Tag Archive for: Content Marketing

Social Media Marketing: Should Your Business be on TikTok?

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TikTok is the fastest growing social media network in the world right now, with the app having been downloaded over 1.5 billion times in the App Store and Google Play. If you’re not already there, you’re probably wondering, should my business be on TikTok? We’re going to help you answer that question. Let’s discuss the app, its audience, and what kind of business can benefit from adding TikTok to their social media marketing strategy. 

What is TikTok? 

For those unfamiliar, TikTok is an app that allows users to create and post videos within a news feed. Users are allowed to create clips 3-15 seconds long and compile clips into a video up to a minute in length. Users can add music or sounds to the videos that are available within the app. Most of the content is comedic or dance oriented, but the variety of content is growing. For example, we are starting to see videos featuring creators using or reviewing their favorite products. 

Who is on TikTok?

Just a few years ago, the majority of TikTok users were around the age of 13. Today, 60% of the app’s monthly active users in the U.S. are 16-24 year old. Another notable demographic is that 55.6% of users are male and 44.4% are female. This is an appreciable difference compared to other social platforms that show a female-favorable user base, such as Instagram with a 65%-35% sway. It’s also worth noting that 43% of users are in India. No one is certain why this is, but 40% of new downloads are based out of India. All in all, the largest number of users come out of the U.S, India, and Douyin, China. 

How Can Brands Use TikTok? 

There are four main ways brands can utilize TikTok:

  1. Directly: You can create your own channel and upload relevant videos through the channel.
  2. Influencers: Influencer marketing is growing in popularity on TikTok. Major brands like Google, Coca-Cola, Universal Pictures, and Sony have worked with popular users to raise brand awareness and extend reach of their recent promotions. 
  3. Paid Advertisements: There are three main types of paid ads brands have to choose from on TikTok as of now: 
    1. Launch Screen Ads: These appear when a user initially opens the app. Users can tap on the ad to get sent to an external webpage or participate in a hashtag challenge. 
    2. Video Ads: In-feed videos are also offered as a native way to advertise content on the app. You can pay to have your content promoted on the “For You” page.  
    3. Branded AR: Brands also have the ability to create branded lenses, filters, and stickers, which are similar to Snapchat. 
  4. Hashtag Challenge Plus: While this is still a paid feature, it is strictly e-commerce focused. Brands can sponsor a hashtag or a theme that creates a challenge for users to create videos participating in the challenge. Users can then browse products associated with the brand. 

Is it Right for Your Business? 

To answer this question, you need to ask yourself as a marketer or business owner a number of other questions. Will you be able to create original content that promotes your brand? Do you understand the style of content on TikTok? And most importantly, what is your target audience? If you’re looking to target Gen Z or Millennials, TikTok is a great way to gain mass exposure. Additionally, it’s a great way for brands that have a corporate tone to create a more youthful and fun feel for themselves. If your brand strictly targets an older demographic, it may not be worth the investment just yet, but it may be in the near future. 

More from Onimod Global 

At Onimod Global we are experts in social media marketing. We know which platforms are best for brands, and create visibility for brands where customers are searching, interacting, and ultimately converting. Find out more about what we do, or contact us today!

 

E-Commerce Marketing Strategy: Where to Start

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With the recent lift of the nation-wide shut down, the country is slowly opening up on a state by state basis, but the majority of businesses still remain physically closed. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the situation, you may be considering, or have already entered into the e-commerce space.

There is an increasing number of people online and numbers will most likely continue to grow as the year goes on. In light of this growing audience, many businesses are boosting digital ad spend and their online presence in general. Making the e-commerce space even more crowded than before. This can be intimidating for those just getting started, which is why Onimod Global is here with helpful tips for getting your e-commerce marketing strategy started. 

Step 1: Choose Your E-Commerce Software 

There are endless e-commerce platforms out there to choose from. When you’re comparing software, it can be hard to tell how seemingly minor differences in features can have a major impact on overall performance, but they can. When it comes down to it, what’s best for you will depend on a variety of factors, such as the industry you’re in, the size of your inventory, etc. We’re going to talk about the three most popular e-commerce software platforms and give pros and cons to each, but there are many online articles that discuss others and go into greater detail on each. 

BigCommerce: Ideal for larger retail brands. Also a good choice for those who have a brick and mortar store and are looking to expand operations. The interface is user-friendly and allows you to customize your shop without having to know code by using templates in design your store. 

Pros:

  • Excels with multi-channel selling
  • User-friendly 
  • Scalable 
  • Variety of quality themes 
  • Comprehensive abandoned cart feature 

Cons: 

  • Can get pricey 
  • No 1-click selling/up-sells 
  • Cart abandonment feature isn’t included in entry plan

Shopify: If you plan to drop ship, rely on Facebook Ads, or Instagram marketing, this may be the best choice. Two big downsides are weak SEO and rigid URL structure, meaning it’s not as user-friendly. You can change some sections of it, but not others. 

