Category: Internet Marketing

Steps to Leverage Inbound Marketing by Paid Marketers

April 6, 2015

Paid marketing has long been the preferred method for many companies as it involves less effort. A client pays for PPC, display, sponsorships, affiliate marketing and promotions and expects that the leads will come through. Usually, they do but the Internet and the world in which we live are evolving at a great speed. Paid marketing is just not enough to get all that a company would want in order to increase conversions. Inbound marketing, which was once not taken seriously by a lot of paid marketers is slowly gaining recognition even among some of the staunchest paid marketers. Inbound marketing techniques such as SEO, content, social media, email marketing and webinars, forums, media mentions & word of mouth advertising have all begun to gain more importance. The reason for this change is the evolution of social media and the way people have begun to use the Internet. In this article, let us take a look at how paid marketers can leverage inbound marketing. 1. Borrow persona profiles Content writers often understand their target audience the best. They instinctively know what their readers want, how they need to approach them and how well they can categorize & label them. This bit of information is very useful to marketers, who often depend on less intuitive methods to categorize people. Buyer personas can be borrowed by paid marketers from inbound marketers and use the data for marketing campaigns. With so many social media tools out there and a wealth of data that is available on social media, it is even easier to come up with buyer personas for inbound marketers. By borrowing these buyer personas from inbound marketers, paid marketers can use the data to look for high-value leads. 2. Leverage design Inbound marketing involves SEO, web design and landing pages. All these involve a great deal of design and it is difficult to not avoid a situation where inbound marketers do not have to spend on design. Paid marketers, on the other hand, feel the need to use design as well but the budget often crosses the limit. Paid marketers can borrow design from inbound marketers and specifically, landing pages can be leveraged again. Design is a very important aspect of paid marketing and good design is known to drive a lot of traffic. When paid marketers have already diverted funds towards other tasks, it becomes difficult to pull money for getting new design created. 3. Borrow information related to keywords SEO and social media professionals depend on keywords to hunt for more leads. In fact, keyword search still remains one of the most important methods to hunt for leads. Paid marketers can borrow keywords, in order to create PPC campaigns and other paid forms of advertising, which too need to be based on keywords. When inbound marketers have already done the homework, paid marketers can use the data and information for their benefit. A good set of keywords can help marketers to come up with great paid marketing campaigns, which will ultimately help in getting leads from some of the most unlikely places. 4. Reuse content again Paid marketers need to also access content written by content marketers. This can be a great way to reduce the burden of creating new content from scratch. Existing content can be reused or rewritten, in order to ensure uniformity of thought across paid and inbound marketing teams. A lot of money can be saved when content is re-purposed for paid marketing. Content is not easy to write and what has been written needs to be used again, even if it means rewriting it. Once inbound marketing teams complete their research and finish writing, it can be used by paid marketers as well. Looking forward Google and other search engines have begun to evaluate websites based on their social signals, which certainly is an inbound marketing technique. Paid marketers, thus, have begun to use inbound marketing techniques, in order to brace for the changes that have already occurred. What is more, paid marketers can actually leverage inbound marketing for their own benefits. All these factors suggest that paid marketers need not hesitate to borrow and feel inspired by inbound marketing.

Read More »

