1. Goals & Objectives

Before you start posting just to be active on Social Media, make sure that you establish your companies’ goals & objectives, so you don’t waste your time. Write down your goals, making sure they’re SMART. Setting goals will allow you to measure your social media marketing goals’ progress and drive future decisions.

2. Know Your Audience, Go Where They Are

First, you must understand who your target audience is and understand their likes and dislikes. Next, be where your audience is. If your target audience is a younger demographic, it’s Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, and Instagram. If you have older demographic, you’ll want to be active on Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and LinkedIn. Once you have your who and your where, pick one or two platforms that you know your audience is active on – you can waste a lot of time and energy trying to be on every platform.

3. Less is More

It is not about how much you post, but instead, it is about the quality of your post’s content. Ensure your posts bring value to your customers rather than just posting to make a post for the day. Your followers will engage more with your posts if you have put thought into it; when conceiving the post, put yourself in the eyes of your customer. What would they like? What would they share? How do I start a conversation with them? 

4. Engagement > # of Followers

Followers and views mean very little if those people are not engaging with you. You want people to comment, like, and share your posts with their friends. Make sure to engage your followers by listening to them and responding. It’s also a great idea to review your competition’s accounts and check if they respond to their followers’ comments; if they don’t, it’s an opportunity for you to insert yourself into the conversation.

5. Build Community

Along with knowing your audience and the importance of engagement, you must build community with your followers. Start a conversation with your community, engage with them, understand the current trends, and apply them. The goal is for your followers to talk about you offline and bring others to the conversation online.

6. Pro Tip

Look at your followers and recognize who has perceived influence or is a thought leader- make them your brand ambassadors. Let them lead the charge for your brand.

7. Be Authentic

Be a real person. People buy from people, not brands. Be as authentic as possible as your target audience doesn’t want to be sold to; they want you to speak to them. Consumers will buy if they can relate to who is using your product. This is what we call conversational marketing, and the biggest brands in the world are doing it. When is the last time you saw a Pepsi ad that didn’t feature the biggest celebrity? Brands understand that consumers trust and buy from people, not a logo.

8. Consistency is Key

The reality is that all of these things take time, don’t waver! Your community will not grow tenfold overnight, and your engagement rate might increase slower than you expect; keep being authentic online, and you will exceed your goals for social media marketing.

Use these tips for social media marketing in 2021, and connect with us if we can help!

The post Tips For Social Media Marketing appeared first on Beanstalk Web Solutions.

One of the most powerful tools at the disposal of any small business owner is their social media presence. Using most social media websites is very simple, but making the most out of the opportunities that social media provides is more complicated. Many small business owners make several damaging social media mistakes when managing their profiles. Here are just a few:

1. Having No Social Media Strategy

Not having an active social media account in today’s world is considered strange, even for businesses. However, it’s not enough to merely have a social media account and post on it. You also have to create a strategy for how you’ll use your social media accounts.

Do you want to use your account mostly for promotional purposes? What platforms do you want to focus on? Can it be used for customer service questions? Will you need a social media manager to handle your accounts? How often do you plan on posting? Good planning is the backbone to success on social media, and going in without a strategy will make your goals much harder to attain.

2. Too Many, Too Few, or Completely Wrong Hashtags

Using too many hashtags can turn any post into an eyesore, and it may make people think your post is spam. In the opposite extreme, not enough hashtags might hinder the exposure of your posts. In general, it’s a good idea to limit your hashtags to about two or three per post.

Knowing the right hashtags to use is a trickier matter. The best hashtags will depend on the subject matter of your posts and which tags in relation to those subjects are currently the most popular. However, it’s never a good idea to abuse hashtags by using a completely unrelated hashtag purely because it’s trending. Unrelated hashtags give off the vibe that your post is spam and won’t help your traffic.

3. Posting Photos Without Permission

Using images with your social media posts is a great way to grab attention. There is a nearly endless supply of images on the Internet, but they aren’t all free to use. One of the biggest social media mistakes most small business owners make is posting images they don’t own. Most photographers and graphic artists will allow for the private use of their images. The same isn’t usually said for professional purposes.

If you are using images to help promote your business on social media, you’re technically profiting off of the work of another person and associating their image with your brand, which they may not want. Whenever you locate an image on the Internet and want to use it in a post, contact the creator of the image. You may have to pay a small fee for licensing rights, but it’s better than unethically using someone’s image and possibly facing legal repercussions.

4. Failing to Engage with Followers

The social media accounts of businesses often come off as robotic and unfriendly because the people running the pages don’t engage with their audience. Your followers should be able to acknowledge that there is a real person behind the page who is willing to speak with them, even if it’s just a friendly greeting. When you get comments, respond to as many as you can. Help people out with their problems, thank them for their kind comments and respectfully respond to people who have negative comments.

