When running a small business in today’s digital age, it’s no secret that much of your marketing efforts will rely on the Internet. With so many people online, and using the web to research businesses and read product and service reviews, it’s extra important to employ a few local SEO best practices when implementing your digital marketing strategy
The only thing consistent about social media is the fact that it is constantly changing. Facebook, for example, has changed several times since it first launched. Buttons, functions, and the placement of them, are constantly moving and changing. It takes a social media expert just to keep up with these many changes that happen several times per year. Many of these changes are unannounced, and marketers are simply stumbling upon them as they occur. Through our research of the ever-changing social media landscape, we’ve identified 5 important changes that all marketers and operators of small business can appreciate and take advantage of.
Facebook Targeting Options
Facebook advertising is something that is constantly changing at a rapid pace, and in October of 2016 they began offering a targeting option for marketers to target people who had shared links to their content in the past. They call this target audience “link sharing.” This is huge, and will likely create many new opportunities for marketers and entrepreneurs alike. While this option was only available on the site for a week last fall, Facebook is likely still testing it with a limited audience, and we should hope to see this option available for Facebook ads very soon.
Twitter Replies Count
Now, when you’re looking through your Twitter feed, you can see not only the basic data for the tweet, but also a list of those who have retweeted, and also a list of those who have liked the tweet at the bottom. This is accompanied by thumbnail images of the Twitter users who have interacted with the tweet. Twitter has also been experimenting with showing the total replies for each tweet, and have allowed this option for a select group of users in its trial stage. This option would be the equivalent of Facebook showing comments under each post. This could encourage users to interact more with tweets.
Twitter Scratch Reel
GIFs are a social media phenomenon that have taken us by storm, and growing in popularity as of late. Twitter has introduced a “scratch reel” option to indulge users in GIF fun by allowing them to fast forward and reverse a GIF my swiping their finger (or curser) to the left or the right. When this option was first made available, it wasn’t possible for Twitter users to create their own unique scratch reels, but the company has opened this option up so that users can now create their own unique and interactive, custom GIFs. In order to access this option, you either need to compose a scratch reel in your Twitter ads, or have access to Media Studio.
LinkedIn Update Insights
Without even announcing its addition, LinkedIn now provides a new insights option for its mobile app. This is useful in that it allows users to see who is seeing their content, and how. These insights are similar to what you would see with LinkedIn Publisher posts, and they give valuable insights for new connections and opportunities. While these insights are first only available via mobile, LinkedIn is sure to include insights on their newly designed desktop site.
LinkedIn Secret Job Search
LinkedIn is making searching for a new job much easier with a new option that allows users to alert others that they are open to new opportunities discreetly, without their current employer knowing about it. It’s a small tab that users can turn on that says “let recruiters know you’re open.”
Whether you work at a San Diego website design firm, a search engine optimization firm, or simply a marketing firm, these five changes are sure to help the way your market yourself and your firm. For more information on social media marketing, or a detailed quote, call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
2017 is here, and that means there are sure to be a whole slew of brand new technologies, trends and innovative ways in which marketers will be promoting their business this year. We’ve scoured the web to find out more in terms of what we’re to expect this year, and we’ve found some exciting new trends that we’d love to share with you so that you too are in the loop with the latest and greatest in digital marketing to date.
AI Lenses for Instagram and Facebook
Much like the Snapchat filters, Instagram and Facebook are now working on AI Lenses for profile pictures that are sure to rival the ever-popular filters on Snapchat, according to Sprout Social. Thanks to the popular Snapchat stories, this trend isn’t going away anytime soon, and we should be seeing much more of it overall social media platforms this year.
More Growth for Snapchat
Last year Snapchat experienced an enormous amount of growth to reach a total of 150 million daily users in 2016, with 41% of US adults aged 18-34 being users.
Automation Turns into Social Media Management
Businesses are starting to see the value in real-time posting and engagement for their social media platforms across the board. This is showing business owners and marketers alike that there is much more value in hiring a social media management firm to actively manage all social media accounts in more real-time than setting up everything with automation, so that it is basically on auto-pilot. Opportunities for reaching more people, getting in on what’s most current, trending and up to date, and being more responsive to followers in real-time is going to be essential in 2017.
Paid Content is King
Navigating the ever-changing algorithms over Facebook and Instagram have forced marketers into boosting and promoting content in order to reach more people. This trend isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. If businesses want to reach more people, advertising their content over platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are going to be essential. It will also help to pair this effort with the expertise of a local search engine optimization firm to reach even more people over the Internet, and gain maximum exposure for not only your content, but your company website as well.
