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10 Small Business Growth Strategies for 2022

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By Lauren Wingo

Business leaders and entrepreneurs share their top small business growth strategies for the year ahead.

2021 has been a year of rapid transformation across all industries as the country has dealt with shifting political and economic climates, as well as mitigating hot-button issues such as climate change. In a year filled with change, there are some trends making their way into the new year that you and your business should keep an eye out for.

To lead your business in the right direction as we head into 2022, here are 10 small business growth strategies entrepreneurs recommend.

Leverage your suppliers’ new product rollouts

Distributors and businesses across the country dealt with supply chain issues with the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent economic disruptions. In 2022, businesses must be aware of scarcities within the supply chain and get ahead of manufacturing and transportation challenges by working collaboratively with their suppliers.

“We rely on supply availability and over-the-road transportation,” explained Karen Olson Beenken, president and CEO of Blue Rock Companies. “Our supply has been cut over the last 18 months to accommodate larger metro markets. We’ll utilize the different new product rollouts our suppliers offer and work to grow those.”

Educate client partners on new paradigms

It’s important to inform your clients and partners about changes you’re making to better benefit your business across a shifting economic landscape. If the changes don’t land, it may be time to consider other options, said Larry Kidd, president and CEO of hire.

“Our company is in the talent business and [is] painfully aware how much the talent pool has changed,” said Kidd. “We are working with our client partners to educate them on the new management styles, increased compensation packages and other aspects of recruitment and retention.”

Prepare for potential contracting opportunities with state and federal governments

The Census Bureau reported this past June that there were more than 4.4 million new U.S. businesses created in 2020, the highest total on record. While business creation has soared, data is showing that a large number of companies have left the state and federal government markets.

“The Department of Defense outlined at a recent conference that between 43% and 60% of the small business industrial base is no longer in the federal space,” said Padma Vatsavai, CEO at Vinformatix. “The impact [on] the small business community is due to quite a few changes in state, local and federal acquisition.

“Strategic sourcing and category management are the name of the day,” Vatsavai added. “[We’re focused on] building a strong programmatic teaming strategy so that the company can prime or sub any opportunity.”

[Read more: How to Bid on a Federal Government Contract]

Get creative on sales and marketing opportunities

The digital marketing landscape has become increasingly challenging due to congestion and evolving regulations, said Joe Shamess, owner of Flags of Valor.

“This is forcing many traditionally digital companies to explore other sales channels and marketing strategies,” he said.

To mitigate these challenges, Shamess said his company is getting creative with its selling methods by expanding its national retail sales channel for select products and growing the company’s Amazon sales channel for its full product catalogue.

Small business owners will now be able to bring in more specialized freelance workers to carry out tasks without having to deal with the hiring and training costs that are often associated with recruiting a full-time employee.

Eden Cheng, co-founder, PeopleFinderFree

Widen your business’s online footprint

Phil Strazzulla, founder of Select Software Reviews, explained that small businesses must adapt and be “practical” when it comes to sales, as consumers continue to favour online and mobile shopping.

“[Businesses] need to widen their online footprint to gain a significant proportion of customers from the current market,” said Strazzulla. “A simple way to sell products is to have a [seller account on] Shopify or Etsy. To sell services, … list [your company] on freelance and contract websites.”

Learn video SEO strategies to rank higher on search engines

Video marketing has become an integral part of a successful marketing strategy with the rise of live videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. It’s estimated that by 2022, videos will account for 82% of all consumer traffic. That’s why video SEO should be a top priority for businesses in 2022, said Leslie Gilmour, a marketer at ServisBOT.

“Small businesses that incorporate short-form videos into their website posts will see more organic traffic coming from search engines,” explained Gilmour. “As TikTok continues to grow, search engine algorithms will shift to articles and posts that include short-form videos. Short-form videos from TikTok and YouTube may even become the main point of ‘how to’ searches.”

Utilize partnership marketing to reach a broader audience

Partnership marketing is a strategic collaboration that gives you and your partner company a chance to reach a wider audience together, explained Tyler Martin, founder and certified business coach at Think Tyler.

“Collaboration with another company can aid in the development of better marketing initiatives that benefit both parties,” said Martin. “If your target clients are similar, you may pool your resources to better your marketing techniques, build your brands and expand your audience reach.”

Martin suggests starting with complimentary items or services from one company offered with a purchase from the other.

“For example, if a consumer purchases a product from you, you can provide a discount coupon that they can use to purchase discounted products from your business partner,” said Martin. “Co-branding of a product or project can also boost both companies’ marketing power.”

Consider hiring more gig workers

The number of gig workers, freelancers and contractors has grown exponentially over the last few years and they make up a large portion of workers within the current market. Eden Cheng, co-founder of PeopleFinderFree, says this share of the job market will continue to grow in 2022.

“Small business owners will now be able to bring in more specialized freelance workers to carry out tasks without having to deal with the hiring and training costs that are often associated with recruiting a full-time employee,” said Cheng. “With the importance of being agile in today’s economic environment … as well as the rise of remote work, … skilled outsourced contractors will be the key to successful business growth moving forward.”

Work with micro-influencers

While small businesses may be competing against larger businesses to work with online influencers, collaborating with micro-influencers is an option to consider, said Anton Giuroiu, architect and founder of Homesthetics.net.

“As influencer marketing is becoming more popular than ever… micro-influencers are going to be the best option for small businesses because they don’t cost as much and they are more open to collaborating with small businesses too,” explained Giuroiu. “With a couple of these small influencers helping [your business] reach specific audiences, growth will not be an impossible feat in 2022.”

[Read more: How Big Brands Are Leveraging Microinfluencers to Spur Growth]

Prioritize company culture

Throughout the pandemic, businesses have been dealing with “The Great Resignation” as workers are quitting their jobs at record-high rates. One of the reasons for this is that people are changing their definitions of what they consider a healthy work-life balance and what they want in a company culture, explained Amanda Ma, CEO of Innovate Marketing Group.