5. Not Studying Campaign Metrics

How do you know if a social media campaign is truly being beneficial to your business if you don’t keep an eye on your metrics? There are many types of data that are vital to maximizing the efficiency of your social media pages such as view counts, which accounts get the most traffic, engagement stats, brand mentions, and the number of followers.

6. Using Influencers Who Don’t Mark Posts as Sponsored

For a fee, social media influencers will make posts about your products and services. Considering the massive audience that prominent influencers have, these posts can provide your social media pages and business a massive boost in traffic and sales. However, many businesses don’t ensure that the posts are clearly marked as sponsored. Leaving sponsored posts unmarked isn’t only unethical since it misleads people, but it may even be illegal in some circumstances.

While it’s very easy to make these social media mistakes, fixing them isn’t difficult. With a few alterations to your posting habits and keeping a close eye on all of the data on each account, the social media pages of your small business will become much more successful.

Valerie Cox is a contributing writer for TopSEOs.com. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, biking local trails, and volunteering in her community.

The post 6 Social Media Mistakes Most Small Businesses Make appeared first on Beanstalk Web Solutions.

Mobile browsing increases a bit more each year, with many people now using their smartphones exclusively for this. The growth of smaller screens means sites should be responsive to these devices. Cutting the clutter reduces the number of elements that must adjust to different browsers. It also ensures the page isn’t so smushed together that it’s unreadable.

Whether you love the look of minimalist design or wish it would go away, there are some clear advantages to using a simpler style. One of the best ways to perfect this technique is by studying the successful creations of others. 

1. Create a Singular Focus

The objective of minimalist design is to create an on-point focus for the user. There is no confusion over where to go or what to do on a landing page. Designers cut all the elements not needed and keep only what is of absolute necessity. 

You won’t find a lot of information on the Koox website outside of what you need to place an order. Even though there is some slight animation to the illustrations, they are kept simple and to the point. The navigation is limited to Home, Food, About, and Order. Everything on the page guides the user to place an order without additional bells and whistles to distract. 

2. Load Pages at Lightning Speed

Less information means your pages load quicker, and you’ll cut down on the amount of code needed. Simplistic designs also get rid of any unnecessary scripts, which can bog down your speed. Everything is limited, from the number of images used to the forms needed. The simpler the design, the faster it pulls up. 

At the same time, ensure you use compressed images, so they load even faster. Consider placing photos within a content distribution network (CDN) for load times rivaling the biggest websites on the planet, such as Amazon.

3. Balance Positive and Negative Space

One of the most basic components of good design is a balance between positive and negative space. Minimalistic design means you have plenty of negative space where the user can rest their eyes. White space also draws attention to the most important elements on the page. An excellent balance creates a calming effect and reassures site visitors you are a professional. 

Juiced Bikes balances the white space on its page. Note the expansive white background with subtle gray lines to indicate motion. The simplicity highlights the product showcased on each slide. The color palette is also simple, so there are no distractions. The text is black, there are red accents, and everything else on the page is white and light gray. 

4. Improve Scannability

People tend to skim over material. Sometimes they access your website while on the go, while at others, they’re just in a hurry. Whatever the reason, cutting the amount of information on your website allows them to read through it quickly and gather the main points. A simpler design lends itself to a more readable format. 

5. Simplify Navigation

If you add too many categories, your navigation becomes clunky and difficult to maneuver. A minimalist design lends itself to fewer main labels. You can always extend the offerings through a mega menu and subcategories. However, keeping the choices limited guides your users where you most want them to go. 

Leen Heyne keeps everything simple right down to the monochrome color of its design. The background features different shades of gray, and the logo is a muted white, as is the navigation. Five categories take up a mere portion of the top of the page. Everything is simple, and there is plenty of white space. Focus is on the navigation and where you should go next on the site. 

6. Make Content Pop

When you use limited colors and elements on a webpage, you draw attention to the few things there. You can make a product image pop or draw attention to a video or article. What is on the page becomes vitally important. Use a monochrome design with a pop of color for the one thing you want users to notice first. 

A Trend Never Going Out of Style

Minimalism is less of a fad and more of a viewpoint. Keeping things simple and honing in on one vital thing at a time never gets old. You’ll likely see minimalist designs for many years to come. Adding even a few elements of this style to your website ensures it has a timeless quality your users will love. 

The post 6 Reasons Why Minimalist Design Is the Way to Go appeared first on Beanstalk Web Solutions.

Have you ever wondered what marketing strategy is really all about? Well, the answer is simple — communication. It is built around finding efficient ways to communicate messages about a certain product or service to a targeted audience. The biggest goal of marketing strategy is convincing people to buy your products instead of your competitors’. 

However, more and more companies are using internal communication as a marketing strategy. As employees are the company’s best advocates, employers rely on them to convey the message about the brand. 

