

6. Focus On Readable URLs

Another factor that’s easy to overlook is the URL. It’s very important that you create URLs that your users can understand. Why is this? Well, if humans can understand them then the search engines can read them as well. Place dashes between each word. Avoid using numbers and other characters. Ideally, there should be no more than 2-4 words.

7. Focus On Image Optimisation

Optimizing your images is just as important as optimizing your textual content. Whenever you include an accurate description of your image in the alt tags, it makes it easier for people to find you in the search engines. Keep in mind that Google has an entire section dedicated entirely to images. This means that a lot of people can find your website this way.

Takeaway

If you’re searching for professional help with your search engine optimisation Brisbane offers an excellent selection of experts. When choosing an agency, make sure that they’re aware of these best practices. Also, make sure that they understand each of their importance.

Digital Branding

How to Choose an Agency for Explainer Videos

Designing an explainer video is wonderful but it’s important to find the right agency too. There are several details to ponder over while choosing between options and that’s where research comes into play. As you sift through the various options, it becomes important to find someone that is legitimate and worthwhile. Here are some of the details to think about as you pour through the different choices.

1) Go Through The Agency’s Portfolio

Kasra Design suggests that the best starting point is to sit down with an agency and go through their portfolio. This should include examples of explainer videos they’ve put together in the past. Most agencies are upfront about their work and will list everything on their main website. Go through this and take the time to speak with one of their representatives to learn more about what they have to offer for your industry. This is going to allow you to gain a stronger understanding of their work processes and what makes them unique. By doing this, you’ll be well on your way to finding someone that is good at creating explainer videos and knows how to customize everything.

You have to think about several details while watching their example videos. You want to think about transitions, voiceovers, sound effects, and scripting to see what works and what doesn’t. This is where the best agencies stand out most.

2) Assess The Agency’s Reputation

It’s okay to be impressed by the agency’s portfolio but that’s just a starting point. You have to focus on their reputation as a business. This is where research becomes essential as you go through the different options. Take the time to read through potential reviews to see what clients have to say about the agency. In this day and age, you can also take the opportunity to look at their LinkedIn page for more on how they work and who they’re connected to in the industry. This is a wonderful way to ask for opinions from others that are in touch with the agency.

3) Look at Your Budgetary Needs

Some video agencies are world-class but they may be out of your budgetary range. The price is going to matter and you want to make sure it’s a legitimate expense that’s okay for your expenses. If you are close enough, it’s okay to negotiate and try to bring the price down a bit. The right video agency will be more than happy to grab a new client at a cheaper rate. The best way to determine this is to mention price as soon as you are impressed to gauge what they are willing to do for you. Always come to the table with a budget while asking these questions.

4) Check Their Processes

The best video agency is going to have a clear-cut process when it comes to producing explainer videos. They will treat it as art and make sure everything is customized based on what’s required including animations, voiceovers, storyboarding, and soundtracks. Each agency is unique with how it does this but they need to have some type of process in place while speaking to you. This showcases they are the real deal and are going to plan everything in detail for your case. You never want to go into a process where the agency wings it. They should have a detailed process in place to make sure you are a happy client with a good explainer video.

5) Focus on Their Narrative

Explainer videos are all about the underlying narrative. You have to focus on what the explainer video is saying just as much. While the soundtracks, transitions, graphics, and voiceovers are nice, it’s essential to have a proper narrative in place. This is what a great agency can bring to the table. They are going to build a proper story and make sure the explainer video seals the deal in leaving a good first impression. This is how you start to create value.

A good example of this would be Hubspot and its explainer video. They make sure to list the main issue and touch various points a customer will relate to before introducing their product. This illustrates they understand what’s required and their product is the solution.

6) Emphasize Friendliness

A lot of clients ignore this detail even though it’s essential. You want someone that is easy to work with and is friendly. Dealing with hostile video agencies is bad for business and isn’t worth it. You should like speaking to them and picking up your phone to call them.  If they aren’t easy to deal with then you shouldn’t go with the agency. There are too many options and you should be able to go with someone that is the real deal. They should match with your approach to business as that is when the explainer video will work out.

7) Look at their Willingness to Communicate

If an agency doesn’t pick up the phone right away, they may not be a good fit. You want someone willing to take calls as a partner. It shouldn’t feel like a hassle to reach out to them. It should be as easy as calling your family. This is when you know the agency is on your side and will deliver results.

Digital Branding

Key Tips on Creating an Ecommerce Marketing Strategy

Ecommerce is one of the most revolutionary transformations ushered on the internet. It has streamlined the virtual exchange of goods and services across different industries globally. Because of its capacity to streamline business processes, many established and budding entrepreneurs have shifted the majority of their transactions online.