“The pandemic has shifted the way people incorporate work into their life, whether it’s moving to another state for cheaper housing or not going into the office every day and [getting] the opportunity to do remote or hybrid work,” Ma said. “Our agency went from full-time in-person to full-time remote to … a hybrid model. We surveyed our team members to see the model that works for us.

“Not all solutions are made equal, [and] culture is part of that,” she added. “A big factor [for employees], in addition to salary and benefits, is culture, [so have] a culture strategy in place.”

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images/fizkes 

By Lauren Wingo

Sourced from CO

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Taking Your Online Brand to the International Stage Is Easier Than You Think

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For today’s rising ecommerce brands, going international is now one of the simplest and most affordable ways to catapult growth.

Not so long ago, expanding your brand internationally meant one of two things: building a brick and mortar presence in each new country, or navigating a labyrinth of fragmented trade regulations, carrier options, customs, duties, local taxes, currencies and languages to ship your products there through ecommerce. Plenty of large brands and retailers have tried and failed. For smaller, direct-to-consumer brands, the costs and challenges were insurmountable, but all of that has now changed.

Taking your ecommerce brand international can catapult growth — if you do it right. Rising ecommerce brands in the U.S. often find that there is name recognition and pent-up demand for their product overseas; what they lack is the ability to manage the financial side and the post-purchase piece of the puzzle — international payment processing, fulfilment, shipping and returns. The good news is that for today’s ecommerce brands, going international is simply a matter of finding the right apps and partners.

Cross-border solutions

In the past few years, technologies have emerged to make global fulfilment a real possibility for even the smallest D2C brands. Cross-border solutions and payment systems simplify the complexities of international shipping and returns. These apps and platforms are built to process payments in multiple currencies, expedite customs clearance and automate the collection of duties, fees and local taxes.

You don’t have to keep abreast of international shipping laws and customs regulations in each country, because they do it all for you. Even better, they integrate fully into the shopping cart checkout process, so there are no surprises. Customers know exactly what they’re going to pay before they checkout.

Global fulfilment

Such cross-border solutions make international expansion infinitely easier, but only if your fulfilment partner has global capabilities, the necessary systems and integrated technologies. A global 3PL can help you save on shipping and fulfilment costs while enabling rapid growth.

Proper packaging, labelling and shipping help qualified brands take advantage of de minimis thresholds and avoid or reduce import duties wherever possible. Automation and robotics ensure that fulfilment operations can quickly ramp up to meet sudden peaks in demand or rapid growth. Experience and accuracy in picking, packing and labelling can prevent costly customs delays, reduce losses and increase your success rate in certain countries.

Lastly, multiple fulfilment centre locations give you the option to move inventory closer to your customers to take advantage of lower shipping costs and faster delivery times. As order volume grows, they may even be able to add international locations to meet local demand, saving you even more on import duties and fees.

Multiple shipping options

A global fulfilment partner, in tandem with cross-border shipping solutions, gives your ecommerce brand access to a large network of global shipping carriers, as well as local carriers in each country. By pooling volume and negotiating freight discounts, they can help lower your cross-border shipping costs. Sophisticated systems route your packages the most efficient way, often using a hybrid of international and local carriers so you can also take advantage of local shipping rates, complete with real-time tracking and returns services. In addition, relationships with multiple carriers give you more options for expedited shipping, which improves the international shopping experience for your customers.

Injecting goods into the U.S. market

The same cross-border solutions, fulfilment partners and shipping networks that make it easy to export goods from the U.S. also make it easier and more affordable for international brands to expand into the U.S. market. Off-shore distribution centres can ease customs clearance and lower or eliminate import duties for qualified shipments.

The fact is, for today’s ecommerce brands, going international is now one of the simplest and most affordable ways to catapult growth. If you’ve been holding off because you thought it was too complicated, it’s time to take another look. International fulfilment will never be simple, but today’s cross-border solutions, shipping and fulfilment capabilities make it a realistic option for even the smallest brands.

By

Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor

Esther Kestenbaum Prozan is president of Ruby Has Fulfillment, a major ecommerce fulfilment provider for direct-to-consumer brands and retailers. During her tenure at Ruby Has, the company has experienced a period of unprecedented growth and become a leader in the 3PL industry.

Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

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Webinar: The new normal is already here. Get used to it. The era of predictable unpredictability is not going away

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With Jim Power and Chris Johns

Sourced from Association of Advertisers in Ireland

We are delighted to welcome Jim Power and Chris Johns to take part in our next Toolkit session on Tuesday January 25th at 10:00AM.

Date: 25th January
Time: 10am
Location: Online
Registration: Here

The global economic and political environment has rarely looked so uncertain and unpredictable. Covid-19 is still exerting an inordinate impact on our lives; central bankers are caught in an unenviable dilemma in the shape of rapidly escalating inflation and Covid-related uncertainty – something will have to give, probably interest rates; Brexit continues to rumble on; and the global geopolitical landscape has rarely looked as threatening, with the US in particular looking particularly perilous.

2022 promises to be an incredibly uncertain year and Irish business would be advised to expect and prepare for the unexpected.

Chris and Jim will look at all of these issues and others in the context of the Irish economy, and Irish society.

Jim Power is owner manager of Jim Power Economics Limited, an economic and financial consultancy, which he set up in 2009. He is a board member of Love Irish Food and was Chairman of Three Rock Capital Management, an investment company, until it was purchased by Julius Baer in January 2020. He is a member of the Institute of Directors in Ireland and is an economic consultant to Aviva Ireland.

He is a graduate of UCD and holds a BA and a Master of Economic Science Degree. He lectures part-time on the MSc Management and the MBA at Smurfit School of Business, UCD. He is a native of Waterford.

