Audience targeting

A Guide to Creating Long-Term Marketing Plans During COVID-19

SN:D Agency · March 18, 2021 ·

In the time between now and when COVID-19 first entered our lives, consumer social media usage has surged by over 50% across markets. So why do many brands say they are posting LESS on their company social media accounts than they were before the pandemic?

It’s not uncommon for businesses to cut marketing budgets amid an economic downfall. Especially in a rapidly changing situation like a global pandemic, finding a long-term marketing plan that can endure shifts in public focus is difficult. Surveys show that only one in four companies are expected to increase their marketing activities in the coming months, but here’s why you should: cutting marketing costs might have saved you money in the beginning of the pandemic, but COVID-19 is projected to impact us well into 2022 and beyond. Even after the bulk of the population is vaccinated, the lasting effects of it on our culture will prevail.

With the right long-term marketing plan, your business can get back on the path of growth and stability, and continue growing for years to come. Read on to discover how businesses can hone in on core markets, strategies and initiatives, and create effective long-term marketing plans during COVID-19.

Long-Term Marketing Plans During COVID-19: Focus in On Core Business

One mistake many businesses make is trying to be everything to everyone. The best strategy is to focus on the core of your business—this is the foundation that the rest of your business is built upon. This means figuring out what the main selling point is that defines your brand. To determine this, you’ll have to get to the nuts and bolts of your business, including its purpose, consumer-base, and central product.

Re-establish Core Purpose and Objectives

It’s challenging to plan for the long-term without a dependable vision of where you’re going, especially when COVID-19 means that nothing is predictable. Ground your marketing plan by remembering your business’s primary purpose, mission, core values, and key message. Do they still hold as true today as they did before COVID-19? The reality is that the way you think about the future of your brand may look very different now.

Recall some of the questions you and your company had to ask yourselves in the beginning of the pandemic and reassess your answers now. What are your long-term goals for the business? Where do you see the future of the business in 5 years? 10 years? What do you need to do to get it from here to there? Once you’ve re-evaluated your business goals and values and feel confident in them, you can start considering your concrete marketing goals. These should be specific to the times we’re facing during a pandemic, when many places of businesses are still not fully open and face restrictions. More than anything, you should be considering how to reach them digitally. Determine what your digital marketing focus should be, whether its increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, expanding your audience, or otherwise. Remember, it’s not just about boosting sales, it’s about how you intend to boost sales.

For more tips on determining marketing goals for your advertising campaign, read: GUIDE TO CREATING A SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

Focus on Core Market

Once you have your business and marketing goals, the next step is to hone in on your core market segment. Take an honest look and determine who your main customers still are. This doesn’t mean other markets are neglected, but you should identify your key market segment so you can build your core strategy around them. A good indication is who has still been spending during the past year of the pandemic.

Next, determine their long-term needs and how you can cater to them and retain their loyalty for the long run. Think solid customer service, listening to their needs, creating loyalty programs, and meeting them in the current moment, while embracing flexibility, since the needs of the current moment continue to change.

For more tips on targeting the right customers during COVID-19, read our blog post here: TARGETING THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS DURING COVID-19

Focus on Core Product

Your store may have 200 different products, but typically, people are coming for one or two specific products (or types of products). Instead of investing money into all your different items, pick the one (or two) main things that really define your business, and put your ad spend into selling those.

You might be thinking about how many great products or services you have to offer, and of course they are still valuable. However, customers typically come for one thing, and the important thing is to get them through the door (or to your website) and check out the others products along the way.

Sellers using Shopify, one of the top ecommerce sites in the nation, frequently say that they have the most success when their website’s front page has just one to three featured products. Of course, there’s a link to shop the entire store, but the first thing you see on their page is best-sellers. You can also highlight these products using referral programs and deals, or advertising special offers.

This strategy works because when you settle on a specific product, or type of product, at a time, you can define your core marketing around it and invest your messaging and money into that primary selling proposition. By identifying what your market is returning to over and over again, even during a recession, you’ll have a better chance of succeeding overall.

Long-Term Marketing Plans During COVID-19: Advertise Smarter, Not Less

We recommend that businesses and brands do not attempt to keep all of their marketing initiatives that they used pre-pandemic. However, we are also not suggesting that they reactively slash all budgets towards advertising.

Instead, our advice is to make informed decisions based on analysis of metrics data, and look for areas that are working well that you can invest more into, as well as aspects of your marketing plan that aren’t working well that can either be cut or revamped. How do you determine what parts of your marketing plan are successful or not? We’re glad you asked.

Analyze Channels

Social Media

Which of your social media platforms are driving traffic? This is the first step to determining where to cut spending and where to invest more. To get a better sense of what’s working and what’s not, you should:

Review metrics every week and/or month to see where traffic is coming from, what the conversion rate is, how many conversions come from each source.
Look for channels that consistently generate leads and consider allocating more money into those to continue growing your business during COVID-19.
Identify the channels that don’t tend to drive much traffic and determine whether to try a new strategy, add more budget, or cut those costs and reallocate the money to better-performing channels.

