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How you choose to promote events can have a direct impact on how successful that event is.

For brands with an established place in the online hierarchy, their event promotion efforts don’t have to be particularly intense or creative.

but if this is your first event, or your brand has yet to be seen as an online authority, you’re going to need every trick in the book to stand out.

That’s why I put together this guide to event promotion for online and in-person events.

Armed with this, your online promotion efforts are going to help drive meaningful engagement and, ideally, increase event attendance.

We’ll create Content to Promote Your Event

No matter what kind of event you’re promoting online, letting it exist in a vacuum is never a good Idea,

What I mean by that is your content marketing efforts should overlap with the event you’re promoting.

Let’s say that your brand or business has a weekly podcast. It’s crucial that you take time during that podcast to plug your event.

Don’t miss an opportunity to promote an event on a platform you control particularly when you’re dealing with a targeted audience.

But, beyond that, it’s important to recognize the practicality of this approach.

To put it frankly, even the most dedicated audiences get busy.

They may have wanted to keep up with all your content but simply missed your official announcement of the event. Or, they planned to sign up for your digital event, but forgot.

If you want, you can create blog posts that discuss information relevant to the event.

You can go one step beyond that and create unique videos for the event

Whether it’s a collage of previous attendees at old events or a video of past speakers, what matters is that your content is making people aware of your event.

If you want to keep people interested and make sure they actually show up, we’ll need to create compelling promotional content.

We’ll Add Your Event to Your Email Signature

Okay, I know what you’re thinking.

“Neil, this is corny/excessive/unnecessary.”

These complaints usually come from people who have been on the receiving end of lame email signatures

Trust me; I get it.

And make no mistake, email signature event promotions can look downright cringe-worthy when done poorly.

But if done tastefully, an email signature can pique your audience’s interest and compel them to click through to your site.

The go-to rule here is to avoid an email signature that’s too long or tedious.

An email signature can be a simple yet professional way to promote an event every time you send an email.

We’ll Use Email Lists to Your Advantage

I’m a huge believer in the power of leverage.

One of the main reasons that I encourage businesses and brands to offer value is that it helps you gain an interested audience.

Let’s say that you’ve taken a page out of my book and created content so valuable that your competitors would have made people pay for it.

If you gave that away for free, with the only expectation being that they sign up for your newsletter, you’ll 

Not only will you get plenty of email signups, but the vast majority are probably going to be active emails as opposed to dead links.

Why?

Simple. When you offer major value, people take notice.

If your content is valuable, people will care. And when people are receiving value, they’re more likely to keep following your newsletter.

Of course, all this is great, but it doesn’t answer why email lists are so important to your marketing strategy.

Let’s face facts. Having your own list of targeted leads can be a pretty powerful marketing tool.

And promoting your event via that email list is the perfect chance to offer your followers even more meaningful value.

Promoting your event via email is actually pretty straightforward.

Two to three months before your event, you can send out your official invitation to your email list.

Note: If you are promoting a digital event, send invites a month or two in advance.

An effective invitation has three major components.

• It covers the major event details (important speakers, location, etc.).
• It shows what the attendees will gain from going to your event.
• It is brief, personal, and to the point.

From there, you should periodically remind people about the event, but don’t overdo it. A clear reminder in your weekly newsletter should get the job done.

When you provide people with valuable information by letting them know you have a relevant event coming up, you’ll only reinforce the validity of your email list.

We’ll Create a Unique Event Page

Whether you are hosting an in-person or digital event, a unique event page on your website is a massively important. It helps people take you seriously, and it becomes a hub for event information.You should also have a list of any important guests and speakers that’ll be presenting during your event.

My favorite aspect of creating a unique page for an event is that you can create trackable URLs for your website and landing pages.

Why does this matter?

Simple. With trackable URLs, you can collect data on which methods of event promotion are working the best, and you’ll be able to determine which method has the highest ROI.

We’ll Promote Events on Facebook

You can’t talk about online event promotion without addressing the importance of your social media accounts.

If you’re looking for a place to get started, Facebook is your best bet.

With nearly three Billion active weekly users Facebook has the biggest overall reach available.

But how do you actually go about promoting an event with it?

Well, first, you’ll want to create an event page on Facebook.

Whether you’re a fan of the Facebook event page system or not, there’s no getting around the fact that you get plenty of useful tools to use when you create a page.

My favorite aspect of the event page on Facebook is that it helps you build a unique space for your community to stay updated on your event.

Plus, there’s a variety of other things you can do with an event page on Facebook.

• Add images and videos.
• Update event details.
• Keep a list of who’s attending.
• Remind users about the event as it gets closer.

We’ll Promote Events on LinkedIn

Promotion on LinkedIn might not seem particularly important, but remember that LinkedIn is all about creating and leveraging professional connections.

While the average person might think of LinkedIn when looking for a new job or filling a position, it also has plenty of potential for things like event promotion.

There are a few different ways to do this, but they all revolve around the proper creation of a LinkedIn profile.

Even if you’re a small business, there’s no reason you shouldn’t create a LinkedIn page for your company.

Not only do you get to post updates for your followers, but you’ll also get to participate in the Group feature on LinkedIn which will be an invaluable tool in your promotion campaign.

Groups on LinkedIn revolve around a specific interest, which means you’ll need to connect with fellow users over some common objective.

Maybe like going to an awesome event that you’re hosting.

Creating a group is actually pretty easy to do.