The Power of Visual eCommerce Marketing

April 3, 2015

Visual elements are powerful in this internet-savvy world. They can tell a story, inspire and persuade. Although sale is the primary goal, fostering an emotional connection through visuals can ensure repeat business. And that is why most of the online ventures wish to create an environment that invokes relevancy and attention between the customers and the brands. With social web going visual, eCommerce merchants are surely on Cloud 9. Visual marketing is significant for invigorating the right sense of sight for your online visitors. Not only this, social networks including Snapchat, Pinterest and Instagram also involves social elements as commenting, following and sharing. It is time to empower your fans to shop with a single click and eliminate their guess work. Here’s how you can make a buzz with the top three visual-rich marketing tools for your eCommerce business. Snapchat With 100 million active Snapchat users, this mobile app has gained popularity with people of all ages and retailers for driving in more business. Moreover, with its recent addition of text messaging and video calling features, this social media app has become influential in gaining audience’s attention. With its three most powerful attributes, you are sure to gain access to your customer’s heart and mind: Sense of urgency: Snaps encourage quick purchase decisions with either a ‘YES’ or ‘MISS OUT’ opportunity. Users are left with seconds to jot down the discount code or take a screenshot of any exciting voucher, thereby, building a sense of urgency. Storytelling experience: With ‘My Story’ platform, you can add series of videos, photos and doodles into one story and share it with your Snapchat circle. Moreover, with the chance of viewing multiple times over 24 hours, stories can have a longer life and impression. Type messages back and forth: The ‘chat’ feature of Snapchat allows users to click and hold on individual messages and save what’s important. The rest of the messages disappear. Even the video chat feature enables quick sharing of videos along with the ability to chat with your customers. Statistics to Support its Usage 1 billion number of Snapchat stories are viewed per day 400 million Snapchat snaps are sent every day 70% of Snapchat users are women Pinterest With its 70 million users, not only is Pinterest one of the fastest growing social networks but also the number of sales through Pinterest typically exceeds Facebook and Twitter. Some of its super beneficial features provide great business opportunities for the online marketers: Promotional and rich pins: Promoted pins allow brands to reach the best targeted audience and enable you to pay Pinterest only if users click through and read the content. Rich pins, on the other hand, contain valuable information within the pin itself. You can use five types of rich pins including movie, article, place, recipe and product. Pinterest boards: You can create boards to narrate the stories of your brand besides pinning your products. It is an effective way to keep consumers coming back to you. ‘Pin It’ button: With ‘Pin It’ button integrated on each product pages, visitors finds it easy to click through various items and easily take the next steps to share it with other followers. Buy button: Companies will soon enable users to buy various items through a ‘BUY NOW’ button. Merchants can drive purchase of their products from the site to increase sales conversions. Kosei app: The app drives business by making personalized and powerful product recommendation. The app also helps brands to improve its content. Statistics to Support its Usage 70% users use Pinterest to get inspiration on what to buy 67% uses Pinterest to keep up with the latest trends they like 50% conversion comes from Pinterest traffic 53% makes online purchases after they see items in Pinterest 39% uses Pinterest to receive special offers from brands Instagram With 300 million user base, retailers are flocking into Instagram site in hopes of garnering the attention of their target audience. By incorporating Instagram photos onto your website, you can engage the users with your brand on this happening social network platform and also provide them additional useful information. With its ability to increase the visibility of your brand, Instagram is a brilliant database to promote your upcoming products. This open social network also encourages the creation of user-generated content. Here’s how you can effectively engage with Instagram audience: Instagram Direct: Merchants can send messages containing photos or 15 seconds videos to their target groups. This is similar to Twitter’s direct message functionality. Instagram video: 15 seconds highly engaging video on new products and services or customer test imonials are effective on this popular channel. Insider program: Make announcements of sales, special events or new products and ask for feedbacks on desired features, prospective products, customer service or shipping related issues. Instagram ads: Ads get carousel treatment with links on it. You can now place multiple photos in one sponsored post allowing users the option to click on other content. The carousal allows for sequential storytelling, over multiple images. Statistics to Support its Usage 70 million photos are posted via Instagram on an average day 70% of Instagram users log in at least once a day 20% of global internet users between ages 16-24 have Instagram account 23% of teens consider Instagram their favorite social network channel Visuals Communicate and Connect with Your Target Audience The whole idea behind creating visual marketing is to get your viewers excited about your brand. Visuals are processed much faster in the brain than the texts. However, make your graphics and videos error free. Make sure that they communicate unambiguously. Great visuals always speak the right language.

Read More »

