Reginald Chan

Tag: digital marketing

  • Industries That Should Take Advantage of Online Marketing More

    Industries That Should Take Advantage of Online Marketing More

    Over the past few years, the world of marketing has greatly revolutionized. While some traditional marketing approaches such as billboards, TV adverts, radio, flyers, newspaper ads, and business cards are still effective to date, internet marketing has taken the world of this age and day by storm.

    It’s a digital age and one of the best ways to ensure your business reaches out to the maximum number of people is to adopt digital marketing strategies that will help popularize your brand, increase your sales, and boost your revenue, and see your venture soar to new heights. Well, almost any kind of business can benefit from online marketing, but certain industries definitely need it more. From legal practice to healthcare, retail, real estate, and much more. 

    Here are industries that should take advantage of online marketing more.

    Legal Practice

    Lawyers are among the most essential service providers in this age and day. They serve individuals, groups of people, and businesses from large to small representing them in court and helping them to navigate legal matters. However, many potential clients happen to be in the dark about information regarding lawyers and how attorneys can help them in various situations.

    As a law practitioner, you need to have a strong online presence using a website or blog, so you can educate the public about common legal issues and the various services available to them. In most cases, clients will have dozens of questions surrounding business law, marital law, criminal law, and a myriad of other kinds of law.

    Through a creatively designed blog or website, a potential client can simply get all this information from the comfort of their homes using their laptop, tablet, smartphone, or favorite internet access device.

    To come out on top and grow your practice, you may want to read more info here about how an experienced law firm marketing expert can help you. It also makes it easy for law firms to acquire clients since internet users can easily find your contact details, including office phone, office location, address, and much more from the website as well as other online platforms.

    Real Estate

    Real estate is by far one of the most competitive industries. For starters, there are hundreds of real estate listing sites online, and the numbers keep on growing. Secondly, many homebuyers do extensive research online first before deciding to buy a property.

    They use the internet for home searching as well as to acquire information about the home buying process while comparing prices in different locations and listings. This means that to make it in real estate as a realtor, for instance, you may need more than just post homes on listing platforms.

    In this case, having your own website will be a more effective way to reach out to your prospects, especially your local audience. Additionally, you’ll want to use other tools such as Facebook marketing, video marketing, and content marketing.

    Healthcare

    The health and medical industry also benefit greatly from digital marketing these days. From health clinics to manufacturers of medical products such as drugs, nutritional products dealers, and supplement producers, different stakeholders and businesses in the healthcare industry can achieve more and improve their ROI with online marketing. For instance, doctors with private practice offices can use their websites to provide resourceful health information to their patients or audience and even make it possible to schedule appointments online.

    As a matter of fact, many people are always turning to search engines for tips and information that can help improve their health, which means that as a doctor, content marketing and online presence can help grow your practice by a significant margin. On top of this, having a strong social media presence will help improve outreach and gain a broader and larger client-base for your practice.

    Entertainment

    Well, billboards and TV commercials may still be effective tools for entertainment brands and companies to promote their products and content, but not as much as they used to be some years back.

    This is because, in this digital age, more and more consumers are relying on the internet and online channels for their good dose of entertainment. For this reason, major players in the entertainment industry need to understand how to meet their target audience where they are, and that is online. 

    Non-digital entertainment forms such as live concerts, plays, and comedy shows, often see a larger turnout at the venues if they promote the event using online platforms like Facebook, event websites, and online marketing tools such as email newsletters, app marketing, and so forth.

    Fitness & Nutrition

    Especially these days where people are more aware of the risks associated with poor nutrition and the lack of regular exercise, everyone wants to eat right, stay fit, and stay healthy. Of the reasons the fitness industry is booming, it is estimated that the fitness and nutrition industry generates a whopping $80 billion each year.

    Needless to mention, the players who make the most out of these returns are those who take advantage of internet marketing. The best thing about products and services in this industry is that they are photogenic, and anything photogenic has a higher potential of catching a potential user’s eye, easily convincing them to make a purchase.  

    In this industry, it’s all about targeting the right audience and having a proven online marketing strategy in place. It involves promoting your products through platforms where your target audience mostly is, including social channels and e-commerce websites, along with mobile app ads, and PPC ads. Influencer marketing on platforms like Instagram is also a highly effective strategy in this industry.

    Food

    The food business will always be marketable as long as man breathes. However, it also happens to be highly competitive these days. But then again, how about promoting your food business online and developing a way your clients can order food from the comfort of their homes or offices? On your site, you can also provide exciting blog posts covering things like nutritional tips, secret recipes, and other unique food ideas you may have in mind. Images and creative food videos will also go a long way in promoting your business.

