Marketing Strategy Archives - Page 2 of 6

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How To Leverage An Omnichannel Marketing Strategy To Reach Your Audience Wherever They Are

October 4, 2023 No Comments

The data shows that omnichannel marketing strategies have power. When implemented successfully, they increase ad-driven store visits by 80%. With consumers relying more on their mobile devices and expecting tailored, seamless experiences from brands, failing to embrace omnichannel marketing seems like a wrong turn. Omnichannel strategies can boost sales, personalize the customer experience and increase retention rates.

Another positive is that using multiple channels to deliver individualized messages lets you reach audience members wherever they are. Whether they’re using their smartphone in your store, opening their inbox or browsing social media, your messages get seen. And ultimately, they bring your audience closer to making a purchase. But omnichannel marketing involves more than simply blasting your content onto every available platform. Here’s how to do it with thought and effectively increase your reach.

Amplify Your Content

Amplifying your content doesn’t mean simply making more of it. That strategy could backfire if you’re not talking about what’s relevant to your audience. Sometimes less is more when you can use what you already have in different ways.

Repurposing your content is something Casted, an amplified marketing platform that a company I advise works with, recommends for reaching customers more effectively. Think about the channels your ideal buyer uses and modify your content to fit each channel’s mould. Amplifying your content library can also include returning to topics you’ve talked about before. If something resonates strongly with your audience, they’re probably hungry for more. You just have to dig deeper, expand and adapt.

Say you have a high-performing blog post. It brings people to your website and pads your lead-gen results. But search engines aren’t the only place your audience hangs out. You can take the same post and turn it into a video on TikTok, a social snippet on Instagram or an infographic on LinkedIn. If there’s potential, you might turn the topic into a series by involving more than one subject matter expert.

The key is to extend your efforts beyond a single format or channel. That said, you’ll need to be strategic about it. Look at where your audience is, what formats they respond to best and what topics draw them in.

Walk In Your Target Consumer’s Shoes

Before someone buys something, they’ve likely seen multiple ads and pieces of content about it. They’ve also probably interacted with your brand in person and online through different channels. Marketing touchpoints are no longer limited to one or two. Today’s consumers are bombarded with online posts, emails and mobile app notifications on top of traditional ads.

The mobile channel alone drove 41.8% of retail e-commerce sales in 2022. While this figure is impressive, you’ve got to determine how channels like mobile apply to your audience members. Pretend you’re one of them, searching for information on the problem your product or service solves. What channels does your audience interact with, what touchpoints do they see and how effective are they?

Walking through your ideal shopper’s journey is one way to identify what touchpoints are missing from your strategy. Say you’re an online bank, such as SoFi, that offers loans, savings accounts and investment products. Perhaps your website analytics show visitors are spending more time exploring content about high-yield savings and investments. It may be the time to target these consumers with personalized touchpoints like emails.

Collecting visitors’ data through short surveys and email signup forms allows you to customize your messages, better matching their interests and behaviours. For instance, you could offer a higher interest rate if they open a savings account through your app. You could also extend a bonus for opening investment accounts with a minimum balance. Either way, you’re leveraging data to appeal to your audience’s preferences through their favourite channels.

Analyse Feedback to Optimize Performance

You won’t know what parts of your omnichannel marketing strategy are working if you don’t analyse the data. More importantly, you won’t know what you should tweak so they can work. Stats you’ll want to look at include conversion and retention rates. But customer satisfaction, general brand sentiment and customer lifetime value are additional data points to consider.

For example, a video with low conversion rates may present several opportunities. Maybe the format or length isn’t appropriate for your goal. Perhaps you want to educate your audience to convince them your brand offers the best solution. You might test the same content as a webinar and a how-to series. You can optimize your strategy to increase conversion rates by seeing which format performs better.

Likewise, you can look at your overall approach’s impact on customer lifetime value. What role do different touchpoints play in incremental sales if you’re a mass-market retailer like Target? Maybe app notifications about sales and gift card incentives are more effective than direct mail. They’re immediate, using past browsing and purchase history to deliver individualized savings. However, customer sentiments from surveys reveal that too many notifications turn shoppers off.

Combining your data sources, you might find two app notifications a week is the sweet spot. With this frequency, you can positively impact customer lifetime value and brand sentiment. You’ll be reaching your audience how—and how often—they prefer.

Achieving Omnichannel Marketing Reach

Omnichannel marketing strategies often have the same effect that multiple product displays in a store do. No matter where consumers turn, you’re constantly reminding them of your brand’s existence and the value it can offer. With well-thought-out and refined approaches, omnichannel marketing can help extend your reach to those ready, willing and able to buy.

Feature Image Credit: getty

By John Hall

John Hall is a top motivational speaker and the co-founder of Calendar, a scheduling and time management app. He’s also an adviser for the growth marketing agency Relevance, a company that helps brands differentiate themselves and lead their industry online.You can book him as a keynote speaker here.

Sourced from Forbes

In News

10 Best Marketing Strategy Examples to Inspire Your Own (2023)

August 1, 2023 No Comments

By Sam Driver

Ready to breathe some fresh air into your brand? These marketing strategy examples are exactly what you need!

You know that feeling when you’re just stuck in a rut? Like, “What’s next?”

Well, friend, we’ve got your back.

From guerrilla tactics that’ll make you feel like a cunning ninja, to social media campaigns that’ll turn you into an online rockstar — we’ve cherry-picked the cream of the crop.