Facebook Groups – Your Business Tool to Drive Customer Engagement

April 2, 2015

Every business has their secret weapon to bring in new customers. Today’s topic of discussion centers around one such secret if you have none for your business. Do you think promoting your brand through your business Facebook page will suffice? Well! There’s potentially a lot more to it than that. Let’s explore the most underutilized aspect of Facebook. The strategy is about creating Facebook Groups to lay the foundation of the best customer service. Facebook Groups – Your Weapon to Increase Your Visibility and Networking Facebook Groups is all about providing an easy way to segment customers, creating communities around specific products, providing a network forum for customers, improving customer service and most importantly, driving new sales. Facebook Groups allow conversations and exchange of ideas. However, do not misunderstand Facebook Groups with Facebook Page. Pages are managed by an organization while Groups can be formed by anyone. Checklists Before You Join a Group You can join up to 6,000 Facebook Groups If you’re unsure about where to find groups, start with Facebook Graph Search Focus on only 10-20 active groups Measure your group against a few criteria including active group members, low spam, members of a specific Facebook Group, impressive description etc. Check the ‘About Section’ of any new group to learn about their business goals You may also restrict group membership based on qualification Avoid groups who focus only on sales and promotions & do not contribute to any valuable conversations Utilizing Facebook Groups for Marketing Build Your Community The basics of Facebook marketing start with building a community. A group should be about its members and how they contribute to your business. However, networking is equally important for your group members. They should make connections and discuss about your offerings. I found it easier to communicate with people through my Facebook Group than it is via email. I feel that having the group creates a more personal connection between my brand and my clients. It gives me an added level of support. Create a Competitive Market Place The real reason behind Facebook Groups being so powerful is its capability to market your products and services overnight. Post your products and make your fans go crazy to buy them. However, do not spam with unnecessary clutters. Discuss current events and offerings Facebook is the right platform to discuss about the latest happenings of businesses. And Groups are great places to keep up with current events and updates in your industry. If you’re conducting any business event, welcome your group to participate and ask for suggestions if required. Let them brainstorm ideas, share resources, answer questions and create strong relationships with one another. After all, satisfied customers promote brands on Facebook more than any other social network. No other medium is as good as Facebook Groups in highlighting your offerings and making your customers fall in love with your brand. Offer them varieties of products and the best deals to encourage conversations around each of these individual offerings. As people tend to be more personally connected to conversations in Facebook Groups, group members are more likely to see your updates. Value your customers Reward your customers within the group and make them feel special. Post their pictures on Facebook and let your community know about your ‘Happy customers’. Choral your loyal customers and keep them motivated to talk about your brand. Use the group to follow up with your clients and solve their queries. Another smart approach is to encourage your group members to help you reach your goals. Utilizing Facebook Groups for Customer Engagement Construct a Customer Support Hub Use closed Facebook Group to deliver support to customers in need of any help. Eventually, it also becomes a central place to receive feedback on what is and what isn’t working for your business. The whole idea is to generate an open dialogue between you and your customers by giving them a specific location to ask questions. Group members who have already made a purchase are more likely to engage with your brand, if they’re happy with your customer service. The closed group forum allows your customers to get direct access to you. Form Networking Hubs for Existing Customers Use secret members-only groups to create a personalized and classified feedback loop. This is a great customer engagement and retention tool. This group is an ideal spot to provide extra value to your special clients. If your brand has a more exclusive audience, a private group is a perfect fit in to your business. Lay a hub to build customer awareness and interest in your brand Start an open group to focus on business niche. Use your open group to establish yourself as an expert and to network with others in the industry. Provide content in a more personal and community-focused way and allow your group to talk about your brand. Incentives are the best way to attract customers and build their interests in your brand. Bonus for Facebook Groups Facebook’s ‘SAVE’ function works for Facebook Groups content. This is an added advantage for members who have the luxury of reading and responding to something when they have more time. This reinforces your brand. This is not the end; Facebook definitely needs a pat on its back. To make business prosper, Facebook has also introduced a new app for the Facebook Groups. The app allows easy sharing, chatting and keeping up with Facebook Groups. The app also simplifies the process of discovering new groups, joining the new groups and viewing all notifications.

Read More »

