Category: Marketing

Read blogs covering digital marketing, strategies, tools, and growth insights to level up your campaigns.

  • Top 10 Ecommerce Influencers You Should Follow in 2021

    Top 10 Ecommerce Influencers You Should Follow in 2021

    With the advancement of information technology, things are heating up. Now, marketers can reach their target audience effortlessly and encourage them to make their purchasing decision.

    Marketers seeking hard to creating viral and high-performing content that create fascinations for their readers, which can’t be irresistible for sure.

    No doubt, social media turns things a way we can’t even imagine. It becomes an active approach to nurture new marketing leads.  On the other hand, Influence marketing also has a significant role in today’s world.

    It makes a track for the business to engage with the audience and catch the attention of your product over social media channels.

    So, you can’t negate the power of the e-commerce influencers that helps you to grow your business and build brand appearance in front of a huge ocean of the audience.

    Influencers are resources, from where people come to you, acquire the product because they trust you adequately to give their money.

    To receive more ROI and improve the sales funnel, this guideline demonstrates some basic steps to identify the right influencers and creates campaigns for your brand.

    Thus, we’ve created an extensive checklist of e-commerce influencers that you need to follow all around the world to make things work for you.

    Tobi Lütke (@tobi) 

    Tobi Lütke is the founder and CEO of Shopify.

    Shopify is a complete cloud-based and Canadian e-commerce firm that helps businesses to set up and run online businesses all across the world.

    Approximately, more than 500,000 active stores are running on Shopify, and collectively driving sales of over 40 billion.

    He learned to code at an early stage and enter a computer programming apprenticeship at 16 years.

    In 2019, Lütke rapport for StarCraft grasped online attention all over the internet because he offered “Starcraft 2” player Ryoo “SeleCT” Kyung Hyun an internship in his company based on his past achievements.


    Lütke is active on Twitter, engage with the audience, talk about games, and associating with employees. He also occasionally promoting his 57,000 followers with Shopify-related products and business plans.

    In the COVID-19 situation, Lütke and his wife established the ‘Thistledown Foundation’ and have sowed with an initial $150 million endowment. Their core mission is to enhance technological solutions for decolonization.

    Linda Bustos (@lindabustos, @ecomillustrated, @edgacentlinda)

    Linda Busatom is an e-commerce consultant, media analyst, and chief blogger at Elastic Path Software.

    She is so passionate about public speaking that led her to present at various events including the Vancouver Social Media Bar Panel and the Banff Blog Promo for Broadcasting.

    Bustos also an author of the Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog which considering as one of the best places for eCommerce blogs and the co-founder of Edgacent.

    Elastic PathSoftware provides a flexible eCommerce platform that gives enterprises the capabilities and control to deliver innovation in a complex environment.

    The thing that impresses me about her that she has three Twitter accounts and all of them give us e-commerce estimable insights and news updates.

    Andrew Youderian (@youderian)

    Anne Frank said: “No one has ever become poor by giving.”

    Her quotes are absolutely a perfect fit for Andrew Youderian. He is the one who shares his personal business experiences with other entrepreneurs to assist them to grow dramatically in the market.

    Andrew Youderian is the founder of eCommerceFuel and co-author of  The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping together with Marke Hayes.

    eCommerceFuel is a private community for high six and seven-figure eCommerce merchants where they discuss the common barrier they face regarding their business.

    His voice on business is natural, people believe him and consider his ideas as an appropriate approach to move smartly in the e-commerce world.

    He is an active influencer on Twitter, doing podcasts, talk about numerous topics, shares valuable insights to the audience, and encourage them to add value to your business.

    Tracey Wallace (@TraceWall)

    So, here we have another top resource of eCommerce. A big round of applause for Tracy Wallace.

    Tracey Wallace is the Founder of Doris Sleep ( lavish bed pillow brand), the Editor-in-Chief at BigCommerce, and Head of Marketing Eterneva.

    I’m sure you have heard before: Content is a KING and Tracy creates content the way it acts like a king.

    She is the most well-known lady in the world for her work with the Bigcommwerce. Wallace knows how to create compelling content to drag the audience and the way captivated the internet.

    She covered all hidden audience needs, fear, and understands how e-commerce really works for the business.

    She works with numerous experts, influencers, marketers to educate all aspects of e-commerce to assists them to drive more conversion, increase sales pipeline, quality traffic, and make their brand better inform of the audience.

    Connor Gillivan (@ConnorGillivan)

    Connor is an all-around eCommerce. He is the Co-founder and CMO of FreeUp.

    FreeUp is the most active solution that assists you to find & hire pre-vetted freelancers online.

    He is the owner of ConnorGillivan.com, where he writes about entrepreneurship and eCommerce.

    Gillivan started his first business in e-commerce since he was 16 and expanded to over $10 million per year from two firms within the eCommerce industry.

    He also advises other entrepreneurs based on his personal experience to level up their business, lead a voice for digital marketing, and share significant insights through podcasts.

    Connor’s writing is frequently featured in publications such as Business2Community.

    Richard Lazazzera (@RichardABLS)

     

    Richard Lazazzera is the founder of A Better Lemonade Stand.

    A Better Lemonade Stand is an online e-commerce incubator to encourage, educate, and aid entrepreneurs in the initial stages of an entrepreneurial journey.

    He began his career in marketing and later ventured into the eCommerce business.

    He is so enthusiastic to share information, best practices, tricks, and tips he learned while building his own business.

    After building his business, he co-operated a helped with Shopify to achieve over 200,000 merchants from a 60,000 benchmark.  In early 2015, Richard decided to left Shopify and focus on A Better Lemonade Stand full time.

    Austin Brawner (@a_brawn)

    Austin Brawner is the CEO of Brand Growth Expert and hosting the most popular eCommerce Influencer podcast.

    He helped over 267 established eCommerce entrepreneurs, marketers, and freelancers unlock massive growth in their businesses.

    Through the podcast, Brawner interviews several successful entrepreneurs and discussed their struggles, hurdles they faced, and successful story.

    He also published numerous articles on topics including search engine optimization, email marketing, and productivity for e-commerce business owners to drive more conversion and lead on the right track.

    He helps coach private clients to create a clear plan to grow the company in less than 48 hours at a unique profit summit workshop.

    Austin’s podcast is a one-stop-shop for the crucial information you need towards building a profitable eCommerce business.

    He has worked with several brands like Kettle and Fire, MVMT, etc, and also operates Brand Growth Experts.

    Ezra Firestone (@ezrafirestone)

    Who doesn’t want to maintain a work-life balance?

    I’m sure, we all love to do it. So, here we should follow the most energetic marketer Ezra Firestone.

    Ezra Firestone is the CEO of  Smart Marketer.

    Smart Marketer is an online platform that concentrates on core strengths in e-commerce, conversion optimization, you need to build a successful eCommerce business and assist to sustain a balanced lifestyle as an entrepreneur.

    Ezra is a man of inspiration and full of passion. He has created a ton of quality videos that demonstrate each and everything about the eCommerce market to help entrepreneurs to run their online business dramatically.

    He started his first online store, My Costume Wings, and created his second-most flourishing eCommerce brand BOOM with some experience.

    After some time, in 2012 he sold My Costume Wings to fully concentrate on BOOM. He also started to connect with the eCommerce and marketing community as Ezra continued growing his business.

    Brett Curry (@BrettCurry)

    BrettCurry is the CEO of OMG Commerce.

    OMG Commerce is the agency that helps companies with PPC advertising and accelerates their growth through world-class digital marketing that drives measurable results.

    Brett founded his first marketing agency in 2003 and launched his first marketing campaign for search engines in 2004.

    He is the author of the ultimate guide to Google Shopping published by Shopify.

    With significant publications worldwide, he talks and reads. He is an expert in e-commerce search marketing, particularly an evangelist for Google Shopping, and hosts eCommerce Evolution – a podcast focused on accelerated understanding and growth of eCommerce fanatics.