Chris has worked in financial services, mostly asset management and investment banking.  He was CEO and CIO (Chief Investment Officer) at Bank of Ireland Asset Management.  He also worked as an economist in the UK Treasury, the National Institute of Economic & Social Research and UBS Philips & Drew in London, whilst also teaching economics in London and Cambridge Universities.

He is currently Chairman (non executive) of Smith & Williamson Investment Management Europe and a member of the Acuvest Investment Committee.

They are both also responsible for the very successful podcast, “The Other Hand”.

Register Now

Sourced from Association of Advertisers in Ireland

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The Top 8 LinkedIn Groups for Job Seekers

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By Joy Okumoko

Looking for a job on LinkedIn all by yourself can quickly become a full-time job in itself. You could spend days or weeks combing through your feeds for job ads or hoping your connections will share a job opportunity.

But there’s a simpler and smarter way to improve your job search results by joining a community of fellow job seekers.

In this article, we’ll cover some of the top LinkedIn groups for job seekers with at least 200,000 members. This can exponentially increase your network and with it your chances of landing your dream job.

1. Linked:HR

LinkedIn groups LinkedHR

Linked:HR is home to more than one million job seekers and HR professionals. The popular HR group was created in September 2007 and is managed by Next Dimension Media.

It is a well-organized community with a dedicated website and specialized Community Business Forum, Job Board, HR Resume Page, and Events Calendar, among others.

Members are mostly encouraged to post in English with preference given to discussion items. A discussion item usually includes a question. Questions are more visible at the top of postings, especially ones with less than 50 words.

2. The Recruiter.com Network

LinkedIn groups The Recruiter.com Network

Over 800,000 members can’t possibly all be wrong about The Recruiter.com Network; which is one of the largest recruiter networks you can find on and off LinkedIn.

The Recruiter.com Network group was created in November 2007 as a platform where recruiters can post vacancies, and find and hire top talent across different industries.

To maintain quality and decorum, conversations and comments are moderated and must be approved by the admin before being posted. Members who contact other members in a spammy way for commercial purposes will be blocked.

3. Banking Careers

LinkedIn group Banking Careers

If you’re a job seeker, recruiter, or professional in the banking or financial industry, you’ll find over 500,000 other like-minded professionals in the Banking Careers LinkedIn Group.

This LinkedIn Group is powered by the Carfang Group and was created in March 2009. Discussions in the Banking Careers group centre solely around financial risk management and related topics.

The group features loads of career advice that can help you advance your career in the banking and finance industry. You can also make valuable connections and land job opportunities as a member.

4. HR Jobs

Linkedin group HR Jobs

Recruitment is usually the job of the HR department, but what if you’re an HR professional in need of a job, an HR job? Well, you can find HR jobs and networking opportunities by joining a group like HR Jobs.

HR Jobs currently has more than 300,000 members made up of job seekers, recruiters, and other seasoned HR professionals. You not only find job opportunities in this group, but you also get career advancement tips.

The group was created in March 2008. It is a platform where beneficial HR content is shared and connections made. Posts have to be approved by the admin before going live.

5. Digital Marketing Jobs LinkedIn Group

LinkedIn group Digital Marketing etc

This group’s name is as lengthy as the list of different professionals, recruiters, and job seekers it caters to. The full name of the group is Digital Marketing SEO SEM Mobile Apps Data Internet Media Brand CRM PR Email Affiliate Jobs.

There’s something for everyone whether you’re into digital marketing, SEO, SEM, or mobile app development.

Jobs, connections, courses, advice, and tips on digital and online marketing are also widely available in this group which has more than 300,000 LinkedIn members.

The group was created in March 2008 as a hub for all kinds of online marketing professionals, developers, and content creators, among others. Members are warned against spam and posting in all caps.

6. Life Science Network

LinkedIn group Life Science etc

If you’re a professional in the life sciences, pharma, biotech, medical, clinical, and healthcare fields, among others, you can get up-to-date news and job-related information from this group.

Instead of guessing where to find your next job opportunity, simply join this group, post, share, and explore all the immensely beneficial information available.

Here’s your chance to connect, learn, improve, and hopefully land your dream job in the life sciences and medical fields. Created in July 2009, the group has more than 300,000 members.

7. Aviation Jobs

LinkedIn group Aviation Jobs

With a LinkedIn Group like Aviation Jobs, your aviation career can take flight more quickly than you expected.

With over 200,000 aviation job seekers, recruiters, and professionals in the group, you’re certainly in good company.

The group is powered by Aviation-Job.eu and caters to flight and cabin crew, aviation maintenance, commercial and cargo airlines, airport jobs, and government operations.

8. Oil and Gas, Engineering, Construction, Mining Jobs and Artisans

LinkedIn group Oil and Gas and others

Recruiters, job seekers, and other professionals can find a lot of opportunities in the Oil and Gas, Engineering, Construction, Mining Jobs and Artisans LinkedIn Group.

The group which was created in October 2010 currently boasts of more than 200,000 members. As the name suggests, members come from the oil and gas, engineering, construction, and mining industries and also include artisans.

The group caters mostly to professionals from the Middle East, UK, Africa, and other offshore locations.

Members are not allowed to post a CV or resume, general news items, or engage in spammy activities.

Join a Job Seekers LinkedIn Group Today

The journey of job-hunting can be tiresome and time-consuming, so don’t go at it alone if you don’t have to. Join a job seekers’ LinkedIn group today and you could land your dream job by tomorrow.

Joining a LinkedIn group is one powerful strategy for getting a job via LinkedIn. You should also explore other LinkedIn features that allow you to find and land your dream job.

By Joy Okumoko

Sourced from MUO

 

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10 Common SMS Marketing Mistakes Beginners Make and How to Avoid Them

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By Yaseen Sadan

90% of people open their mobile messages within 90 seconds.

This makes SMS marketing one of the best marketing strategies because you get a higher open and response rate than email.