Pros:

  • Quick load time
  • Easy set up
  • Many certified partners 
  • 1-click selling 
  • Allow multiple channel and social selling 

Cons:

  • Poor SEO 
  • Unable to customize checkout process
  • Apps can get costly
  • A developer is needed for advanced features 

3dcart: Has many practical features, such as unlimited storage, no transaction fees, and advanced shipping solutions. The main downside is it’s not for beginners. Set up and customization takes a lot of time to understand and get used to. 

Pros:

  • A nice blog feature 
  • Supports any integrations you would need 
  • Good business user management tools (email, QuickBooks, inventory_

Cons:

  • Dated templates 
  • Lacks customer support 
  • Not beginner-friendly

Step 2: Optimize Your Site for Search and Mobile

Online shoppers are constantly bombarded with advertisements, promotions, product options, etc. This means when they do make it to a site, they’re not going to wait around for a slow performing site because they can easily go somewhere else.  46% of shoppers have said they’ll never return to a slow website. Going even further, Google reported that for every one second delay in page load time, conversions can fall up to 20%. While there can be many causes of a slow site, these are the most common: 

  1. Heavy Page Image: Optimizing images will allow the pages on your website to receive bytes faster, and this makes your page more efficient with a faster load time.
  2. Large Files: We highly recommend a JavaScript compression or a minimization tool to help decrease your download size.
  3. Plug-Ins: Enabling caching with a plug-in allows pages on your site significantly faster. This saves you copies of pages with the same request, which allows your server load in a much more efficient manner.

It may be beneficial to get a professional digital audit done to identify any areas your site might be lacking and to get help with finding the right solution. 

Step 3: Identify Your Niche 

E-commerce sites with hundreds of products, dozens of categories, and no real focus rarely find success, at least not when they’re just starting out. Unless you have a massive budget, you have to find a niche to be profitable. Choosing your niche is one of, if not the most important step of starting your online store. You can start this process by researching different niches and identifying successful companies in that space. You don’t want to pick an overly crowded area, but you don’t want to pick a space with no competition either. This can indicate there’s no market there. The more specific you get, the less competition you’re likely to face and also gives the benefit of having shoulder niches. These are spaces that are similar to you, but not identical. This gives you the opportunity to work with other businesses in those niches to cross-promote, become an affiliate, and grow your customer base. 

Step 4: Utilize Social and Content Marketing

As we mentioned before, people are online now more than ever. Not only are they shopping, but they’re also spending time on social platforms. If you haven’t read last week’s blog, we go into greater detail on social media strategy, but for now we’ll just go over some general tips: 

  • Not every social network is the right one. E-commerce sites are highly visual, so choose social platforms that are image focused and give you the opportunity to show off your products, such as Instagram and Facebook. 
  • Be helpful. Give customers credible, detailed information about the things they need. Make it clear you’re there to help them. 
  • Be active. It’s important to let customers know solutions are available whenever, wherever, even if that means in the late evening or early morning. 

As far as content marketing goes, some might think it’s not needed if you’re just selling products online. Actually, content is extremely valuable for e-commerce sites. Content is one of the number one contributions of SEO, and when your business is strictly digital, SEO is essential. Here are some tips for using content to market your store: 

  • Write relevant blogs. 
  • Create guest posts for external websites. 
  • Publish product-related videos on YouTube. 
  • Include a keyword-driven FAQ section. 
  • Optimize product page copy. 

Final Thoughts

Even if you’re only shifting to e-commerce due to the pandemic, it can have great benefits for your overall business long after it’s over. E-commerce businesses have several marketing tools at their disposal. Using digital and inbound marketing just the right way, you can create campaigns that are designed to help your online store attract customers and grow better.

If you find yourself struggling with marketing in any area, you may want to consider outsourcing for your digital marketing needs. At Onimod Global we are experts in everything from SEM, social media marketing, Google shopping advertising, and more.

Learn more about what we do, take a look at how we’ve helped other brands, and become a client today!

Tips for Making Your Content Stand Out

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Right now, everyone is shifting the focus of their content to COVID-19. Rightfully so, as it’s impacting everyone and everything around the world. People are looking for answers and businesses feel compelled to respond. This creates a new dilemma, however. The “market” of coronavirus content is now heavily saturated. Consumers are constantly being bombarded with new articles and updates around the situation everyday. From this arises the question for many marketers: Should I continue to create content around the same thing everyone else is?

This is a difficult issue and there’s no simple, one-size-fits-all answer. We do know that content is still essential for long-term SEO success and in a time like this, you don’t want to fall silent. The key is finding a balance between creating relevant content but also standing out among the masses. Here are some tips for doing that: 

1. Focus on your audience’s current and most pressing needs. 

Content marketing is really just about helping your audience solve their problems. Currently, everyone is facing unprecedented challenges. There are no pre-existing rules or guidelines for businesses in this situation, so we have all been continually adapting and shifting our strategies accordingly. Marketers need to closely monitor their audience members, what they’re asking, and what they need. 

Your main focus should ultimately be creating content that helps your current and potential customers. Every time you publish a piece of content, ask yourself “is this helping my customers?” If the answer is no, and you’re just putting out content for the purpose of putting out content, it’s not worth it. 