First, you’ll want to click on the “Work” tab in the top right corner and scroll down until you find the “Groups” tab.Click on that, and you’ll end up on the Group’s page

We’ll Promote Events on Instagram

Every social media platform has something unique to offer when it comes to online event promotion.

On the surface, Instagram might just look like the place you go to post a fun selfie or a short video.

But the reality is Instagram has an impressive potential for event promotion.

Let’s say that you’re orchestrating an event in six months. Your company has been putting this event on for years, which means your loyal fans know all about it.

Instead of surprising people with a location a few months before the event, why not get them in on the fun?

You can identify three or four different venues, post photos of each of them, and then encourage followers to like the venue where they’d prefer to see the event held.

You can go one step further and post a short video of the venue, along with a brief description of what makes it worth considering.

If you are planning a digital event, maybe ask your followers what suit you should wear to the big day or share a clip of you practicing your speech.

The key here is to incorporate a visual component into the event promotion, while also allowing users to engage with you in a truly meaningful way.

Speaking of meaningful engagement, I’m a huge fan of user-generated content (UGC), and there’s no better place for it than Instagram.

Any type of campaign has the potential to create hype for your event, but UGC brings something special to the table.

What do I mean by that?

The effectiveness of any UGC campaign relies on two things:

• Whether or not the campaign is legitimately engaging
• Whether or not users actually share with their social networks

Aside from allowing you to create content without actually having to do any of the creating, my favorite aspect of UGC is the potential for word-of-mouth marketing.

Having a compelling Instagram marketing campaign is great. But you know what’s even better?

A personal recommendation from one person to the next.

The average consumer is more likely to trust another consumer’s recommendation more than your company’s content. That’s because a fellow consumer doesn’t have a vested interest in making a sale.

If the campaign is compelling enough, users will share it on social media or personally recommend it to their friends online.

Not only does that increase overall exposure, but it opens the door for more people to seriously consider attending your event.

We’ll Share Your Event on Snapchat

Snapchat is a unique social media platform, in the sense that it’s easy to get started, but difficult to actually master

We’re way past the point of thinking that Snapchat is some passing fad, especially with its166 million average daily users

When it comes to event promotion, one of the most impressive aspects of this

platform is its ability to reach a demographic that’s typically difficult to isolate.

Beyond that, Snapchat offers you the ability to give users a behind-the-scenes look at the process of putting an event together.

Need some ideas of what to share?

Publish a few snaps about the planning phases of your event.

You could even just publish a list of the speakers scheduled to be there

The key here is to raise awareness for your event, while also giving your followers content they wouldn’t find anywhere else.

We’ll Embrace The Power of Online Contests

Okay, I get that this might sound a bit silly, but hear me out!

Social media Contests might be nothing new, but their potential for raising awareness about your event is undeniable.

The contest offers tickets to the winner, with the only criteria being that they share the event on their own social media page to qualify.

t’s easy for your audience to get involved, and the exposure alone is worth the free ticket.

But why stop there? You can combine UGC with this giveaway and get content and promotion at the same time. Two birds, one stone.

At the end of the day, the contest is just another way to offer value and encourage event promotion.

We’ll Promote Events With Social Media Ads

No matter what your stance is on social media ads, the fact remains that they’re one of the most effective ways to raise awareness and drive engagement on social media.

But why use them for event promotion?

The reality of event promotion is that, while your core audience might be ready to hear all about your next event, there are plenty of people who won’t.

Is organic traffic still plausible today on social? Yes and no, but here’s the good news.

If you’re using paid ads, you don’t have to worry about that.

You might be paying for exposure, but the benefits that you get are typically worth the price of admission.

Facebook,Instagram and Snapchat have some of the easiest ad systems to use, making social media ads a no-brainer when it comes to event promotion.

If you really want to get creative, create ads that encourage people to share UGC

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which of these options you choose. What matters is that you’re using social media ads to maximize your potential for exposure.

Conclusion

Event promotion is no easy feat online.

No matter how expansive your network is, or how experienced your business is, it can be difficult to get people excited about your event — whether it’s in-person or a digital event.

Fortunately, there are now a variety of tools at your disposal.

Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn offer event-specific pages to connect with users.

Other platforms like Snapchat and Instagram are powerful content creation tools that can help drive meaningful engagement

A proper management of a children’s clothing and accessory store starts with a correct selection of stock and is completed with an effective promotional marketing strategy. Today, we will help you impact your customers with 5 promotions that you can easily apply to your business with great results and at no costs. Ready to sell more?

Increasing the sales of your children’s clothing store is a matter of strategy and perseverance.

Advice prior to the implementation of any strategy

•         Think of the time of year you’re in. There are promotions that are more convenient at Christmas or summer. In general, special discounts are usually programmed in the season prior to the official season, with the purpose to make the customer to perceive a great opportunity. When the Sunny season approaches you can promote the caps for example, it is all about applying the logic of the consumer. There are no secrets about it!
•       Define the stock you are interested in promoting and focus your efforts on specific products. In this way, you remark the idea of opportunity and give value to a whole category. In this way you also push sales of those products that – in one way or another – have less demand. Imagine that we are in September and they have just opened a school next to your fashion store. It may be a good time to promote backpacks and cases in your accessories area.
•         Make a difference. Make promotions that are practical and easy for your client to understand and try to set yourself apart from the competitors. It’s fine to imitate those who do things best, but your store must have its own personality, that’s the secret!