For example, if you run an equal amount of ads on Facebook and Instagram, but Facebook drives 90% of your traffic, analyze why this is (does your market simply not use Instagram, or do you just need a better Instagram marketing strategy?), and act accordingly.

For more tips on best practices for each social media platform read our blog post here: WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD BE USING DURING COVID-19 AND BEYOND

Blogging

The benefit to blogging is that it drives traffic to your website and improves SEO. But in order for your blog posts to be successful, make sure you are using an optimal blog strategy. Here are the main things you should keep in mind:

Choose interesting topics. Blogs drive traffic – but only if they are on topics that people are interested in. Don’t post blogs just for the sake of posting them. Find out what topics people in your market are curious about, and use your blog to meet your audience in the current moment. You can also use Google Analytics to analyze which of your blog posts drive the most traffic. This will help you to get an idea for what’s working well for you, and then invest your time into putting out more content like that.
Choose useful topics. In addition to making sure you are writing posts that intrigue people, write about topics that provide value to your customers (and potential customers). This could be a step-by-step guide, a list of useful tips, or an opinion piece incorporating your knowledge as an industry leader. It should also speak to how your business is responding to COVID-19 and provide evidence of what sets you apart. Show your expertise to your customers and they will be more likely to choose you over a competitor.
Promote blog posts with ads. While the above tips focus on how to organically generate more leads, you may still feel you aren’t getting the exposure you want. If you have great blog posts that aren’t getting seen, try running some ads for them. Google Ads and Facebook Ads are great places to start getting your content noticed.
Promote blog posts with emails. Another tool you can use is the email list. Use your business’s email list to send emails to people who have either bought or looked at your products, and start sending them updates when a new blog post comes out. This is a great tool because this specifically targets people who have shown some interest in your brand already, and would be most likely to take interest in your blog.

For more tips on optimizing a blog post for SEO, read our blog post here: HOW TO OPTIMIZE A BLOG POST FOR SEO

Invest in SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of growing the quality and quantity of website traffic by increasing the visibility of a website or a web page to users of a web search engine. This includes using keyphrases consistently, balancing images with text, using outbound links, and more.

SEO is important during COVID-19 because it provides businesses with the online visibility they need to market to customers digitally. Since people have shifted significantly to online shopping and activities, SEO allows you to position your website high on search engines. When potential customers search related keywords or topics, you can ensure that your website is ranked highly in their results. In the long-term, this can help make up for lost foot traffic and engage some of those casual shoppers who are no longer visiting your store in person.

Long-Term Marketing Plans During COVID-19: Create a PR Plan

Advertising is only half of a great long-term marketing strategy–the other half is public relations. Part of being engaged with consumers during a crisis is sharing how your company is responding to changing needs and feelings of people. It also creates a strong brand image and shows your corporate social responsibility.

Most people believe that businesses have a duty to contribute to important causes, which is why crisis response is such an important part of business strategy.

Show You Care

When and where it’s appropriate throughout the duration of the crisis, share how your business is responding. During COVID-19, there will continue to be new updates, relevant news, and more information arising for many months. Continue to adjust and share your company’s response when this happens. This means releasing new or updated guidelines, safety procedures, services, offers, and more.

One example of a great PR response is Hewlett Packard, a software engineering company. They responded to the crisis by donating supercomputers, as well as their own engineers, to help the U.S. government make software for fighting the virus.

Ford also responded to the crisis in a timely manner. They partnered with other companies to help by contributing the air filtration system from one of their truck models and engineering it to be used in ventilators.

If you can invest in big causes for big changes, great, but it’s also just as important to be involved in your community and contribute to local causes, whether it’s fundraisers, special offers for healthcare workers, or simply meeting and contributing to this moment we’re all in. This will ultimately help show your customers that you care and create long-term trust and loyalty.

Be A Trusted Source

Overall, be a credible source for your customers who they can trust. When talking about the pandemic, keep it relevant to your industry. While contributing to the cause is important, make sure you are focusing, for the most part, on how it relates to and affects your industry, employees and customers. None of us are complete experts on COVID-19, but the key is to be credible. Stick to the facts, follow CDC guidelines, and make choices that are best for the safety of everyone involved.

The right digital marketing strategy in the age of COVID-19 makes a huge difference for businesses of all sizes. As a full-service digital marketing agency, we have seen firsthand these long-term marketing plans make a huge difference for our clients. These strategies allow businesses to continue growing throughout the pandemic and overcome challenges that come their way.

For more tips on how to successfully market during COVID-19, be sure to check out our other blog posts, and remember that SND Agency is an experienced, results-driven digital marketing agency who understands that many businesses need extra help during this time. If that sounds like you, we would love to hear from you about partnering with your business to leverage your social media presence for success now and in the future! Contact us today!

Targeting the Right Customers During COVID-19

Emma Kaiser · August 27, 2020 ·

How many people do you know of that have lost their job during COVID-19? During the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in the U.S. has reached the highest it has been since the Great Depression. While writing this, 21 million people in the United States are unemployed, and with so many people out of work, reaching the portion of your brand’s audience who are still in a position to spend money on your product with your marketing is more crucial than ever.