2. Incorporate reliable research and accurate data. 

There is always massive amounts of inaccurate information circulating around the internet. When sharing or creating content, make sure it’s based on real research. Users want science and data to help them make the best decision, especially during times like these. Having solid evidence that supports your claim is extremely important. 

3. Don’t ask for anything in return. 

The biggest mistake a brand can make right now is appearing like they are trying to capitalize on the pandemic. Strive to deliver value without asking for anything in return. Instead of focusing on promoting your products or services, your main priority should be bringing value to users. 

4. Continue to publish regular content. 

Businesses are concerned that posting regular content will make them come across as insensitive or tone-deaf. While you should be careful with what you’re posting, continuing with regularly scheduled content is important for multiple reasons. The first is that, during this stressful and chaotic time, it’s nice to have tid bits of normalcy or light-heartedness. As long as the content is still sensitive to the current situation, it’s more than ok if it’s not addressing or focusing on the pandemic. The second reason being that SEO is still extremely important, and content is key for SEO success. If you delay or stop altogether publishing content, you’re only hurting yourself. 

Final Thoughts 

Right now, times are strange. Everyone is constantly searching for answers, but comfort as well. Making yourself stand out in an extremely saturated market is difficult, but not impossible. The key is finding balance between relevancy and uniqueness, while still providing value to users. Accomplishing this isn’t easy, but we can help. At Onimod Global we’re experts in social media, SEO, and content marketing. We help brands connect with their customers where and when they need them the most. Take a look at how we’ve helped other companies, and learn more about what we can do for you. 

How to Develop a Social Media Content Calendar

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Many marketers swear by the use of monthly content calendars. While there are real benefits of using content calendars, they still have their pitfalls. They require a lot of time and effort, and sometimes those things can’t easily be spared. Not only that, but working strictly off a set calendar isn’t always the solution for everyone. 

Whether or not you need a content calendar depends on a variety of factors, but if you discover a way to develop one that allows for flexibility and creativity, the benefits can be endless. 

The Pros of Using Content Calendars

Consisting Posting 

Planning your posts ahead of time ensures new content gets pushed out regularly. Having your topics picked out ahead of time saves time and allows for more than one person to manage social platforms. Regular content dispersion is important because it means you avoid the typical ups and downs in traffic and audience that come from inconsistent posting. Through a content schedule, you spread out your content throughout the month, setting yourself up as a resource to be trusted.

Diverse Content 

When you come up with content topics everyday, it’s only a matter of time before they get repetitive. You’ll most likely revert to the same topics and posting style when you’re struggling to come up with something. When you lay all content out for a month, you’ll be able to better spread out certain topics, preventing you from becoming predictable and boring. 

Better Teamwork 

If more than one person works on a blog or controls a social media account, having a content schedule is key. Assigning topics will become much easier, and you’ll be able to do it much further in advance. It will also prevent any overlap in content and make sure everyone’s on the same page. 

The Cons of Using Content Calendars

Can Restrict Creativity and Flexibility

While careful planning and deadlines are what makes content calendars work, too many restrictions can stifle creativity and eliminate flexibility. Sometimes planning your blog content ahead of time can turn out to be counterproductive when your company’s goals change, roles shift, or strategies get re-imagined. It can discourage your team to think outside of the box. It may also prevent from responding to timely or relevant topics, which can make your brand seem out-of-the-loop. 

Can Seem Disingenuous 

Along with the inability to respond to relevant topics, scheduled content may also come across as disingenuous. For example, you might have scheduled a tweet about nice weather, just as a natural disaster hits your community. So while automated posts save time, they can come across as stale because they’re written days or weeks before it’s actually published. 

More Demanding 

Content calendars are only successful if the whole marketing team is on board and uses it. All the time you spend carefully planning out when, where and what to post ends up being a waste of time, if no one is actually sticking to the schedule. A way to combat this is by making sure that the calendar is easily accessible to all team members and easy to use. Also make adhering to the calendar a priority for your marketing team and hold people accountable for the content they are responsible for.

As we said before, content calendars are not for everyone. If you have a small team or don’t publish content that often, they may be more work than they’re worth. However, they can be very beneficial to many marketing teams. 

Creating content calendars can seem daunting, but they don’t have to be. If you’ve established that this is something that would be helpful for your business, here is a process that allows you to quickly and effectively produce weekly content, that allows for flexibility and creativity. 

How to Develop a Content Calendar that Allows for Creativity

(via Marketing Land)

Identify Key Audiences 

Think of four different customers that serve as examples of types of customers that serve as examples of the types of customers you’d like to land for your company moving forward. Pinpoint each customer’s unique challenges, emotions and values, as you’ll want the content to speak to those needs.

Identify Solutions

After identifying four key audiences, think of three solutions your business can offer to these four audiences. This could include different services, products, or value propositions. Then match up each of your three solutions with each of your four audiences. 