Social Media Expertise Demand at an All-Time High
Nine out of ten companies currently report that their employees lack the skill sets needed to effectively execute social media management and marketing in an overall effective way. This is going to push companies to start considering outsourcing their social media management to an experienced marketing firm. This will save companies time, and even money when it comes to managing their social media efforts in a manner that will not only drive sales, leads and ROI, but build a loyal following that is sure to stick with them for years to come.
Social media is constantly changing, which is also changing the way that businesses must market themselves. Gone will be the days of in-house marketing if companies truly want to get an edge above their competition and become power houses over social media and the Internet. For more information, or a detailed quote, call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
2017 is just around the corner, so while you’re planning your New Year’s Eve parties, your San Diego SEO experts have been gathering together the top marketing predictions we see coming to fruition for 2017, and planning our strategies accordingly. So just what do we see happening in a big way for digital marketing in 2017? Many, many things. Here are some of our top predictions.
Automation Will Be Mandatory
Automation is no longer an option of convenience if you want to succeed in marketing your small business in 2017. Instagram just rolled out a new API which will allow for automation of ads, and hopefully all posts on the platform will follow suit. Pretty much every other social media site has the API for automating posts, and this is going to be key. San Diego small businesses are going to rely on planning and strategizing their content, and scheduling it out via Facebook, Hootsuite, etc. This isn’t going to completely overshadow live posting, but it’s definitely going to be a must if companies want to keep up with content marketing competition.
Snapchat Will Continue to Grow
This social media platform has been growing at a rapid rate, as it should be. Large and small businesses alike are going to have to jump on the bandwagon, or miss out on a very large potential target market.
Targeting Will Be Data Driven
The collection of data by large social media platforms such as Facebook has completely transformed the way customers are targeted and marketed to. Marketing is going to be client-driven and all-inclusive pertaining to their lifestyle as a whole. How do we get this information? Facebook, Instagram, email, personal shopping history, etc. All of this data is going to be used in a cumulative way to really paint a picture of each consumer individually, so that targeting will only become smarter–giving each consumer exactly what they want when they want it.
Investing in Your Marketing Team Will Be Mandatory
If you own a San Diego marketing firm–or employ one to conduct the marketing for your business–a bit of investment into your team is going to be essential in 2017. This is because the heat will be turned up, and the pressure will be on to not only produce great content, but to really engage with your target audience and build a following that is not only interacting with said content, but loyal to your brand. Instilling passion and loyalty in your digital following is a bit of an art combined with science that takes time, blood, sweat and tears, so if you’re not investing in your team, a bigger, better competitor will.
For more information or a detailed quote call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
With the holiday season in full swing there are several marketing strategies available to tap into the season and the increased web traffic and internet shopping that is happening right now. Below are our top digital marketing tips for your business this season.
Research Keywords Based on Buyer Intent
The best way to reel in more customers is by giving them what they want and fulfilling their unmet needs. This can be done by looking into what they are searching for. You can add a search bar to your own website to help with this, and be sure to deliver. It also helps to know who your buyers are, and to make sure they can find you. This can be done with the help of a San Diego SEO or search engine optimization firm.
Whether it’s products or services you provide, be sure to create buzz about it over social media. This includes not only advertising, but offering contests, buyer incentives and deals, and holiday themes surrounding the products and/or services you provide. This can be done through custom graphics, links to products/services on your website, and blogs.
Post Content that Your Holiday Customers Value
Whether it’s a blog, a social media post or a website link, be sure that the content you are posting is valuable to your target market. It doesn’t even have to be product/service specific so long as it is bringing viewers to your social media sites, and website. Reeling them in with a great piece that is relevant to their needs, what you offer and the holidays is a great way to attract more sales.
Decorate your Website with Holiday Themed Additions
This doesn’t mean that you need a complete website overhaul, just some simple add ons that will get your viewers in the holiday spirit and thinking about what they need for their holiday celebrations, gifts for others, etc. This could be done with simple additions to the designs you already have, or a couple of extra landing pages. If you’re not sure how to best execute this, contact a San Diego website design firm.
Retarget Abandoned Cart Shoppers
There are likely to be many abandoned carts this season, and this doesn’t necessarily mean that these potential sales are lost. A great way to bring back these shoppers is through the use of retargeting ads. Show them the items they left in their cart while they browse other websites, or simply send them an email reminding them of all the goodies they left. Many shoppers just want some time to mull over the items they were tempted to buy, and will come back to make a purchase.
Offer Holiday Incentives
Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference for buyers. Offering free shipping, gift receipts, holiday wrapping or special holiday sales are often times all it takes to set yourself apart from the competition. This can create a loyal customer base that keeps coming back each and every year. And don’t forget about these valuable customers once the holidays pass. Identify their unmet needs for the new year and market to them in a way that will bring them back each and every month.
