7 Awesome Benefits Your Business Gets From Working With a Digital Marketing Agency
About 68% of online activities start with a search engine. Unfortunately, the majority of people (75%) never look beyond the first page of search results. If your website doesn't appear on the first page, you need to update your marketing. With help from the best digital marketing agency around, you can reach more customers online. They'll help you generate more website traffic, leads, and sales, too. Otherwise, you could miss a chance to reach customers. Your competitors are likely appearing in front of those customers instead.
On the fence about hiring a digital marketing agency? Here are seven benefits to consider first. After discovering these reasons to work with an experienced marketing team, you can make a more informed decision for your business. Read on to learn more today!
1. Access to Experts
How much do you know about search engine optimization (SEO)? Are you up-to-date with the latest web design and development trends? What about Google's Core Web Vitals or Instagram's algorithm changes? You're already trying to become an expert in your field. You shouldn't have to become a digital marketing expert, too. Unfortunately, failing to keep up with the latest trends could cost you customers. Consumers might think your brand is old and outdated. They might turn toward competing brands that appeal to their interests instead. Before that can happen, hire a digital marketing agency. You can leverage their experience and expertise. With their help, you'll never fall behind the latest trends. Instead, they could even help you become a trendsetter in the industry. Consumers will notice you've upgraded your digital marketing strategy. They'll recognize your effort to remain informed about their concerns, too. These consumers might feel more inclined to choose your business.
Failing to remain up-to-date with the latest marketing trends could hurt your business in other ways. For example, Google updates its search engine algorithm constantly. These algorithm changes might impact your search engine rankings.
Lower rankings might make it more difficult for consumers to find you online.
Meanwhile, you could waste money with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising if you lack experience and expertise. You might unintentionally blow through your advertising budget on day one. Instead of risking it, look for an experienced digital marketing agency. They'll remain available to answer your questions and keep your strategy up-to-date.
2. Ongoing Attention for Campaigns
Once you start developing digital marketing campaigns, it's important to keep an eye on them. Many businesses make the mistake of "setting and forgetting" their campaigns. If you're neglecting your campaigns, it could cost you money.
Instead, consider the benefits of working with a marketing agency. They can keep an eye on your campaigns for you. They'll also know which key performance indicators to track. If your campaigns aren't meeting set benchmarks, your digital marketing team can make the necessary improvements. They'll know how to analyze and optimize your campaigns, setting every digital marketing strategy up for success. Then, you can generate more leads and sales. Optimizing your campaigns will boost your ROI, too.
Once you hire a digital marketing agency, you can use the time you would spend watching your campaigns on bigger tasks.
3. Improved Targeting
Are you reaching a broad audience with your current marketing strategy? Not every message will appeal to every consumer. In fact, about 74% of consumers get annoyed when content has nothing to do with their interests. About 45% won't spend time with branded content that doesn't align with their interests. Consider working with an experienced digital marketing agency that understands the importance of precise targeting. Segmenting your target audience into smaller buyer personas will help you personalize your messaging. Then, you can connect with customers based on their needs and interests. Improved targeting will help you save time and money. You can optimize your campaigns to improve your ROI, too. In fact, about 80% of consumers are more likely to shop when brands personalize.
Personalization could lift sales by 10% or more while improving your marketing ROI by eight times, too.
4. Better Tools
If you're not using the right tools, you might struggle to make informed decisions regarding your campaigns. For example, you'll need to gather keyword research before creating optimized content. Otherwise, you might choose keywords that have a low search volume. An experienced digital marketing agency will already use the tools needed to improve your campaigns. You won't have to spend time learning how to use these tools, either. Instead, rely on your marketing team to handle it for you.
5. Gain a Unique Perspective
It helps to gain an outside perspective. If you're too close to your business, you might not realize there are issues with your campaigns. You could struggle to improve your messaging, too. Gaining a unique, outside perspective could set your campaigns up for success.
Look for a marketing company that has experience working with businesses like yours, too. You can leverage their experience to further boost your campaigns.
6. Create an Omnichannel Approach
Remember, you're busy enough trying to grow your business. Handling an omnichannel marketing strategy as well can feel daunting. If you're not utilizing an omnichannel approach, however, you could miss the chance to reach customers.
The best digital marketing agency will know how to reach your customers on different marketing channels. They'll know how to create a cohesive customer journey, too. For example, you can promote your business on social media while engaging them through emails. Improving the customer journey could help you generate more leads and sales.
7. Save Time and Money
You don't have to take time away from your business and customers to focus on your campaigns. Neglecting your campaigns, however, could cost you opportunities. You might miss the chance to grow your business. Before that can happen, hire a digital marketing agency. They can save you valuable time, optimize your campaigns, and ensure you don't waste money. Instead, they can boost your ROI to set your business up to grow!
Set for Business Success: 7 Benefits of Partnering With a Digital Marketing Agency
Don't miss the chance to grow your business. So consider these seven reasons to hire a digital marketing agency. With help from an experienced team, you can set your business up for lasting success.
And, of course, don't worry about handling your campaigns alone. We're here to help.