Get ready to take notes and revamp your game.

Let’s dive right in!

1. Tesla’s Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Remember when we thought we couldn’t buy a car online? Elon Musk didn’t just push the envelope — he threw it out of the SpaceX rocket window.

Despite having an initial marketing budget that’s as scarce as a white rhino, Tesla rose from obscurity to global renown. And it wasn’t by accident or sheer luck.

Tesla’s masterstroke lies in their word-of-mouth marketing strategy, where they capitalized on the power of customer advocacy and the cult-like following of its founder.

So what’s the secret sauce here?

Treat your customers like the very oxygen you breathe. Exceed their expectations, over-deliver, and they’ll become your brand ambassadors.

The key takeaway…

Strive for excellent product or service delivery, and let your customers do the talking. Remember, a satisfied customer can often become a better advocate for your brand than any advertisement.

2. Dollar Shave Club’s Viral Video

Razor subscription service. Sounds as exciting as watching paint dry, right?

Dollar Shave Club chucked that presumption out the window and raced into the spotlight with a video campaign that was as unexpected as finding an oasis in the Sahara.

Their genius marketing strategy consisted of an offbeat viral video that made you laugh till your belly hurt. They fused humour with real-world struggles, striking a chord with the common man’s shaving woes.

The result?

Dollar Shave Club went from being virtually unknown to an overnight sensation.

Your nugget of wisdom here…

Don’t be afraid to step outside the box and bring some humour into your marketing campaigns. Authentic, unexpected content that entertains and resonates with your audience can cause your brand to skyrocket in popularity.

3. Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign

In an industry often accused of peddling fantasy beauty standards, Dove chose to march to the beat of a different drum.

Their ‘Real Beauty’ campaign was less about selling soap and more about promoting self-acceptance and celebrating diversity.

Dove tapped into something more profound than surface-level beauty — they touched the heart.

The campaign resonated powerfully with a broad audience, catapulting the brand into the stratosphere of public admiration. It was more than just a marketing strategy; it was a movement.

So why not dare to challenge the status quo.

Align your brand with a purpose that reaches beyond just selling products. Emotional resonance builds stronger, deeper connections with your audience, and those connections can turn customers into loyal brand advocates.

4. Coca Cola’s Content 2020

Have you ever felt that warm, fuzzy feeling while watching a Coca Cola ad during Christmas? That’s the power of Coca Cola’s “Content 2020” initiative.

They pivoted from traditional product marketing, choosing instead to stir up emotions and sell experiences.

Through captivating storytelling, Coca Cola placed the viewer smack dab in the middle of an unfolding narrative, leading them down a path of emotional connection.

What can you learn from this?

Start thinking of your product or service as part of a larger story, a story that your customers can connect with on a deeper level.

It’s not just about selling anymore, folks.

It’s about creating a meaningful journey with your brand at its heart.

To implement this strategy, you could create content around highlighting customer stories, or aligning your brand with a significant cause. The aim is to strike an emotional chord that resonates beyond a simple transaction.

5. GoPro’s Be a Hero Campaign

They incentivized customers to become ambassadors of their own adventures, equipped with a GoPro camera. This genius move allowed GoPro to showcase the versatility and robustness of their product while simultaneously fostering a vibrant community of users.

Imagine this: not just you selling your product, but your customers doing it for you!

To apply this in your own strategy, consider ways you could inspire your customers to share their experiences with your product or service.

Perhaps you could run a photo contest on Instagram, or maybe incentivize reviews with discounts or giveaways. The key is to make your customers feel like they’re part of the story your brand is telling.

6. Deadpool’s Satirical Campaign

Billboards, cheeky social media posts, and a playful Tinder profile all embodied the irreverent spirit of the character.

From this, you can glean the power of brand authenticity.

Sure, not all of us have a wisecracking antihero to market, but that doesn’t mean you can’t infuse your campaign with genuine personality.

If your brand were a person, who would it be? How would they speak? What would they value?

Find these answers, and use them to break your own metaphorical fourth wall.

This could be as simple as adopting a more conversational tone in your marketing copy, or engaging directly with consumers on social media platforms.

Remember, authenticity resonates, and can set your brand apart from the faceless corporate crowd.

7. Amazon Prime Day

Talk about making a splash! Amazon’s Prime Day turned a simple sale into an annual festival of savings that customers eagerly anticipate.

The ecommerce giant’s 48-hour extravaganza of exclusive deals for Prime members was a masterclass in leveraging FOMO — that’s the Fear of Missing Out, folks.

The countdown to Prime Day sparks a thrill of anticipation that ignites the internet, creating a buzz of conversation and frantic deal-snatching.

But how can you harness this in your own marketing strategy?

Start by creating exclusive opportunities or events that evoke a sense of urgency.

Limited-time offers, sneak peeks, and members-only benefits can all trigger this reaction.

Make your audience feel like they’re part of an elite club, and they’ll be eager to join in.

Remember, the key to FOMO marketing is exclusivity, urgency, and a dash of creative promotion.

8. Oreo’s Dunk in the Dark

When Super Bowl XLVII was hit with a blackout, most brands were left in the dark. But not Oreo.

Their quick-witted “You Can Still Dunk in the Dark” tweet made headlines as a brilliant instance of real-time marketing.

This isn’t just about reacting swiftly, it’s about crafting a perfectly timed, on-brand message that takes advantage of an unexpected situation.

In a world where trends ebb and flow in the blink of an eye, speed and flexibility are paramount. Real-time marketing requires a keen awareness of current events and a readiness to jump on opportunities as they arise.