And if you’re running a local business, then SMS marketing is a must. You can target people that visited your shop already and gain repeat customers.

But like any form of marketing, there’s a significant learning curve, and most beginners tend to make the same mistakes.

So in this post, I’ll cover the 10 SMS marketing mistakes you’re probably making and how to avoid them.

1. Texting outside business hours

Nobody wants to receive a call from a telemarketer as they’re about to fall asleep or sit down for dinner with their family. It’s annoying and won’t win any customers. And although you’re sending an SMS, the same rule applies.

Unless it’s an emergency, stick to sending text messages between 9 AM to 5 PM.

This is easy when running a local business because all customers live in your city and follow the same time zone. But what if you cater to overseas customers who’re in entirely different time zones?

Should you manually send each text when it’s within their working hours? No, because it’s a huge hassle. Instead, use an SMS marketing tool that’ll automate the entire process and send texts when it’s appropriate for your customers.

This way, you won’t have to worry about annoying or losing customers.

2. Not welcoming customers

People might not even remember they signed up for your SMS list. And if you send an SMS without welcoming them, they’ll think it’s spam and block you.

Instead, send a personalized welcome message by using their name, saying thanks, and reminding them why they signed up in the first place. It also helps to tell first-time subscribers what they can expect in the coming weeks. For example, early access to specials, giveaways, and promotions.

However, don’t make this SMS too long. Keep it as short as possible, preferably between four to six sentences.

3. Being super formal

You want to connect with subscribers and customers when sending text messages, but you won’t do that if you’re too professional.

Let your brand image shine through when writing text messages. You don’t have to crack jokes and be witty. Simply write like you’re talking to friends. Use slang, avoid jargon, start sentences with words like “And,” “So,” and “But.”

Also, your message will be short. So you must proofread them several times to ensure you aren’t using the same words over and over. For example, if your first sentence starts with “This,” avoid starting other sentences with it again. This creates elegance, making your message easy to read.

4. Not adding an opt-out button

Receiving text messages or emails that don’t have an opt-out button is annoying. It’s also spammy because there’s no way to unsubscribe; you’ll have to block the person.

When you don’t include an unsubscribe button, you damage your company’s reputation.

Fortunately, most SMS marketing software automatically adds an opt-out option to your messages.

5. Not adding a call-to-action (CTA)

Wrapping up your message with a compelling CTA is an effective way to boost conversions. It determines whether or not subscribers take the next step.

Without a clear CTA, you increase the chance of subscribers not knowing what to do once they’ve finished reading your message.

When writing a CTA, keep these rules in mind:

  • Be personal
  • Create urgency and scarcity
  • Use power words
  • Reduce risk
  • Show social proof

These all trigger people’s curiosity which gets them to take action.

Call-To-Action-Strategy

But your CTA shouldn’t always ask subscribers to buy something. This comes across as salesy, and people won’t open your text. Instead, have different CTAs that encourage people to:

  • Read a blog post
  • Sign up for a giveaway
  • Complete a survey

This way, you aren’t selling with every message.

6. Sending long URLs

Long URLs are annoying.

Every character counts in your text because it should be as short as possible. But if you have a URL that contains 50 characters, your message will just look spammy and may turn subscribers away.

To solve this problem, use a link shortening tool like Bitly or paste your URL into a piece of text. This creates clickable text, and it looks way more professional.

7. Not creating a detailed strategy

If you’re sending text messages just for the sake of sending them, your conversion rate will stay low.

Not having a detailed strategy also causes your messaging campaigns to be all over the place, leading to subscribers’ remorse.

Instead, you must have a detailed, step-by-step plan covering what you want to achieve and how you intend to do so. Some common business goals include:

  • More foot traffic
  • A bigger following on social media
  • Increased brand awareness
  • More email subscribers
  • Customer feedback

Once you’ve determined your primary goals, create campaigns around them. For example, if you need customer feedback to see how you can improve, launch a campaign that gives subscribers the chance to win a prize if they fill out a survey.

Or, if you want more foot traffic, gather a list of promotions you intend to run within the next few months and send a text message to subscribers every second week. This allows you to inform them about specials while not bombarding them with texts and coming across as salesy.

By having a strategy like this in place, you can also measure how well a specific campaign is doing.

8. Not being upfront with customers

There’s no such thing as sending too many messages if your customers expect it.

For example, newsletters like The Hustle send messages every morning, but nobody minds because it’s clear when you first sign up.

Now, if someone opts in to your weekly newsletter and you message them daily, there’s a big chance they’ll unsubscribe. So before you collect phone numbers, you must be upfront with potential subscribers on how often you’re going to message them.

9. Not focusing on list growth

Your priority must be growing your list when starting out with SMS marketing because the more phone numbers you have, the more profit you can create.

However, most new SMS marketers don’t focus on growing their list enough.

You want to run ads, promote your SMS newsletter on social media, and use every platform you can to generate phone numbers. If you have a physical shop, you can even ask customers if they’d like to sign up during checkout.

10. Selling too much

SMS marketing is one of the best channels to generate revenue. However, nobody wants to be in contact with someone that’s always trying to sell something.

Instead of promoting your product or service when writing an SMS every time, consider mixing up your strategy by asking for feedback and sending helpful articles and videos.

Conclusion

SMS marketing is one of the most effective strategies for businesses because it allows you to generate income while building a relationship with subscribers. You can also improve customer experience by asking your list to fill out a survey or write a review.

However, you should watch out for a few mistakes when marketing via SMS. These mistakes can lower your conversion rate. But by being proactive and avoiding these issues, you put your business in the best possible position to generate revenue.

By Yaseen Sadan

Yaseen is a personal trainer turned professional writer and he’s obsessed with everything health, fitness, and business-related. If he isn’t at the gym, you can find him playing video games or spending time with friends and family.

