The holiday season isn’t just a time for festive cheer; it’s also a crucial period for businesses to boost their sales. With the right holiday marketing strategies, you can tap into the spirit of giving and make this time of year incredibly profitable.
In this article, we’ll explore effective tactics and campaigns specifically designed for the holiday season, ensuring your business survives and thrives during this joyful time.
Understanding the Holiday Market
Before diving into holiday marketing strategies, it’s essential to understand the market dynamics during this season.
First and foremost, let’s talk numbers. Holiday sales have consistently been a substantial portion of annual revenues for businesses across industries.
One of the defining aspects of the holiday season is gift-giving. Consumers are actively seeking gift ideas and meaningful presents. They’re also looking for decorations, festive outfits, and more. As a business owner, this data should serve as a compelling reason to gear up for the holiday rush.
Competition is fierce during this busy shopping season. Everyone is vying for the attention of holiday shoppers, which means your marketing efforts must be compelling and strategic. Standing out in this crowded landscape requires a well-thought-out approach.
Build a Festive Brand Identity
Creating a festive brand identity during the holiday season is akin to dressing up your storefront with twinkling lights and holiday decorations. It’s about making your brand resonate with the spirit of the season and connecting with your audience on a more emotional level.
Start by infusing holiday elements into your brand’s visual identity. This could involve incorporating festive colors like red, green, and gold into your logo or website design.
Consider subtle changes, like adding a Santa hat to your logo or creating holiday-themed banners for your website. These minor adjustments signal your customers that you’re embracing the holiday spirit.
Craft Compelling Content
In the world of holiday marketing, content is your secret sauce. It allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper, emotional level.
During the festive season, people are not just looking for products; they are seeking experiences and connections. Crafting compelling content is the key to delivering just that.
Visual content, such as images and videos, takes center stage during the holidays. Invest in high-quality visuals that showcase your products or services in a holiday context. Whether it’s a festive-themed photo shoot, a video showcasing gift ideas, or visually stunning social media posts, make sure your visuals are aesthetically pleasing and tell a compelling story.
Leverage Social Media
Social media is your holiday marketing powerhouse. It’s where you can directly engage with your audience, create buzz, and drive traffic to your online and physical stores.
Plan a content calendar tailored to the holidays, featuring eye-catching visuals, heartwarming stories, and irresistible offers. Remember to use holiday-themed hashtags and encourage user-generated content to boost engagement.
Stay on top of trending holiday hashtags and incorporate them into your posts. This helps your content reach a broader audience interested in holiday-related topics.
Running Holiday-Specific Promotions
Holiday shoppers love a good deal. Well-crafted promotions attract customers and encourage repeat business and brand loyalty. Consider running promotions such as discounts, buy-one-get-one offers, or gift cards.
Timing and duration are crucial. Start your promotions early enough to capture early bird shoppers, but also consider extending them to cater to last-minute buyers. Limited-time offers create a sense of urgency and excitement, prompting immediate action.
Maximizing Website and Mobile Experience
Your website and mobile presence are often the first points of contact between your business and potential customers.
Speed matters, especially during the holiday rush. Slow-loading pages can drive potential customers away. Optimize your website’s loading times by compressing images, minifying code, and leveraging browser caching.
Streamline the checkout process to reduce cart abandonment. Implement features like guest checkout, one-click purchasing, and progress indicators to guide customers through the steps. Additionally, consider offering multiple payment options to accommodate various preferences.
Remember, a well-optimized website is your digital storefront, and first impressions matter.
Tracking and Analyzing Performance
Track and analyze your campaign performance to determine whether or not your holiday marketing strategies are working.
Use key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rates, click-through rates, and sales metrics to measure success. Utilize analytics tools to gain valuable insights.
After the holiday season concludes, conduct a comprehensive post-campaign analysis. Evaluate the overall success of your strategies, what worked exceptionally well, and areas that may need improvement.
Post-Holiday Engagement and Retention
Don’t let your customer relationships fade once the holidays are over. Engage with your customers post-holiday by sending follow-up emails, surveys, and exclusive offers. Focus on turning holiday shoppers into loyal, year-round customers.
Final thoughts
The holiday season is a prime time for businesses to shine. By implementing these holiday marketing strategies, you can maximize your sales and create a memorable customer experience.
Remember, planning and preparation are crucial to holiday marketing success. Start early, stay creative, and spread the holiday cheer through effective digital and social media marketing.
Ready to supercharge your holiday marketing? Start planning your strategies now and make this festive season your most successful one yet. If you need expert guidance, feel free to book a free consultation with us.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Holiday-Marketing-Strategies-How-to-Maximize-Sales-During-the-Festive-Season..png12602240Kathlyn Angeleshttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngKathlyn Angeles2023-09-27 10:17:512023-09-21 15:54:19Holiday Marketing Strategies: How to Maximize Sales During the Festive Season
A good email starts with a subject line that captures the recipient’s attention. It has to be engaging and interesting enough to give people a reason to open and read your email. But let’s face it. Writing a catchy, powerful subject line isn’t easy. Some don’t even give it much thought. If this is you, then you’re making a big mistake.
It doesn’t really matter how valuable your message is. If your emails aren’t getting opened, then they’re not getting read.
The chances of your emails being ignored are pretty high unless you have a powerful subject line. Use these tips to get your emails opened, read, and, and clicked.
