If you wish to use your business blog to increase and engage your audience, you’re going to have to find ways to get the traffic to a point where someone other than your immediate family is reading it.
Done correctly, a business blog can have a multi-faceted benefit to your business. It can not just bring you new customers, it can help shape and define your brand, establish authority, amplify search rankings, enable social sharing and much more.
Yet if this is taken up haphazardly, or even worse, indifferently, you’re likely to be preaching to the choir, and wondering why you started this dumb blog in the first place.
To help get the blog going and develop some momentum, many bloggers turn to paid traffic to get the ball rolling. It can be a modest, yet wise investment. Let’s look at several places you can make this happen.
5 Of the best places to buy paid ads
Outbrain – You’ve seen these ads, usually following content on major websites. Outbrain’s Amplify is great for showcasing your best blog posts, and it carries the added benefit of getting your content on major sites with massive readership you may not have been able to otherwise. (Tip: Partner this with a retargeting ad on Facebook for killer results!)
Facebook Ads – Maybe the best paid traffic opportunity currently available, mainly for the ability to precisely target your audience without spending a fortune. Their audience insights tool alone is worth the price of admission!
Google Adwords – While they have been around forever, Adwords can still be useful if you know how to use it well. Otherwise, you’ll be paying far too much for what you’re after.
LinkedIn Sponsored Updates – If you have content that appeals to professionals in any sense, this could be a goldmine for you. People on LinkedIn are more businesslike, and a bit more engaging, so if this one fits, don’t hold back!
Pinterest Promoted Pins – A relative newcomer to paid ads, Pinterest can be handy if you have a great graphic and are appealing largely to females. If you do, prepare for hordes of enthusiastic visitors descend upon your post!
3 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing Matters To a Small Business
Social media marketing has been known as one of the best marketing strategies for quite a while now. This is one of the main reasons why it is very important that you, as an online entrepreneur, utilize it to your full advantage.
JVI Mobile Marketing has a managed service called JVI Social. One of the greatest joys of helping small businesses with their social media is that I am always looking for new ideas, tips and ways to keep people engaged!
1. Increased Recognition For Your Brand
The internet is so vast that you have to grab all the opportunity that you can to improve your brand recognition. Since social media networks are widely used these days all over the globe, using it to your advantage is a must. It can serve as a voice for your brand which can help you build your reputation and visibility.
Through social media, you can attract potential customers and it will be a lot easier for them to get in touch with you through this medium. Also, using social media platforms allows you to become more recognizable not only to your existing customers but to their personal contacts too, if they share or repost your content.
2. Better Opportunities
Social media marketing also provides you with better opportunities in terms of converting potential customers to buying clients. Social media allows you to connect with an infinite web of relationships through your followers, existing contacts and target audience. By posting a video, a link to a blog, a campaign or perhaps a simple photo related to your business or any topic relevant to your company, you will be able to spark a reaction. Each of these reactions obtained from a single post is a chance for a possible conversion.
3. Increased Traffic and Conversion Rates
If you use social media marketing the right way, you can tremendously increase your website traffic and even your conversion rates. All this is made possible by social media because it promotes interaction between 2 individuals or a group. This makes marketing more efficient because of the addition of interaction between multiple human beings.
Inbound traffic to your site is greatly increased as well since you will no longer be limited to potential customers belonging to your personal contacts and existing customers.
If you use the right social media marketing strategies, you’ll be able to attract the existing members of your niche or followers in a specific social media platform that you’ve selected. This also gives you better chances of increasing your sales potential.
If you are not yet into social media marketing, you better start as soon as you can because the longer you wait the more opportunities you are missing.
In addition, we need to be accountable and help you get the most out of your social media or we are not doing our job. Katerina Petropoilou nailed it recently when she wrote “5 Lifesaving Tips for Your Social Media Manager”. She writes great stuff that allows me always to stay calm, and get things posted efficiently.
Know what to say, when to say it, to whom and how often!
2. Visual Visual Visual
Images, videos, gifs or infographics will be worth the conversion difference.
3. Connect With Your Audience
Building Brand Loyalty takes effort and time. Put some time aside every day to connect, your engagement will be legendary!