Here are 3 ways marketers can make use of internal communication to create an efficient marketing strategy:

Onboarding and Off-Boarding Process

When talking about employees as brand ambassadors, it has to be clear they don’t become that overnight. It all starts with proper onboarding. When a new position within the organization has to be filled, HR managers usually either hire someone just to get it over with or carefully select the candidate with the highest potential of becoming an advocate for their brand. 

Providing a great employee experience from day one, including the recruitment and selection processes, is important to the selected strategy. Internal communication is one of the factors affecting the overall experience in the workplace. Satisfied employees will share their experience with others, thus promote the company. Their perception of the workplace will positively influence the opinions of potential employees in the future. 

The same goes for the off-boarding process. Employees simply like to talk about their employers. Whether it is on social media, online discussion boards, or to their family and friends, it doesn’t matter. It’s a smart move to use this characteristic in favor of marketing. If the contract was terminated amicably, the employees are more likely to leave positive reviews on the Internet. Either way, employees do play a pivotal role in creating and promoting the public image of the company. 

Communication Channels

Many employers are often faced with poor employee communication and engagement. As a result, the business suffers. To boost internal communication, participation, and connection among employees, an intranet is the best solution. It keeps all employees connected, engaged, and willing to collaborate on spreading the word out about the newest innovations. 

Internal communication is more than just information sharing. It provides feedback on the latest products or services. For example, presenting employees with samples or original packaging to try out and making them feel like customers for once can get ideas flowing. It is a great opportunity for them to discuss possibilities for improvement together and grow as a team. Also, if they have the first-hand experience with the brand, it will be much easier for them to promote it. 

Proper communication channels and tools can serve as a great way of educating employees. It is crucial to teach them about company values, mission, and vision. For brand ambassadors to share information about the company, they first have to know what to share with others. Communicating internally with employees will have them prepare for advocating in any situation.

Social media platforms are also great communication channels. They can be efficient in delivering external content to the targeted audience. Providing employees with valuable content or giving them complete freedom in creating authentic pieces seems like a great marketing strategy. Encouraging them to post it on their social media networks will drive traffic and reach a much wider audience. 

Company Culture

While company culture was a new trend in the business world in the last decade, that isn’t the case anymore. Organizations all around the world have to actively start enforcing this concept, especially when deciding to implement new internal communication campaigns. 

Communication strategy is ideal for showing company values to the world. Business is currently witnessing a synergy of a multigenerational workforce. While handling different generations at once may be difficult, it can also be quite useful. Once the company finds the best solution for connecting such as diverse workforce, they can all become successful brand advocates. Effective communication among employees increases motivation, knowledge, and experience sharing. Also, in a healthy and diverse work environment, many opportunities for mentorship arise. 

The strategy will only be effective if the aims are known and shared by everyone in the company, from employees to executives and managers. The more genuine your employees feel the communication and engagement tactics; the easier it will be for them to unite as a team. As a result, company culture and employee advocacy will be strengthened thanks to teamwork and effort.

To conclude, when employees strongly believe in their company and trust their employers, only good things happen. Deciding to integrate internal communication in the marketing strategy has great effects on business. A wise selection of new employees and distribution channels, along with cultivating a fantastic company culture brings the company one step closer to creating great brand advocates. And there are no better brand ambassadors than employees. 

The post 3 Ways Internal Communication Affects Your Marketing Strategy appeared first on Beanstalk Web Solutions.

The way the outside world sees your business has as much to do with your brand identity as the way you see yourself. Building a name for your company takes a lot of effort and focus. It all starts with knowing who you are and what you stand for. However, there are many things you can do to ensure your message comes across the way you want it to. 

Keeping branding consistent across all channels equals a 23% increase in revenue. Not only will you be more recognizable to your target audience, but people whose values align with yours may also turn into ambassadors, telling others about your company. There are five simple steps you can take today to develop your brand identity now and in the future.

1. Segment Your Audience

As you collect names for your mailing list and reach out to the general public, you’ll find your audience is pretty diverse. However, experts recommend personalizing your message as much as possible. The best way to reach a lot of potential customers but still keep things personal is to divide your list by demographics. 

Group people into similar categories based on factors such as age, location, gender or interests. Create a buyer persona for each segment and personalize your messages based on what you know about their demographics.

2. Keep Things Simple

It might be tempting to come up with an artistic logo that stands out from every other brand symbol. However, if it is unreadable, then it won’t serve you well. Think about companies like  Google and how simple their font and design is. Follow the lead of more prominent corporations and choose a readable font, and limit color choices to two or three. 

If you’re just starting, keep the name of your organization as simple as possible. If it tells what you do, so much the better. One example of a memorable company name is FedEx, which is short for Federal Express. Not only does the title state what the company does, but it is also easy to remember. 

3. Brand Identity on Social Media

The majority of people online are also on social media. Having a page on these platforms is no longer an option. If you want to establish a strong online brand presence, you need one or more social media pages. 