Keep them short
Today, more and more people are checking their emails on their smartphones. What most people fail to realize is that only 30 characters of an email’s subject line are shown on a mobile phone. To avoid getting your subject lines truncated, we recommend keeping them short.
In today’s busy world, you want to make sure that your subject line conveys your message succinctly but clearly. Get right to the point in about six to eight words. Aim for no more than 50 characters or so, as longer subject lines may get cut off on some devices.
Come to think of it. What good is your subject line if recipients can’t even read them?
Communicate urgency
Everyone feels a certain level of FOMO in their lives. Studies suggest that people are more likely to respond to the possibility of missing out than gaining something. Use it to your advantage by applying it to your subject lines.
Consider using action phrases that convey a sense of urgency, so that people will act quickly. Instead of saying, “We have a special offer for you”, use action-oriented language to create a sense of urgency and motivate recipients to open the email.
You can say something like, “Offer expires in X days”. Don’t be afraid to make the turnaround as short as 24 hours. Setting a deadline creates a sense of urgency that encourages the recipient to prioritize your email.
Tell them what’s inside
What is the purpose of sending the email? Is it to promote an upcoming event? Are you delivering an ebook you promised a visitor? Maybe you just want to share some tips or advice with your subscribers? Whatever the reason is, be very clear about the value of your email and what it means for your subscribers.
Make it clear that there is something valuable waiting inside the email. Use your subject line as a teaser.
Use language that implies exclusivity
People love being included in something exclusive. Using phrases such as “exclusive offer” or “members only” can entice them to sit up and really pay attention.
Use the principle of exclusivity to make readers feel special. Instead of saying “Please take part in our survey”, try saying “You have been selected to take part in our survey”. This suggests that they have been personally chosen and that their response truly matters.
Avoid using words that trigger spam filters
You may not be sending spam on purpose, but if you use certain words on your email, they are likely to be picked up by spam filters.
The last thing you want is for your emails to land straight in the recipient’s SPAM inbox. In some cases, people report an e-mail as spam based on their subject line alone. That’s why you should be careful when choosing the words you use in your email’s subject line.
Avoid using words such as free, no hidden costs, act now, 100% free, % off, $, guarantee. To make it easier, you can refer to Hubspot’s Ultimate List of Email SPAM Trigger Words.
Create some sense of mystery
Some subject lines work because they pique the recipient’s natural curiosity and interest. They know they will benefit from opening the email. But have you tried adding mystery to your email subject lines?
Mystery email subject lines create a bit of intrigue and playfulness. They’ll pique your subscribers’ interest, they’ll have no choice but to open and read the email. It might be just the creative tactic you need to cut through the noise.
Bonus tip: Test and analyze
Don’t be afraid to test different subject lines to see what works best. Analyze your open rates and adjust your approach as needed to continually improve your email marketing strategy.
Final thoughts
Crafting an email subject line is an essential part of any email marketing strategy. By following the tips outlined above, you can ensure that your emails are getting into the inboxes of your target audience and increase engagement.
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In the past, only big businesses benefited from mobile apps. The rising cost of custom app developers made it impossible for small business owners to develop one. But thanks to app development software tools, small businesses are starting to enter the mobile app realm. This allowed business owners with no coding experience to develop an app for their business.
Does your business have a mobile app? If you don’t, now would be the perfect time to build one.
Here are 4 ways your business can benefit from having a mobile app.
Connect better with customers
People always seem to be busy and on the go. They’re going to the office, on their way to a meeting, hitting the gym, or meeting with a friend. When they’re outside, they don’t have access to a computer. But they always have their smartphone within reach.
Having a responsive website is great. Here, they’ll be able to find great products and buy them. However, it may not enable the two-way communication that the app boasts off.
A mobile app provides a direct channel of communication between you and your customers. It allows you to send push notifications directly to your customers’ phones. These notifications can be used to promote new products or services, announce sales or discounts, or share other important information about your business.
This two-way communication is key to building strong relationships with your customers and fostering trust.
Build a stronger brand
Mobile apps bring a lot of information about your products and services to your clients. It improves your mobile presence and exposes your business to a wider audience. Your company logo and slogan will always be visible to users whenever they use their smartphone.
Today, only 55% of businesses have a mobile app. If you don’t already have one, we urge you to develop one now. It will enhance brand recognition and make you stand out from the competition. By the time your competitors realize the importance of having one, you have already grabbed almost the entire market share.
Fast, seamless appointment scheduling
In today’s business world, time is money. People prefer convenience. According to a recent survey conducted by OpenMarket, millennials would rather send a message or an email than make a call.
One of the most beneficial features of mobile apps is the ability to schedule appointments quickly and easily. With a few clicks, clients can choose the date, time, and type of appointment they need. This convenience means that business owners can fill their appointment books more quickly and with less hassle. Additionally, mobile apps often allow business owners to send reminders to clients before their appointments, ensuring that appointments are kept and further reducing the chance for scheduling conflicts. In today’s fast-paced world, mobile apps that allow for easy appointment scheduling are a valuable asset for business owners.
Increase sales
Today, more and more prefer online shopping over conventional shopping. After all, it’s easier and more convenient. Having an app makes it easier for consumers shop whenever they want, wherever they are.