  • Solution A for Audience 1
  • Solution B for Audience 1
  • Solution C for Audience 1
  • Solution A for Audience 2
  • And so on until you have twelve broad topics to explore

Identify Categories 

The final step is to come up with a list of four content strategies that will allow you to approach each solution/customer pairing from a variety of perspectives. Some examples include:

  • Expert Q&As
  • Step-by-step Guides
  • Industry News
  • Listicles
  • Case Studies

Combine this list of categories with your 12 solutions pairings to generate 48 unique topics for a full year of content. The first example could be: Expert Q&A that addresses Audience 1’s challenges from the perspective of what Solution A offers. Try to address each audience in one post per month. That way, each month, you will address and provide content for all four audiences. 

Marketing Land advises to keep in mind that content isn’t just supposed to be brand promotions. Your content is supposed to provide value to readers. 

Final Thoughts 

Today, almost all businesses release some form of digital content. While calendars may not be worth it for everyone, they can be very beneficial for those that need them. If you think your company could benefit from a content calendar, but don’t know where to start, consider outsourcing a digital marketing company.

At Onimod Global we create monthly content calendars for our clients. As experts in social media marketing we know how to create visibility for companies in places their customers are searching, interacting, and engaging. . Take a look at how we’ve helped others, and learn more about what we can do for you.

Infographic Tips Every Marketer Should Know

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Infographics are a great marketing tool, as they allow for easy communication of complex ideas in a visual way. Over the past few years, they’ve been forgotten due to the mass production of extremely low quality infographics strictly for link building. But infographics are not dead. When properly crafted, infographics, like other forms of visual content, are still highly effective at cutting through clutter and engaging online audiences. It was actually found that high-quality infographics are liked and shared three times more than any other type of content. As your goal is to provide value to your audience rather than generate link-bait, infographics are still highly effective as a content marketing tool.

Here are 5 important tips to keep in mind when creating and marketing a successful infographic. 

Determine Your Target Audience and Goal 

For an infographic to succeed, it needs to meet the needs of an audience. The first, and one of the most important, steps is identifying the audience you want to reach. Then determining their pain points, desires, etc. A common mistake made when creating an infographic is choosing a topic that’s popular in general, rather than specific to their audience. Infographics that gain the most attention and traffic are specific, relevant, targeted, and meet audiences where they want it most.

Next, determine what you’re trying to achieve with this piece of content. Where and how does it fit into your ultimate marketing goal? It’s important to be sure that an infographic is the best format to communicate your message. You don’t want to waste time on something that doesn’t fit into your larger strategy or miss out on a better solution.  

Chose a Compelling Title 

The headline of the infographic is extremely important. It needs to be compelling enough to grab readers’ attention, while priming them for the data they are about to digest. Clearly defining what the infographic will be communicating right at the beginning makes it easier to understand the rest of the graphic. You also want it to be simple. Titles that get too wordy may not keep someone’s attention long enough for them to make it through the rest of the content. It’s also very beneficial to try optimizing your title for SEO. Although infographics are technically images, they still contribute to the search relevance if part of a blog piece. If optimizing for search is part of your content strategy, we recommend including keywords in your title.

Stay Focused 

It’s best to keep infographics simple and focused on one main idea. It can be tempting to try to cram as much information as possible into the story. You don’t want your infographic to look like an attempt to randomly assemble as much data as possible. An infographic is most effective when it tells a strong and straightforward story that brings more clarity to a topic. 

It’s also important to establish a flow for your design. The reader’s eye should naturally go from one block of information to the next, moving them through a thought process. Once all of your information is in the right sequence and you begin to work on the first draft of your infographic, you can also use images and symbols to help reinforce the flow of your infographic, such as arrows.

Make Viewing Easy 

This tip is applicable in more ways than one. You want the infographic to be physically easy to view. Often times infographics are designed very large and must be downsized when published. This can cause readability to easily get lost. Make sure the smallest fonts can still be read without too much difficulty, whether the viewer decides to enlarge the infographic or not. This can also be done through using contrasting colors.

You also want to make viewing easy by making the infographic easy to find. Just as any other piece of content, it doesn’t just magically go viral. To help your team distribute the infographic effectively, there are a few extra steps to be taken. First, you should optimize your infographic for SEO, as we mentioned previously. Make sure you have the best file names and keywords to get the most traffic. Next, make sure your infographic is easily shareable. Make sure you have the right resolution, file formats, and sizes, whether it’s going out via email, blog, or social. You can even break up the infographic into different assets to get more mileage from one piece of content. Lastly, create a compelling pitch that explains why the content is interesting and relevant. You can do this through highlighting key takeaways, making the pitch personal and brief, etc. 

Double Check Facts and Cite Resources 

Infographics usually include a lot of specific data. It’s important to make sure the pieces of data used are accurate. This can be done by making sure the statistics themselves are true and the sources you’re using are reliable. When using outside sources, it’s also important to make sure you’re citing them. Try to use sources that are as up-to-date as possible. Using old stats, especially in an industry where information is always changing, makes you seem out of touch. It’s easiest to include those citations at the bottom of the piece, but you can include them in the body if it’s not distracting. 

Conclusion 

Infographics are alive, well, and very valuable when it comes to content marketing tools. They require a delicate balance between telling a story and providing hard-hitting points to drive your message. Creating a successful infographic doesn’t have to be difficult. It just takes a strong understanding of your audience, your goals, and willingness to put in high quality effort. 