Mobile Devices – The Greatest Influencer of Search Marketing

March 18, 2015

Time is not so far when mobile apps would be the dominant computing tools for users across the world. Google predicts that mobile searches which are currently at 85.9 billion will soon exceed desktop searches by the end of 2015. In fact, 81 percent of conversion starts from mobile searches with 2 billion Smartphone users expected to grow globally by the end of 2015. Organic search trends are drastically changing with the rapid use of Smart devices and their varied applications. What role does mobile search play in consumers’ life? Consumers’ searches are ever-changing. However, the basic that they want are: Simple navigation Appropriate call-to-action buttons Easy access to products and information The facility to communicate in real time They’re always in search of new apps that can identify their exact wants. They want the apps to present them with the right set of functionalities and options at the right time. In a nutshell, consumers demand proactive and relevant information and services from their smart devices. And mobiles help to accomplish their goals. -Mobile search With the increasing number of mobiles and its varied apps, life is easy. Right from streamlining grocery lists, payment of bills, online shopping, maintaining calendars, making travel plans or collaborating with co-workers, consumers associate mobile devices with productivity. They consider apps as convenient, faster and very easy to browse. The optimized design, functionality and ease of use have leaded to an enormous growth of mobile user satisfaction and engagement. Accordingly to Google, 85 percent of users prefer mobile, especially mobile apps, for search. -Local search Local search on mobile devices creates moment of interest connecting the local business and the searchers looking for their preferred products and services. Interestingly, it has been found that local searchers on mobile devices ultimately make a purchase. Local search opens new opportunities for businesses and creates greater visibility for the potential customers. The primary motives behind mobile search The reasons behind exhaustive use of smart devices can be listed under the following categories: The ‘ME’ time – Seeking relaxation through entertainment Self-expression – Participating in interests and hobbies Discovery – Seeking news and information Shopping – Seeking new products and services Preparation – Planning for forthcoming activities Socializing – Interacting with others What actually drives device market performance? The ease of use, the user interface, countless apps and the quality of design win consumers’ heart and mind within a wink of an eye. More and more companies are launching advance mobile devices and apps across the globe. Practically, they’re with us everywhere and every time as and when we need them. Users are more reliant on mobile apps for needs discovery and exhaustive search. According to Statista report, worldwide mobile app download which is currently 179.628 billion in 2015 is expected to reach 268.692 billion by 2017. The majority of the customers actually spend 89 percent of their time in apps and 11% browsing the web. However, mobile search strategy involves creating unique mobile keywords approach. Mobile searchers use different keywords when they’re on their mobile devices. Moreover, there are three important limitations that marketers need to keep in mind: Searchers search on small screens Searchers have different needs Searchers do not have keyboards Based on these observations, marketers should use analytics at disposal and think like consumers to find out what search terms mobile users use to find specific products and services. Digital consumption is going mobile Mobile device is fast becoming the preferred medium for searching content, reading them and sharing it with others. Searchers spend more time accessing social media from mobile devices. Almost 8% of the total activities of mobile users include searching and sharing content. The majority of the consumers are more likely to click and share content on social media networks through their smart devices compared to the desktop users. The following social media mobile statistics show its importance in today’s world… 71% uses social media from mobile devices 76% of Twitter users access from mobile 1.1 billion Facebook users use social media on mobile The advancement of mobile technology Besides the equipped mobile phones, all mobile devices with internet access and video viewing capabilities have aided the promotion of search marketing. These allow businesses to promote with multimedia including audio, video, and images, which are effective in grabbing customers’ attention. With the app-based QR Codes, location-based SMS or mobile search ads, mobile technology is the biggest drive behind the low cost of mobile advertising industry. People are so infused with mobile technology that if any company is not taking the supreme advantages of mobile marketing, they’re surely way behind the competition. As already predicted in 2013, the mobile marketing will generate $400 billion sales in 2015. Industries across the entire world are eventually realizing the significance of mobile search marketing for their business.

Read More »

What’s the Buzz about Facebook Video Ads

February 9, 2015

Sometime around last year, Facebook announced that it was testing Premium Video Ads to help advertisers reach their preferred target audience. The company stated that it was designed for those advertisers who wanted to reach a large target audience with the help of “high-quality sight, sound and motion”. Each of these videos would be 15 seconds long, it stated. It was designed to be non-intrusive. Moreover, if people scrolled past the video, it would stop playing as that would indicate a lack of interest in those ads. One could also tap on the video ad so that it expands full-screen and sound would begin to be heard as well. Over a period of few months, Facebook began to roll out these video ads in various places and garnered various reactions. Most digital marketing professionals believe that Facebook Video Ads are a great way to showcase a product or a service and not be intrusive. A video ad that does not play sound unless being clicked upon is a revolutionary idea. Most of us know how unpleasant it is when video advertisements begin to play without our permission, causing us to reduce our volumes. Facebook certainly has recognized this problem as offered video ads that only play sans audio until a person chooses to click on the video himself or herself. Growing importance of Facebook Video Ads The Age recently reported that “the amount of video on Facebook’s news feed has more than tripled”. It also reported that many advertisers are yet to discover the option of Facebook Video Ads. As more advertisers realize its presence and the valuable platform that it provides for companies, more businesses will begin to use them to market their products and services. In this article, let us try to understand what Facebook Premium Ads are and how they are going to benefit your business. How are Facebook Video Ads bought and measured? You can purchase and measure Facebook’s video ads just like how TV ads are bought and measured. If you have heard about TGRP (Targeted Gross Rating Points), it is applicable in the case of Facebook Ads as well. Facebook Video Ads are bought based on TGRP as well and the delivery is measured by Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings (OCR). Facebook also had mentioned that it was working with a company named Ace Matrix to ensure that the video ads suit the content that people see in their news feeds. Facebook also announced that it acquired LiveRail, a startup that will help ad publishers to be more efficient. Every video ad is to be reviewed and assessed before it gets live on Facebook. Some of the criteria that will judge the Facebook Video Ads are emotional resonance, meaningfulness and watchability. The idea is to ensure that there is a certain level of quality when it comes to Facebook Video Ads. Facebook does not want just any video ad to appear on people’s newsfeeds. This will also help advertisers to work on better video ads so that they get the maximum return on investment. Initially, Facebook limited the video ads to high quality advertisers, a euphemism for some luxury brands and top tech companies. Slowly, the service is being offered to others as well. Facebook Video Ads are becoming more acceptable Facebook Video Ads are slowly but surely changing people’s perspectives. People still have a negative view about video advertisements, mostly because of the intrusive way they play on some websites. By addressing this problem, Facebook has ensured that people are not intruded by sound from video ads, even if they play in the background. This presents advertisers and companies with huge opportunities to reach the right target audience. With more people joining Facebook and with Facebook acquiring better technologies, it is going to get easier to target the right kind of audience with video ads that are entertaining, informative and attention-grabbing. With the right marketing strategy and creative thinking, Facebook Video Ads can be used to generate leads and increase sales in the long term. If you would like to learn how Facebook Video Ads can help you, do contact our digital marketing professionals.