You may have a website where customers can check your newest products and services, but having a mobile app increases customer satisfaction. Remember, 70% of buying experiences are influenced by how customers feel they’re being treated. The more you provide value to your customers, the more they become interested with your products and services. This leads to more sales and bigger profits.
Final thoughts
As you can see, there are many benefits of having a mobile app for your business. If you don’t already have one, now is the time to consider developing one for your business. With a well-designed and user-friendly app, you can increase brand awareness, build customer loyalty, generate more sales, and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/4-Ways-Your-Business-Can-Benefit-From-Having-a-Mobile-App.png12602240Caitlin McDonaldhttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngCaitlin McDonald2022-11-23 10:27:012022-11-18 09:42:394 Ways Your Business Can Benefit From Having a Mobile App
I’m sure many of you already listen to podcasts daily or weekly. Some people listen to podcasts to make long commutes more bearable. Others see it as a way to stimulate their brain while waiting to see their doctor or motivate them while working out.
Podcasts are engaging, full of information, and convenient for listeners. That’s why podcasts have grown in popularity over the years. And the trend isn’t showing any signs of slowing down any time soon. In fact, studies suggest that 80 million Americans listen to podcasts every week. Even better, 26% of them are college graduates with a higher income bracket.
If you’re looking for a way to capture your audience’s attention, build brand awareness, and add value to your listener base, you might consider hopping on the podcast train.
Here are six tips for starting a business podcast.
Create an ideal listener avatar
For most people, the goal of starting a podcast is to spark conversation about a topic you’re passionate about. It would be impossible to do that if you have no idea who you’re trying to reach.
Now, sit down and imagine what your ideal listener looks like. Be as detailed as possible. List important details such as age, interests, level of education, passion, etc.
This simple exercise will help you decide what topics to cover on your podcasts and ensure they are tailored to your audience. Remember, your listeners need to gain something from each episode.
Choose a name
Now that you’ve identified your audience and probably have some ideas about the topics you’d focus on, it’s time to name your podcast.
The name you choose should give some indication of what your podcast is about. Now, consider the topics you’ll cover for your episodes and use them as a guide in naming your podcast.
Your podcast name should be catchy, concise, and enticing enough to capture your audience’s attention. Try to keep it as short as possible. Why? Because it’s easier to remember and say out loud.
Set up your equipment
You don’t need a professional studio with fancy equipment to start a podcast. All you need is a laptop, a microphone, headphones, and recording software.
For instance, a poor-quality mic will produce poor audio that will make your podcast seem amateurish. So if you’re serious about podcasting and have the budget, we highly recommend investing in your equipment. A condenser microphone and a pop filter can make a huge difference.
Invite guests to your podcast
Let’s face it. It isn’t easy to convince people to listen to your podcast, especially when you’re just starting out. So how do you make it easier? By inviting guests and interviewing them. If possible, get on their programs too.
This is a great way to market yourself and your podcast, attract listeners, and make waves within your industry.
When choosing guests for your podcast, find someone who already has a solid following and has the same listener avatar as you. If they liked your episode, they would likely come back for more. Now, the only thing you’ll need to do is to keep talking about a topic you’re passionate about and share your knowledge with your listeners.
Build a backlog of episodes
Some listeners aren’t convinced to subscribe after listening to just one episode. But some people would consume several episodes in one afternoon. That said, it is best to have at least three episodes in your backlog before you launch.
We understand that developing ideas for your podcast episodes can be challenging. But the last thing you want is to launch your first episode and then have no plan for the succeeding episodes.
Without new episodes to explore, listeners are less likely to be invested in your podcast and will probably forget about you.
Promote your podcast
You’ve already spent time listing topics and recording and editing your podcast, so why not repurpose your content and share them across multiple social media platforms?
Remember, though, that people expect different types of content for each platform. So make sure that you customize your content for each platform. For instance, if you record a video while podcasting, you can share it on Youtube. Or you can cut it into clips and share it on Facebook.
You can also reach out to other podcasters and ask to set up a cross-promotion. Or you can pitch yourself as a guest on their podcast.
Final thoughts
If you’ve been thinking of starting a podcast for some time now, we encourage you to create one today.
Incorporating podcasts into your digital marketing strategy will help you cultivate a community of loyal listeners and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
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Most business owners think it’s impossible to generate sales without paid advertisements. This is why we often see startups spending a considerable chunk of their budget on ads.
But let’s face it. Small businesses don’t have a limitless marketing budget. In most cases, they need to think creatively to boost their sales. Increasing your sales with a limited marketing budget can be challenging, but it’s not impossible.
In this blog post, we’ll share five ways to pump up your sales without increasing your marketing budget. The best part? They can help you build a stronger relationship with your audience.
Leverage the power of social media
While not everyone on social media is interested to make a purchase, it’s one of the most cost-effective marketing channels. It gives you the chance to promote your products and get in front of your audience with very minimal effort.
When used correctly, it can help you generate more leads, build a relationship with your audience, and get them to buy your products later on. Plus, social media platforms have analytics, which allows you to monitor and track results.
Consistency is the key to social media success. Your audience value a steady presence, so make sure you post consistently. You don’t need necessarily need to post every day. If you can only post two to three times a week, then that’s fine. What’s important is that you stick to your posting schedule.
Keep your audience engaged with video marketing
Videos are one of the most popular choices for content consumption today. Believe it or not, videos can help you generate more sales. In fact, 80% of marketers claimed that video content helped them directly increase sales, and it can help you too.