    Brett works really hard with experts to continually strengthen and evolve the key tactics and methodologies in OMG accounts.

    Drew Sanocki (@drewsanocki)

    Have you wondered about applicative e-commerce strategies?

    If yes, then meet Drew Sanocki.

    Drew Sanocki is the founder of Nerd Marketing.

    Nerd Marketing is a marketing company, that offers the audience to build effective digital marketing strategies and assist them to promote their brand visibility on the Internet.

    He built his first business, Design Public, and became one of the leading retailers in premier online design. After eight profitable years, he sold it to private investors in 2011.

    Drew has gained experience in developing his own eCommerce business, He is an expert in growth hacks for eCommerce executives and more than 30 retail experts were consulted to learn about the biggest eCommerce opportunities.

    He is also sharing established strategies to help marketers monetize and improve their eCommerce businesses. He writes on his website NerdMarketing about digital marketing based on data for e-commerce retailers.

    Drew’s humor can knock you down and his expertise gives him a crystal clear insight into his writing, which is challenging to find elsewhere.

    He also did marketing for multiple businesses, including eCommerce brand Karmaloop.com and SaaS company Teamwork.com.

    Final thought

    No doubt, there are plenty more e-commerce influencers to learn from. But we have mentioned the top 10 e-commerce influencers in this article that certainly helps you to grow your online business dramatically and build brand appearance all over the internet.

    Now, you are in a perfect place to get started. This article assists you to know where you need to invest your energy, money, and resources. Don’t forget to follow them on Twitter or Linkedin. Try to engage with them and ask questions regarding your business to stay on the right track.

  • 7 effective digital marketing strategies to increase online sales

    7 effective digital marketing strategies to increase online sales

    In these unprecedented times,  businesses are more than ever reliant on making a digital shift. Ultimately, this may even be the deciding factor in their sustainability. Being confined to your own home, marketers now have more time than ever to develop a perfect digital strategy. This means thorough research is required for the platforms where your clients exist and double efforts are needed to bring in more leads.

    I have made a list of the most effective digital marketing strategies that will prove beneficial for your business in 2020!

    So let’s dive in!

    1. Webinar Marketing

    The first digital marketing strategy on the list is webinar marketing. It has the potential to generate hundreds of new leads in just a matter of hours. According to the survey conducted, 58% of the marketers use webinars for promotion and 32% of them think that webinar marketing will be imperative to their success even if they use free webinars. Hence, with the effective use of webinar marketing, you can effectively explain features and sell products and services!

    So what exactly is webinar marketing? 

    Webinar-Marketing-

    This term refers to an online (web) seminar that lets you connect to a wider audience. Most marketing webinars can be educational, informational, conversational and can be made to:

    1. Explain their products and services in-depth. 
    2. Illustrate their expertise in their domain. 
    3. Answer the frequently asked questions with tips and suggestions. You can get help from your customer service team regarding this. 
    4. Expand on a popular blog topic. 

    Customers value this free, valuable information that they receive and may feel the need to upgrade their services, by purchasing additional items. Moreover, you can even sweeten the deal for the participants by providing them a free gift or a discount on the service you’re offering! By making use of “scarcity” you can tempt them to purchase the service in a week! This will bring in viable leads, higher engagement, and ultimately, a better brand image! If you need to create new landing pages for webinars that attract audiences, you might choose from among the most popular online website builders to help you to make a beautiful page quickly.

    To make the most out of your social media contest, you can give away custom merchandise like t-shirts, mugs, or bags that align with your brand’s vision and your audience. Why? People love free stuff and they are more likely to take photos of themselves, wearing your perch. Sellfy claims that it’s one of the easiest (and most effective) ways to get your brand noticed.

    2. Monitor Conversations About Your Brand

    Keep tabs on what people are saying about your brand! When someone shares their experience by tagging your brand, you must view it and if necessary, immediately take action. If they are facing a problem, make sure to apologize and resolve their issue at the earliest. 

    Nonetheless, not everyone who is posting about your brand is going to tag you! And that’s exactly what makes brand monitoring so crucial! 

    In particular, you can use TweetDeck to organize, track and engage with your audience.

    If you’re wondering… what exactly do I monitor? Branded keywords, slogans, campaign names, product features, competitor keywords, and lastly.. misspelled names! 

    Similarly, maintaining competitive intelligence while brand monitoring is also the key! If a customer is unsatisfied with your competitor, feel free to let him know about your better and more satisfactory service! 😉 

    3. Audience Targeting

    Targeting the audience is using data to segment consumers by demographics, geographic, or behavioural or psychographic attributes to find the right content for the right person at the right place and at the right time! 

    Analyze your marketing campaigns and ask questions like:

    • Are we reaching our target audience properly?
    • If not, then who are we reaching?
    • Is our audience responding in a favourable manner?
    • Will another audience be more beneficial?

    It is also recommended to keep up with SEO analysis of website and SEO trends because  “there is nothing better than simply being in front of the customer when they search for exactly what you are able to offer.” 

    Audience-Targeting

    Retargeting 

    Most of all it is important that the leads that end up on your website eventually end up converting! That’s where retargeting comes in. The truth is that it’s a long journey from a visitor to an eventual customer. Social networking channels such as Google and Facebook retargeting ads help you gain traffic, leads, conversions; thereby, creating a win-win situation for your brand. 

    However, be sure to manage retargeting properly by setting up a defined purpose, setting a frequency cap, breaking the audience into different segments, and conveying the right ads to each segment. 

    4. Influencer Marketing 

    Next among the top digital marketing strategies is influencer marketing. Like many industries, influencer marketing has also taken a hit, due to the COVID-19. Campaigns are being put on hold and influencers have drastically reduced their rates.

    However, all hope is not lost. At the same time, screen time for people has drastically gone up high. Research has shown that the average screen time of 5 hours and 40 minutes has got an 18% increase from previous weeks. As we social distance ourselves in this new norm, it is safe to assume that this figure will only increase.

    Influencer Marketing
    Influencer Marketing: How Much Time Are You Spending?

    As more people make their shift to e-commerce, there is a chance: with the right content, you can retain and nurture your existing customers by providing them value. Influencers have changed their standard of content. Now more than ever, it is important to carefully consider the caption and tone of your visuals. 

    Essentially, it is important to note that you should consider social media as a time for community, rather than a competition. Try to keep your followers more engaged with your content. How? With live discussions, Q/As and webinars, you can keep Instagram followers hooked to their screens!

    5. Encourage People to Post their Story

    It should come as no surprise that reviews are a significant deciding factor in the user buying purchase cycle. Your success on social media is more contingent on what your clients are saying about you. This means you can convince consumers to share their journey with you: how did they find you, what do they like most about your product, and what has their experience been like?

    According to a survey, almost 1 in 3 Facebook users make a purchase after “sharing, liking, or commenting” on the product themselves. So make sure that you get the user onboard for his journey: you can add his review on your website, or even make a video about him. Some companies even reward referral points to consumers for recommending their products to their friends! 

    6. Post at the Best Time

    Knowing the best times to post on every social media is essential to marketing campaigns. The first step is to create compelling content that is relevant to your audience. However, if you do not post your content at the right time, your efforts will never be fruitful!

    You can find out your ideal posting time by testing the timing of your posts. By analyzing the geographic details of your audience, you can test which time zone would be most optimal and consequently, result in higher engagement. 