The key to surviving this pandemic lies in being able to identify where viable customers are, and then to reach those customers online. Fortunately, there are tactics you can use to reach the people out there that are still earning money and are looking to spend that money on your business.

Keep reading for our tips on targeting the right customers through marketing during COVID-19.

Targeting Customers During COVID-19: Determine Who Is Willing to Spend

How can you determine which of your customers are still able to spend money on your products or services? Research by the Harvard Business Review has grouped consumers into four main groups during times of a recession: ”Slam on the Brakes,” “Pained but Patient,” “Comfortably Well Off,” and “Live for Today.” By understanding the demographics of each group, you can be better prepared and informed of who you should be marketing to right now.

Customers Not Spending During COVID-19: Slam on the Brakes

The “Slam on the Brakes” group is the one that is feeling most vulnerable and is the hardest hit financially. This group will reduce spending by eliminating, postponing, decreasing, or substituting purchases, and though it’s typically made up of lower-income consumers, anxious higher-income consumers can fall into this category as well. This group will be limiting spending to the essentials, so don’t look to them for expendable purchases. This is not the group to target if you’re looking for spenders during COVID-19

Customers Spending Less During COVID-19: Pained but Patient

The “Pained but Patient” group will tend to be optimistic about the future but less confident about recovering in the short term or their prospects for maintaining their standard of living. They will also economize in areas of spending, though less than the “Slam on the Brakes” group. This is the largest category of spenders and also includes the majority of households not harmed by unemployment, which means a large range of income. This group may shift from more or less conservative spending depending on how bad or good the news is. They may be more likely to give in to the occasional indulgence, but not larger investments or expendables.

Customers Spending Carefully During COVID-19: Comfortably Well Off

“Comfortably Well Off” consumers are people who feel secure and calm about their place in the economy and their income, and they are going to be a more dependable target market for non-essential purchases. Their spending habits don’t really change, though they may now be more selective about their purchases and drive a harder bargain. This group is made up of consumers in the top 5% income bracket and also those who may be less wealthy but are stable and relatively unscathed in their finances. This often means the retired or investors who already made their profit. This is the group most likely to keep up their spending habits, and a safe group to target with your marketing.

Customers Spending Freely During COVID-19: Live for Today

The “Live for Today” group is one that is essentially carrying on and is less worried about their financial situation. The consumers in this group will respond mainly by extending their timelines for larger purchases. Typically younger and urban, they are more likely to rent, and they prioritize experiences over things (with the exception of electronics). Their consumption habits will likely remain consistent unless they become unemployed, so this is the second group that will likely respond to your marketing strategies.

Targeting Customers During COVID-19: Market to Those Who Fit Your Business

Now that you have an overview of the four main spending groups and which ones will be most profitable for you, you can use your business’s ad budget to your highest advantage by shifting your marketing towards that audience. There’s no use spending your marketing budget on a target audience that isn’t looking to make purchases right now, so focus on the spending groups who are most open to the service or product you’re selling.

Targeting Customers During COVID-19: Reaching the Right Spending Demographic

There are several different targeting tools on Facebook that you can use to identify the right kind of spenders and those with income. We’ve broken down these tools for you below:

Location and HouseHold Income Demographics

The Location and HouseHold Income tools work by targeting people within certain ZIP codes and the median income in those areas. This means you can direct your ads to a specific income bracket and those who are less likely to be negatively impacted by the recession. You can also advertise in the cities and communities where you are aiming to do business.

Demographics and Job Types

You can also target your ads to people with specific job titles, meaning you can identify people who are more likely to still be employed and working. This would include people in the healthcare industry, essential workers, pharmacists, senior care providers, etc. You can see more examples of recession-proof jobs and industries to target here. Within Demographics, you can also target people based on age and education level, which is useful if you’re trying to reach millennials who are still spending freely in the “Live For Today” category, or older retirees who are still comfortably well off and financially secure.

Interests and Behavior Demographics

Use the Interests and Behavior tools to focus your ad spending toward people with hobbies and interests that are typically more expensive or associated with higher income. You can do this by targeting Facebook users whose “likes” indicate interests such as frequent travel, luxury brands, the latest technology, high-end restaurants, etc. This strategy isn’t foolproof, however, as anyone can “like” something on Facebook without necessarily being a viable consumer of that product, but with Behavior tools, you can target people based on their past purchases and spending history, meaning you can see if they have or are are likely to spend money on products or services similar to yours.

Targeting Customers During COVID-19: Reaching the Right Audience

After you have determined which groups are likely to spend their money and figured out how to locate and reach those groups in your marketing strategy, you can go on to target the pockets of people within your already-existing target audiences. Remember–you’re not just trying to reach people with money; you’re trying to reach the people who are most likely to spend their money on your service or product. This means that you shouldn’t target older, comfortably well-off people just because they have money if they are not your target audience. For example, it wouldn’t make sense to market high-intensity recreational gear to retired people in their 70s, just like you probably wouldn’t market cosmeceuticals or specialized medical care to millennials in the “Live for Today” category.