One of the reasons why videos increase sales is because they tell your story more emotionally and dramatically as compared to photos and plain text.
People are more likely to share the video with their family and friends if they are interesting, informative, and entertaining. This helps you reach a massive audience. Even better, 84% of consumers say they’re convinced to buy a product after watching a brand’s video.
Nurture leads with email marketing
Email marketing may look complicated and intimidating if you haven’t done it before. But it’s not as complex as it seems. Plus, it’s a great way to build a relationship with your audience and turn them into brand enthusiasts.
You see, not all customers who visit your products will buy from you. Some are just looking. Others would actually add products to their cart and then abandon their carts for some reason. In fact, studies suggest that 7 out of 10 customers abandon their carts. It doesn’t matter how good your products are; this happens most of the time.
One of the most effective ways to turn prospects into customers is by nurturing them. You can educate them about your products. Let them know when you’re running a promotion. The goal is to establish trust and convince them to buy from you.
Another way to recover lost sales is by sending abandoned cart emails. It’s a follow-up email that is sent to customers who left your site without purchasing. The goal is to encourage customers to complete their purchases.
Generate leads with a strong SEO strategy
To boost sales, you need to have a strong digital presence. SEO is a great place to start.
Studies suggest that 89% of customers start their buying process with a quick Google search. They look up reviews for products they’re interested in. Or search for the best restaurants near their home.
SEO can help improve your online visibility and drive more traffic to your website, giving you more opportunities to convert leads into customers.
Implement a customer loyalty program
Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in converting leads to customers that you fail to realize that your best customers are right in front of you.
Existing customers are 67% more likely to purchase your products than new customers. Why? Because they already know how good your products are, how fast your delivery time is, and most importantly, they know that they can trust you. This is why it’s essential to maintain a relationship with your existing customers.
Loyalty programs play a huge role in retaining customers. They work because they make your customers feel more valued and appreciated.
It makes them more likely to choose you over the competition, which leads to repeat purchases, referrals, and more profits.
Final thoughts
There is no denying that it’s possible to boost your sales with a tight marketing budget. Sure, you can focus on social media marketing, publish SEO-optimized content, or publish video content every week. All these can help you gain more exposure and eventually turn prospects into paying customers. However, relying solely on free marketing strategies will require a lot of time and effort on your part.
If you want quicker results, it is be best to re-invest a portion of your profits into your marketing and advertising budget. It will save you valuable time and provide a more scalable way for your company’s growth.
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Social media remains to be one of the best ways to reach out and engage with your audience. You already know who your target market is and social media platform they’re using. Now, you just have to come up with interesting posts that can get their attention and join on the conversation.
Here are 6 social media content ideas for boosting engagement on your social media pages.
Video content
People love video content. In fact, videos get more shares than photos or plain text contents. It’s no surprise why Tiktok rose to popularity over the last few year.
Go ahead and try to be as creative as you can with your videos. You can share behind the scenes videos, do a product demo, create how-to videos, or host an AMA. The possibilities are endless.
Ask questions
Questions are a fun way to get to know your followers. Plus, it gives you a better understanding of what they want.
You can ask random questions about your industry just to get the conversation started. Or you can ask for your audience’s opinions about your products or services.
While asking questions is a powerful strategy, be sure to use it sparingly.
Fill-in-the-blanks
Fill-in-the-blanks posts is another fun way to get comments and responses from your audience.
Get creative with it, and see what you can come up with. Make sure, thought, that it’s something easy to answer. You can ask about random stuff or get people talking about your brand.
Here’s an example:
Fill in the blank: My favorite thing about [BRAND] is ________.
Trending topics
One of the easiest ways to boost your engagement rate is to post about trending topics. People are already talking about it, so try to join in on the conversation. While this can be a great strategy, be sure to only post about topics that are relevant to your niche.
Tease a new product
Everyone loves being the first to see new products. If you’re planning to launch a new product, try to consistently give your audience sneak peek of the product. Not only can it help generate buzz around the launch, but it also helps boost engagement.
Challenges
People love a challenge, especially when everyone else is doing it. Today, more and more brands are using challenges to engage with their audience and further grow their community.
Challenge your audience to do things, but make sure it runs for a short period only. 5 to 7-day challenges are ideal. Also, make sure that the challenge is easy enough for participants to complete. After all, the goal is to help them gain quick wins.
Final thoughts
Social media marketing can be challenging. It takes time. It requires a lot of effort. But once you find what works best for your audience, you’ll be able to grow your fanbase and build a relationship with them.
If you need help writing social media posts that will capture the attention of your target audience and boost your engagement rate, we’re here to help. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us and we’ll help you fill your social media content calendar with quality posts.
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Do you read product reviews before you purchase something new? Do you trust customer ratings better than the sales pitch of a seller?
From deciding which smartphone to buy to where to eat and finding a new doctor, at least 93% of people read through reviews before making a decision. The majority of them are interested in knowing what previous customers and clients have to say before making a purchase or booking an appointment.
How Impactful are Customer Reviews?
Customer reviews had become the layperson’s gauge for the trustworthiness of a product, service, or company. According to a Spiegel Medill research, products with reviews are 270% more likely to be bought than unreviewed ones. For more costly items, this probability increases to up to 380%. This simply shows how important and impactful customer reviews are.