    However, if you do not have the resources or the time to conduct this experiment, according to a study, the following are the best times for Facebook:

    • Best times: Wednesday, 11 a.m. and 1–2 p.m.
    • Best day: Wednesday
    • Worst day: Sunday
    Optimal Engagement for Facebook
    Optimal Engagement for Facebook

    Similarly, on Instagram, here’s the best time to post on Instagram within each timezone, as illustrated by Hubspot:

    Sunday: 10 AM – 2 PM

    Monday: 9 AM – 5 PM (Engagement peaks at 11 AM and 2 PM)

    Tuesday: 8 AM – 6 PM, *7 PM

    Wednesday: 5 AM, *11 AM – 3 PM

    Thursday: 5 AM, *11 – 4 PM

    Friday: *5 AM, 9 AM – 10 AM, *11 AM – 1 PM, 2 – 4 PM

    Saturday: 9 – 11 AM

    * = particularly high levels of engagement

    I would also recommend using social media management tools like ContentStudio to plan and automate your social posts at a perfect time in advance! And that’s how you make use of social posting data to optimize your marketing campaigns! 

    7. Stay updated with Social Changes

    As more and more people turn to the brands they trust for updates in the current crisis, many industries have dramatically increased their volume of messages sent, hence using SMS marketing as a means to update their customers and growing their business. Especially the healthcare, and media industries, which provide continuous updates for the changes. Contrarily, travel and sports have been impacted the most. 

    Depending on what your industry your brand belongs to, it needs to reevaluate its content and marketing strategy to best serve their clients as the situation changes.  

    That’s all for today, folks!

    Let me know in the comments if you learned anything significant and how you’re going to implement it in your digital marketing campaigns!

  • How to Strengthen Your Social Media Presence Using Replug and ContentStudio

    How to Strengthen Your Social Media Presence Using Replug and ContentStudio

    58% of marketers believe content marketing is the most appropriate strategy to expand the product in the market. ????

    Why do marketers believe in it?  Is ContentMarketing so essential for real?

    If you genuinely don’t know where content marketing headed to then probably you are one step away from quitting it.

    Creating a content marketing strategy gives the direction to steer your customer’s attention and drive quality leads. It helps to develop a friendly relationship with the audience and stay on top of the audience’s mind through various means.

    Content Marketing is much cost-effective than other traditional advertisement methods. In today’s time, it encourages you to enhance the conversion almost three times higher than traditional methods.  It gives the brand awareness of an existing brand to the AUDIENCE.

    Crafting compelling content not only educates, inspires, entertains the demanding buyers but also gives the solutions to their pain points.  Apart from everything else, marketers do business to receive a vast amount of return. So for that purpose, you have to pull your audience towards your product by producing quality content which helps them in their buying decision.

    All set? ????

    What strategies do you need for Content Marketing?

    60% of marketers tried their best to produce fresh content each day.  Content is King ???? has been the phrase of the last decade and still holds true. Before start marketing your product or brand in front of the immense ocean of customers, you must know the answers to these questions:

    1. Why Is Content King?
    2. How does it matter?
    3. Why content is the heart of marketing?

    Content is king because it keeps the ATTENTION of the audience and gives the ANSWER to the problems.

    Take it this way. If you don’t know about any terminology or you want to cook something new. Do you Google for it?

    I am presuming there were more YESes than NOs. So, you see, whatever your writing, your audience will read it. You just have to figure out what to write and where to publish it so as to get the maximum return off of it.

    The focal point here is to craft compelling content, share an experience, address the idea that makes the pulses of the audience beat. In easier words, your content should have a solution to their query and some valuable information that earns your respect. It gives a strong brand impact and attracts the target audience towards their shop or website.

    Content is the heart of your marketing, and it matters a lot to your business. It has a magical power that takes your brand where you want to. You can build brand awareness, the authority to attract the prospects towards your website, and prompt them into sales customers. ✌

    And once they start trusting you, they’d literally do this.????

    Do you know Content Marketing is the most vital aspect of the company’s reputation? ????

    Absolutely yes, content marketing certainly proves that it has an integral part and also a backbone of promoting the product and building a brand’s reputation.

    Don’t you get the feeling of how important it is? ????

    Marketers crafting content, that’s somehow altered to one another in the market. Although how they relate and deliver the content to the audience that matters. Because when prospects read your content, they will create an opinion or a picture in their mind about your brand.

    Having expert-written content helps educate the audience, make them aware of the surroundings, provide a slew of benefits that create a warm and trustworthy relationship with them. Once you give a sense of curiosity related to your brand, there will be more people taking an interest in your product, and you will receive a quality lead or conversion to your landing page.

    Challenges of Content Curation?

    While content marketing, you might face some challenges like content curation. If I talk about myself, then I would love to stay observant or up to date, and I’m sure you would too. So, targeting the audience and your potential customers with the updated facts, figures, and highlighting their issue is kind of a complex task.

    At this point, you need a fantastic social media management tool for curating content and sharing daily updates to the audience through social media channels.  So, what do you say? ????

    Well, cut the crap and get into it. ????

    We all know, 2019 holds a lot of stuff for you in the store. Now, it’s all up to you how you make the right choices for your brand.

    Yes, it is an imperative struggle to move your business out there and strive to make sure it works for you.

    Quite hard? Right? ????

    So, here I will definitely recommend you a tool which is more or less the most appropriate choice for you ever (totally unbiased, promise ????)

    And, the tool is. ????

    ContentStudio, you probably have heard about this tool before too. If no, then no worries. I’m here to give you a detailed insight into it.????

    ContentStudio helps you curate the most trending content, compose the content, and schedule the content all across your social channels merely to catch the prospect’s attention. This is what each marketer looking for.

    It also allows you to write a blog, fetch the content from different other web modules, refine the content for the desired audience, and present the content in a way that is easy to digest. ✌

    ContentStudio

    How influencers could help the business expose their product to the novel audience.

    Apart from all, some times it gets tricky to find the Influencers who have more social audience engagement, more followers, etc. If you genuinely want to keep the online brand presence across various social channels, then you have to build a trustworthy relationship with the buyers through influencers.

    Influencers have an essential part in today’s online business. It helps to promote your product in front of the audience and increase revenue. They have a warm connection with a different niche and a massive reach in the market.

    Generally, influencers have a piece of profound knowledge about the appropriate subject, which prompted the niche audience to accept them and give more priority to their recommendations.

    So, without moving from a couch or leaving a cup of coffee, you can find the leading influencers in the market by using ContentStudio. Fascinating? ????☕

    Okay, let me clarify to you. ContentStudio always tried hard to stay on the top of the audience’s mind and help their business to grow organically.

    ContentStudio introduced another engaging feature name is Influencers to the audience, so stay tuned. I’m going to demonstrate to you a little bit more. ????

    ContentStudio empowers you to hunt the most famous author or leader in the market. It enables you to find the most relevant influencer, blogger, or writer to present your product to the new audiences who might be not familiarized with your band before.

    You can filter your search by influencers type, region, and language. After finding the influencers in your niche, you can follow them, add to your favorite list, view their social engagement, and build the outreach strategies surrounding them. ????

    Influencer

    Does a Call-To-Action improve the website?

    CTAs are extremely important in PPC for content marketing. It helps you to deliver each value content to the audiences by adding a clear and engaging CTA.

    In simple words, both your Content and CTA have some comparable relation with each other: Content provides entertainment, information, motivation, and CTA creates excitement to dig deeper.????

    The most satisfying thing about CTAs is: you can produce a tailored message for the segmented audience, which assists you to educate the right audience at the right time through the right CTAs.

    Interesting, right? :relieved:????

    If you want to influence the potential buyers at the pivotal moments, then you should go with Replug which helps you to create customized CTAs for each piece of content to attract more people towards your website.

    Well, this article guides you about how different companies improved their conversion statistics by simply improving their  Call To Action.

    Replug

    Final Thoughts

    Content marketing is a marketing strategy that enables you to create and distribute estimable, relevant, and consistent content to the audience that educates them, helps you build brand awareness, and grows an online presence.

    Many content marketing challenges may occur during your journey. You just have to be clever when choosing the platform that provides you the answers to your questions and helps you to lead your strategy with your product.