4. Plan Ahead
JVI Social uses an automated system so we can schedule posts weeks in advance. All of our small business clients have a weekly strategy session for at least 5-10 minutes.
5. Switch it Up
No one is perfect. If something isn’t working, you can change it up and not skip a beat!
If you’re looking for a quick and highly effective way to reach a massive audi
ence, then Facebook advertising is an excellent option. Read on and we’ll look at five of the biggest reasons for this and why you should consider it for your business.
It’s PPC
PPC means ‘Pay Per Click’ and is also the format of another very popular advertising network: Google AdWords.
The appeal of PPC is that you don’t pay anything if your ad isn’t effective. You are only paying here when someone actually clicks on your advert meaning you get free exposure for your brand and meaning that you won’t pay a dime if your ad doesn’t encourage anyone to actually visit your site. If you then make sure you dissuade anyone who isn’t likely to be a customer in your ad, you can almost guarantee ROI.
It Fits Any Budget
Due to the nature of Facebook ads, this also means you can always afford them no matter your budget. You set the amount you are willing to pay out each time someone clicks on an ad and the only drawback for making this number low is that your ad won’t be shown as often. Even if you only spend a few dollars a week you can still try it out.
It’s Highly Targeted
An advantage that Facebook has over Google is that it lets you target specific demographics. In other words you can choose to only show your ad to people who are single, married, above a certain age, femaleÉ etc. All this data allows you to avoid wasting money on people who aren’t in your target audience and while Google AdWords is targeted in a different way (it lets you address people searching for particular subjects) it doesn’t provide quite the same control. Facebook now also allows you to target people by their precise location.
It’s Social
Another great advantage of Facebook ads over Google AdWords is that it incorporates the power of Facebook’s social aspect. People can like your adverts and share them, or you can use them to direct people directly to your Facebook page to get more likes there. If social media marketing is a big part of your strategy then the two are highly synergistic.
It’s Easy
Getting started on Facebook is incredibly fast and simple meaning that you can have an ad campaign up and running in no time to start generating revenue.
How mobile app development must include engagement, push notifications
According to an Entrepreneur.com article today…
“Mobile now leads the world of marketing and apps are quickly becoming one of the most popular methods for reaching customers on the go. According to eMarketer, app downloads will double over the course of the next four years. Based on these numbers, it is little wonder that so many businesses are rushing to develop and offer their own app. via: An App That Engages Customers Is Not Automatically an App That Makes Money“
The article goes on to say how businesses are struggling to make money with their free app, but definitely see the value of using it to engage their customers.
Well, yeah.
Does it matter to you if you have an app that generates millions? Are you in the app building business? Or are you a small business owner looking for the tools and platforms you need to drive customers through the door and keep them coming back?
We tell all of our clients that when sending out a push message, text blast, email, or post(more on that later in the series), that it isn’t about a rush of traffic beating down their door. It might happen if the offer is dynamic, unique and really special. However, chances are it won’t, and that is perfectly fine.
Today, I also read some misconceptions about mobile app marketing that you also should know. This article came out on Forbes and shared a very key point, and I might add that the word “engagement” was used 6 times in the article.
It is significantly less expensive to re-engage a current app user than it is to acquire a new one, and providing users with a reason or even a reminder to come back is essential for long-term growth. Website retargeting is a multibillion-dollar industry, and you can quickly and easily retarget app users by using your app data. Mobile app engagement ads, push notifications and email are a few of the tactics you can use to ensure your user base remains engaged. via: 5 Misconceptions About Mobile App Marketing That Can Stunt Valuable User Growth
The key to success with a mobile app is not about how many people are going to be opening their wallets while your app is open. It is about how many people remember you when they are able to open their wallets.
In conclusion, here are some tips when it comes to your mobile app.
Hire a professional. But don’t spend more than $2000 up front. Don’t go at it alone. There are so many hidden nuances to navigate once the app is done, developer licenses to acquire($100/year for Apple, $25 one time to Google), new images and screen shots to take. It can become tedious and timme consuming to an amateur who already has a million other day to day issues to worry about in the business.
Integrate every Social Media channel. If you don’t put your social profiles, web site, review sites and all other web resources in the app you are missing out on leading people to multiple areas of, you guessed it… Engagement!
