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How to Build an Online Advertising Campaign

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Online Advertising|How to Build an Online Advertising CampaignYou might think you’re nailing it on advertising already; maybe your business is doing well without appealing to the online community. There’s no denying, though, as someone who perhaps doesn’t make use of online advertising, that there’s an untapped market there that you’re missing out on. Most shopping is done online; most communication is done online, and a large part of our lives, let’s be honest, is conducted through the piece of technology we put in our pockets.

Business might be booming right now, if you’re lucky, what with the pandemic, but why not do better? Maybe you’re someone who’s already using online advertising but you’re not getting the return you’re expecting. Are you doing it justice, like a real ad campaign needs? Read on for some tips on how to get the best response.

Define Your Audience

It’s all good trying to chuck you-know-what at a wall and see if it sticks, but you shouldn’t expect to get the best results from such an approach. You need to know who your customer is; you need to know who your ad campaign will appeal to. If you don’t, you can’t expect to see the best results.

Knowing who your audience is key to the success of your business; you might be lucky, your customers may always find you, for example, but not using the data you have at your disposal means you’re limiting yourself and the potential profits in front of you.

Choose Your Message

It’s one thing to know who you’re speaking to, but if you don’t know what to say, then you’re not doing a good job of getting your point across. Figure out what your message is – is it new products, company heritage, cross-selling the benefits of one product you sell with another, or all of the above? Even then, you’ll need to figure out the best way of putting this across to your core base. One demographic may respond to a campaign differently, for example. Use your team’s knowledge to figure this out and give them the breathing room to produce the best campaign.

See What Your Rivals Are Doing

There’s no shame in looking at what your competitors are doing. It’s not copying. But if they’re taking a certain approach, whether through the copy they use or they’re taking an uncommon approach that can lend ideas to your next campaign, learn from it. Take what you can from their creations but create your own approach – make something entirely unique and use what you can to be inspired. It doesn’t even have to come from your competitors if you’d prefer to stay away from this area. Just don’t be afraid to use others’ material to carve out your own out-of-the-box approach.

Learn From The Past

If this isn’t your first ad campaign, you’ll likely have a lot to say about the successes of your past attempts. But, really, what you need to look at, is where things could’ve gone better. The perfect team offers a multitude of perspectives – both at the point of conception to beyond implementation. Tap into that. A decent ad campaign is made using the strengths of you and your team, so, naturally, a good reflection on how things could’ve gone better works the same way.

Seek out candid responses from your key players – get their thoughts and trust how they feel. Sometimes, letting your team of experts take points on this stuff, rather than relying on your own judgements, can be the difference between a successful online advertising campaign and stagnating.

See It Through

Devising an advertising campaign is a process – it doesn’t start or end with half measures. You have to see it through to the end, and the end is an important part of the strategy you and your team have pulled together. With all the above in mind, once your campaign has run its course and you’ve achieved what you can from it, it’s time to debrief. What could’ve gone differently? Do you need to learn more about online ad formats and the ones that could’ve served you best?

Statistically, some forms of advertising are more effective than others, but which ones resonate best with your audience? It’s time to push those to connect with existing customers and figure out which formats work best to entice new loyalty to your brand. A lot more can be learned from our weaknesses and failures, so don’t neglect them.

Building A Friendly Digital Marketing Plan For 2021

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Forbes magazine wrote early on in the pandemic, and further identified that a key component in responding to the crisis lies in digital transformation. Many businesses have identified the opportunity and are working to strengthen digital marketing activities. At a time when flights are being canceled and business gates are closing or shrinking, digital marketing serves as an active channel with no boundaries of time zones and geographical boundaries and allows for business activity, capacity expansion and more. The way in which we used to market traditionally is changing, in all areas. In B2B, too, most of the marketing activity has gone digital So what do we identify? And how are you prepared? As a trend, there is more activity online, literally in the amount of surfing hours. More and more people are using the internet, therefore, marketing is making a larger switch from traditional to digital; even more so than the beginning of the century.