    CTAs assist you to convey your message and inspire the audience to perform a certain action against CTAs and convert them into your clients or loyal customers.

  • Conversion rate optimization tips – 8 easy ways to boost sales

    Conversion rate optimization tips – 8 easy ways to boost sales

    Every business wants to enjoy loads of traffic on their website or blogs, especially those running an e-commerce store. And when a person visits your website, landing page or social channel, you want them to take action. Actions such as purchasing items, creating accounts, add an item to the cart, sign up for a newsletter or follow you on social media.

    Conversion is directing people to take action on your website which pushes them deeper into the sales funnel. Conversion rate optimization determines why the visitors on your website not converting and taking necessary steps to produce actual buyers.

    What is a good conversion rate

    The conversion rate may vary from business to business. What is a good conversion rate you might ask? According to a survey conducted by WordStream, about 1/4 of all accounts have less than 1% conversion rates. The median was 2.35%, but the top 25% of accounts have twice that – 5.31% – or greater. Check out the far right red bar – the top 10% of Google Ads advertisers have account conversion rates of 11.45%.


    Source

    It might not always be a good idea to compare your conversion rate with others in your industry. Even if you compare within your own industry, the competitor which you are comparing with will have different sources of traffic and website design. So what could be a good rate for them will not apply to you because of variables in the evaluation process.

    A good conversion rate is better than what you had last month.

    That is why it is absolutely necessary to recognize a starting point for your business and continually monitor it for improvements.

    Improvement Identifiers

    There are certain parameters which can hint that your conversion rate needs improvement. Online businesses especially shopping stores should be on a continuous lookout for.

    Data-driven decision making

    Conversion rates can neither be assumed nor should be predicted. It is a measure of how successful your online campaigns are performing and should be always backed up by authentic data. Making decisions based on assumptions without proper testing will degrade your conversion rate.

    Getting a second opinion

    Its always better to have a second opinion. Having an expert or a friend who know about digital campaign management or online paid advertisement can help you identify leaks in your setup.

    Alternatively and more appropriately, you can use online tools such as UserTesting. Here you can submit your website to be reviewed by experts who will evaluate it overall impressions. Getting an independent third party evaluation can help you identify gaps you have otherwise missed.

    Heat maps evaluation

    heatmaps are a great way to track the behavior of people on your website or landing page. This gives you insights into the which areas on the webpage your visitors are most interested in. Heatmaps generate a soo called thermal image, highlighting the area where customer cursor has been most active.


    The data from heatmaps help you visualize whether the most visited or clicked button on the website actually takes the user to a sales a page or checkout. This activity will help you channel more and more visits to the lower part of your sales funnel ultimately increasing the conversion rate.

    Google Analytics

    Google analytics is a very powerful tool which deciphers the overall performance of your website. The data and reports show which pages on the website are performing better compared to others. You can then focus on those pages and market them using SEO or social media to increase the chances of them showing up at the right place in Google search.


    however, this tool is quite advanced and you need to be well versed with it in order to get maximum output. You’ll want to analyze segments such as mobile devices used, buyers vs. non-buyers, new vs. returning users, and so forth.

    8 ways to improve the conversion rate

    A/B testing images


    Images play a vital role in determining the online sales figures for your product. They are the first thing visitors notice about your ad. Since people can not physically touch the product or test out your service, it is up to the ad copy primarily the image you select to represent your business.

    To boost conversion, you need to try out different images and evaluate their performance using the tools discussed in the above section. There are different ways in which you can enhance the productivity of the image. E.g. some companies showcase their product with a white background, while others might use red.  Similarly, some might try to bring their products to life by showcasing them with plants, trees or animals.

    Almost all big brands split test images to determine conversion. You will have to answer the following questions. Does your product stand out to a white or colored background? Does clothing convert better when worn by models or dummies? How many supporting images do you need to provide?

    All these variations will help you reach a consensus on which images to use and which to discard. While creating images be sure that it pops against the background. Vibrant images often convert better.

    Use effective headlines

    The second feature of an ad that has the power to convert is the headline or the tagline. The tagline is basically your entire sales pitch wrapped up in one sentence. This one-liner should intrigue the reader, answer their questions and solve a problem. it is hook line and sinker all at once.

    There are certain kinds of headlines that prompt a better response than others. These include command headlines, direct headlines, question headlines, instructional & How-to headlines.  A loosely constructed headline may leak genuine leads.

    Here are a few additional stats you might find interesting from an analysis of 150,000 headlines by the Content Marketing Institute:

    • A title with eight words performed best. These titles received a 21% higher click-through rate than average.
    • A colon or hyphen in the title — indicating a subtitle — performed 9% better than headlines without.
    • Headlines that contained odd numbers had a 20% higher click-through rate than headlines with even numbers.

    So how to write a killer headline. The online world is stormed with ads and banners, so why would anyone click on yours out of hundreds of others in the same niche. A unique and catchy headline is the answer.

    If people see the same old boring headline, they will simply skip your ad. That is why brainstorming headline ideas are very important. the more versions you write down in a list, the more uncommon ideas you’ll have at the end of your list.

    Strategically placed CTAs, forms, and pricing tables

    Friendbuy, a company that promotes referral marketing for growth marketers, was able to increase the click-through rate of their improved CTA by 211%.

    Now, that’s a huge figure.

    Another striking example was set by Jason Fried, the co-founder of a software company 37 Signals. His team tried different CTA variations in the quest of optimizing conversions for Highrise. And finally, they got lucky.

    They observed a boost in sign-ups on the website by 200% by changing just the text of a CTA button.

    The purpose of a landing page is to acquire a lead (email id ) or generate a sale. CTA is the gateway to that sale. It instructs the user to behave in a certain manner and directs them to the bottom of the sales funnel. The position of the button also plays a crucial role and heatmaps may also help you in this regard.

    Research shows that the ideal place for a CTA is right above the fold and not at the top of the page. Here are a few guidelines to a showstopping CTA.

    • Your CTA should be accompanied by an attractive and descriptive headline
    • A supportive subheading which is designed to provide complementing information.
    • Instill a sense of urgency by offering a limited discount offer.
    • A short statement explaining the value being added to your business.
    • A CTA which reads exactly what you are supposed to get after clicking it.

    Source

    Open Communication Channels with Customers

    Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell. – Seth Godin

    It is absolutely vital that you keep multiple communication channels open with your customers. Almost all of us like to chat with a representative of the brand we go out to buy. This is easy to do at conventional shopping stores where there are real people available to help you out with your purchase. For long, there has been a vote of no confidence in online purchasing. That’s no more the case.

    In recent years, online businesses, especially big e-commerce stores have invested heavily in developing and training customer service departments. Now whenever you visit a reputed online store, a chat box appears automatically, available to entertain any query you might have.

    In the age of artificial intelligence, visitors can interact with chatbots and intelligent programs which help them choose the right product. Helping a visitor in making a purchase is one thing, automating it and using AI to ease the process of the sales take ingenuity to a whole new level. Imagine the impact of people leaving your website and then share the great user experience they had on hundreds and thousands of potential clients.


    Here are a few tips on how you can create customer loyalty and social proof to get in the good books of your community.

    Survey website visitors: A great way to interact with people on your website is to create surveys on important pages.

    Survey paying customers: These people will help shape your business, product or service. They can identify for you the hidden conversion issues and the problems they face on your website. They can also point out feature improvements and lay down the roadmap for your product’s future.

    Engage Social followers: Every business has its official social media pages, made not only to interact with the management but also other people utilizing the same product. But not all companies have an active page or otherwise engaging community. The reason is that companies lack focus and not tap into the full potential of social media platforms.

    With billions of people on these platforms, they are an ideal opportunity to get the word out for your product. You can create online events, channels or live stream demos to help educate your audience. The secret of social media management is to make your audience better.