However, given the volume of ecommerce websites in the market today, it’s crucial for you to develop an effective marketing strategy to stay top-of-mind with both existing and prospective clients. If designed correctly and with the help of the right ecommerce marketing agency, such an initiative will help you optimize your advertising and sales process.

In this article, let’s learn surefire tips on creating a marketing strategy for your ecommerce business.

Sign Up for a Google+ MyBusiness Profile

One of the primary ways to establish a web presence for your ecommerce business is Google’s My Business Profile. It’s the internet giant’s free web platform that streamlines the dissemination of information between business owners and their customers. It provides an outline of your business right when people are searching for you on Search or Maps. Among the critical information your customers can access instantly are the product’s price, reviews, and location if you have a brick-and-mortar counterpart for your online business.

Google prioritizes listings uploaded on Google+ My Business Pages in local searches. Thus, optimizing your profile will help boost your local search results ranking.

Here are other vital ways of how this platform can help you enhance your marketing strategy:

  • Having a Google+ My Business Profile increases your chances of getting into Google’s most sought-after local three-pack. These are the search results that appear even before the organic results, thus increasing web clicks for your business.
  • Aside from having a fuss-free platform on top of your website, you also get to enjoy creating content in the form of texts, photos, and videos. It also has an Insights feature that’ll allow you to track your customers’ essential site activities, such as inquiries, calls, or web visits.
  • Since Google runs multiple verification steps before allowing businesses to get listed for local searches, potential customers can make sure that your company is trustworthy.

Educate Customers with Useful Blog Content

Content is king when it comes to ecommerce marketing. However, in a data-saturated marketplace, you need to ensure that the content you put out adds value to the lives of your potential and existing customers.

With thousands of blog posts being published and circulated online daily, how do you intend to win the hearts of your target audience?

  • Showcase your expertise in the industry by creating content that’ll help your audience make informed decisions. Remember to write for humans and not merely for keyword ranking.

For example, if you’re running a clothing website, outline tips that’ll help users find the right fit and style for their budget. Don’t make it sound like your shoving down the products you sell to your customers’ throats. Ensure that your brand voice remains friendly and reliable, not intrusive. You can also publish easy-to-follow hacks that’ll guide your customers, or inspire them to produce some organic user-generated content.

  • Play with relevant visuals. Given a person’s diminishing online attention span, it’s essential to capture your audience’s attention through compelling visuals. Whether you’re into B2B (Business-to-Business) or B2C (Business-to-Customer) business, you can bank on appealing and useful infographics to simplify complex topics relevant to your brand. With the right ratio of text, image, or moving graphics, you can establish brand authority across different market segments.
  • Remember to write blogs with high EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). These three principles are significant benchmarks by Google’s content raters, as indicated in their Quality Rater’s Guidelines.

Reach Out to Relevant Online Influencers

Suppose you already have the right product and service, a functioning website, and a smooth distribution channel. How can you then outshine competitors who promise the same marketing offerings as you?

  • Although in-house content marketing for your ecommerce business is a good step towards attracting quality leads, it’s also essential to enhance your content distribution channel to achieve maximum exposure.
  • Today, people hold in high regard online influencers’ reviews on specific products and services before making a purchase. Many people, especially the millennial market, find their candid first-hand experience reliable and value-rich as opposed to the outbound content most brands distribute.
  • With the level of influence these so-called “everyday experts” have over your potential buyers, it’ll undoubtedly play to your advantage if you consider tapping them to create and publish content for your product or service.
  • Look for online influencers that’ll best represent your brand. As a rule of thumb, remember not to rely on the number of their following alone. Instead, choose an influencer that you think will generate quality engagement for your product or service.

In a Nutshell

When finding ways to create an ecommerce marketing strategy, remember not just to sell but add value to your customers’ overall experience. Kick-start your campaigns with concrete, realistic, and measurable marketing plans today. Define your goals and develop tactics that’ll help you achieve it!

Local Branding

Why Finding A Full-Time Job Can Be So Difficult?

Photo by Alejandro Escamilla on Unsplash

The times are changing. It’s now becoming much more difficult to find a job, especially a full-time one. In fact, a study conducted last year showed that 50% of Australians aged between 15 and 25 years were not working full-time, and it’s taking around five years for students to find work following the completion of their studies. What’s strange about these statistics is that this generation is often considered the most educated, with more than 60% holding post-school qualifications. So why is it so difficult? 

Promotion from within

For many businesses, promoting from within is often much more attractive than hiring external candidates. The biggest reason for this is that the business knows more about the employee as a worker, and the employee already has an understanding of the business culture and processes. This means they can spend less time on training if they hire from within. However, often this means there are only junior-level jobs available, some of which many job seekers will be overqualified for.