Contact our team today to get started.
What Does a Marketing Agency Do?
In today's day and age, the internet is not an optional endeavor for businesses. In fact, by the end of 2021, experts are predicting that offline global revenue will be down by 20%. This is pretty scary news for small or medium-sized businesses that count on offline sales to survive. Fortunately, with the help of a great marketing agency, you can keep your business thriving in the years ahead, both online and off.
So what does a marketing agency do, you ask? These experts are responsible for taking the everyday challenge and time-consuming task of marketing off your hands. Of course, the benefits of using their services go much further than this. Follow along to discover exactly what a marketing agency can do for your business today.
What Does a Marketing Agency Do?
The answer to this question relies entirely on what 'kind' of marketing agency you're thinking of bringing on board. Some agencies focus only on specific tasks such as social media or SEO while others have a team of professionals that work together on your entire marketing approach. The latter is referred to as a full-service marketing agency.
For the sake of simplicity, let's tackle what these full-service agencies really do for your business. Your full-service offerings will break down into two categories:
Digital Marketing Strategies
Digital marketing includes all of the online avenues your business needs to stand out. A digital marketing team will work together to create a cohesive experience for users and drive traffic to your website.
The digital areas they will tackle include:
- SEO (search engine marketing)
- Content marketing
- Mobile marketing
- Video marketing
- PPC advertising
- Email marketing
- Social media marketing
As you can imagine, each of these tasks is a full-time job in itself. For example, your SEO strategies will include both on-page and off-page SEO to not only make your website user-friendly but increase its visibility across all platforms.
We'll dive into the benefits of these strategies later.
Offline Marketing Strategies
While your online approach is growing increasingly important, it is still vital to tackle offline marketing strategies too. By integrating your offline marketing with your online approach, you'll be able to get the most out of both strategies to maximize your impact.
Your offline marketing may include:
- Radio and broadcast advertising
- Print ads
- Events
- and more
The Benefits of a Using a Marketing Agency
So why not develop these marketing strategies on your own? Even if you have a strong understanding of how marketing works, taking on these tasks for your business is simply unmanageable for many business owners. Beyond the sheer amount of time it takes to carry out marketing correctly, the landscape of marketing and advertising is continually changing, making keeping up with your online and offline approach a huge commitment. In addition to the time and headache you'll save by outsourcing these tasks, you'll also experience the following benefits:
Fresh Perspective and Ideas
It can be easy to get stuck in a rut, especially when it comes to marketing. Oftentimes, what worked in the past on social media campaigns or brand advertisements isn't compliant with new algorithms or trends. This is why companies will have great success for a while and then plateau or drop off overnight. While you may know and understand your brand the best, an outside perspective can help you tackle those roadblocks and plateaus to continually see results.
Increased Relevant Traffic
Even if you're rising up in the ranks on Google, your SEO strategies could still be unbeneficial to your business. This is because you could be targetting keywords or audiences that won't help you grow. Because your marketing team is so well versed with their techniques and research, you'll notice an impressive difference in the quality of your audience. Instead of reaching uninterested consumers or ones way beyond your buying radius, you'll have increased website traffic that actually matters to your business.
Improved Brand Awareness and Reach
While there are many objectives to marketing, perhaps the most coveted result is brand awareness. Exposure to your brand is essential to gain customers, earn trust, and establish authority. Fortunately, by tackling your marketing with a full-service approach, you'll increase your brand awareness on multiple platforms. This increased awareness then directly impacts your reach. The more active and available you are in your marketing, the more customers will begin to see and remember your brand.
Expert Knowledge and Experience
When it comes to marketing, there's a ton to learn. While learning about the ins and outs of SEO and social media campaigns is doable, it's likely something that you just don't have time for as a business owner. Beyond this, as you learn, you'll inevitably make mistakes. While these mistakes are all a part of growing, they can cost your business quite a lot of money and energy to fix. Because marketing experts are so well versed in their job, they are far less likely to make these big mistakes, and if they do, they are tracked down much faster. Couple this with years of experience understanding what does and doesn't work in your industry, and it's clear how advantageous bringing on a pro can really be.
Cohesive All-Around Approach
Finally, by taking your entire marketing campaign to one agency, you'll have the clear-cut advantage of consistency. Your customer's trust relies on your brand having a consistent and cohesive experience on all platforms. Without agents that understand what's going on from platform to platform, they won't be able to create that unified approach. Beyond this, with insider knowledge on your entire campaign, the different elements of your marketing can work together to drive traffic exactly where it needs to be!
Your Marketing Strategy for Success
Now that you know the answer to your burning question, 'what does a marketing agency do?', you can set forth with confidence. From choosing a marking agency that suits your needs to understanding the benefits you can expect to see, we know you'll be on the right track with your marketing strategy.
Ready to experience the difference for yourself? Get in touch with us today to discover how we can transform your marketing approach for success in the ever-changing market.