    Implement live chat: Live chat or a callback software is not only a great way to replicate an in-store experience I, but it’s also useful in identifying which issues people face within your conversion funnel in real-time. This valuable insight will help you identify and remove glitches in your conversion funnel.

    Encourage reviews: A happy and satisfied customer is a great marketing agent. Ask your loyal customer to be your brand ambassadors by putting a good word on your behalf. Smartphones have enabled buyers to evaluate a product by viewing Google reviews or visiting Facebook pages. Collect these reviews and use them on your website, in marketing collateral like emails, store banners or a page dedicated to testimonials.

    Use Urgency & Scarcity

    Scarcity and urgency go hand in hand. Scarcity infuses urgency. the psychology behind it is, if an item is lower in quantity it means more people have bought it, which in turn means it should be good. This coupled with a countdown timer is the perfect recipe to encourage people to click the buy now button.


    Sumo has best described the concept of scarcity by conducting an experiment where they asked people to rate 2 jars of cookies. Initially, both had 10 cookies in them, then they removed 8 cookies from one of the jars and asked people to rate them again. The results were staggering. The jar with less no of cookies had a higher rating than the other.

    Statements like “You do not want to miss out on this offer”, “Coupon expires in…”, “limited time offer” and many more, have a profound effect on the psychology of the buyer.

    Posh website design

    Website designs are in a constant state of evolution. The earlier designs were simple and lacked panache. Older websites were developed with only one thing in mind, providing visitors with appropriate information. Here are a few examples.

    Similarly, here is one earlier design of the e-commerce giant eBay.


    As the concepts of UI/UX evolved, so did the design of the websites. Now its more about the journey of the visitor and how pleasantly they are directed to the bottom of the conversion funnel.

    Website design and flow is a key element in determining the conversion rate of your business. Factors such as color scheme harmony with the brand, product images, appropriate sections, and designated webpages contribute to a high converting website. Here is a good design example of how ContentStudio’s above the fold homepage looks like.

    The other aspect of the website is its flow. Maneuvering the movement of the visitor to the bottom of the conversion funnel is an art. The objective of your homepage should be to make your most frequently searched content easily accessible. By understanding what is important to your target audience, and intelligently crafting your navigation menu, you’ll be removing friction within your conversion funnel.

    The heatmaps (discussed earlier) will help you in this regard. You can analyze them to identify which content user is more interested in and then move them to the front. As reference view websites similar to your niche (which are doing well) and analyze their setup. You can list down their shortcomings and create a custom design for yourself which is better than your competition.

    Irresistible offers

    Source

    Every person evaluates the return on investment before making a purchase. If the ratio is high, it makes it easier to convert.  However, this ratio can be increased by presenting irresistible offers. Even better is an offer with a decrementing timer over it. There are two common strategies when it comes to setting up an offer, pricing, and bundling.

    Placing discount offers on products is a great way to boost sales. Offering a 50% discount is a great way to attract potential buyers. The thing to keep in mind is to set up the original pricing appropriately enough so that your business is still profitable.

    The second method is to bundle the products together e.g. “Buy one get one free”, “offering a gift card with the purchase of two items”  and other such offers.  These techniques work very well as they encourage people to buy instantly as we are all attracted to free things and saving money.

    Setting up a retargeting campaign

    The final step in the conversion funnel is an effective retargeting campaign and this step should be run on a continuous loop. According to research, the cart abandonment rate is as high as 69.5% which is an astonishing figure.

    Retargeting ads will keep your product in front of the eyes of people who visited your website but did not make a purchase. Seeing the same product or brand enough times will create brand trust and uplifts the conversion rate.

    There are many ways you can create a retargeting campaign. You can use Google AdSense to show your ads on different websites, Facebook to show retargeting ads on Instagram and use push notifications to show ads on desktop.

    Takeaway

    Optimizing your business’s online presence is in your hand. First thing you need to do is to identify the sectors which need improvement. This can be done by consulting others, evaluating heap maps, and using Google Analytics.

    The next step is to take measurements so website visitors pass seamlessly through the conversion funnel. try out different ad copies to determine which works better. Similarly, experiment with images and headlines and do A/B testing. Use the power of social media and open communication with your audience. They will act as your advocates online. Finally, create an awesome retargeting campaign to keep popping up to people who visited your website.

    If you have other ideas about how to increase conversion rate, do share with us in the comment section.

  • Replug’s Latest Integrations to help grow your email list: Episode#4

    Replug’s Latest Integrations to help grow your email list: Episode#4

    “Reaching the inbox is not your goal___ engaging people is.”
    For Marketers, Email is an influential part of their business success. With the Advancement in Technology, Email Marketing has become essential for the business and its growth. It’s the most cost-effective and convenient way to convey the message to the audience and keep them updated. 

    Matt Blumberg, the CEO and Chairman of Return Path says that we need to be laser-focused while creating content. Try to find ways to keep the audience engaged with your product or brand by targeting the right audience.

    Replug has introduced third-party integrations with some of the finest Email Service Providers to help you procure the leads/subscribers for your business.

    Without further ado, let’s have a look at our newest integrations.

    FreshMail:

    FreshMail comes with a profound design where you can create appealing Newsletters without having a technical background. You can design brochures that give an image of the product or brand to the audience’s mind. It creates ease for the people to create a design for their product using the Freshmail template. It facilities you to gather more leads by using glorifying programs and e-commerce courses.

    FreshMail Integration - Replug

    Connect Replug and FreshMail:

    Now, you can proficiently handle the FreshMail account using Replug, under a minute.

    Once you are successfully logged into Replug then go to Settings and Click on Integrations from the drop-down menu. You will see a list of integrations. Find Freshmail and click on Connect to integrate with it.

    Freshmail integration

    Pop up follow:

    To get into the FreshMail account. You need to follow a pop-up that requires the Name, API key, and API Secret key. To access the API key. Login to the FreshMail account.

    Hover over to  User icon > Settings > Plugins and API on the left side of the dashboard. Click on the Integration located under the Plugins and API.

    Finding API key in Freshmail

    Moving forward, input API key and API Secret into the field of the pop-up and Connect your FreshMail account with the Replug.

    Connecting Freshmail with Replug

    MailChimp:

    MailChimp is an online email marketing platform where you can create a unique campaign for representing your brand in the market and automate your work. It allows you to target the right audience with the right message at the right time. You can email your client, customers, codify the activities, time, and staff with Replug.

    Before starting the process of connecting your Replug account to MailChimp. You must log in to your Replug account.

    Mailchimp Integration - Replug

    Integrate your Replug account to MailChimp.

    Going ahead, Go to the Setting on the top right side of the corner. Click into Integration and the following list of integration will appear on your screen. Click on the Connect button in front of MailChimp.

    Replug Integrations list

    Input Credentials:

    In the next step, you need to input credentials that contain Username and Password for future processing. If you don’t have an account of Mailerlite then you can Sign up and add your credentials into the field.

    Connecting Replug with Mailchimp

     

    After adding, you’ll be asked to select the list which you need to connect with Replug.

    Connecting Mailchimp with Replug

     

    MailerLite:

    MailerLite is another superb social marketing platform for small businesses, where you can not only build up the content using images and videos but also add a countdown timer that dynamically shows the time remaining until you launch a product. It’s more user-friendly, you can edit your content, manager subscribers, and monitor the campaign reports with statistics.

    Mailerlite Integration - Replug

    To access the Connection with the MailerLite, you must need an API key. For this purpose.

    Connect to MailerLite:

    Go to Settings, Hover over to Integration from the pull-down menu. You can see the API key in front of your screen, now you can copy it.

    Finding the API in Mailerlite

    After getting this, you need to connect with the Replug account. Go to Settings just like we did in the above integrations.

    Locate Replug:

    Settings > Integration > MailLite > Connect

    Replug Integration list

    Then, you’ll be asked to put your MailerLite Account Name and API Key. Paste API key here which you had copied.