    With online marketing, it’s a win-win situation for both entrepreneurs and consumers. In addition to educating and informing potential clients about businesses, the internet has helped bring products and services closer to the consumer, thus saving time and adding convenience. However, only entrepreneurs who take full advantage of online marketing come out on top. The above are just a few of the various industries that should take advantage of digital marketing.

  • 8 Ideas for Making Real-Time Marketing With Marketing Automation

    8 Ideas for Making Real-Time Marketing With Marketing Automation

    Today more than ever, you should understand the importance of the customization of the marketing communication, which can be leveraged by a number of automation tools. However, to make the messages more effective, the time factor is very important.

    With the use of electronic channels and especially mobility, it is crucial to present offers and proposals within the scope and in the most appropriate situations. This is possible once again thanks to automation, which allows you to reach your audience in real time.
    CONTINUE READING

  • 5 Social Media Challenges Faced By Business Owners (And How To Solve Them)

    5 Social Media Challenges Faced By Business Owners (And How To Solve Them)

    Erik Qualman once said, “We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it”.

    Can you believe that, folks? Social media is a key generator for your business; let it be either an online or a brick and mortar business, you need social media to literally survive in this world.

    The challenges small businesses face is inevitable. Yes you — small business owners will face tons of obstacles which will either demotivate you or burn a hole in your pocket. As a social media consultant, I dare to say that there will be challenges in social media especially in two phrases; entry level and sustaining a marketing strategy to compete with the rest.

    As Erik said above, social media is no longer a luxury; it is a needs that will determine success in business.

    So, what are the challenges small businesses will face in social media? How do you overcome them?

    Let’s break them down in this article, shall we? (more…)

  • How Different Social Media Platforms Generate Leads

    How Different Social Media Platforms Generate Leads

    Mike Bird is a co-founder of digital marketing agency, Social Garden. Social Garden specializes in data-driven lead generation & marketing automation to grow companies revenue in the finance, property and education verticals in Australia. Mike is an influencer in the social media marketing & Facebook advertising space and contributes to Social Media Examiner, Social Media Today, Yahoo! Business Advisor and most importantly, the Social Garden blog.

    You have your social media accounts all set up and ready to go, but do you know how to use them to generate leads?

    Read on and learn how to use each social media platform to generate solid leads and make your social media marketing an overall success.

    social media platforms for lead generation

    Facebook

    Facebook is like the hub of social media. Everyone can post content from other sites to it, and nearly everyone has a Facebook account. This makes the social media platform instrumental in your lead generation plan.

    Above all other social media platforms, Facebook’s advertising services target exactly who you want and can put your content right into the hands of those most likely to use it. After all, you spend so much time creating great, quality content on your blogs so you might as well share it with new potential clients.

    The Promoted Post feature puts your best content on the Facebook feeds of those most likely to be intrigued and click. You might promote a link to a free ebook or upcoming webinar you are hosting, or you might promote your most popular blog article. The only think you cannot post is a direct link to any sort of landing or product page. This is not the time to sell.

    Whatever promotional angle you decide to use, make sure you have a sign-up form or some way of getting visitors to give you their email addresses. This is the best way to collect the leads that click on your posts.

     

    Twitter

    Sending out well-crafted tweets with defining hashtags is a great start, but you might have more success generating leads if you are participating in or hosting Twitter chats. Any Twitter account can host a discussion and anyone interested is allowed to participate. The host will decide on a relevant hashtag so everyone participating can find the most recent posts by searching for the hashtag.

    If you are unsure about hosting one, try participating in a few chats to see how it is done. You will meet both other industry leaders as well as consumers, and you will be free to voice your own opinions on certain subjects. This is a great way to gain exposure for your brand and introduce it to a new group of consumers.

    Whether you are participating or hosting, there are a few things to keep in mind when posting. These will help you make better use of your time and hopefully generate more leads:

    • Stick to the designated hashtag.
    • Add insightful comments that show your understanding of the industry and the topic at hand.
    • Stay on topic and do not pitch any of your services or products.
    • Research the people who are active participants by checking out their profile. If you think they might be a good fit for you, follow them. More than likely, they will follow you back.

    Be active in Twitter chats and your brand will reach new consumers.

    Cendrine Marrouat of Social Media Slant hosts a monthly Twitter chat using #smslantchat where users discuss various aspects of digital marketing.

    twitter chat

    joining twitter chat

     

    Instagram

    Want to give your audience a behind-the-scenes look at your company? Instagram, the photograph platform, is perhaps best used for showing off the personal side of your business. It gives you the chance to showcase your staff’s antics and offer a glimpse at what it is really like to be a part of your company.