If you offer shopping directly on the page, make sure it aligns with your core philosophies for your business. Do you pride yourself on the best customer service around? Appoint someone to oversee sales on social, and respond to any inquiries within minutes. The experience customers have on Facebook should match what they’d have on your website or in a physical store.

Control negative feedback by responding immediately to any concerns or complaints. Even if a nasty review lives on the internet forever, people will see you rectified the situation or at least tried to. 

4. Choose Your UVP

Your unique value proposition (UVP) is what you have to offer consumers that is special or unique. Think about some of the brands you do business with. If you order curbside pickup from Kroger, the UVP is that you don’t have to go inside the store, and someone else does your shopping for you for a minimal fee. The Ritz-Carlton hotel chain is known for its superior service. There are numerous stories about it going out of its way to make sure customers have what they need and want.  

What do you want your brand to be known for? Choose your UVP and then promote and abide by it. 

5. Invest in Employees

Your workers are the face of your brand. They are who the customers interact with. They also have family and friends, and what they say about your company can impact how others see you. Hire the best people you can find and then pour into them with training, perks and teambuilding exercises.

Encourage your employees to tell others about your organization and what you do. Give them paid time off to volunteer in the community. Recognize their efforts, and have them share your social media posts with others. The more your employees speak about your positively, the more likely your local community will think of your brand as one they want to do business with.

More Than a Name or Logo

Brand identity is so much more than your name, logo or mission statement. You must know who you are at the core and why you started the business in the first place. Your goals and policies should all align with your purpose as a company. 

It’s easy to get off track in the beginning and lose sight as your company grows. However, if you write out your mission statement, create policies that match your philosophy and review things frequently, it is much more likely you’ll develop a robust and consistent brand image. 

Lexie is a digital nomad and web designer. You can normally find her at the local flea markets or hiking with her goldendoodle. Check out her design blog, Design Roast, and connect with her on Twitter @lexieludesigner.

The post How to Establish a Brand Identity Your Customers Want to Interact With appeared first on Beanstalk Web Solutions.

Brand reputation, especially online reputation, is critical to the success of many businesses. However, poor management can lead to the collapse of a company’s prestige, especially online. In modern-day businesses, you must ensure that your company has a foolproof strategy for managing and maintaining its online reputation.

Today, social media is home to your business’s customers, clients, and potential clients, critiques, observers, etc. Therefore, your business needs to maintain an excellent presence and impression online. Positive reviews and comments from the online community are vital factors that strengthen your business’s reputation. Meanwhile, if you leave a negative review unaddressed online, it can drag down your brand’s reputation quickly.

Businesses today, including small or startup companies, can easily use social media as a fighting-front to establish and manage their brand effectively. Also, it can be used to monitor and maintain their reputation over the long run. 

The internet and social media offer smaller businesses an advantage over larger companies. How? With a small business, you have fewer fronts on which to battle over online reputation. If you commit to an effective social media management strategy, this can be used exclusively to your advantage for a stronger, more effective brand image/reputation.

To help your business’s online reputation excel in modern-day, here are some brilliant social media ideas that will benefit your brand tremendously.

Brilliant Social Media Ideas to Improve Your Company’s Online Reputation

Focus on Niche-Relevant Content

When developing social media content for your various channels, don’t rely too heavily on making sales. The truth is, customers do not just want to be sold to on social media. Rather, focus on content that will benefit your audience and reward them for their time.

Let your brand become a perpetual source of relevant and valuable content for your audience daily. You can engage in sharing insightful, helpful, inspiring, or entertaining social media content that is important to your brand. 

Also, remember that social media is primarily for interaction, so you should try to keep your channels as interactive as possible. Respond quickly to mentions, comments, and relevant questions. Strategic moves like this will keep your audience hooked and excited to keep coming back. Customers are excited when they know that the brand is also listening to them. Basically, encourage participation.

You can integrate the support of top rated translation services like The Word Point to develop and translate your social media content to broader audiences quickly.

Listen Socially and Review Analytics

Social listening is the process of analyzing, tracking, responding to any conversation that has to do with your industry or brand online. A lot of businesses and corporate entities are struggling for attention online. It is vital to “listen socially” if you want to strengthen your online reputation. This way, you can gauge the public’s view on your brand, its products, and services.

To achieve this, you will need to incorporate the assistance of some practical analytical tools. These devices will help you review and monitor any mentions of your brand online, including remarks unrelated to your posts. 

Useful analytics like this can help you improve your overall marketing strategy, products, and services, or any other areas your brand needs improvement.

Some effective social media listening tools include TweetReach, HootSuite, Buzzsumo, Google Alerts, etc.

Respond

It makes no difference what kind of business you run; people are likely talking about you online. The mistake most companies make is to ignore negative brand-targeted reviews/posts and leave them unaddressed. Deleting or ignoring bad comments will only help to fuel up a bad reputation for your brand. Instead, you can turn this to your advantage.