Issues with resumes

Companies and job websites generally use tracking systems that only forward on resumes that include certain keywords. 75% of resumes are actually rejected purely on this basis, meaning they’re never even seen by the hiring company. This means that following this process, only a handful will be brought in for an interview.

 

On top of this, many job seekers are relying on outdated resumes. Employers want something that stands out from the crowd and showcases the potential value of the employee to the company, regardless if he or she bought a professional resume.

Tight selection criteria

Many companies are also becoming overly selective. Just a few decades ago, companies would hire candidates with the assumption that they would stay with the business for life and therefore would be happy to invest, both financially and educationally, in a junior candidate. However, now employees often flit from job to job throughout their career. Consequently, companies are less willing to invest the time or money into training or upskilling and are instead looking for immediate value for their business from highly skilled and qualified individuals.

Related: Glassdoor Alternatives to Find Jobs

Lack of vocational and practical experience

In a recent survey of 14,000 people aged between 15 and 25 years old, about three quarters of respondents said they didn’t believe they had the relevant practical work experience required for certain advertised job. The problem here though is that practical experience is often prioritized over educational qualifications; it becomes a chicken and egg scenario. An applicant’s educational requirements are meeting the job description but their practical experience is not. However, how are they actually going to get the practical experience if no one will hire them? 

Are there even enough jobs?

Another reason why people are questioning their ability to get hired full-time is simply a supply and demand issue. Are there enough jobs for the number of applicants? This is greatly affecting new graduates especially, perhaps because it has been shown that there has been a decline in the level of employment of new graduates. On top of this, more and more people are completing tertiary studies, meaning it’s possible that the market is flooded with junior-level job seekers.

Alongside this comes competition. While previously graduates and junior-level job seekers were competing against only one or two years of tertiary leavers, now they’re competing against several years’ worth.

 

On top of this, many employers are actually looking to fill part-time, contract, or even freelance positions, rather than offer full-time employment. “Full-time work is often difficult to find in certain industries where it is more attractive to employ part-timers. Employers are looking for innovative ways to reduce costs and make it easier to dismiss employees,” says David Alexander, Director of Student Services at The International Career Institute

Recent years have seen a substantial rise in the numbers of older workers in Australia and globally. For example, the number of over 65s in employment in Australia has more than tripled. There has been a similar increase in over 65s in employment in the UK. Since employers must abide by age discrimination laws, it means increased competition for roles.

Tips and tricks

Of course, there are several things you can do to land that dream full-time job you’re seeking.

  1. First develop a solid job search plan including target industry, timelines, and expectations.
  2. Second, look at your resume and skillset from a manager or HR perspective. This doesn’t mean you should put skills on your resume you think they’re looking for or answering questions in the way you believe they want. It means looking at your strengths and weaknesses against the job description. What can you bring to the job that no one else can? Remember, you’re more likely to be hired if you can add value to the organization.
  3. Be persistent. Just because you don’t get the first job or even the sixth job doesn’t mean you won’t find anything. Job searches take time and some employers take weeks to fill a position. This is frustrating, but patience pays off.
  4. Revisit your resume and cover letter. Don’t send the same cover letter to each job application, and adjust your resume when necessary. Different employers from some of the best rental businesses for example will be looking for different things, so tailor your cover letter and resume to the unique opportunity.
  5. Check your digital footprint. In this day and age, our social media profiles, even if set on private, can be accessed to some degree. Make sure your digital footprint is clean and accurate. Do a search online for your full name to see whether you have been tagged by another company or friends in images. If they’re inappropriate, you can request to take them down.
  6. Get your foot in the door. Even a small job can make a world of difference. It may take time to build up to your dream job, so don’t expect it right out of the university gates. Remember, the first-ever female commander and pilot of a Space Shuttle, Eileen Collins, began her career as a part-time math teacher.
  7. Seek remote employment. If you live in an affordable city like Minneapolis, don’t be afraid to cross state lines when looking for jobs; remote work is out there if you search hard enough for it!

Finding any kind of employment can be tough, and finding a full-time job can be even tougher. The freelance economy is upon us and for the first time, less than 50% of employed Australians are in permanent full-time jobs. However, if you do want to secure full-time employment, there are still ways to get there. It’s just about being patient, creative and persistent.

Digital Branding

Essential KPIs that Matter to Savvy Social Media Managers

This post is contributed by Olu Bunmi.

 

Social media managers must master and monitor certain essential key performance indicators (KPIs) for more effective social media management, which encompasses the process of strategizing, creating, and managing content and interactions across social networks.