If you’d like some more help in executing your holiday campaigns, we’d love to help. For more information or a detailed quote call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
As technology forges ahead and marketing strategies become more sophisticated behind that wave of technology, it’s still one of the first online strategies that has remained the most effective at generating leads and reaching targeted customers. That somewhat surprising fact should tell you something about the enormous staying power of email marketing, and the comfort level that marketing strategists have developed for it.
It’s true that email marketing has evolved to become far more sophisticated than broadcasting unsolicited messages, but the fact remains that email is still at the forefront of digital marketing, and is still used to great effect by San Diego digital marketers, San Diego website design firms, and San Diego SEO optimization consultants, among others.
What are business leads?
A lead is an individual has who has indicated at least some initial interest in your company or your product lines in one of several ways. It could have been by downloading an e-book posted online by your company, or someone who filled out a form on the company website, or possibly even someone who attended a huge trade seminar and simply dropped a business card into the fishbowl.
This is way at the beginning of the purchase cycle, and doesn’t amount to much more than simple curiosity. Still, there is a possibility that this curiosity can be fanned into the flames of something much more like genuine interest. Having discovered that initial curiosity, it is the task of the sales and marketing group to gently nudge the lead further and further along the purchase cycle path, until an actual sale is made.
Tips for effective email marketing
The way that marketing strategists can achieve the goal of gently pushing the lead toward the sales funnel is by employing proven techniques related to email design, and to the kind of content which should be included in the email text. If you adopt some of these tips and techniques, you should be able to convert a lot more leads into actual sales.
More information on digital marketing
MySMN is a digital marketing agency that also does website design, and is a search engine optimization firm in San Diego which can help you with all your design and marketing concern. For more information or a detailed quote, call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
Growing your social media presence is something that can find you loads of new customers and bring in tons of business for your company, but only if it’s done in the right manner, which is as part of an organized and integrated strategy. The driving factor behind your whole approach should be to give customers exactly what they want, after having made a thorough examination of their needs and desires. With this in mind, your social media strategy should pay big dividends as you grow your social following.
Here are some steps you should be taking to accomplish that objective purposefully and organically.
Social media following growth tips
More social media expertise
To make the greatest use of your social media presence, it would be worth your while to consult with a digital marketing agency, like MySMN, with a solid reputation for SEO in San Diego, and for San Diego website design. As digital marketing experts and as a search engine optimization firm, we have the tools you need to grow your business. For more information, or a detailed quote call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
It can be hard for small businesses to see the benefit of having a strong social media presence. ROI is not always readily apparent, and it can feel like wasted time if it is not done properly. However, according to a recent Time Warner survey, consumers are less likely to shop at small businesses without an established online identity. Humanizing your brand and telling the story of your company is a powerful tool for engaging consumers, especially when targeting Millennial shoppers.
With the ubiquity of social media and smart devices, it is critical to develop an influential online identity and build an optimized website. Working with MySMN, an industry leader in San Diego website design, will help you rise head and shoulders above the internet crowd.
It’s All About Engagement
Large companies can spend millions of dollars on marketing. They can also throw mountains of cash towards customer service, training employees to engage and delight their customers; they know that creating a personalized experience will generate increased sales and return business.
Establishing well-curated and monitored social media channels can provide similar (or better!) results. Through a solid social media plan, you can interact on a more intimate level with your customers. Capitalizing on the immediacy of social media allows you to interact with your customers in real-time, emphasizing the sense of customization.
Increase Brand Recognition
Social media has shattered the barriers that blocked businesses from breaking into their industries. According to Social Media Examiner’s 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, a majority of marketers report that, through social media engagement, they can improve search engine rankings, increase traffic, develop a loyal fan base, and increase brand recognition.
Establishing and maintaining a constant, approachable online presence is essential to keeping the name of your business on the minds of your customers. As users become more familiar with your brand, they are more likely to convert to repeat customers, and less inclined to engage with your competitors.
Slash Your Marketing Costs
Social media marketing is far less expensive than traditional marketing. Even taking into consideration the increased time needed to maintain a presence and curate exceptional content, the savings are considerable. Sponsored content and boosted posts can reach a large audience for pennies on the dollar, and once you have established your brand and online following, word-of-mouth will take you the rest of the way for free.
You can also use social media as an extension of your website, which helps increase your search engine ranking. Posting links to your website onto your channels, and links to your channels on your site, will contribute to your Google presence and increase your exposure. Additionally, working with a leading search engine optimization firm to maximize your web presence will establish your authority in your community and industry.
Connect With Other Local Businesses
Forming a network of other small business owners helps foster a sense of community and keeps you informed on trends in your area; cultivating and nurturing ties to their social media accounts through links, shares, and likes gives you access to their customer base. It also gives your social media presence a human face, as social media users perceive these relationships as friendships.
By making it a priority to maximize your social media presence and through a partnership with the leaders in SEO San Diego, your small business could see a dramatic improvement in customer acquisition and retention. For more information or a detailed quote call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you!