5 creative ideas for retail promotions

Integrated Combos and Packs

You can create packs offering a better overall price. This way you manage to sell two items and your client feels that he has taken advantage of the occasion. How about pairing Mickey’s pajamas  to the slippers of Going to the Mouse House? Imagination and having the correct stock will be the only limits to design attractive combos. Think about how to connect your products and get the most out of them.

Pre-sale and exclusive sales

Creating a community, using empathy and close treatment are alternatives that you can play to benefit your store. Exclusive sales for “special customers” can be very helpful. You will make your regular shoppers feel unique by giving them the opportunity to get a better price for the products in your store on a particular day. These private sales are usually scheduled late in the afternoon to get more traffic. It’s a good idea to have them coincide with the arrival of new merchandise or even considering a specific date for your business.

Loyalty programs

All major brands use loyalty programs for one obvious reason: to generate connections with the customer and attract them to the store more often. You can activate either one of these two systems:

•         Stamp a card every purchase: The card can have 10 boxes, for each purchase equal or superior to 10 or 15 Euros, you get one box sealed. At the end, there may be a physical prize or a really interesting discount. The customer perceives the final advantage and when choosing between your shop or another, he will have more arguments to visit you. Create your Fidelity card!
•         Design an offer every month for your customers with a card: When a customer gets your store card, they leave you important data, authorizing you to use it. From this moment, you can send personalized promotions by mail, reaching him/her more easily. You must know how old their children are, to define their interests and customize your commercial communications. This card also implies benefits for your buyer: once a month you will have a special offer, a discount or the access to exclusive products.

Example: We are in the LOL Surprise month, get the best articles with a 10% discount until the 30th!

Discount code on your social networks

Still not selling online? If this is one of your pending subjects, don’t worry. If you don’t have an active e-commerce site, you can also take advantage of social networks. Activate your Facebook page and give a new life to your website. Enter information about your licensed articles and characters, trendy items you add to your stock or tips to keep your products. Always offer valuable information and include discounts to increase your base of followers. It is a good idea to offer promotional codes to print. Its validity would be limited in time and would be match with the rest of your campaigns.

Contests or draws

Never doubt it! Schedule these actions through your social media outlets or in your physical store. Contests are a great alternative to boost the sales of some products or to promote your store and get new customers. Two illustrative examples:

1. Contest: We are in the month of Disney articles. The best Disney drawing made from your younger customers will have a prize. They will be able to choose between a Frozen pack made of a hat, a scarf and a pair of gloves or a Spiderman’s dining set for school.
2. A lottery: Among all customers of the month, we raffle “The Rain Combo”: water boots and an umbrella of your favorite character.

*Pro tip: In addition to implementing promotional ideas for clothing stores, improving the shopping experience can increase your sales:

•         Create a relaxed atmosphere with music that children and parents like.
•         Dedicate yourself to your children audience, why not dedicate a small space in the shop to the kids? A little table, paper and pencils, some puzzles. Make the children want to visit you!
•         Give balloons to small customers or include lollipops on the packaging – these details are used by big firms and they work!
•         Take care of the image of the store. The shop window is important but so is the interior.

Need help getting new customers into your spa? You don’t want to miss out on these 7 creative spa promotion ideas that will boost sales.

The Spa industry is constantly changing and evolving. There are hotel spas, destination spas, spas that also offer salon services, and more.

Some are very very specialized, and others not so much. They could be leisure venues that have spa facilities. But despite the differences, those in the spa business know that attracting customers can sometimes be a challenge. Here, we’ll talk about some spa promotion ideas you can try to acquire new clients and boost sales.

1. First Visit Special Offer

Think about the times you bought something because it was on sale. For a lot of us, the idea of saving money on a product or a service is hard to resist. And even if you muster the willpower to resist such an offer, you can’t deny that it still grabbed your attention.

That’s what you want to take advantage of when you do a first visit special offer. Try something like a 20% discount or a dollar value discount, positioned as a credit.

The latter is an especially good way to entice new customers into checking out your spa a second time. Remember, people don’t like wasting money. If they don’t use their credit, they will feel like they let go of another good deal.

2. Run an Online Contest

There are many reasons why online contests are one of the best spa promotion ideas you can try. One, it’s an easy way to get a bigger fan following. And two, it gives you a chance to interact with your existing fans, as well as gather lead data for future campaigns.

You could run a photo contest on facebook for example. Ask participants to submit a photo that you can also use to promote your spa later on. Relate it to a specific theme – the holidays, wellness vacations, etc.

You could also try a video or an essay contest. Just don’t lose sight of the goal. It must be a contest that motivates people to enter and even ask their friends to join so you can get those new leads.

3. Partner with the Right People

Being part of the local community puts you in the perfect position to network with other business owners. You can exchange promotional materials with hair salons, gyms, stores that sell health foods, and so on. Just make sure these are establishments your ideal customers frequently visit.

Aside from swapping promotional materials, you can also look into exclusive promotions. Let’s say you don’t offer nail services, but you know a business owner who does. You can offer discount coupons for each others’ services.

The important thing is to make sure both businesses benefit from the joint promotional activity.

4. Host Events

Good spa promotion ideas don’t just send more traffic through your doors. They also forge stronger industry relationships. Hosting and/or attending events can help you accomplish both.

Try raising money for a local charity. You can give free facials or massages to people who pledge a certain amount of money.

You can also host a makeover party or a wine tasting event. There are so many events you can organize to get your name out there. If hosting an event is something you can’t do at the moment, you can attend one such as bridal shows and industry educational events. This way, you can network and find partners who may be willing to send their clients your way.