Doing this per network can be time-consuming and confusing without measurable KPIs, and given several such indicators, social media managers must decide which ones align most with their business goals. This would inform what strategy, approach, and platforms will be most effective.

In this post, we’ll be highlighting seven (7) such social media KPIs that should inform your social media marketing strategy and help you improve productivity, results, and ROI for your business ASAP, but first

https://pixabay.com/photos/twitter-facebook-together-292988/

What is Social Media KPIs?

Social media KPIs are social media metrics that measure the performance of your social media activities. Some of these are vanity metrics that do not really impact your bottom line but are measured simply because they’re measurable.

Recently, Instagram announced it will be hiding the number of likes from the public in selected countries as a test case. The aim is to get users to focus more on engagement than the number of likes. If your entire Instagram marketing revolves around a number of likes, for instance, you may need to start considering other ways to get more Instagram followers to grow your business for social commerce purposes.

This brings us to

The Evolution of Social Commerce

In the early 90’s, retail websites were like mere online product brochures with limited accessibiility and functionality, cahracterized by poor UI and UX. The term ‘Social Commerce’ was coined in 2005.

These days, social commerce has evolved and improved and  differs from social media marketing. As a social media manager, understanding this difference will most likely be the difference between just promoting brand visibility and actually making sales.

Creating online brand awareness with the aim of creating visibility and driving traffic to your social media page is social media marketing. This does not guarantee sales, even though it promotes sales. Direct sales resulting from social media marketing is social commerce because at this point, you can measure ROI.

Social Media Marketing by the Numbers

Statista reports that social media global penetration rate is now 45%. Meaning nearly half the world’s population or 3.48billion people are on social media, growing the worldwide total by 288 million (9%) since this time last year.

  • As of Q4 2018, Facebook had 2.32 billion monthly active users.
  • As at April 2019, Instagram had over 1billion monthly active users.
  • Youtube currently has 1.9 billion monthly logged in users

This shows how social media is shrinking global space and creating opportunities for large scale commerce for businesses.

Furthermore,

  • 95% of young adults between the ages of 18-34 are most likely to follow a brand on social media
  • Currently, there are over 60 million businesses using Facebook Pages
  • 6 million of these businesses use Facebook Ads.
  • 78% of people who complain to a brand via Twitter always expect and receive a response within an hour.
  • On Instagram, top brands get to see a per-follower engagement rate of 4.21% which is 58 times higher than on Facebook and 120 times higher than on Twitter.
  • 90% of Instagram users are less than 35 years old, making it the best social media platform to target millenials, etc

Why Businesses Need a Social Media Strategy in Place

Without a social media strategy in place you’d be beating about the social media bush. As more businesses go online, your competition increases as evident in the foregoing statistics. To stay ahead of the game, you will need an effective social media marketing strategy that will boost visibility, sales and customer satisfaction.

To implement your social media strategy, you’ll need a platform.

Here’s how to pick the right social network for your kind of business:

  • Identify your audience and their favorite social networks with the highest engagement. You can identify your targeted audience by studying their demography, which includes their age range, gender, income and social trends that interest them.
  • Identify the resources needed for a successful social marketing plan, bearing in mind that each social media platform is unique. This will ensure that your business goals and network align.

Next step is to find a good social media manager who can help coordinate and implement your social media strategy.

Following are seven (7) key areas to judge your social media manager’s performance

7 Essential KPIs For Savvy Social Media Managers

Measurable metrics generally vary per network, some are similar. Following are 7 key social media KPIs you should watch:

  1. Audience Growth Rate

This indicates how fast your brand is growing. This can be tracked by identifying the number of new followers for the month divided by the number of your total audience. If you’re currently focusing on Instagram, here’re smart ways to get more Instagram followers.

  1. Click Through Rate

The number of clicks on links you post show how eye catching the title and images in your posts are. This typically shows if it got the attention of your audience. You can calculate this by dividing the number of link clicks you have by the number of people who have seen the post.

  1. Likes

This also shows how interesting your content was, and it helps in favoring your page visibility for platform algorithms. Instagram is currently experimenting with hiding likes from the public to encourage more engagement.

  1. Shares

Shares indicate that your posts are interesting enough to warrant recommendation, and this can be used to measure your virality rate by dividing the number of people who shared your post by the number of people who saw it. This also shows your amplification rate. Also note the number of mentions you get, for virality.

  1. Comments

Note that relevant content sparks conversations and engagement is one of the top areas you should pay attention to on social media. Engagement is often evident in the comment section. Authentic engagement means you’re doing a lot of things right.

  1. Reviews/Feedbacks

Customer testimonials help to build trust and credibility for your brand. You can also measure this by creating a survey to evaluate customer satisfaction with your products or services.