Instead of ignoring, respond. The good news is social media is interactive. Do not downplay the relevance of wrong information about your business online. Note that the internet and social media is where the modern audience gets news and updates about your brand.

No matter how good you’re doing currently, bad reviews often signify that something is wrong. However, you can turn this into something positive. The first step is by finding out the main root of the problem. Find out why that customer is distressed and respond kindly through the same channel that they queried your brand. 

Sometimes, a customer’s genuine intent for querying your business is for the benefit of your brand. If you do nothing, the customer is likely to come back to update other customers on how you handled the problem, and that’s bad for your brand.

Pay Attention to your Brand’s and Product’s Third Party Reviews

Most third party reviews are paid for, even though they sugarcoat them as genuine and objective efforts. Bad mentions result in more people reading negative reviews of your business or services.

Additionally, you must watch out for the online reputation of your staff because they are extensions of your brand. Your customer/ guest services should be impeccable and without reproach.

Ultimately, you should invest in regular high-quality SEO, optimized online content for your blog, website, and social channels. These web-media-contents should characteristically dominate the front page results of search engines and that of third-party.

Conclusion

While social media looks simplistic and almost irrelevant at first, it actually plays a vital role in your company’s online reputation. Success with social media involves staying proactive and being ten steps ahead. Also, while you dedicate a decent amount of resources to providing valuable content for your audience, you must be on the watch for reputation-spoilers. Another way to improve your social reputation is to look out for your employees, as they are ambassadors of your brand. Check notifications related to all your social networks daily. Identify and reply to relevant mentions kindly and sincerely. Importantly also, you must keep your channels as interactive as possible to ensure that customers are engaged and remain hooked.

The post Strategies for Improving Your Company’s Online Reputation appeared first on Beanstalk Web Solutions.

Before the rise of the internet, if you wanted to visit a dentist, you mostly considered recommendations from friends and family. Now, times have changed. In this digitally-fed world, if you want to visit a dentist, you will search for the ones near you and read through the comments posted by patients for first-hand customer experience. 

‘Loved the doctor and the setting. Totally recommend’ rated 5 stars 

‘I have visited a lot of dentists, but, by far, this is the best one’ rated 4 stars

‘Horrible service. God, save the patients’ rated 1 star 

With so many websites like Google My Business, Facebook, and Yelp available for reading customer reviews, brands and businesses are no longer referenced by just physical brick and mortar styles. They are an open book for every customer to read. 

With so much importance given to the online stratum of businesses, online brand management becomes a rather mandatory task. 

Online brand management refers to the controlling and influencing of an enterprise’s reputation in media landscapes and online social networks. 

Why is online brand management important?

In this digital world, websites are no longer static brochures for enterprises. Establishing a reputed social media imprint is very crucial for businesses. Furthermore, companies nowadays, are allocating more resources to online reputation management, to maintain a healthy brand image. 

According to a survey, more than 54% of digital marketers believe ORM to be a very necessary tool for a company’s success. But why?

Customers watch each other’s back

Shopping used to be an intimate affair, where people were accompanied by friends who decided whether the dress is worth a buy or not. These friends offered an unbiased recommendation about dresses and their opinions mattered. 

The same happens in online shopping, the only difference, instead of physical friends, you have online reviews serving as your recommendations. 

Customers believe everything other customers say. That is why a customer review is a very powerful tool. Nothing posted about your brand online fades away, it stays on like a billboard spotlight and decides how well the customer pool reacts to it. 

Online reputation matters for targeting new customers

So, you are wearing this top and your friends find it cute. They ask you where you got it from, and then you start talking about this amazing shop with a spectacular collection. 

Well, online customer engagement is similar, with reviews and comments attracting other customers to initiate their first buy with a brand. A lot of customer pool depends on how well a brand’s services are applauded on online platforms. 

Bad reviews are the stepping stones to improvements

Analyzing what customers are saying about your products can tell you everything about their expectations. It is normal to make mistakes, but if you can take up from those bad reviews and mold your products into something that grabs customers’ attention and lets them post positive reviews about it, then that will define your success.

Catching the sight of investors

If you’re a company that has plans to grow in the future and look out for investors, the first thing you need to start working on is your online presence in the market. No investor wants to gamble their money on a brand that has a negative brand perception. 

How can you manage your brand’s online reputation?

Right from automated tools to tips and strategies, online reputation management is a no brainer, thanks to the resources available to study them. 

But how will you do it?

See what your customers are saying about your brand

With tools like Google Alerts, Buzzsumo, Reputology, Mention, YouScan, Similar Web, Buffer, and SentiOne, it is easy to manage and analyze your online reputation on various social channels. While answering a negative review posted by a customer, you must stay polite and answer every query professionally. Many experts advise businesses to talk with unsatisfied customers through private messaging, but taking it away from the public eye will only complicate the matter. Try to handle the situation publicly, so that other customers can see how well you respond to bad reviews and comments. 