5. Offer Exceptional Customer Service

We talked about how an all-star customer service can help increase spa sales . When your clients are satisfied with their spa experiences, they would be more willing to refer your business to their friends and relatives.

And the great thing about this is some aspects can be automated. Get a do it all software to send appointment reminders via text and email. Or you can try personalizing new client consultations by tailoring your recommendations based on a client’s day-to-day routines.

6. Strengthen Your Online Presence

Spa promotion ideas don’t always have to cost money. You just need to devote some time and effort to make them work.

Social media platforms for one can be a powerful advertising tool. If you haven’t set up your social media accounts, you’re missing out on a free opportunity to promote your spa business. Don’t forget to share photos of your facilities, staff, and make sure to highlight the effort you put into making each client feel beautiful and relaxed.

Post promotions, link to your blog and even start flash sales. Use creative means to always engage the fans you already have and be appealing to those who may be interested in checking out your products and services.

7. Be Tech-Savvy

One way to appeal to people who are looking for a new spa to try is to emphasize how much more convenient and accessible your business is compared to others. a great spa software  can help you do this, coupled with social media expertise.

Some features of a spa software include an appointment book, Facebook scheduling, and client management. It can also help you do text and email appointment confirmations, photo organization, and online reviews.

Remember, the more areas of your spa business you can automate, the more time you have for personalizing rewarding customer experiences. And when customers feel they can’t get the same experience with other spas, they will keep patronizing your business.

Put Your Spa Promotion Ideas to Work

You may offer the best facials, body treatments, and massage techniques. But if most of your time goes to administrative tasks, you can’t really ensure you’re giving it your all when it comes to customer service. And it will also eat up time you should be devoting to properly promoting your spa business.

Be on top of everything with a spa software that’s created specifically for the spa industry. Automate appointment bookings get access to business management tools and run completely customized marketing campaigns

A Properly Managed Catering Business Can Increase Revenue

Growing corporate catering revenue requires professional business-to-business (B2B) selling skills, as well as a quality product. However, if your customers don’t know you’re in the business of catering they will only think of your services as they are now, which might be limited to in-store dining, your take-out program, or your drive-thru operation.

 Getting the word out about your catering business ca be a difficult task. Your employees may have little, if any, experience selling catering services. But, if done correctly, your brand’s specific catering message can be used in every area of your business, making it easier for employees to effectively communicate these services to customers.

10 Catering Service Marketing Tactics

If 80 percent of your customer base lives or works within a 10-minute drive of your location, your store’s physical environment can serve as a key marketing tool for your catering business. In addition, try incorporating these 10 tips into your marketing plan to help grow your business:

1. Earn customer confidence with predictable and reliable services across all service channels for your brand. Customers expect consistent service from all of your locations.
2. Focus on a great experience. All of your customer touch points must make the ordering experience predictable and easy for your customers.
3. For multi-unit restaurant operations, institute a centralized order entry point, which will ensure that your clients receive a consistent, controlled, and positive experience from team members who know the subtleties of your catering offerings and services.
4. Hire “catering specialists” where possible. Efficient, accurate order entry is the front line when it comes to catering orders.
5. Follow up after each catering order with a call from your catering leader. Each customer will feel that their order is important to you and that they are receiving personalized service. Any unresolved issues may be addressed and future business discussed.
6. Conduct surveys and provide rewards to customers so they take the survey while the experience is fresh in their mind. Ongoing research can provide you with valuable insight into why certain business areas are not performing well.
7. Engage your customers regularly. Staying in contact with your customers on a regular basis keeps your service in the front of their mind. Hire a catering sales team to maintain relationships and pursue new ones.
8. Don’t forget to look after sleepy clients. These customers order less than once per month. It can be easy to forget to touch base with them, but they can make up a large part of your revenue, especially around the holidays. You can contact them with special offers to entice them to order more frequently.
9. Reward loyalty with a rewards program. B2B catering is big business, and companies spend a lot of money on feeding their guests. Rewards lets them know they are valued customers, which can help to maintain an ongoing relationship with them.
10. Send handwritten thank you notes. Sending your customers a thank you note shows how much you value them. Make sure the note is personalized and tailored to that specific customer, so it does not look mass produced. Personal touches are key to making your catering customers feel special.

These catering marketing tactics can be applied to any food service business, such as a restaurant or delicatessen, to ensure consistent customer satisfaction. Providing consistent quality food and personalized catering services to your customers can bring in additional revenue and contribute to the overall success of your business.

Fashion promo tips

Running your own fashion brand takes a lot more than original ideas or technical skill. You might know how to pattern cut, sew, drape and embellish like the finest high-end designers, but you’ll need to know how to market your products too, if you’re going to succeed. More than 50% of designers interviewed by Business fashion said improving digital marketing was their top priority for 2019. Here are six tips help you promote your clothing brand online – and turn you into a digital marketing pro.

Build a kick ass website

Think of your website as your shop window. It’s where you show off your products, and build an idea of what your brand stands for, so make it eye-catching, and lay it out clearly. First, get the basics covered – list your contact details clearly, and make sure your links are up to date. As Site builders Vanguard.co.ke have a huge range of templates which you can tweak to fit your needs.

Tell a story

As consumers, we scroll through hundreds of impersonal adverts and product placements online everyday. We are much more likely to buy into businesses that have a story and a sense of personality You need to think carefully about your brands philosophy — why did you start it, and what do you want it to represent? Take a look at how brands like Warby Parker and Patagonia use behind-the-scenes material and personal narratives to help give their products a feeling of authenticity.