  1. Impressions/Profile Visits

Although not every social network displays the number of new people who visit your profile, most do, and this will tell you how well all other factors above have influenced people who heard of, or came across your brand to check it out. It shows you your reach.

Conclusion

As a social media manager, the success or failure of your social media strategy or campaigns largely depend on you. Knowing what to and how to measure this success or failure rate (progress) is key. Let us know which social media metrics or KPI matter most to you.

 

Author Bio:

Olu Bunmi is a freelance writer who loves to write business, ecommerce, entrepreneurship and social media content.

Digital Branding

The Most Efficient Ways to Make Money on Instagram

A lot of people are discovering the benefits of working on the internet. It would seem like being stuck in a dead-end job from 9 to 5 is not that appealing anymore. But you know what does sound attractive? Mastering Instagram and making it the sole source of income.

There are definitely more than one way on how to monetize Instagram, and if you are looking to get started yourself, this article is the perfect place to find some inspiration.

Start with Building an Audience

Before moving on to the methods, it is important to note one thing – your monetization will not come to fruition if you do not have enough followers and decent engagement. Instagram is all about those two.

Building account takes time, but that is not enough. You will also have to:

  • Optimize your profile by adding contact information in your bio. Consider including a couple of keywords and hashtags as well. It becomes much easier to find you on Instagram.
  • Keep to your schedule. If there are one or two days of no posts, that is not a big problem. Nevertheless, you should still try to post at least once or twice every day.
  • Quality images. Visuals play a very important part of Instagram. If your images are not looking great, you will lose credibility, especially in the long run. Get a camera if your smartphone is not good enough.

Your account will grow faster if you follow these tips. And once you have a hefty number of followers, you can move on to the monetization.

https://unsplash.com/photos/tMI2_-r5Nfo

Writing a Blog

Not a conventional method, but quite a few bloggers have moved on from a standard website blogging to Instagram. This behavior suggests that finding an audience here is easier. Even more so if you prefer to show off pictures instead of writing walls of text. 

Monetizing a blog is pretty easy as well. You can promote other people’s products by mentioning them in your posts, or redirect your readers to an online store.

Influencing

Top influencers make thousands of dollars by posting a simple picture with themselves and a product.

Becoming an influencer is a lot of work, but not out of your reach. If you have a decent strategy and are willing to work towards this goal, it should become a reality sooner or later.

Dropshipping

Similar to blogging, a lot of entrepreneurs are finding Instagram to be another great channel of increasing sales. Since the audience which comes from organic traffic and social media is different, it is not that surprising to see such a behavior.

It does not mean that you need to have a website to start dropshipping. Instagram by itself is more than enough. Just make sure to not run out of content to post.

Affiliate Marketing

Putting shortened links in your posts and bio can bring money if you can convince your followers to click the link and make a purchase.

Affiliate marketing is different from influencing because your goal is to make a sale rather than try and raise brand awareness. Therefore, the words you use in posts will also change. Read this guide on affiliate marketing to make the most out of it.

Grow and Sell Accounts 

After you get more experience with growing Instagram accounts, you can easily make a business out of it. A lot of people have no patience themselves and are looking to cut corners.

The internet is full of people who are willing to buy an account which already has thousands of followers. Try researching which niches are high in demand, and build a few accounts for sale.

Instagram Marketing

All those Instagram models in pictures are definitely not the ones who write the posts or edit videos. There is someone else behind it, and if you can learn Instagram marketing, that person could be you.

Showcase Your Products

There should be plenty of individuals who would be happy to purchase your products if you have a talent for creating something unique. A few of the most popular ideas would be:

  • High-quality pictures which could be used for promotional posters;
  • Handmade accessories or jewelry;
  • Custom-made phone cases, t-shirts, calendars.

Even a single post with something truly spectacular could create a snowball effect and give you more than enough customers for the future.

In summary, Instagram certainly creates more than enough opportunities for those who are willing to give it a try. Instead of hesitating, put these doubts aside and start. Even if you set extremely low expectations at first, you can build on from that to a point where making money becomes the easiest thing ever.

Digital Branding

The Most Effective Digital Marketing Firm Strategy

You can find hundreds of digital marketing strategies online. But choosing the most effective digital marketing firm strategy is quite a tough job. To compete with your competitors, you need to adopt the right marketing strategies. Here in this article, we are going to share a list of some effective digital marketing strategies.

1. Search engine optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a key role in digital marketing. It’s always recommended to hire a professional for SEO to help your business prosper. Make sure your web pages are on the format of HTTPs to get better SEO results.