7 Of 2021's Biggest Social Media Marketing Trends
About 11 new people start using social media every second. Now, there are over 3.5 billion active social media users. That's 45% of the world's population! A strong social media marketing plan can help you connect with your target audience. You can engage, entertain, and inform them through your posts. It's not enough to develop a social media marketing strategy, though. You also need to make sure you're up-to-date with the trends. If you're not following the latest social media marketing trends, consumers will take notice.
Here are seven of 2021's biggest social media trends. Following these trends can boost your entire marketing strategy. You can remain relevant and connect with customers online.
Give your social media marketing strategy a kick in the proverbial pantst! Start following these seven amazing trends today.
1. Stories and Live Streams
The live streaming market will be worth over $247 billion by 2027.
In fact, videos on social media generate 1,200% more shares than texts and images. Companies that create videos generate 41% more traffic from searches. About 40% of consumers say videos increase their chances of making a purchase, too. By the end of 2021, live streaming could account for 82% of all internet traffic, too. Live video content became more popular in light of COVID-19. Now, companies can use live videos to leverage the fear of missing out (FOMO). You can encourage an audience to watch your videos before you stop streaming. Tapping into an "in-the-moment" connection can help you interact with your customers online. Try to schedule more live interactions using video content this year. For example, you can create a weekly Q&A session. Consumers can ask questions about your product or service. Learning more about your offerings can help brand trust grow. If consumers don't trust you, they won't try your product. You could struggle to generate leads and sales as a result. Instead, you can use live videos to answer any questions they have. Then, you can foster brand trust. They might decide to give your product a try as a result. Q&A sessions can also help you demonstrate your experience and expertise. You might have an easier time standing apart from your competitors as a result. Don't forget to use Instagram and Facebook stories this year, too. Stories give you a chance to create interactive content. For example, you can use polls and quizzes to learn more about your customers. Then, you can use the answers from your polls to generate content your target audience wants.
Following these social media marketing trends could make it easier for you to engage followers in the future.
2. Social eCommerce
Consumers can now start shopping straight from your social media posts. If you want to improve your social media marketing strategy, use social eCommerce. Create an eye-catching post that shows off your products. Make sure your images are sharp and high-quality. Then, consumers can click on the post to start shopping. Using product tags and enabling easy checkout can improve the user experience. Shoppers won't have to leave the platform to shop. Creating this ease of use could boost sales. Start by creating a social media storefront. Then, highlight the value you're offering. You don't have to use sales language to encourage shopping. Instead, help people see the benefits of choosing your products. Then, you can use shoppable posts to shorten the customer journey. Consumers can shop straight from the platform. You might notice a decrease in abandoned transactions as a result.
Following this trend can help you adjust your strategy for changing audience behaviors. Otherwise, consumers could get frustrated due to a complicated user experience. They might abandon carts on your website if it's not easy to shop from your store.
3. Virtual and Augmented Reality
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are two social media marketing trends that aren't going anywhere anytime soon. You can use AR and VR to create more interactive experiences. It's a great way to boost engagement with your brand. For example, you can create your own AR filters to encourage fan interactions. AR filters can also help you promote new products. Consumers can engage with your filters and become more aware of your offerings. You can also use AR to let consumers "try" your products. For example, they can see how furniture looks within their own homes. They can try on makeup, glasses, and clothing using AR, too.
4. Transparency and Authenticity
As you start improving your social media marketing strategy, take the time to consider your posts. Are you encouraging transparency? Are you remaining authentic to your brand? Try posting more behind-the-scenes content this year. Show consumers how your products are made. Transparency and authenticity can boost brand trust and loyalty. Consumers will feel more comfortable with your business as a result.
5. Influencer Marketing
You can also foster brand trust through influencer marketing. Find an influencer who already has a strong connection with your target audience. Then, ask them to promote your brand. You can leverage the influencer's existing brand trust and reach to boost your business.
6. Inclusivity
Inclusion is becoming more important than ever before. Consumers want to choose businesses that invest in their communities. Make sure any content you create involving inclusivity is well-informed. Choose social issues that suit your audience. Inclusivity could help you build deeper connections with your customers. You can show customers you care about their identities and diversity. Otherwise, you might struggle to connect with your audience.
7. UCG
User-generated content (UCG) can help on-the-fence customers realize people just like them already love your brand. Share the content your customers are posting about your product or service. Make sure you have permission to share their content. Create a branded hashtag for your business marketing strategy, too. Encourage your customers to post using the hashtag. You'll have an easier time finding and sharing the content they create.
Social Success: 7 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2021
Following the latest social media marketing trends doesn't have to feel challenging. Instead, add these trends to your social media marketing plan. With these tips, you can remain relevant and connect with customers. Then, you can boost engagement, draw more leads, and increase sales!
Need help improving your social media marketing strategy? We're ready to roll when you are. Just say the word!
Contact our team today to get started.
9 Simple Digital Marketing Tips for Your Business
Whether your business is online or not, it's important to engage in digital marketing. Not only does it help your brand to grow, but it helps you keep that growth. Once you have customers, it's important to keep them engaged so you don't lose that connection. But how do you go about doing this? What marketing strategies are effective enough to help you gain the trust of your customers while upping your conversion rate?
Luckily, we're here to help. Read on for nine of the best digital marketing tips.