    Add API Key:

     

    Finding the API key in Mailerlite

     

  • Replug’s Latest Integrations to help grow your email list: Episode#2

    Replug’s Latest Integrations to help grow your email list: Episode#2

    Did you know that there are 3.7 billion email users in the world today? And, by 2022, this number is predicted to reach 4.1 billion. This tells us that with Email Marketing, you could reach out to half of the total population in the world. This creates an ocean of opportunities for you as a brand marketer.

    According to 2018 Email Marketing Industry Report by Emma, 59% of the marketers declare that email marketing is the strongest source for ROI.

    By now you must feel the need to increase your email audience?

    Replug can turn the tables for your brand. Grow your email contacts by integrating with your favorite Email Marketing platforms. Replug will collect the email addresses of the relevant consumers and send them to your integrated tools. Educate your audiences and utilize them to mount your brand.

    Moosend

    Moosend serves Email Automation for its users. With Moosend you can automate your workflows and sync your data without any restrictions. With their online application, you can focus on enhancing your business rather than sending out emails.

    Good news for you is that you can multiply your email engagers by connecting with your Replug account.

    You can link both of your accounts in 2-3 minutes and enjoy the reward.

    Let’s begin!

    Moosend+Replug

    Step#1: Find Moosend API key

    The Moosend API key will enable your connection with the external tools.

    Log into your Moosend account and go to Settings. You’ll find your Moosend API key at the bottom left corner. Copy this key.

    Moosend API Key-Replug

    Step#2: Connect with your Replug Account

    Go to Integrations in your Replug Account and find Moosend in the list.

    Integrations- Replug

    Connect with Moosend.

    Moosend Connect- Replug

    Here, Replug will ask you to enter your Moosend API Key you copied in the first step.

    Moosend prompt- Replug

    Enter your API Key and click Connect.

    Step#3: Connect your Mailing List

    Next, Replug will show your Moosend E-mail lists to you. Connect your email list with your Replug Account. Replug will redirect the relevant email addresses to your connected list.

    Moosend list connection-Replug

    Step#4: Create a Call to Action in Replug

    In this step, you will create the branded CTA using Replug. Select your campaign and start creating your CTA.

    • Select the CTA type as Form.
    • Select Moosend as your Email Service Provider.
    • Select the Account.
    • Select the email list.

    MoosendCTA- Replug

    Sendlane

    Sendlane is another tool that automates your emails for you. They provide advanced features of Email Retargeting and Real-Time Event Tracking to optimize your email marketing. Their Email Editor provides you with a number of templates to represent your business properly.

    Build up your Sendlane Email list by integrating your account with Replug. The integration is as easy as it gets. Let’s proceed with the integration.

    Sendlane+Replug

    Step#1: Your Sendlane Credentials

    As you already know, the credentials would enable the integration with an external application. Log into your Sendlane account and check your Account Settings. You can locate your API key inside Your Security Credentials. Copy these for the next step.

    Sendlane credentials

    Step#2: Connect with Your Replug Account

    Log into your Replug Account and go to Integrations.

    Integrations- Replug

    Find Sendlane in the list and click on Connect.

    Sendlane Connect-replug

    Replug will ask you to enter your Access token. Enter your Sendlane API Key, Sendlane API Hash, and Sendlane URL. And, click on connect.

    Sendlane prompt- Replug

    Upon successful connection, Replug will ask you to link your Sendlane Email list.

    Sendlane Email List- Replug

    Save your selected lists.

    Step#4: Create a Call to Action in Replug

    Your call to actions will drive email subscribers to your integrated Sendlane Account. You can refer to section 1 of this article to learn to create a call to action in Replug.

    Sendpulse

    Sendpulse combines all delivery channels on one platform. Not only can you enjoy their email services, but you can also broadcast your messages via Web push, SMS, Viber, Facebook Messenger and more.

    Sendpulse Services

    Manage your contacts by gathering subscribers via Replug and firing them to your Sendpulse lists.

    The fluid integration of your Replug and Sendpulse account will save your time and maximize the results for you. Let me show you how to integrate both of your accounts.

    Sendpulse+Replug

    Step#1: Your Connection Token

    To start with, find your Sendpulse connection token. The connection token consists of your Sendpulse unique ID and a secret key.

    Go to your Account Settings and click on API.

    Sendpulse token- replug Connection

    Activate the toggle button to view your ID and secret key.

    Step#2: Connection with Replug Account

    Go to Integrations in your Replug and find Sendpulse in the list.

    Integrations- Replug

    Click on Connect.

    Sendpulse Connect

    A prompt will appear which will ask you to enter your ID and Secret Key. Enter those and click on connect.

    Sendpulse prompt- Replug

    These are the required steps to complete the integration.

    Step#3: Create a Call to Action in Replug

    Jump up to section 1 to learn how to create a call to action in Replug.

    Connect with Us

    You’re guaranteed a success by using any of these three tools along with your Replug account. Stay connected with us to find out more about Replug’s latest Integration in the next Episode.

    If you have already used this feature, please share your experience in the comment section.

    Let’s grow together!

  • Replug’s latest integrations to help grow your email list: Episode #1

    Replug’s latest integrations to help grow your email list: Episode #1

    This October, Replug gives you a little extra feast, think of it as our way of Trick-or-Treating you.

    Replug has always paved ways for its users to improve their digital marketing campaigns.

    Recently, we have announced 3rd party integrations to boost your email marketing. Now, you can integrate your Replug account with different email newsletter applications, SMS messaging services, and email marketing tools.

    The social media revolution has introduced many communication channels to us. But, businesses use email marketing to grow their sales.

    Yes, Email Marketing is still in-house!

    According to Shopify, businesses earn an average of $36 in revenue for every dollar spent on email marketing.

    Make your own branded call to actions with Replug and request users for email subscriptions. You can forward these email addresses to the integrated email marketing tools.

    Track the best leads with Replug and escalate your consumer outreach.

    In this week’s article, we’ll discuss the three integrations that can change the perspective of email marketing for you.

    1. Sendy

    Sendy is an email newsletter application which helps digital marketers send newsletters via email through Amazon’s Simple Email Service (SES).

    Sendy is the best tool to economize your newsletter emails to the masses.

    How to integrate with Replug?

    You can easily integrate the two platforms in very easy steps demonstrated below.

    Sendy + Replug Integration

    Step #1: Find Sendy’s API key

    Sendy’s API key is the unique key which enables its integration with other tools. To find your API key, go to Account Settings. You’ll find your API key on the right side of your screen.

    Your key will look something like this.

    Step #2: Access Sendy’s List ID

    As explained earlier, Replug collects leads and redirects them to your Sendy account. To maintain that list, Replug requires Sendy’s list ID.

    Go to your Brand and click on View all lists

    Replug Sendy Integration

    You’ll find an encrypted List ID for your account here.

    Hover over to view the complete ID.

    Replug Sendy Integration

    Step #3: Sendy and Replug’s Connection

    Now, you have to connect these two accounts to start the magic.

    Go to your Replug account and then go to Integrations.

    replug Integrations

    Here, you’ll find the whole list of third-party integrations available in Replug.

    Click connect for Sendy.

    Connect Sendy with Replug

    Fill in all the details and click on Connect.

    sendy form

     

    Step #4: Create your Call to Action in Replug

    In this step, you will create the branded CTA using Replug. Select your campaign and start creating your CTA.

    • Select the CTA type as Form.
    • Select Sendy as your Email Service Provider.
    • Select the Account.
    • Select the email list (the same for which you entered the List ID)
    SendyCTA

    After a successful integration, all the email subscribers will be sent to your Sendy list.

    2. ConvertKit

    ConvertKit is one of the most popular yet simplified email marketing tools. It provides marketing automation to small-scale businesses at a very reasonable cost.

    Connect your Replug account with ConvertKit today and scale your email subscribers.

    How to integrate with Replug?

    The integration is very easy. Let’s begin.