Update the website with your contact information and social links

Just like you would’ve invested time in your physical store, a website also needs to be updated. Even more important, add all your social links on the website, so that people can use such mediums to pen down their review about your brand. Furthermore, add your physical address and the contact number to the website, so that people can locate your storefront. 

Negative comments are of pivotal importance

While positive comments can earn an amazing image for your brand, not everything posted about your brand is going to be all sugary and sweet. Some customers might not like your services at all, even advise other customers to never buy products from you. 

As a brand, it is not professional to remove such negative comments. If you do so, customers will suspect your brand with unauthentic products and deceitful professionalism. 

You can ask for consumers to post positive reviews in return for discounts, incentives, coupons, etc. 

Have an online community

Acquiring an online community helps you to maintain a positive and professional profile. In the long run, a community showcases your products and lets people see what revolution your brand has launched. 

Be transparent

This business commandment is not an easy thing for a brand to execute but is highly beneficial once embraced. As a brand, you should be open to criticism in the form of feedback, reviews, comments, etc.

In the end 

The digital platforms are an open communication channel for customers.

The road to customer engagement is easy. You sell your product to a consumer. Consumers recommend it to other consumers. Digital relationships flourish. Consumers are added to the existing pool. 

Harness the power of digital word of mouth, build connections, and foster a positive customer experience. 

The post Why Online Reputation Management is So Important appeared first on Beanstalk Web Solutions.

Whether you operate as a cloud-based service business or a retail company with an online presence, investing time and resources into social media advertising is always a good choice. Due to the increasing popularity and availability of social media platforms and messaging apps on the go, 2020 is poised to be a turning point in the social media advertising market. 

According to Social Media Today, social referral traffic has grown by 110% on average in the past two years, while Small Biz Genius reported that 84% of people expect brands to create and publish content on social media as a means of piquing their interests into making a purchase. 

Creating a brand new concept for your social media advertising campaign in 2020 is a must. You need to differentiate your business from the competition and attract relevant leads to your storefront. With that said, let’s take a look at several ways in which you can redefine your social media advertising concept going forward.

Main Advantages of Social Media Advertising

While you may already have a social media strategy in place, it’s worth pointing out what makes social media such a lucrative marketing playground before we dive any further. Josh Williams, Head of Content Management at Be Graded spoke on the matter recently: “Both local and international businesses have a lot to gain from positioning their brand on social media. Social media pages under your name make it easier for clients and customers to discover your retail stores, local representatives, company portfolio and other elements relevant to their conversion into leads and brand advocates.” 

Creating a social media presence, even if it is passive and semi-autonomous, will still help your business with being discovered via SEO, SERP and internal search, as well as make your pages and content shareable in private social circles and groups. Besides that, social media advertising can bring about several important advantages to your company going forward, including but not limited to:

• Cost-effective marketing and brand awareness
• Higher customer loyalty and word of mouth
• Increased B2B networking opportunities
• Higher website traffic, conversion and revenue rates

Social Media Advertising Concepts to Explore in 2020

Follower Engagement & Live Interactions

The decade in front of us is bound to bring changes and affect the ways brands interact with their followers. More specifically, social media platforms will continue to evolve their engagement and live broadcast mechanisms to allow for greater interactivity between users across the globe. 

As such, a big part of your social media advertising concept going forward should involve growth in follower engagement, user interaction and discussion via public posts and comment feed. In addition, live chats, Q&A sessions and interviews with industry experts and B2B partners can all find their way into your social media content plan in 2020. This will not only help grow your presence on the market but also instill newfound confidence and trust in your brand from anyone who comes across your events on social media going forward.

Mixing up Content Types

Given that mobile social media use has grown considerably over the past years, narrowing your content plan down to written words is a waste of potential. Videos, audio interviews or podcasts, as well as interactive visual materials should all be created and published on your social media pages. 

Platforms such as Top Essay Writing and Evernote can be utilized to write and edit very effective content for your updates, announcements and short posts in addition to longer pieces or articles you want to publish. Variations in your content plan will allow users from different backgrounds and interests to find something useful enough on your pages for them to follow interact and share your content with their social circles.

Native Chatbot Integration

Depending on the scale and industry in which you operate, you might not be able to act as a social media manager for your pages 24/7. With that in mind, you can opt to integrate chatbots into your social media advertising concept as your brand persona and customer support representative in one. 

Chatbots allow for greater flexibility in terms of localized user interaction, timely responses to queries and feedback, as well as around-the-clock coverage of your pages and gathering of relevant data along the way. In order to get started with your chatbot, you can opt for tools such as Classy Essay and Hemingway which will help you write succinct and legible content for a variety of situations including FAQ and personalized on-brand dialogue.

Time-Limited Exclusive Events

Lastly, the best way to increase your social media pages’ traffic and interactivity is to introduce timed events as a new concept in your marketing strategy in 2020. Timed events which revolve around exclusive interviews, first looks at new products as well as quizzes and giveaways will assuredly hype up your audience. 