By keeping your finger on the pulse, your brand can be a part of the conversation, instead of just a bystander.

Embrace the unexpected, and remember, sometimes the best opportunities aren’t planned — they’re seized.

9. HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing

Who says education has to be boring? HubSpot has positioned itself as an authority in the digital marketing world by providing free, valuable resources like blogs, webinars, and guides.

This isn’t just giving away free stuff — it’s a brilliant strategy that draws in customers and nurtures them into a loyal, engaged community.

Embrace a similar approach by offering your audience value beyond your products or services.

Perhaps it’s a blog with expert advice, an e-book filled with industry secrets, or webinars that provide actionable insights.

When you educate your audience, you’re not only positioning your brand as a trusted leader but also building a loyal customer base that’s more likely to return to you for more.

Remember, valuable content doesn’t just inform — it engages, persuades, and cultivates a relationship with your audience.

10. Glossier’s Customer-Centric Strategy

A dedicated audience can be your brand’s greatest asset, and Glossier understands this like no other.

By embracing intensive social media engagement and listening to their customers, they’ve not only built an impressive customer base but also fostered a community.

They’ve shown us that the secret sauce isn’t just about selling a product — it’s about understanding and responding to your customer’s needs.

Take a page from Glossier’s book by actively seeking out and responding to customer feedback.

Engage with your audience on social media, create spaces for conversation, and truly listen.

The key takeaway here is that when you build a community around your brand, you’re fostering trust and loyalty.

By making your customers feel heard and valued, you’re creating a robust customer base that’ll stick around for the long haul. Remember, a loyal community is more than just a customer base — it’s a powerful marketing force.

Unleash the Power of These Marketing Strategy Examples

So, you’ve reached the end, and your brain might be buzzing like, “Where do I even start with all these golden nuggets?”

Breathe, pal.

That’s normal!

What you’ve got here is a treasure chest, and you’re the pirate that’s hit the jackpot.

So, get your creative juices flowing, build bridges, and make waves!

By Sam Driver

Sam is an Associate Editor for Smart Blogger and family man who loves to write. When he’s not goofing around with his kids, he’s honing his craft to provide lasting value to anyone who cares to listen.

Sourced from SmartBlogger

In News

Branding: The layer-1 of a successful Web3 marketing strategy

July 14, 2023 No Comments

By German Ramirez

Building on a blockchain follows similar fundamental principles to building in real life.

Building on a blockchain follows similar fundamental principles to building in real life. First, you establish the foundations, then you can start laying the bricks, and only once it’s built can someone begin experiencing the building’s purpose. With blockchain, establishing a foundation involves selecting (or even designing) a first layer. Laying the bricks is akin to writing the platform code, and only then the user experience can begin.

So why, if we know the process involved in building a successful, sustainable structure from scratch, do we ignore it when it comes to our crypto marketing efforts?

The naïve crypto founder’s marketing checklist

Building a Web3 project from scratch? Here’s a typical marketing checklist for starry-eyed founders:

Have a logo: something from a freelancer will do to start
Create a whitepaper: this is a must-have for VCs
Have a website and social media accounts
Create a blog (remember: SEO matters)
Engage a PR agency and issue lots of press releases ahead of launch
Use influencers (more followers = more reach)
Use paid placements to establish authority
Participate in sponsorships and time on stage at big events

Even if a project manages to survive the next crash, it’ll invariably end up rinsing and repeating this list with endless newer and more exciting features, products and services, with little return on its marketing spend.

The problem is, when everyone is doing the same thing, nobody stands out. And during the bear markets, what’s left? All of the above costs time and money, but none of it buys loyalty.

All entrepreneurs building on blockchain understand the importance of building from the foundations up — starting with layer-1. Layer-1 underpins everything.

What are the characteristics you seek from layer-1?

Decentralization with distributed shared ownership
Immutability
Transparency
Longevity

Nothing in the extensive founder’s marketing checklist shares these non-negotiable properties.

Your brand is your layer-1 of your marketing

Successful marketing starts with its own layer-1 — building the brand. Your layer-1 is the keystone on which your entire platform is built, and your brand is the keystone on which your entire marketing strategy should be constructed.

Your brand isn’t a logo or a catchy slogan. It’s first and foremost a memorable, relevant, credible, unique, concise and consistent brand positioning and promise. Ideally, it’s supported by a clear set of values, ideas, narratives and visuals that pull everything else together.

Your brand is what makes people recognize you. It’s what invokes what your business is known for. And it’s the only part of your marketing toolkit that creates a truly emotional tie between you and your target audience.

Remember, your brand is the only asset that you can derive from your marketing spend. However much you pay a PR or marketing agency, no matter how much they talk about ROI — without a brand, it’s all just talk. Your brand is your layer-1.

That’s not to say that all the other stuff isn’t important. Your socials, blog and PR campaigns all matter. But they are your layer-2 — your touchpoints. If we take the blockchain analogy, your layer-2 marketing activities and touchpoints are like your dApps. They’re your presence — your voice to the world.

Layer-3 is where the magic happens. Layer-3 is the experience, where your brand, product and story come together to create traction, impact and enduring value. This is why people will come back and what will propel you through the toughest of bear markets and financial hardships.

But without layer-1 — your brand — you’ll never reach layer-3 based on a foundation of layer-2 alone. It would be like trying to launch a dApp without a blockchain.