Sourced from Jeff Bullas

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3 Email Marketing Trends to Help You Kickstart 2022

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Email has become the preferred way for people to stay informed about the brands and products they care about. However, the email marketers who enjoy the most success are the ones who adapt to the times.

Email marketing strategies are always changing. 2021 saw many developments, some unexpected. Let’s take a look at five changes in the industry you should check before 2022 begins. Adapting to these changes and trends can be a great boost to your email campaigns.

Email marketing will become even more relevant

In most areas, the lockdowns have decreased consumers’ habits of shopping in-store. McKinsey & Company found that 75% of people have tried new shopping behaviours as a result of the restrictions. With online shopping and home delivery becoming more popular, there’s never been more reliance on email.

The number of overall emails (sent and received) has increased every year since 2017. The projected number of emails that will be sent every day in 2022 is estimated to be an astonishing 333.2 billion.

For email marketers who want to make the most of their campaigns, this means you have a lot of competition in the inbox. So, what can you do to stand out? It’s as simple as planning and sending emails that people want to open. Customers will want to open emails that have real value.

For those who have yet to jump on the email marketing bandwagon, it may seem like it’s too little, too late. This isn’t so. Even brands that launch a newsletter in 2022 could enjoy tremendous returns and communicate all the right things to their customers.

Open rates are no longer the “end-all-be-all”

Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) went into effect in September of 2021. Citing privacy issues, Apple stopped senders from tracking open rates using invisible pixels. Chad S. White, the Head of Research at Oracle Marketing Consulting, pointed out that this will lead to false opens, noting that “all Apple opens will be massively inflated going forward.” The problem, in a nutshell, is that unengaged subscribers will appear to be active.

So, open rates are pretty much dead. This doesn’t mean that they’re useless metrics, but it does mean that they are less reliable. Instead, we’ll see more focus on click rates and overall email engagement.

In 2022, more one-on-one communication with readers and customers will be the key. In the coming year, try to reframe the mindset that email marketing is a one-way form of communication. Encourage replies, and when a reader sends you a message, by all means, write back. Interactivity is likely to escalate like never before, and you can be ahead of the curve by adopting before your competitors.

Data decay has accelerated

On average, about a quarter of an email list goes bad in a year. In 2020 and 2021, email lists have been churning even faster. For instance, at ZeroBounce, we found that 30% of our email database has become obsolete in the past year, so we had to let go of those contacts.

Why did this happen?

For so many people, their employment situation has changed. The lockdowns resulted in thousands of companies going under. Some people were laid off and many changed jobs. In what has become known as “The Great Resignation,” millions of workers left their jobs and some retired early. The result is a considerable acceleration in data decay.

With all the competition in the inbox, marketers can’t afford to risk landing in the spam folder due to bad data. Periodic email list cleaning is an email marketing best practice that will only intensify in 2022. Keep an eye on the quality of your list and remove outdated contacts by using an email verifier. If you have a dynamic list and get lots of sign-ups, you may have to validate them monthly.

A few extra email marketing tips to conquer 2022

Email changed drastically over the last five years, but last year there were some real transformations. The wise email marketer stays aware of trends, adapting to regulations and practices.

With some brainstorming and trial and error, there’s no reason you can’t be a trendsetter instead of a follower. Whether you’re a beginner or expert-level email marketer, here are some extra tips to conquer 2022:

  • Focus on click rates and conversions. After all, this is the name of the game. What content is leading to higher click rates and better conversions?
  • Keep spam complaints at bay. You shouldn’t get more than one complaint for every 1,000 emails you send. Remove those contacts right away.
  • Test plain-text vs HTML emails. Changing to plain-text or sending a more elaborate HTML email could make a big difference. Some audiences respond much better to one.
  • Experiment with shorter or longer copy. This depends on your company, products and, most of all, your audience. Test different lengths until you find your sweet spot.
  • Allow people a way to sign up. What’s the point of having a list if people have to struggle to subscribe? Have several sign-up forms and talk about your newsletter on all your other channels.

A spirit of experimentation can spark innovative email ideas

Marketers can learn much from all of the changes in email marketing and strategize on how to be ahead of the curve in 2022. Remember that trends start with someone. When you develop an idea, just because it’s very different and not practiced doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it. A spirit of experimentation, curiosity and entrepreneurship is the right frame of mind when you want to use emails to their fullest potential.

By

Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor

Liviu Tanase is a serial entrepreneur and telecommunication executive with extensive experience in the creation, growth and sale of novel technologies. He is currently the CEO of ZeroBounce, an email validation and deliverability platform.

Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

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Everything You Need to Know About SEO

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The world of search engine optimization is changing all the time. Here are the latest SEO trends to be aware of.

When it comes to online marketing, there are a variety of different tools that businesses can take advantage of. Pay-per-click, social media, review websites such as Yelp, and search engines are just some of the online ways that consumers come across websites of all sorts.

Search engines are one of the best ways to get clients of all types. Hair and makeup product customers, storage facility customers, personal injury clients, and so many other consumers can be found through businesses utilizing these search engines properly.

With such a promising market future, it’s no wonder that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is utilized by an abundance of different businesses. This system creates great results, is cost-effective, and can easily be implemented and maintained. Unfortunately, many website owners aren’t as familiar with the industry of SEO.

interface, internet, program

The Search Engine Optimization Market

SEO is a growing industry thanks to its proven success and usage. Businesses all over the country and world are participating in this market, contributing to its high potential in the future. Understanding how this industry is stable and growing is important for businesses looking into utilizing SEO.

It is estimated that businesses are spending more than $80 billion on SEO services just this year. This is much higher than in 2018 when the estimated business spending for SEO was around $72 billion. Within just three years, the Search Engine Optimization market has grown substantially, and we can expect more of this in the future.

68% of online experiences begin with a search engine, representing a large portion of online traffic. In fact, 92.96% of all global traffic comes from Google search, Google Images, and Google Maps. With such high usage and acknowledgment, it’s no surprise that most businesses take advantage of this tool.