Staying on top of your social media campaign can feel like a full-time pursuit if you don’t have some help. Even when you have access to the most knowledgeable, talented experts in SEO San Diego has to offer, you still might want to participate in creating at least some of your social media posts yourself. In order to make the most of your content, you would certainly benefit from exploring the types of social media posts that your followers are interested in seeing.
Influencer Interviews
Regardless of what kinds of followers you have or hope to attract, people seem to respond favorably to engagement with influencers. You might research who the influencers in your industry are; you can do this by hiring a professional to perform analytics to find the people who are most likely to resonate with your average demographic. Once you’ve identified an individual who would probably interest your followers, you can extend an invitation to interview this person. An interview will benefit both you and your influencer of choice – you’ll both gain exposure by way of the interview, and you’ll each be able to express the points you wish to get across to your respective fans. If you offer useful information on timely subjects, your followers will also benefit from such content. You might post an entire influencer interview on your blog, post snippets of it on social media, or post links to it (and provide your followers with compelling reasons to click on the links).
Posts That Are Relevant
That you should post information your followers will find relevant may seem obvious, but you might be surprised by how easy it is to lose sight of that objective. As any San Diego website design professional might confirm, staying in touch with the preferences of your fans or customers is crucial. You may do this by paying close attention to the latest comments and questions posted by those who follow your brand on social media. Are people talking about a recent industry change that will affect millions of consumers? If so, you might devise a series of posts dedicated to that topic – and be sure to offer some solutions. Doing this will build both trust and continued interest among your followers.
Multimedia Posts
Multimedia posts are as popular as ever. They hold the attention of social media users in a way that standard, text-only posts cannot. By seamlessly providing a blend of text, still images, and videos, you may spark the imagination of your fan base again and again. Remember to create and utilize the highest-quality multimedia content possible. This may be a bit more time-consuming, but the results in terms of fan loyalty and your brand’s image should be well worth the effort.
Your social media posts may be the lifeblood of your entire marketing campaign. Make sure that you are posting content that your followers will identify with, so they’ll keep coming back for more. By consulting the qualified team at a reputable search engine optimization firm, you can explore effective social media marketing strategies. For more information or a detailed quote call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
It’s always a good idea for your business, whether it’s big or small, to have more person-to-person contact with your audience on social media. This is the very best way to let them know what your company is all about, and to demonstrate to the masses that you are an active, authoritative voice within your selected industry.
It’s also a great way for you to demonstrate concern about what matters to your audience, so that the perception of your company is that of a caring and involved one. All these factors contribute to generating customer loyalty and appreciation for your particular brand name. For expert advice on this, contact the SEO San Diego specialists, and in the meantime, here are some ways you can increase your real-time engagement with audience members through the social media:
Develop a comprehensive customer engagement policy – invest in getting all employees and all departments within your company on the same page about the importance of social media interaction, especially that it needs to be more than a forum for making announcements or having one-way conversations. Customers have very high expectations today – typically one-hour response time – and when their concerns and needs aren’t addressed quickly, they will simply jump ship and continue browsing. Make sure you have the necessary resources to handle real-time customer engagement, whether that be with better-trained employees, or the appropriate tools for managing social media.
Generate meaningful conversations via Google+ – you can create Google+ Circles that your followers will find informative and relevant to their lives, and after having shared the Circle on Google+, you can place it on Twitter or other social media, and then on your blog post as well. The real value of this is that it lets your company connect with all those people in the Google+ Circle you created, which means you’re building an audience. You can also use Google+ Communities and Google+ Hangouts where they fit your company’s industry, and if there are none that fit, it would still be worth your while to create a brand-new one.
Stay involved using LinkedIn groups – LinkedIn Groups are similar to Google+ Communities in that they provide opportunities for you to join discussion groups relative to your company industry, and by participating as an authority, you can generate interest in your company’s services and products for anyone who might be interested.
Invite Pinterest followers to pin on your board – by inviting others to post pins on your Pinterest board, you are encouraging direct interaction with your company, and at the same time providing them with an opportunity to learn about your business and what you have to offer.
Be creative with Instagram hashtags – when you create a #hashtag in Instagram and encourage others to submit their photos, it’s a great way to show how personable you are, and it helps you to stand out from the crowd somewhat. By featuring some of these photos on your company’s Instagram account, you can enlarge your audience and show how directly involved you are with that community. It also demonstrates that your social media presence goes beyond just pushing information out, and that you’re willing to receive it as well.
If you need other digital marketing advice from a search engine optimization firm, or about San Diego website design, contact the talented professionals at San Diego’s premier digital marketing agency, MySMN. For more information, or a detailed quote call (619) 291-8181 or fill out our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.