More from Onimod Global 

To catch up on the latest digital marketing news and trends, click here. To find out more about who we are and what we do, click here!

 

Is Marketing on Pinterest Right for My Business?

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Most businesses understand the importance of marketing on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, ect. Pinterest is a social platform that’s often overlooked due to the assumption it’s just a place moms go to find recipes and DIY inspiration. Actually, Shopify found it was the second highest source for referral traffic and that 93% of pinners use the platform for research or making purchases. Not only are users extremely active, but Pinterest has rolled out a number of new features over the past year increasing the platform’s marketing abilities. 

Pinterest is becoming a great tool for digital marketing, but just as all social platforms, it’s not ideal for all businesses. Discover more about Pinterest, its marketing capabilities, and whether or not it’s right for your business. 

The Benefits of Using Pinterest for Business 

Driving Traffic to Your Website 

Pinterest has the ability to drive mass amounts of traffic directly to your company website. Research has found that Pinterest actually drives more referral traffic than LinkedIn, Google+, and YouTube combined. This is due to its unique design. Every image placed on a board is automatically hyperlinked to its original source. To be directed to your website, all users have to do is click directly on the image of the pin. 

Using Pinterest regularly can also help drive more organic traffic by increasing SEO rankings. This is partially due to contents’ ability to last longer on the platform. Generally, the most popular posts on other social sites are whatever is most recent. Pins gain popularity over time as they’re actively searched for, found, and re-pinned. This can help to be a powerful tool in driving you up Google’s rankings and making you more discoverable. 

Engage with High-Intent Customers 

Since last year, users increased 28%, to 322 million active monthly users. Not only are there more people using Pinterest than ever, the majority of them are high-intent, ready to purchase audience members. 98% of users report trying new things they discover on the platform, 93% have used it to research, plan for, or make purchases, and 39% of users are active shoppers. Users are more likely to purchase products they come across organically on Pinterest than any other social platform due to users proactively searching, rather than just scrolling through a feed. 

Build Brand Image and Authority 

Visual content is more important than ever, as 62% of Gen Zers and millennials say they like searching by images. Pinterest is the perfect platform to tell customers who you are and what you’re about, visually. You have the opportunity to reinforce your brand image by regularly appearing on users’ home pages, creating a variety of boards that reflect your identity, or sharing outside relevant content. These practices can help to build credibility and brand authority in your niche industry. 

What Types of Businesses Should Use Pinterest?  

Whether Pinterest is a good fit for your business is ultimately up to you, but there seem to be some that perform better than others. In general, it’s easier for B2C companies to market on Pinterest, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for B2B. Clothing, cosmetic, food, home decor, and DIY’s are the types of content that seems to perform best. While the majority of Pinterest users are women ages 25-54, 50% of all new sign-ups are men. 

Another statistic that’s important to keep in mind is that 40% of Pinterest users have a household income of $100K per year or more. This shows that the platform attracts those with large amounts of disposable income with the ability to spend on luxury products. 

That being said, any business has the potential to be successful on Pinterest. Just as with any other marketing tool, success is highly dependent on your strategy. The key is having the ability to consistently create captivating, high-quality, visual content that’s valuable to users. A good pin has: 

  • Vertical imagery. Majority of pinners are on mobile. Shoot for a 2:3 aspect ratio so your image doesn’t get truncated, while making it as high-quality as possible. 
  • Descriptive copy. Explain what users are looking at and entice them to learn more.
  • Text overlay. Including a headline that reinforces your message.
  • Tasteful branding. Include your logo so your brand doesn’t get lost in feeds.

How to Get Started 

When getting started, make sure you set up a business account, rather than a personal. This will give you access to analytics and other exclusive marketing tools. If you already have a personal account, Pinterest allows you to convert it to a business profile here. It’s important to keep branding consistent with your site and other social media accounts. If it’s available, try to use the same username. If you have them, you should also connect your Instagram, YouTube, and/or Etsy accounts. Doing so ensures pins from these sites will be attributed to your business. Plus, you’ll also be able to track related analytics. Once your account is set up, you can start creating boards and adding pins. If you plan on running paid ads, you can then set up your ads manager account as well. 

How We Can Help 

At Onimod Global we are experts in social media marketing. We know which platforms are best for brands, and create visibility for brands where customers are searching, interacting, and ultimately converting. Find out more about we do, or contact us today!

Optimizing for Voice Search in 2020

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It’s estimated that 50% of searches will be done with voice search in 2020. Optimizing for voice search is no longer a latest marketing trend–it is a necessity. Those who ignore its popularity risk losing a lot of ground compared to those who have already positioned themselves to capitalize on it. As voice recognition continues to improve, and usage of voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google continues to grow, it only becomes more essential. If you haven’t started already, here are 4 ways to start optimizing for voice search in 2020. 