Retrofitting works

Hang on, you may be thinking. I’ve already started my business, and I didn’t build a brand before I started. I already have my website, socials, blog and campaigns set up, but without a brand. Is it all now doomed to fail?

It’s not a problem.

Unlike dApps, which can’t run without blockchains, it is possible to retroactively build your brand. In fact, the chances are that in the process of building your layer-2, you’ve already started creating an impression that can help to form the basis of your brand.

What are you good at? Why does your community come to you above the competition? Why is your offering relevant?

Arguably, if you have already started, you’re in an even stronger position to build a brand retroactively because you already have enough data and input to be able to answer these questions. Those touchpoints you set up are a valuable trove of feedback from people who have engaged with your product and formed an impression. Listen to what they have to say.

Once you know what you’re good at, and how you’re being perceived, you have the ingredients to create your brand. The rest is pure science.

By German Ramirez

German is co-founder and chief relevance officer of THE RELEVANCE HOUSE, a branding, marketing and growth agency focused on blockchain and Web3.

Sourced from COINTELEGRAPH

In News

The 4 Marketing Strategies Your Shopify Store Needs to Drive Traffic

April 25, 2023 No Comments

By Eric Netsch

A successful Shopify store is built on a solid marketing strategy. Read on if you want to discover the secrets of Shopify marketing.

After taking the leap into the ecommerce world and launching your Shopify store, you’re probably looking for ways to attract new customers. Even with a great design and solid product offering, standing out in a crowded market can be challenging. Fortunately, you can take several practical strategies and actions to promote and drive traffic to your business. Depending on your needs and goals, these can include anything from social media marketing to paid advertising to email marketing campaigns.

Shopify is currently the leading platform for ecommerce brands, and it powers nearly two million businesses’ online stores. It goes without saying, but competition in the ecommerce world is fierce; retailers looking to remain relevant and stand out need to establish a solid marketing strategy that will actually move the mark.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level, it’s essential to prioritize marketing and make it a crucial part of your overall ecommerce strategy. Doing so can lead to increased sales, greater brand recognition and the development of a loyal customer base.

1. Boost your search engine appeal

To draw more traffic and give potential customers the best chance of finding you when they search for similar products, it’s essential to prioritize Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This strategy requires patience, time and ongoing effort, but it’s worth the investment.

There are several key steps to optimizing your Shopify store. These include optimizing your store’s architecture, conducting thorough keyword research to identify relevant keywords for your business, refining your on-page optimization over time and implementing an effective link-building strategy.

Remember that SEO is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort. Fortunately, Shopify offers built-in marketing tools, including SEO optimization features, to help you optimize for search engines. Moreover, you can enhance your SEO efforts and maintain a steady traffic flow by using various third-party SEO tools and Shopify apps.

If you prioritize SEO and take the essential measures to optimize your Shopify store for search engines, you can gradually attract a larger audience, increase your sales and expand your business.

2. Amplify your reach with digital ads

Investing in paid ads is a highly effective strategy, particularly if you’re just starting out or facing challenges in gaining visibility through organic search marketing. Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, like Google Ads, can be an excellent option for driving more traffic to your site as ads appear at the top of search results. In a PPC campaign, you set a maximum bid and only pay when someone clicks on your link. A well-targeted and well-written PPC campaign can immediately bring traffic to your Shopify store. However, it’s worth noting that your competitors and the ads platform determine the amount you pay per visitor, even though you control your overall spending.

Another option for paid advertising is launching campaigns on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, the most common networks for paid advertising. To determine which platform works best for you, conduct different tests and analyse your ad’s performance.

Having attractive visual content and persuasive copywriting that appeals to potential customers is essential to creating successful ads. Be creative! Successful advertising campaigns need that creative appeal to capture the attention of shoppers.

Before launching your ads, consider the most relevant keywords for your business and target your ads to specific audiences to ensure your campaigns are effective. Paid advertising campaigns can inform potential customers about your Shopify brand and retarget previous site visitors, making it an effective tactic for attracting new customers and guiding shoppers back.

3. Utilize influencer marketing

In recent years, influencer marketing has gained immense popularity and has proven to be an effective way to market your Shopify store, especially for brands in the fashion, beauty and CPG industries. In essence, influencer marketing is a partnership between a brand and an influencer, and it is becoming an increasingly popular choice for brands’ marketing budgets. Finding an influencer whose niche audience aligns with your product or brand is crucial to begin with influencer marketing. You must also establish a relationship with the influencer, who will create their own content to help position your brand.

Influencer marketing is highly effective for ecommerce businesses. Seventy-one percent of marketers find that it generates better quality customers and traffic than other sources. Consumers trust influencer recommendations because they create a direct communication channel and leverage the credibility and trust of public figures. In fact, 64% of marketers agree that influencer marketing is an enhanced form of word-of-mouth marketing, which is the most effective form of marketing.

This personalized approach is particularly effective in today’s world, where so many brand choices inundate consumers. Influencer marketing is a highly reliable and direct marketing strategy, as recommendations from real people carry more weight than conventional paid advertisements.

4. Master your customer referral program

Referral programs can be an effective strategy where satisfied customers become brand advocates and receive rewards such as discounts or free products. You can reach a wider audience by incentivizing past customers to recommend your products to their network. This approach is particularly effective because people tend to trust recommendations from friends and family more than advertising. Word-of-mouth marketing is such a powerful tool that it can generate up to five times more sales than traditional paid advertising.