This, in turn, will result in a spike in interactivity with your pages since people will instinctively check your feeds for announcements, new content and hints about upcoming events. While time-limited content may not seem like a good investment at first, we need to look no further than Starbucks’s marketing strategy to find out exactly what exclusive offers can do for your bottom line and buzz surrounding your brand in 2020 and beyond.

In Summary

The term “new year, new me” may be exaggerated when it comes to personal resolutions – however, in terms of social media advertising and the introduction of new concepts to your marketing strategy, it can indeed be applied. 

Ask your audience about their expectations, concerns and feedback in regards to your brand before committing to any one strategy. Try out different strategies and approaches to content creation and publishing before settling for a marketing concept for 2020. Once the two factors align, producing content and interacting with your followers will become both a more enjoyable and more lucrative experience.

Bio: Angela Baker is a self-driven specialist who is currently working as a freelance writer at writing services such as Studyker and is trying to improve her and her blogging career. She is always seeking to discover new ways for personal and professional growth and is convinced that it’s always important to broaden horizons. That’s why Angela develops and improves her skills throughout the writing process to help to inspire people. Also, she writes for LiveInspiredMagazine, rounding out her professional writing career.

The post A Brand New Concept for Social Media Advertising in 2020 appeared first on Beanstalk Web Solutions.

Wondering how to write compelling copy? No matter how difficult it may seem, writing it isn’t that hard. That is, if you know what you are doing. People who write – or used to write – direct response marketing copy definitely knew how. Learn from the greats of direct response copy. 

You need to test your copy

Testing is a big deal in the marketing world. You need to perfect your message in order to sell, and for that you need testing. David Ogilvy said that if you stop testing, your copy stops improving. And testing is a lot easier nowadays than it used to be. So, get started. 

Your copy needs a CTA

One of the things all great copy has in common is the fact that all of the examples have a clear and powerful call to action or CTA. Just imagine, you’ve told a great story, did the research, implemented all other wonderful techniques – your copy simply shines. Yet, there is no response. 

Why?

Because the readers didn’t know how to respond. This is where CTA steps in to save the day. Give a clear, actionable call to action and watch the conversions follow. 

It should be long-form

There is this myth going about that copy needs to be short in order to be good. That’s false. Just look at some of the greatest examples of direct response copy – all at least a page long. People love reading copy – it tells a good story, has useful facts and tips, and it speaks directly to them. 

So why would you waste your chances at success by writing short pieces? Besides, Google actually prefers longer copy for many reasons. 

Focus on the customer

The copy should be all about the reader. Just go for the 80-20 rule. It says that 80% of your copy should be “you”, or directed at the customer and that only 20% of the time you should use “we” or “I.” A powerful rule because this is what makes your copy compelling. 

Use the headline wisely

“One of the biggest lessons you can draw from direct response copywriting is that headlines matter. It’s what draws people in and attracts their attention. However, this lesson directly opposes the myth that headlines need to be quirky and a bit strange in order to get attention. In fact, most of the headlines in direct response marketing are relevant to the topic and audience, while being quite simple,” says Mike Collins, an editor and guest lecturer at Essayroo and Essay Services.

This is what you should do with your copy headlines – simple, relevant, yet powerful. 

Target the right audience

All of these previous tips are good for nothing if you don’t target the right audience. You can write as much as you want and you still won’t be able to get the response you need. This is one of the things direct response marketers knew and so they did a lot of audience research in order to find out what kind of copy they need to write. 

These days, research is even easier – with Big Data and various tools that exist on the market, is there really a reason not to do research? 

Speak to the senses

While TV advertisers, for instance, can very easily trigger the senses, this is not such an easy job for the direct response marketers. Written word, if done poorly, can’t really evoke these senses. However, when you write with power and make your sentences flow with dynamic and harmony, you can do it. 

Remember that smell is one of the strongest senses and it’s directly related to memories. If you can use memories evoked by those senses in your writing, you’ll have no trouble making an impact. 

Use good writing

“It all starts with good writing. This is something you should start with. So, for instance, use simple words, not their thesaurus counterparts. No jargon or slang should be in your writing – unless there is a specific need for it,” says Jordan Bellings, a writer at Academized and Write My Paper.

Write dynamically. One short sentence. One medium sentence that adds to the harmony. And one long sentence that is more descriptive and complex than the previous two and adds more information to the copy. 

Grammar and punctuation, as well as spelling, are a given – as a copywriter, this is essential. 

Creating good copy requires practice, research, and studying. This is where direct response marketing can help. Learn from the great people who wrote it – all of those rules apply today. 

Aimee Laurence is a copywriter at Top European writing services and State Of Writing. She loves writing educational and business articles for various online publications like Assignment Services, where she shares useful tips on writing good copy. In her free time, Aimee likes doing yoga.