Positive reviews can feel like a warm hug that validates the work that you do, but it does way more than that. It can establish your business’ credibility and trustworthiness to the general public. This can directly increase your market and translate to sales. It’s a waste of a free resource if you don’t use customer review in your sales plan.
How can you maximize the power of a review in your everyday marketing? Through what strategy can you use it in boosting your sales?
Let us give you some ideas.
Include them on all the pages of your website
Customer reviews should be on your website’s landing page. This is where you can create conversions and build a customer base. Since the landing page is dedicated for readers to make a transaction, seeing reviews and testimonials on this page can influence their actions.
Beyond the landing page, it will also benefit you to include at least one review or testimonial on each of the pages of your website. This way, no matter what page your readers are on, they are subtly assured of your good reputation with consumers just like them.
Share them on social media
It’s no secret how most of us rely on social media for information. Globally, at least 4 billion of us are on this platform. That’s a massive reach! This then becomes the perfect venue to share your customer reviews.
Reviews on social media are from random people. Your readers perceive them as unbiased. Most people take it as a personal recommendation rather than as a sales pitch. They are more likely to be persuaded by it.
Posting exceptional reviews and those from influencers and celebrities can boost not only your confidence but that of your potential consumers, too. Make use of your social media reach to highlight what others have to say about you.
Include it in your emails
Digital marketers can attest that until now, email marketing is still the most profitable tool out there. It can generate $44 for every $1 spent, so it only makes sense to use it in your marketing strategy.
Including customer reviews in your emails will increase your credibility off-site. Reviews in emails can give recipients an idea of the benefits they can get should they transact business with you. They would want to know more about you, and would thereby generate higher conversion rates.
Incorporate them in your marketing collateral
On a non-digital platform, collaterals continue to be an effective marketing tool. Include snippets and shots of customer reviews on your posters, brochures, and flyers. You may even consider including it in your business card.
This can speak right to potential customers who are already within your vicinity. It increases the chance of an immediate direct response. If not immediately, since you’re targeting customers directly, they can quickly come back and finalize doing business with you.
Highlight it in your advertisements
Research shows that user-generated promotional materials get four times more click-through rates. The reviews you receive are already free user-generated content that the public intuitively trusts. Make the most of it by making it prominent in your video advertisements. Not only is this less costly, but it is also perceived as reliable by many.
Ensure that your business provides spaces for customer reviews, such as in your social media accounts and other reputable crowd-sourced review sites. Once you receive their feedback, you can now use them for purposes that best serve your market.
If you need help with digital marketing, we’re here to help. Book a free 30-minute consultation call with us and we’ll work together in create a marketing strategy that will get people through the door.
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We had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Suzanne, who is a Health & Wellness Coach on a mission to help women thrive in each area of their lives. Jess shares with us the challenges and successes she has had as an online coach, reaching her target market, staying connected, and growing her business.
To learn more about Jess visit her website at https://www.jessica-suzanne.com/
A little bit about Jess
I help ambitious biz babes boost revenue through increased energy, improved cognition, and time-efficient fitness!
You’re probably wondering, why do I care so much about your health… and the health of your business?
Why am I so passionate about creating a healthy lifestyle?
How do I understand your challenges?
Before I really started focusing on my health, I was a scattered hot mess of stress. I was trying to start and run a business, but my tank was running on empty and I just couldn’t catch any momentum.
I lost my mom unexpectedly one year prior, which was undoubtedly the toughest obstacle I’ve ever been faced with.
Not to mention, the transition out of corporate life was turning out to be way more difficult than I thought it would be!
No routine, no structure, no boss telling me what to do, and no real solid direction…
I thought once I got my health coaching certification, I was going to build my program and all the people were going to come running…
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Online-Health-Fitness-Coach-Tips-with-Digital-Marketing.png7201280Amber Irwinhttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngAmber Irwin2020-10-26 07:00:232020-10-26 15:33:25Online Health & Fitness Coach Tips with Digital Marketing
When Instagram was launched in 2010, its primary focus was to feature photos that were specifically taken on mobile devices. The platform quickly became known for selfies and food pictures. Later on, it became a marketing platform for businesses and professionals to tell stories, deliver meaningful messages, and engage with their followers. If you play your cards right, Instagram can help you build a huge and loyal community and eventually grow your brand or business.
Unfortunately, Instagram is not the easiest platform to master. Knowing what mistakes to avoid is important to help you succeed on the platform.
Let’s take a look at six common Instagram mistakes that can keep your brand from growing. If you’ve fallen prey to any of these mistakes, be sure to fix them immediately.
Buying Instragram followers
Building a huge following can be a tedious, time-consuming process. But there’s a shortcut. You can buy instagram followers. Yes, you can instantly grow your followers from 100 to 10,000. It can be tempting, I know, but please resist the urge to do so.
You see, bought Instragram followers are not the same as the followers you genuinely acquire through your posts. Why? Because they have zero interest in you. Some of them aren’t even real people. That means they will not engage with you nor buy your products or use your services. What’s the point of having lots of followers when no one seems to be interested in what you have to offer.
Also, Instagram will purge your account once they spot that you have fake followers. Not only will it be a waste of money, but your fake followers will also be removed from the platform one-by-one.
