Exploring Your Digital Marketing Options

Exploring Your Digital Marketing Options

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

The time has come for you to start advertising online, but you’re not sure where to start. You have so many options available to you that it seems almost impossible to know which one is best for you. Exploring those options and conducting your own research is the key to unlocking the full potential on the digital marketing world and allowing your business to fully prosper online. So, let’s take a look at some of the options available to you as you start your campaign. 

Firstly, we are going to discuss social media. If there was ever an example of too many options when it comes to online marketing, then this is the one. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Instagram and so on. There are so many social media websites that knowing where to start is going to be nigh on impossible without doing your research and understanding the USP of each one. 

For example, younger users use Twitter to access their news while older internet users are the driving force behind Facebook’s continued growth. Understanding your own abilities is going to be key with social media as well. If you don’t know how to create video content, why would you spend time on a YouTube channel now? When you’re starting a digital plan, you want to make sure that you’re targeting what is useful for you.

 

Moving away from social media and looking at the alternatives. Search engines and email marketing are two tried and tested ways of advertising directly to your target market. For starters, you should be exploring Search Engine Optimisation. This is the art of improving your website’s online visibility so that it yields better responses in unpaid searches. This is a good way of saving some money on paid marketing while also getting your website up to speed. 

Email marketing should be familiar to anyone who has shopped somewhere in the last ten years. Targeted campaigns will be sent to your customer’s inbox and you base that on their shopping habits or to encourage repeat business. Getting the timing and content of these emails right is vital to their success because the last thing you want is for it to look like junk mail and be discarded without consideration. 

The options available to you might seem too many to comprehend and actually make you struggle on where to start. That is why there are companies out there with the aim to help you with your decision making. Comparison websites like Growth Supermarket, for example, look at all the digital marketing opportunities available to you so that you can make an informed decision. After all, information is crucial to getting the most out of your advertising budget. 

Looking into your options can seem a little daunting when you first embark on a digital marketing campaign, but it doesn’t have to be. Research will get you where you need to be with a little bit of trial and error to carry you over the line.

7 Ways to Prepare Your Online Business for the Holidays

7 Ways to Prepare Your Online Business for the Holidays

by | Blog

While it can certainly be confusing why some businesses appear to skip Thanksgiving and go straight into Christmas preparations, there seems to be a good reason for this. Preparing your business for the upcoming holidays is a time-intensive task, and since Christmas is one of the biggest holidays out of the entire year, it makes sense to start these preparations as soon as possible and get a lot of your strategies underway. Some would even argue that it’s a little late to begin your holiday prep, but on the other hand, any holiday prep is beneficial and it’s best to start as soon as you can. While starting today might be considered late by some, it’s still plenty of time to do some great work.

7 Ways to Prepare Your Online Business for the Holidays!

Obviously there are many ways you can prepare your online business for the upcoming holidays, so be sure to spend some deliberate time brainstorming and creating strategies specific to your unique niche, brand, and market. You’re sure to come up with some remarkable ideas that could specifically benefit you and your customers. However, if you’re needing inspiration or lacking some creative juices, check out these ideas:

  1. Offer a holiday discount. Specific holiday-themed discounts can help you get your products or services in front of people already looking to spend money. This is also a great way to get current customers talking to friends and family who have been looking for the things you provide. If your business is selling products but you don’t wish to discount your merchandise, then an excellent discount to offer is free-shipping, or even a discounted next-day-delivery price. People love to avoid shipping costs, so seeing a “free shipping” discount is a really great way to get them to buy from your online store.
  2. Write a festive newsletter. This can be used to bring your customers up to date on current offers, products, services, or more during the holiday time period. This is one of the best ways to reach past customers without a huge amount of effort or money. Newsletters can easily be themed for a holiday, and making sure it looks clean and professional is a great way to get customers to purchase from you.
  3. Write a holiday-themed blog post. Not all of us are writers, but even making an attempt at engaging with your customers can help you exponentially. You could write about practically anything during the holidays, such as your current holiday offers, a list of great present ideas (that include your products or services!), what’s going on at your business during the holidays, or anything else that you think your specific customers and audience will find interesting or beneficial. When writing a blog post, however, always keep in mind the promotions you are trying to offer this holiday season and do your best to make sure your posts are SEO friendly to help drive the right traffic.
  4. Use your social media properly. Your business should always have an active and relevant social media presence, but during the holiday season it is crucial to keep your content relevant in order to get the results you want. There are different ways to use social media depending on what platform you have. Twitter, for instance, is an excellent way to keep your customers up-to-date on latest offers or upcoming events. Facebook is great for actually scheduling events, offering information, and making networking connections. Instagram is perfect if you’re looking to showcase seasonal images of your products, brand, or services. Understanding your social media platform of choice is the best way to use it properly throughout the holidays.
  5. If you have the option, offer to gift-wrap before shipping. It’s possible that this idea won’t apply to your specific business, but if there is any way you can include this option during the holiday season then you should do it. Gift wrapping is festive, exciting, and helpful, so not only is it fun for your customers to receive pre-wrapped presents, but it’s possible that they’re terrible at wrapping presents and want someone else to do it for them anyway! This will also interest the people who are far too busy to gift wrap all of their presents themselves and will greatly appreciate some help.
  6. Do a holiday redesign. Update your social media profile and background photos to holiday-themed pictures. Add holiday banners to your website. Utilize a temporary logo-update that includes holiday themes. Not only will this be a fun change for a little while, but the people visiting your site, social media, sales page, and more will be impressed by your organization and likely be encouraged to purchase from you.
  7. Don’t forget about New Year. New Year’s is right around the corner and there will be a lot of resolutions kicking in along with January 1st. Consider how you can make your business better for the year, but also how you can make it more serviceable and beneficial to your current and potential customers

Remember to sign up for my VIP list where you’ll get access to my Black Friday offer one day before everyone else! Click Here now to sign up!

Have a great day!!

Robyn Bennett

3 Quick Web Traffic Boosters

3 Quick Web Traffic Boosters

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

If the numbers to your website have been declining lately, you need to come up with a plan to get them back on track. It is, after all, going to affect the amount of customers your business is attracting as well, and your marketing efforts will definitely suffer if your website is suffering.

Start by having a look at the clever tips below in order to boost your website traffic and increase your sales numbers. It’s not necessarily going to happen overnight but at least you’ll have a battle plan ready and a strategy in order to fix the issue that is putting you behind. 

Here is a handful of ways to increase the traffic to your website and get back on track as soon as possible. 

#1 Work your social media profiles 

The great thing about social media is that it is basically free marketing. You get to build up a network of customers as well as an audience that may potentially become a customer – all you need to do is to keep them engaged and active. 

A quiet and empty social media profile isn’t going to do this for you, though, so it’s better to have a plan in order to make the most out of your profile. Create snappy blog content which you can refer to through your social media profile, engage with your audience in their discussions, and stand ready to answer all of their questions. 

You never know if you should start a conversation about something important that engages your audience or if it should bring you a lot of traffic straight to your website. No matter what, the efforts you put into it will certainly be worth it. Plus, it’s going to boost that Google seo significantly when you have a lot of references to your site across the web. 

#2 Work with other bloggers 

The blogging community is tight-knit and tends to help each other out. If you don’t have a blog for your business yet, you need to get this right away, by the way, so that it can get started on bringing in a bit more traffic as soon as possible. 

One of the best ways to increase those numbers is to make sure that people are referring to your site in their own content. This is a give and take situation, though, and if they’re going to put your name in their blog posts, you need to offer them something in return. 

#3 Work on a video blog 

If you’re feeling brave, you might want to consider creating a few videos as well as a regular blog. These tend to bring in a lot of views and people will be a lot more engaged when they have a face to associate with your business – plus, you can post your videos on those social media accounts and bring the numbers even further up. 

While getting the traffic you need to your website is hard work, there are so many ways to do it. Try these out or get in touch with a professional to take care of it for you.