Many work from other work environments than usual or from home and surf from mobiles for their business needs as well. The big advertising companies have identified this and lowered advertising rates during the crisis. Those who continued to advertise gained an opportunity for exposure and prominence. Now, even in B2B, contact is also made through social networks, including requests for technical specifications and quotes. This direct connection with the buyer, sometimes gives a close look at our new and potential customers beyond those we have known so far. Digital marketing has turned a marketing effort into the center of gravity of the business – a channel open to communication 24/7 So what exactly is the change in marketing channels?

Changes across all areas

Network exposure has more value today If network advertising was once considered a luxury and a place for updates for special activities or consumed by certain populations for certain needs, digital channels are now a cornerstone of any business – a real mouthpiece and a direct means of receiving inquiries and providing a truly valuable response to customers. The demographics of the seekers have also changed and millennials now make up the majority of buyers.

Studies show that B2B buyers conduct online research just like a final consumer, before turning to a company. That is why, having a great online presence is going to help sell the business. People put trust and faith into a company that has a good online reputation, a good website, easy contact information and they can see what other people are saying about the brand too. The discourse is moving to digital and digital marketing channels have become power multipliers. With direct inquiries and targeted messages, it is possible to reach a variety of target populations and audiences and generate exposure to potential customers and even, generate interest and receive real inquiries. And this investment is long-term. A successful infrastructure will serve you well even when you decide to open an online store or a special area for distributors to download content and marketing tools efficiently and quickly. All together it will create a complete ecosystem that is your new business environment. It’s time to renew things! Companies are also exploring saas marketing in 2021 which is something to read up on.

How does digital transformation serve us?

It is definitely worth establishing digital marketing capabilities because our customers, business partners and distributors are already changing their behavior according to constraints and should be prepared accordingly. The expectation of easy and convenient access to information about the service or product you are looking for, accessibility to contact, receiving a quick and even immediate response requires preparation accordingly, including automation for response in other time zones. The gates have opened and we can work globally and now more easily than before. Budgets vacated from canceled exhibitions and flights, can now be invested in activities that will benefit us and can be measured live. No need to wait – the results are noticeable straight away because as with anything on the internet, there is instant gratification. The questions to be asked are: Are you interested in the ad, commenting on the message and contacting us? And who exactly is the company? Where is it located? People can find this information immediately on social channels and therefore these are the channels to invest in and how to direct the annual budget.

Building an ecosystem for winning digital marketing

We will donate a lot if we know how to appear and be exposed on a variety of platforms, of course in accordance with our product or service. As we create a denser ecosystem, we will increase the chance of creating a hook that will raise the next lead. In the components of the ecosystem, it is worth preparing the following:

  • Understanding your target audience – what and where they are looking for.
  • Original professional content with a tailored answer
  • Reviews of the product and services
  • Visual materials match for prominence and reinforcement

Visual content

The visual content is already used for searches in a variety of channels, including of course shopping through online advertisements. Interactive content such as surveys, 360 greatly raises the interest as well as video and voice search is also here and the preparation for it should include reference to the manner and length of the wording. Mobile adaptation is of course a must in an age where browsing is done from anywhere, individual-level appeal whether on mailing or ad platforms also yields better results than general inquiries to our audience made up of individuals who appreciate addressing their unique need – even when the customer is a company.

Business flexibility

A long-term strategy is a necessity for the business, but the recent period has shown us how important it is to be prepared even with short-term goals and objectives for quick wins. It all depends on the general business purpose of the company, of course. Accordingly, metrics will be set, accurate and improved as the process progresses. It is important to understand the great advantage in that with one click, a campaign can go up and down, a target population can be created for us based on insights and increasing the exposure is also possible relatively easily by budgeting. It’s time to make the most of 2021!