Unlike customer reviews, a referral program involves direct word-of-mouth marketing where people share their positive experiences with your products with those close to them, generating new leads that are highly likely to convert. Several platforms and tools are available to create a customer referral program, such as Talkable, which offers an in-app referral program to help find brand advocates.

To attract new customers to your Shopify store, you can use several strategies to promote your business and drive traffic, such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), paid advertising, influencer marketing and customer referral programs. Implementing these tactics can attract more customers, increase sales and develop a loyal customer base. Remember to be creative and invest time and effort into continuously improving your marketing strategy to stay ahead in the competitive ecommerce industry.

By Eric Netsch

Sourced from Entrepreneur

In News

5 Reasons to Start Producing Industry-Specific Content as Part of Your Marketing Strategy

August 12, 2022 No Comments

By Hillel Fuld

Start producing industry content now and watch everything else get easier.

How important is content as part of your overall marketing strategy? The answer is that if done well, content is the foundation for the entire building that is marketing.

To be clear, when I say content, I don’t mean PR as in a journalist writing about you. I also don’t mean the copy that’s on your website. When I say content, I am referring to you producing industry content on the company blog, podcast, YouTube channel, or elsewhere.

Once you jump into the content game, the rest of your marketing efforts are made increasingly simpler.

Here are five parts of your marketing that become easier once you start producing content.

Your social media accounts finally offer some value.

By now, if your company is not on social media, you should fire your marketing team. Everyone knows how potentially powerful social media is, but not many companies really think about what they are doing on social media.

Too many people and companies use platforms like Twitter as a broadcast platform. They think of these platforms as a megaphone. Instead of focusing on the media, they should try focusing on social.

That means they need to start thinking of how to provide real value instead of obsessing over how many followers they have. Well, if a company produces content regularly, now they have what to share on social media.

If you’re an AI company and you produce content about AI, all of a sudden, people interested in AI have a reason to follow you on social.

The foundation of all search engine optimization is content.

Anyone who knows how search engine optimization(SEO) works will tell you that content is the foundation. To simplify it, the goal of offsite SEO is to get as many incoming links as possible. When Google sees a site with thousands of incoming links, they understand that that site must be an authority in its space.

The question is how do you get links. Some SEO people go and buy links thinking they’re going to trick Google. Instead, focus on organically getting people to link to you and encouraging people to talk about you on the internet. How do you do that? Content. The more you write, the more people talk about you. The more people talk about you, the more they link to you. Period.

All of a sudden, your PR isn’t PR.

What is the first thing a journalist will do after receiving a pitch from you? That’s right, they’ll Google you.

When they Google you and come across all your industry content, all of a sudden, you’re not just another company pitching that journalist. Now you’re a content creator just like they are. Content changes the whole dynamic and shortens the road to getting press coverage.

Your business development benefits from a head start.

Think about your business development efforts. Whether you’re a start-up or a larger company, surely you are looking for strategic partners to help grow your business.

Now think of the other side. What is that potential partner looking for? They’re looking to partner with leaders, not followers. They’re looking to collaborate with brands, not companies.

Well, when that potential partner Googles you and they see no footprint on the internet, that is a huge red flag. Alternatively, if they Google you and see you are producing a ton of industry content, suddenly you are the leader and the brand they are looking for.

Investors are looking to invest in good people so make sure you are what they’re looking for.

Every tech investor I’ve ever met says the same thing. “We are looking to invest in people.” That’s very nice but before that first meeting, how do they determine if a company has good people when evaluating whether to take that first meeting?

The answer is that they do their due diligence. Part of that process involves them looking at your site, your web presence, and of course, they look to see your thoughts on your specific space.

So to answer the question, your content becomes your company’s business card and if an investor wants to learn more about you before that first meeting, give them that opportunity by showing them how much of a thought leader you are in your space.

To summarize, content isn’t just a part of your marketing strategy, it is the foundation of it all and if done right, every other aspect of your marketing will be exponentially more successful.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Hillel Fuld

Sourced from Inc.

In News

This Coffee Company’s Been Spying on Customers With Its App, According to the Canadian Government

June 21, 2022 No Comments

By Dell Cameron

“You can’t spy on your customers just because it fits in your marketing strategy,” British Columbia’s privacy commissioner said of Tim Hortons.

Canadian regulators on Wednesday found that Tim Hortons—a popular fast-food chain owned by the same multinational company as Burger King—changed its mobile app in 2019 to track and collect sensitive location data on its customers.

An investigation led by Canada’s privacy commissioner found that, indeed, with the help of a U.S.-based company called Radar, Tim Hortons was able to collect data on its customers’ locations “as often as every few minutes.”

Regulators found the collection, described as “continual and vast,” ultimately served no legitimate purpose, and was “not proportional to the benefits Tim Hortons may have hoped to gain from better targeted promotion of its coffee and other products.”

“Tim Hortons clearly crossed the line by amassing a huge amount of highly sensitive information about its customers. Following people’s movements every few minutes of every day was clearly an inappropriate form of surveillance,” Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien said.

The government investigation into the company began in 2020 after a journalist at the Financial Post claimed the Tim Hortons app had recorded his GPS coordinates over 2,700 times in five months. The tracking occurred even when the app was not in use, the journalist, James McLeod, said.

Among many other locations, the app tracked McLeod each time he visited his parent’s farm in rural Ontario, while he was boarded a flight in Toronto and when he checked in to a Winnipeg hotel for a cousin’s wedding. “It bothered me,” McLeod wrote. “How many more times had Tim Hortons checked in on me? Was my coffee-ordering app tracking all my movements?”