2. Content marketing

Content marketing can help attract the target audience. All you need is to make your content unique, consistent, valuable, and relevant to make it worth reading. Make sure your content provides a solution for pain points and remain evergreen. For optimum working of content marketing, try to concentrate on mobile content, influencer marketing, and native advertising. You can also use marketing automation tools to send content on your target audience mobile phones at the right time.

3. Responsive web design

These days, there has been a trend to reach customers by mobile. So, you need to make your website mobile-friendly and that can be possible through responsive web design. With the help of responsive web design, you can make your business successful as customers can easily browse your website on their mobile phone. Here you can benefit from Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) code to fast load your mobile pages. Google gives preference to websites that use AMP, therefore, it is worth using it.

4. Social media marketing

It is another effective digital marketing firm strategy. All you need is to post your content on social media to help attract the maximum number of customers. You can use automation tools to post content on social media when your target audience is reading. Also, you can hire influencers to post content on your behalf on trendy social media sites.

5. Email marketing

You might have done some email marketing but are you sure it’s effective in reaching your target audience at the right time? No doubt, email marketing is a great digital marketing strategy to generate more leads, higher sales, and better conversion rates. If you don’t want to spend on digital marketing, then email marketing is the right choice for you.

6. Remarketing

If in case your potential customers have not responded to your website banner ads, then approach them once more with marketing content. Just track those visitors through new ads and cookies. Find their pain points and then target them with the new ads. It would not be wrong to say that remarketing can keep you more engaged with potential customers. Plus, it also helps in brand awareness, increased conversions, and more sales.

Whom to trust for your digital marketing strategy?

OnecoreMedia is an experienced firm that has specialists for digital marketing campaigns. This company is well aware of the latest trends in digital marketing and can help generate more leads for your business.

Digital Branding

5 Reasons Why SEO Is The Most Powerful B2B Strategy of 2019

Over the course of the last two decades, digital marketing in the world of B2B sales have exploded.

Now, it’s almost impossible to run a successful business if you don’t have a basic understanding of digital marketing and the most effective strategies within it.

In such a fast moving, largely digital industry, staying on top of the best strategies to use isn’t always easy.

There are new tips, tricks and innovative ideas that are tested on the market every year, and others that disappear just as quickly as they arrived.

However, one strategy that has stood the test of time and proved to be a powerful strategy for B2B marketers everywhere is search engine optimization. 

This strategy involves optimizing web pages using a number of different methods to make sure you rank high in search engine results for specific keywords. 

Most marketers have heard of this strategy, but the reality is that it takes hard work to implement and see the results you’re looking for (aka, it does NOT happen overnight).

With that being said, we definitely think it’s worth the time to invest in SEO, which is why we’re naming it the most powerful strategy for B2B businesses in 2019.

Here is everything you need to know about how re reached this conclusion, and why you should implement SEO for your B2B business today. 

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Search Engines Bring The Most Organic Traffic To Websites

One of the most powerful tools in B2B marketing is online traffic to your web property. The more qualified traffic you have, the more successful your marketing efforts will be. 

Some B2B businesses have found success on social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, but it’s absolutely essential that most of your attention is focused on SEO.

In fact, SEO is a key strategy for most successful marketers because it allows you to drive organic traffic directly to your website. 

You might not think this is a big deal, but when you consider that there were over 63000 searches per second on any given day in 2018, it’s something you need to take advantage of. 

Using researched keywords, both longtail and short phrases, can prove invaluable in the world of online digital marketing. 

SEO Provides Targeted Traffic 

You shouldn’t be focusing on SEO just because it brings organic traffic to your website. 

SEO is also great for B2B companies because the traffic you receive will be targeted, with your web pages being found by those genuinely interested in your industry, products or services. 

Obviously with so many searches being made every second, there may be some curious website visitors, but the vast majority will be visiting your website because they want to learn more about what you’re talking about. 

This is extremely important to consider when, according to Moz, the average search session lasts less than a minute, giving you a minute amount of time to catch the attention of your target audience.

SEO In B2B Marketing Can Profit From Low Volume Keywords

One of the ways SEO is powerful to B2B marketing efforts in particular is that it allows you to profit from low volume keywords.

This is different from B2C companies, where competing for high volume keywords is the main goal, and one that even many B2B companies needlessly chase.

Instead of doing this, stop fighting things and go for the more specialized keywords. You need to find out what your audience are really searching for.

Having this information will allow you to provide real value towards those that need them, even when you aren’t appearing in the best search results.

Better yet, with less competition, it’s far easier to appear at the top of search results, which is always a bonus. 

It Has A Long Term ROI 

Digital Authority Partners explains that the priority of B2B companies should lie with the ROI a specific product, tool or service can bring to an organization. 

The good news is that SEO can provide extremely high ROI, in the long term as well as the short term.