1. Create a Plan
Without a plan, you're setting yourself up for failure. Instead of getting lost each and every time you set out to accomplish something new with your business, create a plan to help you stay on track. This plan should include everything from the content you're going to create down to the time it's all going to be posted. It could also be a great idea to include spaces for tracking the progress you make along the way. Create the original plan in one color, and then make any edits or include the progress you've made in a different color. No matter what, creating a plan is going to help you stay on track, and it's going to help you know your exact marketing goals.
2. Create a Google My Business Listing
This is a free step to take, and it's a simple one. To see a Google My Business Listing, simply type in the name of a business. That business's address will then pop up and you'll be able to see essential information about the business. This gives potential and current customers a quick and simple way to reference your business.
To edit the listing, claim the one that's already been made, or create one for your business. Once this step is done, you have a lasting way to market your business. Just don't forget to edit the listing when things change — especially store hours and location.
3. Optimize for Mobile
It's estimated that 56 percent of total web usage comes from mobile users. This means that optimizing your website for mobile users is crucial to the success of any online business. Typically, website builders like WordPress or Square Space offer themes that are already optimized for mobile. This simply means that you pick that theme knowing your website will run smoothly across any device.
4. Place Your Focus On Local Marketing
Chances are, your business is going to be operating on a local level. This means it's smart to target a local audience when it comes to your marketing campaigns. The immediate area surrounding your business is going to be a lot easier to target than a national or even an international audience. You can take advantage of local marketing by focusing on local SEO, and even creating a social media ad campaign that targets your geographic area.
5. What Social Media Are You Going to Use?
Just like content marketing, social media marketing is a great way to gain the attention of potential clients and customers. It's also crucial to gaining attention since 74 percent of consumers rely on social media marketing to guide their purchasing decisions. Finding the social media channel best suited for your business is going to be the difference between going viral and staying off of people's radars. If you own a company that takes a lot of pictures, then Instagram or TikTok might be great options for you instead of LinkedIn or Twitter. No matter what, it's important to note that social media marketing is ever-changing, and it's important to keep up with algorithms and trends to stay on top of the market.
6. Set a Budget
Once you have a plan in place, it's time to set a budget. Sit down and figure out what you're looking for when it comes to marketing strategies. Are you going to need to hire someone to help you grow your channels? Are you going to need help keeping up with your posting schedule? Whatever the answer, this is an important thing to consider when you're creating your budget. Another crucial thing to remember is ad campaigns. Knowing how much you have to spend on those ahead of time can save a lot of headaches down the road.
7. Figure Out Your Target Audience
Knowing your target audience or demographic can make or break your marketing campaigns. It's important to be as specific as possible when it comes to creating your target persona, down to how they enjoy being interacted with. The more specific you can be, the more tailored ad campaigns are going to get.
8. Customer Experience Matters
Did you know that 90 percent of leading marketers say personalization contributes to the profitability of your business? Customers enjoy feeling seen by the brands they do business with. Personalizing an experience to your target audience's preferences is crucial in for ensuring they continue to do business with you.
9. Are You Doing It All Yourself?
So, are you going to take on digital marketing yourself, or are you going to hire a professional to help you out? It can be easy to forget that there are options out there for those who are confused by the process of digital marketing or simply don't know where to start. If it's in your budget, however, and there's a marketing firm you'd like to work with, it can be well worth it in the long run.
These Simple Digital Marketing Tips Can Help Your Business Succeed
Now that we've gone over some of the best digital marketing tips, it's time for you to see what they can do for your business! No matter what strategies you decide to use, make sure you keep a record. This record can help you keep track of what does and doesn't work so you know what to do later down the line.
If you still find yourself needing help, we're here for you. Contact us today to discuss your goals and we can get started.
The Do's and Don'ts of Advertising on Social Media
There was a time long ago when social media was strictly used for catching up on the latest gossip, sharing memes, and finding new friendships. Since its humble beginnings, social media has risen to universal heights and is now an essential part of every savvy business plan. Advertising on social media is an essential tool in every business' arsenal, but it requires a fair bit of sharpening as well. Even though social media is becoming an integral part of running a business, it is all too common to see them fail to use it time and time again.
So how do you avoid the fate of the internet collectively canceling your business? Well, here are a few do's and don'ts to help your next social campaign get off to a great start.
The Do's of Advertising on Social Media
First, we'll discuss the best and most efficient practices in social media marketing. These are the tips that you should follow closely for a successful foray into social media.
Post Regularly
This first tip may seem painfully obvious, but when you're running a business you may have a lot on your plate. It's important to make sure that your social media presence has no lag in content. The attention span of the average person has declined to an all-time low of only 8 seconds. With such a short attention span, it's essential not to lose the spotlight. Posting between 3 and 5 times a week is a good starting point.
Keep Those Captions Varied
The only thing worse than not posting for your business is posting the exact same thing over and over. Switching up the length of your posts looks more organic and is much less annoying for your followers or customers. Researching the specific social platforms you are utilizing is also a great practice in this regard. Some platforms require captions that are short and sweet while others may receive more long-winded posts better.