Read More »

How to Sell the Value of Web to Small-Town Clients

December 19, 2014

Currently, there are 2.92 billion users with access to internet across the world. Internet penetration has grown exponentially with increasing bandwidth and broadband connectivity. Use of internet has seen a sharp rise with some of the most popular online activities like online shopping, e-mails and social networking. Considering that, large businesses realized much earlier, the importance of having a website. Soon after, small-scale businesses in big cities followed in their footsteps to pose them a competition. But there is a lot of scope to explore the opportunity of website creation among small-town clients. Small-town businesses still think that the number of customers they cater to versus the amount of investment required in a website is a no-go for them. The problem is that they don’t realize the potential a website holds. The need is to educate them and make them think big. For a small-scale businessman in a small town, everything ultimately comes down to the investment required. They are extremely cautious in spending every penny. Let them know the value for money they are going to get. Don’t limit your selling proposition to the benefits of having a website with 24X7 access theory. Following are some of the critical points that you need to stress upon: A. Share with them the advantages of setting up a website 1. Ability to track visitors Creating a website is easy. But how effective it is for your client? Do they understand how can they improve the performance of their website? Expose them to various analytical tools that help the website owner to track and understand their visitors. Google Analytics is one of the free tools that track the visitors coming from every platform i.e. online ads, videos, smartphone, tablet or PC. It also helps them to gain insight into customer purchase behavior, revise their marketing approach and improve the traffic on the website. They can learn to conduct A/B testing and share their learning with their colleagues. Reaching the right target audience was never so easy and your clients need to be convinced with that. 2. Building a strong brand image Your client has been probably following traditional marketing ways of reaching the target audience. Though there is nothing wrong with that but looking at the reach required and demographics of a small town makes a website look more progressive & professional. It portrays a strong brand image. People in small towns are aspiring to become tech-savvy with the penetration of internet in the remotest areas. The target audience of your clients is this group of people who are learning to have everything at their disposal at the click of a button. The way your clients market themselves and the convenience they offer plays a significant role in the brand building exercise. Beyond the name recognition they get through online medium, it is the communication about their service potential that gets them true recognition. 3. Advertising a website is a lot easier It is true that online advertisement of website is a lot easier than traditional modes of advertising through pamphlets, newspapers, magazines etc. Online advertisement gives you a sea of opportunities to pick and choose from a variety of mediums. Social media advertisement is one of the leading ways of online advertisement. The fact is that people feel free to interact on social media and the marketer is open to follow the interests & likes of their audience. Company blog interlinked with social media profiles is a dexterous approach taken by an online marketer. Apart from that, listing the website through online ads is another interesting way of expanding the reach. Furthermore, they can tweak the website content to keep it SEO-friendly and original that differentiates them from others. Online modes of advertisement are under the control of the business-owner and their ability to engage with their audience makes them superior unlike traditional marketing. 4. Getting more leads Website has a global presence. It gives them the opportunity to reach the customers beyond their town. Business queries that usually happen over a phone can now easily happen through a website. Moreover, complex queries become difficult to address through phone or SMS. Use of fax and posts is, gradually, fading away. Websites are the only efficient way left for both buyer and seller to generate and respond to business queries. Adding to that, people are more willing to submit a form online than to pick up the phone and explain. As a seller, your clients get sufficient time to think, choose their words and give the right quotation to the customers. On the contrary, if your client has a retail business, running an e-commerce website for online selling sounds appropriate. B. What more can they do with a website? Many people are simply unaware what they can do with a website. They can receive online bill payments, sell their products and services, manage their content, start subscription for new offers and discounts, newsletter registration, start a customer portal & a whole lot of other things. If your client is able to understand this and finds it relevant to his business needs, you have made an excellent start. C. How is design of the website important? A good website design is equally essential as quality content. Your clients might argue that they can get a new website made at a fraction of the cost. But what they really don’t understand is the ability of that website to show any meaningful results. • Color, fonts and logo play a significant role in determining the look of the website. Besides looking good, a website needs to be easily navigable helping the potential customers to locate what they are looking for. The usability factor needs to be kept in mind without compromising for the sake of appearance. • The images need to get uploaded faster as a higher loading time irks the visitors. Moreover, a website owner has a time of couple of seconds to impress the visitor. If they fail to do so, the