In order to reach the right customers, you have to meet them where they’re at, and right now that means digitally and on social media. You can then direct your ads and messaging to the platforms that contain your target audience.

To figure out which kind of consumers are on each social media platform and which ones you should be taking advantage of during COVID-19, read: WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD BE USING DURING COVID-19 AND BEYOND

It’s also important to remember that your most reliable audience is your already-existing customers. This is especially true during a recession, so don’t ignore those who have already given you their business! Use social media platforms and email marketing to check in with your loyal customers and address their needs and concerns. Now is the time to strengthen that base, not abandon them.

For more tips on strengthening your online community and retaining customer loyalty through your marketing, read: TIPS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL MARKETING DURING COVID-19

Although the economy has suffered drastically the past few months, and your business may be anxious about what’s to come, targeting consumers who are willing and able to spend their money during COVID-19 is an effective way to make sure you are not wasting your (potentially tightened) advertising budget on audiences that don’t have income or are cautious to spend. Let them know how you can still provide your products and services, that you’re still relevant, and most importantly, that you care about meeting their needs and are still worthy of their business during this challenging time.

For more tips on how to successfully market during COVID-19, be sure to check out our other blog posts, and remember that SND Agency is an experienced, results driven full service social media agency who understands that many businesses need extra help during this time. If that sounds like you, we would love to hear from you about partnering with your business to leverage your social media presence for success now and in the future! Contact us today!

Content Marketing on a Budget: Tips to Save Money

Abby Sorensen · July 24, 2018 ·

If you’re working in the marketing world at an agency or brand or just trying to market your own small business, chances are you’ve come across the term “content marketing.” Content marketing is a valuable technique for attracting your target market through the creation and distribution of content that is of interest to customers via various platforms and mediums (fancy words for social media channels). Content marketing is an exciting way to help promote your product or service and help move customers into the sales pipeline without actually selling.

To read a more in-depth article about content marketing check out our recent post: What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is an exciting prospect as it allows you to build real, tangible relationships with potential customers. It can increase your brand recognition and better your search results on Google and other search engines organically, but getting started in content marketing can be confusing and costly. There are many different ways you can use content marketing: blogs, social media, webinars, events, custom publications, video productions…the list goes on and on. And while the list of ways you can create content and distribute it goes on and on, the prospect of putting it into action and within a modest budget can be daunting. That’s why the expert team at SocialNicole Digital has come up with some ways for your business to leverage content marketing while still staying within your monetary and time budgets.

Here are 5 ways to leverage content marketing without breaking the bank:

1. Blogging: A Core Component For Any Content Marketing Plan

At SocialNicole Digital, we LOVE blogging! Blogging is (or should be) a major cornerstone of most content marketing strategies. For those of you who are scratching your head and saying, “but I heard blogging is dead” STOP IT! This is a number one false rumor that seems to constantly exist. I have been hearing about blogging being dead for years and I can promise you it is NOT dead! People may use different words for blogging such as Updates, News, Insights, Thoughts or a million other words to refer to their blog (SocialNicole Digital has our blog labeled as “Free Tips”) and while these descriptive words may help users understand what they are reading, the words are describing the content on the platform, the actual platform is a blog.

What Is A Blog
We often throw around the word “blog” and assume everyone understands what it is. But for many it is a vague concept. A blog is an online journal or informational “website” displaying information published in reverse chronological order, with latest posts appearing first. Blogs typically have an author listed, date, archives, categories and people can comment while most static web pages will not have any of these listed features. Blogs are different than static website pages in that they have a date, are archived in chronological order and people can comment and interact with them. Blog posts are setup to be social (or should be) so people can share the posts easily on social media, interact with them and also find them in a search.

Why Businesses Should Blog
Blogging is a huge part of effective content marketing. According to impactbnd.com, “Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website.” Blogging helps with SEO to drive people from organic search to your business website. It also helps to provide valuable information that you can share on your social media channels, email newsletters and other places. Finally blogging allows you and/or your business to establish yourself as an expert in your industry and a thought leader. All of these facts make blogging a major component of any content marketing plan. The core of content marketing is to provide relevant and strategic information to consumers without necessarily pushing your product. When done right, you don’t pitch your offering, instead you provide content that will make them a well-informed consumer and help them make their final buying decisions.

Blogging is a great way to get the entire company involved. Invite guests to blog, bring in different departments to talk about trends in your industry, to share their expertise with your consumers or even to share a behind-the-scenes look at your company. Not only is a blog huge for marketing, but it humanizes your organization. It is a platform for longer, more anecdotal content, which will get your audience more emotionally engaged.

Additionally, blogging can be done with minimal cost, and has the flexibility to be fit into almost any budget. There is some expense in setting up a branded blog (we suggest WordPress.org) and also expenses associated in resources for writing, editing and publishing blog posts – the investment is minimal when you look at the long-term effect a blog post will have. Once published it is picked up by search engines and will forever be a asset to your company for SEO.