Send regular push messages. If it really is all about engagement, and touches, and reminders, then the best thing to do is send 4-5 push messages each and every month letting people know your specials, exclusive discounts, weather related information, or anything else you can come up with. If you need more ideas, stay tuned. We will present you with an exhaustive list in a future post.
Build in a reward program. Frequent buyer deals, repeat rewards, whatever you call it. Make a virtual keytag or “buy four get the fifth free” offer and make sure it is prominently displayed!
Contact Us. Thought it was a sales pitch to call JVI Mobile? Not. Really, put a form in your app to have the user contact you with customer service, questions, complaints, praise, whatever it may be. There is no doubt you need it. After all, you might have comment cards, forms on your web site, customer service departments, you get the idea. Make sure it is in your app.
Well, that’s all for now. Remember, engagement will lead you to not only more customers, but better word of mouth, more visits, and yes, more wallets open inside your establishment.
“Mobile now leads the world of marketing and apps are quickly becoming one of the most popular methods for reaching customers on the go. According to eMarketer, app downloads will double over the course of the next four years. Based on these numbers, it is little wonder that so many businesses are rushing to develop and offer their own app. via: An App That Engages Customers Is Not Automatically an App That Makes Money“
The article goes on to say how businesses are struggling to make money with their free app, but definitely see the value of using it to engage their customers.
Well, yeah.
Does it matter to you if you have an app that generates millions? Are you in the app building business? Or are you a small business owner looking for the tools and platforms you need to drive customers through the door and keep them coming back?
We tell all of our clients that when sending out a push message, text blast, email, or post(more on that later in the series), that it isn’t about a rush of traffic beating down their door. It might happen if the offer is dynamic, unique and really special. However, chances are it won’t, and that is perfectly fine.
The really cool part about a small business having an app, or at the very, very least a mobile responsive website is that engagement is key. We’ve personally spoken to hundreds of business owners who enjoy running their family fun center, pizzeria, bar, restaurant, hotel, etc., and they all say that they always try to stay in front of their customers. It has been called “customer touches”. The more you can engage with a customer, the more they will remember you the next time they need those services.
Today, I also read some misconceptions about mobile app marketing that you also should know. This article came out on Forbes and shared a very key point, and I might add that the word “engagement” was used 6 times in the article.
It is significantly less expensive to re-engage a current app user than it is to acquire a new one, and providing users with a reason or even a reminder to come back is essential for long-term growth. Website retargeting is a multibillion-dollar industry, and you can quickly and easily retarget app users by using your app data. Mobile app engagement ads, push notifications and email are a few of the tactics you can use to ensure your user base remains engaged. via: 5 Misconceptions About Mobile App Marketing That Can Stunt Valuable User Growth
The key to success with a mobile app is not about how many people are going to be opening their wallets while your app is open. It is about how many people remember you when they are able to open their wallets.
In conclusion, here are some tips when it comes to your mobile app.
Hire a professional. But don’t spend more than $2000 up front. Don’t go at it alone. There are so many hidden nuances to navigate once the app is done, developer licenses to acquire($100/year for Apple, $25 one time to Google), new images and screen shots to take. It can become tedious and time consuming to an amateur who already has a million other day to day issues to worry about in the business.
Integrate every Social Media channel. If you don’t put your social profiles, web site, review sites and all other web resources in the app you are missing out on leading people to multiple areas of, you guessed it… Engagement!
Send regular push messages. If it really is all about engagement, and touches, and reminders, then the best thing to do is send 4-5 push messages each and every month letting people know your specials, exclusive discounts, weather related information, or anything else you can come up with. If you need more ideas, stay tuned. We will present you with an exhaustive list in a future post.
Build in a reward program. Frequent buyer deals, repeat rewards, whatever you call it. Make a virtual key tag or “buy four get the fifth free” offer and make sure it is prominently displayed!
Contact Us. Thought it was a sales pitch to call JVI Mobile? Not. Really, put a form in your app to have the user contact you with customer service, questions, complaints, praise, whatever it may be. There is no doubt you need it. After all, you might have comment cards, forms on your web site, customer service departments, you get the idea. Make sure it is in your app.
Well, that’s all for now. Remember, engagement will lead you to not only more customers, but better word of mouth, more visits, and yes, more wallets open inside your establishment.