Interact With Your Followers
What is the point of social media if you aren't being social? Being connected with your social media followers will show potential customers that you truly care about your business's reputation. This means answering messages quickly and respectfully, interacting in the comments, and being active on your followers' posts as well. Remember that promoting your business doesn't end with hitting the send button on a post.
Write the Posts Yourself (Or Hire Someone That Can)
Social media users will sniff out lies and insincerity from a mile away. It's important to make sure that your posts are genuine. Most of the time this means having your hand in the social media advertising because you will know how to best connect with your followers or customers. In the event that you don't know how to do this effectively, make sure you hire an ad agency that can work with you closely and ensure success.
The Don'ts of Advertising on Social Media
Understanding how to advertise on social media can help keep your business in a positive light and will prevent its name from being dragged through virtual mud. Here are the biggest no-no's of social media that should be avoided at all costs.
Writing Like a Robot
Don't write like a robot. That writing is boring. No one will read it. Do you see how annoying that was? Personality is everything and posting on social media requires a certain amount of finesse Tone can be tricky, especially if you are writing in a strictly professional manner for your business. Make sure to all social media advertising in a more conversational manner to encourage discussion.
Abusing Hashtags Is #Wack
Alright, hashtags are useful tools for most social media platforms. With that being said, no one wants to read a post with 20 or even 50 hashtags hanging off the end. Using commonly searched hashtags is a great way to boost visibility on a post, but making your own hashtag is pointless. This requires a bit of research as each industry will have different effective hashtags. However, even using a whole bunch of effective hashtags will make your posts look like spam. You will most certainly lose a lot more viewers than the hashtags will bring.
Rushing and Misspelling Can Spell Death
While social media can be a great benefit to any business, one wrong move can sometimes land you in some hot water. There are plenty of cautionary tales of businesses posting something offensive or incorrect and this can seriously impact your brand's reputation. Being sure that you aren't touching on a sensitive topic shows good social awareness. Spelling is also an extremely important aspect of posting on social media. Making sure to use proper grammar and spelling exudes an air of professionalism and grace that attracts followers to your content.
Using Every Social Platform Is Too Much Work
While there are many platforms to utilize, you will find that promoting your business on every one of them is a whole bunch of work. Most of the time, the nature of your business will determine which platform will be best for you. For example, an engineering firm will probably see no need for a Pinterest account. It is a million times more effective for a business to use the platforms that make the most sense. Choosing social media platforms that aren't the right fit will most likely hurt productivity.
Grow Your Business the Right Way
For many business owners, the step into social media can cause anxiety. Knowing the do's and don'ts of advertising on social media will help you grow your business to new heights and instill some much-needed confidence.
Are you looking for some help with social media advertising from us here at EraserFarm? Drop us a line and we'll set up a time to chat!
Everything You Need To Know About Online Video Marketing
Did you know that the human brain can process images up to 60 times faster than words? That already gives a significant edge to online video marketing. Now imagine that edge paired with an amazing storytelling experience and the ability to market effectively. You've got yourself a full-proof way to sell and market your business or brand. But how can you go about achieving all three at once? How do you know online video marketing is truly the best way to market things? Read on to find out.
What is Online Video Marketing?
Before you can dive into creating video content, you should learn about what it is. Online video marketing is simply using videos to promote or market your service. It also works to increase engagement on your social media channels and to educate your customers and consumers.
Why Use Online Video Marketing?
There's a reason that 87 percent of online marketers use video. So, what's the appeal of online video marketing? How can it actually help your business gain the recognition it deserves?
Better Search Engine Rankings
The first thing it can do is help boost your search engine rankings. Since people are more likely to explore a website with lots of visuals and different kinds of media, the time spent dwelling on your website increases, which allows your SEO rankings to skyrocket.
Higher Engagement
As a visual society, it's easy to see why people love to see things instead of just hearing about them. Viewers are more likely to interact with a video by liking, sharing, and commenting than they are by simply reading words.
More Conversions
When it's done correctly, online video marketing is always more likely to lead to higher conversion rates. It makes sense when you consider the amount of engagement that videos can get and the boost in your search engine rankings. Even without those things, video tends to lead people to want to watch more of your content. When people become invested in a body of work, they're just naturally more inclined to invest in it.
What to Know
There are a few things to know before you just jump into online video marketing, though. Here are a few video marketing tips.
Empathy Is Efficiency
This might not make sense right off the bat. Isn't the point of empathy to show someone you understand exactly what they're going through? Isn't the point to let a person know that you've been there and that you possibly even have a solution to help them? But that's exactly the point. By conveying empathy in your storytelling, you're letting your viewer know that you get them. By allowing them to feel seen, you spend no extra time convincing them that they have something to gain from your product or service. Whether you're trying to promote a service or sell a product, you should include your story in the marketing. Not only does it show your viewer that you understand, but it also allows them to empathize with you and your struggles, whether they're past or present.
Tell a Story, Not a Sales Pitch
By telling your story instead of trying to sell your viewer something right out of the gate, you're more likely to keep their attention. It's no secret that people simply don't enjoy sales pitches, so you have to give them something to be entertained by!