The post Copywriting Lessons You Can Learn From Direct Response Marketing appeared first on Beanstalk Web Solutions.

There’s a fine line between thriving and surviving. As a business owner, you’re most likely familiar with it. But, are you familiar with digital marketing as it links to your business? When promoting your products, one of the biggest goals is to stand out. In a world that is dealing with the issues of climate change, using green marketing can help you do that. 

What is green marketing?

Green marketing is all about promoting your eco-friendly products, practices, and processes. It is about making a sale while offering products based on environmentally safe features. It is about marketing products by highlighting their eco-friendly features and business practices. The latter often include reducing water pollution, implementing sustainable manufacturing, and using eco-friendly packaging, as well as recyclable and recycled materials.

Why should businesses use green marketing?

Green marketing is not only good for Mother Earth but also it presents several long-term benefits for the companies using it. These include the following: 

Competitive advantage

You can entice more customers to your business who care for the environment. 

Access to green customers

Environmentally-conscious customers are an emerging market. 

Increased brand loyalty

The more sustainable your practices are, the more positive your image becomes. This positive perception can lead to greater customer loyalty. 

Good reputation

Your sustainable efforts can help create a good image of your business. These can make your customers feel like you are paying attention to what matters. This can assure them that you will also pay close attention to their needs now and in the future. 

According to The Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey conducted with Nielsen in the Q2 of 2017, 81% of the global consumers care for the environment. This encouraged them to seek companies that help protect the environment, too. This compassion for the planet is the strongest among the millennials, Gen X and Gen Z. 

The same survey also shows that consumers expect companies to implement corporate sustainability. Consumers are using their spending power to apply the change that they want to see in the world. If you want to cater to this need, green marketing is the way to do it. 

Forbes cited research on corporate social responsibility in 2017 showing that 68% of millennial consumers purchased a sustainable product in the past year. The same study shows that 87% of consumers have a positive perception of any company that pays heed to environmental or social issues. It also shows that 88% of them said that they will remain loyal to a company that shows support for such issues. Not convinced yet? The study shows that 87% are willing to buy socially or environmentally beneficial products. This should be a good enough motivation for you to try green marketing. 

Impact of green marketing on consumer purchases

A Nielsen study monitored the purchases of chocolate, coffee and bath products, three of the most commonly bought consumer goods. It showed that those with sustainability claims sell more than the non-sustainable ones. The 52-week observation period showed that sustainable products sold 3% more than the other products. Sustainable chocolates sold 2% more, coffee 11% more, and bath products 13% more than the total sales of the products in their respective categories. 

The study shows that sustainable coffee brands have better shelf placement. This is to cater to the increasing demand. But the study also noted that sustainability should not end with the product features alone. It should also describe a company’s operation and practices. 

CGS, a business applications provider, conducted its 2019 Retail and Sustainability Survey that shows the online purchase statistics of 1,000 American respondents. It further shows that 68% of the Gen Z shoppers have made eco-friendly purchases in 2018. 

Other important findings from the survey include how consumers want more sustainable products. In fact, one-third of them are willing to pay more for these products. The survey also shows that consumers remain loyal to a brand due to the business’s ethical and sustainable practices. Green marketing is even more necessary in targeting the more eco-aware younger generation. They are more concerned about a company’s sustainable practices and are willing to pay more for green products. 

The leaders in green marketing, such as Whole Foods, Starbucks, Timberland, and Ben and Jerry’s, are aware of the effects of their sustainable practices on their bottom line. Let’s examine what these companies did that made them “green”: 

Ben and Jerry’s

They led the movement by using natural ingredients and eco-friendly business practices. This is a part of its parent company Unilever’s sustainable move to continue reducing its greenhouse emissions. 

Starbucks

They have been promoting sustainable coffee farming practices. They even pay more to encourage farmers to use sustainable coffee-growing methods. Starbucks also has a Shared Planet program that encourages its stores, customers, and employees to be eco-friendly. 

Whole Foods

This supermarket sells only organic food. It also supports green practices by using biodegradable packaging, promoting wind energy, and conserving water. 

Timberland

They have implemented the practice of rating their shoes based on their impact on nature. They also redesigned their stores to shave off 30% of their energy consumption. 

Are you hoping to boost your bottom line too? It’s time to focus your efforts on going green! All the statistics mentioned above have shown how eco-aware more consumers have become. If you want to keep your customers, gain new ones, and improve your bottom line, develop a green marketing campaign now. But be warned! Consumers are bound to scrutinize not only your “green” claims but also your operations and other practices. Make going green a holistic approach to gain credibility as a truly eco-friendly business. 

Author Bio: Lianna is a digital marketing junkie to the extreme with a knack for social media marketing strategy and implementation at muchneeded.com. She is extreme in her work, with a deep goal of always being updated on online and offline marketing news of the world.

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