Why SEO is Important for Business

Such a large market means ample opportunities for businesses. Businesses who utilize SEO can sometimes expect 1000%+ more traffic than they would from organic social media. Of this traffic, SEO leads can have a 14.6% close rate.

Search Engine Optimization is one of the most effective forms of online marketing. It has great success rates and doesn’t cost an abundance of money to use. Even businesses with small marketing budgets can use SEO to their advantage.

Since search engines are so commonly used, SEO best practices are essential for businesses when it comes to making these engines work in their favor. Without SEO usage, websites are highly unlikely to get search engine exposure. 90.63% of websites get no organic search traffic on google, meaning their traffic relies almost entirely on SEO.

Find an SEO Agency Specializing in Your Niche

Effective SEO services such as the legal SEO agency Rankings, help websites ensure they are one of the first results within a search engine. This high ranking is the key to getting the most traffic that you can through search engines. Studies have shown that 0.78% of online users click on Google results that are on the second page. It’s advised you find an agency that specializes in your specific niche as they will be the experts in understanding your competitive landscape and how to implement an advantageous strategy for your business.

Businesses that successfully implement this type of marketing can reap the benefits this approach provides. SEO is one of the most effective ways to reach high-quality leads online and convert them into customers in the future.

Learning how to implement SEO on your own or having a professional assist you are two easy ways to make search engines work to your advantage.

Keeping up with SEO is highly recommended for businesses. Whether you are looking to maintain or increase your current customer volume, SEO is one of the best ways to do so.

Feature Image Credit: Photo by janjf93 on Pixabay

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Everything you need to know about digital marketing for small business

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Learn more about digital marketing for small business

Digital marketing, also known as online marketing, involves publishing online marketing communications, promotions and digital adverts to connect with customers. It can include email, social media, and web-based ad banners.

Using the best CRM software can be a good starting point with digital marketing, helping develop customer relations and establishing what connections they may have with your firm. From there, you can use targeted marketing for specific interests.

What does digital marketing do?

woman giving presentation on digital marketing

Digital marketing transposes standard marketing into the online world (Image credit: Pexels)

Digital marketing is the natural evolution of traditional marketing. While the latter focuses on magazine ads, billboards, and direct mailings, digital marketing uses online video, website adverts, search engine marketing, and much more.

It can be divided up into more hands-off advertising, such as by displaying an advert to a customer as they watch a video or browse a website; or it can be more direct, such as via social media. Whether through sponsored adverts on a social media platform, or by a company posting information on their social media, it all comes under the banner of digital marketing.

A separate field includes search engine optimization (SEO), with websites that rank highly in search results often performing best amongst their customers. In conjunction with content marketing, it enables customers to gain more attention from potential clients, via driving awareness of the product.

After all, Google is often a key place for all consumers to search for something, so ranking highly proves beneficial.

How departments can use digital marketing for small businesses

whiteboard with digital marketing written on it

Various different SMB departments can take advantage of, and utilize, digital marketing functions and services (Image credit: Pexels)

Customer service

Digital marketing in conjunction with good customer service can build up customer insight, ensuring that customers get the best service possible. Combined with digital marketing tools like HubSpot, Hootsuite, and various CRM software platforms, customer services can be more informed about the past history of a customer, as well as how they have previously interacted with a marketing campaign.

That leads to better customer service for the client, as they feel more like they’re gaining an individual service rather than being treated as a number. It also typically leads to issues being solved faster.

Sales

Sales relies heavily on good marketing. With more people using the internet and social media than ever before, digital marketing is a key component of that. With good quality digital marketing providing a strong message to potential customers, a sales team has an easier job converting a lead into a sale.

In turn, a customer feels far more informed thanks to seeing more of a product via digital marketing, so that they feel more confident in knowing they have purchased the right product for their needs.

Particularly for small businesses, a good reputation and a personal service goes a long way, meaning a well-combined digital marketing campaign and sales department ensures everyone is happy, and that feedback is positive.

Marketing

Traditional marketing and digital marketing can co-exist. For some businesses, one type may work better than the other.

It’s important to keep options open when starting out on a marketing campaign. Using marketing automation can help cut down some of the more tedious tasks associated with both traditional and digital marketing. B2B marketing automation may be required for small businesses that work with other companies.

Via automation, it’s possible to schedule social media messages to be sent out at a specific time. Automated emails can also be helpful. At all times, it’s important for both sides of marketing to communicate too, with CRM software helping here.

HR

HR departments can use digital marketing as a form of virtual paper trail. The HR department can check that marketing is working effectively by monitoring sales leads that are developed through it, via the use of relevant software.

They can also predict more accurately what the future holds for a small business based on prior results. From there, the department can work out if more investment in terms of employees need to be made when it comes to digital marketing services, which can also be used to help with recruitment.

Finance

Finance’s main role in conjunction with digital marketing is to determine budgets. A finance department can track the performance of individuals as well as specific campaigns, knowing where investment needs to be made to make the best of a digital marketing strategy.

It can also test scenarios to determine where the most successful marketing campaigns might lie, before creating reports that show what’s likely to occur. Being able to allocate budgets most appropriately is immensely useful to digital marketing, especially when it comes to acquiring funds for SEO-based campaigns, or purchasing social media software that aids automation.

Features and benefits of digital marketing for small business

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You can reach more customers and improve sales by investing in digital marketing (Image credit: Pexels)

Modernization

Digital marketing is the most modern form of marketing. It’s not essential for all firms to implement, but it’s a good way of making even the smallest of businesses look very modern. Its modern nature is highly varied, ensuring that anyone can reach out to potential clients through various forms of social media, or go further by using advertising services to expand their horizons online.