    ConvertKit+Replug Integration

    Step #1: Find ConvertKit’s API Key and API Secret

    In order to connect your ConvertKit account with Replug, you need to find your unique API key and API Secret.

    Go to your Account Settings. Along with your basic account information, you’ll find both of the encrypted figures.

    ConvertKit Replug

    Step #2: ConvertKit and Replug’s connection

    To connect these two accounts, go to your Replug account and click on Integrations in Account Settings.

    replug Integrations

    Find ConvertKit among the list of all Integrations and click on Connect.

    convertkit connect

    Step #3: Enter your Information in the pop-up

    A pop-up box prompter will appear.

    Enter your ConvertKit API Key and ConvertKit API Secret here and click on connect.

    Step #4: Create your Branded Call to Action in Replug

    In this step, you have to create your branded CTA using Replug.

    • Select the CTA type as Form.
    • Select ConvertKit as your Email Service Provider.
    • Select the Account and the email list.

    3. Sendinblue

    Replug has made a handshake with another major marketing automation tool; Sendinblue.

    It is a cloud-based marketing automation SaaS suite.

    They provide organizations the services to communicate with their clients via email and SMS.

    How to integrate with Replug?

    You can easily connect both of your accounts to get the most of your marketing campaigns.

    Sendinblue+Replug Integration

    Let’s start.

    Step #1: Find your API Key

    Find the API key in your Sendinblue account.

    To do that, log into your Sendinblue account.

     The front Dashboard will appear.

    Go to your personal account settings and click on SMTP & API.

    Replug Integrations

     

    You will be redirected to a page where you’ll find your API Key. Copy your API key.

    Replug Integrations

    Step #2: Sendinblue and Replug’s connection

    Go to the Integrations list and find Sendinblue. Click on Connect.

    Replug Sendinblue Integration

    On the next screen, you will be asked to enter the API key to complete the connection.

    Replug Sendinblue Integration

    Choose the list that you’d like to connect with your Replug Account and press Save.

    Replug Sendinblue Integration

    Step #3: Create your Branded Call to Action in Replug

    Create a call to action in Replug and start routing your traffic to your Sendinblue list. To create a CTA.

    • Select the CTA type as Form.
    • Select Sendinblue as your Email Service Provider.
    • Select the Account and the email list.

    This is not it, we have some more exciting news for you. Wait for our second Episode to get more insights into Replug’s latest Integrations!

  • What is brand awareness? 9 trending techniques to expand your businesses via social media

    What is brand awareness? 9 trending techniques to expand your businesses via social media

    Whenever you get flaky lips, you go to the market to buy a chapstick. Have you noticed that chapstick is a brand name for a lip balm product made by Pfizer? How did people start using the word ‘Chapstick’ instead of ‘lip balm’ then? That is called brand awareness.

    Brand Awareness is the familiarity of the consumers with a brand to such an extent that the brand name becomes the Household name. Every brand owner dreams of their brand name becoming a real word; this concept is called proprietary eponym.

    Brand awareness cannot be achieved merely by creating a brand and with conventional marketing techniques; one has to keep on growing higher and building deeper roots with their followers.

    Brand Awareness - Replug

    It is quite a challenge to gain a never-ending attention to a brand from its audience. A brand created on the foundation of a well-thought-out vision can easily expedite a sentimental value among the public.

    We have gathered some of the best practices for you to expand your brand.

    Related: The Ultimate Guide to Online Branding and Building Authority

    Pick Your Platform

    The monumental growth of social web is the result of increasing social networks every day.  The basic intent of each platform is to tear down the geographical distances between people and to maximize communication between them. People use social media for multiple purposes like sharing their opinions, brand monitoring, entertainment, media sharing, political activity, news reporting, education, collaboration and spreading information etc. Nevertheless; each social platform provides a unique service.

    For example; Instagram is for sharing photos telling your everyday activity, Twitter is to connect people with similar interests who can share in-the-moment updates; Pinterest is to allow users to visually share and discover new interests by creating new Boards and sharing ideas among the followers.

    Social Media Platforms - RePlug

    With that being said; it is very necessary for you to pick a platform to run your campaign.

    The backbone of marketing is to target the right audience. So, it is necessary to pick the right platform to advertise your business. By doing so, you will be able to drive back the maximum traffic of those users who are actually interested in your offer and are most likely to buy your products/ services.  

    For instance; if you have a clothing business, you might need to focus on your Facebook, Instagram and YouTube campaigns. Know where your audiences reside and save your energies to target them as your potential customers. If you don’t know the suitable networks for your business, the best way is to start analyzing your incoming referral traffic.

    Market Your Uniqueness

    The community of social web comprises of humans interacting with each other; selling or acquiring services from others. It is an inbuilt necessity for humans to find an emotional value in the things they use or the people they talk to. We are attracted to charismatic personalities, kindness, authenticity, and most importantly uniqueness. A unique trait of a thing or a person makes them stand out from the rest of the crowd.

    Uniqueness - Replug

    This trait can easily be exploited for marketing your businesses. Uniqueness could be attained in the form of an eye-catching tagline, highlighting a key feature of your product that no one else provides or giving your brand a fun identity.

    So, create your brand voice by applying this strategy and again find the target audience which could easily get influenced by the flavor you have added to your marketing strategy.

    Remarketing or Retargeting

    You must have experienced visiting a website and later on getting similar ads throughout your social media browsing. Some may call it magic but we call it remarketing.

    Remarketing also goes by the name of Retargeting, is capturing the attention of those users who came to your website and left. This strategy is applied by placing a cookie in the viewer’s web browser when they visit your website for the first time. So, while they are browsing you can track their browsing activity and which social platforms they use the most. That way, you can serve them with your ads on the platforms they use and drive back the lost traffic.

    Retargeting - Replug

    Remarketing saves a lot of time and energy as it only targets those people who have already shown interest in your product. If done smartly, remarketing can turn window-shoppers into actual buyers.

    Social platforms like Google display Network, popular blogging websites, Quora, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and many more; allow you to run ads. You have to come up with a specific ad strategy to reclaim maximum traffic. Analyze the exact needs of the user by shrinking the horizons of possibilities.

    For example, when a user visited your blog, it is important to figure out what product or service did the user showed interest in, how much time did the user spend on your blog, what is the intent of the user. Understanding the user’s need will help you qualify them by serving the ads which would hit them at the right spot.

    Consumer Attraction - Replug

    In another example, if a user came to our blog and viewed the product, we’ll focus on the specific feature he/she viewed and float related ads in their network.

    Retargeting is observed to be one of the most popular marketing strategies because of its distinctive approach.

    Replug makes marketing very easy for its users. It lets you create a social media campaign for platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or your custom platform; by creating a very simple retargeting script. All you have to do is add a retargeting pixel ID in your campaign and it does the rest of the job for you.

    Biddyco is a social advertising company which claims to have achieved 1,284% ROI in just 7 days, by retargeting. Check out their Kick in the Pants Technique and how they used this strategy to get rewarding leads. A step by step demonstration is explained in this article to help you start from the beginning.

    Related: 14 Crazy-Effective Ways to Boost E-commerce Sales Through Retargeting

    Guest Posting

    Guest posting/blogging is an amazing way of reaching out towards the public. Guest posting is an exchange process of writing or posting your articles on someone else’s website or blog, someone who has a significant amount of followers. Likewise; you allow them to publish their content on your own blog.

    Guest Posting - Replug

    This association helps to build strong relationships among the bloggers. Providing others with quality content also helps improve your name and credibility. In addition to it, guest posting is proven to be great for search engine optimization as well. When you’re the host blogger and you’re publishing someone else’s blog article, you’ll use a link to their article somewhere in your blog. And we know how search engine friendly these links are.