    By introducing your staff members to the world, you’re giving a face to your brand and humanising it. Your brand inspires these people at work every day so show your consumers why it is so great to work for you and be a part of your company.

    You can also send live updates from promotional events you attend and show readers what you are up to. This is a great way to attract people to a local event or trade show that you are participating in, and you can offer small discounts to followers who attend the event or trade show and stop by your booth.

     

    Pinterest

    Want to show off your company’s creativity and style? With Pinterest, you can create a board that represents your brand, and you can create multiple boards to meet the needs and wants of certain sectors of your audience.

    To generate the best leads from Pinterest, optimise your pins for maximum pin-ability:

    • Craft the perfect board to match your audience’s tastes
    • Select visually stunning images – create your own or use others you love (Hint: tall images tend to get more pins)
    • Use your URL or UTM parameters to lead visitors back to your website
    • Create a short and sweet copy description – less than 200 words is best
    • Include a relevant hashtag if necessary

    Promote your boards on multiple sites and encourage your followers to pin their favourite posts.

     

    LinkedIn

    One of the best lead generation features about LinkedIn is LinkedIn Groups. The site hosts hundreds of individual niche groups that participate in monthly, weekly and some even daily discussions together.  The groups bring all sorts of industry professionals with similar interests together in one place where they can talk about the issue that matter most to their business.

    There is no limit to the amount of groups that you can belong to, and you can always start your own group. You might start a small business support group for your area and invite other local small businesses in your area to participate. You can share marketing ideas and connect with other businesses who might be interested in doing some cross promotion with you.

    Regardless of whether you start a LinkedIn group or participate in existing ones, you should be regularly posting questions, commenting on other’s opinions (politely) and answering any questions that people post. Like Twitter chat, active participation is key, and you should avoid doing any sales pitching. Doing so will only make people think that you are there to sell it them.

    Research the participants in the group and take note of anyone who continually asks questions. You may answer them directly on the group chat and then follow up with a more in-depth direct message. This will help you build a good relationship with your fellow group members and portray your expert knowledge.

  • Thinking About Social Network Marketing? 3 Tips To Get Started!

    Thinking About Social Network Marketing? 3 Tips To Get Started!

    Social network marketing is a gold mine when it comes to building traffic, revenue and sales.

    It is not undeniable that if you are not doing social media, you are losing out; big time. And like it or not, we are already halfway through 2014.

    Some says that 2015 will be a huge year for digital marketing trend which is wonderfully compiled by Lee Odden of Top Rank Blog (read more about it here).

    The social media pace is getting fast and the ‘slow and steady’ don’t win the race anymore.

    If you have yet to start any social media campaign, you need to start right now. Yes, drop whatever you are doing and start creating a social media account on Facebook, Twitter or a zillion other accounts.

    But wait! You have already done that.

    Good job, you have just started your first step in any social media campaign.

    The moral of the story is not many of us realized we had already started some sort of social media marketing, regardless we are aware or not.

    While creating an account is easy, you need more than that.

    For starters, you need followers. Tons of them.

    There are several fundamentals when it comes to building more followers such as:

    • Luck
    • Timing
    • Funnel

    Luck is rather challenging as we have no control over them. Lucky for you, it is much opposite when it comes to ‘timing’ and ‘funnel’.

     

    Tip #1: Timing matters for any social network marketing

     

    The importance of social media timing

     

    Timing is everything. According to the Fast Company, you only need:

    • Around 5 tweets a day
    • 5 to 10 Facebook updates in a week
    • Approx. 20 times on LinkedIn in a month

    Take a moment to think about this. What’s your first thought?

    Mine is simple; “Are you freaking joking me?! I post around 15 times on Twitter and Facebook plus 5 times on LinkedIn daily!”

    Let’s talk about ROI myth and it is broken down into two parts:

    • Higher number of shares will contribute to higher traffic but higher bounce rate
    • Lower number of shares will contribute to lower traffic but a lower bounce rate

    This can be concluded that while there is absolutely no wrong-doing choosing either one of them, the method of reaching out to the prospective readers is important.

    What’s work for me is around 10 tweets, 5 Facebook shares and 3 LinkedIn updates close to a daily basis. How about yours?

    There is no ‘absolute timing’ when it comes to social media scheduling. Yes, there are guides to help you with it but at the end of the day, it is totally dependable to your visitors (time of action).

     

    Tip #2: Creating a funnel that drives traffic from social network marketing

     

    Boost traffic using social network marketing

     

    Are you using social media for marketing? If you are, you need good funnels to drive traffic and sales.