Use photos wisely

“A picture is worth a thousand words”, remember? Good photographs can make you a lot of money. Capture your clothes in clear lighting, from different angles, and use a range of models to show how the clothes will look on different body types. Whether you go for a lo-fi scrapbook feel like Typical Freaks cutesy pastels like Lazy Oaf crisp minimalism like A-Cold Wall or something else altogether, think about how photography, styling and editing will help customers identify with your brand.

Gain some influence

Getting your clothes seen on the right people can bring in cash. Scottish handbag makers Strathberry saw sales increase by around 300% last year after Meghan Markle was photographed wearing one of its green crossbody totes, for example. Like Strathberry, most small-scale designers send products out to celebrities and online influencers  for free. But bear in mind that posting out samples can be a costly business with no guaranteed returns. Think carefully about which influencers to target – how strongly does their style align with your brand, how high profile are they, and how likely are they to be photographed in what you send them?

Build your contacts

Building your network is key. Go to fashion events. Talk to journalists and fashion bloggers who might be interested in covering your brand. You don’t have to go in with the ‘hard sell’ —  that kind of aggressive marketing is unlikely to work. What’s important is that you live your brand — wear the clothes you make, and be ready to talk about them passionately wherever you go.

Don’t neglect social media

Promoting your brand on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook can seem like a Full-time jo, and it pretty much should be (on top of all the other things you’ve got to do to run your business!) As with your website, think carefully carefully about how your brand looks on social. Make it consistent, high quality, creative and personality-driven. You’ll need to post often to keep your brand in customers’ minds.

Social media is important for businesses likes yours for a few reasons, including these four:

1. Get more qualified leads

In many marketing campaigns, most of the target recipients are possibilities at best. They may or may not be interested in your offering now, and some may never be interested. You can’t be sure they’ll take advantage of the offer or even bother to review it.

This is not the case with most of your social media followers, which is a big reason why social media is important for business.

By marketing to users who are already fans of your company, you know that you are reaching a qualified demographic. They fact that they follow you on Facebook, Twitter, or another social platform sites means that they already want to know more.

This means they’ll respond more favorably to your posts than if they had no prior relationship with you. It also increases the likelihood that they’ll read your posts or click your links, which makes them more likely to take the desired action.

2. Build a community

In most traditional (and even some online) marketing initiatives, your company is solely responsible for spreading your message. Your flyers may be passed around, and someone might occasionally forward an email newsletter, but these things don’t happen often enough to have an impact on your campaigns. With social media marketing, sharing is encouraged, which can have a huge impact on your business.

Social media is important because it makes it easy for your followers to share your promotions and content. And even if they don’t directly share your posts, they can speak positively about you and direct traffic to your social accounts or website. This is extremely valuable, as most consumers tend to trust recommendations from friends and family much more than from companies themselves.

In order to promote this kind of discussion, you can use social media to build a community around your business. Encourage customers to leave reviews (both positive and negative), interact with your posts, and have conversations with other customers. By facilitating discussion, you can build positive relationships with both current and potential customers.

3. Grow your brand’s reputation

Traditional marketing helps companies promote their products and services without having to reveal their flaws. Social media doesn’t offer this protection, because consumers are all too happy to post their complaints about product performance, poor customer service, and other issues that can hurt a business.

This may seem like a disadvantage, but social media also provides your business the opportunity to respond to negative reviews and overcome negative publicity. In order to do this, you’ll need a mix of proactive outreach, constant monitoring, and effective crisis management.

A good content plan with frequent posts and updates takes care of the first part. The second part can be handled by one or more people who either check feeds for trends in chatter or respond to questions and comments. The third is a bit more delicate, but should involve responding to reviews professionally instead of deleting them, and apologizing for any mistakes. These are the kinds of activities that help your business establish a reliable, trustworthy brand.

They can also cushion the blow when, despite your best efforts, something goes wrong. If an employee posts unflattering stories, a product is recalled, or something negative appears in the news in relation to your business, social media can be one of your best PR tools. By addressing any and all publicity on social media, you can show that your business is dedicated to righting wrongs and addressing customer concerns.

4. Use advanced targeting options easily

If these benefits seem nice enough, but you’re wondering if  social media marketing is cost effective, the answer is yes. Think about how much information social platforms have on their users. They know each person’s age, location, gender, interests, and friends—among many other details. Considering that you can target your ads to users based specifically on those things, social media marketing can be extremely effective.

With platforms like Facebook and Twitter, you can choose to only show your ads to the most qualified demographics. This means that you only pay for ads that are extremely targeted, and don’t have to waste money on having your ads displayed to users who are likely not interested at all. This is an extremely cost-effective method, and another reason that demonstrates the importance of social media.

As an example, take a pediatric dentist practice that wants to use dental social media marketing to attract new patients. Since the practice specializes in pediatric dental care, they would use target parents in the local area. They may even add other filters, like income, to enhance their targeting.

These targeting options all help the practice reach the people that matter the most to their goals.

Maximize social media’s impact on your business

So if you’re wondering why is social media marketing so popular among marketers—that’s the answer. Although the ability to build a community and manage your reputation is great, it all comes down to marketing goals. And for most businesses, the goal is more customers and increased revenue.

Social media marketing is still relatively new, so it’s likely that the benefits and strategies associated with it will change over the next few years. But right now, it is one of the most effective ways to connect with qualified leads and build customer relationships.