6 Tips For Effective Holiday Marketing!

6 Tips For Effective Holiday Marketing!

by | Blog, Branding, Marketing

The Holidays are practically here! While for many that means Christmas shopping, Thanksgiving meals, and delicious hot cocoa, you still have a business to run. That means that this holiday season consists of more than good food and cool decorations. You have to stay ahead of the game this season, not only keeping your business in front of your customers but doing it in a way that’s appropriate to the season.

Don’t worry, even if you’re just now getting around to holiday marketing, there’s still so much you can do to greatly improve your business sales! Check out these 6 Holiday Marketing Tips to maximize your reach, your profits, and your productivity this holiday season.

6 Tips for Effective Holiday Marketing

#1 Start planning your holiday marketing campaigns as early as possible.

While many recommend that you begin your holiday marketing plans in July, right now it’s November so you don’t exactly have the ability to go back in time. But that in no way means you shouldn’t still plan for holiday campaigns! You should get on it as soon as possible, start creating some killer campaigns that you can complete in the time you have, and then follow through.

#2 Don’t just sell your products; sell your brand.

People know when someone is trying to sell them a product. It’s annoying, pushy, and let’s be honest: there are many products similar to that one, so maybe stop putting all of your efforts into making your product sound so life-changing. You can try to also market your brand. What makes it different? What makes it stand out from your competition? Why are you the best choice? Why would someone care about it this holiday season?

#3 Repetition

Repetition might sound annoying to you, but it sells, so market often. This means sending multiple emails, directing mailers or holiday cards announcing your sales, talking to people about your brand, checking up on old leads, and more. There is an old advertising rule that says repetition is the key to success, so be sure that your repetition is valuable and then go market that thing. Who doesn’t want to hear about Christmas sales more than once?

#4 Create Limited-Time, Short-Term Offers

Create some limited-time offers in order to incentivize your customers to buy now and not wait until later. You have to provide something that people want to buy, but you also have to give them a reason to buy it. While a lot of shopping happens out of necessity or convenience, especially during the holidays, you can help increase your sales by creating a sense of urgency. Limited-time offers should be your friend.

#5 Focus On Your Target Market

Define your niche, identify your target market, and then sell to it, even throughout the holidays. Many businesses fail by trying to sell to anyone and everyone when the sad reality is that not everyone wants what you sell. You should concentrate on marketing your niche products specifically to a highly targeted audience rather than to an unknown abyss of everyone. Learn how to segment your audience, learn about your audience, and sell to them how they want to be sold to. This will save you time, effort, disappointment, and probably money.

#6 Host An Event

If you’re trying to get more customers through your door, then host a holiday season event. This could be a tree-lighting ceremony with free hot chocolate and a visit from Santa Clause, or a stocking-stuffing party with candy and crafts, or really anything else that will interest your audience.

Bonus: Budget-Friendly Holiday Marketing Tips

If you’re trying to minimize your holiday budget, try techniques to encourage multiple sales at once:

  • Customer loyalty cards
  • Referral cards for discounts
  • Family-and-friend coupons
  • Add-on product options at checkout

You can also try partnering with businesses in your community to help boost sales since they’re likely to be seeking ways to increase their profits as well! Try things like cross-promoting, referral agreements, product-sharing, or more!

Have a great week!

Robyn Bennett

 

PS: I want to offer you a chance to jump on the VIP waitlist and be among the FIRST to access my Black Friday offer before I launch it. Click here to get on the VIP waitlist today: Being on the VIP list means you will get access to the details on my Black Friday special offer before everyone else!

The Essential Gadgetry That Every Business Needs

The Essential Gadgetry That Every Business Needs

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

As a new startup, you’d be forgiven for becoming overawed by the amount of hardware, software, gizmos and gadgetry on the market professing to make your business life easier. The market for technology in the business world has become saturated with pretty mundane kit. However, look through the mediocre tech, and you can find some worthwhile equipment and hardware that can be worth your while investing in. While you might not have the biggest budget in the world because you are just starting out and you want to preserve your cash flow, you could seek ex-display models of hardware or second hand reconditioned software. Take a look at this essential gadgetry that every business needs.

