Basic Digital Marketing

For multi-national retail giants, some of the biggest brands in fast food, and the world’s biggest companies in consumer goods, email plays a huge role in their success. For smaller businesses looking to gain market share through content marketing and SEO, email may have equally promising ROI as social media. If you know how to implement a successful email marketing campaign, chances are your brand is going to be well-served to fight even the biggest of its competitors.

Ignoring the reach of email can be a big mistake for marketers and SEO specialists. To connect to social media platforms, register for eCommerce, and in general, to use the internet, one must have an email. Though there are oftentimes much more attractive, trendy marketing strategies that we like to talk about, the effectiveness of an email campaign has not diminished over time. Just as reliable as ever, email has the potential to pull back in past customers and to increase revenues in healthy ways. If your focus is exclusively on content marketing and SEO, and there are no efforts being made to engage in follow-up marketing through email, you might be limiting your success.

 We live in a world where anyone can create an eCommerce site. The influx of uneducated, low performance eCommerce sites has made it difficult to stand out. There are few methods to gain exposure more valuable than strong, five-star customer reviews. Establishing trust with an eCommerce brand and building confidence in specific products, customer reviews give new customers a sense of security.

Whether you are an established brand in eCommerce or new to the game, customer reviews have an equal impact. Even for consumers who may already trust your website, customer reviews work to promote specific products, giving insight into other consumers’ experiences with them. There are many factors that go into whether a customer makes a final purchase or not. If they have questions not already answered by the product description or their own research, reviews are another way to retrieve unbiased information. The latest research shows up to 85 percent of consumers trust eCommerce customer reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family – that says a lot about their power.

 A ‘sales funnel’ is the design of the processes a customer must go through to make a purchase. The sales funnel begins with first attracting the attention of the customer and then concludes when a sale is made.

The effectiveness of a sales funnel depends entirely on its ability to attract attention, close sales, and increase conversion rates. The five stage of a sales funnel are ‘exposure’, ‘discovery’, ‘consideration’, ‘conversion’, and ‘retention’. By learning about these five stages, one can successfully maximize its potential.

‘Exposure’ is the point at which a business must attract its customer which may or may not include inbound and outbound marketing techniques. Digital marketing ads and social media marketing are two highly effective methods of maximizing exposure in the sales funnel. More businesses are also using YouTube video marketing and blogging to tap into the attentions of potential customers.

 Digital social marketing produces results however the unfortunate caveat to that is that it does take time. Unfortunately, some businesses may not have the patience to see their investment grow. The question of whether social marketing is worth the investment or is a waste of money is a very common question among small business owners and those new to the digital marketing game. As a company involved in digital marketing and having seen the results it can produce, here’s what we think about the ‘investment’ that is social marketing.

To begin, large corporations throw hundreds of thousands of dollars at social marketing hoping that something sticks and in large part because of the amount of money being invested, the results are sizeable. For smaller companies however, social marketing budgets are going to be a lot smaller. That is not necessarily a bad thing either. It only services to challenge social marketing companies such as Unlimited Exposure to stretch this investment to the maximum. To be clear, a website does not need hundreds of thousands of dollars in social marketing to get hundreds of thousands of dollars back. If one knows how to successfully create and maximize the potential of a sales funnel, and if the lead generation is strong, there’s no limit to what a smaller budget can achieve.

 Long-term SEO accomplishments take time to build. Thankfully there is always time to correct mistakes and improve upon strategies that may not be performing ideally. With literally thousands of variables that could affect your search engine ranking, there are no guarantees in SEO. In our time of doing SEO successfully in 2018, here are a few of the lessons we’ve learned.

#1 – There is no single SEO strategy that works for all

SEO strategies vary according to the client. Even with the right keywords, amazing content, and strong links, a strategy may not perform with one client the same way it did with another. Using the same strategy again and again is not necessarily a bad thing if it performs well. That’s no sure thing though. Clients come with different goals, competitors, and keywords. So be prepared to swap out what isn’t working to create new strategies and techniques to obtain long-term SEO success in 2018.

 Saturday Night Live has survived over five decades and counting. Though the popular late Saturday night television show has gone through its ups and downs, it has successfully thrived in the marketplace outlasting competitors and creating conversation. As experts on digital marketing, SEO, and internet brand development, we are always on the lookout for inspiration. No matter what one might think of ‘Saturday Night Live’, its drawing power has remained consistent and its success is hard to argue with. So here are four lessons to learn in marketing from Saturday Night Live that may apply to your digital business.

#1 – Tackling the key issues of the day

Saturday Night Live first aired in 1975 and even early on, the show was never afraid to comment on key issues of the day. Though a digital business may not wish to tackle satirical political commentary like Saturday Night Live or offering social commentary that wasn’t asked for, to market in a digital space is to know how and when to comment on key issues. Keep on the lookout for fun subjects in the news or hashtags you can piggyback on. Find out the conversations being had in your industry and participate. Use social media as a way to tap into the conversation and get to know what your customers are talking about.