Using poor quality photos
Most people are drawn to beautiful things. The same principle applies to social media, especially on Instagram. If you want to capture your audience’s attention, make sure that your posts are visually appealing. Remember, Instagram is a visual medium.
You don’t need to invest in a topnotch camera to take great photos. These days, your smartphones can take some pretty incredible shots. For best results, use natural light when taking pictures. If you’re taking pictures inside, take them in front of a window.
Not using Instagram stories
If you’ve only been using Instagram to post photos to your feed, you’re missing out on many valuable features the platform has to offer.
Instagram stories allow you to share “moments” of your day quickly and easily. It enables you to show your fun and creative side without affecting your Instagram feed. It’s a fantastic opportunity to experiment and engage your followers in a unique way. It’s fun, colorful, human, and different.
With Instagram stories, you can post as many photos and videos as you want without annoying your audience.
Focusing on photo quality rather than audience value
While photo and video quality is essential, you should also consider the value of the content you’re publishing.
When Instagram users follow you, that means they’re interested in you. They want to benefit from your content. Create quality content that will provide value to your audience and something to engage with. Share industry news. Ask questions. Use quizzes and polls. Get your audience involved.
Don’t just post for the sake of posting. Give people a reason to start following and keep coming back for more. Take time to create posts that your followers actually care about.
Posting duplicate photos
Instagram users want to be entertained. And users follow you because they want to get to know you better. And one of the best ways to do so is by telling stories, sharing updates about your practice, or your recent offers.
Instagram users will be quick to unfollow you if you’re continually posting duplicate photos and videos. Come to think of it. Why should they bother following you if you’re not sharing anything fresh, new, and exciting?
No link in bio
Traffic is the lifeline of all businesses, be it online or offline. After all, you can’t generate sales when there is no one to sell to.
Your Instagram bio provides a small window of opportunity to tell prospective clients and patients everything they need to know about you and your practice. So make sure you have a link in your bio at all times. Used correctly, it can help drive traffic to your website and convert leads to patients.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Instagram-Mistakes-Blog.png12602240Kathlyn Angeleshttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngKathlyn Angeles2020-09-23 12:42:552023-03-17 12:36:186 Instagram Mistakes That Keep Your Brand from Growing
We have a lot of different digital tools that we use on an everyday basis. And a lot of times we get asked, “How exactly do you use Zoom or how do I convert an image into a PDF? How can I edit a PDF? How can I create custom images?” So there’s a lot of different tools that we have found and that we use on an everyday basis that we’re gonna show you in today’s videos.
Today’s blog discusses some of the digital marketing tools that make your life easier. Read on to find out what these tools are.
When you set up a Zoom account, you will either have the free version or a paid version.
I think the paid version is $15.95 a month. The free version only allows you to have up to 40 minutes per call. For the paid version, I think there is no time limit on how long you can go. There are a little bit more bells and whistles and security to the paid version.
Once you download Zoom, you’re going to have Zoom on your desktop. It’s gonna be a little icon on my desktop that I can go to.
Start a live video
I can schedule a meeting. I can start a live video like this. And so once you open up your Zoom, your face is gonna show up on video if you’re choosing to have that video option. Now, you are then the admin, the operator of your video. On the bottom when you do that, you will see, you’ll have your microphone button where you can mute. It will show a video camera where you can stop and start the video.
Then, you have some buttons in the middle. Security, Participants, if you are wanting to invite people. You can get the invite link from there. You can let people in. So when you had sent out an invite for a Zoom and they click on the link, it’s going to put them into a waiting room until you click approve on that person.
Chat
There’s going to be a Chat option, which is great because that allows you to chat with your participants. If you are doing like a webinar, you’re not gonna use those two options, Participants or Chat, if you’re just doing a video recording such as this.
Share Screen
If you click on to Screen Share, a window will come up on your side that then shares the tabs you have open and you can choose the tab that you want them to see.
So this is great if you’re doing a presentation. You can have a PowerPoint up. You can have Google slides. These are really good for how-to videos and explaining to your audience about something.
Once you’re done sharing, you would just click Stop Share and it’s gonna come back to video mode. That’s why we use Zoom to do a lot of our videos because the quality is great. It allows us to have this face-to-face shot, but then it also allows us to share our screen so we can walk through if we’re talking about Google Analytics or maybe we wanna do a presentation on Facebook ads.
This is great if you are in the health and wellness industry and you wanna do an interview. You can have your participant sign up and they can be side by side on the screen with you. You can do different maybe how-to videos. This is great for cooking.
Record
Then, you’re gonna have a recording option. The one thing I really like about using Zoom is it obviously records the video, but it also records the audio of that. So you can then use that audio for a podcast if you wanted to. So you’re gonna have those recording options. Okay?
Go live on other platforms
Then, there’s gonna be an option where it says, “More.” This is if you want to go live on Facebook, live on Workplace or live on YouTube, which is great options, but you’re not gonna do that if you’re just doing a simple recording for your digital marketing.
You can really get creative with Zoom and how to utilize this for your digital marketing strategy and you will just go over to zoom.us and be able to create your account from there.
If you have questions with Zoom, this is also great if you’re gonna do a free webinar. You can create that webinar and be able to put that landing pitch together of what it is. Each webinar would have a password. Same with your meetings, it’s very secure. I know in the beginning when… Back in March, there was a little skepticism around Zoom and Zoom meetings getting hacked, which did happen, but I do feel that it is still one of the most user-friendly and safest tools out there to get those videos done, to be able to have your TeleVisits, exactly how you can do your telemedicine calls with your patients and really being able to again stay face-to-face with them.