This is because the weeks and months of effort you put into practicing SEO will build up your authority with search engines, allowing you to gain more traction as time goes on.

In fact, using SEO is far more successful than other advertisements, with Website Magazine suggesting that SEO brings in 6 times the number of leads that SEM does. 

If you continue to update your content over time to make sure it relates to the keywords you are using and is still the most informative thing in your industry, you are likely to reap even more ROI benefits.

This is because your article will remain high up in the search results for longer periods of time, and you will be labeled as a front-runner in your industry in the eyes of search engines like Google. 

Gives You Access To A Larger Market 

SEO definitely isn’t the only way to gain access to a larger market if you’re operating within the B2B market.

Things like social media are also used by a number of businesses throughout the world, and can go some way into helping you gain networking connections.

With that being said, many social media websites have restrictions that mean they don’t work in certain countries.

One such instance of this is China, which has a booming B2B market but no access to many traditional social media websites used in the western world.

Despite this, they account for 3.6% of Google visitors, making them one of the top visitors from across the globe. 

By using SEO to target these B2B customers, you are giving your business the best possible chance of getting in front of some of the biggest markets in the world. 

Summary

If you’re looking for a B2B marketing strategy that will provide you with instant results, SEO may not be the right option for you.

Given the patience and nurturing this strategy needs, however, SEO could land yourself with significant conversions that continue bringing you results for a long time after you’ve optimized a webpage. 

Considering B2B businesses are all about calculating the best ROI possible, we definitely recommend giving this a go and seeing if you can make it work for you today. 

 

This article is contributed by Codrin Arsene @ Digital Authority Partners

Digital Branding

What Makes a Great Magento Extension?

Magento is one of the best e-commerce platforms on the market. Most of its extensions provide flexibility and complete control in the checkout process with its unique and user-friendly features. There are plenty of Magento extensions available in the store, some of which are free and come with numerous benefits. A great Magento extension can provide you with an attractive and robust ecommerce business that puts yourself ahead of your competitors.

The problem with most e-commerce platforms is that most of the work needs to be done on your own. Oftentimes, you need to hire developers to do the work for you. But Magento extensions come with a wide variety of benefits that can make a dramatic difference on your website. What makes a Magento extension great is that it improves the look and feel of your website so you don’t waste time or money on improving it. Here are some key benefits of using a Magento extension.

Save Time

One advantage of using Magento extensions is that it reduces the time it takes to learn how to code. You don’t have to become an expert in coding or developing to use Magento. Most Magento extensions come with easy to understand instructions for installation and use. Some even come with expanded features that are automatically integrated into your website. After installing the extensions, you can immediately take advantage of the features and reap the benefits

Save Money

Great Magento extensions also reduces the time it takes to design and develop your website. There’s no need to hire a web design agency or a website designer. It eliminates the need for hiring outside help. Thanks to Magento extensions, you can improve the website on your own with limited costs.

Increases Competition

Great Magento extensions are the best way to stand out among your competition. It’ll provide you the competitive edge you need when you’re starting out in your business. You don’t need to hire developers since Magento developers work on these extensions themselves. This allows your e-commerce store to become the best in your industry.

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Provides More Shopping Experiences

Online shopping has increased in popularity and shows no signs of slowing down. It’s now convenient, easy, and quick thanks to the functions included the Magento extensions on your website. Your customers will have an easier time shopping thanks to the updated features the time it takes to check out. For example, the shipping suite gives you complete control over delivery rates and shipping methods. You can use the shipping suite extension to set rules to your shipping conditions.

Increases Interest and Sales

Magento extensions allow you to create a customized store that matches your ecommerce business requirements. It also provides more functionality than other e-commerce platforms. You have complete control over every aspect of your website. Magento extensions are developed and added to the store to meet the specific needs of the e-commerce store owner. Aside from helping you build a beautiful and functional website, sales will increase as a result.

Faster Load Times

You’ll experience faster load times the very moment that you use a Magento extension. That means your online store will be able to handle 10 million views in less than an hour. This is a result of faster processing of caching, querying, and reindexing, a strategic process in which Magento ensures that your inventory, product data, and URLs are updated with thse attributes.

This feature is more beneficial in Magento 2 and will have little impact on the overall performance of your online store. This new version of Magento also includes a recent version of PHP to improve the caching process and increase load times. These new Magento extensions have made Magento 2 more flexible and powerful than its predecessors. You’ll get to experiment with a wide variety of database systems, including Postgress, a system that’s popular with e-commerce website developers.

Better Mobile Shopping

As an e-commerce store owner, you know how important mobile shopping is. Nearly 50% of online transactions have been made through smartphones or tablets. Most of these enhancements from your Magento extensions can improve the mobile shopping experience. These extensions can also turn your online store into a mobile-responsive online store.