 Cart abandonment is highly common on eCommerce websites and is the phenomenon of a visitor, after having picked out items and placed them in their cart, deciding to not complete the checkout process. That means, somewhere along the way, the checkout process lost the customer.

Common reasons for cart abandonment include high shipping costs, slow shipping times, and higher than expected taxes. There may also be issues with the checkout process itself, sometimes being too lengthy and/or too complicated. For eCommerce sites that can understand where they’re going wrong with cart abandonment, they are more likely to be able to resolve the issue.

 For a website, digital marketing can help find a bigger audience, more brand reach, and higher sales. Keeping this in mind, where online marketing might be failing you is in its limitations. If your website is not selling well, it’s not necessarily strictly because online marketing techniques are not working. It could be from any number of offline influences that directly impact the effectiveness of online marketing. If you’re not doing what it takes offline to support your online activities, it makes it difficult for digital marketing to successfully accomplish everything it claims to be able to do.

 Internet marketing algorithms are always changing and it’s sometimes a race to keep up. In response, more marketers are using influencer marketing to build followings for multi-national brands across the world.

Influencer marketing uses individuals and brands that already have audiences to build your own. For example, on social media, one might see Twitter accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers. Imagine being able to work together with those Twitter accounts to promote your brand. The same can be done through methods such as sponsoring a YouTube video from an influencer, brokering a deal with an Instagram influencer to promote your brand, and/or partnering with a popular Facebook page to highlight the products or services you offer. As a trustworthy strategy, influencer marketing is one method of getting the word out that has consistently delivered.

 Content marketing plans need to incorporate key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor whether a strategy is successful or not. If a marketer is not looking at web analytics data to measure the success of a content marketing campaign, it’s then impossible to know whether they’re on the right path. Evidently, there are some basic KPIs to keep in mind, including customer engagement and conversion rates. There are also more advanced KPIs that you might not be thinking of when it comes to measuring marketing success. This guide on KPIs for content marketing plans can hopefully share some insight into the analytic metrics to watch out for.

 The right eCommerce platform that’s best for online stores in Canada is a tough question to answer and yet it’s one of the most common we receive. There are numerous options available out there, each one meeting different needs. The best eCommerce platform for you will depend on what features and pricing you want, requirements, and personal preferences. Three of the most popular eCommerce platforms are Magento, WooCommerce, and Shopify.

 Conversion rates is when a visitor goes from clicking onto your eCommerce site to becoming a customer. Conversion rates are measured by this percentage. High conversion rates means increased online revenues while low rates means that there is something that needs fixing.

Any eCommerce store that receives a high number of visitors but is not getting sufficient sales from these visitors, the cause needs to be investigated. After all, there may be somewhere along the sales funnel where customers are being lost. If you can find where and you know what needs to be done to fix it, there’s no reason low conversion rates cannot be improved upon.

Using SEO content to get customers to click and buy is the ultimate target for marketers. It does come with its challenges though. SEO strategies may be causing a site to rank extremely well however there are no guarantees that it’s getting the clicks and conversions its position assumes.

The ongoing battle between formatting SEO content through interactive design and ensuring it functions according to search engine rules is tough. Just because content grabs a visitor’s attention does not mean it will rank well and vice versa. Thereby, converting customers via SEO content should be a focus when developing said content.

 Content marketing has been a strong strategy among marketers seeking to build audiences. As popular as content marketing has been in recent years, not all pursuing it do so effectively. Developing an effective, basic content marketing plan involves many different components. Before you begin jumping into creating amazing content for your website and social media, here’s how you lay the groundwork for a small business content marketing plan that works.

 Challenge stale social media strategies with something new, exciting, and effective. If you’re a small business looking for more real customer interaction and looking to inspire conversation online, these social media marketing engagement strategies will help. Through higher social media engagement, an account can win bigger on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and more.

#1 – Highlight the human side of employees

You don’t want your small business to be seen as just another company. Highlight the human beings who make it what it is.

Using eCommerce to reach online shoppers has allowed multi-national corporations to increase their revenues in big ways, small businesses to find their way into a crowded marketplace, and has provided consumers with lower pricing, better products, and more favorable terms.

For newcomers to the eCommerce game, there is certainly money to be made. Since 2012, eCommerce companies have generated hundreds of billions of dollars in annual sales.

 Digital marketing is a long-term process. Any short-term rewards are bonus and should not be expected. Though that’s a difficult sell to some companies, it’s the closest thing to the cold, hard truth we have.

Digital marketing companies are usually hired to produce as soon as possible. It is highly unfortunate that most marketing strategies are more marathons than anything. Through dedication, intelligence, and perseverance, that’s how we win the race.

 Say goodbye to the rule of text-based content marketing. Video marketing is growing at a feverish pace and the effectiveness of it as a digital marketing strategy is undisputable. Digital marketing companies are spending thousands upon thousands of dollars on video marketing because there’s strong evidence suggesting it could be the ‘next big thing’ in the online space.