    Buffer, a social media scheduling app, managed to grow its customer base from zero to 100k customers, all in 9 months. The Co-founder Leo Widrich shares his secret that he started off by approximately 150 guest posts… Sounds like a small number but it isn’t.

    Later on, with experience and growing success, he wrote blogs on bigger networks which got them bigger traffic.

    Tom Hunt, a TEDx speaker and founder of Virtual Valley, has written a very helpful post about guest blogging in which he shares 42 experiences and 42 lessons he learned from those.

    Neil Patel, a New York Times bestselling author, has shared some statistics about guest blogging which you might want to check out.

    Do the math for your own business, and start guest blogging right now.

    Infographics and Gifographics

    Visual Content - Replug

    According to the Social Science Research Network, 65% of us are visual learners. It is a common observation that visual information is more likely to be ingrained and remembered among the viewers rather than textual information. In fact, if you want to grab viewers’ attention towards an extensive blog post that you’ve written, it is better to take an aid from colorful infographic images.

    The best thing about an infographic is that it is equally informative but comprehensive, and also it is good to look at after reading some text-heavy information. Metaphorically speaking and stressing upon the value of an infographic, the comparison is the same as a word document vs a PowerPoint presentation.

    On social media platforms, infographics are likely to be shared 40x more than other types of content. Imagine how far the name of your company could go if you share your infographics regularly.

    Like Infographics, a new term Gifographics (also known as InfoGIFs) has been introduced by Neil Patel. Gifographics is a combination of two words GIF and Graphic-Visual Content. In other words, gifographic is an animated infographic. The reason for the creation of this terminology is to increase viewer’s engagement towards your content and make learning more fun.

    A very sophisticated and interactive infographic was created for the New York Times to group the characters of ‘Game of Thrones’ in a graph of Good, Evil, Ugly, Beautiful. Check it out and get inspired by it.

    ‘Ceros’ lets you create fun infographics and gifographics for your businesses. Scroll through the following blog to check out their story of ‘Marketing Evolution’

    

    Promotional Sales and Giveaways

    Who doesn’t love seasonal sales, free stuff, gift cards, and whatnot? People are charmed by such freebies and they themselves market your product by word of mouth (WOM) or via social media platforms. Unknowingly, the user feels more special about your product when they get good results in lesser prices and they prefer your products over your competitor’s.

    Promotional Sales - Replug

    The most recent trend ‘Like, tag, share’; has been adopted by most of the small-scale online businesses to get famous among their users. Such contests require users to advertise the brand’s name and as a prize, they get free stuff or gift cards.

    These contests could also be carried out with the help of CTAs. CTAs don’t have to necessarily be a rectangular pop up with contrastive colors, they could be anything that the user sees and feels the need to view your ad. In short, you have to give them an offer they can’t refuse. These kinds of CTA’s create a sense of urgency among the audience and drives them to participate… a win-win situation for both the parties.

    Campaign Consistency

    You must be familiar with the Marketing rule of 7. Back in 1930, studio bosses of the film industry noticed that its users needed to be nudged by advertisement several times to buy their movies. Today, the number has been generalized to seven; a user needs to see your advertisement at least seven times before signing business with you. If you’re consistent enough with your marketing campaign and create compelling ads, you may end up on-boarding many clients with you.

    A business ought to run different campaigns on different social media platforms; nevertheless, all their content should be consistent. If you have a WordPress theme for your business, use that in your advertisement.

    For example, use the same logo of your company in every advert campaign, use the same colors as that of your website theme, use the same style that you’ve set for your business. That helps the viewers recall and remember your brand name.

    Create a catchy slogan for the services your company provides and use it for spreading the word. Slogan campaigning has been the most famous strategy used by many companies. Slogan becomes an identity for your company and it is a fun way of engaging your customers.

    You just have to be creative. Remember, sky is the limit.

    Referral

    Your strategy should also be to engage your loyal customers. Referral programs help you increase brand awareness and your customer base. The basic idea is to provide a benefit to a customer if he/she refers your brand to their friends or family. It helps your customers gaining a benefit from you as well as it helps you in achieving long-lasting customers.

    Referral - Replug

    A study made by Social Media Software firm Lithium reveals that 92% of the people trust referrals from their friends and family rather than a random advertisement.

    So, you need your customers to create hype by talking about your brand in their social circle. This can be done by several referral programs in which you offer a discount or a free service. This helps people know about your brand without you actively selling your product or showing them in-your-face ads which might annoy the public at some point.

    Do you want to know how Robinhood‘s referral got 1 million potential users even before their launch? They amplified their followers by creating a competition in which the users could get ahead in the queue by referring more people. That is what got them viral.

    Check out this blog to know about it in detail.

    Need an even bigger number?

    You must be familiar with Dropbox. Everyone uses Dropbox nowadays. Dropbox’s referral program won them around 3 million users in just 15 months.

    Dropbox raised their brand awareness exponentially just by using referral marketing. Although, the idea was not entirely their own. They got inspired by PayPal’s refer-a-friend scheme. While Paypal paid its customers with cash, Dropbox provided both the referrer and referee with free storage. Read more about this in an article shared by ReferralCandy Blog.

    Following the footsteps of Robinhood. Hotjar also created an ‘early access’ waiting list. Whenever someone tried to access Hotjar, they’d put them last in the line and ask them to refer Hotjar to their family and friends.

    The more the merrier, right?

    They incentivized this contest by

    • Providing free 6 months access to the users who referred Hotjar to 5 friends.
    • Free T-Shirt giveaway to the top 200 positions.
    • Free lifetime access to top 20 positions.

    They got a massive response from their users who wanted to overtake other contestants. Read their complete success story.

    Webinar Marketing

    Webinar Marketing is also trending among many service providers all across the globe. Webinars are helpful because they let you interact with your audience. You can host a webinar even remotely by arranging video or audio conferences with remote team. Many platforms allow you to multicast your webinar, i.e., you can communicate with multiple receivers. This lets you save so much of your precious time, which could be utilized somewhere else. You can also save time by using a webinar marketing agency, which handles promotion, logistics, and execution, allowing you to focus on content and audience engagement.

    Webinar Marketing - Replug

    Webinars have proven to be a good medium for building the name of your brand. You could start with free webinars and later on move to the paid version to be entertained by the premium features. These videos could be used in your Video marketing as well; save your videos and upload them on Facebook or YouTube, as videos are more helpful in quick learning and a better understanding of your product.

    According to Google trends quick search, the search term ‘Webinars’ has increased steadily from 2004 to this day.

    The term webinar is a subtle marketing technique. You shouldn’t be ranting about the amazingness of your products or services, rather you should gain the trust of your audiences by telling something useful and hinting about the values you could add into their lives. You do that by addressing their pain points and answering their questions.

    Marketo, an email marketing service, applies this rule in their webinars. Their motto is to create a value of their services throughout the webinar and give them a powerful stance to buy your services.

    If your target audience is new to your brand, you could attract them by giving them discounts on each sign-up or sending an e-mail at the end of the webinar.

    Webinars help you in creating a  personal bond with your customers by adding a  human touch to your brand.

    Inc. shares Russ Ruffino’s story of how his company converted the Webinar attendees into their clients and how it helped them in increasing ROI.  In his article, he has shared some tips and tricks which might come in handy for your webinar to become a success.

    Jenna Soard, the founder of YouCanBrand.com, explains that Webinars are the best source for client conversion. Jenna is considered the Webinar Rockstar and you are encouraged to read her success story to get started.

    Conclusion

    Like oxygen is important to our lungs, marketing is important to our brand. It is not easy to compete in today’s crowded industry… but then there are no shortcuts to success. The marketing gurus suggest to innovatively apply all the standard rules of marketing. Let your audience trust you and make them feel that you care. Adopt the newest ways of engaging with your clients and remember; change is inevitable. Never stop growing!

    We’d love to hear from you. Share your experiences if your business has benefited from these marketing strategies.

    Enlighten us in the comment section below.