Show Your Viewer, Don't Tell
This is the next most important tip, and it's the one that's going to keep your viewers' attention for the longest. Instead of telling everyone your crazy story, or explaining what your product does, show them. Talking doesn't entertain or captivate nearly as much as video trials or examples do. Think about an Oxiclean commercial. If you've ever seen one, you can probably picture Billy Mays yelling into the camera about how well the product works, which is all fine and well. But then he sprays the product onto a dirty surface and wipes away all the dirt and grime. Instead of telling you, the viewer, in that instant, he's shown you what the product is capable of.
The same goes for telling a story.
You can tell people that you're a singer, but then they're going to want to hear you sing. Instead of just saying you're a singer, you should show people that you're able to sing. If something exciting happened that led to you starting a business and you have videos of it all, then you should put those into advertisements or marketing campaigns wherever you're able. Instead of worrying about whether or not people believe you, you can worry about whether or not your marketing videos have gained their attention for the long haul.
Don't Worry About Other Videos
This is arguably the most important tip that you can hear: there is no reason to worry about other videos or content. Yes, you can always look at other videos to see what your competition is creating, but you shouldn't compare your content to theirs. If you can't afford to pay a professional to create all of your videos, or you just want to take a shot at creating marketing videos yourself, then there's no reason to get discouraged. You don't need the best camera to create a video, nor do you need a lot of fancy equipment.
If your videos are effective, they're going to sell themselves.
It's Time to Get Started
Now that you've learned the basics of online video marketing, it's time to get started with your storytelling adventure. Whether you choose to hire a professional or embark on the journey alone, you're sure to gain an advantage that you never even knew you had.
Sometimes, however, you just need help bringing your vision to life, and that's what EraserFarm is here for. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
This Is the Difference Between Marketing and Advertising
Marketing and advertising seem to go together in people's minds as much as peanut butter and jelly or milk and cookies. But if you are an SME looking to invest in promoting yourself, you would be doing yourself a great disservice if you were unable to identify the difference between marketing and advertising. In fact, not isolating and using these vital areas correctly could mean slow sales and the lack of that all-important customer interaction to generate future business.
Let us break down for you the clear difference between the two and explain how you can utilize both to ensure success in your business.
What Is Marketing?
Although it may seem rather vague the roots of marketing are in fact very simple. Marketing's main focus is making sure that the product or service develops a link to the customer. Many things can make this happen, meaning advertising is one of the many tools to be found under the broad umbrella of marketing. Other branches of marketing would include things such as product and brand design, market research, and data mining.
The goal? Starting a conversation with the customer and leaving the door open for future business. You should be present in your target audience's mind when they need you. It is clear to see then that marketing involves playing the long game and not leaving anything to chance. This is understandable as the time it takes for someone to get familiar with what a brand represents and then know where to turn to when they have that need takes time. But when an effective marketing strategy is put in place, when people do turn to you it normally is for the long haul. In order to achieve this the fundamentals of marketing are always utilized. These are known as the 4 P's: Product, Place, Price, and Promotion.
Knowing where and how to strike your blows by targeting your core audience, presenting them with a product or service that you know they will be interested in, at a price that you know they will be happy to spend, makes up all the key elements of a robust marketing plan.
What Is Advertising?
Advertising has one simple purpose, to raise awareness about your brand, product, or service. It makes up that crucial final P out of the 4 pillars of marketing, promotion, making it a single strategy.
This may be done in a variety of ways however one common factor would be that you need to buy this visibility, be it through TV, radio, or on the internet via Pay Per Click (PPC) services such as Google or Facebook ads. Additionally, there is usually an advertising campaign that runs for an intense time period.
A good advert sparks curiosity and can be the hook needed to entice your customer. This aspect is vital and used to be the primary way of informing your clients of your service or product. But if you were to focus solely on advertising as a business, thinking that it is the main way you will get customers, you would be selling yourself short. How could this be illustrated?
The Key Difference Between Marketing and Advertising
Imagine you want to catch fish. If you were to go out and cast your net every day, you may be successful. Some days you would catch more and other days you would catch less. But importantly you were out there doing the work. This is like advertising. However, what if you make a plan to ensure that you fished at the optimum time. You checked your location to see where most of the fish were, and at times changed your approach by using bait to catch the fish, how much more successful would you be? No doubt you would agree that the second option would be more effective. This essentially is like having a marketing strategy. In marketing, you still advertise however it is a much more measured approach.
This is all the more important today as the average customer has changed drastically. Due to the advent of the internet experts estimate that we see upwards of 5000 adverts a day. So making your business stand out among the white noise of modern-day advertising requires a lot more effort on your part. As the marketing guru, Seth Godin says "In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is a failure. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible." Marketing is also measurable, with you being able to use the information from your interaction with people to your advantage either by adapting your advertising strategy or even your product.
The film industry does this regularly with test screenings. Pretty Woman, Titanic, and Sunset Boulevard are all famous examples of movies that used their marketing strategy to change their final product and with successful results.