Optimize for Question-Based Keywords 

It’s important to figure out how your audience speaks when searching for your business and products. Voice searches are more conversational and longer than text based searches. Most start with who, what, why, how, etc. Google and other search engines continuously crawl the internet to look for answers to these types of questions. To rank on the top of SERPs for voice searches, long-tailed keywords are key. While long-tailed keywords aren’t a new concept, the way they’re being used and why is changing. Before, they were mostly for the purpose of SEO. Digital marketers are now gravitating towards longer phrases for search queries. Those that have applied them have seen excellent results in search engine rankings. There are a variety of online tools that assist in coming up with relevant long-tailed phrases and optimizing content around them. Answer the Public and BuzzSumo are few examples. 

Optimize for Mobile and Featured Snippets 

Optimizing your site for mobile only becomes more and more crucial for businesses. When it comes to optimizing for voice search, it’s even more important. Most voice searches take place through mobile devices. A few things you can do to ensure your site is mobile-friendly are:

  • Make sure your site is responsive. 
  • Avoid software that’s uncommon for mobile, like flash. 
  • Make the information people look for easy to find. 
  • Use large and easy to read font. 
  • Compress images and CSS. 
  • Make sure links are far enough apart to avoid tapping. 
  • Perform regular mobile and page load time tests.

You’ll also find a strong correlation between voice search and featured snippets. Featured snippets are selected search results featured on top of Google’s organic results, just below the ads. They aim to directly answer the user’s question and give additional brand exposure to the company that’s featured. Getting a featured snippet is difficult, but not impossible. You can increases your chances by:

  • Making an entire search query the title of a content piece. 
  • Using the question explicitly in the content. 
  • Summarizing the answer in a single paragraph. 
  • Using lists when relevant. 
  • Using question and answer formatting. 
  • Re-optimize pages that already rank highly. 

Pay Attention to Readability of Content 

As we mentioned previously, people use a more natural and conversational tone when performing voice searches. To appear in search results, your content has to match the search terms. Avoid complicated jargon or lengthy responses. The simpler the language, the better the chances of your content appearing in the search results. On average, Google gives voice search results of only 29 words. Using clear, concise content is key when it comes to voice search optimization. There are a variety of online tools that check the readability of your content, such as Hemingway.  

Utilize Google My Business and Implement Local SEO 

Another extremely beneficial tool when it comes to voice search is Google My Business. Having a listing makes it easier for customers to find you and get more information. It’s also important to use the right keywords to describe your location. One of the most common searches people do is “___ near me.” Strategically inserting phrases like “near me” in Meta descriptions, internal links, anchor texts, and title tags increases chances of resulting for those searches. If there’s a well-known landmark near your business, it may help to include that somewhere as well. Structure your data in a way that makes it easy for users to get as much information as possible. It’s essential to have contact information, open hours, etc. This all makes it easier for your data to be processed and for people to find you. 

Conclusion 

The use of voice search will only increase in popularity as time goes on. It might not be used by everyone just yet, but that’s where we’re trending. Whether marketers like it or not, it can no longer be ignored. To be digitally successful brands have to start optimizing for mobile, voice, search, etc. 

More from Onimod Global 

To catch up on the latest digital marketing news and trends, click here. To find out more about who we are and what we do, click here!

Leveraging the Holidays to Market Your Brand

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Whether liked or not, the entire holiday season remains the most important time of the year for both brands and consumers. Even though Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the two largest shopping days of the year, the opportunity to generate monumental profits exists long after. During this time many consumers are open and willing to try new brands. Companies with strong brand equity have greater ability to capitalize on this opportunity. Leveraging the holidays to market your brand can set you ahead of the competition now and even after the season is over. 

Optimize Your Site 

Site optimization for the holidays can be done in many ways. The first is by adding holiday-themed graphics to your site. Consider things such as:

  • Updating your logo with festive detail 
  • Use “holiday” or “winter” colors across your site 
  • Creating a banner 
  • Shape special offers as gift boxes

Here are some examples: 

Source: Little Guy Logos 

Next, make sure your payment process is smooth and streamlined. Make your payment process as simple as possible. Consumers don’t appreciate when it’s difficult to add something to their cart or a lengthy checkout process. Make sure your payment system is as polished as possible before it’s too late. There should also be diversity in your payment options. If you already offer a variety of credit card and PayPal payments, consider adding Apple Pay if you haven’t already. Accepting all forms of payment may put you a leg up from your competition. 

Lastly, make sure you’re paying attention to site speed and mobile-friendliness. Page load time is always important, but especially this time of year. Consumers have even less time and patience than usual. They’re not going to stick around for a slow site when they can probably find the same thing elsewhere. This is especially important if you do decide to add holiday decorations and graphics to your site. Make sure you A/B test everything to ensure it’s not slowing your site. Delivering mobile-friendliness is also crucial this time of year. If you haven’t already shifted your focus to responsive design, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to pull that off before the end of the holidays. But better late than never, and it’s something to keep in mind for next year. 