Not sure where to start? We have an article titled 5 Tips for Starting a Business Blog to get you started.

2. Social Media: Growing Your Audience With Content Marketing

Social Media is a major part of content marketing and should not be overlooked when creating your content marketing plans. It has been reported that 79% of marketing strategists surveyed found social media to be the most effective channel for B2B content marketing, which is quite the number! Building a social media strategy that leverages platforms that your audience is present on to grow your business is no small task, but the long-term results can make it worth your time. Creating relevant content to share on your social media channels that will get your customers to take notice of you and engage is essential.

While social media channels are typically free to use, the time it takes to curate and create great content is not free. However, the amount you will spend on content marketing through social media can be a vastly lower number than you would spend on other advertising or marketing. One of the awesome things about content marketing is it has the flexibility to be super cheap or more expensive, depending on your budget, and you can still see results either way. It is also important to note that leveraging some ad spend on platforms like Facebook can really help with a businesses effectiveness on social media.

3. E-mail Blasts: Content Marketing Boost

Weekly, monthly or bi-monthly e-mail updates are another great way to update your current and potential customers on industry and company updates or share-worthy news. People must opt-in to your email list and this makes the list very valuable as they are giving you permission to reach out to them. You should definitely place an e-mail signup box on your website or blog and make sure the signup option is visible.

Email newsletters or blasts are easy to setup and for small businesses there are free options for setting up and running your email blasts through platforms like MailChimp (our preferred platform). While it does take some time to craft the content for an email newsletter, the effort is minimal and the results can be exceptional. Again, you are speaking to people who have given you permission to email them – which is huge! Remember that you can use your blog content as part of your email newsletter. One strategy to integrate your blog into your emails is to create teasers that link to specific blog posts. You can also use photos and videos for email newsletters. Repurposing content from one content marketing platform to the next is essential for keeping your costs down.

4. Video: A Smart Move in 2018

Using video as a marketing tool is another way you can draw audiences in. With platforms such as YouTube offering the capability to create and share videos of any length, and Facebook and Instagram offering live video options, there are a variety of ways in which your audience can interact with your content. From video tutorials to vlogs to real time sharing though live videos, the opportunities video content marketing offers are vast. Videos are engaging and shareable, and also help show your audience the personality of your business in a much more personal way. Videos as a marketing strategy are skyrocketing in popularity and reach. According to the Wyzowl 2018 State of Video Marketing survey, 99% of businesses which use video as a marketing tool say they will continue to do so in 2018, and 85% of businesses regard video as an important part of their marketing strategy, and using product videos can increase purchases by up to 144%.

While video can be a bit more expensive, there are plenty of ways to keep costs low, such as using a smartphone or laptop camera, and using video editing apps that are free. With smartphones that have better cameras than ever before, it isn’t necessary to invest in expensive video equipment, especially if your video marketing is just a supplement to other marketing strategies. Professional-quality videos can indeed be bank-breaking, but if you’re tech-savvy enough and willing to put in the work, you can create quality videos for a much lower cost. Be cautious of spending large portions of your ad spend budget on a professional video production without reserving budget for ad spend and promotion.

5. Recycling Your Content

If your budget is small, it may be a stretch to continually have hours spent on creating new content for your blog or social media. One way to solve this is to recycle old content. Chances are you have newsletters, blog posts and social media messages that contain content that is reusable or what we call “evergreen” content. Evergreen content is content that is not time sensitive and can be used again in the future. It’s important you get creative and come up with ways to make your old content new again. This can be done semi-regularly, or just periodically when you’re in a bind and are unable to curate enough new content.

Some ways to recycle evergreen content include:

Reworking an old blog post to refresh it with current data and language. When you publish your updated and refreshed blog post you should setup a redirect from the old post URL to the new URL so that people find the most recent post (you do not want to leave the old post published since you have reworked the post and Google will see this as duplicate content and they can penalize your search because of that duplication).
Create evergreen social media messages that aren’t time-sensitive and can be shared whenever you need content but don’t have the time or resources to create entirely new content. This is not cheating – rather, it’s a good way to keep all your content out there fresh, while continuing to drive home points that are important to your business and also save yourself money and time. It is good practice to rotate evergreen messages so you are not repeating the same message over and over. It is also good practice to make some updates to content each time you share so it has some unique elements.
Another fun way to recycle content is by creating #TBT (Throwback Thursday) posts. The purpose of Throw Back Thursday posts is to invoke memories of the past and showcase important events, awards or milestones that your company may have. The goal with a #TBT post is to invoke a sense of nostalgia and connection to the brand or business. People love to see the positive and personal side of a business.
Turning blog posts into newsletter content or turning newsletters into blog posts should also be considered. Many clients have robust newsletters, both email and offline newsletters. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Pull content from whatever source it is created and rework it for your other channels.