How social media can help build brands

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Social Media|How social media can help build brandsIn its short, 30-year history, the internet has come to transform almost all areas of modern life – everything from how and where we work to the way we shop and find/watch media. However, while the web has changed our business and personal lives, one particular technology has utterly upended the online experience – namely, social media.

In the not-so-distant past, if you wanted to get your firm online, you would have needed to employ the services of a web design agency to develop a website and, hopefully, start building your online profile. With the advent of social media sites, all that changed and now anyone with an internet connection can have a personal or business page up and running in minutes and start reaching out to clients (existing and potential).

The power of posts

Social media has revolutionized publishing, putting firms big and small in control of their online profile and allowing customer penetration and reach on a scale never before possible. Where once firms would publish content on their corporate sites in the hope that visitors might take the time to come and read the content, nowadays companies can broadcast on social sites and their posts will appear automatically on their followers’ timelines. Furthermore, using social media marketing software, firms can now schedule the time of their posts to coincide with when the majority of their users are online to have a greater impact. Furthermore, the software can also offer useful insights on the effectiveness of posts.

‘Going viral’ – a phenomenon born by social media

Most of us are familiar with the ‘going viral’ concept but perhaps haven’t contemplated how it works in practice. When you consider the average Facebook user has 338 friends (obviously some have many more, some less) – if one of your followers shares your post, it has the potential to be seen by each of those 338 friends. Extend that process again with just one of those additional 338 also sharing your post it will have already reached almost 700 users. And so the phenomenon continues.

Viral posts have the potential to be seen by thousands – if not millions – and all at zero cost to your firm. It’s little wonder traditional media is having such a hard time in the social age with many traditional magazines, newspapers, radio and TV stations finding themselves unable to compete.

The importance of having a strong social presence

Today’s internet users expect firms to not just have a website but also be present across the major social platforms. Indeed, these days it’s not uncommon for customers to use social sites almost like search engines – an idea proven by the fact that YouTube is now the world’s second-biggest search engine, just behind Google (both platforms are owned by parent company Alphabet, which shows just how important its search-based platforms have become).

Posting regularly to social sites allows companies to build a stronger, two-way relationship with clients, making them feel actively involved in their brand and encouraging dialogue and reactions.

The major players in the social landscape

All firms are different and have different target markets, however, the mainstays in the world of social media typically include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Depending on your type of company, you might also consider Pinterest (particularly successful for clothing companies, especially women’s clothing) and LinkedIn.

While there are many, many other online social platforms, if you attempt to publish to all, you run the risk of spreading yourself too thin. You should constantly be mindful that the quality of your posts is the most important aspect of building a strong social media profile, so be wary of trying to take on too many accounts and potentially watering down your content.

Using Digital Marketing To Line Your Own Pockets

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Digital Marketing|Using Digital Marketing To Line Your Own PocketsThere is a lot that needs to be considered when it comes to digital marketing today! If you want to make sure that your business stands out from the crowd, there are a number of things you must do.

Gathering consumer feedback is a must

When it comes to making sure that your business is a success, one thing you need to do is get a good handle regarding the thoughts and feelings of your target consumer base. At the end of the day, these are the individuals that will line your pockets if you do your job effectively, which is why it is imperative to consider their thoughts, feelings, and pain points with a lot of care.

There are a number of different ways that you can go about this. One of the most effective methods is to carry out a survey. You can use a ranking survey to find out what your customers think. This is a great way of finding out what matters most to the people you are targeting with your products and services.

Getting people to fill out surveys can be one of the most difficult and challenging things for a lot of people. Because of this, you need to try and find a way to entice people to take your surveys. You could decide to give everyone entry into a competition whereby the winner will win a voucher or one of your products, for example.