The bottom line is that advertising is a component of marketing. The difference between marketing and advertising is marketing contains all aspects of trying to boost a brand, and advertising is a simple component of that boosting process through creating awareness of a brand.
Key Factors in Marketing Strategies
So what methods and practices would be best for your business? Well, good marketing adds value to the customer but great marketing also means you start to optimize your leads. This is again one main difference between marketing and advertising. Marketing and not advertising alone drives business. A great example would be something like online content creation.
If you are consistent in providing good content on a platform like Instagram or Facebook then you will start to have interactions with potential customers. But not just any customers. These are people that you know are actually interested in your business. This is a great choice for SMEs because it can be relatively cheap to do however can yield a core customer base. Each business is different however, therefore taking the time to understand your customer base will determine the best route for you and your business.
Making Them Work for You
If we were to give you one piece of advice about the use of marketing and advertising it would be this. Use both of them! The difference between marketing and advertising is that one is developing your business and the other is purely presenting it. Remember, advertising without marketing your business would be like getting in a car and hoping that you have enough gas to get you to where you want to go. By doing both you can have peace of mind that you will be able to reach your final destination.
To guarantee that your business will reach the heights that you want it to, you can rely on EraserFarm to give you all the advice you need to map out a successful marketing strategy or advertising campaign.
Contact us and we'd be more than happy to help!
7 Reasons to Hire a Marketing Agency in Florida
The average US business spends about 11 percent of its total budget on marketing. That's a lot of money, but when done right, efficient marketing can significantly boost your visibility in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
As a small business, marketing costs can become overwhelming, especially if you have an in-house marketing team. Thankfully, there are marketing agencies that can help ease the burden of marketing. Partnering with the right marketing agency in Florida can help keep you streets ahead of the competition.
The demand for outsourced marketing services has skyrocketed over the years, thanks to the convenience and reliability marketing agencies afford companies. But exactly what benefits should you expect by choosing a marketing agency over an in-house marketing team?
In this post we'll discuss what you stand to gain by working with a Florida marketing agency and how to choose a reliable one.
1. It’s More Affordable
The total cost of recruiting, training, and maintaining an in-house marketing team can be expensive. Few SMEs can comfortably afford it.
Hiring a full-time marketing manager, graphic designer, content marketing expert, web designer, and social media manager can set you back hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. When you outsource marketing services, you pay only a fraction of what you’d pay an in-house marketing team. Even better, you get to forget about employee health care benefits, paid vacations, and so on.
2. You Benefit From Unparalleled Experience
Top marketing firms usually have a team of experts who are highly experienced in different marketing approaches, including video marketing and social media marketing.
A reliable marketing agency brings a wealth of specific knowledge on a variety of issues. They know how to address a diverse range of challenges and scenarios that you’ve probably never faced before. With such a team on your side, you are guaranteed immediate results for your marketing efforts.
3. You Get Access to Cutting Technology and Marketing Tools
Investing in the latest marketing infrastructure and tools can a highly cost affair for a small business. Training your marketing team on how to use these tools also adds to the costs.
The best marketing agencies continually invest in the latest technology and software to enhance efficiency, performance, and productivity. When you hire such an agency, you get to benefit from this technology without having to purchase it yourself. You gain access to premium-level software, services, and analytical data reports minus the charges.
4. You Maintain Staff Efficiency
Many small companies try to bypass the costs of hiring an in-house marketing team by giving marketing tasks to their existing staff. The problem with doing so is that you overburden your employees. With all that burnout, efficiency goes down, and productivity will inevitably suffer in the long run.
Besides, when you involve so many people in your marketing efforts, your entire marketing campaign likes consistency.
Hiring a competent digital marketing professional can help you optimize your marketing strategy while allowing your staff to focus on what you hired them for.
5. Scaling up Your Marketing Strategy Is Easy
As your business grows, you may need to scale up your marketing efforts. With an in-house marketing team, the only to increase output is to employ more employees, which is both costly and time-consuming.
Marketing agencies typically have readily available workers who they can deploy at a moment's notice in case you need a bigger and bolder internet marketing strategy.
In addition, these agencies already have the skills and experience required to help companies scale faster. For instance, if there’s a need to start using social media ads, you won’t need to train someone on how to do it. The digital marketing agency you hire will already have the resources to get it done.
6. You Get an Outside Perspective
When you work with an in-house marketing team for years, you tend to have tunnel vision. You hardly get new marketing ideas, which can slow down your growth. Sometimes, your employees may hesitate to express concerns over your stale, inefficient marketing efforts for fear of their jobs.
Forward-thinking companies, however, are always open to new perspectives. A top marketing agency can inject the fresh inspiration you need to turn your marketing campaign around. These marketing professionals are skilled in looking at your company from the consumer’s perspective and can help you implement what works.
7. You Get to Enjoy Built-in Incentives by the Agency
Every reputable marketing agency knows that delivering great results boosts their resume. Each new client they work with is a potential reference.
You can thus rest assured that when you partner with a marketing agency, you have someone who’s deeply invested in your success. The more fruitful your marketing efforts are, the better your marketing partner’s future opportunities are.