Read More »

Hiring an In-house Social Media Expert vs. Hiring a Social Media Agency

March 24, 2014

With the importance and efficacy of social media strategy becoming clearer to business owners and enterprises, we have often seen people tackle the dilemma between hiring a full time social media expert and hiring a social media agency. While there are no easy answers or solutions to this dilemma, in this article, we shall try and make it as lucid as possible to understand the advantages and disadvantages of both the options. Solving the dilemma of hiring an in-house professional and hiring an agency With social media marketing becoming a difficult-to-avoid strategy for companies and business owners, most people we encounter are torn between hiring someone in-house to do all the social media tasks and outsourcing to a social media agency. In most cases, social media marketing requires a professional to create a strategy, form an audience on the major social networking sites, engage people on niche social marketing sites, regularly look for leads and contacting them, engaging people and answering questions. Social media is also used alongside content marketing, hiring and customer relationship management. Social media requires an entire team, not a lone professional All said and done, social media strategy is not limited to sharing information on various social networking sites and expecting people to convert into leads, and then into customers. That is a reductionist’s way of looking at social media. Instead, it is a complex and intricate realm in which multiple people will need to strategise and continually monitor & track results. This requires a team of social media and marketing experts to work together, and create customized solutions for each company or client they work for. A single employee who is hired in a company probably will not be able to do all this and more. It requires an entire social media team to form policies and strategies. It also requires an entire team to understand various aspects of marketing, customer relationship management and hiring. All said and done, it is simply too complex for a single individual to take care of all social media related tasks. How much do social media experts earn? Social media experts earn anywhere between $55,000 and $73,000 a year. Depending on the complexity of information, bloggers may charge anywhere between $50 and $200 per post. Twitter account management in the U.S. costs anywhere between $500 and $1,500 a month. Facebook content management costs anywhere between $1,000 and $2,000 a month. You may find someone who may do it for a lower price but the quality of the posts or social media tasks cannot be guaranteed. A social media professional cannot be good at everything and they cost a lot When an in-house social media expert is hired, he or she might not be good at writing but maybe good at drawing a strategy. That will require you to hire a blogger or copywriter to procure content. To cut a long story short, hiring an in-house social media professional might seem like the right answer. But it isn’t. In-house social media experts just can’t be experts at all things related to social media and they are not affordable either. You might have to bear additional expenses when it comes to hiring copywriters, bloggers, online community managers and content specialists. A social media agency, on the other hand, has a team of professionals who are each experts in their own domains. In a typical agency setting, one can find design specialists, video professionals, public relations experts, content professionals, social media managers and others. It is simply not possible for an in-house ‘social media expert’ to be good at everything that we just mentioned. An entire social media team can be consulted and assigned to a project instead of a single social media expert who would cost more than the entire team. In addition, in-house employees also pose many additional liabilities related to taxes, welfare and insurance. When you hire an in-house social media expert, you might not even be able to ensure continued social networking activity, especially if the recruit takes leaves. Agencies have more professional capital and help you in reduction of costs As mentioned earlier, a social media agency works as a team. It usually has web designers, developers and coders, public relations experts, media professionals, content professionals and management professionals. These professionals form a social media agency’s professional capital. Professional capital of social media agencies is usually enviable because of their experience of working with innumerable clients. Each time an agency has to work with a client, it typically consults with all these varied professionals in order to arrive at customized solutions. Hiring a social media agency gives clients and customers these added benefits without having to hire anybody full time. Chances are, you will actually end up saving money if you are a small business. Our take Unless you are a very large enterprise, which can afford to hire an entire social media team along with various professionals and strategy makers, you will be better off working with an experienced social media agency. A social media agency offers you continued support and consultation without you having to hire any of its team members full time. By outsourcing your social media requirements to an agency, you will have access to their professional capital and will not be burdened by the costs and complexity of hiring someone in-house. References: • http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/16030.aspx# • http://wordviewediting.com/this-is-how-much-money-social-media-professionals-make/

Read More »

What Is Google’s New “In-Market Buyers”?