The Bottom Line: Content Marketing Requires Quality Content

The bottom line, whether you decide to use one or all of the above content marketing tips, is to always make sure your business is producing quality content. Make your blogs, tweets, emails, and everything in between the best they can be for maximum business growth through content marketing. Audiences respond to quality over quantity, so take your time in producing your content and make sure that your content fits your target audience and is useful to them. Content marketing is a long term investment and it’s important to realize that regardless of size or budget you can make an investment to build your digital marketing arsenal with quality content that will be valuable to your customer. Whether is one blog post a month, or tweets everyday of valuable information for your target audience – your consistent efforts can help grow a community and increase your customer base.

While content marketing is not free, it also does not need to break your piggy bank wide open! There are plenty of ways to leverage digital platforms to reach your customers in a personal and effective way.

Want more tips on how to leverage digital marketing to grow your business? Feel free to sign up for our free updates and to contact us with questions, we are happy to help you however we can!

What Is Content Marketing?

Nicole Harrison · June 21, 2018 ·

It’s been around for a while, taking on endless disguises and aliases, and it’s now one of the key tools being utilized in modern business: Content Marketing. But what is content marketing?

In an age of optimized consumerism, businesses are always looking for ways to attract new customers and maintain the existing ones. Today’s customers are increasingly online and looking for information to make informed decisions before they buy. A recent study by Havas Group found that 84% of consumers look for brands to provide meaningful content that provides solutions, entertainment, experiences and events. Given that 47% of consumers will view 3-5 pieces of content before making a purchase decision or talking to a sales representative, content marketing is an essential part of any marketing plan.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content Marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and sharing relevant, consistent content to educate, engage and move potential customers through the sales pipeline to become customers and advocates of a business.

It’s important to note that an effective content marketing strategy does not pitch to customers and prospects, instead a company is providing useful and quality content that potentially helps to solve issues.

Businesses research their audiences and create intentional content to engage and inform consumers. Content marketing is a way to appeal to potential customers and keep current customers interested. It is rather sneaky because, on the surface, businesses aren’t actually selling consumers anything. This marketing method simply informs customers about the area of business, educating them on the specifics of their inquiry and encouraging them to build trust in the company or brand that they are researching for that area of business.

Content marketing is creative and inventive. Leveraging content marketing means businesses look for ways to get customers interested in the brand, affect their decision making process towards a purchase and build deep connections that will last beyond a purchase of a product or service. Several leading content marketing tactics are blogging, social media and case studies, but the list of content marketing tactics is extensive and includes: videos, webinars, white papers, podcasts and more.

Why Use Content Marketing?

Understanding why content marketing is important for your business is perhaps more important than understanding what content marketing is. Some reasons content marketing is essential for businesses include:

Brand Awareness – Great content can create a buzz or awareness with prospects and customers. You want your customers to be talking about your product or services, recommending them to others and helping to build your brand. A well-executed content marketing program can do this.
Establish Industry Influence – Being recognized as a thought leader in your industry can be a huge boost for any business. If you are running a successful business then chances are you ARE an expert in that industry, but how do others know you are an expert unless you get out and tell them? Content marketing can help you gain the attention of reporters, bloggers, videographers and other industry experts who may call on your expertise and feature you in a story or mention you.
Increased Website Traffic – One of the most important benefits of content marketing is generating website traffic. Creating useful and compelling content will bring people to your website where they can find out more about your company, your products or services and hopefully they will choose to engage further with you and eventually choose to become a customer. Traffic also helps your overall ranking with Google for organic searches.
SEO Enhancement – Search engine optimization, what you do to make sure your website is seen by Google and that you show up in organic Google searches is greatly affected by new, unique and high quality content. The Google algorithm loves new content as it shows you are staying relevant. This means your blog is very important. All content that drives people back to your website is valuable and cannot be understated. Content marketing is essential for your SEO and should not be overlooked as every piece of content is not only driving brand awareness, expert status and increased website traffic, but it also drives people to link to your website, visit and increase your ranking in Google.
Direct Customer Conversions – Driving customers to buy your service or product is the goal of every business when marketing and content marketing can play a part towards this direct customer conversion. People are looking for solutions to their problem, and businesses can help provide those solutions through well-executed content marketing. If an average consumer reads 3-5 pieces of content to make a decision it is imperative that businesses create content that will become part of this research and could help land the final sale.

Content Marketing: Selling Without Selling

Content Marketing allows businesses to relate to consumers without openly vying for their business. It doesn’t interrupt a consumer in their quest for making a decision, but rather, it informs and guides the customer. Great content marketing builds trust and a relationship with the customer and guides them on their path to making a decision.

Creating compelling content that is valued by customers is essential for serious businesses and brands. While it can seem overwhelming and somewhat daunting, consider this – you are reading this blog post and learning about content marketing from SocialNicole Digital. We are engaging in content marketing right this minute with you. While this post took time and resources to write edit and publish, it was well worth it to help advise our community, potential customers and advocates about a topic they want to know more about. This post and all of our posts help create trust and build relationships, which helps lead to business growth for SocialNicole Digital.

Our blog posts help increase the chance for those searching for social media and digital marketing advice to find out more about the services we offer. Our blog posts also serve as content we can share on our social media channels and through ads to help build our reputation as thought leaders and experts in social media marketing. The value of one simple blog post cannot be understated and this is what is great about content marketing – if done well it creates ongoing value for a business and for potential customers, too.