If you want to start attracting new customers on media feel free to contact us. Our dedicated social team is more than happy to help you get started with the social platforms that will help you reach your business’s goals.

Social media has proven itself to be a valuable channel for marketers to reach and convert customers. Renowned for an agile approach, social media marketing requires channel managers to keep up to date with the latest social media trends in technical and social developments to make sure they are exploiting all the opportunities available.

It’s no surprise that this year has seen unprecedented change in social media usage, alongside a whole host of other customer behavioral factors. Highlights from Datareportal’s July 2020 Digital snapshot confirm that nearly half of respondents spent more time on social media due to Covid 19

Within this opportunity, there are challenges: How do I keep my social media audience engaged? What content is appropriate for today’s environment? You’re not alone in asking these questions, and it’s more important than ever to get it right!

That’s why, alongside each of our curated social media trends, I am really pleased to be able to share a recommended module from our brand new suite of Learning Paths for Business Members. Designed for members, Learning Paths optimize your marketing performance to drive your results and achieve your goals.

From rising platforms to worthy causes, utilizing social media for shopping, live events, or forming relationships, it’s time to dive into the 2021 social media trends.

Social media trend: The organic social media relationship funnel

Who do your customers trust the most? With rising concerns over privacy and fake-news, forming a trust relationship with your customers in 2021 is going to be harder than ever.

With studies showing that 75 percent of people don’t accept advertisements as truth there is a lot to be said for a relationship marketing approach to building trust with your social media audience. These stats speak for themselves:

• 63% of social media users feel consumer ratings are #1
• 70% of consumers believe customer opinions (more than double those who trust advertisements)To cut through in 2021, social media marketers must invest in their relationships with employees, customers, and influencers, to ensure our key brand messages are backed up by the voices our customers value the most.
• Social media expert:

Social media expert:

“The new normal requires every company to put extreme importance on all things digital marketing. While search and email are two major components of digital marketing that can be done in-house, social media is both the most popular activity people do online as well as the most challenging for businesses.

This is because companies still look at social media as a promotional and advertising channel rather than as a grand arena to collaborate with social media users, primarily customers and influencers, and work them through a relationship funnel to incite word of mouth marketing for your brand in social media.”

Neal Schaffer, President, PDCA Social

Neal Schaffer is an authority on helping innovative businesses digitally transform their marketing. Neal’s latest book, The Age of Influence (HarperCollins Leadership), is a ground-breaking work redefining digital influence.

Social media trend: Diversification

We can’t talk about 2021 social media trends without acknowledging the huge shake-up of social platforms we’ve witnessed this year. Tiktok peaking in March 2020 with 76 million downloads has pioneered a new approach to social engagement.

Tiktok is a popular short-form video sharing social platform where celebrity and amateur creators alike share user generated content from dance, cooking demos and makeovers to animal videos and social media challenges! This content is proving extremely popular with the audience base of Tiktok of which 41 percent are aged 16-24

Social media trend:

“COVID has impacted the lives of every audience, every age group, and users spend more time than ever online, on social media specifically. There are limited ways to reach users in the real world, so, in order to catch up, every channel has to be utilized.

Companies will be (and already are) investing into social media platforms they stayed away from previously, be it the new sensation TikTok, somewhat stale Facebook, or any other previously unexplored platform.”

Social media trend: Social content for good

A growing focus on political, environmental, and social issues throughout the year means increased social media conversations about the issues close to your customers’ hearts.

Reaching the tipping point, Merkle’s Q4 2020 Media Insights Report found that 56 percent of consumers say they have no respect for businesses that remain silent on important issues So now’s the time to leverage your social platform to inform and reassure your customers.

Social media expert:

“In 2021, consumers will be looking for more meaningful content that they can share to educate others. Brands that have a defined opinion on equality or feminism, but don’t do anything about it, will be criticized for their lack of action. Consumers will be expecting a more human approach from brands.

Brand giants such as Nike, Disney and Ben & Jerry’s have already shared educational content around the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and the Covid-19 pandemic. Many brands are actively talking about sustainability and how we can do our bit.

Brands are using their incredible reach to inform and educate users, spreading positive messages whilst welcoming interaction and engagement with customers.”

Social media trend: Social commerce

87 percent of e-commerce shoppers believes social media helps them make a shopping decision and with half the world’s population on social media, social commerce is the next logical step for online shopping.

Data from the US Department of Commerce, shared by Sprout Social, demonstrates social media’s share of total US retail sales rocketing up in 2020, and this trend is set to continue.

Infiltrating social media, where consumers spend a large chunk of their day, improves the shopping experience, and shortens the process. As humans we’re always looking for simpler ways to get what we want.

Brands want to convert customers as soon as possible, therefore why waste time sending
them to your website, for them potentially leave because of user experience issues. Reduce drop-offs by selling directly from your social media post. Marketers will want to focus more on their social media reach, engagement and the effectiveness; evolution is necessary if you want to survive in 2021.”

Social media is quickly becoming the most important aspects of digital marketing, which provides incredible benefits that help reach millions of customers worldwide. And if you are not applying this profitable source, you are missing out an incredible marketing opportunity, as it makes it easy to spread the word about your product and mission.

Improved brand awareness

Social media is one of the most stress-free and profitable digital marketing platforms that can be used to increase your business visibility. To get started, create social media profiles for your business and start networking with others. By applying a social media strategy, it will help you significantly increase your brand recognition. By spending only a few hours per week, over 91% marketers claimed that their social marketing efforts greatly increased their brand visibility and heightened user experience. Undoubtedly, having a social media page for your brand will benefit your business and with a regular use, it can also produce a wide audience for your business in no time.