March 14, 2014

When people browse online, they are bombarded with advertisements asking them to make purchases. Advertisements are a bit funny. We can’t really know who is genuinely interested in purchasing and on whom we are wasting valuable ad budget. It is almost impossible to target those who have clearly set out to make purchases online. Until now, that is. Google quietly rolled out its ‘In-Market Buyers’ option in AdWords in November, which helps users to target those users who are actively in a buying mode. It is easy to target people based on their demographic or psychographic characteristics but we will never know if they are truly set out to buy something online. If we target people who are truly in the buying mode, not only do we have a greater chance of selling products but also a higher chance of ad campaigns being successful. Let us now take a look at what Google says about the In-Market Buyers feature and what it is all about, and how it concerns you. Why Google quietly announced the In-Market Buyers tool Google recently revealed that it recognizes certain visitor patterns that help it to know if consumers are ready to make purchases. Instead of you having to target people based on the kind of websites that they usually visit or browse, you can target people who are in a buying mode, according to Google. The company stealthily announced this plan which helps advertisers to make use of Google’s consumer pattern recognition. It also helps you to target consumers who are looking for products similar to what the advertisers sell. Google’s Interest Categories has often been touted as a futuristic way to advertise and the In-Market Buyers feature is just an extension of that. This is Google’s primary trial at making ROI an important aspect of Google Display Network. The feature is not available across products and services at the moment. It is only available for computers, peripherals, real estate, consumer electronics, vehicles and automobiles. Google also suggests that advertise bid on a CPA basis and then associate it with actual sales. If you are not able to bid on a CPA basis, you can also try the CPC bidding. As the feature has just started, it is difficult to say how it will measure up in the coming months. Few key points about In-Market Buyers There are a few things that you need to know about In-market Buyers. This service is only available in English at the moment and you need to select from a set of categories to shortlist consumers who are looking for products similar to what you offer. The service helps you to identify those who are actively looking for products that you need instead of someone who is not doing so. This results in a database of highly qualified customers. It will help you to drive sales and also reduce expenditure on advertising. How Google is revolutionizing Internet marketing What Google is trying to do is to revolutionize Internet marketing and advertising. Nowhere in the history of advertising were we able to know if consumers were really going to buy something. Advertising has always relied upon mass media in order to disseminate information that persuades people to purchase. This time around, we can communicate with customers who are actively trying to purchase something that they want. Thus, the readiness to purchase a certain product is already there. All that you need to do is to make them go ahead and buy your product. Effective copywriting skills and attractive banners can easily help people to buy the products that you are selling. It may sound strange but it is not difficult to make an already person to purchase something. Some of the most important facts that you should remember are that your products and services are great, you have a good advertising plan and that you have great copywriters working for you. When you do these things, it is clear that you will be able to tap those who are actively looking for products to purchase. It remains to be seen how successful the In-Market Buyers program will be. At this point in time, this certainly looks like a tool that will help advertisers, customers and manufacturers, all at the same time. If you need more information about In-Market Buyers, you could contact one of our SEO or digital marketing professionals.

Read More »

Is Snarky Content Good For Your Business?

April 29, 2013

The world certainly isn’t getting any easier and the Internet is a reflection of what is going on in the world in real time. Thus, the attitudes and perceptions of people across the world are also reflected on the Internet in the form of videos, music and content. This is also true for mood. Recent surveys and researches revel that Twitter can actually reveal what the predominant mood of a country at a particular time really is. Internet Reflects the General Mood and Attitude of the World around Us With Internet reflecting larger attitudes, moods and the way we generally feel, it should not come as a surprise that we must often try not to reveal our negative emotions in content, no matter how testing the times are. With this in mind, we are often asked if blog posts and other content forms should be as honest as the writer is feeling at the time of writing. Thanks to a terrible economy and a general sense of skepticism and doubt, we often tend to be snarky, and that is of course, a word popularized on the Internet. What On Earth Is Snarky and Why Should You Bother? Snarky means ‘short tempered’ or ‘irritable’, according to the most popular definition on Urban Dictionary. The lack of a dictionary meaning for the word ‘snarky’ itself suggests that the word is very new and is yet to appear in mainstream dictionaries. No matter what the origin of the word is, snarky certainly seems to be the prevalent attitude and mood across the Internet, thanks to the bad economy and political situation across the world. With that in mind, should your content be snarky? The answer to this question is not simple and is certainly not straight forward. It is always a good idea to be honest and forthright about how we feel and receive. If that is reflected in our writing, it is not really a big deal unless it is offensive. Most companies tend to be as pleasing and friendly as possible when they get their marketing copy written. Snarky Content Is Not Always Bad However, sometimes it is not a very bad idea to be snarky. Healthy cynicism and skepticism can reveal a more honest side of your company than sugarcoating words. Of course, snarky content is not for everyone but for discerning consumers and customers, snarky content can actually mean that you understand their predicaments and apprehensions about life in general. Life is not easy for either business owners or for their customers. If a healthy dose of cynicism and sarcasm is reflected in your content, it can come across as you being transparent, witty and intelligent, while acknowledging the darker side of life. A Healthy Dose of Cynicism and Skepticism Can Be Good With this in my mind, most of the times, a good measure of cynicism and genuine skepticism at the way things are is not such a bad idea at all. As a business writer or content manager, you need to know who you are writing for, and what they expect to read on your website. Most of us tend to underestimate our own readers and the reality is, they are smarter and wittier than we believe them to be and a healthy dose of sarcasm and cynicism will be well received. You do not have to sugarcoat your words all the time and try to present things in an appealing manner. Speak your heart out and if you wish the tone of your language to be snarky, then go ahead and be snarky! Snarky is neither bad not unpleasant. It can actually be a great way of connecting with your readers instead of churning out typical marketing copy that will eventually get buried under heaps of words that is published later on. A snarky attitude if done right can strike a note with readers who are disillusioned and bored with the way things are. It can help you to create an online persona that is based in wit, intelligence, skepticism and humor. This persona will help you build your brand around the same wit and skeptical attitude with which you build your content. And these are qualities that indicate trustworthiness, reliability and intelligence.