How to Choose the Best Marketing Agency in Florida
Now that you’ve seen the benefits of hiring a marketing agency, chances are you’d like to hire one soon. Here are a few tips to make sure that you get the right agency for your business.
Consider Location
Choosing a marketing agency based in your area is generally the best move. Chances are you’ll need to hold in-person meetings with your marketing services provider, and the last thing you want is to drive four hours to another city to do so.
Hire Experience and Expertise
How long has your potential marketing agency been on the field? Do they have experience marketing the product or service you offer? What is their success track record?
The answers to the questions above can help you choose an agency that best suits your marketing needs.
Consider Their Prices
One of the reasons you’re hiring a marketing agency is to make marketing more affordable for your company. While you don’t want to go for the cheapest marketing services in all of Florida, you also want to avoid agencies that charge extortionate rates. Find an agency that fits within your budget.
Choose the Right Marketing Agency in Florida
Your marketing efforts can make or break your business. One way to build and sustain an affordable, robust marketing strategy is to work with a reputable marketing agency in Florida.
Are you interested in reliable digital marketing services? Please contact us today.
7 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Marketing Agency in Tampa
Here's the deal: the demand for marketing agencies has risen by a whopping 5% over the last couple of years alone. So, if you're wondering how to get the best references and reviews, it's time to get in touch with an advertising agency near you as soon as possible.
Want to know why your regular blog posts aren't drumming up much business?
If you run a business in Tampa, FL, and need help with marketing, a professional team can help. Here are the top seven factors to consider when choosing a marketing agency!
1. Location, Location, Location
When it comes to choosing the best marketing agency in the biz, it's all about location, location, location. What we mean by that is that you want to choose an advertising agency that's nearby, particularly if you live in the Tampa Bay area.
That's because adding travel costs to an already priced to build can be enough to put you over the edge. Plus, holding in-person meetings will be much more convenient for you. As a result, taking the closest marketing agencies can lead to lower stress and higher productivity levels.
2. Compatibility Is Key
Believe it or not, compatibility is key when it's time to finalize your partnership with a new marketing agency. Some things to consider are whether or not their objectives or mission match up to yours. If you don't hold similar values, you and your business might not be the right clients for them.
Also, think about whether you and your new advertising agency have any similarities. Although it might be hard to tell when you first meet, putting your brand first will help you figure out if it is a good fit in the end.
3. Basic Background Checks
If you haven't conducted a basic background check on your potential marketing company yet, you're already making a big mistake. This classic rule of thumb should be followed every single time you decide to work with a new business partner.
This is great for analyzing everything from the advertising agency's:
- Personnel count
- Financial position
- Managerial stance
Not only that, but you can also get a better idea of the agency is a part-time or full-service one. Of course, if you want to hire a part-time advertising agency, conducting a background check is even more necessary.
4. Classy Clientele Lists
The fastest way to get to know a marketing company is to look at its clientele. This can easily show you the level that the potential organization is functioning. Needless to say, those with impressive clientele lists are often the most reliable.
The higher-end your business is, the more like that you will choose an ad agency that is very well-known and popular. Finding one with a similar customer base to your company is another great life hack as well.
5. Big Projects at Budget Prices
Before you get into business together, you should think about both you and your partner's financial positions. That's because it's possible to hire a marketing company that you can afford. On the other hand, you don't want to hire an advertising agency that's so expensive that you'll be at risk of going out of business either.
What should you do? The answer is simple: do your best to find one that fits within your company's financial budget. In addition to this, the advertising partner you choose should have a solid position financially as well.
While you're at it, you might as well view the payment processing procedure for your marketing agency too. Once you understand what their requirements are, you'll be able to meet them without a hitch.
6. Credibility in the Tampa Community
Another thing to look out for is that the advertising agency of your choice has high credibility within the Tampa community. As we talked about above, the customer of the organization is a big factor that shows how authentic they are. Therefore, the image, integrity, and authenticity of the business should be considered thoroughly.
This can easily be done by looking up their past business records. Also, you should be able to access the companies information history via their website too. Problem solved!
7. Excellent Experience and Expertise
Last but not least, it's time to talk about how vital excellent experience and expertise are in business relationships. In case you didn't know, some agencies choose to focus on a specific aspect of marketing that may not line up with your company's vision.
In that case, it pays to hire a business that is somewhat similar to how you advertise your brand. But that's not all.
Consider the years of experience that your future business partner has in the industry as well. Trust us - this will save you both a ton of time and money in the long run.
Curious About Choosing a Marketing Agency?
Still curious about choosing a marketing agency you can trust?
If you're nodding your head yes, we are here to help you out.
When it comes to creating a solid digital marketing strategy, we are practically experts. From location to background checks, we've got everything you need to choose the most amazing advertising agency for you.
Feeling stumped on how to find the perfect marketing agency in Tampa?
If that is the case, we've got you covered. Not only do we understand advertising, but we know how to complement your brand voice too. As if that's not enough, we also have the experience and the expertise you need to succeed.
Want to learn more about different types of advertising? Contact us to find out how to target an audience today!