Cost-effective

For an advertising strategy, social media marketing is possibly the most cost-effective way. Creating an account and signing up is free for almost all social networking platforms. But if you decide to use paid advertising on social media, always start small to see what you should expect. Being cost-effective is important as it helps you attain a greater return on investment and hold a bigger budget for other marketing and business payments. Just by investing a little money and time, you can significantly increase your conversion rates and ultimately get a return on investment on the money that you primarily invested.

Engage with your customers

Social media is a good way for engaging and interacting customers. The more you communicate with the audience, the more chances you have of conversion. Set up a two-way communication with your target audience so that their wishes are known and their interest is catered with ease. Moreover, communication and engagement with customers is one the ways to win their attention and convey them your brand message. Thus, your brand will reach more audience in real terms and gets itself established without any hassle.

Improved brand loyalty

When you have a social media presence, you make it easier for your customers to find you and connect with you. By connecting with your customers through social media, you are more probable to upsurge customer retention and customer loyalty. Since developing a loyal customer base is one of the main goals of almost any business. Customer satisfaction and brand loyalty typically go hand in hand. It is essential to often engage with your customers and start developing a bond with them. Social media is not just limited to introducing your product, it is also a leading platform for promotional campaigns. A customer sees these platforms as service channels where they can directly communicate with the business. 

Healthier customer satisfaction

Social media plays a vital role in networking and communication platform. With the help of these platforms, creating a voice for your company is important in improving the overall brand image. Customers appreciate the fact that when they post comments on your page, they receive a modified reply rather than a computerized message. A brand that values its customers, takes the time to compose a personal message, which is perceived naturally in a positive light.

Marketplace awareness

One of the best ways to find the needs and wants of your customers instead of directly communicating with them is Marketplace awareness. It is also considered as the most valuable advantage of social media. By observing the activities on your profile, you can see customers’ interest and opinions that you might not know otherwise if you didn’t have a social media presence. As a complementary research tool, social media can help you get information and a better understanding of your industry. Once you get a large following, you can then use additional tools to examine other demographics of your consumers.

More brand authority

For making your business more powerful, brand loyalty and customer satisfaction both play a major role, but it all comes down to communication. When customers see your company posting on social media, especially replying to their queries and posting original content, it helps them build a positive image in their minds. Regularly interacting with your customers proves that you and your business care about them. Once you get a few satisfied customers, who are vocal about their positive purchase experience, you can let the advertising be done for you by genuine customers who appreciated your product or service.

Increased traffic

One of the other benefits of Social Media is that it also helps increase your website traffic. By sharing your content on social media, you are giving users a reason to click-through to your website. On your social account, the more quality content you share, the more inbound traffic you will generate while making conversion opportunities.

Enhanced SEO rankings

Social media presence is becoming a vital factor in calculating rankings. These days, to secure a successful ranking, SEO requirements are continuously varying. Therefore, it is no longer enough to simply optimize your website and regularly update your blog. Businesses sharing their content on social media are sending out a brand signal to search engine that speaks to your brand validity, integrity, and constancy.

Final words

There is no denying that Social media marketing has many advantages for startups and established brands. By regular updating the right social media marketing strategy, it will lead to increased traffic, better SEO, improved brand loyalty, healthier customer satisfaction and much more. Your competition is already increasing on social media day by day, so don’t let your competitors take your probable customers. The earlier you start, the faster you see the growth in your business.

Technology and the Remote Workforce

Much has been written about technology in facilitating the shift to remote working during the era of COVID-19.

Survival means still being in business,There is opportunity for technology to shine, like the instant demand for work from home. Tech is vitally important.”

For businesses that were quickly and easily able to pivot to remote work, the pandemic is less likely to have immediately impacted the day-to-day workflow. But for other companies, setting up work-from-home operations reflects a new way of doing business—a way that could be here to stay.

“What we’re looking for is technologies that let us do things to fill in the gaps. If a customer is used to messaging in a traditional way—for example, events are a great way to reach lots of people, so now is the time to get creative. Leverage those things in new ways. What can you do from a virtual perspective or online perspective to be different?” said Sobel.

The cost effectiveness of remote work will likely mean that many companies consider keeping some, if not all, of their operations remote, but that decision will also change more of the day-to-day processes. While cybersecurity remains a top concern in remote work environments, the role of technology in remote work could also mean increased concerns about employee privacy.

“Moving forward, employers are going to want more visibility into work-from-home setups and how their employees are spending their days. Managers will want to track progress across remote teams that are doing asynchronous work. Emerging technology will play a big role in how we do that, but privacy will become a more dominant HR issue,” said Martin.

The Recession Will Shape Tech Investment

While tech is facilitating work, there is also the question of how an economic downturn impacts investment in emerging technology as well as the implementation of technology, in general. For all the excitement, emerging tech adoption has often been slower than expected, and the pandemic could impede plans for scheduled technology projects.

“Certain migrations to the cloud will get delayed as companies figure out that their cash positions aren’t strong. Some emerging tech implementations—they don’t go away, but they get delayed. Things that were trending will get put on the back burner, “Adoption is going to slow down in some markets and industries.” 

But that’s not the whole story. Companies will be looking to further cut budgets, and technology will be considered—if a cost savings can be justified.