Utilize Social Media 

Engagement on social media is at its peak during the holidays. Brands should use that to their advantage by creating shareable content and interacting with other users as much as possible. Here are some ways you can increase engagement during the holidays: 

  • Contests: Create a holiday contest where users provide and share their own content with you for a chance to win products or deals. This is beneficial because you can in turn re-share their content on your own page, instead of always having to create your own.
  • Video Content: Videos have the highest engagement rate out of any type of online content. If you have holiday commercials, that should definitely be shared on all social platforms. Consider creating different promotional videos for the holiday deals you’re offering as well.
  • Tip Sharing: Content that focuses on pain points and solves customers’ problems has the opportunity to gain a lot of visibility because those are the kinds of things they’re directly searching for. Creating and sharing blog posts on those topics across all platforms brings best results.
  • Interactive Campaigns: If your holiday marketing strategy has a particular theme or center subject, encourage followers to share similar content. For example, if your holiday commercial features a puppy, ask users to share with you pictures or videos of their own pets. This can create a cute thread that will attract the attention of those that may have not been aware of your brand.

 

Stay Cohesive and Maximize Reach 

Your holiday strategy should be included in your off-page efforts as well. The main goal should be to maximize reach to potential customers and inform them about your products, services, promotions, etc. This can be done by offering bloggers or influencers your products for them to review on their platform. Work to get some of your content featured in related guides on other sites. Make some type of event for people in your niche. There are endless ways that this can be accomplished. It just takes some work and creativity. It’s also important to remember that not everyone is going to be onboard with your pitch. Don’t get discouraged if someone turns you down. There are a lot of people online. Just move on and keep pitching! 

Final Thoughts

As the space becomes increasingly competitive, these strategies are most effective when started early. We are getting late into the season now, but this is something to keep in mind for next year. You can start building up your marketing strategies throughout the year to maximize reach and hopefully capture more consumers. 

How Onimod Global Can Help

Even the best e-commerce sites can need help with digital marketing, especially around the busy season. At Onimod Global, we’re experts in all areas including SEM, SEO, social, web dev, automation, and analytics. With our expertise and unique cross-channel digital marketing campaign strategies, we can power entire corporate marketing departments, or provide custom solutions for local businesses. We are your 24/7, in-house marketing partner. 

Learn more about what we do, take a look at some of our work, or start your conversation with us today!

Twitter Marketing: Is it Right for Your Brand?

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Twitter has proven to be an incredibly powerful marketing tool for certain brands. It can be a great platform to increase awareness, engage with customers, and grow your business, but it isn’t right for everyone. Each social network is unique in its targeting, reach, and overall marketing abilities. When making the decision whether or not a specific platform is right for your business, an analysis of both yourself and the platform needs to be done.

What to consider before marketing your business on Twitter: 

Are you B2C or B2B? 

This is one of the most important factors that should go into developing a social media marketing strategy. In general, those searching on social media are at the very top of the sales funnel, but there are exceptions. Twitter is usually best for B2C companies, but it can work for B2B companies with the appropriate tactics. It’s becoming a central discovery hub for consumers, making it a great platform for displaying expertise, products, and creativity. News, retail, e-commerce, fashion, finance, travel, hospitality, sports, health and wellness are some of the top performing industries on Twitter. 

Who is your audience? 

This is the number one thing that should be considered before deciding to join any social media platform. If your ideal audience is millennials, Twitter is a strong choice, as 40% use it. As age increases, the percentage of use decreases. 27% of 30 – 49 year olds are users and 21% of 50 – 64 year olds are users. That doesn’t necessarily mean Twitter is a bad platform for reaching an older audience. It just means your actual strategy on Twitter would be different. It’s also important to note that 42% of users access the site daily. 

What is your brand’s persona? 

Establishing a well-defined brand voice is essential for Twitter strategy. Brand voice should be original, convey a message, reflect core values, and resonate with your audience in a personal way. Companies that convey their Twitter account in a lighthearted way generally have a leg up than those that keep it serious. Twitter users are most encouraging, engaging, and creative of all other social networks. Content that’s fun, snarky, and relaxed will always perform better on this platform. This also goes into deciding whom will be doing the tweeting for your company. It is possible to have more than one person running the account, but it’s essential to make sure they’re all in sync. 

What is your overall social media goal? 

If you only want to use Twitter to gain followers, promote yourself, and don’t care about what others have to say, it’s probably not the platform for you. This isn’t an account you can just put on autopilot. Regular engagement and interaction is vital for Twitter success. Scheduling tweets and never checking back is a huge missed opportunity. To maximize reach and keep your audience engaged it’s essential to check activity often, retweet relevant content, and jump in on trending conversations. Twitter is best for building relationships with customers, as it’s one of the most personable social platforms. Many companies utilize it for customer service inquiries, as it’s the best means of contact for many reasons. There are no hold times, it’s more informal, it’s public, and it’s in real time. Companies have the opportunity to respond to complaints immediately, which means problems can be solved that much faster. Since other users can see this happen as well, it showcases excellent customer service and may even save you from repeating them in the future. 

Final Thoughts 

Twitter can be a great platform for marketing and presents unique opportunities for both companies and customers, though it’s not for everyone. It’s simple to use, but takes frequent attention. Finally, it’s important to note that Twitter, just as all social media, is not an ultimate marketing solution. It should be used as a tactic, working in conjunction with other tools to support your overall marketing strategy. 