Make sure your website is responsive

Responsive web design has been around for at least a couple of years now. And in the online world whereby changes occur by the minute, this is definitely considered a long time. Nevertheless, a lot of designers are still experiencing problems with creating and/or updating their clients’ responsive websites. This ranges from troubles related to the implementation of images to changing the coding of old fixed-width websites. If you have experienced trouble with responsive web design, read on to discover three of the most common problems encountered and discover some recommended tips on how to solve them as well…

Poor quality images

When it comes to using images in responsive web design there is a high sense of ambiguity. Designers have to partake in their own guesswork and interpretations of how to use images effectively. This is because there has been no backed specification as of yet. If this wasn’t troublesome enough, new devices with high pixel density displays are being released onto the market every day. This means that if images aren’t dealt with properly then they can easily end up appearing blurry and of a low quality. One recommended solution is to use adaptive images. These actually detect the size of your visitor’s screen and will those create re-scaled version of your embedded HTML images.

Trouble converting fixed-width websites

Many designers seem to experience this problem. Not only do people struggle with how to change an old fixed-width website’s code basis, but a lot of designers are debating whether they even should. Is it worth the hassle? After all, responsive design coding is a lot more stringent. With regards to whether to convert the coding at all, it is probably best that you do. At the end of the day, these old websites had no consideration for new digital platforms, such as mobile internet. Therefore, they are not structured in a way that would be appropriate for a smartphone display.

Navigation issues

We are usually guilty of overcomplicating things in business, yet when it comes to navigation there is a general underestimation of the monumental number of considerations that need to be put into place. A lot of responsive website designs have a problem with navigation because of the fact that there has been a move away from your standard box along the top of the page or alternatively down the left-hand side. Instead, navigation placement needs to give a lot more thought.

There is no right or wrong answer. Nonetheless, finding the right solution for you revolves around considering your content, design factors, the architecture of your information, and the effectiveness when used on different platforms.

If you experience any of the common problems that have been mentioned regarding responsive website design, then hopefully you will now have the adequate solutions to combat them. No matter what issue you are trying to put right, remember that constant testing on various digital platforms is a must.

How Can Influencers Help Modern Businesses?

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Influencers|How Can Influencers Help Modern Businesses?Running a business in the modern world will always come with some challenges. Competing with other companies, getting the word out to enough customers, and even just keeping up with the latest trends and developments can feel impossible when you’re running a business by yourself. Influencer marketing can help with at least two of these areas, offering loads of benefits to your business when you decide to take this route. But how exactly can influencers help businesses in the modern world? Let’s take a look at the benefits of a modern influencer to get you started.

Expands Awareness

Businesses will typically choose influencers with large followings when they are choosing people to work with. This will ensure that the posts made by your influencer will be seen by a lot of people, expanding awareness of your business and making you stand out from the crowd. This can be much easier than traditional marketing, giving you the chance to reach loads of potential customers without having to spend loads of time learning about them and their habits, like you would with other forms of marketing.

Builds Trust

Trust is an essential element in business, and you need to be able to build trust with your potential customers, especially if your products or services are expensive. Influencers can help you with this, using the trust they have already built with their fans to convince them that your products are worth their time and money. Building trust can be easier than you expect when you have an influencer working for your brand, but this also means that many influencers are careful with who they work with.

Generates Feedback

Generating feedback about your products can be very useful when you first get started in business, giving you ideas to help you to improve your offerings. It can be hard to find ways to get feedback when you haven’t made many sales, though, and this is where influencers can come in. Stars like Haylee can trigger conversations about your product within their communities, encouraging their users to talk about what they like and dislike about them, while also letting people throw their own ideas into the ring.

Saves Time & Energy

Working with influencers is far faster than working on your own advertising campaigns. You will pay them to produce some content and post it for you, and this can be complete within as little as a few hours. Of course, you will probably want to do more than one post in the future, but this will be a good place to start to see if influencer marketing could work for your business. This will make it easier for you to focus on the work that is really important.

Influencer marketing has been gaining huge amounts of popularity in recent years. People from across the world have started to use this type of marketing to make their businesses soar, and it’s easier to get started than most people expect; you just need to find the right influencers for your business.