The ultimate battle between Facebook and YouTube

 Who buys, what they buy, when they buy, and why they buy is research every eCommerce company should invest in. The shopping habits, behaviour, and preferences of online shoppers can be used to build ultimate eCommerce solutions that strengthen profits, increases revenues, and builds a bigger audience. As eCommerce continues to grow in 2018, we’re looking ahead to some of the biggest trends we see defining the year for companies in this space.

#1 – Localization, Personalization & CX

The eCommerce company that succeeds in 2018 is the one that invests in local promotions and local-friendly content, personalized messaging and communications, and the customer experience. Though there is a lot to unpack in this trend, by pursuing localized and personalized marketing communications, instantly, you can enhance the customer experience. This goes beyond the minimum of fast shipping, low prices, and simple navigation. Those these points are arguably just as important as anything else, most eCommerce sites are already doing this. Thereby, go the extra mile in localizing, personalizing, and focusing on enhancing the customer’s perspective.

There are varying opinions as to the effectiveness of guest blogging in 2018. There are some who will argue it to be a spam-esque strategy, while others will continue to emphasize the importance of collaboration online.

For years, guest blogging was an effective way to build relationships, build links, and gain some key SEO points, helping numerous sites we know and love rank and find audience. Today, guest blogging is not the phenomenon it once was however it is still used by many companies for the aforementioned reasons.

To dismiss guest blogging as being out of fashion or somehow ineffective in 2018 is not accurate.

 Competition between eCommerce companies has elevated consumer expectations significantly, pushing them to an all-time high as sites continue trying to outdo one another. More than 70 percent of Canadians will do at least some form of online shipping this year. For an eCommerce site to thrive in the market, they need to be able to measure up. Fortunately, through some small adjustments, any site should be able to successfully position itself for long-term success in the upcoming summer sales season. Here are some eCommerce strategies to try.

 SEO is nothing new yet it’s still something a lot of us can carry some dated notions or misconceptions about. As search engine optimization undergoes updates and with the array of philosophies out there about approaching SEO, it can be difficult knowing what to believe and what applies in the present time frame. Evidently, that results in a lot of people getting their SEO strategies wrong. Here are the top 7 misconceptions we have found some customers have about search engine optimization.

 Digital marketing is expanding faster than ever and data, tech, and measurement tools are growing at similar rates. Traditional, classic advertising spending is falling by the wayside as brands are learning to spend smarter across leaner strategies and emerging technologies. Today’s landscape of ‘fake news’ accusations, Facebook privacy concerns, Google algorithm changes, and new tech introductions is innovating the way that we do marketing. As the world shifts, so do we.

Automation is slowly growing

Automation in marketing is still a new concept, in terms of being an effective strategy. Consumer behaviours are changing and for brands seeking to spend less on marketing, automation is going to have to become part of the approach. Machine learning and automation already provides brands with insights they may have never had before on details in their sales channels and performance. The more insight automation can be used to deliver, the more effective a sales strategy can be built.

Data accumulation is endless

Marketers have more data today than ever before, helping them build and modify advertising strategies. The arenas in which consumers are engaging with brands deliver innovative insights into how content is being consumed, where in the sales funnel customers are leaving your site, and more. Knowing how to sift through the increasing mounds of data will be key in 2018 and beyond. Thankfully, with the invention of AI-driven tools, data can be more effectively processed. The future of data accumulation will be challenging however for those experienced in knowing what to look for, it will be a very lucrative point in time for marketing.

 Shaping up to be another record-setting year in business and marketing, 2018 is proving to deliver some unique trends in marketing. According to many experts, there is as much as eight unique trends each competing to overtake marketing in 2018.

As we look ahead towards the rest of the year, we hope to be on the cutting edge of what works – as would most companies in our shoes. For the clients we are currently working with and to the partnerships we will form in the future, these are just some of the big marketing trends we are paying attention to in 2018.

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a unique approach used in business marketing wherein an organization will communicate with prospects and/or customer accounts as markets of one. Account-based marketing has shown promising results in the business-to-business marketing community and is a trend that we are keeping our eyes on.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are a digitization that is happening of the real world. Transcending the division that exists between the digital and the non-digital, more apps and sites are using predominantly AR to create more immersive user experiences. In return, audiences appear to be flocking in droves to take part in these experiences. Now, whether VR or AR converts to sales is another story however this is an area we are keeping tabs on.

 Successful local area marketing begins with choosing geographic-friendly keywords however that is truly just the start. Every day it seems consumers continue to get smarter and search engines more intuitive. There’s also always competition coming up behind, ready to take your place. To stay ahead and continue building on your growth, a local area marketing strategy is required.

The first step to local area marketing is selecting geographic friendly keywords. For any successful SEO local area marketing, keywords are going to play a tremendous role. These keywords should extend beyond industry and location. Consider keywords that differentiate you from your competitors.

The next step is in finding the online directories that matter and getting your name in them. For example, there is Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and potentially some local business listings that you will want to get your brand on. Monitoring these listings and ensuring that your business name has been included can help establish credibility for your brand in the eyes of consumers. Next, it’s important to scan these directories routinely to ensure that the pages are functioning as they should.