So this is just one of those tools that we get asked a lot, “How do you edit a PDF? How do I write on a PDF? How can I save something as a PDF?” And so this is PDFescape, and this tool is awesome.
This tool is really good if you need to sign a PDF. If you need to upload an image and turn it into a PDF or a presentation, an email, this is great.
How to use PDFescape
You can use the free version, you can just go click on to the Unregistered For Free. You can also pay for the paid version as well, but the free version is great. You can just go on here, choose your image that you want to upload and you want to be changed into a PDF, so you can upload that.
It’s going to upload into here, you can also then add some text to it if you want to add text to it. Let’s say you needed to sign something, there’s a free hand here, you can sign it, and then you can click these green arrows over here that says Save and Download, and that’s going to automatically save this as a PDF document. And so this is great, if you receive a PDF document that you need to fill out, maybe it’s a contract, anything, any document, and it’s not allowing you to write on the PDF, you can upload that PDF document directly into this tool, and then you would just click a text box, highlight where you want it to go and type in your text there, sign in, and then you can save this to your computer and email it back to the person that needs it.
Another digital marketing tool that we use is called Canva, and we talked about this tool a lot. We just did a blog on it, not too long ago, on how to create your custom graphics using Canva. This is probably a tool that I use every single day, multiple times a day because we create all of our social media graphics through here.
New Canva Features
Animated social media tool
Our blog graphics, our YouTube thumbnails, and they have a new animated option that came out, and we talked a little bit about the animated social media tool, which just adds a little bit of flare to your image. It does download as an MP4 file and they’re usually like five seconds long. If you click Play, it just adds a little bit of eye-catching appeal to your image.
Youtube intros
The other thing I want to show you, that they had come out with, is these new YouTube intros. So, Canva pulls royalty-free images, from different sources, like Pexels, or Pixabay, they have their own media library as well, but they also now have a video library, which is really cool.
Most of them are free, some of them are paid. If it does not say “free” in the bottom right-hand corner, then you have to pay for them, and it will tell you how much they are. But you can see that this is just a short little video.
Now, you can come down here, on the left-hand side, where it says “videos” and you can search. So let’s just search “social media” and it’s gonna pull up different videos that are around that topic. And they’re 10 seconds, they’re 27 seconds… So it really depends on what you’re looking for.
And so this makes great little videos for your YouTube, you can also use these for social media, they have the social media size as well. So this is a great way if you wanted to just add a little intro with your company name, your name, and maybe the title of that video right before they watch your video.
So, then let’s take this off, let’s change this to “Social Speak Network,” and I want this to be our font, so I wanna come back over here and use our font, and then I can change our names here. Now, if I don’t like this piece, if this isn’t matching, I can take away that, take away this, and then add a different box that is gonna be a different color. But let’s just say I like this. I can click here to play, and it’s a 10-second video. So, there are thousands of videos to choose from, this is a really cool feature that Canva has to offer.
Get more features with Canva Pro
If you are already on the pro version, which means you pay, I think, $12.95 a month, you get all of these already included in your plan. There are so many different options. It’s just a fun way to spruce up your digital marketing and add that video, that professional feel to it, without having to do the labor behind it. So this is in Canva, in the pro version, but this is just a YouTube thumbnail that you can put in front of your videos.
As I said, you can create these videos for your social media post, your social ads, your blog post, whatever you want to do, they have this video options here for you.
TubeBuddy is an extension that you can download. There is a paid feature to this, which I think we paid annually and it was nothing, it was great. So this is like it says your best friend to the road of success on YouTube. So let’s dive into the backend of our YouTube account.
Optimize your Youtube videos
So you’ll see this TubeBuddy button here. And this allows us to really optimize each of your videos. We’ll just go into one of our videos, how to use Canva. Now what this does is it allows you to create a thumbnail through here if you don’t use Canva. You can create it through TubeBuddy directly through them.
Advanced keyword research
This also allows you to make sure that you’re using the right keywords for your videos. So this will automatically come up with related search terms. So here’s how to use Canva for Instagram, and then you can click onto that, it’s gonna put a check-mark there, so it’s gonna automatically put it into your tags for that video.
So how to use Canva for a YouTube video thumbnail. And so this is a great way to make sure that you are utilizing the correct tag words for each video of what people are going to be searching for. And so this is probably my favorite thing to do with TubeBuddy because I wanna make sure that the videos I’m putting on to YouTube people are actually gonna be searching for. You can share it to Twitter, you can share it to Facebook, you can add your info cards and in-screens. And if you scroll down here, these are your recommended tags. So this is gonna tell you how many people are searching on that topic.
So this one, how to use Canva for YouTube thumbnail we have 25, the relevance is a score of 25. So Canva tutorial for teachers. So you can really get very specific on your tag words, and you can create your info. So you would go here, you can create templates through TubeBuddy.
Rank higher in search results
So think of TubeBuddy as your YouTube video checklist and how to optimize each video and making sure that you really are filling out all of those blanks. And it’s gonna tell you to do that, like we may not add an in-screen on every single video because some of them are just training but it’s going to give you that checklist to make sure that you are adding those things to your video.