In a statement, Tim Hortons underscored that the privacy commissioners’ report does not recommend any changes to its current app. After the Financial Post’s story, the company “proactively removed the geolocation technology,” it said.

“The very limited use of this data was on an aggregated, de-identified basis to study trends in our business—and the results did not contain personal information from any guests,” the company said.

“This investigation sends a strong message to organizations that you can’t spy on your customers just because it fits in your marketing strategy,” said Michael McEvoy, British Columbia’s information and privacy commissioner. “Not only is this kind of collection of information a violation of the law, it is a complete breach of customers’ trust.”

Phone makers have taken recent strides to stop unscrupulous app developers from farming location data. In April 2021, Apple introduced an update that gave users the option of preventing apps from tracking their locations and sharing that information with third parties.

Roughly two-thirds of iPhone users opted out of tracking when presented with the option, according to an October report by the analytics firm AppsFlyer.

Feature Image Credit: Tim Horton cafe in Manhattan.Photo: Spencer Platt / Staff (Getty Images)

By Dell Cameron

Sourced from GIZMODO

In News

How to Bring Authenticity to Your Start-up’s Marketing Strategy

April 1, 2022 No Comments

By Baptiste Monnet

People are tired of being pushed into something they don’t want.

According to a study by Stackla, 90% of customers place a premium on authenticity when selecting which companies they like and support. But what exactly is authenticity? How can we show our customers that we’re human and relatable and not just a brand with an agenda?

Here are six practical tips on how to bring authenticity into your start-up’s marketing strategy.

What is authenticity in marketing?

Authenticity is having a genuine connection with your target audience. If you’re not authentic, it’s difficult for customers to connect with what you do. People want brands that they can relate to — companies who are just like them, only better at their job or service because of experience and expertise. Authenticity is also about transparency and showing the world who you are and what you believe in. So, think of authenticity as your company’s personality; it should be unique to every brand out there.

How can start-ups bring authenticity to their marketing

Did you know that nearly 90% of all start-ups fail? Start-up marketing is difficult because you are often underfunded, have a limited customer base or are just getting started. As a co-founder and owner of a business, I understand the challenges that you are facing. I’ve failed many times. That’s why I’d like to share some of the marketing strategies that have worked well for me and have helped people connect with us on an emotional level every day.

1. Know your target audience

You need to know who your target audience is and what their needs and interests are before you can create a message for them or speak about them on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The more you know, the better your marketing will be.

It’s your job to create an emotional connection between your brands and customers, and authenticity is key here too. Once you understand your target audience and their needs, you can speak to them more effectively on the proper social media channels.

2. Be genuine in your marketing messages

Knowing your target audience does not mean you should be overly promotional. You can still show people who you are as a brand and what makes your company unique while also being more realistic about your company’s benefits. Establishing authenticity in marketing means not trying to be something you’re not. People will see right through anything that seems fake or disingenuous. If you decide to be honest with people, then put all your cards on the table. Don’t try to market your start-up as something it’s not.

3. Be consistent with messaging across social media channels

It’s no secret that social media has changed the way that brands communicate with customers. Social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok are potent tools that can help you build relationships with people interested in your start-up’s product or services. Your brand messaging must be consistent across all these channels. You need to be consistent with your words, images and tone of voice if you want your target audience to trust what you’re saying. Why should, for example, potential consumers believe you if you send conflicting messages on social media?

Don’t forget to keep in mind that social media is a two-way street. Start-ups need to be engaging and respond quickly when people ask questions or have concerns about their product or service — this also helps build trust. It’s best to create one voice for your brand across all your social media channels. It will help you communicate with people more personally, and this is what authenticity is about: being real.

4. Give people something to talk about

Don’t just sell people your product or service. You need to give them a reason why they should buy from you. If someone isn’t interested in what you have to offer, there’s no point in pursuing the relationship. Give potential customers something that will make them want to work with you instead of against you.

5. Create an authentic voice for your brand

If you’re looking to create a brand that people will love, your voice must be authentic. Without an authentic voice, your customers may not get the experience they expect and could have negative feelings about your company. Don’t expect to win customer loyalty or get people excited about your product if you don’t sound like yourself. It’s not just what you say that matters. It’s also how you say it. Having an authentic voice for your brand means letting go of the idea that marketing is all science and no artistry. You need to put creativity into everything that comes out of your business, from product development to marketing and sales.

6. Use metrics and data analysis to improve your marketing

Just because you’re authentic doesn’t mean that your marketing will be successful every time. Even if you put a lot of effort into it, everything can still fall flat on its face. Remember that marketing is half art and half science. You need to put creativity into everything you do and keep in mind that metrics and data analysis are essential for adding substance to those creative decisions. What works today might not work next month or even tomorrow, so don’t get too attached to a single marketing strategy.

Take advantage of cutting-edge marketing tools such as social media advertising, influencer marketing and even email campaigns to get your startup’s name out into the world. Keep track of everything you do to improve it over time.

By Baptiste Monnet

Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

In News

How to Bring Authenticity to Your Startup’s Marketing Strategy

March 30, 2022 No Comments

By Baptiste Monnet

People are tired of being pushed into something they don’t want.

According to a study by Stackla, 90% of customers place a premium on authenticity when selecting which companies they like and support. But what exactly is authenticity? How can we show our customers that we’re human and relatable and not just a brand with an agenda?