“Does it replace a higher cost? Does it pay you back quickly through increases in system efficiency, staff productivity, market access or customer satisfaction? I think there will be investment to the extent the new technology adds value to the business—where value relates to expenseand experience—but not if it means adding a new line item, and especially not if it’s untested by peers,” said Martin.

Emerging technology vendors will need to think differently as budgets tighten, and according to Martin, that means sales and marketing teams will need to find a new approach. 
“Businesses buy based on proof, referrals and reviews, just like individual consumers. Emerging tech companies that find ways to build trust through testimonials and stories, and then collect those anecdotes into an aggregated model that demonstrates their ability to deliver consistent and meaningful results across a diverse set of clients will see faster adoption. No one has time for five demos, let alone five time-consuming trials, these days. Social proof, backed by data, paints a strong enough picture to accelerate technology investment decisions and shorten the sales cycle,” said Martin.

Emerging Technology and Essential Workers

Essential workers—doctors, nurses, first responders, grocery store employees, delivery workers and others—are critical to fighting COVID-19, serving communities, and supplying people with goods and services vital to everyday life.

“There are people on the road because there’s no other way they can do their job. They are driving the transportation and logistics efforts that keep grocery stores stocked; heating and air conditioning functioning, plumbing; and people delivering medical supplies “In the current environment, things like IoT, AI, edge computing and analytics go into the effort to reduce labor costs for fleets, save on fuel consumption, keep vehicles on the road, reduce overhead. These technologies need more attention because they are making a difference for businesses.”

In addition to emerging technologies that can help essential workers in the near term, the necessity of social distancing during COVID-19 has changed the way we work when we cannot work at home. The pandemic has highlighted needs that did not exist and could accelerate adoption in certain industries.

“I expect investments in the delivery infrastructure because we’re already seeing how fragile that is. Every grocery store worker is an emergency worker right now. That’s a problem. We should be investing restocking robots,” said Sobel. “Are manufacturers going to change because we’ve learned six feet really matters? Maybe that’s where they say they are going to change the way factories work to accommodate for that.”

Investments in robotics, automation and other emerging technologies also brings up another area that has long been a concern in the tech industry—the skills gap. Reskilling and upskilling workers could become even more critical because of COVID-19.

“There could be a huge redefinition of roles in every industry. Individual contribution and collaboration will be more evident and score cards will change, “Your contribution to the organization and how you interact within it will get more focus and your ability to leverage technology will be more important.” 

The internet is no doubt the next marketing frontier. But, now more than ever, businesses recognize the immense opportunities that come with having a reliable online presence.

Social media marketing is the fastest growing marketing trend with a reported 9 out of 10 businesses employing some form of a marketing campaign on social media. Social media advertising campaigns bring numerous advantages to showcasing products and services. What is social media advertising? Simply put, it is a form of online marketing that mainly focuses on social networking sites.

The merits of social media advertising include the following:

1. Improved Brand Recognition

Advertising through social media has been shown to increase brand recognition. Regular posting on social media platforms allows companies to interact with the clientele on familiar grounds. This constant interaction creates a picture of credibility and an eagerness to listen to what the clients have to say. Once customers are familiar with your brand, they are more likely to recommend your brand to friends and family, therefore increasing your brand reach. The brand should not constantly hammer the presence, whereas it should be subtle enough to make an impact. Sticking to a particular theme of colours and fonts will help big time.

2. Improved Brand Loyalty

For any company to stay afloat, it needs a loyal clientele base. New customers are a happy addition, but without loyalists, the conversion rates would be somewhere between sad and non-existent. Advertising on social media creates an open service platform where customers can express their views and feelings about services and products offered. By listening to consumer opinions, customer satisfaction levels rise exponentially, and along with the loyalty to your brand is increased. The consumers will be more impressed with your turn around time and appreciate the company more.

3. Improved Conversion Rates

The majority of the population is on social media. Social media and advertising are two components used together to target potential clients on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. With the increased brand visibility that comes with advertising in social media, more leads will visit your website, and the chance of conversion also increases. With a well-articulated media advertising plan, a company can improve its sales and profits.

4. Reduced Marketing Costs

Compared to conventional marketing, social media marketing does not require a lot of monetary resources. With an internet connection and computers, a company can minimize its marketing costs by a significant margin.  But as the business landscape continues to evolve, traditional marketing methods begin to fade out in favour of less resource-intensive methods. Therefore, using social media to market products and services is an efficient way of reducing companies’ operational costs. Social Media platforms do most of the work in terms of an investment. The business needs a consistent theme, tonality and an effective marketing strategy to make use of the platforms. The costs are greatly reduced as more number of people can be reached with the same amount of monthly budget.

5. Better Search Engine Ranking

While a social media page does not exactly improve search rankings, the page will certainly get you more traffic. More people use Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing or other search engines to find products or services online. If your business has a social media listing, chances are, it will appear among the top search results of a related product or service, leading to wider visibility Search engine optimisation tools are another attractive option due to their ability to drive more traffic to company websites and achieving higher search rankings on the same.

Social media advertising has grown to be a favourite marketing option for many business start-ups and organizations globally. This is due to the ease of using social networking sites to sell products and services. The results are almost always immediate, which allows companies to gauge the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. Social media marketing has become an integral part of any marketing program regardless of size or nature. It is a great opportunity to increase sales while minimizing costs; one that no company or organization should pass on.

Are you ready to make your company on the map with social media marketing? Contact US to book a free consultation and create an online presence in which your customers can connect.