So this is what you can scroll through and make sure, so six of the 10 best practices are complete. So if I wanted to add an on-screen, I can go to in-screen, I can go to info cards. And then if I wanted to share on Facebook and Twitter, I can do that as well. So TubeBuddy is a great tool if you’re really wanting to thrive with that video marketing strategy. It also gives you analytics which is awesome.
Take your Youtube channel to the next level
Since we’ve been using TubeBuddy, our views have gone up quite a bit actually, and the watch time is increasing as well. So we’ve grown our subscribers by 15, we’ve been using TubeBuddy for about six months now, maybe a little bit longer than that. But I really love all of the data that TubeBuddy gives you. By using the TubeBuddy, Keyword Finder, the SEO studio, all of these different things, it allows you to just go a little bit deeper.
I think they have a ton of different pieces of training and features on there. It only costs $19 a month. If you pay annually, then obviously you get it a little bit cheaper. So you can cancel anytime. But I just think that this is a great tool. It’s easy to use, it goes right into your YouTube account, and you are able to make sure you’re optimizing each of those videos.
So if you need help with your video optimization, and how to install TubeBuddy and get it working for your videos, let us know, we’re here for you.
Okay, the next digital marketing tool that we are going to use and talk about is called Outwrite. This was previously GradeProof, and the other tool we use is called Grammarly.
Correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors instantly
So Grammarly and Outwrite are both Chrome extensions. These tools help you in making sure that your grammar and your spelling are correct.
Most business owners are great at what they do, but when it comes to writing content, maybe that’s not your strong suit. For me, personally, writing is not a strong suit for me. I would rather do a video, be able to talk out that blog, and then have it transcribed, which we’ll get to next. But with Outwrite and Grammarly, I feel a lot more confident in what I’m writing. This will show you a few examples of how it’s going to help you. And again, with both of these, there’s free options and paid options. We use the free options, but it will give you an example.
So I have it pulled up, I just have a little blurb from a video description we are working on. But as you can see as you scroll through, it will highlight what should be fixed. So, I should have an A in front of that and an S at the end of this word. Now, the other thing that it will do is it will also highlight when you should have a comma when you should take out a comma.
Works wherever you write online
Now, these aren’t perfect. But they do help with just the basic grammar, spelling, making sure that everything is correct before you send that email off or before you put that blog post up. They do work in email, so we have G Suite, and so, as I’m writing emails, it will highlight in green, if I needed to add a comma there, it will highlight in red if a word is misspelled.
So, it’s a really great tool, both of them. And you’ll see here I have the Grammarly and Outwrite, and they both work, they’ll both tell you what they’re, so, right here, it says, “Open Outwrite.” And this will tell me potential improvements and, obviously, if you pay for either one of these, then it will show you more. So, it’s just a really great way, if you’re not an editor or a copywriter, sometimes, we’re human, we make mistakes. So having these two tools really help just make sure you are putting the best version of your writing out there, and a lot of our clients get held back by the fear of having a typo, or something that’s not grammatically correct on their website.
So this just takes that extra step, and it also does work with WordPress as well. So if your website is in WordPress and you’re adding new content to your website, it will highlight in red or green what things need to be updated. So, again, this is Outwrite and Grammarly that we use. If you have questions on how to install those, or how to use them, please let us know. We are here to help you.
The last digital marketing tool that we use is called Scribie. Scribie is a transcription service.
Transcribe your audio and video files
This is where a lot of our clients love to be able to do videos, have those doctor, or nurse, or staff interviews, and then they want to be able to take that content from the video and use it as content for their blog post.
This is something that we do all the time because when you’re putting the work into your videos, we can repurpose that video more than just a video.
When you record a video on Zoom, you can get a video and audio file. You can upload either one of those into Scribie and it’s going to transcribe that video that I had done. And you can download it in any format you want – Word doc, PDF, and other formats. But we usually just download the Word doc, because then we can edit it from there. And again, this is a transcription service, so what will happen is it will transcribe every single word. I like to say “So” a lot, and that comes up in the transcription.
AI-powered automated transcripts
So let me just show you what the transcription looks like. So this is what, how it comes. What we usually do is copy this content into a Google doc, and take out the timestamps, we need to edit this a little bit more, make sure that the spelling and grammar is correct, take out all of my “Sos” and “Ands”, and make sure that it looks nice and crisp, and clean.
But, the cool thing is, is that video that took you 10 minutes to do, or less, you now have an awesome blog that you are able to use. So, let me go back to Scribie.
Low transcription rates
For each video that we upload, you do pay to have the transcription, but it usually is about 80 cents a word, so I think the most we’ve paid is maybe $10 for one of our videos. But, usually, they’re between $4 and $7, on average. So this is just a great tool, it’s very convenient, it emails you the transcription when it’s done, it’s very affordable, and it’s something that, if you’re already doing those videos, but you’re not updating your blog, you’re just putting them on to YouTube, get them transcribed, so then you can use that content on your website, for SEO. So, go on over to scribie.com and upload your first video file, and get your transcription, and let us know how you like it.
https://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Digital-Marketing-Tools-Blog.png12602240Amber Irwinhttps://socialspeaknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SocialSpeak-Logo.pngAmber Irwin2020-09-02 08:00:512020-09-02 14:55:356 Digital Marketing Tools to Make Your Life Easier