Read More »

5 Ways to Avoid Information Overload

March 29, 2013

If you are not living in the middle ages, you probably come across the term ‘information overload’ quite often these days. What people mean by this term is that they are constantly bombarded with a lot of information, especially through gadgets connected to the Internet. Certainly, Internet opened up doors to a new way of accessing information for free, and the barrage of information has proved to be unhelpful sometimes. Information overload is caused due to saturation of our cognitive capacities. Here are 5 ways we think will help you to reduce information overload. 1.      Remove Electronic Clutter The first and foremost thing to do is to unsubscribe from mailing lists that you may have subscribed to. You must also ensure that you designate about 20 minutes a day to your social networking activities and then not be tempted to use them throughout the day. Scheduling of social posts will help you to spend less time on social networking sites. Though most people refuse to admit, they should try and delete online dating accounts they don’t use. They are not only addictive, but also serve no real purpose unless you are actually single in life. 2.      Reduce What You Read This may sound counterproductive but the amount of news articles and blog posts that we read these days is mind boggling. That necessarily has not made us any smarter. Try and subscribe to magazines that you like and are sure that they are of value to your profession and personal growth. FlipBoard, Zite, and other reading applications are addictive but can cause information overload if you do not know how to use them. 3.      Read Physical Books When Available, and Avoid Electronic Versions The reason why paperbacks and hardbound books are still better than electronic documents is that we cannot easily shift to a different book or topic and close the page. When we hold a book, we are not as easily distracted as we would, if we read the same thing on a tablet, where it is easier to type a tweet to someone. 4.      Learn to Say No Most of us are very passive when it comes to learning new things or exposing ourselves to unnecessary information. Always learn to say ‘no’ when you encounter new information (as opposed to knowledge) is bombarded at you from many sources. Stop for a minute and ask yourself if this information is useful to increase your knowledge on your chosen or adjacent topics. If it is not, then say ‘no’ mercilessly. This concept should not be confused with being close-minded to new information. That is something altogether different. What we are trying to say is that you should know which information is useful to your profession and if the source of that information is good enough. If either is questionable, then it is unwise to overload your cognitive processes with extra information which is not related to you in any way. 5.      Give Yourself Time to Not Think This is a time tested strategy to ensure that your brain cells have enough time to rejuvenate themselves after resting. However, most of us switch from one information overload causing activity to another. At the end of the day, our productivity suffers and so does our self esteem. The idea is to completely put yourself away from any sort of information source for a couple of hours each day. An hour’s duration of working out at the gym and a cup of coffee with a friend should be enough to replenish those tired grey cells, so that can get back to your information hogging lifestyle. Information overload is something that we cannot avoid in a world like today’s. It is something that we must learn to accept and grow. What we can do is, reduce it to the maximum possible level so that our creativity is not ruined and our productivity is increased. When we are exposed to more information than we can handle, we certainly become uncreative, tired, and predictable. Over time, it causes burnout and fatigue, leading to stress related problems that could also result in health issues. You can say ‘no’ to information overload by starting to taking a break, like right now!

Read More »

Services

Industries

Company

Resources

Press Kit

MENU
Book a free consultation
CONTACT US

Let’s connect!

    Privacy Policy.

    Book a free consultation
    Almost there!

    Download the report

      Privacy Policy.