Most of these online shoppers love to use the search option. Searching has made it possible for customers to find the products they’re looking for. Combined with the increased speed and load times, the conversion rates will improve significantly with Magento extensions. Since Google measures the performance of your online store on mobile devices before using the desktop, it’s imperative to use Magento extensions that focus on mobile improvements.

Improved Testing Capabilities

You’ll also experience improved testing capabilities with these Magento extensions. On the previous platform, testing for bugs was a difficult process. It’s important for e-commerce store owners to embrace the wide variety of extensions and modules that can reduce these risks. This is especially the case for online stores that don’t have a large amount of traffic.

This makes testing an important factor for Magento extensions. It’s now easier than ever with the Magento 2 platform. You can immediately find out if an extension or its features would clash with your existing website. Some even include a built-in framework that runs automatic tests on any website, regardless of your customer base.

In recent years, recent customer trends have improved Magento extensions. Some of the best Magento extensions come with features such as increased efficiency, mobile responsiveness, and a streamlined checkout process. Any of the Magento extensions are ideal for e-commerce store owners who want to ensure that the checkout process is fast and efficient.

Digital BrandingPersonal Branding

Which “90’s” branding methods had a huge comeback in recent years?

They say that fashion always comes back – but only after 20 have passed. Nowadays, we are experiencing a comeback of the ’80s and ’90s in fashion, movies, TV series, and music. A music genre called synthwave emerged in the 2010s, while movies like Kung Fury and The Pursuit of Happyness dominate movie festivals around the globe. Stranger Things, a TV series running on Netflix, also pays homage to the ‘80s pop culture, with several themes inspired by Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter.

The same can be said about branding. Nostalgia has its place in branding, and can even further improve your efforts down the road. In this post, we will explore some of the best comeback methods in branding that stand available even for your small business.

Promotional Products

Promotional products were all the hype in the ’90s (especially in politics), and although they have lost some of their glory, that doesn’t mean they still can’t be crucial to your branding success. Most promotional products recipients can remember the name of the advertiser on the product and commonly do business with them, and rarely who doesn’t like receiving them.

Always popular promotional items are even available online and can be imprinted with your company’s name, logo, or message designed to increase brand awareness among your target audience. As one of the only forms of marketing that enable customers to interact with a brand on a physical level, promotional items often build a more memorable brand experience.

Coca-Cola’s Website – Now and Then

The company’s first website was launched in April 1995 and Coca-Cola even saved a screengrab of its black-and-white homepage that featured a Coke bottle going into space under the text “The Galaxy of Cola-Cola”. The website also had a featured link to click on the business’s shareholders’ report.

Nowadays, their site is more closely aligned with the brand’s focus on happiness, using the brand’s signature red in its menu bar and a tagline spelling – Open Happiness. The brand also uses a “Share a Coke” site, where you can customize your own bottle. In a modern world, where 75% of online consumers want personalized branding based on their interests, Coke is building a trend here. The company also has a separate consumer site from its corporate website that features information and articles for investors.

Converse – the Old School Way

In 1932, Converse signed basketball star Charles Hollis (“Chuck”) Taylor to help advertise the All-Star and through it, “delivered” their iconic nickname – the Chuck Taylor. They quickly became the most popular sneakers in the league. However, in the ‘80s, the competition, namely Adidas, Nike, Reebok, and Puma, became fiercer. Go to 1998, and you’ll find that Converse only claimed 2.3 percent of the market.

In the end, Nike bought the company in 2003. But this wasn’t the end of the Converse brand. Under new management, Converse went in a new direction by embracing their “old-school” style, which was liked by generations of rebellious rockers over the years. As an element of their brand overhaul, the company produced special Ramones and Curt Cobain editions of their Chuck Taylors.

Neon Signs in Advertising

Even though some might say they fell out of favor, neon signs are an excellent way of promoting your business in today’s competitive market. They’re ideal for situations where a business wants to start slowly and small and are particularly popular with restaurants, retail storefronts, and pharmaceutical stores. The signs can either communicate information with urgency or style and range from simple signs to complex art installation forms.

For starters, neon signs are highly durable and will last for a long time – their life expectancy is 10 years. Especially at night, neon lights can be very appealing to those passing by. If they’re used at the entrance of the business, most people will be captivated by their lights and possibly get lured in.

Branding, just like fashion, needs to follow real movements on the market and should follow them until it starts to create trends of their own. Therefore, there are no “passé” instances in branding – the only thing that matters is what works at this moment for product placement and selling. Following trends is a double-edged sword, but you can still cut your competition with it.