Reaches a wide range of people

Because digital marketing is online, it can reach a wider range of people than traditional marketing that often relies on geography to make things possible. A social media presence ensures that a business can reach out to potential clients hundreds or even thousands of miles away, with locale no longer being a limited factor in getting the message out.

Thanks to algorithms on social media platforms, such messages can also pinpoint users that find the service more relevant, rather than relying upon adverts at bus stops or in local magazines, which tend to provide more scattershot results.

Better return on investment 

A lot of digital marketing can be achieved relatively inexpensively compared to billboards or TV adverts. Devising a social media campaign takes time and money, but issuing it is relatively straightforward, meaning a better return on your investment.

It’s also more efficient, which saves the business time. Once certain services are set up, digital marketing can soon pay for itself through better reach and sales performance.

Better lead quality

Much of digital marketing is focused on a personalized service. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media services all use algorithms to recommend services and accounts that are most likely to be of interest to a user. By using social media for your digital marketing, users can instantly appeal to the customers best suited to them; meaning customers aren’t distracted by something irrelevant, and that a company’s sales team has genuinely-interested clients.

Builds up brand recognition

Marketing isn’t just about sales. It’s also about establishing brand familiarity. A name that someone sees everywhere is a name they are more likely to recommend to people, even if it’s not a product they use themselves. In the case of digital marketing, a strong social media presence can help immensely with creating a positive view.

It doesn’t need to be used for customer service or selling products. Many successful campaigns simply encourage interaction in a fun way, making a company seem more human than just a place to buy a product. It can even be used to develop product ideas.

Feature Image Credit: Pexels

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‘Reading your mind’: How eyes, pupils and heart rate could be used to target ads in the metaverse

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By Aisling Ní Chúláin

If we’ve learned anything about new means of communication over the last century, it’s that where technology attracts people’s eyes and ears, advertisers won’t be long chasing after them.

It’s been the case with radio, cinema, TV, the Internet and social media, so it seems almost impossible that it won’t be the case in the so-called metaverse – the new fully realised, shared universe that companies like Meta are proposing to build.

In perhaps a sign of things to come, a host of brands have already dipped their toes into gaming metaverses, hosting virtual fashion shows and dropping exclusive collections in game.

Luxury fashion houses like Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Marc Jacobs have all designed digital items for the social simulation game Animal Crossing – and Balenciaga has collaborated with Fortnite on an exclusive drop of wearable skins for in-game characters, to name but a few.

‘Think about it as placement in the product instead of product placement’

But now that Meta, a targeted advertising powerhouse, has staked its claim to the metaverse, some experts are raising the alarm about the specific implications immersive advertising will have for user privacy, safety and consent.

“When you think about advertising in XR, you should think about it as placement in the product instead of product placement,” Brittan Heller, counsel with American law firm Foley Hoag and an expert in privacy and safety in immersive environments, told Euronews Next.

“The way that advertising works in these contexts is a little different because you seek out the experiences. You like the experiences,” she explained.

We’re rapidly moving into a space where your intentions and your thoughts are substantial data sets that have technological importance in a way that they didn’t before.

Brittan Heller
Human Rights Counsel – Foley Hoag LLP

“An ad in virtual reality may look like buying a designer jacket for your digital avatar [but] that’s an ad for a clothing company that you are wearing on your body”.

“It may look like buying a game that puts you into Jurassic Park – [but] what better way to advertise the movie franchise than to actually put you in the experience of being in Jurassic Park?”

What is biometric psychography?

The problem here, according to Heller, is that in the metaverse, the capability for harvesting biometric data and using that sensitive data to target ads tailored to you, goes far beyond the considerable amount of data Facebook already uses to build our consumer profiles.

If the technology that Meta is promising comes to fruition, the possibility exists that a form of targeted advertising which tracks involuntary biological responses could be proliferated.

The risk that I think we’ve learnt from Cambridge Analytica is that privacy risks come into play when you have the combination of unanticipated data sets, especially when you’re looking at emerging technology.

Brittan Heller
Human Rights Counsel – Foley Hoag LLP

For VR headsets to work in this environment, Heller says, they will have to be able to track your pupils and your eyes.

This means advertisements could be tailored according to what attracts or holds your visual attention and how you physically respond to it.

Heller has coined a term for this combination of one’s biometric information with targeted advertising: biometric psychography.

If an entity had access to biometric data such as pupil dilation, skin moistness, EKG or heart rate – bodily indicators that happen involuntarily in response to stimuli – and combined it with existing targeted advertising datasets, it would be “akin to reading your mind,” Heller said.

“The type of information you can get from somebody’s pupil dilation, for example – that can tell you whether or not somebody is telling the truth. It can tell you whether or not somebody is sexually attracted to the person that they’re seeing,” she explained.

“We’re rapidly moving into a space where your intentions and your thoughts are substantial data sets that have technological importance in a way that they didn’t before”.

“The risk that I think we’ve learnt from Cambridge Analytica is that privacy risks come into play when you have the combination of unanticipated data sets, especially when you’re looking at emerging technology”.

Regulating the metaverse

Heller believes that biometric laws in the United States are insufficient in protecting users from use or misuse of this kind of data because “biometrics laws in the States are defined by protecting your identity, not protecting your thoughts or your impulses”.

With the metaverse, the risk remains that the pace of development of the technology will outstrip the ability of institutions to regulate them effectively as has arguably been the case with social media platforms.

In light of the fact that companies hoping to build the metaverse are multinational and operate across borders, Heller believes the most effective way to deal with these issues of user protection is a “human rights based approach”.

“There are many stakeholders in this, there’s civil society, there are public groups, there are governments and then there are intergovernmental organisations as well,” she explained.

“A human rights approach has been the way that we’ve been able to bring all of these players and their concerns together and make sure that everybody is heard”.

But what can companies do to protect people in the metaverse?

If tech organisations are serious about guaranteeing users’ digital rights in immersive environments, it will depend on them being open about the technology they are developing.