    Social network marketing basically means reaching thousands and thousands of readers with just a few clicks of the button.

    In social media, the easiest way to create funnel is by creating quality posts  with the proper Call To Action (CTA).

    And when it comes to social media marketing techniques, there is no one else better than Rebekah Radice. Check out her latest article on 5 Ways To Create A Social Media Call To Action That Converts.

    In short, a funnel can be done using:

    1. Knowing your (company) value
    2. Be exactly clear what you want your readers to do (read, click, buy etc)
    3. Understanding the market
    4. Speak your audience language
    5. Simply by asking for a kind retweet, reshare or a +1

    My social network marketing method is rather simple. I would share the same post using various CTA’s in a period of one week (or a couple of days). Judging from the response, it would provide us with a huge understanding on what readers love and what is driving those clicks.

     

    Tip #3: Social network marketing done right

     

    Drive traffic using social media
    The right social network marketing strategy will drive traffic to blogs and websites

     

    I’m a huge fan of social media automation. Running a hectic life with various projects from my start-up agency and as well as my lucrative day job is a no joke.

    After all, it’s our job to ensure that we put food on the plate right?

    Social media is business for me. Believe it or not, most of my business traffic comes from social media.

    If you want to rank well on Google, you need search engine optimization. In social media, you need social media optimization.

    To kick start social media, all you need is the right technique. Allow me to share mine (you can share yours using the comment form below):

    1. Identify the right social media platforms
    2. Understand what your goals are and focus on them
    3. Building some social media metrics

    There are more than a dozen social media platforms out there and you need to choose the most lucrative one for your social media campaign.

    Using Google Analytics, determine which platform provides you the best traffic and clicks.

     

    Referral traffic data taken from Google Analytics

     

    If you are starting up a social media marketing and time is a huge factor for you, you can simply choose the top 3 most productive platform to work with.

    Social media is always a two way traffic. This means that you need to be active and as well as utilizing the power of  automation.

    And my go-to tool would be HootSuite Pro. Honestly speaking, having the ability to sync 50 social accounts at the same time is godly.

     

    Bonus tip: Setting up HootSuite Pro for maximum social network power

     

    Social network marketing using HootSuite Pro

     

    HootSuite Pro offers up to 50 social accounts (free one offer 5 accounts) and this means that you need tons of planning.

    There are two things you have to decide:

    1. What you want to view on the timeline?
    2. Which account you want to sync with HootSuite?

    The below is an example my timeline. I separate them into platform based and even client’s tab (not visible for obvious purpose).

     

    HootSuite timeline arrangement

     

    Each tab can holds up to 10 timelines and this includes mentions, private messages, scheduling etc.

    Segmenting the timeline is important to ensure that you have enough visibility and contribution to avoid being labelled as spam or self promotion. This is where the segmentation in the image come into play.

    HootSuite offers scheduled posts and you can schedule up to 5 accounts at one time.

    The trick here is simple. Schedule posts which are highly attractive and relevant to the group or audience. Do that and you’ll get a winner!

    HootSuite starts from $8.99 per month and you can it for 30-days free using this link: Free 30-days HootSuite Pro

    Tell me your thought on social network marketing and if you are feeling generous, let’s discuss on social media strategies to increase traffic and sales revenue.

  • Step by Step Guide To Schedule Social Media Updates Using Buffer App

    Step by Step Guide To Schedule Social Media Updates Using Buffer App

    Over 1 million users are using Buffer for their daily social media campaigns and the numbers are growing rapidly by the day.

    The biggest question is probably “What makes Buffer so damn famous?”

    Buffer is designed to offer you a more efficient way to handle all your social media accounts and campaigns. Basically, it makes scheduling social media updates as easy as A, B and C.

    For those who don’t know me, I am pretty much a social media freak. I am constantly on mobile and social media. Yes, welcome to the 21st century!

    With over 11 social media accounts to handle, it is really time consuming to handle all. Also with my hectic schedule, it is a no brainer that I need the right social media management tool to turn my social media woes into something … really pleasant.

    As for the record, I had used HootSuite, Socialoomph and a dozen more social media management tool until date. Honestly speaking, nothing really come close to Buffer.

    So, why should I be using Buffer?

    For starters, Buffer is a free tool which makes life much easier and I was pretty skeptical about its ability before this. Yup, I thought that it was hard to use and I didn’t really bother learning.

    So for those who are wondering how you can REALLY use Buffer for your social media campaigns, keep reading on as I will share with you how to use Buffer … the right way.