How We Can Help 

At Onimod Global we are experts in social media marketing. We know which platforms are best for brands, and create visibility for brands where customers are searching, interacting, and ultimately converting. Find out more about we do here, or contact us today here.

CMS vs CRM: Which Does Your Small Business Need?

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Customer relationship management (CRM) tools and content management systems (CMS) are two types of software used for sales and marketing. They’re often mistaken as similar or interchangeable tools, but in reality, their purposes are very different. They include different functionality and focus on different aspects of how your business connects with customers. CRM is all about managing customers and clients, while CMSs are for managing websites. If you’re wondering whether your small business needs a CRM or a CMS, the answer is probably both, but when you need to adopt each one may vary. 

What is a CMS and how does it work? 

A content management system is likely the first thing you’ll need when first setting up your business’s website. Your CMS will be the central hub where you create and manage all the content of your website. A CMS provides a graphical user interface to create and publish website content without having to use HTML. They usually have pre designed website templates or themes to choose from, but you can also create and customize your own designs. Many of the best CMSs for small businesses will include content creation and editing tools that allow users to publish blog posts or articles and provide cloud-based storage for managing digital assets, like photo and video files. Some systems have more capabilities than others. It just depends on what you need and the prices you’re willing to pay. WordPress is one of the most commonly used and reasonably priced systems. Ranging from $3 to $25 per month for hosting and premium themes from $29 to $49. More advanced systems typically range from $45 to $79 per month. 

Basic CMS Features: 

  • Custom domain names: Most CMSs allow you to create a custom domain name that’s in line with your company. 
  • Web hosting: You can store your site and site data directly in the CMS or integrate it with a web hosting platform. 
  • Content creation: The core function of a CMS is the ability to create digital content for a website without needing to know how to write code. Most CMS tools include a graphical user interface that includes a content editor. Often times it’s as simple as just using drag and drop for photos, videos, etc. Most tools also have content scheduling and automatic publishing capabilities. 
  • Ecommerce capabilities: Many systems allow you to set up a catalogue of products and integrate a payment portal. There are also ecommerce specific software that include order management tools, as well as integration with accounting software to make it easy to run your online store without the hassle of complicated shopping cart software.
  • Site editors: Many CMSs include different template and style sheets that can be installed, making it easy to change the layout and feel of your site whenever necessary. 
  • Content libraries: Content such as images and videos can be stored directly on the CMS and some even come with additional stock images for free use. 

The Best CMSs for Small Business: 

 

 

What is a CRM and how does it work?

A customer relationship management tool organizes and manages customer data. It allows for sales and marketing teams to keep track of leads, customers, and accounts, while making sure they’re all getting contacted at the right times. For small businesses it’s not whether or not you need a CRM, but when it should be implemented. This can vary from business to business, but the more your customer base grows, the harder it gets to keep track of them without one.

Basic CRM Features:

  • Lead and contact management: CRMs give you the ability to distinguish between leads, customers, and accounts, allowing users to link contacts with the right accounts and deals. It’s the primary place information about customers is kept and should contain all customer history, including past deals, communications, and sales activity. 
  • Sales pipeline management: This allows you to manage the sales process from every stage and assign tasks to specific team members. Most small business CRMs include multiple ways to view your sales pipeline, allowing you to customize the process, activities, and stages included as you work to close a sale. 
  • Email management: Emails can be integrated into CRMs, allowing for campaigns and follow ups to be sent directly from the system. More advanced systems have the capability to set up drip campaigns. Which automatically nurture leads through your sales process, sending a series of emails over time designed to qualify and convert them into customers.
  • Reporting and analytics: Most CRMs have the ability to generate reports on almost every aspect of the sales process, as well as configure dashboards providing analytics the process at a glance. This can be used to identify sales opportunities that need to be contacted, determine valuable accounts, or indicate which salespeople are best performing. 

For small businesses specifically, the most important features to look out for are cloud-based management, pipeline management, and contact profiles. You want your entire team to be able to access your CRM solution from any device at any time. If your business has a sales team it’s important to also be able to control the data that is accessed and shared. It’s equally important to have a process that guides people from lead to conversion without forgetting any steps. This includes sending out automatic emails based on behavior, making follow up phone calls, and offering free trials, which can all be accomplished through pipeline management. Lastly, each lead that shows interest in your business should have their own customer profile that includes full name, email, phone number, social media links, and any other important or relevant information. 

The Best CRMs for Small Business: 

 

 

Final Thoughts 

As previously mentioned, it’s no longer a question of customer management systems OR customer relationship management. A recent survey found 92% of small businesses either already use both a CRM and CMS, or are planning on implementing a CRM within the next two years. Each tool plays a role in attracting users, generating leads, and converting them to customers. Finding the right time to implement one or the other and which platforms to use all depends on your business and your ultimate goal. 

More From Onimod Global 

At Onimod Global we’re experts in all areas of digital marketing from SEM and Web Dev to Social Media and Content Marketing.  Take a look at how we’ve helped other companies, and learn more about what we can do for you!