“I would want companies to be more transparent with the functionality of their technologies, not just their intentions and their business plans, but how this will work,” Heller said.

“That will help lawmakers ask the questions that they need to protect the public and to cooperate with each other for trans border technology”.

By Aisling Ní Chúláin

Sourced from euronews.next

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Create Brand Loyalty by Humanizing the Digital Experience

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Here are three tips to retain your customers.

You already know that relevant, personalized messaging can make or break your digital marketing campaign. So as we think about cutting through the noise during the increasingly competitive holiday season — where brands fine-tuned their Cyber Monday promotions for months and worked to solve supply chain shortages — how can your company use personalized content to stand out and drive incremental revenue, both for the all-important holiday season and beyond?

While technology has enabled more personal, immersive experiences, consumers’ expectations remain higher than ever. Having a seamless e-commerce website experience is expected, and now is the time to go beyond offering transactional benefits — like low prices or free shipping offers — and instead focus on providing an enriching consumer journey, like with targeted messaging.

And there’s no time like the present if you’re looking to grow your brand’s holiday revenue. In fact, almost half of consumers start their holiday shopping by mid-November (before Black Friday and Cyber Monday), and 56% finish by mid/late December (Dec 11-31), according to the Facebook Holiday Discovery Moment Study by YouGov.

So, how do you make the most of it? Based on my experience managing digital marketing at companies like Nike, L’Oreal, and Meta (formerly Facebook), here are my three tips to increase brand loyalty and reconnect with ambivalent consumers to improve your online revenue.

1. Craft purpose-driven messaging

Think about how your customers’ priorities may have shifted this season and how your brand can meet their changing needs. Successful companies are re-evaluating how to stay relevant by crafting more purpose-driven messaging rather than creating purely transactional content. Your brand’s communication strategy should be an extension of its DNA and amplify what your company believes.

According to a Deloitte study, 25% of respondents said they stopped shopping with brands that appeared to be acting in their self-interest. My takeaway? Consumers will stay loyal to the companies that demonstrate authentic empathy, and relationships will last longer when your customers feel invested in your company’s success. When analysing your outreach strategy to your consumers, whether through social media or email, ensure that your messaging engages, inspires, or impacts others.

Consider the three phases of a consumer’s traditional path-to-purchase:

  • Discovery phase: How does your brand show up when your audience conducts research? When a consumer Googles you, do your brand’s philanthropic initiatives show up at the top of the search results page?
  • Consideration phase: How does your brand show up when a consumer engages with your content? Do your influencer/creator’s social media posts represent your brand’s values?
  • Conversion phase: How does your brand show up when a consumer ultimately shops on your website? What action do you want your consumer to take beyond making a one-time purchase?

Ensure that your purpose-driven messaging is woven throughout all of your brand’s “owned” channels.

For example, a recent blog post by Sheryl Sandberg, Meta’s (formerly Facebook’s) Chief Operating Officer, announced its #BuyBlack Friday Show. It features episodes led by television host Elaine Welteroth on their Facebook Shops tab — to highlight select Black-owned businesses that have continued to be the hardest hit by the pandemic, helping consumers learn about their business journeys and encouraging people to #BuyBlack for the holiday season.

Related: Retailers Prep for Early Holiday Shopping Amid Supply Chain Woes

2. Build an affinity-focused customer profile

Who are you talking to? Get to know your audience. Data is one of the most valuable resources that companies have. We know cookies are going away, which will make it more challenging for brands to collect and attribute third-party data. This makes it critical to continue gathering information directly from your consumers on your brand’s owned website, like a consumer’s first name, gender, and the last category shopped (foundational data points to build customer profiles to better market to them).

But, be sure to take it one step further and go beyond merely capturing transactional data points. Instead, use this as an opportunity to learn more about your consumer’s interests and affinities. For example:

  • Are they interested in researching or buying? If they’re undecided, would they prefer that you send them a sample to “try before they buy”?
  • Who are they buying for? Are they interested in purchasing the product for themselves, or are they buying gifts for a friend?
  • After they complete a purchase, would they like monthly stylist tips on how to “update their look?”
  • To continue the conversation, either after they browsed your website or purchased, would they prefer to get text messages or email communications from your brand?

Rather than making assumptions about vague customer personas, humanize the data capture experience. Get to know your audience by understanding their unique preferences, which will ultimately help you retain your consumers and reduce their churn rate.

3. Redefine customer retention

Marketers closely monitor traditional e-commerce metrics like conversion rate and bounce rate and often keep a careful watch on CRM (customer relationship management) analytics, like the monthly number of one-time purchases, repeat purchase rate (usually defined by 2+ purchases), and consumers’ average replenishment rate (how long it takes a consumer to re-purchase from your brand’s website).

While consumer demand for online buying hasn’t waned, according to McKinsey, as many as 30 to 40% of consumers continue to switch brands or retailers. I encourage marketers to take this opportunity to redefine brand loyalty and retention before their customers start shopping elsewhere.

We should go beyond merely defining retention as a customer making two or more purchases and instead try to understand consumer behaviour across all channels. This goes beyond “last-click attribution,” which tells us the last channel they clicked before purchasing from your website.

What if we assigned tiered “values” to consumers who engaged with the brand during the “consideration” phase of their path-to-purchase, rather than just monitoring shoppers during the “conversion” phase of their journey? In other words, a loyal customer should be defined by both shopping and engagement behaviours.

For example, if a consumer searched for non-branded keywords in Google (“how to get glowing skin”), watched a how-to video, and then signed up for emails on your brand’s website, traditional marketers might disregard this research behaviour since they’re only in the “consideration” phase of their path-to-purchase. However, a more nuanced marketer might consider this an excellent opportunity to assign a tiered “value” to this type of consumer and develop relevant content with a targeted communication strategy — hopefully converting them to a purchaser and brand loyalist down the road.

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