For another example of content marketing, go to SocialNicole.com and sign up for our email updates on the home page. You will see we promise you a Facebook Marketing Guide when you sign up. This is a great example of content marketing. You give us your email and we will give you a great piece of content. In this case, you will also be on our email list for future updates from SocialNicole Digital.

Content Marketing: Cultivating Community

One of the main pay-offs of content marketing is that it helps to build a community within and around your brand. This community is made up of individuals that are more than just customers – they are supporters, followers, and advocates for your business. Not everyone who participates in your community will become a paying customer, but many people will remain advocates in your community and support your business growth. Your online community helps you by sharing your content, giving referrals to others looking for services you offer and by engaging with you and your brand. Providing quality content that is helpful to your community, regardless of whether or not they are paying customers, is a cornerstone of content marketing. Every member of your community is valuable.

In order to build a community through content marketing, it’s important to come up with a plan of action. Knowing your target audience is a key component of building content that will resonate with the people you want to connect with. You want to speak directly to your ideal target audience, which requires you to narrow in on exactly who that audience is and what they need. Don’t worry about appealing to the masses. The goal is to fit into the niche that fits your ideal customer and create content for that niche audience.

By creating quality content that resonates with your ideal target audience, you will be forming valuable relationships that will build your business for the long-term. By building strong connections and trust within your community you will strengthen your relationships and this will help to grow your brand.

Content Marketing: Telling a Story

One of the most well-known rules of writing is “show don’t tell.” This is a great way to describe content marketing as well. With content marketing, you are telling the story of your brand… or should we say showing the story of your brand. Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer of the Content Marketing Institute, once said, “Traditional marketing and advertising is telling the world you’re a rockstar. Content marketing is showing the world you are one.”

Through content marketing, you are showing the personality of your brand, the quality of what you can do, and the creativity it takes to do it. For instance, at SocialNicole Digital, we say we are social media superheroes, but we show you that we are through our social media channels and blog posts – this is content marketing. It’s yet another way of building trust with your community – words only mean so much if there isn’t proof of action to back them up.

Content Marketing: A Must For Growing Your Business

Few businesses can ignore the importance and power of content marketing as it is quickly becoming a part of all communications and sales for any business of any size. If you are trying to be found by potential customers, you need to be participating in content marketing. The concept is broad and covers many types of content and outreach. The opportunities to express oneself in a way that works for individuals is massive and it is all about figuring out how to master content marketing within your own business budget and resources. Fortunately, there is an entry point for any business at any size.

So, now that you have a little taste of what content marketing is and why it is essential for businesses that are looking to remain relevant and grow, it’s time to get busy and build a content marketing strategy that works for your business. This may seem overwhelming and it can be a challenge to get started. Stay tuned as we will be talking more about getting started with a content marketing strategy that works for your business and budget. Sign up here now to make sure you get all our great digital marketing blog posts in your email inbox.

7 Tips to Help You Revamp Your Social Media Strategy And Plans

Nicole Harrison · May 12, 2017 ·

Let’s face it, social media is an integral part of how people communicate today. Smart businesses and brands are not only integrating social media into their marketing, they are creating marketing plans where social media is the cornerstone. Why? Because they understand that everything revolves around social media. Crafting, implementing and keeping up with social media marketing strategy and plans can be a challenge for many businesses. I have compiled some tips to help you revamp your social media marketing strategy and plans (and for those of you who don’t have a strategy or plan – these tips can help get you started).

7 Tips To Revamp Your Social Media Marketing Strategy and Plans

1. Create a written strategy (if you do not have one)

Many businesses and brands have been limping along for years with a social media “strategy” that consists of a posting a few times a week to Facebook and perhaps promoting a post here or there. This may have been ok in the early days when social media was new and untested. This method is not a strategic plan and it won’t yield results. At SocialNicole we create a basic written strategy, written advertising plan and written social media management guide to make sure we have all the bases covered for our clients. When a client comes to us with a campaign we write out a strategy and plan to ensure we are thinking about all the angles that are necessary to cover which will lead to a well-orchestrated campaign.

2. Make sure social media is considered for every marketing campaign you plan

So often businesses and brands will focus on a marketing strategy or campaign without thinking about social media until the end of the planning (or won’t include it at all). With the way people communicate today, not considering social media at a core part of all your marketing plans is equivalent to not including a phone number when you tell someone to call you. Social media is the internet, everything is social including emails, websites, even the brochure you are printing has a social aspect to it. If you are thinking of incorporating your website into your marketing plans you should also be incorporating a broader social media strategy into your marketing plans as well. Everything is social today. Everything!

3. Assess your target audience

Has it changed since you created your strategy? Or have you been able to narrow it down to a more specific audience? Think about one segment and identify one target customer from that part of your audience. Create a persona, which is a full biography, for this ideal target customer. If you have multiple segments, create a persona for each major segment. Next, assess the social media channels you are on. Which channel makes the most sense to focus on for your target persona? Facebook may be perfect for one audience segment while Twitter or Instagram may be best for another. Creating a clear target audience for each channel will make curating content much simpler. Your content will be more effective because it will be tailored for your target audience.