Here are six practical tips on how to bring authenticity into your startup’s marketing strategy.

What is authenticity in marketing?

Authenticity is having a genuine connection with your target audience. If you’re not authentic, it’s difficult for customers to connect with what you do. People want brands that they can relate to — companies who are just like them, only better at their job or service because of experience and expertise. Authenticity is also about transparency and showing the world who you are and what you believe in. So, think of authenticity as your company’s personality; it should be unique to every brand out there.

How can startups bring authenticity to their marketing

Did you know that nearly 90% of all startups fail? Startup marketing is difficult because you are often underfunded, have a limited customer base or are just getting started. As a co-founder and owner of a business, I understand the challenges that you are facing. I’ve failed many times. That’s why I’d like to share some of the marketing strategies that have worked well for me and have helped people connect with us on an emotional level every day.

1. Know your target audience

You need to know who your target audience is and what their needs and interests are before you can create a message for them or speak about them on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The more you know, the better your marketing will be.

It’s your job to create an emotional connection between your brands and customers, and authenticity is key here too. Once you understand your target audience and their needs, you can speak to them more effectively on the proper social media channels.

2. Be genuine in your marketing messages

Knowing your target audience does not mean you should be overly promotional. You can still show people who you are as a brand and what makes your company unique while also being more realistic about your company’s benefits. Establishing authenticity in marketing means not trying to be something you’re not. People will see right through anything that seems fake or disingenuous. If you decide to be honest with people, then put all your cards on the table. Don’t try to market your startup as something it’s not.

3. Be consistent with messaging across social media channels

It’s no secret that social media has changed the way that brands communicate with customers. Social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok are potent tools that can help you build relationships with people interested in your startup’s product or services. Your brand messaging must be consistent across all these channels. You need to be consistent with your words, images and tone of voice if you want your target audience to trust what you’re saying. Why should, for example, potential consumers believe you if you send conflicting messages on social media?

Don’t forget to keep in mind that social media is a two-way street. Startups need to be engaging and respond quickly when people ask questions or have concerns about their product or service — this also helps build trust. It’s best to create one voice for your brand across all your social media channels. It will help you communicate with people more personally, and this is what authenticity is about: being real.

4. Give people something to talk about

Don’t just sell people your product or service. You need to give them a reason why they should buy from you. If someone isn’t interested in what you have to offer, there’s no point in pursuing the relationship. Give potential customers something that will make them want to work with you instead of against you.

5. Create an authentic voice for your brand

If you’re looking to create a brand that people will love, your voice must be authentic. Without an authentic voice, your customers may not get the experience they expect and could have negative feelings about your company. Don’t expect to win customer loyalty or get people excited about your product if you don’t sound like yourself. It’s not just what you say that matters. It’s also how you say it. Having an authentic voice for your brand means letting go of the idea that marketing is all science and no artistry. You need to put creativity into everything that comes out of your business, from product development to marketing and sales.

6. Use metrics and data analysis to improve your marketing

Just because you’re authentic doesn’t mean that your marketing will be successful every time. Even if you put a lot of effort into it, everything can still fall flat on its face. Remember that marketing is half art and half science. You need to put creativity into everything you do and keep in mind that metrics and data analysis are essential for adding substance to those creative decisions. What works today might not work next month or even tomorrow, so don’t get too attached to a single marketing strategy.

Take advantage of cutting-edge marketing tools such as social media advertising, influencer marketing and even email campaigns to get your startup’s name out into the world. Keep track of everything you do to improve it over time.

By Baptiste Monnet

Sourced from Entrepreneur Europe

In News

5 Reasons Why Landing Pages Are a Must-Have Element of Any Marketing Strategy

February 1, 2022 No Comments

By Peter Roesler

I have designed, published, and tested thousands of landing pages through my years in marketing. All this time, work, and effort resulted in discovering the main reasons why you should have landing pages for your business’s site. If you aren’t using landing pages, now is a good time to change that. Here’s why:

Increase Conversions

Quality landing pages result in more conversions. Whether it is newsletter subscriptions, sign-ups, downloads, lead generation, or something else, when you use landing pages, you experience higher conversion rates than sites that don’t.

Remember, having a landing page doesn’t guarantee a higher conversion rate. Instead, landing pages provide you with the tools to improve conversion rates as time passes.

Reduced Cost Per Acquisition

Cost per acquisition (CPA) is the total cost of acquiring a new customer. While there’s no universal set number to acquiring a customer, I’ve found that it’s much less when you have landing pages in place.

Landing pages increase conversions and help produce a higher return on investment (ROI). I’ve also found that landing pages also increase your Google pay-per-click (PPC) Quality Scores. This results in a lower cost per click, which reduces the cost per conversion and eventually a lower CPA.

Showcase and Optimize Your Offers

Every offer needs a home and landing pages provide this home. Depending on your marketing strategy, you may have several offers to showcase, including referral programs, promotions, white papers, resource guides, on-demand webinars, and more.

The information you collect and share on the landing page varies based on the type of offer you’re looking to highlight the most. Because of this, you need flexibility for changing form fields, editing layouts, and optimizing the design and copy– a standard, set template doesn’t work. Your offers also need an easy, shareable link that are easily found on your landing page.

Scale Your Marketing

With landing pages, you scale your marketing without scaling your resources, money, or time. In the past, building landing pages took a lot of time and money. However, this isn’t the case today. It’s easy, fast, and affordable to create and publish new offers and pages on your website. This makes it possible to increase your marketing efforts without spending too much time or effort.