    I uses it because it has a very detailed social media analytics tool.

    Let’s be real honest here. Buffer and any other social media management tools are closely equivalent when it comes to the scheduling features etc.

    However, what distinguished Buffer from the rest are the reports it generates and of course, the lovely support team who never complains about all my rants.

    Okay, I admit it. I am a tough customer to handle 🙂

    It doesn’t matter if you are a blogger or thinking of using it for your business; Buffer app could be the right choice for you.

    And here’s the link to the 9 Buffer’s Values.

    The pricing factors

    Buffer offers both free and premium plans for bloggers

    Buffer is free for all and you can create your account simply by clicking here. On a free account, you can easily manage one Twitter, Facebook (page or profile), and LinkedIn account with up to 10 updates in your buffer, aka scheduler. This means that you can schedule up to 10 updates on free account.

    If you are a heavy scheduler like me, you can easily signup for Buffer Awesome plan at $10 per month to manage 12 social profiles, have unlimited posts in your buffer, and even add two team members to help manage it all.

    For any bigger business plans, you would need to contact the support team and discuss on the rates.

    How do you schedule an update on Buffer?

    Scheduling social media updates using Buffer is easy

    It is a very powerful social media management tool if you know how to use it correctly. There are two very important factors which you need to consider which are:

    1. Determine the social media platforms to share the updates
    2. Time of sharing the updates

    If you are keen of reading on this (which I highly recommend), check out my latest write up on 3 steps to kick start social media automation.

    Remember that with proper planning, you are going to skyrocket your social media campaigns and ROI. Don’t forget that if done correctly, you can also increase your referral traffic too.

    It only takes you two steps to start buffering your updates. Yes, only two for Christ’s sake!

    1. You need to setup a schedule time for Buffer to work

    Step by step guide in creating a schedule on Buffer App

    Here, you need to set up the specific time to share the update for every social media accounts you have. And scheduling a time on Buffer is easy.

    • You basically click on the Schedule tab (#1)
    • Set the day of your choice such as daily or specific days (#2)
    • Select a time for that Buffer to work (#3)

    For those who are managing more than one social media accounts, it is best NOT to schedule the same updates at a specific time.

    Also, it is always great to select Shuffle for every completed social media scheduled updates to avoid duplication between accounts.

    This is a great way to avoid having labelled as spam.

    2. Scheduling a social media update on Buffer

    Scheduling a social media update using Buffer is really easy. All you need to do are these three simple steps:

    • Input your update
    • Select the social media accounts you want to schedule that update
    • Choose Share Now or Buffer

    Yes! That’s all. pretty simple right?

    Refer the below image for easier understanding:

    Buffer makes social media sharing easy

    Analyzing your social media reach using Buffer analytics

    Personally, I am in love with the analytics and it is simply because it makes social networking so darn easy!

    Buffer analytics will provide you details such as the number of clicks, comments, likes and reach to name a few. What makes this social media tool better is that for each time the update is reshared by others, your number of reach will be updated instantly.

    This is very useful since you would have an idea on how far your social media had reached out to others and what others do with it in terms of resharing and clicking on the link provided.

    Buffer is one of the best social media analytics tool

    Buffer makes sharing … even easier!

    At this point, I am sure you are pretty tempted to use Buffer but there’s more.

    Do you remember the Buffer’s philosophy to makes sharing easier?

    You can easily integrate Buffer with over a dozen apps and extensions. Imagine  using Buffer on Chrome, Firefox, smartphones and various social media platforms.

    And my favorite are:

    • Buffer extension in Chrome
    • Integration with Feedly
    • Integration with Pocket app

    I was using Buffer so much until a few of my close blogging buddies asked if I am online 24 hours a day, 7 times a week!

    Thank you Buffer!

    For me, it is more than just a tool when it comes to social media automation and campaigns. It has proven its worth even though I had used it less than a month now. With the rate Buffer is expanding, I am having high hopes that Buffer is going to the leading social media management tool for all.

    Video guide: How to make scheduling work for you on Buffer app

     

    Are you using Buffer for social media automation?

    This social media automation tool had shown its capabilities to compete with some of the finest social media management tools out there.

    It is no doubt that it offers tons of benefits and is absolutely no surprise that many bloggers and businesses are already looking into the ‘Buffer solution’.

    Here are a few question for you (and feel free to hit the Reply button below):

    1. Are you using Buffer?
    2. If yes, what do you like about it?
    3. If no, what can Buffer team do to convince you use it?
    4. What do you hope to see in Buffer in the future?

    Don’t be shy and tell me what you think! Or, sign up right now for a free Buffer account today!