4. Conduct a quick audit of your channels

Our audit tips may seem like a lot to review, but it is through a careful audit that you will gain insight on where you have been and where you want to go. Do not let the sheer weight of all the things that need to be considered on social media slow you down! Do a quick scan and address the glaring items that you see. Make a list and tackle it. You don’t have to get all the pieces in place today. Use what you have to help shape where you are going. To start your audit, open your browser and create a new tab for each social media channel you are active on, including a tab for your website. Now address the following:

Messaging – Does the messaging on your channels match the current messaging for your company? Oftentimes, we adjust our goals over time and fail to adjust the approach on our online channels. Make sure that all of your online channels have current profiles that match your company messaging. Also, check that you are using optimized keywords in your profile description. This is how you are found in search!

Images – Are your images for cover photos, profile photos and any other visuals on the channel consistent? Do they match your overall brand look and feel. It’s important that each channel is unique but that it is consistent with your company. As your brand evolves you need to remember to replace images. This is why an audit is so important. Now is the time to address any design elements that are out of place. Make a list of new images you need to have created to update your channels.

Metrics – Are you using a spreadsheet to track your goals and key performance indicators (KPI’s) on different channels? If so, what is the data telling you? How is your interaction on each channel and how is the audience growing? Is it the right audience to match your target audience for that channel? Do you feel like your past goals are being reached? Are they the right goals? If you are not tracking KPI’s now is the time to start! This data is valuable over time and without it you will have difficulty assessing what to change in the future. We create custom spreadsheets to track KPI’s for our clients. We track different KPI’s that match the goals of the clients.
Shared Content – Are you curating and sharing the right content? Does the content you share meet the needs of your target audience? Remember, with social media it is important to be personal and connect with your audience. If your audience is interacting with you, are you replying and working that relationship further? If they are not interacting with you, why is that? It is important to review the content you are sharing to ensure that you are providing your audience with content they find valuable. This is one way you will get more engagement and over time increase your brand recognition and sales.

Conversions – Do you have lead generation forms set up on your website? Is your website converting? How many people come to your website from social media channels, and has this increased or decreased over time? As part of your KPI tracking, use Google Analytics to assess your conversions. Now is the time to address your website conversions or lack of conversions due to missing forms or other conversion opportunities on your website.

Competitors – It’s a good idea to take a look at what your competitors are doing and compare this to your own social media presence. Are they growing a presence online? Are they building a following? Does their audience engage with them? What kind of content do they share? Can you take any ideas from them and/or see things that you absolutely don’t want to do? Many times, businesses forget to look at what others are doing to help fuel their own creativity and inform them of things to avoid. Do not copy your competitors, but do seek inspiration to fuel your own approach.

5. Review your written strategy and make adjustments

The first piece of advice on this list of tips was to create a written strategy. Many people may already have that strategy but we like to remind people of the importance of this written document. If you have a strategy written down, you need to adjust it after doing your audit. Many times businesses will go through all the effort of an audit and come up with plans for revamping, but won’t write it down in their central strategy document. Perhaps they have a list of to do tasks and feel that is enough to get it done. It is important that you update your actual strategy document with changes in messaging, target audience, goals and anything else you identify in your audit. This central document is what helps to keep you on track and also keeps you informed in the future.

6. Adjust your management guide

Do you have a management guide that outlines the day-to-day tasks that need to be done to execute your strategy? This is a tactical document that should be referred to every day when you manage your channels. This guide should include channels, times of posting, type of content to share and any additional tasks by day of the week. At SocialNicole we create guides that have daily, weekly and monthly tasks, as well as notes to remember for management. This is a living document that is adjusted ongoingly. Make sure you adjust it when you do your revamp. Without this updated management guide, your strategy is just a nice document without an action plan. If there is one piece of advice I can give, it is to keep an updated management guide and use it every single day!

7. Make a list

Chances are, after all of this you will have plenty of things to work on over the next year to improve your overall social media marketing efforts. Make a list and order the items from most to least important. Now, set due dates and add them to your calendar. Make implementing these changes part of your work flow. Believe me, the SocialNicole list is long and we are busy working to implement everything we need to get in place. It’s not an overnight process, even for a company that does this day in and day out. The only way to get from point A to point B is to identify the tasks and put a plan of action into place.

Finally….Take a deep breath and celebrate.

You made it through the revamp process! The amount of time your revamp will take depends on how organized you are and how structured your original strategy was. Once you get an organized strategy and plan in place future revamps will be much easier. We recommend you go through this revamp process at least once per year.

This time invested may seem like a lot of effort and time you don’t have. However, if you are going to commit to social media marketing (and this is 2017 so it’s time you commit), you need to make the investment in creating a strategy and plan and reviewing it every year.

If you feel overwhelmed and want some help getting through this process, please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to help guide you through this process or do the revamp for you!