Laptops 

It goes without saying that every startup needs a decent laptop or two. Even if you work from home and you are a sole trader, you need a bit of kit that has enough storage for your needs, has sound Wi-Fi capability and will provide you with the graphics and sound that you require. If you are a graphic designer or work within the photography realm, an Apple MacBook or a Google Pixelbook may suit your requirements. The screens are vibrant and bright, and you can utilize your screen as a drawing board with add-on pens. 

If you need nothing more than a bit of kit to check emails, organize meetings, set up appointments and do the odd bit of web development and social media management, something a little less extravagant will suffice, like a trusty Dell or HP. These are stalwarts of the laptop world and for good reason.

Payroll Software 

The most tedious aspect of any entrepreneur’s working life is the afternoon spent glued to a screen and a calculator working out payroll. The numbers need crunching, but it doesn’t have to be you that does it. Plenty of software is now available that will work out your payroll at the click of a mouse. You no longer have to worry about working out tax implications, pension contributions or even issuing payslips. A payroll software package is money well spent as your time is then freed up to be spent on more pressing areas of your business vision.

Protection Of Your Assets 

While you will have a firewall present on your network and untold layers of encryption on your sensitive files, you also need to employ this approach toward your premises. At the very least, you need a security camera system to monitor your leased office or warehouse. Small businesses can find it nearly impossible to recover if mammoth amounts of stock are stolen. Protect your business with a system that is hooked up to local law enforcement and allows you to monitor the cameras from your own home. The chances are that the cameras will act as enough of a deterrent so no theft is ever attempted and it will give you ultimate peace of mind that your hardware or product is safe and secure. 

Businesses struggle to get by in the twenty first century without the implementation of technology. Do your research and ensure that you are spending your money wisely on the right bits of kit.

You’ve Gotta Love Technology!

You’ve Gotta Love Technology!

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

You really have got to love technology. Our world revolves around it, so if you’re one of these people who really is anti-technology, then think about what you’re missing out on. There definitely is a race between some of the biggest tech giants at the minute, which is why we believe there has been such an advancement in the way we use technology, and the technology that’s being rolled out of the production line. Can we always afford the biggest and the best technology? No, we can’t. We have to say, if there’s one thing not to love about technology, it’s the price that comes with it. But, for the most part, our love for technology will just keep on growing! If you don’t feel like you have a love kind of relationship with technology, let us try and fix that for you!

It’s Our Closest Friend 

If you think about it, technology follows us around everywhere. Out of everyone, it will know the most about us, without us even realizing it. Especially mobile phones. They’re now being designed as to literally understand you. To know what you want, what you might want to look at, and what you’ve been up to. Plus, think about how much we rely on our phones and TV’s, probably more than we would rely on our actual friends. Tech is there for us when no one else is, and is on call 24/7 at the ready! Is this always a good thing? Well, that’s up to you to decide. It’s important not to be too reliant on it, which is why an AI detector could be a good idea to make sure your business isn’t using too much tech and losing the human touch. It has been said that technology knows a little too much about this, and it’s one of the reasons how supposedly the higher forces of the world are watching us. No, we’re not talking about the government. Some say they know too much about us, and the reason why they do is through technology.

It Fuels Our Businesses 

The world of business is essential to our daily lives, even if we don’t realize it. The many people who are setting out on the quest to become a business owner every day are the reason why our world is so advanced today. Technology definitely does rule the business world, which is why there are so many backups in place for when things do go wrong. For example, repairing your barcode scanner, repairing computers, repairing servers etc. is now just so easy. There is literally a business for everything when it comes to repair, so a business is always going to be afloat on the technology front.

It’s Just So Funky! 

The way that technology is evolving is great. It’s so funky, interesting, and just great to use. From a young age, children are now being made accustom to technology, and that means that growing up with it ensures it is a way of life, rather than something we just rely on. Designs are getting sleeker, the abilities they have are growing, and the way in which we rely on them is changing. If you don’t love technology purely for the fact that it can just be so funky, then you’re not using technology right!