Test and Validate New Ideas

You have the option to spend resources, money, and time to build an entire website for something new you offer and then wait and see if anyone likes it. Another smarter option is to use a landing page to validate the audience’s response and collect feedback on an idea to see if spending more money on it is a smart idea.

When it comes to creating a marketing strategy today, implementing landing pages is a must. These offer you a chance to increase conversions, reach more customers, and quickly add new offers to your site.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Peter Roesler

Sourced from Inc.

In News

7 Easy Ways to Improve Your B2B Marketing Strategies

January 14, 2022 No Comments

By Debraj Chatterjee

B2B is an acronym for business to business. Therefore, b2b marketing is where you focus on marketing your product to other businesses rather than individuals. Take the example of a company that sells office chairs on wholesale.

Although such a company can sell to individuals, their primary customers will be other companies seeking office chairs. Therefore, when the office chair company reaches out to the other company about their chairs, we call b2b marketing.

Why is B2B Marketing Important?

You might not have decided about whether to consider b2b marketing. While it is essential to stick to what you know for marketing, any business reluctant to embrace change will probably not last that long.

That alone won’t convince most people to give b2b marketing a chance. Here’s what will.

It Will Help Market Complex Products

There’s no better way to market complex products than b2b marketing. Most b2b products are usually complex and will therefore require different marketing strategies rather than the usual. That’s where b2b marketing comes in.

It is a Way to Adjust to New Marketing Strategies

B2b marketing is a different type of marketing when compared to the usual marketing. Therefore, it will enable you to adjust to the changing demands in the market and thus boost sales.

It Will Reach a Wider Audience

B2b marketing uses different marketing techniques to introduce the product to the market. Content creation and social media as some of those techniques. That ensures a business reaches a broader audience.
Easy Ways to Improve Your B2B Marketing Strategy

1. Consider Using Live Videos

According to Livestream, only 20% of people would prefer to read about a product via blogs or other written text. The rest would prefer if they could see the videos instead. If you know anything about marketing trends is that you need to follow the majority.

That isn’t surprising since videos are excellent at conveying emotions than written text. Don’t get us wrong; many people prefer to read social media posts on their phones. But information from videos will be better received by your audience.
So, you’ll want videos and especially live videos to be part of your b2b marketing strategy.

2. Grow Buyer Personas

This is an essential step for any marketing strategy and not just a b2b strategy. It is wise to look into your buyer’s personalities and know what product will appeal to them. The best way to grow buyer personas is to thoroughly research the customers’ needs to understand them so you can offer better solutions.

Buyer personas will enable you to connect with them more personally since you will know them better. Therefore, buyer personas will be an excellent way for you to improve your b2b marketing strategies.

3. Consider Content Marketing

Content marketing is an excellent way to tell potential customers about your products. But it has a catch. It would help if you focused more on speaking about your products and how they will solve people’s problems than about yourself.

Blogging is a powerful marketing tool if you adopt it. A potential customer could only be a Google search away. But that will only be possible if you’re willing to improve your b2b marketing strategy with content marketing.

That’s why it could be critical to you building a successful business, thanks to excellent marketing.

4. Collect Feedback

not having a way to get customer feedback is akin to pulling yourself down. You will be going in blind as far as your client’s needs are concerned. Collecting feedback will enable you to create a better relationship with existing customers.

Most relationship experts will tell you that good communication is vital if you want to create meaningful relationships. But what can you use to collect feedback from your customers?

You could start by having a feedback form on your website for buyers to fill in after getting their product or service. Qualaroo is a tool that will enable you to carry out surveys on your website and get their feedback.

5. Create a Brand Story

Ultimately, human beings will often associate more with brands that can trigger their emotions. Customers need to know that they can trust your brand to deliver. Gaining customer trust is easier said than done for businesses. However, creating a brand story will enable you to tug on people’s heartstrings and allow them to relate better to you.

A brand story will enable you to connect with people in b2b businesses on a personal level and thus drive sales for you. A brand story allows people to see the human face behind your products and relate easily to your company.

If your market is predominantly millennial or modern generations, you will need a brand story more than you think. Millennial’s and later generations have seen so many different marketing strategies and yearn for something fresh
A brand story will be perfect in sparking their interest.

6. Influencer Marketing

Ever considered influencers in your marketing strategy? If not, then you need to reconsider that. Influencers are online personalities with a large following. They can convince their many followers to follow or buy a certain product,
Even if you are selling to businesses, you will need to show that most people prefer your products. So, influencers are one way to improve your strategy and have your marketing reach a wider audience.

7. Customer Testimonials

Research shows that people are more likely to purchase something when they hear other people speak positively about it. Although a b2b business aims to make its products more visible to other companies, you first need to connect with the people running those businesses.

Therefore, having customer testimonials on your website will enable you to convert potential clients into loyal customers. It’s that simple. People want to associate with things that delight and impress other people.

Final Thoughts

A competent b2b marketing strategy could be the difference between growing to be among the richest Indian companies or a lowly player in the financial market. The amount of business you do will significantly depend on your marketing strategy, and these tips we have shared will help you massively improve it.

By Debraj Chatterjee

Debraj is a Founder of Cryptonidea, Coinvouge, CryptonBinary blog Services and oversees strategic, operational, and invest Peng aspects of the company’s wide-ranging digital content & digital revenue activities.

Sourced from readwrite